Albany, NY -- Happy New Year!

I'm about to head out for New Year's, and I'd like to hear what everybody else is up to. If you do anything interesting (or even if you don't), post a comment to this post and let me know!

Happy New Year!

posted by jbrzoska @ 6:44 PM Trackback Link 1 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Week 17 NFL Picks

Sorry; I didn't post at all yesterday and this might be it for today. New Year's stuff, y'know. This week's picks:

Denver (+11) at San Diego
JB: Chargers
K-Hole: Chargers

NY Giants (-9) at Oakland
JB: Giants
K-Hole: Raiders

Arizona (+6.5) at Indianapolis
JB: Indy
K-Hole: Indy

Baltimore (-3.5) at Cleveland
JB: Ravens
K-Hole: Ravens

Buffalo (-1.5) at NY Jets
JB: Bills
K-Hole: Bills

Carolina (-4.5) at Atlanta
JB: Panthers
K-Hole: Panthers

Chicago (+4.5) at Minnesota
JB: Bears
K-Hole: Bears

Detroit (+13) at Pittsburgh
JB: Lions
K-Hole: Steelers

Seattle (+5) at Green Bay
JB: Packers
K-Hole: Seahawks

Miami (+5.5) at New England
JB: Pats
K-Hole: Fins

New Orleans (+13.5) at Tampa Bay
JB: Saints
K-Hole: Bucs

Tennessee (+3.5) at Jacksonville
JB: Jags
K-Hole: Jags

Cincinatti (+7.5) at Kansas City
JB: KC
K-Hole: Bengals

Washington (-7.5) at Philadelphia
JB: Skins
K-Hole: Skins

Houston (-1.5) at San Francisco
JB: Texans
K-Hole: Texans

St. Louis (+12.5) at Dallas
JB: Rams
K-Hole: Rams

posted by jbrzoska @ 12:45 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Week 16 NFL Results

After a really slow start, K-Hole simply wiped the floor with me, clinching the season title and pushing me below .500.

JB: 6-10
K-Hole: 9-7

Our overall record is now:

JB: 37-40-2
K-Hole: 43-34-2

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:50 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Tasini's Campaign on Their Wireless Plan

Senate candidate Jonathan Tasini's campaign coordinator, Ted Hamm, has given me some more info on Jonathan's plan for wireless internet for the whole country:

Jason--

Here's how our research staff explains the numbers:

A typical city of 150 square miles costs about $20M to set up. And 30K square miles (i.e., 200 such "cities", at total cost of $4B) would get you most (in any case, well over 80 percent) of the US population. Or, looking at NYC, that's more than 8 million people within 309 square miles. So, to get the other 20 percent you might have to throw in another half a billion or so.

We plan to modify our position slightly--to account for both the cost and coverage--but the basic proposal remains the same.

We're working on a plan for rural coverage. I'll keep you posted.

Ted

Sounds right, but I'd really like to hear about the rural plan. I'd like to hear from someone more knowledgeable than me on this. What do you think? Post a comment to this thread if you have anything to say about it.

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:05 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Tasini's Transit Strike Press Release

Jonathan Tasini's campaign has given me some of the information I've asked for, including this press release about his stance on the New York City transit strike:

New York City (12-23-05): Jonathan Tasini, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, today issued the following statement in response to the tentative settlement of the New York City transit strike:

"Like all New Yorkers, I am happy that the transit workers will be able to go back to work and continue their valuable contribution to the city, as the mediation continues between the parties. I hope that the on-going mediation results in a fair contract for workers who makes this city run every day and who risk their lives to make sure that we travel in a safe environment.

The transit workers should be applauded for taking a stand because they were willing to endure hardship and lost wages to protect not only their standard of living but the economic futures of those people who aren't even working in the transit system. As union president Roger Toussaint said, "This is a fight over whether hard work will be rewarded with a decent retirement and over the erosion or eventual elimination of health benefits for working people."

The issues that led to the strike, however, remain unresolved. Indeed, one of the issues in the contract negotiations underscores a key reason why I decided to run for the U.S. Senate. Our campaign has called for Medicare For All because the crisis in health care is affecting collective bargaining throughout America. Every union faces demands from employers who seek to shift the costs of health care on to the backs of workers, which effectively translates into a wage cut.

If every person in America were covered by Medicare, it is likely that this strike would never have happened.

I also call on Mayor Bloomberg to exercise better judgement in the language he uses. He owes the union and the transit worker an apology for using harsh, hot-button langauge that inflamed the environment. As the mediation continues, I hope the mayor will act to unify, not divide, the city."

##

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:00 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Back-to-Back Impeachment?

It's interesting how often I've seen the word "impeachment" thrown around in relation to President Bush lately, from Barbara Boxer to John Kerry to several liberal publications, but check this piece out from Barron's:

Willful disregard of a law is potentially an impeachable offense. It is at least as impeachable as having a sexual escapade under the Oval Office desk and lying about it later. The members of the House Judiciary Committee who staged the impeachment of President Clinton ought to be as outraged at this situation. They ought to investigate it, consider it carefully and report either a bill that would change the wiretap laws to suit the president or a bill of impeachment.

It is important to be clear that an impeachment case, if it comes to that, would not be about wiretapping, or about a possible Constitutional right not to be wiretapped. It would be about the power of Congress to set wiretapping rules by law, and it is about the obligation of the president to follow the rules in the Acts that he and his predecessors signed into law.

Ted says: "Personally, when a publication as conservative as Barron's takes such a position, I think people need to pay close attention." I'd have to agree with him.

Speaking of impeachment, it feels strange to hear that middle school and high school students are already learning about the Clinton impeachment in American History classes:

Seven years after he was impeached in a scandal of sex, perjury and bitter politics, Clinton has become a fixture in major high school texts.

The impeachment is portrayed in the context of his two-term tenure, a milestone event, but not one that overshadows how Clinton handled the economy, crime and health care.

I'm old!

posted by jbrzoska @ 8:05 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Jason's First Contact with Tasini

I had a chat today with Ted Hamm, a campaign coordinator for U.S. Senate candidate Jonathan Tasini. Several of the questions I asked were clearly premature, but the team members appear to have their act together and their heart in this. They are in this toboth win it and to let other candidates know that the voice of the left is not to be ignored. I didn’t get a lot of specifics off the bat, especially about the national wireless network idea, but Ted will be getting back to me.

I’ll likely give the campaign more money as the months go on, but I’m really hoping to give them some in-person support as well. They’re currently establishing chapters in Ithaca and Woodstock, which are very, very liberal; I’m curious if they can get something going in Albany. They’ll be visiting here in January. I suggested that they try to work with the Working Families Party, who were behind David Soares’s longshot but successful campaign for District Attorney in Albany in 2004.

I’m expecting to get in touch with the founders of the Woodstock chapter soon, and will keep you all posted!

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:55 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Can Mormons Teach Jews a Thing or Two?

Just for Christmas (and I guess Hanukkah too), here's a Jewish-themed post I've been meaning to make since mid-November.

Yossi Abramowitz, a renowned Jewish organizational CEO, activist, and visionary, has started a blog. Last week, he posted an interview that he did with the Washington Times in 2004 in which he states that in order to grow as a community, the Jews must take a page from the Book of Mormon:

Question: You say the world Jewish population has remained stagnant at 12 million to 13 million since the end of World War II, but that Mormons have grown from 1 million in the mid-1940s to 12 million today. What have they done right?

Answer: First, the Mormons know what they believe. They believe in what they believe so much, they are not shy about sharing it. If the Jewish people think we have something of value in terms of our morals and values, is it fear or selfishness that keeps us from sharing it? Since I know we are not selfish, we have to get beyond that fear.

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We are afraid to have an internal discussion about what it is we truly believe and what we stand for because we don’t want to offend anybody.

Is that why, or is it because we don't all believe the same things and most Jews don't want to be told what to believe?

I happened to have had an exchange online earlier today with J. Chris Parson, who is a non-Mormon living in Utah. He said: "A lot of Mormons are very nice people. They just don't question much and seem VERY subservient to authority... They are super sheep, bred from the most gullible sheep around when Joesph Smith was fleecing them."

For all the Jews reading this, is that a Judaism you'd like to be part of? We should definitely promote the positive aspects of Judaism, and one of them is the acceptance of a wide variety of beliefs and the often healthy debate about them. For instance, much of Jewish law comes not from the Torah, but from the Mishna (7 entire books debating the Torah) and the Gemara (60+ entire books debating the Mishna)! Even though different groups within Judaism don't always accept each other, there's a place for everyone, and that's something that should be promoted. Organizations like Interfaithfamily.com which helps welcome members of interfaith families, and Keshet should be nurtured and advanced whenever possible.

On a lighter note, here's a Hanukkah time-waster for those of you who can understand Hebrew.

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:55 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post