This'n'That; February 8th[Cop;Gov't;Fluff;Stocks]

Ribbons For Fallen Officer Hands from across the community are working together for Rochester police Officer Anthony DiPonzio. A ribbon drive, organized just a few days ago by Nina Lindauer of Fairport, with support from the Rochester Locust Club, is producing and selling more than 500 blue and yellow ribbons a day, and the drive stands to keep going. DiPonzio, 23, is still in guarded condition in Rochester General Hospital after being shot in the back of the head Jan. 31 on Dayton Street after responding with other officers to a complaint of drug activity. Tyquan Rivera, 14, of 65 Dayton St. surrendered to police Tuesday in connection with the shooting. Dr. Paul Maurer, a University of Rochester Medical Center neurosurgeon who operated on DiPonzio, said on Friday that the officer will take up to a year to recover and faces ongoing brain infection risks, but called his progress "astonishing." DiPonzio has been taken off his ventilator and brain pressure monitor. The small ribbons — made in the colors of the Rochester Police Department patch — send a strong message of community solidarity and support for DiPonzio. Some ribbons were made especially for court officers, the police department and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Donations for the ribbons are $1 each, with proceeds going to the DiPonzio family. Nina Lindauer, wife of Rochester police Sgt. Jeremy Lindauer, said the ribbons are a way for the community to say, "They respect police. They respect the rules. They respect the law, and it just shows. When people buy a ribbon, they can't wait to put it on. To me, that makes it all worthwhile." For six hours or more each day, more than a dozen women from towns across the county have visited the Lindauers' home to make the ribbons by hand, and while doing so, bonding and keeping alive a tradition of neighbor-helping-neighbor that seems to have all but disappeared these days. Sharon DeLisio of Egypt, a volunteer with the Egypt Fire Department and the wife of past Egypt Fire Chief Jack DeLisio, said volunteering in this way is something that comes naturally because a sense of brotherhood is developed among the families of police, firefighters and other community service providers. "It truly is a community effort, because we know what it is like when some of these people are hurt. You just automatically step up," she said. After learning about the ribbon project, Nina Lindauer's friends Dee Balestiere of Fairport and Barbara Wall of Chili were quick to show their support. "We were over here in a minute because we know her husband, Jeremy, is in the RPD, and it is important to us to stand behind Nina and help her," Balestiere said. DiPonzio is a graduate of Aquinas Institute, and the strong bond that exists among the school's alumni and current students is also contributing to the ribbon drive. Aquinas sophomores Morgan Lindauer and friend Margaret Wall, both 15, sold 41 ribbons in school on Friday. "It made me feel very good. I thought it was pretty cool seeing everyone wear one," Morgan said. "It really warmed my heart." There's a strong demand for the ribbons. They are available through the Locust Club's Web site, www.locustclub.com, [Rochester's Police Union] and at the retailers listed on the site [DELICATELY YOU (Fairport NY), STARR PHYSICAL THERAPY (Fairport NY), COSTELLO'S PIZZA (Fairport NY)]. Jeremy Lindauer said the outpouring of support for DiPonzio is being felt through the ranks, and the show of support feels good. "The support of this community is such a positive for us. In our line of work, when something negative happens, people are all over it. To see the positives, and feel the positives, it's invigorating," he said. [Also from the Locust Club site: For those willing to lend support to Anthony and his family, you can send letters and/or a check to the below address: The Anthony DiPonzio Fund, 1425 Lexington Avenue, Rochester, New York, 14606] Government Growth? [Will this be a true "reorganization" or an additional layer of government? Government at any level RARELY shrinks in size-where's the power in that?] On Monday, city officials will hold the third of four quadrant meetings to discuss the creation of the new Department of Neighborhood and Business Development. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Lake Riley Lodge/Cobbs Hill Recreation Center, 100 Norris Drive. The creation of the new department is the result of the reorganization of the Departments of Economic Development and Community Development and the Neighborhood Service Centers and takes effect July 1. Fluff Continued? [I certainly do not agree with the obama handlers' desire to release the terrorist thugs in Guantanamo, only to be repatriated to restart their "careers." While the "thug release" would be a bad, bad decision, the principle behind it is admirable. That principle being the transparency of government actions, decisions. The handlers may want to consider another avenue for their noble experiment. I found a similar case referenced on NPR's All Things Considered, 02/08/09] Monday morning will bring the best indicator to date of whether the obama administration intends to break from President Bush's practice of using broad claims of state secrets to prevent lawsuits from being heard in court. The test comes in a case about torture being argued before three judges on a federal appeals court in San Francisco. Five men who say they have been tortured want to hold a Boeing subsidiary called Jeppesen Dataplan accountable for their treatment. The plaintiffs say Jeppesen helped the CIA fly terrorism detainees to foreign countries for torture. The Bush administration has always argued that no part of the case can be tried without jeopardizing state secrets. Lawyers for the torture victims say that while the suit may involve some state secrets, many details of the CIA's extraordinary rendition program are already public, and the suit as a whole should go forward. A lower court sided with the government and threw the case out. On Monday, ACLU attorney Ben Wizner will argue that the lower court judge was wrong and his clients should have their day in court. For the first time, the government attorney sitting opposite him will represent the Obama administration. Government officials have refused to comment on the case. Since obama took office, the department has asked judges for time to review and change the government's position in other cases. They've made no such request in this case. David Laufman, who handled terrorism cases as a federal prosecutor, believes the Obama administration's silence on this issue suggests it will take the same position as the Bush administration. Reconsider Investment In Bank Stocks [Anyone who's ever dealt with government [at any level] knows their involvement in business is akin to "adding water to the soup;" The quality goes down, the quantity goes up!! Below is an edited article from Business Week.] The problems of Citi, Bank of America and others suggest the system is bankrupt. The supposed cure for this is the federal government's $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, enacted late last year. However, a growing number of investors and analysts warn that the TARP program may come at a large cost to bank shareholders. Banks get TARP relief only by giving the federal government preferred shares. On Jan. 16, BofA issued the government another $20 billion in preferred stock that pays an 8% dividend. In exchange, the government agreed to limit future losses on $118 billion in BofA investments, including a large amount of the portfolio acquired through BofA's buyout of Merrill Lynch. First, there is the size of dividend payments due to the government each year, which leave little remaining for regular shareholders. On Jan. 16, BofA slashed its first-quarter dividend to just 1¢ per share. Meanwhile, Mutascio estimates the preferred dividend payment to the U.S. Treasury will be $4.8 billion per year. That's 73% of the total net income he expects from BofA in 2009. Second, the TARP program's investments must eventually be paid back. At BofA, the government's equity stake is $49 billion. After the stock's disastrous drop on Jan. 20, the government's equity stake is almost twice the public market capitalization for the bank of $25.6 billion. Finally, there is the power that the TARP investment gives federal policymakers over bank operations. With so much of BofA owned by the taxpayers, there is concern that common equity is no longer the dominant form of capital at Bank of America. It is reasonable to assume that political pressure will only mount on BofA to do things that may not be in the best interests of its common shareholders. The arrival of the Obama Administration only adds to the uncertainty. Til Nex'Time....