It Takes an 19th Century Village

One Sorry Apology

I want an apology from Margaret Sullivan.  I am deeply offended by every word ever written by Jeff Simon, Jeff Miers, Rod Watson, Donn Esmonde, and Douglas Turner, not to mention that I have felt indignation after reading most of The Buffalo News’s unsigned editorials and much of its reporting.

As a result, I am owed a heartfelt admission of remorse.  If the rag’s editor is willing to proclaim she’s sorry about sharing facts, then those incensed by its biased coverage and nastily illogical opinion writing are owed contrition next.  The line starts behind me.

The accurate information in question came up when Sullivan attended an event where she fielded harangues regarding an article published following the City Grill shootings. Some people are upset that the News reported news:

It was a tough crowd for Margaret Sullivan. 300 people were at True Bethel Baptist Church, most of them angry at the Buffalo News Editor’s decision to publish a front page story reporting that seven of the eight shooting victims from City Grill had criminal records.

For the crime of getting a pertinent story right, Sullivan apologized like Barack Obama at a UN picnic held in Norway on the anniversary of the passage of Arizona SB 1070:

She said she’s a parent herself.

Sullivan, “I am very sorry that the news has caused your pain to be deeper.”

But Sullivan says if she had to make the decision again, “I have to be honest with you, it would be not entirely different, but would be substantially different, and you have affected me in what you’ve said.”

You can’t kill the messenger if they commit suicide first.  Sullivan should have stood up for what her paper published.  Even better, she should have skipped the even in the first place.  An email to the organizers noting that the story’s indisputable accuracy before pointing out that the checkered past of the casualties is relevant to understanding the events would have been sufficient.  But appeasing is a harder habit to quit for the reflexively politically correct than smoking is for the rest of us.

The figurative bowing will sadly undo the rarest of events, namely good work presented in The News.  To paraphrase another paper’s rather famous slogan, all the news that printed fit.  The relayed particulars were not only true but also germane.

It’s specifically newsworthy to note that the shootings weren’t random attacks.  Innocent people scared for their safety within Buffalo deserve to know the nature of this vicious mass homicide and wounding.  While it may offer little comfort following a wretched day in the city’s recent history, citizens should be aware that the victims were targeted after a dispute, not as the arbitrary prey of muggers.

It goes without saying that the shootings were indescribably awful regardless of the sufferers’ respective pasts.  As Sullivan justly noted, “There is nothing in that article that suggests that the victims deserved anything bad to happen to them.”

But questionable life decisions before that horrible night may indicate a tendency to come in contact with shady elements.  People who have been in dangerous situations may sadly find themselves near them again.  Avoiding the sort of lifestyle that may lead to trouble is a painful lesson that’s urgent to learn.

Worrying that the relatives of those shot may be upset by the story can’t be the priority of news gatherers attempting to classify the situation.  Noting the troublesomely related aspects of those attacked is an unpleasantly tough but necessary chore.

If you feel it’s coincidental that seven-eighths of the victims had their own legal issues, play the lottery before you’re struck by lightning.  The Buffalo News merely acknowledged the possibility of a correlation by reporting cold evidence.  The last thing they should do is feel bad about it.

You Can Pry My Party Invitation from My Cold, Dead Hands

Parties don’t kill people: people kill people.  The slightly altered right-wing bumper sticker slogan retains the ring of truth.  From personal experience, the worst a social gathering can do to you is make you doze off next to a refrigerator or wish that your skull would just go ahead and burst, already.  And I even suspect such antisocial incidents may have partly been my fault.

Yet parties are nonetheless being targeted in Buffalo, as many still look for something to blame for the City Grill shooting instead of someone.  They maybe shouldn’t look past the shooter himself.  But it’s apparently too tempting to accuse the obvious suspect; that never seems to work out on Law & Order, anyway.  The latest attempt to assign culpability that doesn’t involve personal responsibility focuses upon events where bad people may or may not congregate:

The deadly shootings at the City Grill restaurant two weeks ago were not the first time this year that someone has been killed outside a privately promoted Buffalo party attracting a large number of gangsters.

A 26-year-old Buffalo man was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Military Road tavern after a similar party in February, according to Buffalo Police and other law enforcement officials.

And law enforcement officials said they are investigating about a half-dozen other shootings and stabbings that occurred within the past year at other establishments that allowed private promoters to hold parties attracting gang members and associates.

“Definitely, this is something we are concerned about,” Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III told The Buffalo News. “If you’ve got parties that are resulting in stabbings and shootings, it becomes a public safety issue.”

Well, groups of humans are occasionally problematic depending upon their composition.  But we should judge on a party-by-party basis.  Check the guest list first.  The rumored existence of gangster-free revelry is important to consider even when pondering festivities that may or do go bad:

“It’s a very dangerous mix when you have gangsters, a lot of drinking and people showing up who have grudges against each other from things that have happened in the past,” said one police officer who is familiar with the bashes.

That sounds very rap-songy, and not in the Fat Boys sense.  Still, it’s not the fundamental nature of those private soirees that causes the trouble.  It’s the punks who may show up, not the actual jamborees.  For comparison’s sake, I am the one responsible for carrying maybe a bit more mass on my frame than the ideal, not La Nova.

Of course and as usual, Byron Brown isn’t helping clarify anything.  Specifically, he’s setting a bad example by blaming another inanimate object.  Buffalo’s, sigh, mayor is apparently unable to draw the distinction between lawfully- and illicitly-acquired firearms, seen in how he oscillates between claiming “handguns are a problem in communities across America” when he’s not specifically citing “illegal weapons.”

It may seem repetitive to continuously use modifiers like “unlawful” when referring to the implements in question.  But it’s an indispensable distinction.  Consider the difference between legal and illegal immigrants, and the importance of engaging in minor-league wordiness becomes apparent.  Perhaps Brown was too busy seeing if his “Uh” count could pass the rate of 15 per minute to focus on precise language.

With that in mind, why should we believe anything Brown says?  Of course, he’s the same one who infamously claimed Buffalo is a safe city not long after eight people were shot in what will assuredly stand as one of the dumbest of the many dumb things he’s said.  He’s right in the same sense that, aside from the murders, Washington, DC’s crime isn’t that bad.  Marion Barry appreciates how he may no longer be the mayor known for making the most infuriating remark possible about crime.  His distinction as longest-serving crackhead remains intact.

Our mayor is also correct that a quadruple murder could have taken place “any place, at any time.”  Well, it’s true as long as it’s any place and time that happens to have felonious gangsters around.  Their presence wrecks tranquility no matter what name they apply to their gatherings.

As for the businesses that may face the danger of hosting such menacing crowds, they must assess customers and decide if the risk outweighs the potential benefits.  The hired legal help for one party host whose event culminated in a deadly assault claims to now know the distinction:

An attorney for Maggie’s — Robert J. Bolm, a former commissioner of the State Liquor Authority — called the incident unfortunate and said he believes it is one of the reasons Maggie’s stopped allowing private promoters to run parties there.

“She stopped having the parties there because they were attracting the wrong people,” Bolm said of owner Margaret Rose. “[Rose] is a good and conscientious business person. She’s owned the place for about 15 years, and it has never been known as a trouble spot, except for these parties.”

That may be the best call for that business under its unique circumstances.  But assessing the character of particular bash-throwers is a far better policy than a blanket policy steeped in overreaction.

As with guns, parties are about the people involved.  There’s no inherent danger without the presence of nefarious intent.  Blame the specific troublesome humans instead.

The genuine danger lies with the sort of human being who thinks an appropriate response to a dispute is to end four lives and damage four more.  Law enforcement and prosecutors should focus upon the crucial distinction and target the bad dudes instead of good times.

Otherwise, murderous thugs are directly ruining lives and indirectly crimping everyone else’s liberty and pursuit of happiness.  Severe pressure aimed at discouraging a certain type of joyous private behavior would counterproductively affect our fun.  Andrew W.K. would disapprove.

Paladino’s Welfare Reform

He may not get points for political correctness, but he deserves credit for proposing something different than the status quo.

Republican candidate for governor Carl Paladino said he would transform some New York prisons into dormitories for welfare recipients, where they could work in state-sponsored jobs, get employment training and take lessons in “personal hygiene.” Paladino, a wealthy Buffalo real estate developer popular with many tea party activists, isn’t saying the state should jail poor people: The program would be voluntary.

But the suggestion that poor families would be better off in remote institutions, rather than among friends and family in their own neighborhoods, struck some anti-poverty activists as insulting.

Insulting?

“Instead of handing out the welfare checks, we’ll teach people how to earn their check. We’ll teach them personal hygiene … the personal things they don’t get when they come from dysfunctional homes,” Paladino said.

New York, like other states, receives a federal block grant to provide cash and other forms of welfare to very low-income residents. Federal law already requires welfare recipients to do some form of work to receive benefits.

New York’s welfare rolls have grown slightly during the recession, while food stamp eligibility has almost doubled, according to the state.

We should all be able to agree that the welfare system isn’t working.  Paladino’s ideas do have some merit. Welfare, as it is right now, does not do enough to get people off welfare.  If the state is going to be in the business of welfare, then it’s goal should be make itself obsolete.

Now, I heard some ridiculous rhetoric on the radio this morning, likening Paladino’s ideas to “labor camps” for poor people – I don’t know whether that was a comparison to Nazi labor/death camps or Franklin D. Roosevelt’s internment camps, but who would have thought free room and board, plus training and education was such a terrible thing? Imagine that, instead of just cutting checks to untrained poor people, the state provides them with housing and education so they can make it on their own. Holy crap, Paladino must be a bigotted, anti-poor, racist, rich white Republican!

It’s time the far left put an end to their rhetoric. Instead of pointing fingers and shouting “racist” or “bigot” or “insensitive” they should come up with their own ideas on how to fix the system without flushing more money down the toilet. Right now, we continue to throw money at the problem and nothing changes.

It’s time to end the era of taxpayer-funded entitlement and begin an era of empowerment. Paladino’s plan does more to empower the poor to improve themselves than anything any Democrat has proposed.

Paladino Questions Obstruction of Church Rebuilding at Ground Zero

Polls show a clear majority of Americans disapproving of build the Cordoba Ground Zero Victory Mosque, but those who still support it (the far left, the mainstream media, Obama) really have no good argument to justify why this mosque has to be built right there, in that spot. Especially since the idea has enraged Americans on both sides of the aisle.

The phony “religious freedom” argument is weak and irrelevant.  That’s like saying a person who shouts “fire!” in a crowded theater is protected by his or her First Amendment rights. Hogwash. This is about right and wrong, as S.E. Cupp accurately explains.

And further adding to the ridiculousness of the “freedom of religion” argument is a point Carl Paladino has been raising in recent days: What about rebuilding the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at Ground Zero? While the far left pushes for this mosque to built, they have zero concern or interest in the “religious freedom” of Christians whose church was actually damaged in the 9/11 attacks. (more…)

Another Upstate GOP Committee Goes For Paladino

Interesting news today as the Niagara County GOP became the first local party to rescind its endorsement of Rick Lazio in favor of Carl Paladino.

The endorsement was announced outside Lockport City Hall with a delegation of Niagara County Republicans at Paladino’s side. They included State Sen. George D. Maziarz of Newfane, Lockport Mayor Michael W. Tucker, North Tonawanda Mayor Robert G. Ortt and Wheatfield Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe.

“Niagara County’s endorsement proves confidence is growing among leading Republicans who know it is time to rid Albany of the ruling class and bring good government back to the people of New York,” Paladino said today.

Norris joins four other Republican county chairmen who have endorsed Paladino, and the campaign indicated more leadership endorsements are imminent.

This news, along with two recent endorsments by county GOPs suggests to some a sense of momentum for Paladino’s campaign and a sign of his strength. You could arge that. There might be a hint of truth to it. Polls show he’s improving. But, let’s consider his endorsments.

Carl has, according to the latest count, four County GOP Committees backing him now: Erie, Niagara, Gennesse and Cayuga. If you don’t have a map handy, I can tell you they are all upstate. This is Paladino’s area.  It’s hardly surprising for him to have support from the areas that actually know who he is.

Let me say that I’m not merely trying to poo-poo these endorsements. I am just offering some perpsective…  looking at the big picture. Lazio still has a comfortable lead in the endorsement count.

I’ll support whichever candidate wins the primary, but I am worried that Carl’s efforts are actually dividing the party when it needs to be strengthened. If Carl can prove that he can get support statewide, not just in Western New York and the Finger Lakes Region, then maybe I can put more weight on these recent endorsements.

Did Byron’s Son Get A Slap on The Wrist?

You know, I go back and forth on this one. One one hand, you got a relatively minor crime, on the other, you have a known-troublemaker on the wrong side of the law again. I’ve heard all sorts of things in the past week about how some people get “a high” from shoplifting… let’s just say such a thing is true and sometimes people have a hard time controlling their impulse to do wrong.

But, this is no longer a kid. He’s over 18, a legal adult, and, as it turns out, had an accessory — a friend who was a cashier at the store where the crime was committed. That of course has me asking is this was a spur of the moment act of passion, or was this planned? I am not particularly buying the cashier’s story. Whatever happened, I cannot answer whether or not he got off with a slap on the wrist, or if proper punishment was handed out.

Conservatives for Cuomo?! Nah

As I often do at 9 p.m. on weeknights, I recently opened my hollowed-out copy of the Necronomicon, removed my right-wing decoder ring, and tuned in to Fox News Channel for instructions from High Priest Sean Hannity.  As a fascist hatemonger Tea Bag-something bigot, it’s routine behavior for me.

But I was shocked out of same habitualness on this particular night by an event on the show rarer than me agreeing with Bob Beckel: an Andrew Cuomo campaign commercial where he railed against property taxes.  He thinks they’re too high, I mean.  Huh?  I don’t have the proper one-time pad to decode this particular numbers station.

Letting you keep your money is what our fat cat-worshipping guys are supposed to promise, correct?  I’m confused.  The bewilderment continues for those who visit the web site promoted in Cuomo’s ad.

There will certainly be ample furrowed brows and confused looks caused by a political sales pitch from a New York Democrat that sounds like it was churned out by a Heritage Foundation-designed rhetoric machine.  Based upon the wording, we can call it the Karl Rovebot:

Local property taxes in New York State grew by 73 percent from 1998 to 2008 – more than twice the rate of inflation during that period.

When property taxes are measured as a percentage of home value, the top sixteen counties in the nation are all in New York State.

New Yorkers are being taxed through the roof, but we can make Albany act if we come together!

To bring relief to New Yorkers, Andrew has proposed capping property tax growth at 2% or the rate of inflation – whichever is lower. This would apply to all school districts and local governments, including fire and other special districts.

Join Andrew Cuomo and your fellow New Yorkers in calling for a statewide property tax cap – use the form to the right and contact your legislators now.

Please take a moment to pick up your jaw from the floor.  But it’s actually feasible to see this as a typically untypical 2010 moment once the shock dissipates.  Conservatives can feel heartened when good lefty Kid Cuomo feels the need to not only advertise during Fox News Channel’s red-meatiest hour but also claim that he’s out to save your wallet from Albany.

We’re in a strange, beautiful political era when New York State’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate is copying Chris Christie’s signature initiative. Will Cuomo tick off unions next? (more…)

Hating That Other BP

Never send Brian Higgins to do the free market’s job.  Bass Pro will now never officially appear in Buffalo despite, or perhaps because of, his efforts.  Why weren’t they impressed by his congressional-level pleading?

With that mystery looming, he’s employing his best strategy under the circumstances, namely pretending he never liked them anyway.  The Skyway-disregarding representative can go ahead and amusingly call the deal’s collapse “liberating.” For once, he’s right about something, at least in the same sense that he’d be liberated to spend more time with his family if he loses this November.

The least surprising news in city history means there are no winners following the Bass Pro debacle.  At least we don’t have to cheer for the disagreeable participants.  So, was the collapse the fault of an aggressively overbearing yet criminally incompetent government or the disreputable private concern in question?  Yes.

As much fun as it is to blame Higgins, we must also remember to curse the stupid fishing conglomerate in question to rot in retail hell.  That other BP will forever be viewed infamously in Western New York, as they may as well have dumped countless oil barrels into the adjacent water for all the damage they did.

I’m particularly glad this area’s decision-makers knocked down the Aud for the garbage-scented merchant in question; are there any other war memorials they’d like us to demolish as a final request?

At the same time, they were just playas in the game, yo.  We should cancel the event.  Conservatives are pro-market, not pro-business, which is never more apparent than when it comes to being anti-Bass Pro. (more…)

Cuomo and The Ground Zero Mosque

Does Cuomo really believe that there is nothing he can do to stop the Ground Zero mosque because to prevent it would violate freedom of religion? This has nothing to do with freedom of religion. No one is suggesting the mosque cannot be built elsewhere. The practice of Islam itself has not been banned or restricted.

it is no surprise that the same people who blindly worship Obama and voted for him to prove how “tolerant” they are are beating a similar drum over the Ground Zero mosque. And it’s sadly predictable how they can’t make any legitimate argument in support of the mosque — they have to resort to calling Republicans racists and hatemongers. It is interesting how the same people who manage to find the right to an abortion in the text of the Constitution have also created an new interpretation for freedom of religion.

Restrictions on what can be built and where is nothing new. In fact, in many situations the public actually has alot of power when it comes to allowing and preventing construction in their neighborhoods. Would you tolerate a strip club in your neighborhood? A cigarette advertisement next to the school your children attend? An adult video store on your street? I can’t imagine most would, especially parents. But would Cuomo, or any of the left-wing bloggers crying foul over opposition to the mosque say that zoning laws are anti-free speech? Would they have no problem with the Westboro Baptist Church setting up a congregation at Ground Zero, or next a gay night club? They have freedom of speech and religion too, don’t they?

And let’s not pretend that these left wingers can’t see the legitimate controversy here. Sure, the local left-wing bloggers may say “See, Republicans hate Muslims!” but that’s just a cop out argument, and they know it.

They see this as another opportunity to attack Republicans at the expense of commonsense. Was 9/11 so long ago they forgot that not only was it attack on our country, but it was an attack in the name of Islam? Do they forget that, conveniently ignore it, or does the irony arouse them? Perhaps in their heads it’s poetic justice? Perhaps they don’t care that such a mosque will be a magnet for anti-American Islamic extremists to congregate at the site of what they see as a huge triumph for their cause?

Commonsense needs to prevail here. Freedom is not independent of responsibility.