Sad Day for the Old Grey Lady

The New York Times sunk to a new low, even for "Mainstream Media". One of their reporters got front page placement for a story in which he quotes CIA officals, (breaking national security laws) saying that the President acted within the law. And the Times conveniently fails to poitn out - oh yeh, the reporter has a book deal. Whatever shred of credibility they had is gone for good.

NPR

I was interviewed for a piece on NPR this morning.

The CIA IS Like a Sieve

I hope there is a prosecutor that will go after the CIA leakers. This is getting ridiculous.

Good News for the Region

While this puts our job growth at 1/2 of the state's rate of growth, the fact that private employers added more jobs in Buffalo has got to be seen as good news, particularly since it happened concurrently with a reduction in public sector jobs.

Kruly Update

Yes - he was tried by an administrative law judge, and was removed from his position.

This is our solution?

Maybe my memory is foggy, but didn't Ken Kruly resign in the midst of a scandal to avoid prosecution?

Snowden For Senate

Bob McCarthy reports that Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno is encouraging ick Snowden to run for the soon to be vacant Byron Brown seat.

There are few details, however I hear the evidence is the large number of dollar bills with Bruno's fingerprints found in Snowden's garter...

An Imperial Presidency ?

Fareed Zakaria shows that he is not much of a student of history. While characterizing the Bush Presidency as "Imperial" he shows little historical perspective. He compares Bush to Clinton, and seems to begrudgingly admit that Clinton too, traveled with a large entourage. Citing "conventional wisdom" he clais that Bush does not genuineky communicate with people, but that Clinton did. Not much reporting there.

There are few world leaders that have the stature of President Bush. Should he be admonished for not having heart to heart talks with Chirac? Hardly.

He is a forceful presence who seems to have deveoped strong ties with Fox, Blair, Howard and Berlusconi. He appears to have a strong record of communicating with Putin, Zedong and Sung.

Bush's style, if I had to characterize it is less PR person and more CEO. He is a "get down to business" type of guy who does not appear to relish the limelight or the soireees.

Imperial? Not the word I would choose.

A Step Too FAr

I don't have any interest in or opposition to casinos, eminent domain should not be used to take these people's homes.

The Importance of Filling out those Change of Address cards

nbc4.com - News - Report: Alleged White House Jumper Wanted Chelsea Clinton

A Bigger Boondoggle

This news is greeted like it is great for the community when once again, the home and business owners in the community are being bent over for another government boondoggle. This money, if it was returned to the ratepayers in the form of reasonably priced power would have a much greater multiplier for the economy. It shows how little we have grogressed from the days of Lauren belfer's book City of Light - where a small number of people with dull intellects controlled the course of the city.

Can Someone Explain This?

As I went into Lord & Taylor, I had to wonder how many of these things will sell. Then again, I have always been surprised that someone would open a women's clothing store called "Dress Barn". But really - what woman wants to wear anything that brings to mind cows?

Tell Cindy Her 15 Minutes are up.

Regardless of what the MSM want.

Know The Enemy

Let me know if you hear Sean Penn, Madonna, Gallagher, Carrot Top Charlie Sheen , Ted Kennedy or any other liberal speak out against how the terrorists behave.

Do They Sell Tinfoil hats in Utah?

This guy thinks the Towers were "blowed up" on 9/11.

Reap What You Sow

Well, the results are in and the "taxpayer revolt" claimed the careers of most of the legislature. Now we have a Dem (registered as GOP) as CE, another as Comptroller and 12-3 Dem edge in the legislature. We have a Dem Mayor, Comptroller and 9 Dem Councilmembers (0 GOP).

If things get better, I will switch to Dem.

If things get worse, I sure hope the voters in this area will wake up.

Fernanades II

Sadly for them, our gain is Fresno's loss.

My Book broke B&N's top 200,000 again!

Barnes�&�Noble.com - Job Search Handbook for People with Disablilities - Daniel J. Ryan - Paperback Damned Harry Potter for boxing me out for so long!! ;-)

Stone Tablets from "La Nez"

Barbra Streisand Thanks Babs. I am glad you are keeping yourself busy with efforts other than paining us with another one of you cimatic masterpieces! How is Dr. Welby's assistant, by the way?

The Best News to Hit Buffalo In a Long, Long Time

Donna Fernades has decided to return to Buffalo and the Zoo. She has been the one bright star in our firmanenet since she arrive 5 years ago. She took over a zoo with a board that thought it would be a good idea to gut a cultural mecca by taking the zoo and moving it to reclaimed toxic land along the Buffalo River, and she brought them along to see a vision of an improved zoo in its historic location.

I have never seen a person who has more people claiming to be the President of her fan club (including my bride). Countless people have spoken of her and included, almost as a throwaway line, "if only we could get her to run for x". He rbrand of collaboration, leadership and stewardship should be a model for the community.

Welcome back Donna!!

Disappointment

Byron Brown won in a landslide yesterday, and to me it is just another in a long line of missed opportunities for this city. It was a missed opportunity for Republicans to have a solid candidate who for some reason was kept in a bottle for four months focused on winning the Conservative primary because of some 20th century mentality that this would "give Democrats some place to vote for him". The truth is that line cost him the election (opportunity cost). By focusing on that they missed the chance to introduce him to voters as a real choice for change. Instead, they passed, and Brown was able to successfully introduce him as one of the Giambra crowd. The Conservative line netted him fewer votes than Einach or Flynn got. Thank God for the control Board.

Chamber of the Tonawandas

Well you never know where true leadership will come from. The Chamber of the Tonawandas has stepped up and asked for the obvious - that the state relicensing result in cheaper electricity rates for the region. It has always been a joke that we have a neighbor producing some of the highest number of killowat hours, and yet we have the second highest electricity rates in the country.
Where can I sign up for an amicus brief? Bravo Tonawanda! It is great to see real business leadership in this community.

Felons in Buffalo

Not to be outdone by Iowathere are those in Buffalo who would like to see felons be able to vote while still on parole. Any party that gets on board (self serving as they all are) clearly thinks that the felons will most likely be voting for their candidates. Isn't that a bit telling?

Separated at Birth? Nice Pants Brian!

Power Play Scam

The power authroity is taking tens of millions of doallars in profits fromn this area. Instead of patronage and pork boondoggles the money should be distributed to residents and business owners in the form of lower rates. Period.

If You Can't get regular Americans to vote for your candidates....

The left would like to stand up for all of the poor murderers, rapists, arsonists and embezzlers so that they can help us choose our elected leaders. Please . . .

Putting the Lie to the "Big Lie"

Wall Street Journal takes on the Dems for their tinfoil hat view about "lies" prior to the war with Iraq.

Will Chirac See the Light?

All of France's involvement in the graft and corruption of the Oil-For - Food programdidn't seem to prepare Chirac for the post 9-11 world.

Is the Wind out of Their Sails?

It is interesting to see that the confirmation of Judge Alito is almost two weeks away, and yet some of the MSM libs like Eleanor Clift are already backing off the Alito battle. Clift, while echoing the standard "Bush Lied" BS is trying to keep her powder dry given the awaited retirement of John Paul Stevens.

She is right on some of her points, but I don't think she or her ilk are going to have any more luck when the Stevens vacancy occurs, perhaps as soon as this summer.

The President now be at a low point in terms of his popularity, but that has much more to do with the drumbeat in the MSM about Iraq as well as non-stories like Libby, oil profits, etc. He is still spot-on when it comes to issues relating to SCOTUS vacancies.

The Kevin Helfer Podcast

Download the Kevin Helfer podcast and decide for yourself. This man should be the next Mayor of Buffalo. Thanks Buffalo Rosing!

Control Board Whiffs

The control board missed the chance to cause change last night. It is hard to believe that people aren't rising up against the sham of the legislature ducking their responsibility until after the election.

Stop the Budget Ammendment!

Five The Business Council of New York State is taking a lead role in trying to beat back the "runaway spending ammendment" that the legislature would like to pass. How fortunate I am to live in the most dysfunctional city in the most dysfunctional county in the most dysfunctional state in the country!

It All Depends on Whose Ox...

This Maryland race show that the race card can only be played by the "right people". I am sure it would have been different if instead of calling him an "Uncle Tom" they had said that he "runs with the wrong crowd".

Shameful Legislators

Now the majority weasels in the legislature want to hold off on making any decisions until after election day. Go to the WBEN poll to show your displeasure.

Another County Scandal?

I don't know who Rus Thompson is, but it sounds like he has some new details about the County computer rumors. Here is an email I received through SPeakup:

Rus Thompson "write-in" candidate for the Erie County Legislature in the 10th district, will be holding a Press Conference on Wednesday Nov 2, 05 at 10 AM in front of the County Hall. Rus is co-founder of Primary Challenge, Free Buffalo and has had an intregal part in the Tax revolt.



The subject will be a multi million dollar scandal in County Government.

Details will be forth coming and a detailed list will be handed out at that time.

My friend and inside source Mike will be there to answer questions from the press.



This will ROCK county hall, Joel, kaiser, iannelo and the computer department at CPS. Like I said before, this story involves millions of dollars of taxpayer money.



Please be there if you can, we will need support and people holding signs and handing out flyers.



Thank you and I am looking forward to seeing you there.



Rus Thompson

Grade 8 Math

And finally the numbers for eighth grade math

Grade 8 Math Proficiency (%)

St Mark 89
St Agnes 89
St Martin 88
Nardin 83
St Joseph 83
St Stan 83
Mt St Joes 82
St Ambrose 67
St Bernard 67
Westminster 64.2
St Rose 58
St Tommy 56
Our Lady Black Rock 56
S Buffalo 55.1
Catholic Academy 50
Applied Tech 39.8
Holy Spirit 29
Stepping 25
Buffalo Public 24.3
Acad Science 14.8
Enterprise 8.3
Catholic Central 0

Too many people are out to protect an antiquated system of education instead of protecting our children. If parents had a choice to send their children wherever they wanted, and money was not an issue, clearly the market would dictate that instead of schools like Holy Spirit and the Mount closing, it would be schools that are failing.

Thank God for concerned parents like Steve Boyd who, along with other parents and concerned citezens helped save Mount St. Joes. (Disclaimer - Steve is a close friend, but his record in this matter speaks for itself, I think).

Grade 8 English

Eight Grade English


Grade 8 English Proficiency(%)

St Mark 93
St Martin 85
Nardin 74
St Joseph 74
St Rose 69
St Stan 67
Catholic Academy 63
St Bernard 62
St Tommy 62
St Ambrose 60
Mt St Joes 59
St Agnes 53
Our Lady Black Rock 53
Westminster 51
St MARGARET 46
S Buffalo 42.9
Holy Spirit 29
Applied Tech 27.3
Buffalo Public 26.1
Stepping 20
Enterprise 16.3
Catholic Central 14
acad science 13.6

Grade 4 Math

Here are the numbers for fourth grade math.

Fourth Grade Math Proficiency
Tapestry 100
Nardin 100
Catholic Central 100
Mt St Joes 93
St Joseph 92
St Tommy 91
S Buffalo 89.8
Westminster 89.4
St Rose 89
King ctr 88.2
St Ambrose 88
St Agnes 88
Catholic Academy 88
St MARGARET 88
Applied Tech 84.3
Our Lady Black Rock 83
St Mark 79
Bflo United 74
Enterprise 73.9
St Martin 69
St Stan 67
Holy Spirit 67
Buffalo Public 66.5
St Bernard 65
Pinnacle 58.4
Community 56.9
Stepping 34

More on The Schools

Yesterday's Buffalo News ran a front page story on how the Charter Schools are outperforming their Public School counterparts. I commented that it would be interesting to see such an analysis that included Buffalo Parochial Schools. Rather than lament its absence, I have created it.

I have no idea how this formatting will come out.

Grade 4 English Percent Proficiency
Nardin 96
St Rose 89
Tapestry 83.3
Our Lady Black Rock 78
Holy Spirit 77
St Mark 73
Catholic Academy 73
St Joseph 71
St Tommy 69
Bflo United 68
St Ambrose 68
Mt St Joes 67
St Stan 67
St Agnes 65
Catholic Central 65
S Buffalo 59.5
King ctr 58.8
Applied Tech 56.3
St Bernard 56
Westminster 52.7
St Martin 49
Buffalo Public 39.2
St Margaret 38
Enterprise 36.9
Community 32.5
Stepping 20.4
Pinnacle 18.4

Keep in mind that the Parochial School numbers are older as they came from the Business First rankings published earlier this year.

That is just Grade 4 English. It is sad to note however, that two schools - Holy Spirit and Mt. St. Joes were slated to close (Holy Spirit did) and yet they significantly outperformed the public and many of the charter schools.

Rebate Checks on The Way?

The spike in gas prices may have helped drive NY to a $1B surplus. I am sure we will be getting income tax rebates any day now . . . Don't count on it. I am sure they will hold on to this cash rather than decreasing gas taxes or any other form of subsidy to the gov't.

Bush Selects Alito

It appears that President Bush will announce his nomination of Samuel Alito later this morning.He appears to be a very strong pick. I suspect that he will cause the kind of debate that the President was trying to avoid with the Miers nomination. Personally, I look forward to it.

Buffalo News - Charters outperform Buffalo city schools

This is a good story by Peter Simon, but I am not sure how it warranted such a large banner headline. Is this news to anyone? Even more interesting would be for the city of Buffalo Catholic Schools to be in the mix.

Grand Jury Concludes: Libby Indicted

The big news of the day is the Libby indictment. Interestingly, like Whitewater, there was no "there" there. Unlike Whitewater, this time perjury and obstruction resulted in indictments.

Buffalo News - ECC board approves building on all campuses

The ECC administration continues to be tone deaf to what goes on in this region. This story of ECC's plans to build over $100 million in new construction seems to be issued without any understanding of the county's fiscal situation. Ray Gallagher, a member of the board, seems to be the only one quoted that seems to be in touch with reality. BTW - how does someone who loses their job in disgrace get named to the Board of Trustees in the first place?

Doesn't Anyone Else See this as Odd?

Every few days an article appears touting what can be dones with money from the power relicensing. No one seems to be asking the obvious question - why don't they just lower rates to help make the region more competitive? The problem with the region is not too few boondoggle projects. Our biggest problems stem from a loss of jobs because of the high cost of doing business in the region. Let's lower those costs by eliminating the obscene profits of the power commission.

USATODAY comes clean on Rice Photo

Score one for the good guys!

Miers WithDraws

I was not terribly excited by Harriet Miers but I think the Senate's role of Advise and Consent is just that. There were plenty of people before Miers who had her kind of background. I just hope now that the President puts forward someone like Rogers Brown or some other conservative who has shown that they will not legislate from the bench.

Breathless Redux

Call me crazy, but isn't leaking information about grand jury proceedings the same kind of crime as the one being investigated?

Breathless Media

The MSM has been close to apoplectic about KArl Rove for years, but this anticipation of an indictment put them at risk of blowing an aneurism. I am not a lawyer, but as a patriot and a Tom Clancy fan, I think that outing a covert spy is treasonous. Having said that, it does not appear that this was the case in the Plame/Wilson affair. It doesn't seem to have been any big mystery that she worked for the CIA. I have not read anything to suggest that she was truly a covert operative. If I am wrong, then I would want those who gave her name to people without clearance to be tried for treason.

What Liberal Bias?

Michelle Malkin exposes USAToday for doctoring another Condi Rice photo.

Small Thinking

Small ball may work well for the White Sox (and I hope it continues to do so) but small thinking will not help our community.

The paucity of leadership in our community is appalling. We have become accustomed to talking about our pathetic political leaders, but fewer people talk about the lack of business leadership.

Below is an example of what I am talking about. There has been talk about requiring a passport for entry into the US (like other grown up countries). The discussion thus far has mostly centered around the viability of this option in terms of Homeland Security. (And rightly so).

Then we hear from Andrew Rudnick, who sent this missive about his meeting with representatives from Homeland Security. You can read his unedited text below, but basically the gist is that a) We are dependent on those who come to the Galleria and Outlet mall and leave their boxes and bags in the parking lot in order to sustain our anemic economy b)We wouldn't need passports if every state in the Union put citizenship status on drivers licenses c)Let me just quote completely, because this is perhaps my fsavorite: "Communities along the Mexican border are trying to stop people from entering the United States. Those of us who live and operate businesses along the Canadian border are trying to stimulate cross border traffic."

Not that we are stereotyping or anything!

Bottom line - if a terrorist strikes, at least we will have dollar stores in town to buy our duct tape!

==================================================================================

Yesterday I spoke to representatives of the Department of Homeland Security at a meeting convened by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter about the “Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative” (WHTI). The WHTI is better known as the proposal to require people – including citizens of the U.S. and Canada – entering the U.S. from Canada to show a passport or “other secure documentation” approved by the Director of Homeland Security. This would begin January 1, 2008.



This proposal would have a devastating impact on the local economy and is the top federal issue the Partnership is pursuing on your behalf.



Please find excerpts of my statement to the Dept. of Homeland Security below.



Tomorrow, Patrick Whelan, your fellow Partnership member and a volunteer leader of our NOW Initiative focused on cross-border issues, will speak to the Dept. of Homeland Security in Washington, DC about our concerns.



Our region’s federal representatives have been our partners in repeatedly asserting the need to meld border security and border efficiency into a single coherent set of policies. But the federal bureaucracy, specifically the Departments of State and Homeland Security, have ignored these calls, most egregiously by coming back to this passport requirement.



The bottom line: The Feds need to do work with existing forms of ID that have a broad application (drivers licenses) rather than require a new ID card that is only good for border/land crossings.



We’ll continue to advocate on this issue on your behalf, and I’ll continue to update you on our progress. As always, please feel free to contact me with your comments.



Sincerely,



Andrew J. Rudnick

President & CEO



Excerpts from a statement by Andrew J. Rudnick, President & CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, to representatives of the Department of Homeland Security

Re: the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative

Monday, October 24, 2005

(Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute)



“This proposal, as it has been couched, will devastate communities that have been in economic distress for 30 years. The implications for the economies of the United States and Canada of the proposed rule by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State are potentially catastrophic. In Buffalo Niagara and the Niagara Region of Canada, tourism and casual travel between countries for entertainment and shopping is a vital part of our binational regional economy.”





“The situation on the Canadian border is markedly different from that on the Mexican

border. Communities along the Mexican border are trying to stop people from entering the United States. Those of us who live and operate businesses along the Canadian border are trying to stimulate cross border traffic. Canadians crossing into the US come to spend money and they come frequently. A recent study by the Niagara Parks Commission indicates that individual Canadians cross into the US many more times per year than we do into Canada, and overwhelmingly the reason is to shop.”



“The implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is a complex issue involving major economic implications not just for border regions, but also for the economy of states far from here. The Departments of Homeland Security and State have no expertise in the travel and tourism industry – but that type of expertise needs to be brought to bear, and, in a much more collaborative way than can be accomplished by a 60 day comment period. For that reason, we believe a special advisory task force needs to be named to study these complexities and recommend solutions to the executive branch and Congress. This task force would have a short period of time to produce recommendations (to stay within the time frame for implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) and should consist of experts from the travel and tourism industry, cross border trade and security systems, and should include representatives from border bridge and tunnel operators and border communities.”



“The Departments of Homeland Security and State have completely ignored the other piece of federal legislation that establishes uniformity in two very common and widely held forms of identification: the driver’s license and birth certificate. The Real ID law provides an opportunity to meet the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative without inventing a new ID card. It would be very simple to have states provide for the option of including an indication of citizenship on the driver’s license at the time of renewal and application.”





Andrew J. Rudnick
President & CEO

P: (716) 852-7100
F: (716) 852-1756
arudnick@thepartnership.org

Jody Vohwinkel, EA & Director of Administration
jvohwinkel@thepartnership.org

Thanks to our Leadership Circle:
Gibraltar, Moog, NYPA, and Univera

Hurricane Wilma Doesn't Look That Scary

 
 

The Closest Thing to a Silver Bullet

WHile the News survey asks about what ails the region, there is a lot of talk about jobs (as there should be) however within the city limits there is no single issue more responsible for out migration than the sad state of education. Buffalo's biggest and yet most poorly kept secret is the chasm that exists between the performance of students who attend public schools and those who attend parochial schools.

Surely some of the difference can be attributed to socioeconomic factors, etc. however not most of the difference. And the saddest thing is, there are parochial schools that are closing that have test scores far higher than the scores of public schools that remain open. The result is that students leave a better school to attend a poorer public school and tha taxpayers have to subsidize this new enrollee to the tune of about $14,500 - far more than if they were to simply pick up the tab at the parochial school where the kid might have the chance to excel.

This issue clearly shows that there are those who are for more interested in protecting a failed system than they are in protecting and helping our children.

Buffalo News - Comptroller race a test of trio's fiscal fitness

Most telling in this article from the Buffalo News is the highlighted quote that the job is part auditor, part politician. I agree, however I believe that only Canavan is qualified for the auditor part. Whelan is more qualified on the politician part. It is also interesting that Polancarz supports the Giambra plan, even though it keeps the audit part of the comptroller's office gutted.

Mark Your Calendars!

Steve Martin received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor last night and thre show will be broadcast on OPBS on Nov. 9th.

I had the chance to see him many moons ago, and I still think he is the best comic alive. A well deserved honor!

Contact Your Congressional Representatives

Tell them to vote for HR 3058. This is a great opportunity for sane people to stand up to bloated government. It could be a "tipping point" at the Federal level that might even ripple to WNY.

Buffalo News - Harriet Miers should withdraw

BuffaloJust wondering which writings of Harrit Miers did the editorial board read and find "muddled". Please.

Is it any Wonder?

There is no mystery as to why readership is down in the MSM.

Puzzling Why the Mainstream Media's Credibility is on the wane...

Matt Lauer is a bag of wind. Even better was 10 days after a fake Habitat for Humanity house was built outside of Rockafeller Center for the Today audience, he questions whether the President's time at a Habitat house in the Gulf Coast was a "photo op"! What a faker! What a sham they all are.

Pedro and Uncle Rico!

 
Doesn't get much better than being this close to two of the best actors ever!! Gosh!!! 

Hey Yoko! Move On!

Yoko keeps the pot stirred at 72 years.

WBEN 930 : Sen. Clinton In Hall Of Fame

Hillary has made it into the Women's Hall of Fame! Perhaps it was for creating over 200,000 jobs in upstate NY> Where are those by the way?

ASecond Terrosit Act on a College Campus?

It appears that an alert custodian at Georgia Tech may be the hero of the day.

Freedom of Speech

Anyone surprised by the assault on free speech on college campuses hasn't been paying attention. For more information on the topic, check out The Fire.

Next up: Locusts?

I am not big on the Apocolypse, etc. but Kashmir's earthquake with 30,000 dead, on top of the landslides, widfires, hurricanes and Tsunami have me scratching my head a bit.

News' Stance Amusing

While I am sure they would be loathe to admit it, The Buffalo News Editorial Board seems to be parroting the right's objections to Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court. I doubt, however, that they would have embraced any "braver" choice by the President (Owens, Estrada, Brown, etc.)

I have been paying attention, and I don't really feel like I know any less about Miers than I do about Roberts, and that is after the hearings. I am not concerned, as some elitists are, about which school awarded her degree.

We elected this President twice, and in accordance with the Constitution, he can nominate anyone he sees fit to the court. I trust him to pick someone who will follow the Constitution and not "legislate from the bench".

By the way it would be interesting to see how the News (and others) reacted to Kennedy naming his brother as Attorney General. My guess is he received less grief for his nepotism than Jimmy Griffin ever did...

Terror Plot Stopped in NYC

You would hope that another tragedy would not be necessary to wake people in this country up to the dangers that exist in our world.

New Info from Oklahoma

ALthough I still have not seen anything in the Buffalo News, CNN, USAToday or other MS outlets, but news is still trickling out of the U of Oklahoma.

Buffalo News - New budget chief had money woes

People are making a big deal out of the personal bankruptcy of the new County Budget Director. Personally, it depends on what he learned from the process. If he learned that the first thing you need to do in tight times is to pare your unnecessary expenses, that would be great.

And besides, someone who has experience with bankruptcy and has come out better on the other side may help take the county in the same direction, which would probably be a good thing.

Gates of Vienna: Jihad at the University of Oklahoma?

How is it that the MSM is ignoring this story? Right now perhaps the best source of information is a student newspaper at the University of Oklahoma, where a suicide bomber killed himself outside a Sooner football game.

The University of Oklahoma has not been terribly forthcoming, (IMHO).

Clarification on Canavan

Buffalo Pundit takes issue with my assessment of Polancarz and Canavan. I (admittedly carelessly) threw the term "alleged Lenihan Lapdog" oward Polancarz without much explanation, and that was a bit lazy on my part. I was rehashing Whelan's allegation without knowing whether or not it is true.

Buffalo Pundit asks whether the same could be true for Canavan, and I honestly don't know. What i do know is that Polncarz seems like more of a political animal than Canavan. It is is also terribly clear to me that Canavan is far more qualified by education and experience to be comptroller. (Drexel BS and Rutgers MBA, CPA, etc.)

I think we need a financial professional more than a politician.

Time will tell I guess.

Hard Control Board?

There are some out there that want to petition for a hard control board. I think they should think hard about that. If folks like this are going to be part of that board, I am not interested. Sheila Kee would not rule out asking the people who voted no against the sham budget to vote for it? Are you kidding me> It wouldn't balance even if they had the votes. Let's see some thoughtful meaningful cuts before we entertain ANY tax increase.

The American Thinker

This article sums up my feelings about the President's nomination of Harriet Miers. I trust him to make the right decision.

Schumer - Come Clean

Chuck Schumer has so far been given a pass by the MSM. From Investor's Business Daily:
Reportedly, the two women confessed to the act in July, were suspended with pay until Aug. 31 and finally resigned in mid-September. One would think a potential felony by staffers for a top Democrat — a case being investigated by the U.S. attorney's office in D.C. as well as the FBI — would at least get a paragraph of coverage somewhere between the grocery coupons and the obituaries.

Can you imagine the media firestorm if staffers for, say, Frist, had used Barack Obama's Social Security number to fraudulently obtain his credit report looking for stuff to derail his Senate campaign? Frist would have been before a media firing squad faster than you can say Bill Bennett.

Job growth in Buffalo trails 75% of nation - Buffalo - MSNBC.com

So far, Hillary's promise of 200,000 new jobs and the BNE's promise of 50,000 don't seem to be panning out.

USATODAY.com - Bush to choose counsel Miers for Supreme Court

It looks like the President has nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. We will see how long it takes for Reid et al to rip into her. It will be interesting to see if they wait until they know anything about her. I know Chuckie won't wait to be confused by the facts.

A Decent Intro to the Mayor's Race

The Buffalo News does a pretty decent job of introducing the two candidates for mayor. I have yet to see any description of an idea that Byron took from conception to implementation (except his four bills that renamed city streets or proclamations, etc.)

By the way, someone tell Jim Heaney that being anti death penalty is Pro-Life...

Will the NY Times EVER Get it Right

Talk about stubborn! The New York Times has run its third correction of a Paul Krugman column. The funny think is, Krugman is now online only for people who are willing to pay for his content. I bet they are just lining up . . .

Polancarz - just a Politician

The legislature approved a ruse of a budgetthe alleged Lenihan lapdog Mark Polancarz quickly endorsed. Canavan responded with a point of view that you would want in a Comprtoller - content. He pointed to specific things that could be addressed to hel get us out of this mess.

I am not against raising taxes at all - however the legislature has not shown us the need to raise taxes. When we call all feel assured that every penny of waste, patronage, corruption and pork have been removed from our taxes, then I would be willing to green-light a tax increase. We are a long way from that.

Marinelli Still Doesn't Get it...

The were able to patch together 8 lame ducks and less than bright legislatorsto pass a budget that doesn't balance. It is time for a hard contol board NOW!

WBEN 930 : Police Pay Freeze Upheld

This is HUGE news for the Control board. It also goes a long way toward asking the question - is Nelson Cosgrove a hack?

Correct, but not complete

I don't disagree with the argument maid by this PrincipalBuffalo News - Charter schools receive short end of funding stick however her argumnet does not go far enough. Education funding should follow the children where they go - no question. But it should not be limited to whether they attend a traditional government-run school or a charter school. Children who go to private or parochial schools should be included as well.

The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)

Just got back from seeing The Greatest Game Ever Played. What a great family film. I won't give anything away, but this is the kind of film that the Disney Studios used to put out. I would recommend it highly.

Time For Schumer to Step Down

IF any of this stuff happened to Delay or Frist, the MSM would be all over it.

Wal Mart

There is an interesting debate going on between two local bloggers re: Wal Mart. Buffalo Pundit clearly has the "anti wal mart" fell to it, and contains this quote: "Shop there if you want, but I’ll go to Target, where the stores are clean and the products are of better quality." I admit I shop at Target 20 x as often as Wal Mart, but let's not kid ourselves about the products. As you can see Target and Wal Mart carry a lot of similar or identical items, and Wal Mart is often cheaper.

Meanwhile, North Coast takes a decidedly more pro Wal Mart stand, pointing out (rightly) that Wal Mart is the "bad big business" poster child, even when there is more similar than different between them and other retailers. Clearly there is a chasm between Wal Mart and Wegman's, however less of a leap to Tops (another faceless corp.). Even though Tops is union, not all of there employees receive health insurance.

What's wrong with this Picture?

Our local politicians are squealing at the trough fighting over which pork projects (OK terrible metaphor/vernacular) should be funded at what level by the Power Authority. Why isn't anyone trying to get lower rates for the people and businesses in the region? It seems that if they have $50 million to throw around to various government boondoggles, we are paying $50 million too much for power - n'est ce pas?

Finally! Someone is getting to the bottom of this!

The TRUTH behind the hurricanes! And we though Barry Lillis was a bit off! Although this is from the land of Napoleon Dynamite . . .

Schumer Resign

Perhaps the drums should beat for a Schumer resignation. It isn't that he's not bright, but I am concerned about his heart.

Burt Who?

For those of you old enough to remember himanother Heavyweight - Burt Bacharach has weighed in.

My favorite comment from that site:

I'm sure the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Watch Center
would like to tap Burt's brain to figure out how he knew and where he read so
many months ago that New Orleans would be hit by such a massive hurricane!

He is obviously so much smarter than the rest of us in that he knows about
global weather patterns, global warming, domestic and defense funding and, most
likely, even judicial nominations. President Bush should resign immediately
and ask Burt to be president.

When Burt takes office, I'll bet Osama, Zarqawi, and Iran would immediately
give up their quests for a world caliphate under Islamo-fascist rule, sue for
peace and then ask their new friend, ol' President Burt Bacarach, to accompany
them as they sit around a blazing fireplace in Hollywood (he could ask Barbra,
Sean Penn, Alec or one of the other 'It Takes a Village' idiots that inhabit
Hollywood) and sing "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" or some other mindless
ditty. Funny thing, however, I don't think God (or 'Mother Nature' if you
don't believe in God) will join in the sing-a-long . . . .

Burt just needs to go back to writing songs that nobody cares to listen to
anymore and then slink back under his "peace shield" with Cindy Sheehan so the
"Bad Bush Boys and Girls" won't hurt them anymore! Burt, a word of
advice--just grow up and realize we're in a war with people who want to kill
us. The weather doesn't discriminate and neither do terrorists!

What A Terrible Disappointment

The Globe and Mail carries an interview with Gwynneth Paltrow that alas gives us too little of her keen insight into world affairs. With her posh high school degree, I am sure it would have been terribly enlightening.

Anyone want to make a wager?

I am willing to wager a Krispy Kreme Doughnut that
Byron Brown's car was parked illegally at the time. This is so typical of these entrenched Politicians who believe they are so above the law that they do not have to live with the daily hassles that confound us mortals. The first person to tell me I am wrong (and prove it) will get the doughnut. The fact is, I have seen his car (NY State Senate License Plates) parked illegally in front of the convention center on numerous occasions.

Incidentally - this is a perfect story for Kevin Helfer to make hay. The Buffalo Civic Auto Ramps constantly have to contend with politicians and reporters like Donn Esmonde who get to park anywhere they feel like it, or in Esmonde's case, in free parking adjacent to their office. Brown is clearly a member of the sheltered political elite and is the poster child for the status quo.

Text of Story

A car registered to State Sen. Byron W. Brown suffered damage to its front bumper and right headlight in what Central District police are labeling a case of criminal mischief.
Brown told police that the car was parked on Court Street, near his legislative office, from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Thursday, when the damage was discovered.
The car, which bears a New York State legislator's license plate, sustained more than $250 damage, according to police reports.

Where's the Outrage?

SO, I am just wondering when will we hear calls for this guy's resignation?

This May Be a Good Thing . . .

but this man's level of incompetence was no greater than the Governor, the Mayor or any of a score of local officials. clearly would not end the drumbeat until this guy stepped down.

Shameless

What is it with people like Schumer who try to spin gold from other's misfortune? They certainly seem less focused on helping those in need than in feathering their own nest.

Me & My Pen Pal Michael Moore

To Mike:

Sup Dawg!? Hope they are treating you ok at the fat farm. I think it's great that people may not be able to call you a big fat liar anymore. "Big liar" doesn't have the same flair.

The anniversary of 9/11 is a day of remembrance for many, and it stirs up passions. It seems odd that in some people it stirs up a feeling of patriotism and support for those men and women who protect us every day. In others it seems to stir up contempt for those same people, disguised as reasoned rhetoric.


I spent a little time on your website today searching for references to Michael Brown, the head of Fema. Although I was able to find recent vitriol, I found nothing that preceded Katrina. I did not see any outrage at the Democrat controlled Senate as they voted to confirm Mr. Brown. In fact his hearing lasted just 42 minutes, and was attended by just four senators. I don't see any mention anywhere about the fact that Mr. Brown was Deputy Director at FEMA prior to becoming Director, or that he was General Counsel before that. It must have slipped your mind given your current location (A different twist on the "Twinkie Defense"?)

Throughout the rest of your rant you mix acute observations with equal amounts of pure delusion. While your comments about being the laughing stock of the world merit no response, your observations about the education system do. While you decry the sad state of affairs that is our "education system", I can't see anything in your past writings that commend or support any of the efforts where education is succeeding (Private, parochial and charter schools for example). Nowhere do you seem to take to task "Big Education" the way you have taken to task "Big Oil", Big Business", etc.

Mike - you are clearly a guy who is passionate and who seems to have an underlying love for America. At the same time, you seem to share with the terrorists a hatred , yes hatred for Americans - at least the majority of them. As your leftist friends would say, Move On. An election was held and your side lost. Big time. IN fact, your side never really made it to the finals - you just hopped on the "Anybody but the Yankees" bandwagon. A natural disaster has struck our country and you are trying to spin gold from the devastation. Get a life. If you want to help, there are plenty of people who could live for a year on what I am guessing you are spending to do what simple willpower could do for you. Make your contributions and say your prayers for those who have been affected. Come to terms with your hatred so that every time you open your mouth we cannot detect the bile in your throat.

Later

Dan
=====================================================================================


To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:

On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?

How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?

That's right. Horse shows.

I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.

I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.

Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?

When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?

When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?

Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?

Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?

With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?

Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.

That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.

It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the widow at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"

My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?

And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?

Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.

Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?

I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?

I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.

Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com

WBEN 930 : Calveneso Out Of Mayor's Race

This is Very Unfortunate. Even with Calvaneso out, I would not be surprised to see him finish second in the primary. He was clearly a strong alternative to the business as usual Brown campaign.

OH, THIS Concerns Him

Why is it that Frank Clark gets all worked up about this guy but doesn't want to help neighborhoods that are in danger by implementing a "no plea zone" and doesn't want to prosecute gun crimes because they effect different races disproportionately?

This guy has to go.

Big Brother IS Watching - and Thank God!

What a great story. This Girl had her life saved thanks to a computer program that spots swimmers who aren't moving. TEchnology isn't all bad.

Byron Brown "Accomplishments"

Can someone explain to me whatByron Brown has ever accomplished? Can you point to the Masten district and say things are better since he began to represent the area? His claim to fame seems to be projects like Tops Markets opening on the east side. That is a Tops Markets accomplishment. If we are going to give him credit for that,let's be sure we credit him with the acts of violence and the unemployment rate in the neighborhood too. Byron Brown represents the status quo in a city and county with control boards. Do we really have to say anything more?

Out of Iraq?

After watching this country cut and run in the 1970's, I don't think this country is ready for the MAxine Waters' of the world.OpinionJournal - The Western Front

No Cover

This museum has an interesting idea.

Cheney 2008!!!

I was hoping for Condoleeza, but now I hope the Vice President will at least announce!DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2005�

G-L-O-R-I-A-!

Haven't heard her speak outagainst how these people treated others but good to see she is still in the limelight. Oh by the way, Gloria, the Geneva Convention applies to armies who are in uniform - not to terrorists.

Reality Check

It looks like ROBERT REDFORD has a tough time differentiating reality from his roles.

Sort of Like a Celebrity Flying in to town on a private jet to talk about Global Warming!!

SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Society | Poverty wristbands manufactured 'unethically'

Peacefully

I have barely known hunger, so starvation is beyond my knowledge, but I doubt it is all that peaceful...

Another day at the office . . .
Posted by Hello

The picture of tolerance!

JS Online: 5 charged in election-day tire slashings