Albany's Insanity

Bravo Grandpa Hilton!

I have never even considered touching any of the spoiled brat articles of the likes of Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan but this article just says so much. The Grandfather is so fed up with her antics he yanked her inheritance…. How perfect, she made headlines with a porn flick and has been in the headlines ever since. She deserves this but it appears she has ruined it for the other grandchildren.

Hilton’s inheritance seized by fed up grandfather (Paris disinherited)

Paris Hilton’s recent behaviour has sent her billionaire grandfather into fury — so much so that the hotel heiress-cum-jailbird will not see a cent of her $59 million inheritance.

The co-chairman of the famous hotel chain, Conrad ‘Barron’ Hilton, has instead decided to plough his fortune into a charitable foundation in an effort to carry on family tradition.

And the 79-year-old has also cut off his 11 other grandchildren in the name of philanthropy.

“He was, and is, extremely embarrassed by how the Hilton name has been sullied by Paris,” says Jerry Oppenheimer, author of House Of Hilton. “He doesn’t want to leave unearned wealth to his family.”

Hilton senior recently acquired a hefty $2.4 billion after selling off a massive chunk of his hotel chain to private equity firm Blackstone.

Given her grandfathers disapproval, Miss Hilton is now working hard to cash in on her fame while she can.

The Daily Mail reports that Hilton recently made an impromptu performance at a karaoke night in an LA nightclub where she performed her painful rendition of Bette Davis Eyes before launching into her own ‘smash’ Stars Are Blind.

The paper suggested any stars in the crowd would have wished they were deaf instead.

Her close friends report she intends to release a new album soon even though her debut Paris barely made a dint in the charts, with one critic describing her singing as “like (somebody) having an asthma attack”.

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What is the big hairy deal about getting tested for HIV? It’s a simple test and one that should be required in these cases. Sheldon Silver is a man with no conscience I swear.

Well said Bob.

ALBANY POLITICS EMPOWER RAPISTS
By Bob Confer

As Albany’s legislative session came to a close in June the State Senate passed a victims’ rights bill that never made it out of the Assembly, despite support by Eliot Spitzer and over 110 assembly co-sponsors. The bill would have required that defendants in sex crime cases submit to HIV testing so that their victims could have piece of mind and not have to live every waking moment worried and fearful of contracting the deadly disease as a secondary result of their already horrific rape or molestation.

Even though this bill makes all the sense in the world and had the support of the majority of the Assembly it could not come to vote as the Assembly leadership would not allow it to escape the procedural aspects of bill passage. It remained listlessly in the rules committee which is chaired by none other than Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver himself. Through the news media he openly showed support for the bill but when it truly mattered he caved-in to the few but very vocal dissenters in the Assembly who represent his peers, those on the very far left. These people not only believed the bill to be an assault on civil rights but also thought that the bill would make victims out of those living with HIV by giving the disease a negative stigma.

Never mind the rights of the poor rape victim. Never mind the Common Good. Only in New York could the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many.

Such is the norm with the governance of rights in New York State. Good laws are never passed while bad ones somehow seem to get passed, the liberal downstate interests influencing laws to the point of actually empowering sexual predators while taking away the rights of their prey.

This imbalance was fully realized last fall when Joan Diver’s body was found along the Clarence bike path, the victim of a brutal murder. Fearing that the Buffalo area Bike Path Rapist or a similar deviant was on the rampage again, authorities in Erie County strongly suggested – if not demanded – that women exercise at home or indoors and not venture out on the paths and trails.

By any standard, becoming shut-ins fearful of the outdoors is the only route health-conscious women could take under such circumstances. With a monster on the loose, a jaunt in the park could become a dangerous thing because women’s rights to protect themselves were thrown under the bus by Albany politics. Every single option that is available on the market in most states by which to give a woman an edge over a sexual predator is not an option here.

What if she wants a small pistol to keep on her person? A woman has to go through loopholes to get a pistol permit in NY, one of only twelve states that require such a permit, something in extreme defiance of our second amendment.

What if she wants to possess a stun gun? She can’t in New York, one of only six states in the whole US in which they are illegal despite their incredible level of safety.

What if she wants to carry pepper spray as a weapon? She has only a few places where she can buy it and she can only buy so much for New York is, once again, one of just a handful of states (8) with a limitation.

Basically, the women of New York State are left defenseless against their attackers. Without the access to self-defense weapons there is very little that a 120-pound woman can do against a 250-pound pervert intent on taking away her body’s sanctity and her mind’s sanity. Our Big Government lawmakers have guaranteed this over the years, doing everything in their power to make our women powerless and rapists empowered. Couple this insanity with the Assembly’s recent denial of the HIV-testing bill and the sex offender “wins” not only during the sickening crime but also well after it has been committed.

Well finally a change that is acceptable at least on the Republican side, Democrats are still demanding signatures. By far this is the worst state when it comes down to getting your name on the ballot.

New York’s Ultra-Open Primary

For far too long, New York’s presidential primaries have been an insider’s business, with political bosses from both parties deciding whose names went on the ballot. As recently as 2000, it took a lot of arm-wrestling and public outrage for Republicans to even include Senator John McCain, a strong contender that year.

This time, the Republicans in New York should be congratulated for planning a truly open primary. If Gov. Eliot Spitzer signs a bill that sets the rules for both parties’ primaries, a G.O.P. contender who wants to be considered by New York’s voters would only need the state board of elections to determine that he or she is “recognized according to reports in the national or state news media.”

That makes a lot of sense — no contortions, no signatures, no expensive election lawyers. But the idea is revolutionary to some party insiders who are said to be worrying that any declared candidate who has spent a few minutes on Oprah’s couch will be able to claim a place on the ballot. For voters, however, more choices are always better.

Democratic candidates for the White House will have to work somewhat harder to see their names on next year’s presidential primary ballot in the delegate-rich state of New York. Each contender will need 5,000 valid signatures of party voters.

But if Democratic candidates have a little more trouble making it on to the ballot, they are compensated by having a better chance of getting a few delegates for their trouble. Democratic delegates are awarded proportionally according to the percentage of the vote each candidate receives. New York Republicans still assign their delegates a less-democratic way — winner take all.

Too bad the two parties could not share their better instincts. New York’s presidential primary on Feb. 5 could then be as open as the Republicans want it and as good about dividing up the delegates as the Democrats.

These guys are great! If you have not had the chance to hear them, make it a point to do so. Gary Astridge is the Drummer and a good friend of mine. They all truly love the Beatles and it shows in each and everyone of their performances.

FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT
Monday, August 6th – 6:30 PM

Town of Niagara Community Center

7000 Lockport Rd (near Military Rd)

Experience The BBC!

“If you love The Beatles, you’ll love The BBC”

The BBC’s focus is on the music, meaning that they don’t dress the
part or try to create the illusion of acting like The Fab Four. What
you’ll hear and experience is great music that will bring back
memories and spark raw emotions. This concert is for the young and
old alike.

Bring chairs, blankets, a light jacket & refreshments. Concessions
available.

For more information please call: 297-5243 Ext-202 or visit:
www.TheBBCband.com.

MAPQUEST DIRECTIONS:

Excellent summary in this article/audio…

A Listener’s Guide to the Spitzer Scandal
by Brian Lehrer

NEW YORK, NY July 28, 2007 —Politics and media junkies in New York have been obsessed this week with the scandal involving Governor Spitzer’s office trying to smear Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. But for non-junkies, the case can be a confusing mess. WNYC’s Brian Lehrer has this listener’s guide to the scandal and some unsolicited advice for those involved.

Brian: It would have been brilliant if they didn’t get caught. High-ranking Spitzer Administration officials decided to manufacture some news for The Albany Times Union. And not just any kind of news: scandalous muckraking news about Spitzer’s rival, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. If they could discredit Bruno, the Republicans might lose their two seat Senate majority in the elections next year and voila – the Democrats would be in charge of both houses of the legislature for the first time in decades. Bye bye gridlock, hello Spitzer’s agenda.

Brian: So some of the governor’s closest aides asked the state police for a little favor: write up some reports on Bruno’s use of state helicopters and release them to the Times Union. They were hoping to catch Bruno using the choppers for trips that were purely political with no official business. But it wasn’t to be. Bruno’s political trips did include at least some state business – enough to keep him within the letter of a weakly-written law. And worse for the governor, his office got caught orchestrating this dirty trick. No one in Albany can remember the state police ever being used specifically to write reports on a governor’s political rival. For afficiandos of the J. Edgar Hoover era, one journalist friend of mine calls this scandal “Co-intelpro for white people.”

Brian: Assembly Democrats, also annoyed by Spitzer’s steamrolling ways, are not closing ranks. On my weekday call-in show, Democratic Assemblyman Peter Rivera of the Bronx said fabricating documents under FOIL, the Freedom of Information Law, may be criminal.

Rivera: As a result of a sham FOIL request, reports were created. And reports were created that normally would not have been created. I’m not ready to say that it’s clear to me that there were no violations of the law.

Brian: The obsession in the last few days has been figuring out if Governor Spitzer himself was involved in ordering up the documents for a Freed. On Thursday I asked Spitzer’s spokeswoman Christine Anderson: if Spitzer wasn’t in on the scheme, who first told him about it?

Anderson: I think he said he doesn’t remember who first mentioned to him that a FOIL had been received and a story was likely to follow from it. Brian: So you don’t remember who first told him that something improper may have taken place? Anderson: I’m speaking for the governor. That is what he has said very clearly.

Brian: Uh-oh. One of those famous convenient memory lapses. Now Bruno himself is investigating Spitzer with a Senate committee that will make it a top priority.

Bruno: We are going to govern after we get the truth about the potential abuse of power in the Governor’s office. How much did the Governor know?

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80 percent believed Governor Spitzer “should be required to testify in an investigation as I do.

Poll: 62% of State Voters Favor Investigation of Spitzer

A WNBC/Marist Poll released today found that 62 percent of New York State voters say there should be a further investigation into what Gov. Eliot Spitzer knew about his aides’ use of the State Police to gather damaging information about the travels of the State Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno.

The poll found that 33 percent thought the investigation released on Monday by the state attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, was adequate, and 5 percent were uncertain.

The poll, which was conducted among 554 registered voters across New York State on Wednesday and Thursday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, offers a first glimpse at the damage the scandal has inflicted on the Spitzer administration. The five-page poll results are here.

The poll found that 50 percent of registered voters think Governor Spitzer was aware of what his aides were doing when they tried to plant a negative story in the news media about Mr. Bruno, while 38 percent believe the governor, who said he had no knowledge of what had been done.

Predictably, Republicans were the most skeptical of the governor’s claims: 61 percent thought he was aware of the effort to tarnish Mr. Bruno, compared with 45 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of independents.

The poll found that 80 percent believed Governor Spitzer “should be required to testify in an investigation regarding the actions of his staff.” That suggests that the public may not be sympathetic to any claim by the governor that executive immunity prevents the Legislature from subpoenaing records about the inner workings of the governor’s office.

Ralph Hernandez announces Candidacy!

Re-Elected Buffalo School Board Member Ralph R. Hernandez (D) will run for Erie County Legislator in the 6th District, challenging majority leader Maria Whyte (D) in the September 18 primary. Mr. Hernandez is the only currently elected Latino representative in Erie County. Hernandez, a former Marine Corps Sergeant and Purple Heart recipient (wounded in Viet Nam) envisions a county that can demonstrate what bipartisan cooperation, resource value education, and well-researched long-range planning can accomplish.

At the beginning of his campaign he received the political advice that has often gotten the County in trouble; “Go door to door, listen, find out what the issues are, and decide what side to take.” His answer; “I don’t pick sides; I look for solutions.” According to Ralph, “we have the two most mismanaged governments in American History. We are the only area in the United States with two control boards!”

In the interest of shedding some light on the often- shuttered budget process Hernandez plans to introduce a bill that will require legislators to attach their names to any line-item budget amendment that changes the recommended funding for a contract agency. Requiring the disclosure of legislators who are sponsoring spending items will force a closer examination of spending priorities. If the bill becomes law, for the very first time, the public will see which legislator is spending their tax money. Hernandez states, “Finally there will be a name, face, and accountability every time somebody reaches into our wallets.”

Hernandez plans to increase the Erie County Education and Library Budget by at least 50%. The county wastes money in so many ways, and then spends less then 3% of its $1.5 billion or approximately $42 million on education and libraries. The cultural and tourism get over $57 million dollars.

Mr. Hernandez will bring three years school board experience in finance, policy development, public relations, negotiations, and operations to the Erie County Legislature.