THE "PORK" IN NEW YORK, Thoughts of an older American on Constitutional Government in the USA Options

[Livyjr]

And continuing on in here ....

With the news ....

From the CORRUPT EMPIRE of New York .....

The PORK-O-CRACY ....

Where the law and constitution are a mockery ....

And the "PLAYAHS" do as they please .....

Because they have the "POWER" .....

Or the right lobbyist, anyway ....

And so .....

"Lobbyist's actions draw scrutiny - Commission court filing cites donations made by James B. Crane II"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, January 30, 2007

ALBANY -- The state Lobbying Commission is investigating an Albany lobbying firm that made thousands of dollars in political donations for clients but did not declare them in disclosure forms, according to state court papers filed Monday.

The firm, Powers, Crane & Co., which has since split into two separate lobbying firms, tried to bill client Duane Reade Inc. for the 2003 expenses, according to the papers in state Supreme Court in Albany County.

The court papers say lobbyist-lawyer James B. Crane II made thousands of dollars in political donations and may have needed to report them as lobbying expenses or campaign donations.

The state also alleges Crane may have violated a $74.99 limit on gifts to public officials by taking Senate Republican staff members to dinner.

And it questions whether Crane billed clients for campaign contributions even though a contribution may not actually have been made on the client's behalf.

Election law prohibits a donor other than the actual contributor from making payments to a campaign and bars a campaign from taking money sent to it indirectly through another entity, the filing by the state attorney general's office says.

The filing is a motion to compel Crane to honor a subpoena.

A court hearing is set for Feb. 28.

Lobbying Commission Executive Director David Grandeau said he could not talk about the case.

Crane, whose firm is now called Crane & Vacco LLC, could not be reached and his lawyer, William Dreyer, would not comment.

end quotes

The "Vacco" name in the LOBBYING FIRM Crane & Vacco, of course, is former New York State Attorney General Dennis "HUH, WHAT'S GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION?" Vacco .....

And that says quite a bit, actually ....

About why .....

After all these years ....

We still have CORRUPT government here in the CORRUPT EMPIRE of New York ......

You get in there to a position like New York State Attorney General .....

And you use your "power" to NOT PROSECUTE in the right cases ....

So that the right people get to walk away .....

And of course, they remember you .....

And in return ....

THEY MAKE NICE TO YOU ....

That old "ONE HAND WASHES THE OTHER" bid-ness ...

Or as Dennis Vacco would have it ......

"HEY, I SCRATCHED YOUR BACK WHEN YOU NEEDED IT, AND I NEED SOME CANDY, NOW, AND SO ..."

And so ...

[Livyjr]

To the contrary ....

When I talk about CORRUPTION in the State of New York .....

I AM GOING TO THE SOURCE ....

WHICH IS THE OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE STATE, ITSELF ....

Such as this BILL MESSAGE from then-New York State Governor Mario Cuomo above here in 1986 .....

And to further "flesh that out" .....

THE ALLEGATION THAT NEW YORK STATE HAS A PROBLEM WITH CORRUPTION .....

Let us go ....

For the moment .....

To ARTICLE 460 ....

Of the New York State Penal Law ....

Which is entitled ENTERPRISE CORRUPTION ...

That ARTICLE OF LAW being a part of TITLE X of the New York State Penal Law ....

Entitled ORGANIZED CRIME CONTROL ACT ....

And the relevant part of that state law which pertains directly to this discussion in here ....

Is as follows:

S 460.00 Legislative findings.

The legislature (of the State of New York) finds and determines as follows:

Organized crime in New York state involves highly sophisticated, complex and widespread forms of criminal activity.

The diversified illegal conduct engaged in by organized crime, rooted in the illegal use of force, fraud, and corruption, constitutes a major drain upon the state's economy, costs citizens and businesses of the state billions of dollars each year, and threatens the peace, security and general welfare of the people of the state.

Organized crime continues to expand its corrosive influence in the state through illegal enterprises engaged in such criminal endeavors as the theft and fencing of property, the importation and distribution of narcotics and other dangerous drugs, arson for profit, hijacking, labor racketeering, loansharking, extortion and bribery, the illegal disposal of hazardous wastes, syndicated gambling, trafficking in stolen securities, insurance and investment frauds, and other forms of economic and social exploitation.[/size]

The money and power derived by organized crime through its illegal enterprises and endeavors is increasingly being used to infiltrate and corrupt businesses, unions and other legitimate enterprises and to corrupt our democratic processes.

end quotes

SO!

THE MONEY AND POWER OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN NEW YORK STATE IS BEING USED TO CORRUPT OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES HERE IN NEW YORK STATE!

WHICH IS ONE BIG PART OF WHY THIS THREAD IS RUNNING IN HERE ....

And so ...

And when in Section 460.00 of the New York State Penal Law ....

Entitled "Legislative findings" ......

It is stated that:

The legislature (of the State of New York) finds and determines the money and power derived by organized crime through its illegal enterprises and endeavors is increasingly being used to infiltrate and corrupt businesses, unions and other legitimate enterprises and to corrupt our democratic processes ......

It was quite easy for them to make that finding .....

The "WHOLE HOGS" and "PORKERS" down there ....

Especially the part about "CORRUPTING OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES ..."

BECAUSE ALL THEY HAD TO DO ....

TO MAKE THAT FINDING ....

WAS TO LOOK RIGHT AT THEMSELVES .....

THE ONES WHO ARE IN THERE ....

SELLING US OUT ....

ALONG WITH OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES ....

TO THE HIGHEST BIDDERS .....

REGARDLESS OF WHERE THOSE HIGH BIDDERS ARE FROM ....

SO LONG AS THEY HAVE THE GEETUS .....

TO "PAY THE FREIGHT" .....

BUY THEMSELVES SOME INFLUENCE ....

WHICH IS ALBANY, NEW YORK'S ONLY REAL "PRODUCT" .....

OUT THERE ON THE MARKET ....

And so ....

Friday, December 12, 2003:

"Fund-raiser nets Spitzer $2 million - luncheon for likely gubernatorial candidate attracts hedge fund managers, lawyers"

by Matthew Cox, Bloomberg News:

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer collected more than $2 million at a political fund-raiser, with hedge fund managers and LAWYERS among the big donors, and said HE COULD ACCEPT CAMPAIGN FUNDS FROM THE INVESTMENT COMMUNITY WITHOUT COMPROMISING HIS ENFORCEMENT ROLE.

Spitzer, the leader of investigations into Wall Street conflicts of interest and mutual fund trading, has said he is interested in running for governor in 2006.

Though he hasn't officially declared his candidacy, Thursday's fund-raiser was Spitzer's biggest ever.

His investigations of "certain aspects of the securities market doesn't mean there can't be or shouldn't be contributions from anybody within that sector, any more than it would mean because we bring consumer-type cases, no consumer manufacturer could contribute," Spitzer told reporters.

He said his campaign committee has "a very careful vetting process" to avoid accepting gifts from donors under scrutiny by his office.

A Spitzer campaign aide who declined to be identified said hedge funds, LAWYERS AND THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY were among his LEADING SOURCES of campaign MONEY.

The luncheon at the Sheraton New York Hotel drew hedge fund manager Daniel Nir of Gracie Capital LP, who with his wife, Jill Braufman, donated $50,000 in June; Cablevision President James Dolan; Miramax Film Corp. co-chairman Harvey Weinstein, and Melvyn Weiss, one of several lawyer donors who has sued securities firms for investors based on Spitzer's investigations.

"There are a lot of hedge funds that have not been trading the way the naughty ones have," said Roy Smith, a professor of finance at New York University.

"THEY WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MR. SPITZER INVESTIGATE ALL THEIR COMPETITION that's been too aggressive."

Spitzer's investigative work "gives investors a sense that someone's keeping an eye on what's in their best interest," said donor George Fox, founder of Titan Advisors, a hedge fund consultant.

Cynthia Darrison, managing director of the Spitzer campaign committee, said that the event attended by nearly 700 people generated more than $2 million.

"This is meant as a preemptive strike" with 35 months to go until the election, said Douglas Muzzio, professor of public affairs at Baruch College in New York.

"He's saying 'I can raise huge amounts of money.'"

end quotes

Yes, he certainly can.

But by "selling" what?

Or "who", perhaps?

"Improving the Business Climate"

by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer

New York State Business Council, Bolton's Landing, NY

[As Prepared for Delivery]

September 21, 2006

Thank you, Peter, for that kind introduction, and thank you all for inviting me here today.

I want to recognize Dan Walsh and thank him for his leadership over the past 18 years as President and CEO of the Business Council.

Dan, you have been an outstanding advocate for New York's private-sector business community, and you will be missed.

I also want to welcome Ken Adams as the Business Council's new President.

Ken, I look forward to working with you to make New York the best place to do business in the world.

As Governor, I will ensure that the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform places renewed focus on breaking the regulatory logjam in the State's permitting process for new development.

http://www.spitzerpaterson.com/main.cfm?ac...&s=spitzer3

"Municipal court reforms sought - Bar association president advocates for requiring town, village justices to be lawyers"

By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, January 30, 2007

ALBANY -- Legislation requiring the state's 2,300 town and village justices to be lawyers would preserve the court system's integrity, the president of the state bar association said Monday.

Currently, only 28 percent are lawyers, said Mark Alcott, in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The public hearing followed a state comptroller's audit last fall that revealed missing money and other problems, and newspaper stories on the often poorly trained, but politically connected, judges.

It also came after state Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye unveiled a $10 million reform package to tighten financial control and court security while broadening education and training in the municipal courts.

"The behavior of a few questionable judges has raised some concerns," state Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, said last week.

"Some would like to see these courts abolished."

"I disagree."

"However, I believe we need to look at ways to improve them."

After Monday's testimony, he said: "Many of the witnesses agree that we need to look at ways to preserve and improve these courts in our communities."

Alcott said hair-waxing technicians undergo 75 hours of training to pass certification exams, but local justices needed just one week of training up to this year.

Kaye's plan calls for two weeks.

These judges hear more than 2 million cases a year and collect more than $210 million in fines.

It wasn't clear Monday what would happen to existing judges who aren't lawyers if the law passes, but a bar association spokesman said legislation would be worked out to ensure minimal disruption while shifting to lawyer judges.

Since 1978, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct has issued 634 public decisions, of which 448 were against town and village justices, said commission chief counsel Robert Tembeckjian, who also spoke at the hearing.

While he said it t isn't fair to say lower-court judges are more likely to be disciplined than others, Tembeckjian said that of the 152 cases serious enough to warrant removal from judicial office, 115 were against justices in the lowest courts.

And of the 6,611 full-scale investigations from 1975 to 2005, 4,033 were against lower-court jurists, he said.

"This 30-year statistical profile indicates that complaints of misconduct against town and village justices are more likely to have merit, warrant investigation and result in punishments than complaints against judges of higher courts," he said.

Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at 434-2403 or by e-mail at mbolton@timesunion.com.

end quotes

AND THE VERY LAST THING WE NEED ....

IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ....

IS TO HAVE LAWYERS ....

PRACTICING AS ATTORNEYS ....

IN OUR TOWNS ....

ALSO SERVING AS JUDGES ....

IN OUR TOWN COURTS UP HERE ....

THAT IS WHERE THE PROTECTION RACKET IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK BEGINS ....

IF YOU WANT TO BE PROTECTED ....

AND THE LAWYER IN YOUR TOWN ....

IS ALSO THE TOWN JUDGE ....

WELL ...

YOU "HOOK" UP WITH HIM ....

AS YOUR LAWYER ...

PAY HIM A HEFTY RETAINER ....

AND THEN ....

WELL ...

AS THEY SAY UP HERE ....

IN THE CORRUPT STATE OF NEW YORK ....

WITH ITS 72,000 LAWYERS ....

WHO CAN MAKE "DISBURSEMENTS" ON YOUR BEHALF ....

"YOU ARE GOLDEN" ....

YOU HAVE YOUR "PROTECTION" ....

BECAUSE THE LAWYER WHO IS ALSO THE TOWN JUDGE ....

IS FOR SALE ...

AS A LAWYER ....

ACCORDING TO THE BAR ASSOCIATION ITSELF ....

THAT LAWYER'S ALLEGIANCE .....

IS NOT TO THE LAW ....

NOR IS IT TO OUR CONSTITUTION ....

IT IS TO THE CLIENT'S MONEY ....

AND THAT IS ALL ....

"RENTED PENCILS", AS THEY CALL THEMSELVES ....

"WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT THEM TO SAY?"

IF YOU HAVE THE BUCKS TO BUY HIS "SERVICES" ....

TO A LAWYER ....

MONEY IS VERY IMPORTANT, AFTER ALL ....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

SPIZER LOSES BIG COURT BATTLE IN STATE OF NEW YORK ....

ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE SOUGHT TO KEEP STATE SPENDING DATA A "SECRET" TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ....

PUBLIC INTEREST WINS OUT OVER GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION ...

READ ALL ABOUT IT ...

"Court: Lift shroud on pork - Times Union wins ruling ordering state leaders to reveal secret spending"

By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, October 25, 2006

A state judge ordered Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on Tuesday to turn over to the Times Union the names of lawmakers who sponsored member items -- known as pork barrel grants and projects.

The discretionary cash comes out of a $200 million pool of public funds within the state budget.

The newspaper took the state Legislature's two most powerful leaders to court earlier this year, accusing them of violating the state Freedom of Information Law by illegally concealing the names of lawmakers who distribute millions in taxpayer money on pet projects.

The Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-ruled Assembly divvy up $170 million -- $85 million each -- in taxpayer revenue each year and sign a confidential deal with the governor, who gets another $30 million to spend.

"It's a great day for New Yorkers," said Eve Burton, general counsel for the Hearst Corp., which owns the Times Union.

"The decision brings us back to the fundamental principles of democracy," said Burton, who argued the case two months ago.

"Voters are entitled to know how their representatives are choosing to use taxpayer dollars."

Spokesmen for Bruno, Silver and the attorney general's office, which represented the leaders, would not say whether there would be an appeal.

Darren Dopp, spokesman for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, said as the Democratic candidate for governor, Spitzer has made his personal views on the need for transparency on member items clear.

But Dopp could not comment on the lawsuit due to "attorney-client privilege."

"We had a role to fulfill, and we continue to have a role to fulfill," he said.

Asked how Spitzer would advise the state on the question of appealing, Dopp declined to comment, saying the attorney general will "consult with the client as to what the next step will be."

"Spitzer faces scandal-scarred state government"

By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press
Last updated: 10:52 a.m., Saturday, December 30, 2006

ALBANY -- In the week before Christmas, New York's state comptroller pleaded guilty to a felony and resigned the office to which he had just been re-elected.

A day earlier, the Republican leader of the state Senate announced he was under investigation by the FBI.

The week before that, a state senator from the Bronx, Democrat Efrain Gonzalez Jr., pleaded not guilty to charges that he was using charity groups in a scheme to steal more than $400,000 in state money.

In October, a powerful state Assembly member and major labor leader, Brian McLaughlin of Queens, was indicted on racketeering charges, accused of stealing more than $2.2 million.

In July, state Assemblywoman Diane Gordon was arraigned on bribery charges after prosecutors said they videotaped the Brooklyn Democrat demanding a developer build her a $500,000 house in return for her assistance on a land deal.

Questionable ethics, corruption and plain old thievery have become the hot topics at the state Capitol as state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer prepares to take over as New York's 54th governor.

"It's not a whiff, it's a stench," said Lee Miringoff, head of Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion.

"Stench is the word I would use."

"In the last few years, it's been unprecedented," said government watchdog Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

"Bruno facing FBI scrutiny - Federal investigators are looking into the outside business interests of state Senate majority leader"

By JAMES M. ODATO and RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, December 20, 2006

ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on Tuesday acknowledged he is being investigated by the FBI for what he described as his "outside business interests."

One person familiar with the situation, who would not say whether he has been contacted by federal agents, said the investigation appears to include Bruno and a business partner and friend of the Republican leader -- Jared Abbruzzese.

Bruno, in an abruptly called late afternoon news conference at the Capitol, revealed the probe and said he learned last spring it was going on.

He said subpoenas have been issued, and he did not believe he was the target of the inquiry.

"I have nothing to hide," Bruno said.

"They are going into background over the past five or six years."

Bruno added that he has hired William Dreyer, an Albany lawyer and former federal prosecutor.

The New York State Republican Campaign Committee paid Dreyer's firm about $2,400 between July and November.

Paul Larrabee, a spokesman for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, said he could not comment on the legality of member-item grants going to for-profit organizations.

Asked repeatedly over the past week, Larrabee said he couldn't offer an opinion on the matter because "it's just not a priority at this time."

And tuning in once again ...

From the UNDEMOCRACTIC PORK-O-CRACY .....

Here in the CORRUPT EMPIRE of NEW YORK ....

Where we have petty politics, as usual .....

Put children into your state government ....

And then you will have a childish government ....

Which this one sure seems to be up here ....

ALONG WITH PETTY, MEAN AND VINDICTIVE ....

And so ...

"Comptroller selection feud deepens - Power struggle over Hevesi replacement could lead to showdown between legislators and Spitzer"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, January 31, 2007

ALBANY -- A growing number of Assembly members appear ready to buck Gov. Eliot Spitzer and elect a new state comptroller from their own ranks rather than one of the three finalists recommended by a special panel Spitzer helped create.

What remains to be seen, though, is which Assembly member will be elected, when that may happen and what the fallout may be, especially between Spitzer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The speaker, with his 106 Assembly Democrats, controls the biggest chunk of legislative votes but falls one short of a majority of the combined Senate and Assembly, which would jointly vote for the new comptroller.

If the Legislature chooses an Assembly member rather than the three choices fielded by the panel, it could mark the first major defeat for the new governor, who persuaded lawmakers to appoint the special panel in the first place.

Last week the panel, which includes former state comptrollers Carl McCall and Ned Regan and former a New York City comptroller, Harrison Goldin, forwarded a list of three preferred finalists.

The state needs to fill the seat vacated last month by former Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who stepped down following a scandal over having state workers chauffeur his wife.

The panelists recommended Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman, New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark and financier William Mulrow.

Those choices prompted a backlash from lawmakers, who objected to exclusion of assemblymen who also want the job.

They include Tom DiNapoli, D-Great Neck; Richard Brodsky, D-Elmsford; Joseph Morelle, D-Rochester; and Felix Ortiz, D-New York.

A fifth, Alexander "Pete" Grannis, fell out of the running when Spitzer tapped him as Environmental Conservation commissioner.

Spitzer's panelists, said Silver, "ignored some of the most qualified people."

"Disqualification of five people (assemblymen) merely because of service in the Legislature is absurd," added Brodsky.

DiNapoli, widely viewed as the front-runner, added that the idea of a screening panel "didn't make a whole lot of sense," while Morelle said veering from the panel's list will likely be "one of many times over the years when we're going to exercise our independent judgment."

There are downsides, though, to going against the newly elected governor, who was swept into office on a reform platform and still enjoys high poll ratings.

Lawmakers could be viewed as part of an old guard unwilling to go along with the governor's agenda to clean up state government.

On the other hand, lawmakers don't have to run for re-election for another two years and the comptroller battle may be long forgotten by then.

And, Brodsky stressed, despite their admittedly poor public image, lawmakers are concerned about separation of powers in their insistence in not ceding to the governor's wishes.

Other observers say lawmakers may also want one of their own in order to free up a chairmanship or other key position that would be vacated if an assemblyman leaves for the comptroller's job.

This phenomenon, known as "churn," is appealing to ambitious lawmakers looking to move up the legislative ladder.

The Legislature is not unanimously against Spitzer.

Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, said Tuesday he wanted his conference to choose from among the panel's finalists, since that was the understanding lawmakers had with the governor early on.

"When you have an agreement, you keep it," he said.

Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com.

James M. Odato and Elizabeth Benjamin of the Capitol bureau contributed to this story.

end quotes

There are downsides, though, to going against the newly elected governor, who was swept into office on a reform platform?

AND BY WAY OF CORRECTING THIS BIT OF PURE PUFFERY RIGHT ABOVE HERE FROM THE PAGES OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION .....

Eliot Spitzer does not have a real REFORM PLATFORM .....

Because Eliot IS "OLD ALBANY" if anyone is ....

Having been REPUBLICAN George Pataki's CHIEF LAWYER these last so many years ....

And Eliot Spitzer was NOT SWEPT INTO OFFICE .....

As this GUSHER ....

Or PUFFMEISTER ....

From the Albany, New York TIMES UNION would have us all believe .....

THE EFFORT UP HERE ...

WAS TO SWEEP AS MANY REPUBLICANS AS POSSIBLE ....

OUT OF OUR STATE GOVERNMENT .....

EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM HAD THAT BEEN POSSIBLE ....

Which it wasn't ....

Because people like REPUBLICAN "BIG JOE" Bruno ran unopposed ....

And so ...

Got in there on their own vote ....

And out of that effort on OUR part .....

ELIOT SPITZER IS WHO WE WERE LEFT WITH ...

HE IS NOT WHO WE WANTED ...

BECAUSE AS THE FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL ...

SPITZER WAS THE CHIEF DEFENDER ...

OF EVERYTHING THAT IS STILL WRONG IN ALBANY ....

INCLUDING SHELLIE SILVERS AND "BIG JOE" BRUNO ....

And so ...

[Livyjr]

"Vast ethics power sought - New York's executive, legislative branches discuss creating single oversight agency"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

First published: Friday, January 19, 2007

ALBANY -- High level legislative and executive branch officials are negotiating to create a single, far-reaching ethics agency that could break down jurisdictional walls that currently limit investigations, officials familiar with the talks said Thursday.

If the agency is created, it would mark a historic step toward reforming a state government culture derided for years by critics and government watchdog groups as unseemly, even corrupt.

The new agency would consolidate the state lobbying commission, which can only investigate lobbyists; the Ethics Commission, which can only investigate executive branch employees; and the Ethics Committee, which can only investigate lawmakers, according to the officials in the legislative and executive branches.

They spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations.

Spitzer campaigned on a promise to clean up the state government culture in Albany, much of which he has said has an "aura of unseemliness."

"I'm extremely supportive of any effort to strengthen the integrity units in New York state," Grandeau said.

He said he had discussed the idea with Spitzer's transition team in December, and the key would be to have the political powers agree to give up some power.

"The threat of termination affects the way you pursue integrity cases," Grandeau said.

"Ethics bill delayed over technicality - Assembly committee discussion of legislation waits on outcome of three-way negotiations"

By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, January 31, 2007

ALBANY -- Legislation to overhaul state ethics rules and create a new Commission on Public Integrity hit a snag Tuesday and was pulled off the agendas of three Assembly committees.

The Assembly Ways & Means, Codes and Government Operations committees all were supposed to take up the legislation Tuesday afternoon, but did not.

A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said negotiations are taking place among the governor's office, the Democrat-controlled Assembly and the Republican-led Senate to fix a "technical problem" in the legislation.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer and legislative leaders disclosed a deal last week to merge the lobbying and ethics commissions into a new Public Integrity Commission, run by a board controlled by the governor.

This aspect of the deal drew criticism from some good-government groups and lobbyists, who noted that the executive would have power over the entity charged with policing his own agencies and authorities.

The agreement also included the addition of non-government members to the Legislative Ethics Committee, which has oversight over lawmakers, gifts of more than nominal value to lawmakers and officials, and honoraria for speeches.

end quotes

And when they say this legislation was pulled to "FIX" a "TECHNICAL PROBLEM" .....

What they are talking about .....

IS HOW TO GUT THE LEGISLATION .....

SO THAT IT IS ACTUALLY WORTHLESS ....

TO US ....

THE CITIZENS OF THIS STAE ....

AND THEY GUT THE LEGISLATION ....

BY PUTTING IN LANGUAGE .....

THAT MAKES THE LEGISLATION ACTUALLY INOPERABLE, AFTERWARDS ....

WHICH IS A REAL SLICK TRICK .....

THESE LAWYERS IN OUR "GUMMINT" UP HERE ....

HAVE BEEN EMPLOYING FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW ...

AND AT LEAST SINCE 1976 .....

TO KEEP CORRUPTION IN POWER UP HERE ....

TO OUR DETRIMENT ...

WHICH IS WHY WE WANT NO LAWYERS AS JUDGES IN OUR TOWN COURTS UP HERE .....

AS THAT WOULD GIVE THEM ALMOST ABSOLUTE POWER .....

OVER US ....

TO STIFLE OUR DISSENT TOTALLY ...

AND TO KEEP THE "PROTECTION RACKET" UP HERE GOING ...

SINCE THAT IS WHERE THE MONEY IS ...

FOR THEM ....

And so ...

[Livyjr]

"Court: Lift shroud on pork - Times Union wins ruling ordering state leaders to reveal secret spending"

By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, October 25, 2006

A state judge ordered Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on Tuesday to turn over to the Times Union the names of lawmakers who sponsored member items -- known as pork barrel grants and projects.

The discretionary cash comes out of a $200 million pool of public funds within the state budget.

The newspaper took the state Legislature's two most powerful leaders to court earlier this year, accusing them of violating the state Freedom of Information Law by illegally concealing the names of lawmakers who distribute millions in taxpayer money on pet projects.

The Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-ruled Assembly divvy up $170 million -- $85 million each -- in taxpayer revenue each year and sign a confidential deal with the governor, who gets another $30 million to spend.

"It's a great day for New Yorkers," said Eve Burton, general counsel for the Hearst Corp., which owns the Times Union.

"The decision brings us back to the fundamental principles of democracy," said Burton, who argued the case two months ago.

"Voters are entitled to know how their representatives are choosing to use taxpayer dollars."

Many of the reasons that this thread is running .....

Can be found ....

In this Albany, New York TIMES UNION article right above here .....

In the little window .....

And perhaps the PREMIER reason .....

Is this statement by this lawyerette for the Hearst Corporation ....

Which owns the Albany, New York TIMES UNION .....

That "Voters are entitled to know how their representatives are choosing to use taxpayer dollars ......"

TO BE CORRECT ....

The statement should have read ....

"THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK are entitled to know how their representatives are choosing to use taxpayer dollars ......"

BECAUSE THOSE REPRESENTATIVES IN QUESTION .....

SHELDON SILVERS, AND "BIG JOE" BRUNO .....

ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVES OF THE VOTERS .....

Which would be clearly discriminatory if it were to be so .....

THEY ARE THE ALLEGED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK ...

And that includes those citizens who did not vote ...

Unless of course, we are to admit to having a discriminatory system up here in the State of New York ....

AND SINCE WE ACTUALLY DO .....

Well ....

That is why this thread is running, to be truthful .....

TO CAST SOME LIGHT ON THIS SUBJECT .....

FROM THE STANDPOINT .....

OF A CITIZEN OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK .....

WHO IS A TAXPAYER ....

AND WHO IS ALSO ENFRANCHISED TO VOTE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ....

BY THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION ....

NOT THE HEARST CORPORATION ...

WHICH CORPORATION IS A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE BUSINESS COUNCIL .....

WHICH LOBBYING GROUP IS HOSTILE ....

TO THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION ....

AS AN IMPEDIMENT ....

TO DOING BUSINESS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ....

AND WHICH CORPORATION IS PURSUING ITS OWN AGENDA IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK .....

IN THE NAME OF CORPORATE PROFITS ....

FOR ITSELF .....

AN AGENDA THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO ....

WITH PRESERVING THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK ....

AND NOT THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ......

WHICH IS THE HEARST CORPORATION'S STALKING HORSE .....

IN THE STATE CAPITAL OF NEW YORK .....

ASSISTING IT ....

IN PUTTING FORTH THAT AGENDA ....

AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS ....

And so ......

[Livyjr]

And of course .....

Through Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt .....

Who started out his political career ....

As an Assemblyman in the New York State Legislature ....

William Randolph Hearst .....

And his Hearst Corporation newspapers .....

Play a somewhat prominent role ....

In both New York State history .....

And politics, as well ....

And this role is mentioned .....

In an excellent history ....

Of Teddy Roosevelt's early years in politics ....

Entitled I ROSE LIKE A ROCKET - The Political Education of Theodore Roosevelt by Paul Grondahl, himself a staff writer for the Albany, New York TIMES UNION .....

And one particular vignette from that book ....

Or perhaps INCIDENT is the better word ....

Involving William Randolph Hearst .....

AND THE MURDER ....

OR ASSASSINATION ....

Of a United States president ....

Might be ILLUSTRATIVE .....

Of how we citizens up here .....

View the Albany, New York TIMES UNION

As something to be wary of .....

In our midst .....

As a HEARST CORPORATION STALKING HORSE ....

And without further ado ....

From pp.368,369 of I ROSE LIKE A ROCKET - The Political Education of Theodore Roosevelt by Paul Grondahl ......

Roosevelt (Teddy Roosevelt, then vice president of the United States, September 1901) shared none of McKinley's (President William McKinley, who lay dying from an anarchist assassin's bullet) feelings of forgiveness toward the assassin.

"It was in the most naked way an assault not on power, not on wealth, BUT SIMPLY AND SOLELY UPON FREE GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT BY THE COMMON PEOPLE, BECAUSE IT WAS GOVERNMENT AND BECAUSE IT YET STOOD FOR ORDER AS WELL AS FOR LIBERTY," Roosevelt wrote.

Three days later, in a letter to Lodge (Henry Cabot Lodge), Roosevelt railed against the anarchistic climate of the times that led to the unthinkable act on the part of Czolgosz, whom he called a "Judas-like dog" and wanted to punish in the most severe way.

*****

Roosevelt expressed incredulity to Lodge about how "it did not seem possible that just at this time in just this country, and in the case of this particular president, any human being could be so infamous a scoundrel, so crazy a fool as to attempt to assassinate him."

ROOSEVELT ISSUED A CALL TO BATTLE AGAINST ANARCHY, THE AUTHORS OF ITS NIHILISTIC TRACTS, AND THOSE WHO SUPPORTED THE PHILOSOPHY OF LAWLESSNESS.

"WE SHOULD WAR WITH RELENTLESS EFFICIENCY NOT ONLY AGAINST ANARCHISTS, BUT AGAINST ALL ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SYMPATHIZERS WITH ANARCHISTS."

"MOREOVER, EVERY SCOUNDREL LIKE HEARST AND HIS SATELLITES WHO FOR WHATEVER PURPOSES APPEALS TO AND INFLAMES EVIL HUMAN PASSION, HAS MADE HIMSELF ACCESSORY BEFORE THE FACT TO EVERY CRIME OF THIS NATURE, AND EVERY SOFT FOOL WHO EXTENDS A MAUDLIN SYMPATHY HAS DONE LIKEWISE."

Roosevelt was alluding to Hearst's newspapers' relentless attacks on President McKinley's policies and on the politician personally.

HEARST'S JOURNAL REACHED A NADIR IN ITS BARRAGE AGAINST MCKINLEY IN APRIL 1901, SHORTLY BEFORE MCKINLEY'S SECOND INAUGURATION, BY EDITORIALIZING IN FAVOR OF POLITICAL ASSASSINATION.

"IF BAD INSTITUTIONS AND BAD MEN CAN BE GOT RID OF ONLY BY KILLING, THEN THE KILLING MUST BE DONE."

The scorn heaped upon Hearst was swift and overwhelming from Republican-affiliated newspapers, which blamed the publisher's editorials for spurring the assassin to pull the trigger against the president.

GROUPS BEGAN BOYCOTTING HEARST'S PAPERS AND THE PUBLISHER RECEIVED DEATH THREATS.

HEARST TRIED TO EXTRACT HIMSELF FROM THE MAELSTROM BY CLAIMING HE PULLED THE OFFENSIVE EDITORIAL AFTER READING IT IN THE FIRST EDITION - AN ASSERTION MADE LONG AFTER THE FACT AND UNVERIFIED.

IN ANY EVENT, HE HAD SENT AN EMISSARY TO APOLOGIZE PERSONALLY TO PRESIDENT MCKINLEY AFTER THE EDITORIAL GENERATED A CONTROVERSY.

BUT THE DAMAGE WAS DONE.

ONE MAGAZINE EDITORIALIZED, "AS FOR HEARST PERSONALLY .... HE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN THE DEGRADED, UNCLEAN THING THAT HE IS, SHUNNED BY EVERY HONEST CITIZEN, AND FOR WHOSE WANDERING FEET THERE SHALL BE NO RESTING PLACE WHERE THE AMERICAN FLAG RISES AND FALLS ON THE BREEZE."

THE SCANDAL FORCED HEARST TO RETREAT FROM ELECTORAL POLITICS AND DOGGED THE PUBLISHER THE REST OF HIS DAYS.

THERE WAS NO LOVE LOST ON THE PART OF ROOSEVELT, WHO HAD DESPISED HEARST SINCE HARVARD.

"HE PREACHES THE GOSPIL OF ENVY, HATRED AND UNREST," ROOSEVELT WROTE OF HEARST.

"HE CARES NOTHING FOR THE NATION, NOR FOR ANY CITIZEN IN IT ..."

"HE IS THE MOST POTENT SINGLE INFLUENCE FOR EVIL WE HAVE IN OUR LIFE."

[Livyjr]

"I'M A $@#%%*&&*^^%$@???*&&%$#@* STEAMROLLER, BABY ...."

- Threatening and POMPOUS statement allegedly made to New York State Assemblyman James "JIM" Tedisco by self-styled DICTATOR of New York Eliot Spitzer, as reported to WGY CLEARCHANNELS AM 810 by New York Assemblyman James "JIM" Tedisco, February 1, 2007 and verified by Spitzer in the same news broadcast

[Livyjr]

"Spitzer already having difficulties with Legislature"

By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press

Last updated: 2:02 p.m., Wednesday, January 31, 2007

ALBANY -- If this is the honeymoon, just imagine what Gov. Eliot Spitzer's marriage with the New York Legislature is going to be like once they get the bags unpacked.

Already, Democrat Spitzer, who took office New year's Day, is at war with state Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno over a special election on Long Island and with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a fellow Democrat, over the selection of a new state comptroller.

And, on Wednesday, Spitzer proposed a state budget that calls for reining in the growth of state spending on health care -- increases that have largely been fueled by lawmakers seeking to protect the flow of money to local doctors, hospitals and nursing homes.

If that weren't enough, on the morning of his budget presentation, the New York Post reported that Spitzer recently had a heated conversation with state Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco during which the governor, using an obscenity, called himself a "steamroller" who would "roll over you and anybody else."

"We had a little bit of heated discussion," the Schenectady County Republican told The Associated Press later Wednesday.

Tedisco refused to divulge exactly what was said -- "I don't kiss and tell" -- but said, "I've heard that type of language before."

"I'm an old athlete."

"I respect his aggressiveness," added Tedisco, a star basketball player while at Union College.

Even before he unveiled his full budget, Spitzer gave some previews, including a proposal to overhaul the education aid formula that could mean a lower percentage share of money for wealthy suburban districts that tend to be represented by members of the GOP's Senate majority.

"Does that mean there may be a battle?" Spitzer had said.

"You bet."

"It's fine."

"We welcome it."

"He's very astute," was Bruno's response.

The Spitzer budget plan has all sorts of possible flash points for lawmakers, including his call for expanding the bottle deposit law to cover non-carbonated beverages, limiting property tax cuts to middle-class homeowners and a proposed $1.5 billion bond act to fund stem-cell research.

The possible budget fight emerged as Spitzer and Bruno were already exchanging political blows over the Feb. 6 special election on Long Island for a Senate seat long held by the GOP even though the district now has a Democratic enrollment edge.

Spitzer lured away the Republican incumbent, Michael Balboni, with an administration job.

Should Democrats win the seat, Bruno's already declining majority would be cut to 33-29.

Meanwhile, Spitzer and Silver are at odds over who the Legislature should elect to fill out the almost four-year term of Democrat Alan Hevesi as comptroller.

Hevesi resigned in December after being caught up in a scandal over his use of state employees as drivers for his wife.

Silver wants a Democratic Assemblyman to get the job while Spitzer wants one of three candidates -- all non-legislators -- recommended by a special panel.

"It's a battle of titans," said state Sen. Serphin Maltese, a Queens Republican who said it looks like whatever honeymoon the new governor had is effectively over.

"It's natural that it was going to happen eventually."

"I'm just amazed that it was so early."

"The bloom is off the rose," Tedisco told Albany's WROW-AM radio when asked about the Spitzer-Silver battle.

"One or the other is going to lose, big-time."

Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, who helped run Spitzer's first successful campaign for state attorney general in 1998, said the tension between the governor and the Legislature shouldn't have come as a surprise, given the events and Spitzer's personality.

"There is more at stake earlier and, because of those events, the governor doesn't have a honeymoon and the Legislature has to do what it has to do to make sure it stays relevant with a highly popular governor," Sheinkopf said.

Spitzer won more than two-thirds of the vote, a showing his camp has portrayed as a historic mandate for change.

Also, Spitzer came into office with a reputation as being a hard-nosed battler.

One ex-Wall Street executive, John Whitehead, said in 2005 that as attorney general, Spitzer called and threatened him.

Spitzer denied making threats but did not deny talking tough with Whitehead and others over the years.

Sheinkopf said Spitzer will have to adjust.

"There's always a learning curve when you're a former prosecutor becoming an elected official who is not a prosecutor," he said.

"The facts are, in New York state government, you've got to deal with the Legislature."

"There's a built-in system of checks and balances the same way there is in the federal government."

"The president can't always get his way and the governor can't always get his way."

Tedisco said he was willing to cut Spitzer some slack.

"Hopefully, he'll have a balance of aggressiveness and compromise and cordiality," the GOP leader told the AP.

"It's only 31 days, so he's got a long way to go."

"He'll learn as he goes, as we all have."

"He better."

------

AP Writer Mark Johnson in Albany contributed to this report.

------

Marc Humbert has covered New York politics for The Associated Press for more than 25 years. He can be reached via e-mail at: mhumbert(at)ap.org.

end quotes

There's a built-in system of checks and balances in the State of New York ....

The same way there is in the federal government ....

BECAUSE THE STATE OF NEW YORK'S CONSTITUTION PRE-DATES THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION ....

AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FORMED BY THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION ...

BY SOME TEN YEARS ....

AND THERE ARE CHECKS AND BALANCES IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT .....

BECAUSE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ....

WOULD NOT ACCEPT A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ....

THAT WAS LESS THAN THE GOVERNMENTS THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA HAD FORMED ....

BY CONSTITUTIONAL DECREE ....

IN THEIR OWN STATES ....

AND "BATTLE OF TITANS", MY EYE ....

IT'S A BATTLE OF TWO POMPOUS PIP-SQUEAKS IS WHAT IT IS ....

TWO SPOILED AND PETULANT CHILDREN ....

SPITZER AND SILVERS ......

And so ...

[Livyjr]

ARTICLE 460, New York State Penal Law ....

ENTERPRISE CORRUPTION ...

TITLE X of the New York State Penal Law, ORGANIZED CRIME CONTROL ACT ...

S 460.00 Legislative findings.

The legislature (of the State of New York) finds and determines as follows:

Organized crime in New York state involves highly sophisticated, complex and widespread forms of criminal activity.

The diversified illegal conduct engaged in by organized crime, rooted in the illegal use of force, fraud, and corruption, constitutes a major drain upon the state's economy, costs citizens and businesses of the state billions of dollars each year, and threatens the peace, security and general welfare of the people of the state.

Organized crime continues to expand its corrosive influence in the state through illegal enterprises engaged in such criminal endeavors as the theft and fencing of property, the importation and distribution of narcotics and other dangerous drugs, arson for profit, hijacking, labor racketeering, loansharking, extortion and bribery, the illegal disposal of hazardous wastes, syndicated gambling, trafficking in stolen securities, insurance and investment frauds, and other forms of economic and social exploitation.

The money and power derived by organized crime through its illegal enterprises and endeavors is increasingly being used to infiltrate and corrupt businesses, unions and other legitimate enterprises and to corrupt our democratic processes.

end quotes

SO!

THE MONEY AND POWER OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN NEW YORK STATE IS BEING USED TO CORRUPT OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES HERE IN NEW YORK STATE!

WHICH IS ONE BIG PART OF WHY THIS THREAD IS RUNNING IN HERE ....

And so ....

And while we are on the subject ....

Of why caring parents ....

And adults ....

Strongly urge ....

Their off-spring .....

Or young people that they are mentors for .....

TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS CORRUPT EMPIRE UP HERE ....

WHERE INTEGRITY IN GOVERNMENT .....

IS CRUSHED ....

WITH THE USE OF FORCE AND VIOLENCE, WHEN NECESSARY .....

WHILE THOSE WITHOUT INTEGRITY ADVANCE ....

We have ....

From STRONGMAN Eliot "SQUAREJAW" Spitzer's CAPITAL CITY of Albany, New York, as follows .....

"Ex-official accused of bank heist - Former public works commissioner charged in Albany holdup"

By ANNE MILLER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, January 31, 2007

ALBANY -- A former city public works commissioner with a criminal record spanning two decades was arrested Tuesday and charged with robbing a State Street bank, police said.

Kevin V. Byng, 46, allegedly entered the Key Bank at 60 State St. at 9:10 a.m. Monday, gave the teller a note and left with cash.

U.S. marshals arrested him at the Stardust Motel in Schenectady.

Byng was arraigned Tuesday and sent to Albany County jail without bail.

According to state prison records, he was paroled in July on another felony charge.

Despite his record, Byng was given a job by Mayor Jerry Jennings.

That eventually led to his position as public works department supervisor.

While problems plagued his tenure with the city, his true fall from grace took less than two weeks in June 1995.

He led police on two cocaine-fueled chases through Albany, entered court-ordered detox, left detox without court approval and fled to New York City, where he ultimately was arrested.

In all, Byng has served four prison terms.

He was in prison from 1987 until 1988 for attempted robbery.

From 1996 to 1998, he went away for forgery.

He also was imprisoned from 2000 to 2003 for burglary for stealing his brother's antique train collection.

Eighteen months after his release, he returned to prison on forgery-related charges.

He was paroled in July.

end quotes

As we would have it ....

Those of us who are CITIZENS up here ....

And not just "voters" .....

IT WAS BECAUSE OF HIS RECORD ....

THAT HE WAS GIVEN A JOB BY ALBANY, NEW YORK MAYOR JERRY JENNINGS .....

FOR HAVING AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED CRIMINAL RECORD .....

PRETTY MUCH GUARANTEES .....

THAT HE WOULD NOT SHY AWAY FROM CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES ....

WHICH THEN MAKES HIM COMPLETELY TRUSTWORTHY ....

TO THE POLITICIANS UP HERE ....

WHO HUNT DOWN ....

AND DESTROY ....

INTEGRITY ...

WHEREVER THEY CAN FIND IT ....

AND THAT STARTS WITH ELIOT "SQUAREJAW" SPITZER .....

THE MAN WITH THE POWER ....

TO HAVE INCARCERATED .....

IN A SECURE CORPORATE PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY .....

IN TROY, NEW YORK ....

ANYONE THAT HE PLEASES .....

AND ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH INTEGRITY ....

TO BREAK THEM .....

THIS POWER GRANTED TO "SQUAREJAW" SPITZER .....

BY A FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE ....

RIGHT DOWN THERE IN ALBANY, NEW YORK ....

APPOINTED BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH ....

FOR THE PURPOSE ....

OF GUTTING OUR STATE CONSTITUTION ...

And so ...

[Livyjr]

Ah ....

Life in the CORRUPT EMPIRE OF NEW YORK .....

Wherever you look ....

INCOMPETENCE, INEPTNESS AND CORRUPT OR QUESTIONABLE PRACTICES GREET YOU ....

And so .....

Young people leave this state ....

Hopefully to find another state in this UNION of OURS .....

With more integrity .....

And competence ....

In its governing bodies ....

And so .....

"Board tries to nullify $82,000 check - Council says supervisor had no authority to make water project payment"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, January 31, 2007

NORTH GREENBUSH -- The Town Board majority has voted to rescind a check for about $82,000 for water district work, alleging the town supervisor improperly dispensed it to a contractor without getting board approval.

Supervisor Mark Evers, though, said the issue is a political attack on him for problems with a huge water project that began before he took office.

On Dec. 15, Evers had a town employee write a check for $82,333.92 to pay Casale Excavation for work the company is doing to finish Water District 14.

The disbursement was made a day after a Town Board meeting when one of the routine matters was to approve a list of payments -- called an abstract -- to be made by the town.

The entry was not on the list reviewed by elected officials that night, it was later determined.

New York state law requires that a voucher be shown to the Town Board before payments are made, officials have said.

Evers, a Conservative at odds at times with the majority Democrats, told the Times Union for a Jan. 10 story that the item was on the abstract and seen and approved by the board.

A day later he recanted that statement and said it was not on the list for board approval.

He said this week that he assumed the expenditure was on the list reviewed by the town board.

If the expenditure was on the abstract, the majority would have denied payment.

"We wish to make it clear that had the payment been included in the abstract, we would have voted to remove the payment upon the advice of the town attorney," majority Democrat Richard Fennelly said in a prepared statement.

Last fall, elected officials aired concerns that the $6.4 million project, the largest water district in town, had racked up about $600,000 in cost overruns, a figure now that could be closer to $800,000.

Fennelly said the town attorney, Josh Sabo, has repeatedly told the board it should not approve any more payments exceeding the approved $6.4 million contract because it would not be lawful without a public hearing, authorization by the Town Board and approval by the state comptrollers office.

Evers said he does not want work on the project to stop so near its end.

"The real issue here is, what will the contractor do if we stop paying him?" Evers said.

"We have people waiting for water, and we can't have the contractor walking off the job."

"It's a public safety issue as well."

"The system includes fire hydrants."

Evers said the reasons for cost overruns were items on the project estimates that had to be changed.

In some cases, more pipe had to be laid because expected easements for shorter routes did not pan out.

Original estimates on how much rock crews needed to cut through along pipelines was low, as well, Evers said.

The board majority has called for an investigation by the state comptroller's office into the check as well as the cost overruns of the water project.

Gardinier can be reached at 454-5696 or by e-mail at bgardinier@timesunion.com.

end quotes

New York state law requires that a voucher be shown to the Town Board before payments are made, officials have said ......

BUT .....

SINCE THE LAW .....

IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ....

IS NOTHING BUT A GREAT BIG JOKE .....

WELL .....

POLITICS AS USUAL IS WHAT GOVERNS, INSTEAD .....

AND BECAUSE WE ARE SHUT OUT OF OUR COURTS UP HERE ....

SO THAT NO ONE CAN DO A THING ABOUT ANY OF THIS CRAP .....

THESE COST OVER-RUNS AND SUCH .....

MAKE THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THESE PROPOSALS A REAL JOKE, AS WELL .....

And so .....

YOUNG PEOPLE ....

TAKE HEED .....

IF YOU ARE NOT FROM HERE ....

THEN FOR YOUR OWN GOOD .....

STAY OUT ....

UNLESS YOU ARE CORRUPT YOURSELF, OF COURSE .....

IN WHICH CASE ....

THE CORRUPT EMPIRE OF NEW YORK ....

IS THE PLACE FOR YOU TO BE ....

And so ...

[Livyjr]

"Town ready to open books in state audit - North Greenbush's troubled water project is set for scrutiny"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, February 1, 2007

NORTH GREENBUSH -- State auditors will be at Town Hall today to begin a months-long comprehensive probe into town spending on capital projects, including expenditures for the controversial Water District 14.

An auditor will start the process of reviewing records and interviewing town officials this morning regarding spending on capital projects, said Jennifer Freeman, spokeswoman for the comptroller.

The review is expected to take six months to a year, she said.

The Town Board majority Democrats voted in January to ask the state to perform an audit because of the growing cost of finishing Water District 14, which will serve nearly half of the town.

The original contract approved by voters for building the water district was $6.4 million, but the town has spent more than $700,000 over the contract and the job is still not finished.

Some Democrats have implied Conservative Town Supervisor Mark Evers has inappropriately made several payments without board approval to Casale Excavations, the contractor.

Evers has said he has done nothing wrong and does not want work on the project that is nearly completed to stop for lack of funds.

The most recent controversy was over a $82,333 check that Evers paid to Casale on Dec. 15 that was not reviewed and approved by the Town Board, which is required under state law.

[Livyjr]

"Trying to fly under the radar - Contributors find $99 limit to campaign contributions won't always guarantee anonymity"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, October 16, 2006

ALBANY -- The $99 contribution has long been an open secret in the world of campaign finance.

Candidates don't have to reveal the names of people who give less than $100 to their campaigns, making the $99 gift a way to give while remaining anonymous.

But several dozen supporters of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer --state workers who openly acknowledge they gave those contributions specifically to conceal their political leanings -- found it doesn't always work that way.

The story of the Capital Region's $99 contributors is as much about the state capital's political culture and its spoils system as it is about money.

It's a culture with long memories, and one in which political loyalty can trump competence in the workplace.

"The reality is that the culture in Albany, the political culture, is that we have a rich tradition of retaliation for dissent," said Marcelle.

"Spitzer already having difficulties with Legislature"

By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press

Last updated: 2:02 p.m., Wednesday, January 31, 2007

ALBANY -- "The facts are, in New York state government, you've got to deal with the Legislature."

"There's a built-in system of checks and balances the same way there is in the federal government."

"The president can't always get his way and the governor can't always get his way."

And while we are on the subject .....

Of Teddy Roosevelt ....

And the New York State Assembly .....

And the POLITICAL CULTURE ....

In Albany, New York ....

Where political loyalty can trump competence in the workplace ....

And where there is a rich tradition of retaliation for dissent .....

By way of a little background ....

And insight ....

Into the character ....

Of Teddy Roosevelt .....

A man Eliot Spitzer would have us New York State citizens compare him favorably with ....

When Teddy Roosevelt was in New York State government .....

Before he became president of the United States of America ....

We have ....

From p.104 of I ROSE LIKE A ROCKET - The Political Education of Theodore Roosevelt by Paul Grondahl .....

1883

Although he was the (New York State) Assembly minority leader, {Teddy) Roosevelt began his second term as he had ended his last, CAREFULLY CULTIVATING THE ROLE OF OUTSIDER.

Even his choice of Albany lodgings attempted to show that he was beyond the sphere of influence of both the STALWARTS and the BLACK HORSE CAVALRY (powerful cliques in Albany politics at that time).

He stayed at the Kenmore Hotel on North Pearl Street, a few blocks from the most popular legislative haunt, Broadway's Delavan House.

Since his first term, Roosevelt steered clear of the Delavan BECAUSE OF THE BEER DRINKING ON THE VERANDA, THE WOMEN VISITORS, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES HE CONSIDERED SYMPTOMATIC OF LOW MORALS.

THE DELAVAN WAS THE MOST NOTORIOUS OF THE ALBANY HOSTELRIES THAT CATERED TO THE LAWMAKERS AT THAT TIME; OTHERS INCLUDED THE WINDSOR HOTEL, GLOBE HOTEL, BRUNSWICK HOTEL, DUNLOP HOUSE, STANWIX HALL, AND APARTMENTS IN ALBANY'S CENTER SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR TO THE CAPITOL.

No reporters stayed at the Kenmore Hotel with Roosevelt, despite the fact that he had become a media darling; the newspapermen preferred hotels with crowded bars and an active night life.

The staid Kenmore was home to Roosevelt and just four other assemblymen.

[Livyjr]

"Spitzer names Pennsylvania official upstate development czar"

Associated Press

Last updated: 1:42 p.m., Sunday, January 21, 2007

ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer has tapped an economic development official from Pennsylvania to head a new Buffalo office that will spearhead efforts to revive the upstate New York economy.

He'll be paid $190,000 a year.

Gundersen's job is "pure dedication to the upstate economy," Spitzer said, and he will have the power and resources to reverse the state's loss of young workers and the frustration of businesses facing high taxes and other competitive disadvantages.

"I'M A $@#%%*&&*^^%$@???*&&%$#@* STEAMROLLER, BABY ...."

- Threatening and POMPOUS statement allegedly made to New York State Assemblyman James "JIM" Tedisco by self-styled DICTATOR of New York Eliot Spitzer, as reported to WGY CLEARCHANNELS AM 810 by New York Assemblyman James "JIM" Tedisco, February 1, 2007 and verified by Spitzer in the same news broadcast .....

Here is what we have been waiting for, of course ....

Among a few other issues that are also related to this thing of the "PORK" in New York ....

And multi-million dollar SLUSH FUNDS, of course .......

For the politicians to use for their own purposes ...

And this is in large part why this thread is running ....

To track this issue .....

As it develops further ....

And so ...

Without further ado ...

"Pork adorns new budget - Even before agreements are reached on member-item grants, Gov. Spitzer's proposed 2007-08 spending plan includes billions of dollars for unspecified projects"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, February 2, 2007

ALBANY -- Despite his pledge to change the way things are done in Albany, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's budget plan includes billions of dollars in lump sums without saying what the money will being used for, including $600 million in two newly created pots.

Most of the money is from previous deals negotiated by Gov. George Pataki and the Legislature and popularly known as "super pork."

The three top state leaders -- Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick -- carved the money up under a private agreement, or memorandum of understanding."

They never listed the uses in the budget.

"We noted that even in budget reform, we weren't going back and changing the agreements that had been done in the past, only working on the ones going forward," said Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the Division of the Budget.

The money is in addition to the traditional member-item grant funds that typically total $200 million a year and go unitemized.

Spitzer and the Legislature last month agreed to spell out any uses of such grants in the budget from now on.

Spitzer did not include any money for member items, but lawmakers will likely submit such grants in the legislative budget they fashion as a response to the governor's proposal.

The billions of dollars in Spitzer's budget for unspecified economic development projects represent money reappropriated for pork programs developed since about 1997 under Pataki, said Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the Division of Budget.

Most, if not all of the funds have been committed, for things such as fixing up the Buffalo Bills football stadium in Orchard Park.

However, even though the information exists to itemize the funds, Spitzer's budget does not include the details.

In setting up two $300 million new pots, Spitzer did not subject the funds to the traditional memorandum-of-understanding process.

But as with the previous pork funds, Spitzer does not say who is getting the money.

"Albany is Albany," said Kent Gardner, president of the Center for Governmental Research.

"What's key is that the process be open and transparent, and if this budget has funds contained within it that are going to be allocated any other way, then I'm disappointed."

Spitzer's new pots of money are vague, but intriguing.

One contains $300 million for high technology.

It would go to Empire State Development Corp. for developing and/or expanding an international computer chip research and development center.

The other, also $300 million, would be doled out through a new competitive process under a Capital Approval Board.

ESDC would have to establish rules, goals, and standards, and give preference to projects that provide the greatest economic benefit.

The agency will oversee the board, which will review projects publicly.

It would comprise designees of the Legislature and governor.

Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, said the vagueness of the previous lump sums and the new ones is troublesome.

"There should be total transparency of what the funding is going to and what the funding is for," he said.

Tedisco has complained about the $3.4 billion in "slush funds" created since 2000 and "controlled by the three men in the room," as the top state leaders are usually called.

The new pots seem like more slush, he said.

"If they're not listed on how the money will be allocated, what the formula will be, that's more of a slush fund," he said.

Senate Republicans say every dollar should be itemized in the budget, but that was not part of the deal that Spitzer and the leaders shook on recently.

Blair Horner, legislative director for the New York Public Interest Research Group, said the budget reform deal only calls for member items to be spelled out.

But, he said, "if itemization is good enough for member items, it should be good enough for everything."

Added Elizabeth Lynam, deputy research director for the Citizens Budget Commission:

"Perhaps they can push a little further to get to the spirit of the reform."

She said Spitzer could include the details when he releases his amended budget this month.

M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

Taking Their Lumps

These "lump sum" appropriations appear in Gov. Eliot Spitzer's budget with little or no detail.

Most of the spending would be subject to a "memorandum of understanding" agreed on by Spitzer, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Capital Projects Fund: $75 million for economic development outside cities of 1 million.

Regional Development Program: $90 million for programs

Technology development program: $250 million

Community Service Provider Assistance: $6 million Economic Development and Natural Resource Preservation: $25 million for projects over $500,000 that create jobs or increase business

Strategic Investment Program: $225 million for projects of $250,000 or more involving parks, building preservation, and business incubators for small high-tech companies

Capital Projects: $350 million for projects outside cities of 1 million.

Regional Development: $250 million Capital Projects: $600 million (Assembly's RESTORE Program, $150 million; Senate's GenNYsis program, $150 million; Centers for Excellence (pushed by former Gov. George Pataki), $300 million)

Capital Assistance Program: $300 million (RESTORE, $90 million; GenNYsis, $90 million; Centers for Excellence, $120 million)

Capital Assistance Program: $300 million (split evenly among RESTORE, GenNYsis and Centers for Excellence)

Community Enhancement Facilities Assistance Fund: $425 million for enhancing community facilities

Source: Senate bill S2105 for Executive Budget

[Livyjr]

And while we are on the subject .....

Of Teddy Roosevelt ....

And the New York State Assembly .....

And the POLITICAL CULTURE ....

In Albany, New York ....

Where political loyalty can trump competence in the workplace ....

And where there is a rich tradition of retaliation for dissent .....

By way of a little background ....

And insight ....

Into the character ....

Of Teddy Roosevelt .....

A man Eliot Spitzer would have us New York State citizens compare him favorably with ....

When Teddy Roosevelt was in New York State government .....

Before he became president of the United States of America ....

We have ....

From p.104 of I ROSE LIKE A ROCKET - The Political Education of Theodore Roosevelt by Paul Grondahl .....

1883

Although he was the (New York State) Assembly minority leader, (Teddy) Roosevelt began his second term as he had ended his last, CAREFULLY CULTIVATING THE ROLE OF OUTSIDER.

Even his choice of Albany lodgings attempted to show that he was beyond the sphere of influence of both the STALWARTS and the BLACK HORSE CAVALRY (powerful REPUBLICAN cliques in Albany politics at that time).

GOVERNMENT .....

SHOULD ONLY BE ....

FOR THOSE ....

WITH THE ABILITY ....

TO BUY THEIR WAY IN ....

IT'S CONSIDERED A SIGN OF CHARACTER, I GUESS ....

THAT YOU BOUGHT YOUR OFFICE ....

IN THIS DAY AND AGE ....

OF CEO's .....

INSTEAD OF PRESIDENTS ....

AND GOVERNORS ....

And so ....

"State campaign contribution limits going up"

By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press

Last updated: 1:13 p.m., Thursday, February 1, 2007

ALBANY -- A coalition of government reform groups on Thursday decried higher campaign contributions automatically taking effect this month that will allow New Yorkers to give more than $55,000 to candidates for governor and other statewide offices.

"It's more than 10 times the limit you can give to a presidential candidate," noted Rachel Leon, head of the New York chapter of Common Cause.

Federal law allows contributions up to $4,600 from individuals to presidential campaigns.

Under a New York law adopted in 1974, the state Board of Elections must increase the contribution limits every four years based on the inflation rate.

The new limits are adopted following each election for governor.

The coalition renewed its call for lowering the limits and bringing public campaign financing to state elections in New York, an initiative that the state Legislature has refused to adopt in past years.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, has said he favors such changes.

A study of state campaign finance laws conducted last year by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school found that of the 37 states that limit individual campaign contributions to gubernatorial candidates, New York's $50,100 limit at the time was the highest in the nation with California second at $44,600 and Ohio third at $20,000.

Spitzer has said he will voluntarily limit donations to his campaign committee to $10,000.

The coalition was encouraged by Spitzer's first budget proposal to the Legislature on Wednesday, which proposed adding 21 positions to the state elections board to help police campaign finance laws.

Board spokesman Lee Daghlian said the entire campaign finance unit currently has only about that many employees and that just four of them are involved in enforcement activities.

Daghlian said while the new state limits were supposed to be posted on Thursday, they will not be implemented until next week to avoid conflicting with Tuesday's special election for a state Senate seat on Long Island.

The higher limits, once in place, would apply to state legislative races and those for statewide office such as governor, comptroller and attorney general.

The coalition said changes will blunt the influence of rich people and wealthy special interests.

"Poor people just don't get their voices heard at the state Capitol," said Mark Dunlea of the Hunger Action Network.

The state League of Women Voters and New York Public Interest Research Group also were part of the coalition.

------

On the Net:

State Board of Elections: http://www.elections.state.ny.us/

[Livyjr]

"It was ....

In the most naked way ....

An assault .....

Not on power ......

Not on wealth .....

BUT SIMPLY AND SOLELY UPON FREE GOVERNMENT ....

GOVERNMENT BY THE COMMON PEOPLE ....

BECAUSE IT WAS GOVERNMENT ....

AND BECAUSE IT YET STOOD ....

FOR ORDER ....

AS WELL AS FOR LIBERTY," Roosevelt wrote.

I don't know how many people in America today even know who Teddy Roosevelt was, anymore ......

It seems that American presidents back past Ronald Reagun aren't considered much anymore ......

And those people who are familiar with Teddy Roosevelt .....

Are familiar with him as an American president ....

And there ......

Well .....

It is my experience .....

That Teddy Roosevelt gets what might be called a "BAD RAP" .....

And I never argue that point, myself ....

How well Teddy Roosevelt did as a president of OUR America .....

I don't believe that Teddy Roosevelt ever set out to be a president of America .....

And he certainly got there by an unexpected route .....

Teddy Roosevelt was essentially THROWN OUT OF NEW YORK STATE POLITICS ......

BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ....

By the very simple expedient of having Teddy Roosevelt nominated for VICE PRESIDENT of the United States .......

Which would have stripped Teddy Roosevelt of any power over BUSINESS AS USUAL POLITICS ....

That he might have had in the State of New York ....

As its governor ....

Which position he was holding ....

By WILL OF THE PEOPLE ....

At the time that he was elected vice president ....

And so .....

Had McKinley not died of an assassin's bullet ....

In all likelihood ....

Teddy Roosevelt would have disappeared ....

Into the political obscurity of that office ....

And that would have been that .....

HE WAS GONE FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AS INTENDED ....

And so .....

While I have read some about his presidency ...

And have mixed emotions ....

Teddy Roosevelt is right up at the top of my list .....

When it comes to state governors .....

Along with Al Smith .....

And there is also Teddy's time .....

In the New York State Assembly .....

Where Teddy was successful ....

To the degree that that was possible in that body .....

By crossing party lines to make his alliances ....

With others without power ....

Like himself .....

And in the State of New York .....

So far as I know, anyway ....

Teddy Roosevelt is not at all controversial .....

And he is well thought of .....

Because he did really believe in the common people like myself ......

That we were really quite a bit more than just ignorant serfs .....

As the present ROYAL GOVERNOR sees us ....

LORD CORNBURY COME UP FROM NEW YORK CITY .....

TO VIEW HIS HOLDINGS ....

And so .....

[Livyjr]

WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT "PORK" ....

HERE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK .....

WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT JUST A PART OF THE PIG ....

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE WHOLE HOG ....

And in the State of New York .....

So far as I know, anyway ....

Teddy Roosevelt is not at all controversial .....

And he is well thought of .....

Because he did really believe in the common people like myself ......

That we were really quite a bit more than just ignorant serfs .....

As the present ROYAL GOVERNOR sees us ....

LORD CORNBURY COME UP FROM NEW YORK CITY .....

TO VIEW HIS HOLDINGS ....

And so .....

LUKE: So, Clem .....

What'chu think about that city boy Spitzer becoming governor, then?

CLEM: Well, Luke ....

How I'll put it is like this .....

IT'LL BE JUST MORE GEORGE ...

And that is that .....

JUST MORE GEORGE ....

"State spending tracks motto, 'Excelsior' or always upward"

By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press

Last updated: 12:22 p.m., Saturday, February 3, 2007

ALBANY -- When it comes to Gov. Eliot Spitzer's new budget proposal and the legally mandated revision to state campaign finance contribution limits, it is best to keep in mind New York's official motto: "Excelsior:"

"Always upward."

On Wednesday, Democrat Spitzer presented the state Legislature with his first budget proposal, a $120.6 billion plan for the state fiscal year that begins April 1.

That would be up 6.3 percent from the current fiscal year's budget.

When federal money is subtracted, the increase in state spending would be 7.8 percent.

On Thursday, the state Board of Elections said it would officially adopt new campaign contributions limits later this month that, as required by law, increase every four years by the rate of inflation.

Under the new rules, individuals contributing to a Democratic candidate for governor in 2010 will be able to give more than $55,000 each, up from the $50,100 they could give last year.

Conversely, New Yorkers wanting to contribute to a presidential campaign of, say, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton or former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, could give just $4,600 each under federal campaign finance laws.

Of 37 states that set limits for gubernatorial campaign contributions, New York's are the highest, according to a study conducted last year.

There is, of course, no legal requirement that New York's budgets keep up with the rate of inflation, but governors and the Legislature have rarely had any trouble doing just that and more.

In fact, the current budget, the last adopted under Republican Gov. George Pataki, raised state spending by more than 11 percent.

The Spitzer budget proposal, with its call for a hefty increase in spending, caught some observers by surprise, given the message he had been sending out as he had called for overhauling the state's education and health care systems.

"And because we cannot make any of these changes without making hard choices, now is the time to rein in spending and exhibit fiscal restraint, so we can afford these long-term investments for our future," he had said in his State of the State address to the Legislature in early January.

Some heard a different message Wednesday.

Under a "Gov. George E. Spitzer" headline, the New York Post editorialized Thursday that "judging from the triple-the-rate-of-inflation spending hikes Gov. Spitzer proposed in his initial budget yesterday ... George E. Pataki might just as well have been starting a fourth term."

In an accompanying op-ed piece for the newspaper, a senior fiscal analyst with the conservative Manhattan Institute noted, however, that even the former governor never started from such a position of largess with taxpayer dollars.

"This is larger than any of the spending increases that George Pataki proposed in his last eight years as governor," wrote E.J. McMahon.

"In fact, it's the biggest proposed hike since Pataki ended three years of tight fiscal austerity with an election-year budget blowout in 1998."

In fact, Pataki's first two budgets in 1995 and 1996 each increased state spending by less than 0.5 percent.

In his later years as governor, Pataki often tried to hold down spending only to be thwarted by the Legislature sometimes to the point of lawmakers overriding his vetoes.

The fear among some advocates of spending restraint is that by setting the initial proposal as high as he has, Spitzer is opening things up for a spending spree by the Legislature the likes of which have not been seen since 1984 when state spending increased by more than 12 percent.

Recent history makes clear that budgets do have a way of growing once the Legislature gets their turn at them.

Last year, Pataki proposed state spending grow by 6.6 percent and it wound up rising by 11.2 percent.

In 2003, he proposed having state spending fall by 0.1 percent.

It grew by 9.9 percent.

"I think you've got to be a little bit naive to suggest this is the final budget," said state Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, a Schenectady Republican.

------

Marc Humbert has covered New York state government and politics for The Associated Press for more than 25 years. He can be reached via e-mail at: mhumbert(at)ap.org.

[Livyjr]

"Spitzer looms large in special election for L.I. Senate seat"

By FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 10:13 a.m., Saturday, February 3, 2007

MANHASSET, N.Y. -- When voters in the 7th Senate district on Long Island go to the polls in a special election on Tuesday, the names on the ballot will be Republican Maureen O'Connell and Democrat Craig Johnson.

The name voters won't see is perhaps the one with the biggest stake in the election: Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

In office barely a month, Spitzer created the need for the election by naming Republican Sen. Michael Balboni as his homeland security chief, and the new governor believes the race will be a crucial early test of his ambitious reform agenda.

A Democratic victory also could bring Spitzer's party one seat closer to controlling the Legislature.

"He's made the race important to him," Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf said.

"Should the Democrats win, it increases his mandate for reform."

"Perceptionally, it makes him even stronger."

The race is considered a possible opening for Democrats, who hold a slight advantage in voter registration in the district.

The GOP now holds a slim 33-28 advantage in the 62-member Senate following the departure of Balboni, who abandoned a possible run for state attorney general last year in part because of concerns it could cost Republicans a seat.

While a Johnson victory would help Spitzer, a win by O'Connell would solidify Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno's leadership in the legislature, political observers say.

Voters in the Nassau County district have been deluged with mailings and the airwaves have been inundated with commercials from both sides.

The race was considered one of the most expensive in state history for a legislative seat, with more than $1.5 million already spent a week before Election Day.

Long Island earned a national reputation in the decades after World War II as a Republican stronghold, but in recent years Democrats have ticked off impressive victories for county executive and district attorney in Nassau and Suffolk, and hold four of the island's five congressional seats.

Despite that, they have yet to crack the GOP's domination in the state Senate, where all eight incumbents are Republican.

In his first appearance on Long Island after being sworn in, Spitzer did not mince words about the election being "a thumbs up or a thumbs down" on his reform agenda.

"If you support that agenda, you must vote for Craig Johnson."

He also has taped a television commercial for Johnson, linking his agenda to the Democrat's election.

But the governor isn't the only one with his fingerprints on this campaign.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg contributed $75,000 to the Republicans to help O'Connell, and interest groups as varied as NARAL Pro-Choice America and the New York State Troopers Association have chimed in (NARAL for Johnson, troopers for O'Connell).

O'Connell, a former Republican state assemblywoman and the current Nassau County clerk, said property tax reform was the biggest issue in the campaign.

She said the state Legislature should "cap" spending by local school districts, and said schools should consider "bulk buying" of supplies to cut costs.

She opposes construction of a third rail line being proposed by the Long Island Rail Road through central Nassau County and is against the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal being proposed for the middle of Long Island Sound.

Johnson was first elected to the county legislature in 2000, filling the seat of his late mother Barbara, who died of breast cancer.

Johnson backs Spitzer's $6 billion property tax cut but defended his vote for a 19 percent tax increase to help Nassau County out of a fiscal crisis in 2002.

"We brought this county back from the brink of bankruptcy," he said.

Despite Spitzer's support of a third LIRR track in central Nassau, Johnson said he is opposed to the project and notes this is one area where he will not vote in lockstep with the governor.

"If the governor asks me to jump, I am not going to ask how high," he said.

[Livyjr]

"Sides trade charges in Senate race - Democrats say Republican falsely used Homeland Security seal; GOP claims rivals bought party line"

By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Saturday, February 3, 2007

With a hotly contested state Senate election on Long Island four days away, charges of criminal violations flew in both directions Friday.

The Democratic Spitzer administration alleged Republican Maureen O'Connell may have broken the law by using the state Office of Homeland Security seal in a campaign mailer.

State GOP Chairman Joseph Mondello charged Democrat Craig Johnson "purchased" the Working Families party's ballot line for $225,000.

O'Connell's mailer on terrorism featured an undated photo of her with the state's new homeland security czar, Michael Balboni -- a Republican who gave up the Senate seat for the Spitzer administration post, forcing Tuesday's special election.

"It is completely inappropriate for a political candidate to use a falsified state seal in the context of a political campaign," said Dennis Michalski, spokesman for the Office of Homeland Security.

O'Connell spokesman Mike Arens said no law was broken, adding, "If there should be any concern about a law that was broken, it should be about buying the WFP line."

Arens was referring to a flap over payments to the Workers Family Party, including $55,000 from Johnson's campaign Jan. 16 -- the day he officially landed the WFP ballot line, although the party's executive committee had voted to endorse him on Jan. 10.

Johnson has since given the WFP another $110,000.

Spitzer's campaign gave it $60,000.

Mondello called the timing of the contributions highly suspicious and said he asked Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, a Democrat, to determine if the payments were in exchange for the party's endorsement in the special election, a potential felony.

Suffolk County WFP Chairman Chuck Pohanka also called for a federal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the endorsement.

WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor noted the party has mainly endorsed Democrats over the years.

"For anyone to be surprised that we endorsed a Democrat in such an important election where the candidates are so clearly differentiated is preposterous," he said.

The WFP is doing field work for Johnson, knocking on doors, dropping literature, and so forth.

The race is considered critical by both major parties.

Democrats hold all statewide posts and control the Assembly; Republicans hold the Senate by just three seats.

Elizabeth Benjamin can be reached at 454-5081 or by e-mail at ebenjamin@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

The sub-title of this thread .....

"Thoughts of an older American on constitutional government in the USA" .....

Is really what defines the scope of this thread ....

The "PORK" in New York ....

Is the trigger .....

The WHY .....

WHY there is now this thread .....

WHY I am not out there in the world ....

Or CYBERSPACE .....

Doing something different ....

WHY I am in here, instead .....

Talking ....

As an older American .....

About the "PORK" in New York .....

Where we now have "SUPERPORK", as well ....

Which is just another name for an UNCONSTITUTIONAL SLUSH FUND .....

Here in the PORK-O-CRACY .....

And since this thread is really about CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT .....

This following article from the OP-ED pages of the New York Times seems appropriate to this discussion ....

As it raises some of the very issues that have caused me ....

A disabled combat veteran .....

Who took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution .....

To have these thoughts on OUR RAPIDLY-DEPARTING .....

FORM OF CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT ....

Both here in the State of New York .....

And in the United States of America as well .....

And so .....

Without further ado ....

NY TIMES

Op-Ed Contributor

"At Ease, Mr. President"

By GARRY WILLS

Published: January 27, 2007

Evanston, Ill.

WE hear constantly now about “our commander in chief.”

The word has become a synonym for “president.”

It is said that we “elect a commander in chief.”

It is asked whether this or that candidate is “worthy to be our commander in chief.”

But the president is not our commander in chief.

He certainly is not mine.

I am not in the Army.

I first cringed at the misuse in 1973, during the “Saturday Night Massacre” (as it was called).

President Richard Nixon, angered at the Watergate inquiry being conducted by the special prosecutor Archibald Cox, dispatched his chief of staff, Al Haig, to arrange for Mr. Cox’s firing.

Mr. Haig told the attorney general, Elliot Richardson, to dismiss Mr. Cox.

Mr. Richardson refused, and resigned.

Then Mr. Haig told the second in line at the Justice Department, William Ruckelshaus, to fire Cox.

Mr. Ruckelshaus refused, and accepted his dismissal.

The third in line, Robert Bork, finally did the deed.

What struck me was what Mr. Haig told Mr. Ruckelshaus, “You know what it means when an order comes down from the commander in chief and a member of his team cannot execute it.”

This was as great a constitutional faux pas as Mr. Haig’s later claim, when President Reagan was wounded, that “Constitutionally ... I’m in control.”

President Nixon was not Mr. Ruckelshaus’s commander in chief.

The president is not the commander in chief of civilians.

He is not even commander in chief of National Guard troops unless and until they are federalized.

The Constitution is clear on this:

“The president shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States.”

When Abraham Lincoln took actions based on military considerations, he gave himself the proper title, “commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.”

That title is rarely — more like never — heard today.

It is just “commander in chief,” or even “commander in chief of the United States.”

This reflects the increasing militarization of our politics.

The citizenry at large is now thought of as under military discipline.

In wartime, it is true, people submit to the national leadership more than in peacetime.

The executive branch takes actions in secret, unaccountable to the electorate, to hide its moves from the enemy and protect national secrets.

Constitutional shortcuts are taken “for the duration.”

But those impositions are removed when normal life returns.

But we have not seen normal life in 66 years.

The wartime discipline imposed in 1941 has never been lifted, and “the duration” has become the norm.

World War II melded into the cold war, with greater secrecy than ever — more classified information, tougher security clearances.

And now the cold war has modulated into the war on terrorism.

There has never been an executive branch more fetishistic about secrecy than the Bush-Cheney one.

The secrecy has been used to throw a veil over detentions, “renditions,” suspension of the Geneva Conventions and of habeas corpus, torture and warrantless wiretaps.

We hear again the refrain so common in the other wars — If you knew what we know, you would see how justified all our actions are.

But we can never know what they know.

We do not have sufficient clearance.

When Adm. William Crowe, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, criticized the gulf war under the first President Bush, Secretary of State James Baker said that the admiral was not qualified to speak on the matter since he no longer had the clearance to read classified reports.

If he is not qualified, then no ordinary citizen is.

We must simply trust our lords and obey the commander in chief.

The glorification of the president as a war leader is registered in numerous and substantial executive aggrandizements; but it is symbolized in other ways that, while small in themselves, dispose the citizenry to accept those aggrandizements.

We are reminded, for instance, of the expanded commander in chief status every time a modern president gets off the White House helicopter and returns the salute of marines.

That is an innovation that was begun by Ronald Reagan.

Dwight Eisenhower, a real general, knew that the salute is for the uniform, and as president he was not wearing one.

An exchange of salutes was out of order.

(George Bush came as close as he could to wearing a uniform while president when he landed on the telegenic aircraft carrier in an Air Force flight jacket).

We used to take pride in civilian leadership of the military under the Constitution, a principle that George Washington embraced when he avoided military symbols at Mount Vernon.

We are not led — or were not in the past — by caudillos.

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s prescient last book, “Secrecy,” traced the ever-faster-growing secrecy of our government and said that it strikes at the very essence of democracy — accountability of representatives to the people.

How can the people hold their representatives to account if they are denied knowledge of what they are doing?

Wartime and war analogies are embraced because these justify the secrecy.

The representative is accountable to citizens.

Soldiers are accountable to their officer.

The dynamics are different, and to blend them is to undermine the basic principles of our Constitution.

Garry Wills, a professor emeritus of history at Northwestern, is the author, most recently, of “What Paul Meant.”

[Livyjr]

And by way of some official history, here .....

From the Archives of the State of New York ....

New York's first constitution in 1777, and subsequent constitutions of 1821, 1846, and 1894, vested supreme executive power and authority in a governor.

Colonial precedents for a governor as executive officer were the director general, who administered New Netherland under the Dutch from 1624 to 1664; and the royal governor, who administered the colony under the British until 1776.

In April 1777, the Convention of Representatives of the State of New York (renamed the Fourth Provincial Congress) adopted the first State constitution, and two months later George Clinton was elected first governor of New York State.

New York's constitution of 1777 created the office of governor "to take care that the laws are faithfully executed" and "to transact all necessary business with the officers of government."

The governor was required to report on the condition of the State at each legislative session, could convene the legislature in special session, prorogue it, and recommend matters for legislative consideration.

The constitution provided for the election of the governor by freeholders for a three-year term, with no limit placed on the number of terms an individual might serve.

Executive power was restricted by means of a system of checks and balances, including the legislature, a Council of Appointment, and a Council of Revision.

So far as I know, anyway ....

Teddy Roosevelt is not at all controversial .....

And he is well thought of .....

Because he did really believe in the common people like myself ......

That we were really quite a bit more than just ignorant serfs .....

As the present ROYAL GOVERNOR sees us ....

LORD CORNBURY COME UP FROM NEW YORK CITY .....

TO VIEW HIS HOLDINGS ....

And so .....

And in many ways ...

The original thoughts that lead to this time and place ....

Begin back in or around 1965 ....

Or 1966 ....

With the words to a song as follows:

There's something happening here ....

What it is ain't exactly clear ....

There's a man with a gun over there ....

TELLING ME I'VE GOT TO BEWARE ...

Now .....

Since that time ....

When I had just graduated from high school ....

AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN ....

SCHOOLED IN THIS NATION'S HISTORY ....

FROM THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FORWARD .....

There has been a lot of water over the dam, so to speak, here in OUR America .....

WHICH IT IS .....

"OUR" AMERICA ....

The America of its PEOPLES ....

Which is not the exclusive "property" or "possession" of CZARS who answer to no one at all and self-styled ROYAL GOVERNORS and such ....

WHO CAN TAKE A PAIR OF SCISSORS TO OUR CONSTITUTIONS ....

AND CUT THEM UP INTO DOILIES ....

THAT WHEN LOOKED AT CLOSELY ....

SEEM TO RESEMBLE THE IMAGE ....

OF A CLOSED FIST .....

WITH ITS KNUCKLES FACING US ....

AND ITS MIDDLE FINGER RAISED ....

RIGHT IN OUR FACES ....

And so ....

We used to take pride in civilian leadership of the military under the Constitution, a principle that George Washington embraced when he avoided military symbols at Mount Vernon.

We are not led — or were not in the past — by caudillos.

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s prescient last book, “Secrecy,” traced the ever-faster-growing secrecy of our government and said that it strikes at the very essence of democracy — accountability of representatives to the people.

Caudillo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Caudillo is a Spanish (caudilho in Portuguese) word designating "a political-military leader at the head of an authoritative power."

It is usually translated into English as "leader" or "chief," or, more pejoratively, "dictator" or "strongman."

Origin

The related caudillismo is a cultural phenomenon that first appeared during the early 19th century in revolutionary South America, as a type of militia leader with a charismatic personality and enough of a populist program of generic future reforms to gain broad sympathy, at least at the outset, among the common people.

Effective caudillismo depends on a personality cult.

The root of caudillismo lies in Spanish colonial policy of supplementing small cadres of professional, full-time soldiers with large militia forces recruited from local populations to maintain public order.

Militiamen held civilian occupations but assembled at regular times for drill and inspection.

Their salary from the Crown was a token; their recompense was in prestige, primarily because of the fuero militar ("military privilege"), that exempted them from certain taxes and obligatory community work assignments (compare the feudal corvée), and more significantly, exempted them from criminal or civil prosecution.

Away from colonial capitals, the militias were at the service of the criollo landowners.

Leadership

Charismatic image

Typically, the caudillos took it upon themselves to attain power over society and place themselves as its leader.

Caudillos were capable of commanding large numbers of people and holding the attention of large crowds with growing excitement.

In the late Roman Republic men like Gaius Marius, Julius Caesar and Octavian were populist commanders who had strong personal ties with their soldiers, and imagery of revived Roman values is often brought to bear in support of caudillismo.

A similar phenomenon in Italy from the 13th to the 16th century repeatedly brought the condottiere, the charismatic leader of a band of mercenaries, to power, when institutions of power temporarily failed.

Gaining of support

In the upheavals of the decades of revolution and its aftermath, leaders who were able to draw to themselves bands of loyal followers and keep them well armed and otherwise well cared for could assume the title of "general."

Caudillos began to attain this power in the course of the South American Wars of Independence, where the militias did much of the fighting and earned a heroic reputation.

The caudillos used their small armed bands to overthrow the vulnerable newly independent states in South America.

If these caudillos were not always welcome, also they were not generally publicly condemned.

Some were large landowners (hacendados) who sought to secure their private interests, but more typically they began as vigilantes keeping the local peace for the hacienda, then gained independence of action and developed an anti-oligarchic public stance and finished by supporting an acquiescent establishment that included the Catholic Church.

Government Structure

Since the caudillo typically held power by controlling a patronage network that brooked no rival structure, some caudillos took up an anti-clerical stand.

Many of the caudillos used their newly gained power, which was unchecked because it was extra-constitutional, to promote their own wealth and interests.

At the height of caudillismo, as in Venezuela, the national army was rendered superfluous by the personal armies of the caudillos: in 1872 Venezuela's federal troops were dismissed entirely.

Some Famous Caudillos

A few examples of powerful Caudillos in the Americas during the early 1800s include Juan Manuel de Rosas and Juan Facundo Quiroga in Argentina, Antonio López de Santa Anna in Mexico, José Rafael Carrera in Guatemala, and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, "El Supremo," in Paraguay.

In Venezuela, a century of caudillismo was initiated with the 1848 coup of José Tadeo Monagas who ruled Venezuela in partnership with his brother, followed after the Federal War by the rule of Antonio Guzmán Blanco, but the tradition of caudillismo has lingered; after the coup by which the designated vice-president Juan Vicente Gómez overthrew the elected president, Gómez ruled Venezuela by his personal authority until his death.

Well-known later caudillos have included Gabriel García Moreno in Ecuador and Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic.

The strongman with a military following who controls political developments continues to be an unsettling factor in Latin American societies.

The Spanish ruler Francisco Franco used from 1936 the title "Caudillo de España, por la gracia de Dios," echoing (as usual at that times) the titles "Führer" and "Il Duce."

English speakers are reluctant to use the term "caudillo," which they imagine must have pejorative connotations; in Spain, it resounded of the old warriors of history.

The word had already been used for key men like the Cid Campeador and, in retrospect, Viriathus.

Franco's contemporary Juan Domingo Perón, however, had to fight the connotation of the uncultivated Argentinian caudillos of the 19th century.

In spite of the nationalism of Peronism, the supporting press used the Anglicism líder (from English "leader").

The death of Cirilo Vázquez, a cacique from Acayucan, Veracruz, made headlines in newspapers in Mexico and the United States.

Final Comments

Caudillos are remembered with admiration in popular nationalist histories: Rosas rose from being one of the largest and most productive ranchers in the area; Santa Anna was Mexico's greatest military leader, as well as a tyrant, best known for his triumph at the Alamo; the Monagas brothers abolished slavery; Dr. Francia was a creole with an advanced law degree who used only three men in his leading of the country.

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