New York Cowboy.org: New Hayseeds

[L] Assembly OKs 1-year foreclosure delay

2008-05-09T15:38:08-06:00

Assembly OKs 1-year foreclosure delay

“The state Assembly passed legislation Wednesday to impose a one-year delay on foreclosures when New York homeowners default on mortgage payments, while the Senate was poised to consider a related measure backed by Gov. David Paterson.”

[L] Karl Rove: Odds Against Sen. Clinton

2008-05-09T15:36:02-06:00

Karl Rove: Odds Against Sen. Clinton

“Karl Rove, the former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, says the chances of Sen. Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic presidential nomination are slim after Sen. Barack Obama's decisive victory in the North Carolina primary and her close win in Indiana earlier this week.”

[L] Sean Bell Protests End in Arrests

2008-05-09T15:34:52-06:00

Sean Bell Protests End in Arrests

“Hundreds of people were arrested in New York for civil disobedience, as protesters demonstrated against the acquittals of three New York detectives charged in the 2006 shooting death of Sean Bell. We get insight from NPR correspondent Margot Adler — who covered the demonstrations — and the Rev. Herb Daughtry, who held a protest outside his House of Lords Church in Brooklyn, New York.”

Inventor of LSD is Dead.

2008-05-09T15:23:00-06:00

Albert Hofmann the inventor of the chemical that changed a generation is dead. The Economist had a good biography of the man.

HIS first experience was “rather agreeable”. As he worked in the Sandoz research laboratory in Basel in Switzerland on April 16th 1943, isolating and synthesising the unstable alkaloids of the ergot fungus, Albert Hofmann began to feel a slight lightheadedness. He could not think why. His lab was shared with two other chemists; frugality and company had taught him careful habits. And this was a man whose doctoral thesis had revolved around the gastrointestinal juices of the vineyard snail.
Perhaps, he supposed, he had inhaled the fumes of the solvent he was using. In any event, he took himself home and lay down on the sofa. There the world exploded, dissolving into a kaleidoscope of colours, shapes, spirals and light. It seemed to have something to do with lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD-25, the substance he had been working on. He had synthesised it five years before, but had found it “uninteresting” and stopped. Now, like some prince in faery, he had got the stuff on his fingertips, rubbed it into his eyes and seen the secrets of the universe.
The next Monday, ever the good scientist, he deliberately took 0.25 milligrams of LSD diluted with 10cc of water. It tasted of nothing. But by 5 o'clock the lab was distorting, and his limbs were stiffening. The last words he managed to scrawl in his lab journal were “desire to laugh”. That desire soon left him. As he cycled home with a companion, perhaps the most famous bike ride in history, he had no idea he was moving. But in his house the furniture was ghoulishly mutating and spinning, and the neighbour who brought him milk as an antidote was “a witch with a coloured mask”. He realised now that LSD was the devil he couldn't shake off, though in his senseless body he screamed and writhed on the sofa, certain that he was dying.

Albert Hofman suggested people could get many of the effects of acid without taking it:

Without it, however, Mr Hofmann knew it was still possible to get to the same place. As a child, wandering in May on a forest path above Baden in a year he had forgotten, he had suddenly been filled with such a sense of the radiance and oneness of creation that he thought the vision would last for ever. “Miraculous, powerful, unfathomable reality” had ambushed him elsewhere, too: the wind in a field of yellow chrysanthemums, leaves in the sunlit garden after a shower of rain. When he had drunk LSD in solution on that fateful April afternoon he had recovered those insights, but had not surpassed them. His advice to would-be trippers, therefore, was simple. “Go to the meadow, go to the garden, go to the woods. Open your eyes!”

Read Albert Hofmann on Economist.com.

Vito Fossella admits he has love child with Virginia woman.

2008-05-09T10:00:00-06:00

From the article:

Disgraced Staten Island Rep. Vito Fossella admitted Thursday he fathered a 3-year-old love child in an illicit affair with the woman who rescued him from a Virginia drunk tank.

It looks like another Republican in Congress is in real danger of losing his seat.

Read Vito Fossella admits he has love child with Virginia woman in Newsday.

[L] Obama Open to Clinton as Possible Running Mate

2008-05-09T09:59:07-06:00

Obama Open to Clinton as Possible Running Mate

“Democrat Barack Obama on Thursday did not rule out selecting rival Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential running mate if he ultimately defeats her in a race in which he has an almost insurmountable lead.”

[L] Tough Decisions in NY's Rural Districts

2008-05-08T12:02:07-06:00

Tough Decisions in NY's Rural Districts

“Census figures show that population growth in New York is way behind the national average and that's forcing some hard decisions in rural school districts. Hudson Valley bureau chief Susan Barnett looks at the issue in one of the largest districts in the state.”

[L] Taco Truck Battle Heats Up in Los Angeles

2008-05-08T11:32:30-06:00

Taco Truck Battle Heats Up in Los Angeles

“Los Angeles County officials recently passed a law that makes it a misdemeanor to park a taco truck in the same place for more than an hour. Violators face penalties of up to $1,000 in fines or six months in jail. ”

Fed's Supeona Bruno's Ethics Opinions.

2008-05-08T11:19:00-06:00

From the Times Union:

ALBANY—An FBI investigation of Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno is focusing on several opinions he received more than a decade ago from the Legislative Ethics Commission that relate to his personal business ventures, including real estate development and horse breeding, the Times Union has learned.
Two FBI agents hand-delivered a federal grand jury subpoena to the ethics commission staff about two months ago requesting copies of the opinions, which were promptly turned over, a person familiar with the matter said.
Another person close to the investigation said federal authorities are closely examining the process by which Bruno may have received authorization from within state government for his various private business dealings.
Bruno, R-Brunswick, has sought at least four opinions from the commission, which was known as the Legislative Ethics Committee before being renamed last year. The opinions, which have never been made public, were issued more than 10 years ago in the early 1990s, the person familiar with the ethics rulings said.

Read Bruno probe focus on ethics opinions in the Times Union.

This is a Lot of Fun.

2008-05-08T11:18:00-06:00

How to keep your dog busy when you are out of the house. From NPR's Bryant Project / Youtube:

[L] The Myth of Green McCain

2008-05-07T16:33:48-06:00

The Myth of Green McCain

“The McCain Agenda: Despite the accolades he receives, McCain's record shows a candidate who is behind the times on climate policy and lacks conviction on environment.”

[L] The New Geopolitics of Energy

2008-05-07T16:31:05-06:00

The New Geopolitics of Energy

“While the day-to-day focus of US military planning remains Iraq and Afghanistan, American strategists are increasingly looking beyond these two conflicts to envision the global combat environment of the emerging period--and the world they see is one where the struggle over vital resources, rather than ideology or balance-of-power politics, dominates the martial landscape. Believing that the United States must reconfigure its doctrines and forces in order to prevail in such an environment, senior officials have taken steps to enhance strategic planning and combat capabilities. Although little of this has reached the public domain, there have been a number of key indicators. ”

[L] Clinton Backer McGovern: Time for Hillary to Quit

2008-05-07T16:30:36-06:00

Clinton Backer McGovern: Time for Hillary to Quit

“On Wednesday morning, after watching the candidates spin the results of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, McGovern came to the conclusion that many savvy political observers have reached: Clinton is not going to be the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee. ”

Schenectadians Upset About Public Library Closing for Reconstruction.

2008-05-07T13:54:00-06:00

They note that many patrons won't be able to access the library while it's being renovated over the next year.

The Friends of the Schenectady County Public Library are a little less friendly these days toward the Democratic-controlled county Legislature.
The library support group has launched an effort to prevent the county from closing the central branch of the library for the next 10-12 months as part of a $7.7 million overhaul. Earlier estimates placed the shutdown at 18 months.
Several members of the volunteer group, which raises money for and provides free help to the library system, attended a presentation on the proposal at Monday night’s committee meeting of the Schenectady County Legislature. They were not allowed to speak; the privilege of the floor is reserved for the regular monthly meeting, to be held May 13.
However, Friends President Bernard Allanson said after the presentation he has serious concerns about the closure, scheduled to begin this summer. The Friends are concerned about the public’s loss of programming and access to free Internet, the closure’s effect on downtown businesses and the way the Legislature pushed the project through without any public discussion.
...
Engberg Anderson Design Partnership of Milwaukee prepared the final design. It calls for the addition of 9,000 square feet to the first floor. While this is less than the originally proposed 15,000-square-foot expansion, the new design contains double the space for the children’s room, a small cafe, a performance center and a private reading room. It also retains the building’s architectural look through the use of brick and precast and poured concrete.
The design will remove the protruding semicircular McChesney Room from the library’s Clinton Street side and make the entire wall flush. Library officials will rename another area the McChesney Room.
Preservationist group Schenectady Heritage Foundation opposes the demolition of the McChesney Room. It says the library’s current configuration is historically significant architecture that should be preserved.
Eleanor Rowland said the design change pushed up the cost. “No one wanted the new entrance, not the Friends, not the trustees,” she said.

The reconstruction looks like a quite nice of the old brutalist building that certainly was showing the age. It's great to see that they will be able to save this building and turn it into something nicer and newer. Too often people's gut reaction is to demolish buildings without thinking how unique and beautiful they truly can be.

New Building:

Old Building:

View Larger Map

Read Library closure plan draws fire in the Daily Gazette.

[L] New York - A State of Transition

2008-05-07T09:38:01-06:00

New York - A State of Transition

“Independent analysis of new census numbers indicate that New York is heading for trouble. And even local counties ending the fiscal year with a surplus are concerned. Hudson Valley bureau chief Susan Barnett reports. ”

[L] Obama Wins North Carolina Decisively; Clinton Takes Indiana by Slim Margin

2008-05-07T09:29:05-06:00

Obama Wins North Carolina Decisively; Clinton Takes Indiana by Slim Margin

“Senator Barack Obama won a commanding victory in the North Carolina primary on Tuesday and lost narrowly to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Indiana, an outcome that injected a boost of momentum to Mr. Obama’s candidacy as the Democratic nominating contest entered its final month.”

[L] State GOP bulks up vulnerable candidates

2008-05-07T09:23:35-06:00

State GOP bulks up vulnerable candidates

“The Republican-led Senate is pouring millions of dollars in taxpayer money into "pork" projects where GOP incumbents face difficult re-election campaigns this fall.”

[L] Terrorism Analyst: Web Q&A Risky for Al-Qaida

2008-05-06T13:04:57-06:00

Terrorism Analyst: Web Q&A Risky for Al-Qaida

“In December, Ayman al-Zawahiri, considered second only to Osama bin Laden in al-Qaida's ranks, invited fellow jihadists to pose questions to him on the Internet. Last month, Zawahiri started answering.”

[L] FBI Searches Office of Special Counsel Building

2008-05-06T13:03:56-06:00

FBI Searches Office of Special Counsel Building

“A multi-year investigation leads federal agents to search the Office of Special Counsel's building. Employees have alleged the agency was misused for political purposes.”

[L] State GOP bulks up vulnerable candidates

2008-05-06T10:03:31-06:00

State GOP bulks up vulnerable candidates

“The Republican-led Senate is pouring millions of dollars in taxpayer money into "pork" projects where GOP incumbents face difficult re-election campaigns this fall.”