Beacon, NY in Dutchess County recently shut down the Retro Arcade Museum because it had pinball machines on the premises. Apparently pinball machines were outlawed back in the middle of the 20th century because law-makers thought pinball arcades were fronts for mob operations.
The current town council is trying to change these antiquated laws to allow the arcade to reopen.
CBS 6 in Albany recently ran an interesting You Paid For It segment taking a look at how much money our “trusted” Senators are spending to run their offices.
Here is the video.
I wish CBS provided us with a breakdown of how this money was spent but regardless of that, this seems like an awful lot of our money being spent in a time when the state is on the verge of bankruptcy. I’d also like to know how much money these fat-cats are getting for daily meal allowances.
I really like our Governor, David Paterson. I feel that he is one of the few politicians who will make unpopular yet necessary decisions and says what he really means. His latest example of a no BS speech was yesterday in response to rumors that a upcomming NY Times article has some damaging dirt on him. Paterson said,
“The only way I’m not going to be governor next year is at the ballot box and the only way that I’ll be leaving office before is in a box,”
It’s been a little over a year since Barrack Obama became our president so I figured on the day of his State of the Union address, we should call him in for an employee review. After all, he works for us doesn’t he?
So please hold my calls while I go over a few things with The President.
President Obama, thanks for coming in for this evaluation. When you accepted the position last year you were quick to try to bring expectations down from their campaign highs. You used your inaugural address to illustrate just how bleak the country’s situation was and asked for our help and patience in rebuilding the country and you looked great while doing it.
Today I’d like to talk to you about two of the biggest issues facing the country when we hired you last year and how you have dealt with those issues.
Number one is the economy. Like most people, I had to scratch my head at that whole bailout stimulus package thingy. However, I’ve never considered myself an economics enthusiasts and I believed you when you told us you had to do something to keep the country from completely falling apart. I think we all need to remember that George Bush upper-decked the country on his way out of the White House and you, President Obama have had to spend most of your time trying to clean up that mess. Speaking of which, did you ever find Bush’s duke? I think you deserve a great deal of credit for steering the country onto it’s current slow march to recovery. Stocks are up, consumer expectations are on the rise, the housing market appears to be stabilizing. We’re gonna need you to do something about the unemployment rate but overall, when it comes to the economy, I’m giving you a gold star.
Next, the war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, I’m a bit disappointed with how you are handling this mess and there is a lot of room for improvement here. There is no such thing as success in Afghanistan. No matter what we think we may be accomplishing now, all we are doing is breeding the next generation of radicals with a buggery penchant for hating Americans. And I think they are justified in that hatred because they have had to watch their loved ones become collateral damage in a war that can not be won. If the people of Afghanistan are complacent enough to allow a political group like the Taliban to rule them, then what business do we have stepping in to change that. I hated the Bush regime and everything they did but I never wanted another country dropping it’s army on us to run those bastards out of town. So President Obama, when it comes to your handling of Afghanistan, I have to say there is a lot of room for improvement here and I’m giving you a frowny face.
Here is the good news, I understand that one year is barely enough time to unpack and get settled so I’ll continue to give you my support and patience. However, you are on thin ice and I’m going to need to see something tangible come out of your second year. How about doing something for all the gay Americans that voted for you or chasing those lobbyist out of the capital like you mentioned and what about all that talk about ending our foreign oil dependency?
Ok, that’s it for now. Get back to work!
Apparently Governor Paterson’s plan to allow supermarkets to sell wine is back on the table. The deal would allow supermarkets to sell wine and liquor stores to sell snack foods. Not surprisingly, wine retailers are strongly against this.
Liquor store owners are worried that if we could buy wine at supermarkets, we would stop shopping in their stores. I think the liquor store owners need to rethink their current strategy of complaining and look at ways that this deal could benefit them. We currently have the ability to buy beer in the supermarket and occasionally, I do. However, we still have beer distributors and if I want to choose from a more varied selection of beers, I’ll go there for my shopping.
Liquor stores can thrive with a similar strategy of offering a much more varied selection of wines than a supermarket, which will likely stock top sellers. Also, wine retailers have the expertise that a supermarket will never be able to match. Can you imagine walking into Price Chopper and asking an employee who is stalking the wine shelves to suggest a wine that will compliment a particular cheese? Wine shops will also be able to sell gourmet cheeses that will open a whole new revenue stream.
As a wine drinker, I’ll be keeping a close eye on this debate and will keep you posted.
Columbia County Current 