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Blame Others

Pols Destroy the Middle Class and Poor by Fare and Toll Hikes Through Public Athorities Without Any Public Anger Against Them
MTA holds video conferences on fare hikes — in empty rooms(NYP) The MTA held a “video-conference” hearing to discuss the looming toll and mass transit fare hikes, although almost no one showed up, and several more hearings are scheduled over the next week* NY lawmaker warns Thruway toll hike may get vote(WSJ) * Nobody Cares About Transit Fare, Con Edison Increase Effect On NYC Growing Poor and Middle Class 
* NY lawmaker warns Thruway toll hike may get vote(NYP) (True News) NYT Always Distracts New York Subway Repairs Border ‘on the Edge of Magic’(NYT) *  The governor said the storm would add an additional $1 billion to the state’s budget deficit, which was already projected to be $1 billion in 2013-2014.* Reps. Pete King and Nita Lowey are organizing a working group of lawmakers to push for post-Sandy aid to New York during the lame-duck session. The effort could be complicated by the fiscal cliff negotiations. * With Toll Hike Looming, Thruway Authority Postpones Meeting(YNN)



Missing Outrage At the Board of Elections Violations of New Yorkers Right to Vote

Thousands of New Yorkers were disenfranchised from their constitutional right to vote on Tuesday and there is not on editorial or article in today's papers demanding change.  Yesterday the NYT covered the horror of gaining 5lbs from stress-eating.'Sandy Five' - Weight Gain Due to Storm - NYTimes.com  We understand why the pols are afraid to speak up against the BOE. They act as a gate keeper that can easily knock candidates off the ballot.  In 2009 when candidate de Blasio was at first knock off the ballot by the BOE for a cover sheet which claimed 131 volumes of petitions, when in reality there were 132. de Blasio and his politically connect lawyer Henry Berger used their political connections and were able to convince the board to restore him to the ballot a few day after his was knock off.  

If There is to Be Real Reform at the BOE New Yorkers Will Have to Go Beyone the Goo Goos and Pols Who Protect the Tammany Hall formed Institution

Over the years the political parties that run the BOE have knock thousands of challengers to incumbert off the ballot or caused them to spend their campaign funds and time in court cases to save their candidacy. That is why a NYPIRG study found that only 53 incumbents have been voted out of office in the past 30 years. Incumbency has allowed Albany pols to get away with anything, including corruption.  Incumbency gatekeeper is the real crime of the Board.  So instead of using the fuck up or election day like the mayor is trying to to change the board Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York said in an inview in City and Stae we should cut the BOE some slack due to the hectic circumstances in the wake of the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy. The Common Cause director never asks why the BOE stalled for days coming up with a plan to deal with the flooded polling sites.
True News reported over the weekend that  Political Infighting between the commissioners of the BOE on where to relocate polls in the Addabbo Ulrich race, delayed for several days the BOE plan for election day  (No Other Media Has Report That Fact). True News also reported taht the BOE is Dumping Ground for the City's County Leaders, For Jobs For Party Loyalists and Family Members. We even had a countdown clock to disaster (Election Day). We also reported missing votes and a criminal attempt to fix the ballot. We reported that Speaker Quinn and the City Council had to confirm each BOE commissioner.  We don't want to tell you we told you so, But we did.   BOE CYA Voter Plan and History of Corruption(True News)

“I don’t think I would fully blame the Board of Elections, in this instance they get more leeway than a normal situation, but their inherent limitations are still pretty obvious and they’re even more stark in an emergency situation,” said Susan Lerner. It is courious why the goo goos never try to rally the public to support reform and alway go with the pols reforms and say this it the best we can get at this time. If you are good natured you see the good government groups are clueless and often tricked by the pols, if your not you see them as protectors of the establishment. New York City suffers from one of the lowest voting rates in the county.  Where were the goo goos calling for early voting in NY which 39 other states alread have?  They are protecting pols.  More voting will result in more incumbents getting beat.  Were are the progressive on this issues that spoke out at GOP attempts to disenfranchise voters in swing state?  Why haven't the reformers tried to rally the public over the internet like they have tried to get blankets and food for the flood victims, an equally important duty as protecting the right to vote?

  Fake Sheldon Silver ‏@ShellySilver Mazal tov to @BOENYC for making our state legislature look like a paragon of competence, virtue and functionality. New York City Board of Elections – A three- to four-hour wait to cast a vote is simply unacceptable. Combine that with reports of broken voting machines, poorly trained poll workers, and pathetically inadequate outreach to displaced voters about their replacement sites, and it is clear this year’s election should provoke big changes in the embattled Board. (City and State)

Joe Bruno Reforms Supported by Goo Goos in 2005

In 2005 Bruno is passing lobbying and ethic reform at the same time he was using his government position to rip off the tax payers according to federal prosecutors and his firist jury trial (Which was overturned)

From the NYP 2005 "For if the "historic" package on lobbying and ethics "reforms" trumpeted by Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and glowingly approved by several good-government groups is anything at all, it is - like the desert mirage - a chimera, the political equivalent of a Las Vegas magician's trick designed to shift an audience's attention away from an otherwise obvious sleight-of-hand. ALBANY'S EMPTY ETHICS REFORM(NYP) June 23, 2005 (notice how the good government group always do the bidding of the leaders)

Senate Senate in Their Hands
Felder: "I look forward to working with anyone who is willing to work with me."

The Senate Republicans’ best hope at retaining control of the chamber is to convince five renegade Democrats (the IDC plus newly-minted Senator-elect Simcha Felder) to join their conference – or at least support Dean Skelos as majority leader. *  Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that he would not get involved in the power struggle over the state Senate, with several seats still in play and the possibility of a coalition government between the parties, The Buffalo News  * Cuomo Says He Won't Get Involved In Senate Leadership Battle(NY1) * Rep. Anne Marie Buerkle, who faces an insurmountable vote deficit if the reported totals are correct, is somewhat strangely refusing to concede the race to Democrat Dan Maffei.*  A Cuomo aide told the DN the administration will “win either way,” regardless of whether the Democrats or Republicans control the chamber. * Cuomo's agenda "could hinge on whether the Senate is a stable partner in govt"  Yep: *Sharpton Won’t Meet With Senate Democrats Afterall(YNN *  These independent Democrats aren't quite the amigos, but the clown is warming up(Capital) "the press-friendly activist-television host complained that the meeting had 'become a media circus.'"* Now that the Senate Democrats are on the cusp of taking control of their chamber, the perks and power could cause a few of them to take a closer look at staying in Albany. Senator Malcolm Smith, who never changed his party registration but was otherwise eyeing a run for mayor on the Republican line, might be such a senator. * It’s a day ending with a ‘Y,’ so that means Democratic Senator-elect Simcha Felder continued being coy about which party’s leadership he supports. “I’ve always considered myself a hybrid—fiscally conservative, but on social services, taking care of those in need and certainly those who can’t take care of themselves, I have felt that I am a liberal in that respect,” he said to describe his ideological preferences. * Senate Democrats, Lessons Learned(YNN)




Former Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez announced that this might be his last term in the Assembly, with speculation that Lopez might run for a City Council seat in 2013 despite pending sexual harassment charges . . . Meanwhile Speaker Silver Mores to Get Him Out of Albany to End Discussion on Hush Fund As Lopez eyes city council seat. Vito smells a deal to limit JCOPE damage to him so he can run for council

Vito Lopez 22,455 votes to 2564
Vito Lopez: "If I did decide to run for City Council, I would win.”
Scandal-tarred Assemblyman Vito Lopez discussed his City Council campaign with Crain’s Insider, and the typically press-shy politician made no secret of his ambitions or his skepticism of the media in general. “I’m usually cold with the press,” he explained. “I will continue with that.” 

Campaign 2012 Long Day for a Professor Suspicious of Voting Machines(NYT) * City Hall Horse Race: Obama Hangover Edition(NYO) * Buerkle Concedes To Maffei(YNN)



Lhota Shows the Size of Bloomberg's Brain
MTA chief Lhota apologizes to Mayor Bloomberg over idiot comment(NYP)

MTA Chief Joe Lhota Says Bloomberg Is Making Predictions ‘Like an Idiot’(NY Mag) *  Bloomberg’s Support Leads to Mixed Election Results(NYT)





Obama to Visit Storm-Ravaged NY

11 Days After Sandy Many NYCHA Building Still Have No Power . . .  is Brownie Still In Charge?

Where Hurricane Sandy Still Hurts(NYT Ed) New York City has not done enough to help public housing residents without power or heat or even food. The Times writes that Bloomberg should redouble his efforts to return power to residents in public housing who need it most and that “unacceptable pockets of suffering remain”* Some 71 public housing buildings in New York City are still without power and the city is struggling to restore power to 11 of them by this weekend, while Bloomberg said heat should return next week, Daily News *NY1 Online: NYCHA Chairman Rhea Gives Details On Public Housing Power Outage If Congress and the president does not stop the fisical clift from happening on Jan 1, 2013 “The NYCHA developments would take a hit, $190 million * Salon.com ‏@Salon Thousands of NY seniors in public housing STILL w/o electricity, heat -- even water http://trib.al/hyxt3A  #Sandy  * Eleven public housing developments in Queens and Brooklyn are still without power, and it’s unclear when the lights will go back on. *Bloomberg on Power in Public Housing Near the Beach (Capital)

 

Many Lost Power For A 2nd Time . . . Cuomo Mad At Power Companies
As Gov. Andrew Cuomo steers New York through the storm recovery, he’s managing his image carefully at the same time. * How will Cuomo punish LIPA’s painfully slow response to the storm? * President Obama will visit with Sandy victims in New York.

Power Loss Tests Limits(WSJ) Lawmakers in states affected by Sandy will push Congress for additional funding to repair transportation, housing and the electric grid*  Dig this: I lost power – twice(NYP) *Power, Freshly Restored, Goes Back Out for Some(NYT) *Nor'easter Compounds Pain of Some Sandy Victims (WSJ) * Cuomo Criticizes Power Companies(WSJ) * The News laments Con Edison and the Long Island Power Authority’s failure to restore power for hundreds of thousands of residents, calling LIPA as the “worst performer” for missing its own restoration goals 

Con Ed To Seek Rate Increase Despite Criticism Of Post-Sandy(WCBS)  * The News chides New York’s former director of emergency management, Steven Kuhr, for having public works employees remove a tree from his driveway in the wake of Superstorm Sandy * Gov. Cuomo labels LIPA as failure(NYDN) * Cuomo wants no part of battle for Senate control(NYDN) *  Newsday "saw engineers who were using highlighters & paper maps to track .. thousands of outages." * Why LIPA failed: Utility ignored warnings it wasn’t ready for major storm (Newsday) "using highlighters & paper maps 2 track thousands of outages as ratepayers banged in frustration on the bldg’s locked front doors"* Many residents who only just got their power restored days after Sandy saw it knocked out again by the nor’easter.

4 Years After Bush It's Still A Heck of A Job Brownie With FEMA Emergency spending for Sandy in New York City nearing $121 million.* The Long Island Nine are calling on the feds to deal with the Katrina-like disaster on their hands.

Forgotten Brooklyn neighborhood Gerritsen Beach soldiers on after Sandy(NYP) *  SI flood hero cop is buried(NYP) * Small Shops Shiver in Gloom of a Shuttered Red Hook Market(NYT) * Suit May Go On in Disaster Plan for the Disabled(NYT) * After Storm, Wagner Quickly Regains Footing(NYT) * New Challenges to Recovery, Including a Northeaster(NYT) * Down in Dumbo but Comebacks Gain Steam(WSJ) * Video: Volunteers Converge on Storm-Stricken Red Hook(WSJ) * Organization Provides Free Gas For Rockaway Park Residents(NY1) * The unlucky five: Brooklyn's hardest hurricane-hit comm (NYDN) * Salvaging dream in Broad Channel(NYDN) * Sandy’s Devastation On Staten Island Prompts Help From Volunteers(WCBS) * Alliance for Coney Island launching with focus on cleanup (NYP) * FEMA to use manufactured housing for Sandy victims(WABC) *  Experts offer free advice to Staten Island businesses hit (SI Advance) * Danger lurks: Is Staten Island's air safe after Sandy?(SI Advance) *  NYC's rental market is a nightmare for people made homeless by #Sandy: http://bloom.bg/QsDwG4  by @PeterGreenNews * Cuomo: review "Where we rebuild & where we dont rebuild." MRB: "From Florida 2 Maine we build houses close 2 the beach"  * Maybe it wasn't Irene's fault that people ignored evacuation orders for Sandy @thenyworld http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/2012/11/08/don * Jacob Riis Park Used As Temporary Dumping Ground For Garbage From Sandy (NY1)
Ferry Service Returns to the Rockways to Shuttle the Stranded, Along With Flying Subway Cars(NYO) *Mayor Bloomberg announces new ferry service into Manhattan for Rockaways residents(NYP) * Fannie, Freddie expand aid to storm-hit homeowners(NYP) * A train shuttle to the Rockaways to start Sunday. * +1600 crews coming into #NY to help utility companies, Cuomo says. #Sandy * Queens calls for faster recovery efforts(NYDN)
NYDN Daily Politics ‏@DNDailyPolitics * Half of city's downed trees in Queens(NYDN) * Aqueduct racino revenue seems hurricane proof(NYDN) *

 Hundreds mourn Sandy's littlest victims, boys 2 and 4, who were swept away by hurricane(NYP)

CBS 2 Confronts Business Owners Accused Of Price Gouging(WCBS)

* Bloomberg Announces ‘Rapid Repair’ Program To Speed Up Post-Sandy(WCBS)
* Hundreds gather to mourn toddlers swept away by Sandy(NYP)
* 1,000 wedding dresses donated to Sandy victims(WCBS)
* Obama to travel to New York next Thursday(WABC)
* Empire State Relief Fund kicks off with star power(Fox 5)
* Rescuing pets after Superstorm Sandy(Fox 5)
* NYPD: Body found at home in Staten Island's Midland Beach (SI Advance)
* NYC Rapid Repairs will speed up rebuilding process, Bloomberg (SI advance)
* Obama to Visit Storm-Ravaged NY Next Week(NBC)
* Mayor Announces Effort To Help Repair Homes Damaged By (NY1)
* Obama To Tour NYC Recovery Efforts Next Week(NY1)

Did Cuomo just say people desperate for aid are thinking "I want the president here, in the truck"? #Sandy

Killed in her home: Angela Dresch and her father George died on Staten Island because George was afraid to abanded their house because of looting.  George house was looted when he left in advance of last years storm * Family Remembers Father, Daughter Who Died During Sandy(NY1) * Don’t blame Irene (New York World)  Many New Yorkers ignored evacuation orders as Sandy approached — but hurricane experts say past false alarms had little to do with it
 

FEMA trailers ready to house homeless(Queens Crap

From Crains:

The federal government is moving manufactured housing into areas in New York and New Jersey that were hit hardest by Superstorm Sandy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday.





Is the Mayor Going to Put Flood Victims in Cells With Steal Toilets and No Privacy?

Residents displaced by Sandy are staring at life in Staten Island 'jail'(NYP) *Fort Hamilton Serves As Military Base For Sandy Recovery(NY1)




$$$ Cost of the Storm
Politicians to Push for More Sandy Aid(WSJ) * Cuomo said that the latest cost estimate of the damage from Hurricane Sandy is $33 billion for New York, and added that the storm would track on an extra $1 billion to the state deficit, the Times Union

11 Days After Sandy New York Starts Rationing Gas . . . Back to the 1970's Becauses It is Working in NJ
Officials impose gas rationing for New York City and Long Island(NYP)
* Mayor Mandates Rationing of Gas to Ease Shortage(NYT) Bloomberg announced that the city would mandate a gas rationing system to address the ongoing gas shortage that has left only 25 percent of the city’s gas stations open * Gas Rations Put in Place in New York(WSJ) * New York City, Long Island to Ration Gasoline by License Plate Number (WSJ) 

* Mayor Enacts Gas Rationing Effort As Supply Chain Struggles(NY1) * Gas Rationing Odd-Even Rule Goes Into Effect In NYC, Long(WCBS) * Bloomberg Promises ‘A Police Officer at Every Gas Station’ During Shortage(NYO) *
 

New York City, Long Island begin gas rationing(WABC) * Most drivers agree with gas rationing as cops, stations keep peace at fuel lines(NYP) * Bloomberg Urges Patience as Gas Rationing Begins(NYT)

Brooklyn taxi drivers have gas cans in back seats(Fox 5) * Con Edison to Staten Island: More help is on the way(SI Advance) * #ny1 sandy Gas Rations In Effect As Remaining Transit Bumps Clear http://bit.ly/TPJekB * Hamill: 30-hour wait for fuel offers plenty of intrigue but no no gas * Cuomo: 87% of LIPA's customer base lost power. Con Edison, 25%. NYSEG, 13%. * City Room: Odd-Even License Plate Rules Have a History http://nyti.ms/TQMvjK 

Education  NY1 Exclusive: Students In Displaced Schools Can Now Attend Nearest School They Can Get T * Attendance was just 36.9% for students at relocated

 

TransportationUnion rages as MTA docks pay for workers who skipped during (NYDN) * Midtown Tunnel to Reopen Friday, 11 Days After Sandy(NBC) * Governor Cuomo says Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel may re-open by end of the next week. *  Cuomo: 'A' line to be restored to Rockaways Sunday * Midtown Tunnel to Reopen Friday, 11 Days After Sandy(NBC) * New Ferry Services To Bridge Rockaway Gap, Take Passengers(NY1)

Veterans on the march(NYP) The New York City Veterans Day Parade has always been more than just a 30-block march up Manhattan’s 5th Avenue — but this year it’s taking on added significance. This year, participants will be collecting coats for the victims of Superstorm Sandy — so it’s part parade and part relief rally. It’s an honorable gesture from folks who have already given so much to their country and to their fellow citizens.*
New housing in Kingsbridge Heights helps veterans feel (NYDN)


For the first time in over 150 years, the New York Racing Association will conduct open board meetings, the first of which will be held in Manhattan next month, the Times Union reports: http://bit.ly/VKKdF5

A 19th-Century Dividend at a 21st-Century Station(NYT)

Storm Leaves Lady Liberty and Ellis Island Cut Off From Visitors(NYT)
* Fox News and Benghazi video: For real?

 






"I am not wedded to every detail of my plan. I am open to new ideas." -- Obama

Grateful prez tears up(NYP) *President Obama Cries While Thanking Campaign Staff(NY Mag) *  Obama Tears Up Talking To Supporters After Election Victory(Video) * Bibi: US prez always a pal(NYP) * Obama heads to Asia amid looming fear of 'Fiscal Cliff'(NYP) * CHARLES GASPARINO: Wall St.’s post-vote willies(NYP) * In Michigan, a Setback for Unions(NYT) * For Romney, All Options Are Open. Except One.(NYT) * Lawmakers Say They See Rising Urgency on Fiscal Deal(NYT) *  Voters Oust Incumbents Under Ethics Inquiries(NYT) * Let’s Not Make a Deal(NYT) * Pressure Mounts on Fiscal Crisis(WSJ) * Battle Plan Shifts on Dodd-Frank(WSJ) * GOP Reconsiders Immigration Laws(WSJ) * Obama Sees Jewish Support Decline(WSJ) * Voters Speak on Abortion Rights(NYT Ed) * NY1 Online: Obama Pollster Talks Strategy

Adviser: Romney "shellshocked" by loss (CBS)

A New America Speaks - Eugene Robinson, Indianapolis Star
The Way Forward for the GOP - Charles Krauthammer, Wash Post
Obama Shouldn't Give In to Hostage-Takers - Paul Krugman, NYT
Republicans Find Refuge in the House - Michael Barone, WSJ
How Mitt Romney Blew It - Michael Hirsh, National Journal
Data Drove Obama's Ground Game - Jennifer Martinez, The Hill

Romney "Shellshocked" By Loss - Jan Crawford, CBS News
GOP Stopped Explaining and Started Losing - Erick Erickson, Red State
Organized Labor Delivered for Dems - Kathleen Geier, Washington Monthly
Unions Lose Big in Michigan - Walter Russell Mead, The American Interest
Obama's Re-Election Cements Health Care Law - Noam Levey, LA Times
ObamaCare Forever? We'll See - Peter Suderman, Reason
Leaders Make Opening Statements on Budget - Caitlin Huey-Burns, RCP
Economy: An Inflection Point or Calm Before the Storm? - John Hussman
Is Beau Biden Democrats' Next Emerging Star? - Erin McPike, RCP
How the GOP's War on Voting Backfired - Ari Berman, The Nation
The Evanescence of Majorities - James Taranto, Wall Street Journal
Lawmakers Face a Torrent of Delayed Decisions - Washington Post
Harry Reid's Tax Grab - New York Post
California's Liberal Supermajority - Wall Street Journal
The Tough Road Ahead - Los Angeles Times
Local Traffic Reporter Provides Romney Supporters With Quickest Route To Canada [VIDEO]
He’s Baaack! Alan Grayson Says Democrats Shouldn’t ‘Shoot Ourselves In The Head’ Over Grand Bargain
Matt Taibbi: Romney Could Have Easily Won

CIA director David Petraeus quits over affair(NYP)* Petraeus Steps Down as C.I.A. Chief, Saying He Had Affair(NYT)

CIA director David Petraeus quits over affair with biographer; revelation amid FBI probe(NYP)

Rice Hits GOP For Sending 'Mixed Messages'(Huff Post)
Krugman: Obama Should 'Go Over The Cliff If Necessary'(Huff Post)
Sean Hannity: I've 'Evolved' On Immigration Reform, Support 'Pathway To Citizenship' [AUDIO] 

How badly did Mitt Romney lose the technology fight?(Wash Post)
MT @BobWeintraub: @fivethirtyeight Please blog on why Rasmussen poll results consistently favored Romney more than other polls  
Boehner calls on president to lead in debt talks(CNN)
Boehner opens door to ‘comprehensive’ immigration
John Boehner’s overture to Dems and Obama on immigration reform is already drawing fire from w/in GOP
US Attorney General Eric Holder is assessing whether he’ll stick around for Obama, part II.
How long will 72-year-old House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi remain in her leadership post now that the “Drive to 25″ has failed? 
Obama and Boehner Make Opening Moves in Tax Debate(NYT)
Obama: Lets extend the middle class tax cuts right now (Wash Post)
RT @BuzzFeedAndrew: Bush gave a press conference after reelection, Clinton did too, and Reagan. Obama gave a statement with no questions.  
Long Island Pols Call on Obama to Help Stop ‘Katrina-Style Disaster’(NYO)
David Frum: Republicans Have Been Lied To And Exploited By A Conservative Entertainment Complex (VIDEO) http://mediaite.com/a/urzoj

NBC's Richard Engel says FBI is investigating Paula Broadwell, a biographer of Petraeus, to see if she had access to secret material 
Petraeus Resigns Over Affair With Biographer (Slate)
 

A mesmerizing film about Civil War politics(The Atlantic)



HowardKurtz ‏@HowardKurtz

On Karl Rove and others, I wouldn't let anyone who raises money or holds a party position be a cable commentator

Jimmy Savile Myth In Ruins(Huff Post)

Law and Order


Pizza delivery boy pleads not guilty in UWS rape as cops release ‘confession’(NYP) * Pizza boy accused of raping Manhattan mom claims victim(NYDN)


NYPD Officers Accused in Rape Lose Appeal(WSJ) * Guilty Plea in Madoff Probe(WSJ) * Arrest in death of Bronx 5-year-old(WSJ) * Father Arrested In Connection With Bronx Boy's Death(NY1) * Bus driver is guilty in fatal crash(NYDN) * Irwin Lipkin pleads guilty in Madoff (NBC)
A former counsel to the Department of Taxation and Finance has lost his right to practice law for two years after he was found guilty of misconduct.

Jilted boyfriend beats Fifth Ave. hairdresser to death(NYDN)


NYPD 'rape cops' headed to jail for brief sentences after(NYDN)

Ice cold! Cops hunt for armed thug targeting ice cream parlors, fro-yo shops(NYP)
* B'klyn man accused of beating boyfriend to death claims Self (NYP)