Hayseeds No. 237

Schumer Says Feds Should Help Out More on Sewers.

It looks like our Senior US Senator is working to get a bill passed that would provide localities with more federal funds to fix decaying sewers and waste water treatment systems.

We all know about the problem with sewer overflows and the lack of capacity in many of our systems along the Hudson River and other water bodies. It would be great if there could be some more funds for the often neglected issue of water quality near our cities.

2007 Scandals of the Year.

The Citizens for Responsibilities and Ethics in Washington group released a list of many scandals that plauged Washington or persisted as the Democrats took control over both houses of Congress.

Complain what you want, it was the Democratic Majority that got the energy bill passed and signed into law. That's better then what the Republicans ever did, and it will start to put our country on the track to limit the impact of global warming and our thirst for foreign oil.

Of Mice and Minions.

There was an interesting article about a new proposal on congestion pricing and the supposed warming of the speaker when it came to the proposal by attempting to read something into his language.

I don't know but it really did not sound like much had changed or that the Speaker has the great power that the Daily Politics blog gives him. Ultimately the question is whether or not congestion pricing or other mitigation is acceptable to the people who live in the suburbs outside of New York City, along with those who live in outside burrows.

From what I've heard and read about it, most people in the city are happy with the proposal bar the civil libertarians that are concerned about the network of surveillance cameras proposed to make it work. The people from other burghs connected by free bridges would be the most affected by the fee increases.

Ultimately though, it's a mistake to view New York Politics as the fault of the either the Speaker or the Senate Majority Leader. These people simply reflect the views of their members that elect them and their constituents.

Mary Brizell's Final Days.

The Supervisor of Colonie known for having an ego only slightly larger then some of the stuck up people in Colonie, is now retiring after being defeated in her recent bid for re-election.

The Times Union dreams back to the days when Colonie was controlled by Republicans and all was good for the paper, after escaping the harassment of Corning and the Democrats in the City.

In the interview the paper did of her, parts of her raw ego really start to show when asked about mixed-used development and sidewalks:

Brizzell: As I remember back into the '70s, I think they were not interested in seeing a lot of commercial development because there was that big influx of residential development. And people were more interested in their neighborhood, and having dead-end streets, and having your little neighborhood protected and not have commercial development around it. And no one ever thought about having sidewalks back then. Seriously, I've been here since 1957 and it was like, 'This is suburbia, this is country, we don't want sidewalks.'

Maybe she wasn't listening, as I'm sure people have been complaining about that, along with the traffic along Route 9 for years. But it's all good in Brizzell's mind.

Fake Log Cabin Advertising?

They are building one of those fake log cabins along the Thruway to promote it to wealthy brats who want to imagine country living in a real log cabin, rather then a house made of plywood and Sheetrock.

It's heavy to move logs so it's common for people to use log-siding on a standard house. But it's so tacky, as that picture and story shows.

Benazair Bhutto is Dead.

It's a rather sad occassion and for us in America, a rather scary possibilty that the opposition or minority leader in that country has been assassinated by what the President is blaming on Al Queada.

I don't know what will happen next. Actually, I don't know if anybody really knows. But we now know a nuclear power now has been destabilized which could lead to nuclear weapons ending up in the wrong hands or lead to nuclear war with their neighbor, India.

Let's hope for peace in the Pakistan, along with some calm and careful thinking. We need don't need another war, and we don't need anymore of our boys and girls being killed in foreign lands.

Tired But Continuing.

I walked two election districts today, and I'm pretty tired. But I'm encouraged by how close it's in Iowa, and from there if we do okay in New Hampshire then we can move forward.

So if your interested in joining me next weekend—January 6 & 7th, please let me know or fill out the form here:

• John Edwards Volunteer in NH

Edwards is right now is tied with Obama at 29%, with Clinton at 28% in Iowa, according to a Lee Enterprises poll of 500 likely caucus goers. That's 5 points up for Edwards and 4 points down for Obama.

Please join me next weekend and make a difference in New Hampshire! The people I talk to are very positive, and he is very strong in rural New Hampshire.

This should be great fun.