rochesterturning.com

It looks increasingly likely that embattled New York State Congressman Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island) will not seek reelection:

Rep. Vito Fossella of New York has acknowledged fathering a 3-year-old daughter with a woman outside his marriage.

In a statement Thursday Fossella said he is “truly sorry” for the pain he has caused his loved ones.

Fossella’s private life came under scrutiny after he was arrested for drunk driving last week in suburban Virginia. He has a court date next week, and could face jail time if convicted. Fossella told police at the time of his arrest that he was going to see his daughter in the area.

I’m sorry I just think that headline is funny.   It was from the D&C on-line edition. the Print Edition says “Minarik sounds drumbeat over races”

Apparently there was local GOP convention where the party faithful heard about the important local races.

County Chairman Stephen Minarik warned that Democrats are spending resources and organizing in an attempt to oust state Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece.

“The Democrats are harnessing all of their power, all of their money,” Minarik said.

Robach responded

“The idea of them controlling every house, every policy, would be horrible,” Robach said.

Yeah Joe - we’re coming for you.  The big bad Democratic storm clouds are forming and  going to rain on your parade.  boo freaking hoo.

No,  Joe - it is like this - Your record will be allowed to speak for itself.  In fact your conservative voting record and you being a critical enabler of a dysfunctional state government are the stuff that storm clounds are made of.

I wish the article spoke more of the all the GOP red meat that was spewed to the GOP minions.   Business  knows better than  government,  governments job is to help our business’ survive the perils of the free market.  blah blah blah.

The article touched a little bit with quotes by The guys running for Congress provided some quotes by the GOP Congressional candidates.

“I have no problem telling people no new taxes and no new regulation,” said Lee, who lives in Clarence, Erie County, and is running in the 26th District being vacated by Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-Clarence.

“I am fiercely pro-business,” Sweetland [running for Walsh’s set] told the committee members gathered at the Clarion Riverside Hotel. “I also believe in individual rights.”

But local red meat quotes were strangely absent.

I found this little gem yesterday from C-SPAN.org/Capitol Hill, the White House and National Politics, and since stlo7 had asked, I thought I would present it to you:

 Also phoning in is Maggie Brooks (R), County Executive, Monroe County, NY to talk about a $1 million earmark sponsored by Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-NY) for the Monroe County, New York Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Now, take a look at our Emergency Preparedness Center.  Check out the facility-it almost looks like The Situation Room from the basement of The Whitehouse: 

Heck, it looks more like NASA Command Center:

I’m a little curious as to what more we need for $1 million dollars, and exactly how much duct tape will it buy?

Don’t worry, nothing will come of this cheap political stunt. It will die in the Assembly - rightfully so.

The D&C has an AP article about it (sorry our link widget thingy doesn’t appear to be working correctly)

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/NEWS01/805080380

But here are the salient points which prove once again like oil and water - Republicans and Economic knowledge simply don’t mix. As we have been saying in previous posts about the Gax Tax - prices won’t be passed on to consumers. Here is an example

Indiana and Illinois suspended 5 percent sales taxes on gas in 2000, but a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research found only a 3 percent reduction in prices.

But this paragraph struck out

Still, any increase in demand for gasoline that resulted from lower prices would tend to drive prices back up.

Yep - ever notice how an announced rise in oil IMMEDIATELY raises prices at the pump? Of course, the gasoline in the ground at the gas statation was purchased at a lower price but prices rise.

The Gax Tax is DOA - but the State Senate knew this. This is simply prepping the electorial battlefield as the State Republicans struggle to maintain their narrow majority in the Senate. Can’t you see those mailers now? I mean remember the ones about the Drivers License? Sorry this isn’t about Democrats - this is about Republicans who are using a cheap political stunt in an attempt to win an election. Oh, Dem Senate Candidates - make sure you have a budget for the necessary counter mailers

(ed note when we get the link thingy back on line I’ll add some additional links)

But we’re back.  Obviously, I got me some more work to do to get a Wordpress 2.5 compatible version of our old theme.

Seats for sale! Get your red-hot federal seats heah! A

former Republican and buddy of Bush (who nearly got the appointment of Manufacturing Czar in this adminstration) who decided it’d be easier to buy the Senate seat being vacated by Hagel as a Democrat than a Republican. So that’s what he’s doing.

The New Nebraska Network puts it this way:

One campaign has the grassroots. One campaign has the organization. One campaign has the excitement level to take on Mike Johanns.

And one campaign has a checkbook.

Change the names to New York, Jack Davis, and Jon Powers, and you’re describing the NY-26 race.

The real-estate market tanked, and we emerged relatively unscathed. In fact, the market contraction is so severe that Rochester, with a projected 2.7% growth over the next 12 months, is number two of the “Ten Fastest Growing Real Estate Markets”, according to Money Magazine. Thoughts?

The Politico has still more on Vito Fossella’s (R-Staten Island) legal woes:

Fossella was arrested last Thursday in Virginia, with a blood alcohol level of 0.17 — over twice the legal limit in the state. If found guilty, he would have to serve five days in jail, an outcome analysts said could present major political problems.

“The prospect of jail time would make it very hard for him to run again,” said Cook Political Report House analyst David Wasserman. “The difference between serving jail time and pleading down to a lesser charge makes a huge difference in Fossella’s political future.”

I find a 0.17 blood alcohol while driving completely unacceptable. The Washington Post’s Sleuth blog digs up a great quote from former Senator Conrad Burns: “There’s drunk, and then there’s knee-walking drunk.”

Fossella was in a bit of a political trouble even before this. Like many Republicans this cycle, he can’t raise any money:

Fossella’s scandal also puts his lagging fundraising in greater focus. Fossella has been one of the weakest Republican fundraisers, and he has less cash on hand than (likely opponent, Domenic) Recchia. At the end of March, Fossella reported just $248,000 in his campaign account, while Recchia had banked $325,000.

Hey everyone -

You may have noticed that new comments are not appearing in the new recent comment  column.   We have also experienced some issues posting new material -

So we are on the case.  We just ask for your patience -

Like all good progressives - we are looking at solving the problem as opposed to deferring it until later.

Comment away and apologies for the inconvenience.

Here is the point: Believe what you want to believe - but when you are discussing politics, policies and such, and you suddenly drop in some conspiracy theorist stories, the rest of your story and argument becomes tainted. So stop it…

So, here is the deal,

Since becoming a blogger I’ve met lots of wonderful, politically passionate people, but this isn’t about the people, it is about getting your point across. So - When I’m talking about admirable long term objectives like world peace - I don’ t need to hear that, “9-11 was an inside job”. When I’m talking to war protester friends - I don’t need to hear how Bush is buying up land in Bolivia to avoid the upcoming war crime trials.

Or my new personal favorite - When I’m listening to someone discuss the important water issues affecting the Great Lakes basin - I’m told of a secret plan to build a pipeline (along with that NAFTA superhighway) to drain the Great Lakes.

Now, I’m not taking about the too lazy to look up smears. No, I’m just talking about people who engage others in civil persuasive discourse then, in the middle of the conversation, drop an irrelevant point into the discussion which pushes people away and dilutes your point.

Take the person taking about the NAFTA superhighway and draining the Great Lakes. Just because only Lou Dobbs and Ron Paul are talking about the NAFTA superhighway doesn’t make it true.

Some guy discusses absolutely pressing issues affecting the Great Lakes. He is discussing legislation affecting the Great Lakes, the pluses and minuses. Mentioning that every 28 days a new invasive species enters the Great Lakes basin. For topic novices like me the conversation was quite informative. But somewhere in the discussion at the conclusion of the conversation he dropped in this bit of information (paraphrased) - “There is a highway being built, linking Mexico and Canada, along with a pipeline to drain the Great Lakes and no one is talking about it”.

Faster than Robbie the Robot can say “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!” My virtual arms were flailing and I was mentally screaming,”Danger!”.

Look - I’m not going to spend my time debunking all these conspiracy theories. Why? Well, it detracts from trying to take our country back and locally that means focusing on Maggie Brooks and Monroe County, the dysfunctional NY State government and figuring out a way to get a Congressman to actually represent my values and beliefs.

So, anything else detracts from, what I believe, like minded folks should be focusing on. How to make a difference in their local community. Focus, people.

but, back to the NAFTA super highway for a minute.

Look - Like most things, there are a series of anecdotes that when linked together - ultimately spawns these wild ideas.

The thing is, this pipeline rumor is false. Have a look at this Newsweek article - oh wait - that’s corporate Media. How about This article from The Nation? This seems to be an outcome of someone trying to prove that the plural of anecdote is data. Stuff like this detracts from the real message.

So believe what you want to believe - when you are discussing politics, policies and such and you suddenly drop in one of these conspiracy theorist stories - Remember the rest of your story argument becomes tainted.

To help - we will be selling our own line of Tin Foil hats. Guaranteed that the Government will not be able to tell what you are thinking.

The value of the U.S. dollar has fallen dramatically due to the war in Iraq.  The price of gasoline at the pumps is skyrocketing.  Combine that with greed and profits that are unrecognizable and those of us who pay to go to work are getting absolutely taken to the cleaners.

When asked if he would change Congressional leaders getting their gas paid for when travelling, Massa said he certainly doesn’t understand the policy, so he asks questions.  When he was in military service he didn’t get paid for travel.  He agreed that the service members who travel and don’t get reimbursed is a problem.

The driving reality is the Iraq War.  Clearly longterm we need a national energy policy that finds ways for us to consume less energy, not encourage us to burn more.  Bush and Cheney are clearly in the pockets of Big Oil. 

He includes Randy Kuhl in this group:

If you take money from Big Oil you are going to vote for their interests.

We have two options: either a federally mandated price freeze like we saw in the 1970s or a gas tax rebate for working Americans only.  We basically just did a gas tax rebate.  We borrowed $150 billion to give about $1,000 on average to an American family so that they can turn around and give that most of that to the Saudi Arabians.  Clearly that’s not a solution—at best it’s a stop-gap.  But if we freeze the price of gasoline then the dollar stabilizes and then stop the obscene gas subsidies to the oil companies.  It’s not just that we’re not taxing them, we’re giving them money.  Use that money instead at places like Cornell University, which is at the forefront of automotive [innovation].  It takes independence to do this. 

If you think your campaign funding is  more important than alternative energy then alternative energy will never happen.

I’m going to go to Washington and not owe Exxon Mobil anything.

When asked about economists who say that the housing bust is more responsible for the economic woes rather than the war in Iraq:

I listen to the American people, not some pinhead economists.  If Randy Kuhl listened to us instead of so-called Washington D.C. “experts,” maybe he’d understand that.  Kuhl won’t even come home to debate me, let alone come home to listen to his constituents.  Chances are you’re not even gonna know what reality is (if you don’t come home).  This election is about voters who are paying $4/gallon for gas.  He’s not paying $4/gallon for gas.  Just like he’s not paying his healthcare costs, we’re paying those for him.

Massa would refuse to accept the Congressional healthcare policy until every American has access to health insurance. 

It’s the height of hypocrisy to turn around and vote against S-CHIP while accepting it yourself—it’s just plain wrong.

Massa concluded by saying “The world is running out of oil.”  One thing’s for certain: Massa is definitely not running out of energy.

Earlier, Rotten and we concurred that Randy Kuhl and other Congressional Republicans will have to move past childish name-calling and adopt an actual agenda if they’re going to have any chance to survive in November. It seems that Newt Gingrich, of all people agrees with us. Problem is, the agenda he suggests is even more absurd than Randy’s current rhetoric and will have little appeal in this area beyond the D&C blog crowd. Here are some of Newt’s suggestions:

1. Repeal the gas tax for the summer

5. Overhaul the census and cut its budget radically.

7. Declare English the official language of government.

In fairness, they’re not all quite this ridiculous. But let’s focus on these for now. We’ve seen before that everyone with half a brain knows number one is a stupid idea. As for number two, the census is in fact badly underfunded and only the 28 percenters will get excited cutting it further. Number 7, like all anti-immigrant measures, is a slow form of political suicide.

It’s amazing. Even when Republicans agree that they have to do something serious, they don’t talk about real issues like Iraq, or health care, or the financial crisis, or the rising cost of food and fuel. They come up with distractions.

Voters will see through this, at least in this part of the country.

This is worth watching

3 DPW workers were suspended for allegedly diverting tax-payer raw materials to a private establishment.

Three town public works employees have been suspended, and an investigation into possible misconduct is taking place, but few other details were available early this week.

The affair seems to involve the alleged diverting of taxpayer-paid raw materials to a private location.

Apparently it has been going on for a while

“While I cannot delve into details, as this is an ongoing investigation, I can tell you that it appears that, for over a decade, a few DPW employees have provided raw materials to a private establishment, free of charge,” Heyman said in Friday’s prepared statement. “Not only is this an abuse of their position as public employees, it is a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

Heyman declined to comment on where the inappropriate activities were taking place and said that to her knowledge, no town equipment was used.

Anyone know what is alleged?

I’d like to know what these folks were supposedly stealing. Where it was going. Sounds like a can 0f worms waiting to be opened. Nice to see Democratic Town Supervisor Mary Ellen Heyman playing an active role here protecting tax payer assets.

Update

New10NBC has more

Apparently it was the Irondequoit Bay Fish and Game Club

At the Irondequoit Bay Fish and Game Club, the entrance to the private club is freshly mulched. In the parking lot, there appears to be a fresh layer of gravel. The sprucing up of the club was apparently done at the expense of Irondequoit taxpayers.

There could be big news in the race tonight — the epic battle referred to in the last post. Hillary’s up 40K votes over Obama in Indiana with all of Lake County set to report. Lake County is demographically similar to Marion County where Obama picked up 60K votes. My calculations estimate he’ll pick up 40K in Lake County, making it a tie. I still think Hillary may win by picking up votes in some else of what is left.

But the next 30 minutes may be the most exciting of the whole election. If the Indiana primary ends in an Obama win or close to a head heat — as I think it will — that makes the case for Hillary go on a lot weaker.

There’s a nice interactive map over at the Politico. (It will probably not be there if you check in the morning, but it’s up for now — I can’t find a direct link to it but it’s on the top of the page.)

Update: CNN has an interactive map you can link directly to.

Update update: Hillary wins in a squeaker, 638K to 615K.