Auld Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne?

Before leaving the meeting (Kris) McGourthy said residents didn't have "a whole lot of faith" in their selectmen. "It's going to happen no matter what. It's just very sad," she said.

- From the Old Colony Memorial, June 20, 2007

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we'll take a cup of kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

The problem that I have is, I have in front of me a set of plans, the set of plans that was put up on the screen earlier. That's all we have. And you are asking us to make written comment by April 9th, on a set of plans that is two dimensional, has no detail, to say something comprehensive and conclusive... we can't do that. We have something that's the equivalent of the Sunday funnies.

- Barbara Frappier, Casino Resort Advisory Committee, at the BIA Hearing in Middleboro
March 25, 2008

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

I don't think article 3 is relevant to this letter.

- Middleboro Selectman Adam Bond when asked by a resident if the Board couldn't reference the vote on Article 3 - that the town didn't want a casino - in it's letter to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Subsequently Mr. Bond and all other Selectmen in attendance - Mr. Perkins, Mr. Rogers and Ms. Brunelle - voted not to disclose the outcome of Article 3 to the DOI in their letter, August 27, 2007.

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne?

Either the board knew this would be the outcome of their actions and proceeded anyway without any discussion or vote of the town, which is an un-democratic and imperial action; or the board had no idea what would happen, and didn't educate itself about the consequences for the town, which is outright incompetence. In either case, whether malfeasance, or misfeasance, the board must be held accountable.

- Robert M. Desrosiers, Former Middleboro Selectman and Town Moderator in a Letter to the Editor, Middleboro Gazette, June 15, 2007

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

In my head I repeat the words I’m going to say, which aren’t written down because I’d never planned on saying them, over and over, just like I’ve done for the last six hours since I scrapped my original testimony. Ok, I’m ready. I’m ready for it to be over. With my shaky hands I pull the mike close, open my mouth to speak –

…and the world’s loudest vacuum revs to life in the balcony.

- Blogger Mary Tufts, on attempting to testify on behalf of CasinoFacts.org after a 16 hour wait at the Statehouse hearings in March, 2007

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne ?

To suggest that a public policy-maker engage in a practice of endorse first, ask questions later, is not only shortsighted, but clearly harmful to the very people he or she represents. This approach is synonymous with the politics of exclusion, as opposed to the politics of inclusion.

- Matthew Albanese, Selectman, West Bridgewater, on Middleboro Selectman Adam Bond's criticsim of State Representative Thomas Calter (D - Kingston)
November 25, 2007

We two have paddled in the stream,

from morning sun till dine^† ;

But seas between us broad have roared

since auld lang syne.

I'm Amelia Bingham. I'm the first commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I'm a Wampanoag. And most of the time we do not know what's going on, what your agreements are with our tribe. We are not sure about anything that has been signed as far as contracts are concerned. But we'd like to know. Because our future is at stake. I'm concerned that perhaps you haven't done enough research into the people that you're dealing with. I think you really need to do a little more investigation there.

- Amelia Bingham to the Middleboro Board of Selectmen, June 2007

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne ?

We didn't sign an agreement with Mr. Marshall, we signed with the tribe.

- Middleboro Selectman Stephen Spataro, after learning of Glenn Marshall's indictment, December 22, 2007

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

Since this fight against the casino started, I've watched as people I'd come to know and respect were publicly labeled liar, racist, terrorist, and worse for believing a casino was wrong for our town and for having the strength of character to stand up and publicly say "I am against this casino and here's why..."

So for all of you who have at one point or another stood up, wrote a letter, or otherwise got involved; thank you. I believe our town is better for it.

- Laura Stevens, Letter to the Editor, Middleboro Gazette,

May 8, 2008

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne ?