,,,,,I will say this....if folks think beef is all nice a red/pink like in the market----think again....it's about as brown as bark with some burgundy mixed in....the meat is dyed to be more "appetizing".....not too sure where that started other than folks not having a stomache for 'old' fatty meat.....or maybe the "I just couldn't"......on an island stranded with pigs---yup, you would.....
Of course if you were an American you might just wait too long for a 'bail out' and actually starve to death.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Strock too quick to cast aspersions on apprentice programs JOHN H. NEWELL JR. Amsterdam
While I agree with Carl Strock almost 95 percent of the time, I believe he is way off with his take on apprenticeship programs [Aug. 30 Gazette]. Apprentice programs administered by the unions can be a top-level educational process that promotes quality workmanship as well as worker safety. In this day and age of unrestricted multi-tasking for the sake of profits, union apprenticeship programs help new workers focus on job-specific information and production. The beauty of trade unionism is that each member is trained to the highest degree in mastering his or her own particular niche, that is to say job title. This ensures quality workmanship, which translates into tangible cost effectiveness not only for today, but for years to come. Most of the Capital Region’s important infrastructure (i.e. large dams, power plants, bridges, buildings, campuses, etc.) have been constructed by union members who have been trained within the parameters of a union apprentice program. This fact facilitates quality and safety not only for the worker, but for the citizens of this area. With that said, my own particular edition of the Gazette on the day Mr. Strock’s column ran, had on its front page of the second section, men working on bridge projects along Cranes Hollow Road in Amsterdam. These men are employed by the Steven Miller Co. of Mayfield, a local nonunion contractor. Miller has many other area projects in the Fulton-Montgomery county areas. While Miller is non-union, it at least employs local workers for the most part, and at prevailing wage rates for public works projects. Their safety record and ability to create quality workmanship within the confines of the non-union model needs to be studied further. Tioga Construction, another non-union firm, also has many large projects in the area. Their ability to perform safely and cost effectively remains unproven in my mind, and they employ many people from outside the Capital Region. With Labor Day on the horizon, maybe Mr. Strock should delve further into the so-called adversarial relationship between union and non-union contractors. An in-depth investigation and analysis, as opposed to off-the-cuff pontifications and free-form dissertations, would better provide a valuable service to the concerned citizens of this area.
Wake up, Mr. Spitzer First published: Sunday, September 2, 2007
So here's Governor Spitzer, elected by that record margin last year to transform the very culture of state government, now showing alarming signs of not recognizing how potentially corrupting the climate of special interest money is. He's on the verge of recommending to the Legislature which company should be awarded the franchise to operate the state's racetracks. Yet he's nonplused by questions about the $2.3 million (and counting) sweepstakes of lobbying and campaign contributions that will taint such a decision. Conflict of interest?
Not that the governor can see.
"We've been meticulous and transparent," he says, about the process of analyzing the bids from four outfits that have given him more than $600,000 in campaign contributions since 2003.
That sure strikes us as pay to play, the very sort of exchange of money for access that Mr. Spitzer was ostensibly determined to stop. How can someone who's otherwise been so admirably relentless on the issue of campaign finance reform, even during a rather difficult eight months in office, not be bothered by such a high-stakes bidding war to run horseracing, of all things?
No, there's nothing illegal about this arrangement, deciding which campaign contributor ought to win such a coveted reward. But it hardly requires illegality for something about the way government operates to be inappropriate. It's also not like Mr. Spitzer didn't know that a recommendation on who should get the racing franchise was going to be one of the most closely watched decisions of his first year in office.
The same governor who fought, but lost, a prickly battle with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno for public campaign financing earlier this year ought to demand this sweeping change when their rematch commences. It would be, quiet simply, a ban on political contributions from companies doing business, or seeking to do business, with the state. No public contracts for high-rollers like Empire Racing Associates, Excelsior Racing Associates, Capital Play LLC and the New York Racing Association. More immediately, Mr. Spitzer should realize this problem. Richard Fields of Excelsior Racing Associates, a major contributor of his, is making a mockery of the very loopholes in the campaign finance laws the governor has been trying to close.
Contributions from corporations are supposed to be limited to $5,000. But Mr. Fields took advantage of a provision in the law that lets what are known as limited liability corporations give much more than that. Donations from five different LLCs and six different addresses added up to more than $209,000, according to an analysis of campaign contributions and lobbying expenses by the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Mr. Spitzer might see all this as post time, of sorts, in his quest to live up to all the expectations of how he was going to change Albany.
THE ISSUE: The governor must decide which of four campaign contributors of his should run the state's racetracks.
THE STAKES: The public has good reason to be suspicious.
VESTAL, N.Y. -- Governor Spitzer was at Vestal High in the Southern Tier during Wednesday's school day. He planned to talk about a healthy school lunch program. Instead, Spitzer taught a class about careers in global economy.
A local reporter then tried to cash in on an opportunity to ask about Spitzer's aide who just served a suspension over his role in the "Troopergate" scandal.
"Get a life, buddy," was Spitzer’s response.
WBNG anchor Justin Moss never did get an answer to what Darren Dopp's future is.
Repeated scandal questions prompt Spitzer scolding The Associated Press
VESTAL — Gov. Eliot Spitzer scolded a local TV journalist who asked about his political troubles during a media event on the opening day of classes at a Binghamtonarea high school. “Get a life, buddy,” Spitzer snapped at WBNG-TV anchor and reporter Justin Moss after the last of three questions about fallout from the scandal involving Spitzer aides who schemed to discredit his main political rival. “It caught me off guard for sure. What do you say to that?” Moss said. “I kind of backed off.” Spitzer spent part of the morning at Vestal High School lecturing a class about preparing for careers in the global economy and then spoke about the state’s commitment to education funding. At a question-and-answer session, Moss asked about the future of top Spitzer aide Darren Dopp, recently returned to the state payroll after a suspension for his role in using the state police to compile travel records on Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. “I don’t know,” Spitzer replied. Moss asked if the governor is worried about Dopp’s upcoming testimony in investigations of the incident. “Not in the slightest bit,” the governor said. “Any other questions? Any about education? Anything about something that matters?” Moss took one more shot, asking if the scandal has been a distraction from the main business of government. That prompted Spitzer’s caustic reply. “I didn’t think the question was that controversial,” Moss said. Spitzer spokesman Paul Larrabee said the governor was at the school to focus on improving the quality of the education for students in New York state. “It is our belief that the reporter was being overly aggressive in that context; that we were guests in the school district on the first day of classes, surrounded by students, and other reporters were endeavoring to ask on-topic questions,” Larrabee said. Since the scandal erupted in late July, Spitzer has spent most of his time away from Albany at events like the Wednesday appearance. Wherever he appears, he’s often hit with questions about the ongoing political and legal fallout from the Bruno scandal. During and since the campaign for governor, critics have publicly questioned Spitzer’s temperament, pointing to his use of a profanity to describe himself to a ranking Republican as a steamroller, among other things.
“It is our belief that the reporter was being overly aggressive in that context; that we were guests in the school district on the first day of classes, surrounded by students, and other reporters were endeavoring to ask on-topic questions,” Larrabee said.
To paraphrase, they were in a "safe" environment with an audience of young children who wouldn't challenge the Governor by asking relevant questions related to the conduct of his administration. Mr. Spitzer needs to understand that he is accountable to the public for his actions, his decisions, and those of his staff.
Quoted Text
Since the scandal erupted in late July, Spitzer has spent most of his time away from Albany at events like the Wednesday appearance.
No doubt, hiding from an inquisitive press and waiting and hoping that "Troopergate" will be forgotten
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