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Saturday, November 29, 2003
The last few days... My brother called to wish me a happy Thanksgiving. As we were saying our goodbyes, he said, "Oh I almost forgot..." and continued to tell me that our Uncle and Aunt had split up and that our Uncle was living with his new girlfriend. They were never officially married, but had been together for over 20 years... This is such a weird revelation. Those two as a couple were such a huge part of my childhood. I can hardly imagine them apart... Its just a totally bizarre piece of news. I remember their playful bickering. And after one particular exchange that I remember as though it was yesterday, my Aunt asked my Uncle where she should put a package of hot dogs since the freezer was full because he had packed it full of other crap. He responded, "Why don't you put them next to your cold heart!" She threw the package of hot dogs square at his head and he ducked to miss them. It was the fastest I had ever seen him move. Everyone in the family always said, "Those two will be together forever." Apparently, forever, isn't as long as it used to be. I spent Thanksgiving with Lori. We went to a pre-dinner party hosted by a friend of mine in Cayuga Heights first. (For those of you who don't know, Cayuga Heights is the more affluent area just outside of Ithaca. Doesn't it just sound like it has lots of money? Cayuga Heights?...) Anyway. It was an experience I was not properly dressed for. I was wearing jeans and my favorite but well-worn sweater while everyone else was in their Sunday best. The median age was probably about 60 and noone said, "Hi." They all looked at our hands first and said, "Do you need a drink?" before making eye contact. The draw for this party was the overflowing punch bowl of Whiskey Sours and the pot of Bloody Marys which they assured us were "not too strong to interfere with driving to our next party." All I could think was there are going to be a lot of half-intoxicated 60-somethings on the road by early afternoon. Watch out Cayuga Heights! Dinner was at our friend Jackie's. It was immediately apparent how much hard work and love went into preparing this meal. No Whiskey Sours or Booldy Marys were served, but much more typical thanksgiving fare was on the menu... turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallow, corn casserole, stuffing, buttermilk biscuits, some amazing bacon dip, and what was perhaps the best peanut-butter pie ever. (I'm sure there was more to be had that I missed because it wouldn't fit on my plate.) The women had spent all morning in the kitchen and the men were out hunting deer. When the hunting party returned to eat, (we had started earlier...) they regaled us with stories of near misses. ("I would have hit it if that tree wasn't in the way" seemed to be a common excuse.) The whole thing reeked of Thanksgivings past spent on my Grandparents' farm, and therefore very comfortable. Thanksgiving night I saw Shattered Glass, a movie about a young up-and-coming journalist for The New Republic, Stephen Glass, who was basically making up stories for print in the magazine. The movie was about the discovery and consequences of his fabricated stories. The movie was really well-done and timely considering all of the recent drama over the New York Times journalist, Jayson Blair. Lori and I got up at 5 AM Friday morning to shop at Best Buy and Target. Continuing a tradition started in Ohio a few years back, we decided to partake in the commercial holiday that is Black Friday. Those advertised deals in the circulars seem less appealing when you have to stand in a check-out line that circles around the store at 6:10 in the morning. Even a $20 DVD player was not going to get us in line, we left Best Buy empty-handed. Target had a much more reasonable crowd. There, I got a new shower curtain and a very-cool looking toaster oven. We hit Homo Depot by 8 AM, which was practically empty. Lori had never been so I felt required to help her maintain her "lesbian in good standing" status by making her walk the aisles for a bit. The big purchase there? A Teeny can of WD-40 which prevents my new apartment's front and back door from creaking and annoying the shit out of me. It was well worth getting up at 5 AM for. I was back in bed after shopping by 9:30. :-) Since then, nothing terribly exciting has happened... I've been trying to catch up on New Yorker magazines... watching friends' animals who are out of town... and attempting to unpack and create a pleasant, homey atmosphere in my new apartment. (It's coming along VERY slowly due to lack of motivation...) Tonight, god-willing, some friends and I will go to a drag show in Elmira. But that's only if the snow doesn't fly... | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, November 24, 2003 Quote of the Day "We should be celebrating the fact that these people are talking about forming solid relationships, families, because families, in the end, will keep the community stable. … Civil unions falls short. … We ought to allow people of the same sex to legitimate their relationships." "I think and I believe the American people will rise to a level of saying, 'Wait a minute, it's no skin off my back in terms of the law if somebody marries the person they love and that person is of the same gender." - Carol Moseley Braun | private feedback | (0) public comments  Dixie Chicks and the War, Part II
Despite boycotts and death threats, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks doesn't feel the need to censor her criticism of Dubbya and the war in Iraq. After making comments months ago that she was ashamed the president is from Texas, she had this to say during a recent interview... 'I think people were misled and I think people are fighting a war that they didn't know they were going to be fighting. And I think they were misled by people who should have been asking questions and weren't.' Amen. | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, November 23, 2003 Twelve Tribes Hosts a Forum A while back, I wrote about the new "religious group" that has set up residence in Ithaca. And one of the things that troubled me most was their stance on Gays & Lesbians (here & here). The Twelve Tribes hosted a community forum last week that I had to miss (for my night o' fun in Groton), to explain their views and 'goals' for the community. The Cornell Daily Sun had pretty good coverage of the forum. From the article... Perhaps most contentious was the group's sentiments on gay and lesbian issues. "We're not anti-anything, but we are very pro-family. We believe that women and men should be together. That's normal. People do all kinds of other things. We hope that we can live a certain way and inspire them to see what we see," said Twelve Tribes member Matthew Roller. That answer will not prevent me from avoiding their cafe. I'm still recommending that similarly-minded individuals do the same... I certainly don't have to financially support a group of individuals who believe if they model the male-female healthy couple model that folks will be "inspired" to act the same. | private feedback | (0) public comments New apartment... Last week I found, made an appointment to see, signed a lease for, and moved into an apartment. Its close to downtown, will be a much shorter walk to work, fits my budget, and the landlord loves that I have a cat. (More to the point, loves that her name is Cris and my cat's name is Chrissy.) It was a beautiful day yesterday for a move. The whole ordeal (orchestrated mostly by Lauren, Cheri, and Lori because my brain just doesn't work that way) was flawless. Lauren and I took a trip in her car at 11:45 ish... At 1, Lauren, Cheri, and Lori made a caravan carrying most all the rest of my earthly possesions in three vehicles across town. Strategically moving boxes as though we were the bucket brigade, everything was in my new apartment in literally an hour, tops. Lauren's boyfriend even stopped by to help with some of the big stuff. Now that everything's there, I'm not in a hurry to un-pack... even though it would probably only take me a few hours. I'm not looking forward to addressing a few unpleasant things... like the bolt that I had to cut when I took my futon apart which will probably prevent easy reassembly, or the chunk of my desk that is missing from when I tried moving it away from the wall. Moving twice in short succession has also made me senstive to the amount of stuff I own. I almost feel like I'm taking up too much space on the planet having an entire one-bedroom to myself. And its not even that big an apartment. All I really NEED is a studio or a room somewhere. I don't have, nor do I want, enough stuff to fill all the space. I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee and read the latest New Yorker to avoid being in an apartment filled with boxes... maybe I'll think about arranging stuff tonight when I get home... | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, November 21, 2003 Keelinn and Me... Last night, I spent the night with Lori, Darlene and Keelinn. At some point after dinner, Keelinn crawled up on my lap, laid her head on my shoulder, and said, "Lori, can you take a picture of us like this?" This one was my favorite...  Thursday, November 20, 2003 Reason enough to vote for her... While the rest of the spineless Dems waffle about equal rights but stopping short of endorsing full gay marriage, Carol Moseley Braun comes out in support of gay marriage. This is a problem that Dems need to tackle right away... this fear that you'd better not be for something that most Americans are against. This doesn't seem to bother the republicans... they're against the majority on most issues... gun control, affirmative action, abortion rights, among others... but as Bill Clinton said, voters will side with parties that are strong and wrong before they'll side with those who are weak and right. Dems, wake up and get the courage of your convictions... if you support full equality for gays and lesbians, then support full equality for gays and lesbians. Period. | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, November 18, 2003 Another big victory... In what will surely become known as the year of the fags, following a US Supreme Court decision striking down sodomy laws, the huge success of Queer Eye and a whole bunch of other victories... The Mass. Supreme Judicial Court has ruled (4-3) that it is unconstitutional to bar gays and lesbians from marriage. So they've thrown it back to the Mass. legislature who now has 6 months to figure out a way to be inclusive of gays and lesbians in marriage rights. I pray they don't pull the same 'separate but equal' civil union bullshit as in Vermont. If gays and lesbians are guaranteed the same rights under the constitution, then open up the civil and legal definition of marriage. Period. Stay tuned... everyone is going to have an opinion about this one... | private feedback | (0) public comments Yes, I like her that much... Today, Reba McEntire's new album, Room To Breathe, was released. Sure I got a few eyebrows raised at me when I was trying to get a ride to Best Buy on the day it came out... and when that was unsuccessful, when I asked the owners of my favorite cafe to 'watch my bag while I ran over to the album store.' Its a love I can't explain... I love her in spite of the fact that she's a big donor to Dubbya's re-election campaign. And I love her so much that I had to spend $13.99 at the independent music store instead of at Best Buy where they're having a $9.99 sale because I had to have it today. *Deep sigh* Please don't stop reading my blog cause I'm such a country geek. | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, November 17, 2003 Pictures I took this weekend... ... of my beautiful Christmas cactus in bloom...  ... and my kitty...  Yoga More people have asked me to take Yoga with them than I can count. I finally gave in yesterday and went with Lauren to Courtside for my first class. I had never been to Courtside before, and I have to say I was really impressed. Not only are the facilities cleaner than the now-defunct Ithaca Fitness Center (where I used to workout), they are bigger than City Health Club (where I also used to workout). Due to lack of money and lack of motivation I currently don't have a membership anywhere, but if Courtside were more conveniently located, I might be convinced to join. I guess I'll keep wishing for a gym on the Ithaca Commons. How great would that be? The Yoga instructor was this tiny, cutie-patootie, blonde and curly-haired woman named Jill. She started the class off by asking if anyone was new. I foolishly raised my hand... I was the lone newbie. Turns out being the newbie meant that Jill would pay extra special attention to me, which was nice. She'd walk over and praise my form or move my knee or whatever else she had to do to prevent me from hurting myself. She kept saying things like, 'If you're new to Yoga you may not want to do this position...' Of course I completely disgregarded her advice and I'm paying for it today. My entire upper back is in pain... like its been over-exerted. [The same thing happened when I took spin class and the instructor said, 'You can leave the resistance low if you're new.' And I thought, 'Naw I can handle it.' Turns out I couldn't handle that either. I guess I never learn.] I'm sure it didn't help that I had no focus. I thought Yoga was supposed to be relaxing, but to be honest I couldn't stop being self-conscious of my form, lack of flexibility, and how men's and women's bodies just aren't made to do the same things. And so then I wouldn't be paying attention to Jill and would end up in the complete opposite direction than I should be facing, or I'd miss her instructions altogether and have to look at other people to see what I should be doing. I was in my own little world, mentally, it just wasn't the one I should have been in for Yoga. It felt invigorating to be in a gym again, though. And Jill was really nice. So, I might go back... We'll see how I feel about it next Sunday. | private feedback | (0) public comments Just passin' it on... Check out this funny video... When you get there click on 'watch it now!' Thanks to Faustus and the blog he got it from. | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, November 16, 2003 Carol and Howard Sorry, Lauren, I know you said my blog is gettin' boring because of all my Carol Moseley Braun Posts, but I had to post this picture from Saturday's Democratic Party Dinner in Iowa...   Dude, Where's My Country?
Michael Moore has released another entertaining and seemingly credible book about how our biggest threat to national security isn't Osama Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein, but Dubbya himself. If you're feeling low on anti-bush rhetoric and need a shot of something to get you energized, go ahead and pick up this book. It doesn't have the same impact as Stupid White Men did following the stolen election in Florida... (I think the chapter in that book about how Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush assured Dubbya Florida 'victory' ought to be required reading)... but there are definitely a few new things in Dude that, if true, we should rightfully be upset about... And as Michael Moore is famous for, there is a heavy helping of rants and things that are certainly meant to only be entertaining (like the chapter written by 'god'). But sometimes he goes a little over the edge, which detracts from his credibility in a completely Dennis Kucinich kind of way. And then sometimes, when you think he has a good idea... like vote for the black female candidate... he makes a complete 180 and reveals the candidate he is talking about is not Carol Moseley Braun who is actually running for president, but Oprah. Which leaves me wondering if he's being serious or if this is another one of his ploys to bring attention to the more serious issues by being ridiculous. Michael Moore continues to educate while entertaining the anti-bush in all of us... Just be warned, its not his best work. | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, November 13, 2003 Senate Talkathon This probably doesn't instill the same kind of excitement in you as it does me, but I spent hours last night watching the Senate Talkathon on C-Span2 which was billed as 30 hours of discussion about why Dubbya's Judicial nominees were being held up. The republicans, sick of the successful filibuster of four of Dubbya's most right-wing judges, called this 30 hour bitch-fest to rally their base, bring attention of the issue to the American people, and ask the Dems to reconsider their position. Of course we know better than to assume anyone is going to change their position. What I find the most ironic, however, is that the republicans feel that this is important enough issue to hold a non-stop 30 hour discussion over... 4 judges (out of 172 I might add) that didn't get rubber-stamped due to their highly questionable constitutional interpretations... 4 judges that already have a job... 4 judges compared to the 60-something judges that republicans successfully blocked in the Clinton administration. Wouldn't it be ground-breaking... and perhaps a little more important... to hold a 30 hour talkathon about unemployment? How about the overhaul of the healthcare system? How about reform of Campaign financing? How about the minimum wage? How about... sorry, I could really go on and on. But the republicans don't give a damn about any of those issues... they care more about their ideological right-wing judges sitting on the bench than the millions of people who don't have jobs, health care, etc. Perhaps people across the country might start to think that the Senate was working for them if they actually discussed issues of importance to the American people. And the thing that really got me... when the republicans would talk, Dems would ask them to 'yield the floor for a question.' And they were told 'No.' No sense in interrupting a good stream of lies and distortions, eh? I didn't see a single time that they allowed Dems to ask questions in the middle of their tirades which might have spurred a real debate. I did, however, see Charles Schumer (our distinguished Democratic Senator from New York) allowing the other side to ask questions of him. He responded to their questions and was perhaps the most eloquent speaker during the entire time I watched the debate. If I'm not mistaken, the Talkathon goes until midnight tonight... so catch a few minutes if you can. Our government (run by ignorant republicans) in action... | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, November 12, 2003  Runaway Jury
Last Friday, Cheri and I and a few other folks went to see Runaway Jury, the new movie adapted from one of John Grisham's novels. I remember that Runaway Jury was the second of his books that I read... on the heels of A Time To Kill. While A Time To Kill is still my favorite, Runaway Jury is a close second. The story of a manipulated jury, most of the elements stay the same... except instead of the jurors being placed to decide a liability case against big tobacco, they are being asked to decide a case against gun manufacturers. (I suppose by this point, cases against big tobacco don't hold the same novelty they once did.) Of course, everyone in the movie has an agenda separate from the actual case at hand, and those agendas are never 100% clear and always at odds... these agendas play out in interesting plot twists and add instant depth to the various characters. The cast was amazing. John Cusack continues to impress me. For the first time, I actually thought Gene Hackman's and Dustin Hoffman's roles stood out as stellar. I generally don't care for either of those actors but this movie is a must-see in large part because of them. | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, November 10, 2003 Good News For Carol Moseley Braun... According to a Newsweek poll, among contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, Carol Moseley Braun is only one percentage point behind Joe Lieberman... tied with John Kerry... and ahead of Senator John Edwards, Al Sharpton, and Dennis Kucinich. Sixteen percent of Democratic voters and those who lean Democratic said Dean is their first choice, 15 percent indicated retired Gen. Wesley Clark as their first choice. U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt was third with 9 percent, followed by Sen. Joe Lieberman at 8 percent, Sen. John Kerry and Carole Moseley-Braun, a former senator, with 7 percent, Sen. John Edwards at 6 percent, activist Al Sharpton with 4 percent and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich at 2 percent. | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, November 07, 2003 Carol Moseley Braun... ... answers a bunch of questions submitted by readers of the Washington Post. | private feedback | (0) public comments Diplomatic failure... The New York Times published a very short story today about how Iraqi officials tried to open a communications channel with the Bush administration in the weeks leading up to war. They were trying to communicate, in indirect ways (since the Administration had no interest in talking to them directly) that they no longer had any illicit weapons, that Baghdad would allow American experts to conduct an independent search and that Saddam Hussein would turn over a suspect in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Scott McClellan, spokesman for the White House, said that Iraq had had plenty of chances over the years to comply with United Nations resolutions. "The United States exhausted every legitimate and credible opportunity to resolve this peacefully." McClellan wouldn't even indicate whether Dubbya was aware of these attempts, so my guess would be that he was. Exhausted every legitimate and credible opportunity!? Hardly if this report is true. Rumsfeld also said that Iraq did not need last-minute talks to avert a war. "The regime of Saddam Hussein had ample — well beyond ample — opportunity to avoid war," he said at a news briefing. I'm not convinced they did. | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, November 06, 2003 I hope this makes you happy... I got a bunch of emails saying that I needed to bump up the size of my post font so that people could read it. [Emphasis is theirs...] So there ya go. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Things that make you go 'Hmmmm'  This is dubbya signing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban into law. Gee, he's normally so careful to get diversity into photo-ops with him... have you ever noticed the strategic placement of minorities at his speeeches? Every racial minority in attendance stands behind him. Did anyone forget to mention that maybe he ought to have a woman standing behind him when signing an abortion bill? Instead of a bunch of right-wing conservative white guys? Hmmmmm... | private feedback | (0) public comments What do you do when you're stuck between your principles and a harsh reality? Howard Dean is on record as being in favor of publicly funded elections (the federal government gives candidates money, but there are spending limits). In my humble opinion, publicly funded elections are a good thing, limiting the amount of special interest money that candidates can raise and leveling the playing field as much as possible. As we know, however, leveling the playing field is something that Dubbya is against. He has already made the decision to drop the federal matching funds and the accompanying 45 million dollar spending limit... so that he can raise upwards of 200 million dollars from all of his rich fat-cat buddies who he's served so well with tax cuts and rebuilding Iraq contracts. But where does that leave the Dem's? The Dem's have to decide either to stand by principle (they generally support public financing) which will put them at a HUGE financial disadvantage... or they cave in to the financial juggernaut that is Dubbya and the right-wing republicans and hope to god they can raise more than the spending limit on their own. Howard Dean is playing his hand very smartly and very politically. He can't exactly decide to drop the public financing system because that will make him look hypocritical. He can, however, ask his supporters if THEY think he should and make it look like a big act of democracy... and he's just going along with their decision. THAT is exactly what he's doing. No Dem, if I'm correct, has ever shunned federal matching funds before. This would be a historic first. So, I got the email which allows me to vote on the issue...(because, before my support for Carol Moseley Braun and before his Confederate Flag comment, I was a huge Dean proponent). And I was faced with the question I posed earlier. Do I stand by principle (I stronlgy believe that elections should be publicly financed), or... is the reality that Dubbya's money is going to set the tone for the race and we can't compete without similar funds? I voted to move Dean's campaign outside of the publicly financed arena and spending limits... my decision was based on just how much I want evil George W. Bush out of the White House. But I had also done a little research... and read how much the public campaign finance rules need to be updated since their creation in the 70's and how outdated the system really is. So, with my vote, since we were allowed to leave comments, I urged Howard Dean to continue preaching the virtues of publicly funded campaigns and that the only reason he would even consider this measure is because desperate times call for desperate measures... and it doesn't get more desperate than Dubbya in the White House. Progressives forgive me... | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, November 05, 2003 Howard Dean and the Confederate Flag Flap Howard Dean, what were you thinking when you said, 'I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks.'? And then, what almost made it worse (if that's possible) when pressed about downplaying the confederate flag as a divisive symbol, you went on to wrap up racial bigotry with poverty and the south. I'm not sure if you were trying to say that every racist is poor (that's certainly not true) or that every poor white southerner is racist, but man did you stick your foot in your mouth. I'm glad to see you apologized today after Al Sharpton and John Edwards tag-teamed you at last night's CNN Rock The Vote forum. 'I regret the pain that I may have caused either to African American or southern white voters.' and followed up with how important a discussion about race is... but, 'I started this discussion in a clumsy way.' That may be the understatement of the century... and if you were worried about convincing Democrats that a northerner can carry southern states... you oughta be really worried now. | private feedback | (0) public comments  Election Results...
Carolyn Peterson will be Ithaca's first female mayor, taking nearly 62% of the vote (in a three-way race no less!). Congratulations to her and the rest of the Democratic slate that won in most of Tompkins County. Judge Sherman, I am happy to report, beat republican Sue Kirby by a 2-1 margin. Judge Sherman has been county judge for the last 10 years and is in strong support of the ATI and drug court programs. I think this vote may indicate where the residents of the county stand on that particular issue. Continuing a tradition I started last year... I went to the Union Hall to get the election results as they were tallied. The Democrats gather at the hall on election night to celebrate victories and make speeches. I gotta say, its way better than reading about it in the paper the next day or watching the news. As results come in, district by district, people applaud and cheer as the Dems come out on top. Its really fantastic energy, and a part of the political process that not enough people see. It's hard to claim that your vote doesn't count when you see slim margins in each of the districts being reported and analyzed by local officials. This gets lost in the media when reports are made of overall numbers... margins, of course, get much larger in aggregate. People spend the evening making percentage predictions, people look for trends, just about every Democratic elected official (and Ithaca College journalism student) is there... its really fascinating... the culmination of seven months of campaigning and going door-to-door come down to this one night. For coverage of the night and detailed election results, check out the Ithaca Journal, and the Cornell Daily Sun. | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, November 04, 2003 Local Drama Part II The Ithaca Journal ran an article today that outlines the debate over the Drug Courts and ATI in more detail today... if you have any interest in reading more about this philosophical rehabilitation-vs.-punishment-for-drug-offenders debate going on locally. | private feedback | (0) public comments Democracy Day Today is Election Day. Because I recently moved, I had to vote in an entirely new Ward. This was cool, however, because I got to vote in the only contested City Council race. Although that also meant that I didn't get to vote for the woman whose campaign I have been helping to organize since May. Bummer. It also meant that I had to vote by Affidavit since my change of address information didn't make it into the polling place in time to be included on the official voter rolls book. I had the little old ladies that ran my polling place in a tizzy. Not only were they not sure how to fill out my affidavit ballot, but they freaked out when I ripped off a portion of the ballot that said, 'DO NOT REMOVE' in big bold letters. Heheh. I probably didn't get high marks for 'following directions' in kindergarten... but it was an honest mistake. When I presented them with my now two-piece affidavit ballot they all shrieked at the same time... 'Oh my gosh! We have to call the Board of Elections!' The crisis was averted, apparently it wasn't as big a deal as they initially thought... but in all the commotion I forgot to take my 'I Voted' sticker. Damnit! | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, November 03, 2003 Today in History... On November 3rd, 1992, Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois became the first African-American female U.S. Senator. | private feedback | (0) public comments Local Drama... Dubbya and the 'starve the beast' republicans would be VERY happy about the conversation that is currently happening in Ithaca and Tompkins County. Right now, our County board is deciding on a budget for 2004. The most contentious debate, by far, is whether to fund the Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) Program. The Drug Court Program, a part of ATI finds itself smack-dab in the middle of the debate. Drug Court is founded on the idea that rehabilitating non-violent drug offenders into contributing members of society is more beneificial to them (and the community) than throwing them in jail. Why throw someone in jail for something they may not be able to control and simply need help breaking out of cycles in which they are trapped? (Rush Limbaugh can surely understand this argument, yes?) Also, the folks that participate in Drug Court (which includes mandatory drug testing, life skills courses, and counselling among other services) don't wind up in our nearly-full jail, preventing us from having to build a new and costly capital project. So what's the problem? Well, Drug Court costs Tompkins County taxpayers about $1.2 Million a year. And, this year (thanks to unfunded state mandates, less federal and state aid, deficits, and the Dubbya tax cut) we're faced with a potential double-digit tax increase if we don't cut something. ATI managed to make it through committee and the full board with some cuts just like most every other budget item in the county. And now the fun begins... The republican DA's budget also got cut. Apparently he feels put upon and is not happy. Ideologically, he makes no bones about being against the Drug Court Program (as most republicans are of most social programs that actually help people) and claims that the county has prioritized criminals ahead of victims. He decided that in order to maintain the level of service that he provides to the county, he will need to pull out of participation in Drug Court. (You cut my budget... I'll cut the amount of work I do... slick, eh?) He thought this was a perfect power play... that his lack of participation alone would kill the program. He quickly went on the offensive saying that the taxpayers of Tompkins County should thank him for saving them $450,000 by killing the Drug Court Program. All I have to say is... who the hell does this guy think he is? Life and the Drug Court will go on... with or without the egotistical DA involved. It would seem that the DA has overestimated the importance of his voluntary presence (after all, if a judge orders his presence, he WILL be there)... and we have yet to see whether this pathetic attempt at playing politics will backfire. Stay tuned... | private feedback | (0) public comments |
Hey! I'm Shane... a proud gay progressive Democrat who has recently relocated to New York City from Ithaca, NY. As I am no longer in Ithaca, I haven't quite decided the fate of this blog. Drop me a line!
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