Category: News and Opinion

The Gateway (Rauf Going Edition) [slightly revised]

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Fox is giving aid and comfort to the enemy; don't we call that treason? Op-Ed Columnist – How Fox Betrayed Petraeus – NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com

 

A devastating column which kills, burns and scatters the ashes at sea of any idea that there can be another site in Lower Manhattan for the Young Men's Islamic Association.

Money quotes:

"'There are a lot of developers and a lot of agencies that know a lot about downtown,' said Paterson, who indicated he was looking for 'surplus property or land transfers or title changes that would ameliorate this situation.' It's an interesting idea, except for one problem – there aren't any properties like that. A half-dozen sources who make their living worrying about downtown real estate – in government and in the private sector – say they know of no other suitable space. More telling is that none of them has heard even a whisper of a rumor that Paterson, or anyone on his behalf, has started looking. 'I don't think there's anything there,' said one of them. 'I think this is just an idea of the governor's. Nothing more.'"

AND

"Still, let's imagine the governor could find another spot, one he could have some influence over. For example, the MTA owns the cash-cow parking garage over the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, but has in the past been curious about building a tower over the site. Since Albany regularly has its way with the MTA, suppose it master-planned a new office or apartment building there, setting aside space for Park51 as a community benefit. Suppose it found a lender willing to build a tower in a still-shaky market. Suppose it even won approval from multiple layers of government. Suppose Park51 decided to bow to the pressure to move, despite their constitutional right to stay there. That pipe dream would end up with an Islamic community center five blocks from Ground Zero. Does Paterson really think that would be enough to satisfy the critics?" Gov. Paterson's 'plan' for new site for mosque near ground zero not anchored in reality www.nydailynews.com

Michael Goodwin, winner of the Coney Island Whitefish Award:

Goodwin's complete and totally despicability is exemplified by the joke which begins this column: "I just applied for a building permit for a new house. It was going to be 100 ft tall and 400 ft wide with 9 turrets at various heights and windows all over the place and a loud outside entertainment sound system. It would have parking for 200 old cars and I was going to paint it snot green with pink trim. The City Council told me to f- -k off. So I sent in the application again, but this time I called it a mosque. Work starts on Monday."

Unlike his colleague, Andrea Peyser, there is no evidence that Goodwin is mentally retarded, so therefore he must realize that the NYC Council had no right of approval over the Young Men's Islamic Association proposed to be located at the Holy Mother Coat Factory. Unlike the atrocity proposed in this joke, the so-called "Mosque" is an as of right facility.

Further, Goodwin must realize that the proponents of this facility asked for and received no special treatment (at least so far). In fact, as Goodwin surely knows, it is only the opponents of this facility who've called for special treatment, sometimes benign (government provided land somewhere else) and sometimes malignant (misuse of eminent domain and land use, landmarking and public utility laws, to be applied differently than to any other landholder, in order to stop the project).

Charter Commission: Let the City Council Eliminate Term Limits Without A Referendum

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That isn’t what the term limits report said directly. But that would remain the reality under the commission’s proposals (or more accurately lack thereof), with the one restriction that members of the City Council could not eliminate or extend term limits for themselves. They could only do so, and then resign before their last term was up, and have their spouse, child, or flunky selected in a special election no one knows about. As in the state legislature.

The need for a referendum to change the charter, or at least portions of the charter for which the politicians have a conflict of interest, is one thing I thought any decent group of people would propose. But they haven’t, and there is no explanation as to why, although the report does mention that having he Council overturn a referendum without another one is something many objected to. Not only could the City Council eliminate term limits, but it could also eliminate initiative and referendum. This stunning omission has gone without comment. BTW, to change the NY state constitution requires the assent of two consecutive state legislative terms AND a referendum. If the City Council can just change the charter, why does it exist, since it is no more difficult to change than any ordinance?

Fishkill Dunking the Clowns

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Fishkill Dunking the Clowns

 

By Michael Boyajian

 

Fishkill Town Supervisor Joan Pagones sat in the dunk the clown seat at a recent Fishkill street fair.  You know the deal hit the bull’s eye and the seat drops the politician into a tub of cold water.  Pagones went into the drink quite a few times that night.

Fishkill Audit Out, Deficit Balloons to $4.9 Million

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Fishkill Audit Out, Deficit Balloons to $4.9 Million

 

By Michael Boyajian

 

The Poughkeepsie Journal reported today that the New York State Comptroller’s official audit of the Town of Fishkill is now out and it has found that the Town has been spending more than it has been taking in for several years which is sure to infuriate Tea Party elements within the town who have been big supporters of Town Supervisor Joan Pagones and that this deficit has ballooned to $4.9 million.

The Conditioning of America

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The Conditioning of America

 

By Michael Boyajian

 

When I was a kid in the 60s we would all hang around talking scary talk about how the Viet Cong or communists would break you down, exercise mind control on you, or brain wash you until you betrayed your country.  Evidence was in North Korea where American soldiers went AWOL and chose to live forever there.

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