…to collect more revenue for the city.

Apparently, outrage over this shocking news that the city will soon start monitoring traffic lights to catch people running red lights was so minimal that I only just heard about it.

After several years of lobbying by the city, Buffalo is getting permission from the state to install cameras at dangerous intersections as a way to reduce accidents — and raise revenues.

Blocked the past few years by an influential Assembly Democrat from Rochester, bills rapidly moved through the Legislature to permit the devices in Buffalo and several other cities and counties statewide.

The compromise, however, allows the city to install 50 cameras at any one time — half what the Brown administration had wanted — and to impose a maximum fine of $50—also half what Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown had sought.

The red-light camera bills were approved Monday in the Assembly and today the Senate approved them in a 55-7 vote.

“The city has been lobbying to get the cameras for three years now, and we believe they will make traffic intersections in the City of Buffalo safer, and [revenue from] fines generated will go into public safety measures to continue to make our city safer,” Brown said.

Let’s not kid ourselves… this is all about the revenue, not about public safety. What makes this so interesting to me is the lack of outrage from those who were more than willing to publicly express outrage over the NSA terrorist surveillance program. Why is it okay to monitor citizens in order to collect more revenue but it’s not okay to monitor terrorists planning to attack this country?

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I was disappointed to hear today that both Tom Bauerle and Sandy Beach wrote off the Tea Party movement as ineffective. I heard Sandy Beach argue that politicians won’t be swayed by these mass demonstrations, and he spent quite a long time elaborating on his view.

Now, I’m not deluding myself, Barack Obama isn’t gonna change his ways because of the tea parties. But this isn’t about that. You know, there were countless anti-war protests leading up to and during the Iraq War. The war still happened. We are still there. We’ll still be there 6 months from now. We’ll still be there a year from now. But that doesn’t mean those demonstrations against the war didn’t have an impact on the war debate. 

The effectiveness of the tea parties will not be measured by immediate change in the tax and spend policies of the government, be it state or federal. This is more like a public awareness campaign. People feel safety in numbers and when large groups of people organize all over the country to say they are mad as hell al the high taxes and wasteful spending, they are keeping that issues in the spotlight and they are raising awareness of the problem in a way that will inspire greater participation in the future. Eventually, it will reach a point when elected officials will not be able to ignore it. 

The Civil Rights Movement wasn’t an overnight success. The Tea Party Movement, still in its infancy, has yet to demonstrate its true impact. Tom Bauerle and Sandy Beach need to put the tea parties in proper perspective. 

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So, Buffalo Geek and I got into a mini debate on Twitter about torture, GITMO, and the Geneva Convention. He then ”challenged” me to a face-to-face debate.

I am all for meeting my political adversaries. I’ve had lunch with a few since I moved here, including two lunches with Buffalo Pundit. But, those were friendly encounters, not motivated by bravado or pomposity.

So, rather than move a public debate to a private setting and then have an “interpretation” of the results blogged about after the fact, I find it more transparent to keep the debate out in the open. So, I will simply post my beliefs on the matter here. There are three basic points I will make and elaborate on:

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WNY’s newest Democrat congressman, Eric Massa, tried to make a statement about going green in his trip to Washington D.C. The only problem was he ended up using a lot more energy than necessary to make his statement.

A hydrogen fuel cell car driven by U.S. Rep. Eric Massa to Washington, D.C. on Monday didn’t actually get him all the way there.

Massa had to be in the nation’s capital Tuesday for his swearing in as the 29th Congressional District’s new representative. He drove the General Motors Equinox prototype car to draw attention to the technology, some of which is being developed in the district.

The problem is the car can go about 150 to 200 miles without a refill, and the trip from Corning to Washington, D.C. is 282 miles. And there are no hydrogen refilling stations along the way.

As a result, Massa had to switch to another GM hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that was standing by in Harrisburg.

After the trip, both cars were towed back to their original locations by two Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid SUVs.

The need to make the switch was also part of the effort to promote the more environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cell cars, said Massa spokesman Jared Smith.

FamousDC also noticed. As did Reason.com.

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Here’s an interesting story from the Buffalo News about gun owners and the coming Obama regime.

Harry McLain Jr. saw the spike the day after the election, when his sales doubled over the previous year then shot even higher Thursday. “They are buying more guns than normal, and they are buying the guns the government doesn’t want them to have,” said McLain, who owns a gun shop near Binghamton and was among the sellers gathered Saturday for a weekend gun show on Main Street in Clarence.

Gun owners figure a Barack Obama administration, combined with a Democrat-controlled House and Senate, will impose stricter laws, so they are buying guns now, especially semiautomatic weapons. The fears manifested Saturday in Clarence have appeared around the country as well.

Last month, as an Obama victory appeared likely, background checks for gun purchases rose by 108,000 over the previous October, a 15 percent increase. As of Oct. 26, they were up about 8 percent for this year, according to the FBI.

In Colorado, the “Insta-Check” background check required for a firearm sale was jammed, with waits exceeding two hours Wednesday. Shop owners and buyers told the Denver Post that Obama’s victory and Democratic gains in Congress were at the root of it.

Obama has said he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms but favors “common sense” gun laws. Gun-rights advocates interpret that as meaning he will at least curb the ownership of assault weapons and concealed weapons.

I, too, fear that our 2nd Amendment rights are in jeopardy, along with many others. I am a new member of the National Rifle Association. I am going to get my permit. I got to do it while I still can.

From my cold, dead hands

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Looks like Elliot Spitzer has joined the growing club of Above The Law Democrats:

Former Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer, who saw his rising political career come to an end last March, will not face federal criminal charges for being a customer of a high-priced prostitution ring, prosecutors said Thursday.

While the most famous client of Emperors Club VIP escapes prosecution, four people have pleaded guilty to federal crimes and are awaiting sentencing in the case.

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With the election over, I thought I give my post-election thoughts on some local races I covered.

NY-26: Chris Lee

It was a good night for the voters of the 26th district. They saw through Alice Kryzan’s smear campaign and elected Chris Lee to represent them in Congress. The choice was clear: Send another left-wing trial lawyer to congress, or send a businessman who knows how to create jobs. Once again, congratulations to Chris Lee and his campaign for a well deserved landslide victory.

Buffalo Pundit is still under the delusion that Powers put fear in the Republican Party, which explains why they held a press conference about Powers and the War Kids Relief scandal. It is a silly notion. Powers was grossly uninformed on the issues, and was as much “out of his element” as Baby Joe Mesi. Powers’ campaign could be boiled down to “Vote for me, I am an Iraq War veteran.” Considering how the war in Iraq became less of an issue during the campaign season, it would not have been enough for him. Powers’ proved himself to be a lightweight by being MIA after his defeat, by allegedly running away to Virginia, and in his 11th hour endorsement of Alice Kryzan. His post-defeat actions proved his congressional campaign was one of personal ambition, and had little to do with the cause he claimed to have been fighting for.

Now why did the Republican Party go after Powers? The answer is simple and obvious: Powers was the endorsed candidate. He was expected to win the primary. You don’t sit on your hands letting your opponent attack you just because he is still in the middle of a primary battle.

Chris Lee will likely get reelected in 2010. But, if Republicans don’t take back control of the State Senate that year, the 26th district will be gerrymandered into a safe Democrat district, and put Lee at risk. The Republican Party has to start working now to get that majority back — assuming the reported Gang Of Four switch doesn’t happen.

NY-27: Brian Higgins

This was considered a safe Democrat seat, and while Brian Higgins may run to any camera in a 5-mile radius to take undeserved credit for something, he was pretty much MIA in his reelection campaign until the final 2 weeks. The Republicans’ best chance to take the seat now will in 2010, which is likely to be a big year for the Republican Party, since Democrats are destined to make a complete mess out of this country (as they’ve already started since 2007).

My hope is that Dan Humiston will immediately begin his 2010 congressional campaign.

SD-58: Bill Stachowski

If earlier polls showing Delano ahead of Stachowski were accurate, than one thing is certain: the relentless smear campaign waged against Delano in the final weeks worked. Ironically, Buffalo Pundit, who was highly critical of Dale Volker’s politics of personal destruction, was a willing participant in Bill Stachowski’s politics of personal destruction against Delano. Delano’s campaign made some mistakes in not being more active on the campaign trail, but if the polls were right, Delano could have won had he defended himself from Stachowski’s smear campaign. If he did anything to rebut those shameless ads, I never saw or heard any of it.

SD-59: Dale Volker

I am glad Volker won because our government needs checks and balances, and while the State Senate fell to the Democrat Machine this year, it could have been worse. Still, it was downstate that put the Democrats in power, which may help upstate Republicans next time. Let’s hope.

SD-61: Mike Ranzenhofer

Baby Joe Mesi’s strategy was simple. He hoped his celebrity status would win him the election. He focused on playing up his likabilty factor in his commercials, but came across as ridiculously out of his league in the debates. No amount of Responsible New York’s money could fix Mesi’s political flaws or repair the damage done by Mesi’s lousy debate performances.

And I might as well make a comment about the election of Comrade Obama: God help us. 

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