Loyalty to the herd
It's refreshing to see UB and the Buffalo community developing a new relationship based on what may be their biggest hobby: sports. With homegrown heroes picking local colleges and college stars returning to their star-making city, it's a pleasant surprise to see young people staying in, rather than fleeing, Buffalo.
Turner Gill's first class of recruits caught the consensus Western New York Player of the Year, Naaman Roosevelt, and award wining local offensive lineman Peter Bittner to bolster UB's football program. The week before, Buffalo's American Basketball Association franchise, the Buffalo Rapids, signed former UB hoops stars Turner Battle and Mark Bortz. Both moves bring excitement to their respective teams and signal a new era of strength and pride for the region's athletics in the process.
WNY will never be mistaken for Southern California or Florida for football recruitment in the near future, but Gill did a remarkable job considering the time constraints he faced. If Gill's first recruitment class is indicative of the program's future, UB is in good hands. Nothings gets Buffalo's juices flowing like local sports heroes.
And though we would have loved seeing Battle and Bortz compete on the NBA stage, its loss is Buffalo's gain. The Rapids need more local exposure; signing former UB stars almost guarantees rabid Bulls fans cheering on the two most popular players in recent memory.
Falling off the wagon
The Bush Administration views the collective intelligence of America's citizenry with contempt, resulting in a White House that lies with impunity. Its latest trick -- backing off State of the Union claims of reducing dependency on Middle Eastern oil -- is akin to an addict getting high the day after an intervention.
In his State of the Union address, Bush called to replace 75 percent of Mideast oil imports by 2025 with alternative energy sources. It turns out Bush's emphatic declaration wasn't so emphatic at all. In fact, one day later, Bush's energy secretary and national economic advisor said he didn't mean it "literally."
Apparently, Bush's use of "the Middle East" was "purely an example" of what he was alluding to. There will be no governmental shift away from Bush family supporters in Saudi Arabia's oil-producing regions, or the rest of the Middle East. The region was evoked to "dramatize the issue" in a way resonating with American voters. So, the centerpiece of Bush's talking points bears no resemblance to reality, and our nation's dependency on Mideast oil continues.
This should come as no surprise to those who've followed Bush rhetoric in comparison to actuality. The two are never the same: there weren't any WMD, insurgents aren't actually in their "last throes," and we're not trying to escape OPEC's grasp.
Buffalo's top-cop choice
We applaud Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown's preliminary choice for his new Police Chief, H. McCarthy Gipson. Brown picked a candidate whose qualifications reside in police experience, not politics.
When Brown's predecessor, Anthony Massiello, brought in Rocco Diina to run the department, the move was viewed as steeped in cronyism. Diina was viewed as a politically connected taskmaster focused on managerial fiscal policy, not an expert in police work that the rank-and-file hold dear. Gipson's hire brings legitimacy to an administration badly needing it.
Gipson's flirtation with Scientology gives some pause considering the group's controversial reputation, but his focus on community policing does not. We hope Gipson recognizes the University Heights will be better served by a force that proactively patrols the neighborhood to prevent crime as opposed to only responding to neighborly complaints about parties. This would well serve everyone's interests, not just the police department.
