GOVERNMENT WARNING ~

Do NOT swallow chewing-gum!

OK.  Just a little humor in this crazy world.  So many things are hitting us daily that fill our minds with gloom and doom messages, that I thought we could use just a bit of a laugh today.

In the Buffalo News on Thursday 1/24/’08 there was an article written by Sandra Tan, the News staff reporter for Amherst. The article concerned the Calvary Lutheran Church building that the Town purchased and what is happening to this very important project.  The building had been purchased to be converted into the ‘Eggertsville Community Center.’   

It is important to clear up some errors in her article. 

 The Town is not borrowing $350,000 dollars from the Contingency Fund which might affect our Bonding rate to borrow money for other important town projects.  The money will be taken from other projects the Town has underway at present or will begin in the near future. In 2006 the Town Board bonded $500,000 to buy the building and another $500,000 dollars for renovations.  There was a fund already started by Council member Dan Ward to buy a building so Eggertsville would have a community center.  This fund has $229,000.dollars to be used for the Community Center. The Town Board was informed it would cost close to $1.3 million for renovations of this building.  The Town hired the architectural firm of Foit-Albert Associates to design the architectural drawings to make this building both functional and safe.  They have been paid about $30,000 as of 1/10/08. The Town has received bids from five contractors to do all the work needed, but because of a Municipal Building Law none of them can start work until all the money needed for the entire renovation is secured by the town.  This law will not permit any contractor to start work until all the funding for the entire project is secured.   Thus far we have $700,000 on hand so we need another $600,000 before any work may begin.

Legislation Provides for Congressional Oversight on Decisions Impacting Local Offices

West Seneca, NY – Today, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) was joined by West Seneca Supervisor Wallace Piotrowski and local Social Security Administration employees as he announced that he has introduced H.R. 5110 The Social Security Customer Service Improvement Act, a new bill that would give Congress a proper oversight role for local hearing office operations to ensure that customer service is at a level that citizens deserve.

“Social Security field offices are the first point of contact for thousands of Western New Yorkers who rely on the agency as a vital source of income because they are retired, disabled or dependent,” said Congressman Higgins. “These citizens are vulnerable to fall through the cracks if their benefits are not properly dispensed or if their questions are not adequately answered.”

Congressman Higgins’ bill would give Congress a proper oversight role for local hearing office operations. Specifically the bill would:
· Require SSA to provide Congress a nonpartisan detailed yearly budget estimate;
· The budget estimate would include yearly statistics of the number of cases pending at hearing offices, the rate at with case backlogs are increasing or decreasing, the average length of time it takes for claims to be administered, and staffing level trends at offices over time;
· Prohibit SSA from closing or limiting hours at local offices without providing Congress with at least 6 months notice and thoughtful justifications for closure;
· Require SSA to inform Congress of changes to how it staffs offices at least 3 months before a proposed change could be implemented.

“This is an important issue, especially in the Town of West Seneca and surrounding communities like Cheektowaga and Lackawanna where you find a large senior citizen population,” said West Seneca Supervisor Wallace Piotrowski. “Residents are justifiably frustrated with the delays caused by understaffing and bureaucratic red tape. This legislation gives our local federal representatives the tools to know how their communities will be impacted by Social Security Administration changes and advocate on behalf of the residents they serve.”

“In 2006 the total nationwide backlog of Social Security cases, including initial disability claims and hearings pending, reached a record 1.3 million cases,” said Congressman Higgins. “The changes in this bill would give Congress the information it needs to help make field offices work better, and to give Social Security beneficiaries the respect and dignity they deserve.”

In October 2007, SSA proposed cutting public access to field offices in Western New York. Congressman Higgins fought this proposal, and it was delayed until March 2008. This action would continue a long trend of cutbacks in services to Western New Yorkers.

Statistics show that, in Western New York alone, Social Security offices are desperately understaffed, making it difficult for the hardworking Social Security Administration employees to meet even the basic inquiries of citizens.

Consider the following:

· As of the end of Fiscal Year 2007, there were 14,680 Social Security Disability petitions pending in the Buffalo Hearing office; 7,950 of these cases having been pending for over one year.
· Staffing at Western New York offices has decreased substantially – by approximately 170 employees - over the past 25 years, even though the need for services has increased. Since 1983:
· Staffing at the Buffalo office has decreased from 78 to 31.
· Staffing at the Amherst office has decreased from 49 to 18.
· Staffing at the Ridge Road office has decreased from 63 to 23 (Ridge Road office reflects numbers from both Cheektowaga and West Seneca offices, which were merged by SSA in 2007).
· Staffing at the Niagara Falls office has decreased from 44 to 16.
· Staffing at the Jamestown office has decreased from 29 to 11.
· Staffing at the Dunkirk office has decreased from 11 to 6.

“The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) fully supports the efforts of Congressman Brian Higgins to introduce legislation requiring the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make transparent any attempt to close a Field Office (FO) and deprive the public of the service it deserves”, said Paul Demler, President of AFGE Local 3342.

Field office and hearing office operations, including funding for more field office staffers and administrative law judges, are paid for out of Social Security’s administrative budget. Along with his colleagues, Rep. Higgins fought for increased funding for SSA’s administrative operations this year. Congress passed appropriations of $9.781 billion to fund these operations for Fiscal Year 2008, representing a $200 million increase over the President’s budget request.

The following additional members have signed on to Higgins’ bill as original cosponsors: Reps. Michael Arcuri (NY-24), Joe Baca (CA-43), Nancy Boyda (KS-2), Joe Courtney (CT-2), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Mike McIntyre (NC-7), Jerry McNerney (CA-11), Dennis Moore (KS-3), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9).

“I appreciate the considerable support that Congressional leaders have given toward fully and properly funding Social Security field offices and hearing offices; I will continue to work with them in the future to improve the funding situation even further.” Higgins said.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Social Security Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. SSA’s administrative workload includes paying Social Security and SSI benefits to more than 56 million people, processing more than 6 million benefit claims, issuing 17 million new and replacement Social Security cards, providing administrative support for the Medicare program and maintaining earnings records and issuing Social Security statements for the more than 160 million covered workers.

Four years ago it was discovered that antidepressants had caused some children and teenagers to become suicidal. Now that we recognize that fact the FDA is requiring drug makers to study closely whether patients become suicidal during clinical trials.

“The new rules represent one of the most profound changes of the past 16 years to regulations governing drug development. But since the F.D.A.’s oversight of experimental medicines is done in secret, the agency’s shift has not been announced publicly.”
[read whole story]

If you’re waiting for that rebate check Pres. Bush spoke about last week you should knoww that representatives from both sides of the aisle are diligently working on it.  The word is that they are closing in on an agreement.

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California met three times Wednesday with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and the House Republican leader, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, who have served as chief architects of the plan in a rare show of bipartisanship.”

“On her way into an evening meeting, Ms. Pelosi said there had been “tremendous” progress during the day.”

““I’m hopeful,” she said. “We’re still working through.””
[read whole story]

Back in 2004 Federal Reserve governor named Ben Bernanke borrowed a phrase from an academic research paper and coined the phrase “the great moderation.”

“These days, though, the great moderation isn’t looking quite so great — or so moderate.”

“Until a few months ago, it was accepted wisdom that the American economy functioned far more smoothly than in the past. Economic expansions lasted longer, and recessions were both shorter and milder. Inflation had been tamed. The spreading of financial risk, across institutions and around the world, had reduced the odds of a crisis.”
[read whole story]

Tired of telemarketers calling? Haven’t put yourself on the Do Not Call list? This could be a solution, and give you a chuckle at the same time.
Clink on the following link, and be sure your sound is turned up:

The Greatest Prank Ever

When Thomas Carlyle, historian of the early 19^th century, used the term 4ht Estate, he attributed it to English politician Edmund Burke who said “in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate.”  Democracy has flourished when there is an independent, skeptical, and scrutinizing media, bur suffered when there is not. 

In our little section of the world, one would hope that our only newspaper,  The Buffalo New,  would exemplify the 4^th Estate, seeking the truth and fighting for the people’s right to know the unvarnished true facts, but, alas, it does not.

Gutsy reporters have stood up to maniacal dictators, as many did against the rise of Hitler in Germany.  Former President Nixon resigned from office because the 4^th Estate uncovered the unvarnished facts about White House corruption.  More recently, unfortunately, the print and television media failed to be skeptical and scrutinizing when President George Bush used false WMD claims to justify his pre-emptive war against Iraq and America has suffered.

In our Town of Amherst, where our local Buffalo News reporter Sandra Tan, and her predecessor, Thomas Dolan, seem enamored with Supervisor Satish Mohan as a local celebrity rather than as a government leader for whom investigation and scrutiny are needed, we suffer from the lack of real reporting.   The Buffalo News paints a rosy picture of our Town and the competency of its Supervisor. That portrait seems born of an aversion to the pursuit of truth which may be unpopular and of an institutional bias toward the Republican establishment in the Town of Amherst. 

For instance, on Monday the News ran the results of its survey of Supervisor Mohan’s Performance after tow years in office.  The article appears to be an excessive effort to write for “balance,” lacking critical inquiry, and often acceding to the Supervisor’s view that his failure to reform is due entirely to others, the other Board Member, the Department Heard, the Unions etc. rather that his personal leadership incompetence, his proclivity to denigrate others, his failure to be truthful in dealings with others, and his inability to build consensus.

The News article cited Mohan’s trumpeting that the Town “payroll boasts fewer employees than it did when he entered office.”  While that statement may be true, Mohan did not get himself elected on an honest advocacy of workforce reductions to cut government costs.  Rather, Supervisor Mohan promised that he would lower taxes by 15% and that “All services will be preserved. . . . “ and “No town employees will loose their jobs.”  The largest component of the government costs is the salary, wages and benefits of the people to provide public services.  What was the Supervisor’s lie to get elected - “No town employees will loose their jobs” – is now ignored by the News which, had it been doing investigative reporting, would have exposed the Supervisor Mohan’s real goal – elimination of Town employees.

Sandra Tan displayed her bias for Republicans in her January 8 article lauding the 24-year-politician-developer, new council member Barry Weinstein, while simultaneously labeling council member Daniel J. Ward derisively as “historically the least polite of all the board members.’  While one can pint to come strong language in some of his proposed resolution no impartial observer can fairly describe Mr. Ward’s conduct as the ‘least polite.” 

The News’ failure to pursue the 4^th Estate’s noble goal to expose government incompetence will lead the public to rely more and more on other sources for their news.  Stay tuned for more unvarnished facts about your Amherst Town Government.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  There are few who don’t know at least something about this man.  Most of us have heard his “I have a dream” speech many times.  But there is a great deal most of us are unaware of about him.

“At the time of his death, King was working on anti-poverty and anti-war issues. He had spoken out against the Vietnam War in 1967, and was in Memphis in April 1968 in support of striking sanitation workers.”

“King had come a long way from the crowds who cheered him at the 1963 March on Washington, when he was introduced as “the moral leader of our nation” — and when he pronounced “I have a dream” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.”
[read whole story]

If you have a child in college and they want to spend a semester studying abroad will you be able to afford it? Will your student get the best educational experience available? That depends on who arranged the study program at your college.

“Questions about study abroad programs were raised in an article in The New York Times last summer that described how some program providers offer colleges rebates, free and subsidized travel, unpaid seats on advisory boards, help with back-office services, marketing stipends and other benefits. Critics say the arrangements, which are seldom disclosed, can limit students’ options and result in higher prices for those seeking international experience.”

“The potential conflicts of interest are reminiscent of those created by ties between colleges and student loan companies; the disclosure of those arrangements led to investigations by Mr. Cuomo’s office and by lawmakers in Washington last spring. The similarity in the relationships has raised questions about other possible conflicts at colleges.”
[read whole story]