I have got a poker fan page over on Facebook. If you wanted to see: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poker-Players-Only/136818223026737

Its like if I wanted your opinion I can just read the conservative hand book…If I want you opinion Il just listen to rush, lol

so think it’s time to retire the right wing soapbox, because you are starting alienate yourself from the subject than to make a point lately.

And anyone who underestimates the power of local politicians to control events in a community down to the slightest detail surely hasn’t had the good fortune of ever having applied for a simple variance to build a deck to a house – Yes, there’s a circle in hell for petty bureaucrats; just below that of life insurance salesmen and boy-band members.

Here are some unassailable facts to consider when attempting to assign blame in this sordid affair:

Wang is a criminal – his history of shady dealing is replete with nefarious associations and financial chicanery; sleights of hand so brazenly contemptuous of the law as to elicit special comment from Securities investigators examining his previous business practices.

Wang is paranoid – as any self-respecting evil-doer is want to be; his executive style is absolutely Nixonian – right down to the flop sweat on the upper brow and a dog named Chinese Checkers.

Wang/D’Amato relationship predates ownership of Islanders – No, not so strange bedfellows; every top-tier criminal publicly held corporation (Computer Associates) does need the requisite political imprimatur to help shield from the prying eyes of government regulators after all, albeit when those public servants aren’t focused on watching internet porn instead.

And is anyone really all that surprised by Uncle Al making little Charlie his bitch on the land deal? C’mon, D’Amato clawed his way to the top of NY politics not by being eloquent and photogenic. And all while Wang was in knickers busy doing crossword puzzles in pencil and changing dates on billing invoices.

Not that any of that mitigates the complicity of self-serving political hacks abusing public office; but, then again, eighty percent of the vote might well deem us gluttons for punishment.

Cupcakes, anyone?

This once proud franchise is at a critical juncture. Due to their incompetence they have been able to stockpile some nice young talent via high, obvious draft picks. They don’t get credit for being able to make good picks high in the draft.

Now that they have something to work with can’t Bettman force Wang to sell the team to someone with a clue about how to run a sports franchise?

Under Wang/Snow here is what you get.

1) Odd contracts. (See DiPietro)

2) Odd business dealings (See Lighthouse machinations)

3) People with no hockey knowledge sitting at draft table year after year. (See Kevin Connolly, Wang’s Son, Charles Wang, Garth Snow)

4) Odd firings/hirings (Ryan Jankowski/Garth Snow)

5) Odd marketing choices

Solution

Move Wang and Snow into the Grey Gardens Estate and somehow convince them that they are still running the show.

Hurry!

Charles Wang shrank down from Murray when the ToH people were “complaining” about him being “a bully who wanted to take advantage of them.”

Is that really what happened?

IF this is indeed the case, then we can waive goodbye to the team right here, and right now.

If he does not have the stomach to handle being called a “bully” by ToH officials, then he has no business being involved at this level.

Im sorry fans, but to shrink back from something as small as that. The man is clearly a whimp and has no fight in him. My assessment is 100% dead on balls accurate. Of course they are smacking him around — THEY KNOW THEY CAN!!!

The correct response should have been:

“Supervisor Murray, I am sorry if you see me as a bully. That is, of course not my intention, and I ask for your forgiveness.”

Now, madame supervisor, can you please tell me, and my team —what is it you don’t like about me and what is it that in your view is making me ‘a bully?’”

“Am I a bully madame Supervisor because I want what is best for me sports team and my teams supporters, and I am willing to fight for them?”

“Do you see me as a Bully because I have been rally the support of my current and former players as well reaching out to the community at large to tell them about the project?”

“Most other team owners would have come to you hat in hand asking for $350-$500 million dollars in tax funds to build this project, yet I am asking for not a single penny. Is that what earns me the title of ‘bully’ Madame Supervisor?”

If these are the things that make me a bully, I submit to the you Madame Supervisor, and the entire Town Board, and the people of Hempstead, and Nassau County — Im so very sorry. My intent is not to ‘bully’ as you are calling it. I am merely trying to provide the people of Hempstead and citizens of Long Island jobs, and a good, clean place to live. You see Madam Supervisor, it truly bothers me that people in this community are leaving for better opportunities in other locations because they can’t afford to live here, and can’t find work here.”

“This effort Madame Supervisor is all about helping people. It is not about the hockey team ma’am. Simply put, the hockey team is the center of the wheel, but all of the spokes are to benefit the people.”

“So once again, let me apologize for trying to help provide housing, jobs, tax revenue and a home for my hockey team — and doing so without asking for any taxpayer monies.”

Now an answer like that may sound a bit…. snarky…. a bit patronizing…. but if you are going to play in the big kids sandbox, you best bring your best shovel, and tools. Further — her ‘bully’ remarks were just as snarky, and just as patronizing.

The man is PRIVATELY FINANCING the entire project.

What I just wrote was a ‘nice’ way of saying — “sweety, you should be licking my boots and wiping my derrier for the tax base I am providing your one-horse dump of a town, without having to pay a dime, or lift a finger…”

Like I said — shrinking from ‘bully’ means this conversation is done…this effort is done. He has no ability to do the hard work that is needed.

At this point, I am honestly wondering how this man built CA. I am starting to think it was more luck, then anything else.

Wang learned the right lesson from the failure of his Old Plainview project: engage citizens and get them on board. He had the majority of residents, and he still has the majority of elected officials. However, he never took the next step, and that’s the great tragedy here. He never made the big ask to actually do something, and he made the huge mistake of taking Kate Murray at her word (I stopped criticizing her, as I promised to do, but I’ve never trusted any of those Hempstead guys any further than I could throw them).

As a result, here we are. A petty Town Supervisor who did just enough to keep the wolves at bay just set fire to Long Island’s future. Charles Wang might not want to move, but he might not have a choice now.

I think there needs to be a full post about this. We can’t take it sitting down, and we need to decide how to move forward.

Who is to blame and why is fastly becoming irrelevant. As a fan, I want a resolution, immediately…I do not care for political games….If this cannot be resolved by 2015, then the team deserves to move, TOH and county and sit and stew all they want…and we can play the blame game all we want…the reality is…a resolution needs to be found now.

What I am particularly concerned about, and remain uneasy with is Charles Wang. His decision to literally “go dark” on all public relations not only with the LHP, but with Hockey Ops as well —is very troubling.

The P.R. vacuum that Wang has created is being filled with lies, inaccuracies, and outright slander by the press, the blogosphere, the ToH and other politicos. It is a major mistake on his part — of monumental proportions.

The casino option is pleasing to D’amato, Mangano and others because in their simple and uneducated minds — it is the easy solution. The only “work” Mangano and Nassau County supporters of a casino would have to do is pass a piece of legislation to allow them to collect a gaming tax revenue. Then, just sit back, and watch those tax resources roll into the County coffers. Suburban blight of people using their mortgages to play craps, drug dealers and users lining Hemptstead Turnpike with prostitutes be damned — as long as the tax revenue is rolling in…

That is the thought process for these “leaders” of our County, B.D. In my time in dealing with these folks, I know how they think, and how they operate. Huge egos…not very smart…wanting to do as little as possible all while living off the taxpayers backs. It is very rare to see an educated person who has the good of the people at heart.

My own viewpoint for Wang is as follows (Nick, you will see this as familiar…)

If I am advising Charles Wang — with his resources — here is the beginnings of the kind of strategy I would propose.

1) FOLLOW THE MONEY — GET THE FACTS
• Hire a private investigative team to look at all of the finances, tax records and track record of Murray, and Mondello.
• Pull down every town budget and find where all of the money is being spent.
• Review the list of contributors to the town GOP and Murray as well as every member of the Town Board.

The money trail is where the bones will be buried if there are any, and my guess is there are enough bones to build an army. Having the details and the ability to use them against Murray is the first step in bringing her, and the real power behind her — Mondello — down! This information should be strategically leaked to the media over the next 6 months. The more you damage your opponents credibility, the more chance there is to find candidates to defeat them.

2) BEGIN THE SHIFT WEST
• Schedule a very public, well photographed and well reported “lunch” sometime during the next two weeks.
• Leak it to the press that Wang, Rechler and the rest of the top Lighthouse boys and girls are lunching with Queens borough President, Mayor Bloomberg, the Wilpons, Gary Bettman, and the USTA people.

I would issue no statements, and no deep seated remarks. The ONLY comment, with a pleasant smile should be “…just having lunch with some friends.”

That alone will send Murray and Mondello into fits.
They will rail against Wang saying that his actions show how he doesn’t care about Nassau and Long Island and never did. They have offered him a generous package, and that he is being greedy.

The press will speculate.
Columns will be written.
The blogosphere will go nuts.

3) SET THE HOOK
• By the time training camp closes, and the start of the season is about to begin, have all plans ready including a model and video similar to the Lighthouse materials.
• Hold a presser to reveal the scale, scope of the project.
• CRITICAL: Make sure Bloomberg, both US Senators, Congresspeople, NYS Governor, Full City Counsel, all the Queens players are in attendance.
• ALSO CRITICAL: Be sure the Wilpon’s, Bettman, Daly, and NHLPA leaders are in attendance, and ready to spin for you. I would have players and reps (if possible) from the Devils, and Rangers to spin for the Isles…something along the lines of “it is so important to keep our LI rivals here, and moving them to Queens is going to benefit the rivalry…” Have former players and current players from the Isles. Everyone glowing with smiles.

You want to have THE FULL WEIGHT of political power visible and present showing the support and determination of getting the project DONE. This will further enrage Murray and Mondello. They will rail against Wang, but will have a very hard time with all of the spin, the political power, and the power of the NHL and specifically, two other franchise.

4) PLAY ALL SIDES AGAINST THE MIDDLE
• As step 2 and 3 are being executed, leak details and pertinent information from the investigation in Step 1.

This is a two-prong war.
You are waging the battle FOR the Willits Point development, as your plan B while working to set up what WAS your plan A.

YOU are the middle.

At the end of the day, you want to get your development built, and it really should not matter if it is in Nassau or Queens.

Regardless of who is in power in Nassau/ToH — they MUST be viewed as the opponent in this struggle to get a new home for the Islanders and supporting arena district constructed. The idea of trying to negotiate with these people is long past its due daye.

Wang tried to do the dignified thing — tried to be “reasonable” and have a dialogue. The problem is, that when you are the “nice” guy in a room full of vipers, you are going to be eaten alive. I am fully confident that Wang is viewed by Murray and the Hooples as weak. They are, and frankly have been daring him to move the team for years.

They are right to view him the way they do. The way he has played this has been from a position of weakness, rather then strength. He needs to play the game right!

I agree that L.I. suffers again. But unless there is a fundamental shift in the mentality of the public here, youth will continue to depart as they have been — and they will likely take the NY Islanders with them.