Schmuck Barron? The almost certain impact of Barron's run for Governor will be to draw enough black voters off the Democratic line who never bother to return to it down-ballot to cost the Democrats the State Senate and leaving three white men in "The Room." However, fear that Barron's party name would convey racial exclusivity turned out to be off-base; instead "Freedom Democratic Party" conveys nothing but Old Left nostalgia and memories of Fannie Lou Hamer and 1964 Ole Miss. However, before proceeding with such a purposefully confusing Party name, Barron might want to take a gander at this excerpt from Edward Schwartzman's "Political Campaign Craftmanship” and instead choose a name that won’t get him knocked off the ballot, like the “Psychotic Ego Trip Party“, which has the additional advantage of truth in labeling. Barron Says He’s Running to Protest Cuomo – City Room Blog – NYTimes.com cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com
Category: News and Opinion
The Gateway (Nothing About Soccer Edition)
|New frontiers in pathetic; money quotes: "We are the largest group of SERIOUS Alvin Greene supporters on Facebook. For whatever reason, you have chosen to view or join this group in support of Alvin Greene. The thing that separates this group from others is that we are 100% serious about supporting his candidacy. The m…e…dia, the democratic party of South Carolina, and almost everyone else wont give this guy a chance to breath. Show your support here.
Qualifications:
– Mr. Greene holds a BA in Political Science from South Carolina University.
– Mr Greene has served in the Army, in the Army National Guard, and the Air National Guard for 14 years. He has won several awards."
"We have a contact with Mr. Greene, and I am working on figuring out if we could gather some questions from the group and ask them to Mr. Greene if it was ok by him. I wil keep everyone posted." One Million Strong for Alvin Greene
Front Page, Lead Article, NY Times STYLE Section, because, after all, it is, above all else, a fashion statement, right? For American Muslims, Choosing to Wear the Veil Poses Challenges – NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com
Beneficial Government Spending: An Historical Analysis
|Beneficial Government Spending: An Historical Analysis
By Michael Boyajian
There is a great deal of talk today about government spending having a detrimental effect on the American economy. However, and I think Paul Krugman of the New York Times would agree, there is a historical basis to think otherwise.
One big Mess of a Budget
|“Quick Agreement Unlikely on …… Budget Cuts”
“ALBANY — Negotiations over Gov. ………… plan to cut $1 billion out of the current state budget stalled today, legislative leaders said, making it extremely unlikely that a package will be in place for lawmakers to vote on when they return to the Capitol on Monday.
Although leaders of both the Democratic-controlled Assembly and the Republican-led Senate have pledged to make cuts in order to eliminate a budget deficit, disagreements this weekend over where to cut — especially in the political minefield of aid to local school districts — appear to have dissipated their resolve to act quickly.”
World Cup Soccer – World Class Peace
|World Cup Soccer – World Class Peace
By Michael Boyajian
For many years I have been trying to communicate the idea of peace through sports sort of what the Olympics accomplish every few years. Why meet your adversary on the battlefield when you can meet on the hardwood floor of a basketball court?
Generation Greed: No Limits and No Shame
|This is the kind of news you slip out on a Friday, so it will be in Saturday’s paper and read by few. The powers that be in Albany have agreed that local governments in the rest of the state, whose pension contributions are a fraction of those required of New York City, can choose not to make them, and borrow their required contributions from the pension funds instead. Allegedly they will have to pay back that money with interest later – at 4.5 to 5.5 percent interest rate even though the state legislature has asserted by law that pension assets earn 8 percent per year (which is why they can pass one pension enhancement after another and say no one has to pay for them), even though they don’t. But there is a 99.8 percent chance that a few years from now, when localities in the rest of the state are faced with an even more devastating increase in pension costs as a result of this borrowing, they will insist on a state bailout. A bailout with state taxes collected in part in New York City. Which means that New York City residents will help pay for their pension costs, even as our public services are destroyed by our own.
The Gateway (Shabbos Desecration Edition)
|Schneiderperson schwims through the schlime w/Schlein. Why is Eric Schneiderman Using Eric Espada's Fixer? blogs.villagevoice.com
Maybe he thought it was fermenting. Jersey jihadist Carlos Almonte is terror at spelling, too; proud of sign, 'Death to all Juice' www.nydailynews.com
Personal to Danny O'Donnell; do you think it was hate speech? Rosie O'Donnell & Friends – Helen Thomas Is Right! (And a Victim To Boot) www.youtube.com http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/
Chait pastes Lamar Alexander: "It's as if you propose that, in order to get your family out of debt, your 23 year old son living at home gets a job, and the son replies that he likes the part of your idea where he gets paid, but let's leave out the part where he goes to work. This is basically Alexander's case. And he's one of the moderate Republicans! Most of them just deny the science of climate change altogether. The moderate position is that we can fix the problem via magic." Lamar And The Magic Climate Plan | The New Republic www.tnr.com
Water Supply of 18,000 Threatened by Government with No Pride
|Water Supply of 18,000 Threatened by Government with No Pride
By Michael Boyajian
The Town of Fishkill established a Master Building plan a few years back that called for maximum building in the town over a three year period. The problem is that the plan did not take into account threats it posed to the pure water supply enjoyed by 18,000, perhaps even 55,000, people in the area going beyond Fishkill into nearby Philipstown and East Fishkill.
No Peace Dividend From The Department of Corrections
|The New York Times reported today that New York City’s jail population is way down. “Among the 50 jurisdictions in the country with the greatest number of inmates, including larger cities and urban counties, New York ranks 47th in the average number of inmates jailed on any given day relative to its total population, according to a survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative.”
That’s strange because when I tabulated local government corrections employment per 100,000 residents using employment and payroll data from the 2007 Census of Governments, I found that New York City’s average of 160 was nearly double the U.S. average of 86. The data is in the spreadsheet attached to the post. The figure is 74 for Los Angeles County, 110 for Cook County (Chicago), and 97 for Harris County (Houston). The only places that seem to be similar to NYC is older cities co-terminus (or nearly so) with county boundaries, such as San Francisco (172), Washington DC (215), Suffolk County Mass (Boston) 151, and Philadelphia County (168). Some of these places have more crime than New York, but the amount of inmates doesn’t seem to be what is driving corrections employment here.
The Gateway (Hey McCloud Getta Offa My Ewe Edition)
|For those who think things can't get any worse in Albany. Monserrate Circulating Petitions For Peralta’s Old Seat capitaltonight.com
Is there anyone who believes that Dean "The Dog" Skelos is against the budget extender because he wants deeper cuts in health care spending? As I've said before, mention 1199 to Senate Republicans, and they'll bid you up to 1200.