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Over the past few years I believe that the Lord has been directing me to look at the events happening in the world today and the prophecies given to John in Revelation.

I have come to believe that currently there is a conspiracy plan being enacted worldwide by powers  I strongly believe that we are coaxed into a “one world” (new world order) type of system. I have done some research, prayed and been studying Revelation and ‘End times” prophecy.

I know one might say “You’re a quack the people of the United States will never go for a one world government” My answer is this “We are not going to have a choice”. Let’s just take a brief look at just a few things that are happening today in our country. We are in an economic nightmare…soon the government will have so much stake in banks that they will become U.S. government or maybe even World Bank controlled. What a brilliant scheme.

First the financial system in our country will collapse then the moneys of the world will be controlled by a single entity. To have a “One world Government” all citizens will have to become semi-equal financially. We here in the U.S. have been viewed by the rest of the world as the richest people (monetarily and lifestyle-wise) for years. This financial collapse is needed to level the “playing field” in the world today. Before the plan can go forward we have to lose power monetarily so that we are forced to buy into to the 1 world scheme. I believe that the European Union has been a model for what’s to come all over the world.

You will rarely (if ever) hear any of this being reported in the media. You can find bits and pieces of information on the internet about this. There is only one mainstream media reporter that I’ve even heard mention any of this and that’s Lou Dobbs. He has reported on the “North American Union” which will be made up of the United States, Mexico and Canada and the proposed “Amero” currency that will be used.

My theory is this: before changing over to a true “One World government and currency” the world will be regionalized. With the European Union, the North American Union, the South American Union, the African Union, the Asian Union and the Middle Eastern Union. Where does that leave Israel?

Well, I believe in Gods word and would be willing to bet that Israel will be the last “holdout” from the whole Union Scheme. Of course this will not be tolerated by the people in charge (Antichrist?)

Other actions that lead me to believe that my theories are correct (or at least close) are some of the liberties being taken away from U.S. citizens. Let’s take guns for instance. In the past you could just walk into Walmart or whatevermart and buy a shotgun and take it home…no questions asked. Now there’s a ton of paperwork and a National gun owner registry data base.

The government now knows who has what guns. They tell us it’s just in case the gun is stolen or used in a crime now it can be tracked. Of course they play on the safety (fear factor) so we’ll buy into it. Really what this does is just let them know who has what as far as firearms so that when the time comes for them to confiscate them they know who has guns. Why would the government want to confiscate guns you might ask? Because when it becomes apparent to the loyal American people that we’re being

“SOLD OUT” to the regionalized government scheme the government won’t want an armed resistance.

Another thing that I see happening in our country today is a move toward “worldly morals and values” and away from what this country was founded on which is “Godly biblical morals and values”. The moral decay of our society here in the U.S. just in the past 39 years that I have been alive has been atrocious. Now with the “liberal left” in charge of our country it’s only going to get worse. I would dare to guess that 90% of the media in this country today is far left liberal. The media in this country is so powerful today that it can easily sway elections. Case in point: Look at the coverage that president Obama received compared to Senator McCain during this past presidential election. There is no one in this country that can honestly say that both men got the same equal coverage. Now, I’m not saying that senator McCain would have won had the coverage been equal..but I guarantee it would not have been such a landslide. It’s interesting that president Obama is a liberal democrat and got all that coverage isn’t it?

How long is God going to show us grace as our country slaps His law in the face?

Another 2 items of interest are probably the most important ties that I have found to Revelation. The first being the RFID (Radio frequency Identification Device) chip. The other is the national security data base (NSDB). Big Brother is here!

The RFID chip could very well be (and I for one believe is) the mark of the beast. Did you know that every enhanced drivers license and passport now have RFID tracking chips in them with your personal information? Now, of course the government way of selling this idea is that it’s all for national security…which for now it could very well be (but could be used for evil in the near future).

They now also have RFID chips that are bio-powered by the body’s heat. These are currently being used in pets, livestock for tracking. There have also been people here in the U.S. that have already voluntarily been chipped for “safety reasons”. There have also been prisoners that have been “chipped”. I have a newspaper article from 1998 that talks about the development of this technology. I’m sure it is only a matter of time before your health, credit card, banking and other personal information will be on this “grain of rice” sized chip that will be inserted in your hand or in your forehead. It’s probably also only a matter of time before you will be required to have this chip to buy or sell.   

DO NOT ACCEPT THIS CHIP/MARK..TELL EVERYONE THAT  YOU CAN NOT TO ACCEPT IT AND WHY?

Think my ideas are far-fetched? I have first hand experience with the national security data base (NSDB). While working with Perceptics LLC of Knoxville, TN as an Electronics Technician/System Installation Technician I helped build and install L.P.R. (License plate reader systems). These systems are installed at the majority of border crossings between the U.S. and Canada and the U.S. and Mexico. What the LPR systems does is this: While your vehicle is pulling up to the booth at the border it takes a picture of your license plate and digitizes it. That signal is sent to the US Customs main computer at the crossing. The signal is then sent to the National Security Data Base in Maryland. Not only does it keep a record of when, where and how many times you cross the border….

it actually searches the data base and if you have any outstanding tickets, warrants, legal charges against you it sends that and your personal information back to the agent at the booth that you’re pulling up to within milliseconds. The agent basically knows if you are “flagged” before you ever get to him/her. So if you ever doubted that any of this technology could come to pass in your lifetime…the answer is that the technology already exists and is being used thousands of times a day.

Does this technology sound familiar??

If not read Revelation chapter 13-14 in your Bible again.

My last bit of solid evidence has to do with “Natural Disasters” or shall we say disasters of biblical proportion. Revelation explains several judgments during end times where thousands or even millions of us here on earth will suffer or maybe even die from. The most recent “natural disasters” have included the MAJOR Earthquakes in Taiwan, Chile, Haiti, China, Hurricane Katrina and The Indonesian Tsunami (in which 100s of 1000s of people lost their lives). You might say “Well, Sam there’s thousands of these event recorded throughout our history”. My answer is simple… According to the International Disaster Data Base(www.em-dat.net).Between 1940 and 2008 reported “natural disasters” have increased nearly 400%. What is equally shocking is the number of the world’s population that are affected by these events. The increases are huge as seen in the charts at em-dat.

Closing Statement

All of this information was foretold by God/Jesus Christ to John of Patmos nearly 2000 years ago. So this information is nothing new. What is new is that the technology now exists (more than at anytime in human history) for these events to actually occur.

In light of the American who took off for Pakistan on his own to hunt for Bin Laden I think the premise would make a great reality TV show.  Let's take all the Reality wannabes (Balloon Boys' and Abby Sutherland's (girl sailing around the world) fathers, Octomom, the DC State Dinner crashers, Jon less Kate and the 8, etc.) and set them down in Pakistan with a sword, pistol, and night vision goggles.  Each week someone would be voted off (unless someone was killed or captured-then no vote needed!).  I'm sure one of these guys could catch him!

We have heard President Obama's address to the nation on the Gulf Coast oil spill.  As expected, there were more calls for "comprehensive energy reform", "green energy", and "renewable energy".  These have been mantras of the Administration since day one.  I too would like to see a reduction in Americas dependence on foreign oil, but a major move to get off fossil fuels completely has been a hot political button for some time.  The left will claim right wing loyalties to "big oil" or "corporate interests" and the right will point out the absurdities of "envrionmental whackos".

Although I have never been a hardcore science buff and Einsteins E=mc2 has always eluded me,  I came across this article that explains the theory in a way that I found remarkably understandable.  It also explains why the obstacles of renewable energy are not political but physical.  It is not a particularly long read, but it is a fascinating one:

www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm

Reading the article begs the question...Unless President Obama can change the laws of physics or embrace nuclear energy with more enthusiasm, just how does he expect to implement broad, realistic, and impactful renewable energy policies?

So, I took the time one fine afternoon to visit a staffer from Rep. Chris Lee's office at the Leroy village hall. I expressed to him my desire to have any mailings from Rep. Lee stopped, and I further requested he explain the need for 3 fully staffed offices. This nice young man went on to speak politically, and bash the current administration, all the while extolling the virtues of his boss. He never really did give me a straight answer. That tells me one day he'll make a fine politician himself.

In any case, after the personal appeal, and a mailed request to stop this waste of tax dollars, I received another self-serving, egotistical "pamphlet" in the mail, in which Rep. Lee pats himself on the back for asking Congress to pass a bill extending tax credits to people getting a US passport. I normally would just toss such "junk-mail", but I took a closer look this time. In small print in the corner, it explained this mailing was produced, and delivered to all for less than the price of a stamp. Really? That seems remarkable given the quality and size of the mailing. So why if this can be done, why is everything else in government so expensive? We're all familiar with the $800 hammers, and the $3000 toilets, and the $300,000 FEMA trailers. What is different? I hope to find out someday.

Republicans and Democrats are equally culpable for the insane waste in Washington, and We the People need to speak up loud and clear! Stop expanding government, and stop burying the citizens with taxes that just get mismanaged anyway.

After all the talks about sex in the park, I thought  I would share a peaceful view of the horseshoe pits at Forrestville.  This is a park like setting where you will find pitching horseshoes far more prevalent than pitching woo.

On the menu for lunch was moose meat cooked liked pulled pork.  Surprisingly it didn't taste gamey and it was extremely tender.  It was shot by a lady who is a tribal leader in Canada.

Let's put the SENIORS in jail, and the CRIMINALS in a nursing home.

This way the SENIORS would have access to showers, hobbies, and walks, they'd receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc. and they'd receive money instead of paying it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly if they fell or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes, and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.

They would have family visits in a room built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counseling, pool, and education. Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, P.J.'s and legal aid would be free, on request.

Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard, with gardens. Each senior could have a computer, a TV, radio, and daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear complaints, and the guards would have a code of conduct.

The "CRIMINALS" would get cold food, be left all alone, and unsupervised, lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week. Live in a tiny room, and pay $5000.00 per month and have no hope of ever getting out.

Justice for all.

I know you all read this on my FB page yesterday, however, I realized that the first parts of this were cut off, so I wanted to send you the complete copy. Please feel free to keep this one circulating!

I have printed this out and am going to post it at the nursing home my mom is in. I know its not much, but its a start.

Thanks!
Donna

 Warren Redlich released this on Sat. May 22,2010. 

Cuomo Plan Falls Short

As I was headed to Buffalo on Sunday afternoon, I stopped at the Clarence service area. As I went to enter, I saw these two young folks with their dog.

Now to be honest 4 years ago, I would probably have not given them the time of the day, but because of where my faith walk is now, I stopped to chat with them.

Meet Timmy, Katie and Rodeo. They are on their way to Orgeon. They left New Jersey three days ago. They told me it was an interesting three days. When asking them about financing their trip and such, Katie told me she had worked while going to college. They said they have some money but are living off of "waste". Timmy said you would not believe the waste there is. Last night's dinner was a bag of pasta from a restaraunt in Rochester that was throwing away all this food.

They sleep under the stars and Rodeo protects them. Katie has to be back for college late August, so they hope to make it all the way out and back. They have no family or friends  there, but they just want to "live the dream"!

I prayed with them for safe travels and that the Lord would meet each need along the way. I got to give it to them, they are just walking in faith.

The Care-A-Van Band has been busy already this season. The band goes out to the streets every Thursday evening for the weekly cook-outs with the ministry. The band is made up of community members who have a heart to share their musical talents with others. The band is also receiving invitations to perform at other venues.

Care-A-Van Ministries received a huge blessing this week from Rose at Roxy's Music Store here in Batavia. The band was in need of speakers.When the ministry went to Roxy's to purchase speakers, Rose donated two Peavy 15" speakers with horns!

Thank you Rose and to everyone who continues to support the ministry and helps be a blessing to others. Be sure to stop by one of the cookouts and enjoy "jamming" with the band!

Tonight I attended the COVA "Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance" Open House at their headquarters in Albion NY.  Over 150 people were on hand during this occational rainy event to give thanks to all EMT's, Mercy flight, Volunteers, etc. Much of the information is on the website at :www.covaems.com/

I interviewed EMT Patrick Lamka and asked the question, What is COVA?

Here is a quick video of Mercyflight taking off:

Many photos during this event:

Lots of people on hand even though it poured at times but a great turnout !

Yummy popcorn and activities for kids.

Some staff members ...

One of the ambulances from the fleet.

The newest ambulance to the fleet, not yet lettered.  Just arrived.

Patrick Lamka and Tricia Warren

posing near the Mercyflight helicopter ...

The 2010 COVA staff

They thanked everyone who came to support, donate and attend tonight's open house.  Providng services to help others in emergency needs.

I have only fished a couple of times this year, so I took the opportunity to go out today and see what I could catch.  I went to Godfrey's Pond and rented a rowboat for 2 hours, and then fished from shore for about another hour.

After 10 largemouth bass... I told myself that once I reached an even dozen, that I'd go home.  And let me tell you...  they were still biting when I left. 

You say LEAVE???  When the fish are biting??   Are you nuts?!

Well...  I had to work this afternoon.  I had just enough time to post some pictures online, take a shower and eat lunch before I had to go to work.

Up until last year, I fished a lot!  But in January 2009, I was dealing with a herniated disk in my neck and I could not fish.  I had surgery for it that April, but my fishing was limited.  This was the first time that I have rowed a boat since 2008.  I am paying for it a little tonight.  But it was worth it!

These are pictures of my first three catches.  ( I stopped taking pictures after three!) The first two were very respectable fish!  And well, actually, most of them that I caught today were good!

Here was my first one!  Very nice Bass!  They look to be healthy!

This is the second one.  I took 2 pictures of it. The other picture is of it in the water.

 And the third one.  It may not be a monster, but I love this picture!

Here are some more photos from Batavia Players' "The Importance of Being Earnest", directed by Justin Soble.  All photos were taken by Mr. Don Fryling. 

Show dates are this Thursday, May 20th, Friday, May 21st, and Saturday, May 22nd at 7:30 PM.  The show will be at John Kennedy (166 Vine Street) and tickets are $10 (Students and Seniors are $8).

Backstage photos....

 Bill Moon (Lane)

  Katelyn Rogers (Gwendolen Fairfax)

Rebecca Oshlag (Lady Bracknell)

 Alex Balbi (Merriman)

 Alex Balbi (Merriman), Kevin Partridge (Reverend Chasuble), Charles Smith (John Worthing), Matthew Smith (Algernon Moncrieff)

 Rachel Oshlag (Cecily Cardew)

And on stage photos....

 Rebecca Oshlag (Lady Bracknell)

Alex Balbi (Merriman)

Charles Smith (John Worthing), Katelyn Rogers (Gwendolen Fairfax)

 Deanna Spiotta (Miss Prism), Kevin Partridge (Reverend Chasuble)
 

 Rachel Oshlag (Cecily Cardew)

 Rachel Oshlag (Cecily Cardew), Matthew Smith (Algernon Moncrieff)

Bill Moon (Lane)

I wanted to share some rehearsal photos from Batavia Players "The Importance of Being Earnest"!  The show is this Thursday, May 20th, Friday, May 21st, and Saturday, May 22nd at 7:30 PM.  The show will be at John Kennedy and tickets are $10 (Students and Seniors are $8).  The show is directed by Justin Soble and assistant directed by Michele Stamp.  It features a cast of nine.

Charles Smith (John Worthing), Katelyn Rogers (Gwendolen Fairfax), Alex Balbi (Merriman)

Bill Moon (Lane)

Kevin Partridge (Reverend Chasuble), Deanna Spiotta (Miss Prism)

Deanna Spiotta (Miss Prism), Rebecca Oshlag (Lady Bracknell)

Matthew Smith (Algernon Moncrieff), Rachel Oshlag (Cecily Cardew), Charles Smith (John Worthing)

A funny thing happened to me on my way to Al Jazeera’s website, or rather, upon my return to Facebook. As soon as I returned to my Facebook tab, I received a Facebook pop-up asking me if I wanted to continue viewing facebook in English (UK). I surmised that the only reason that this pop-up came up, is because they were monitoring the websites that I visited and I had just visited a foreign website and viewed the English (UK) version. This kind of made me sit up and take notice.

I have always taken facebook’s privacy policy with a grain of salt....I have no expectation of privacy for anything I post or do on facebook and since I am not doing anything wrong, I didn’t really pay too much attention to their privacy policy. I think that a great majority of people feel the same way.

I decided to read their entire privacy policy - shame on me for not doing so before this.

This is the part that causes me concern and prompted me to send Facebook an email to clarify this privacy issue for me.

Access Device and Browser Information

. When you access Facebook from a computer, mobile phone, or other device, we may collect information from that device about your browser type, location, and IP address, as well as the pages you visit.

This is not a matter of FB knowing what information you make available publicly on their site; so they can use that information to market products and services to you and your FB friends. This is much more sinister. You have no control over what information they collect or who they share/sell it to. Their privacy policy, specifically the clause that I have referenced above, removes any boundaries that might otherwise limit the information they are allowed to collect. Simply logging on to FB grants permission to have everything you do on-line become potentially public information. This is not something you can OPT-OUT of either, it is their marketing strategy.

I bank and make purchases on-line. Given the number of times hackers have invaded FB in the past, I don’t think they have the ability to adequately protect protect the information that they collect. Assuming, that is, that you knew what information was collected in the first place and had a means of verifying that it was still safe and secure.

Facebook has yet to respond to my email. I requested clarification on 2 specific questions:

1. Does facebook collect information about the pages I visit ONLY when I am connected to facebook or even when I am NOT connected to facebook?

2. Will logging off of facebook first, keep the websites I view PRIVATE?

Whether or not I remain on FB will depend upon how they answer these questions. In the meantime, I will be sure to log off of Facebook before I log on to a secure website. Hopefully, but by no means certainly, this will be a way to block Facebook from monitoring that which I do not want monitored.

1.  Just in case anyone reads this blog, my name is Steve Renko.  I really live in Cleveland, Ohio.  So you may ask what am I doing in Batavia?  I need to be somewhere else just to relax and enjoy the sunshine for instance.    I recently retired from a daytime job I was working at and for some 35 years.  I am 57 years old currently.  I am married withone daughter.

This Batavia website has that small town feel.  Cleveland is active enough.  It was recently in the sports news.  I need a bfreak where sports dictates a mood for the city.  I have additional feelings that require taking in God's good air and his wonderful sunshine.  Maybe it's something I was guided to by the Holy Spirit.   I feel a good feel around batavia.  So, I am hanging out in this virtual reality.  The Internet is an amazing thing to work with day after day.  How else, for instance, would I see something about Batavia.  I did look it up in the Wikipedia for information.  History is a favorite subject of mine.  

2.  There is a tendency out there that a city, or a town had to have the Roman Army march over it for it to be of value.  A city or town just has to exist and tune in to God for it to exist.  Cleveland is in the throes of a sports figure with great talent wondering what he will do next.  The temptation and the urgency makes his perosnality more important then, let's say, the education and the welfare of Clevelanders.  So, I seek smaller cities or towns to relax and not wonder nor doubt.  God is in control.  

3.  The sun is shining this afternoon.  My wife and I have planted a small balcony garden, a tomato plant, some green onion seeds, plus Swiss Chard  greens.  In addition to that we added in a long planter seeds that will sprout into moon flowers, morning glories, and four o'clock flowers.  That should cover the day and night.  My favorite is fresh garden tomatoes.  There's the real taste.

4.  I enjoy blogging.  If there is one activity that is relaxing and revealing and has that good feel at the end and lasts a long time it is blogging.  Before the blogs arrived it was called writing.  There is no waiting for approval or wondering about rejection.  We are all connected under the greatness of God almighty.  Thanks for listening and reading just in case anyone did.  I enjoyed blogging about a Saturday afternoon while relaxing in Batavia, New York , even if its virtual.  I hope your day is sunny and pleasant.     --Steve Renko     

How many music players are there in the world? A lot. What makes them so different? That is a good question, but even that at times is hard. Really when you think about, the primary purpose of sites like playlist.com, Pandora, (the almost deceased) lala.com and even Grooveshark.com are all the same: play live streaming music while trying to build an online community. The better question is why do we become loyal to a certain one? My buddy is in love with playlist.com, another has recommended Grooveshark to me more times than I can count. Each has their reasons for this love and each of them are valid, but telling you to love something is not my job man. My job is to play around with each of them all and then tell you the good and the bad. You decide the rest for yourself. I know, I’m pretty generous aren’t I?

Today’s entry is the french based deezer.com. The first that really stands out about this site as soon as you arrive, is the multi cultural clash that greets you. Right on the front page is a combination of sections in English, French and German, which can be confusing. I perused around for the setting and instead found a tab on the top right that diplays the flags of the host country’s language. You will not find an American flag there, but the British Union Jack works just as well.

After that was sorted, I went to task on learning the site. The navigation is pretty simple so it didn’t take me long to figure out what goes where and how. 

A little background.

Deezer is the product of French based, Blogmusik and was launched on August 24th, 2007. It was the first ever French music site to actually sign agreements with music publishers for legal music downloading. As of the most recent update in May of this year, Deezer claims to have roughly four million users and a library of seven million songs. Not bad, but the selection is mot going to be what you may be accustomed to. Here’s the good and bad…

Pros:

• The site is easy to navigate and use.
• The player is simplistic and does not need additional downloads to work at all, so you literally show up, search and listen.
• You do not have to sign up for an account to go and listen to any songs either.
• Once you do have an account, there are a bunch of features that are free to users. You can create, share and rate play lists, write reviews, share with your social media, blogs and followers within the site.
• There are also options to put mini players with designs and personal play lists on your Facebook and blog pages.
• Integrated with iTunes for fast purchases.
• Easy sign up and cancel process.

Cons:

• The music selection is geared primarily to European groups and audiences. Acts with international presence have a home (Lady Gaga, Madonna), but others are non existent (All American Rejects, Switchfoot).
• Bands that are on do not have their full collections available.
• All of the site details, including Help, Blog and Press sections are all in French. This isn’t a knock in anyway. After all this is a french site, but it does make the experience lackluster for this poorly educated American.

Design:

When I first hit the site, I thought that I was on an iTunes page, so I wasn’t very shocked to learn that Deezer and Apple have a connection. Much of the fonts and color schemes seem to be in the Apple family. Regardless, it’s clean enough and breaks itself down into different distinct areas. 

What I think:

Overall, I can see why the site is popular in France. There is an awesome mix of Europe’s top artist, as well as those from the US that have struck the right chord (wow that was bad.). The site is simple, but has lots of nice features for all to enjoy. The company even holds festivals throughout France, Belgium and Hungary, bringing some of that regions’ biggest artists direct to the fans.

That being said, this is definitely a regional site. Unlike Pandora, which is pretty much universal where ever you go,  Deever loses it’s luster the farther outside the French borders you are. It’s not a bad site, but it’s not for me.

Until Next Time….

 To those is certainly does concern,

As a tax paying property owner in this city, I demand that my garbage be picked up on the day scheduled.  I expect that with my taxes comes the services that are supplied in return.  This past Thursday I took my garbage can to the curb as I usually do.  I had one can that was severely damaged from several run-ins with cars.  However, there were bags inside that could have been removed without the need to lift the can. Instead of my trash being taken away, as I and every other property owner should expect, the can was left on the curb full of garbage.  It was obvious that it had been opened since the lid that is normally held in place on top of the can by the handle was found in my front lawn.  So since my garbage was not taken, the can stayed there in front of my house waiting till next week.

Today I received a notice from the Code Enforcement Officer that I needed to remove it in 48 hours or face a fine.  Well one problem with that.  I can have it there on Wednesday after 6:00am without it being an infraction.  Good work there.  Second problem, I am not the one who left the garbage there.  The city government and its contractors did.  Not only is this completely stupid that I should be fined for your failure to take my trash away but I believe it is a form of entrapment to charge me for that failure.

Furthermore, this is a policy that is going to drive away people who were ready to make a family here and pay taxes.  Your ratios of people receiving government assistance to those paying taxes is not very high.  Perhaps you should reconsider some of your policies that drive away those that make a living versus those that steal it through government force.

Signed

Peter O'Brien

My friend Mickey Kaus (well, really a friend of friends, but we've met) is a Democrat and running for the U.S. Senate in California (all of us nerd writers are fascinated when one of our own takes a leap into politics, but this is quite a leap).

He has an interesting piece in the LA Times today saying Democrats need to start learning to say no to government employee unions.

Government unions are even more problematic (and as private sector unions have failed in the marketplace, government unions are increasingly dominant). If there are limits on what private unions can demand — when they win too much, as we've seen, their employers tend to disappear — there is no such limit on what government unions can demand. They just have to get the politicians to raise your taxes to pay for it, and by funding the Democratic machine they acquire just the politicians they need.

He says that with love, of course.  As long as I've known Mickey -- about 7 years -- he's been a Democrat.  He's just saying the party needs to change with the times.

Genesee County was well represented at the Friday night session of the Democrat Rural Conference in Niagara Falls with 12 members attending. 

Andrew Cuomo sparked a gread deal of interest and let the Rural Conference know how much he appreciated their continued support. 

“My friends, the job is not done. I believe this upcoming election is the most important for the state of New York in my lifetime, in my 52 years. And my friends, this state is at a crossroads, and I believe depending on what we do now this state will go up or this state will go down. And I’ll tell you what, this state is in drastic need of reform today,”

“The first thing we have to do is get the state’s fiscal house in order. And this is not just a question of balancing the budget.  The roaring days and the big income we’ve had in the past decade is over.  We need to look beyond the budget, hoping that the money will come back next year won’t work.”

“It’s going to be a reorganization. It’s going to be a restructuring,” he said. “There are 1,000 state agencies. But by the way, nobody really knows for sure.”

“Property taxes are going through the roof. Property taxes are driving people from their homes, literally, There are 10,521 local government entities in New York.  “You know what my friends? We can’t afford 10,521 governments anymore. That’s what it comes down. It’s not just about balncing a budget. It’s about changing the way we do business, rolling up your sleeves.”

“The second thing we have to do is clean up the mess in Albany.  We have to clean up the disgrace that is the legislative process. We have to clean up the gridlock. We have to dlean up the waste. We have to clean up the delay. Enough is enough, my friends. This government works for the people, and it has let the people down.”

“In this Democratic Party, there is no place for government corruption, period. This government has betrayed the public trust.

“The government is only as good as the level of trust people have, and this government has violated the trust. We also this year, have to hear and understand the concerns of the people in this state, and understand that in this political environment, I’ve been all over the state and everywhere you go, people are afraid.”

He spoke about “activist groups” that he said will seek to try and divide New Yorkers who are, by and large, “afraid.” The tea party has already begun to attack Cuomo and were present, in front of the Crowne Plaza with signs supporting Paladino. 

As an aside, it was interesting watching how the tea party group (of about 15 people) worked the media.  They had an organizer with a bull horn.  Anytime he saw someone standing in front of a camera for an interview, he would direct his 15 people to run over and picket behind the person being interviewed.  First they would all run to one corner, then be directed to the opposite corner. Then back in front of the hotel. 

“They’ll try to take divisions and exploit division.  They’ll use the fear to separate. Our message has to be the exact opposite: we won’t hear about dvision, we are about unity and unifying this state like it’s never been unified before. That’s who we are. Let them try to divide us.”

I took particular notice of the 10521 governments in New York State because this has been a topic of discussion on thebatavian quite often.  A real reason to take a look at consolidation.  Included in that number were state, county, city, town and village governments along with utility districts.
 

Governor Patterson hosted the opening reception, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand the banquet for about 500 guests, and Cuomo hosted the dessert.

The straw poll will take place today, Saturday. 

If anyone around the Walden apartments area/Bank Street area or at this point anywhere in town sees an all white cat with a purple collar on, her name is Mooshoo.  She got out the other day and hasn't returned, she's not an outdoor cat, and I just hoped if anyone finds her they could let me know.  She doesn't know this area as I just moved over to this side of town.