Friday, August 5, 2011

The Unemployed Already Know We Are in A Double Dip Recession; PA to Increase Tolls


 Govt official: US expecting S&P downgrade (ABC)  CNN's John King reports S+P notified the U.S. it was downgrading the government's credit rating, BUT reconsidered after Wjite House challenged. * Government official: S+P was off by "roughly $2 trillion"


 

Bill Maher To Panel: Are Liberals Having ‘Buyer’s Remorse’ About Obama?

 

 

Port Authority to roll out $1 billion, two-stage toll hike(NYP) *Port Authority Seeks Big Toll Increase (NYT)



(Twitter)


Cuomo/Christie: "The Port Authority has informed us of its proposal to dramatically increase tolls and fares." And the guvs had no say? Hmm.



117,000 jobs created in July. Unemployment rate drops to 9.1%, from June's 9.2%

Time to Say It: Double Dip Recession May Be Happening(NYT) *  The Wrong Worries Washington has been obsessing over deficits and debt ceilings while the economy crumbles.  (Krugman, NYT) * End the Debt Limit The debt limit is not necessary, or good for the economy, and is now a political hand grenade. (NYT Ed)









 Stock Market Closes +61 Today

Economic fears swamp stocks as Dow falls 513 points; gain for the year gone(NYP) * Markets Fall as Global Worries Multiply(NYT) * European and Asian Stocks Drop Ahead of Wall Street Open(NYT) * Markets Tumble Amid Global Fears(WSJ) * Live Blog: U.S. Futures Drop(WSJ) * Street fears rise amid whispers of recession(NYP) * Clueless Congress just keeps on fighting and squabbling while stocks sink and the economy sputters (NYDN Ed)

 

 


 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Poll: America to Congress Drop Dead

The president went off to a fundraiser the day after the debt crisis was resolved and Congress went on another vacation. So on that front, it's business as usual.

Disapproval Rate for Congress at Record 82% After Debt Talks(NYT) * More oppose debt ceiling deal than support it: poll (NYDN) * 62% of Likely Voters would vote to dump all the True Newscurrent legislators and start over again says Rasmussen Reports * 71% Support Five-Year Lobbying Ban For Ex-Members of Congress... * Debt Deal Could Be a Job-Killer For Incumbents(NYT) *  Schieffer: Nothing seems to change in Washington (CBS)

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Were is the populist movement on the left?

In the 60's we had a Civil Rights Movement, Anti War Movement, Women's Rights Movement and a president who aimed for the moon.   Everyone during that era believe they could change the world and they did. Today we sit passively and watch political actor on TV tell us what ever they feel will get them  reelected.  Who cares for the youth who will not have the opportunities of their parents.  The old or sick who will die because their hospital is closed.  Our need to explore and find new discoveries in science.   Who killed the American culture and spirit?

 

NYT Asked Obama to Secret Stealth Campaign Machines

The Voters’ Need to Know President Obama was reminded, rightly, that he has not yet signed the proposed executive order requiring federal contractors to disclose donations to the stealth campaign machines. (NYT Ed)





NYP Supports Cuomo Crackdown on Non Profits

Vito Lopez $$$ His Girl Friend

Some of the ugliest abuse, of course, comes courtesy of lawmakers who steer public bucks, through a “member item” or pork-barrel system, to nonprofits that hire friends, relatives or even themselves.
In recent years, The Post has reported some real stunners. Topping the list: Pols like Assemblyman/Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez, Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council’s founder. The council, which relies heavily on public cash, pays big bucks to Lopez’s girlfriend and campaign treasurer, who run the place. The nonprofit crackdown * Wealth of friends  B'klyn Dem boss' crony and gal pal $core big at nonprofit (Sept 12, 2010)




NYP Continues to Blast Markowitz to Stop Him From Running for Mayor

And Aretha Franklin and a Congressional election

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz delivered more than $2.5 million in grants to the Brooklyn Hospital Center three years after it paid for a Caribbean vacation for him and his wife, the Post reports *Carib junketeer Marty 'repays' favor to hosp(NYP) * Beep bopped for Dem-only gig with Aretha(NYP) * NY-9 GOP candidate Bob Turner criticized Markowitz for letting his Democratic opponent, Assemblyman David Weprin, address the crowd at an Aretha Franklin concert in Coney Island last night.

 Who Benefits From Faking Tests?  Mob Up Concrete Companies . . .  Why No Cement Owners Arrests?

Concrete Tests Faked Again, Officials Charge(NYT) * Crackdown Targets Tests on Concrete(WSJ) * City eyes safety of buildings after fake concrete reports(NYDN) * Concrete Lab Accused of Faking Test Results(NBC)


 

 

 

 

 

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Goldsmith: Snow Storm, CityTime Scandal, Outsourcing Waste

Embarrassing admission that Mayor Bloomberg's third term is badly adrift

Bloomberg Deputy Hired With Much Fanfare Steps Down(NYT) * Top Bloomberg Aide Resigns(WSJ) * Goldsmith Out, DEP Head Named Deputy Mayor for Operations(WSJ) * Stephen Goldsmith steps down after botching NYC snowstorm(NYDN) * People inside City Hall knew something was amiss when former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith suddenly canceled his schedule earlier this week, but his departure still left the top ranks of the Bloomberg administration scrambling. Some hope it's a sign the mayor has finally noticed the growing complaints that his administration is adrift, and that his replacement Cas Holloway's real job will be Deputy Mayor For Getting Back On Track. Said one fan: "The mayor does need an ass-kicker, and that'll be Cas."  * Goldsmith’s habit of stressing management theory over political pragmatism did not fly in New York.* As his time in public office winds down, Bloomberg has become more overt about his philanthropy.* “Beyond the mayor, Mr. Goldsmith was the most visible face of contrition in a defining moment of a rocky third term: the chaotic aftermath of a post-Christmas snowstorm.”* City Hall : “The departure is another setback for the mayor’s effort to bring fresh-faced outsiders.”



Weprin campaign pushes past Israel in NY-9 (WNYC)

TURNER CAMPAIGN OFFERS $1,000 REWARD FOR ANYONE WHO CAN MAKE SENSE OF WEPRIN RADIO COMMENTS ON CUTTING U.S. AID TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY * NY-9: “Turner Offers $1,000 Reward To Decipher Weprin Palestinian Authority Remarks.” [Yeshiva World]


Ben Smith(Twitter)

RT : "#Weprin’s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Kerr, later said Weprin does back Obama’s re-election"

Golden Loser
City Hall News WINNERS & LOSERS: With Mayor Michael Bloomberg having both a good and a bad week, we had to look elsewhere for clear winners and losers. Winners were Bill O'Reilly, Michael Gianaris, Gordon Medenica Rudy Giuliani and Kirsten Gillibrand. Losers were Stephen Goldsmith, Charles Barron, Ed Mangano, Courtney Burke and Marty Golden:


Kruger’s Chief Of Staff Highest Paid Staffer, Despite Corruption Allegations(Sheephead Bites)

Is Kruger Chief Of Staff Ratting On His Boss?

Kruger had his chief-of-staff call former MediSys Health Network CEO David Rosen for “talking points” so the powerful Brooklyn Democrat could push Rosen’s agenda in Albany, Manhattan federal prosecutor Glen McGorty said during opening statements at Rosen’s bribery trial.* They feel a 'graft' Feds: Kruger 'not subtle' about payoffs.


The House Ethics Commission has dismissed a charge against Rep. Gregory Meeks. A different charge is still being reviewed.










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Koch Keeps Up the Fight for Independent Redistricting 

Carve up N.Y.? Not this time (By Ed Koch, NYDN)

Want to know the single biggest reason state lawmakers get away with their infamous shenanigans, and are still more likely to die or be indicted than be voted out of office? A small cabal of legislators, reporting directly to party leadership, is preparing to draw new maps that can make or break careers by packing and stacking districts until they are gerrymandered beyond recognition, usually to the detriment of the helpless voters who live there.



 Bedford-Stuyvesant white residents gentrifying even more striking than in Harlem

Striking Change in Bedford-Stuyvesant as the White Population Soars The neighborhood is now barely 60 percent black — down from 75 percent a decade ago. In one section, blacks have become a minority for the first time in 50 years.

 

 

 

 

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 Sunset Park Brooklyn Now the Largest Asian Community in the City

Chinese population in Manhattan's Chinatown has dropped 17 percent in a decade, making it the city's third-largest Chinese neighborhood behind Sunset Park in Brooklyn and Flushing in Queens, the Daily News says:



 

 Where is the Rent Too Damn High Jimmy?

Jimmy McMillan, the fame-grabbing face of the "Rent is Too Damn High" Party, is fighting eviction from an $872.96 rent-controlled East Village apartment. The Post says the landlord claims he really lives in Brooklyn: *  'Rent' party founder says he loves pot, porn in new documentary

 

 

Savino's Big Mouth

After being chastised by the Staten Island Advance, Sen. Diane Savino apologized for referring to the Tea Party as the “new mafia.” 

 

 

Subway fakes in line of 'fire' Résumés a sham-ily affair (NYP)

 

UFT Secret Plan to Stop Charter Schools

A secret primer from the teachers union on how to thwart parents and stop charter schools(NYDN Ed)

 

 

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NY Energy Needs

Gov 'power' play a nuke rebuke(NYP) *  The Times Union says New Yorkers can't trust the natural gas industry's claims that hydraulic fracturing has never polluted anyone's drinking water, and demands state regulators dig deeper: * The TU picks up on the NYTimes report of a drinking water aquifer contaminated by hydrofracking and calls on the DEC to pay attention.

 

Bloomberg:  “Governing New York by Writing a Check.” 

City Hall  *  It's 'con'fidential Mike: No crime history on initial job applications(NYP) * The largely minority listeners of Mark Riley’s WWRL radio show flooded his phones with rants about Bloomberg’s latest project, surprising the host.



 

 

 Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner and his pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, reportedly found a buyer for their Queens apartment and are moving out of his old district – perhaps to TriBeCa?




Senate Spends Less Under GOP Control(YNN)

 

 

 

 

 

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“Cuomo slashes pay 90% for political plum state commission seats.” 

Cuomo quietly changed the compensation for plum patronage posts, so state Civil Service Commission and State Liquor Authority are now paid on a per-diem basis, rather than getting annual salaries for jobs that require just a handful of meetings each year

Dems $7.7 M in Debt

 Senate Spending: “[T]he Dems left a $7.7 million deficit when the lost power at the end of the year.” [Rick Karlin / Times Union]

 

FDNY: Commissioner ordered to testify about hiring practices. 

 

Sept. 11 Memorial refuses to pay $150M to Port Authority for Ground Zero construction costs(NYDN)



 

 

7 More Ways Cabbies Have Avoided Taking You to Brooklyn (Village Voice)

 

 

 

 

Jon Stewart Lashes Out At Anti-9/11 Cross Atheists: ‘Why Do You Give A Sh*t?’

 

 

BANK ROBBERY  Mortgage Settlement Challenged Bank of New York Mellon is accused of fraud in its role overseeing loan pools at the heart of an accord with Bank of America. (NYT) * AG Eric Schneiderman is moving to block a proposed $8.5 billion settlement struck in June by Bank of New York Mellon and Bank of America over troubled loan pools issued by Countrywide.* Probe: “New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says the proposed $8.5 billion Bank of America settlement of investor losses from 530 mortgage-backed securities is ‘unfair’ and trustee Bank of New York Mellon engaged in ‘repeated fraud’ in connection with the securities sale.” [AP] *   (Twitter)Gutsy NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman challenges BOFA mortgage settlement,accuses Bank of NY of fraud. Hold Wall St. Accountable.



In His Own Hand, a Suspect’s Account of a Grisly Crime(NYT) * Suspect 'Fit' for Trial(WSJ) * 'I'M FAMOUS': Accused butcher Levi Aron bragged to cops(NYDN) * 'I'm famous!' brags vile Leiby 'killer'(NYP)

 

 

 

Law and Order

Bust brings roll reversalW'chair 'bandit' bagged(NYP) *  Two fathers shot to death within hours of each other in Bronx(NYDN) * Ex-con dad barred from going near his son's killers(NYDN) * NYC Teacher, Accused Of Having Sex With Student, Surrenders To Police (WABC)




Why Is The Media Scared Of Rev. Al Sharpton?(Newsone)

Sharpton cancels NABJ appearance over criticism of MSNBC job

 

 

John Kerry Scolds The Media On MSNBC: It Needs To Stop Making All Arguments Equal

 

 

 

Piers Morgan Tomorrow? The Hacking Scandal Laps At The British Star(Time)

Rupert Murdoch was among the gawkers appreciating the Central Park Zoo peacock when it was briefly on the lam. 

Michael Wolff

Elisabeth Murdoch not joining New Corp board, it seems.(Twitter)

 Washington Post Profit Slides 50%


 Norma Jeane Baker; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962

Marilyn Monroe, Like a Candle in the Wind