I replied to the three specifics you raised in your first comment: financial industry regulation, trade with China which you wrongly said started during Bush’s 8 years even though Clinton negotiated it in 1999, and Madoff whose Ponzi scheme continued and grew, unnoticed and unregulated, during all 8 years of Clinton (according to Obama’s Justice Dept).

Trying to distract now with your 9-11 conspiracy theory and other matters is irrelevant to what I called you on.

By the way, Democrats regaiged both houses of Congress for the final 25% of GWB’s eight years. During those two years, what financial industry regulations did the Congressional Democrats attempt to restore? (None. Interesting.) And did they attempt to reduce free trade with China? (No.) Are Obama and Hillary attempting to do that now? (No. To the contrary, Obama and Hillary are cozying up to China.)

Clinton left our national economy in the black. Our country had a massive surplus. Let’s contemplate that information before we jump to conclusions.

George left office and our country with a horrendous financial crisis. The Bush Enronization model ran unchecked by his government regulatory agencies. Indeed, the NSA knew 911 terrorists were down the street talking on their cell phones and plotting like the FTC knew that Madoff was suckering police officers out of their pensions and shucking Eli Weisel out of his holocaust funds.

Please spare us distortions of the Clinton administration and deflections away from the disaster in New Orleans to the melt down on Wall street caused by perp George W. We have not forgotten.

Let’s not forget that union men and women are not the cause of Wall Street’s Bank-Agedden. The unions did not fabricate fast times on Real Estate street, or Madoff the guy that placed Willie Sutton into the amateur ranks of the annals of crime.

Artvoice push transparency all you want but don’t fabricate unions into the sacrificial lambs for corporate America’s crime wave. The working people of this country are not the ones that have been gouging WNYers at the pumps or robbing millions of Americans out of their pensions and golden parachuting bankers at the tax payers expense. Brother can you spare a billion dollars?

With that being said I would like to offer you some suggestions as how one can improve their journalistic skills:

1. Become an avid reader
2. Take measures to improve your writing
3. Know your audience
4. Embrace creativity
5. Research everything
6. Establish excellent community relationships
7. Check your ego at the door
8. Keep flirting to a minium
9. Do not allow friendships and free stuff to affect your editorial

Less than 10, which is definitely a step in the right direction. People tend to have short attention spans, too many steps would make their heads hurt. In fact, I’m willing to bet we can shrink this list even more, part of improving your writing is reading and taking creative risks. Researching is both a facet of better writing and of communication with the community. While we are at it, minimizing flirting and other ego-centric issues are part of good community relations. We can eliminate a few more points, leaving us with a smaller list:

1. Take measures to improve your writing
2. Know your audience
3. Establish excellent trusting relationship with the community
4. Do not allow friendships and free stuff affect your editorial

Since writing is based on your audience,knowing who write for is just another part of improving your writing. And the last two commandments seem a bit wordy,and who can remember verbose advice? Let’s simplify even further:

1. Take measures to improve your writing
2. Don’t be an ass(unless warranted)
3. Don’t be biased

On second thought, it dosen’t really matter if you are an ass. Let’s just throw that one away-the less we have to remember, the better:

1. Learn to write
2. Be honest

Actually, I think we can shrink this down further:

1. Don’t suck

There we go, much better…

“eight years of Wall Street deregulation, Madoff ponsi theft, a global free trade with China”

JQB — Eight years?

Much of the financial industry deregulating and pushing for lowering credit requirements for real estate ownership happened, for better or worse, while Bill Clinton, Robert Rubin, and Larry Summers were in power prior to Bush winning the presidency.

Free trade with China also happened before those “eight years” you complain about – specifically November 1999.

http://www.democracynow.org/1999/11/16/clinton_administration_and_china_reach_accord

Madoff’s ponzi theft began in the 1980s or the early 1990s, depending on who you believe. Obama’s Justice Dept prosecutors say it started in the 1980s and Madoff’s attorneys say it started in the early 1990s.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/13/business/madoff.php

“Madoff also claimed his fraud began in the early 1990s, not in the 1980s, as the government contended — an assertion that seemed to be aimed at limiting how far back into the family business history the government can reach for restitution.”

Either way, Madoff’s ponzi theft started before Clinton was sworn in and grew undetected during Clinton’s eight years. When Madoff was caught, arrested, and charged, GW Bush was president (Dec 2008).

What I should be questioned is how Paladino and Supples are spouting (on this Artvoice blog) their Republican-speak and mouthing other anti-unionism in an economic recession caused by global free trade with communist China and because Wall Street went wild.

We now suffer in WNY and the USA from eight years of Wall Street deregulation, Madoff ponsi theft, a global free trade with China that put U.S. workers and manufacturing at a severe disadvantage. To blame the decline on Buffalo on unions is sheer pap.

In my opinion the public has a right to know what public employees earn but I think the people of Buffalo and WNY deserve to get the bigger picture and the facts on the economic crisis and how it really was caused.

Supples has forgotten history and how hard union members fought to get decent contract for wages, benefits, and working conditions. He has forgotten exploitation of workers by corporations that ran rampant in this country once upon a time. He has forgotten the many people in WNY that lost their pensions when Bethlehem Steel tanked. Maybe Paladino and Supples would talk differently if one of their family had fallen in the line of duty working for the City of Buffalo. I wonder.

The economic Darwinism that goes on in China does not benefit every worker that works hard. Economic Darwinism for China is not the economic plan that should dominate again in this country.

Once upon a time in this country the rich paid higher taxes because it was a responsible thing to do.

Supples and Paladino are not the richest Americans in this country and neither am I. If I made over $200,000 a year in Buffalo, New York I wouldn’t be carelessly talking attitude with union workers in this community or harping about my taxes. In consideration that for every Supples and Paladino in WNY there are thousands who make around twenty grand a year. This is not the fault of unionism but it is the fault of a capitalistic system that is out of whack and lacks balance to protect workers and non workers who now have zero health care and trouble finding a good paying job from coast to coast.

Imagine a day when all Americans will have health care. Why didn’t this happen during these many years of Supple’s trickle down economics?

U.S. tax payers have most recently given out a lavish bail out to the U.S banking system and to corporate America because of absolute mismanagement of money and failing to be competitive with foreign corporations and for their lack of responsible corporate leadership. This was not the fault of N.Y. State and Buffalo/WNY union employees.

Now Supples and Paladino are going to have to pay a higher tax rate just like lower earning wage earners have been doing for the last eight years. This is not the fault of union workers but the fault of those who have been spouting Regan trickle down theory for more than a decade. The Regan model is broken and our country and city is in a mess because unfettered and socially, irresponsible, capitalism which has nearly bankrupted our country and taken away good pensions and health care for millions of Americans.