A War We Just Might Win
By MICHAEL E. O’HANLON and KENNETH M. POLLACK
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/opinion/30pollack.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=612b6e87664c687c&ex=1186459200&emc=eta1
NEW YORK TIMES - Published: July 30, 2007
VIEWED from Iraq, where we just spent eight days meeting with American and Iraqi military and civilian personnel, the political debate in Washington is surreal. The Bush administration has over four years lost essentially all credibility. Yet now the administration’s critics, in part as a result, seem unaware of the significant changes taking place.
Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.
There is enough good happening on the battlefields of Iraq today that Congress should plan on sustaining the effort at least into 2008.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
PROBATIONARY FIREFIGHTER GRADUATION
Probationary Firefighter Graduation
http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/insider/events/2007/073007a.shtml
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta will preside over a graduation ceremony for 265 probationary firefighters at the Queens College Colden Center in Flushing, Queens at 10 a.m.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/insider/events/2007/073007a.shtml
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta will preside over a graduation ceremony for 265 probationary firefighters at the Queens College Colden Center in Flushing, Queens at 10 a.m.
BLOOMY'S DECISION TO MOVE 9-11 CEREMONY IS FINAL
Bloomberg says decision to move 9/11 ceremony is final
By SARA KUGLERAssociated Press Writer
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--sept11anniversary0730jul30,0,7915074.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday that the Sept. 11 anniversary ceremony would not be held in its original ground zero location, despite threats by family members to boycott and hold their own shadow remembrance.
Construction on the memorial to the victims, as well as new buildings that are going up, have made the site unsafe for a large public gathering like the one that has taken place at the site each year, he said.
For five years, mourners have participated in the same ritual at the site: As the names of the nearly 3,000 victims were read aloud, echoing across what was once the World Trade Center basement, family members could also descend a long ramp into the seven-story pit. There, they laid flowers on the dusty bedrock.
Some angry family members have written letters to Bloomberg and Gov. Eliot Spitzer, warning that they will hold their own gathering if the ceremony is not moved back to its original place.
It is likely that this fight will not end this year. With the World Trade Center memorial and various buildings now going up, the area will be under construction for years, and it is possible that the anniversary ceremony won't return until the rebuilding is complete.
The city is now re-excavating areas around ground zero to look for more body parts after a cache of human bones was found in an abandoned manhole last year. More digging turned up other subterranean pockets of remains that were missed during the initial cleanup.
Some families believe the city has not kept them fully informed about the new round of remains excavations, which is expected to last for many more months.
By SARA KUGLERAssociated Press Writer
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--sept11anniversary0730jul30,0,7915074.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday that the Sept. 11 anniversary ceremony would not be held in its original ground zero location, despite threats by family members to boycott and hold their own shadow remembrance.
Construction on the memorial to the victims, as well as new buildings that are going up, have made the site unsafe for a large public gathering like the one that has taken place at the site each year, he said.
For five years, mourners have participated in the same ritual at the site: As the names of the nearly 3,000 victims were read aloud, echoing across what was once the World Trade Center basement, family members could also descend a long ramp into the seven-story pit. There, they laid flowers on the dusty bedrock.
Some angry family members have written letters to Bloomberg and Gov. Eliot Spitzer, warning that they will hold their own gathering if the ceremony is not moved back to its original place.
It is likely that this fight will not end this year. With the World Trade Center memorial and various buildings now going up, the area will be under construction for years, and it is possible that the anniversary ceremony won't return until the rebuilding is complete.
The city is now re-excavating areas around ground zero to look for more body parts after a cache of human bones was found in an abandoned manhole last year. More digging turned up other subterranean pockets of remains that were missed during the initial cleanup.
Some families believe the city has not kept them fully informed about the new round of remains excavations, which is expected to last for many more months.
Monday, July 30, 2007
SITE SHIFT DISHONORS MEMORY OF 9-11 VICTIMS
Site shift dishonors memory of Sept. 11 victims
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyNjMmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxNzM4NTYmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5
By MIKE KELLYRECORD COLUMNIST
Ground Zero is not just a crime scene. Many believe it is a graveyard.
For families of almost half the victims, no remains were ever identified. For the past five years, relatives and friends of unidentified victims viewed the 9/11 service as an opportunity to reconnect with the spirits of their loved ones.
Indeed, Ground Zero still holds remains of the dead. Hardly a week passes without another announcement of more victims' bones being found by workers digging new foundations or cleaning nearby roofs or window ledges. On Monday alone, 19 bone fragments were discovered. On Tuesday, the number was 35 possible pieces.
For relatives, each finding is heartbreaking. It signifies that the Ground Zero cleanup was not thorough. And, amid the thump of jackhammers at work on new buildings for the site, it raises a terrible question: Will all bone fragments ever be located before the new buildings are finished?
The emotional subtlety in that question seems lost on the stagnant bureaucrats who run our governments and went along with the cold decision to move the location of the memorial service
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyNjMmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxNzM4NTYmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5
By MIKE KELLYRECORD COLUMNIST
Ground Zero is not just a crime scene. Many believe it is a graveyard.
For families of almost half the victims, no remains were ever identified. For the past five years, relatives and friends of unidentified victims viewed the 9/11 service as an opportunity to reconnect with the spirits of their loved ones.
Indeed, Ground Zero still holds remains of the dead. Hardly a week passes without another announcement of more victims' bones being found by workers digging new foundations or cleaning nearby roofs or window ledges. On Monday alone, 19 bone fragments were discovered. On Tuesday, the number was 35 possible pieces.
For relatives, each finding is heartbreaking. It signifies that the Ground Zero cleanup was not thorough. And, amid the thump of jackhammers at work on new buildings for the site, it raises a terrible question: Will all bone fragments ever be located before the new buildings are finished?
The emotional subtlety in that question seems lost on the stagnant bureaucrats who run our governments and went along with the cold decision to move the location of the memorial service
Friday, July 27, 2007
COP CAPTAINS GET BIG RAISE
Cop Captains Get Big Raise
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/27/2007-07-27_cop_captains_get_big_raise-1.html
Friday, July 27th 2007, 4:00 AM
Police captains will get a 37% pay increase and top basic salary of more than $141,000 under a tentative 8-1/2-year deal - the longest contract in city history, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.
The pact runs from Nov. 1, 2003, through March 31, 2012. When longevity, holiday pay and other benefits are added in, the top salary could climb as high as $165,000.
Captains will have six fewer annual leave days during that time and all new captains will work 261 nine-hour tours for each of their first five years in the rank. Captains currently work 261 eight-hour tours.
PBA officials declined to comment on the tentative deal. The city and its largest police union are locked in a bitter contract dispute and are in binding arbitration. The last PBA contract expired in 2004.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/27/2007-07-27_cop_captains_get_big_raise-1.html
Friday, July 27th 2007, 4:00 AM
Police captains will get a 37% pay increase and top basic salary of more than $141,000 under a tentative 8-1/2-year deal - the longest contract in city history, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.
The pact runs from Nov. 1, 2003, through March 31, 2012. When longevity, holiday pay and other benefits are added in, the top salary could climb as high as $165,000.
Captains will have six fewer annual leave days during that time and all new captains will work 261 nine-hour tours for each of their first five years in the rank. Captains currently work 261 eight-hour tours.
PBA officials declined to comment on the tentative deal. The city and its largest police union are locked in a bitter contract dispute and are in binding arbitration. The last PBA contract expired in 2004.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
9-11 CEREMONY LOCATION CHANGE UPSETS FAMILIES
9/11 Ceremony Location Change Upsets Families
http://gothamist.com/2007/07/21/911_anniversary.php
(Participate in Poll - Click Above)
Some families of September 11 victims are upset that officials have moved this year's anniversary events from the World Trade Center site to Zuccotti Park. Governor Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg sent a letter to family members explaining that the services would be moved to the park (which is at Broadway and Liberty) because of the rebuilding work.
Tunnels are being constructed for the transit work. Besides rebuilding work, there are renewed searches for remains. But families are upset enough to threaten to boycott this year's events over the move. A letter stated, "For us, and many Americans around the nation, the World Trade Center site is sacred ground" and questioned whether the park would even hold the thousands of mourners.
This year, first responders will be reading the names of victims (in previous years, siblings, children, and spouses/significant others have read the names). The letter said, "These men and women helped guide New York City and the nation through one of our darkest hours, and we are honored that they will join our ceremony as we remember and honor those we lost."
http://gothamist.com/2007/07/21/911_anniversary.php
(Participate in Poll - Click Above)
Some families of September 11 victims are upset that officials have moved this year's anniversary events from the World Trade Center site to Zuccotti Park. Governor Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg sent a letter to family members explaining that the services would be moved to the park (which is at Broadway and Liberty) because of the rebuilding work.
Tunnels are being constructed for the transit work. Besides rebuilding work, there are renewed searches for remains. But families are upset enough to threaten to boycott this year's events over the move. A letter stated, "For us, and many Americans around the nation, the World Trade Center site is sacred ground" and questioned whether the park would even hold the thousands of mourners.
This year, first responders will be reading the names of victims (in previous years, siblings, children, and spouses/significant others have read the names). The letter said, "These men and women helped guide New York City and the nation through one of our darkest hours, and we are honored that they will join our ceremony as we remember and honor those we lost."
9-11 HEALTH PROGRAMS FAULTED
9/11 Health Programs Faulted
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/24/ap3946955.html
WASHINGTON - AP
Federal efforts to coordinate health care programs for sick ground zero workers have been hampered by shaky cost estimates and unsteady spending to keep the programs running, a new report has found.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, on Tuesday released the results of its fifth study of 9/11 health programs, concluding that five years after the attacks the government still doesn't have a consistent set of programs - or a good sense of what ground zero illnesses will cost.
According to New York City officials, some 400,000 were exposed to ground zero dust, and 71,000 have enrolled in a long-term health monitoring program for people with and without health problems. Most experts believe the number of people still sick years after ground zero exposure is in the thousands.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/24/ap3946955.html
WASHINGTON - AP
Federal efforts to coordinate health care programs for sick ground zero workers have been hampered by shaky cost estimates and unsteady spending to keep the programs running, a new report has found.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, on Tuesday released the results of its fifth study of 9/11 health programs, concluding that five years after the attacks the government still doesn't have a consistent set of programs - or a good sense of what ground zero illnesses will cost.
According to New York City officials, some 400,000 were exposed to ground zero dust, and 71,000 have enrolled in a long-term health monitoring program for people with and without health problems. Most experts believe the number of people still sick years after ground zero exposure is in the thousands.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
UFOA PACT CLEANS OLD DEAL'S WOUNDS
UFOA Pact Cleans Old Deal's Wounds
By ARI PAUL and RICHARD STEIER
The Uniformed Fire Officers' Association has reached a tentative four-year contract that will provide members with 4-percent raises in each year, raise longevity differentials by $1,000 and provide extra compensation for some chiefs.
The revised pay schedules would raise the starting pay for Lieutenants by more than $8,500 and for Supervising Fire Marshals by more than $14,000.
Under last week's deal, which if ratified would be retroactive to March 20 of this year and run through March 19, 2011, as of next March 20, minimum pay for all Lieutenants promoted since March 1, 2006 would be $75,000 - compared to the old starting rate of $66,435 - and maximum pay, reached after four years in the rank, would move from $78,695 to $87,798. Supervising Fire Marshals would see their minimum salary rise from $72,615 to $87,400 next March, and the maximum would jump from $86,061 to $96,016.
The city would also increase its annuity fund contributions by $261 for all active employees effective next March 20, and upgrade it by the same amount on April 20, 2010. Beginning next March 20, the city would increase welfare-fund contributions for UFOA retirees by $60 annually, and then by another $60 a year beginning April 20, 2010. On that latter date, there would also be a $50 boost in the city's contributions for each active UFOA member.
By ARI PAUL and RICHARD STEIER
The Uniformed Fire Officers' Association has reached a tentative four-year contract that will provide members with 4-percent raises in each year, raise longevity differentials by $1,000 and provide extra compensation for some chiefs.
The revised pay schedules would raise the starting pay for Lieutenants by more than $8,500 and for Supervising Fire Marshals by more than $14,000.
Under last week's deal, which if ratified would be retroactive to March 20 of this year and run through March 19, 2011, as of next March 20, minimum pay for all Lieutenants promoted since March 1, 2006 would be $75,000 - compared to the old starting rate of $66,435 - and maximum pay, reached after four years in the rank, would move from $78,695 to $87,798. Supervising Fire Marshals would see their minimum salary rise from $72,615 to $87,400 next March, and the maximum would jump from $86,061 to $96,016.
The city would also increase its annuity fund contributions by $261 for all active employees effective next March 20, and upgrade it by the same amount on April 20, 2010. Beginning next March 20, the city would increase welfare-fund contributions for UFOA retirees by $60 annually, and then by another $60 a year beginning April 20, 2010. On that latter date, there would also be a $50 boost in the city's contributions for each active UFOA member.
CITY DOING GREAT, BUT...
City doing great, but...
New York is in great financial shape, thanks to billions of extra tax dollars from the city's strong economy, budget experts said yesterday, but the city could face a new cash crunch in the future.
The city expects Wall Street profits to fall 60% in the next two years, hurting tax revenues, and many costs are projected to rise sharply in the next four years.
New York is in great financial shape, thanks to billions of extra tax dollars from the city's strong economy, budget experts said yesterday, but the city could face a new cash crunch in the future.
The city expects Wall Street profits to fall 60% in the next two years, hurting tax revenues, and many costs are projected to rise sharply in the next four years.
Monday, July 23, 2007
NOT EVEN ONCE, WAS TVE's NAME MENTIONED??
THOUSAND POINTS OF RIGHT
IT'S OBVIOUS WHY KEVIN "DOUBLE ZEROS" GALLAGHER, FORMER UFA PRESIDENT AND CURRENT IAFF V.P., DIDN'T APPEAR IN THE IAFF'S 13 MINUTE VIDEO ATTACK OF FORMER MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI. GALLAGHER AND THE UFA WERE ROCK SOLID SUPPORTERS OF MAYOR GIULIANI'S THREE CAMPAIGNS FOR MAYOR OF NYC AND CALLED HIM A TRUE FRIEND OF FIREFIGHTERS, PRAISED HIM AS THE BEST PERSON TO TURN THE CITY AROUND AND AS A PERSON WHO WAS TRULY CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF FIREFIGHTERS.
CURIOUSLY, THE CURRENT UFOA PRESIDENT DID APPEAR ON THE VIDEO AND THEN PROCEEDED TO COMPLETELY IGNORE HIS ORIGINAL STATEMENT AND ASSESSMENT AS TO WHO HE AND TWO OTHER UFOA BOARD MEMBERS BLAMED FOR THE LOSS OF 343 HEROES.
NOT ONCE WAS THAT PERSONS NAME MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO...NOT EVEN ONCE ! THE LETTER BELOW IS A VIVID AND STIRRING ASSESSMENT AS TO WHO THE BOARD MEMBERS OF THE UFOA ACTUALLY BELIEVED WAS TO BLAME FOR THE RADIO SITUATION AND CALLED THAT PERSON THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE LEADER IN THE HISTORY OF THE FDNY. TO DISTORT HIS ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE TRUTH AND FACTS, AT THE BECKONING OF THE IAFF (SCHAITBERGER-GORMAN & GALLAGHER), AND CONSENT TO APPEAR ON THEIR VIDEO TO COMPROMISE HIS ORIGINAL STATEMENT, AS STATED SO WELL BELOW, IS QUESTIONABLE, jg
IT'S OBVIOUS WHY KEVIN "DOUBLE ZEROS" GALLAGHER, FORMER UFA PRESIDENT AND CURRENT IAFF V.P., DIDN'T APPEAR IN THE IAFF'S 13 MINUTE VIDEO ATTACK OF FORMER MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI. GALLAGHER AND THE UFA WERE ROCK SOLID SUPPORTERS OF MAYOR GIULIANI'S THREE CAMPAIGNS FOR MAYOR OF NYC AND CALLED HIM A TRUE FRIEND OF FIREFIGHTERS, PRAISED HIM AS THE BEST PERSON TO TURN THE CITY AROUND AND AS A PERSON WHO WAS TRULY CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF FIREFIGHTERS.
CURIOUSLY, THE CURRENT UFOA PRESIDENT DID APPEAR ON THE VIDEO AND THEN PROCEEDED TO COMPLETELY IGNORE HIS ORIGINAL STATEMENT AND ASSESSMENT AS TO WHO HE AND TWO OTHER UFOA BOARD MEMBERS BLAMED FOR THE LOSS OF 343 HEROES.
NOT ONCE WAS THAT PERSONS NAME MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO...NOT EVEN ONCE ! THE LETTER BELOW IS A VIVID AND STIRRING ASSESSMENT AS TO WHO THE BOARD MEMBERS OF THE UFOA ACTUALLY BELIEVED WAS TO BLAME FOR THE RADIO SITUATION AND CALLED THAT PERSON THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE LEADER IN THE HISTORY OF THE FDNY. TO DISTORT HIS ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE TRUTH AND FACTS, AT THE BECKONING OF THE IAFF (SCHAITBERGER-GORMAN & GALLAGHER), AND CONSENT TO APPEAR ON THEIR VIDEO TO COMPROMISE HIS ORIGINAL STATEMENT, AS STATED SO WELL BELOW, IS QUESTIONABLE, jg
UFOA's McDONNELL, VISCONTI & BELANVIS BLAME TVE
LETTER FROM CURRENT UFOA PRESIDENT AND TWO ADDITIONAL UFOA BOARD MEMBERS TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS (IAFC) WILLIAM KILLEN
Dear Chief Killen,
Thank you for scheduling the “Recognition Day Ceremony” for those who perished on September 11th, 2001. We are sure that this will be a special event, especially having representatives from the three tragic locations of that terrible day. We applaud you for inviting the Ganci and Burns families; Chiefs Ganci and Burns were well respected and loved by all members of the F.D.N.Y.
However, we are extremely disappointed that the I.A.F.C. saw fit to invite former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen and former Deputy Commissioner Thomas Fitzpatrick.
The F.D.N.Y. is supervised by 334 Battalion Chiefs and 52 Deputy Chiefs, presently. During Commissioner Von Essen’s tenure, there were 299 Battalion Chiefs and 47 Deputy Chiefs. Virtually every one of these Chief Officers believes deeply that Thomas Von Essen has harbored an irrational prejudice against F.D.N.Y. Chief Officers.
He was probably the most irresponsible and inexperienced Fire Commissioner in the history of the FDNY and it was his disdain of Chief Officers that made it impossible to effectively lead this Department in it’s most difficult years.
In a book he wrote titled “Strong of Heart”, Von Essen repeatedly smears all of his Chief Officers with a broad brush. “All roads lead to a lack of accountability of top brass—need to get control of the 40 Deputies or you’ll never solve the problem”, he wrote.
In particular, Von Essen singled out two of his highest-ranking Staff Chiefs, Daniel Nigro and Sal Cassano, blaming them for his own failures. It was his lack of management and personnel skills that caused many of his programs to fail.
Former Deputy Commissioner Fitzpatrick was joined at the hip with Von Essen and firmly believed in Von Essen’s tactics. He was intimately involved in the withdrawal of the “Personal Harnesses and Ropes” because he believed that FDNY members did not use them frequently enough to warrant re-issuing them when their shelf life (10 years) ran out. This was in spite of the insistence of his Safety Command and Division Commanders that the harnesses and ropes were essential safety equipment. That foolish decision reared its deadly head when two members were forced to jump to their deaths in January 2005. The only qualification that warranted the elevation of Fitzpatrick from Captain to Deputy Commissioner was his unalterable loyalty to the Fire Commissioner.
At another point in Von Essen’s book he lays virtually all of the blame for a new, failed two-way radio on his Staff Chiefs and radio technicians. The flat truth is that Von Essen and Fitzpatrick bungled a NYC program to upgrade the radios. It was not until the Fire Officer’s union was notified by Training personnel at the Fire Academy that the new radios were not functioning properly for fire ground communications, a fact that they had repeatedly expressed to FD Headquarters who minimized the problem by saying it would take time to “get used” to the new radio technology.
Shortly thereafter, a firefighter’s mayday call went unanswered, nearly causing him severe injury or death. Von Essen’s first comment was that the Firefighter panicked and was only four feet from safety. At this point the new radios were recalled and the old radios placed back in service. These old radios were in operation on September 11th, 2001, the same radios that failed eight years earlier at the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
Please cancel the appearance of these two men who POSE as heroes of the World Trade Center disaster, who in reality were personally responsible for the communications failure that contributed so greatly to the tragic loss of 343 Firefighters and Fire Officers lives that day.
Sincerely,
Deputy Chief Nicholas Visconti, Division 14 Chief’s Representative
Battalion Chief John McDonnell Battalion 11 Chief’s Representative
Battalion Chief George Belanvis Battalion 1 Chief’s Representative
Thank you for scheduling the “Recognition Day Ceremony” for those who perished on September 11th, 2001. We are sure that this will be a special event, especially having representatives from the three tragic locations of that terrible day. We applaud you for inviting the Ganci and Burns families; Chiefs Ganci and Burns were well respected and loved by all members of the F.D.N.Y.
However, we are extremely disappointed that the I.A.F.C. saw fit to invite former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen and former Deputy Commissioner Thomas Fitzpatrick.
The F.D.N.Y. is supervised by 334 Battalion Chiefs and 52 Deputy Chiefs, presently. During Commissioner Von Essen’s tenure, there were 299 Battalion Chiefs and 47 Deputy Chiefs. Virtually every one of these Chief Officers believes deeply that Thomas Von Essen has harbored an irrational prejudice against F.D.N.Y. Chief Officers.
He was probably the most irresponsible and inexperienced Fire Commissioner in the history of the FDNY and it was his disdain of Chief Officers that made it impossible to effectively lead this Department in it’s most difficult years.
In a book he wrote titled “Strong of Heart”, Von Essen repeatedly smears all of his Chief Officers with a broad brush. “All roads lead to a lack of accountability of top brass—need to get control of the 40 Deputies or you’ll never solve the problem”, he wrote.
In particular, Von Essen singled out two of his highest-ranking Staff Chiefs, Daniel Nigro and Sal Cassano, blaming them for his own failures. It was his lack of management and personnel skills that caused many of his programs to fail.
Former Deputy Commissioner Fitzpatrick was joined at the hip with Von Essen and firmly believed in Von Essen’s tactics. He was intimately involved in the withdrawal of the “Personal Harnesses and Ropes” because he believed that FDNY members did not use them frequently enough to warrant re-issuing them when their shelf life (10 years) ran out. This was in spite of the insistence of his Safety Command and Division Commanders that the harnesses and ropes were essential safety equipment. That foolish decision reared its deadly head when two members were forced to jump to their deaths in January 2005. The only qualification that warranted the elevation of Fitzpatrick from Captain to Deputy Commissioner was his unalterable loyalty to the Fire Commissioner.
At another point in Von Essen’s book he lays virtually all of the blame for a new, failed two-way radio on his Staff Chiefs and radio technicians. The flat truth is that Von Essen and Fitzpatrick bungled a NYC program to upgrade the radios. It was not until the Fire Officer’s union was notified by Training personnel at the Fire Academy that the new radios were not functioning properly for fire ground communications, a fact that they had repeatedly expressed to FD Headquarters who minimized the problem by saying it would take time to “get used” to the new radio technology.
Shortly thereafter, a firefighter’s mayday call went unanswered, nearly causing him severe injury or death. Von Essen’s first comment was that the Firefighter panicked and was only four feet from safety. At this point the new radios were recalled and the old radios placed back in service. These old radios were in operation on September 11th, 2001, the same radios that failed eight years earlier at the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
Please cancel the appearance of these two men who POSE as heroes of the World Trade Center disaster, who in reality were personally responsible for the communications failure that contributed so greatly to the tragic loss of 343 Firefighters and Fire Officers lives that day.
Sincerely,
Deputy Chief Nicholas Visconti, Division 14 Chief’s Representative
Battalion Chief John McDonnell Battalion 11 Chief’s Representative
Battalion Chief George Belanvis Battalion 1 Chief’s Representative
THOUSAND POINTS OF RIGHT - WHO'S TO BLAME
THOUSAND POINTS OF RIGHT
THE UFA AND UFOA WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO FORGET WHO THEY BLAMED FOR THE LOSS OF LIFE OF "OUR BROTHERS" ON 9-11 !
ACCORDING TO THEM, 2 YEARS AGO, IT WAS......
A N.Y.C. FIREFIGHTER (TURNED FIRE COMMISSIONER) AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF LOCAL 94 OF THE IAFF ! PERIOD !
THE IAFF, UFOA AND UFA'S 13 MINUTE VIDEO CLEARLY SHOWS THAT SOME 9-11 FAMILY MEMBERS, WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE IAFF'S VIDEO, ARE RIGHTFULLY LOOKING FOR ANSWERS AND SOMEONE TO BLAME. THEY HAVE BEEN HELPED ALONG THIS PATH BY THE POLITICALLY DYSFUNCTIONAL IAFF, WHICH IS JUST A "DUMMY" ON THE LAP (AND IN THE POCKET) OF THE DNC ! PERIOD !
I WANT TO HEAR THE TRUTH FROM THE UFA AND UFOA AND HAVE THEM STOP BEING MANIPULATED BY THE IAFF AND DNC. THE UNIONS WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THE HISTORY OF 9-11 BY ERASING THE FACTS THAT THEY ESPOUSED AT THAT TIME, BUT NOW FIND ACCEPTABLE TO ERASE FOR POLITICAL REASONS !
WHERE'S "SILENT MOVIES STAR" & FORMER UFA PRESIDENT KEVIN GALLAGHER ? (HEY "BUTCH CASSIDY"....... ARE YOU AND YOUR "HOLE IN THE HEAD GANG" STILL TRYING TO ERASE THE UFA'S HISTORY OF COMPLETE SUPPORT FOR RUDY GIULIANI IN 3...YES 3 SEPARATE ELECTIONS FOR MAYOR OF N.Y.C. ?? CALLING HIM A TRUE FRIEND OF FIREFIGHTER, THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB AND A MAYOR WHO WAS GREAT FOR N.Y.C.?)
WHY WASN'T THE CURRENT V.P. OF THE IAFF, KEVIN GALLAGHER ON THE VIDEO ? DUH, THAT'S A RHETORICAL QUESTION !
LET'S GO BACK TO THE VIDEO AND SEE WHY IT WAS REALLY MADE !
IT WAS MADE BECAUSE THE DNC IS AFRAID THAT RUDY MIGHT BEAT THEIR "HAND MAIDEN" ..BILLARY ROTTEN... AND IAFF PRES. SCHAITBERGER WILL BE EMBARRASSED AGAIN, AS HE WAS WHEN HE HAD TO BE SURGICALLY REMOVED FROM THE EAR OF THE VIET NAM TRAITOR JOHN "HEINZ" KERRY ! PERIOD !
ACCORDING TO THEM, 2 YEARS AGO, IT WAS......
A N.Y.C. FIREFIGHTER (TURNED FIRE COMMISSIONER) AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF LOCAL 94 OF THE IAFF ! PERIOD !
THE IAFF, UFOA AND UFA'S 13 MINUTE VIDEO CLEARLY SHOWS THAT SOME 9-11 FAMILY MEMBERS, WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE IAFF'S VIDEO, ARE RIGHTFULLY LOOKING FOR ANSWERS AND SOMEONE TO BLAME. THEY HAVE BEEN HELPED ALONG THIS PATH BY THE POLITICALLY DYSFUNCTIONAL IAFF, WHICH IS JUST A "DUMMY" ON THE LAP (AND IN THE POCKET) OF THE DNC ! PERIOD !
I WANT TO HEAR THE TRUTH FROM THE UFA AND UFOA AND HAVE THEM STOP BEING MANIPULATED BY THE IAFF AND DNC. THE UNIONS WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THE HISTORY OF 9-11 BY ERASING THE FACTS THAT THEY ESPOUSED AT THAT TIME, BUT NOW FIND ACCEPTABLE TO ERASE FOR POLITICAL REASONS !
WHERE'S "SILENT MOVIES STAR" & FORMER UFA PRESIDENT KEVIN GALLAGHER ? (HEY "BUTCH CASSIDY"....... ARE YOU AND YOUR "HOLE IN THE HEAD GANG" STILL TRYING TO ERASE THE UFA'S HISTORY OF COMPLETE SUPPORT FOR RUDY GIULIANI IN 3...YES 3 SEPARATE ELECTIONS FOR MAYOR OF N.Y.C. ?? CALLING HIM A TRUE FRIEND OF FIREFIGHTER, THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB AND A MAYOR WHO WAS GREAT FOR N.Y.C.?)
WHY WASN'T THE CURRENT V.P. OF THE IAFF, KEVIN GALLAGHER ON THE VIDEO ? DUH, THAT'S A RHETORICAL QUESTION !
LET'S GO BACK TO THE VIDEO AND SEE WHY IT WAS REALLY MADE !
IT WAS MADE BECAUSE THE DNC IS AFRAID THAT RUDY MIGHT BEAT THEIR "HAND MAIDEN" ..BILLARY ROTTEN... AND IAFF PRES. SCHAITBERGER WILL BE EMBARRASSED AGAIN, AS HE WAS WHEN HE HAD TO BE SURGICALLY REMOVED FROM THE EAR OF THE VIET NAM TRAITOR JOHN "HEINZ" KERRY ! PERIOD !
Thursday, July 19, 2007
US WORKS TO FIX EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
US Works to Fix Emergency Communications
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 18, 7:42 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The government will distribute nearly $1 billion to states and cities to fix communications problems that still hamper police and fire departments six years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The biggest state recipients are California with $94 million, Texas with $65 million and New York with $61 million, according to Wednesday's announcement.
In certain states, chunks will be specifically set aside for major cities: New York City will get $34.8 million and the Los Angeles/Long Beach area was awarded $22.3 million. Other cities getting specific amounts were: San Francisco Bay area, $14.5 million; Chicago, $16.2 million; Houston, $14.6 million; Jersey City-Newark, $17.5 million; and Washington, $11.9 million.
A total of $968 million for interoperable communications grants was announced Wednesday by the heads of the departments of Homeland Security and Commerce, after a review earlier this year found that of 75 major U.S. cities, only six received a top grade in emergency communications.
The money, said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, will answer "the urgent need for firefighters, police and other first responders to be able to communicate effectively with one another."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the money should get the entire country up to a basic standard of effective emergency communication by 2009 — but only if the local authorities coordinate with each other and avoid turf fights.
"That's not something the federal government can make people do," said Chertoff. "We can put the tools on the table, but the training and the willpower to use the tools has to rest with state and local officials."
Congress provided the money in a 2005 bill, seeking to address lingering radio problems exposed when hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center in New York in 2001.
In that chaotic, fast-moving crisis, many firefighters could not hear important radio messages — including orders to evacuate before the second World Trade Center tower collapsed. Police officers' radios generally worked better, but they had little effective communication with firefighters.
Rep. Peter King, an occasional critic of Homeland Security's grant decisions, said that in this case "the department is moving in the right direction, but obviously New York still needs more."
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 18, 7:42 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The government will distribute nearly $1 billion to states and cities to fix communications problems that still hamper police and fire departments six years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The biggest state recipients are California with $94 million, Texas with $65 million and New York with $61 million, according to Wednesday's announcement.
In certain states, chunks will be specifically set aside for major cities: New York City will get $34.8 million and the Los Angeles/Long Beach area was awarded $22.3 million. Other cities getting specific amounts were: San Francisco Bay area, $14.5 million; Chicago, $16.2 million; Houston, $14.6 million; Jersey City-Newark, $17.5 million; and Washington, $11.9 million.
A total of $968 million for interoperable communications grants was announced Wednesday by the heads of the departments of Homeland Security and Commerce, after a review earlier this year found that of 75 major U.S. cities, only six received a top grade in emergency communications.
The money, said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, will answer "the urgent need for firefighters, police and other first responders to be able to communicate effectively with one another."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the money should get the entire country up to a basic standard of effective emergency communication by 2009 — but only if the local authorities coordinate with each other and avoid turf fights.
"That's not something the federal government can make people do," said Chertoff. "We can put the tools on the table, but the training and the willpower to use the tools has to rest with state and local officials."
Congress provided the money in a 2005 bill, seeking to address lingering radio problems exposed when hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center in New York in 2001.
In that chaotic, fast-moving crisis, many firefighters could not hear important radio messages — including orders to evacuate before the second World Trade Center tower collapsed. Police officers' radios generally worked better, but they had little effective communication with firefighters.
Rep. Peter King, an occasional critic of Homeland Security's grant decisions, said that in this case "the department is moving in the right direction, but obviously New York still needs more."
SANIT UNION'S HAUL OF A DEAL
SANIT UNION 'S HAUL OF A DEAL
By FRANKIE EDOZIEN July 18, 2007 NY POST
Mayor Bloomberg and the Sanitation Department union announced yesterday that they had reached a deal on a contract, boosting the maximum salary to $67,141 from the current $57,392.
"In the pouring rain, in the sweltering heat, in the bitter cold, they are out there on our streets, often reporting to work well before dawn. And because of their skill and dedication, our city is cleaner than it's been in over 30 years," Bloomberg said.
"If the union members agree to approve this contract, it will result in a well-deserved pay increase of nearly 20 percent," the mayor added.
The deal for the 6,600 workers follows the parameters set by the police-sergeants union agreement announced last week, and would give garbage collectors annual 4 percent raises from March 2007 through August 2010.
It would hike the starting salaries from $30,000 to $33,746 in 2011.
The four-year contract also would give sanitation workers holiday pay for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
By FRANKIE EDOZIEN July 18, 2007 NY POST
Mayor Bloomberg and the Sanitation Department union announced yesterday that they had reached a deal on a contract, boosting the maximum salary to $67,141 from the current $57,392.
"In the pouring rain, in the sweltering heat, in the bitter cold, they are out there on our streets, often reporting to work well before dawn. And because of their skill and dedication, our city is cleaner than it's been in over 30 years," Bloomberg said.
"If the union members agree to approve this contract, it will result in a well-deserved pay increase of nearly 20 percent," the mayor added.
The deal for the 6,600 workers follows the parameters set by the police-sergeants union agreement announced last week, and would give garbage collectors annual 4 percent raises from March 2007 through August 2010.
It would hike the starting salaries from $30,000 to $33,746 in 2011.
The four-year contract also would give sanitation workers holiday pay for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Monday, July 16, 2007
UFA PREZ FANS FLAMES IN EXAM-BIAS SUIT
Fire Union Prez Fans Flames in Exam-Bias Suit
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/16/2007-07-16_fire_union_prez_fans_flames_in_exambias_.html?ref=nl&nltr_ct=1&nltr_id=Union%20big%20fans%20flames%20in%20bias%20suit
BY JOHN MARZULLIDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Firefighters Union President Stephen Cassidy has filed a racially explosive affidavit defending the FDNY against charges that its written exams discriminate against minority-group candidates, the Daily News has learned.
"Basic intelligence is an important asset for firefighters, and ignoring that fact will imperil the safety of the firefighting force," Cassidy wrote in the affidavit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The Uniformed Firefighters Association affidavit comes in response to a lawsuit by the Justice Department, which followed a two-year investigation into FDNY hiring practices.
John Coombs, president of the FDNY Vulcan Society, which represents black firefighters, called Cassidy's comments "totally racially insensitive."
"What right does he have to assume the level of one's intelligence is based on an exam that has never been validated?" Coombs asked yesterday.
The affidavit also creates a stigma for current and future minority-group firefighters, Coombs said.
"His comments are like saying, 'If you're not Irish or Italian, how did you get here?'" Coombs said. "He's insulting all New Yorkers with his rhetoric and language."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/16/2007-07-16_fire_union_prez_fans_flames_in_exambias_.html?ref=nl&nltr_ct=1&nltr_id=Union%20big%20fans%20flames%20in%20bias%20suit
BY JOHN MARZULLIDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Firefighters Union President Stephen Cassidy has filed a racially explosive affidavit defending the FDNY against charges that its written exams discriminate against minority-group candidates, the Daily News has learned.
"Basic intelligence is an important asset for firefighters, and ignoring that fact will imperil the safety of the firefighting force," Cassidy wrote in the affidavit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The Uniformed Firefighters Association affidavit comes in response to a lawsuit by the Justice Department, which followed a two-year investigation into FDNY hiring practices.
John Coombs, president of the FDNY Vulcan Society, which represents black firefighters, called Cassidy's comments "totally racially insensitive."
"What right does he have to assume the level of one's intelligence is based on an exam that has never been validated?" Coombs asked yesterday.
The affidavit also creates a stigma for current and future minority-group firefighters, Coombs said.
"His comments are like saying, 'If you're not Irish or Italian, how did you get here?'" Coombs said. "He's insulting all New Yorkers with his rhetoric and language."
Saturday, July 14, 2007
THOUSAND POINTS OF RIGHT - IAFF VIDEO
THOUSAND POINTS OF RIGHT
Let's Go to the Video !
I watched the video and it was indeed moving to see the anguish and pain that some of the 9-11 family members exhibited on the IAFF video, and will forever endure. They want questions answered and I know that I would want the same.
Most-times it's easier to see the entire picture, if you are not directly involved in that kind of horror and suffering. No answers will ever be good enough to undo the agony that 9-11 has wrought upon the families. I recommend that everyone view the IAFF video and search for the truth. You will find that whichever truth you choose to believe, will depend upon how you view the facts and the very circumstances and history which controlled them.
For years, there has been a battle of the badges and of course the Police Department has always won-out. No Contest ! Firefighters can never expect to have the clout in N.Y. City when there are 35,000 "FINEST" and only 8,000 "BRAVEST". The Police Commissioners job has always been a nationwide hunt for the best man for that important post, while the Fire Commissioner's position has been either a "Political Hack" from the Mayors "In-Crowd" or occasionally someone from the FDNY ranks who is expected not to cause any problems.
The FDNY provided some good men for the Commissioner's job, one being John T. OHagan, who no firefighter ever liked but looking back he was a smart, "take no crap" kind of guy. He wasn't afraid to speak-up or be in the middle of a controversy. He fought for the "Twin Towers" to be entirely sprinkled and the structural steel to be entirely fireproofed. The Port Authority shot down his Local Law #5 and didn't have to adhere to it's regulations. He was also not the kind of Commissioner that a Mayor would like to have around. There was also Gus Beekman and Carlos Rivera who were great for the job, loved the "brothers" but fell to the Political pressures of City Hall.
There was one Fire Commissioner that came from the ranks of the Firefighter and rose to the Presidency of the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA), Local 94 of the IAFF and then, of all things, "jumped ship" to join the other side of the "Bargaining Table". That "Quisling Creep" was Tom Von Assen.
There were a few things in the video which annoyed the hell out of me. They only glossed over Von Assen's name once. They never told the world that he was a "Benedict Arnold" who left their own Union Ranks, as President of Local 94 of the IAFF, to be an "Empty Suit" who would inneffectively head the FDNY.
They talk about NYPD and FDNY radios and how the Police heard the message to evacuate the tower, while 121 Firefighters didn't get the message. There wasn't one question as to why the NYPD and FDNY didn't have the same radios. The fact is, they never wanted the same radios. They never wanted to talk to each other. There was always the "Battle of the Badges" and who should be in charge at certain scenes. It was during the Koch Administration that this was to be finally put to rest with the First Deputy Mayor's report, known as the "Brezhnev Report". His recommendations were put in the "round file" by Mayor Koch and things remain the same to this very day.
It was Von Assen's job to get radios that worked for "his members". It was "his job" to have the radios "field tested". The video shows the families simply saying that " The Buck Stops Here"...with the Mayor. That is too easy to say. The Mayor, regardless of what some people think, does not have the time to micro-manage a city of 9 Million. He leaves those decisions up to those he hired to do the job. Did Giuliani make a bad decision in hiring a Firefighter and President of local 94 of the IAFF ? Only in Hindsight, can any of us say yes, because if anyone should have been concerned about the health and welfare of N.Y. City Firefighters, it would be a former N.Y.C. Firefighter. Unfortunately, the Mayor, the UFA, the UFOA and the IAFF were all wrong ! The coward who screwed-up the radio situation was a former Firefighter and member of the IAFF ! Period !
I don't recall one Mayor that "was good" to City employees at contract time. It's not his job to be easy during negotiations ! Period ! Firefighters had good reason to get angry with Giuliani's 24 months with no raise in a 51 month contract, negotiated by then President of the UFA and current V.P. of the IAFF - Kevin "Double Zeros" Gallagher. The "Big Question" is why didn't "Double Zeros" make an appearance on the video, afterall he's still a V.P. of the IAFF ? Well, you already know why! How could the IAFF put "Double Zeros" in the video when he correctly praised Giuliani in 1997 as a Great Leader and Friend of the Firefighter. "Double Zeros" and the UFA, in fact, had endorsed Giuliani in three consecutive elections for Mayor of N.Y. City and called him the "Best Man for the Job" and credited him for turning the City around ! Now the UFA, UFOA and IAFF want to erase that history !
The second reason for Firefighters anger came when Von Assen recommended that the number of Firefighters on "The Pile" be reduced, after weeks of toiling to find their brothers. He informed the Mayor that Firefighters were reporting for duty exhausted, at their Firehouses, after spending countless hours at Ground Zero searching for their brothers. Rudy, in hind sight, made the mistake of reducing the number of Firefighters, as recommended by his Firefighter Commissioner, but almost immediately reversed that order and a system was devised, so Firefighters could continue their search and be rested enough to report for their regular fire duty.
Rudy was given a lesson as to the true meaning of "Brotherhood". But, is that a reason to condemn him and say he's not fit to be President ? Of course not ! Is "Double Zeros" in a contract really reason enough to be eliminated as Presidential Material? Is the "Never Corrected", "Century Old" fight between Cops and Firemen, as to who should be in charge at certain emergency scenes, fair enough reason to eliminate Giuliani? I think not !
It took the tragedy of 9-11 and then the formation of the "Department of Homeland Security", by President Bush, to finally mandate and make certain that Cops and Firemen must be able to communicate with each other. It is an undeniable fact of life that P.C. Ray Kelly and past Police Commissioners, through their influence, and F.C. Scoppetta and past Fire Commissioners, with their non-influence, have made the FDNY "2nd Due" and it will forever be that way !
The FDNY has Tradition, it has Honor and is the Greatest Fire Department in the World, even with the restrictions which have been placed on it over many decades of fighting for the number one spot and always having to bow to the greater political power of the NYPD. It was just reinforced again last week and hardly anyone took notice. The FDNY, in the new Communication Centers being built today......is still 2nd Due ! One fact does remain.....2nd Due will never mean.... 2nd best !
Then you have "Butch Cassidy and The Hole in the Head Gang" who just reached a contract agreement with Mayor Bloomy, while "violating a trust" with the other Unions who were supposed to be bargaining as a Coalition. It angered Pete Gorman so much that he publicly lambasted "Butch Cassidy" for violating that Coalition Trust. So much for Butch !
And Pete Gorman, seeing the proverbial handwriting on the wall jumped ship, as President of the UFOA, to take a Position with the DNC controlled IAFF. This was after he opted to fore-go, in the UFOA's last contract, a $100 annual increase into the Retirees Family Protection Plan, of the UFOA, in order to juggle the books to give new active Lt's a raise. This $100 per 4,700 Former Active Fire-Officers relates into a loss of $470,000 per annum into the Retirees Family Protection Plan, ad infinitum ! Pete had to "jump ship" and become a shill for the IAFF. It was an offer he couldn't refuse (something like Von Assen) in order for him to leave the Pesidency of Local 854 of the IAFF, because of his failure to negotiate a current contract for his membership.
Lastly, when the 9-11 Families blame Giuliani for speeding-up the recovery process by calling it "scoop and dump", it really hurts to see the faces of the families who have not recovered their loved ones. The video reports that they are still finding bone fragments in the area of the WTC but neglect to even mention that it has been Mayor Bloomy who has been in charge for the past 6 years and that Giuliani was only around for less than 4 months after the catastrophie and the very beginnings of the clean-up process.
Giuliani also has to be given credit for "cleaning-up" the most corrupt, crime ravaged, welfare city in the country and turning it around to a City beyond anyone's expectations, while Mayor Bloomy sits back and takes the credit. Bloomy is a mere opportunist who like Von Assen and Gorman, finds it very easy to "jump ship" or "switch party affiliation" when the Political Opportunity arises !
In Giuliani's 8 years as Mayor, he had to undo and fix what his predecessors left him and were incapable of accomplishing. Rudy did it all but wasn't around to see what his accomplishments would reap. He didn't write his own history of 9-11, as the video suggests, he left a legacy that every citizen of N.Y. City witnessed and is benefiting from now. He was the Mayor to 9 Million Citizens and the City and its' Citizens came first and were better off then they ever could have expected to be, after the worst attack on this country's soil.
Fanatic muslim al qaeda terrorists crashed those planes into the Twin Towers on 9-11 and the only mention of those beasts was the 1993 bombing in the garage beneath one of the towers. There was no retribution by the Clinton Administration, because they sought to foolishly deal with these murderers on a legal basis, through our court system. What a joke !
To know or even think that the WTC would be the same target of the terrorists some 8 years later is absurd and is not how terrorists would have been expected to think. However, the fanatical muslim creeps saw a weak (let's try to get them legally) President and found a hole in our then Federal Security(?) System. To even think that Giuliani made a mistake by choosing 7 WTC as the City's new Command Post, is just a luxury for some of benefiting from 20-20 hindsight.
I don't care if "Butch Cassidy" just accepted a meeting request from Fred Thompson, a formidable un-announced candidate in the character of Ronald Regan, for the Republican Primaries. I will bet the farm that the IAFF, UFA and UFOA's choice will be a demoncrat in the name of Mrs. Billary Rotten Clinton! Period! jg
FIRE UNION PLANS TO DOG RUDY ON PREZ TRAIL
Fire Union Plans to Dog Rudy on Prez Trail
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/07/13/2007-07-13_fire_union_plans_to_dog_rudy_on_prez_tra.html
BY CELESTE KATZDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Debunkers of ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani's public image as a Sept. 11 strongman say they'll dog him on the campaign trail to redefine his defining moment.
"If we have to go to California, to Des Moines, Iowa, or wherever we have to go to let the American people know what this man is truly about, how arrogant he is and how he distorts the truth - yes, we will," said FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son in the attacks.
Riches appears in "Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend," a 13-minute video released by the International Association of Fire Fighters this week.
The video accuses Giuliani of giving firefighters faulty equipment, impeding the search for remains, and profiting politically and financially from the tragedy.
IAFF spokesman Jeff Zack said members will appear at Giuliani events.
Team Giuliani has decried the video as a mess of mischaracterizations by a union whose leaders support Democrats for President. The campaign forwarded statements from relatives of three victims, each warmly praising Giuliani's handling of the attacks.
Frank Siller, who lost a firefighter brother, said Giuliani's compassion "was important to me on a very personal level, and it was also important to our country."
One of the video's stars - city Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy - had breakfast yesterday with Republican ex-Sen. Fred Thompson, a potential Giuliani rival, in Manhattan.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/07/13/2007-07-13_fire_union_plans_to_dog_rudy_on_prez_tra.html
BY CELESTE KATZDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Debunkers of ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani's public image as a Sept. 11 strongman say they'll dog him on the campaign trail to redefine his defining moment.
"If we have to go to California, to Des Moines, Iowa, or wherever we have to go to let the American people know what this man is truly about, how arrogant he is and how he distorts the truth - yes, we will," said FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son in the attacks.
Riches appears in "Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend," a 13-minute video released by the International Association of Fire Fighters this week.
The video accuses Giuliani of giving firefighters faulty equipment, impeding the search for remains, and profiting politically and financially from the tragedy.
IAFF spokesman Jeff Zack said members will appear at Giuliani events.
Team Giuliani has decried the video as a mess of mischaracterizations by a union whose leaders support Democrats for President. The campaign forwarded statements from relatives of three victims, each warmly praising Giuliani's handling of the attacks.
Frank Siller, who lost a firefighter brother, said Giuliani's compassion "was important to me on a very personal level, and it was also important to our country."
One of the video's stars - city Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy - had breakfast yesterday with Republican ex-Sen. Fred Thompson, a potential Giuliani rival, in Manhattan.
IAFF ENDORSED KERRY & SUPPORTED BILLARY
THE DAILY 2008
YAHOO NEWS - JUSTIN MILLER
Last evening the International Association of Fire Fighters attacked Rudy Giuliani in a 13-minute video that is "emotional, scathing and at times factually questionable," writes the New York Times' Marc Santora. The video will be sent to union members on DVD.
The union makes Giuliani culpable for a lack of "suitable equipment allowing firefighters to communicate with one another during the attacks; on the earlier decision to base the city's emergency management office right by the World Trade Center," and a "rapid a shift in the city's focus, from recovering the remains of the dead" to cleaning up Ground Zero.
IAFF President Harold Schaitberger said he's focused on preventing firefighters from being "used" by Giuliani's campaign. Giuliani's campaign issued a rebuttal before the video was released, noting that the IAFF endorsed John Kerry for president and supported Hillary Clinton.
YAHOO NEWS - JUSTIN MILLER
Last evening the International Association of Fire Fighters attacked Rudy Giuliani in a 13-minute video that is "emotional, scathing and at times factually questionable," writes the New York Times' Marc Santora. The video will be sent to union members on DVD.
The union makes Giuliani culpable for a lack of "suitable equipment allowing firefighters to communicate with one another during the attacks; on the earlier decision to base the city's emergency management office right by the World Trade Center," and a "rapid a shift in the city's focus, from recovering the remains of the dead" to cleaning up Ground Zero.
IAFF President Harold Schaitberger said he's focused on preventing firefighters from being "used" by Giuliani's campaign. Giuliani's campaign issued a rebuttal before the video was released, noting that the IAFF endorsed John Kerry for president and supported Hillary Clinton.
VIDEO BY IAFF URGES OPPOSITION TO GIULIANI
Video by Firefighters’ Union Urges Opposition to Giuliani
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/us/politics/12giuliani.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fS%2fSantora%2c%20Marc&oref=slogin
by Marc Santora - NY TIMES
In a video that is by turns emotional, scathing and at times factually questionable, the nation’s largest union of firefighters is appealing to its members across the country not to support the Republican presidential candidacy of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
The video, issued by the International Association of Fire Fighters and titled “Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend,” strikes directly at what Mr. Giuliani’s campaign has presented as a central strength: his leadership of New York City after the Sept. 11 attacks, in which nearly 350 firefighters died.
The video cost about $70,000 to produce. The union said it had used money raised by its political action committee, not dues from members.
Mr. Schaitberger said the union had been approached by an outside party, which he would not identify, offering to finance a larger media campaign on the union’s behalf against Mr. Giuliani. But, he said, there are no plans to accept the offer or for the union to run television advertisements of its own.
Some of the video’s assertions are at the very least subject to debate. There is no dispute, for instance, that there were communications failures on Sept. 11. But the video highlights the hand-held radios, whereas the central problem, most experts agree, was the failure of a device meant to boost the signal so that it could reach the high floors of the towers.
The video also implies that Mr. Giuliani was more concerned about securing some $200 million in gold stored in a basement vault at the World Trade Center than in recovering the remains of the dead, an accusation widely dismissed by people who closely monitored the cleanup.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/us/politics/12giuliani.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fS%2fSantora%2c%20Marc&oref=slogin
by Marc Santora - NY TIMES
In a video that is by turns emotional, scathing and at times factually questionable, the nation’s largest union of firefighters is appealing to its members across the country not to support the Republican presidential candidacy of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
The video, issued by the International Association of Fire Fighters and titled “Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend,” strikes directly at what Mr. Giuliani’s campaign has presented as a central strength: his leadership of New York City after the Sept. 11 attacks, in which nearly 350 firefighters died.
The video cost about $70,000 to produce. The union said it had used money raised by its political action committee, not dues from members.
Mr. Schaitberger said the union had been approached by an outside party, which he would not identify, offering to finance a larger media campaign on the union’s behalf against Mr. Giuliani. But, he said, there are no plans to accept the offer or for the union to run television advertisements of its own.
Some of the video’s assertions are at the very least subject to debate. There is no dispute, for instance, that there were communications failures on Sept. 11. But the video highlights the hand-held radios, whereas the central problem, most experts agree, was the failure of a device meant to boost the signal so that it could reach the high floors of the towers.
The video also implies that Mr. Giuliani was more concerned about securing some $200 million in gold stored in a basement vault at the World Trade Center than in recovering the remains of the dead, an accusation widely dismissed by people who closely monitored the cleanup.
MANDATE CANADIAN-STYLE LANGUAGE TASK FORCE IN US?
House Passes Waters Amendment to Mandate Canadian-Style Language Task Force in the U.S.
Dear John,
I just wanted to update you on what happened with Rep. Maxine Waters's (D-CA) amendment last night to H.R. 1851, the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2007. Unfortunately, the amendment passed. It passed by a voice vote.
Therefore, there was no recorded roll call vote. This happened because no Members objected when the other side requested a voice vote. All it would have taken was for one Member to request a recorded roll call vote -- but no one did. As a result, the amendment passed without any Member being required to take a public, recorded position on it. One House staffer told us there was a "breakdown" in asking for the vote and that "We thought it was covered and it fell through."
The good news is that there is no Senate version of H.R. 1851. This means that unless a Senate version is introduced and passed, the Waters amendment is unlikely to become law.
Despite our loss, your calls were not in vain. We think many offices were surprised people were even aware of the amendment and calling in to voice their opposition. This is good. The more Congressmen and Senators know that you are paying attention and support English, not government multilingualism, the better. Your continued vigilance in defending English will only help to educate Members of the importance of this issue and help pave the way for votes on larger reforms such as passing a bill to make English the official language and repeal President Clinton's "Multilingual Mandate," Executive Order 13166.
Thank you again for all your calls and emails. We will continue to keep you updated on the latest developments.
Best regards,
Ben Piper - Director of Government Relations
website: http://capwiz.com/proenglish/utr/1/BDZDHKPGOF/HRZWHKPGXW/1299930066
Dear John,
I just wanted to update you on what happened with Rep. Maxine Waters's (D-CA) amendment last night to H.R. 1851, the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2007. Unfortunately, the amendment passed. It passed by a voice vote.
Therefore, there was no recorded roll call vote. This happened because no Members objected when the other side requested a voice vote. All it would have taken was for one Member to request a recorded roll call vote -- but no one did. As a result, the amendment passed without any Member being required to take a public, recorded position on it. One House staffer told us there was a "breakdown" in asking for the vote and that "We thought it was covered and it fell through."
The good news is that there is no Senate version of H.R. 1851. This means that unless a Senate version is introduced and passed, the Waters amendment is unlikely to become law.
Despite our loss, your calls were not in vain. We think many offices were surprised people were even aware of the amendment and calling in to voice their opposition. This is good. The more Congressmen and Senators know that you are paying attention and support English, not government multilingualism, the better. Your continued vigilance in defending English will only help to educate Members of the importance of this issue and help pave the way for votes on larger reforms such as passing a bill to make English the official language and repeal President Clinton's "Multilingual Mandate," Executive Order 13166.
Thank you again for all your calls and emails. We will continue to keep you updated on the latest developments.
Best regards,
Ben Piper - Director of Government Relations
website: http://capwiz.com/proenglish/utr/1/BDZDHKPGOF/HRZWHKPGXW/1299930066
TRIALS FOR 9-11 DAMAGES SET
Trials for 9/11 Damages Set
By LARRY NEUMEISTERTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/13/2007-07-13_trials_for_911_damages_set_for_week_befo.html
Thousands of Sept. 11 victims' families have turned to a victims' fund established by Congress, rather than seeking compensation in court.
But with 41 cases still lingering in a federal court, a judge has set trials to determine potential damages to begin in the week before the sixth anniversary of the 2001 attacks.
He said in a written order sent to lawyers in the case last week that he believed the unusual process would "hasten the resolution of these and many other cases and thus be a significant step in mending the wounds left open by the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of Sept. 11, 2001."
The judge said that with the permission of lawyers and the parties, he met with a few of the surviving relatives. He said many told him they desired answers, truth, justice, closure and vindication of their claims, while others wanted to settle them.
He said he believed some families thought they could honor important values only through the trial process, while others have been unable to settle because of the disparity between what they and the defendants believed their claims were worth.
By LARRY NEUMEISTERTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/13/2007-07-13_trials_for_911_damages_set_for_week_befo.html
Thousands of Sept. 11 victims' families have turned to a victims' fund established by Congress, rather than seeking compensation in court.
But with 41 cases still lingering in a federal court, a judge has set trials to determine potential damages to begin in the week before the sixth anniversary of the 2001 attacks.
He said in a written order sent to lawyers in the case last week that he believed the unusual process would "hasten the resolution of these and many other cases and thus be a significant step in mending the wounds left open by the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of Sept. 11, 2001."
The judge said that with the permission of lawyers and the parties, he met with a few of the surviving relatives. He said many told him they desired answers, truth, justice, closure and vindication of their claims, while others wanted to settle them.
He said he believed some families thought they could honor important values only through the trial process, while others have been unable to settle because of the disparity between what they and the defendants believed their claims were worth.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
NYPD SERGEANTS - FINEST PAYDAY
Their Finest Payday
NYPD sergeants set for 24% wage hike in 6-yr. contract bid
BY ERNIE NASPRETTO, KIRSTEN DANIS and LISA L. COLANGELODAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Wednesday, July 11th 2007 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/11/2007-07-11_their_finest_payday-4.html?ref=nl&nltr_ct=1&nltr_id=Their%20finest%20payday
NYPD sergeants will get raises of more than 24% - boosting their top pay to more than $94,000 - under a tentative six-year deal unveiled yesterday.
When other payroll benefits are added onto their base salary, veteran sergeants will take home $103,000 a year after August 2010.
The proposed pact, which is retroactive to June 1, 2005, raises starting pay of sergeants from $61,000 to $73,000.
NYPD sergeants set for 24% wage hike in 6-yr. contract bid
BY ERNIE NASPRETTO, KIRSTEN DANIS and LISA L. COLANGELODAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Wednesday, July 11th 2007 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/11/2007-07-11_their_finest_payday-4.html?ref=nl&nltr_ct=1&nltr_id=Their%20finest%20payday
NYPD sergeants will get raises of more than 24% - boosting their top pay to more than $94,000 - under a tentative six-year deal unveiled yesterday.
When other payroll benefits are added onto their base salary, veteran sergeants will take home $103,000 a year after August 2010.
The proposed pact, which is retroactive to June 1, 2005, raises starting pay of sergeants from $61,000 to $73,000.
Monday, July 9, 2007
TO ALL ACTIVE FIREFIGHTERS WHO ARE LISTENING
Dear John, and to
All those Active Firefighters who are listening;
Most of what you requested in your letter to Steve is NOT unreasonable by any means. I hope the executive board of each union will take a close, hard look at these ideas. It is up to the active membership at union meetings to bring these issues to the forefront and not let them go away until resolved in a favorable manner.
Although the Health Benefit Protection legislation is a great idea, I don't believe it would have altered anything that has happened to our retirees in the recent past. That being said, it should still be sought after to protect all of us if some unfortunate situation should arise in the future. You never know what political evil lurks around the NYC corner and you must be ready for it. Progressive thinking - not defensive (after the fact) is what President Cassidy preaches all the time. This type of legislation is free, but the possible savings to our members might be quite financially rewarding. As I said in my last 2 years on the UFA Board, I don't understand why the unions don't get on board with this legislation and "fine tune" the wording to suit our needs.
Next is the retired widow's Cobra one-year continued health coverage. I can only speak for what the UFA does in this case. For those who are not aware of what takes place, here is an explanation. When a retiree dies, the UFA many years ago decided to continue the City Health Coverage at the Cobra rate for one year, paid by the RSBF. They also decided to continue normal RSBF coverage for one year at no cost to the widow. The City health plan cost is paid by our fund for the first year and then paid by the widow out-of-pocket thereafter. Whatever use she draws upon from the RSBF is simply a drain on the fund with no contribution being paid on the deceased member's behalf from the City. After one year, there is no longer any RSBF coverage available to that widow.
What you ask is that the first year Cobra City health plan cost is paid out of the active SBF instead of the retiree RSBF. I believe this is a fine alternative payment option and am in total agreement. I understand the cost involved and believe it is the honorable thing for us active members to do. This will not break the bank for us, but it will offer some small assistance to an already overburdened RSBF. With the positive change that Steve just negotiated for the UFA in the way of a Line Of Duty drug card (something we sought for years), the projected savings to the active SBF will help offset the cost of the Cobra. Besides, our fund is in pretty decent shape right now anyway. This is something we active members can and should do.
Any Cola enhancement bill would help every category of retiree. There is no reason for not supporting a Cola enhancement bill. If it doesn't pass, just keep knocking on the door until it does pass. It may not come easy and it may seem like pie in the sky, but so what! Nothing we do in our job as firefighters is easy, but that never stops us from getting the job done. Think FUTURE. One of the most valuable benefits in our job as NYC firefighters is the pension you hopefully will collect for many years after retirement. Anything you can do to bolster that benefit will only make it easier for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Think Cola.
Finally, the inconvenience with payment of your Catastrophe Health Insurance should be a small problem that is not very difficult to overcome. I do recall Mike Carter having a technical problem with the City for a line on your pension check. There could be a way around that now - I'm not sure how much has changed. The payment would have to go directly to the insurance company, not mixed into the UFA dues/life insurance deduction as you suggested. I know there are not enough lines at City payroll for that many variations of a UFA deduction. It's a bit complicated, but trust me when I say it is not an option for the UFA when dealing with City Payroll. My question would be "why can't there be a separate line for this deduction on my pension check?"
Thanks for reading this open letter. Go to union meetings. Get involved. Participate when the UFA asks you to. Think future. Be smart.
Stay safe brothers, fraternally....
Bill Mirro , Rescue 4 (Queens Trustee 1990-93, Rec Sect 1993-2002)
All those Active Firefighters who are listening;
Most of what you requested in your letter to Steve is NOT unreasonable by any means. I hope the executive board of each union will take a close, hard look at these ideas. It is up to the active membership at union meetings to bring these issues to the forefront and not let them go away until resolved in a favorable manner.
Although the Health Benefit Protection legislation is a great idea, I don't believe it would have altered anything that has happened to our retirees in the recent past. That being said, it should still be sought after to protect all of us if some unfortunate situation should arise in the future. You never know what political evil lurks around the NYC corner and you must be ready for it. Progressive thinking - not defensive (after the fact) is what President Cassidy preaches all the time. This type of legislation is free, but the possible savings to our members might be quite financially rewarding. As I said in my last 2 years on the UFA Board, I don't understand why the unions don't get on board with this legislation and "fine tune" the wording to suit our needs.
Next is the retired widow's Cobra one-year continued health coverage. I can only speak for what the UFA does in this case. For those who are not aware of what takes place, here is an explanation. When a retiree dies, the UFA many years ago decided to continue the City Health Coverage at the Cobra rate for one year, paid by the RSBF. They also decided to continue normal RSBF coverage for one year at no cost to the widow. The City health plan cost is paid by our fund for the first year and then paid by the widow out-of-pocket thereafter. Whatever use she draws upon from the RSBF is simply a drain on the fund with no contribution being paid on the deceased member's behalf from the City. After one year, there is no longer any RSBF coverage available to that widow.
What you ask is that the first year Cobra City health plan cost is paid out of the active SBF instead of the retiree RSBF. I believe this is a fine alternative payment option and am in total agreement. I understand the cost involved and believe it is the honorable thing for us active members to do. This will not break the bank for us, but it will offer some small assistance to an already overburdened RSBF. With the positive change that Steve just negotiated for the UFA in the way of a Line Of Duty drug card (something we sought for years), the projected savings to the active SBF will help offset the cost of the Cobra. Besides, our fund is in pretty decent shape right now anyway. This is something we active members can and should do.
Any Cola enhancement bill would help every category of retiree. There is no reason for not supporting a Cola enhancement bill. If it doesn't pass, just keep knocking on the door until it does pass. It may not come easy and it may seem like pie in the sky, but so what! Nothing we do in our job as firefighters is easy, but that never stops us from getting the job done. Think FUTURE. One of the most valuable benefits in our job as NYC firefighters is the pension you hopefully will collect for many years after retirement. Anything you can do to bolster that benefit will only make it easier for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Think Cola.
Finally, the inconvenience with payment of your Catastrophe Health Insurance should be a small problem that is not very difficult to overcome. I do recall Mike Carter having a technical problem with the City for a line on your pension check. There could be a way around that now - I'm not sure how much has changed. The payment would have to go directly to the insurance company, not mixed into the UFA dues/life insurance deduction as you suggested. I know there are not enough lines at City payroll for that many variations of a UFA deduction. It's a bit complicated, but trust me when I say it is not an option for the UFA when dealing with City Payroll. My question would be "why can't there be a separate line for this deduction on my pension check?"
Thanks for reading this open letter. Go to union meetings. Get involved. Participate when the UFA asks you to. Think future. Be smart.
Stay safe brothers, fraternally....
Bill Mirro , Rescue 4 (Queens Trustee 1990-93, Rec Sect 1993-2002)
COOL RECEPTION TO NEW PLAN FOR PENSIONS
Cool Reception to New Plan for Pensions
By JACOB GERSHMAN - Staff Reporter of the Sun - July 10, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/58086?page_no=3
A push by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to curtail the state comptroller's power over New York State's pension fund would face opposition from lawmakers, who say the nation's third-largest public retirement fund would suffer financially if it were overseen by a trustee board.
Mr. Cuomo, whose office is investigating alleged "systemic conflicts of interest" surrounding fund investments approved by a disgraced former comptroller, Alan Hevesi, is reportedly considering advising lawmakers to remove the comptroller as sole trustee of the $154 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund and hand power to a trustee board.
A few government watchdog groups have expressed support for a board, arguing that it would limit corruption by diffusing power and adding more checks and balances. Under the current system, teams of government and outside financial experts advise the comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, who has final say over the equity, real estate, and bond portfolios.
Between 1996 and 2006, the state pension fund had an annualized rate of return of about 9.6%. The past three years have been especially lucrative for fund, with a rate of return of 17%.
In comparison, the city pension fund had a rate of return of 9.83% in 2006, 11.74% between 2003 and 2006, and 8.4% between 1996 and 2006
By JACOB GERSHMAN - Staff Reporter of the Sun - July 10, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/58086?page_no=3
A push by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to curtail the state comptroller's power over New York State's pension fund would face opposition from lawmakers, who say the nation's third-largest public retirement fund would suffer financially if it were overseen by a trustee board.
Mr. Cuomo, whose office is investigating alleged "systemic conflicts of interest" surrounding fund investments approved by a disgraced former comptroller, Alan Hevesi, is reportedly considering advising lawmakers to remove the comptroller as sole trustee of the $154 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund and hand power to a trustee board.
A few government watchdog groups have expressed support for a board, arguing that it would limit corruption by diffusing power and adding more checks and balances. Under the current system, teams of government and outside financial experts advise the comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, who has final say over the equity, real estate, and bond portfolios.
Between 1996 and 2006, the state pension fund had an annualized rate of return of about 9.6%. The past three years have been especially lucrative for fund, with a rate of return of 17%.
In comparison, the city pension fund had a rate of return of 9.83% in 2006, 11.74% between 2003 and 2006, and 8.4% between 1996 and 2006
NYC PLANS SURVEILLANCE VEIL FOR DOWNTOWN
New York Plans Surveillance Veil for Downtown
By Cara Buckley - New York Times: July 9, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/nyregion/09ring.html
For a while, it appeared that New York could not even afford such a system. Last summer, Mr. Kelly said that the program was in peril after the city’s share of Homeland Security urban grant money was cut by nearly 40 percent.
But Mr. Kelly said last week that the department had since obtained $25 million toward the estimated $90 million cost of the plan. Fifteen million dollars came from Homeland Security grants, he said, while another $10 million came from the city, more than enough to install 116 license plate readers in fixed and mobile locations, including cars and helicopters, in the coming months.
The readers have been ordered, and Mr. Kelly said he hoped the rest of the money would come from additional federal grants.
By Cara Buckley - New York Times: July 9, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/nyregion/09ring.html
For a while, it appeared that New York could not even afford such a system. Last summer, Mr. Kelly said that the program was in peril after the city’s share of Homeland Security urban grant money was cut by nearly 40 percent.
But Mr. Kelly said last week that the department had since obtained $25 million toward the estimated $90 million cost of the plan. Fifteen million dollars came from Homeland Security grants, he said, while another $10 million came from the city, more than enough to install 116 license plate readers in fixed and mobile locations, including cars and helicopters, in the coming months.
The readers have been ordered, and Mr. Kelly said he hoped the rest of the money would come from additional federal grants.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
CITY WORKERS CASH-IN WITH $90M BACK PAY DEAL
'I'm going to Disney World'
City workers cash in with $90M back-pay deal - and big raises
BY KERRY BURKE and LISA L. COLANGELODAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/06/21/2007-06-21_im_going_to_disney_world-2.html
After 12 years of gritty work as a construction laborer, Neron Banks is ready for the good life - and he can afford it thanks to a $90 million back-pay settlement that awards 1,000 city workers about $90,000 each.
For years, Banks and others laborers in Local 376, who work for the city Department of Environmental Protection as well as the Sanitation, Transportation and Education departments, have complained that their hourly wages were significantly less than their peers in the private sector.
The dispute was finally resolved when the city agreed to shell out one-time payments to 1,000 workers. The average payout is $90,000.
The deal between City Hall and District Council 37, first detailed in the Chief-Leader newspaper, also raises the workers' hourly wages. Construction laborers will now get paid $34.27 an hour, an increase of more than 43%, and highway repairmen will be paid $36.48 an hour, roughly a 52% raise, according to the Chief-Leader.
City workers cash in with $90M back-pay deal - and big raises
BY KERRY BURKE and LISA L. COLANGELODAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/06/21/2007-06-21_im_going_to_disney_world-2.html
After 12 years of gritty work as a construction laborer, Neron Banks is ready for the good life - and he can afford it thanks to a $90 million back-pay settlement that awards 1,000 city workers about $90,000 each.
For years, Banks and others laborers in Local 376, who work for the city Department of Environmental Protection as well as the Sanitation, Transportation and Education departments, have complained that their hourly wages were significantly less than their peers in the private sector.
The dispute was finally resolved when the city agreed to shell out one-time payments to 1,000 workers. The average payout is $90,000.
The deal between City Hall and District Council 37, first detailed in the Chief-Leader newspaper, also raises the workers' hourly wages. Construction laborers will now get paid $34.27 an hour, an increase of more than 43%, and highway repairmen will be paid $36.48 an hour, roughly a 52% raise, according to the Chief-Leader.
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HOPALONG CASSIDY REALLY BROUGHT HOME THE BACON ! lol ! jg
MONITORING THE GHI-HIP MERGER
Monitoring the GHI-HIP Merger
by Arthur Pepper, Executive Director, UFT Welfare Fund - Jun 7, 2007 12:05 PM
http://www.uft.org/news/teacher/retired/ghi_hip_merger/
In November 2006, following years of discussion and a review by both federal and state agencies, GHI and HIP — two health plans offered by New York City to employees and their dependents — officially affiliated under a common corporate parent, EmblemHealth, Inc.
The following is a brief explanation of why the decision was made to join these two health plans into one larger organization.
The national health-care scene continues to change rapidly as larger health plans buy smaller ones. GHI and HIP are no exception. GHI purchased Wellcare of New York, an HMO, and HIP purchased Vytra, also an HMO. And now they have become a single organization.
GHI and HIP each has about 2 million subscribers. Combine those numbers and the 4 million subscribers provide substantially more power when bargaining the cost, for example, of a hospital stay.
Ultimately, these savings are passed on to subscribers in the form of premium stabilization.
The Chief Executive Officers of both GHI and HIP have publicly offered their commitment to the heads of all the municipal unions to continue to offer quality and affordable coverage to the employees of the City of New York.
As part of the process, GHI and HIP are also moving ahead to convert to “for-profit” status rather than their current “not-for-profit” designation. As a “not-for-profit” entity there are statutory restrictions that limit the accumulating of revenue that can be used for improvements such as updating claim processing systems. For instance under the GHI program, currently any money realized at the end of the year is returned to the City program as a dividend which helps to keep the benefit costs stable.
The choices and offerings of health plans have always been a joint effort between the City of New York and the Municipal Labor Committee. The MLC and the various health and technical union representatives meet frequently to review the plan offerings to all in-service and retiree members and will continue to monitor this merger and the way it affects the care available to our members through these plans.
by Arthur Pepper, Executive Director, UFT Welfare Fund - Jun 7, 2007 12:05 PM
http://www.uft.org/news/teacher/retired/ghi_hip_merger/
In November 2006, following years of discussion and a review by both federal and state agencies, GHI and HIP — two health plans offered by New York City to employees and their dependents — officially affiliated under a common corporate parent, EmblemHealth, Inc.
The following is a brief explanation of why the decision was made to join these two health plans into one larger organization.
The national health-care scene continues to change rapidly as larger health plans buy smaller ones. GHI and HIP are no exception. GHI purchased Wellcare of New York, an HMO, and HIP purchased Vytra, also an HMO. And now they have become a single organization.
GHI and HIP each has about 2 million subscribers. Combine those numbers and the 4 million subscribers provide substantially more power when bargaining the cost, for example, of a hospital stay.
Ultimately, these savings are passed on to subscribers in the form of premium stabilization.
The Chief Executive Officers of both GHI and HIP have publicly offered their commitment to the heads of all the municipal unions to continue to offer quality and affordable coverage to the employees of the City of New York.
As part of the process, GHI and HIP are also moving ahead to convert to “for-profit” status rather than their current “not-for-profit” designation. As a “not-for-profit” entity there are statutory restrictions that limit the accumulating of revenue that can be used for improvements such as updating claim processing systems. For instance under the GHI program, currently any money realized at the end of the year is returned to the City program as a dividend which helps to keep the benefit costs stable.
The choices and offerings of health plans have always been a joint effort between the City of New York and the Municipal Labor Committee. The MLC and the various health and technical union representatives meet frequently to review the plan offerings to all in-service and retiree members and will continue to monitor this merger and the way it affects the care available to our members through these plans.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARE WE IN "GOOD HANDS" WITH THE "ALL-MISTAKE" MLC TAKING CARE OF US ?? jg
Thursday, July 5, 2007
SLICK WILLIES'S PARDONS
(Click Here)
EXAMPLE: NY DAILY NEWS MICHAEL GOODWIN 7-04-07
The list of people Clinton let off the hook was a rogue's gallery of drug dealers, petty criminals and the politically well-connected. One was Bill Clinton's brother Roger, one was a college friend and another was a former business partner. Their lawyers' connections were key in others, including the lawyer for a man who laundered more than $100 million for the Cali cartel.
Some cases reeked of blatant corruption. Hillary's brother, Hugh Rodham, collected $400,000 from two big-time criminals who got pardons. When the news of the payments broke, the Clintons claimed surprise and demanded Rodham give the money back.
But Bill Clinton never gave Denise Rich her money back. The former wife of disgraced financier Marc Rich gave $450,000 to Clinton's presidential library and raised and contributed more than $1 million to campaigns of the Clintons and other Democrats. Her husband, who had fled the country rather than fight charges of massive tax fraud and trading with Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis, suddenly received a pardon.
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AH, WHAT'S THE SENSE, THE UNIONS JUST LOVE BILLARY ROTTEN CLINTON AND WILL COMPROMISE ANY REMAINING HONOR IN ORDER TO GET HER ELECTED, SO SHE CAN APPOINT THE NEXT 3 JURISTS TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT! PISMIRES! jg
NYC READY TO OVERHAUL 911 SYSTEM
NYC Ready To Overhaul 911 System
Goal Is To Streamline Calls, Improve Response Times
Marcia Kramer - CBS NEWS
(CBS) NEW YORK After years of delays, the city is finally moving forward with its plan for a massive overhaul of its 911 emergency system. The goal of the huge makeover is to make things easier for callers, operators and dispatchers.
"Seconds count for firefighters, for EMTs, for police officers," Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler said Tuesday.
And because any delay is the enemy of emergency responders, the city is going to redo the current system, combining all the dispatchers and operators from all of the emergency services into two centers."You could easily be saving anywhere from 10 to 15 to 30 to 45 seconds or a minute," Skyler said.
The overhaul will create one call center at 11 Metrotech in Brooklyn and a backup center at 1200 Waters Place in the Bronx.
The new facilities will look very much like the city's new 311 center, with its open spaces and high tech terminals.
"Our first responders do an excellent job under the current system, but with even more tools they will do an even better job," Skyler said.
David Rosenzweig, president of the Fire Dispatchers Union, isn't happy about one aspect of the system -- calls will come in to police dispatchers who will then notify firefighters and emergency medical technicians.
"We will not be able to evaluate the quality of the call," Rosenzweig said. "We won't know if it's a big fire, a little fire. We'll only know it's a fire ... where.
In the central offices where we are we know the quality of the call we send additional equipment when we know we have a large fire.
"Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes that creating a 21st century emergency response system will be part of his legacy.
The city expects the new center in Brooklyn to open in March of 2009.
They will break ground for the Bronx center four months later.
--------------------------------------------------------
Goal Is To Streamline Calls, Improve Response Times
Marcia Kramer - CBS NEWS
(CBS) NEW YORK After years of delays, the city is finally moving forward with its plan for a massive overhaul of its 911 emergency system. The goal of the huge makeover is to make things easier for callers, operators and dispatchers.
"Seconds count for firefighters, for EMTs, for police officers," Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler said Tuesday.
And because any delay is the enemy of emergency responders, the city is going to redo the current system, combining all the dispatchers and operators from all of the emergency services into two centers."You could easily be saving anywhere from 10 to 15 to 30 to 45 seconds or a minute," Skyler said.
The overhaul will create one call center at 11 Metrotech in Brooklyn and a backup center at 1200 Waters Place in the Bronx.
The new facilities will look very much like the city's new 311 center, with its open spaces and high tech terminals.
"Our first responders do an excellent job under the current system, but with even more tools they will do an even better job," Skyler said.
David Rosenzweig, president of the Fire Dispatchers Union, isn't happy about one aspect of the system -- calls will come in to police dispatchers who will then notify firefighters and emergency medical technicians.
"We will not be able to evaluate the quality of the call," Rosenzweig said. "We won't know if it's a big fire, a little fire. We'll only know it's a fire ... where.
In the central offices where we are we know the quality of the call we send additional equipment when we know we have a large fire.
"Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes that creating a 21st century emergency response system will be part of his legacy.
The city expects the new center in Brooklyn to open in March of 2009.
They will break ground for the Bronx center four months later.
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"THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY REMAIN THE SAME"
---------------------------------------------------
THOUSAND POINTS OF RIGHT - FDNY 2nd DUE
"THOUSAND POINTS OF RIGHT"
"2nd DUE"
FOR ALMOST 6 YEARS NOW, MAYOR BLOOMBERG HAS BEEN SCREWING OVER FIREFIGHTERS.
FIRST WITH A FIRE COMMISSIONER WHO DOESN'T KNOW SH_T ABOUT THE JOB ! SECOND, STRICT ADHERENCE TO "PATTERN BARGAINING" (PREVENTING A DECENT WAGE INCREASE FOR ACTIVE FIREFIGHTERS, WHILE PASSIVELY SCREWING "FORMER ACTIVE FIREFIGHTERS") AND ALSO WHILE THE CITY'S COFFERS ARE OVERFLOWING WITH MONEY ! THIRD, ALLOWING RAY KELLY TO DICTATE MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS TO THE NYPD, WHILE CONSTANTLY PLACING THE FDNY IN A "2nd DUE" POSITION. THE FDNY HAS LOST MORE IN THE PAST SIX YEARS THAN EVER BEFORE IN IT'S HISTORY, EVEN THOUGH FEDERAL MONIES HAVE PROVIDED SOME NEW EQUIPMENT, THE FDNY IS STILL "2nd DUE" ! PERIOD !
THE FAILURE OF KNOWLEDGEABLE LEADERSHIP BY THE UNIONS, WHICH ALLOWED THESE STEPS BACKWARD IS SHAMEFUL ! "BUTCH CASSIDY", THE "SLIDE-DANCE KID" AND THEIR "HOLE IN THE HEAD GANG" CAN BE REMEMBERED FOR ALLOWING THE FDNY TO TAKE THIS "2nd DUE" POSITION !
RELUCTANLY STATED, SCOPPETTA MAY BE TIED WITH VON ASSEN AS THE MOST PITIFUL FIRE COMMISSIONER TO EVER SERVE THE FDNY !
AND NOW THE FIRE UNIONS WILL TRY TO RALLY NYC FIRFIGHTERS AGAINST RUDY WITH THEIR CONTRIVED IAFF AND DNC BULLS_IT ! THEY WILL ALSO TRY, AND PROBABLY SUCCEED IN CONVINCING SOME OF THE 380,000 IAFF MEMBERS, LED BY SCHAITBERGER, GORMAN AND "DOUBLE ZEROS" GALLAGHER (MOE-LARRY and CURLY) , TO JOIN THEIR DISGRACEFUL ACTION.
IF THE UNIONS SUPPORT A DEMOCRAT, AND THAT AS_HOLE, WHOEVER SHE IS, IS PERMITTED TO NOMINATE THE NEXT 3 JURISTS TO SIT ON THE HIGHEST COURT OF THIS LAND, THEN THE UNIONS DESERVE TO GET ALL THE CREDIT FOR DESTROYING THIS ONCE MIGHTY NATION.
FIREMAN SHOULD FOCUS ON THE "BIG PICTURE" BUT THE MILLIONS SPENT BY THE IAFF, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE QUISLING UFA AND UFOA UNIONS, MAY CONTAIN ENOUGH SLANTED "SOUNDBITES" FOR THEM TO ELIMINATE RUDY. jg
Monday, July 2, 2007
GIULIANI RETURNS 'FIRE'
GIULIANI RETURNS 'FIRE'
By MAGGIE HABERMAN - N.Y. POST -July 2, 2007
Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign yesterday slammed the city's fire-union head for vowing to derail his candidacy, saying the former mayor respects firefighters and showed it when he was in City Hall.
"Rudy Giuliani has tremendous respect for firefighters and has proven that time and time again, including reopening firehouses that had been closed by previous mayors and allocating millions of dollars for life-saving equipment," said Giuliani senior adviser Anthony Carbonetti.
He pointed to a host of moves Giuliani made to bolster the department, including increasing equipment such as bunker gear, thermal-seeking cameras and personal alarms to make it easier to find downed firefighters - as well as budget increases to the FDNY at times when other city agencies saw their funding cut.
"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."
Howard Safir, who served as both fire commissioner and police commissioner under Giuliani, told The Post that Cassidy's claims that the former mayor didn't perform well on 9/11 are "just silly. It's just not the case."
He added, "Steve Cassidy doesn't represent most of the firefighters in this country, and with all due respect, he's certainly no expert on terrorism."
Giuliani's days as mayor of New York, particularly his handling of the stunned city immediately after the 2001 terrorist attacks, are the cornerstone of his presidential bid.
maggie.haberman@nypost.com
By MAGGIE HABERMAN - N.Y. POST -July 2, 2007
Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign yesterday slammed the city's fire-union head for vowing to derail his candidacy, saying the former mayor respects firefighters and showed it when he was in City Hall.
"Rudy Giuliani has tremendous respect for firefighters and has proven that time and time again, including reopening firehouses that had been closed by previous mayors and allocating millions of dollars for life-saving equipment," said Giuliani senior adviser Anthony Carbonetti.
He pointed to a host of moves Giuliani made to bolster the department, including increasing equipment such as bunker gear, thermal-seeking cameras and personal alarms to make it easier to find downed firefighters - as well as budget increases to the FDNY at times when other city agencies saw their funding cut.
"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."
Howard Safir, who served as both fire commissioner and police commissioner under Giuliani, told The Post that Cassidy's claims that the former mayor didn't perform well on 9/11 are "just silly. It's just not the case."
He added, "Steve Cassidy doesn't represent most of the firefighters in this country, and with all due respect, he's certainly no expert on terrorism."
Giuliani's days as mayor of New York, particularly his handling of the stunned city immediately after the 2001 terrorist attacks, are the cornerstone of his presidential bid.
maggie.haberman@nypost.com
"THOUSAND POINTS OF RIGHT"
IT'S TIME FOR STEVE "HOPALONG" CASSIDY TO STOP "RE-WRITING HISTORY" BECAUSE OF HIS NAIVTEY ABOUT LABOR NEGOTIATIONS AND HIS INNABILITY TO PRODUCE "PRODUCTIVITY NUMBERS" NECESSARY FOR THE CITY NEGOTIATORS TO CONSIDER PROPER RAISES.
THE MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY IS THE MAYOR TO 9 MILLION PEOPLE AND HE HAD AN OBLIGATION TO THEM. HE HAD TO HOLD DOWN SPENDING, CUT TAXES, REDUCE CRIME, DRASTICALLY CUT THE WELFARE ROLLS, ACCEPT WHAT WAS LEFT HIM BY DINKINS, ET AL AND ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, PULL THE CITY AND NATION TOGETHER AND RESTORE CONFIDENCE WITH HIS SKILLED LEADERSHIP, AFTER THE WORST ATTACK AND LOSS OF LIFE ON AMERICAN SOIL.
BECAUSE THE UNIONS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO SHOW PRODUCTIVITY, EVEN THOUGH "CONJURE-UP CASSIDY" TRIED TO DISTORT THE FIGURES AND PUBLICLY STATE THAT THE FDNY WAS BUSIER NOW THAN IN THE "WAR YEARS", EVERYONE KNEW IT WAS A CUNARD !
THOSE WHO ARE IN LOCK-STEP WITH THE GALLAGHER, CASSIDY, GORMAN PRETENSE THAT NEGOTIATED RAISES, FOR THE PAST 10-12 YEARS HAVEN'T BEEN, PARTIALLY, ON THE BACK OF "FORMER ACTIVE FIREFIGHTERS" ARE IN COMPLETE DENIAL OF THE FACTS ! PERIOD !
FOR A MAYOR TO TRY TO KEEP CONTRACT RAISES UNDER CONTROL PALES IN COMPARISON TO UNION LEADERS USING THEIR "FORMER ACTIVE FIREFIGHTERS" AS STEPPING STONES. IT'S TRULY SHAMEFUL !
THE UNIONS, AND NOT THE CITY, HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN DIVIDING ONE RETIREE AGAINST ANOTHER. THE WAY THEY NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS IS EQUIVELENT TO SOME 1ST YEAR COLLEGE STUDENT WITH A LABOR 101 BOOK IN HAND !
IN ORDER TO GET TO THE TRUTH ABOUT ANY NEGOTIATIONS AND CBA'S, THE FORMER ACTIVE FIREFIGHTER HAS TO FIGHT FOR EVERY BIT OF INFO, ESPECIALLY ON HOW THEY WERE SCREWED !
TRUST ? SHOULD FORMER ACTIVE FIREFIGHTERS TRUST THEIR FORMER UNIONS ? NO !
YET, THE LEADERSHIP OF THOSE UNIONS, UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE IAFF AND DNC, WANTS TO TRY AND DISGRACE A MAN WHO DID THE BEST HE COULD, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES ON 9/11, WHILE THEY (THE UNIONS) CLAIM TO REPRESENT 20,000 ACTIVE AND FORMER ACTIVE N.Y.C. FIREFIGHTERS. WELL, THEY DO NOT REPRESENT ME !
MANY THINGS COME TO MIND ABOUT THE GREAT JOB RUDY ACCOMPLISED FOR THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK DURING HIS 8 YEARS. THE ECONOMY, FOR ONE, HAS REBOUNDED BECAUSE OF HIM AND HIM ONLY ! THERE'S ENOUGH MONEY AVAILABLE NOW FOR A WELL DESERVED RAISE, YET BLOOMY HAS NEVER TREATED THE FIREFIGHTER OR POLICE OFFICER WITH THE SINCERE RESPECT THAT RUDY DID. "PATTERN BARGAINING" BLOOMY IS RIDING A WAVE PRODUCED BY RUDY AND THE LIBERAL MEDIA GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR THE CITY'S FINANCIAL COME-BACK !
WHAT STRIKES ME DEEPEST IS THE FACT THAT MAYOR GIULIANI WAS AT EVERY HOSPITAL AND FUNERAL FOR FIREFIGHTERS....BEFORE AND AFTER 9/11 ! IT DIDN'T TAKE 9/11 FOR RUDY TO SHOW HIS REAL CONCERN AND LOVE FOR THE FIREFIGHTER... IT WAS ALWAYS THERE !
THE UFA SUPPORTED RUDY IN 1989, 1993 AND 1997 BECAUSE, AS THE UFA STATED... HE WAS THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB !
CASSIDY IS A FIREMAN FROM E-236 WHO KNEW NOTHING AND STILL KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS...EXCEPT HOW TO ROB FROM PETER TO PAY PAUL ! PERIOD !
IN TODAY'S WORLD, IT WOULD BE WELL TO REMEMBER DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY, AND IF YOU WANT TO KNOW JUST ONE REASON WHY RUDY DESERVES YOUR SUPPORT IT IS BECAUSE HE STATED EMPHATICALLY THAT HE WOULD NOMINATE JURISTS FOR THE U.S. SUPREME COURT IN THE CHARACTER OF JUSTICE ROBERTS AND ALITO ! NUFF SAID ! jg
TERRORISM: GIULIANI'S RUNNING MATE
Terrorism: Giuliani's Running Mate
The GOP candidate's core campaign message is the constant threat of future attack and the need to stay vigilant.
By Maria L. La Ganga - Times Staff Writer - June 28, 2007
DES MOINES — The world according to Rudolph W. Giuliani is a very, very scary place
Just listen to the former mayor of New York City in a hotel ballroom in the scorching Midwest, two minutes and 14 seconds into a speech on "Restoring Fiscal Discipline and Cutting Wasteful Washington Spending.""I will continue to keep America on offense in the terrorist war against us, because I think that's the overriding issue of our day," he declared. Then he leaped into a detailed discussion that wound its way through earmarks and out-of-control federal budgets to the threat of Democratic tax increases and — as always — back to terrorism.
While talking taxes, Giuliani spoke of listening to a Democratic presidential debate. "They never mentioned the word 'Islamic terrorist' during the debate…. Maybe they think they're going to be insulting somebody if they say it. I'm trying to figure out who would be insulted — other than Islamic terrorists.
But a silent appearance at Friday's memorial service for nine firefighters killed in the line of duty in Charleston, S.C., distilled Giuliani's message better than anything he could actually say. Bagpipes keened "Amazing Grace." The eulogies were all about danger and heroism; about brave souls who race toward the inferno, while everyone else heads for safety; about "the largest loss in the firefighting community since 9/11.
"And there he was, head bowed, the man whose candidacy is built on the rubble of the World Trade Center, the constant threat of future attack and the need to stay vigilant. On Friday morning, he didn't have to say a word to get that point across.
Giuliani's run for the White House is not based on the simple fact of Sept. 11, 2001, but who he was and what he did in the terrifying hours and days that followed. While President Bush disappeared to the safety of an airplane, the lame duck mayor of New York City headed to ground zero. He scoped out the damage firsthand, saw terrified people jump to their deaths from the burning skyscrapers, gave news conferences and planned ahead.
Sure, he has been blasted as an autocrat. His multiple marriages and estranged children make family-values types cringe, and his stands on abortion and gun control offend hard-line social conservatives. It took Sept. 11 to boost his popularity at home, at least temporarily.
"Nothing is like being president of the United States…. But I had a job in running what really is the third-largest government in the country, and the second- or third-most complex. "Not only that, he said, but he had the duty during very tough times: "When it was going through a crime crisis and fiscal crisis, and I had to change it, and, of course, on Sept. 11, when we were part of the worst attack in the history of the country.
"But [Giuliani] will be strong enough to take it."And the reason was clear in Hialeah, where the prosecutor-turned-politician was introduced by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa as the man who healed the wounds of 9/11 and stood up to Castro, telling him, "Usted es una persona non grata en Nueva York!
"This being the heart of Cuban South Florida and a deeply Republican bastion to boot, the 250 or so supporters who had lined up to nibble pan dulce and listen to the candidate cheered wildly at the image of the strong-jawed mayor telling the dictator that he's not welcome in the Big Apple.
It was a story they already knew by heart, and the candidate repeated it on this day for good measure: In 1995, during the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, Giuliani forbade Castro to attend a banquet of world leaders."Castro is a murderer," Giuliani boomed through La Carreta's packed banquet hall. "I know it. I will never forget. So is his brother. I know it. I will never forget it."Others might "romanticize" Castro and his ilk, but Cuban Americans know better than anyone else, he said, how important it is "to be strong in the face of dictators and terrorists…. America can't show weaknesses to these Islamic terrorists. Because, if we do, we're going to be in a lot greater danger.
National campaign manager Michael DuHaime acknowledges that Giuliani hasn't "done the 14 stops in three days in Iowa yet" but insists that the candidate keeps to "an incredibly fast pace" and is serious about Iowa and all of the early voting states.
"But the reality is, no one's ever run this race before," DuHaime said in an interview. "We haven't had a Republican presidential primary since Sept. 11. The old way of doing things has to be rethought.
"If 9/11 really did change politics as usual, then there was no better place for Giuliani to be Friday than the North Charleston Coliseum, where the region remembered "our nine heroes," firefighters killed while battling a furniture store blaze.
Giuliani was supposed to fly from South Florida to Jacksonville, Fla., for a town hall meeting at a junior college. But then the campaign got a call from Lewis Hayes, chairman of South Carolina Firefighters for Rudy, inviting the candidate to the memorial service. So Jacksonville was out, and the candidate flew north to pay his respects. His staff stressed that the trip was just that, not an official campaign event.
Giuliani wasn't the only man who stepped off the trail Friday. Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrats Joseph R. Biden Jr., Christopher J. Dodd and John Edwards were all present. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama had called Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. to express their sympathy.
However, Giuliani is the only one who has written a book on leadership with a chapter called "Weddings Discretionary, Funerals Mandatory."
The only one whose city lost 343 firefighters and 60 police officers on one horrible day in 2001. He's the only one who inspires both wrath and respect in firefighters for his actions in response to Sept. 11.
And he is the only one who can sit in a cavernous auditorium amid thousands of uniformed first responders and give a campaign speech without saying a word.
maria.laganga@latimes.com
The GOP candidate's core campaign message is the constant threat of future attack and the need to stay vigilant.
By Maria L. La Ganga - Times Staff Writer - June 28, 2007
DES MOINES — The world according to Rudolph W. Giuliani is a very, very scary place
Just listen to the former mayor of New York City in a hotel ballroom in the scorching Midwest, two minutes and 14 seconds into a speech on "Restoring Fiscal Discipline and Cutting Wasteful Washington Spending.""I will continue to keep America on offense in the terrorist war against us, because I think that's the overriding issue of our day," he declared. Then he leaped into a detailed discussion that wound its way through earmarks and out-of-control federal budgets to the threat of Democratic tax increases and — as always — back to terrorism.
While talking taxes, Giuliani spoke of listening to a Democratic presidential debate. "They never mentioned the word 'Islamic terrorist' during the debate…. Maybe they think they're going to be insulting somebody if they say it. I'm trying to figure out who would be insulted — other than Islamic terrorists.
But a silent appearance at Friday's memorial service for nine firefighters killed in the line of duty in Charleston, S.C., distilled Giuliani's message better than anything he could actually say. Bagpipes keened "Amazing Grace." The eulogies were all about danger and heroism; about brave souls who race toward the inferno, while everyone else heads for safety; about "the largest loss in the firefighting community since 9/11.
"And there he was, head bowed, the man whose candidacy is built on the rubble of the World Trade Center, the constant threat of future attack and the need to stay vigilant. On Friday morning, he didn't have to say a word to get that point across.
Giuliani's run for the White House is not based on the simple fact of Sept. 11, 2001, but who he was and what he did in the terrifying hours and days that followed. While President Bush disappeared to the safety of an airplane, the lame duck mayor of New York City headed to ground zero. He scoped out the damage firsthand, saw terrified people jump to their deaths from the burning skyscrapers, gave news conferences and planned ahead.
Sure, he has been blasted as an autocrat. His multiple marriages and estranged children make family-values types cringe, and his stands on abortion and gun control offend hard-line social conservatives. It took Sept. 11 to boost his popularity at home, at least temporarily.
"Nothing is like being president of the United States…. But I had a job in running what really is the third-largest government in the country, and the second- or third-most complex. "Not only that, he said, but he had the duty during very tough times: "When it was going through a crime crisis and fiscal crisis, and I had to change it, and, of course, on Sept. 11, when we were part of the worst attack in the history of the country.
"But [Giuliani] will be strong enough to take it."And the reason was clear in Hialeah, where the prosecutor-turned-politician was introduced by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa as the man who healed the wounds of 9/11 and stood up to Castro, telling him, "Usted es una persona non grata en Nueva York!
"This being the heart of Cuban South Florida and a deeply Republican bastion to boot, the 250 or so supporters who had lined up to nibble pan dulce and listen to the candidate cheered wildly at the image of the strong-jawed mayor telling the dictator that he's not welcome in the Big Apple.
It was a story they already knew by heart, and the candidate repeated it on this day for good measure: In 1995, during the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, Giuliani forbade Castro to attend a banquet of world leaders."Castro is a murderer," Giuliani boomed through La Carreta's packed banquet hall. "I know it. I will never forget. So is his brother. I know it. I will never forget it."Others might "romanticize" Castro and his ilk, but Cuban Americans know better than anyone else, he said, how important it is "to be strong in the face of dictators and terrorists…. America can't show weaknesses to these Islamic terrorists. Because, if we do, we're going to be in a lot greater danger.
National campaign manager Michael DuHaime acknowledges that Giuliani hasn't "done the 14 stops in three days in Iowa yet" but insists that the candidate keeps to "an incredibly fast pace" and is serious about Iowa and all of the early voting states.
"But the reality is, no one's ever run this race before," DuHaime said in an interview. "We haven't had a Republican presidential primary since Sept. 11. The old way of doing things has to be rethought.
"If 9/11 really did change politics as usual, then there was no better place for Giuliani to be Friday than the North Charleston Coliseum, where the region remembered "our nine heroes," firefighters killed while battling a furniture store blaze.
Giuliani was supposed to fly from South Florida to Jacksonville, Fla., for a town hall meeting at a junior college. But then the campaign got a call from Lewis Hayes, chairman of South Carolina Firefighters for Rudy, inviting the candidate to the memorial service. So Jacksonville was out, and the candidate flew north to pay his respects. His staff stressed that the trip was just that, not an official campaign event.
Giuliani wasn't the only man who stepped off the trail Friday. Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrats Joseph R. Biden Jr., Christopher J. Dodd and John Edwards were all present. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama had called Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. to express their sympathy.
However, Giuliani is the only one who has written a book on leadership with a chapter called "Weddings Discretionary, Funerals Mandatory."
The only one whose city lost 343 firefighters and 60 police officers on one horrible day in 2001. He's the only one who inspires both wrath and respect in firefighters for his actions in response to Sept. 11.
And he is the only one who can sit in a cavernous auditorium amid thousands of uniformed first responders and give a campaign speech without saying a word.
maria.laganga@latimes.com
30 YEARS AFTER THE BLACKOUT RIOTS
The Second Battle of Bushwick
Thirty years after the blackout riots, it's getting hot all over again
by Tom Robbins - June 26th, 2007 5:14 PM
From the top of the spanking new steel-and-glass 14-story condo tower now open for inspection on Grove Street just off of Myrtle Avenue, you can see most of Bushwick—the landmarks of the neighborhood that was, and the one that's fast being remade, the sites of the bad old memories, even of some of the good.
This is the Brooklyn neighborhood's first major luxury residential construction project, but the marketers of the 59 condominium units for sale here steer clear of the name Bushwick as much as possible. Promotional materials aimed at luring hipsters with the means to buy a one-bedroom for $270,000, or a three-bedroom penthouse for $682,000 refer to "ever-expanding Williamsburg" or "East Williamsburg" as the building's locale. This despite the fact that the tower at 358 Grove Street is in deepest Bushwick; look it up on any map.
"This is the continuation of Williamsburg," insists the condo's frantic real estate agent, dashing about the sixth-floor sales office. "Look," he says, burbling the happy nonsense of a salesman, "people in the neighborhood are ready to take their lives to the next level."
For one thing, mention of Bushwick still summons up unfortunate images lodged in the collective municipal subconscious. Most enduring are the apocalyptic blazes that erupted 30 years ago this summer when, on the sweltering night of July 13, 1977, New York City's lights and power went out.
Looting and burning— the worst since the draft riots of the Civil War—broke out in half a dozen city neighborhoods. Nowhere was it worse than in Bushwick, which had been lurching steadily downhill for years. Pummeled by the loss of its blue-collar, job-generating breweries and knitting mills in the late '60s and early '70s, the neighborhood underwent a wrenching racial transition as low-income blacks and Hispanics replaced fleeing Italian and German families. By 10 p.m., minutes after the lights went out and the subways froze in place, crowds began pouring onto Broadway, racing under the elevated train tracks to smash gates and windows of appliance, clothing, and sporting-goods stores, hauling away whatever could be carried: televisions, air conditioners, mattresses, shotguns. Looting continued into the next day before cops got things under control. There were 890 arrests in Brooklyn, most of them in Bushwick.
A few days later, things got worse: A massive arson blaze erupted on July 18 in an abandoned knitting mill at the corner of Knickerbocker and Myrtle avenues. It quickly escalated into an all-hands fire—the biggest blaze in modern city history until 9/11. Even with 300 firefighters responding, the firestorm wiped out more than 30 buildings, leaving 250 families homeless and smoldering ruins that bespoke only urban hopelessness.
Later that year, Howard Cosell brought the South Bronx international notoriety when he announced in the midst of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning." But most New Yorkers understood that for a true picture of Dresden-like devastation, Bushwick—the old Dutch settlement on Long Island's western shores—had no peer.
Thirty years after the blackout riots, it's getting hot all over again
by Tom Robbins - June 26th, 2007 5:14 PM
From the top of the spanking new steel-and-glass 14-story condo tower now open for inspection on Grove Street just off of Myrtle Avenue, you can see most of Bushwick—the landmarks of the neighborhood that was, and the one that's fast being remade, the sites of the bad old memories, even of some of the good.
This is the Brooklyn neighborhood's first major luxury residential construction project, but the marketers of the 59 condominium units for sale here steer clear of the name Bushwick as much as possible. Promotional materials aimed at luring hipsters with the means to buy a one-bedroom for $270,000, or a three-bedroom penthouse for $682,000 refer to "ever-expanding Williamsburg" or "East Williamsburg" as the building's locale. This despite the fact that the tower at 358 Grove Street is in deepest Bushwick; look it up on any map.
"This is the continuation of Williamsburg," insists the condo's frantic real estate agent, dashing about the sixth-floor sales office. "Look," he says, burbling the happy nonsense of a salesman, "people in the neighborhood are ready to take their lives to the next level."
For one thing, mention of Bushwick still summons up unfortunate images lodged in the collective municipal subconscious. Most enduring are the apocalyptic blazes that erupted 30 years ago this summer when, on the sweltering night of July 13, 1977, New York City's lights and power went out.
Looting and burning— the worst since the draft riots of the Civil War—broke out in half a dozen city neighborhoods. Nowhere was it worse than in Bushwick, which had been lurching steadily downhill for years. Pummeled by the loss of its blue-collar, job-generating breweries and knitting mills in the late '60s and early '70s, the neighborhood underwent a wrenching racial transition as low-income blacks and Hispanics replaced fleeing Italian and German families. By 10 p.m., minutes after the lights went out and the subways froze in place, crowds began pouring onto Broadway, racing under the elevated train tracks to smash gates and windows of appliance, clothing, and sporting-goods stores, hauling away whatever could be carried: televisions, air conditioners, mattresses, shotguns. Looting continued into the next day before cops got things under control. There were 890 arrests in Brooklyn, most of them in Bushwick.
A few days later, things got worse: A massive arson blaze erupted on July 18 in an abandoned knitting mill at the corner of Knickerbocker and Myrtle avenues. It quickly escalated into an all-hands fire—the biggest blaze in modern city history until 9/11. Even with 300 firefighters responding, the firestorm wiped out more than 30 buildings, leaving 250 families homeless and smoldering ruins that bespoke only urban hopelessness.
Later that year, Howard Cosell brought the South Bronx international notoriety when he announced in the midst of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning." But most New Yorkers understood that for a true picture of Dresden-like devastation, Bushwick—the old Dutch settlement on Long Island's western shores—had no peer.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
I'M NOT A RACIST...REALLY
I Am Not A Racist...Really
Nancy MorganRightBias - June 11, 2007
The left has been making great inroads in their quest to remake society to their own specifications. From their perches in the media, universities and the halls of Congress, secular progressives (meaning Godless liberals) are winning the culture war. Their tactics are simple. Take control of a certain issue and immediately go on the offense. First, change the rules of debate to stigmatize dissenters. Then change the meaning of words to mean whatever they want them to mean (and outlaw certain others). Finally, keep opponents so busy trying to prove a negative they simply neglect to address the core issue. Presto. Case closed.
Nowhere are these tactics more evident than when discussing race in America. Despite great strides made by middle class blacks in recent years, despite the almost complete lack of overt racism, the left is bound and determined to keep alive the idea of a racist America. Their weapon is white guilt and their modus operandi is forcing any dissenters to prove a negative i.e.: "I am not a racist." Think Trent Lott.
In any case, many Americans have fallen for this tactic hook, line and sinker. We're so busy trying to prove we're not racist that the issue of race is now defined and controlled by the SP's.
Granted, America is a 'guilt' society. If you believe the 5% of the population that comprises the self anointed 'elites', you get the idea that America is now and has always been a racist nation. Maybe it's not overt...but it's still THERE. It might be invisible...but Americans are racist. Period.
A new twist on an old canard is called 'institutional' racism. (The kind you can't see but you know it's there..) And blacks are not going to stand for it. No way! As a matter of fact, things are so racist in America, Barack Obama recently warned that blacks are in danger of a 'quiet riot.' I guess 'quiet riot' is a riot that hasn't happened yet, but it's real, just the same. And it's "threatening to erupt just as riots in LA did 15 years ago." Hmmmm...
Promoting and exploiting racism is a thriving cottage industry. It allows the race hustlers to cash in on increasingly imaginary wrongs and it allows leftists a way to claim the moral high ground with no positive action on their part.
Merely being against racism is enough to ensure your membership in the club of the self righteous. You know....the ones who hold all those cocktail parties.
I wouldn't be surprised if a market in 'race credits' is started. When the thought police interpret something you say as being 'racist' why then, for $25.00 (price would depend on severity of the thought) you can be 'redeemed.' Heck, I'd even offer a deluxe package for repeat offenders.
The left has been so successful in defining the race issue that even conservatives are forced to play along with infantile word games...like using 'the N word' instead of saying nigger. Nigger is a no no, bringing to mind as it does, the actuality of past slavery. Which is not to say that some blacks don't still fit the definition, (can I say that?) as do some whites, if you want to get technical.
People who use nigger as a descriptive word say more about themselves than about the black race. Low class, mindless, bigoted, whatever. The point being, we will always have people like this. The larger point being, what business is it of anyone other than the parties involved if some redneck wants to show how ignorant he is? The reality is, no matter how hard the left works to eradicate 'racism' it will always be with us.
Some blacks will always hate some Mexicans. Some Mexicans will always hate some Asians. Some Shiites will always hate some Sunnis...get my drift? We're talking human nature here. And no matter how hard they try, the left can't change human nature any more than they can legislate morality.
If I see four black teenagers walking down the street at night, you can bet I'm going to cross to the other side. It's called 'common sense.' Reality can be pretty harsh but you don't live to a ripe old age by ignoring it. Most crime is committed by young blacks. There, I've said it. We all know it's true...so what I'd like to know is, when did it become impermissible to acknowledge reality?
The reality is, thanks to race pimps like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two whole generations of blacks have been sacrificed. They been brought up to 'hate whitey' and believe that America owes them a living. They have been taught that the deck is stacked against them by whitey and they, by golly, are oppressed. This mindset is what keeps young blacks down, not 'racism.'
Shelby Steele points out in his book White Guilt that at the time of the Civil Rights Act, black America made an implicit bargain with white America. Blacks agreed to let the government be in charge of their future progress instead of taking the reins themselves. This was the bargain. In return, they got welfare programs, jobs programs and a veritable word soup of feel-good programs designed to pacify instead of uplift. Hence, the power to shame, to play on white guilt in order to win concessions based on past victimisation became the new black power.
What white America got was a way to distance themselves from the sin of slavery. A way to show friends, neighbours and the world at large how non-racist they were. What did it matter if the programs hurt more than helped? The point was, and always has been, to prove the moral worth of white Americans, not to help the fortunes of black Americans.
A case can be made that the rate of black progress was going along just fine until the government stepped in. Enter racial hucksters and do-gooders, a lethal combination. The decline of the black family, the increased illegitimacy, poverty, one-parent homes, welfare moms, and a whole variety of social ills can be traced back to that moment, to that bargain. In addition, blacks got a pass on any accountability that continues to this day. Another stake in their heart.
In point of fact, in the last 5 years, blacks have made greater strides in terms of increased incomes than have whites. The overt discrimination of the past is pretty much eradicated. Americans are, after all, a fair and decent people. Which is why it irks me to see this racial charade continue. Cashing in on white guilt, actually inventing more pathologies in order to continue to cash in on white guilt, is increasingly destructive to blacks and whites. Besides, being forced to constantly prove that 'I'm not racist' is getting old.
The legitimate 'black rage' of the past is now merely black opportunism. The embrace of mediocrity as a means to social fairness (as defined by the left) has hurt our country. The lowering of the bar to accommodate ever increasing numbers of 'the oppressed' has demeaned us all. I, for one, am not going to play by those rules any more.
I think I'll take my cue from Martin Luther King and judge people by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin. I can hear the howls already... white noise.
I alone know what is in my heart and I refuse to let legions of secular progressives and overeducated 'elites' tell me what I can think, feel and say. No more manufactured and imposed guilt for me. No more playing by the arbitrary rules set up by agenda-driven race hustlers. No more silly semantic word games. And no, I don't think I'll feel the need to purchase redemption through the coming 'race credits.'
I probably won't get invited to any cocktail parties and I'll probably have to set up a new e-mail account to handle all the outrage. Small price to pay for the privilege of being free to acknowledge reality.
Nancy MorganRightBias - June 11, 2007
The left has been making great inroads in their quest to remake society to their own specifications. From their perches in the media, universities and the halls of Congress, secular progressives (meaning Godless liberals) are winning the culture war. Their tactics are simple. Take control of a certain issue and immediately go on the offense. First, change the rules of debate to stigmatize dissenters. Then change the meaning of words to mean whatever they want them to mean (and outlaw certain others). Finally, keep opponents so busy trying to prove a negative they simply neglect to address the core issue. Presto. Case closed.
Nowhere are these tactics more evident than when discussing race in America. Despite great strides made by middle class blacks in recent years, despite the almost complete lack of overt racism, the left is bound and determined to keep alive the idea of a racist America. Their weapon is white guilt and their modus operandi is forcing any dissenters to prove a negative i.e.: "I am not a racist." Think Trent Lott.
In any case, many Americans have fallen for this tactic hook, line and sinker. We're so busy trying to prove we're not racist that the issue of race is now defined and controlled by the SP's.
Granted, America is a 'guilt' society. If you believe the 5% of the population that comprises the self anointed 'elites', you get the idea that America is now and has always been a racist nation. Maybe it's not overt...but it's still THERE. It might be invisible...but Americans are racist. Period.
A new twist on an old canard is called 'institutional' racism. (The kind you can't see but you know it's there..) And blacks are not going to stand for it. No way! As a matter of fact, things are so racist in America, Barack Obama recently warned that blacks are in danger of a 'quiet riot.' I guess 'quiet riot' is a riot that hasn't happened yet, but it's real, just the same. And it's "threatening to erupt just as riots in LA did 15 years ago." Hmmmm...
Promoting and exploiting racism is a thriving cottage industry. It allows the race hustlers to cash in on increasingly imaginary wrongs and it allows leftists a way to claim the moral high ground with no positive action on their part.
Merely being against racism is enough to ensure your membership in the club of the self righteous. You know....the ones who hold all those cocktail parties.
I wouldn't be surprised if a market in 'race credits' is started. When the thought police interpret something you say as being 'racist' why then, for $25.00 (price would depend on severity of the thought) you can be 'redeemed.' Heck, I'd even offer a deluxe package for repeat offenders.
The left has been so successful in defining the race issue that even conservatives are forced to play along with infantile word games...like using 'the N word' instead of saying nigger. Nigger is a no no, bringing to mind as it does, the actuality of past slavery. Which is not to say that some blacks don't still fit the definition, (can I say that?) as do some whites, if you want to get technical.
People who use nigger as a descriptive word say more about themselves than about the black race. Low class, mindless, bigoted, whatever. The point being, we will always have people like this. The larger point being, what business is it of anyone other than the parties involved if some redneck wants to show how ignorant he is? The reality is, no matter how hard the left works to eradicate 'racism' it will always be with us.
Some blacks will always hate some Mexicans. Some Mexicans will always hate some Asians. Some Shiites will always hate some Sunnis...get my drift? We're talking human nature here. And no matter how hard they try, the left can't change human nature any more than they can legislate morality.
If I see four black teenagers walking down the street at night, you can bet I'm going to cross to the other side. It's called 'common sense.' Reality can be pretty harsh but you don't live to a ripe old age by ignoring it. Most crime is committed by young blacks. There, I've said it. We all know it's true...so what I'd like to know is, when did it become impermissible to acknowledge reality?
The reality is, thanks to race pimps like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two whole generations of blacks have been sacrificed. They been brought up to 'hate whitey' and believe that America owes them a living. They have been taught that the deck is stacked against them by whitey and they, by golly, are oppressed. This mindset is what keeps young blacks down, not 'racism.'
Shelby Steele points out in his book White Guilt that at the time of the Civil Rights Act, black America made an implicit bargain with white America. Blacks agreed to let the government be in charge of their future progress instead of taking the reins themselves. This was the bargain. In return, they got welfare programs, jobs programs and a veritable word soup of feel-good programs designed to pacify instead of uplift. Hence, the power to shame, to play on white guilt in order to win concessions based on past victimisation became the new black power.
What white America got was a way to distance themselves from the sin of slavery. A way to show friends, neighbours and the world at large how non-racist they were. What did it matter if the programs hurt more than helped? The point was, and always has been, to prove the moral worth of white Americans, not to help the fortunes of black Americans.
A case can be made that the rate of black progress was going along just fine until the government stepped in. Enter racial hucksters and do-gooders, a lethal combination. The decline of the black family, the increased illegitimacy, poverty, one-parent homes, welfare moms, and a whole variety of social ills can be traced back to that moment, to that bargain. In addition, blacks got a pass on any accountability that continues to this day. Another stake in their heart.
In point of fact, in the last 5 years, blacks have made greater strides in terms of increased incomes than have whites. The overt discrimination of the past is pretty much eradicated. Americans are, after all, a fair and decent people. Which is why it irks me to see this racial charade continue. Cashing in on white guilt, actually inventing more pathologies in order to continue to cash in on white guilt, is increasingly destructive to blacks and whites. Besides, being forced to constantly prove that 'I'm not racist' is getting old.
The legitimate 'black rage' of the past is now merely black opportunism. The embrace of mediocrity as a means to social fairness (as defined by the left) has hurt our country. The lowering of the bar to accommodate ever increasing numbers of 'the oppressed' has demeaned us all. I, for one, am not going to play by those rules any more.
I think I'll take my cue from Martin Luther King and judge people by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin. I can hear the howls already... white noise.
I alone know what is in my heart and I refuse to let legions of secular progressives and overeducated 'elites' tell me what I can think, feel and say. No more manufactured and imposed guilt for me. No more playing by the arbitrary rules set up by agenda-driven race hustlers. No more silly semantic word games. And no, I don't think I'll feel the need to purchase redemption through the coming 'race credits.'
I probably won't get invited to any cocktail parties and I'll probably have to set up a new e-mail account to handle all the outrage. Small price to pay for the privilege of being free to acknowledge reality.
FEAR OF PREDITORS IS NOT NATURAL
Fear of Predators is Not "Natural": study
By Ed Stoddard - Thu Jun 21, 2:41 PM
Fear of predators is not instinctive but is a learned behavior that only develops when prey species share space with animals that eat them, according to a new study released this week.
The study's conclusion: remove the lions, and the zebras will lose their fear of them. But add wolves to a new territory and the resident elk or moose will soon learn they spell trouble.
Conducted by Dr. Joel Berger of the Wildlife Conservation Society, or WCS, the study compared the behavior of four prey species in three different settings: locations where predators still prowled; areas where top predators no longer exist; and places where carnivores had been reintroduced.
Such research is regarded as important to understanding the dynamics of reintroducing predators to ecosystems where they had been exterminated by humans.
"If you take away wolves, you take away fear. That is a critical piece of knowledge as biologists and public agencies increase efforts to re-introduce large carnivores to places where they have been exterminated," WCS said in a statement.
"When the predator-prey relationship comes back into balance, impacts ripple through the system. For example, when wolves returned to the Yellowstone region, they caused a cascade of events including a change in elk distribution, more wariness in moose, and a change in coyote densities," it said.
Wolves were re-established a decade ago in Yellowstone National Park in the western United States.
Berger tested reactions of animals living without their historic predators by playing recordings of wolves and tigers.
"As expected, in the absence of predators, the elk, moose, bison and caribou did not show the kind of vigilance, clustering behavior and flight observed in the same species living with wolves, bears or tigers," the WCS said in a statement.
"For example, elk in the mountains of Siberia -- who subsist alongside tigers, wolves and bears -- responded five times faster to the recordings than did elk in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado) where major predators have been absent for some 90 years," it said.
The study adds to previous work such as that on the evolution of flightlessness in birds on islands without predators. Such birds were often exterminated after the arrival of humans in part because they had no fear of predators.
The study is published in the latest issue of the journal Conservation Biology.
By Ed Stoddard - Thu Jun 21, 2:41 PM
Fear of predators is not instinctive but is a learned behavior that only develops when prey species share space with animals that eat them, according to a new study released this week.
The study's conclusion: remove the lions, and the zebras will lose their fear of them. But add wolves to a new territory and the resident elk or moose will soon learn they spell trouble.
Conducted by Dr. Joel Berger of the Wildlife Conservation Society, or WCS, the study compared the behavior of four prey species in three different settings: locations where predators still prowled; areas where top predators no longer exist; and places where carnivores had been reintroduced.
Such research is regarded as important to understanding the dynamics of reintroducing predators to ecosystems where they had been exterminated by humans.
"If you take away wolves, you take away fear. That is a critical piece of knowledge as biologists and public agencies increase efforts to re-introduce large carnivores to places where they have been exterminated," WCS said in a statement.
"When the predator-prey relationship comes back into balance, impacts ripple through the system. For example, when wolves returned to the Yellowstone region, they caused a cascade of events including a change in elk distribution, more wariness in moose, and a change in coyote densities," it said.
Wolves were re-established a decade ago in Yellowstone National Park in the western United States.
Berger tested reactions of animals living without their historic predators by playing recordings of wolves and tigers.
"As expected, in the absence of predators, the elk, moose, bison and caribou did not show the kind of vigilance, clustering behavior and flight observed in the same species living with wolves, bears or tigers," the WCS said in a statement.
"For example, elk in the mountains of Siberia -- who subsist alongside tigers, wolves and bears -- responded five times faster to the recordings than did elk in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado) where major predators have been absent for some 90 years," it said.
The study adds to previous work such as that on the evolution of flightlessness in birds on islands without predators. Such birds were often exterminated after the arrival of humans in part because they had no fear of predators.
The study is published in the latest issue of the journal Conservation Biology.
LET RUDY SPEAK !
LET RUDY SPEAK
July 1, 2007 - New York Post
Rudy Giuliani says he's ready to head down to Capitol Hill and testify before Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (D-Manhattan) pack of legislative hyenas about what the city did and didn't do at Ground Zero in the days and weeks following 9/11.
Former Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman was raked over the coals last week by Nadler and his fellow Democrats on a House subcommittee looking into public-health issues arising from the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center.
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) tried to goad the former New Jersey governor into indicting Giuliani for failing to follow her advice that Ground Zero workers wear protective gear.
But Giuliani himself hasn't been asked to appear - and likely won't be.
Why not?
It's not as if the former mayor is reluctant to testify - far from it.
"I would tell people the truth if I were called, and I'd tell them what I know," Giuliani said when asked if he would appear.
A Nadler spokesman claims Giuliani hasn't been invited to testify because the hearing's "focus is on the federal government's response."
In other words, it's another Bush-bashing exercise - long on angry denunciation, short on investigation - and testimony by Giuliani might mess up the plan.
Then again, there may be another reason why no one is anxious for Giuliani to appear: Namely, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn't want her fellow presidential candidate to have a platform to talk about 9/11.
Clinton, after all, held her own congressional hearing back in March on the health of 9/11 workers - and Giuliani was notably absent from that one, too.
To hear Nadler & Co. tell it, Downtown New York should have been shut down and sealed tight for months, maybe even years, until there was zero chance of any toxicity in the air. (Unlike, say, any day that traffic backs up into West Street from the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel - which is to say, just about every day.)
As Nicole Gelinas rightly noted on these pages Wednesday, such a decision would have forced thousands of residents and businesses to relocate - devastating Downtown.
As mayor, Giuliani was responsible for demonstrating to the world that the city would rebound from 9/11 - that it would rebuild. (Compare what he accomplished to the pitiful efforts of post-Katrina New Orleans and its mayor.)
Was the city at fault for failing to force rescue workers to wear respirators and other protective gear?
It's a legitimate question for Giuliani. But before it can be asked, he'll need to be invited to testify.
Whatever is Jerry Nadler waiting for, anyway?
July 1, 2007 - New York Post
Rudy Giuliani says he's ready to head down to Capitol Hill and testify before Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (D-Manhattan) pack of legislative hyenas about what the city did and didn't do at Ground Zero in the days and weeks following 9/11.
Former Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman was raked over the coals last week by Nadler and his fellow Democrats on a House subcommittee looking into public-health issues arising from the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center.
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) tried to goad the former New Jersey governor into indicting Giuliani for failing to follow her advice that Ground Zero workers wear protective gear.
But Giuliani himself hasn't been asked to appear - and likely won't be.
Why not?
It's not as if the former mayor is reluctant to testify - far from it.
"I would tell people the truth if I were called, and I'd tell them what I know," Giuliani said when asked if he would appear.
A Nadler spokesman claims Giuliani hasn't been invited to testify because the hearing's "focus is on the federal government's response."
In other words, it's another Bush-bashing exercise - long on angry denunciation, short on investigation - and testimony by Giuliani might mess up the plan.
Then again, there may be another reason why no one is anxious for Giuliani to appear: Namely, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn't want her fellow presidential candidate to have a platform to talk about 9/11.
Clinton, after all, held her own congressional hearing back in March on the health of 9/11 workers - and Giuliani was notably absent from that one, too.
To hear Nadler & Co. tell it, Downtown New York should have been shut down and sealed tight for months, maybe even years, until there was zero chance of any toxicity in the air. (Unlike, say, any day that traffic backs up into West Street from the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel - which is to say, just about every day.)
As Nicole Gelinas rightly noted on these pages Wednesday, such a decision would have forced thousands of residents and businesses to relocate - devastating Downtown.
As mayor, Giuliani was responsible for demonstrating to the world that the city would rebound from 9/11 - that it would rebuild. (Compare what he accomplished to the pitiful efforts of post-Katrina New Orleans and its mayor.)
Was the city at fault for failing to force rescue workers to wear respirators and other protective gear?
It's a legitimate question for Giuliani. But before it can be asked, he'll need to be invited to testify.
Whatever is Jerry Nadler waiting for, anyway?
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