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The Silencing of the Lambs
By Michael Boyajian
With the abrupt termination of conservative David Frum from his employment at the American Enterprise Institute the Republicans have stepped up their efforts to kill off their own dissidents signifying an inglorious end to what was the illusion of the party’s Open Tent platform from the 1990s.
I find it ridiculous that at a time when some other types of spending are finally being scrutinized for the value we are getting, the NYPD is being given a pass. Yes the ranks of officers are down, but as the data in the spreadsheet attached to this post show,New York City had 2 ½ times the national average number of police officers relative to population in March 2007. This in a city where the crime rate was about average. The average NYC police office earned 35.1% more than the national average that month (a figure that used to be low in NYC), while the average NYC private sector worker earned 32.3% more than average if finance is excluded, a figure likely lower today. New York City police officers contribute far less to their own pensions than police officers elsewhere. In New Jersey, the police had been contributing 7 ½ percent of their salaries to the pensions, compared with zero in New York City, and the New Jersey figure is almost certainly going up. Communities in New Jersey have been contributing zero to the pensions, a ripoff for the cops, whereas in New York City police wages are topped off by an employer pension contribution of more than 50.0% and going up, a ripoff by the cops. The NYC police retire after 20 years, with gold plated health care for life, and their pensions are not taxed. Add it up and NYC residents, who pay just about the highest taxes in the U.S. as a share of their income, paid 67.0% more for police than the national average as a share of that income in FY 2006, as can be seen in the spreadsheet attached to this post, a figure that is almost certainly higher today and higher still tomorrow. Because while the number of police officers can be cut, the far higher cost of ex-officers never is.
People often ask me why I do not write fiction. It is because my imagination is too limited to ever create anything as boundlessly amusing as the truth.
Behold the following:
March 26, 2010
Dear Mr. and Mrs. [LIST-MERGE NAME OF GOY HERE]:
Generation Greed has promised itself so much that it has been unwilling to pay for, there are only three ways out. Tax younger generations to poverty while denying them public services and benefits. Refuse to pay the debts and pension obligations older generations have promised themselves, with the conflict going extra-legal and perhaps extra-constitutional depending on how deeply the system is rigged. And inflate away the debts, so they are paid back in less valuable dollars. Economist Paul Krugman, looking at the Greek situation, seems to be catching on to this, and coming to terms with inflation as the least bad alternative in the wake of Generation Greed, as you can read here.
Same Sex Marriage Senate Battles Heat Up
By Michael Boyajian
Making good on their promise to roll out of the pubs and into the streets gay rights activists are taking the battle for same sex marriage to the senate ballot box. Some races are a long shot but there are many that have a chance of knocking out opponents of same sex marriage.
Gotham Gazette has a story on New York City's goal of creating a green economy. As it happens, I had solar panels installed on my roof last year, receiving massive federal, state and local subsidies for doing do. But part of the subsidy was absorbed by the cost of bureaucracy. From the time I signed a contract until the time the final inspection was completed, the solar project took nearly a year. But the actual installation of the solar panels and equipment took just ONE DAY, in part because the contractor was good, and in part because I had planned for it, timing solar installation with the need for a new roof.
To know Eliot Spitzer is to come to the realization that there was just no way he was ever going to spend the rest of his life on the sidelines.
The former "Sheriff of Wall Street" talked to interviewer Peter Elkind, author of "Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer," in a piece currently in Fortune Magazine.
More than just missing politics, Spitzer is described as talking "with friends and advisers about political targets."
“The proclamation issued by this Office designating April as Third Reich History Month contained a major omission. The failure to include any reference to the Holocaust was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow German who has been offended or disappointed. The abomination of the Holocaust divided our nation, deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights, and led to the Second World War. The Final Solution was an evil, vicious and inhumane practice which degraded human beings to cadavers, and it has left a stain on the soul of this nation. In 2007, the Bundestag approved a formal statement of “profound regret” for the Nation’s history of anti-Semitism, which was the right thing to do.
When I signed the Proclamation designating February as Jewish History Month, and as I look out my window at the German War Memorial, I am reminded that, even 70 years later, Germany’s past is inextricably part of our present. The Third Reich History Month proclamation issued was solely intended to promote the study of our history, encourage tourism in our nation in advance of the 70th Anniversary of the Blitzkreig, and recognize Germany’s unique role in the story of the World. The Bundestag unanimously approved the establishment of a Semi-Sesquicentennial Second World War Commission to prepare for and commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the War, in order to promote history and create recognition programs and activities.
As Germans we carry with us both the burdens and the blessings of our history. German history undeniably includes the fact that we were the Third Reich, the site of more concentration camps than any other nation, and the home of the War Crimes Trails at Nuremberg. Our history is perhaps best encapsulated in a fact I noted in my Inaugural Address: The nation that served as ground zero for the Holocaust was also the first in the world to pay reparations. The world’s history has been written in Germany. We cannot avoid our past; instead we must demand that it be discussed with civility and responsibility. During the commemoration of the Second World War over the next few years, I intend to lead an effort to promote greater understanding and harmony in our nation among our citizens.”
It appears we should again start practicing the words. “Gov. Cuomo.”
Not the Democratic icon Mario, but his son Andrew. Andrew’s time has arrived.
To have ever covered the younger Cuomo—one would almost have to know this day would inevitably come. It was clear going back more than 10 years ago and meeting with him in his Washington office as 
HUD Secretary. Even in private, you could tell from his smile, his confidence, and his political moves. Yes, Andrew Cuomo’s ambition almost cost him his career when he challenged Carl McCall in the race for Governor—but even his critics have to admit the discipline Cuomo has shown rebounding since them.
This race is Cuomo’s to lose.
How can one make such a prediction months in advance. Under normal circumstances, It’s tough for republican candidates in New York, even when the stars are perfectly aligned—but this year in particular the republican contest is shaping up as a bad episode of “All my Children.”
Senate Candidate Launches Campaign of New Ideas
By Michael Boyajian
Didi Barrett will make it official as she declares her candidacy against State Senator Stephen Saland in the Hudson Valley’s 41st Senate District on this sunny Wednesday in April.