The file, composed of highlighted and annotated blog items by Elizabeth Benjamin, one of Albany’s dominant political reporters, paints [...]]]>

"Bro, you see that shit? Make 'em stop jacking my fuckin' swagger."

As gross as this is, it doesn’t really surprise me: Cuomo’s people have a 35-page dossier on Elizabeth Benjamin of Capitol Tonight. Why? Well, just because she got a little bit snarky, I guess.

The file, composed of highlighted and annotated blog items by Elizabeth Benjamin, one of Albany’s dominant political reporters, paints a picture of an executive branch that’s particularly averse to hints that Cuomo could be, as is widely assumed, conidering (sic) running for president in 2016. The document focuses particularly on seven items it describes as “GENERALLY SNARKY” …

Talk about paranoid/thin-skinned/dickish.

I’m not even sure where to begin with how revolting this all is, so I won’t even bother. You and I, reader, don’t have anywhere near that much time to waste. Apparently a top Cuomo aide does, though. Seriously, THIRTY-FIVE PAGES on Elizabeth Benjamin because she was a little sarcastic about things like rumors of his Presidential aspirations. Couldn’t that time have been better spent doing, oh, I don’t know, anything else that actually relates to his job duties?

This sort of paranoia isn’t new in politics, and it always leads to a person’s undoing. Sure, it took a while to catch up to Nixon, but look what it did to his legacy. The only sort of solace I can take in this is that this sort of pathological insecurity will eventually be this aide and/or Cuomo’s undoing. Still, there’s only so much sarcasm to make up for just how dark and gross this is, and what will eventually happen years down the road won’t make anyone sleep easier tonight.

Though I do chuckle a bit about how thin-skinned they are about the rumors of him running for President. I mean, really? C’mon, son. Andrew Cuomo has about as much chance of getting the Presidential nomination that Rick Santorum did, and his campaign would be every bit the shitshow. I just think back to when he tried to correct Charles Barron on hydraulic fracturing during a gubernatorial debate – he screamed “IT’S HYDROFRACKING!” not knowing that it was short for “hydraulic fracturing.” Look, you can get away with that sort of thing when your competition is a steampunk obsessed with rent control and a guy who jerks off to horse porn, but not when you’re running for President.

What the Hell is it about New York that attracts guys that act like impotent, insecure man-children?

The introduction and prevalence of social media in politics (it was key in getting Obama elected in ’08) seems to have outpaced election laws and decorum. A politician certainly has the right to use it as [...]]]> Is it appropriate for elected officials to use government sites to promote themselves and, potentially, their long-term re-election prospects?

The introduction and prevalence of social media in politics (it was key in getting Obama elected in ’08) seems to have outpaced election laws and decorum. A politician certainly has the right to use it as a means of fundraising and/or campaigning, but in recent years the line between a politician’s social media presence and that of official government agencies has become blurred.

Various state agencies provide a link to Andrew Cuomo’s Facebook page, which blurs the line between dispensing info and outright campaigning.

The latest controversy involves the New York State Tax Department’s website, which had a link suggesting you “like” Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Facebook.  Some cried foul and in response the wording of the website was changed to “like” to “connect.” It got them out of a semantic argument, but doesn’t address the murkiness of promoting a politician’s personal social media presence on the official website of a state government agency.

From The Daily News:

While a Cuomo spokesman said the social-media pitches were not tied to any political campaign, some questioned the use of state agency websites to boost the governor’s online popularity.

…

“The agencies should not be tied to a particular individual but rather to the service of the people of New York,” argued Richard Dadey, executive director of the Citizens Union. “It’s not appropriate to tie a government webpage to an individual elected official’s Facebook page.”

…

After The News asked questions, the wording was changed to urge people to “connect to Governor Cuomo on Facebook” rather than to ask that visitors “like” Cuomo’s page on the popular site.

The line hasn’t just been blurred with social media, but also with the official website for the Governor. Just last week, the site loudly and gaudily touted changes to the existing tax laws effective January 1st. Cuomo lobbied hard for those changes, and the website’s header was unequivocally an announcement of his victory on the issue and a means of self-promotion.

One could make the argument that it’s nigh impossible to legally define the line between distribution of information and campaigning. It would have been preferable on an ethical level for Cuomo to simply post a modest link to a press release explaining the changes in a neutral fashion. But how do you go about making that distinction objectively?

As The Daily News reported, Cuomo’s people insist that the Facebook site is simply a portal to distribute information to New Yorkers. Yet one look at Cuomo’s official Facebook page tells a slightly different story. The first thing you see is a clear promotion of Cuomo rather than the Governor’s office. The wall feed over the past several weeks has been beating he drum for the changes to the State’s tax code (repeatedly touting it as the “lowest tax rate for middle class New Yorkers in 58 years”) as well as links promoting his media appearances on radio shows hosted by Fred Dicker and former Governor David Paterson. Outside the context of the recent controversy, some of those seem harmless and neutral. Yet there’s a clear underlining subtext promoting Cuomo, the man, and not the Executive Branch of State Government.

But again, where the Hell is that line?

I’m loathe to engage the slippery slope, but I’m not really overly concerned about Andrew Cuomo’s Facebook and this particular controversy. I am concerned, however, that it shows a further erosion of that line we talked about.

In case you need a refresher: O’Donnell was the candidate for Congress that, after an embarrassing clip aired from an old [...]]]> I’m largely indifferent towards CNN personality Piers Morgan and his “news” program. But he had a great moment this week in an interview with Christine O’Donnell.

In case you need a refresher: O’Donnell was the candidate for Congress that, after an embarrassing clip aired from an old episode of “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher” where she told a story about going on a date with a witch and dabbling in “witchcraft,” released the classic “I’m not a witch” political ad that revealed her as a complete moron: she didn’t even get that people weren’t criticizing her for once being a witch, they were laughing at her for being such an obvious liar making up a ridiculous story to gain points with a live crowd.

Well, she’s got a book out now where she talks about her life as a…uh, failure? I’m not quite sure. She says it’s quite inspirational. Morgan, naturally, turned to one of the topics she covered in her book: gay marriage. He asks her for her opinion on the matter and…well, watch for yourself.

The two highlights for me:

Morgan: “Do you answer that question in the book?
O’Donnell: “I talk about my religious beliefs, yeah, of course. I absolutely do.”
Morgan: “Do you talk about gay marriage in the book?”
O’Donnell: “…what relevance is that right now?”

…

Morgan: (incredulously) “Why are you being so weird about this?”

Oooo! I can answer that last one! Piers, me! Me! PIERS! Over here!

Christine O’Donnell is being weird about this because she is weird. She’s a bit vapid and prone to tall tales about her activities and non-accomplishments, one of which includes her story about how she was supposed to be one of the original hosts of “The View.” Not true. But that’s the sort of weirdness we can laugh off. Not so laughable is her stance on gay marriage and homosexuality in general, which is in line with one of the last culturally acceptable forms of bigotry in our nation. Her vehemently anti-gay stance, rooted in writings thousands of years old that are not very far removed at all from text once used to defend slavery and other abhorrent practices, would be laughable if there weren’t so many people nodding their heads in approval when she spews it.

Still, we can be dismissive in this case, because her relevance to the political mainstream right now is nigh non-existent. There are worse, though, that are still out there: people that hold beliefs even more strongly rooted in paranoia, hatred, and ignorance that are not only relevant but considered front-runners for the GOP nomination.

The O’Donnell Walk-Out makes me laugh, think, and in a small way, hope. It’s my hope that O’Donnell ran away from her beliefs because she is ashamed of them. And rightfully so. Which means that this outrageously outmoded approach to homosexuals and active pursuit to derive them of basic human rights – including the right to exist as who they are – is something that will very soon be chased off into the shadows.

Not yet, though. Not while Michelle Bachmann is running for President while her husband actively seeks to deprive homosexuals of their right to exist by using medicinal malpractice to “reform” those which do not fall in line with his insecure view of the world.

The billboard is sponsored by Bombers’ Burritos and is the handiwork [...]]]> If you’re driving on the stretch of Interstate 787 that runs parallel to the border of New York State Senator Roy McDonald‘s district, you might notice a billboard urging him to support gay marriage:

The billboard is sponsored by Bombers’ Burritos and is the handiwork of its owner, local entrepreneurial socialite and blogging gadfly Matt Baumgartner. Gay Marriage is in a tight race in New York, and McDonald is one of the holdouts.

He claims he’s “undecided” on the issue. The legislative session ends June 20th, and Governor Andrew Cuomo has gone on the record stating he’d like to see gay marriage passed in the Empire State before then.

Anybody who’s ever read this blog before knows my position on gay marriage, but just in case: I’m for it. The concept of marriage is not owned by any specific church or religion, and any claims to the contrary are historical and contextual fallacies. Parishioners can have their objections noted, but it should not be used to refute any efforts to legalize it. Other arguments, even if we are to take the concerns as earnest on the part of those objecting, fail to hold water:  marriage won’t make any person more gay or encourage more people to become gay, nor will any heterosexual marriage be threatened by the existence of a gay couple being granted a license to marry.

I do see it as a right, and don’t think one should be comfortable clouding it with concessions like granting gay couples the right to a “civil union.” As a right, it should not be held up to compromise or muddled with semantics. It should be clear what we are and aren’t willing to accept in this society, and no homosexual person in this country should be given a mixed message as to whether or not they are tolerated or, better yet, embraced by an American society in the throes of the 21st Century.

So I ask Senator Roy McDonald, who represents me in the State Senate: what, exactly, are you undecided on? How many of your constituents are also undecided? If you ask them, I think you’ll find a clear answer on either side.

Part of me thinks maybe you being undecided is a good thing. Perhaps you’ve grown up your entire life viewing homosexuals as one thing, but the last few decades and all the friendships and alliances you’ve cultivated with homosexuals in and around the Capital Region forced a change of heart. Maybe you’re undecided because for your entire life you were fundamentally opposed to the concept, but in your heart you now know that voting “yes” is the right thing to do.

Then there’s the cynic in me that just wonders if you’re a coward and/or are waiting for someone in the Legislature to approach you with a deal or compromise that benefits you in some way or another, wholly unrelated issue you want to address.

If you’re reading this, Roy, please don’t be offended. That’s just a part of my thought process that harbors ill will, and is granted space due to the past behaviors and attitudes of your fellow Senators. There’s a bigger part of me, though, that believes you can change and do the right thing.

I believe, just like so many others, that you can say “yes.” So please do so. Show them that you’re a better man than they think you are.

(Albany, NY) Hundreds of thousands of area residents, mostly panicked white people, stormed local Price Chopper stores in advance of a snow storm that was expected to drop upwards of six to eight inches of snow over the course of one to two days.

The storm, which meteorologists predict could provide as much [...]]]>

White people storm the gates at a local Price Chopper. (Photo: a SUNY Albany bro)

(Albany, NY) Hundreds of thousands of area residents, mostly panicked white people, stormed local Price Chopper stores in advance of a snow storm that was expected to drop upwards of six to eight inches of snow over the course of one to two days.

The storm, which meteorologists predict could provide as much as three to four hours of slow-ish commuting and minor inconveniences, caused panic amongst area residents. The expected shortage of bread only adds to the concern.

“It’s almost April,” said area resident Charles Banker. “And it is snowing an I am scared.”

Area politicians urged calm, with Governor Andrew Cuomo releasing a statement of solidarity from his emergency bunker underneath the Capitol.

“We have weathered many storms,” said Cuomo, “and we’ll weather this one. Though this storm is different, because it is literal, and by weather I mean actual real weather.”

Cuomo then announced that he was cutting more funds for education in advance of an expected shortfall due to the storm.

“We all have to make sacrifices,” Cuomo said. “I even had to let Sandra cook dinner.”

“These are the times that try men’s souls,” he added.

Happy April Fool’s Day!

The article is well-written but doesn’t really tell us anything we don’t already know: Sandra Lee had a hard life, she’s beautiful, foodies hate her,  etcetera and so on. There are, however, a few surprises, the biggest coming early in [...]]]>

Literary dynamo Ben Wallace, whose aura of excitement and excessive charisma is too much for the quaint little hamlet of Albany, NY.

New York Magazine contributor Benjamin Wallace recently profiled Sandra Lee, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s live-in girlfriend.

The article is well-written but doesn’t really tell us anything we don’t already know: Sandra Lee had a hard life, she’s beautiful, foodies hate her,  etcetera and so on. There are, however, a few surprises, the biggest coming early in the article:

The media in the state capital of Albany, a.k.a. the world capital of boring, bristled with excitement from the moment it became clear that Andrew Cuomo would run for governor.

OH NO YOU DI’INT, BEN WALLACE.

My first reaction was to dismiss the remark, since it’s really not worth reading into that much. I know many that would and did get upset when the article was circulated amongst the 518 twitterati yesterday morning. I’m not one of them. If I paid mind to every disparaging word written about the area, I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed in the morning. Besides, the words Wallace wrote about Albany don’t have anything on the words written about it throughout the Times Union website on a daily basis.

As I continued reading, however, I did get annoyed. Not due to misguided civic pride , but rather on the false constructs in that same paragraph which he re-asserts and builds on in the article.

Let’s revisit that paragraph:

The media in the state capital of Albany, a.k.a. the world capital of boring, bristled with excitement from the moment it became clear that Andrew Cuomo would run for governor. Not because of Cuomo so much as for the woman whose home he shares in Westchester. Eleanor Roosevelt aside, the First Ladies of New York have heretofore not merited inclusion on TMZ’s stalk list. (Quick: State a single fact—anything at all—about Libby Pataki.) Sandra Lee was something entirely new: a bona fide famous person in her own right.

Given her Barbie-doll beauty and life story, writing an interesting profile piece on Sandra Lee should be a (Kwanzaa) cake walk: a girl with an impoverished and tumultuous upbringing in the Midwest grows up to become a frenzied entrepeneur and fiercely dedicated hunger advocate.  The inclusion of an unfair and hostile ambivalence towards the area is a true mystery. Not only is it unnecessary, but it also shamefully plays into the stereotype so many throughout the country have of the snarky New York elitist.

But what really irritated me is that this entire paragraph, which frames everything else in the article regarding Lee’s role as Cuomo’s live-in girlfriend, is built on a (likely unintentional) lie. Little ink was given to Lee’s role and presence, which served only as a momentary distraction from the true circus of the race: first Governor David Paterson’s refusal to step aside and allow Cuomo to run unchallenged, then the baseball bat wielding racist opposition of Carl Paladino, then the SNL skit that wrote itself (the Gubernatorial debates). At no point was Lee a lead, nor was there much local media interest at all, let alone to the degree Wallace prescribes. In fact many in the area – perhaps lending some credence to Wallace’s assertion – had to be educated on who she was. Celebrity maybe, but superstar? Hardly. It was her association with Cuomo that raised her profile, not the other way around.

Despite a lack of support from reality, Wallace would not be deterred from his path:

“Would Lee redecorate the governor’s mansion? Enliven those fusty rubber-chicken dinners with festive tablescapes? There was a touching Waiting for Guffman quality to the way the glamour-starved local press corps dubbed the prospective gubernatorial couple Sandrew. Lee fed the anticipation, telling a television audience that she looked forward to bringing “great garnishes” to Albany.”

Oh, how those quaint, backwards local Albany media people embarrassed themselves with how they asked her questions pertaining to her role as First Lady.

Again, this local feeding frenzy only occurred in Wallace’s over-active imagination. I’m being kind in assuming that Wallace built this piece on flimsy assumptions rather than intentional fabrications. Some will insist he’s doing the latter, but I can see how someone with an insular downstate attitude could view anything outside of the five buroughs as being the setting of a Christopher Guest mockumentary. The United States is, after all, three regions: the South, the Midwest, and New York City.

There’s also one other embarrassing oversight Wallace makes: Lee isn’t actually First Lady. She has a presence at functions, but all are voluntary. Her and Cuomo aren’t married, and as such she doesn’t hold any official title, let alone the one Wallace repeatedly bestows upon her.

Even though I don’t find the subject inherently interesting, I did genuinely enjoy Wallace’s writing. I just wish he wasn’t so clumsy in certain areas. You can get away with it when you’re writing for a regional rag, but not in a publication with national distribution. Someone’s going to read it that has knowledge of the area and know you’re completely full of it. It’s not a big deal if it’s a minor detail, but not if you’re building an entire point on it.

Then again, maybe he’s on to something. After all, clearly I’m bored here. Otherwise I wouldn’t have spent over nine hundred words dissecting a handful of sentences about our dull All-America city.

• SEE ALSO: the All Over Albany reaction
• UNRELATED EXCEPT IN NAME: local blog Keep Albany Boring, which really needs to jump on this.
• REMINDER: donate to help raise $1,000 by April 10th for childhood cancer research and I’ll shave my head