The Post’s Fred Dicker is a lot of awful things, but stupid is not among them, so I guess it was the editor of his piece–about a purported effort to throw Pedro Espada out of the Democratic Party–who took out the part about Marty Connor trying to do this to Pedro in 2002, only to have the Courts rule that anything Espada did on the Senate floor was protected under the State Constitution, and thus could not be used in a disenrollment proceeding.

I also wonder what the relevance of possible future criminal charges against Espada is. There is at least one Senate Democrat under indictment today (Kevin Parker –with players to be named later seemingly queuing up at the Courthouse door) and no one, not even his opponent, is proposing to throw him out of the party. Certainly, being the target of a criminal investigation does not disqualify one from being a Democrat, even if Republicans with the title of Majority Leader have been more creative in their efforts at wealth enhancement about than Espada has (poverty pimping is so 1970s).

And, as to Espada’s living in Westchester, lots of Democrats do, including at least three other State Senators. It might be a reason to throw him out of the Senate, but the party?

Supreme Court Battle of the Sexes

By Michael Boyajian

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival put on another brilliant performance at Boscobel of their interpretation of a William Shakespeare play, this time the Taming of the Shrew.  The initial dialogue between Katherina and Petruccio as performed by Gabra Zackman and Richard Ercole enshrines Shakespeare as the greatest writer in the history of Western Civilization.

How Fishkill Can Avoid Bankruptcy

By Michael Boyajian

The Poughkeepsie Journal reporting on Fishkill’s financial crisis says that scrutiny is required for the $6.5 million bond legislation to move forward.  Fishkill has been too secretive in the past and the public has a right to know why so much is being borrowed, what it means for our children and why the municipality is borrowing to pay for operating expenses, a relatively unheard of proposition.  The Journal called this an “extraordinary circumstance.”

The New York Times has an article that describes what the state legislature actually does — hand out money to small groups of influential people at the expense of everyone else, with the cost preferably hidden until the future, without debate, without dissent, and without any facts about the consequences. Measured by dollars allocated, this accounts for most of the legislation over the past 18 years. For most legislators, this and member item handouts is all they do, and all they care about.

Most of the bills proposed would either allow public employees to do less work, or allow them to retire and do no work for longer on more generous terms. Even as the rest of us have faced tax increases from the nation's highest state and local tax burden, and have had our public services cut. Even as $billions are borrowed that will make this even worse in the future. Even as the beneficiaries are out there collecting signatures so the incumbent state legislators can get on the ballot, despite rules and litigation that keep challengers off. This is incredibly unjust, somehow allegedly irrevocable, bi-partisan, and will soon be all that is left of "public service" as it accelerates into an institutional collapse.

Republican financial reform=do the same things all over again, but hope for a different result. How To Kill An Ant | The New Republic www.tnr.com

Too good to be true?

Friedman: "I am struck, though, at how much Fayyadism makes some Arabs and Israelis uncomfortable. For those Arabs who have fallen in love with the idea of Palestinians as permanent victims, forever engaged in a heroic “armed struggle” to recover Palestine and Arab dignity, Fayyad’s methodical state-building is inauthentic. Some Arabs — shamefully — dump on it…And for Israelis on the right, particularly West Bank settlers, who love the notion that there are no responsible Palestinians to talk to so the status quo will never change, Fayyadism is a real threat. Akiva Eldar, a columnist for the Israeli daily Haaretz, described this group perfectly the other day when he wrote how they “won’t relinquish the Arabs’ ‘no’s." Op-Ed Columnist – The Real Palestinian Revolution – NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com

Art from the Renaissance to the Contemporary:  A Mirror of Civilization

By Michael Boyajian

Before one studies Renaissance art one must look at the Gothic Art that preceded it and which ruled most of the Dark Ages after the collapse of the Roman Empire.  In a word this art celebrated religion and the greatness of God, man was a mere backdrop.

As usual, Ruben Diaz is acting like a posturing jerk, but just for the record–double income, no kids upper middle class? FILE “SINGLE” while you still can and pay for a great honeymoon. Diaz Sr., Defender Of Gay Rights? capitaltonight.com

Query: in their efforts to constantly oppose Vito Lopes, will Diana Reyna and Nydia Velazquez now switch sides too? If instead of acting reflexively, they'd have watched what Vito did, instead of what he said, they'd be far less confused and wouldn't have ticked off so many of their Yuppie fans.Brooklyn Domino Plan Advances A Step www.nydailynews.com