Ralph Esposito: "Time to Smell the Roses"

Ralph Esposito announced his decision to step down as Gates Supervisor at the end of his current term. Ralph has been the Supervisor for 20 years and the Town Hall will not be the same place without him.

I have worked with Ralph for the entirety of my time as Town Attorney. This Fall will mark the first local election campaign I will work on where Ralph is not at the head of the Town ticket. It is an idea that will definitely take some getting used to.

Ralph has been a smart and effective government leader, both in Gates and in County government. He has astute political instincts, as well, and many in government and politics have sought his counsel on a wide array of issues.

Gates has seen some incredible development during Ralph's tenure. Tinseltown, and the Wal-Mart plaza have been magnets for many other commercial endeavors. Gates weathered the exodus of Kodak from the Elmgrove site and Ralph managed to keep all vital Town services intact while maintaining the lowest average tax bill for residents of towns with Police Departments. We residents of Gates have been extremely lucky to have had Ralph at the helm of our town's "ship of state".

Good luck, enjoy the grand-kids. Thank you for all you have done for us.

Hanson: Getting It Right As Usual

As any regulars know, Victor Davis Hanson is one of my favorite columnists. He is a Professor of Classics but he has a straight-forward and plain-spoken way of expressing himself that anyone, be they an academic or an average guy, can understand and appreciate.

In his recent column entitled, The Battered American, Hanson reflects on the amazing number of times the President and his Administration have looked at America and Americans through the wrong end of the telescope.

If you are a conservative, traditional American like me, you will be applauding in agreement with Hansen by the time you finish the piece.

Where's Repoman?

I have been pretty "quiet" of late.

There have been a few things that have sparked my intention to post, but, unfortunately, my heart hasn't been in it. I could attribute this hiatus to being busy at work or to the back and neck problems I've been suffering from, but, I'm afraid its at least partly "Post-Election Loss Disorder" (PELD).

For those of you who know him, Don Scheg first suggested to me that I may have PELD. I disputed his take at first, but I guess he was right. I am finding it hard to focus with Democrats running the White House. PELD has left me talking to myself, but unable to post cogently on the topics of the day.

I promise to break out of this slump soon. I got myself a book of Ronald Reagan's greatest speeches. That should bring me back.

Tax As I Say, Not As I Do

As you probably know by now, Tom Daschle has asked the President to withdraw his name from consideration as Secretary of HHS. Daschle's withdrawal came on the heels of that of Nancy Killifer, another Obama nominee with "personal tax problems".

Add these two with Timothy Geithner and Charles Rangel and you begin to understand why Democrats are always willing to support tax increases.

They just aren't going to pay them!