Photo Credit: pdx3525

It is by now a cliché that every crisis is an opportunity. The Obama administration is using the nation’s multiple crises to transform virtually every aspect of domestic and foreign policy. Whether or not one agrees with the policies, the public is in broad agreement that the president is acting out of what he regards as the country’s best interests.

Regrettably, the crisis-opportunity formula as applied to the city’s perpetual housing crises yields very different results. The crisis is real enough but the opportunities are all about maximizing profits, and entrenching cooperative politicians in office. That’s the real meaning of the public-private partnerships that theoreticians and government officials are fond of talking about. If further proof is needed, we would only point to the transparently bogus claim that “continued leadership in this moment of crisis” requires the mayor and city council members who otherwise would be term limited to serve at least another four years.
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Thanks to Sue Susman who pointed us to this story.

Via Elizabeth Benjamin and The Daily Politics

State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi handed Gov. David Paterson a significant victory this afternoon, ruling that each and every member of the deadlocked state Senate - all 62 of them - must convene at the same time in the chamber when the governor calls an extraordinary session.

Teresi ordered the entire Senate to convene at 10 a.m. tomorrow, and called the separate, gavel-in/gavel-out sessions the warring factions have been holding since last week “a fiction” and “an illusion.”

The judge (who happens to be a Democrat) made no secret of his contempt for the Senate mess and issued a harsh rebuke to the senators from the bench.

“You have a unique opportunity as elected officials to take the high road; do the right thing for the greater good,” Teresi said.

“Otherwise there are those citizens of the public who would conclude, if they have not already concluded, that these members have placed their own interests ahead of all other citizens of this state to the benefit of their own personal and selfish interests, and that those same people may also conclude and define that conduct as rude, inconsiderate and egotistical.

Unfortunately I am not without the power to correct or address those issues.”

Paterson’s counsel, Peter Kiernan, said the governor was “very pleased” with the decision.

But the win was short-lived; as the Senate GOP’s attorney, Jack Casey, informed the judge he had already prepared a notice of appeal and plans to file it first thing tomorrow morning.

An automatic stay is granted to public officials when there is a judgment against them and they behing the appeal process, which means, according to Casey, Teresi’s decision is now “frozen.”

See the rest of the story here: The Daily Politics

We are citizens not subjects. Two billionaires, Michael Bloomberg and Tom Golisano have been buying and selling our supposed representatives with arrogance and boldness that knows no limits. Please read this post by Elizabeth Benjamin in The Daily Politics.
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That was the wise advice that Bill Moyer’s father gave him when he took the job as Lyndon Johnson’s press secretary. In New York politics, it would represent a giant ethical leap forward.

The Independence Plaza tenant board has been in office for a number of years. There is a contested election. I headed the tenant board from 2000 to 2004 and resigned shortly after we concluded the negotiations with Laurence Gluck.

From time to time people ask my opinion about various landlord-tenant matters. I always say to them “Thankfully I’m out of the loop.” I’ve experienced first-hand how nasty these tenant fights can be and life is short. Tonight a letter written by the challengers was attached to my door.
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With all the well-deserved tributes to Michael, we thought we’d post one of Janet Jackson’s classics, with choreography by Paula Abdul.

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A reader sent us this cartoon by Diana Cosgrove, a retired NYC art teacher, about Bloomberg’s dream to control everything. We thank you and encourage others to send us their Bloomberg material as well.

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A reader shares this story from Room Eight with us about Bloomberg’s geese gassing:

Mayor Bloomberg, who has no consideration for other species much less his own (unless the person is wealthy or a developer or the entity a corporation), just wants to bury his stealing of a third term so it looks like he’s doing something.

Anything this man does is to benefit himself in some way. Schools are failing, buildings collapsing, World Trade Centers not built, whatever they are doing around swine flu isn’t working, senior centers are closing and there are more and more homeless, and, under his watch, the economy, job market and Wall streets stumbled, he has to look proactive in “some way”- even if it’s the entirely wrong way. Just as Bloomberg outzones us peasants he now kills geese for no reason. Bloomberg is a vile little man. His ego is killing this city.

The gassing of flightless geese is not only a waste of taxpayers money, but a sick,inhumane plan to fool the residents of New York into thinking that the city is doing something to help protect it’s airports. Based on the genetic samples found, the Smithsonian team was able to definitely say the “culprits” in the Sullenberger downing were migrating geese and not the local geese scapegoated, rounded and gassed currently.

Bloomberg’s office releases dubious unconfirmed independently statistics of his “successes” and everyone else pretends to see them. It is time for someone to open their eyes and look beyond the numbers and shout “he hasn’t got any clothes on!”

Video of protest at Bloomberg’s Upper East Side Residence. Listen to chants “No Justice NO Peace”, “Gassing Geese to Save Face, What a disgrace”, etc.