Hey, you people elect them.

Gov. Paterson released a $121 billion slash-and-burn budget Tuesday morning that slams New Yorkers with 88 new fees and taxes - even on their iPods.

 

But it's the $4 billion in new fees and taxes that are sure to aggravate everyday New Yorkers, who would be paying more for a host of services:

 

* An "iPod tax" that charges state and local sales tax for "digitally delivered entertainment services" - in other words, that new Beyonce song you download.

 

* State sales tax at movie theaters, sporting events, taxis, buses, limousines and cable and satellite TV and radio.

 

* Costlier driving with the repeal of the 8-cents-per-gallon sales tax cap on motor and diesel motor fuel, plus and increase in the auto rental tax.

 

* Tuition increases at SUNY and CUNY, $620 and $600 a year respectively.

 

* A 50 cent tax on cigars. The current tax is equal to 37% of the wholesale price, or 34 cents a cigar.

 

* No more sales tax break on clothes and shoes worth $110 or less, except during two weeks a year.

 

* Higher taxes on wine, beer and flavored malt beverages. He would also impose an 18% tax on non-nutritional drinks like soda.

 

* The rich would pay more for luxury items through an additional 5% tax imposed on cars costing more than $60,000, aircraft costing more than $500,000, yachts costing at least $200,000 and jewelry and furs costing in excess of $20,000.

 

* In addition, a host of a fees, including those related to motor vehicle licensing and registration, parks and auto insurance, would go up, as would various state-imposed fines.

I have to LOL regarding "the rich" paying more for luxury items. Because it worked so well with George H.W. Bush taxed yachts during his administration.

I also have to LOL when people make fun of the South for being overwhelmingly Republican considering the Northeast is more Blue than the South is Red.

10:30 p.m.

• I like Charles Barkley. He's an entertaining fellow. But please STFU already about this.

Former Auburn and NBA star Charles Barkley took a shot at his alma mater Monday, saying the only reason the Tigers hired Gene Chizik of Iowa State and did not hire Buffalo’s Turner Gill as their new football coach is that Gill is black.

 

“I think race was the No. 1 factor,” said Barkley, who played basketball for three seasons at Auburn during the early 1980s. “You can say it’s not about race, but you can’t compare the two resumés and say (Chizik) deserved the job.”

As most of you know, when it comes to college football I know jack shit. However, once I found out Chizik was the defensive coordinator at Auburn a few years ago when the team was 13-0 and in a BcS "National Title" controversy I knew the "Number 1" reason he was picked. He's a good ol' boy that had success at the school not too long ago. Complain about that if you want. But when you, and other PC faggots, start throwing around the RACSIM~! card, most of us just roll our eyes and go "n*gga plz."

Charles added that Turner Gill would have won at Auburn if given the chance. Other ESPN pinheads have commented on Chizik's record at Iowa State. Fair enough. I wondered a bit why a 5-19 record warranted a career advancement. However, would Turner Gill have been successful at Iowa State after two seasons? Maybe Chizik was in a bad situation and wanted to get out. The Big 12 is a bigger playground than the Mid-American Conference.

Because I'm curious, I decided to compare the resumes of both Chizik and Gill. From Wiki:

Chizik

He began his coaching career at Seminole High School (Pinellas County, Florida), serving as their defensive coordinator and inside linebacker coach from 1986–1988. He then became a graduate assistant at Clemson from 1988–1989, working with the outside linebackers. During his time at Clemson he coached in the 1988 Citrus Bowl and the 1989 Gator Bowl, under secondary coach Bill Oliver.

 

His initial full-time coaching job was as the defensive ends coach at Middle Tennessee State University. He served in this capacity from 1990-1991. In 1990, the Blue Raiders won the Ohio Valley Conference championship. His next assignment was at Stephen F. Austin, serving as their linebackers coach from 1992-1995. SFA advanced to the Division I-AA semifinals in 1995. He was then promoted to the defensive coordinator role, which he held from 1996-1997. He then served as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach for Central Florida from 1998-2001.

 

While at Central Florida in Orlando, Chizik frequently visited practice sessions of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers studying the Bucs' defensive scheme developed by then-Bucs head coach Tony Dungy, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and linebackers coach Lovie Smith.

 

Chizik later employed a very similar scheme at Auburn, where he served again as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach from 2002-04. During this time, he had some of the greatest successes of his career to date. He coached in three bowl games, the 2003 Capital One Bowl, 2004 Music City Bowl, and 2005 Sugar Bowl. His 2004 defensive unit led the country in scoring defense, giving up 11.3 points per game, and the total defense ranked 5th, which is the same ranking the 2003 team recorded. He garnered the 2004 Broyles Award, which is given each year to the top assistant coach in the nation. He also guided Carlos Rogers to capture the 2004 Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the top defensive back in the nation annually. The 2004 Auburn Tigers football team finished 13-0 that year, won the SEC title, and defeated Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. It placed second in the final AP and Coaches polls.

 

In 2005 he was hired by Texas Longhorns to serve as their co-defensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and linebackers coach. During his time with the Texas Longhorns, the team won the 2005 NCAA Division I-A national football championship by defeating USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl. He also coached two Jim Thorpe Award winners in Michael Huff and Aaron Ross, who won the honor in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

 

Iowa State

 

In November 2006, Chizik was hired to replace outgoing coach Dan McCarney as head football coach of Iowa State University. McCarney resigned after going 4-8 in his final season, despite 5 bowl appearances during his tenure, the most of any Iowa State coach. Chizik's contract with ISU was a six-year deal worth a guaranteed $6.75 million. With incentives, the total had the potential to be more than $10 million. In Chizik's first season, Iowa State finished 3-9, including a 15-13 win over Iowa, and back-to-back wins against Kansas State and Colorado.

 

In 2008, Iowa State won their first two games against South Dakota State and Kent State before losing their final 10 games to finish the season 2-10. Among all 119 Division I FBS teams, the team ranked 111th in total defense, 115th in passing defense, and 95th in rushing defense. Following the season, Chizik fired two assistant coaches and demoted both his offensive and defensive coordinators. Chizik's name came up frequently as a coach who would be on the hot seat for the following season, though all acknowledged the difficulty of the job given the lack of resources and difficult schedule.

 

Rivals.com ranked Iowa State's 2007, 2008, and 2009 recruiting classes 60th, 62nd, and 76th, respectively. The 2009 ranking was updated on December 13, 2008, the day of his hiring by Auburn. On the other hand, McCarney's last three classes ranked 42nd, 58th, and 63rd.

 

Once Chizik took the Auburn job, ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard stated in a press release: “I’m disappointed for our Iowa State fans and student-athletes that he has chosen to leave our program after only two seasons. I understand that (Auburn) is a dream job for him, but the timing and the way it played out has been hurtful and disappointing.”

Gill

In 1989, Gill began his coaching career at the University of Nebraska, his alma mater, serving one year as a graduate assistant coach. After spending a season each at the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University, Gill returned once again to Nebraska, where he coached quarterbacks from 1992-2003 and wide receivers in 2004. Gill served as position coach for two first team All-Americans, Tommie Frazier and Eric Crouch, with Crouch also earning the Heisman Trophy under Gill's tutelage. The Cornhuskers earned three national championships in Gill's time as an assistant there.

 

In 2005, Gill was hired by the Green Bay Packers as Director of Player Development to help players become acclimated to playing professional football in Green Bay and to direct players to resources concerning community involvement, continuing education, financial management, and retirement planning. He also served as an assistant wide receivers coach and an offensive assistant coach through December 2005.

 

Gill agreed to a five-year contract to become the 23rd head football coach at the University at Buffalo on December 16, 2005.

 

2006

 

Turner Gill won two games in his first season with Buffalo compiling a 2–10 record. Despite its record Buffalo achieved some success. The team set a school record for most points in a season since moving to Division I, with 220. UB also scored the most points of any team in the Mid-American Conference East Division and defeated an opponent (Kent State University) with a winning record for the first time since joining the MAC in 1999. Kent State had a 5-3 record at the time but ended the season 6-6.

 

2007

 

Gill's Buffalo team finished 5–7 overall with a 5–3 record in the Mid-American Conference, the first winning conference record the squad had posted since joining the MAC in 1999. This was also the Bulls' first winning record at home since moving to Division I. The team finished third out of six schools in the Mid-American Conference East Division but shared co-division champion honors. Gill was named MAC Coach of the Year for 2007.

 

Because of the great turnaround that Gill orchestrated in only his second season at Buffalo, he was one of two leading candidates to replace Bill Callahan as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. However, Bo Pelini was hired as the new Nebraska head coach.

 

2008

 

In 2008, Gill's Buffalo team continued its steady improvement, finishing the regular season 7-5 and winning the East division of the MAC. On December 5, Buffalo played #12 Ball State in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit. Ball State was heavilly favored as it entered the game with a perfect 12-0 mark, while Buffalo came in off a home loss to Kent State that had ended a five-game winning streak. However, Buffalo scored two touchdowns on fumble returns and won the game 42-24, giving the school its first MAC championship. Following the victory, Buffalo accepted a bid to play in the International Bowl in nearby Toronto. This is the school's first bowl since joining the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in 1999. With Gill's continued success at Buffalo, he once again became the focus of speculation about a possible move to a bigger program. Gill interviewed at Syracuse University, where he was passed over for Doug Marrone, the offensive coordinator for the NFL's New Orleans Saints who had no head coaching experience.

So which one would you take? I would go with Chizik because he played a bigger part in the success of the schools he was a coordinator at than Gill and his accomplishments. Guess that makes me a RACIST~! Then again, Gill's photo isn't on Wiki, yet Chizik has an image posted. Uh-oh. Could it be Wiki-RACISM~!?