After all, there are lots of "homegrown" things - and as we move on into the future, making as much of the energy needed for us to live as close to where we live will become increasingly important. That's just one of the consequences of "Peak Oil" and "Peak Oil Exports" - more and more people will be bidding on stagnant or decreasing supplies, forcing prices up, and requiring a lot more blood, sweat and/or tears to pay for oil and oil products, like gasoline, diesel and kerosene (jet fuel). And as for electricity...well, exporting money to import electricity, or fuels to make that electricity may also be a huge burden to our economy, for similar reasons. And as most know, it tends to get cold (not as much so as in the past due to Global Warming, but cold enough to freeze to death); staying sufficiently warm is not only life or death, but also a matter of quality of life.
In last Sunday's Times-Union, Fred LeBrun discussed the bad news about park closures.
The fine print says this list "assumes $4 million in park and historic site fee increases that will be identified at a later date, and the use of $5 million in funds from the Environmental Protection Fund. ..."
What this means is that the current list of closures is a preliminary one. It assumes money will be available that right now isn't available. That means that the closure list could grow. As I pointed out in an earlier diary, that's not the entire story. The Department of Environmental Conservation runs a system that would be called a major park system in any other state. The division that operates and maintains that system is slated for an 18% budget cut, and will have 80% of the slated personnel cuts for the Department.
Not only is the parks situation worse than you may have thought, there's a chance it could be even worse. Even though some parks may be saved, the overall picture for state parks still does not look good. The future for many of them is a bleak one.
Eric Massa is actually using his vote AGAINST the House Health Care Bill (the one WITH the public option, btw) to raise money! I kid you not. From an emailed invitation:
"Eric Massa, elected to the Congress in 2008 for the first time from a rural district in Western New York State, has become one of the foremost advocates for single payer national health care this year. Together with John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich, he was present to lead every event organized by Physicians for a National Health Program and the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care. And, when it came time for the Congress to vote, Eric Massa was one of just two progressive Democrats - the stalwart Dennis Kucinich was the other - to vote against the House health care bill because it failed to provide real reform of our crumbling health care system
I can only think of two motivations for Massa to vote against the HCR bill. The first is, as he claims, the desire for purity. Sure, we'd all like a single-payer system. But that just ain't gonna happen right now. To vote against the fairly progressive house bill is just stupidity because if we pass HCR with a strong public option, it sets the stage for single-payer the next time we revisit the issue.
The second motivation is one Massa would never admit- that he was elected in a squeaker last time and he is scared to vote for the huge Democratic agenda (also see his vote on the energy bill). This may be the case, but we'll never know.
But the point is that both of these motivations are stupid. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt- that his motivation is purity- shows he has a sad detachment from the reality of governing. For both Healthcare and Energy, we replaced Randy Kulh in congress to get Randy Kuhl's voting record on the Democrats' agenda. Not cool. And using your opposition to the Democrats' agenda to raise money? Perhaps it's time to start looking for a primary challenger for Massa.
As our Legislature continues its President's Week vacation as an a matter of right, and as our Governor announces he'll seek election in his own right, I found myself loathing to discover a perfect reason for not casting my ballot for any of them.
It appears that in order to "save money," Governor Paterson has, behind closed doors, slated a slew of State Parks for closure. Not to diminish the effects of these proposed shut-downs across the state, but rather to illustrate how each closure affects each individual New Yorker, one of these knifings stabbed right at my heart. Albany Times Union columnist Fred LeBrun brought this to my attention this past Sunday in a piece entitled State Parks Make Hit List:
Two lists of possible state park and historic site closures made necessary by Gov. David Paterson's proposed 2010-11 state budget finally have been prepared by senior staff at the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the governor's office.
::
Say goodbye to the venerable John Boyd Thacher State Park in the Helderbergs, for example, as bizarre as that sounds. At this point, it will take extraordinary measures to save it. Once closed, who knows when it reopens?
Emphasis by me -SP
For more on how this hits home for me personally - and therefore, how this is important to everyone in our State - click "There's more..."
Several years ago, I moved back to my childhood home in the Adirondacks. Although my career led me into different paths, my degrees were in environmental science, and I've always been interested - and active - in environmental advocacy. What I learned shortly after arriving was that "environmentalist" was a dirty word. If you talked to the residents, you found that they were deeply concerned about environmental issues. Acid rain, mercury from coal, water pollution, invasive species, wildlife conservation, and health of the forests were all things they cared about. So why would "environmentalist" have such a negative meaning? Because of the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and various environmental advocacy groups.
Last month the Glens Falls Post-Star had a series on some of the problems, which show why this attitude exists.
Gov. David Paterson's proposed state budget calls for $29 million in spending cuts at New York's 35 historic sites and 135 state parks, including Moreau Lake State Park and Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs.
This is just the latest in a series of cuts. Over the past 18 months, the parks budget has been cut by 40%. In addition to the cuts to the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historical Preservation (OPRHP), the Department of Environmental Conservation is also looking at more cuts.
I worked very hard during the last year to convince the Obama Administration that making high speed rail investments in Western New York was smart. So I was excited this week to learn that President Obama will direct $151 million dollars for New York as a down-payment on a larger project to connect cities across the country with new modern rail.
This announcement in high-speed rail funding is a huge victory for New York. High-speed rail will bring thousands of new jobs to New York and it will connect Upstate to New York to Cleveland and Chicago to the west, to Toronto and Montreal to the north and make travel across the state much easier. In short this is good for New York's businesses, workers, universities, partners in trade, and it's good for the environment.
Yesterday, in the span of about an hour, I had the opportunity to speak to my Republican State Senator when I bumped into him and also with my Democratic Assemblyman at a town Democratic committee meeting.
No, I don't think I particularly want to name them. What I said to them is more or less mostly appropriate to say to pretty much every member (or at least every Upstate member) of the Legislature from both parties.
I've thought about what I said-- mostly, while I had been thinking of these issues for a while, the comments themselves were more or less impromptu.
I have a good friend who joined the Bureau a couple years ago. One of the things he says to his kids when they start misbehaving is "Be A Leader". If I had to sum up what I feel our Legislators and Governor need to do right now, that's it: Be A Leader.
We are halfway through a story that is about to turn winter in one of the most beautiful places in the world profoundly ugly.
Just like in a Cecil B. DeMille movie, we have a cast of millions, we have epic scenery, and we have made acquaintance with someone who will go on to perform a heroic act.
Unlike your typical Hollywood production, however, this movie is not going to have a happy ending-in fact, you could make the argument that it's not over yet.
So wrap yourself up in something comfortable, grab something to drink...and when you're ready, we're packing up and heading to the Alps.
We have another one of those "amazing history" stories for you today-and this one's a real doozy.
We're going to spend the better part of four years in the Italian Alps (or, to be more accurate, what was intended to be the Italian Alps), and by the time we're done, nearly 400,000 soldiers will have been killed-and 60,000 of those will have died as a result of avalanches that were set by one side or the other.
In the middle of the story: a mountaineer and soldier who was so highly regarded that even those who fought against him accorded him the highest honors they could muster, creating a legend that lives on to this very day.
And even though a young Captain Erwin Rommel fought in these battles...it's not him.
Oh, by the way: did I mention that there are also some handy object lessons for anyone who might be thinking about fighting a war in Afghanistan?
Well, there are, Gentle Reader, so follow along, and let's all learn something today.
Whether you are deliriously happy, incredibly sad, or still uncertain about how you feel about what has emerged from the House this weekend, it's probably safe to say that one thing everyone is...is sick of the whole thing.
Of course, we're far from done-but just to give us all a break, I'm going to abruptly change the subject.
I have a Flip Video camera-which I am still getting used to-and last night we ran up the hill to Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, ostensibly to test the camera's low-light capabilities...but really so we could drive around in all the fresh new snow.
There's plenty of time to get back to the political wars in a bit; but for right now let's head up the mountain, see some cool stuff, talk about what the camera can-and can't-do, and, just for fun, we'll answer the age-old Seattle question: "how long does it take to find three places that sell espresso at the top of a mountain pass in the middle of nowhere?"
NY Teabag Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long made an appearance on Hardball this Friday and did his best Sarah Palin impersonation, i.e. not saying anything of substance about ANYTHING.
After Albany Common Councilman Corey Ellis gave Mayor Jerry Jennings the hardest challenge to his authority of his career last month, it remained to be seen whether or not this small defeat could be turned into a greater victory. Or a repeat of history. The usual thing to do against an incumbent like Jennings after even a narrow Democratic Primary defeat is to step aside and just let the Mayor win.
After some weeks of "mulling" whether or not to continue the campaign on the Working Families Party line, leaving progressives wondering what October would bring, and after some fundraising efforts were made, supporters of change in Albany got their answer as to what October will bring today. The Ellis campaign announced the following today:
As Corey Ellis continues his campaign for Mayor through to the General Election on Tuesday, November 3rd, he is urging people to join with him as he addresses Albany City budget issues. Corey has advocated the need for transparent and accountable government throughout his campaign for Mayor. The budget presented by the Mayor last week makes it clearer than ever that we need a change in leadership in Albany.
The first opportunity to be involved is to attend the Albany Common Council caucus today, Monday, October 5 at 5:30 PM in the 2nd Floor courtroom in Albany City Hall.
In the latest of his ongoing series, "Run County Government like a Business", County Executive Chris Collins declares the US Justice Department suit over conditions at the Holding Center frivolous and blames it on liberal Civil Rights people.
Now, another key to strengthening education, entrepreneurship, and innovation in communities like Troy is to harness the full power of the Internet, and that means faster and more widely available broadband, as well as rules to ensure that we preserve the fairness and openness that led to the flourishing of the Internet in the first place. So today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is announcing a set of principles to preserve an open Internet in which all Americans can participate and benefit. And I'm pleased that he's taking that step. That's an important role that we can play, laying the ground rules to spur innovation. That's the role of government -- to provide investment that spurs innovation and also to set up common-sense ground rules to ensure that there's a level playing field for all comers who seek to contribute their innovations.
So today, my administration is releasing our strategy to foster new jobs, new businesses, and new industries by laying the groundwork and the ground rules to best tap our innovative potential. This work began with the recovery plan that we passed several months ago, which devoted well over $100 billion to innovation, from high-tech classrooms to health information technology, from more efficient homes to more fuel-efficient cars, from building a smart electricity grid to laying down high-speed rail.
But our efforts don't end there. For this strategy is about far more than just recovery -- it's about sustained growth and widely shared prosperity. And it's rooted in a simple idea: that if government does its modest part, there's no stopping the most powerful and generative economic force that the world has ever known, and that is the American people.
Our strategy begin where innovation so often does: in the classroom and in the laboratory -- and in the networks that connect them to the broader economy. These are the building blocks of innovation: education, infrastructure, research.
The weather was indeed fine today. Started out a little chilly as appropriate for mid-September but warmed up nicely. And Hey! No rain!
Much has been made already of the normally obligatory and non-noteworthy introductions. President Obama opened by recognizing the various New York pols in attendance. But given White House intervention in state politics, specifically asking Gov. Paterson not to run for re-election, these introductions tell their own story.
We've got some special guests here that I want to acknowledge, in addition to Jill. First of all, a wonderful man, the governor of the great state of New York -- David Paterson is in the house. (Applause.) Your shy and retiring Attorney General -- Andrew Cuomo is in the house. (Applause.) Andrew is doing great work enforcing the laws that need to be enforced.
It's long folks but... He's the Man! So it is worth it.
11:57 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you! Hello, Hudson Valley! (Applause.) Thank you very much. Everybody, please have a seat. Thank you. Thank you very much. What a wonderful reception. It is great to be here. Thanks for whoever organized the weather. (Laughter.)
I want to, first of all, say thank you to Jill Biden, who has been a teacher for almost three decades and she's spent most of that time in community colleges. She understands, as all of you do, the power of these institutions to prepare students for 21st century jobs, and to prepare America for a 21st century global economy. And that's what's happening right here at Hudson Valley Community College. So give yourselves a big round of applause. (Applause.)
We've got some special guests here that I want to acknowledge, in addition to Jill. First of all, a wonderful man, the governor of the great state of New York -- David Paterson is in the house. (Applause.) Your shy and retiring Attorney General -- Andrew Cuomo is in the house. (Applause.) Andrew is doing great work enforcing the laws that need to be enforced.
Various local and state politicians came wandering in. State Senator Neil Breslin, Assemblyman Jack McEneny, Albany Mayoral Candidate Corey Ellis, Former Congressman Mike McNulty, Assemblyman Ron Canastrari were among the early arrivals.
11:06 and announcement that the program will begin momentarily. In come various politicians that had been at the airport waiting for the President. Congressmen Maurice Hinchey, Paul Tonko, and Scott Murphy. Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, State Senator John Sampson, Governor David Paterson and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Paterson and Cuomo sat near each other but with a couple folks between them. I did not see them speak with each other but it is possible I missed it from the angle I had.
Interesting thing about the President of the United States...
Walking onto the campus of Hudson Valley Community College it appeared to be just another day on campus. The school has grown a lot since I took a couple night classes there roughly 20 years ago.
I parked off campus and walked a few blocks to get there. Williams Rd along the south side was blocked off. Rt. 4 along the front was moving along slowly. Police presence was obvious but not overwhelming.
Lining up along both roads were plenty of pink t-shirts and more than a few friendly faces I know in the area. Only as I entered the campus did I see one obvious teabagger wearing a "Tyranny Response Team" jacket and carrying some sort of banner not yet unfurled.
