Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Politics and The Mundane Media

Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.
-- Unknown

There used to be a point in criticizing the media in the Hamptons.
There was the drunk who was rumored to have abortions in his own family pontificating to the general public about his support of “Right to Life” candidates, like virtually all local Republicans. Fortunately, Suffolk Life went the way of his abusive “whiskey ideology” which crucified any and all free speech that his politician friends wanted targeted. Wilmot was a guy whose best characteristics were his Stalinist methods at the “news.”
He and his reporters routinely serviced Republicans in the County, Town of Southampton and Villages like Westhampton Beach when they needed to even the score with anyone who disagreed with them. He and his publication were an extension of the police state.

Further down the food chain is the Southampton Press, whose advertising base is supported by the Republican Party as well. Having sucked off the ruling party elite for decades, news reports of DWI’s that went missing from police reports and evaporated from the “Police Blotter” that exposes anyone and everyone whom they want to embarrass – they too, have begun to read the tea leaves. No longer are the glowing reports of “Skip Heaney's” bouts with the Town Board such important press. But, the sycophantic need to report trivia and utter failure to check facts in their articles remains.

Currently the Press is pandering to the Village of Westhampton Beach’s Mayor Conrad Teller, a former cop who is scorned for his anti-business attitude, irresponsible handling of Village crime, and inability to govern without a gun. The Village Board and every appointment in this anti-Semitic and racist government grasps at straws in its attempt to silence opposition and free speech. Business it merely tolerated and no help is on the way.
So, who to call?
Well, the Southampton Press, of course.
When the glowing reports of the latest fundraising maneuver, like Highway Superintendent Bill Masterson who is one of the bagmen for the Republicans – by virtue of cash for highway contracts -- are losing interest – what to do?
Enter Conrad Teller.

Recently, finding that a critical point of view of the Democrats is dicey after Dan Russo was canned, a favorite of the Republicans, it seemed a better ploy was to fish around for less problematical stories. What better than do some favors for the Master of Disinformation in Westhampton Beach, Conrad Teller. Actually, Bugs Bunny would be better at hiding the fact that he is not only anti-Semitic but also anti-Latino and anti-business. He never saw nightlife that he didn’t like. Of course, when you fall asleep at Village meetings, there’s hardly a conflict.

So, Teller, who leaks policy through his appointees, like Barbara Ramsay of the Planning Committee (a local anti-Latino with direct control of the police) and Paul Houlihan of the Building Department, as well as Bridget Napoli, the NKVD-styled Code Enforcer who takes orders from the “insiders.” (Ramsay and Houlihan among them) -- and then denies or disagrees with these positions – manipulates the Press coverage of his dictatorship. Of course, only a newspaper, which is seeking to fulfill its mission as the Republican Party organ, would follow that ploy.

Tellers most recent manipulations have been the Eruv, which pits local residents against Marc Schneier of the Hamptons Synagogue and Jews – whereby he supports a fictitious separation of church and state movement (about black plastic on telephone poles), while voting for the issue in order to attempt to confuse his opponents. No one buys it.

The Southampton Press, of course, primes its reporters to follow the phony independent reporting mantra. The slant of stories is careful not to give away the farm. But, what they cannot control is the planned intent of their writing – which comes through by is massive ignorance of facts as well as its complete lack of fact checking. That was one of Wilmot’s major tools.
So, now that Teller and his racist-anti-Semitic bureaucracy have pulled some strings, a few “news” stories have started to focus on Westhampton Beach.
There is the major piece about “Silly String” which Teller planted for a friend in the Chamber of Commerce to create problems for a local business owner – and there is the Sunset Café story, which gained traction because it has the only Spanish Night in the area.
Barbara Ramsay and her husband, who live in the back rooms of two businesses on Sunset Avenue –a bureaucrat and insider in the Village –, managed to kill the application of the Sunset Café for outdoor music. The Village Attorney played along with the charade and, of course, no proof was necessary. No written complaints were ever produced. Only the words of the Secret Police. One local resident describes Ramsay is “tense.” Another way of saying that is “wrapped too tight.”
Of course, the no music, no nightlife, no fun – and certainly no Jews or Latinos – thrust of Teller and all of his bureaucrats – which is against public policy and racist – is also phony. Predictably, Teller followed up what he must have considered a devious press ploy – to kill the rest of the nightlife in his little Village. What better than to use this carefully crafted news story cooked up by Teller and Ramsay, of complaints about loud music one night a week INSIDE of the building 100 feet away from their back bedroom at 11 pm? In normal circumstances – if you don’t control the police – you knock on the door and ask people to turn down the volume.

Of course, that does not stop the Southampton Press. Because, it is the mission of the Southampton Press to interfere with any social trends that do not serve the Republican Party. In this case, no interviews were sought that would completely counter the news impression fostered by the Village.
While only Suffolk Life would give interviews to people like Joe Lombardo (Southampton Town Attorney), who trashed people that he was prosecuting -- the Southampton Press panders to Republican Party Chairman Marcus Stinchi (who lives and works in Westhampton Beach) in the guise of reporting news. And, Stinchi, of course, was acting on orders to create a problem for those who have sued the Town of Southampton for the same racism that works for Teller and Ramsay.

Don’t buy the media ploy.

And, don’t buy the one-sided news stories reported in the Press.
Silly String is a fun toy and the Sunset Café makes great coffee. Their Obama party was a success. And, it serves everyone, even Village bureaucrats. The fact that the owners of many year round businesses serve the Village at a loss most of the year, providing employment and life to the community – is never part of the news story.
Debates and healthy Free press are what made America great. More of it is on the way.

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