tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47364080770150358592024-03-04T22:35:51.647-08:00Rural PoliticsThis is a blog about political issues affecting the rural areas of Western New York.Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-38105539703511193942013-08-30T02:37:00.000-07:002013-08-30T04:38:53.231-07:00Missives From Fuckneckville (Back to School Edition)Fuck the kids. I mean, don't <i>fuck</i> them, but fuck 'em.<br />
<br />
At least that's what this contributor to The Buffalo News' Letter to the Editor page thinks.<br />
<br />
The following love letter to poor children was submitted by Anthony Pasceri of Buffalo, NY:<br />
<br />
<i>DISCLAIMER: </i><br />
<i><span class="Italic"><br /></span>The basic idea of this letter is ridiculous enough that I can afford some magnanimity <span class="Italic">with regard to
the underlying racist tones. Mainly because I'm
not willing to waste the requisite minutes of my life debunking the
imaginary welfare queen archetypes that certainly dance like sugarplums
in this fuckneck's head.</span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.retronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cake-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="articleP">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h3>
Parents are shirking their responsibilities</h3>
According to a recent letter, 86 percent of Buffalo students quality
for a free or reduced lunch. Would I be wrong in assuming that they are
also eligible for food stamps and other public assistance? With so many
entitlement and food programs in this country, whose fault would it be
if any school-aged child came to school hungry – their parents or their
teacher?<br />
<br />
How about Supper at School to go along with Breakfast in
the Classroom? That way, parents can be absolved of another parental
duty. This Breakfast in the Classroom debate is actually much more than
another attempt to blame the Buffalo Teachers Federation for a societal
ill. It brings to light the biggest problem in our country today: People
having children whom they are either unable or unwilling to care for.<br />
<br />
Anthony Pasceri<br />
<br />
<span class="Italic">Buffalo</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span class="Italic">I just made my 'derp face' so hard I think my cheeks might be broken. Maybe that happened because I'm burdened by <i>facts</i> and I know <i>things</i> about <i>stuff</i>. Either way, my fucking cheeks hurt and I feel like I need to make the pain worthwhile.</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">Let's start by educating ourselves about the cost of running a household, then we'll have a look at which households qualify for this hippie program.</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">Since this particular missive from fuckneckville was submitted from a major metropolitan area in New York State, we'll do our best to use available numbers for that area. </span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">Average rent/mortgage expense per year in Buffalo, NY (2 bedrooms) $10,752</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">Average elecricity usage multiplied by NYS average cost.tHm per year: $2040/year</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">Average gas bill: $1200/year</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Italic">So, $13,992 gets you a roof over your head in Western New York, but how do you get to work? </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Italic">Right, a car, have to have one of those. Unless you have a pile of cash lying around, the best way to get a car is to finance it. Let's see what the average, smart spending, Buffalonian can afford. Using the accepted 20/4/10 rule, we can find out what folks in the Queen City should be driving, but we're not going to bother since the median Buffalo household income of $30,230/yearly tells us that we can't afford a new car anyway. We'll just assume we drive a shitty rust bucket with no airbags, financed over 6 years at 12% interest. Let's say $240/month plus $100/month in insurance: $4080.</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">Now, lets say we live in Cheektowaga and work in Hamburg. Not that we'd want to do either, but I digress. That would be roughly 26 miles round trip every day. Let's say your used shitbox car gets 26 mpg in city traffic (it doesn't, but fuck it, right?) So that's a gallon of gas every day at $3.85/gallon working 260 days per year: $1001</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Italic">So far, we've figured out that it costs the average Buffalonian $19,703.00 per year to be sheltered, employed and single.</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">Congratulations, single Buffalonian! You're 19k deep before you've even scarfed a cheeseburger. You don't have a girlfriend and your terrible football team has to play the Patriots in Week 1. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Italic">Whatever, Tom Brady and the boys spanked you good and proper, but you left the bar at halftime and went to the library instead where you met the girl of your dreams. You're married now and her dad got you a job renovating dilapidated grain elevators. You're making 15 bucks an hour and hauling in 30k a year like a good average Buffalonian when your wife gets pregnant. The kid shows up nine months later and it's the best day of your life.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Italic">Over the next four years, you raise your child right and settle into a simple life. Your wife chooses to stay home with that awesome kid (or maybe you do and she takes over your job...gender roles don't really matter here) it's tough to keep food on the table and make the rent payment, but you and your spouse are responsible and you make it work. One morning, she tells you she's pregnant again. It's a great feeling.</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">It's about a year later and you've just had your second child. This is also the greatest day of your life. You, your wife and your two kids are a family of four living in Western New York. Money is tight so you demand a raise, your boss bumps you up ten grand a year because you've been a loyal employee.. You do the research and find out it's cheaper for your wife to stay home with the second baby than to put the kid in daycare.</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">So, you're making $40,000 per year. It's more than the average Buffalo household and a hell of a lot more than what you were raking in five years ago, but now you have to buy health insurance at 12k/ year and feed yourself and three other people. You have to buy diapers for the newborn and clothes for your new kindergartener. You're above average for your area and you still can't make ends meet. </span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">Wouldn't it be wonderful if your school aged kid could get a midday meal that wouldn't cause you budget worries? What if there was some way to ensure your child was getting proper nutrition during the school-day without causing you budget worries?.</span><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<b><span class="Italic">The NYS school lunch program is as follows:</span></b><br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<br />
<table><caption>Eligibility
</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Meal Categories</th>
<th scope="col">Eligibility</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Free meals</td>
<td>Income up to 130% of poverty ($28,665 for a family of 4 annually)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Reduced Price ($.25) paid by family</td>
<td>Income up to 185% of poverty ($40,793 for a family of 4 annually)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Full price* paid by family</td>
<td>Income over 185% of poverty ($40,793 for a family of 4 annually)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">So Mr. Pasceri, fuck you and the dinosaur you rode in on. The average Buffalo family of four is hovering just above the poverty line. Wages remain stagnant while that same poverty line creeps ever higher and your execrable letter to the editor does absolutely nothing to solve either of those problems.</span><br />
<br /><span class="Italic"></span>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic">So fuck you, and fuck The Buffalo News doubly and sideways for allowing this trash to make the print version of a major metro American Newspaper.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Italic"> ...and welcome back to school, kids. Make sure to learn things, and eat a healthy lunch.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.retronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cake-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.retronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cake-1.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span class="Italic"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<br />
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<span class="Italic"><br /></span>
<br />
<br /></div>
Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-80730656920025704022013-08-28T04:41:00.002-07:002013-08-30T02:52:05.856-07:00Missives From FuckneckvilleI think this may become a series. I even tried to come up with a name for it.<br />
<br />
<i>'The I'm With Stupid Review'</i><br />
<br />
<i>'Letters From the Twilight Zone'</i><br />
<br />
<i>'Things More Useless Than Non-Alcoholic Beer'</i><br />
<br />
<i>'Hashtag #IJustLostIQ'</i><br />
<br />
<i>'Twits: Why You Might Be One'</i><br />
<br />
and my personal favorite:<br />
<br />
<i>'Herp, Derp, Type'</i><br />
<br />
Whatever, It'll come to me.<br />
<br />
Today, though, I offer you an opportunity to purse your lips over your morning coffee and think, silently of course, "What the fuck is <i>this</i> shit?"<br />
<br />
Grab your coffee now and read this indecipherable assgasm sent to the <a href="http://thedailynewsonline.com/opinion/article_3df7aa94-0f33-11e3-9088-0019bb2963f4.html">Batavia Daily News</a> from former elected official and current loveable curmudgeon, John Sackett.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="content">
<span class="paragraph-0">
</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="paragraph-0">Are you a real Christian or a social Christian? Do you believe in
your family’s heritage? Do you know your family’s heritage? What made
your ancestors come to America? Does your church post the Ten
Commandments? If not, why not? Do you know the Ten Commandments? Why
not? Do you read the Bible by yourself? If not, why? Yes, heritage and
knowledge of the Bible is still important today in this age of
progressiveness and so-called enlightenment.<br />
<br />
<br />
</span>
<span class="paragraph-1">
Our ancestors worked hard, took no food, took no clothing, took
no heat, took no housing — unless the Church provided help when really
needed! It was called pride! What do we have today? More people on food
stamps than are working! Let’s hear that again — more people taking food
stamps than are working/employed! Is this our America? How have we
allowed this to happen? Have we been negligent of our duties as free
Americans? Why have we allowed this to happen? Has our country changed
before our eyes? Why? It is because we have forgotten our heritage? Have
we forgotten our pride? Have we forgotten how to guide ourselves? Will
we allow the government to control our lives? Free people don’t depend
on the government!<br />
<br />
</span><br />
<div class="p402_hide">
<div id="in-story">
</div>
</div>
Do you let television dominate your free time?
Why? Do you allow our elected representatives to do things contrary to
what you believe? Why? Are you working more but enjoying life less? Why?<br />
I raise these questions because many of us,
myself included, have been chasing the dollar instead of considering our
lifestyle, instead of considering our families and not considering our
country’s future!<br />
In reality — are you a real Christian or a social Christian? What do you think-believe?<br />
<br />
<b>John L. Sackett Jr.</b><br />
<b>Byron</b></blockquote>
</div>
<br />
Let's just take a journey through Mr. Sackett's letter (even though we think he may be the victim of some kind of malignant brain parasite.)<br />
<br />
<b><span class="paragraph-0">Are you a real Christian or a social Christian?</span></b><br />
<br />
Neither, actually. Are these the only options? Could I be a Jew, or some sort of Viking priest? I'm unsure about the ground rules here, but let's continue.<br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><b>Do you believe in
your family’s heritage?</b></span><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0">I most certainly do, sir. As a matter of fact, I exist...so I have to, right? Am I a figment of my own imagination? Hell, if I had known that, I would have cooked up something a lot more awesome than this. I'm an underwear model, no wait, I'm a dildo model...no wait, I'm Batman. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0">Yeah, I'm Batman.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"></span><b><span class="paragraph-0">Do you know your family’s heritage?</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0">Yes, sir. My parents were killed during a robbery gone bad when I was just a boy. I was left as the sole heir to an enormous fortune</span><b><span class="paragraph-0">, </span></b><span class="paragraph-0">but I always felt the need to protect the weak and fight injustice...</span><br />
<b><span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<b><span class="paragraph-0">What made
your ancestors come to America?</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0">Probably a boat with some sails. BatSails.</span><b><span class="paragraph-0"> </span></b><br />
<b><span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span></b>
<b><br /><span class="paragraph-0">Does your church post the Ten
Commandments?</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0">Absolutely. </span><span class="paragraph-0">In fact I attend the Church of the Ten Commandments.</span><br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span>
<span class="paragraph-0">The First Commandment is: Thou shalt wash and wax the Batmobile every Saturday...unless it's raining.</span><br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span>
<span class="paragraph-0">There used to only be nine commandments, but Superman started showing up and insisted on implementing the Tenth which states: Thou shalt not bang fat chicks. </span><br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span>
<span class="paragraph-0">Superman is kind of a dick, but we let him hang out because he always brings blueberry muffins.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><b><span class="paragraph-0">If not, why not?</span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><span class="paragraph-0">We do, man, get off my cape. Damn.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span class="paragraph-0"><span class="paragraph-0"> </span></span><span class="paragraph-0">Do you know the Ten Commandments?</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><span class="paragraph-0">Well, I definitely know the tenth. Supes is always calling Aquaman a chubby chaser because of that one time with the orca...but she was cool, you know? Superman is a total dick.</span></span><br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<b><span class="paragraph-0">Do you read the Bible by yourself?</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0">Shit yeah, then I share my favorite verses on Facebook...they're fucking hilarious. </span><span class="paragraph-0">Total lulz factory. Matter of fact, that's how I meet chicks</span><b><span class="paragraph-0"> </span></b><span class="paragraph-0">from</span><b><span class="paragraph-0"> </span></b><span class="paragraph-0">ChristianMingle.com. I get crazy ass from that site. I'm all like, 'I'm Batman.' and they're all like, 'I'll only blow you if you love Jesus.' Then I pull out the old BataWang and it's on like Donkey Kong.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span class="paragraph-0"></span><span class="paragraph-1">Our ancestors worked hard, took no food, took no clothing, took
no heat, took no housing — unless the Church provided help when really
needed! It was called pride! What do we have today?</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">Bullshit, BatShit. </span><span class="paragraph-1">I</span><span class="paragraph-1">'m richer than the Pope but I'm pretty sure a neighbor or two dropped off a loaf of non-church sanctioned bread at one of my ancestors' houses at some point in history, and if they didn't, fuck them. That's some un-neighborly shit right there. As a matter of fact, if your ancestors didn't let my ancestors borrow a cup of sugar I'm dis-inviting you from my bounce house slumber party. This means you, Superman. Asshole.</span><br />
<span class="paragraph-1"><br /></span>
<span class="paragraph-1"><br /></span>
<b><br /><span class="paragraph-1">What do we have today? More people on food
stamps than are working! Let’s hear that again — more people taking food
stamps than are working/employed!</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">For this to be true, over 90% of Americans would be on food stamps. You stupid motherfucker.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span class="paragraph-1"></span><span class="paragraph-1">Have we been negligent of our duties as free
Americans? </span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">Uh, no. The other night I watched Miley Cyrus dry fuck a middle aged man then I went out and fought crime. What else do you want from me? Free Healthcare?</span><b><span class="paragraph-1"> </span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1"><b>Has our country changed
before our eyes? Why? It is because we have forgotten our heritage</b>?</span><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">Are you talking about smallpox? Yeah that was a shitty thing to do the the Native Americans, we should remember that. Or maybe you're talking about slavery? That was shitty too. Definitely remember that. I don't know, maybe you need to clarify that whole 'heritage' thing. Even Superman thinks your ancestors were dicks...</span><br />
<span class="paragraph-1"><br /></span>
<b><br /><span class="paragraph-1">Have
we forgotten our pride?</span></b><br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span>
<span class="paragraph-0">Uh, no, I'm fucking Batman. The Third Commandment is: Thou shalt remember that I am Batman.</span><br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span>
<b><span class="paragraph-1">Have we forgotten how to guide ourselves?</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">I have GPS, bro.</span><b><span class="paragraph-1"> </span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="paragraph-1">Will
we allow the government to control our lives? Free people don’t depend
on the government!</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">Right, tell me about it brother! Fucking Mayor McCheese tried to stiff me out of some McNuggets last week and I took that punk out to the woodshed. Tell <i>me</i> I can't have a 15-piece?! I'll kick you in your Mayor McNutsack. </span><br />
<span class="paragraph-1"><br /></span>
<b><span class="paragraph-1"></span></b><b>Do you let television dominate your free time?</b><br />
<br />
Only until Breaking Bad is finished.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><b><span class="paragraph-0">Do you allow our elected representatives to do things contrary to
what you believe?</span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><span class="paragraph-0">Damn, no! I'll be donating heavily to the Hamburglar come next election cycle.</span><b><span class="paragraph-0"> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><b><span class="paragraph-0"></span></b></span><b>Are you working more but enjoying life less? Why?</b><br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><span class="paragraph-0">Yes, because I'm Batman.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b>I raise these questions because many of us,
myself included, have been chasing the dollar instead of considering our
lifestyle, instead of considering our families and not considering our
country’s future!</b><br />
<br />
My lifestyle is awesome. I wear a cape and kick ass...and I told you about those chicks from Christian Mingle, right?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>What do you think-believe?</b><br />
<br />
I think I'm going to call this series: <i>'Missives From Fuckneckville'.</i><br />
<br />
I believe I'll subtitle it:<i> 'Herp, Derp, Type'.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Batman___Word_by_Defiant_Ant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Batman___Word_by_Defiant_Ant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i> </i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><span class="paragraph-0"> </span> </span><br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span>
<span class="paragraph-0"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-0"><b> </b> </span>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-56515673078866293942013-08-17T22:40:00.002-07:002013-08-17T22:41:50.686-07:00Homeless Vet At The Bus StationI don't remember his name. I'm not certain he ever told me what it was.
Years later when I really started to think about him and and a hundred
thousand other men just like him, I felt shame. I thought if I could
just remember what he called himself, or if I knew for sure I'd cared
enough back then to ask, the whole encounter wouldn't live in my head as
a metaphor for the false empathy and all too real apathy that defines
so many of us.<br />
<br />
On an August afternoon in 2000 I bought Mr. Nobody a cheeseburger at the Buffalo bus station.<br />
<br />
I was there because I'd just left my in-processing screening for the Air
Force a few streets over. I had spent the day moving from one station
to another, hearing tests, drug tests, tests where they groped your
balls and tests where some un-funny asshole joked about the guy who just
groped your balls.<br />
<br />
<i>"Lift this weight. Strip down to your underwear. Put your hands
together and touch the floor, I need to check your spine. How many times
did you say you smoked marijuana? Sign this. Go wait in that room over
there, we'll call your name when it's your turn. Let's talk about what
kind of job the Air Force needs you to do."</i><br />
<br />
At the end of the day, those of us who were entering into delayed enlistment took the oath.<br />
<br />
<i>"Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I (state your name), do
solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the
President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed
over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military
Justice. So help me God."</i><br />
<br />
<i>"Here's your bus ticket, see you in a couple months." </i><br />
<br />
It was thirteen months before a handful of hyper-religious shitheads
attacked America. Kids my age were joining so they could go to college,
or because they couldn't get into one. They were too poor or too dumb. I
was there because I'd had enough of college. When I was there, I never
went to class. I drank cheap beer every day and I spent most of my
productive time sampling from a suitcase filled with my roommate's
seemingly endless supply of hard drugs. So I dropped out and went to
work. That wasn't doing it for me either, so strolled into the Air Force
recruiter's office and signed myself up.<br />
<br />
I joined the Air Force because I was a bored middle-class kid.<br />
<br />
That's how I found myself standing outside the Buffalo bus station on an
August afternoon listening un-ironically to Rage Against the Machine on
my Sony Discman, smoking cigarettes and trying to kill the hour before I
could get on a bus and go home.<br />
<br />
"You got another one of those?" It was Mr. Nobody.<br />
<br />
I looked over and saw an older black man in a wheelchair. Red knit hat,
stringy gray beard, faded and thick green jacket, frayed gray and red
blanket over his lap hiding legs that ended at the knees. Another man
stood behind him with his hands on the wheelchair's handles. The second
man wasn't in much better shape, but at least he was standing.
Everything is relative, I suppose.<br />
<br />
"Yeah," I said, pulling out my pack of Newports, "here."<br />
<br />
"You got one for my friend too?"<br />
<br />
"Sure, whatever."<br />
<br />
I handed a second cigarette to the man behind the chair and leaned against the wall.<br />
<br />
"Where you goin', man?"<br />
<br />
"Home," I replied. "I just joined the Air Force."<br />
<br />
"Ha!" He let out a barking laugh and let it dwindle down to a chuckle.
"Motherfuckin' Air Force. You gonna fly them fighter planes?" He stuck
his hands out like he was driving a car and made an engine noise with
gunfire punctuation. "<i>VRRRrrrRRRrrrrRRRRR...... chchchchchch.... vRRRrrrRRRrrrrRRRRR</i> fuckin' Air Force. Yeah!" He laughed again.<br />
<br />
I smiled with him. "Nah, no flying for me. I don't know what my job's gonna be."<br />
<br />
"Probably a good thing, man. Fuckin' fighter planes get shot down, crash. I was in the Army, man. Yeah."<br />
<br />
"What did you do in the Army?"<br />
<br />
"It was Vietnam. I did what every motherfucker in the Army did, man."<br />
<br />
I grunted in response and looked down at the empty place where his shins
and feet should have been. It was a reflex. I looked away immediately.<br />
<br />
I finished my cigarette and turned toward the bus station door, I wanted to get away. Then I heard his voice again.<br />
<br />
"Hey, Air Force, you got a dollar maybe?"<br />
<br />
"Yeah, maybe," I said. "Depends on what you need it for, I guess."<br />
<br />
"Gotta eat, man."<br />
<br />
"How about I buy you a cheeseburger instead?" Self-righteous, nineteen
year-old me didn't want to give the man money for booze or drugs.
Self-righteous, hypocritical, nineteen year-old me.<br />
<br />
I walked into the bus station and ordered a couple cheeseburgers, fries
and drinks from the short order lunch counter. I felt like I was saving
the world. <i>VRRRrrrRRRrrrrRRRRR...... chchchchchch.... vRRRrrrRRRrrrrRRRRR. </i>Modern Christ and Air Force enlistee saving boozehound bums one shitty lunch at a time. Yeah!<br />
<br />
I took the bag of food back outside and handed it to Mr. Nobody. He took
a burger and a cardboard container of soggy fries and gave the rest to
his friend.<br />
<br />
"So," I asked, "you live around here?"<br />
<br />
"Ha!" That barking laugh again. "Yeah, man, I live around here." He
forked a thumb over his shoulder. "I live around there too." He made a
circling motion with the hand holding the burger. "I live all around,
man. Ha!"<br />
<br />
"Well," I replied, "at least it's warm right now." That, to this day and
despite heavy competition, remains the stupidest fucking thing that has
ever come out of my mouth.<br />
<br />
We sat there on the corner of N. Division and Ellicott and made small
talk while he and his friend ate. At one point I heard a noise like a
dwindling faucet and looked down to see that he'd pissed himself right
there in his wheelchair. The urine was dripping steadily from his
blanket and puddling on the sidewalk. I pretended not to notice.<br />
<br />
Eventually I made my excuses and left to finish waiting for my bus
inside the station. The bus came. I got on and rode the thing back home.
Just a bored middle-class kid.<br />
<br />
I wish I had remembered his name, or even asked for it. There are
thousands of Mr. Nobody's in hundreds of cities and towns all over
America.<br />
<br />
Homeless veterans.<br />
<br />
Mr. Nobody was a nineteen year-old kid once, he was a soldier. Somewhere
along the way he lost his legs and sometime after that he acquired a
blanket to piss into after eating a free cheeseburger and sucking down a
soda from a bus station lunch counter.<br />
<br />
Kids take the oath every day. They fight the wars of the rich and
powerful and we forget about them when they come home. We think of the
casualties of war as flag-draped coffins and weeping widows. We put
yellow ribbon bumper stickers on our cars because WE SUPPORT THE TROOPS
<i>byChristbyJovebyAmerica.</i><br />
<br />
That is, until the troops actually need our support. Then the flagsucking, warhawk bastards walk away.<br />
<br />
<i>VRRRrrrRRRrrrrRRRRR...... chchchchchch.... vRRRrrrRRRrrrrRRRRR... </i>Fuckin' America. Yeah!<br />
<br />
Hey, Senator, you got a dollar, maybe?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/c21U8dsdMXE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-50173032895374085632013-08-13T07:10:00.003-07:002013-08-13T08:21:39.382-07:00Genesee County Legal Politics (and things, to wit: Criminal Charges)So, the LeRoy Town Supervisor, Steve Barbeau. found himself in bracelets this weekend following a physical altercation with a LeRoy property developer who also happens to be said Supervisor's neghbor.<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/town-le-roy-supervisor-arrested-following-alleged-incident-neighbor/38928">The Batavian</a>, LeRoy Town Supervisor Steve Barbeau initiated a physical altercation with neighbor and local property developer Pete McQuillen over a dispute about some tree branches and where they happened to land.<br />
<br />
Barbeau allegedly attacked McQuillen because "Barbeau was upset because a tree on McQuillen's property fell and
Barbeau believed a portion of the tree came down onto his property."<br />
<br />
Barbeau was arrested by LeRoy police and charged with Second Degree Harassment which, under New York Penal code happens when: <br />
<br />
<pre>A person is guilty of harassment in the second degree when, with
intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person:
1. He or she strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects such other
person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same; or
2. He or she follows a person in or about a public place or places; or
3. He or she engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts
which alarm or seriously annoy such other person and which serve no
legitimate purpose.
Subdivisions two and three of this section shall not apply to
activities regulated by the national labor relations act, as amended,
the railway labor act, as amended, or the federal employment labor
management act, as amended.</pre>
<pre> </pre>
<pre> </pre>
<pre> </pre>
<br />
Barbeau by his own admission in the following quote from The Batavian committed the violation:<br />
<br />
"It was quite heated," Barbeau said. "He got heated right back. I pushed
him with my hands open on his chest and he fell to the ground."<br />
<br />
This quote tells you a couple different thing. First, when Barbeau says that 'It was quite heated,' he is referring either to himself or his opinion of the entire situation since he modifies that statement immediately with the following, 'He got heated right back.' The statement tells us unequivocally that McQuillen responded in a way that mirrored Barbeau's 'heated' actions until those actions became physical in nature. There is also a reasonable understanding that, at this point, Barbeau was on McQuillen's property and, by Barbeau's own admission, initiating physical contact.<br />
<br />
I take no issue with the police response or with the charges levied against Mr. Barbeau for his admitted actions except for this:<br />
<br />
In Genesee County, NY, alleged crimes rising to the bare minimum level for charging under the statute have been previously charged under the current District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, particularly when they involve political figures to wit NY v. Charvella in which a political activist was charged with Misdemeanor Aggravated Harassment under NY Penal code 240 for placing a phone call in which the defendant stated to an elected official's answering machine: 'Thank you for reading my blog.'<br />
<br />
NY v. Charvella was later dismissed by a Town Justice in that same county.<br />
<br />
The District Attorney in that county later stated after being accused by the defendant in the case as well as educated commentors outside of the case as making political decisions rather than legal ones that his ""political affiliation is always irrelevant. I don’t look at
anybody’s politics when I get involved in a case, neither the victims
nor the defendants nor the witnesses nor anybody else."<br />
<br />
If the Genesee County DA was in any way serious when he made that statement he should, based on his history of charging crimes clarified in the the very weakest letter of the law, upgrade this charge to Assault in the Second Degree (a misdemeanor) which states:<br />
<br />
<pre> A person is guilty of assault in the second degree when:
1. With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he
causes such injury to such person or to a third person;</pre>
<pre> </pre>
<br />
Or, at the very minimum, Menacing in the Third Degree which states:<br />
<br />
<pre>A person is guilty of menacing in the third degree when, by physical
menace, he or she intentionally places or attempts to place another
person in fear of death, imminent serious physical injury or physical
injury.</pre>
<br />
The Genesee County DA should also reserve, and exercise , the right to upgrade this crime based on any injuries Mr. McQuillen may have sustained during the altercation. <br />
<br />
The justice system only works when it is used in a manner that is equal for all under its purview. Whether that person is the accuser or the accused should not matter. Consistency must be the watchword. Consistency from case to case.<br />
<pre> </pre>
<pre> </pre>
<pre> </pre>
<pre></pre>
Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-21659508082428423082012-11-06T03:22:00.001-08:002012-11-06T03:23:22.202-08:00Election Day In AmericaIt's Election Day in America and policy is an internet meme. I know this because I made more than a few of them myself.<br />
<br />
What will Medicare be?<br />
<br />
Who feels more deeply the plight of the middle class?<br />
<br />
Who loves Christ the King?<br />
<br />
Who will represent <i>whiteblackmuslimlatinoasian </i>America?<br />
<br />
Why do less than half of us even care enough to fill in a sheet, pull a lever or punch, too softly, a hanging chad?<br />
<br />
Maybe it's because Mr. Smith can never go to Washington.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's because our politicians send pictures of their stiff cocks to
Twitter followers or are so ashamed to admit they're gay that they
troll Craigslist for transsexual boytoys. <br />
<br />
Maybe it's because no matter who becomes the President, there will
always be football on Sunday
(rightafterchurchamenpraiseGodandtheDallasCowboys<i>hallelujah!</i>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Maybe it's because we're a nation of homeless veterans and
impoverished children and no one here seems to give one <span style="font-size: x-small;">tinylittlemarginal</span>
fuck about it anymore.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Maybe it's because our education system is out of money and terrible and our health-care system is drowning in money and even worse.</span><br /><br />Show me a candidate who will spend a trillion dollars on feeding the poor and homeless.
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />Show me a candidate who will tell the naysayers to go fuck themselves when he does it. </span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />Show me the man or woman who will stop the wars to pay for better schools and bridges and clean energy and healthcare that won't bankrupt families.</span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />\</span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />Show me a candidate who will stop forcing eighteen year old American children to kill eighteen year old Afghan and Pakistani children.</span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />Show me a way to a better world and I will show you a reason for more than less than half of us to care again. </span>
<b> </b>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-33786683691236435162012-08-13T09:19:00.002-07:002012-08-13T09:31:22.668-07:00Chris Collins Thinks Substance Is For Suckers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1SMv43R-7PjiMYjWESL2c_zQDK0_NOY-_PHXaN7KxZhVCPP3CvhepnvE5N6WAEdPBG7QGiyPhfE3SzGu9vRVtejhXVRW6Exdi28xb7LYPeuIXbGTBpJjlhR_L7H8UzCzjesLbzBbVXc/s1600/CollSubstance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1SMv43R-7PjiMYjWESL2c_zQDK0_NOY-_PHXaN7KxZhVCPP3CvhepnvE5N6WAEdPBG7QGiyPhfE3SzGu9vRVtejhXVRW6Exdi28xb7LYPeuIXbGTBpJjlhR_L7H8UzCzjesLbzBbVXc/s320/CollSubstance.JPG" width="246" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<a href="http://e2.ma/message/vj88c/n5rczh">Submitted for your skepticism.</a><br />
<br />
That's an <a href="http://e2.ma/message/vj88c/n5rczh">email</a> sent by Chris Collins to supporters just a few days after GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney chose Medicare hatchet-man Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate. It's not surprising that Collins would attempt to find an attack avenue using Medicare as an issue in the NY27 race since the Ryan budget plan of 2011 received most of the credit for Congresswoman Kathy Hochul's easy victory in last year's special election in a heavily Republican district.<br />
<br />
Collins refused to take any position whatsoever on Paul Ryan's plan for Medicare, but that didn't stop him from attempting to turn the issue into a ham-fisted attack on Kathy Hochul. As usual, Collins' latest release is so full of misdirection, fantasy and outright lies that we'll need to break it down point by point.<br />
<br />
1:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="e2ma-style" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">"Typical Kathy...<br />
<br />
<span class="e2ma-style" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14px;">She's at it </span>again. After voting to cut $700 billion from Medicare and Medicare Advantage, Kathy Hochul is back to scaring seniors with half-truths, lies and distortions." </span></span></blockquote><br />
No one is going to accuse the Collins campaign of having a sense of irony. The cuts Collins is discussing here have zero effect on benefits to seniors. They are aimed at disbursements to providers and the Medicare bureaucracy. The real fun fact about this attack is that the Ryan plan for Medicare <i>contains the</i> <i>same 700 billion in cuts</i>. Collins knows this and even told the Batavia Daily News that <a href="http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_1a6127bc-9988-11e1-b3da-001a4bcf887a.html">the Ryan plan doesn't go far enough with its cuts.</a><br />
<br />
2: The second portion of the Collins email is a donation ask. This is typical for a campaign email from any candidate, a simple link to a donation page that says their opponent is killing puppies and if you want to help stop such disgusting behavior you need to send five or ten or twenty-five dollars right now.<br />
<br />
3:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="line-height: 1.3em;"><span class="e2ma-style" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">That’s right - she’s the only candidate in this race who voted to cut Medicare - by $700 billion.</span></span></div><span class="e2ma-style" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><b><i>That’s the kind of hypocrisy typical politicians like Kathy are known for. They say one thing at home, but do another in Washington.</i></b> </span></span></blockquote> Kathy Hochul is the only candidate in this race who has ever voted for any bill. She's a Congresswoman, that's sort of what they do. We've already addressed the $700 billion myth, so let's just move on.<br />
<br />
4:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="line-height: 1.3em;"><span class="e2ma-style" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">We have serious problems ahead of us. As a result of Barack Obama and Kathy Hochul’s reckless policies of massive debts, skyrocketing taxes and economic failure, our country is at a tipping point. </span></span></div><span class="e2ma-style" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><b><i>Their failed policies have jeopardized the very programs they claim to protect - like Medicare.</i></b></span></span></blockquote><br />
There is nothing true about this statement. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-2009-americans-paid-lowest-tax-rates-in-30-years-to-federal-government/2012/07/10/gJQAWc5bbW_story.html">Taxes are at a 30 year low. </a>Allow me to repeat that: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-2009-americans-paid-lowest-tax-rates-in-30-years-to-federal-government/2012/07/10/gJQAWc5bbW_story.html">Taxes are at a 30 year low.</a> This cannot be denied. Collins, much like Mitt Romney is attempting to run against a fictional opponent rather than the one standing right in front of him. <br />
<br />
5:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="line-height: 1.3em;"><span class="e2ma-style" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">But even worse, their failed policies have jeopardized the the future of our children and grandchildren.</span></span></div><span class="e2ma-style" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><b><i>We need to get serious about cutting our spending, reducing the debt and fixing our economy. To do that, we need serious leaders who will tell us the truth, and not use scare tactics like Kathy Hochul. </i></b></span></span></blockquote><br />
Right, Collins for the kids. What does that statement even mean? Nothing, nothing at all. I'll let you decide who's using the 'scare tactic' here.<br />
<br />
6:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="e2ma-style" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em;">We deserve a real debate about the solutions to address these problems. But with typical politicians like Kathy Hochul who campaign based on distortions and half truths, we won’t have that debate. That’s why we need a change. </span></span></blockquote>This little gem is the crowning achievement in this communication from Candidate Collins. A fundraising email full of distortions and half truths sent out at the direction of a candidate that<a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article1001731.ece"> refuses to have an public opinion about the issue being discussed</a> is finished off by accusing Congresswoman Hochul of engaging in the same behavior without providing a single example of her doing so.<br />
<br />
Chris Collins continues to be a willfully ignorant and purposefully non-substantive candidate. He uses poorly thought out e-mails and press releases to define a platform that doesn't appear to have any planks.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-54849816742958444082012-08-02T11:46:00.001-07:002012-08-02T11:48:25.707-07:00Taxation Misrepresentation The NY-27 WayLast night in Washington D.C, members of the House of Representatives voted on two separate tax relief extension bills. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.15:">First up was H.R. 15</a>, the version introduced by House Democrats. The highlights of this bill were extensions to tax cuts for the middle class through December 2013, a 5% increase in the capital gains tax that would have moved the current rate on self-replicating wealth from 15-20%, a reset of the tax rate on income over $250,000, and extensions of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. Local representatives Kathy Hochul, Brian Higgins and Louise Slaughter all voted in favor of the bill which was eventually defeated by House Republicans.<br />
<br />
After defeating H.R. 15, House Republicans introduced their own, <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.+8:">much shorter, tax bill, H.R. 8</a>. It is shorter because it is simply a continuation of what we're doing now with some minor adjustments to specific amounts. Hochul, Higgins and Slaughter all voted against this bill, but it passed the House 256-171. It will not pass in the Senate.<br />
<br />
Now that the background is done, let's look at how the votes on these bills are being used as campaign fodder in the NY-27 Congressional race.<br />
<br />
Republican candidate Chris Collins <a href="http://collinsforcongress.com/2012/08/02/public-sector-millionaire-kathy-hochul-votes-to-eliminate-child-tax-credit-marriage-tax-relief/">wasted no time before making outrageous and barely factual statements </a>about Kathy Hochul's votes. His statement also included a poorly constructed populist narrative that would only be construed as sincere if you didn't know anything at all about Collins.<br />
<br />
First, the substance. In his statement, Collins accuses Hochul of voting 'against extending the Child Tax Credit and the Marriage Penalty Tax Relief which were included in the package passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today.' This, while not exactly a lie, fails to address the fact that Hochul voted for extending the Child Tax Credit in the Democratic version of the tax relief bill. This signifies that she is not opposed to the Child Tax Credit, but instead to the extension of tax breaks for millionaires. Marriage Penalty Tax relief is a misnomer at best. There was never a tax penalty for being married, only a lack of incentive to file jointly if spouses had significantly disparate incomes. Hochul supports what is essentially a return to the Clinton-era tax structure, with some extended benefits for the working class. Collins is apparently demanding that she support the status quo, which is an unbelievably dense position since the only thing we can all seem to agree about is that our economy sucks and things are terrible.<br />
<br />
Collins then goes on to say that 'Official records show that Kathy Hochul may be one of Congress’ more wealthy members, having disclosed assets that total between $1 million and $2.3 million. In addition, Hochul and her husband, an Obama political appointee, together jointly earn over $325,000 annually, placing them in the top 1.5% of earners in the United States.' I'm not sure I've ever seen a more ironic statement from a candidate, so let's break this down.<br />
<br />
Collins seems to be donning his populist costume here, but it doesn't fit very well. This attack on Hochul probably needs to be fisked sentence by sentence so let's drag our Bull-Shit-O-Meter up from the basement and get to work:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Sentence 1: 'Official records show that Kathy Hochul may be one of Congress’ more wealthy members, having disclosed assets that total between $1 million and $2.3 million.'</blockquote>On a bullshit scale of 1-10, this statement ranks a 9.5. The only reason it wasn't a perfect 10 was because there actually is a financial disclosure document that details Hochul's assets. The rest of this sentence is nonsense. Although 2012 comparisons including liabilities were not readily available, using the best information at my disposal, it took me about ten seconds to learn that the 'official records' referenced by Collins when compared to other members of Congress actually show that Hochul is most likely in the bottom third of House members when it comes to wealth. <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Sentence 2: In addition, Hochul and her husband, an Obama political appointee, together jointly earn over $325,000 annually, placing them in the top 1.5% of earners in the United States.</blockquote>When I applied my Bull-Shit-O-Meter to this statement, something strange happened. The needle swung back and forth between 0 and 10, metronome style. I was confused until I realized what the problem was: I had the wrong tool. I opened my drawer and there, nestled between the Sarcastoguage and the Snarktimeter, lay my Irony-ometer. It was just what I needed and when I applied the tool to this statement, it promptly exploded.<br />
<br />
As it turns out, the numbers used in Collins' attack on wealth are correct, but the sentiment is not. Collins seems to want you to believe that he is both Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham. There is no sincerity whatsoever in the Collins position on this issue, in fact, it assumes that you, the voter are a misinformed, zombie, coma patient...but I digress.<br />
<br />
The Collins statement goes on to accuse Kathy Hochul of working for the government. We'll have to assume (since we are all morons) that Mr. Collins actually loathes the idea of being a Congressman and that he's just doing it because Jesus told him he had to...or something... <br />
<br />
After that, Collins prints a list of generally bullshit talking points that were prepared by his party's majority on the Ways and Means Committee.<br />
<br />
I feel like I'm going to be doing a lot of these little pieces on the nonsense coming out of the Collins camp between now and November, and I'm not going to let Congresswoman Hochul slide either. I absolutely detest inanity and obfuscation in political campaigns.<br />
<br />
The Siren call of bullshit, smirking accusations seems to be too much for Collins. He simply can't help himself. He and many members of his party think their wobbly platform is enough to win as long as they can get their rabid base foaming at the mouth and the under-informed centrists to believe the nonsense.<br />
<br />
Sadly enough, they may be right.Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-51050359536705044272012-08-01T06:03:00.004-07:002012-08-01T13:29:22.644-07:00Chris Collins Writes A LetterIt's almost August. Too soon for anyone to care much about local elections, but not too soon for candidates to start making ridiculous statements about one another.<br />
<br />
Enter Chris Collins and a <a href="http://collinsforcongress.com/2012/07/31/collins-calls-on-hochul-to-support-middle-class-small-business-tax-cuts/">letter he wrote to Kathy Hochul</a> dated today, July 31st, 2012. In it, he calls on Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul to support an extension to the 2001 and 2003 middle class and small business tax cuts and to break with the President 'just once' in order to do so.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1_IwO91yb97oFnJE2IXq7aqaSKKj7dwRNh3h6Dh8YOWoyHJKdroJxyWHzhorpdhpBv2yaZ1loVMyqqPD_3G_mlG-LysZ_dagp961z1aT2o5br0bqSYScr0-Lrx_QIBghkkTqZj-13oc/s1600/CollinsFacepalm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1_IwO91yb97oFnJE2IXq7aqaSKKj7dwRNh3h6Dh8YOWoyHJKdroJxyWHzhorpdhpBv2yaZ1loVMyqqPD_3G_mlG-LysZ_dagp961z1aT2o5br0bqSYScr0-Lrx_QIBghkkTqZj-13oc/s320/CollinsFacepalm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Apparently, Mr. Collins, despite all of his self-proclaimed business acumen, has failed to learn how to count. Representative Hochul was one of only 18 house Democrats to <a href="http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/112/house/2/177">vote with House Republicans in favor of a $46 Billion small-business tax cut last April. </a><br />
<br />
In fact, Representative Hochul, according to her congressional voting record is actually one of the most conservative members of the Democratic Caucus, <a href="http://www.opencongress.org/people/show/412497_Kathleen_Hochul">voting with her party only 82% of the time</a>. By the numbers she is the<a href="http://www.opencongress.org/people/votes_with_party/house/democrat"> 24th <i>most conservative</i> Democrat out of the 192 currently serving in Congress.</a><br />
<br />
As for the middle class tax cut extension, it was Representative Hochul who <a href="http://www.kathyhochul.com/representative-hochul-calls-chris-collins-support-middle-class-tax-cuts/">issued her own press release four days ago</a> calling on Mr. Collins to support tax cut extensions for American workers.<br />
<br />
Now, here's the important part: Middle class tax cuts don't mean the same thing to both candidates. The 2001 'middle class tax cuts' that Mr. Collins is referring to are commonly known as the Bush tax cuts that reduced tax rates on income over $500,000 roughly 3%.. When you watch MSNBC or listen to liberal talk radio, you will hear this rate commonly paired with the phrase, 'The wealthiest one percent of Americans.' These tax cuts were originally scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, but were extended after President Obama made a deal with Congress that included an extension to his own payroll tax cut as well as guaranteeing long-term unemployment benefits.<br />
<br />
When Representative Hochul, who supports a marginal tax increase on top earning Americans, calls for extended tax relief for the middle class, she means the payroll tax cut, in place since 2010, that reduces the amount you pay the Social Securtiy Administration by about 2% and puts roughly $20-40 per week back into the pockets of work-a-day Americans. Extended out over a year that's up to $2000 dollars extra for the average wage earner, or, in layman's terms, about 100 big boxes of diapers. This cut can accurately be described as 'middle-class' because no one in America pays a dime in social security taxes on income earned over <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">$110,100</span>. I doubt the Collins family ever worried much about the cost of diapers.<br />
<br />
This game of dueling press releases cuts directly to the core of modern American politics. Our politicians do their best to run out a string of banalities designed (by professionals) to appeal to the lowest common denominator. In short, this stuff isn't complicated, but you have to want to understand it. Politicians and their handlers assume, correctly, that you don't want to understand it. You're getting what you paid for with regard to our level of debate.<br />
<br />
Candidates like Collins and Hochul are becoming the norm.<br />
<br />
Collins is a wealthy, empty suit who came to the fight armed with talking points about an economic policy that only works in a vacuum or an Ayn Rand novel. He's not John Galt, and neither, by the way, are you. You're not even Hank Reardon.<br />
<br />
Hochul, like many Democrats, is bad in a different way. She makes the same assumptions about voters that Collins does, but instead of challenging them to raise their level of understanding she relies heavily on cliche. The tragedy here is that Hochul is actually very good at her job as a Congresswoman. She genuinely cares about constituents and she never misses an opportunity to communicate with people directly. Sadly, the Hochul campaign differs dramatically from the Hochul reality because she has chosen to fight on Collins' home court. No one ever told her that you can win an argument against a person who stubbornly refuses to have any clue what he's talking about.<br />
<br />
What's the result? Two separate communications from candidates coming four days apart that look nearly identical but are <i>addressing completely separate points.</i><br />
<br />
We're not having a debate about the benefits/drawbacks of certain economic policies. We're not talking about the wars we fight. We're not talking about the weakening American middle-class. We pretend to talk about those things, they are listed as issues, but honest discussion isn't happening and it's your fault.<br />
<br />
Don't let Chris Collins pretend to be the savior of the middle class when his entire platform is essentially a plan to protect some bourgeois notion that a wealth class hoarding money is also creating jobs for the poor. Don't let any candidate for office get away with answering your questions with a talking point from their own website. Life in America is bad and getting worse for almost all of us and our political class is being intentionally useless while we drown.Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-57357721037019984992012-07-09T12:34:00.003-07:002012-07-10T05:35:34.864-07:00The Doltification of AmericaToday I was going to write a piece on equality as it relates to the fervor over the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) I think we need to start somewhere else, though. Americans aren't ready to have a debate about equality in opportunity without the added decoration of taxation arguments, little girl with cancer memes and all the visceral, emotional rhetoric that comes along with it.<br />
<br />
I said Americans aren't 'ready.' I should have said Americans aren't capable. There is something wrong with us culturally. Something is stopping us short of accepting factual material and forming an opinion of that material <i>based only on those facts</i>. We seem to need external input and injections of drama in our political soup. Without that stimulation of our entertainment nerve, we just don't seem able to pay proper attention to important issues. We need someone to root for or we change the channel. Are you on Team Sparkly, Angst-Ridden Vampire or Team Angry, Angst-Ridden Werewolf? Green Bay Packers or Chicago Bears?<br />
<br />
Teenage love triangles and football games are not good examples of how to run a government, but the American electorate has come to expect behavior from its politicians that is eerily similar to the two. We want grand gestures and long, meaningful eye-contact from our electeds. We want them knock the other guy out. We don't want boring trips to the library, chaste kisses and post-game handshakes. We want our team to win.<br />
<br />
Politicians aren't stupid and neither are the people who manage their campaigns. The trend has been picked up, the gauntlet has been thrown down and elections stopped even pretending to be about ideas and cultural advancement. Instead of debating the cost/benefit/cultural equality implications of a national healthcare plan, paying our bills or even whether or not to fight wars, these people we elect immediately choose a team and go to the mattresses. They do it because that's what we've told them we expect, they do it because they are victims of our drama-crazed culture. We made them that way.<br />
<br />
<i>We are the good guys, they are the bad guys.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Don't be on the wrong side of history.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>(Insert idea here) is un-American.</i><br />
<br />
Politics is not a teenage drama. Politics is not a sport. Culturally, we have to come to terms with that. We must prepare to be bored by our government or we will be doomed to hate it. Government should be a documentary, not an action film, brain-surgery, not Jersey Shore.<br />
<br />
The jokes about politicians being liars, thieves and insipid mouthpieces for special interests have been around forever. Vicious, American self-efficacy perpetuates the narrative.We have set the bar at the level of terrible and corrupt. There has been no need for our representatives to raise themselves up above our expectations. In fact, we punish the ones who try. Why? What is it about our culture that wants the worst of what we are to govern us both literally and figuratively? Are we too dumb to understand the kind of damage we do to ourselves? Are we too lazy to fix it?<br />
<br />
Maybe.<br />
<br />
A 2003 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) study ranked America's 15 year-olds 25th among the 30 participating countries in problem solving skills. I'm using the 2003 study because these children are now 24-25 years old. They are voters, college graduates and members of our labor force coming into their own as citizens. On a related note, The United States ranks 26th among those same countries in the ratio of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to teacher salaries and 15th in total education spending as a percentage of GDP.<br />
<br />
Here we have the perfect unsolvable problem, a voting population that isn't great at viewing data and making decisions about it responsible for electing representatives whose job it should be to create policy using that same data. Instead of well constructed debates about how we should go about improving our public education system so our children are better prepared to compete in a world that is surpassing us, our system has left us with two emotional arguments that in no way challenge the electorate to make a decision about reality based on fact.<br />
<br />
On one side there is the conservative meme that this is all about money and government spending. Because it is the conservative meme, we understand it to mean that if we join this team we are signing up for less of both. So, despite evidence to the contrary, if we side with the conservatives we are telling the world that we think spending less money on teachers and public education, somehow our 15 year-olds will get smarter.<br />
<br />
The progressive side has given up on talking about education entirely and instead uses an argument about jobs e.g. employment rates, etc. in order to counteract the conservative meme effectively turning their education policy debate strategy into a numbers game rather than arguing about the quality of our teachers and schools.<br />
<br />
Neither side's policy views have anything to do with the real American educational product. They don't address the quality of schools, teachers or students; there is only some ethereal argument about cash and job numbers. Meanwhile, our kids are having trouble deciphering the information contained in the basic graphs that outline the real problem.<br />
<br />
How did we get here? It's your fault. Yes, you. You bought tickets to the football game.<br />
<br />
Somewhere along the line, one team realized that people don't really like paying taxes, at least not if you can convince them they're not getting a return for their money. This ad campaign worked so well that the other team jumped on defense, but they weren't defending their own policies. Instead, they bought into the other team's game plan and rearranged their own accordingly. Suddenly we weren't having a conversation about what level of government spending on teacher's unions, salaries and public schools had a related benefit to the education product, we were arguing about whether <i>any level</i> <i>of public expenditure</i> on education was just a bad thing or the worst idea possible.<br />
<br />
Even a populace as prone to bad ideas in good packaging as ours wouldn't fall into that obvious trap without a little extra help. The emotional idea of bettering our children through education is too strong even in the older demographics that no longer have children in school. The best way to counter an emotional response that you don't want is to introduce an issue that will create the emotional response that you <i>do</i> want. Enter religion.<br />
<br />
The public education system had already been vilified for spending a enormous amount of taxpayer dollars and the progressives had already given up defending those expenditures in lieu of a more esoteric argument designed to counter the opposition rather than defend their own philosophy. The conservatives were suddenly able to say things in public like, "Well, we can all agree that the public education system is too expensive," without being argued with or corrected. With that battle won, they were free to attack from another emotional angle. Suddenly it wasn't <i>how</i> our kids were taught, but <i>what.</i><br />
<br />
Conservatives reached out to the fringe of their base and created a new meme: Not only are you paying too much for your kids' education, you are also sending them to public schools that teach them that your personal beliefs are wrong. They are taught in science class that the things they learn in church on Sunday are incorrect so, logically, they are learning that their parents are incorrect. <br />
<br />
Once again, progressives failed to argue the correct point. Instead of defending our secular society as laid out in the law of our land, they came back with a mealy-mouthed argument that sounded something like this: "Look, we love God just as much as anybody else, but...., hey, we're Christians too, don't accuse us of being anything else," and down went the American educational system.<br />
<br />
We chose teams. We fought about spending money, not about where and how, but about how much. We slipped further down the rabbit hole after a huge voting block decided that the education debate was also about faith vs. fact. The entire argument was suddenly emotional and divisive and no one wanted to talk anymore about the best way to teach children how to read or do long division.<br />
<br />
We are living inside the American idiom, while the literal, fact-based world passes us by with incredulous looks on their faces. <br />
<br />
Every debate we have about policy devolves in the same manner as the one we had and are still having about education. Healthcare, military action, the economy, drug laws, gun laws and <i>even our established electoral process</i> are now subject to these arguments where emotions are the proof and opinion is favored over fact.<br />
<br />
It's more fun that way for an American citizenry that is getting provably worse at critical thinking. We are caught in a web that we created for ourselves and we are not going to escape it without shifting our thought process completely and I'm not sure this is a society that is capable of doing such a thing.Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-20180252952149879232012-06-30T14:49:00.001-07:002012-06-30T14:49:15.826-07:00Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-13306988687450791932012-06-25T05:44:00.006-07:002012-06-25T09:27:15.695-07:00Pssst... NY27 Republicans, We Need To Talk<div class="MsoNormal">Grab a chair, make yourself at home. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Listen, we really need to talk.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wait, where are my manners? Would you like something to drink? Beer? Single malt? Fine, have it your way, let's get down to business.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">You know primary day is tomorrow. You also know that I'm not into your agenda, but for just one day I want us to be on the same team.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What I want, what I've always wanted from government, is honest representation and I'm still young and stupid enough to believe that that there isn't an inherent contradiction there. I don't define 'honest representation' as having a President/Senator/Congressman/Dog Catcher that agrees with everything I think. I don't need my representatives to spend all day doing the bidding of my personal ideology and I hope we're all adult enough here to agree on that point...at least in theory.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What I do need from my representatives is a standard of professionalism, intellectual honesty and an understanding that their only duty is to their constituents and their country. There are no noble bloodlines in America. The people we elect to serve us are raised up from our neighborhoods and cities. We send them off to the seat of power with our trust and hopefully our good will because that is how a representative republic like ours functions and thrives.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There is no noble class in America, no single person is born to serve in government, our representatives choose to do so and we, in turn, choose them. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tomorrow, your party will be making a choice. It's not a simple one, at least not on the face of it. I've spent a fair amount of time trying to distance myself from this thing because I didn't really see it as any of my business. It doesn't matter to me ideologically who wins tomorrow. When asked about it, I've generally said that the difference between Chris Collins and David Bellavia as potential Congressmen will be maybe a few votes no one will ever hear about deciding issues that no one cares about. In essence, you're choosing one suit and pair of dress shoes over another if all that's important to you is a party line vote.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I already told you, though, that those things are secondary.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Republicans, you have an opportunity here. You are being presented with a choice between two men who will do the same job. You don't have to make difficult issue decisions, so you are now afforded the opportunity to make a simple personal one. You get to choose the better man.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Whatever you may think about your current representation, you have to know in your heart and your mind that Kathy Hochul has conducted herself with class and dignity during her first term in Congress and you also know that she'll continue to do so if she is re-elected in November. Obviously, you folks will be trying to unseat her but only one of the two men you are choosing between tomorrow has a track record that proves he will match Congresswoman Hochul's comportment.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">David Bellavia is a person who understands honor and integrity. He knows what those things mean and more importantly, he knows that conducting himself in a manner that both extends and accepts respect is the most basic function of a person who is selected to represent so many of his fellow citizens.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Chris Collins is none of that. There is no noble class in America, but Collins lives his public life like an entitled Prince sneering at the peasantry. His behavior has been well documented. He has demeaned female members of his staff in public. He has conducted private business in his government offices. He even parks in handicapped parking spaces to save his dainty feet from having to make a few extra steps. He puts on a costume, specially purchased, in order to relate to the plebeian farmers in our rural towns and he barely deigns to acknowledge that primary voters have a choice other than he.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There is no noble class in America. Money buys a lot of elections, but it doesn't have to buy this one. You don't have to worship the businessman if the businessman represents the worst of human nature. A prince may be a member of the nobility, but that doesn't make him noble.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Go. Vote tomorrow. Vote for a man who served his country honorably. Vote for a man who shares your ideals and will not stray. Vote for a man who will serve with dignity. Vote for David Bellavia.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you do that, we can spend the next five months discussing the issues that are important to us. We can fight about whether Bellavia or Hochul is better for our district and we'll know that whoever wins, we'll have an honest and dignified representative in Congress. Government will roll along forever; nothing is going to change that. Let's take this opportunity to enter a general election season where we know that we'll be able to be proud of our congressperson, whether we agree with them or not.</div>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-36558149434577254702012-06-18T13:32:00.002-07:002012-06-18T13:56:30.112-07:00One Week to Primay Day, Does Anyone Care?No debates.<br />
<br />
Almost nothing on the advertising front.<br />
<br />
Somewhere there is a man in a chicken suit. <i>Cluck, cluck.</i><br />
<br />
Chris Collins' strategy may be working. Bellavia and his people have been tossing legitimate bombs at the former Erie County Executive for weeks now, but no one seems to care. Christ, I love this stuff and I can barely force myself to muck through a blog post about it.<br />
<br />
<i>Sigh</i>.<br />
<br />
What happens next Tuesday? A few thousand septuagenarian Republicans will shuffle off to the polls. Maybe some will wheel themselves to an afternoon game of bridge afterward. Big doings on Primary Tuesday.<br />
<br />
Among the conversations that won't be had between now and the 26th:<br />
<br />
"What's for lunch, Myrtle?"<br />
<br />
"How the fuck should I know, Herbert? I'm too busy comparing all the information I have about these two candidates so I can decide who to vote for."<br />
<br />
No debates.<br />
<br />
These poor, iron-haired party faithful have no idea who they're voting for.<br />
<br />
Chris Collins' strategy is working.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUYKf3YTVV2if7LI6u4K3Q2fVmKRXW3j6DT3pt7bE27Wv0G5cKfUuge8AHzBFvkKRKrDZtAlZT0RBJdYwjGO3Nc812Zj018cnf-4STwapK5y37I3FZPDH10Mz-mT8EfqVOb9V87hD0YU/s1600/collins+chicken.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUYKf3YTVV2if7LI6u4K3Q2fVmKRXW3j6DT3pt7bE27Wv0G5cKfUuge8AHzBFvkKRKrDZtAlZT0RBJdYwjGO3Nc812Zj018cnf-4STwapK5y37I3FZPDH10Mz-mT8EfqVOb9V87hD0YU/s1600/collins+chicken.JPG" /></a></div>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-35909955013169565022012-06-14T06:07:00.001-07:002012-06-14T06:15:09.100-07:00FatherhoodI wrote this for my father last year. I'm posting it again because nothing has changed:<br />
<br />
<div class="entry-content">Father’s Day is this Sunday and I thought I might take some time to to talk about my dad and share some of the things he taught me.<br />
<br />
<b>Patience:</b><br />
I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve heard my father raise his voice in anger. He’s not stoic and he’s not a wimp, he just knows it’s better to control yourself than lose your temper. This is a lesson that has served me well throughout my 30 years and has probably kept me from getting my nose broken on more than one occasion.<br />
<br />
<b> Respect:</b><br />
Respect comes in many forms and my dad is a master of all of them. He treats everyone equally and does his best to keep his personal judgments to himself. My dad was never the kind of guy who would sit you down for a father/son chat about this sort of thing, but I watched him set thousands of examples while I was growing up.<br />
<br />
<b>Stand up for yourself when you’re right, apologize when you’re wrong:</b><br />
After patience and respect have reached their limits and the other guy is still an asshole, you do what you need to do. After patience and respect have reached their limits and you realize that <i>you’re</i> the asshole, apologize. The only exception to those rules is family. Patience and respect never reach their limit when it comes to family. <br />
<br />
<b> Sometimes buying a boat is a bad idea:</b><br />
We had a boat for a while, then we didn’t. I think this is self-explanatory.<br />
<br />
<b> Fishing is <i>always</i> a good idea:</b><br />
There were some fairly bad days in our house when I was a kid and my dad had a real knack for knowing when I needed to get away. Every once in a while he’d hand me a spade and say, “Go out back and dig up some worms.” I’d do it and we’d go down to a pond about a mile from the house. The entrance to the pond was down a stone and dirt road. To get there, you had to know to follow the train tracks and which patch of overgrown weeds to push through to get to the fishing spot, but we knew just where to go.<br />
<br />
No matter how bad a day it had been, I always felt the weight lift when we got to those broken down tracks and by the time I hooked a worm and cast my first line I felt good again. So we’d fish, and talk about what it would be like to catch a frog and cook it, or what species of huge fish might be dwelling in the deeper parts of the pond (oh, if only we had a boat to get there) or whatever things fathers and sons talk about while they sit and fish. It wasn’t really about the fishing though. It was about a little boy whose dad was there, just there, on the worst days.<br />
<br />
I could go on, I’m not sure there’s really an end to the things my dad taught me and I learn more from him and about him every day.<br />
<br />
I’m a father too and all of those things that I learned growing up are the things I’ll do in my own attempt to raise my daughter.<br />
<br />
I’ll always be patient, and when I’ve reached my limit, I’ll take a deep breath and find more.<br />
<br />
I’ll treat the people around me with respect and I’ll teach my daughter to be a strong and confident woman.<br />
<br />
I’ll make sure she knows how to stand up for herself and how to admit when she’s wrong, and she’ll grow up knowing that love of family trumps both of those things.<br />
<br />
I will never buy a boat.<br />
<br />
I will take my daughter fishing, or shopping, or wherever she wants to go. I will always be there when she needs me and I’ll learn to back away when she doesn’t, but I’ll never be far away.<br />
<br />
Most of all, I will love my daughter as best as I can. I’m not perfect, (my dad taught me that too) but I will strive every day to be a good man and live up to the standard my father set for me.<br />
<br />
Thank you, dad, for everything. I hope this beats Hallmark. See you Sunday.</div>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-79058144306249733132012-06-13T06:33:00.002-07:002012-06-14T09:27:24.295-07:00Thoughts: Missing My Uncle On Father's Day<div class="MsoNormal">Sometimes I write these things at work, the real ones at least. I do it because when I'm in public with people who expect a certain decorum from me I know I'm not allowed to lose control. Not tonight though. Tonight I want to feel it, all of it, and if I end up screaming, crying, breaking all my things I don't care. That's how I want it. That's what will be right.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Fathers Day 2008: We're at my family's place on Lake Ontario and my Uncle says to me over breakfast, “You know, next year at this time, you'll be a Father too,” Capital 'F.' Father. I'd never felt pride like that, happiness. My wife wasn't with me; she was sick...or something; anyway, I'd made her excuses for her. She's my ex-wife now and she missed a million of these moments. So many little asides that I can't ever really share with anyone because no one was there, so many...fuck it. Why bother now?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We took a picture that Father's Day. At least I think it was that one. Four generations of <i>us</i>, my grandfather, my cousin and his two boys, my father and I. We were happy. It wasn't all of us. My other cousin was in Syracuse and, of course, it was just us boys. My grandmother wasn't in it, or my aunt or my stepmother. Four generations of men and boys who loved each other in the way that only a family could.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText"><i>Fast-forward almost four years and I'm standing in the lobby of a funeral home telling my ten-year-old second cousin that it's all right to cry. His father has an arm around him. His father and I, we're waiting for instructions on how we're supposed to carry our grandmother's coffin outside and what we're supposed to do when we get to the cemetery. Meanwhile his father, my Uncle, that same man who smiled at me about the future is on his way home to die a little more. We get in the car and while we're waiting for the priest I tell my cousin and his brother about the time Gram heard that I was hurting for money and sent Gramps in to work with a check for a thousand dollars. Here we go, time to scream, time to lose it, time to break things...</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Let's go back to that perfect Father's Day. That's what I want to remember.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It's before breakfast happened and we're playing catch, my cousin, my Uncle and me. I decide to see if I can still throw a curveball but it hits the dirt. 'Nice throw, sissy,' he laughs. I'm not embarrassed, but I explain myself anyway. That's how it was with him. I was always explaining myself. I wanted his approval. I wanted to walk into the room and have him think: This is a man I respect. He always called me nephew. It's like he knew what I needed from him and he was always reminding me that it didn't matter. We were family; it didn't matter.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I remember the first time he laughed, really laughed, when I told a joke. He said, 'Usually, you don't have much of a sense of humor, but that was funny.' I thought he was dead wrong, but I was proud anyway.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText"><i>It's four years later and I'm walking up the endless incline to the elevators at the local hospital. Grandma's been dead for two weeks but it's his turn now. He's in a special room, the one you go to when it's the last time you go anywhere. I don't know that yet....I think they're just trying to make him comfortable enough to get well, to go home for a few more months. I'm looking forward to Christmas even though I know in my heart it will be his last. I'm skipping work for this even though I know he wouldn't approve. My father is sleeping on the couch, he wouldn't approve either, at least if he was his normal self, but right now I’m not sure he even knows what day it is. “Hello, Nephew.”</i></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText"><i>We talk for a while and he tries to give me advice. He’s always trying to say something prophetic these days. He knows he’s dying and he want the things he says to be remembered. He does this so much that it’s almost funny to me so I start calling these little outbursts Skippy’s Last Words. I mean it with love.</i></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText"><i>It’s about a week later, same hospital room. There is an old man in this hospital bed. This time he calls me Christopher and I make fun of his hospital socks. I hold his hand for a while and promise to smuggle in some booze and loose women.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Back to the best times.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After breakfast we all want to take a walk down to the beach, so we do. You can't just walk right to the beach, there's a cliff in the way...well, not really a cliff, it's only about twelve feet down, but you wouldn't make the jump. At the top there's a small, grassy park with a couple of benches and a stairway that will take you down to the water. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My Uncle, my grandfather and I opt for a bench while my father, my cousin and his two boys take the stairs that lead down to the water. My Uncle and I have a conversation. We talk about the heat. We talk about football and why the Bills are going to be terrible...again. I smoke cigarettes and he tells me I have to quit before Morgan is born. I know, I know. Why isn't your wife here, really? Well, she wasn't feeling well. A knowing grunt. She's never feeling well when there are family things to do. Excuses. It's all right, things will work out or they won't. He spreads his arms out toward the sun and the lake and the children playing “Look at all of this.” He smiles and rests his hands on his belly. “Look at all of this...”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">He watches his grand-kids with their father. The eldest is being scolded and the youngest is collecting rocks. "You know, this time next year, you're going to be a Father."</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Yeah, I know. What's it like, raising children?"</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">He chuckles...I always thought he laughed like Santa Claus. He really felt it. "You'll see." He pats me on the knee twice like Uncles do and he stands up. He walks down the stairs to be scolded and collect rocks with his grandsons.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>There are enough pallbearers. Some third or fourth cousin of ours is going to be here soon, they don't need me. I volunteer, you know, just in case. We're in the church....again...I didn't even have time to have my suit dry-cleaned, but I'm wearing a pink tie. Pink tie, black suit. He would have given me a look over that, maybe a comment, but definitely a look. "Nice tie." He would have been joking. My father said later, "Nice tie, by the way." He was serious, but my Uncle wouldn't have been. That's why I wore it. Maybe you wouldn't understand, maybe you would.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText"><i>That third or fourth cousin didn't show up so I headed to the back of the church. I wanted to carry him. He carried me. He was my Godfather; he called me Nephew. Capital 'N.' </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Will I see you this Sunday, Nephew?"</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Yes, Uncle." I say it sarcastically, but I mean it differently. I don't have much of a sense of humor.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>The last conversation we had before we both knew he had cancer was after a nasty fight we had at work. He told me he was sorry and he cried a little. I told him I was sorry and I cried a little too. We were family first and that's how it should be. He went on vacation then and he came back a month later, dying.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>I carried his coffin and it was heavy. I wanted to carry the thing. I wanted to feel like I was close to dropping it and I wanted to lift it anyway. I'd have done it alone if I had to...I wish I could have done it alone just to </i>prove<i> that I could.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A year later I was a Father. My daughter was this little spike-haired, red-headed thing and my Uncle laughed when she soiled her diaper on Father's Day. "You'd better change that, do you even know how?"</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I do it all the time, Uncle." He nods his approval and I love him.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When my wife and I bought our first house, he built us a cabinet with drawers and shelves. My wife wanted to paint it, but I told her no. "it's just right the way it is."</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When my daughter was born he made her a toy duck on a string, the same one he made for his grandsons. The wings flap as the wheels turn and it holds a place of honor in my home.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For my daughter's first birthday he and my aunt bought her a toy car that she could ride. She still plays with the thing even though she's too big for it. I'll never throw it away.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In her second year, it was a talking book. We read it all the time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Last year it was a folding, cardboard house that is still assembled in my living room and the last card that will ever be signed with his name.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">No more games of catch, no more conversations on the bench. No more fights at work, no more snoring in hotel rooms on business trips. No more belly laughs, no more 'Nephews." </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Loss isn't a thing that happens in an instant. It is a series of small moments where you expect someone to be there when you turn around to say something, but they're not and you cry every time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Happy Father’s Day , Uncle. I love you.</span>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-48119413280621984662012-06-05T09:01:00.001-07:002012-06-05T09:05:11.364-07:00Politics Aside, The Anniversary of the 19th Amendment<blockquote class="tr_bq">"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. <br />
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."</blockquote><br />
On June 5th, 1919 the course to women's suffrage was set when Congress submitted the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution to the states for ratification. America took one more step on the path to true equality when the Amendment was officially ratified just over a year later. The 19th that gave women the right to vote was about 143 years late, but the wheels of the civil rights movement turn slow.<br />
<br />
The GLOW region of Western New York is bursting with strong female leadership that would never have been possible if the Suffragettes hadn't stepped up to fight for gender equality over a century ago. Public service is a calling and we are lucky in this region that so many women have had the opportunity to answer that call.<br />
<br />
Here is a list of women in the GLOW region that represent you at the county level and higher. No political labels, no commentary, just pride:<br />
<br />
United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand<br />
<br />
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter<br />
<br />
Congresswoman Kathy Hochul<br />
<br />
NYS 8th District Supreme Court Justices Hon. Tracey Bannister, Hon. Deborah Chimes, Hon. Janice Rosa, Hon. Diane Devlin, Hon. Donna Siwek, Hon. Sharon Townsend, Hon. Penny Wolfgang, Hon. Deborah Haendiges and Hon. Catherine Nugent Panepento<b></b><br />
<br />
Political Party Chairwomen Lorie Longhany, Judith Hunter, Jeanne Crane, Debra Buck Leaton<br />
<br />
Genesee County Legislators Marianne Clattenburg, Esther Leadley, Annie Lawrence, Mary Pat Hancock and Rochelle Stein<br />
<br />
Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson<br />
<br />
Wyoming County Board of Supervisors members Ellen Grant, Jean Totsline, and Rebecca Ryan<br />
<br />
Livingston County Board of Supervisors members Brenda Donohue and Debora Babbitt Henry<br />
<br />
I apologize if I forgot anyone.<br />
<br />
I'm unable to take the time to list all of the hundreds of other women in public service in the GLOW region. That inability is a testament to the wealth of female leadership we enjoy here.Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-28630845896148926032012-06-04T06:03:00.000-07:002012-06-04T06:03:46.065-07:00Homeless Veteran Interviews Revisited: Fred Part 2<h1 class="entry-title">Homeless Vets: An Interview with Fred (cont.)</h1><div class="entry-meta"> <span class="sep"></span><span class="by-author"><span class="author vcard"><br />
</span></span> <div class="entry-content"> This is the continuation of the interview, published yesterday, with Fred, a resident of the Loyola House in Pembroke.<br />
<br />
During the interview with Fred, time and again I found myself thinking, ‘This is the end, this is where he finds Loyola, it has to be <strong>now.’</strong> I was constantly wrong.<br />
<br />
I suppose the thing about these interviews that has been most surprising to me is that I can still be surprised. Before I sit down with these guys, I already know a little bit about them even if they just filled me in ten minutes before we turn on the tape recorder. I always think I have a basic understanding of the trip from point A to point B when he starts talking, but I’ve been wrong every time. Maybe that’s a symptom of knowing how the story ends before you know how it begins. Whatever it is, I have to keep reminding myself that what I think I know always reflects the truth as I want it to be, never as it really is.<br />
<br />
<em>With that in mind, we continue:</em><br />
<br />
So then you…what next?<br />
<blockquote> <i>Let’s see..where did I work? Well, I got custody of my son. My wife my son and myself lived in Niagara Falls. He was in kindergarten/first grade. His mother came back from Florida and it just seemed that he wasn’t happy…when he was born…let me back up…</i><br />
<i>Before my son was born, his mother didn’t want him. She’s American Indian, Tuscarora. She told me she could never have him because a person of color like myself….her friends and relatives would shun her for having a black child. I begged her to have the child and she said she would. I told her I would take him, I would raise him myself and she agreed to that. I don’t know if that had anything to do with the relationship they had in the very early years of his life but after he was born, he wouldn’t accept a bottle from her. He didn’t want to be fed, he didn’t want to be hugged and she felt really bad about it.</i><br />
<i>I was going to school, I was going to work and when I came home, that was when he’d get up and unwind, he’d finally relax. I had to be mom and dad at that time.</i></blockquote>When was he born?<br />
<blockquote><i>1985, this was prior to the Marine Corps. I didn’t go into the Marine Corps until I was 23. I wanted to make sure I was finished having fun. I wanted to be sure I was ready to hunker down and do the right thing; it was a career move. Like I said I spent my whole life thinking, ‘I’m going in the military, the Marine Corps.’ I went to the recruiter and told him if you can get me out of here now, yesterday, I’m yours.</i></blockquote>So, at this point you’ve got custody of your son and you’re in Niagara Falls. This is in the mid 90′s?<br />
<blockquote><i>Yeah, ’91-’92. Amiko came, my wife Amiko. My son didn’t seem so happy and he was a really happy child.</i></blockquote><em>Fred’s narrative drops back to 1985-1986 here, he’s not done talking about his son’s early years.</em><br />
<blockquote><i>There was something about when my son’s mother discovered he was reacting to her in such a way that he didn’t want a lot of things from her…affection, whatever, she felt really bad. Her words to me were pretty much, ‘It shouldn’t be that way, I carried him for nine months. Why doesn’t he like me, why doesn’t he want a bottle, a diaper change?’ </i><br />
<i>Well, she left me and she took him with her. I hadn’t seen him since he was about five years old.</i></blockquote><em>Back to 1991</em><br />
<blockquote><i>By that time, he was with her for about three years and that was pretty much all he knew was her and that bond was evident. He especially didn’t want this other woman [Amiko] in his life. So, being the father that I am, I felt that his…his happy healthy was important, he’s a really spirited kid. She came back from Florida and I opted to allow her to retain custody again. I saw him periodically</i>.</blockquote>Did she go back to Florida?<br />
<blockquote><i>No, she stayed in Niagara Falls, but she disappeared and she didn’t let me know where she was at.</i> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>After that me and Amiko split up and she went back to Japan. Upon finding out that I couldn’t move there…that really damaged my spirit, [knowing] I couldn’t be with her again. I really loved her. She was a great inspiration and a wonderful woman. After she left I kinda…went into a slump. I tried to move on. I dibbled and dabbled in a few different things, drugs, alcohol. That’s just a downhill spiral. I think I kind of blamed a lot of things that happened to me on her not being there, on my dad not being there.</i><br />
<i>Me and my dad were best friends. He died just before she arrived so she never got a chance to meet him. Her arriving, it was an avenue for me to open back up again because I was already closing up in the absence of my father.</i> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>When she left I had no one, it felt like I had no one. Such is life.</i> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>When she left, like I said I went on a downward spiral. My headaches got worse, I wasn’t working. I was just surviving. I wasn’t even living, I was just surviving. I had child support payments. I wasn’t able to pay and survive at the same time. (sighs)</i><br />
<i>I’d get a job and shortly after starting work, because my headaches were so intense at the time, I’d lose the job. I’d be down for a while but when I felt myself coming back to normal and the headaches would subside, I’d seek out another job. I had never had a problem finding a job, never in my life. I could finda job at the drop of a dime. So I’d get another job, then the headaches and I’d lose it…find another job…the headaches…then I’d lose it. It just kept going on and on and on and on. I left town.</i> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>At one point I thought if I left town I would pick myself up. I’d get away from the drugs, get away from the alcohol, things like that. I moved to South Carolina…Charleston. I found out the expenses down there were substantially more than they were up here and I was going down there with a meager retirement pension. I tried to get a room for a month and I’d figure out how I was gonna eat later. As long as I had a roof I figured I’d do well. If I had a roof, I had a place to work from.</i> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>I got robbed as soon as I got down there.</i> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>I ended up in a mission, actually a men’s shelter. A couple days later I ended up in a place called the Good Samaritan Mission. I ended up working for the director. I did cooking, interior/exterior remodeling, laid floors, remodeled his porches, trailers…he had several homes that he housed people in. I was pretty much his maintenance guy.</i> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>It was a christian based mission and I was hungry for something. Spirituality was my answer. I became one of his parishioners. We attended many functions, television, radio…We did Thanksgivings and things like that in huge parking lots for the community with big trailers. It was decent, I met some really wonderful people.</i></blockquote><em>At this point, Fred gets very quiet and it’s nearly impossible to hear clearly what he said into the tape recorder. He told a story about his artwork, designing a business card for a Reverend Avery, attending different fundraisers and an eventual falling out with the director of the mission. He chose not to go into detail on that final subject because there were other people involved.</em><br />
<blockquote><i>I opted to go back to Myrtle Beach, the same hotel. I had met the manager and a couple people that worked there when I was there before and told ‘em I’d be back. I used my retirement to get a room and found a job. I worked at an A&P (smiles), I hadn’t seen one since I was a child, but they have A&P’s down south still. So I worked at A&P and I worked for a temp agency. I worked for a builder. I worked at Spyglass Golf Course. I tried to become employed at the hotel but, for some reason, they wouldn’t allow me.</i><br />
<i>In January, the rates went up from $350 a month to seven hundred and some change…$720? The next month it went up to $1300.</i></blockquote>What was the room like?<br />
<blockquote><i>Microwave, bed, sofa. Some rooms had kitchenettes, but mine didn’t.</i></blockquote>So pretty much a studio apartment?<br />
<blockquote><i>Yeah, but without the kitchen. It was right in the heart of mid-Myrtle, not south or north. 26th and Ocean Boulevard. Let’s see, I worked for a builder then. After the rent went up so high, I couldn’t maintain and the headaches had started again. I couldn’t maintain employment and the room. The owners wouldn’t give breaks, they were real sticklers.</i><br />
<i>So, then it was the same thing headache, headache, headache…pick up a job, lose it because of the headaches. It’s been my nemesis, so to speak, for a very long time.</i></blockquote>So you left South Carolina and came back to Niagara Falls?<br />
<blockquote><i>Yeah</i></blockquote>What year was that?<br />
<blockquote><i>Oh, God. That’s the thing with these headaches, you know. After having a headache for so long, time doesn’t really mean a whole lot because all the time there’s a headache. I’ve done a lot of things and I’ve tried to put it in chronological order. I know i could if I tried, but because of the headaches…it throws me off.</i> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>I try to persevere and I may fall down a lot of times. It’s been adversity that put me in a lot of places, but a lot of places I’ve been, I’ve fallen in crap and come out smellin’ like roses.. it was because of adversity that this all has happened, even being at Loyola. Here i am again. (laughs) This is the rose-smell that you get when you fall in the crap. I’m really blessed. I’ve learned a lot…I’ve learned a whole lot.</i></blockquote><em>That’s the end of this portion of the interview. The third and final installment will come tomorrow. The last piece will certainly be the longest. Fred’s story continues for another fifteen difficult years or so before things start to go right for him, but when it goes right, it goes right all the way.</em></div></div>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-23737307479949940632012-06-01T08:43:00.000-07:002012-06-01T08:43:08.865-07:00Interviews With Homeless Veterans Revisited: Fred's Headaches<h1 class="entry-title"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Once again re-publishing interviews with the homeless veterans at Loyola House. This interview with Fred was the second one I did and it comes in three parts, the third of which never made it out for public consumption. I'll be putting up part two of Fred's interview Monday and I'll post, for the first time, the final part of his story on Tuesday.</span></span></h1><h1 class="entry-title"> </h1><h1 class="entry-title">Homeless Veterans: An Interview with Fred: ‘I've had a headache everyday since 1990′</h1><div class="entry-meta"> <span class="sep"></span><a href="http://archives.wnymedia.net/?p=15389" rel="bookmark" title="8:00 am"><span class="by-author"><span class="author vcard"></span></span></a><a class="url fn n" href="http://archives.wnymedia.net/?author=47" rel="author" title="View all posts by Chris Charvella"><br />
</a> <div class="entry-content"> <b><em>I have only done two of these so far, three if you count the one I wasn’t allowed to record. They have all started out with me saying this:</em></b><br />
<br />
<b><em>‘So, basically, I’m just going to ask you some questions about your life. You talk. I’m not going to interrupt you unless there’s something I’m dying to ask. We’ll only talk about things you’re comfortable talking about. If you tell me you don’t want to talk about something, I’m not going to press you.’</em></b><br />
<b><em>I don’t interrupt while I’m conducting the interviews, at least not until I feel it’s really my turn to talk or if I’m in dire need of clarification on a point, but I will interrupt occasionally during the writing of this one. Fred’s personality requires it.</em></b><br />
<br />
Fred was actually the first resident of the Pembroke Loyola House that I met in person. My initial contact with anyone from Loyola was a business transaction with Jeffrey Smith, who runs the house. The next time Jeff came around, Fred was with him. Jeff introduced us and Fred, all smiles, shook my hand. Fred is the kind of guy you can’t help but like immediately. He has one of those infectious grins that make you feel like a real bastard for being grumpy about having a bad day.<br />
<br />
After my initial interview with Will, a Loyola employee, I was invited to the house for dinner with the residents, Loyola staff and some volunteers. Fred made dinner (the best damn pizza I’ve ever had) and Jeff pulled me aside. He told me he wanted me to interview Fred next and I told him that was just fine with me. The reality was, I’d been worried Fred would be gone from the house before I had a chance to talk with him, or worse, he’d be there, but unwilling to share his story with me.<br />
<br />
It turned out that Fred was more than willing to talk to me and, even better, he’d be around the house for quite a while, though, not as a resident. We’ll get to that eventually.<br />
<br />
Fred’s interview started at the Loyola House in Pembroke, but every time we tried to get started, there was an interruption. The house is a busy place. There’s always someone who needs meds, or a new resident that needs guidance from one of the staff, Fred and I were advised that we couldn’t count on any kind of privacy for the duration of our interview so, after a couple cigarettes outside, I offered to drive him somewhere else so we could continue uninterrupted. Off we went.<br />
<br />
I use a fairly antiquated method of recording interviews. It’s a grey mini-tape recorder manufactured circa 1998. I purchased it while attending Buffalo State College so I could sleep off my hangovers during PoliSci class and not miss anything. My time at Buff State was short (most likely due to attention deficit brought on by hangovers, but I’m finally finding a proper use for the tape recorder.) I bring this all up because Fred’s interview ate up both sides of one old-fashioned tape and a full side of a second, totaling about two hours of unedited interview. Because I have chosen to write as much of these stories as possible aside from the occasional ‘umm’ and ‘ahh,’ the result will be a two or three part publishing of Fred’s story. So we begin:<br />
<br />
What branch of the military were you in?<br />
<blockquote><i>I was in the United States Marine Corps. I went in in 1988, it had been my ambition all my life, since I was a kid. I was born on Paris Island; my dad was in the Marine Corps. So ever since I was a kid I’ve been wantin’ to be a G.I. Joe just like my dad. It was a stepping stone actually, because a lot of things happened to me after that. It was my ambition, it was a goal; I achieved it. I strived to do that. I exercised…it was my ambition to go force recon, special forces, something like that. I was in martial arts, I boxed, I wrestled, I ran cross country, swam three periods a day in junior high, track and field. Several different sports really, gymnastics, floor exercises…I exercised all my life in preparation to go force recon. </i></blockquote><br />
<blockquote> <i>So, when I went into the military, they told me the best way [to] achieve it was to go in ‘open contract.’ When I took the ASVAB, I scored officer material. They told me because I scored so high, they were reluctant to send me in that direction, to be a grunt, do the grunt thing, but still it was my ambition so he told me the best way to do that was to go ‘open contract’ which is 9900. So I opted to go 9900 under his advice. </i></blockquote><br />
<blockquote> <i>When I went to boot camp…after boot camp actually, I found out they were gonna make me an electronic technician (laughs) which isn’t what I wanted, but I did it. I went to school at 29 Palms, California. It was supposed to be RADAR, it was supposed to be airplane mechanic, in the electronics field, but I ended up doing telephones, switchboards, fax machines, computers, SATCOM, but it worked out right, it worked out OK. They cross trained me into computers. I went back to school in Virginia. When I left there I went back to Okinawa and Korea, just kept goin’, but it was an experience, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I wouldn’t be sitting in front of you if it wasn’t for that.</i></blockquote><br />
<b><em>I have to pause for a moment here, because that last statement says a lot about how Fred views the world. We all know how this story ends, but Fred never bemoans his circumstances or makes an excuse. His optimism is humbling.</em></b><br />
<b><em>The next section of the article is mainly about Fred’s wife. He jumps forward a few years after he begins to talk about her. He jumps through time while talking fairly often. You’ll find out why shortly.</em></b><br />
<blockquote><i>I stayed in Okinawa for a while and met a woman, she’s Okinawan. We got married when I came stateside. [We} stayed together for a few years, we were planing on moving back to Japan and I sent her back first because it's bad karma for me and her to live with her parents or her sister...I'm supposed to be the supporter of the family. So I sent her back with what I had, what we had to work with. As I was preparing to leave, I got in touch with the VA [and] let them know where I was going to be. In talking with the VA I found out I couldn’t go to a different country to live, they had no VA, there was no Veteran’s Administration in any other country except here. With that, I found out I would lose my monetary benefits, my health benefits, any educational benefits, everything would belong to them.</i></blockquote><br />
<blockquote> <i>I called my wife, explained to her the situation and asked her to come back. She didn’t want to be here. I kinda didn’t want to be here either. I loved Japan; it’s beautiful. I read, write and speak the language, so…(sighs) She said she’d come back, but she never showed up.</i><br />
<i>We spoke for another two months…I lost touch with her…I haven’t heard from her since.</i></blockquote><b><em>While speaking about his wife, Fred stares at the table. He’s telling me an abbreviated story, but I start to think I understand why. I get the sense that while he’s relating the basic facts, he’s remembering the details. Maybe he’s thinking about their courtship, maybe he’s remembering a certain day they spent together happily. Whatever he’s thinking about, I can sense his loss. I picture him toward the end of his marriage on the phone with his wife in Okinawa and trying to hold it all together.. Whatever happened, this period of time still lies heavily on Fred’s mind. He returns to the story of his wife later on.</em></b><br />
<br />
<b><em>The next portion of Fred’s story jumps back in time to when he left the Marine Corps and explains a bit about his disability. This is also when I started doing a bit more to clarify the timeline with him.</em></b><br />
<blockquote> <i>I left the marine Corps with a disability: <a href="http://www.online-medical-dictionary.org/Tension+Vascular+Headache.asp?q=Tension+Vascular+Headache">Tension Vascular Migraines.</a> They’re incapacitating, debilitating as they say. They can’t figure out why or what’s causing them. I’ve been dealing with it every day since 1990. <strong>I’ve had a headache everyday since 1990.</strong> My work? Holding a job, <em>keeping a job?</em> (sighs) At times walking from Point A to Point B or going to the bathroom to get a drink of water from the sink…there are times when I can’t even do that.</i></blockquote>Did you get out in 1990 or did you have migraines while you were still in?<br />
<blockquote><i>I was still in.</i></blockquote>How long were you in?<br />
<blockquote><i>’88 til ’92</i></blockquote>When your wife went back to Japan, were you still in?<br />
<blockquote><i>We had gotten out. She didn’t want to get married while I was still in because she didn’t want to be here stateside and me get deployed so I waited until I was out of the Marine Corps. She followed me here stateside and we got married. She came here in ’92 right after my dad passed away. We got married in ’93, she stayed ’til ’94 and that’s when we planned on moving back.</i></blockquote>So are you technically still married?<br />
<blockquote><i>Well, my understanding is, the United States….when you get out of the military has some sort of stipulation about marrying a foreign national. After the marriage they’re supposed to remain here for a year, and if they don’t, the marriage is supposed to be nullified. I’m not sure exactly what I’m supposed to do to check into that, but that’s something I read.</i></blockquote>Now, where were you guys living?<br />
<blockquote><i>In Niagara Falls</i></blockquote>You were born on Paris Island, how did you come to be in Niagara Falls?<br />
<blockquote><i>After my mom and dad…my dad was disabled out of the military also…after he came out of the military we moved to Rochester and then to Niagara Falls. My mom’s side of the family is in Niagara Falls, my dad’s side is from Rochester.</i></blockquote>After your wife moved back [to Okinawa] and you realized she wasn’t coming back, what then?<br />
<blockquote><i>Let’s see, (sighs) I really didn’t know if she was coming back or not. She said that she would. I knew that..I knew that a big part…when I left Japan I left a big part of me. I tried to get extended at the last moment thinking that she and I could be together because we both wanted to be there. I really don’t blame her for not wanting to come back because everyone that was here that she had come into contact with wanted to Americanize her, you know, but she’s traditional. She’s really set in her ways about her traditions, the way they do things. Because everybody kept trying to push another way onto her, she felt uncomfortable. She had no one to communicate with. She spoke English, but it was…you know, she spoke broken English. A lot of our idiosyncrasies she knew but…she was really an amazing woman. Thing was, hey, for whatever reason or the reason being that she’s there and not here now…(silence)</i></blockquote>What were you doing for work after you got out?<br />
<blockquote><i>I wasn’t working at the time, I was still going through disability issues, the headaches were…extreme at that point. I was staying with my dad, my step-mom and my brother, I was drawing disability, It’s actually called Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL) out of the Marine Corps; little blue ID card and all that… They kept sending me orders to go to Bethesda, Maryland to the National Hospital but they wanted me to foot the bill, but I didn’t have that kind of money. So I was never able to make it and because they were orders, I was still under orders to go. Because I wasn’t able to go, they sent me paperwork that allowed me to opt for the VA’s plan. If I hadn’t made the next appointment they were going to cut me off altogether, I opted for that plan and I’ve been there ever since.</i></blockquote>So they gave you military orders to report to Bethesda…<br />
<blockquote><i>Correct.</i></blockquote>For treatment…<br />
<blockquote><i>Correct.</i></blockquote>but they wouldn’t pay for it…<br />
<blockquote><i>Right.</i></blockquote>So then you….what next?<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>That’s where I’ll end the first part of Fred’s interview with more to come tomorrow, because I don’t know how to continue without going on for another two or three thousand words. Up until this point, life out of the military was tough for Fred, but not unbearable. The rest of his story takes him up and down the East Coast without his wife and children, in and out of prison and eventually to the Pembroke Loyola House.</em></div></div>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-85926878168931477692012-05-31T06:08:00.003-07:002012-05-31T07:47:28.017-07:00Interviews With Homeless Veterans Revisited<div class="entry-content">Last March, I started doing interviews with homeless veterans at a recovery/transitional house in our community. I never got to do as many as I wanted, but I did manage to publish a couple of them at WNYMedia.net. I really wanted to retrieve those interviews and re-publish them, but the archives over there haven't been working properly for some time. Well, the archives are fixed and yesterday I dove in for a bit of nostalgia.<br />
<br />
Today I am going to re-publish the first interview I did with the gentlemen from the Loyola House minus some fluff. When I first wrote the thing, I felt this strange need to describe the house, it's architecture, what the residents were having for dinner. Reading that opening again yesterday was almost embarrassing. I guess I wanted to convey to readers that the house was very much a home to these men, but the reality is that Will, my interviewee did it better with more meaning. Doric columns need not apply.<br />
<br />
So, without further ado and minus some unnecessary adjectives, here is the interview:<br />
<br />
<h1 class="entry-title">My First Evening With The Homeless Vets and An Interview With Will</h1><br />
I met Jeffrey Smith in January. He came in to my place of business to buy some pots and pans and, like I always do, I asked where they were going to be used. He told me the merchandise was headed to a transitional house in Pembroke for homeless veterans.<br />
<br />
Homeless Veterans.<br />
<br />
I told Jeff that I wanted to help. I’ll mop the floors, I’ll do the dishes, what do you need?<br />
<br />
Jeff: ‘Well, they do all of that themselves.’<br />
<br />
Of course they do. I should have known better.<br />
<br />
Me: ‘Well then, maybe there’s something else I can do. I’d like to let people know that there are millions of homeless veterans in need of help. Can I maybe come up to the house and talk to the guys? If it’s alright with them, I can publish some of their stories.’<br />
<br />
Jeff: ‘Sure, come on up.’<br />
<br />
So I went. The result is the first in what I hope is a long line of stories about and interviews with the men who come to the Loyola House in Pembroke.</div><div class="entry-content">Will showed the room where he lives full time. As soon as he opened the door I experienced a bit of deja vu. It was just like every dormitory I ever lived in when I was in the Air Force, a bed, a couple couches, a T.V. Small but cozy. Orderly, but well lived in.</div><div class="entry-content"></div><div class="entry-content">As Will led me around the house, kitchen, quarters for fifteen men, three bathrooms, dining room, living room, he also filled me in on some of his experiences in the Navy and with Loyola as a recovering addict. I found myself hoping that Will would let me speak with him and he didn’t disappoint. After the tour, we settled in to the small office and talked for a little over an hour. Here is the result.<br />
<br />
<br />
The interview with Will:<br />
<br />
Can you tell me about Loyola’s program? What are some of the expectations of the residents here? What steps does Loyala take to help them meet expectations?<br />
<blockquote><i>Will: Well, our main objective is to get them housing…this is a house for homeless veterans and we’re not going to send them out to be homeless again. Our main objective is to work with their case managers. We’re in daily contact with them and sometimes they come out here. We work with [the case managers] get a game plan, basically.</i></blockquote>Are these case managers from the VA?<br />
<blockquote><i>Will: Yes. We have case managers in Buffalo, Bath, Canindagua and Albany. We work with them. Each resident that comes here is assigned a case manager as a point of contact with us. We have one guy who got an apartment already. The VA will pay the securitydeposit, through the homeless division, to get them set up. They’ll help them get some furniture, you know, small things to help get them on their feet.</i><br />
<i>So that’s the main objective here, to end their homelessness and help them continue in their treatment plans as far as any medical issues, mental health issues or drug addiction issues.</i></blockquote>When a guy leaves, they go into some type of continuing treatment, can you give me some examples of what that might mean?<br />
<blockquote><i>Will: Well, once they leave here we want them to have their own place, that’s our main objective. From there, they’ll continue through the VA hospital to deal with their medical issues, their mental issues or their drug addictions. That’s maintained by the VA Hospital.</i></blockquote>Does Loyola help with employment?<br />
<blockquote><i>Will: We buy the newspapers. Residents have access to three computers that they can use to look for employment. In fact, two of the residents here work. They go to work, they come back here, have their dinner… They have their HUD vouchers so they’re actively looking for apartments. So, working on the outside? We encourage it.</i></blockquote>Tell me a little bit about how <i>you</i> came to be here.<br />
<blockquote><i>Will: Well, I’m 48 years old. I was born and raised in the South Bronx. I was in the US Navy and in 1983, Beirut, Lebanon…I was there during the bombings. When I got out I was working Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in New York City. I was involved in rescue operations on September 11th, 2001. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>That incident there brought on my…I’m diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) I started having flashes when I was in September 11th. It was basically the same scenario of what happened in Beirut, it just brought on…old memories.</i><br />
<i>I got involved in drugs and everything. My dad died September 11th, of all days, 2005. From there, I was off to the races; I didn’t care about nothin’. I became a full time drug addict, using crack. My life turned around on May 26th of 2009. I saw a reflection of myself; I was down to 130 pounds. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>So I went to the Bronx VA Hospital. I spent about thirty days there in detox and psych evaluation. Then I was transferred to Bath VA and I did a six-month rehabilitation program there. From there, I was transferred to Albany where I went to a VA transitional house and started working Compensated Workers Therapy (CWT). I was fortunate at that time that Loyola was making a detox unit in the VA Hospital, so I applied for housekeeper and I got the job.</i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>From there, I worked housekeeping, but they also had me speak with the patients there about my recovery. It is possible, it’s not the end of the world. We understand people have relapses and stuff like that, and you just have to get back on your feet and try it again, you know. Don’t quit because it’s a bad demon…drugs, let me tell you…thank God I’m going on 21 months now. I haven’t had relapses. My family’s back in my life, my children, my grandchildren, my brothers and sisters, they all gave me the best support I could ever ask for.</i><br />
<blockquote><i>So, back to Loyola. In November I was asked if I wanted this job here. I mean, it placed me further away from my children and my grandkids; I was used to seeing them every weekend, but now it’s like every six months, so it’s kinda hard…it’s very hard, but it’s worth it. It’s worth it. I got promoted to residential manager here. I live here full time. I interact with the residents here; they’re like my brothers.</i></blockquote></blockquote>So, as a recovering addict, is it hard to spend time with other recovering addicts, to talk about those experiences?<br />
<blockquote><i>Will: No. It makes it easier. It’s therapeutic. I mean, hearing their stories…I have cried with some of the vets hearing their stories. They hear my story…I get strength from it and I’m pretty sure they do also. They talk freely about it, we don’t try to intrude in their personal lives, but we also let them know we’re here to let them speak. Sometimes when they speak they open up when they hear my story and…most of the guys who work here were military. I’m a combat veteran, my supervisor, Jeff, hes retired Army. Our big supervisor, Mr. Frank Ryan, he was a Navy S.E.A.L. in Vietnam. So, me? I’ve been through what they’re going through I know exactly what they’re going through, I went through it. It gives me so much joy and I’m proud to be working with them, to help them. Just like the VA and Loyola helped me get my life together.</i> </blockquote><blockquote><i>Loyola took a chance on me when they hired me. I had less than a year’s sobriety and I was on probation.. They took a chance on me because usually they don’t hire unless you have full time sobriety. They took a chance, mostly [it was] Jeff and the Vice-President of Human Resources. They’re glad they did and I’m glad they did also.</i></blockquote>How do you think things would have turned out for you if you hadn’t gotten this job or any job for that matter?<br />
<blockquote><i>Will: Well, if i would have had NO job after CWT…I don’t want to dwell on things I don’t have to, but if I wasn’t hired by this company and given the support and love of a family…Loyola’s like a family to me…I think I would have relapsed. My chances of relapse would have been higher, but in Albany, the counselors, when I was feeling jittery or whatever; they were always receptive. They were always there, not only for the patients we had there at the VA detox, but also with their employees. From headquarters all the way down, if I needed to speak to anybody, they were always there. I’m telling you, this company is just like a family..not ‘like’…it <i><b>is</b></i> a family.</i> </blockquote><blockquote><i>All of this here, this is veterans only. That’s something that only veterans know. So it’s like…it’s a unit, we all work with each other. It’s a fantastic place to be.</i></blockquote>I’m a vet myself and one of the reasons this place is so important to me is that I consider myself lucky. When I got out, I had options. I had a place to go and a good job waiting for me etc.. so when I hear about homeless veterans, it makes me a little sick to my stomach. The Vietnam guys, the Desert Storm guys, the Iraq/Afghanistan guys…it makes me fucking sick…<br />
<blockquote><i>We have a huge problem in the United States. Jeff goes in there, he looks at all the different states and stuff like that on the computer and homelessness among veterans is to damn high, It’s unacceptable. These guys fought, they wore this uniform for the security of our country. I love my country, I’m glad I love my country, but sometimes I feel like they let us down. There’s no reason why a veteran should be homeless.</i></blockquote>Will and I engaged in a side conversation about the military’s treatment of returning combat veterans and the stigma of mental issues in the active duty military. That conversation turned into a discussion about about mental health issues in general and although he gave the VA glowing reviews throughout our interview, he did have this to say about the VA’s difficulty in quickly diagnosing and treating discharged veteran’s with PTSD:<br />
<blockquote><i>Will: The VA hospitals… I mean…you go there and you ask for an appointment and you go, ‘This happened to me.’ Well, they changed psychiatrists on me so, I make an appointment. She spoke to me briefly just to get a handle on my record from the previous psychiatrist.She says, ‘Oh, we need to make an <i>immediate</i> appointment for this young man. Make him an appointment as soon as possible.’</i> </blockquote><blockquote><i>You know what ‘soon as possible’ was? Four months later. Four months later to see my psychiatrist. Now, if I was suicidal or whatever? Then what? That’s the problem with the VA. They’ll give you an appointment, but…I mean, the VA is great, but they’re overwhelmed. They’ve got a lot of veterans and now a lot that are coming in with mental issues because the war in Afghanistan and Iraq…it’s crazy. It’s really destroying a lot of these young guys. Most the guys that go in there, they’re 17, 18, 19, 20 years old going into a war zone.. I mean, I was a little more prepared. Born in the South Bronx, gangs and all that. Killings? I was used to it. When I went in it wasn’t too big of a deal, but you’ve got these guys coming in from the Midwest who’ve never seen anything like that being shipped off to kill people and seeing their friends get killed. How in the heck are they not gonna have problems?</i></blockquote>We’re supposed to be tough though right? You know how it is.<br />
<blockquote><i>We’re human. Just because we put on a uniform doesn’t mean we’re immune to what we see. They never diagnosed me with PTSD in the beginning.</i></blockquote>Will credits a sympathetic nurse at the VA for bringing him in. After six months homeless, living in the subway in New York City, he contacted the VA. The nurse he spoke with told him, ‘Come right in, do not deviate.’ He believes his time living destitute made him stronger and gave him the ability to help others who have shared his experiences.<br />
<blockquote><i>Basically from September 2005 to May 2009 I was hardcore, high every minute. I sold drugs, did whatever I had to do so I could get high. If I had to go through all of that again so I could end up exactly where I’m at…for some reason I’m here. I think it’s to help other veterans to make the transition, that’s why this is a transition house. It’s to make the transition from a homeless veteran that nobody cares about into a productive veteran that everybody can be proud of. I can say my family, my children, they all can be proud of me.</i></blockquote>That’s the whole interview minus some smalltalk and a discussion about what constitutes a boat and what constitutes a ship. If you’ve ever had a serious discussion with a Navy vet, you know what I’m talking about.<br />
<br />
The word ‘catharsis’ is is overused. So overused, in fact, that I’m convinced it’s becoming cliche. Regardless of my own prejudice toward the word, I’m tempted to use it here, not just to describe my own experience with Will and my desire to go back and do it all over again, but to describe in the most accurate way how Will came to be the man he is today. Will relives his worst days, every day in order to help other men like him and to help himself. I’m convinced that he is no saint, but he <i>is</i> courageous.<br />
<br />
I haven’t met many men in my life who have the guts to grip a demon by the tail and force it to do his bidding. Will does that and I stand in awe of him.<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-26958043526853217722012-05-30T06:07:00.002-07:002013-07-17T03:38:08.744-07:00Read This Shit, Motherfuckers: The Path To Atheism (Part 1)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>It's a working title, but it got you here, didn't it?</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am an atheist. I'm not an agnostic. I'm not 'spiritual but not religious' or whatever the hippie girls are calling it these days.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This isn’t going to be an angry debunking of religious beliefs or a history of Christian violence. I don’t hate religion or religious people. I do think they’re a bit silly and at some point I think I’m going to make a comparison between hard-core religion and drug addiction, so you might want to stick around for that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No, this isn’t a hate piece even though I thought it was going to be when I started. It is too easy to just point at a thing and call it silly and archaic or to point out the hypocrisies within the world’s religions. Even the strictest adherents of religion know that certain parts if not most of their belief systems are silly, archaic and hypocritical. This hasn’t changed their outlook even a little, so why waste the time? I think it’s more interesting to revisit the process of questioning that led me to two simple, logical conclusions:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is no God. That is OK.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was fourteen and attending a Catholic school I asked my religion teacher, "What if a person doesn't believe in everything the Church teaches us?"<br />
<br />
She answered, "Those people go to hell."<br />
<br />
I am, above all else, myself, so after that I started telling everyone I was a Buddhist and spent the rest of the year trying to convince the very attractive brunette who sat next to me in the back corner of the classroom to give me a hand-job in class. If I'm going to hell, so is everyone else.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next year I went back to public school, but my time in the parochial education system had piqued my interest so I spent a lot of that summer reading books about religion. I love books, even the terrible ones.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you ever want to meet the Creator of a universe, talk to an author of fiction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I read the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and some of the Koran. I read the I Ching, as much of the New Testament as I could stomach and all of the Old Testament. (Angry God was always a much more interesting character.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The book that changed my life that summer wasn’t a religious text, but it was about religion. It was called <i>Sacred Origins of Profound Things</i>. The book’s author, Charles Panati, managed to get about a quarter of his references wrong in one way or another, but the conclusions were, for the most part, undeniably correct.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What were those conclusions? Well, religious observances are almost always the result of socioeconomic drivers or current cultural phenomena. In other words, (mine, not Panati’s, he was very careful not to make a judgment) religion is fiction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Religion, for better or worse, is made up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My fourteen year old mind paused right there. You have to remember that I’d been brought up with a belief in God and though we didn’t go to church very often, religion was a part of my life. So, there I was on a summer evening sitting in my bedroom and finding out that it was all made up. I had suspected that some or even most of it was bullshit, but every time I peeled back another layer of ritual and belief I’d discover that it was fictional too. What did that say about the foundation of my religion? What would happen when I got to the center? Was God made up too? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t want to answer that question so I chose to ignore the subject altogether. I could have become a happy agnostic at that point, but something happened that caused a religious relapse in me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In late spring the next year my Uncle Gary died. He was a high functioning alcoholic who worked at nuclear power plants. I didn't meet him until I was almost a teenager because he and my mother hadn't spoken to each other for years. I loved that man instantly. Everything about him made immediate sense to me and when he died in his forties of liver failure my mother wouldn't let me or his own children attend his funeral. She is a strange and horrible person but that's another story. <br />
<br />
I wanted to have a chance to say goodbye to my uncle and I wanted his kids to have the same opportunity, so I called the priest who used to teach me Latin at that Catholic school I was talking about earlier. He agreed to conduct a funeral for no money because he was the sort of priest who understood and adhered to his own religion...that's a rare thing. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude and grief that I took my first communion at the funeral mass. I'll never forget the way that felt, I was full of non-belief and doubt and grief, old enough at sixteen to understand all of those things, but too young to properly deal with them. I sought what comfort was offered and it was freely given to me. <br />
<br />
That memory is the thing I return to when I really start to hate religion and belief in a fictitious God. For a few moments back then, when I was being forced into becoming a man sooner than a boy ought to, I understood what comfort was and what belief could mean to a person who had nothing else. I wanted to have faith so badly back then and for a while I did. I remember sitting in class a few days before the funeral and daydreaming about Gary sitting on a cloud looking down at me, protecting me, being happy in Heaven and loving his nephew here on Earth. I know, it is the worst kind of clichéd and conceptualized idea of the afterlife, but it made me feel good. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Comfort for the sad and desperate is the most wonderful thing about God and religion. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Comfort isn't the end of reality, though. The Earth isn't flat.<br />
<br />
I remember seeing a billboard around that time. It was just text, a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin or George Washington: 'How can one look up at all the stars in the sky and not believe in God?' I thought that was nice and real and right. This was a thing that was perfect and unarguable, the way things must be. Then I went to chemistry class and everything changed again.<br />
<br />
In chemistry class there were electrons for every proton, perfect little atomic solar systems. There were electromagnets dragging metal filings across a piece of paper and there was a day when the teacher told us that if you mixed certain acids with certain bases they would create a poison gas that would kill us all before we could leave the room. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started to think about poison gas and religion. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are layers to science in the same way that there are layers to religion, but the layers of science aren’t the machinations of powerful men and superstitious peasants, they are the result of facts stacked on top of one another. These facts lead to discovery, which in turn leads to more facts and more discoveries ad infinitum. When you peel back the layers of biology and sift through cell walls and mitochondria, you find chemistry. When you shake out the structure of an atom, you learn about the forces that hold it together and arrive at physics. When you attempt to understand those forces and finally reach the center you have math. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is comfort in math and science. It isn’t the comfort of choirs of angels singing your name or a warm and loving God welcoming you into His Kingdom when you die, but for the prepared mind, it is even better. It is the knowledge that one plus one equals two, every time. It is knowing that when two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom combine they will make a single molecule of water, every time. It is knowing that all events are predictable as long as we have the tools to measure them. It is the acceptance of knowledge, and faith in the fact that when your chemistry teacher tells you mixing a certain acid and a certain base will create a deadly poison gas, he is absolutely correct. It has been proven and those two chemicals will react the same way, every time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Religion is the denial of knowledge. No, that’s wrong. Religion is the denial of the search for knowledge. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a thing that is unfixable within the confines of modern, monotheistic religions because, according to them, the order to turn away from understanding came from God himself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are two perfect, biblical examples that explain the origins of the religious culture’s denial of knowledge. The first is the origin story and the other is the post-flood tale of Babel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The tale of Adam and Eve lies at the base of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Practitioners of modern monotheism view the origin story in many different ways; some see it as a morality play, a fable, and others accept it as fact. No matter how it is viewed the moral is the same: Knowledge belongs to God and you can’t have any. Do not eat the fruit. Do not be curious. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later in Genesis comes the story of Babel and its tower that reached the heavens. Once again the religious will view the story as either allegory or fact, but the conclusion is the same. The post-flood residents of Earth and their tyrant king, Nimrod built a great city. These people, the entire population of the world all spoke the same language and worked to improve themselves and their city. They began to view their ability as something that belonged to them and not to God and so they built a tower in their city that was supposed to stretch high enough to challenge God directly. The Islamic version of the story has two angels, Haroot and Maroot residing with the people and teaching them ‘magic’ while at the same time telling humans that this magic was an evil thing that, if practiced, would anger God.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No matter which version of the story you read, God was angry enough to punish his people for seeking knowledge. Every version has God spreading the people throughout the world and confusing their language so they could no longer communicate with each other. Some versions have God smashing the tower and others end with God turning one third of Babel’s citizens into demons and banishing them to another realm. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every iteration of both the creation story and the story of Babel has the same moral: Seek knowledge and you will be punished.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those two stories lie at the crux of the belief vs. non-belief argument and I return to them often in my mind </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a sixteen-year-old boy, this is what I knew about God: If there is a God he doesn’t want us to seek knowledge. Seeking knowledge is a central part of being human; therefore, if God created us then he set us up to fail. This is an immoral act; therefore, if God exists, God is not moral.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">As a sixteen-year-old boy, this is what I knew about the universe without God: There is an ordered system of physical law. Human beings are capable of understanding much of that physical law. Seeking knowledge is a central part of being human; therefore, we will continue to seek knowledge. Knowledge is neither moral or immoral, it just is.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>That's the end of Part 1 folks. I promise Part 2 will have less bible references and more sex references.</b></i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/12kcpP-8jfM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-38797186330612423552012-05-16T09:36:00.002-07:002012-05-16T14:20:04.423-07:00Ranzenhofer's 'Personnel' Problem Is Not Going AwayLast Friday, Howard Owens from <a href="http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/while-ranzenhofer-claims-neutrality-congressional-race-petitions-collins-seem-tell-diff"></a><a href="http://thebatavian.com/">The Batavian</a> published proof beyond a doubt that Erie County GOP Chairman, Republican rent-a hack Michael Hook, and congressional primary candidate Chris Collins were righteously pissed about the political activities of Michelle McCulloch.<br />
<br />
McCulloch was employed as an outreach worker in State Senator Mike Ranzenhofer's district office until her employment was terminated. The firing came a day after she reported to her boss that she had introduced David Bellavia to possible primary supporters at a meet and greet in Wyoming County where she resides and serves as a GOP Committeewoman. She was fired despite having been a good soldier. She passed Conservative Party petitions for Chris Collins presumably at the behest of Ranzenhofer and reported her outside political activity to her boss as instructed.<br />
<br />
Today, Ranzenhofer <a href="http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_c4b95608-9f05-11e1-a9c9-0019bb2963f4.html">told the Batavia Daily News</a> that he is remaining neutral in the GOP primary between Collins and Bellavia and that he won't be endorsing a candidate.<br />
<br />
That was the point where my bullshit detector exploded. Here's what we know for sure:<br />
<br />
Ranzenhofer's office staff, a small army of Republicans who also happen to be notaries public, passed Conservative Party designating petitions for Chris Collins. This is not an act of neutrality and although Ranzenhofer has denied that he directed his staff to pass the petitions, no one with a drop of common sense believes him. <a href="http://files.thebatavian.com/pdfs/collins_ranz_petitions.pdf">Here's a link to all the Conservative Party petitions turned in by Ranz's staff notaries</a>. That's an impressive coordinated effort by a bunch of people who weren't directed to act....<br />
<br />
According to Ms. McCulloch's text message records which she shared with The Batavian, Chris Collins' political consultant, Michael Hook, called Ranzenhofer after the Collins campaign found out about McCulloch's membership on the Bellavia Steering Committee. Here is the warning from her friend courtesy of The Batavian:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6db_tDeI90anQtitsNgklk2DIZTI6-8wYiCqGsXrYOWXArBVZiB9w5sPngTqSfmH0hbpYekDfbniWKP0Mrx_eMft6g805y23jU9SGyWqbN_fFpGetY2V7vxcDoYyKH_bRv5bgJ9rARJI/s1600/untitled.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6db_tDeI90anQtitsNgklk2DIZTI6-8wYiCqGsXrYOWXArBVZiB9w5sPngTqSfmH0hbpYekDfbniWKP0Mrx_eMft6g805y23jU9SGyWqbN_fFpGetY2V7vxcDoYyKH_bRv5bgJ9rARJI/s320/untitled.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Image Courtesy of The Batavian</span><br />
That wasn't the only text message she received. ECGOP Chairman Nick Langworthy sent a few rage texts to McCulloch about her support of Bellavia.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRw5seXvtrzRvsPfWrVWhH8YuMABeQg30U2rgovDflwpdqNT_ab-FxPpmMIHBKuiljgTFuMSqXbhH0YpX1l_nGqQ39R7bXt_J76A6PPRUm2xM_C2Gw1aysGbFwapuuiGV-mPn-KM7h3Q/s1600/LangText.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRw5seXvtrzRvsPfWrVWhH8YuMABeQg30U2rgovDflwpdqNT_ab-FxPpmMIHBKuiljgTFuMSqXbhH0YpX1l_nGqQ39R7bXt_J76A6PPRUm2xM_C2Gw1aysGbFwapuuiGV-mPn-KM7h3Q/s320/LangText.JPG" width="209" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy of The Batavian</span><br />
<br />
After the texts came a warning to McCulloch that she must report any political activity to her boss. She followed orders and a day later she was fired.<br />
<br />
Ranzenhofer insists that the firing wasn't politically motivated, but all of the evidence points in the other direction.<br />
<br />
Enter the Republican version of the circular firing squad.<br />
<br />
Wyoming County GOP Chairman Gordon Brown told the paper:<br />
<br />
“I am not pleased with Sen. Ranzenhofer’s response,” Brown said. “He claims neutrality, but I don’t think that neutrality is accurate.”<br />
<br />
For those of you unfamiliar with political language, that statement translates roughly into English as: "Ranz is a fucking liar. Liar, liar, pants on fire."<br />
<br />
He also seemed underwhelmed by Chris Collins' ability to build bridges, saying, “You have to be able to build coalitions and consensus, with Collins, the question is does he have the right personality?”<br />
<br />
That one doesn't require any translation, we all know nobody can stand Chris Collins on a personal level.<br />
<br />
This congressional campaign is quickly turning into another case of how badly can the ECGOP squander its chances of winning this seat. NY-27 should be a slam dunk for the Republicans after redistricting turned it from an R+6 district to an R+7. Of course, it should have been a slam dunk for them last year as well, but Democrat Kathy Hochul stomped all over them even in some of the reddest parts of the district.<br />
<br />
Republican leadership in Erie County has been running the same campaign for years and everyone has finally caught on to the strategy. Pick a wealthy candidate, hide him/her in a bunker somewhere so they don't have to answer policy questions, feed the public talking points, keep the GLOW countys in line, win.<br />
<br />
David Bellavia has thrown a serious wrench in their gears these last two election cycles, but Bellavia isn't the man to blame for the ECGOP's woes; Nick Langworthy is. Langworthy paid lip service to Bellavia in 2008 when he asked the Iraq War veteran to step aside for tranny-chaser Christopher Lee. Langworthy then promised Bellavia that when Lee vacated the seat, it would be Bellavia's turn to go to Washington.<br />
<br />
Bellavia accepted Langworthy's word and stepped aside for the team, but when the time came for Langworthy to pay up, wealthy dilettante Jane Corwin was called off the bench instead. We all know how that turned out for the Republicans. Bellavia is doing the right thing running this primary. The ECGOP has proved to everyone exactly what their word is worth and Bellavia is providing Republican voters an opportunity to step away from the status quo.<br />
<br />
<br />
Image and quote sources:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/while-ranzenhofer-claims-neutrality-congressional-race-petitions-collins-seem-tell-diff">http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/while-ranzenhofer-claims-neutrality-congressional-race-petitions-collins-seem-tell-diff</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_c4b95608-9f05-11e1-a9c9-0019bb2963f4.html">http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_c4b95608-9f05-11e1-a9c9-0019bb2963f4.html</a>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-57363424561701755402012-05-14T13:42:00.004-07:002012-05-15T05:37:15.899-07:00GLOW Fun With Chris CollinsThanks to @BuffaloPundit and @HeyRaChaCha, we had a little fun on Twitter today with Chris Collins' clueless attempts at pandering to GLOW region voters. I'll keep this updated with the good ones. The hashtag is #CluelessCollins, enjoy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceM9MBW33rwmVrXK3M2b137qod7q_marHEi5S43ein5lcO1f5UCvilHJoQJkdQ-3jgj1Z2Xm3O5exgPHvbQh4u4WEohJwdBKIRvMVX9s6hzg12Q1ThtJAYHC81-JLKP0DDkAUhUNJxyY/s1600/COnable.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceM9MBW33rwmVrXK3M2b137qod7q_marHEi5S43ein5lcO1f5UCvilHJoQJkdQ-3jgj1Z2Xm3O5exgPHvbQh4u4WEohJwdBKIRvMVX9s6hzg12Q1ThtJAYHC81-JLKP0DDkAUhUNJxyY/s320/COnable.JPG" width="241" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh305jXUgOeZxgU8xHZklL9_VuVBC_l-wWX8G8Sde5Lexn0xl4aTpKxY-1wrmC1wW7NF1OnDls6itjtO9PXRZTrOUrAuzC3xiDFtPu7huCfNEJxPDDjhnxuZSqMRGf3F7WzJ3ZGJ2MCbOY/s1600/GLOW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh305jXUgOeZxgU8xHZklL9_VuVBC_l-wWX8G8Sde5Lexn0xl4aTpKxY-1wrmC1wW7NF1OnDls6itjtO9PXRZTrOUrAuzC3xiDFtPu7huCfNEJxPDDjhnxuZSqMRGf3F7WzJ3ZGJ2MCbOY/s1600/GLOW.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_tR05iZkLta2qE6DvHgnkejDpHhquqbgv1rosh7GSMX6C1sq6hUV-IWiz-pvdEVY5vh7aCd3st2QR84xBq0K5qru0awSSdzLrlJ2GA1Gc9wpErSWELJWywgiPKgns2-cyXvjEsiDqAM/s1600/Batavia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_tR05iZkLta2qE6DvHgnkejDpHhquqbgv1rosh7GSMX6C1sq6hUV-IWiz-pvdEVY5vh7aCd3st2QR84xBq0K5qru0awSSdzLrlJ2GA1Gc9wpErSWELJWywgiPKgns2-cyXvjEsiDqAM/s1600/Batavia.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQj-77MwP242PysGUp_A8cBVLjiq_YW9Re2IpB3vpNmiIjKTmPcyxIoYf3tkbNv4YPDYu609mjzUyElWAI42Xnp2U9o0sXshbtM9tzmUkBUsWNeeEwGX1OAjSyr6qcbm18H1Pegs_R8VI/s1600/Rodeo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQj-77MwP242PysGUp_A8cBVLjiq_YW9Re2IpB3vpNmiIjKTmPcyxIoYf3tkbNv4YPDYu609mjzUyElWAI42Xnp2U9o0sXshbtM9tzmUkBUsWNeeEwGX1OAjSyr6qcbm18H1Pegs_R8VI/s1600/Rodeo.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVJTGJH5sjSMd_4CrUQarihWp8Y8DPgX8z_6K4mLbbpLk-3j12yu0DeP_oWz7OQgS2oYLLedGPzmXW98dzdEnFJmsYoxgKoslcaCPnimK6JYlCB4m6stmIQhwuj3BFp73HE3akF5QNh8/s1600/warsaw.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVJTGJH5sjSMd_4CrUQarihWp8Y8DPgX8z_6K4mLbbpLk-3j12yu0DeP_oWz7OQgS2oYLLedGPzmXW98dzdEnFJmsYoxgKoslcaCPnimK6JYlCB4m6stmIQhwuj3BFp73HE3akF5QNh8/s320/warsaw.JPG" width="245" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUusDGA_bmRfgesvgB3jBl3kXTgJYNv21Pv0JEXGHytJorHDd8cbrjD0Khp5AFsu68J0qd4lenTL0SKd589xYDJcNZogEeZWMStr8la40dpsPsaWKpDPAFyshGZmAVZnvzD0po538KnKo/s1600/LeRoy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUusDGA_bmRfgesvgB3jBl3kXTgJYNv21Pv0JEXGHytJorHDd8cbrjD0Khp5AFsu68J0qd4lenTL0SKd589xYDJcNZogEeZWMStr8la40dpsPsaWKpDPAFyshGZmAVZnvzD0po538KnKo/s1600/LeRoy.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUEdMJCT_WMJVQbEn4lNrKYU12B-lxBbQ6ydTfbQ6L-YrWQv9-ALiK7cszcOFC9fDd_pT0cPoYyqgMpI8p_CZYYzEfmYiY3RQKaLzAHa7TKFzLkMqD-kGNCDfu_myWSRseB2Dqk7ohCtA/s1600/CowsLieDown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUEdMJCT_WMJVQbEn4lNrKYU12B-lxBbQ6ydTfbQ6L-YrWQv9-ALiK7cszcOFC9fDd_pT0cPoYyqgMpI8p_CZYYzEfmYiY3RQKaLzAHa7TKFzLkMqD-kGNCDfu_myWSRseB2Dqk7ohCtA/s320/CowsLieDown.JPG" width="241" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DXzgaFVZH6l_IvL8JlFbk4DiPZeuBW85fyaZWEQORoLKF_8HQ1LoGIP1HNnMxUUHUkFtKUGWH6LSOfFgGxFN-Z_dmMx0Rr_P_daWXnaNpeuUV2bJk0nfoVCimiZQGhyIlEx5Zwly-rA/s1600/HorseCrap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DXzgaFVZH6l_IvL8JlFbk4DiPZeuBW85fyaZWEQORoLKF_8HQ1LoGIP1HNnMxUUHUkFtKUGWH6LSOfFgGxFN-Z_dmMx0Rr_P_daWXnaNpeuUV2bJk0nfoVCimiZQGhyIlEx5Zwly-rA/s320/HorseCrap.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsc6dmSd0Th760_8S6E7WEz0SRO-twDzQ_E9oH_VhEk54nyuRKlW36ZQgHmgenaSLYih-R1x21qoA7jtpX060cKyBKTsUT-LT4-Vg2-LKR0nBV9I3vBEzQLTyaVC4Zsw-vfpCxnEZC6tY/s1600/Obama.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsc6dmSd0Th760_8S6E7WEz0SRO-twDzQ_E9oH_VhEk54nyuRKlW36ZQgHmgenaSLYih-R1x21qoA7jtpX060cKyBKTsUT-LT4-Vg2-LKR0nBV9I3vBEzQLTyaVC4Zsw-vfpCxnEZC6tY/s320/Obama.JPG" width="241" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqjyyJf7MZP-gxq0axPg_XwPBrZaRtfwZqbFpQgdIYEi_0R1JGduceoohU8jLVe3ChVJigLuzpdI_VD216S47nF42j9fhxpci0iU7WGYX6JJfWViGtOMclaJnKrPHQylzP5onqsAT2p0/s1600/Pork.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqjyyJf7MZP-gxq0axPg_XwPBrZaRtfwZqbFpQgdIYEi_0R1JGduceoohU8jLVe3ChVJigLuzpdI_VD216S47nF42j9fhxpci0iU7WGYX6JJfWViGtOMclaJnKrPHQylzP5onqsAT2p0/s320/Pork.JPG" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiePZqnCz04wNP1gbx-ahV4Asm-E8luEX__Ysm-NjzdDU1CKF0YK7ejAOJlClEOks7zGndVTcu3cKiO8-KqhZF0nfGaDMCdWNWuJcB6iwqndtBe2mqOT8kGCpGH9dsAYjrCO8pqoSiQiA/s1600/teats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiePZqnCz04wNP1gbx-ahV4Asm-E8luEX__Ysm-NjzdDU1CKF0YK7ejAOJlClEOks7zGndVTcu3cKiO8-KqhZF0nfGaDMCdWNWuJcB6iwqndtBe2mqOT8kGCpGH9dsAYjrCO8pqoSiQiA/s320/teats.JPG" width="243" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjls4-VRC0JsFGOLPNQ_B1njdCFG3R3wav4dAo2y6vmKN2Dz-821mkuHnwqzlt2rkPZrnH0H6HEouagEt8qF0B9609m5HA1nxG9pUGkndbrD3OLFI7G4PFplu2jPsW0M6mfAb9IZUkXIYk/s1600/post+office.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjls4-VRC0JsFGOLPNQ_B1njdCFG3R3wav4dAo2y6vmKN2Dz-821mkuHnwqzlt2rkPZrnH0H6HEouagEt8qF0B9609m5HA1nxG9pUGkndbrD3OLFI7G4PFplu2jPsW0M6mfAb9IZUkXIYk/s320/post+office.JPG" width="244" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTavLUW2R6A1gmQmzYwel2tXf5WQgGH-1GxE7qqq7L8VE5jsYRL87VznPg02V_P50IQTGjxlnxxW-cgxU9yHPk__be_zcTohrp1bPY9T4kmhfXquAT6-ZCBrIXwDICSgSiFbeK2CiS47s/s1600/Amish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTavLUW2R6A1gmQmzYwel2tXf5WQgGH-1GxE7qqq7L8VE5jsYRL87VznPg02V_P50IQTGjxlnxxW-cgxU9yHPk__be_zcTohrp1bPY9T4kmhfXquAT6-ZCBrIXwDICSgSiFbeK2CiS47s/s1600/Amish.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjU3GdghMPJEhgPkL_hGErQj6y1AIuuwT0DHhlb1QxzMt1Fhh8XmGNnnZPA583ZbmCl4ngtYcMO0eSYSpSaoBMSftbqWVOdIN5BUm4iB4g4zWcfk8GHIJRHh2fAU2cX8l4UOOkV3A7To/s1600/Java.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjU3GdghMPJEhgPkL_hGErQj6y1AIuuwT0DHhlb1QxzMt1Fhh8XmGNnnZPA583ZbmCl4ngtYcMO0eSYSpSaoBMSftbqWVOdIN5BUm4iB4g4zWcfk8GHIJRHh2fAU2cX8l4UOOkV3A7To/s320/Java.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-980826791427827552012-05-14T06:49:00.004-07:002012-05-14T09:18:59.312-07:00Hey Hicks, Chris Collins Is Just Like You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGXPfyiehd2Myez6sSVcjAlebGUaOWmCnlBdwWpRdkUVZayyfrjBZ4gOM78JGctvYgPX1AoQgvHj3MNroTlJ5D_G2Wnoac4vNfam8ay-R3DdYfghBMy8bNZ4sxi7lq4qNEafUf4VRLv8/s1600/Collinsmeme.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGXPfyiehd2Myez6sSVcjAlebGUaOWmCnlBdwWpRdkUVZayyfrjBZ4gOM78JGctvYgPX1AoQgvHj3MNroTlJ5D_G2Wnoac4vNfam8ay-R3DdYfghBMy8bNZ4sxi7lq4qNEafUf4VRLv8/s1600/Collinsmeme.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkToVAK-meRAhEXH8S6jGRuQ01rsOGMMF4MbkpSP_PGbrjhy9OYSkAJwsyRm6Mf0kuVwRbrj0i18Dpv7XNyMI1wh_RNrhsVXyAjnht2WRREpJRYwzFFGB1Q8XgokkG0AFJF9pVeKrJ9gc/s1600/CollinsFarms.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkToVAK-meRAhEXH8S6jGRuQ01rsOGMMF4MbkpSP_PGbrjhy9OYSkAJwsyRm6Mf0kuVwRbrj0i18Dpv7XNyMI1wh_RNrhsVXyAjnht2WRREpJRYwzFFGB1Q8XgokkG0AFJF9pVeKrJ9gc/s320/CollinsFarms.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
Chris Collins bought some jeans last week and <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city/columns/off-main-street/article853275.ece">The Buffalo News just had to report on it</a>. I never would have seen the blurb if my friend Alan Bedenko over at Artvoice hadn't <a href="http://blogs.artvoice.com/avdaily/2012/05/13/nothing-comes-between-chris-and-his-calvins/">picked up on it yesterday</a>.<br />
<br />
Since this is stupid is so many ways, I'm not going to launch into a thousand-word diatribe about how Collins is a dick and is wholly incapable of connecting with or understanding anyone outside of his circle of Spaulding Lake dilettantes. Instead, I thought it would just be fun to wonder what Chris Collins thinks of us, the hicks, rubes and hayseeds out here in the GLOW counties.<br />
<br />
Without further ado: Overheard on the Collins campaign trail, GLOW region edition:<br />
<br />
-- "Jesus, what's that smell? Is that the fertilizer stench they kept telling me about?"<br />
"No, Chris, we're in downtown Batavia, there aren't any farms here."<br />
"Hmmm, must just be the poor people. What kind of pants do they wear?"<br />
<br />
--"You guys are farmers, huh? So do you have, like, a general store, or do you barter for goods at the fair?"<br />
<br />
--"Hi, I'm Chris Collins and I need your vote so I can go to Washington. Waaawwwww-ssshhhhinnnngggg-ttttuuuuhhhhhnnn."<br />
<br />
-- "I just bought a brand new pick-up truck so I can connect on a personal level with Pa Kettle here. Let's fill it with heavy stuff and drive somewhere."<br />
<br />
-- "Let's make this one quick. There is no way I'm taking a dump in an outhouse."<br />
<br />
-- "Oh, this is your cousin? How many kids do you guys have?"<br />
<br />
-- "Haha, look at these straw hat wearing yokels. Hey, Cletus, where's the rodeo? Wait, what? YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A FUCKIN' RODEO?!?!? Oh....My....God....what the fuck is wrong with you people?"<br />
<br />
I could do this all day, but I won't because it's stupid. You know what else is stupid? Chris Collins' attempt to be 'folksy' in his hick costume.Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-72990114508806720182012-05-10T05:43:00.001-07:002012-05-10T05:43:45.513-07:00President Obama Gets It Right On Gay MarriageYesterday, President Obama told the nation that he supports the right of gay couples to get married. Welcome to the 21st century, sir, there's beer in the fridge.<br />
<br />
I've never doubted the President's actual beliefs about this issue and I don't believe for a single moment that his point of view has been 'evolving' all this time. The man's central problem has always been that he's a human being in his heart and a politician in fact. He suffers from the same disease that every person whose ife is run by handlers contracts eventually. Waffling on the important stuff is like the common cold for political animals whose progression through the ranks of power depends on public opinion. We're just finally lucky enough that public opinion on this civil rights issue has finally reached 50/50 status and the President possesses that extra percent of guts required for a powerful person to finally take a stand.<br />
<br />
Of course it's one thing to come out in favor of equal rights for citizens, Backing it up with legislation is another game entirely, and the President has shown no inclination to do any such thing. Obama continues to insist that gay marriage is an issue for the states and we all know how that's going to go. Individual states are more inclined to stifle the right of gay individuals to marry rather than encourage it and they've proven it with their perfect 32-0 record of shitting all over equal rights when the issue goes to referendum. The only states that have successfully granted equal status to gay citizens have been the ones with governors and legislatures courageous enough to take the issue out of the hands of reactionary and bigoted citizens and do the thing using the old-school method of politics: favor trading, back room deals and maybe a sprinkling of blackmail just to make sure things are properly cinched up.<br />
<br />
I'm willing to put aside my usual distaste for the common political method for this issue. If showing State Senator X the never before seen pictures of his 'fact-finding trip' to Thailand is what it takes to ensure that every American possesses the same rights as his/her neighbor to marry for love or money or social advantage, then I'm OK with it.<br />
<br />
However slowly things progress, I'm confident that our society will eventually reach the end of this argument. The bigoted religious sects will continue to marginalize themselves even within the confines of their own theology. The men and women who are opposed to homosexuality because they think the sex is 'icky' will look themselves in the mirror one day and realize how stupid they're being. The generational shift in cultural norms will finally overtake whatever is left of the hesitation of our politicians to do the right thing. My generation and our children will be the targeted demographic of politicians and we will not tolerate discrimination. When I am an old man, people my age will want our leaders to do the right thing because we know better and our kids will want the same because they never knew any different.<br />
<br />
The road to equality has always been long and perilous, demanding sacrifice from those brave enough to travel it. National progress on these issues that seem so simple to some of us is slow and requires a tireless activist base along with that ever elusive creature: The Gutsy Politician. There is a reward at the end, though. SO many Americans, gay and straight, have walked that road in the hope that someday this thing we call 'gay marriage' will just be marriage like abolition became freedom and women's suffrage became voting. That day is coming. Be patient, be strong and be true, your reward is closer than you think.Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-59915417625665766492012-05-07T09:06:00.001-07:002012-05-07T09:33:55.718-07:00Collins Gives Order To Fire Mother Of Four, Bellavia Benefits<a href="http://webmail.rochester.rr.com/do/mail/message/view?msgId=INBOXDELIM30458&l=en-US&v=standard">The Buffalo News reported</a> on Saturday that State Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer fired an office employee and mother of four at the behest of Chris Collins, a Republican candidate for the NY-27 Congressional seat. According to the Buffalo News report, Michelle
McCulloch of Attica said her employment at Ranzenhofer's office was terminated because of her support of Collins' primary opponent, David Bellavia.<br />
<br />
McCulloch, a mother of four, is a member of the Wyoming County Republican Committee which has officially endorsed Mr. Bellavia in the ongoing primary. The incident that reportedly got her fired was nothing more than a meet and greet in Wyoming County (also attended by Collins) where she introduced David Bellavia around the crowd.<br />
<br />
Ms. McCulloch is also a member of Bellavia's campaign steering committee, an extracurricular activity that had previously drawn the ire of her boss. Despite Ranzenhofer's demands that his staff remain neutral in the primary, his state senate office employees were asked to pass designating petitions for Chris Collins. McCulloch told the Buffalo News that she had performed this task despite her support for Bellavia.<br />
<br />
New York is an 'at-will' state meaning employees can be terminated at any time for any reason. Companies are not required to provide an explanation for personnel decisions like this one.<br />
<br />
Chris Collins has a history of committing acts that force voters to question his ability to respect his fellow human beings. There was the<a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article498238.ece"> rat thing in Buffalo</a>, then there was the <a href="http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/11/dems-attack-collins-for-parking-in-handicap-spot/">handicapped parking space incident</a>, the reportedly fear-based working environment in the Erie County Executive's office, and any number of <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/01/collins-foot-in-mouth-disease.html">other transgressions</a> that constantly lower the public's expectations of Chris Collins ever acting like a person who respects others. Asking a State Senator to fire a mother of four who has served faithfully for years under multiple bosses falls right into the pattern of typical Collins behavior.<br />
<br />
David Bellavia is expected to address the allegations against Collins and Ranzenhofer today in multiple appearances around the district.<br />
<br />
Bellavia, who has received the endorsement of Republican Committees in every rural county in NY-27 should see this as a windfall for his campaign. Primary elections can be difficult to run because voters often have trouble, for obvious reasons, discerning the differences between two candidates who generally espouse the same ideology. These typically low turnout races will always come down to money and organization unless a clear line can be drawn between candidates. Bellavia has an opportunity now to draw that line using Collins' borderline behavior to ask primary voters to choose the kind of person they want representing them in the upcoming general election. I don't imagine the man who ordered the revenge firing of a working class mother is going to be able to acquit himself well on-stage in a debate with Congresswoman Kathy Hochul.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkmNKY20-kquKzeh76GWos2kHI_t6Pq-8PP7FVhsRFszulq_DGDeBYa8hZhk0XZ_LTaYlU56sP2brZCXXq0rrumoXHzw8l37NKzeziTTn4dgR6ZGqspW413oJgvzQGXFsTQ3jSYlhuW4/s1600/collinssignA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkmNKY20-kquKzeh76GWos2kHI_t6Pq-8PP7FVhsRFszulq_DGDeBYa8hZhk0XZ_LTaYlU56sP2brZCXXq0rrumoXHzw8l37NKzeziTTn4dgR6ZGqspW413oJgvzQGXFsTQ3jSYlhuW4/s320/collinssignA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of Tom Dolina at <a href="http://thomasdolina.com/blog/">Tommunisms</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736408077015035859.post-59684309570762221392012-05-04T06:38:00.000-07:002012-05-04T13:53:05.625-07:00Thoughts For Friday: On Love and Fear and Death<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe the hardest thing for a human being to do is tell the
truth. I used to write this Thoughts for Friday piece every week or so at
WNYMedia and it was always a frivolous thing. I'd drink too much beer on a
Thursday night and vomit out whatever was on my mind. I tried to make it funny
or poignant, but it was really just a letting of the blood, a way to extract
the little poisons from the system. The Big Poison, though, that had to stay
and a little relief was all I ever allowed myself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Things are different now. Life is different. The people
around me aren't what they were just a few months ago.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thoughts For Friday was always a silly thing, but now I want
it to be about the truth. If you're expecting politics here, you'll probably
get it from time to time, but I'm going to indulge myself a bit as well. The Big Poison needs an
outlet and once a week or so I'm going to give it one. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I just started writing again. It's been about eight months
since I put anything together for public consumption and I'm going to tell you
why. Truth. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a brief period when the last site I wrote for was falling
apart, but i wasn't in any condition to care. My uncle started his last
vacation in October of 2011. That was also the last time I wrote anything of
substance. Sometime in that month I spent a night with the Occupy movement in Buffalo. I wrote about the experience and I wrote it well. I was proud of what
I did there and I think I deserved to be. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the end of October my uncle came home from his vacation
with what we thought was a bad case of pneumonia. He couldn't finish a sentence
without coughing uncontrollably, but we all thought he'd get better with some
medicine and a bit of rest. A week or so later he was diagnosed with stage four
non-small cell carcinoma. Lung Cancer. <i>FUCK</i> cancer. <i>Just FUCK IT!</i> I'm crying now.
Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About a week after that he had an episode that landed him in
Strong Memorial Hospital. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two days after that, my grandmother, his mother, had an
internal bleed that put her in the same hospital. Truth</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two days after that, she was diagnosed with mother-fucking
stage four non-small cell carcinoma. Lung Cancer. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cancer had spread to the spine and the kidneys in both
of them. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My family spent the next two weeks riding the elevators at
Strong Memorial <i>upanddownandupanddownandupandown</i>. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My grandfather would go from one room to the other, sit in a
chair and hold their hands. I took a picture of his hand and my grandmother's
hand locked together, but i had to be sneaky about it because I was embarrassed
to want it. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I've always been embarrassed about the things I want. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don't think I'm going to get through this, but it matters
so I'm going to force myself. Vacillation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They sent my grandmother home for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving
dinner was the last time I was able to communicate with her in a meaningful
way. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She spent most of the rest of her life in a hospital bed that they
brought to the house. I don't believe in God, so I stood next to that bed, held
her hand and made my confession to her. All of it, every bit of
pride-shame-hate-love-fear and I wished over and over again that I'd done it this
way three years ago when maybe it mattered. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She died just before her birthday in December. The night she
died I was at home. I had thought I might to go down to Crossroads House and
sleep in the room with her, maybe talk to her one more time, but I was drunk so I couldn't drive over there. My father says she waited for everyone to leave
before she let herself go and that she wouldn't have been able to do it if one
of us was there. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I've always thought that was bullshit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My uncle was too sick to attend the wake. He was able, with
some help, to come to the funeral home the morning we buried her. I helped him
out of the car and into a wheelchair. That was the last time I saw him outside
of a hospital. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He went to her casket. He called her mommy. He said he
wasn't afraid because she'd be waiting for him. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don't believe in heaven, but I fucking wanted to. Right
then, I would have traded anything in the universe to have the comfort of
belief. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My uncle died in the hospital a little more than a week
later. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When my phone rang in the morning and I saw my father's
number on the ID I thought he was calling about work. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When he told me my Uncle was dead all I felt was rage and I
let out a growl/scream that scared my daughter awake. I sat on the stairs and
pulled at my hair. Right at that moment, because I am a selfish person, I wanted to die too. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The priest was good friends with my Uncle. The funeral
sermon was about how Jesus wept upon seeing Lazarus' friends' and family's
grief. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Uncle wept openly upon seeing the fields of Gettysburg.
Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Uncle was cremated. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I visit my grandmother's grave on Tuesdays. There's no headstone
yet, but I know which one it is because there are always fresh roses there.
I'm not sure which day my grandfather goes, maybe he goes every day, but he's
the one who leaves the flowers. He doesn't just lay them over the dirt; he
makes a little hole and plants them right in the topsoil. I think he considers
every time he plants those roses upright that it's the closest he's ever going
to get to his wife again. I sit there on the ground and think about that. I sit
there and I make my confession over and over again. I tell her the things I've
never been able to tell anyone and I wish I'd done it while she was alive so
she could have nodded her head and said, 'Hmm... well Chris, your Gram has an
opinion about <i>that</i>.' Sometimes it rains so I have to go home and change
afterward. Nobody ever notices because pretty much all my clothes look the
same. Truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">So, there's a bit of the Big Poison. It's in all of us and it gets nastier the longer we avoid the truth. It gets stronger when we shed just a few tears instead of screaming out our sorrow and rage. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Here is that picture that I was so embarrassed to take. It's beautiful. Truth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rd9O7TwZlGT5ENGSN32PVs3aL6zWZvrSjAEViAcHxhSHn2dulNkh9xgyYIS4Qv7lTQNcmS6HrpQhHKvk-FW2mNhNkPOJafx3rmm6ogENz3fba9rY2UEbVWAGxMKw_7t7iVOQo16AZzo/s1600/Hands.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rd9O7TwZlGT5ENGSN32PVs3aL6zWZvrSjAEViAcHxhSHn2dulNkh9xgyYIS4Qv7lTQNcmS6HrpQhHKvk-FW2mNhNkPOJafx3rmm6ogENz3fba9rY2UEbVWAGxMKw_7t7iVOQo16AZzo/s320/Hands.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>Chris Charvellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647111053625567202noreply@blogger.com0