Bye-Bye Amish

For anyone still harboring thoughts that the St. Andrews project will someday rise in the southern sky, I have two words for you...Amish Market. Like so many other retail endeavors, it failed to attract enough business to sustain it. The list of failed business's in Hyde Park is breathtaking. A drive up Rt. 9 looks like a retail ghost town. There is no common denominator beyond failure.
Which brings me to St. Andrews. These people would have us believe there is a real demand for upscale housing and expensive retail space. They further insist there is need of a 150-200 person hotel. I want what they're smoking. Hyde Park can't sustain a second grocery store or a department store like Ames. What makes you think the town will get behind an ambitious venture like St. Andrews. Just another brick in the wall.

Hyde Park's Police Vote

Once again the voters of Hyde Park have decided a run down dump is good enough for their police. The measure to build a modest facility lost by 100 votes Tuesday. While I'm not totally surprised by the outcome, I am disappointed. It makes me wonder about the people of Hyde Park. They're either so cheap or poor that a $27 tax hit is too much or they're dumb enough to believe losers like Billy Conn who conducted a blantant campaign of misinformation and absurd rumors. The fact that a moron like Conn can convince anyone of anything is mind numbing. This is one of those times when I wonder if everyone out there should be allowed to vote.

Obama's Overplaying His Hand

Is it just me or has the Obama world tour fallen flat on it's face? I think it was a good idea for him to move around the Middle East and learn. Where he's gone wrong is turning it into an obnoxious photo-op smacking of presumption. The fact his poll numbers haven't budged tell me the American people know a snow job when they see it. A little more modesty would go a long way in the Obama camp. His arrogance is keeping McCain in the game.

Dolly Dousing Obama

An unintended consequence of the media's fascination with all things hurricane has been taking Obama's mid-east road show off the air. Maybe the networks were shamed into covering something else after days of fawning over President Obama. You can also feel the hunger for Katrina II on the part of the cable news gang. Oh how they want another hurricane in New orleans. Hilarious but pathetic.

The Police Vote...Again

The police vote…again

It’s Groundhog Day again in Hyde Park as residents will once more vote on the proposed new facility for the police department. The measure lost by about 300 votes last year with voters mostly objecting to the process rather than the proposal itself. The election was marred by sign stealing and other childish behavior on the part of the anti-police crowd. Mercifully the clowns involved in last year’s shenanigans have been relatively invisible this time around. This year’s vote should serve as a more accurate reflection of the community’s desire to support the police by building them a suitable facility.
If you’ve taken the time, as I have, to tour the police station on 9G, you know the current facility is a total embarrassment and an insult to the people working there. The place is falling down and police officers have no room to work.
The one jail cell has no bathroom and is the size of a triangular phone booth making it impossible to detain two people simultaneously. (Think bar fight). In short, the place is a dump. Otis, the town drunk from the Andy Griffith Show, would give up drinking if he had to sleep it off in Hyde Park.
So why haven’t the citizens of Hyde Park voted to fund a new facility? One objection is the cost. People are stretched pretty thin these days and don’t want to pay another dollar in taxes. Others simply don’t think we need a police department. Let the Sheriff and State Police handle things.
Let’s address the second one first. Police are a lot like lawyers. Nobody likes them until they need them. The Hyde Park Police are very good at what they do. The fact that most of us have very little contact with them is because they do such a fine job. They serve as a very visible deterrent to those contemplating breaking the law as well as a rapid response to those who do. Does anyone really want to hear the 911 operator say the State Police are busy with an accident an on the Taconic while some cretin is walking out the door with your flat screen or worse?
Then there’s the money angle. I’ve heard so many people kvetching about an extra $30-$50 bucks a year to pay for a decent police facility. They say their taxes are too high as it is. Well, they are. But for that kind of short money, I get a real live police force. I’m not getting that kind of value elsewhere in my tax bill.
I pay a small fortune in school taxes but have never had a child in school. I pay thousands in water taxes but get no town water. I have no sewer or garbage collection. In short, the only tangible benefit I and many other residents get from the Town is police and fire. Why on earth would any clear thinking person not want to support the police facility?
Then there’s the John Golden factor. Think of the current facility as your house. It’s falling down and you need to move. You’re not sure you can afford to move but then along comes a generous man offering to give you the land to build your house on. That’s just what legendary builder John Golden is doing for Hyde Park. He’s willing to donate up to five acres of prime real estate on Cardinal Road for the new facility. Amortize the cost of that land while you’re complaining.
So let’s do the right thing on Tuesday and give Hyde Park the police facility it deserves.

The pathetic Jesse Jackson

I didn't think Jesse Jackson could get any worse or more irrelevant. But in criticizing Barack Obama for daring to address the black community's penchant for illegitimate kids and absentee fathers, old Jesse blew a gasket. Obama is telling it like it is. Until blacks put their own house in order, no amount of federal money and liberal hand wringing will change the insidious dynamic that continues to eviserate black aspiration. Coming from a hypocrite like Jackson, the Obama slam is even more offensive. Remember this phony only recently owned up to his own illegitimate child, so Obama clearly hit a nerve.

Move Over Herbert Hoover

The last couple of years have seen unparalleled economic carnage here in the United States. The housing bubble fueled by irresponsible lending and borrowing has burst taking the American dream with it for too many people. The underlying mortgage industry exemplified by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has deteriorated to the point the federal government may be forced to pony up trillions to keep the mortgage market remotely solvent. The stock market is in free fall as Wall Street’s pain becomes Main Street’s reality. On top of that oil continues its relentless climb to the sky driving up the cost of almost everything.
Locally, businesses are taking the hit too. One project after another has been shelved or abandoned for lack of funding and prospects. Just last week came word the much ballyhooed St. Andrews residential/retail project in Hyde Park is for all intents and purposes DOA as the developer can’t come up with the cash needed to fund the Route 9 sewer. That project alone would have translated into hundreds of jobs and workers spending their money locally.
While there are lots of explanations and rationalizations for our economic problems, there is one constant in all this. That constant has been President George W. Bush, who has stood like a deer in the head lights as the economy unraveled on his watch. Herbert Hoover can rest easy as George Bush has become the gold standard for failed presidents. Between Iraq and his domestic fiscal mismanagement, George Bush has wreaked more economic havoc and destroyed more wealth than a division of Islamic radicals could if they marched unimpeded from New York to LA.
While it’s true some of these economic chickens were coming home to roost eventually, it’s being made worse by the total lack of leadership on the part of the president and his administration. Leadership is very much about communication in a democracy. Anybody can stand in front of a TV camera and pat themselves on the back during good times. A real leader is the person who sucks it up and tells the American people the truth. They may not want to hear it but they need to understand the problem if they’re expected to be part of the solution. George Bush has been AWOL on the economy.
Teddy Roosevelt referred to the presidency as a “bully pulpit” to be used to exhort and inspire the citizenry. His cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Those words are as true today as they were in 1933. His leadership got this country through the depression and we desperately need that kind of thinking today.
It’s abundantly clear we won’t be getting that kind of leadership from the incredibly shrinking George Bush. At this point it appears Bush is mailing it in and will use his remaining time in office to jet around the world on Air Force One while the rest of us struggle to put gas in the tank. You had to love Bush and the other leaders at the G-8 summit last week snarfing down an eight course meal the night before convening a conference on world hunger. Talk about a disconnect.
It will fall to the next president to pick up the pieces and restore confidence in America. We need a leader we can believe in and someone who believes in America. We need to get it right this time.

Teddy's Return to the Senate

Regardless of what you think about Ted Kennedy's politics, you had to admire his grit in flying to D.C. to cast a critical health care vote. Good for him. As the Senators all gathered around him to wish him well, there was one notable absentee...Hillary Clinton. I suspect she's still pissed Teddy endorsed Obama. No class as usual.

Clinton Flack to Fox News

One of Hillary Clinton's torpedos, Howard Wolfson is going to Fox News as a contributor. The conventional wisdom is this allows Wolfson to wash off the Hillary stench before resuming his PR career. It also tells me the countless lies and low blows he leveled at Barack Obama during the campaign made him persona non grata going forward in democratic circles. Hearing Wolfson describe Fox's campaign coverage as "fair and balanced" made me laugh and also realize some people will do anything for a paycheck.

Enough with Christie Brinkley

Could someone please stuff a rag down Chritie Brinkley's throat. I've heard more than enough about her troubled FOURTH marriage. We get it Christie. Your boy toy got bored with you and began trolling the internet and the mall for a little strange. He clearly reneged on his marriage vows and you appear justified divorcing the bum. But leave me out of it and certainly leave your kids out of it. If you're really concerned about the "welfare of the children" don't instruct your lawyer to make the sordid details public. Clearly the aging supermodel is out to humiliate and destroy Mr. Cook. Pathetic!

As GM Goes, So Goes The Nation

For as long as I can remember one of Wall Street’s sacred bromides has been “As GM goes, so goes the nation.” It was intended to acknowledge the significance of General Motors to the U.S. economy and America’s economic influence. If GM was having a good year, so was the economy. Car sales represent prosperity and consumer confidence and for nearly 100 years, General Motors was king of the automobile jungle.
General Motors stock has always been a staple of any serious portfolio. It has been the ultimate “widows and orphan” stock, suitable for the most conservative clients. It has also been a significant holding in countless pension and mutual funds as it consistently delivered steady growth and dividend income. That all began to change in the 1970’s when the confluence of the first Arab oil crisis, increased foreign competition and intransigent union demands began chipping away at U.S. market share.
Unfortunately for shareholders and the economy, the 1970’s look like the good old days now. Last week shares of General Motors hit a 54 year low of $9.96 a share down from $43.20 a year ago and $71 in 1998. Adding insult to injury, a financial analyst at Merrill Lynch suggested GM could go belly up by 2009. As a friend of mine said the other day “Where are the pitchforks and torches?” Why haven’t the American people taken to the streets? These are dire economic times and if GM is any indication of the health of the economy, somebody better call a doctor.
An interesting aspect of this economic unraveling is the relative lack of attention it’s getting politically. McCain and Obama seem to be talking about everything but the economy. One day it’s Iran and the next day it’s who’s more patriotic. There was even an absurd back and forth on whether being a POW made someone more qualified to be commander-in-chief. Yikes!
We’re hearing a lot about health care, gay marriage and Supreme Court vacancies but almost nothing about what either candidate intends to do about oil and the economy. Well as important as all those issues are they won’t be getting much attention down the road if Americans are burning their furniture to keep warm this winter. Now I’m not saying I have the answer but then again I’m not running for president.
The political problem is two fold. The deteriorating economy is actually good news for Sen. Obama and the democrats. The worse things get, the more motivated people will be to throw the republicans out. Potentially exacerbating the problem is that Obama will have a generous grace period to turn the ship of state around. He and the Democrats will not take the hit initially for bad economic numbers. Remember it took Ronald Reagan two years to begin undoing the economic train wreck he inherited from Jimmy Carter. So an Obama victory is no guarantee of a quick fix.
John McCain, on the other hand, intends to get elected on his national security credentials and has admitted he doesn’t know much about economics. Well he better find someone who does or all the national security bravado in the world won’t mean a thing if Americans are selling apples on street corners. This is the worst economic crisis we’ve faced since the 1930’s and we need both candidates addressing that. The rest of it is window dressing.

Democrats Going Green in Denver

Last week in a little noticed memo, the Democratic National Committee released details of their plan to make this summer’s national convention as green as possible. The idea is to paint Democrats as hip and environmentally friendly as opposed to the big, bad, Neanderthal Republicans. Here are a couple of the Democratic innovations for Denver and I’m not making this up.
There will be absolutely no fried food served at the convention hall. Any foods containing trans fats will also be barred from the convention. It would appear the liberals running the Party have made the seamless transition from telling Americans what they can think or say to what they can eat.
The DNC will also be issuing 15,000 complimentary fanny packs to delegates and supporters. They will be made from hemp or natural fibers. I personally don’t care what they’re made of but no one beyond third grade should ever wear a fanny pack unless they’re on their way to a Star Trek convention. They’ve also decreed that all balloons be biodegradable. Maybe they should just eat them after the balloon drop.
Here’s possibly my favorite. The DNC has appointed a Carbon Advisor for the convention. The company is called Camco International and will be paid to measure the impact of the convention on our climate. I know the answer to that…the air will be hotter. According to Andrea Robinson, Director of Greening for the DNC, Camco will assess emissions associated with travel to the convention and waste generated as in all those private jets and limos.
As one who has attended a few political conventions, I can assure you most of the delegates aren’t there to have their consciousness raised. Unless the environmental extremists have completely taken over the party, most delegates will want to boogie and eat and drink themselves blind in the hospitality suites.
But you might have fun at the Republican convention in September. You see, I’ve intercepted a top secret memo from the Republican National Committee, code name Operation Shrug. It would appear John McCain understands he and the Party have no shot in November and have decided to cast off any trappings of political correctness and just let it rip. Here are a couple of highlights from the memo.
-Free beer and lap dances from Cindy McCain
-Each state delegation will have a beer bong on the floor.
-Smoking is encouraged. Spittoons will be available at the Phillip Morris concession stand.
-Red meat at all meals with the exception of the daily fried chicken and pancake breakfast special.
-Meals will be served in the new Defibulator Room just off the convention floor.
- Each delegate will be driven individually by SUV to and from the convention center.
Drivers will be former Bear Stearns big shots.
-Delegates will all be given hand guns with their complimentary baby seal tote bags. A shooting range will be available to delegates after the cocktail hour.
-There will be psychiatrists on call 24 hours a day in the Neo-Con Room for those big donors still grieving they won’t have Hillary to kick around this fall.
-State of the art security will be installed to detect the presence of George Bush should he attempt to address the convention. The McCain people have given him the wrong date and assume that will be enough to fool him.
The reality is Barack Obama is going to win this going away. Nothing can derail him and the Republicans have only themselves to blame. I just hope we can endure another 5 ½ months of W.