[c]The Buffalo News [/c] recently polled 400+ Erie County residents about their thoughts on the "Erie County Budget Crisis" and this is what they got:


Basically three out of four people polled think the County Legislature did the right thing by refusing to raise the sales tax earlier this month.
The poll found that Erie County residents feel less certain about whether deep cuts to county jobs and services are the best way to handle the current crisis.
Just 36% of residents agreed with the Legislature's move to lay off 2,000 workers and cut services such as parks, library hours and Sheriff's Department road patrols to balance the budget.
By comparison, 42% disagreed with those moves. Another 22% were unsure.

However, legislators wondered where residents expected them to make deep cuts.

Residents also were mixed in their views as to whether the county crisis has made them rethink their attitudes about a proposed merger of the City of Buffalo and Erie County.
One in three people said their ideas about the merger haven't changed as a result of the crisis.
But 42.5% said they now think less favorably about the merger. Another 25% said they think more favorably of the merger idea.

However, [c]Giambra[/c] said he's going to use the current crisis as an opportunity to push the issue of regionalism and consolidation even harder in Erie County.

This provides a huge opportunity for us to drive home the message of changing the way we do business in Erie County [c]Giambra[/c] said.

Once you've got the taxpayers' attention, you can sell them on the idea of regionalism and consolidation.

For those of you that watch [c]The Simpsons[/c], you will know that recently the show aired its most controversial episode last Sunday night. For those of you that did not watch it, or live in a cave, it was revealed that Marge's sister Patti is a lesbian.
The executive producer of [c]The Simpsons[/c], Al Jean, says the show is not endorsing same-sex marriage. He points out that not all of the characters in the show support the legalization and that that many of those who do just hope it will bring in tourist dollars $$.
In the episode, the town creates a tourism advertisement with the lines:

Gay-o, it's ok-o Tie the knot and spend your dough Gay-o, come and stay-o Visit our Web site for further info.

Some Christian conservatives say the show is yet another example of how [c]Hollywood [/c] has become increasingly disconnected from average Americans.

I think television is becoming obsessed with homosexuality, says Robert Knight of Concerned Women for America. In fact, I wouldn't put it past people to dig up reruns of 'Happy Days' and have the Fonz come out as gay.

This, however, is not your average skirmish in the culture wars. While some Christian conservatives are upset, there's less criticism this time. In part, that's because [c]The Simpsons[/c] unlike SpongeBob Squarepants and Postcards from Buster is not aimed directly at children .




For me I think that our society is letting more and more controversial things squeak by the radar. I mean there once was a time that nudity was only shown in R rated movies. Now you can see a girl topless if your 13. So why not let a cartoon address gay marriage rights....hey it was going to happen sooner or later.

Wow that video was so funny ...I laughed my ass off (not literally of course) I think that this video (obviously made before the November election) really embodies a lot of the main issues that Americans had with the presidental canidates. I was eligible to vote this past November and was in the middle all of the drama and controversy that was happened for the first time . And even though my canidate didn't win, all I really hope for is that Bush can pull it together and clean everything up in the Middle-East so we can get our troops back home were they belong .

While searching the web for some interesting debatable topics I stumbled across a rather intriguing video entitled

This Land

...well instead of explaining it I'll have you watch it and let me know what you thought about it. I will post my own personal comments later.

[c] Hello[/c] ...my name is [c]Andrea[/c] and I am a Fine Arts major at the University at Buffalo (Go Bulls!)
Note: This "Blog" ia an art project for my Timed-Based Strategies class and I would like to concentrate on discussing interesting economic and social issues concerning the world today. Hope you enjoy! : )