Friday, April 11, 2008

Your taxes at work: The truck stops here

Ask any traveler and they’ll tell you: Truck stops are important. They provide that fast food fat injection many of us motorists need to make it from point A to B. They offer the overpriced gasoline, the hands-free urinals and trinket gift shops that make long-distance travel possible. Without them, droves of urine-filled cash-laden travelers would arrive at their destinations bloated and with far too much money to spend in one outing.

Yes, truck stops are a vital industry in our gas-fueled society. And if they’re not serving the people they were meant to serve –the truckers –they could very well be creating a volatile economy tantamount to the subprime debacle now ravaging the nation. Just think of all those Big Macs rotting under blasting heat lamps; all those hand-dryers going unused; the miles of perfectly parkable pavement just laying there lonely, absent a semi or minivan to drip engine fluids on it.

But fear not, intrepid readers. The state Department of Transportation is coming to the rescue, the Daily Gazette reported last week. While New York’s pork-laden government is reeling from an estimated $5 billion budgetary deficit, the gear heads and specialists over at DOT were doling out $600,000 to see exactly what North American truckers think of the state’s truck stops.

Dubbed the “Truck Intercept Survey,” the study is a joint effort between DOT and the state Thruway Authority, which took time away from its busy schedule of toll hike hearings to participate. See, there’s apparently a shortage of truck stops along New York’s superhighways. The ones located about every 20 miles along the Thruway and I-87 are clearly not adequate.

“This can create problems because they are required to take rest breaks as well as a certain amount of time off duty as part of federal regulations,” said Kendra Adams, the acting president of the New York State Motor Truck Association, which naturally supports the initiative.

The answer? Pay more than half-million to a statistics company to interview truckers for two solid years. And the best part? The company conducting the survey is located in Texas, so these tax dollars are literally pumped from the region and piped down south.

Adams said the result of the study may be that New York needs more truck stops. Then maybe the state could give several massive development companies the hard-earned cash they need to pave over and contaminate 30-acre intervals of land along every state thoroughfare so that truckers can get their beauty sleep.

However, one can’t beat on DOT too much for their concept of spending. They’re simply following the lead of another bloated, nonsensical entity that sucks tax dollars like a porn star. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has spent three years dishing out cash to truckers across the nation. In fact, where DOT saw fit to spend $600,000, Homeland Security decided to up he ante and spend $63 million.

Only instead of surveying truck stops, the federal security czars are training truckers as counter-terrorist agents. Yes, you read that correctly: Counter-terrorist agents. The bulk of this fat went to conduct classes, create DVDs and set up a national call center so drivers who see something suspicious can call it into Homeland Security, The Daily News reported last month.

So let’s go to the score card. New York will soon have enough truck stops to keep its 18-wheeler interlopers well rested; the entire country will have truckers trained to spot terrorist while they’re jamming back Slim Jims on the freeway; and New Yorkers will have to sell their homes to fund it all. God bless America.

Editor’s note: Taking cue from the journalistic bastion known as The Saratogian, iSaratoga has embarked upon an “occasional series” investigating the many ways our state government in New York is using tax dollars to serve the needs of the people; all of them. And even a few things that aren’t people, much less things existing in the Empire State. If you have your own suggestion, please don’t hesitate to drop a line to iSaratoga’s tax and spend department.

18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't dig too deep. You'll end up doing this full time.

11:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What does this have to do with Tom McTygue you may be wondering?

Well...... McTygue and Bruno have been in each other's back pockets for years. McTygue made off with several tons of unused asphalt when he left office. Its true, he had the DPW workers hauling it out to his farm and placing it back behind the hill out of view. He also still has possession of dozens of graders, plows, heavy trucks etc... also secreted on the farm. All true.

Now the juicy part. McTygue recently obtained a DBA as "Truck Stop Construction Company NY, INC." Bruno is poised to award a state contract to McTygue's company to develop the truck stops. This will all happen in 2010 after McTygue runs again and beats Scirocco. Of course he will then utilize the DPW workers in that capacity, give the City back the trucks and right them off as deductions on his taxes, pocket the money on the contract and pay DPW workers $8 per hour and keep them at 35 hours per week to avoid paying benefits.

Which brings us back to the real issue that Keehn's son was arrested for something right before she ran for mayor which should have disqualified her for the position. This angered McTygue publicly while privately he maintained good relations with the Mayor knowing that the only was he could steal DPW trucks and start his firm and win the state contract through Bruno and then get re-elected, donate the trucks back to the city, claim the deduction and have DPW workers build truck stops on city time while he pockets the lucrative contract. Similar to the war in Iraq but on a much larger and more sinister scale. Clearly Keehn, McTygue, and Bruno are all co-conspirators in the "great game". The only thing yet to be uncovered is where does Ex-Mayor A.C. Dake fit into all this plotting. The latest rumor was that Stewart's obtained a contract from the state to supply truck stop construction workers with ice cream.

Which reminds me. I sense the same thing happening with the public safety building. Every one agrees something needs to be done. Very discreetly Kim removed Dudla who we all know was appointed by Curley and we all also know that former Deputy Dryer is in the construction trade and rumored to be quite a carpenter herself. Make no mistake with this point: Kim and Johnson are secret partners in a grand plot to construct a new Police Department. Johnson, in the same manner as Keehn will publicly go after Kim forcing both to loose the next election. Before leaving Dudla will be brought back by Kim who will then award the Police building contract to Dryer's firm who is represented by none other than, soon to be ex-mayor Johnson. Being ethically prohibited from representing a firm doing business with the city while mayor, Johson must loose the next election to reap the windfall profits to be made by representing Dryer's company. Similarly Kim must loose in order to be re-hired as the City's bankruptcy lawyer after the funds are expended for the PS building. Clearly Johnson and Kim are as much in bed with each other as Keehn and McTygue were. Don't you all see it now.

Which reminds me, by 2015 there will be no water in Loughberry Lake. Scirocco has a plan for that. It is little known outside deep republican circles that Scirocco owns a small strip of land that runs parallel to Route 9N from Greenfield center to the corner of West and Church. Several DPW workers have confided in me that Pat design has ordered them to begin digging a trench from West and Church to Greenfield. The plan, devised by and endorsed by Jasper Nolan, is for Scirocco to deliberately loose the 2014 election by picking a fight with John Frank. After both loose there will be an immediate need for 1. water and 2. someone to count all the gallons of water needed. Scirrocco owns the land (remember the trench) and frank is an accountant. After the new council is sworn in they will buy Scirocco's strip of land with a trench dug in it at excessively high prices because remember, Loughberry is about to dry up. Pat Design will be kept on as Dep, Comm. under the surprising Gordon Boyd who will order Design to blow up a huge chunk of the Greenfield mountain at the head of the trench, thus causing the billions of gallons in the Greenfield Aquifer to flow down "Scirocco's ditch" to West and Church where they are currently digging a huge hole to catch and store all this water (you silly people didn't think they were going to put a building there). Someone has to audit all these gallons of water and thus we have john Frank. All one has to do is attend a city council meeting to see that Scirocco and Frank are as much in bed together as Keehn-McTygue and Kim-Johnson. You are all blind if you don't see it.

Which reminds me, NYRA may not have a meet this year after all. Sources close to NYRA were recentely over heard telling Barb Lombardo "Saratoga is run by a bunch of fools. How in the world they have a successful city in spite of themselves in beyond us. We think there is a lot of organized crime money floating around up there. Your paper sucks. We hate you."

Ivins, Yepsen, Veitch. You will be dealt with later.

12:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 12:01 -

Very entertaining. Loved all the fantasizing about politicians deliberately "loosing."

8:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

12:01
"Loughberry is about to dry up."

This "post" is the rant of madness. With so much good information and intelligent discussion on this site, this is one that should be edited. Not for "political bias" but for sheer unworldly madness.

The Horror...

-Kyle York

9:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fell off the chair laughing while reading Anon 12:01. They tell it like they see it. Ha Ha.

3:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kyle,

I hate to be the one to inform you but this whole site is bullshit. There are no facts on any blurps here. Especially the crap you write or preach at the council meetings.

4:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who do you think you are Mr. Kyle York, the blog police? Typical jack-booted thuggery from you and your ilk. Censorship at its finest. You probably want me to build you a new Blog Police Station next to the Maise Center. Fool!!

I have every right to espouse false hoods, rumor, innuendo and outright lies. I have the constitutional right to make fun of, lie about, slander, make bigoted comments and otherwise demean, threaten and insult any one I choose. If they suffer in their personal and/or professional lives then so be it. All done anonymously of course.

I'll thank you for keeping your self-appointed blog censoring self under whatever rock you crawled out from under.

7:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

7:16

Bigotry, lies, slander, threats and insults are your "constitutional rights?" Not in these United States, my friend. Then again, your country may be some odd haven for the hopelessly confused.

Not only do I come out from "under my rock," I stand up and say who I am. I don't need or desire to police anyone. Au contraire, I am supporting Horatio who might put an end to these comments because of all the foul-mouthed cowards who crawl out from under rocks... only to hurl them. I respect your right to rant, I respect HA's right to keep this place clean and informative, and on that last topic of "information," I invite you to our next Council meeting. As is my practice, I present factual information...not foul-tempered insults. Come on out into the sunshine of public discourse. Not only is it warm, you can stand before a mirror and see yourself.

10:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kyle lighten up its a fucking joke and a good one. Don't take yourself so serious, nobody else does.

12:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I have every right to espouse false hoods, rumor, innuendo and outright lies."

And yes Keehniacs you do it so well!!!

12:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Masie? Now there is pompous ass if there ever was one. Kyle York and him are made for each other. Throw John McTygue in with them too!

2:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This has all been sooo entertaining. I hope the next comment is as far fetched as this one.

I guess we're not contributing to the betterment of society on here now are we?

8:39 PM  
Blogger Faulkner said...

Zzzzzzzzz...

4:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

12:40

I must say, I was "had" by the dazzling dry sarcasm of the original "Loughberry" post. But there's nothing funny about the PCBs at Queensbury, the lies of the County Water engineers, the ten-fold risk of cancer at the proposed expansion of Moreau Park, or the Judge who ordered that the DEC plan to dredge 8 acres of extremely carcinogenic toxins be labeled a State Secret.

My friend, I pray your sense of humor has its boundaries, and I pray that neither you nor any of your family ever suffers from fetal exposure to PCBs. Because, dear jokers and gigglers, it is as real as DEC toxic waste site #557012... as real as DEC's "2003 SFS for OU2”... as real as the carcinogenic Hudson sediment opposite Moreau's proposed Potters' Point campground... and it is as real as the money coming out of your pocket to fund the LFTP lies never 2B.

My neighbor, my friend- This is as serious as it gets. Keep your eyes on the County water intake at Moreau. And if you've any free time from all this chuckling and giddiness, ask the DEC about Consent Order A5-0277-91-11 for site #557012 dated January 30, 1992. FOIL it. Laugh at it. But unless you can laugh your way through a Cancer ward, don't ignore it.

You may have the privilege to be a "carpetbagger" or "new-comer" or "jack-booted thug" or whatever else I've been called. But my family came here to this Hudson in 1852. And the price we have paid is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

3:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

kyle york needs a warm glass of shut the hell up

4:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work Kyle.
We are lucky to have a mildly eccentric person like you looking out for our well being.

I know one thing.
I will never let any of my children, grandchildren, or any loved one drink or bathe from that water source.

And I sure as hell wouldn't buy a house that was hooked into that system.

8:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I fail to see the difference between PCBs at the Hudson River county water intake or 2-4-D at the Saratoga Lake intake. They both are suspected cancer causers.

And the long term data is still not available for Sonar, another aquetic herbicide used in Saratoga Lake. It might turn out to be like asbestos, a benifit that turned out to be a cancer causer.

12:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another big cancer source is McTygue himself. He has been the biggest cancer in the water debate so far.

4:26 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home


View My Stats