Petition against New Plates for New York State

Dear Friend,


     Thank you for joining my petition at www.NoNewPlates.com to oppose Albany’s new license plate mandate.
     Over 45,000 of our neighbors and motorists from throughout the state have now joined the effort, and your comments confirm my belief that this new mandate was a needless tax on Upstate families and businesses, and comes at the wrong time.
Here’s just a few examples of the comments I’ve received:
Says one young family from Canton, “My husband is losing his job next month. We have two kids under the age of 3. $50 will take food from their mouths.”
Or the senior citizen, who says, “No COLA this year in my Social Security. Even $25 is another hit against my income. Where does it stop?”
And from a small business owner—with 59 registered vehicles, each of which will require new, $25 plates—“Have all the people in Albany gone nuts?”
Due to your overwhelming response, I have decided to extend the petition to allow more New Yorkers the opportunity to sign. I encourage you to send this message and link to your family and friends.
     I have also shared this idea with my fellow Clerks in counties across Upstate, and many of them are mounting similar efforts.
Together, we’ll send a message to the supporters of this ridiculous plan—including the only North Country representatives who voted for it, Sen. Aubertine and Assemblywoman Russell—that New Yorkers are fed up with higher taxes and needless mandates.
Thank you for joining me in this effort.




Patty Ritchie
St. Lawrence County Clerk




http://z4mp1.blogspot.com/

Jimmy Fallon & Elmo busting on each other.

Who knew that Elmo was such a wise ass. This is a clip from Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon from 11/09/09. It's hilarious, just watch, you'll see.



http://z4mp1.blogspot.com/

New York State's unveils new license plate design

Last Update: 3:38 pm

A look at the new license plates that will replace the current ones in 2010. (WSYR NewsChannel 9 ) What do you think of the new NY State License Plates Love them! Hate them Don't care Great, just another fee Albany (WSYR-TV) – The State Department of Motor Vehicles Tuesday unveiled the new “Empire Gold” license plate which will be issued to most vehicles registered in the state beginning in April.  The new plate is gold in color with dark blue letters and numbers in the central part of the plate, separated by a small dark blue state silhouette. There is a dark blue banner across the length of the top of the plate, with “New York” printed in gold in the center. “Empire State” is in dark blue letters across the bottom. Officials say the new plate will bring in an expected $129 million in revenue over the next two years. "This project will benefit law enforcement efforts, and therefore enhance public safety, in several ways," said Denise E. O'Donnell, Deputy Secretary for Public Safety and Commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. "For instance, nearly 300 police agencies in New York State are currently deploying approximately 500 computerized license plate readers (LPRs) that enable authorities to quickly identify vehicles that have been stolen or used in a crime. These new plates will ensure that the LPRs are as effective as possible." The DMV will begin issuing the new plates for registration renewals that expire in May 2010. Customers renewing their vehicle registrations in person in a DMV office, over the phone, by mail or through the Internet, will receive their new Empire Gold plates in the mail. Customers completing an original over-the-counter registration transaction will receive their plates immediately. The replacement will take place as part of scheduled vehicle registration and renewal and will take two years to complete. There are currently 12 million registered vehicles in New York State. A plate fee of $25.00 will be added to the registration renewal fee. Single plate registrations (e.g. motorcycles) will be charged a plate fee of $12.50. The most recent New York license plate design was issued in 2001.

http://z4mp1.blogspot.com/

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH - THE WAY OF THE FIST

http://z4mp1.blogspot.com/

Google Voice User? Get The Quick Reference Card

• 11 Comments
• Share16

by Michael Arrington on November 2, 2009

If you’re a Google Voice user like me, you’ll be glad to print out this quick reference card that gives you all the menu options when you call the service to listen to voicemail or change settings, or receive calls.

For example, when you receive a call with Google Voice you can hear who’s calling before you answer. Hit 1 to answer the call, or hit 2 to send them to voicemail. Easy to remember. But you can also hit 3 to send them to voicemail and listen in. Or 4 to answer the call and record it. Four is too many things for me to remember, which is why I’m printing this out and putting it in my wallet.

USS New York, built with WTC steel, visits its namesake city (Video)

By The Associated Press

November 02, 2009, 2:50PM

Richard Drew / APThe USS New York cruises under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York today.

NEW YORK — The new Navy assault ship USS New York, built with World Trade Center steel, arrived in its namesake city Monday with a rifle volley salute near the site of the 2001 terrorist attack.

First responders, families of Sept. 11 victims and the public gathered Monday at a waterfront viewing area, where they could see the crew standing at attention along the deck of the battleship gray vessel.

The big ship paused. Then the shots were fired, with a cracking sound, in three bursts.

The bow of the $1 billion ship, built in Louisiana, contains about 7.5 tons of steel from the fallen towers.

"It's a transformation ... from something really twisted and ugly," said Rosaleen Tallon, who lost her firefighter brother, Sean, on 9/11. "I'm proud that our military is using that steel."

Tallon said her brother, who was a Marine, would have been proud.

Video of USS New York sailing up Hudson River Video of USS New York sailing up Hudson River

JoAnn Atlas, of Howells, N.Y., who lost her husband, fire Lt. Gregg Atlas, draped a flag-themed banner along the fence. The names of emergency workers who died were written on the red stripes.

"We have to remember. It's a way to honor them," she said.

Members of the public included Nancy DiGiacomo, who came from Huntington, N.Y., with her husband, 9-year-old son, mother and sister.

"I just thought it was important to see" the transformation of the tragedy's wreckage, said DiGiacomo. "From that, something else can come of it."

Lt. Cmdr. Colette Murphy, a Navy spokeswoman, said she was excited for those serving on board to see the city's "awe-inspiring" welcome.

At a short ceremony later at Pier 88 near the site of the aircraft carrier, the USS Intrepid, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the USS New York couldn't have a more fitting name, representing freedom, courage and resilience.

"This ship is actually a physical representation of that spirit with steel from the World Trade Center built into its bow so every friend that sets foot on it and every foe that dares challenge it will feel its power and know that it is literally made from the heart and soul of the city that has sacrificed so much," the mayor said.

Of the 361 sailors serving aboard the ship, around 13 percent are from New York state, which is higher than would normally be the case, Murphy said. There were many requests from Navy personnel to serve on the ship, which will carry some 250 Marines.

After the ground zero stop, the ship — escorted by about two dozen tugboats and other vessels — headed up the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge. After a U-turn there, it headed south to Pier 88. An official commissioning ceremony is scheduled for Saturday.

The New York will remain in the city through Veterans Day and then head to Norfolk, Va., for about a year of crew training and exercises, Murphy said.

The ship is 684 feet long and can carry as many as 800 Marines. Its flight deck that can handle helicopters and the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.

It was scheduled to be built before the terrorist attacks. About a year later, the announcement came that the ship would bear the name New York to honor the city, state, and those who died.

It's the latest in a line of Navy ships to bear that name. The others included a Spanish-American War-era cruiser, a battleship that served in World Wars I and II and a nuclear submarine retired from the fleet in 1997.

The ship is technically known as a San Antonio-class amphibious dock vessel. Four vessels in that class are in service, the USS San Antonio, USS New Orleans, USS Mesa Verde and USS Green Bay. Four others are being built. Of those, two also have been named in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.

The was named to honor the attack on the Pentagon. The USS Somerset was named after the county in Pennsylvania where United Airlines flight 93 crashed.

Read Dick Case's story about a Cazenovia man who was a sailor aboard the USS New York during World War II.

http://z4mp1.blogspot.com/