January 31, 2011
PoliticsNY.Net: NYS MONDAY'S INTERNET NEWS
NY TIMES: The Devil We Know. As the world ponders the fate of Egypt after Hosni Mubarak, Americans should ponder this: It's quite possible that if Mubarak had not ruled Egypt as a dictator for the last 30 years, the World Trade Center would still be standing. See LOCAL screen
NY TIMES: Within Our Means. In the next two months, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature will have to make very difficult decisions about how to close a $10 billion budget deficit — which state offices to shutter, which services and aid to cut, which employees to lay off and which taxes to raise. There are no easy fixes left. See state screen
NY TIMES: Cuomo Files Tax-Cap Bill, Surprising Assembly. In a surprise move, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has submitted his proposal to limit local property taxes to the State Senate for a vote on Monday, a tactic that seems designed to isolate Democratic lawmakers in the Assembly who have qualms about the measure. Full story
NY TIMES: Last Fall, Hurling Insults at Cuomo. Now, Backing His Fiscal Plan. Michael R. Caputo has devoted an inordinate amount of time to bashing Andrew M. Cuomo. As the campaign manager last year for Mr. Cuomo's Republican rival in the governor's race, Carl P. Paladino, Mr. Caputo delighted in coining names like Princ Andrew and comparing Mr. Cuomo to Pinocchio. Full story
NY TIMES: No permit? No touching a pistol. You don't find a lot of retail businesses that officially turn away buyers. But when I visited the John Jovino Gun Shop, the city's oldest, the mildest inquiry elicited a swift and gruff response. Show me your police identification, I was told, or goodbye. The store does not sell to civilians. Full story
TIMES UNION: enate set to vote on tax cap.The Senate will vote on a bill that would impose a 2 percent cap on increases to the property tax levies of local governments and school districts, its leadersaid. Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Long Island, said a "program bill" was introduced late Friday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and will be voted on Mondayafternoon. "I feel great about it," Skelos said Sunday evening before a panel discussion at the Conservative Party Political Action Conference. "We have stated for the last two years that we're going to pass the cap and we're fulfilling our commitment to thevoters." See state screen
TIMES UNION: Line drawn on prison head count debate. Having retaken the Senate majority, Republicans are once again battling to have legislative district lines drawn with prison inmates counted in their jail cells -- not at their last-knownaddresses. Full story
NY DAILY NEWS: Mayor Bloomberg blasts teacher seniority in speech at prominent black church. Mayor Bloombergratcheted up his campaign against teacher seniority rules on Sunday, taking his case to a prominent black church in Brooklyn. "Albany rules say when it comes to teaching, talent doesn't matter, results don't matter," Bloomberg told hundreds of parishioners at the Christian Cultural Center in Canarsie. "I say enough with Albany rules!" See state screen
NY DAILY NEWS: Weaseling Families Party? Labor leaders backtrack on budget cut promises to Gov. Andrew CuomoIt's increasingly obvious that the Working Families Party has broken its word to Gov. Cuomo and to New York voters. The labor-backed party's leaders pledged to support Cuomo's fiscally austere agenda back when there was something in it for them - space alongside his name on the November ballot. Full story
NY DAILY NEWS: Gov. Cuomo to propose cuts in slash-&-burn 2010-2011 budget plan. State agencies are bracing for another round of cuts as Gov. Cuomo introduces his proposed 2010-11 budget plan Tuesday. Cuomo is expected to order state agencies to cut another 10%, sources said. The governor is also expected to propose getting rid of several restrictions on the Keno-like Quick Draw game that sources said will allow for a major expansion in New York City. Critics have slammed the game as "video crack" that leaves inebriated players to gamble away their paychecks. Cuomo's slash-and-burn budget plan will also seek steep cuts in education and health care funding and a call for more than 10,000 layoffs as he seeks to close a $10 billion deficit without new borrowing or increased taxes. Meanwhile, the GOP-controlled Senate is expected Monday to pass Cuomo's first program bill - a measure to cap local property tax increases at 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. The idea is to put pressure on the Democrat-led Assembly to cut a deal on the issue, insiders said. Entire Post
NY POST: Secret Plan to ax useless teachers. State lawmakers are se cretly eyeing a compro mise that would allow Mayor Bloomberg to fire thousands of "nonteaching teachers" without consideration of the "last in, first out" law, The Post has learned. The plan, being discussed at the highest levels of the Legislature and with aides to Bloomberg, would grant the mayor the right to fire between 2,000 to 4,000 nonclassroom teachers -- including all those who formerly languished in the notorious "rubber room" under disciplinary charges. The plan would also target members of the "absent teacher reserve pool" -- which includes nonworking but on-the-payroll teachers from schools that have been shut down because of poor performance -- and teachers assigned only to "administrative functions," sources said. See state screen
NY POST: The brutal rise and bloody fall of the Colombos The future of the Colombo crime family -- an 83-year-old operation that once ruled New York's waterfront and has been the most bloodthirsty of the city's five Mafia families -- rests with two little-known brothers-in-law who secretly recorded their bosses for months. Full story
DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE: Senate GOP moves to limit Robert Duffy's power. After complaining for two years that the state Senate was dominated by downstate power brokers, Republicans are stripping former Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, now lieutenant governor, of his already limited authority, Democrats charge. Full story
DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE: Buffalo Bills can learn from how. The Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday will try to win their third Super Bowl in six years. The Buffalo Bills haven't made the playoffs since 1999. There are many reasons why the Steelers have been more successful Bills in the last decade, but the success and lack of success of first-round draft picks are at the top of the list. Full story
POST STANDARD: N.Y. Gov. Cuomo's budget is expected to threaten state worker layoffs. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's firm yet vague threat to lay off thousands of state workers as part of the budget he'll present Tuesday has employees and their families shaking. The fear is real. But in Albany, where the fog of politics makes it difficult to even figure out even how many state employees there are, reality is harder to figure out. Full story
POLITICO: Rudy Giuliani's campaign still in debt. Rudy Giuliani may be talking up a potential second-act presidential run in 2012, but he still hasn't tended to the little matter of the $1 million-plus worth of debt being shouldered by his last campaign. His presidential committee's most recent FEC filing, which posted online late Friday, shows he still owes $1.1 million in loans to himself - cash the ex-mayor gave his flailing campaign back in 2008. There haven't been any new payments in months. However, the committee did pay out a few salaries and monthly fees - the largest, $7,500 a month, going to Bracewell and Giuliani, his law firm, for "legal consulting." Entire Post
BUFFALO SABRES
The Buffalo Sabres will announce a purchase agreement by billionaire Terry Pegula by the end of the week, multiples sources told ESPN.com on Saturday.
The Sabres' sale was updated at the NHL's Board of Governors meeting here at All-Star Weekend with the purchase price being $189 million, according to sources. Once the purchase agreement is announced, the sale is expected to close within a month, sources said.
Pegula on Saturday morning met with the Board of Governors' executive committee, a league source confirmed to ESPN.com. He is set to take over ownership of the NHL club from Tom Golisano for a reported $175 million.
"He's a very well-met guy. He made his own wealth, and he's a very nice man." Jeremy Jacobs
"The status of the transaction, I'm not going to speculate as to whether or not this is the week or there will ever be a week. That would be for Mr. Pegula and the Sabres and current ownership to announce if and when they're ready." Gary Bettman Full story
PASS THE NO TAXPAYER FUNDING FOR ABORTION ACT
House Republicans are preparing to pass restrictions on federal financing of abortions. Lawmakers, thank God, have madethisAct one of their highest priorities to take the decision about a legal medical procedure out of the hands of individuals, esp. those whorely on easy access to anabortion as their method of choice for birth control. The bill, introduced by Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican, would bar outright the use of federal subsidies to buy any insurance that covers abortion.
A separate Republican Bill would deny federal funds for family planning services to any organization that provides abortions. It is aimed primarily at Planned Parenthood's hundreds of health centers. No federal money will be used for abortions.
Until Roe vs Wade is overturned the government for the time being will be a great help in our struggle for the absolute right of the unborn to be.
"For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them." (Psalm 139:13-16)
A FEW THINGS POLITICAL
GOOGLE ANTALYTICS ... JANUARY 21-28, 2011
Visits Page ViewsAbsolute Unique Visits
16,95819,297 7464
We signed on to Google Antalytics last Friday at NOON (Numbers reflect Friday the 28th midnight). I was told by experts that Google would render the most accurate numbers in the aggregate (Three separate & unique URL's) for our publication. These numbers represent one week of traffic. Please remember our publication is one page. We do not have a site where we link all of our content like 99% of the sites you read. Thus it follows our page view numbers are very close to our visits. Now the way the other blogs CHEAT & defraud the public &potential advertisers is by counting all of the pages on their sites as visits; when in fact they are page views.In many cases LOCALLY these low life's just report page views giving the impression the number represents visits to the uninformed public or advertiser. We didn't bother to count HITS because HITS mean absolutely nothing.For instance this week a local TV news station reported 100,000 HITS on one day as a great number. The fact is with all of the images, etc, on the site this breaks down to MAYBE 1,500 visits. A terrible number. Another thing this is a very slow period for relevant political news. The numbers will go up exponentially when the election season is in hard drive.
The value of our publication (PoliticsNY.Net/PoliticsWNY.com Inc.) is our readership. The numbers yes. However, our readersare the power brokers around the state, political & private sector, Washington DC & media & elected officials around the country to a degree. The most gratifying part for meis the average voter who learns something about the political goings on in WNY/State & the rules/laws that guide the process.
NOTE: Google Antalytics does NOT count email blasts as PC users per se. The AOL email blast is counted asONE visit. I do not want to confuse you. So I will simply write that there are hundreds of readers on our sign up list. So you would add circa 3500 or more to both our visits & page view numbers for the week. Plus hundreds of unique visitors to that column. Now keeping in mind depending on the breaking news, we blast multiple times per day, the numbers would go up dramatically. However, that would NOT be an accurate snap shot of our traffic if we pulled that nonsense.
Been there done that: Cuomo, a former advertiser with this publication,is appointing Commissions or promising to appoint Commissions like Obama has appointed Czars. The time has come Andrew to walk the walk & dispense with talking the talk, ad nauseum. NYS has been looking at Medicaid reform for the last decade. We know what the issues are now fix it Andrew; you promised you would during the campaign.A promises made-promises kept thing.
What is a governor to do? The voters are demanding fiscal reform on one side of the coin; on the other in a Q poll Wednesday, if correct, these same voters are saying don't touch education & Medicaid. Go figure, Really!
I wonder ifCuomo will appoint a commission to look at gay marriage. How would that work? Could be interesting, hmmm! Higgins pal Congressman Barney Frank could get an interstate visa & chair the commission. Lets get the vote over with, watch the Bill defeated in the Senate & move on, again. In a Q Poll released Thursday (today) support for GM runs along party lines Democrats support, Republicans do not.
("The Cuomo administration has finally settled on a nominee to head the Empire State Development Corp. ' a post for which the governor has drawn some criticism for leaving empty this long while insisting his main focus is "jobs, jobs, jobs." The governor has tapped state Business Council President and CEO Ken Adams to serve in the same capacity at ESDC. Cuomo also announced he plans to change the leadership structure at the corporation, separating the CEO and chairman functions. ...Hehas selected Rose Harvey, a researcher at a green real estate policy, development and investment firm, to serve as commissioner of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation." YNN)
Thinking about Health Care: Wasn't the whole point of the Burger (Health Care) Commission appointed underSpitzer to downsize & restructure the Health Care delivery system in NYS? Seems to me all we have been reading about statewide is one expansion after another. Although, locallymost of the expansions have to do with targeting specialty care, a good thing. I am very excited about the long term prospects for both Buffalo General (Women & Children's) & ECMC, CEO's Jim Kaskie & Jody Lomeo are indeed the dynamic duo. Throw Great Lakes Health Chairman Bob Gioia in the mix & we have a dynamic trio!
I have to wonder now that ECMC is constructing a long term health facility for the elderly on its campus what is going to happen to the Kensington Heights proposal. Kensington Heights a closed housing project at Fillmore & Kensington isslated to be amulti million dollar long term care & residential facility for the elderly. I believe taxpayermoney hasbeen allocated for the project. I do not believe there is a shovel in the ground.
UPDATE: I'm being told that HSBC will stay in its current location, unconfirmed. Ibelieve, considering the source,the report is accurate. Now lets build a new State of the Art Convention Center on the Webster street site. ...
Sources: Specialized employees, tech, at HSBC downtown are being asked too move to Chicago.
County Executive Chris Collins, as aresult of great fiscal restraint, has Erie County in an enviable situation compared to the rest of the State. One could argue the County still has an advisoryControl Board.
The ECFSA (control board) is expected to make a decision whether to revert to asupervisory control status very soon. if the ECFSA does opt to revert to a 'Hard" Board it will be for strictly political reasons, attempting to impact the County Executive's race.
Let me make the point: Na$$$au is a super rich County & the State came in Wednesday & took over County finances. What we had in Na$$au was a political melt down. Mixing metaphors sort of in Erie County we had a fiscal meltdown &our fiscalship of state has been right sized.
I really do not see any candidate emerging on the Democratic side to oppose Collins. Chairman Lenihan would probably be better off focusing on the Legislature races.
Oh! If you are wondering when the redistricting process will begin in earnest the US Census has not released the County & City numbers. The numbers are expected to be released in February & March. I really do not expect much of a change in the City. I do expect a real donnybrook in the County because of the Legislature referendum downsizing the Legislature from 15 to 11 seats.
No doubt people are already making deals & playing with the numbers. Sources, more than one, are reporting that Tim Whalen (D) voted with the coalition for Legislature Chairman because the GOP promised him they would assist inkeeping his seat in tact. There were a number of reasonswhy Whalen voted with the coalition.
My problem is Whalen is NOT a man of his word. He gave his oath to vote with the Democrats for Chairman. I normally would write throw the BUM out. However, I hold his brother Justice Whalen in the highest regard, not to mention Senator Tim Kennedy.
Whalen had a fundraiser Thursday night, Legislator Bove was there. What a hoot after redistrictingif they end up having to run against each other in a primary.
Chairman Lenihan did say to me that the Democrats are going to target Whalen. BUT! Lenihan could have avoided all of the above if he would have supported Christine Bove for Chair. He let the politics of retribution blind him. He not only lost the Legislature again; he also lost a the Water Authority appointment, etc. A huge mistake because Bove for all of her posturing would have dropped the GOP like a bad habit. The woman is independent & a DEMOCRAT.
Sadly, very sadly, Majority Leader Maria Whyte & her best friend Lynn Marinelli are still not accepting Committee Chairs. So much for 'public service", no signs of personal growth here. Just petty politics!
Sources are unequivocal for personal reasons Kelly Vacco will NOT seek reappointment to the County Water Authority. We wish Vacco God's speed. Sources say, "one name being considered to replace Vacco is key GOP operative Attorney Emilio Colaiacovo." A great choice should his appointment come to fruition. The Dem & GOP Legislature coalition will make the call.
I will be watching CHUCKIE very closely over the next few months. I expect he will not be able to help himself & get involved in County redistricting politics as well as theWhalen race; its an illness. CHUCKIE willuse Congressman Higgins' office as his home base. Illegal? Absolutely. Nothing new for CHUCKIE.
"Newly elected State Sen. Mark J. Grisanti of Buffalo is about to find out what it's like to be a swing vote in the rough-and-tumble battle over the state budget. Grisanti is one of a handful of freshmen Republican senators targeted by education advocates opposed to limiting property tax increases and cutting state aid to local schools. The New York State United Teachers union and the Alliance for Quality Education, a school advocacy group, are sponsoring the effort to pressure Grisanti. "I expected it," Grisanti said this week. "It doesn't bother me. I anticipate a lot of people are going to be unhappy with this budget." (This from a published report)
The nut cases are appealing the Verizon project in Niagara County. New money, new jobs, when does it end with these people, thats rhetorical. Of course the State & County must spend some taxpayermoney in this environment to get the project done.
Mayor Byron Brown has the City moving along swimmingly! Just doing a great job. However, Councilman Mickey "Mouse" Kearns wouldn't agree. The Mayor is still withholding funds for Minnie NO MickeyKearn's pork project in So. Buffalo. The Southees want a new recreation center.I know! I know!For the Southees a new rec center means a new bar or watering hole with a pool table & darts, as the case may be. Not this time. I think?
I am told Legislator Tim Whalen has quite a rep as a bartender & brawler, a true Southee. Looks like this will end up in court. The rec center not Whalen.
By the way now we are going to do another "national search" for a Human Resources Commish. These national searches are overblown, esp. in the case of Human Resources Commish. Just appoint someone locallywho knows the issues from the "private sector". Karla Thomas, while very bright, was a political appointment. I don't believe the Mayor will make the same mistake twice.
Let me make a point: The graduation rate in the Buffalo schools has gone from below 50% three years ago to 57% for the 2009-10 school year. Lets do the math, so to speak. The last two years represent the first two full four year cycles for Superintendent James Williams. That is growth of 4% per year. If the District sustains that growth in five years the graduation rate will be 77% & we will all be celebrating Williams tenure. Now this is not to say there are real & substantial problems in the district; there is a "glimmer" of light at the end of this tunnel.
I had lunch with my pal the NRA & SCOPE's Budd Schroeder Wednesday. Budd will hopefully be partnering with the Buffalo School District on illegal gun prevention other pertinent issues. The Mayor is already on board.
On the courts: I believe running the four City Court judges as a slate is the way to go. Thepremier race will be between incumbent Family Court Judge Pat Maxwell & acting Judge Sharon LoVallo (D). No one from the GOP side has emerged to run against the highly respected Justice Pat NeMoyer for Supreme Court. I do expect County GOP Chairman Langworthy to field an 8 County candidate. The reason is he owes Lenihan big time for not doing the cross endorsement last year. Fair exchange is no robbery!
Stay tuned
& so it goes
HIGGINS BANNERWENT NOVA...CHUCKIE'S FAULT!
CHUCKIE
UPDATES: Higgins gets appointed to the House Homeland Security Committee one day a few days later the same agency denies the region $300m to finance a Bridge plaza on the American side of the Canadian border crossing. Higgins says he is disappointed. Ya Think!
To be balanced: Higgins shot off a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. "Given the primacy of the Peace Bridge expansion project to my community, and understanding the high priority of Northern Border security issues to your agency, I was very surprised and disheartened to read the misleading comments purportedly made by a representative of your department in a trade publication contradicting the importance of this project."...
A significant number of people are asking me what is going on with you & Higgins.
As written I have supported Higgins for at least 13 years.CHUCKIE & I have worked well together over just about the same period of time a little less; for the last 90 daysCHUCKIE ignored my emails.
PREFACE: I have CHUCKIES emails & text messages!
WhenCHUCKIE finally did respond hewrote my emails went into his SPAMaccount. Lie one! ThenCHUCKIEwrote that Higgins was saving his money for his race next year via redistricting. Lie two! Finally,CHUCKIE writes they wanted a free banner; I would benefit from havingHigginsbanner on my publication, paraphrasing. Lie three! Thats actually very funny.
CHUCKIE is Higgins ID (id), & or alter ego.
When asked why Higgins keepsCHUCKIE on after all of the politicalembarrassment he caused him over the years the answer is simple.CHUCKIE is very intelligent, scary at times. He does a great job running Higgins local office. He makes himself indispensable. Higgins will deny it butBrian enjoys the politicalclout & gamesmanship, something he doesn't have in Washington DC. CHUCKIE addresses those intrinsic needs.
Look, I believe CHUCKIE believes I will die soon, really. Ergo, he can act out, i.e., be a real creep!
CHUCKIE is wrong! End of story ...
There are a significant number ofpoliticos who agree with my assessment of CHUCKIE. A couple highly placed DEMOCRATIC elected officials informed me they couldn't stop laughing & couldn't agree more. The last thing you want to do in this business a fatal flaw,is take yourself to seriously; believing your own press. The norm is 99%of the time this is the beginning of the end of what is a promising political career, believe that Congressman. Apparently, the expose' has the unintendedconsequence of potential GOP candidates gearing up to challenge Higginsnext year; that is if Higginsisn'tout of office via redistricting. Its on readers .. its on! How is that for gravitas. OK hubris! Just kidding? ...
Setting the record straight: I have supported Brian Higgins for 12 plus years; all the way back to his Council days. At times difficult but my political relationship with Higgins, a rising star,has always been positive. I am proud of the man even though we disagree on some policy issues like abortion & Gay Marriage. He is a dove with respect to our military etc. He has advertised with the Illuzzi Letter, PoliticsWNY, now PoliticsNY.Net for 10 years. I sat in the 3rd row center with the Judges when he was sworn into his first term as a U.S. Congressman. We have a history!
It is incumbent upon me to mention that I have dealt with state wide elected officials from Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Cuomo & DiNapolibeing former advertisers. I just do not get star struck. My attitude in most cases is who cares. Really!
Itook down Higgins banner not for any problem with Higgins but once again his Chief of Staff Chuck Eaton.CHUCKIE is one of the most dishonorable individuals in local politics;CHUCKIE just cannot tell the truth. He to this very day involves himself in a number of local elections using Higgins office as a defacto campaign headquarters. I have a very high placed source who says he ran the door to door operations for a candidate in the last cycle, not to mention the Tim Whalen appointment to the CountyLegislature. Over the years hehas "party raided" the IP in an effort to secure the line for local Democrat candidates. A move up from his days on the County Legislature. CHUCKIE cleaning former County Legislature Chairman Chuck Swanick's office &toilet & or painting one one of Swanick's homes in Florida.
I can tell you that the majority of the politicos in WNY that I have talked too, while respecting Higgins,agree with my statements about CHUCKIE. Anyway its time to move on.
I kept my promise to Higgins, calledhim at hisWashington office, NO return call. A star rises in this business at times exponentially. Wait15 minutes& the same star goes NOVA. End of story.
Joe Illuzzi
Winning the Future
by Bill O'Reilly
Finally, an issue all Americans can rally behind: winning the future! Surely most of us would like to be victorious down the road. The alternative is losing the future, and that doesn't sound very good, does it? If the future is lost, then what will become of us?
Thus, President Obama's new mantra, "winning the future," got immediate traction. His State of the Union speech was full of optimistic ways that we can win. Most of those ways involve "investing" in stuff like education, infrastructure jobs and alternative fuels. "Investing," of course, is the new word for government spending. The president doesn't want to spend anymore; he wants to "invest."
So Obama's speech was uplifting to say the least. We are going to beat those Chinese people in the marketplace, and our kids will be smarter than those Korean kids. Yes, we can! And the federal government's checkbook will lead the way.
In response, Republican Congressman Paul Ryan essentially said "no, we can't." We're broke. How uplifting is that?
Obama is a liberal man who is convinced that a large federal government can, indeed, improve the lives of most Americans. With a $14 trillion debt, however, Obama can no longer trumpet expanding the federal apparatus, but that doesn't mean he's against it. Let's take the high-speed train deal as an example.
The president loves the idea of these trains, and they do work well in places like Japan. But over the past 10 years, the government-run Amtrak outfit has lost an astonishing $13 billion. So what makes Obama believe that pumping even more tax money into high-speed rail will be good for the country? Talk about losing the past.
And then there's ethanol. Tons of federal money spent, little to show for it. T. Boone Pickens, a very savvy guy, tried wind power. He got blown away. The complexity of wind-driven energy makes it almost impossible to market.
As some of you know, I am a simple guy. My questions are not complicated. So here's another one regarding the winning thing: Didn't the Soviet Union want to win the future? I think they did. The pinheads in Moscow spent gazillions of dollars trying to dominate the world. And exactly how did that giant central government-run operation turn out? I believe it evaporated, did it not? Huge bureaucracies are not set up for winning the future. They exist to tell folks what to do and to take their money.
But the president and I do have some common ground on this "winning the future" theme. We are both for it. I, however, believe the folks are the key component to future success because they have repeatedly won in the past.
So let's stop the massive government spending, Mr. President, and unleash the American people by lowering taxes and encouraging private enterprise. Yes, we can.
January 30, 2011
O's SATURDAY INTERNET ADDRESS
PoliticsNY.Net: SENATOR PAT GALLIVAN
Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R,C,I ' Elma) applauded Governor Andrew Cuomo's selection of former Business Council of New York State President, Kenneth Adams, as President and CEO of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC). The ESDC is New York State's primary economic development entity, charged with undertaking both large-scale, community defining projects and distributing targeted funds to small businesses and start-up companies.
"Ken Adams ossesses the track record and the background to be a successful leader of the Empire State Development Company. His appointment is another example that our new Governor is serious about turning around the economy of New York State through private sector job growth."
Joe Illuzzi
Obama Believes American Exceptionalism Begins With Government
by David Limbaugh
Obama's latest watchword, "investments," is not, as I originally assumed, simply a euphemism for government spending. It captures his entire economic philosophy -- a philosophy that is permanently engrained in the core of his being and disastrous for America's "future."
President Bill Clinton shrewdly used the word as a more palatable substitute for income tax rate increases, saying taxpayers needed to "invest" more of their hard-earned dollars in America. But Obama's use of the term was different in two important ways. First, for him, "investments" would apply to the spending side of the fiscal equation. He would ask our support in his plan to "invest" more government money in infrastructure and education.
Secondly, and more significantly, Obama used the term to candy-coat his fundamental lack of confidence in the private sector and free market, as well as his commitment to faith in government as the primary engine for economic growth.
For all the analysis of Obama's speech, I don't think nearly enough has been made of this theme, which was interwoven throughout it. For it is the key to understanding that regardless of any promises he might make to move to the center, he will not do so willingly. It is also critical to comprehending why, despite the marked failure of his economic policies, he is virtually incapable of voluntarily changing course.
Obama's critics often say that it's important to pay more attention to his actions than his words. Though there is much validity in that, it's also true that we must not overlook his words, for he is not always careful to disguise his heartfelt views.
In his pre-speech teasers, Obama telegraphed that he would be emphasizing job creation. Indeed, he said that he saved the nation from economic collapse through his (atrociously wasteful and wholly ineffective trillion-dollar) "stimulus" bill. He insisted that he has succeeded in reigniting the economy but that the matter of job creation is an entirely separate process that will follow through his next round of magic.
He didn't bother acknowledging that he's played this same tune many times before (saying he wasn't focused enough on jobs but now he is) or that he specifically promised from the outset that job growth would result from his stimulus. But he did tell us multiple times in this speech how he envisions job growth finally coming about.
Yes, he rolled out the blame-Bush card again, but he also underscored the limitations of the free market to produce economic growth and employment. His entire "Sputnik" meme was based on this wrongheaded notion.
When the Soviet Union lurched ahead of us in the space race, America's leaders launched a national effort to surpass the Soviets. For Obama, by analogy, the federal government has to be the prime mover in leading and catalyzing America's comeback in education and in economic growth. We cannot understand Obama without recognizing that he believes the private sector can't create or innovate without paternalistic direction and googobs of money from the wiser beings in Washington.
"We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time," he said. "The first step ... is encouraging American innovation." Note that he didn't mean "encourage" in the sense of getting government off businesses' and people's backs. He means the federal government should proactively prod, direct and lead us into the promised land of economic growth.
He credited government for providing money for "basic research" and "cutting-edge scientists and inventors" throughout history, without which the hand of the free market would have been not only invisible but also impotent. As a result, he pledged from his command-control perch to "invest in biomedical research, information technology and especially clean energy technology" (that PC token can never be omitted) -- "an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet and create countless new jobs for our people." So far, they've been "countless" indeed. This is just one example. Read the transcript and you'll see that throughout he betrays his blind faith in the indispensability of government action to job growth.
It would be bad enough if Obama's ideas merely retarded their stated goal of restoring job growth. But they necessarily involve Keynesian prescriptions of throwing obscene and budget-busting amounts of federal money at this ephemeral solution. Even if Obama wanted to reduce the deficit and debt, his economic philosophy would compel him always to spend more and would prevent fiscal responsibility.
If you listened to the speech and came away believing Obama is receptive to moving to the center, then you didn't hear or understand him. For the GOP to make headway on restoring fiscal sanity to this nation, it must first understand him. Then it must oppose and reverse him.
Last week
PoliticsNY.Net: GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO
NY Voters Psyched About New Gov… Job Approval Rating Off to a Good Start
Marist Poll
One month into his tenure, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is viewed favorably by more than seven in ten registered voters statewide, and nearly half — 48% ' approve of his job performance thus far. Many voters think Mr. Cuomo may be the right prescription to treat New York's ailing state government.
"Out of the starting gates, it's so far so good for Governor Andrew Cuomo," says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. "His numbers surpass initial polls on the previous three governors and are comparable to his father's."
SENATOR GEORGE MAZIARZ
The Senate Republicans have elevated Sen. George Maziarz, a veteran Western NY lawmaker, to the post of vice president pro tempore ' the third highest ranking leadership position in the chamber.
"Our state desperately needs reform," said Maziarz. "We must chart a clear course to get us beyond our budget deficits and our economic stagnation. We need to make bold changes to the way our government is structured and the way it operates, and I look forward to being part of that process." My new leadership role can only help our Western New York delegation advance key projects like UB 2020. Making sure that our region has a voice in Albany is what my public service is all about." Senator George Maziarz
"Unlike the Senate Democrats, who only paid lip service to Western New York, the Senate Republicans are committed to helping businesses create jobs and revitalizing the local economy." Senator Dean Skelos
SIDEBAR: "In the fall of 2009, Ed Mangano was on top of the world after coming from behind to oust a Democratic rising star, then-Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, in a win that shocked the New York politerati. Now, just over one year later, Mangano has fallen from grace in a big way. Earlier Wednesday, a state oversight board seized control of Nassau County's finances, saying the fiscally troubled county has failed to balance its $2.6 billion budget in spite of its wealth and considerable property tax base wealthy in spite of months of warnings to do so." YNN
Joe Illuzzi
The Old Obama in New Clothing
byCharles Krauthammer
WASHINGTON -- The November election sent a clear message to Washington: less government, less debt, less spending. President Obama certainly heard it, but judging from his State of the Union address, he doesn't believe a word of it. The people say they want cuts? Sure they do -- in the abstract. But any party that actually dares carry them out will be punished severely. On that, Obama stakes his re-election.
No other conclusion can be drawn from a speech that didn't even address the debt issue until 35 minutes in. And then what did he offer? A freeze on domestic discretionary spending that he himself admitted would affect a mere one-eighth of the budget.
Obama seemed impressed, however, that it would produce $400 billion in savings over 10 years. That's an average of $40 billion a year. The deficit for last yearalone was more than 30 times as much. And total federal spending was more than 85 times that amount. A $40 billion annual savings for a government that just racked up $3 trillion in new debt over the last two years is deeply unserious. It's spillage, a rounding error.
As for entitlements, which are where the real money is, Obama said practically nothing. He is happy to discuss, but if Republicans dare take anything from granny, he shall be Horatius at the bridge.
This entire pantomime about debt reduction came after the first half of a speech devoted to, yes, new spending. One almost has to admire Obama's defiance. His 2009 stimulus and budget-busting health care reform are precisely what stirred the popular revolt that delivered his November shellacking. And yet he's back for more.
It's as if Obama is daring the voters -- and the Republicans -- to prove they really want smaller government. He's manning the barricades for Obamacare and he's here with yet another spending -- excuse me, investment -- spree. To face down those overachieving Asians, Obama wants to sink yet more monies into yet more road and bridge repair, more federally subsidized teachers -- with a bit of high-speed rail tossed in for style. That will show the Chinese.
And of course, once again, there is the magic lure of a green economy created by the brilliance of Washington experts and politicians. This is to be our "Sputnik moment," when the fear of the foreigner spurs us to innovation and greatness of the kind that yielded NASA and the moon landing.
Apart from the irony of this appeal being made by the very president who has just killed NASA's manned space program, there is the fact that for three decades, since Jimmy Carter's synfuel fantasy, Washington has poured billions of taxpayer dollars down a rat hole in vain pursuit of economically competitive renewable energy.
This is nothing but a retread of what used to be called industrial policy, government picking winners and losers. Except that in a field that is not nearly technologically ready to match fossil fuels, we pick one loser after another -- from ethanol, a $6 billion boondoggle that even Al Gore admits was a mistake, to the $41,000 Chevy Volt that only the rich can afford (with their extended Bush tax cuts, of course).
Perhaps this is all to be expected from Democrats -- the party of government -- and from a president who from his very first address to Congress has boldly displayed his zeal to fundamentally transform the American social contract and place it on a "New Foundation" (an Obama slogan that never took). He's been chastened enough by the election of 2010 to make gestures toward the center. But the State of the Union address revealed a man ideologically unbowed and undeterred. He served up an insignificant spending cut, yet another (if more modest) stimulus, and a promise to fight any Republican attempt to significantly shrink the size of government.
Indeed, he went beyond this. He tried to cast this more-of-the-same into a call to national greatness, citing two Michigan brothers who produce solar shingles as a stirring example of rising to the Sputnik moment.
"We do big things," Obama declared at the end of an address that was, on the contrary, the finest example of small-ball Clintonian minimalism since the days of school uniforms and midnight basketball.
From the moon landing to solar shingles. Is there a better example of American decline?
PoliticsNY.Net: PRO LIFE NATION
BUFFALO PRESENCE FELT
(D.C. marchers see new hope of curbing abortion)
ABORTION EASY ACCESS ... COMPLICATED IN EVERYTHING ELSE
SQUALID ABORTION CLINIC ESCAPES OVERSIGHT
HIGH HOPES FOR NEW CONGRESS
CURBING ABORTIONS
Abortion Debate Returns, But Now in a Pro-Life Nation. The abortion debate has returned with vigor to Congress after many years of dormancy, and the result may be different this time around. That's because while Washington wasn't watching, America became a pro-life nation. Full story
WASHINGTON — A massive crowd of abortion opponents, including several hundred from Buffalo, marched to the Supreme Court on Monday amid newfound hope that increasing Republican power in Congress will mean new limits on abortion. Full story ...
Abortion: Easy Access, Complex Everything Else. Congratulations, New York City, did you hear the news? Fire-and-brimstone predictions from across the country have been confirmed. This is officially the abortion capital of America. A health department report released last month proves it: about 40 percent of all pregnancies in the city end that way, an average of about 90,000 a year in recent years.Full story
Squalid Abortion Clinic Escaped State Oversight. For years, state health officials missed some unsettling patterns at the three-story brick abortion clinic on Lancaster Avenue. It was always open late, way past the time the pizza place next door closed at midnight. The women who emerged from it — often poor blacks and Hispanics — appeared dazed and in pain, and sometimes left in ambulances. The doctor who ran the clinic, Kermit Gosnell, had been sued at least 15 times for malpractice. Two women died while under his care. But the dangerous practices went unnoticed, except by the women who experienced them. They were discovered entirely by accident, during a prescription drug raid by federal agents last February. Full story
Illuzzi: So much for illegal back alley abortions. The same argument applies to so called legal abortion mills as well. By the way readers & there are thousands of you: Abortion has indeed becomea method of choice with respect to "birth control", esp. among our youth. ...
Abortion Foes Have High Hopes for New Congress -- and for 2012. As abortion opponents prepare for their annual March for Life on the Mall in Washington on Monday, pro-life activists are revitalized by the prospect of a Republican-dominated House they view as friendlier to their agenda than at any time since the Jan. 22, 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. For example, new House leader John Boehner has said he wants to be "the most pro-life speaker ever" and New Jersey Republican Chris Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-life Caucus, called this "the arguably most pro-life House ever," a judgment with which many abortion opponents concur. Full story...
Lawmakers in Many States Pushing for Abortion Curbs. Newly energized by their success in November's midterm elections, conservative legislators in dozens of states are mounting aggressive campaigns to limit abortions. Full story ...
"For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them." (Psalm 139:13-16)
Joe Illuzzi
HOPE, CHANGE AND 'INVEST'
by Ann Coulter
I missed the middle section of Obama's State of the Union address when I took a break to read "War and Peace," but I gather he never got around to what I was hoping he'd say, which is: "What was I thinking?"
The national debt is $14 trillion, the Democrats won't stop spending, and President Nero gave us a long gaseous speech about his Stradivarius.
I feel so Southern whenever I watch a Democrat give a State of the Union address -- and not just because it makes me want to secede. Consternating the rest of the family, my Kentucky mother always talked back to the TV. I do it only when a Democrat is giving a speech.
And if liberals didn't like Samuel Alito mouthing the words "not true," they should be really happy I wasn't in the House chamber Tuesday night.
All I kept hearing was, "Ann pays more." That's all I ever I hear when Democrats start in with all that "investing."
Apparently the government will be "investing" in education, "investing" in technology, "investing" in roads and "investing" in lots and lots of government workers. Ann pays more, Ann pays more, Ann pays more.
Obama compared "investing" in education to our sending a man to the moon after the Russians launched Sputnik. Say, who was the president who recently gutted spending on NASA? Oh yes, that was Obama.
So he reminded us of the glory days of the space program, but now he's taking that money and funneling it to public school teachers. As the Democrats say: "If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we hire another 10,000 public school teachers?"
Also, solar panels. Obama said the government was already "investing" in solar panels! That's a total relief. This must be how the president who brought us "Recovery Summer" is going to dig us out of the second Great Depression.
But I do wonder why no private lender considered solar panels a wise investment, forcing solar panel manufacturers to turn to the government for loans, followed by endless tax credits just to break even.
I guess people who work for the government are just smarter. We're so lucky to have them "investing" our money for us! Boy, egg must be on Warren Buffett's face!
Remember how massive government "investments" gave rise to the telephone, the light bulb, the automobile, the airplane, the personal computer ... OK, none of those.
But massive government expenditures did give us Amtrak and the TSA!
The only thing Obama vowed to cut were "earmarks." Yippee! The guy with the ears is against earmarks. Yes, the same president who quadrupled our deficit by giving money away to his UAW pals, Wall Street cronies and government workers is now lecturing us about earmarks. This is a bit like being scolded by Charlie Sheen for ordering a second wine cooler.
You knew it was bad when John McCain leapt up and enthusiastically applauded. The last time I saw McCain applaud Obama like that was when he debated him.
Obama said, "We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook."
And then the government outlawed Edison's great invention, made the Wright brothers' air travel insufferable, filed anti-trust charges against Microsoft and made cars too expensive to drive by prohibiting oil exploration, and right now -- at this very minute -- is desperately trying to regulate the Internet.
On the bright side, President Al Gore would have actually outlawed the cars in those driveways.
I especially enjoyed his pitch for high-speed trains where you "don't have to receive pat-downs." At least until one of those Muslims who is "part of our American family" blows one up -- at which point they'll be staffed with armies of genital-fondling, unionized TSA agents on the public dime.
Still, I can't wait for Obama's America. An America where I can use lightning-fast, high-speed Internet to file electronically for my unemployment benefits. Or better yet, I can ditch my old "oil-powered" car and take a "sunlight and water"-powered high-speed train to the unemployment office for a change.
And I hear CalTech is working on biofuels to power "Recovery Summer 2011."
The big laugh line was when Nero said mockingly, "I heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about the health care law." That's called "60 percent of the American public." It's not a joke, and it's not funny.
Here's one: Hey, Obama! Guy walks into a bar in the Gaza Strip. The bartender says, "What'll you have?" But the guy is killed instantly when an Iranian-made CT-28 missile strikes the bar, also killing a woman and small child next door. Get it, Obama? HA HA!
Synthesizing Karl Marx and Ronald Reagan, Obama said the government will soon be taking over every aspect of our lives, and Republicans can't stop him -- but gosh, isn't America a great country! Teachers are great, we need to innovate, children are our future, we need paved roads, kids should do their homework, Labrador puppies are cute, I like apple pie, I (heart) Justin Bieber, and how about them Yankees! Now, here's your 2011 tax bill -- how would you like to pay for that?
Actually, I was glad to hear him say that "there isn't a person here" -- which presumably included Democrats -- who would live anyplace else.
Then why are they always trying to turn us into Western Europe?
CITY COURT JUDGE SUSAN EAGAN
A NON-POLITICAL LEGAL PROFESSIONAL FOR BUFFALO CITY COURT
While the WNY political community may scoff at such a notion, the fact is that Susan Eagan did not get Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown's appointment to the recently vacant seat in City Court because she had any political connection to City Hall.
"In fact, I had been working for the 4th District's Attorney's Grievance committee for eight years and was barred from political activity as a result," this cum laude graduate of UB Law School reports.
So how did she get the job?
"I answered an ad in the paper," she answers with a slight chuckle. Ididn't know what my chances were of getting the appointment, but I thought I'd give it a try. There were probably some people who would have told me I had no chance."
But, instead of listening to the cynics, she kept an appointment with the Corporation Counsel for an interview, after which she had two interviews with Mayor Brown. "The Mayor asked me if I had ever contributed to his campaigns," she remembers. "I told him I couldn't and that was the truth. The only time I had ever met Mayor Brown was when he came to a block party in my neighborhood. If I spoke to him for 30 seconds on that occasion, it was a lot. Yet, based on no political association at all, but I'd like to think, strictly on merit, he gave me the appointment to be the newest Buffalo City Court Judge."
Clearly, it would be pretty hard to find a more meritorious candidate for a judicial appointment based on merit than Susan Eagan. An honors graduate of Cardinal O'Hara High School, she went on to graduate cum laude from the pre-law program at Canisius College as a Dean's List habituating Raichle Scholar. After that, she attended UB Law School, from which she also graduated magna cum laude as a Law Review Editor and winner of the Charles S. Desmond Moot Court competition."I had always wanted to be a prosecutor and after passing the bar,
I became an Asst. Erie County DA, prosecuting cases in City Court as well as practicing in the Grand Jury Bureau and in the Special Investigations Unit where I worked with children who had been victims of sexual offenses," she says. "It was after working as an Asst. District Attorney that I went to work for the Attorney's Grievance Committee where we investigated allegations made against lawyers."
The mother of two young children aged six and nine and the wife of attorney James Eagan, the newly minted Judge Eagan believes in tempering justice with a touch of mercy for people who might find themselves in less than ideal circumstances."I think that, in many case, in City Court you find yourself dealing with people who may have found themselves in very bad situations and then have made some bad choices as a result," she explains.
"I think that in this court, it's especially important that a Judge is a good listener who hands down decisions that are fair to everyone while trying to get down to the underlying cause of the unfortunate decisions this person might have made. The goal has to always be to make the community better, not worse as a result of your decisions while providing justice for all." New WNY Politics
PoliticsNY.Net: STATE OF THE UNION
"Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn't discourage us. It should challenge us.the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics." Barack Obama
"President ObamaTuesday night outlined a strong, transformative and positive path for our nation. His State of the Union address underscored the need for austerity, innovative thinking and collaboration on both sides of the aisle. As a nation, all Americans must refocus their energies to create solutions for future generations. President Obama's leadership will continue to pave the way for our nation to thrive and prosper, and I look forward to working with him and our federal representatives to tackle the sizeable challenges facing New York State and our country." Andrew Cuomo
"This last election was not a mandate for any one political party. It was a mandate for action. President Obama laid out a bold vision for this Congress. It is time to come together and work to create jobs across America." Kristin Gillibrand
"The President has offered a balanced approach that hopefully can garner bipartisan support.He is aware of the need to rein in spending but also the need to grow jobs, the economy and middle class paychecks." Charles Schumer
"I just didn't hear enough specifics. If the president is willing to work with us to grow Western New York and our private sector while shrinking Washington, he will have a willing partner in me. I just didn't hear enough specifics" Chris Lee
"Tonight the president laid out a vision of America that he's matching with planned investments to make them more than dreams." LouiseSlaughter
"The president talked about freezing spending, but that is not enough. We are more than $14 trillion in debt and simply cannot afford to pay for our super-sized government any longer. I do not agree that more government spending and higher taxes are the solution." Tom Reed
"It's time for a different approach.The new majority in Congress has shown we are serious about cutting spending, reducing taxes, removing burdensome regulations, and empowering small businesses' the real engine that drives our economy ' to create jobs and spur growth. Now it is up to American people to hold the President and the Senate accountable and ensure they work with the House of Representatives to achieve these goals." Nan Hayworth
"President Obama presented a broad and optimistic blueprint for our country's future, and it's upon us now as Americans to contribute to that future in the ways we best can. We should be excited to take up challenges to innovate, to build our economy, to be more fiscally responsible and to make America a better place to live than anywhere else in the world. As an ardent supporter of reducing gun violence and a strong believer in government's ability to play a role in that mission, however, I'm disappointed that President Obama did not urge us to look at our nation's gun laws, as he did in his speech about the Tucson massacre earlier this month. Almost 100,000 people are shot in America every year, and only commonsense action ' like keeping the most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the most dangerous people ' will reduce that figure." Carolyn McCarthy
"This was a powerful speech that rightly called for a new spirit of civility and cooperation in our public discourse. PresidentObamacalled on both parties to come together to address the most important issues facing our nation, including fixing our public schools, our broken immigration system, and our antiquated infrastructure. But in discussing the terrible tragedy in Tucson, he missed an opportunity to bring the country together on an issue that has support among the vast majority of Americans: fixing the nation's broken background check system that is designed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Its absence was disappointing, but it will not slow the momentum we are building around the country, and in both parties, for common sense measures to strengthen law enforcement and improve public safety." Michael Bloomberg
Brian Higgins: ASK CHUCKIE!
GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO
Quinnipiac Poll
New Yorkers Oppose Many Budget-Cutting Ideas, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; But 3-1 Support Freezing State Worker Pay. New York State's new governor, Andrew Cuomo, gets a 47 - 11 percent favorability rating from voters, with 36 percent saying they don't know enough about him to form an opinion, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. While 77 percent of voters say New York State's budget problems are "very serious," and 19 percent call them "somewhat serious," voters oppose many of the possible budget cuts that could help close the state's deficit, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.
RUDY GIULIANI FROZEN IN TIME
Rudy Giuliani 's much-publicized interview with Larry King's replacement, Piers Morgan, ran Monday night on CNN. He's going to talk about running against Sarah Palin for the Republican nomination! Maybe dis the Tea Party! It's going to be all about ... September 11. Full story
Joe Illuzzi
Congressman Chris Lee
Lawmaker Supports Legislation to Lessen the Burden on Future Generations of Americans
Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) Tuesday voted to cut federal spending back to at least 2008 budget levels to help return fiscal responsibility to Washington. Lee voted for H. Res. 38, which instructs the House Budget Committee to implement spending levels set for 2008 for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year.
"The majority of the Western New Yorkers I've spoken with want Washington to get its fiscal house in order, and I've heard their calls loud and clear," said Rep. Lee. "Today's vote sends a message that the House will not continue the incredible spending binge that we've seen over the last few years. Every second that passes, Congress adds thousands of dollars onto an already record-high $14 trillion debt, and that needs to change."
Nondefense discretionary spending ' including the failed $787 billion "stimulus" bill ' has increased 84 percent from 2008 through last year, while our national debt has soared from nearly $11 trillion in 2008 to more than $14 trillion today.
"Washington needs to get serious about cutting spending so future generations are not buried under a mountain of debt," Rep. Lee added. "Cutting overall spending to 2008 levels is an important start to getting Washington to live within its means, just as Western New York families have always done."
& The Debt Bomb Keeps TickingOn
by Pat Buchanan
With his approval rating moving up to 50 percent and higher in some polls, the pundits are all agreed. President Obama has turned the corner. He is now the winter-book favorite in 2012.
How, two months after his "shellacking," did he do it?
First, by taking the wheel from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, cutting a deal to extend the Bush tax cuts, bringing aboard Bill Daley, and separating himself from the demonizers of Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck as moral accomplices in the Tucson massacre.
Second, Obama has been the beneficiary of bullish news.
Corporate profits are coming in higher than expected. The stock market has surged. Nine of 10 economists surveyed by USA Today are more positive about the economy than they were three months ago. The ratio of businesses that anticipate new hires over businesses that anticipate new layoffs has not been better in a decade.
There is a feeling that at last we are coming out of the Great Recession.
But has the debt bomb really been defused?
On Jan. 20, The New York Times had two front-page stories that ought to concentrate the mind.
"A Path is Sought for States to Escape Their Debt Burdens," was the headline over the first, which reported that bankruptcy lawyers were being consulted by congressional aides on how states like California might go into Chapter 9, "leaving investors in state bonds ... possibly ending at the back of the line as unsecured creditors."
Illinois, the story said, might, with federal help, do what GM did.
But GM bondholders were wiped out, as some of us know all too well.
Should states win the right to seek bankruptcy protection against their state bondholders, the $3 trillion municipal bond market, which has lately been taking hits, could crater.
The second Times story wrote of a rebellion in the House Republican Study Committee by conservatives and Tea Partiers who think the leadership is being too timid in cutting this year's budget.
Rep. Paul Ryan & Co. want to cut $60 billion to $80 billion. But, says, Mick Mulvaney, a freshman from South Carolina, "We want more." These conservatives want $100 billion cut from discretionary programs.
Among their ideas: a five-year freeze on federal salaries, a 15 percent cut in federal employees, a rollback to 2006 spending levels, $300 billion in long-term funding cuts from such programs as foreign aid, Amtrak, public broadcasting and the Washington, D.C., subway system.
As the Tea Partiers' proposed cuts do not touch the military, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security or interest on the debt, the biggest budget items, slashes in transportation, education, domestic security, law enforcement and medical research, said the Times, "would be nothing short of drastic."
Undeniably. Yet, consider.
The federal deficit for the fiscal year 2011, which ends Sept. 30, is projected at between $1,200 billion and $1,500 billion.
Thus, the $100 billion in cuts the firebrands are pushing, and few think they will get, add up at best to 8 percent of the deficit and 2.5 percent of the $3.87 trillion budget Obama proposed.
Thus, at best, this Congress will only slightly reduce the rate of speed at which we are heading toward a debt default.
The last few days have brought other news bearing on the debt bomb hanging over the Western world.
The Irish, upon whom austerity has been imposed as a condition of an EU bailout, saw their government fall this weekend. Elections are in March, and the ruling Fianna Fail, at 13 percent approval, is expecting a wipeout.
Will the Irish accept endless austerity, or vote for populists who will default and let EU governments and banks take the hit?
Should Ireland default, she will not be the last to do so.
Also this weekend, the European Central Bank chief warned that inflation in the global economy -- the rising prices for oil, food, minerals and precious metals -- may mandate a rise in interest rates. That would be bad news for bondholders and governments everywhere, including our deeply indebted states that now borrow to cover operating costs.
Then there is the crisis in the housing market that continues to deepen.
"All previous postwar recoveries," writes Mort Zuckerman, "have been able to depend on a growing U.S. housing market."
But 8 million homes are today in foreclosure or their owners are delinquent in their mortgage payments. Some 5.5 million are occupied by families whose mortgages are at least 20 percent higher than the value of the property, making them prime candidates for foreclosure.
This weekend, Bank of America reported fourth-quarter losses of $1.6 billion and a 2010 yearly loss of $3.6 billion. Its credit card unit took a $10 billion write-down, and its home loan business is still reeling from the fallout of the exploded housing bubble.
Now, facing trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, House Republicans are balking at agreeing to raise the debit limit of $14.3 trillion, though the national debt just crossed the $14 trillion mark.
Are the happy days really here again?
PoliticsNY.Net: CITY COURT JUDGE SUSAN EAGAN SWORN
UPDATE: I am told while there would be common petitions, i.e., carry for the four candidates, smarter folks than I am with respect to this question say each candidate would still appear separately on the ballot. Although, we can agree that anyone thinking about entering the race would be at a huge disadvantage running against a Party slate of four such outstanding incumbents. ...
Let me preface by writing I have to check the legalities of what I am about to propose: I usually wouldn't propose this kind of thing but the four candidates for Buffalo City Court Judge are outstanding. Ergo, my proposal makes a great deal of sense. I believe Russell, Manz, Fiorella & Eagan should run as a Democratic Party slate in the September primary. The Party would petitition the race as a slate.Now they could each raise their own money, etc.; theslate I believe would appear as a single vote on the ballot, i.e., fill out the form for the slate rather than vote forthe four individually. I could be wrong; this is one of the procedural questions I am attempting to verify. The last block of candidates that I can recall that ran as a slate was in Cheektowaga a few years ago. Please keep in mind that these races are decided on primary day. The Democratic overlayin Buffalo makes it impossible for a Republican to wina City wide race 99% of the time. ...
City Court Judge Susan Eagan,who replacedHousing Court Judge Nowak, was sworn in Saturday. Appeals Court Judge Eugene Pigott did the honors. Mayor Byron Brownaddressed the overflow crowd.
Eagan a prominent Buffalo Attorney went thru the Corporation Counsel's vetting process & was interviewed by Mayor Byron Brown. She comes highly respected & qualified. Shewill join City Court Judges Robert Russell, David Manz & Joe Fiorella in their reelection bids in November. The seat a ten year term. Keep in mind because of the Democratic overlay in the City these City Court sits will be decided on primary day. ...
SIDEBAR: Sources say,"Buffalo City Court Judge Sharon LoVallo (D), wife of former Deputy Mayor Vince, will run against Family Court Judge Pat Maxwell (R)."
Sources are unequivocal for personal reasons Kelly Vacco will NOT seek reappointment to the County Water Authority. We wish Vacco God's speed.
Sources say, "one name being considered to replace Vacco is key GOP operative Attorney Emilio Colaiacovo." A great choice should his appointment come to fruition. The Dem & GOP Legislature coalition will make the call.
THE STATE OF THE UNION
Few Expect Change in Level of Confidence
Marist Poll
As President Barack Obama prepares for tomorrow's State of the Union address, most voters nationwide do not expect the speech to renew their confidence in the future of the country. While more than three in ten voters believe the president's speech will alter their view, nearly six in ten — 59% — say it will make no difference. 23% believe they will be more confident about the direction of the country following the speech, almost three times the proportion of those who think they will be less confident — 8% — after hearing the president speak. 11% are unsure.
Joe Illuzzi
New Heroes Vs. Old
byThomas Sowell
When I mention that my family used kerosene lamps when I was a small child in the South during the 1930s, that is usually taken as a sign of our poverty, though I never thought of us as poor at the time.
What is ironic is that kerosene lamps were a luxury of the rich in the 19th century, before John D. Rockefeller came along. At the high price of kerosene at that time, an ordinary working man could not afford to stay up at night, burning this expensive fuel for hours at a time.
Rockefeller did not begin his life as rich, by any means. He made a fortune by revolutionizing the petroleum industry. Although we still measure petroleum in barrels, it is actually shipped in railroad tank cars, in ocean-going tankers and in tanker trucks.
That is a legacy of John D. Rockefeller, who saw that shipping oil in barrels was not as economical as shipping whole railroad tank cars full of oil, eliminating all the labor that had to go into shipping the same amount of oil in numerous individual barrels.
That was just one of his cost-cutting innovations. If there was a better way to extract, process and ship petroleum products-- or more products that could be made from petroleum-- Rockefeller was on top of it.
Before he came along, gasoline was considered a useless by-product that petroleum refineries often simply dumped into the nearest river. But Rockefeller decided to use it as a fuel in the refining process, which made it valuable, even before automobiles came along.
Today, we tend to think of John D. Rockefeller as just one of those famous rich people. But Rockefeller didn't just "happen to have money." How he got rich is the real story-- and it is a story whose implications reach far beyond that one particular individual.
Before Rockefeller's innovations reduced the price of kerosene to a fraction of what it had once been, there wasn't a lot for poor people to do when nightfall came, other than go to bed. But the advent of cheap kerosene added hours of light and activity to each day for people with low or moderate incomes.
It was much the same story with the advent of the automobile, which gave millions of people more range in space, as kerosene (and, later, electricity) gave them more range in terms of hours of daily activity.
Here again, automobiles and electric lights were truly luxuries of the rich when they began. Only after ways were developed to cut their costs drastically were such things brought within the reach of ordinary Americans.
Henry Ford's mass production methods cut in half the cost of producing the famous Model T Ford in just five years. People who had once lived their entire lives within a narrow radius of a relatively few miles could now go see places they never knew about before. The automobile expanded their horizons.
People today who complain about the automobile's pollution have no idea how much more pollution there was before the automobile came along. In New York City, for example, the 40,000 horses that were the backbone of the city's transportation, before the automobile, produced 400 tons of manure per working day, along with 20,000 gallons of urine.
At one time, people like Rockefeller, Edison, Ford and the Wright brothers were regarded as heroes, for having opened vast new possibilities for other human beings. The fact that they got rich doing it was an incidental part of the story.
We still have people revolutionizing our lives. Just think of the computer and the pharmaceutical drugs that have not only lengthened our lives but made them more healthful, so that being 80 years old today is like being 60 years old in times past.
But today we seldom even know the names of those who have made these monumental contributions to human well-being. All we know is that some people have gotten "rich" and that this is to be regarded as some sort of grievance.
Many of the people we honor today are people who are skilled in the rhetoric of grievances and promises of new "rights" at someone else's expense. But is that what is going to make a better America?
CITY COURTJUDGE DAVID MANZ
A DEDICATION TO SERVING THE COMMUNITY ROOTED IN HIS POLISH HERITAGE
"Buffalo City Court Judge David Manz has felt a strong dedication to serving the Queen City community ever since his father, Victor's first campaign for Erie County Family Court in which he served as an eager volunteer. Still, the young Dave Manz took his enthusiasm for making the city a better place in which to live a major step further by winning an appointment to fill a vacancy on the Erie County Legislature when he was only 24.
These days, after serving two terms in his current post, Judge Manz is running for re-election, armed with the same fervor and spirit of adventure that animated his first campaign over 30 years ago.
"I love being a judge and still look forward to going to work every single day," he points out. "I have always really admired the Polish tradition of helping people and serving the community which both my parents always tried to instill in me. It is that example that I have tried to follow."
Born and raised in a loving Polish home (His mother's maiden name was Gawinski), the future judge attended Canisius High School and later Canisius College undecided between pursuing a legal career and a career in medicine. Finally, however, his father's distinguished legal tenure tipped the balance and he went on to Albany Law School.
"But, during the time I was in law school, there was a vacant seat on the Erie County Legislature which had been vacant for three months," he recalls. "So I started contacting Democratic committee members about the seat and finally, Joe Crangle, then the Erie County Democratic Chairman, called me and asked, 'Are you serious about this?"
Before long, the law school student was passing laws at County Hall, while winning election to the seat in his own right.
"The most important thing I did during my years on the County Legislature was to help get laws passed that made our budget process more transparent and to make our county government more open," he notes.
Eventually, in 1991, County Legislator Manz ran for his first term on City Court, winning despite a crowded field. In 2001, he was re-elected, scoring a primary win in the wake of the tragedy of 9-11. Throughout his entire career, the Judge has been nurtured and supported by his wife of 32 years, Carolyn, and their two children, Gina Marie and Thomas.
"I have always tried to be a fair and compassionate judge who attempts to always do the right thing to protect the community," Judge David Manz declares. "You can never assume that because someone is the defendant in a case that they are guilty or that because someone is accusing someone else, that that person is right. The important thing is to listen carefully to all the parties to a case and then make the best decision you can. It's a process I truly love." New WNY Politics
PoliticsNY.Net: MONDAY'S STATE INTERNET NEWS
UPDATES: Breaking News
CNN: 35 (updated from 31) Dead 152 Injured in Moscow Airport bombing. The explosion that killed at least 31 people Monday at Moscow's busiest airport appears to be an act of terrorism, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on state TV. Full story
"We need courage of someone to stand up and do something about that", NYC Mayor Bloomberg talking about Obama & the SoU.NEW YORK (AP) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is joining with Martin Luther King III and others affected by gun violence to advocate for changes to the nation's background check system. Bloomberg was joined Monday by family and friends of those injured and killed in the shootings in Tucson, Ariz., at Virginia Tech and at Columbine High School in Colorado. The group introduced a national campaign to close loopholes in gun control laws. The campaign wants to ensure that a background check system includes the names of everyone prohibited from buying guns. Supporters also want every gun sale to go through a background check."...
NY TIMES: Reforming the Reform. Last week, the Republican Party proved that it has the votes to repeal health care reform — but only in the House of Representatives. (Unfortunately for conservatives, the Senate and the White House also have a say in the matter.) The House vote on Wednesday may be remembered as a first step toward actual repeal, or as a futile exercise in fist-shaking. It all depends on whether Republicans can find a strategy for undoing the health care legislation that doesn't involve an immediate frontal assault. See LOCAL Screen
NY TIMES: Unlikely Allies Fight Cuomo's Plan for Property Tax Cap. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has vowed to rein in New York's taxes, declaring them a burden to residents and businesses, and proposing help in the form of a state-imposed cap on property taxes.
TIMES UNION: Civility out of control. As a longtime champion of greater civility in public discourse and one who has led the charge for dialed-back rhetoric, may I respectfully take most of itback?
TIMES UNION:Visit prelude to 2012. It was a chance to brag about a recent trade deal, laud a dynamic new governor and boost American manufacturing by championing foreign trade, but President Barack Obama's Friday visit to a yellow-lit factory on the General Electric Co. campus also previewed the message of a revamped administration as it begins a re-electioncampaign. Full story
Times Union: Senator's slippery lawsuit. Some of the Rochester-area constituents of state Sen. James Alesi are not too happy with his decision to sue a family-owned business and a pair of retirees whose unfinished home he was found in back in January 2008 when he slipped, fell and seriously injured his right leg. Capitol denizens recall his being in a wheelchair and on crutches for much of that year, and he missed somevotes. Full story
TIMES UNION: A leader summoned from GE. Ifthere hadn't been a good hops harvest in the fall of 1889 in southern Herkimer County, this might be a different story. But the plants grew tall through the summer and the grain was abundant, so a poor farming family in the tiny hamlet of Van Hornesville saved enough money to send 16-year-old Owen D. Young off to college the next autumn at St. Lawrence University. Full Story
NY DAILY NEWS: Gov. Cuomo begins Albany ethics reform effort - behind closed doors, critics say. Read more:Yorkersget smothered with broken promises of transparency, reform and the death of ethical shenanigans with every new administration and Legislative session. So will this year's fight over ethics reform be any different? Gov. Cuomo insists it will - but it has gotten off to an eyebrow-raising start. When Cuomo put out an ethics reform agenda months ago, he promised an open process. Full story
NY POST: Andy's ax to cut $1b from apple. Look out, Mike! Here comes Gov. Cuomo -- and he's wielding a brutal bud get ax. Mayor Bloomberg, who last week warned of multibillion-dollar city deficits over the next several years, will get more bad news next week when Cuomo presents a cut-to-the-bone budget that "slashes" state aid to New York City by $1 billion or more, sources said yesterday.
NY POST: No Super Bowl: Jets rally falls short against Steelers. The pain becomes more acute each time. How much more can Jets fans endure? Another AFC Championship game has come for the Jets, with the scent of Super Bowl week so tantalizingly close, and it's again gone almost as quickly as it came — leaving the Jets' souls empty, leaving them still searching desperately to end their 42-year Super Bowl drought. For the fourth time since their one and only Super Bowl appearance and victory on Jan. 12, 1969 — and for the second consecutive year — the Jets failed to win an AFC Championship game.
DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE: Lawmaker seating shows bipartisanship. Both of New York's Democratic senators will sit next to Republicans at the State of the Union address Tuesday in a show of bipartisanship. Sen. Charles Schumer plans to sit next to conservative Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a bearded obstetrician who may have delivered as many babies as Schumer has delivered news conferences. Coburn opposes abortion rights, gay marriage and federal spending on special home-state projects — or earmarks. Schumer takes the opposite view on each issue. New York's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, will sit next to tall, lanky Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who may soon announce his candidacy for president. Full story
POST STANDARD: Quiet on abortion in campaign for Congress, Buerkle joins the fray in the Republicans' House. After steering clear of abortion politics during her campaign last year, U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle is now seizing chances in her first month in office to change federal laws as "an advocate for the unborn." Full story
Press Connects: Donors can now give $100K to N.Y. political parties. At a time when talk of reforming New York politics is all the rage, the legal limit to donating to political parties has quietly broken the $100,000 ceiling. Full story
CITY HALL: GOP Pushback To Independent Redistricting Plan Begins To Take Hold. Last July, the clock was ticking down for Senate Republicans to sign New York Uprising's pledge to support nonpartisan redistricting. With the election looming, the desire to have Ed Koch robo-calling in their districts, labeling them Heroes of Reform, was strong. Full story
RUDYI'M BACK ... SAY IT AIN'T SO RUDY!
The last thing I want to see is another Giuliani statewide or national maybe I will or maybe I won't election cycle tour. Giuliani is a RINO. The man does not reflect the core values of the Conservative & or Republican Party's. I read an attack piece by RUDY WHO directed at Sarah Palin. Palin does reflect Conservative & Republican values; to hear this camera stalker attack her made me sick. Rudy stay home! We heard itonce -twice- three - four - & now five times, you're looking very silly Rudy. ...
UPDATE: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he is "more likely" to run for president in 2012 if former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin makes a bid, according to snippets from an interview to air on CNN Monday night. "The more Republicans in which I can show a contrast, probably the better chance, the better chance that I have," Giuliani is quoted as saying on CNN host Piers Morgan's Twitter account. "My one chance, if I have a chance, is that I'm considered a moderate." The implication being that Palin, a Tea Party favorite, is not a moderate. See state screen ..."Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who stumbled early in the Republican presidential campaign two years ago, says he's leaving the door open to trying again in 2012. Meanwhile, another 2008 GOP candidate, Mike Huckabee, says he's not in any rush to decide on a national race." Full story
Joe Illuzzi
ERIE COUNTY GOP CHAIRMAN NICK LANGWORTHY
Liberal media ignore change in the U. S. electorate
Ignoring the facts that have emerged, the liberal media — including The Buffalo News — laid blame for the murders and mayhem in Arizona at the feet of conservative commentators and politicians. According to our fourth estate, aggressive right-wing political rhetoric urged a 22-year-old man on to deadly violence.
The accused Tucson shooter, Jared Loughner, is a madman who acted alone. He is a registered independent voter; those closest to him say he was entirely apolitical and eschewed political media.
In fact, the so-called vitriol of the 2010 elections was so intense that Loughner did not even bother to vote.
So why all the finger-pointing? The liberal media do not seem to understand that conservatives now comprise 40 percent of their national audience. In fact, according to a 2010 Gallup poll, more Americans self-identify as conservative than moderate or liberal. This was not the case just one decade ago.
Here in Erie County, self-identified conservatives likely far outnumber any other political stripe. Buffalo is a blue-collar town suffering wrong-headed liberal policies more than any other city in the nation except Detroit. Locals have had enough and are rejecting liberal tax-and-spend policies. So why would a newspaper intentionally alienate nearly half of its readers?
In the age of President Obama, Americans are moving increasingly to the right.
With liberal policies on parade, failing miserably and driving our communities deeper into decline, more and more Americans are rejecting liberal prodding. Facing this epic failure of their ideology, liberals are in full-blown panic mode.
When you panic, life quickly becomes a blame game and mistakes are made. You don't need to look any further than the editorial page of The News for a case in point.
It is important to note the vast majority of Democrat-elected officials refrained from finger-pointing in the wake of Loughner's alleged rampage. They should be praised, just as the liberal media must be reproved.
I agree that politics could use a healthy dose of civility—Democrat, Republican and otherwise. However, The Buffalo News and its liberal media colleagues, happy to build up favored political figures and tear others down, are as guilty of incivility as any party.
Violence and murder are not planks in any American political party's platform. Let's pray for the victims and stop politicizing this senseless tragedy in Tucson.
It would be nice if that could start in the editorial office of The News.
Show Me the Money, Haiti
by Bill O'Reilly
So now we're back to ground zero, literally. A few weeks after the attacks on 9/11, actor George Clooney and a bunch of celebrities fronted a telethon to raise money for the families of the victims. It was a well-intentioned project that raised about $150 million.
Unfortunately, the distribution of the money was somewhat chaotic, and I led the charge to have the celebrities pressure the charities to be more transparent about where the funds were going. Clooney took umbrage at my request, and a big controversy ensued.
Now we have the charity debacle in Haiti. A year after the devastating earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people, more than a million Haitians are still living in the streets. This despite the fact that the United States alone has sent almost $2 billion to that nation. Another $10 billion has been pledged by other countries, but it is impossible to track that money.
The brutal truth is that no one knows where much of the aid designated to help the Haitians is. There is absolutely no transparency and little accountability. Dozens of brand-new donated trucks sit idle at the Port-au-Prince airport because the Haitian government wants thousands of dollars in "import duties" before it will allow the trucks to transport vital goods to the suffering people. That's just one example of the madness going on.
Presidents Clinton and Bush the Younger headed up the private relief effort in America, which raised $53 million for Haiti. In the middle of a wicked recession, Americans gave their hard-earned money to help people they will never meet. I asked Bush if he knows why there has been so little progress in Haiti even after so much money has poured in there. He said he does not know.
Clinton will not even answer my questions, despite the fact that he has been deeply involved with Haiti for years. We have called the "Clinton Initiative" many times, and they say they have distributed tens of millions of dollars to help the Haitian people and can provide documents to back that up. But, again, once the cash arrives in Port-au-Prince, darkness descends.
The moral question is this: Should good people continue to send money to a place that has been corrupt for eons? The scenes this week of Baby Doc Duvalier, the gangster former dictator of Haiti, returning to his country after an exile in France is symbolic of the problem. Despite all the good intentions in the world, Haiti remains a place of squalor and hopelessness. Nothing seems to get better.
I would like to see Clinton and Bush demand accountability from the Haitian government right now. These guys should go on television and call some people out. Clinton, in particular, knows what's going on, and he has a responsibility to let us know.
It is easy to ask for money. It is much more difficult to see that it is honestly spent.
PoliticsNY.Net: BUFFALO SABRES
While we are all fighting for Sabres news owner Tom Golisano is not talking. There is a very good reason why. According to my NEW sources very close to Golisano there is nothing to talk about. "This deal might not happen". I expect it will BUT there isn't anything set in stone at this point in time.
BABY BOOMERS
Expect Less Comfortable Retirement
Marist Poll
2011 marks a milestone for one of the most discussed generations — the Baby Boomers. This year, the Boomers began turning 65 years old. As they enter this golden stage of life, how optimistic are they about their future?
COUNTY EXECUTIVE CHRIS COLLINS
The Buffalo News Bob McCarthy scribed an article Thursday analyzing the County Executive race this year. Nothing that you have not read here.
What is notable is what McCarthy left out:
A coalition County Legislature is a real problem for any Democratic candidate. Chair Miller Williams (D) is NO fan of Democratic headquarters & neither is Mayor Byron Brown a Miller Williams ally. Albeit, there should be a reasonably good turnout in the minority community via the Common Council, County Legislature races. However,there is no reason for Brown & or Miller Williams, et al.to actively support the Democratic candidate.
The same for Congressman Brian Higgins (D). His man on the Legislature is coalition member Tim Whalen (D). Did I mention the strong relationship that Brown & Higgins enjoy with Collins. So right from the get gothe Democrats have a problem with both South Buffalo & theBlack districts. The same for coalition member West Seneca's Christine Bove (D).
While the Democrats have a twoto one plus overlayin the CountyCollins businessman like approach to County Governance appeals to both Democrats & Republicans. His strength is in the first ring & outer ring cities, towns & villages.
All facts that McCarthy left out of his column excuse me article, what's the diff in the case of the Buffalo News, thats rhetorical.
Erie County Conservative County Chairman Lorigo, which McCarthy did write about,has a history of endorsing liberal democrats. However, there is the Paladino factor & I doubt very seriously whether Lorigo will endorse a Democrat in this race; stranger things have happened. If Lorigo did endorse the Democrat he would lose the local & statewide largess he gained in the Governor's race.
With respect to all of the above the Democrat hopefuls will wait for the early polling numbers. I believe the polls willforce Poloncarz, et al.out of the race.
I do not believe Hochul will make a decision & or announce until April. I do believe some polling has already been completed. I believe Hochul has a chance; after all 205,000 voters have experience checking her name on the ballot (Can't usepush the lever any more).
Please put an asterisk here because the great variable is redistricting. No one knows what the new 11 member scheme will look like. Let me erase the asterisk & write the "caveat lector" (let the reader beware)here is no one knows what the new 11 member County Legislature scheme will look like. Local pundits say the scheme will favor the GOP. I do not buy into that just yet; this, however,might be a marginal issue or the issue could explode. We'll see!
I do believe my scheme (scroll down) will indeed favor the GOP. Under my formula the Democrats will retain 5 seats, the GOP 4. The 10th & 11th will be in play as will the 14 & 15th districts. I believe the GOP ends up with the Majority. Don't spread that around. No doubt the Democrats & some Republicans will disagree; but they would be wrong!
However, all the above foretells another term for Collins no matter who the Democratic candidate happens to be. He will take his no tax increase, cut cut cut, large reserves, economic development, promises made promises kept, businessman like mantra & handily defeat all comers.
Oh! My crystal ball is in high gear & forecasts the Buffalo News will endorse the Democrat, esp. if Hochul runs. The ultra lib News endorsement being a net minus in this race! They just do not realize because of their biases that Collins message resonates with the vast majority of prime county voters on both sides.
Joe Illuzzi
JUDGE JOSEPH FIORELLA
A LIFE LONG PASSION FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE
As the son of a 40 year Niagara Mohawk worker, you'd think that Buffalo City Court Judge Joseph Fiorella's proudest accomplishment might be his own ascension from the streets of the West Side to a career as a universally respected jurist. Yet, when a NewWNYPolitics reporter had the opportunity to speak with the Judge recently, what he wanted to talk about most is the No Tolerance anti-DWI program he runs in his courtroom every week.
"It's a No Tolerance program in which those who have a DWI conviction hanging over them can come to this court and get involved in a program which could allow them to avoid jail," he explains. "But, in order to do so, they have to go to two AA meetings a week and they have to be willing to wear an ankle bracelet that detects alcohol use and reports it to a lab in Denver, which in turn reports it to us. If they should falter and use alcohol or if they just miss meetings, there is a graduated list of sanctions that starts with having to sit through sessions of DWI Court and goes up to being thrown out of the program and being sent back to the original sentencing judge who could in turn send that person to jail to serve out their sentence."
What Judge Fiorella relishes is the opportunity to turn lives around while protecting the community from the scourge of drunk driving at the same time.
"Ireally enjoy presiding over DWI Court because I think we are really making a difference there," he points out. "Our recidivism rate is very low in DWI Court because our defendants know this is their last chance, not only to avoid jail time, but to change their lives for the better. Sometimes they even thank me for imposing sanctions along the way when they falter."
Of course, the big payoff for both the defendants and the Judge comes when participants graduate from the program, having kicked their addictions to alcohol abuse.
"Those are the times when anyone can see that we are really making a difference, when the participants get the chance to tell their story of how they kicked their addictions and really turned their lives around for the better," he reports. "Those are the occasions that make everything we do very meaningful for all of us."
Raised on the West Side, this Annunciation High grad earned a BS from Niagara University before pursuing his legal studies the way Abe Lincoln did, as a law clerk, not a student. After passing the bar, he practiced in the firm for which he had clerked before striking out on his own. In 2001 he won his first term as a City Court Judge by besting strong competition in a crowded field.
"Iwould say I'm a firm judge who applies the law evenly across the board, but also with compassion," Judge Fiorella concludes. "I love serving this community and it is my goal to continue to do so in a new term as a Buffalo City Court Judge." New WNY Politics
How the Chinese Must See Us
by Pat Buchanan
"O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us," wrote the poet Robert Burns.
As Hu Jintao wings his way home, America's hectoring still ringing in his ears, he must be thinking that maybe we Americans should stop lecturing them and take a closer look at ourselves.
Revalue your currency, we demand of the Chinese, stop running these trade surpluses at our expense, start practicing free trade, and abandon these mercantilist and protectionist policies.
But why should they? Why should China abandon a trade policy that is working marvelously well for them, and adopt a trade policy that is failing dismally for us? Does that make sense?
Why should any nation emulate the U.S. trade policy of the Bush-Clinton-Bush era that has stripped us of a third of our manufacturing jobs and made us dependent on China and the world for the needs of our national life and the borrowed money to pay for them?
Why would China, seeking to make herself an independent and self-sufficient nation, adopt a policy that cost us our independence?
And what are the Chinese doing in their ascendancy to first power on earth that we did not do in ours?
Are our Milton Friedmanite free-traders unaware of how it was that, in the last third of the 19th century, we left the British in the dust? Are they unaware we had the highest tariffs on earth to price British products out of our market and goad rapacious Yankees into building new factories to produce the same goods we were then importing from Great Britain?
Lest we forget, the Americans who turned this country into the industrial marvel of mankind were known as "Robber Barons."
As they put America first in our rise, the Chinese are putting China first.
Our grand strategists demand to know why the Chinese are making these brash claims to all the islands in the South China and East China seas. Why are they telling us to keep our aircraft carriers out of the Yellow Sea and out of the Taiwan Strait? Who do they think they are?
Well, maybe they think they're 19th-century Americans.
Did not James Monroe and John Quincy Adams brashly tell the great powers of Europe to stay out of our hemisphere?
What are the Chinese about, other than imposing a Monroe Doctrine of their own? As historian Walter McDougall writes, Otto von Bismarck was as affronted by us as we are by the Chinese, declaring that the Monroe Doctrine represented "a species of arrogance peculiarly American and inexcusable."
Hu Jintao got an earful from us on his human rights records. Stop the repression of Uighurs and Tibetans. Stop jailing political dissidents. Allow more freedom of the Internet and the press.
But on his way home, Hu must be thinking to himself: Who are these Americans to lecture us?
Is this not the same tribe that enslaved black people for 250 years and segregated them for a century? Is this not the same tribe that drove the Indians off their lands, then stuck them all in Bantustans called reservations? Are these not the only people in history to have dropped atomic bombs on defenseless cities?
How would we have reacted if Hu, instead of pretending he couldn't hear the translation of that question about human rights, retorted, "We Chinese are also concerned about what we read of human rights at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, of renditions, torture and something called 'water-boarding.'"
This is not written in defense of the Chinese communists who are a purposeful and ruthless lot, but to suggest that we Americans no longer look like the self-confident nation of Dwight Eisenhower and JFK that was unintimidated by the brutal and bullying Soviet Union of Nikita Khrushchev.
We were in a great struggle then -- and acted like we could win it.
But as America sinks economically and retreats strategically, while China grows at 10 percent and bristles with confidence, we appear to be a nation of whiners. They are eating our lunch, and we sound like losers in a locker room.
We demand that the Chinese be more open and tolerant of opposition and dissent. But when they look at the gridlock of American democracy, the pettiness of our politics and the failure of our policies, while they are on the move at home and all over the world, why should they want to be more like us?
Has our American capitalism in this century performed as well as their autocratic capitalism? Is our political performance an argument for the superiority of our ballyhooed democracy over their one-party state?
We can't win or end our wars, balance our budgets or control our borders. Great states like California and Illinois appear about to go belly-up. The U.S. government is running a third straight deficit of near 10 percent of our entire economy. We used our stimulus money to save government jobs. They used theirs for bullet trains.
Time to see ourselves as others see us.
PoliticsNY.Net: KALEIDA'S CEO KASKIE TALKS MEDICAID REFORM
Jim Kaskie said, "We are living in very challenging times. However, each of us must assume a leadership role to work together to find thoughtful, balanced solutions to the fiscal problems facing our State. We are willing to work with your Task Force and the State if you need a demonstration site to test reforms, we stand ready to work with you to re-engineer care by re-engineering the payment system, work with you to address over utilization and help identify social problems that are disguised as health care issues.As I have stated many times, cutting your way out of this problem will not work. We must unbundle the problem of Medicaid spending. This means understanding the issues of each major component of spending. No more cuts to the providers. Let us reform the system."
AMERICANS BELIEVE ECONOMY HAS TURNED THE CORNER
Turning the Economic Corner? Majority Predict Better Economic Days Ahead
Marist Poll
Could the worst of the nation's economic woes be over? That's the view of a majority of Americans. According to this national Marist Poll, 54% of adults believe, when thinking about the U.S. economy, the worst is behind us. 39%, however, say the worst is yet to come, and 7% are unsure. These findings are in stark contrast to Marist's poll just last month. In that December survey, a majority — 53% — thought more bad news was on the economic horizon, and 39% reported the worst had passed. Eight percent, at the time, were unsure.
Joe Illuzzi
Why Everything Starts With Repeal
byCharles Krauthammer
WASHINGTON -- Suppose someone -- say, the president of United States -- proposed the following: We are drowning in debt. More than $14 trillion right now. I've got a great idea for deficit reduction. It will yield a savings of $230 billion over the next 10 years: We increase spending by $540 billion while we increase taxes by $770 billion.
He'd be laughed out of town. And yet, this is precisely what the Democrats are claiming as a virtue of Obamacare. During the debate over Republican attempts to repeal it, one of the Democrats' major talking points has been that Obamacare reduces the deficit -- and therefore repeal raises it -- by $230 billion. Why, the Congressional Budget Office says exactly that.
Very true. And very convincing. Until you realize where that number comes from. Explains CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf in his "preliminary analysis of H.R. 2" (the Republican health care repeal): "CBO anticipates that enacting H.R. 2 would probably yield, for the 2012-2021 period, a reduction in revenues in the neighborhood of $770 billion and a reduction in outlays in the vicinity of $540 billion."
As National Affairs editor Yuval Levin pointed out when mining this remarkable nugget, this is a hell of a way to do deficit reduction: a radical increase in spending, topped by an even more radical increase in new taxes.
Of course, the very numbers that yield this $230 billion "deficit reduction" are phony to begin with. The CBO is required to accept every assumption, promise (of future spending cuts, for example) and chronological gimmick that Congress gives it. All the CBO then does is perform the calculation and spit out the result.
In fact, the whole Obamacare bill was gamed to produce a favorable CBO number. Most glaringly, the new entitlement it creates -- government-subsidized health insurance for 32 million Americans -- doesn't kick in until 2014. That was deliberately designed so any projection for this decade would only cover six years of expenditures -- while that same 10-year projection would capture 10 years of revenues. With 10 years of money inflow versus six years of outflow, the result is a positive -- i.e., deficit-reducing -- number. Surprise.
If you think that's audacious, consider this: Obamacare does not create just one new entitlement (health insurance for everyone); it actually creates a second -- long-term care insurance. With an aging population, and with long-term care becoming extraordinarily expensive, this promises to be the biggest budget buster in the history of the welfare state.
And yet, in the CBO calculation, this new entitlement to long-term care reduces the deficit over the next 10 years. By $70 billion, no less. How is this possible? By collecting premiums now, and paying out no benefits for the first 10 years. Presto: a (temporary) surplus. As former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin and scholars Joseph Antos and James Capretta note, "Only in Washington could the creation of a reckless entitlement program be used as 'offset' to grease the way for another entitlement." I would note additionally that only in Washington could such a neat little swindle be titled the "CLASS Act" (for the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act).
That a health care reform law of such enormous size and consequence, revolutionizing one-sixth of the U.S. economy, could be sold on such flimflammery is astonishing, even by Washington standards. What should Republicans do?
Make the case. Explain the phony numbers, boring as the exercise may be. Better still, hold hearings and let the CBO director, whose integrity is beyond reproach, explain the numbers himself.
To be sure, the effect on the deficit is not the only criterion by which to judge Obamacare. But the tossing around of such clearly misleading bumper-sticker numbers calls into question the trustworthiness of other happy claims about Obamacare. Such as the repeated promise that everyone who likes his current health insurance will be able to keep it. Sure, but only if your employer continues to offer it. In fact, millions of workers will find themselves adrift because their employers will have every incentive to dump them onto the public rolls.
This does not absolve the Republicans from producing a health care replacement. They will and should be judged by how well their alternative addresses the needs of the uninsured and the anxieties of the currently insured. But amending an insanely complicated, contradictory, incoherent and arbitrary 2,000-page bill that will generate tens of thousands of pages of regulations is a complete nonstarter. Everything begins with repeal.
REDISTRICTINGTHE ERIE COUNTY LEGISLATURE!
Under state election law the 11 districts must have numerical equivalency; meaning Erie County has a population of circa 950,000 so each district willrepresent 85-90,000 plus or minus County residents.
It would be illegal to gerrymander districts based on purely political considerations; i.e., favoring either republicans or democrats. However considering the overlay of democrats over republicans certain districts like the City of Buffalo will obviously have more democrats than republicans.
UPDATE: Our plan would combine districts(maps) into roughly:
1 & 2 Cheektowaga, Lackawanna, Hamburg.
8 & 9 Cheektowaga & West Seneca.
10 & 11 Kenmore & the Tonawandas.
14 & 15 Amherst.
The three Buffalo Districts MUST remain in tact in order to retain fairness in minority representation; remembering that the City represents circa one third of the County's population. You want to push the 6th East & North. The 3rd & 7th North & South to include the entire city. Not difficult because the City's population is circa 270,000; that translates into 90,000 residents per district. Again giving minorities & the City appropriate representation, 2 or 3 out of the eleven,would avoid a great deal of litigation over the numbers.
This brings the County Legislature to 11 seats, obviously after"parsing" (please excuse the license but it works)the districts into populations of 85-90,000 per district.
The democrats certainly have a numerical advantage; however, the advantage is based on enrollment rather than gerrymandering or other unfortunate considerations. We'll see!
So, What if the Bible Really Is True? Part I
by David Limbaugh
I'd like to challenge you to consider that the "good news" we celebrate during the Christmas season really is true.
You may choose to believe the Bible is merely a book of fables with nice moral lessons, but there is more abundant and accurate manuscript evidence for the New Testament than any other book from antiquity. Moreover, the number of witnesses to Christ's life, death and resurrection, as well as the nature of their testimony, is strong evidence of the reliability of the scriptural accounts, as are the corroborating secular testimony and archeological evidence.
In fact, the New Testament writers had every temporal motive to deny the resurrection occurred. Why would they fabricate and stand by a story that would lead to their being beaten, tortured and murdered?
So next time you read your Bible, consider that you're reading the inspired word of God and that Jesus really did say and do what the Bible reports, beginning with His claims about His own divinity:
He said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you know Me, you will also know My Father. ... The one who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:6-8). He also said, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58). Here, Jesus claimed not only to have pre-existed Abraham but also that His pre-existence was eternal, as would have been the case had He said, "I was." More significantly, "I AM" was a name for God. He further identified himself as the God of the Old Testament, when proclaiming, "I am the light of the world" (Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation") and "I am the good shepherd." (Psalm 23:1 says, "The Lord is my shepherd.") When responding to the high priest as to His deity, Jesus said, "I am and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62).
Jesus also fulfilled Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah: He was born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, in the line of Abraham and David; He was rejected by His own people; His hands, feet and side were pierced, but no bones were broken; and He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.
Jesus claimed to have authority to forgive sins. He told the paralyzed man, "But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He said He was the judge of mankind (John 5:25-29).
Jesus claimed honor that is only due God (Isaiah 42:8), when He said, "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began" (John 17:1) and "Honor the Son, even as they honor the Father" (John 5:23). Jesus invited prayer in His name: "And I will do whatever you ask in my name" (John 14:13). He accepted worship (Matthew 8:2, 14:33, 15:25, 20:20, 28:17), though the Old Testament clearly forbids the worship of anyone but God (Exodus 20:1-4; Deuteronomy 5:6-9). Even the angels refused to be worshipped (Revelation 22:8, 9).
Jesus said He would give us things that only God can give. "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it" (John 5:21).
Jesus told us not just to follow His teaching but also to follow Him (Matthew 10:38).
Jesus performed many miracles, the greatest being His resurrection, which He predicted (John 2:19, 21) and was attested to by all four Gospel writers and, among others, by Paul, who said Jesus was seen by more than 500 eyewitnesses, most of whom were still alive and could have contradicted him if untrue (1 Corinthians 15:4).
His Apostles also claimed that He was God: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God" (John 1:1); Jesus was the "first and the last" (Revelation 1:17, 2:8, 22:13); and, "For unto us, a child is born ... and his name will be called 'Wonderful, counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Matthew 1:23).
Jesus, who claimed and proved to be God, affirmed the divine authority of the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17-18) and promised that the Holy Spirit would inspire the New Testament revelations (John 14:26, 16:13). New Testament writers also attested that all Scripture is inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16).
Once we conclude the Bible is the word of God, we will delight in the Scriptures (Psalm 119:92) and, as one writer put it, acquire "that great sense that we are living in the sphere of eternal security."
Eternal security, indeed, for Christ died so that by repenting and trusting in Him, we could live. Now that's the true meaning of Christmas and the best news of all.
So, What if the Bible Really Is True? Part II
by David Limbaugh
If I had to single out one thing that played the greatest role in initially convincing me of the Bible's authenticity and the truth of Christianity, I'd choose the Old Testament prophecies, especially those concerning the Messiah. The specificity of some of the individual prophecies is powerfully probative, but the odds against so many of them being fulfilled in the person of Christ by coincidence are utterly breathtaking.
In about 700 B.C., the Prophet Isaiah specifically named the king (Cyrus) who would rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, some 114 years before Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it and some 150 years before Persia conquered the Babylonians and its king (Cyrus) issued the decree to rebuild the Temple. Josh McDowell summarized it this way: "Thus Isaiah predicted that a man named Cyrus, who would not be born for about 100 years, would give the command to rebuild the temple which was still standing in Isaiah's day and would not be destroyed for more than 100 years."
Biblical scholar J. Barton Payne cited 574 Old Testament verses containing messianic prophecies, and countless others have listed and explained them, but my favorite compilation is by McDowell, who highlights some 60 of them as unmistakable predictions. Let me give you just a sampling with the humble suggestion that you read and contemplate these verses yourselves.
The Messiah would: reconcile men to God at painful cost to Himself; come from the seed of a woman (Genesis 3:15); be a Semite (Genesis 9:26); descend through Abraham (Genesis 22:18), Isaac (Genesis 21:12) and Jacob Numbers 24:17) and be from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10); be a prophet, like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), a priest (Psalm 110:4), the judge (Isaiah 33:22) and king (Psalm 2:6); descend from Jesse's line (Isaiah 11:1) and David's line and be eternal king (2 Samuel 7:13); be God, the Father's Son (Psalm 2:7; 2 Samuel 7:14); ransom men and restore their righteousness (Job 17:3); exist before time began and be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and young children would be killed (Jeremiah 31:15); be given gifts (Psalm 72:10; Isaiah 60:6); be called Lord (Psalm 110:1); be "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14); be anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2, 42:1); have zeal for His Father's house and reproach those who would violate it (Psalm 69:9); be announced in advance (Isaiah 40:3);
begin his ministry in Galilee; heal the blind, deaf, dumb and lame (Isaiah 35:5,6); teach in parables (Psalm 78:2); enter the Temple (Malachi 3:1); enter Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9); be a stumbling block to the Jews (Psalm 118:22, 8:14); be a light to the gentiles (Isaiah 60:3); be resurrected (Psalm 16:10); ascend (Psalm 68:18) and sit at the right hand of God (Psalm 110:1); be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:19) and sold for 30 pieces of silver, which he would throw into the Temple and which would be given for the potter's field (Zechariah 11:12-13); be struck, causing his disciples to scatter (Zechariah 13:7), which Christ affirmed and repeated (Matthew 26:31); be falsely accused (Psalm 35:11); stand silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7); be wounded and bruised for people's sins (Isaiah 53:5), smitten and spit upon (Isaiah 50:6) and mocked (Psalm 22:7); be crucified with thieves and plead for those killing him (Isaiah 53:12); be thirsty (Psalm 69:21); ask God why He
had forsaken Him (Psalm 22:1); commit His spirit to God (Psalm 31:5); and be buried in a rich man's tomb (Isaiah 53:9). Darkness would fall over the land (Amos 8:9); His hands, feet (Psalm 22:16) and side (Zechariah 12:10) would be pierced, but none of His bones would be broken (Psalm 34:20); His own people would reject Him (Isaiah 53:3) and hate Him without cause (Psalm 69:4); His friends would witness His ordeal from afar (Psalm 38:11); and people would cast lots for his clothing (Psalm 22:18).
McDowell notes that the Old Testament was completed in about 450 B.C., but if you won't accept that, you can verify that the Septuagint (Greek translation) was begun during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.), which means the Hebrew version had to have been completed at least 250 years before Christ was born.
He also notes that while it's true that Jesus could have arranged to fulfill some of these prophecies, He could not have orchestrated the place, time and manner of His birth, that He would be betrayed, the manner of His death, people's reactions to His crucifixion, the piercings and the burial. The statistical odds that any man might have fulfilled all eight of those prophecies, let alone 61 (or 574) of them, are 1 in 10 to the 17th power.
If you're not yet amazed, study Daniel 9:24-27, which many believe predicts, to the precise year, the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Who do you say that He is?
PoliticsNY.Net: ERIE COUNTY CULTURALS: STUDIO ARENA
You know what has been missing from this debate over the culturals?
How do we get Studio Arena's curtain up?
"Over the years it has produced many notable plays and world premieres including work by Edward Albee, A.R. Gurney, and Lanford Wilson. Studio Arena Theatre was the springboard for the careers of some of today's biggest Equity actors, including Emmy and Tony Award winners. Studio Arena Theatre was one of the country's premier regional theatres."
I remember as achild asking my friend Frank DiFiglia wherehis brother goes to dance all the time. His response Studio Arena on Lafayette. Frank's brother the Tony award winning Michael Bennett. We remember Applause, Chorus Line, Dream Girls, etc. I know Kevin O'Connell at Channel #2 knows exactly what I am writing about.
I would take the $1.2M being argued over ad nauseum & use that money to leverage the reopening in what was one of our greatest assets Studio Arena theatre, LIVE theatre. Ran properly the theater would become self sustaining. I heard one caller on Sunday talk say that the culturals who lost funding should pool theirresources,morphing their theatres, gallleries, etc., into a single location. Obviously, not everyvenue that lost funding but a significant enough number for this idea to make sense. Certainly a mixed use for Studio Arena not to mention an excellent venue with parking & all the amenities.
Looking forward to once again hearing the call "CURTAIN UP"at Studio Arena theatre.
Joe Illuzzi
PoliticsNY.Net: CITY GRILL MASS MURDERS
1-26 Judge weighs photo IDs of McCray
Less than a day after last August's City Grill massacre, Riccardo M. McCray was identified as a prime suspect, Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio learned Wednesday.
However, only one of three men who identified a police photo of McCray said he saw him shoot the gun during the mass shooting Aug. 14. A woman who also picked his police photo said she saw him pull out the gun but did not see him fire it, authorities said in court.
DiTullio, who is scheduled to preside at the March 14 start of jury selection in the case, reserved decision on the admissibility of the four photo identifications of McCray.
At one of the final pretrial hearings in the case, homicide detectives said, the four witnesses viewing photos had connected McCray to the shooting, all within six days of the massacre -- on Aug. 15, 17 and 20.
MCCRAY GETS NEW LAWYER
12- 17: McCray's attorneys resigned the case & Joseph Terranova was retained or appointed (unclear) to represent McCray. ...
MCCRAY NOT SHOOTER?
"Citing video from transit authority cameras, defense attorneys today said Riccardo M. McCray was not one of the two gunmen exchanging shots that left four dead and four wounded outside the City Grill restaurant last August.
Following a delay in a pre-trial hearing, attorney E. Earl Key stressed outside the courtroom that "Mr. McCray was not firing a weapon" during the incident.
Key and co-counsel Samuel P. Davis said they will prove through prosecution evidence, including Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority video of the shooting scene, that there were two shooters exchanging gunfire as the downtown restaurant was vacated early last Aug. 14.
Key, whose comments were disputed by prosecutors, said crime scene video will prove "there's no question there were two shooters," neither of whom was McCray." Published report ...
MCCRAY STATEMENT CHALLENGED
"Attorneys for Riccardo M. McCray, the indicted suspect in the City Grill murders, claimed Monday 12-6 they have video of "two shooters" exchanging gunfire during the early morning incident last summer. Attorney E. Earl Key did not elaborate during the opening day of a pretrial hearing before Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio. The hearing is to allow defense attorneys to challenge the legality of statements McCray made to police after his arrest Aug. 25.In challenging Lonergan's claim that he never heard McCray request to speak to an attorney before he was rushed to Police Headquarters that day, Key told the judge the alleged shooting scene video shows "one person shooting at another one," referring to the alleged second shooter. Key and Davis confirmed they have subpoenaed DA Frank Sedita as a defense witness at the hearing, which is dealing with the admissibility at trial of any incriminating statements McCray may have made since his arrest 11 days after the shootings. McCray, 23, who faces a possible life term without parole, reportedly will be one of the first defense witnesses to take the stand Tuesdayas the evidence hearing continues." ...
City Grill killer to keep defense team intact
Riccardo M. McCray, the accused killer in the City Grill murders, today told a judge he is willing to allow attorney E. Earl Key to remain on his defense team even though Key once represented a reputed former street gang associate who is now a key prosecution witness against him.
Speaking in a low voice, McCray responded "yes, your honor" to the battery of questions Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio posed to him about Key's previous representation of Steven "Red" Talley, who is now considered "a significant and important" prosecution witness against him.
Though the judge warned McCray, 23, that neither Key nor co-defense counsel Samuel P. Davis will be allowed to completely challenge at trial the claims of Talley, McCray politely said he wants to retain both of his veteran attorneys. ...
Attorneys raise 'possible psychiatric issue'
Riccardo M. McCray's trial for allegedly murdering four people outside the City Grill two months ago isn't until the spring but his attorneys, including one who used to represent a key witness against him, today raised challenges to his ability to understand police when he made statements about the shootings. ...
CITY GRILLVICTIM ARRESTED ON GUN CHARGES
One of the victims in the Aug. 14 carnage outside of City Grill was arrested this week on felony weapons charges stemming from an indictment warrant, according to Buffalo police reports.
Police records show Tillman Ward, 27, was booked Wednesday on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. He is accused of possessing a loaded firearm and a defaced weapon. ...
MCCRAY TRIAL DATE SET
"The defense of Riccardo M. McCray, the accused City Grill killer, Thursday became the responsibility of Erie County taxpayers as one of his private attorneys was allowed to withdraw from the case while two others were named "court assigned" lawyers.
Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio allowed Terrence D. McKelvey to withdraw from the case and made E. Earl Key and Samuel P. Davis the court-assigned lawyers for McCray. She also scheduled a March 14 start for jury selection in the trial."
CITY GRILL REVENGE MURDER FRIDAY
Jury trial promised by both sides in McCray matter; McCray's attorney says they have the wrong guy (again). ...
Ahmen Lester, McCray's brother in law, is described as being in his 30s and originally from Buffalo, was fatally shot at 1:30 p.m.Friday afternoon on East Ferry near Schuele.Lester isthe man who police say drove City Grill suspect Riccardo McCray (photo) back from North Carolina shortly before he turned himself into Channel #4's Rich Newberg.
Police believe the Schuele Street Gang was involved in the revenge killing today. McCray a member of the East Ferry Street gang. Scroll down for the a comprehensive read on all the events to date revolving around the City Grill murders. ...
GRAND JURY INDICTS MCCRAY - NO BAIL
"The defense of Riccardo M. McCray, the accused City Grill killer, Thursday became the responsibility of Erie County taxpayers as one of his private attorneys was allowed to withdraw from the case while two others were named "court assigned" lawyers.
Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio allowed Terrence D. McKelvey to withdraw from the case and made E. Earl Key and Samuel P. Davis the court-assigned lawyers for McCray. She also scheduled a March 14 start for jury selection in the trial." ...
A grand jury has handed up murder indictments against Riccardo M. McCray in the City Grill killings. He faces one count of second-degree murder; three counts of first-degree murder; four counts of first-degree attempted murder; and one count of criminal possession of a weapon, second degree. If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. He will be arraigned before Judge Sheila DiTullio at 10:30 a.m." ...
At some point today (Wednesday) the DA will announce either Grand Jury indictments in this case or Frank Sedita will proceed with a felony hearing in City Court in front of Judge Jeffrey Voelkl. ...
BAIL SET FOR ALLEGED CITY GRILL SHOOTER (?)
"Over the objections of prosecutors, a judge today set bail on City Grill shooting suspect Riccardo M. McCray at $500,000. Erie County Judge Michael F. Pietruszka set bail at the request of McCray's lawyers after prosecutor James F. Bargnesi argued that McCray "has every incentive to be a flight risk." McCray is accused of killing four people and wounding four others outside the downtown Main Street restaurant early on Aug. 14. Bargnesi, chief of the district attorney's Homicide Bureau, and prosecutor Mary Beth DePasquale told the judge a grand jury this week will consider a multi-count first-degree murder indictment. If convicted, McCray would face a mandatory life term with no chance of parole. Pietruszka set the half-million bail figure based on what he called his review of "the facts and circumstances" of the case." Published report
Setting bail in a capital murder case with four victims is a rare occurrence; we believe this calls law enforcement's case into very - very serious question. ...
RETALIATION POSSIBLE MOTIVE?
"On Thursday, August 12, 2010, a man was shot outside a Walden Avenue deli.
Two of the shooting victims friends were inside the store, including Willie McCaa. Kenyatta Cobb, a WNY Law Enforcement Chaplain saw McCaa at the hospital when the victim arrived. "He said to me I was in the store I came out and I saw the other boy putting him in the car and I followed them up. He handed him to me and I took him in."
What happened from there is a pattern of violence with many question marks. The man with McCaa was shot and killed as he left ECMC.
The following night, McCaa was murdered outside City Grill in downtown Buffalo.
"There's a pattern, there's a pattern, I can't say what the pattern is because i'm not in homicide (department), but anyone with a little bit of sense can see there's a pattern," said Cobb.
Cobb said McCaa knew that getting involved with a shooting and transporting the victim to the hospital would put his life in jeopardy.
Buffalo Police are investigating a possible link in the shootings." Claudine Ewing Channel #2
Sources say the DA has an eyewitness & there will be a lineup sometime today. ...
"The DA can get a Grand Jury to indict a ham sandwich." We believe that is a quote from high profile Buffalo criminal attorney Joel Daniels.
WE do not expect a felony hearing Wednesday September 1st. The DA does not want to present his case prematurely at a hearing. We expect the sitting Grand Jury to indict Riccardo McCray with lighting speed. We also anticipate the charges to be first degree murder, with a number of attempted murder charges attached, etc.
The 23 year old high school drop out & football player says he'll take a lie detector test; he claims he never fired a gun in his life other than Lasertron & paint ball or whatever you call it. He is a member of the East Ferry Gang, shooting a gun probably is part of the initiation, if not much worse. Now his gang could have spread the word you testify you die, who knows at this point.
However, something is wrong here; we are just a little nervous for unexplained reasons. We'll see.
SUSPECT ARRAIGNED NO BAIL
"A 23-year-old man has plead not guilty to murder charges in a shooting outside a downtown Buffalo bar that killed four people.
Riccardo McCray of Buffalo appeared in city court Thursday morning, where the plea was entered on his behalf. No bail was set.
McCray walked into court with shackles around his feet, and dressed in plaid shorts and a red shirt.
McCray is scheduled to appear back in court on September 1st. Television cameras were not allowed in the court.
Buffalo Police arrested and charged McCray on Wednesday. He has been charged with four counts of second degree murder." ...
SOURCES BELIEVE THEY HAVE THEIR MAN ... LAW ENFORCEMENT SOURCES SAY "THIS SCUM BAGIS THE SHOOTER!"
Wilhite & McNeil met the shooter at the door of City Grill; they told him it was a private party & he would not be allowed entry. The bar opted to close at that point. The shooter, like abushwhackerof sorts, waited across the street & when Wilhite & McNeil walked out the door he shot them both. Mackin began fighting with the shooter & was shot execution style. McCaa, who was a friend of the shooter, was collateral damage.
The shooter, according to this published report, was arrested recently on weapon & drug charges. A reward is being considered an announcement should be made on that score Friday. Presently the community is burying its dead, Mackin Thursday, Wilhite & McNeil Friday & McCaa Saturday.
Claudine Ewing WGRZ #2 news aired this account about 10 days ago. We believe this is an accurate account of what happened. Add to this reports that McCray was member of the "East Ferry Gang" & a rival gang " Schuele Street Gang" wereat the City Grill as well; the result the murders of four people.
McCray allegedlysaid to Wilhite & McNeil, "I told you I was going to get you bitches."
There are reports that Mackin was a target, we don't believe that is the case; other than to say Mackin probably involved himself into the event at the City Grill & was shot execution style as a result. ...
"A man wanted for questioning in the mass shootings outside the City Grill earlier this month has been charged with four murder counts after turning himself in to authorities at WIVB-TV studios in Buffalo this afternoon.
Police said Riccardo McCray surrendered to authorities at Channel 4 studios on Elmwood Avenue after arriving around 2 p.m. with community activist Darnell Jackson, a minister and a lawyer. He was taken into custody around 2:25 p.m.
"He has been charged with four counts of murder in the second degree," Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III said this evening. "The matter will go to a grand jury, and I would anticipate that the grand jury would consider more charges and more serious charges." ...
"Darnell Jackson says McCray told him he did not commit the shootings. "He said he was innocent. He wasn't worried about anyone on the street doing anything to him because he didn't do anything. He was worried about the cops doing something to him."
"I got low when shots rang out, that's all I know,"McCray toldWIVB News. "Why are the police going toward me? That's what I want to know."
McCray's attorney is Buffalo attorney Terrence McKelvey. He was NOT at WIVBnews when McCray surrendered; he caught up with him at Police Headquarters. ...
(WIVB) - Person of interest Riccadro McCray came to Channel 4, Darnell Jackson brought him to Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg.
He voluntarily surrendered to Buffalo Police. There was no major violence or any major incident, he calmly went into custody.
"It was developed in the very recent past that Riccardo McCray was a key person in our investigation into the events of the City Grill shootings that left eight people being shot, four fatally, " said Buffalo Chief of Detectives Dennis Richards.
"Our homicide guys worked tirelessly on this investigation ever since the early-morning hours of last Saturday. We've worked with every local, state and federal agency in trying to develop information. There were all types of information and his possible where abouts, as you can imagine. The media was looking for us to come up with a name earlier but as you can well imagine we cannot conduct investigations in a fish bowl and we had to get our ducks in a row before we could identify him as a very key person in this investigation," said Richards.
McCray came to News 4 with Darnell Jackson and Bishop Perry Davis and they wanted him to have a lawyer present, but he was taken immediately into custody. ...
Aperson of interest in the mass shooting at City Grill, Riccardo McCray, has surrendered to authorities at Channel 4 studios, in Buffalo. Apparently negotiations with Senior reporter Rich Newburg have been ongoing for a few days.
Around 2:25 p.m. Wednesday, McCray was taken into custody.
McCray came to News 4 with a community activist Darnell Jackson, around 2 p.m.
News 4 immediately contacted Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita and Buffalo Police.
The mass shooting outside of City Grill claimed four lives, on Main Street. Four others were injured. ...
UPDATES: "Homicide is the leading cause of death for young black men, with the murderous wounds in most cases inflicted by other young black men."
"Black Boys Too Long Ignored": A tragic crisis of enormous magnitude is facing black boys and men in America. Parental neglect, racial discrimination and an orgy of self-destructive behavior have left an extraordinary portion of the black male population in an ever-deepening pit of social and economic degradation. The Schott Foundation for Public Education tells us in a new report that the on-time high school graduation rate for black males in 2008 was an abysmal 47 percent, and even worse in several major urban areas — for example, 28 percent in New York City."Full story...
A 20, 000 reward has been offered for the arrest & conviction of City Grill shooter or shooters. ...
Published report "One of three people wanted for questioning in connection with the City Grill shootings was arrested Thursday night on charges unrelated to last weekend's attack that left four dead and four wounded, law enforcement officials said. Steven A. Talley, 25, of Englewood Avenue has been charged with burglary and unlawful imprisonment, both in the second degree. Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita said the charges have nothing to do with the ongoing investigation of Saturday morning's mass shootings. "I'm not going to comment on whether he was a witness, whether he was a suspect or anything else about his status," Sedita said.Law enforcement officials did confirm that they believe Talley was at the shooting scene. Police records offered a gripping account of the arrest." ...
I was a bartender at Casey's on Hertel during the 60's, later a bouncer inthe early 70's. Casey's moved over to Elmwood & Bidwell in the early - mid 70s; I did not work there. The bars closed at 2:00. What many people did right through the 80's was go to after hours joints most of which were on the East side, patronized by the who's who, sports, politics, et al. Guess what - the other half of the crowd were criminals & mostcarried guns. Thejoint at Jefferson & Utica closed down in the mid 80's because someone was shot dead & others were wounded. Closing bars earlier will have some positive result but it will be negligible. ...
Published report: Wilhite & McNeil met the shooter at the door of City Grill; they told him it was a private party & he would not be allowed entry. The bar opted to close at that point. The shooter, like abushwhackerof sorts, waited across the street & when Wilhite & McNeil walked out the door he shot them both. Mackin began fighting with the shooter & was shot execution style. McCaa, who was a friend of the shooter, was collateral damage. The shooter, according to this published report, was arrested recently on drug charges. A reward is being considered an announcement should be made on that score Friday. Presently the community is burying its dead, Mackin Thursday, Wilhite & McNeil Friday & McCaa Saturday. stay tuned...
Channel #2 is reporting that the primary suspect MAY have fled to the Carolinas...
"No charges have been filed thus far, but Buffalo Police are definitely making some progress. Sedita did not rule out the possibility of charges being filed in the murder case sometime today. I just can't speculate on whether that will happen," he said. "My chief of homicide prosecutions, [James F.] Bargnesi, is going to Buffalo Police Headquarters today...We'll see where we go from there."
Also, a number of those shot including Tiffany Wilhite have been shot at before. In the case of one of those who died a number of his relatives were involved in the same kind of mayhem; it looks like these shooting may not have been random. ...
Swap team surrounds housing project at Ferry & Grider; has since left the scene. The News is quoting Pastor Darius Pridgen who says a suspect has been taken into custody. ...
"There were definitely a number of gang-associated people in the restaurant when this happened. It was a fight between some of these people that led to all the shooting. And lately, we have had a lot of gang-related shootings. A lot of the things that have happened lately are related to shootings or killings that happened months ago."
Police have been searching the city for one suspect -- a young man reportedly affiliated with a gang -- since at least Sunday afternoon, according to the Rev. Darius G. Pridgen, pastor of True Bethel Baptist Church. Published report ...
The police are searching fora suspect & have been for 24 hours. Rev. Darius Pridgen is urging the suspect to turn himself in. In the past at least one maybe two suspects have surrendered to Pridgen. ...
Our understanding via published reports is the shootings may have been gang related. One rival gang was invited to the party at the City Grill the other not; the violence ensued as a result. Very fluid story! ...
"Joe: On Tuesday, August 17th, 6-8 p.m., there will an emergency meeting to address the recent escalation in murders, shootings and overall crime in the African American community. The community center is located @ 877 East Delavan Ave. @ Moselle St. The families who have lost loved ones as well as the elected officials, law enforcement, community leaders and the clergy have been invited to work together to find peace and lasting solutions for our communities and our city. This is also a personal loss for our family as Tiffany was an employee in our deli store around 14 years ago. Her mom is also a close family friend. May they all rest in peace." Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant. ...
Antoine Thompson, a friend of the family,"my prayers are with the families that lost loves ones last night. We must continue our struggle as a community to stop the violence. Peace and Love!' ...
Case Dismmissed: Police arrested the wrong man.
(Apparently the report a 5th vicitm had died was incorrect as well?)
"A parolee released from prison just two and a half weeks ago was arrested Saturday in connection with the worst carnage the City of Buffalo has experienced in at least three decades.
But before the day ended, law enforcement officials said they think they got the wrong man.
"We are having serious second thoughts," said Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III. "I have serious reservations about whether we have the right guy here."
Sedita said he planned this morning to move in City Court to dismiss charges against Keith D. Johnson, 25, of Buffalo, who was accused of murdering four people outside a downtown bar. Among those killed was a man who invited friends to the City Grill as part of his wedding anniversary celebration. The shooting also wounded four others, one critically." Published report
...
Police have made an arrest, Keith Johnson, who lives on Minnesota Ave. in North Buffalo....
8 SHOT 4 DEAD IN DOWNTOWN BUFFALO SHOOTINGS
Killed: Danyell Mackin, 30, a former Buffalo man who had been living in Texas, Tiffany Wilhite's cousin. Willie McCaa III, 26, of Buffalo. Tiffany Wilhite, 32; of Buffalo. Shawn-Tia McNeil, 27, of Buffalo.
Wounded: Demario Vass, 30, who was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to his head. James Robbs Jr., 27, who was treated and released. Shamar Davis, 30, who is hospitalized in stable condition. Tillman Ward, 27, who was shot in the elbow and is listed in good condition. ...
We have identified another victim, the groom, Daniel Mackin, 30.
The couple was celebrating their 1st anniversary in Buffalo with family & friends.
Mackin's wife was not injured. He is Tiffany Wilhite's cousin.
The wedding was a year ago by the the way. ...
We have identified Tia McNeil 25 of Buffalo as a victim. ...
Tiffany Wilhite (photo) a victim of last night's shootings is from Buffalo & went to Seneca Vocation; we have a RIP from her friend Nicole Smith, et al....
WKBW Channel #7 John Borsa is reporting that"8" people, men & women,have been shot in downtown Buffalo 4 are dead.
"Eight people were shot, four fatally, after a fight at a downtown Buffalo restaurant spilled into the street where multiple shots were fired, police said.
At least 50 emergency vehicles responded to the scene, including dozens of Buffalo police officers and Transit Police."Full story ...
ILLUZZI: Gangs & the gang mentality (freelancers), with all the bells & whistles, has become a sub culture within our urban community &like communities around the country.
We have reached the point where gangs, the gang mentality, has become an accepted, albeit dreaded in many quarters, part of every day lifein the inner city.
The roots of the problem in Buffalo & WNY are two fold racism & the political climate, the inverse relationship between the former & the latter. The vines & branches the drop out rate, children being born out of wedlock, infant mortality, drugs, of course the irrational violence, etc.; all rights of passage in our sub culture.
How do we solve the problem: We startby bringing God back into our homes & classrooms,taking the guns off the streets legal & otherwise, do something about the graduation rate, build more prisons, etc.
We have LOST a generation maybe two that are not coming back into the mainstreamno matter what we do. These young men & womenare simply lost & there is NO bringing them back; very sad to write believe me.
Finally, do not think for one minute this behavior has not reached the suburbs with all the bells & whistlesit certainly has . Incidents like finding weapons in schools, student upon student & teacher violence, street violence, etc.is kept very - very quiet & definitely kept out of the press. Not all, however, think about the number of potential problems that surfaced over the years where local authorities intervened to prevent a real tragedy. Also, not quite the same behavior close enough, have we forgotten Columbine, etc., that's rhetorical.
Oh & by the way I grew up in the inner city.
Joe Illuzzi
MEET THE STATE CHAIRMEN
A PoliticsNY.Net Exclusive
NYS Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs
by Staff
What will Gov. Paterson do and when will he do it? Does he really intend to stick it out and run for re-election even though his poll numbers seem below the point of resuscitation? And what about Andrew Cuomo, the extremely popular Democratic attorney general who seems ready, willing, and able to lead Democrats in next year's elections?
Those questions and many others are among the challenges facing the state's new Democratic chairman, Nassau County's Jay Jacobs who took over the party's reins in Buffalo during a two-day conference that featured Paterson, Cuomo, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, and Democrats from across the state hoping for party unity in next year's looming elections.
"It went really very good in Buffalo," said Jacobs during anexclusive interview with www.PoliticsNY.net. "I talked to a lot of people and I think we've set ourselves on a good course."
Asked about the biggest challenge the party faces, Gov. Paterson's sinking popularity in the face of the state's growing budget deficit and his insistence on running for re-election, Jacobs said it's too early to panic.
"I think we have a good deal more time than everybody thinks," said Jacobs. "We're not through the 2009 elections yet, so the governor has some time to make his case to the public and he's going to do that. The poll numbers today may not be the poll numbers of tomorrow," adding "Gov. Paterson is running and I support him."
That position seems to fly in the face of the conventional political wisdom---and apparently President Obama's wishes---to let Andrew Cuomo top next year's ticket to avoid a Democratic statewide meltdown with a weak Paterson leading the way. But Jacobs insists Paterson has the opportunity and time to resurrect himself and says his job is to build an organization and a strong party to take on the Republicans in 2010.
As for Cuomo, Jacobs says the attorney general's high standing in the polls in well deserved. "He's done a great job," says Jacobs, "and I supported him in 2002 [during Cuomo's battle with Carl McCall], and I was one of the few county chairman who did and he's certainly someone I've always considered a good friend. I haven't heard anything but that he's running for re-election as attorney general, but what happens in the months ahead, I don't know," emphasizing again his support for Paterson.
On the battle for control of the State Senate, long a Republican stronghold but currently narrowly controlled by not-always-united Democrats, Jacobs says "you don't look at it [the Senate] in the aggregate, but in the target races where the parties are vulnerable. You have to be very strategic, raise the revenues, in order to fund strong races. I have been telling the [party] leadership that we had a procedural fight (a reference to the coup) in June, and now we have to demonstrate to the people that we have been fighting for them on the important issues, and we need substantive results to show that we should elect a Democrat. And I am going to try and help our leaders do that."
One Senate seat that many Democrats fear might be vulnerable next year is Bill Stachowski's in the 58th District, and Jacobs said "we know that was a tight race last time and we will have to keep a careful eye on that. We must weigh the threat and obligations of our party to protect our incumbents," saying he will be doing that as the travels the state to ready the party for next year's political battles.
Even though Democrats enjoy a roughly 5 to 3 voter enrollment edge in the state over Republicans, Jacobs cautions that "New York voters are smart, and while they have affiliation, we can't rest easy on that. Of course I would rather be us than them, but we can't leave any stone unturned."
Jacobs said he's optimistic that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who took over Sen. Clinton's seat when she joined by Obama cabinet, will fare well with voters next year despite her rather poor standing in the polls. "President Clinton said last week that a poll is just a snapshot of a horse race that isn't finished," said Jacobs, "and the campaign hasn't even begun. Not many voters know her but after she spends millions letting people know what she has done, her name recognition and positive polls numbers will go up dramatically."
Right now, according to Jacobs, voters only know Gillibrand through the short snippets in newspaper stories and that will all change after she gets her message out. "I don't worry about the early poll numbers," said the new chairman. "I respect them [the poll numbers] but don't overly appreciate them."
Jacobs, who has been the Nassaut County Democratic chairman since 2001, says he met and talked to Mayor Byron Brown during his Buffalo visit "and I was extremely impressed by him. Very talented, tremendous potential, certainly someone who is likely to go places. One place where Brown has been mentioned as likely to go is on the ticket with Andrew Cuomo next year, providing Cuomo is the candidate at the top.
As for the two leading Republican names that have been bandied about for governor and senator, Jacobs says he doesn't think either former Mayor Rudy Giuliani or former Gov. George Pataki will risk their political legacies on races they might lose. "I have a sense that Rudy will take a long look and decide it's not a race and I think Gov. Pataki will do the same. They are both making a ton of money in the private sector and a loss would be catastrophic to their legacies and wouldn't make sense."
The only announced Republican candidate for governor so far is former four-term Congressman Rick Lazio who has been warmly received by Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long.
Jacobs has enjoyed great success as chairman in Nassau County where Democrats, under his watch, have re-elected a Democratic majority in the legislature in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007, and elected a Democratic county executive, comptroller, assessor, and district attorney.
He takes over as state chairman from June O'Neill.
A PoliticsNY.NetExclusive
NYSRepublican Chairman Ed Cox
COX SAYS ALL IS WELL WITH NIAGARA COUNTY CHAIRMAN HENRY WOJTASZEK
by Staff
Ed Cox, the soon-to-be Republican state chairman, stopped in Buffalo on Wednesday, the same day former Long Island Rep. Rick Lazio was in town to pitch his candidacy to be the GOP candidate for governor next year against most likely Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo.
Cox, a lawyer and the son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon, met with Erie County Republican Chairman Jim Domagalski and other party faithful, including his defeated rival to lead the party, Niagara County Chairman Henry Wojtaszek who had enjoyed the support of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, himself a possible gubernatorial candidate.
But Cox tells www.PoliticsNY.net that all is well with Wojtaszek, saying "I have Henry's full support and he is being very helpful." And Cox also had high praise for Giuliani, who had stumped hard to win the chairmanship for Wojtaszek, fueling talk that Giuliani wanted his own chairman for an expected gubernatorial run.
It was not the first time Cox had squared off against Giuliani. As chairman of John McCain's presidential campaign in New York State, Cox butted heads with the former mayor who harbored his own presidential ambitions. But on Wednesday, Cox was conciliatory.
"Mayor Giuliani would have made a great president," Cox said in a telephone interview. "But given the international situation, I felt McCain would be a little better. And secondly, I think the mayor is a wonderful asset for New York State and the Republican Party, so I wouldn't let anyone attack him during that [presidential] campaign, including the fire fighters in New York."
Cox added that he believes Giuliani "would be a great candidate and would make a great governor," adding he didn't think Giuliani's support for Wojtaszek "means that he was against me."
As for the enthusiasm of some GOP faithful to Lazio's candidacy, Cox said: "Well, when you are the only candidate out there, people get very enthusiastic. He has a lot of attractive features. He was a major J P Morgan Chase executive and that bank survived and did well during the economic recession. He [Lazio] has a certain charisma, supports a unicameral (single body) legislature. There's a lot there. But we're going to see a full field of candidates going forward."
Cox is expected to win election as state chairman next Tuesday at the GOP organizing convention in Albany when he will formally take over the party's leadership from Joe Mondello. While he would appear to face an uphill fight in rebuilding the party, Cox appears ready and willing to take on the challenge.
"I'm very excited, the opportunities to do good things for people are just tremendous," said Cox who had the clear backing of the majority of party leaders across the state, perhaps best exemplified by GOP Chairman Jay Dutcher of Ontario County who said the following about Cox: "…Ed Cox stands out as the candidate with the ability to rejuvenate the party, raise the funds, recruit the candidates and provide the support and leadership the Republican candidates across the state deserve."
So Cox will take over the helm of a party badly in need of rejuvenation, with a battle for control of the State Senate looming as well as the positions of governor and senator.And Cox was especially energized about taking on Sen. Kirsten Gilibrand who was appointed to fill out Hillary Clinton's term.
"She is very vulnerable," said Cox in describing Gilibrand as a "political chameleon without moral scruples or principles. She was a hard-core conservative [as a congresswoman] who voted for funding Acorn. Even [Sen.] Schumer voted against funding Acorn," an organization he said washes taxpayer funds for political purposes.
"She supported [Acorn] because she's concerned about the far left, especially in the New York primary process. I think taxpayers will be looking for principled candidates who will fight for the forgotten taxpayers of New York State."
Cox said that's what the party will be looking for, candidates who are dedicated to taking care of the forgotten state taxpayers who are paying more for less, feel that their jobs are being threatened, and witnesses their children leaving the state for better opportunities elsewhere. Cox included formerGov. George Pataki as one of those principled candidates who will be in the mix.The former governor and former Mayor Giuliani have both been mentioned as possible Senate candidates against Gilibrand.
So come Tuesday, the leadership of the State GOP will be in the hands of Cox, a prominent Manhattan lawyer who in 2008 was named in Super Lawyers in the area of Securities & Corporate Finance and his firm, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLL was ranked number one in New York city and number three in the U. S. on the American Lawyer's list of elite law firms.
Cox is perhaps best known as the husband of Tricia Nixon, daughter of the late President Nixon.
A PoliticsNY.Net Exclusive
NYS Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long
LONG HOPES GOP ENDS FIGHT SOON, BOOSTS POSSIBLE LAZIO CANDIDACY
by staff
State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long says he hopes New York Republicans settle their leadership fight soon so that the focus will be on the full slate of offices up next year, including governor, comptroller, attorney general, and two U. S. Senate seats. There's also the matter of the State Senate, controlled for so many years by Republicans but now in the tenuous grip of Democrats.
"It's their fight, not mine," said Long, the state's longest tenured chairman (20 years) in declining to comment directly on the GOP chairmanship battle between Niagara County's Henry Wojtaszek and Nixon son-in-law Ed Cox. But Long added it was his hope that Republicans will settle the matter quickly and move on to developing a strong slate of candidates for next year's important elections with the state mired deep fiscal troubles.
Long, who jokingly refers to himself as the longest running play in town, told www.PoliticsNY.net that so far, the only Republican who has approached him about the top state office next year is former four-term Congressman Rick Lazio who lost to Hillary Clinton during the 2000 Senate campaign, largely because he got too close to her during a debate in Buffalo, seen as an intimidating move by many women voters.
"We have not committed to support anyone yet," said Long, adding that the only potential candidate who has approached so far is Lazio who has made a number of appearances before Conservative Party organizations giving every indication, according to Long, that he intends to run.
"I think he [Lazio] is a bright, articulate guy who if he has the support and money could be a serious contender," said the chairman. "He's always had the Conservative Party endorsement and he ran statewide in 2000, so he certainly knows the state and he is willing to make the personal sacrifices. At some point he will leave his job, a fairly high-salaried position (Wall Street executive) and campaign for governor."
Long said Lazio shows a willingness to take on the state's deep troubles and states there is a need for change. "We have to defend the taxpayers," said Long. "People are losing their jobs, taxes and spending are out of control. I think he understands that and feels New York is worth fighting for. He also bring some vision for the future," adding there is a need to stop people from voting with their feet and leaving the state.
"I like what he's saying," said Long, adding no other person has approached him or talked about being given consideration for a gubernatorial run.
As for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is backing Wojtaszek for chairman, Long said he didn't believe the 9/11 hero was planning a run.
"I heard he was saying he would decide in 30 to 60 days," said Long. "I would think if he was serious, he would be moving around. I don't believe he's considering a run for governor. A lot of people are trying to encourage him, but it doesn't appear he's going that way."
On the matter of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is seen by many as the strongest potential Democratic candidate next year given Gov. Paterson's dismal poll numbers, Long said that while Cuomo did speak at a major Conservative Party event last February, he doesn't expect that Cuomo would be looking for the endorsement of the party.
The Conservative leader said he did receive a visit from Assemblyman Jack Quinn at party headquarters in New York recently who, according to Long, said he wanted to work more closely with the party going forward.Long said Quinn (R-146th District) "is possibly looking to run for higher office," but that he made no commitment to Quinn who has been mentioned as a possible challenger to Democratic State Sen. William Stachowski next year. The other possibility should Senator Dale Volker retire is Quinn will move into that district &contest for Volker's seat. However, many politicalobservers believe that would be a crtical error in judgement on Quinn's part for reasons that will surface in the near future.
"Right now, I'm involved in the 23rd District congressional race," said Long, "We're going to support a conservative Republican when the seat becomes vacant later this year, with a special election possible in November. Maybe we can pull off a mini-Jim Buckley race and win a three-way contest." Long said the Conservative Party will support Doug Hoffman in the 23rd which covers mainly the north country, including Watertown.
As for the current state of the Conservative Party in New York, Long said the policies of Gov. Paterson in Albany and of President Obama in Washington are giving life to conservative policies.
"We [the party] have had our ups and downs, but I think with what's happening in New York and Washington with Paterson and Obama we're seeing a spike in support of conservative policies and a growth of the party," said the long-time leader.
A PoliticsNY.Net Exclusive
NYS INDEPENDENCE PARTY CHAIRMAN FRANK MACKAY
IP SETS GOAL OF 500,000 VOTERS
by Staff
The state Independence Party, the third line on the election ballot, is not focusing on next year's gubernatorial election, at least not yet.
That's the word from Chairman Frank MacKay (Suffolk County) who tells www.PoliticsNY.net that the focus right now is on party building. MacKay was doing just that while chatting on the phone from his car while traveling in Columbia County after a stop in Albany County, as the party seeks to expand its registered membership from the roughly 412,000 voters it has right now.
"That's the largest third party in the history of the U. S.," says MacKay, "and we're on the path toward 500,000, and that's certainly a goal of ours and it is within reach. When it does [reach 500,000], then we'll celebrate."
In this space recently (scroll down) , state Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long signaled the party was warm to the expected gubernatorial run of former Rep. Rick Lazio, who is expected to get into the race shortly. Meanwhile, President Obama is sending signals to New York Gov. David Paterson that he should not seek election next year, obviously recognizing Paterson's dismal poll numbers and the fear that Paterson at the top of the ticket could hurt Democratic candidates in numerous key races. Obama appears to favor Andrew Cuomo, as the attorney general enjoys very high standing among voters.
"It's early on the governor's race," says MacKay. "We don't endorse until we know who is in the game. We'll make our decision after we find out who is running and who is being endorsed. Paterson is a friend, as is Andrew and Rudy Giuliani. Also, Rick Lazio. All types of people. But we always go last."
Make no mistake about Chairman MacKay's allegiance to billionaire Sabres owner Tom Golisano and his top political adviser, Steve Pigeon, both of whom will most certainly have a lot to say about the party's candidate for governor next year.
"Tom Golisano is the founder of our party, and without him we wouldn't be here," says MacKay. "Our respect is never ending. Steve and Tom are very close, and certainly Steve is an ally and a friend," adding Pigeon's voice will have a great deal of influence with party leaders.
It is clear that MacKay is also hoping for harmony in Erie County, a place that he refers to as "Beirut on the Lake" because of the many party squabbles over the year. MacKay also had kind words for former Chairman Tony Orsini, still a state party vice chairman who seems to have retired to his Springville home following his tumultuous run as the local party's top guy. "We like Tony and we respect him," says MacKay, but he clearly notes the chairman is now Sandy Rosenswie and he's obviously hoping that Erie County will no longer set the bar in the state for rough and tumble politics and will enjoy a period of relative tranquility.
But MacKay says his focus right now continues to be party building and he's urging everyone to test the waters, with more and more candidates coming over, being independent rather than being Democrat or Republican. And he's also pushing hard to bring party unity to the fore, saying "yesterday's enemies can become our friends today."
MacKay, who has led the Independence Party at the state level since early 2000, usually makes three or four trips a year to Erie County, and while he couldn't say for sure when he will make his next visit, he said it would certainly be in the near future.
Newstex ID: PNY-0001-100278652