Phillip Dampier » Personal Thoughts

The Mendon Theater of the Absurd Presents… Health Care Reform With Rep. Eric Massa

phil — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:09:18 +0000

As we approached the Mendon Community Center, the lines of cars up and down Route 65 were our first indication things were going to be interesting last night. I made a point to check out many of the license plates and rear ends of the cars parked and was “surprised” to discover among those purchased and driven locally were a whole mess of license plates and dealer stickers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, Georgia, and a whole bunch of automobiles purchased from Buffalo, Syracuse, and other dealers further east.

Discounting the snowbirds who return to western New York every summer, there was still apparently quite a contingent of “out of the district” visitors to last evening’s town hall meeting on health care.

The astroturf crowds had arrived.

I also made a point to scan through some of the sign-in sheets that were scattered across the table, and just from looking at a few pages visible, it was quickly evident a whole bunch of the estimated 500 attendees did not identify themselves, or perhaps more importantly, from where they came. Clearly, a large segment were from our area, with the signature Raaachester accent evident, but several voices were coming from downstaters and midwesterners that wouldn’t know what you were talking about if you offered them a “red” or “white” hot dog.

Despite being 15 minutes late, after finally finding a parking spot, the discourse was as anticipated. Perhaps 20-25 members of the crowd were obviously the cheering section for the disenchanted and disenfranchised Republican base who were there to cheer on the far fewer half dozen regularly rude instigators that were standing in the back of the canopied seating section. They occasionally purposefully scattered to different sections to try and boost their apparent sound and numbers.

The Glenn Beck contingency, who showed up in yellow t-shirts, were also there and were the source of much of the heated rhetoric and shouting that they learned from the grand master, the self-described “rodeo clown,” Beck himself. I think anyone who knows who Glenn Beck is automatically will discount the position of someone who calls themselves one of his rabble. Beck illustrates just how insane some Republicans get when they are shocked to discover the country does not love them anymore.

As the evening progressed, I realized just how absurd most of this really was. The protesters were effectively outmaneuvered repeatedly by Rep. Massa, who is not a reflexive supporter of any party position, but makes his own way based on what he feels is the best way forward for his district, which leans Republican but is also increasingly disaffected by the southern base of the GOP. The recitation of the talking points and slogans, often repeated even after Massa had effectively countered their earlier use, only made the transparency of the stagecraft before us even more apparent. The countering crowd of progressives and those who found the behavior of these people boorish underlined it.

Protesters brought up all of the usual stuff that, to me, made it clear that of all the people they’ve repeatedly demanded “read the bill,” they had smugly exempted themselves.

The bizarroworld theory that health care reform will kill old people was there, along with ludicrous fears that losing private insurance just once would force people into a lifelong public plan with no way out, the wacko Socialism charge was there as well. In two particularly terrible performances, one anti-abortion guy overplayed his emotions in the worst acting performance since Sofia Coppola appeared in The Godfather: Part III. Why is it always men that end up screaming about the abortion issue? I would have liked to know whether he would have supported contraception in health care reform, and a commenter on the Fighting 29 blog pondered whether he’d demand coverage for male impotence medication, an even better question.

The second instance was a bizarre outcry from an old guy a few feet from me who put forth completely overwrought indignation about swastikas and Nazi references that nobody was really making, except other protesters who were bashing Nancy Pelosi.

A woman who made a point of wearing a generic white jacket who used it as some sort of credibility enhancer (which anyone could have picked up at a uniform store), and claimed she was in the profession then delivered the same talking points anyone in the profession would have rejected out of hand, which was happening among at least one doctor and his wife standing adjacent to me.

The rudeness factor was obviously kept in check by an equal number of people who repeatedly hushed and shot back remarks at those who felt their individual rights were more important than anyone else’s. Anyone who had the microphone in hand who began delivering talking points or reading from a paper was likely to be taunted within 30-60 seconds, more often from protesters than from those challenging them.

I felt, in the end, this was much more about heat than light, and I doubt very much any opinions were changed at all. It did show off Rep. Massa’s skills at crowd control, and his ability to rapidly deflate the rhetoric without ever losing his cool. He came away better than anyone.

In all of these kinds of meetings, there is one point where everything is crystallized about the sentiments of each respective side. For me, it was the rare moments of hearing honest questions from ordinary people about whether the bill would have mental health parity and co-pays — real questions from real people.

The progressives demanded single payer health care, a concept which is dead in Congress, at least for now.

The protesters “moment of clarity” crystallized when one young guy stood up and boiled down the rhetoric of the opposition to his point that nowhere in the Constitution does it claim he (or any of us) should have to be responsible for taking care of each other in this society, it is up to each of us individually to take care of ourselves, and that anything different is anti-American and socialism.

This Ayn Rand moment really spoke a lot about those who fundamentally believe that as long as they have theirs, all is well. That the sense of people helping people is fundamentally wrong and represents socialism, and that the individual right is more important than collective will (except when election results or social policy doesn’t go their way of course). These are the same people, when you drill down, who will inevitably tell you that because nobody helped them with issue “x” in their lives, why should anyone, least of all them, help you or anyone else.

Thankfully, these kind of people represent a small minority in this country, and if there was a way we could give them an official minority opt-out, they could live out their Ayn Rand theory of living on a compound somewhere in Texas. That would be a Survivor-like TV show I’d watch as they destroyed one another trying to climb on top.

Eric Massa had the perfect response, once again noting in the military, you are only as strong as your weakest link. Massa’s idea is to strengthen that link. The audience member’s idea would be to throw him in the sea.

Bottom line, the circus of the absurd will be in town for the rest of the month, but if you want real health care reform, you don’t have to pet the elephant. Just pick up the phone or write a letter to your Congressman and two Senators and tell them what YOU want. By all means do attend and watch the spectacle, but it’s obvious Congressman Massa is not rattled by any of this, realizes who and what it really represents, and none of this will be the determining factor in his vote on this matter.

Rep. Eric Massa is Right – No Real Public Option = A No Vote

phil — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:37:42 +0000

As the staged theater continues at town hall events, with out of district, often paid “protesters” showing up to disrupt meetings, insurance executives essentially ordering their employees out to meetings to “create opposition,” and now an escalation of rhetoric leading to death threats in some instances, elected representatives are under siege by Special Interest Stagecraft.

Lost in all this, of course, are ordinary consumers who live in the district, who are too often being drowned out by the rabble at many of these events.

Now we have more noise in the mix coming from groups on the left that want to fritter away true health care reform just for the sake of getting anything passed. Some of them are upset that Rep. Massa has stood firm in his conviction that a health care reform bill that jettisons a “public option” isn’t health care reform at all — it’s just a watered down insurance reform bill that will evoke heaving sighs of relief from the insurance and big pharmaceutical lobbies.

Citizens Action New York (who?) showed up Tuesday at Rep. Massa’s Pittsford office with 5,000 signed petitions from “New Yorkers” (how many are inside the 29th Congressional District is an open question) who want health care reform, apparently even if it means passing a bill that has a title page by the name, with little to no reform in the actual bill.

Meanwhile, Local 1170 of Communications Workers of America and the Working Families Party also turned up begging Massa for a vote that constitutes appeasement with the health care industry.

While the teabagging rabble attempts to shout down people at town hall meetings, some of the “watered down health care” crowd is manning out-of-district phone banks, actually encouraging people to tell Congress to vote for whatever scraps that eventually result from compromising away the core principles of health care reform.

I’ve fought legislative battles on telecommunications law for more than 20 years now. The one true fact of life I’ve learned repeatedly in my own battles, a lesson I wish my Democratic lobbying friends would finally learn, is that it is worse to pass a bill that doesn’t solve the problem than killing the bill and starting all over again from scratch.

A health care reform bill, at the bare minimum, must contain a true public option. There is a reason why the other side is quiet about “co-ops,” because they know that’s not true reform — it’s window dressing.

For once, can the Democratic Party not be the ONLY group that actually believes Republican talking points? Progressives have already compromised away the single-payer health care system concept and are forced to live with “the public option.” The other side, who wants to keep the status quo, has compromised not a single one of their core principles away, yet now there are Democrats who are back before progressives once again asking them for more compromises, while the other side merrily pounds away on one of the most important reform issues of the last 50 years.

Enough.

Citizens Action New York and the CWA, among others, want Congressman Massa to throw away his core values and beliefs and support what looks more and more like a health care lobby’s dream come true – a bill that hands them tens of millions of new customers forced to pay into a system modified with lukewarm reform that I assure you will be chipped away through exploitation of loopholes that always exist in these bills.

But it’s worse. The passage of such frittered away legislation will kill momentum for real, honest reform for at least two decades.

“Didn’t we already address this issue in the Health Care Reform Act just x years ago? Why do we need to make changes – we should wait and allow the legislation’s impact to be fully measured in a few years.”

I’ve heard exactly the same kind of language on the telecommunications issues I’ve fought for in the past.

It is always better to realize that if you’ve been outmaneuvered or have been stabbed in the back by the “colleagues” in your own party that traded away their souls for fat campaign contributions, it’s much better to kill a bad bill and begin anew than to pass bad legislation that changes little or nothing.

Congressman Massa recognizes that reality.

The correct response to all of this is for the president and leaders in Congress to start cracking the whip, and for once get the wavering Democrats on board and unified… or else.

For the rest of us, we’re remembering the names of those who stood with consumers and will be there to support them come election time. Congressman Massa is one of those. Those that decided to throw their constituents under the bus so they could keep those nice big campaign contributions will also need our help – to force a primary challenge, raise money for the opponent, and get those people out of office.

Citizens Action New York, CWA, and others — stop being part of the problem and start getting into the hand to hand combat we need right now to force through legislation that has a public option. Doing anything less is like doing nothing for the people you claim to represent.

Orchestrated Hooliganism At Town Hall Meetings on Health Care Reform

phil — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:53:53 +0000

This is vile.

Having attended my fair share of town hall gatherings, I’ve never seen a more loathsome representation of organized thuggery on the part of the health care lobbies organizing so-called “spontaneous” citizen protests against health care reform.

The group behind all of this, Freedom Works, is an astroturfing group I’ve dealt with before on our municipal broadband issue that I write often about on Stop the Cap! It suckers ordinary citizens into advocating against their own best interests by… well, making stuff up and scaring them. They always hide their true funding backers, pretending to be a “consumer group.”

Municipal broadband isn’t a way for local governments to supply broadband service at the speeds and pricing consumers want, it’s an ‘Obama-engineered socialist takeover of the Internet, as part of his secret campaign for stifling dissent.’ They load mostly retired folks who sit around all day listening to talk radio onto several buses and send them into various places to protest and disrupt.

We endured this nonsense in our successful battle in North Carolina, and those asking some of these people questions quickly learned they had no idea what the specific issues were — they were given basic talking points, a bus ride, and told to chant various slogans which usually had little to do with the issues at hand.

Consumers who actually did understand and support the issue of municipal broadband, who usually lived in the communities affected (unlike so many of the imported protesters), were far more effective with legislators than the talk radio rabble.

Now we’re seeing the same basic thing happening all over again, on a larger scale, with congressional town hall meetings on health care reform being turned into what is starting to resemble a beer hall putsch.

Everyone should have a right to express their opinion and ask questions, but in a respectful manner that recognizes those with opposing views have exactly the same rights. These meetings need to start with a clear warning that any disruption of this kind should be met with immediate removal of those involved from further participation. Don’t worry, Mr. or Mrs. elected official, these people weren’t voting for you anyway.

The most vile part of this, of course, is that it is a carefully organized, health care lobby-run and paid for effort, suckering citizens into doing the bidding of health insurance companies that will stop at nothing to grind health care reform to a halt. They do it with lies, scare rhetoric, and outright nonsense. The results, encouraged by leaked documents that specifically instruct in disruptive tactics, are the kinds of disruptions that Rep. Dan Maffei (D-New York), a congressman that represents part of suburban Rochester east towards Syracuse, had to endure.

The media rarely exposes the fact these are lobbyist organized protests that involve a tiny minority of people. The majority of constituents support health care reform, but you wouldn’t know that from the media coverage generated with TV-friendly scenes of chaos at town hall meetings like these:

On a personal note, my partner and I have health care insurance from MVP (formerly Preferred Care), one of two major providers serving the Rochester area. Unlike most employers, the company my partner works for doesn’t mask the true cost of health care to its employees. It provides every employee with a base salary and then offers health care coverage at the actual cost imposed by the employer’s provider. For two person coverage in an HMO, with average coverage and prescription drug benefits, with a lower co-pay for doctor visits, we’re talking more than $800 a month. That’s well above a car payment, and within 15 years, at the present rate of growth, will exceed our mortgage payment.

Too many people have no idea what the true cost of health care is in this country. They don’t realize a significant chunk of their salary is sidetracked for a benefits package that hides the actual costs employers pay for covering their employees. Most only pay a small percentage of “cost sharing” towards their insurance coverage, and assume that must represent the true cost of the plan. It absolutely does not. In most cases, for a whole family plan, the costs are above $1000 a month. You may not realize you would normally have a salary $10-12 thousand dollars higher a year, had it not been diverted for benefits.

I am a supporter of single payer health care that builds on and learns from the successes and failures of other nations. Nobody says our system has to be identical to Canada or any other country. This is the United States of America. We can do it better.

Right now, at least a quarter of our health care dollar is handed over to a middleman insurance company that too often rewards itself and its executives with fat pay and bonuses for actually doing very little.

Which makes more sense? Choosing your own doctor, making an appointment yourself, paying a small co-pay, and getting the treatment you need or having to navigate through a bureaucratic health care insurance system that rewards claims denials, limits care, and denies treatment for a myriad of reasons, particularly when it starts getting costly.

The fear mongering about government bureaucrats supposedly making your health care decisions for you completely ignores the fact that is precisely what insurance company executives do right now, and they have a profit motive and shareholders they answer to, not to you. If the government doesn’t do the job the way you want it, throw out the people running it and elect new people. In too many areas, you don’t get that choice with your insurance company.

Remember, I don’t see too many opponents to health care reform demonizing Medicare, nor do I see members of Congress foregoing the excellent government-run health care they receive either.

Of course, single payer doesn’t appear to be in the cards during this first go-around. The “public option” is the best we can appear to do. Only big corporate health care will do anything to kill that as well. That’s because once a public option exists, the veneer of the pricing system we live with today will be torn off, finally allowing consumers some real savings. With one or two commercial insurance companies in the market, wholesale cost reductions threaten profits and revenue, and anger Wall Street and shareholders. Better to incrementally make changes that do not rock the boat (or shareholder value) than to viciously compete for customers.

The precise same argument has been there for municipal broadband projects. When two providers stick consumers with plans that “are good enough for you, so pay us” and refuse to make the upgrades customers want, local governments occasionally decide they’ll commission their own municipal projects that will give the citizens what they want, often at amazing savings. Once consumers find out how much profit is built into the commercial broadband services they’ve endured for years, they get mad — and switch to the municipal system. Then and only then do the private providers suddenly find it within their means to upgrade their networks and actually compete. The winner? Customers. These systems were built from bond issues, not taxpayer dollars, and are built to be sustained with the revenue earned from customers, not taxpayers.

The reaction to both the “public option” and “municipal broadband” is amazingly similar from the private sector. Scare rhetoric, falsehoods, and big fat campaign contributions to elected officials and propaganda campaigns to fool voters help achieve victory for providers and loss for consumers. When consumer friendly reform fails, providers and the lobbyists they hired high-five each other and get back to doing business the usual way, as your wallet gets squeezed more and more.

Let’s not do this all over again. I lost my mom to cancer in 2006, and we had our fair share of battles with insurance companies. When someone is fighting for their life, should even five minutes have to spent arguing with insurance companies whose default answer is always “no” until worn down into saying “yes.”

This isn’t just a Republican or Democrat issue. We have elected officials serving as well-paid prostitutes for the health care industry from both parties. Be they a high ranking Republican taking millions in contributions, or a “blue dog” Democrat that is running to the bank to cash lobbying checks, doing favors for money equals prostitution in my book. Anyone who doesn’t get back to representing their constituents instead of big pharmaceutical and insurance companies needs to find another line of work.

Two Confirmed Tornadoes Hit Cattaraugus County in Western NY Sunday Evening

phil — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:43:23 +0000

Two more tornadoes have now been confirmed by the National Weather Service office in Buffalo that struck Cattaraugus County in the southwestern corner of New York Sunday night, just a few miles from the Pennsylvania border.

Tornado over the Allegany Reservoir in Onoville, New York

Tornado Details – Oroville/Steamburg, NY

Date: 07/26/2009
Estimated Time: 6:50pm EDT
Maximum EF-Scale Rating: EF1
Estimated Maximum Wind Speed: 90-95 mph
Maximum Path Width: 75 yards
Path Length: 4.5 miles
Beginning Latitude/Longitude: 42.02N / 79.06 W
Ending Latitude/Longitude: 42.04N / 78.94 W
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 1

The Onoville tornado touched down in southwest Cattaraugus County Sunday evening, damaging docks and boats at the Onoville Marina. A few trailers were moved, but one was rolled over. Several awnings were also destroyed. One minor injury was reported.

Tornado Details – Cain Hollow/Cold Spring – Allegany State Park, NY

Date: 07/26/2009
Estimated Time: 7:10pm EDT
Maximum EF-Scale Rating: EF0
Estimated Maximum Wind Speed: 75-80 mph
Maximum Path Width: 30 yards
Path Length: 0.50 miles
Beginning Latitude/Longitude: 42.04N / 78.90W
Ending Latitude/Longitude: 42.05N / 78.79W
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0

The tornado touched down in the Cain Hollow area of Allegany State Park, near Cold Spring. Fifteen to twenty trees were damaged or felled by the tornado’s impact. No injuries were reported.

Television stations in Buffalo and Rochester covered these latest tornadoes as part of their newscasts. Video can be found below the jump.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/R News Rochester – Onoville Latest Town Struck By Tornado 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

R News in Rochester talked with campers in Onoville who experienced the tornado that struck a campground before heading out into the Allegany Reservoir. [7/27/09]

[flv width="480" height="360"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo National Weather Service Investigating Possible Tornado in Onoville 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV in Buffalo talked with a witness to the Onoville tornado, as the National Weather Service office in Buffalo investigates. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/R News Rochester – Tornado Touches Down in Cain Hollow 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

Meanwhile, in the Allegany State Park itself, another twister touched down in the park in Cain Hollow, near Cold Spring. R News reports on the National Weather Service confirmation that it was, indeed, the fourth tornado to strike western New York this past weekend. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WKBW Buffalo Another Tornado in the Southern Tier 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WKBW-TV in Buffalo had some pictures of the damage at the marina in Onoville. The station interviewed Ronald Ormond who gave his take on what folks experienced there. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Tornado Hits Onoville 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV talked with more boat owners who saw serious damage to their boats at the Onoville Marina. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WKBW Buffalo Channel 7 Talks With NOAA Buffalo Office 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV also sent a reporter to the National Weather Service office in Buffalo to get first hand information about whether what struck Allegany County this weekend was a tornado. Lots more first hand accounts from those experiencing the tornadoes is also included. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Raw Footage of Onoville Tornado 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV also had raw footage of the Onoville tornado. [7/27/09]

Cleanup Continues After Tornadoes Hit Western NY

phil — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:43:02 +0000

The circled area indicates the general vicinity of the tornado's impact (click to enlarge)

The bad weather is gone, but the impact of this past weekend’s tornadoes will be with the communities they targeted for sometime to come.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo also officially confirmed Saturday’s tornado in the Rochester suburb of Hilton:

Tornado Details – Hilton, New York

Date: 07/25/2009
Estimated Time: 5:55 pm EDT
Maximum EF-Scale Rating: EF0
Estimated Maximum Wind Speed: 75 mph
Maximum Path Width: 30 yards
Path Length: 0.75 miles
Beginning Latitude/Longitude: 43.28N / 77.79W
Ending Latitude/Longitude: 43.28N / 77.28W
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0

Initial touchdown occurred on the southern edge of the village, just west of Hilton-Parma Road/Route 259 and continued in a northeast direction for approximately three-quarters of a mile. The tornado was not on the ground for the entire time. Most of the damage was to trees, however one home sustained structural damage. Other outdoor articles, including patio furniture, trampolines, and toys were tossed about by the tornado.

Power and other utilities were restored by Monday to the majority of the 250 residents affected by the Hilton tornado, with the exception of those who had lines ripped from the side of their homes by nearby falling limbs or debris. Utilities were also largely restored for those in Corfu and Darien. In Genesee County, law enforcement and volunteer fire departments had been responding to dangerous conditions, particularly those that threaten or impact traffic. Local government officials are coordinating with the impacted county emergency operations teams to coordinate cleanup activities.

Private homeowners will be forced to deal with tree and home damage themselves, unfortunately. For those with relatively minor damage, cleanup is being done by homeowners often with the help of nearby friendly neighbors. For those with $1000 or more in damage or cleanup costs, an insurance claim is probably warranted. Most homeowner policies have provisions to cover cleanup, but check your policy for applicable deductibles. If out of pocket costs after the deductible end up being less than $500, it may make better sense not to file a claim. Some insurance companies may raise your policy rate based on claims history, which means a small claim may end up costing you more in the long run.

Rochester and Buffalo media continued coverage of the cleanup effort late Sunday and Monday.

Video reports are below the jump.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/R News Rochester – Cleanup Crews Get to Work 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

R News in Rochester had a late report Sunday night showing cleanup work underway in Corfu and Darien. [7/26/2009]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/R News Rochester – Western Monroe County Severe Weather 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

R News in Rochester visited with neighbors across western Monroe County impacted by Saturday’s storms. [7/25/2009]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/R News Rochester – Lenhard Family In Corfu Cleans Up With Help from Neighbors 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

The Lenhard family in Corfu were one of many impacted by the tornado and associated high winds. R News in Rochester spent time with the Lenhards, and witnessed the neighborliness that is a hallmark of life in small towns across western New York. [7/27/2009]

[flv width="480" height="360"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Residents Grateful Nobody Hurt 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV in Buffalo reflected on the weekend storms on its Monday news. One thing those impacted can agree on – they’re grateful nobody was hurt. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHEC Rochester Helicopter Footage of Tornado Damage 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WHEC-TV in Rochester was one of several western New York stations that took helicopter tours of the damage. WHEC’s somewhat shaky raw video shows the tornado’s impact in Corfu and Darien. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/R News Rochester – Helicopter Trip Over Tornado Struck Areas 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

R News also took a helicopter trip, showing storm damage. [7/27/09]

[flv width="296" height="222"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHAM Rochester Raw Helicopter Video Tornado Damage 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WHAM-TV in Rochester is last up with some of its own “raw video” shot over the Corfu area. [7/27/09]

[flv width="296" height="222"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHAM Rochester Cleaning Up in Corfu and Hilton 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WHAM-TV’s 5:00pm early evening news had time to spend on storm cleanup stories, this time focusing on Corfu and Hilton. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WKBW Buffalo Skywarn Volunteer Talks About Weekend Weather 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WKBW-TV in Buffalo reports on a storm chaser and member of Skywarn, a volunteer effort to keep an eye on severe weather and report details to the National Weather Service. [7/27/09]

[flv width="480" height="360"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Channel 4 Newstrackers Set Record 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV in Buffalo, the area’s number one rated newscast, broke a record with Saturday’s storm as Channel 4 Newstrackers flooded the station with photographs and video of the tornado impacting Darien and Corfu. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Disorganization Post-Tornado 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

The Prysock family is still looking for a 70 foot length of their metal roof. Meanwhile, some residents are waiting on insurance agents to arrive to assess the damage, as WIVB-TV reports. [7/27/09]

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WKBW Buffalo Tornado Safety Tips 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

Western NY’ers are well prepared to deal with our usual form of severe weather – heavy snows. WKBW-TV helps acquaint viewers with tornado safety tips, something most in the area have never had to worry about. [7/27/09]

[flv width="360" height="240"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WROC Rochester Weekend Storms Leave Permanent Damage 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

Unfortunately, the endless summer of storms, culminating in last weekend’s severe weather, has taken a major toll on Monroe County farms in the greater Rochester area. Once again, fruit crops pelted with hail are often destined for the juice market, with a 50% cut in income for affected farmers. WROC-TV Rochester has the story. [7/27/09]

[flv width="296" height="222"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHAM Rochester Monday Wrap-Up Of Weekend Weather 7-27-2009.flv[/flv]

Rochester’s number one rated evening newscast, from WHAM-TV, rounds up our coverage from Rochester’s perspective, summarizing the damage in western New York from the rare tornadoes. Buffalo stations will likely extend coverage another few days, owing to the proximity of Corfu and Darien to Buffalo. [7/27/09]

The Day After: Dealing With the Aftermath of Tornadoes in Western New York

phil — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:25:30 +0000

A small army of cleanup crews have descended on the Genesee County communities of Corfu and Darien and the western Monroe County village of Hilton to deal with the aftermath of two minor tornadoes that struck the area Saturday afternoon.

WIVB-TV Buffalo shows the destruction of a Genesee County greenhouse from a tornado that struck late Saturday afternoon in Corfu

Utility crews worked around the clock to restore services to those impacted by the weekend weather. More than twenty utility poles were snapped or toppled by the twister, and new poles were set in preparation for rewiring over the weekend. Arborists will face the most significant challenges — dealing with scores of uprooted and damaged trees in the immediate vicinity of the storm. Winds up to 100 miles per hour cut a swath 3.5 miles long in southern Genesee County. The Rochester suburb of Hilton got off much easier – a 3/4 mile long tornado hopped around the Hillside Drive neighborhood, causing significant damage to some property, but leaving nearby neighbors relatively unscathed.

Buffalo television stations stayed focused on the aftermath in Corfu and Darien, while Rochester television stations equally divided time between the impact closer to home in Hilton with the events in Genesee County. A good deal of analysis of the storm’s impact on individual residents and the history of tornadoes in our area is covered in several reports archived here for your convenience.

The videos begin below the break. Just click the …Continue Reading link below for access.

[flv width="480" height="360"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Lead Story – Tornado Aftermath 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV Buffalo kicks off the coverage with this lead story from their newscast Sunday night showing the aftermath of the storms in Genesee County.

[flv width="296" height="222"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHAM Rochester – Tornado Damage and Cleanup in WNY 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

WHAM-TV in Rochester took a look at damage in both Genesee and Monroe Counties after Saturday’s events.

[flv width="360" height="240"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WROC Rochester – Corfu Copes With Damage 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

WROC-TV in Rochester shows a reporter spending the day with Corfu residents trying to pick up the pieces.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHEC Rochester – Hillside Drive in Hilton Picking Up Pieces 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

Up in Hilton, WHEC-TV in Rochester sent a crew to capture residents forced to do brush clearing, and figuring out how to get some of their neighbors’ things off their roofs and out of their trees.

[flv width="360" height="240"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WROC Rochester – Damage in Hilton From Confirmed F0 Tornado 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

At first, weather officials were unclear whether a tornado had actually struck in Hilton, but the matter was settled soon enough after the telltale signs told the story. WROC-TV takes a look.

[flv width="480" height="360"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Picking Up The Pieces After the Storm 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

In Corfu along Route 77, Brian Ross of Belleview Farm was happy his sheep survived the storm, but had a lot of cleanup to do as wind threw debris all over the place and ripped a barn right off its foundation. WIVB reports.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHEC Rochester – Surveying Damage in Corfu 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

John Prysock’s family business was wiped out when the tornado devastated his greenhouse and barn in Corfu. WHEC-TV talked with Prysock and his neighbors.

[flv width="480" height="360"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Images of the Tornado 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV’s ‘Newstrackers’ began sending in images of the tornado in Genesee County almost immediately after the storm. Channel 4 reviews the contributions from viewers.

[flv width="480" height="360"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Tornadoes Rare in WNY 7-26-09.flv[/flv]

An F0 or F1 tornado might barely warrant mention on a tornado alley television newscast, but tornadoes are so rare in western New York, any appearance of one is sure to lead the news. Just how uncommon are such storms in upstate New York? WIVB-TV answers.

Tornado Sighted In Hilton, New York – Suburban Rochester Also Gets Hit

phil — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:59:54 +0000

In northwestern Monroe County, the village of Hilton was hit with the same storms that produced a tornado in Corfu and Darien in Genesee County. The cluster of storms proved severe enough to spawn a smaller tornado here in Monroe County, and touched ground on Hillside Drive, a neighborhood in the southeastern Hilton.

The Hilton tornado was rated as only an EF0, the lowest rating for a tornado, and did limited property damage over a 3/4 mile stretch where the tornado likely reached the ground.

Rochester television stations covered the events from Hilton from two angles, covering the residents in the neighborhood itself as well as the tornado’s impact on the Hilton Carnival taking place nearby.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WROC Rochester – Tornado Unconfirmed in Hilton 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WROC-TV Rochester reports on what was then an unconfirmed tornado sighted in the village of Hilton.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHEC Rochester – Hilton Carnival Shut Down With Tornado Arrival 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WHEC-TV Rochester reports from outside of the Hilton Carnival, shut down Saturday evening with the arrival of severe weather.

Tornadoes Strike Western New York – Corfu and Darien Suffer Significant Storm Damage

phil — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:41:00 +0000

An extremely rare series of tornadoes struck western New York this weekend, causing significant damage from east of Buffalo to west of Rochester. All of the confirmed tornadoes have been designated as F1 on the enhanced Fujita scale.

Storm Specifics
Location: Darien and Corfu, Genesee County, New York
Date: Saturday July 25, 2009
Time of Tornado: 4:50-5:00pm EDT
Fujita Scale Rating: EF1
Maximum Wind Speed: 100 miles per hour
Maximum Width of Tornado: 100 yards
Path Length of Tornado: 3.5 miles
Beginning Latitude/Longitude: 42.93N / 78.44W
Ending Latitude/Longitude: 42.96N / 78.39W

Genesee County, New York

Although widespread damage occurred to the southern portion of the village of Corfu, no injuries or fatalities occurred as a result of the storm. Some 25-30 homes were damaged, one greenhouse and a barn were leveled, and at least 20 power poles were brought down by the storm. Damage to trees was the most visible consequence of the storm — countless numbers in the immediate vicinity of the high winds from the storm were uprooted. Debris flying through the air caused damage to a number of vehicles as well.

Tornadoes of any size are a rare event in western New York, although they are not unknown. Most of those that do occur last only a few minutes and are not comparable to the devastating monster storms found in the midwest and southern portions of the United States.

The appearance of unusual weather events like tornadoes would be surprising had the entire summer season in western New York not already been one for the record books. In addition to enormous, record-breaking downpours and other rain events, which have been occurring near-daily for more than eight weeks now, July 2009 is on tap to be the coldest month in the history of Rochester, since measurements began to be taken in the mid 1800′s.

In addition to rain in amount near triple the average, temperatures have been routinely cool throughout the entire summer season for many residents to not bother with air conditioning. Daytime temperatures routinely hover in the low 70s, with nighttime lows in the low to mid-50′s. That’s weather more common in southern Alberta than the humid temperate region of western New York, whose summers can resemble states far south of New York.

An extensive series of video news reports from television stations in Buffalo and Rochester are available to view below the page jump (simply click …Continue Reading to access the videos).

[flv width="360" height="240"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WROC Rochester – Live Tornado Warning Corfu Mayor Interview 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WROC-TV Rochester broke into regular programming Saturday afternoon with breaking news coverage of the tornado warning, which impacted the viewing area. The mayor of Corfu apparently did a number of telephone interviews, because he also turned up on rival WHAM-TV. Meteorologist Scott Hetsko rushed to the station to get on the air, as his casual wear attests.

[flv width="296" height="222"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHAM Rochester – Live Tornado Warning Corfu Mayor 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WHAM-TV Rochester interviewed the mayor of Corfu during the Saturday evening 6:00pm evening newscast, live via telephone.

[flv width="480" height="360"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Tornado Rips Through WNY 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV Buffalo has an early report in about the tornado damage in Darien and Corfu, and some local emotional reactions to the damage.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WKBW Buffalo – Tornado Strikes Genesee County 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WKBW-TV Buffalo also surveyed the damage in two reports on their early evening news this afternoon.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WKBW Buffalo – Damage in Corfu from Tornado 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

In this second of two reports from WKBW-TV, a closer look at the damage in the village of Corfu.

[flv width="360" height="240"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WROC Rochester – Damage in Corfu 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WROC-TV Rochester was one of many Rochester stations to extensively cover the tornado story. Rochester and Buffalo stations are commonly both seen in Genesee County. In this report, more surveying the damage in Corfu.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHEC Rochester – Tornado Strikes Corfu 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WHEC-TV Rochester was live on scene in Corfu as the evening arrived, with reports that roads remained closed as night fell on western New York.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WHEC Rochester – Tornado Stories in WNY 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WHEC-TV Rochester had plenty of pictures and stories to share from those impacted by the tornadoes that struck the area.

[flv width="360" height="240"]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WROC Rochester – Press Conference Highlights in Corfu 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

WROC-TV Rochester rounds out the coverage this evening with a review of what happened at tonight’s press conference on the tornado.

Where Is Summer in Western New York?

phil — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:37:59 +0000

Eight weeks of cool temperatures and near-daily rainfall have made western New York look and feel like it’s trapped in the month of September. With temperatures rarely able to break 80, more cloudy days than sunny ones, and near daily rainfall, often reaching torrential levels, why is the northeast suffering from the non-summer of 2009?

R-News in Rochester investigated the reasons why few in Rochester have needed their air conditioning this “summer”:

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/R News Rochester – Where is Summer 7-25-09.flv[/flv]

MSNBC Launches MSNBC HD & New Shows: My Impressions

phil — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:55:10 +0000

MSNBC this week launched MSNBC HD, the High Definition version of the NBC cable news network, with a new on-air look and a new programming lineup, mostly consisting of additional specialty opinion shows. MSNBC in HD will launch at different times on different cable systems. It launched on Cablevision on June 29 and will be a part of Time Warner Cable’s lineup this month. By the end of August, MSNBC HD will be available in 11 million homes.

The “new on air look” has not been particularly pretty, especially the horizontal bar across the top of the screen, left there throughout the broadcasts and containing little more than the network logo and occasional time checks and slogans. It needs to go.

A new news-ticker at the bottom is busier than the old news crawler, but occupies less screen real estate. I’m not sure who is going to read this, considering the text size is quite small. It’s simply more distraction, all thanks to a trend in cable news post-9/11 that has never gone away.

The new shows:

At 9:00ET, the news roundup is gone, replaced with “Morning Meeting” with Dylan Ratigan from 9-11am. The first week of shows has not been terribly impressive — more of the same kind of talking head banter we just watched from Morning Joe for the three hours preceding. The set is also austere. Outside of Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough, Dylan Ratigan is the third person on MSNBC who likes to hear himself talk. When he talks, time stops. When someone else talks, it’s ‘hurry up so I can get our other guests in.’ A gracious host learns to hush up and listen.

At 11am, Carlos Watson anchors an hour of straight news, but I’m typically long gone by 11. It’s a shame Dylan couldn’t run from 10-12 and leave an hour at 9am for actual news and less opinion.

At 12pm, Dr. Nancy (Snyderman) is on for an hour of medical-related news (which this week was an excuse to talk about how many pills Michael Jackson was popping.) I am not sure how interested people are going to be in a medical news show at 12 noon. I expect a lot of viewers interested in news are watching the lunchtime local news on broadcast stations.

Andrea Mitchell continues at 1-2pm, doing straight-up news. David Shuster, who always seems to be yelling, joins Tamron Hall (who doesn’t) from 3-5pm for more news.

MSNBC seems to be essentially creating a talk radio format for television, with personality-driven current affairs and opinion programming blocks. It gives viewers a reason to tune in on slow news days to see their favorite personalities, but is still flexible enough to wipe all of that out for breaking news.