weakng Editorial

Editorial Boards Get No Respect
NYT Begs Albany to Change Again and Again At least there doing it on a regular basis now One Star for Ethics Reform The reforms proposed by Senator John Sampson, the Democratic leader in the State Senate, and the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, would inevitably get the best-we-can-do-at-the-moment label. That’s not good enough (NYT Ed) True News has point out that the NYT editorials on Albany always fall on deft ears The Audacity of Bruno's Corruption: Editorial Board Outrage Over the Years Leads Nowhere

NYP Begs for Charter Schools . . . Albany Ignores A special session to act on charter schools ended last night with no action. David Paterson and others ripped a bill proposed by Democratic legislative leaders, but the two houses of the legislature didn’t consider that bill or one submitted by Paterson. (TU/GNS) *Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the application for federal funding could be “undermined by legislative shell games,” and some parents are angry with the lack of action. (NYT/NYP) ** Parents rage at Albany over charter-busting bill (NYP) *** The education gap hits home (NYP) *** Whither Merryl control? (NYP Ed) ***Teacher unions are big spenders on campus *** NY Regents are board stiffs: study *** School Plan for U.S. Aid Gets No Vote in Albany *** Mayor Bloomberg rips charter school bill for insulting Martin Luther King, but signs off on it *** NY Legislature rejects charter school bill (WABC) *** Senate spat as Republicans frustrate adjournment on charter schools (TU) *** The charter school bill has to be passed by 4:30 p.m. today *** Teachers unions spent $5 million lobbying and campaign contributions last year. (NYP) *** Obama will expand the Race to the Top program by $1.35 billion. (WP) *** Paterson accused lawmakers of "elitist sophistry" and scolded them for setting a bad example for the state's school children *** "It's sending a negative message to Arne Duncan and the U.S. Department of Education that we're going to control the growth and location of charter schools, if we allow them to be created at all," said top Paterson aide Larry Schwartz. (Jacob Gershman at WSJ!) *** The Sharpton to Ford: "Get in the damn car." *** Nolan: Charter Bill 'Dead' (Updated)

Daily News Begs Thompson to Change Throw down the gauntlet, Dave: The budget speech Gov. Paterson should give What the DN does not get is that the gov always changes or flip flops Gov Broken Field Daily Senate Flip Flops Paterson’s Ford flip (Tuesday, Jan 12) Today's NYT Now Paterson Supports a Ford Senate Bid "Paterson says there is no reason why Harold E. Ford Jr. should not run for a Senate seat, two days after suggesting that he find another state to mount a campaign." (Wednesday, Jan 13th) * Paterson Uses The 'C' Word Paterson today referred to former Harold Ford as a "carpetbagger" and suggested

More Broken Field Gov Run: In 2010-2011 executive budget by
the governor who once said he was dead set against more tax increases
and then slowly but surely walked that back. Taxes, Taxes, Taxes

Ethics

Ethic Battle Continues Slimeball ethics: Legislators turned ethics bill into just another cynical political ploy *The Governor the Legislature and Reform (Queens Tribune *** Dreams of Taking the N to LaGuardia (Second Avenue Sagas)

Gov Lays A Trap for Albany

The Rules Don't Apply Politics: A Culture of We Can Do What We Want

The Rules Don't Apply Politics
A Culture of We Can Do What We Want

The big picture here is that pols treat government as if it is their candy story. As New Yorkers suffer through the highest unemployment rate in decades, business and stores close and move out to escape high taxes, it seems the culture of Pay to Play among this new generation of pols has not only increased but embolden with a total lack of ethics.

Pay to Play Albany Floyd Flake's friends

Why Are We Electing These Bums? Nothing on Creating Jobs or Attracting Business to the City

bloomberg pension

Nobody Asked Me, But . . . True News was First Before the Daily News Again Mayor Michael Bloomberg tears into rival Bill Thompson on pensions In this article the Daily News took credit for Bloomberg atacking Thompson on the pension funds because the paper said the mayor was responding to DN article that was written the day before that showed Thompson taking $158,000 from pension fund middlemen who won more than $2.2 billion in business with the city. On April 21, 2009 True News wrote The Wolf at Thompson's Door which exposed how Thompson was getting campaign contributions from former managers of his pension who after leaving his office became money man and received tens of millions from his office the same pension funds that they reorganized Thompson Pensions funds to make it more available to money manager type deals. Since that April story True News has written over a dozen stories about how Thompson has abused the pension funds offering many important leads that have not been follow up by the other papers or the campaigns. From True News "It was reported yesterday in the Times that it was under former top Thompson aide Josh Wolf-Powers’ advisement that Steven Rattner’s private investment firm Quadrangle Group hired the now-indicted Hank Morris as its placement agent. Rattner badly wanted to gain access to investment from the State’s pension fund and according to the Times, “Wolf-Powers told Mr. Rattner that he could not think of any investment firm that had persuaded the city’s pension fund to invest without using a placement agent.” Josh Wolf-Powers was his aid who left Thompson office and formed his own company and recieved pensions funds from the comprtoller. On August 18 the NYT reported that one quarter of the money Thompson raised came from people who do business with his office. On June 3 the Village Voice Robbins wrote how campaign consultants closed to Thompson not only acted as money managers with the city's pension funds but gave campaign contributions to the City Comptroller. The journalist culture which thinks they are the center of the world until your paper prints the story is elitist and in this new emerging Internet world factually wrong Pension middlemen gave $158K to Bill Thompson's campaigns and got $2.2B in city business *** Does anyone believe that dysfunctional Albany does not rig every major big with a contractor? Gov's casino flip stirs fears of rigging (Dicker NYP) There's growing fear that Gov. Paterson is manipulating the bidding process for the long-delayed, multibillion-dollar contract for a massive video-lottery casino at the Aqueduct Race Track *** How does Squier Knapp Dunn communications which has received many of Bloombergs millions get the voters to turn out in a dull mayoral campaign? After spending 65 million Squier has failed to get Bloomberg positive numbers to increase. In the debate this week Thompson will be fighting for his life - Term Limit extension, developers taxes and parking tickets pushing the middle class out. Squier will be trying to paint Bloomberg clam and in charge. This might not be the best debate Strategy to make sure voter turn out which has been in the single digits in the 2009 primary and runoff, reaches the 45% to 50% where experts believe Bloomberg will be easily elected. The non religious Jewish vote is a real question inside the Squier war room *** In New York with a 10% plus unemployment rate Stimulus is not about creating jobs its about paying off the UFT and their members in an election years $1B ed. 'waste'Few new stimulus jobs at DOE (NYP) *** An agressive press are you kidding Mr. Mayor "You should get rid of the public advocate," said Bloomberg, hinting he might try to do just that. "It's a total waste of everybody's money. Nobody needs another gadfly and we have an aggressive enough press." *** It is not the Public Administrator that works for the city's Surrogate Judges that is corrupt it it the court itself Surrogate's Court And Why It Should Go Why go after corrupt lawyers and judges year after year change the court Lawyer eyed by feds in corruption investigation of Bronx public administrator's office More Surrogate Corruption Facts About Manhattan Surrogate Court 2008 , Manhattan Surrogate Judge-Elect Nora Anderson Indicted Dummy down public "New Yorkers who can tell you the precise number of electoral votes in Ohio and Indiana give only blank looks when asked how their own local judges are selected" --Tom Robbins, Village Voice *** Some Battle there has not been a GOPer elected to the City Council in decateds Battle for Brooklyn City Council seats *** Big Losses Put Pensions at RiskOut nearly $1T in investments, governments may cut workers' benefits or take risks to rebuild assets. (Washington Post) *** Gothamist got it very wrong. Star Ledger endorsement of independent candidate for governor, Chris Daggett helps divide the vote for Corzine. It is better for him if the people who think the gov is corrupt vote for Draggett then give Christie the 2 or 3% he needs to win Star-Ledger Delivers F-U To Corzine, Christie (Gothamist)

nobody votes

Nobody Votes, Special Interest Win

WFP: Return to Tammany Hall Power

Ferrer Pension

Ferrer's Pay to Pay Politics NY1 does not ask Ferrer about the 100,000 he made from getting pension funds from Comptroller Thompson After Introduction From Ferrer, Firm Earned $100000 From State ... When Ferrer was questioned by On the Road to City Hall and called on the president to endorse Thompson Freddy Ferrer Calls On Obama To Endorse Thompson For Mayor *** State Sen. Pedro Espada 'should be in jail,' says Dem Neil Breslin *** Ferrer wasn't thrilled by Al Gore's praise of Mayor Bloomberg, either *** The Left Goes For Critics' Jugular - Jeanne Cummings, Politico *** Democratic fundraiser Hsu sentencing today *** Schumer Rakes in Wall Street Cash (Politico) *** WATCH: Dylan Ratigan Rips Evasive Lobbyist: "All You Did Was Play Cable Dodgeball"

Terror Trial

$200 Million Least of Our Problems It is not amazing that WBCS Pablo Guzmán got this out of Morgenthau it show you how out of touch the New York press is to a great story. The most experienced prestigious prosecutor in the nations says Morgenthau: 9/11 Trial In NYC 'A Huge Mistake' and nobody notices? *Security for 9/11 trial would cost $200M a year: sources The amount is nearly triple the $75M Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, initially estimated, sources say * Obama owes New York: Feds must pay every security penny for foolish terror trial (DN Ed)

Albany Pols

McDonalds No: Pay to Play Institutionalized Extortion in Albany Today's NYP says Nearly half of Albany's pols have 2nd jobs. Not to mention wives, children or other family members on the government payroll or working for those funded by government. None of these people are flipping fries at McDonalds. There working at jobs they got by using their elective office as the pleas of Brian Mclaughlin and Tony Seminario and trial of Bruno prove. "Former state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno allegedly pitched a friend Jared Abbruzzese on a $30,000-a-month consultant job because he saw Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver making big bucks as a lawyer -- and he too wanted in on the side-gig action. "He started talking about Sheldon Silver and how Sheldon Silver was getting paid 40, 50, 60 thousand a month from the trial lawyers association," Abbruzzese, whose relationship with Bruno kicked off a far-flung FBI probe, said on the stand Pal says Bruno wanted his own 'Shel game', Clients really do Shel out $$ , Joe Bruno golf outing with Cablevision's Jim Dolan may have derailed West Side Stadium plan