Author: Yoda

As another dismal session of the NY State Legislature comes to an end, it’s time to look way back in history to ………….. April! 

On April 25, Senate Dem Leader David Paterson announced a deal that he made with Majority Leader Joe Bruno regarding "member items" or as civilians call it – pork.

Part of the deal stated – "For this year, Senator Bruno has committed himself to making a full disclosure of member items according to the criteria described above on or before May 15."

It’s now June 20. I don’t recall seeing any press reports listing the full disclosure, does anybody else?

Every year around this time of the year, stories appear about how crucial the support of minor parties are to this or that candidate.

I, for one, have always thought that this was BS 99% of the time.

Sure, there have been times that 3^rd Party support has been the margin of difference in an election but these have been relatively few in number. Senator Nick Spano in 2004, John Lindsay in 1969, etc.

The fact that there are so few is why we remember them!

This week, the DC paper, The Hill attempts to once again elevate a minor Party, in this case that weird alliance that calls itself the Independence Party, to a major force in the Democrats attempt to regain Congress. They point to 2 districts.

I’m surprised that there hasn’t been more comment about the Democratic political boss who got indicted for sexual abuse. You know the one with the patronage job and the wife who is a judge.

Oh wait – it’s not a New York City Democrat, it’s an upstate Republican!

I forgot. New York City newspapers couldn’t be bothered to print stories like this.

Thursday night on Inside City Hall, Andrew Cuomo presented a pretty weak defense when asked about a charge made be Mark Green.

Here’s the exchange started by Dominic Carter –

“When you left HUD, Mr. Cuomo, did you receive any honorarium from companies that while you were at HUD they received HUD grants."

Cuomo: "Dominic, after I left HUD I’ve given lectures, speeches, etcetera to companies, its part of what I do. I may very well have spoken before a company that directly or indirectly received HUD funding. But so what?"

Carter: "But is that ethical?"

Saturday’s NY Times has a column by John Tierney, advocating the end of rent control. (Can’t be linked to because it’s part of the Times’ pay per view section.) 

Tuesday’s Times had letters defending rent control, the gist of the argument was spelled out in one letter – “Tell me, John Tierney, if you were an 83-year-old widow living on your Social Security in the same apartment, now rent-controlled, for 49 years, and the apartment became decontrolled, what would you do? “

I don’t think Tierney wants 83 year olds to be homeless and neither do other opponents of rent control.

The Bloomberg administration is making a pretty dumb argument when they say in Friday’s Post “that anti-terror grants may have been spread around the country for political reasons”.

If we buy that line, then isn’t Mike admitting that his strategy over the last 4 years was a failure? He’s admitting all the money he contributed or raised for various right-wing Republicans ended up not helping the City. Isn’t he saying that the warm welcome he gave the Republicans during the 2004 convention wasn’t useful? That the supposed clout that Republican Congressmen like Peter King, John Sweeney & Tom Reynolds have in DC doesn’t amount to much.

Andrew Cuomo, in his acceptance speech, vowed to fight against bringing back the death penalty.

"We will not breathe life into the death penalty in the state of New York," Cuomo said.

I wonder what Elliot Spitzer & Shelly Silver, both of whom support capital punishment think about that.

Wednesday brought the welcome news that Matthew Long, the son of Conservative Party boss Mike Long was released from the hospital. Matthew Long was seriously injured in an accident while riding his bike to work during the transit strike.

It’s ironic that this occurred the same week, that Westchester State Senator Nick Spano introduced a bill would require the MTA to pay half of the strike fines levied against the TWU for illegal strikes, strikes like the one that was  indirectly responsible for Matthew Long’s injuries.

"State and local governments should not reap a revenue windfall from high gas prices," said Joseph L. Bruno the Senate majority leader, a Republican.

Am I only person to wonder why not? State and local governments reap a revenue windfall when housing prices go up, when Wall Street booms and when people shop more. Why shouldn’t they get more $ from people keep driving?