Monday, January 22, 2018

Letter On Vulgar Affairs and Such

So, I was just going to put the letter up, which I did yesterday. It spoke for itself and the links are in it to the referred to letters. But there was such a great entry today that I just have to add it to the post.

This is in response to Mr. Newton's response to Ms. Rocca. He says, "When Obama got in, unemployment was roughly 4.9%. When he left, it was the same, with it rising to almost 10 percent during his time." It was actually 7.8% when George Bush left office. It was 8.3% in February 2009 when first measured during Barack Obama's presidency. It did hit 10% that October, 9 months into his presidency in which he inherited the Great Recession. It steadily dropped from there to 4.7% when he left office and has continued to drop during the Trump presidency. Don't take my word. Do a 30 second web search.

In response to Ms. Alitz, disapproval of the president is not the same as not supporting the country. I remember writers to the editor who used terms such as Obummer to refer to Mr. Obama. They probably supported the country, though. It's recently come out that Mr. Trump allegedly had an affair with a porn actress shortly after the birth of his son, Barron. His lawyer allegedly paid this woman $130,000 in hush money. Suppose that should be between the Trumps like Bill's infidelities should've been between the Clintons. I sure miss wholesome White House marriages like the Bush's and Obama's.

I'm more concerned about how Mr. Trump obtained financing when US banks wouldn't loan to him. A number of Russian oligarchs paid very inflated prices for Trump properties. Some suspect money laundering. Cynics! Some credit his fantastic deal-making skills. The shutdown makes that doubtful. The Kremlin knows the answer for sure. Probably Robert Mueller does, too. Hopefully we all will soon. This is more important than being distracted by  vulgar affairs.

Here's Elizabeth Sullivan and I won't comment on it much. Although I do have another letter to use since I haven't written a lot lately I'm below the two per month maximum. She's basically encouraging Trump supporters to write more and "stand by their man." There is this, though.

I was born and raised in Queens. Anyone living in the five boroughs is exposed to people from all walks of life. You may not love everyone, but you tolerate and respect one another. That is what America is all about. President Trump is just being a "New Yorker." That is how we speak. 

She points out in her letter that Trump is not a racist which is reassuring. I do wonder if the NY values that Ted Cruz talked about are actually downstate NY values. Maybe I should write and ask if money laundering and infidelity are also "just how real New Yorkers roll." Within the next 2 or 3 days my letter will likely run. I don't think it's the sort of thing she was calling for. I will point out that I did compliment George Bush on his marriage. That's how upstate NYers roll. With class, morals and lack of treasonous impulses. 

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Notes From the Candidates' Debate

Eight of the contenders to go up against Rep. Stefanik in November met on Sunday in South Glens Falls. These were the Democrats. Russ Finley (R) was missing due to a medical emergency that involved his mother. Steve Schibbe (R) has not been seen in action, to my knowledge, since announcing he was running. Chris Schmidt (Libertarian) hasn't been seen much either. I assume he was invited. The two Green candidates promised by Green Party boss, Matt Funiciello, have yet to be named or spotted.

After eight congressional candidates, hoping to unseat U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, responded to questions for nearly three hours during the NY-21 Congressional Candidates Forum in South Glens Falls on Sunday, Democrat Tedra Cobb emerged as the frontrunner from a straw poll of 176 attendees.

The event at the Moreau Community Center drew nearly 200 who, by a show of hands, indicated they were there to learn more about the candidates and their platforms.

It was indeed a packed house. I'm really impressed that so many turned out on a Sunday when there are football playoffs on and it was freaking cold. The straw poll that was taken allowed attendees to vote for 3 candidates. the results shook out as:

Of those hoping to compete in the Democratic Primary:

Tedra Cobb, 23 %
Patrick Nelson, 17%
Emily Martz, 14 %
Tanya Boone, 12 %
Ronald Kim, 10%
Don Boyajian, 9%
Katie Wilson, 7%
Sara Idleman  7%

I'm pretty happy with that order of finish. Had a hard time narrowing my choices down from 5 to 3. First, I'll say there were no candidates that I wouldn't be happy to support in November. Ron Kim, Don Boyajian and Sara Idleman were the 3 that I eliminated just for the reason that they didn't excite me in any way. Sara just entered the race in the last week or so and I don't understand why with 7 very good people running already. 

Patrick is the flip side. I believe he's been running since the day after the election last November. He's a great speaker and very bright and knowledgeable. I'd have a hard time choosing between him and Tedra because all those factors apply to her as well. Emily was my favorite going in and I still like her a lot. If I was ordering that list I'd move Katie Wilson up to fifth. Tanya Boone was also well spoken and impressive. 

Really any of the top four finishers would be a wonderful candidate. I'm looking forward to maybe making it to another forum or two. It's unfortunate that the 21st district encompasses most of northern NY. It would be great to get the number of folks running whittled down to a more reasonable number. It's great that there is such interest in running, tho. 

One thing that thrills me is that they are all very legit residents of the district and have been for eons. In 2014, Bill Owens who was the Democratic rep for our district did a late dropout and left Dems scrambling. Aaron Woolf was recruited to run and had loose ties to the area. This was Stefanik's first race and she had loose ties as well. She grew up in Westport, left at 18 and never looked back until she wanted to run for Congress. (Well, what about Hillary?) Sorry, I just always expect to hear that. Anyway, the Dems ran Mike Derrick in 2016 and he was career military so not having ties to the 21st could be excused. In any case, he was not a scintillating candidate. Tedra Cobb is. 

Here's an article from the Wash Po about the interest in running nationwide. It could be worse. According to the article, there are 17 Dems registered to compete for the right to take on Scott Walker. Here was some really great news from it. There are also what sound like some high quality folks wanting to take on John Faso in the district below mine. 

“No party has ever lost an election because of too much energy or too much momentum,” said Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who leads the House Democratic election effort. “It’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge that we welcome.”

In other races, the crowds are notable not just for their size, but for the résumés and fundraising of the contenders. Democrats are arguing less about policy than about who has the strongest biography to present against the incumbent.

In New York’s 19th District, a competitive slice of the Hudson Valley held by Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), six Democrats are running, including two graduates of Harvard Law School, an Iraq War veteran who graduated from Georgetown and the U.S. Military Academy, a former CIA officer who became a schoolteacher, and a wealthy businessman who has loaned his campaign $500,000.

Three of them boast of supporting Medicare for All on their campaign websites; two have raised more money than the incumbent.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

A Happy New Year LTTE

Actually, it had nothing to do with New Year's Day. Didn't have a good title. Out of practice. Maybe it's Happy New year to Elise. It'll be a very happy one if she's on her way out of office come the next one. 

I'd like to express a bravo and a boo for Rep. Stefanik. Thumbs up for the vote against the tax heist bill. Some cynics have suggested she might've gotten a hall pass because there were more than enough votes to pass it. In the spirit of the season, I'll concede that her concern over the state and local deductions was genuine. It would've been nice if she had been similarly disturbed by the damage being done to the ACA by the elimination of the individual mandate. I suppose that's a little boo for the sin of omission.

The bigger boo is for her vote against transparency back in March. The Democrats were pushing a bill to force the release of President Trump's taxes. He has said this tax bill will cost him "a fortune." From what I've read, there are many sweet perks in it that seem almost designed for him and his business. It would be nice to know for sure and not have to take his word for it.