Giuliani Attacks NYC Firefighters Union

A respectful and honorable person would apologize for his mistakes on the horrific day of September 11th, but not Rudolph Giuliani. He would not own up to not providing communication systems that could have saved dozens if not hundreds of firefighters in the burning towers. Instead Rudy had his campaign attack the firefighters that are speaking out against him.

From The New York Post:

"I don't believe that a few disgruntled union members can diminish the many years of respect Rudy has shown them," Carbonetti added.

The comments came amid a fresh round of criticism aimed at Giuliani from Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy, who said he will rally his members against the ex-mayor - who's currently the GOP front-runner for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.

Cassidy, whose parent union has already vowed to try to damage Giuliani's candidacy by not inviting him to speak at a candidates' forum in Washington, faulted the former mayor's performance in office - including his handling of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He also blasted Giuliani on the issue of terrorism, insisting he is not an "expert."

Rudy certainly tries to use his tenure as mayor to show he knows terror first hand. Yet that does not mean he knows how to deal with it on the international stage. He has zero foreign policy experience and declined to learn more about it with the Iraq Study Group because he would rather focus on enriching himself and his Presidential campaign.

Rudy's man Carbonetti fought hard against the protesting firefighters in order to win a PR campaign that could be fatal for "Hitler on the Hudson." In his quest for power, it is essential that the masses think of him as "America's Mayor" and not what he really is, a greedy, power-hungry Republican that only cares about winning, not about fighting terrorism effectively. NYC firefighters already know this, so should the rest of us.

"Nixonian"

Sen. Patrick Leahy was on Press The Meat yesterday and slammed the Bush Administration for stonewalling the investigation of the Justice Department. Not only did he bark at them, but threatened to bite by taking the matter to the courts if the White House does not comply by the beginning of next week.

McCain Out By August?

As donations surge on the Democratic side after the second quarter reports came out, it is apparent that some on the right are suffering. None of the Republican candidates came close to Obama or Hillary and John McCain is one of the biggest, weakest links. The Senator from Arizona was long considered the front runner and now he's having trouble mustering double-digit support. With only $2 million on hand, he cut another 50 people from the campaign in order to save money that is trickling in.

From The Huffington Post:

The financial difficulties have fueled speculation that McCain would drop out of the race but he dismissed that notion Thursday, calling it "ridiculous." He argued that voters won't start paying close attention until the fall, and said: "I don't know why I would even remotely consider such a thing in the month of June, or July."

Six months before primary voting begins, McCain is struggling for some semblance of momentum.

His popularity among Republicans has dropped since the start of the year. He has become intimately linked to the unpopular Iraq war, and, in recent weeks, he's drawn criticism from already wary conservatives for his support of Bush's immigration reform bill. He declined to participate in an early test of organizational muscle in the leadoff state of Iowa this summer, and, he's fighting the perception that he's yesterday's candidate.

Well if he won't consider it this month, McCain should seriously think about it for next month. There's already a "death watch" on him in the polls. I'm not 100% on him leaving next month, but there is no way he's making it to the primaries. A Presidential campaign these days needs massive amounts of capital and McCain does not have it.

Lord Bring Me Water

Alabama is one of many states across the country that are facing tremendous droughts (except for the Plains that is being flooded) this year. What is a Governor to do when he sees his state suffering? Pray to God we get some precipitation. Is that it Governor Riley? Yep.

From The Birmingham News:

With the state's weather forecasters not delivering much-needed rain, Gov. Bob Riley on Thursday turned to a higher power. The governor issued a proclamation calling for a week of prayer for rain, beginning Saturday.

Riley encouraged Alabamians to pray "individually and in their houses of worship."

"Throughout our history, Alabamians have turned in prayer to God to humbly ask for his blessings and to hold us steady during times of difficulty," Riley said. "This drought is without question a time of great difficulty."

Drought is a terrible thing, and prayer is a good thing to soothe the mind, but will it bring rain? Doubtful. Things that will help are calls to conserve water and for farmers to plant accordingly. Riley does not even bother addressing the issue of climate change either.

Computer models predict that growing regions will move north as the planet becomes hotter. The increasing amount of carbon dioxide will also (and already is) disrupt weather patterns, making conditions more erratic (See floods in the Plains, drought in the west and south). Governor Riley, faith without works is dead and if we do not do something collectively to face climate change, all the prayer in the world won't help us.

Joe Klein Debunks Lieberman Lunacy

Joe Lieberman, ever the dutiful Bush apologist claimed this week that we have the enemy on the run in Iraq. Where he comes up with this crap is beyond me, but Joe Klein was on Chris Matthews' weekend gig to shred his argument to bits.

The Disappearing Marshes

Climate change is having dramatic effects across the world as can be seen with massive droughts and floods, extreme heat waves and melting ice caps. Though for some reason it is the little things that hit close to home that can have the greatest impact. Here in New York City the marshes of Jamaica Bay look beautiful from the air coming into JFK or actually being out in the bay on a boat. The problem is that in twenty years, they'll be gone.

From 1010 WINS:

No one knows for sure why the marshes are disappearing. A host of possible reasons is being looked at, from lack of sediment to renew the marshes flowing into the bay because of urban development to sea level rise to the city's four wastewater treatment plants feeding the system more nitrogen than it can handle.

"Research has looked at a handful of contributing factors, none of them have emerged as a clear cause," said Steve Zahn, a program manager for a marine resources unit for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Some are convinced that excessive nitrogen from the city's wastewater treatment plants plays a big role. The nitrogen, a byproduct from the water treatment process, feeds algae blooms, which then die off and are decomposed by bacteria which end up using a lot of oxygen, leaving less in the system.

The city acknowledges that more nitrogen than the system can handle is being discharged into the bay, but also says the science isn't definitive for that being the main problem of the marshland loss.

There is a main problem in this equation, just not a specific one. The problem is climate change fueled by the way we live on this planet. The increasing carbon output along with how we treat our waste is all indicative of a wasteful society that dumps its garbage on mother nature and pollutes the air that we all breathe. Losing the marshes of Jamaica Bay will be only one of many consequences of not cleaning up our act fast enough.

Robot Soldiers, Not Playing In A Theater Near You

Science fiction and action movies love to use robotic soldiers in their scripts. Whether it is Terminator or Star Wars, people love to see it on the screen. I don't know how popular it is going to be in real life though. iRobot is teaming up with Taser International Inc. to sell robots that can zap people for the Pentagon and police departments in the very near future. I kid you not.

From The Huffington Post:

BOSTON — RoboCops and robot soldiers got a little closer to reality Thursday as a maker of floor-cleaning automatons teamed up with a stun-gun manufacturer to arm track-wheeled 'bots for the police and the Pentagon.

By adding Tasers to robots it already makes for the military, iRobot Corp. says it hopes to give soldiers and law enforcement a defensive, non-lethal tool.

But some observers fear such developments could ultimately lead to robots capable of deciding on their own when to shoot and kill.

"It's one more step in that direction," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, an Alexandria, Va.-based military research organization.

Thats right, the little harmless robot that cleans your floor is going to have a cousin that can stun you with 10,000 volts. The makers of Roomba claim that this venture is not intended for robots to have lethal force, but they can't deny this is a step in that direction. Tasers can kill people with heart conditions or under the influence already, so technically it can have lethal force with some victims. Hasta la vista baby to them.

John Edwards At The NALEO Conference

NALEO, or the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Conference was where John spoke yesterday in Orlando, Florida.

Al Gore: Moving Beyond Kyoto

The United States isn't even close to meeting the goals set by the Kyoto treaty several years ago. Other industrialized nations around the world are beginning to move towards compliance of the Kyoto Protocols but in these urgent times we need to do better than that. Al Gore knows this and he wants America and the world to step it up a notch (or for Bush to step up at all).

From The New York Times (Opinion Section):

...To this end, we should demand that the United States join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy Earth.

This treaty would mark a new effort. I am proud of my role during the Clinton administration in negotiating the Kyoto protocol. But I believe that the protocol has been so demonized in the United States that it probably cannot be ratified here — much in the way the Carter administration was prevented from winning ratification of an expanded strategic arms limitation treaty in 1979. Moreover, the negotiations will soon begin on a tougher climate treaty.

Therefore, just as President Reagan renamed and modified the SALT agreement (calling it Start), after belatedly recognizing the need for it, our next president must immediately focus on quickly concluding a new and even tougher climate change pact. We should aim to complete this global treaty by the end of 2009 — and not wait until 2012 as currently planned.

Al realizes that semantics are an important component to helping people realize the serious situation we face. Invoking the words of Reagan and Carter are also very good in helping to back up the point that this is a moral issue and not a political one. Read the whole piece here.

Arrested For Citing The First Amendment In NYC

Apparently talking about the Bill of Rights is now a crime in New York City. "Harassing a Public Official" is something you can be arrested for. Reverend Billy was charged with that and led away in handcuffs for using a bullhorn (not battery powered, as you can see in the photos) as he cited our so-called rights as stated in the Constitution. Shame on the NYPD and specifically Lieutenant Daniel Albano.

From ONNYTurf:

At Critical Mass on Friday the Reverend Billy was arrested for "Harassment of a Public Official". The Reverend was preaching about the First Amendment on the east side of the park near the north end, where the NYPD also parks a lineup of scooters before each Critical Mass.

Reverend Billy and his partner Savitri D were reciting the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to the gathered police force when Lieutenant Daniel Albano, head of the NYPD's Legal Division, ordered the Reverend's arrest and detention at the 13th Precinct station. It is believed Albano is the public official Reverend Billy has been charged with harassing. The arrest is representative of the Bloomberg/Kelly approach to law enforcement, where specious and hollow charges serve a political agenda at maximum inconvenience to the individual charged.

The Critical Mass ride did not start out from Union Square. Some people were ticketed as they entered the park on bikes... very weird. And riders dispersed from Union Square around 8:30 and regrouped elsewhere and then had a un-harassed ride starting around 9pm. The NYPD did not follow cyclists to the regroup site for some reason - perhaps the NYPD is less interested when the ride starts later. It is hard to say how the NYPD mind works.

How sad is it when the fragile egos of NYPD officers can help to damage our constitutional rights. Will we see Lieutenant Albano disciplined for this outrageous behavior? I'm not holding my breath.

Elizabeth Edwards Talks About Her Exchange With Coulter

Elizabeth talked with Wolf Blitzer on CNN about the well publicized confrontation with Ann Coulter. Ann makes it about money, but Elizabeth wants the hate speech to be toned down. I can't agree more.

Reservist Business Owners Are $uffering When They Get Back

When one signs up to be in the Army Reserves, the attraction is that time served is minimal. Many Reservists have businesses and lives based on being here, not over in Iraq. Now that many are serving over there for fifteen months at a time, their home lives are wrecked when they get back. You would think that the government would help them out when transitioning back stateside, but they don't.

From Reuters:

Under U.S. law, reservists who work for someone else -- a private firm or local, state, or federal government -- have safeguards to get their jobs back. Yet those who work for themselves have no such guarantees.

With demands for more relief, the SBA recently began a pilot loan targeted to veterans, reservists and their spouses.

Kerry hailed it as a "good first step," but urged that its double-digit interest rates be lowered and said government must do more to publicize this and other such efforts.

William Elmore of the SBA claims it isn't their fault. When Congress wrote the legislation back in 1999, it wasn't set up to help the returning Reservists in a measurable way. That is why Senator Kerry is proposing to fix the system. His proposed legislation would give grants of up to $25,000 and loans of up to $100,000 without any collateral. There are over 60,000 self-employed reservists and they need this assistance desperately. President Bush likes to talk about supporting the troops (often without backing up the statement with good policies) so this would be a good thing to help pass quickly, giving our brave men and women in the Reserves their lives back when they return.