On the Rock's Politica

My hope for all of you in this season of great struggle for voting rights, for equality, for the climate and our survival itself; I hope for you to find meaning in your struggle.  We are not living through times where I could say, I hope you find peace.  Peace will be for another generation.  We’re called on to do what’s right.  What’s best for all.  And to find the meaning.  The meaning that feeds why we must strive for a country that draws out the best in us all. Together. 

Love Learning.  Love Life.  And best wishes for your 2022.

Hey, It's the holidays and we here at M the Media Project are uber busy creating new content for 2022 even whilst making it a special Christmas for all of our family and friends.

So it's only fitting this week's episode is shared with our sister podcast, too.

Not only was this the most spirited On The Rocks Politica ever, but we featured our guest Commedienne Stephanie Elliot who announced the start of our latest podcast hosted by her, Cereal for Serial Killers!

On this week’s episode entitled, ‘Bang-Bang’ Scott and Bruce get down to the topic of what happens when people’s political narrative forces them to loose their humanity one bit at a time. 

Starting off with the example of how pop culture is treating the tragedy of Alec Baldwin’s on-set mishap with a firearm and seeking examples from the current events unfolding in Crimea, the two look at how political thought should be conceived in the greater context of other important human phenomenon.  

‘Politics ceases to be useful to us when we politicize events to the point of loosing our humanity.’   -Scott M. Graves

This week we take a close look at Opportunity Zones.

Four years after their launch into the economic development ecosystem, the capital gains tax program signed into law by former President Donald Trump has generated $18.9 billion in investment.  This is a far cry from the initial estimates made in 2017.

Co-hosts Scott M. Graves and Bruce Chester ask questions like where did investment money land?  Did the most economically challenged neighborhoods get the investment they needed? Is the Opportunity Zone program as designed and implemented acting like a bottom-up approach, effecting the people who live and work in economically challenged neighborhoods?

See the reports we cite in this episode

From PBS News Hour

From the Tax Foundation

David Wessel, author of Only the Rich Can Play: How Washington Works in the New Gilded Age” (2021)

We start our episode with a report from our newest regional reporter, former OTRP co-host Scott J. Graves.  Scott will be reporting from all Gardner, MA government meetings including ZBA, Conservation, Economic Development and Planning and City Council.

Scott has been a City Councilor for 16 years, having lost his first election this past November. He is a graduate of Suffolk Law School, where he edited the school law review, his first experience as a journalist.

Scott's latest series for M the Media Project is entitled 'SG, esq.-At Large'.

We discussed the visit on November 29, 2021 by Lt. Governor Karen Polito to announce a total of $4.1MM in state investment in two developments in the city of Gardner.

Find out who wins and who looses in this latest chapter of Gardner's anemic push out of post-industrialization.

This week we take a close look at Opportunity Zones.

Four years after their launch into the economic development ecosystem, the capital gains tax program signed into law by former President Donald Trump has generated $18.9 billion in investment.  This is a far cry from the initial estimates made in 2017.

Co-hosts Scott M. Graves and Bruce Chester ask questions like where did investment money land?  Did the most economically challenged neighborhoods get the investment they needed? Is the Opportunity Zone program as designed and implemented acting like a bottom-up approach, effecting the people who live and work in economically challenged neighborhoods?

See the reports we cite in this episode

From PBS News Hour

From the Tax Foundation

David Wessel, author of Only the Rich Can Play: How Washington Works in the New Gilded Age” (2021)

We start our episode with a report from our newest regional reporter, former OTRP co-host Scott J. Graves.  Scott will be reporting from all Gardner, MA government meetings including ZBA, Conservation, Economic Development and Planning and City Council.

Scott has been a City Councilor for 16 years, having lost his first election this past November. He is a graduate of Suffolk Law School, where he edited the school law review, his first experience as a journalist.

Scott's latest series for M the Media Project is entitled 'SG, esq.-At Large'.

We discussed the visit on November 29, 2021 by Lt. Governor Karen Polito to announce a total of $4.1MM in state investment in two developments in the city of Gardner.

Find out who wins and who looses in this latest chapter of Gardner's anemic push out of post-industrialization.

Scott and Bruce grew up rolling their eyes at the 'older folks' around them complaining about this, that or the other thing.  

'We're not going to do that when we're their age.'

So here we are, co-hosts of the 'On The Rocks Politica Podcast with an episode entitled '...and Another Thing!'  

What is up with people wanting our music and our there talents for free?  Why does the media manipulate people's emotions? Why do some members of the Republican party want a one religion state? 

You get the picture.  A couple of middle-aged dudes on a quest tossed truth while complaining.  

Welcome to episode 51.  Not unlike the Area.

In our episode 'On Apples & Infrastructure’, co-host Bruce Chester brings to the OTRP table the story of our local hero, John Chapman, better known to all as Johnny Appleseed.

A quintessential American story from the antebellum period.

The boys then picked apart the bi-partisan infrastructure bill, passed into law on Monday, November 15 and signed same day by President Joe Biden.

Scott & Bruce discussed what they like, what they don't like and how we might benefit or not depending on how the bill is utilized in the decade ahead.

What early experience influenced the political philosophy of co-hosts Bruce Chester and Scott M. Graves?

Did these two do anything more in college than smoke weed and read Beat poetry? 

Interestingly enough, both men attended state institutions and both matriculated in performing arts programs. Each came out with some beliefs strengthened and many more reverberating through the many years post-graduation, coalescing into the ideas they now share with you, the listeners of On the Rocks POlitica each and every week. 

Listen now to find out more about their college daze.  Plus we congratulate the winners of our local election last week and Scott decompresses from his victorious loss having come in 10th place for city council.

Well folks we all made it to Election Eve.

We decided to call it 'Election-itis 2021' and we bring to you tales from the campaign trial, special 'interviews' from Gardner City Council President Lizzie Kazinskas and the Mega-Mayor himself Mike Nicholson.  Of course, there's so much more.

You'll find serious analysis of local and regional politics sandwiched in between our best effort at local political satire.

We even managed an interview with local social media and civic phenom Paul Demeo and squeezed in the results of the election before signing off for the evening.

And what of the election results?  Not since the presentation of Al Capone's Vaults has anti-climactic endings been so phenomenal.  Our own co-host Scott M. Graves received 776 votes...... and came in last place!

Hanging chads?  Not with this crack team of political hacks.  We hope you enjoy.

In tonight's episode 'The Citizenry' we roasted a threatening letter delivered anonymously to co-host Scott M. Graves during his on-going bid for city councilor at-large in the city of Gardner, MA.  

http://www.smg4gardner.com Learn more regarding Scott M. Graves

Seriously y’all, if you’re going to send threatening anonymous letters to a candidate you definitely get your point across when you type it up in 16 point ‘Angry Ol’ White Guy on Facebook, All-Caps’ font and pepper the tome in misspellings.

We had some great fun at the expense of, ‘The Citizen-ry’ and thank this selfless defender of democracy for pointing out our co-host, as a former jazz musician has a history of short-lived ‘jobes’ in various industries. Who knew. 

Sandwiched in between the tales from a local election we interviewed local candidate for school committee Tim Markey.  Tim is a life-long resident of our city and a long-time educator vying for his first crack at elected office. 

https://www.timmarkey.com. View Tim's campaign website

We all spoke on the importance of door to door canvassing to our democracy, what it means to be a servant of your neighbors and what our education system is getting right and what could be improved.  

We hope you enjoy the laughs and we hope you find take-aways to take to your community’s local elections. Democracy lives or dies in your backyard.