THIS WOULD SEEM TO NARROW JOSH MARSHALL’S CORRUPTION GAP:

Eliot Spitzer’s fall from grace is extraordinary. A mere seven months into his term after a landslide victory, the Empire State’s brash new governor is openly ridiculed as a liar and worse. An astonishing 80 percent of respondents tell pollsters they want the governor to testify under oath to prove his claim that he had nothing to do with “troopergate,” a dirty-tricks plot to smear Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, a Republican rival.

His fellow Democratic pols are largely abandoning him. After two investigations found that his top aides used the state police for a political hit job, and with four more probes gearing up, one of which could bring indictments, Spitzer is suddenly a lonely man. As one prominent supporter put it, “nobody believes him when he says he didn’t know.”

Spitzer has always struck me as a phony.

Yup, the facade on 150 w 5th street collapsed, easily it could have killed anyone walking underneath it. Of course, the building is owned by another Out of State owner. A local owner would have noticed their building falling apart.

The call was heard on a scanner and a local man walked down to take some pictures. Here the are. (Click on pix for full size)

THE FACTS:
ALL FELONY ARRESTS
* Prior to John Trice taking office, Chemung County ranked 14th (out of 62 counties in New York State) in convicting defendants arrested for any Felony crime
* Since John Trice took office, Chemung County now ranks 53rd (out of 62) in convicting defendants arrested for any Felony crime.

FELONY DRUG ARRESTS
* For the past 3 years, Chemung County is ranked 62nd (Lowest in New York State) in convicting criminals arrested for Felony Drug Crimes.
* Since 2001, Chemung County has the worst Conviction Rate (57%) in New York State for Felony Drug arrests.
* In 2005, Chemung County only convicted 36% of criminals arrested for Felony Drug crimes.
* Since John Trice took office, dismissals for Felony Drug arrests have tripled.

FELONY GUN ARRESTS
* Before John Trice took office, the Chemung County DA convicted 88% of criminals arrested for Felony Gun Crimes.
* Since 2000, the Chemung County DA only convicted 64% of…

The former owner of a now defunct Chinese buffet in Knoxville has been sentenced to one year in federal prison for knowingly employing a staff of illegal Mexican immigrants at his establishment.

I’m torn about what to think about this, upon first glance.

Part of me thinks that it’s certainly a reasonable response to a violation of existing law.  Then, I look at the defense strategy, which was likely the only real thing that the attorney could have argued in such a case.

“Everyone else does it, and the government doesn’t do anything about it.  What’s the big damn deal?”

Certainly, I feel as though our immigration laws aren’t being enforced to the degree necessary and our borders aren’t adequately protected from the influx of illegal immigrants.  While I don’t feel a need to stem the tide of immigration to our country, I do believe that it is important to require/demand

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New Safety Alarms Coming To Elmira Prison Employees

Southport Correctional Facility will get them later.

How about giving them riot guns, with orders to shoot any prisoner who looks at them funny?  Again, we have a win-win, every prisoner shot is one less we have to pay for, and every single prisoner would know their exact place in the world (Lower then dog crap), and knowing their place, they will be like a content kitty, no longer having to posture for their fellow inmates.

Strike at Athens Schools?

A teacher’s strike could be looming at the Athens school district. But school leaders are assuring parents that school is expected to start as planned on Tuesday.

How about all those Dresser-Rand striking folks. They would probably fill the jobs nicely, teach the kids well and work for alot less than the teachers. Win-Win. I doubt the teachers could be trained to operate the machine tools very quickly though, but no loss, we need street cleaners and fast food workers too!

Toys-R-Us Recalls Toys

Chinese-made toys pulled off shelves due to lead contamination.  Ok, so we have to start reading the manufactured by label.  I see this as an insidious plot to cause lead poisoning of all our children, so that the next generation is a compliant, brain damaged, easy to conquer crowd.  Wait, it only sounds like I am describing this generation.  We dont’ have lead paint to point to for our cowardice.

Shots reportedly fired across U.S.-Mexico border
Associated Press
Aug. 30, 2007 09:48 AM

The Border Patrol said the Pinkerton personnel are guarding equipment used on a building project along the border about 30 miles south of Wellton.

First of all, what constitutes an interesting life? Do we care if OTHER people think it’s interesting? Do we care if WE think it’s interesting? Does it just have to be different?

For me it boils down to having a life that is exciting to live. I get a kick out of knowing that other people are interested in my life, but at the end of the day I’d take personal satisfaction over people thinking I have personal satisfaction.

Every day when I wake up I’m excited about my new day. I know, from experience, that I can’t possibly predict what will happen that day. By the end of the day I may be in another city, I may have met a new best friend, I may have found a new hobby, or I may have completely altered the course of my life.

This feeling of uncertainty isn’t the definition of an interesting…