The Hayseeds blog, No. 259 for the week starting June 1, 2008.
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Hayseeds No. 258
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Hayseeds No. 259
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Hayseeds No. 259
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Andy Rooney commentary on 60 minutes on Sunday was very touching. It's worth a read or a watch.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day we have set aside to honor by remembering all the Americans who have died fighting for the thing we like the most about our America: the freedom we have to live as we please.
No official day to remember is adequate for something like that. It's too formal. It gets to be just another day on the calendar. No one would know from Memorial Day that Richie M., who was shot through the forehead coming onto Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, wore different color socks on each foot because he thought it brought him good luck.
No one would remember on Memorial Day that Eddie G. had promised to marry Julie W. the day after he got home from the war, but didn’t marry Julie because he never came home from the war. Eddie was shot dead on an un-American desert island, Iwo Jima.
For too many Americans, Memorial Day has become just another day off. There's only so much time any of us can spend remembering those we loved who have died, but the men, boys really, who died in our wars deserve at least a few moments of reflection during which we consider what they did for us.
Read A Memorial Day Worth Remembering, Andy Rooney On How Memorial Day Should Be Celebrated on CBS News.
“After two decades in the House of Representatives, Rep. Michael R. McNulty has a new spring in his step despite a post-polio limp as he prepares to return home to pursue "life after Congress."”
“The New York Power Authority has fired its inspector general, despite repeatedly contending he was the perfect man for the job. The terse announcement of the termination of Daniel Wiese, effective Friday afternoon, was sent by the authority to the Times Union via e-mail without explanation.”
“Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton Tuesday begin the final sprint in their epic battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, with the windup contests one week away and the Illinois senator inching closer and closer to victory. Obama's aides said Monday the freshman senator is "now just 49 delegates away" from clinching the nomination and making history as the first African-American Democratic nominee for President.”
“Hillary Rodham Clinton invoked the June 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Friday to defend her decision to remain in the race until June 3 -- sparking a wave of condemnation by Barack Obama's supporters. Clinton quickly expressed regrets over the unprompted reference to the slain New York senator, interpreted by many in Obama's camp as a suggestion she thinks his life might be endangered. ”
“Plans for yearlong commemoration underfunded, delayed. State hopes local organizations will help with marketing.”
“Assemblyman Mike Cole received a huge lift toward his reelection this week with the unexpected endorsement of the Republican Committee in the 142nd District, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that GOP leaders are thrilled about his embattled candidacy. Erie County Republican Chairman James P. Domagalski said Cole will be entitled to all party support, such as circulating designating petitions, because of his narrow victory over former banking executive Jane L. Corwin on Wednesday evening. But the chairman says he will not add his personal support after Cole was censured by the Assembly and stripped of his committee posts last year for spending the night in the Albany apartment of a legislative intern. ”
“Merrill Lynch - which boasts to customers it is "bullish on America" - is also bullish on the future of Ground Zero. The Wall Street giant is thrashing out a deal with developer Larry Silverstein that could make it the first private-sector tenant within the World Trade Center footprint. "Our understanding is that Merrill is willing and is interested in doing this very, very quickly," Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia said Thursday. ”
“"Tm 2 stp txting wl drvg." That was state Sen. Carl Marcellino's message Friday as he announced that the bill he introduced banning text messaging will pass in the state Senate next week. "We're not trying to punish people; we're trying to educate people," Marcellino (R-Syosset) said outside his Oyster Bay office. "People die or get hurt as a result of it." The proposed law, which is an amendment to the existing law that bans using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, would ban the writing, sending or reading of text messages on a mobile phone or any other portable electronic device while driving.”
“With the state's mortgage crisis continuing to worsen, the state Legislature and Gov. David Paterson have yet to reach agreement on ways to help remedy the problem in New York. Advertisement And some housing experts last week warned that state lawmakers are running out of time to take action, saying that New York now has 157 new foreclosure proceedings every day. The legislative session is scheduled to end in late June. "It would be a scandal for the Legislature to end the session without passing subprime lending and foreclosure legislation," said Sarah Ludwig, co-executive director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project in New York City.”
“Sebastian, a Siberian Husky, was just doing his business on a Queens light pole when a fatal jolt of electricity shot through him, leaving his terrified owner heartbroken. "All I did was take him for a walk," said Celia Sing, 50. "I haven't slept since this whole thing happened. I'm a walking zombie. I close my eyes and I still see him shaking." Sing took the 7-year-old pooch she rescued as a pup for a walk about 12:50 a.m. on Sunday near her Long Island City apartment, across the street from the animal shelter where she volunteers. ”
“Incensed by an allegedly drunken driver nearly killing a Nassau police officer last week, County Executive Thomas Suozzi is expected on Tuesday to release the name and address of every person arrested for driving under the influence in the county this holiday weekend. For the first time, Suozzi and Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey are promoting the idea of publishing such information for every DWI and DUI arrest from the Memorial Day weekend. "We'll see how that works as a deterrent before trying it again," Suozzi said.”
“[Rockland Solid Waste Authority is adopting "flow control," which ultimately will put it in control of all trash and other refuse, from dropoff to collection. Carters operating in the county will no longer have the option of using private transfer stations, even if they offer cheaper tipping fees. It's an ambitious and controversial idea. The authority contends that flow control will boost the environment and the savings to municipalities by increasing the amount of trash that gets recycled and diminishing the amount that heads to landfills. To accomplish flow control, however, the Solid Waste Authority will have to grow, both in size and management complexity.”
“Amid all the economic uncertainty throughout the country and in the Empire State, IBM officials couldn't have picked a better time to open the doors of their pivotal Town of Poughkeepsie plant to talk about the future. Advertisement Click here to find out more! The message they delivered was decidedly upbeat. Last week's event, open to local leaders and members of the press, was called "made in New York...with Pride'' and pointed to the various operations IBM has throughout the state. But the stars of the day were IBM's famed mainframes, which are far from obsolete in today's changing computer environment. IBM officials stressed the Poughkeepsie plant - home of the company's largest computer systems and still the place where most of the 11,600 IBMers working in Dutchess County are located - is highly profitable and will continue to play a vital role in the company for foreseeable future. It was a message local leaders and residents alike needed to hear.”
“Fast-moving flames ripped through two Broad Street buildings early Monday evening, leaving more than 30 people homeless and entire blocks of the historic village enveloped in thick plumes of grey smoke.”
“Memorial Day is marked by ceremonies both somber and sensational. As the nation remembers its war dead, speeches take place in cemeteries and wreaths are placed at graves of soldiers who have sacrificed for their countries. Parades are another way to observe the day. Music and marching often motivate people to wear red, white and blue as they celebrate America.”
“Plant that was to be part of Troy's riverfront revival smoldered as the work began ”
“Delayed flights in the New York metropolitan area cost the local economy $4.9 billion in 2007, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., says he has a plan to fix the mess.”
After the second fire at this historic building gutted most of the remaining structure, Troy was faced with demolishing one of the buildings that they had hoped one day would be restored and become part of their waterfront.
It's really too bad. Too make matters worst, they say that this destruction was the work of an arsonist, who started the building on fire either for his personal pleasure or for revenge against somebody else. Maybe we can go back to public taring and feathering of people. Of course, drowning them and burning them in $4.11/gallon gasoline might be fun.
Seriously, who in their right minds would destroy something that could be purposefully used in the future (besides the government and Penn Station in the 1960s)? Still, Troy has some blame in this destruction of the Troy Iron Works—they ignored this building for years, and let it decline to the point where arsonists found it to be an attractive target. Troy in some ways is as responsible for the fire by neglect as the person who set it.
Apparently several of his campaign committees are seriously in the red according to his filings with the State Board of Elections.
The chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee of the Assembly, Herman "Denny" Farrell Jr., is trying to account for incongruities in the balance sheets of his multiple campaign committees, which show a cumulative negative balance of more than $120,000.
Five of Mr. Farrell's committees have a negative balance, including one that is $50,000 in the red, according to filings posted on the Web site of the state Board of Elections. Farrell 08, which has $7,700, is the only one of Mr. Farrell's committees that has positive funds.
Mr. Farrell, a Harlem representative who has led the New York County Democratic Committee since 1981 and is a close ally of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, is said to be planning a run for City Council next year to replace Robert Jackson, who is term-limited.
Election officials say they cannot explain the puzzling balance figures, but that they are leaving it up to Mr. Farrell to decide whether to correct them.
After a New York Sun reporter contacted him about the balances, Mr. Farrell directed the treasurer of his county party to sort through boxes of paperwork, bank statements, and receipts to figure out the cause of the discrepancies.
That certainly is embarrassing. It also begs some interesting questions that have yet to be answered.
Read Assembly Tax Committee Chair Grapples With 'Nightmare' in the New York Sun.
“What is an individual life worth? Do our lives have equal value? Struggling with these questions led me to my belief.”
“Barack Obama hasn't clinched the Democratic nomination yet, but he's already starting to look for a running mate. Likewise with the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain. NPR's Guy Raz talks with former presidential candidates Bob Dole and George McGovern, who have some advice on picking a vice president.”
“The idea behind Brand Tags, a new Web site by Noah Brier, is simple. Brand Tags opens with a company's logo and a small place for you to type the first thought that pops into your head. Brier renders the collective result in a "tag cloud," with the size of the words determined by their popularity. If more people thought "refreshing" than "soda" when they saw the bright red Coca-Cola logo, the word "refreshing" would appear in a bigger font. ”
From the article:
While most universities are struggling to ensure that any research supported by industry remains free of corporate control, it is shocking to find Virginia Commonwealth University going in the opposite direction. It has signed a contract to do research for Philip Morris that gives the company the final say over what results, if any, can be published.
The contract also stipulates that the university cannot respond to any news media inquiries about the deal and must promptly notify Philip Morris. That effort to hide this unsavory bargain fell apart when The Times’s Alan Finder obtained a copy under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Law.
University officials say the restrictions on publishing research are designed to protect the company’s proprietary information. However, the contract defines all material created by the university as the company’s proprietary information — so Philip Morris will always have the final say. The first two research tasks, according to the company, involve identifying early warning signs of pulmonary disease and reducing nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from tobacco processing plants.
At least 15 public health and medical schools, including schools at Harvard and Johns Hopkins, no longer accept tobacco money, mostly because of the industry’s history of warping research to promote smoking. Other schools, including Stanford and the University of California system, rejected bans after extensive debate.
Read Editorial - Virginia Commonwealth’s Secret Deal on NYTimes.com.
Tom Friedman last week warned the world, once again, about how the United States is rapidly failing from it's once great base of power.
There has been much debate in this campaign about which of our enemies the next U.S. president should deign to talk to. The real story, the next president may discover, though, is how few countries are waiting around for us to call. It is hard to remember a time when more shifts in the global balance of power are happening at once — with so few in America’s favor.
Let’s start with the most profound one: More and more, I am convinced that the big foreign policy failure that will be pinned on this administration is not the failure to make Iraq work, as devastating as that has been. It will be one with much broader balance-of-power implications — the failure after 9/11 to put in place an effective energy policy.
It baffles me that President Bush would rather go to Saudi Arabia twice in four months and beg the Saudi king for an oil price break than ask the American people to drive 55 miles an hour, buy more fuel-efficient cars or accept a carbon tax or gasoline tax that might actually help free us from what he called our “addiction to oil.”
The failure of Mr. Bush to fully mobilize the most powerful innovation engine in the world — the U.S. economy — to produce a scalable alternative to oil has helped to fuel the rise of a collection of petro-authoritarian states — from Russia to Venezuela to Iran — that are reshaping global politics in their own image.
If this huge transfer of wealth to the petro-authoritarians continues, power will follow. According to Congressional testimony Wednesday by the energy expert Gal Luft, with oil at $200 a barrel, OPEC could “potentially buy Bank of America in one month worth of production, Apple computers in a week and General Motors in just three days.”
There is a lot of wealth going overseas for oil for sure. Just as important is what is happening in Europe, where states there are setting higher standards for safety and environmental well being then the United States. The European Union is setting the world's standards more and more, and the United States, with fewer people, and eventually a smaller economy, will have less clout then Europe of the future.
Read Imbalances of Power in the New York Times.
This op-ed in the New York Times is utterly fascinating to the political scientist in me.
Social scientists are stumped. Why do we bother to go to the polls when we know our individual vote has no chance of determining the result of a national election? Variations in turnout — by age, race, income or whatever — are hard to fit into a theory of human conduct that assumes that people are rational. But with time to spare before the November election, molecular biology is coming to the rescue. In the same way that researchers have teased out a role for genes in determining sexual orientation or the propensity to smoke, they are deploying genetics to understand our political choices.
That sounds like a stretch, and it may well be. But there is tempting evidence of a hereditary component to political choices. There is a strong correlation between the partisan choices of parents and children. Studies comparing identical and fraternal twins suggest that genes are at work alongside the social and psychological influence of parents. Political scientists at the University of California, San Diego have gone another step, identifying specific genes associated with voter participation and partisanship.
Read It’s the Genes, Stupid on NYTimes.com.
“Now that millions of people are facing foreclosure because they got into loans that never should have been approved, everybody's looking for someone to blame. Borrowers, or their brokers, lied on loan applications. Others got high interest rates they couldn't afford. A big unanswered question is whether the Wall Street investment banks that were packaging these mortgages knew they were selling garbage loans to investors. A wave of litigation is starting against these firms. One former worker whose job was to catch bad loans says her supervisors covered them up. ”
“Rob Madeo has worked in broadcasting for more than 20 years. For several years, Rob wrote the well known Upstate NY blog, Albany Eye. ”
“A graceful exit is never easy in a business as fraught with ego and ambition as presidential politics. Which is why in recent days, quiet calls have started going out to key supporters of Hillary Clinton who are showing signs of wanting to jump ship. Clinton's emissaries point out that she is no longer attacking Barack Obama, and they promise she won't start again. Allow her to ride out the last few primaries, they argue, and she won't do anything to make it difficult for her longtime allies to switch their allegiances when the time comes. ”
“Hillary Clinton's relentless campaign to fight on regardless of the numbers and the rules has given new meaning to the term "move on." She should exit gracefully June 4. ”
“J. Edgar Hoover was FBI director for forty-eight years, and he was also an author--a bestselling author. His Masters of Deceit, published in 1958 by Henry Holt, spent thirty-one weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and sold more than 250,000 copies. In paperback it sold more than 2 million. But dealing with the director presented unique challenges for Holt. The special relationship is documented in the FBI's 234-page Henry Holt file, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Claire Culleton, who writes about it in her new book Modernism on File: Writers, Artists, and the FBI, 1920-1950 (edited with Karen Leick). ”
“What's it got to do with the price of gas? Would some reporter with access to the Republican presidential candidate please ask John McCain why he wants to continue President Bush's Mideast policy when it has proved so ruinous for American taxpayers? Because McCain is determined to ignore our economic meltdown and shift the debate to foreign policy, shouldn't he have to explain why an open-ended military presence in the Mideast will make us economically and militarily more secure when the opposite is clearly the case? ”
“Fresh out of other options, the Republican Party's bid to regain power is likely to come in the form of a pander to "real Americans."”
“Bobby Jindal headed to Sedona last weekend for a Memorial Day weekend VP tryout.”
“The conservative reaction to last week's California Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage was remarkably subdued. Even John McCain, desperate to pander to the base, had little to say.”
“Officially, Sen. Barack Obama traveled to this desert city Monday for a Memorial Day address. He stood against the backdrop of the Organ Mountains and talked about honoring veterans, but his campaign aides came here believing they could do something bigger: win back the Mountain West from Republicans. The underlying goal of Obama’s trip this week through New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado is to lay claim to a region that Obama views as one of his best opportunities to pick off states in November.”
His spreadsheets are too large with donors to work in popular spreadsheet software.
The record-shattering fundraising by Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has reshaped the financing of presidential elections and generated breathless coverage and analysis of the otherwise arcane area of campaign finance.
Yet it’s had another consequence that has gone all but unnoticed. The campaign finance reports filed by Obama and Clinton have grown so massive that they’ve strained the capacity of the Federal Election Commission, good government groups, the media and even software applications to process and make sense of the data.
A milestone of sorts was reached earlier this year, when Obama, the Illinois senator whose revolutionary online fundraising has overwhelmed Clinton, filed an electronic fundraising report so large it could not be processed by popular basic spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel 2003 and Lotus 1-2-3.
Those programs can’t download data files with more than 65,536 rows or 256 columns.
Read FEC, Media Can't Handle Obama Jackpot on Politico.com.
“There is a lot of talk among political observers that John Edwards' better-late-than-never endorsement of Barack Obama will help Obama among working-class (read: white) voters, as Edwards extends his populist mantle to the near-presumptive Democratic nominee. Such talk is overstated, for Obama won't need Edwards in the fall to prove he's the populist in the race. With John McCain as the Republican nominee, Obama will have little competition in the most-populist category.”
“Jack Cox feels that his family is still being mistreated by the city despite the fact that a Rensselaer County Supreme Court judge asked that the Department of Public Works to remove concrete barricades that had sat in front of Cox’s Fifth Avenue shop for nearly two years. The barricades were installed in front of Ward’s Auto Body, located at 520 Fifth Ave., in 2006 after the city received complaints that Cox had been storing unlicensed vehicles on the property and because his son, Jack Jr., had not filed the appropriate paperwork and had not been approved by the Planning Board to operate the business. ”
“Schenectady’s native son Joseph Yates, who served a single two-year term as governor from 1823 to 1824, will finally get his portrait in the Hall of Governors at the State Capitol.”
“Alan Sherman, who lives near Amsterdam High School, said Tuesday he’s well aware of the problem the city is having with vandalized stop signs. Someone spray-painted the word “war” on the sign at the intersection of Midline Road and Saratoga Avenue near Sherman’s home, making it read “stop war.” Police are looking for vandals who have spray-painted more than 65 stop signs throughout the city to add the word “war,” according to Assistant Chief Victor Hugo. The problem has been going on for months and has spread to Hagaman. So far, police have no leads.”
“The Town Board is hoping to ban smoking in town parks and extend hours in its skate park. The board conducted a public hearing Tuesday night on a proposed local law to ban smoking in parks, a step other area municipalities have already taken. A vote is expected in June.”
“What the flames spared, the wrecking claw finished Tuesday as demolition crews razed two buildings ravaged Monday evening by fire. One of them, a one-family home at 104 Broad St., was owned by Kevin and Maureen Farrar, according to village assessment records. Kevin Farrar is a volunteer with the F.B. Peck Hose Co., also known as the Northside Fire District.”
“A Greenwich teenager who died after his pickup truck struck a tree allegedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.18 percent, far beyond the legal limit, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.”
“Father says use of special equipment could have avoided Jonathan Carey's suffocation ”
“The Portola Packaging Inc. factory here will be closed by the fall, resulting in the loss of about 80 jobs.”
“The Legislature's top Democrat signaled Tuesday that he'll block passage of a bill this year designed to tie property-tax bills to a homeowner's income. Advertisement Keepsake Photos from The Ithaca Journal The so-called “circuit-breaker” proposal is expected to be a key part of an overall plan to deal with fast-rising property taxes that is to be presented by a committee to Gov. David Paterson next week. A proposal now before the Legislature, sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, D-Ossining, Westchester County, would pay for the circuit-breaker tax breaks by eliminating property-tax rebate checks that the state mailed out to homeowners last year and plans to do again this year.”
“Gov. Paterson took his cry for fiscal restraint to its most skeptical audience yesterday: the Assembly's Democratic majority and organized labor. In separate appearances, the governor warned his fellow Democrats as well as labor leaders that sinking state revenues and a looming three-year, $21 billion budget deficit could force deep spending cuts in the months ahead. Paterson also said he would continue to oppose a proposal backed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to hike taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent of New Yorkers. ”
“he state will start issuing special drivers' licenses that can be used as identification to get back and forth across the Canadian and Mexican borders by the end of the summer, Gov. David Paterson announced today. The license can be used in place of a passport. The federal government will require the license, a passport or a birth certificate at all border crossings to neighboring countries, plus Bermuda, starting on June 1, 2009.”
“The new state police superintendent said yesterday that during his 25-year career in the department he was never aware of any "rogue unit" aimed at smearing state political figures. Harry Corbitt was sworn in yesterday as New York's 13th state police superintendent, taking over the ranks of a department beleaguered by questions over political interference and the recent suicides of two of its employees.”
“The former first lady has loaned her presidential campaign more than $11.4 million to date, and she has only a few months to pay herself back, while her campaign will have much longer to deal with the nearly $9.5 million it owes vendors and political consultants. Under a provision of the 2002 campaign finance law spearheaded by senators McCain and Feingold, candidates for federal office must repay their personal loans by the date of the election or forfeit all but $250,000. The date of election in the presidential primary campaign is considered the date when the party officially chooses its nominee, which for Democrats will be at the national convention during the final week of August.”
“It is already against the law for drivers to talk on their cell phones without a hands-free device. State Senate Republicans passed legislation yesterday prohibiting drivers from writing, sending, or reading text messages, unless they are able to do so without using at least one hand, according to the bill language. A Democrat in the Assembly has also sponsored the measure, which has yet to pass the chamber.”
“A crucial measure of business spending declined less than expected in April, a sign that businesses may be breathing easier about the economy, although orders of cars and computer equipment still dipped, the government said on Wednesday. Over all, manufacturing orders fell 0.5 percent last month, to a seasonally adjusted $214.4 billion, after slipping 0.3 percent in March, the agency said. Although it was the third decline this year, the dip was less severe than economists had forecast. ”
The New York Times is reporting that finances for the Democratic Convention have been off somewhat with people contributing more to the primary candidates and not to the party for their convention.
The Democratic Party is struggling to raise money for its convention in Denver on Aug. 25-28, with fund-raising by the host committee falling far short of the party’s goals and lagging behind the Republicans’ efforts for their convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
So far, the Denver host committee is about $15 million short of the $40.6 million it must raise by June 16. With only $25 million raised so far, the committee is scrambling to offer a new round of special deals for corporate underwriters, as well as to devise a backup plan should the fund-raising fall short and plans for the convention need to be scaled down.
“We will raise the money,” Chris Lopez, a spokesman for the host committee, said. “We are working every day to get it done. We are in a situation where we have to get it done and we will. We can’t make any excuses.”
There are many reasons that have been floated for the money woes faced by the Denver committee. It is not uncommon for host committees to lag in fund-raising, only to see large donations arrive in the month before the convention. And some are concerned that the protracted nominating fight between Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has made fund-raising more difficult.
Read Democrats Miss Marks to Finance Convention in the New York Times.
“How can coalfield societies prosper? How can the economies of boom-and-bust rural regions gain stability? Ask that person in the cap and gown.”
“Pinch hitting for Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Obama delivered the commencement address at Wesleyan University today. Obama encouraged graduates to take after the example of Senator Kennedy and his brothers, commit to the service of others, and work towards a more just society...”
“Paterson met privately with Assembly Democrats and made clear that despite a looming three-year, $21.5 billion deficit, he will not consider their plan to hike taxes on the rich. "There are a number of belt-tightening maneuvers that we have to show the public that we've engaged in before we can go to the nearest business and nearest millionaire and ask them for more money," he said. ”
“Several committees that oversee the city of Burlington's cable television system will hold a public forum later today to hear from residents whether the system should continue to broadcast the television network Al-Jazeera-English. WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more ”
Yesterday marked the passing of a quarter century since the 40-year leader of the City of Albany passed away.
Corning was the handsome, patrician alter ego to gruff, streetwise political boss Dan O'Connell in an indomitable Democratic machine their two socially disparate families had forged.
Some of Corning's progressive ideas never came to pass in the constrictive conservatism of machine politics. His enthusiasm for what's now called going green was 40 years ahead of its time: solar-powered homes, bio-mass fuels, a fleet of electric vehicles for citizens to borrow for short jaunts around town.
"He was brilliant, but he was also a man of unrealized potential," said Bishop David Ball of the Albany Episcopal Diocese and a friend of the Corning family.
A personal touch, routine accessibility, an abiding loyalty—not to mention hundreds of patronage jobs to dispense—were hallmarks of the Corning era.
"Mayor Corning told me to talk to people and to make myself available," said Mayor Jerry Jennings, who was a vice principal at Albany High School and a Common Council alderman when Corning died. "But times have changed, and you're never going to see that type of political structure again.'
There is a lot of good to be said about Corning, who managed the city through some difficult times, in kind of ignoramus from what the rest of the world was doing in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a good man with some great talents, and to this day is sorely missed—even by people who weren't around when he was mayor.
Read Alas, Poor Corning, They Never Knew You in the Times Union.
“The spokesman who defended President Bush's policies through Hurricane Katrina and the early years of the Iraq war is now blasting his former employers, saying the Bush administration became mired in propaganda and political spin and at times played loose with the truth. art.mcclellan.bush.gi.jpg Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan blasts President Bush and advisers in a new book. In excerpts from a 341-page book to be released Monday, Scott McClellan writes on Iraq that Bush "and his advisers confused the propaganda campaign with the high level of candor and honesty so fundamentally needed to build and then sustain public support during a time of war."”
“What do presidential candidates John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have in common — aside from the obvious? They all love green-collar jobs. Obama promises to spend $150 billion over 10 years to create 5 million new green-collar jobs. Clinton references the term repeatedly on the trail, and says her energy plan will create millions of new green-collar jobs as well. McCain is less willing to cite numbers, but he too assures campaign audiences that action to decarbonize America's economy will produce "thousands, millions of new jobs in America."”
“That's the international standard most private and government-run health insurance plans worldwide use to determine whether to cover a new medical procedure. More simply, insurance companies calculate that to make a treatment worth its cost, it must guarantee one year of "quality life" for $50,000 or less. New research, however, would argue that that figure is far too low.”
“The state is likely to have to take some “drastic actions’’ later this year to close a budget gap caused largely by a big dropoff in Wall Street revenues, Gov. David Paterson said today. "Time is not on our side here,’’ Paterson said in an interview on Talk-1300 AM in Albany. When asked if he will call a special session of the Legislature later this year to try to deal with financial problems, he said, “I would anticipate one.’’ His comments were among his most pessimistic yet as the state struggles to balance its budget. Paterson has been talking about needs for cuts almost since the day he agreed on a new state budget last month that increases overall spending by about 5 percent.”
From the article:
"Noting that being in government “takes a toll,” State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno was noncommital when asked how long he hopes to remain in the state Legislature.
“I am where I am today. Here I am with you, having this delightful conversation and we’ll see what life looks like,” Bruno, 79, answered cryptically when asked in an interview with NYSSBA’s On Board newspaper if he would run for re-election to the Senate seat he has held since 1976.
“You know what, I’m trying to get by today. And, if I get by today, I look forward to tomorrow,” he said. “I am doing what I’m doing because I feel challenged and we’re getting results. I’m not prejudging anything here. I am where I am today. I kind of live my life in the moment. People should live in the moment.”
Read Bruno Won't Commit To Re-Election, But Insists GOP Stays In Control on The Daily Politics - NY Daily News.
“Yes, the economy is in rough shape. But comparisons to the Great Depression are misguided.”
“It was not one of those stories that has everyone talking in Albany, or that results in giant headlines in newspapers across the state, but the announcement Tuesday that the state and federal government have reached an agreement on an enhanced driver's license for New York state could be a significant boost for upstate communities. The EDL will essentially serve the same function as a passport for people traveling to and from Canada. Part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, these licenses also will be good for New Yorkers who need to get back into the United States from Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.”
“The Zoning Board of Appeals did not take up a controversial proposal Wednesday night by the Fort Orange Club to demolish two buildings near the State Capitol but did hear an application for a new downtown nightclub. The Fort Orange Club item was removed from the board's agenda at the start of the meeting but is expected to return at a later date.”
“With scores of wounded men and women returning from combat, New York veterans groups will march on the state Capitol today to demand action on what they say are outstanding health and work issues. Members of the New York State Council of Veterans Organizations, which represents 35 groups across New York, will rally at 11 a.m. for improved health care, economic opportunities for disabled veterans and more.”
“Board members of the Thruway Authority and Metropolitan Transit Authority have been illegally getting free E-ZPass privileges for years, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday as he demanded the perk be pulled. The Thruway Authority immediately complied. A spokeswoman said it discontinued the freebie upon receiving Cuomo's opinion Wednesday that authorities whose directors are supposed to be uncompensated cannot get such benefits.”
“The company recently bought a $200,000 rebar shear line which has allowed it to increase rebar fabrication from about 8 tons a day to between 30 and 40 tons a day. ”
“Is anyone really surprised that legislative leaders seemed to have agreed to twiddle their thumbs until the current session ends next month, despite a slew of major issues that still needs addressing? They shouldn't be. Putting off until tomorrow what should be done today has long been the mantra in Albany. It's shaping up that Albany leaders are content to leave the heavy lifting until after the November general election.”
“Gov. Paterson, New York's first legally blind governor, admitted Wednesday he didn't become fully comfortable with his disability until the last few years. In his first expansive comments on his visual impairment since becoming governor on March 17, Paterson detailed the ways he sought to hide his blindness over the years. ”
“Some of Sony’s music executives believe there is a gold mine under the company’s New York headquarters on Madison Avenue. It doesn’t look like much: just a small room, three floors below ground level, with a wall full of the sliding shelves you’d find in a law firm or university library.”
“Oil prices have risen dramatically over the past year. When they passed $100 a barrel, they hit new heights, expressed in dollars adjusted for inflation. As they passed $120 a barrel, they clearly began to have global impact. Recently, we have seen startling rises in the price of food, particularly grains. Apart from higher prices, there have been disruptions in the availability of food as governments limit food exports and as hoarding increases in anticipation of even higher prices.”
“The town’s Historic Preservation Review Commission believes a deteriorating house that was once the childhood home of Col. Elmer Ellsworth and is now for sale on Route 9 downtown should be designated a historic landmark. Ellsworth, a friend of President Abraham Lincoln’s family, was one of the first casualties of the Civil War. The current owner is opposed, however, to the designation. The Town Board, which would have to rule on the request, appears ambivalent because of that.”
“Callaway Golf is closing its city golf ball factory, a decision that will eliminate 118 jobs. In a letter sent Thursday to Gloversville Mayor Tim Hughes, the company’s deputy director, Yue Yee, said the plant will close as of July 31. Federal regulations required the notification. Hughes called the closing tragic.”
“Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, will run for re-election this year. Kris Thompson, Bruno's press secretary, said this afternoon that Bruno's name will be on petitions that Republican committee members in Saratoga and Rensselaer counties will start circulating next week in the 43rd Senate District. A formal announcement will come later, Thompson said.”
“Brian Premo didn’t have a lot of success two years ago when he decided to take on Republican heavyweight state Sen. Joseph Bruno, a 32-year veteran of state politics. No matter. The Brunswick lawyer is making a follow-up run for Bruno’s seat in the State Senate, a position Bruno, the Senate majority leader and a Glens Falls-native, first obtained in 1976.”
This picture of Senator Bruno, from the Saratoga Springs Memorial Day parade and posted on Daily Politics blog caught my attention.
Here it is:
We all know that flag shirts are widely available like that one at Western stores of all places. They are popular to wear on Memorial Day.
Yet, only 40 years ago wearing one of them would not only have been considered distasteful, it would be a crime.
(Abbie Hoffman being arrested for wearing the shirt)
This interesting article notes problems with all the leading candidates for Congress.
I am shocked to hear this happen so soon again.
A construction crane collapsed Friday on New York's Upper East Side, killing at least one person and smashing into an apartment building before landing on the street in a twisted heap of metal.
The construction crane collapsed and smashed into a 23-story apartment building, reportedly crushing the penthouse before cascading to the ground.
It looks like we are going to need to be rethinking how we build building and make sure our cranes are safe.
Read Crane Falls 23 Stories, Kills One in New York on NPR.
“While nonprofit organizations are beneficial to the quality of life of the city’s residents, sometimes their location is not. So says Mark Capone, who sits on Mayor Ann Thane’s Downtown Business Committee and is a member of the Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency. Capone said the large ratio of churches and nonprofit organizations to businesses on East Main Street could be causing more harm than good when it comes to restoring the area to a thriving commercial district.”
“While nonprofit organizations are beneficial to the quality of life of the city’s residents, sometimes their location is not. So says Mark Capone, who sits on Mayor Ann Thane’s Downtown Business Committee and is a member of the Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency. Capone said the large ratio of churches and nonprofit organizations to businesses on East Main Street could be causing more harm than good when it comes to restoring the area to a thriving commercial district.”
“Though he's been publicly coy about his re-election plans, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno soon will announce his intent to run again, a spokesman said Thursday. Behind the scenes, the Brunswick Republican already is quietly gearing up for a run.”
“Opposition surfaced Thursday against Gov. David Paterson's directive to state agencies to recognize gay marriages legally performed in other states and countries.”
The Saranac Brewery burned last night, although they are promising to rebuild.
Fire officials began an investigation of the cause of a smoky fire at F.X. Matt brewery, maker of Saranac beer and ale, as four fire companies battled flames in the brick building and residents were evacuated from a six-block area Thursday evening.
Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks said the only injuries were to two brewery employees who were in satisfactory condition at a city hospital where they were treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire began around 4:45 p.m. Shortly after the start of the Saranac Thursday music event, flames erupted from the part of the brewery right behind the concert stage. The event was canceled and the venue evacuated. As of 8:30 p.m., the fire still wasn't under control, Brooks said.
Meghan Fraser, marketing coordinator for the brewery, said the fire was in a building involved in processing and canning and a lot of smoke was coming from packaging and plastic. She said everyone was evacuated.
I'm not a fan of Saranac myself, especially not the ales. Then again, I don't really like ale—it's too bitter for my taste. I'm sure there are a lot of people that do like it, and a lot of people who depend on the jobs the facility produces, so they are hoping that they are up and running soon again.
By the way, Saranac brewery is nowheres near the Saranac River or even Saranac Lake.
Read Fire Rages at Historic Utica Brewery in the Times Union.
“If that headline doesn't make sense, then chances are you aren't into texting. Which is a good thing if you happen to be driving along the Northway or some other busy thoroughfare. But if you are a texting fan, and you can't resist sending a message while driving, you may soon find yourself getting a ticket. That day can't come soon enough.”
“As you surf through the internet you’re bound to come across certain designs that you love and some that you hate. But good blog design has a few unique elements when compared to the design of a traditional website. Here are ten things to keep in mind when designing your blog.”
“State Senator Neil Breslin may face a primary challenge from a newcomer worth considering ”
“Recalling New York City's fiscal crisis in the mid-1970s, Gov. David A. Paterson yesterday adopted one of the city's oversight tools to curb spending by state agencies in the face of next year's projected budget deficit of $5 billion. The mechanism, called a Program to Eliminate the Gap, or PEG, allows Paterson to call for and implement spending cuts at any time during the fiscal year to ensure the budget is balanced and out-year deficits are manageable. The initiative stipulates that agencies file quarterly reports on their progress toward meeting budget goals and calls for the creation of an oversight board to enforce compliance. ”
“But survival is not just a product of luck. We can do far more than we think to improve our odds of preventing and surviving even the most horrendous of catastrophes. It's a matter of preparation--bolting down your water heater before an earthquake or actually reading the in-flight safety card before takeoff--but also of mental conditioning. Each of us has what I call a "disaster personality," a state of being that takes over in a crisis. It is at the core of who we are. The fact is, we can refine that personality and teach our brains to work more quickly, maybe even more wisely.”
“As 1.5 million new college graduates start streaming into the workforce this month, it's no wonder they're not sure what to wear. Even longtime workers still flounder at the wardrobe, because almost two decades since the term first appeared in corporate dress codes, our understanding of business casual remains far from uniform. Jeans are one thing--half of us have recently worn them to work, according to a Shopzilla.com survey. But only 55% of those surveyed by the job-hunting site Monster.com think exposed underwear is an office no-no, a stat that suggests a gaping generational divide. "I call it the three D's: distracting, disgusting and--although it'll betray my age--disrespectful," says Eileen McAvoy Boylen, 54, a Boston-area marketing executive, of the way young workers dress. Liz Dean, 21, a Mount Holyoke graduate about to join Teach for America, views office attire differently. "Nobody my age wants to conform," she says.”
It looks like a museum that will deal with woodstock history will be opening on Monday outside of the original place of woodstock.
It sounds like a lot of commercialization of the orginal concert, but it will be interesting to see what happens.
That's what the Daily Gazette reported yesterday, claiming that the governor is not happy with the former's governor choice of venue to run the state's various racetracks.
He did say however, that he would not try to overturn the former governor's decision to give it to NYRA.
Sometimes it so encouraging to see stories like this one, where a brave Albany teenager, dodged under a city bus to save a infant to fell out of a stroller unbenownst to the driver or the mother who was loading the kid onto the bus.
Things like this have to reinforce everybody's believe in the humanity that still exists in our society.
It appears that both Michigan and Florida will get half the delegates they were suppost to get due to them violating the rules. Obama will get a portion of the uncommitted delegates in Michigan.
I'm glad to see it's been worked out. Read more about this on NPR News.
He thinks it's time for the canal authority to once again become it's own entity and charge for canals whatever is necessary for their maintenance.
He does have a good point. The canal system is supposed to be self-supporting, and if they aren't bringing in a enough revenue, then they should raise tolls. That said, that doesn't really effect the Thruway Authority if they are already doing that.
Today on WAMC / National Public Radio there is a story about Coalition Sends Letters to U-S House Leadership Emphasizing Need for LIHEAP Funds that is an informative listen.
Since the failure of another massive crane in New York City there are a lot of people looking for answers on why they have been failing so spectacularly.
The Associated Press reports:
The towering cranes that build America's skyscrapers are often not properly inspected for wear, fatigue and other potentially dangerous structural problems, several construction safety experts said following a deadly accident.
Two construction workers died Friday when the huge cab of a 200-foot-high construction crane popped off its mast and plummeted onto a Manhattan street, shearing off part of an apartment building on the way down.Investigators probing the accident have focused on a possible defect in the turntable that connected the cab to the crane's tower.
Acting Building Commissioner Robert LiMandri said a weld in the mechanism appeared to have failed. He said forensic experts were examining the break and tracking maintenance records on the turntable, which was part of an aging crane made by the defunct company Kodiak that had been in service since 1984.
It's a tragedy that needs to have more answers found out about it so it does not have to be repeated a third time.
In the Daily Gazette there is an article called Blanchfield to Announce Bid for Assembly that is worth a read.
In a war when it seems that more and more people are dying unnecessarily, at least some people are returning home safely to their families.
There is an neat article in the Press-Republican about a company restoring vintage trailers in Plattsburgh.
Across the river, the Troy Record is reporting that the Quick thinking by Albany teen saves newborn’s life.
A major fire at Universal Studios has destroyed many historic tapes:
A large fire tore through a back lot at Universal Studios early Sunday, destroying a set from ''Back to the Future,'' the King Kong exhibit and a video vault containing more than 40,000 videos and reels.
The blaze broke out on a backlot sound stage in a set featuring New York brownstones facades around 4:30 a.m. Sunday at the 400-acre property, but was contained later in the day, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman said.
Roughly 40,000 to 50,000 videos and reels were damaged in the vault, but there were duplicates stored in a different location, NBC Universal President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Meyer said.
That's too bad. See the NY Times for more.
Our favorite newspaper from the mega-city of New York, the New York Times, has an article called Consumers Lean On Rebate Checks for Bills and Gas that I found interesting to read.
