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Archive for July, 2011
‘I Thought We Already Took Care Of This S@#T”
Jul 29th - 7:36 am
Jon Stewart is not amused.
You may recall how the host of “The Daily Show” pushed hard for the so-called Zadroga bill, dedicating an entire evening to championing the long-delayed legislation to provide ongoing health care to 9/11 workers.
And after the act was finally approved by Congress, Stewart hosted Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was instrumental in its passage, for a little love fest.
So, it’s no surprise that Stewart was among those infuriated by the federal government’s decision that cancer is being excluded from the illnesses covered by the act, with experts insisting there’s no firm medical proof that first responders’s apparent higher incidence of the disease can indeed be linked to the time they spent at Ground Zero.
Stewart’s response in a nutshell: Proof, schmoof.
“The worst-case scenario here is we accidentally treated a 9/11 responder’s cancer, even though his cancer may not be proven to have its genesis on 9/11,” Stewart said. “How about everyone who worked down there on the pile gets a pass on the origin of their personal tumors?”
“So, if you’re someone who spent time on the pile, I don’t care if you ate 200 Sweet-n-Low packets a day sprinkled on your favorite cereal – Tumor-Os – while wearing a cellphone suit and smoking Chernobyl Lights – unfiltered – and making regular stops to your favorite snack joint, Agent Orange Julius. You get cancer, we cover it.”
Here And Now
Jul 29th - 7:09 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is letting LG Bob Duffy do the honors by unveiling the last economic development council’s membership. Duffy will be in Brooklyn at the NYC College of Technology at noon. Cuomo is in Albany and NYC and has no public schedule.
“Do I believe there can be plans that lose?” Cuomo said after announcing the Capital Region’s council members yesterday in Schenectady. “Sure. But by the way, that’s the way it should be.”
Also announced yesterday: Economic development councils for the North Country, (Sen. Betty Little introduced Cuomo and laid the praise on thick), and the mid-Hudson Valley region.
More headlines….
Just minutes from the roll call, House Speaker John Boehner put the brakes on an expected vote on his debt ceiling plan due to a lack of conservative support.
It’s likely Boehner will try again today with a reconfigured plan.
The delay caught the White House off guard. The administration had no immediate reaction.
Top White House aides have been saying Boehner’s plan would “ruin Christmas” by forcing us to go through this all over again during the holiday season.
The great “pizza seduction” – a tactic employed by House Whip Kevin McCarthy – was a failure.
“Refusing to raise debt limit is the equivalent of holding a gun to the head of the economy,” says Michael Cohen in a DN OpEd.
Rep. Tom Reed had been prepared to vote “yes” on Boehner’s plan. Ditto for Rep. Chris Gibson, who criticized the Senate for failing to act on the “cut, cap, balance” bill.
“I have no idea what it cuts,” Rep. Bill Owens said of Boehner’s proposal. “It almost has the smell of pass it and decide later.”
Freeman Talks SSM Lawsuit
Jul 28th - 8:55 pm
Same-sex marriage opponents are challenging New York’s new law. Their case centers around how the law was passed, which if you’ll recall, followed a lot of closed-door conferences for Senate Republicans and a limited floor debate. But Robert Freeman, the executive director for the Committee on Open Government, says that does not violate the open meetings law.
Rep. Higgins Talks Debt Ceiling
Jul 28th - 8:33 pm
With the deadline for raising the debt ceiling only a few days away, House Speaker John Boehner spent much of Thursday trying to ensure enough members of his conference would vote for his plan- despite Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying the Senate would not pass Boehner’s bill. Congressman Brian Higgins, a Democrat from Western New York, says Boehner is wasting time when he should be taking action.
Call for Action on Health Exchanges
Jul 28th - 8:32 pm
The health care reform bill requires that all states have health insurance exchanges. If a state does not create its own plan, the federal government will do it for them. In New York, the Assembly and the Senate seemed to have a reached a deal on a plan. But at the last minute, the Senate walked away. Now, Blair Horner of the American Cancer Society and Neal Lane of the AARP say senators need to return to Albany to finish their work.
NY1/Marist Poll: Quinn Narrowly Leads NYC Mayoral Field
Jul 28th - 7:00 pm
A new NY1/Marist Poll shows that the race for New York City mayor is wide open, now that Rep. Anthony Weiner is out of the race.
Back in April, our poll had Congressman Weiner as the front-runner, with 18 percent. With him now out of the race following his sexting scandal, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn leads the crowded Democratic field. Here is how it breaks down:
- Christine Quinn – 16%
- Bill Thompson – 15%
- Marty Markowitz – 14%
- John Liu – 9%
- Bill De Blasio – 7%
- Scott Stringer – 6%
- Undecided – 32%
The poll also asks voters if they think former Rep. Weiner, or former Governor Eliot Spitzer should run for mayor. The two didn’t fair well. Weiner only got 26% of support, and Spitzer got 33% support for a mayoral run.
And we also asked if Police Commissioner Ray Kelly should run. The electorate was divided on him. 42% said yes, they want him to run. And 42% said they didn’t want him to run, with 16% undecided.
Yesterday, a Quinnipiac University poll asked all voters who they would prefer to be Mayor. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly topped the field with 23% – though winning a general election against whatever Democrat comes out of the primary might be tough, assuming Dems unite around the winner.
EMBARGOED_Complete July 28, 2011 NYC NY1-Marist Poll Release and Tables
Extras
Jul 28th - 5:17 pm
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is not making contingency plans in case Washington fails to get a debt ceiling deal because he believes the Aug. 2 deadline “forces resolution.”
The governor refused to take sides in D.C. mess, saying: “I don’t blame. I’m not about blame.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler says there’s a “very high likelihood of a total impasse” in Washington, and urges the president to “make room for the 14th Amendment.”
Rep. Nan Hayworth has had a change of heart on the debt ceiling vote and supports Speaker John Boehner’s plan.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has vowed to kill Boehner’s plan – assuming it gets through the House.
The Senate and Assembly majorities have shelled out big bucks for Manhattan law firms to represent them during the redistricting process.
Rep. Kathy Hochul was appointed to her second House committee – Armed Services. (Her first was Homeland Security). No link.
NJ Gov. Chris Christie is in “good spirits” after being hospitalized earlier today with breathing complications.
Christie received emergency treatment for an asthma attack and then was “in charge and at work” in his hospital room.
Grannies dance for Medicare.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says the White House has formally nominated Ronnie Abrams to serve as U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York at her urging. This is the senator’s first judicial recommendation. (No link).
The Capital Region economic development council membership was unveiled today. Ditto for the North Country.
NYC’s emergency communications czar is leaving.
Joe the Plumber is back.
Call To Tax The Rich Persists
Jul 28th - 4:14 pm
And you thought that whole millionaire’s tax thing was dead. Well, think again.
Exhibit A: An ad released by 1199 SEIU in Massachusetts asking Sen. Scott Brown whether he continues to support the House Republicans and “their latest proposal that protects tax breaks for millionaires” after voting “yes” on the “cut, cap, balance” proposal that passed largely along party lines (with a small boost from five aisle-crossing Dems).
The money quote: “Tell Senator Scott Brown it’s time to stand for a plan that protects ordinary Americans, not tax breaks for millionaires.”
Exhibit B: A video Tweeted by the Alliance for Quality Education for its ongoing “Students First!” campaign that features a message to Gov. Andrew Cuomo from a woman by the name of OCynthia, who says:
“You are not helping the people in comnunities that I live in. You’re not helping our schools, you’re not helping our teachers, our nurses, our seniors. You’re hurting us and you’re protecting bankers and millionaires, the same people that got us in this fix that you had to have such a dramatic budget passed. So I would say to you: Tax the millionaires, tax the rich and balance your budget that way.”
Reminder: During his address to the nation Monday night, President Obama again expressed support for taxing the rich, even though that’s a non-starter with House Republicans. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as you’ll recall, staunchly rejected the Assembly and Senate Democrats’ push to extend the millionaire’s tax.
Advocates have noted there’s still time to reinstate the tax before it sunsets at the end of this year. The Legislature is likely to return to Albany this fall to pass the PEF contract and deal with some other still-on-the-table matters – including, perhaps, a measure to establish the health care exchange.
But it seems unlikely at this point that the millionaire’s tax will be resurrected, despite the fact that the governor today predicted a $2.5 billion deficit next year.
Cuomo: ‘We’re Not Out Of The Woods’
Jul 28th - 2:54 pm
Despite Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s report that New York’s tax revenue is $800 million above projections, Gov. Andrew Cuomo today said he still expects to deal with a $2.5 billion deficit in the coming 2012-13 fiscal year.
DiNapoli issued a statement earlier this month after the tax revenues showed unusually good news for the state’s coffers due mostly to higher-than-expected personal incomes. However, DiNapoli warned that the state’s budget situation remained tenuous.
Cuomo today largely agreeed.
The Democratic governor said it was unlikely the state would have the money off-set the so-called uninsurance employment “tax” that’s currently dinging business owners.
The state Department of Labor is charging businesses $21 per employee in order to pay a $95 million bill to the federal government.
Cuomo said the money just isn’t available to pay for the tax out of the state’s treasury right now, despite the revenue influx.
“We would need the federal government to waive the cost. I’m advocating that they do it. Up until now they haven’t.
…
In terms of other avenues to pay, as have been suggested, the state is not in position to pay. It’s approximately $100 million. Remember, this state when we closed the budget, we had a roughly $2.5 billion deficit for next year. So we’re not out of the woods for next year. So we have a lot of work to do and we certainly don’t have a lot of time.
Speaking to Liz last night, Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, Ontario County, blasted the surcharge, adding that the state should pick up the bill.
Update: An earlier version of the post included a typo on the fiscal year. It is the coming 2012-13 fiscal year.
Turner Resurrects Ground Zero Mosque
Jul 28th - 2:48 pm
As Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman is poised to endorse Assemblyman David Weprin today in hopes of blunting the whole Israel issue in the NY-9 race, Weprin’s Republican opponent, Bob Turner, is resurrecting a controversial topic about which we haven’t heard much of late: The so-called Ground Zero mosque.
In a press release (sent by GOP communications guru Bill O’Reilly, who apparently has signed on to Turner’s campaign), the Queens businessman asks: “Do David Weprin and Joe Lieberman still disagree on the World Trade Center mosque?”
On Aug. 10, 2010, Lieberman said during an “Imus in the Morning” interview that he was “troubled” by plans to construct a Muslim community center and mosque near Ground Zero, adding:
“I don’t know enough to say that it ought to be prohibited. But frankly I’ve heard enough about it and read enough about it that I wish somebody in New York would just put the brakes on for a while and take a look at this.”
In a debate with his then-Assembly opponent, Bob Friedrich, on Sept. 2, 2010, Weprin said he supported the “right of the mosque to build on that site,” although he expressed hope that a “compromise” could be worked out – as proposed by then-Gov. David Paterson – that would be acceptable to the 9/11 families who opposed the project.
“David Weprin supported construction of a mosque just steps from the World Trade Center site, while Senator Lieberman vocally opposed it,” O’Reilly said.
“We are curious to know what each of their positions are today. Is it appropriate for a mosque to be built in the shadow of the World Trade Center? It is a legitimate question and the public has a right to know their respective answers.”
This is not the first time Turner has made the mosque into a campaign issue.
When he challenged then-Rep. Anthony Weiner in 2010, Turner hosted an anti-mosque rally/demostration at the Forest Park Band Shell.
The mosque was a sticky wicket for Weiner, who was unusually reserved about the topic – perhaps due to the fact that his wife, Huma Abedin, is Muslim. (Weiner, like Weprin and Lieberman, is Jewish, although the Assemblyman and Senator are, I believe, considerably more observant than the former congressman).
At the time, Weiner argued that weighing in on the project would be a violation of the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.
But he also wrote in praise of his one-time rival, Mayor Bloomberg, for his outspoken defense of the mosque – formally known as the Park51 project. Bloomberg, as you’ll recall, very publicly invoked the freedom of religion argument in saying the mosque should be built.
The mosque was employed as a wedge issue in the 2010 governor’s race, with the Conservative Party and Rick Lazio running ads that employed 9/11 imagery. Carl Paladino also seized on the issue during the GOP primary, which he ended up winning, ousting the party’s convention-selected candidate, Lazio, from the ballot.
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