ROCHESTER - Unfortunately Lou Gramm is not starting a show called 'Juke Box Hero' loaded with dumb ass contestants desperately trying to make a name for themselves. This reality TV comes courtesy of the Rochester Police Department. All out of ideas for combating crime, they have turned to Big Brother, and yes, he will be watching.
It is a sad day for a community as innovative and charitable that we have turned to watching people 24/7 because we can not stop crime. This is not the fault of the police, let me be clear. By segregating our city we have created areas of abject poverty. We all share the blame for this. The people who actually take the blame, however, are elected officials and the police. The distracted public looks for the short and easy answer. Never mind the fact it took half a generation to get us to this point. The public demands it be fixed overnight.
As a result, we get things like Zero Tolerance, Project Exile, curfews and now cameras. As we attempt to cure the symptoms, the disease ravages on. I think these ideas are somewhat lazy, even if sometimes somewhat successful. We need long term solutions to solve problems that are created over long periods of time. The idea of cameras strikes me as a complete lack of creativity and will power. As if we have given up. We can't prevent crime, but if we catch it on tape, we can lock someone up for it. I don't like the idea that innocent citizens are being watched along with their nefarious neighbors. Don't tell me that if you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide. Going to the bathroom is legal, it doesn't mean I want someone to film me. But more realistically, do you want an officer to show up at midnight and ask to search your house for illegal stuff?
Watching the news the other night, though, softened my absolute disgust for policing cameras. The residents looked delighted to have them. They were excited about the possibility of having safer streets. I realized, my neighborhood is very safe, and I never feel any anxiety or fear about being out after dark, or that others hanging out are actually up to no good. I am lucky for that. I don't know what it is like to live without confidence in my neighborhood, and therefore I can not judge tactics employed in those areas. The woman's face lit up knowing that her street was getting cameras. She said she would once again feel safe walking at night, and she was happy with that.
I still feel that cameras are not a solution to crime. We need to reach for affordable housing, better and more jobs, and improving the access to and quality of public education. If we can improve on those fronts, crime will go down. If it helps people feel safer than before, however, I will have to accept them as band aids.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Good For Paterson
ROCHESTER - God Bless David Paterson! Finally a true leader steps up for ALL New Yorkers and directs state agencies to recognize same sex marriages. This should be law and New York should be allowing municipalities to perform them as well, but let us celebrate the battle before continuing the war.
Not allowing two consenting adults to marry on the basis of sexual orientation is discrimination and immoral. It is not 'more complicated' than that. The State is allowed to step on religion's toes all it wants because the two don't answer to each other. I don't care if the church of some saint won't perform a ceremony (that is their right as a private club), but every city hall government that can perform weddings, must.
If you use an ancient religious text as the basis for a modern argument, you are in trouble. I don't think I need to list the accepted 'outdated' readings, but if some can be ignored, all can be ignored. Don't take the 'high' road with me selectively. If you think same sex marriage is wrong because of the Bible, then, logically, you must believe slavery and human sacrifice are acceptable.
Lastly, marriage is a wonderful institution. It is a bond shared between two people who are in love. We should be promoting marriage, not denying it. The less people are married, the more marriage becomes socially irrelevant.
I don't mean for this to be some anger filled, bitter rant against religion. Some churches are at the forefront of civil rights history and continue to be there. Others used to be progressive, yet have lost their way. The Bible tells me that one should fight injustice, help others that need help, and judge no one. I think most people would agree they get similar lessons. Let us use religion as a unifying force, not a divisive one, as a select few would do.
Not allowing two consenting adults to marry on the basis of sexual orientation is discrimination and immoral. It is not 'more complicated' than that. The State is allowed to step on religion's toes all it wants because the two don't answer to each other. I don't care if the church of some saint won't perform a ceremony (that is their right as a private club), but every city hall government that can perform weddings, must.
If you use an ancient religious text as the basis for a modern argument, you are in trouble. I don't think I need to list the accepted 'outdated' readings, but if some can be ignored, all can be ignored. Don't take the 'high' road with me selectively. If you think same sex marriage is wrong because of the Bible, then, logically, you must believe slavery and human sacrifice are acceptable.
Lastly, marriage is a wonderful institution. It is a bond shared between two people who are in love. We should be promoting marriage, not denying it. The less people are married, the more marriage becomes socially irrelevant.
I don't mean for this to be some anger filled, bitter rant against religion. Some churches are at the forefront of civil rights history and continue to be there. Others used to be progressive, yet have lost their way. The Bible tells me that one should fight injustice, help others that need help, and judge no one. I think most people would agree they get similar lessons. Let us use religion as a unifying force, not a divisive one, as a select few would do.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Random Thoughts: May 20th
ROCHESTER - Like I promised, every now and again I create curiosities for myself, or quick thoughts, that aren't exactly suited for full blown rants. This is another small offering of random thoughts:
1. Does Bush even care if we catch Osama bin Laden? I am guessing no, and I am also guessing that John McCain doesn't either.
2. Shouldn't the media be asking why we can't catch bin Laden? Oops, I forgot, the media is conservative and do all they can to protect themselves by protecting Republicans.
3. Why are people obsessed with Hillary dropping out before convention? Isn't that what conventions are for, to figure this stuff out?
4. Cheers to Rochester's Tim Redding for helping Brian Gionta, Ryan Callahan and Abby Wambach for giving us some hometown heroes to root for on the national sports scene.
5. Lastly, all my prayers go out to my hero, Senator Ted Kennedy. Looks like he is recovering well from seizures suffered over the weekend. You know he will be the first to point out that every American should get the kind of health care he received, which likely helped minimize the effects of the seizures.
1. Does Bush even care if we catch Osama bin Laden? I am guessing no, and I am also guessing that John McCain doesn't either.
2. Shouldn't the media be asking why we can't catch bin Laden? Oops, I forgot, the media is conservative and do all they can to protect themselves by protecting Republicans.
3. Why are people obsessed with Hillary dropping out before convention? Isn't that what conventions are for, to figure this stuff out?
4. Cheers to Rochester's Tim Redding for helping Brian Gionta, Ryan Callahan and Abby Wambach for giving us some hometown heroes to root for on the national sports scene.
5. Lastly, all my prayers go out to my hero, Senator Ted Kennedy. Looks like he is recovering well from seizures suffered over the weekend. You know he will be the first to point out that every American should get the kind of health care he received, which likely helped minimize the effects of the seizures.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
New Yorkers Need Priorities
ROCHESTER - It is expensive to live and do business in New York State. I know that and you know that. But is cracking down on Dan Gundersen's eating and meeting habits going to fix that? No. For the yet to be informed, the Democrat and Chronicle ran an article today about the 'questionable' spending habits of our Upstate Economic Czar, Dan Gundersen. He has wined and dined business leaders, local economic development leaders, and other local officials. Gosh darn it, he even paid to leave his car parked in Buffalo, not too far from his office (where presumably parking is free and doesn't put money into the economy)! We New Yorkers need to get our priorities straight. We have bigger fish to fry, but bigger fish are hard work, so, I guess, let's pick on the guppy.
I understand the underlying issue with Gundersen's use of the State credit card. If every official spent $400 to treat 10 people to dinner in Watertown, the State would be broke. Unfortunately, we are already broke, and $400 is not going to fix that. Keeping all government in the sunshine is a good thing and maybe in the future Gundersen makes the Commander at Fort Drum cover the tip because he doesn't want the entire State to know he is an overgenerous tipper (who says one man can't refuel Upstate!).
The real hypocrisy will always come from the private sector, of course. Government is always being told it would be better run as a private company. Hopefully not like Enron or GM, but whatever. Let's pretend for a second that 9 out of 10 American companies don't fail in their first year and that the private sector always runs as smoothly as an American airline (just not American Airlines because, well, you know...) and that government should copy the business practices of the private sector. It seems as if Gundersen is all over this and ahead of the curve. Or in corporate-ese he is thinking outside the box to synergize existing partnerships while making focused investments yadda yadda yadda. The three olive lunch is a staple of the corporate world. He is acting like every other businessman in the world. Shocking to see someone with a financial interest treating someone else to a meal and, gasp!, an adult beverage. What next? Will Gundersen have the nerve to talk to some CEO over some golf? I hope not because that is not how government should be run. Unless of course you think government should be run like a private company, in which case Gunersen needs to buy some wicked ugly pants and hit the links.
Let us also not forget the tax breaks we give to private companies to locate, relocate, and promise not to blackmail us already in the State. If Gundersen spent that $400 at a Maggie Brooks fundraiser, he could relocate himself to Monroe County and pay no property taxes. Both locally and on the State level we continually bribe companies with cheap power, property tax abatements, demolition efforts, etc. to keep them from leaving for greener pastures. Sometimes they are even nice enough to pretend they will create more jobs if we buy them that shiny new machine dealie that makes stuff. But since we don't actually hold them accountable for the public money they take, aren't we wasting our money anyway? And in much larger amounts?
The root of the problem is a bad economy that pits regions against each other and States against each other. Only the private companies benefit. They start bidding wars and see who will give them the most free stuff. They blackmail governments into no taxes and publicly funded improvement projects. Private companies never receive these type of benefits in the private sector. If Kodak went to Xerox and said, 'Hey, can we have some money to build a new wing at our plant? It may or may not create some new jobs but either way we won't pay you back." Xerox would likely tell Kodak to play in traffic. But since government isn't the private sector, the government lets them have the money and hope for the best.
New York State has to solve the problem of being expensive to live and do business in. Treating the symptoms never cures the disease. Tax breaks can't do it, busting Gundersen's balls won't do it, and whiny public interest groups don't do it. If we made New York a cheaper place, businesses would move here because it makes business sense, not because Gundersen bought Alan Mulally a glass of Torrey Ridge Baco Noir or because Monroe County gave them an empty building for free. As New Yorkers, we must revisit our priorities and realize that until we do the heavy lifting of true reform, who cares about the spending habits of one individual? Especially the one guy who is working hard (and fueling the economy one meal at a time) to revive Upstate.
Government can not be run as a private company, nor should it be. Running government selectively as a private company is disastrous for its citizens and unfairly benefits private companies. In tough economic times, the government should only focus on services that benefit all citizens and should not be left to the unreliable corporate world: public education, public safety, public health and public transportation. Everything else is a luxury. And at this time, luxuries we can't afford.
I understand the underlying issue with Gundersen's use of the State credit card. If every official spent $400 to treat 10 people to dinner in Watertown, the State would be broke. Unfortunately, we are already broke, and $400 is not going to fix that. Keeping all government in the sunshine is a good thing and maybe in the future Gundersen makes the Commander at Fort Drum cover the tip because he doesn't want the entire State to know he is an overgenerous tipper (who says one man can't refuel Upstate!).
The real hypocrisy will always come from the private sector, of course. Government is always being told it would be better run as a private company. Hopefully not like Enron or GM, but whatever. Let's pretend for a second that 9 out of 10 American companies don't fail in their first year and that the private sector always runs as smoothly as an American airline (just not American Airlines because, well, you know...) and that government should copy the business practices of the private sector. It seems as if Gundersen is all over this and ahead of the curve. Or in corporate-ese he is thinking outside the box to synergize existing partnerships while making focused investments yadda yadda yadda. The three olive lunch is a staple of the corporate world. He is acting like every other businessman in the world. Shocking to see someone with a financial interest treating someone else to a meal and, gasp!, an adult beverage. What next? Will Gundersen have the nerve to talk to some CEO over some golf? I hope not because that is not how government should be run. Unless of course you think government should be run like a private company, in which case Gunersen needs to buy some wicked ugly pants and hit the links.
Let us also not forget the tax breaks we give to private companies to locate, relocate, and promise not to blackmail us already in the State. If Gundersen spent that $400 at a Maggie Brooks fundraiser, he could relocate himself to Monroe County and pay no property taxes. Both locally and on the State level we continually bribe companies with cheap power, property tax abatements, demolition efforts, etc. to keep them from leaving for greener pastures. Sometimes they are even nice enough to pretend they will create more jobs if we buy them that shiny new machine dealie that makes stuff. But since we don't actually hold them accountable for the public money they take, aren't we wasting our money anyway? And in much larger amounts?
The root of the problem is a bad economy that pits regions against each other and States against each other. Only the private companies benefit. They start bidding wars and see who will give them the most free stuff. They blackmail governments into no taxes and publicly funded improvement projects. Private companies never receive these type of benefits in the private sector. If Kodak went to Xerox and said, 'Hey, can we have some money to build a new wing at our plant? It may or may not create some new jobs but either way we won't pay you back." Xerox would likely tell Kodak to play in traffic. But since government isn't the private sector, the government lets them have the money and hope for the best.
New York State has to solve the problem of being expensive to live and do business in. Treating the symptoms never cures the disease. Tax breaks can't do it, busting Gundersen's balls won't do it, and whiny public interest groups don't do it. If we made New York a cheaper place, businesses would move here because it makes business sense, not because Gundersen bought Alan Mulally a glass of Torrey Ridge Baco Noir or because Monroe County gave them an empty building for free. As New Yorkers, we must revisit our priorities and realize that until we do the heavy lifting of true reform, who cares about the spending habits of one individual? Especially the one guy who is working hard (and fueling the economy one meal at a time) to revive Upstate.
Government can not be run as a private company, nor should it be. Running government selectively as a private company is disastrous for its citizens and unfairly benefits private companies. In tough economic times, the government should only focus on services that benefit all citizens and should not be left to the unreliable corporate world: public education, public safety, public health and public transportation. Everything else is a luxury. And at this time, luxuries we can't afford.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
$4 a Gallon? Whatever
ROCHESTER - The area is bracing for gasoline prices to hit $4/gallon. I don't care. Sure, it sucks when I fill up. Lucky for me I don't suffer from any sort of over-compensation issues and I drive a small fuel efficient car. I also believe that similar outrage was voiced when we first went over a dollar a gallon, then at two dollars, etc. We deserve this. We have over consumed for too long and the chickens have come home to roost. Had we learned from the 70's we would have spent the 80's and 90's coming up with and implementing real solutions (suspending the gas tax is not a real solution!). Instead, the crisis died down, and we went back to being gas pigs. We killed public transit in favor of cars, we emptied our cities into the suburban outskirts and we made our cars even bigger than they were in the 70's.
So here we are, our arrogance, laziness and smugness have left us at the will of big oil. If you commute from Ontario County to Rochester in your Yukon or H3 I don't feel bad for you. I hope you have to pay $10/gallon. I really do. I will laugh at you as you cry poor because those are your choices. You used to look down on me for driving my small car back and forth from my small house in the city. Four dollars a gallon doesn't make me poor, and my guess is it doesn't make you poor either.
What we have here is opportunity, though. This need not turn into wasted anger. This should be a chance for us to break free of Big Oil. Somewhere John Rockefeller is making it rain and that is just wrong. Wind power, solar power, geo thermal power, and even methane gas from land fills are avenues we should be exploring instead of bowing down to Exxon/Mobil, OPEC and the others. Instead of paying to build an oasis in a far away desert, we should be creating new American companies to feed our energy needs. Even Rockefeller would appreciate that.
We should also revisit our planning for both sprawl and transit. Expressways, multi-county metro areas and distant office parks are all luxuries from a different time. We can not afford to continue to spread out and stretch our resources so thin. We have all the roads, sewers and sidewalks we need, why are we building more? Do you like high taxes? It seems that way. Transportation is crying out for attention. Just because most Americans have cars doesn't mean we have to use them every day. Wouldn't some of you like to use your car for pleasure instead of commuting? I would. Rochester buses are cutting fares to one dollar per ride. For two bucks you can go back and forth to work. Plus you can get some reading time in. Most of us in this area will tell you, however, that it is not practical to ride the bus because of where you live and where the bus actually goes. I feel your pain. Instead of dismissing the thought, though, we need to look at the routes and see if they make sense. Can they be changed to serve more people? Is there an opportunity to incorporate other modes of transit like light rail? Would it be offensive to run some rail cars down the middle of 490, 590, or 390?
Expensive gas is a disease. We always treat the symptoms. This is problematic because until we treat the disease we will always see rising prices. Sometimes we get a respite (gas tax holiday), we stop thinking about it and then, BAM!, $4 a gallon and the cycle starts all over again. So let's take this chance to get to the root of the problem while people are mad, motivated, and demanding action and before its too late. Let's not be pandered to with short term 'solutions' like gas tax holidays. We have the opportunity to make wise long term decisions that will set our area up for growth for years to come. Don't be bought out by 32 cents a gallon when our future is at stake. In reality, $4 a gallon probably won't change how we live our lives. $5 a gallon won't likely either. But can we afford to still be standing around with our energy pants down when gas hits a price per gallon no one can afford?
So here we are, our arrogance, laziness and smugness have left us at the will of big oil. If you commute from Ontario County to Rochester in your Yukon or H3 I don't feel bad for you. I hope you have to pay $10/gallon. I really do. I will laugh at you as you cry poor because those are your choices. You used to look down on me for driving my small car back and forth from my small house in the city. Four dollars a gallon doesn't make me poor, and my guess is it doesn't make you poor either.
What we have here is opportunity, though. This need not turn into wasted anger. This should be a chance for us to break free of Big Oil. Somewhere John Rockefeller is making it rain and that is just wrong. Wind power, solar power, geo thermal power, and even methane gas from land fills are avenues we should be exploring instead of bowing down to Exxon/Mobil, OPEC and the others. Instead of paying to build an oasis in a far away desert, we should be creating new American companies to feed our energy needs. Even Rockefeller would appreciate that.
We should also revisit our planning for both sprawl and transit. Expressways, multi-county metro areas and distant office parks are all luxuries from a different time. We can not afford to continue to spread out and stretch our resources so thin. We have all the roads, sewers and sidewalks we need, why are we building more? Do you like high taxes? It seems that way. Transportation is crying out for attention. Just because most Americans have cars doesn't mean we have to use them every day. Wouldn't some of you like to use your car for pleasure instead of commuting? I would. Rochester buses are cutting fares to one dollar per ride. For two bucks you can go back and forth to work. Plus you can get some reading time in. Most of us in this area will tell you, however, that it is not practical to ride the bus because of where you live and where the bus actually goes. I feel your pain. Instead of dismissing the thought, though, we need to look at the routes and see if they make sense. Can they be changed to serve more people? Is there an opportunity to incorporate other modes of transit like light rail? Would it be offensive to run some rail cars down the middle of 490, 590, or 390?
Expensive gas is a disease. We always treat the symptoms. This is problematic because until we treat the disease we will always see rising prices. Sometimes we get a respite (gas tax holiday), we stop thinking about it and then, BAM!, $4 a gallon and the cycle starts all over again. So let's take this chance to get to the root of the problem while people are mad, motivated, and demanding action and before its too late. Let's not be pandered to with short term 'solutions' like gas tax holidays. We have the opportunity to make wise long term decisions that will set our area up for growth for years to come. Don't be bought out by 32 cents a gallon when our future is at stake. In reality, $4 a gallon probably won't change how we live our lives. $5 a gallon won't likely either. But can we afford to still be standing around with our energy pants down when gas hits a price per gallon no one can afford?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
R's to Citizens: F You!
ROCHESTER - The Monroe County Republicans have done quite a bit to alienate non-Republicans in this county. Name calling, hard ball politics, and cronyism all come to mind. They have stacked boards and authorities. They have denied Democrats the ability to introduce legislation. They have pitted the suburbs against the city. They have appointed political hacks all over the county administration. They have, for the most part, quietly forced themselves into every corner of public administration, qualified or not. But this time they are going too far. The news that Republicans are adding Bill Smith as a finalist to be President of Monroe Community College is disturbing. The guy has literally no educational experience (unless of course going to school counts). MCC is one of the best community colleges in the northeast, and petty politics may tarnish that forever. Not even all Republicans think this is a good idea. These reasons demand outcry from everyone that has a voice.
Bill Smith is a lawyer who served on the Pittsford Town Board and in the Monroe County Legislature. While in the Legislature he also served as majority leader. By trade, Smith is a lawyer, as mentioned, and has a decent resume there. Good schools and fairly respected firm. But what does any of this have to do with running a community college?
Making a political appointment out of this tarnishes a wonderful reputation for MCC. Students receive an education that rivals many 4 year schools. What sort of message does this send to students, prospective students, faculty and other staffers? "You may be the second largest community college in the state, but in the end you are our little political plaything," Republicans say. Instead of attracting the best and brightest, folks will be hesitant to step into Monroe County's partisan world of patronage and payback.
Most disturbing is that some Republicans oppose this. The MCC Board (9 R's and 1 Conservative) voted 6-4 in favor of adding Smith (and Kessler, who is at least an adjunct professor) to the finalist list. This means that 4 people saw this for what it is and decided to make a stand, to prove this isn't just Democratic whining. Four people think highly enough of the institution they serve to try to avoid this embarrassing backwoods moment.
We are a backwoods town. We are Mayberry with a snobby attitude and without Aunt Bea's pies. Rochester will always be held back as long as we play these petty, small minded political games, trading short term spoils for long term solutions. Until now, they were reserved for authorities and zoning boards, where even the most inept of political hacks could do little long term harm to our community. Not anymore. The Smith move signals a bold new approach to damaging our area in the long term by attacking an educational institution that for years has helped our community maintain our high standard of innovation, education and enlightenment. The Monroe County Republicans have given this county the finger, and we can not let that go.
Bill Smith is a lawyer who served on the Pittsford Town Board and in the Monroe County Legislature. While in the Legislature he also served as majority leader. By trade, Smith is a lawyer, as mentioned, and has a decent resume there. Good schools and fairly respected firm. But what does any of this have to do with running a community college?
Making a political appointment out of this tarnishes a wonderful reputation for MCC. Students receive an education that rivals many 4 year schools. What sort of message does this send to students, prospective students, faculty and other staffers? "You may be the second largest community college in the state, but in the end you are our little political plaything," Republicans say. Instead of attracting the best and brightest, folks will be hesitant to step into Monroe County's partisan world of patronage and payback.
Most disturbing is that some Republicans oppose this. The MCC Board (9 R's and 1 Conservative) voted 6-4 in favor of adding Smith (and Kessler, who is at least an adjunct professor) to the finalist list. This means that 4 people saw this for what it is and decided to make a stand, to prove this isn't just Democratic whining. Four people think highly enough of the institution they serve to try to avoid this embarrassing backwoods moment.
We are a backwoods town. We are Mayberry with a snobby attitude and without Aunt Bea's pies. Rochester will always be held back as long as we play these petty, small minded political games, trading short term spoils for long term solutions. Until now, they were reserved for authorities and zoning boards, where even the most inept of political hacks could do little long term harm to our community. Not anymore. The Smith move signals a bold new approach to damaging our area in the long term by attacking an educational institution that for years has helped our community maintain our high standard of innovation, education and enlightenment. The Monroe County Republicans have given this county the finger, and we can not let that go.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Random Thoughts of the Week
ROCHESTER - Laziness can be a virtue. This post proves it. Once again I am just tossing out some randoms thoughts on some news items.
-Are Republicans free market or not? Why do I have to hear "if government was more like a private company..." if the Republicans are going to use the government to bail out private companies? Governments that should have gone out of business last week (not in general so take a breath Tennessee): zero. Private investment firms that should have gone out of business last week: one. Stop being hypocrites and admit that sometimes private business needs government help. Or don't interfere AT ALL.
-Paterson versus Spitzer on extra maritals. This illustrates the private/public debate. Paterson's issues are between he and his wife. He acted amorally, not illegally. We know what Spitzer did and it was amoral but more importantly it was illegal. I contend there is a major difference between the two circumstances.
-Prayers and thoughts going out to Lance Neve who was the victim of a hate crime in Spencerport. He was injured seriously (fractured skull tops the list) and I hope he can make a full recovery. I hope his attacker is punished to the full extent of the law. What kind of world are we still living in?
-The Iraq war is now 5 years old. That means we have been battling longer in Iraq than in World War II. I don't even know what to think about that.....
-Finally, I made my television debut (aside from Cops) last Friday on WXXI's Need To Know. It was a great experience and the host and crew were a pleasure to work with. Thanks for the opportunity!
-Are Republicans free market or not? Why do I have to hear "if government was more like a private company..." if the Republicans are going to use the government to bail out private companies? Governments that should have gone out of business last week (not in general so take a breath Tennessee): zero. Private investment firms that should have gone out of business last week: one. Stop being hypocrites and admit that sometimes private business needs government help. Or don't interfere AT ALL.
-Paterson versus Spitzer on extra maritals. This illustrates the private/public debate. Paterson's issues are between he and his wife. He acted amorally, not illegally. We know what Spitzer did and it was amoral but more importantly it was illegal. I contend there is a major difference between the two circumstances.
-Prayers and thoughts going out to Lance Neve who was the victim of a hate crime in Spencerport. He was injured seriously (fractured skull tops the list) and I hope he can make a full recovery. I hope his attacker is punished to the full extent of the law. What kind of world are we still living in?
-The Iraq war is now 5 years old. That means we have been battling longer in Iraq than in World War II. I don't even know what to think about that.....
-Finally, I made my television debut (aside from Cops) last Friday on WXXI's Need To Know. It was a great experience and the host and crew were a pleasure to work with. Thanks for the opportunity!
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