Paint the Town
Late last night, at the tail end of one of the few weeks in the past year in which we did not publish anything snarky about anybody, someone threw two gallons of paint on our front doors. Seems a waste; we hadn’t even earned it. Nonetheless, we were cleaning up all morning.
Last week, sure, I can see that: maybe Chris Collins, maybe Steve Pigeon. But no…those guys wouldn’t stoop so low. They don’t even return our calls. It must have been someone else.
Buck Quigley had what sounded on his end like a civil conversation with Bob Gioia earlier in the week, so I can’t believe it was him. And I can’t imagine his brother, Anthony Gioia—recently confirmed as a representative to the 63rd session of the UN—would be so undiplomatic. James Williams? No, Dr. Williams loves AV. He told me so last year. And I can’t believe anything would have changed his mind since then.
Revenge, like pizza, is best served cold, but we understand that the folks at La Nova have made peace with their neighbors. So that’s not it.
George Sax is too urbane to have caused us trouble with the Public Bridge Authority or the Erie County Democrats. And though Bruce Jackson frequently draws heat down on the paper, it doesn’t seem like the Seneca Gaming Corporation’s style. Our other Bruce, late of county government and now thinking deep thoughts about public policy at Buffalo State, is generally brisk but not offensive…unless Bob Wilmers has been nursing a grudge against Fisher and occasional AV contributor John McMahon for months.
What the hell. It couldn’t have been former Buffalo News editor Murray Light.
I’m sure the vandal didn’t issue from City Hall, the good offices of which are AV’s most frequent target, because anyone who works for the city would know that there’s one of those new surveillance cameras just up the street. The blue-light specials.
When I called B District to ask if the camera might have caught the guilty party in the act, I was told that a detective would call back later today. Then, maybe, we’ll see.
September 18, 2008
The Maltese Falcon
Local Republican fundraiser extraordinaire Anthony Gioia has been nominated by President Bush to represent the United States in the upcoming 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Recently, Gioia opened his house for a fundraiser for John McCain. Over 100 people paid at least $10,000 each to have their picture taken with the presidential candidate at the event. I meant to attend, but I had misplaced my checkbook for the entire three-and-a-half hours McCain was in town. I was relieved to hear he made out with $1.5 million during his visit. Still, I really should have done something. I guess I could have donated my Rolex collection to the cause.
Gioia has been an enthusiastic supporter of Bush-Cheney since the beginning, an allegiance that was rewarded with an appointment as US ambassador to the tiny Mediterranean island nation of Malta, where he served from 2001 until 2004—the same year Malta was finally admitted into the European Union.
If his UN nomination is approved by the Senate, as is expected, Gioia will be in the exciting position of mending the widespread damage our country has suffered on the world stage as a result of the belligerent policies of the Bush-Cheney era. He should be up to the task. Check out his business card.
