State Lawmakers Give Themselves a Raise During Recession

Governor Paterson reports that we might run out of money to fix the state's roads. He says we're 3 billion dollars in debt. That didn't stop Bill Stachowski and his fellow state lawmakers from quietly increasing their per diem spending from $160 to $171/day. This was really a pay increase since they get to keep the difference of whatever they don't spend on meals and lodging each day. It adds up to a more than $5,000.00/year increase for each lawmaker. Stachowski,Sam Hoyt and the rest of the Albany phonies are all saying it's a federally mandated increase. What a bunch of garbage. They have the power to decline this money if they wanted to. Several other states have no per diem expense for their lawmakers, but not NY. Don't worry. We can afford it. Where we're going, we don't need roads.



Reports the Albany Times Union:
Members will be receiving higher per diems, the stipends they get for travel expenses such as hotels and meals outside their home districts.
Starting this month, lawmakers staying in Albany will get $171 per day, up from $160 -- an increase of nearly 7 percent.
They'll get that amount no matter how much they spend. If their meal and hotel costs are lower, they keep the change. (Expenses for transportation -- such as train tickets or car mileage -- are reimbursed separately).

Related Links
My Unbalanced Opinions: Please Recall This Guy

State Union President Wants to Limit School Choice

This was a hilarious article in today's news. The New York State United Teachers Union President Richard Iannuzzi says Buffalo has reached it's "saturation point" for charter schools. Charter school enrollment has reached 10% in Buffalo. Iannuzzi says it shouldn't exceed 5-8% of traditional school enrollment. Apparently, he picked these numbers out of a hat one day while sitting high up in his ivory tower.

Charter schools in the city work. They are providing parents with a choice for their children's education. They provide a better education than the traditional schools despite being given a fraction of what the Buffalo Public Schools are given. Kids at my school come from some very poor families. Yet, from the time they arrive in Kindergarten until they graduate in 8th grade, they know there are expectations and standards. The parents have to be involved also. They know students demonstrating a lack of respect towards adults or fellow students will be removed. Shockingly, these kids can read and write and are mostly all end up going to good high schools upon graduation.

In the Buffalo Public Schools, there are low standards when it comes to parental involvement and school violence. A few years ago, four students from Performing Arts beat up someone (I can't remember whether it was a teacher or student). Not only were they allowed back, Superintendent Williams took all of them to the Buffalo Chophouse after their graduation. Don't worry. He didn't pay for their meal. You and I did! It was in his contract to have so much money to spend there. I don't know what's wrong with Emerson High School's restaurant that Williams couldn't spend our money there.

Iannuzzi thinks we need to start holding charter schools to a higher standard. How about holding the traditional schools to any standards? If a charter school doesn't work, they will lose their charter. If a Buffalo public school doesn't work, they simply change the name of the building. What a joke. This guy is desperate. Peter Murphy, a spokesman for the New York State Charter Schools sums it up when he says Iannuzzi is "about the adults (teachers). That's what his job is."
Too many charter schools here, union leader says*

Related Links
My Unbalanced Opinions: Williams Calls For Moratorium On Charter Schools

Top Eleven Most Annoying Pro Athletes

The following is a list of my eleven most annoying professional athletes. Some are retired. Others are currently active. They are in no particular order and are subject to change. Check tomorrow and the list might change as I might be forgetting some.



11. Peyton Manning- Does this guy have to be on every commercial from September until January. He's a very good quarterback but not a good actor. His act has gotten very old very fast. Enough already. Nice haircut. Definitely the most overexposed on this list.

10. Scott Norwood- Ok. I know 47 yards isn't a chip shot but come on man! Make the damn kick and at least we win one Super Bowl. If he makes that kick, are we the 3rd poorest city in America? Probably. Detroit has several Stanley Cups and NBA championships and it is ranked #1. We can't even be number one on that list.

9. Tommy Morrison- The boxer turned actor from the 1980s. Responsible for the worst Rocky movie (Rocky V) ever made. Fighting Rocky in a streetbrawl. Who came up with that idea?

8. Every Major League baseball player after Jose Canseco- Critics might say baseball is a boring game to watch but it does take considerable skill to hit a baseball. Also, good fielding and pitching is an art form just like anything else. The modern player took a great game and ruined it with performance enhancing drugs. The worst part is how many players denied using steroids only to be proven liars later.

7. Michael Vick- Even when he was in his prime, he couldn't throw an accurate pass. A good runner but a lousy quarterback. What annoys me about him was listening to people talk about him as if he were a good player when he was in jail. He is an exciting player but he can't hit the side of a barn. Also, what kind of a grown man commits animal cruelty? What an imbecile.

6. Jimmy Arias- People probably barely remember him. He was the tennis pro from Grand Island. He was briefly one of the top players in the world but still was just a spoiled brat from Grand Island. Where is he bartending these days?

5. Jim Kelly-(0-4). Need I say more? Don't get me wrong. He was a very good quarterback. I like the way he played but he is a blowhard off the field. If half of his partying stories are true, this guy was/is an idiot. Having millions of dollars does not make you better than anyone. Get some class. Here's a guy who wouldn't be seen in S. Buffalo, yet he gets on the radio and tells us why we need to vote for Bill Stachowski. Sorry Kelly. We're not interested. Let us know when you decide to pay off the vendors of your failed nightclub.

4. David Beckham- Came over to MLS from England. He went on every talk show with his spice girl wife and proceeded to lay a big egg on the field. Americans like goal scorers. This guy not only doesn't score goals, he also hasn't been a playmaker. He blew off his own fans in LA by leaving midseason to play for Inter Milan. He was loudly booed upon his return. He challenged his own fans to a fight. Then, when one of them came down and accepted his challenge, he hid behind a security guard. He's a tough guy.

3. "Baby Slow" Mesi- Fought one journeyman after another. Got his butt whipped in his last fight by a Russian midget. He and his father sold Buffalo fans a bill of goods. Now, he was given a $70,000 no show job after he lost an election. His two biggest fans are Steve Pigeon and Tony Farina. You can tell a great deal about somebody's character by the people they hang out with..

2. Cornelius Bennett- Don't believe the hype. He made the Bills 50th anniversary team but I think Jim Haslett and Shane Conlen were both better than Bennett. Bennett wasn't fit to tie Darryl Talley's shoes on the field yet always got more recognition than him. He was great at doing celebration dances. The problem he had was making plays worthy of celebration. I don't care what people say. Bennett was a bum.

1. Rob Ray- Enough already. Listening to this guy on TV during Sabres games reminds me of how mediocre Buffalo is. Ray's a loudmouth and never really says anything substantial. He was a grandstander on the ice. One time he beat up a drunk fan after he came out on the ice in montreal. I know the drunk deserved it but Ray was excessive. He knew the cameras were on him. Ray's the reason my remote control has a mute button.

Fame in the 21st Century

I don't understand what it means to be famous in today's world. I remember when I was growing up (back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth), you needed a certain talent to become famous. And once you were famous, it was for that specific talent. I guess Andy Warhol was right when he said, in the future everyone will be famous "for 15 minutes."

Today, you have people like Paris Hilton and the Kardashians. Hilton is a rich girl whose only known talent is being a rich girl. She became famous for going to parties (???). You and I go to parties. How come we're not famous? Then Hilton became an actress. Outside of House of Wax, her movie career was not too much to write home about. Then she tried singing. Lots of people sing in their shower, does that give them the right to be famous for it? Kim Kardashian is famous for having a big butt (I'm not kidding). That, and her father was a very rich L.A. lawyer who hired a very good publicist.

After you become famous today, you can pretty much act like you're an expert in anything. It doesn't matter whether you are or not. I like Bill Cosby, the comedian and actor. Everyone will always remember the great character Cliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show. Chances are if you hear him speak nowadays, he'll be talking about serious topics like young African American males or politics. I actually agree with Cosby on most of the things he talks about but I would rather see him do jokes about pudding. That's what made him famous and that's why we like him.

Last night, I saw Penn (from the illusionist duo Penn & Teller), talking about President Obama on Larry King Live. Who cares what he has to say about Obama's health care plan, the Middle East, or anything else besides magic? His job is to make things disappear, trick us, and then go away himself. I sat there in disbelief wondering who were these people at home taking anything he said seriously.

Then you got Curtis Sliwa. He's the guy with the red beret that started the Guardian Angels crime fighting group in New York City in the late 70s. This guy's on cable TV every time I turn it on. There are guys at your local corner bar that could give you better insight on things than him. They're not on TV. Sliwa shouldn't be either. As the saying goes, he's got a great face for radio. Why is he still famous?

This brings me to the recent controversy surrounding David Letterman. I stopped becoming a fan of his when he became famous and started getting A list guests. Before that, his show was geared towards college students and was much more clever than it is today. He had a steady group of weird guests that were interesting. I thought his jokes about Sarah Palin's daughter were in poor taste. Every morning on the radio and in the newspaper, I hear clips or read articles about Letterman apologizing to his wife, CBS, the fans, etc. for his unprofessional personal life. Enough already. You're a comedian. Tell jokes. CBS will deal with everything else. Apologize to your wife in private. It might be asking too much but wouldn't it be nice to go back to the days where all we asked our entertainers to do was entertain us?

Letterman Issues On-Air Apology to Wife

http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/05/letterman-issues-on-air-apology-to-wife/

Dumb and Dumber

Please click on image for a better view (What's little Timmy holding in his left hand?):



Would you just look at these bozos?

Random Thoughts From the Ghetto-Volume 8

I look out my window and see the empty 40 oz beer bottles, hypodermic needles, crack pipes and abandoned shopping carts on my front lawn and I begin to think. The end results have become known as my random thoughts from the ghetto...

-The Bills game this week was pretty tough to watch. The team was whipped by the Miami Dolphins by a score of 38-10. It was so bad that I heard Tim Russert and Ralph Wilson were both rolling over in their graves.

-It's always funny when someone dresses up like a person of trust (police officer, priest, etc) and commits a crime. I mean, come on. Save it for Halloween. One guy got carried away recently and his scam backfired. I guess he tried to rob a bank dressed as a dental hygentist?

-It was a very hard decision. I weighed the pros and cons and went over many different scenerios in my head. I know this decision is going to affect many people but sometimes you just have to roll the dice and go with what you believe in. I'm switching to Flinstones chewables.

-Looks like my journalistic exploits are starting to get to people. You should see the anonymous emails I'm getting from members of the entitled elite. They are so slanderous I can't even print them. Someone actually took the time to send two anonymous notes (do you see a theme developing here?) to the principal at my school. Don't worry. I have a highly trained team of detectives working on the case. I'd like to come clean. I am guilty of sending poorly scanned pictures of local leaders followed by even more poorly written commentary. I expect the responses from the privileged elite to get nastier before they get better. For the record, I don't need these bottom feeders for anything. Perfect? I'm far from it. However, unlike these political hangers-on, I have no trouble sleeping at night.

-I tell all the students at my school in 4th grade and below that I live in a log cabin and get flown to school at 5:30 each morning by helicopter, which lands on the school's roof. Obviously, it's not true but they don't need to know that.

-Does anyone remember those white T-shirts they gave away about 25 years ago with all the new phone books? They said Premium Goods on them. I think I was the last person in WNY to still wear one until I realized people were making fun of me. That's ok. I made 14 cents off this blog today. Who's laughing now?

-I heard Lindy Ruff a few weeks ago say he likes the team he has and wasn't bothered by the fact that they didn't make many offseason moves. I know he was behind the bench for all of the games last season, but did Ruff actually watch any of the games? The Sabres store is going to start selling paper bags with the eyes cut out soon for fans to wear to home games.

-Speaking of the Sabres, I was watching the game the other day against Montreal. During the game, two life sized Cellino & Barnes guys popped up on the screen and began to speak their nonsense. Are you kidding me? Get off of my TV screen, losers! You're already in my phone books and on the side of every bus in town. Do we really need to see your two ugly faces pop up and watch the damn hockey game with us? A new low.

- Like watching someone fall on ice, we don't know how to react when we see someone get splashed by a puddle. I was coming home from school on Thursday on Hopkins St. There was a puddle the size of Wisconsin at the corner of Hopkins and Trowbridge Streets. I was following a yellow cheese bus. This poor guy was walking on the sidewalk with traffic. He probably felt like he was being tackled by a linebacker. Words cannot describe what I witnessed. The bus sped through the puddle and water flew into the air. This was one of the biggest tidal waves I have ever witnessed. I don't think he even saw it coming. He might be in therapy for years to come. Go forth and sin no more...

Please Recall This Guy

New York State's Finest Piece of White Trash, State Senator Bill Stachowski

Man, my pictures really stink. But you get the point. How does this man sleep at night? Read the article in today's Buffalo News. It documents how a borderline disabled man can stay in office for almost 30 years. Have you ever seen this man walking around your neighborhood? Chances are, you won't either. Bill Stachowski has no shame. He doesn't live next door to you. He was elected almost 30 years ago based solely on his last name. If it wasn't for his father, this guy would be making buttered lambs in the Broadway Market.

Today's article talks about how he and Senator Dale Volker (another bottom feeder) have been able to stay in office for so long. This article shows how New York State government is not a democracy. If you're going to keep voting for Stachowski every so many years, at least buy a dozen eggs to throw at him in public. Someone please tell me there is a jail cell with his name on it somewhere.
Pork dollars are in essence buying votes*

Related Links
My Unbalanced Opinions: State Lawmakers Give Themselves a Raise During Recession

crime stats 9/21-9/27

Monday Sept 21st

49 Armin--Burglary--possible suspect listed
15 Norman--larceny--2 plates stolen from vehicle
144 Milton--crim mis--window broken--possible BB shot.
104 Cable--threats--suspect listed.
70 Armin--crim mis--vehicle dented
1989 Seneca--assault--1 arrest--Jasmine Otero..Weyand st
303 Cable--drugs--narcotics delivered by Post Office to wrong house.

Tuesday Sept 22nd

2426 S Park--assault--1 arrest--Edward Delmonte...Sharondale..Hamburg
353 Alabama--assault--1 arrest--Nicola Reggler...Reed st
85 Aldrich--Burglary--jewelry,digital camera stolen.
2175 S Park(Rite Aid)--Shoplifter--Juan Rodriguez..Potters road
213 Stevenson--larceny--car registration sticker stolen.
81 Strathmore--larceny--wallet removed from bedroom
2126 Seneca--larceny--cell phone stolen
McKinley/Kimmel--V&T--1 arrest--drugs---Mohssen Ahmed..Rhode Island st
117 Hayden--crim mis--picture window broken
415 Swan--menacing with a gun--possible suspect listed.
20 Peabody--crim mis--window broken
46 Kamper--phone threats
150 Southside(South Park)--1 arrest--tresspassing---Troy Milewski..Seneca st
Evans Pd--1 arrest--Buffalo Warrant--Douglas Brewster...Angola NY
Seneca/Riverview--V&T--1 arrest--DWI---Daniel Schmelzinger...Orlando st

Wednesday Sept 23rd

159 Smith--Burglary--1 arrest--Amy Ostrowski..Smith st
71 Narragansett--larceny--change stolen
48 Ryan--Larceny--CD's,CD case,change stolen from car
150 Ryan--larceny--change stolen from car
183 Tuscarora--larceny--GPS stolen,2 car chargers stolen,change stolen.
1700 Clinton--larceny--bike stolen.
156 Bailey--larceny--eye glasses stolen--suspect listed.
Swan/Spring--V&T--1 Arrset---James E Singleton...Spring st
1514 Clinton--Assault--1 arrest--Mark Porter Jr Clinton st
59 Imson--Harassment--warrant card issued.
Hamburg/Perry--1 arrest--DWI--Norma Coppola...Dewitt st
1305 Seneca st--Threats--suspect listed.
90 Frank--1 arrest--Comtempt of court order---James Self..
344 Weimar--crim mis--1 arrest--Joseph Swiatkowski
S Park/Tifft--V&T--3 arrests--Rickey Jones..Fargo ave,Barrie Woods...Altruria,Kennedy Gadlet..S Hapton..--drugs
A District--1 arrest--warrant---John Jacobs...Sycamore st

Thursday Sept 24th

121 Indian Church--harassment
West Seneca PD--1 arrest--Buffalo warrant--Henry Gripple..Troupe st
1445 Seneca st--Drugs--1 arrestAndre Fekete...Potters rd
159 Smith--Burglary from 9-23-09--1 arrest---Eduvigis Cordero Perry st
353 Alabama--assault--1 arrest--Nicola Reggler...Erie County Holding Center...
353 Alabama--assault from 7-19-09--1 arrest---Nicola Reggler--Holding Center
23 Como--assault--1 arrest--Donald Kenny....COMO
24 Woodside--harassment--possible suspect listed.
155 Bailey(NOCO)--debit card stolen.
2250 Seneca(Family Dollar)--shoplifter--3 arrests--Willie Boller..Teaxas st,Nekeisha Johnson...Box ave,Leah Robertson..Wyoming.
54 Paul pl--Agg Harassmnet--suspect listed.
1218 Seneca--larceny--2 childrens violins,HP keyboard,RCA convertor stolen from church.
845 Abbott--larceny--prescription picked up by unknown persons
72 Oakhurst--larceny--purse stolen from car.
84 Shenandoah--larceny--Sirius radio dock ,personal items stolen from vehicle.
A District-=-1 arrest--warrant--James Roberson..Trowbridge.
290 Larkin(Uncle Sams Army/Navy)--Burglary--cash drawr and cash stone,10 knives,Dell Computer damaged.
Whitehall/McKinley--V&T--1 arrest--drugs--Colin Reap--Duerstein st
34 Geary--harassment--suspect listed.

Friday Sept 25th

Hillery Playground--assault--6 unk Nativa Americans--did asault victim.
Bailey/S Park(TOPS lot)--larceny--purse stolen from shopping cart.
111 Folger--Contempt of Court Order--1 arrest--Mario Cox...Memorial dr
101 Fredro--crim mis--drivers mirror broken
New Babcock/William--assault--1 arrest--Tanysha Rosado...Davey st
152 Wildwood--threats--unk phone threats
Barnard/Clinton--menacing with a knife--1 arrest--Heriberto Pagan..Clinton st
1659 Clinton--assault--1 arrest--Steve Hnat
690 S Ogden--Reckless Endangering--warrant card issued.
698 1/2 S Ogden--Violation Order of Protection--warrant card issued.
1647 Clinton--2 arrests---Eredice Perry,Elizabeth Mixson..Obstruction,Resisting arrest

Saturday Sept 26th

320 Perry--Burglary--Jewelry ,5 hand made blankets stolen.
34 Cumberland--Burglary--Toshiba Laptop,Nexlink Laptop,X Box stolen.
1619 S Park--Burglary--HP Laptop stolen
1892 Seneca(Mastriannis Store)--Robbery--possible suspect listed.
94 Troupe--larceny--jewelry stolen--suspect listed.
Allegheny/Folger--larcenby from car--drivers license,benefit card,change stolen.
155 Bailey--1 arrest for larceny from 9-23-09.--Eric Dixon..Portland ave
2435 Seneca--assault--4 w/ms assaulted 3 victims at Seneca Texas Hots..possible suspect listed.
22 Olcott--phone threats from 9-5-09--1 arrest--Richard Riley..Armin st
108 Weiss--assault--warrant card issued.
107 Aldrich--threats--1 arrest--Paul Burns..Spaulding Ave
48 Zittel--drugs/underaged drinking--1 arrest--Jessica Whitt for Endangering Child,Unlawfully Dealing with Child.

Sunday Sept 27th

159 Cantwell--assault--1 arrest--Eric Crawford
169 Folger(lower)--Burglary--DVD's,ceramic bank stolen.
169 Folger(upper)--Burglary--toolbox,touch screen IPOD,and money stolen.
167 Parkview--threats--suspect listed.
24 Kenefick--phone threats--several suspects listed.
121 Indian Church--larceny--cell phone stolen--suspect listed.
72 Garvey--phone threats
143 Myrtle--UUV
Seneca/Ryan--V&T/Drugs--2 arrests--Kenneth Swartz..Marilla st,Joel Duronio..Sandy...Cheektowaga.
184 Chicago--threats--warrant card issued.
87 Pulaski--crim mis--door damaged by 2 w/m's,1 w/f.
58 Hancock--harassment--1 arrest--Joshua Laun...Hancock ave
1860seneca--harassment--suspect listed.
2001 Seneca--threats---suspect listed.
161 Pries--ID theft
839 S Division--Robbery--3 B/m or H/M did point handgun at both victims and robbed several items.

Related Links

My Unbalanced Opinions: crime stats 8/31-9/06 the 1st incident reported is worth noting

My Unbalanced Opinions: crime stats 9/7-9/13

My Unbalanced Opinions: crime stats 9/14-9/20

Dirty Tricks in the Downsizing Battle

I give local activist Kevin Gaughan and his team of volunteers great credit. Gaughan has pushed to downsize local town boards and continues to win in every town so far. On the surface, you might ask yourself what the big deal is. The reason the politicians and their "friends and families" are fighting so hard against downsizing is not because they don't want you to lose "representation". It is because they don't want to lose the pensions they receive for being on these boards. This is not what George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had in mind when they created the Constitution. Did you know New York state has more governments than the nation of Japan?

It's always funny when they tell you you will lose your representation if you vote in favor of downsizing. You mean we have representation now? That's news to me. Remember when they first talked about getting rid of the at-large common councilmembers in Buffalo in the 1990s? Local leaders said we would have less representation and be greatly affected by this change. What a joke! Has it even affected one person besides the politicians themselves? I doubt it.

In the downsizing battle, here are some of the tactics the local "leaders" have used to try and suppress the vote so only they and their friends (aka local political bottom feeders) show up to vote. please remember, these are professional crooks we are talking about:
1. Opening only a few polling places. The less polling places, the less voters. Less voters translates to less opposition.
2. Limiting voting hours. You work. They don't. These people can leave work to vote, as their jobs literally depend on it. Many use elections as sick days or personal days. We have to save these days for when we are actually sick or have something important to do. Again, this translates to less voters.
3. Using technicalities to prevent these elections from taking place on Primary Day or General Election Day. They don't want that. People will show up in decent numbers on those days. They want to have these elections on some random day so again, less people show up.
4. Using fear tactics. The article says in Orchard Park, the downsizing opponents passed out anonymous fliers that said downsizing was going to lead to regional schools. They'll try anything to avoid losing these pensions! Regional schools? Could you imagine the outrage in the city if our city kids were forced to go to school alongside delinquent kids from Orchard Park? Don't worry.Nobody would want to expose anyone to that under any circumstance.

So keep reading my blog. Not doing so, could result in a loss of your "representation."
Donn Esmonde: Downsizing trumps voter suppression*

Clowns in Space

County Legislator Tim Kennedy, pictured here, hopes to become the second clown to make it into outer space.

Canadian circus clown Guy Laliberte paid $35 million dollars to join a Russian and an American astronaut on a 9 day mission to the International Space Station. Laliberte, 50 is an experienced fire eater and stilt walker from Quebec. He is hoping to use the mission to publicize the world's growing shortage of clean water.

County Legislator Tim Kennedy hopes to soon become the second clown to be launched into space. The nine days off from work won't be a big deal since it's no secret Kennedy doesn't do anything to justify the $43,000/year he makes for his part time, no-show job as an Erie County Legislator. Unless you count fawning over Brian Higgins like a schoolgirl, as work duty. He's never seen in his S. Park Avenue office and no constituents would even notice if he were gone for nine years, much less nine days. Kennedy is a graduate of the Bill Stachowski do-nothing- but-sit-on-your-ass school of government. He was recently quoted as saying, "I don't know if I can be away from Brian Higgins, err, I mean my wife, for nine long days."
Canadian circus billionaire heads to space station*