Times-Union Staffers Debate "People's Business" And "People's Work"

When you are a politician and current New York State Senator, which cliché works better? Yeah, it is a tough question considering the current predicament.

The Victims Of NY Senate Chaos Aren't In The Capitol

There are plenty of crybabies in the senate chamber. Some, but not all senators have been seen throwing temper tantrums over the pledge of allegiance, who gets to sit on the rostrum as well as sneaking in before business hours to lay claim to the prestigious shameful institution of government that is the state senate. The theatrics mesmerize the eyes of the press and earn the scorn of the voters. In these tough times, a good deal of those voters are depending on their government to provide financial assistance so that they can get back on their feet. Unfortunately for them, petty politics trumps the needs of New Yorkers.

From The NY Times:

Despite having the support of the governor, labor leaders and advocates for the unemployed, a bill to raise weekly jobless benefits on July 1 and close the gap in the state’s unemployment trust fund was not addressed by state lawmakers before their regular session ended this week.

The maximum benefit, which had been $405 a week for about 10 years until the federal economic stimulus program temporarily added $25 a week, is significantly smaller than those available to residents of New Jersey and Connecticut. New Jersey’s maximum is $584 a week; Connecticut’s is $576.

Negotiations to make the bill more palatable to employers continued through the weekend, giving its supporters hope that Gov. David A. Paterson would present a compromise that could be enacted. But with party leaders distracted by the battle for control of the State Senate, no progress was made.

No progress, none at all. Meanwhile, people are going to be out there suffering from Albany's ineptitude and their neighbors in Connecticut, Vermont, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are going to be blanketed by their state legislature. These senators who are at fault should be ashamed, and at least two of them, the turncoats, should be in jail (though each has his own reasons).

NY Blade For Bloomberg??

The New York Blade has already endorsed the main opponent of Bloomberg's chief ally in the City Council, so why on Earth would they think about endorsing the Mayor's re-election? It is a potential endorsement that Matt Arnold of the NY Liberal Examiner thinks is bizarre given Bloomberg's record on LGBT issues (before the beginning of election season of course). Arnold makes the case for the Blade to think again before sending that issue to print.

From The NY Liberal Examiner:

I’ve heard from a reliable source that the New York Blade, one of the city’s main LGBT newspapers, plans to endorse Mike Bloomberg for re-election. Which would be pretty bizarre, unless they’re wanting to narrow their readership to Log Cabin Republicans.

Mike Bloomberg could never be mistaken as an advocate for the LGBT community. When Gavin Newsom was marring gay couples in San Francisco in 2005, Bloomberg instead appealed against a court ruling that would have allowed gay marriage in New York City, and he won, which is why gay people are now forced to look to the State Legislature to make marriage equality happen. And when the city council passed the Equal Benefits Law, requiring that contractors who do work with the city avoid discrimination and offer gay employees the same work benefits offered to straight couples, Bloomberg again sued to prevent that from being enforced, and again he won.

So Bloomie has damaged the LGBT community in very concrete ways. It’s nice that Bloomberg has had an election year conversion and now thinks that the time is right to press for gay marriage (in 2005 he told a HRC fundraising audience that gays needed to be “patient.”) But switching over this year doesn’t undo the damage his administration has caused. Honestly I can’t imagine what the Blade would be thinking by endorsing him. Unless, perhaps, it has something to do with all that ad money Bloomie has been spending on the paper?

Advertising is an important factor in the health of newspapers these days, but I hope the Blade isn't susceptible to that type of influence over their editorial decisions. That would be a real shame given their usually stellar record.

Welcome To The Jungle, Er, I Mean Albany

New York, this is your State Senate not at work. After the pledge of allegiance, both Dems and Repubs try to hold dueling sessions.



I wonder what's in store today? Since the Governor is threatening to withhold pay, both sides now seem willing to show up.

Contrary To GOP And DINO Spin, Public Option Will Save Us Money

The Democratic caucus may have a majority, but DINOs (Democrats in name only) have been trying to appease their Republican friends in the Senate to nix any and all possibilities of giving Americans a choice on whether they want a public or private health care plan. Allies of private insurance groups (like all Republicans, Sen. Max Baucus(D), Sen. Conrad (D) and other conserva-dems) protest that a government-run health care plan would cost more money and put bureaucrats between you and your doctor (as opposed to the bureaucrats that work at Cigna, Blue Cross, Aetna and so on). However, when the plan is actually thoroughly studied, we see a different reality from the naysayers spin.

From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A nationwide health insurance exchange that includes a Medicare-like government option could save $1.8 trillion more than if only private plans are offered, a prominent private U.S. health policy group said on Wednesday.

Federal spending on health-related costs would still rise from 2010 to 2020, but they would be less with a plan that pays doctors and hospital rates similar to the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund.

The New York-based health policy research group compared possible savings a health insurance exchange could bring under three different scenarios. One would include a Medicare-like plan along with private insurance. Another would instead offer a government-run plan with rates somewhat higher than Medicare. The final one would be private insurance with no government plan at all.

In our society, competition is a healthy thing for the economy. Why opponents who generally like the free-market (or so they say) want to limit consumers' choice is just a bit confusing. I guess they can toss aside their principles when a nice fat campaign check will suffice.

Of course, both sides know that a public option will ultimately benefit Americans who want good, quality health care. The difference is that one side wants people to have it, and the other doesn't.

Bloomberg Shows His Warmth For The Homeless

There have already been stories about how much empathy Bloomberg has for the least amongst us in the city. The latest to come from the desk of the plutocrat Mayor is sadly, not much different. His biggest supporters say that because he runs a media empire, running a city government should be pretty much the same way. Bloomberg prefers efficiency, expediency and a business model to good government, fairness and dedication to the public good. Unfortunately, one does not lead to the other and unless you are trying to make a profit off the city than that idea needs to be dropped in a hurry. Just like with Mayoral Control of the schools, Bloomberg is looking to bring "efficiency" to the city's homeless.

From The Gothamist:

The number of families sleeping in shelters is near an all-time high; according to the Department of Homeless Services, there were 34,774 people in shelters last week, including 9,361 families. The Bloomberg administration is now seeking state approval for a new set of policies intended to move families out of shelters more quickly and, according to the Times, apply the "market-driven, incentive-based philosophy to homeless shelters that it has used in schools." Under the new rules, the city would pay shelters more than the usual rate, which is roughly $100 a day, for the first six months that it houses a family. But after six months, if the family has not found permanent housing, the shelter would be paid 20 percent less than the standard rate. Homeless advocates deem the new policies "mean-spirited" and worry that families would be forced out after six months. But Linda Gibbs, deputy mayor for health and human services, insists families would only be ejected for "refusing to look for housing, refusing to seek employment, anything that is an unreasonable refusal to participate in the steps they need to take to overcome their homelessness." In April, homeless advocates blamed Bloomberg for the rise in homeless families.

Bloomberg meanwhile lives in his own world where those numbers are falling, thanks to some faulty calculations. The key thing is that the Mayor is looking to strip funding from homeless shelters when in these times, we need more assistance in that area to catch people who are falling behind. This isn't about market equilibriums and cost-benefit analyses, we are talking about real, live human beings and our city's government should be able to recognize that.

Sanford May Be Toast??

Well it has certainly been a crazy day down in South Carolina. The pundits are going overboard in talking about this scandalous subject. GoOPer Ron Christie think Sanford may be toast for having an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman for several years but I think we all know that Sanford is beyond toast, he's completely and utterly finished in politics.



Forget the Presidential run in 2012, he should be brought up on impeachment charges for leaving his state unattended with no one in charge lest an emergency come up. Not only did he disgrace himself and his family, he put all of South Carolina at risk.

Right Idea, Wrong Man

Albany is a wretched mess and everyone knows it. Legislators are failing to take care of the public's business thanks to a dysfunctional system that fosters corruption and subsequently a few of those corrupted legislators made a power grab that shut down the government. While most of us would love to see a power sharing agreement where both sides kiss and make up something equitable, the reality is that our leaders are a bunch of petulant children who would rather strut their stuff than get anything substantive done. Even the stuff that got done yesterday is all for nothing.

The question though is what to do about it. Beneath the chaos of the moment, there are so many problems with how the institutions of our state work that there is no realistic way for them to work with the benefit of the people in mind. What we need is to re-write the rules so that government works for us, but the man that is talking about these comprehensive reforms should not be allowed anywhere near the process.

From The Daily Politics:

The former mayor’s plan, outlined in an OpEd in the New York Times, calls for a constitutional convention that would, among other hot button proposals, impose term limits on all Assembly and Senate members, as well as all statewide elected offices.

In addition, Giuliani said he would push to empower the governor to set revenue estimates on his own; change the deeply partisan way in which state lawmakers draw electoral districts; toughen campaign finance laws; make it harder for legislators to boost taxes; and establish clearer lines of succession for the LG's office, which has remained vacant since last March when Gov. David Paterson took over for the scandal-scarred Eliot Spitzer.

The article talks more about Rudy running for governor more than the actual reforms, so it should be noted that this he is probably talking about these issues out of his own self-interest and not for the good of the state. For the eight years he was mayor, Giuliani could have cared less for the well-being of our city's governmental institutions. Considering the myth of Rudy versus the reality of his tenure, his call for reforming Albany should put actual reformers on red alert.

Of course a constitutional convention should still be something to be seriously examined. If legislators can be shamed into voting for such a measure, the process should be handled by a bi-partisan committee, preferably by good, upstanding individuals who preferably have no personal interests or dealings within the state of New York. Who those people are, well that is up for debate.

Not Suprisingly, Espada's Very Late Campaign Finance Report Says Nothing

More than seven months after the 2008 election, Pedro Espada finally filed a campaign finance report with the state. He had hurriedly filed after learning prosecutors were about to file criminal charges against him. Despite that belated "compliance," what's in that report is what counts and by looking at what he wrote, there's really nothing there.

From Newsday:

Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada and his campaign committees owe the state Board of Elections roughly $13,500 for filing late. Espada owes about $3,200 of that and told the board the check was in the mail.

The treasurers of his campaign committees are responsible for the rest of the fines and reports, which still haven't been filed.

In his personal filing, Espada says there were no reportable contributions or expenses.

"The check's in the mail," he says. Sure Pedro, we believe you. The fine he owes might never be paid (unless under threat of a judge) but that $3,200 pales in importance to the missing contribution and expense reports. All candidates are required to give detailed accounts of what is taken in and spent so they can be examined by the people they represent (or the watchdogs in the middle). Espada however, could care less about the law and the people it is meant to serve. The fact that that information is missing speaks volumes about what he is hiding. Just one more reason why this criminal needs to be booted from state government (and into state prison).

Excellent Question Congressman Kucinich

Currently the Congress is considering the issue of climate change and how the U.S. should start getting their act together. While the Republicans complain that there is too much in there to help the environment, Congressman Kucinich sees it the other way.

Scary Thought For The Day: Albany Is Run By A Bunch Of Five Year Olds

It's chaos.

Sixty-two Senators (not all of them bad mind you) who collectively, supposedly, represent millions of New Yorkers in one house of a bicameral legislature are as a whole, failing us miserably. Yesterday Paterson called the first "special" session into the senate chamber and while they did pass a hundred bills, the legality of that is in doubt.

What's worse was the way it was all handled. First the Democrats ran into chamber at 12:30pm and locked themselves in, then the Republicans pounded on the door to start their own session at 2pm and the Democratic caucus joined in around 3pm. The place looked more like a kindergarten class than a primary institution of our state's government.

Quoting heavily (but deservedly) from The Times-Union:

And so it went, with the Democrats acting as if there were no one else in the chamber, until 3 p.m., when Stewart-Cousins gaveled in for Paterson's special session, kicking off 20 minutes of wildly dysfunctional governance.

Stewart-Cousins recognized Smith, who noted that the chamber had not yet received copies of the bills listed in Paterson's call for a special session. Winner and Skelos attempted to interrupt Smith whenever he rose to speak, and Stewart-Cousins did the same to Skelos.

Stewart-Cousins then ordered the Senate to stand at ease until 5 p.m., and the Democrats began to carry on conversations and exit the chamber.

The Republicans made a quorum call to determine if 32 members were present, and Winner called out the names of Democratic members who were in the Senate but not responding to the roll call ("Sen. Adams is present ... Sen. Aubertine is present in the chamber").

Although Winner declared that quorum was established, the absence of the governor's bills prevented the Republicans and Espada from moving forward with the legislation.

Stewart-Cousins banged her gavel. "Senate stands at ease," she said.

"Senate is in session," Winner declared.

As the scene unfolded, the Senate began to devolve into something resembling an unruly study hall. "You gonna punch somebody, Parker?" Sen. Andrew Lanza, R-Staten Island, said as Kevin Parker spoke to the Democratic side of the chamber. (Parker faces assault charges for an incident involving a New York Post reporter.)

"Don't you dare tell me I'm out of order -- you're out of order!," Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, D-Bronx/Westchester, exclaimed after Winner attempted to gavel her down.

The GOP and Espada ultimately left the chamber, saying they would return once the bills had been received. But it was the Democrats who returned to the chamber first after the bills had been distributed.

Although there were at that point only 31 members in the chamber, the Democrats claimed that since all 62 Senate members had stood for the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the 3 p.m. session, quorum had been established. In order for that quorum to be questioned, one of the Republicans or Espada would have had to enter the chamber to do so -- which would, of course, had given the Democrats the 32nd member needed for a quorum call.

After the Democrats had passed the legislation on the governor's list and left the chamber, Republicans returned to adjourn for the day.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is your state senate.

Problem With Idle Teachers? Hire More Arbitrators

The news about New York City's idle teachers went national today, highlighting the tens of millions spent on teachers that sit around all day on the taxpayers' dime. Several hundred of them exist here and there are many other cities, like Los Angeles, that have a similar problem because teachers who are in limbo are protected by their unions so that they aren't just thrown out on the street because some kid or fellow educator accuses them of wrongdoing. It is a great story because the waste of money is just ridiculous. Yet the solution is incredibly simple.

From The Huffington Post:

Teachers awaiting disciplinary hearings around the nation typically are sent home, with or without pay, Karen Horwitz, a former Chicago-area teacher who founded the National Association for the Prevention of Teacher Abuse. Some districts find non-classroom work _ office duties, for example _ for teachers accused of misconduct.

New York City's reassignment centers have existed since the late 1990s, Forte said. But the number of employees assigned to them has ballooned since Bloomberg won more control over the schools in 2002. Most of those sent to rubber rooms are teachers; others are assistant principals, social workers, psychologists and secretaries.

Once their hearings are over, they are either sent back to the classroom or fired. But because their cases are heard by 23 arbitrators who work only five days a month, stints of two or three years in a rubber room are common, and some teachers have been there for five or six.

Being in the "rubber room" for up to three years is appalling. Having 23 people who work once of twice a week to remedy teacher misconduct situations is simply a bad case of mismanagement. So let the teachers keep their strong protections, this isn't a case of a union having too much power. If anything, with so many people making complaints about other teachers for minor infractions (just read the rest of the article to get a picture of what I mean), the teachers need to be properly protected until an arbitrator can determine if there really was a problem in the first place.

The simple solution of course.....hire more arbitrators, or simply make the ones the city has work more hours. Easy. Simple. Case closed.