Saturday, August 29, 2009
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to prosecute Reform Leaders
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
RIP Edward Kennedy...this is teh most moving story I read about him today.
Ted Kennedy Was Surrounded by Crying, Praying Family
embers of the Kennedy clan were summoned to the family's compound in Hyannis Port Tuesday night to say tearful farewells to the man remembered today as an icon of American politics but known to them as Uncle Teddy.
In keeping with a family tradition, they gathered around the bed of Sen. Ted Kennedy to pray.
The Rev. Patrick Tarrant, who was present with the family during those final hours, said he was impressed by Kennedy's spirituality and faith in his last moments.
The priest said family members were crying and that in his final moments Kennedy was "a man of quiet prayer."
"The truth is, he had expressed to his family that he did want to go," Tarrant told WCVB, ABC News' Boston affiliate. "He did want to go to heaven. He did want to die... He was ready to go.
"There was a certain amount peace -- a lot of peace, actually -- in the family get-together last night. I couldn't help but think that the world doesn't know that part of the senator at all," Tarrant said.
He said Kennedy's wife Vicki, his children and other family members were there.
"They were there and they were very prayerful and reverent and of course, crying," Tarrant said. "Of course they were aware that the very sick, the sense of hearing is the last thing to go. So, whatever is said around the sick bed is always heard by the patient ... and they were very well aware of it. They let him know how much he was loved and cared for and missed. It was quite an experience, for me."
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Ticket rebate program suspended after New York Times article
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Blommberg won't vow no new taxes.. meaning, of course, that they're coming. .
Bloomberg won't vow no '08 tax hikes
Saturday, January 12th 2008, 4:00 AM
The city budget crunch could soon hit taxpayers in the wallet.
Struggling to close a $3 billion budget gap after several flush years, Mayor Bloomberg is leaving open the possibility of a property tax increase this year.
"We'll see," Bloomberg said Friday on his WABC radio show when asked by host John Gambling if taxes are going up.
Bloomberg already has ordered city agencies to slice 2.5% from this year's budget, which ends in June, and another 5% to get ready for the next budget.
It's not yet clear whether the cuts will be enough to balance the books, the mayor said.
"That'll be a little tougher," he said. "My hope is we'll be in decent shape. It's certainly going to be a struggle."
Bloomberg will introduce his spending plan at the end of the month. Last year, City Hall cut property taxes 7% and sent homeowners a $400 rebate - two luxuries the administration might not be able to afford now that the economy has worsened.
The Independent Budget Office has projected a $3.1 billion shortfall for the upcoming budget, which begins July 1.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a potential 2009 mayoral candidate, will negotiate the budget with the mayor. Quinn (D-Manhattan) refused to say whether she would support a tax increase.
Another Council member, who asked not to be named, said the mayor's doom-and-gloom talk may be a way to keep politicians and the public from complaining about inevitable service cuts.
"He's trying to reduce the squawking by putting out there the alternative," the Council member said.
Any tax increase would have to be approved by the Council, and it would be a tough decision for several term-limited members vying for higher office.
Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Queens), who is running for controller, said she did not support a tax increase. Her rival, Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn), said he would rather see city agencies find ways to save money and avoid a tax hike.
Another potential controller candidate, John Liu (D-Queens), would not rule anything out.
Bloomberg promises that the Congestion Pricing $ will be used on Mass Transit for "the next 646 days I am in office."
CONGESTION Money to be used for Mass Transit for the next two years. Afterwards, who knows?
In other words, after the end of his term, all bets are off. This is exactly why term limits are bad. Since His Honor will not face the polls again, who cares what New Yorkers think?
March 31, 2008 -- New Yorkers are wary of congestion pricing - and they found even more reason to be last week.
No sooner did a poll show New Yorkers guardedly supporting Mayor Bloomberg's plan to charge $8 for passenger cars driving below 60th Street in Manhattan - if it could be guaranteed that the funds would be targeted toward capital improvements in the city's mass transit system - than the MTA abruptly announced a halt in solemnly promised plans for such improvements.
New Yorkers were told last year that the fare hike enacted less than a month ago was necessary to pay for millions in capital fixes.
Instead, MTA Executive Director Lee Sander put a hold on the improvements, noting that a major revenue source for the MTA - real estate transfer taxes - were falling sharply.
Perhaps that is prudent, but the MTA's action underscores the public's biggest worry: Congestion pricing could be good for the city - but can the politicians be trusted to do the right thing once they get their hands on new money?
At a Tuesday press conference with Sander, Bloomberg recognized what the MTA's decision could mean for public support for congestion pricing.
"I think the public has every right to be skepical," he said. "I can just tell you that I am giving the public my word that these monies will be used for mass transit for the next 646 days I am in office and that I will do everything I can after that as a private citizen to make sure that . . . the MTA lives up to its commitment."
It's good to hear the mayor - a trustworthy man - say that. But he ultimately is only one man.
As the Quinnipiac poll indicated, the public is, to use the mayor's word, skeptical: New Yorkers recognize a bait-and-switch scam when they see it - and Sanders' backtracking on fare-increase revenues qualifies.
If the MTA can't be trusted on that, why should the public believe that congestion-prising cash go where it belongs?
Albany will be voting on congestion pricing soon.
Some iron-clad guarantees are necessary - now.
Assembly Democrats haggle over congestion pricing plan
The Daily News reports on Congestion Pricing:
Under plan, N.Y. drivers entering Manhattan on bridges would also pay
Thursday, April 3rd 2008, 4:00 AM
Drivers heading into Manhattan aren't the only ones who will pay if Mayor Bloomberg's congestion-pricing plan becomes law.
So will New Yorkers heading from Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island to the rest of New York - or America. So will taxi passengers. So will people who live in Manhattan and park there. So will car owners who don't have E-ZPass.
The new fees have received little attention amid the frantic debate over whether to charge cars $8 and trucks $21 to enter Manhattan below 60th St. between 6a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays.
In that area, though, cab rides would cost an extra $1, to help make taxis pay for their share of traffic tieups.
"If they have to charge to come past 60th St., the cab drivers aren't going to come here," said Kyle Manning, 40, a doorman who hails cabs at Bloomingdale's on 59th St. "It might ease traffic. But it'll be hard on the cab drivers."
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Send Blommberg your thoughts son paying $8 a day to enter Manhattan.
Pork handouts offered to pressure council members to OK congestion plan
Pork handouts offered to pressure council members to OK congestion plan
Wednesday, April 2nd 2008, 4:00 AM
Rosier/News Mayor Bloomberg put on pressure to get green light on plan.
No one could recall such a naked combination of arm-twisting and pork-barrel handouts to pressure City Council members to approve the huge tax increase known as congestion pricing.
"City Hall offered more in goodies this week to get this tax passed than the federal government is giving us to do it," said Brooklyn Councilman Lewis Fidler, a leading opponent of the plan that passed by a 30-to-20 vote.
Harlem Councilwoman Inez Dickens, for instance, got a last-minute promise from City Hall for major changes she'd been seeking to the huge 125th St. redevelopment plan.
Her colleague, Sara Gonzalez, got a promise of a new ferry line for her district in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Councilman Domenic Recchia of Gravesend was offered a new ferry line for his constituents from Coney Island to Manhattan.
Up in the Bronx, a major retail redevelopment project at the Kingsbridge Armory that had been stalled for a year suddenly moved forward in the past few weeks.
Joel Rivera, the Council majority leader from the Bronx, had opposed the mayor's plan until Monday. Rivera suddenly switched his position the day of the vote. He joined six other members of the Bronx delegation to deliver near-unanimous support for the mayor's $8-a-day tax on cars coming into the central business district on weekdays.
On Staten Island, Councilman Michael McMahon, who claimed he was leaning against congestion pricing, stunned most insiders by flipping at the last moment.
"You wouldn't believe the pressure," said one supporter of congestion pricing who asked not to be identified. "Some of my colleagues in Council suddenly got religion on Monday after opposing this thing for weeks."
Others talked of the mayor suggesting in private meetings that he might hold fund-raisers for certain term-limited Council members running for new posts next year.
Everyone, of course, denies any direct relation between their vote and the specific "enhancements" for their districts, or any offers of political support.
"The 125th St. negotiations with the local members of the Council are a normal part of the ULURP [uniform land use review process] process," Bloomberg spokesman John Gallagher said.
As for the new ferry routes, Gallagher said the mayor and Council Speaker Christine Quinn are "working with the Council on a five-borough ferry plan."
Throughout all of this frenzied lobbying the past few months for congestion pricing, Quinn has acted like a slavish deputy sheriff to the mayor.
In case you think this was all part of the give-and-take of the democratic process, consider the following: A few months ago, the mayor's plan was so unpopular it looked unlikely to even be voted out of committee.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Transcript of Bob Novak's walkout from INSIDE POLITICS
HENRY: Bill Nelson the Democratic Senator.
CARVILLE: The Democratic Senator and Jay Leno. That -- I mean, they're going to go nuts over this. They're messing with my makeup, but you really don't know who it is. I mean, let's say this. She's going to be good for the humor circuit. She's going to be good for the speech circuit and she's good for a lot. And I think that Nelson -- I think, it's probably no secret that the White House wanted the speaker to run and I suspect that the Nelson people are, you know, feeling pretty good here today.
NOVAK: A couple of points here. The first place, don't be too sure she's going to lose. All the establishment's against her and I've seen these Republican -- anti-establishment candidates who do pretty well. Ronald Reagan, I guarantee you that the establishment wasn't for him. We just elected a senator from Oklahoma, Senator Tom Coburn, everybody in the establishment was against him. She might get elected -- So, wait.
Just let me finish what I'm going to say, James. Please, I know you hate to hear me, but you have...
CARVILLE: He's got to show these right-ingers that he's got backbone. Show them you're tough.
NOVAK: Well, I think that's bullshit. And I hate that. Just let it go.
(Novak leaves set.)
More...
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Greenspan admits housing buble in some sectors
WASHINGTON, May 20 - Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, suggested on Friday that the red-hot housing market is becoming a little too exuberant for its own good.
Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, spoke at the Economic Club of New York at the Hilton New York hotel on Friday.
"Without calling the overall national issue a bubble, it's pretty clear that it's an unsustainable underlying pattern," Mr. Greenspan told the Economic Club of New York at the Hilton New York hotel in Midtown.
Mr. Greenspan emphasized that he sees no sign of a nationwide housing bubble, but he acknowledged concerns over "froth" in the market and pointed to a big increase in speculation in homes - particularly in second homes. As a result, he said, there are "a lot of local bubbles" around the country.
The comments of the Fed chairman were the closest he has come to acknowledging the possibility that housing prices may be poised for a fall in some parts of the country.
The issue is sensitive for the Federal Reserve, because its policy of keeping interest rates low has helped propel housing prices upward even when the rest of the economy was dragging.
But the housing issue highlights an unusual quandary for the central bank: even though it has raised short-term interest rates eight times since last June, long-term interest rates and mortgage rates are actually lower than they were one year ago.
More...
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Showdown begins
Both political parties have begun the showdown over judicial nominations in a weakened position, facing low approval ratings for their performance in Congress that compound the political risks in the confrontation.
Few strategists expect any of the arguments over the GOP's bid to thwart Senate filibusters to sway many voters in the 2006 elections. But many analysts believe the conflict could increase and solidify the public antagonism toward Washington surfacing in polls — especially if the dispute, as is likely, deepens Capitol Hill's partisan acrimony and impedes action on problems more tangible to voters, from gasoline prices to Social Security.
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Senators push for filibuster deal
A bipartisan group of senators continued negotiating behind closed doors Thursday to engineer a deal that would head off a showdown vote next week on changing the Senate filibuster rule.
A bipartisan deal would undercut the effort by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to lower the number of votes needed to stop debate on a judicial nominee from 60 to 51.
The group seeking compromise is headed on the GOP side by Arizona Sen. John McCain, Virginia Sen. John Warner, Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, and on the Democratic side by Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
Any deal that allows some Bush appeals court nominees to be "thrown overboard" would be unacceptable to Frist, but if six Republicans went along with the Democrats on this, then Frist would be powerless to stop it.
If Frist put the filibuster rule change to a vote next Tuesday, and six GOP senators voted 'no,' the majority leader would have failed. Frist, whom some in Washington think has presidential ambitions, has placed his credibility at stake by arguing so strongly in favor of giving every judicial nominee an up-or-down vote.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Frist to force vote on fillibuster
Setting the stage for a politically charged showdown, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced Friday he will press beginning next week for the first of President Bush’s conservative court nominees long blocked by Democrats.
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Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said he was ready. “The time has come for Republican senators to decide whether they will abide by the rules of the Senate, or break those rules for the first time in 217 years,” he said in a written statement.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Stack up on the Blueberrys and Grean Tea
Ingesting antioxidents or raising the human body's ability to produce them may be the key to longer life.
Mice engineered to produce high levels of an antioxidant enzyme lived 20% longer and had less heart and other age-related diseases, they found.
If the same is true in humans, people could live beyond 100 years.
The University of Washington work in Science Express backs the idea that high reactive oxygen molecules, called free-radicals, cause ageing.
More....Monday, May 09, 2005
Judicial Watch calls for an investigation of Hillary Clinton
Conservative watch-dog group Judicial Watch is calling for an investigation of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) NY. The group, made famous by its constant dogging of the Clintons, alleged she knew of
A conservative watchdog group with a history of dogging the Clintons urged a Senate panel on Monday to investigate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton over a Hollywood fundraiser for which a former staffer faces charges.
The fundraiser is the focus of a federal trial set to begin Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors charge that former finance director David Rosen understated the cost of the star-studded August 2000 gala, which raised money for Clinton's senatorial campaign. Rosen denies the charges.
Under the campaign finance laws then in effect, underreporting the cost of the event would have given the Clinton campaign more money to spend on the race. The senator has not been charged in the case.
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Saturday, May 07, 2005
Senator Schumer pleads for President Bush to intervene in filibuster fight
Schumer, D-New York, delivered his party's weekly radio address Saturday, in which he decried "a whiff of extremism in the air the likes of which we haven't seen in decades."
Without naming any, Schumer criticized "small groups ... trying to undermine the age-old checks and balances that the Founding Fathers placed at the center of the Constitution."
Democrats have blocked 10 of Bush's appellate court choices with the threat of filibusters, which means those nominees would need 60 votes to be confirmed. Republicans are considering using their majority to change rules to require a simple majority vote for confirmation.Tom DeLay: "favor-trader extraordinaire"
Politicians are not always the most courageous lot. The first whiff of scandal, the first taint of defeat, usually makes them run - hence the popular saying that if you want a friend in this town, get a dog.
But Republicans in the House have not run from Tom DeLay, who, like Bill Clinton before him, has defied political gravity in recent months. Three of his former aides have been indicted in an investigation of campaign fund-raising practices; a close lobbyist friend is under criminal investigation; the House ethics committee is preparing to reconsider allegations that Mr. DeLay and his staff members violated travel rules.
Rather than try to protect themselves and engineer a coup, Republican members are throwing a tribute party for him this week. President Bush is also standing firm, even taking him along on Air Force One.
Raising a simple question: Why?
His supporters say that Mr. DeLay, the House majority leader, has done nothing wrong - that he's the target of unfair attacks from Democrats bent on partisan revenge. Yet the volume of outspoken support also speaks to the strong personal loyalty many have for Mr. DeLay. How is it that he is more popular among Republicans than, say, President Bush's proposals for Social Security?
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