This Post-Standard article describes the hard work that went into bringing the Franklin museum to Cazenovia. Contributors included the mayor of the village of Cazenovia, Cazenovia's town supervisor, state assembly and senate members, and a congressional representative.
This concise article from The Nation gives 100 separate facts about the Bush administration in a variety of areas, from National Security to Rights and Liberties. Each item was enough to raise my blood pressure; 100 of them are nearly overwhelming.
Here's the full Post-Standard article about the official announcement of the Franklin Museum coming to Cazenovia. The property on which they will build is on Route 20 West, just west of Stearns & Wheler and just a half mile from the village.
Once again, congratulations to all involved; I am very excited to see this dream becoming a reality!
From the Post-Standard's "Extra" Page:
Car museum to get new digs in Madison County
The Franklin Automobile Museum announced Monday that it will build a new museum complex in the town of Cazenovia, just east of the village on Route 20. The Franklin Museum, now located in Tucson, Ariz., will move its 35-car collection of Franklin Automobiles and historic artifacts to a 70-acre site its foundation has purchased. The car was manufactured in Syracuse from 1902 to 1934. Cazenovia College has been the site of the annual Franklin Trek, which attracts owners of about 100 Franklin automobiles each August.
Congratulations to the Cazenovians and Central New Yorkers who have worked so long and so diligently to make this dream a reality!
First we see that Vice President Cheney's former company, Halliburton, and its Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) subsidiary overcharged the American taxpayer billions (with a "B") of dollars on their no-bid Iraq reconstruction management project. Now it appears that Halliburton is angling to keep that money. It astonishes me that conservatives of ALL stripes (religious, fiscal, rational, social) don't see this as outrageous abuse of power by both the Bush administration and by Halliburton.
Punctuating this for me is a letter I received from someone very close to me. She forwarded me the comments of a US Army reservist who is stationed in Taji, Iraq, and who has observed first-hand the activities of KBR:
There are several civilian contractors mostly KBR(Haliburtin)sp.here. The remainder of the companies are being bought up little by little by KBR. We have several issues with KBR. They were suppose to take over the majority of our missions months ago and get troops rotated home. To date the only real mission they took over was the fuel runs to fill the generators on post. Their contract states using their own equipment. But they are allowed to use ours. They are full of promises but never deliver. They are getting payed huge amounts of money to do this but fail on a daily basis. When they fail a mission the soldiers feel the blunt of it. Its not right but we have little control. We can't counsel or reprimand the civilians. At our level we can't deny them the work either. The other issue I have with them is the fact they will not deliver fuel to a smaller civilian contractor even though its in their contract to support all of Taji. They won't help them out until they have bullied them into selling out to KBR. Once they become a sub-contractor then they get the help they need. One big political mess. If we only knew the whole story it would probably make us sick.Why is this story not being covered? Why does nobody care? Why, if we (American taxpayers) are paying for KBR to hurt both our own military personnel and local Iraqi businesses, is no one reporting this?
Kinney Drugs is dramatically changing the look and layout of its store, inside and out. According to today's Cazenovia Republican, the remodeled Kinney will have:
Cazenovia town supervisor Tom Dreisbach died on Thursday after suffering a heart attack at his home on Oxbow Road.
Dreisbach accomplished much during his five-year tenure as supervisor, including the construction of a new town highway garage; the establishment of regulations to protect Cazenovia Lake; and renovations to the Town Hall, including making it accessible to persons with disabilities.
Here's the article from the Post-Standard: Supervisor dies of heart attack
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the conservative Cato Institute. He served as a special assistant to President Reagan and was a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. And he has written an excellent article detailing the ground that conservatives have lost in the last four years, and why another four would be disastrous.
Here's a brief quote:
"Government should never try to control or dominate the lives of our citizens," Bush says. But you wouldn't know that from his policies. He has expanded government power, increased federal spending, initiated an unnecessary war, engaged in global social engineering and undercut executive accountability. This is a bill of particulars that could be laid on Lyndon Johnson's grave. No wonder "Republicans aren't very enthusiastic about" Bush, says right-wing syndicated columnist Robert Novak.Although anecdotal evidence of conservative disaffection with Bush is common -- for instance, my Pentagon employee neighbor, a business lobbyist friend, even my retired career Air Force father -- for many the thought of voting for John Kerry remains simply too horrific to contemplate. And this dissatisfaction has yet to show up in polls. Fear of Kerry, more than love of Bush, holds many conservatives behind the GOP.
Yet serious conservatives must fear for the country if Bush is reelected. Is Kerry really likely to initiate more unnecessary wars, threaten more civil liberties and waste more tax dollars? In any case, there are other choices (e.g., the Libertarian Party's Michael Badnarik, the Constitution Party's Michael Peroutka and even Independent Ralph Nader).
Serious conservatives should deny their votes to Bush. "When it comes to choosing a president, results matter," the president says. So true. A Kerry victory would likely be bad for the cause of individual liberty and limited government. But based on the results of his presidency, a Bush victory would be catastrophic. Conservatives should choose principle over power.
On Saturday, Cazenovian Eric Dahn was honored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The ceremony took place on the field of the Carrier Dome at halftime of the Syracuse-Florida State game.
Dahn is the director of operations at Drumlins Country Club and has been living with multiple myeloma for three years.
A photo and press release from the event are posted on the SUAthletics.com web site.
You may have noticed, if you read this blog, that I am no fan of the current presidential administration. To that end, my wife and I have posted "Bush Must Go" signs in our yard, near the road. When I arrived home today after a nice trip to the zoo with my sister, her husband, and their daughter, I found that our sign had been removed.
This is the fifth time that such a sign has been removed from our yard. We have plenty of replacement signs, but I am extremely disappointed that one of my neighbors would stoop so low as to steal something of mine right from my own yard.
To whomever is doing it: please stop. I would not steal from or vandalize your property, and I hope in the future you will respect my right to my own space and opinions. If you don't like the message of my sign, you are free to promote your candidate on your own property - with signs in your own yard, stickers on your car, buttons on your clothes, tattoos, and so on. As it is, your cowardly actions only serve to reinforce my impression of the administration and its supporters. Thank you for the continued inspiration.
Here are some photos from my stroll around Cazenovia. They show changes underway in and around the historic business district.
Voting this fall? You might want to read about Dr. Bob Johnson, the Democratic challenger to our congressional representative John McHugh. Johnson is a thoracic surgeon from Sackets Harbor, running on a platform promoting health care, the environment, national security, jobs, and conservative values. Here's a good article outlining Johnson's biography and his platform, from the Plattsburgh Press-Republican.
Conservative Democrats such as Johnson have a history of support in Cazenovia and Madison County, including our assembly representative Bill Magee.
In a different race, check out this New York Newsday article about how FixAlbany is backing Democrat Dave Valesky in his race for state senate versus Nancy Larraine Hoffmann. For a local angle on the same story, see this Post-Standard article. Did you know that Valesky was the only candidate to show up to a scheduled debate at Syracuse University that was also supposed to include Hoffmann and conservative challenger Thomas Dadey?
This press release is from the Syracuse Peace Council, promoting their "Bush Must Go" rally on October 17 at 2PM at the MOST (Armory) in Syracuse.
Central New Yorkers Unite as Election Draws Near
Contact: Jessica Maxwell, 472-5478
Energized by recent demonstrations and the presidential debates, voters from the greater Syracuse area and across the state are uniting to spread their message that “Bush Must Go.” A demonstration sponsored by the Syracuse Peace Council is scheduled for Sunday, October 17 at 2 pm on the MOST lawn in Armory Square in downtown Syracuse.
Central New Yorkers will gather to draw attention to the Bush agenda and its affect on our state and our nation. “Whether it’s the war in Iraq, civil liberties, or unemployment, the vast majority of Central New Yorkers are being hurt by the policies of the current administration,” notes event organizer Andy Mager. “We believe it is important to come together to share our concerns and consider how we can act to rebuild our community and nation based on the values we profess—equality, justice, democracy and peace.”
Performers at the rally will include local poet Georgia Popoff, folk singer Colleen Kattau, and the Syracuse System Shakers Radical Cheerleaders.
The Syracuse Peace Council is a grassroots organization committed to creating a world of peace and justice through education, agitation and organizing. This event is free and open to the general public. For further information, call 472-5478 or e-mail the Peace Council at jessica@peacecouncil.net.
I strive not to make this blog about my own pet peeves (with the possible exception of the occasional political post). But I cannot resist a little rant about the egregious misuse of near-homophones in everyday writing.
I read an article today about Wal-Mart, which has become (according to the author) a "lightening" rod for dozens of lawsuits. Since lightening refers specifically to either the process of becoming lighter in color or the "dropping" of the fetus into the pelvic cavity during late pregnancy, I wonder which meaning the author intended. Perhaps Wal-Mart uses some proprietary stick to literally lighten the color of those lawsuit documents? Or is there some formerly unknown obstetric device which can hasten the fetus' descent into the pelvis?
Or maybe the author of this article is, like me, working without an editor.
Happy autumn! What a beautiful day we had today, blue skies, sunshine, and the trees are juuuuust changing. It sure has been quiet online lately, but there's a lot happening in town!
The new buildings on Sullivan Street are complete and construction continues around the corner on the improved Common Grounds/Cazenovia Grill/Cazenovia Artisans/Kinney Drugs block. It all looks fantastic to me - that one little corner of the village is getting quite the makeover.
Of course, the unresolved question is, where will all the patrons and residents of this improved complex park their cars? I love the improvements but I sincerely hope that the village, the college, and the developer(s) can agree on a long-range parking solution. Then again, maybe the village will look even busier with so much traffic prowling for spaces!
Development continues steadily at the new "patio home" complex at the village's southern edge along Chenango Street. Several homes are framed and should look complete within a month - not that I'm an expert!
The renovations to the Town & Country plaza are also welcome. The plaza looks much better, the storefronts are full, and MacKinnon Liquors is now open on Sundays. Out of town readers might be interested to know that there is now a bottle/can return center behind the P&C; it's run by the same people that run F-M returnables in Manlius.
My daughter just began kindergarten classes at Burton Street school. So far she likes it a lot and my wife and I are impressed by the teachers, the staff, and the facilities.
So what will be the big local news stories in Cazenovia in the coming months? Any thoughts?
Here's an interesting ditty on what we owe to progressive thinkers in our society, and why it's unlikely that debt will be repaid - or even acknowledged - any time soon.
Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.
All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.
He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.
Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.
He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.
If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.
Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.
He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.
The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.
He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.
Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."