A full month after Luke Martland called on Senator Neil Breslin to fully disclose his list of clients, citing numerous credible sources, the Senator continues his refusal to confirm that there is no conflict of interest in his being an of counsel attorney at a union-busting and insurance-lobby law firm while the Senator sits as Chairman of the Insurance Committee in the Senate.
Today, Luke Martland adds gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo to his list of sources to bolster his argument:
BRESLIN IGNORES MARTLAND’S CALL FOR FULL DISCLOSURE OF TAX RECORDS, LAW FIRM CLIENT LIST AND SALARY
Andrew Cuomo Called for Full Disclosure in Acceptance Speech
June 3, 2010
(Albany) – Thirty days have passed since Senate candidate and former prosecutor Luke Martland called on 14-year incumbent Neil Breslin to release his tax records, law firm client list and salary. Martland released his own state and federal tax records to the press on Monday, May 3, 2010.
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“It has been a month since I called on Neil Breslin to release his tax records, law firm client list and salary,” said Martland. “If Breslin has nothing to hide, why doesn’t he simply disclose this information,” questioned Martland.
Martland’s call for Breslin to release this information has been echoed by the Attorney General, the press, a large bar association and a federal judge.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called for full disclosure of outside sources of income for lawmakers at his nomination acceptance speech last week.
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Despite these calls for full disclosure, Breslin has repeatedly refused to divulge his law firm client list and law firm salary.
For the record, Cuomo's statement reads as such, from the transcript of his campaign announcement video:
My Clean Up Albany Plan will enact strict new ethics laws, require full disclosure of all legislators' outside income, and have a real independent monitor, because self-policing is an oxymoron.
I'm assuming Sen. Breslin is supporting the future Governor's election. But will he actually take action and reveal his client list, or will he prove Cuomo's axiom that "self-policing is an oxymoron" is true? A recent interview in the Legislative Gazette by Faith Burkins-Gizmet reveals Breslin's arrogance:
Martland recently called on Breslin to release his 2009 tax forms, including income from the law firm where Breslin is of counsel, Hiscock and Barclay.
Breslin maintains he has already done that, providing the documents to the Albany Times Union in January after the newspaper asked all lawmakers to disclose their finances.
Martland also demanded that Breslin release a list of his law firm's clients, citing that the public has a right to know if there is a possible conflict of interest.
Breslin said he finds this argument "absurd." He said none of his clients have any business with the Legislature, and they are guaranteed confidentiality by law. He said it would be an ethical violation if he were to disclose his clients' names.
There's nothing to be read from this except arrogance. Breslin seems to believe if he keeps on ignoring these calls that they'll simply go away. How he sees this stubborness helping his campaign is something I simply can't fathom. If he would only reveal the client list as Martland and Cuomo are saying, his challenger and this blogger would have to find something else to write about, right?
As it stands, without a list of names to confirm there is no conflict of interest, there's no proof there is none. But there is proof that, as Cuomo said, self-policing is an oxymoron:
Breslin's continued refusal to provide full disclosure. And that's only one of the reasons Senator Breslin needs to be offerred a retirement package in September's Democratic primary.
This column has been nothing but doom and gloom and demanding apologies and giving them for the past couple of weeks. This is not at all what I intended...and subsequently readership has fallen.
Friends, it's time to rememdy this lot.
My most popular post was a look at how a certain British sketch comedy troupe of yore could still be relevant to politics as well as tickle your Sunday funny bones in between bouts of talking heads.
Dear readers, I may be slow, but by popular demand (and out of spiritual necessity), this week on Soundpolitic Sundays, I'm going get back to looking on the the bright side:
Below the fold, more Python videos than should probably be allowed, coupled with some tidbits on their relevance to satisfy the political junkie in us all...
As with my last Python themed post, I feel a bit of background information is an order for those poor souls not yet privy to the fully Monty. The last blog has a bit. Wikipedia has a smidge more with regard to today relevant film, Life of Brian:
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team. It tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Graham Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as and next door to Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.
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The film was a box-office success, grossing fourth-highest of any film in the UK in 1979 and highest of any British film in the United States that year. It has remained popular since then, receiving positive reviews and being named 'Greatest British comedy film of all time' by several magazines and television networks.
As you can guess, the film is soaked through with satire, both religious and political. Our last subject, Holy Grail is also the same, but is traditionally more popular here in the States. Brian, as you just read, is often cited as the best British comedy ever made. After another viewing, I've determined that we Americans may have things backwards...
...but that doesn't mean several of the best clips from Life of Brian can't be Americanized! Indeed, the best political satire is timeless precisely because political history often repeats itself, no matter what country you're in.
Take, for example, this country's recent dealings with Hot Beverage Parties: The Tea Party is now a force to be -reckoned- heckled with in conservative Republican circles, and the Coffee Party is it's progressive -counterpart- opposite. Both come under scrutiny from both sides for undermining the goals of the "real" parties, Republican or Democrat. But really, folks, have you not read the Federalist Number 10 and Madison's words of wisdom regarding factionalism? And wasn't there a Democratic-Republican party at one point in time? And what about...
...fiddlesticks. This bit explains it all so much more elquontely:
JUDEAN PEOPLE'S FRONT
That's right! You're all splitters! Just like the only people the Tea Partiers hate more than us liberal communist socialis Democrats are the not-conservative-and-libertarian-and-fascist-enough Republicans they're splitting from. And just like some of us Kossacks hate the Republicans...but not as much as those Democrats in Name Only, that's for bleedin' sure!
That's not meant as criticism, of course. But it does go to show that such cinematic silliness can be quite thought provoking. If the Tea Partiers had any capacity for thought or reason, they >might realize that some of their revolutionary positions really don't make sense. Remember those "Keep Your Government Hands of My Medicare" signs at their rallies? Tell me that doesn't remind you of this meeting of the People's Front of Judea:
WHAT HAVE THE ROMANS EVER DONE FOR US?
And that's the way it goes. All those women at the Tea Parties who plan to vote their representatives out of office might have been progressive suffragettes a century ago. And all those protesters who marched on Washington (all fifty million of them, or so they claim) had quite the easy time getting there thanks to all those interstate highways, didn't they? The list goes on and on...
Ah, but try talking reason to those types and your excercisng your futility muscles. Why is it we can't seem to get them behind the idea that collective government action is useful...especially when they're so excited about the fact that their own collective action can be used to "take back" their country? Maybe they need a leader for their "individual rights" movement. Maybe they should take a page from the man himself: Brian, mistaken for the Messiah:
YOU'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS!
Of course, in the interst of being "fair and balanced," a Tea Party fool might get just as much enjoyment by reading into that scene a little bit differently. Is this an allegory for Dems and progressive chanting "Yes We Can!" at another Barack Obama speech (as opposed to Repukes and 'baggers chanting "Drill Baby Drill" in front of a Sarah Palin appearance...in New Orleans)?
No. It's exactly what it is. We are all individuals and we shouldn't allow ourselves to be lead as such, no matter what side of the aisle we are on. The difference that Obama brings to the table is that he, too, encouraged us to think for ourselves. Now if he could just get the rest of our leaders to think for themselves instead of just thinking about the next re-election battle, we might get somewhere. Of if we didn't have all sorts of whackjob conservative reactionism to his Presidency we might get somewhere.
Y'know, I feel sorry for those Tea Party types sometimes. For one thing, they happen to be stuck being compared to sweaty testicles being shoved in your face by your college roomate after a night of hard drinking. This is something that I don't approve of (but am tired of scolding y'all about, so carry on if you wish). They might have caught a lucky break if somebody might have warned them about the phrase, though. Brian got a little help from his enemies, and learned a little bit about Latin verb conjugation in the process:
LATIN GRAMMAR LESSON
Ahh, the powers and the pitfalls of civil disobedience. All of us might do well to study a non-English form of verb conjugation, by the way. With all the new Americans of Hispanic descent that came (have come? are coming?) to American by the day, we might do well to start thinking of ours as a bilingual nation. I'm told that Spanish might have a little bit to do with Latin...
Blasphemy! Says the neofascist nationalist Limbaugh-Hannity-Savage crowd! This is America! We speak American here, dammit! How soon until those Arizona folks declare English the official language of the state and makes any human being suspected of not being able to conjugate (or define) the word "is" to prove their American grammatical abilities?
I wonder what the penalty would be for such blasphemy? The Right would probably prefer the harshest punishment possible. In the interest of saving the best for last, here it is: by far the funniest clip from Life of Brian, the Stoning Scene!
Ouch. And they say Joe Biden is gaffe prone! See that? No matter what side your on, if you say the wrong thing at the wrong time in front of the wrong crowd, your entirel political career is on the rocks. But only because the rest of the country is completely off its...
Before I end up saying something I shouldn't have and paying the ultimate price for it, I'm going to have to wrap this up by encouraging you all to do a few things:
First, check out Life of Brian if you haven't already. There's plenty more in the film where all this came from, and much, if not all, of it relates to todays current political culture. Commenters, feel free to suggest snippets I may have overlooked.
Second, I'm hoping to lead by example here. I've been rather stressed out by both my joblessness and by the political dysfunction here in New York in the past couple weeks (months...years) and it's very easy to get cynical, angry, depressed, and you can get really close to just throwing your arms up and giving up the ghost sometimes.
But life's a piece of shit when you look at it, anyway, or so goes the wisdom of Python. So if that's all you've got to look forward to, then you might as well just jump back face-first into the manure and try to get something to grow out of it, right?
Right. Third: Always look on the bright side of life.
So concludes this weeks' edition of Soundpolitic Sundays. Thanks for reading and tune in next week for...erm...whatever strikes me as irreverant, musical, and political all at once next Saturday night.
By the way...I feel better already. So...may all beings be free from suffering, too.
Though I may be a day or two late on this, Senator Breslin appears to be playing a dual role in the ongoing furlough fiasco.
As we know, all of our wonderful Democratic Senators voted for Governor Paterson's budget extender on Monday, which contained language to furlough about 100,000 hard-working state employees. Then, on Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that a restraining order on this measure was an order when considering a lawsuit filed by PEF.
AS it turns out, Breslin authored a resolution condemning the furloughs around the same time he voted for them. The Times Unionreported this yesterday:
Cutting sting of furlough vote
Sen. Neil Breslin inserts poison pill cited in order delaying governor's plan
ALBANY -- Sen. Neil Breslin voted to furlough 100,000 state workers, including thousands who live in his Albany County district.
But Breslin, a Bethlehem Democrat, also got the Senate to pass a poison pill.
A resolution passed unanimously by the 62-member chamber Monday deemed the furloughs "contrary to the law and public policy of this state" and that "this legislative body believes it is not reasonable or fiscally necessary to impose furloughs on unionized state employees in violation of their existing collective bargaining agreements."
It was classic political defense for a legislator stuck between a rock and a hard place[...]
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But will it serve as a political shield? Breslin denied politics entered into his calculations, but it seems he was working closely with PEF all along. Officials on both sides acknowledged they spoke continuously throughout the process, and when asked by Breslin was not attending a rally of over 2,000 state workers yelling at legislators about to vote for a furlough, PEF President Kenneth Brynien jumped to Breslin's defense.
"Neil said he's working right now to put together a resolution to send to the governor to stop the furloughs," said Brynien. "So, we gave him an out because he's working on our behalf. That's more important than standing in the crowd."
In addition, Breslin is facing two primary challengers who are attacking his stance on the furloughs.
Emphasis mine - SP
Below the fold, Breslin's defensive press statement and a bit of analysis...
Breslin explained his rapid about-face in a press release Monday, available on the Senator's official website:
For Immediate Release: May 10, 2010
Kelly Conboy | kconboy@senate.state.ny.us | 518-455-2225 518-455-2225
(Albany, NY)-“It is not reasonable or fiscally necessary to impose furloughs on unionized state employees in order to address the budget crisis.
Today, I submitted a resolution on the floor requesting that the Governor resubmit the emergency legislation for the period of April 1, 2010 through May 19, 2010 without including language that authorizes him to impose furloughs.
Unfortunately, in order to avoid shutting down many of the state's essential services, the Legislature has little choice but to vote for the provisions in the current emergency bill.”
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Sounds pretty agreeable, doesn't it?
But really, this is just another one of those non-binding, feel-good resolutions that really doesn't get anything done. The judge did cite it in his ruling, but according to the Times Union, it was likely to take place anyway. So what's really going on here, in my own humble opinion?
I think the important point to remember is that Breslin is facing two primary challengers, Luke Martland and Tim Carney. Couple that with the fact that the Senator from Albany County most likely represents far more state employees than any other Senator, and it makes sense that he would be the one to craft such language, not for the purpose of actually getting anything binding passed...
...but for the purpose of political damage control.
Of the two challengers, it is Luke Martland who's been hitting Breslin the hardest, on furloughs specifically as well as on ethics, generally. So it's only natural that the Senator would find a way to squirm his way out of that "rock and a hard place," as the TU described it. Frequent commenters on the TU Local Politics blog, including myself, took this as the most important issue and the most obvious flip-flop during the weekly wrap-up.
I'll allow my re-posted comment to stand on it's own to express my opinion:
10.The Breslin furloughs fiasco presents an obvious non-quandry.
Any legislator could have “voted against furloughs” before voting for them. But it’s clear as to why it was agreed that Breslin offer up this flip-flop of epic proportions:
He’s facing two primary challenges in a tough anti-incumbent year. One of these campaigns (Luke Martland) is well organized and has been hitting Breslin hard week after week. As the Senator who represents probably more state workers than any of his colleagues, it makes sense that the Senate Democrats let Breslin take “credit” for this little stunt. In fact, this was almost as bad as Tim Carney’s little fake campaign announcement earlier this week.
Bottom line: If a measure is illegal, then don’t vote for it. That’s called principle.
It’s time we had a State Senator who we can be proud of so we can be proud to be Democrats once again. Check out Luke Martland for that opportunity
That's my opinion, and I'll stick to it unless I hear something really compelling.
As for shutting down state government...well...just how much of a change would that be? Nothing seems to be working with this batch of constantly re-elected goons anyway. And perhaps a full shutdown is just the thing needed to get their chaps back in the saddle again. Yes, it would be disastrous...
...but aren't they already a disaster?
Of course they are. And they are because nobody in their home districts hold their own two-faced "progressive" representatives to account.
I really hope that changes this year...in September.
Luke Martland Continues to Demand Full Disclosure of Unresponsive Sen. Breslin
More than a week after State Senate candidate Luke Martland called on Senator Neil D. Breslin to fully disclose the amount of money he makes and who he represents at his second job at a union-busting and financial industry lobbying law firm, the Assistant Majority Leader has failed to respond.
Undeterred, Martland yesterday brought forth the issue again, and vowed to continue doing so until he succeeds in getting Albany County voters the full disclosure we deserve. One thing Martland's press releases never fail to do is hammer the secretive Senator while tying his attacks in with recent legislative events:
“Instead of caring about New York’s families that are suffering pay cuts and job losses, Breslin is more interested in hiding his pay increases and multiple side clients. If only working families were as important to him as his secret clients, maybe the state budget would get passed and the furloughs avoided.”
- Luke Martland, Democratic candidate for New York State Senate, 46th District
Breslin's response to last week's inquiry from Martland was to shrug it off entirely. One supposes he was too busy authoring a resolution condemning the very furloughs he himself voted for. Perhaps the Senator considers himself so untouchable that Martland and his press releases might simply go away...
...but that clearly isn't going to happen. Luke Martland has been good about backing up his request with evidence to thwart Breslin's bogus claim that such disclosures are unnecessary. He cites a January finding by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York which came to the following conclusion:
“...all lawmakers, including attorney-legislators, should be required to disclose information about their sources of outside income, including the identity of their clients, their fees and a clear description of the services rendered.”
Emphasis mine - SP
Not content to simply cite a Bar Association report, Martland follows the perennial "rule of three" to further bunker his demands. He cites last Friday's Times Unioneditorial which echoed his own opinion, saying that all Senators should "be subject to full disclosure of their sources of income and actual or potential conflicts...which they have for too long refused to do." Additionally, he reminds us of what U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe told disgraced former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno in court: “Why is anybody worried about disclosure? Disclosure gets rid of the entire problem of conflict. How can there be a conflict if you’ve disclosed? That’s the whole function of disclosure. Let the public know...And then they can make their own judgments.”
I find it refreshing to see a State Senate candidate leading by example, as Martland has already released all his tax and income information of his own volition. And I say three cheers to Luke Martland for reminding the entrenched Senator of the lessons all legislators should be taking away from the recent conviction and sentencing of Uncle Joe.
"I believe in leadership by example," Luke Martland told me the first time I met him. It's also what Luke Martland says directly to Senator Breslin in a letter dated May 6th, which was also released to the press yesterday.
Interested? The letter is quoted in full below the fold.
The ball is in Breslin's court on this one. Stay tuned to see if all he does is keep dribbling.
Below is the full text of the letter Luke Martland sent to Sen. Breslin.
May 6, 2010
Senator Neil Breslin
Assistant Majority Leader on Conference Operations
502 Capitol Albany, New York 12247
Dear Assistant Majority Leader Breslin,
On Monday, May 3, 2010, I gave to the press copies of my state and federal income tax returns for 2009, my W-2, and a dividend form. The only information that I redacted from those forms was my social security number, my bank account number, and the street address of my home. I have also promised that, if elected, I will not have any outside job (in order to be completely free of any potential conflicts of interest) and to release my tax returns and W-2 every year.
I released my tax information because I believe that the voters have a right to know how much a candidate earns, and how he or she earned it. I believe that the voters have an equal right to know how much a Senator earns, and how he or she earned it. This includes a right to a full disclosure of any outside job(s) or sources of income, and any resulting potential conflicts of interest.
When I released my own tax information I requested that you do three things. First, follow my example and also release your 2009 tax returns and reveal your salary from your second job at the law firm Hiscock and Barclay. Second, reveal your client list so that the voters can know if there are any potential conflicts of interest. Third, reveal your time records so that the voters will know what general services you provided to these clients, and know when you are working at the law firm, as opposed to working on Senate duties.
Senator, you have so far not responded to any of these requests or released any of this information. As Assistant Majority Leader of the New York State Senate and Chairperson of the Senate Insurance Committee, you are one of the most powerful and influential people in State Government. Yet, you also work simultaneously at Hiscock and Barclay, and you have so far refused to reveal your specific salary or your clients. Without the release of your tax information and client list it is nearly impossible for the public to know if there are any potential conflicts of interest from the clients that you represent at Hiscock and Barclay.
As I am sure you know, this information is not covered by the attorney-client privilege. In January 2010 the Association of the Bar of the City of New York issued a report on “Reforming New York State’s Financial Disclosure Requirements for Attorney-Legislators.” In that report the Bar Association noted that under existing law the identity of an attorney’s clients and amount of income are not confidential and are subject to disclosure. The Bar Association also stated in its conclusion that “...all lawmakers, including attorney-legislators, should be required to disclose information about their sources of outside income, including the identity of their clients, their fees and a clear description of the services rendered.”
This is the exactly the same information that I am requesting that you release: 1) your outside income, including at your law firm, 2) the identity of your clients, and 3) time sheets or some other clear description of the services your provided to those clients. Not only do voters have a right to know this information, but, if there are no conflicts of interest then I fail to see how releasing this information would be a problem.
I want to make clear that I am only asking you to do what I have already done. I believe in leadership by example. As a result, I first released my tax returns and W-2, which reveal all of my sources of income for 2009 (which consisted of my state salary and approximately $40 in interest that I earned from one investment). I do not have, and did not have, any second job or outside source of income. I do not have, and did not have, any outside clients. Therefore, I have already released all of the information that I am requesting that you disclose. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Luke Martland
Since we're on the topic of "show me the money," I think it's time I started doing this:
Announces Intent to Challenge Sen. Breslin in front of Albany County Legislature
And then there were three. Yesterday, Albany resident Tim Carney made a public comment to the members of the Albany County Legislature and citizens in attendance that he will be challenging Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Neil D. Breslin in the 46th district, which encompasses all of Albany County.
During his address, Carney summarized his listening tour of all county municipalities and proposed that school taxes transition from property-based to income-based before stating his intent to run for the seat. This received an objection from one Legislator, sustained by the Chairman only after another Legislator offered an on-the-spot endorsement.
If that's not what you were expecting, then you're in good company. This blogger was expecting something completely different, and in that sense I got exactly what was coming to me. Carney's prepared statement and a full account of the miniature legislative circus it inspired below the fold...
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Carney used two online venues to announce his "announcement" last month and last week. First, there was his comment on the TU Local Politics blog that he would be "making a major announcement with many elected officials standing by my side." Second, there was a press release where Carney again informed members of the local press corps (and this blogger) that he “will be making a formal announcement to his intentions for this year's race for New York State Senate,” distributed last week.
When I arrived at the Albany County offices at 112 State Street, I hung around outside to see if anything had been set up. Nothing. So I went inside to find the Legislature preparing for its session. Carney entered as County Comptroller Mike Conners (who ran against Senator Breslin himself in 2004 on the Republican line) was giving his annual Fiscal State of the County address.
Once Conners was finished, I asked Carney if he would be making his announcement outside. He shook his head. It was then I realized, when Chairman of the Legislature Dan McCoy (also Chairman of the Albany County Democratic Party) announced that once a month the Albany County Legislature allows for citizens to sign up for five minutes of public comment on the floor.
At this, my brief conversation with Carney regarding the numbers he crunched after the 2008 primary in the 21st Congressional District ended and he signed up to speak. This was his campaign announcement.
Before I finish my thoughts on this, here is the prepared “bullet-point style” outline Carney used during his public comment, provided to me by the candidate himself:
Intro
Lifelong resident of the Capital Area
Moved to Albany 20 years ago
Raised Daughter - Graduated from U-Albany
Mother retired and moved in to downstairs Apt
Volunteer for St James Church/School Bazaar
Co-Founder DANA - 1st President
Ran for Albany County Legislature
City of Albany Charter Reform
Board member of Downtown Merchants Assoc
Helped with the formation of the Downtown BID
NFIB - Intro the Small Business works for America
ACDA - Property Manager - HUD/Home Store -GIS
Worked as Poll Watcher, Election Inspector, Committee Person, Campaign Worker & Manager,
4 years ago Upstate Co-Tom Suozzi for Governor
Last three years running Lester Freeman’s races
Over the past 4 months I have attended all the Board and Council meetings of the 19 Municipalities across
Albany County.
Village of Colonie is concerned about Landfill
Westerlo is buying a new town Hall needs funding
Voorheesville needs a new Fire Truck
Coeymans needs Rt 143 fixed
New Scotland wants to change it’s zoning
Watervliet is going to take a big hit in Tax sharing
This year most of them managed to tighten their belts, however they know there is going to be major budget problems. Change in Census Data and the sales tax distribution from the county worry many board and council members. They can’t raise property taxes any higher, the people don’t have it.
The three main subjects the average people are concerned about are:
Furloughs or layoffs - State Parks
Property Tax Reform
Albany County owned nursing home
Reform of state government
Property Tax reform = School Tax reform
Eliminate the way school taxes are collected through property valuation. All property owners who qualify for the STAR Tax program and their home qualifies for the Homestead provision they would not pay any school taxes. Homeowners and especially seniors would save on average $200-500 dollars every month. Most school taxes are 60% of someone’s monthly tax on their home.
Create an income based system to have a bigger and less intrusive and more fair system. The current system for commercial and land valuation would remain the same the balance of the school budget would be made up of an income tax based system. Similar systems are working in 5 states, including Ohio.
This would also jump start the Real Estate Industry.
I will be having a press conference on this soon with more details.
The city of Albany is not getting their fair share as the Capital of New Your State and in comparison to the other major cities in the state. We need our PILOT money increased or adopt a commuter tax to offset the city for services rendered.
The second biggest topic of discussion with county residents is the Albany County Nursing Home. Everyone see the benefits of a county owned nursing home.
I believe that we need a county owned nursing, however we need to take it a step further. I think we need a new idea like the Albany County Elder Care Center. At the Livingston School on Northern Boulvd is the land and the space needed to build a new Nursing home behind the school. Then build a new Assisted living home next to the nursing home and turn the school building in to a new senior services center. Move all the not for profit agencies that help our seniors into the school to create a one stop for our seniors to apply for benefits.
Emphasis added for readability – SP
After running through these points, Carney brought it all together and stated that, because of these issues, he would be running for State Senate in the 46th district.
At this, things got interesting when County Legislator Bryan Clenahan objected. "Is this the proper forum?" Clenahan asked the Chair. He continued, "This is the only time citizens have to address the Legislature and should not be used for making political statements."
Before Chairman McCoy could sustain the objection, another Legislator stood up. Known for his scruffy hair, blue jeans, and cowboy boots (among other things that make him less than reputable for holding public office), County Legislator Brian Scavo rose in Carney's defense.
"It takes a lot of guts," said Scavo of Carney's comments. Scavo then said he would support Carney's campaign, right there on the floor of the Albany County Legislature. Scavo had arrived to the session late, missing the Fiscal State of the County address, but was strangely just in time for the public comment period...
But Chairman Dan McCoy would have none of it. "Mr. Clenahan, you are correct. This is not the place to do that," said McCoy. The objection was sustained, so I'm assuming Carney's big announcement was stricken from the record. Or something. I asked Carney about this, and he didn't seem to care.
"I don't let that sort of thing bother me," said Carney. "I came to do what I said I would do." He maintained that Clenahan was a Breslin hack in the first place, and also worked for the New York State Senate in the second place, so it was he who was making the inappropriate political remarks.
I entertained that idea at the time, and I could continue to. But perhaps I cannot. I'm actually rather torn by it:
It makes a certain amount of sense to me that a Breslin ally in the Legislature would object to Tim Carney's public comment simply to inflict damage on an opposing candidate. It makes sense to me that the Chairman would sustain the objection because he, too, is a Breslin supporter: As Chairman of the Democratic Party in Albany County, McCoy made headlines last month when he publicly embraced and endorsed Senator Breslin when he made his bid for re-election official. This move came just days after the candidate review committee blew things wide open by not endorsing Breslin or either of his two challengers, the first major news item of the campaign.
Put it all together, and one could argue that the sustained objection to Carney's public comment proves that Albany County is firmly in the Breslin Machine's grasp. Carney didn't receive any such objection when he visited the town, village and city legislative bodies, that's certain. And he continues to make the excellent point that Senator Breslin has never made such rounds in his 15 years in office. But when Carney comes to the county level, suddenly there is resistance from Breslin supporters, who make an attempt to strike his existence from the record.
I do somewhat disagree with the objection on the following principle: that Tim Carney is a resident of Albany County and was commenting about ways to improve the situation in Albany County through his own action as a citizen running for public office.
Yet there is this one problem nagging at me as an Albany County voter and as a blogger. Carney's earlier statements about his planned announcement indicated to me something different than what actually occurred.
Again, his blog comments and amateurish presser told us he would be making a “formal announcement” as if it were an event entirely in and of itself all about him and his campaign...
What Carney actually did was make a public comment at an already scheduled public meeting that is supposed to be about the public.
That, and Carney earlier stated that he would make his big policy proposal "with many elected officials standing by my side" as if these were officials who would attend out of declared support for Carney...
In reality, Carney made his statement standing in front of an entire body of local elected officials who were required to attend for an entirely different reason.
In that sense, the objection does make sense to me. I can't craft any conspiracy theory that Carney's announcement was infiltrated by seedy pro-Breslin forces, because in fact it was Carney who had infiltrated, in a sense, a regularly scheduled session of the Albany County Legislature where many members and the chairman himself have already offered their support to the sitting Senator. So what did he expect?
I suppose Carney is correct in not letting this bother him. It does take guts and thick skin to do something like that.
But something bothers me about Carney leading me to believe I drove across the county to cover a formal campaign announcement and all I had to blog about when I got back home was a public comment period. If Legislator Clenahan hadn't objected and an accused sexual stalker hadn't objected to the objection, I wouldn't have had anything fun to write about, nor would there be any pertinent material to cover that took away from the substantive issues Carney raised.
The whole ordeal made it very difficult to focus on Carney's proposal, which I actually do like. Two years ago, Congressional candidate Darius Shahinfar proposed to stop using property taxes to pay for public education, instead using a Federal income tax to implement the federal education mandate. It's a proposal that I think really ought to be considered, and Carney does make excellent points about New York State's notoriously high property taxes. As Carney mentions, it seems to be working in Ohio, another large northeastern state...
...but it was still difficult to take seriously. And now that I think of it, his proposal regarding the Albany County Nursing Home is a county issue, not a state concern. And last I checked, Tim Carney was announcing his candidacy for State Senate, not for County Legislature...
...and when I last checked my materials to leave to cover the event, I was on my way to a formal campaign announcement, not a public comment period where I myself could have declared my candidacy for dog catcher. There was no media in attendance for the announcement, but, given this circumstance, how can one fault them?
I do respect Carney for having the guts to challenge a Senator whom I consider to have outstayed his welcome by underperforming for his district; I do think that looking for new solutions to the state and school fiscal crises is a worthy and timely endeavor; and I do think that a politician is still a citizen and therefore should be able to make a public comment unchallenged...
...but I'm starting to have second thoughts about Tim Carney as a serious candidate for the office of New York State Senate. Considering he's challenging one of the most entrenched names in the district, last night was probably a mistake in practice if not in principle.
Still, if he continues to run, I feel obligated to cover both challengers to Neil Breslin as this three-way primary develops.
I just reserve the right to make my own public comments about all three candidates’ remarks.
If anybody objects to these, then head on over to the challengers' websites
Tonight, the State Legislature passed the state budget extension, including a furlough for state employees one day each week. Before the vote, Democratic State Senate candidate Luke Martland made his thoughts on this perfectly clear and offered solutions to the budget crisis. The full presser:
MARTLAND OFFERS SOLUTIONS TO END FURLOUGH CRISIS
Governor and Legislature Should Begin Seven Days a Week Negotiations and Take Pay Cut Equal to Furlough
(Albany) – State Senate candidate Luke Martland today issued a list of solutions that could help solve the furlough crisis.
“The Governor’s threat to furlough state workers is wrong and demonstrates the dysfunction in our state government,” said Martland. “The furlough hurts hard working New Yorkers who deserve better. The effects of this furlough will be felt far beyond state workers. It will also affect every mom-and-pop business that caters to state workers and their families.”
“Both the Governor and leadership of the Senate, including Assistant Majority Leader Neil Breslin, have failed these working families. Sadly, over the last two weeks while family paychecks hung in the balance, the Senate has worked only three days each week, and then taken four day weekends. Not surprisingly there is still no state budget. It’s time for a new approach.”
Martland proposes the following solutions to break the gridlock:
1. The Governor submit, and the legislature immediately pass, a two week extender without any furloughs or lay offs,
2. The Governor, Senate and Assembly should remain in Albany and work seven days a week until a budget is passed,
3. The Governor, all Senators and Assembly members, and all executive and legislative staff should take an immediate pay cut equal to any potential furlough,
4. If a furlough is indeed necessary to avoid fiscal ruin for the State, that sacrifice must be shared by every State worker. That means that all State workers, including all consultants and both so-called “essential” and “non-essential” employees must participate in any pay cut or furlough,
5. Any sacrifice should be imposed on a sliding scale. A worker making $25,000 and struggling to feed a family cannot afford to lose a full day’s pay. Any furlough or pay cut should be imposed on a sliding scale so that lower paid workers sacrifice only a minimal amount and higher paying workers sacrifice progressively more.
“If the Governor and Legislature adopt these solutions and begin to show true leadership I believe a budget could be passed in short order,” said Martland.
Emphasis mine – SP
A few words on how this bill, and Martland’s statements, directly affect me below the fold…
I usually emphasize what I feel to be the most generally important points being made by a candidate based only on my own political opinions. Tonight, I emphasize portions of what Martland is saying because this furlough will profoundly affect me. As I’ve been out of work for well over a year, I’m lucky enough to have a mother generous enough to keep me out of the cold and fed while I continue my job search in this dastardly economy.
Just one problem: she’s a state worker. So without going into detail she’d rather me not go into, I can stand as a living example of how this ridiculous furlough will effect New Yorkers beyond just the low-level office workers and laborers who will now be forced to cut their already tight budgets immediately. For me, this issue hits home, and it hits home hard.
And let me tell you, it sucks. My family isn’t rich. We don’t get Wall Street bonuses. We don’t get our stock trading taxes back. And we certainly can’t ask the insurance and banking industry lobby to contribute to our continued campaign to keep our heads above water. But Senator Breslin can…
…and that’s why I think it’s time for a new approach. I encourage all true progressive Democrats to visit the websites of Breslin’s challengers, Luke Martland and Tim Carney, to put an end to this heartless assault on working families. None of this nonsense will change unless we change the names of those who are supposed to be representing us.
My Senator just voted to reduce my families budget 20% while he is over a month late getting his own budget passed. So this September, I’m voting him out.
Good morning and a happy Mother's Day to all you Kossacks out there. Today is the day we pause to sing the flowery praises of the women who brought us into this world. Today we brunch and visit and put politics aside...
...well, for the purposes of this blog, that last part is not going to happen. Instead, I'd like to smash the Mommy Party myth. I'm quite frankly sick of the Democratic Party being referred to as the Mommy Party and being accused of trying to build a "Nanny State."
Why?
Because the reality is it's the other way around. For context, I'll need a little help from my friend Pink:
In this edition of Soundpolitic Sundays, I'll prove, below the fold, why this brick in the wall was put there by the Republicans.
(Cross-posted on The Albany Project and DailyKos)
For those who were unable to see the video and are unfortunate enough to be unfamiliar with Pink Floyd's song "Mother" from their 1979 double-LP masterpiece The Wall, here are the lyrics to the first half, prior to David Gilmour's soaring guitar solo:
Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb?
Mother do you think they'll like this song?
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Oooh ah, Mother should I build a wall?
Mother should I run for president?
Mother should I trust the government?
Mother will they put me in the firing line?
Oooh ah, is it just a waste of time?
Hush no baby, baby don't you cry.
Mama's gonna make all of your
Nightmares come true
Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you
Mama's gonna keep you right here
Under her wing
She won't let you fly
But she might let you sing
Mama will keep baby cozy and warm
Oooh Babe Oooh Babe Oooh Babe
Of course Mama's gonna help build the wall.
Now consider the two voices present in the lyrics. Your top stanzas are questions of the story's protagonist, a boy who apparently needs guidance in this crazed world. Below, you have the reassurance of the authority figure, the boy's mother, pledging to help him.
But does any of that seem reassuring to you? It doesn't to me. "Make all your nightmares come true? Put all her fears into you?" That wouldn't help me sleep at night, and it probably wouldn't help my sheets stay dry...
But all too often, that's exactly what the real Mommy Party, the Republican Party, has been doing for decades.
Think of it. The Republicans and their talk radio bullhorned buffoons constantly hammer that it is us Democrats treating our citizens like children, supposedly taking away our freedoms due to the government intrustion of keeping us all cozy and warm. You heard lots of this during the health care reform debate, certainly. But it's by no means new.
And by no means is it accurate.
We Democrats are more of the family party. This is more accurate when considering my situation. I refer to myself as a victim of the recession. I've been out of work and haven't been able to find a job since January of 2009. And if it weren't for my mother, I'd likely be out on the street, likely resorting to petit larcency to keep myself alive.
But because I'm blessed with a generous mother, I'm able to stay off the streets as I continue to search for employment. I'm not fearful for starvation or street criminals and what not. I'm safe because, even if it's not right a 26-year-old shouldn't be working, it's also not right for one's family to abandon their flesh and blood.
That's what we are as Americans. Flesh and blood.
We Democrats don't want a "Nanny State" where everyone is taken care of, head to toe. We simply want a society that operates in recognition that not every vessel sails smoothly and that there should be a port to pull into if seas get too stormy. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am this Mother's Day. Many who've lost their jobs in this recession may have lost their mother, or perhaps they haven't, but there's simply no room to take their son or daughter back in.
The worst case scenario for me is that there is room and finacnes to help a child who's down, but the mother refuses. This is the characterization I'd give the Mother in the Pink Floyd tune. Though she pledges to keep her son safe and under her wing, look at what else she promises, particularly her offer to help build "a wall" between him and his fears.
Which of the two parties puts fear into the heart of the electorate?
Which of the two parties would like to see our nightmares come true for their political advantage?
Which of the two parties want to build a wall down on the southern border?
Which of the two parties would tell their child not to trust the government?
And, for goodness sake, which of the two parties has been breaking our balls since Nixon?
You got it. The Republican Party. The real Mommy party. The bad Mommy party.
We Democrats want to see the nation function as an entire loving family, with both the mother and father balancing their roles to raise productive members of society and keep them protected even when times get tough. We want to instill people with dreams of what they can achieve and the hope that they will prevail when the dream seem to be dying.
The Republicans would have you believe that they will drop the bomb any second, that we are already in the firing line, and that all of our efforts to make this nation progressively better is a waste of time. They tell us that there's a wall of separation between the people and the state, and that the latter exists at the expense of the former, and not for better.
We know the truth. We know that there is no logical way to separate the people from the government in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. That is the path of reason, of no fear, of the freedom to choose and the opportunity to bounce back.
It's the path of the Democratic Party.
So this Mother's Day, I'm glad my Mommy is a Democrat. Don't forget to thank your mother for being a Democrat today...instead of a member of the Mother Should I Trust The Government Party!
That's all for this edition of Soundpolitic Sundays. Thanks for reading and tune in next week for more music and politics, and until then may you, and all beings, be free from suffering.
I'm usually very proud of my diaries and comments. Often my subject matter contains opinions which I’m quite passionate about. But pride, being a vice instead of virtue, can sometimes catch up with me.
This past week, with relation to both last weeks' edition and the week in reporting a local State Senate race, they did. Now I'm presented with a rare opportunity. Instead of blogging about how right I think I am, I now find it prudent to write about just how wrong I might be and how self-righteously foolish it made me sound.
In other words, I'm going to take this guy's advice:
In this week's edition of Soundpolitic Sundays, join me in one more cup coffee as I take a step back from last weeks' boiling points...
I can boil what I do on the blogs to three major topics. I find they can end up complimenting each other rather well, but in some instances if I don't keep myself in check, they can serve as examples of what nonsense can result when the lines are blurred.
First, I continue what really got me going back in 2008, when my Congressional district, NY-21, experienced a wide-open Democratic primary for the first time in fifty years. It was back then that I openly declared support for one candidate while rounding up recent news. I was rather proud of how I was able to get more information out there than a brief newscast or newspaper article could fit in. I was also rather proud of some of the analytical points I made.
But what I am not proud of are some of the battles I waged in the comments sections of my diaries back then. I took my advocacy of a single candidate to levels that deepened the divide in the political discourse and debate of Democrats. That is, above the fold I held myself out as an unbiased reporter mixed with an advocating citizen-journalist. Yet in the comments below, I would come off as a shill, a loudmouth, a partisan of a single stripe.
So this year, when I decided to keep up this work by covering a New York State Senate primary, I resolved to myself that I wouldn't do that again. And that I would let another candidate actually use and abuse my advocacy on the blogs. See, by passionately advocating for one side of a mutli-tiered debate, it's very easy to let those passions get a hold of you and cloud your vision to the whole truth.
This week, I failed miserably in that respect. While my reporting is still, I feel, honest and accurate, in commenting on the story I revealed an incredible weakness. And I have the community of The Albany Project to thank for this. They snapped me out of my conspiracy theories pretty quickly. Without getting too specific, taking a step back and tempering my passionate viewpoints allowed me to see how foolish I was making myself look instead of making auto-assumptions about how right I was and how wrong anybody was to disagree with me.
So this week, I have a big "sorry" and "thank you" to say to the community of The Albany Project. By helping me realize my head was in the sand in the first place, I was able to notify myself to start digging out. I can now resolve to tone things down when it comes to coverage of political campaigns and developments with what I hope is a clean slate.
Why? Because while feeling right certainly does feel good, feeling like you have a right a wrong of your own doing is much stronger. You feel like you've learned something, and swallowing your pride as opposed to spewing it out grants my ego a more lasting and limiting impression.
This connects me with another things I do here on the blogs. When I heard about the formation of the Coffee Party two months ago, I jumped at the chance to both participate in this new movement and get the news of it's doings out there. It's the second subject I blog about, though it's been a while since I had to step down as an early organizer and even attend meetings thanks to sustained unemployment.
The theme of this movement is what draws me to it, and it's why my proud and prejudiced political coverage began to contrast with it so strongly. With the Coffee Party spreading a message of inclusiveness and civil discourse, my political reporting ended up looking all the more close-minded and confrontational. Perhaps it's been my absence from the Coffee Party meetings still taking place that has caused this flaw to appear.
Here's the main point. Politics is often seen as one big, never-ending conflict. Sides are chosen, then choices are justified, then the other side is demonized, then all hell tends to break lose. You could say this is exactly the process that the radical Tea Party movement is presently making an example of. Let me assure you: the Coffee Party is it's polar opposite in both ideology and approach. The members of the Coffee Party seek to break this radicalizing chain, the same chain that turns of so many of our fellow citizens to anything remotely related to politics...
...the same chain I followed when my reporting turned to bias and conspiracy theories. So I'll add to my resolution. Because now I have haven't only let TAP and DailyKos readers down with this massive contradiction, I've let down the Coffee Party. To bring them back up, I must keep their message of civil discourse and a more harmonious tone alive. It's time for less mischief and more meditation.
That's the third thing I do here, and you're in the middle of one right now. This Sunday column was my return to blogging after a year of depression from sustained unemployement. A theme developed as the column took a life of it's own. Holding myself to posting here on a weekly basis gave me a deadline to prepare for, a responsibility to hold myself to.
That said, most of what's here I try to make as fun as possible. I started the series as a spur-of-the-moment, box-of-chocolates deal where I didn't know what I was getting into and where, each week, you never know what you're gonna get. Hence, a tradition to post irreverent YouTube videos.
How often do you find yourself feeling like Forrest Gump? Because this week, I found myself wishing I was a little more like him. The Gump never proudly pontificated his political views, even when he was surrounded by the most pivotal of historic events. Through either his lack of intellect or his possession of a deeper wisdom, he took things as they came and didn't make too much of a big deal about much of anything. And true to form, he never really knew what life would hand out to it, and because of his balanced neutrality, he was able to take everything in stride no matter where his legs took him.
That's what I'd like to craft here each week, with a healthy dose of the same humor found in the film. Alas, I've now had two weeks that really are no laughing matter. And they are the result of me being an anti-Gump. Instead of recognizing the limits of my mind, I placed my own opinions above all others for such a foolish reason as to feel smart. Instead of playing the strong and silent type, I spouted off at the mouth and proved myself more a fool than a sage. And instead of taking things in stride, I latched on to my expectations and lashed out when they were not met.
This was a recipe for shrimp disaster.
So finally, I can resolve to return this column to its original purpose. Not as some misplaced confessional for just one blogger by focusing on my own trials and tribulations, but as a place for other bloggers to have something completely unexpected thrown at them for purposes of both entertainment and information.
I just had to get this out of the way first. Because to continue to move forward, as people and as a country, we must first admit where and when we were wrong. And then, we must act like we mean to do something about it to right those wrongs. Finally, we must resolve to not make the same mistakes by outlining a process for future progress. To skip these steps and just move on like nothing happens leaves no lessons learns, apologies left unsaid, and stone left unturned.
I hope this weeks' column has done that. I hope you will join me next week as Soundpolitic Sunday's gets back to the business of taking things down a notch. Until then, thanks for reading, keep up the good work, and may all beings be free from suffering.
It’s been over a month since I had to step down as organizer of the Albany Coffee Party. But that hasn’t stopped other participants from becoming organizers themselves: there are now two Coffee Parties in Albany County meeting regularly, as well as groups meeting in surrounding counties. Still privy to the Coffee Party’s message boards, I see that the same pattern holds true across New York State and the rest of the country.
In fact, the movement has gained such national traction it is the subject of a current feature article in Newsweek.
The Coffee Party Heats Up
Tired of all the Tea Party talk, Annabel Park decided to throw a Coffee Party—and 200,000 people showed up.
The rest of the article references some of the challenges facing the growing movement, but taken together paints an accurate and hopeful picture of what the Coffee Party USA has been up to in the past month.
Below the fold, a round-up of the Coffee Party’s most recent initiatives, an inside-look at their current letter-writing campaign, and how Senator Schumer’s office is taking action as well.
=========
For those on the Democratic blogosphere concerned that a “new party” might be detrimental to the Donkey Party, Newsweek’s description of the Coffee Parties most enthusiastic participants might be reassuring:
When Annabel Park imagined what it would be like to head a new national political movement, here is what she had in mind: a coming together of engaged, intelligent citizens who had tired of the angry rhetoric and accusations of the Tea Partiers; Americans of all political persuasions joining in a spirit of equanimity to discuss the nation's problems, and maybe even share a laugh. It was this beautiful vision that danced in Park's head on a recent Saturday as she made her way to Busboys and Poets, a cafe in Washington, D.C., for one of nearly 500 Coffee Party meetings taking place nationwide that day. She knew the house would be full—word had spread quickly on the group's swelling Facebook page. Park, a documentary filmmaker, was especially pleased that C-Span had arranged to broadcast the meeting.
But from the moment folks in the crowd stood up to speak their minds, Park knew these people had not come to sip cappuccinos and set an example of civility for an overheated nation. They were angry. They hated the Tea Party, and the Republican Party. They wanted to get even. One audience member said America was under the thumb of oligarchs and denounced "moneyed interests." A few people hissed when Sarah Palin's name was mentioned. Also on hand were the usual suspects drawn to the C-Span bat signal. A man representing Code Pink, the left-wing protest group, said that "racism was the basis for everything that's going on right now." He also seemed to have a real problem with "fear-based rhetoric" and Northrop Grumman.
::
::
But then, Park didn't set out to create a political movement in the first place. She was just exhausted by all-Tea-Party-all-the-time on the news. One night in January, she signed on to her Facebook page and ranted about "the false narrative that the tea party is the real America." Her friends picked up on the post and it led to the creation of the Coffee Party. Within days, thousands of people signed up on Facebook.
All of a sudden Park was a political leader—of what, she didn't quite know—and the target of right-wing fury. Conservative bloggers unearthed—scandal!—that she had once briefly worked for The New York Times and supported Sen. Jim Webb, a moderate Democrat from Virginia. One online commenter accused her of being a "Chinese agent." The notoriety didn't really hurt: the group now has more than 200,000 members, and every status update Park posts gets about a million views.
Emphasis mine – SP
That ought to set your heart at ease. So, too, should the recent poll results regarding the Citizens United case ruling specifically and corporate money’s influence of our elected officials specifically. They show over 90% of Coffee Party participants and organizers feel that they should concentrate on the role of money in politics and “reforming Wall Street to make it more accountable to Main Street.”
This has triggered the Coffee Party’s most recent initiative, Clean Up Wall Street & K Street. Now would be a good time to do that, given Senator Schumer’s announcement today of legislation aimed at limiting the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decider-ing:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 29, 2010 SENATE DEMOCRATS UNVEIL LEGISLATION TO LIMIT FALLOUT FROM SUPREME COURT RULING THAT ALLOWS UNLIMITED SPECIAL-INTEREST SPENDING ON ELECTIONS—ANNOUNCE PLAN FOR SENATE PASSAGE BY JULY 4
DISCLOSE Act Will Require All Organizations Making Political Expenditures To Make Public Their Donors And Appear On Camera To Stand By Their Ads
Legislation Would Also Ban Foreign-Controlled Corporations, Government Contractors from Making Political Expenditures
Bill Was Developed Together With Obama Administration; Van Hollen, Castle To Introduce House Version Later Today
WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Al Franken (D-MN) announced new legislation Thursday to blunt the harmful impacts from the Supreme Court’s decision allowing corporations and other special interests to spend unlimited sums to influence elections. The lawmakers said their goal is for the Senate to pass the new measure by July 4 so the law can take effect in time for the 2010 midterm elections.
The legislation is a response to the Court’s ruling in the Citizens United case last January. That decision overturned a decades-old law banning political expenditures by corporate interests. The new Senate legislation would partly restore those limits – by barring foreign-controlled corporations, government contractors and companies that have received government assistance from making political expenditures – and also require corporations, unions, and other organizations that make political expenditures to disclose their donors and stand by their ads.
The legislation is dubbed the “Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections” Act, or The DISCLOSE Act.
Senator Schumer said: “At a time when the public's fears about the influence of special interests were already high, the Court’s decision stacks the deck against the average American even more. Our bill will follow the money. In cases where corporations try to mask their activities through shadow groups, we drill down so that ultimate funder of the expenditure is disclosed. If we don’t act quickly to confront this ruling, we will have let the Supreme Court predetermine the outcome of next November’s elections. It won’t be Republicans or Democrats; it will be Corporate America and other special interests.”
The release is long and quotes Sens. Franken, Bayh, Feingold, and Wyden, as well as contains a summary of the bill to be introduced.
The Coffee Party video on cleaning up Wall Street and K-Street makes great points on the topic as well:
LET’S CLEAN UP WALL STREET AND K-STREET
One of the steps the Coffee Party is encourage folks to take is to send their Senators hand-written letters with regard to Sen. Dodd’s bill. I have a feeling they may do the same with Sen. Schumer’s efforts. Below is the form of the letter the Coffee Party is suggesting be fleshed and sent out:
The Honorable (full name) (date)
(Room#) (Name) Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510
S. 3217 – Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010
Dear Senator (Elected Officials name):
We are members of the Coffee Party and we are committed to helping those employed on Wall Street act like responsible human beings and good citizens. We insist that legal constraints be enacted in order for this to happen.
We feel that Senator Dodd’s bill, S3217 the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010” should be enacted as long as it provides the following:
The Volker Rule and a return to the protections of the Glass- Steagall Act
An independent consumer financial protection agency chaired by a true consumer protection advocate.
The Kaufman-Brown amendment that would cap the size of individual banks and financial institutions.
We also support the recently introduced Lincoln legislation to curtail abusive derivative practices and urge its passage alongside the Dodd legislation.
This kind of reasonable regulation is essential in order to ensure that the financial services industry works in the best interest of the American people.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
How many of you might put your name to that? Now, how many of you answered “yes” to the first question, but wrote off the Coffee Party before doing so? I don’t want to scold you, but some on the liberal blogosphere said this would go nowhere and would be counter-productive to progressive political action. I simply disagree, and submit the above and the following actions the Coffee Party has taken as proof that this is a movement to be embraced by progressives of all partisan stripes as well as the Democratic Party itself.
From April 17 to 25, the Coffee Party engaged college and university students all over the nation. The video below shows a progressive consensus among today’s millenials in what could only be a good development for the national progressive movement:
Much nicer than those out-of-control Tea Party protesters, wouldn’t you say? And very much in line and helpful to the Democratic Party, I’d say.
Albany Native to Challenge Assistant Majority Leader Breslin in Dem Primary
Yesterday, Luke Martland, a native of Albany, former Manhattan assistant DA and counsel to the Governor, made his official announcement that he will challenge State Sen. Neil D. Breslin in the 46th State Senate district, Albany County.
Martland has been hammering Breslin, whose two brothers hold the County Executive and Judgeship, in several press releases on as many issues for the past month. His announcement yesterday summarized these points and introduced even more. It also marks the first time a challenger to the entrenched incumbent has been given a full court press.
The full speech, announcement release, and links to extensive press coverage after years of giving Breslin a free pass are below the fold.
Two years ago to the date, Sen. Breslin was facing his first-ever primary challenge to his seventh term. Yet no ink was spilled and no tape rolled until just a week before his election.
Martland enters state Senate race Ex-DA, Albany High grad says he'll fight to end government dysfunction
First published in print: Monday, April 26, 2010
ALBANY -- Luke Martland, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney who grew up in Albany, formally announced his candidacy Sunday for the Democratic nomination for state Senate in the 46th District.
Martland, who promised to fix what he called a broken state government system, will face seven-term-incumbent Neil Breslin in a September primary election.
::
Martland, a graduate of Albany High as well as Princeton University and Brooklyn Law School, quickly took aim at Breslin.
::
Breslin could not be reached for comment Sunday evening. However, he has been a critic of dysfunction in state government. He loudly denounced Pedro Espada Jr. during the Senate coup crisis, and he called for Hiram Monserrate to resign in October, immediately following his misdemeanor assault conviction.
With regard to that last snipped paragraph, the TU really should have referred to Martland’s prior statements regarding Sen. Breslin’s political flip-flop on his vote to make Sen. Espada the Majority Leader after he engineered the coup. They also still have yet to mention that Breslin was the buffoon with the gavel in his hands that fateful day.
That and the print story is still somewhat buried in the local section, but a teaser with color photo does appear on the front-page, so when all is said and done it is a vast improvement from last cycle’s virtual blackout. I believe it is also a harbinger of future coverage, and perhaps an indicator that this race will fast become the political story in Albany County this year.
In contrast to the dead trees version, the TU Local Politics blog has consistently augmented the press coverage well this year. Follow the link and you’ll find that this instance is no exception.
I was also struck by the amount of television cameras present. There was no broadcast coverage of Breslin’s first primary challenge. The fact that all major news channels were there this time around is another indication this primary is literally one to watch.
So far, only the local FOX affiliate, WXXA, has carried the story. I’m assuming that the other four stations I saw there are doing the right thing and are producing a segment for tonight’s broadcast. Stay tuned for updates to this blog for those links.
But enough about the press. Sometimes if you really want the whole story, you’ve got to go right to the source. That’s why I do what I do, and that’s why I close with a full transcript of Martland’s speech and his campaign announcement press release:
Luke Martland Announcement Speech
Sunday, April 25, 2010.
Thank you being here today and thank you for joining me as I kick off my campaign for New York State Senate. As many of you know, I have never run for office before. I grew up in Albany and am a proud product of the public school system … graduating from Albany High School.
After college, I worked my way through law school and then served as an Assistant District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General. I ran the State’s Sex Offender Registry at the Division of Criminal Justice Services. I have spent the last 20 years being an advocate - fighting to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe. I am now running for office to advocate and fight again. To advocate for the people of Albany County and to fight to fix our broken government.
New York State’s government is a national embarrassment. Every week brings a new scandal. This week’s shame? One of the leaders of the Senate stole $14 million in taxpayer money! $14 million! And yet the same Senators who made this man their leader, have refused to pass real ethics reform. Refused to police themselves. Refused to clean up the swamp of corruption in the State Capitol.
Nothing gets done because our legislature is the most dysfunctional in the country. The budget was due on April 1st. Yet almost one month later, there is no budget … the Republicans and Democrats can’t even agree when to meet, much less when to begin to negotiate. Parks are being closed, schools are facing massive layoffs, yet our Senators have taken almost 2 weeks of vacation during this same period. Layoffs, no budget … and yet the Senate, instead of getting to work, takes time off.
The state is drowning in debt yet Senators insist on spending billions on pork and favors for contributors and special interests.
The fact is …. nothing will change. Nothing will change and none of these problems will be fixed, until we change the people we elect to serve us.
Someone has to stand up and say “enough,” and fight to end the dysfunction, corruption and incompetence that is crippling New York. I am running because I decided to stand up and say “enough.”
What will I fight for, as your Senator?
I will fight to end the corruption and dysfunction. That means strong ethics reform, with independent oversight of the legislature. Right now the legislature polices itself and – we know that does not work.
I will fight to end these secret second jobs. Breslin is paid $100,000 a year in taxpayer funded salary, yet the Senate only meets 6 months a year. Even worse, like many of his cronies, Mr. Breslin, has a second job at a large law firm. Yet he keeps secret who his clients are, secret how much they pay him, and secret what he supposedly does for their mystery money.
I will be different. I will fight to end the custom of second jobs and require that all outside income is fully disclosed. And, I personally will go further. I promise not to have any outside job whatsoever … so that I am free of all conflicts of interest.
And, I will commit to being a full – time Senator. Working 12 months a year and fighting 24/7 to fix our State’s problems.
And, I will be a Senator who listens to, represents, and whose door is open to all communities and all the people of Albany County.
I will fight for term limits – the only way to clear out the entrenched professional politicians who are ruining this state. Regardless of whether my term limits law passes or not to term limit myself out of office. Senator Breslin ... he’s been in office 14 long years and just announced he’s running for re-election – that says it all.
I will fight to cut wasteful spending and to bring the massive state deficit under control.
Fight to end the unfunded mandates, regulations and irresponsible spending that not only drives up state taxes, but also drives local property taxes ever higher ... year after year.
Senator Breslin? In spite of a deep recession, Breslin increased state spending last year by more than $10 billion – a spending hike of 9% in just one year alone.
Most importantly, I will stand up and fight for the needs of the residents and taxpayers of Albany County. I will put them ahead of the special interests… or down state political leaders.
Senator Breslin? We all know that a few weeks ago he bravely stood up and said that he would never, never vote to cut school aid, and then only 2 weeks later voted to cut $1.4 billion in school aid. He flip flopped because the downstate political bosses told him to. He did not have the backbone to tell the political bosses where to go. I will.
I will not flip flop, I will not cave in, I will put the interests of Albany voters and residents first, and fight for our schools.
I am not a professional politician. I have served as an Assistant District Attorney, an Assistant Attorney General and head of the State’s Sex Offender Registry I fought to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe. I am now running so I can fight to fix our broken state government.
Our state is in crisis – a crisis brought on by the corruption, incompetence and dysfunction in our legislature. It is time for new leadership, energetic, ethical and hard working leadership. Time for someone who will fight for the people of Albany County and fight to get New York back on track. I am that person and that is why I am running. And that is why you are here today. With your help and your enthusiasm… together we will win.
Thank you very much.
The only thing I can add is for the benefit of those readers unable to view the YouTube recording of the speech above the fold: not only was the wording strong, but so was Martland’s delivery. He’s a natural, and the audience response was enthusiastic throughout.
Finally, the presser for those political junkies whose attention I still have:
Martland Announces Candidacy for New York State Senate
Promises to Fight to End the Corruption and Dysfunction in State Government
LUKE MARTLAND FOR STATE SENATE
For immediate release: April 25, 2010
Contact: Larry Sombke 518-852-9274
(Albany) Luke Martland today formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for State Senate in the 46th District (Albany County). Martland will face seven-term-incumbent Neil Breslin in the September primary election.
“The New York State legislature is broken and dysfunctional. We need new leadership. That’s why I’m running for State Senate,” said Martland, a Democrat, who grew up in Albany, graduated from Albany High and worked his way through Princeton and Brooklyn Law School.
“Neil Breslin is assistant majority leader in the New York State Senate and he has done nothing to stop the politics as usual, pay to play ethical corruption and dysfunction that has come to plague state government,” said Martland who is a former Assistant District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General.
When Martland is State Senator he promises to:
Be a full-time senator and to work 24/7 to address the problems of Albany County and New York State;
Have no second job (unlike Senator Breslin);
Put the needs of the voters first, not the needs of political bosses, lobbyists and special interests;
Fight for real ethics reform and to end the Albany culture of corruption;
Fight for fair redistricting and put and end to gerrymandering;
Fight for term limits to end the “Albany life-time employment club,” including term limits on himself;
Be an independent senator and work in a bi-partisan manner to put an end to the bitter partisanship that plagues Albany;
Fight to eliminate wasteful pork barrel spending and handouts to special interests;
Work to cut wasteful spending beginning with the Legislature itself.
“New York’s government has become a national embarrassment. And yet the very politicians who caused these problems arrogantly expect us to keep re-electing them. The fact is nothing will change until we change the people who we elect to serve us. Neil Breslin has done nothing to tackle the problems New York faces or clean up the corruption and dysfunction in our government. It is time for new leadership – hardworking and ethical leadership. ” added Martland.
Luke Martland’s stand on issues can be found at www.lukemartlandforsenate.com
Luke Martland for Senate in on Facebook and Twitter.
###
Emphasis mine – SP
Now that’s what I call a return to leadership, both in the New York State Senate and in the Albany press corps. 2010 already looks like a monumental improvement over 2008.
You know, when I pulled into the parking lot at the Holiday Inn where the announcement took place, the parking lot attendants thought I was there for the comic book convention. While this isn’t surprising, I’m very glad to see that the media got rid of their own fantasyland and got back to work. And I’m glad to see a primary challenger taking off Breslin’s mask and showing the voters of Albany County that he really is no man of steel.
Stay tuned…another candidate, one Tim Carney, will also be making his own challenge official in the coming weeks (or even days!) and the media coverage might just be getting started.
Me? I’ve been on the beat from before the beginning, and I hope you will join me to the very end.
Imagine your feet in these shoes: Shiny black, size ten-wide, worn-out soles, walking across the carpet of the lobby of an Albany law firm. Your job title for the past two months has been Legal Secretary. Christmas is coming...
And you've just met the boss. He's exiting a boardroom, wearing athletic sweats. You look at him, he looks at you, and you introduce yourself. You express your thanks to be working in a fast-growing firm, your respect for the man who built up the business, and appreciation of the rewarding challenges thrown your way. You extend your hand to shake his...
Now imagine your boss's response is to turn his back on you after asking you:
"You're not afraid of guns are you? A lot of us carry guns around here."
In this weeks' edition of Soundpolitic Sundays, I'm telling this story for the last time as my excuse for missing last two weeks. The rest of the story and its moral lies below the fold...
But first, in the interest of suspense and explanation, I'll clue you in as to why I'm choosing to write this confessional heap. A fellow front-pager on The Albany Project, Dan Jacoby, recently published a front-page post regarding anonymity on the blogs. While the issue certainly is not new to our sphere, the thread of comments revealed it has yet to turn stale.
Never one to keep my mouth shut (this is a key point) I added my voice to the discussion. In my mid-thread comment, I made note of how I make my Christian name known on the blogs. This included a vignette on how I’ve outed anonymous bloggers on principle, what those principles were, and alluded to instances in my offline life where the decision to not remain anonymous while making my views clear resulted in exactly the kind of repercussions that usually serve as the incentive for anonymity.
Well, I'd gotten Dan's attention. He inquired via personal e-mail as two what my story was to get down to the real action. By the end of my reply, I'd resolved to make this personally painful subject the theme of my return to writing this Sunday column on TAP, DailyKos, and my Blogspot page. Truth be told, this blogging business may just be keeping my wrists together. I haven’t been at it in a week thanks to difficulty getting to a computer with an internet connection (I have neither at home) and because, sometimes, after being out of work so long, you tend to get pretty down in the dumps.
Make that ugly down in the dumps...
See, being in your mid-twenties and out of work for well over a year in America, circa the first turn of the decade this millennium, is about as down in the dumps a millenial can get. Recent reports show that my age group is nearly fifty percent unemployed. The news media has tended to frame this recession in terms of the housing crisis for Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers as well as the squandering of retirement savings of the latter and the Greatest Generation.
Personal experience has me thinking that my generation is now experiencing a nightmarish rude awakening from the American Dream. Here we are, at the age where we should be getting started in the career for which we've just studied hard (and borrowed heavily), when we should be moving out and perhaps establishing a young family of our own. This economy has left us behind, condemning us to the proverbial parents' basement.
With the economy being nothing more than the collective actions of the American people, this represents a vast misconception and epic failure on the part of those economic actors most responsible for running this economy. This cuts to the heart of why so many Americans choose to remain practically anonymous and silent. In such harsh economic times, nobody wants to be called out for anything. In other words, nobody wants to give The Boss any excuse, warranted or otherwise, for cutting off the life support.
Now I come to it. This is the hard part: reliving the times where I have lost my job for either speaking up or, in the most recent case, simply looking the part of somebody who's political opinions may be disagreeable with the holy employer.
The first time it happened, though, it was a boon to my existence. You might say that the fact I got into blogging in the first place had a lot to do with the following
After dropping out of SUNY Oswego in 2003 as a pipe dream, junior music major, I bounced around a couple of dead end jobs before being hired by a former elementary English teacher of mine. God bless her, she was one of the best employers I ever had. But God damn if she didn't surprise me when she turned out to be as conservative as the bastard child stuck in a custody battle with sire Limbaugh and step-dad Savage.
And fuck her for not responding to an outrageous situation the way a truly good employer should have. See, in the one-square-mile village of Altamont where this little gas station was located, there was an overtly overzealous Police Department. Ever since I was a wee boy, it was known that you must drive 29 miles an hour because if you go a fraction over 30, you are going to get pulled over. And you'd better have your inspection, plates, etcetera in order or you will get a ticket. I always thought it was ridiculous, but never really said anything...
But the customers! They had something to say about this! Day in and day out, the best thing I loved about working as a lowly convenience store clerk was the sort of episodic, extended conversations you strike up with the nicest of customers. A diverse constituency of my most beloved patrons made the Altamont Police Department topic number one. Let me tell you, they ranged from the consistently perturbed to the constantly pissed. I got a feel for whom the cops were blatantly fucking with in a completely out-of-line manner. Not content to just say "Thank you, come again," like a Quickie Mart robot, I would engage in the conversation, see what was bothering them, and console my customers that what was going on just was not right.
See where this is going? One day, only a few months into my service, in walks a rotund, beady-eyed officer. For nearly as long as I have presently been out of work, this pig’s conduct toward me escalated to the point of absurdity. Foul language is something I am not usually frazzled by, but in the context this officer of the law would use it with me while first telling me to "watch out" or to "stop running my mouth" just got to be too much. So, too, did the multitude of times this buzzard would pull me over for the absolutely no reason. He even began to cut me off on the roadways. It got to the point where this guy was seriously threatening to write me speeding tickets while I was behind the cash register, my keys snug in my pants pocket!
One day, he came in and told me I had several tickets waiting for me at the courthouse. How could this be when I had not been stopped in weeks? Eventually I conceded that I'd go in and pay the fines. As soon as I did, the fat ass promptly told me there were no tickets and that he was trying to teach me "a lesson" about "who holds the upper hand" and that I'd better watch out.
Like a good boy, I tried to dissuade this harassment through the proper channels. First, I tried my boss, but she did nothing. Then the Commissioner of Public Safety brushed me off by paraphrasing the culprit. It got worse and worse until one day it came to a head. The cop simply would not leave me alone, I discovered that my co-workers, relatives of the boss, were whispering in the pig's ear to egg him on, and I did the only respectable thing left to do.
I walked out. And my plan of action was to seek a little something called justice. This entailed composing about 1,000 words and submitting it to the local newspaper, the Altamont Enterprise. You should have seen the look on the new Commish's face when they called him to verify my allegations as I went in to file a formal complaint. A quick investigation corroborated my claims and the tub o' lard was suspended. I rather liked the penalty of being forced to take a five-week "human relations" training course more than his two weeks’ suspension.
But the big lesson I learned was taught to me by the people of the village. That is, after the paper published my letter and corresponding headline story, I could not walk through or show my face in the village of Altamont without residents hailing me as a hero. It turns out that somebody had to face up to The Fear of retaliation or even make the sacrifice of one's own livelihood to put a stop to this menace.
By the way, a few months later, somebody else spoke out about this guy...regarding the blowjobs he was getting from underage girls while on patrol. Last I heard, the slug is a security guard at Macy's.
Nothing else in my life has turned me on to the power and necessity of the written word for the defense of freedom and liberty in this great country.
Now that's a warm and fuzzy feeling, but being out work wasn't. I bounced around a couple odd jobs until about 2007. Honestly, I wasn't getting anywhere. So a buddy inspired me to get my ass back into college, get a degree, and get a real job - but not a haircut quite yet. For three semesters I attended Schenectady County Community College. I was sold on the idea of entering the exciting, challenging, and financial rewarding field of law as a paralegal.
My newfound interest in progressive politics might have had something to do with this.. It was then that I first started blogging. I wasn't too active at first, but by the time 2008 rolled around and as it progressed, I got into the thick of a wide-open democracy primary in NY-21. My days were spent studying law and government, getting great grades; my nights were spent sifting through the press releases and news items on a maximum of eight Democratic politicians. I added on to this weekend volunteer efforts for my favored candidate. And once a week, I'd participate in an internship with the New York State Assembly
By mid-year 2008, this hard work was rewarded with an Associates in Applied Sciences in Paralegal Studies from the only upstate community college with an American Bar Association approved program. I had also earned the right to post my little blogs directly to the front page of The Albany Project, the best and biggest progressive blog in the New York 'sphere.
Guess which one I'm most proud of nowadays?
After a less-than-satisfying temporary assignment right out of school, I decided that perhaps I might be able to turn some heads with this blogging thing. I also wanted to talk to ask many Albany County voters as possible about another primary going on, this one for our coterminous 46th State Senate District for a fellow Helderberg resident named David Weiss. In August and September of 2008, I knocked on thousands of doors and wrote thousands more words about this race and the Congressional one. I loved every second of it, not even looking for work. It was my post-collegiate trip to Europe in my own backyard.
After both my candidates lost the September primary, I figured the holiday was over. I was going to take my long hair and goatee, dress it up in a suit, and get myself a salary and benefits. Thanks to some great references from some respected local politicos I'd impressed with the blogging and studying, I went two for two in my second paralegal interview and was hired at a firm that you should never, ever, under any circumstances, hire out as your attorneys. Here's their nice little commercial:
Him. That's the guy in the introduction. Matt Tully. In his office lobby, there’s a picture of him in full military garb arm and arm with former Vice President Dick Cheney. I wish I could find it online. It’s easily worth the two thousand words I've spent getting up to this point. And it's the one I should have looked at and said, "On second thought..." and declined the job offer.
But I was eager to work, and I got right down to it. I worked in the Employment Law division, assisting three attorneys as legal secretary. Honestly, the best part of the job was the rest of the support staff. These young ladies were on the top of their game, hard-working, incredibly good-natured, and if left out the fact that they were all beautiful I wouldn't be doing them the justice they deserve.
That's because only one or two of them are still left at the firm today. Oh, and my entire department resigned about a year after I was fired. Go figure…
I had a fantastic first couple of months. I was getting things done, wasn't getting any complaints that wouldn't be expected of a green legal secretary. I was staying late and learning the ropes, filing suits and coordinating service of process. In all due course, I was feeling on top of the world and envisioning myself saving up and moving out.
This whole time, Mr. Lawyer for Life was away for an extended vacation. Space camp. The "You're not afraid of guns, are you?" incident happened to me the same day he returned.
We now pick up where we started. After that, everything changed. Suddenly I was being called into the office to defend completely unfounded allegations of professional misconduct, nothing the attorneys I was directly responsible for had brought to my attention. After defending myself successfully in letter format, I was called back into the office to face the beast. He told me I'd been on his shit list for a while, his exact words, even though he'd been back for about a week. Behind me were two flat-screen TVs, both tuned to Fox News. He simply refused to explain why I was on his "shit list" and moved me to a different department...where nobody told me anything about what was going on half of the time. Within days, I began to feel like I was done for no matter what I did, was being called into the office for minor infractions that would have been let slide for any other employee. He has an infomercial on the local right-wing big media radio, and I even began to hear him talk about firing all sorts of people, naming my position specifically!
What he had done is put The Fear in me. That "afraid of guns" line says everything. These conservative hot shots work that way. It's how they build their corporate empires for their own selfish gain and how they toss away the unworthy liberals they sometimes hire for their egotistical power trip. And Matt Tully is the worst of the worst of this parasitic species.
It all came crashing down on January 28, 2009. I left for work an hour and a half early because we knew a massive blizzard was coming. I lived several miles farther out from the office than 90% of my colleagues. I had told them the night before that if conditions were exceptionally dangerous (and they certainly were) that I'd still come in to work but might be slightly delayed. I was, in fact, fifteen minutes late. Co-workers who lived a stone's throw from the office had yet to show up; I beat out half the staff from twice the distance...
...and what do I get in my inbox but a so-called verbal warning that my job is in jeopardy because of this.
I snapped. I recalled the way I'd shown that damn Altamont cop what for with my frank writing. In about twenty minutes, I brewed a gallon of vinegar for Mr. Tully and sent it off to him and my other superiors. I told them that I believed the man was going to continue making work hell for me, that he just plain didn't like me because of my perceived opposing political views. So if they were going to fire me for no damn good reason, I'd give them a reason with the proudest fuck-you act of workplace insubordination I'd ever managed. I still feel its some of my best work and it's too bad New Yorkers have no right to request their personnel files.
So that's why I was fired. "Insubordination" and "insulting lack of professionalism." When I got home, I snapped again. Here I was, not two months removed from taking all these exceptional steps to turn my life around from a going-nowhere-fast hippy musician to a rising-star professional, only to once again be shot down for no good damned reason by an ultra right-wing power figure who decided, arbitrarily, capriciously, and maliciously that they just didn't like me.
And this was supposed to be the United States of America. Where hard work pays off and opportunity is available for all, regardless of how you look and with protections against what you say or might say.
Not if the conservatives have anything to say about it. As I said, my generation is still the hardest hit in this recession. Add to that these two facts: that we Millenials are probably the most liberal next generation to experience the gift of life...and that research shows that when a man loses his job, his civic participation drops about 75%. I’m an exception; I actually ran a write-in campaign for Town Supervisor last fall because it was, after all, a job opening. I really have applied to everything. In only three weeks of campaigning that served as a nice pick-me-up from being depressed and jobless, I managed to get 8.5% of the vote…
But I'm still fighting that down-and-outness with every click of the alphanumeric keyboard. I’ve also developed a little conspiracy theory. It's not really a theory of any great organized conspiracy, just a little observation that all these experiences have given me about the nature of mankind and the reality of the devastation that conservative wreaks on their fellow citizens and nation as a whole:
The conservatives all wanted to fire as many of us young liberals as possible. It’s retribution for voting for a President with an Unamerican name and skin color and ideology. Why? To ensure that our civic participation went down to the point where their guy (or gal, as it may be) could oust Obama in 2012, no sweat. With a lower voter base and perhaps with some of us Millenial progressives discontented enough to switch sides, it seems to me the perfect way for those fat cats at the top to keep more money for themselves and get a vindictive dig in against their most recent bogeyman's supporters. All of this with no regard for the economy, which needs young workers to establish roots to keep things moving, or their community, which needs a strong economy in order to be a good place to raise families.
If it sounds crazy, then perhaps I've gone crazy. Applying to over a thousand jobs might do that to a young man who was promised that America would work for him...but now, America won't let him work. I've gone not only to law firms but any position that's open, from fast food joints to everything in between. No takers. I have had less than ten interviews in the past 15 months. It's enough to make one start to consider that all one is doing is wasting oxygen and adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. With no hope or end in sight, a body might consider that the only true solution to this problem is to stop breathing...
...but thankfully, I still am. What I'm most thankful for is that I'm no longer going to take it. I am not going to let The Fear destroy my hope. I refuse to let the power-mad conservative authority figures of this world beat me into submission. I object to the idea that we must keep our mouths shut and our faces in accordance with the clean cut capitalist grind. That is the opposite of what this nation was founded on, the antithesis of what is healthy and moral in a free society.
And the way I do that is to write about it and let my name, Colin Abele, be attached to the words I say. After I lost my job, I stopped blogging for nearly a year and I felt already dead as a doornail. When I finally came back by posting the first edition of Soundpolitic Sundays, I felt suddenly more alive. It wasn't brining in any cash, but it was bringing my life meaning. That is why I refuse to remain anonymous, both online and offline, to both kill The Fear and keep my life worth living.
Today, I attended the campaign announcement of a State Senate candidate in Albany County. Tomorrow I will blog about it as part of my continuing coverage.
I also plan to stop by the office of admissions at the State University of New York at Albany to see about getting an undergraduate degree in English and journalism. If I can’t get a proper job, them perhaps it’s time to turn this affinity for writing into one. And perhaps increase my vocabulary while decreasing my word count.
And next week, I hope you tune in for the next edition of Soundpolitic Sundays. Thank you all for reading; this has been the most painful post I've ever written. I promise to be a little more light-hearted next week.
May all beings be free from suffering. And may God, as you understand him, bless the United State of America.
