New NY 23rd

Covid 19 tests per capita by county

Data from April 17, 2020

More information can be found here:

https://pad.human.cornell.edu/papers/vulnerability.cfm

https://covid19tracker.health.ny.gov/views/NYS-COVID19-Tracker/NYSDOHCOVID-19Tracker-Map?%3

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Federal law bans gun ownership by those convicted in domestic violence cases, but the law varies by state and how it is enforced, as well as how it is reported to authorities, state officials said. The new New York law will require the courts to notify the state Division of Criminal Justice Services of any convicted domestic abusers. Then the state will report the abusers to the FBI — which will identify them and prohibit them from purchasing and possessing a firearm.—Joseph Spector, Chief of USA Today Network’s Albany Bureau.

The NYS SAFE ACT prohibits some persons convicted of domestic abuse from purchasing or possessing firearms. The new act strengthens NYS law by expanding the list of crimes that will require confiscation of guns.

Progress is welcome, but here are some caveats:

• NYS is a leader, but weak laws in other states remain a problem.
• Those threatening domestic violence are only some of those who ought to be prohibited from purchasing or possessing guns.
• Reportedly,  a number of misdemeanors were not included, such as various convictions on menacing, assault and unlawful imprisonment.

Also, it is necessary that the NYS SAFE Act and domestic violence laws be effectively enforced.

I am not aware that Tom Reed has commented on the new law. As he has been a bitter opponent of the NYS Safe Act, one might assume he is not a fan. Claudia Tenny (R, NY-22) has expressed disfavor.

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2018/04/02/gun-control-how-new-york-plans-take-firearms-away-domestic-abusers/477840002/

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/31/politics/new-york-gun-law-domestic-abuse-cases/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_Violence_Offender_Gun_Ban

So how is Tom doing on his priorities?

• Has he helped create a tax code that is fair
• a tax code that will help working families
• a tax code that will rein in national debt
• Has he succeeded in implementing real healthcare reforms
• in controlling healthcare costs
• Has he succeeded in getting college costs in check
• Has he helped families struggling with poverty
• has he promoted career opportunities here in upstate NY

Tom claims that he cares and is working hard for us. How do readers rate Tom’s performance on his priorities? Has he made any progress on what he said was important?

Thanks for Rich Stewart for the list of priorities which Tom passed out at his December 2016 Town Hall in Barrington. Anyone wishing to question Tom Reed might want to review these questions and Tom’s responses at Barrington.

https://newny23rd.com/2016/12/16/reed-in-his-own-words-at-barrington/

Tom is often consistent in his talking points. One might expect similar responses to questions this year.

This entry was posted in Education, Health Care, Reed’s Views, Taxes and tagged Jobs, Poverty. Bookmark the permalink.

The following letter was published in the Finger Lakes Times on December 16. It is a response to an earlier letter (follow the link) that paints liberals as those who “hate the police and embrace criminals. They, in general, hate the U.S. military.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Celis M. Franco-Raymer! (“No secret that left-wingers hate guns, want to see them vanish,” Times letter to the editor, Dec. 8).

Do you really have evidence that — what did you call us? … “progressive-liberal-socialist-democrat tree-huggers” — hate guns, gun-owners, the military, and every bullet ever made? And also love criminals?

I’m a progressive liberal democrat … (but wait — I drive on interstate highways and appreciate the folks who deliver my mail. Does that make me a socialist, too?).

No doubt I’m a progressive liberal Democrat. I decided to be one of those back in the 1950s. Laws said my black neighbors in South Carolina couldn’t drink from public water fountains, vote, eat in restaurants, or go to public schools that were any good. Those laws were wrong, so in the 1960s I took my guitar around campaigning for Lyndon Johnson (he was against those laws) instead of Barry Goldwater (he didn’t mind them). Really, what would you have done?

Guns? I owned a double-barrel shotgun when we lived on a farm. Sold it when we moved to town. I still like guns — old .22 rifles, a 30/06 I once borrowed, and my shotgun. But not AK47s or Uzis or Glock pistols, of course not. Why do ordinary folks — crazies, too! — need to walk around with military-grade weapons? And why do folks like you get exercised so they can?

Thirty-three-thousand people are killed in the United States by guns every year, 10 times 9/11. We’re the most dangerous place on earth this side of South Africa. Doesn’t that bother you? You really think people are creepy conspirators if they suggest folks put heads together to get military-grade weapons off the streets and coax the concept of gun ownership back toward .22s, shotguns, and the occasional 30/06? Why do you think that’s unreasonable?

“Tree-huggers?” So any of us who care about the environment around here is a fruitcake? You don’t think we need any limits on screwing up the Finger Lakes? You’re OK with taller garbage mountains in Waterloo? And bloated time-bomb bowels of natural gasses under Seneca Lake? That’s a very weird position to take, isn’t it, especially in a great place like this that’s getting messed up by people who don’t live here?

At the risk of being impolite, may I ask you to think for a minute about whose water you really want to carry?

Thank you. And have a Merry Christmas.

CHARLES TEMPLE

This entry was posted in Constituents, Environmental, Ethics, fracking, Gun Violence, Humor, Protests, Racism, Uncategorized and tagged AK47s, Glock pistols, Progressive, Socialist, Tree-Hugger, Uzis, Waterloo Mountain of Garbage. Bookmark the permalink.

I know in the past a lot of people have pooh-poohed it, but I think the time has come.–Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, Monroe County, who has sponsored a secession referendum bill since 2009

“We’re all one family here, let’s keep it that way.”-former NYS Governor Mario Cuomo

Jon Campbell, in an article which appeared in the Elmira Star-Gazette, explores the question of secession. I was surprised to learn that one proponent of secession from metropolitan New York was Randy Kuhl, who once represented much of what is now NY-23.

“Due to the extreme diversity of New York State, it has become almost ungovernable,” reads a memo attached to Kuhl’s 1992 bill. 

Campbell writes:

For at least 24 of the past 28 years, New York lawmakers — most of them upstate Republicans — have introduced legislation that would either start the process of splitting New York into two separate states or gauge whether voters support it. In most cases, the proposals are aimed at splitting more-liberal New York City from the conservative enclaves that dominate much of the geography upstate. But each year, those proposals reliably die in committee without getting much serious consideration …

Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, Monroe County, who has sponsored a secession referendum bill since 2009, says it is a worthwhile measure.

I have heard upstate politicians campaign on the issue of secession, telling voters that voting Republican is the only way to protect upstate interests from threatening city dwellers. This idea helps keep upstate mired in poverty while New York City prospers.

Proponents of secession claim that home rule would benefit upstate. In making that argument, they ignore the fact that the flow of money is from the metropolitan area to upstate rather than the reverse. Secession would make upstate even more poverty stricken than today.

Campbell explains that there has been support in New York City for secession, but I don’t believe there is much support for secession there today. Without that, secession will remain a political ploy for upstate Republicans. In any case, it wouldn’t be easy:

In order to split into two states, the U.S. Constitution says both the state Legislature and Congress have to approve.

Why Congress would want to give NYS two more Senators isn’t clear.

The only case of secession in US History is West Virginia, which happened in the throes of Civil War. It isn’t likely to happen again.

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2019/04/19/upstate-downstate-why-new-york-secession-efforts-havent-had-success/3472365002/

This entry was posted in Political and tagged Joseph Robach, Randy Kuhl, secession. Bookmark the permalink.

I can make policy, but will the people comply? — Gov. Cuomo

I’m a cheerleader — DJT

The virus will decide — Dr. Fauci

President Trump can’t restart the economy, that’s up to us. Retail stores won’t open if customers stay away. Restaurants will fail or turn to take-out if customers are afraid. People won’t send their children to school if they don’t think it safe. Barbers can open shop, but it won’t work if customers are afraid to come.

I believe Gov. Cuomo is right– people will do right when they understand the need.  Thus it is important to understand the facts. We don’t need wishful thinking from a cheerleader.

Dr. Fauci’s comment may be politically correct, but is false. The people will decide when it’s safe. For the more vulnerable among us, it may be a long wait.

It is only by examining the case in detail that a picture emerges, not of virtue at grips with villainy, but of fallible human beings pulled this way and that by their beliefs, their loyalties, their prejudices, their ambitions, and their ignorance. — Guy Chapman quoted in the work cited.

Facts evolve. In France in 1894, evidence of espionage was discovered. A scrap of paper found in a wastebasket implicated a high-ranking army officer. The handwriting was said to match that of Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was convicted by a military court and sent to prison.

Counter-espionage investigation continued, and in 1896 the investigating officer, Colonel Picquart, noticed that additional incriminating evidence continued to emerge. Picquart became convinced that Dreyfus was innocent, and a Major Esterhazy was guilty. The army preferred to keep the case closed; Major Henry forged a document, the faux Henry, which he placed in the Dreyfus dossier to strengthen the case against Dreyfus. For defending Dreyfus and embarrassing the army, Picquart was reveilled, arrested, and convicted of “infraction of discipline.”

After years of scandal, wild rumors, and intrigue, Esterhazy fled, Henry committed suicide,  Picquart was vindicated, and Dreyfus was pardoned. The press played a key role with the publication of Zola’s article: “J’accuse.” In 1906, Parliament passed bills reinstating Dreyfus and Picquart, who were promoted in rank. Dreyfus was given the fourth grade of the Legion of Honour.

Facts evolve; sometimes truth will emerge.

Source: The Shaping of the Modern World, Maurice Bruce, Random House, NY, 1958

This entry was posted in Media, Political, Trump and tagged Dreyfus. Bookmark the permalink.

Registered voters (1000s)

• In the part of Erie County in NY-23, Democrats outnumber Republicans 85 to 80 (1000s)
• Unaffiliated voters make the difference in our elections.
• Voters registered with other parties are included in the total
• In Nov., women’s votes will likely be decisive.
• NYS Board of Elections data 06/06/22

A Corning Leader article posted on July 18 reported  Rep. Tom Reed’s opinion on the Republican National Convention, which he is attending. Basically he remain optimistic  that the party would unite and face the important issues facing America today. He also echoed the Party’s Law and Order talking points on the most recent Baton Rouge tragedy and talked about other issues.

What caught my eyes was his comments on “many road infrastructure projects taking place throughout the Southern Tier as a result of a $305 billion highway bill approved by Congress in 2015.” Reed said, “I don’t think people realize that a lot of this construction activity that we see is a result of the long-term highway bill that we passed last year.”

The bill he was praising reauthorizes the collection of 18.4 cents per gallon gas tax plus $70 billion “pay-fors” because the 18.4 cents per gallon will create only $34 billion annually. The other $16 billion per year will come from increases in customs and passport fees, and tapping dividend from the Federal Reserve Bank. The bill would also loosen the requirements to use union workers in the collection of taxes.

This bill will “sunset” in five years. This is the first time since 2005 that congress has extended this reauthorization for more than two years. The President’s original proposal was for six years and $478 billion, but it was reduced to by one year and $173 billion.  Before signing the bill, President Obama said, “This bill is not perfect, but it is a commonsense compromise, and an important first step in the right direction.” (The Hill 12/04/15)

There was no Roll Call for votes taken, which leads me to believe that it passed both chambers by a voice vote. That way we do not know how our congressman voted or his feelings on the bill that he now seems to be taking credit for. A February 16, 2016 Press Release, Rep. Reed said that he is urging “Gov. Andrew Cuomo to seek the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (F.A.S.T.) Act funding to get Route 219 construction started.”

I don’t think Governor Cuomo really needed the urging of Rep. Reed to help Upstate Infrastructure.

This entry was posted in 2016 and tagged FAST Act, Route 219, Upstate Infrastructure. Bookmark the permalink.

After hearing from several hundred constituents at our Syria listening sessions and from phone calls and emails to our office, it is clear United States military action in Syria is not what residents of the 23rd district want. Absent some compelling information, I remain opposed to action and share many of the same concerns constituents have presented to me. Constituents are concerned about being drawn into a lengthy conflict which may ultimately require increased involvement and put American lives at risk. We are responding to the concerns of our constituents with this letter because these are valid concerns which the (Obama) Administration has not addressed.–Rep. Tom Reed, September 5, 2013

Thinking about Syria and reading about the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 in Wikipedia, I read:

Mustafa Kemal presented himself as revolutionary to the communists, protector of tradition and order to the conservatives, patriot soldier to the nationalists, and a Muslim leader for the religious, so he was able to recruit all Turkish elements and motivate them to fight. 

This makes me wonder about Donald Trump–is his success based on presenting himself as a defender of the faith, a proponent of business interests, a man of the people, an all-knowing father, and a military leader? Do some 40% of us see it that way?

Note:

According to the treaty of Sèvres (1920) after WWI, Anatolia was divided up. Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal, aka Atatürk, did not accept this. Military success in the Greco-Turkish war led to the Treaty of Lausanne which reestablished Turkey as a state in Anatolia and Thrace. Syria, given to the French, did not achieve independence at this time.

Why are dictatorships common; do they provide internal peace and stability that democracies cannot? Should the passing of multicultural empires, Austro-Hungarian, British,Dutch, French, German, Ottoman, Russian be regretted?

https://reed.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=588

https://www.google.com/search?q=Treaty+of+S%C3%A8vres

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Turkish_War_(1919%E2%80%931922)

This entry was posted in Congress, Political, Reed’s Views, Treaties, Trump, War and tagged Syria. Bookmark the permalink.