MsKreed

Without defending drunk driving, I have to say you’re not wrong that enforcement and consequences are unfair in comparison to other crimes, like gun laws. Especially when you consider that as constitutionally questionable as some “prior restraint” gun laws are.....DWI laws are essentially just as (if not more) “preemptive”. Traffic blockades are set up to 'fish' for drivers who are not violating any traffic rules, and whose actions have not "yet" caused any harm. Not much different than SAFE laws that assume someone with 10 bullets in their magazine will presumably do something dangerous later. It can be argued that, in some cases, DWI laws lack due process since driver’s license can be immediately revoked for refusing a test, and stay revoked even if a defendant is later acquitted. The only reason that’s allowed is because it’s a “privilege” to drive – but in NYS lawmakers have decided it’s a human right for illegal immigrants?

It would be nice if these agencies were more transparent and reported the custody status of the offenders they spent tax money investigating. The media/public should remember that there's a reason why the legal system itself assumes that those who use "vague" language are trying to pull one over on someone.....Contra proferentem is a rule of contract interpretation that states an ambiguous contract term should be construed against the drafter of the contract. (I think omitting that data is likely an indication that few, if any, were held. ) Also....I hope I'm not the only one who had to look up what G.I.V.E. stands for? Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative find NYS info here It looks like it's been around for 10 years but Elmira just started receiving money from them ($383,147 in June, 2023). So, apparently Chemung County is rising in the "gun violence" rankings in the state?

I couldn't find the original Topic of this story from 2021. It must have been archived Read More Here

Even passenger vehicles have a limited EV market. Trucks and vans are heavier, more likely to carry cargo weight and are used for utilitarian needs that require regular travel outside city limits. It's absurd to think they'll work as EVs in any practical sense. I’m in a few FB groups for Class B RVs, and there’s been a lively conversation about the Ram Promaster EV that is being introduced. I can’t believe how many people think they’ll live long enough to see these things commonly adapted to travel coaches. We’ll need several generations of improvement before the EV charge will be sufficient to power the coach in addition to the current travel capacity of 162 mile city range on a full charge. (That’s for an unloaded chassis. Add the RV build and that will drop significantly.) The option to drive a loaded rig to a remote destination and boondock for days is a long way in the future.

I think they wanted dates changed but NH refused? I do believe Iowa has some staggered thing this year, with the Rep caucus at regular time and a later "mail-in" caucus date for dems. I don't understand what a "mail-in" caucus could even mean. There is some Super PAC that is pushing a write-in campaign in NH for Biden. And folks in NH are pointing out that, while Biden's name isn't on the primary ballot, his administration is conspicuously bragging about what he's done for the state (while assuring everyone it's not a Hatch violation as long as they don't mention the primary out loud). Source: Biden’s campaign is snubbing NH. But we sure are popular with his Cabinet lately

I realize Biden will be the dem nominee the DNC has decided for its voters. But I give Dean Phillips points for trying. (let's see how many times it takes me to get the embed to work - LOL)

Yeah.....it's sort of hard to feel bad for a bunch of upper income tree-huggers who felt so superior for "saving the planet" from the neanderthals who cling to fossil fuels.

I have no problem with expanding EV the market and availability. But the market is limited. Charging at home is only an option for homeowners (duh); and even with that luxury, their daily round trip commute would need to be limited to a range that is less than "the worst case scenario". I'd really like to hear what kind of "spin" we could possibly get from Hochul, Biden and others who support (or have already imposed) laws that mandate 100% of new vehicles to be EV in the next decade. Elected officials who thought this was feasible (and their staff/entourages) should have all been prohibited from travelling in any gas/diesel vehicles for at least a year before being permitted to vote on that legislation.

"Changing audience tastes"???? More likely some of the drastic changes to content DEI that don't align with audiences' existing/historical tastes": movies like Top Gun that stuck with 'winning' themes did just fine. No change here....but I've never been a box office movie-goer. Like....not since my first VCR. I can't justify the "need" to see anything when it's released. I'd much rather wait and watch it at my leisure on my own time schedule than pay exorbitant prices for tickets and snacks....and then risk missing something relevant to the story because I can't even pause for a bathroom break.

I love the idea of Alive After 5. It's a wonderful event that has been benefitting downtown for years. But I don't see that hosting it at the Arena "adds" any traffic or revenue. It's jaw-dropping to me that, after whatever sales pitch he gave to convinces the skeptical legislators to give the Arena another shot of cash.....Margeson continues to insult the taxpayers and lay "blame" on them if his sales pitch doesn't deliver: The truth is......we're not "out of the woods" because the facility has yet to offer events that fill the 3,784 seats that the Arena has. “As far as hockey itself, we’ve been doing quite well,” said Margeson. “Attendance is between 1,200 to 1,400." ...... That's a whopping one-third capacity. When attendance starts hovering at 80%, get back to me an we can discuss what it means to be 'doing quite well'. That's an excellent question. I'd like to hear Margeson and Roman publicly answer the question of whether the arena’s new Marketing & Sales Director is hiring his own company to provide services. And frankly, for as hard as they are pounding the table to defend operations, I'm beginning to get suspicious that they may be somehow drawing some profit from the IDA/Arena themselves. For instance, is the IDA allowed to be "self funding", or does it need to carry commercial property and liability on the Arena? And, if so, what insurance agency handles that?

There has been an increasing “voice” that questions Israel’s legitimacy for decades. I witnessed some of that on campus in September 2001. There were people offering “justification” for attacking civilians, because as a democracy, the civilians were fair targets who are directly responsible for the actions of their government representatives. That wasn’t at UC Berkley....it was Mansfield PA. But, for the most part, US support for Israel and the Jewish population has been pretty much an uncontested “given” since WWII (and even moreso since 1967)....and the opposing ideas like I saw at Mansfield were rhetorical (and respectful) debate among a small minority. I think a lot of people (including the Biden administration) were unprepared for how much active support there currently is for Hamas in the US.....Strong and vocal, threatening support (some with violent proclivity) from the Progressive “base” in Congress as well as college campuses, etc.

Orwell would be proud of how widespread the NewSpeak has become. Some of my earliest memories of "World News" all the way back in the 1970s surround the PLO, Yasser Afarat, etc. From the 1972 Olympic massacre to planes being hijacked on an almost weekly basis....and continued through the 80s and 90s. A continuation of the same conflicts that had been going on since the 1920s and 30s (decades before Israel was created). The American Embassy in Iran, Leon Klinghoffer, Pan Am Flight 103. The "Palestinians" and various Iranian proxy groups dedicated to "freeing/liberating" them (Houthi, Hezbollah and Hamas) change names every now and then, but follow the same tactics have been been in practice since the 1920s and 30s......attacking civilian targets and claiming they were the ones being oppressed. The entire terrorist playbook is a constant stream of "retaliating" against aggressions they claim to be victims of.....aggression that's in responses to their own aggression.

Am I the only one who thinks some of the things she's touting as if they are major initiatives seem pretty small scale.....to an insulting degree? Praise the Lawd!! Nearly 77 cents every week!!! (for approximately 12% of NYS’s 7,600,000 households – the rest of us will presumably pay more). Clearly, inpatient care for three more residents in each county will eliminate so many of the issues facing New Yorkers.

This is an extremely unhealthy argument. Having real-world opportunities to expose yourself to diverse ideas and learn how to navigate differences is not being “stuck”....it’s the very definition of growth and maturity. Being immersed in an echo-chamber of online personas that are carefully curated to appear in harmony severely impedes that 17-year-old’s development as a person.

I guess I didn’t really consider it a “conspiracy theory” to presume that people with power 'n influence would pull strings to protect those with power 'n influence who'd availed themselves of Epstein’s services. Epstein and Maxwell were both convicted of sex offenses and trafficking women and underaged girls. The charges were trafficking - not "attempted" trafficking. It’s an uncontested “fact” that they were pimping to a high-profile, wealthy client base. So, I have to say it’s a fair point when people question how no one has been charged with being a “customer” of the services they were offering. They couldn’t be guilty of peddling something that no one was buying. It’s also very unlikely that any documents will be released that ever name the clients who molested those girls.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an aggregated compilation of retail prices that consumers pay for a "basket of groceries". Any increase in employment costs is passed on to the consumer.... which raises the CPI. So.....Raising the minimum wage will trigger a rise in the CPI, and the rising CPI will be a trigger to raise minimum wage. Brilliant!

And that is the issue that's been un-resolved since 1948 when Palestinians (PLO, then Hamas) began their campaign to exist 'from the river to the sea' by attempting to eradicate Israel. Without defending reports of indiscriminate bombing by the IDF, one must be careful not to let that be used as reason to condone the barbaric acts that Hamas has carried out on large scale....like the f%$k-sticks like "Queers for Palestine" marching across campuses and "protesting" by disrupting traffic, etc. (Warning: this video link contains extremely graphic descriptions of incidents that the NY Times has investigated and independently verified...Weaponized Sexual Violence).

I remember that. In fairness to the residents, a good portion of their outrage was manufactured by local politicians. Some Village officials were peeved that the Town didn't include them in the decision (because....duh....it's not in the Village and not up to them). It was made out to be some "secretive" plan that was kept from voters...blah blah blah. And....of course, the County Legislator for that location was (and still is) pushing the narrative of it causing "drugs and homeless" problems

In situations like an airport layover or thruway service plaza where consumers are often "captives" that don't have options to take their business elsewhere, it really is in the consumers' interest to guarantee food to be available every day of the week. If there is going to be only one restaurant available to travelers without paying to leave the service plaza and detouring off the toll road....that should have been a conversation the State was having long before any plans and specific business names were considered.

I have to start with the last comment about the horrible rest stops in NYS.....then I'll circle back to the topic, LOL. Anyone who’s travelled across various states can attest that roads with fewer potholes and more available services are a real thing in most states....and that NYS is fairly unique in charging drivers exorbitant fees for the crappiest road conditions. I don't think that anyone managing the Thruway Authority has taken any long road trips. Ever. Not around NYS and certainly not through other states where they could see real-life conditions and compare for themselves what ideas are better than others. They have no clue what Proletariat travelers want or need. Whenever they travel, it’s pretty obvious that they have the luxury of flying. As for Chik-fil-A, a property owner has every right to set hours of operation in a lease agreement. It's common to set them to provide reliable expectations for customers and other tenants, etc.... I believe I’ve heard that some established tenants are leaving Arnot Mall due to (historically required) minimum operating terms being inconsistently lifted for some of the newer lease agreements. However, I may go look for full details on the story. If the any contract or Request for Proposal was in effect, and did not specify required hours of operation, then changing it later should be illegal.

I'd thought the re-release had the penis covered up. It seems stupid that they didn't blur or block over it. Not just to avoid Spencer's civil complaints, but because times have changed and a lot of stuff just isn't seen through the same lens as "back in the day". In this day and age, parents photographing their children's bare butt cheeks have been criminally charged for pornography for just having the pictures.....this case in Colorado and that case in Utah. In these cases, the parents had not shared the photos with anyone.....online, through texts or with friends on FB. Let alone high volume commercial distribution.

Exactly. I think some post Civil War actions by the KKK may have been legally considered insurrection, as they carried out strategic campaigns to attack local governments established by Reconstruction, etc. Whereas, in the Jan 6th incident it was disparate groups answering the online "calls" to participate with no structured "plans" (more like "Storm Area 51", but just a larger turnout since there was a few months notice for the government to warn the Area 51 idiots to back off).

While the Capitol protest exceeded the definition of ‘peaceful’....the events were disruptive and confrontational. And even though there are numerous “violent” riots and protests where offenders with much deadlier weapons have caused more destruction and injury....Jan 6th could be considered “violent” as well. But it did not rise to the level of “insurrection” by any judicial definition (any more than the 3,000 protestors burning down the Kent State ROTC facility was an "insurrection"). I’m not just saying that because of some layman's interpretation; but because if “insurrection” was at all applicable.......of the 1,000+ charges that have been filed, we’d have seen at least one person (up to and including Trump) charge for it. My only hope is that SCOTUS overturns the Colorado ruling swiftly and unanimously. If it's a split decision, I worry that partisan "disgruntlement" with boil over and controversy that tries to dissolve (or at least endanger) the 3-branch system that keeps the nation running.

While I have continually questioned the IDA seemingly playing "Tricky Dick Nixon" with missing tape, I honestly doubt there was any planned video failure for this. I had tuned in for the Budget meeting right before and the live stream worked for the that in the conference room. It was turned back on in the Chamber, but showing the test screen. My guess is whoever turned the streaming off/on during the scurry to change rooms between meetings didn't know to switch inputs.

By my recollection, the Legislative Attorney (Bryan Maggs) has stated in the past that a “tie vote” would result in the resolution failing....as an affirmative majority would be required for it to pass. So,, assuming Maggs is correct (he has been wildly wrong before).....a tie would have tanked the resolution.