A Hero Comes Home

“Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.   Protect them as they protect us Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.   Amen.”

Staff Sgt. Derek Farley

“Staff Sgt. Derek J. Farley, 24, of Nassau, N.Y., died Aug. 17 at Bala Boluk, Farah, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated as he attempted to disarm it. He was assigned to the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Grafenwoehr, Germany.”

On Wednesday August 25, Staff Sergeant Derek Farley’s is coming home.  His motorcade will travel from Albany Airport to his home town of Nassau and then through North Greenbush to Lyons Funeral Home on Washington Ave.

The public is encouraged to line the non-highway portions of the route of the motorcade in a show of support for Farley and his family.  In North Greenbush, that will the portion of Washington Ave from Exit 8 west toward the funeral home.

Please forward this message and encourage your friends, family and neighbors to line Washington Ave, and honor a true hero.

The family asks that any donations be made to the EOD Memorial Foundation, 7040 CR 772, Webster, Fla. 33597.

A Prayer For A Fallen Soldier
Author Unknown

I saw a soldier kneeling down,
for this was the first quiet place he had found.
He had traveled through jungles, rivers and mud.
His hands were scared and toil-warned.

He folded his hands and looked to the sky…
I saw his tears, as they welled in his eyes.
He spoke to God, and this is what he said.
God Bless my men, who now lie dead;

I know not what You have in mind,
but when You judge, please be kind….
when they come before You, they will be poorly dressed
but will walk proudly, for they have done their best.

Their boots will be muddy and their clothes all torn…
but these clothes they have so proudly worn.
Their hearts will be still and cold inside,
for they have fought their best and did so with pride.

So please take care of them as they pass Your way…
the price of freedom they’ve already paid.

North Greenbush Reality Check

Delores “CB” Celeste

Jo “CB” Ashworth

On Saturday I received a Google News Alert for North Greenbush, and upon opening the alert, I found a link to a letter published in The Record titled, “The GOP in Democrat clothing”.  Although the online version didn’t include the author’s name,  I suspected from the title it was penned by C.B. Smith.

My suspicion became stronger when I read the first sentence, “It is remarkable to see in print the proof that so many people registered as Democrats in North Greenbush really are tools of the Republican Party and remain Democrats only to sabotage the party.”. At this point I was laughing so hard, I cried.  Now I’ve always suspected that C.B. had a problem grasping reality,  but I was now certain the man was half a sandwich short of a full picnic.

The Oxford Dictionary defines reality as “the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or may be thought to be”.  Apply that to C.B.’s letter, and it’s clear  a “reality check” is in order.

FACT: The 2009 NG Democratic Caucus  was attended by 206 “voters”, as compared to this year’s 209. A difference of only three votes or 1.4%.

FACT: Between August 2009 and August of 2010 the enrollment of registered democrats in North Greenbush has seen little or no change.

FACT: The majority of the voters attending the caucus were the same voters who attended in 2009, meaning  the voters didn’t change, only their perspective of the party, its leadership and its candidates did.

FACT: When C.B.’s slate won in 2009, the members of the party were called voters.  When his candidate lost in 2010, these same people became “tools” of the GOP!!!

FACT: The purpose of the caucus is not to select someone to “oppose [a] Republican”, it’s about selecting someone who if elected will serve the people.

FACT: Every candidate endorsed by the Ashley & Smith leadership, and  elected to a town office,  has failed when it comes to “serving the people”.

FACT: Delores Celeste was handpicked by Ashley & Smith.

FACT: Delores Celeste LOST BY A 2-1 MARGIN playing on the home field.

FACT: The outcome of the 2010 caucus was clearly a vote of no confidence in the current leadership of the North Greenbush Democratic Committee.

REALITY CHECK: The caucus was attended by people (all wearing democratic clothing) who are tired of Ashley and Smith’s dirty & destructive politics.  People who have witnessed the unwarranted personal attacks on those who have worked hard, and continue to work hard to make North Greenbush a better place to live and work.  It was attended by people who are tired of Ashley and Smith blaming others for their own failures and shortcoming.  People who want to elect someone with proven leadership skills and who will no be just another cog in the “political machine”.

It’s clear to me that integrity won over politics at the 2010 caucus.  The voters were given a choice, and their choice was not to endorse “C.B. in Celeste clothing”.  After all, they did that in 2009 and so far the “C.B. in Ashworth clothing” has proven to be just another entry in the long list of failures for the A.S.S. team.

SORE A.S.S. GETS WIPED OUT IN NORTHGREENBUSH!!!!!!!!!

There Is A Choice In North Greenbush

In what will go down as one of the biggest defeats in North Greenbush political history,  Lou Desso overcame the home field advantage of A.S.S. team candidate Delores Celeste, and received the North Greenbush Democratic Committee nomination for Town Councilman.  With a final vote of 138 to 70, the people of North Greenbush have begun to write the final chapters of the A.S.S. (Ashley, Sabo &Smith) Team’s manipulation of local politics.

But it appears the A.S.S. isn’t going to go down easily, and a “double flush” may be required come November when they attempt to use their newly created “TAXPAYER FIRST” party to get their candidate on the ballot.  Reminiscent of the days of DANA/VIC and the Greenbush Party, the A.S.S. team hopes to gain sympathy votes by claiming the voters have no choice with Desso holding all the major lines.  The truth is the choice was made at last night’s caucus.  By a 2-1 margin, the enrolled democrats of North Greenbush preferred Desso a Conservative, over A.S.S. candidate Celeste.  Was it because Celeste is a bad candidate, or because she was backed by the A.S.S. team?

As we said in our last post back in March, the A.S.S. team is imploding, and last night’s caucus is further proof.   The “double standard” used to remove Desso and others from office has  backfired on those who orchestrated it, upsetting many voters.   Last night was further proof that many democrats have turned their backs on those who used the courts to remove Desso from office, a move that left many feeling if the courts are allowed to determine the outcome of elections, then there was no reason for them to bother voting.

In the end, a system used and supported by the A.S.S. team to choose candidates in the past prevailed, and there’s nothing worse than getting beat at your own game (just ask DANA).  So don’t be fooled, choice is alive and well in North Greenbush, and last night proved it.