It’s time again to wait for Mr. Green
I’ve often quoted the great columnist, Jimmy Breslin, who used to write about his acquaintance, Klein the Lawyer. When asked if he was ready to proceed, Klein would shake his head and say to the judge, “Mr. Green hasn’t arrived yet.” Mr. Green, of course, was just another way of saying “money.”
In Albany, everyone is always waiting for Mr. Green. That’s just the way the game is played. I used to know this accident lawyer named Max who saw the insurance companies as a “...big garbage can filled with money. All you have to do,” he said, “is reach in and take out your share.” He also said that those who didn’t reach in didn’t get any.
That’s the way our politicians work. You can’t fault them – they have to bring home the bacon to their clients, their voters and, quite often, a little for themselves and their friends.
Take a look at downtown Manhattan. Heaven only knows how many scams the governor has going as he continues to screw around with the reconstruction of the World Trade Center. This has been a tough winter for George Elmer. It appears that everyone is angry at him. He’s like some of the guys on the Yankees – he just can’t get a hit.
The last time he said he couldn’t proceed on the World Trade Center project because of security concerns. That’s a riot. I mean some whacko nut job would see anything that went up in that space as a target of opportunity. I don’t care what kind of steel you use in the new buildings or how many emergency staircases you install. We all know that the Osamas of this world are still going to see it as a terrorist’s dream. You’d have to be pretty dim not to understand that these people bombed the place and flew planes into it and they are going to want to do it again just to spread more terror and prove we are vulnerable.
But since Pataki has been so criticized for proceeding like the mythical tortoise, he has put his chief of staff in charge of the whole process. This, of course, leads to the inevitable question, who’s minding the store in the rest of the state? In fact, from what I’ve been hearing, no one working in the various state agencies knows who they should write to when they have a question.
Among those waiting for Mr. Green to arrive is the fiery speaker, Sheldon Silver. He’s one of my heroes and he doesn’t take any garbage from Pataki. Silver has been saying to Pataki that if the governor wants his new Jets stadium, he [Silver] wants assurances that Pataki will be paying attention to the reconstruction of the World Trade Center and the lower Manhattan area surrounding it. In other words, as a girl I once knew once said, “You’ve got to give a little to get a little.” In the meantime, the proponents of the stadium have been playing hardball, producing a letter from the former baseball commissioner and Olympic big shot Peter Uberhoff, suggesting no stadium, no Olympics.
Back at the State Senate in Albany, Senate Majority leader and grand pooh-bah Gentleman Joe Bruno continues his campaign against his old Republican comrade in arms, Pataki. Bruno says that the governor isn’t showing enough respect. Obviously, he’s looking for something that would satisfy “Upstate,” specifically Rensselaer County about which I’ve often said, “If Joe Bruno puts one more thing there, the whole City of Troy will sink.” Or maybe Bruno will ask for a new $1 billion road going from nowhere to nowhere. It is an immutable law of physics that if a downstate project gets built, a near equal amount of money must be spent on something upstate, even if it’s not needed and will destroy the environment.
If you’re as cynical as I am, you can bet every penny you have on the general proposition that everyone will end up getting something and that the people will get the shaft. Of course, as I always tell my journalism students, “It’s not what you know but what you don’t know that might help explain things.” There is so much money involved that none of us really has a clue about what’s going on and who’s getting what. If you don’t believe that, go see the new film, “Enron: The Smartest Guys In the Room,” about the rise and fall of Enron. You’ll see exactly what I mean. In the meantime, wait for Mr. Green.


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- posted by Raymond @ 5/31/2005 07:52:00 AM

 
A Fish named Peter, and more
I, Publius
A Fish named Peter, and more
By Alan Chartock
Special to The Eagle

Here are some headlines: Romney Shifting on Abortion. Will you give me a break? Is this an example of an unprincipled politician or what? Doesn't this guy know that the people who elected him governor will be furious, as will all those around the country? Doesn't he know that the pro-life folks will never forgive him for his previous pro-choice beliefs? Doesn't he know that he is digging his own political grave? Let's see now, what are the two oldest professions? One is politics, the other is ... Sometimes it seems they are one and the same.

Fish Re-elected Selectman in Great Barrington. I told Peter when we had lunch that he'd win, and he did. Fish, of course, is the son and grandson of congressmen and a lot of other people who go way back in American history. The irony here is that Fish has been portrayed as the great liberal hope on a board that has not distinguished itself as a liberal body, despite the fact that the town is a Democratic bastion. The Fishes didn't always have that reputation. During the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR wrote a poem featuring "Martin, Barton and Fish." That conservative Fish must be rolling over in his coffin, as his descendants have crossed over to the other side. Peter Fish, the liberal, must have learned a lot sitting under the family tree. This campaign was right by the book. The Fish campaign did it all. There were a huge number of signs. There were coffee klatches and telephone calls and notes reminding people to vote. In fact, the campaign was so well-organized that I thought the guy might be running for Congress.

I told Peter to get out there and fight the good fight. He looked at me and said, as he did subsequently in the press, "I'm a conciliator." From where I sit, there are times when you've got to take a stand, but I suppose you can't argue with success. There are those in politics who believe it's all about winning. But somehow I think there's more to it than that. It's about courage and guts and wanting to do something to make people's lives better.

I have great respect for Andy Moro, the apparently conservative member of the Great Barrington board. He admits that he makes mistakes, but when he sees something that's wrong, he's always right there. I think it's possible that Peter Fish will turn out to be a wonderful public servant and maybe even get to Congress himself. But my advice to him is that he needs to remember what it's all about. Otherwise, why bother?

New York Legislators Decry Use of Flavored Cigarettes. Those who have been fighting the curse of tobacco and smoking are fit to be tied about the introduction of "flavored" cigarettes into the marketplace. These cigarettes, with their seductive names, got me to thinking about one of our local heroes, Jim Bouton. My old friend Jim has made a lot of money on a product called "Big League Chew." That's bubble gum in a pouch that is made to emulate chewing tobacco. Since the stuff is being marketed to kids, isn't it an invitation to graduate to the real thing sooner or later?

Officer Inquiry Stalled. I am really quite upset about this. I have great respect for the district attorney, David Capeless, but it concerns me that The Berkshire Eagle seems to be way out in front on this story. If Deputy Chief Hassett was doing his job and was disciplining an errant officer and if, coincidentally, some other officers suddenly remembered that Hassett had been involved in something unlawful having to do with a prisoner, it really does seem awfully coincidental. The DA needs to extend his investigation into the entire department and whether laws have been violated. If an officer sees a crime, isn't he supposed to report it? The voters in Great Barrington pay out a million dollars a year for police protection. If the department becomes a place where laws are flouted, why pay those kinds of salaries? It might be time to start thinking about using the state police to patrol the town. There are some very good, decent people in the Great Barrington Police Department, and they need to be encouraged and supported.

Voters OK Du Bois Signs. Good for the voters. Great Barrington has come a long way in the fight to honor the man most folks think started the civil rights movement in this country. Now the question is whether the Selects will do the right thing and put up the signs. The people have spoken but will the Board of Selectmen?



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Alan Chartock, a Great Barrington resident, is president and CEO of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and a professor of communications at SUNY-Albany. His web site is www.alanchartock.com.
- posted by Raymond @ 5/31/2005 07:50:00 AM