Figures, Seminerio Wasn't Alone

Having politicians on the payroll of large corporations is nothing new when it comes to greasing the wheels of government. That is especially true in Albany, where pay to play is practically the only game in town if you want something done. Politicians are all too well endeared to these fiscal overtures, whether or not they are legit. Anthony Seminerio showed his love for the all mighty buck over the pledge he took to put his constituents first. Now it seems that Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. has his hand in the same cookie jar that got Seminerio in trouble with the Feds.

From The NY Sun:

A hospital system that may figure in the federal corruption case against a Democratic state assemblyman, Anthony Seminerio, has for years been paying another assemblyman as a consultant, according to state financial disclosure records.

Since 2003, a Democratic state assemblyman of central Brooklyn, William Boyland, Jr., has received an unspecified amount of outside income from Brookdale University Hospital in Brownsville.[...]

The MediSys network also includes the Flushing Hospital Medical Center and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, which is in Mr. Seminerio's district.

Financial disclosure forms have listed Mr. Boyland as a director of marketing and as a consultant to the hospital, describing his job as giving "advice on community outreach." The public version of the forms conceals the extent of the lawmaker's outside earnings.

The lawmaker described his role as a "patient recruiter," saying he brought to Brookdale "patients and folks." He declined to say how much he is paid by Brookdale and cut off the conversation abruptly when asked to explain his responsibilities at the hospital with more detail.

Boyland may not be charged with anything by the authorities, but that doesn't mean there isn't smoke billowing from this room. He may not have been caught doing anything malicious like Seminerio but it still strikes me as odd that Boyland is a "patient recruiter." Being associated with Seminerio in any fashion is a bad sign and one of many such marks for Albany in general. While Boyland might not be guilty of anything specifically, it is still indicative of the need to change the way business....and especially outside business of lawmakers is handled.

This Should Be The National News

This local broadcast from CBS affiliate Channel 8 in Las Vegas is geared to their desert denizens but the topics apply nationwide. All you need to do is change the name of the town and every American can relate to the bad economy and what the candidates are willing to do about it.

A Nation Of Whiners Within The McCain Campaign

"Whining" has been an interesting word in this campaign season, especially when Phil Gramm said that we are a "Nation of whiners" and that times aren't as tough as they feel (probably because he's super-wealthy from working at UBS). He tried to tell people to suck it up, but that is exactly the message that the McCain campaign and specifically Steve Schmidt needs to hear. He whined that the NY Times was going after them and no one else, citing stories about Obama during a conference call that had no basis in fact.

Well the Times took on Gramm's role and told him to grow up:

Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times, responded in a statement: “The New York Times is committed to covering the candidates fully, fairly and aggressively. It’s our job to ask hard questions, fact-check their statements and their advertising, examine their programs, positions, biographies and advisers. Candidates and their campaign operatives are not always comfortable with that level of scrutiny, but it’s what our readers expect and deserve.”

I wish that Keller and the rest of the NY Times did more of this journalism thing. It would be amazing if they really covered what was going on in New York, the nation and the world if they and the rest of the traditional media would stop trying to give "balance" to politicos that have no qualm about lying to our faces.

Colin Powell "Straight-Talks" John McCain Over Georgian Conflict

A common theme in Washington and mentioned by the press last month was that big bad Russia started the conflict with Georgia. Some politicians tried to remain calm and review what was going on, but not John McCain. He went after Russia with avengeance and even sent Senators Graham and Lieberman to the area as if he were the President already. "We are all Georgians" had to have been the key line that showed the oil and gas industry that he was on their side no matter where in the world they did or wanted to do business. This past Sunday Colin Powell went on CNN to help set the record straight on the situation and out straight-talked one of the most crooked politicians ever to run for the Presidency.

From Crooks and Liars:

On CNN Sunday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell offered some “straight-talk” on the Georgia/Russia conflict, and not-so-subtly insinuated that McCain’s rather belligerent response was careless and unnecessarily provocative.

Download | Play Download | Play (h/t Heather)

POWELL: And I think it was foolhardy on the part of President Saakashvili and the Georgian government to kick over this can, to light a match in a roomful of gas fumes.

SESNO: So you’re saying the Georgians provoked this?

POWELL: They did. I mean, there was a lot of reasons to have provocations in the area, but the match that started the conflagration was from the Georgian side.

AMANPOUR: And yet…

POWELL: And that’s a given.

AMANPOUR: And some debate in the presidential elections has basically been, “We are all Georgians now.” What does that mean? It’s the same as was said after 9/11.

POWELL: One candidate said that, and I’ll let the candidate explain it for himself. […] You have to be very careful in a situation like this not just to leap to one side or the other until you’ve taken a good analysis of the whole situation.

Powell very succinctly shredded McCain for his position on the conflict. He categorized him as any other Republican that takes advantage of 9/11 for a profit and uses the goodwill of Americans for the interests of the gas and oil industry. It is sick and disgusting to say the least, so I'm glad to see Powell continuing his quest to be redeemed for the false testimony he gave the U.N. about Iraq back in 2002. The endorsement will be a nice icing on the cake when it comes to wooing moderate-conservatives to Obama.

McCain's Horrendous Week

Only a deluded conservative could think that McCain had a successful past week. The Sunday talk circuit rightly slammed him for his gaffes, ignorance and general absurdities:

Another Reason To Flip The State Senate

No one can deny that Albany is in need of some serious reform. Like our Federal government in Washington, the state capitol must be led in a new direction away from the sleaziness of the past that plagues it today. One of the big problems in our state is that very little gets done and members in both parties have been able to get away with too much under the cloak of gridlock. However, the tide can be turned and a new day can begin in Albany if the balance of power in the State Senate changes hands. The Democratic Party is just two seats away from taking back the reins of NY's government.

Besides outright victory, what does that mean to ordinary New Yorkers? "So what," the cynics will say. Well for anyone plagued by the way eminent domain is abused in the City or elsewhere across the state, this may offer some hope for you.

State Senator Bill Perkins, a Democrat of Harlem, is calling for a moratorium on the use of eminent domain and said he is willing to push for more restrictions on the use of eminent domain, provided the political climate is right in Albany.

"I don't know of too many other issues where you have such diverse and pervasive outrage," he said yesterday in an interview.

Mr. Perkins said he would be meeting with Governor Paterson this week to discuss the findings of a hearing he held last week examining the possible use of eminent domain for the proposed $7 billion expansion of Columbia University's campus. He said Mr. Paterson was "supportive" of his work on eminent domain, but said he had not discussed specifics with the governor.

For far too long wealthy developers have had the larger voice in Albany and here in the city as well. While the Democrats haven't been perfect, Senators like Perkins can lead the way in the new/future Majority caucus. Of course changing the rules in the Senate to distribute power beyond the leadership will help too, but that can only be done with a Democratic majority. The people of New York, especially in the key areas of the state will be instrumental to the way things in Albany get done next year.

Wall Street Wants Us To Bail Them Out To Screw Us Over Again

Everyone has paid at least a little attention to the massive fiscal crisis that Wall Street felt last week. If you are confused as to what happened, you should check out this must-read piece by Devilstower at DailyKos. Now this week the President and Congress are trying to remedy the situation but have very different views on how to go about that.

Basically Bush, Paulson and the rest of the GOP wants us to let Wall Street off the hook for their excesses and make the taxpayers shoulder the burden (what's another trillion when we already owe $9.6 trillion?). Leaders in the Democratic caucus better take heed of some important questions though. Listening to Bush beforehand got us into a lot of trouble, no matter what the topic, so lets not just go and bend over for his "solution" this time. There is some sort of positive agenda forming from the majority party, but you never know what you'll get when Pelosi is in charge of something that challenges Bush's authority.

One Senator who is neither a Democrat nor a Republican (but sides with the Dems) is on to the right idea:

By Senator Bernie Sanders

The current financial crisis facing our country has been caused by the extreme right-wing economic policies pursued by the Bush administration. These policies, which include huge tax breaks for the rich, unfettered free trade and the wholesale deregulation of commerce, have resulted in a massive redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the very wealthy.

The middle class has really been under assault. Since President Bush has been in office, nearly 6 million Americans have slipped into poverty, median family income for working Americans has declined by more than $2,000, more than 7 million Americans have lost their health insurance, over 4 million have lost their pensions, foreclosures are at an all time high, total consumer debt has more than doubled, and we have a national debt of over $9.7 trillion dollars.

While the middle class collapses, the richest people in this country have made out like bandits and have not had it so good since the 1920s. The top 0.1 percent now earn more money than the bottom 50 percent of Americans, and the top 1 percent own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. The wealthiest 400 people in our country saw their wealth increase by $670 billion while Bush has been president. In the midst of all of this, Bush lowered taxes on the very rich so that they are paying lower income tax rates than teachers, police officers or nurses.

Now, having mismanaged the economy for eight years as well as having lied about our situation by continually insisting, “The fundamentals of our economy are strong,” the Bush administration, six weeks before an election, wants the middle class of this country to spend many hundreds of billions on a bailout. The wealthiest people, who have benefited from Bush’s policies and are in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all. This is absurd. This is the most extreme example that I can recall of socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the poor.

In my view, we need to go forward in addressing this financial crisis by insisting on four basic principles:

(1) The people who can best afford to pay and the people who have benefited most from Bush’s economic policies are the people who should provide the funds for the bailout. It would be immoral to ask the middle class, the people whose standard of living has declined under Bush, to pay for this bailout while the rich, once again, avoid their responsibilities. Further, if the government is going to save companies from bankruptcy, the taxpayers of this country should be rewarded for assuming the risk by sharing in the gains that result from this government bailout.

Specifically, to pay for the bailout, which is estimated to cost up to $1 trillion, the government should:

a) Impose a five-year, 10 percent surtax on income over $1 million a year for couples and over $500,000 for single taxpayers. That would raise more than $300 billion in revenue;

b) Ensure that assets purchased from banks are realistically discounted so companies are not rewarded for their risky behavior and taxpayers can recover the amount they paid for them; and

c) Require that taxpayers receive equity stakes in the bailed-out companies so that the assumption of risk is rewarded when companies’ stock goes up.

The rest of the Op-Ed addresses the need for a jobs program, re-regulating the industry that took advantage of GOP policies and ensuring that these corporate entities never get as big as they have.

Sanders is exactly right that we need to fight back, because there are so many agents that are trying to keep the status quo going at the expense of all of us. For example, the Fed gave Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley a big wet kiss yesterday by changing their status to bank holding companies, ensuring that they get a piece of the potential government bailout. Some champion this as a way to regulate the two giants, but really it is a giveaway to firms that contributed to the fiscal disaster we are in. Even foreign banks like UBS are trying to cash in on this financial raping of the American taxpayer.

This is a crucial time in the fight between the middle class and the wealthy elite. Now is the time for Dems to stand up tall along with Sanders and say, enough is enough!

Obama Attacks McCain's Prescription For Disaster

What you saw on Wall Street last week was something John McCain helped to create. It is also what he wants to see happen in other sectors of the economy, including your health care. Imagining the damage a McCain Administration could do to us is enough to give me nightmares.

Paterson Gets Cuomo To Investigate MTA Disability Fraud

The New York Times unearthed a massive scheme by MTA workers who were fraudulently taking disability from the Federal government despite most of them not needing it at all. It goes to show that when it comes to corruption, the MTA doesn't just take from the locals. It turns out that a system-wide operation was in plan that gave many workers equal or more than their pay while they were actually doing something for mass transit in NYC. So now Paterson, being the pro-active governor he is, wants to get to the bottom of the mess.

From The NY Times:

Gov. David A. Paterson said on Sunday that he would give Andrew M. Cuomo, the state’s attorney general, broad powers to investigate the Long Island Rail Road as part of a wide-ranging review his administration would seek of how disability and pension benefits were potentially manipulated by L.I.R.R. supervisors, workers and retirees.

The governor’s action comes after The New York Times reported that virtually every career employee of the railroad applies for and gets disability payments soon after retirement at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal disability money. The disability claims are paid by an obscure federal agency called the Railroad Retirement Board. (See related graphic comparing the L.I.R.R. to other railroads, a graphic comparing the L.I.R.R. to Metro-North Railroad, interactive graphic and video.)

When it comes to corruption in New York, Cuomo is the man to go to. Having McCain's endorsement for S.E.C. chief might make Democrats wary, but I must say he'd be excellent for the position (that is if the President could fire Cox, but that is another story altogether). For now, I think we'll keep him as the top attorney in New York.

Palin Has Road Building Experience

One of the big complaints people have about Sarah Palin is that she has no experience and definitely not enough to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Yet that isn't entirely true, especially being Governor of our nation's eastern-most, northern-most and western-most state. That has to count for something (and I'm surprised if Palin hasn't mentioned it yet) but even if you think that simply living somewhere doesn't give you foreign policy experience, then her infrastructure and Federal earmark skills will simply wow you over.

From Yahoo News:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's transportation department has completed a $25 million gravel road leading to the site of a bridge that Palin, as John McCain's vice presidential candidate, now boasts that she stopped, so as to save taxpayers money. The road was built with federal tax dollars.

Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein said the 3.2-mile road will be useful for road races, hunters and possibly future development. But with no bridge to serve it, that's probably about it.

"I think it will be good for recreational things like a 5K and a 10K," Weinstein said. "And instead of people walking through brush, it may be used for hunting in the area."

You could even say she is promoting a good health lifestyle for Americans so they'll jog on roads that lead to nowhere. Then they'll be able to eat a nice meal by going out and hunting some moose. If she could do that with just $25 million dollars of money she said "Thanks but no thanks," to, imagine what she'd do with the world's largest economy.

Scary shit, eh?

Bloomberg Gives His Two Cents On The Economy To MTP

Because he's rich, Mayor Bloomberg was invited on the show yesterday to spread his wisdom to the people. Although he was better than Paulson in being up front and honest, he avoided the term limit question with a lame joke. While term limits and Wall Street may be disconnected, if he can't be honest about taking the will of the voters away when it comes to those limits, why should we expect him to be honest about an assessment of Wall Street and more importantly, what it means to Main Street?

Sen. Stevens Trial Starts Today

Its been fifteen years since Kay Bailey Hutchinson was indicted for abuses of power and now a comrade in the Senate GOP caucus is about to stand trial as she did back then. To be fair to Hutchinson, the decisions of the Grand Jury didn't speak to her budding Senate career, simply as a local politician. Stevens on the other hand has been a Senator almost as long as Alaska has been in the Union and he knows very well what he's been up to with his cronies. Now his trial will start tomorrow regarding those lobbyist relationships and specifically how he hid gifts from VECO.

From The Washington Post:

The first sitting senator to face a federal trial in more than two decades, Stevens, an 84-year-old Republican icon of both the Senate and his home state, was indicted eight weeks ago on charges that he failed to disclose lavish gifts he received from executives of an oil services company. If convicted, Stevens could face prison time, his 40-year Senate career would meet an ignominious end, and Republicans would probably lose a normally reliable Senate seat.

While battling prosecutors in what is expected to be a month-long trial, Stevens also will be running an uphill reelection campaign from the same Washington courthouse -- 3,500 miles from Anchorage. He may have to debate his Democratic opponent well after midnight by teleconference and make arduous red-eye flights to attend weekend campaign events.

It's a risky strategy but perhaps the only one that could result in his reelection, analysts say.

"We have an Alaska Senate race that's about to be decided by 12 residents of the District of Columbia," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "If he's acquitted, he goes home, and it becomes more of a victory lap than a campaign."

Twelve D.C. residents sure sounds like a nice metaphor for the United States' system of justice and the possible outcome for Stevens. Ultimately it is how they judge his actions and decide whether or not it is time to hold criminals like him accountable for screwing with our democracy. With six weeks to go in this race Stevens is seriously handicapped while Mark Begich campaigns around the state. He needs to get his name out and meet people, so that he can convince them that representing Alaska is not all about bringing home an obscene amount of pork while slicing yourself a nice piece of the national taxpayers' money.