Comments on: Mr. Ranzenhofer to the Principal's Office

By: Ward

Ward — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:57:03 +0000

No, Pundit–I’m voting for Obama because Arab columnist, Mohamed Al-Menshawi, hails him as “the candidate with Muslim roots” and as the “harbinger of solidarity between Americans and the Muslim world.”

And, if that weren’t enough to close the deal, Al-Jazeera’s Aala al-Bayoumi, notes: “Had it not been for Obama, Arabs would not even bother to follow the US presidential race.” What makes the difference is Obama’s “Islamic and African roots.”

Marwan Bishara hails Obama’s “radical politics”: “For the US to vote in an African-American progressive liberal would certainly mark a departure from the hyper and violent conservatism of the Bush-McCain camp,” he writes. An Obama presidency “would be better for both the US and the Arab world.”

“OBAMA! Inshallah!” Pundit, can you get me a ride to the poll on Nov. 2? Jesus H. Tap-dancin’ Christ, I have SEEN THE LIGHT!

By: Russell

Russell — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:20:20 +0000

Yep, there’s one context problem, BP. The timeframe is not exactly equal. Even though it goes from 04-07 for all, not all were members from 04-07.

Secondly, the statement by CANY does not claim this is all the committee meetings that took place. It only states these are the ones listed on the County website. Which county website? Is the list exhaustive?

Thirdly, another context concern is how many committee meetings did each legislator have in that period? Like Ward pointed out, a listing of percentages of meetings missed would take care of this. What if Ranzenhofer had more meetings than most other legislators because of committee assignments? Perhaps his 14 misses make up less than 10% of all his meetings while Kozub’s 6 make up 20% of his.

Do you see why context matters now? A little critical thinking and you can see there are all sorts of holes in this. Perhaps the full picture is the same as what they presented. Providing more context would have given us that information.

By: Timothy Domst

Timothy Domst — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:12:52 +0000

I’m sure Mesi will dutifully show up to vote for exactly what NYSUT, UFT, and whatever other Dem boss tells him to, which is why they bring up this substanceless issue.

By: Math Wizard

Math Wizard — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:09:45 +0000

If I am reading this right, and admittedly I am a bit confused, Rath should not have an A+ because it would be impossible for him to miss meetings when he wasn’t a Legislator.

By: Buffalopundit

Buffalopundit — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:46:41 +0000

Ranz either did or didn’t show up for committee meetings. What additional “context” could you possibly need, except for the fact that he’s the only legislator with a score less than a “B”. And as for the anticipated “it’s partisan” argument, note that Ed Rath gets an A+, and John Mills gets an A-.

2004-2007 Missed Committee Meetings
Grade
2008 Missed Committee Meetings:

Ranzenhofer
14
D
3

Miller Williams
9
(reservist)
17

Kennedy
8
B
4

Kozub
6
B+
3

Maria Whyte
5
A-
1

Reynolds
4
A-
6

Mills
4
A-
3

Konst
3
A
2

Wwroblewski
3
A
0

Marinelli
3
A
2

Iannello
2
A
1

Loughran
2
A
0

Grant
0
A+
1

Mazur
0
A+
0

Rath
0
A+
5

By: Russell

Russell — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:40:53 +0000

Wow, you’d think your side was drastically behind in the polls with all the pety, lame crap you keep bringing up in these elections. First it’s empty seats behind the podium (with no context) and now it’s committee attendance records (with no context). Are these really the criteria you use when voting? Are you really this desperate?

By: Buffalopundit

Buffalopundit — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:17:27 +0000

@Ward:

As of September 9, 2008 McCain has missed 408 out of Senate 639 votes cast in the current Congress, or 63.8%, the worst Senate attendance record of the current 110th Congress (Jan 2007 – Dec 2008).

The second-worst Senate attendance record is held by Tim Johnson (D-SD), who suffered a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 13, 2006 and spent several months recovering. Johnson has missed 311 votes, or 48.7%.

I’m pleased to see you’ll be voting for the Senator with the better attendance record, Illinois Senator Barack Obama. KTHXHAHAHA

By: Ward

Ward — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:11:56 +0000

CANY may be citing correct figures, although there’s no indication from them what percentage of meetings he missed (14 in three years). But, if showing up and voting is your criterion, then Obama’s 55% Senate voting attendance spells FAIL. KTHXFKU.

By: Chris Smith

Chris Smith — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:46:35 +0000

Did CANY and ACORN falsify Ranzenhofer’s attendance records at Erie County Legislature meetings? KTHXBAI@!#

By: pirate's code

pirate's code — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:36:42 +0000

BP — When did CANY put that release out? I can’t find it on their web site, but then my Commodore 64 is having intertube issues. Is there another spot to read the entire report?