Friday, October 28, 2005
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?
Thursday, October 27, 2005
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.
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?
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
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.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
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
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
Monday, October 24, 2005
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.
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!
I had the chance to see him many moons ago, and I still think he is the best comic alive. A well deserved honor!
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