Something interesting will be here soon.... I promise..... Feeling a little bit of a dam in the creativity dept. lately.

The real distinction between the classes.

Those that own property and live by renting it out are paid AHEAD.

Those that sell products are paid AT THE TIME OF SALE.

Those that labor to produce are paid AFTER the FACT.

Table Manners

If your family invited a distinguished guest over for dinner, and during that dinner, you were overtaken by emotion and insulted that guest, you would apologize not only to your dinstinguished guest, but also to your family, right? You're a little insulted that I asked that, because you are a civilized human-being, right? I thought so.

OP vote NO

I am recommending a "no" vote in the referendum tomorrow in Orchard Park, NY to reduce the Town Board from five to three members. I have several concerns. One is that on a board where two votes constitutes a majority, no two members will be able to privately discuss business without violating Open Meeting Laws. This will make it nigh impossible for the Board to legally conduct business. Also, I believe that in such a small group, a permanent coalition of two will naturally form in most cases, making disagreements more vitriolic and personal than on a Board of five where coalitions are more fluid and less personal.

The savings the town will get from cutting two part-time jobs are negligable compared to the likely-toxic politics that will incapacitate the town for the forseeable future.

VOTE NO!

Buffalo: Charlotte, but nice

Several Buffalo-based banks spent the last decade(s) growing smartly and slowly. Their intelligent controlled-growth was seen as un-sexy in the '90's and '00's. While a lot of other banks were wading balls deep into bad mortgages and posting incredible gains, M&T Bank, and First-Niagara followed the maxim of Aesop's tortise: "slow and steady wins the race." Now that other banks have stumbled, they are picking up the pieces, by becoming powerhouses in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Upstate New York, Baltimore and even Washington, DC.

With an already very large presence from HSBC (aka the biggest bank in the world), and considerable growth by M&T and First Niagara, it seems like Buffalo is poised to be a major second tier banking center. It will never be NYC, but it can be the next Charlotte. We've got lots of talent already in the banking industry. And there is something in the water that leads Buffalonians to the unsexy quality of moderation. So maybe Bank of America should abandon the shoot first and ask questions later Southern mentality and truck on up to Buffalo.

Three and 1/2 Endorsements

It's that time again; time for me to stick my nose in other people's business and endorse candidates for political office.

First off, I have the easiest endorsement of the night, South Carolina Democrat Rob Miller. Miller is an Iraq War veteran and his opponent, Joe Wilson is an asshat.

Secondly, I am endorsing (gasp) Republican Dede Scozzafava for election to Congress from New York's 23rd District. Generally, I think that even a bad Democrat is better than the best Republican. But this race is different for a couple of reasons. First, the "Democratic" candidate is not a Democrat. I've got nothing against independents but this guy doesn't really seem to believe much in the values of the Democratic party, and on several social issues Scozzafava is to his left. There is a Conservative Party candidate as well, but we all know that electing "conservatives" will get you nothing but war, recession and deficits. I think that having a Republican voice in Congress to repeal DADT and to push for marriage equality is far more important than having another Blue Dog for Nancy Pelosi to wrangle.

I also am a true-blue New Yorker, and I think that it is best for our state to have voices in both caucuses in the House, and with only three Republicans representing us in there, we can't afford to lose another.

Lastly, I endorse Mickey Kearns in the Democratic Primary for Mayor of Buffalo, New York. To be quite honest I don't know that much about Kearns, but I do know that Byron Brown is a hyper-political empty suit of a mayor and he needs to go.

If Kearns should lose the Democratic primary, then my endorsement goes to fellow Cornellian Mathew Ricchiazzi who has had a lot of smart things to say during his campaign. I hear that Matt might be kicked off the ballot, but I say that I'd rather vote for a thousand "sure losers" who offer real positive change, than a thousand "sure things" that offer nothing but the same.

Losses that wil be felt

Watching the coverage of people sobbing over the death of Michael Jackson, got me thinking. Are there any people who I don't know personally whose deaths will have a significant emotional effect on me. I realized that yes, there were a few people who have significant, usually symbolic, meaning to me, whose deaths will cast pall over me. Most of my list is pretty old, people whose significance is pretty well established. I don't really have a John Lennon or Kurt Cobain to add to the list. I think it's youngest occupant is almost 50 himself. So without further ado, for your pleasure, consideration and comment is my list:

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins
Jimmy Carter
Barack Obama
William Shatner
Chuck Berry
Frank Buckles
Melissa Ethridge
Dolly Parton
Robert Plant
B. B. King
Zephyr Rain Teachout

Some of these people are firsts, some are lasts, but all are icons.

PS: This post will certainly be a number one hit on some really strange google searches