Next week there will be more than 1,000 police checkpoints set up across the state. The police officers will stop every passing car, and look at the inside of the vehicle. If you turn around, and attempt to evade the checkpoint, they will pursue you.

What are they looking for? Abducted children? Escaped convicts? Terrorists? Loose nukes? Kilos of cocaine?

None of the above. They will be checking to see if you’re wearing your seat belt. It’s “Click It or Ticket” week.

Seat belt use in New York State is at about 85%.

I’m curious as to how readers of this blog feel about police checkpoints.

http://ktracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/dean.JPG

National Democratic Chair, Dr Howard Dean will be coming to Rochester for a reception to support our favorite Democratic candidate for the 29th congressional district, Eric Massa!

Here’s the scoop:

When: Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Where: The Inn on Broadway

26 Broadway, Rochester, NY

How Much: VIP Reception: 5:00-5:30 PM $1000.00

Reception: 5:30-7:00 AM $250.00

RSVP: Maryanne Hamilton email:

mhamilton@massaforcongress.com

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?

Even though it’s not April anymore (so environmental stuff is supposed to disappear off the traditional media’s radar), here at RT, why, it’s Earth Day Every Day. So I’m proud to show off my new toy, a Scotts Classic 20″ reel mower. That’s right, it’s the modern version of those old-school manual push mowers from back in the day.

Now, I have a gas mower that I’d used in years past, but it needed serious reconditioning since it’s been laying around for a couple years. We’ve been paying our neighbor’s kid to do it while our kids were infants and toddlers. But I’m ready to rock this year, so I took a look at the old mower. It was going to cost a bit to get it back in running shape, not to mention the gas, so I started researching viable alternatives.

I read and saw good things on-line about modern reel mowers, so I thought I’d give it a try.

So far, so good. Advantages:

• Uses no gas
• No nasty pollutants like gas mowers:

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a traditional gas powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new cars each being driven 12,000 miles.

• Even if you don’t care about the environment in general, it just smells better
• I can mow with my kids in the yard– no stones or sticks being launched into kids’ eyes
• No noise pollution, and no more damage to my eardrums– and it allows me to “keep an ear” on what my kids are doing.
• As easy to push as my gas mower
• No $$$, ever, for “reconditioning” like for my gas mower

I hear you saying, “That’s great, you tree-hugging idealist. But what kind of job does it do?”

My answer: good enough. I have neighbors that spend a LOT of time on their lawns, making them look like a putting green. And they’re pretty, in their own way. My goals are a little different: keep it green through keeping it at 3″, and by allowing soil-nurturing things like clover to share the yard. I basically never have to water, don’t spread chemicals on the lawn, and people ask what our secret is.

“That’s a lot of fancy talk, but I need more proof,” you reply. Ok, check out these pics below the fold:

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

Here’s a report from MetroJustice on how their trip to Albany went. Fundamentally, reforming NY will not take root until we get full public financing of elections. Otherwise, votes on legislation go to the highest bidder. And that ain’t you and me.

Perhaps you heard Governor Paterson saying on WXXI 1370am that he doesn’t think NY State can’t afford full publicly financed campaigns right now.

Argh!!!

He said that right after our press conference in which we announced the results of the Zogby poll (79% support for Clean Elections).

Of course, the Governor is being disingenuous. The reality is that New Yorkers will save money by taking big money out of politics (if politicians aren’t beholden to special interests they are less likely to support costly boondoggles and tax breaks for special interests). In fact the poll showed that New Yorkers think that Clean Elections will save them money.

On Tuesday activists gathered from around the state in Albany for Reform NY Day. We heard advocates talk about various necessary good government reforms (including Clean Elections) and split up into groups to lobby our legislators.

After lobbying, the Metro Justice crew joined the Citizen Action crowd on the second floor of the Capital to confront the Governor about his announcement.

We read a letter to the Governor explaining how clean elections will create savings and pointed out that the costs wouldn’t be incurred until 2012 anyway (and we don’t know what the state’s budget situation will be then).

The Governor said that he still supports the goal of full publicly financed elections (he didn’t mince his words either). But what he went on to say that he was going to ask the Legislature to go back and trim the budget and he’d be undermining himself by asking for new spending on elections (Clean Elections would cost $30 million a year- that’s $1.50 per New Yorker).

We got him to agree to “talk to Speaker Silver” about it. I think he budged several steps toward us on this issue. I think it was a good action, with a good outcome.

Pic courtesy of MetroJustice.

I appreciate Gov. Patterson’s situation. He knows better, but he’s in the thick of a bunch of bad stuff economically, etc. But I expect a lot from my electeds, since I’m paying their salary. $1.50/New Yorker seems a small price to pay for having unbought, unbossed
representation that actually represents me and the rest of us ordinary people.

Is this more fallout from President Bush’s abysmal ratings and Iraq war and other policies?  WBFO News just published this observation about the race in NY-26 (emphasis mine):

BUFFALO, NY (2008-05-01) The race for the 26th congressional district seat being vacated by Republican Tom Reynolds could be unlike any other in recent history. None of the current candidates holds elective office.

Even at the presidential level there is no incumbent president or vice president running for office, the first time since 1928 that has happened. 

The article goes on to say that it is tough for political newcomers to get elected to Congress in Western New York but this year seems to be the exception to “the rule,” as in the rule of the incumbents and current office holders seems to be over in this area.

Which brings us to back to dough, a dear concern.  Incumbents have a huge advantage in fundraising, so the absence of incumbents in NY-26 seems to make the playing field more level…except for that whole millionaire thing.  The Supreme Court, packed with Bush appointees, could override the lack of Bush or his cohorts running for elected office, nullifying the lack of incumbent advantage via their decision on Jack Davis’ Millionaire Complaint later this spring.

So, political experience may be shown the door in NY-26 but it remains to be seen if money can buy its way back in to the party.

Hey all, here’s another opportunity to check out the voting machines, tonight at the Fairport Public Library, courtesy of the Perinton Dems:

Please join the Perinton Democratic Committee in welcoming Monroe County Board of Elections Commissioner Thomas Ferrarese as he gives a presentation about the new voting ballot marking devices and optical scanners. The presentation is a wonderful opportunity to become familiar with and learn more about the new machines and how they were selected.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Fairport Public Library in the Elma Gaffney Meeting Room
This presentation is free and open to the public.

Stlo7 posted the video clips of Smith’s MCC Q&A earlier.  Commenter louis did a nice job of interpreting and putting things in context:

You’ve got to hear this!!!

My take on the first few questions:

Q: Why do you want this job?
A: To lead an institution that has such a vital link to the economic success of this community.

What this really means - Just think of the goodies I can dole out to my friends who have been so good to me over the years, never mind the power I can wield.

Q: Why are you qualified -
A: Multiple roles of president - Focusing on nurturing relationships with political entities and business.

What this really means - I don’t know squat about education, but boy am I connected.

Q: There’s been some controversy -
A: Well, all presidents have to get acclimated.

What this means - We all know I don’t know squat about academia, but I’m going to make it seem like I’m on equal footing with those who have spent their lives in it.

What’s really interesting here is that I don’t think in the first several questions he’s even mentioned students, education, quality of education, campus, etc.

And yet the GOP has done such a good job rigging the selection process and stacking the deck (like with the Water Authority, Public Defender selection, etc.) that you have to be a legal research expert to find any way of stopping this, or slowing it down.

And if you do find a way, they want to change the rules.  Ugh.  How does fairness and responsible government get any kind of traction against this kind of thing?  I’m open to suggestions.

Fun nuggets of news, gently browned and served in a white wine sauce for our elitist RT readers:

• WXXI reports that a Siena College poll shows McSame gaining on Clinton & Obama.
  

  In a sign that the long, and increasingly negative campaign between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is hurting their standing among New York democrats, the Siena poll finds that neither could win over 50% of voters against Republican John McCain. Siena’s Steve Greenberg says if the election were held today, 46% would vote for Clinton to 42% for McCain, and 45% would prefer Obama over 40% for McCain.

  “Right now it looks like New York could be in play this Presidential election,” Greenberg said. “Which is bad news for Democrats.”

  Yawn. Oh- wait, should I be scared? Sorry. Sadly for McSame and NY GOPers, this is as good as it’s gonna get– once the Dem candidate is set, and McSame’s fake Maverick Mask is removed, watch those numbers tumble back into bluer than blue.

• The D&C gives Brooks’ State of the County speech a mixed review:
  

  Brooks’ speech underplays county problems

  State of County skimmed over big fiscal woes ahead

  Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks presented a typically upbeat — perhaps too much so — assessment of community life in her State of the County address Tuesday.

  No one expected her to drench her audience in gloom, but this is a county with a serious private-job-growth problem, taxes in the stratosphere, urban crime woes and a national recession and credit crisis moving in.

  (snip)

  A speech is one thing. But as Brooks said Tuesday, actions matter more.

  A-freakin-men.

• How about this pro-worker LTE to the D&C?
  

  Private employers must follow suit

  The Democrat and Chronicle editorial staff missed the mark with the editorial “State workers’ jackpot” (April 16). Why are the media so quick to attack people who have successfully defended their benefits and managed to negotiate a modest wage increase in keeping with the rising cost of living?

  It is truly unfortunate that many in the private sector are losing their health benefits and, in many cases, their jobs. But the answer isn’t to attack those who have managed to keep theirs. The answer is to make private employers answer to the American public.

  Many private corporations take our tax money in the form of multimillion-dollar government contracts, then launder it into huge bonuses and salaries for their CEOs and other top management. This seems to be an elaborate white-collar criminal scheme that the taxpayers are just beginning to recognize. When they eventually realize the full extent of these acts, I believe that many corporate officers will do a “perp walk” into federal court, which is long overdue.

• Local wineries in the Finger Lakes are seeing the effects of global warming firsthand:
  

  Twenty-five years ago, few considered growing Merlot in a cool climate like ours.

  But they do now.

  One local Merlot grower, Tom Prejean of Prejean Winery on Seneca Lake, cautiously believes that something is going on outside. “We see an increase in growing days in our vineyards,” he says, “and we are experiencing droughts as well as more and more extended harvest seasons.”

  Hear that, Kevin Williams? How’s that global warming denial working for ya?

• Hey! There’s a candidate for Supreme Court Judge for the 7th Judicial District. The 7th Judicial District includes Monroe, Ontario, Cayuga, Livingston, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates Counties:
  

  [Joanne] Winslow, a Democrat, is a 20-year career prosecutor and Chief of the Major Felony Bureau of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, working directly with District Attorney Howard Relin and District
  Attorney Mike Green. The Monroe County Bar Association has recognized Winslow as “Highly Qualified” - a rating rarely awarded to
  non-incumbent judges — and she has been rated both Qualified and
  Commended by the Greater Rochester Association of Women Attorneys.

  Awesome. It leads me to wonder…is there a candidate for County Clerk? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

• Go to The Albany Project and just start reading. There’s a number of good things on there, too many to single out here.
• The frequently-handsome, often-Swedish HandsomeSwede over at WaterBuffaloPress sums up Brooks’ state of the county address nicely:

2008 MonCo State of the County Address breakdown

Public: “Hey Maggie, how are you going to fix that $29 million budget gap?”

Maggie: “I don’t know, what ya got?”

Brooks is still holding fast to the prospect of her FAIR plan being ruled legal on its appeal before the NYS Supreme Court.

Frankly, the fact that Brooks offered no so-called ‘Plan B’ should surprise no one as the current administration has not been big on contingency plans.

Funny.

• And over at Ye Olde DragonFlyEye, Dr. Belknap continues his double-barreled commentary on issues of the day, while contributor Carla Palumbo sees the county trying to take money from the city, now that the FAIR plan has been shot down in court:
  

  Majority Leader Dan Quattro already aiming his loaded water gun — at of course the evil culprits — the CITY. Yes lets be a good Republican county and go back on yet another agreement! I am referring to the fact that the County by their own choice and now by operation of law is responsible for DSS. So now the county says, wait we can;t get the schools, we will “get” the next best thing, the city— Let’s charge the city for Safety Net. A potential 15 million. Instead of foisting their problems on others, why don’t they sit down with the Democrats and come up with a freaking plan already, one that doesn’ t steal from another municipality and one that isn’t lame.

  It seems like the GOP listened– Maggie Brooks is now soliciting input from “the community”. Let’s hope it’s not just an attempt to share the blame, or just more window dressing, like those fake FAIR plan townhall meetings. Then she proceeds to poke holes in the local GOP’s typical anti-Dem rhetoric:

  And I swear, I hope whoever says A) “this is all politics by the Democrats” or B) “Why don’ t the Democrats come up with anything” gets struck by lightening or a banana cream pie or something -because this is Republican politics at its worse and the Democrats have a plan that was rejected because Democrats thought of it.

  Nice to see someone calling them on their B.S. She also weighs in on GOP County Chair Steve Minarik’s disbanding the Mendon town GOP committee, wondering if Minarik:

  should resign for his loss of the Greece County Lej seat to newcomer Dick Beebee or the entire Greece Republican Committee needs to resign — oh wait those are his buds…..I know maybe all the Mendon people can just change parties, that’ s right up Steve alley too.

Anything else out in them thar local internets I missed?

I did this training last year and found it very comprehensive. If you have been volunteering for local campaigns and would like to sharpen your skills and learn what goes into the organizing of a campaign, don’t miss this opportunity…

Become a political animal:

You have the power, now learn the skills! The Democracy for America Training Academy is coming to Rochester, NY for two days of exciting campaign training.

How many votes will it take to win in November? How do you find the perfect message and get it out to voters in your district? How will you raise enough money to pay for it all?

The DFA Training Academy will help you answer these questions and more.

At the DFA Training Academy, top campaign consultants with decades of experience give you the skills to run a winning campaign. Topics include: field planning, voter contact, fundraising, communications, volunteer recruitment and more.

Training takes place:

Saturday, May 3 & Sunday, May 4, 2008
9 AM - 6 PM each day

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 86

2300 E. River Road

Rochester, NY 14623

$60 for general attendees (prepaid online)

$70 pay at door

$30 for students

$30 for attendees on a low income

For full details and to RSVP, please go to: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=26467

Register soon, it is filling up fast.

We recently commented on Joe Robach’s election-year PR move, getting taxpayer money to help start up a law school at St. John Fisher, a local private school.  We’re not the only ones who see it as an inefficient use of taxpayer money.  The head of SUNY Buffalo feels the same way:

…some New York officials are pushing for creating new law schools. But the head of the State University of New York’s only law school isn’t among them.

“There’s no question that we simply have a glut of law schools,” said Makau Mutua, interim dean of the University at Buffalo Law School. “There’s no shortage of access to legal education for New Yorkers who want to go to law school.”

He also makes the good point that NY State isn’t even funding our own SUNY-based law schools adequately, so what are we doing funding a private school?

Mutua said the state hasn’t done enough to support UB’s law school and doesn’t need to spend taxpayer dollars studying whether to establish more state-run law schools, let alone one that would be affiliated with a private college.

“It’s mind-boggling for the state to contemplate giving money to start up a private law school,” said Mutua, a UB law faculty member for nearly a dozen years before being named interim dean in December.

The state would be better off investing in UB to hire more faculty members and recruit students for its law school, where about 800 students must share a 35-year-old building with undergraduates, Mutua said.

“We need a completely new building,” he said. “We’re squeezed for space.”

And guess what? Even the state Bar Association doesn’t think a new law school is necessary:

Building more law schools isn’t on the state Bar Association’s to-do list. A spokeswoman for the organization said its legal education and admission committee hasn’t been called on to study whether New York needs more law schools.

“I have no idea why the state would consider three more law schools,” said Thomas Guernsey, dean of Albany Law School. “There’s no evidence in the job market that we need more than those 15 schools.”

No idea?  Ooh–Dean Guernsey– call on me, I have an idea or two.  How about: Are endangered Senate incumbents in the 3 districts where these schools are being considered?

This looks more and more like business as usual for the NY Senate– using taxpayer-filled slush funds to buy PR for Senate incumbents in an election year.

Spend our money responsibly on infrastructure and things the state actually needs, please.

This is kinda funny– SEIU 1199 just sent out a mailer with a pro-populist/middle class message:

It’s funny because up till just a little bit ago, Assemblymember Koon was a possible challenger to Sen. Alesi. Now, they’re sharing a mailer.

Here’s the back:

It’s also interesting given that, historically, Alesi’s voted against middle class issues, according to the Drum Major Institute’s rankings from 2001-2005:

Data from DMI Middle Class issue vote ranking, 2006.

So, has Alesi come into the light? Or is it just window dressing? Regardless, this mailer makes Bonnacci’s revenge run against Koon a little bit harder.

Unbelievable. I expect this kind of corporations-over-people lameness from Republicans, but Schumer?  Come on.  From The Hill:

 Congressional Democrats are backing away from healthcare reform promises made by their two presidential candidates, saying that even if their party controls the White House and Congress, sweeping change will be difficult…Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), a member of Senate Democratic leadership and a key Hillary Clinton ally who also sits on the Finance Committee, said he is ‘not sure we have the big plan on healthcare.’…’Healthcare I feel strongly about, but I am not sure that we’re ready for a major national healthcare plan,’ Schumer said.

Sirota over on OpenLeft observes:

…notice the right-wing arguments being made by Democrats in this piece. Schumer, like a reliable Fox News anchor, tells us that America isn’t “ready” for national health care plan, despite polls over the last decade showing strong support for such a concept.

More and better Dems, please.  Call Schumer’s office to tell him how much you love paying high health insurance premiums and co-pays so insurance & big pharma can reap record profits and pay huge executive bonuses.  Or, if you want a healthcare plan that looks more like what he enjoys, tell him that.

Phone:

585-263-5866 (Rochester)

202-224-6542 (D.C.)

E-mail:

To send him email, use his on-line form here.

Write back with what his office tells you.  I’m curious.

Before I write anything else, can you legal eagles who read RT tell me: did Smith break the law by screwing Cornell CCE to benefit MCC when he was in the County Leg?

Smith recently spoke in a Q&A session. Like Brooks and other GOP leaders in Monroe County, he’s very good with words. We didn’t name him “Tapdancin’ Bill Smith” for nothing. The money quote:

he tried to make the case that his connections, coupled with his experience, would be a plus for the future of MCC.

Connections? Ya think? It was connections rather than credentials that kept forcing the all-GOP board of trustees to add him back onto the finalist list, a couple times, like a trick birthday candle you can’t blow out.

Looking beyond his fancy city lawyer words to the comments of someone who was at the Q&A session:

His lack of knowledge about issues in education today was appalling. He was unctious and close to arrogant in his references to “studies he’d read” that were apparently supposed to provide that knowledge. I was very tempted to ask him whether he’d hire me, without a legal degree, as a partner in Harris Beach if I went out and read a few legal studies.

The whole D&C comments section for this article is a great read, for a change. Note the couple of pro-Smith commenters trying to frame this as a “MCC sucks, Bill is a nice man who will save it!” argument.