Andrew Cuomo

Just Say ‘No!’ To Drugs

By Chris Carosa on November 30, 2021

On March 31, 2021, then Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). According to the official State website, “The legislation created a new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) governed by a Cannabis Control Board to comprehensively regulate adult-use, medical, and hemp cannabis. The OCM will issue licenses and develop regulations outlining how and when businesses can participate in the new industry.”

What does this mean?

Well, there are several gears in motion here. The first pertains to private use by adults. Here, the State says “The Office of Cannabis Management needs to draft and issue regulations to implement the law before adult-use sales can begin. However, while there Continue Reading “Just Say ‘No!’ To Drugs”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrew Cuomo, Cannabis, CATO Institute, consumption, dispensary, Marijuana, MRTA, opt-out, tax revenue

Who’s Really Going After Cuomo?

By Chris Carosa on March 9, 2021

Allow me to begin with this caveat: I am not a fan of Andrew Cuomo. I do not support the bulk of his policies. I do not condone what many call his “thuggish” behavior. Above all, I feel he is a discredit to all those Italian-Americans who have tried to live a life that transcends the Hollywood stereotype of our honored heritage.

If you doubt any of the above, then go back and reread some of my previous columns.

That being said, even I find it somewhat suspicious that this once-darling of the politically woke now finds himself dodging quite serious accusations against his policies, his administration, and his very character.

My first inclination might have been “couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” but the coincidences Continue Reading “Who’s Really Going After Cuomo?”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrew Cuomo, Grand Jury, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, New York State, nursing home scandal, Rochester

We Need High-Speed Broadband, Now!

By Chris Carosa on January 19, 2021

“I would long since for the time that no votes buy our cares;
For people that once possessed command, high civil office, legions and all else,
now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.”

– From Satire X, Juvenal, ca. 100 AD

When the Roman satirical poet Juvenal wrote these lines centuries ago, he meant it as an expose of government corruption. It also represented a warning to a populace too eager to sacrifice freedom for immediate delights.

Unfortunately, rather than a cautionary alert, Juvenal’s “bread and circuses” has become a blueprint from which every dictator since has built his empire.

You can now add Andrew Cuomo to the long sorry list of power-mad rulers seeking to Continue Reading “We Need High-Speed Broadband, Now!”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, Andrew Cuomo, Bread and circuses, broadband, Covid, highways, Juvenal, Marjorie Byrnes, New York Post, New York State, Richard Parsons, roads, soma

What 2020 Revealed About Us (And Maybe You, Too)

By Chris Carosa on January 5, 2021

“The Sea Rises,” 1894, an engraving in The Writings of Charles Dickens, volume 20, A Tale of Two Cities

It began as the best of years and ended as the worst of years. Did it?

Or perhaps it was the best of years and it was the worst of years.

If that second phrase sounds familiar, you’re either an astute historical observer or you’re well versed in Victorian literature (or both).

In 1859, Charles Dickens published A Tale of Two Cities. The novel opened with the following:Continue Reading “What 2020 Revealed About Us (And Maybe You, Too)”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged A Tale of Two Cities, American Revolution, Andrew Cuomo, Annus Horribilis, Charles Darnay, Charles Dickens, French Revolution, gamer, optimism, Sydney Carton, wicked

Yes, Your Community Matters, Too

By Chris Carosa on July 28, 2020

If this were a Saturday matinee cartoon, we’ve come to the point where Popeye, upset at his inability to escape from the suffocating arms of the evil bully Bluto (a.k.a., “Brutus” in later versions), exclaims to the cheers of his admiring and sympathetic audience, “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!”

Yes, we’ve reached our “Popeye Point,” as Karl Albrecht called it in his 2011 article in Psychology Today. Albrecht describes this as the moment when we reach that “primal, visceral, life-changing decision.” Here’s his explanation of the metaphor:

“Popeye (the sailor man) [is] a good-natured, easy-going guy who tries to get through life as peacefully and cheerfully as possible. In the animated cartoon episodes, his emotional fortitude is always being tested by mean, nasty, abusive people around him, some of whom like to whale on him physically. At a certain point in each episode, he Continue Reading “Yes, Your Community Matters, Too”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrew Burr, Andrew Cuomo, Bluto, bowling, Brutus, chicken wings, community, coronavirus, Fanatics, Karl Albrecht, Miller Lanes, Olean Times, Popeye, Popeye Point, Psychology Today

Cuomo’s Albany Red Flags New York

By Chris Carosa on September 3, 2019

Imagine a knock on your front door in the middle of the night amid urgent screams from the other side. Half-asleep, you stretch yourself out of your comfortable bed and stumble your way to your foyer.

More awake now, you’re curious as to where all that light is coming from through the small sidelight windows that sandwich the entrance to your home. The knock at the door suddenly turns into a rapid pounding as your hands fumble around the door knob. “I’m right here!” you shout back. The bellows on the other side get only louder, and deeper.

After a moment, you can feel the lock disengage. You twist the knob and slowly begin to open the door. Perhaps a crack to see what’s going on, you tell yourself.

Only you never get the chance. The moment the bolt is released, the door bursts open and Continue Reading “Cuomo’s Albany Red Flags New York”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1967 Boston Red Sox, Aldous Huxley, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Andrew Cuomo, Anthem, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Brave New World, dictator, Fahrenheit 451, Nancy Pelosi, Nazi Germany, police state, Ray Bradbury, Soviet Russia, The Gulag Archipelago, totalitarian

One-Upping Warren: This is the Right Way to Forgive Student Loans

By Chris Carosa on April 30, 2019

It was one of those silly socialist ideas that normally come from the mouth of Bernie Sanders. No one took it very seriously in 2016 when the then 74-year-old Vermont Senator tried to win the (we now know rigged) Democrat nomination from Hillary Clinton. He proudly declared “free college for everyone!” The kids loved it. The adults giggled.

The Clinton establishment knew this kind of talk wouldn’t fly in fly-over country (hint: that’s us). It was too radical. Too impractical. Too communist. So they laughed at Bernie and encouraged him to say what he said.

Little did we know.

Andrew Cuomo, with a watchful eye on his own 2020 political ambitions, decided to see Continue Reading “One-Upping Warren: This is the Right Way to Forgive Student Loans”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Andrew Cuomo, Bernie Sanders, College, Elizabeth Warren, Free Tuition, Hillary Clinton, student loan

Sorry, Mr. President, It’s Not “Flee” New York, It’s “Free” Western New York

By Chris Carosa on February 12, 2019

If you’re from Greater Western New York, you love it. That makes you part of a long tradition. American patriots felt the same way during the Revolutionary War. In 1779, George Washington dispatched General Sullivan to thwart the British and their Iroquois allies based in Western New York from continuing their lethal terror attacks on the small towns and settlements along the edge of the then New York frontier. When Sullivan’s troops first laid eyes on the beautiful landscape, they immediately knew where they wanted to spend the rest of their lives: Western New York.

Why would you be any different? And yet, living in Western New York too often becomes a burden. Although not as bad as it was decades ago, outsiders continue to disrespect our region. We’ve been the butt of late-night TV jokes. Organizations routinely bypass our bounty, lured by promised riches from others. Even our own state leaders forsake us. We’ve seen this as recently as when the New York-Albany axis decided to use our Continue Reading “Sorry, Mr. President, It’s Not “Flee” New York, It’s “Free” Western New York”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Amazon, Andrew Cuomo, Chuck Schumer, Donald Trump, General Sullivan, George Washington, Greater Western New York, Joseph Griffo, New York, New York-Albany axis, Queens, Ronald Reagan

Cuomo Courts Amazon with Our Money

By Chris Carosa on November 20, 2018

Let’s get this disclosure out of the way first. We use Amazon. We’re Amazon Prime members. Our parent company, Pandamensional Solutions, Inc., uses Amazon print and distribution services for the books it publishes. In all, we spend a lot of money at Amazon and Amazon generates revenue for us. We have certainly benefited from Amazon.

That being said, we don’t think New York State taxpayers will benefit from Andrew Cuomo’s terrible deal to bring Amazon to his state. Enough was revealed when Amazon announced its decision to “split the baby in half” and create two “second headquarters” instead of one. The “lucky” winners were Long Island City in New York and Arlington in Virginia. Amazon promises to hire 25,000 employees at each location. In addition, the on-line retail behemoth also declared it would open a smaller regional hub in Nashville, Tennessee (where they will hire 5,000).

As we said last year (“This is How the Greater Western New York Region Should Respond If Amazon Picks Another Option,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, October 26, 2017), bowing to Amazon’s extortion-like tactics was absolutely a terrible idea. We stand by our Continue Reading “Cuomo Courts Amazon with Our Money”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Alexandria, Amazon, Andrew Cuomo, Donald Trump, facebook, Greater Western New York, Inc., Jeff Bezos, Long Island City, Nashville, New Headquarters' Curse, New York State, Pandamensional Solutions, Queens, Richard Thaler, Winner's Curse

New Tax Law Shows Cuomo Tone Deaf to Needs of Greater Western New York

By Chris Carosa on February 6, 2018

Many overtaxed residents of Greater Western New York looked at the 2017 Tax Reform Law as an opportunity to spur Albany into finally aligning its policies to make our state more business friendly. Our region has been particularly hard hit.

A December 28, 2017 report from Channel 13 said several Mark’s Pizzeria locations closed. A local stock market analyst said these closures were the result of the new minimum wage law which requires all fast food chains with at least 30 locations to up their hourly rate to $12.75. Mark’s closed just enough locations to leave it with 29 stores. Coincidence? The founder of Salvatore’s Pizza told 13WHAM they won’t be expanding because of the 30 store rule.Continue Reading “New Tax Law Shows Cuomo Tone Deaf to Needs of Greater Western New York”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged 2017 Tax Reform Act, Andrew Cuomo, AT&T, Frontier, Greater Western New York, Mark's Pizzeria, minimum wage law, New York State, Verizon