*** Goldman Set To GAIN $1 Billion
Whose Your Daddy?
"Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one. A. J. Lieblin
One reason for the remarkably charmed life of Mike Bloomberg's administration as he sails toward re-election has been the waning of the city's news business as Tom Robbins wrote in his excellent article in this weeks Village Voice. Another reason is to use his money to take over whatever news media is left. WNBC, WABC and WCBS all have accepted million of dollars of Bloomberg TV commercials, a lot run on their TV News programs. Viewers of those news programs get more information in the Bloomberg ads then they do by watching news programs or checking their website which have almost nothing about the mayoral campaigns. In the final week of the campaign alone, Mr. Bloomberg is on track to spend more than $3 million on TV and radio commercials, the equivalent of what Mr. Thompson has spent on TV and radio ads over the entire campaign. Most of the local stations are running one report about the mayoral election this weekend, one piece over and over again just like the mayor's commercials. The news and the Bloomberg ads to most voters blend together as news. Years ago news programs did not allow campaign ads on their news programs, now anything goes. Christie says that after his opponent Corzine spent 30 million in negative ads against him, he no longer recognizers himself. Corzine's Big, Fat Political Mistake WCBS and WNBC never offered a bid on the mayoral debates, that is why NY1, got so many of the debates, even though their cable station is not available on a lot of TV sets in the city. Almost every local newspaper has endorsed the mayor, everyone of those local papers have had Bloomberg ads running for months. Those papers limit their coverage in the mayoral race to local endorsement visits and press releases about local issues. A lot more relevant information to the readers in those local papers appear in the Bloomberg campaign ads. Bloomberg's is a master of the news media beyond business In Mayoral Race, a Blitz of Truth-Stretching Ads (NYT)
The Press is Not Preforming Its Constitutional Role "The press [is] the only tocsin of a nation. [When it] is completely silenced... all means of a general effort [are] taken away." --Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Cooper, Nov 29, 1802
Did NY1 Bass Know Carter's Court Problems? In the Daily News NY1 executive Steve Paulus said New York 1 executives had no idea Carter tried to sway the judge by citing his credentials - and claiming to be friends with big shots like Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau - until he read it in the Daily News. Outraged that Dominic Carter played the "high-profile journalist" card in a desperate bid to get a judge to bury a wife-beating charge, Paulus all but slammed the door shut on the fallen anchorman. The answer that Paulus gave was interesting because it did not say that the station knew nothing about Carter Court date. It they know how could they let him anchor and report on discussion of the Hiram Monserrate or more important was Carter's journalist independence constraint by what the corporate owners of Time Warner wanted? The former chairman of Time Warner testified at the City Council to extend term limits to allow the mayor to run again NY1 rips 'abuser' for bigshot act , Dominic Carter loses top NY1 anchor gig as brass learn of his name-dropping
Plausible Deniability We have gone thought an entire mayoral campaign and neither side has said how they get the mob out of the building department or construction industry in the city. The wimp press did not even ask a single question about who is responsible for the two firemen who died at the Deutsche Bank. Was mob involvement at both the construction company and the building department at fault? Bloomberg is a businessman he is just interested in getting thing built Buildings Dept. Woes Have Persisted Despite Bloomberg’s Overhaul , Bloomberg's Biggest Scandal—The Deutsche Bank Fire—Should Be His Downfall. Why Isn't It? Thompson's Brooklyn Machine? For someone who NYT's Powell described Saturday as growing up in the arms of the Brooklyn Democratic machine Thompson does not seem to have the active support of in the county beyond the black community in Brooklyn. The Borough President is for Bloomberg and so are a few Brooklyn Democratic councilmembers. Most of those who support him are doing so only on paper, except Dov Hikind who has a rally for him last week in Boro Park. It seem that way in other parts of the city also. Saturday morning his campaign was force to use the audio of President Obama giving Thompson a shout out at a dinner while the video showed Thompson shaking hands with of a voter. I bet Thompson longs for the days of the machine of his youth, which would make sure that an elected officials who did not deliver the vote to a democratic mayoral candidate would be unemployed at the next election Brooklyn Machine Steingut The dropping of 8 of the 10 charges against Manhattan Surrogate Elected Nora Anderson reminds one of the case where the late Assembly Speaker Stanley Steingut got out of an indictment by the Manhattan DA for helping his son by fixing an election in Brooklyn because the crimes occurred in Brooklyn not Manhattan where the indictment was issued. The Brooklyn DA controlled by the Steingut Brooklyn Machine saw no crime in what the former speaker did to help his son Case Against Surrogate-Elect Survives Dismissal of 8 Charges Inspector Clouseau See-no-evil watchdogs The state’s ethics panel gave Gov. Paterson and his staff a clean bill of health last week after supposedly reviewing their sleazy leak of unflattering information about Caroline Kennedy. Problem is, there doesn’t appear to be much evidence that any such inquiry was ever undertaken: According to news reports, it’s not known if anyone was even interviewed by commission staff (NYP Ed) No Investigation . . . No Evidence We know by the investigation of the state's ethics panel that investigations of corruption don't always happen. One Bloomberg Web ad accuses Mr. Thompson of corruption, stating that he “traded contracts for $650,000 in contributions.” The NYT says the donations were legal, and there was no evidence of quid pro quo in the city's comptroller's office. According to a April 21st, 2009 article in the New York Times, it was Wolf-Powers, when he was still working in the Comptroller’s office, who advised Steven Rattner’s private equity firm Quadrangle Group to hire Hank Morris as his “placement agent” It was also Wolf-Powers that increased the amount of money the the comptrollers office could give money managers. What does the NYT want a yellow brick road to find evidenced? if Quadrangle wanted to get the New York pension fund to invest money with Rattner’s company. Is the fact that Morris is under indictment evidence? What about Rattner who was forced to leave the White House? How about the fact that that Thompson aid Wolf-Powers, left the comptrollers office and formed his own pension company, got $60 million from the city's pension fund and contributed the max 10,000 to Thompson campaign? There is more, the California Pension board is investigating Alfred Villalobos and his company Arvco and Leon Black's Apollo Management LP for pay to play and the fact that there investments are not doing as well as the others. Both men do big business with the city and state's Pension fund. Warning to Albany California’s Fiscal Health Continues to Deteriorate, Despite Many Deep Cuts Transit and social service advocates have gone to court and won injunctions to block over a billion in proposed budget cuts by California elected officials passed to balance their budget. Another problems California faces is their rising unemployment and an overall sluggish economy have led to lower than expected revenues flowing into their state tax revenues California's Model Doesn't Work - William Voegeli, Los Angeles Times No challenger: Abdullah will not participate in Afghan runoff Sounds like most of the elections in New York
New York Economic Melt Down Costly 'trips' on High Line *** NY jobs don't add up Just 300 stimulus hires *** Begging for heat in the Bronx *** City's industrial zones undermined, report says Shopping centers, bars, and bowling alleys set up shop in areas zoned for manufacturing, industrial advocates complain (Crains) *** Water liens may fuel foreclosures *** And they want your votes?: Lazy pols can't be bothered to do their civic duty *** Albany pols must face the bottom line: Let's cut the New York State Legislature's budget in half ***NYC Cab Riders Miffed Over New Taxi Surcharge*** Saturday Paterson says deficit up to $10B over next 2 years *** ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ to Close *** Subway Fare Hikes Could Be on Tap Next Year (WNBC) *** Guv: State can't afford transit raises *** TWU prez blasts Gov. Paterson for backing out of pay-hikes deal *** Swanky Four Seasons hit with cash flow problems *** Generous to a fault: John Zuccotti seems to think the MTA is made of money *** Hiring Freeze Leaves New Teachers Stranded (Village Voice) *** New MTA Tax to Affect Freelancers (Village Voice) *** MTA NEEDS BETTER PROJECT MANAGEMENT (Our Town) *** Do I hear $299k? Condo auctions create value fears (Riverdale Press) *** W Union Square hotel a default risk [Bloomberg] *** Costly 'trips' on High Line *** NY jobs don't add up Just 300 stimulus hires
Road to City Hall Candidate Bloomy cashes in $8M vouchers *** He's just like one of us! (The final weekend edition) *** G.O.P. Moderate, Pressed by Right, Abandons Race *** Thompson may be down in the polls but he's still smiling *** New York City's next mayor needs to stay focused on what ails us*** Darth Vader to Mayor: Mike, I Am Not Your Voter *** SI Advance Goes With Zablocki for Public Advocate *** Thompson's "Closing Argument" ***Scozzafava Comes Out For Owens *** Mayoral foes Thompson, Bloomberg hit strongholds, sound familiar themes in final stretch *** The DN's unscientific survey reveals few New Yorkers can identity a photo of Bill Thompson *** Saturday Mike a near lock in poll *** In Final Days of Race, Challenger Lays Out Agenda *** Bloomberg and Corzine: 2 Leaders, Few Parallels *** When Thompson Started Out, the Brooklyn Machine Offered a Way Up *** ‘What Women Want,’ Starring Michael R. Bloomberg *** Decision 09: The Campaigning Heats up for the Weekend (WNBC) *** Mayoral candidates pulling out all stops to get out the vote *** Poll: Bloomberg leads by 15 points ... for now *** Mayor's Campaign Lettuce Patch Now At $90M *** How your candidates will spend Halloween weekend*** America's Ultimate Dead-End Job New York. If you can make it there you'll make it anywhere. Except politics *** Giuliani bumped from World Series seats for Michelle Obama *** The Gamble Weighing the risks and rewards of a Bloomberg third term
Bovis, Deutsche Bank Fire and Thompson Barrett: Builder Blamed In Firefighter Deaths Is Building Bill Thompson's Wife's Museum *** Barrett: Bill Thompson Responds To Our Allegations, Sort Of
Pay to Play Mobsters made profit off taxpayers *** An indictment of former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno would serve as a "de-facto indictment of Albany's oft-criticized political cutlure," says Michael Virtanen.
Law and Order Kerik 'cracking' Concern from jail shrink *** Detective Faces D.W.I. Charge in Fatal Accident *** NYPD: Off-Duty Cop Drunk In Pedestrian Killing *** Kerik transferred over psych symptoms *** NY Senate leader Bruno, 80, faces corruption trial (AP) *** Bruno taps war chest for $750,000 defense (Albany Times Union) *** Pol stonewalls suit on WFP campaign *** Sunday Sharpton's ex & kid in cop rage *** H'ween teen shot *** Officials Detail 5-Hour Gap Between Detective’s D.W.I. Crash and Blood Test *** John Gotti Junior's trial has Hollywood-worthy plot *** N.Y. Ban on Texting while Driving Takes Effect
More City News Wood to Steel, a Long Line of Ships Named New York *** The NYC Marathon Has Made Great Strides Since 1970 *** Stuy Town tenants may be owed millions by Tishman(The Villager) *** Silverstein breaks the silence in W.T.C. dispute (Downtown Express) *** Without Final Location, Work on WTC Arts Center to Begin (Tribeca Trib) *** Transit Probes Photo of Texting NYC Bus Driver (WINS) *** Brooklyn sailor proud to serve on ship USS New York to 'change the world' *** Rudy Giuliani got bumped at Yankee stadium to accommodate First Lady Michelle Obama.
White House Port Mortuary’s Pull President Obama promised to renovate American society, but is trapped in the money pits of a recession and two wars (Dowd NYT) *** More Poetry, Please President Obama does not have a communication problem, but a “narrative” problem. Without one, his message is lost (Friedman NYT) *** Andy Stern SEIU Appears Most Often On WH Logs (TPM) *** Clinton Calls Israel Concessions 'Unprecedented' *** Ruiz: Prez now owns the crippling Cuba embarg *** White House serves up the treats *** Obama and Friends in Their Own World - Bill O'Reilly, Boston Herald *** Obama Seeks Options to 40,000 Troops - Kornblut & Jaffe, Washington Post *** A Pay-to-Play White House - Washington Times *** Obama Tests Rating in State Votes - Anna Fifield, Financial Times *** How Afghanistan Might Be Vietnam - Matt Bai, New York Times Magazine *** Saturday Schools Are Where Stimulus Saved Jobs, New Data Show ***Obama Seeking Options to Send Fewer Troops - Kornblut & Jaffe, Wash Post *** Agonizing Over Afghanistan - David Shribman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette *** A Reaganite Or Jacksonian Wave? - Ron Brownstein, National Journal *** Virginia Race Tests Obama's Staying Power - Corey Dade, Wall St. Journal *** Obama's 11th Hour Pitch To Save Corzine - Linda Feldmann, CS Monitor *** Obama Makes Bush His Blame Czar - Mark Steyn, Orange County Register *** Iran Response Presents Obama With Quandary - Andrew Lee Butters, Time *** Obama tempers economic news with caution on jobs *** Mother Jones: 22 Things Cheney Can't Recall About The Plame Case
*** The U.S.'s Secret Operation to Save Yemeni Jews *** Number of U.S. Wounded Surges *** Iran's Nuclear Response Creates a Quandary for Obama (Time Magazine) *** ABC: $160,000 Per Stimulus Job? White House Calls That 'Calculator Abuse'... *** Iran Flips on Nuke Deal, What Next? (The Atlantic) *** Clinton praises Israel stance on peace talks (LA Times) ***Obama Vs. The Generals (Rolling Stone) *** O lifts AIDS visitor ban
Congress and Political Parties The G.O.P. Stalinists Invade Upstate New York The battle for upstate New York confirms just how swiftly the right has devolved into a wacky, paranoid cult that is as eager to eat its own as it is to destroy President Obama (Rich NYT) *** Shock move hands victory to 'right' man (Dicker NYP) *** Mandates and Affordability To guarantee coverage for tens of millions of uninsured Americans, health reform must provide financial support for those who need it (NYT Ed) *** Democrats Push for Plan to Cut Deficit *** The Grass Roots Prevail in N.Y. - Dan Balz, Washington Post *** Prelude to a 2010 Drama - David Broder, Washington Post *** Charlie Rangel is knighted in Jamaica *** Jarrett: Partisan Divide = GOP's Fault - George Stephanopoulos, ABC News *** Saturday *** Another Misstep on the Road to Reform The current proposal for regulating too-big-to-fail firms is flawed and does not fulfill the mandates for transparency and accountability (NYT Ed) *** The House Ethics Committee at Work A computer gaffe revealed some of the secretive workings of the House ethics committee, and the reported signs of life are encouraging (NYT Ed) *** Disclosure of List Threatens House Inquiries *** GOP looks to Virginia for victory *** Congress panel rocked by ethics probe *** ACORN Video Creates New Conservative Star - Perry Bacon, Wash Post *** Republican in New York Exits Race *** New front in healthcare war: Procedure votes (The Hill) *** Voice From the Republican Past Edward Brooke (Connecting the Dots) ***Health Insurer Lobbying Mailer Came After It Raised Rates (TPM)
Pay to Play Washington Report Criticizes Medicare Role in Fraud Investigations *** Ethics Probe Report a Yawner - Jerry Remmers, TMV *** Is the Chamber of Commerce Its Own Worst Enemy? *** It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Pork! - BusinessWeek *** Wife of Sen. Against Public Option Rakes In Millions From Insurer - The Street *** Why Are Bad Prosecutors So Rarely Punished? - Reason *** Ethics Investigations Chill Fundraising (Roll Call)
National Injunction Sought to Keep A.I.G. Assets in California *** Constraining America’s Brightest Instead of getting a chance to set the world on fire, college graduates are facing a gloomy economy, unpaid internships and unemployment (Herbert NYC) *** Gavin Newsom Drops California Gubernatorial Bid *** Can Detroit Prevent a Return of 'Devil's Night'? *** California’s Fiscal Health Continues to Deteriorate, Despite Many Deep Cuts *** In Race for Governor, Brown Is Hard to Ignore
International Karzai Rival Says He Is Withdrawing From Runoff *** The con goes on and on: Iran dupes world with nuclear three card Monte *** The Real Afghan Strategy - David Ignatius, Washington Post *** Agonizing Over Afghanistan - David Shribman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette*** Saturday A Moderate in America’s Jewish Lobby Causes a Stir *** Abdullah widely expected to boycott Afghan run-off election *** Venezuela & Iran Could Spark Next Crisis - Warren Kozak, Wall St. Journal *** World No Fairer 20 Yrs After Wall's Fall - Mikhail Gorbachev, Guardian *** Abdullah Will Quit Afghan Election, Sources Say *** Pirates Demand $7M for Brit Couple *** Pakistan Closes In on Taliban
Terror Plot Surge for these shores: Homefront war on terror must ramp up (DN Ed)
New Jersey Corzine Vows Turnpike Tolls Will Not Rise *** Corzine Courts Obama Backers in All-Out Push
World Series News reporter brings Yanks pride to Philly - and gets earful *** A roof with a view no more: Yankee Stadium no longer in sight for Bronx building dwellers *** A-Rod leads home run barrage as New York Yankees pound Phillies in Game 3 of World Series
Media and New Tech Times eds play referee in Sorkin mess *** Icahn ends CIT battle *** BofA prepares for TARP payoff ***Deal in Senate on Protecting News Sources***Lou Dobbs Says His Views Made His Home a Target *** Google's Eric Schmidt on What the Web Will Look Like in 5 Years *** The Time Inc. Layoffs (The Atlantic) *** Twitter Tweaks Social Media with New Feature (The Nation) ** The New York Times’ Coming Jihad Against The Huffington Post *** Associated Press Plans Summit To Quell Employees' Fears *** Why Google Doesn’t Like Its Phone Bill *** Yes, journalists deserve subsidies too (Washington Post) *** Schumer Aims To Protect Bloggers *** Peter Shellem, Investigative Reporter Who Wrote About Wrongful Convictions, Dies at 49 *** TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads
Blog Reports Planning Students Being Integrated Into Community Boards (Architect’s Newspaper via Planetizen) *** Bloomberg and the City’s Park System (Parks and Recreation via City Parks Blog) *** Nets Arena Originally Scheduled to Open Today (Atlantic Yards Report) *** City’s Bloggers Discuss Local Journalism’s Future (FishbowlNY via NYConvergence) *** Charters Serve More ‘At Risk’ Students than City Averages (The Chalkboard) ***The Foxification of the Brooklyn Paper Continues *** The Global Anti-Trust Battle Over Google's Library *** Comcast, NBC Deal Edges Closer* *** Drivers, passengers bemoan MTA taxi surcharge (Second Ave Sagas.com *** Rent, Interrupted (Sty Town Lux Living) *** Eyes on the Street: The Gateway Center Pedestrian Maul (Streetblog.com) *** Feds Grant $55 Million to Forest City Ratner. Funds Seem to be for Atlantic Yards (Develop Don't Destroy) *** Old Yankee Stadium demolition underway [Curbed]
