New York State, Land of Contradiction

Good morning to everyone, and I hope you all had a good Fathers Day!

With that said, time to get down to business. Today the Seneca Nation once again has to explain to a New York court how the state is trying to break treaties because they don't know how to properly run their finances. DISCLAIMER: Yes, I am a smoker however I really honestly would be saying this if I wasn't. I really don't understand why New York thinks this is OK. Could you imagine if New York came up with a contract with someone, and then those people tried to renege on said contract? They would go ballistic!!! This has a name in the court systems - buyers remorse. NY ended up in a contract that benefits the Indians (AS IT SHOULD) and now NY is having money troubles (AGAIN, AND GO FIGURE) so they decide "Hey, let's tell them that we meant they could only benefit from their OWN people, not ALL people." Give me a damned break. It is one of the biggest contradictions I have ever seen - a bunch of white slave owners didn't want to pay their taxes so they travel across an ocean, proceed to slaughter a great number of indigenous people living here, then set up a state that taxes the hell out of the people living in it. Oh wait, not done! Then they f*#@ up the state by their own greed and corruption so they decide that they will plead that they are getting screwed by their own contract.

                         Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed. --Albert Einstein

I have heard the argument that the state is actually trying to lower costs while gaining more revenue from the sales to non-Indians. That by forcing the tax on non-Indians, it will help people quit which will lower the amount spent on medical treatment paid for by the state for people that are sick due to smoking. My honest thoughts? The state shouldn't be paying for those treatments anyway. Yup, I said it. If your sickness is due to not being living a healthy life (smoking, excessive drinking, drug use, etc.) then it shouldn't be covered by state aid. THAT alone might be a good enough deterrent for people to start living better. If people want to smoke, that should be their choice to do so. "But the second hand smoke!?!" It is becoming harder and harder to smoke around people now a days. Even outside people are discouraged from smoking! But I digress (as usual).

The fact of the matter is that Albany needs to find other ways of sorting out their budget problems. The politicians should be taking pay cuts right off the bat. I love how they have the balls to cut state workers and destroy lives yet wouldn't DARE take pay cuts to help. They WILL take all of the perks from lobbyists, they WILL take all of your campaign contributions, they WILL care only about their personal agendas, but that is about it. Unless, of course, it is going to hurt their own pockets. Then they will pay attention for as long as it takes for you to believe them and give them your vote. I guess Buffalo learned a lot from Albany on how to run a corrupt government.

Lady Gaga and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

There are days when I wonder why I even get out of bed. Today wasn't one of those days, until I saw the headline "Lady Gaga's meat dress in Rock Hall display." Of course, I couldn't just ignore the link and go about my day, I HAD to click it. OK fine, it is apart of an exhibit about women in the music industry. I guess, no matter what my person opinion about the quality of her music is, I can respect the exhibit. Then I kept reading, and that is when I read the words "The outfit, made of Argentinian beef, made history..." and I couldn't read any more because my blood was boiling so rapidly my retinas fogged up. MADE HISTORY?!?!? I guess I have fallen off of the deep end but I always considered making history an event that will be remembered and brought up on a consistent basis that has shaped the state of the world as we know it. The Beatles playing on Ed Sullivan "made history". Les Paul "made history". Woodstock "made history". Lady Gaga wearing a dress made of meat to shock people was NOT MAKING HISTORY FOR $*&#S SAKE!!!  I'm sorry, I really do try not to use vulgarities on my posts, even though I did put it in the "adult warning" section, but this is really maddening. If there is nothing else I love on this earth it is music. If that is considered a historical event in music, then I am completely offended and quite frankly want nothing to do with any kind of mainstream music media. Don't get me wrong, it isn't as though I am anyway, if I'm not listening to WGR550 on my way to or from some where then I have my Zune playing. As soon as I could afford an MP3 player I got one, and now am in the "Why is there still terrestrial radio?" group.

But I digress.

Back to the real point. Why do people like this no talent hack? She isn't attractive, isn't very artistic to the point where her music sounds like others (I'll back that up in a minute), and to be honest she isn't that shocking. More annoying than anything. I guess when you get right to it, it is more of a problem of society then just her. Our society now for some reason places importance on some really ridiculous things. I just need to prove one point and I will move on from this little disgusting rich girl. (Oh yeah, did you know that? She isn't some "rise from the ashes and make something of herself" case, she is from a very well off family on Long Island.)

Anyway, how come no one makes a big deal over the fact that she is completely ripping Madonna off?

I mean, honestly people! It is the same song! Yeah yeah, I can hear people now, "Well, all songs kinda sound the same and blah, blah, blah." These two songs sound the same, and Gaga is totally ripping off Madonnas image too! Two differences - Madonna was extremly attractive, and she was able to make a career off of NOT RIPPING OTHERS OFF.

Weiner, Weiner Everywhere

Yeah, everyone has been talking about it, and it was only a matter of time before I got my two cents out about it. It's every comedians dream, a sex scandal involving a congressman with the name of Weiner.

Try all you want but you can't hide now Weiner.



So, really, why is this such a news story? Mind you, this is about to come from someone who (for the most part) is a Conservative Republican - even though in the past few years I have SERIOUSLY considered just changing to Independent because parties are starting to look really silly in this day and age. I mention that because this should be a perfect opportunity to bash the Democratic Party and show how they are evil and immoral and blah blah blah. But honestly, why is this man being forced out of office? Is the argument a moral one? I believe that our double standard in America is getting out of control. Not only that, but it seems as though we here in America seem to be the only country that puts so much into the personal lives of our politicians. I think the most ironic thing its the fact that we hold these peoples feet to the flames over their personal lives, yet when it comes to things that actually MATTER to us Americans on a day to day basis we take a much more lax attitude. Has this man lied to Congress about political matters? Has he embezzled millions of dollars from the taxpayers? Has he killed anyone? OK, I will give you one thing- he did lie when first asked about this, he said someone hacked his Twitter account. It was a knee-jerk reaction to try to save some face. I am not saying what he said was right, but I am saying that a lot more politicians say a lot worst on a daily basis.

So, this man gets his rocks off by sexting. Why is this a big deal? Last time I checked it was 2011, and many, many people do it. It isn't illegal, it isn't immoral, (unless you are doing it behind your spouses back, which yes I realize he was), and it has NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HE DOES ON A DAILY BASIS IN CONGRESS. I think it is totally ridiculous that he is being called on to step down by his fellow Congressmen. He never even engaged in any contact with these women, only through e-mail and texting. This reminds me of another sad story of double standards in our Government.

Yup, Buffalo's very own Chris Lee. He didn't even let it get anywhere near this far, he just came right out and resigned. Now we were forced to vote between the lesser of 3 evils! In my opinion, I really would have wished the people could have voted him BACK in after seeing the other options they had to vote from. Again, people that didn't do anything that effects their constituents, but because we hold them to such a high standard (that gets shot to hell when they do their daily thing in Congress because they don't really work FOR the people but for their own agendas and lobbyists) they are forced to resign. If anything, this shows that these guys are HUMAN. They are not these "robots" that we expect them to be. It is really funny that we scorn these guys and everyone calls for their heads, but when someone else actually goes BEYOND what these two knuckleheads did, it's funny and no one really calls out their political career. (Yes, I realize it was in his last days, but really, we all laughed more than anything.)

(Insert funny garbled line that also references getting in a chopper here)



Buffalo, A Land of Corruption.

I woke up this morning and wanted to write about hockey, but then I read the front page of The Buffalo News. In case you are wondering, this is the article I read:

Donovan Building brouhaha

I am 31 years old and have lived in Western New York my entire life. I have watched as the suburbs have gone from rural green space to communities with new neighborhoods and shopping developments. As the suburbs have grown, the city has shrunk. Instead of knocking down eyesores and replacing them with new businesses and houses, they sit hollowed out and covered in graffiti. Then when it comes to historic sites, such as the Aud and the grain silos, people are stepping all over each other trying to get them demolished. They succeeded with the Aud, and now we can never get that wonderful piece of Buffalo, AND the Sabres, history back. We demolished it ON THE PROSPECT of someone putting something in it's place. Then, lo and behold, they backed out. Now just an empty lot sits there, begging for something to be built in it's place. That is gone, but I'll be damned if the Donovan Building isn't still there. It was in use from 1962 until 2007, when the last resident moved out of it. Now it just sits there, another empty shell of what Buffalo used to be. The inside has been gutted in hopes of it being redeveloped, yet nothing has come of it. Larry Quinn and his band of cohorts have stalled for too long on the waterfront development, and I was very glad to hear that when his duties for the Sabres ended, so did his involvement with the waterfront. Now it seems as though it wasn't just Quinn, it is all of the leaders in Buffalo that have their hands in as many pockets as they can get them in. I am not claiming to be an expert in commercial development, but from reading this article I can't help but agree that this bidding process is not on the up and up.

So when is the corruption going to end in Buffalo? When will the back-scratching stop? Why has no one tried to end it? We have such a beautiful area in Buffalo, and it seems as though all we can do is expand and move out to the suburbs. Right now there is a mayor in place that has been totally ineffective in doing anything other than cover for his son, deflect any kind of responsibility for his staff in City Hall, and somehow CONGRATULATE people in the Buffalo City School district for coming together to talk about how bad the schools are! I swear, I'm not kidding, he praised these people for doing their job and getting together to talk about the district, but not until a LONG time after they received a failing grade for education!

Here is the article proving my point.

Another question. Why is the sky way still up? What possible reason could people come up with to justify the giant eyesore that is blocking an absolutely beautiful waterfront? Wait, maybe because of Jordan Levy and the rest of the COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE Erie Canal Harbor Development Cooperation with their wheels spinning? I don't believe I have met one person who thinks the sky way is a good thing, nor do I believe I have met anyone who thinks it should NOT be demolished. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, has been trying to get it torn down and I hope and pray he has as much success as when he spearheaded getting the illegal tolls taken down. Yes, the ECHDC has done some things - torn down the Aud, put in a little green scape, talk a lot - but as for REAL progress there has been none. Now Levy's long time friend Benderson seems to be favored as the company that will win the bid for building on the old Aud site. Again, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. In my opinion, the sky way needs to be torn down, most of the land needs to be bought out and raised, and a waterfront needs to be developed that includes bars, restaurants, and the major attraction- BUILD A WATERFRONT STADIUM for the Buffalo Bills. My vision kind of looks like... oh... this-

Oh wait. That vision has already been done. It's called Cleveland.

Why have we accepted these things that we all know should be taken care of? Have we all been so beaten down by this region that we just don't care anymore? Or has the root of corruption gotten so big that it now extends to the point where everyone knows someone who would be affected by any kind of whistle blowing? I will leave you all with a quote.

"Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power."
-George Bernard Shaw

An Album You Should Listen To.

At first I was going to write about the Buffalo City School system and how backwards it is, but then I decided to put on some music and realized that not enough people know about this band. The bands name is Black Dub and if you just want to chill out and relax I highly suggest trying them out.

This is their website.

Want some background on them? I'd be happy to give some. The band consists of Daryl Johnson (bass), Trixie Whitley (vocals), Brian Blade (drums), and Daniel Lanois (piano, guitar). Trixie has a voice that will BLOW YOU AWAY. The first time I heard her voice I was expecting an old jazz or blues singer. Turns out she is a small young little thing whose father was Chris Whitley, a great blues singer/songwriter/guitarist. The only other person I honestly kinda knew by name was Daniel Lanois, who is a record producer who has worked with the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, and U2. He worked with U2 on their album The Joshua Tree.

The album begins with a track titled "Love Lives" and almost gives off a Steely Dan vibe to it in the first 30 seconds or so. Then the magic happens when Trixie comes in with her incredible voice. Her voice is haunting, often I find myself getting goosebumps just listening to her. After hearing her voice for the first time I had to look up a picture of her and couldn't understand how such a voice came out of a small girl like that. The bass lines and guitars are perfectly consistent throughout the album and shows the amount of experience and talent that this collaboration has. Their first single is next - "I Believe In You" - a wonderful ballad that once again flaunts Ms. Whitleys' voice. Number 3, "Ring The Alarm" is an upbeat song that helps the transition to their next song "Last Time" that was written by all of the members of the band, whilst the rest of them were written and composed by Lanois. "Surely" is next, another slow ballad that tugs at the heartstrings of anyone who has a lost love. "Nomad" is a wonderful song that once again makes you feel that a seasoned blues singer fronts this band. The first of two instrumentals is up next, named "Slow Baby", and shows off Daniels guitar skills. My personal favorite is next. "Silverado" always seems to put an image of the band sitting around a campfire jamming in my head. It is very simple, yet put together so well that I believe they really should release it as a single. "Canaan" is the next song, and features Lanois singing which turns out to work very well with the flow of the album. The last track that has vocals is up next - "Sing" - another upbeat track that features Trixie and Lanois sharing time on vocals. "Sirens" is the last song, an instrumental that helps round out the album, yet seems to leave you wanting more. I honestly do not skip over any of the tracks when I put on this album - and that tends to be rare with me.

The group has a series of videos on YouTube, and I thought I'd post one for you.

So, once again, go buy this album.