Dominick Carter shills for Bloomie (then denies it in the comments thread), saying:
"Bloomberg has the right to appoint Cathleen Black Schools Chancellor. We may not like it, but the appointment of Cathleen P. Black to become Schools Chancellor boils down to an example of how mayoral control works."
But, the fact that the mayor is acting within the scope of his powers does not mean he should therefore be immune from criticism. Dominick and the Mayor seem to believe that the fact he has acted within the scope of his power means the debate should end right then and there.
It doesn't.
First of all, an avalanche of public criticism has often led pols who've acted within the scope of their powers to back down.
Secondly, to the NYC press, a ring and run appointment like Black's is like putting a juicy stake in front of starving pitbull. It was an invite to slow death by a series of newsprint inspired cuts. She has become the new Groud Zero Mosque of NYC politics.
By trying to foreclose a public vetting, Bloomie invited a worse one.
Third, but not finally, because there's so much more that could be said, is the matter of the scope of those powers. Waivers are not automatic. In the past, a far more qualified candidate (Bobby Wagner) found the waiver process an insurmountable one. Without the public and press onslaught he faced, this would not have been so. One could then have argued that the Board of Ed, acting within the scope of its powers, had approved Wagner, and that should have ended discussion (and lord knows Ed Koch's shills in the press made the virtually identical argument to the one Dominick made), but it didn't work out that way.
I would still bet on Black ending up with the job, but I'd not bet the mortgage money. Bloomberg has the right to appoint Cathleen Black Schools Chancellor | Room Eight www.r8ny.com
Yes, preventing a return to the "dark ages" before our schools had the "accountability" of Mayoral Control requires that their be no public hearing.
The Sunlight of Transparency given to us by Mayoral Control must be allowed to prevail. ‘Back To The Dark Ages’ www.capitaltonight.com
This just in; Black supported by another really rich person who knows nothing about education. Bloomberg gets endorsements from Oprah, other heavyweights to bolster case for Cathie Black www.nydailynews.com
Hard to blame Malcolm; he might need a character witness some day Black Gets Malcolm Smith’s Support www.capitaltonight.com
He may hate Bloomberg, but in the end he‘s still Carl Kruger Bloomberg Critic Backs Black www.capitaltonight.com
Non-story of the day: Politicians oppose a shelter in their own districts and City Hall News attempts to find something deeper.
There's nothing deeper here, though Greenpoint has an understandable sense of feeling beleaguered, left over from the days when the City still thought it was a dumping ground, rather than a cash cow.
It would be a story if the politicians supported a shelter in their own districts. Then City Hall News would be justified in trying to find something deeper. Brooklyn Pols Say No To On Homeless Shelter Backed By Cuomo’s Sister www.cityhallnews.com
Brooklyn Paper foreclosures on Vito Bklyn party boss lived in Queens! www.brooklynpaper.com
You could pour a Box of Joe over this guy's head and it would still take three weeks for him to smell the coffee. State Sen. Darrel Aubertine Concedes www.nydailynews.com
I always though Rudy was channeling Groundskeeper Willie Ex-Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani heads to Glasgow for business seminar – the Glaswegian www.theglaswegian.co.uk
How can one apologize when one doesn't even comprehend what one has done which is wrong? Rangel Apologizes | The New York Observer www.observer.com
As predicted, Chait says no to Bowles-Simpson and yes to Rivlin-Domenici.
He may even be right. New Debt Commission Plan, New Crush | The New Republic www.tnr.com
Sullivan: "I think it's safe to say that American and British conservatism have not been this far apart in decades…the Tories are not phony fiscal conservatives" The Tories vs The Republicans – The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
Conservative Mayor of London advises Bush not to visit, lest he be arrested as a war criminal.
I decidedly do not advocate this, either at home, nor abroad (instead I favor handling the Bush administration crimes with the Mandela approach–Truth and reconcilation hearings; I would scheldule each one to coincide with whatever Darryl Issa is up to), but it does speak volumes about the difference between conservatives in the rest of the world and the cud-chewing grass eaters inhabiting the Republican Party.
And Bush today probably couldn't beat Joe Miller in a primary. George W. Bush can't fight for freedom and authorize torture www.telegraph.co.uk
I once dated a half-Jewish Costa Rican girl who I called "The Kosher Rican." She worked as an ALJ and was known to my friends as "The Judge." Once during an all nite petition bind, someone asked me how The Judge was doing, and I said "The Judge and I get together every Friday nite and go out for dinner; sometimes we see a movie, then we go back to her place and we fuck and she tells me that she hates me."
One of our lawyers looked up at me and said "Gatey, except for the fucking part, it sounds a lot like marriage."
Anyway, I've always had a soft spot in my heat for Costa Rica, even if I understand exactly how one could have a miscommunication that caused an unwanted border incursion.
Nonetheless, invading a social democracy without an army pretty much defines thuggery, so I wonder why we aren't giving Costa Rica more backing against a thug like Ortega. Letting Latin thugs run loco – NYPOST.com www.nypost.com
At last a formula for bridging the gaps between the branches of Judaism.
Natural disaster.
Calling Noah! Bridge Over Troubled Waters | The Jewish Week www.thejewishweek.com
When the hell are Ben and Gur going to update Room 8’s “Political Update“?