A Historical Perspective on the Trump Era

Written by Bruce C. Ditata

Leon Trotsky, co- leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and living in exile since his expulsion by Soviet Premier, Joseph Stalin in 1925, recently gave an interview to NBC’s, Megyn Kelly, covering a wide range of topics, including his take on President Donald J. Trump’s travails with Congress and the Justice Department.

From his villa in the suburbs of Mexico City, the 137 year old former President of the Petrograd Soviet, first put to rest what he referred to as the “fake news” report of his alleged assassination by a Stalin agent in 1940.

“ Even then we were plagued by conspiracy theorists, whacko birds really, like your Alex Jones Infowars outlet who troll a segment of the population that will believe anything, even such pablum as your defeated Democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, operating a child prostitution ring in the basement of a pizza parlor.”

“Your name has been mentioned, prominently of late because of your role in the George Orwell classic, Animal Farm, a satire about the rise of dictatorships which is regaining popularity in high school Language Arts curriculum,” said Kelly.

“As you know, Megyn, the pig Snowball was modeled after my role in starting the revolution in Mother Russia, but, unfortunately, Comrade Stalin (portrayed by Napoleon in the novel) feared my intellect and ability to connect with the proletariat, and in both the book and in real life, I was chased out of the country,” recounted Trotsky.

“ In Orwell’s book, after your expulsion, were you not blamed by Comrade Napoleon for every misfortune that occurred during his regime?”

“Da, da (yes, yes,) Megyn; like any pocket edition dictator, they accept no responsibility for anything that befalls their government ; there always has to be a viable, convenient scapegoat to absolve the regime from any misguided or failed policies.”

“It appears that was an issue that plagued the early Soviet Union and its ability to convince the masses about the efficacy of communism. How did you and Comrade Stalin handle that complicated problem? asked Kelly.

“What is paramount, essential really, is to completely control and manage the message,”said Trotsky.

“How is this accomplished?” queried Kelly.

“Well, Orwell, in his book assigns Squealer, another one of Napoleon’s fawning minions, the classic role of spokesperson to deliver the leader’s edicts, often misrepresenting or avoiding the truth, but having the ability to spew “alternative facts” without any fear of repercussions. On Animal Farm this was accomplished with Napoleon’s cadre of attack dogs to quash dissent and in our Soviet State we had our ever present secret police. Donald Trump trots out his two cartoon characters, Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Spenser to harangue the press with falsities and attacks.”

“In the United States today our current President Trump is in a legal imbroglio with the Congress and his own Justice Department about his administration and alleged collusion with Russia’s hacking in the 2016 election- as well as possible obstruction of justice. What is your view of Trump’s strategy in attempting to control that information war?”asked Kelly.

“ Well, in my opinion, Trump’s constant attacks on the press and those trying to investigate both him and his inner circle is prudent and effective; it’s probably the best way to keep power, satisfy his base and intimidate his own Republican party into supporting him no matter what alleged crimes were committed.”

“There is an old Russian saying and I believe it applies here to President Trump, too,” said Trotsky.

“Comrade Stalin is always right.”




Opinion: Panhandling in New Bedford continues to be a major problem

The following was sent to us from a reader:

“As soon as heroin/opioid addiction became an epidemic in New Bedford, panhandling became an epidemic. Hmmmm, what does that tell you?

Panhandlers are everywhere in this damn city, and it’s a nuisance. It’s embarrassing to have out of town people visit. They qualify for section 8 and public housing before our veterans, disabled and elderly. They don’t have to wait long because they are at the very top of the wait list. However, I’ve been seeing the same ones for years. Homeless, my ass.

As far as veterans, I feel for them, however, a lot of these panhandles dress like veterans and they really aren’t. I know a few of them. I also saw a group of five people get out of a new BMW downtown and each took up a corner asking for money. Also, I saw a man downtown leave his corner, go behind the building I was in, and light up a crack pipe.

The mayor should make panhandling illegal. If you offer to bring them food, they say “I need and prefer the cash”. They are making more than me by standing near Market Basket. Market Basket has approximately 10,000 customers daily, especially on weekends. I looked it up when they went on strike. So if only a quarter of the people give them $1.00, they walk away with $2,500 that day. Insane. No wonder they rather stand there as a full time job, it pays more than all the entry level and moderate level jobs available. Panhandling requires no training or education. This needs to be stopped.”

Have an opinion you’d like to share? E-mail mike@newbedfordguide.com.




11 things Boston and local newspapers covered instead of the fall of Mosul

Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, is officially back in the Iraqi government’s control. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared victory over the Islamic State in Mosul. I covered this yesterday in a short blog – President Trump scores victories in Syria and Iraq in just a few days.

ISIS, the guys that throw gays from rooftops, use civilians as human shields and shoot them when they flee, burn people in cages and make daily beheading videos have lost their stronghold in Iraq. I didn’t see much coverage in my newsfeed yesterday, but figured when I woke up I’d see a ton of coverage. Instead, my newsfeed from Boston and local newspapers had mostly irrelevant stories and none on Mosul.

As of 9am, only one Boston newspaper and no south coast, MA newspapers reported that Mosul was now under official government control on their Facebook pages. The Boston Globe published one story of the fall of Mosul on July 9th (but nothing since) and then covered 14 anti-Trump stories. The Boston Herald hasn’t covered Mosul on Facebook since April 3 and Boston.com hasn’t even covered Mosul on Facebook in 2017.

Here are 11 things they decided to show you instead of the fall of ISIS and the return of Mosul to the people:

1. Weather in New England is sporadic (Boston Globe)

2. Some fit people work out in a gym in Natick (Boston Globe)

3. Patton Oswalt got engaged (Boston Globe)

4. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are house hunting in Natick (Boston Globe)

5. Brad Stevens and Gordon Hayward have been united (Boston Herald)

6. Free slurpees at 7-11 (Boston Herald)

7. Franklin Delano Roosevelt announces that he will run for a fourth term (Boston Herald)

8. Buffalo Bills tackle arrested on weapons charges (Boston.com)

9. Michelle Obama will away an award (Boston.com)

10. A big plastic dinosaur is moving (Boston.com)

11. Ben Afflack has a new girlfriend (Boston.com)

These outlets have a ton of resources and reach a lot of people. They have some of the best writers in the business, but you have to ask yourself why they covered 30+ Trump/Russia stories on Facebook while only mentioning the the fall of Mosul, ISIS’s major stronghold once. Mosul symbolizes a lot of American soldiers hard work and lost lives. It’s time to push partisanship aside and report major news that Massachusetts residents deserve to hear – even if it makes President Trump successful.

Have a comment? Post a reply! Want to share your opinion? Email mike@newbedfordguide.com




President Trump scores victories in Syria and Iraq in just a few days

While the American mainstream media focuses on President Trump choosing Russian salad dressing and having two scoops of ice cream instead of one, the President scored some major meaningful victories in Syria and Iraq over the past few days.

First, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared victory over the Islamic State in Mosul. The Iraqi military with support of the U.S. and allies finally drove IS, or ISIS, out of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city that was taken over three years earlier.

Here’s a look at the map, now consider President Trump took office on January 20th, 2017.

Second, at the G-20 Summit in Germany last week, President Trump negotiated a cease-fire in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin. You may not have heard about it because the media was likely showing you something the First Lady did wrong or some Twitter war between Trump and a CNN reporter. But yes, a cease-fire was agreed on between America and Russia in Syria and that’s a good thing.

Does anyone think ISIS controlling Mosul was a good thing? If so, you may want to get your head examined. Does anyone think war in Syria is better than a cease-fire? If so, you should head to your local recruiter, sign up and do some fighting – put your money where your mouth is. The majority of the world is happy to see the cease-fire and most rational people hope it lasts.

Even if you despise President Trump, it’s okay to admit he had a good couple of days. You don’t have to admit it on social media and it’s perfectly acceptable to hope your President succeeds, even for a few days.




Opinion: New meters downtown causing a problem for residents

The following was submitted to use from a reader:

“We live downtown, and for the last year we have depended on free street parking for one of our cars as our building only gives one parking pass per apartment. They recently put meters on our street (South Water St. between our building and the YMCA), and it has been making living downtown much more difficult. We have already gotten a few tickets. We were planning on living downtown for a few more years, but this parking situation makes me think we will not be staying here quite as long as I’d hoped.”

Have a story to share? Send it to mike@newbedfordguide.com.




Opinion: It’s time for New Bedford to have a ’10 Most Wanted’ list

The FBI maintains a ‘Most Wanted List’ of most wanted criminals wanted by the federal government. It’s a great way to bring awareness to the public of the most dangerous among us. It’s now becoming common practice for city police departments to publish a ’10 Most Wanted List’. It’s an effective way to get the local population to provide tips and social media provide police with the speed and dissemination to reach a large portion of the population.

The New Bedford police department has made major strides with information dissemination over the past year with new Chief Joseph Cordeiro. Their Facebook page has nearly 25,000 followers, roughly 25% of the population of New Bedford. Posting a most wanted list to their social media while sending the list to the local media would ensure the widest distribution. Posting updates of captured criminals and new criminals added, would grab and keep the attention of the population. People love getting involved and seeing their tips taking down the bad guys.

Here’s a look at a recent Fall River police most wanted list:

While not consistent, the Fall River police department receives some positive engagement on their Facebook page when they do post updates and the list clearly helps catch criminals. Several were caught within the first few days.

While New Bedford police do a fantastic job finding people with outstanding warrants, getting assistance from the public can only help, even in a place like New Bedford where reporting crime is frowned on in some neighborhoods. It wouldn’t take a lot of time to develop the list, maintain it and provide updates – literally an hour or so each week. That hour could result in the most dangerous among us being captured days or weeks early, likely preventing crime and even saving lives.




Opinion: Parking in front of fire hydrants a major problem in New Bedford

This is a serious problem on Collette Street below Acushnet Avenue. I’ve called the police but nothing gets done. There are 60 apartments (God knows how many people living in this small section of the city) there is no possible way the fire fighters can connect a water hose if the hydrant is completely blocked. It’s cars, pickup, and SUV’s. If there is a fire, these people are putting tenants lives at risk. No time for a tow truck. They need to be towed immediately to prevent fatalities. We’ve already experience 2 major fires and one house explosion which need this hydrant. Please enforce immediate towing of these violators before disaster hits. They have no right to put so many people’s lives at risk. This is daily and they park overnight. This truck is the one currently parked there. Please tow. If something happens, this city is looking at a major lawsuit.

This pic was at 10:59 this morning.

The second pic was yesterday afternoon.

The truck was parked overnight. This truck and others do this almost everyday and overnight. Apparently the city cares more about parking meters than the safety of the residents.

Have an opinion to share? E-mail mike@newbedfordguide.com.




Opinion: Aggressive parking enforcement makes it frustrating to work downtown

“I recently read your New Bedford Guide article concerning the increase in parking tickets, and I definitely agree that the amount of tickets are sometimes out of hand.

I work for a restaurant in Downtown New Bedford, which means during weekdays, I’m paying almost $4-$5 a day just to park downtown. After a while, this adds up, especially on a college student budget. I completely understand that tourists paying the meters downtown helps bring in revenue for the city, but I find it unfair when citizens from the area are helping the city by working for shops and restaurants, but are penalized for going over a meter time. I pay every single time, but sometimes, I can’t just leave the tables that I’m serving to go and pay the meter again because that can be seen as unprofessional and sometimes it’s just too busy to leave.

The other day for example, I was very busy and I was fined for not paying the meter again. When I went outside and saw my ticket, the guy who was patrolling that street had given a ticket to every single car on that street. Another time, our chef was given 5 tickets in one day because it was so busy that she could not leave the kitchen to go pay the meter.

Again, this upsets me because we are working for New Bedford and bringing in revenue for New Bedford. I think the city should allot parking passes to employees in areas such as Downtown where meters need to be paid. It makes our jobs more difficult because rather than being more attentive to our jobs, we’re paying more attention to the time and making sure we aren’t fined for parking.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that these articles can bring forth some sort of change to make the lives of the employees of New Bedford easier.”

Have a story to share? Send them to mike@newbedfordguide.com.




Are parking tickets in New Bedford getting out of control?

Or are residents not aware of New Bedford city ordinances?

“I’m curious to know as my household received it’s 4th parking ticket this year in front of my residence, where I have lived for almost ten years and have had more tickets this year alone than all of the other years combined.

The 4th ticket I received yesterday was for ‘not being 5 feet from a driveway’. I personally feel at this point my area and vehicle are being targeted. I called and spoke with the traffic department concerning this issue. I was told a parking clerk patrols an assigned area every day, including residential areas and is to pass out a ticket for every violation on the street and it is city ordinance not to be within five feet of a driveway. I can guarantee that multiple vehicles on my street were breaking that exact ordinance but only two vehicles, including mine were ticketed. I was also told the parking clerks do not patrol an area more than once but I had to confront a clerk almost two hours after receiving my ticket, who was attempting to ticket my second vehicle for the same ‘violation’ which was parked in the same exact spot when my first vehicle was ticketed. Not to mention the car ticketed was parked in the same place for three days due to the driver having an operation and not being able to drive.

I know others who have complained of recent ticketing being on the rise and have heard rumors the city is doing this to bring in more money. I have no facts to that rumor but am curious if this is the case.” – a fan

Have a story to share? Send them to mike@newbedfordguide.com.




Opinion: Resident disgusted with new luxury cars in New Bedford public housing

Here’s a note sent to us from a fan fed up at seeing brand new high-end cars in public housing:

“I would like to express my disgust with what a lot of people see including myself every day. It’s a taboo subject that people rarely speak about openly… but we know it exists.

Why is it that when you walk through the projects you see brand new cars? Not just a cheap new car, I’m talking BMW’s, Lexus and Mini Coopers.

Isn’t public housing for people who couldn’t afford these things? Can someone please answer this question were all wondering?

It’s very disrespectful to display your riches so openly while people are literally on the streets. The payment on that brand new BMW is enough to pay the rent for a homeless family.

Does nobody that lives in the projects care? It’s pretty obvious just at a gander.

How can these people sleep at night knowing that someone is hurting while you reap the benefits that the state provides? How is this fair?

Can someone please explain how this works? Because a whole lot of people are tired of seeing the people in the projects for so long…doing so well while the rest of us work hard and get very little and pay so much? Just a thought from a bystander with a soul.”