You’ve gotta feel sorry for our governor, right?
So many people he relied on, so many people he trusted – so many people he has been close to – have been accused of such terrible things.
Andrew Cuomo gives these folks his trust, his friendship – calls some of them his amigos – and they disappoint him.
Dean Skelos. Sheldon Silver. And now US Attorney Preet Bharara has brought federal charges of bribery, corruption, and fraud against Joseph Percoco, once Cuomo’s executive deputy secretary; Todd R. Howe, an Albany lobbyist who was deputy chief of staff when Cuomo was US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and Alain Kaloyeros, the former president of SUNY Polytechnic, a person Cuomo has called New York’s economic-development “secret weapon.”
The three are among nine men facing charges related to Cuomo’s much-touted economic development program for Upstate New York. Bharara says they were involved in schemes to insure that handpicked developers got the contracts for work in programs like the Buffalo Billion.
On the heels of Bharara’s charges, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced felony charges against Kaloyeros and Joseph Nicolla, president of one of the companies receiving the contracts.
“If the allegations are true,” Cuomo said last week as the charges rained down on this latest batch of trusted friends and advisers, “I am saddened and profoundly disappointed.”
I am saddened and profoundly disappointed, too. And disgusted.
And I worry that this could taint our fledgling Photonics Institute. While Rochester is to be the hub of that effort, the Albany-based Kaloyeros muscled his way in from the beginning, seeming to wrest decisions away from the locals we thought would be making them.
Kaloyeros has now been “relieved of his duties” at SUNY Poly. And since the Photonics initiative is a national and state effort, involving a lot more players than Kaloyeros and SUNY Poly, we can hope that the scandal won’t hurt its chances.
But there’s no question that there’s a stench about Cuomo’s entire Upstate economic development program now. And about Cuomo himself.
All this comes at a time when the public’s trust in government and in elected officials is disastrously low. Cuomo entered office promising to clean up corruption in state government. Instead, the corruption has continued, oozing upward toward the top.
New York isn’t the only state to go through this, of course, and it’s no wonder that so many Americans have lost faith in government. Maybe it’s no wonder that so many voters are putting their faith this year in a know-nothing bully with zero experience in government.
Trump’s debate
Mainstream media analysts – even some Republican strategists – all seem to feel that Hillary Clinton trounced Donald Trump in Monday night’s debate. I’m not so sure.
Certainly Clinton’s supporters will think she did. So, presumably, will anybody who thinks substance and facts matter. But Trump’s supporters will think he won. What matters is the reaction from voters who are still undecided, favor a third-party candidate, or are too fed up to vote. That there are so many of those voters is alarming.
At this point, the televised debates should be irrelevant. Donald Trump has said enough and done enough to demonstrate that he is unqualified and temperamentally unsuited to be president.
He is a dangerous, bigoted, uninformed person who could wreak havoc on this country’s economy; inflame ethnic and religious hatred; incite violence; end years of careful, diplomacy-based foreign policy; humiliate the country in the eyes of foreign leaders; increase instability in the Middle East; and encourage not only ISIS but also the most dangerous foreign leaders.
That we are six weeks from Election Day and polls show Clinton and Trump in a dead heat is completely disorienting. We have let a bigoted, volatile demagogue become a major-party candidate for president of the United States. On November 8, we may let him loose on the world.
It’s becoming hard to recognize the country I live in.
This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2016.
I must have missed something, because the questions fired by Lester Holt seemed to put Trump on the hot seat , for Hillary to pounce on. Holt unfairly and obviously, deliberately set her up to respond with her canned, prepared attacks against Trump.
Did Holt ask Hillary Clinton anything about the Clinton foundation accepting money from the Saudi’s, about the Benghazi cover-up, about her disappearing e-mail scandal, about her health issues, about Whitegate, about her forgetfulness, about Bernie being cheated out of the nomination by the Democratic Committee, about her lies, about her calling Trump followers “deplorable”, etc.? No hot questions for Hillary.
I did not hear any question directed at Clinton that would give our nation an explanation, answer or reason why she has shown such poor judgement and devious cover-up behavior, over her years as a politician in office. Lester Holt was not only unfair to Trump but to all American viewers, as well.
If anyone thinks Lester Holt was unfair, wait till you see the love-fest between Chuck Todd, Martha Radditz and Hillary Clinton.
Both Todd and Radditz have expressed a disdain for Trump on their Liberal/Democrat leaning TV shows, Meet the Press, This Week, (with George) , and MSNBC broadcasts, respectively.
How could they be fair to Trump? How could they be fair to you, as a viewer?
You know they will spoon feed Clinton with her talking points, even more than Holt did in the 1st debate.
My advice to Trump would be to skip the debates because there will be too much bias from the mediators on what and how they question Clinton. That would be unfair and frustrating, not only to Trump but to all American viewers, who want an honest and fair debate. I want both candidates to compete on an even playing field.
I agree with Don and the bias will only get worse with the next crew.
They need to change the debate format and have each candidate approve a moderator . Otherwise the Republican candidate , whoever it is, will always be at a disadvantage.
“He is a dangerous, bigoted, uninformed person who could wreak havoc on this country’s economy; inflame ethnic and religious hatred; incite violence; end years of careful, diplomacy-based foreign policy; humiliate the country in the eyes of foreign leaders; increase instability in the Middle East; and encourage not only ISIS but also the most dangerous foreign leaders.”
I agree, but I thought you loved this Obama guy. Your description fits him perfectly.
“It’s becoming hard to recognize the country I live in.”
Again, I agree, thus–TRUMP/ PENCE 2016
Regarding NYS governments ongoing love affair with corruption, if I was one of these guys I would be very upset. Once again the ring leader walks while the foot soldiers pay the price.
It can’t be more obvious- Cuomo is prepping for a Democrat run for the presidency. All this and his HUD disaster makes him a shoe-in.
Marc Lamont Hill said “We Can Afford to Lose an Election, We Can’t Afford to Lose Our Values.”
Therefore, I will vote for Jill Stein.
Take a look at this week’s Tom Tomorrow cartoon. Trump’s base may or may not be deplorable, but they are not open to persuasion. [See previous comments.] They’re as indifferent to facts and as wedded to conspiracy theories as The Donald himself – he is a perfect representation of them. Let’s hope they’re a minority on Election Day.
Cuomo is proposing a SECOND Buffalo billion. Is this a cover up, or trying to fend off Carl Paladino in his home town with taxpayer money?
http://www.investigativepost.org/2016/09/2…
And while you’ve got the checkbook out, how about a little love for Rochester?
OMG, I am shocked, SHOCKED, I say, by the reaction of the usual right wing commenters here that, for some reason, keep reading City and it’s liberal opinions, even though they disagree vehemently. If the media were truly biased, as some say, Trump would have had almost no press, ever. Instead, he’s had how many days that become weeks and months of press coverage since the 1970s? And over the last two years, you’ll notice that he has had way more coverage than any other candidate. He can’t have it all ways.
Gosh, Kathryn, it almost looks like you were talking about me.
No, I’m not one of the “intelligent” people. I listen to all points of view. I would feel foolish commenting here without thinking things through. And yes, the media is biased although the right isn’t anywhere close to the left and at least on the right, they do allow the other point of view to be heard.
So I will continue to read City and other lefty points of view, although I must admit it’s painful. I even listen to the water cooler on WDKX in the morning. I would love to help solve some of the problems in our community so I feel it’s only right to hear people out.
Oh Ms Towler, Ms Towler!
I recognize very much the country I live in. I did even when, in the 1990’s, it elected twice a dissolute reprobate in the person of Bill Clinton to the presidency of the United States. I recognized it even when, in this century, it elected twice a prevaricating greenhorn skin color in the person of Barack Obama. On all four occasions, I accepted the electorate’s verdict. I did not think of those who had voted for the two scoundrels as “deplorable.” Uninformed, perhaps.
I agree with reader “johnny” that your description of Trump fits to a “t” Obama, and Hillary Clinton, I might add. Everything you think Trump will do, Hillary has done.
Back on Sept. 16th, I posted the following note on Facbook:
“Nobody knows for sure who came up with the witticism:”It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.” Mark Twain? Jogi Berra? I don’t know, but I am going to make a prediction, and save it to make fun of me after Nov. 8th, 2016. Political commentators and future historians will say after that date that Hillary Clinton lost the election when she uttered the “deplorable” comment about Trump supporters. From a proud “deplorable” American going out on a limb!”
It was then that Hillary Clinton signed her death sentence, electorally speaking. Her condescending, snooty attitude toward the American voter was breath taking.
Kathryn
We read City because we recognize that all media today is biased. The concept of a Reporter being objective and separating news from opinion is long gone.
The difference between my Conservative and Liberal friends are that when the Conservatives watch Fox or read Breitbart they understand that they are slanted to the Right. My liberal friends will exclusively watch MSNBC or read Politico “Fact Checks” with no recognition that they slant left.
The other difference is that we are less likely to demonize people with different opinions.
The political opinions someone expresses are not related to character .
If I oppose long term welfare it is not because I hate poor people. It is because I believe that it creates disfunctional behaviors that ultimately cause more harm to them.