Democracy In Albany

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A gun is nothing more than a tool. If a gun is not available then these depraved individuals will use a knife. If a knife isnt available they will use a brick.  If a brick isnt available then bows and arrows or blow darts.

According to a 2007 TU article:

In Albany's West Hill, impoverishment rose from 21 percent 31 percent from
1980 to 2000, census data show. One South End tract jumped to 45 percent
poverty during that time.

same article:

Urban poor, meanwhile, have limited human capital, said Anderson, whose
book, "Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the
Inner City," examines concentrated and racial urban poverty.

"They don't have the education, the skills and they're suffering from social
isolation. Many of them are black, Hispanic and poor white, too. And they're
effectively competing with (lower-paid) people living in China or India or
Latin America, or right here in this country as illegal aliens, who help
depress the wages."

The result? "They're frustrated. They can't make a living. So the drug trade
is rampant," he said. As is gun violence.

The bottom line is that albany is getting poorer and poorer.  those who can move out do, and those who can't afford to are stuck in neighborhoods filled with the disenfranchised poor who turn to guns, gangs and violence because, frankly, what other choice do they have?

In order to clean up the streets, we need to look at programs that allow those, such as poor Katina's mother, to own their own homes through projects such as Nos Quidomos, which allows those who want to own their own home to do so under the right conditions. this program, located in teh Bronx has been very successful. (they must take classes on finances, establish credit, etc)  and after the requirements are met, they are given a low interest mortgage...from what I understand, they have a HUGE success rate and no forclosures.

http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org18845.jsp

If they do not feel like part of the community, how can they succeed?  

The County and the city have responsibilities to the residents in these impovershed neighborhoods.  DSS is under staffed, and the TU would be smart to look at the number of Socaial Service programs that have been cut over the last 10-12 years.

recently it was reported that Albany County will loose almost one million dollars for pre school program dollars from the state because they did not spend all of it. (Albany County and 41 other counties are losing money) this money will be reallocated. I wonder why it was not spent?

so the inner city 18 year old mother who wants to apply for Social Service dollars for, lets say, a learning disability, will have a harder time getting aid...  this puts this family at a disadvantage from the start....

it will be interesting how the 2010 census data figures will show.  More and more will be moving out of albany, watervliet, Cohoes to the suburbs...As a result they will get less sales tax revenue.  Albany will have less money to spend in their coffers.

Really, If you're going to jump on board with the likes of Tom King, who makes the same argument, why focus on the gun at all, when we all know it's the bullet that bares the blame?

Maybe you'd be so kind as to point out to us the last time a kid two blocks away from the assailant was killed by a knife or when the last time was that you heard about a knife going through someone's window and lodged in their wall?

By the way, Al, are you even remotely familiar with Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs?

Unmet needs always bring about undesired behaviors, whether in teens or adults. Some of us are better equipped to deal with having our needs go unmet than are others.

The only Thomas King I know is a roofing contractor in Lynn, Mass. I am equally unimpressed with people who produce studies which explain why we as a society should tolerant unacceptable nonsense.  

Does Maslow explain why kids kill each other for their sneakers, jackets and iPods?  Can there really be any reason?

Every time people reference studies to show why our society should understand this crap I am reminded that the universities in the former Soviet Union used to teach graduate and doctorate level courses that proved the validity of their command economy.  I am sure that they produced all sorts of reports and studies that proved to be self serving and ultimately full of false assumptions.

In the past 50 years our society has gone to hell. Our values are corrupt and we find excuses for behavior that is simply inexcusable.

Time for a Paradigm shift.

So- the only purpose of a gun "is to kill." Really?  I thought to have a purpose was to have intent. And inanimate objects do not have intent Jim.  Someone has to start the process because it is nothing more than a collection of metal parts that produce a chemical reaction.

Or are you trying to say that only function of the gun is to kill?  If that is the case then how do you explain all of the people out there who shoot competition?  You do realize that not everyone who owns a gun is planning on shooting their neighbors, right?  

As for your request that I show you where a car went two blocks and all that, I cant do it.  I can however show you where 4 accidents injured 22 people.  Can you show me where someone with a gun and talking on a cell phone accidentally shot people or where people with guns accidentally shot 22 people?  

Toddler Critical After Brooklyn Hit-And-Run
1. Fourth Car Crashes Into Pedestrians In 2 Days, 22 Victims Recovering
NEW YORK (CBS) ¯ A car plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk for the fourth time in two days, hurting four people and raising the toll to nearly two dozen victims from the strange spate of wrecks.

Saturday's accident in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood--which injured two toddlers--came a day after cars veered onto sidewalks at three separate locations in Manhattan, hitting 18 people. Three were hospitalized in serious condition; 11 others were treated for less serious injuries.

Witnesses to Saturday's accident said the car crashed into two children at play on the sidewalk, where they lay bleeding after being hit.

A 2-year-old boy was hospitalized in critical condition, and a girl, also 2, in stable condition, police said. Two young women, 16 and 19, were in stable condition, according to police.

Authorities did not say whether the women and children were related.

Police said the 16-year-old driver ran from the scene on East 19th Street, but officers caught up with him.

"He ran for his life, and the hell with everybody else's life--he just cared about his own," witness Serena Hawkes said.

The teen, Akeem Grant, was arrested on charges that include reckless endangerment, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. No telephone number could be found for him, and police weren't certain whether he had a lawyer.

Officers also led away another man, apparently a relative of some of the victims, after he scuffled with onlookers at the scene. Police were unsure whether he would be charged.

More than a dozen pedestrians were injured Friday after being hit by cars in three separate incidents.

Unlicensed driver Estabannie Sanchez was led away in handcuffs Friday after being behind the wheel of an SUV which jumped the curb on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.

"We basically heard a noise behind us and turned around and the jeep was already on the pavement, on the sidewalk, all wheels," said witness Ian Cairns.

The out-of-control explorer plowed into 10 pedestrians on the sidewalk in front of the music store the driver attempted to get to.

"There was a lady under the front, a guy on the side, two underneath the back wheel," another witness said.

Also pinned under the vehicle was a little boy, helped by people like Eliete Alvarez, who hurt his neck when the vehicle sent him into a truck.
"We lifted the car, got the boy out. The boy was with his mother. The boy was fine," Alvarez said.

Tourist Christine Cairns managed to escape without injury, but she was grazed by the Explorer. "It caught my leg. It wedged my leg against the glass door, which was open, and I managed to edge it on or I would have been down, down under the jeep," she said.

A short time earlier, in Harlem another driver, in a livery cab, lost control and hit a 55-year-old woman then crashed into a Washington Mutual bank.

The woman was taken in critical condition to the hospital, and the driver was given a ticket for driving while on a cell phone.

The Albany and State police can provide a valuable program where anyone can take a proficiency course and learn how to use a weapon.  A program like this could be run all year long and a benefit in:

1.    Developing a good relationship including developing trust between the Police and children and parents in the community.
2.    The communication may alert Police to pending problems before they occur.
3.    Identify children with potential problems that could be referred to appropriate agencies for help.
4.    Identify parents with potential problems.
5.    Children learning to take responsibility for their actions - all actions.

The Summer Job's program needs to be scrapped and is a "total" waste of taxpayer dollars the way it is run.  A revision of this program could also go a long way to curb the violence in the various communities.  The summer Jobs Program should follow the lines of the Youth Work Experience Program.  In addition children with problems or who have families with problems could be referred to appropriate agencies for assistance.  

The Schools are a serious problem and the leadership needs to change.  There will always be problem kids.  Teachers need the tools to help them learn and students need to learn to RESPECT their elders.  I can recall being a student and having a fellow classmate throw a teacher up against the blackboard.  This was not Albany and not a major city.  Teachers need the authority and training how to handle difficult students.  No one knows what happened to this kid before he came to school.  His father may have beaten him to within an inch of his life before sending him off to school.

All employees of the City and county of Albany including all City employees and including teachers and administrators, police, fire and must live within the City of Albany.  Contractors living within the City will be given preferential treatment on bids for certain City work.  

Albanians need to know it will take 8-10 years to get Albany up to speed.  Everyone's life and where they live will improve dramatically.  All you employees living somewhere else buy one of the hundreds of buildings that the City needs to give away for $1.00 as long as you live in it for 5 years and pay all the current taxes on it.  All back taxes forgiven.  By that time the City will be turned around enough for you to sell it at a profit as the rest of the country languishes in a recession or depression.

Additionally, the City needs to crack down on the existing fraud and waste in the Building and Codes Department, Fire Department, Police Department and Office of General Services.  This would save the taxpayers thousands of Dollars.  None of this is unknown to the Mayor.

Politicians hope to form a symbiotic relationship with their constituents.  When it becomes parasitic therein is the problem.  This is the state of the City of Albany "Brought to you by Mayor Jennings".  Every concert to tag sale on every street is "Brought to you by Mayor Jennings".  This is the biggest fraud of all.  Jennings did not bring you these events.  How much did Mr. and Mrs. Jennings contribute to these events that he purports to sponsor.  Someone tell me, how much did the Mayor give.  I want an accounting!  Like Jackie Mason said about Nixon, "I like a crook who knows his business".  So Mr. Jennings, How much did you personally contribute to the Tulip Festival, of the Thursday concert series, etc.  If you gave money - cash out of your pocket take credit quietly.  Since you have not done this you should pay the City of Albany for the advertising costs.  

Tom King, the Big Shot president of the NYS Rifle and Pistol Association, started his 'Gun Talk' blog on the TU (most probably helped by his buddy, Fred LeBrun) last August to counter gun control advocate Robin Ringler's opinion on her TU blog, 'Under Fire'. Mr. King is also a member of the NRA's board of directors, or was before May's annual meeting and election of officers. It seems they keep secret the names of their 75 or so board members. (You try to find them listed anywhere)

(I hear he enjoyed the time he spent in the stall  adjacent to the one occupied by another NRA board member, the guy famous for his wide stance, Sen. Larry Craig.

http://www.tomkingfornraboard.com/

Tom, it's believed, was named after another famous Tom King:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_King_%28highwayman%29 )

After receiving too many death threats, Ms. Ringler quit her blog. Seems Big Shot Tommy 'Gun' King and his buddies effectively shut her up.

The NRA is pretty good at doing that to good folks looking to make our society a bit safer by promoting sensible legislation, like banning the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons.
See: http://www.nrablacklist.com/ and NRA's
19-page blacklist

Why the TU sponsored King's blog in the first place is still a mystery to me as NYSRPA has their own website to spead their opinions from and Ms. Ringler is an individual citizen, a nurse who tended to President Reagan after he was shot by Hinkley, does not.

Now let me say that I am a supporter of all of the ammendments contained in the Bill of Rights, not just the second one, with which Mr. King has some sort of fetish about.

While he and his ilk are fixated on only the 2nd Amendment they choose to ignore the real threat to our civil liberties, the erosion of our 1st, 4th, and 6th Amendments. That really annoys me.

Understanding Maslow's theory of the human Heirarch of Needs will help one to understand why these kids exhibit the behaviors they engage in.

As far as reasons why the kids are acting they way they are, there are always reasons for the actions people engage in. You might not understand them though.

For example, I don't understand why you post here, but I suspect the answer may be found in Maslow's accepted theory. Perhaps you never received the acceptance or approval and positive reinforcement from your father you needed and now express that unmet need by seeking acceptance from others, safe from retribution in your anonymity.

And Al, just because I better understand these kids behavior than some do, does not mean I excuse their actions. Neither does society.

When caught like young Mr. Timmons was, they will not escape society's punishment. Mr. Timmons, a fifteen year old, will most likely spend the rest of his life incarcerated for a momentary act of his that unwittingly took an innocent's life.

So Al, it's fair if you are unfamiliar with Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs and equate 'understanding' with 'excusing', but if  you believe Maslow's theory "to be self serving and ultimately full of false assumptions" you are very wrong.

On May 31, Under DIA's post entitled "Tragic News" I made the following comment to Flewy
"If anyone is to be blamed for the conditions that now exist in all our nations inner-city ghettos, that blame must fall on us and our forebearers, for it is we who have created and propagated them, and still do by continuing our practice of economic and racial segregation."

Perhaps you would like to discredit or refute the truthfulness of my statement?

Where you are absolutely correct is in saying this: "In the past 50 years our society has gone to hell. Our values are corrupt..." It is indeed time for a paradigm shift. Long past time, really.

Al, you called a gun a tool and I agreed with you. The only people for whom a gun could be considered a tool are police officers and their like, soldiers, professional target shooters and gun wielding thugs & thieves. Of course there are, I am sure, a few irresponsible gun owners who've attempted to use the butt of their pistol to hammer a nail or two. But it really isn't a tool, it is a weapon. A weapon created solely for killing. Target shooting is an adaptation in which a lethal weapon is used in a non-lethal way.

I knew you would argue that point with me as well as interject some story about a fatal automobile accident. I asked you whether you had ever heard of a weapon, a knife killing someone two blocks away and you want to equate motor vehicles with weapons. Do you even know the definition of a weapon? You never did answer my question, but tried to divert everyone's attention away from that fact by posting the lengthly article about
a few fatal automobile accidents. Answer the question, Al.

A Muse, I too was proficient with a rifle as a child, a Pro-Marksman on my high school's rifle team.

My son and his friends practiced what they called PLUR, Peace, Love, Understanding and Respect. After the tragic event in which six were killed and two gravely injured, they added another R to PLUR, for Responsibility.

For me the lethal range of a weapon (one definition: A weapon is a tool employed to injure, defeat, or destroy an adversary) doesn't matter.  What matters is a weapon was used.  And arguing over what to do with a certain type of weapon that was used to kill a child is an easy diversion for those who do not want to face the consequences for the failed political and social policies which they promote.  Is that a clear enough answer for you?

What lead Timmons to pick up a gun and pull the trigger?  Obviously, the complete lack of any values which a child should have been taught and learned in a civilized society. What causes someone to walk into a house and murder people he didn't even know?  I would expect that a value set which included the notion that there is always an excuse for reprehensible behavior and the often repeated notion that life has no meaning or value.

As for your exploration into my personality and its obvious defects: If I was seeking acceptance and approval do you really think I would do it here?  Do you really think I would be doing what I do?  You have my motivations wrong.  You can start with "The Puritan's Dilemma" by Edmund Morgan, especially the first chapters, as would give you a better insight.  

I realize that you, like most of your ilk, despise reading about Dead White Guys and find comfort in reading fuzzy headed gibberish but you should really start looking back at what made our country great instead of promoting the ideals what are wrecking it.

My father, by the way taught me that while there may be reasons, there are certainly no excuses.My father also taught me that respect is earned.  

What did your father teach you?