Sanctuary?? A Call to Arms

I have not posted in quite some time.  However, recent events make it necessary to post again.

Recently, Mayor Noble announced his intention to make Kingston a sanctuary city.  A sanctuary city, for those who do not know, is a city that announces publicly that illegal immigrants will not be arrested or detained for violating federal immigration law.

On January 10th at 7 p.m., there will be a Common Council Meeting where the Mayor's resolution will be discussed and likely voted open.  The public will be allowed to speak on the matter as well.

A few thoughts.  First, the Aldermen and the Mayor took an oath to faithfully defend and protect the laws and Constitution of the United States and State of New York, as well as the laws and Charter of the City of Kingston.  To vote for this resolution is a direct violation of that oath.

Second, President-Elect Trump has announced his intention to deny federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities.  As of January 20th, he will have the power to back that up.  How, pray tell, will the Mayor and Council make up for the loss of federal funds?  There are only 2 ways. Either they lay off firemen, policemen, and/or city employees; or, they raise property taxes.  Either way, we citizens and taxpayers take it in the neck yet again.

Finally, if a person is not held on a federal immigration warrant because of the sanctuary city policy and he or she subsequently commits a crime, what will the Mayor and Council have to say to the victim or the victim's family?  If God forbid, the person not arrested on said warrant commits a murder (it has happened before), how will the Mayor and Council get the victim's blood off their hands?

I know that the overwhelming number of illegal immigrants do not commit crimes and just are seeking a better life.  The number who commit violent crimes are between 2% and 5% which seems like a small number.  However, when you consider that there are supposedly 6 million illegal immigrants currently in the country, then a range of 2% to 5% is 120,000 to 300,000.  That's just too damn many.

I urge Kingstonians to do 2 things.  First, show up at the meeting and express your opposition.  (Know that the Mayor will have numerous plants  ready to speak in favor.)  

Second, tell your Alderman that if he or she votes for this resolution, you will vote against him or her.  Neither the Mayor nor ANY of the Aldermen ran on the idea of making Kingston a sanctuary city.  This is a bad idea and it needs to be defeated.  This is not Democrat versus Republican.  (One Alderwoman from each party has announced opposition).  This is about the future of Kingston.

DiFalco Replaces Bernardo

Joe DiFalco is apparently the new Ulster County Independence Party Chairman reports Mid Hudson News.

This is major political news and could have major ramifications in next year's local elections.

Here is the article from Mid Hudson News.

"

DiFalco to chair Ulster County Independence Party committee

KINGSTON – Third party politics in Ulster County will shift direction next week, when Independence Party member Joseph DiFalco assumes control of the interim county committee. A brief meeting has been scheduled for October 3, at Broadway Lights Diner, where DiFalco hopes to usurp the post from his longstanding rival. The official notices were served at the party’s state convention in mid-September. DiFalco said he plans a very brief meeting, no longer than 15 minutes, to take over the county chairmanship.  “We’re not ordering any food, just a glass of water with lemon,” he said. The current interim chairman, Len Bernardo, wielded considerable influence during his tenure, facilitating the election of his wife Terry into the county legislature, then legislative chairwoman. After losing her bid for a second term on the legislature, Mrs. Bernardo ran unsuccessfully against Michael Hein for county executive in 2015. DiFalco, who leads the Independence Party within the City of Kingston, quietly assumed a position on the state committee this month, and used that opportunity to call a re-organizational meeting for the county committee. Bernardo, who lives in the Town of Rochester, also sits on the state committee, in a separate senatorial district. He is additionally a member-at-large of the executive committee. DiFalco, however, holds more weighted votes than Bernardo, and therefore decides local cross-endorsements. For the next two years, DiFalco will apparently be running the show. Under Independence Party rules, members of the state committee choose who serves as interim county chairman. Ulster County is divided into several state senatorial districts, votes are weighted according to the last gubernatorial vote. The Independence Party ballot line typically carries several hundred votes per municipality. Any election with a slim margin can be clinched by an Independence Party cross-endorsement. Until now, that coveted political power was firmly wielded by Len Bernardo – who strongly favored Republican candidates. DiFalco’s wife Ellen, currently a Democrat, previously served as confidential secretary to Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo; and also was former clerk of the county legislature. Mr. DiFalco played a key role in unseating Third Ward Kingston Alderman Brad Will in an ethics scandal last year. DiFalco continues to pursue further ethics charges against the mayor and city attorney, while officials scramble to rewrite the law. A retired New York City Teamster, DiFalco frequents City Hall meetings wearing shorts and a fisherman hat, irking factional Democrats with his abrasive Archie Bunker mannerisms. Opponents expressed discontent at DiFalco’s ascension."

Walter Maxwell

Sad to hear of the passing of Walter Maxwell.

He was the driving force behind Kingston Community Radio.

A nice guy who will be missed.

Hypocrite

Teachout, after running a primary against Cuomo and telling anyone who would listen, how bad he is, has now apparently accepted Cuomo's endorsement!!

HYPOCRITE !!!!!!

Trump Picks Pence

Trump has chosen Governor Pence to be his running mate.

I am not a big fan of Mr. Trump.  I am a fan of Governor Pence though.

So, now I will hold my nose and vote for Trump.  Then, if Hillary is defeated, I will pray for Impeachment to give us President Pence.

Ginsburg Crosses an Ethical Line

Judges do not comment on politics.  It is an axiom, a clear rule, and an ethical mandate.
Yet, Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg has violated this rule by publicly attacking Donald Trump.  In so doing, she has crossed an ethical line.

This behavior is disgraceful.  Judges are supposed to be neutral.  What if the Trump vs Clinton race ends up before the Court?  She must now recuse herself and the Court will be hampered.

Even liberals who despise Trump have criticized Ginsburg for her comments.

I have great respect for Judges (Yes, even the liberal ones).   To see a Justice behave this way is truly disappointing.

Happy Independence Day!!

Happy Birthday to the USA!!

Conservative Convention Results

Earlier this evening, the Ulster County Conservative Committee met to decide on candidates.

At the very beginning, Kyle Barnett spoke and announced he was withdrawing from the race for Surrogate's Court and was supporting Mr. Matera.  He expressed his desire to see Conservative judges and did not want to see a split ticket. He got a large ovation.

In accepting the endorsement, Mr. Matera thanked Barnett for his kind words and for running "an honorable campaign".

The Committee endorsed Jack Hayes, a retired Trooper and former County Legislator, to challenge Kevin Cahill for Assembly.

Senator Amedore was also endorsed.

However, by a large margin, the County Conservatives refused to endorse John Bonacic citing his less than conservative voting record and his support of a downstate Senator for Majority Leader over the Upstate candidate.

By an even larger margin, the County Committee refused to endorse Bill Larkin.  The Committee also cited his betrayal of Upstate New York as well as his support for a left wing liberal Congressman in Orange County.

To be clear, since both districts are multi-county, it is likely that the State Committee will overrule the County and award the nominations to Bonacic and Larkin.  However, the County Committee sent a strong message to both Senators.

The Committee also endorsed Senator Seward and newcomers Maria Kelso and Bill Benucci for Assembly seats.

Conservative Convention on Tuesday

County Conservatives meet Tuesday night to decide on various races.

There could be fireworks over some State Senate endorsements.  Amedore should be fine, but many Conservatives are furious with Larkin, Seward, and particularly Bonacic.  If these 3 even show up, they can expect tough questions.

The most interesting fight will be for County Surtogate's Court.  Matera and Graf were each expected to win their party's endorsement and did.

Kyle Barnett intends to primary.  No word on McGinty yet.

Look for Matera and Barnett to battle it out with Matera going in to the convention with the advantage.

Mayor Dissolves Ethics Board

The headline of this article says it all.  The entire Ethics Board has been dissolved by the Mayor with no real explanation.

Frankly, this is an outrage.  It does not pass the smell test.  The Ethics Board made significant findings against a former Alderman and major supporter of the Mayor and he dissolves the Board.

It almost sounds like a scene from a cheap supermarket novel.

CSEA CITES CONTRACTUAL VIOLATION BY MAYOR

Mayor Noble hired a new grants manager.  However, instead of following the contract and placing her at Step 1, he placed her at Step 6.  Having gone through the CSEA process himself, the Mayor was fully aware of the process.  Yet, it was ignored.

Basically, she was paid more than she was entitled under the contract, i.e. a gift of public funds.

In the Freeman article, the Mayor said he knew nothing about the complaints.  I happen to know, however, that CSEA President left multiple messages for the Mayor on this matter that were not returned.

Howard Baul, a higher level union official, is planning to request documentation (I presume through FoIL) about the hiring.  Perhaps he should look at the time records recorded and actual hours worked.  He might find something interesting.  You just never know.

Scandal from NYC to Kingston

The New York State Board of Elections referred a potential criminal matter to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office allegedly involving NYC Mayor DeBlasio and 3 Democratic County Committees including Ulster County.

The allegations are basically that Mayor DeBlasio and his supporters funneled $1.2 million to 3 different Democrat County Committees with the express intent of bypassing individual donor limits for 3 State Senate races.

The limits for donations to a County Committee are much higher than for an individual candidate.  While the amounts donated were within the law, the portion that violates the law is if/when the donation was a sham and was actually directly intended for a particular candidate.

In Ulster County, the candidate was Cecelia Tkaczyk.  One of the most damning pieces of evidence is an email from Matthew Lerch, the Treasurer for Tkaczyk's campaign.  The email was sent to Hayes Clement, the treasurer for the Ulster County Democratic Committee.  The email said, "Has the check for 60K cleared?  Below is our banking info, we need the 60 transferred over ASAP please."

Why is this so damning?  Well, $60,000 is over 5 times the legal limit for a donation for the race.  Moreover, the email shows that the Tkaczyk campaign knew about the donation and knew that the donation was actually intended for them.

The interesting thing will be to see if what if any deals are made with people to build a case against DBlasio and his people.  Hayes Clement and Matthew Lerch are likely small fish and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is looking to land a whale.

Waiting on NY

Primary results will be known in a few hours.  Should be interesting on both sides.

I cannot help this nagging feeling that an upset could be in the realm of possibility on the Dem side.

Results later.

*******
UPDATE

Sanders destroyed Clinton in Ulster County, but lost the State.

On the Republican side, Trump won big.  Moreover, thanks to the fool Kasich staying in the race, Trump cleared 90 delegates.

Brad Will Resigns

Officially, Brad Will resigned over concerns over possible conflicts of interest with his career.

I find this odd.  I have seen Aldermen recuse themselves on votes.  I did so.  Bob Senor did so.  Others did so.  Why can't Will simply abstain??

Rumors abound about possible "real" reasons for the resignation.

Not Eligible

Some of you may have noticed that Jeremy Blaber posted on this blog on March 3rd declaring his intention to run for Kingston City GOP Chair.  He even posted a link to yet another blog he created for his intended run.

However, I checked with the Board of Elections.  Although Jeremy changed his enrollment, he did it too late.  It will not take effect until after the November elections this year.

So, until that time, Blaber remains an enrolled Democrat and is thus not legally eligible to be a Republican Committeemen let alone City Chair.  You would think an experienced politico would know this, wouldn't you?

Additionally, John Quigley has withdrawn his candidacy for City GOP Chair after speaking with County Chair Rascoe.

Joe Ingarra, a man I like and respect, will be the City Chair.  Joe will do a good job.

 I must admit though that I despise seeing the County Committee take an active role in the selection of City or town chairs.

Joe or John would both do great jobs.  The pick should have been by the City Committee without influence from County.  But, as they say, that's pollybiz.

Conservatives With Kirschner

The City of Kingston Conservative Committee is proud to offer our endorsement to Judge Kirschner in his bid for election to the now full time position of City Judge.

"Judge Kirschner has demonstrated integrity, ethics, and solid judgment in his service as Judge," City Chairman, Richard T. Cahill Jr., said, "his reputation is solid and well earned."

New GOP Chair to be Elected in March

Chairman Sinagra has resigned again.

Last year, he resigned and then took it back after I revealed it on this blog.  Now, he has done so again.  Let's see if he actually goes through with it this time.

Two most likely replacements are Gerald Brown or John Quigley, both good men.

Sinagra goes down in infamy as perhaps the worst Chairman ever.  Republicans had a legitimate shot at the Mayor's office and possibly the Common Council in 2011.  Sinagra flushed this opportunity by first attacking Ron Polacco and then by betraying me at the GOP convention.

This put me in a position of having to run on the Conservative line (I had given my word to the Conservatives before learning  that Tony was supporting Andi Turco-Levin despite promising to support me)

It placed Ron in a position where he felt he had to run as well.

The result was a split ticket and the collapse of the entire committee.

Then, 4 years later, Sinagra, out of personal animosity, refused to support Polacco when he was the nominee.  Without any real party help, Ron almost pulled it off.  With party help, he might have won.

The next Chair will have his/her hands full with the deep hole Sinagra dug for the party.

The Real Trump -- A left winger

Click HERE to hear the real Donald Trump in his own words.

Antonin Scalia. 1936 to 2016

One of the greatest justices in our history and certainly the best in my lifetime.

Rest in peace, Your Honor.

Bernie Sanders = communist

This article, written by Paul Sperry, is being reprinted below. I claim no authorship or ownership of the content.  I am merely reprinting it:

As polls tighten and self-described socialist Bernie Sanders looks more like a serious contender than a novelty candidate for president, the liberal media elite have suddenly stopped calling him socialist. He’s now cleaned up as a “progressive” or “pragmatist.”

But he’s not even a socialist. He’s a communist. 

Mainstreaming Sanders requires whitewashing his radical pro-communist past. It won’t be easy to do.

If Sanders were vying for a Cabinet post, he’d never pass an FBI background check. There’d be too many subversive red flags popping up in his file. He was a communist collaborator during the height of the Cold War.

Rewind to 1964.

While attending the University of Chicago, Sanders joined the Young People’s Socialist League, the youth wing of the Socialist Party USA. He also organized for a communist front, the United Packinghouse Workers Union, which at the time was under investigation by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

After graduating with a political science degree, Sanders moved to Vermont, where he headed the American People’s History Society, an organ for Marxist propaganda. There, he produced a glowing documentary on the life of socialist revolutionary Eugene Debs, who was jailed for espionage during the Red Scare and hailed by the Bolsheviks as “America’s greatest Marxist.”

This subversive hero of Sanders, denounced even by liberal Democrats as a “traitor,” bashed “the barons of Wall Street” and hailed the “triumphant” Bolshevik revolution in Russia.

“Those Russian comrades of ours have made greater sacrifices, have suffered more, and have shed more heroic blood than any like number of men and women anywhere on Earth,” Debs proclaimed. “They have laid the foundation of the first real democracy that ever drew the breath of life in this world.”

In a 1918 speech in Canton, Ohio, Debs reaffirmed his solidarity with Lenin and Trotsky, despite clear evidence of their violent plunder and treachery.

Sanders still hangs a portrait of Debs on the wall in his Senate office.

In the early ’70s, Sanders helped found the Liberty Union Party, which called for the nationalization of all US banks and the public takeover of all private utility companies.

After failed runs for Congress, Sanders in 1981 managed to get elected mayor of Burlington, Vt., where he restricted property rights for landlords, set price controls and raised property taxes to pay for communal land trusts. Local small businesses distributed fliers complaining their new mayor “does not believe in free enterprise.”

His radical activities didn’t stop at the ­water’s edge.

Sanders took several “goodwill” trips not only to the USSR, but also to Cuba and Nicaragua, where the Soviets were trying to expand their influence in our hemisphere.

In 1985, he traveled to Managua to celebrate the rise to power of the Marxist-Leninist Sandinista government. He called it a “heroic revolution.” Undermining anti-communist US policy, Sanders denounced the Reagan administration’s backing of the Contra rebels in a letter to the Sandinistas.

His betrayal did not end there. Sanders lobbied the White House to stop the proxy war and even tried to broker a peace deal. He adopted Managua as a sister city and invited Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega to visit the US. He exalted Ortega as “an impressive guy,” while attacking President Reagan.

“The Sandinista government has more support among the Nicaraguan people — substantially more support — than Ronald Reagan has among the American people,” Sanders told Vermont government-access TV in 1985.

Sanders also adopted a Soviet sister city outside Moscow and honeymooned with his second wife in the USSR. He put up a Soviet flag in his office, shocking even the Birkenstock-wearing local liberals. At the time, the Evil Empire was on the march around the world, and threatening the US with nuclear annihilation.

Then, in 1989, as the West was on the verge of winning the Cold War, Sanders addressed the national conference of the US Peace Council — a known front for the Communist Party USA, whose members swore an oath not only to the Soviet Union but to “the triumph of Soviet power in the US.”

Today, Sanders wants to bring what he admired in the USSR, Cuba, Nicaragua and other communist states to America.

For starters, he proposes completely nationalizing our health care system and putting private health insurance and drug companies “out of business.” He also wants to break up “big banks” and control the energy industry, while providing “free” college tuition, a “living wage” and guaranteed homeownership and jobs through massive public works projects. Price tag: $18 trillion.

Who will pay for it all? You will. Sanders plans to not only soak the rich with a 90 percent-plus tax rate, while charging Wall Street a “speculation tax,” but hit every American with a “global-warming tax.”

Of course, even that wouldn’t cover the cost of his communist schemes; a President Sanders would eventually soak the middle class he claims to champion. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need, right?

Former mayoral advisers from Burlington defend their old boss. They note that Sanders was never a member of the Communist Party and deny he was even a small-c communist, even while acknowledging he named their city softball squad the “People’s Republic of Burlington” and the town’s minor league baseball team the “Vermont Reds.”

What about those communist sister cities he adopted? “Bernie established them to support people-to-people exchanges which might support peace in the long run,” said Bruce ­Seifer, who was one of Sanders’ central economic planners directing Burlington businesses to “reinvest their profits in the community.”

In an interview, Seifer claimed that it was “no different than President Nixon opening relations with China.”

Please. Sanders and his Sanderistas are all still pining for what Debs called “the Greater Revolution yet to come.”

What’s revolting is how this hardcore commie’s campaign has gotten this far. With his ascendancy in both Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders is no longer just a fool; he’s now a dangerous fool.

While it may be hard to hate the old codger, it’s easy — and virtuous — to hate his un-American ideas. They should be swept into the dustbin with the rest of communist history.

Cry Baby

Donald Trump is running around claiming that Ted Cruz cheated and there should be a "do over" for the Iowa Caucus.

Yes, Iowa should spend tremendous amounts of taxpayer money to run a second caucus because Donald Trump under performed and got beat.

Here's a better idea, Mr. Trump.  Suck it up, take your loss like a man, and go to New Hampshire.

What Exactly is a Socialist?

People know that Bernie Sanders is a self proclaimed Socialist. Many people, however, have no idea what that means.

Here is the dictionary definition of "socialism" --

1) a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government rather than by individual people and companies

2) any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods

3) a system of society or group living in which there is no private property

If Bernie Sanders is a socialist, then this is what he believes.  I wonder how many people out there really want "government ownership" and "no private property".

Scary stuff folks.

Cruz Wins Iowa!!

Ted Cruz has won the Iowa Caucus.  What made be the bigger story is the performance of Marco Rubio who is running 3rd but might sneak past Trump for second.  Bush got just 3%.  It is time for him to drop out.

It is a great night for Conservatives.

The Democrat race is too close to call.  Hillary leads by 1% with 81% counted.  However, Sanders has one more delegate.  Tight tight race!!

The race for the Presidency is fully underway!!

******

UPDATE

With 90% in on the Dem side, Hillary leads by 3 votes, BUT Sanders has 2 more delegates.

First Big Test for Mayor

Efforts are being made by the county to cut the % of the sales tax that goes to the city.  The entire basis of the county's position is a false, untrue, and bogus claim that the sales tax revenue was tied to the safety net.

I have been involved in city politics for over 25 years.  I can tell you for an absolute fact that safety net issues were NEVER discussed or made a part of the negotiations for sales tax.

Anyone who says otherwise is either being lied to or is actively lying.

The reason the county made the deal was to avoid the city exercising its rights to impose a city sales tax.

Former Mayor Sottile, who was present for those negotiations, and Dave Donaldson, who was also involved, confirmed this in The Kingston Times.  Dave did so using very clear and perhaps inappropriate language.

I disagree with these men 95% of the time, but they are correct in this instance.

Mayor Noble has been called a lightweight.  This is his chance to lose that moniker by standing up to the county on this issue.

I urge the Mayor to stand tall and not give in on this issue. I did not support him in the election, but he is the duly elected Mayor.  If he fights the county on this issue, I will stand with him.

If the Mayor caves on this issue, the "lightweight" moniker will remain his forever.  Worse, property taxes will jump big time.

This is the first big test.  Let's see how he fares.

Edward Levine

Condolences to the family of Edward Levine.  I was very saddened to learn of his passing.  He was a really nice guy.

No, I have no idea.

The Daily Freeman is reporting that Mayor Noble has planned a press conference to announce big changes in the Fire Department.

I have been contacted by people looking for information.  They think that because I am on the Fire Commission and Mayor Noble has announced his position that personnel decisions must go through commissions, that I must have been briefed.

The answer is no.  The January Fire Commission meeting was canceled.  I have had no official contact from the Mayor or Fire Chief about whatever the upcoming announcement is about.

I am posting this so that politicos will stop asking me.

New City Attorney

Mayor Noble appointed Kevin Bryant to be Corporation Counsel.

I know Kevin well.  A good attorney and a very nice guy.

Excellent choice, Mr. Mayor.

Emergency Meeting of Police Commission

The police commission had an emergency meeting and rescinded some prior promotions.  The talk is that Chief Tinti is going back to an old style whereby there will be no Lieutenants and the Sergeants will oversee the squads.

Expect a lawsuit or lawsuits to be filed.

Question

Why are we STILL getting quotes in the Freeman from Sottile and Hoffay?

They hold no position and are not party chairs.

Go away!!