Until last night, when I stumbled across
this year-old story from The Nation, I had no idea Bobby Valentine left a government job--Stamford, CT Director of Public Safety--to manage the Red Sox.
Last January (2010), Stamford's Republican Mayor Mike Pavia appointed Valentine to the position for which he had no background because he was looking for someone who could be, as he said without irony, “a good manager.” Valentine, a dyed-in-the-wool Republican was born in Stamford and owns a restaurant in town (where he claims to have invented “the sandwich wrap.”) Presumably this qualified him to handle the negotiations of city contracts for Stamford's fire fighters, police officers, and public safety workers...
Stamford, located in Fairfield County, is the richest county in America where many Wall Street executives live, but this didn’t stop Valentine from pulling a Wisconsin style attack on the city's public sector workers… demanding 65 different concessions from its public safety workers including a wage cut of $1.20 an hour, cuts in overtime pay, higher health care costs, the elimination of pensions for new hires, and the right to privatize any public service.
Happy New Year, Bobby.
Finally, a municipality that understands how government should work. Where do I send my resume? Have they filled this job yet? If so, can I be bench coach for the Red Sox?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about Bobby. So he goes from charming-ish quirkmeister to Japanese goodwill dude to low-level irritant sportscaster to an amazing schmuck in his bizarre career.
ReplyDeleteWhy are all these baseball people Republicans? Is it the money? The Jesus thing? The love of American and hatred of the millions of Americans who don't hunt with semiautomatic weapons?
I suppose that's like asking why more soccer players aren't Ph.Ds. As Gene Wilder put it in 'Blazing Saddles,'
"What did you expect? Come over to the house and date my daughter? These are simple people. The salt of the earth. The common clay of the new West. You know...morons."
Half the country is republican and even.more.conservative. don't worry the libs are stealing the country but you'll get over it...pray to your obama statue as the country goes bankrupt...but your sixe won!!!....lmao
DeleteBobby V.: one great American!
ReplyDeleteCould use a man like Bobby in the Buckeye state!
ReplyDeleteDitto from Florida!
ReplyDeleteAll History is Class Struggle . . . . Workers of the World, Unite! And to the last three "morons" responding from the same computer in rapid succession: SHOVE IT, you ignorant, reactionary tools of the ruling class.
ReplyDeleteHey we are all at a Koch brothers retreat learnin' from the masters.
ReplyDeleteAh, the Caymans are nice in mid-winter. Watch the natives, though, boys. Best Regards and Wishes for a Socialist America, Fred & Karl
ReplyDelete