‘‘He really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time,’’
John McCain 5/26/08
“Candidate Clinton has called for surrender and waving the white flag,”
John McCain 1/23/08
The Latest
Census FY 2006 Public Finance Data: The Spreadsheets
|Am I a nerd or what? Yes I played a couple of sessions of paddleball with a friend, took two long bicycle rides with my wife, and attended a barbeque with relatives this Memorial Day weekend. But I also downloaded and crunched down fiscal 2005-2006 comparative state and local government finance data from the U.S. Census Bureau. I’ll write about it when I can, but for those with open minds and a willingness to look at tables, I’ve decided to post the spreadsheets right away.
One spreadsheet shows state and local taxes as a share of the personal income of area residents for New York City, the rest of New York State, and all the other states and the District of Columbia. The second shows revenues and expenditures in many categories, generally expressed as the amount per $1,000 of personal income of area residents, for local governments in New York City, the Rest of New York State, the U.S. and New Jersey. The output worksheets are primed to print on 8 ½ by 11 inch paper. I decided to keep track, and it took me about eight hours to get from the start of work to this point, despite being the fastest grunt-worker on earth (or so I believe). A few more notes follow, for those who haven’t read my posts on this subject before.
“L’amour Viole” (it’s a cinematic reference)[already revised]
|“You see, today, Hillary Clinton brought up the June 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy, ostensibly as a justification for her staying in the race this long. She apparently said this before the editorial board of a newspaper in South Dakota. It was disgraceful. Her words were something to the effect that, Robert (Bobby) Kennedy was assasinated in "June" that year. In other words:shit happens; and it can happen very late in the race. She needs to withdraw from the race immediately. The obvious implications of her statements are that Obama could be assassinated before the nomination is finalized at the August convention. This is shocking and beats all the disgraceful things she has already said and done in this campaign. This is indefensible. Once again she has messed with something that is sacred (and taboo) in American politics; and just like her Martin Luther King/ Lyndon B. Johnson remarks: she will pay a big price. Politically speaking: this woman is mortally wounded. She has finally assasinated herself. Desperation and hunger for power can do that.”
Hillary, Bill and Barack: The column I refused to write last month.
|In July of last year, in my finale of the three-part series on Barack Obama, I made a few predictions about the presidential race. One of those predictions upset many of my friends. It was the one where I said that Barack Obama will be president of the United States of America, unless a couple things happen: one of which was “an assassination”. I have never retracted this. In fact I wrote later in the year that the Secret Service needed to step up their detail, and protect this man at the highest level ever afforded a presidential candidate. I also berated Barack (slightly) for his cavalier attitude towards the fears of many many black people. I wasn’t kidding. I have met him on three different occasions and I didn’t like what I saw as the security arrangements around him.
Will Someone, Anyone Please Tell The Truth About the NYC School Budget?
|As I read the circular finger pointing about the NYC school budget, and get the e-mails asking me to protest the budget cuts, I am increasingly sickened. It seems like a grand conspiracy of deception, with all the proposed antagonists in on it, parents and taxpayers being played for fools, and the newspapers playing along. The teacher’s union and Sheldon Silver claim the state is wonderfully bestowing money on the schools and the city is taking it away. The teacher’s union also points to the contract budget and administrative costs at the Department of Education as if they were high rather than low. The Mayor and Chancellor Klein claim the state is unfairly directing money away from better off children to less well off children, playing the two off against each other. And they point to the teachers no one wants sitting in the rubber rooms, who have always been there. Everyone is coming up with all kinds of reason why the quality of education is going to be going down, and pointing at each other.
As I wrote here, however, the truth is that according to Census Bureau data two years ago in fiscal 2006 New York City’s instructional spending per child, at $8,679 after adjustment for the cost of living, was 56.3% higher than the national average ($5,552), and about as high as the adjusted Downstate Suburbs ($8,676) or Upstate New York ($8,555). That was after massive increases compared with the past, when the city’s schools were under-funded. The instructional employees — the teachers — had all the money they ought to need then. Yet from fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2008, according to city budget documents, NYC Department of Education spending has gone up an additional 17.1%. And in addition, the Mayor’s proposed budget increases school spending by 2.8% next year despite on onrushing fiscal crisis, and increases spending on teacher pay by 5.1%. So what is the problem? Everyone pointing the finger at each other knows, and none of them will say, because they were all in on it.
With Volunteers Like This, Who Needs Enemies?
|http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10497.html
“McCain’s self-righteous [expletive] has caught up with him. Now he’s got himself in a jam,” said another Republican lobbyist who asked to remain anonymous because he is a campaign volunteer.
FROM HYSTERICAL FRICTION TO HISTORICAL FICTION (an overly long and thoroughly botched token of sincerity)
|“So how did the DNC choose to recognize the growth of local blogs "in line with Governor Dean's 50-state strategy"? Mostly, they got it right. At least in 45 states. But they blew it big time in five others, dissing some of the best state bloggers in the country.
In New York, the excellent Albany Project was passed over for a site focused on NY City founded by the Politico's Ben Smith. Go to that site, and it's nothing but press releases. [Update: That press release page is a lower-level page, which I got when I clicked on the "blog" link in their navigation. They have real writers on their home page.]”
NY Times “Correction”
|After my item about William Kristol’s incorrect assertion was picked up by politico.com, salon.com & MSNBC, among other media outlets, the NY Times printed a unusual correction today (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)
A Capital Idea: Painting the Brooklyn Bridge
|For those of you who haven’t heard, various events are planned this Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. As someone who has always enjoyed walking over it, and who now rides over it on a bicycle three or four says per week (I take the Manhattan Bridge home), I recommend taking a stroll. As The Great Bridge, a history of its construction, put it “to be on the promenade of the Brooklyn Bridge on a fine day, about halfway between the two towers, looking over the harbor and the city skyline, was to be at one of the two or three most soul stirring spots in America, like standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon.”
You might not want to look too closely at the steel on either side, however, because if you do you’ll see all the spots of rusting bare metal. And then instead of celebrating the monument we inherited from our ancestors, you might end up thinking about the fact that, one atom of iron oxide at a time, we are taking it away from our children.
Is NYC Councilmember Tish James in trouble?
|Word out of the 35th City Council District is that NYC councilwoman Letitia “Tish” James is in political trouble, and may be headed for legal trouble too. Rumors have been circulating for over a year now that Ms. James was under investigation of some sort(s). The veracity of this rumor has never been confirmed by official sources, but as time has elapsed the rumor has perpetuated. Given the recent scandals surrounding Speaker Christine Quinn and also many of the other council members -for their improper use of taxpayer dollars (at least prima facie)- it is not surprising that at least three potential challengers are already lining up to unseat Ms. James -if she is still in office next year. At least one of these challengers believes that it will be an open seat. Sources are saying that Tish is going down (for the full count). They expect the shoe to drop real soon. We will see; all I am doing here is giving you the 4-1-1 in terms of what is being said on the rough and tough political streets of Brooklyn. And though I may piss-off many of my detractors by doing this: some folks seem to think I do this real well, and they love to read my columns.