Monday’s Briefing: Gov. Nice Guy (Not)

by Contributor | June 30, 2008 11:10 am

Lest you think our new Governor is just a nice guy, maybe too nice, here are a couple of things to consider:

He has cataract surgery on Saturday[1] and on Sunday, marches in New York City’s annual Gay Pride Parade[2] with Mayor Bloomberg.

And then there’s this: The Gov’s collegial tone will not survive attempts to upstage him[3], as the Republican who runs the State Assembly’s minority caucus found out:

“Those that think he’s a pushover should hold onto their hats. Because you don’t want that kind of run-in,” said Senate Democratic floor leader Malcolm Smith.

The New York Times takes a look at the year just ended in Albany[4], one of the wildest ever.

And this final thought, on why Joe Bruno’s retirement isn’t just bad news for Republicans — it might be bad news for all of Upstate NY[5], for the first time in 230 years.

Leftovers:

• Education-related bills[6] dominated the final days of the legislative season.
• And this look at a whole bunch of little stuff approved[7] by the Leg, including sanitizing silverware, banning yo-yo balls, and making it a crime to disrupt a funeral.

Speaking Of Which:

The bizarre gets more so downstate, where the guy who was gonna run for an open seat in Congress, and for a while was gonna have to run against his own, identically named son, died. Guess what happened at the funeral[8]?

Leftovers, Continued:

• The property tax cap now has a home to call its own[9].
• A claim that ex-Gov. “Socks” Spitzer was protected from Troopergate charges before the state Public Integrity Commission….by the head of the state Public Integrity Commission[10].
• A claim that a task force to clean up medical malpractice was a sham[11].
• A claim that if Democrats win, they will really lose[12].
• And an ex-Gov gets the back-of-the-hand treatment[13], and it’s not Spitzer.

Even Beano Won’t Help These Gas Pains:

• Vacations this year will be closer to home[14], but you probably already knew that. There’s even a stupid name for it: Staycations[15].
• (Speaking of which, if you’re heading to Darien Lake to swim, check before you go[16].)
• One Congressman gets a free fill-up, and not of gas, but about it[17].
• And there’s a land rush on because there’s gas in them thar rocks[18].

Apropos Of Not Very Much:

• Isn’t a healthy cannoli a contradiction in terms as well as taste[19]?
• Parts is parts? No. Parts is prison[20].
• A wounded soldier gets a new home[21].
• A trip to Auburn this week may yield you a moment of baseball history[22] s well as a nice night out in a good ballpark.

And Finally:

“Dammit, Jim, I’m a volunteer acting in a garage and playing a character made famous on TV. I’m not a miracle worker!”[23].

Live long and prosper, and if there’s anything we’ve missed, use the hailing frequency below (okay, the comments) to drop us a line. It’s lonely here in space….

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/editors-desk/mondays-briefing-gov-nice-guy-not/

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