WNY Coalition For Progress Blog

I haven’t written for some time about the status of what election machines we would be using in New York this year because there had been no recent developments, and the assumption was we would all be using the lever machines in 2008. However, according to a post yesterday on the New York Daily News Blog “The Daily Politics,” we now know the old lever machines will be used through the primary election in 2009:

A federal judge today gave the state Board of Elections — already far behind in complying with the Help America Vote Act — another election cycle to get its act together.

The order from U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe to obtain HAVA-compliant equipment for all counties by the primary elections of September 2009. Sharpe said the state’s “unacceptable and continual delays” in following the law made it logistically impossible to fulfill the mandate any sooner. Thus New Yorkers will use their familiar but aging lever machines to cast ballots in September’s legislative primaries and in November’s general election.

As expected, Sharpe did impose a potentially costly mandate on the state: Disabled-accessible ballot-marking devices must be available at every polling location across the state — not just in every county or borough, as was the case last year — in time for this year’s September primaries.

The state will need thousands of these machines, at a cost of millions of dollars, and it’s unclear whether they will be compatible with whatever HAVA-compliant system the counties ultimately buy. The ballot-marking devices become obsolete after only one election cycle.

Considering that Erie County has slightly over 400 polling locations, if the county is required to pay for the cost of having a HAVA compliant ballot marking device at every polling location this year, Erie County alone could be on the hook for an additional $1,500,000 in costs this year alone, an expense that was supposed to used for replacement of all machines, not just the HAVA compliant machines.

WNY COALITION FOR PROGRESS FOREIGN POLICY WORKING GROUP UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 14, 2008

IN MEMORY OF JOHN GRANVILLE

In world laden with words without action, John Granville stood out as a committed global citizen working to make life better in areas that needed his help the most. While we in Western New York would like to see our best and brightest work and live in our home towns, Buffalo had a citizen abroad to be truly proud of. While this report focuses on the conflict in Darfur and Mr. Granville’s work with USAID focused on North-South peace, it is increasingly apparent the fate of peace in one area is dependent on the other and Mr. Granville was committed to contributing to that peace. For his contributions to humanity and the tragedy of his death, the WNY Coalition for Progress would like to dedicate this update in his memory.

STILL UNSETTLED, DANGEROUS AND NEEDFUL OF A COMPLETE RESPONSE

The United Nations/African Union hybrid force or UNAMID has entered it’s mission shaky and vulnerable. Seen as the only hope to bring in a consensual international intervention to the chaos and death of the Darfur conflict, the force was authorized by the UN Security Council Resolution 1769 in June 2007 to deploy 20,000 troops and 6,000 police to the Western region of Sudan to replace the over-stretched AU force that has been the only foreign security presence in Darfur thus far in the conflict. However, on the first day of their mission, the Hybrid Force was only able to deploy some 9,000 troops (1), most of which were from the previous AU force. The force was also short of equipment, especially ground transportation and helicopters. The problem was brought up during a recent visit to Khartoum by both the AU and UN Special Envoys. (2) 1,200 more troops from Kenya are expected by the end of the month, and the troops promised by Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, The Netherlands, Nepal. Pakistan, and Thailand have not yet arrived. (3) Sweden and Norway recently announced they would be withdrawing their planned 400 troops for an engineering mission as a part of UNAMID due to resistance from the Sudanese government. (4)

This hasn’t hampered states from committing to other actions within their powers. The U.S.Congress recently passed (unanimously) and President Bush has signed the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act, which will allow state and local governments to cut investment ties with companies doing business in Sudan in order to put pressure on the government to cooperate. (5) There have also been bills introduced to the House that call for the U.S. to put more pressure on China, which remains Sudan’s biggest economic partner consuming the vast majority of Sudan’s oil, to do more to pressure the Sudanese government. Other bills call for the U.S. to put more pressure on Arab states to recognize and respond to the conflict.

The European Union has recently settled on the final details of Eufor Chad/CAR, which will provide security, medical and humanitarian support to the millions of refugees from Darfur (6) that have spilled into Sudan’s neighbors, where they have been exposed to further fighting.

The humanitarian situation has seen little improvement as well. A recent USAID report highlighted that 4.2 million people have been affected by the conflict, either by death, internal or external displacement. (7) Banditry and attacks targeting aid workers has made the process of reaching these victims particularly difficult. According to this same report, in 2007 alone, 128 humanitarian vehicles have been hijacked, 74 convoys attacked, 58 humanitarian personnel arrested or detained, 131 personnel kidnapped, 12 staff killed, in addition to other problems with violence. (8) Non-governmental organizations (NGO) have persisted to operate under the Government of National Unity’s moratorium easing requirements for NGO workers and aid to move in and out of the country, which is set to expire at the end of January 2008. However, there have been particular problems in camp coordination (IDP camps within Darfur are losing or have lost camp coordinating NGOs) and in food security (food insecurity rose from 12.9% to 16.1%). On the positive side, USAID has reported that funded NGO interventions have been able to supply clean water over 2007 to 78% of the affected population, as well as successfully combat cholera among victims of the conflict. (9)

The US took in 2,100 Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in 2007 according to the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. (10)

This report was prepared by Elise Garvey, Chairperson of the Coalition’s Foreign Policy Global Economic Affairs Working Group. Elise is presently finishing up her Fulbright Scholarship Studies in the Ukraine studying human trafficking. The full report with footnotes can be viewed HERE.

In 2005, a 30+ year WNY tradition was killed by the budget crisis. The Santa’s Park at Chestnut Ridge Park is one of those little things that contributes to the overall quality of life in this community, and the WNY Coalition for Progress and Revitalize Buffalo were pleased to revive it during 2006 & 2006.

While the Coalition is taking a break from organizing it this year, the Verizon Pioneers (a nonprofit volunteer organization of retired and active telecommunication industry employees) have taken over the reins and they have a great program in store.

This year, Santaland will benefit domestic violence shelters in Western New York. There will be activities for the kids, holiday music, hourly toy giveaways, hayrides, refreshments, and of course SANTA. This event is being hosted by the Verizon Pioneers and Erie County Parks.

When:

At the Chestnut Ridge Park Casino in Orchard Park, NY

Donations of cash, department store and food store cash cards, or personal toiletries will be accepted to benefit Domestic Violence Shelters in WNY

If you are interested in volunteering to help out at this event please contact Phil Hahn, or Jan Liebner. (Friends and family of all ages are welcome to volunteer also!)

Empathy:

1. the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it
2. the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the capacity for this

I have heard the word empathy being used more then once over the past couple of days, in church, in a book I’m reading, in an article in the Buffalo News, in a book I’m listening to, The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, and (men will roll their eyes at this) in O, Oprah’s magazine.

Obama spoke of the lack of empathy he feels is missing from American society today. That our world in the Untied States has gotten so small and so self-involved that we are missing that fundamental human trait, empathy.

The article in O asked the question of why we as Americans, as well as fellow human beings, have not been more outraged, have not gotten enraged, about the genocide, the rape of women and children, the general horror that is taking place in Darfur. How we as a people have not been able find the compassion, the empathy and the anger to actually do something, such as raise and give money or to force our leaders to get involved and work to end the crisis going on over there.

The article states that studies have been done on the feeling of empathy, what makes one empathize for one thing and not another. One of the conclusions it found was that when a person hears a very large statistic such as “since 2003 over 400,000 people have been killed and more than 3.5 million people are completely reliant on international aid for survival.” People’s eyes glaze over, they stop paying attention. The numbers are just too big and too overwhelming to comprehend or feel anything at all. That it is much easier for someone to feel empathy for ONE person, rather then for many.

They did a study on people who donated to a charity to help poor children in the U.S. They had a choice of giving to a boy, a girl, or both. They found that a majority of people gave to either the boy or the girl and that a very small fraction gave to both.

Think back to 1987 to the concern and empathy this country felt when Baby Jessica fell into that well. The family received more then $400,000 in donations to help with medical costs.

Joseph Stalin, an infamous man to be sure, once said, “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.”

So maybe that is our problem with grand human tragedies, it is all just too overwhelming for us; that an individual, one person, one dog, one life, is simpler to understand and to feel empathy for.

On the other hand, is Obama correct? Has our society today and our self-involvement, resulted in the loss in our ability to empathize?

Leaders at an Asia-Pacific summit on climate change were at a stalemate as to what their clamate change decleration should say. Which is of course a shame considering they are just wasting time fighting over words as the world just gets hotter and hotter.

But Does anyone have any idea what could be behind Bush’s sudden change in attitude with regards to climate change? For years he stated that he believed that global climate change and global warming was a fabrication, was a hoax and then all of a sudden he not only agrees that it is a threat but that the United Sates has to do something about it? My overly political mind automatically tries to find a political reason behind his sudden transformation. Does he think it will help the repubs in next year’s election? Is he thinking about his historical legacy and not wanting it to just be this horrible war? Or is he actually starting to listen to every single scientist and climatologist out there and opening his eyes and noticing all the changes in our weather and climate patterns? We will probably never know for sure, but at least it is a topic he is starting to pay attention to.

The Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a press release today (see below) that comes to the conclusion that the population of WNY is aging…well duh. I think that is pretty much a given with the never-ending exodus of our young people as well as the fact that no young people are moving into the area. However, this also means that more jobs will be available in certain fields such as healthcare and transportation services. The press release also states that this aging population will require more social services provided by our taxes. It sounds like more services, with a decreasing population to help pay for it. What I am hoping will happen is that the new jobs will bring more people into the area to increase the tax base. Otherwise, this could be a recipe for disaster.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 4, 2007
Contact: Katie Krawczyk, Communications and Public Relations Specialist
(716) 849-5014

Local Governments and Institutions to Face a Challenge Providing Services
and Infrastructure to an Aging Population

BUFFALO, NY - In new research released today, the Buffalo Branch of the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that demand for age-related
services and infrastructure will increase with a growing senior population
in upstate New York.

Population profiles of the region suggest that this demand is most
concentrated in areas experiencing fiscal stress from rising costs and
eroding tax bases, such as the region’s larger cities, the cities?
inner-ring suburbs, and the large urban counties that contain them. The
need for public and nonprofit support to accommodate the elderly may also
be greater in upstate New York than is typical nationwide. Therefore,
local governments and other regional institutions that service this
population will need to anticipate and address the significant challenges
they may face meeting this demand.

Branch Chief Economist Richard Deitz and former Regional Economist Ramon
Garcia explore this topic in the latest issue of Upstate New York Regional
Review, “The Demand for Local Services and Infrastructure Created by an
Aging Population.?”.

“The senior population of upstate New York is generally older than senior
populations in other parts of the country,” explains Deitz. “This
suggests that as the population ages, the region will experience a growing
demand for supportive services like health care, transportation and
accessible housing, which may pose significant challenges to local
governments and community-based organizations.”

Upstate New York Regional Review presents in-depth research on a wide
variety of issues that affect the regional economy.

This and other publications, as well as more information about the Buffalo
Branch, its research and activities, can be found at the Branch’s website.

As the upstate presence of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the
Buffalo Branch promotes regional vitality by providing economic
intelligence and analysis to inform and enable decision-makers to advance
better outcomes for the upstate New York economy.

www.newyorkfed.org/buffalo # # #

The Buffalo News reports this morning about another change…

The Michigan legislature on Thursday approved moving the state’s presidential nomination contests to Jan. 15, despite national Democrats’ vow to punish states that vote too early.

With the way things are going I don’t think we will know the final dates of some of these primaries until sometime in December. Additionally, if the national parties do what they are threatening to do and bar the states who vote early, either we will have very empty national conventions next year or the parties will give in and cave to the states.

Either way this has been an absolute disaster!

If you turn on the news, open the paper, or turn on your computer, you will hear or read a new story almost everyday about severe weather and weather changes happening all over the world; drought, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis.

As our atmosphere gets warmer, scientists say these climate changes will be happening with more frequency, and not just the big disasters, but more severe thunderstorms, hail, and tornados.

As the world warms, the United States will face more severe thunderstorms with deadly lightning, damaging hail and the potential for tornadoes, a trailblazing study by NASA scientists suggests.

While other research has warned of broad weather changes on a large scale, like more extreme hurricanes and droughts, the new study predicts that even smaller events like thunderstorms will be more dangerous because of global warming.

The basic ingredients for major U.S. inland storms are likely to be more plentiful in a warmer, more moist world, said lead author Tony Del Genio, a NASA research scientist.

According to this morning’s Buffalo News, Buffalo has been enjoying “probably the nicest summer in country”. They are right, it has been a beautiful summer, very sunny and pleasant. My lawn could have used a little more rain, but it has allowed a great deal of outdoor time for my daughter. But the moral of the story and something I hope that people actually pay attention to in the article, is what is happening to the rest of the country.

Of the 30 days this month, the temperature in Phoenix has climbed above 100 degrees on all but four.

Since May, New York City has been inundated with 22.5 inches of rain, enough during one particularly nasty downpour earlier this month to close subways.

More heavy rain in Madison, Wis. — 15 inches so far this month compared with the normal of four inches — caused serious flooding in southern Wisconsin.

Enjoy your summer Western New Yorkers but be prepared, get active, get involved and most of all, PAY ATTENTION!

I was just reading about the upteenth change in primary dates. This time it’s South Carolina (again). So here’s what were looking at people.

Iowa law states that they have to hold their caucus 8 days before any other voting in the country. New Hampshire state law requires them to hold the first primary in the country at least a week before any other. So having SC move it’s primary to Jan. 29th, that forces NH to move it’s Jan. 22nd primary even earlier, to Jan. 8th. Which would make the Iowa Caucus Dec. 31st at the latest.

Wow, that means we would be having the first voting almost a year before the general election. Which means the front running candidates will have the most advantage because they have the most money to bounce from state to state to state, meeting the most people, putting out the most ads, and knocking out any chance that a 3rd candidate would be able to do anything.

Is this great for democracy? I think not!

Loved Esmonde’s column in the News this morning. It is exactly what I and the Coalition have been saying for months. If only the masses understood what price this community will pay having the casino downtown. It makes me sad and very, very angry.

If you go on over to BuffaloPundit (the best blog in the world, but I’m a little biased) you will read a great post about a picture of a trifecta of New York Politics, “Excelsior!”

That’s all for now, too much thinking makes my head hurt. Enjoy your day!