The Hayseeds blog, No. 275 for the week starting September 21, 2008.
September 7, 2008
Hayseeds No. 274
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Hayseeds No. 275
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Hayseeds No. 275
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Some think it's a possibility that shifting loyalties could determine the Senate's control next year, as some conservative Democrats jump ship and support Skelos over Malcom Smith.
Two Democratic senators, Carl Kruger of Brooklyn and Ruben Diaz Sr. of the Bronx, have refused to commit to supporting a Democrat for majority leader when the Senate convenes next year. A third Democrat, Pedro Espada Jr., who won a fierce primary in the Bronx this week and is all but sure to win election to a Senate seat there, announced on Wednesday that his vote, too, would be up for grabs.
That means that Democrats could attain a majority of Senate seats in November, and yet not necessarily win control of the body. Republicans could maintain their grip by convincing one or more of the three men either to switch parties or to merely back the Republican majority leader, Senator Dean G. Skelos, in a leadership vote.
This is certainly a possibility, but I think it would be too fraught with controversy and other problems. A member who switched sides is ensured to face a tough Democratic primary in two years, and almost would be assuredly defeated in a general election by the real Democrat who won.
An Ithaca Journal Op-Ed by the Ithaca Assemblywomen calling for a circuit-breaker in our state.
NYC voters might get to choose if they want term limits or to let megalomaniac politicians like Brilliant Bloomberg continue on for a third term. Democracy on other hand is a good thing, but I also like the possibility of fresh voices in the political process.
Now that's an idear that Albany should consider.
At least that's what the latest Siena poll is suggesting, tying supporters of a Democratic and Republican controlled Senate in the latest poll. That's down from 43-47 in early August, with voters preferring a Democratic State Senate.
The fight for fairness at the polls for those formally convicted of serious crimes.
This is just a little bit scary, for even those of us without much invested in Wall Street.
It seems like the old and disgraced congressman seems unable to avoid more investigations and probes.
Except for murders as the police are too overstretched to prosecute lower level crimes.
This is so fascinating.
A former Schenectady man involved in the most famous espionage case of the 20th century has for the first time acknowledged giving military information to the Soviet Union, according to Thursday’s New York Times.
Morton Sobell was convicted in 1951 along with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. He was asked by a Times interviewer whether, as an electrical engineer, he passed secrets during World War II, when the United States and Soviet Union were allies fighting against Nazi Germany.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, call it that,” the Times article quoted him as replying. “I never thought of it as that in those terms. ... What I did was simply defensive, an aircraft gun.” He also said he passed on information to the Soviets about the SCR 584 radar, which, according to the Times, “is believed by military experts to have been used against American aircraft in Korea and Vietnam.”
Definately worth a read.
What do both of these jobs entail? NPR takes a look.
More on what's happening in the economy today.
Judith Kaye must retire this year but nobody really seems to know who will replace her. Hopefully, Governor Paterson will choose a solidly progressive pick, and help reform the judiciary in our state.
They say it's the problem of the state racing and wagering board, despite the fact that they run the tracks.
The state is going to allow subsidiary asset borrowing to save this troubled company, and allow it to get by until a better day comes.
Gov. David A. Paterson announced today that the state will allow the embattled New York-based insurance giant A.I.G. to use its subsidiaries’ assets to provide a bridge loan to itself.
There was no credit or funds being extended by New York State; rather, this was a regulatory decision by the state’s insurance department, the governor emphasized at a noontime press conference, on a Monday that has already been a tumultuous day on Wall Street.
“This is not a government bailout,” Governor Paterson said. “No taxpayer dollars are involved.”
A.I.G., which is engaged in a range of insurance and insurance-related activities globally through its subsidiaries, has $1 trillion in assets throughout all its subsidiaries, which are generally financially solvent, state government officials said. A.I.G. has 8,500 employees in New York State, 6,000 of them in New York City alone.
Let's hope this works and doesn't tank the subsidiaries of AIG in the process.
That's how the NY Times sees things over the next few weeks in the markets. At least maybe gas prices will come down a bit more.
Definately want to check this week's odds out.
The NYT looks at this deal.
For those frequently crossing to Canada, this sure can be handy to get.
School growth isn't going up too fast.
The Times Union Business Editors talk to local experts on credit, that largely agree that it will become much harder to borrow money to get a mortgage, set up a business, or engage in other sorts of economic activity, with the continuing Wall Street meltdown.
It didn't sound like the debate was one much of substance.
In their first meeting since the Sept. 9 primary, Republican James Buhrmaster tried to paint Democrat Paul Tonko as a career politician and himself as a small businessman during an hour-long question-and-answer session at Mallozzi’s. Tonko, a 24-year assemblyman, responded by calling Buhrmaster’s attacks divisive and driven by half-truths and empty solutions.
No surprises there.
A look at what our future Congressperson has to say about the mess that Wall Street has gotten itself into.
A preacher was allowed to return to Schenectady Community College after being asked to leave and arrested for preaching on campus.
A federal judge has ruled that officials had no right to remove and arrest a man preaching on Schenectady County Community College’s campus two years ago.
Gregory S. Davis, who has a ministry called Campus Missionaries to America, was preaching the Gospel and handing out religious literature in the quad area of the college on Sept. 8, 2006. Davis was videotaping his activities in case he was accused of wrongdoing and to have a video record to pray for certain people, according to court documents.
A female student complained to school officials and Michael D’Annibale, assistant dean for administration, asked Davis to stop preaching in the quad, which is the landscaped area in front of Gateway, Begley, Stockade and Elston buildings.
Davis refused and he was arrested. He was initially charged with criminal trespass but that charge was dropped and he was later charged with a violation level offense of trespass that was ultimately dismissed nine months after his arrest.
Davis filed a federal lawsuit in October 2006, claiming that the college violated his First Amendment rights. Davis had named SCCC, D’Annibale, Mayor Brian U. Stratton and former police chief Michael Geraci Sr. as parties in the lawsuit. SCCC was later dropped from the action.
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence E. Kahn ruled in Albany last week that Davis’ activities were permitted and “SCCC had no on-point regulation by which Davis could be removed from campus.”
This demonstrates the kind of abuses that are so common on our university campuses these days. If he hadn't the resources to fight for his first admendment rights, he might not have succeeded in his right just to do his occupation, and rightfully be able to influence students.
Impact on Canajoharie's budget not important enough to warrant delay of the construction of a new factory outside of the city.
The Federal Government digs even deeper into it's pocket to try to find ways to save the economy now that the state's attempt to bail out A.I.G. has proved unsuccessful and they face almost certain bankruptcy, should the feds not do this.
What's going on right now in the economy is really scary. While few of us who read this blog here are probably Wall Street investors, I'm sure it will find a way to bite you in the butt. I know the little bit of money I have in oil stocks, has taken a bite after oil prices have dropped.
Wall Street creates a lot of wealth that goes all over. Certainly if that money doesn't keep coming in, it's going to force big cuts in state spending, and even may force the federal government to cut back. Wall Street people also won't be buying as many products that keep Main Street people employeed either.
Robert Kuttner on what needs to be done to reform the Wall Street to stop the melt down.
More on the latest Tonko-Burmonster debate.
Even in New York if you receive public health or welfare benefits, your probably receiving less then just a few years ago.
Lots of tax revenue will be lost by hard economic times.
The log cabin Republicans hosted major Republicans to a conference, which in turn promised them almost nothing.
Nobody is exempt from the problems of Wall Street reminds the Speaker of the State Assembly. He says that his house will continue to work to address the problems across our great state.
Unemployment insurance among other services is believed to be badly needed as the downturn in the economy continues.
It is avaliable for you to read on the Assembly's website.
More calls for reform of the state judiciary from another commission.
It is claimed that the information on the development of new claims systems where leaked when a former company employee quit one job and moved to another.
ALBANY — The Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan is fretting that its most sensitive information — from strategic plans to claims reports — could have fallen into the hands of rival MVP Health Care.
Fearing that its former underwriting director might have taken proprietary business information with him to his new job at MVP in Schenectady, CDPHP is suing him for $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
The Albany insurer is especially worried about troves of proprietary documents that Thomas Ryan allegedly sent to his home e-mail address on July 24 — one day before expressing his desire to resign and nine days after signing a company confidentiality statement.
CDPHP’s lawsuit, recently transferred from state Supreme Court in Saratoga County to U.S. District Court in Albany, states that if Ryan were to use the data at MVP, he “will have destroyed CDPHP’s proprietary advantage with respect to its existing book of business.”
I know that CDPHP was working on big plans when I left working there last fall. Although, I doubt that most of the things they where working at where truly all that valuable, it seems like they are trying to engage in due diligence.
Remember who the Democrat's Vice President pick? Despite Biden being all over the place, it seems that he can't get any attention in the media. Of course, when everybody's fetish over the bitch from Alaska.
The Daily Politics blog looks at the differenting opinions on Spitzer's roll with AIG.
Some common sense advice from history on how people should be reacting to the downturn in the market that we are seeing in the past few days.
That's how things ended the day yesterday.
TIME Magazine looks at those benefiting and losing from the whole mess on Wall Street.
'Modern' all-steel houses that dot the area near the State Office Campus maybe preserved as historic under a proposed preservation recommendation by the state.
It's great, as we need to protecting not just history from centuries ago, but also decades ago, as the 1960s history and buildings are just as endangered, if not more endangered then buildings from decades earlier.
Some good news from the economy yesterday.
And they are having a party in NYC to celebrate it, and well, make some more money.
It looks the Bush administration may take one of the biggest bailouts in American history, by the feds buying up all subprime mortgages.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has sketched out the sweeping outlines of what could be the biggest bailout in United States history. He said Friday that the Treasury would present a plan to Congress over the weekend that would relieve banks of their bad debts and breathe new life into ailing credit markets.
In broad terms, he said the plan could involve hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars so the government can buy up the bad mortgages and other illiquid assets clogging up the financial system. The program, he said, would have to be "big enough to make a real difference" and while he knew it put a lot of taxpayer money at risk, he said this plan was the only option.
That certainly would be a very bold step to take.
That's how the paper describes the economic problems that face our country, and are being felt particularly acutely in the NY metro area.
