City Council Calls For Investigation Into NYPD Abuse Of Cyclists

As you would expect the sun to rise in the east and set in the west, I feel similarly about the NYPD's ability to hold their officers accountable for beating down cyclists that take part in the Critical Mass Bikerides. As we now know (or have known for a few years depending on what you read on the Internet) NYPD cops have lied in their statements regarding their behavior around innocent bicyclists. Outrage over the video that surfaced and contrasted with Officer Rogan's statement has been heard over at City Hall and now we are beginning to see some action from at least a few of our City representatives.

From Time's Up:

NEW YORK, NY (August 4, 2008) - City Council members join the chorus of outrage over the NYPD's continual harassment of Critical Mass cyclists. Earlier today, twelve city council members submitted a jointly signed letter to the Manhattan DA, Robert M Morgenthau, requesting that he drop the charges against Christopher Long and investigate the NYPD policies toward cyclists, specifically during Critical Mass rides. Christopher Long was thrown off his bicycle by police officer Patrick Pogan during the July 25th Critical Mass Ride.

The Internal Affairs Bureau is currently investigating Sergeant Timothy Horohoe for false official statements intentionally made to the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) during an investigation of the arrests of cyclist and videographer Christian Guttierez, and photographer Jordan Groh while documenting police harassment of cyclists in Time's Square during the March 2007 Critical Mass ride.

The CCRB report also substantiated the charge that Sgt. Timothy Horohoe used physical force when Sgt. Horohoe pushed Richard Vazquez off his bike when Mr. Vazquez rode through Times Square on the March 2007 Critical Mass. The charges of physical force used by Sgt Horohoe are being investigated by the Department Advocate Office. The statute of limitations on penalizing Horohoe for the acts of March 30, 2007 is September 30, 2008.

"Critical Mass participants have been assaulted by a Lietuenant, a Sergeant and recently by a Rookie officer. And each assault has been documented on video. When officers lie with impunity to cover up their bad conduct, the CCRB says that filing of false information in official documents is not within their jurisdiction. Simply put, there is no official manner for civilians to hold bad apples accountable for wrongful police conduct and therefore, all civilians and all good police officers suffer", says Wylie Stecklow, lawyer for the complainants.

If the CCRB isn't going to do anything about police officers that lie to them, then there is a serious problem with the CCRB. DA Morganthau must act in this instance and fully investigate the NYPD. This isn't just a case of one bad cop, there is a possibility that this is a systemic problem and if there is such, it has to be dealt with appropriately. Whoever allowed for a culture that permits random acts of violence against cyclists needs to be at the very least fired. Of course for the cyclists to have justice and New York to have a police force that they can trust, the people in power who condone this behavior will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

McCain's Coded Messages To Racists

Why is McCain throwing more money into playing the controversial and widely panned ad that mentions Britney, Paris and Obama? It isn't for everyone, just for that segment of the white population that haven't gotten over that whole "civil rights era" legislation that largely put an end to institutional racism. The racism is still there under the surface and McCain knows how to exploit it.

Drill, Drill, Drill Or Get A Tune-Up

As I am going to the dentist in two hours, the word "drill" repeated several times over almost immediately has me searching for an alternative. Although this isn't about my teeth, it is about our nation's coastline and pristine wilderness. Republicans want to lease even more land so that oil companies can have "instant assets" by taking their new properties (c/o us, the taxpayers) and selling them on the market to increase their margins.

This really isn't about reducing the price of oil, no matter how many times Minority Leader Boehner threatens to shut down the government in order to achieve it. However, there is an easy way to get that supposed oil that drilling proponents claim will come with their idea. It is called conservation, but there's an easier way than that, as Barack Obama pointed out, just get your tires inflated and your car tuned up.

From Time Magazine:

How out of touch is Barack Obama? He's so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point; Rush Limbaugh is having a field day; and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters.

But who's really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

And as Time points out a few paragraphs below, conserving energy is easy as long as you get in the habit of doing so. Unplugging appliances, having low-energy bulbs, taking mass transit, all things that are good for your wallet and the environment simultaneously. So while the right makes fun of Obama for leading people to conserve and help our energy crisis in a multi-faceted way (of course wind and solar projects are on their way too), he actually has a plan, while McCain is offering someone $300 million for a battery.

KBR: No More Cries For Help From Our Rape Victims

Often times, justice and bad press get in the way of each other when it comes to the dealings of a large corporation that makes money off one of two of the big evil in the world. KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton recently was involved in such an episode when their "get your war on" culture just happened to result in the rape of Jamie Leigh Jones (one of several). The reason her story came to light was due to the goodwill of her guard to let her use his cellphone in order to call her family (while being locked inside a storage bin after telling her superiors about her ordeal). So how does KBR alleviate problems like this?

From The Seattle Examiner:

Defense contractor KBR Inc. said it has banned the sue of personal cell phones by its employees in Iraq for security reasons.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press on Saturday night, KBR spokeswoman Heather L. Browne confirmed the company had notified its employees in Iraq that use of personal cell phones is prohibited.

Browne said the decision was because of "a safety and security concern." She declined to elaborate, but did say KBR officials are reviewing the matter that led to the directive.

A safety and security concern? I wonder who's safety they are concerned about, their employees or their stock quote? Instead of working towards a solution that can put an end to a rape-permissive culture inside the war profiteering outfit, they chose to go the route of merely covering up for the criminals that lurk inside their company.

Forget Substance, Sunday Talk Talks About "Race"

Specifically, if John McCain is, or if Barack Obama is simply playing the race card. David Gergen seems to know whats up, but as for the other clowns on the circuit, fugheddabboudit!

Karma Visits Westboro Baptist Church

I am a believer in karma, meaning that good things come eventually to good people and vice-versa. Well there are some putrid excuses for life on our planet and one group in particular is the Westboro Baptist Church. If you do not know already, their mission in life is to go around to military funerals and protest, chanting that those that died fell because America "allows" homosexuality. So they hold signs that say "God Hates Fags," nice, eh? Well I hate to see tragedy strike anyone, but karma made me chuckle a bit when I saw this.

From PageOneQ:

Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, known for its vocal condemnations of homosexuality, website GodHatesFags.com and picketing of gay pride parades and funerals, has sustained thousands of dollars in damage after a fire early Saturday morning. Impromptu protest followed as firefighters carried out their response.

"None of what they do is going to stop us from delivering our message," said church counsel Shirley Phelps-Roper of any "cowards" that would have set the fire on purpose, also saying that it was the "most aggressive act" towards the Phelps family to date.

"There is evidence that hatred of our religion was the motivation, in part at least," states a "Civil Rights Hate Crime Complaint" written by pastor Fred Phelps Sr. to Attorney General Michael Mukasey. In a recently released YouTube presentation, Phelps also blames law enforcement, judges, and the "filthy, fag-riddled military" for what he considers an assault on his First Amendment rights.

Ah, the hypocrisy of it all. First amendment right, meh! As long as they get their rights and those they disagree with are denied theirs, Fred Phelps is a happy, hate-loving man. Then the story ends with a neighborly dispute over who's land is who's. One side claims the other burnt the church on purpose and in the end the environment loses with an additional few pounds of carbon in the atmosphere. Unfortunately though, this fire will not stop the hate pouring out from this particular loony bin.

Romney Continues To Lie For McCain

Ah, Mittens Romney is up to no good again. In this run-up to the selection of VP running mates, the former Governor is trying hard to please Mr. McCain and on CNN, he delivered a doosey of a lie to make his man look good.

From ThinkProgress:

Today, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney appeared on CNN’s American Morning to discuss an ad by Barack Obama that argues John McCain would give $4 billion in tax breaks to Big Oil. Romney declared the charge “dishonest” and “below the belt.” He claimed that McCain “doesn’t ask for any tax reduction for oil companies.”

There is nothing dishonest about pointing out the fact that McCain’s plan to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent would give nearly $4 billion in tax breaks to the six largest oil companies. Ensuring that corporations pay dramatically fewer taxes is an integral part of McCain’s regressive tax plan that skews its benefits heavily toward the wealthy and offers little for the poor and middle class.[...]

Just since McCain’s embrace of offshore drilling in June, donations to his campaign from the oil and gas industry have skyrocketed. He has received $881,450 in the last 6 weeks alone.

The McCain campaign may claim to “stand up” to the oil industry, but McCain’s own plans are the stuff of Big Oil’s dreams.

Perhaps because Romney is a multi-millionaire himself, he doesn't see stuff like this as a tax break but good fiscal planning and his and others like him god-given right. Why would this plan draw any ire from Romney when he has no clue as to the sentiments of the middle class, millions of Americans who he has no idea on how to relate to?

How Republicans Really Feel About Our Veterans

Instead of simply supporting a bill that helps fund our nation's veterans, the Republican caucus played games with our military by adding an amendment to the bill to pass a giveaway for the wealthy oil industry. When Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) called them out on it, like little children they booed him on it....and subsequently the wishes of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Feingold And Whitehouse Try To Stand Senate Up Against The White House

Although George Bush had publicly wished that the United States was a dictatorship, he has certainly done his best to make that a reality. Signing statements, pushing for retroactive immunity and starting wars are all part of his legacy. The undermining of the Constitution and the country have not gone unnoticed, particularly by Senators Feingold and Whitehouse, who are now trying to do something about it, at least in this one regard.

From RawStory:

"No one disputes that a President can withdraw or revise an Executive Order at any time," Feingold said as he introduced the bill Thursday. "But abrogating a published Executive order without any public notice works a secret change in the law."

"Because the published Order stays on the books, it actively misleads Congress and the public as to what the law is," he said.

Feingold said the new bill would eliminate that problem by requiring a notice of any change within 30 days, though it "does not require the publication of any classified information."

"On rare occasions, national security can justify elected officials keeping some information secret," he said, "but it can never justify lying to the American people about what the law is. Maintaining two different sets of laws, one public and one secret, is just that -- deceiving the American people about what law applies to the government's conduct."

Oh Senator Feingold, don't you realize that lying to the American people is what George Bush does best? This is a good step on Senator Whitehouse and your part, but we'll see if the full Senate actually approves it and dares to show some sort of spine in front of the President. One thing is for sure, Republicans won't go along with it, and that means either it won't make it to the President or even if it does, he won't sign it (duh) and a veto override would be impossible.

Sometimes Being A Big GOP Donor Isn't Enough

The recent update on the U.S. Attorney scandal revealed that Monica Goodling did indeed break the law numerous times by using political factors to determine who would and wouldn't be good candidates for the office. Being a good loyal Republican was key to the process, but even some of those didn't make the cut.

From The Times-Union:

The IG report discusses how the Bush White House tried to get favorites appointed to lifetime posts as immigration judges, and reached out to friends in New York. One passage deals with a judge candidate from New York recommended by an unnamed congressman in June 2005.

The congressman's staff gave the candidate's qualifications to the White House as "great Republican" and "long time donor to the local GOP." The "local" Republican Party officials said they could vouch for the candidate, whose name was forwarded for an interview, according to the report.

The New York Republican nominee -- also unnamed, alas -- didn't score well.

"The candidate's conduct during his ... interview causes us to question whether he possesses the appropriate judicial temperament and demeanor to serve as an immigration judge," a Bush administration e-mail quoted in the report says. "The candidate used profanity during the interview, acted abrasively, and when asked what his greatest weakness was, responded 'blondes.' "

Perhaps Bush's minions saw what this guy said and had at least a few principles left to realize that maybe this guy wouldn't be the most impartial of judges....and godforbid a possible terrost wear a blonde wig, we might have all been in serious trouble. Now I wonder who might this judicial candidate might have been?

Lieberman Gung-Ho For Speaking At GOP Convention

Joe Lieberman and his staff have denied he's attending the RNC convention in Minneapolis a month from now. That denial was issued last week, but if you saw him on the Meet the Press yesterday, you can see Joe changes his tune quite quickly:

MTA Prez: Don't Expect Anything From Us

You don't have to tell straphangers that things down below in the subways of New York City are under par. Though MTA President Howard Roberts did just that....and more in an interview yesterday with the Post (hoping that not as many Post readers travel on the subway on Sunday perhaps?). He fessed up to the dire conditions and the fact that even two fare increases on the near horizon wouldn't do the trick. Well, maybe this is rare bit of honesty from a MTA admin.

From The NY Post:

"There's not anything out there that anybody is very proud of," NYC Transit President Howard Roberts Jr. told The Post in a wide-ranging interview about the fundamental problems plaguing the city's 468 subway stations as the agency slashes its budget and talks about raising fares twice more in the coming three years.[...]

With the MTA reporting a steep decline in revenue, especially at bridges and tunnels, straphangers won't see any improvements. The two proposed fare hikes, Roberts said, would "only maintain the status quo."

"For years, they slashed station cleaning, and they slashed station maintenance," Roberts said of his predecessors at NYC Transit, who he said were forced into the cuts.

"It created issues."

Issues? Ya think?

Well, to Mr. Roberts credit, there is one good thing coming soon for the millions who ride the MTA, as long as they have a cellphone that is. Now we'll at least know ahead of time when the trains are going to completely fail and not as many people will be stifling in the heat of a crowded platform, waiting hopelessly for a train that isn't coming. Fixing that problem will cost way more than $600K