Cutting NYC's Culture Budget

All of New York City is going to feel the hurt that budget cuts have, no matter what the institution is. Whether it be less beds for the homeless to sleep in during the coming cold winter nights or higher property taxes for those that are lucky enough to have NYC real estate, the pain is coming in one way or another. Of course for some, like the poor, it'll be worse, but everyone is going to be affected by the slashing of our cultural budgets.

From PolitickerNY:

As Michael Bloomberg announced ways in which New Yorkers could enjoy cheap or free cultural activities in the city, Cultural Affairs Department head Kate Levin testified at a City Council hearing about how the mayor’s budget cutbacks are affecting the department and the cultural groups it supports.[...]

Here are a few items from a chart they prepared outlining how much money some institutions will lose by the end of Fiscal Year 2009:

--American Museum of Natural History: $2,790,746, a 22 percent reduction from the previous fiscal year;

--Carnegie Hall: $271,687, a 33 percent reduction;

--Lincoln Center: $1,035,290, a 42 percent reduction;

--Metropolitan Museum of Art: $1,691,246, a 13 percent reduction;

--Staten Island Children’s Museum: $170,146, a 31 percent reduction.

From Manhattan to Staten Island, the price of going to the museum or the opera is going to go up. While the arts can be easily overlooked by politicians, it is important to remember that when you make these institutions raise their prices, it shuts the door onto a form of higher learning. For those that can't afford to pay $20, $30 or $50 to see the myriad priceless treasures our city has to offer, it'll be one more way for Bloomberg to make our city serve the rich before anyone else.

Oh Noes!!! Fox News Shows Terrorists Our Strategy In Pakistan!

How do they explain to President Bush how they are with us when they help those against us? Where's the outrage from the right? Calling Mr. Kristol!!! Sean Hannity? Rush? G. Beck?

A Progressive Economic Vision For America Is Coming

The "Team of Rivals" idea has had a few progressives worried that Obama would not appoint anyone from the left. The fear was that by picking certain people, the conservatives would get their center-right Administration after all. Well, those fears are largely unfounded, especially since it is about the policies of the President that truly matter. Though if you are interested in names, you should check out Melody Barnes, who will be the Domestic Policy Council head in the new Administration.

From The Field:

Melody Barnes, Domestic Policy Council served as chief counsel to Senator Ted Kennedy on the Judiciary Committee from 1985 to 1993. Want to get an idea of how progressive she is? Read this: In January of 2007, prior to President Bush's state of the union address, Barnes wrote this essay for the Washington Post, What a Progressive President Might Say:

Here at home there is urgent work to do to fight the historically high -- and growing -- gap between our richest and poorest citizens. While the mean income of households on the low end of the income spectrum -- the bottom 20 percent -- is just $10,655 a year, the income of the top twenty percent of households averages almost $160,000. That's 15 times as much. At the same time, according to the latest census figures, the middle class, beset with stagnant wages and mountainous debts, is shrinking. The sad fact is that one of our most cherished values as a society, namely equality of opportunity, is fading as a reality for far too many people...

No news agency predicted it or broke the story until two hours ago this morning when the Think Progress blog became the first - beating all commercial media at their own game - to do so.

Likewise, the nomination to head the Council of Economic Advisors, Christina Romer, went un-predicted and without leaks until just three hours before today's press conference when Politico broke the story.

It's funny hearing morons like Mark Halperin talk about how the media fawns over Obama, yet they can't even get a handle on the news that the President-Elect breaks nearly every single day. The truth is, no one can really predict what Obama is going to do yet, he won't be President for almost two more months. What we can go on is what he has been saying to us for 21 months on the campaign trail and three weeks after, that we are going to get change and a total departure from George Bush, something that for one, Melody Barnes among others represents.

Padavan May Be Ahead, But Plenty Of Challenged Ballots Remain

It has been nearly three weeks since election day and one State Senate race is still not decided. Both Jim Gennaro and longtime Senator Frank Padavan are working hard to get their candidate to win, not just up until election day but even now. The disappointing news for Gennaro is that not many of the paper ballots counted thus far have helped him in closing the gap.

From The Daily Politics:

As of last night, 692 votes separated Padavan from his Democratic challenger, Councilman Jim Gennaro, according to someone involved in the recount process.

That's still slightly less than the 723-vote lead Padavan had on election night, but more than his low of 474, which caused quite a bit of glee in the Senate Democrats camp - so much so that Gennaro consultant, Evan Stavisky, delcared that the GOP senator's was plummeting "faster than the Dow under George Bush."

As of this moment, it appears Stavisky might have spoken too soon. The Republicans are again feeling confident that Padavan will retain his seat, which would be a blow to Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith has he tries to reach the magic 32 number that will land him the majority leader's post.

About 1,600 paper ballots remain to be counted, down from about 8,000. The remaining ballots are form the 26th, 27th, 29th and 33rd ADs, at least two of which are considered by the Republicans to be strong for Padavan.

It's still possible that there will be a legal challenge filed by the Democrats in response to what they allege is an effort by the Republicans to disenfranchise Hispanic and Asian voters.

Liz actually may be speaking too soon as well. The only challenges in this post-election contest are coming from the Republicans who are trying to disqualify hundreds of ballots that have been going for Gennaro, predominantly those cast by Hispanic and Asian voters. They'll be in court alright, but to make sure all eligible voters have their ballots count, not the other way around. Not until the counting is finished can the challenged ballots be added to the tally, so let's just wait until the entire process is finished before we call the race.

Obama To Jolt The Economy With Investments And Jobs

Ah, if only we could get Chief Justice Roberts to swear this man into office already....so that we can kick out the petulant little child that sits in the Oval Office now.

Dana, Dana, Dana, It Isn't About The Time, It's About The Lies

Howie Kurtz did a write-up of Dana Perino in the Washington Post today and he certainly got a few gems out of her. It has to be tough to be the official lying mouthpiece of the Bush Administration and probably in a way she has to be glad it's almost over. I personally couldn't imagine selling my soul to the devil for that guy, so maybe she just gets paid well for it....perhaps hoping for a book deal like her predecessors. Whatever her reasons, I say good riddance to the entire lot of the current Administration. Of course they won't go without bestowing some advice for Obama's people, but if I were Robert Gibbs, I'd let it go in one ear and out the other.

From The Washington Post:

Perino marvels at the glowing press that Barack Obama has gotten -- "He was a great candidate, a phenomenal candidate," she says -- but warned his incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, that it wouldn't last forever. "I'll give you eight months," she told him.

Eight months? Where'd ya get that number Dana? Is that how long it took the press to lose interest in the crap you peddled for the President? See Ms. Perino, it isn't about the amount of time, it is how you treat the media. Comparing the coverage for Bush to Obama and complaining about it is a waste of time in false equivalencies. Bush gets bad press not only because he's unpopular but that he's a lying snake who starts wars for no good reason that kill hundreds of thousands of people. He also helped tank the economy and make us the laughing stock of the world. Obama is already working to fix the damage Bush has done. That isn't unfair coverage, it is simply the news.

Oh and I loved this quote:

"If I gave you information that turned out to be false, and I balked at correcting it, you guys would be furious. You'd be shocked," Perino says.

You give the media false information and lie to the public? Never!

How Christine Quinn Got Me Angry All Over Again

For the last two weeks or so Speaker Christine Quinn has been out trying to mend the fences she burned down by forcing the term limits extension bill to pass. What she did with the Mayor and twenty-eight other Council members was an atrocious act that spit on the voters of this city that approved term limits twice. The way they treated democracy was absolutely unforgivable and simply sending her opponents a "lets work together beyond this" message that was photcopied on her letterhead will not do the trick to heal the wound.

Here's her letter in full (with my thoughts in bold):

Dear Joshing:

Recently you contacted me to express your thoughts and views on term limits.

As I'm sure you now know, on October 23rd the Council voted to extend term limits for city elected officials from two to three four-year terms.

Despite widespread disapproval of going around the voters who enacted the limits.

I understand how strongly you and others feel about this issue. The decision wasn't one that the Council and I took lightly, and it came with a great deal of deliberation, dialogue and debate, including two days and nights of public hearings.

Hearings that Quinn didn't take the time to show up for, because really, she could care less what the public thinks since she did not take part in the deliberation, dialogue and debate. If she really wanted deliberation, the hearings would have been brought out to all the boroughs and we would have at least taken two weeks, not rushed through in two days.

I realize there's very little I can say at this point to convince you that my support for extending term limits was based solely on what I absolutely believed in my heart was best for our City: that in these extraordinarily difficult times, New Yorkers should have the choice to keep their current leadership or vote us out at the polls.

Absolutely nothing will convince me that you didn't do this simply out of your own self-interest, since the Mayor was offering you a deal to be Deputy Mayor among other things. Your heart had nothing to do with this, unless you truly love to be greedy.

I would like to promise you this, though. As Speaker, I will continue to work as hard as I can each and every day to earn your trust and respect and to help make city government more responsive and effective for all New Yorkers.

How can I have respect for someone that makes backroom deals with the Mayor and her fellow Council Members? Christine, the only person you are responsive to is Mike Bloomberg.

Next November, you and other voters will have the opportunity to vote for me, any of my colleagues, or Mike Bloomberg for another four years - or to make a change. The decision will ultimately be yours. That, to me, is the essence of democracy.

Actually I can't vote you out, since I'm not in your district but I'll certainly support someone that wants to challenge you. I will without a doubt not vote for Bloomberg. As for the essence of democracy....is that a brand of perfume, because I can smell your stench of slush funds from here.

Thank you for hearing me out. As difficult as this decision was, I appreciate and respect your views and hope we can continue to work together during these tough economic times.

You appreciate and respect my views? Now that'll be a cold day in hell.

Sincerely,
Or insincerely,

Christine C. Quinn
Speaker

Quinn obviously did not listen to Mayor Bloomberg about this. He's hoping that people will forget all about term limits by the time election day rolls around. It isn't very bright to go around using taxpayer money and time to send a letter reminding New Yorkers how you screwed them over to enrich yourself.

I'm relishing your defeat next November even more now, along with the rest the Bloomberg 29 and the Mayor King himself.

Reviewing "The Road To Guantanamo"

From Brave New Films:

Jonathan "DJK" Kim reviews THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO for Brave New Films.

THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO tells the true story of three young Muslim Brits, later known as the Tipton Three. During a trip to Pakistan in late 2001, they took a detour into Afghanistan to assist with an aid mission and witness the American-led assault firsthand. They couldn't have known that they would be swept up in America's indiscriminate war-on-terror dragnet, and later deposited in the legal and moral netherworld we know as Guantanamo Bay, where they were held without charge for two long years.

To find out more about the film and the Tipton Three, visit http://www.roadtoguantanamomovie.com/.

As bad as it is to see how the prisoners were treated, it helps knowing that this torture facility will soon be shut down for good.

San Fran To Get Electric Car Infrastructure

We aren't kidding about how successful the green economy can be for our country. The amount of jobs and investment for a 21st century lifestyle is almost limitless. Turning to wind and solar power, retooling the auto industry and making the planet more energy efficient is the key to getting us out of our ecological and economic mess. One company coming to San Francisco is about to show how it gets done.

From EcoGeek:

On Thursday the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland held a press conference to announce that the Bay Area would be home to America’s first electric car network, to be designed by Better Place, Shai Agassi’s electric car company. Better Place, in case you don’t recall, plans to build a network of charging stations which will enable the drivers of its electric cars to plug in wherever they go. Mr. Agassi has already signed on his native Israel, as well as Denmark and Australia, but until Thursday he had yet to secure a commitment from the US.

Better Place’s vision is large scale and sweeping, and to make it work they need money but – more importantly – political support. Building the network will require an untold amount of permits and, obviously, cooperation with the local electric utility, which is something that politicians can help with more than VC funds. The three mayors have outlined a nine point plan for making the Bay Area the “electric vehicle capital of America”. Among those points are helping out with the aforementioned permits, as well as buying lots of Better Place cars for municipal fleets and providing incentives for businesses to build charging stations on their property.

This is what it takes to start setting up the infrastructure of tomorrow. It is but one part of a green society that will have us all live better and without the need for gasoline. Of course we'll need to change the supplier at the beginning of the electrical line from coal, oil and yes, nuclear eventually to fuels that are 100% bio-friendly and completely renewable. It won't happen overnight, but with projects like this in the Bay Area, we're working on getting to that Better Place.

Thompson Wants To Save Straphangers With Vehicle Tax

City Comptroller and candidate (not official yet of course) for Mayor Bill Thompson added a new idea to the mix on how to save the troubled M.T.A. from its hard times. Instead of cutting services and jobs, he wants to throw the burden onto those that drive into and around the city. Unlike the current Mayor though, he isn't even mentioning the words "congestion pricing" in his plan.

From The NY Daily News:

Thompson's plan would stick all metro-area car owners with supersized-vehicle use taxes based on the weight of their car.

The sliding-scale tax would be in addition to the sliding-scale, weight-based state registration fee they already pay every two years. That means about $200 extra for cars and $400 or more for heavyweights like SUVs.

"We need to assure that all those who benefit from a healthy transit system will pay their fair share," said Thompson, noting that transit ridership reduces congestion.

Thompson's proposed tax would affect all 12 counties of the so-called Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District served by the MTA - and raise as much as $1.8 billion annually, he said Sunday.

Well first off this is much better than cutting service and hiking the fair by fifty cents or a dollar. The only question is will all of that money go directly towards running the M.T.A.? While the DN only interviews two drivers that sound supportive, many other car owners will not be as thrilled. At least for Thompson he only has to deal with voters in five of those counties and most of the upset New Yorkers will be in the outer boroughs. With that said, if certain guarantees could be made for that money, then eventually more people will be accepting of the raised fees.

For far too long we've put more money into the transit authority without seeing much improvement. Their current proposal makes us pay more to get less, so Thompson at least shifts the burden from those that use mass transit. For the money though, the M.T.A. has to get serious about their finances and run their operation with much less fat. They can toss the public relations team for starters. I do not want to hear how good they're doing with little messages about the 2nd Avenue line and how fares in 1986 weren't that much different than now. Save that space for advertisers. Don't tell us about good things, show us damnit!

Lieberman Shows Up On Meet The Press, Still Can't Find His Soul

Joe Lieberman was on Meet the Press this weekend, though I really do not know why, unless he was just trying to gloat for getting off the hook for stabbing Obama in the back during the campaign. He certainly wasn't sitting to answer questions from Tom Brokaw. All Lieberman did was duck, weave and evade Brokaw's attempt to at least get an apology from Holy Joe.

Obviously not even that could be accomplished:

U.S. Gov't To Back $306 Billion Citigroup Mistakes

Late this evening (or morning now) the deal reached between the government and Citigroup became official. Rumors had been swirling all weekend, but now we find out just how far our government is willing to go to save the banks built too big to fail.

From Bloomberg News:

Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government agreed to protect $306 billion of loans and securities on Citigroup Inc.‘s books against losses, as it seeks to shore up investor confidence in the bank.

Citigroup will, as a fee for the guarantee, provide preferred shares to the Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the regulators said in a statement. The government will also inject $20 billion into the bank from the Treasury’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Of course conservatives are trying to drag out a fight to save millions of autoworkers jobs for $25 billion, but hardly a peep is heard for $306 billion in guarantees for loans and securities. Oh and a mere $20 billion of straight cash that virtually doubles the current market value of Citigroup, pegged at $20.5 billion at the end of last week. I hope this helps them save some of those 52,000 layoffs from going through, but I doubt it goes to doing good for the workers who have been punished for the executives' greed. People like Charles Prince should go to jail for their recklessness and stripped of the wealth made from the risky deals that brought misery to us all.