The Hayseeds blog, No. 92 for the week starting December 4, 2004.
November 20, 2004
Hayseeds No. 91
December 4, 2004
Hayseeds No. 92
December 11, 2004
Hayseeds No. 92
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That of course got the cynics going, including our friend Jay Gallagher who in his latest column seems to agree with the governor that such hearings are obstructionist. As we all know, there is no real purpose for public hearings in New York as the parties do everything, and it's unlikely that more public debate going to change the entrenchments of the Republicans or Democrats. Trust me, I've been to enough public hearings to know how it goes: in 2004 I was at a Rocky Drug Law Hearing, the Health Effects of Open Burning, and of course the Snowmobile hearing. Major policy decisions where not made from those hearings.
The guveranator wants to kill people as soon as possible. As some of us remember, he sent a message of neccesity to the Senate, as he felt it was compelling that we be able to execute people as soon as possible. At least the Democrats are giving some pause to the whole issue. I tend to lean to the guverantors position, as I see little value to the state or the individual by keeping human refuse locked in up for a cell forever.
If your really heavy, and not just big and tall like me and Mike (who I've met a few times in passing), you might want to check out his article about Attorney General Spitzer's Obsesity Brochure that teaches you all that you need to know about getting help for overeating. There are a lot of services out there from psychology to gastic bypass, though I disagree with their medicization of obesity. Then again, we consider everything from schizophrenia to depression to people who don't follow social norms to be needing of medical help, so I guess obesity is a logical next step. I don't know about you, but I sure don't want no bureaucracy watching over my body, and trying to help me with my problems.
A real man of the woods, Clarence Petty is interviewed about his very long experience in the Adirondacks that is almost a century long, and the changes he's seen. In his life, he can remember meeting Nelson Rockefeller the kid to seeing the many environmental changes over the years that touched that area.
In the era of tacky mass-made plasterboard, vinyl siding, and so much other crap, there is a growing love to live in a paradise similiar to that of Abe Lincoln. It's largely a phenonom of back-to-woods kids who want to tear up the forest to build their dream house made out of wood, but it makes sense in many ways. For one, log cabians are a lot more durable and aren't so easily destroyed by fire (especially in this time of year with it's elevated house fire risk). I think log cabians probably are a more environmentally friendly and longer lasting style of house, bar the problems you get when the wood starts to rot out and split, letting water in. Then again, all of us who live in concerete buildings know all about that kind of problem (see the buildings at SUNYA or HVCC).
There is a lot to be learned from simple things in our life. The lighting in the kitchen is no exception. My dinning room table is lit by a large chandler, with five 60 watt candle bulbs as popularized in the 1950s. This light is a beast from an earlier era, a hand me down that replaced an even uglier kitchen light that once existed in our house. It is pretty, but such an energy hog. Since compact fluorescents became relatively affordable, we've been replacing light bulbs with these compact fluorescents, leaving the kitchen as the only placed not yet upgraded.
It seems with this kind of fixture, the only upgrade path is to discard this energy consuming light, and replace it with a fluorescent light of some sort. This seems like a reasonable proposition, until you consider the difficulties of finding a nice fixture for the kitchen, that will widely spread out the light, and has ascetic value. I have seen nothing for that kind so far, and we don't really have the money to make that upgrade right now.
When the time comes, and we find a fixture, inevitably we will be left with this old fixture that will either go to storage or to the dump. The new one, being fluorescent-based, will use fluorescent bulbs that will contain mercury, and if they aren't recycled, they are likely to release that mercury into the air upon compacting in a garbage truck or explode buring out back. The big question: is the energy required to produce the new fixture, plus the space the old one will take up in the landfill worth the upgrade? How much pollution does the current one put out, versus replacing it? Certainly a new one might only use 40 watts total, a saving of 87% of the current energy use. As that light is on very often it might make sense.
Why did I bring up this question to the readers of my blog? I think we face these challenges every day with everyday life, construction work, and environmental policy. Few realms of life don't have cost-benefits to them, but we should fully consider the ramifications of our actions, including those ramifications that I would categorize as 'irrational'. Think about where the products you consume are going, be it into our air or into our Pine Bush, and how our lives and the lives of others are effected by our action.
It looks as though one man’s new farm in the Adirondacks might be split into two, thanks to condemnation proceedings that are taking to replace the Route 9N covered bridge with something far more modern. I think the DOT and the APA is over-reacting in this case: can’t they design a more conservative bridge nearby the existing one and not have to condemn so much property? I can understand the public’s interest in good transit, but it must be balanced with that of private landowners. A better project would do far less damage to this one farm.
Jay Town Supervisor Randy Douglas said the bridge construction, set to begin next month, has been a "fiasco" and isn't the best project for his town, but that after years of fighting and $2 million in feasibility studies it's time to build.
"I felt it was reasonable to just push forward, and say, 'Let's get this behind us," said Douglas, who took office about 11 months ago. of the area began worrying about the covered bridge, built in 1857 and one of just 24 left in New York, back in the 1980s. Still carrying cars across the Au Sable River, it was showing signs of structural problems.
Peter Bauer for once was on the right side of the issue:
Meanwhile, as the bridge comes closer to reality, some are still trying to figure out where the project, in their view, went wrong. Many, including Jay Ward and Peter Bauer, executive director of the Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, wish the bridge would stay where it is.
"The most logical decision is one that is not even being considered," Bauer said. "All we have left are a series of bad choices.
Had enough with confusing road signs? Well some are far worst, then the partially hanging up sign at the airport that instead of saying take the right lane, says take the G Lane with the other button-copy letters long gone.
A majority of Americans think that we’d be better off if we replaced US Supreme Court Justices with mere novices, when they got too old to serve in good health. Unfortunately, those Americans are wrong: a judge needs judgement, and it takes a long time to get really good judgement. Some of the oldest judges on the court, like Justice Paul Stevens are the most knowledgeable and liberal. Obviously, we can not afford to have a right wing-supreme court.
It appears that good government group’s hopes for reform have all but been dashed now that the legislature is off the firing line for two years now. Republicans and other weak Assemblymembers like the proposed reforms that would spread out power, but the leadership has expressed little interest in going along. Most agree some debate on reform is necessary, and most support certain reforms, like limiting the number of committee assignments. One could argue that such a reform is not a good idea though: how else can we find enough Assemblymen or Senators that are qualified to sit on certain committees? It’s difficult to find enough Senators to sit on Senate Cities, that understand the ramifications of city law on major cities, and it’s also difficult for the Assembly to find members who have an interest in the Agriculture Committee (despite it’s good food and coffee. ;)
Senator Padavan of the Senate also is opposed to these so-called reforms. He noted that so-called empty-seat voting, where unimportant Assembly votes are automatically recorded with the speaker’s position as soon as a member checks in on he morning. If a member wants, he can either force a slow roll-call vote or vote in the negative by pushing his button on his machine in the Assembly. Senators don’t get empty seat voting, but they can vote by proxy in most cases. I guess you could call voting-by-proxy as empty seat voting, but at least a member has carefully recorded his political position, something that could be overlooked by a careless Assemblyman who failed to make it to vote in the negative for important votes.
One important point that both the TU staff writer missed and Padavan twisted, was the issue of starred legislation in the New York Senate. Any committee chairman or sponsor can star a piece of legislation that they believe needs further consideration or modification before becoming law. Regardless of the star, there are plenty of other ways to obstruct legislation that are much more common. One is ‘holding’ bills in a committee by a vote dominated by the majority party (very common in the Assembly for Republican bills), another is having the sponsor hold the bill himself. On the floor, the Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker have power of the calendar, meaning they can schedule voting on that they don’t like for sometime in the future that will never come.
An area that does need reform in the Capitol is public apathy. There simply aren’t enough New Yorkers represented at various committees. There is no public outrage when Assemblyman Brodsky sees a bill fail at a vote in Corporations, and then announces the bill was taken off the agenda. I’ve seen him do that multiple times, along with others such as Denny Farrell of Ways and Means. That obviously is patently illegal, but good government groups mostly miss that kind of stuff and only look at potential procedural problems. Similarly, there is little public input to the policy process. There was little public attendance to hearing like Snowmobiling in the Adirondacks, Open Burning Health Effects, and Rocky Drug Laws were sparely attended. We need people to attend these hearings, vote, write their legislators, and know how the policy process works. Stalemates and control of the chambers will only start to weaken when the public gets more involved.
A final issue that needs to be considered is hard partisanship in New York State. You’re either a Democrat or a Republican in New York. There is little middle ground. This partisanship extends to the issues: your either making a necessary law to protect the environment or you intruding on people’s private property. Things are way too contentious, and we need more reconciliation after the entire debate is said and done. The people who make up Albany are genuinely good people. Sometimes they are misguided, not unlike many others in world. What we need is positive solutions, and ways to improve the policy process that will actually work and less complaining about its patent unfairness.
It seems that Republicans have returned to the dark ages in the New York State Party. Our friends over at the State Democratic Committee have captured the reactions of many Republicans since the past election:
"The Republican Party in this state is in deep trouble. We've lost our way, and the election returns show it," said Rep. John Sweeney, a former top state GOP official who may seek his party's nomination for governor in 2006. "We face a disaster in 2006.... We used to be a party that stood for something but we're now headed in the direction of a party that doesn't stand for anything anymore...." (NY Post, 11/08/04)
New York Republicans need to distance themselves from Bush and explain why they are or should be the party for New York. They should be clear and determined to fight against Democratic majority across the state, and at least try to keep their NY Senate seats. A US Representive from Long Island that I've never heard of stated:
"The Republican Party is not a viable force in this state. We have no organization statewide. We don't project a coherent message. We're not running with any party philosophy." Rep. Peter King of Long Island (NY Daily News, 11/12/04)
It looks like they are afraid they'll lose too many downstaters to the one proposed in the Catskills. Seems like they are afraid of a little competition. This campaign, lead by Oneida Indians who have their own casinos are missing the important questions: what are the environmental impacts to opening a new casino in the Catskills and what are the social effects of increased complusive gambling. Casino gambling is such a waste.
The first is here, and so it would seem is the Christmas season. Already many of us are enjoying cheesy Christmas music on the radio. Today it's a job interview, then it's pick up my new pickup in Catskill this afternoon. Cheesy pun, but lots of fun. Class in the evening. New fodder comming up soon: fodders on Depression, New Toys, and Logic are coming up soon to a fodder collection near you. And yes, this post is mainly intended to find out if the December archives are working. ;)
For NYC schools over the next 5 years. And that makes what I'm spending on my truck today seem like penny change. How the heck does Mr. Special Master expect New York to get that much money, this fast? It's good to have good quality education, but we have to remember the rest of us New Yorkers.
That number far exceeds other plans for fairly funding New York City Schools, including the one proposed by the Assembly. To make matters worst, don't expect any extra dollars to go upstate: that figure only covers upstate. At least hold-harmless means upstate schools won't be losing funds to downstate, but don't expect poor urban or rural schools to be doing any better with educating or cutting their redicoulously high property taxes.
Obviously at this point it seems that the state has to comply with the court:
The panel gives lawmakers 90 days to comply with the recommendations, once the judge issues his final order. Eaton, with the Alliance for Quality Education, says there should be no reason this time, for any more delays or excuses.
"If they don't act, they're just being irresponsible ," she said.
If Pataki and the legislature do fail to once again meet the court's deadline, they could face contempt of court charges, fines or other penalties.
In other words, that creates a consitutional crisises should the legislature choose not to act. See what I had to say about such a possibility last summer.
Last year, the already narrow Wilmington Notch Pass in the Northern Adirondacks was narrowed a bit more with the addition of a temporary safety rail, reducing the width to about 10 feet in each lane with no breakdown lane. Typical highways are 12 feet, and interstates are usually 14 to 16 feet wide. That means that it's going to be so tight with snowplows out in the winter, that the DOT is sending out a warning car to warn drivers to slow down almost to a stop and get to the far over to the right as possible to allow the 9 1/2 foot wide plows to sneak by.
I'm sicker then a dog, though I got out and did some hiking (I'm between full-time jobs right now) and drive my truck on-road and off-road. That little Ford Ranger 4x4 is a lot of fun, especially now that I've started to master using the clutch. Now if only my face was less swallowen and if I was off antibotics and double doses of Benedryhl, I might actually be able to think and right half clearly. It feels like I'm stoned right now, but only with more pain and confusion. Whatever, I need to post some kind of update to keep my readers around.
As you can probably guess from the title, tonight's theme song is The Weight by The Band. I'm going to put that on a CD, so I can play it while driving around in my pickup truck. Sounds like fun. Already, I've been enjoying Jim Croce and Janis Joplin through it's great sound system with the subwoofer making the bass so clear and passionate sounding. I'm in just such heaven when I'm behind the wheel of that truck.
It looks like that the super-tough police commissoner for the big city of New York, is now likely going to be running homeland security. This is disconcerning, as he has been known in the past for his actions towards protestors and others who are just using their first admendment rights. Will it mean our freedoms will be limited by this man?
I tend to agree with his point that fundamental fairness should allow adults to choose between organizations such as the military and non-military employeers, whether or not they discrimate. Don't like the military's policy towards gays? Then don't join the military. Hubert Humphrey was right: the right to be heard, does not automatically mean the right to be taken seriously
.
He sounds like an interesting creature with a large resume, not so tied up in corporate agribusiness unlike his predecessor. He grew up on a dairy farm in Iowa and worked his way up to the governorship on another midwestern state. His new direction for the USDA should be interesting, though it is likely that he will mostly be following just the President's orders (Bush is very much in control of his staff).
"I've known Mike for a number of years, going back to my own service as a governor," the president said as he introduced Johanns. "I know firsthand his deep commitment to a strong farm economy. He's been a leader on drought relief in Nebraska and throughout the Midwest. He's a strong proponent of alternative energy sources, such as ethanol and biodiesel. He's traveled the world to promote American farm exports."
It looks like Chris Porco was not indicted in the case of killing of his dad and mom, despite the efforts of the Bethelhem Police to paint it that way. I wonder how much effort Clyne's men put into trying to get this indictment, or if he decided to kill the investigation in an effort to protect his son (political pressures come from the weridest places). Remember, Grand Jury hearings are done in secret, and only include evidence from the procecutor and none from the defense (who is bar from the proceedings), so any time an idictment doesn't come it's rather suspecious. Why bother with the cost of a grand jury, except for show or if your sure you have enough evidence to indict?
Several years ago the Thruway authority was replacing some guard rail, and failed to replace all of it, and a driver crashed at the part without guard rail. Now quadraplegic, that driver sued the state for a lot of money, and statutory limits (20% liability) reduced it down, but it looks like the people of NY will still be paying out a lot of money for the mistake of the Thruway Authority. Hopefully, this issue will go to appeal: it is reasonable to make the responsible for it's actions, but $42 million given to an injured individual is extreme particularly in a state with the highest taxes in the nation. Maybe the 20% limit needs to also have a statutory cap of some amount, such as $2 million dollars (which pays for a hell of a lot of medical care and lost wages).
Fortunately, nobody I know has been killed in that terrible war in that far away land, but it seems that we should be remembering David Fischer for what he gave to our country in fighting an unjust war in Iraq. At the end of the day, all I can say is that: all this killing must stop.
I am very concerned with many individuals claiming mental illness to escape reasonable punishment. There have been several articles in the TU on this topic lately. All of these articles are in favor of giving select criminals certain rights and privileges, because somebody outside of the justice system has deemed them insane. Mental illness is a label that is imposed on some person whose beliefs are so contrary to those of society that we find ourselves unable to understand their choices. Studies of schizophrenia and similar mental illness have repeatedly shown different diagnosis for different psychiatrists.
We must punish criminals, and we must aggressively punish people who commit terrorist acts. We should not be allowing people like John Hinkley who shot Reagan 20 years ago to be able to have extended furlows, because he is feeling better. Nobody is arguing that Osma Bin Laden be held in a psychiatric ward for a couple of years then released, so why are we arguing this for people like Jon Romano? Bin Laden and Romano’s statements sound rambling and confused, as they are so contrary to mainstream American politics. Likewise, Romano should not be treated with a different standard then convicted-cop-killer Keshen Everrett, just because his philosophy is different then Everrett. Punish for acts, and not politics.
The US Supreme Court refused to hear arguments in a case that claimed that publishing information on NXIVM to be releasing confidential trade secrets, meaning that the Appelate ruling stands, saying that free speech rights far out way any so called trade secrets. See my previous notes on NXIVM.
Some people refuse to accept the facts on how safe suburban and rural schools are in comparison to urban hell holes, but it seems that some deniers now must face the facts, now that the Education Department has released the data in black and white. See also my new article called Logic in an Era of Terror for my thoughts on science versus feelings in the era of terrorism that we currently live in.
Well since I've already told the story once in a fodder called Emergency Room Experience, I need not repeat myself again, but I can only hope I never have to go back to there again (at least not in the near future). At least now I feel better for now.
Let's see if I can find any news worth considering in the papers today. Hmm....not much much at all.
Well, for now they have a regional landfill that takes their trash (for those boys in big towns like Cobelskill and big businesses like Bassett Hopsital and Baseball Hall of Fame ;), but it seems that the law and the landfill that takes care of it now will disappear in 10 years, leaving them without a place to put the garbage (all applogizes to Alice's Resturant).
The option of shipping more of it out to western New York seems to continue to be a possibility, but that's expensive (adding roughly 23 dollars a ton). But, that added cost might be good in the sense that it would encourage recycling, something that's likely to be eons more advanced in 10 years. Likewise, in 10 years with increasing energy prices, increased tipping fees, better recycling getting batteries and other sorts of mercury out of trash, waste to energy has a lot promise. We might as well burn all that plastic and paper stuff we aren't recycling, and recover some of the energy from it, if we can do it clean enough (and realize that any WtE plant will have to be replaced in 10 years to meet the latest clean air standards).
