A Light Comedy – Sept 24 Cambridge City Council Agenda Highlights
The Sullivan Chamber will be occupied Monday night, but the business could not be lighter. World-traveling Councillor Leland Cheung would be well-advised not to return for this meeting. Indeed, the most interesting items are the two communications from Peter Valentine, a.k.a. National Officer in Charge:
Communications #1. A communication was received from Peter Valentine, 37 Brookline Street regarding removing the US Military Flag from the Council Chamber and replace with the National Flag of the United States of America.
Communications #2. A communication was received from Peter Valentine, 37 Brookline Street regarding a preliminary format for we the people evolving an undefeatable constitution.
The first of these reads as follows:
Communications: To The City Council and Citizenry from Peter Valentine 37 Brookline St. 10/10/2012
Many years ago I explained to The Council that it was a violation of the People’s US Constitutional Rights to have a US Military Flag as the symbol of the Flag of the United States of America in the Council Chamber because where there is a military flag there is only military law not constitutional law.
We were not and are not involved in Cambridge MA in a military circumstance or military subject matter.
I informed the council that the military flag had to be removed and replaced by the standard United States of America Flag.
The Council paid no attention to my request.
It is the act of a hypocrite to sign an oath where one swears to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and require people to stand and swear allegiance to the United States of America and the Constitution for which it stands but at the same time to deny the people their constitutional rights by the presence in the Council Chamber of a US Military Flag.
Therefore I do order, as the National Officer in Charge, in the Name of the Protection of the Full Spectrum of the Constitutional Rights of the People of the United States of America, that the Council remove the US Military Flag from the Council Chamber and replace it with the National Flag of the United States of America.
The National Officer in Charge
Peter Valentine, 10/10/2012
Unelected but Affective
I’m sure the councillors will all snap to attention. Meanwhile, there’s this:
Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to take the necessary measures to ensure that the mitigation money from Novartis be allocated all or in part to the Upward Bound Program, with a view of giving the program an additional year to continue, and the hope that the additional funding will give the program staff, families and supporters an additional year to seek outside funding. Vice Mayor Simmons
I might be convinced that this would be a good action to take, but it contradicts the whole ongoing discussion about what "mitigation" is appropriate (if any) when the City Council grants zoning relief for major developments, and how that money should be allocated. The general sense of the City Council has been to move away from lobbying to direct these funds toward pet projects of individual councillors – no matter how worthy. – Robert Winters
Valentine’s apparently reviving a misbegotten notion that a gold-fringed flag is a military symbol, whereas a plain flag is a civilian standard. It’s not true, of course, but it’s a persistent urban legend. Still, he’s always entertaining.
Comment by Observer — September 24, 2012 @ 9:29 am
“World-traveling Councillor Leland Cheung would be well-advised not to return for this meeting.”
Perhaps not in this care, but it sometimes seems that a wide assortment of city employees fly out of Logan to distant locals on the taxpayer’s dime for tangential city affairs.
It would be great to have a simple online record displaying city paid jet travel listing… NAME, DEPARTMENT, DESTINATION, REASON/FUNCTION.
Comment by JChase — September 26, 2012 @ 5:07 pm