What I Would Do


By DIA, Section News
Posted on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 05:07:29 AM EST

First, I'm disappointed that no one will run against Soares. I think he should be forced to defend his record. I think unopposed politicians are one of the main causes of our problems. In all fairness to everyone involved, running for county wide office ain't easy so I understand why some might choose not to run. It is easy to criticize someone, harder to run and beat them. I believe Soares currently gets the "biggest pair" award in this category.

That said, it is too bad the people who oppose Soares don't make their decisions based on what they feel is right, but what pays the most. For far too long being an elected official in Albany has been the best economic move for people who couldn't make it on their own. It wasn't about public service, but about taking as much from the taxpayers as you could. All about who you knew because what you knew wouldn't get you a real job.

Say what you want about Soares, but his choice to run for DA got him fired. He was married with two kids and a mortgage payment. And out of work. That takes balls. It was a really really stupid economic decision. But he did it because of what he believed was right. He gets my respect for that. Now if he'd start prosecuting some of the local political criminals, he'd get some more respect.

It is interesting to see that when you beat the old Albany machine and throw out the "my daddy got me this job" crowd, and put someone in office who won the position based on what they believe, there is no one willing to step up and challenge the newcomer. Why? More money elsewhere. It isn't about any beliefs with this crowd other than belief in money as the only reason to do anything. If the Times Union wrote the following about me, I would be writing a letter to them saying the reason I chose not to run for DA wasn't that I didn't want to take a pay cut but that I really take pride in my current job and love it. I never wanted to be DA, that was just some political hack's wet dream. I would consider this an insult. I doubt any of these people do:
According to political insiders throughout the county, Soares' are the only petitions circulating for the seat, meaning that the freshman prosecutor who so often found himself at the center of controversy may also find himself unopposed come Election Day.

"The long and short of it is that the majority of the people who are qualified and competent are not willing to take a pay cut to do the people's work," said Albany County Conservative Party Chairman Richard Stack.
I'm not sure if Stack is one of those conservatives who actually believes in conservative values like keeping the government out of your personal life and fiscal conservatism, because those "conservatives" are hard to find these days, but I at least agree with him on this one thing.

If we can take our government back from the people who see it as just a way to enrich themselves, they will run back to their daddies and beg for some other type of job. Works for me. My tax dollars shouldn't be funding adult daycare.

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What I Would Do | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 hidden)
Good point (none / 0) (#1)
by Corruptany on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 08:34:31 AM EST
Amen to that, that is the major argument I always through out to my progressive friends who think that once we beat the status quo, everything is fine. I think the last thing people want is another machine created.

You won't believe this but at one time Dan Oconnell was considered the light at the end of the tunnel. My6 family grew up down the street from then and I was told that he represented the working class taking over politics from the blue bloods. Problem was that people began to look the other way when they were in power and look where that got us.

Same thing goes for Soares and other progressive politicians. They are not above anyone and they should be criticized and held accountable like everyone else. In closing, I want people to take a look at the famous George Orwell book "Animal Farm". I say this because the point of the book was that the revolution ends up becoming everything it fought against when the war is won. I guess that' human nature, but if we never let our guard down, we can prevent it from happening again.

Synchronicity? (none / 0) (#2)
by Jim Travers on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 10:03:53 AM EST
Came across this while waiting for DIA page to load (dial-up woes)

"Collectively, we act without conscience or concern for the consequences of our actions. The American Way of Life is "all about me and to hell with everyone else." We revere narcissism, hyper-individualism, greed, wealth, and status as virtues. Becoming a rich, acquisitive careerist by clawing one's way to the top of the hierarchy through deceit, betrayal, sycophancy, and whoring oneself out in any way imaginable is enshrined as the penultimate achievement in our sewer of a society."

Somehow seems fit DIA's take.

Above quote excerpted from The toddler king's insufferable reign is doomed by Jason Miller, Online Journal July 2, 2008
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_3439.shtml

Corrupt, we won't be getting a new machine, just a few fresh new parts for the old one. How quickly they wear out and become as corrupt as those they've replaced depends upon their composition.

I would suggest that for many O'Connell was the end of the light at the end of the tunnel. Seems to me you're equating the admiration for Jennings his crowd has for him to that yours and many other families had for O'Connell. You turned your heads away from the corruption that brought  O'Connell to power just as Jennings' crowd turns theirs away from the corruption that keeps him in power. Neither are 'good guys' in my book.

Can a Third Party Candidate Win? (none / 0) (#16)
by A Muse on Sat Aug 16, 2008 at 07:37:56 AM EST
The statement "Collectively, we act without conscience or concern for the consequences of our actions. The American Way of Life is "all about me and to hell with everyone else." is sad but true.  We are the ID generation.  "Have It Your Way", the "I POD", "It's Your Money Get It Now" all appeal to the instant gratification this society created.  The greatest motivators are greed and fear.  Whoever is going to run for Mayor needs to start now.  Taxpayers should not have to wake up each day and fear City, State, School and County tax increases, bad or no services and an education system like the NY legislature.

[ Parent ]
Councilman Ellis should run against Soares (none / 0) (#3)
by albarbor on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 11:41:33 AM EST
Corey has not had a major impact in the 3rd Ward. Problems have gotten out of hand and new leadership is needed. I do not fault Corey for there failures, but he should step back and allow a new approach. A run for the Albany County DA, would allow Corey to focus on the illegal weapons purchases by the APD and the gang problems in Albany. The APD weapons scandal was on Soares' watch, he should have led the investigation not Jimmy Corrupt Tuffey.

I don't support Jennings (none / 0) (#4)
by Corruptany on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 09:14:25 AM EST
What makes you think I like Jennings, I can't stand the guy. Anyways, I am sure people said the same thing about the Soviets and look how that turned out. I will use the cult of Obama as a perfect example because I saw the same thing happen with Deval Patrick. When we elect populist candidates who run under the banner of change, we tend to give them special treatment in regards to criticism. Due to the fact that these people capture the hearts and mind of people, its normally look down upon people who question them.

Deval Patrick just created his own machine. In his first few months of power, he increased the states budget to provide jobs to his supporters and more or less retracted from many of the ideas (property tax relief) he ran on. He has control of the media and and his support labels defectors as racists or uneducated. Your not even allowed to question the guy. That doesn't sound very democratic to me and its sounds like he became everything he spoke against.

Now lets look at Kwame Kilpatrick in Detroit. He was another candidate who ran on the platform of change. People of Detroit were led to believe that Kwame was a different kind of politician and were called racist and closed minded if they questioned him. Look how well that turned out.

[ Parent ]

Don't sweat it (none / 0) (#8)
by AlfredMoisiu on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 08:14:15 PM EST
The groupthink amoung the progressive crowd is so thick, any deviation from whatever they are bleating about makes you a "Jennings guy". You reactionary!

Everyone knows the Corey Ellis is actually mini-black jesus. Metroland said so, after all. I hope he runs for something less irrelevant that Albany Common Council, and I hope he is as effective as the lady Jesus of the 20th congressional district. You know, the one who folded and joined other progressive like Obama to vote for a "compromise" FISA bill that is fascist even by Bush administration standards.

[ Parent ]

what? (none / 0) (#5)
by mailer daemon on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 02:03:03 PM EST
This guy has made no impact in the third ward so lets run him for a county wide office?  hmmmm.  the logic in this escapes me.

As far as soares goes, it is absolutely too bad he is without an opponent.  He has a ton of money and name recognition, and whether you like it or not, jennings has the same advantage.

The fact that Soares failed miserably when it comes to Spitzer is a huge disappointment to me.  A now all we have left is "lawyer talk" to see this failure spun under the guise of confidential testimony.  

So when you come right down to it, Soares has folded to the pressure of politics, probaby because he likes the job, the power and the press...

[ Parent ]

City Wide Tax Protest? (none / 0) (#6)
by A Muse on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:30:11 AM EST
Sadly I agree with you.  To have no opponent against Soares is unfortunate.  Regarding I think he defends his record every day as do all other high profile public servants.  Running for any office is difficult and the New York election laws are poor at best.  They need to be rewritten and maybe this would open the field to people that might not otherwise run, but are intelligent, competent and the right person for the job.  Running unopposed is not new and in at least one state a candidate is often seen as both the Republican and Democratic candidate.  I tend to think that you do not get the best and brightest people working in government, but, I know people who are brilliant and do work in government with a high level of commitment to the citizens in their local, state, county, and the balance of our country.  Those with the greatest commitment are those of the WWII generation and are dying off.  As for Soares, I know one or more of his ADA's made "mistakes" and one I intend to get corrected.  It would seem that the general public is pleased with his work not only for Albany but the Nation as well.  

Drugs are not just a local problem and Soares actions were appropriate.  Albany is not just a delivery point for drugs, but product is traveling to and from other places thru Albany that make his actions even more appropriate.  September 11, happened for a variety of reasons, one being lack of communications between agencies.  Graffiti, Drugs, and Gang Violence, and crumbling infrastructure are not unique to Albany and are not the real problem.  These are only the symptoms.  The wrong people have had control of the government for a very long time.  

Once this group all agree on what the problems are, which will be a fight and needs a good moderator, then they need a solution, and the APD and the Mayor to buy in to it.

It appears as though this problem exists here in Albany as well, and it hurts the residents and makes certain neighborhoods totally unsafe to live in.  Since there has been no appropriate leadership from the Mayor or Chief of Police, or the "Ward Leaders", neighbors are forming their own group to handle the problem.  That is their right and obligation under the Constitution when their government is corrupt or fails them.  I hope they know what they are undertaking.  The task is huge and the Mayor, Chief, and some Aldermen are obstructionists. .  Graffiti, Drugs, Gang Violence, and crumbling infrastructure are not unique to Albany and are not the real problem.  These are only the symptoms.  The wrong people have had control of the government for a very long time.  

Once this group all agree on what the problems are, which will be a fight and needs a good moderator, then they need a solution, and the APD and the Mayor to buy in to it.

Additionally, the Mayor likes his name on everything, ("Brought to you by Mayor Jennings") like the Tulip Festival, Concert Series, Lobster fest and anything else he can get free publicity for.  This is a theft of services.  This is a theft from the taxpayers of Albany.  Everywhere his name is in print other than in relation to official business he should be charged for.  Jennings receives free advertising courtesy of the taxpayers. Unfortunately it is not the politicians that own the City and County of Albany.  The taxpayers own it and it's debit. You are funding more than just Adult Daycare.  

Soares' free pass (none / 0) (#7)
by Casual Observer on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 05:49:23 PM EST
Soares exits because the Democratic party in Albany is a mess.  A nationwide lobbying group, (The Drug Policy Alliance)dedicated to legalizing drugs decided that the best way to get the state DAs to stop opposing their agenda was to take out a sitting DA.  They had lots of money to spend and the political expertise of the Working Families Party.  All they needed was a person willing to run against Clyne.  Soares told everyone in town he was moving to Atlanta.  He ran for DA because a bunch of pro-drug activists promised to bankroll his campaign.  Some set of stones: If I win I'm DA, if I lose I'm outta here.  If you want to talk about public service, at least Clyne spent 15 years in the trenches, prosecuting murderers, etc.  Soares spent three years in City Court trying to figure out what is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony.  Now Soares gets a free pass because "The Machine" takes the path of least resistance.  Great.  David Soares blathers on about landlords giving written permission to search abandoned buildings that have no guns in them,and the little drug dealing sociopaths shoot up the town.  Maybe if Soares decided to prosecute some of these criminals and put them in jail, they wouldn't be killing each other.  But that's not what people want to hear.  We need to help these misguided youths.  In the meantime, Albany has become a shooting gallery.

Drugs are the answer (none / 0) (#9)
by AlfredMoisiu on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 08:21:03 PM EST
Legalize drugs, and you de-fund the gang franchises that drive the violence.

Hand out birth control in middle school, and you eliminate the biggest problem that the inner city faces. (ie. teenagers having kids)

[ Parent ]

Oh Yeah, Alfred? (none / 0) (#10)
by Dan Van Riper on Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 05:10:50 AM EST

So you think the authorities should hand out birth control in my neighborhood so that we don't reproduce and foul up YOUR world?

Great idea!

Now it's my turn!  I want to hand out birth control in Clifton Park because I am sick and tired of these suburban assholes coming to my City every single day and looting our wealth.  I'm fed up with their attitude and by the exhaust from their SUVs.

Better yet, let's round up all the suburban assholes and terminate them.  I think that getting rid of these parasites would greatly reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and make us a strong, independent  nation once again.  

And after terminating the suburbanites we can begin the work of restoring our blighted landscape, planting forests and reviving food production on the former sprawl wastelands.

Don't like my suggestion?  Makes exactly as much sense as yours.  And it would have better results!

[ Parent ]

I guess you're a real nutcase (none / 0) (#11)
by AlfredMoisiu on Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 07:32:26 PM EST
So you think that 14 year olds want to have kids? Or STDs?

This has nothing to do with your vapid hatred of the "evil" suburbanite (aka people who aren't like you or who remind you of what you hate about yourself). The fact that the object of your hatred are people of means doesn't make you any less of an ignorant pig.

In zipcode like 12202, where 25% of the households had incomes under $10,000/year (as of Census 2000), $30/month for birth control is around 4% of income -- a huge expense.

If you really care about your neighbors, you'd want those teenagers to have access to reality-based sex education and birth control options, including the pill. Empowering girls to make choices about pregnancy gives them the opportunity to educate and advance themselves, and to break the cycle of dependency that many of your neighbors find themselves in.


[ Parent ]

Dan, Dan, Dan, (none / 0) (#12)
by A Muse on Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 09:35:24 AM EST
Although it has been many years since I counseled youth of that age, the game is the same.  Yes some 12 to 14 year old girls want to have children in or out of school.  No one that is educated about STD's what to get that.  Boys and girls at this age are at different levels of physical and mental maturity.  It's called growing up.  Some are not allowed to mature by their parents and teachers. Some are restricted from maturation by their environment that includes their parent's socioeconomic class.

There is a cast or class system in this country not unlike the cast system in India that they tell us is no longer prevalent.  The high school cast system varies from school to school, however, is quickly identifiable.  There are girls in this subgroup that want to get pregnant, have a child to love them, and go on welfare having more children with the same or different "boys" the rest of their child producing life.  I have sat at a state desk working with the mothers to determine eligibility for federal and state funded programs and watched the mothers tell their children: "pay attention, you'll be doing this someday".

Education unfortunately does need to begin at 10 years of age and maybe even younger.

I have done this type of counseling in a high school setting.  Counseling also included issues of drug, alcohol, and home abuse. Unfortunately regular school guidance counselors are not equipped to do it and do not have the time.  Guidance counselors triage students and those thought not able to go to college are given no time at all.  Additionally, trust has to be developed over a period of time between the counselor and students.  Once the word gets out to other students that it is "safe and ok" to speak with the counselor, the work begins.

This is just another symptom, like drugs, guns, and violence, of a greater problem Albany and other cities have but refuse to seek help for.  We don't need people from the outside telling us what to do with our city said Mayor Jennings.


[ Parent ]

You're Right, Alfred (none / 0) (#13)
by Dan Van Riper on Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 09:39:07 AM EST

I am indeed a nutcase, and I'm also politically incorrect.  

You see, not only do I believe that my neighbors here in the South End are just as good and just as bad as anyone else, I think that everybody should get equal treatment.  If you want to sterilize my neighbors, then everybody else should be sterilized.  Fair is fair.

Ponder this thought:  All human beings are equal.  There are no exceptions.

Sterilization? (none / 0) (#14)
by AlfredMoisiu on Sat Jul 12, 2008 at 10:23:05 AM EST
Nobody is talking about sterilizing anyone, not sure how you got there. I'm talking birth control options here, not some kooky conspiracy theories.

[ Parent ]
No Equality For All (none / 0) (#15)
by A Muse on Thu Jul 17, 2008 at 04:10:52 PM EST
All human beings are not equal.  That is why we have laws and slippery attorneys to represent those that are not treated equally, but we all know even in a court of law that there is no equity as the judicial system fails to provide for equality.  

[ Parent ]
What I Would Do | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 hidden)
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