Late Night Links

Tis' my last night here in L.A. and it is only 10:30 or so. It is so funny to hear people talk about how it feels like winter out and the temperature is in the 50s. Ah, well, it is all a matter of perspective I guess. Hawaiians must freeze if it's below 70. Anyways, we're going back to the 30s and 40s tomorrow, I'll miss the warm temps but can't wait to come back to a real city (sorry L.Aers, SoCal is conglomeration of suburbs, nothing more, nothing less).

Okay, here are a few links for the late hour:

• Howie Long really should stick to football. He did alright on the Raiders, but really this jarheaded moron should stay the hell away from the issue of climate change and Al Gore.

• In President Rudy's Administration, not only would Judy Giuliani get secret service protection, his mistresses would as well.

• This time of year it is hard to walk down the streets without running into one of those Christmas tree stands. A normal bystander wouldn't think of anything of it, but there's actually an underworld of Christmas trees in NYC.

• Instead of taking one of those Conifers home, go out to Queens to see the Himalayas come to the city.

• And remember, Christmas isn't about consumerism. As John Lennon said, the holiday is about love for one another and around the world. In case you didn't take a moment on Saturday, remember him now, as he was tragically gunned down twenty-seven years ago on Central Park West.

Fresh Evidence For Rudy's "Sex On The City"

It's been more than two weeks since the Rudy bombshell dropped and there has definitely been a toll taken on Giuliani's campaign. His numbers are in the toilet, both in early states and nationally, where he was last tied with Mike Huckabee. In South Carolina, Huckabee is now up seven points on Rudy. All of this is tied to the "Sex on the City" scandal, sixteen days later, we have the Daily News interviewing Nathan's neighbors and finding out even more information.

From The Daily News:

Judith Nathan got taxpayer-funded chauffeur services from the NYPD earlier than previously disclosed - even before her affair with then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani was revealed, witnesses and sources tell the Daily News.

"It went on for months before the affair was public," said Lee Degenstein, 52, a retired Smith Barney vice president who formerly lived at 200 E. 94th St., Nathan's old building.

"It was going on longer than anybody thought," added Degenstein, who, along with others in the neighborhood, said they often saw Nathan hopping into unmarked NYPD cars in early 2000, before the affair was revealed that May.

Giuliani's aides wouldn't even fight it, they conceded on that point almost instantly. If I was Anthony Carbonetti, I'd be huddled in a corner, just praying that this all goes away. Maybe now they realize that fighting the charges isn't going to help. Many supporters want an explanation from him or just to fess' up to his actions surrounding his trysts with Nathan.

Yet they still claim she got the "protection" because she received threats in 2000. The story doesn't add up though, as residents say they saw her hop into unmarked cars back in 1999. They took her on errands, as neighbors saw plenty of shopping bags from many of NYC's high end stores. With a beau like Giuliani, I'm sure she got all the perks. The question is however, how many of those were funded by NYC taxpayers?

Silly Rudy, Those Trix Are For Kids

As Rudy's poll numbers continue to shrivel on this seventh day of the "Sex on the City" scandal, Rudy pulls an unbelievable move. He apparently has no idea on how to respond to these irrefutable charges (is there any excuse except for "I'm really, really sorry?"). Instead of an apology, he touts a fiscal conservative record that we all now know he does not have.

From The Wall Street Journal:

With economic uncertainty weighing on the minds of many Americans, Congress is preparing to recess after another year of profligate spending, protectionist talk and promises of higher taxes. No wonder some people feel like we're moving in the wrong direction. But I'm optimistic as I look to the future. It's not our country that's moving in the wrong direction -- it's Congress, and Washington's culture of wasteful spending.

Over the last decade, nondefense spending has increased by 65% -- the federal government currently spends $24,000 per household -- while the number of earmarked pork projects rocketed from close to 1,000 ...

LMAO!

Wasteful spending? Really now Rudy, how many shovels are you going to use to dig yourself out of that hole? New Yorkers wastefully (and unwittingly) spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to ferry both his ex-wife Donna Hanover and at-the-time mistress Judith Nathan with NYPD security they clearly did not need. Paying cops to walk Judi's dog, if that is fiscal conservatism, then I want my own copy of City Hall's AMEX card. I need to finish shopping for the holidays and what the hell, I guess that would be fiscally conservative in Rudy's eyes.

Oh and by the way, Rudy also wrote about wasteful pork projects...he wouldn't be talking about the pork that was handed to him, now would he?

Who Would You Rather Cheat With?

Kelly And His NYPD Are Running From Rudy

As the "Rudy's Shag Fund" or "Sex on the City" scandal continues to spawn new legs over the weekend and into today, Rudy has remained consistent in his story that whenever he traveled, the city would pick up the tab and that the NYPD would reimburse the costs. It is a complex answer that many are giving odd looks at. These people have included former Mayor Ed Koch, the City Comptroller and now even Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Kelly's refusal to back Giuliani up could spell even worse news for the Presidential contender.

From Newsday:

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly tried on Friday to distance the NYPD from the controversy surrounding Rudy Giuliani's travel and security expenses incurred by detectives on mayoral protection detail, saying his department processes paperwork quickly and within guidelines.

Kelly said that during his tenure under former Mayor David Dinkins and now, during Kelly's second term, the NYPD pays all the expenses for the mayoral security detail.

"All I can speak to is the process we use in this administration," he said. "Detectives assigned to the mayor's security detail file all of their expenses through the department and they're reimbursed through the department.

Of course, Kelly wasn't on the payroll during Rudy's tenure, just during Dinkins' Administration and now currently with Bloomberg. That doesn't mean much to another high ranking police official though. The unnamed source said that the NYPD was never slow to pay for Rudy's security detail expenses. The message is clear, do not blame the Police Department for playing around with the city's budget. It isn't their fault, it has to be someone that wanted those expenses to go through illusory channels.