Comments on: An Inflammatory Comparison; A Call for Action

By: TheRover

TheRover — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:10:57 +0000

Excellent piece Allen. My thoughts exactly, where do I sign up? Should we bring the pitchforks and pikes? The tar and feathers? (the late 1700’s were so cool)

And Mr Chris Smith, you run for governor, you get my vote!

By: Other people's blogs : NYCO’s Blog

Other people's blogs : NYCO’s Blog — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:16:06 +0000

[...] compares upstate New York to Cuba (whereas I would have compared it to Soviet [...]

By: Adirondack Almanack

Adirondack Almanack — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:22:13 +0000

I’m not sure how the “we’re being held down by others” argument is really helpful. The problem is not some amorphous political cabal, it’s the folks all around us who keep reelecting the same fools, who watch the Super Bowl every year but have never been to a town meeting (let alone county or state).

The problem is throughout the country – there will be no solution in Upstate New York, until something shifts across America that makes people feel threatened for their livelihoods enough to act. In the meantime, Americans will continue to think they are the smartest, fastest, tallest, cleanest, and best governed people in the world.

The answer is to talk to the people beside you and try and persuade them that they should take their head out of the sand, stop thinking that they are somehow special individualist, and demand that they take part in the political life of their communities and the nation in a meaningful and THOUGHTFUL way.

By: NYCO

NYCO — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:03:33 +0000

The link would help.

http://media2.syr.edu/SyrArch/arch082-8_symp-pt2_768k.wmv

By: NYCO

NYCO — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:02:35 +0000

Alan, it is an interesting idea but you must make it into something that a politician locked in Albany’s three-way struggle could make hay out of, or else it would just be another goo-goo march ignored by the media for the most part.

You would have to make it something one of the players can seize upon for his agenda. Which of the three men do you think?

Anyhow, as long as you’re in a fighting mood, if you have time to watch video, check this out from Post-Standard columnist Sean Kirst, he’s a WNY-er and although this bit is about architecture, it is a good rallying cry. (You need to wait a few minutes until the introducer guy gets done speaking. Sean is the one with the rolled up shirt sleeves.)

By: Edgard

Edgard — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:16:25 +0000

Why do western New Yorkers keep returning the same old doing nothing hacks to public office?

By: hank

hank — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:25:07 +0000

Mike Said
Please admit it Hank, you just want to be closer to your mom because you miss all the free meals.

Yeah, I’ve been gone 33 years and all I miss are the Free Meals.

Mike–grow the fuck up. Don’t characterize others by what YOU do.

By: jesse

jesse — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:30:00 +0000

“Cynicism is rampant throughout Western New York, and I readily admit that I have become one of the cynics.”

Then stop.

I’ll go. Pick a date. Hopefully in July when it’s warm.

By: Pauldub

Pauldub — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:16:51 +0000

I’ll go. Hell, I’ll drive.

By: Timothy Domst

Timothy Domst — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:00:07 +0000

Michael Niman wants to act like the vampiric suburbs stalked in during the night to suck Buffalo dry, the fact is that the combined tax burden of the area hit Buffalo harder than Amherst, both would grow from lower taxes. I am amazed at his gall to say that “Both cities suffered great capitol [sic] flight.” He says that this wealth flying away is a bad thing, but of course isn’t willing to admit that our government’s huge payroll is the cause. He needs to make up some fantasy about how building in Orchard Park did it. The payrolls for the unions that he would support (from what I gather from his columns) with a knee-jerk are what stole the tax base.

http://www.bcnys.org/whatsnew/2004/1005dfs-adv.htm

(last paragraph)

To a lesser extent the voting public around here are just the same, for example Sam Hoyt keeps getting reelected, what will he ever do to change the status quo? No one will stand up to the firemen’s union, I guess voters are too easily led by billboards and 9/11. Firemen all over the country are just as brave, but other cities seem to do as well with 2/3 as many per capita as Buffalo, and their houses are just as old.

http://www.alleghenyinstitute.org/reports/04_04.pdf

(page 6)

The cops worked with Masiello, and did the sky fall? Practically every private sector worker takes a pay cut to stay here, but every time a government contract talk starts the negotiators spew crap like “We need to pay high wages and benefits to attract the best talent”, when people are lining up for miles to get the jobs.

I think the best idea is to start with what Chris Smith said, the Freedom of Information Laws need to be changed so the reporters can start digging and we can get rid of our two dictators, Sheldon Silver and Joe Bruno. I have faith that people would get rid of them if we all clearly saw how committee control, authorities, etc. run the state.