scottleffler.com (columns)

There's nothing flakey about it

2012-02-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

The new apartment is so much bigger than my previous place. That means that several items which I’ve had in storage are actually being used — or prominently on display.

Sunday afternoon I was cleaning up and organizing my bedroom, one of the last rooms in the house to be tended to. (I never got my bedroom painted in my old apartment, despite living there for 18 months). I took my box of Flutie Flakes and put them on top of my dresser, surrounded by a couple of stuffed hedgehogs and a stuffed bear.

And my girlfriend immediately started picking on me!

You’re thinking she was picking on my for owning stuffed animals, right? That’s where I thought she was going to go when she started laughing. I mean, what self-respecting adult male has a collection of stuffed animals that he keeps on display?

But, no, she had seen the hedgehogs and the polar bear before. It was the Flutie Flakes that apparently drew her attention.

The box is in pristine condition — still unopened. They go for about $10 on eBay. Of course, I didn’t know that until about 30 seconds ago because I’ve never considered selling it.

For one, it provides “10 essential vitamins and minerals.” For another thing, it’s kind of signed. In the same manner that all first-edition Flutie Flakes were signed. And lastly (this may be key), my dad gave it to me.

“I’ll bet 10 percent of men in Western New York still have a box of Flutie Flakes,” I told her.

She seemed to doubt this supposition on my part and contends that any self-respecting male that does have a box of Flutie Flakes has them hidden in a closet somewhere so his wife or girlfriend won’t throw it out.

I know I’ve said previously that I’m not a huge sports fan, but c’mon. Doug Flutie? How could you not like the guy. For a while, he was the hero of 50 percent of guys in the Buffalo area. The other 50 percent, for some reason, hated him.

Maybe she’s right. Maybe the “shrine” (her words not mine) to the Flutie Flakes is a bit much.

Eventually, they’ll end up on a shelf along with other items she’ll think should embarrass me but don’t, like my tin Labatt Blue sign which she suggested should go in the “man cave” (attic).

But for now, my box of Flutie Flakes will be prominently displayed in my bedroom — where no one other than her or I will see them.

But I have to ask you guys, where do you keep yours?

Don't wait to be productive

2012-02-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

I’ve always been a bit of a night person. It started in college when I would stay up all hours of the night — doing homework. Or something.

I’ve gone back and forth between day jobs and night jobs since then. My current job sees me leave work around 2 in the morning. I go home, putz around on the Internet, have something to eat, drink some coffee and finally head to bed around 5.

Some nights, though, I feel like being productive. Such was the case Sunday night as I sat in my new kitchen and stared at the walls in disgust. That wallpaper was the ugliest thing ever.

I say “was” because at 2:30 Monday morning (to me it’s still Sunday night, though), I got out a step stool and started peeling wallpaper. I only intended to do a corner as a test — to see how easily the wallpaper came down. To my delight, it peeled off the wall quite easily. The problem with that, though, was that I just kept peeling. Instead of doing a corner, I did three whole walls and part of a fourth. By the time you read this, all that horrible wallpaper will be down. And some time next week, I’ll consider painting.

Every day I add items to my to-do list. Most days I mark items off my to-do list. Some days I even do those tasks before marking them done.

The new apartment means a constantly evolving to do list. As soon as I accomplish one task, it occurs to me that two others need done. I should name my to-do list Hydra.

One of the myriad problems that comes with being a night person is that many of the things on my to-do list simply can’t be done at night. Sure, I can do dishes and laundry, but I can’t really hang the shelves that I need to. And I’m pretty sure my downstairs neighbor might be a touch upset if I vacuumed. I can shop for groceries, but banking at 4 in the morning doesn’t work so well.

I met another neighbor on Sunday. He was doing some spring cleaning and I took the opportunity to go say “hi.” I introduced myself the same way I always do: “Scott.” We talked for a bit and then he glanced at my license plate. For those who don’t know, it says “LEFFLER.”

My neighbor turns to me and says, “There used to be a Scott Leffler.”

I love the way he phrased it. “There used to be ...” Of course, I told him there still is and I am, in fact, the same Scott Leffler that used to be. As it turns out, he knows my name from my radio days. Also, I know his daughter. That happens a lot — both the radio thing and the daughter thing.

But not to worry dads, I’m not looking. I’m pretty content with my girlfriend — who at 4 o’clock Monday morning was dying her hair.

Big game is not a big priority

2012-01-30T17:16:00.000-05:00

I may not watch the Super Bowl this year.

The truth of the matter is I just don’t care that much about the game. The Patriots and the Giants are two of my least favorite teams ever. Add to that the fact that I can just watch the commercials on YouTube, and I’m not sure what the point would be of watching it.

I haven’t had — or missed — television since early October. I have high speed internet and Netflix. I haven’t had a TV show I felt I needed to watch every week since 2009. So the primary reasons for my satelite dish have always been sports — and Shark Week.

I didn’t watch the NHL All-Star Game this year, nor did I watch the NFL Pro Bowl. I feel like I should be upset about those revelations. But I’m not. I’ve seen but one Sabres game since the squabble between Time Warner and MSG began. That would bother me more if the Sabres were playing better. But they’re not — and I’m really not missing it all.

The entire planet almost missed out on the whole NBA season. In other parts of the country that’s a much bigger deal than it is here, although I like basketball, thanks — oddly enough — to two ex-girlfriends.
What I don’t like, however, are whiny millionaires, be they of the stock broker or athletic variety. The more I see sports contracts explode and the more often pro sports seasons are put in jeopardy by disputes over ownership of the pie, the less inclined I am to want to watch.

That said, I’m not boycotting the Super Bowl. I may watch it. Or not. I’m just very blase about the whole ordeal.

I went to church this week. My church. The church I used to go to when I lived in Lockport before. It was nice. The welcome was warm and the people — as always — were very friendly. I’ll be back.

Groundhog Day is Thursday. I’ve always liked Groundhog Day. I don’t care if it’s an early end to winter or if it goes another six weeks, personally. I am, however, reminded of the family vacation we took to Punxsutawney a few years ago to see Phil and friends. I was the only one that liked it. But I liked it enough for all four of us.

Groundhog Day means it’s February. Which means we somehow got through January. That’s absolutely astonishing in that I feel like it hasn’t hardly been winter yet this year — and here it is encroaching upon spring.

We did have some great snowball making snow on Sunday. US&J Sports Editor John D’Onofrio and I stood outside throwing snowballs at a sign. Maybe if I could have hit that stupid sign I’d care more about football. Or maybe if I cared more about football, I would have hit the sign. Or something.

But, hey, how can I be expected to throw snowballs and care about the Super Bowl. I have pink checks.

Who likes beige, anyway?

2012-01-23T01:06:00.000-05:00

A new house means new checks. I can’t, after all, use checks that have the wrong address on them. Plus, I like buying new checks. I have no idea why, but I do.

The funny thing of the whole “new checks” thing is that I just used my last starter check — from a bank account that I opened up about six months ago. I think I use an average of one check per month. So, in truth, these aren’t new checks, per se. It’s more like I’m finally getting around to ordering checks.

I think the checks people use say a lot about them.

Some people are very standard — upright citizen types. They order the parchment or executive checks. Those checks say very loudly, “I’m an adult and there is nothing fun about writing a check.”

Other people go out of their way to bring attention to their checks. They might have sports logos on them or flashy cars. Hello Kitty also comes to mind in this category. That kitty sure has staying power, doesn’t she?

Personally, I like the happy medium. I like colors and shapes. Maybe polka dots. Maybe plaid. If I’m feeling daring, wavy lines. My last checks were pink. I’m not kidding. Pink polka dots and plaid. My daughters made fun of me for my pink checks. But I didn’t get them for them. I got them for me.

Several years ago, we painted the girls rooms. We let them pick the colors, if I recall correctly. The Big One chose purple and the Little One chose pink. Guess who hates purple and pink now?

When we lived in Tonawanda, the girls shared a room. With sharing came a necessary compromise on paint color. If I recall correctly, Big One wanted lime green and Little One wanted orange. The compromise was blue — a very vibrant blue. Personally, I like it. My old landlord, on the other hand, does not. She wants it back to beige, along with the rest of the rooms in the house. She has this theory that the new tenants will want the house to be beige. I bet she has parchment checks.

I’ve painted every apartment I’ve ever lived in, primarily because I can’t stand beige. The Tonawanda apartment had a yellow bathroom, a gold dining room, a blue kitchen and a green living room. They’re all going to be beige now. Beige is really just gray with a hint of brown.

We haven’t picked colors for the new apartment yet. But the girls each have their own rooms here. I’m kind of hoping that they don’t pick the lime green and orange that they each wanted in the last house. I’m certain, however, that they won’t pick pink or purple — or beige.

Of course, even beige is better than the wallpaper in my new kitchen. But that’s another story for another day.

Try, try again

2012-01-16T17:52:00.000-05:00

Life is pretty awesome. More often than not, it allows you to try things over and over again until you get them right.

About 12 years ago, a previous version of myself — age 25 at the time — moved from Ashland, Ohio, back to Niagara Falls and, eventually Lockport, along with my wife and beautiful 3-year-old daughter. We were starting over. It wasn’t an easy move. We had to admit defeat in Ohio. As much as we loved it there, it just didn’t work out (Some things just don’t).

We picked Lockport primarily due to its spot on the map — about halfway between my parents’ house in the Falls and her parents’ Albion home. A few weeks before we moved home, my Dad passed suddenly. We would be starting over without him. And suddenly being closer to family seemed all that much more important.

If you’ve ever been to my website, you’ve likely noticed that it’s blue and gold. Sabres colors. But more importantly, Lockport colors. It always has been. In fact, a website I had prior to the current one was also blue and gold. I embraced Lockport long before we moved here.

About three years ago, I started over again — by myself this time. I moved to Tonawanda — via Snyder, Niagara Falls, West Seneca and Niagara Falls again.

Truth is, I’ve started over a few times in the past few years. Life just lets me keep trying until I get it right.

I’ve loved living in Tonawanda the past year and a half. Anyone who knows me has heard me crow about it. But something hasn’t been quite right. I’m in Tonawanda, and my daughters are all the way in Lockport. Yep, two of ’em now. We had a second one shortly after moving to Lockport — in the year 2000.

So as of this past Sunday, I’m starting over again. Again. Closer to work. But more importantly, closer to my girls.

Life just lets you keep trying until you get it right. It’s awesome like that.

Gov. Cuomo needs to stay on point

2012-01-10T00:05:00.000-05:00

Governor needs to stay on point (suggested headline)

I want to like politicians. I really do.

Most election days, I’m disappointed, but hopeful that whoever it is we duly elected will do their job and save the world — or at least our small part of it.

Candidate Andrew Cuomo scared me. After all, he’s a Cuomo. He’s his father’s son. And truth be told, his father is one of the large reasons I went to school out of state — with no real plan to ever return.

Life’s funny that way and about 12 years ago, I moved back to New York. But that’s beside the point.

When Andy Cuomo was inaugurated as governor, I hoped that my earlier opinions on him were wrong. I hoped he would be a strong governor who would make good decisions and get us out from the fiscal mess that we were in and dysfunction that seemed prevalent in Albany.

Just over a year into the younger Cuomo’s first term, however, I’m beginning to think that either he doesn’t want to be governor or he has no idea what the job is supposed to entail.

Maybe I’m jaded, but from my perspective, the state of New York — with Andy Cuomo at the helm — accomplished only one thing in 2011. That accomplishment is the tax cap. And I say accomplishment in an ironic tone. The governor’s best idea of how to save us money in 2011 was to tell entities he didn’t control (school boards, towns, villages and cities) that they couldn’t raise taxes higher than 2 percent. That’s akin to petroleum companies holding a press conference to protest the price of milk and eggs. It would be laughable if it didn’t pass.

Last week in the governor’s State of the State address, Cuomo said he’s taking on a new job. He’s going to be an advocate for the kids. In fact, Cuomo went so far as to say that he’s going to be the only advocate that kids have.

According to the governor, school kids in New York state don’t have anyone looking out for their interest. Teachers are in it for teachers, he says. And school boards are in it for school boards. Thank goodness the kids have Andy to look out for them.

Understandably, this position was not favorably viewed by teachers and school administrators. In fact, many of them were rather irritated. And who could blame them?

A few years ago, county legislatures in the area jumped on this “schools cost too much money” bandwagon. It was much easier for them to complain about other taxing entities than to try to rein in their own. That talk seems to have quieted somewhat and they’re back to complaining about state mandates — now that the state is focused on them.

My position with them was the same as my position with Governor Cuomo. If you’re so interested in how school disticts operate, give up your elected position and run for school board.
I’m not saying that our school system is perfect. But that’s beside the point.

There are more than enough problems that Andrew Cuomo could be focusing on that are actually under his control. Instead he’s doing nothing more than finger pointing in order to shift the focus away from the heart of dysfunction in New York state — Albany.

I remember the scream

2012-01-03T02:52:00.001-05:00

If you’re sick of news of the run for the White House, I’ve got some really bad news for you: It’s about to get worse.

Today if the first step in the assumed coronation of Mitt Romney as the Republican standard bearer. The latest polls in both Iowa — with their caucus today — and New Hampshire, the next step in the primary process, have Romney in the lead.

After today’s assumed win, followed by the Granite State, Romney is expected to roll over the rest of his GOP counterparts on his way to the nomination.

I can’t help but recall eight years ago when a certain Democrat was expected to roll over competition on his way to his party’s nomination and then defeat George W. Bush in the 2004 general election.

I remember watching caucus returns on CNN or MSNBC or whatever, expecting to see Howard Dean win. I was a huge fan of the Vermont governor and genuinely excited about the future with him at the helm. In truth, he’s one of the few politicians I’ve ever been excited about.

But the returns didn’t come in as Gov. Dean — or I — had hoped. Dean came in third behind Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards. And in an effort to reinvigorate his base, Dean made a speech that would eventually derail his campaign. You may recall it.

“Not only are we going to New Hampshire, Tom Harkin, we’re going to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico, and we’re going to California and Texas and New York ... And we’re going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan, and then we’re going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Yeah!”

That “Yeah!” was broadcast on a loop, remixed, and made into songs, turning Dean into a joke.

What was assumed to be a sure thing turning into a disaster, and Kerry ended up the nominee, with Edwards his running mate. Dean became chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

So just because the pundits are telling you today that it’s a done deal and it’s Romney’s nomination to lose, doesn’t mean he can’t lose it.

His lead in the latest Iowa poll was razor-thin and, while his New Hampshire lead seems insurmountable, there’s no such thing in politics. Just look at who’s polling third in Iowa. Rick Santorum — dead in the water just a couple weeks ago and now running third.

Following New Hampshire are South Carolina and Florida — with Newt Gingrich leading the polls in both. If the former speaker can make a decent showing in Iowa and New Hampshire, his stock could skyrocket.

Of course, Ron Paul could win tonight and turn into the party’s front runner.

This is one of the reasons I love politics. It’s a huge game of chess. And it the match starts in earnest tonight.

Life's most lasting gifts don't come in boxes

2011-12-27T19:10:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning, children around the world woke up and ran to the Christmas tree, anxious to see what Santa brought them.

Maybe they got toys. Maybe they got clothes. Maybe they got gift cards. Who knows. But surely they got memories. And over the years, they’ll get lessons. The toys they’ll forget. The lessons will stay with them.

A couple weeks ago, I was making Kool Aid. I got the Kool Aid packets, put them in the pitcher, added sugar and asked my girlfriend Heather to get me the wooden spoon out of the drawer.

Handing it to me, she asked, “Why wooden?”

I had no answer for her other than, “Because I always use the wooden spoon. I always have. I have no idea why.”

In short, I do it that way because I do it that way.

I asked my friends on Facebook if they had any similar oddities, explaining my wooden spoon Kool Aid story.

Oddly, most of them stirred their Kool Aid with a wooden spoon, too. More odd is that no one really knew why either. There were theories, but no hard science.

A quick Google search was sure to find me a reason that I always use the wooden spoon. I turned up dozens of search results for how to make Kool Aid. Almost all of them said “stir with wooden spoon.” None of them said why.

Thinking about it further, it occurred to me that my mom always made Kool Aid with a wooden spoon.

“Mom, why do I stir my Kool Aid with a wooden spoon?” I asked her.

She said she had no idea why I did, but said that she always used a wooden spoon when I was growing up.

“So why did you use a wooden spoon?”

“Probably because it was longest spoon that I had,” she answered.

So in essence, I use a wooden spoon because mom did. And no other reason.

It’s just one of many “gifts” that I’ve gotten from my mother over the years. I might not know when or why I got them, but they’ve stuck with me a lot longer than tinker toys or a “Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.”

Some of life’s best gifts aren’t wrapped. They aren’t given to you on your birthday or Christmas. And many you don’t even remember getting. But you keep them forever.

9-1-1 upgrade needed

2011-12-20T18:30:00.001-05:00

I have a tendency to view most laws as either an incursion into our freedom, feel-good legislation created to make the lawmaker look good, or both.

Very seldom do I hear an idea for a new bill and say to myself, “How does this not already exist?”
But that’s exactly what happened Friday when I got an email from Congresswoman Kathy Hochul heralding her new bill before Congress, called the Allowing Local Emergency Response Technicians to Accept Cellular Texts Act, or A.L.E.R.T. A.C.T.

In short, when you send a text message to 9-1-1, it doesn’t go anywhere. It just heads out to the ether, never to be heard from again.

Hochul’s bill would push for cellular service providers to alert users who text 9-1-1 that their message did not go through, allowing the party in need to at least know that texting 9-1-1 doesn’t work and help is not on the way. This way, the person in need of help isn’t waiting for nothing.

The bill would also push for funding to go to improve existing 9-1-1 call centers to enable them to receive text messages, so that in the future help would come.

Considering the amount of communication done by the youth of the world, I can’t believe that it’s currently not possible to text 9-1-1. You can text in your vote to “American Idol,” but you can’t text for help if you’re in trouble.

I’m not an engineer, so I certainly don’t understand the complexity of the cellular industry or phone service. I’m sure, though, that 9-1-1 call centers are even more complex than cell phones.

However, it seems apparent to me that our nation’s emergency response infrastructure should get with the times and add texting capabilities so that people who are unable to call 9-1-1 could text the system and get the help they obviously need.

It’s not 1991 anymore. Cell phones are not an extravagance. They are the norm now. I know more and more people all the time who are forgoing their home phone service and going with cellular only.
I also know more and more people who use text as their primary means of communication. On any given day, I may get a handful of phone calls and more than 100 text messages.

So adding texting capabilities to 9-1-1 is a necessity. And until that happens, asking cellular providers to inform their customers that their text did not go through is something those cellular providers should do — with or without the A.L.E.R.T. A.C.T. in place.

The next step, in my opinion, would be to allow Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, services to call 9-1-1. Anyone with a Magic Jack, Skype or Vonage phone simply can’t call 9-1-1.

Again, I’m not an engineer, so I don’t fully understand the difficulty, but I know that when people need help, we as society should make it possible for them to get that help.

I’m rooting for Kathy Hochul on this one. Her bill isn’t intrusive and it’s meaningful. Sure, it will cost money — to both local police departments and the cellular industry — but that money may actually save lives.

Rick Perry adds hate to the mix

2011-12-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Last week it was Herman Cain. This week, we’re focusing our attention on the reincarnate of George W. Bush — Rick Perry.

I want to like the Texas governor for his folksiness. I want to like him because he’s simple and down to earth. But I can’t. He comes across as an unintelligent thug. And last week he added hate to the mix.

Perry’s latest campaign gimmick is his latest television commercial, which he entitled “Strong.” It’s a 30-second ad summing up what is wrong with America in the following fashion: Gays can openly serve in the military, and kids cannot openly pray in school or celebrate Christmas.

First of all, to think that the problem with America is that everyone, no matter their sexual preference, can serve in America’s armed forces is foolish. It’s also divisive and hateful.

The Republican mantra on gay marriage is that it shouldn’t be allowed because it affords homosexuals special privileges and everyone should be equal. If equality is the issue, then how can anyone say that gays should be barred from the military because of their sexual preference? It’s blatant hypocrisy.

The second problem with Perry’s ad is the imaginary war on Christmas. I’ve been complaining about the pretend war on Christmas for years. There seems to be a theory among the Bill O’Reillys of the world that inclusiveness is bad. Somehow asking people to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is an affront to their delicate nature.

Perry says that kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas in school. I know of no schools that bar children from saying “Merry Christmas” or wearing Christmas-related T-shirts, sweatshirts, whatever. I also am unaware of any public school in America that has school on Christmas. I’m pretty sure they all have the day off —even on years where it doesn’t fall on a Sunday.

Sure, maybe the school doesn’t put up a manger scene or even a Christmas tree. And I understand that some people — including Rick Perry — would have a problem with this. I don’t, however. My children get their religious instruction at home. And, frankly, that’s where I want them to get it. They go to school to learn. In theory.

Lastly, Perry’s claim that kids can’t openly pray in school is also hogwash. When I was in school, we didn’t have daily prayers. But there was plenty of praying. Silent pleas to God for good test grades, the right food to be served in the cafeteria and Friday night dates. The fact that those prayers were most often not answered tells me God didn’t want to be in school, either.

I’m pretty sure that kids still pray for exactly the same things. And even if it were illegal for them to do so (which it’s not), they’d still do it anyway.

Last week, the Cain Train derailed. This week it’s Rick Perry’s turn to find greener pastures. Anyone who so openly uses mistruths and divisiveness is not fit to hold the office of the presidency.

I wonder whose campaign will implode next week.

Cain's departure makes GOP field less entertaining

2011-12-06T16:54:00.001-05:00

The field of Republican presidential candidates narrowed slightly over the weekend as Herman Cain “suspended” his campaign.

For Cain fans, don’t let that fool you into believing he may unsuspend it at some point. He’s done like dinner.

And honestly, that’s a shame. I liked Cain. He added some entertainment to this race, and in truth, I thought he had some good ideas.

But he also had some really bad ideas — like being “friends” with a woman for 13 years and giving her what amounted to an allowance for that period of time without telling his wife.

What is with these candidates and their inability to understand that they can’t have these “friendships” with women who are not their wives? You would think that after all the outrage displayed by both parties with the whole Monica Lewinsky thing, politicians would have learned that they just can’t get away with that sort of behavior — especially with the limelight that is cast upon them in a presidential race.

Personally, I’m inclined to believe that a politician’s personal life should be allowed to be kept separate from his or her public persona. As long as they can do their job, what they do when they’re not at work shouldn’t much matter — except their belief that they could keep anything like that hidden displays a delusion of grandeur that should cause concern.

With Cain officially out of the race, that makes Newt Gingrich the latest not-Mitt Romney. It’s hard for me to believe that as hard as Gingrich fell following the Contract with America, he was able to get back up. His rise should give hope to the Eliot Spitzers, John Edwards and Herman Cains of the world. In politics, apparently, nothing is unforgivable — with the appropriate amount of time.

That’s both heartening — knowing that in time, wrongs can be righted — and disheartening — knowing that there are apparently no better candidates than the ones we have before us.

Personally, I continue to have my eye on Ron Paul. Yeah, he’s quirky. And a lot of people don’t take him seriously. But he may be the only one of the lot that’s actually read the Constitution and has any plan to follow it.

The GOP primaries start in less than a month. And when they do, that list of candidates will whittle down quickly. I imagine it will whittle down to Romney and someone else. I don’t think it will be Gingrich. Nor to I imagine it will be Paul.

Of course, I won’t be voting in the Republican primary. It may be hard for some of you to believe, but I’m not a Republican. I also won’t be voting for Obama. Because I’m also not a Democrat.

I’m always amused when those on the left tell me I’m a crazy right-winger. I’m equally amused when those on the right tell me I’m a crazy left-winger. This just goes to show that both extremes of the political spectrum agree on one thing: I’m crazy. And I’m OK with that.

Excited about the season

2011-11-29T18:33:00.001-05:00

This past weekend was one of my favorite weekends of the year — the weekend the world transitions to Christmas.

Magically, the Friday after Thanksgiving, it’s OK to listen to Christmas music, and suddenly all those Christmas lights that I’ve been complaining about don’t seem so passé. I get this itch, wanting to decorate the house for Christmas and watch Christmas movies. Actually, Christmas fever, if you will, starts before Thanksgiving, and becomes just about unbearable during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. By the time Santa heads down the parade route, I’m about ready to jump out of my skin.

Many of you spent the morning after Thanksgiving waiting in lines for shopping deals at local shops and big box stores. For those who did it, good for you. That’s typically part of my Black Friday tradition, and it’s usually quite memorable, although I skipped it this year in favor of sleep. However, I have a video from one Black Friday of me walking from the entrance at the Target on Transit Road in Williamsville all the way to the end of the line. The video is about five minutes long as I kibitz with the people standing in line — all of them in front of me as I head to my spot at the rear. It was cold and wet, but everyone in line was excited to be there.

For the life of me, I can’t think of a single thing I’ve ever bought on Black Friday, but the experience itself was always fun. That may seem crazy to you, but those who get into it will surely agree. Different strokes for different folks, ya know?

Saturday, the kids and I got a pizza and — with the help of my girlfriend — started boxing up the decorations that adorn the house the 11 months out of the year that aren’t Christmas. We wrapped the photo frames on the wall in Christmas wrapping paper and put out the Christmas clock. We put up and molded the tree and decorated it with ornaments, some of which I’ve had since I was a tiny tot and some that we just got last year. Many of the ornaments mean something special, but they all mean it’s Christmas.

We watched “Home Alone.” And “Home Alone 2.” We watched the first few minutes of “Home Alone 3” and then decided it was stupid. We talked about the Christmas specials we all love — like “Charlie Brown” and “Rudolph.” And we listened to some Christmas jazz when we weren’t watching Christmas movies.

There’s just something about this time of year that turns people into kids. Or at least it does so for me. Although I’ve lived through Christmas 36 times before, it always seems so new, so fresh, so exciting.
So if you see me over the next month, and I’m all giddy and look like I won the lottery, odds are it’s just that I feel like I won the lottery. Because it’s Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving to the people I love

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

Most mornings - and occasionally some afternoons - I wake up in my bed in my apartment in Tonawanda. I love where I live. It’s a stone’s throw away from the Niagara River, or it would be for someone who were better at throwing stones. It’s also not far from the Erie Canal.

Before I even get out of bed, I check my phone to see if I have any text messages. I almost always do. It might be simple “hello” or much a more pressing issue that needs to be dealt with, but before I was even awake, someone was thinking of me.

My phone sleeps on the pillow next to me. In truth, it sleeps very little. Because anyone that knows me knows that I sleep very little. I’m not sure if it’s the thoughts rattling in my brain or the gallons of coffee I drink every day, but I don’t get my recommended dose of sleep, I’m sure of that.

When I do decide to get out of bed, I stumble into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of that coffee. Always with sugar. Sometimes with milk. It depends on the temperature of the coffee. I like Folgers. Or Maxwell House. Or Hortons. Or whatever. As long as it’s coffee flavored.

I take that coffee into my living room and sit on my couch - or my gliding chair if the couch is occupied - and check my email and whatnot.

More communication. Emails from people I know. Messages from people I don’t know. Friend requests. And even the occasional hate mail, which, in all honesty, always puts a smile on my face. No, I’m not being facetious.

I think a lot. Happy thoughts. Sad thoughts. Simple thoughts. Complex thoughts. Always thinking. Sometimes I wish I could shut if off. Just like sometimes I wish I could sleep.

Some days I eat before going to work. Some days I don’t. For that matter, some days I eat. And some days I don’t. My oldest daughter will occasionally text me just to remind me to eat. I usually haven’t and thank her for the reminder.

My phone is constantly chirping. Text messages. Instant messages. Emails. Seriously, as I typed the word “emails,” I received one. It’s 3:19 a.m. as I type this. And I just got an email.

I don’t get many phone calls. But that’s because most people have figured out that I don’t usually like to talk on the phone. That’s got to seem odd, considering I talked for a living for seven years. Or maybe that makes it less odd. But people take into consideration that I’m usually more comfortable with email or text.

It astounds me that in a world with 7 billion people, anyone would take time out to consider me. But they do. Today I spoke with at least a dozen people who asked how I was - and genuinely wanted to know.

I have a lot of “things” that I could be thankful for this year, but that which I’m most grateful for is the people in my life. Some have been there since grade school. Some only became part of my life recently. And of course, my mother has been there since day one. But all have their role. Just as you have yours. And hopefully, I have a role in your life as well. Even if it’s just reading this column each week.

Happy Thanksgiving. I love you all.

Election night bloopers and jokes

2011-11-15T02:08:00.000-05:00

I’ve mentioned before that politics is one of my favorite sports, and election night is my Superbowl.

Just like the real Superbowl, no two election nights are the same. Sometimes things go exactly how you expect them, and sometimes there’s a wardrobe malfunction at half time or a wide-right field goal with time running out.

This year, I was quarterbacking election coverage for the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. We had our team in place and were in the typically boring part of the evening — the “now we wait” part.
In truth, there are several “now we wait” parts. We wait for polls to close. We wait for results to come in. And then we wait for candidates to talk to us. This was the second “now we wait” part, waiting for the numbers to come in.

I sat in the newsroom waiting for fresh numbers from the board of elections, and our team was out in the field waiting to talk to candidates and taking pictures of the evening’s candidates’ parties.

Our staff photographer, Joe Eberle, was popping back and forth from Republican headquarters at Danny Sheehan’s to Democratic County Clerk Candidate Pat Murphy’s headquarters at the Shamus Restaurant. Meanwhile, one of our freelance photographers, Heather Grimmer, had set up camp at Lockport’s Democratic headquarters, the Davison Road Inn.

The Davison Road Inn, or D.R.I., was the home to Democratic mayoral candidate Mike Pillot and candidate for alderman, Shirley Nicholas.

We knew the mayoral race was going to be tight and could go either way. The refuse and recycling issue in Lockport had made Mayor Mike Tucker vulnerable. It had done the same with 1st Ward Alderwoman Richelle Pasceri. In fact, she had lost the GOP primary to Nicholas for that very reason.
Potentially, we had two upsets on our hands, and we wanted to have a photographer on hand to snap pictures of the happy winners at Democrat headquarters, if that’s the way it played out.

Unfortunately, our photographer, Heather, was asked to stop taking photographs — and leave — by adherents to the Democrats’ campaigns.

“We don’t like the Union-Sun and we’d like you to leave,” is the paraphrase that was relayed back to me.

Heather — a professional photographer, but a novice at politics — called to ask me how to proceed. Me — not being a novice at politics — was rather upset at the lack of class and professional decorum on display by the Democrats. And frankly, I was a bit shocked. I mean, this just isn’t the way it works.

Side note for those who don’t know me well: The only thing I dislike more than Democrats are Republicans.

Heather had every right to stay at D.R.I., a point reiterated to her by the staff of the D.R.I. But I told her to leave the restaurant without taking any photos. If the candidates and their people didn’t want their pictures in the paper, then, by golly, they weren’t going to be.

And all I could think was, “If this is the way these people treat others, I hope to God they don’t get elected.”

They didn’t. Karmic justice, if you ask me.

Misplaced hero worship gets smacked down

2011-11-08T01:00:00.000-05:00

I was an average teenage American boy.

And like average teenage American boys of my time, I collected baseball cards. I also collected football cards, hockey cards and the occasional collectible cards associated with movies and TV shows. I’m not sure if they still make those, but I know they still make sports trading cards.

There is a huge industry related to the hero worship of athletes. Aside from the trading cards, there’s also shirts, hats, posters — you name it. We buy the sports stuff so we can feel like we’re “part of it.” The “it” of course, being something important.

The hero worship of athletes, alone, is a huge industry. Add in movie stars and television actors, and millions of Americans spend a large portion of their time and money trying to feel a “part of” something “important.”

Today is Election Day, of course, and that adds in another sector of the hero-worship industry: Politicians. Granted, I think it’s a much smaller scale, but I can confess to having a bumper sticker and pin collection from throughout the years. A few years ago, I was offered a pretty penny for a Ron Paul pin I was wearing at the time. I refused the offer, electing instead to keep my pin.

But what of society’s real heroes? Where is the industry to worship — or at least salute — them? Where are the trading cards for doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, and even teachers?

I was having a conversation with a friend on Sunday during the Bills game. We were discussing this oddity and imagining how strange it would be to see doctors wearing jerseys during live-to-air broadcasts of appendectomies or whatnot.

Imagine how surreal it would be if your kids were talking about the statistics of successful operations or graduating rates or arrests or — well, I think you get the picture.

I’d love to see a local hospital start this trend. I’d love to see someone go out on a limb to try to start this trend of appropriately placed hero worship. Or at least respect.

Sure, people directly affected by the successful operations show their respect. Yes, people silently appreciate criminals being arrested and kids learning their multiplication tables. But isn’t it bizarre how little importance is given to these things that actually matter.

Now, I’m not saying this to bash sports figures, actors or even politicians. I have a very healthy appreciation for the morale boost that can be given to a city by a big win by their football team. But in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter how few championships Buffalo has. And save for a few millionaires and those who lost bets this weekend, the Bills loss to the Jets this Sunday doesn’t truly affect many people in Western New York. And yet, we act like it does.

I am an average adult male. And like most average adult males of my time, I have a T-shirt with an NFL logo on it.

I’m guilty of misdirected hero worship. But I’m wondering why. Are you?

Random scary thoughts for the day

2011-11-01T12:50:00.000-04:00

The world got a little scarier Monday - and not because it was Halloween. Scientific projections estimate that planet Earth welcomed it 7 billionth concurrent citizen yesterday. That’s a whole lot of of people. Heck, 7 billion is a whole lot of anything. But especially people.

Think of all those potential voters (and taxpayers)!

I read a piece by CNN’s Bob Greene the other day talking about addiction to electronic devices. He indicates that if your smart phone sleeps in the same room with you, you may have an addiction. I have to confess, I’m guilty of that. I think it comes from living alone.

You may recall about year and a half ago, I wrote a column relaying my glee with having signed up for cable (actually satellite) television service. Recently we decided to take a break. We didn’t break up, really, but we’re seeing other people - or something like that.

Having lived in my apartment in Tonawanda since last April, I finally decided I couldn’t live without dedicated internet service. I was using my cell phone as a modem when I needed to log on, but it got tedious and I needed something faster. Unfortunately, in order to do that, I had to scrap TV. I can only afford so many non-essentials, after all.

I’m going on a month without television. And I don’t miss it all that much. I’ve found other things to occupy my time and other ways to watch the things I absolutely don’t want to miss. I’ve also found that I have very little desire to watch the Bills. The Bills won 23-0 on Sunday and I missed every second of it. And I didn’t miss a second of it.

Speaking of the Bills, I see they have a new idea on how to hold the area hostage, wanting the state and Erie County to pay for significant improvements to their current stadium in Orchard Park in exchange for the team promising to stay in Orchard Park.

Gee, so they’ll stay our friend if we pay them? That’s what it sounds like to me.

Personally, I’d consider this deal if the team actually wanted to play in Buffalo. But the city has very little - if any - economic benefit to home games being played in the Southtowns.

I have nothing against the Bills. I’ve been a fan since birth. Kind of. But the economic blackmailing being done by one of the richest men in Western New York is atrocious. The fact that anyone is considering it, is worse.

This deal is exactly the type of thing that the Occupy movement is about. There should be no doubt that Ralph Wilson is one of the richest guys in the area. And he’s going to make sure to stay that way by forcing us to pay for his stadium upgrade. He gets to stay rich and we have the privilege of having a football team.

I can’t wait for the politicians to tell us what a great deal this is for us. Thank God there’s 7 billion people on planet earth now to help us pay for it.

For everything there is a season

2011-10-25T00:01:00.000-04:00

I’ve always liked Halloween.

As a kid, Halloween gave me an excuse to eat as many Snickers bars as possible in a very short period of time. I’m almost surprised I made it through the Halloweens of my youth, given the amount of sugar I consumed.

Also as a kid, I always enjoyed the Halloween parade at my school, Military Road Elementary School, which is now just a big abandoned building. Some say it’s haunted. Of course, some say every big abandoned building is haunted. They have overactive imaginations.

As a teenager, it was my love of scary movies that took over. I have no idea why it is people enjoy being scared, but they do. Many of my favorite movies are of the horror variety.

When my kids were younger, I enjoyed Halloween vicariously through them. They got excited about the costumes — and no doubt, the candy. I enjoyed walking around the neighborhood with them and hearing everyone comment on their costumes.

As an adult, my favorite part about Halloween is the costumes. It’s amazing some of the things that some people wear out in public. I’m not sure when Halloween made the transition from “wear something scary” to “wear almost nothing,” but I’m not complaining.

I also enjoy carving pumpkins. I’m not particularly good at it, but I have fun doing it anyway. I’m usually a bit of an overachiever when it comes to jack-o-lantern carving. I have some great pictures throughout the years.

I find it funny that the same holiday has meant so many different things over the years. I guess that’s called growing up.

Another thing that Halloween means these days is that it’s almost election time. This has been a rather hum-drum election year. There are no major statewide races. There are no Congressional races. And despite the fact that there are stories about the race for the White House in the news every single day, that’s not this year either.

I’m looking forward to the end of election season, nonetheless.

Election season is almost a Halloween of its own. Normal people change into something different to bad-mouth perfectly good citizens and make the rest of the world think they’re sinister and scary.
After Halloween (and election season), it’s a mad dash to the end of the year — and Christmas.

Stores used to wait until after Halloween to start putting up Christmas displays. That tradition seems to have been changed. This year, I saw Christmas stuff and Halloween stuff go out at the same time.
I love me some Christmas, but I do wish it would wait until after spooky season.

It’s funny how fast the last two months of the year always go. The calendar gets from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 in what seems like a couple days. But Jan. 1 to March 1, on the other hand, take much, much longer.

For now, I’ll just enjoy the season we’re in — with the candy and the movies and the decorations and the costumes. And the political fliers and the commercials and the lies and the propaganda.

Everything counts in small amounts

2011-10-17T12:24:00.000-04:00

The Occupy Wall Street movement continues to intrigue me. And I continue to research it.

Thursday, I went to the Occupy Buffalo protest to talk to some people about the group, their goals, their thoughts, etc. I did very little talking, frankly, but quite a bit of listening. And from what I gathered, I'm still a fan.

I saw a headline on a website the other day talking about the organization's "Anti-capitalist protest." Whoever wrote that headline does not know what the majority of the Occupy movement stands for. They are not anti-capitalist.

Another headline said "Group protests greed." That's considerably more accurate. I didn't hear a single person say that people shouldn't make money. I didn't hear a single person say that people shouldn't be allowed to amass wealth. They did, however, feel that the banking industry had taken advantage of the government when it was bailed out, and by taking advantage of the government, it took advantage of the people. That coupled with the fact that homes are still being foreclosed upon and loans are hard to obtain makes the Occupy folks (or the 99 percenters, if you prefer) to feel as though something needs to be done.

One of the groups greatest selling points is also its biggest weakness. They are an organization without a leader. There's no one "in charge" despite what you might hear on right-wing radio or Fox News. They aren't taking marching orders from Nancy Pelosi or George Soros. In fact, they aren't taking marching orders from anyone.

From what I've seen and heard, they're just as upset with Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama as they are with the Republicans. They feel as though there's very little difference between the two major parties.

Republican front-runner Herman Cain (when did that happen) seems to think that they're anti-GOP and should focus their ire on the White House. Many Democrats, I think, are hopeful that this is a left-wing response to the Tea Party. It's not. And I hope it never is.

It seems to me that the Occupy movement is what the Tea Party never was but should have been. It's a grass roots populist group made up "of the people" - the regular people. The 99 percent of us working paycheck to paycheck. I hope it stays that way.

The Wall Street protest began its second month yesterday. I can't help but wonder how long they plan to stay there and what will happen in the meantime.

***

Random side note: I wrote a piece about Occupy Wall Street on my personal blog the other day. I linked it to Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Somehow it got shared by someone or someones leading to me getting an email Saturday that I didn't expect from
a very old friend of mine who I had lost contact with nearly 20 years ago.

You never know what effect your work will have on the world. If a blog post I wrote in Tonawanda could get shared with someone in the middle of Pennsylvania, who knows what your actions might result in.

Everything counts in small amounts.

Is a "Tea Party Occupation" in our future?

2011-10-11T00:39:00.000-04:00

I can’t help but feel like Occupy Wall Street, now in its fourth week, is a movement without a cause.
Sure, I’ve seen their list of grievances — and most of what they find objectionable about the current state of our capitalist system, I find objectionable, myself.

They’re upset that the super rich have gotten increasingly more wealthy with the help of government and to the detriment of the working class. They’re upset that the super rich seem to have their own rules and flaunt that fact, despite the fact that it hurts the economy, the environment and our Constitutional rights.

They haven’t, however, come up with a list of demands. That’s somewhat understandable because, while it may be easy to point out what’s wrong, it is more difficult to come up with solutions.

They’ve been labeled as anarchists, slackers and lowlifes. Photos and videos that I’ve seen would indicate that they are overwhelmingly not those things.

What began on Sept. 17 as a protest in Manhattan has spread to a series of international protests about the plight of the working class, an increasing number of which is not working. And of those who are working, an increasing number aren’t making enough to stay afloat.

About two and a half years ago, I went to a Tea Party rally in Buffalo. The Tea Party movement was in its infancy, and I thought I agreed with some of their ideals. They opposed government intervention in their lives and wanted a return to days when government was controlled by the people.

It only took me one Tea Party rally, however, to realize that the Tea Party wasn’t for me. The fact that they invited an elected member of the New York State Senate to speak told me everything I needed to know. The Tea Party movement was just a bunch of disgruntled Republicans who weren’t so much upset at government as they were at Democrats.

I’m no fan of the Democrats, but we need them to keep the Republicans in check, in my opinion. And we need the Republicans to keep the Democrats in check. It’s a vicious cycle.

I can’t help but wonder, though, what would happen if the Tea Party movement and the Occupy Wall Street movement ever got together and realized that there’s a lot they could agree on.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has been improperly branded as a leftist organization. First, it’s hardly an organization. Ask any three protesters what they’re fighting for, and you’re likely to get different answers. Second, they’re just as upset with the Democrats and President Obama as they are with the Republicans.

So the Tea Party is upset with government. And the Occupy Wall Street movement is upset with a system that rewards bad behavior. It seems to me that if they got together and found some real worthwhile candidates for office, they might both get their way.

I don’t think either movement is going to go away any time soon. I just hope that they realize that they can accomplish more together than separately. Frankly, we need some change around here.

I'm ready to give (something) up - Are you?

2011-10-04T00:54:00.000-04:00

I'm not afraid of giving something upfor the greater good.

Life is give and take. Sacrifice andreward. We've all been there, having to choose between going out toeat and paying the electric bill. Hopefully the electric bill wonout.

Odds are if you're reading this column,you just can't have everything all the time – or in the words ofJagger, “You can't always get what you want.”

Actually, the sacrifices I'm thinkingof today aren't even really things that I want. Maybe you do, which,of course, will make them bigger sacrifices. But for me? No big deal.

The United States Postal Service hasthrown around the idea of eliminating Saturday mail delivery. Manypeople seem to be up in arms about this. For the life of me, I can'tfigure out why.

In my lifetime, I've had eightdifferent addresses. That's eight different mailboxes in 36 years. Idon't know that in all those years and all those mailboxes I've evergotten real mail on a Saturday.

It seems impossible that no one eversends a bill or a letter or anything of any importance on whateverday it would need to be sent to reach my address on Saturday, but Idon't think it's ever happened.

This past Saturday, for instance, I gottwo bulk mail things with coupons and whatnot. I think that's exactlywhat I got last Saturday. In fact, I think that's what I've gottenevery Saturday for the past year and a half that I've lived inTonawanda.

I recall thinking this to myself a fewyears ago – the last time the postal service discussed eliminatingSaturday delivery. I think all I was getting then was junk mail, too.

Frankly, even if I were getting “realmail” on Saturday, I can't think of an occasion where I couldn'thave possibly waited two days to get that mail. Can you think of atime when you've gotten emergency Saturday mail that you had torespond to or react to immediately?

As far as I'm concerned, they can doaway with Saturday. Maybe another day, too. In fact, if the USPS maildelivery was Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I think that would be justfine.

We only have garbage pickup once aweek. Somehow we manage.

My second sacrifice is also small. Infact, it's mere pennies. Literally. Let's get rid of pennies. Theycost more to produce than they're worth. They clog up my changeholderin my car and they're kind of a pain to deal with.

I say in cash transactions, we justround everything to the nearest nickel and call it a day.

Sure, we might “lose” a couplecents on some transactions here and there, but what were you going todo with those pennies anyway?

So we give up Saturday mail andpennies. And the richest one percent give up a little extra in taxes.We all feel the pinch and the world keeps spinning.

What do you think?

Act in your own interest

2011-09-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

Much noise has been made about a viral internet video featuring Wall Street professionals mocking protesters participating in the “Occupy Wall Street” campaign.

The video shows a hand full of well-dressed business types drinking champagne and taking photos of the protesters. Many have referred to it as “a slap in the face” of those on the streets picketing what they say are unfair market conditions that keep the rich rich, keep the poor poor and wipe out the middle class.

The war between the haves and the have-nots has gone on since the dawn of time and won’t end any time soon, but the current economic situation in the country, coupled with mass media alerting everyone to said economic situation makes it all the more heartbreaking.

While I think the Wall Street types’ actions are deplorable, I’m not in the “lynch them” crowd. From their perspective, their way of life is being attacked. In fact, from their point of view, they themselves are being attacked.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have much sympathy for them. I may even envy them, just like I imagine the protesters envy them, as well.

Most of us grew up learning that if we worked hard, we, too could have the American dream. And most of us believe that today. Some of us may have achieved that dream — with a house, two cars, a cat, a dog, picket fence, etc.

There are some people, though, who work hard every day and have less and less to show for it. In fact, right now, more Americans are slipping into poverty on a daily basis. They wish they could be drinking champagne and mocking the downtrodden. If only they could figure out a way to no longer be downtrodden.

It doesn’t help that right-wing talk radio and conservative news outlets have convinced us that the downtrodden are the problem. The people starving and homeless are what’s wrong with America, they’d have you believe. It’s almost social Darwinism. And it’s downright scary.

I’m certainly not saying storm the castle and take what you feel you deserve. That’s not what our republic is about. The revolution should be at the ballot box. But there will be no revolution if the people vote against their best interest.

Voting for someone who idolizes the rich because you idolize the rich is a path to your own destruction. Self loathing on account of your aspirations to be able to loathe the downtrodden from above is a huge mistake, to say the least.

So when it comes time to vote, vote for you or at the very least someone like you.

To paraphrase Niccolo Machiavelli, “deal with the situation at hand — not the situation you wish were at hand.” And the situation is that we’re empowering the destruction of the middle class.

Act in your own best interest. If you don’t, no one else will.

Struggling for power and fighting the future

2011-09-19T11:44:00.000-04:00

Likemany of you, I'd imagine, I have a cell phone charger at home andanother at work.

Funnystory. For some reason that escapes me now, I brought my home chargerto work on Wednesday. And forgot it there. So Thursday morning, myphone had drained completely and I had no charger. I live inTonawanda and work in Lockport, so it's not like I could just pop inand grab it. It's about a half an hour drive. Fortunately, mydownstairs neighbor uses the same charger and I got through the day.

Afterwork on Thursday, I remembered to bring home my home charger.

Friday,I get to work and find that I'm actually working out of our Tonawandaoffices instead of the Lockport office, like I usually do. So inorder to make sure I got through the night, I brought my work phonecharger to the Tonawanda News with me ... and then home.

Mygirlfriend and her kids came over Sunday to spend time with me and mygirls. She brought her home charger with her ... and accidentallyleft it at my place. (She lives in Lockport)

Afterdropping my kids off at their mom's (Lockport) following the weekend,I popped into work to grab the power cord for my laptop, as I'm offfor a few days and won't have the juice to get through it without thepower cord, should I need to use my work laptop.

Iwould have let my girlfriend borrow my work charger, since we use thesame type and I won't need it for the next three days ... but I leftit at home. Along with my home charger. And her charger. If you'rekeeping track here, on Thursday morning, I had no phone chargers athome. As I type this, I have three.

Also,it's not without irony that the reason I had stopped into work at allwas to get the laptop cord/charger.

---

Every day that passes, I'm a little older – and hopefully a little wiser,but more importantly (and sadly) right now, we're a little closer towinter.

It'sfootball season and the Bills are off to a great start, having wonhalf as many games already as they won all of last year.

Lastnight started Sabres' pre-season. That excites me a lot more thanfootball season, quite frankly. If spending means winning, then theSabres should have a great year this year. Of course, spendingdoesn't always mean winning, but I'm hopeful anyway.

Myneighbor across the street put scarecrows out over the weekend. Ithink they're Halloween decoration. I love Halloween more than most,but I think it's a bit early to start decorating. Of course, it'sbetter than my neighbor down the street who still has Christmaslights up – and lights them. I'm sure they'd say they're not“Christmas” lights, they're just lights. But I'm not buying it.

We'veonly got a little over three months before it's 2012 – and there'sjust 14 months before the world is supposed to end … again. You mayrecall that the rapture was supposed to occur earlier this summer anddidn't. Of course, I'm okay with the world not ending this summer.And I'll be equally pleased if it doesn't end next December. I havetoo many things left to do than I'll be able to accomplish in 14months. One of them, apparently, is to invent a way to charge phonesand laptops without cords.

Sept. 11th took a toll on all of us - and still does

2011-09-12T09:38:00.000-04:00

I'll be honest, I wanted to avoidwriting about Sept. 11^th. You've already read so muchabout it in the last couple weeks and I've heard so much about itmyself. I just wanted to stay away from it.

But I can't.

This weekend was hard for all of us.Every single person I know over the age of 20 has a “where were youwhen” story. Everyone has a story about how it affected them.Everyone knows someone they were worried about, whether it was afriend or colleague in New York or D.C., or whether it was someonelocal that they just couldn't stop worrying about.

My day was not unlike anyone else's. Igot the news on my computer, went to the television and watched inhorror as the day's events unfolded. From the instant the secondplane hit, all I could think about was how badly I wanted my wife tocome home.

It all seems almost silly now that we'dbe worried about people in Buffalo or, in my case, Niagara Falls. Butwe had no idea how things would play out and given the degree towhich the day already didn't make sense, who could blame us for notthinking clearly.

I got choked up a couple times thisweekend. Try as I may, I couldn't help but go “back there”mentally, revisiting the fears that I had on the day.

For a male, I'm pretty big on dates. Iremember birthdays and anniversaries. I remember what happened a yearago most days. I recall the dates of significant things that happenedin my life. The closing date on my house, the day I bought my car,first dates, last dates, etc. I'm not sure why. If I were a computer,I would try to turn this feature off. Frankly, it's a hassle.

No matter whether you're big on dates,though, Sunday was probably a big one for you. You could “feel”it around town. The quiet that cried out — people trapped in theirown minds.

I went to a Sept. 11^thmemorial Sunday at Lockport's VFW post 2535. “Quiet” was the wordthat summed it up. No one was on their cell phone. No one wastexting. And the conversations that were happening were all in veryhushed tones.

State Sen. George Maziarz was there andgave a very short speech. I've known the senator for several years.He never shies away from talking. But Sunday he said what he had tosay in just a couple minutes, thanking the heroes of 10 years ago —as well as the heroes of today, and stepping away from themicrophone.

For anyone that knows George Maziarz,you know he's a very outgoing person, always working the crowd,shaking hands, laughing. There was none of this on Sunday. He wasquiet. Reserved. Maybe it was simply out of respect. Or maybe he wasjust like the rest of us, trapped in thought, thinking about thethings that were important to him.

In truth, I'm glad to have theanniversary pass. It took an emotional toll, one I don't want to dealwith again for a while.

As I said, I didn't want to write aboutSept. 11^th. I'd rather focus on something else. But forbetter or worse, these past few days, nothing else existed.

Are we missing the obvious?

2011-09-05T21:01:00.000-04:00

Another summer has come and passed. Ihope you all got out there and took advantage of all that Western NewYork has to offer.

I spent most of the unofficial lastweekend of summer eating, first at a family gathering and then at the10^th Annual National Buffalo Wing Festival.

I've gone to the chicken wing festivalfor several years now. And it always amazes me that there are thesebusinesses around the world that make money – and lots of it –off of chicken wings. An entire industry, if you will, exists becauseof something that happened right here in Buffalo. And although wingsremain a “Buffalo thing,” there are restaurants all acrossAmerica that make Buffalo (and our wings) their specialty.

Each restaurant seems to have theirniche. Many seem to go for the hottest wing possible. Others go fordifferent and unusual flavors. But they all recognize that Buffalo isthe chicken wing capital of the world.

For decades, people have recognizedBuffalo as the birthplace of chicken wings. In fact, many parts ofthe country refer to them as “Buffalo wings.”

But it took a somewhat obscure moviestarring Bill Murray – who went to a fictional chicken wingfestival in Buffalo - and a newspaper column asking why said chickenwing festival didn't really exist to make Drew Cerza, AKA the “WingKing,” stand up and say, “Why don't we celebrate this birthrightof ours? Why don't we have a festival dedicated to chicken wings?”

And so, 10 years ago the NationalBuffalo Wing Festival was born. It's grown each year, attracting moreand more media attention to one of the things that we do right. TVcameras from every major news organization were in town, showingBuffalo on a hot summer day instead of the standard blizzard footagethey all seem to show every time Buffalo is mentioned.

For the fifth year in a row, yesterday,Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas won the chicken wing eatingchampionship. This year she did it in style, eating 183 wings in 12minutes, setting a new world record. I couldn't eat 183 wings in aweek, let alone 12 minutes.

Thomas' feat will no doubt bring evenfurther attention to Buffalo.

Good for us.

The whole thing makes me wonder,though; If we were so oblivious to not have a chicken wing festivalone of the things we're most famous for, what else are we forgetting?What other obvious highlights, attractions and local oddities are weforgetting to promote?

The rest of the world thinks of Buffaloas “the place where snow comes from.” But we have so many thingsto offer the world. From art and music to architecture and industry,Western New York has so much to be proud of.

Which of you will be the next DrewCerza? Which of you will be the next person to realize that there'ssomething we need share with the world – and bring it to fruition?

* A side note: There was a“Ridiculously Hot Wing Eating Championship. The winner ate 20 ofthem in the least amount of time. I tried one of those hot wings fromHurricane Grill and Wings. My ears literally hurt and I was dizzy.They were impressive. And painful.

The end of an era ...

2011-08-29T17:21:00.000-04:00

I quit. Again. But for real this time. And forever.

I’d say I’ve done it before, but that goes against the entire notion of quitting. I mean, had I really quit, I wouldn’t have to quit again.

Actually, this is my third attempt at quitting this year. The first two failed miserably. This time seems somewhat promising. It’s been more than 36 hours since I had my last cigarette.

For the life of me, I have no idea why people smoke. It’s expensive, smelly and it’s bad for you. And yet, for the past four years or so, I’ve been lighting up to the tune of a pack a day. Sometimes more. Sometimes less.

That’s right, I’ve only smoked four years. Prior to that, there was a five-year hiatus in my nicotine addiction — or at least the active appeasement of that addiction.

In truth, I’ll always be an addict. That’s what makes staying away so important. As I already said, I had a five-year break from smoking. I went nearly 2,000 days without cigarettes. Not a single one. Because I know I’m not strong enough to have just one.

And when I did have “just one” four years ago, I ended up back to a pack a day.

I don’t want that to happen again, so I’m going to steer clear of the first one. It’s pretty hard to smoke a pack a day if you never light the first one.

Last time I quit, I used gum. Lots of it. Every time I wanted a cigarette, I would instead pop a piece of gum.

This time, I’m employing the use of an electronic cigarette. They aren't mean to be a stop-smoking device, but if it works, I win.

I write this column for a few reasons. First of all, I think my chances of quitting are better if I have “sponsors.” I hereby deputize you all. Second, I thought I might inspire others to quit, as well. It’s easier if we do it together. Third, if I attempt to bite your head off this week, you know why. And finally, I had to write about something.

'Big Brother' school ID program should bother everyone

2011-08-23T00:01:00.002-04:00

I have a love/hate relationship with school districts. I did when I was a student. I did when I was a reporter. I do as a father of two school-aged children. And I do as a taxpayer.

It seems like not a school year goes by without one school district or another angering me in some way. Fans of my former radio show may recall the problem I had with the “agendas” the kids had to carry around. Or the $100 calculator that every student has to buy.

Today’s issue is ugly. And scary. And is a much bigger deal than a $100 calculator that I can’t afford and my daughter will never use outside of that math class.

Last week, the Starpoint Central School District instituted a policy that will require any visitor to their buildings to present their state-issued identification, which the district will then scan for what they have determined to be pertinent information.

Some members of the community have found fault with this plan, saying it violated their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

The district, however, retorts that all the information they’ll be gleaning from your driver’s license or other form of ID is just public information anyway, so … no harm, no foul.

This argument is nothing but a distant cousin of “If you don’t have anything to hide, why do you care if we search your belongings?”

I care if you search my belongings because they’re mine. And I care if you look at my “public record” because it’s mine. And I don’t think that just because I may have a reason to be in a Starpoint school, that gives the district the right to download my details into their system.

It’s not like people meander the school district’s halls without reason. When you get to most schools, you have to stop in the office and sign in. That seems somewhat reasonable to me. But stopping, signing in and handing over your traffic records seems unnecessary to me.

The district says the new provision is for the safety of its students. Forgive me, but I don’t see how it makes them any safer. Maybe someone could explain to me how it does. Until then, I have to say this is a very slippery slope that I don’t like.

Imagine if in the future, you have to scan your ID at any government building. Or to get into parks. Or at random intersections. How about at government-funded sports arenas? And your information could show up on the JumboTron for everyone to see. After all, it’s all public information, right?

Now, the folks from Starpoint might say I’m being overly dramatic and engaging in hyperbole. But I’d rather we stopped this whole issue of scanning your ID now, before it starts.

The members of the Starpoint Board of Education need to remember that they answer to the taxpayers — and not the other way around.

And people from outside the Starpoint district should not sit back and wait on this issue. If Starpoint gets their way on this, your school district will be next.

Home is family

2011-08-15T12:23:00.001-04:00

I met a guy from Pittsburgh on a train a couple weeks ago.

We were both headed to Buffalo's inner harbor on the mostly-useless Metro Rail to see a concert.

I'm not even sure how the fact that he was from Pittsburgh came up, but it did. He had just moved from Pennsylvania to Buffalo a couple weeks prior. And he had already decided he hated it.

I have to assume he moved here for a job. Or a girl. Really that's the only two reasons to move from one area to another – money or love. And I really hoped it was for a girl since the jobs here are scarce enough as they are without people from Pittsburgh moving here to take them.

I was really irritated, though, that someone could move into our fair city and talk trash about it. We Western New Yorkers are aware of our shortcomings. We don't need someone from Pennsylvania pointing them out to us.

Being a Western New Yorker comes with it certain privileges, like the ability to complain about it. And, of course, we do plenty of it.

We spend a large portion of the year complaining about the weather and the snow, but when anyone outside of Buffalo mentions how much snow we get, they become public enemy number one.

Is this disingenuous of us? Or is it just the way things work?

I visited Pittsburgh a few years ago. I was mostly unimpressed. Pittsburgh is Buffalo. It's also Cleveland. It's any struggling northern town, really. Pittsburgh just wants to make it through to the end of the day so it can start over tomorrow in hopes of getting it right.

Really, that's how I view Western New York. We're a collection of people with certain commonalities … including the need to wear mittens four months out of the year … and the desire to just get through the day.

I had considered that maybe because of the similarities between Pittsburgh and Buffalo it's okay that the guy on the train complained. Then I dismissed that thought.

See, it's a family thing. Just as we are allowed to gripe about our own families, but would defend them vigorously to anyone not part of that family … I feel the same about Buffalo. If the guy on the train wanted to complain about his family, so be it, but he was trashing mine.

Maybe it would have irritated me less had he had less valid points. The truth hurts, though.

I've never lived in the City of Buffalo. But that's where I tell people from out of town I'm from. I used to say Niagara Falls, but my world view has grown, apparently. Of course, to anyone from Niagara County, I tell them I'm not from Niagara Falls. I'm from the Town of Niagara. And now I make it a point to tell people I live in the City of Tonawanda. Not N.T. And not the town.

Sure the City of Tonawanda has some flaws. But I'd never let someone from Amherst tell me what they are.

And I'd certainly never let someone from Pennsylvania tell me what Amherst's flaws are. Them's fightin' words.

A return to bread and circus

2011-08-08T11:28:00.000-04:00

Some people like to know what's going on in the world. They watch the news, read newspapers and/or talk politics at their local watering hole. I fit into this category. As, mostly likely, do you, seeing as you're reading this column.

There's also a group of people who have no desire to know what's going on – aside from the results from their favorite talent competition TV show produced by Simon Cowell.

Some days I envy that second group of people. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

I read the news today, oh boy. And all did not seem right with the world.

Our bond rating's been downgraded, despite the fact that we reached a last minute deal on the nation's debt limit. Stocks are tumbling because of the bond rating reduction. The price of gold climbed to an all-time high. Eight dead in Ohio. Rampage in London. A helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. And there was a firefight at a funeral in Saudi Arabia.

It seems the world is so surreal at times. All these things can't be happening at once. This must be a trial run for a new song by R.E.M.: “It's really the end of the world this time, we mean it.”

And I'd like to say that I feel fine, but I don't. It's all downright scary.

Maybe you think I'm being over-dramatic about the whole situation. And who knows, maybe I am. But it doesn't seem good, that's for sure.

Meanwhile, back in TV land, the American Idol crowd goes about their life oblivious to the cares of the world. As I said, I'm jealous. I kind of wonder if these world events don't affect them.

If a tree falls in the forest and you're not there to see/hear it, who cares if it makes a sound? But this isn't a tree we're talking about. And we're not in the forest. This is the world economy, seemingly on the brink of crumbling.

It's not like you can ignore the world into being better, right?

Or … could you?

The biggest problems in this country are still economic. And the best way to improve the economy is for us to all spend money. But when times are tough, we hold off on spending money, saving it for a rainy day, which ironically, increases the likelihood of rain.

But if we just pretended everything was alright, and spent all our extra money on concert tickets and football jerseys, that would mean more jobs, which would mean more money, which would mean an improved economic outlook, right?

At least that's my understanding of the economy.

Maybe the Romans were onto something with their bread and circus after all.

Maybe the best thing you can do this weekend is order some takeout and then watch some football at the corner bar.

I'm not sure if it will work or not, but it sounds like it's worth trying. It beats watching the stock market collapse.

The highlights and pitfalls of free concerts in WNY

2011-08-01T03:53:00.000-04:00

Western New York might have some deficiencies in the job section, but we have plenty of free entertainment … and we do it right.

I've been to more free concerts in the past few years than I could possibly count.

I've been to Artpark, LaFayette Square, the Buffalo Marina, the Ulrich City Center in Lockport, and the Gateway Marina in Tonawanda. And that's just this year.

This week, I plan on taking my daughters to see Tokyo Police Club in Buffalo and the B-52s in Lockport.

A couple weeks ago, George Clinton played Thursday in the Square. While I was unable to attend that show, I did see George Clinton play the square two years ago. Phenomenal show. Great friends. Great music. Great time. Aside from copious amounts of wacky tobacky wafting through downtown Buffalo, the show went off without incident.

Sunday George Clinton played a show in Ohio. Thousands were in attendance as Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic headlined the eighth annual Unity in the Park festival. But instead of unity, they got mayhem. In fact, one person died and three others were injured after a man fired shots into the crowd.

Buffalo. We might be poor, but we're not stupid and crazy. Could be an ad campaign.

Hey, it's beats “Buffalo, for real,” or whatever the new slogan is.

A couple weeks ago, the Lockport Police Department announced it would be cracking down on concert nights. Not inside the venue, but outside, where the city's teenagers have been congregating, listening to music and being the general annoyance that teenagers can be.

As the father of a teenager, I am fully qualified to make the preceding remark.

Of course, they might be a nuisance, but at least they're not shooting anyone.

And they're not driving home from the concert drunk, unlike apparently everyone who went to see Lynyrd Skynryrd at Artpark last Wednesday. The police scanner sounded like law enforcement had its work cut out for them.

Actually, the biggest problem Western New York has had with its concerts is the politics. And I heard something Friday night that made me absolutely cringe.

Sitting at the back of the venue that is the Ulrich City Center, I heard from the stage, “Don't forget to support Mayor Mike Tucker. Without him, these concerts wouldn't exist.”

While I actually know that that statement is true, it sounded bad and just plain tacky coming from the stage.

These are supposed to be fun nights out for the family. Something to do for those of us whose weekly highlights are the free concerts from bands that (for the most part) haven't made a new album in over a decade.

People like me. People like you.

We just want to listen to music and maybe run into some old friends. Not listen to political propaganda. Political propaganda has no place on a Friday night.

Of course, it beats gunshots.

Memories are better when you share them

2011-07-25T02:32:00.001-04:00

With New York's first gay marriage taking place just down the river from our house, how could the kids and I not go? Sure, it was at midnight and yeah, there were a lot of people and a throng of press-types. But this was history in the making. And even more importantly, my girls wanted to go see it happen.

So Saturday evening we piled into the car and headed to Luna Island to watch the state's first gay wedding, taking place at midnight between Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd.

The ceremony itself was somewhat short ... and Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster had to slow down, improvise, wait for applause, and just plain pause just to make sure he didn't get "I now pronounce you legally married" out of his voicebox until after midnight.

And when he did, the crowd roared loudly.

Following the ceremony, the brides talked to the press and mingled with the crowd, many of them strangers to the women, self included. They were gracious and seemed thrilled with the response they received.

There was also a ceremony of hope that the nation's 44 states that don't recognize same-sex marriages would change their tune. My oldest was thrilled that she was one of 22 people who got to take part in that ceremony. It's something she'll never forget.

And really, that's what it's all about for me and my girls. We try to experience life in a way worth remembering. We try to live a life worth remembering.

Earlier Saturday, we had gone to Tonawanda Island and toured the Nina and Pinta. We added them to the other famous boats we'd toured before, including the Amistad and the Mayflower. We joked that all we needed was the Titanic and we'd have all the boats on our checklist.

There is actually a checklist. A bucket list, if you will. It includes the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Kentucky Derby. This weekend, I also added the 2012 Olympics in London to my checklist. I've never been abroad and what better reason to visit Europe than for the Olympics.

In the past few years, we've knocked some pretty major ones off our checklist, including the inauguration of President Barack Obama, which I took my oldest daughter to. I had decided before the election itself that I wanted to go to the inauguration, whether Obama had won or whether it was John McCain. I was particularly happy that Obama won because it meant my daughter wanted to come with me, making the memorable moment that much better. “We were there” is a much more meaningful statement than “I was there.”

We also attended Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, which I surprised the whole family with. My girls will remember that it was cold. But they'll certainly remember it. And I'll remember Punxsutawney, as well as Phil. But moreso, I'll remember being there with my family.

Life is more than about getting through it. It's about making memories with those you love. For me, that means doing things that are different … and doing them with my beautiful daughters.

I hope everyone has someone to make memories with.

Kitty and Cheryle do. And my daughters and I think that's awesome.

Debt compromise needed

2011-07-18T10:29:00.003-04:00

Fear is a great motivator. No one knows this better than politicians.

The fear mongering going on in the halls of Congress and the Sunday morning news shows these days is at its absolute peak over the debt limit crisis.

To understand some talk about it, if we don't raise our debt limit, we won't be able pay our bills and the United States may be repossessed by China or whoever it is we owe that $14.3 trillion to.

Listening to the other side, they say the American people have called them directly and begged them not to raise the debt ceiling, for fear of devolving into a socialist state, complete with our own Karl Marx.

Truth is, I've heard very few people discuss the debt ceiling. Maybe you have, but I doubt it. I'd imagine that most of us don't entirely understand it. I know I don't. I have to trust what I read and hear … while trying not to have nightmares about us becoming either the Socialist States of America or the People's Republic of America. I must say that it seems funny, either way we become a communist state. So capitalism lead to communism. Hmmph.

This great red scare that our nation's right wing seems to be promoting just seems laughable to me, quite honestly. I've heard so many people call President Obama a socialist over the past couple years. And all because it's drilled into their heads by the likes of Fox News, talk radio and rapid email alerts.

I have no concerns whatsoever about the president leading us down the trail to communism. No more than I think he's a secret Muslim born in Kenya. Sadly, maybe I should point out that I don't think he's a secret Muslim born in Kenya … since some people do.

Defaulting on our loans, however, that sounds like it has some serious consequences. I know if you go over your credit limit on your credit card … or fail to make a payment, they jack your interest rates up. I don't really want $14 trillion in debt with high interest. That sounds unmanageable.

Of course, to be honest, I don't really want $14 trillion in debt.

It seems to me that a compromise is needed. The debt ceiling must be raised. But the debt also needs to be lowered. Sustaining payments on $14 trillion in debt is just unsustainable. It means we owe $46,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.

That can't stand.

I'd hope that our leaders would raise the debt ceiling while hammering out a plan to reduce long-term debt, so we don't have to have this conversation again next year.

And in the spirit of compromise, I think that everything should be on the table. That includes tax increases, military spending and Social Security. I bet most people my age don't really believe it's going to be there when we retire anyway.

Gay capitalism, part II

2011-07-11T11:32:00.002-04:00

As you've seen on these pages before, I have been all-too-happy to champion the acknowledgement of gay marriage in New York State.

This weekend, we ran two stories talking about gay marriage in Niagara County. One dealing with its effect in Niagara Falls and one dealing with its effect outside of the Cataract City.

It appears from those stories that the new nuptials will provide somewhat of an economic boon on the west end of Niagara County, while having little-to-no effect in the rest of the county.

I was happy to see city leaders in Niagara Falls push to make the most out of the new possibilities, something I advocated for in a previous column. There is money to be had here.

The thought of a mass gay marriage in the Falls gives me warm fuzzies. It's always nice to see your point of view validated.

The second story that ran, however, noted that not only is gay marriage not a big deal in the rest of the county, there are at least two businesses that say they will chose to not cater to gay couples in the businesses.

While I find this disappointing, after much reflection, I actually don't have a problem with it.

I'd like to make a disclaimer here that both of the business owners are people I know … and consider friends. But I think I'd feel the same no matter who they were.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think they're decisions are wrong. But they're their decisions to make, even though they're breaking the law.

I've said 1,000 times that I'm more interested in what's right than what's legal. And I have my own code of ethics. Frankly, there are a lot of bad laws out there. And although I don't think the acknowledgement of gay marriage is one of them, I can appreciate those who stand by their convictions in their belief that it is.

There are higher powers to answer to than the state of New York. And if some people feel those higher powers would want them to discriminate against gay couples then so be it.

Personally, I have more respect for someone who disagrees with me out of principle than someone who agrees with me and doesn't know why.

There will be some who will want to challenge non-compliant business owners in court. I, personally, think that's silly. Why would anyone want to give money to a place they're not wanted.

I have – from time to time – been known to make a few enemies. There are certain business owners, for example, that have made it all to clear to me that they'd prefer I stop talking altogether.

Well, considering money talks, I don't say a word to those businesses. I prefer to spend my money at places that more readily accept it. And that's exactly what gay couples will do.

The free market will take care of itself, allowing like-minded people to do business together. Nobody has to do business with someone they find distasteful and everyone thrives.

As I've said before, I don't think the state should be in the business of deciding who can get married. But I think it's perfectly acceptable for business owners to decide whose money they want to take.

Funny thing about that money, though. It's kind of the great equalizer. Most people will take anyone's.

American ... and proud of it!

2011-07-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

It's hard to imagine, but we're more than half way through 2011.

Seems like each year goes by faster than the last. It also seems as though each year is more and more jam-packed with noteworthy items, both personally and in the grand scheme of things.

Like many red-blooded Americans, I've spent the last few days soaking up time with my family. Parks, playgrounds, swimming pools and plenty of good eats have made up my holiday weekend.

I know the founding fathers didn't pick July 4 as their day to tell King George off for convenience sake, but it sure seems to work out for us, doesn't it?

It's nice to have a few days where we put all of our partisanship and bickering aside and just be American. No politics. Just national pride.

Of course, this weekly column thrives on politics. The past couple columns have been quite political — to some. And they've generated a great deal of response. Some of that response has been favorable. Much has been contrary. I appreciate both, quite frankly.

I'm not one of those guys who believes America needs to apologize to the world for looking out for our own best interest. But I'm also not one of those guys who believes that we do no wrong. We may be the best, but that doesn't mean we don't have room to improve.

I can't help but wonder, as I chow down on hot dogs and hamburgers and watch the rockets' red glare, whether the founding fathers would be proud of our accomplishments or aghast at the bumps we have hit in the road.

I'm inclined to think they may be a bit of both.

Keep in mind, their desire to form a more perfect union had bumps of its own. And although we look back 235 years and are in awe at what they did back then, which makes it possible for us to do all that we can do now, remember that they were human beings just like us. As perfect as we are ... which is to say that they weren't.

I'd like to think that each generation of Americans is freer than the last. I'd like to think that each generation of Americans has more opportunities than the last. I'd also like to think that I could fly and travel in time. It's simply not true.

There will be setbacks from time to time. There will be occasions where we look around and say to ourselves, "This isn't how it's supposed to happen."

That's normal. Natural. Ebb and flow.

As long as we recover from those setbacks and always remember to get back to building that more perfect union, we'll continue to thrive. We'll continue to be the best nation in the history of everything.

If you took time out this weekend to pay homage to those who have lost all so you could have all that you have, that's great. If you simply enjoyed the time with your friends and family, that's perfectly OK, too. After all, that's the reason that those who came before us did what they did. So you could live the life you wanted.

We've still got a lot of 2011 before us. Enjoy it. And remember you only get to enjoy it once. So do so to the fullest.

What if we call it gay capitalism?

2011-06-28T00:01:00.003-04:00

As I listened to the debate and subsequent vote over the marriage equality act in the New York state Senate on Thursday, I couldn't help but beam with pride as the “yes” votes were cast.

I thought lifting the ban on gay marriage was the right thing for the state to do and I was overwhelmed with emotion that 33 of the state's 62 senators agreed with me.

Yes, I realize that there are many of you out there who disagree and are dismayed at our state Senate. I also realize that this column isn’t going to change your mind. And, to be honest, I’m not one to gloat. But I would like to revel a bit in all the new possibilities.

For one, think of the new revenue streams that same sex weddings can bring into the state. I didn't like this benefit as a reason to pass the bill, but I think it's a great side effect of its passage.

I know we tend to forget what a draw it is, but Niagara Falls – despite its drawbacks – is still a world-class destination for travelers both foreign and domestic. And while I'm pretty sure the ship sailed on it being the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” quite some time ago, there's nothing to say we can't be the gay honeymoon capital of the world.

Same sex couples can get hitched in the Falls, book receptions, motels and spend massive amounts of cash here … on this side of the border. I'm talking about private dollars being spent on private enterprises.

Sad as it may seem, I'm thinking a reality show has got to already be rolling around in someone's head. Maybe they follow a specific couple. Or maybe they follow around a member of the clergy who specializes in gay marriage. I haven't worked the details out in my head yet, but Hollywood's got to be thinking of it.

A reality show based in Niagara Falls would have to mean more tourists, and as such, more revenue for hoteliers, restaurateurs, and the like.

And, like it or not, more weddings will eventually mean more divorces. While I certainly can't get excited about this, I can only imagine that divorce lawyers are licking their chops at the new opportunities.

And not just lawyers, but marriage counselors, psychologists, etc. Yes, the downside of marriage is profitable for some.

Again, these side effect benefits aren't reason enough to support gay marriage, in my opinion, but they might help make the concept more bearable for those of you who opposed the idea.

As for me, I'm just happy that gay couples can join in on the party that the rest of us were invited to … just by having been born straight.

Strangely, Thursday night I sat at my desk, listening to the arguments being made and the votes being cast, overwhelmingly happy for thousands of people I'll never meet.

I hope that those of you who disagree with the concept can set aside that difference and be happy for them, too. And if not, try to figure out a way to make a buck on it.

After all, the only thing more American than equality is capitalism.

Government has no role in marriage

2011-06-21T00:01:00.001-04:00

Some people have no respect for the sanctity of marriage. They view marriage as something to horde and keep for themselves. To them, it’s a political football to be kicked around Albany — or Washington, D.C.

There is no logical reason that I can understand why Republicans and Democrats should have the privilege of defining marriage, any more than they should be allowed to define the words “hope,” “love” or “commitment.”

If I believed for a second that politicians understood hope, love or commitment, I may be willing to consider their ability to define marriage. But I have little faith — another word I don’t want politicians defining — that elected officials understand any of these concepts.

There are several dictionary definitions of the word “marriage.” The one I tend to give the most credence to is: “The combination of two things into a new single entity.”

In the current debate over the word marriage, the question is whether it need be a union between a man and woman, or simply a union between two people. See, the state of New York decided a long time ago that marriage is specifically a union between a man and woman. And currently, there are 31 people in the state Senate who seem to want to keep it that way.

The latest census figures say that there are more than 19 million people living in New York. Scientific data says that one in 10 people is gay. Simple math, therefore, says that there are 1.9 million homosexuals in New York who can’t marry their person of choice because of 31 people who call themselves “public servants.”

I’ve always viewed marriage as a commitment between two people — and God. Marriage is a religious institution. Not a state institution. The only reason for the state’s involvement is to oversee the financial ramifications of the marriage, and as is far-too-often the case, the eventual divorce.

The state should be nothing more than a witness to a union created by the church. But as it is right now, there are 31 people objecting to what could potentially be 10 percent of marriages. Not just objecting, mind you, but vetoing them.

In my opinion, if a happy couple can find a church to marry them, the state should not stand in the way.
Many churches won’t want to marry same-sex couples. And I don’t have a problem with their hesitation or refusal to do so. They should not be forced to. They shouldn’t be barred from it, though, either.

Some would suggest that “marriage” be reserved for couples of a man and a woman, while allowing same-sex couples to have “civil unions.” These people are engaging in semantics, essentially creating the “straights-only” drinking fountains of the 21st century.

You may wholeheartedly disagree with me. That is certainly your right. I would suggest, however, that if you don’t want gay marriage, don’t marry someone of your own sex. And leave it at that.

You don’t get to tell other people what they can eat, drink or say in their own homes. We’ve finally reached the point where most of us have concluded that you can’t tell people what they can do in their own bedrooms, either. The next logical step is that we shouldn’t tell people who they can marry in their own churches.

Hope, love, commitment and faith are not things to be hoarded.

Taking joy in watching King James be dethroned

2011-06-14T00:01:00.005-04:00

Growing up a Bills and Sabres fan, I've never had the opportunity to see my team win it all. And seldom do I even get to see my team in the big game. Sure there was that nice little stint in the 90s with the Bills, but for the most part, I find myself watching two teams I could care less about.

Certain life circumstances have caused me to follow baseball and basketball, too. In typical fashion, I've chosen loser teams in those sports as well. In baseball, it's the Washington Nationals. And on the hard court, it's the New York Knicks. So again, come the end of the season, I'm watching two teams I don't care about and usually, I decide to root for the team I dislike less.

Almost always, though, I'm rooting for a team instead of against a team. There are exceptions, however, as was the case in this year's NBA Finals. I have no love for the Dallas Mavericks. But an intense dislike – I'll stop short of saying hatred – of the Miami Heat.

Truth is, I only started watching basketball – even casually – a couple of years ago. And it was basically against my will. But I watched. And grew to not hate it. I moved over to full-fledged liking last year when I was taken to a Knicks game at Madison Square. Seeing the game up close and in person in one of the world's greatest arenas gave me an appreciation I previously lacked.

I watched with great interest last summer as “The Decision” played out on live TV. Any basketball fan knows what I'm talking about, but for the majority of you who likely don't, it was a live television special in which Cleveland Cavaliers all-star LeBron James announced he'd be leaving his hometown team and hightailing it to Miami in order to win a championship.

As a former Clevelander, I felt bad for my friends who still lived there and were fans of the Cavs. Surely, for them, they felt deserted by “King James.” He left his fans in search of a championship ring. Understandable, I suppose, but it was just another blow for Cleveland, who in so many ways is just like Buffalo.

So it was with great intensity that I watched the NBA playoffs this year, hoping to see LeBron James get his comeuppance. Surely, God would not reward a traitor such as him.

With the Knicks knocked out in the first round, my only real pleasure could come from Miami losing. But rounds came and went and Miami was still in it, besting Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago to make it to the Finals. And I got nervous.

In the end teamwork and true character won out over talent and ego.

Watching Miami lose game six to Dallas wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it would have been to watch the Sabres win a Stanley Cup. But it was pleasurable, nonetheless.

Sometimes life's grand pleasures escape you and you have to enjoy the little ones all that much more.

For right now, schadenfreude will have to do.

The circle of (food) life ...

2011-06-07T00:01:00.001-04:00

I’ve gone through periods of my life where I eat very healthy. Those periods, however, are the exception — not the norm.

I grew up with four food groups, where things were “part of a complete diet,” or something like that. It was the nutritional standard from 1956 until 1992. There was meat, dairy, grains and fruit. Pretty simple. Even I could understand it.

But the year I left for college, the USDA went and gummed up the works, trading four food groups in for a food pyramid consisting of grains, fruits, veggies, dairy, meats and sweets.

This mattered none, however, because the college I went to had the best food. Seriously. And it was all you could eat, so I couldn’t care less what step of the food pyramid it was on.

After graduation, we were lucky enough to have money to afford food at all. And quickly thereafter there were only two food groups: Baby food and adult food.

The whole food pyramid was kind of complex, in my opinion. And never really caught on. It certainly didn’t in my household.

Actually, my household is an anomaly. I’ve joked with my kids for years that just about everything is good for you. For example, “Coffee’s good for you. It’s got vitamin C in it. The C stands for coffee.” Likewise, bubblegum has vitamin B in it, and so on.

Fortunately, my kids are smarter than me and ignore me when I say stupid things like that.
In 2005, the food pyramid got revamped into “my pyramid,” with the same basic info, but presented in a manner which was much less easily digestible. It was like the government didn’t want us to understand nutrition.

Last week, they ditched the pyramid altogether, thankfully, replacing it with “my plate,” which looks a whole lot like a pie chart. But don’t call it a pie chart. You’ll upset the USDA. Plus, pie is not a food group ... even if I think it should be. It’s got vitamin P, you know?

My plate shows that about half of what you eat should be fruits and veggies, with a slightly higher percentage being veggies. The other half should be grains and proteins, with again a higher percentage being grains. And then off on the side, there’s a separate circle for dairy. So we’re almost back to the four food groups, except they gave fruits and veggies each their own group. It’s five food groups. It’s much easier to understand than a food pyramid, that’s for sure. Maybe food pyramids would make sense in Egypt ... or parts of South America.

But this is America where everyone knows that circle gets the square.

For the life of me, I don’t understand why food doesn’t just come color coded at the grocery store. Green label means you can eat as much as you want (veggies, for example). Yellow label means eat in moderation (red meat, for example). And red label means eat very sparingly (Snickers bars). I mean, really, could it get more simple?

Well, sure it could. We could eat all of our meals through a straw like in the movie “Wall-E.” But that didn’t go so well for them.

#NY26 ... Done and done

2011-05-31T00:01:00.003-04:00

It gives me great pleasure to know that this is very likely, almost definitely, nearly beyond the shadow of a doubt my last column in which I mention the special election in the 26th Congressional District.

It annoyed us for a few months and now it’s going to annoy the pundits and major political parties for months to come as they try to discern what it means and each side does everything they can to pretend to learn from it, while eventually overplaying their hand.

For example, shortly after the election last Tuesday, the Democrats had discerned that it was all about Medicare and have already come up with a strategy for 2012: Hang the Paul Ryan budget plan on every Republican member of Congress, as well as every candidate for everything from the presidency to dog catcher in every small town across the United States.

The Republicans, meanwhile were already attempting to claim that their stunning defeat had little-to-nothing to do with the Ryan plan and their plans to change Medicare — even before the votes were counted last week.

They went into overtime trying to downplay the Medicare effect as soon as the election was over, with Speaker of the House John Boehner saying, “When you look at what happened in this election, you’ve got a third-party candidate who spent nearly three million dollars attacking the Republican candidate. I could be somewhat critical of how the campaign was run, but the fact is we didn’t win it. And part of, the small part of the reason we didn’t win clearly had to do with Medicare.”

That’s correct, they’re blaming Jack Davis for the loss. I’ve even seen some people saying that Davis “finally got his wish” to wrest that district from GOP control. These people are either not paying attention or just plain delusional. Well, of course, they are, they’re politicians.

Both Congressman Brian Higgins and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter supported eventual winner Kathy Hochul in her bid to take the 26th District. Slaughter even said afterward that she had a spare bedroom if Hochul needed a place to stay in D.C.

Of course, Democrats support Democrats. That’s what they do. It’s like the world’s most annoying fraternity. But with redistricting coming up in the very near future, I wonder how tight their relationships really are. Odds are, the 26th gets gobbled up by Slaughter’s 28th and Higgins’ 27th, which means Hochul will end up at odds with one of her two supporters, depending on where she decides to locate in the district — unless, of course, one of them decides not to run in 2012.

By the way, there was much ado made on Election Day about the fact that Hochul doesn’t live in the district she’s about to represent. She didn’t have to. She doesn’t have to. And the fact that her residency was the GOP’s closing argument told me long before the polls closed that Hochul was going to win it.

•••

I hope you had yesterday off of work. I hope you enjoyed it with loved ones. I also hope you appreciated it. This country exists because of the sacrifices of brave men and women throughout our history. Their sacrifices make everything else possible.

Finally it's time to move on

2011-05-24T00:54:00.000-04:00

It’ll all be over soon.

Like most people in Western New York — especially the media, I have to presume — I’ve been looking forward to today for quite a while. After tonight, we don’t have to worry about commercials for or against any of the candidates in the special election for the 26th Congressional District. After tonight, I don’t have to worry about Kathy Hochul and Jane Corwin blowing up my email. After tonight, I can delete the #NY26 saved search on my twitter. After tonight it’ll all be over.

I hope.

I thought the same thing a week ago today about the school budget votes, particularly the sports complex vote in the Lockport City School District. And last Wednesday afternoon, I still wasn’t sure if that proposal had passed or failed. So there is a possibility that tomorrow morning, I’ll still be waiting, wondering and watching as candidates bring in high-priced lawyers from Washington much like George W. Bush and Al Gore did in Florida in the 2000 presidential election.

The polling numbers lately in the 26th district seem very close, with one poll over the weekend showing Democrat Kathy Hochul with a 4 percent lead, which was within the margin of error, and a second showing her a six-point lead, just outside the margin of error. Please, God, don’t let there be a recount. The voters of Western New York have suffered long enough.

For members of the media, especially those covering the election — which I’ve done a bit of this time around — election night is an awesome thing. I enjoyed election nights when I worked in radio, but there’s something about working in a newsroom on election night. Waiting for polling numbers to come in from places you’ve never heard of.

I’ve heard “jokes” before that war is God’s way of teaching us geography. Elections do the same thing for members of the media. Analyzing congressional districts might not sound fun to you, but there are maps of the 26th district on people’s desks in newsrooms across Western New York.

I’ve enjoyed seeing stories I’ve written picked up by other news outlets across the state, as well as seeing stories written by people I know and respect spread out across the state.

Because of the nature of this election and the potential implications, all eyes are on us today. Media outlets I love to watch and read have been talking about the same things I’m talking about. The same things you’re talking about. It all makes the world very small, and more importantly, centered around us.

There have been days in the past few weeks where I have wished that Chris Lee had just kept his shirt on, but what’s done is done.

It’s time to move on.

Thankfully.

Hopefully.

Wild, wacky #NY26 special election nearly over

2011-05-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

With one week to go in the race to see who will take over the 26th Congressional District from the guy who took his shirt off, there is seemingly no end in sight to the silliness that encompasses the special election.

Last week, we saw Jack Davis mug some poor kid — or so it appeared. Jane Corwin, meanwhile got the key endorsement of 20 Republicans you’ve never heard of, who all just happened to be military veterans. And one faction of the Tea Party claimed that the other faction of the Tea Party was fake. Oh, and Kathy Hochul did something, although, to be honest, I can’t remember what. Ian Murphy, meanwhile, was declared irrelevant by Channel 2, and apparently, 98 percent of those taking polls in this race.

I can only imagine how sick you all must be of watching the television ads for this race, with each candidate saying that the others want to maim old people, eat children, raise taxes, shackle pregnant women and bring Stalin back to life.

I’m sick of the commercials and I don’t even watch much television. Just be thankful you don’t get the direct emails from the campaigns like I do. One day last week, I swear I got 192 emails from the Hochul camp. One email every 15 minutes. All day long. By the time I was done reading one, another popped into my inbox.

OK, so maybe I’m exaggerating just slightly. A little hyperbole never hurt anyone. Or that would be what these campaigns are indicating, at least.

I’ve gone back and forth during this race from “This is the best thing ever” to “can this be over yesterday, please?” A friend of mine who makes a career out of politics told me “in the world of politics, we call that love.”

I can tell you that I spent far too much time over the weekend checking in on the race to see who did what, who said something stupid, and how the Internet had reacted to whatever had been done and said. I even forced my kids to watch the news Saturday just in case something important happened. It hadn’t. Poor kids were forced to learn current affairs for no reason.

As a warning, things will get worse before they get better. The campaigns with the money (all of them except Murphy’s) still have a lot to spend and only seven days to do it in. That means more television commercials, more direct mails, more candidate events and more emails.

Also, don’t think for a second that “video-gate” was the last big surprise in this race. I’m sure that someone will announce Friday or over the weekend that the other candidates idolize Lee Iacocca — or were the second gunman on the grassy knoll — or something.

Take solace in knowing that one week from today it will all be over, at least until the next election.

To my readers in the Lockport City School District, don’t forget to vote today. There are some big issues on that ballot and it’s up to you, but if you don’t vote, you’re leaving it up to someone else. And, frankly, it’s all too important to leave up to someone else.

Dressed for success

2011-05-10T00:01:00.007-04:00

It’s good to step out of your comfort zone every now and then. Do something different — just because it’s different.

It’s even better to step out of your comfort zone for a worthwhile cause, which I’ll be doing this Friday night at the Palace Theatre.

Modeling is a career I’ve never considered, primarily because I’m ugly and out of shape. But it’s what I’ll be doing Friday as I grace the runway at the Palace Theatre as part of the Peaches-N-Crème Fashion Show and Comedy Hour, a fundraiser for Relay For Life.

As if being a male model weren’t out of my comfort zone enough, I’ll be donning a dress to do it in.

Yup, Scott Leffler in drag.

Fortunately, I’m not alone. There’s about a dozen other guys joining me in gender bending for a cause.

For me, it started about six weeks ago when I got an email from Anne Scinta LaSota, team captain of Maurice’s Relay For Life.

Anne told me she was trying “to recruit men that know how to have fun, have great personalities, are well known to the community, secure enough in their manhood to wear women’s clothes and willing to help me make this a great and profitable night.”

She went on, “While I was talking to people this evening your name came up as someone that not only fits the type of person we’re looking for but also someone who would love to do something like this especially for such a good cause. So ... (with my fingers crossed) what are your thoughts?”

I was at first taken aback by the fact that my name came up in a discussion of guys who might like to cross-dress. But after the initial shock passed, I thought, “Hey, it’s for charity.”

The reasonably priced tickets are available at a reduced cost in advance, or buy them at the door. They can be purchased at Maurice’s on Transit Road, Caruso’s Hair Salon, Peer Plumbing and Heating or from any of the MANgels (that’s what they’re calling us models).

The MANgels include myself, David Hinton, Jay Zimmerman, Dick Scinta, Jerry Buzzeo, TJ Gray, Tommy Shanley, Joe Runfola, Kyle Greiner, Brian Hopkins, Brian Bailey, Andrew Mullen, Zak Persichini, Mike Gagliardi, Andrew Rodems and Rick Leiker.

Although the event starts at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 6 to allow people to look over the baskets in the basket raffle, purchase 50/50 tickets and presumably get good seats for a show that I am quite certain will only happen once — at least with this particular cast of characters.

Aside from the fashion show, there will be comedy provided by Nick Siracuse, and the whole thing will be hosted by Kiss 98.5’s Shannon Steele.

And, of course, all proceeds from the event will benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, to be held at Emmet Belknap on June 18.

So to summarize, if you want to see me in a dress, come out to the Palace on Friday night.

And to make sure I never live it down, we’ll be sending a photographer so there will be thousands of copies of it.

Hit me up for tickets at my email address found on the "contact page." And thanks.

Reflections on bin Laden

2011-05-03T01:06:00.000-04:00

It was really the plane going into the second tower that got everyone’s attention.

I had gotten an alert on my computer from MSNBC about the plane going into the first tower and thought it odd. Details were bizarrely sketchy at the time. Was it a real plane? Or just a prop plane?
Obviously it must have been an accident.

But then a few minutes after 9 o’clock, Flight 175 out of Boston crashed into the second tower — and all hell broke loose.

I was home with the kids. We lived on Niagara Street in Lockport at the time. We were safe. But as the morning progressed, panic swept across the country. Everything seemed like a potential target.

My wife worked in Niagara Falls and all I wanted was for her to come home where it was safe. I remember fear unlike any I’d ever felt before. The sky was falling. All I wanted was for my family to be safe, and I felt like I had no control over it whatsoever.

America changed that day.

I have to imagine that most people feel like Sunday night was the other bookend to Sept. 11. What began with planes crashing into buildings, ended with Navy SEALs and CIA paramilitary forces killing the world’s most famous terrorist following a firefight in Pakistan.

That chapter of our life is complete.

I’m glad he’s dead. But I don’t feel any safer.

•••

The president was barely done speaking Sunday night when the conspiracy theories started to fly saying that we’d had bin Laden for a week, but were waiting for the right time to announce it.

Apparently, according to the nut job conspiracy peeps, we held off announcing it so we didn’t ruin the royal wedding. And the best time to make such an announcement? Sunday night during “Celebrity Apprentice,” of course.

Also, I saw some opining that it was “convenient” that President Obama would make this announcement when his numbers were in the tank. Maybe he should have waited to catch bin Laden?

I did notice the president himself doing a little politicking. Anyone else notice the emphasis of “at my direction” during his announcement Sunday night? He wanted no one to doubt that he gave the word. Over time, I imagine the story will morph just a bit and the president himself will have caught bin Laden bare handed and taken him out personally, despite having only a pointy stick.

Speaking of politicking, I got an email from Kathy Hochul’s camp Monday morning.

It said: “I commend President Obama for his decisive leadership and the special forces who carried out this operation for their tireless work.”

Note to Kathy Hochul: No one cares if you commend the president. His coat tails will not get you elected.

I hadn’t gotten a press release from Jane Corwin as of the time I was finished writing this column.

Obviously that’s because she doesn’t share Hochul’s glee in the world’s top terrorist being caught. Or at least I’m expecting to get an email from Hochul soon, stating as much.

Man of many hats

2011-04-19T00:31:00.012-04:00

Just one of many Sabres hats.

I wear a lot of hats.

That’s not a metaphor, although it is true in that sense, as well. No, I literally mean I wear a lot of hats.
I’ve had a love affair with baseball caps since a young age.

I don’t recall how old I was when it happened, but I was told in my youth that people in baseball caps never amount to anything. I decided then and there that I would be successful — while wearing a baseball cap.

The majority of my hat arsenal is comprised of Sabres hats. Blue and gold mostly, although I do have a few of the black and red variety. In all, I have nine Buffalo Sabres hats. Some were gifts, but most of them I bought myself.

I wear them during hockey season. And football season. And baseball season. I’m not sure when cricket season is, but I wear them then, too.

Yes, I wear other hats, but mostly, I like to stick to the Sabres ones. They’re the ones I’m the proudest of. My hockey runs deep.

I like to travel, at least to the degree my budget allows me to. I’ve worn my Sabres hats in almost every city I’ve been to. A week ago, it was Washington, D.C. And sitting in the Air and Space Museum having lunch, my girlfriend pointed out another guy in a Sabres hat. Instant connection. We ended up running into that guy and talking very briefly. The conversation went something like this:
“Nice hat. Go Sabres.”

A couple summers ago, I wore a Sabres hat to Toronto when I ran into a guy in a Maple Leafs jersey. Suffice it to say, he was not nearly as impressed with my hat as the guy in D.C. was. In fact, I recall getting into somewhat of a verbal altercation with Toronto guy. I generally try to steer clear of altercations, but he was speaking ill of my team. And, really? He’s a Leafs fan.

A few years ago, I wore my Sabres hats in Philly. Also, Boston, New York, and Cleveland. You get the picture. I'm a Sabres fan all the time. Everywhere I go.

I always find it interesting this time of year how many people have Sabres hats. Seems to be a lot more Sabres hats (and T-shirts and jerseys, etc.) in early to mid-April than there are in, say, mid-November.
Some people get upset with the “bandwagon” effect that comes with any playoff run. I don’t really mind at all. I like suddenly having something in common with almost everyone in Western New York.

I haven’t bought a new baseball hat in well over a year. It was a Sabres hat. A green one. Two, actually. I was at a game with a friend and I found a green Sabres “slug” hat, so I bought it. Then I found a green hat with the original logo on it. So I had to buy that one, too.

I'd like to buy a new one soon. I'd really like for it to say “Buffalo Sabres — Stanley Cup Champions.” Hopefully they’ll make one like that.

All aboard the crazy train ...

2011-04-12T00:28:00.000-04:00

I cannot stop watching the train wreck that is the race for the 26th Congressional District.

I know I said a week ago that the four -ring circus that race has turned into had essentially turned my stomach on politics. And, truth be told, they continue to astound and confound me. But sometimes, things are just far too funny to not enjoy.

Take, for example, the email I got last week from Rus Thompson, party planner of the TEA variety; It said that TEA New York was having a candidates night in Wheatfield and all were invited. Well, all except the guy they didn’t like.

Rus told me personally that they had not invited Ian Murphy because Murphy had made some disparaging comments about the troops in a story he wrote for the Buffalo Beast a few years back. Apparently, TEA New York thinks the First Amendment is ranked way too highly.

So the TEA peeps had their little party.

Of the three candidates they did invite, one (Jack Davis) had an engagement elsewhere, receiving the endorsement of the Tea Party Coalition. (Apparently, there's more than one Tea Party in Western New York.) Another (Kathy Hochul) was off doing something else, although I still don’t know what. Leaving only Jane Corwin having Tea.

At the end of their forum, TEA New York endorsed Corwin. Meaning, Jack Davis and Jane Corwin received simultaneous endorsements from the Tea Party, while Ian Murphy wasn’t allowed in and Kathy Hochul didn’t want in.

Then Sunday night, I get an email from the Hochul camp saying “Hochul congratulates Sabres. Calls on opponents to follow.” It added, “Hochul only candidate to support Sabres.”

As if that weren’t asinine enough, it goes on to specifically call on her opponents “Republican, Jane Corwin and Tea Party-endorsed candidate Jack Davis” to “join me in rooting for the Sabres in their run for the Stanley Cup.”

First of all, does Hochul not know about Murphy? Or was he just not worth the ink in her press release? Secondly, I was almost surprised that the press release spelled “Sabres” right. Is there a bigger non-issue than supporting the Sabres? Really?

Oddly, it seems to me that Murphy, the guy whom everyone else seems to be ignoring, has the most concise declaration of his views, clearly stated on his website. Of course, he also has a lot of bizarre statements and does some wacky things, like wearing a three-corner hat to the TEA New York event. I mean, I can understand why Rus Thompson doesn’t take him seriously. Who would do such a thing? Oh, right, Rus Thompson would. I think his three-corner hat is glued to his head.

Also, Ian has made an issue out of not having seen Corwin’s birth certificate. Of course, Corwin’s origin of birth isn’t really a matter of dispute, but it is a novel way of highlighting some of the craziness in American politics these days.

And right now, there is no better place to see craziness in American politics than in New York’s 26th Congressional District.

It’s like the crazy train derailed, and I just can’t stop watching.

The politician who stole Christmas

2011-04-05T00:28:00.000-04:00

All good things come to an end.

And so it was with my enjoyment of the race for the 26th Congressional District.

I said some time ago that this whole race was like Christmas. As it turns out, it was like that Christmas nightmare where you didn’t get any presents. Or that one birthday that went so wrong that you hate your birthday from then on.

I am so sick of hearing Jane Corwin whine. Even sicker with the knowledge that all that whining will likely land her a seat in Congress.

I’d love to hear what Corwin is going to do for us, but her camp is far too busy talking about the taxes that Kathy Hochul raised.

Now, to be fair, I don’t know anything about Kathy Hochul. I’ve never met her. And I doubt I’d vote for her.

I have, however, met Jane Corwin. And I liked her. She’s as smart as she is attractive. But the beauty she holds physically is matched by the ugliness in which she’s conducted herself in this campaign.
From day one, the Corwin camp has talked about Kathy Hochul being “Nancy Pelosi’s hand-picked candidate.” I’ve never heard Hochul mention Pelosi. Nor have I heard that Pelosi has mentioned Hochul — or for that matter, has any clue who she is.

And yet, it’s Corwin bringing in Speaker of the House John Boehner to stump for her. Hmm. Disingenuous, much?

Now, of course, it’s the Democrats complaining about Corwin’s plan to bring Boehner in. Frankly, that’s equally disingenuous. If there were a Democrat that was able to come save them, they’d surely bring that person in.

And to top it off, Len Lenihan and his ilk are claiming that the reason they’re opposed to Boehner coming to Western New York is because of Friday’s amendment on aviation safety that seems to be unanimously opposed by the families of the Flight 3407 tragedy. Also disingenuous. Lenihan opposes Boehner being in his backyard for purely political reasons and any other explanation looks petty … and is an affront to the families of the victims of that plane crash.

The thing that struck me the most is my genuine belief that the amendment passed Friday would not have come to fruition if Chris Lee was still in office. And whether Jane Corwin, Kathy Hochul, Jack Davis or Ian Murphy wins this special election May 24, the voters of that district will not have half the congressman they had in Chris Lee.

I’ve been looking forward to May 24 as though it were Christmas. Now I’m looking forward to it as though it were tax day, a day to get past.

It’s truly a shame that people couldn’t run for election based on what they’re going to do for us as opposed to scaring us about what their opponents might do.

If terrorism is the act of making people conform to your will through fear, what does that make politics lately?

All good things come to an end. And I fear that with this race, my love of politics does, too.
I can only hope I’m wrong.

Things I love ...

2011-03-21T11:06:00.002-04:00

I love my job. And my apartment. And my car.

I love my friends. They're really quite phenomenal. And they always seem to be there for me when I need them. I'd like to think that I return the favor.

I love my kids. And the relationship that I have with their mom.

I love my bed. And the black curtains in my bedroom that prevent me from having any inkling what time of day it is. It's always night there.

I love the night. I'll take a dark night over a sunny day any time.

I love my couch and my TV. Also my surround sound.

I love food. Chicken wings and pizza. Lasagna. Anything Italian, really. Oh, and Mexican. I'm not a fan of Chinese food, but I'll eat it on a special occasion.

I love my pet hedgehog, Liberty. There are some days when the only words I say out loud, I say to her. Of course, she doesn't really respond, but I'd like to think that she knows what I'm saying.

If I don't have to work and I don't leave the house, there are truly days when I don't talk. I sing. I dance. But I don't talk. Well, except to the hedgehog, like I said.

I love knowing who I am. That wasn't always true. There were years when I was trying to figure that out, with no luck.

I love living in a neighborhood where no one else knows who I am. To them, I'm just the guy with the loud music who keeps really weird hours. They don't want to talk politics. Or current events. My relationship with my neighbors stays within the neighborhood itself. We discuss potholes, new roofs and old trees.

I love a bottle of Coca Cola at just the right temperature. It reminds me of a band trip I took in 8^th grade, I think. Simpler times when I didn't have to worry about bills or the cost of new tires. I wish I knew what that perfect temperature was. Maybe one in 100 bottles is like that. So every few years I get one.

I love introducing people who are important to me to other people who are important to me. And pray that they'll love each other like I love them both.

I loved the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Buffalo this weekend. I got to do several introductions. I was in my glory.

I love the fact that I finally figured out how to work a NFTA bus route. It took me a week to figure out how to get from Delaware Avenue in Tonawanda to Delaware Avenue in Buffalo. But I finally figured it out.

I loved making friends on the bus. Single serving friends of the Tyler Durden variety.

I love the fact that some of you know who Tyler Durden is. And some of you neither know nor care, but you're still reading this.

I love lamp.

I love.

Schools just don't seem to get it

2011-03-15T00:01:00.003-04:00

You would think that for all their college degrees and the fact that they’re teaching our children, school administrators would be an intelligent bunch.

I’m kind of wondering, though, due to the stories I’ve been reading about all the school budget workshops and meetings, if that really is the case.

The state’s education system got rocked when Gov. Andrew Cuomo told every single school district in the state that they’re getting less money due to statewide belt tightening. Every school district locally has been told that they’ll be getting less state aid next year than they did this year.

Of course, the school boards have done their obligatory whining, which I would expect. Then they dug in deep and cut programs and salaries, like they need to. Or, at least that’s what they said they’ll have to do. But not before almost every school district said they’d be digging into their reserves in order to preserve as much as possible.

This is the part that confounds me ... the digging into the district reserves, also known as the “rainy day fund.” It seems like their thought process is if they can just get through this year, everything will be OK and they can go back to taxing and spending and hire all the teachers back and restore all the programs, etc.

Except, my understanding is that this isn’t a matter of it being a rainy day. This is the way things are now. The state is not going to pony up as much money as it has been because of the dire financial straits it is in. And next year, the cuts may be deeper, even.

I know I said previously that I thought it cheap that Cuomo’s two best ideas for saving money were a property tax cap and a limit on superintendent’s salaries. That still remains true. But many of the correspondences I’ve gotten in the past week pointed out — and correctly so — that school districts are out of touch with reality.

One prime example last week came to me from a friend of mine, who happens to serve on a school board. This friend advised me that two of her school board colleagues had suggested that they jack taxes up as high as they can get away with this year, before the property tax cap becomes a mandate.
Because obviously the answer to all our prayers is higher taxes.

I pointed out that these were school board members, right? The smart ones. The ones running the show. The ones deciding how our children should be educated.

If the high taxes don’t get you, the rampant stupidity will.

Savings need to start in Albany

2011-03-08T00:15:00.000-05:00

As much as I appreciate the governor’s efforts to save us money, lately his focus seems to be aimed in the wrong direction.

With a $10 billion budget gap, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has decided that the best thing he can do for us is tell local school districts how much money they can spend and what they can spend it on, proposing a property tax cap and salary limits on school superintendents.

As much as I love the concept of my local school districts not taxing me to death, it’s not the governor’s decision to make. Those school budgets come before the voters and we always have the option of turning them down, which we do often.

And as much sense as it makes to me that school superintendents should make less than the state’s chief executive, that’s another thing that shouldn’t be up to that chief executive. If Andy Cuomo is so interested in how school districts run, maybe that’s the job he should have gone out for instead of governor.

Personally, I want Andrew Cuomo making as few decisions about my school districts as possible. The state meddles in the affairs of other government agencies way too much. And frankly, if the state would cease some of that meddling, those local school taxes wouldn’t be as high as they are to begin with.

The multitude of governments we have to deal with is already frustrating. The interaction between those governments makes it downright infuriating. If the federal government would worry about federal things, that’d be awesome. And if the state government would stick to state things, that would be equally fantastic. And that would make it so much easier for our towns, villages, cities, school districts, counties, etc., to do their jobs.

It’s akin to working for a mega conglomerate corporation and having six different bosses, each of them telling you to do something different. Or having your mother tell you to take out the trash right now while you’re trying to bring in the wood that your father told you to bring in. It’s simply impossible to serve two masters. Especially simultaneously.

The power to control your school districts lies in your hands. And if you let Andy Cuomo take that power from you, you will never get it back.

So as much as you may like the idea of saving on your property taxes, you should tell Andrew Cuomo to stay out of your school district’s affairs. And as much as you may think that your superintendent is overpaid, for the sake of simplicity, tell Andy Cuomo to stick that idea in the circular bin ... or wherever you want to tell him to stick it. I don’t judge.

•••

As an unrelated side note, I’d like to wish a prosperous retirement to a friend and former colleague of mine. WLVL’s news director, John Raymond, called it a career last week.

Radio has been good to John. And John made for some great radio.

He made me laugh at times. And he made me livid at times. But I enjoyed working beside him for the better part of seven years.

I’m certain I’m not alone when I say, John Raymond, you will be missed. Thanks for the memories.

Can't stick to one topic ...

2011-03-01T02:35:00.000-05:00

It’s one of those weeks where my mind is way too active for me to stick to any one topic for the duration of a column. So instead, here’s my thoughts on everything.

The labor dispute in Wisconsin is an interesting one. Many of my conservative friends now herald Gov. Scott Walker as their new hero.

Many of my liberal friends, meanwhile, seem to think he’s the new anti-Christ. I think both are exaggerating just a bit.

I’m not nearly as familiar with Wisconsin’s budget problem and political landscape as I am with New York’s. But if it’s even remotely similar, they need to do something to save money before the whole thing goes down the drain. In New York, Gov. Cuomo has his strategy. In Wisconsin, Walker has his. Both have their opponents. Both have their supporters.

In general, I will support an executive who tries to get an unwieldy government under control. Smaller is better. At least when it comes to government. As such, I’m OK with Walker’s position.

•••

When the Sabres new owner, Terry Pegula, took over, I was thrilled with the prospects for the future. And then the team won. And then they won again. And the Sabres were never going to lose another game — at least in my head, they weren’t.

Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings brought me back to reality a little bit though. The Sabres looked great in the first period. And not as great in the second and third. Having a 2-0 lead, they eventually lost 3-2 in the shootout. Same Sabres as before.

So maybe they’re going to lose some games now and again. But the Pegula era of Sabres hockey is bound to be a good one. I’m looking forward to it greatly.

•••

My opinion on Chris Lee still hasn’t changed — despite the new allegations. I thought he did his job of congressman well. His job of husband, apparently, he wasn’t as good at. But that’s between him and his family. These new charges have brought new jokes. And undoubtedly new pain for the Lee family. It’s sad, surely. But some free advice to wannabe politicians? Your skeletons will come out. If you don’t want your private life public, pick a different career. And if you must run for Congress, keep your private life clean.

•••

I got a news release last week from congressional candidate Jane Corwin, stating that she had a “major announcement” to make and she’d be dropping by a few of the cities within the 26th Congressional District to let the people know what that announcement was.

The newsroom was abuzz. What could she be announcing? Friends e-mailed and texted me asking what Jane had up her sleeve. I didn’t know. I couldn’t even speculate. I took a couple stabs in the dark. Boy was I wrong. Corwin’s big announcement? That she was running for Congress.

No. Really.

Dearest Jane, the fact that you were running for Congress was already well-known. That “announcement” wasn't worthy of a Facebook status, let alone a press conference in four different cities.

So you wanted to get out and meet the people? Cool. Come say “hi.” But don’t sell it as some major announcement. Because now I’m already skeptical of whatever your next press release may be.

Let me remind you of Aesop’s fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” It ends very similarly to a Grimm’s Fairy Tale. And surely, you don’t want your congressional campaign to suffer the same fate.

Politics - the gift that keeps on giving

2011-02-22T00:09:00.000-05:00

Immediately after Christmas, I declared the holiday season to be over. But for me, the day the Chris Lee fiasco became public knowledge, it was Christmas all over again.
I’ve said here before that the political season is to me what Christmas is to small children. My eyes light up. I get excited. I have trouble sleeping. And I can’t imagine what present I’ll get to unwrap next.
Last week, I got the cool gift that all the kids were hoping for — in the form of an e-mail from Jack Davis announcing his intention to seek the congressional seat recently vacated by Lee.
As I said at the time; “This just adds another ring to this circus.”
I like Jack Davis. He’s a rare bird who will tell you what he’s thinking. He doesn’t care if you agree with him or not. He doesn’t pander. And he won’t be silenced. He and I don’t see eye-to-eye on all the issues, but there are very few — if any — people that I could say I agree with on 100 percent of the issues, political or otherwise.
Of course, Jack can afford to be Jack. Literally. The man’s got more money than most of us will ever have, unless we happen to win the lottery. And even then, we may not equal Jack’s worth. For good or for bad, Jack Davis’ entrance into the congressional race has ensured us that Western New York will stay in the nation’s limelight for the duration of the special election. He’s bound to say or do something to draw attention.
As Terrell Owens would say; “Get ya popcorn ready.”
•••
As the weather warms and we get closer to spring, I am reminded more and more why I love living here. Over the weekend, the kids and I went to the Pizza Bash in Cheektowaga. I had some incredibly tasty pies.
And a couple that weren’t so tasty. But the best part is all the people out and about dressed in Sabres gear partaking in one of the many things we do right in WNY — pizza.
It was a much different crowd from the night before, when I was so fortunate to go to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. No Sabres gear there, but the orchestra was phenomenal. Another thing we do right.
Although it’s still cold out, my mind has turned to spring and summer.
And thoughts of naps in Delaware Park, picnics at the Buffalo Zoo and kayaking the Erie Canal seem to rush to the forefront. As do fairs, festivals and outdoor concerts.
I officially have spring fever.
Fortunately, I have a distraction in the circus that is the 26th Congressional District.

Going. Going. Gaughan!

2011-02-01T02:22:00.000-05:00

I have long supported the efforts of Kevin Gaughan, the political activist hell-bent on streamlining Western New York governments.

Gaughan can legitimately claim being at least partly responsible for the reduction of members in two county governments, and six towns, as well as the elimination of a village.

And now Gaughan has set his eyes on Albany, wishing to reduce the state Senate, followed by the Assembly. His plan is to make 62 senators into 50 and 150 assemblymen into 125.

He says the reduction in the Senate, alone, will save $12 million a year. In a time when we’re all looking for two nickels to rub together, $12 million is a whole lot of rubbing.

Gaughan even has the theoretical support of state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, who told him he has concerns, but generally is supportive of the plan.

I had my own concerns — particularly the diluting of the people’s voice in Albany with each state senator serving as many as 400,000 people under Gaughan’s plan. Right now, each senator has 322,000 constituents.

So Monday morning, I set out to put those concerns to rest with a phone call to Gaughan, himself.

“First of all, your question assumes that people have a voice in New York government,” he told me. “Virtually every New Yorker knows that the representative has no voice in government.”

“The fundamental purpose to reduce the number of politicians is to increase people’s voice,” Gaughan said, adding that when the real decisions get made, the state goes back to its tried-and-true method of “three men in a room.”

OK, he kind of got me there.

In addition, he said, bigger is not necessarily better. In lean times private companies roll back the number of employees they have to make ends meet. “Government should undergo the same change.”

Plus, Gaughan said, New York has one of the largest state governments in the union. And the cost of running that government is unmatched by even the largest of states.

“I think having two bodies with 212 members … I think there was a time when New York state could afford that,” he said. And that time is long gone.

“To ask people to have the highest cost for the New York State Legislature and have the least voice, calls for a change,” he said.

Gaughan continued, saying that real reform will require term limits, campaign finance reform and redistricting reform, which will prevent the legislators from gerrymandering their districts to ensure the 99 percent re-election rate they have enjoyed for years.

“Each of those reforms have been talked about and yearned for, for over 50 years,” he said. And while he certainly supports those three measures, his baby has been government reduction, which he says is equally important, but still just a part of the solution.

“To solve this problem, nothing's going to work ... but everything might,” he said.

Kevin and I were on the phone no more than five minutes. At the end of that five minutes, I agreed wholeheartedly. And I wish him the best.

OK with Keith Olberman being KO'd

2011-01-25T01:54:00.000-05:00

I was shocked — but not surprised — to hear Friday night that Keith Olbermann and MSNBC were parting ways.

That is to say that I couldn’t believe that MSNBC would let the most dynamic host they had slip through their fingers. But in all honesty, I had no trouble believing it at all.

I once had great respect for Keith Olbermann. His show, Countdown, was as informative as it was entertaining.

I don’t know if it was Olbermann that changed — or me. But his show got increasingly unwatchable for me. He had turned into a left-wing version of Hannity and Glenn Beck. And it certainly couldn’t really be called a news program any more.

Sure, Olbermann continued to put forth information and ideas, but he made no effort to hide his bias. And he wasn’t very friendly about it, either.

In the grand scheme of things, he had become just another talking head. Part of the problem. He signed off his show with “Good night and good luck,” but he was no Edward R. Murrow. He wasn’t fighting for journalism. Or freedom. I had gotten the impression he was fighting for Keith Olbermann.

In truth, I won't miss him any more than I’d miss Limbaugh or O’Reilly. The only disappointing thing is that with his departure, the media has slanted just a little further right.

Yes, I said further right. Meaning, I believe that media already slants right. Now, many of you will disagree with me and argue out loud that there is no right wing media. There’s the liberal elite media and then there’s Fox, right?

I suppose if you think that Fox News is middle-of-the-road, then, yes, everything else would appear to lean left. And if you stand on your head everything will look upside down.

I, of course, have my own biases. Anyone who’s been paying even cursory attention knows that my beliefs are strong, but difficult to pinpoint. I’m radically right on certain issues and crazy left on others. I like to tell people I’m a rabid centrist.

This mish-mosh of beliefs stems from not forming my opinions based on what the Keith Olbermanns and Sean Hannitys of the world tell me to think, but instead coming to my own conclusions of what makes sense in my own happy little head.

Because of this (apparently unusual) mix of right and left-leaning ideals, there’s no talk show host out there that I concur with more than 60 percent of the time. And there’s no cable “news” network that I feel speaks for me.

As a result, I’ll stick to the real news. As spoken from the likes of Brian Williams. In truth, he’s the only national media icon I have any real respect for — at least as a news man. Sure, Limbaugh is entertaining. As is Stephanie Miller. But they don’t do news. Just like Olbermann didn’t do news.

I know some of you will miss Olbermann’s show. And some of you are glad to be rid of him, I’m sure. Just don’t think we’ve lost some great reporter. He was a rodeo clown. Just like the rest of them. Distracting us from the real solutions to the real problems.

Scott Leffler, night/city editor for the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, has been in the local print and broadcast media for the past decade. His column appears every Tuesday. Contact him at scott.leffler@lockportjournal.com.

Sorting through the vitriol

2011-01-11T02:37:00.000-05:00

I like to comment on politics. It’s what I went to school for. Politics is the art of persuasion, decision-making and compromise. It’s ugly. And it certainly isn’t for everyone. It can be exciting. It can even be fun. But it can certainly be frustrating and can ruin people from the inside out.

Sometimes things should not be political.

I had planned on writing this week’s column on the panel chosen last week by the county legislature to draw the 15 new legislative districts. We had been told that it would be a citizen panel comprised of non-politicians. I wanted to get into it, in depth, talking about each panelist and noting their political connections. Let’s suffice it to say I was not pleased with the list of names.

And I’m going to leave it at that. Truth is, I don’t feel like getting into politics this week. There’s enough politicking going on right now. And frankly, we need less of it.

I was disheartened (a massive understatement) to hear the news Saturday of the shooting in Arizona.

It was a story broken by Facebook for me. I checked in to see what my friends were up to, only to see post after post about Arizona, tragedy and prayer. I got the gist of what was going on, but quickly turned on the television in hopes of getting all the details.

I went back and forth between the TV, which lacked details, and the Internet, which suffered from no lack of speculation or opinions.

The television frustrated me. And the Internet angered me.

And then I caught a tidbit of news that just saddened me. And my frustration and anger melted away, supplanted with an overwhelming desire to hug my children.

One of the victims of Saturday’s insane brutality was a 9-year-old girl.

Christina Taylor Green was born on Sept. 11, 2001 — one of our nation’s darkest days. She died Saturday, the most recent of our darkest days.

And she left behind a mother, a father and a brother.

Suddenly, for me, the political rhetoric being displayed on Facebook and Twitter became annoying. Meanwhile, the concern being displayed on the television news for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was secondary.

All I could think about was that somewhere in Arizona was a guy — probably about my age — who had a daughter — just about my youngest daughter’s age — earlier that morning. And now he doesn’t.

Who cares about Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and Rush and blah, blah, blah? Somebody shut up and give that poor father a hug.

Amidst all the vitriol, people were actually losing their lives. Innocent children, even.

I’m not saying that politics is unimportant. Or that it doesn’t have a place and time. But the place and time is not now.

Frankly, anyone trying to score political points while a parent is burying their child deserves a fate crueler than I can imagine.

There’s plenty of time to have an honest discussion about the political climate in this country and how that may or may not have contributed to this tragedy. But first, let’s grieve our loss.

I’ll leave you with Christina’s words: “I hope you know all the words to the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.”

I hope I do, too.

Scott Leffler, night/city editor for the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, has been in the local print and broadcast media for the past decade. His column appears every Tuesday. Contact him at scott.leffler@lockportjournal.com.

Pay-for-parking is the American way

2011-01-04T02:27:00.005-05:00

I hate paying to park.

I'd rather park farther away and walk.

When I go to festivals in the area, I always try to find a spot on a street somewhere, even if that street is a very healthy walk from the festival. I usually walk the farthest for Allentown.

On the occasion when I'm lucky enough to go to a Sabres or Bisons game, I'll park in the second ring of parking, where it's half of what it costs to park right next to the arena or stadium. And still that costs as much as $10 sometimes.

It seems to me that paying $10 to rent out a parking space for a few hours is highway robbery.

It's a downright mugging to charge as much as $60 for those same spaces, which is exactly what parking lot owners near HSBC have been charging during the World Junior Hockey Tournament.

People are complaining. And Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is calling for an investigation into the matter.

As much as I abhor taking advantage of a situation, what they're doing is not only legal, but the basis for our entire economy.

It's a free market system. Private parking lot owners can ask for as much as they like. It only becomes worth the asking price if people pay it. And people are paying by the carload.

We don't think anything of paying double, triple or more for a hotel when we go at “peak times.” We understand that plane tickets cost more during the holidays and gas is always most expensive on Fridays. We know that there's a significant markup on food when we go out to eat. So why is this parking thing such an issue?

The popular thought out there seems to be that it's just not fair to charge people that much, especially if we're trying to entice them to come to our city. Yes, I said “our city.” Buffalo is our city, no matter what your postal code may be.

If you've ever had to park in Manhattan, Toronto, Washington, DC, or any one of a number of other big cities, you'll recall that parking wasn't cheap. It was a downright mugging.

Actually, I literally got robbed once parking in DC, but that's another issue altogether.

Have you ever considered going to one of those cities and then decided not to because parking was too much? I can't imagine too many people would say yes. It's the cost of doing business. It's the cost of going on vacation. And who are we to tell parking lot owners in Buffalo can't make a healthy profit for a couple weeks?

If the argument is that we Western New Yorkers shouldn't have to pay that much to park, your point is completely moot. The NFTA offers a variety of ways to get to HSBC. If you'd rather pay $60 than take Metro Bus or Rail, then you've decided – although maybe begrudgingly – that the $60 is worth it.

Me? I'll just avoid the area altogether until after the World Juniors is over. I couldn't afford the tickets anyway. Which, I might point out, are considerably more expensive than, say, Disney on Ice Tickets. Why? Free market economy. It's just how it works.

Complaining about it could be considered un-American.

'Tis no longer the season

2010-12-28T14:22:00.002-05:00

Another Christmas has come and gone.

I had a great Christmas season, ending on an an absolutely wonderful Christmas Day where I got everything I asked for. True story.

I mentioned last month how much I love Christmas. I get into the lights. And the music. And the movies. Heck, I watched Christmas movies almost exclusively from Thanksgiving until Saturday night.

However, as I said, the Christmas season ends on Christmas Day. And come December 26^th, it just seems wrong to watch Christmas movies. Christmas music becomes passé. The snow stops being pretty and starts being a nuisance. And I can endure the lights and decorations for a little while longer, but by a few days after New Years, they start to bother me.

I guess I feel like there's a place for everything and everything in its place.

With Christmas come and gone, it's now time to focus on the new year. A time we all dedicate to bettering ourselves.

I had never been one for New Year's resolutions. But I made several last year. And I'm happy to say I kept most of them. I didn't resolve to lose weight. Or quit any vices. I would have failed those. Mostly, I just resolved to just be a better person. I think I was.

This coming year I resolve to build on the successes I had in 2010. I had several. I also had my fair share of failures. I resolve to work harder to have less of those in 2011.

Whatever you might want 2011 to be, remember that it is mostly up to you. Sure, there are things in life we don't control. But we do control who we are, individually.

Resolutions should not be wishes. They are intentions. Promises, if you will. And they're promises you make to yourself. Maybe you make them publicly and tell your friends and colleagues. But what you tell yourself is really more important.

A resolution should not be boastful. No one is impressed with what you say you intend to do. People are impressed by actions.

I can truly say that today I am a better, stronger person than I was a year ago. While that may not be impressive to you, it means everything to me.

I got quite a bit of feedback on last week's column. When I wrote it, I was somewhat concerned that it was too specific to Lockport. But the kudos came from far and wide, as I should have expected. Lockport may have been the example, but the topic was somewhat universal.

I always enjoy feedback. Be it positive or negative. It let's me know that you're reading this, first of all. It also lets me know that you care about the community you live in.

This paper encourages feedback. And we want to hear your opinion on things. You can let us know what you're thinking with a letter to the editor, by calling Sound Off, or by adding your two cents to our Facebook page.

Maybe that can be your resolution. Resolve to get more involved.

Alright, I bared my soul enough this week. I'll meet you back here next Tuesday.

What part of 'no' don't they understand?

2010-12-21T14:18:00.001-05:00

Some people don't seem to take “no” for an answer.

School boards seem to be worse at this than any other group of people I know.

You'd think that those in charge of teaching our children would be able to understand English – especially a simple word like “no.”

But once again, a local school district is wondering if maybe “no” actually just meant “not right now” or “ask again later.” It's like the Magic 8 Ball version of “no” with them.

Last week the Lockport Board of Education got some visitors asking them to ask taxpayers if maybe “no” really didn't mean “no.”

Two years ago, voters went to the polls to vote on a measure that would build a $6 million sports complex at the Lockport High School. It was part of a two-part capital improvement proposal to upgrade the high school. It was overwhelmingly defeated by a vote of 1,797 to 1,296. The other part of the proposal – which focused more on academics, was approved 1,708 to 1,442 and is the $23.5 million construction work currently being done on the school.

Fast forward to now and some folks in the athletics department are hoping they'll get a second chance at that $6 million project.

The argument they made to the school board last week was that people didn't know what they were voting on before. We're stupid, see, and we can't be trusted to make our own decisions. Since the people who know better are looking out for us, they're going to give us a second change to say “yes.”

I have children in the Lockport School District. I want them to have the best opportunities possible. But I also know what I can and can't afford. And I don't have a spare $6 million for a sports complex.

Now, the sports folks would keenly point out here, that the state is kicking in 93 percent of the cost, so, really, Lockport taxpayers would only pay $420,000. The rest would be paid with money the state has piled up in a big room in Albany.

Except there's no money piled up in a room in Albany. Albany's broke. And let's not forget where Albany gets its money – us!

Government entities have been pulling the whole “don't worry, the state pays for it,” shell game for a long time, all the while, complaining about Albany's overspending. Maybe if we only did things we could afford, Albany wouldn't spend so much.

I have nothing against sports. Growing up, I played hockey, football, baseball, soccer, tennis, even lacrosse. Not for school, mind you. Just at a park with my friends. We never asked for a $6 million sports complex, even though it would have made the games so much cooler. And to the best of my recollection, I never asked my parents for so much as a new hockey stick. When I broke one (which I did often), I got my wallet out and bought one … with my money … if I could afford it. And if I couldn't, I waited until I could.

When you're paying your own way, you learn to accept “no” as an answer.

Recession finally hits state government

2010-12-14T00:21:00.000-05:00

Most of us have had to learn to do with less these past couple years.

I've personally used the phrase, “not in the budget” about four million times, whether it was while out shopping with the kids, or turning down a friend's request to go out to dinner or to a movie or whatever. We all have to prioritize and most often prioritizing means skipping what you want to to in order to afford what you have to do.

“Not in the budget” has become somewhat of a catch phrase. I'm hardly the only one saying it. The recession has affected almost everyone I know in some way or another. Many of my friends have lost jobs, or had to do more at their jobs, picking up the slack left because someone else at their job got a pink slip.

Private companies deal with the pain of recession by reducing their workforce if they can't find other ways to save enough money to make them viable during the bleak economic times that fall upon us from time to time.

Government, it seems, hardly goes that same route.

My budget – much like yours – is determined by my paycheck. My paycheck – much like yours – is determined by how many hours I work, multiplied by how much my employer is willing to pay me for each hour of work done.

Government's budget, meanwhile, is determined by how much they raise in taxes; whether they be sales taxes, income taxes, property taxes or “fees,” which are really just taxes with a different name.

Basically, people get paid what their employer is willing to pay. Government gets paid whatever they want.

This has been the formula for far too long.

One thing that rang out loud and clear from the election is that people aren't fond of that formula. People don't like being told what to do or how much to pay. Government is supposed to work for us. Not the other way around. And many of the people who won their elections in November campaigned on just such a mantra.

It looks like New York State might have gotten that message … to a degree. Last week Governor David Paterson announced that come January 1, there will be 900 fewer state employees than there are right now. The last day of this month, 900 people will get their pink slips and told to move on.

Of course, those 900 people are none-too-happy about this. And the unions that represent them aren't either.

But in Paterson's defense, he did give those unions an opportunity to save those jobs if they were willing to make concessions to save the state money. The unions, however, refused.

Paterson can't force concessions on the unions. They already have a contract. But he can reduce the number of employees. So that's what he did.

It's sad to see people lose their jobs. But it beats allowing the state to be held hostage by public employees unions.

Come January 1, this could all be moot if the incoming governor, Andrew Cuomo belays that layoff order.

If he does, we all might have to get part-time jobs just to pay our taxes. Or we'll have to learn to do with even less.

Its snow fun making yourself look stupid ...

2010-12-07T00:08:00.000-05:00

Bragging never works the way you want it to. It always comes back to bite you.

Since the snow hit last week, I've been telling everyone, “I don't have any,” with a somewhat smug smile like the one I watched George W. Bush wear for eight years.

Everywhere I went, there was snow on the roads and people's lawns. There was ice on the driveways, slush in the parking lots and general winter unpleasantness. My daily commute began with dry pavement and green grass. But as I passed through Amherst, I saw snow on the trees and all along the grass on the 990. As I entered Lockport, there seemed to be snow everywhere. Granted, it wasn't a lot of of snow. Nothing we couldn't handle. But snow nonetheless. And as I mentioned, “I don't have any.”

I fell asleep on the couch Sunday night as I admired the glow that came off of our new Christmas tree. There was Christmas music on the radio and I was very much feeling the Christmas spirit, as I've mentioned before that I often do.

Monday morning, however … Bah, humbug. What's with all this white stuff outside? My happy little paradise of green grass and dry roads had gotten covered in snow overnight. And my first thought? Not that I'd have to warm my car up. Not that I'd have to brush it off. Not that this would add another 10 minutes to my commute. Nope. My first thought was that I'd have to eat some crow from all the “I don't have any's,” that I've been telling people.

Then it occurred to me that I'd have to start the car early and it would take more time to get to work. And that simply compounded my braggadocios dilemma.

Of course, it's just a little snow and living in Buffalo, we pride ourselves on our ability to deal with the snow. Heck, it could snow three feet in a day and that wouldn't slow us down. Right?

Well, a week ago I would have said as much … before that debacle on the Thruway last week where motorists got stranded for the better part of a day while government officials did their best to look like Keystone Cops. The thought that a little snow not only slowed us down, but stopped us altogether is a bit humbling.

I'm all-too-familiar with that particular tract of pavement where the Thruway became a parking lot. I used to drive it daily. And when the snow hit, I told everyone I knew, “I'm just glad that's not part of my daily commute anymore.”

I'd then add, “I don't have any.”

And just like Buffalo as a whole lost the right to be self-righteous about dealing with the snow last week, I lost my right to be self-righteous about not having to deal with the snow as Sunday turned into Monday.

After all, bragging never works the way you want it to. It always comes back to bite you.

Getting into the season ...

2010-11-30T03:52:00.001-05:00

This time of year I'm like a kid at – well – Christmas.

I'm not sure what it is, but it seems like as soon as I see Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, any concerns I have get wiped away while I bask in the warmth of the Christmas season.

It seemed like half the houses in my neighborhood had lights up the day after Thanksgiving. And almost everyone I know was out hustling and bustling trying to get the good deal on whatever at the stores holding sales Friday morning.

I had friends in town and the kids and I made paper snowflakes and hung them from the ceiling all around the house. I got peppermint flavored creamer for my coffee and suddenly, the egg nog is in season again.

I can't seem to help but to smile this time of year.

Yeah, it's colder than it was a month ago. You've got to turn your heat up. You may have to scrape your car off before heading to work. And there's a lot more traffic than there should be on Transit, the Boulevard, Military Road and Walden. But how can you not grin at the toddler with the gleam in his eyes entranced by the toy at the store that you know he's getting – even if he doesn't.

Of course, there are some kids that don't get the toy. And some people who can't afford the peppermint creamer. And even people who can afford to turn the heat up.

Fortunately, we seem to remember the needy more this time of year. And we make donations of food, clothes and even money to local charities more so than we would in, say, October.

In the Spring and Summer, I'm very interested in being out and about. Doing things with those I care about. Or even by myself. I want to see new things and try new things. This year I got to see and try many things that I hadn't done before. I consider the year to have been successful.
But by late November and early December, all I want to do is sit on the couch with my kids and watch one Christmas movie after another. Ones from when they were younger. Ones from when I was younger. And even ones from when you were younger.

The same goes for Christmas music. I almost couldn't wait to turn Christmas music on. I did though. Thursday night on my way into work, it was all Christmas music. And the look in my eyes was probably about the same as the toddler in the toy store.

There's something special about Christmas music. There's notes that can only be achieved when singing about the holidays. The same thing seems true for Christmas movies. Things take on more meaning.

This is an emotional time of year for me. Always has been. You might know me as “that jerk,” but when it comes to the holiday season, I forget to play that role and I get all mushy.

Maybe Christmas is just stressful for you. You have to work overtime and can't forget to get a gift for Aunt Betty. And the bills pile up. And driving is frustrating. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Let all that go and just bask in the glory of Christmas. Surround yourself with those you love and the rest will seem to take care of itself.

Flying is a privilege ...

2010-11-23T15:50:00.000-05:00

Everyone seems to be up in arms over the new security regulations at our nation's airports.

Really, I think their arms are supposed to be straight out, aren't they?

I know that air travel can be frustrating. And the security rules that surround that travel only compounds that frustration.

I've felt silly on a number of occasions taking my shoes off flying out of JFK International. Thank goodness I thought ahead and wore good socks those days. Holey socks would be really embarrassing when your surrounded by the traveling elite.

But I've never complained about it. And neither should anyone else.

I'm all for civil liberties. I think random locker searches in our nation's high schools are a violation of the fourth amendment. And random traffic checkpoints are, too. Kids have to go to high school. And ground travel in nearly impossible to avoid. But your constitutional rights end at my front door. Or the property line for any private airport.

You don't have to fly anywhere. Ever. John Madden travels all over the country every year. And he never flies. Believe me, it's possible.

So if you choose to get onto an airplane from Buffalo to fly to sunny California - or even gloomy Cleveland – you have to play by the rules governing that airport. And the rules currently state that you may be randomly patted down or asked to go through a full-body scanner.

Those are the rules. Simple. Don't want to play by those rules? Then drive.

I have serious reservations about the “randomness” of those pat-down and scans, but I'm not interested in discussing profiling today.

I've heard people complain about the pat downs: “I don't want to get felt up in the airport.” I hate to tell you this, but odds are, no one wants to feel you up in the airport, either. Get over yourself.

I've heard people complain about the body scans: “You basically look naked.” Yes, you basically look naked. If you're gray and have no facial features when you're naked. Not to mention the fact that the person looking at you naked is locked in a windowless room and can't compare the naked gray image to the person walking through the scanner.

Let's not forget that this is for our own safety. Usually when government says something is for your own safety, what they really mean is they're playing Big Brother, telling you what to do to protect yourself. In this instance, they're trying to protect you from dangerous people. Or maybe protect innocent people from you – if you happen to be one of those dangerous people who wants to do others harm.

Some have suggested that tomorrow (the busiest travel day of the year) everyone opt out of the scanners and go through the pat-downs (you get to choose). This will, of course, will gum up the system and slow down the process. Which, of course, will only delay your flight. A better example of cutting off your nose to spite your face I have never seen.

I agree that the Transportation Security Agency should have no immunity and if someone “touches your junk,” they should be arrested.

But if they're just doing their job, you should simply be happy that you have the privilege (yes, I said privilege) of air travel.

Yes, another thing to be happy for this year.

The questions that don't get asked ...

2010-11-16T01:49:00.000-05:00

Sometimes questions that don't get asked are the ones that should.

I'm not sure how or why, but I was talking about politics with my oldest daughter on Sunday and she asked me, “what's the point of political parties?”

I attempted to explain it the best way I could, telling her it was sort of an indication to others of who your friends were. “It's kind of like football jerseys,” I said. “It's so you know who to throw the ball to.”

Except, that's a horrible explanation.

And the more I attempted to think of a metaphor for the reasoning for political parties, the more frustrated I got. Because, honestly, I just can't.

As the lame ducks in Congress convened in Washington yesterday, the Democrats pushed to get certain things done before the end of their session, knowing that come January when the Republicans take over, their ideals will be put on hold for at least two years.

Many political pundits are split over whether the Democrats will get anything meaningful accomplished in the next month and a half. Some think they'll ram some legislation through and others think they'll simply bicker, much like they have been doing for the last 22 months.

So here's a question that seldom gets asked aloud: Why do we have an election and then wait nearly two months to put the people we elected into office?

Sure there are some races that remain undecided. Votes need counted. And recounted. But for the most part, we know the winners and losers of the mid-term election. Ironically, the losers get a month and a half back at the controls.

In a manner of speaking, each election, we have a pre-planned revolution – a mutiny of sorts. And then we tell the captains we had just revolted against that they have six more weeks at the helm. Why don't we throw them out on their behinds immediately?

For some masochistic reason, I looked forward to watching the Bills game on Sunday. Every week the Bills frustrate me, and yet, I as hoping to watch the game. Unfortunately I couldn't because it was blacked out locally.

Football fans understand the blackout. If the game doesn't sell out, we don't get to watch it. Have you ever thought about the logic in that? If not enough people think the game is worth paying to watch, you don't get to watch it for free.

NFL: “Sorry, but your team is horrible. The only way you can watch them is to pay.”

Does that make sense to anyone?

Some questions, I guess, don't have good answers. And sometimes it takes a 13-year-old girl, a dysfunctional group of middle-aged white men, or a shoddy football team to make you realize that.

Be sure to read next week as we learn why we drive on a parkway, but park on a driveway. Plus, why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

Railing on rails ... and more

2010-11-09T01:43:00.000-05:00

This is one of those weeks where there's a lot going on in my head, but only one column to get it all out there. As such, I present to you a semi-random stream of consciousness.

I suppose I should say something about the election last week. It went exactly as I expected. Cuomo trounced Paladino. The Republicans crushed the Democrats in Congress. And I voted for two winners.

Okay, so I wasn't sure I'd vote for any winners, but sometimes you get lucky, right?

Although the thought of having another Cuomo in office frightens me, I was impressed by the governor-elect's acceptance speech. Let's hope he can really do some good because we're stuck with him for a while unless he ends up being "Client 10."

I'm looking forward to having a leiutenant governor from Western New York. Hopefully Robert Duffy can remind Cuomo that we exist occasionally.

I know Rochester isn't technically Western New York, but, come on. It is.

I like the city of Rochester. I don't go there as often as I'd like to. Maybe if we had a better transportation system, I would.

Maybe if we get some of the $1.2 billion in high-speed rail funding that Ohio and Wisconsin have opted out of, we can improve that transportation system and I can go to Rochester.

Last week, the governors-elect of those states said they didn't want the funding that had been planned to go to their states and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter offered to take it off their hands.

I've been a fan of the concept of high-speed rail since before it was a national discussion. Other places have it. Why can't we?

The thought of being able to hop a train and be to New York City in a few hours is quite compelling, don't you think? Our current train system takes approximately four years (only a slight exaggeration) to get from here to there. Seriously, though, it's faster to take a bus.
That just doesn't seem right.

I've seen the proposed map for high-speed rail. It goes from New York to Niagara Falls and then up to Toronto. This will make it easier for Jets fan to commute to Bills games and root against the "home team."

The Bills game on Sunday was disheartening. Of course, the loss was sad, but not unexpected. The bigger disappointment was the number of Bears fans in attendance. Or maybe they weren't Bears fans. Maybe they were just Bills detractors.

It seems like every game that's been played in Toronto has had just as many (if not more) people rooting against the Bills as rooting for them. To call it a home game is a joke.

Not that this year's Bills had much of a chance, but it is a little frustrating that every other team in the league has eight home games and eight away games. Ours, meanwhile, has seven home games and nine away games. It's like the 2005 Saints, except instead of a natural disaster forcing the team out, it's the economy.

Maybe Cuomo can fix the economy. If for no other reason than to stop the Bills from having to play in Toronto any more.

Happy election day. Now go vote. Or don't.

2010-11-02T00:16:00.000-04:00

If you're reading today's column in hopes that I'll provide some advice or insight on voting today, then I have most certainly failed you.

If you know what you're voting for or against, then by all means head to the polls and cast your ballots. If you were waiting for my suggestions, do us all a favor and sit this one out. There are enough followers in the world. And there are far too many uninformed voters.

I know how I'm voting. And I know that most of the votes I cast will be for people who will not win their races. I'm okay with that. Voting isn't about siding with the winners. It's about siding with your conscience … your beliefs.

A vote for a candidate you believe in is never wasted, no matter how slim the odds of their election.

Tomorrow morning the newspapers and talk shows will be filled with people telling you what the results of todays election mean. They'll all be full of it. And likely full of themselves. Today's election is no more crucial than last years. Or next years. Today's election is the will of the people. As it is every year.

Lots of people have spent lots of money telling you that this election is the biggest thing since sliced bread … or peanut butter … depending on what they compare things to. You can listen to them and believe that the world is falling apart, or you can rest assured that no matter who wins today, the sun will rise tomorrow and we'll still have the same problems to deal with.

Sure, it may be true that the person you vote for is more capable of fixing those problems than the other person (or people) on the ballot. But in the long run, America will still be America, living on for our children … and our children’s children.

I will sleep easy tonight knowing that tomorrow is one day closer to the future … and the future holds wonderful things. The future will be cleaner, healthier and more prosperous. It will be ruled by intellect instead of fear. And compassion will win out over greed.

Today is just a hiccup. A rest stop on life's highway. A mere grain of sand in life's hourglass. No matter what happens today, we can fix it tomorrow. Or the tomorrow after that.

Many people will go to bed tonight in horror, knowing that the person they hoped would get elected lost. They'll write off the election process, saying it's a sham. They'll curse out their neighbors, saying they're ignorant for voting the way they did. They'll look into moving to Canada. Or France. Or whatever. They'll say their business can't survive in this environment and they'll have to put it up for sale.

Those people are wrong on many levels. Differences of opinions is one of the things that makes this great nation of ours so great in the first place. The ebb and flow of the direction of our country keep it on the straight and narrow – over the course of the trip. The political pendulum must swing. And swing, it will.

Maybe your vote will help it swing the way you want it to. Maybe your vote will prevent it from swinging too far. Or maybe you won't vote and you'll just watch as the pendulum swings.

No matter, tomorrow will come. And we'll all have to pick ourselves up by our boot straps and keep moving forward.

As long as we do that, the brand of politicians running the Capitol Building or the statehouse won't matter.

What about the other guys?

2010-10-26T00:54:00.000-04:00

One week from today we head to the polls to choose – among other things – the next governor of the great state of New York.

Most of you already probably know who you're voting for. Like the vast majority of New Yorkers, you'll be voting for one of the candidates of the two major parties. You knew this before the candidates were announced.

The Democrats will be voting for Andrew Cuomo and the Republicans will be voting for Carl Paladino. There will be some exceptions, of course, but for the most part, that's how it will go down.

There are others out there, though, who aren't sure who to vote for yet. The thought of another Cuomo in office scares you. Maybe this one has actually figured out how to tax the oxygen in your lungs. His father was pretty close to figuring that out. And Paladino makes you nervous, too. He's a bit of a loose canon. What might he do if actually elected?

There's been some clamoring on the internet over the last week, asking for a debate between just Paladino and Cuomo. Ever since the circus that was the only gubernatorial debate, the Paladino camp has pushed for a debate between just himself and Cuomo, claiming that people deserve that debate.

Something tells me that it's the Paladino people clamoring for this format because their guy was outshined during the last debate. They want a chance to siphon votes off of Cuomo, who holds what appears to be an insurmountable lead over their guy.

I feel like I know plenty about Andy Cuomo … and Carl Paladino. The last thing I want is a debate between just the two of them. Then again, I already know that I won't be voting for either one of them. I realize this puts me in the minority.

I'd prefer to see a debate between the five candidates we don't know as much about. Now, maybe you feel like you learned enough about them during the first debate and subsequent media coverage since, but compare that to the media coverage we've gotten about Carl and Andy for the past several months. It's a pittance.

I'd rather hear more from Kristen Davis, the former madam who got Eliot Spitzer in all that hot water. I know she wants to legalize prostitution (which I agree with), but I'd like to hear more.

I'd prefer to hear more from Jimmy McMillan, who thinks the rent is too damn high and says you can marry your shoes. He seemed a bit off, but he deserves to be heard.

I'd like to hear more from Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate who delivers packages by day. How would he lower our taxes?

I should be able to hear more from Charles Barron, the Freedom Party candidate and New York City Councilman. How exactly would slapping the closest white guy to him help our situation?

And of course, I'd like to hear more from my party's candidate, Warren Redlich. We seem to agree on a lot, but if he's such a good Libertarian, why is he actually a registered Republican?

Unfortunately, my five person “also-running” debate is unlikely. So I'll have to do what I always have to do come election time. I'll have to do my own research and come to my own conclusion.

Those of you who aren't yet sure who you're voting for should do the same. And it probably wouldn't hurt those of you who already know who you're voting for, either. The Democrats and Republicans got us into this mess, don't forget.

Gambling on taxes

2010-10-19T08:56:00.000-04:00

One of the many ongoing conflicts I enjoy watching is the fight between the State of New York and the Seneca Nation.

I've mentioned before that I think the state is dead wrong in their refusal to ignore the sovereignty of the Senecas and any other Native American tribes doing business on their own lands. My understanding – or belief, at least – is that Native American reservations are unto themselves their own nations and not part of New York. Just as the Vatican is not part of Italy, or the City of Lockport, although fully engulfed by the Town of Lockport is not a part of the town.

This belief in sovereignty that I have leads me to conclude that the state has no more right to impose its will on Native American reservations than it does to impose it's will on Hamilton, Ontario. Sure, the land is within the state boundaries, but again, so is the Vatican surrounded by Italy.

Of course, the problem with this is that the state needs money in order to pay for whatever it is they pay for. I don't think anyone really knows where they money goes. But each year, they need more and more of it. And I have to imagine this makes the folks in Albany say, “Hey, look at those people, spending money on those reservations … we should get some of that.”

The latest turn of events in this public relations fiasco saw four Albany legislators standing firm with the Senecas as that nation said they didn't want to filter their casino payments to “host communities” through New York State anymore. The Senecas say they want to do this to eliminate red tape and get money to the “host communities” faster. I imagine it's really just a shot across the state's bow.

One of those legislators was State Senator George Maziarz. I don't often agree with George, so I kind of like to point out when I do. Kudos, George. We're on the same team for a change.

The state is upset because the Senecas have been withholding the casino payments since the state's more recent declaration they'd be taxing cigarettes and gasoline sold to non-natives on native land. Governor David Paterson and his ilk say the Senecas have broken the casino compact by withholding $200 million in casino payments. The Senecas, meanwhile, say it was the state who broke the compact by allowing competing casinos like the one at the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg.

This whole thing could have been avoided if the state had simply made the necessary changes to allow casino gambling in the state. But instead of amending the Constitution, they looked for a loophole and gave the ability to the Senecas in exchange for a percentage of the take.

That “loophole” would seem to me to be an admission by the state that tribal land is not part of the state, which is why they aren't subject to the Constitution … and as a result, not subject to the taxes the state is clamoring for.

I have nothing against gambling, but I don't like the whole loophole bit. I've never understood why gambling is illegal unless it's state sponsored … and a sin unless you're doing it in a church.

If the state would just get its act together and legalize gambling from the top down, I wouldn't have this conundrum of being in agreement with Senator Maziarz.

I'd bet they don't get their act together any time soon, but I don't want to break the law.

I can't escape Carl ...

2010-10-12T03:26:00.000-04:00

As I write this week’s column, I sit 800 miles away on a beach on beautiful South Carolina.

First of all, an admission: I’d rather be wandering the beach aimlessly … again. Or sitting poolside with my friends whose wedding I came down here to see. Both of them worked for the Tonawanda News back in the day and my employment there is the reason I met them — and ultimately, the reason I’m down here enjoying this view and the distractions.

But it’s a funny thing to travel that sort of distance, thinking you’re getting away from the problems of New York state, only to talk about them once you get there.

The irony of sitting at a resort in Myrtle Beach talking New York politics to someone from Cambria is mind- numbing … and was frankly somewhat depressing.

Add in the fact that there were people from Colorado, Georgia and Virginia in on the conversation — all about the race for governor here in New York — and it was all a bit mind-blowing.

We’ve got people in New York who couldn’t care less about our governor’s race. There are people whose eyes glossed over the moment this column went from talking about the beach to talking politics. And yet, there are people in other states who know all about Carl Paladino. Not Andrew Cuomo, mind you. No one says the name “Cuomo.”

Just Paladino.

I suppose I could take it as heartening that there are people who pay attention. I suppose I could think it interesting that people from thousands of miles away know about this guy that I know … and they know about him primarily because my friends and colleagues at WNYMedia.net just keeps hammering away at him and the big boys decided to pay attention.

Instead, I just feel ashamed. Ashamed that these people are talking about New York state in this manner. We’re a laughingstock to the rest of the country. We’re up there with Delaware and their senate candidate Christine O’Donnell.

In other words, these people are talking about us cause they think we’re crazy. Great.

Being a New Yorker is a privilege. And it comes with a certain responsibility.

Just as the world looks to the United States to set a good example, the rest of the United States looks to New York. And just as the United States sometimes falters in setting that example, New York has faltered, too.

Sadly, I’m not sure if there’s anything we can do about it this time around. We could be less of a laughingstock if people elect Cuomo in November, but I’d rather be laughed at than taxed and regulated to death. And I find it hard to believe that Cuomo would do anything other than tax and regulate us to death.

Frankly, I don’t want to think about it any more.

Fortunately for me, I’m on the beach. Unfortunately, I have to come back and face reality some time.

On the role of media ...

2010-10-05T00:53:00.008-04:00

The role of media is to tell the story without becoming part of the story..

This is conventional journalism wisdom and I say sometimes it's hogwash.

Last week, New York Post Editor and talk show host Fredric U. Dicker got into a heated argument with gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino over accusations Paladino made against his opponent Andrew Cuomo. This led to Paladino accusing Dicker of working with Cuomo … and eventually telling Dicker – who refused to back down – that he would “take him out.”

Many learned journalists would say that Dicker had crossed the line and should have backed down from the argument after Paladino refused to answer the question Dicker had asked. Dicker should have been content with going back to his desk and writing, “Paladino refused to answer the question,” they would say.

It is a popular school of thought that as journalists, we are there to record events for posterity sake, but shouldn't interfere with what's going on too much – kind of like Marty McFly in Back to the Future. If we do interfere, it will disrupt the space time continuum and the whole world will instantly turn to dust. Or something like that.

I say as journalists, we are there to get the story. And if we have to get our hands dirty a little and get involved in what's going on to get the story, then so be it.

Investigative reporters – the kind you see on the TV news confronting slumlords and whatnot – couldn't do their job without being part of the story. They knock on the door with the TV cameras behind them, sticking those cameras in the faces of the “alleged” slumlords and start asking some tough questions.

I see it as akin to a lawyer asking a judge if they can treat a witness as hostile. I'm not sure if that ever happens in real life or only on TV shows, but it sure is compelling. People sometimes take the same tone with others when they can't get an answer by asking politely. They berate the answer out of them. It might not be pretty but it works.

Well, it works sometimes. Dicker got thrown out before he could get his answer.

Both Dicker and Paladino are unrepentant about the situation, each claiming the high ground.

“People understand where I'm at," Paladino told the New York Times. "They want someone who will fight for them -- they don't want someone who's going to back down."

Paladino's right. I do want that from my politicians. But I also want it from my media. I want someone who's not going to back down and let the person they're attempting to interview dictate the terms of the story. I don't want “no comment” to be good enough.

No journalist worth their salt would let a source edit their story for them. It's just not intellectually honest. But by running away from someone who doesn't want to answer a question, they're basically allowing them to edit it before it's even written.

I'll be honest. That is what I try to do here, after all. I'm being somewhat hypocritical. I've accepted “no comment” on dozens of occasions. Maybe hundreds. I've gone back to my desk and typed it, feeling defeated with every click of the keypad. But I don't have the kind of gumption to get up in a guys face and demand answers the way Dicker did last week.

That's why we need to respect guys like Fred Dicker. We can't always count on the story “coming out.” Or the other candidate forcing the issue.

The role of media is to tell the story. But in order to tell stories, you need to have answers to questions.

Congress really is the opposite of progress

2010-09-28T01:24:00.001-04:00

No news may or may not be good news … but I'm of the firm belief that nothing getting done in our nation's capital is a great thing.

The other day I read story after story about Republicans in Washington abusing the filibuster to prevent things from getting accomplished. This was – of course – portrayed from the Democrats point of view and assumed that what they wanted to accomplish was a good thing.

Yes, it's true, sometimes government does things right. Every so often they enact laws that make our lives better, easier, more fulfilled, or – most often – safer. But in between all the good laws they pass, they enact a whole lot of unnecessary dumb ones.

My world view tells me that government is a necessary evil, making it both necessary … and evil. Government isn't intentionally evil, I don't think. At least I choose to believe it's not intentionally evil. But the folks running the place need to constantly be “doing something” in order to justify their existence.

It's not all that different from your job, I'd imagine. When the boss is around, you tend to act busy and look like you're doing something, even when you don't really have anything important to do. The reason for this is to make sure that at the next round of budget cuts and layoffs, you get to stick around.

When you're looking busy at work, maybe you keep a fake spreadsheet open, plugging random numbers into it. Maybe you sweep the same area of your shop repeatedly. Maybe you wipe down the cash register over and over. Whatever it is you do, it's probably not harmful to the company.

When congress is looking busy at work, they're enacting feel good legislation that further erodes our freedoms. Now, this may sound like hyperbole to you, but it's true. If you consider that the more you can do, the more free you are, then every law is a restriction on our freedom even if that law is “good for you.”

Also, when you consider that every bill in Congress has a cost associated with it, the more Congress “looks busy,” the more money you're spending on them.

The best thing we've got going for us is that Congress is split into two camps, each wanting the other side to fail at everything. So Democrat's busy work is poo pooed by the Republicans, and vice versa.

One of the most helpful things in preventing the other side from accomplishing thing is the Senate filibuster. See, we are – for the most part - a “majority rule” nation, but there are government procedures that allow the upper body of Congress to require us to be a “60 percent rule” nation. The best thing about that is that it's usually impossible to get 60 senators to agree on anything, meaning nothing gets done.

So when I hear either party complain about “filibuster abuse,” it sounds to me like, “hey they won't let us do whatever we want without proper checks and balances.” And either party preventing the other party from running roughshod over the people can only be a good thing, in my humble but honest opinion.

Reality kills conventional wisdom

2010-09-21T00:01:00.001-04:00

When I do something, I go big.

And in this space last week, I went big on being wrong.

“At the end of the day, I imagine we'll find that Lazio's downstate support will be too much for Paladino's upstate support to overcome, despite the fact that typically downstate Republicans usually stay home for the primary.” - Scott Leffler. September 14, 2010.

What we really found at the end of the day last Tuesday was that Rick Lazio had little to no support anywhere and Carl Paladino had a ton of support on this end of the state.

Now I'm hesitant to even think about predicting the general election. Conventional wisdom would say that New York is a blue state and Cuomo will wipe the mat with Paladino. But my prediction last week was based on conventional wisdom, too. And you see where that got me.

I've heard before that the vast majority of the time, a professional poker player will beat an amateur, because the pro is simply more knowledgeable. But sometimes the amateur will win because he's unpredictable and won't do what he's “supposed to” do.

That could happen. Or the conventional wisdom thing could happen. I'm not going to guess. At least not until late October.

Thus far this season, conventional wisdom has worked with me calling Bills' games. I thought they looked bad in preseason. And I was pretty sure that would carry over to the regular season. It has. In a big way.

I watched the game Sunday. Well, to be honest, I halfheartedly watched it. But I feel good about that because I feel like they halfheartedly played. Actually, I hope they halfheartedly played, because if they put in a full effort and still looked that bad, I'd be really concerned.

As many of my sports friends have said recently, “Thank God hockey season starts soon.”

Anyone who knows me knows that I've always been a bigger hockey fan than football fan. And I most certainly get more excited about the Sabres than I do the Bills.

I was certainly excited on Saturday when I took the kids to the Sabres' annual Puck Drop event so the team could unveil yet another new jersey. Goodbye slug. Hello new road whites and … royal blue thirds.

I like the road whites a lot. The royal blue thirds with the script lettering? Not so much. I've grown accustomed to the darker blue on my Sabres gear. It goes with everything I wear. The royal blue is just going to screw up my wardrobe, so I'm boycotting it.

I'm also boycotting the new license plates. I got my registration renewal in the mail the other day and learned that I don't have to get the new ugly cash-grab plates. So I won't. I get two more years of the old ugly cash-grab plates.

Remember how excited we were when we originally learned that Niagara Falls would be on those plates? Only to find that it would be a tiny, barely visible Niagara Falls in the upper left corner? Just another one of those things that New York could have done right, but didn't.

I have so much more to say, but, again, only one column a week to do it in. For random daily thoughts, photos, and more, follow me on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scottleffler

Mish Mosh Apple Sauce

2010-09-14T01:34:00.000-04:00

So much to say. Only one column a week to do it in.

Recently I bid adieu to Summer, but if this weekend was any indication, Autumn is going to be just fine. Yes, I realize it's technically still Summer. That's not the point.

The Peach Festival parade was fantastic as always, although the politicians tend to ruin it a bit for me. But seeing the football players and cheerleaders and community groups out en mass is an awesome sight. I wish every parade could be so grand.

The Peach Festival itself is also always a treat. The kids and I wandered around, did some people watching, and played Skee Ball at a place that only took Loonies. How very bizarre. For cost purposes, I prefer the Skee Ball in Olcott Beach. A quarter is a much better price. But the Loonie bit did make me smile.

The Music Is Art festival at the Albright Knox gets better every year. We ran into some friends, bought some art, ate that incredibly tasty Lake Effect Ice Cream we look for at all events, and heard some awesome music by some of Western New York's best bands. To Robby Takac, I tip my hat.

It's primary day for those of you registered in major parties. I'll be sitting it out, as the only Libertarian option is to relax and watch.

An email I received Sunday from Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Warren Redlich says he's going to “hold his nose” and vote for Rick Lazio in the Republican primary today. While Redlich is running with the support of my party, he's actually a Republican. This newfound information lost him points with me. I have a month and a half to work that issue out, though.

A recently released Siena poll found that Lazio and WNY developer Carl Paladino are in a statistical dead heat for the GOP nod. I'd like to think that this more shows Lazio's ineptitude than any sort of real support for Paladino. At the end of the day, I imagine we'll find that Lazio's downstate support will be too much for Paladino's upstate support to overcome, despite the fact that typically downstate Republicans usually stay home for the primary.

I imagine if I were a member of the Grand Old Party, I'd have to hold my nose in the voting booth today, too. Of course, if I were a member of the Democratic Party (as I was for years) I'd have to hold my nose while voting, too (as I did for years). This may explain why I'm not a member of either of those parties.

They say you can't fight City Hall. If that's the case, then fighting the Statehouse must be even more difficult. But a North Tonawanda mom is doing just that and I say, more power to her.

Rhonda Magnus felt she had reason to pull her son out of school in 2005, fearing for his safety and feeling that the North Tonawanda school system could or would do nothing to ensure it.

Mangus said her son's life was threatened because he was openly gay.

Having gone to high school myself, I have no trouble imagining this happening. Kids are cruel. And sometimes violent.

Granted, most death threats are bogus, but if this was your kid, would you want to take the chance that this incident was not the exception?

Mangus, a substitute teacher herself, decided to home school her son. But the state says that's not good enough and charged her with “educational neglect.”

You might think it would all be moot now, since her son got his GED last year, but the state is following through.

Rhonda, take this for what it's worth (not much), but I support you. Best of luck.

If you build it, they will go ...

2010-09-07T00:58:00.000-04:00

The Obama administration has bailed out Detroit. They've bailed out Wall Street. And now they're finally bailing out something I agree with: Route 66.

Over the long weekend, a plan was unveiled for the first large-scale upgrade to our nation's infrastructure in over 50 years. It's something I've been calling for for years.

Granted, there was some infrastructure in the president's stimulus bill last year, but not nearly as much as their should have been. This new proposal aims to spend at least $50 billion on refurbishing roads, railways and airports.

Anyone who spends any time in their car in Western New York knows all-too-well that we need new roads. We need new bridges. And we simply need better ways to get from point A to point B.

The six year plan is designed to rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads; 4,000 miles of railways, and 150 miles of airport runways. It also calls for a new air navigation system to get us to our destinations faster.

While the stimulus package put money in people's pockets, this proposal fixes problems that have stood for far too long while doing the same.

Of course, as much sense as this makes to me, there are people who hate the idea. Before the plan was even formally announced, I was hearing the typical response from the ultra right-wing faction of this greatly-divided nation: No.

I've always maintained the the best government is the least government. I despise government intrusion into our lives. For the most part, I tend to think that – individually – we can take care of ourselves.

There are, however, certain things that we must do collectively. And for those things, government is a necessity. One of the big ones on that list of things that must be done collectively is transportation infrastructure.

Could you imagine if we were all required to pave the portion of road in front of our homes? It would be an unsafe, nonuniform roughshod mess.

It makes much more sense to have government do it for us and bill us in the form of taxes.

There are some who would say that transportation infrastructure should be the responsibility of the states. Again I say, “phooey.” It would still be a nonuniform roughshod mess, just on a grander scale. And, frankly, there are some states that simply couldn't afford it. Not to mention, with the number of tourists and visitors we get throughout New York State, why should they be exempt from picking up part of the tab on fixing our roads?

It seems like when the federal government leaves the states to figure things out, this state then passes that burden onto the counties. In that case, we'd have our counties trying to improve our infrastructure. Niagara and Erie County have some of the highest property taxes in the country. And I trust them even less than I trust the state – which is saying a lot. So the thought of them being charged with building roads – let alone bridges and runways - scares the heck out of me.

I'm not saying that the federal government will do it flawlessly, but it will be better than the states could do. And certainly better than the nothing we've been doing for decades.

Summer here. Summer gone.

2010-08-31T00:57:00.002-04:00

Ah, Summer, we barely knew ya.

As we turn the calendar over to September and make out last minute preparations to send our kids to school, we do so with a heavy heart, knowing that the calendar might say there's still three weeks left in Summer, but, really, it's over.

Earlier this year, I said, “This is the year that I cross more things off the list than not. This is the year that I refuse to let the warm months slip by. This is the year that I refuse to let life get in the way of living.”

I wish I could say I was successful in that. I wish I could say that I didn't let the warm months slip by. But 2010 was very similar to 2009 in that fashion.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I didn't do anything. Oh, I did plenty.

I went to Darien Lake with the kids, Toronto with a cute brunette, and took a nap in Delaware Park all by myself.

I ran into friends at the Allentown Art Festival, Canal Fest of the Tonawandas, and the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts.

A saw Pearl Jam at HSBC, Public Enemy at the Town Ballroom and George Thorogood at Artpark.

I enjoyed Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the Erie Canal and every vantage point of the Niagara River.

I ate tasty food at the Taste of Buffalo and drank tasty beers at the Buffalo Brew Fest.

Despite that laundry list of accomplishments, though, I still feel like Summer slipped by because this is Western New York, where we're blessed with summertime entertainment 24/7 and there's so much I didn't get to do.

I guess I'll have to stick around another year and see what I can accomplish in 2011.

Maybe my accomplishments will be of the laundry list variety I displayed above. By the way, that laundry list is abbreviated. There's just too much to write. Or maybe my list of accomplishments will be something more meaningful.

I'd love to improve our community. I'd love to find the magic bullet that makes everything all better. Or have a hand in removing the cancerous things that keeps us down.

What Western New York really needs is better leadership and vision. Less promises and more action. Less talk about the next great fishing store that's going to make everything better and more doing away with burdensome taxes and regulations that make it hard to keep afloat.

As much as I love our free concerts and festivals, when the summer ends, we're reminded that the problems we had in spring are still problems. Bread and circus might work in the warm months, but when the days get shorter, the circus leaves town and we remember who the real clowns are.

Summer is a great time to forget our problems and just go with the flow. But as the kids go back to school, we need to get back to work. We have an election coming up. Better start studying.

Of course, if you're content with just three good months a year, sit back and do nothing. It'll be festival season again soon.

On the 17th ...

2010-08-24T01:25:00.000-04:00

I’m a people person.

I like meeting new people and getting to know them. I like people who take an interest in getting to know me.

For a variety of reasons, I’ve met a lot of new people lately and am really enjoying the “getting to know you” process that inevitably occurs.

As a result, I’ve answered questions in the last week about where I live, what kind of movies I like, what my favorite bands are, etc.

One question I was asked, though, isn’t typically in the list with favorite color or the nocturnal habits of my hedgehog; “Which of the Constitution’s 27 Amendments do you want repealed?”

That question came to me via Facebook, the social website that has taken the place of real social interaction.

Specifically, the question was, “so which of the Constitution’s 27 amendments do you want repealed? Because that’s the thing about the tea party types — they want to return to the founders, who by the way did not prohibit slavery, or child labor, or cruel and unusual punishment. Ironically, limiting the powers of the federal government to only those specifically granted by the Constitution was not granted until the 10th amendment, so better not repeal that one ...”

I think the United States is the greatest country in the history of civilization, but that doesn’t mean that we’re perfect.

There are actually three amendments I’d repeal; the 12th, the 16th and the 17th.

For those of you without a pocket Constitution (in other words, everyone but Bob Confer), the 12th Amendment revises the presidential election process, the 16th creates the IRS and income tax and the 17th revises how senators are elected.

Of the three, the one I like least is the 17th because it is the one that most dilutes the states’ powers. You may recall I’m a huge proponent of states’ rights. Actually the conversation that brought on the question of what amendments I’d repeal was born with a discussion on the holy grail of states’ rights, the 10th Amendment.

Prior to 1913, United States senators were not directly elected. You wouldn’t find them on a ballot. They were appointed by the legislatures of the states themselves.

Over time, a movement grew suggesting that U.S. senators didn’t represent the people and eventually direct election won out.

The problem I have with the whole thing is that U.S. senators aren’t supposed to represent the people. That’s what the House of Representatives is for. The Senate is supposed to represent the states.

China has official representation in Washington, but the state of New York does not. It all seems quite silly to me.

As for the 12th and the 16th, I’ll tackle those amendments in the future. Maybe here in this column. Maybe on my blog at www.scottleffler.com, which you’re always encouraged to check out. After all, I do like social interaction, me being a people person and all.

In opposition to hypocrites

2010-08-17T01:59:00.003-04:00

Antidisestablishmentarianism.

It's a long word. One of the longest in the English language. Growing up it was one of my mother's favorites, although I have no idea why.

It comes up at random in conversation because it's fun to say … and it's a real word, unlike Supercalifragilisticexpialodocious. That said, Antidisestablishmentarianism has really outlived it's purpose, aside from being fun to say at parties.

It refers to opposing the removal of there being a state sanctioned church. What with the separation of church and state here in the United States, it really never meant anything here. It was an England thing back in the 19^th century.

However, if you break it down, it can still hold meaning here and now. It could refer to those who are opposed to those who are opposed to the establishment. Anti-protesters, more or less.

And oddly enough, as much as I'm opposed to the establishment, I'm also an antidisestablishmentarianist, at least locally.

I have many friends in many political circles in and around Buffalo and Western New York. Democrats. Republicans. Liberals. Conservatives. Elected officials. Rabble-rousers and gadflies. They all think they're doing the right thing. And I respect them all on principle, even if I disagree with their intended goals.

There's one group I have the hardest time respecting, though. And that's those who comprise those political circles, but pretend not to. I don't like the players who tell you to hate the game, even though they're the ones making the rules for the game. They're simultaneously the establishment … and the disestablishment, profiting from the system while complaining about it. I won't specifically name any individuals or groups, but if you pay attention, you can likely come up with your own.

These people wear one hat on Monday, reaping the rewards of a political system that pays to be friends and family with the chosen few. And on Tuesday they go to luncheons, coffee clutches and town hall meetings deriding the system they themselves benefited from just a day before.

On Wednesday, they bemoan political strip-mining. And on Thursday plunder from the system, doing the very things they were complaining about one day earlier.

They write the laws then complain about them and tell you that there's nothing they can do.

They're not based in principle at all. They simply know how to work the system.

There are some people who complain because it's their only weapon. They go to town board meetings and speak their peace. They take their three allotted minutes and attempt to get their point across. To them, I say, kudos.

Others might disagree with that, saying that the complainers should be ignored unless they're willing to run for office and buck the system from within. Of course, those are usually the ones who are within the system, who have no desire to have the system bucked.

Be careful who you lend support to. Make sure they're doing what they say they're doing, and not simply talking out both sides of their mouths, like so many of the disestablishmentarianists.

This goes double for any elected official who complains about the system … or tells you they only have one vote and there's nothing they can do to help matters. Anyone within the system who tells you they're powerless ought to be stripped of the position.

Taking a bite out of TV

2010-08-10T05:55:00.002-04:00

Some people abhor television. To them it is a brain-numbing device sent to destroy people's creativity.

I'm not one of those people.

Odds are you aren't either. Because – honestly – let's face it, most people love TV. In the United States, the average person watches 151 hours of television per month, according to the Neilson Group. That's three hours per day. Every day. For each and every American citizen.

Taking into account the people that don't watch any television, that means that some people have to watch 302 hours of TV per month to make that average work out. Six hours a day. Every day. Monday through Sunday. As though it were their job.

Now I'm not that much of a TV fanatic, but maybe you are. Maybe you live vicariously through the soap operas and sitcoms that get broadcast day in and day out. Maybe you can't get through a conversation without saying “Hey, did you see (fill in the blank) last night?”

I'm not here to judge. If that's how you roll, good for you. I'm just here to let you know that we might have something to talk about now. Because for nearly the last year, my answer was almost always, “No.”

I've been without my trusty TV for a while for a variety of reasons, none of which are pertinent to this column. I haven't seen local news. I missed every episode of the final season of Lost. American Idol escaped me. I've never seen Tosh.0. And I missed almost all of Shark Week.

Actually it was Shark Week that put me over the edge. I was planning on waiting until the start of the hockey season to subscribe to any sort of television service, but I couldn't take all the tweets and Facebook updates about Shark Week. I just couldn't stand not being in the loop. I felt like an outsider – the new kid in school who didn't get all the inside jokes.

So last week I caved about two months earlier than planned and got myself hooked up to the rest of the world. I reveled in the glory that is HD. And I sat gleefully on my couch watching as sharks ate things. And people. I watched some Saturday Night Live and some stupid show about the 10 dumbest partiers. I recorded some movies on my DVR. I even watched a sappy chick flick. Then I watched sharks eat things to cleanse my palate.

I've always been more of a computer guy than a TV guy. Usually I'd rather watch some stupid video on YouTube than sit in front of the television going through 227 channels trying to find something worth watching. And I'm sure I'll still spend more time in front of my netbook's 10-inch screen than my television's 37-inch screen. But now I have the option.

I doubt I'll watch my allotted three hours a day. Then again, I did just sit down and schedule four movies to record today. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, none of them featuring sharks eating people.

Too bad it's not Shark Month.

Winning with less (votes)

2010-08-03T00:41:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when you ask a question publicly, you can be very surprised where the answers come from.

Last week I wrote about my thoughts on why Carl Paladino was running for office … especially knowing he was going to lose. I mean, why would someone do that?

A few short days after that question ran in the paper, I picked up the phone to find none other than Ralph Nader on the other end. He wanted to promote a visit he is making the Buffalo today in support of another gubernatorial candidate; Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins.

If someone knows about running uphill against the two-party system, it's Ralph Nader. He's run for president four times with no chance of winning. But as he explained to me there are victories that come from winning even when you lose at the ballot box.

“I'll tell you a few,” he said. “One is there are voters are conscience. They want to vote for someone they believe in. Not for the least worst of the two majors. And you always should have an opportunity for voters of conscience.

“The second is, you can't emerge full fledged if you're going to build a political initiative. You've got to usually start small. If you're not willing to start small, you'll never get bigger. That's the lesson of billions of seeds now fermenting in soil around the world.”

He went on to explain that in Hawkin's case there's a particular initiative that his candidacy is hoping to bring to the light of day. And that initiative, Hawkins and Nader claim, could close the state's budget gap and save hundreds of state workers' jobs.

The initiative is called the “Demand that New York State stop rebating the stock transfer tax to Wall Street.”

“Now this is an amazing situation where they collect $16 billion from the stock exchanges and then electronically rebate it immediately,” he said.

Nader said the working class doesn't get tax rebates on things they buy out of necessity, so there's no reason Wall Street should have their taxes rebated, especially since the tax that's rebated from the stock market is a fraction of a percent as compared to 4 percent state sales tax and approximately 4 percent county sales tax, depending on the county, of course.

Nader and Hawkins will be in Buffalo tonight to discuss the transfer tax rebate and Hawkins' campaign. Nader will also be signing copies of his new book, “Only the Super Rich Can Save Us.”

The event will be held at 7pm at the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center, 562 Genesee Street in Buffalo. For more information on the event, call (716) 479-2351.

Noteworthy: Nader was not the only politician to respond to my column last week. Libertarian candidate Warren Redlich also sent me an email saying he liked the column, pointing me to his website (http://wredlich.com/ny) if I wanted to hear more about him.

“Maybe I can draw attention to some issues (like the budget instead of the mosque),” Redlich said in his email.

I'll share more from Hawkins, Redlich and other candidates who believe they can “win” without becoming governor (those not named Cuomo) in future columns.

Run Carl Run ... but why?

2010-07-27T05:06:00.000-04:00

Politics to me is a sport. And I'm a fanatic just as many are sports fanatics. I'm not just interested in who wins or loses the game, I'm enthralled with the play-by-play and the locker room interviews … and even the cheerleaders.

One of the things I find most compelling in politics is what makes a candidate decide to be a candidate. Specifically, I'm always intrigued to see what makes someone jump into a race they're pretty sure they can't win.

Now in sports, this is easy. The league determines the schedule and you know that every so often all teams end up playing each other. The Bills are a perennial candidate, kind of like Ralph Nader. They can no easier opt out of playing the Patriots than Nader could say “no” to another publicity filled run for president.

The Bills do it because it's required. Nader does it because he's full of himself. Those two are easy.

But what makes a guy like Carl Paladino run for governor? This thought had been plaguing me for a while. Then I heard my friend Chris Smith talk about it on a recent podcast hosted by another friend of mine – and former colleague – Brad Riter.

Chris is a very bright guy and gets politics better than most. Begrudgingly, I might even say he understands politics better than yours truly. And I endured four years of schooling and tens of thousands of dollars in loans studying the topic.

But enough about Chris and enough about me. Back to Carl Paladino, the Republican-ish candidate for governor who has only a slightly higher chance of winning than you do. And I probably don't need to remind you that you're not on the ballot.

Some people run knowing that they'll lose because their political party has offered them a job after they lose. The party wants to save face by having a candidate. The party also wants to make the other candidate spend money. And there's always a chance that the other guy - who everyone knows is going to win – does something really stupid and loses. This does not describe Carl. He created his own party and has no need for a government or political job.

Some people run knowing that they're going to lose in hopes of increasing their profile for another race in the future. Their first run is strictly to get their name out there so that two years from now when people go to the voting booth, they say, “hey, this name looks familiar.” This also does not describe Carl. He has no interest in running for anything else. He just wants to be governor.

Some people run knowing that they'll lose because they want to inject their ideas into the system. As a candidate it's easier to get your message across. Hopefully someone with some authority will pick up your ideas and run with them. This doesn't describe Carl either. He hasn't exactly released a platform of things he wants to accomplish. His whole message is “I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.” It's kind of hard for someone to pick that up and run with it.

The best I can figure is that Carl Paladino is running for governor because he likes the attention. And I think he enjoys playing spoiler, having effectively neutered Rick Lazio's candidacy. There's also the possibility that he thinks he can win, but I doubt it.

Basically, Carl Paladino is our own home-grown Ralph Nader.

Hey, look, I'm mad as hell, too. And I'm not looking forward to four or less years of another Cuomo … or Rick Lazio. But I also can't vote for a guy who has poor judgment (his email fiasco) and no real solutions.

So to those of you with the orange “mad as hell” yard signs, do us all a favor and take them down. You're just enabling him and feeding his addiction.

Plus, you look silly.

Redefining "lost"

2010-07-20T01:59:00.000-04:00

A story published over the weekend really kind of raised my ire.

For those of you who may have missed it, Neale Gulley's piece in the Sunday paper discussed the recent line item veto's by Governor David Paterson and how they would affect Western New York. Specifically, the piece mentioned a $9,450 procurement from Assemblyman Robin Schimminger to the United Way of the Tonawandas.

The story said the organization “stands to lose $9,450 they already got from Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, D-Kenmore, for a new computer system.”

“We were told the money would be there but we’re waiting for the paperwork,” the organization's director of finance and administration said. “it was submitted a couple weeks ago.”

So if I read Gulley's story correctly, the organization obviously didn't “already got” anything. They were promised it by Assemblyman Schimminger but it hadn't been delivered yet. And since they didn't already have it, they didn't lose it. They just didn't get it.

If I tell you I'm going to give you a dollar and then don't, you didn't lose a dollar. You just didn't get the dollar I said I was going to give you. That might make me a bad guy, but it doesn't really make you a victim.

Since the $9,450 in question here isn't from Assemblyman Schimminger's bank account, maybe he shouldn't have promised it in the first place. Seems to me there's a saying here about your mouth not writing checks your butt can't cash.

Further, the story explained that the money was there for the United Way of the Tonawandas to use, but they hadn't done so by the end of the fiscal year, so they lost out.

If you call me today and ask if you can borrow a cup a sugar, I'd likely say yes. If you fail to pick up that cup of sugar in a reasonable amount of time, I'll probably just end up using it myself. Several months down the road if you happen to stop by and say, “hey where's my sugar you said I could borrow,” I'd probably look at you like you had multiple heads. And if I don't have the extra sugar anymore I'm not going to feel guilty about it.

That's not much different that the United Way's not using the money it had been promised.

You still couldn't tell anyone that you “lost” a cup of sugar that you never had. Especially if it was your laziness or disorganization that prevented you from getting the sugar in the first place.

You may think I'm being hard on the United Way here. After all, they're a great group with great goals and they help a lot of people. But I'm just using them as an example – just like Gulley did. And no matter how good they are, that doesn't mean that we have the money to give them.

The reason for Paterson's vetoes in the first place is because the fiscal state of the empire state is deplorable. And we just can't give money out the way we used to. In fact, had we not been giving this money out in this manner for the last 30 years, maybe we'd be in a lot better shape now.

Someone somewhere will try to make the argument that this is “just $9,450” and considering the size of the state's budget, it's proportionally just a drop in the bucket and they should be able to find the money to honor Schimminger's word.

In all, Paterson vetoed $700 million in expenditures.

I guess it's true what they say, “ten grand here and ten grand there and eventually you're talking real money.”

Of food and baseball ...

2010-07-13T07:10:00.000-04:00

I'm constantly re-evaluating my relationship with Western New York. Like most relationships, it is – at times – rocky. Sometimes I'm completely in love. And sometimes I'm utterly disgusted.

But there are definitely things that keep me attached to the area. There's my friends, of course. My family is a pretty big one. I like all the water. And then … there's the food. The food here is akin to whatever glue it is that holds many real-life relationships together. As much as you may hate the fact that Western New York snores and picks fights about stupid things, you stay for the food – among other things, of course.

Sunday was my day of gluttony here. A celebration of the phenomenally unhealthy menu choices housed at the 43,000 restaurants we have. And people did celebrate. The massiveness of the crowd was outweighed only by the massiveness of some of the people in the crowd, who looked like they had previously sampled each and every of the aforementioned 43,000 restaurants.

There are other gluttony celebrating events in Western New York, including “The Taste of Lockport” and “The Taste of Niagara,” each run by friends of mine. But they simply don't compare to “The Taste of Buffalo.”

When I go to “taste of” type events my goal is to try things I wouldn't have otherwise. I like to sample menu items I've been afraid to order. Or sample things from restaurants I've been afraid to commit to … or hadn't heard of.

Sunday I had something called a Sicilian cigar. I had spicy Malai Tikka. I tried some blue crab sushi. It was extra tasty. I tried a pulled pork and coleslaw wrap, which wasn't as good as it sounded. And I had a strawberry kabob, which may not be all that unique, but who says no to strawberries dipped in chocolate?

I discovered three new restaurants that I want to try and one that I don't. I ran into several friends and was reminded that gluttony may be ugly, but it sure is fun.

It may be the pizza and chicken wings that keep me here, but it's the variety that keeps me intrigued.

If you missed The Taste of Buffalo this past weekend, don't miss out on the Taste of Niagara on July 23, 24 and 25; and the Taste of Lockport on August 15. As I said, they may not be as big as this past weekend's event, but it sure beats waiting another year.

On a completely unrelated note, I enjoy baseball. But I can't stand the New York Yankees.

That said, I also can't stand the Boston Red Sox.

Now I've likely confused a whole lot of people reading this who seem to believe that those are the only two teams that play baseball. I've actually had people tell me they don't understand this concept. I must like one of them.

The Yankees and the Red Sox are akin to the evil empire and the other evil empire. And I want no part of either of them. In the American League, I root for the Cleveland Indians, which was at one time my home team. In the National League, I root for the Washington Nationals, which may some day be my home team if I can figure out how to get decent pizza and wings down there.

It's kind of like politics, really. I'm not a Democrat, nor am I a Republican. There are other “teams” out there. Find one that suits you. Make it your home team. And don't let anyone tell you that because you're not rooting for the evil empire, you're not really a fan.

Deadlines and repercussions

2010-07-06T10:19:00.000-04:00

We were all children once. And as we got older, our parents gave us chores. Well, mine did at least.

To be honest with you, though, I didn’t have many chores. On a regular basis, the only things I recall having to do was mow the lawn, stack wood and bring wood into the house. Other than that, mom took care of most of the stuff. Thanks, mom.

My daughters don’t have it so lucky. They have things they have to do.

And if they don’t, they get punished in some way or another. You can most likely recall having a conversation with your parents similar to the type I’ve had numerous times with my girls. It goes something like, “Just make sure you have X done before X time.” Maybe it’s cleaning their rooms. Maybe it’s making their lunches. Maybe it’s bringing wood into the house. Whatever it may be, there’s a duty and a time.

It’s not all that dissimilar from work. Your boss gives you a task and tells you to have it “on my desk by noon Friday.”

Right now my main time-based duty is this one, where I have to have my column written and sent into the editors by a certain time on a certain day each week. I usually procrastinate ... in order to have the freshest topic possible when you read your paper on Tuesday. Or maybe I’m just a procrastinator. But I get it done and I get it in on time. Each and every week.

What do you think the paper would do if I didn’t? You’d have to imagine there would be repercussions, right? Maybe they’d politely tell me they didn’t need my services. Maybe it wouldn’t be so polite. Either way, there would be some sort of fallout.

And what do you think I would do if my kids didn’t do the things they were supposed to on time? More repercussions. Just like when we were young. If we didn’t get that wood stacked when mom or dad said to, there would be no TV that day. Or we wouldn’t be able to go to the field day. Or something.

Point being, there are repercussions to not doing what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to have it done.

Unless, of course, you’re the New York State Senate and Assembly.

They’re now more than three months late with the one job they have to do: the state budget.

Thursday night, they packed their bags and headed to their homes, not having the budget process completed.

And to make matters worse, not only don’t they seem to care, they appear to think they’re doing a bang-up job.

“I want to congratulate all of my colleagues for a very exhaustive legislative session,” Senate majority leader John Sampson said after they wrapped their session up.

Know what’s exhaustive? Having to put up with what comes out of Albany year after year.

Where are the repercussions? They’re supposed to come in November when we replace our elected officials with people who might actually do the job.

Unfortunately, that’s our responsibility. And we fail to get that job done. So we will have to deal with the repercussions; having to watch this circus again next year.

G20 thoughts ...

2010-06-29T00:20:00.000-04:00

The early bird gets the worm. But the second mouse gets the cheese.” —Anonymous.

“The squeaky wheel gets the oil. But you catch more flies with honey.” — Anonymous

“The anarchist at the G20 summit gets the attention. But the peaceful protesters get new bike lanes.” — Scott Leffler

I doubt my quote will ever stack up to the other two, but it's just as true. And timely, I might add.

I watched with great interest this weekend as the city of Toronto hosted the G20 summit amidst great fanfare and a billion dollars worth of security. That's not a typo. That's billion. The majority of the world's wealthiest nations seemed to agree that everyone should pay down their debt. President Obama, meanwhile, pushed for “stimulus.” In other words, more spending. I really can't say I'm surprised, can you?

But economic policy bores me and I certainly wasn't riveted by a debate between debt reduction and stimulus spending. No, it was what was happening outside the summit itself that I couldn't seem to take my eyes off of.

For some reason, whenever you gather a bunch of world leaders together, a throng of protesters gathers nearby. This was the case in Toronto where the city had been bracing for weeks for the idiocy that comes with hosting the G20 summit.

If idiocy is what they were expecting, they surely weren't disappointed. There were, of course, peaceful protests throughout the city. People marched, wore funny masks, held hands and sang Kumbaya. They sought economic equality, better health care, paved roads in Africa and all sorts of other things.

And then there was the violent faction of protesters who threw Molotov cocktails through storefronts, fought with police and torched vehicles. They sought anarchy, violence and attention. On one hand, you could say the anarchists won. They got plenty of attention. The news covered them with great vigor, and people who were paying attention — like myself — read every word of it, entranced by the horror.

But there was a particular group of protesters that also got a lot of attention due to the simplicity of their message and the means in which they carried it out. A group of bicyclists — at one point led by Toronto's finest — peddled through the city. It was their means of saying that Toronto didn't have enough bike lanes. It was peaceful and had nothing to do with the economic conditions of Third World countries.

I'm betting in the long run, their plea will be heard and their victory will be much greater than that of the anarchists. I mean, anarchy might be entertaining, but it certainly isn't good for the environment … and cannot get you to work on time. To paraphrase the quotes leading into this column, “the squeaky wheel might get the oil, but the bicycle tire gets new bike paths because the squeaky wheel ended up getting set afire by a bunch of idiots.”

The G20 summit, by the way, didn't get as much attention around here as I thought it should have, ironically because everyone seemed to be too busy paying attention to soccer. I like soccer. It's a fine sport. But I'm pretty sure that Americans paying attention to soccer is one of the signs of the apocalypse. So paying down the debt may be unnecessary.

Who's the addict now?

2010-06-22T10:37:00.000-04:00

Government likes to use code words so they don't look quite so much like the bad guys.

For example, it seems like every couple weeks we hear about a new plan by the state to “raise money” to “fill the budget gap.”

Of course, by “raise money,” what they really mean is, “raise taxes.” And “fill the budget gap” actually translates to “spend more.”

I'm never a fan of government increasing our taxes. Nor am I a fan of them spending more. But some plans, I must confess, irk me more than others.

The latest harebrained scheme by Albany, specifically Governor Paterson, is to raise taxes on tobacco products, including a $1.60 a pack tax increase on cigarettes … and (here we go again) collecting taxes on cigarettes sold on Native American reservations.

Disclaimer: I smoke somewhere between half a pack and a pack a day. Save yourself the time of emailing me about how bad smoking is, okay? I know. I'm not under the impression that cigarettes have Vitamin C in them. I didn't miss the label that says they're bad. I know. But this is America and I have the right to ignore conventional wisdom and do something that's bad for me. Okay? Good. Moving on.

The $1.60 a pack tax increase bothers me by itself. Raises taxes on addicts is more than cruel. It's got to be a sin. Maybe not one of the seven deadly ones, but a sin nonetheless. And the argument that maybe the state will tax people into quitting is flawed on so many levels. If that's the argument, the state is attempting to push it's own moral standards through tax code. Again, that's just evil.

For me, however, there's something worse than taxing addicts. There's something worse than using taxes to push their morals. And that's attempting to levy taxes on sovereign land.

The State of New York has no more right to levy taxes on Native American soil than it does to levy taxes on Florida or France. The many reservations found within the confines of the state are – essentially – each their own country as set forth in the many treaties we've made … and ultimately broken.

Of course, I'm sure Governor Paterson would love to be able to tax Florida and France, too. Just like I'm sure he's trying to devise a way to tax our brainwaves and white blood cells. After all, there's that “budget gap” to fill.

This concept of taxing reservations is not new. It's been pushed hard twice before and floated a number of times. You likely recall parts of the New York State Thruway shutting down over a decade ago over this exact same issue. As much as I abhor violence, I can't blame Native Americans for protecting their way of life. And if they were to do it again, I'd root for them.

The problem is simple. New York State spends more than it makes. The solution is equally simple. New York State should spend less.

The fact that certain people in Albany seem to think it's easier to declare war on the sovereignty of Native Americans than to reign in spending should tell you all you need to know about the disease that infects state government.

A drug addict will steal from loved ones, burglarize homes and even knock off convenience stores to get money to get their fix.

Albany – apparently – is no different.

Rather than allow our elected officials to knock off the metaphorical convenience store that is our Native American reservations, we should get them the help they need. Just like we'd send a drug addict to rehab, we should send our elected officials for their own treatment.

Watered down advice to officials

2010-06-15T01:49:00.001-04:00

Our taxes are high. Too high. We've had the distinction a couple times now of having the highest property taxes in the country based on a percentage of our homes' values.

Add to that the fact that we have a boatload of special districts and usage fees and it's amazing we can find two nickles to rub together when we need to.
So any effort by local government to save us money should be looked upon kindly.

Niagara County's three cities are looking at possibly doing just that for it's residents.

Lockport, North Tonawanda and Niagara Falls each have their own water system and their own wastewater treatment plants. And they're looking at possibly sharing services and reducing costs.

Between the three of them, annual costs for their water and wastewater endeavors total $30 million.

Apparently a plan called the Tri-City Regional Water and Wastewater Optimization and Consolidation project came out of a three year old study that could create a blueprint to save you some cash.

If that $30 million annual price tag for operations is reduced to $29.9 million, that would be a good thing. And it would be even better if it were less than that.

The mayors of the three city's all say they are cautiously optimistic that saving will occur.

Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster says the project may not result in a “silver bullet,” but that it looks positive.

I would hope that our elected officials would understand that anything is better than nothing and reject the notion that there is any silver bullet out there.

Oftentimes is seems to me like our elected officials – and even we – seem to only want to find one solution to all our problems and in doing so, we look over several other smaller solutions. This is true in government as well as the private sector.

I can't tell you how many people I hear scoff about a new business opening up. “What? It's going to create 10 jobs,” they'll say, not seeming to recognize that those 10 jobs are 10 we didn't have before.

We need to stop searching for a panacea and just stop the bleeding. And once the bleeding has stopped maybe we'll get better.
I know many of you think I'm just a pessimist who only finds reasons to complain about everything and everyone. Sometimes that's true. But when I hear of something good, I like to promote it.
Saving money is good. Let's do that. And let's appreciate it when it happens.

I'm pretty jazzed about the upcoming concert series. The last two have been brilliant in my opinion and this years' lineup looks great.

That said, what's with the banners downtown with the concert series sponsors names on them?

I hear we lost last years' banners that said “Historic Lockport” and replaced them with these.

In a city that has a fit over signs, it's kind of amazing that our city fathers would be willing to cheapen the look of our downtown like that.

Dear Mayor Tucker: Find the old banners. Put them up. These ones are tacky.

I have to give a quick special note of thanks to the Tonawanda Fire Department for their speedy arrival at my home on Sunday.

What started out to be fried eggs turned into “stove flambe.” And I'm told it was a very short while before it turned into “kitchen flambe” followed shorty by “Homeless Leffler surprise.”

I didn't actually time them on how long between when I called and when they arrived, but it seemed like seconds. Once on scene, they quickly assessed the situation and put out the fire.

As a result, I only had to get a new stove on Monday. Not an whole new home.
Firefighters: Whatever your salary is, you're worth it.

Obama and the oil leak

2010-06-08T01:35:00.000-04:00

I got a bill in the mail the other day for $95.43. Much as I hate bills, I'll pay it. It's my responsibility.
Could have been worse. Could have been the $69 million bill that the Unites States government sent to BP last week. I don't think I could have handled that one.
I was actually kind of proud of the Obama administration when I heard that they had sent the British petroleum company a bill for the government's costs due to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. And I snickered just a little bit when I heard that the government had given the oil company until July 1 to pay.
Over the past couple weeks, we've heard that there may be some sort of cap on BP's liability concerning the un-natural disaster they created in ocean. That means that the rest of the cost would fall on US taxpayers, a thought that seemed unconscionable to me.
I didn't mind paying the bill I was responsible for. But getting billed for the oil leak would certainly bother me.
Of course nothing can happen in the world these days without it having some political ramifications. To many in the Republican party this oil spill is somehow entirely the fault of President Obama and the Democrats in Congress. I've heard repeatedly that the oil leak is
“Obama's Katrina.” The people saying this, mind you, are the same exact people who want government to stay out of the affairs of business entirely.
Truth be told, I want as little government intervention in the business world as possible, too. But I don't then blame government when a business screws up.
Note to the GOP: You can't have your cake and eat it, too. Either you want government regulation and oversight, or you don't. You can't complain that Obama should have done more when you've been complaining that he's been doing too much up to this point. That's disingenuous and that's just one of the many reasons why I'll never join your little party.
Yes, BP screwed up. They've created an environmental disaster the likes of which have never been seen along our shores. And they should be held accountable for it. Every dime.
The ocean has been polluted. Wildlife has been killed. And the United States has become a laughingstock once again. So, yeah, BP should pay for that.
The president also took some flack last week because he hasn't been openly upset enough about the oil leak. More politics, apparently.
I thought White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' response to that particular accusation was just about perfect.
“If the president thought that yelling at the top of his lungs would solve this crisis, he would stand on top of the White House and do that. But he believes this crisis will be solved by plugging the hole and responding to the damage done, not by method acting,” Gibbs told
reporters last week.
That said, the president could stay true to his word about not resting until the leak is plugged. He's been seen doing a lot of relaxing and a lot of playing while the ocean fills with oil.
I know a lot of people are plenty upset about the situation, self included. I also know there's been plenty of jokes about it on late-night TV and the internet. I guess maybe that's our way. It is, however, a very serious issue that won't be solved by finger pointing or punchlines.
The leak needs to be stopped. The disaster needs to be cleaned. And the bill needs to be paid. And not by you and I.