Journaling on estrip is easy and free. sign up here

Dcoffee's Journal

dcoffee
My Podcast Link

11/05/2008 12:56 #46557

The Election
Category: politics
image

A Few Reasons to Believe that this time is Different

I'm optimistic.

Of course we can't expect the politicians to solve our problems for us... But Barack Obama knows that too.

This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.



We will only solve our problems by working together, the government, the citizens, Republicans and Democrats. Barack Obama knows this too.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.... Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.... while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress... And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too



It's about the power and determination of a unified American people.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.



This next quote puts everything in perspective. He talked about the 106 year old woman who voted yesterday, and all the things she's witnessed in America over the past century.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?



_______________________

He may not agree with me on every policy decision. I'll probably have to sign some petitions and make some phone calls along the way to urge him to take my opinion into account. But we do agree on the fundamentals of this country, and the idea that an honest and thoughtful democracy will reach the best policies over time.

Progress happens when we all work together, when we take a hands on approach, and make it our responsibility to achieve a brighter future for our children.

I thought the speeches by McCain and Obama last night ended this campaign in a very good way. There are big problems ahead, but I expect those challenges to make us stronger in the end.




dcoffee - 11/06/08 10:53
Sure this journal is mostly about a speech, actions and words are two different things, and I know we're used to politicians bullshitting us. But he's not making promises, he's rallying us together as a nation, he's asking us to work hard and believe that we can overcome anything if we stick together.

He's not promising to fix our problems, and he's not telling us that he'll make it easy. He's asking us all to work for it. He's welcoming all of us to participate.

Politics is more than a game of rival teams competing for power. Politics is the art of making collective decisions. We need to work together to solve hard problems, not work against each other to score political points.

The great power of this moment is that it reminds us what we love about America, and asks us to take responsibility for what kind of country we leave for the next generation.
paul - 11/06/08 10:14
yes (e:jason), but unlike all politicians he has GOOD speech writers. :)
jason - 11/06/08 09:34
Just like all politicians, he has speechwriters. I really enjoyed the speech. More on this later.
johnallen - 11/05/08 23:38
Keep the faith
tinypliny - 11/05/08 19:38
Nice speech - wonder how much of it he wrote himself. Wouldn't be surprised if the proportion of self-written lines stood at around 60% compared to 1% or less in the case of W - the biggest living (and thankfully now out of power) idiot in the world.

11/04/2008 13:05 #46515

I dig the Working Families Parrty
Category: politics
I really hate our election system. I don't mean to be a downer, but this whole Electoral College, Winner take All, TV propaganda, legalized bribery, 2 party aristocracy crap... That's what really gets to me.

I'm supporting the Working Families party, they work for my issues, and they aren't corrupted by power and money like the major 2 parties. America deserves better. I vote for my values and for a healthy democracy.

Working Families Party

but Voting isn't enough, we have to put pressure on the politicians AFTER the election. There's more to democracy than voting every 4 years. Call and complain, make sure they know what issues are important to you. No matter who gets elected, they won't make our wildest dreams come true, that's up to us. We have to make sure the government is doing its job, supporting the will of its citizens. They're our employees, it's our power, not theirs. Call and remind them :) often.

james - 11/06/08 11:11
Remember that part where I said my feelings were mixed?

I forgot to mention I really like fusion ballot advocacy and their issues.
james - 11/06/08 11:10
I have very mixed feelings about them.

They are a money raising machine. And by that I mean they raise money for their own operations, almost exclusively. In terms of actual, roll up the sleeves work, they don't do much. They did not make any phone calls, send over any canvassers, or even volunteer to help with mailings during that election I worked on over the summer. He was an endorsed candidate who has a near 100% voting record with them in a race against a machine who does not stand for their issues. This is the case with every single campaign I spoke to in Western New York. Maybe they work in other parts of the state, but they sure as hell don't here.
dragonlady7 - 11/05/08 13:47
Heh, I voted an almost straight Working Families ticket. But not quite, because I'd been advising people not to vote a straight ticket. One of the candidates was endorsed by Democrats but not Working Families, so I voted for the Democrat (since the WF candidate hadn't bothered to answer the League of Women Voters' questions, so I figured they weren't serious. Hey, it was my only reliable resource.)
johnallen - 11/04/08 14:03
Amen

11/01/2008 16:28 #46462

Halloween Pics
Category: life
image

Hey Everyone, I had a lot of fun last night. I was pretty surprised we didn't leave till 3:30! That's like 6 hours of (e:strip) goodness!

It was great to meet some people in person finally, like Jason, Josh, Drew, Janelle, Heidi... Didn't get a change to talk to some people as much as I'd wanted, I guess you'll just have to come to our housewarming party in the next few months. It was also nice to see some familiar faces. The (e:strip) Halloween party is becoming one of my favorite traditions. For those who missed it, I hope you had a good excuse ;)

I didn't take a lot of pictures but some of them are fun. Enjoy!


image
Democracy's outcasts?

image
Nice decorations

image
The Comment Bubble, (e:tinypliny,46460) She's so clever

image

image
Superhoro in a basket! magic..


image
Then we went on the Roof!

image
Molly pulled it off in the dress! Always rustic. There was no light in the attic, half a floor, and a ladder that didn't go all the way to the top, not an easy task. But worth the trip :)

image

image


image

image
Only 2am

________________________________________

A few pics from last weekend...

I didn't post them before because I wanted my costume to be a surprise! Don't be jealous, the (e:strip) party was honestly the most fun :)

image
Saturday at the Central Terminal, lots of costumes, horrible acoustics, not really worth the money, but fun anyway.

image
Putting our differences aside.

image

image
(e:mmtornow) + Bubble Wrap Shawl, it was cold and windy last weekend.

image
this costume was so awesome, she's a marionette puppet, I hope they won.


image
Last Friday was the Nickel City Co-Op party. Flame Spinning in the front lawn.

image
They had a reggae band, that was pretty badass.

image
Flame Spinning at the Albright.

image
Decked out! maybe one of these years we'll have a theme.

image
Prof. William Ayers - aka White Panther Willie

image
We needed Long undies last weekend!
tinypliny - 11/01/08 20:04
That duct-tape dress is so glamourous! I love it that it has matching shoes. :)
jenks - 11/01/08 17:37
Aww, I missed kook?
metalpeter - 11/01/08 17:07
First of all I have to give you credit for that picture with the mirror everyone looks pretty good in it and I'm sure it wasn't easy. Great pictures up on the roof, I've never been up there and don't know as in the dark after I have some drinks would be when I would want to be up there.

10/30/2008 10:55 #46424

We Bought a House!!!
Category: life
image

We've been looking for about 6 months. It's been a funny journey, we must have gone inside about 25-30 houses.

We started out in South Buffalo looking at single family homes. I grew up in South Buffalo, so I know the neighborhood is safe, the houses have character, and the people are friendly. I also know the housing prices are reasonable. But when we started looking we realized the prices were higher than I expected. We were looking for a good deal but nothing really got us excited.

Then we had this investment property brainstorm, we wanted to get a double in the Elmwood area, make money off rent, and get something more expensive. So we started looking at doubles around the West Side, and discovered the meaning of "structural problems" and "property taxes". We started going further and further west to try and find something under $100,000 that wasn't falling down. No luck, but we did bump into a friend of mine who had gotten a decent West Side house at the Buffalo tax auction for about $30,000. Sounded like a good plan, but we had to wait a month and a half before the auction. We liked some of the addresses on the auction list, but we couldn't get inside the houses without without breaking the law. One house on Cottage I went to inspect, took about 40 pictures, and the next week it was off the list, I guess the owner paid his taxes.

We slowly got tired of the auction idea, and the high prices on the West Side, so we started looking in South Buffalo again, with a more open mind this time. At first we were looking near Caz Park which is a great neighborhood, but houses up there are around $65 - $75,000, we wanted to see if we could get anything cheaper, and possibly avoid the mortgage thing entirely. We looked at all the houses between $30-$40,000, some were ok, but all of them needed updating. We aren't afraid to get our hands dirty, but we didn't want something that needed updates before we could move in. Then we looked at houses between $40-$55,000....... That's when we found it.

It's in South Buffalo Near Tifft and South Park, All Natural Woodwork that has never been painted, 4 bedroom, full attic and basement, Nice Yard 36' x 140' lot, driveway, garage, 2 fireplaces, 1.5 bathrooms, leaded glass, pocket doors that slide easily, front porch, good Roof, efficient Furnace, and Water heater, dry basement, well insulated. This place is a steal, we got it for $46,000.

We like the location a lot too, The house is on Altruria St. which is a very well kept street, all single family homes, mostly owner occupied, lots of gardens and pride of ownership. Plus you're in the center of everything, the Botanical Gardens, the Beach, Tifft Nature Preserve, Caz Park, the Buffalo River, all of it is within a 20min walk. We like canoeing, and parks, that's what we spend our summers doing, so this will be great for us, though we will miss the restaurants around Elmwood. But we think it's a good trade off.

image

image

image
Living Room & Fireplace

image
Upstairs Bedroom, Fireplace #2

image

Dining Room, with a Window Seat! I love that stuff.

image
Good sized kitchen, the style is a little funky, but we can fix that over time.

image
Upstairs, I really like how it's not a hallway, it's a square space with doors all around you leading to 4 bedrooms the bathroom and the attic. I like the cabinet thing too.

image
Big open attic, the floor is insulated too, keeps the place pretty warm.

image
The Front Porch, this is currently enclosed but the original stuff is all there and it won't be hard to pop out the windows next summer.

image
Driveway, fenced in yard, the exterior needs some paint, but it has the original wood shingles and stuff which I like.

image
Yard and Garage, Partly shaded yard, but we can still grow a lot of veggies, the garage needs a little help but no big problems.

image
From the back, you can see there is a little landing off of an upstairs bedroom, not much now, but we can make it interesting. There are also those funky bilko doors that lead straight to the basement. Good for storing the canoe.


paul - 10/30/08 21:35
Thats awesome. The woodwork looks amazing and what a great yard.
metalpeter - 10/30/08 20:31
The house looks very nice and so does all the woodwork.
heidi - 10/30/08 17:43
What a steal!!! Congrats!!!!
gardenmama - 10/30/08 17:22
Wow! Great woodwork, and how exciting for you. Congrats!!!
jason - 10/30/08 14:59
I'm really happy for you (e:DCoffee). Congrats!
tinypliny - 10/30/08 14:04
Congratulations!! That is such a beautiful house. I love those triple panel windows and those floors look amazing! :)
trisha - 10/30/08 13:52
congrats, it is aMAZing!
dcoffee - 10/30/08 13:08
I gotta show you guys the best house buying tool, Zillow :::link:::

You search for homes on a map, instead of by street name or price. You can also zoom in and see the assessed value of houses in the neighborhood. And, one of my favorite tools, Click on "Recently Sold" homes in the left hand column, that way you can see what the homes are _Actually_ going for, not just the current owners wishful thinking. Lots of houses come down in price over time cause they don't sell. I like being able to see the sale prices.

The information on homes for sale can be a few weeks old, so for the newest listings you should still go to Buffalo Niagara Homes :::link::: but Zillow is a great tool.
janelle - 10/30/08 12:36
Congratulations. Your new place looks excellent!
jbeatty - 10/30/08 12:23
Wow, the floors look like they are in really great shape. Congrats on the new dwelling.
matthew - 10/30/08 12:15
wow! How exciting! Congrats guys! I like south buffalo a lot. It looks like a great place. Enjoy!!
libertad - 10/30/08 12:09
Congrats to you both! It looks REALLY nice~
dcoffee - 10/30/08 11:54
South Buffalo is unbelievably cheap, what can I say. And there's realy nothing wrong with the neighborhood, friendly people, strong community pride, lots of kids, dogs, parks... I think it's the whole "City Schools" bogyman that decreases demand, But the elementary school is fine, plus they have catholic/charter schools right in town, and the Buffalo Vocational HS system is pretty good in my opinion (that's why I'm a photographer after all). I like that the taxes are low too, ours are $1,200 per year. We looked at a house on Richmond that was $3,600/yr! that's like rent! The best area in South Buffalo, right next to Caz Park, costs around $70-$90,000 for a house. You can look between South Park and Abbott for $55-$70,000. I'd encourage people to look, South Buffalo is like a big secret or something. Go walk around.
drew - 10/30/08 11:50
This is what I love about Buffalo. Great houses in cool neighborhoods at RIDICULOUSLY low prices. You make me want to buy another house.
mmtornow - 10/30/08 11:42
Yea, we are very excited about this house! We should be moving in a couple weeks! Looking forward to having more room, and a yard!
Jenks, that must have been me that you saw at ECMC! That's so cool. My name is Molly Tornow Coffee. Where did you see me?
joshua - 10/30/08 11:38
I've never been down to the Nature Preserve - that is something I'd like to do one day. Now that I see those pictures I'm in shock. 46k? That is a damn fine looking house but you definitely got a bargain!
terry - 10/30/08 11:26
congrats!
Welcome to the (mostly) wonderful world of home-ownership. Looks like a great place, and seriously, what a steal.
jenks - 10/30/08 11:23
and btw that house reminds me a LOT of mine... which I thought was a good deal when the new landlords bought it for 165K last year.
jenks - 10/30/08 11:21
ok, are you f*cking kidding me? You bought a 4br house (and a pretty fantastic looking one at that) for <50K??????? A lot of people spend more than that on their CAR! way to go!

Also... I've been meaning to ask this for months- does your wife (monica, right? all i can remember is mtornow!) have a sister named.... Molly, I think? I saw a woman working at ECMC one day who looks JUST like her. Well enough to know it's not HER, but has to be a sister. And I couldn't see the last name on her ID, but I think her first name was Molly. Megan? Something with an M. This was a couple months ago. i wanted to say hi, but then wasn't sure how that would go. "uh, hi... do you have a sister named monica? No? oh, sorry to bother you then... there's this girl on my blog site..." yeah, not so much.
mrmike - 10/30/08 11:19
Awesome, congrats. Got to love to be able to use the phrase "Upstairs Fireplace." Looks great
dcoffee - 10/30/08 11:15
there are actually 2.5 Olmsted parks in SB, 2 of them have golf courses. We really like the Nature Preserve and the Beach too though.
joshua - 10/30/08 11:11
Damn - the images didn't work!

Congrats man. My ex-girlfriend's sister had a house in the area and so I spent a lot of time down there. I like Cazenovia Park. For that matter I've been getting more and more into learning about the Olmstead Park System and the different parks, circles and parkways that he designed for our city. The more I learn the more heartbroken I get! Anyway, I digress - you're near a great park!

10/27/2008 16:35 #46369

Redistribution of wealth.
Category: political
Joe the Plumber jumped into the limelight because he provided a great talking point for the Republicans. "Obama wants to Share the Wealth". Which means, when you think of Obama, think of lazy people getting a free ride, Welfare, Communism, and big government.

Here's the problem. Conservatives love to share the wealth, they'll take as big of a share as they can get from us taxpayers. They want us to buy their bad debt, they want no bid contracts, they want subsidies for their oil companies.

We can share our wealth with the rich. But when it's time to build the economy from the bottom up, that's "punishing success" The middle class can go ahead and bail them out repeatedly, but don't expect anything in return.

Conservatives may tell you that Big Government, and big spending is the ultimate evil. But that doesn't stop them from advocating handouts for the rich. Watch them line up for a handout, while they call us socialist for wanting some healthcare.




jason - 10/31/08 10:50
Tiny, I just just saw this comment. I'll start a new post sometime to pick this up. I just haven't had a chance to read it yet. I know (e:DCoffee) had a comment as well.
tinypliny - 10/29/08 20:01
(e:Jason), since you wanted some statistics and opinion based on those statistics, here are 2 articles doing just that - analyzing statistics and pointing out the loopholes.

I would be very interested to hear what you have to say about different sources of income being taxed at different rates and the rich using this very loophole to the full extent to pay a NET lower % of taxes on their income than the average joe the plumber does. I think there are two reasons why the upward flow continues.
a) because the rich have a CHOICE of sources of income. They can take "risky" sources of income that are taxed lower.
b) The poor DO NOT have a choice in their source of income. And since they have no choice in this matter, their sources tend to be the traditional non-risky ones in the highest taxed bracket if you compared all the sources.

And where exactly is this "risky" source coming from - the investment that the poor make to save their non-risky higher taxed incomes and get some extraordinarily meagre interests. So in essence, the rich, while playing around with their sources can actually get so many tax breaks that their NET % of taxation is lower as compared to the poor.

We are talking about comparing the factory owner who has built the factory with his hard earned money and thus, definitely deserves more salary. We are talking about the choice that this factory owner has (because of his relatively secure financial standings) to bring DOWN his taxable income as well as sources taxed on a higher percentage. We are talking about the blank wall that the assembly line worker in this factory faces when he tries in vain to match the tax cuts that his employer receives because of his choices!

Oh yeah, these are the articles
1. :::link:::

2. :::link:::
jason - 10/29/08 18:40
Obviously, I disagree with pretty much every premise written since I last commented, and I can't quibble with every point here, but tax statistics are readily available, and so is information on who actually appropriates money.

Just a couple of things to chew on here:

In order to feel no guilt about forcibly taking something which you did not earn, you must accept the notion that a grunt line worker has the same role in revenue generation that the geezer that built the company from scratch has, as well as the same responsibilities to ensure the company's success, and as such he deserves similar rewards. I'll never agree. I think it's a hideous notion.

By definition, redistributing wealth means downward flow. The poor cannot buy the rich's property no matter how many are banded together. You can't pay the owner's salary. We have a progressive tax system. The war on poverty can't be won by using the same failed strategy. It's absurd. When you think that what you're taking is really yours, it doesn't become a moral issue anymore.

I don't understand why people aren't too proud to take something that isn't theirs, but they are definitely too proud when it comes to admitting to what they're doing. The excuses and justifications are just wrong, and they insult everyone's intelligence. If I'm a socialist, I make the case as to why society is better off if it's healthier and if lower income people get a chunk of someone else's money. I explain to the people paying the bills what their money is buying.
dcoffee - 10/28/08 10:19
Good point tiny. Wealth flows upwards in more ways than one. Credit Cards and loans are the most amazing example to me. It's like Families have had every dime squeezed out of them, so now we're promising our future earnings to wealthy money-pushers in the financial industry.

Interesting point carolinian, it'd be like a public loan corporation for small businesses. There are lots of ways for businesses to lower their taxable income. Most people can live on $250,000 whatever they earn beyond that they can invest back in the business, or give their employees a holiday bonus, etc.

Zobar, that is an awesome statistic, it shows the hypocrisy of the right. During election season they can make a persuasive argument, but they don't even practice what they preach. They like welfare, and spending, and deficits, they just want to give the money to the upper class instead of people like us.
libertad - 10/28/08 09:59
Good point Tiny, about the wealth flowing upwards. In Cuba (Socialist), the wealthiest are government officials. Wealth does flow upwards in capitalism as well. Here you can totally see that when lower income people are completely penalized by those above them. Look at how much more they pay in fees and how much more interest they are charged when borrowing money. Now they will no longer be able to purchase homes because the credit has frozen. Upward mobility now is almost becoming an illusion.
tinypliny - 10/28/08 00:05
Wealth always flows upward. That is why the rich always get richer. In a greedy human world, the ultimate scheme of things to take away everything from the people with no or little financial means. Because the rich make the laws - it doesn't matter whether they are democrats, republicans, communists or even socialists.
carolinian - 10/27/08 23:59
How about we raise taxes on the rich then give them the option (and only alternative) of investing in small local businesses, like joe, as a tax shelter? Allow the private sector to provide some of the soution, but at the same time not rely on trickle-down wishfull thinking.
jason - 10/27/08 22:20
The middle-upper, upper and beyond income Americans will be the ones shouldering the brunt of whatever we decide to spend. Wealth doesn't flow upward, never has.

But even if that is $1 for you, what do you expect to get from that money? I can't remember the last time results meant a damn to a Government.
zobar - 10/27/08 17:53
Fact! Since 1978, federal spending has increased 2.2% faster under Republicans than Democrats, while gross domestic product has increased 1.9% faster under Democrats.

And since 1978, federal debt has increased 32.2% (!) faster under Republicans.

I know because Wikipedia told me. :::link:::

- Z
james - 10/27/08 16:57
And conservative pundits have been telling this socialist tale for weeks now. Yawn. It has zero traction.

Christ, isn't the McCain campaign doing any freakin' polling to figure out what message works?