Clinton Square Downtwon Syracuse, New York. Summer in the Cuse!! 

No way Chief

The United States 2nd Circuit Court has ruled that the Cayuga Indian Nation lacks standing in their land claim against homeowners. Citing too much time having passed since the land was passed from sovereign Indian control to the State of New York the court effectively ended further legal redress by Indian tribes in New York and across the country. The Oneida Indian Nation has used aggressive tactics for the better part of the last decade to displace businesses and homeowners from what they had claimed as their ancestral lands in Madison County. The Cayuga's and Onondaga's have since filed similar, albeit less aggressive land claims directed at the state rather than individuals.

Appeals are sure to follow this momentous decision, but with recent Supreme Court rulings limiting the scope of sovereign tribes it is doubtful that the claims can be sustained. Casinos have reaped huge rewards being built on tax exempt Indian lands. New York will certainly seek to take a slice of the casino pie, as revenues are scarce and taxpayers in New York have had enough. The end of the Cayuga claim will surely mean no Casino, no land, and no check from Uncle Pataki....Like the Seinfeld 'Soup Nazi' said "no soup for you!!!"

The Penguins are coming...Actually they are already here

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo recently completed the expansion of their exhibits with the addition of a 6 million dollar penguin pen. Simulated to look and feel like the Chilean coastline of their birth the Humboldt Penguins are ready for their public debut.

The Insanity of the South Side

A 2 year old city boy was laying in his bed when shots rang out. Multiple shooters racked the house with a hail of lead. The 2 year old was shot in the back. The bullet traveled along his spine and exited from his eye socket. He remains in the hospital in critical condition. A life that was not yet lived, a life worth protecting, a life that will now never be.

I liked it better in the Old West when two people with a grievance took ten paces in the center of an empty street, turned and fired. At least the bystanders weren't in the cross hairs. The South Side of Syracuse has been a warzone for years. Folks in the community attack the cops for not patrolling enough. The they attack the cops for 'harassing' young males in the neighborhoods. Talk about wanting your cake and eating it too. And nobody saw a thing!!

At what point do people in a community say enough is enough. Life is about the hard decisions...Not just the easy ones. Someone has to stand up for what is right...And a 2 year getting shot couldn't be a clearer example of why someone has to stop the insanity.