the albany project - Recent Comments

It IS remarkable...

Waterloo Native — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:29:00 GMT

...that Koch can get in on the right side of this argument. Problem is...the establishment (him and others like him) IS the problem. None of these so-called "reformers" should be allowed to step a foot within a hundred miles of Albany.

Call a state constitutional convention. Limit terms...retro-actively. Limit money to a MAX of $2,000 per registered voter in a district. Require a balanced budget...each year.

That should eliminate the needs for the many palaces of government in Albany.

Well, I'd still vote for my Assemblywoman

neroden — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:43:27 GMT

Lifton isn't perfect but she was crucial in getting verified voting laws passed (among other things).

The Senate? Maybe some of the Democrats are OK -- Squadron at least has a bit of a good rep -- but around here we've been gerrymandered out. Seward is basically senile, Nozzolio is well-meaning but very very stupid, and Winner is one of the most evil monsters in the State Senate.

Possibly drinking?

neroden — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:38:57 GMT

That's not uncommon and would explain everything.

We could do a lot worse. n/t

neroden — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:37:03 GMT

GAAP's a mess, but it can't be worse than this.

neroden — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:36:34 GMT

Unfortunately, given the shenanigans played by major corporations with GAAP, I don't think it really helps with honest accounting.

However, the homebrewed "shuffle things between boxes" cash accounting used by the state government seems to be such a mess that GAAP can't be worse. I doubt it will be better.

GAAP is on the way out due to its tendency to promote accounting scams. We should ACTUALLY be going to IFRS, the International Financial Report Standards. They're "principles-based" instead of "box-ticking", which means that there's no such thing as "obeying the letter but not the spirit".

Independent accountants auditing the books are definitely a good idea. If they were auditing IFRS-based books it would be much better, as they would be obliged to report any violations of principles of accounting.

But Paine didn't oppose government in general.

neroden — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:27:57 GMT

He didn't think the Constitution was the right way to go about it (and frankly, it has some massive flaws and probably wasn't the right way to go about it).

Thanks for targeting Bloomberg.

neroden — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:25:56 GMT

At the very least, the CITY, which is in charge of the schools, should be paying for the student Metrocards.

So, Ed...

Cliff Hendroval — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:21:58 GMT

...if you're so big on cutting spending, how about starting with your pension?

We might just have to

robinia — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:37:30 GMT

reach back in time a ways to find somebody who can legitimately say they haven't been a part of the problems...

and also

robinia — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:36:09 GMT

Kathleen Rice (Nassau County DA) and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky.

A couple of Erics

Jackbx — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:30:01 GMT

Eric Schneiderman and Eric Dinallo

speaking of AG candidates...

paco — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:22:52 GMT

...does anyone know which Democrats are considering a run for Attorney General if Andrew Cuomo decides to run for governor, as expected?

Depends on who's running

Dan Jacoby — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:19:35 GMT

If Monserrate gets the ass-kicking he so richly deserves (politically speaking, of course), he won't have time to get up off the mat for the Assembly election, which will almost certainly be a special. Meanwhile, it'll be Francisco Moya vs. Bryan Pu-Folkes vs. whoever the Republicans put up (Helen Sears again?).

Not really

Dan Jacoby — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:17:34 GMT

You can get a permit to use megaphones, or you can just do it as part of a campaign. Campaign speech is usually given far wider latitude than anything else.

Another example of campaign speech being given more freedom is the posters the campaigns put up on lampposts and other poles. They're all illegal, but if a candidate is doing an appearance the posters are allowed during and just before the appearance -- and of course the posters are up all day on election day. As long as the campaign takes the posters down after the candidate's appearance or after the polls close on election day, there are generally no fines given out.

Meanwhile, I think that a truck with loudspeakers is a waste of money. Everyone who might vote already knows who Monserrate is and what they think of him, and most of the likely voters are voting for Peralta. The last thing the campaign should want is to alert everyone that there is an election today; they should want a "don't get out the vote" effort to suppress voting by those who won't be voting for him.

We Start Today

ROSALIE907 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:26:01 GMT

When Monserrate is defeated. I'm all for removing all members in Albany and starting over but I do have to ask, is Koch relevant?