Author Archives: dunster

Watch the World End

It’s a lovely holiday thought as we approach the end of the year, isn’t it? As Towelroad put it, “If the Earth’s going to be destroyed, it might as well be to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon.”

Be sure to watch the HD version. 4:46 run time.

The Next Senator From New York

I’m not a New Yorker.  This post is about sticking my nose in someone else’s business.  That said, this is just an opinion, and Governor Paterson is free to disregard it; he doesn’t even have to worry about me voting against him.

My mother asked me last week about what I thought of Caroline Kennedy as Senator.  I went on a rant, and we moved on to another topic.  The discussion wasn’t over.  She sent an email today: “17% of elected federal officeholders have relatives who are also elected officials.   Doctors beget a high proportion of doctors.  Lawyers beget a high proportion of lawyers.  Plumbers. . . Teachers. . . You are an elected official who has a multigenerational history of elected officials.”

It was an interesting argument, but it didn’t persuade me.   The problem with that statistic is that it doesn’t talk about cause and effect. 

  • If your family has a large number of doctors, should you start diagnosing people without medical school? 
  • If your family has a large number of lawyers, should you be admitted to the bar without going to law school? 

I’m an elected official, and I readily admit I am one because of my family history.  But was I awarded my position because of my family history?  Absolutely not.  I went out, met voters, and convinced them to vote for me.  Families guide careers, but they don’t qualify you for that career. 

For the sake of argument I’m willing to grant that Caroline Kennedy is a nice person who has lead a life worthy of admiration and respect.  But she is not being considered for the Senate seat because of her life. She’s being considered because of her family.  It’s title by family. It’s royalty. If you took her resume and changed the name to “Caroline Dunn,” would she be considered the front runner?

If Paterson really wants the best person for the job, he should find some academic, or a non-profit exec, or a political chief-of-staff, someone with a track record of a clear head, good organizer, nice person, and a rock-solid sense of right and wrong.

Love you, mom, but we need smart, hard-working, ethical people in the Senate.  We need more than a popular surname.

HubSpot Says: You Oughta Know Inbound Marketing

HubSpot takes me back to 1995 with their remake of Alanis Morrissette’s “You Oughta Know.”  This time, it’s not the cries of a jilted lover, but the desperate pleas of the cold-calling salesperson.  HubSpot is all about having your customers find you, rather than you having to find your customers.

Anyway, the video is wicked funny.  Universal Hub picked it up already!  Once you’ve watched it, be sure to send the link to your friends (http://tinyurl.com/inbndvid).

Ethics Problem? What Ethics Problem?

The State House continues to underestimate the depth of its ethical quagmire.  A few of the current problems:

Last week the state held an orientation for the newly-elected state reps and senators.  Ethical content: one hour, with zero reference to the current ethical controversies.

There’s only one interpretation: they don’t think there is an ethical problem.

More Alewife Leaking

I got an email from a fellow Arlingtonian with some video of Alewife in the rain; he’d seen my post about Alewife leaking. It’s a cell phone video so the quality isn’t that great, but the subject matter is pretty clear.

Is that column supposed to be spurting water? I can just hear Dan Grabauskas now: “If you see something, say something!” Dan, I say that Alewife is a dump.