Found this video and in the wake of the Prop 8 protests, I thought our readers might find it interesting:

Let the comments commence……….

Welcome to this week’s In case you missed it. It was a short week, well a Holiday week, still lots going on. Let’s get started shall we. Here was the week that was at RT.

National

Congressman-elect Eric Massa - We have video of the Massa celebration, as well as, Massa thanking - you. btp spots this write-up via the F29th about Massa’s fundraising. A great model to follow.

Meanwhile, the Charlie Rangel investigation to end in January and N.Y. Congressman will likely get promoted.

State

The SD-11 will likely stay Republican. Then again - Malcolm Smith and Dean Skelos visited Ruben Diaz for Thanksgiving Dinner to fight over who sits at the head of the table next session. Meanwhile Skelos tried to cut a deal.

Local

East Rochester - Mayor Jason Koon found $250K in the budget after a financial review.

RenSquare - BTP has this cool graphic and links Rensquare with the Fast Ferry.

Mendon - Ladkiddo uncovers the background on Mendon’s tax increase. A good read and background that needs to be provided.

COMIDA - when will Medley Centre get more money?

Quick Takes

Mayor Duffy seems to get real.

Check out this video about Obama supporters in Rochester - you might see some familiar faces.

Charities should not replace a government sponsored safety net.

what are your Inauguration plans?

Ladkiddo’s take on what this nation needs to be grateful for at Thanksgiving

Madness in Mumbai. 2 New Yorkers are dead. Terrible.

How much stuff you buy is made in China?

Melamine (Poison) is found in U.S. Baby Formula (made in China of course),

A Walmart worker died in the line of duty because we need more stuff.

AIG is up to its old tricks - apparently learning that Performance Bonus doesn’t sit well with oversight people. They have renamed them to Retention Bonus’. So - we want to retain - people at AIG who got AIG into trouble? NO!

AIG/Petri Dish? It is all related.

Infrastructure, baby, Infrastructure. That is the key.

More on HR676 - Single Payer health Care. Check it out.

Check out 350.org - yeah - want your kids to have a Thanksgiving like you had whne you were a kid? Best check it out.

Finally - City News had this great article about drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale region in the Southern Tier.

See you next week.

Timothy McCormick, President of Unity Health Systems has a guest essay in the D&C discussing the need for reform in our health care system:

Election 2008 revived the debate about health care reform. The presidential campaign exposed many of the blemishes in our health care delivery system. Yet despite all of the attention paid to health care, we actually have not had a meaningful debate in this country about health policy.

[snip]

For instance, a great deal of time was spent talking about health insurance approaches. It is clear that we are going to need to revamp the way we pay for health care. There are many ways to manage the costs — which are significant and rapidly escalating. Creation of a single-payer system that would include state and federal governments and insurance companies would lessen the cost of health care by simplifying excessive paperwork and redundant processes.

We talked, last week, about the connection between health care reform and our ailing economy. President Obama will have to hit the ground running on these two issues which can not be separated. Not only is it imperative to keep production in our country, lack of health care is one of the biggest causes of bankruptcy for families.

HR676 is a bill in congress with 90 sponsors already signed on.

Basically, House Resolution (H.R.) 676, the “New Expanded Medicare” bill now in sub-committee in the House of Representatives simply creates a new and far more functional “single payer” method of paying for medical services while leaving the medical system itself completely alone and intact. This will eliminate the hundreds of complicated and redundant payment plans currently imposed on the system by private “for profit” health insurance companies and save literally BILLIONS of dollars every year by eliminating such wasteful duplication. This will allow your doctors offices and hospitals to function much more efficiently and serve your needs much more effectively as well.

Check out the whole website and get on board, then call your representatives and tell them to get on board too.

Jonathan Tasini has this up over at Huff Post.

You may remember that AIG — which is afloat only thanks to a bailout by you, the taxpayer, to the tune of $152 billion and counting–made a whole lot of public relations when its top seven executives agreed not to take bonuses this year.

Well, on the eve of Thanksgiving, obviously knowing the markets would be closed on the holiday and obviously knowing that just before the holiday few people would pay attention, AIG actually notified regulators that, well, yes, bonuses would be given out, as Bloomberg News and The Financial Times reports today:

American International Group Inc., the insurer that said yesterday it scrapped bonuses for top executives after a U.S. bailout, will still pay 130 managers “cash awards” to stay with the firm, including $3 million to retirement services chief Jay Wintrob.Wintrob, 51, will get the “retention” payment in two installments, the first in April 2009 and the rest a year later, New York-based AIG said today in a regulatory filing. The firm previously disclosed the program in a Sept. 26 filing and said today that Wintrob and Chief Financial Officer David Herzog elected to get the payments four months later than planned.

“The expectation from the public and Congress was that they weren’t getting bonuses, not that they’d be pushed off by several months,” said David Schmidt, a consultant at executive pay firm James F. Reda & Associates. “That clearly violates the spirit of AIG saying they’ll forgo their bonuses.”[emphasis added]

Well, I don’t know about you’s guys, but when I called my congressman to complain about the bail out, I specifically said, that if we are going to bail these suckers out, than I wanted the executives of these financial organizations to walk out of there wearing nothing but a barrel. I guess I forgot to specify what the barrel was to be made of. Gold was not what I had in mind. I guess I needed to be a little bit more specific. The devil is always in the details.

In light of the senseless trampling of a Walmart worker - might want to revisit this post of Btp’s from a year ago -

The centerpiece was, of course, the “story of stuff“. If you haven’t watched the story of stuff - watch it - certainly worth while.

City News (Moule) has a great an outstanding, in depth article on efforts to extract oil and gas in the Southern Tier.

A natural gas-rich rock formation in the Southern Tier could be New York’s next economic bonanza, but without care it could be an environmental bust.

It’s all thanks to Marcellus Shale.

Scientists and energy companies have known about the formation and its natural gas reserves for decades, but it was always more trouble than it was worth to extract the gas.

Now that energy prices have hit once-unimaginable highs - natural gas prices have increased by about 40 percent in the last five years - the reserves are starting to attract domestic developers.

That’s right - about now we are receiving the R&GE voice your choice for Electricity supplier (notice we have no options for Natural Gas supplier) and the cost of natural gas is incredibly high. So - Drilling for gas in the Southern Tier - Marcellus Shale.

Conceptually, the idea of exploring for oil or drilling in New York is OK by me, but nothing is free and the price to be paid needs to be reasonable and the risk needs to be minimal. There are extreme environmental concerns.

In horizontal drilling, a well is bored deep down into the shale layer, and then across in that same layer, making an L shape. Hydraulic fracturing entails injecting a water-based slurry into the well at high pressure, cracking the rock. The idea is to increase the exposed rock surface in the bore hole, which allows more gas to be collected. In other words, it boosts well productivity and therefore makes the well more economical.

But the method will require large amounts of water - between 1 to 5 million gallons per well.

Environmental watchdogs and the state are concerned about where that water will come from; possibilities include wells, lakes, and streams. Under the DEC’s proposed supplemental environmental review, energy companies that want to drill the shale will have to say where they will get the water when they apply for gas well permits.

See, you drill a well and then pump millions of gallons of water into each well making gas extraction easier. You extract the gas and then you have millions of gallons of waste water to dispose of.

In Pennsylvania, companies have been cited for illegally withdrawing water from streams. Improper withdrawals from streams can seriously impact water levels and flow.

But the issues go beyond water use and withdrawals. There are also questions about what will be done with the used water after drilling and the potential for underground aquifer contamination.

Look - aside from the streams and lakes in the Southern Tier - we are sitting on ~20% of the world’s fresh water supply. Yes, that would be the Great Lakes Basin. The water for this drilling process has to come from somewhere - and, as I said, you can’t drink OIL.

The article contains more, much more - it is balanced and discusses New York’s energy goals, the role of State Government, the effect of cut backs in the DEC, - it is a great read.

My take on Marcellus Shale? Not so fast with the, “drill, baby, drill” mantra.

The political crisis over who will be in charge of the State Senate remains unresolved. Republican Leader Dean Skelos has taken it to the next step by offering the rebel “gang of three” several major concessions.

Under his proposal, Skelos would remain the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate and acting Lieutenant Governor. Pedro Espada would become the Majority Leader and Carl Kruger would become Chairman of the Finance Committee. Ruben Diaz would almost certainly get a leadership position, as well.

NY Daily News:

The Skelos plan would still leave him and the Republicans in charge of the Senate - something Gov. Paterson and the other Democrats are expected to vigorously oppose.

Even if the plan falls through, the rebels still hold the decisive votes for either side.

Until now, the three have raised a hodgepodge of reasons for their vehement opposition to Smith.

For all his flaws, Skelos is still a great politician. Senator Malcolm Smith now has to offer even bigger concessions. It looks increasingly likely that there are only two possible outcomes: a Republican/Gang of Three coalition, or a Democratic majority with someone other than Smith as majority leader. I hope I’m wrong, and I probably am wrong if Jim Alesi does decide to switch to the Democrats.

Either way, I’m willing to bet that a lot of senior Republicans are going to retire or even resign in the middle of the term, coalition government notwithstanding. And some of the Gang of Three Democrats will lose in primaries and be replaced by real Democrats. In the end, Republicans may be able to cling to power this time. But in two years, the game is over.

From the AP:

NEW YORK (AP) — A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday when “out-of-control” shoppers desperate for bargains broke down the doors at a 5 a.m. sale. Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man, and customers shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials said they were closing because of the death, police and witnesses said.

At least four other people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Shoppers stepped over the man on the ground and streamed into the store. When told to leave, they complained that they had been in line since Thursday morning.

I am aghast.

Greed

This is Christmas Spirit?

“Business? Mankind was my business!” (Jacob Marley)

Walmart’s slogan: Save money, live better (They don’t mention that living better is contingent on surviving the shopping experience.)

Maybe our slogan should be: Shop local, stay alive

Just in case you’ve been sleeping, or on a bender for the last month, I wanted to let you know-Barack Obama was elected president. On January 20th, 2009 , DC will be host to the biggest party ever! Today’s D&C covers it:

An estimated 4 million to 5 million people. Buses that could number 10,000. Sold-out hotels as far away as West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Frenzied planning here and across the country promises that the nation’s capital will be a crowded place on Jan. 20 when President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in. And as the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies reminds on its Web site, the ceremony is only 53 days away.

Rochesterians plan to be part of it.

I’m still trying to get my tickets, but tickets, or no, “I will be there, oh yes, I will be there”.

Many local Obama supporters are planning to drive down on their own to be part of what is expected to be the most well-attended inauguration in American history.

For the sake of participating in the inauguration of the first president who has touched me, whom I have worked for, who stands for the greater good as opposed to his own best interest and that of his cronies, I will travel for 8 hours down, stand in the cold for 10 hours and travel 8 hours back. Hell, I’m taking the whole famdamily.

Party on Wayne! Party on Garth!

A rabbi from New York and his wife were among five hostages killed at a Jewish community center. At least 150 people have been killed during ten different terrorist attacks in India’s financial capital.

The Los Angeles Times:

Commandos who stormed the Mumbai headquarters of an ultra-orthodox Jewish group found the bodies of five hostages inside, including a New York rabbi and his wife, officials said, as a fresh battle raged at the luxury Taj Mahal hotel and other Indian forces ended a siege at another five-star hotel.

More than 150 people have been killed since gunmen attacked 10 sites across India’s financial capital starting Wednesday night, including 22 foreigners — four of them Americans, officials said.

Early Friday night, Indian commandos emerged from a besieged Jewish center with rifles raised in an apparent sign of victory after a daylong siege that saw a team rappel from helicopters and a series of explosions and fire rock the building and blow giant holes in the wall.

I’m sure I speak for every member of the RT community when I say that we send our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of all those who have lost their lives in this terrible attack. And we send our best wishes for a speedy recovery for all those who have been injured.

New York Democratic congressman and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel has been under investigation by the Ethics Committee for possible misconduct in his personal finances. According to the Speaker, the report on the investigation will be concluded by the start of the new Congress in the beginning of January.

CQ Politics:

New allegations came to light Tuesday, when The New York Times reported that Rangel had preserved a tax benefit for an oil-drilling company on the same day that he asked the head of that company to donate money to the Charles B. Rangel public service school at the City College of New York.

Rangel refuted the Times’ reporting; the newspaper’s editorial board called on Pelosi to remove him as head of the powerful tax writing committee.

Rangel denounced the Times for publishing a story that he said “charges recklessly ahead anyway with a host of innuendos to question my motives and actions in supporting the City College program. . . . At no time - never - did I entertain, promote or secure a tax break or any special favor for anyone as an inducement or reward for a contribution to the City College of New York.”

As a supporter of Charlie Rangel and the public policies that he fights for, I hope the Times is wrong. But if the Ethics investigation shows that they are right, Rangel should lose his chairmanship and probably his seat in Congress.

Heard this on the news the other day and my first thought was,where there is smoke, there is fire…

via the NYT

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it had discovered the toxic chemical melamine in infant formula made by an American manufacturer, raising the possibility that the problem was more extensive in the United States than previously thought.

Per the FDA - it is OK -

F.D.A. officials insisted that the levels of melamine were so low that they did not pose a health threat.

“There’s no cause for concern or no risk from these levels,” said Judy Leon, an agency spokeswoman. Ms. Leon said the contamination was most likely the result of food contact with something like a can liner, or from some other manufacturing problems, but not from deliberate adulteration.

She declined to name the company that made the tainted infant formula.

Setting aside the pros and cons of formula vs Breastfeeding which Ladkiddo has addressed on this blog, this is yet another example of why we need a strong FDA and shouldn’t depend solely on self-regulation for this industry or any industry. In addition - that we import formula from China just seems to be odd. Maybe I’m leaping to conclusions here but given that the FDA won’t disclose the manufacturer - what are we doing importing formula?

Questions I have are, how integrated are Chinese food manufacturers in the American food supply? Something I’ve wondered for a while. Anyone know? As Ladkiddo asked me in a separate note - how much Melamine can baby formula (or anything for that matter) contain and still be safe for human consumption?

Yeah, a lot of confidence here.

Let’s play a game.

Try buying “stuff” that you need, heck, stuff that you don’t need, but stuff not made in China.

The goal here is to look at the label and identify where stuff comes from and, when given a choice, not to purchase from China.

I will say that when provided a choice, I chose manufactured elsewhere. I am constantly amazed at where stuff comes from.

This is an educational activity not a boycott But I am constantly amazed at the materials and how much we depend on stuff coming from China.

That’s what Senators Malcolm Smith and Dean Skelos will be doing later tonight. Senator Ruben Diaz, as you may recall, is one of the “gang of three.” But Newsday says that there may be a “thaw” taking place between Diaz and Smith:

New York Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith appears to be closing a rift with one of three dissident senators and quickly came to the support of another on Monday as he seeks to bring majority control of the chamber to his party Jan. 1.

A spokeswoman for Smith said Monday Queens senator will accept an invitation to Democratic Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr.’s annual Thanksgiving celebration. Smith is hoping to keep enough Democrats in the fold to hold a slim majority and shore up support for him as majority leader.

“There’s a possibility,” Diaz said of supporting Smith. “We haven’t closed the door on anything. We still have some demands.”

Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863.

After the first New England Thanksgiving the custom spread throughout the colonies, but each region chose its own date. In 1789 George Washington, the first president of the United States, proclaimed November 26 a day of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving day continued to be celebrated in the United States on different days in different states until Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, decided to do something about it. For more than 30 years she wrote letters to the governors and presidents asking them to make Thanksgiving Day a national holiday.

Finally, in 1863, President Lincoln issued a White House proclamation calling on the “whole American people” wherever they lived to unite “with one heart and one voice” in observing a special day of thanksgiving. Setting apart the last Thursday of November for the purpose, the President urged prayers in the churches and in the homes to “implore the interposition of the almighty had to heal the wounds of the nations and to restore it…to full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and union.” He also states that they express heartfelt thanks for the “blessing of fruitful fields and healthful skies.”

This year our country can, once again, be thankful for a new hope provided by a president from Illinois. We can be thankful to live in a country where an individual of mixed backgrounds can be elected to the highest office in the land (the world?) because he is the right person for the job and a beleaguered nation has finally seen the light and has come together for the betterment of the country and the world.

(Oh, and one more thing that we can be thankful for will be the restoration and preservation of the United States Constitution-just a little thing)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my RT Buds- Front Pagers, Contributers, Commenters and Readers. You keep me inspired.