Score One For The Working Families Party in NYC

Score two, actually... Via The Gotham Gazette, The Working Families Party, a political party that has made significant contributions to Connecticut's political landscape, has taken over New York city:

Both Liu and de Blasio had the endorsement of the Working Families Party, yesterday and in their original primaries two weeks ago. De Blasio’s ties to the party are particularly tight.

The victories yesterday continue a very successful election year for the Working Families Party. In the Sept. 15 primary, challengers backed by the party toppled four sitting council members.

“The Working Families Party, once derided as a ragtag collection of Brooklyn progressives, is now the pre-eminent political force in New York City politics, replacing a forlorn, disorganized Democratic Party,” Michael Barbaro observed in the City Room.

The kinds of issues that the Working Families Party pursues?

This:

Billionaires for Budget Cuts is a diverse group of insurance company CEOs, bailed-out Wall Street executives and hedge fund managers, united to stop even a pay increase in taxes on the very rich, even if it means slashing healthcare and education.

See the Billionaires' recent press clips.

Join the Billionaires for Budget Cuts Facebook group.

That:

Our healthcare system is broken. Costs are through the roof, and yet we still have hundreds of thousands of families in Connecticut without coverage. It's time for a high quality public health option. Read more.

And the other thing:

Paid Sick Days. Between the outbreak of swine flu and the recession, it's clearer than ever that working families need paid sick days. We're leading the fight. Learn more.

I don't expect that they will see a lot of corporate money flooding their coffers as they endorse candidates from every and any party that has a proven record of voting for the little guy.

In The News:
Read the our great CT Post Op-Ed on why people are voting Working Families and help spread the word:

"When you vote for a Democrat or a Republican on the Working Families line, you're vote counts for the candidate just the same as a vote on the major party line. But a Working Families vote also sends a powerful message to all politicians that it's time to put working families first again.

The real work to fix our economy will start the day after Election Day. Our elected officials will have to make difficult choices to put our country and our state back on the right track.

Voting on the Working Families line is a small way that each of us point our politicians in the right direction -- and give them a little push."

More details here.

At the Bronx Zoo: The Animals are Getting the Pink Slip

The Bronx Zoo is facing some serious cutbacks that could leave some endangered species looking for a new home:

What an example of skewed priorities. Mayor Bloomberg raised two taxes to ensure there will be 500 new cops on the streets of New York this year. There are 5.3 police officers for every 1,000 New Yorkers but there is only one World of Darkness and many of the inhabitants are endangered species. Thanks to Bloomberg's thirty-three percent cut in city funding to the zoo, children will no longer learn that "when the sun goes down most of the world's animals wake up."

...snip...

Why does the zoo deserve special treatment in these harsh times? In a city that claims there is no money left for adequate mass transportation or even food stamps for that matter asking for special consideration for a living museum may seem unreasonable but the zoo preforms a far more important service than the storage of a few animals. They are devoted to educating generations that will understand why we should make our responsibility to endangered species a priority and work to protect wildlife.

A little action item for the Bronx Zoo:

A big reason New York is the number one city on the planet is its cultural institutions. Those institutions, including the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium, provide:

• a top visitor destination
• education for millions of children
• employment for New Yorkers, and
• vital support for the New York City economy

You were the difference in helping our institutions get their State funding restored-but we still need your help with City funding! This is a critical time to make your voice heard during the budget process.

Help Restore City Funding to the
Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium!

If you go there they will help you write an email to Mayor Bloomberg and point you in the right direction to send it off...

Yank The Disgruntled Republican Vote From McCain

Politics in the Zero's catches some interesting work in Virginia where a break off group from the Greens have put together a Rep. Ron Paul and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg ticket:

Important. This is not the national Green Party but a splinter group that left the Green Party and allied themselves with the Independence Party in what no doubt was a spectacular frenzy of bad feelings and nasty schisms. However, they got way over the needed 10,000 sigs to put Bloomberg on the ballot, certainly quite an accomplishment.

However, did they do that via volunteers or are they bankrolled to the point where they can afford paid signature gatherers? If so, who are the donors?

HMMM? An antiwar right wing libertarian coupled with a more fiscally sane version of a republican party conservative than the GOP has to offer anywhere on any ticket?

After screwing over the Dems by bankrolling the Liebergoons imported from out of state to work Joe neocon Lieberman’s ground campaign in Connecticut, I don’t think that adding Bloomberg to any ticket, never mind one with Ron Paul, is intended to lure in votes from the Democratic party membership or the left in general.

Joe Lieberman hates people who buy elections, but that isn't stopping him from letting billionaire election buyer Michael Bloomberg buy one for him.

Joseph I. Lieberman is deploying a secret weapon in the race’s closing days: a sophisticated operation to identify and turn out voters, courtesy of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City.

The Bloomberg group includes several top-level operatives who played key roles in the mayor’s decisive re-election last year or who are in the administration, and have taken leaves from their jobs to work on Mr. Lieberman’s campaign.

Since Mr. Lieberman lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut to Ned Lamont, they have helped open campaign offices, devised a strategy to reach voters and are corralling enough volunteers to cover 2,800 shifts at more than 700 polling sites on Election Day, Nov. 7.

As a former New Yorker, I can tell you that "coralling enough volunteers" is New Yorkese for "paying the ethically-challenged out of a slush fund."

Lieberman has made himself a marked man - targeted by Dems nationally for obsolescence - and everyone knows Bloomberg helped bankroll, man and co-ordinate his campaign.

Sounds more like something to give disgruntled republicans another option beyond the fiscally irresponsible and warmongeringly insane McCain, a candidate too many GOP voters do not like. I would call that money well spent if some Obama supporters payed the bills. That ticket on every state's ballot could do a lot of damage to the GOP, IMHO.

According to the Huffpo report:

"If it is an issue that a candidate is put forth, we assume that the internal communications have happened. But if we were to receive a letter from Mayor Bloomberg that he doesn't want his name on the ballot, we would have to look into the matter to see why the nominee for a party doesn't want to be that nominee," said Matthew J. Abell, the Assistant Manager at Virginia's State Board of Elections. "It is a free country and if chooses to not have his name on the ballot he has every right to do so."

Campbell acknowledged this possibility and said he would not feel slighted if the mayor, simply by asking for his name to be removed from the ballot, were to undermine months of efforts.

"Yes, Bloomberg must consent to this and it will be up to the Board of Elections," he told the Huffington Post. "But we made a promise and we wanted to keep it and we have."

UPDATE: Bloomberg's spokesman Stu Loeser emails: "He hasn't made any decisions and hasn't had a chance to speak with [party chairman Carey] Campbell yet... But this is a call for post-partisanship that Mayor Bloomberg hopes the major parties will hear."

LATE UPDATE: Turns out Liz Benjamin had this report up for the New York Daily News earlier today. We did our own reporting but she still deserves credit.

LewRockwell.com gives you some more:

The Independent Party of Virginia has collected 70,000 signatures - seven times as many as necessary - to nominate Ron as vice president and Michael Bloomberg as president. The wrong order, of course, but still very neat. Could this ticket actually carry Virginia, and turn a close election over to the House of Representatives? We can only hope. Then McCain can really become a Georgian. Note, unlike in most states, Ron and Mike stay on unless they ask to be taken off. Ron will not ask, and apparently, neither will Mike.

[update] Welcome to BuzzFlash readers... A reader driven news community worthy of everyone's support.

New York City Is Becoming So Pedestrian

Mayor Bloomberg announces an experimental plan to stop traffic altogether in part of New York city:

The scheme, called Summer Streets, will run on three consecutive Saturdays in August - the 9th, 16th and 23rd.

A seven-mile (11km) route linking Brooklyn Bridge in the south to the Upper East Side will close to traffic.

...snip...

Exercise classes, such as dance and yoga sessions, will be held along the route, which will run from Lower Manhattan to East 72nd Street, via Centre Street, Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue and Park Avenue.

Bikes will be available to rent along the route, and there will be rest areas at various points for cyclists to take on water and repair bikes.

Throw in some beer and free street music and this would be an even bigger draw for suburbanites... And I would promise to take the train into town, Mikey. :)

Get Paid To Blog on Politics?

Come on... I keep posting these positions for you Bloggers and a good part of Connecticut is well within the commuting distance to NYC:

Looking For That Special Someone

We're hiring a new reporter.

--Josh Marshall

Need more details?

Job Opening at TPM

Starting today, we're announcing a job opening for a reporter-blogger at TPMmuckraker. The new hire will be one of two full-time reporter-bloggers for the site. There is no deadline for applications. We'll be hiring as soon as we find the right person. If you're interested please send a resume, two clips and a letter describing your interest and qualifications for the job to talk (at) talkingpointsmemo.com with the subject line "TPMmuckraker Job".

This is a full-time position, with health care. The reporter-blogger will report from either New York or Washington, DC., depending on the applicant.

If you've already expressed interest in the position informally, please submit an application as described above.

To learn more about what we do at TPM and what we've accomplished in the last year, see these news reports on TPM from 2007. And thanks to our readers who make all of this possible.

For many of you that are more than qualified to do this job... What are you waiting for?

Also, TPM media is (almost) always looking for interns. Get some great experience and learn from what is a truly top-notch news organization:

TPM interns are vital to our operation and have a hand in everything we do. They work alongside our reporters to write and break stories, help our editors keep a finger on the pulse of the news day, and produce all kinds of digital media from youtube clips to mash-up photographs. Some of our interns have gone on to jobs here at TPM, others have moved on to jobs in new and old media alike, working for Think Progress, The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, The New York Sun, and more. To learn more about what we do at TPM and what we've accomplished in the last year, see these news reports on TPM from 2007.

Because each intern is encouraged to work in multiple parts of our operation, it's important that applicants have a basic understanding of new media technologies (blogging, youtube, etc.) and a desire and ability to learn quickly. All internships are unpaid and based in TPM's New York City office.

To apply for any of our internships, send an email to talk at talkingpointsmemo.com with a cover letter, resume and two references. Include in the email subject "TPM Internship."

Spring 2008 Internship

Our Spring 2008 Internship runs from mid-March to early June. We will be accepting three or four full time interns. Part-time interns may be considered.

Applications are due on February 8th.

Summer 2008 Internship

Our Spring 2008 Internship runs from early June to late August. We will be accepting four or five full time interns. Part-time interns will not be considered.

Applications are due on March 21st.

Rolling Internships (Intern now!)

At any given time, it is always possible that we could use a smart person in the office to replace a lost intern or help us manage the ever-growing mountain of muck and news. If you're available to come in sooner than the beginning of the next internship cycle begins, let us know.

Think about it... A crash course in political reporting during what will be one heck of an exciting election cycle! And from one of the best political news organizations out there.

About the only disadvantage to the reporting job or the internships I can think of is that you would no longer be able to Blog naked. I am not the only one that does that, am I? :)

Silly Billy Willy Kristol

Where do you even begin with a statement like this?

The idea that The New York Times is giving voice to a guy who is a serious, respected conservative intellectual — and somehow that’s a bad thing,” Rosenthal added. “How intolerant is that?”

Serious? He is seriously wrong on every issue he tackles. Respected? Not by anyone that actually fact checks his statements and track record. Conservative intelectual? FAAAAAR RIGHT WINGNUT UBER-NEOCONSERVATIVE, lightweight propagandist, and intellectual featherweight. And that is being generous.

Given Kristol's intolerance of facts and his taking a job at a paper he has derided for years, does Kristol look sillier OR does the NY Times look even sillier for adding another Judy Miller to their staff?

Crooks and Liars:

This will do little to convince their readers that he didn’t just make a huge mistake by hiring a pundit who has zero credibility and is one of the biggest hacks in all of wingnuttia. Mr. Rosenthal, it is not intolerant of the American people to want truth and accuracy from the supposed paper of record. It’s not about having opposing viewpoints, it’s that Kristol has been wrong on just about everything he’s said for the past five years. Not a little wrong, but really, really wrong. But according to Rosenthal, he’s really serious and gee, people really respect him. Well, I guess that makes up for all of the propaganda…war-mongering partisanship…hackery that Kristol has been given a national platform for already.

Hackery? Nope! It is just more wingnut welfare for the chronically insane failures in the warmongering neoconservative GOP wet set.

Christian War on Chanukah

Eight men and two women are charged with assault, menacing and other mean 'n nasty things... In their unholy war on Chanukah, they may even have the charges upped to hate crimes:

The altercation erupted when Adler and his friends said "Happy Chanukah" to a group yelling "Merry Christmas" on the Brooklyn-bound train.

The 20-year-old Askari said he tried to fight off the 10 attackers, giving Adler a chance to summon police by pulling an emergency brake.

snip

"That a random Muslim kid helped some Jewish kids, that's what's positive about New York," said Adler, 23, who suffered a broken nose and a lip wound.

Some Christians can be the most hateful and despicable people on the face of the earth. Well? At least the fake ones that dishonestly claim America should be some kind of theocratic/fascist bastion of hypocrisy, going against the true meanings of the documents drawn up by The Founding Fathers.

Walter Adler called Hassan Askari a hero for stepping up. I say that he is a true Patriot AND a hero. The New York Post has more on this:

Walter Adler was touched that Hassan Askari jumped to his aid while a group of thugs allegedly pummeled and taunted him and his three friends. So Adler has invited his new friend over to celebrate the Festival of Lights.

The two new pals - Adler, 23, with a broken nose and a fat lip, and Askari, 20, with two black eyes - broke bread together and laughed off the bruises the night after the fisticuffs.

"A random Muslim guy jumped in and helped a Jewish guy on Hanukkah - that's a miracle," said Adler, an honors student at Hunter College.

"He's basically a hero. Hassan jumped in to help us."

The New York Post also has some video up on this story.

Revisiting the arrest of the protesters in NYC

Just some video for you to think about...

"Think our government wouldn't suppress our right to peacefully protest? Think again!"

"If you just can't bring yourself to believe that our government authorities would even think of suppressing the legitimate protests of peaceful demonstrators - look at the record of court cases recently coming out of New York."

Welcome to Blogtopia Paul Krugman

The NY Times dumps their firewall AND has new blog:

The Conscience of a Liberal

“I was born in 1953. Like the rest of my generation, I took the America I grew up in for granted – in fact, like many in my generation I railed against the very real injustices of our society, marched against the bombing of Cambodia, went door to door for liberal candidates. It’s only in retrospect that the political and economic environment of my youth stands revealed as a paradise lost, an exceptional episode in our nation’s history.”

That’s the opening paragraph of my new book, The Conscience of a Liberal. It’s a book about what has happened to the America I grew up in and why, a story that I argue revolves around the politics and economics of inequality.

I’ve given this New York Times blog the same name, because the politics and economics of inequality will, I expect, be central to many of the blog posts – although I also expect to be posting on a lot of other issues, from health care to high-speed Internet access, from productivity to poll analysis. Many of the posts will be supplements to my regular columns; I’ll be using this space to present the kind of information I can’t provide on the printed page – especially charts and tables, which are crucial to the way I think about most of the issues I write about.

This should be a fine addition to your liberal dose of reality in Blogtopia. (Yes, skippy coined that!)

Don't Tread on the 9-11 Dead

Via Nicole Belle at Crooks & Liars:

Kansas City Star: (h/t Sisyphus Shrugged)

The pulverized remains of bodies from the World Trade Center disaster site were used by city workers to fill ruts and potholes, a city contractor says in a sworn affidavit filed Friday in Manhattan Federal Court.

Eric Beck says debris powders - known as fines - were put in a pothole-fill mixture by crews at the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, N.Y., where more than 1.65 million tons of World Trade Center debris were deposited after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I observed the New York City Department of Sanitation taking these fines from the conveyor belts of our machines, loading it onto tractors and using it to pave roads and fill in potholes, dips and ruts," Eric Beck said.

Beck was the senior supervisor for Taylor Recycling, a private contractor hired to sift through debris trucked to Fresh Kills after the trade center attacks. Before the arrival of Taylor's equipment at Fresh Kills in October 2001, the debris was sifted manually by workers using rakes and shovels.

Beck's affidavit was filed by lawyers for the families of Sept. 11 victims who are suing the city in hopes of creating a formal burial place for debris that they say contains human remains.

"It's devastating," Norman Siegel, an attorney representing the families, said of Beck's statement. "When the 9/11 families found about this, they were wiped out."

No wonder the FDNY wasn't too happy with Giuliani. What a way to honor our fallen heroes.

WTF were they thinking?

Have they no decency?