Cuomo is Feeling the Heat

Nice to see that our tone-deaf governor is starting to realize that there are people within his constituency who are having trouble making ends meet. So, he's going all-in on hiking the minimum wage to $15 per hr:

“The economic anxiety that’s out there is real and palpable and it’s not a feeling, it’s a fact,” Cuomo said. “It is a fact that working families in this state and in this country have been going backwards. It’s a fact that the middle class is under stress and has been going backwards and it’s a fact that we have the worst income inequality and polarization of wealth than we’ve had.”

Don't let the fact that Cuomo and his ilk -- the Third Way, DLC, pseudo-Democrats who sold the party's values down the river -- have been willing participants in implementing the policies that led to this dramatic shift. And you certainly should not let Cuomo's actions up until this point color your feelings about our governor. Listen to what he says, folks; pay no attention to what he does.

Kingston's New Mayor on the Pilgrim Pipeline: "Not So Fast!"

This thing is a bad idea all around. Good on our new mayor and the common council for stepping up to fight its construction:

KINGSTON >> City aldermen have voted to forward formal objections to the New York State Thruway Authority being one of the agencies leading the environmental review of the proposed $553.2 million Pilgrim pipelines project.

At a Common Council meeting Tuesday, aldermen said it would be a conflict of interest for the authority to share responsibility for the review with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The vote was 8-0, with Alderman Doug Koop, D-Ward 2, absent.

“I’m really proud of the Common Council for stepping up at a very late date,” said Alderman Brad Will, D-Ward 3. “This was brought to us by nonprofit organizations that have been good watchdogs.”

Aldermen had been given a letter from Mayor Steve Noble, who wrote that he declined to accept the Dec. 21 declaration by the two state agencies for shared responsibility over the environmental review.

The gist of the mumbo jumbo, iirc from by days covering town planning boards, whenever you build something that will have a potentially negative impact on the local environment, what is known as a "listed action," there needs to be a lead agency to coordinate the process. In this case it's the Thruway Authority who says it should be that designee.

The mayor and common council are arguing, and rightly so in my opinion, that the Thruway Authority doesn't have the know-how to do the job adequately:

“The Thruway Authority’s very narrow expertise in highway use policy and regulation does not provide an adequate basis to justify the authority’s serving as a co-lead agency in an environmental review,” Noble wrote. “The Department of Environmental Conservation itself discourages co-lead agency because of the potential for disagreement and this case does not merit an exception. (The) Department of Environmental Conservation has advised in the past that language in the regulations that provide for the Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner to choose between agencies and the plain reading of the regulations themselves preclude the use of co-lead agencies.”

Noble added that the “Thruway Authority continues to have an apparent conflict of interest in overseeing the environmental review of the project that if approved would result in its receipt of revenues from Pilgrim (pipelines) project from fees charged ... for use of the right-of-way.”

The mayor goes on to cite a host of environmental concerns, most of which have to do with the fact that the pipeline will cross a number of rivers and streams, at least some of which provide drinking water to municipalities. These municipalities must have their concerns addressed.

Of course, some would argue that this kind of pipeline would be a huge improvement over the bomb trains that transport the volatile Bakken Crude to refineries. I have a track less than a half-mile from my house, so this concerns me directly.

But there's a third option: get rid of all of it. Stop pumping Bakken Crude out of the ground. It's as simple as that. And the lower gas prices go, the more likely it is that this third choice will be the one that wins the day. As oil prices plunge, it becomes less and less economically viable to extract difficult-to-reach crude oil. You're not going to spend $100 recovering $10 worth of commodities, right? But if that commodity sees prices go up significantly, then it might make sense. Currently, as I'm sure you've noticed, gas prices are as low as they've been in a long time. This trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

A new energy paradigm is beginning to emerge. The pipeline, and the bomb trains, are relics of the old way of doing business. I'm glad virtually all of my local elected officials realize this and are taking action.

Cuomo's Phony-Baloney Passion on the Minimum Wage

Last night, as I was flipping the channels, I came across a sound bite on NY1 (that's NYC's 24-hour news channel, for those who are unfamiliar) in which our governor was railing against corporations that don't pay a living wage and force employees to rely on government programs to make ends meet. And we know who these companies are, Walmart being one of the preeminent looters of public coffers. In this case, Cuomo takes McDonald's to task:



As much as I appreciate our governor's late-to-the-dance change of heart, I can't help but feel that Cuomo's new-found passion is more about his political hide than it's about promoting economic justice. As I watched this sound bite, I found myself not inspired but angry. Why? Because Cuomo doesn't believe what he's saying. He never has. The only reason he's jumped on the bandwagon is because he wants to take advantage of an issue he can ride to new levels (he hopes) of popularity. I, for one, don't buy it.

So, while my less cynical side is pleased, the realist in me wants to hurl.

(Tap-Tap) Is This Thing Still On?

Been almost two years since my last blog post. In that time, I have purchased a house, buried and rescued a total of four cats, and finally began making a little money as a real estate agent. I am one of the lucky ones, it appears.

The Spirit of 1848

Huge protests have erupted in at least three countries. Ukraine we all know about, as it's been front-and-center in the news over the past couple of weeks. But there are also big protests occurring in Venezuela and Thailand:

Demonstrators pack public squares. Flames shoot into the air. Tear gas sends crowds scrambling. Bodies are carried from the streets.

Dramatic scenes are unfolding during anti-government protests in three disparate countries this week, on three different continents.

The images are striking, and things are heating up quickly. What's happening on the ground?

There's something happening here, and what it is ain't exactly clear, in other words.

While there is no way to say that any of these protests have been inspired by one another, it does remind me a bit of one of the most tumultuous years in world history, 1848. If you're not a history buff, fair enough. Teachers/college instructor do not spend nearly enough time presenting this history to students, and when you read about what happened it's easy to see why. From the Wiki:

The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples[3] or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history, but within a year, reactionary forces had regained control, and the revolutions collapsed.

The revolutionary wave began in France in February, and immediately spread to most of Europe and parts of Latin America. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation among the revolutionaries in different countries. Five factors were involved: widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership; demands for more participation in government and democracy; the demands of the working classes; the upsurge of nationalism; and finally, the regrouping of the reactionary forces based on the royalty, the aristocracy, the army, and the peasants.[4]

The uprisings were led by shaky ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes and workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and many more forced into exile. The only significant lasting reforms were the abolition of serfdom in Austria and Hungary, the end of absolute monarchy in Denmark, and the definitive end of the Capetian monarchy in France. The revolutions were most important in France, Germany, Poland, Italy, and the Austrian Empire, but did not reach Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, and most of southern Europe (Spain, Serbia,[5] Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, the Ottoman Empire).[6]

In the end, the rebellions ended up accomplishing very little when it came to immediate, tangible benefit. But they did lead to a number of infectious ideas taking root. The fact that virtually every empire in the world collapsed in the subsequent years is testament to this.

Will the rebellions we are currently seeing spread to other countries? Quite possibly. The rebellions of 1848 spread around the world without radio, television, or the internet. What they did have was the telegraph, which clearly played a role in the uprisings. But can you imagine what might have happened if the revolutionaries had had social media?

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Moral Mondays demonstrations in North Carolina. One rally drew 80,000 people just a few weeks ago, though this story was mostly embargoed by the dinosaur media:



It will be worth paying very close attention, as the snows recede, whether these kinds of protests will spread.

Here's to a verdant spring.

Can't the GOP Find One Real Obamacare Horror Story?

Seriously. This is getting silly. Every time the GOP trots out one of these folks who allegedly have been victimized by the evils of the ACA, the story disintegrates like a Kleenex in a hurricane. The latest, via Kevin Drum, is a woman who appears in an anti-Obamacare attack ad claiming that she can no longer afford healthcare for her leukemia. But the slightest amount of scrutiny reveals that she's at best misinformed. She's receiving much better coverage than she was previously, and it's costing her a whopping $2 more annually. No, that's not a typo:

But when Glenn Kessler checked into Boonstra's story, here's what he found. First, Boonstra had some initial problems with the Obamacare site. No surprise there. But then she found a plan. It allowed her to keep her doctor. She's still being treated. Her old plan cost $13,200 per year plus "low" out-of-pocket expenses. Her new plan costs a maximum of $13,202 per year. Here's what she told the Detroit News about her old plan:

It was extremely expensive and there are things as far as oral chemotherapies that need to be done to reduce the cost. ... But I was covered and I made having a great health plan a priority for me and that was taken away from me.

Let's recap: Boonstra kept her doctor. Her new plan is, on net, less expensive than her old plan. And presumably she's no longer required to compromise on the type of chemotherapy she receives. In other words, it appears to be superior on virtually every metric. (emphasis mine)

Her premiums dropped from $1100 per month down to $571 -- for a person with leukemia, a really expensive pre-existing condition, it's worth noting -- and her out of pocket maximum, in addition to her annual premium of $6852, is just $6350 annually, or a grand total of two dollars more than what she was previously paying. She kept her doctor, and can never have her policy cancelled (unlike the old one).

I know a few self-employed people who make a decent living. Some of these folks likely saw their premiums go up because they were ineligible for federal subsidies. There are likely to be many thousands of such people across the country, at least a few of whom are sympathetic to the Republican cause. Couldn't they find one of these folks to complain about the horrors of the ACA?

It's hard to take seriously an opposition that just makes shit up. And Drum is right. Where the hell are all the real Obamacare horror stories?

VW Union: We Will Block More Plants in U.S. South!

This is just awesome:

Volkswagen's top labor representative threatened on Wednesday to try to block further investments by the German carmaker in the southern United States if its workers there are not unionized. 

Workers at VW's factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last Friday voted against representation by the United Auto Workers union (UAW), rejecting efforts by VW representatives to set up a German-style works council at the plant. 

German workers enjoy considerable influence over company decisions under the legally enshrined "co-determination" principle which is anathema to many politicians in the U.S. who see organized labor as a threat to profits and job growth.

VW, let's remember, is a German company that it fully unionized in Europe. And European workers want ALL VW workers around the world to have representation. It was they, and not VW management, who were pushing for a unionized plant in Tennessee.

But Sen. Bob Corker, Governor Bill Haslam, and Grover Norquist tampered -- perhaps illegally -- with the union campaign. Now VW workers are saying "fuck you" to these clowns. I've said it before and I'll say it again: VW should relocate this plant to NY State. We will happily embrace the United Auto Workers and the high-paying jobs this would create.

 Way to shoot your state in the foot, Corker, you boob.

Obama Has a Problem with Stupid Reporters

From Wonk Wire:

The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of President Obama’s proposal to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour by 2016. CBO: “The increase in the minimum wage would have two principal effects on low-wage workers: The large majority would have higher wages and family income, but a much smaller group would be jobless and have much lower family income.” Specifically, it would cost 500,000 jobs in 2016, but “would raise income for about 16.5 million workers by $31 billion, potentially pulling nearly 1 million people out of poverty,” reports The Hill.

Raising the minimum wage will lift 16.5 million people into something resembling a living wage -- at the expense of 500k jobs. This is a ratio of 33:1 on the positive side. In other words OBAMA IS DESTRYONG JOBS!!!11!11!@. Of course, lowering the minimum wage to $2 per hour would greatly expand employment opportunities. But, if we really want to get to full employment, legalizing slavery would be the most efficient way of doing so.

Our Days as Hegemon are Numbered

Patrick L.Smith of Salon on the fading American empire:

In my view, we are amid a pandemic of misinformation as to our global behavior. The dishonesty with which we are given the world — an essentially fantastic version of it — is becoming abject to the point of danger. And it is frighteningly willful. Here is the paradox: We cannot bear to see things as they are because things as they are constitute a refutation of our dearest mythologies, but we must see things as they are if we are to make sense of ourselves in the 21st century.

This is the way empires end, this is the way empires end....

Ken Starr Pleas for Leniency for Child Molester

Remember Ken Starr, the pearl-clutching, overzealous special persecutor prosecutor who tormented the Clintons over Bill's extramarital affair? He's back in the news, only this time it's to help a pedophile:

What’s Ken Starr up to these days? According to Virginia court documents, the famously pious former Clinton prosecutor recently pleaded with a Fairfax County judge to let a confessed child molester go free. Because he’s a family friend.

The child molester in question is Christopher Kloman, a big-shot partner at the Akin Gump law firm. He apparently sexually assaulted a number of teenage girls over a period of nearly two decades. But he's just swell in Starr's book, unlike the former president. In other words, he's a rich white guy who deserves a break, unlike those "other" people, if you know what I mean, and I know you do.

Head on over to Gawker and read the whole, sickening thing.

"We Have Full Confidence"

More frightening words are rarely spoken when it comes to a coach/manager who is in the hot seat:

Chelsea captain John Terry insists he is fully behind manager Andre Villas-Boas and has rejected reports of unrest behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.

Villas-Boas arrived from Europa League winners Porto this summer with a reputation as one of the brightest young managers in the game but a turbulent start to his Chelsea reign has seen him already write off his chances of winning the Premier League title.

And the rumors are beginning to fly.

There have been reports that the senior players at Chelsea have become unhappy with the manager's tactics, and both Nicolas Anelka and Alex demanded transfers.

Rumours of acrimony between Terry and Villas-Boas were fuelled when Terry appeared reluctant to celebrate with Villas-Boas and the rest of the team following Ramires' opener at Molineux, where they beat Wolves 2-1 to move into fourth position.

If you go by body language, I'd have to say that Villas-Boas has lost the confidence of Chelsea's elder statesmen. But that's just the thing: These are Chelsea's elder statesmen. I'm not sure how many good years, if any, Terry, Lampard, Drogba, et alia, have left between them. And, anytime you begin to limit the appearances of your aging superstars, feathers are going to get ruffled.

My feeling, ultimately, is that AVB will survive. He knew coming into this situation that Chelsea need to go immediately into a rebuilding mode, something he no doubt communicated to Abramovich before he agreed to take the job. The writing was on the wall midway through the past season (though I am still a bit miffed at the canning of Ancelotti).

Nope, AVB will win this one, if there is indeed something to be won. Guus Hiddink would no doubt breathe some life into a squad that has floundered in recent weeks. He might even inspire them to take a run at the title, something that isn't entirely out of the question now that City and United each dropped three points over the long weekend. But is Hiddink the guy you want if you're going to completely reshape the squad into something that can compete with Barca? I don't think so.

Terry's days in a blue jersey could be coming to an unceremonious end this year. He's looked slow, and has been out of position on a number of occasions.

I don't think you're going to win this one, John.

Open Space Institute

Doing an upcoming feature on these guys for a local magazine. Great organization:

The Open Space Institute (OSI) protects scenic, natural, and historic landscapes to ensure public enjoyment, conserve habitats, and sustain community character.

OSI achieves its goals through land acquisition, conservation easements, regional loan programs, fiscal sponsorship, creative partnerships, and analytical research.

OSI has protected more than 116,000 acres through our New York Land Program, by means of direct acquisition and conservation easements in the State of New York.

Once it's gone, it's gone for good, folks.

Hold the Bus

Nothing will ever replace the Routemaster, but these look pretty slick:



Now, we just need them to come up with a new Checker Cab for NYC.

Hitting the Road

Out of town for a bit, so the barely existent posting will become even less tangible in the next few days. To make up for it, here are some foul-mouthed Irishmen (and woman, the late, great Kirsty MacColl):



Happy Christmas, yer arse!