Solving the Immigration "Problem" . . .

We've all heard how congress has to pass a new immigration law because there are too many illegal immigrants hiding in the shadows, that these immigrants need a "path to citizenship" so we don't "divide families."

Poppycock!

The problem isn't that we need a new law.  The problem is that we need the will to enforce the existing laws on the books that we already have --- and that when states try to do this on their own, that they be supported by their national government instead of being prosecuted by it (like Arizona).

If enforcement of existing laws is lacking, why should anyone expect enforcement of a new one?

And if the illegals don't respect our laws upon entry, why should they be expected to be law-abiding while they are here?

If immigration "reform" is passed, it will merely be the institutionalization of existing policy that benefits certain constituencies: The Republicans will get laborers for their mansions, farms, and factories.  The Democrats will get legions of supporters controlled by government handouts... But the American public, as usual, will get the shaft!

Contrast the behavior of our government with our friends, the Brits, across the pond. ‘Go home or face arrest’: UK anti-illegal immigrant ads face stiff criticism .

The British solution is simple:  Make it uncomfortable for people illegally present to stay ... and make it easy for them to leave.  

We can do this! If we need a "path to citizenship" so as to not "divide families," it should be "Go out the back door the way you came (we won't hold it against you) and come in the front door LEGALLY."

"PROBLEM" SOLVED.

By What Constitutional Authority ...

Can Feds tell Web firms to turn over user account passwords ?

This is your private information between you and your provider ... enabling you to do business through your provider in a safe and secure manner. Government taking this information makes you personally less secure.

Do we tolerate this?

The Party of No Mail Delivery?

You really have to wonder who is leading the Republicans these days?  First they authorize seizure of all private phone conversations .... Now they want to force everyone to walk to clusters of mailboxes ... making it easier for mail to be stolen and more difficult for seniors to get their mail. No wonder there is such a lack of enthusiasm for them ... even with all the horrors coming out of the current administration.  They obviously are not thinking of the needs of the average citizen.

Recently I had a certified mailing for delivery two towns away take one week ... to go a mere 8 miles! The mail went all the way to Rochester before making its way back thru Syracuse then to its destination!

 FedEx and UPS don't seem to have problems making timely deliveries right to the receivers.

Instead of trying to dictate how the Postal Service should save money, perhaps these Republicans should propose contracting the service out to professionals who know what they are doing ... including letting them set the rates that cover the cost of delivery.

The Party of Limited Government???

House rejects bid to curb spy agency data collection

A U.S. spy program that sweeps up vast amounts of electronic communications survived a legislative challenge in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the first attempt to curb the data gathering since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed details of its scope.

Amash Amendment On NSA Data Collection: House Roll Call Vote

The 217-205 roll call Wednesday by which the House rejected a challenge to the National Security Agency's secret collection of hundreds of millions of Americans' phone records. A "yes" vote was a vote to halt the NSA program; a "no" vote was a vote to allow the program to continue. 

Voting yes were 111 Democrats and 94 Republicans. 

Voting no were 83 Democrats and 134 Republicans. . . . 

NEW YORK 

Democrats – Bishop, N; Clarke, Y; Crowley, Y; Engel, N; Higgins, N; Israel, N; Jeffries, Y; Lowey, N; Maffei, Y; Maloney, Carolyn, Y; Maloney, Sean, N; McCarthy, X; Meeks, N; Meng, N; Nadler, Y; Owens, Y; Rangel, Y; Serrano, Y; Slaughter, N; Tonko, Y; Velazquez, Y. 

Republicans – Collins, N; Gibson, Y; Grimm, N; Hanna, N; King, N; Reed, N.

This was:

• A Vote against our 4th Amendment privacy rights 
• A Vote against our 1st Amendment right of free speech (It's chilling to know that everything you say is being recorded)
• A Vote against the concept of Limited Government

The Republicans allowed the spying to continue!

Big Brother (and Big Government) is alive and well in the Republican Party

Only In Utica . . .

I thought that the City did a pretty good job with this video . . . Something to show your out-of-town friends why we like it here.

Kicking the Can Down the Road?

OD: Spring's federal budget cuts now having impact

The sequestration cuts are part of a 2011 deal to raise the national debt ceiling. The compromise also required spending cuts of $1.2 trillion over the next decade. . . . 

U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, R-Barneveld, is not happy with the sequestration cuts and wants to see Congress move to reverse them. “It’s a pretty ham-fisted way to reduce the budget and I don’t support it,” he said. “It needs to be dealt with, or we will have to face this every year for 10 years. We need to fix it.”

OK, so what's the solution, Mr. Hanna?  More debt ceiling increases and borrowing (which you have supported in the past)? Or will you and your fellow Republicans finally get serious about shrinking the size of the federal government to something sustainable? (Which may mean that some of your favorite causes like Planned Parenthood and STEM education will have to be supported elsewhere).

Every society going back to the ancient Romans that increased benefits to itself which it could not pay for eventually collapsed.  That ancient history is our future unless changes are made now.

Please do the job we sent you to Washington to do.      

Why Is the City Applying for a Grant . . .

. . . When the project is already being built by the State?

 Per the OD: Region pitches economic development projects

More money for Genesee Street improvements. An extension of the Rayhill Trail to the Utica Memorial Auditorium. And a push to continue development in Bagg’s Square. Those are among the 10 applications for funding under this year’s statewide regional economic development competition from groups across the city.

But the extension of the Rayhill Trail to the Utica Aud is already part of the State's North South Arterial Project.  So why the "economic development" project? What "group" from across the city is seeking this?  Or is there something we are not being told?

We Are On the Wrong Side ....

Democrats and progressive Republicans like John McCain who want to supply arms to Syrian rebels had better wake up.

As Expected . . .

Oneida County approves deal with Oneida Indian Nation

The County Leg has again allowed itself to be bullied and high-pressured into taking action without having time to run the numbers or to consider the down side of this "agreement." . . . and there IS another perspective:  A rotten deal with 'casino Oneidas'

This is why people and businesses leave New York.  Government here fails to protect the average person's interests. Money and power are everything.

A Little Competition . . . from the State!

It's awfully nice to see the governor recognize that New York's high level of taxation is a detriment to business ... such a detriment that he proposes tax free zones associated with State University campuses.

Yes, the governor said today as he repeated the plan in Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse: 100 percent tax free. 
"I mean tax free," he said at the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. "That's why I said tax free."

Wow! What a deal!  But is it a good one?  And for Whom?

New Hartford has a nice Business Park.  So does Utica.  So does Oneida County at the old Airport in Whitestown.  So does Rome at Griffiss "International" Airport.  So does Frankfort in the "pumpkin patch."  These won't qualify for this special tax treatment.  So, local governments (and don't even think of private developers) now have to worry about competing with State facilities for new businesses.

Under the proposal, a business's tax-free status would last a decade. Workers would go five years without paying income taxes. After that, their first $200,000 of income would be tax free, under the governor's plan.

That's a heck of a deal if you are one of the lucky workers in one of the state-annointed businesses . . . but what about the rest of us?  When it comes to competition for employees, these state-annointed businesses will have a leg up.  How can you as a small business employer compete with this? So the State tips the scales in the competition for employees in favor of the businesses in their tow.

These workers will be no different from everyone else --- except that they get special tax treatment.  To the extent that we all "benefit" from the operations of our State government, why should the State create a special class for them?  Why shouldn't they pay their fair share?  That means that the rest of us will be paying their share.

Frankly, all this is is a recipe for more State control of the economy and more power for those in government.  Certain businesses that curry favor with the party in power will get (1) special financial benefits and (2) get a government created advantage over their competition. The the root causes of the State's economic malaise will remain unresolved: over taxation, over regulation and, in general, too much government.

I guess it is too much to expect the State to lower taxes for everyone ...

If everyone were treated alike no one would feel beholden to the politicians.

Who Owns the N.H. "Public" Library?

Seems like a silly question who owns a "public" library . . . but there are indications that all in New Hartford is not what it seems. . . .

At the end of April in an OD article about New Hartford's handling of FOIL appeals was this teaser:

Wiatr’s request for a legal opinion from town Attorney Herbert Cully regarding the New Hartford Public Library and its ownership was the most controversial.
The relationship between attorney and client, in this case the Town Board, is a main reason why Cully said he was uncomfortable in allowing his opinion to be released. Also, in potential future litigations, his opinion could be construed as the town’s view.

Certainly the "client" the Town Board could authorize release of this opinion. Why did it not? Don't Town taxpayers have a right to this information?

The plot thickened yesterday by an OD letter to the editor "New Hartford Library owes public an explanation" (scroll down) which called the owners "a mystery."


The mystery deepens when you consider that the 1993 land sale agreement uses the language "the Seller agrees to sell to the Town of New Hartford" but the deed to the property is made out to the "Board of Trustees of the New Hartford Public Library of the Town of New Hartford, New York" . . . Shortly thereafter the Town Board approved bonding $600,000.00 for construction of the library . . . on property that was not deeded to the Town, apparently.

So, just who does own the New Hartford "Public" Library?

OC: Overtaxing . . .

From the Rome Sentinel: County ends 2012 with $8.4M surplus.

Record sales tax receipts and lower than projected spending left Oneida County with an $8.4 million budget surplus for 2012 . . .

Nice . . . but Oneida County is also one of the most heavily taxed counties in the NATION when it comes to property taxes as a percentage of property value ...

ADD TO THAT the 8.75% sales tax we pay here -- also one of the highest sales taxes in the country. Anyone who travels to other parts of the country immediately realizes the difference when shopping. We have become too used to being nickled-and-dimed to death.

The County plans to use some of its surplus money for "economic development." The County already has a policy of exempting certain politically connected developers from the sales tax . . . meaning that (1) YOU are subsidizing the profits of  these developers and (2) the sales tax revenue could be even higher.

The county is in the process of obtaining the necessary state permission to extend its 1 percent and 0.75 percent sales taxes. The county’s 3 percent sales tax is permanent and does not have to be renewed every two like the other two levies.

The 8.75% sales tax -- originally implemented to close a financial gap in OC providing mandated medical care -- is a blot on the county's reputation, a disincentive for both people and businesses to do business here.


Now is the time for NYS to DENY Oneida County the permission to extend at least the 0.75% tax.  Leaving a little money in our pockets will help ALL local businesses instead of just the politically connected ones.

Ball-istic!

'Rome Sentinel: County executive, mayor back missle system.

Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. and Rome Mayor Joseph R. Fusco have sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel requesting that Griffiss International Airport be considered for a new multi-billion dollar missile defense system on the East Coast.

That's nice, but does Griffiss "International" qualify?

According to GlobalSecurity.org the Ground Based Interceptor (GBI) program site

... would contain launch stations (silos), Interceptor Receiving and Processing Building, Interceptor Storage Facilities, and additional support facilities. Approximately 243 hectares (600 acres) would be required to support the GBI missile field and associated technical facilities. When the GBI site and associated technical facilities become fully operational, total site related employment would be approximately 150 to 200 personnel. Explosive Safety Quantity-Distance (ESQD) criteria would be used to establish safe distances from explosive hazard areas, such as solid propellants, to nonrelated facilities and roadways. These regulations are established by the Department of Defense. For the GBI silos, there would be a minimum 380-meter (1,250-foot) ESQD from inhabited buildings. In addition, the Interceptor Receiving and Processing Building and the Interceptor Storage Facilities would also have a 380-meter (1,250-foot) ESQD from inhabited buildings.

Six hundred acres is almost a square mile, which is a lot of space. Perhaps more restrictive is the 1,250 minimum distance required from inhabited buildings for each silo. Just what can be fit into Griffiss "International" Airport?

When you get down to it, is it really worth taking up all this space -- and (again) making us a prime target for intercontentinental missiles -- for a mere 150 to 200 jobs? That's only 1/4 to 1/3 of a job per acre!

Ball-istic . . . or Un-Real-istic?

Taking on the Army . . .

Army Corps of Engineers, that is! There's more in the Observer-Dispatch.

THIS needed to be done years ago by a former Republican Congressman who was on the House Armed Services Committee . . . when we had a Republican President and a Republican Governor . . . The odds would have seemed to have been in favor at that time for the Marcy Nanocenter site to get a federal wetlands permit.  . . . But then, again, perhaps it was the last mentioned Republican and his former Republican NYS Senate Majority leader that kept the former Republican Congressman from saying what had to be said (if he said anything, we did not hear of it).

Nevertheless, hats are off to Mr. Hanna for doing a great job in putting the heat on the A.C.E.!

Things really have gotten out of control with both ACE and the EPA, with the Federal Government's reach extending far beyond what our Founding Fathers had planned for the Federal system.

A.C.E. also is overreaching even within the context of its own regulations.  I already blogged about that last summer, so refer to the article for the legal context : Marcy NanoCenter in the Balance Pt. 1.
In a nutshell, ACE is trying to change the purpose of the NanoCenter Project without the statutory authority to do so.

Per the OD:

After Hanna’s description of the situation, Corps Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick said he would “be happy to take a look at it and follow up with you on whether from a legal perspective we have any ability to work outside the bounds in this case.” 

Undoubtedly, the General will return to his legal team and get justification for the overreaching that has been done in the past, and will likely continue in the future, until some white knight takes up the gauntlet and takes ACE to court.  That is unlikely to be done by Oneida County, and perhaps shouldn't be done given the money the region has already wasted on legal maneuvering in the past (MVWA v Canal Corp, The NYRI proposal come immediately to mind).

We can only hope that with continued political pressure, A.C.E will come to understand that it is really pushing the envelope where the law is concerned, and that if it pushes too far, at some point a decision will come down somewhere that will severely undercut Federal Authority everywhere.

Strange NH Public Library . . .

Per the OD: Negatives outweigh positives during library board meeting

But don't expect to figure out the headline by reading the rambling article with snippets of conversations thrown in.  Frankly, the article reads like it was either highly massaged to make certain people look good, or it was written by a committee.

If you want the straight scoop on the New Hartford Public Library shenanigans, always visit New Hartford Online Blog.  Here is the LATEST.... about poo poo.

Pie In The Sky . . .

More pie in the sky from our Oneida County leadership:  Griffiss Vying for FAA's New Traffic Control Center . But the OD article on this story has  this important bit of information:

"The FAA's background information also said the site must be within 150 miles of New York City . . ." 

Read the specs guys! Griffiss does not qualify. Wonder how much $$$ the taxpayers will be expected to cough up to "lure" this non-starter to O.C.? It's sorta like trying to put a nanocenter in a federal wetland!

In the "Good Idea" department, Dave Gorden Proposes Name Change to Griffiss International Airport

Gordon says he wants to see Griffiss’ name changed to the Utica-Rome Metropolitan Airport at Griffiss International, in an effort to “tie the two major cites together.”

Gordon seems to have learned something our Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce has not:  The "Utica" name places the facility on a map, which is important for marketing, particularly in a geographic-sensitive industry like transportation.

Strikeslip, however, has an even more appropriate non-geographic name for Griffiss International:

White Elephant!

Look it up on the link provided.

County Competence . . .

Oneida County 911 center seeks help with budget.

As Oneida County searches for ways to help fund its 911 emergency dispatch system, local officials have pointed the finger squarely at the state 

New York collects $1.20 per month on cellphone bills, and local officials say the roughly $190 million collected is supposed to be distributed to the many local 911 centers in the state.

But as explained in the article, the local officials got it wrong.  There was never a guarantee that the money from that $1.20 charge would go to the county's 911 center.  In fact, it can be argued that the county has already benefited from the $1.20 charge because it "won" the Homeland Security training center occupying the old OC Airport since Homeland Security is partially supported by that charge. Sounds like the County expanded 911 without knowing how to pay for it . . . and now it is the State's fault?

 County claims unfair treatment in business bid

Oneida County was not treated fairly by the state when it went up against Onondaga County in hopes of landing a fruit processing plant, say local officials ...

But as indicated by the article, the local officials appear not to have been aware of the advantage that the competing site had because it was a state-owned facility.  So now it is the State's fault that OC lost?  (Isn't government-created "unfairness" pretty much the norm in New York -- and hasn't Oneida County raked in $millions from state and federal programs for economic development that other areas might regard as "unfair" to them?  There seems to be never enough -- money or excuses.)

 From last August: NanoCenter project denied wetland permit

Work has already been completed on roads and water and sewer lines, but without the wetlands permit, the site can't be made shovel-ready. . . . EDGE is consulting with legal counsel and federal, state, and local officials to find out where to go from here.

Meanwhile the County has doubled down committing more money to infrastructure using the non-permitted nano-center as justification, including hitting up the State for a cool $5 million and hitting up sewer users for another $7 mil. This money is just piled on top of millions more spent while they've known of the permit problem for 8 years!  Is it smart to prepare a site that might never get a permit?

Airport, county seek operator for tower

Griffis International Airport is taking steps to line up its own air traffic control tower operator should the Federal Aviation Administration make good on its plan ot end tower funding June 15 . . . 

More taxpayer money thrown at an "International" airport with no scheduled flights -- on top of $10s of millions already spent on this white elephant.  It seems every 3 months there is a new need to tap the taxpayers.

At some point you just have to scratch your head and ask:  Does anyone in County government do more than a half-[baked] analysis before getting us deeper into these schemes?

But wait,  it gets much much worse . . .

U Knew This 2 . . .

USA Today: Wyo. named most tax friendly state; N.Y. Worst

The Tax Foundation considers New York to have the worst business climate of all states. While the state actually ranked in the better half in terms of corporate taxes, its individual income tax policy was ranked the worst in the country. The state collected $1,864 in personal income taxes per capita in 2011, higher than all other states. In addition, the Tax Foundation considered the state's unemployment taxes and property tax policies among the most burdensome of all states. Nevertheless, 17 of the 2012 Fortune 100 companies are located in New York, with nine of these companies among the Fortune 50. . . . despite the tax burden, many companies, especially large ones, are attracted to New York due to such factors as its large population and proximity to Wall Street.

Of course, the state's "large population" and "proximity to Wall Street" benefit us in Utica, Syracuse and Buffalo how?

Where does NY's ranking leave Upstate?

NY: Home of the Least Free . . .

You knew it . . . When they passed a law in the middle of the night to make law-abiding citizens register their guns and limited what they could have.

You knew it . . . When they offered a $500 bounty for one neighbor to turn in another for gun ownership.

You knew it . . . When they passed a minimum wage bill and buried in the text the provision that you would be paying for it.

You knew it . . . When they took your tax dollars and started giving them to certain designated businesses while you can barely afford to keep  your own going.

You knew it . . . When they took away your water rights without even asking you if it was OK.

You knew it . . . When they started using your children to collect information on you.

You knew it . . . and now so does the rest of the nation:   New York is the Least Free of all the states. 

Now, what are you going to do about it?

Keeping Tabs . . .

From WND: Bill Gates' $100 million database to track students

... a massive $100 million public-school database spearheaded by the $36.4 billion-strong Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been in the making that freely shares student information with private companies.The system has been in operation for several months and already contains millions of K-12 students’ personal identification ‒ ranging from name, address, Social Security number, attendance, test scores, homework completion, career goals, learning disabilities, and even hobbies and attitudes about school. . . .

And this is not just Mr. Gates . . .

. . .the Gates Foundation, entered the joint venture with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and school officials from a number of states. After Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify Education (a division of News Corp) spent more than a year developing the system’s infrastructure, the Gates Foundation delivered it to inBloom ‒ a nonprofit corporation recently established to run the database. . . . . . Louisiana, which, along with New York, is slated to input virtually all student records statewide. . .

Of course, longtime readers of this blog know that government collection and sharing of assumed private information on students and their families has occurred right under our noses in Utica through a federal grant:  The "Safe Schools" Project -- What's the real intent? (2002)

The same question can be asked here.