And all the Munchkins did rejoice

She's not only merely gone, she's really most sincerely gone

Today was the last Board of Supervisors meeting for Bonnie Neely, who was kicked to the curb by Fourth District voters after 24 loooooong years in office.

There were water works o’ plenty in the board chamber this morning, some of it sincere, as political types bade farewell to one of the most polaraizing figures in Humboldt County history.

It was also the last meeting for the Fifth District’s Jill Duffy, who stepped aside after two terms.

To her, we say goodbye.

To the other, good God it’s about time.

The revolution will not be live-blogged–with update!

Ayers was right about one thing: Regime change really does begin at home. (Crap photo by Kevin Hoover for the Arcata Eye.)

By now we’ve all seen the photo: Mark Lovelace googly-eyeing Bill Ayers, former leader of the Weather Underground, who could probably use a new friend after getting snubbed right and left lately.

Emphasis on left.

In fact, even as photographic evidence of the Lovelace love-fest was surfacing, Ayers was getting publicly dissed again–this time following his request that the University of Illinois, from which he recently retired, grant him emeritus status.

Okay. Not a big deal, really. It’s one of those ceremonial things, and it’s highly unusual that any such request would be denied.

Yet denied he was, and by a Kennedy at that.

But why? Was it the dozens of bombings Ayers’ group took credit for? The declaration of war against the United States? The three men killed in a botched bank robbery?

Nope. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Christopher Kennedy explained that he intended to “vote against conferring the honorific title of our university to a man whose body of work includes a book dedicated in part to the man who murdered my father.”

D’oh and double d’oh!! It was that whole Sirhan Sirhan business–the stable boy, in the hotel kitchen, with the revolver. And somehow Ayers didn’t happen to notice that the trustee committee tasked with making decisions about honorific titles is chaired by the dead man’s son?

We might have seen that one coming–although admittedly Bobby Kennedy had like a hundred kids, and maybe Ayers had a hard time sorting out who, exactly, begat whom. It happens.

Regardless, Chris Kennedy was asked in a subsequent interview if he thought the passage of time had softened Ayers’ views.

There’s no evidence in any of his interviews or conversations that he regrets any of those actions — that’s a better question for him. He asked for this privilege. He’s not going to get it from me or that board.

Indeed, in a 2000 interview with the New York Times, Ayers was quoted as saying, “I don’t regret setting bombs” and “I feel we didn’t do enough,” and, when asked if he would “do it all again” as saying “I don’t want to dscount the possibility.”

Fortunately, though, one of our own elected officials has no qualms about embracing a man who was once proud to call himself a terrorist.

It almost looks like Marky’s showing a little wood.

Emphasis on little.

Fascinating update:

Someone professing to be Arcata Eye editor Kevin Hoover additionally professes to be responsible for this photo, and wants credit. When we receive random photos in the inbox, we don’t ask a lot of questions. But credit now where credit is due. We just hope he was able to scrape the splooge off his lens.