tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68933433310728315882024-03-13T11:20:01.200-04:00City Editor's BlogBy Jeremy Schiffres, Daily and Sunday Freeman, Kingston, N.Y.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.comBlogger606125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-48621766389203406662013-09-28T14:31:00.001-04:002013-09-28T14:31:19.339-04:00It's the law<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent">Here's
what the Republican Party doesn't seem to get when it comes to Obamacare: Congress enacted it. The president signed it. The Supreme Court upheld
it. And the voters, in re-electing its architect by a wide margin,
declared their approval of it.</span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent">It now is time for the GOP members of the
House to get out of the way, let the law take effect and stop trying to
use it as a bargaining chip to satisfy their own leanings rather than
those of the people they represent.</span></span></span></span></h5>
Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-74555485031277448952013-07-14T10:23:00.000-04:002013-07-14T10:26:21.109-04:00The Zimmerman verdict<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">I
think a lot of people who are angry about the George Zimmerman verdict
are confusing "not guilty" with "innocent."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">A verdict of "not guilty"
simply means there was an absence of guilt proven beyond a reasonable
doubt. It doesn't mean he didn't do it. We all know he did. It doesn't
mean that what he did was right. Many people, myself included, believe
he was wrong. What it means is the jury concl<span class="text_exposed_show">uded
the evidence presented at the trial did not meet the legal standard for
a finding of guilty. And this is no surprise. After all, there were no
eyewitnesses, and this isn't even a case of "he said/he said" because
one "he" is dead.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show">The prosecution did the best it could with what it had
to work with, but it simply wasn't enough. I would love to see
Zimmerman locked up for years, but I think if I was a member of the
jury, I, too, would have voted "not guilty."</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show">Innocent? No. But strictly
by legal standards, not guilty.</span></span></span></span>Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-18709785530024909452013-06-26T21:09:00.002-04:002014-01-10T11:37:29.453-05:00SPAC attackThe Saratoga Performing Arts Center — SPAC to its loyal patrons — long was my favorite place to attend concerts. And not only because I lived just a few miles from it for three summer seasons.<br />
<br />
SPAC provided the ultimate leisure setting for experiencing live music — easy (and free) parking in a gigantic lot along Route 50, a bucolic country setting, a relaxed and festive atmosphere on the large lawn behind the amphitheater for those who chose not to buy the more expensive indoor seats, freedom to walk all parts of the spacious grounds at will, an easygoing venue staff and reasonably priced food and drinks.<br />
<br />
Then came the invasion of Live Nation, and SPAC quickly has become my <i>least </i>favorite place to attend concerts.<br />
<br />
Prior to this past Sunday, I last was a SPAC in 2006. That's a long time ago, I realize, but Live Nation, which got its start as a concert promotion company, already had taken over the run of the place, and though there were some changes I didn't love, most of the SPAC experience remained unblemished.<br />
<br />
Well, something sure changed between August 2006 and this past Sunday — for the worse. <i>Much</i> worse.<br />
<br />
I approached SPAC on Sunday from the north, as I almost always do, coming down Route 50 from the center of Saratoga Springs, expecting to make my usual left turn into the main lot, park my car and enter the concert grounds. But as I got within a few hundred yards of the lot's entrance, I noticed no left turns into the lot were being allowed. OK, I figured, they're just trying to improve traffic flow. No big deal. I'll just drive a short distance down Route 50, make a U-turn, come back up and make the right turn into the lot.<br />
<br />
Yeah, sure.<br />
<br />
Approaching from the south and starting to make the right turn into the lot, I was stopped by an attendant who informed me there only was "privileged parking" (read: pre-paid) in that lot and that if I wanted to park for free, I would have to use the field across the road and walk over the foot bridge above Route 50 to reach the venue.<br />
<br />
So I drove up to the next traffic light, did another U-turn, got into the line of cars approaching the parking field and ultimately made a right turn into said field. Pleasantly surprised that the field was about half empty, I figured I'd just dart to an empty spot, park my car and head for the amphitheater. But NOOOOOOOOOOOO, as Steve Martin used to say. Instead, I was guided by no less than 20 hand-gesturing teen-age attendants, standing apart at equal distances, to make a huge loop around the field behind a line of cars and ultimately place my car exactly where instructed.<br />
<br />
I finally stepped out of my car at 7 p.m., exactly 30 minutes after I reached Saratoga Springs at the end of my trip from Kingston. My time span between reaching Saratoga and being parked at SPAC used to be 5 to 10 minutes. Oh, well. I guess that ship has sailed, and it's been forced to dock farther from the venue than ever before.<br />
<br />
So then I trudged through the field, crossed the foot bridge and immediately was greeted by a large blue sign informing me of all the items "prohibited" from being brought into the venue. In order: animals, beverages, laser pens, cooking equipment, audio or video recording equipment, cameras with a detachable lens, bikes, rollerblades, skateboards, illegal substances, hard coolers, digital cameras and glass. Oh, yeah — also firearms, knives, weapons and fireworks.<br />
<br />
Money, of course, is allowed in. After all, the twin-patty hamburger and bottle of water I was about to buy would, unbeknownst to me until the last second, cost $14.25. (What is this — Yankee Stadium?)<br />
<br />
So I ate my overpriced dinner, used the restroom and headed from the food vending area to the amphitheater — a relatively short walk the includes passing by the general-admission lawn.<br />
<br />
Carved into the lawn are two long, paved sidewalks that lead down to the back of the amphitheater. They're very useful for reaching the "house" without having to navigate through thousands of people and their chairs on the grass. New, however, is that both paths now are bordered on both sides by white, fence-like barricades, about 4 feet high. Similar barricades, though black, cover the entire width of the back of the amphitheater. The resulting effect is that of the lawn being a prison; the message being "You commoners need to know your place. Don't dare try to mingle with the royalty who have bought indoor seats."<br />
<br />
I, apparently being royalty (who knew?), had purchased an indoor seat. And though I know the inside of the SPAC amphitheater like the back of my hand, having been in it more than 60 times, I nevertheless welcomed the opportunity to be ushered to my assigned spot (Section 2, Row W, Seat 1) by a nice lady in a white SPAC T-shirt.<br />
<br />
White shirts: Good.<br />
Yellow: Not so much.<br />
<br />
The yellow-shirted employees, mostly women who looked they couldn't quite make it as phys ed teachers, were Live Nation security staffers. Or, as I've taken to calling them, the Live Nation Gestapo.<br />
<br />
The sole job of the yellowshirts appears to be making the concert experience as unpleasant as possible for people who paid more than $100 for indoor seats. The yellowshirt closest to me spent easily half the night harassing a woman across the aisle from me because the woman had a tendency to stand up, step into the public pathway and dance to the music. (Heaven forbid!) Every time she moved outside her "seat zone," the yellowshirt rushed in, spoke rudely to her and, on some occasions, physically moved her out of the aisle.<br />
<br />
I was hoping this yellowshirt was an isolated a--hole, but no. During what I knew to be the final song of the show, I walked toward the back of the amphitheater to be closer to an exit and stood at the edge of a row of seats, only to be approached by another yellowshirt who started gesturing at me to move. Before she could utter a word, though, I leaned in close to her and said into her ear: "The show will be over in about two minutes. How about you give it a rest!" Wisely, she backed away. <br />
<br />
So let's recap:<br />
* Parking: No longer free in the main lot, made unnecessarily difficult by a bunch of self-important 16-year-olds in the free secondary lot.<br />
* Items that can be brought into SPAC: Virtually none, except your money.<br />
* Food: Overpriced.<br />
* The lawn: Once a fun place to hang out, now a veritable prison.<br />
* The amphitheater experience: Ruined by a bunch of power-hungry security staffers.<br />
<br />
Ironically, the musician I went to see on Sunday was Tom Petty — who also was the headliner when I last was at SPAC in August 2006 and when I first went to SPAC as a new resident of Saratoga Springs in June 1985.<br />
<br />
Petty hasn't changed a bit in 28 years. He remains one of the best live acts in rock 'n' roll and never has disappointed me. The venue at which I so often have seen him, however, has disappointed me more than I ever thought it could.<br />
<br />
And it's doubtful I'll ever go there again.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-66762426876753885042013-06-04T14:40:00.001-04:002013-06-04T15:00:33.831-04:00CHRIS-tal clear intentions<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Let me start by saying I like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. But what he announced today is a HUGE waste of money for his own political benefit.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Christie, a Republican, is calling for a special election to be held in mid-October to pick a replacement for U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who died Monday.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Why not just hold the election on Nov. 5, Election Day, and save the state the cost of two elections? Simple. Because Christie knows the Senate race is likely to be won by a Democrat, and he doesn't want that race on the ballot the same day he's running for re-election as governor. Doing so probably would draw more Democrats to the polls than usual, hurting Christie's chances of winning a new term.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">So, instead, the guy who claims to be the savior of New Jersey's economy is about to waste $12 million of New Jersey taxpayers' money (the estimated cost of the special election) for his own personal gain.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Shame on him!</span>Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-34763360019165901592013-04-16T13:47:00.001-04:002013-04-16T20:00:55.931-04:00The lesson of BostonIt's hard to find a silver lining in a horrific act, but if anything good is to come from the Boston Marathon bombing, let it be this — that maybe now, finally, the people responsible for protecting the United States and its residents will recognize that terrorism comes in all shapes and sizes.<br />
<br />
For too long, our leaders have seemed focused on preventing the next 9/11 or the next Oklahoma City, all the while ignoring what people in the Middle East and, more recently, Western Europe have learned from experience — that even one crude explosive device killing just one person, or even no one, can rattle a nation, disrupt countless lives and shatter peace of mind.<br />
<br />
Terrorists care as much about inflicting psychological damage as they do about causing physical harm, and one need look no farther than Boylston Street in Boston to understand how successful that M.O. can be. Three people died — a smaller toll than that of some car accidents — but we'll never again feel as safe at a crowded public event as we did before yesterday.<br />
<br />
I've commented here in recent years that targets ripe for small-scale terror attacks — landmarks in New York City and Washington, D.C., subways and commuter trains, shopping malls and stadiums — don't seem nearly as protected as they should be and that it would be fairly easy to blow up a planted explosive or carry out a bomb-strapped-to-the-body attack at these locations and inflict substantial damage. At 2:50 p.m. Monday, near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, I sadly was proven correct. And worse yet, this attack was carried out at a location where countless law-enforcement personnel were present because of the race.<br />
<br />
Priority One in the wake of yesterday's bombing is, of course, to find, prosecute and punish those responsible. But Priority Two sure better be learning to look right under our noses, not just high up in the sky, in the effort to prevent the next heinous act of terrorism.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-64490349739313835242013-02-11T11:11:00.002-05:002013-02-11T16:44:57.853-05:00After the stormA few after-the-fact thoughts (and online images) about the blizzard that walloped much of the Northeast this past weekend:<br />
<br />
* It never ceases to amaze me that hordes of people rush to grocery stores when a snowstorm is approaching. Do these folks seriously believe there'll be no milk or eggs available for a week or two because of a weather event that will last less than 24 hours? I've lived in the Northeast my entire life and have endured countless winter storms, and I've rarely seen a grocery shortage that lasts more than a day.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yZnHN1kFECk/URkgypu6N1I/AAAAAAAAANU/aSbyTJ-NEsM/s1600/empty-grocery-shelves1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yZnHN1kFECk/URkgypu6N1I/AAAAAAAAANU/aSbyTJ-NEsM/s320/empty-grocery-shelves1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
* Weather forecasting, especially on TV, has gotten completely out of hand. Yes, it's helpful to know when inclement weather is expected. But this 'round-the-clock, scare-the-crap-out-of-people hysteria over winter storms in recent years serves no purpose. Long-term forecasts and constant warnings make sense when a hurricane is on the horizon and people need to, perhaps, board up buildings or pack up for an evacuation. But there's really no preparation that can be made for a snowstorm. (And spare me the BS about needing to know that it's time to buy shovels or salt. If you live in the Northeast and don't already own these things, you need to move.) The only special actions required in a snowstorm are staying indoors and off the roads. And the need for that can be determined by looking out a window moreso than by looking at a TV screen. (All that said, though, it's worth noting the forecasts for this storm were right on the nose.) <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1XyQRZ4Ftx8/URkRaZHGM5I/AAAAAAAAAMs/y60Eq-RLmHo/s1600/shovel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1XyQRZ4Ftx8/URkRaZHGM5I/AAAAAAAAAMs/y60Eq-RLmHo/s320/shovel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
* The Weather Channel has looked positively moronic by naming every snowstorm this winter, hoping the monikers, like those of hurricanes, would become part of the national consciousness and conversation. But it looks like Nemo, the name given to the recent blizzard, finally did the trick. It gained traction on Twitter, Facebook and TV, and in newspaper stories, blogs and Internet searches. The confluence of this being a really bad blizzard and having a Disney-ish name that lent itself to countless Facebook memes, funny comments and cute plays on words was, if you'll pardon the pun, the perfect storm. I doubt, though, that that kind of lightning will strike twice. After all, can anyone identify any of the 13 named winter storms that preceded Nemo over the past three months? Yeah, I didn't think so.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uhXaJ1Ak8EE/URkRBlK8enI/AAAAAAAAAMc/1Mfk_lMtFC0/s1600/nemo+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uhXaJ1Ak8EE/URkRBlK8enI/AAAAAAAAAMc/1Mfk_lMtFC0/s320/nemo+cat.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>
<br />
* Speaking of identifying storms, it's worth noting that when I was growing up in Rochester in the 1970s, we, too, had a special name for this kind of weather. We called it February.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qC-oKUQ5uVk/URkRPlAtgVI/AAAAAAAAAMk/XoeZKznPwws/s1600/national+disas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qC-oKUQ5uVk/URkRPlAtgVI/AAAAAAAAAMk/XoeZKznPwws/s320/national+disas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
* <span class="userContent">I was nothing short of amazed at how clean Kingston's roads were just a few hours after this storm ended. We get 2 inches of snow on a weekday, and
they're a mess. We get close to a foot on a Friday night, and they're
virtually clear Saturday morning. I just don't get it.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xx8pfj7-TEc/URkRrPrylcI/AAAAAAAAAM0/Z2qwgW25fqk/s1600/moses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xx8pfj7-TEc/URkRrPrylcI/AAAAAAAAAM0/Z2qwgW25fqk/s320/moses.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="userContent"> * And lastly,</span>I was glad to see that locations hardest hit last fall by
Superstorm Sandy — the Jersey shore, Staten Island, lower Manhattan,
Queens and western Long Island — were spared from the brunt of this past weekend's
storm. (I also didn't mind that Kingston only got about 9 inches of snow. Better than the 3-plus feet that fell in the states to our east!)<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_jvv1ha6LWc/URkTVbkmmtI/AAAAAAAAANA/DGfwnAMRPCA/s1600/sandy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_jvv1ha6LWc/URkTVbkmmtI/AAAAAAAAANA/DGfwnAMRPCA/s320/sandy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-34907508303957975262013-01-10T17:33:00.002-05:002013-01-10T18:00:23.031-05:00Nearly fed up with FacebookFacebook is starting to fray my last nerve.<br />
<br />
As my friends on the social media network know (thanks to me telling them), I’ve been banned from sending friend requests for 30 days because I allegedly sent such requests to “multiple people” I don’t know. (That’s a lie, by the way; the only friend requests I've sent recently were to people identified by Facebook as "People I may know.")<br />
<br />
Today, I accidentally clicked on “Add Friend” when looking at someone’s page, and the following warning popped up on my screen: “You’ve continued to send friend requests to people who don’t know you, even though you’ve been warned. Sending friend requests to people you don’t know personally is against Facebook’s Terms and could be considered harassment. If you don’t change your behavior, you could be permanently blocked from sending friend requests.”<br />
<br />
“You’ve been warned”? “If you don’t change your behavior”? What am I, a kindergartner? The power trip that these people are on is unreal.<br />
<br />
And it seems to me that only harassment here is being carried out <i>by Facebook</i> — against<i> me</i>.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, the passage in today’s warning that says “You’ve continued to send friend requests to people who don’t know you” is nothing short of hysterical. The person I was trying to friend is someone I’ve known since 1976.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-29558395337613409862012-12-27T14:09:00.000-05:002012-12-27T14:10:51.057-05:00Songs of the seasonHaving now survived another annual bombardment of dreadful Christmas music by rock and pop music artists, I remain convinced that only five such tracks recorded since 1970 are worth listening to:<br />
<br />
* "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band<br />
* "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," John Lennon and Yoko Ono<br />
* "2,000 Miles," the Pretenders<br />
* "I Believe in Father Christmas," Greg Lake<br />
* "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth," Bing Crosby and David Bowie<br />
<br />
And I'll afford an honorable mention to Band Aid's 1984-85 hit "Do They Know It's Christmas?" It's not a very good song, but it went a long way toward raising awareness about (and money for) the problem of famine in eastern Africa, and it stands as the godfather of all charitable collaborations by popular musicians in the 28 years since its release.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-46552409987004193552012-12-17T13:28:00.002-05:002012-12-27T21:04:59.587-05:00Newtown. Guns. Enough.<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]"><span class="userContent">In the immediate aftermath of the massacre in Newtown, Conn.,</span></span></span></span></span></span> I kept hearing people say "this is not the
appropriate time to discuss gun control." Baloney. This is the<i> perfect </i>
time to discuss it ... and act on it ... while Friday's horror is still
fresh in our minds.<br />
<br />
A knee-jerk reaction is <i>exactly</i> what we need right
now. This may be our last best chance to collectively yell "Enough!" and
toughen our gun laws once and for all.<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]"><span class="userContent"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]">That said, here's where I stand in the debate:</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]"> </span></span></span></span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]">I have liberal views on many hot-button issues, but I'm in favor of the Second Amendment. Let me say that again, so it's clear: I'm in<i><b> FAVOR</b></i> of the Second Amendment.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]">I
have no problem with people owning guns, but I do see the need for
reasonable limitations. A single-shot rifle for hunting? Fine. A hunting
shotgun? Sure. A handgun for self and home protection? Absolutely.
An AR-15 semiautomatic that can fire 100 rounds in a matter of seconds
and kill 20 children? Um, no.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]">But rather than prattle on, I'll simply
offer this: If anyone can make for me a cogent argument about why individual citizens
need to own automatic and semiautomatic weapons that are intended for nothing other than
killing large numbers of people in a short amount of time, I'll come
around to that person's way of thinking and no longer will hold the position that our laws must change.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]">But I've yet to hear one good reason not to ban these tools of destruction and seize as many as possible that already are in circulation, and I doubt I ever will.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0"><span id=".reactRoot[12].[1][2][1]{comment10152019714253357_25264677}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3].0.[0]">We know those weapons aren't used for
hunting. We know they're not small and compact, like weapons needed
for personal protection. And we know, from our recent history, that
they are the weapons of choice for deranged people bent on carrying out mass murder.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
And that, quite simply, has to stop.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-22413961166642604662012-11-13T15:57:00.001-05:002012-11-13T21:17:41.178-05:00Looking back at the electionMy faith in the American electoral process was largely confirmed last week, and not merely because the candidate I supported for president was the winner.<br />
<br />
Specifically, I was heartened by:<br />
<br />
* Message trumping money. The likes of Karl Rove and the Koch brothers spent hundreds of millions of dollars through their super PACs in trying to unseat President Obama and get Mitt Romney and other Republicans elected, but they're spending was almost entirely for naught. Voters chose to focus on the positions of candidates rather than be swayed by tear-down ads, and in the end, except for a U.S. Senate victory in Nevada, Rove and the Kochs had nothing to show for their money.<br />
* Voters being smart enough to reject ignorant men who say such things as women rarely get pregnant from "legitimate rape" and pregnancy resulting from rape is a "gift from God."<br />
* The utter failure of Republican efforts to suppress Democratic votes. In state after state, GOP-led governments tried to impose voter ID laws that unfairly impacted minorities and young people — groups that typically vote Democratic — and shorten "early voting" periods in heavily Democratic areas. And in state after state, the courts struck these efforts down.<br />
* The defeat of prominent Tea Party members of the House, specifically Reps. Joe Walsh, Allen West and the Hudson Valley's Nan Hayworth. These people's complete inflexibility, refusal to compromise and "my way or the highway" attitudes have no place in government.Thankfully, these people no longer have jobs in government.<br />
* The repudiation of right-wing positions on social issues, particularly abortion and same-sex marriage. The nation is changing, and if the Republican Party doesn't start to change with it, at least a little, it is certain to become weaker and weaker in coming elections.<br />
* New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, acknowledging the help of Democratic President Obama in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. It was nice to see an elected official, for a change, put people ahead of party politics, regardless of the season.<br />
* The strong turnout at the polls among immigrants. This is yet another indicator of our changing nation and one that<i> all </i>elected officials need to take seriously.<br />
* Karl Rove and Dick Morris making fools of themselves on national TV. Call it schadenfreude if you like. I call it just desserts.<br />
* Nate Silver, of<i> The New York Times' </i>"Five Thirty-Eight" blog, picking all 50 states in the presidential election correctly. (Hey, Nate, wanna go to Saratoga with me next summer? Maybe the Romneys will enter a horse in a race and you can predict the number of lengths by which it will lose!)Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-78655343264527558292012-11-08T13:11:00.000-05:002012-11-08T13:11:23.841-05:00Been there, heard thatIn a previous posting here, I commented about an on-air exchange between Mitt Romney and Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer.<br />
<br />
Romney had just told a bald-faced lie about polling data, and I was chastising Hemmer for not calling him on it.<br />
<br />
I wrote the following:<br />
<br />
"Hemmer – who was a good newsman at CNN before Fox lured him away and
brainwashed him – knew full well that Romney was lying, yet he did
nothing to set the record straight. And that makes him, and the bad joke
of a network for which he works, complicit in the deception."<br />
<br />
The date of that posting? Sept. 2, 2008.<br />
<br />
Four years later, Romney hasn't changed. Four years later, Fox hasn't changed.<br />
<br />
Some things NEVER change. Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-61897822861952595732012-11-07T07:30:00.001-05:002012-11-07T22:22:05.112-05:00Election 2012A quick recap of what we learned in this year's elections:<br />
<br />
* Swing states matter. A lot. Especially when most of them go to one candidate.<br />
* After complaining for years that Washington is stuck in political gridlock by having a Democratic president, a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, we solve the problem by electing a Democratic president, a Republican House and a Democratic Senate. What a brilliant nation we are!<br />
* Telling Ohio residents that Jeep is planning to move its jobs in your state to China, when nothing could be further from the truth, can cost you 18 electoral votes.<br />
* Mitt Romney has to have been a pretty dreadful candidate to lose a presidential election in which 60 percent of exit poll respondents told CNN that the No. 1 issue on their minds as they voted was the economy.<br />
* Saying women don't get pregnant from "legitimate rape" and that pregnancy from rape is something "God intended" doesn't win elections — and keeps the Republicans from winning control of the Senate.<br />
* <i>New York Times</i> political prognosticator Nate Silver looks a genius today. (He correctly predicted the presidential result in all 49 states that have reported so far). George Will and Dick Morris? Not so much. Both predicted a landslide Electoral College win for Romney.<br />
* Fox News commentator and ex-George W. Bush aide Karl Rove looked like an idiot by spending much of the first-half hour after President Barack Obama's re-election was deemed certain trying to convince viewers that all the networks, including Fox, jumped the gun in painting Ohio blue. Not only was he wrong, but he was too stupid to realize Ohio wouldn't matter in the end. With Obama, at that point, clearly en route to winning Colorado and Nevada, he was assured at least 285 electoral votes (15 more than needed for victory) even <i>without </i>Ohio. (Also: How come Rove didn't question Romney's win in North Carolina, which was narrower than Obama's in Ohio?)<br />
* Florida <i>still </i>doesn't know how to finish counting votes in a timely fashion.<br />
* Linda McMahon <i>still</i> doesn't get that Connecticut residents don't like her.. <br />
* In 2012, unlike 2010, identifying oneself as a member of the Tea Party does more harm than good. (Locally, just ask Nan Hayworth — far too right wing for her Lower Hudson Valley congressional district and shown the door after one term).<br />
* We should all retire to either Colorado or the state of Washington and become pot farmers.<br />
* Sen. Mitch McConnell is as mean (and out of touch) today as he was two years ago, evidenced by him issuing a statement critical of Obama almost immediately after the president locked up re-election.<br />
* Julian Schreibman is a good guy but has no idea how to run a successful campaign.<br />
* New York's judiciary lost a great man with the defeat of state Supreme Court Justice Michael Kavanagh.<br />
<br />
OK, that's all. Time to take a break and get ready for the 2016 presidential campaign season, which I believe starts in two weeks.<br />
Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-70656783582748058312012-09-28T12:13:00.000-04:002012-09-28T12:13:37.543-04:00Numbers gameThis from a Reuters story today:<br />
<br />
"It has become the new battle cry for <span class="yshortcuts cs4-visible" id="lw_1348809423_2">Republicans</span>: All the polls showing <span class="yshortcuts cs4-visible" id="lw_1348809423_0">Mitt Romney</span> trailing by big margins are just wrong because <span class="yshortcuts cs4-ndcor" id="lw_1348809423_6">pollsters</span> are interviewing too many Democrats."<br />
<br />
Explain to me, then, why the latest Fox News poll has Obama up by 5 points. Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-44455183939620172892012-09-12T15:11:00.000-04:002012-09-12T15:17:23.080-04:00Mitt's mistakeThere are singular moments in U.S. presidential campaigns at which the fortunes of a candidate can turn one way or the other, never to be reversed.<br />
<br />
In 2008, it was when John McCain, just after Lehman Brothers collapsed, made the bone-headed comment that “the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are strong.”<br />
<br />
In this year’s election, that moment might have come today, when Mitt Romney issued a shoot-from-the-hip (and largely incorrect) criticism of the Obama administration in the wake of the attacks on U.S. interests and personnel in Libya and Egypt.<br />
<br />
Romney is getting pounded for this by people on both sides of the political aisle, and I’m not sure he can recover.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-46019605098304539442012-08-10T13:23:00.003-04:002012-08-10T21:41:25.654-04:00GEN-eralizingA Facebook friend of mine, who's about 65 years old, recently posted this on his wall:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aVfN7w8FfBE/UCVCkxrwubI/AAAAAAAAAME/V_oOcuGfIfQ/s1600/Gen+Y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aVfN7w8FfBE/UCVCkxrwubI/AAAAAAAAAME/V_oOcuGfIfQ/s400/Gen+Y.jpg" width="380" /></a></div>
<br />
I (age 48) posted the following response:<br />
<br />
How ironic that you chose to bash Generation Y on a social media website that was created by a member of Generation Y. Worse yet is the gross generalization of your posting, suggesting that everyone in one age group is the same. Yes, there are slackers in Generation Y, but there have been slackers in ALL generations, including yours and mine. I prefer to look at people as individuals and judge them on their traits, not lump them into large demographic groups and paint those groups with a broad brush. It’s that kind of thinking that breeds such ugly prejudices as racism, sexism, ageism and the type of narrowmindedness illustrated above.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-91340645899026438162012-07-28T12:13:00.000-04:002012-07-28T12:13:53.338-04:00No medal for NBCRemember when the Olympics opening ceremony was just a parade of
athletes and a torch lighting? God, I miss those days! Bigger is not
always better. <br />
<br />
Also, could NBC be any more Ameri-centric? I
realize it's an American TV network broadcasting to an American audience,
but don't the honchos there understand this is a <i>worldwide</i> sporting
event? Once all the athletes were in the stadium last night, the only
thing NBC showed was the ceremonial action of the moment and the reactions on the
faces of the US athletes.<br />
<br />
And to watch NBC's broadcast, you'd think the
only two black people in the stadium were Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
Note to NBC: Not every great athlete is white, and your broadcasts
should reflect that fact.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-80779142205645257332012-07-24T11:01:00.002-04:002012-07-24T14:08:20.640-04:00AuroraI've always been a bit on the fence when it comes to the death penalty. In general, I favor it, but only for the most heinous crimes and only if the evidence is irrefutable. <br />
<br />
In the Aurora, Colo., movie theater massacre, the evidence against suspect James Eagan Holmes seems, indeed, irrefutable. And a conviction is virtually assured.<br />
<br />
Which is why I think he should be allowed to live. For as long as possible.<br />
<br />
Yes, you read that correctly.<br />
<br />
A painless death — lying back on a gurney and drifting away peacefully as poison is injected into his arms — seems too good for such a scumbag. None of the 12 people Holmes is accused of slaughtering early Friday in a dark movie theater was allowed such ease in passing from this world to the next. To the contrary, they were brutalized, their bodies pumped full of hot lead, some of them left to bleed to death slowly and agonizingly.<br />
<br />
One of the victims was 6-year-old girl, for God's sake! How can anyone be so sick, so heartless, so callous, so destructive, so unfeeling as to violently end the life of a 6-year-old girl? <br />
<br />
And the pain inflicted on Friday goes well beyond the 12 people Holmes is accused of killing. Let's not forget the pain that will be felt by the loved ones of the dead for years to come. And let's not forget that the gunman wounded an additional 58 people. The fact that they survived the massacre hardly means their lives will return to normal in a matter of days or weeks. My guess is their lives never will return to normal — physically or psychologically.<br />
<br />
It seems the only appropriate punishment for a person who causes such suffering is that he be forced to suffer, too. And because our laws do not allow inhumane executions, the next best thing is to throw him in a tiny, solitary-confinement prison cell for the rest of his life. Make him sleep on a cement floor. Provide him with the bare minimum of food needed for survival. Never let him outdoors. Give him nothing but a small hole in the floor for his bodily functions. If he vomits from time to time, let <i>him </i>clean it up.<br />
<br />
There can be no excuse — NONE — for what the Colorado gunman did. Likewise, there would be no excuse for our legal system allowing him either a quick and painless death or a lengthy life in which he is afforded the "comforts" provided to too many of our nation's most despicable criminals.<br />
<br />
<br />Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-3572696790938774292012-07-21T12:10:00.000-04:002012-07-21T12:10:14.178-04:00Deja vu all over againOn Friday, as I was putting together the front page of this morning's <i>Freeman,</i> it occurred to me that the two news stories on the page were about a deadly shooting rampage in suburban Denver and Woodstock festival promoter Michael Lang talking about his plans for concerts on the Winston Farm in Saugerties. <br />
<br />
Someone apparently has hit the "replay" button in my life.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-58250978942159854482012-07-13T14:00:00.000-04:002012-07-13T14:02:00.739-04:00Crisis of confidence (in AP)Going through Associated Press stories this afternoon, I came across the item on Jennifer Lopez announcing that she's giving up her job as a host on Fox TV's "American Idol." Her announcement, as you may know, comes on the heels of Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler announcing that he, too, is quitting as an "Idol" host.<br />
<br />
The "slug" on the Lopez story (that's newspaperspeak for the name given to an article by a reporter or wire service) was, I kid you not, "American Idol-Crisis."<br />
<br />
Crisis? Seriously?<br />
<br />
The financial meltdown of 2008 was a crisis. Watergate was a crisis. 9/11 was a crisis. The stock market crash of 1929 was a crisis. <br />
<br />
Steven Tyler and JLo leaving "American Idol" is just a tad less significant than those events, wouldn't you say?Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-9077734230945201762012-06-26T08:35:00.000-04:002012-06-26T08:35:02.289-04:00Reality eludes herGov. Jan Brewer said on Monday that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling about Arizona's immigration law "vindicated" the controversial statute, and at one point during her smug-to-the-point-of-sickening press conference, she referred to the justices' decision as "unanimous."<br />
<br />
The vote was 5-4, and in the ruling, the court declared that three of the law's four provisions were unconstitutional.<br />
<br />
I always thought Jan Brewer lived in the state of Arizona. Apparently, she lives in the state of denial.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-26996184310860492922012-06-24T13:27:00.001-04:002012-06-24T13:28:27.119-04:00The graduateMarc Samuel Schiffres, Kingston High School graduation, June 22, 2012<br />
<br />
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<br />Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-29870741262404906992012-05-18T12:53:00.001-04:002012-05-19T11:36:01.244-04:00Dim all the lightsI've never been a fan of disco. I was a rock 'n' roll kid from the start.<br />
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And you certainly wouldn't have found me at a Donna Summer concert in her hey day. My see-'em-live preferences were the "arena rock" acts of that era — Styx, Boston, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon and the like. Those also were my early days as a fan of Bruce Springsteen and the Grateful Dead.<br />
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But there's no getting around the fact that my teen years were 1976 to 1983, and there's no denying that the most popular musical style of that period was, for better or worse, disco.<br />
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So disco, whether I like it or not, is the music of my youth.<br />
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1979 was a huge year for Donna Summer, who died Thursday at age 63, and it was perhaps the most memorable of my teen years. It was then that I truly discovered the fairer sex, and that year's boy-girl gatherings (parties, dances, any event at which music was playing) invariably had disco, including the sexually charged songs of Summer, as their soundtrack.<br />
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I was active at the time in a Jewish teen group called United Synagogue Youth (USY), and weekends often were spent at multi-chapter conventions in various cities across upstate New York. The Saturday night social event at those gatherings, always, was a dance, and at those dances, four things were sure to be present: dimmed lights, a mirror ball shimmering near the middle of the ceiling, nervous teenagers not quite sure how physically forward to be with the opposite sex ... and the music of Donna Summer.<br />
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Music is one of the most powerful memory triggers, and to this day, I can't listen to Summer's "On the Radio" without being transported back to a Saturday night USY dance in February 1979 in the social hall at Temple Beth-El in Poughkeepsie. My closest USY friends of the day — Leslie, Amy, Julie, Lori, Heidi, Wendi, Michelle, Debbie, Rob, David, Jay — were all there. (No last names necessary; if they're reading this, they know who they are.) Also in the room was a 14-year-old girl I had met for the first time the day before. Her name was Rhona. We became fast friends, and we started dating about 2-1/2 years later. Come Sept. 6 of this year, we'll have been married for 25 years.<br />
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Donna Summer was there at the beginning, and it's hard to believe she's gone. Her passing has made me feel my age and realize just how long ago those carefree nights were. Youthful dramas like worrying about how to kiss a girl have given way to the daily work grind, paying bills, raising a teenager and worrying about college tuition. Such are the realities of time marching on. But queuing up a few Donna Summer videos on YouTube after learning of her death allowed me to forget the pressures of the present, even if only briefly, and travel back to a time when I was young, disco was king and the woman who still warms my heart with "On the Radio" was its queen.<br />
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<br />Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-78680386492089950462012-05-04T11:49:00.000-04:002012-05-05T12:40:14.026-04:00Friday on my mindRandom thoughts today:<br />
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* Does anyone else find it ironic that Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tore his ACL in Kansas City, <b>MO</b>?<br />
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* The story about New Jersey mom Patricia Krentcil being charged with child endangerment for bringing her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth got me thinking: Should criminal charges be filed against vacationing parents who let their children lie in the sun on the beach all day? I think not.<br />
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* I was amused to hear New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan call John A. Coleman Catholic High School in the town of Ulster "one of our wonderful Catholic schools" when he visited there on Wednesday — "our" referring to the New York Archdiocese. Perhaps someone needs to remind Dolan that the archdiocese defunded Coleman a decade ago and announced plans to close it. If not for the efforts of parents and community volunteers to keep the school open, Coleman today would be a vacant building surrounded by weeds.<br />
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* Note to town of Saugerties Republican Chairman Joe Roberti: Publicly admonishing Ulster County Legislator Bob Aiello, R-Saugerties, for taking a stand against Legislature Chairwoman Terry Bernardo, R-Accord — and threatening to pull the party's endorsement of Aiello in the next election — probably was not a good idea. The GOP holds only a razor-thin 13-12 majority in the Legislature, and Aiello always has been an on-the-fence kinda guy when it comes to politics. Anger him enough, and it seems to me that he just might jump ship — and put the Democrats in control. <br />
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* Did Newt Gingrich really think the media would pay him much attention during his seven-day "farewell to my campaign" tour? What an egomaniac. His impending exit from the GOP presidential race was announced in the middle of the last week of April, but he didn't formally bow out until May 2, figuring his every move in the interim would be reported. Sorry, Newt. No way. We news folks have better things to do with our time than report the exact same story day after day after day. And when his actual departure finally happened, our newspaper ran it as a news brief on a page inside the B section, which probably was more attention than it deserved.<br />
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* Edvard Much's famous painting "The Scream" sold at auction this week for nearly $120 million. I guess beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, because to me, "The Scream" looks it was drawn with crayons by an 8-year-old.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-49089448559578731352012-04-16T16:21:00.000-04:002012-04-17T15:12:50.276-04:00What I did on my spring vacation (or 'City Editor's Days Off')On this, the 11th and final day of my "spring break," allow me to share a few thoughts that have accumulated in my head during my time off.<br />
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* Does it really matter that Democratic operative Hilary Rosen said Ann Romney, wife of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, has never worked a day in her life? Yes, it was insulting — to Mrs. Romney and to all women who have stayed home to raise kids — but how is it relevant to the upcoming presidential election? I mean, seriously, are people going to base their vote this November on an ill-advised remark that a non-candidate made in April? I think not. So please, Fox News, shut up already about this irrelevant flap. It stopped being interesting about 15 minutes after it happened. It's time to move on.<br />
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* Along the same lines, did you see the cover of this morning's<i> New York Post</i>? The headline is "SWILLARY," and the accompanying photo shows Secretary of State Hillary Clinton taking a swig from a bottle of beer in Cartagena, Columbia, where she is attending the Summit of the Americas. The implication being what — that an adult drinking an alcoholic beverage is some kind of heinous crime? And worse yet, the secondary headline is "Hill knocks back brew as scandal rocks summit" — a reference to U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to the summit allegedly cavorting with prostitutes. The suggestion is that Mrs. Clinton, who was not involved in the scandal and has no role in investigating it, is somehow shirking her responsibilities by enjoying a legal cold beverage while people who are connected to her only marginally are being investigated. Good Lord!<br />
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* I'm puzzled by the recent suspension of Miami Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen for making pro-Fidel Castro comments. Yes, Castro is a loathsome dictator. And yes, Guillen's comments were both shocking and insulting to southern Florida's myriad Cubans, many of whom fled their homeland because of Castro's oppressive ways. But since when is it a punishable offense in the United States to voice one's views? And isn't it hypocritical for the people who own the Marlins to simultaneously criticize Castro for restricting freedoms and then punish Guillen for exercising his?<br />
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* Like most people who watched TV this past weekend, I was inundated with broadcasts regarding the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and three things stood out: 1) The 1958 film "A Night to Remember," which was on TCM late Saturday, is far, far superior to the 1997 James Cameron epic, "Titanic." The former is powered by a strong script and wonderful acting; the latter relies largely on high-tech gimmickry, over-the-top cinematography and, worst of all, a made-up love story that becomes central to the disaster. And that Celine Dion song may just be the worst piece of music ever recorded. (As an aside, kudos to the TCM people for timing Saturday night's broadcast in such a way that the boat hit the 'berg at exactly 10:40 p.m. EDT — 100 years to the minute after the actual event). 2.) Of all the documentary TV specials about the sinking that aired over the weekend, none was more maddening than the one on NatGeo hosted by Cameron. The premise of the show was looking more closely at the facts of the disaster than ever before in an effort to determine exactly what happened on April 14 and 15, 1912. Instead, every time Cameron voiced a theory, a scene from his movie that jibed with that theory was shown on the screen — as if a clip from a work of historical fiction is proof of what really took place. The NatGeo special was nothing more than an advertisement for Cameron's film, which has been back in theaters since April 4. And 3.) A commercial that aired over the weekend for a piece of cheap jewelry that looks like the priceless diamond worn by the character Rose in "Titanic" was nothing short of sickening. It's bad enough to suggest that something replicating a fictional item is connected to an actual event, but it's downright despicable to try to make money off a tragedy in which 1,500 people perished. <br />
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* I had my first exposure to the boy band One Direction on the April 7 episode of "Saturday Night Live." One Dimension would be a better name for these guys,who are indistinguishable from their boy band predecessors of the late 1980s and early 1990s, namely New Kids on the Block, the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and 98 Degrees. And like all of those acts, and many others, One Direction will outgrow its cuteness in a couple of years; fans, the record companies and the teen magazines will lose interest; and that will be the end of that. Right now, the group's one direction is up. But we all know what that leads to.<br />
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* My son Marc, after much internal debate, has decided to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology this fall. He'll learn computer science. My wife and I will learn how to write checks for large amounts of money every few months.<br />
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* Being Jewish, I can't express how happy I am that Passover has passed over.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893343331072831588.post-82323938432143208002012-03-27T13:04:00.003-04:002012-03-28T12:24:06.765-04:00Romney, Russia and CNNSo Mitt Romney thinks Russia is the greatest geopolitical threat to the United States.<br />
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Never mind Iran, North Korea, Syria and al-Qaida. Our greatest worry, according to the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party, should be Russia — an ALLY of ours.<br />
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Yikes. <br />
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This is a akin to Gerald Ford saying in 1976 that there was no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, or Sarah Palin saying in 2008 that the proximity of her state, Alaska, to Russia gave her the necessary foreign policy qualifications to be leader of the free world.<br />
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Call them gaffes, if you like, but to me, they're indicators of lacking a grasp on world realities. <br />
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And while we're on the subject of Romney, shame, shame, <i><b>SHAME</b></i> on CNN for allowing a poster that said "Repeal Obamacare" to appear in a shot with Romney as he was being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer this week. The shot, as seen by viewers, had the poster on a wall to the right of Romney. The camera operator most certainly could have closed in for a tighter shot and shown only Romney's face.<br />
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And lastly, while we're on the subject of CNN, I received the most bizarre text alert from the network on my mobile phone yesterday. It said that, according to a new CNN poll, one in three Americans thinks President Barack Obama's healthcare plan should be overturned. Wouldn't the news, then, be that two in three Americans think it <i>shouldn't </i>be overturned? I thought the purpose of polling was to gauge what the majority thinks about a given issue. But I guess I'm in the minority in thinking that.Jeremy Schiffres, City Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08091525349366453370noreply@blogger.com0