Just Like Lincoln

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On Wednesday night, the Erie County Republican Party will be giving its “Lincoln Leadership Award” to former Attorney General and rumored Brian Higgins challenger Dennis Vacco. 

What exactly is it about Vacco that made the GOP associate him with – of all people – Abraham Lincoln?  When you think of Lincoln, you think of leading the nation through an existential constitutional crisis, a civil war, emancipation, abolition of Southern feudal estates,  and other pretty pivotal events that plotted the course of the United States into the modern world.  

 So what is it in Vacco’s past that makes the GOP consider him in the same breath with Lincoln?  Indulge me a poll: 

[polldaddy poll=5987539]

 

$50,000 fine for casino lobbying allegations.

Representation of Haggerty.

Mass firings at AG office.

Drawing out the 1998 AG election uncomfortably long, using NYPD to conduct door-to-door investigations.  

Columbo family scion claiming to have had a “hook” in Vacco’s office. 

Potential Failbug Infestation

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Chuck Swanick left office about 8 years ago, and when he did, everyone was sick of his careerist political transactionalism.

And his sweaters.

Endorsing Chuck Swanick is like endorsing genital warts. No one likes it, and it’s really dirty.

So, it only takes about 8 years to attempt a political comeback, complete with support from one of the most detestable, transactional, valueless minor fusion party bosses – all because Republican Mark Grisanti had the audacity to vote his conscience on same-sex marriage. Why Swanick – aside from the fact that he’s a political rehash who evokes vivid memories of only the most recent financial county meltdown? 

“Chuck Swanick is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-Second Amendment and a fiscal conservative,” said Erie County Conservative Chairman Ralph C. Lorigo.

Peas in a pod of closed-minded hatred, sweatervests, pompadours, and failure.

Okun Re-Retires

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The Buffalo News’ venerable restaurant reviewer Janice Okun called it quits this week, and News Editor Margaret Sullivan made the announce in her Sunday column. I’ve had some fun over the past several months picking apart Okun’s self-parody reviews, culminating in the epic fail fed to her by the parsnip aficionados at Valenti’s Restaurant in December. 

Incidentally, you can own a piece of Valenti’s if you’re the winning bidder at an auction on February 29th. 

Okun had officially retired from the News in 2009, but continued to write reviews in part because new food editor Andrew Galarneau thought himself a bit too recognizable, thanks to his video series on the News’ website. But every restaurant kitchen in WNY – even Valenti’s – had a picture of Okun up on its wall and knew exactly who she was when she walked in. When a one-paper town has a single restaurant critic, it’s not that hard to figure out who’s who. 

The News’ restaurant reviews were sometimes embarrassing anachronisms, waxing poetic about booth comfort and the author’s chumminess with the staff, and less about an informative assessment of the preparation and flavor of the food. It was more about how these restaurants could interpret the dishes that Okun and her ever-present companion ordered most often, and less about innovation or risk-taking.  One of my favorites was when Okun was surprised that muffuletta had an olive salad in it; olive salad is one of the muffuletta’s core ingredients. 

To put it mildly, for people in town who take this sort of thing semi-seriously, it had long been time for a change. 

Although I’ve sometimes disagreed with Galarneau’s assessment of restaurants he’s reviewed for Cheap Eats (he was dismissive of Bingo’s Dim Sum and Five Guys), but he has an overall good reputation in a burgeoning local foodie community, and I like him. I wish Galarneau well in his new & important position, and hope that the quality of restaurant reviews in the Buffalo News goes from mockable to must-read. 

Who's Weppner Got?

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I’m about 99% sure that the dynamic political duo of Carl Paladino and his young ward Rus Thompson are behind this Twitter account, (Rus denied it to me last year, but I have two sources and one telling, deliberate error in spelling the President’s name that say otherwise), which is busily pimping ultra right-wing causes and people they support. During my vacation, they pinged me on these two entries: 

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/NotJoeIlluzzi/status/171429800983015424″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/NotJoeIlluzzi/status/173101737081712641″]

Why would I possibly care about a former politician appearing on a Saturday AM infomercial for some financial planners? Aside from the hilarious rumors that the unliked and unlikeable Collins is considering a run against Kathy Hochul in NY-26, who cares? Ring me when Joel Giambra goes on TV to hawk the Ronco Showtime Standard Rotisserie & BBQ Oven. 

Who’s Weppner Got?

Leave a comment

I’m about 99% sure that the dynamic political duo of Carl Paladino and his young ward Rus Thompson are behind this Twitter account, (Rus denied it to me last year, but I have two sources and one telling, deliberate error in spelling the President’s name that say otherwise), which is busily pimping ultra right-wing causes and people they support. During my vacation, they pinged me on these two entries: 

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/NotJoeIlluzzi/status/171429800983015424″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/NotJoeIlluzzi/status/173101737081712641″]

Why would I possibly care about a former politician appearing on a Saturday AM infomercial for some financial planners? Aside from the hilarious rumors that the unliked and unlikeable Collins is considering a run against Kathy Hochul in NY-26, who cares? Ring me when Joel Giambra goes on TV to hawk the Ronco Showtime Standard Rotisserie & BBQ Oven. 

Buchanan Without Shame

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Racist Nazi apologist and anti-Semitic Holocaust denier Pat Buchanan is, at long last, leaving MSNBC. In a column, he whines about being “blacklisted”, evoking the specter of the McCarthyist Red Scare of the early 50s. It’s a tricky line for Buchanan to walk – occasionally, he uses the McCarthy witch hunts as a sword against perceived liberal smears against, e.g., Sam Alito. But on the other hand, Buchanan is quite clearly, at least, a McCarthy apologist. 

But Buchanan is off the air in part because of a grassroots clamor over what he wrote in a book. He equates a changing culture in a country, which has from its very founding been a multi-cultural melting pot to its very destruction. He’s free to espouse those views, to publish them, defend them, disseminate them, and to find another damn TV network on which to spout them. He’s not entitled to a lucrative MSNBC contract, and it’s frankly high time this washed-up, anachronistic ironic xenophobe was no longer polluting the airwaves.

This isn’t brought about due to some unconstitutional “House Un-American Activities Committee” holding a public show-trial “hearing” over Buchanan’s links to an unpopular political organization. Likening a popular effort to have him removed from the airwaves to mid-century government-backed witch hunts and government-sanctioned shunning is disingenuous, at best.

Buchanan always ran for office as a populist blower of every paranoid dog-whistle available. He should understand the power of average people.   

Is This An Odd or an End?

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1. The Mayor held a campaign rally gave his “State of the City” address yesterday, and the two big takeaways from it are: 

a. The city will challenge local businesses to hire at least one city resident. 22,000 new jobs. 

b. The city will put out an RFP for development of the Webster Block – a blighted surface parking lot in front of the First Niagara Center and HSBC Atrium. That’s one ugly lot down, hundreds to go. This is an epic middle finger to ECHDC, which had included the Webster Block in its comprehensive plan for Canalside for several years. As usual, there was little communication between the city and ECHDC, and its chairman, Jordan Levy, learned about the Mayor’s decision from the press. 

c. The city will set up a $15 million “quality of life” fund. The natural question is, why did it take the Mayor seven years to come up with this? 

If those are the biggest, most visionary ideas that Byron Brown can conjure, then he really has established why we need someone new, with vision – with a plan – to be mayor of a shrinking city with myriad unaddressed issues. 

2. Carl Paladino submitted plans to turn the crumbling, oversized planter known as the Greystone Building into luxury apartments. This is clearly a positive move, and one that took far too long to come about. 

3. At some point, certain entitled loudmouths will quiet down and let the owner of Acropolis complete the expansion of his business and let him play music within its walls. People who want peace and quiet move to the suburbs. People who want a lively, vibrant community that is tolerant of busy businesses and sometimes conflicting lifestyles live in cities. Ironically, the people complaining hardest about noise and congestion – things that are indicative of a vibrant and successful city environment – purport to be city boosters. (Also, what constitutes a “neighbor” doesn’t include “people who live many blocks away”).  Also, did Janice Okun write this comment at the Buffalo News story linked-to above? 

4. In case you missed it, the identity of the Republican front-runner has changed yet again. While unemployed millionaire Mitt Romney has been the presumptive nominee for months, Republicans haven’t been thrilled with that prospect, and have at various times flirted Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, and now – Rick Santorum.

http://polltracker.talkingpointsmemo.com/chart/us-pres-12-2?f=%7B%22t%22%3A%7B%22Internet%22%3A1%7D%2C%22p%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22c%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22w%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22m%22%3Anull%7D&left=0&right=99999999999

The former Pennsylvania Senator is one of the most reactionary and medieval culture warriors out there – his views would enable him to run for Pope. He wants to ensure that Americans all adhere to the same Catholic ethos that he follows, and essentially criminalize anything else. He’s exactly what the bizarre tea party ordered, and here’s his newest ad:  

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtOcrS6axnE]

 5. A guy is going to get to risk his life, another Konst is running for office, and maybe it’s time the Grisantis got a reality show. 

6. Posting will be very light over the next week. Have a great winter break. 

Frowny Face

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Barbecue Brisket and Pulled Pork w Sides @ Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Stamford, Connecticut and Newark, New Jersey will get a Dinosaur BBQ before Buffalo gets one. Brooklyn, too. The Syracuse-based BBQ joint already has branches in Manhattan, Rochester, and Troy. Dinosaur has been sniffing around Buffalo for quite some time, so yesterday’s “news” really wasn’t. 

It’s like the saddest Page Six ever. 

So, we just have to wait for a Connecticut suburb and a New Jersey city to get their outlets of an upstate NY success story, first. And then a bit longer. 

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