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

[Livyjr]

"Owlish, quiet Assembly leader Silver wields great power in NY"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:13 p.m., Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ALBANY -- The owlish, quiet man in glasses who speaks in a low, almost inaudible monotone is easy to overlook.

But in New York's power politics, he's impossible to ignore.

This week, New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is being blamed for derailing the nation's most visible pilot of a plan that would limit urban traffic and reduce choking air pollution for generations.

He wouldn't even bring the issue of a traffic congestion fee to a floor vote, citing what he said was overwhelming opposition by his Democratic members, led by those from the outer boroughs and suburbs.

It was another defeat delivered by the Democrat over the Republican-led Senate, the new Democratic governor, and billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

And it was widely viewed as symbolic of a spineless state Legislature that operates behind closed doors and cedes all its power to just three men, including Silver.

Bloomberg, the independent nonpartisan mayor known for holding back public political vitriol, had a hard time with this latest loss to Silver.

"It takes courage to ask people to change," Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg tried to deflect reporters' questions on whether Silver should be blamed directly, then added:

"I do not think that any one person should decide what is right."

Meet Shelly Silver: One of the three most powerful men in New York state politics; lower Manhattan rainmaker, trial lawyer, and perhaps the most inscrutable and criticized member of a state Legislature that is easy to hate.

He's the quintessential Manhattan trial lawyer in pinstripes; yet he lives much of the time in his home in the Catskills mountains where he's an avid golfer.

At 64, he's small and bookish; yet he was a basketball star at Yeshiva University and holds New York Rangers season tickets.

He's an orthodox Jew, a modern Tevia-like character, who won't violate the Sabbath even for pressing state business, but who was also questioned in an investigation of lobbyists for his Las Vegas casino trip.

He deals in billions of dollars in the state budget, and was singled out Wednesday by Billy Easton of the Alliance for Quality Education for being the key to a record increase in school aid approved Wednesday.

"I would call him a master negotiator," Easton said.

Silver has also personally directed tens of millions of dollars in pork-barrel spending to the district he represented since 1976, and -- rumor has it -- represents several bold face names in a lucrative law practice he scrupulously keeps secret under attorney-client protections.

Yet he resoles the toes and heels of his shoes to make them last, and keeps a beat-up pair for wet weather in the trunk of the older model sedan he drives himself.

Perhaps his most notable physical feature: Silver has the thickest of skins, seeming to the point of uncaring that he's routinely seen as an obstructionist.

While he has many allies, few call him a close friend.

He's not known as a great orator, but he delivered Albany's most impassioned speech immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, speaking of the view from his apartment window that overlooked what would forever be called ground zero.

Unlike most political leaders who form deep alliances, Silver's position on issues is usually hard to predict and his the last perspective known.

He's blocked the Senate's Republican majority repeatedly and, days later, sided with GOP senators to override hundreds of vetoes by former Republican Gov. George Pataki.

Silver has also rebuked former Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer, most notably in choosing a new comptroller.

Polls show few New Yorkers know Silver, even though he has led the Assembly since 1994 and was the driving force behind such major initiatives as universal pre-Kindergarten, tax-break zones for employers, the revival of lower Manhattan after Sept. 11, and a nanotech research center in Albany.

But polls also show that most of those who do know him, don't like him.

"I certainly wouldn't consider him a friend, and he wouldn't consider me one, but I've known him since the mid-'80s," said Steven Greenberg, a former spokesman for Democrats.

He respects Silver as smart and savvy.

Silver's opponents blame him for elimination of a commuter tax that could have brought the city $5 billion and counting since 1999.

He's also blamed for the loss of the 2012 Olympics by opposing a huge development plan for Manhattan's west side that would have included a stadium for the New York Jets.

The New York Daily News on Wednesday derisively called this graveyard of opportunity "Shell's Kitchen."

Silver's opposite number, Republican Senate leader Joseph Bruno from upstate, has long had a tolerate-hate relationship with the Manhattanite.

In thorny legislative and budget negotiations, Bruno says Silver just crosses his arms, sits back, and waits.

And waits.

Usually, it works.

"He's got great timing," said Democratic Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester.

"He sits and waits for things to come to him."

"Most people don't have that kind of patience."

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"AMD cuts follow Intel restructuring"

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press

Last updated: 1:03 a.m., Tuesday, April 8, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s plans to jettison 10 percent of its work force are the latest sign that the seesaw battle between semiconductor rivals Intel Corp. and AMD has taken its toll on both companies.

AMD said Monday that its job cuts, which will amount to more than 1,600 workers out of 16,800 worldwide, are slated to start later this month and finish by September.

The Sunnyvale-based company also warned investors that first-quarter sales were lower than expected across all business lines, a miss that surprised Wall Street.

Sales for the three months ended March 29 came in at about $1.5 billion, a 15 percent drop from the year-ago period and short of the $1.61 billion that analysts polled by Thomson Financial were anticipating.

In 2006, Santa Clara-based Intel said it was cutting about 10,500 jobs, or about 10 percent of its work force, in a move to save about $3 billion annually.

But now it's AMD that's fallen on hard times as it confronts intensifying competition from Intel, which has regained some lost market share with a powerful line of new chips and has lowered its costs with a new manufacturing process.

Meanwhile, some of AMD's most important products are viewed as out-of-date.

AMD's losses in 2007 were staggering, capping a brutal two-year stretch in which the company's market value plunged from more than $20 billion to $3.84 billion today.

The stock has fallen from more than $40 a share in early 2006.

"NY budgets $46 million to boost AMD microchip factory plan"

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:12 p.m., Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ALBANY -- State officials have budgeted $46 million to help Advanced Micro Devices Inc. build new factories in upstate New York even as the No. 2 chip maker announced this week that first-quarter sales were lower than expected and it plans to cut its global work force by 10 percent.

State, town and company officials said site planning and other advance work is continuing for the new Luther Forest Industrial Park in rural Saratoga County.

Capital funding was included in the fiscal 2008-09 budget, which state lawmakers were approving Wednesday.

"At this point in time it's full bore ahead ... with the expectation that sometime around next January they'll be able to start construction," said Malta Town Supervisor Paul Sausville.

About $32 million in bids for a 5 1/2-mile road project for the industrial park were let this week, while the county is building a water system that will also serve the site and a sewage treatment plant is being upgraded, he said.

Gary Silcott, spokesman for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD, said the job cuts and upstate New York project, which would provide "additional capacity" instead of replacing an existing facility, are unrelated.

"We have not yet committed to the plan."

"We have until July 2009 to commit."

"But the New York plan has always been a long-term commitment," Silcott said.

The site plan envisions up to three factories, and construction won't begin this year, he said.

"That won't happen until after the agreement is signed and a commitment is made," Silcott said.

AMD said Monday sales for the three months ended March 29 were closer to $1.5 billion, a 22 percent jump over last year but 15 percent lower than the fourth quarter.

It said job cuts, which amount to more than 1,600 workers out of 16,800 worldwide, were expected to start this month and end by September.

Kris Thompson, spokesman for state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, said state and local officials are in constant communication with the company.

"AMD's moving forward and developing and implementing the necessary measures to ensure the plant will be one of the largest economic development projects in New York state history," Thompson said.

"We have no reason to believe it will be sidetracked."

Bruno, whose district includes the site, joined in the June 2006 announcement of more than $1 billion in state funding and tax incentives for the planned $3.6 billion plant.

Meanwhile, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in January announced an investigation into AMD's chief rival, Intel Corp., for possible violations of state and federal antitrust laws.

Cuomo said his preliminary review showed a need for a full investigation.

Subpoenas sought information on whether Intel coerced customers to exclude AMD from the market for a specific computer processing unit, including data about pricing strategies and whether it improperly paid computer makers for exclusivity.

John Milgrim, spokesman for Cuomo, said Wednesday the investigation is ongoing.

There is no connection between the probe and AMD's New York project, he said.

In 2005, AMD filed a lawsuit claiming Intel bullied major customers -- PC makers like Dell Inc. -- into exclusive deals and offered secret rebates.

Intel, which commands three-quarters of the worldwide microprocessor market, has denied AMD's allegations and defends its business practices as legal and beneficial to consumers.

In July, the European Union charged Intel with violating antitrust rules by selling its chips below cost to strategic customers, among other practices.

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"Highlights of the 2008-09 NY state budget"

Associated Press

Last updated: 7:02 p.m., Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ALBANY -- There is a lot in the $121.7 billion state budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year that will pinch New Yorkers' wallets, help their communities, and likely puzzle a few taxpayers as the state heads toward recession.

The budget, which could be approved Wednesday, is also notable for what was left out.

SPENDING HIGHLIGHTS:

--"Enhanced driver's licenses" to help New Yorkers comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

The new, optional driver's licenses will allow New Yorkers to travel outside the country without needing a passport or birth certificate.

The new, 8-year licenses will add $30 to the $50 cost of reissuing a license with part of the $66 million in revenue going to the state's general fund and to counties.

--An additional $20 surcharge on most motor vehicle offenses and a $170 surcharge in sentencing for driving while intoxicated.

--A record $1.75 billion increase in school aid, to about $20 billion.

That includes extra funding sought for New York City and suburban Long Island school districts, and a guarantee that no district will receive less than a 3 percent increase.

State legislators say that should be enough to ease increases in local school taxes.

--A restoration of $273 million in measures sought by Gov. David Paterson to reduce the growth in spending in health care, mostly for hospitals and nursing homes that lobbied hard for the funding.

--A weakening or at least a delay of the long-range plan by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Paterson to cut health care spending that has forced state spending increases of two or three times the inflation rate in recent years.

For example, for the five fiscal years ending in 2006-07 before the effort, Medicaid spending grew an average of 8.3 percent.

In 2006-07, in the first year of the effort pushed by Spitzer, spending decreased 1.9 percent.

Under the current budget, spending will increase 1.1 percent.

In addition, further cuts will now require input from the hospitals and health care industry that would lose funding.

--Creation of a discount prescription card for income-eligible New Yorkers.

The cards will provide discounts on average of 30 percent off brand-name drugs and 60 percent off generic drugs for about 400,000 New Yorkers 50 to 64 years old and the disabled.

--State lawmakers will keep almost 100 troopers in schools, instead of putting them along the border, but redeploy more than 100 troopers now covering video slot machine centers authorized by the state Lottery Division.

The redeployed troopers will go to cities with rising crime rates, many of which are upstate.

--$25 million to provide health coverage for about 400,000 uninsured children from low and moderate income families.

--$15.6 million to provide loan repayments, grants and other incentives to place more physicians in rural and urban areas without enough medical providers.

--A $1.25-per-pack increase in the cigarette and small cigar tax to raise $268 million, mostly for health care programs.

--A bolstered anti-fraud office with 75 more workers to recover more misused Medicaid funds.

--A revamped detoxification system sought for years that will provide more effective and less expensive care.

--Provides $6.6 million to pay for legal services for some civil cases brought by New Yorkers who can't afford a lawyer.

--Provides $200,000 for a state witness protection program to fight crime.

--Increases the mandatory surcharges in criminal cases.

The measure raises the fee to access a criminal history record from $3 to $55, and increases the crime victim assistance fee from $5 to $25.

--$95 million to improve state parks.

--The Environmental Protection Fund will be increased to $255 million, a $5 million increase.

The program pays for land that will be protected from development, as well as environmental programs such as $1 million for a Pollution Prevention Institute, and public health programs including $450,000 for a Breast Cancer Environmental Risk Factor Program.

--Other environmental funding includes $400,000 for the Cornell University Community Integrated Pest Management Program, $200,000 for a Road Salt Study in the Adirondacks and $1.5 million for the Marine Diseases Pathology Consortium to be administered by SUNY Stony Brook.

--Cuts 9 percent, or $12 million, from the state Lottery, but authorizes allowing investors to pay for the right to operate the lottery in exchange for a trust fund worth billions of dollars.

--Provides $250,000 for the French and Indian War 250th Anniversary events.

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SPENDING REJECTED BY THE LEGISLATURE:

--Paterson's plan to cut 2 percent in the growth in aid to municipalities, leaving many with about an 8 percent increase in aid over the previous fiscal year.

But the cut in state aid could contribute to higher local property taxes for those cities.

Paterson had sought 2 percent cuts in state agencies, too, to combat a deficit estimated at nearly $5 billion.

--A proposal to increase the income tax on New Yorkers making over $1 million a year.

--A proposal to increase the $291 basic monthly welfare grant for a family of three by $29.

--A "car tax" proposed in the executive budget that would have permanently raised the motor vehicle law enforcement fee from $5 to $20.

Instead, they're proposing extending the current fee of $5 for one year only.

--A nearly $5 million plan to expand broadband Internet access in New York.

Senate Republicans say they support making broadband available to more people, but the additional money isn't urgently needed because $5 million that previously had been allotted for that purpose was just released last month.

--Spitzer's cost-saving plan to close four of New York's 69 prisons, where the inmate population has dropped by 9,000 in a decade to about 62,000 with a staff of 31,000.

That keeps open Camp Pharsalia in Chenango County, Camp McGregor in Saratoga County, Camp Gabriels in Franklin County and Hudson Correctional Facility in Columbia County.

--A raise for the 1,250 state-level judges, sought after 10 years of falling behind counterparts nationwide.

Despite widespread support for the idea, the chances of the bill passing dimmed when public pressure forced judges' raises to be uncoupled from legislators' pay raises.

That's how senators and Assembly members have gotten past raises.

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SOURCES: The state Budget Division, the Senate and Assembly majority offices.

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"Big money for schools, shaky revenue sources in state budget"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:53 p.m., Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ALBANY -- The state Legislature passed a $121.7 billion budget Wednesday that will include $1.5 billion in new taxes, $205 million in new fees and $200 million in member items -- or pork barrel spending -- that politicians can direct back to their own districts.

Legislators expect the state to raise $66.4 million for an optional new driver's license or ID card that would add $30 to the current $50 license fee and give the user the ability to cross some borders, including Canada's.

Another $28 million is expected to come in from a new surcharge on traffic tickets and another $70 million will come from a new assessment on health insurers.

For New Yorkers, this means they'll have to spend more on identification if they want to go to bordering countries, and if they drive too fast along the way it could cost them $20 more for a ticket and $170 more if they drive under the influence.

State officials don't think the extra fee they've applied to insurance companies will be passed on to customers, but it remains a possibility.

The budget doesn't include new personal income taxes and it cuts local assistance programs -- except for school aid and most entitlement programs -- by 2 percent to save $270 million.

"In the economy, we're in the worst of times," Gov. David Paterson said Wednesday of the difficulty in getting out the budget -- which was nine days past the state's constitutional deadline.

He described the economy and the unique circumstances that made him governor less than a month ago as "twin storms" complicating the budget.

Paterson took over March 17 because former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned after being linked to a prostitution ring.

New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli questioned Wednesday if the revenues lawmakers are counting on to cover the state budget will turn up.

"Albany should keep an eraser handy," DiNapoli said of the 2008-09 budget proposal.

Budget planners come up with a spending plan in part by anticipating revenue from the previous year, and 2007-08 was "a volatile year," he said.

"Spending and revenue projections were a moving target all year and significantly deviated from what was estimated," DiNapoli said.

"The economy is in rough shape and the worst may still be around the corner."

DiNapoli's preliminary revenue and spending results for the last fiscal year pointed to lower than expected business taxes, and general fund tax receipts $120 million below estimates.

With that trend, the Legislature may have to reevaluate their spending plans throughout the year.

In past years when revenues plummeted, the Legislature had to return to Albany to cut the budget, including school district funds.

"It's a concern of mine, like it is of everybody in New York state," Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said Wednesday.

"I don't think it will happen."

"I'd rather be optimistic and expect that pretty much the worst of what we have to do budget-wise and the challenges that we've overcome here in getting the budget done are behind us."

"What the future brings, no one can tell."

The budget, which was due April 1, increased spending 4.9 percent and included $1.6 billion in capital projects statewide.

An upstate revitalization initiative will pump $700 million into the struggling region.

Education advocates said kids are the real winners in the budget and that the historic $1.75 billion increase in aid will help more students perform better in the neediest schools.

"We were able to keep a promise to the children of our state," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said.

But the bloated budget and reliance on questionable revenue sources at a time when the economy is on a downturn could mean higher taxes and even bigger budget gaps in the future.

Elizabeth Lynam, deputy research director for the Citizen's Budget Commission, said the spending in Albany is out of control, and in the long run New Yorkers will be paying for it.

"Eight months from now they're going to be wrestling with a $5 billion-plus budget gap, in a situation where it's likely to be worse because the revenues won't be there," she said.

"The tax burden New Yorkers face is already the second highest in the country, and unless their elected officials take stock of the situation and get the pocketbook under control, the taxes will be even higher."

The state will get additional revenue through a number of new business taxes, including $429 million from closing what lawmakers called tax "loopholes."

Lawmakers expect to raise $250 million in taxes to put video slot machines into the Aqueduct Racetrack and other developments that could include hotels.

Another $268 million will come in from increases in taxes on cigarettes and small cigars, both of which are going up $1.25.

State officials couldn't provide the exact budget deficit they had to fill for fiscal year 2008-2009, but it's projected at $4.6 billion.

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"Push for ethics reform falls flat - Law's mandates, aimed at improving oversight of lawmakers, are unmet"

By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ALBANY -- More than a year after state leaders passed what they called "landmark" ethics legislation, the commission that is supposed to make sure legislators aren't breaking the law is itself not following the law.

The legislation called for reorganizing the Legislative Ethics Committee into the Legislative Ethics Commission, as well as appointing a nine-member board of legislators and non-legislators, building a Web site and posting generic advisory opinions of the commission to the Web, among other things.

On nearly all fronts, the commission has so far failed to implement the law.

In passing the legislation, lawmakers agreed to appoint a commission that would be composed of four legislators and five "independent" members who were not part of the Legislature.

This was a key change -- in the past, all members were legislators.

After the legislation was passed, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, and Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith each appointed two members to the commission -- a legislator and an "independent" member.

The ninth, "tie-breaker" member is a joint appointment by Bruno and Silver.

So far, that position has not been filled.

"They haven't sat down to discuss the appointment," said Silver spokesman Sisa Moyo.

Bruno spokesman Scott Reif said the focus right now is on finalizing a state budget.

"Senator Bruno will meet with the speaker to discuss this appointment at the appropriate time," he said.

Neither Moyo nor Reif would say when an appointment would be made.

Under the terms of the ethics reform agreement, all nine appointments were supposed to be made within 30 days of the bill's passage on April 26, 2007.

None of the appointments were made within the deadline.

The law also said the commission must launch a Web site within 120 days of the bill's passage.

A bare-bones Web site was launched in late March, nine months after the deadline.

It included only an annual report but no advisory opinions.

The commission's executive director, Melissa Ryan, said difficulties in coordinating with the Assembly and Senate, and changing decisions about whether to have the Web site built in-house or by an outside designer contributed to the delays.

The law mandates that the commission publish generic advisory opinions on the Web site, answering ethics questions frequently asked by legislators.

When legislators want clarifications about ethics rules, they can request formal advisory opinions of the commission, but the requests and formal opinions are secret and not subject to Freedom of Information laws.

The commission hasn't started working on the generic opinions.

"We haven't discussed it yet, but we will be addressing it very soon," Ryan said.

The legislative ethics committee has long been considered the least transparent of the state's ethics watchdog agencies.

"Historically, this has been a committee that has operated in secret, the information they do make available to the public is not of any use, the key information useful to the public is redacted," said Russ Haven of the New York Public Interest Research Group, which fought for the legislative reforms last year.

Neither the committee nor commission has ever issued a notice of probable cause or assessed a penalty for wrongdoing, according to Ryan, who served as executive director of the committee as well.

In several instances the commission never took action against lawmakers who had been accused or convicted of crimes:

Assemblywoman Diane Gordon, D-Brooklyn, who was convicted Tuesday of trying to have a private developer build her a $500,000 home for a dollar in exchange for arranging a $2 million land deal.

Sen. Efrain Gonzalez, D-Bronx, who is awaiting trial on federal charges that he funneled nearly half a million taxpayer dollars through a charity to finance his cigar company, buy Yankees tickets and pay his daughter's tuition.

Former Sen. Guy Velella, R-Bronx, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for steering public works contracts to favored bidders for kickbacks.

Haven said the changes to the legislative committee were the weakest part of the ethics reform bill, and the result is "there doesn't appear to be any difference."

"Nothing in terms of public activity that would indicate that things have improved."

When asked why Haven and his colleagues haven't filed complaints to the commission as allowed by the new law, Haven replied, "In some areas, we've largely thrown up our hands and said until we reform this entity, we're not going to get real investigations or stringent rulings."

"After a while you sort of give up a little bit," he said.

Irene Jay Liu can be reached at 454-5081 or by e-mail at iliu@timesunion.com.

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"Veterans protest inaction on health concern - Advocates vent at Capitol as plan to test for toxins remains unfulfilled"

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

First published: Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ALBANY -- It's been 16 months since lawmakers approved a plan to help veterans get tested for war-related toxins, including radioactive particles from tank-killing depleted uranium shells used in the Persian Gulf.

But with just two members of the 11-person panel that's supposed to oversee the effort actually appointed, testing has yet to start, say veterans.

"That's why we're frustrated," said Joe Franklin, vice chairman of the National Disabled Veteran Business Council.

Franklin and other advocates on Tuesday called for a number of measures to help veterans, including the stalled effort to test for toxins.

According to the legislation, the Assembly speaker and Senate majority leader each appoint two members to the panel, while the minority leaders each appoint one and the governor names five.

So far, Speaker Sheldon Silver and Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno have made one appointment each, with Bruno naming SUNY researcher David Carpenter and Silver putting Phillip Landrigan of Mount Sinai medical center on the board.

But without the other nine members, little if anything has been done.

And there seems to be little communication among lawmakers, the governor's office and government agencies that would be working with the new task force.

"That information is not reported back to us," said Michelle LaRock, deputy director of administration and budget for the state Division of Veterans Affairs, which has nonvoting representation on the task force.

"They are going through the appointment process right now from what we know," she added.

One advocate said she thought the lack of action by the governor's office may be the result of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's battles with Bruno last summer over a travel records scandal, followed by Spitzer's sudden resignation last month in a prostitution scandal.

Joan Walker, a retired teacher in Woodstock who helped promote the toxin law, recalls asking Spitzer's former secretary, Richard Baum, about progress on the bill last year, but said, "he was a little bit busy."

She said she called as the travel records scandal was developing.

Depleted uranium, used in the first Gulf War, has a high density that allows it to penetrate tank armor.

But when it explodes or catches fire, the uranium is released as microscopic particles, which can be inhaled or ingested.

Since the particles are radioactive, some fear anyone exposed to them could contract cancer years later.

Activists draw parallels to the problems that arose from Agent Orange, a defoliant which used during the Vietnam War and linked to illnesses among some veterans exposed to it.

"This whole scenario is playing out much like Agent Orange," said Assemblyman Dan Burling, R-Warsaw, and a Vietnam veteran.

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

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"Wrap near for state budget - Work appears done on $121.7B package in time of turmoil"

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

First published: Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ALBANY -- A state budget is expected to pass today that provides for more than $1.2 billion in capital project borrowing, including about $47 million for Advanced Micro Devices, according to state officials briefed on the deal.

Both the Senate and Assembly are set this morning to review and wrap up the $121.7 billion budget for 2008-2009, up 4.9 percent from last year's all-funds budget.

"I think it's a done deal," said Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes.

Several senators concurred.

The budget is expected to raise state operating funds, which don't include capital and federal dollars, to $80.5 billion, up 4.5 percent from last year's budget, said Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the Division of Budget.

He said the budget is the first in a decade to come in lower than the executive budget plan.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer called for $124.2 billion in all funds, and $81.6 billion in state operating funds.

According to officials who have been briefed, Senate Republicans were willing to close down talks after winning "sunsets" on two key taxes.

One involves real estate investment trusts, the other a corporate income tax that will particularly hit financial services and manufacturing industries.

They will expire in three years.

The tax on REITs, affecting banks, is expected to raise about $65 million this year, while the increased corporate income tax will raise about $98 million, officials said.

The economic development package includes $350 million each for Assembly and Senate priority projects and about $500 million for Gov. David Paterson, according to two legislative officials familiar with details of the deal.

Paterson needs about $115 million to cover commitments the former governor made to revive various urban areas upstate in his "City-by-city" initiative.

Funds to support AMD's proposed computer chip fabricating project in Saratoga County, amounting to about $47 million for infrastructure, also are to be part of the package.

The state previously committed $1.2 billion in incentives for AMD.

Although money for a football stadium at the University at Albany isn't in the plan, funds for a new school of business and a campus center project made the list, Canestrari said.

The budget bills being prepared also were to include a line item for $48 million to increase judicial pay, but without the funding to back it up.

The budgeting scheme is known as a "dry appropriation" -- serving as a placeholder should funds be found later in the fiscal year.

Canestrari said the plan was seen as a "good faith" gesture to judges, who have gone more than a decade without a raise, as have the Legislature and top state officials whose salaries are set by law.

Lawmakers, who are up for re-election this year, typically link judges' pay to their own pay hikes.

Lawmakers are having their checks withheld while the budget is late.

It was due April 1.

The education bill, which will provide $1.8 billion in extra funding for schools over last year's number, is expected to have attachments for pork that does not involve schools.

For instance, $37.2 million will be split equally between the Senate and Assembly for discretionary health projects.

The funds are on top of the $45 million in member items -- discretionary funds for pet projects.

The Assembly has already itemized its discretionary health spending -- for AIDS programs, the American Red Cross, family planning and other programs.

The Senate is expected to identify specific hospitals as recipients.

A problem holding up the final budget bills, involving the sums to be spent fixing up public colleges, was expected to be resolved.

A person briefed on the situation said the stumbling block was over the plan to break up capital funds so that the state university system received 65 percent and New York City's system received 35 percent of the higher education money.

Advocates for New York City wanted the historic shares of 40 percent for CUNY.

A tenure battle for teachers appeared to be resolved Tuesday, apparently to the liking of the teachers union.

Negotiators agreed to block the attempt by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other school district leaders to use test scores to evaluate teachers, a person close to the talks said.

A key revenue-raiser, a $1.25-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes, was projected to raise $265 million.

Also, $250 million in revenues is earmarked from a proposed Aqueduct Race Track video lottery terminal operator.

Three teams vying for the development rights at the Queens track -- Delaware North, Capital Play LLC and SL Green -- must submit their final bids on Friday.

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

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"Budget built on borrowing, fees - $121.7B spending plan also depends on taxes and one-time revenues"

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

First published: Thursday, April 10, 2008

ALBANY -- Lawmakers completed a $121.7 billion state budget Wednesday that includes substantial borrowing and that budget critics say is precariously balanced on one-time revenues and more than $1 billion in increased taxes and fees.

The budget raises spending 4.9 percent from the $116 billion spent last year.

The Legislature and Gov. David Paterson agreed to split $1.28 billion for big-ticket items that will likely be supported through bonds, including $46 million for the proposed Advanced Micro Devices chip fab in Malta.

Some of the new revenues close loopholes affecting businesses, but some will hit consumers directly, such as a $1.25 increase on the per-pack tax on cigarettes and $70 million more in assessments on health insurance policies.

Paterson said the budget is imperfect and spending habits will have to change drastically, given the nation's faltering economy.

Laura Anglin, his budget director, could not provide many details -- state work force numbers, new debt estimates or the size of the budget gap that will need to be filled next year.

The state earlier pegged it at $3.6 billion, according to an analysis by rating agency Standard & Poor's.

Critics said not only will there be an imbalance in 2009-2010, a midyear correction may force lawmakers back this year to cut programs, find emergency revenues, or both.

"It's a concern . . . I'd rather be optimistic," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

Education spending rises by $1.75 billion.

Paterson agreed to strip tenure requirements for certain education aid from the budget deal, saying it wasn't fair to base job security on student test scores.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Paterson did "an extraordinary job leading us to this," given that the governor has been in office just 23 days after Eliot Spitzer's resignation.

The Legislature did well, Silver said, to deliver a budget "only nine days late."

Assemblyman James Hayes, R-East Amherst, said the measure needed more paring.

"The money is simply not there," he said, predicting "a crushing blow that will come later."

The budget includes $200 million for community projects for the Senate and Assembly, and for Paterson using unused "member item" funds from past years rather than new money, said Anglin.

She said it isn't feasible to ask the Legislature to reprogram such discretionary funds for more essential needs.

As a result, the final budget bills are laden with member items for such things as Little Leagues, gay and lesbian organizations, food pantries, circuses and ethnic programs.

More and bigger member items are possible: The capital budget includes $350 million for the majority conferences of each chamber to use for economic development.

Silver identified some his projects, such as $25 million for the University of Rochester's Clinical and Transitional Science Building and $15 million for the developing Marcy NanoCenter.

The Senate did not produce a list.

Bruno did tease that an international business will be moving its operations to the Capital Region.

Paterson said he will hold off on spending his $585 million, but ruled out using it on "pork."

Much of his money is already committed under projects announced by Spitzer.

Some of it also is wrapped up in a huge deal set up by Gov. George Pataki in 2006 for Advanced Micro Devices.

The new budget calls for $45 million to fix up Luther Forest Technology Campus with infrastructure upgrades and $1 million for the economic development corporation that runs the campus.

Bruno said the money supplements the $1.2 billion in Pataki-era incentives to lure AMD.

The financially ailing chip manufacturing company proposes a $3.2 billion plant at the Luther Forest site.

Bruno said some of the Senate capital will be for GE Healthcare's move to North Greenbush, for which $10 million is committed.

Another $200 million is earmarked for affordable housing programs and $40 million is set up for grants to the agriculture industry.

The sums are less than Spitzer proposed.

Moreover, Spitzer's $1 billion upstate revitalization initiative was shrunk to a $700 million program.

To support the budget, one-time revenues known as "one shots" are included in $1.52 billion in new funds.

It assumes $250 million from a vendor willing to pay for develop Aqueduct racetrack and run video gaming there.

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

[Livyjr]

"Albany lobbyists enjoy golden year - Record amount spent in 2007 seeking to affect legislative action"

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

First published: Thursday, April 10, 2008

Albany has been very, very good to the lobbying industry, with a record $171.2 million spent in 2007, up some $20 million from the previous year.

All told, 5,357 lobbyists -- about 25 for every legislator -- reported their expenses to the state Commission on Public Integrity.

For the 11th year running, the top lobbyist by income was Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, which took in $9.6 million, followed by Patricia Lynch & Associates at $6.7 million and Bolton St. Johns Inc. with $5.7 million.

Wilson, Elser's clients vary from health care concerns like Albany Medical Center to utilities like National Grid to other organizations, including Norwegian Cruise Line and Catskill Off-Track Betting.

Lynch's clients include Cablevision, the Albany Port District and Coca-Cola.

Bolton's roster includes the SEIU health care workers union and Verizon Wireless.

Health care led interest groups in spending on lobbyists with $26.7 million in expenditures, followed by real estate and construction at $21.3 million.

Education took third place at $13.2 million.

Among individual clients, Verizon spent $3.2 million, followed by the Columbia University trustees at $2.2 million and New York State United Teachers with $2.1 million.

These clients, or interest groups, don't limit their spending to lobbying.

An analysis by the New York Public Interest Research Group, for example, indicated that NYSUT was one of the state's largest campaign contributors, doling out $714,047, followed by the Greater New York Hospital Association at $543,516.

Verizon also gave $157,620 to political candidates.

As a result, Verizon topped the list in combined contributions and lobbying, with almost $3.4 million, followed by NYSUT at $2.8 million.

Also on NYPIRG's so-called "Fat Cat" list of big donors and campaign contributors were the hospital association and the Healthcare Association of New York State, the Medical Society of the state of New York and the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.

NYPIRG Legislative Director Blair Horner noted that these big spenders almost always have business before state lawmakers or regulators, who operate under rules set by the lawmakers.

NYSUT, for instance, was in the news Wednesday for its effort, through the state budget process, to successfully beat back a proposal that would have allowed student test scores to be among the considerations school boards could use in making tenure decisions.

While lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the budget bill that prevented using test scores, a few who favor using the measure spoke their mind.

"No one else brought this to the floor" other than the teachers union, remarked Assemblywoman Barbara Clark, D-Queens, who favored the tenure/testing plan.

Lobbying money is often spent not to make something happen but to block proposals that companies or groups don't like.

Verizon, for example, is among several telecom firms to have fought proposals to let people more easily cancel cellphone contracts.

Such proposals have been debated for several years but have yet to become law, noted Bill Ferris, legislative representative for AARP, which has pushed for such regulations.

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

[Livyjr]

"NY's chief judge is suing state over colleagues' pay"

By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:33 p.m., Thursday, April 10, 2008

NEW YORK -- The state's chief judge sued the state Thursday over its failure to increase judicial salaries.

The lawsuit by Chief Judge Judith Kaye was filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court.

It says that because the state's judges have not had a pay hike since January 1999, their salaries have in effect shrunk by 27 percent.

Kaye's lawyer, Bernard Nussbaum, said it is illegal to reduce a sitting judge's salary, and that is in effect what has happened.

The state budget approved Wednesday by the Legislature includes $48 million for pay raises that would include the judges.

But while that funding is available in the budget, the money can't be spent until the Legislature agrees to a bill that would authorize the raises.

Nussbaum said the state's 1,250 judges sometimes make less than freshman associates in New York City's larger law firms.

The jurists' annual average pay, ranging from $108,800 for a full-time city court judge to Kaye's salary of $156,000, ranks 49th in the nation, the lawyer said.

Nussbaum, a former counsel in the Clinton White House, said he wants state judges to earn the same as federal judges, $169,300 a year.

He said he is asking for a trial on May 14 and has said that he will try to have Gov. David Paterson and other state leaders summoned to testify.

"We're asking for an order that the money be paid," Nussbaum said.

He said this means the court would issue a judgment directing the state treasury, through the comptroller, to pay the judges.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, a Republican, issued a statement saying that rather than suing, judges should step up pressure on the Assembly to act on either of two pay increase bills already approved by the Senate.

A spokesman said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, supports pay raises for judges, agency commissioners and legislators.

While state leaders agree judges' raises are overdue, the issue has been stalled because lawmakers linked it to politically sensitive raises for themselves.

Other state employees have had at least cost-of-living bumps.

Kaye spokesman David Bookstaver said salaries for nonunion court employees are frozen at a maximum of $115,000 so they won't make more than the judges.

Nussbaum said lawmakers in each legislative house have tried to put blame on members of the other, but they are all to blame.

"It's their fault," he said.

He said the lawmakers' linkage of judges' pay to salary hikes for themselves is illegal and has blocked the judges' wage boosts.

Nussbaum, who says he is working on the case for free, said the difference between this lawsuit and two others brought by judges is that this one is being filed by "a separate branch of government," not by Kaye as an individual.

The lawyer said Kaye was able to file it in state court, before a judge who will be affected by the outcome, because of the 500-year-old "rule of necessity."

He said this means that if every available judge would normally be disqualified, then any judge other than the one filing the lawsuit can hear the case.

[Livyjr]

"NY town judge faces censure in ticket fix for Army buddy's wife"

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:03 p.m., Thursday, April 10, 2008

ALBANY -- A divided New York Commission on Judicial Conduct has agreed to merely reprimand an upstate town justice who dismissed a speeding ticket for a deployed soldier's wife, but another commissioner called it "a distorted vision of patriotism" and said the judge should be removed.

Eight commissioners agreed that Farmington Town Justice Morris H. Lew fixed Lori Gilmore's 2005 speeding ticket soon after he received an e-mail from Martin Gilmore in Iraq wondering what could be done.

The men had been in the Army Reserves together.

Afterward, Lew sent Martin Gilmore an e-mail, which said in part:

"The ticket has been dismissed."

"Please consider it a very small token of thanks for your efforts in uniform."

The commission majority said ticket-fixing was a widespread problem across the state in the 1970s before 140 judges were disciplined, and it was "egregious conduct" in this case that would normally warrant a judge's removal.

According to the commission, Lew had quietly taken the case from a fellow town judge and scheduled it quickly without notifying that judge, the ticketing state trooper or Lori Gilmore.

He told the trooper, who happened to be in court that evening, he would dismiss it unless the officer objected.

Six commissioners cited mitigating factors to warrant the lesser punishment of censure: Lew's otherwise umblemished record and his patriotism.

"It is apparent that respondent was motivated in significant part by the desire to provide 'a very small token of thanks' to an acquaintance in the military who was then serving in Iraq."

"While this does not excuse respondent's actions, it appears that his judgment was clouded by that fact and by his desire to make what he viewed as a patriotic gesture," the majority concluded.

The six were Judge Thomas Klonick, attorney Stephen Coffey, Colleen DiPirro, attorney Paul Harding, Judge Karen Peters and Judge Terry Jane Ruderman.

Two commissioners, Judge Jill Konviser and attorney Richard Emery, said Lew should be removed, which had also been the recommendation of commission counsel Robert Tembeckjian.

In his dissent, Emery wrote that Lew simply fixed a ticket for a friend's wife "and removal is the only sanction that is commensurate with the corrosive effect of judicial decision-making perverted by a judge's personal interests."

He also criticized Lew's decision to consider honoring his friend's military service ahead of applying the law evenhandedly and questioned the majority's rationale.

It not only failed as a mitigating circumstance, Emery wrote, it made the action worse.

"What Judge Lew forgot to consider is that his friend in Iraq, as well as many in the armed services, likely believe they are fighting to protect their country and the freedom guaranteed to each of its citizens by the Constitution of the United States," Emery wrote.

"By intentionally violating the basic precepts of due process and equal protection, the judge may have done a favor that even his distorted vision of patriotism should abhor."

Lew could challenge the commission finding before the state Court of Appeals, which could then impose a greater or lesser discipline, Tembeckjian said.

If he doesn't challenge it, the commission's finding will become final in 30 days.

Lew said Thursday he disagrees with the commission finding, but challenging it wouldn't serve any purpose.

"I want my constituents to know I didn't fix any traffic tickets," Lew said.

"The trooper who wrote this ticket chose to dismiss this ticket totally of his own volition without any coercion of any kind."

"I didn't make any attempt whatsoever to influence his decision."

The only similar case recently, where patriotism was the defense, resulted in the removal of a town judge who went to Iraq to work as a contract truck driver for several months in 2005, Tembeckjian said.

The commission unanimously concluded North Hudson Town Justice Glenn Fiore had abandoned the office.

[Livyjr]

"NY budget alters construction law that drove up local taxes"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:23 p.m., Thursday, April 10, 2008

ALBANY -- New York lawmakers have reformed a decades-old law that drove up local property taxes by requiring state and local governments to pay for multiple construction contracts on most public works projects.

The change included in the budget adopted Wednesday will cut New York City's long term construction costs by more than $200 million and upstate governments are also expected to save millions, supporters said.

The Wicks Law dates back to 1921 and was updated in 1961 for state contracts and 1964 for local governments.

It required governments with construction projects valued at $50,000 or more to divide the job into several contracts.

The law, which was intended to protect subcontractors from billing fraud, drove up construction costs, which were then passed onto taxpayers.

The new threshold for triggering the law is $3 million in New York City, $1.5 million in downstate suburbs and $500,000 in upstate New York.

It's the first time the law has been adjusted for inflation since the 1960s.

But Andrew Rudnick, president and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, says the change is not enough.

The partnership is a regional chamber of commerce in western New York and a member of the Unshackle Upstate coalition, which opposes Wicks.

"We were terribly distressed that it was included in the budget bill that was finally passed," Rudnick said.

"The thresholds are very, very low and to create a level for upstate that is two levels lower than that of metro New York is an insult."

Unshackle Upstate would rather see Wicks abandoned altogether, or at least have a threshold of $10 million across the state before it went into effect, he said.

Until that happens the issue will still affect taxpayers, he said.

More than 70 percent of New York's public works projects will be exempt under the new Wicks reforms.

There was a previous deal to change the Wicks Law.

Almost a year ago, legislative leaders and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer publicly agreed to changes as part of a deal involving several issues.

But that deal unraveled as the Democratic governor became embroiled in a political conflict with Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno.

In March, Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal and was succeeded by his lieutenant governor, Democrat David Paterson.

Other budget developments include:

--Higher Education: The budget authorizes $15.5 billion of capital funding for State University of New York and City University of New York System senior colleges and community colleges.

It also authorizes the creation of an endowment for SUNY and CUNY that would provide a permanent source of recurring revenue, but lawmakers haven't figured out how to pay for it yet.

Lawmakers didn't include a tuition increase for SUNY and CUNY schools this year.

--Economic development: The budget allots $1.6 billion in economic development funds, with $700 million going to upstate regions.

That includes projects to develop region-specific techniques to boost local economies.

It also means that $180 million will go to upstate cities to end the gridlock on critical economic development projects.

State parks will get $70 million to help draw residents, tourists, and private investments to natural resources.

--Housing: Affordable housing could be easier to find in New York after a historic $300 million increase in funding for housing programs.

The new funds will help build and preserve affordable housing all across the state and improve state programs that serve the population that most needs housing assistance.

--Mortgage crisis: In an attempt to take on the mortgage crisis that has the national economy reeling, the state budget provides $25 million in grants through the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal.

The money will be dedicated to legal services and financial counseling for homeowners facing default and foreclosure due to unscrupulous practices in the mortgage industry.

------

On the Net: http://www.budget.state.ny.us/

[Livyjr]

"State canceling tax breaks on local projects - Agency that runs Empire Zone program says Troy developer, First Niagara don't meet program criteria"

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, April 10, 2008

SCHENECTADY -- Two local real estate projects are getting their Empire Zone status revoked as part of an effort to hold participants in the state economic development program more accountable.

Empire State Development Corp., the state agency that administers the Empire Zone program, has notified First Niagara Financial Group and Troy developer David Bryce that projects they own in the area face decertification.

Created in 1986, the Empire Zone program provides tax breaks to companies that expand or that create jobs in poor areas with high unemployment.

When former Gov. Eliot Spitzer took office last year, his economic development advisers made it a priority to clean up the program, which consumer advocates had criticized for giving away tax breaks to companies that did little to create new jobs.

The government has also pursued that policy under Gov. David Paterson.

Last summer, the state sent letters to about 3,000 companies across the state, including 230 in the Capital Region, saying that they had fallen short of their Empire Zone commitments.

Earlier this week, ESDC announced that it was moving to decertify 26 companies across the state, including two locally.

The companies have 30 days to request an administrative hearing.

However, it appears that neither Bryce nor First Niagara are fighting decertification.

Bryce's Troy project, known as Hudson River Place LLC, received nearly $200,000 in Empire Zone benefits between 2003 and 2005, according to ESDC records.

Contacted Wednesday, Bryce said that Hudson River Place was a project that ended up being the renovation of just one building at 295 River St., although he originally planned to include more buildings.

He says that he was able to get sales tax breaks by having Empire Zone certification, but he thought the $200,000 figure sounded higher than the benefits he remembered receiving.

He says he isn't fighting the state's move, but he also didn't want to explain exactly what led to his project being curtailed.

"The program is a great program to me," Bryce said.

"I did what I thought I was supposed to do."

"I certainly have no problem with what they are doing."

The state is also moving to decertify a firm in Schenectady known as First Niagara Centre Inc.

That firm is actually the name of a building at 251 State St. owned by First Niagara, which is located in Lockport, a suburb of Buffalo.

First Niagara also has a branch in the building.

First Niagara acquired the building when it bought Hudson River Bancorp in 2005.

Hudson River had received Empire Zone certification for the building in 2001.

ESDC records show that the building's owners received nearly $250,000 in tax benefits between 2003 and 2005.

Steve Strichman, the Empire Zone coordinator for Schenectady, said Wednesday that Hudson River was originally supposed to create three jobs to operate and manage the building, but only one was ever created.

First Niagara has decided to sell the building and has found a buyer, said bank spokeswoman Leslie Garrity.

She declined to name the buyer or the purchase price, but she said the branch would remain in the building.

"We agree that the property no longer qualifies and are comfortable with, and support, Empire State Development's decision," Garrity said.

She added that the buyer will likely not pursue Empire Zone certification.

ESDC spokeswoman Patricia Pitts said that the state will not try to recoup the tax credits decertified companies already claimed under the program, but they will no longer be able to claim them in the future.

Rulison can be reached at 454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Knapp attorney gets adviser role - 'Serpico' case resulted in shake-up; too soon to tell in trooper probe"

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

First published: Thursday, April 10, 2008

ALBANY -- It's too early to say whether Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's recently-launched probe of possible political meddling by the State Police will resemble the Knapp Commission, said Michael Armstrong, the veteran prosecutor who served on the 1970s-era panel that uncovered corruption in the New York City Police Department.

"It really depends on what we find," said Armstrong, who, along with fellow-lawyer Robert Fiske, was named by Cuomo on Wednesday as a volunteer adviser on the State Police probe.

The Knapp Commission in 1972 issued a report outlining systemic corruption among police in the Big Apple.

Prompted in part by testimony from former city cop Frank Serpico, it led to changes, including increased accountability by commanders.

Last week, Gov. David Paterson asked Cuomo to investigate whether members of the State Police have been involved in political interference.

The request came after former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in March amid a prostitution scandal, and followed months of accusations by Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno that Spitzer had used troopers to keep tabs on him.

Armstrong, a partner at the Howrey firm, was chief counsel to the Knapp Commission.

Fiske, a partner at law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, was the first independent counsel in the 1990s Whitewater investigation into land deals involving Bill and Hillary Clinton.

"No two lawyers are better qualified in the country than Robert Fiske and Michael Armstrong," Cuomo said in a statement.

"They have decades of experience and wisdom investigating corruption at the highest levels of government."

Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

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

[Indianhead]

You must live in NY...
your understanding, and interest in the minutia...is overwhelming
to a country-boy like me. I know it's the center of The World...but
it's hard to keep up. If I may ask...every now and then offer the rest of us
your opinion on the national macro situation. It's a viewpoint I can not approach.

[Livyjr]

Good morning, America .....

And the candid world, as well ....

My name is Livyjr ....

And way back when ....

In the opening days of this forum .....

Right after the November 2004 elections, to be exact ....

I was reading a book entitled The Power of Many by Christian Crumlish ....

Who himself had experience with the use of the internet as a real professional "tool" for communications among separate and disparate groups of people in the world during the Dean Campaign ....

And one of the many points that he made to me in that book ....

Was the level of difficulty that the Dean campaign had in translating communications on the internet ....

INTO ACTION ....

Out there in the REAL WORLD ....

And being an older American myself ....

Although far from the oldest in here .....

Where at least two members are in their eighties ...

I have a lot of thoughts ....

ON WHERE OUR AMERICA is going ....

And by that, I don't mean with respect to how people look or dress or talk ....

Since those things are always changing, anyway ....

Rather, my concerns have to do with that thing called CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT ....

Here in OUR America .....

Which I do not believe ....

From my interactions with my fellow Americans over time ....

Is very well understood ....

And here ....

I mean the fact ....

(OR IS IT, REALLY, ANY LONGER?)

That OUR state and federal CONSTITUTIONS ....

ARE ACTUALLY LAWS .....

ORGANIC LAWS .....

That bind OUR governments .....

State and federal, as well as local ....

To certain STANDARDS OF CONDUCT .....

ON BEHALF OF US ....

The PEOPLE of OUR America .....

Today ....

If you went up to someone ....

And you said to them ....

"You know, we really are the government here in OUR America ..."

Many of them would immediately make warding gestures .....

As if you were the devil out to tempt them ....

And they would likely say, "LEAVE ME OUT OF THAT ..."

"I DON'T WANT TO BE INVOLVED ..."

And that would be that .....

Literally ....

End of the conversation ....

AND PERHAPS ....

As a result ....

THE END OF CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT ....

Here in OUR America ...

And perhaps, America .....

IT REALLY IS TIME FOR THAT, I SUPPOSE ......

PERHAPS THERE REALLY ARE TOO MANY OF US ....

FOR ANY OF US TO HAVE A SAY, ANYMORE ....

AND PERHAPS, AMERICA ....

WE REALLY DO NEED TO BE RULED ....

BY RULERS WITHOUT CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS PLACED ON THEM ....

SINCE WE JUST MAY BE TOO IGNORANT .....

TO PLAY ANY ROLE IN SELF-GOVERNMENT, ANYMORE ....

And so .....

That is the THEME of this particular thead .....

Which I am starting up at this time ....

Because I did not want to try and deal with this issue over in my Life in OUR America thread ....

Which is really concerned with the "flow" of life .....

Here in OUR America ....

And the world ....

As it is happening ...

And so .....

Is more dynamic ....

Than this thread intends to be ....

And so ....

In this thread ....

I am going to be taking news items from the State of New York ....

Where I reside ....

On the subject of GOVERNMENTAL REFORM ....

Which is THE SUBJECT today in the State of New York .....

WHICH IS ONE OF THE LEAST DEMOCRATIC STATES IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY ....

MORE RESEMBLING SOME EASTERN EUROPEAN NATION DURING THE 1930's and early-1940's ....

Romania or Hungary, perhaps ....

Than a MODERN AMERICAN STATE ....

WITH A CONSTITUTION ....

Intended to secure the BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY ...

To the people of the State ....

And so ....

You must live in NY...

I live where I have lived since 1949, Indianhead ....

With some time out to be in different places from time to time, like Viet Nam ...

And the long journey home after that ....

And when I was in the Army and someone asked me where I was from, I would invariably answer either "upstate" or "from the country" ....

Because if you said you were from New York, automatically people assumed that that meant New York City ....

And I am about as far from New York City in my mind that a person could be ....

And so ...

That serves to define me in here a bit, I hope ....

My point of view on things ....

As I said back in the beginnings of this particular thread, this is about citizenship in here, in part ....

Or more properly, maybe it could be said that it is about an older country person from upstate New York pondering and musing about citizenship in America these days out here in the vastness of CYBERSPACE ....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

Your understanding, and interest in the minutia...is overwhelming to a country-boy like me.

Back in 1969, Indianhead, in Viet Nam, where I started out as an infantryman near the Cambodian border north and west of Saigon, south of Tay Ninh, I was called in one day before a board of NCO's for a promotional board ....

And they were asking me questions such as WHO was the Chancellor of Germany at that time ....

And when I heard that question, I said WHAT?

The Chancellor of Germany?

You have to be kidding me ....

But they weren't, of course ...

It was their belief that as an American citizen and an NCO in its Army, you should know something about the world that you are in and how you might fit into it ....

Or not ....

Since that is really a big part of what wars are all about ....

Somebody not fitting into somebody else's belief system, and then doing something about it through force of arms, instead of merely bitching ....

And I couldn't disagree with them, Indianhead, because that is how I was brought up myself ....

To know about the world that we are a part of and how it might have come to be the way that it is at any given moment in time ....

And by that logic, even though I was an infantryman, I should have had an idea who the Chancellor of Germany was back then ....

And so ....

All I can say in here, Indianhead, is that in some way, these posts in here are relevant as background to something that is on-going around me up here, or else I would not have posted them ....

And this all goes back to that book The Power of Many by Christian Crumlish that I make mention of at the beginning of this thread ....

And it is a question of BACKGROUND ....

What is it that is going on around me here in the world that has me thinking the way that I am thinking in here in what is an international forum read by not only people in America, but Europe and Japan as well?

And so ....

That is why the minutia about life in a particular place in upstate New York in the north-east of the United States of America is in here ....

To paint a permanent backdrop that I can keep coming back to in the future as more things yet unfold, to connect that future logically to a preserved past in here that is public record, and not merely my unsupported opinion ....

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY ....

And so ...

[Livyjr]

I know it's the center of The World...but it's hard to keep up.

Believe me, Indianhead, I am having trouble keeping up in here as well, with the pace at which things have been developing, not only here in NYS, but in America at the same time, and in the world, as well, all of which is interconnected in a way like never before ....

And it is certainly interconnected today in ways totally unlike anything that existed back in the times of the GREAT DEPRESSION ...

And so ....

In that regard, you have company, which is me ....

And I'm up here where this stuff is happening ...

And I still can't keep up with it ...

And so ...

And New York certainly is not the center of the world, Indianhead ....

Far from it ....

Although bankers and politicians like the PROSTITUTE USER and ex-governor of New York Eliot Spitzer would like all of us to believe that New York City is the CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE and FINANCIAL CAPITAL of the world ....

Which I think is HUBRIS ON THE HOOF, Indianhead, with my more conservative upstate country values where you don't brag, and you keep your advantages concealed, rather than flaunt them in your neighbor's face ....

And so ...

I think myself that New York City has gotten above its raising, as we countryfolks would say ...

Everyday, it breaks its arm vigorously patting itself on the back over how great a city it is supposed to be ....

And in the meantime, it is just a big city going to seed ....

Past its prime ....

Like Rome after Constantine departed .....

And so ....

WALL STREET has become a very dangerous place, Indianhead, when the DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR and EXCESSIVE GREED of a handful of lawyers and bankers on a short street only a handful of blocks long down in lower Manhattan can jeopardize the lives of countless thousands of people all over the world who were not GAMBLERS themselves and did not invest in the FOOL'S GAME known as the stock market ...

And so ....

Since Wall Street and what goes on in the world today are so interconnected, of necessity, a part of that story is being told in here ...

And a part is being told in Life in OUR America ....

And sometimes those parts intertwine and intermesh ....

And sometimes they appear to be separate .....

And in many cases, it is only the passge of further time that allows me to draw all the connections ...

Since I don't really engage in speculation on the internet ....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

If I may ask...every now and then offer the rest of us your opinion on the national macro situation.

And to further "set the stage", as it were .....

For the initial direction that this thread would like to set off in ....

Some time back ....

In June of 2006 .....

I received an e-mail entitled Subject: SCARY - How Long Do We Have .....

And it goes like this ....

This is very interesting and a worth while read ....

The statistics on this are mind boggling!!!

About the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, in 1787 ...

Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh ....

Had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government."

"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury."

"From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years."

"During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;

2. From spiritual faith to great courage;

3. From courage to liberty;

4. From liberty to abundance;

5. From abundance to complacency;

6. From complacency to apathy;

7. From apathy to dependence;

8. From dependence back into bondage .."

The e-mail then goes on with some alleged analysis from alleged Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St.Paul, Minnesota ....

And my response to the sender of this e-mail to me was that in America ....

At least at the federal level .....

BECAUSE OF THIS ....

WE DON'T HAVE A DEMOCRACY .....

WE HAVE A CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC .....

And so .....

BUT DO WE REALLY, ANYMORE?

And what about at the state level?

And so ....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

January 18, 2008

"GOVERNOR SPITZER LEADS FIRST MEETING OF COMMISSION TO MODERNIZE REGULATION OF FINANCIAL SERVICES - Commission Discusses Regulatory Reform to Help Maintain New York’s Status as World Financial Capital and Ensure the Highest Standards of Consumer Protection for New Yorkers"

Governor Eliot Spitzer today hosted the first formal meeting of the Commission to Modernize the Regulation of Financial Services, which includes heads of major financial services organizations, consumer advocates, the business community, legislators and regulators.

The commission discussed an innovative proposal to institute principles-guided regulation in New York along with other potential reforms.

The United Kingdom and other international markets are moving to principle-based regulation, which focuses on broad guidelines.

“Modernizing regulation of financial services is first and foremost about keeping New York the financial capital of the world,” said Governor Spitzer.

http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/0118081.html

"UK govt outlines Northern Rock plans"

By JANE WARDELL, Associated Press

Last updated: 3:02 p.m., Monday, February 18, 2008

LONDON -- Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government faced accusations of mismanagement Monday as it began nationalizing stricken mortgage lender Northern Rock PLC -- the first time in 20 years that a private company has been taken into public ownership.

The opposition Conservative Party said Britain's reputation as a major financial services center had been dealt a serious blow.

"The nationalization of Northern Rock is a disaster for the British taxpayer, a disaster for this government and a disaster for our country," said Conservative Party leader David Cameron.

On the defensive Monday, Brown and his successor in the treasury office, Alistair Darling, disputed that Britain's international reputation has been tarnished.

"What we don't accept is that London or Britain has been uniquely affected by world events," Brown said, referring to the credit troubles that swept global markets in the late summer and led Northern Rock to seek emergency funding from the Bank of England, triggering Britain's first bank run in 150 years.

London would remain the world's "pre-eminent financial center," Darling added.

Senator Hugh T. Farley, Chair of the Banking Committee said:

“New York remains the center of the global financial universe."

http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/0118081.html

I wish it were that easy, Indianhead ....

One time in 1969, in Viet Nam, I was sitting on a rice paddy dike, and there was a small Vietnamese boy sitting there with me ...

And out of the clear blue, he asked me, "What is it with you Americans?"

And we ended up having ourselves a conversation about that very question .....

And this was over in Viet Nam ....

And the boy, well, he was serious .....

He wanted to know why we slept out in the mud like animals .....

And why we never had enough to eat .....

And why we were even there, living like that .....

What kind of conquerors live worse off than those they have conquered?

That is what this small boy wanted to know .....

And I had no answer back then, Indianhead ....

No answer at all ....

And I still don't .....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

"Budget built on borrowing, fees - $121.7B spending plan also depends on taxes and one-time revenues"

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

First published: Thursday, April 10, 2008

ALBANY -- Lawmakers completed a $121.7 billion state budget Wednesday that includes substantial borrowing and that budget critics say is precariously balanced on one-time revenues and more than $1 billion in increased taxes and fees.

The budget raises spending 4.9 percent from the $116 billion spent last year.

The Legislature and Gov. David Paterson agreed to split $1.28 billion for big-ticket items that will likely be supported through bonds, including $46 million for the proposed Advanced Micro Devices chip fab in Malta.

Assemblyman James Hayes, R-East Amherst, said the measure needed more paring.

"The money is simply not there," he said, predicting "a crushing blow that will come later."

The new budget calls for $45 million to fix up Luther Forest Technology Campus with infrastructure upgrades and $1 million for the economic development corporation that runs the campus.

Bruno said the money supplements the $1.2 billion in Pataki-era incentives to lure AMD.

"AMD cuts follow Intel restructuring"

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press

Last updated: 1:03 a.m., Tuesday, April 8, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s plans to jettison 10 percent of its work force are the latest sign that the seesaw battle between semiconductor rivals Intel Corp. and AMD has taken its toll on both companies.

The news comes as momentum in the notoriously volatile semiconductor industry has turned for the moment against AMD, whose own momentum just a couple of years ago was a major factor in a major restructuring by Intel.

AMD had not been a player in the lucrative server market until the company launched its first Opteron chip in 2003.

Armed with the energy-efficient chip, AMD stole away valuable market share from Intel and eventually captured about a quarter of the worldwide server market.

The competition hurt Intel, whose profits slid sharply, the result of losing customers to AMD and furiously cutting prices to keep older chips competitive.

But now it's AMD that's fallen on hard times as it confronts intensifying competition from Intel, which has regained some lost market share with a powerful line of new chips and has lowered its costs with a new manufacturing process.

Meanwhile, some of AMD's most important products are viewed as out-of-date.

"AMD's chief technology officer resigns"

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:22 p.m., Friday, April 11, 2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s top technology executive is stepping down as the world's No. 2 microprocessor maker tries to recover from a sales slump triggered by prolonged product delays and tougher competition.

The Sunnyvale-based company said Friday that Chief Technology Officer Phil Hester's resignation is not connected to AMD's financial woes or its recently announced 10 percent reduction of its global work force.

Hester joined the company in 2005 after working for more than two decades at IBM Corp. and was responsible for crafting AMD's technological roadmap over the past three years.

Spokesman Rob Keosheyan declined to give further details about Hester's departure, except to say the position won't be filled because each of AMD's key business units now has its own chief technology officer -- a structure Hester helped establish.

Hester's exit comes as AMD battles to reverse steep losses and fend off a resurgent Intel Corp., AMD's much-larger rival which lost substantial market share to AMD a couple years ago as customers demanded more energy-efficient chips, but has since regained its competitive footing.

AMD continues to be hurt by Intel's new product lineup, technical glitches that have delayed its own products, and heavy costs related to its $5.6 billion acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI Technologies.

AMD's stock has reflected investors' souring sentiment, falling from over $40 in 2006 to around $6 today.

AMD shares fell 26 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $6.01 Friday, a down day for many technology stocks.

One of AMD's biggest problems over the past year has been getting its new Opteron server chip -- a key to its financial recovery -- into the hands of customers.

The company's first Opteron chip in 2003 gave AMD an entrance into the lucrative server market and helped AMD steal customers from Intel.

Technical glitches in the latest generation of the chips, however, delayed their full rollout by about 8 months after their official September launch.

The new Opteron chips only became widely available this week, when AMD announced that Hewlett-Packard Co. had started shipping machines with the chips inside them.

Keosheyan said Hester's office did not oversee product development -- which is the responsibility of the individual business units, which report to the CEO through different executives -- so he was not responsible for the Opteron delays.

Hester was instrumental in developing AMD's strategy around so-called "accelerated computing," or teaming the microprocessor, or brain of personal computers and servers, with specialized processors to boost performance for certain tasks.

Keosheyan said that initiative will continue.

AMD lost more than $3 billion in 2007 on $6 billion in sales, and warned earlier this week that first-quarter sales were lower than expected across all business lines.

AMD also announced that it planned to cut 10 percent of its global work force, or about 1,600 workers out of 16,800 worldwide, in a major restructuring that's expected to be completed by September.

Intel, meanwhile, has fared better, in part because its larger size has allowed it to better absorb deep price cuts and it has made the quicker transition to a manufacturing process that lowers the cost of making each chip.

Last year the company earned almost $7 billion on more than $38 billion in sales, as it completed a major restructuring of its own triggered by the intensifying competition with AMD.

Intel cut about 10,500 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, in a move to save about $3 billion a year.