The Sassafras Journal centers on the political, economic and community happenings in Amsterdam, NY with occasional excursions into state and national issues. My name is Vince Mautone and I’m the host/author for this blog. I’ve lived in Amsterdam for a long while; how much longer remains to be seen.

Let me also say that I have an agenda. Simply put, it’s to drive some radical changes to the city by way of rethinking our strategies and policies. I see no reason why this city must continue its self-induced decline and its decades of self-loathing.

This blog is an evolution –maybe a mutation — of the Flippin’ Amsterdam blog. For those familiar with the former blog, I think you’ll see why I’m structuring and positioning this blog differently. For those not familiar, I think it matters little, if at all.  So let’s move on to some ground rules for this blog.

Disclosures,Terms,Conditions

1) The views and opinions here are dictated to me and merely offered here as nothing but propaganda by my puppet masters strictly my own.
2) I encourage a good-faith debate of the issues of the day and will accord posters the same respect accorded to me and fellow posters. On the other hand, I have zero patience for posts that lower the debate, engage in personal attacks or cross the line as if written by the online equivalent of a troll or worse. I will usually give a warning and then ban posters who fail to follow the guidelines.
3) All content on this blog is copyrighted. You can read the full copyright here. I’m persnickety about my copyrights so please read the notice if any doubts.
4) I encourage and support fair use of content on this blog.
5) I encourage publication of posts on this blog subject to the following terms:
a) Any posts published in print form , excluding fair use or with my prior written consent, are subject to a $2500 publication fee. Upon publication, publishers will receive an invoice for the full amount payable upon receipt. Failure to pay publication fees will immediately subject publishers to collections and legal action.
b) Any posts published online, excluding fair use or with my prior written consent,  are subject to a $2500 publication fee. Upon publication, publishers will receive an invoice for the full amount payable upon receipt. Failure to pay publication fees will immediately subject publishers to collections and legal actions and also subject publishers to actions pursuant to DMCA including but not limited to  filing take-down notice filings with hosting  provider and domain registrar.
6) I will respect anonymity of posters subject to the rules above. I will not allow ‘outing’ of anonymous posters on this blog.  Importantly, I will not accord anonymity to those who attempt to out or who have outed others; you cannot have it both ways here.
7) I will accept advertising on this blog subject to the pricing and guidelines on the Advertising page.
8 ) If you find my rules or policies unpalatable, please post elsewhere or GYOFB.
9) I will donate 10% of revenues, assuming there any, above my direct costs to not-for-profits serving or residing in the city of Amsterdam.

All content on this site is protected by US Copyright Law. Please see Copyright Notice page.

Copyright 2009,2010. The Sassafras Journal.