We will not vote for any BOA member who accepts GIC. We will not vote for any candidate who supports the OVERRIDE. We will not vote for any SC person running for reelection. We don't respect the games and power plays on our local boards. We don't trust the opinions or policy advocacy of political hacks who want more of our money for "the good of the City" but won't be responsible by paying their own health insurance. They steal our money "for life".

Who are you anonymous crusaders? None of you had the courage to show your faces at the Alderman's meeting the other night...even after the head Bozo MFD's call to action. MFD chickened out too.

You guys would have been the zero man march, the Berlin wall would have been overtaken by, well, nobody. Anonymous Lives matter. What a pack of mewling, whining cowards. The reality is you have nothing really to rally around, just a small group of disgruntled losers.

Clown P: You have the same inflection, pretentiousness, and ignorant contempt as Chris there on that School Clown Committee.

A review for you... I think you'd love this:
THE CLOWNS – A MINOR FELLINI OBSESSION
by Parker Mott • Documentaries, Federico Fellini, Great Directors, Movie Reviews, Surreal

These clowns will make you laugh and cry.
The Clowns is a film meant for Fellini. His films were, in their own right, parades casted through a lively cinematic technique. All his characters were colourful, and put on wide smiles and dewy-eyed gazes. All they were missing were red rubber noses. The year 1970 was when Fellini would reflect on his obsession, not with film, but with clowns. He admired clowns the way Chaplin marvelled at the city lights. Both subjects would turn into a title of their later works.

City Lights was a great film and for some one of the best. To me, The Clowns is an unremarkable Fellini film, where his passion may never cease but it doesn’t exactly pervade us. It tries to dance along the boundaries of documentary and dream, but it is so hard to twist facts with fantasy, as both just run too incongruently to produce the magic. Especially for Fellini, whose films before like Juliet of the Spirits and La Dolce Vita were just so darn good that The Clowns feels like froth fermenting off greater Fellini experiences.

The Clowns had me at its opening, where we see a young boy, assumedly Fellini, glance out his bedroom window at the circus, which bursts of activity, music, and joyful chaos even at the darkest hours. Clowns do their acts, the camera whirls around them trying to keep up with the spontaneity of their performance. The audience remains startlingly quiet, but not out of disappointment but astonishment. The circus was once an extraordinary, breathtaking phenomenon.

We hear the voice of a narrator, assumedly again Fellini, but then the documentary barges in. We recognize Fellini instantly, with his round head, thick eyebrows, and frowning gaze. He has a film crew, who then go from place to place interviewing one clown after the other who yearns for the days the circus act was as stupefying as it once was. Somehow, I didn’t feel Fellini’s passion for these people, as the documentary spends too much time aware it is a documentary. Fellini even plays a director not like himself as a sort of mockery, but such awareness moves against the grain of the story.

The Clowns perhaps needed a more straight approach, which – if you know Fellini – would be the toughest thing for that director to do. He loves exaggeration, strong intimacy, and overwhelming emotions. His films have tremendous movement, not just from the camera but how he delivers strokes of feeling and understanding as if the story actually happened to us. The Clowns’ flaw, I think, is that it remains only a personal project for Fellini and it never pervades us. The film struggles to determine if it’s an art house picture or a fact-based documentary. Either would have worked, but not together.

Great directors need time off from their masterpieces, in attempt to display their obsessions directly to their audience instead of disguising them behind fiction. Fellini’s 81/2 was an autobiographical tale told through the eyes of Guido, played by Marcello Mastroianni. You just know Marcello was Federico based on his nuances and how he perceived women. The Clowns is as autobiographical as a Fellini film can get, which perhaps reduces its impact because, unlike in 81/2, we cannot connect fiction to fact, which has a tendency of producing the best nostalgia.

The Clowns is interesting to watch, however, because a spectacular mind has created it. The film tells us where these obsessions have come from and where they will go. There’s a real power in watching the opening of The Clowns, knowing Fellini would apply that sequence to his much better (and evocatively personal) Amarcord. There’s also a clever moment when Anita Ekberg (from La Dolce Vita) graces the screen with her beauty in search of buying a pet panther. It was good to know she is still as beautiful.

The ending is perfect because it consists of a parade, which is Fellini’s ritual. It’s not only a parade, but one that succeeds a funeral of a clown in attempt to soothe the sorrow and dance and entertain for one last time. This moment is particularly special because we think of every Fellini film beforehand and what makes them so passionate and beautiful as they twirl to a finish.

Somewhere there exists a passion in The Clowns, but it’s not as earned. Nevertheless, my love for Fellini’s films, before and after The Clowns, persists. I saw the film in Toronto and the colour has never looked sharper on a Fellini film, bringing out the lust, joy and flavour of a world driven by laughter and, for some, intense fear. After seeing The Clowns, I do not love or fear them. They are smiling entertainers, who seem to hold deeper feelings within. Here, Fellini does not push them out, but the director has an affection and that’s why he was and still is a master.

Now just to be clear, are you the "we" who represent the 6 or 7 idiots following Myron around, or are you the "we" who represent the invisible army of Myronites, who don't exist?

The "WE" refers to the three members of my family who are registered to vote. My wife, 19 year old son (who will be voting for the first time and graduated from MHS last year) and myself will all be voting against the OVERRIDE. "WE THREE" are my family and none of us were pleased with the mediocre education received in the MPS.

Maybe the kid is stupid because he got your genes.[:-?]

I'd bet anything the Mom and the kid both vote opposite of Dad, no matter what the vote is about, since the voting booth is the only place Dad can't control them.

Your view of family relations and "control" issues screams volumes about you, your relationships and the passive aggressive behavior which you probably experience. My wife is actually the person who has had more interactions with the schools and came to the conclusion first that our son's education was sub par at best. We all discussed the problems so evident in the MPS for years. Just did the best we could with what they offered. My son got out of MHS last year and had a successful 1st year of college. He worked hard and got the help he needed at the University. He did not feel as prepared as some of his peers. We will be voting "No on the Override" as individuals and as a family. We share some of the same reasons of why we are voting No and also have our own individual ones.

I wonder who you are trying to "CONTROL" which isn't working out as you want or who is controlling you?
Your family dynamics sound very different than the way our family interacts.

Unfortunaely, when it comes to the BOA, you have "the parade of the wooden soldiers" with the possible exception of
three members. In addition, they have no backup resource to check out the validty of what is presented to them by the
Mayor and CFO. It is mostly "this is what we need, take our word for it."

Show up tonight and protest the Override. Otherwise it will slide straight through to the ballot and then to your tax bill!

Just thought I'd repost these comments after the latest call to action by the clown patrol:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who are you anonymous crusaders? None of you had the courage to show your faces at the Alderman's meeting the other night...even after the head Bozo MFD's call to action. MFD chickened out too.

You guys would have been the zero man march, the Berlin wall would have been overtaken by, well, nobody. Anonymous Lives matter. What a pack of mewling, whining cowards. The reality is you have nothing really to rally around, just a small group of disgruntled losers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We all know is will just be same sh*t, different day this time around.

Shut up Vuvu

Let Clown Patrol talk:
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
His defense of the true Clown Patrol (the SC and BOA) removes all doubt.

How many Bozo's were at the meeting tonight? How many spoke publicly? Where was the chief bozo, MFD?

I was there and spoke about the need for the Board to take the time to evaluate the justification and need for an override and not to "rubber stamp" every request by the Mayor. Two other people spoke up saying the same thing. Of course there were a number of other parents who spoke about the need to fund additional school positions. Here is the kicker....Ms. Taymore admitted that, if the overrride passes a number of the positions it would fund would not be filled for the coming yeara since the vote will be in November and by then it will be too late to hire someone for the year. Most good teachers will have been hired by then.

This means that the extra money due to the override would not be used in the first year of the override and by law, it can be used for other things in the 2nd and subsequent years. In other words - it can be another big slush fund for the schools. Tell me how this override will improve student outcomes? The administration hasn't answered that question yet - but maybe Clown Patrol can!

Taymore's "want list" is just a ruse. She knew from the outset that the override would not fund any of those positions, because the election is in November. She is playing politics plain and simple. She has to keep Driscoll's "angels" in check by promising her and the LMS evangelist mommies that their precious elementary libraries will be fully resourced, whether or not it actually happens or even should. She has to placate the increasing body of justifiably worried sped parents that more staff is going to take care of The Problem (it won't, and she knows full well that the staff she has in place has not been competent either). She has to make the elected pols feel like they're "meeting the needs" of those who will reelect them and secure those GIC policies for life. She has to give Robbie a bunch of compelling-sounding talking points, regardless of whether they're true or not (and he wouldn't know the difference, nor would he care!). It's all a big shell game, and most of the pols voting for that boondoggle know it, too (there are admittedly some, like GI, PM, MBMM who are assuredly too dumb to know for sure but will always wave the flag and vote for soaking the taxpayers and rubber-stamping the wishes of Mr 26%.)

Combine all that with a ridiculously passive population, a large crop of really gullible young parents, a small but zealously effective charlatan parents hawking the administrative party line, and Melrose has the Perfect Storm about to hit it, complete with baseline increased water/sewer charges and new taxes on top of the outrageous increases already in place. Get out your checkbook and just stay quiet and at the beach, Melrose citizens! You have only yourselves to blame!

I am glad that MM and RB asked some very important questions last night. This extra money will go into a slush fund for what? Was there ever an answer from CT about the money already given to school for textbooks. PM shut that question down pretty fast There are way to many questions to be addressed. They never should have pushed this through for a vote. Also PM your microphone was on while you others were speaking. I will be voting no. I can not support this.

MFD the big bozo finally grew a pair and showed up. Tip of the hat for the effort. A little surprised you wanted to keep it off the ballot altogether...which still makes you a coward...albeit a coward brow beat into showing up and speaking.

Honk, Honk see you in the fall at the ballot box.

Here is the reason why the override should not be on the November ballot. We have a representative government -we elect these officials to evlauate, analyze and use their experience and good judgment on issues that come before them. It is impractical for each citizen to vote on every issue and that is why we elected these Aldermen - to vote in our place.

They had an order before them to vote on Thursday evening, order 2015-157, for a 2.2 million dollar override of Prop 2-1/2 and instead of spending any time in investigating, evaluating the data and information, and discussing this thoroughly and completely with city offcials and members of the public, they just simply took the easy way out.

Did you notice how Monica Medeiros, Don Conn, and Jaclyn Bird noted that such an order should be more thoroughly reviewed and time spent to better understand the rational and justification for such an increase in our taxes. But then they all caved in and said - let the residents have a say in this decision. Hey officals - news flash - we voted you all in to make the tough decisions after careful consideration - not to punt the problem to we voters!

Also, shouldn't those aldermen who are getting GIC health insurance, thanks to Mayor Dolan, be excused from voting since they have a financial interest in not bucking the Mayor's order?

Finally, we learned at the meeting that this extra 2.2 million dollars is only committed to the wish list for the first year - each year after that, the money goes into the general fund and used as the Mayor wants - a big fat slush fund! Ain't life wonderful when you are Mayor Dolan - Mayor for life! It doesn't get any better than this!!!!!

That is very elitist of you to think that our alderman know better than the general community and shouldn't even allow us a vote on something very important to this community. Of course, that is one of the themes of this message board - that anyone who supports Melrose and its schools is stupid and uninformed and has no idea what they were talking about - even those of us that have children in the schools who are having a positive experience, unlike most of the posters on this board who either don't have kids in the schools (like MFD) or have chosen somewhere else for them to go outside of the school system. I for one think that we are all smart enough people in this community that we don't need an intermediary regarding the budget and that we can actually vote for ourselves on this issue. Does this mean I think the override will pass? Actually I don't think it will - this town has a large elderly population that tends have a higher voter turnout and be more financially conservative - so it will be a high bar for the override to pass. But that doesn't mean that I think that vote shouldn't take place or that the Alderman should prevent it for my "own good" because I don't know any better to form the right opinion on what taxes I want to pay and where I want my tax money to go.

MFD, you were a supporter of Mortimer getting GIC - do you really think his receipt of it has anything to do with his support to put the override to a vote? Do you think that little of the BOA too? I guess you must be superior to all them too. I don't know the man or any alderman but they would get a HUGE amount of pressure from the community if they didn't allow the vote. They are not authorizing 2 1/2 million dollar tax hike. They are authorizing a vote for an override. There is a big difference.

Finally, do you truly believe that Dolan would be able to put $2.2 million into the 2015 school budget and then take it out in the 2016 budget without everyone being up in arms? Are you saying that the schools will hire all of those additional teachers and then fire them again the year after? If that is your reason not to put an override on the table, then you are grasping at straws.

Smarten up - Funding - and stop being so gullible. If you watched the BOA meeting last night, Taymore already told us that many of those positions she wants will not be able to be filled because it will be so late in the year to hire them (after the November election). This means that a year will go by before they will use the money - which means it will be in the 2nd year which means they can use the money for anything! This is a con game they are playing with the public. The aldermen know all this and want no part of it - therefore - they punt to the public.

Also, in the override statement there is a request two additonal police officers -we need two additional police officers? Because we are such a high crime city? Even Chief Lyle had a problem justifying this request - but it was thrown in by the Mayor to placate the police - the chief was asked if these additonal officers will impact the police overtime account - he said no! Let that sink in for awhile and come back to me with a new look on this override - it's a con to get more money to float more money around all the special accounts hidden away to divy out to their favorite projects.

Remember that this 2.2 million annual bill is automatically added to each annual tax levy on us. If you vote for this package of override - seek medical help!

Isn't the Police department something like 20 men understaffed? I for one hear that, and would absolutely support two or even more Officers. MFD, I usually agree with you on the issues, but don't give us that "because we are such a high crime city" crap. We aren't Reading, we aren't Winchester, we aren't Lexington, you'd be ignorant to think crime does not happen here.

A reasonable person has no cause to "trust" the citizens of Melrose to do anything right, if their pathetic lack of action the last few years is any indication. Melrose voters have turned out very poorly over many elections. They have not put forward enough good candidates for either the BOA or SC in a number of years. They allow travesties like the YMCA rapist who got away with harming our community's children (an untold number) for 14 years, and then circle around to protect those who looked the other way despite knowing that something very dark was happening. They allow a once quite reputable school system to disintegrate into the dysfunctional disgrace it is today, with nary a showing, except for the fun things or no-brainers. Melrose citizens have not demonstrated much in the way of commitment to high values or informed citizenship for a number of years now. Many young parents are not even registered to vote. No, Melrose is not the community of quality that it once was. It could regain some of its integrity if enough citizens decide that active participation in their governance was an important value again. Perhaps this override will function in a positive way, and bring the community back together instead of further divide it as our inept and bought politicians have now put this matter in our hands. But no, there isn't really much reason to hope that Melrose citizens will step up and look under the rug it has thrown many very deep problems for too long. But then hope is not exactly a thing based in reason, and it's a lot nicer world having hope. It would be even nicer if logic, common sense and reason could produce a more hopeful result in our community, particularly in improving the awful school system. The children deserve that.

This override is bad business. There is more than one rat to smell in all of it. Both the BOA and SC should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of due diligence. Many of us would be completely in favor of helping the schools (and of course the police department), but that is not what this override will do. It's just a bigger wallet for politicians who have no credibility at this point.

Yes, the overall theme of this board again. The citizens are all stupid and it is up to the brilliant clan of MelroseMessages to dictate the right way to think. Why don't you write a letter to the editor with that attitude? I am sure you will get a lot of support.

Couldn't give the proverbial rat's a$$ about getting "support" and am just fine expressing an opinion here, despite the parade of fools polluting the joint. Have at it. Couldn't be bothered with what Melrose calls its "Free Press". Have fun slaying your windmills protecting the "honor" of this dishonorable circus.