Cruel choices
The choice, apparently, is a binary one.
You can have economic devastation or death. You can have your livelihood or your life. There are no other options, so take your pick.
That’s the way it’s being framed by amateur epidemiologists on social media, who can always find some “study” on the internet to justify expanding restrictions and extending the lockdown until – well, that’s none of your business.
I used to laugh at those who likened our shutdown to martial law. But every time I’m sure that things can’t possibly get more restrictive, they get more restrictive. And our shutdown drags on without even a glimmer of light at the end of this long and very dark tunnel.
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Tags: business, CDC, Climate Change, coronavirus, COVID-19, death wish, economy, epidemiologists, fear, Humor, lockdown, Mark Sardella, martial law, Opinion, optimism, pandemic, Politics, restrictions, science, shutdown, silver lining, suicide pact, sunlight, Wakeield Daily Item
Many ways to care
Let me see if I understand.
Either you want everybody to live under lockdown indefinitely (if you call that living) or you care more about Wall Street and corporate profits than human life.
Have I got that about right?
If you express any concern about the economy, it’s not because you hope small business owners, who have invested their hearts, souls and life savings, can salvage something of their hopes and dreams.
No. You’re literally “a murderer” who cares more about corporations than lives. Because everyone knows that small business owners are nothing but corporate tycoons and robber barons in waiting.
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Tags: alcoholism, business, coronavirus, corporations, COVID-19, depression, drug addiction, economics, economy, employment, health, jobs, lockdown, Mark Sardella, money, Opinion, Politics, recession, revenue, small businesses, suicide, unemployment, virus, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, workers
Walk this way
As we plunge headlong toward the apocalypse, I’ve had lots of time to reflect.
One thing I’ve been thinking about is rules and regulations, and lately, I’ve had no shortage of new ones to ponder.
One silver lining is the governor’s new ban on reusable cloth shopping bags. As it turns out, those of us who said that these germ-infested receptacles were carrying more than just almond milk and kale were right all along!
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Tags: basketball courts, coronavirus, COVID-19, Farmland, flu, gyms, hockey rinks, Humor, illness, Lake Quannapowitt, Mark Sardella, Opinion, plastic bags, playgrounds, Politics, quarantine, reusable bags, shaming, shopping, six feet, soccer fields, social distancing, Stop & Shop, tennis courts, Town Council, virus. pandemic, Wakefield Daily Item
March into madness
Out of an abundance of misanthropy, I have decided to self-quarantine until further notice.
No, I’m not reacting to the coronavirus. I’m responding to the sheer panic that has overtaken the human population in the last week, including some normally level-headed leaders.
I’m in Stop & Shop about every other day under normal circumstances. But when I went there late last Thursday afternoon, I wasn’t prepared for what awaited me.
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Tags: Boston Marathon, bottled water, cancelations, Charlie Baker, closings, colleges, coronavirus, COVID-19, disease, economy, epidemic, hand-sanitizer, hoarding, Humor, hysteria, illness, Mark Sardella, misanthropy, News, Opinion, pandemic, panic, parks, Politics, quarantine, restaurants, schools, sickness, social distancing, Stop & Shop, supermarket, toilet paper, Town Meeting, virus, WakefieldMA
Three strikes for early voting
Just days after Tuesday’s Presidential Primary Election, voting is still much on the minds of the populace. I know, some of you early-voted the previous week because who votes on Election Day anymore, right?
I do.
Voting on the actual day of the election is just a weird personal preference I have. Don’t judge me. I’m not saying everyone has to do it.
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Tags: America, early voting, Election Day, Election Day Regiistration, elections, Humor, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Politics, polling place, presidential primary, reform, Same Day registration, vote, voters, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, WakefieldMA
A rank choice
What do you call an electoral system where if your candidate loses, you get to vote again?
Some people call it “ranked-choice voting.”
I call it “legalized voter fraud.”
If a measure on the November ballot in Massachusetts passes, you can say goodbye to such quaint concepts as “one person, one vote” and “the candidate with the most votes wins.”
Say hello to “we keep voting until our candidate wins.”
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Tags: ballot, California, candidates, column, democracy, election, elections, electoral reform, Gavin Newsom, Groucho Marx, Jerry Brown, majority, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, plurality, Politics, ranked-choice voting, vote, voter fraud, voters, Wakefield Daily Item
The cost of learning
If there is one group of individuals about whom a discouraging word must never be uttered, it’s public school teachers.
Wakefield teachers have been without a contract since last summer, which you’ve probably heard as their supporters have been using social media and other means to spread the word.
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Tags: budget, class size, contract, DPW, education, Galvin Middle School, Greenwood School, Humor, Mark Sardella, negotiations, Norma Rae, Opinion, police, Politics, Public Safety Building, salary, School Committee, School Department, schools, students, taxpayers, teachers, Town Meeting, union, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Education Association, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Walton School, WEA
The spark of youth
Massachusetts state lawmakers are currently weighing a proposal that would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote.
In other news this week, the latest viral trend among teenagers involves partially inserting an iPhone charger into a wall outlet and sliding a penny down the wall onto the exposed prongs, causing an explosion of sparks, electrical damage, and potentially fires.
Fun!
In a sane state, the second story would shock some sense into legislators considering lowering the voting age. But this is Massachusetts.
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Tags: Ayyanna Pressley, ballot, children, elections, electrical outlet, fires, Harvard, iPhones, Jim Morrison, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, penny, plug, Politics, schools, science, Sen. Jason Lewis, smoking, teachers, teenagers, viral, votong, Wakefield Daily Item
Old school
Coming on the heels of the great news that the Greenwood School would at long last be getting a new roof came the even better news that the 123-year-old structure would not support solar panels on the new roof.
There goes the planet.
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Tags: bicycle, building, carbon footprint, Climate Change, coal, construction, cycling, Envision Wakefield, Global Warming, green, Greenwood, Greenwood School, Humor, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Politics, roof, solar panels, Town Report, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Memorial High School, walking
Condo Condescension
Since it’s the New Year and a new decade, it seems like a good time for your periodic reminder that Wakefield is not in fact turning into “Condoville” or “Malden” or any of the other haughty labels that the snobs on social media like to toss around.
What’s wrong with condos? Or for that matter, Malden?
Lots of people live in condos. Young people just starting out, older people looking to downsize, and people who either can’t or don’t want to deal with owning and maintaining a house. How do you suppose they feel when those who can afford to live in homes worth three quarters of a million dollars look down their noses at condo dwellers?
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Tags: apartments, buildings, business, condominiums, condos, development, downtown, factories, factories of Appeals, Greewood, housing, industrial, Malden, Mark Sardella, Master Plan, mixed-use, New Year, Opinion, Politics, revitalization, Tonno, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Station, West Side, Zoning Board, Zoning Bylaw
Mark Sardella 