In Their Own Words

Decoding Senator Bruno's 10 Point "Upstate Now" Plan

2007-05-16T18:07:00.000-04:00

1. Reducing Taxes for Small Businesses, Manufacturers and Key Industries this is actually straight forward

2. ~~Building and Investing in a 21st Century Infrastructure for the Upstate Economy~~ cash for Verizon.

3. ~~Making Upstate an International Powerhouse in New and Emerging Technologies~~ cash for sematech

4. ~~Reducing Energy Costs for Employers and Promote Energy Independence~~ cash for plug power

5. ~~Reducing Health Care Costs for Small Businesses to Insure More Families~~ tort reform

6. ~~Creating Thriving Main Streets~~ more pork

7. ~~Winning the Global Competition for Manufacturing Plants~~ more empire zones

8. ~~Preparing the Finest Workforce in the Nation~~ more charter schools & funnel even more cash to Abe Lachman

9. ~~Providing Around the Clock Access to the State's Economic Development Programs~~ outsource the call center

10. ~~Marketing Upstate's Outstanding Recreational, Cultural and Tourism Opportunities~~ lie about upstate

Image from CapCon

How the Internet Works

2006-11-22T14:09:00.000-05:00

I relaize this was recorded a while back, but its too good to pass up.

Senator Ted Stevens (R - AL), the former Chariman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation - which deals with internet regulation- explains what happens when his tubes get tied up by a real big internet:

"I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the internet commercially. […]

"They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a truck. It’s a series of tubes." Audio.

The tubes must get frozen up there in the Yukon. Toilets back up - its a mess.

The 110th Congressional Agenda

2006-11-14T12:44:00.000-05:00

Our newly elected Representatives have certainly begun to set the bar of acheivement very high.

Minnesota's Representative-elect is laser focused to go above and beyond those that came before her:

"My No. 1 goal is to not go to jail," Bachmann said, chuckling.

Sigh - these are the best hands we can place the country in?

More Of The Same

2006-06-13T15:12:00.000-04:00

If the Democrats come to power in the House in '06, Rep. Jim Moran from VA wants to set the record straight on what voters can expect:

"When I become chairman [of a House appropriations subcommittee], I'm going to earmark the shit out of it."

Sweet.

Nostradamaki

2006-05-24T17:10:00.000-04:00

Governor George E. Pataki
Privatization Speech
Republican Governor's Association
November 20, 1995 (link)

In its first six months of operation, the Privatization Group has conducted a privatization survey of all agencies and authorities and has begun prequalifying outside consultants to act as advisors. What is more important, assets and services have begun to be sold, leased, and contracted-out.

Christie Whitman and I now own one less hotel. Earlier this month, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey sold the Vista Hotel in Manhattan to Host Marriott for $141.5 million. Stick around and watch what we do with the World Trade Center.

George E., the 21st Century Freedom ~~PAC~~Hi-Jacker?

Couric Snubs Flanagan for Crippled Chick

2006-05-23T18:19:00.000-04:00

I'm sure by now you and your retarded half-brother have heard that the NY Times has a new NYS Political blog, EmpireZone, complete with a flashy four minute introduction video featuring TWO Patrick Healy's (Pattie Duke Show-Style).

But I digress.

In this flurry of excitement revolving the "blog of record" you might have missed the new blog that was founded by the Times' retarded half-brother on the Island (Newsday). Complete with a moniker that would appeal to the soccer-mom crowd: SpinCycle. The SpinCycle promises fewer Atrios readers and a more of a focus on Long Island politics. And the astute readers will already know that the Long Island Senate races are were the real political blood sport competitions will be this November as the aging Long Island Senate Republican delegation comes to terms with the changing demographics and political landscape of that marverlous sandbar.

I'm still digressing, this does have something to do with Katie Couric and a quadriplegic chick!

Rick Brand, of Newsday and the Spin Cycle, ~~reported~~ blogged news that Brooke Ellison (27-year old quadriplegic, Havard grad, inspirational speaker and Democratic challenger to State Senator John Flanagan (R-Northport)) will be featured on the Today Show this Thursday as one of Katie Couric's final segments. Mr. Brand reports:

State Sen. John Flanagan (R-Northport) said the Today Show has not contacted him for equal time. "I hope the interview goes well," he said, "With any luck, I'll get to meet Katie Couric too."

Flanagan immediately ran out into traffic on Northern Boulevard in an attempt to lose the use of his limbs too.

The Dog Ate It

2006-05-18T13:22:00.000-04:00

The New York State Commission on Public Authority Reform, created by Governor Pataki, has certainly been barking a big game. They agree with good government advocates that much more needs to be done to reform the state's hundreds of publicly funded authorities, but propose that the way to do this is to make them operate like publicly traded companies.

However, when the rubber meets the road, the commission is untested on whether they will publicly pressure the Governor and electeds to force authorities into reform. If today's Times story is any indication, the bark may be much bigger than the bite. When asked the lack of disclosure from the ESDC, the commission's Director repsonds with:

"Somehow, it didn't get through the mail to us," she said. "I think in good faith they tried to comply with our request."

Its gonna take more than faith to reform the sorry state of New York's public authorities.

Ravi Batra Quits; Implies Accuser will go Hell

2006-05-17T16:30:00.000-04:00

Before Ravi Batra was tapped to "re-calibrate public opinion" regarding Senator Ada Smith allegedly tossing hot coffee in an employee's face he was a law partner with now convicted Brooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman and even once sued Law & Order after they struck a little too close to home. He's now stepping down as Smith's Attorney. From his press release (courtesy of Capitol Confidential):

The Sixth Commandment bans, and the Confrontation Clause exists to expose, those who bear false witness. Ms. Jackson will sooner or later have to answer for her sacrilege.

Where Ravi ends St. Peter continues?

The house always wins...

2006-05-14T15:39:00.000-04:00

With many incumbents and new comers facing an uncertain election day, promises for government reform have been oozing out of the state capitol. But there is at lease one candidate out there knows the house always wins and isn't willing to make any promises otherwise.

Robert Helbock, the annoited replacement for Senator Marchi's (R - SI) seat, had this to say to the Staten Island advance when asked about a Democratic challenger:

"I think there's enough strength on the Republican side, the way the seat is drawn and way people in the past have responded, that it still remains a safe seat,"

Mr. Helbock, a long time aide to Sen. Marchi and Albany insider, seems to be banking on the status quo to quitely shuttle him into office. Based on Sen. Marchi's long standing lock on the Staten Island seat and Mr. Helbock's apparent fondness of partisan redistricting , this very well may be the last competitive election the Island sees for another 50 years.

That's Some Cold Shit

2006-05-08T15:53:00.000-04:00

New York Republican Gubernatorial hopeful, William Weld, on why Fred Dicker didn't make it to Saturday's LCA Show:

"Saturday, as you know, is the day banks forclose on widows and orphans, and Fred likes to watch."

That stings.

They Got The Wrong Kind Of Bars In Prison

2006-05-04T18:39:00.000-04:00

Apparently being a friend of Richard Schaffer's pays off. Today the Suffolk County Democratic leader, has put his public support behind the scandalous former Republican Islip supervisor, Pete McGowan.

"I don't think it would serve any purpose for McGowan to go to prison," Schaffer told Newsday.

Apparently later Schaffer leaned in to the Judge and said, "C'mon guy, this is Petey we're talking about ... Petey. Remeber when we all got sloshed on that fishing trip?"

According to Schaffer, when an elected official pleads guilty to committing acts of bribery, grand larceny and witness tampering, resigning from office is punishment enough.

Gives a whole new meaning to that Get Out of Jail Free Card politicians carry in their wallets.

And that's bad how?

2006-05-03T12:53:00.000-04:00

With gas prices in Pittsburgh "hovering around the $3 mark", KDKA-TV's Jon Delano went to DC "to get answers from Sen. Rick Santorum (R).

Santorum blames Congress for not approving President Bush's energy plan: "Had we passed that bill five years ago and done what they had suggested, we would not be in the energy situation we are today."

But federal election records show that he has taken more money from oil and gas interests than any Senator except the senator from TX.

Santorum brushed off any suggestion that donations from oil companies were anything unusual.

Santorum: "I probably get more money from just about every industry than any other senator in the country. I don't know how much the oil and natural gas industry has given me, 10, 20, 30 thousand dollars, whatever it is."

Delano reports that number is actually over $400K in Santorum's lifetime and over $100K in the current cycle.

Oh Ricky, you minx, it must be kinda hard out there for a frothy mixture.

NYS Board of Elections: Late more often than an Irish Catholic girl with low self esteem

2006-04-27T15:21:00.000-04:00

Not only was NYS Board of Elections so late in adopting HAVA mandated guidelines for new voting machines that the Department of Justice has sued them but they're also a week a late in issuing their press release.

Since I've got to quote someone, let's go with Board of Elections Co-Executive Director Peter Kosinski from last weeks Gannett Story:

“Are we trying to meet these deadlines? Of course we are,” Kosinski said.

The standards(pdf) were adopted on April 20, 2006 and the press released was issued today.

I'll take that bet

2006-04-25T20:28:00.000-04:00

courtesy of Liz Benjamin at Capitol Confidential Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (Troy - R) on his apparent lack of the necessary votes to override the Governor's line-item vetoes thanks to the Senate Minority's pesky demands to shed some light on the pork filled member items of which they are routinely shut-out:

“We have whatever we need to do what we have to do in session, and be comfortable with that. I’m comfortable with that…We will have the votes to take whatever action that we need to take by tomorrow at 11. Now, any of you want to make any bets on that?

I’m not making deals with anybody. I’m talking, discussing, objectively, openly like a stateperson that I am.”

He used the gender-neutral version because David Paterson (Bronx - D) has got Joe's balls sitting in a box on his desk.

Not Your Daddy's Realism

2006-04-25T16:10:00.001-04:00

Remember the good old days when foreign policy relied on unpredictable but dependable Realism? That "crazy" rational actor model that we all learned in college - you know the one that dates back to ANCIENT GREECE. Now, it seems, the U.S. has joined the ranks of countries whose foreign policy is dictated by religion rather than logic:

"I base a lot of my foreign policy decisions on some things that I think are true. One, I believe there's an Almighty. And, secondly, I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everybody's soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free."

- President George W. Bush
Quoted in the Editor & Publisher

Not Pulling Any Punches

2006-04-20T16:46:00.000-04:00

A window into the sentiment among politicians of their constituents, appeared today :

"I think you're an asshole."

- Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) in letter to a constituent in Missouri's 8th district, questioning last year's testimony of oil executives before Congress.

The Congresswoman added a post script at the end of the letter as well:

"PS - please forgive the delay in responding."

A Little Foggy on That Whole Ethics Thing....

2006-04-20T16:02:00.000-04:00

In response to criticism over the ethics scandal that enveloped Brooklyn Assemblymember and Congressional hopeful, Roger Green (D - 57), he responded to the Sun:

"None of it was clear," Mr. Green said, referring to the Assembly rules regarding travel reimbursements.

Apparently to Mr. Green there is no clear right or wrong when it comes to asking the taxpayers to foot a bill you've already had someone else pay for. Ignorance is bliss in politics.

I wonder what Mr. Green would do with a much larger piggy bank at his disposal in D.C. ?

Uncomfortable Under the Spotlight

2006-04-18T19:12:00.000-04:00

Saratoga County Treasurer and a hopeful for the state's top bean counting post, J. Christopher Callaghan, has given a pre-requisite to voters thinking about electing him to statewide office. When asked for his tax-returns, which no elected is officially forced to submit, he agreed to show reporters only on the condition they only report on any conflicts of interest they find. To justify this request, Callaghan had this to say:

“I don’t feel that’s appropriate fodder for the public,” Callaghan said. “Tax returns are confidential, they’re private. A spotlight into one’s private life ought not to be a condition of running for office.”

Shame on you voters for wanting to know the capacity of a candidate to balance his own checkbook, before electing him to the office that is charged with investing the future pensions of thousands of state employees.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

2006-04-17T16:28:00.000-04:00

Referring to former NYC Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, GOP Chairman Ray Hoffmann told The Post last week:

"He's kind of like an American hero."

This statement led this blogger to take a step back from 9/11 and review this Hero's record of accomplishment:

Outlawed the public display of artwork on sidewalks and arrested any artist displaying art in public places within NYC (eventually his administration was sued a la the First Amendment and forced to remove the ban).
Cut off public funding to the Brooklyn Museum for displaying a controversial painting. He was later forced by the Courts to replace the funding for (you guessed it) violating the First Amendment.
Resurrected and enforced a law from the 1800's that BANS DANCING IN BARS.
Arrested and jailed homeless people.
Called recycling "a fad", and discontinued the recycling of glass in NYC.
Attempted to trump the voter imposed term limits on city officials by requesting an extension of his mayoral term.
Recommended Bernard Kerik for the DIRECTOR OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

If these six steps down memory lane fail to paint enough of a picture of Mr. Giuliani's true view of freedom, the electorate and public accountability - let's hear it straight from the horse's mouth:

"Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it."

-Rudy Giuliani, 1994

Bruno's High Standards

2006-04-17T16:17:00.000-04:00

Bruno on the Absentee Governor Pataki:

“He's in Iowa a half a dozen times. He's in New Hampshire. He has a PAC (political action committee) in Virginia raising money to run for president,” Bruno told Albany's WROW-AM radio. “And, I applaud him for that.”

Only if we all had such high standards for our elected officials...

Pork? Errr... What Pork?

2006-04-17T13:37:00.000-04:00

The TU reports that the time tested practice of doling out pork is well underway. However, since the late 90's Albany has been closing the door to the public while our legislators roll around in the mud. However, it seems that a Silver spokesperson has written a check that the Speaker can't cash... a $200 million check. When asked about the secret process of pig carving in Albany, Silver's Charles Carrier had this to say:

"This is just a matter of finalizing projects,'' Carrier said. "It's ridiculous to say we are depriving people information. It's only for five days. It's an internal situation. We make everything available ... once we have a budget in place and these projects are moving forward.''

The question is, did Carrier mean five days after the MOU was issued OR five days after the money is doled out - far too late for the public to protest things like the state-subsidized Museum of Cheese. When asked for a list of member items (Albany code for PORK) after the arbitrary five days was up, Carrier couldn't produce.

I can't wait to find out where the wise leaders in Albany decided to spend our $200 million this year... meanwhile, I'll just stay deprived.

One Texan's View

2006-04-16T17:22:00.000-04:00

I can't resist this one.

While being interviewed on CNN about the hot button immigration bill in Congress , Senator John Cornyn (R - Texas) attributed the division in his party over the immigration issue to a long-standing problem with American Democracy:

"Well, you know, that's the problem in America, we're always having elections."

After dealing with the political inertia that is Albany, it is so refreshing to see a politician with a healthy respect of the electorate!!

City Council: Working Hard on the Important Issues

2006-04-16T14:25:00.000-04:00

After reviewing a new resolution on the New York City Council's agenda that supports the censure of President Bush Council Member and State Senate hopeful, James Oddo (R-SI District 50), had these thoughtful and reflective remarks:

"I think it's such a stupid resolution I'm encouraging a vote on it, so New Yorkers can get a look at the mental health of the members of the council. Lets see where people stand on this dopey idea. "

After taking a bus to a train to transfer to the Q which wasn't running, when asked to comment on the pressing issue before the Council some New Yorkers had this to say, "Who fuckin cares?".

Virginia is for Voters

2006-04-14T18:01:00.000-04:00

Perhaps voting wasn't his primary reason for moving out of the state he represented for so many years, but former US Congressman Tom Delay can take solice that he will be well represented in his new Election District:

"I have been an advocate of restoring voting rights to felons for many years. I think DeLay will enjoy my representation."

-- Virginia Delegate Brian Moran (D)

An AG Hopeful Interprets the Constitution

2006-04-13T16:29:00.000-04:00

Pataki axes lawmakers' pet projects
Gannett News

“What you really have here is a constitutional crisis,” said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Greenburgh, Westchester County. “The king is really saying he does not have to pay attention to the parliament. ... The notion of checks and balances is really what's at stake here.”

When reporters asked to which constitutional monarchy he was referring, Brodsky scratched his head and walked away adding numbers under his breath.

Bruno Goes to War

2006-04-13T16:13:00.000-04:00

New York Post

"I learned in this business that it's better to make love than war, but when you have to make war, then you make war," Bruno told WROW radio.

Bruno then tied a red bandana around his head and ran toward the Capitol shouting, “I’ll give you something to veto!”

Pataki Explains Legislative Budget Powers

2006-04-13T16:10:00.000-04:00

Pataki axes lawmakers' pet projects
Gannet News

“The courts have clearly said,” Pataki told reporters, “they can delete entire sections (of the budget). They can add. They can reduce. But they can't alter.”

After reporters stared blankly at him Pataki began yelling, “Am I the only one who understands? They can CHANGE it, they just can’t ALTER it!!!”