Monroerising.com

We first reported on NY Senator Chuck Schumer’s role in the IndyMac Bank collapse in July. Now there are reports that California AG Jerry Brown, is considering a probe of Schumer’s role in the collapse. This would be a clash of media seeking titans.

According to news reports:

At issue is a much-publicized letter that Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, sent in June to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) questioning the company’s ability to survive.

The FDIC took control of IndyMac on July 11 after depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion over 11 days. It was the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history. At the time, OTS Director John Reich blamed Schumer’s letter for causing the run on the bank.

In a letter to Attorney General Jerry Brown last week, 51 former IndyMac workers wrote: “From the day (Schumer’s) letter was made public on June 26 until the closure of the bank, a run on the bank took place and the failure became inevitable.”

Brown’s spokeswoman Christine Gasparac said on Wednesday that his office was reviewing the letter and that a decision on whether to act on it could be made as early as next week.

Just a hunch, but I don’t think there is any way Jerry Brown passes on this — imagine the media attention he would get by going after Senator Schumer. Chuckie might have other things to worry about besides his time table on RenSquare.

Tags: Chuck Schumer, Cincinnatus by Cincinnatus
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The Democrat and Chronicle reports today that Rochester area billionaire Tom Golisano will be supporting RICHard Dollinger and Baby Joe Mesi for the state Senate.  This almost sounds like a bad joke. Supporting Dollinger, who had the Senate job and ran for judge while he had it, then quit to run for judge again (and lost a second time), then ran for Democratic Party Chair, was elected party chair and then quit to run for Brighton Town Judge, which he just quit so he could run for the Senate doesn’t make sense.

Neither does supporting Baby Joe Mesi, a guy who had difficulty being approved to box in New York because of brain bleeds.  Being a successful businessman, Golisano is probably used to delegating authority to people and letting them do their job.  But his political advisor, Steve Pigeon, doesn’t seem to have Golisano’s best interests at heart.

Here is my public letter to Mr. G:

So Mr. Golisano, how in the world does teaming up with the guys who are supported by the Working Families Party make any sense?  These leftists are committed to maintaining the special interest’s strangle hold on our state.  Why would you help elect people running on their line.

As we have mentioned before, you are a brilliant businessman — one of the best.  But when it comes to politics, your record is terrible.  That party you started back in the 1990’s and walked away from is an embarrassment.  You’ve spent more money per vote in one of you unsuccessful campaigns than anyone in the history of our country.

Please, reconsider you actions.  I’m not a billionaire — or a millionaire.  If you help elect these guys and things get even more screwed up (did you catch our post on Malcolm Smith the other day?) I’m might have to join the millions who have already left our state.

Please, save your money and buy the Buffalo Bills or donate to more worthy charities, but please recognize your shortcomings and stay out of politics!

Yours Truly,

Cincie

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus, Richard Dollinger, Tom Golisano by Cincinnatus
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Chris Lee has a new TV spot. Here it is for your viewing:

Tags: Articles, Chris Lee, Cincinnatus, Local Congressional Races by Cincinnatus
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Of all of the politicians out there, I consider myself to be similar to John McCain — you might consider my posts on monroerising.com as my version of the straight talk express.  I’d like to think that I’d tell it to you the way it is and that’s what people would like about me.

With that said, the people have spoken and I’ve listened.  We will not be implementing Jackson’s law.  Everyone who commented or sent an e-mail disagreed with the proposal.  I know I said this would not be a democratic process or decision but after seeing the responses — we’ve cut and run!

Jackson buddy, people around here disagree with about 98% of what you have to say, but they love reading it!  Keep on commenting as often as you like!

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus by Cincinnatus
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Former Erie County Democratic Chairman Steve Pigeon must have a Svengali type hold over Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano.  How else would you explain Mr. Golisano’s decision to donate $1 million to the Democratic National Convention?

According to the New York Times:

 Tom Golisano, the Rochester billionaire and registered Republican, donated $1 million on Friday to the host committee of the Democratic Party’s convention in Denver, making him one of the largest donors to the planning efforts surrounding the expected coronation of Barack Obama as the party’s nominee next week.

(snip)

Mr. Pigeon is the former chairman of the Democratic Party in Erie County and joined the Obama campaign’s finance committee a few weeks ago; he subsequently played a key role in soliciting the donation from Mr. Golisano. Mr. Pigeon recently co-hosted a fund-raiser for Mr. Obama in San Francisco and said he would probably organize future events in New York.

Mr. Golisano’s $1 million donation is far above the $2,300 limit for donors to the Obama campaign itself and is one of the largest “soft money” donations made to the convention committee.

(snip)

“We think one of the things New York needs to come back is a strong relationship with the federal government,” Mr. Pigeon said. Mr. Golisano, he added, “is looking at Obama’s message of change and hope and is very down on the last eight years of what the Bush administration has done, especially the Iraq war.”

I thought John McCain, not George Bush, was the Republican candidate.

Having Golisano’s money being used to advance Democratic talking points really hurts Golisano’s credibility.  If Golisano is committed to reform, the first thing he should do is dump Pigeon!

Tags: Articles, Barack Obama, Cincinnatus, Tom Golisano by Cincinnatus
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We at monroerising.com need your help. We are considering adopting a policy of not allowing more than two comments per reader per post. The primary contributors are split on this proposal, named Jackson’s Law — because it is inspired by jacksonsmiles.

Some feel that all of his comments should be posted because they are so outrageous, while others feel that he frequently crosses the line and takes away from the site. We would like to solicit input from you, our loyal readers on this subject.

Please send me an e-mail at Cincinnatus@monroerising.com (or post a comment) and let me know what you think about this. This is not going to be a democratic decision — we will, however, take reader opinion into consideration before we make the final decision.

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus by Cincinnatus
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Here is the video from yesterday’s press conference on the GOP Chairs Address Recent Questions Surrounding Jon Powers’ Nonprofit Organization, War Kids Relief — Leaders call on Powers to Disclose Information on Nonprofit:

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus, Jon Powers, Local Congressional Races by Cincinnatus
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Buffalo – Today, Western New York Republican Chairman asked Congressional Candidate Jon Powers to publicly release documents disclosing the expenditures of Powers nonprofit organization War Kids Relief.  Last Wednesday, the Buffalo News raised serious questions about Powers dealings with War Kids Relief.  The Republican Chairman sent a letter to Powers asking him to set the record straight and disclose how the nonprofit spent the money that was raised for children in Iraq.

“All of the Western New Yorkers who contributed to Powers organization deserve to know exactly how their money was spent,” said Erie County Republican Chairman Jim Domagalski.  “We need leaders in Congress who believe in transparency and accountability.”

“These issues have cast a cloud over Jon’s candidacy for Congress and the citizens of community deserve answers,” said Niagara County Republican Chairman Henry Wojtaszek.  “Jon has made ‘leadership by the example’ the slogan for the campaign.  This is an opportunity to allow his actions to meet his words.”
       
A recent Buffalo News editorial referred to Powers work with War Kids Relief as “unseemly boasting of charitable work” as amounting “to far less than he has advertised.” Tomorrow is the deadline for nonprofit organizations to file the proper paperwork (Form 990) with the Internal Revenue Service to account for the expenditures for nonprofit organizations.  In their letter to Jon Powers, the chairman requested the following questions be publicly disclosed:

1.        How much money was raised for War Kids Relief?
2.        How much money was allocated to the children of Iraq?
3.        Specifically, what programs did you establish in Iraq?
4.        How much money was spent on general administration, travel and fundraising?
5.        In addition to your salary of $77,000 over 18 months, were you afforded employee benefits the charity? If so, at what cost to War Kids Relief?   

“Jon needs to set the record straight,” said Monroe County Republican Chairman Bill Reilich.  “More excuses and rhetoric will not suffice, we need concrete evidence of how Powers spent the money that he raised for the children of Iraq and we need it today.”

“Powers needs to release these documents to the public,” said Ed Morgan Orleans County Republican Chairman. “As one of the centerpieces of Powers campaign, the expenditures of War Kids Relief should be
publicly disclosed.  We need leaders in Congress who understand how to spend money wisely and responsibly.”

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus, Jon Powers, Local Congressional Races by Cincinnatus
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We’ve commented many times about how liberals like taxes.  One of my favorites was a recent post on rochesterturning calling taxes an “investment.” 

Let me start by saying I believe taxes are an investment in the future. They fund infrastructure, they pay into accounts (like Social Security), and can be a huge lever that everyone helps with to do things we just can’t do on our own.

Yes, exactly — an investment in the future.  That’s why our state is doing better than any other in the nation.  We invest 79% more than the national average through property taxes. 

Well now, the Working Families Party, the people supporting millionaires RICHard Dollinger and David Nachbar, are airing television commercials against Governor Patterson’s property tax cap. According to a source no less reputable than the liberal standard bearer the New York Times, which had this article:

Starting on Tuesday, the left-leaning Working Families Party and the education advocacy group Alliance for Quality Education began broadcasting commercials in the state’s biggest television markets that assail the governor for his support of a cap in property tax increases.

The commercials, which are being broadcast at a cost of $1.5 million and will run repeatedly on cable and network television from now until Aug. 19, the day the Legislature convenes for a special session, refer to the cap as a “gimmick” and a “scheme.”

(snip)

Mr. Paterson’s office responded to the advertisement on Tuesday in a written statement calling the cap plan “sensible” and citing progress by students in Massachusetts, where a cap on increases was put in place. It also tied the cap in with the governor’s plan to turn New York’s economy around.

“There is widespread recognition among New Yorkers that runaway increases in property taxes are deeply hurting our state,” the statement said. “Anyone who does not acknowledge this trend is out of touch with working families. The longer we wait to approve a property tax cap, the more we will hamstring New York from reaching its full economic potential.”

And rumor has it Tom Golisano wants to help these same Democrats totally take over state government?

It truly is galling that Dollinger and Nachbar received the support of this union special interest group and they have the nerve to claim their opponents have done enough to control property taxes. 

We at monroerising.com are commited to getting the truth out on this subject.  We mentioned an e-mail we received earlier from a reader about the Working Families Circuit Breaker property tax cap.  Take a look at their website.  Use their calculator.  Let’s just say you are one of those really wealthy families making a total family income of $60,000 and you are paying a total of $3700 in property taxes.  Their plan would save you an amazing $100 per year — a little less than $10 per month. That would make quite a difference in your life wouldn’t it?

The Working Families Party is nothing more than a front for organized labor.  They are using our kids to protect their union members. You would think that the public would see through this, but who knows?  $1.5 million dollars in special interest money could have a significant impact on the public.   

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus, David Nachbar, Richard Dollinger, Tom Golisano by Cincinnatus
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If you see the Old Gal today, make sure you wish her a happy birthday.  It hard to believe, but she turns 79 years old today.  One of our first posts at monroerising.com’s pointed out how good Weesie looked for someone who would be turning 79 this summer. I’d love to know if she uses the same plastic surgeon as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

Well, here we are and she’s still kicking — stronger than ever!

Tags: Cincinnatus, Louise Slaughter by Cincinnatus
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