Author: Yoda

The story by Ben Smith about Rudy Giuliani's administration hiding the City's expenditues for his trysts with future wife #3 includes one point that puts a lie to part of the image Rudy is now peddling.

One of the obscure City agencies that paid for Rudt & Judi is the Loft Board.

Think about it.

Rudy claims to be a believer in law and order. He says he reformed New York City by governing as a fiscal conservative.

 But he kept a board whose function is to regulate the rent charged to people who live in housing that they illegally converted from commercial space to rental space.

The Associated Press has a story about Rudy Giuliani’s promise to conservatives to appoint conservative judges if he becomes President.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1684737,00.html

The story points out that –

Mitt Romney, discussing the possibility of giving a speech on religion said –

 http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071113/FRONTPAGE/711130328 

"John F. Kennedy gave the landmark speech on the topic. He said what needs to be said," Romney said. "I don't know that there's something different that needs to be said than what he said. I guess I could go back and reprint it!"  

I have a question for those people who think Mayor Bloomberg is running for either President or Governor and who would support him if he does.

Presumbably one reason you like Mike is because you think he's an honest guy. But if he is really planning to run, isn't he a dishonest guy since he keeps saying he won't do it?

In Wednesday’s NY Post, Fred Dicker has a front page story charging Governor Spitzer with refusing to fund projects in the district of Assembly Republican Leader Jim Tedisco.

Gov. Spitzer yesterday played vicious hardball with his chief opponent in the battle over driver's licenses for illegal aliens – canceling $300,000 in state-funded health-care and education projects in Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco's district, The Post has learned. "It's governance by vengeance. He doesn't care who he hurts," a furious Tedisco (R-Schenectady) told The Post. "You disagree with him and he tries to steamroller you," said Tedisco, a Republican.

My question to Fred and others is how this is different from what Fred reported on Monday, without a hint of criticism – Joe Bruno cut off cell phone service to Democratic Senators and stopped construction on a Democratic staffer’s office because the Dems made Joe angry?

Monday’s New York Post reported on some of the fallout over the latest alleged “dirty trick” by Governor Spitzer and some Senate Democrats.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, quietly retaliated against Smith late last week by canceling service on six of the cellphones used by his top aides.

They also halted a construction project designed to enlarge the office of his press secretary, Curtis Taylor.

"I think they'll get the message that trying to damage Sen. Bruno isn't a smart thing to do," said a Senate source.

What does it say about Governor Spitzer and his team that the best defenses of his actions on the issue of driver licenses & “troopergate” were in newspapers – and not articulated by them.?

I refer to Bill Hammond in the Daily News regarding the licenses.

Here is the highlight of Hammond’s defense, which points to facts that I have no heard Spitzer or his aides state –

DMV offices will not be handing out licenses willy-nilly to anyone who shows up with a Mexican or Saudi Arabian birth certificate. People who lack a Social Security number will have to produce, at a minimum, a valid, up-to-date passport with photo – which the DMV will check for authenticity with special scanning machines. They must also provide backup documentation of their ID and prove they live in New York. And Spitzer is ordering the DMV to use photo-comparison software to make sure one person cannot get more than one license.

Responding to a question asking why he should expect loyalty from voters when his children aren't backing him, Rudy responded –

"I love my family very, very much and will do anything for them. There are complexities in every family in America "The best thing I can say is kind of, 'leave my family alone, just like I'll leave your family alone.'"

But does Rudy really believe in leaving our families alone?

He didn’t leave the families of Richard Wigton and Timothy Tabor alone. As the Wall Street Journal wrote –

I’ve written previously about how articles about New York politics in national publications often are inaccurate. This week’s Weekly Standard hit job on Elliot Spitzer is another fine example.

Leaving aside the omission from the article of the fact that Siegel’s son was a top official of Tom Suozzi’s campaign, I assume that the mind-numbing details in the article about Spitzer’s misdeeds in using his father’s money to further his political career are accurate. Though the stuff they get wrong does make me wonder.

For some reason, the NY Post has not reported one word about this Albany figure not releasing information. Isn’t anybody curious about why Joe Bruno won’t release this?

Earlier this week, a Bruno aide turned down a Freedom of Information request from Gannett News Service for copies of the senator's e-mail correspondence with political advisers and for a schedule of all the trips Bruno took to New York City this year.

The information gathered by the Spitzer aides related to Bruno's use of state resources to travel to New York City, where he attended political functions as well as government-related meetings.