Friday’s Briefing: Maybe Pigs CAN Fly

by Contributor | June 20, 2008 2:56 pm

There are a few certainties in life: death, taxes, and knowing that what one party is for in Albany, the other party is against. Especially when it’s a big issue. And yet…

Would you believe that Republican Joe Bruno’s rock-solid opposition to a cap on property tax increases isn’t so rock solid after all[1]?

The Legislature’s scheduled to quit for the year — yes, the year — early next week. Paterson may call them back to Albany to consider his tax cap plan before the November elections.

Elsewhere in the Capitol:

• Evangelical ministers rally against recognizing same-sex marriages[2].
• You can only be protected from the foreclosure crisis if you’re a big company[3].
• 100 union-friendly bills won’t be passed this year because a union official’s analysis was passed off as impartial[4].

Ready, Fire, Aim!:

• Critics fire at a gun safety training bill they say would benefit the NRA[5].
• Senate Democrats want to put tasers into cops’ hands, and can’t resist fooling around with them[6].

Apropos of Not Very Much:

• State’s top judge is quitting[7].
• They’ve been fighting the Oneida Indian land claim in court for generations. What’s another decade or two[8]?
• You think college is expensive[9]?
• Soon, you’ll know how much cancer there is in your community[10], where it is, and what kind it is.

Gas Pains:

• Truckers rally in Albany for a gas tax cut. Paterson tells them what they don’t want to hear[11]. More on this protest in a moment. You’re gonna love it.
• Non-profits feel the pinch[12] at the pump.
• Not sure I understand this one: NiMo will charge us more[13] in order to ultimately have us spend less for fuel.
• Kinda related: Midwest flooding will make food more expensive[14].

Quote Of The Day:

10 points if you can name the speaker who said this, about public transit:

“Why should I ride and inconvenience myself when I can ride in a car?”

Yes, it’s the vice chairman of the New York City authority[15] that runs…wait for it…the city’s mass transit system.

Department of Truth In Labeling (At Long Last):

There are two types of politicians. The first is pretty rare — it’s the politician who can stand in front of a hostile crowd and tell them why he opposes what they want. Gov. Paterson did that Thursday in the truckers’ protest noted earlier. The second kind is the kind who love to be photographed supporting the crowd. Thursday, that was Joe Bruno at the truckers’ protest.

But –and I mean this — you gotta see the photo[16]. Note the name of the company.

It’s like he belongs there, don’t you think?

Happy weekend, and drop a random thought or link in the comments.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/editors-desk/fridays-briefing-maybe-pigs-can-fly/

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