Friday, October 24, 2014

2014 Higgins Endorsement

First, Don't be a Lunatic  



Election day is coming up, and I generally give you some BS half-assed "endorsements" of candidates who, in my opinion, deserve your vote.  Typically, I don't do that until a day or two before election day itself, but the race for the 26th Congressional District is not remotely typical.

I don't agree with Brian Higgins on every single issue because he can be sometimes more conservative than I, and because he can sometimes be overly cautious on waterfront issues.  By way of example, I was disappointed that he is opposing the construction of places to live and things to do on certain portions of Buffalo's Outer Harbor.

That aside, there is absolutely no doubt that he has been a wildly effective proponent of all things Buffalo and western New York. Sure, as the Buffalo News pointed out earlier this year, he's not lighting Washington on fire with pointless legislation that is likely to go nowhere in a tea party-dominated body. But when it comes to using his power and clout as a federal representative to help rebuild Buffalo and her waterfront, to restore NYPA funding to do it, to help improve our border and to push for needed changes in air traffic regulation, Higgins is the guy for us. When it comes to using the power of the federal purse to help fund projects and programs that help feed, clothe, house, and employ the weakest in our society, Higgins is the guy for us. Even Republicans recognize Higgins' value and leadership. Higgins says,
My service in Congress is everything about Buffalo and Western New York. I’ve learned that when you do good for your community, you’re doing good for your country, because the most important part of my country is my community.
While Brian Higgins represents the best that western New York has to offer, his opponent is the polar opposite. Kathy Weppner is a craven cartoon character.  Her deep paranoia and hatred, willingness to promote and advocate for utter and complete nonsense, ease with which she lies and makes things up, and her mindless regurgitation of whatever gibberish she reads on the right-wing internet renders her palpably unfit for public office.

But it's not just that.

Below is a compendium of every post I've written about Kathy Weppner since she began her campaign. As a political meme for this season, she has been a bottomless pit of unfortunate material. What Kathy Weppner represents is the absolute worst of what western New York has to offer; reactionary thought, paranoia, a tendency to lie and to promote others' lies, a provincial and narrow mindset, and above all - ignorance and misinformation.

When Weppner first announced, this is what I wrote:
In the 26th, incumbent Democrat Brian Higgins is likely to coast to re-election, as well. This is especially true thanks to the fact that his opponent is not only going to be a tea partier, but is – quite literally – a low-information WBEN caller. “Kathy from Williamsville” is going to take her fact-free jingoism on the campaign trail. She is a walking, talking anti-Obama chain email, and anyone reporting on her should be sure to have Snopes queued up on their mobile browsers. Seriously – there will be no point covering her campaign if you’re not able immediately to vet her pronouncements and cross-examine her on the inevitable fabrications and fantasies she’ll discuss. After all, she has a list of known communists, doesn’t seem to be ready or willing to represent Muslim residents of the 26th (hint: it’s the primitive blood lust), has declared “white guilt” to be “dead”, warned against a hyperinflation that never came, and – like Ronald Reagan – opposes Medicare.
That one will be fun. 
I love it when I'm right. 

Take this for example. This was posted (publicly) to Weppner's own Facebook page just this week. For some reason it wasn't good enough for her campaign, but this is a pretty representative insight into the mind of a person who wants to go to Washington and represent the people of a diverse NY-26.

To start out with, I absolutely detest these sorts of ignorant, uninformed violations of Godwin's Law. The United States is not at any risk of becoming a Nazi state, and anyone who thinks it is, is a moron. But let's examine the specifics; most basic is the lie - oft-repeated by demagogues and charlatans - that the Nazis killed capitalism in Germany. Nothing could be further from the truth, as National Socialism was, at least in part, a corporatist movement where the party, the military, and big industry were united in goal and deed. It wasn't Marxist socialism that drove Nazi ideology - quite the opposite, as the Weimar-era street battles with the Spartacists can attest. Instead, it was a fascist socialism, born as a nationalist reaction to Marxism's internationalism. The goal wasn't a proletarian utopia, but a pure and strong Germany where the individual was subjugated to the state. Any notion that Naziism is remotely similar - much less identical - to the kind of western pluralist liberalism that people like Weppner so oppose - is laughable.

Prayer was taken out of schools? Hitler didn't just stop there - he was openly hostile to all organized religion, because it represented a singular challenge to Nazi hegemony and the totalitarian deification of Hitler himself. In the United States, we have no such action taking place, and prayer is not allowed in school because of the prohibition against a government establishment of religion; it's in the Constitution.

"Socialized medicine" didn't lead to the extermination of the disabled - that was the Nazi sterilization and eugenics program - one that was quite popular in the United States in the early 20th century, as well. Every single western industrialized nation has some form of universal health insurance - some of it socialized - yet extermination of the old, sick, and disabled is not part of any of those programs. This is a lie and a scare tactic.

Like all things, under Hitler's totalitarian state, all school curricula and administrations were subjected to the will of the party. Private and Catholic schools did exist, but were under constant scrutiny. No such thing happens in the US today.

Likewise, I can tell you this: I have visited and lived in totalitarian dictatorships in my life. While some may find fault with our government using signals intelligence and other methods to try and keep tabs on real and suspected terrorists, it is not the same as a government using secret police, informants, and SIGINT to maintain a totalitarian purity of thought. We don't have political police out there manning checkpoints to make sure where you're supposed to be, and limiting what you think, say, or with whom you associate. Having experienced true totalitarianism, I can tell you that my possession of a passport, my ability to write this blog, my right to say and think what I please, and my right to express my political opinion all run counter to any half-brained notion that this country has devolved into some sort of fascist totalitarian nightmare. Anyone who suggests otherwise has automatically disproven their own point: if we truly were that totalitarian dystopia, you'd have no ability to express that fact, and you'd be arrested, subjected to a show-trial, and then exiled or killed.

Government spending in Germany skyrocketed because they were planning to take over the world through endless war.

Germans have always been very ecologically conscious - this pre-dates and post-dates Hitler, and is part of the German psyche. While Nazis and Communists alike purported to love and protect the natural environment, that doesn't mean protecting the environment is a totalitarian aim.

Finally, Hitler actually eased gun restrictions, but only for non-Jews. The US has a hodgepodge of state and federal gun laws, none of which have disarmed anyone based on religion.

The copying and publication of that passage above - alone - disqualifies Kathy Weppner from public office. That's before we get to the following laundry list of abhorrent things that this candidate has done and said since announcing her campaign.  She - and the people who endorse her - are an insult to the intelligence of western New Yorkers. Below is the compendium of all the Weppner posts since March.

March 2014: Weppner Deletes It All

Back in the early Spring, the Buffalo News’ Jerry Zremski picked over some of the more malodorous parts of the Weppner mindswamp, and asked her for an interview. She declined, and agreed instead to answer via email. The result was a glorious, factual recitation of some of the things she’s promoted and said, and her weak explanations for them. (Weppner Vetted 3/24/14) Much of it surrounded her very outspoken involvement in the “birther” nonsense, questioning whether Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, or part of some half-century-long conspiracy to overthrow America.

The candidate’s response to Zremski’s article was jaw-droppingly horrible. (Kathy Weppner Tries to Explain; Fails 3/25/14) I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself. The passive-aggressive whining about being on vacation, and the declaration of war on the librul meediya set the tone for the next several months' worth of self-pitying nonsense. 

Among Weppner’s defenses was that she was just asking questions, like everyone else, about the birther issue, and other halfhearted denials about being part of some wider birther movement. A quick listen to an online radio show on which Weppner appeared reveals not only that she was more than just “asking questions”, she was an active believer in the lunatic rantings of the fringe dead-ender birther movement. (How Not To Be A Birther, By Kathy Weppner 3/26/14). 

Much of the information that the Buffalo News and I had been using to vet Weppner came from recordings of her own WBEN radio show, as well as materials that she published on her blog “str8talk.wordpress.com”. Up until Zremski’s article, that site was still intact. After Zremski’s piece, she began selectively deleting certain passages, such as the racist “White Guilt” article she reprinted, verbatim, without comment. Soon, she took the entire site down altogether, and redirected the url to her campaign website; it remained, however, still visible via the waybackmachine. Finally, by 3/31, her campaign had successfully petitioned Archive.org to remove her entire internet archive from its site, and we are now left with not a single piece of evidence that she ever published a blog or had a radio show. Despite the fact that she proudly touts her WBEN radio show on her campaign bio, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any lasting evidence of its existence. (Kathy Weppner: So Proud of Her Radio Program She Deleted All Evidence of It 3/31/14). 

All we’re left with now is transcripts of her several calls to the Rush Limbaugh radio program.  Everyone knows who Rush Limbaugh is – he’s the fascist, racist, drug-addled, misogynist radio troll who spits hatred on a daily basis over the publicly owned airwaves. It was her unbelievable deletion of her entire pre-campaign radio and web history that led me to track down what was left, before she got rid of that, too. 
In 2008, Weppner called in with a particularly dumb theory about how Hillary Clinton was going to get the Democratic nomination because Obama was such a racist who “bathed his children” in hatred of white people.  She also bleated on about a conspiratorial “October Surprise” and other such half-baked nonsense. (Kathy From Williamsville Calls Rush Limbaugh in 2008 3/31/14). That same day, I found a campaign image on her Facebook page that used the House seal, in direct violation of federal law. (Kathy Weppner Violates Federal Law 3/31/14)

April 2014: Kathy From Williamsville's Calls to Rush Limbaugh

In 2011, Weppner called Limbaugh to vent about how people need to start attending tea party rallies, or else we’d have “nothing left”. Also, her kids are serving in the military to protect things like Chris Lee and sovereign debt. It was a quick recitation of a couple of dopey talking points generating no discussion whatsoever. (Kathy Weppner: Why Are American Troops Fighting for Shirtless Chris Lee? 4/2/14). 

This one is one of my favorites – Kathy Weppner complaining about how no one from Congress held any town hall meetings in WNY so she and her cohorts could go and disrupt them. Yet she is so deathly afraid of the opinions and pronouncements that she spat when no one was looking, she deleted all evidence of them. Where have Weppner's town halls been? (Kathy Weppner on Town Halls 4/3/14
Weppner called Limbaugh in July 2008 to ramble off a litany of groups whom she resents.
You know, we have ended up with a society where all the people that work in government, all the politicians, the teachers, the firemen, the policemen, all of our state governments, municipalities, and we are in a very heavily governed area here in western New York, all of them are living inside the castle walls, and all of us, everybody else is living outside of the castle walls. And all of the rules they make protect them, where our people, the public employee, they can retire at 55 here and they live to 85.
Yeah! To hell with our first responders and educators! Good talk, Kathy! (Kathy Weppner on Whom She Resents 4/4/14). 

There was the call to Limbaugh in 2009 – just a month after Obummer overthrew ‘Murrka, and Weppner threatened to go Galt because Barry and his cadres were going to just take everything anyway and give it to the lazy takers, (ostensibly the aforementioned teachers, firemen, policemen, and lazy blacks). Meanwhile, I learned that even physicians who receive Mexican medical degrees can earn a tremendous amount of money here in the United States. Weppner. What a card! (Kathy Weppner on Going Galt 4/4/14). (I posted the actual audio here on April 30th). 

We discovered that Weppner's rag-tag campaign team includes a treasurer who has - interesting - taste in caricatures, and developed a blatant ripoff of mobile app "Angry Birds", but here we had angry "patriots" killing famous leftists like Al Sharpton and Karl Marx. (Weppner's Carnival Sideshow 4/9/14)
If you're looking for a nice yacht, cheap, try Kathy's! (Weppner Selling Yacht 4/10/14).  We're waiting for Kathy's Obamacare report with bated breath! (Guns, Mental Health & Fascism 4/11/14)

May 2014: Issues!

Kathy introduced herself to the "girls" of western New York with this amazing video. You see, if women fight for equality, they're embracing victimhood, or something. (Girls, Can We Talk?(!) 5/11/14)

Mrs. Weppner wrote an amazing piece blasting the Common Core, and calling for the immediate abolition of the Department of Education. Unfortuately, it needed some corrections. (Kathy Weppner's Common Core Piece 5/23/14).

Here, our plucky tea partyist campaigns quite literally on the graves of our fallen heroes. (Kathy Weppner, Solving All the Problems 5/28/14).

Just hours after a madman went on a shooting rampage in California, Kathy graciously and with utmost sensitivity posted a YouTube video explaining how America was founded on the principle that armed lunatics should have the capability to commit treason at any time. (2nd Amendment and Kathy Weppner 5/29/14)

She then promptly took the video down, without explanation or apology.  She also knows all the things about Ohio fertilizer runoff. (Kathy Weppner's Clownshoes: Now with Guns and Corn! 5/30/14)

Summer 2014: Infected Poors!

The month of June was pretty quiet, as was July.

In July, a campaign volunteer who was also managing at least some of her social media, Laura Yingling, sent an email to Weppner's campaign list, seeking photos of "not so nice" incidental blight; "vacant homes, urban blight, anything I can use against Brian Higgins on Twitter and Facebook". (Weppner Campaign Seeking "Not So Nice" Incidental Blight Photos 7/17/14). This led to a hilarious Twitter meme "#HigginsBlight", showing off all the wonderful things that have happened in Buffalo and WNY since Higgins came to office. 
A few days later, Weppner reprimanded Yingling for this idiotic idea. (Weppner Disavows 912 Blight Exploitation Strategy 7/22/14). 

It wasn't until late July that Weppner inexplicably chose the Peace Bridge as a backdrop to spout a bunch of hate-filled rubbish about a crisis of migrant children crossing the border. She went so far as to Tweet that Guatemala was sending us their "infected poors". (Kathy Weppner and the "Infected Poors" 7/30/14). 
When the "infected poors" thing made national news and became embarrassing, Weppner blamed the help, (Laura Yingling again), and posted pictures of her in a sombrero to prove that some of her best friends are infected poors. (Shorter Weppner: #BlametheHelp 7/31/14). 

September 2014: ISIS Fundraising

August was also quiet, but campaign season sort of starts in earnest in September.  The civilized world watched in horror as radical Islamist murderers from the ISIS death cult slaughtered American and British hostages. Not one to let a beheading go by without a fundraising plea, Kathy Weppner displayed her shocking lack of propriety and morality, and did just that. (Kathy Weppner's Moral Depravity 9/4/14). 

Later that month, Weppner touted the fact that she had received a participation award - a prize for just showing up - from some obscure New Jersey-based school choice lobby that no one's ever heard of. (Kathy Weppner gets Participation Award 9/24/14). The irony, of course, is that right-wing nutjobs like Weppner detest what they perceive to be participation awards and social promotion in our public schools. It makes the kids soft, don't you know?  

The League of Women Voters put out the results of candidate questionnaires, and Weppner's was just wonderful.  Any WBEN caller could have written it, right down to the throwaway, casual parenthetical Hitler reference. (Weppner and the Parenthetical Hitler 9/30/14). At least we know she's a patriot. 

October 2014: Desperation Sets In 

The more desperate Weppner became, the more hateful and odd her pronouncements.
October 1st, Weppner declared that Ebola needed to be dealt with medically, not politically.  In the very next breath, she politicized Ebola. (Cognitive Weppner Dissonance 10/1/14). 

She decided to hammer Brian Higgins for not doing enough to stop the growth or territorial expansion of ISIS. She claimed that you should "change your congressman" because, presumably, she'd be appointed to the very same committees as Higgins, and by gosh, she'd get the anti-jihadist job done! The problem for Weppner goes back to her careful-then-comprehensive scrubbing of everything she ever wrote or said before March 2014. It's disingenuous, at best, to attack Brian Higgins for past acts or omissions of word and deed, but not when you've deprived everyone of the ability to do the same with you. Certainly if ISIS was such a clear and present danger, Weppner's own radio show or blog must be replete with warnings and pronouncements about this threat? (How Did Kathy Weppner Warn Us About ISIS in 2013? 10/9/14). 

I highlighted the insanity of some of what Weppner was pimping in this post (Kathy "Purple Penguin" Weppner 10/10/14). She is - and will always be - the Snopes candidate; whenever she promotes some weird nonsense, you have to check Snopes first and determine just how wrong or misguided she is.  Is that who should be sent to Washington as a legislative representative - someone so casually loose with reality and facts that you have to check what she says against an urban legends debunking site

Weppner's so-bad-they-must-be-joking media allies defamed the League of Women Voters for supposedly succumbing to Brian Higgins' scary pressure, deciding to not hold a NY-26 debate. The problem is, the local LWV isn't holding any congressional debates in WNY this season. (The League of Women Voters Would Like Everyone to Stop Lying, please 10/17/14). 

In a follow-up to the abysmally written "Stop Common Core" piece that Weppner released in May (above), I red-lined the equally bizarre Ebola/ISIS thing she posted on her website. (Kathy Weppner on ISIS and Ebola 10/23/14). 

That same day, as Canada was reeling from a terrorist attack against its Cenotaph and Parliament, resulting in the slaughter of a serviceman guarding the War Memorial, Weppner took that as an entree to idiotically discuss Canada's gun laws. (Weppner Disrespects Canada's Fallen 10/23/14). It was, for her, typically and shamelessly disrespectful. 

There's still about 2 weeks left of this shambolic campaign, and I'm sure we haven't seen the last dumb pronouncement. But given all of the above, it's clear that you simply don't let a WBEN caller run for elected office. What vision has she offered, other than poorly articulated, paranoid hatred? The removal of the "str8t talk" archive tells you all you need to know about a tea party candidate who refuses to answer for the things she's said or done before she was involved in a campaign.  If the stuff she's said and written during the campaign, as chronicled above, is as bad as that, you can image what sort of insanity lurked in those archives. 

Brian Higgins deserves re-election because he's a strong champion for Buffalo and WNY. That, and his opponent is not deserving of consideration, much less support.

Caveat: Artvoice does not do political endorsements. Nothing written in this post should be interpreted, construed, or cited as an endorsement by the owners or editors of Artvoice itself.  This endorsement is mine alone.  In addition, because of how prolific Weppner's campaign has been in putting out horrible things, some have accused me of being a paid blogger for the Higgins campaign.  This is categorically false and defamatory.  It presupposes, of course, that no one could possibly support a Brian Higgins or a Democrat unless they were on the take - an accusation so despicably sleazy that it requires no response. In any event, I do not know whether Higgins has ever paid for an advertisement in Artvoice, nor would I be in a position to know. I am an independent contractor and have no involvement or employment with Artvoice or its advertising or editorial staff. I can also state unequivocally and unreservedly that Higgins, his staff, and his campaign have never paid me in money or favor, ever. 

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Rebutting the Obamaphobe Myths

Throwing this here because Speakup won't let me post more than one link. 

Congratulations on showing everyone what a simple minded partisan hack you are, I didn't get it from Fox News .... But if I did so what? Its true.
And much of it misleading, or else you're being willfully ignorant of the cause. 
I know that being the party cheerleader you are you want to avoid inconvenient truths like:
* Since Obama has been president, seven out of every eight jobs that have been created in the U.S. economy have been part-time jobs.
Not sure where you're getting that data, but thankfully just a few weeks ago, the US economy finally earned back every job lost during the Bush recession.

Citations: here, here, and here.  It's worth noting that 547,000 public sector jobs have never been recouped, because the focus was on strengthening private sector employment and keeping government spending and staffing low. If we hired everyone back to public jobs, the participation rate would be higher and the unemployment rate lower. There are about 7.3 million people who are involuntarily part-time right now. This is essentially unchanged from the 7.8 million who were involuntary part-time in November 2008

Just to remind ourselves, George W. Bush was President until the third week of January 2009. 
* When Barack Obama entered the White House, there were about 32 million Americans on food stamps. Today, there are more than 47 million Americans on food stamps.
This is an unfortunate consequence of the great recession. I'd like to see how this is directly President Obama's fault.
* When Barack Obama took office, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $1.85. Today, it is $3.53.
This one is my favorite.

At its earlier peak of October 2007, the highest the DJIA reached was in the 14,000s. By early November 2008, the Dow was in the 8900s. Its nadir was in March 2009 when it hit 6,600. Its most precipitous plunge took place in mid-October 2008, as the Dow lost 18% of its value. If you look at a chart of the Dow superimposed on gas prices, they match up. This is because gas prices didn't magically just go from $1.85 to over $3.00 in a vacuum, nor was it unprecedented. 

As a matter of fact, the highest average price for regular unleaded ever recorded in the US was in May 2008, when it hit $4.12/gallon. The price plummeted in late 2008, along with the global economic crisis that ground economies worldwide to a halt. The drop in gas prices you reference was a result of dramatic, catastrophic deflation, which is a symptom of an economy that is ground to a halt. The rise in gas prices (inflation) is a sign of a economy in recovery.

In fact, gas prices were reasonably stable, in the $1.50 - 2.25 range between 2003 until August 2005, when they skyrocketed past $3.00. That was thanks to Hurricane Katrina. With the exception of the global financial meltdown, gas prices have stayed over $3.00 since Katrina. 
* Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.
In prior years, electricity rates had not kept up with the rate of inflation. Much of this is catching up.
* The United States has fallen in the global economic competitiveness rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum for four years in a row.
Maybe check your work? For 2013 - 14, the US is # 5 behind Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, and Finland - all countries that have generous universal health care schemes, and are not involved in land wars in Asia or their resultant quagmires. In 2012-2013, the WEF had the US ranked #5, as well. In 2011-2012, the WEF had the US ranked #5. It had been #4 in 2010 - 2011.

So, Obama has kept the US stable competitively as compared with 147 other countries. He's just horrible at being a socialist!
* When Barack Obama was first elected, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was under 70 percent. Today, it is up to 101 percent.
The US uses debt to fund wars and economic stimulus. Since 1980, only one President - Bill Clinton - has reduced public indebtedness. There's plenty of blame to go around with this one. Perhaps if we hadn't prefaced the global recession with two wars and a post-9/11 stimulus?
* More than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. This is the first time that has ever happened in our history. That number has risen by 57 percent since the 2006-2007 school year.
The 2006 - 2007 school year would have preceded the global financial meltdown, which also led to a foreclosure crisis as home values in some parts of the country plummeted, people found themselves either underwater or unable to pay their mortgages. Again, show me how this is Obama's fault.
* 53 percent of all American workers now make less than $30,000 a year.
This is a direct result of the abject failure of "supply side" economics, and the "trickle down" theory. I agree that wages are unreasonably low while productivity has soared. People deserve to earn a living wage, and I hope we can force companies to do just that.
* When the Obama era began, the average duration of unemployment in this country was 19.8 weeks. Today, it is 36.6 weeks.
As the labor market strengthens, the number of long-term unemployed is falling. Maybe ask why companies are hoarding $2 trillion in cash here and overseas but not hiring people? Why won't Congress fix the laws that encourage this?
and you would much rather focus on more compelling issues like what the guy on WGR is saying. Continue on with the really fascinating conversations of how you hate fox news and how wrong WGR is.
When you get done with your partisan bickering see if you can drum up the energy to discuss something substantive.
I don't listen to WGR, and I cut most of the cable cord specifically so I don't have to pay for channels - like Fox News - that I don't watch.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Notes from CEL meeting 3/16/05

1. What are the issues in growth

Taxation & regulation Locally & in Albany

  • Albany is the main culprit, IMO.
  • Excessive taxation
  • Treating the whole state as the same place; really two states in one
  • Unfunded mandates

Fact #1: New York State’s local taxes, like property taxes, are 72% above the national average, and are the highest in the nation.

Fact #2: Our elected officials in Albany force down upon counties the highest level of local financing for Medicaid. Most states split the cost with the federal government and require no local property tax share.

Fact #3: The local cost of Medicaid is the fastest growing cost in county budgets throughout New York State. Our elected officials in Albany are the only ones who can reduce this effect on your property taxes.

Fact #4: Currently, Medicaid covers 1 in 5 New Yorkers at a per-beneficiary cost 2.5 times the national average. This is the highest of any state in the country.

Fact #5: In 2004, New York will spend $42 billion on Medicaid, more than California ($25 billion) and Texas ($15 billion) combined, even though together those states have three times our population.

Fact #6: With less than 7% of the nation’s population, New York spends 12% of the country’s Medicaid dollars.

Fact #7: Medicaid costs continue to rise through New York State, but state and federal aid to the counties are declining and revenue from property and sales taxes remain stagnant throughout the State.

Fact #8: The cost of Medicaid to local property taxpayers in Erie County is $184.3 million this year alone. Every penny of the Erie County property tax levy goes to pay for the local share of Medicaid.

Fundamentally reform government

  • Abolish county government
  • Abolish city government
  • Establish one metropolitan government – a new entity
  • We have 500 elected officials. Charlotte, NC (e.g.) has 12.
  • Less government strata = less waste, lower taxes.
  • Everything the county does can be done by the state or towns. (or metro govt)
  • The county elected offices (comptroller, DA, sheriff, Clerk) can continue to be elected county-wide, but they become state employees.
  • The State DOT can establish regional offices to handle road upkeep.
  • Pitting suburb vs. city is simply nuts.
  • We need to emphasize somehow to people that the whole region sinks or swims together;
  • What’s good for Amherst & OP is good for Buffalo & vice-versa

2. What action(s) can we take, either as individuals or as a group, and how broad or narrow a focus;

GET INVOLVED & GET LOUD

Buffalo and New York have been run into the ground, because they’re controlled by special interests, patronage hacks & lobbyists who all have their hand out.

It’s time for government to stop catering to the unions and special interests and start acting in the best interests of the community-at-large;

  • If NY & Buffalo business flourishes, and people stay/immigrate, then everyone will benefit.

SO GET INVOLVED
On a local level, there are several groups taking on local taxation issues
WNY Coalition for Progress
Free buffalo
Primary Challenge
Onebuffalo
New Millenium Group
Fixalbany.com
Public Policy institute; let upstate be upstate

Constitutional convention in Albany

AND GET LOUD
Start a blog
Write a LTE

Run for office
Write to your state & local officials

3. How to avoid the mistake of duplication (competing groups, aka IDA's) that WNY seems to make over and over.

Not an expert on this, but it goes back to the theme of unity: suburbs & city in it together.

WNY needs to compete against, e.g., Erie PA and Syracuse. We can no longer afford to have Amherst compete against Buffalo & vice-versa.

Geico deal good example of regionalism at work; Tonawanda IDA donated credits to Amherst IDA to attract Geico – which is an earth-shatteringly positive addition to WNY.

As for competing groups, I don’t think that’s necessarily a negative. Our democracy flourishes in pluralism and debate; several groups discussing and debating different means to reach an end is good - because at least the problem is being discussed at all.

Monday, February 28, 2005

Why this is here.

I decided that I need an extra bloggy blog for possible longer posts, etc. So this is here.

If you're looking for my regular BuffaloPundit blog, click the linky link.

Thanks.