The Hayseeds blog, No. 272 for the week starting August 31, 2008.
August 17, 2008
Hayseeds No. 271
August 31, 2008
Hayseeds No. 272
September 7, 2008
Hayseeds No. 272
Visit the Hayseeds Index
to see all previous entries.
Learn more about McCain's VP Pick on Wikipedia.
That's what the New York Times News Analysis has announced.
The change of the power base in our county is having some real impacts on politics across the county.
That's a question posed by the Times Union which notes that in recent years, there have been less and less school days due to teacher conference days and other events.
It of course started yesterday, without out of the glizz or glamer of the Democratic Convention. Find out more on the convention website, including media schedules.
This American Prospect article is interesting.
More from the RNC Convention.
Definately worth a watch:
Since when exactly has asking the police a question equal to inciting a riot? It seems like some awful abusive behavior on the police's behalf.
Read the Nation's coverage of this event.
I'm sure these are the kind of images they want to be projecting from the Republican National Convention.
It appears their convention is very subdued with little excitement or glamor going on inside of it. It's actually appears to be pretty much a disappointment, compared to the Democratic Convention of last week.
Understandably, they toned down the convention after the threat of the Gustov hurricane which turned out to be much of anything. But it's still a convention of elderly white men, without much passion for anything.
The history of riots from wikipedia.
He says that the Republicans need an organization to save their butts in New York State as they rapidly appear to be going extinct.
In this video she talks about her arrest.
They use informants in groups and other tacitics to supress free speech at the RNC Convention:
Aided by informants planted in protest groups, authorities raided at least six buildings across St. Paul and Minneapolis to stop an "anarchist" plan to disrupt this week's Republican National Convention.
From Friday night through Saturday afternoon, officers surrounded houses, broke down doors, handcuffed scores of people and confiscated suspected tools of civil disobedience.
The show of force was led by the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office in collaboration with the FBI, Minneapolis and St. Paul police, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and other agencies.
But a St. Paul City Council member described it as excessive, while activists, many of whom were detained and then released without charges, called it intimidation designed to quash free speech.
Terrible.
Labor activists discuss and fight for better health care for people across the country who often find themselves unable to afford the kind of care they deserve.
She milked the federal cow for lots of money for her rural community. Can you imagine what it would be like if we could that kind of money to upstate communities?
This is some good news:
Democracy Now! producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties, Democracy Now! said in a statement. Democracy Now! said Kouddous and Salazar were arrested on a felony riot charge while Goodman was charged with misdemeanor obstruction of a legal process and interference with a peace officer.
All three appeared on Goodman's show on Tuesday and recounted their experience. A video of Goodman's arrest, aired on her program and also posted on YouTube, shows her begging police not to arrest her before being taken away in handcuffs.
I look forward to hearing the show.
The fact that it wasn't a bad storm made everybody look good.
Matthew Wallace, a 20-year-old Young Republican from Shreveport, La., wearing a string of red, white and blue beads that lit up like Christmas lights and added almost the only festive note of the day, was among the delegates seeing Gustav as an opportunity for Republicans to show "we learned our lessons from Hurricane Katrina. You see the response has been 180 degrees from that, and Gov. Jindal has done a wonderful job."
So is this episode actually helpful politically for Republicans? "I think so," Wallace said. "I think it's a way for Senator McCain to showcase his experience and his talent to the country—that when it's 3 a.m. and you have that national crisis, who do you want picking up that phone? I think Senator McCain is shifting focus here, making a sacrifice rather than taking this opportunity to showcase himself to the nation. It really shows that he's an American first and a Republican second." And that he's not Bush? "I think so."
...
An event was held on Indian culture at the Howes Cave Indian Museum. I haven't been there since I was in elementary school, but it was a cool experience.
The schedule continues to change.
Sometimes it turns out using informants is not a good idear, reports NPR.
It seems that they hope to win this state this year.
I agree that we should not pay any attention to choices people make in their families, and I understand many families face similar choices and problems in their lifetimes.
They want to change the way you surf with a Mozilla-based browser that taps into Google's many services.
From The Albany Project some analysis of the State Senate races this fall. I suspect some of those ratings are somewhat biased towards Democrats, and still am not sure that Darrel Aubertine's seat is totally safe, just by the nature of the district.
Likewise, I don't see Rick Dollinger having it that easy to take Robach's seat, even though he may be able to ultimately pull it off if his volunteers work hard enough, and national conditions are right for it in November.
How to lawfully deal with police checkpoints and other encounters that can lead to troublesome consequences, even if you haven't violated any law.
Karen Carpenter-Palumbo says that lowering the drinking age makes no sense.
Talk about some crude politics.
Good news for employees who jobs are to be cut.
The new measure, signed into law by Gov. David Paterson, requires employers with 50 or more employees to give workers at least 90 days’ notice in advance of a layoff.
The federal WARN Act, by comparison, sets the threshold for notification at 100 employees, with advance notice required 60 days before the layoff.
The new regulations were announced at a press conference this morning at the former Tech Valley Printing plant in Watervliet, which shut down abruptly in February, notifying the state Labor Department only after the fact that it had laid off 50 employees. In fact, according to the Labor Department, 150 employees lost their jobs.
“The actions against the workers of Tech Valley Printing are a textbook example of what not to do,” said Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith. “Had the Labor Department and local officials been provided sufficient notice by the company, we could have intervened on behalf of the workers, offered them services while they were still employed, and even helped them land new jobs…”
...
More happy news from the Greg Ball camp:
A CNN producer and former girlfriend of Republican Assemblyman Greg Ball of Westchester and Putnam counties got a temporary protective order against him on grounds he stalked her and threatened to destroy her career.
The order sought by Linda Fern Roth - a copy of which was obtained Monday by the Daily News - also contended Ball even told her he had a transmittable sexual disease that he had never told her about.
Contacted by The News on Monday, Ball, a first-term Assemblyman locked in a heated GOP primary with former Brewster Mayor John Degnan, denied that a restraining order was ever issued. He also blamed his opponent for orchestrating a smear campaign.
"This was not a criminal matter and there were never any allegations of violence," Ball said an email sent to the Daily News early Tuesday.
...
Why is he running for Congress? Not for the seat. Jim Tedisco, his Assemblyman is 68 years old. He may not run in 2010 or 2012. He fits the mold perfectly—think Ball or Amedore. Alternatively, he could be looking at Hugh Farely's seat. He is 1976. Just a thought.
Good news for uninsured kids, not such good news for taxpayers:
ALBANY, N.Y. - Starting this month, all New York families with uninsured children are eligible for moderate or no-cost health care coverage.
Gov. David Paterson says eligibility for Child Health Plus was expanded to include families whose income is four times the federal poverty level, up from the 2 1/2 times previously required.
For example, a child in a family of three whose income exceeded $44,000 would not have been able to participate in the program before the expansion. Now, that child will be eligible for coverage at no cost, or at a reduced monthly premium, if the family's income is no greater than $70,000.
Any family with income above the new cutoff can buy into the program at the full monthly premium, which is $156 on average.
At least most kids now will be able to get insurance.
The latest solution to balance the state budget is to investigate college students and spouses to make sure they are still eligible for health insurance.
There is a big primary up there for committee seats that might forever change the direction of the party in that city.
He says such a tough on crime policy will help end gun crime. I doubt it, and it will lead to many minor offenses becoming overblown.
Paterson got a victory as did gay people, when the executive order recognizing out of state marriages was upheld in county court. It will probably be appealed.
While there will be new heating and cooling equipment installed this year as part of the modernization of the library, the intent to keep allowing people access to the library except for 4-days when construction will make it impossible for the library to remain open.
It sounds like they are doing an excellent job at balancing patron needs, keeping the historical nature of the building intact, while modernizing it to reduce energy consumption and give it a fresh up-to-date appearance.
While there will be new heating and cooling equipment installed this year as part of the modernization of the library, the intent to keep allowing people access to the library except for 4-days when construction will make it impossible for the library to remain open.
It sounds like they are doing an excellent job at balancing patron needs, keeping the historical nature of the building intact, while modernizing it to reduce energy consumption and give it a fresh up-to-date appearance.
The old fueds are over, as Republicans make nice and talk up their candidate for President.
It's possible Democrats could pick up 60 seats in the US Senate this year.
"Our goal is to pick up as many seats as possible," said DSCC communications director Matt Miller. "The map this year includes a lot of red states, so getting to 60 would be very, very difficult, but it's not out of the question."
Is Miller right?
Let's start with the basics.
Thirty five seats—23 held by Republicans, 12 held by Democrats—are up for re-election in the fall.
Of those 35 seats, the three top Senate handicappers in the business—Charlie Cook/Jennifer Duffy and Stu Rothenberg—consider roughly one-third truly competitive. The Cook Political Report lists 12 Republican seats and two Democratic seats in their competitive columns while Rothenberg sees 11 GOP seats and just one Democratic one as truly up for grabs.
That would be quite amazing if it happened, and would bode a President Barack Obama quite well.
No suprises here with this news. McEneny had spoke fawningly of Tonko previously in the race, so it's about time. Tonko's going to win one way or another, so at this point it's largely a moot point.
More entertaining politics from the Hudson Valley. Unbelievable.
Who ever said that computer problems wouldn't be the downfall of our society? Because the computer ate class schedules they had no other alternative but close the high school down for a whole week.
That's what one observer says in the Bennington Banner today.
Or the use of political power to get things not-so-good done.
His money is going all over the place and spending it fast in his push for candidates which he likes their ideology.
What women really think of Palin:
No surpises there.
This made me want to puke:
Doesn't she just strike you as the nosy neighbor who can't keep herself out of your business. The one who is complaining about everything, making your life a living hell, just because she can't find another thing to keep herself busy.
It's basically an electronic system that listens for sounds similar to gun shots, and alerts police when a gun may have been discharged, to discourage people from discharging firearms in urban places.
Not exactly good news for any family, but the cause is original:
Nuzback said the fire started when a candle fell onto empty pizza boxes on the back deck. Officials have determined the fire was an accident.
That certainly is a first as far as I know.
The local judge up in this rural Catskill Mountain community got in trouble by sitting on the bench for cases relating to relatives and giving them preferential treatment. He has resigned.
They want more detailed information on employee pay, but the Comptroller says it's not possible to provide such information without creating a new record with social security numbers redacted.
Some schools will be required to regularly check and report BMI data to the state in an effort to reduce obesity.
Engine trouble on a small plane in the Adirondacks forced the pilot to land on the Adirondack Northway near the North Hudson checkpoint.
For those who are going to be up in the North Country next week, that's an event you may want to attend.
Well sort of:
One of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's challengers in next week's primary election has raised more than twice as much as the powerful Democrat in the latest round of campaign fundraising.
But Silver has little to worry about: overall, he has more than $2.9 million in his campaign account, compared to community activist Paul Newell's nearly $38,000.
According to the latest state elections reports reviewed Wednesday, Silver raised more than $19,500 between Aug. 5 and Aug. 25. Newell brought in a little more than $40,000 during the same period.
A third contender, attorney Luke Henry, raised just $510 in August and has a little more than $9,000 on hand for campaigning.
...
You can't make things like this up.
More fun from the 99th AD.
I'll believe it when I see it.
They want more say in the budget.
Big box stores continue to do well in the down economy.
No signs of inflation through wages at this time.
There are almost no blacks at the GOP convention.
DIA takes a look at the upcoming primary and has some good things to say about David Weiss.
He seems like a really nice guy with good ideas. It's too bad I couldn't be more involved in his campaign, but I was too busy going on vacations, throwing rocks into the Hudson River, and to a much lesser extent helping out Phil Steck. Then again, I have my doubts that he will pull it off as I think most people where involved in other campaigns or don't really know much about the shit of a senator we currently have.
Concerns about the Colonie Democrats cutting jobs and benefits to employees has lead them to form a union for the first time.
They passed a resolution in favor of state legislation that would suppostly make it illegal for employers to pay minorities less then other New Yorkers. Sounds like a fun symbolic act.
Memories on how to make those difficult lockers locks actually open when you need your notebook. I can remember when they banned backpacks in classrooms after Columbine, and I was forced to learn how to use my locker. That was fun.
Some jerk cut lose his motorized scooter and stole it that allowed this one person to get around on his own. Disgusting.
The Times Union looks at his petition challenge and how they usually proceed, if the Board of Elections knocks him off. The article doesn't say if the County Court will hear arguments over the challenged signatures, but if Cusick still has a 500-signature margin, it seems unlikely the Soares will continue to fight to get Cusick off.
It's just iron from rusty pipes and it won't do any health problems except maybe stain your clothes.
Which is not surprising as it's big library, and one of the nicest libraries in the Capital Region, where people far beyond town limits come to get books. I know I always have gone to the Bethlehem Public Library, long before I moved to Delmar from Westerlo.
Rigger was helping to disable crane when incident occurred at Manhattan skyscraper.
They think she would be a good representative in Congress.
Psh. That had to be one of the most illogical and poorly worded endorsements I've ever read. And Tracey Brooks is by far the worst choice for Congress...and yes, that includes Joe Sullivan.
Head on over to my diary, either DailyKos or the front page of The Albany Project, to read some real endorsements in my real voters guide, featuring links to my four interviews with the four serious candidates as well as my extensive coverage of four major debates between the candidates.
— Comment By Soundpolitic
They don't want the state insurance department to release data on insurance redlining, so they are sueing the state claiming breach of trade secrets.
Doesn't the public have a right to know with such an important topic, far exceed any damage to the business interest of insurers? Let's hope the courts do the right thing.
Apparently Senator Seward has taken major contributions from the insurance lobby while blocking restrictions on increasing insurance rates.
This story is great.
This Interactive Graphic from the NY Times is fascinating to play with.
