The Hayseeds blog, No. 258 for the week starting May 25, 2008.
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“Overwhelming support in the nation's least populated counties was key to Republican victories in the last two presidential elections. But a new bipartisan survey indicates rural voters are not so reliably Republican in 2008.”
“Afghan Gov. Arsala Jamal is in a bind. He wants to build a gate between two walled compounds that house a girls' school in Khost, Afghanistan. That way, the girls won't need to walk outside and risk attack in this volatile province southeast of Kabul. ”
“The State Assembly will halt action on all legislation that relied on the financial analyses of an actuary who was being paid by labor unions, and the bills will undergo new reviews, the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, said on Friday. The move, which will affect scores of pending bills, came a day after The New York Times reported that the Legislature had been using the actuary, Jonathan Schwartz, to analyze the financial impact of pension benefit bills while he was being paid by labor unions.”
The Journal News is reporting that many town GOP committees are choosing not to endorse him in his re-election bid for State Assembly.
Republicans in Dutchess County this week did not back Assemblyman Greg Ball in his bid for a second term, splitting their votes at the county convention between the incumbent and his GOP challenger, former Brewster Mayor John Degnan.
...Though committee endorsements are largely ceremonial, the decision Thursday night by the Pawling Republicans was the second in almost 10 days in which a local GOP committee didn't support Ball. The Southeast Republicans last week voted unanimously to back Degnan.
...Degnan disputed Ball's characterization of him, saying anyone who disagrees with Ball is described "either as corrupt, (a good) old boy or an insider." He said he "certainly would have liked to garner the endorsement" of the Pawling committee.
I have to admit I like Greg Ball for the work he does in the Assembly. He may be of a different party and have different ideas on the direction our state should be going in, but he is passionate about what he believes in and is not afraid to take on entrenched powers.
He has no real power, but he's not afraid to cast a less then shining light on the legislature, and get booed for doing it. If we only had more people like him—of both parties—I believe our state could be more of a force of good rather then of bureaucratic weight and established traditions.
Read Ball fails to get Pawling GOP backing in The Journal News.
From Newsday:
Taxes, like death, may indeed be certain. But that doesn't make precise predictions any easier.
Homeowners in the Longwood School District discovered this last year, when their taxes took an unexpected jump. The problem for Longwood taxpayers, as for most taxpayers in Brookhaven Town, was that falling property values prompted town officials to boost tax rates more than expected, in order to provide schools with steady revenues.
This year, Longwood authorities want to avoid surprises. In a newsletter mailed recently to 31,000 residents, they warn that tax rates once again could be affected by the slump in real estate and other factors beyond their control.
"With the housing crisis the way it is, and so many people grieving the assessments on their tax bills, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to be concerned about this," said Dan Tomaszewski, the school board president.
School districts need to make the tough choices when their revenue falls, and increasing taxes shouldn't be the only choice. They have to be smart, and looking to renegotiate contracts, laying off employees, and looking for other ways to reduce costs such as stretching out bond payments for capital projects.
People simply can't afford unexpected tax hikes, just because revenue is falling our state. Schools must learn to live within their means.
Read Taxes tough to pin down in Newsday.
“The auto industry’s longest strike in more than 40 years, a walkout at a parts supplier that disrupted production at 32 General Motors plants, will end within days if the picketing workers ratify a tentative agreement reached late Friday with their employer, American Axle and Manufacturing.”
The New York Sun notes that Paterson, despite being governor, qualifies for and receives the benefits of rent control in New York City:
NEW YORK — Gov. David A. Paterson, who with his wife, Michelle, makes about $270,000 a year, has a rent-stabilized apartment in Manhattan, paying less than half the market rate for housing in his Harlem apartment complex...
...“The governor’s family’s annual income and the rent charged on their Harlem apartment do not meet any thresholds that would preclude them from living there under New York City’s rent regulations,” Cockfield said. “The family has lived in the apartment since 1994 after completing a six-year wait.”
According to their tax returns, Paterson and his wife made about $270,000 last year. They also own a home upstate and have access to the governor’s mansion in Albany.
That is pretty obnoxious that we are subsidizing the living conditions of the governor of New York, beyond the normal benefit of the governor's mansion. This does suggest that maybe there should be a discussion of the rent control limits.
Read Rent freeze benefits governor in the Buffalo News.
From the New York Times:
A former New York State Police inspector who once headed the governor’s personal security detail committed suicide at his home in Orange County on Thursday, a family friend confirmed on Friday. The inspector, Gary A. Berwick, 48, retired from the State Police last month, shortly after the resignation of the acting State Police superintendent, Preston L. Felton.
Several friends and former colleagues of Mr. Berwick said they were unaware he had been having any personal problems. But a former State Police official who was close to Mr. Berwick said he had been scheduled for an interview with the agency’s internal affairs bureau.
The former official, who requested anonymity out of respect for Mr. Berwick’s family, said Mr. Berwick also expected to be interviewed by investigators for the state attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo.
This is tragic but still very interesting. You have to wonder what really happened and we may never know if this person took secrets to his grave.
Read Former State Police Official, a Guard to Governors, Commits Suicide in the New York Times.
“The city of Syracuse is one step closer to preventing property owners from hiding behind anonymous limited liability companies. The state Assembly passed a bill last week that would require limited liability companies, or LLCs, to disclose the names and addresses of their members, as well as actual street addresses for company offices. ”
From the New York Times:
While much of the Congressional political focus has been on the declining fortunes and numbers of House Republicans, House Democrats have their own problem: They are winning too many elections.
By prevailing in conservative districts where they ordinarily would not have a chance, Democrats are widening the ideological divide in their own ranks and complicating their ability to find internal consensus. It is a nice problem to have, but it is one that can bedevil party leaders. As their numbers expand, they have to juggle the competing interests of Travis Childers, the newly elected pro-gun, anti-abortion, anti-tax representative from northern Mississippi and someone like, say, Nancy Pelosi, a pro-gun control, liberal abortion-rights advocate from San Francisco who sees government as a solution.
Ms. Pelosi, who as speaker will have the job of managing these increasingly divergent philosophies, said it was to the advantage of the party and the nation to mesh such differing views.
“We welcome the diversity of opinion that exists in our country,” she said, “and we want our solutions to America’s problems to reflect that diversity.”
Read Gaining Seats, Democrats Find Their House Ideologically Divided in the New York Times.
“I couldn’t help but notice that there are no solar panels on Paul Tonko’s house. Since Tonko is former head of NYSERDA, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and an expert on energy, including alternate energy, I thought I might find solar panels or other evidence of alternate energy use at Tonko’s house, but as you can see from the photo above, I was wrong.”
“What demographers call a natural decrease has been occurring for years in tiny rural towns and in some retirement meccas in the South. But the phenomenon is relatively new in metropolitan areas in the Northeast, the Rust Belt of the Middle West and Appalachia. ”
“Harry Reid is not an optimistic man, but even he predicts big gains for Democrats in 2008. Even voters in the reddest of red states want to punish Republicans.”
“In the more than six years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, more than 250 New Yorkers have sought to commemorate the tragedy by putting a reference to it on their license plates, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. But DMV says 9/11 (or lookalikes such as 9II) is too sensitive a subject for vanity plates. The same goes for references like WTC.”
The Times Union looks at big pension earners, including many who left because of concerns about corruption or other bad behaviors.
The list of 899 pensioners receiving at least $100,000 from DiNapoli's accounts is top-heavy with former cops from Nassau and Suffolk counties, the Power Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Many of the police officers retired before their 50th birthday after piling up overtime pay that amplifies the top three earning years that drive a formula used to calculate an employee's final pension.
It also includes people who were dismissed from their jobs for dishonorable behavior, including at least three people who were found guilty of crimes committed in their public posts and another person booted from his job because of improprieties.
Of course those people have a constitutional right to their pensions. They worked and put in a lot of money in the pension program, and they are now just getting it back. The rules are the rules, and if you contribute a lot to the state pension system as a high earner, you get a lot back.
Even those convicted of a crime, put money in the system, and have a constitutional right to get it back. People need to know on good faith, that if they choose less take home pay today, that they will get more back in the future.
Read Pension creates 6-figure winners in the Times Union.
That's what John de Rosier is pointing out in today's Times Union with Iraq, gas prices, food prices, inflation, and all the other problems that a long war brings to country.
It's sad but true. At least it's the Republicans taking the heat for this war and not the Democats—yet.
More on John de Rosier Editorial Cartoon Blog.
“New York has thrown up some towering figures in recent years: a once-invincible presidential candidate, a billionaire mayor considered White House material and a hard-charging governor who pledged to clean up Albany.”
“Volkswagen says it will be the first to market with diesels clean enough to pass muster in every state. Jetta TDI sedans and wagons are due to arrive in August.”
“Three dozen Assembly members joined the Working Families Party and others to call for a “circuit breaker” which would trigger when property taxes exceed a level viewed as unaffordable based on a person’s income. To pay for the cap on real estate taxes on most New Yorkers, people with incomes more than $500,000 ”
“A common refrain on this site is that we need some new people involved in Albany city, county and state politics. Why? Because most of the current ones do nothing but work at self enrichment and preservation. Not all, but safe to say, most. So when someone new comes along the Albany Political Preservation Society take a moment from their selfish ways and focuses their attention on tearing down the new person and letting us all know how dangerous that person will be if they are allowed into an elected office.”
“Just when you think you've seen it all, Albany offers something new. I thought I'd seen a lot in my twenty-plus years lobbying at the state Capitol, but last week lawmakers offered up a new example of brazen indifference toward ethics, kowtowing to special interests, and the misuse of your tax dollars. ”
“ Income inequality is the elephant in the room of American democracy. Senator Barack Obama has talked about it, noting that "when a CEO is making more in 10 minutes than an ordinary worker's making in an entire year…something is wrong, something has to change." Senator Clinton has also remarked that "it is wrong that somebody who makes $50 million a year on Wall Street pays a lower tax rate than somebody who makes $50,000 per year." But the next President will need a lot of help from us, the citizens, if the alarming levels of income inequality in America are to be adjusted. ”
“VandeHei says the GOP is in the worst shape with voters that the party has seen in more than 30 years. The editor spent time recently with Republican governors, looking to preview their strategy for the presidential campaign. "It's clear they feel that the one ace in the hole that they still hold is national security and fighting terrorism," VandeHei says. ”
“The crack in the facade of the century-old apartment building looked ominous. Nearly an inch wide and jagged, it ran through the basement and up the front wall, causing the building to list precariously to the right.”
“As Barack Obama marches closer to the Democratic presidential nomination, today's primaries in Kentucky and Oregon illustrate why one of the key battlegrounds in the general election will be in rural America.”
“The lawmaker behind the latest effort in Albany to sweeten public employee pensions is a 59-year-old of Brooklyn who collects toy trains, writes restaurant reviews, and aspires to run for Congress. ”
“The state Public Service Commission has refused to set a hearing on New York Regional Interconnect's $2.1 billion proposed power line until the developer submits additional information. It is the second time the developer's project application has been deemed deficient by the state agency, which must review the plan to build a 190-mile line to carry power from Marcy, near Utica, to Orange County. NYRI filed its first proposal with the PSC in May 2006. A revised plan was filed in late February, including provisions for alternative routes. ”
“Today across the state, residents will vote on their school district budgets -- an exercise decreed by a state Legislature that would never dream of submitting its own budget to public referendum. In some local districts, ballots will include school board candidates or propositions for purchases of school buses.”
“Earlier this morning Governor Paterson experienced migraine like symptoms. He asked to be brought to The Mount Sinai Medical Center for an evaluation. He was evaluated and all preliminary tests were normal. He is now resting comfortably and will undergo further tests during the course of the day.”
Apparently after years of delay the project to demolish the old highschool and open up the river to mixed development has started.
Crews started demolishing the former Rensselaer High School on Monday to clear room for a $230 million to $280 million mixed-use development that is viewed as the means to rejuvenate this small Hudson River city. "This is the start of the revitalization of Rensselaer," Mayor Dan Dwyer said.
Demolition will be completed this fall followed by the pouring of the first foundations for deLaet's Landing. The name of the project comes from the historic name for the site from 1609 to 1620 when it was known as deLaet's Burg.
Plans by U.W. Marx Properties Inc. of Troy for the project call for a first phase of 200 residential units, 360 parking spaces and 90,000 square feet of retail space on 24 acres along the river. The entire project calls for 250,000 square feet of office space, 165,000 square feet of retail space, 236,000 square feet for a hotel and 630,000 square feet of residences, including town homes and condominiums with river view.
It's great to see people wanting to be down by the river and it coming back to life. That said, you wish that people could somehow find more adaptive reuse of existing structures rather then demolishing old ones.
I guess at least they aren't building on a green field. Sigh.
Read Making room for the new in Rensselaer in the Times Union.
It will come out on Tuesday, June 3rd and has many proposals that will probably not go anywhere but a great ideas.
A proposed cap on local property tax hikes will be announced June 3, just 20 days before the end of the legislative session, according to the leader of a state commission looking at ways to ease the burden on taxpayers.
Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, chairman of the Commission on Property Tax Relief, said Monday the report won't come out on Thursday as planned because of scheduling problems with his commission and Gov. David Paterson, the Memorial Day holiday and concerns about the state budget. The report, Suozzi revealed, is likely to include three areas of recommendations—a cap on property tax increases, a "circuit breaker" that results in additional savings for taxpayers based on their income levels and changes in state mandates and laws to ease the burdens on local governments.
The cap concept is strongly opposed by the state teachers union, which feels that school district voters should decide the size of budgets.
It will never go anywhere as the unions hate the idea of having to live within limitations on taxes. Some Assemblymembersin more Upstate and suburban areas support it, but not the leadership. Moreover, the State Senate is opposed to the entire program as they don't see it doing enough to cap taxes.
Suozzi's update came on the same day three dozen Assembly members joined the Working Families Party and others to call for a circuit-breaker that would kick in when property taxes exceed a certain percentage of a person's income.
For instance, people with gross adjusted household incomes of $25,000 to $100,000 would get a rebate for property taxes they pay above 6 percent of their income.
To pay for the cap on real estate taxes, people with annual incomes of more than $500,000 would pay more in income taxes to raise $6.5 billion a year.
That is $2.9 billion more than the tax relief program would cost.
But Dan Cantor, executive director of the Working Families Party; Frank Mauro, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute; and Ron Deutsch, executive director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, said the money is needed to pay for programs, including education aid, Medicaid and revenue sharing with municipalities.
Which is too bad that this will not become reality, because it would help out a lot of New Yorkers. Asking somebody making $40,000 a year to pay more then $2,4000 a year in property taxes is absurd—regardless how much land they own.
Read Plan would cap property tax hikes in the Times Union.
“The Arizona Republican with the maverick reputation finds himself tied to the lobbying industry he once scorned. He's also short on the big private campaign contributions he used to denigrate and is seeking help from the Federal Election Commission, which he has called despicable.”
“The underlying problem is the entire system of costs shared among multiple layers of government. Each program spends substantial money for each level of government to report to or oversee some other level of government. Only when this entire system is disassembled will the beleaguered taxpayer have a chance.”
“Inflation at the wholesale level slowed in April after a huge increase in March although prices for a number of items from prescription drugs to pasta shot upward.”
“As primary voters go to the polls in Kentucky on Tuesday and the last ballots are received in Oregon’s mail-in contest, Senator Barack Obama is poised to reach a milestone in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, by capturing a majority of pledged delegates. But he said he would not declare victory over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton or suggest that the race was over until the final three contests are finished on June 3.”
“Gov. David Paterson, who is legally blind, has been diagnosed with acute glaucoma in his left eye, which was evidently the source of the migraine-like pain that sent him to the hospital this afternoon. ”
“There was a new face in Council Speaker Christine Quinn's entourage this morning at the Crain's breakfast this morning, one that is no doubt familiar to close observers of Albany politics: John Longo. Longo Longo, who has been working for the Assembly Democrats since 1975 and is currently the political mastermind at DACC, which has grown the majority to an historic 106 seats (it was 108, but there are two vacanies in Democrat-controlled seats, due to the departures of Darrel Aubertine (to the Senate) and Diane Gordon (found guilty on a felony bribery charge)), confirmed that he has left the Capitol for City Hall. ”
“Even as the city is trying cut the budgets of the district attorneys, it's "made a couple of firms rich" defending its conduct in the fatal Deutsche Bank fire, Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said yesterday. "We're forced to spend a lot of money to deal with these private firms that are experts in running up bills," the DA said after testifying at a City Council budget hearing. He estimated the city has paid about $1.5 million so far to Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, while the state Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has added $1 million to the coffers of Dechert LLP. ”
“Gov. David Paterson was diagnosed with acute glaucoma in one eye after going to the hospital with severe migraine-like symtpoms.”
“Doctors said Tuesday that tests show Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. A brain specialist at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, where the 76-year-old Kennedy has been resting since a seizure over the weekend, said the senator has a tumor known as a glioma in his left parietal lobe.”
“Oil futures were close to a record $130 a barrel on Tuesday after OPEC's president said his organization would not increase output until the end of summer. Prices spiked to a new trading high Tuesday, sweeping toward $130 a barrel as supply concerns intensified. Gasoline, meanwhile, reached an average of $3.80 at the pump for the first time. The June contract for light, sweet crude traded as high as $129.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling back to $129.43, up $2.38. The imminent expiration of that contract created additional volatility in the market, and raised the very real possibility that crude could hit $130 before the end of the day, when the contract was ending.”
From the Watertown Times...
The Working Families Party is calling for New York to return to a progressive taxation system.
At a Monday press conference in Albany, party leaders, tax advocates and a bipartisan group of almost three dozen members of the Assembly outlined a two-part strategy to ease the state's increasingly heavy local property tax burden, while simultaneously maintaining the revenue stream supported by these taxes.
Working Families wants to see a property tax "circuit breaker" that would cap the amount of taxes paid as a percentage of income. At the same time, the party favors an increase in the income tax rates for wealthier taxpayers to compensate for funds lost under the circuit breaker.
Read Working Families Party seeks tax circuit breaker in the Watertown Daily Times.
From the article:
The first of 90 new voting machines expected to be received by Rensselaer County later this summer were delivered last week as part of the county’s compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act, said county officials.
“We actually went to Albany on Friday and we picked up the first 10 percent of the machines we will ultimately be receiving,” said Ed McDonough, Rensselaer County Board of Elections Democratic commissioner, adding that the county will be receiving a total of 90 machines.Advertisement
Due to HAVA specifications, the new machines represent a significant change from the machines used for decades but are viewed as simple to use and easy to manage. The new optical scan machines rely on voters filling out a paper ballot in a private area of a polling place, which is then fed into the machine.
Read TroyRecord.com.
“With the town’s annual Memorial Day Parade on Wednesday, the Democratic Committee was allowed a float on the condition that they would not show a banner with their name since the town did not want to “politicize” the event, officials said.”
“Couple are torn about decision to put Colonie's Shaker Shed on the market ”
“The National Trust for Historic Preservation named the 2008 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places�, an annual list that highlights important examples of the nation's architectural, cultural and natural heritage that are at risk for destruction or irreparable damage. ”
“The National Trust for Historic Preservation created the Sustainable Preservation Coalition two years ago in order to impact further development of the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Building Rating Systems. We partnered with several national organizations who were developing separate sustainability agendas including the AIA, APT International, the National Park Service, General Services Administration and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers. We realized we could make a bigger impact integrating historic preservation and green building values by working together.”
“The general election is about to unfold and we’ll soon see how smart or how foolish Americans really are. The U.S. may be the richest country on earth, but the economy is tanking, its working families are in trouble, it is bogged down in a multitrillion-dollar war of its own making and the price of gasoline has nitwits siphoning supplies from the cars and trucks of strangers.”
“U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions increased 1.6 percent in 2007, according to the Energy Information Administration. Factors at fault, according to the EIA: wacky weather that increased the need for heating and cooling, and "a higher carbon intensity of electricity supply." (Our electricity supply is carbon-intensive? Who knew?) The agency was quick to point out that GDP grew 2.7 percent in 2007, so "greenhouse-gas intensity" -- the unimportant measure by which U.S. officials like to pretend they're making progress -- actually dropped. CO2 emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas have grown 19.4 percent in the U.S. since 1990. Thank goodness there haven't been any discernible side effects.”
(Click the above link to see a further breakdown in the comments section).
“Top pensioner George M. Philip draws three state paychecks serving in two post-retirement positions ”
“The eye condition that sent Gov. David Paterson to the hospital for an emergency procedure Tuesday can be incredibly painful and often strikes without warning, doctors said. The 54-year-old governor was diagnosed with acute angle-closure glaucoma in his left eye at Mount Sinai Medical Center after being stricken with a horrible headache in the middle of the night. Doctors say Paterson was right to seek treatment quickly. ”
“Nearly 100 ex-convicts threaded their way among hordes of noisy schoolchildren clogging halls around the Capitol Tuesday, advocating legislation to protect their employment and voting rights, close underused prisons and make re-entry into society less difficult. ”
“Rebuffing associates who have suggested that she end her candidacy, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has made it clear to her camp in recent days that she will stay in the race until June because she believes she can still be the nominee — and, barring that, so she can depart with some final goals accomplished.”
“Senator Barack Obama took a big step toward becoming the Democratic presidential nominee on Tuesday, amassing enough additional delegates to claim an all but insurmountable advantage in his race against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
“The decision by Vito J. Fossella not to seek another term in Congress has roiled the political waters of his reliably Republican district, as both parties are searching for consensus candidates to succeed him when his term ends in January.”
“Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is being released from the hospital, one day after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor that experts say is almost certainly fatal. The senior Massachusetts senator will leave the hospital at around 10 a.m. ET and head to the family compound in Hyannis on Cape Cod.”
“Most voters put aside worries about the economy and approved school budgets Tuesday that contained modest tax increases.”
“Officers of the Fort Orange Club said their plan to demolish two connected Washington Avenue buildings will improve the streetscape a block from the Capitol. The plan to remove 118-120 Washington Ave. is drawing strong opposition from neighborhood groups, nine Common Council members and the Historic Albany Foundation, who say it would harm downtown's aesthetic value. The club plans to expand its parking and add squash courts and a weight room to an expanded athletic wing.”
“In likely the least surprising announcement of the political season, Paul Tonko made his candidacy official Tuesday for the 21st Congressional District race. Supporters had been spreading the word about Tonko's entry into the race since earlier this year, but the former CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority didn't confirm his candidacy. He said he was leaving the $148,888-a-year NYSERDA job April 25.”
“We're a tad over six months away from the start of New York's yearlong 400th celebration of Henry Hudson sailing up his river to our town and Samuel de Champlain venturing down the Richelieu River to crown his lake.”
“The federal government said Tuesday it will place 13,004 acres of upstate New York land into trust for the Oneida Indian Nation.”
“Michael Marotta’s application to build a contractor shop and storage yard on his land in Pattersonville received a chilly reception from the town Planning Commission Tuesday. Earlier this month, Marotta applied to the commission for a special use permit that would allow him to build a shop and fenced-in equipment yard on his five acres off Route 5S.”
“Mayor Kasprzak proposes commission to oversee fare schedules and other industry items”
“So, here's the punch line: Speaker Sheldon Silver wants everyone to believe that it's an actuary's fault that he and his Assembly majority advance shoddy legislation and treat every day like the holiday gift-giving season and the taxpayers' wallets like their very own re-election ATM.”
“After what he called "long and serious consideration," Jefferson County Sheriff John P. Burns decided that running an Assembly campaign this year wasn't for him.”
“Researchers at I.B.M. laboratories say they have made progress toward storing information and computing at the level of individual atoms. The scientists documented their work in two papers appearing on Friday in the journal Science. Both papers are focused on new understanding of the behavior of magnetism at the tiny scale of nanotechnology, where scientists hope to develop electronics made from components that are far smaller than today’s transistors and wires. ”
This story disgusts me in all forms:
George Bush, the US president, has apologised to Iraq after an American soldier used a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, for target practice. Bush also promised to put the staff sergeant, who has been sent home from his unit in Iraq, on trial, the Iraqi prime minister's office said in a statement on the AFP news agency. "The [Iraqi] prime minister ... expressed resentment and anger of the people and the government of Iraq and the American president ... apologised to the Iraqi people," al-Maliki's office said in the statement. The incident is reported to have occurred on March 11 in Radhwaniya, near Baghdad, when the unnamed staff sergeant shot into a copy of the Quran and wrote an expletive inside it. US military commanders in Iraq held a ceremony on Monday to formally apologise and presented a new copy of the Quran to tribal leaders in the area where the incident took place.
Read Bush Apologises For Quran Shooting from Al Jazeera English.
“Forget talk of a recession - a new $175 burger has set the city's gold standard for conspicuous consumption. Literally. The Richard Nouveau - from the Wall Street Burger Shoppe, natch - comes topped with a blizzard of real gold flakes, plus 25 grams of black truffles, a seared slab of foie gras and an aged Gruyere typically reserved for a high-class cheese tray. The patty is made from 10 ounces of Kobe beef, a pricey meat so rich that grinding it up is like bathing in bottled water. ”
“Most reporters on the various beats surveyed - lifestyle, travel, healthcare, politics and technology - said new media is having a positive impact on the diversity and editorial direction of news coverage, but that it’s having a negative effect on the tone of the discussion, accuracy and quality of reporting. As you’ll see in the details, the numbers of respondents aren’t huge. Brodeur, a public relations and marketing firm that did the survey, invited 3,500 people in each of the beat categories to participate, but actual responses ranged from 69 to 119. Full disclosure: I responded to the survey.”
“New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is promising to stay in the Democratic race and keep fighting for the nomination. But so much has changed for her in the past year and a half, when she has gone from being the dominant front-runner to the likely runner-up. ”
This story is a must read for all those curious why Hillary's campaign became derailed and how politics really work. -- Andy
“One day after the stock market slumped on inflation worries, a new batch of bad news fueled fears of stagflation and sent major U.S. equity indexes tumbling once again. ”
Phil Steck, county legislator and party hack, insisted that the committee push forward with his endorsement, despite pleas from party elders and elected officials not to pass an endorsement when the committee is so divided.
Jennings said he believed the committee should not endorse any candidate prior to the Sept. 9 primary. “There was never a recommendation as far as I am concerned,” he said, referring to the lack of a recommendation from the candidate screening committee.
Albany 4th Ward Chairman Paul Mancino said he left because the “committee did not have a clear-cut candidate. This just splinters the county committee.”
He said all the Democratic candidates for the seat “should have a fair shot at it on primary day.”
Jennings said Brooks and Tonko had agreed earlier to ask the committee not to make an endorsement. Steck pushed for one, however. He said he had the support of the party’s candidate screening committee, which had voted several weeks ago to support him with 10 votes. Tonko received nine votes from the committee and Brooks, two votes.
The party’s executive committee was supposed to convene prior to Wednesday night’s meeting and make a recommendation to the full committee. It never did, leaving the membership to decide the issue.
John McNulty, the congressman’s father, asked the committee not to make any endorsement, saying such a vote would divide the party. Steck asked the committee to oppose the elder McNulty’s proposal. The committee rejected McNulty’s proposal, opening the meeting to a floor vote, which then went to Steck on a weighted basis.
The highly competitive race has caused rifts elsewhere in the congressional district, not just in Albany.
I'm not surpised that Phil Steck got the county endorsement. He after all is a County Legislator, which is where they stick patronage hacks that need healthcare benefits or want to cash into their party work.
The article doesn't mention that it was more then just the city walking out. A lot of the Cohoes delegation walked out, Coeymans, the Hilltowns, and the entire city. It was a significant block.
I still don't think the party should have push forward an endorsement when such great sections of the party where divided, particularly when the candidate that wins has such an inside track to the nomination.
Regardless, I haven't decided who I am going to help out in the campaign. I may end up supporting Phil Steck, regardless of how it goes. There is a lot of good to say about him—even if he is the Colonie political boss, and is not afraid to use old machine tricks to get his way.
That said, I am under impressed by Paul Tonko. I don't think his positions are as progressive as Phil Steck, particularly on the nuclear issue. Steck ain't perfect, but he might be a decent Congressman. I will wait closer until primary day until I get involved in either campaign. Or maybe I'll just stay uninvolved and piss all over both of them from the blog.
I'm glad I'm not a committee member. It must be nice being an Albany County Republican at times like this.
Read Democratic committee endorses Steck iun the Daily Gazette and more biased Albany Democrats bolt party meeting in the Times Union.
From the New York Times:
Todd Davis has dared criminals for two years to try stealing his identity: Ads for his fraud-prevention company, LifeLock, even offer his Social Security number next to his smiling mug.
Now, Lifelock customers in Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia are suing Davis, claiming his service didn't work as promised and he knew it wouldn't, because the service had failed even him.
Attorney David Paris said he found records of other people applying for or receiving driver's licenses at least 20 times using Davis' Social Security number, though some of the applications may have been rejected because data in them didn't match what the Social Security Administration had on file.
Davis acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press that his stunt has led to at least 87 instances in which people have tried to steal his identity, and one succeeded: a guy in Texas who duped an online payday loan operation last year into giving him $500 using Davis' Social Security number.
Paris said the fact Davis' records were compromised at all supports the claim that Tempe, Ariz.-based LifeLock doesn't provide the comprehensive protection its advertisements say it does.
Read ID - Protection Ads Come Back to Bite Pitchman in the New York Times.
“On unpaid leave from his $181,700 job amid Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigation into allegations of a rogue political unit within the State Police, Wiese is demanding his post and reputation back. In a letter Monday to the Power Authority Board, he said he will undergo a polygraph test to prove he has done nothing wrong.”
“Canadian man charged with trying to bring marijuana through border hidden in truck. ”
“The Rensselaer County Democratic Committee will endorse attorney Brian Primo tonight to challenge State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick.”
“While the Attorney General addresses the issue of double-dipping and pension abuse in a hearing today, State Education Commissioner Richard Mills issued a statement about retired school administrators who were collecting both a pension and a paycheck. Mills acknowledged that there were areas that needed to be improved, but emphasized that less than 2% of school administrators had waivers. In response to the controversy, Mills said he would be suspending for 60 days any consideration of new applications for waivers and starting a review of the practice of giving out waivers.”
“A state senator's office has been the target of three recent attacks or intrusions, including rocks thrown or pellets fired at the windows, authorities said Wednesday. Yonkers police Commissioner Edward Hartnett said Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins was out of the office for each of the incidents last month, but "we are concerned, certainly, with the senator's safety and her staffers'." "It's clear to me that the office itself is being highlighted or targeted in some way," he said. ”
“President Bush’s nominees to serve as commander of forces in the Middle East and as the senior commander in Baghdad offered a cautiously optimistic picture of the situation in Iraq on Thursday. They said modest troop reductions may be possible in the fall, and that there was probably no need for the United States to take extra security steps for provincial elections now expected in November.”
From the New York Times:
While Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her advisers insist that she is determined to win the Democratic nomination, former President Bill Clinton, for one, has begun privately musing about a different outcome for her: As Senator Barack Obama’s running mate.
The prospect of an Obama-Clinton ticket has been fodder for political gossip for months, with some Democratic leaders pushing the idea as a way to unify the party. The Obama and Clinton campaigns have consistently shrugged off the idea, however, and Mrs. Clinton has been adamant that she is only interested in the presidency.
I think it's a great time. I think now Democrats need to move forward with their nominee, whoever it may be, and unify around that person, and go on to state what it means to be a Democrat and the important ideas that are related to the party.
Read As Race Wanes, Talk of Obama-Clinton Ticket Grows in the- NYTimes.com.
I got this email this morning.
*BARACK OBAMA:*The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!
*JOHN MC CAIN:*My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.
*HILLARY CLINTON:*When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure—right from Day One!—that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.......
*DR. PHIL:* The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.*
OPRAH:* Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like e the rest of the chickens.*
GEORGE W. BUSH:* We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.*
COLIN POWELL*: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road...*
ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:* We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.*
JOHN KERRY:* Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.*
NANCY GRACE:* That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.*
PAT BUCHANAN:* To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.*
MARTHA STEWART:* No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's M market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.*
DR SEUSS:* Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.*
ERNEST HEMINGWAY:* To die in the rain. Alone.*
GRANDPA:* In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.*
BARBARA WALTERS:* Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.*
ARISTOTLE:* It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.*
JOHN LENNON:* Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.*
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% .......... reboot.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken!
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?
DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?
AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.*
Interesting. We need some more humor this morning.
“There’s been quite a bit of movement over the past week in race for Senate and now that the races are heating up, we’ll put together a weekly digest of the ins and outs of the Senate races. For those who are keeping an eye on such things, please keep in touch and send me links and additions to the list.”
“Never let it be said that the long-suffering Albany City Republican Committee doesn’t have a sense of humor, though District Attorney David Soares may not be laughing. The committee put out a release following news that Soares, a Democrat who is up for re-election this year, will be the featured guest at the Cornell Club of the Greater Capital District’s 2008 annual meeting June 5, and that he’d be talking about public integrity.”
“Times are a-changin' when it comes to meetings of the Albany County Democrats. Time is the key word here. Those who go back far enough recall it was sport in the old days to clock the length of the meeting. They started at 8 p.m. sharp and were over by 8:10. A record might be set at 8:06 or even 8:04 -- and that included endorsement of candidates and election of party officers.”
“Candidate Phil Steck was fairly confident he had the endorsement votes locked up when he walked into the meeting of the county Democratic Committee. In the end he was right, beating out seven other Democrats Wednesday night for the backing of the nearly 600-member county committee for the 21st Congressional District seat.”
“Gov. David Paterson, who is a superdelegate supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, says he hopes she will end her effort to count Michigan and Florida votes to save her presidential campaign. In his latest round of radio interviews statewide, Paterson also says he's beginning to see "a little desperation," on Clinton's part.”
“ That was state Sen. Carl Marcellino's message Friday as he announced outside his Oyster Bay office that the bill he introduced banning the practice will pass in the State Senate next week. ”
“"Right now, a lot of people are talking about Hillary as a possible candidate and she hasn't said she doesn't want it," Cuomo said. "If given that, you turn around, Obama, and pick somebody else, that will be a slap in the face to Hillary." "And the polls now show that a lot of the people who vote for Hillary will not vote for Obama. I think those polls are an exaggeration. They go as high as 40 percent of the Hillary voters now say that if Obama wins, they won't vote for him. I don't believe that's true. ”
“A longtime forensic scientist for the New York State Police apparently killed himself today, marking the second time in less than ten days that someone connected to the agency has committed suicide.”
“The Democratic presidential front-runner, Sen. Barack Obama, took his first step toward selecting a running mate, asking a prominent supporter to begin the search process, while his likely Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, prepared to spend the weekend with three potential vice presidential picks. ”
From the Daily Gazette
he long expanse of peeling, beige paint that graced the Council Chambers in City Hall for years is finally gone.
The deteriorating paint on the ceiling has been replaced with crisp white and Colonial blue. But the paint isn’t simply fresh and clean; intricate designs that had been covered with a single sheet of beige are now clearly visible, highlighted by the contrasts of white, blue and gold.
The walls got a new coat of paint, as well, and are now light blue, with dark blue and gold trim. The Colonial colors don’t match the City Council’s green chairs, but the thin lines of gold bring out the gold designs in the light fixtures.
Nearly everything is done, except for a swath of beige above the council president’s chair, which is expected to be painted tonight.
Read Schenectady Council Chambers Gets a New Look in the Daily Gazette.
From the Daily Gazette:
If you're burning charcoal in the backyard this weekend instead of burning gas getting to the mountains, you're not alone.
Gasoline is at or near $4 per gallon—up 85 cents from a year ago—and many people think the economy is wheezing like a smoker who has taken up jogging.
So maybe it isn't surprising that the American Automobile Association is predicting that for the first time in years, Memorial Day traffic will be less than a year ago.
Still, the traditional kickoff to the summer travel season is looking like three days of great weather, and the itch to get going is strong. State campgrounds in the Capital Region are heavily booked.
Read Fuel Costs Keeping More People Home for the Holiday Weekend in the Daily Gazette.
“The Hero Group Inc. would lose as much as $1 million for each year the number of employees at its new plant falls below levels set in a payment in lieu of taxes agreement headed for a final vote next week by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.”
