Do Alpaca Farmers Make Good Congresswomen?

Cuba resident Janice Volk has thrown her furry, woolen hat into the ring. She'll be vying for the Republican nomination in the 29th District Congressional seat race. The grandmother of four will face off against a more established, more qualified, and better funded Tom Reed of Corning. What has she done that Reed hasn't? She's raised alpacas, which begs the question: can the lessons learned in alpaca farming be translated into good governing? The answer is a definitive "maybe."

Click here to view Volk's website.
Click here to view Reed's website.

Click here if you're wondering why the hell anyone would want to raise alpacas.

Massa Invests in Depressed Real Estate

The Olean Times-Herald reports that Rep. Eric Massa will hold a town hall meeting on Saturday prior to the opening of his Olean district Office. The meeting will take place at John J. Ash Community Center at 10:00am. To read the article, click here.

In addition, Roll Call, the Capital Hill publication that congressmen read in order to see themselves in print, reports that the fight for the 20th district congressional seat will have a direct impact on Massa. Click here to read the article.

As an Aside:

I sent an email to Massa's office three weeks ago requesting to be placed on the mailing list for his press releases and have not received a reply. I'll call tomorrow and post the results.

Massa and Hogan: St. Paticks Day Grinches

U.S. Representative Eric Massa and Mayor Shawn Hogan were among the participants of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hornell today. I brought my children (ages 2 and 5) early and found a prime location along the route for candy collection. Despite the generosity of most of the parade participants, Massa and Hogan failed to give candy to my children (or anyone else for that matter). One of Massa's cronies did hand me a political flyer, but when I tried to eat it, I found it to be somewhat dry and not very sweet at all.

Massa: Corporate Money Not So Evil After All

In an all-too-expected turn of events, Eric Massa has come under fire for reversing what was one of the pillars of his 2008 campaign. Massa received $7,000 in corporate donations in November, following the announcement of his victory. This is in contrast to his constant criticism of GOP opponent Randy Kuhl, who was on the payroll of a number of large companies throughout his tenure as Representative. Massa had the following to say:

“It’s not fair ... to fight the battle so lopsidedly,” he explained. “No one criticized my opponent about him taking corporate donations. I’ll be darned if I’m the only person to set that example.”

That's a little like claiming its okay to steal cable because everyone else does, but no one should be surprised. Campaign promises are for winning elections, and corporate donations are for...um...winning elections. Fear not, though, as now Massa's conscience will only allow him to receive donations from righteous corporations, not evil ones like big oil and tobacco. For all his efforts, Massa receives our coveted 'Golden Flip-Flop Award' for the month of February.

Massa Speaks in Alfred

Bob Clark of the Hornell Evening Tribune reports that Rep. Eric Massa gave a Town Hall Meeting at the Alfred Station Fire Hall Saturday. Most of his time was spent justifying the stimulus package. Other topics included Social Security and Medicare.

Read the Article

Massa also spoke at an agriculture summit at Alfred State College where he affirmed, "I believe we can grow our way out of this recession." Only if we're growing marijuana, but the sentiment is nice.