Fortune Favors the Bowl

Er, the bold. Not the bowl, fortune favors the bold, that's what I meant to say.

This'll be my last post in the Fortune Favors the Bold series focusing on Governor Cuomo's recent State of the State address.  I could keep going; I mean, he put a lot of stuff out there. But I've hit on the ones that struck a chord with me, or hit a CNY nerve.  Some of the rest of it -- taxes, for example -- I'm sure I'll get to a few dozen times in the coming weeks and months. Here's what the series covered:

• Part 1 gave a general overview of the speech;
• Part 2 talked about collaboration between jurisdictions, and how his most favorite example just hit a rough spot;
• Part 3 touched on Cuomo's move to 'Raise the Age' for juveniles in the adult justice system
• Part 4 was all about my favorite subject, money in politics. 

Today, I want to talk about medical marijuana and drugs.  Not the kind of drugs you typically buy on the street corner, but the kind you get from a licensed medical professional at a licensed hospital.  Because there's a difference, in my opinion between pot you smoke to get a buzz and pot you smoke to treat a medical condition.

In the SOTS, after talking about his administration's accomplishments, Cuomo went on to say

But my friends, even with all of that we still have more to do.  We have to make New York healthier.  Research suggests that medical marijuana can help manage the pain and and treatment of cancer and other serious illnesses.  Twenty states have already started to use it. We'll establish a program allowing up to 20 hospitals to prescribe medical marijuana, and we will monitor the program to evaluate the effectiveness and the feasibility of a medical marijuana system.

And with that, "stupid stoners" sucking our tax dollars on disability all across this great state sort of sat up, said "Wow, man" and tried to lift their bongs into the air, before collapsing into convulsions of laughter, quickly forgetting what they were laughing at.  Or so one doctor at SUNY Upstate would have you believe.

He's Dr. Brian Johnson; he's the director of addition psychiatry, and believes marijuana is a destructive drug. I'm suspect the article didn't have the full story, or at least I hope the doctor would have taken time to talk a little more about this, rather than providing a couple of soundbites. Here's what made it into print:

Hyping it as a medical treatment is ridiculous. You will end up with a bunch of stupid stoners in New York with lung disease who thing that maybe they should go out on disability because they don't want to get off the couch. 

The article notes that Doc sees correlations to the "right to pain treatment" movement back in the day that, in his view, opened the floodgates for the explosion of prescriptions for hydrocodone and other opioid pain killers - which (unlike marijuana) are highly addictive. He notes

People testified back then about the poor mother dying of cancer who could not get oxycodone. Since then opioid prescribing has tripled and accidental overdose deaths are more common than motor vehicle deaths. 

I agree with what he says about prescription painkillers - too many doctors are too willing to prescribe them to too many patients who are addicted to them, a fair number of whom manage to get multiple prescriptions from multiple physicians. Heck, even doctors get addicted to painkillers. We've had a few in our own back yard, including this guy.

Where I don't agree with him is on the overdose part, the addiction part, or the stupid stoner part. Because I don't think that AIDS patients, cancer patients, glaucoma patients, seizure patients, and others who typically might qualify as medical marijuana patients are 'stupid' and they don't become 'stoners' and frankly, even if they did, if it makes them comfortable while they're trying to deal with their illness, who the hell cares?

Some medical professionals (not necessarily this Dr. Johnson) seem to look down their noses at anything that is nontraditional, or not manufactured, or doesn't come with trinkets and junkets courtesy of drug companies; they deny years of theory, study, and practice, including those of native/indigenous peoples. There are thousands of years of records of 'medicine men' in Asian cultures, and hundreds of years of the same in newer countries like ours. Why ignore this, when it might bring relief to your patients?

And I have to wonder why someone would look down their nose at marijuana, whether smoked, vaporized, in pill form (although the pill form is somewhat less effective, I've read), when they are otherwise more than willing to direct a patient to take something that can cause this:

Belching; bruising; difficult or labored breathing; feeling of indigestion; headache; itching skin; large, flat blue or purplish patches in the skin; pain in the chest below the breastbone; shortness of breath; skin eruptions; swelling; tightness in the chest; wheezing, bloating; bloody or black, tarry stools; blurred or loss of vision; burning upper abdominal or stomach pain; cloudy urine' constipation; decrease in urine out put or decrease in urine-concentrating ability; disturbed color perception; double vision; fast, irregular pounding or racing heartbeat or pulse; halos around lights; indigestion; loss of appetite; nausea or vomiting; night blindness; over-bright appearance of lights; pale skin; pinpoint red or purple spots on the skin; severe and continuing nausea; severe stomach burning, cramping or pain; skin rash; swelling or inflammation of the mouth; troubled breathing with exertion; tunnel vision; unusual bleeding or bruising; unusual tiredness or weakness; vomiting of material that looks like coffee grounds; weight loss; anxiety; back or leg pains; bleeding gums; blindness; blistering, peeling or loosening of the skin' blood in the urine or stools' blue lips and fingernails; canker sores; change in the ability to see colors, especially blue or yellow; chest pain or discomfort; clay-colored stools; cold sweats; coma; confusion; cool, pale skin; cough or hoarseness; coughing that sometimes produces a pink frothy sputum; cracks in the skin; darkened urine; decreased vision; depression; diarrhea; difficult, burning or painful urination; difficult, fast, or noisy breathing; difficulty with swallowing; dilated neck veins; dizziness; dry cough; dry mouth; early appearance of redness, or swelling of the skin; excess air or gas in the stomach; extreme fatigue; eye pain; fainting; fever with or without chills; fluid-filled skin blisters; flushed, dry skin; frequent urination; fruit-like breath odor; greatly decreased frequency of urination or amount of urine; hair loss; high fever; hives; increased hunger; increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight; increased sweating; increased thirst; increased urination; increased volume of pale, dilute urine; irregular breathing; joint or muscle pain; large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs,feet, or sex organs; late appearance of rash without or without weeping blisters that become crusted especially in sun-exposed areas of skin, may extend to unexposed areas; light-colored stools; lightheadedness; loss of heat from the body; lower back or side pain; nervousness; nightmares; no blood pressure; no breathing; no pulse, nosebleeds, numbness or tingling in the hands, feed, or lips; pain in the ankles or knees, pain or burning in the throat; pain or discomfort in the arms, jaw, back or neck; painful red lumps under the skin, mostly on the legs; pains in the stomach, side or abdomen, possibly radiating to the back; pale or blue lips, fingernails or skin; pounding in the ears; puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips or tongue; rapid shallow breathing; red, irritated eyes; red skin lesions, often with a purple center; red-green color-blindness; redness or other discoloration of the skin; redness, swelling or soreness of the tongue; scaly skin; seizures; severe sunburn; shakiness; skin thinness; slurred speech; sneezing; sore throat; sores, ulcers or white spots on the lips or tongue or inside the mouth; sores, welting or blisters; spots on your skin resembling a blister or pimple; stiff neck or back; stomach cramps or tenderness; stomach upset; swelling in the legs and ankles; swelling of the face, fingers, feet or lower legs; swollen, painful, or tender lymph glands in the neck, armpit or groin; tiny bumps on the inner lining of the eyelid; unexplained weight loss; unpleasant breath odor; watery or bloody diarrhea; weakness or heaviness of the legs; weight gain; yellow eyes or skin; bleeding under the sin; confusion about identity, place, and time; muscle tremors; restlessness, sleepiness; continuing ringing or buzzing or other unexplained noise in the ears; hearing loss; acid or sour stomach; change in hearing; feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings; passing gas; sensation of spinning; stomach soreness or discomfort; appetite changes; burning, crawling, itching, numbness pricking, "pins and needles' or tingling feelings; burning, dry or itching eyes; difficulty with moving; discharge, excessive tearing; general feeling of weakness; not able to concentrate; redness, pain or swelling of the eye, eyelid, or inner lining of the eyelid; seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not there; shakiness in the legs, arms, hands, or feet; sleeplessness; swollen joints; trembling or shaking of the hands or feet; trouble getting pregnant; trouble performing routine tasks; trouble sleeping; unable to sleep; unusual drowsiness, dullness, or feeling of sluggishness.

Folks, those are the side-effects, overdose symptoms, or general crap associated with naproxen, the main ingredient in Aleve, the over-the-counter pain medication I take on occasion.  See, you don't even have to look at prescription pain meds to have the crap scared out of you, and to wonder if we know what we're doing when it comes to medications, and to wonder if we should be looking at other options.

We are a nation of medicators - patients who demand doctors give them a pill or a shot for everything that ails them, and doctors who comply, whether out of sympathy, expediency or as a defensive medicine practice.

We're a society that has managed to convince ourselves that having an erection is a medical necessity that can be handled, pardon the pun, with a little blue pill and a cheap copay.

When we're that far in the weeds with priorities, how can we refuse a sick person a little weed of their own? 

Extreme Right to Life Beliefs

Governor Andrew Cuomo famously made some extreme remarks the other day in an interview.

He was trying to point out the well-known, widely publicized and talked about rift in the Republican Party between far right/extreme positions and more moderate positions, primarily on social issues but I think it also extends, to some degree, into financial issues.  As Cuomo noted, this rift is happening at the national level as well as within New York GOP circles.

While his comments were overly extreme (by design, I'm sure), he was making a point between what the majority of New Yorkers believe, according to polls, and what extremist Republicans believe.  Generally, he noted, somewhere around 70% of New Yorkers are pro-marriage equality, pro-intelligent gun control, and pro-choice. And if you were to ask them, the percentage of extreme right wing Republicans who are against those three things are likely about the same.

To a certain degree I resemble the poll numbers Cuomo referred to. That doesn't mean I agree with Cuomo's comment about there being no place in New York for people who disagree with the general New York State of Mind. I don't, unless he was talking about things like the story below. 

I've written about this situation previously, the Munoz case in Texas, where the brain-dead woman has been kept 'alive' mechanically because when she died before Thanksgiving, she was 14 weeks pregnant, and under Texas law, you can't remove 'life support' from a pregnant woman. 

Sadly, but not shockingly, everyone's worst fears are now being realized.  According to Munoz family attorneys, 

Even at this early stage, the lower extremities are deformed to the extent that the gender cannot be determined. The fetus suffers from hydrocephalus. It also appears there are further abnormalities, including a possible heart problem, that cannot be specifically determined due to the immobile nature of Mrs. Munoz's deceased body.

My heart aches for this family, who were denied the right to dignified, humane treatment for their cherished family member two months ago, and now are faced with these horrifying consequences. I cannot begin to imagine...

The attorneys go on to note (and this language is not for the faint of heart)

Quite sadly, this information is not surprising due to the fact that the fetus, after being deprived of oxygen for an indeterminate length of time, is gestating within a dead and deteriorating body as a horrified family looks on in absolute anguish, distress, and sadness.

As I was writing this post this morning, there was a report on NPR which noted that there are 30 states in addition to Texas that have some kind of 'pregnancy exclusion' in their laws. What these laws do is interject the government  into a family's very personal decision, in effect legislating a belief that one life has more value than another, regardless of what the family believes; or in this case, requiring the saving of a life that could have been legally aborted under state law, had the mother been alive and capable of making that very personal decision.

When Cuomo talked about there not being room for extreme right-to-life folks in New York, I like to think he was talking about people who pass laws that make families go through something like this.  And I hope he's right, that there isn't room for those who would eventually amass enough power to pass a law like this in New York.

I wish there wasn't room for them anywhere.

Fortune Favors the Bold (Pt 4)

One of the things Governor Cuomo is a big proponent of is ethics reform,  including public financing of elections. He included a reference to this in his State of the State Address -- take a look:

I propose new anti-bribery and corruption laws, public financing of elections, independent enforcement at the board of elections, and disclosure of outside clients with business before the state of New York.

He's been steadfast in his support of these ideas, and his Moreland Commission came out with recommendations similar enough to Cuomo's ideas that one can't help thinking either he had a hand in writing them, or the Commission plagiarized his writing.  And while his support for reform has not waivered,  his own fundraising has been prolific.  Cuomo has $33 million in his war chest for this fall's election, with who knows how many more opportunities he has on his calendar to rake in more.

In his now famous Capitol Pressroom interview with  Susan Arbetter last week, Cuomo talked about politics and money, in a most enlightening and bold manner. Arbetter noted his successful fundraising to date, and wondered if it was to scare off potential opponents. Cuomo noted (and I'm paraphrasing here) that someone with a ton of money could run for office and win, simply because they had a ton of money, not because of any ideals or anything.  He's not necessarily talking about Donald Trump, but Trump has suggested he'd spend a couple bucks of his own money, if he decided to run.

Where the interview got interesting is when Arbetter pressed the Governor on where his money is coming from:

NYPIRG (Note: that's the New York Public Interest Research Group) noted that 81% of your donors gave at least $10,000, and some of your largest donations are from corporations from New York City who are giving in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (emphasis added).  And the question is does that make you more responsive to those interests? 

In classic Cuomo style, our Sonofa Governor answered:

Well...I think a lot of this conversation is baloney, frankly.

Think about that: 81% of his donations are over ten grand, bigger than you and I could or would afford, and he's got corporations giving hundreds of thousands of dollars.  It's NOT baloney, the question she asked -- it's a great question.  And he didn't stop at the deli counter -- he kept going.

What the people want to know, what they say to me is look, we want to know that you're working for us, and you're not working for anyone else. Because there are some politicians out there who can be bought for $10, and some politicians who cannot be bough for $10 billion. It's a question of the person, it's a question of character, and it's a question of values. It's not how much does it cost to buy a politician, it's a politician who can't be bought.

Now you and I can guess where Cuomo thinks he is in this equation. He believes, "in his heart" that we know he can't be bought, that we know he's working for our best interests and for the best interest of the state, and where the money comes from doesn't matter a whole hill of beans in the overall scheme of things. Why?

I'm going to make the decision that I think is right for them because at the end of the night I go home and I put my head on the pillow and I have to be able to fall asleep and I can't fall asleep if I don't believe I'm doing the right thing.

I can't fall asleep at night because our house is noisy and our cats are restless and My Sweet Baboo snores and there's a firehouse down the street and because I lie awake at night sometimes wondering why a politician would take hundreds of thousands, no, millions of dollars from corporations, when it's people that vote.

Cuomo knows that people like me have perceptions like that, so he thinks that we need public financing of elections.  He does note however, that even making a change like that may not be enough. He can vouch for his own character, but not everyone else's -- and regardless of the dollar limit that ultimately gets attached to any public campaign financing legislation,

if we elect people who can be bought, we're electing the wrong people. 

On that, the Gov and I agree.

On the rest, well, I have different ideas on campaign finance reform, many of which I've shared before. And until we make some really big changes - term limits for starters -- many times, those whom fortune favors are not necessarily the bold.  They're probably just incumbents.

Tuesday's Number: $624,902

Tuesday is the day my local paper, the Syracuse Post-Standard, publishes the weekly business section. In addition to special features, tips from stock experts, budgeting advice and the like, we get the judgment and bankruptcy listings.

Each week, I track health care related filings. I include anything that is clearly a debt owed to a hospital, nursing home, physician or physician group, medical supplier, and so on; I do not include filings by insurance companies, many of which are so diversified it would not be a fair assumption that the filing is related to medical care or health insurance.

·         This week, there were 32 judgments to hospitals, doctors, or other medical providers totaling $616,849.

·         There was one satisfied judgment, for $8,053.

·         And, there were no health care related bankruptcies.

New this year, I’m tracking filings for each of the four Syracuse hospitals. Here’s the breakdown for this week:

·         Crouse had nine, totaling $95,045

·         St Joe’s had three, for $27,884

·         SUNY Upstate had twenty, totaling $493,020

·         Community General, a part of Upstate, had one, for $8,053  

The paper publishes only those accounts of at least $5,000.

Round em up! Head em out!

Git along, little extreme conservatives! Git along right out of New York! We don't want your kind here!

That's what Andrew Cuomo said about them, on a radio interview last week.  I know it's true because I saw it on Facebook. See, it's right here in this post that was on a friend's page:

January 18th. NY Governor Andrew Cuomo is the latest in a long line of oh so "tolerant" Dems. On Friday the possible 2016 Dem presidential nominee said this about the NY Republicans who are against his gun control SAFE Act: "Who are they Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that's who they are and they're extreme conservatives they have no place in the state of New York because that's not who new Yorkers are."  Wow, is this guy a Dem or a member of the National Socialist Party? So fair warning Empire Staters, if you're pro-life, pro-Second Amendment or pro-traditional marriage, Andrew says pack your bags and get out. Better do it quickly before the Governor puts you on a train and sends you to a "special camp." Time for Cuomo to build his socialist utopia without any more "extreme conservative" tax revenue. Good luck with that, Andy.

I also know it happened, that the extreme conservatives have to get out of New York because a local TV station showed a portion of the transcript with just the inflammatory words shown, and then went on to interview someone who, by his own admission does not meet all three of the qualifications, but the reporter ignored that fact and blithely carried on with the story. The best part was that, in the anchor chat following his story, both the reporter and the anchor talked about the importance of context -- not taking the words as a standalone comment, but that the full context needed to be considered in order to form an opinion. And then they ended the story without any context.

Well, here's transcript of the relevant section of Cuomo's interview with Susan Arbetter, host of the Capitol Pressroom. Note that the transcript was released by Cuomo's office in response to an article in the New York Post, which the Sonofa Governor thought presented his views in a 'distorted' way. I have listened to the tape of the broadcast and the transcript is very accurate; I tried to use some punctuation and to illustrate the emphasis you can hear in the recording.

To set the stage, Cuomo and Arbetter were talking about money, who's donating, and the fact that Cuomo seems to be getting money from many Republicans, not just from Dems.  Arbetter made the point that some might think Cuomo was moving away from his 'progressive roots' and Cuomo gave this long rambling answer:

I don't think that that is right Susan. I think it is a very important point, but I don't think it's that I'm less of a Democrat, I think what you're seeing is, you have a schism within the Republican Party. You have the Republican party searching for identity, they are searching to define their soul. That is what is going on. Is it the Republican party that is a moderate party or is it a conservative party? That is what they are trying to figure out and it is very interesting because it is a mirror of what is going on in Washington, right? The gridlock in Washington is less about Democrats and Republicans. It is more about extreme Republicans versus moderate Republicans. And a moderate Republican in Washington can't figure out how to deal with the extreme Republicans. And the moderate Republicans are afraid of the extreme conservative Republicans in Washington in my opinion.

All good so far -- that same opinion has been expressed by many of the talking heads and yes, Republicans in DC, including in the House, where Speaker Boehner has very little control over his own party.

The answer goes on (as I said, it was long and rambling)

You've seen that play out in New York, their SAFE Act, the Republican Party candidates are running against the SAFE Act.  It was voted for by moderate Republicans who run the Senate! Their problem is not me and the Democrats, their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives, who are right to life, pro-assault weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that is who they are, and if they are the extreme conservatives they have no place in the state of New York, because that is not who New Yorkers are. 

Now, to this point the satirical blogger who was quoted on my friend's Facebook page has the transcript right -- the part she chose to pay attention to. But there's more:

Moderate Republicans like in the Senate (he's referring to the NY Senate not DC) right now and control the Senate. Moderate Republicans have a place in this state. George Pataki was governor of this state as a moderate Republican. But not as what you are hearing from them on the far right, not this clash that you are getting from the quote unquote "power brokers" of the party now. "We are right to life, we are pro- assault weapon, or anti-gay"....

Arbetter then asks Cuomo about comments from one of those Republican party "power brokers" who has asked Republicans not to endorse Cuomo.  Lets pick up there:

I think he did that in reaction to the meetings we were having. You know, moderate Republicans I work with; moderate republicans passed my agenda, for the past three years.  They want to criticize my record? My record was passed by the moderate Republicans, so they are criticizing themselves and this really isn't about me, Susan. This is "who are they?" And who is going to win between the conservative Republicans, the extremely conservative Republicans and the moderately conservative Republicans.  And literally, look at the issues they pick...

And here's where the crux of the issue comes in, folks -- not the comment about there's no place for them, which was a great sound bite, but here's why he said that:

 Are we right to life or are we pro-choice? Well, if you are right to life, that is your opinion and that's your religious belief, that's fine - but that is not the opinion of this sate, 70% are pro-choice in this state.

"Well, we are anti-gun control," that is fine. 70% of this state wants intelligent gun control. (Note: including, as I've pointed out before, many folks who are mostly unhappy with how the SAFE Act was passed, and who agree with two-thirds or more of the law itself - I have 'conservative' friends who would go even farther than the SAFE Act did in some areas).

 "We don't agree with gay marriage, we are anti-gay," that is fine, but 70% of this state (about), is now pro-gay marriage.

So figure out who you are and figure out if you are of an extreme conservative philosophy and if you can survive in this state. And the answer is no.  

Well, alrighty then.

There's the context that our news reporters didn't want to talk about, but wanted you to look up yourself. There's no trains to special camps, there's no rounding up conservatives and sending them on their way, no kicking them out of The Empire State.

There's just the numbers, expressed in opinion polls, that show that New York - gasp - is relatively liberal, and to Cuomo's point, it's a bunch of moderate Republicans who are making it possible for us to be such a bastion of liberal ideals.

The issue of extremism vs conservatism, of fiscal conservatism vs extreme social conservatism, is exactly what Cuomo said it was -- an identity crisis in the Republican party and one they have to solve if they want to make any headway.  It is, as noted in the interview, their problem to solve.

Knock Knock? Who's there? The Republican Party

fanpop.com

The Republican Party who?

The Republican Party who have a whole lot of work to do if they want to obtain any sense of respectability and attract fiscally conservative, socially moderate voters, which in my opinion is what we need in this country. Frankly, I'm not overly concerned which party people come from.

I am concerned, however that in this day and age, people who espouse ideas like these can be elected; and yes, these are all from the same guy, Virginia State Senator Richard Black, who wants to take his Neanderthal mind-set to the US Senate:

• On sexual assault in the military: Think of yourself at 25; wouldn't you love to have a group of 19 year old girls under your control, day in and day out?
• On school decorum, when proposing a bill to require students in his state to refer to teachers with their titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.) or Sir and Ma'am: The counterculture revolution of the '70s took the war into the classroom. Before that time, public schools were a model of decorum and then we began this thing we've seen play out at Columbine.
• On spousal rape: I don't know how on earth you could validly get a conviction in a husband-wife rape when they're living together, sleeping in the same bed, she's in a nightie and so forth. There's no injury, there's no separation, or anything.
• On low interest home loans: the current policy promotes adultery and sodomy (because same sex couples are allowed to apply)

Or these, from a variety of cave-dwelling Republican men and women, who apparently don't understand anything about rape. I won't repeat all of the quotes, because -- well, because it's so disheartening. But here's a list of some 'types' of rape gleaned from comments Republican politicians have made, as outlined in the charts you can find here, which were published back in 2012.  Note that some of the titles came from the actual quotes, and some were created to highlight the message in the quote.  You'll have to read them to determine which are which.

• the 'gift from God' rape
• 'legitimate' rape
• 'honest' rape
• 'emergency' rape
• 'easy' rape
• 'doctors note' rape
• 'buyer's remorse' rape
• 'enjoyable' rape
• 'lemonade' rape
• 'wonderful' rape
• 'the pre-teen slut was asking for it' rape

I beg you, Republicans: Stop it.

 

Heterosexuals can and do commit sodomy and adultery, and have sex for non-procreative reasons, do get HIV, but you don't seem to be in a hurry to investigate them to see if they're low-interest-loan worthy, or if they're worthy of adopting children or if they're worthy of being in a hospital room holding the hand of their dying partner or if they're entitled to a break on estate taxes, something I know you hold near and dear.

Men can and do sexually abuse women, but you seem more intently focused on protecting the men and blaming the women who are victims of the abuse, not participants.  It is absolutely not appropriate for anyone in a chain of command, whether in the military or in the business world or the academic world or the political world any other world for that matter, to relish having even a single woman 'in their control'.

Women DO get raped. They do NOT enjoy it. We are NOT our sexual fantasies.  Keep your hands off the laws that protect us, unless your intention is to make them stronger. After all, we are your beloved wives, daughters, sisters, mothers.  

Stop legislating against the gay friends you all profess to have.  (I suspect they're imaginary, given how frequently you invoke their existence at exactly the same time as you marginalize them through your actions.)

Get out of the bedroom. Get out of the emergency room. Get out of the doctor's office and the abortion clinic, step away from the ultrasounds and permission slip templates. 

Get the church out of our legislation, because your church and mine are not the same. I don't have one at all, but that does NOT make me less of an American. 

And while you're at it, castigate those of the Republican ilk and the wealthy ilk who act contrary to your morals, the same as you do Democrats and poor people who commit the same sins. 

If you truly believe in smaller government, DO something about it. Do something about waste and fraud. Do something about leveling the playing field for ALL taxpayers. Seek to end corporate welfare with all the fervor you apply to ending personal welfare. Act with, rather than acting against.

Every action you take, or don't take, including whether you continue to support these idiots who are dragging you down, can jeopardize the America you profess to love so dearly.

Think about that the next time you get together to talk about your plans for the future.

Fortune Favors the Bold (Pt 3)

On October 30, 1990, Robert 'Bam Bam' Lawrence shot and killed Syracuse police investigator Wallie Howard Jr, when an undercover drug deal went bad. Lawrence was 16 years old; Howard was 31.

Earlier this week, in federal court in Utica, a judge reduced Lawrence's sentence from life in prison to 31 years, on the basis of a 2012 Supreme Court ruling determining that a mandatory sentence of life in prison for anyone under the age of 18 was unconstitutional, as it met the criteria of cruel and unusual punishment.  In re-sentencing Lawrence, now 40, the judge noted that he had to take into consideration "the traits of youth" including "immaturity, vulnerability to peer pressure, and the likelihood that his character was not as well-formed' as an adult's would be. Four others, all over the age of 18 at the time, are serving life sentences.

Lawrence is also serving a concurrent state sentence of 30 years to life.

So what's the connection to Governor Cuomo's State of the State address, which is what this Fortune Favors the Bold series is all about? Well, the governor wants to do something about how young criminals are treated.  Here's what he said:

Our juvenile justice laws are outdated. Under New York State law 16- and 17-year-olds can be tried and charged as adults. Only one other state in the nation does that; it's the state of North Carolina.  It's not right, it's not fair - we must raise the age. Let's form a commission on youth public safety and justice and let's get it done this year. 

Liberals and progressives would say that we should not throw away a 16- or 17-year-old child, even one who commits bad acts, by putting them into the adult justice system. The child's decisions-making capacity is not fully formed at that age, according to scientific reports.  And, in 37 states and Washington DC, only offenders 18 years of age and older are treated as adults. Another 11 states would consider a 17 year old an adult, and as our Sonofa Governor mentioned in the SOTS, only North Carolina joins us at the 16 year old level.

The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice is leading the charge on changing how juveniles are treated in the American justice system. They and others have made the case that adolescent brains are not fully developed and capable of valid decision-making; that young offenders too prone to peer pressure and act badly as a result; that mental and behavioral influences help contribute to youth crime; that kids incarcerated with adults don't stand much of a chance in turning their lives around; and that recidivism rates are much higher for adult-incarcerated youth than they are for kids in the juvenile justice program, where significantly more attention is paid to reform, rehabilitation and re-entry into productive society.

One of the MacArthur studies compared statistics in New York and New Jersey (focusing on the New York City area) back in the early 1990s, and found that kids prosecuted in NY's adult courts were 85% more likely to be re-arrested for violent crimes and 44% more likely to be re-arrested for property crimes; in fact, for every category of crimes other than drug offenses juveniles in the adult system were more likely to be re-arrested than their juvenile system counterparts in New Jersey.   A subsequent study in 2001 found more developmental issues with adult-incarcerated youth.

These studies are among the ones being shared by the proponents of raising the age; RaisetheAgeNY has some even more compelling statistics, including:

• 75.3% of the 50,000 16- and 17-year-olds arrested each year, and potentially facing the adult court system, were charged with misdemeanors;
• 70% of the 16- and 17-year-olds arrested are black or Latino; and
• 80% of the ones who end up being sentenced are black or Latino

These are sobering statistics, to be sure.  But so (as just one example) was the behavior of Robert Lawrence;  he committed an adult crime (murder of a police officer) while participating in an adult crime (a deal to sell a lot of cocaine) with the intention of committing yet another adult crime (stealing $42,000, the cash intended to purchase the coke).

This type of behavior -- these or any other serious crimes -- should continue to be treated as adult crimes. And whatever we do let's not become Texas, where blaming wealthy parents is now fair game, just as blaming a poor upbringing is fair game just about everywhere.

Now, the other question here is why we need to "form a commission on youth public safety" to tackle this.

Why not let the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children handle it? They're celebrating 25 years of service, according to their web page. Funny - I see that and I'm reminded of Syracuse's old Frank's Pizza, where they used to say in their late-night ads that they "know what they've been doing, they've been doing it for over 25 years" -- that's experience, folks!

Yes -- let's ask this permanent commission to tackle the Raise the Age issue. Or, heaven forbid, why not ask the New York State Legislature? No one's better at holding meetings than that group.

If we're going to do this, let's look at misdemeanors vs. more serious crimes; let's look at harm to the victims (property vs person, for example) and let's look at sentencing options (including any cases of mandatory minimums).  Let's not lose sight of three-strikes type laws, and make sure that they're reasonable. But let's not mess around pulling together another group, let's use the one that's in place and figure out what has to be done.

And in the process, let's make absolutely sure that families like Wallie Howard's are heard from -- for as much as liberals and progressives are in favor of protecting and promoting and supporting the lives and welfare of the young and the less fortunate, when it comes to crime and punishment, the voice of the victims cannot be forgotten. 

About That Stadium

Last night I offered my second post on Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address. I noted he called out the collaborative efforts that we've grown used to here between Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, and how they could be an example for other leaders in any of New York's 10,500 jurisdictions.

Another focus of last night's post was the issue that has apparently slowed the collaboration, the Onondaga County - Syracuse University - SUNY Upstate Medical University - private developer - Sonofa Governor plan to plop a $500 million sports stadium in the city of Syracuse.  Notably absent from the collective planning was Mayor Miner, according to several reports. The mayor has some questions; other politicians and community leaders do as well. I do too, a few of which have been answered to some degree in this interview WYSR's Joe Galuski did with Joanie.

I initially wondered about the proximity of the suggested location to the elevated section of Route 81, which folks around here know will reach "the end of its useful life" in 2017. Conversations on what to do with the highway continue, with the public comment portion of the discussion coming to a close this week. The solutions for 81 haven't sounded all that creative -- a 'boulevard' in place of the elevated highway is the leading proposal, I think -- but it would be interesting to picture how the two projects would intersect, what the construction schedules would be, and how we ensure that we get full value out of both.

Our infrastructure issues, which span the width and breadth of the city, would not likely be improved by the development of the stadium and the other 1 million feet of commercial and residential space in the neighborhood, which according to Mahoney's radio interview would include a couple of small parking garages and a hotel. (There are close to 12,000 parking spaces within half a mile of the proposed location). And note, of course, that we still don't have a convention center hotel, and this project won't give us one.

I was confused on what the tax status of the project would be. SU and SUNY Upstate are generally tax-exempt, and it would be a concern if the stadium property also was tax free.  Mahoney indicated it would be privately owned, and taxable.  That's a good thing, as long as we actually collect taxes on it. Typically developments end up with Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) deals, as well as sales tax exemptions on construction, waiver of filing fees, and so on -- so I would hope that the tax-ability of the property was realized very quickly, rather than after some 10, 15, 20 or even 30 years, as has been the case on past development projects.

I wondered, If we build this and SU will come to play there, is it for basketball? Football? Lacrosse? All of these?  Does SU really want to give up the largest on-campus basketball arena and instead rely on a private facility at an off-campus location? That surprises me, unless that's the only way they'll be able to get 35,000 or more in to a game.

Because, we all know, of course, about the 'down-sitting-donor' yoga pose which is regularly exhibited at Carrier Dome events, and maybe this new facility could solve that problem. Of course, then would you have folks get football season tickets at the Dome and other sport season tickets at the new place? And parking passes at both? How's that going to go over with the old guys who pay big bucks for their front row seats or their luxury boxes? I'm trying to picture my company, who has some limited sponsorship at the Dome, having that conversation in the executive suite.

Carrier Dome from Onondaga Lake

Or, does the new facility get used for SU football too? Better for the donors, I guess. But what then becomes of the Dome? Can't imagine that SU would let her sit there unused, occupying critical on-campus real estate. Could we -- would we -- lose our iconic Teflon bubble? Lord, I hope not!

And the Syracuse Crunch?  Mahoney indicated in her newspaper interview that they might be on board. Doesn't that leave a gaping hole in the Oncenter schedule? And, correspondingly, in the wallets of the businesses that rely to some degree on Oncenter events to bring in revenue? Are we just going to sacrifice those businesses for the new ones that will grow up in the new stadium neighborhood?  I know that's Governor Cuomo's style, as he showed us with his Tax-Free NY plan, allowing new businesses and their employees to be tax free, while everyone else pays as required.

Mahoney indicated this would be a 365-days-a-year facility, that would get us the events that currently hop over Syracuse travelling from Rochester to Albany and vice versa. That would be a good thing - it would almost have to be a mandatory thing, so that we could get some money out of the hotel room tax.  And that we'd have concerts, which SU couldn't put on for the general public without having to make a crazy stretch to prove an educational component and protect their tax status. So my question about getting a Springsteen concert, well that could theoretically happen if we built this thing.

All that's well and good, I guess.  My main concern with this is that we have a private university, a private stadium owner, a private developer with his million feet of stuff, and yet, it sounds like something close to half of the project funding-- over $200 million from the state alone, with additional contributions from SU, Onondaga County, and others -- is coming from public dollars.  I griped about that when we taxpayers spent over a billion on the new Yankee Stadium, and another $800 million or so for the new Mets playground. I complain about it every time someone comes with hand outstretched and says "I have a great idea! It's so good I want you to pay me to make it happen!"

I understand bold ideas, and creative thinking, and a bunch of people sitting around talking about fun stuff.  I just hate when those conversations take their inevitable turn to government coffers.

And I wonder where are all the limited-government folks, because they should be screaming about this. And because I'm not sure, but I don't think you'll find mention of a stadium anywhere in those pocket Constitutions people are so proud to carry around. 

Fortune Favors the Bold (Pt 2)

In his State of the State (SOTS) address, our Sonofa Governor Andrew Cuomo touched on many subjects; see my summary here. One of the things that he specifically mentioned was the uncommon collaboration between Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney.

Cuomo is familiar with both women. Miner is the co-chair of New York's Democratic Committee, and in her role as our 53rd mayor she's frequently butted heads with the governor on financial issues, among other things.  Mahoney, a Republican, participated on Cuomo's transition team and is also a member of his Moreland Commission to clean up Albany. Here's what he had to say about our leaders:

And there is a ray of hope because there are local leaders who are stepping up to the plate and I would like to take a moment to recognize the great Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and the Mayor of Syracuse Stephanie Miner who are working together. They are working together to see if they can achieve consolidation and shared services between Onondaga County and the city of Syracuse. We wish them well and we hope other leaders follow their example because that is exactly the right course. 

Well, today we learned that things aren't always perfect with our Dream Team.  The topic that has them on opposite sides, at least for now? Building a new sports facility in Syracuse, primarily for SU.  This article provides a lot of the details on the proposed project, which Mahoney has been working on for a while. Here are some highlights of the deal, now not expected to go through:

• perhaps as much as $200 million in state funding, through an agreement with Cuomo, to go towards a half-a-billion dollar project slated for the old Kennedy Square neighborhood sandwiched between the University Hill medical complex and Water Street.  That area is already being developed as part of Upstate's seemingly endless appetite for expansion and SU's Connective Corridor initiative
• a commitment from the developer of the site to look to get an additional one million square feet of mixed development (residential and retail) near the area for the stadium
• contributions from SU, the 'major tenant', and from the County Legislature towards the project
• a private company to manage the facility.

Given their prior collaborative efforts it seems uncharacteristic that Miner was only brought in towards the end, after much had already been put into motion but Mahoney admitted that was the case. She also indicated that Miner balked, stating

I see this as a tremendous opportunity for the whole region, but I don't want to do it over the mayor's objections.  At the end of the day, she is the mayor and she gets to set her priorities.  My priorities, or the state's priorities, or Syracuse University's priorities for the city don't take precedence over the mayor's priorities. 

Those priorities for the city are mundane things, like replacing 100-year-old water mains before any more of them burst; new police cars, which are being replaced more slowly than they likely should be; mandatory water treatment initiatives; repairs to existing recreational facilities actually used by city residents, as opposed to a stadium that would only be visited by city residents.

I'm sure those priorities also include trying to do something about our neighborhoods and nearly 2000 abandoned properties; our schools; fighting crime; providing services in a city that's close to 50% untaxable, and all those other things that mayors are supposed to worry about.

Miner will undoubtedly have further conversations with Mahoney; she did send questions to SU chancellor Kent Syverud, which you can read here.  Syverud, on his second official day as chancellor, issued a statement, including these wise words:

I would hope that no community leader, including me, would be criticized for asking relevant questions before reaching a decision. 

I couldn't agree more.

Frankly, I'm astonished that Mahoney, the Legislature and all of the other interested parties cooked up this plan without engaging the city - I mean, I can only imagine what Joanie would think if I got together with her neighbors and came up with a plan to put a gazebo in her back yard, then presented her with about 70% of the details and said "Come on Joanie, let's go!" I expect I'd be met with a 'lack of enthusiasm' don't you?

To Cuomo's point in the SOTS, let's hope that other leaders who are looking to follow Miner and Mahoney down the path of collaboration don't take this little misstep as a sign that partnering with other jurisdictions - we have over 10,000 of them in New York, after all -- is the wrong way to go.  It's absolutely the right way to go, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it here in Central New York.

And to his point that 'fortune favors the bold', one of things that sticks out the most on this is the 'bold' hand of the Governor, the hand that guides things behind the scenes and then presents them for everyone to take in when he's done, whether they like it or not. Reminds me of the old adage, if you can't play nice, pick up your toys and leave.

If  Onondaga County ends up losing hundreds of millions of dollars because Cuomo and Mahoney failed to engage a critical stakeholder, and chose instead to plop a gazebo in the middle of that stakeholder's back yard, shame on them.

Tuesday's Number: $52,443

Tuesday is the day my local paper, the Syracuse Post-Standard, publishes the weekly business section. In addition to special features, tips from stock experts, budgeting advice and the like, we get the judgment and bankruptcy listings.

Each week, I track health care related filings. I include anything that is clearly a debt owed to a hospital, nursing home, physician or physician group, medical supplier, and so on; I do not include filings by insurance companies, many of which are so diversified it would not be a fair assumption that the filing is related to medical care or health insurance.

·         This week, there were five judgments to hospitals, doctors, or other medical providers totaling $45,189.

·         There was one satisfied judgment listed, for $7,254.

·         And, there were no health care related bankruptcies.

New this year, I’m tracking filings for each of the four Syracuse hospitals. Here’s the breakdown for this week:

·         Crouse had 3, totaling $21,420

·         St Joe’s had 1, for $7,254

·         SUNY Upstate had none

·         Community General, a part of Upstate, had none   

The paper publishes only those accounts of at least $5,000.

Fortune Favors the Bold (Part 1)

(courtesy Gov.Cuomo's website)

The four words in the title of this post were nestled very early in State of the State (SOTS) address, which Governor Cuomo delivered last week.

Cuomo, like most who have the opportunity to give these speeches, started out with what was wrong in NY before he took office three years ago, including 23 late budgets in 30 years, sixty years of state spending exceeding revenues, and a $10 billion deficit. And consistent with how these 'State of the...' speeches go, he touted his successes and laid out his plan for this year.

I'll talk about the successes first.  There have been a lot of them during Cuomo's term; you almost have to give him credit for making a difference, even if you disagree with some of the differences that he made.  Here's the list of things that were mentioned in the SOTS, starting with those related to finances - the state's, or its impact on our own:

• the $10B deficit has turned into a $2B surplus
• spending was held at 2%, below the rate of inflation and below the rate of growth in personal income
• all New Yorkers pay less income tax now than when he took office, and the 'middle class tax rate' is the lowest it's been in over sixty years
• a property tax cap was passed
• a graduated, three-year series of increases in the minimum wage has started
• some 380,000 new private sector jobs were created, ranking us #2 in the nation for post-recession job creation
• a 15% increase in exports was realized
• improved scores were received from all of the major ratings agencies 
• unemployment is down across all regions of the state
• the 'opportunity' for municipalities to work with the state to help solve local financial problems
• state pension reform was enacted
• approval of casino gambling was obtained this past November
• a plan is finally in the works to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge

And in the bucket of public health, education and safety (a loose category of my own design, for the 'all other things we've done'):

• the (highly controversial) passage of the NY SAFE Act
• a reduction in the number of prison beds, and the closing of juvenile facilities
• a decrease in crime (no specifics given)
• enrolling some 265,000 people through the NY State of Health exchange
• marriage equality became a reality 
• teacher standards and evaluations
• the crackdown on DWT, or driving while texting
• creation of the Moreland Commission on Ethics to clean up Albany

Some of these may have been considered bold ideas when first proposed. I think perhaps the better term is 'ideas from a bold person', a man who does not worry so much about how things get done as much as he cares about the getting things done part. 

I'm not sure that anyone thought we would see this much of a financial turnaround in only three years, or that we would see movement on so many things that have just sat our there in the Albany idea cloud without any action - casino gambling, gun control, the Tappan Zee bridge project, and any kind of education reform being just a few examples. 

And the Sonofa Gov plans on more of the same bold ideas - many of which are designed to build on what's already been done - and bold implementation plans going forward.  

In upcoming posts, I'll look at some of these accomplishments and some of the plans for New York's future that Cuomo put on the table last Wednesday.

Tuesday's Number: $660,036

Tuesday is the day my local paper, the Syracuse Post-Standard, publishes the weekly business section. In addition to special features, tips from stock experts, budgeting advice and the like, we get the judgment and bankruptcy listings.

Each week, I will be tracking health care related filings. I include anything that is clearly a debt owed to a hospital, nursing home, physician or physician group, medical supplier, and so on; I do not include filings by insurance companies, many of which are so diversified it would not be a fair assumption that the filing is related to medical care or health insurance.

·         This week, there were 22 judgments to hospitals, doctors, or other medical providers totaling $634,383.

·         There were no satisfied judgments listed.

·         And, there was one health care related bankruptcy, totaling $25,653.

New this year, I’m tracking filings for each of the four Syracuse hospitals. Here’s the breakdown for this week:

·         Crouse had 6 for $69,755

·         St Joe’s had none

·         SUNY Upstate had 17 for $590,281

·         Community General, a part of Upstate, had none  

The paper publishes only those accounts of at least $5,000.

Family Over Hospital, Parents Over Government

Two interesting medical/ethical stories are playing out now, one getting a lot of attention and the other less so.

The one you've probably heard more about is the very sad case of Jahi McMath, the California teenager who was declared brain dead on December 12, 2013 after suffering complications following surgical procedures to help relieve her sleep apnea. The determination of brain death has been confirmed not only by doctors at the hospital but also by some who examined her on behalf of her family, and others who were called in on behalf of the courts, according to multiple reports. 

Jahi’s family, not accepting that she’s deceased, has succeeded in obtaining a court order extending 'life support', if that's the proper term, until January 7^th and have been looking for a facility that can take the the girl, keep her comfortable and/or provide some kind of innovative treatment, in hopes that she might recover. A brain trauma center in New York is supposedly willing to take her, although there have been some questions on how to transport her, what level of care would be needed during the relocation, and (somewhat indelicately, I know) how any care would be paid for. 

Much of this is playing out in court, with the hospital on one side and, I would say not surprisingly, the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network and the family on the other side. A decision was announced this past Friday that Jahi can be moved from her current location, Children's Hospital Oakland; the logistics of that, and how or if life support will be maintained at that time, still seems to be up in the air. 

It was reported today that Jahi has been released from Children's Hospital and sent to an undisclosed facility (in part for security reasons), according to the family attorney Chris Dolan. He also noted that

She's where she's going to be for a while. She needs to be medically stabilized, medically treated. 

I'm sure that last statement will be examined by experts from many fields for some time. 

The other case you’ve probably heard much less about is an equally sad situation in Texas.

Marlise Munoz, a mother in her 30's and an EMT, was found unresponsive by her husband Erick, who's also an EMT. He did what he could to try and revive her, as did folks at the hospital, but ultimately they were unsuccessful and Marlise has been on life support since November 26^th, after suffering what doctors believe was a pulmonary embolism. She's being kept alive mechanically, even though her husband has indicated that he and his wife had specifically discussed not wanting to be kept alive on machines; her parents agree. 

And yet, there she lies, brainwaves flat, machine-supported. 

Why? Because Mrs. Munoz was pregnant – 14 weeks at the time of her collapse, now nineteen weeks or so - and under Texas law, life support cannot be withdrawn from a pregnant person. 

There are some who think that the hospital is misinterpreting the statute and could end the family's nightmare, but the facility, John Peter Smith Hospital in Ft. Worth, is holding firm, noting that it was not a difficult decision for them to uphold the law and refuse to end the mechanical means of support. And, the doctors have been able to detect a fetal heartbeat, and they check regularly for it.  

What they don't know, and won't know for several more weeks, is what amount of damage may have occurred during the time Marlise was not breathing, had no pulse, and underwent the all-too-familiar efforts we regularly see on TV when actors playing doctors try and resuscitate someone. Was the fetus also oxygen-deprived during that time? Did the drugs pass through the mom to the baby? What are the effects from the repeated electric shocks?  Is the baby healthy, beyond just having a heartbeat?  Erick Munoz, the devastated husband and now single parent to the couple's first child, expressed hopes that if nothing else, this case will educate others, and perhaps lead to the law being changed.

So. Two cases one where the hospital says no, we won't continue life support even when the family wants us to; the other hospital continuing life support even when the family does not want it. Needless to say, folks from all sides have been chiming in on these cases, including Mike Huckabee, a minister, former Arkansas politician, and political commentator. He has made his opinion on the Jahi McMath case very well known, speaking about it on his Fox TV show this past Saturday and posting similar comments on his Facebook page as well. Here's what he said:

Every life has value and worth. There is no such person who is disposable, one whose live has been deemed by others to be less than others and therefore expendable, I can't share that.

He added 

The road that starts that way in deciding that some lives have less value and are unworthy of protection, that leads to a culture that tolerates the undeserved killing of over 55 million unborn children in this country. It leads to China's birth policy that limits the number of children for a family and enforces forced abortion if they deviate from the state-determined ideal. 

And finally, he noted:

It's also that culture that allowed the Nazis to hideously justify the savage slaughter of millions of Jews, disabled people, old people and those with mental illness. Let's hope and pray that the courts continue to do what every court should do, respect parents over government, family over hospitals, and above all, protect Jahi from them all. 

Let's hope and pray that the courts can continue to do what every court should do, respect parents over government, family over hospitals.... above all, protect Jahi from them all. 

Should the Munoz family be allowed to put the name of their beloved Marlise in that statement above, in place of Jahi McMath's name, and be allowed to make their own decisions, family over hospital, parents over government? 

I think yes. 

Five Years of veritable pastiche

Five years ago today, I published my first post on this blog.

I still remember the trepidation I felt as I pushed the button on that offering, a mere two paragraphs in which I expressed hopes that I would give people something to think about every once in a while.

Since then, I've published over 400 entries, started probably another 100 that I never did anything with, and jotted down ideas for dozens more, some of which never made it past a link or article that piqued my interest. Just the other day, for example, I found an email that had been in my inbox since April 2013, something I had sent to myself that just said 'research this' and a topic. I'm still working on that research, and hoping to post sometime before April of this year when that idea has a birthday.

I've had ups and downs; things started really slowly, and I've gone through stretches where I thought I couldn't even buy a reader. But slowly, things have gotten better. I've changed the format a few times, and have grown to like where it is today. And I think I'm a better writer now than I was then.  There's still lots of room for improvement, no question about that, but I can look at some posts now and not want to rewrite them, something that, in the beginning, was almost impossible.

Here are the posts that attracted the most interest since the dawn of the blog:

• In this post from 2009, I described trying to renew my ID without having the right ID, a marvelous catch-22.
• A post I did in 2010 talked about public displays of  patriotism (via flying the Gadsden flag) and what happened when one man decided to push the issue with his homeowner's association.
• I did a couple of posts on taxes in 2011 -- one about how people pay them but corporations often don't; the other, related to some folks thinking that Jesus was anti-tax, was fun to put together, given I'm not a religious person. On this I was way outside my comfort zone. 
• And there was the Alexandra Wallace-Jimmy Wong pas-de-deux; she complained about noisy Asians on their phones in the library, and he responded beautifully, in song, to her remarks. This post was also from 2011. 
• Several related posts in 2012 - a homeless man, police doing good deeds, and some introspection - focused on generosity. Others that year, like many I've done, were about politics, or politicians, or money in politics. 
• One of my favorites, lamenting the end of daily newspaper delivery in Syracuse, was really as much about my late father as it was about the paper. 
• One post in 2012, and a related post from 2013, questioned what would happen if we could have a 'parade of homes' in the heart of the city, instead of in the suburbs. I hope to convince someone, somehow, that this would be a worthwhile effort.
• In a popular 2013 post, I wondered what would happen if states color-coded driver's licenses or IDs for things other than immigrant status, which was under consideration for a while (ostensibly for safety reasons) in North Carolina.
• A post on how medical debt impacts credit scores was another popular read; I think I have to follow up on that one. And speaking of medical debt, here in Syracuse and CNY that's a huge issue. 
• Barack Obama promised to have the most transparent administration we'd ever seen. Sadly, that has not occurred; the City of Syracuse is more transparent, as I noted in my post on a neighbor's effort to get a zoning change for an interesting home business. 
• And finally, Syracuse was honored by a visit from President Obama last year, a trip where he was focused on education. I posted on that, and the importance of teachers in a child's life. 

So where do we go from here?  More Syracuse, Albany, Anywhere - Genuine. Honest. Commentary. I hope it will inspire some thought, engagement, or action.

Thanks for your support. Let's have some fun in 2014!

We're Talking Porn This Morning. Fair Warning.

I'm one of the bazillion Americans in the past of Winter Storm Hercules (yes, apparently winter storms get names just like tropical storms and hurricanes), and for the past few days we've been hearing about the cold, the wind, the snow, the cold, the wind, the snow, the cold, the wind, the snow...

We haven't had all that much snow, really - I'd guess two or three inches yesterday morning, another three or four during the day, and another two or three over night.  It's just enough that you want to clean it up before more falls, if that makes sense. I mean, I'd rather shovel less snow more often, then waiting and having to do it all at once. Besides, it was awfully pretty out there.

Dried monarda in my garden

That being said, I shoveled for about 45 minutes yesterday morning, a little over an hour yesterday afternoon, and about 45 minutes this morning, with most of the heavy lifting needed to clear the plow snow out of the driveway and the sidewalk.  The Syracuse DPW does an awesome job on our street, which makes it a little harder for me, but I'd rather have a little extra work to do than the alternative.

Before going out this morning, I checked my wireless weather station thingy (a scientific term, honest) for the temp, to find it was four degrees below zero.  I put on an extra layer top and bottom, and out I went, My Sweet Baboo not far behind me.  I figured I would need the extra layers, since it was a lot colder than yesterday - about an 18 degree swing.

We made pretty quick work of things, including our 'adopted sidewalk' -- our next-door neighbors moved out around Christmas. Not sure what happened there, we weren't close, but with a school three houses down from us, I can't leave a stretch of the sidewalk unshoveled.  And other than a couple of fingers that got exposed yesterday when I was out taking pictures, I wasn't all that cold. The worst thing about being out there, truth be told, was my resemblance to the guy in Jethro Tull's Aqualung (you know what I mean).

And then I got back inside. And turned on the TV. And saw the weather porn.

Pulsing numbers. Menage-a-trois radars. Huge fronts (size does matter), with their leading edges nipping at my county, snow bands and temperature bands rolling across my screen, and lurking on the side, a man in a suit, talking dirty to me: wind chills...snowfalls... temperatures... Bare skin, and exposure, and the need to take frequent breaks from strenuous activity Videos... Live action shots... Pretty people in cute little outfits...It almost took my breath away.

One of my garden wreaths

And instead of feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, I was cold. Colder than I was outside. Because there was no wind when I was out shoveling, it was a still, beautiful morning. Because it wasn't -12 where I was, it was much warmer than that. But the more they talked about how horrible it was out there, in Syracuse where I live, the colder I got, even though I had been outside for 45 minutes. But by the time the weather segment was over, I was freezing, wrapped in a blanket, wearing a hat and scarf... well, OK, not quite that bad.

It's Syracuse, folks. A little colder than usual, but nothing we can't handle. Take normal weather precautions, don't be stupid. Drive carefully, roads will be slippery. Check on your neighbors (the ones that haven't moved out), especially the elderly. Clear your sidewalks. If you live near a fire hydrant, make sure it's not buried in snow. Dress appropriately. Don't let your pets outside. If you must, pick up some bread and milk. You know, the normal stuff we do.

Oh - one more thing. Just once, I'd love to see us devote as much attention, facts and figures to actual news stories as we do to the weather -- that would be porn worth watching.