TrueNews: Fixed Race? DiNapoli Runs Unopposed in the Democratic Primary Under Investigation in AG Pension Investigation

Friday, May 14, 2010

Fixed Race? DiNapoli Runs Unopposed in the Democratic Primary Under Investigation in AG Pension Investigation

PM UPDATE Pakistan has two alleged financiers in custody in Times Square bomb case *Taxi passengers taken for a ride to the tune of $1.1 million: officials * State Senate Dems Rake In $1M At Fundraiser

Fixed Race?
DiNapoli Runs Unopposed in the Democratic Primary Under Investigation in AG Pension Investigation

Journalism Blinders
Today's NYP Editorial make fun of the state and city Comptrollers Tom DiNapoli and John Liu's audit on whether MTA track work requires quite so many service disruptions. The Post ask why they are not rooting out government fraud? or going after an honest accounting of the municipal pension funds? What the NYP left out of its editorial is that DiNapoli is under investigation by AG Cuomo as part of the pension fraud investigation Cuomo's Pension Inquiry Extends to DiNapoli - DealBook Blog The NYP should have also pointed out that the appointed DiNapoli does not even have a democratic challengers in this years primary.

The Politicker painted DiNapoli a victim because he has to run with the late budget, criminal scandals, ethical scandals and a lame duck governor without mentioning like the NYP Cuomo's investigation of DiNapoli and the state comptroller refusal to accept the Cuomo reforms which would end one man control of pension fund investments. CUOMO PUSHES FOR PENSION REFORM. Don't Ask, Don't Tell Reporting does not end with DiNapoli. City Comptroller Liu who now wants to investigate why track work requires quite so many service disruptions had ten years to ask that question to the MTA as the chairman of the City Council's transportation committee.

Who audits the auditors? NYP Editorial "To what end -- rooting out government fraud? An honest accounting of the municipal pension funds?Nope. The issue of the moment: whether MTA track work requires quite so many service disruptions. That requires a double-team? The MTA spin masters have already come up with an answer to the comptrollers questions. New MTA plan would shut each subway line until it's fixed

Budget 44 Days Late
Nothing Changes
Aiding and abetting: Legislature won't fix the budget and won't let Paterson do it (DN Ed)

Pay to Play González Big Mouth
Prosecutors Seek Longer Term for Ex-Senator Who Tried to Withdraw Guilty Plea Prosecutors are seeking a significantly longer prison sentence for Efrain González Jr., claiming that he lied when he told a judge he wanted to withdraw his plea because he was innocent (NYT) * Prosecutors want longer sentence for ex-pol Gonzalez (DN) * Hiram Monserrate dropped his lawsuit to get his old job back.

Paterson $$$
Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook defended his boss’ decision not to continue his own 10 percent pay cut, saying: “(The governor) has already given back more of his salary than any public-employee union member.” *Gov nixes vow to cut own salary by 10% (NYP) * A backroom political war could mean the state will start cracking down on ticket scalpers *A resolution passed by the Senate was a poison pill to help have furloughs ruled unlawful. (TU) * Silver: Right Back At Ya, Gov

$$$$ Trail of Times Square Bomber
Bomb scare in Union Square (NYP) * Pakistan arrests suspect who says he was accomplice to Times Sq. bomber: report (NYP) * FBI busts three following raids across Northeast in Times Square bomb plot (NYP) * 3 in Custody May Have Supported Bomb Suspect (NYT) * Bomb Scare Briefly Closes Union Sq. (NYT) * Times Square Case Prompts Raids (WSJ) * Gas Cans in Car Cause Bomb Scare Near Union Square (WSJ) * Car with gas cans in back seat triggers another bomb scare (DN) * Times Square terror suspect Faisal Shahzad picked up cash for plot at L.I. Dunkin' Donuts: sources (DN) * Report: Pakistani Officials Make Arrest In Times Square Bomb Attempt (NY1)

“Trailing A Sense of Betrayal” (DN)
“Obama to New York: Drop Dead.” (NYP)
No Money For You, NY (NYP) NYP says New York's congressional delegation not doing it job protecting the city * Editorial: Obama leaves sense of betrayal behind after NYC visit (NYDN) * NYers mad as hell at Obama's decision to cut funds * Editorial: Stop failing New York, Mr. President (DN) * Obama Called A Hypocrite For Coming To NYC (WCBS TV) * Big Wall Streeters skipped the event to protest the administration’s push to reform the financial industry * Prez salutes NY's terror-busting Finest * NY's pols pressure Bam over in$ecurity (NYP) * Wall Street bigwigs skipped Obama's fund-raiser * Bloomberg: Obama got the message

Charter Commission War Begins
It look like the mayor and his Charter Commission will try again to voting by political parties for local elections Renewed Fight Looms Over Ending Role of Political Parties in Elections That is why the bricks are starting to be thrown at the chairman of the commission, CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. Growth of CUNY Chancellor’s Salary Outpaces Rise in Faculty’s Pay (NYT)

No Redistricting Reform on Congressional Districts
Can We Get You Anything Else?The F.E.C. is allowing candidates unrestricted war chests to try to influence the redrawing of Congressional maps. It is supposed to protect the public interest, not party insiders *NYS Bill Would Change How the State Draws Districts (Gotham Gazette)

"Bloomberg has run the $60 billion government with a keen attention to accountability and efficiency." NYT endorses the mayor for a third term

Busted Budget For BloombergThe part of the budget most directly under Mayor Michael Bloomberg's control is forecast to exceed its budget by 18% this year despite his calls for austerity in city government (WSJ)

New York Economic Melt Down Mets Lead the Majors in Declining Attendance (NYT) * Art Auction Highlights a Financial Downfall (NYT) * First aid en route to Bed-Stuy ambulance corps (DN)* The attorney general's office says a Queens school construction contractor ripped off the city for more than $2 million * The state's budget woes mean jacked-up fees at Jones Beach this summer * Jones Beach raises per car fees (WABCTV)

Bankers Abuse Affordable Housing Programs
After making Fanny Mae and Freddi Mac a dumping ground for GMAC bad loans the congress pumping more more into affordable housing. Why not just stop the banks from using the Fanny and Freddi for what they were designed for by President Roosevelt, so they would not have to be rescued. A Rescue for Affordable Housing A Senate bill would give a boost to the low-income housing tax credit by investing in affordable housing and jobs. (NYT) Wall Street Hijacks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for Stuy Town

Election 2010 GOP governor hopeful Rick Lazio gushed about current rival Andrew Cuomo in 2004* Dan Janison reports from the Brooklyn GOP dinner. (Newsday) * DP Exclusive: Nassau Comptroller Maragos To Announce For Senate Next Week

The VID Used to have 300 Members at an Endorsement Meeting
Facebook Azipaybarah Village Independent Democrats voted too (# via source); rep. carolyn maloney-28; reshma saujani-1; no endorsement-1 #ny14

Inside City Hall Teacher Evaluation Deal Sparks Ire * Appeals Court Hears Arguments Over DOE School Closures (NY1)

Law and Order One Officer Seeks Bail as Ex-Officer Pleads Guilty * Police Say They Smashed a Major Bronx Drug Ring * Judge Asks U.S. to Consider Forgoing Death Penalty in Imprisoned Mobster’s Trial * Fake Lawyer Pleads Guilty * Queens DA: Fraud Scheme Preyed on Homeowners Facing Foreclosure * Police Take Down Alleged Drug Kingpin In Bronx Raid (NY1) * A Bronx drug kingpin could be the first to face life in the slammer under a new state law * Evil mom threw baby in Hudson for revenge against husband: prosecutor * '85 plot to sic thugs on Keith (NYP)

Drill Baby Drill
U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits * Scientists say broken rig spilling up to 20 times more oil than was estimated * U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits (NYT)

Wall Street
Senate Votes to Curb Rating Agencies *Senate Approves New Curbs On Rating Agencies, But Leaves Big One Out * From Abacus to Dead Prez: A Glossary of Recent Wall Street Scandal (Obsever) * Waddell & Reed revealed as big futures seller during height of meltdown * White House's Volcker: Future of Euro in Doubt... * US SEC investigates Wall Street selling of muni bonds-WSJ

Congress: Throw the Bums Out
NO ONE IS SAFE: Two More Incumbent Senators May Fall Next Week To Primary Challengers

Media and New Tech Actors Contemplate World Without 'Law & Order' *Killed! NBC cancels iconic New York-set drama after 20 seasons * Oliver Stone Got Insights from Eliot Spitzer for Latest Wall Street Film * Report: 'Wanda Sykes Show' CANCELED * 'Law & Order' cancelled by NBC after 20 seasons: The culprit behind NY show's demise? Low ratings (DN) * 'Annie' Comic Strip Ending After 85 Years

Online NYT $$$
Bill Keller Confirms New York Times Paywall Plans * New York Times To Charge Online Beginning In January

Why Donate to True News Keep Real News Alive. Put simply, True News -- and the truth – cannot do more and could even end without financial help from the people who want to hold the government accountable for their actions. As you know True News, without any support, has fought to keep the real NYC’s investigative and analysis reporting era of great journalism alive. True News is a living memorial to publisher John Peter Zenger who was jailed in 1733 by the King for reporting to New Yorkers what was going on in their city. It is also in the tradition of the Ben Bradlee generation that believes that all reporters would not be doing their job if they did not follow the story until they got to the truth. Today’s reporters copy press releases from elected officials and lobbyists hired by the special interests who want to control the message. The lost circulation of newspapers has created a generation of young reporters who not only rely on elected officials and lobbyists for stories, but don’t even Google to find the historical context or, more importantly, the truth behind the stories they write. In this era of sell-out journalism, the public has become disconnected, powerless and trapped by a permanent government that has turned against them. The media blames an apathetic public for not voting even after democratic consultants act like an Orwellian 'Big Bother' threatening them to vote or be looked into. True News reports that the reason for the decreasing turn-out is the public no longer feel their votes matter. If you value hard hitting Investigative Journalism, don't let True News go the way of the Passenger Pigeon. The Newfield, Barrett, Kempton, Hammel of yesteryear are no more. Local TV news limits itself to good looking women and men reading about breaking fires and crimes, with few exceptions. What's left that isn't tabloid is a wasteland of superficial news, driven by political and corporate PR machines, sowing the fertile seeds of corruption public and private hand in glove. Despite the soft news we see, standard bearers play a significant albeit vestigial role. Newspapers constantly pick up stories from True News (without crediting us of course) avoiding the costs to investigate themselves. Without True News, the New York Press and this blog's over one and half million readers will be utterly lost in the wilderness. Only True News is explaining: How Blacks, the Poor and the Middle Class are Being Pushed out of Brooklyn Because of Albany's Tax Breaks for Luxury Developers and Apartments Gives Details How Lobbyists and Developers Run A Secret Shadow Government that Also Controls Elections With Big Money and Their Control Over the Media Investigates How Political Party Bosses Have Been Replaced By Lobbyists' Privatization of the Tammany Hall Machine Reports How the WFP and the Elected Officials Who Are Supported By Them Have Abused and Aggressively Broken Campaign Finance Laws. True news is not funded by special interests like the other news blogs. True News has been self-funded all these years. True News does not make nice with sitting politicians, developers, lobbyists to fund it or to provide its young clueless reporters with story ideas. True News wants nothing more than to scratch out a modest living in its aim to investigate, connect the dots, and get to the truth of every newsworthy story. To carry on in this mission, True News needs funding from people like you -- People Who Want Better Journalism in order to learn what is really going on in their government and fight the corrupt politicians. It's been written about True News Those of you who have an involvement in the dangerous game of politics, it may be of interest to know who’s telling the truth these days, and, whether the articles we read are real or imagined disinformation, emanating directly out of a governmental PR department. No genuine journalist would ever rely on such a source for the truth. As publisher of the SoHo Journal, through personal experience, take it from me that it is possible to become a political target for simply writing about the truth. And the mainstream media and writers eat their own for sales— as well as take orders from their masters— corporate, financial and political masters. Always pay attention to the agenda. Read between the lines. That is the basis of real reporting and political comprehension. Not the rehashing of a press release. OWS had a handle on this reality as well. Pay attention to the current daily blog written by Gary Tilzer. His True News is one of the few remaining sources for political investigative reporting. His fearless reporting of the truth in political circles is worth noting. Contributors names are confidential

Other Views

On October 15, 1958, veteran broadcaster Edward R. Murrow delivered his famous "wires and lights in a box" speech (VIDEO) The Last Lion of Tammany HOW JIMMY McMANUS, MANHATTAN’S LAST GREAT TAMMANY DISTRICT LEADER, HELPED TO REVIVE HELL’S KITCHEN AND THE THEATER DISTRICT c By James S. Kaplan f On January 13, 2011, the law firm of Proskauer Rose moved into 11 Times Square, which is located on 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. In moving west to the final building of the City’s Times Square redevelopment, the Proskauer firm joined such other major law firms as Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Covington & Burling, Roberts & Holland, and the advertising firm of Ogilvy & Mather. That such major professional firms, along with a number of newly constructed luxury apartment buildings on 42nd Street from ninth to eleventh avenue and trendy restaurants and off Broadway theaters would be located west of 8th Avenue in midtown would have been almost inconceivable fifty years ago. Tammany Last Stand Continued

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