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Will I get tarred and feathered if I admit that I do not support the United Way?  In fact, I am sick and tired of people trying to guilt me into giving to that organization.  

At many workplaces around the region, employees are annually hectored into donating to the cause.  Just today, the editorial page of the Democrat and Chronicle sternly tells its readership to “Donate to United Way of Greater Rochester now, when it counts.” 

Undoubtedly, the United Way supports many worthy efforts across the region.  It also supports organizations like Planned Parenthood.

I do not understand why an organization created to do good for an entire community would effectively take sides on a issue as contentious as abortion.  It demonstrates that the leadership of the United Way either does not consider abortion to be a sensitive issue, or it does not care.  Either way, I refuse to support them.

And before you write a poorly-spelled response about how I am an evil conservative and that only liberals really care about the less fortunate, remember that it is a demonstrated fact that conservatives are much more generous than liberals.   In 2007, Arthur C. Brooks, a politically independent professor at Syracuse University, wrote a book called, “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism.”  George F. Will recently provided a nice summary of Brooks’s findings:

•Although liberal families’ incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).

•Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

•Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George W. Bush.

•Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.

•In the 10 reddest states, in which Bush got more than 60 percent majorities, the average percentage of personal income donated to charity was 3.5. Residents of the bluest states, which gave Bush less than 40 percent, donated just 1.9 percent.

•People who reject the idea that “government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality” give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.

 To sum up, conservatives are generous people who genuinely care for the less fortunate and give more to charity than liberals. 

And this conservative will not give to a charity like the United Way that funnels money to organizations that I vehemently oppose.  SO STOP ASKING!

Tags: Articles, Occam by Occam
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No one disputes that the Rochester area faces many problems.  The most serious problems, job loss and people loss, stem from the overabundance of state laws and regulations that choke businesses and individuals (high property taxes, high energy costs, high workers compensation costs, the scaffold law, I could go on, but I might fling my coffee mug at an innocent bystander).  

In light of these serious challenges, nimrods predictably offer the perfect solution to all our woes: TOURISM DOLLARS!

The latest example of this can be found in an editorial in today’s D&C that praises the state for focusing on upstate tourism.  According to the D&C:

The state this week rolled out a new campaign, using the iconic “I Love New York” slogan, to draw tourists upstate from nearby states and Canada.

The idea is that high gas prices will limit trips this summer, meaning people from New Jersey or Toronto might be more inclined to visit Rochester’s lakeside or take a golf vacation in Monroe County than travel long distances.

snip

The upstate focus, as it develops, must be about more than the Finger Lakes and Niagara Falls. Those are great attractions, but so too is the rich history of Rochester, the home of Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony and George Eastman.

There are jewels upstate that a renewed tourism effort should uncover.

Someone please tell me who would go on a vacation to visit the homes of Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and George Eastman.  The next time you talk to an out of town friend, try to convince them to vacation in Rochester so that they can visit the George Eastman house.  Let me know how that works out for you.  [Read more →]

Tags: Articles, Democrat and Chronicle, Occam by Occam
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A reliable source of amusement each week is the “Thumbs Up Thumbs Down” section on the Saturday editorial page.  Our paper of record briefly describes an event or issue, and then, as moral arbiter, proclaims whether it is ”Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down.” 

I especially like it when they give a Thumbs Up to some girl scouts who raise $57.12 for a charity right before they give a thumbs down to a sociopath who just went on a 6 state murder/cannibalism/check kiting/puppy killing spree.  Way to take a strong moral stand against murder, cannibalism, check kiting, and puppy killing!

Also humorous is the way in which the editorial board attempts to sum up a complicated issue in a single sentence or two.  It is even better when the board attempts this feat after drinking seven blueberry almond martinis, as they did this Saturday:

THUMBS DOWN: for the continued focus on “gotcha” politics in the presidential race - misremembering, the use of certain words and personal relationships.  The focus on nonissues was on display in this week’s Pennsylvania debate between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama.

What does that even mean?  It is nearly impossible to analyze the substance of this statement.  It was either written by someone who was intoxicated or it was translated from Chinese.  Is the Democrat and Chronicle outsourcing its editorial page to China?  I always suspected that the editorials were being written by evil communists. [Read more →]

Tags: Democrat and Chronicle, Occam by Occam
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I have a natural distrust for self-anointed reformers.  In most cases, politicians who cry for reform are merely trying to further their own political agenda.  And they know that as long as they use the magic R word, the dim-witted public will immediately support their actions.  Pavlov’s dogs salivated at the sound of a bell, and newspaper editors ignore reason at the sound of “reform.” 

Even worse, the politicians who cry reform the loudest are usually the biggest hypocrites.  Recent history has borne this out. 

Exhibit A, of course, is Client 9, the big bad reformer who liked to transport hookers across state lines and then make the beast with two backs while wearing black dress socks (look it up, it’s true).

Exhibit B would be the number two man on the reform ticket: David Paterson.  As we all know, this guy admitted to having an affair, having a few affairs, and then having many affairs.  Soon thereafter, he was caught using campaign funds for personal uses (including for hotel stays in Albany despite the fact that he lived 15 minutes away - I bet that had nothing to do with the many affairs to which he admitted).  And then he also admitted to cocaine use. [Read more →]

Tags: New York State, Occam by Occam
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It has been a year since a certifiably crazy Virginia Tech student shot and killed over 30 of his classmates before killing himself.  A common reaction to tragedies such as this is to call for increased gun control legislation.  I remain unconvinced that most gun control legislation does anything to make us safer.

One of the principal reasons I (and many others) own guns is for self-protection.  I know that there are people in the world, whether they be criminals or crazies or terrorist evildoers, who think little of harming others.  I also know that the police cannot protect me every moment of the day and night.  I know that I can make choices that make it less likely for harm to come to me or my family, but I cannot completely remove that possibility.

I realize that the state has a legitimate interest in keeping its citizens safe, and that most gun laws are written in an attempt to further that interest.  However, many gun laws take away freedoms while doing little to make us safer.  Worse still, some laws directly interfere with my legitimate right to protect myself.  [Read more →]

Tags: Articles, Occam by Occam
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Our state representatives don’t have time to get into much trouble lately because of the late budget.  In their defense, it takes a lot of concentration to create new sources of revenue ex nihilo.

 So let us turn to other areas of government for amusement.  Two stories out of the Buffalo News caught my attention because they included the triumvirate of political humor: (1) Politician; (2) Sex; and (3) Hilarious bad judgment.

First, we have the story of the (Democratic) Niagara County Coroner, who befriended a Chinese businessman and his wife, and then brought them around to political functions to introduce them to local politicians and businesspeople.  Allegedly, this “legitimate businessman” planned to bring Asian investors to the Niagara Falls region.  Instead, he opened a string of massage parlors that are being investigated as fronts for a prostitution ring. 

The funniest part of the story involves the Niagara County Sheriff, Thomas A. Beilein:  “At one gathering, Tsui [the “legitimate businessman”] and his wife asked Beilein to pose for a picture with them, the sheriff said. Beilein said he agreed to do so, in part because [the county coroner] had vouched for the couple. Beilein said he was upset months later to learn that the couple had hung his photograph with them in a prominent place in their Wheatfield massage parlor.”  Oops. [Read more →]

Tags: Articles, Occam by Occam
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Our friends in the New York legislature are busy passing budget bills, so there do not appear to be any hilarious/depressing scandals to report upon at this time.  So let’s turn our attention to a presidential candidate who likes to deceive the public about his liberal views.

 It’s well known that the media has fallen in love with Obama and does not like to ask him difficult questions (if the cretins on SNL do a skit about it, it’s safe to say that it’s well known).  The only person who gives him a hard time on a regular basis is the shrew Hillary Clinton, who few people really like.  And I would be the first to admit that Obama is a thoughtful, intelligent, and charismatic individual.  Combine these with the fact that Obama is a relative newcomer to the political scene, and we have a situation where the democrat’s likely nominee is an individual that we know VERY LITTLE ABOUT. 

I am convinced that Obama is a hard leftist and that thoughtful scrutiny will bear this out.  Misty-eyed talk about “hope” and “change” may work for old ladies and simpletons.  But as the economy continues to worsen, and as the McCain campaign picks up speed, thoughtful voters will demand that Obama provide specifics regarding his views. [Read more →]

Tags: Articles, Occam, Presidential Politics by Occam
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The good governor likes to spend his campaign cash on himself as well.  According to a story in the New York Daily News yesterday, “Gov. Paterson spent thousands of dollars in campaign funds on personal items like hotel stays, men’s suits, home furnishings and bar tabs, documents released Friday show.”

Predictably, “Paterson’s aides defended his behavior, insisting none of the expenditures was improper because everything was repaid.”

I might be able to think up a worse excuse, but it would take some effort.  Think this through: the governor is at a Men’s Warehouse and he picks out $1,075.90 in clothing.  He arrives at the checkout counter, takes out his wallet, AND CHOOSES THE CAMPAIGN FUND CREDIT CARD.  I might be more understanding if this only happened once, but this same scenario played itself out at a furniture store, a Manhattan restaurant, an Albany hotel bar, and another clothing store in Albany.

This would be like stealing $100 from your roommate to pay your credit card bill, and then justifying the action because you paid him back when you were caught. 

I had a roommate like that.  When we finally caught him red-handed, we threw him out of the house. 

Tags: Articles, David Paterson, Occam by Occam
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By all accounts, Governor Paterson is very bright, hard working individual who is well liked by folks on both sides of the aisle in the legislature.  Although liberal to the core, he seemed like a welcome change of pace from the sanctimonious and brash Client 9.  Unfortunately, he may not be governor for long.  Bear with me on this long post, but there’s a significant amount of potential wrongdoing to cover.  Moreover, much of it involves potentially felonious misuse of campaign funds.

As you recall, just hours after his inauguration, Governor Paterson and his wife held a press conference where they both admitted to marital infidelities during a “rough patch” in their marriage a few years ago.  Maybe politics makes me cynical, but when I heard that they had happily fessed up to marital infidelities, I wondered what sort of bad deeds were being covered up.  I have to give credit to the reporters covering the Albany scene - they refused to give the governor a free pass (like the national reporters give to Obama) and went digging on their own. 

In just a few days, they’ve uncovered quite a bit about our governor and it does not look good.  First, the press reported that the Governor had an ongoing relationship with a woman named Lila Kirton, a state employee who now works for him (she worked in Client 9’s office, and with his resignation, now works for Governor Paterson).   That looks pretty seedy, but the Governor apologized, so let’s move on.  Except that we can’t move on because it turns out that Paterson’s campaign wrote Kirton a check for $500 in 2002 for “professional services.”  I am not an expert at campaign finance rules, but I’m pretty sure you are not permitted to use campaign contributions to pay your girlfriend for “professional services.”

Next, the New York Post reported that former Olympic medalist Diane Dixon had a ”close personal relationship” with the governor earlier this year, and that he had helped get her a job with the city Department of Education just last month.  That sounds inappropriate, but at least there was nothing reported about campaign funds.

I spoke too soon.  On Thursday, the Governor admitted that he used a campaign credit card to pay for a hotel room where he met another woman who he could not recall.  He also could not recall if he paid the campaign back.  He must not have, because today, he reimbursed his campaign for hotel stays in December of 2002 and September of 2003. 

I wish I could wrap this up, but the story will not die.  Today, the New York Post reported that “Gov. Paterson’s campaign-finance reports show he paid $1,000 to a woman who says she barely knows him, didn’t work for him and never received any money.”  Nevertheless, “Luisa Vizcarrondo, 49, was listed as ’staff’ on Paterson’s campaign for re-election when he was in the state Senate, and a payment of $1,000 was made to her on June 25, 2002, according the records.”

Even worse, the New York Sun reported today that “Paterson officials [are seeking] to provide details about more than $11,000 in payments that his campaign committee made between 2002 and 2007 to a 45-year-old woman, April Robbins-Bobyn, whose connection to Mr. Paterson is not clear.”  What is clear is that she received more than a dozen payments over a five year period totaling over $11,000.

The underlying problem here is that politicians are prohibited from taking campaign contributions for personal use.  And most everyone would agree that covering expenses for a politician’s girlfriend is a most personal use of campaign funds. 

I am not happy about this story.  It is not good for the state of New York that its second governor in as many weeks could be indicted for misusing campaign funds.  We will have to wait and see if the governor can provide satisfactory explanations for these irregularities.  And I hope no new stories break in the coming days.     

Tags: Articles, David Paterson, Occam by Occam
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Normally, we wouldn’t waste our time digging into the sordid details of this debacle, but some liberal lunatics have forced our hand.  According to Liz Benjamin of the Daily Politics, “There seems to be a small, but vocal, and growing feeling in certain left-leaning cornersthat Gov. Eliot Spitzer shouldn’t resign and also might have been a target of the Bush administration’s DOJ. ”

Before we allow Client 9 to be portrayed as a victim of the Bush administration, let’s briefly review what we know about this scandal so far  (we’re basing this on the federal affidavit and several news reports):

1.  Governor Spitzer arranged for a high priced prostitute to travel across state lines to have sex with him in Washington D.C. the day before Valentines day.

2.  Governor Spitzer had used this particular prostitution ring previously, and had a credit of at least $400 on his account.

3.  Governor Spitzer gave his prostitute extra money (well over $1,000)  to be credited to his account for future use.

4.  The manager of the prostitution ring knew of Spitzer, and considered him to be “difficult.”  I’m not really sure what you have to do to be considered difficult by a pimp, but I don’t think it has anything to do with requesting red M&M’s and Fiji water.

5.  The manager of the prostitution ring was concerned how the prostitute would react when our governor “would ask you to do things, that, like, you might not think were safe.”  I’m not going to touch that one.

6.  This was not a spur of the moment transaction, where the Governor looked at the fat stack of 100’s in his wallet and decided to find himself a whore.  The investigation started when banks notified the IRS of some suspicious transactions.  According to the New York Times, these were ”transactions by a governor who appeared to be trying to conceal the source, destination or purpose of the movement of thousands of dollars in cash, said [IRS] officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.The money ended up in the bank accounts of what appeared to be shell companies, corporations that essentially had no real business. The transactions, officials said, suggested possible financial crimes — maybe bribery, political corruption, or something inappropriate involving campaign finance. Prostitution, they said, was the furthest thing from the minds of the investigators.”  Based on my extensive experience with watching mob movies, the IRS only pays attention to transactions that exceed the $10,000 range.  Which leads us to our next sordid detail.

7.   According to the L.A Times, Governor Spitzer used the services of this particular prostitution ring on 7 or 8 previous occasions.

Governor Spitzer is toast, and the longer he holds out before resigning, the higher the likelihood that we are going to find out what a prostitute considers to be “not safe.”  Liberal apologists need to save their righteous indignation for some other cause.  

Tags: Articles, Elliot Spitzer, New York State, Occam by Occam
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