ShareA sampling of editorials from around New York
The Associated PressThe Daily Gazette of Schenectady on New York state Legislature's redrawing of election districts.
Jan. 29
In the 2010 election campaign, nearly every New York state lawmaker either signed a pledge to support an independent commission or promised other reforms that would make the redistricting process fair and nonpartisan. At the same time, then-candidate Andrew Cuomo promised to veto legislative maps not resulting from such a process. On Friday, Cuomo said he would keep his promise, and he should, because the lawmakers clearly haven't kept theirs.
The maps released last week, the work of a legislative task force on reapportionment, show the usual slicing and dicing, with district lines drawn to protect the power of the majority party (the Democrats in the Assembly and the Republicans in the Senate). That is done by making their own party's seats more safe and the other party's less _ either by adding areas of strength, taking them away (as the cities of Schenectady and Saratoga Springs have been taken away from Assemblyman Jim Tedisco), splitting up and merging districts (as is being done with New York City and Long Island districts that have large minority populations), or adding districts (as the Senate wants to do by creating a 63rd).
The Senate's districts are the most gerrymandered (the worst in 30 years according to a statistical analysis done by the New York Public Interest Research Group), with the strangest shapes and most unequal populations. That's because the Republicans have the most to lose with fairly drawn districts. They hold a slim 32-30 majority, while the state's voter registration is becoming increasingly Democratic.
That didn't stop Republican senators from supporting an independent commission en masse when they were running in 2010, even though independently drawn districts would probably cost them their majority. Back then, the Democrats were narrowly in charge of the Senate _ and not only ignoring their own earlier promises of redistricting reform but threatening to stick it to the Republicans in the next redistricting. For the Republicans, taking the pledge was apparently just seen as a way of winning back the majority so they could redraw the maps to keep it.
That's what they are trying to do now, and Gov. Cuomo shouldn't abet them, either by accepting their partisan maps or accepting some minor changes with a promise of a constitutional amendment that could lead to an independent commission to redraw district lines after the 2020 census. We now know what those promises are worth.
Cuomo said he would veto any maps not fairly drawn, and he should. The courts might not side with him, especially in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision two weeks ago that gave deference to the Texas legislature in a redistricting case, but why not stand up for what is right and find out?
___
http://www.dailygazette.com
The Post-Star of Glens Falls on a proposal to start freight rail service in the Adirondacks.
Jan. 27
The last time environmentalists fought freight rail service from North Creek to Tahawus, there was a war on.
Early in the 1940s, the federal government sought to put an industrial rail spur in to Tahawus to mine ilmenite, a strategic mineral used in the production of titanium, needed for the war effort.
The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, an environmental group, fought the line, because it would cut through areas of the state's Forest Preserve, protected by the Forever Wild clause of the state constitution. The group's objections were overridden by those who felt winning World War II was a higher priority than preserving the untrammeled sanctity of the Adirondack forest.
No one can accuse Adirondack environmentalists of a lack of zeal or dedication to their cause above all others, as this case demonstrates. Now, Protect the Adirondacks, a successor organization to the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, is fighting the revitalization of the line, which trains have not traveled for more than 20 years.
The environmental advocates argue, first, the industrial spur never should have been built; second, it never should have been used after the war ended; and, third, since it hasn't been used since 1989, it should be considered abandoned.
We argue, first, the spur was built; second, the industrial easements for use of the spur were extended and run through 2062; and, third, no one has shown that the legal criteria for abandonment has been met.
"Abandonment," in reference to a rail line, or a road, is a legal term with specific criteria. As environmental groups have found to their dismay with some Adirondack roads, it is not enough to argue a right of way has been abandoned in a general sense _ because the road hasn't been used in years or because it is overgrown with weeds. A case for abandonment must, like any other legal case, fit the legal definition of the word.
The irony of the environmental advocates' argument the rail spur has been abandoned is that some of the same people argue the other side of the case when it comes to waterways. Environmental groups have made strong and successful arguments for establishing public rights of way on obscure waterways, saying the right of way is not lost just because the waterways are little-used or overgrown.
Iowa Pacific has so far, in its first year of operation, made a success of running a passenger line between Saratoga Springs and North Creek. The company is also interested in reopening the industrial spur to Tahawus, for the purpose of moving out tons of tailings left over from the mining operation. This industrial waste, heaped up in great piles at the old mine, is now polluting the heart of the Adirondack forest. Iowa Pacific executives believe they can find a market for the material and propose to clean some of it up by carrying it out in the cleanest and most efficient way they can, by rail.
The environmental groups, standing on principle, are aghast. They prefer to have any material taken from the site _ and tons of stone is still carried away from there every year _ carried away by trucks, damaging the roads and coughing diesel fumes into the air.
Iowa Pacific's plan could create jobs and could lead to more industrial use of the line, particularly from Barton Mines in North Creek. This would be good for the Adirondack economy and good for the Adirondack environment, because using existing rail lines is better for the environment than using the roads to haul the same material.
But don't hold your breath waiting for environmentalists to support the plan. Seventy years ago, with Europe in flames, they didn't want the Adirondack wilderness disturbed to help the war effort. They're not going to support the rail line now to create a few jobs and clean up some pollution.
___
http://poststar.com/news
The New York Times on cancer screening.
Jan., 30
A new federal study found that Americans are getting screened for three major cancers _ breast, cervical and colorectal _ at rates far below national targets. The shortfall is especially high among adults who lack insurance or regular access to a doctor, partly because the recession drove employers to lay off workers or cut health benefits.
Many low- and middle-income people are now unable or unwilling to pay for screening tests or visits to the doctor. Their plight underscores the urgent need to retain the health care reform law that will expand proven screening and prevention programs at no charge to patients.
The study, based on a survey taken in 2010, was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. The three types of cancer were chosen for scrutiny because there is good evidence that, for certain age groups, screening for these cancers can reduce illness and save lives.
The survey results were discouraging. The percentage of people getting screened for breast cancer has hit a plateau and for cervical cancer turned slightly downward. In 2010, only 72.4 percent of the women ages 50 to 74 reported getting mammography screening within the previous two years, below the official national goal of 81.1 percent by the end of the decade. Only 83 percent of the eligible women reported having a Pap test to detect cervical cancer within the previous three years, short of the 93 percent goal. The percentage of men and women between the ages of 50 and 74 getting screened for colorectal cancer has improved markedly, but it rose to only 58.6 percent in 2010, below the target of 70.5 percent.
The health care reform law will ensure that all Americans have access to vital preventive care. It already eliminates cost-sharing for the screenings in Medicare and new private policies, and, starting in 2014, it will expand Medicaid for the poor and provide subsidies to help middle-income people buy private health insurance. Republicans won't stop pressing for repeal of the law. American consumers, so many of whom are struggling to pay their health care bills, need to think a lot harder about what they would lose if Republicans get their way.
___
http://www.nytimes.com
The Observer of Dunkirk on President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech.
Jan. 31
President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech last week was a blatant, unvarnished campaign address. It was less a report on the state of the union and a call for legislation to improve it than an appeal to voters to re-elect him this fall.
But there is only one way Obama will win in November. That is if voters succumb to the hope he will change.
There is no chance of that, as Obama indicated in the speech. He plans to continue using class warfare as his campaign platform. He means to continue increasing the cost of government while slashing away at the rights and financial security of the very people he insists he is championing.
Then there is the matter of hundreds of billions of dollars in spending on "stimulus" and "bailout" campaigns Obama insisted would create millions of new jobs.
A month after Obama took office, promising to reduce unemployment, the national rate was 8.3 percent. Now it is 8.5 percent.
Like many Americans, a substantial number of voters in our states hoped Obama would bring beneficial change to our nation. But the only hope we have now is for real change _ in the occupant of the White House.
___
http://www.observertoday.com
The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester on the uncivil tone of political debate in the U.S.
Jan. 28
House Speaker Tip O'Neil used to say that all politics was local. If he were still around, he would have to update his axiom to reflect the fact that increasingly politics has become personal.
Take the appalling behavior of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer toward President Obama last week. Or look at the rising hostile tensions between Republican presidential contenders Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
Cameras caught Brewer wagging her finger in the face of Obama as he arrived at the Phoenix airport. Taking the presidential high road, Obama later said Brewer's behavior was no big deal. Actually it was a breach of etiquette that Brewer should have learned in kindergarten: One does not poke his or her finger in the face of anyone. To do that to the president of the United States ought to be viewed as an insult to every American, regardless of political party.
The stage was set for Brewer's indefensible behavior when a fellow Republican, Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, shouted "You lie" at Obama during his 2009 health care reform speech before a joint session of Congress.
As for Gingrich and Romney, they seem to detest one another more intensely with each new debate. It's gotten so bad that viewers are starting to tune in just to see which one will punch the other first.
No question, 21st century politics is personal.
___
http://www.democratandchronicle.com