I spy with my little eye…Something that begins with “S.” Can you guess what it is?

In today’s D&C, this article caught my eye, pun intended:

Mayor Robert Duffy wants to spend $1 million over the next five years on police surveillance cameras — enough to buy more than 40 additional units, adding to the 25 that should start going up on troubled city streets in June.

I admire a leader who wants to take bold steps and fight crime but I’m concerned about the actual effectiveness of surveillance cameras, and their impact on privacy rights. According to the ACLU, surveillance cameras are not effective in deterring crime but they are implicit in creating a false sense of security where they are installed and they do diminish privacy rights.

Other studies have found that improved lighting on city streets reduces crime by 20 percent. That’s a measurable, verifiable crime reduction that does not infringe upon privacy.

From an NBC report in San Francisco in 2007:

The 64 cameras already in use have a price tag of $500,000, Ballard said. The city will be installing 25 new cameras in 2008.

Data collected from surveillance cameras has been used in at least six investigations, Ballard said. One arrest has been made definitively because of the cameras.

“We believe the program is working,” Ballard said.

Wow, one arrest for $500,000 spent on cameras. That’s a fairly expensive arrest.

Cameras are reactive versus proactive. Wear a hoodie and what good will these cameras do, other than record some hooded figure, languishing in the shadows (where are those lights again?) stepping out for a second to be recorded in the act but not stopped from committing the crime? I feel safer already.

So, what was it that I spied with my little eye, something beginning with “S”? Spin. The false sense of security created by cameras, the lack of verifiable effectiveness, the expense-to-crime reduction ratio, all these factors are out there, being ignored. That is spin. We can all spy that.

(I wrote this right before RT crashed, so I’m putting it up now…)

Yesterday was National Teacher Day and Jon Powers, candidate for Congress in NY-26, a teacher himself, had this to say about the state of education and teachers:

My mother spent 35 years teaching in public schools and, inspired by her work, I chose to follow in her footsteps by pursuing my degree in education at John Carroll University. America has long been committed to public school education, but our current U.S. policy is failing our teachers and, more importantly, failing our children. No Child Left Behind is an unfunded federal mandate that evaluates teachers and schools based on test scores, not the quality of education they provide. It takes the teacher out of the classroom.

As I speak with teachers across Western New York, they believe that critical reform is needed. They understand the need for accountability, but stress that a good education is more than a test score. It is about creating life long learners by taking skills acquired through family and the educational process and applying them to the challenges we face in life. It is holding us, as teachers, responsible for what goes on in our classrooms and turning off the television at home to focus on homework. It is shared responsibility and teamwork.

Powers has vast experience in shared responsibility and teamwork that stems from his service in the Army.  Combined with his classroom experience, Powers’ military service has contributed to a life filled with public service.  When he speaks about understanding the issues everyday Americans face, Powers is speaking from experience, not just a passing interest.  It is this type of deep understanding that has been largely missing from politics in America. 

Powers gets that children are our future because he’s been in the classroom, he’s seen a country ravaged by war and how the erosion of stability hurts the next generation, the future of a country being dependent upon the state of its children.  Powers put his concerns to action instead of simply lamenting them when he began War Kids Relief.  Simply put, Powers puts his ideas in action.  Maybe that stems from his military service, maybe it stems from his classroom teaching skills.  Wherever it comes from, Powers is the kind of leader who gets things done. We could really use that kind of leader.

Expanding on the post below about the County Clerk candidate Tom Hasman, here is the press release excerpts from MCDC:

“Today’s announcement begins what we believe is a crucial debate about the state of Monroe County. Tom Hasman is the new voice, and the change that the people of Monroe County have been waiting for,” said Joe Morelle, Chair of the Monroe County Democratic Committee, at the official announcement of Hasman’s candidacy for County Clerk.

“Today I am announcing my candidacy for Monroe County Clerk, because as a resident I have grown increasingly concerned by the lack of leadership shown by our current County Clerk,” said Tom Hasman.

“The County Clerk’s Office has failed to provide residents of Monroe County with a voice on the many controversial issues that have come from the current Republican administration,” said Hasman. “We can restore trust in Monroe County government. We can deliver leadership with a new focus on professionalism and not politics. We will be directly responsible to the people.”

Tom Hasman Bio:

Tom Hasman was born in Rochester. He grew up in Webster with his mother, father and nine siblings (six sisters and three brothers). Tom attended SUNY Oswego as a double major and graduated with degrees in Political Science and Sociology in 1995. In his senior year at Oswego, Tom was accepted on an internship at the White House under President Clinton working in the National Economic Council (NEC). After graduation, Tom stayed at the White House working as a Staff Assistant in the National Security Council (NSC). While working at the White House, he obtained his Masters degree from Johns Hopkins University in Government in 1999. Tom currently works from home as a Computer Security Analyst in Rochester, NY for SRA International of Arlington, VA.

Hasman also has campaigning experience working for Al Eisenberg’s campaign for Virginia State Delegate in 2003, a race that Eisenberg won. Hasman was Eisenberg’s campaign manager for his re-election bid, which Eisenberg also won.

Hasman moved back to Rochester in early 2006:

During the 2006 campaign season, Tom was the Field Operations Volunteer Coordinator in the city of Rochester for NY State Assemblyman Joe Morelle’s re-election campaign. He was also a Campaign Volunteer for “Willa Powell for NY State Senate” campaign and volunteered at the Monroe County Democratic Committee (MCDC) Headquarters.

Tom currently serves as a Sector Leader for MCDC’s 23rd Legislative District (LD) and is also a Committee Member of the 23rd LD.

Family:
Tom and his wife, Linda, whom he met when both were undergraduate students at SUNY Oswego, were married in October 1999. They live in the city of Rochester with their one year old son Samuel, and their three year old beagle named Basco.

The wealth of experience Hasman has would be a valuable asset to Monroe County.

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.

Today News 8 Now announced that Tom Reynolds has chosen to support Chris Lee in the race for NY-26:

Rep. Tom Reynolds is endorsing Buffalo-area businessman Chris Lee to take his place as Congressman for New York’s 26th District.

Lee, a Republican, announced he was entering the race last week.

Reynolds, also a Republican, has pledged to work on Lee’s campaign.

I haven’t heard in what capacity Reynolds will be working on Lee’s campaign but I imagine it will improve Lee’s ability to raise funds. I also wonder if this is a signal for David Bellavia, the other Republican who has announced he is running, to drop out.

Meanwhile, the Democrats have veteran Jon Powers, attorney Alice Kryzan, and former recent Republican-turned-Democrat Jack Davis running for the Democratic nomination.

I keep wondering if Republicans are about to fall in line (they do that) while Democrats battle it out in a three-way primary, and I wonder how that will affect the results in November.

Reading this excellent article by Jill Terreri in today’s D&C, I couldn’t help but recall that old Vaudeville skit “You must pay the rent. But I can’t pay the rent!” You know the one where a single actor uses one comb as a mustache, a hair bow and a tie to play the landlord, renter and hero? In the end a bowtied character comes in as the defaulted renter’s hero. Monroe County needs a hero:

The construction of Frontier Field, once hailed as a project that wouldn’t cost taxpayers anything, has become a major financial responsibility of county government.

(snip)

Paying the rent

Frontier Field cost $36 million to build. Monroe County borrowed $20.6 million in bonds, and the state contributed $15.4 million. Monroe County’s total debt obligation is $44 million, when the principal and interest over the 30-year life of the bonds are combined.

If it sounds too good to be true…

the sports corporation hasn’t paid rent to the county since 2002 and it doesn’t have to because the terms of the lease don’t require it. The payment is not required if the corporation doesn’t raise enough revenue through ticket sales, advertising and concessions to both maintain the stadium and pay the rent.

Why are we subsidizing a stadium instead of protecting taxpayers? The tax burden on taxpayers is egregious yet these business deals in our area continue to be monomaniacally focused on corporate welfare as opposed to individuals. Business investment is good if it improves the economy rather than just the corporate bottom line but this lure is so sweet it turns the stomach. The cure is worse than the disease:

The 2006 financial statements from the sports corporation note that the county has not declared that the corporation has defaulted on the debt…

“The ability of the Company to continue to operate the Stadium is dependent on the County continuing not to declare the Company in default under the lease,” the financial statement reads.

A built-in deficit

So county officials are caught in a Catch-22.

If it stopped budgeting for the rent, the county would have “no basis” for trying to collect it, Gleason said. But the payments don’t come in, so the county starts every year with a built-in deficit.

What does Ms. Brooks have to say about all this?

County Executive Maggie Brooks said the county, as owner of the stadium, has a legal responsibility to pay on the debt service, whether it receives revenue from Frontier or not.

“I think we have to maintain a viable stadium infrastructure so we can have a great baseball team,” Brooks said.

“That’s a community asset, and one that I think serves a community well and one that is supported well by this public-private partnership at Frontier Field.”

Define “supported well.” I agree that it’s good to have a great baseball team but there seems to be a “build mentality” when our community cannot support these ventures. The balance of investment vs. feasibility is off, way off, and taxpayers are literally paying for this imbalance.

Monroe County needs to live within its means. Someone needs to get that message. We need someone who will focus on taxpayers’ interests, someone who invests wisely, someone accountable to the voters. In short, we need a hero. The bowtie is optional.

When we fail the next generation, what is left?  Children’s care is the symbolic canary in the coal mine.  If we let our children suffer, then what does that say about the future health of the U.S., both literally and symbolically?  The University of Rochester just released the following dismaying report on the state of children’s care in the U.S. (bold mine):

Uninsured kids in middle class have same unmet needs as poor
Large percentage of children with no health insurance go without care all year
Nationwide, uninsured children in families earning between $38,000 and $77,000 a year are just as likely to go without any health care as uninsured children in poorer families. More than 40 percent of children in those income brackets who are uninsured all year see no physicians and have no prescriptions all year, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

“There’s an assumption that children in families with higher income levels don’t need insurance, that they are uninsured but are somehow still receiving health care anyway,” said Laura Shone, Dr.P.H., M.S.W., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and author of the study being presented today at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. “This study shows that in reality, a large percentage of these children don’t receive any care at all – which pediatricians say is unacceptable, and parents know is unrealistic. Even healthy, older children need to see their physicians at least once over the course of a year.”

Overall, almost 3 million uninsured children had no medical care and no prescription use for a full year, according to an analysis of nationally representative data from the 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Of those, about 1.6 million children may qualify for public coverage but are not enrolled, and about 1 million more could be covered through expansions that were proposed yet vetoed at the national level in late 2007.

This crisis, this baffling failure of our leaders to guard the health of our children while we wage civil war in Iraq, highlights the reason we need change in Washington.  If this doesn’t help you get your progressive freak on, I don’t know what will.  Read the entire press release here.

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.

Jon Powers, candidate for Congress in NY-26, has written a very powerful and articulate piece in The Huffington Post about the 5-year anniversary of Bush’s “Mission Accomplished.”  Here’s a sample:

There was no plan for securing. There was no plan for reconstructing.

Lieutenant Colonel Alan King recalls, in What Was Asked of Us, that as he rolled into the Baghdad Airport “they told me I had twenty-four hours to come up with a reconstruction plan for Baghdad.” You read that correctly. A Lieutenant Colonel on his way to Iraq, was given 24 hours to “come up” with a plan.

Unfortunately, the mission was far from accomplished. The mission was never defined. How can an army accomplish a mission when no one decides what the mission really is? This is failure of leadership on the largest scale imaginable.

Powers goes on to list solutions:

In short, the mission needs to finally be defined.

Our new mission is to bring our troops home safely, securely, and soon.

This election is about embracing our new mission. It’s about ending our military engagement, and about beginning a political engagement.

To achieve our new mission, America must return “leadership by example” to the world. And that means implementing strategies to address the following:

• The tragedy of hundreds of thousands of veterans coming home to a broken Veterans Administration
• Engage the millions of moderate middle-class Iraqi refugees who have lost their homes and are at risk to becoming recruited by radical elements
• Reform our approach to national security so that our military is not the only tool we use to solve political problems
• Bring accountability to the war profiteers and criminals who have fleeced our taxpayers and stolen from our troops
• Begin a diplomatic surge to engage the entire region of interested parties to help solve centuries old ethnic resentments and struggle

And that’s just the beginning.

I am running for Congress so that we can finally address and accomplish our new mission…

Read the entire piece and pop a comment in over at Huffington Post.

you have to have a party
when you’re in a state like this
you can really move it all
you have to vote and change
you have to get right out of it
like out of all this mess
you’ll say yeah to anything
if you believe all this but
don’t cry, don’t do anything
no lies, back in the government
no tears, party time is here again
president gas is up for president

I just got off the phone with Eric Massa, retired Navy Commander who is challenging Randy Kuhl, and the Psychedelic Furs’ “President Gas” kept coming to mind. Why? Here’s Massa on the reason we’re soon to be facing gas over $4 a gallon:

I don’t like being partisan but we must understand how we got here. The president stood in the shadow of the World Trade Center towers and committed us to war without [authorizing anyone] to pay for it. He has mitigated that debt by devaluing the dollar, which has been devalued the past two years by 50-60%. OPEC countries largely have moved away from using the dollar as their trade currency and use the euro instead.

This morning Shell and BP (British Petroleum) announced record earnings. This is unheard of. It is profiteering at the pump. They are given tax incentives to drill for new oil. Petro is at $110 a barrel. They don’t need our tax money. The economic policies of George Bush and his rubberstampers are very directly responsible for the increase in the price of gasoline.

I asked Massa if he had pumped his own gas recently and he said:

Yes. I just filled up my mini-van, which has an [extended tank] and $75 did not fill it up.

Massa went on to discuss the devaluing of the dollar and Kuhl’s practice of blaming Speaker Pelosi via the “Pelosi Premium”:

[President Bush has] devalued the dollar by unrestricted borrowing and spending. He has made sure that we import everything. We imported more food than we grew ourselves [last year] for the first time in history. Blaming our economy on Nancy Pelosi while providing tax subsidies for oil companies [is wrong]. This is just a Karl Rove-contracted campaign. George Bush and his majority have been in charge for seven years.

Massa makes a good point: blaming Pelosi for the price of gas given that we’ve had nearly eight years of Bush and his policies is convenient scapegoating. Americans may buy the high gasoline out of necessity but I doubt they will buy the Republicans’ excuses.

With the announcement that Erie County Democrats have endorsed Jon Powers for Congress, Powers’ campaign released the following statement today (emphasis mine):

“I am thrilled to have the endorsement of Erie County Democrats and look forward to bringing real leadership and real solutions to the problems facing working families in Western New York,” said Jon Powers, former captain in the U.S. Army, Iraq war veteran and Democratic candidate for Congress. Powers earned the support of all seven counties solidifying his position as the endorsed Democratic candidate. He has also gained a great deal of support from organization labor in the area.

“Jon Powers is running an incredibly effective grassroots campaign and he represents a new generation of leadership that people are hoping for in this country” stated Len Lenihan, Erie County Democratic Chairman.

This endorsement gives Powers all seven counties and points to the strength of his campaign, which is based on conversations with voters and their interests as opposed to money.

Rich-man, Poor-man, Beggar-man, Thief… 

No, I’m not tripping on some ’70’s nostalgia, I’ve just finished reading this piece by Historical Pessimist about the dangers of Jack Davis’ Millionaire Complaint:

About a month ago, Kos wrote a front page entry entitled “Crazy Jack Davis and the woes of the millionaire.” In it he, described how 2-time loser Jack Davis, who ran against Tom Reynolds twice for the NY26th Congressional seat, was taking his lawsuit against the “Millionaire’s Amendment” section of BCRA (otherwise known as McCain-Feingold) all the way to the Supreme Court. Talk about bad optics: here was a supposed Democrat arguing that it should be easier for wealthy quacks like him to buy a seat in the people’s House.

Historical Pessimist’s diary :: ::
The Supreme Court heard the case a week ago and the tea leaf readers in the press suggest that the oral arguments indicate Davis is probably going to win. That’s bad enough, but now it appears the case contains a Trojan Horse which could end up invalidating the public financing systems of states like Maine and Arizona which have adopted them with great success.

The entire piece is definitely worth your time. 

Democrats have a lot to be happy about. The Washington Post  reported yesterday,  in an excellent read that there have been one million new Democratic voters registered for the last seven primaries, and that Democrats are registering in record numbers. The piece involved interviews with several different types of voters.

North Carolina and Indiana, which will hold their presidential primaries on May 6, are reporting a swell of new Democrats that triples the surge in registrations before the 2004 primary.

The contest between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama has engaged enough new voters to change the political makeup of the country, experts say. The next several months — and the general election in November — will reveal the extent of the shift. Is it a temporary increase in interest resulting from a close election between historic candidates? Or is it a seismic swing in party realignment that foretells the end of the red-blue stalemate?

Depending on your point of view about the protracted contest between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, your answer to the red-blue stalemate question might differ. Listening to Howard Dean discuss his wishes for a united party after June and before the convention, one gets the feeling that he thinks the competition is fine—up to a point.

I think the record number of Democratic voter registrations show that the primary contest between Clinton and Obama is motivating people to register and that is really half the battle. Things are much different now than during the last two elections and Republican numbers are suffering as a result. Surely, third time’s the charm. It is inconceivable to me that supporters of the Democratic candidate who ultimately bows out will not support the nominated Democrat come November. There’s just too much at stake. One million newly registered Democrats want the White House back.

Maggie Brooks, Monroe County Executive, will be the luncheon speaker at the Rochester Women’s Network Business Conference set for this Friday.  Note the topics that will be addressed at this conference: 

Maltese said the conference would include information on starting a business, building and maintaining it, developing people skills and adapting to change.

Call me cynical but I couldn’t help but read that line without thinking about the colossal failure of Ren Square (the whole “building and maintaining” part), and the divisive F.A.I.R. Plan (nice “people skills” used with that one).

There are a few other things I could list that are contrary to what Ms. Brooks has actually done compared to what she will be speaking about but I’m trying to develop my “people skills” and “build and maintain” them. 

…I would buy you a House [seat in Congress]?

Somehow The Barenaked Ladies‘ song just seems fitting after reading this article in The Nation about Jack Davis’ Millionaire Complaint:

Mr. Davis’s improbable claim is that the additional contributions allowed for his non-millionaire opponent are a burden on his own speech under the First Amendment.

Predictably, more progressive judges were concerned about fairness while Scalia resorted to the old boys’ club mentality:

In the argument Tuesday, a few opening inquiries from the Chief Justice and some questions from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested they may doubt whether Mr. Davis’s speech is at all burdened by relaxed limits for his opponent.

(snip)

Justice Antonin Scalia seized upon the argument that changing the contribution limits to accommodate this situation made them constitutionally suspect…

(snip)

The clear low point in the argument was when, in a through-the-looking-glass exchange, it became clear that the Court’s increasingly simplistic equation of money with speech may even make some Justices willing to defend the rights of the ultra-wealthy to purchase an election.

Justice Scalia threw Davis’s counsel a softball question concerning the state’s interest: “Who is more incorruptible than the millionaire, right?”

Indeed, who is more incorruptible than the millionaire? (Insert haughty laughter here.) This question from Scalia insults all people who are not millionaires, implying that everyone can be bought unless they already have riches. It also assumes that money somehow makes you immune from corruption. Wonder what Enron executives would have to say about that? What a gem we have in Mr. Scalia.

The matching funds set up by the current system are designed to ensure an election can’t be bought. If elections are for sale, which is possible if matching funds are not allowed, then if you had a million dollars, you could buy yourself a House [seat]. It’s all the rage. According to Jon Powers for Congress:

The Center for Responsive Politics estimates that 44% of the members in the House of Representatives and 58% of the members in the Senate are millionaires while only 1% of adult Americans have a net worth of $1 million.

So you see, millionaires are already buying the House. Let’s hope the Supreme Court doesn’t give in to the trend.  (Read more here in this excellent article from SignOnSanDiego.com.)