Tricounty DFA Update: Primary Tomorrow, Letter From Keehn and Queensbury, Gore Wins Emmy, More
Hello Everyone;

In This Update:

1. Primary Election Day Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 18th
2. A Message From Mayor Keehn
3. Queensbury Alert To Voters
4. DFA Night School Tuesday
5. Greenspan Tells The Truth: It Was A War For Oil
6. Frank Rich: Will Democrats Betray?
7. Al Gore Wins Emmy
8. New Barton Office Shows Geothermal Heating
9. Friday Night FIlm Fest


1. Primary Election Day Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 18th

Not everyone in our area has a primary, but there are important ones around. Please make sure to vote if you do! Specifically:
*Saratoga Springs: Mayor Valerie Keehn has been endorsed by Democracy For Saratoga Springs and Democracy For the Greater Glens Falls Area. DFA Chair Jim Dean also came to the Spa City last month to show his support at an event co-sponsored by Democracy For The Hudson Mohawk Region.
*Queensbury Town Board (see below)
*Warren County Sheriff (Republican). I know most of us are Democrats, but Doug Auer spoke at our last meeting of the importance of this primary contest and the importance of changing things in Warren County. If you are a Republican, get out and vote for change!

The polls open at noon and you have until 9pm.

2. A Message From Mayor Keehn

"Dear Saratoga Springs Voter,

"Serving as your Mayor has been one of the most rewarding and fulfilling contributions I have made in my life. Upon taking office, I knew many challenges lay ahead, and that “politics as usual” had to change in Saratoga Springs.

"Over-development threatened our character, while property taxes soared, making it harder for families to live and work here. Stalled projects like the city center expansion, building an indoor recreation facility and a much-needed new police station, needed to be tackled. Affordable housing options needed to be developed, and having a voice in the future of thoroughbred racing had to be secured.

"I’m proud that in 22 months, we’ve had success in these areas and more. I’m running for re-election because I want to continue the progress we’ve made, and the fight for open, accessible government.

"Some in the political establishment have had a hard time adapting to some of my policy changes; they have been more concerned about preserving the status quo than doing the right thing. Other mayoral candidates want to return to the old ways -- when developers and their allies controlled City government with an iron fist. I don’t want to go back to that style of government, and I know you don’t either.

"I appreciate the support I’ve received from ordinary citizens of Saratoga Springs, and I’m asking for your support for another term.

"Please vote for me in the Primary this Tuesday.

"Sincerely,

"Valerie Keehn"


2. Queensbury Alert To Voters

Kathleen Sonnabend sent this out tonight and I am forwarding it here in it's entirety because of its complete round-up of the issues in the Town of Queensbury, and Warren County, which clearly have not gotten the attention they deserve.

Although he is not in a primary, we endorsed Councilman John Strough last summer after the great presentation he gave us. Unless you were there, you might not know that we offered to raise some money at the meeting for John's race, but he declined. John will not take any funding, from anyone, he is so committed to serving all the voters of the town, which is amazing.


"Hi everyone,

"Have you all received the letter the Macchio's sent to "Our Friends and Neighbors in Queensbury"? I am neither a friend nor a neighbor, so I assume this was mailed to every voter in town. With a color photo, it was not inexpensive.

"There is so much more to this story - this mailing is Behan Communications spin that distorts the real issues. And at least one leader of the local Republican machine (Michael O'Connor) was involved with the Macchio's French Mountain project. It is another example of monied interests/developers who are accustomed to get what they want from the town of Queensbury, and will fight hard to put elected officials in place to do their bidding. Historically, our Town Supervisors and Boards have been too willing to let developers have their way, often to the detriment of the people of Queensbury.

"Roger Boor, Richard Sanford and John Strough have all worked diligently for our best interests. None of them have higher political ambitions or special interests to satisfy. All are gainfully employed, and serve us because they want to contribute and protect our community. It takes a lot of courage and energy to serve in the face of orchestrated attacks by the machine and its special interest groups. When their challengers speak of a need for "consensus" or a "kinder, gentler" board, it is code for cooperating with and returning control to the Republican machine which is dominated by certain real estate attorneys, developers and politicians not otherwise gainfully employed. We need more debate about important issues, not "yes" men and women to do the bidding of the machine with little or no independent work or research into the issues. We have serious problems with flooding, development in wetlands and steeper terrain, traffic, a deteriorating tax base with unsmart growth and a lack of better paying jobs in the local economy.

"Since the 2005 election when Richard Sanford won the Ward 2 seat held by Ted Turner for so many years, Queensbury has finally had a board that is not controlled by the machine. All of the expensive campaign mailings and smear tactics are a desperate and well funded attempt by the machine to regain that control. If Boor, Sanford and Strough are re-elected, the Queensbury Board will continue to be independent. If Brewer and one of the challengers wins, control goes back to Stec and the machine. If that happens, you can expect:
The corner of Blindrock and Bay to be developed intensively, and not with the professional offices with a residential look that was designated for the Bay Road corridor.
The Fire Training Tower to be built at ACC along Haviland Road, not in an industrial location where it ought to be.
Continued conversion of light industrial, commercial and professional office zoning into residential zoning, with a negative impact on our tax base.
Continued lack of smart growth developement.
And if Tony Metivier defeats Roger Boor, rejuvenated attempts to create an East Lake George Village and distinct fire districts, questionably good for North Queensbury residents (probably higher costs from loss of consolidated municipal services?) but certainly negative for the rest of Queensbury. (North Queensbury consists of high value properties with high taxes, but they also benefit the most from the sales tax revenues generated in the rest of Queensbury which bears the burden of increased traffic and loss of green space.)
"Please don't be fooled by slick mailings. If you attend town meetings or watch on channel 8, you will see the truth for yourself. While Boor and Sanford in particular will often raise questions or objections, they have been rational and constructive. It is Dan Stec and Tim Brewer who have lost their temper, and walked out during meetings, to avoid answering questions and to avoid constructive participation in the debate.

"As to the Sheriff's race, Bud York is the clear choice for County Sheriff. There have been many personel problems in Larry (Clevelands)'s administration, and his claim to have saved the County a lot of money on the jail project is bogus. I have spent enough time at County meetings, asking questions and reviewing documents, to know that all County projects have a large contingency line built into the project budget. You would have to be very unlucky or very inept to not "save money" on such budgets. Further, we need someone like Bud who is not tied to the local machine, and who has courage and access to state resources. Too much has been swept under the carpet during Larry (Cleveland)'s administration that needs to be pursued. In some cases, it will be necessary to bring in state resources to handle investigation of individuals with local political connections.

"Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

"Kathy"


3. DFA Night School Tuesday

Don't forget DFA Night School is on again for Tuesday night at 8:30pm. This month's session is on precinct organizing. There are 200,000 election districts or precincts in the United States, and we need a grassroots activist in every single one if we are to "Take Back America." Tomorrow the subject is recruiting a local level team. To RSVP or get more info: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=23014


4. Greenspan Tells The Truth: It Was A War For Oil

Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman and right wing economic guru Alan Greenspan finally told the truth about the Iraq War, it was revealed today. Greenspan, who has a new book coming out, flatly admits it:

"Greenspan writes:
"I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."

For More: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/09/17/greenspan_spills_the_beans.php

This should permanently bury the neocon and Bush Dogs claim the freedom of the Iraqi people had anything to do with it.

6. Frank Rich: Will Democrats Betray?


NY Times columnist Frank Rich is in a truth telling mood, too. "Will The Democrats Betray Us?" Rich asks? He goes on,

"Even if military "victory" were achievable in Iraq, America could not win a war abandoned by its own citizens. The evaporation of that support was ratified by voters last November. For that, they were rewarded with the "surge." Now their mood has turned darker. Americans have not merely abandoned the war; they don't want to hear anything that might remind them of it, or of war in general. Katie Couric's much-promoted weeklong visit to the front produced ratings matching the CBS newscast's all-time low. Angelina Jolie's movie about Daniel Pearl sank without a trace. Even Clint Eastwood's wildly acclaimed movies about World War II went begging. Over its latest season, "24" lost a third of its viewers, just as Mr. Bush did between January's prime-time address and last week's."
"You can't blame the public for changing the channel. People realize that the president's real "plan for victory" is to let his successor clean up the mess. They don't want to see American troops dying for that cause, but what can be done? Americans voted the G.O.P. out of power in Congress; a clear majority consistently tell pollsters they want out of Iraq. And still every day is Groundhog Day..." and,

"The job for real leaders is to wake up America to the urgent reality. We can't afford to punt until Inauguration Day in a war that each day drains America of resources and will. Our national security can't be held hostage indefinitely to a president's narcissistic need to compound his errors rather than admit them."

This is the must read of the week: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091607C.shtml

6. Al Gore Wins Emmy

In another serious under reported story, Al Gore, the man the voters chose for President in 2000, won an Emmy last night for his interactive cable network, Current TV. This follows an Oscar to the movie An Inconvenient Truth. Will the streak continue next month when the Noble Peace Prize is announced? Gore is a heavy favorite to win for his work on the environment. It's not surprising. Gore is The Man Who Was Right About Everything. For more on the Emmy: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hDZiKAnsOVhNbJfEFSHsvZh9eZKw

6. New Barton Office Shows Geothermal Heating


The Barton Mines Company, one of the members of Adrondirondack Wind Partners, which is building the North Creek wind turbine project, is having a ribbon cutting Wednesday for its new downtown Glens Falls office, which features an equally innovating geothermal heating system. A series of deep wells on the property brings water from the center of the earth to heat the historic, renovated structure at the corner of Warren and Ridge Street. Building tours will be given during the afternoon. To my knowledge, this is the first geothermal heating/cooling system in the Glens Falls area.

7. Friday Night FIlm Fest

The Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe's Friday Night Progressive Film Fest continues at 7:30 with:

Sep 21 A LIFE APART: HASIDISM IN AMERICA (1997) Menachem Daum & Oren Rudavsky 95 min.
Seven years in the making, A Life Apart examines a world few outsiders get to see--the world of the Hasidim. With their use of Yiddish, their distinctive clothes, and their strict adherence to Jewish ritual and law, this enlightening documentary shows how the Hasidim's values coincide with those of most Americans--highly valuing family, community, and a life of meaning.

Thanks everyone! Don't forget to vote if you have a primary!

Larry
- posted by Larry Dudley @ 10:34 PM