A difference in parties - Rotterdam Junction Irene update

Well,  I must say that today showed me a difference in the two parties in our two-party system.  The other day, I was down in Rotterdam Junction at the fire department doing what I could to help out.  While I was there, I saw one of our legislators, a Democrat, all dressed up, seemingly asking questions as far as what was going on.  I didn't walk right up to find out what was going on, but it was obvious they were not planning on getting dirty, they just wanted information on those who were.

Today brought the contrary view. a Republican showed up at the fire department.  Now, not only was this Republican not wearing their three-piece suit, they were quit muddy, as in that they had been out in the field working on helping out residents in taking the items out of their houses and doing what needed to be done.  This person also took the time to talk to different people at the site, not jut talking to those who might be considered "in charge."  This person also took the time to talk to me.  They stated that they were doing this because they saw that it was something that needed to be done, and that they didn't want any publicity for it, so this is the reason that I will not be posting their names or any other identifying details. 

This person knows that they spoke to me, and knows that I respect them for this and thank them for the ways that they were currently giving back to the community. 

There were also some of the people who were at the firehouse that were telling me that another person who is in politics was there, but I don't wish to give their names here, as I did not see them, nor do I know how that visit went, or if they would want their names here. 

Thank you to those who have come out to help over the past week, and let's remember that this recovery is no where close to being complete.  This will take weeks, if not months for things to get close to any semblance of ordinary life.

Where, oh where, has our government gone?

Just wondering, why is it that politicians show up to where all the action is happening wearing their skirts and suits, but refuse to actually get their hands dirty and do some of the actual labor?  Where has our Town Supervisor (Frank DelGallo) and his henchman (Bob Godlewski) been for the last week?  Did Paul Tonko think that a town in his previous district got wiped off the map, so he needed to go where there was more money to be donated to him in his next re-election campaign?  Mr. DelGallo states that he has all this heavy equipment that he was planning on using to create the new Little League fields that he took credit for at the beginning of this year even though nothing has happened with it, but he can't use the same heavy equipment to head out to his elected public and help them recover from a storm of the century?  And he wants to be re-elected?  Well, at least he's had time over the past couple of days to get his re-election signs out.

Old blog hacked / Proctors folly.

Some people may have known me posting previously at Rotterdamrepublican.blogspot.com.  Well, that blog was hacked and I'm not going to fight to try to get it back.  I request that anyone that does like to check out what I'm adding (which I hope to be doing much more often) now check me out here.
Philip Morris of Proctors recently posted a blog that he was upset that his "tiny retirement account" had taken losses and wanted to know who he could bill for his losses. 

Some guy, only showing his name as "Joey" posted a rebuttal to another poster, stating "Pamela- I wish you knew history just a LITTLE bit."  Well, considering the fact that I have a feeling that my reaction to his posting may get edited or fully removed, I thought it would be good to post my reply here so that the ones of people that might check it out can get what I posted.

Joey,
I guess that maybe you are one of the people in the city of Schenectady that doesn’t pay attention to where all the money actually goes.
Well, you might want to check the COUNTY budget, where Proctors actually DOES collect money. Now, if you pay city taxes, but don’t pay county taxes, that may be another issue, but per the County website, if you check the 2011 operating budget at this link: http://schenectadycounty.com/FullStory.aspx?m=63&amid=796, you will see that on page 241 of this document, under the RECREATION & CULTURE PROGRAM, line item # A7560.400005, Proctors has received a total of $800,000, at a clip of $200,000 per year out of county tax money, you know, the bill that comes to you as “State and Federal Mandates.” And this is just over the past 4 years. Then, there is the $665,113 that was given back in 2007, pushing the full amount back to that date over $1.4 MILLION. (The 2007 money can be seen in the 2009 budget on the page of “RECREATION & CULTURE PROGRAM.”
It may not be city taxes, but it doesn’t mean you’re not paying it. If you pay taxes, you are supplementing Proctors.
Just who is the “uninformed” now?