American Conservatives have been agitating for what amounts to an austerity budget to address the debt and deficit, arguing that the economy will grow if finances are sound.  They have – and will continue to – hold the country hostage to their faith-based “tax cuts will solve everything” ideology. That’s what British Prime Minister David [...]

I’m hearing that the Democratic majority in the Erie County Legislature may be in jeopardy; that a couple of legislators are busily trying to cut side deals regarding jobs and the chairmanship. Are we looking at another January of fail, or will people get to work and start tackling big problems and big ideas, rather [...]

A few Thursdays back we took a look at Ward Cleaver’s 1957 Ford from “Leave It To Beaver.” Well, eventually The Warden let Wally buy his own car — and what a beauty! This 1953 Chevy 210 convertible had obviously seen better days by the time Wally bought it, but hey, at that age if [...]

Neighborhood bars, pubs, and taverns are part of the connective tissue in any great city. They serve as the “third place” between home and the workplace and grease the wheels of a cooperative society. In Buffalo, our bars and taverns have become “public characters” as they are part of the city itself, as familiar and [...]

Courtesy of Marquil at EmpireWire.com

“meet you in the alley” by Flickr user Tom Mazur. Want to see your picture here? Join the AV Photo Daily group here.

Something struck me today regarding Paladino’s newest insult billboard-a-torium. Take a look, if you will, at the last two: And here’s the most recent iteration: Notice the difference? Did you also notice Bob McCarthy’s seemingly perfectly normal Sunday opinion piece detailing how Paladino intends to become politically active again? Several sources tell me that Carl [...]

All the news and views fit to consume during your “morning grumpy”. 1. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a transformative and landmark speech on LGBT rights leading up to International Human Rights Day at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Click here to watch the full speech or click here to read the full transcript. [...]

A forty-nine year old mother finds out she has stage III breast cancer. She has no health insurance (for a variety of reasons), and discovers that a provision of “Obamacare” that is already active may quite literally save her life. Fortunately for me, I’ve been saved by the federal government’s Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, something [...]

This one’s definitely from the department of “you don’t see one of these every day.” It’s a Lotus Europa, one of about 9,300 which were built from 1966-75 in England. And yes, it’s short — all of 42 inches in height (only 175 inches long, for that matter, and a mere 1,320 – 1,570 lbs [...]

UPDATED: I hadn’t seen Jim’s post before I wrote this last night. So, for the most part it’s redundant. But it’s a testament to how exciting this whole Dodge/Alfa Romeo thing really is. It’s expected that Dodge will revive the long-dead “Dart” nameplate. The first thing I think of is Click & Clack from NPR. [...]

Chrysler announced today it is bringing back the Dodge Dart name for a new, Fiat-based compact for the 2013 model year, to be introduced in January at the North American International Automobile Show in Detroit. You can read their press release here. — Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

When the news broke yesterday that the NHL had committed to a realignment package, I immediately thought to ask my good friend and sports guru, Brad Riter to tell me what I should like about it. Brad is currently the public address announcer for UB Basketball games. Prior to that, Brad was Sports Director and [...]

Influential blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin passed away on Sunday (12/4) at the age of 80. Recognized for his unique style that was featured most famously on hits by Howlin’ Wolf, Sumlin influenced all the rock guitar gods from Clapton to Page. He had struggled with lung cancer for the last decade of his life, continuing [...]

Photo by Flickr user Stephen Carson. Want to see your picture here? Join the AV Photo Daily group here.