For days rumors have been spreading that the New York Times was set to release a bombshell story that would bring to light damaging new revelations about NY Governor David Paterson. The story was supposed to come out yesterday, it didn’t. Instead new rumors said that Paterson was set to resign over these revelations, he denied. Counter reports said the story was actually an in-depth profile with juicy tidbits but no major news. Methinks I smell a rat!

Let me explain. Shortly after our last Governor resigned over his $5,000 a night hooker addiction, Paterson stepped up to the plate. Little known, largely liked, he opened his term by announcing he and his wife were adulterers and he used to be a fan of cocaine. His stay has only gone down hill since.

Paterson is hated by almost everyone in the state save for radical liberals. He has backed out of promises, made terrible choices, said startling things and has found a way to alienate just about every group he can find except gays. An embarrasement of such magnificent proportions it became known last year President Obama personally was hoping he would not to run for reelection.

Considering all of the above, sex, drugs and failed policy, I find it difficult to believe there is anything so Earth shattering, that Paterson would face resignation. Most of the rumors point to more adultery. Been there, done that. Some say he and his wife are swingers. Again, who cares?

Paterson would quite literally need to be found with a dead girl or a live boy for this story to have merit. To make matters better for him, the hype is so massive now that the revelations need to be absolutely shocking for anyone to pay attention. The media have hyped this story to balloon boy levels, diluting the potency any minor moral infraction he may have committed.

Yesterday on Twitter, just before reports spread that the Times did not have anything too juicy, I made another point. Whenever a rumor is reliant on the New York Times for accuracy, run away. That paper has now failed and decieved its readers so consistently, it shouldn’t be considered a newspaper but a tabloid rag.

As always the media and bloggers have descended into the world of rumor and political infighting and come out the losers. My guess is that at the heart of this are one or two operatives from an opposing side telling a handful of people anything to gain attention. If there is no story, they failed miserably and tarnished noone but themselves.

Paterson is terrible, but we already knew that. Now we need an alternative to tell us why they are different and how they can reverse his failed leadership. Who David Paterson sleeps with is the least of our worries.

The childish antics of the New York State Senate have reached a new low. As Republicans started to recite the Pledge of Allegiance the Democrats refused to participate. As you can see in the video one Democrat actually went to stand up but was pulled down. (Hat Tip Gateway Pundit)

Classy!

See Previous posts: Judge orders NY Senate back to work | Republican Coup in NY?

I don’t even want to explain this story but here is the background. Republicans formed a coalition with a few turncoat Democrats to force their way into power. Democrats cried foul. The chamber was locked, lots of names were thrown around, basically our Senate in this state is a giant bunch of children.

Now a judge has ordered both sides to the chamber to get to work. Frankly I think we are probably better off if everyone just stays home and stops spending our money. The Republicans failed in their little “coup” the Democrats who tried the same thing awhile back fail in every way, they all suck. Nuff said.

I read this article twice and frankly I still cannot find an ounce of me that cares. Apparently two Democrats helped Republicans in the New York Senate stage a coup during a recess. No doubt utilizing archaic rules of order. Meanwhile Democrats cut power to the place and Internet access to try and stop it, but that did not work. Billionaire Tom Golisano is somehow involved and our Governor is not happy.

Aside from making the Governor unhappy I don’t see how any of this is at all productive. Frankly Republican or Democrat the entire New York State government, including a few people I actually really adore, need to at best lose their jobs and at worse be tarred and feathered. I really have hit a point where I believe the Assembly, the Senate, the Governor especially, everyone should just be voted out of office for even being remotely associated with years of absolute corruption, incompetence and mismanagement.

To try and even pretend either outrage or support would be a joke. I feel nothing but contempt for the entire New York State government. A government that has offered nothing but a waste of time and endless spending of the taxpayers money.

Republican, Democrat it doesn’t matter. Throw all the bums out.

See fellow right-wing conspirator Buffalo Bean’s take and lefty Buffalo Pundit’s take

We have reached a point in the NY-20 special election race where it seems unlikely the Republican, Jim Tedisco, will win. The math just doesn’t hold up and according to Politico there are a bevy of Repubs jumping ship. It appears Tedisco could call it quits as soon as this afternoon. So what went wrong? Is this all just yet another sign that Obama momentum is strong and dislike for anything Republican is still rampant? How do we digest a race that Michael Steele and the RNC invested so much in and received so little in return? Was Tedisco worth all the time invested by those wanting to see a win? I have some thoughts.

My opinions are simple ones. For those not watching NY-20 you may have missed two tragic errors made by both Tedisco and the RNC. First and most important was over the stimulus. Tedisco hit his opponent over the bill resulting in a a simple and obvious question being asked; Tedisco, would you have voted for the stimulus? The answer? Inconclusive. That is right on the key issue that defines the difference between someone who believes in fiscal discipline, faith in both the free market and the Constitution and a Democrat, Tedisco failed to take a stand and he kept at it for weeks. It took WEEKS for the Republican to say anything definitive. Eventually he said he wouldn’t vote for it but by then it was too late. On the most important issue of 2009 Tedisco couldn’t come up with a coherent or definitive position.

I am so sick of candidates saying, “I won’t answer hypothetical questions, I wasn’t there, etc.” If you believe in anything or have any knowledge at all you can tell me how you would vote that day. Why should you? Because it will inform me how you will vote tomorrow when you are elected. Don’t want to get trapped into saying something now and face doing something different tomorrow? Don’t run! Plain and simple, being a leader means taking a stand and working hard. It doesn’t mean answering present or “that is too hard.”

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I like pointing out when there is something both a Republican and Democrat can agree with and so I suggest you head over and read Buffalo Pundit’s thoughts on a recent threat by NY Gov. Patterson to layoff 8,900 public employees whose union was unwilling to negotiate concessions during our very dire state economic situation.

Simple choice, keep your job with a few concessions or lose it. You would think a union whose duty is to bargain for employees would understand a job with concessions is better than no job at all, especially during a national downturn. Nope, the union leaders are out saying they are going to defy the governor and give nothing.

The thing about our Governor? He is both crazy and politically immune enough to actually do it. Patterson is one of the most disliked governors in our history and has almost no political capital to lose. That means if he wants he can make decisions no one else can. He can actually get things done! Imagine that. No need to worry about reelection as that probably won’t happen. No need to worry about dropping polls, they aren’t going up. He has a job, he can do it.

While I don’t share Pundit’s sentiments generally about unions he was willing to point out what should be obvious and understandable to all and I respect that. While I don’t think Patterson is a magnificent Governor by any stretch, if he is willing to follow through and do these layoffs I respect him a heck of a lot more than most elected Republicans who have caved time and again to government growth and shirking their responsibilities to sound and good governance in favor of political gain.

Fred Thompson’s Fred PAC just sent out the following email announcing their endorsement of NY-20th candidate Jim Tedisco:

On March 31, you and I have an opportunity to advance the cause of freedom and Founding Principles. I’m writing to you to ask for your help in achieving this important victory.

Here is the situation. A Special Election will be held on Tuesday, March 31 to fill the vacant U.S. House seat in New York 20th District. The Republican candidate, Jim Tedisco is a solid conservative. He is being opposed by a Wall Street Democrat, Scott Murphy.

Every leftwing group and union in the country is pouring money and manpower into the 20th District. From ACORN to the AFL-CIO, every one of the organizations that oppose common sense solutions based on principle is working to keep control of this seat.

And it is easy to see why these radicals are fighting so hard.

America is waking up to the flawed thinking and outright dangerous schemes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid’s Congress and the Obama Administration. Opposition is building every day. If Jim Tedisco wins this seat, it will be a very public repudiation. A Tedisco victory will start the process of building an effective opposition to the Obama-Pelosi agenda, and send a clear message: conservatives aren’t going to let the extremist left in Washington strip us of our rights and freedoms.

Please, take a few minutes and take two very important actions.

1.) Go to www.jimtedisco.com and make a donation to Jim’s campaign. You can learn all about the campaign.

2.) Make a donation to FredPAC Whatever you can afford will be greatly appreciated. FredPAC intends to be aggressive in promoting those candidates that stand for individual liberty and the Founding First Principles of our nation. But all we have is what you and other dedicated supporters send. I know times are tough. I know you will do what you can.

With only a few short days remaining, it is vital that we act fast. So, please act today.

And thank you for your continuing support and trust. I deeply appreciate all that you do.

I have no idea WHY it took NY-20th Republican candidate Jim Tedisco so long to announce a position on the stimulus but in the end he took the right one. With the issues surrounding AIG’s bailout we have a glimpse of our future; a world where government billions have been carelessly handed out with almost no oversight and under the guise of saving the Republic. Now that Obama has announced what John McCain declared oh so many moons ago, that the fundamentals of the economy are strong (fundamentals meaning, you know, capitalism and all those other businesses that aren’t raping the taxpayer & consumers) we know that the stimulus & the bailout were like a chainsaw affixed to a jackhammer screaming at a thousand miles an hour atop a nuclear warhead launched to drive a nail into dry wall.

Jim, next time don’t take so long to come out on the right side of an issue. Also, take a look at your district and MAYBE talk a little about Obama’s plan to usurp the second amendment. You know, it is kind of an important issue, especially to the people of the 20th.

Update: The rail plan was announced and a Web site has been created with detailed planning information. I will check it out and report back later on how it looks.

The difficult challenge ahead for those of us who opposed the Federal stimulus is to find a middle-way where we can be against waste and support positive outcomes for spending the money our nation does not have. The right kind of infrastructure programs could in fact help out states, communities and potentially create jobs. The wrong kind will build projects that are not feasible and waste everyone’s time and hard earned cash.

Today New York bigwigs will be holding a press conference to propose a rail-system that would cut across NY and hopefully connect Buffalo to the big city; a project that could be either that right kind of revolutionary or the wrong kind of waste. It all depends on how it is done and how realistic our expectations.

As with any project that heavily benefits downstate it will no doubt be sold as a way to “boom” our sagging Western, NY economy. While that is a nice thought we’ve heard it all before. I cannot in any way imagine this will create a boom for our area. Yes those city & Albany area citizens who hail from the West may go back to their roots more often. I hardly believe though that anyone from the big city without such roots will decide to head over to Rochester, Batavia, Buffalo or the like. Maybe they will check out a Syracuse game in the dome, but I don’t see a whole lot more than that.

The obvious connection here is Niagara Falls. The American side of the natural wonder is a sinkhole of corruption and filth. The Canadian side glimmers mockingly at the American border. Despite the issues facing the region it is still a wonder and could potentially be a major attraction for travelers, especially foreigners who already flock to the Falls and those who want to go but don’t want to make an entire vacation out of it. Giving tourists the ability to spend their week in the big city with a day or two stop to look at Niagara would no doubt be attractive and generate traffic. My fear is that this will stop in downtown Buffalo with a terrible and unattractive series of transportation options to get to the Falls.

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This weekend The Buffalo Bean, Buffalo Pundit & Buffalo Geek were all on the Hardline with Kevin Hardwick radio program. Unfortunetly I missed it because I was not near a computer and ironically was on my way to Buffalo but out of range while they were on (was just leaving Rochester and heading down route 31 toward Lockport). If anyone heard and would like to share what happened on the program please let me know. If audio becomes available I will link and would love to listen.

I think blogger exchanges on MSM are great ways of bridging the old with the new and I know Buffalo Bean and I LOVE getting into Twitter spats with Buffalo Pundit; he seems to at least tolerate the back-and-forths. He might secretly enjoy them, I don’t know.