A beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky
but all I could think of was something to buy

A shiny new object with which to amuse
myself, and I’d seen it all day on the news.

So around five o’clock, I shot up from my chair
and booked out to the mall to meet my “M”s there.

I parked in the ramp, and ran right inside
where I saw a big crowd and very long line.

To the back I did go and stood in the queue
I wanted that thing - what else could I do?

I’m generally not an early adopter
but in this case desire overruled “smart shopper”

The crew came around with water and smiles
It was the biggest line that they had seen in a while.

At the front of the queue, with a gift card in hand
I selected 8 gigs, coolest phone in the land.

And when I got home, I updated iTunes
and plugged the phone in, it synced very soon

I set it all up for me email and calls
and I do have to say that this phone is the…

coolest thing I’ve ever bought.

Verizon Wireless actually issued a press release reminding people that their stores are open all day today, and that they sell mobile phones that play music.

Last night, I attended a wonderful Spree Best of party at Shea’s. I had received word that I was either the first or second place recipient of an award. I’m always very honored to be given an award for stuff I write, because I don’t do this to win awards. I do it because it’s fun.

I came in second. And I’m proud of that.

The winner was unexpected - Kelly from Byzantium Shores. I’m really quite happy that Kelly won, because his writing is always interesting, and his blog is one of the most original in our corner of Buffalo Blogistan - a term he coined. Congratulations to him for his win.

The listing in the Spree’s “Best of” issue (not yet online) praised Kelly’s blog for its originality and its reliance of original material rather than reposts, which I think is spot-on. For my entry, Spree said,

Why? Because he’ll hate coming in second, and blog all about it.

Now that’s funny. While according to Bobby Dukes, “second place is first place for losers”, I’m proud to place at all, and lost out to a very worthy adversary.

The Reynolds partisans have come out in full force not to defend their dear Tom, but to attack Jon Powers. That’ll go over well.

This guy hasn’t lived in Buffalo since when…..before he went to Iraq? Before he went to college? Has he paid the high taxes in Erie County? Probably not, since he’s never really held a job here.

This guy went away, and now feels he can come back and “make big changes.” What a crock. I am definitely in favor of people who were part of the brain drain coming back home and giving back to their community, but this doesn’t make much sense.

He lives in the Buffalo area right now. He lived here growing up. He lived here - and taught - between Iraq tours. Oh yeah, and he got shot at for our country. I think that’s pretty admirable. What the Reynoldsistas don’t explain is this: they keep harping on Erie county’s high taxes - yet what has our dear Tom done in 7 years in Congress to lower our county taxes? What did he do when he was in the state Assembly to reform our tax burden? How about when he was a county legislator? What has that career politician (yes, being an elected official non-stop since 1974 makes one that) done, exactly, to change the economic picture in WNY, except occasionally hucking pork money our way?

Another Democrat Rent-A-Vet.

That’s a great comment that, I think, encapsulates the attitude of the far right with respect to criticism of their sainted Cheney-Bush. I think it’s quite telling that the young veterans of the Iraq war who are moved to run for office seem to be running as Democrats who are critical of the administration and the way the war is being conducted. A person who attended Powers’ kick-off would have heard him say that he is proud of the work the soldiers are doing in Iraq, but that the administration isn’t doing everything it can to properly execute the war and conduct an occupation. To dismiss him and his ilk as “rent-a-vets” is to be a cretin.

Ultimately, if I was a Tom Reynolds supporter, Powers’ entry in this campaign would petrify me, too.

How come Butch Holt is prosecuted for not paying over to the state sales taxes that he collected, yet this guy gets repayment schedule after repayment schedule for county bed taxes that he collected, but never paid over?

I guess I should have seen it coming.

Yesterday, I criticized the Buffalo Common Council for its puerile and ignorant denunciation of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese’s restructuring plan as having the whiff of “ethnic cleansing”. I can certainly understand why people would be upset about the closings, and the Council has an absolute right to weigh in on issues that affect the City’s population. I merely found the language to be out of proportion to the matter at hand.

That’s it, right? Silly statement, denunciations, everybody moves on.

Except now one of the most despicable people in the country sticks his nose in.

William Donahue is the head of something called the “Catholic League”. Here’s what he said:

The League said the Council’s resolution is “one of the most egregious examples of Catholic bashing ever to be voiced by a government entity in the U.S.”

Catholic League President Bill Donohue threatened a lawsuit against the Council, calling its language “inflammatory and patently bigoted” and accused the lawmaking body of hate speech.

Catholic bashing. Inflammatory. Patently bigoted. Is this guy for real?

First of all, Council President Dave Franczyk - the author of the Council resolution - is himself a Catholic. Secondly, he is angry because the Diocese is closing Catholic churches in the City.

Someone want to explain to me how that’s “Catholic bashing” or “bigoted”? I didn’t think so.

Even more shocking is the idea that this Donahue has the audacity to criticize anybody for “bashing” or bigotry. Let’s review.

In any event, when William Donahue says something, consider the source.

I read it so you don’t have to.

1. Tim Tielman runs a fun bus tour & Tonawanda bungaloes are the “new frontier” for preservation efforts, which means that Amherst & Clarence will be cool, too, in 50 years’ time.

2. Mary likes the hot weather and dislikes meterological terms.

3. It’s ok to spend tax money to put in a wine bar on Third Street in the Falls.

4. Mary went to check out the new part of the Darwin Martin House and found her view of the statue of Nike obstructed.

5. Donna Fernandes never said she was a Republican, as Mary reported in last week’s buzz. Someone else was.

Using our new mockability scale system, that’s only a 31. Not too bad, but she should get extra points for having to include a correction.

The City Council terms the Buffalo Diocese’s decision to close certain city parishes as having “the whiff of ethnic cleansing”.

Since last I looked nobody was forcibly removed from their homes, shot at point-blank range, execution style, shelled, or piled into unmarked mass graves, I’d say that the Diocese is right in saying that the use of “ethnic cleansing” (which is a newer way to say “genocide”) is “appalling, irresponsible and misinformed.”

Technorati Profile

Pearl returns in “Good Cop, Bad Cop”

Thursday at 6:30 pm, join the Buffalo Spree celebrate the best of WNY - proceeds to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Tickets are available online, and you can sample food from some of the best restaurants in the area, including Falafel Bar, Fiamma Steakhouse, and Nick Charlap’s. There will be a silent auction and wine tasting, to boot.

And yours truly will be there to pick up an award of some sort, so thanks for everyone who voted!

Or on the avenue; Delaware Elmwood Avenue, to be exact. Friday night movies on Elmwood are back! For several years, Buffalonians have cherished Italian movies at dusk on Fridays in July, thanks to the efforts of Cinema Sotto le Stelle, a nonprofit organization. This year, the founders of Cinema Sotto le Stelle are taking a much needed summer off.

Reluctant to see the free film festival fade, Rev. Joel Miller and the Unitarian-Universalist Church offered to cosponsor the outdoor films, enabling volunteers to hastily organize a program to continue the popular tradition, now called “Movie Night on Elmwood.” Films will be shown in the yard between the Church and M&T Bank on Elmwood north of Ferry.

“We didn’t want to trespass on Cinema Sotto le Stelle’s turf, so instead of showing Italian movies, which they do better than anyone, we’re showing oldies,” said Vincent Kuntz, a member of the Unitarian-Universalist Church and movie organizer.

“Movie Night on Elmwood” will feature classics from the silent era up to the film noir period,” promises Cynthia Van Ness, movie organizer. “Since we didn’t have the time or backing to negotiate rights and royalties, we selected a program that, according to good faith research, features films that are now in the public domain.” A schedule is underway and will be released shortly.

The public is invited to bring their picnics, blankets, lawn chairs, and sociability, and enjoy the movies under the stars for no charge.

Looking through Autoblog yesterday, an article about a new type of parking meter caught my eye. This parking meter will take credit cards and is able to call you to notify you that the meter is about to expire, and you can supplement your fee remotely. That’s pretty handy.

The article mentioned that the meters are being installed in Vancouver and Niagara Falls. I thought “Ontario”.

But then it hit me - these things are installed on the American side, but they’re covered with black plastic right now. For years now, Mayor Elia and then Mayor Anello have been pushing to install parking meters throughout Niagara Falls. The plans had been abandoned for some time, with only metal poles sticking out of the ground for many years, due to the fact that the Seneca Niagara Casino offers free parking in a brand-new lot that’s just 4 blocks or so from the Falls. Free is hard to compete with.

Also, it makes perfect sense for the popular, tourist-packed Canadian side to treat parking like a commodity. It’s craziness for the unpopular, blighted American side to do the same.

The last few times I had been in the falls, I noticed that some sort of strange shape had grown on the end of those metal poles, but I didn’t stop to take a peek. This image represents perfectly the shape under the garbage bags:

I’m not convinced that this is the best expenditure of scarce money in Niagara Falls, NY.

Ann Coulter is a heroine to the conservative movement. She says everything they wish they could say but don’t have the adam’s apple balls to.

Some time ago, she called Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards a “faggot”. She takes it back, though. She just wishes he had been killed in a terrorist attack.

Update - Elizabeth Edwards calls in during Hardball to politely ask Coulter to stop being a complete and utter asshole to her husband. She’s right. It’s one thing to debate and disagree on issues. It’s quite another to call someone a “faggot” or wish him dead, don’t you think, hm?

I attended Jon Powers‘ campaign kick-off at the Clarence Town Park this evening, and the place was packed with family, friends, and supporters. Powers has a boyish and earnest charm that’s hard not to like. He used to teach social studies at Clarence High School, and I can imagine that he was his students’ favorite.

This young man is well-known and well-liked in the community. He played football for the Clarence Red Devils. He’s an Eagle Scout. He obtained his college degree in education, and enrolled in ROTC. On 9/11/01, Powers was stationed in Germany and recounted his story about that day - the day he first realized he was an American soldier and what that meant.

Later, Powers served in Iraq and was moved by what he saw there. It clearly changed him and his worldview, and his interaction with Iraqi kids moved him to start the War Kids Relief - a nonprofit organization that aims to help young Iraqis affected by the war, and hopefully prevent them from joining the insurgency or any other guerrilla group.

Now, he wants to be your Congressman. The theme of his speech was leading by example. Powers recounted a story from the Army - people follow you either because of your rank, or because you’re right. He wants people to support him because he’s right. He won’t be beholden to party politics or other parochial concerns - he’ll work for the people of the 26th Congressional District. He’s seen problems and tackled them. He’s worked selflessly for others. He cares deeply about Western New York and wants to help people have a better life.

Powers is right when he says that Washington has lost its way. Most elected officials become consumed with inside-the-beltway concerns and forget why they’re there. He promises to be different. Getting to know him and learning his story, I know that he’s different.

Please consider signing up to help Powers’ campaign - whether it be with your skills or your money. Replace the cynical representative we now have with someone who offers hope, leadership, and a vision for the future.

Mass hysteria.

The Buffalo schools superintendent and the head of the Buffalo Teachers’ Federation - that’s James Williams and Phil Rumore to you - have worked out a deal to improve performance in the city’s worst-performing schools.

Teachers at those schools today will watch a video in which Williams, the Buffalo school superintendent, and Rumore, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, sit side by side and explain the reform effort. It will lengthen both the school day and school year, lower class sizes, stagger work schedules and provide coaches for both teachers and principals.

“This is huge,” said Amber Dixon, the school system’s executive director for project initiatives. “We were able to do this by working with the BTF. The process has been extremely collegial.”

Will the agreement lead to improved relations on a broader scale between the school system and its largest and most influential union?

“I think it already has,” Dixon said.

Rumore said the plan resulted from “an excellent working relationship” between the teachers union and an administrative team headed by Dixon.

“There seemed to be a lot more willingness on the part of the district to listen to our concerns,” he said. “We started out from completely different ends of the stratosphere. We heard each other out and reached an agreement.”

All hail compromise.

Jon Powers, former Captain in the U.S. Army, Iraq war veteran and Democratic candidate for New York’s 26th district is kicking off his campaign for congress at the Clarence Town Park today (Tuesday June 26th) at 7:30PM. All are invited to attend.

The kick-off will be from 6-9pm at the Clarence Town Park large pavilion.

There isn’t enough parking at KBUF.

Here’s a map of the parking lot, with the private lots across Genesee.

And here’s a map of the expanded long-term lot that I have seen open for NFTA park & ride, and as a “cell phone parking lot“. That’s about it. So, it would seem to me that NFTA isn’t using its existing parking facilities to full extent.

An emailer poses a great question. How about the NFTA expand Metro Rail to the airport?

You can reply to toto_bouba01@yahoo.com

Sir,

My name Prince Toto Bouba I am from Luanda Norte in the Central district of Angola. I am contacting
you for partnership in a very confidential financial transaction that involves the transfer and
receivership of some deposit.

This deposit came from private mining of diamond in our region which represent the major deposit of
diamonds in my country. Coupled with the rebels activities which are sponsored by illegitimate sales
of diamonds to foreign companies.

Presently the Government forces are occupying our regions which has forced us the locals out of the
country in search of lucrative business outside our shores for investment purposes. Your immediate
response will be appreciated as time is of essence. Details will be given to you when you respond.
Please include your direct phone number.

Sincerely,Toto Bouba

That’s the term that Denizen has coined to describe a group of local people he describes as,

…the old money and academic elite of Buffalo, along with a significant middle-class academic and non-profit-employed element.

According to Denizen, these people

are the residual leftovers of Buffalo’s wealthy heyday. Many of these folks are heavily embedded into the area’s academic and non-profit institutions. Their own little pocket of Buffalo, centered around the Olmsted Parkways, is a world unto itself. As a majority of the city’s working class neighborhoods declined over the previous decades, the prosperous Olmsted enclave barely flinched. Still standing proud are the same beautiful mansions and private schools that were there back in the city’s better days.

Going off on a tangent for a moment, one of the big issues out in the suburbs is the proposal to install roundabouts at certain intersections. Personally, I’m for them for loads of reasons, not least of which is improved traffic flow. But if you go to the corner of Harris Hill Road and Greiner in Clarence, homeowners near that 4-way stop have put lawn signs out that read:

“No Roundabouts. No Lights. No Change.”

No change. That should replace “Talkin’ Proud” or whatever other cheap marketing ploy has been used in the past to prompte this region.

It definitely does seem as if there is a distinct bubble in which certain people live, and it’s not a necessarily pleasant one. They ignore genuine social issues while sipping lattes at Spot. Their views as to anything and everything suburban ranges from a tsk-tsk to outright hatred, rage, and hostility. The bubble seems like a rather nice place to be, but outside it is utter chaos and the real world. A world that’s just trying to get by and survive. The bubble is impenetrable by that reality, because it’s so sturdily built, based on decades’ worth of delusion and arrogance.

I have my own ideas as to what the overall answer is to this particular problem and it’s comprehensive and statutory. But in the meantime, let’s see what Denizen has to say, as the “Olmstedians” is the first in a series of posts.

Guantanamo’s Camp X-ray is still open. More Americans have died in Iraq than died in the 9/11 attacks. The big story is Paris Hilton getting out of jail on a traffic charge.

Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff came to Buffalo and said two things of importance:

…he will explore using secure driver’s licenses as a means of border identification, cooling major opposition along the northern border to a proposed passport requirement.

What is a “secure” driver’s license? Why is my current license insecure? What additional information does one need on a license in order to render it “secure”? Biometric information? Seriously, it makes absolutely no sense.

“This is about finding a way forward that’s reasonable but also secure,”

How about the “Qaeda license” and the “non-Qaeda license”?

[Chertoff] added that he still sees no way to implement U.S. border inspection facilities in Canada.

In other words, the criminalization of changing one’s mind or missing an exit will persist in the face of reality and reason. God almighty, how is this securing the “homeland”?

Remember the case of the Judge in Washington, DC who was trying to take his cleaners to the cleaners for $54 million?

His case has been dismissed. You can read the entire decision here. (.pdf)

It’s not surprising that the pro-se plaintiff lost his idiotic small claim of a case. What is somewhat suprising is that the judge awarded court costs to the defendants, and is reserving the right to award attorneys’ fees, as well.

The Chungs were laid low by Pearson’s two-year pursuit of the case; their legal fees wiped out their savings and forced them to consider moving back to their native land of South Korea. In addition, as the Chungs’ lawyer, Christopher Manning, pointed out this morning, the Chungs still face the potentially enormous and almost certain costs of defending themselves against an almost-inevitable appeal of Bartnoff’s decision by Pearson.

Let’s just say that a “satisfaction guaranteed” sign doesn’t amount to a multimillion dollar case if you’re not satisfied. I would love there to be sanctions of some sort imposed on him for this.

And don’t bring this up to me. I don’t even want to go there.

As Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff visits Buffalo, I hope that our elected officials can look beyond who got invited to what by whom and instead impress upon our guest just how crucial cross-border traffic is to our economy, especially with a Canadian dollar at par.

As he visits the Peace Bridge - the location of “shared border management”, which Chertoff has jettisoned, I hope he takes a look at the neighborhood immediately adjacent to that crossing. Maybe he can go stop by each home and explain why it’s better to take their homes by eminent domain than to let go of the requirement that people who make a u-turn before crossing the bridge be fingerprinted.

Maybe - just maybe - he doesn’t even realize just how close we are to Canada. I’d wager that Chertoff has never given Buffalo and Niagara Falls a second thought. Either way, I predict that nothing whatsoever will change, because doing so would be an admission that the original decision was w