The Latest

PISSED-OFF ENOUGH TO DO ANOTHER COLUMN ON BROOKLYN’S 54th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT: WHICH WILL PROBABLY COST ME BIG TIME (AS USUAL).

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There have been times over the past six years of engaging these blogs, when I have wondered if it's even worth it. I had hoped that local races -hardly covered by mainstream media- would be dealt with on the blogs, by local electeds, staffers, community activists, and the sort. I had hoped valuable info would be disseminated to the voters in time to further inform the choices being made. Alas, I have come to the conclusion that this hardly ever happens: too many people come to the blogs to ridicule rather than inform.

The Other Oil Dependence

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I normally write about issues that are not being addressed in my view, but today I find that having already taken the time to download data, the Bloomberg Administration is already proposing what I was about to suggest. Ah well, might as well write the post anyway because my justifications are in addition to the Mayor’s.

Residents of the Northeast might think they have a reason to be smug about rising oil prices, since a relatively large share of them use mass transit or walk to work, and those who drive tend to do so for shorter distances. But the Northeast leads the nation in another form of oil dependence – on heating oil. As shown in the attached spreadsheet, the states where the highest share of homes use heating oil are along the Atlantic Coast, with the percentage falling from 75.6% in Maine to 7.1% in North Carolina as one travels from north to south. New York City and the rest of New York State are in the middle of this pack at 35.2% and 30.4%. The U.S. average is just 7.3%. Therefore, Northeastern homes share with U.S. drivers elsewhere the economic and national security vulnerabilities of dependence on foreign oil.

COMING TOGETHER FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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A FAMOUS ACTOR, A DEAD PRESIDENT,  AN UNHERALDED ICON, TWO DISTRICT LEADERS, A NEW BOOK, TWO AUTHORS, A COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AND AN ASSEMBLYMAN: ALL COMING TOGETHER FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH (FEB. 2011).

If you stick with me on this column, I am sure that long before the end, you will be both edified and entertained. Who knows, it may even help you change the way you viewed “Black History Month”. 

Is President Obama Anti-Business?

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The rants keep rolling in, but I know what they are really about: Say on Pay. "Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rules concerning shareholder approval of executive compensation and 'golden parachute' compensation arrangements as required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act."

The entitlement of these executives sounds very much like the public employee union leaders with their retroactive pension enhancements. The stock market bubble ended more than a decade ago, but some people still expect their pay — or pensions — to be based on an assumption of soaring stock prices. But don't dare question it.  When will we reach the statute of limitations on executive claims that their excess pay packages are based on the creation of "shareholder value," and retroactive pension enhancements are "free" because stocks will go up more than 8.0% per year from the inflated levels of 2000? 

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