Category — New York City

I have a sinking feeling that NYC Mayor Bloomberg and President-elect Obama will be sharing similar tax plans this year:

To illustrate the problem, the mayor said a 7.5 percent increase in income taxes for a family of four earning $50,000 to $70,000 annually would mean they would pay an extra $116 a year.

That “does put in perspective what might have to change,” Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg defines the “rich” as a family of 4 making $70K a year in the world’s most expensive city.  You have got to be kidding me.  But that’s not all by a long shot.  Mayor Mike wants to eliminate property tax rebates, hike property taxes, fire 1,000 cops, raise sundry fees, and hire more meter maids to, as liberals would quaintly put it, raise more revenue.

I’m so glad the Republican Party supported the liberal Bloomberg.  He not only embarrassed the party by turning independent, but he continues to damage the Republican brand with liberal policies.  It would have been better to have a Democrat in office to push these liberal policies and let them own them.

That’s right.  If Republicans are going to rise from the ashes, they have to let liberals own their policies.  This will be especially important for Congressional Republicans.  If they follow the moderate “reach across the aisle” meme and provide a fig leaf for the failed Democratic policies soon to be pushed by Pelosi, Reid, and Obama, they’ll be slitting their own throats.

There’s nothing in Obama’s priorities that Republicans should support.  Are Republicans going to “compromise” on higher taxes?  Is muzzling talk radio via the Fairness Doctrine a good idea after the media just kicked the “moderate” McCain in the teeth?  How about adding 10s of millions to Democratic coffers by supporting card check for the unions?  Will the GOP add 20 million new Hispanic voters after they just broke 2 to 1 for Obama even though John McCain has been front and center on all their issues?

There’s nothing to do now but let the Democrats kill themselves.  They’ll overreach.  They’ll kill an already bad economy with higher taxes.  Be disciplined, take some media flack, get out of their way, and get ready to run against them when even a blind monkey could tell their policies have failed.

(Having difficulty posting at the moment, so thanks to Pat and VW for their diligence.)

Here in Connecticut, many of my former restoration customers were second-homers from New York City.  Radically liberal, effete and flamboyantly comfortable, they were polite and solicitious, but also considered me (a conservative, and they knew it)  as defective in some important way.  

The cultural breach between the urbane rusticator and the old-shoe local is permanent.  The only place the Robber Baron and the blacksmith meet is in the graveyard.   

That’s why THIS and THIS  make me laugh , even though I’m strongly opposed to tax targets and social penalties for success.  There is, nevertheless, something fitting about the rope-selling capitalist climbing the stairs to the gallows. 

Some people get all the attention. I call this affirmative action.

SUBPOENA BLITZ PUTS HEAT ON AL

June 19, 2008 — The probe into the Rev. Al Sharpton’s finances intensified this week, with the IRS sending out a flurry of subpoenas to his most generous corporate donors, The Post has learned. [snip]

As of 2006, the most recent year that financial documents for the group are publicly available, it owed $1.9 million in payroll taxes and penalties. [snip]

Sharpton threatened boycotts or protests against corporations while simultaneously soliciting donations and sponsorships of NAN events, The Post detailed.

Personally, Sharpton owes $931,397 in federal taxes and $365,558 in New York City taxes, according to an IRS lien.

Give him his day in court; just vet the jury well then sequester it for the duration.

NEXT, Jessie!

I wonder if Vermont teachers went to NY to help? The scores look like they did. After one gets by the dazzling footwork in Vermont, the scores are very close to one another.

Understand, the teachers of today went through the same educational system. This goes far to explain the problems in and with our schools.

Writing Mastery Eludes Majority In Eighth Grade

Three-quarters of eighth-graders in New York City’s public schools cannot write proficiently, a problem demonstrated by more than two-thirds of students statewide, according to results from a federally administered test released yesterday.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, found that 55% of city eighth-graders scored at the basic level, meaning they had a partial mastery of skills, and 20% scored below basic. The national average was 57% scoring at basic and 13% scoring below. The New York State scores represent no significant progress since the last time the test was administered, in 2002. Nationally, eighth-graders made modest but significant gains, with the average score rising three points since 2002, though the percentage of students scoring proficient, 33%, did not change significantly.

There is no way to record change over time for New York City, because 2007 was the first year the test results were separated out from state scores.

The city’s scores can be compared with other large central cities. By that metric, New York City’s scores were statistically neither better nor worse than the average; they were lower than three cities that topped the average: Charlotte, N.C.; San Diego, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

The director of research at the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability, Jason Brooks, released a statement comparing the NAEP results to results produced by New York State tests, which last year showed eighth-graders posting large improvements on a reading test, with 42% meeting state standards versus 37% the year before.

Mr. Brooks said the discrepancies prove state exams are “dumbed-down.”

A spokesman for the city Department of Education, David Cantor, pointed out that the writing scores are higher than the levels the city’s eighth-graders posted on national reading and math tests last year. On the 2007 reading exam, 19% of eighth-graders scored proficient, and 16% did so on the math. [snip]

I need an explanation. 42% score proficient in writing; 19% score proficient in reading. How can some one score higher on a writing test that the reading test? How would they know what they wrote?

On the writing test, 19% of New York City eighth-graders were tested with accommodations, the highest percentage of any city included in the study and above the national average, 9%.

Meanwhile, 2% of eighth-graders were excluded from the test, a lower number than several cities, such as Cleveland, where 11% were excluded.

Sample questions from the writing test can be viewed at http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/. One question asked students to write a letter describing what a backpack is.

The education historian Diane Ravitch, who has served on the governing board of NAEP, said, “The conclusion we draw is we have some serious issues having to do with reading, writing, and math by the time kids are in eighth grade.” [snip]

School vouchers are the only answer.

Life in the Bad Apple is tough. After the Heller case is adjudicated, less of these disgraces should occur for the means of true equal protection will exist.

200 surveillance cameras at Van Dyke houses fail to stop rape suspect

Once again a rapist was caught on videotape, and once again cops failed to see him, police sources said Thursday.

A 19-year-old woman was raped at knifepoint inside the Van Dyke houses in Brooklyn early Thursday - a housing complex with more than 200 cameras supposedly monitored around the clock by the NYPD.

Should she have called 911 as Mayor Menino suggests? Or do as Bloomberg suggests, leave personal protection to the police?

One thing that would have worked in this situation is a .38 snubby. Guaranteed!

Every day shows us just how bad some individuals luck can be. Getting mugged is beyond the pale for anyone.

That this happened in the Bloomberg’s safe city starts the gods talking. Working for the UN adds another layer of misfortune. Working on her brother’s campaign  courted Loki. Pile on the sibling relationship, going to anything in SoHo at night and one has Asgard throwing a selection of mishaps just because you’re available.

Sen. John Kerry’s Sister Mugged In New York City

NEW YORK (AP) ― A mugger knocked down U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s sister and stole her purse in downtown Manhattan.

Police say Margaret Kerry was attacked after leaving a theater in SoHo at about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday. A thief stole her pocketbook, which held about $60 and credit cards. Kerry, 66, suffered a cut to her head.

Police say no suspects have been arrested. Kerry told the New York Post that she didn’t get a good look at her attacker.

Kerry, who works for the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, worked on her brother’s 2004 presidential campaign.

…some people would have no luck at all.

Everything ’splains something

Tests find hazardous levels of mercury in tuna sushi in New York

NEW YORK: Recent laboratory tests performed for The New York Times found so much mercury in tuna sushi that a regular diet of even two or three pieces a week at some restaurants could be a health hazard for the average adult, based on guidelines set out by the Environmental Protection Agency. [snip]

Scientists who performed the analysis for The New York Times said they had been “frankly surprised” at the results and had run the tests several times to be sure there was no mistake in the levels of methylmercury, a form of mercury tied to health problems. [snip]

Studies have found high blood mercury levels among people eating a diet rich in seafood. According to a 2007 survey by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the average level of mercury in New Yorkers’ blood is three times as high as the national average. [snip]

Methylmercury is formed from inorganic mercury by the action of anaerobic organisms that live in aquatic systems including lakes, rivers, wetlands, sediments, soils and the open ocean.

Here’s an explanation. About 4 to 5 days after the Big Bang, methylmercury went looking for fish. Success in this endeavor occurred as soon as there were fish but well before the Parable of the Loaves and Fishes.
Historians point to this occurrence as the birth of liberalism via the mercury mind melts. Earth Day, sushi houses, latte clubs, fern bars, and aromatherapy followed immediately keeping the methylmercury at requisite concentrations.

Many experts believe the government’s warnings on mercury in seafood do not go far enough. “The current advice from the FDA is insufficient,” said Dr. Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health and head of the Department of Environmental Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark. “In order to maintain reasonably low mercury exposure you have to eat fish low in the food chain, the smaller fish, and they are not saying that.”

Naturally, the barking moonbats tossed in their two slugs.

Some environmental groups have already sounded the alarm. Environmental Defense, the advocacy group, says no one should eat bluefin tuna. [snip]

Let’s hope Mike Bloomberg mounts an independent campaign for the White House.  With his liberal policies and agenda, he’ll be a bigger drag on the Democrats than Republicans.  For example, who’ll be most attracted by this message on illegal immigration?

“To those who are wailing against immigration, to those politicians who, all of a sudden, have embraced xenophobia, I say: open your eyes,” he said. “Take a look behind me. This is what makes America great. This is New York City. This is freedom. This is compassion, and democracy, and opportunity.” 

He said the city is in a competitive struggle with cities like London, Paris, and Shanghai, which are working to attract top people in every field. For New York and America to stay competitive requires an acceptance of the new energy and ideas immigration and innovation bring, he said, adding that that’s the approach he’s taken in New York.

First, Michael, didn’t your school teachers drill you on the importance of adjectives?  People oppose ILLEGAL immigration and not immigration as a general policy.  The “xenophobic” meme transmitted by the open borders crowd doesn’t have a lot of punch when you guys refuse to properly define the issue. 

Second, Paris and London compete for highly skilled immigrants.  Everybody wants the MDs and PhDs.  Not many countries are running ad blitzes for lettuce pickers and fast food restaurant workers.  And just to let you in on a little secret, most of the people sneaking into our country aren’t PhDs.

Finally, we already have an entire political party dedicated to pandering to illegal immigrants.  So why would the majority of them pick the faux Democrat?  Good luck with that mayor thing because your chances of being president are infinitesimal.

This should tell you we’re far too decadent for our good.

New York’s $25,000 dessert sets Guinness record

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A day after New York City came up with a $1,000 bagel, a local restaurateur unveiled a $25,000 chocolate sundae on Wednesday, setting a Guinness world record for the most expensive dessert.

Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3, partnered with luxury jeweler Euphoria New York to create the “Frrozen Haute Chocolate,” a blend of 28 cocoas, including 14 of the most expensive and exotic from around the globe.

The dessert, spelled with two Rs, is infused with 5 grams (0.2 ounces) of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. At the base of the goblet is an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds.

The sundae is topped with whipped cream covered with more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound.

It is eaten with a gold spoon decorated with white and chocolate-colored diamonds, which can also be taken home. [snip]

Four years ago, Bruce unveiled a $1,000 ice cream sundae called Golden Opulence, a staple on his menu and a favorite with rock stars, socialites and other celebrities.

Both desserts are sold only with advance orders. Bruce said he has received inquiries about his latest creation, mostly from Europeans planning to visit New York.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if soon we get a call from a Middle Eastern prince or Shah willing to give something sweet to his many wives on his next trip to the city,” Bruce said. [snip]

Who’s collecting this on the other end?

A Nov. 2008 win for Hillary and Dems will produce just that result. Rangel is planning how to start.

I posted about this on 10/14 this year. Rangel fleshed out his proposal using your flesh and blood. You can bet your SSI (a modest amount) that the illegals and the boys in the ‘hood will not pay more.

Rangel on the Fringe

For the entire year House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel has promised a bill to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax by raising $850 billion in other taxes. Now it appears we will finally see his handiwork this week. Mr. Rangel has enjoyed keeping the public guessing about the details, but what he intends is no surprise. He wants to raise taxes instead of simply repealing a tax that Congress never intended to levy on 23 million middle class taxpayers. Mr. Rangel would like to raise the tax on capital gains and dividends, perhaps by taxing all income at the high “ordinary income” rate…[snip]…will call for a 4% surcharge on individual adjusted gross income over $150,000 a year, tax private equity fees at ordinary income rates, and assume expiration of the Bush tax cuts…[snip]

Chairman Rangel insists it is not about the money. He wants a system with fewer tax rates, which is fine with him as long as most of them are higher. [snip]

If Mr. Rangel truly worried about the economic vitality of New York City and the country, he might take steps to shore up Wall Street’s status as the world financial center. Instead, the one thing he has promised to do is raise taxes on private equity to drive that business elsewhere.

Could this be too much even for Mr. Rangel’s fellow Democrats? Speaker Pelosi is pressuring Mr. Rangel to introduce a bill that does exactly what he says he would not do, which is to continue the annual charade in which Congress offers AMT relief one year at time. [snip]

When the tax rates rise on capital gains and dividends, investment slows. Every time these rates are changed, the economy has gone into a mild to severe recession.

Of course Rangel will tell you not everyone partakes, therefore the system is unfair. Some people invest, others buy flat screen TV’s; open an IRA or buy that new car. The constituency Rangel preaches to wish to spend money not earn it. If the government gives them the money, so much the better; “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” Vote for Me!

That kind of increase in money won’t go to reducing the deficit or the debt. Instead you will see more pork spending. These wastrels honor themselves since we’re not so inclined.

[snip] Take for example the roll call vote on Sen. Jim DeMint’s amendment to kill a provision in the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill directing $2 million to three construction projects for a college in Harlem. The South Carolina Republican’s amendment would have struck the provision first inserted in the legislation by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. All three projects are named for Rangel. [snip]

But when it came time to vote on this crude effort by Rangel to use tax dollars to promote himself, it was preserved on a 61-34 vote.

The 2008 election will make a huge difference; unfortunately the opposition party in DC is not really an opposition party. They are just dividing the spoils. We need primaries for every race the in which the GOP is running.

It’s a Female Dog, or Worse. Or Endearing. And Illegal?

The New York City Council, which drew national headlines when it passed a symbolic citywide ban earlier this year on the use of the so-called n-word, has turned its linguistic (and legislative) lance toward a different slur: bitch.

The term is hateful and deeply sexist, said Councilwoman Darlene Mealy of Brooklyn, who has introduced a measure against the word…, [snip]

They may not have been the kinds of reaction that Ms. Mealy, a Detroit-born former transit worker serving her first term, was expecting. “They buried the n-word, but what about the other words that really affect women, such as ‘b,’ and ‘ho’? [snip]

“I think it’s a description that is used insouciantly in the fashion industry,” said Hamish Bowles, the European editor at large of Vogue, as he ordered a sushi special at the Condé Nast cafeteria last week. “It would only be used in the fashion world with a sense of high irony and camp. ”Mr. Bowles, in salmon seersucker and a purple polo, appeared amused by the Council measure. “It’s very ‘Paris Is Burning,’ isn’t it?” he asked, referring to the film that captured the 1980s drag queen scene in New York. [snip]

Symbols are good for marking the Men’s and Ladies’ room doors.

You know a problem’s solution obtains when Liberals do something definitely symbolic. Amelioration of defined ills lifts the heart as the soothing hand of Big Government shields one from all abuse.

This must work, since Liberals persevere with repetitive explication. Since the time when doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results provided the definition of idiocy, Liberals filled the definition.

In our local and state legislatures, we get this same tripe. Constant planting of symbolic trees for feeling good. I have no information on MA or CT, but Vermont has a surfeit of trees.

The following pertains unequivocally to all of the politicians who try to prevent any conceivable offense from falling upon a victim’s ears.

“ Being liberal means always having to say you are sorry.” Charles Osgood summed it up perfectly.

A bitchin’ good answer

Highly efficient fluorescent light bulbs are widely touted as environmentally friendly, but they have created a recycling headache for the Environmental Protection Agency and local governments.

More often than not, their toxic ingredients simply end up in landfills, where the chemicals can leach into soil and water and poison fish and other wildlife.

The bulbs contain mercury and should not be tossed in the trash as are regular light bulbs.

“They’re very efficient, but once they’re used up, they become a ticking toxic time bomb,” said Leonard Robinson, chief deputy director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. “They need to be captured and recycled.” [snip]

Few recycling options

Yet while the technology to recycle the fluorescent bulbs exists and some local governments and businesses offer recycling, the programs aren’t widely available.

“There’s not a lot of options out there for recycling them,” said Joe Dunlop, a program coordinator for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

The EPA is also working on the problem.

“Though they’re energy-saving, cost-saving, [they] do contain small amounts of mercury, and for that reason, [they] need a little bit more attention in their disposal,” said Joe Bergstein, a spokesman for the EPA’s New York City regional office.

“It’s kind of a patchy situation out there,” Bergstein told LiveScience. “Some counties are better budgeted to do these kinds of collections and handle these kinds of materials on a much more regular basis than others.”

Potentially poisonous

Mercury is key to making compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) efficient. Electricity sent through the lamp, which contains mercury vapor and an inert gas such as argon, zaps the mercury, setting off a reaction that creates light. [snip]

The silvery substance can be dangerous even in small quantities, though, because it can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin, and it damages the central nervous system. [snip]

Another option pushed by the enviro-nazis with no thought to the disposal consequences. The law governing this strikes again.

People are not willing to give up short time off during weekends to sit in a recycling center waiting for the privilege to pay disposal fees. Driving to these oft-distant centers uses fuel not normally consumed.

If this Mayor Bloomberg “experiment” is supposed to excite me about a potential presidential run, then count me out:

The idea is to offer payments to encourage behaviors that have been shown to reduce poverty. A library card for an elementary or middle school student will bring his parents $50; a preventive dental visit brings $100 for each family member; and a steady full-time job pays $150 extra a month.

Conditional cash transfers have become a popular anti-poverty experiment in the developing world, but New York City’s will be the first American attempt.

It’s proven that breathing is a prerequisite to lifting oneself out of poverty too. Therefore, I propose we give them a nickel every time they take a breath. Leave it to lefties like Bloomberg and Soros to fund a program that so fundamentally lowers the bar on the bare minimum you need to do to succeed in life. And, Mayor, it’s filling your mind with knowledge by reading books, not possessing a library card, that allows an individual to lift themself out of poverty. How these two became billionaires is simply beyond me.

How bad are the Democratic candidates for president? Only former Senator Mike Gravel believes English should be our national language:

Yeah. We speak English. That doesn’t mean we can’t encourage other languages. I speak French and English. People speak Spanish and English. But the official language of the United States of America is English.

Amusingly, Obama jumps right into the fray and says the question “is designed precisely to divide us.” If by divide, he means the political elites from the American people who overwhelmingly support this, then he’s correct.

But not to be outdone in pandering to illegal immigrants, Hillary Clinton launches into a laundry list of the horrors of making English our official language:

The problem is that if it becomes official instead of recognized as national — which indeed it is, it is our national language — if it becomes official, that means in a place like New York City you can’t print ballots in any other language. That means you can’t have government pay for translators in hospitals so when somebody comes in with some sort of emergency there’s nobody there to help translate what their problem is for the doctor.

Are you really qualified to vote if you can’t speak English to educate yourself on the issues? And as a supporter of socialized medicine because our existing system is so “expensive”, has she considered the extra costs she’s imposing on us with translators in hospitals for people who aren’t suppose to be here anyway? Or course she hasn’t.

Just remember this when the general election comes and the Democrat’s candidate is pretending to be a centrist.

Things are looking up for the Romney campaign: 

The poll, conducted by Survey USA for WBZ-TV, was taken after the first debate among Republican presidential candidates last week. It shows 32 percent of likely GOP voters in New Hampshire favor Romney, compared with 23 percent for former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and 22 percent for Arizona Senator John McCain.

None of these candidates is Ronald Reagan’s legatee.  Mitt’s campaigning to the right of his rivals, but was previously a “compassionate” conservative.  Giuliani is socially liberal, and McCain took great pleasure in tweaking the party’s conservative base. 

The door is open for a real conservative to grab this nomination.  However, I don’t see anyone with the money, organization, and name recognition to oust the current frontrunners.  Unless something happens to shake this race up, we’ll be choosing between the lesser of 3 “compassionate” conservatives.