Why Rome, NY Sucks

Coming up on the first anniversary of my blog and more than 2 years talking about Rome on the web, I thought I'd explain myself a little bit. A few years ago I was looking for some opinions on Rome that weren't the whitewashed cheerleading that the few people with money and power put out in the local media. Unfortunately, Rome and New York are the names of major world cities and causes a lot of problems in a Google search. Out of frustration, I typed in "Rome sucks" into the search engine.

What I got was an interesting site called www.newromesucks.com that dealt with a crummy little speed trap in Ohio. New Rome was disbanded in 2004. My first site had just begun. I started a page on Geocities that didn't exactly set the world on fire. In January 2005, at what I might consider a low point, I started the page on blogger.

Some people might consider the name of my blog to be a little crude or possibly profane, but I thought it's the easiest way for a search engine user to find the other side of news about Rome. I might consider changing the name at some point, but the sentiment hasn't changed on my part. I can't find a job in Rome. Rome spends more on teachers than surrounding areas. Population is flowing out of the area while rich people build McMansions with Mayor Brown's new housing tax cut. Huge stores like Wal-Mart and Family Dollar get government deals while small businesses get screwed. And let's not forget former Rome mayor Griffo creating the highest sales tax in the state for Oneida County.

If you like, please comment with a name suggestion.