The following sections contain links to my writings and videos outside this blog, covering the failed South Korean Coup of 2024 and local political issues in the city of Northampton in Massachusetts, USA.
For newer blog posts (I like to call them “Articles”) on politics, please go to https://cityuntangled.com/category/politics/. I created a new series series titled, “Political Tension” around August 15 of 2025. Two incidents where a Holyoke (MA) City Councilor yelled at or insulted me during public meetings because I expressed dissenting opinions is documented in Part 2 of the series.
The South Korean Coup of 2024
My presentation on the failed self-coup by South Korean president Yoon Seok Yeol (윤석열) on 2024-12-03. Presentation date was 2025-07-09. The YouTube recording is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jsdhue0nps. I apologize for the soft audio of audience members. I had a conference mic but did not have time to set it up. Below is the PDF of the presentation slides that you can download. The slides have links to detailed videos, newspaper articles, and documents.
Northampton, MA, USA: Public Comments and Letters
The following is a small selection of public comments and letters I sent to the Northampton (MA) city council and school committee about the conduct and statements of some elected officials. They are ordered chronologically based on the dates I sent them, but some cover issues that occurred earlier. I often abbreviate the City Council as “CC” and the School Committee as “SC”.
2025-02-20 (To the CC and SC)
This was the first public comment I wrote to the Northampton City Council. The next day on 2/21, I also sent it to the School Committee. I wrote it after the Ward 4 SC member Michael Stein sent me an unsolicited email about my 2/13 School Committee public comment while the meeting was going on using his personal email address. He threw some minor insults, and I was also being snarky. The comment includes the emails. This is rather long at 8 pages, along with 3 pages of emails, but a lot of it is tables.
Two points that especially concerned me were: 1) He is the one who pushed for a $600k midyear appropriation to the schools but stated that he had no specific plans on where to spend the money. His rationale was that the SC will figure out once they get the money, which sounds like asking for a blank check. It’s on page 3 of the document. 2) I observed him interrupting and yelling at other members of the SC, which prompted me to yell, “Stop.” I document the incident on page 4 of the document, with a brief apology for my conduct. I am also including the Excel addendum I sent to Member Stein after he questioned the math of my claim.
2025-03-13 (To the SC)
A written public comment I sent to the School Committee as a whole, suggesting that they review their policy documents. Page 2 has a Facebook comment by a School Committee member claiming that the SC never adopted the ethics code when it did back in 2003.
2025-03-31 (To Two SC Members)
An email I sent to School Committee Members Emily Serafy-Cox for Ward 3 and Michael Stein for Ward 4 asking why they did not, as sponsors of the midyear appropriation order, present a specific budget at the February 13th, 2025 SC meeting or when it went to the City Council on February 20th. They had about a month to prepare. Member Serafy-Cox got back and we met, mostly discussing other ideas. Member Stein never got back.
2025-04-22 (To the CC)
My public letter to the Northampton City Council about the series of conduct and statements by the Ward 3 city councilor Quaverly Rothenberg. I had multiple issues with her conduct and statements, including her sending me an unsolicited email after I pointed out an inaccurate statement and insulting me over Facebook after I pointed out the same type of inaccurate statement. I finally decided to write to the council after she quoted me to bolster her claim. As of August 17th, 2025, I did not receive any response from Councilor Rothenberg about this April email, but I did receive responses to my other comments.
2025-05-08 (To the SC)
This is a public comment I sent to the School Committee, which is rather long at about 8-pages. It has a table of comments for easier navigation. I criticized the SC as a whole, reminding them that fiscal responsibility is in their policy document and that they are primarily policy makers, not administrators. I also have an analysis of the financial difference between Amherst and Northampton and a very rough analysis of how Northampton Public Schools used the $5.2M federal ESSER funding for COVID.
2025-06-18 (To the CC)
A public comment I sent the CC as an Excel file with a combination of writings and and mathematical analysis showing that about 54% of Northampton renter households are cost-burdened.
2025-07-10 (To the CC)
A Northampton resident on Facebook called me “Kiss-as* extraordinaire working in behalf of the mayor’s rule.” Also, another person under the same Facebook post wondered why I am not getting punished for speaking at City Council meetings when I work in government, not understanding that the First Amendment right on free speech applies to all. I wrote a public comment to the City Council to remind people of these rights and also that I have basic dignity. Ward 3 City Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg wrote back that this does not seem to fit in the jurisdiction of the city council. My comment and my subsequent exchanges with her are included.
2025-09-04 (To the CC)
This is is my critical 2-minute public comment at the Northampton City Council meeting about Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg, based on my personal experience. The timestamp is 41:12 and the direct link is https://youtu.be/inXCQYR7uQk?t=2472. I also have a more detailed blog article with transcripts at https://cityuntangled.com/2025/09/05/political-tension-04a-northampton-city-council/.
2025-10-01 (About an SC member)
A 5-page document I shared on my neighborhood listserv about the conduct of Ward 4 School Committee Member Michael Stein with specific examples and my opinions. [The original upload had an unnecessary internal link, so I uploaded an updated copy with that removed.]
2026-02-17 (To the CC and SC)
A 7-page public comment that I sent to both public bodies about my concerns over members speaking on their own outside meetings and censoring different viewpoints.