Librarian’s decision
The result of political appointments in city jobs without taking into consideration qualifications or experience is palpable again in a recent decision by Jessica Valentin, the unqualified librarian.
City Councilor Modesto Maldonado had requested the use of a meeting room to announce his candidacy for mayor and it was denied by Ms. Valentin. Her reason for this response was, “My concern is that the event to take place will be political campaign-related which is not the type of event our public government building will accommodate.” She further said, “You are more than welcome to use the space for programs and events that are open to the public and present educational topics in a matter that is unbiased. However, I want to be sure that the space available is prioritized for educational programs that are for the benefit of our patrons and community members.”
Apparently, Ms. Valentín did not read the Library’s Mission Statement which says the following:
The freedom to pursue knowledge is a foundation of our democracy. The Lawrence Free Public Library, an essential public institution, strives to serve as an accessible and responsive information and literary center for all residents of the Lawrence community. Through its evolving collection of materials and an abiding concern for its customers, the Library exists to preserve the free development and expression of ideas essential for an informed citizenry.
The Policy continues by stating that “Community groups whose purposes are non-profit, civic, cultural or educational are encouraged to use the Library’s meeting rooms for group meetings when the rooms are not being used for their primary purpose.
The problem of placing people on jobs without knowing what they are doing is that it opens the city up for potential lawsuits. Since Ms. Valentin has not been around long enough and knows nothing of the library operations, she did not know that the city was sued by Liberty Counsel, a group from Florida for the same reason.
Liberty Counsel conducts lectures throughout the country in which its employees, volunteers, or affiliates teach on various topics, including but not limited to: cultural issues, current issues regarding family matters and religious freedom, church-state matters, the judicial system, American history, constitutional and civil rights issues, and the role of religion and Christianity in American government. In particular, Liberty Counsel promotes a Christian view of the founding of the United States of America.
It was agreed that the city was wrong and litigation would end up being more expensive had they gone to court, so they settled for $10,000. That’s not a lot of money but it is a clear statement of having lost the case.
Now, we have this novice with no previous knowledge of historical background representing our values. I don’t think Councilor Maldonado’s intention is to sue the city but just imagine of what her inexperience will bring.
Fake news
We have been reading and hearing on television about the proliferation of “fake news” and the how they affect society all over the world. On Sunday Morning, a program on CBS, there was a segment on why people do it and how it became a tool in the arsenal of politicians these past elections.
This has become a profitable industry where they produce news report that look credible enough to change the voting outcome. Here are some examples:
Dan Rather’s career came to an end in 2004 when it was discovered that he presented a phony story about George W. Bush’s Air National Guard service, complete with falsified documents from the 1960s.
In order to protect Rather after his report on Bush, CBS came up with more fake news and the cover-up was bigger than the original crime. The internal investigation at CBS failed to substantiate the sources and the documents could not be authenticated.
One of the most memorable examples was MSNBC warning about “white people showing up with guns” at the 2009 health care reform rallies that were precursors to the Tea Party. The news segment was about the alleged anger of white people over “a black person being president,” and the commensurate rise of “hate groups” yet, the footage was edited to conceal that the man was, in fact, black.
The media was very interested in keeping the George Zimmerman – Trayvon Martin story hot, stirring racial paranoia for political and ratings reasons. They circulated pictures of Trayvon as a young child instead of more recent ones which could be classified as “fake news.” Then the story took a sinister turn when NBC News edited a recording of the call Zimmerman placed to 911 on the night of the February 2012 shooting, to make it sound as if Zimmerman was obsessed with Martin’s race.
Brian Williams’ anchorman career at NBC News came to an end in 2015 after he was accused of lying about taking enemy fire while helicoptering into Iraq in 2003. The accusation came from soldiers who were aboard the helicopter. Williams told the story repeatedly, over a span of years, before he was called out.
The biggest recent fake news story is the appalling Rolling Stone rape hoax, which led to a successful defamation suit by the University of Virginia. A young woman claimed she was gang-raped by a group of students. Students were terminated and lives were affected by this lie. The story was published even though it had numerous inconsistencies and none of the crucial details could be corroborated.
Just because the major news stories I mentioned above happened at NBC doesn’t mean that they are free of fault – (ABC, CBS, Fox, including their local newscasts to a lesser degree) but it is an epidemic in all media because newspapers should not be excluded.
The worst culprit within the social media spectrum is Facebook but the internet is loaded with fake stories looking so real that many believe they had an impact on the presidential elections. A horrible story recently was about the Clintons being involved in sex trafficking with children. They went as far as to identify a pizza restaurant in Washington, DC that supposedly had a tunnel in the basement where the children were led to a different location for exploitation.
Needless to say how that restaurant was affected by such publicity and the owner was afraid for the safety of his employees. There have been assaults on the building and threats to employees and a few days ago someone was arrested after entering the building with an assault rifle trying to “save” the children in the basement.
Even Dr. Oz, the television personality, has been a victim of fake news with hundreds of products advertised as “approved by Dr. Oz.”
Keep in mind that I am not referring to opinions delivered by commentators. That subject refers only to lies created to demonstrate a news item different from the way it occurred.
I have always been respectful of other people’s opinions and never criticized what they believe. They are entitled to their opinion just like I am to mine. During the last election process I was amply chastised for my opinions even though they were based on truth and provided evidence. I may have strong opinions but never through lies. That’s the meaning of “fake news.”
That brings me to Lawrence. The daily newspaper and Rumbo have reported on large companies that are closing their doors launching hundreds of workers into unemployment. These are: Polartec/Malden Mills (400 jobs), Flowserve/Lawrence Pumps (85 jobs), Sekisui Voltec, LLC, Showcase Cinema, along with several small enterprises like 3 Dunkin Donuts and yet, some people are saying that lots of new businesses are moving into Lawrence. I would like to see names… a list of them… anything.
Regarding the unemployment rate, it is being said that it has improved so much in Lawrence that it is about zero. Zero? There is not one city in the entire country with zero unemployment rate! Actually, last April of 2016, it was 7.5 and in November it came down to 4.9 which is still higher than the national rate of 4.6 and the Massachusetts unemployment rate of 2.9. How do I know this? I asked the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board.
Just two years ago, the rate was 11.0% and historically Lawrence is usually two times the state average. This is the lowest unemployment rate since approximately 2006 but not 0.
By the way, Lowell’s is 3.3 and Haverhill’s is 2.7.
Public information from the police department
Very often, I check www.lawpd.com the Lawrence Police Department’s webpage where the public can view the Daily Log of activity. I take for granted that they don’t enter the truth of events they respond to because many of the crimes or infractions are downgraded or omitted. Based on those statistics, crime is down.
The reality is that they have not posted any information on the daily log since October 25th. Secrecy is not the way to keep the community informed and involved.
Missing person
There’s a 29-year-old man who left home and was last seen in Lowell. His picture and basic information appeared on Boston’s television and radio stations barely two days after disappearing.
That’s the difference when it happens in Methuen.
The misinformation
By Lluís Esquena Romaguera
In an interview with the Belgian magazine Tertio, Pope Francis referred to the responsibility of the media regarding the truth. He has alerted that some temptations in the work of the media, such as disinformation, “is the greatest harm which the media can do, removing part of the truth and not the other,” the Pope stressed.
