Labor Day 2010

By Michael Boyajian

I grew up in a union household.  My father was a photoengraver.  As kids my brother and sister and I would argue politics around the kitchen table.  Occasionally my father would say, “You can say anything you want but never bad mouth the unions.”  You see the union put food on our table, paid for our healthcare and helped with our educations.

Dining Around the World

By Michael Boyajian

I don’t have to travel to the United Nations to experience world peace.  I do not have to go to an airport to travel to distant lands in search of understanding of different cultures.  I merely have to dine at an ethnic restaurant to learn something about my fellow human beings.

Greater Mediterranean Economic Zone:  A Continuum

By Michael Boyajian

With the EU merged with the Middle East and North Africa in my previously proposed Mediterranean Economic Zone the question is what happens next?  Several things can now occur beginning with the 800 pound gorilla in the room, Russia.  Russia must join the EU or what has now become the Greater Mediterranean Zone eventually spreading the zone east into the Far East providing trade linkage with China, Japan, Taiwan and the Koreas.

A Greater Mediterranean Economic Zone

By Michael Boyajian

The European Union is merely one step leading to a greater Mediterranean Economic Zone based on the logical borders of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent and beyond.  A region that was joined by Rome for trade purposes for a thousand years and not for any other reason like conquest for the sake of conquest.

911 Call For Justice

By Michael Boyajian

Some people like cop movies.  I like F.B.I. movies like Mississippi Burning where Gene Hackman is knocking around pasty white KKK goons.  I would like to see this kind of action against those who threaten this country in real life too.  That is why I believe President Obama should deploy special agents to investigate the mosque burning in Tennessee and anywhere else Muslims are being threatened just like JFK did during America’s civil rights battles of the 1960s.

Signaling A Change in Tactics:  Will the Real Tea Party Step Forward

By Michael Boyajian

Frank Rich reported in the New York Times that Rupert Murdoch and the Koch brothers were bankrolling the Tea Party.  It was ironic to me that foreign born billionaire Murdoch would be the force behind the most xenophobic movement in American history turning brother against brother in a political civil war in a country in which he had no birth right leaving many to wonder if he himself should be deported.

The Romanization of Christianity

By Michael Boyajian

I have been drawn for well over a year now to visit Rome to see first the Forum which was the center of the expansive Roman Empire and then the Vatican the center of the universe for one billion Roman Catholics.  Unfortunately I have been prevented from going for various reasons but have found other ways to visit through my imagination, travel and history books on Rome and television shows on the subject.

Beacon Concordance on Combating the Politics of Hate

By Michael Boyajian

“What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding.”  -- Written by Nick Lowe and as performed by Elvis Costello

A group of elected officials, candidates, community leaders and concerned citizens gathered on the shores of the Hudson River at the BEAHIVE in Beacon, NY on August 25 to discuss how to combat the politics of hate and the inducement of fear.  What came immediately to mind was the film Contact where the Jodie Foster character is told we begin with little steps that is how it has always been done.

The Thundering Silence of a Straight Ally

By Michael Boyajian

The New York Times recently produced an investigative report on how gay cadets were living a lie at West Point denying their sexuality for the sake of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  Straight allies have also been forced to live a similar lie no less devastating.  Case in point, when I was in publishing I hired a new editor.  He was from a good sized New Jersey newspaper and he had good credentials just what we needed to lift our magazine back to its former glory.  It never occurred to me nor did I care that he might be gay.  He had excellent credentials.

March On Film to Debut at Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

By Michael Boyajian

March On the monumental documentary directed by Laura McFerrin will debut at the Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival September 12.  The film features coverage of five families along with 250,000 participants as they march on the nation’s capital in support of marriage equality.

Deeper Concerns Found in Close Reading of Fishkill Audit, Essential Services in Jeopardy

By Michael Boyajian

A closer reading of the New York State Comptroller’s audit of the Town of Fishkill has revealed some deeper concerns than had been initially reported.

Fishkill Dunking the Clowns

By Michael Boyajian

Fishkill Town Supervisor Joan Pagones sat in the dunk the clown seat at a recent Fishkill street fair.  You know the deal hit the bull’s eye and the seat drops the politician into a tub of cold water.  Pagones went into the drink quite a few times that night.

Fishkill Audit Out, Deficit Balloons to $4.9 Million

By Michael Boyajian

The Poughkeepsie Journal reported today that the New York State Comptroller’s official audit of the Town of Fishkill is now out and it has found that the Town has been spending more than it has been taking in for several years which is sure to infuriate Tea Party elements within the town who have been big supporters of Town Supervisor Joan Pagones and that this deficit has ballooned to $4.9 million.

The Conditioning of America

By Michael Boyajian

When I was a kid in the 60s we would all hang around talking scary talk about how the Viet Cong or communists would break you down, exercise mind control on you, or brain wash you until you betrayed your country.  Evidence was in North Korea where American soldiers went AWOL and chose to live forever there.

Voter Blow Back

By Michael Boyajian

The other day I finally realized there was a lot of voter discontent out there when I saw a bumper sticker that read, “Don’t Blame Me I Voted For Hillary.”  Now recently this voter discontent was reinforced in my mind when I went door to door with a rising star in politics, Alyssa Kogon.  Alyssa is running for the State Assembly in Dutchess County against Republican Joel Miller who has held the office for 16 years.