Dysfunctional Debate for a Dysfunctional State

Breaking News Former state senator faces federal corruption charges: reports  * Monserrate Is Indicted for Corruption (NYT) * Monserrate Surrenders, Faces Corruption Charges(WSJ) * Document Drop: Hiram Monserrate Indictment

Dysfunction at a Charity That Relies on Council Largess (NYT)

Dysfunctional Debate for a Dysfunctional State

A wish list with little reality that belonged more in Disney's Fantasyland than in a state with the economic and governmental problems like New York.  A waste of 90 minutes that left the voters entertained but clueless on how they would govern. There were a few punches at Cuomo but they were to isolated and not well presented to do any real damage to his 20 point lead.  Paladino who did a 180 on his non aggressive act, messages got lost.  After winning the primary Paladino campaign has to be the worst run in this state in some time. Today he called the debate setup a "Terrible Format" Why did he not speak up about the format before the debate.  He did ask for all the candidates to participate."Paladino showed his stripes as a political newcomer. He struggled to answer in the allotted period and searched for words at times. At one point he left the stage to go to the bathroom," noted the T-U.

New Yorkers with two weeks to go in the campaign about nothing, are clueless to what the next governor will do to fix the state.  If the voters believed they could watch the debate to determined who can fix the budget gap and how the state will pay for the 200 billion owed the pension fund they wasted their time.

"Mr. Cuomo continued to avoid, as he has for much of the campaign, being very specific about exactly how he would bring the state’s budget under control. Asked to name three or four programs he would cut, Mr. Cuomo largely ducked the question, giving the equivalent of a two-minute opening statement and speaking vaguely of the need to cut Medicaid and “find savings in education,” wrote the NYT.  And to sum up, the WSJ writes, "For most of the 90 minutes, the televised debate at Hofstra University on Long Island provoked more laughs and puzzlement than meaningful drama. And while it introduced voters to an obscure cast of characters from the periphery of local politics, it shed little new light on either of the two men who have more than a minuscule chance of winning the race."

The words used to describe last night’s debate run the gambit, from a farce to political theater verging on a farce to a mockery * The Democratic nominee did take a “pummeling” from the minor party candidates.

Hammond says it was like a "Saturday Night Live" skit; John Podhoretz says it was kind of like "The Gong Show."  The Manhattan Madam and Andrew Cuomo at last night's debate: "The key difference between the M.T.A. and my former escort agency is I operated one set of books and I offered on-time and reliable service" vs. the need to "find savings in education." Jokers wild in debate debacle  Carl in dash to men's room amid show of 'farce'

National Media Covers Debate As A Joke
NY state a brothel in need of a madame – governor candidate Reuters Blogs * NY minor party hopefuls insert comic relief, zingers, alternate ...‎ - The Republic * NY Governor Debate: Rent is Too Damn High Buffalo Rising  *Andrew Cuomo, Paladino each find limited success in debate Boston Herald * Jimmy McMillian takes center stage in NY governor's race Washington Post (blog) * New York Governor Debate: The Circus Is in Town (and 'the Rent Is Too Damn High')

HENNY'S BEST DEBATE ONE-LINERS

Jimmy McMillan: "If you want to marry a shoe, I'll marry you."
Kristin Davis: "Businesses will leave this state quicker than Carl Paladino at a gay bar."
Charles Barron: "Asking Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino to end corruption is like asking an arsonist to help put out the fire."
Warren Redlich: "I've never been caught with a prostitute, my father wasn't governor, and I've never been convicted of a crime."

Albany Governor Debate Verges on Farce (NYY) * Half-Dozen N.Y. Races May Help G.O.P. Win House (NYT) * Poll Shows Big Leads for Gillibrand and Schumer (NYT) * Jokers wild in debate debacle (NYP) * Minor Players Highlight Governor Debate(WSJ) * Live Blog: Crowded Stage for N.Y. Governor Debate (WSJ) * Andrew Cuomo won Monday's debate, just by sitting up straight (WSJ) * Zany band of candidates trade barbs in debate (DN) * Few Fireworks As Seven Gubernatorial Candidates Face Off (NY1) * NY governor's debate proves a lively, controlled affair‎ - Washington Post * Gov’s Debate Liveblog, Part I  * Gov Debate Liveblog, Part II * Gov Debate Liveblog, Part III  * Cuomo Keeps Cool, Minor-Party Candidates Steal Show In Gubernatorial Debate * Five Candidates, Colorful to Crusading (NYT) * "Passing up a chance to take shots at each other, Cuomo and Paladino trained their guns on corruption and government waste as they left the attacks to the minor-party candidates assembled for the unusual gubernatorial free-for-all at Hofstra University on Long Island," wrote the NYP.* Nature Called, and Paladino Answered (NYT) * Gloved One Wins Debate; Cuomo, Paladino Get a Pass (Village Voice, Robbins) * Paladino Makes Unscheduled Appearance At Conservative Party Fundraiser



Election 2010  First Lady shakes NYC money tree to raise $1M for Dem (DN)*  DioGuard Faces Big Cash Deficit(WSJ) * Republicans are banking on picking up several Congressional seats in New York, if they are going to take back the House.New York has turned into a major battleground over the future of the House of Representatives, with Democrats forced to defend at least a half-dozen Congressional seats from unexpectedly strong Republican challenges. * Buffalo News editorial board makes case for GOP Senate, but warns against downstate leadership. * Mayor Bloomberg isn't endorsing EITHER of New York's senators, says the WSJ.

NY1 No Journalistic Ethics

Last night NY1 had Jeff Plaut from Global Strategy who paid the AG $2 million  for illegally receiving $1.3 million for facilitating public pension fund investments in private equity funds.  NY1 allowed Plaut to analysis the debate last night with the AG.Quadrangle Settles with Cuomo, Trashes Rattner; Global Fined Too ...



New York Economic Meltdown   Help $ave us: city Online suggestion box to curb spending (NYP) *  Fight the fire fight: FDNY linking of truck staffing to sick days wastes taxpayers' mone (DN ED) * Developers Battle to Recover From Lost Advances (NYT) * Hotel Chelsea Seeks Buyer(WSJ)



 Pay to Play Hiram  Feds probe Hiram Monserrate's charity-election conflict (DN) & Reports: Ex-State Sen. Hiram Monserrate Surrenders To Feds



 We Understand Mob Controls NY Construction
Genovese crime soldier Joseph (Rudy) Olivieri to finger contracting big, prosecutors say

The mob-linked head of a powerful contractors group goes on trial Tuesday in a case expected to dramatically demonstrate organized crime's grip on the city's construction unions. (DN)

True News Investigation

22 Years After the State Report on Organized Crime Control over NY Construction Industry

1988 Report: Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry: The Final Report of the New York State Organized Crime Taskforce (Paperback)  
MAFIA DOMINATES BUILDING TRADE IN N.Y., STUDY FINDS
May 20, 1988

Police Have A Ticket Quotas
IAB looks into parking ticket fixing in Bronx (DN)

Bike Riders in New York Win Settlement  Bicyclists who claimed that they had been wrongly detained and arrested in the monthly Critical Mass rides in New York won awards ranging from $500 to $35,000. (NYT)

Charter schools win wage battle in state's top court (NYP)

City investigator found dead in Atlantic City casino garage (NYP)

No New Old Penn Station Yet
From here to eternity: After 18 years of talk, a new Penn Station is no closer to reality (DN Ed) * Officials Break Ground On Long-Anticipated Moynihan Station Project (NY1)

Homeless hoarder angry after 'home' dismantled (DN)

Mike mad at 'shakedown' Mayor Bloomberg came down hard yesterday on members of the City Council who negotiated a side deal during the rezoning for a major Midtown project that requires the developer to set aside 15 percent of spending for minority- and women-owned firms. (NYP)

Terrorism  4 Convicted of Attempting to Blow Up 2 Synagogues (NYT) * Four Men Guilty in Bronx Bomb Plot(WSJ) * Full body scanners coming to JFK, LaGuardia (DN) * Ex-Spy Anna Chapman Bares Almost Everything For Russian Maxim 


Law and Order Many Questions on Killing of Pace Student by Police (NYT) * Defendant Unfit For Trial In Killing of Psychologist (NYT) * JetBlue steward to cop a plea (NYP) * NY 3-time loser law upheld by fed court (NYP) * Son Arraigned as Parents Are Buried(WSJ) * Teen Charged With Shooting Officer (WSJ) * Plummeting, wounded cop landed in officer's arms(DN) * Cop denies pointing gun at biker during road-rage incident (DN) * They shot at us for no reason: Pace star's pal (DN) *  Bandit steals school bus, wreaks havoc in Brooklyn (DN) * Racial slurs in gay-bar attack (NYP) * Appeals court won't reconsider tossing death penalty for cop-killer Ronnell Wilson * K-Rod settles with Mets; loses $3M but keeps contract

Media and New Tech  News Corp., Cablevision Dig in Heels in Fee Fight(WSJ) * Cablevision Spat Is Opening for Verizon (WSJ) * New York Times Reports Loss, Print Continues To Slide * Huffington Post Investigative Arm Merges with Nonprofit Center

How U.S. states are taking on Wall Street