Mayor Urkel & Mr. Irrelevant

Mayor Byron Brown. The name means different things to different people.

Terrell Owens. This name, also means different things to different people.

However, this afternoon, both of them could have shared the same name, Mr. Irrelevant.

Today, Mayor Brown presented Terrell Owens with a key to the city of Buffalo.

WHAT???

Ahhh, but wait, it's an election year, so that's cool. What was his thought process (if any) on this? "Hey, people like the Bills, so if I do this, they'll like me."

BUT, good thing for the city of Buffalo that Brown attached some strings to the key:

City leaders will change the imaginary locks and render the key useless if the Buffalo Bills' new wide receiver doesn't at least equal the 10 touchdowns he scored last season for Dallas. The same thing will happen if the Bills fail to make the playoffs.

"T.O." told cheering fans he doesn't think city leaders will have to use Brown's "revocation clause."

"The 10 touchdowns won't be a problem," he said. "With the help of my teammates, the playoffs shouldn't be a problem, either."

By attaching a performance clause to the key at a ceremony on the steps of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Brown may have been trying to deflect some of the criticism he faced for agreeing to present the honor to the controversial athlete. Many callers to a talk radio show blasted Brown's move, saying such honors should be reserved for people who have accomplished feats that have already enriched Buffalo. Brown defended his decision as he talked with a reporter prior to Owens' arrival.

The Mayor went on to say that this was all done in fun, but I think there may be a bigger picture, the similarities between the way that Owens has detroyed teams and locker rooms has an uncanny resemblance to the destruction of patronage and inneffective leadership that the Brown administration has left in its wake.

Good plan Mayor Urkel, way to show a complete lack of respect for the office and the people you "represent."

They'll give anyone a book deal

The latest in a long line of politicial figures to get her own book deal is one time (hopefully) Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Early reports say this book will be a combination of Dr. Seuss and the Bible, but I guess we'll have to wait till 2010 to find out the truth.

Until then, looks like we'll just have to continue to gets bits and pieces of the Palin family via Oprah and Dr. Phil.

Better late than never

It's been too long since we posted last, mostly due to extended vacations, grueling work schedules and late nights down at the 'ol watering hole. Sherwood and I will try to make a better effort to keep things fresh, but you have to understand, with schedules like ours, it's pretty difficult to juggle everything.

With that being said, I stumbled across this gem of an article in the Buffalo News today, regarding the dress code for city building inspectors. According to the article, some of the city's 60 building inspectors were wearing some less than professional attire to work. Buffalo Inspections chief James Comerford, said this is a more stringent dress code, but is a long way from requiring them to wear uniforms. He goes on to tell lawmakers that some of the inspectors "were dressing like they were going to the beach."

Just the fact that this is a story shows how screwed up the city is.

Possible Mayoral candidate Mickey Kearns brought up the possiblilty that the inspectors should wear uniforms, however, president of the inspectors' union, Kevin Fitzgerald said the union would have considered it, but the city didn't agree to pay for them.

The article goes on to point out that the inspectors will receive raises that total nearly 20 percent by 2012--none of which I would imagine has the possibility of being used to but new clothes on their own.

I have worked in a number of different places, some with a uniform policy, some with a dress code, all of which required the individual to provide themselves with the proper attire.

Raising Awareness, Raising Money or Raising Cain

It has long been a favorite pastime of mine to read the Opinion section of the Buffalo News and most specifically “Everybody’s Column.”

Today we have nice little note directed at the Buffalo News political reporter Bob McCarthy. On Sunday, Bob’s column talked about the annual St. Patrick’s luncheon held at the Irish Center, and in the column he noted that the price of the event bounced up to $50. One South Buffalo resident had quite a little problem with this and voiced his opinion. Thomas Heneghan noted that the News is raising it’s price of the paper and this is somehow a reason that Bob should have used to omit the price tag for the luncheon. A complete stretch on its best day.

Thomas rightfully notes that the Irish Center has hosted “national and world leaders, as well as those who sit on the sidelines and opine….” But what confuses me is when Heneghan states that the Irish Center “has served as the last line of defense in an area that is in continual decay.”

What does that even mean? What are they defending? A takeover from Lackawanna? An infiltration from West Seneca?

He goes on to ask the News political beat to put more effort into covering policy issues rather than just talking about campaigns and taking “uniformed shots.” I don’t think Bob took an uniformed shot at the Irish Center, after all, he was there, either received a $50 ticket or paid for one. What is he not informed about?

If they are having money problems, I think that Bob McCarthy is the least of their worries.

I found the comment by Bob McCarthy regarding the ticket price for the 38th annual St. Patrick’s Day civic luncheon to be quite ironic given the price increase enacted only weeks ago by his employer.

The civic luncheon is the main fundraiser for the Buffalo Irish Center, a not-for-profit institution that is home to dozens of cultural organizations and the focal point of Buffalo’s Irish Heritage District.

The Buffalo Irish Center has hosted national and world leaders, as well as those who sit on the sidelines and opine. Monies raised from the civic luncheon go to the upkeep and maintenance of an 80-year-old facility that has served as the last line of defense in an area that is in continual decay.

Perhaps the political beat of The News could put more effort into covering policy discussions and the efforts of not-for-profit organizations to fill ever-growing voids in areas such as ours rather than simply analyzing the gamesmanship of campaigns and taking uninformed shots.

Thomas Heneghan

South Buffalo

Rumors (Updated)

We've been hearing some rumors that Jay Cutler's agent is in Buffalo.

Interesting.

UPDATE: ProFootballTalk.com is reporting some more information on Cutler's agent, Bus Cook in Buffalo. He also represents Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler, but I find it pretty odd that Scheffler's agent would make a trip to Buffalo on his behalf, but a higher profile like Cutler, well that's more likely.

Better at Running from the Law than from a Linebacker

Once again Lynch avoided jail time for a yet another blunder on his unremarkable career as a Bills running back. Lynch has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge in LA and received 80 hours of communty service and a 3 year probation.

This is exactly what gives communty service a bad name, thugs like Lynch get "sentenced" to do community service. Other people participate in community service projects because they want to give back to the community and share the skills they have with others. "Superstars" like Lynch do community service because they continue a string of stupid behavior and get their hand caught in the cookie jar....or in this case, the weed bag.

Lynch went on to release a statement:

“Today I pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of having a firearm in a vehicle. I am embarrassed by my recent arrest and conviction. I deeply regret that I placed myself in this situation. I have made mistakes in the past. Although I have learned many lessons over recent years, I obviously have not learned enough. I apologize to my family, the Buffalo Bills organization, my teammates, the Buffalo community and Commissioner Goodell. I have already learned from this recent mistake and am sincerely committed to being a more responsible citizen and better representative of the NFL.”

Can anyone seriously imagine Marshawn actually uttering anything that comes close to these words?

Now we have to wait and see what the NFL and Commissioner Goodell will have to say. Maybe Lynch will be th enext Adam Jones, a pick wasted, a talent gone down the tubes and an overall waste of millions of dollars.....time will tell.

Backup at the Border

We are only a few short months away from needing the enhanced driver license to get into the neighbor from the North. I am one of those not included in the numbers being used by the Erie County clerk's office as I have not yet taken the plunge and forked over the money to update my license.

The object of course is to make it easier for Border agents to know who is crossing into the country.

The new enhanced driver’s licenses, which send out a radio signal that produces an image of the traveler and his pertinent information on a computer screen inside the border inspection booth, are expected to speed up crossings, according to U. S. Customs & Border Protection.

“The delays will decrease as officers don’t have to type in the information from the document or examine a variety of documents that have little or no security features, such as birth certificates,” said Kevin A. Corsaro, chief of the Buffalo field office for Customs & Border Protection.

This however, does not take into account the fact that no matter how many times I go over to Canada, I usually end up picking the completely wrong line and watch cars on both the left and right of me zoom into and out of the booth.

The article goes further into detail about the specifics of the licenses, border crossings, etc. but what really struck me is this line:

This all comes as the Peace Bridge, for the first time in two decades, has become the busiest northern border crossing, surpassing the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, with 6.8 million individuals crossing from Fort Erie, Ont., into Buffalo last year.

The Peace Bridge is the busiest northern border crossing. BUSIEST.

AND WE STILL CAN NOT BUILD A NEW FREAKING BRIDGE!!!!

But I digress.

In other news, I for one can't wait for the day I walk into the local liqour store and the clerk asks for my ID (yes, I look that young) and then tells me that the new license is a fake and I can't get my bottle(s) of wine.

When wrong and stupid collide....

Tata Nano....is not for you

We are less than a month away from the projected date when you could be the pround owner of a $2500, 35 horsepower Tata Nano; if you live in India that is.





But don't expect any bells and whistles, actually, don't expect much. You're not going to get a radio, any airbags, no passenger-side mirror and only one windshield wiper. All these plus some air conditioning will ad about 30% to your cost.

Just to give you an idea of what this vehicle is like, it's about 2 feet shorter, has a two-cylinder engine that puts out about 35 horsepower and may hit a top speed of 75 mph.


Check it out here.

Do over....

I guess when the Governor has to chime in on the response of a college basketball coach, it may be something big.

Or it may be much ado about nothing.

You be the judge.

Joey, don't you lose my number....

I feel so much better about the stimulus package already......

He's Back....

Tiger is back on the course today after an 8 month layoff, you can follow him here:

WTF??

Punt, Puff and Pass Contest

Poor Marshawn finds himself in a little more trouble, first was the gun possession charge, the police say pot was found in the car he was in. Not a great off-season for the Bills running back.

Although, I'm sure Fred Jackson is loving life right about now.

Culver City + Marshawn Lynch = Fail.

Culver City Police Captain Dave Tankenson said officers approached the Mercedes Benz in which Lynch and two other men were sitting inside. When someone rolled down a window, officers said they smelled an odor they recognized as marijuana. Upon searching the vehicle, officers found four marijuana cigarettes … known as blunts … inside. Tankenson said it is not known if the pot belonged to Lynch.

Thank you Allen Wilson for explaining to the readership what a "blunt" is.

Blah, Blah, Blah...Do as I say, not as I do....Blah, Blah, Blah....

Paterson on Hiring and Non-Secret Raises from Elizabeth Benjamin on Vimeo.

And New Yorkers continue to take this crap.