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Winston Flowers

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However, as a Chinese-American, I do feel strongly disserved by the executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association, Lydia Lowe, who is quoted in the Bay State Banner as saying, “I think progressive whites don’t care about what people of color want or who they see as their leaders.”

This is a disgraceful show of divisive 70s-style racial politics that we simply don’t need at this moment in history. Progressive (and not-so-progressive) whites — indeed people of all races — have shown that they do care about other people, of other races. I fundamentally and profoundly disagree with the sentiment that progressive whites are selling out their non-white brethren. If anything, history has repeatedly shown us that progressive whites have been essential to the advancement of so many issues of importance to minorities, whether civil rights, affirmative action, or immigration reform.

Like a certain black pastor who recently received nationwide notoriety, Lydia Lowe’s years of fighting for the interests of Chinatown and the Chinese-American community may have, at the same time, given her a sadly frozen view of race relations. Diane Wilkerson’s own preferred candidate for President chastised his former pastor: “The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made… But what we know — what we have seen – is that America can change.”

The idea that whites in Jamaica Plain are selling out their non-white neighbors because of race is reprehensible and disgusting. Lydia Lowe and her organization may win a tactical victory if her candidate returns to the Senate. But by playing the race card — against a woman who’s mixed white, Latina, and Chinese, no less — she’ll be hurting the long-term interests of her own constituency, pushing away the very people who have been a cornerstone of political success any time minorities have tried to attain success beyond our own boundaries.

Yup, she’s the voice of WBUR’s underwriters. There’s no other way to pronounce “Landry and Arcari” except hers.

So, we’re canceling our daily subscription but keeping the Sunday paper (for now). As another Facebook friend who did the same thing put it, “I did the wimpy thing and went down to Sunday only.” Top reasons:

1. While it’s really great to feel like part of the local community by knowing what’s going on, etc., I probably spend 15 minutes per day “learning” things that really have no value to me (MP’s comment about social capital acknowledged but not, at the end of the day, enough to overcome my general feeling that I’m wasting time).
2. It really does irk me that some guy is driving around the neighborhood at 10 MPH delivering these things. And while maybe that guy will eventually lose a job if enough of us keep unsubscribing (as we seem to be), it’s not like I’m not encouraging new (and probably better-paying) jobs by doing more productive things with my time and money saved, including getting my news from other sources. (Not to mention the number of my plants this guy has beheaded over the years).
3. Plastic. Lots and lots of Boston Globe plastic.
4. Consumerism. Reading more ads — including the Globe’s own articles and product reviews — is not the way I want to spend my time, nor my money, nor the way I’d like to support local media.

On a more positive note, we continue to support WBUR as members, and I hope that as more of us defect from newspapers that public media will benefit. Why? Because I will donate money to WBUR; I won’t to the Globe. Sorry, that’s just the difference between a nonprofit and a for-profit. I’ll be getting my comics from the Houston Chronicle’s Roll-Your-Own (the only important one it lacks is Arlo & Janis).

btw I don’t do morning coffee. I listen to the news until something makes me so angry that I jolt myself out of bed.

That’s yet another reason to cancel our subscription to the Globe: the horrible environmental impact of the delivery guys driving around town. Add that to the amount of time I waste every morning reading the paper (which is the same stuff I’d be reading online, plus all the other crap I really needn’t be reading, like the op-eds), not to mention the actual cost of subscribing.

There’s only one and a half reasons to keep subscribing:

One: I can’t think of any other way to support many of the comic strips I love so much, especially the less popular ones like Arlo & Janis.

Half: I really hate contributing to the continuing decline of the daily newspaper, even if the Globe continues to waste too much of its resources on unnecessary coverage. (The nation and world will march on if the Globe drops its national and international desks).

Suggestions???

I’m noticed some pretty disturbing things:

1. The bus driver has been on the phone for a good portion of the drive.
2. Greyhound / Peter Pan doesn’t post a “How’s my driving?” phone number inside the cabin.
3. Even if they did, I’d be uncomfortable making that call in earshot of the driver. If I had the temerity to do that, I’d just tell the driver to his face.

Solution? Well the bus operators themselves ought to provide an SMS number for us to silently report bad driver behavior for immediate followup. But I don’t trust voluntary participation. This is one realm where the FTA should step in.

(BoltBus runs fewer trips than Greyhound — I needed something around 8pm and BoltBus only runs until 5pm. And once again I needed to be Midtown, West Side).

Yup, a $3 “convenience fee” — for ME printing out THEIR ticket and avoiding THEIR line and horrible service. Nice bait-and-switch. Let’s see you do that trick again NEXT TIME I DON’T TAKE GREYHOUND.

My last trip to NYC put me at the exact departure point for LimoLiner service to Boston, the NYC Hilton at 53rd and 6th, so I decided to give it a spin. I found out that good, courteous service is still alive somewhere in the transportation sector.

LimoLiner emulates air travel back when air travel was something to look forward to. The interior is laid out like a plane, with half the number of seats as a normal Greyhound and a large service area in the middle like on a 737. Seats are laid out in two rows, one with double and one with single seats. They are large and presumably comfy, though smaller folks like myself often find larger seats misproportioned for our shapes. The comfort of the seat itself is high, though — nothing like the 1″ thin “cushions” that I’ve noticed recently on many, many flights.

The main feature of LimoLiner is the dedicated attendant, who brings drinks, a light meal, and anything else you need. I’m not one who normally likes having a servant do stuff for me, but the particular individual on this trip was so graceful that I didn’t feel quite so embarrassed as I usually do handing him my trash. Certainly the free drinks were a nice touch; I was so used to the usual trip that I ran over to a hot dog stand to get a Coke before getting on board, only to find that it was totally unnecessary.

For business travelers the two onboard wireless routers might very well be decisive: service was decent through most of the journey, though after a while I gave up on work and started watching the movie and a movie I had on my laptop. Probably any real road warrior would already have the same EV-DO access that the bus taps into, but for those who don’t spring for that kind of service (I’m sitting on the fence for now), it might be worth the price of admission.

On the negative side, the overhead lights on my entire row of seats were broken. Also, as on some planes, the electrical outlets are car adapter types, not the two-prong plug you’ll find on Amtrak (both regional and Acela). (The 4.5 hour trip is probably just within your laptop’s battery life, though).

LimoLiner is priced to match Amtrak almost exactly: $89 each way. Compare Greyhound at $20 to $30 (depending on how you buy the ticket) and Fung Wah or Lucky Star at $15. With TSA the way it is, and poor transit linking to La Guardia, I no longer consider airline shuttles viable unless I’m heading out to Long Island (in which case, actually, I’d rather drive and have a car. One day I will test taking the bus to NYC and picking up a Zipcar for the duration). The dropoff at the Back Bay Sheraton worked fine for me — I took the 1 bus (about 3 blocks away — only a tad farther than the subway from the horribly laid-out South Station bus terminal) home rather than the Red Line — but being out of the main hub might be an inconvenience for those heading somewhere off the Green Line.

All else being equal, I would probably opt for Amtrak next time myself, as a bus is still a bus, no matter how well appointed, and I got off with the same tired feeling with which I debark the Fung Wah, except $74 poorer. However, anyone who values service will probably find their money well-spent, as I suspect did the older lady in front of me who needed help with her luggage. LimoLiner is, I believe, truly luxury for those who seek it, but IMHO, a gilded cabbage is still a cabbage.