On Murdoch And Google, Or, Hey, Rupert, Where's My Check?

by: fake consultant

Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 01:44:09 AM EST

In a November 6th interview, Sky News Australia's David Speers spent about 35 minutes with the CEO of NewsCorp, Rupert Murdoch; the conversation covering topics as diverse as software piracy, world economics, the role of Fox News (and Fox NewsPinion©) in American politics, a strange defense of Glenn Beck, and, not very long afterwards, an even stranger defense of immigration.

We have heard a lot about the...how can I put this politely...challenges Murdoch seems to face associating factual reality with his reality, and we could have lots of fun going through his factual misstatements-but instead, I want to take on one specific issue today:

Rupert Murdoch says he hates it when people steal his content from the Internet to draw readers to their sites...which is funny, if you think about it, because he has no problem at all stealing my content (and lots of yours, as well) for his sites.

Bronx will probably re-elect Sen. Espada

by: Steaming Pile

Fri Jul 31, 2009 at 12:13:46 PM EDT

"I would give him two awards," [79th District leader Eric Stevenson] said. "He's President of the Senate now and that's better. We get more bacon for our district."

Ay, carumba!

On Assessing Risk, Or, Swine Flu: Is It Time To Panic?

by: fake consultant

Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 07:28:35 AM EDT

The conversation about the politics of the thing is already well underway, engulfing those who sought to remove funding for infectious disease control out of the "stimulus" bill.

We are lacking, however, an examination of the science of the thing, and that's the point of today's conversation.

How dangerous is this infection?
Why is it killing people in Mexico but not here?
Exactly what is a pandemic?
Do those facemasks really serve any purpose?
And what about closing the border?

They're all good questions; and they are all questions we'll try to answer today.

Swine Flu - Pigs on the Wing

by: AnswerLady

Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 20:03:53 PM EDT

Foamy bonuses fed our budgets - what now?

by: simonstl

Fri Dec 19, 2008 at 17:00:28 PM EST

The Times takes a look at the immense bonuses paid out by the financial industry over the last few years. Reading it, I kept hearing echoes of past news stories about how Wall Street bonuses were a key component of New York State's fiscal health.

Now I'm looking at what were bonuses based on short-term profits with long-term losses, and wondering if, you know, maybe we've had a similar story in New York State's budget games for a long long while.

I said yesterday that I didn't think Paterson's budget really got to the heart of matters, because I don't think he can today. I'm thinking today that we're in for a wild ride, one that may force even our legislature to change the way New York State operates. Not just cutbacks, but restructuring.

It's at least vaguely possible that some long-term good will come out of that, though my short-term forecast is mostly for harm.

Sweeney And Sweeney And Powers And Abramoff - Oh My!

by: phillip anderson

Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 09:22:23 AM EDT

There's plenty of new info this morning. Let's start with the New York Times:

Lobbying Investigation Prompts Raid of Albany Firm

Federal law enforcement agents have raided the offices of an influential lobbying firm in Albany as part of the latest investigation connected to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in Washington.

The raid was part of an investigation of former Congressman John Sweeney, an Albany-area Republican with ties to Mr. Abramoff. During the raid on Friday, about 10 F.B.I. agents spent several hours collecting computers and files from the office of Powers & Company, the lobbying firm.

The company is run by the former chairman of the state Republican Party, William D. Powers. Mr. Sweeney's ex-wife, Gayle, worked for Powers & Company until early last year, and Mr. Powers was a longtime political patron of the congressman.

The Times Union has some juicy details:

A federal criminal investigation is focusing on the relationship of lobbyist William D. Powers and former U.S. Rep. John E. Sweeney in connection with a series of federal grants that were steered to Powers' clients, according to several people familiar with the probe.

The probe is being overseen by the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C.

Several people familiar with the case said it is centered on a period when Powers' clients received the earmarks while Sweeney's then-wife, Gayle, was working for Powers' Albany-based lobbying firm.

...

Most of the lobbying work by Powers' firm involves state government, and several big-ticket clients, such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, which paid his firm $180,000 a year in 2005 and 2006, Sweeney's final two years in Congress.

Much more on the flip...

Bruno Drops The Pork Bomb

by: phillip anderson

Wed May 14, 2008 at 09:19:44 AM EDT

Senate serves up pork

The Senate on Tuesday unveiled $218 million in capital projects, providing funds for private companies, local authorities and previously undisclosed big-ticket expenses such as a music center at Skidmore College and a semiconductor plant in Saratoga County.

The items, some of which were labeled by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer as "a horrendous thing to look at ... dripping with fat," include $4 million for Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's alma mater, Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, and $6 million for a semiconductor training center at Hudson Valley Community College, also in Bruno's district.

The Skidmore project is supposed to be the subject of a news conference Friday involving the Arthur Zankel Music Center, a campus concert facility now under construction, with Bruno speaking, a Skidmore spokesman said. No one would provide details Tuesday.

...

The projects amount to about $218 million of the $350 million the Senate can spend at its discretion. None of the projects are for Democrats' programs, said Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, who complained the list was dropped on the Senate minority by surprise and passed in three seconds without many members knowing what happened.

"What's the process? What's the review? Why?" she asked.

A spokesman for the Senate GOP did not return a call.

The remaining funds likely will be the subject of another resolution later this session, a Senate aide said. In a news release, Bruno called the grants "smart investments" but did not spell out what the money is being used for.

...

The Senate set up money for several private companies. GE would get $3 million for a digital medical X-ray equipment manufacturing plant, a project at the Rensselaer Technology Park touted by Bruno. The Hyatt Regency Hotel in Buffalo would get a total of $1.7 million.

"No one would provide details" and ""did not spell out what the money is being used for." Nice.

The Times has more:

While state analysts are forecasting lean times, lawmakers are bankrolling what some see as a bumper crop of pork.

Late Tuesday, the Senate approved $350 million worth of capital projects. At the direction of Senate Republicans, the state will be spending $5 million to pay for buses at private or parochial schools, $1 million to finance an archival depository at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan and $500,000 for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

...

"The problem with these types of allocations is it's hard to know if they have any benefit," said Elizabeth Lynam, deputy research director for the Citizens Budget Commission. "How does anyone know whether these organizations have merit? Some may, some may not. There just isn't a lot of scrutiny of this part of the budget."

"The budget is already in need of cutting, and they continue to spend on the capital side without much restraint," she added. "They get the benefit of cutting ribbons now and paying for it later."

Edmund J. McMahon, director of the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center for New York State Policy, which advocates lower spending, said, "They're spending scarce capital funding on political wants when there are billions of real infrastructure needs and commitments that won't be covered by the current highway, bridge and mass transit plans."

Once again, as they do every other year, GOP Senators are embarking on their ritual stroll around their districts spending your money and cutting ribbons. It's quite the spectacle...

New York State Senate Member Items At A Glance

by: robert.harding

Mon May 05, 2008 at 18:15:17 PM EDT

As we have seen with the Assembly, the allocation of member items is a rich business. Members of the Assembly, especially those with the Democratic majority, enjoy a great advantage in pork barrel spending. The same can be said of the majority in the New York State Senate.

This spreadsheet gives you the breakdown of member items among all state senators for 2007. The total amount for these member items is $85,900,387.00. That works out to $1,385,490.11 per senator.

The Republicans enjoyed a clear advantage, just as their Democratic counterparts in the Assembly do as members of the majority. The average total in member items for Republican senators is $2,324,745.06 while the average among Democratic senators is $296,251.61.

The Pork King of the Senate is none other than Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Bruno will have $4,211,000.00 in member items distributed to his district (and others, I'm sure) this fiscal year.

The Democrats top ranked Pork King is Sen. Carl Kruger, who will have $850,000 in member items for fiscal year 2008-09. Kruger came in 34th overall among "porkers," with the top 33 spots occupied by Republicans.

Here is a list of the top five Senate "Kings of Pork."

Legislator		Total Amount Of Member Items
Joseph Bruno		$4,211,000.00
Dean Skelos		$3,740,000.00
Tom Libous		$3,497,000.00
Owen Johnson		$3,275,500.00
Joe Robach		$2,550,000.00

To see the spreadsheet, click here.

New York State Assembly Member Items At A Glance

by: robert.harding

Mon May 05, 2008 at 15:59:41 PM EDT

The New York State Assembly member items for 2008-09 show us that the huge Democratic majority is alive and well and that a certain Speaker of said Assembly is reaping the rewards of his post.

This spreadsheet shows you the breakdown of Assembly member items for this fiscal year. But this spreadsheet shows you the party breakdown of where these member items are going.

In all, Assembly Democrats used $57,356,822.00 to fund their member items, averaging out to over $541,000 per Democratic assemblymember. Assembly Republicans have allocated $4,875,000.00 for member items this fiscal year, averaging out to over $121,000 per Republican assemblymember.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is the Assembly's King of Pork. He has over $3 million allocated for member items.

The top five assemblymembers who are bringing home the bacon are:

Legislator		Total Amount Of Member Items
Sheldon Silver		$3,020,000.00
Robin Schimminger		$2,227,500.00
Susan John		$2,141,800.00
Bill Scarborough		$1,602,891.00
Bill Magnarelli		$1,035,000.00

One thing pointed out to me by Bill Mahoney of NYPIRG is that not all member items are indicated in those totals because not all member items are given by individual legislators. Some member items are given jointly by multiple legislators, so while it is not a true representation of how much in member items were given by individual legislators, it provides you with the necessary information to know who received the most and who is bringing home the bacon.  

Bruno Pretends to Care About Intercity Rail

by: Roatti

Thu Sep 06, 2007 at 11:42:25 AM EDT

While these improvements are certainly needed, acting as if $22 million is some significant amount almost causes more harm than the good these monies create- creating a first-rate intercity high-speed rail infrastructure in NYS will cost in the tens of billions of dollars- acting like $22 million is significant just makes the potential larger and necessary appropriations look that much more burdensome and scary to legislators. 

If we are ever going to get serious about intercity rail in New York, the back-patting for miniscule amounts of pork has to stop.

Problem bridge list

by: simonstl

Wed Aug 08, 2007 at 07:56:43 AM EDT

The earlier piece on bridges was frightening, but had 1994 data. I dream of having as cool a current map, but if you want to be frightened about New York State bridges, you can try this list of bridges from MSNBC. It's only for bridges that carry 10,000 or more vehicles a day, but it's (un)impressive nonetheless.

The bridge nearest my house isn't in great shape. I'll try to forget that as I drive it.

Legislative Session Falls Apart, Looks Like We're Going to OT

by: phillip anderson

Fri Jun 22, 2007 at 12:03:37 PM EDT

Session crumbles; Sematech survives

Spitzer, Senate feud waylays many deals, though lawmakers may return

The 2007 regular legislative session expired late Thursday with deals going sour as the governor accused the Senate of trying to push through a half-billion dollar plan laden with pork.

...

The Legislature could return, however, within a month.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer refused more than $1 billion in capital spending lawmakers wanted for projects across the state, saying much of it was "fat."

Agreements were few and far between, although both chambers agreed to a bill to end solitary confinement of mentally ill prisoners. Both also passed a late-arriving bill called the "airline passengers' bill of rights" to require food, water and other comforts for passengers when flights are delayed more than three hours.

One-house bills were passed in volumes, including $350,000 Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, sought for a free medical clinic in Schenectady County. But negotiations continued almost to the last minute on that money and various other deals that could get sewn up later in the year.

A push to let racetrack casino operators, including Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, keep more revenues from video lottery terminals for marketing seemed ripe for an agreement.

Good to see that we can at least agree to subsidize the marketing of video lottery with public money, isn't it?

What was Uncle Joe's big concern? Spitzer's "obsession" with campaign finance reform.

Bruno blamed Spitzer for what he called a ruined finish to what started out as a promising session. He said deals were impossible because of the governor's "obsession" with achieving a campaign finance reform deal desired by no one other than misguided special interest groups.

He said the governor was holding several issues "hostage" unless he got his way on reforming the political donation process.

I have real doubts that anything significant is going to happen on CFR with this legislature. Bruno knows he's going to need every filthy penny he can get his hands on to try to hold on to his majority next year and has decided to to both run out the clock and milk as much money as he possibly can from special interests before November of 2008. In fact, one could say that he seems "obsessed" with preserving the shameful status quo.

Ratnerville Gets Sweet Tax Break in Bill To Eliminate Sweet Tax Breaks

by: phillip anderson

Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 14:07:38 PM EDT

Well here is a perfect illustration of that shameful phenomena, an illustration showing how we give sweet deals to those with enough money to buy a couple legislators to slip this stuff in. In an ironic twist, we are giving tax breaks to a billionaire real estate developer, and him alone, in a bill to eliminate tax breaks to billionaire real estate developers.

Nice work if you can get it...

Albany 421-a Reform Bill Hands
One-of-a-Kind, Special Favors to Forest City Ratner

Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Project Would Be The Only Project to
Receive Tax Breaks for Luxury Condos Under Bill

Bruce Ratner is about to join his own exclusive developer's club, once again at taxpayer expense.

Forest City Ratner has often claimed that it's not getting anything that any other developer can't get. That was never the case, but now the development firm has positioned itself to get something that no other developer is getting.

Albany is creating a special loophole exclusively for Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards project as part of its bill "reforming" the 421-a tax breaks for development originally enacted in 1971. With this special legislation Forest City Ratner's market-rate luxury condominiums will be the only such units in the entire reform zone receiving the 421-a tax break, saving the developer untold millions.


"This is the cherry on top of all of the special treatment and sweetheart deals Forest City Ratner has been gifted for its Atlantic Yards project. This exclusive clause in the 421-a reform bill, benefiting Bruce Ratner alone, is an astounding example of absolute governmental favoritism, at odds with the very principles for which the reform bill is supposed to stand," said Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokesman, Daniel Goldstein. "There is no valid justification for this favoritism, and clearly there has been an utter lack of transparency in the decision to award one developer a special corporate-welfare package. Is there any end to the favoritism and backroom dealing that consistently benefits Bruce Ratner? Will Governor Spitzer choose to allow passage of such backroom special dealing? "

  The special clause within the reform bill does not specifically name the
  Atlantic Yards project but rather describes "a multi-phase project that
  includes at least 2,500 dwelling units and (i) being implemented pursuant
  to a General Project Plan adopted by the New York State Urban Development
  Corporation and approved by Public Authorities Control Board." There is
  only one such project in the state fitting that description, and that's
  Atlantic Yards. Forest City Ratner is also seeking an extraordinary $1.4
  billion in government backed, tax-exempt housing bonds.

"There should be an immediate Independent Budget Office (IBO) evaluation of all of the financial and tax benefits flowing to Forest City Ratner for affordable housing to determine the cost per unit, how many units are being deferred from other areas of the city, and how many units this level of funding could provide if it were dispersed without favoritism," said former City Planning Commissioner and DDDB Advisory Board member Ron Shiffman.

  On his Atlantic Yards Report, watchdog journalist Norman Oder wrote,
  "The final version of the bill apparently came down to two men in
  a room, Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez (and surrogates) and
  Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) executive Steve Spinola (ditto). And
  in those backroom negotiations emerged
  a nice plum for Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. (The lack
  of an obligation to build affordable housing in [Atlantic Yards] condo buildings
  adds to the developer's bottom line in multiple ways.)"

To make matters worse, this special legislation granting exclusive and extraordinary tax breaks to Forest City Ratner would force lower-income residents of the proposed Atlantic Yards subsidized "affordable" housing to shell out at least 35% of their incomes for rent. This runs completely counter to accepted standards for "affordable housing," which typically involves a resident paying 30% of income towards rent ­ the very principle behind the "Atlantic Yards" housing deal negotiated privately between Forest City Ratner and ACORN.

  "With all due respect to ACORN, it's confounding that they are supporting
  this special benefit to Ratner, making a mockery of the very reform bill
  they fought so hard to push forward," Goldstein said. "It makes
  no sense for ACORN to support tax breaks for luxury condos when that is
  precisely what the reform bill was supposed to eliminate. Also,
  ACORN
  and Forest City Ratner had promised that each Atlantic Yards building
  would be mixed affordable and market-rate, but that is another broken promise
  by Ratner that ACORN appears willing to overlook."

As I and many others have been saying for quite some time now, everything wrong with New York City and New York State politics is represented in the Ratnerville project. Influence peddling, crony capitalism, back room deals, shady legislation, lack of any meaningful public participation, overt favoritism to monied interests - it's all there.

Stories like this make a mockery of the entire system.

Pork to chew on over the weekend...

by: robinia

Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 17:24:31 PM EDT

This took WAY too long. But, at least we did not have to have a newspaper bring a lawsuit to have access to it at all, like last year.

Hopefully, someone will convert this to a more usable (i.e., spreadsheet) version soon, I will post that when it happens.  Meantime, have a look-see in this version if you are interested.

Sharing the Geeky Goods

by: robinia

Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 21:38:09 PM EDT

Today, the Assembly released a text version of their member items, with more detail.  Liam Arbetman of Common Cause (yes, the same hero who will email you the details when you sign up to take the bus to Albany next Monday!) quickly converted it to spreadsheet format, and made it available here.

Then, to make it just a really-great day for the number-crunching fools among us, Fiscal Policy Institute shared an excellent spreadsheet on Education Aid-- better by far than the previously -available one.  The spreadsheet filename-- "Mauro1"-- says it all: Frank, you are still #1.  You can get it here.
Isn't it nice when geeks share the goods so that we can understand our state government?

Pork on a Platter

by: robinia

Wed Apr 11, 2007 at 15:24:32 PM EDT

I am going to give you the link here through the posting alerting people to it on Capital Confidential blog-- please leave Jay there a thank-you for making people aware that the info was available and accessible outside of conservative channels. ThanksJay

Analysis of Budget?

by: robinia

Mon Apr 02, 2007 at 17:05:22 PM EDT

My recent posts have not seemed to elicit much interest, and the budget process has not spurred others to either diary or comment much.  But, perhaps I am interpreting a lack of comments as a lack of interest.  Do me a favor and vote what you think about this? I'll decide based on your choice what is or is not appropriate for posting here.

Safety of the Food Supply-- Is It Safe to Let Our Legislature Control It?

by: robinia

Fri Mar 23, 2007 at 17:03:06 PM EDT

Like a bad penny, the idea resurfaced in the Senate budget bill, where the reappropriation was identical to last years', with the exception of the words "in Geneva, NY." 

Today's announcement that the Food Lab scientists have succeeded in identifying the substance in recalled pet food that was responsible for a number of animals' deaths, only underscores that we have high-caliber microbiologists and food scientists working for NYS-- the pet food company was in Canada, and it was a national problem.  Shall we alienate them and/or hamper the effectiveness of their work by putting Bruno and Nozzollio and their pork-production operation in charge of locating and building their lab space?

The Freshman Part II: NYT Profiles Gillibrand

by: phillip anderson

Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 11:13:31 AM EDT

The New York Times continues its series about freshman Rep Kirsten Gillibrand with it's second installment, "Earmarked For Success?". This installment follows Kirsten through her first foray into the newly overhauled "earmark" process. It's a great read. Here are some highlights:

...Huddled around a coffee table with her senior staff members inside her office on Capitol Hill, Representative Gillibrand has been poring over scores of requests from elected officials and community leaders, Democrats and Republicans alike, who are turning to her for money as Congress begins hammering out the federal budget.

It is the bricks and mortar of legislative life, and, as Ms. Gillibrand has come to learn, the requests for federal aid range from the major (like $7 million to build a new police station in Saratoga Springs) to things that are obscure even to her (like $400,000 to renovate the James Vanderpoel House in Kinderhook).

...

Her choices were not always clear-cut. For example, should she try to obtain financial help for the Opera House in Hudson, or for the Volunteer Fire Department in Clifton Park?

The lobbying was often intensely personal. A longtime acquaintance of the congresswoman, who runs a foundation called the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, was among the legions of people who dropped by seeking support. And the process seemed to be fraught with enough political peril to keep her up at night.

"I came up with that idea at literally 3 in the morning when I couldn't sleep," she said to her staff at a recent meeting, after proposing a novel way to get $6.8 million in funding for renovations at the Olympic center in Lake Placid. "It made sense at 3 in the morning."

At the heart of Ms. Gillibrand's deliberations over earmarks is a paradox. She rode into Congress, against great odds, partly on a wave of voter revulsion with Washington ethics. Democrats did their best to stoke that revulsion, campaigning against "special-interest earmarks," which they said Republicans would secretly insert into spending bills at the behest of allies and contributors.

Ms. Gillibrand, a lawyer, argued that the secrecy of the earmarking process had contributed to the scandals that engulfed the Hill. Now she asserts that earmarks, when dispensed fairly and openly, are an important way of addressing local needs. And under new rules imposed by a new Democratic majority, she is required to attach her name to the pet projects she sponsors and to certify that she has no financial interest in the projects.

More on the flip...

Enough With Secret Slush Funds

by: phillip anderson

Tue Feb 20, 2007 at 09:42:29 AM EST

Spitzer's Secret Senate Slush Fund

Governor Woos Albany Democrats With Offers of Capital Funding

Governor Spitzer is planning to funnel millions of dollars in borrowed state money to Senate Democrats, who have been secretly asked by the administration to submit their wish lists for local capital projects, according to lawmakers.

The move marks the governor's boldest effort to solidify his influence over the Democratic conference, whose support he is counting on in the short term to give him an edge during negotiations, and in the long term to play an instrumental role in pushing through his governing agenda.

For the past month, Senate Democrats have been submitting the paperwork for tens of millions of dollars in grants unbeknownst to most other lawmakers. There is no written agreement between Mr. Spitzer and the conference; the administration discussed the possibility of funding Senate Democratic projects with Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, who passed on the message to conference members at a private meeting.

...

For Senate Democrats, who have languished for years as beggars in Albany's pork hierarchy, the capital money would be remarkable reversal of fortune.

Sure, Senate Democrats have indeed been on the short end of the pork stick for decades, but making up for it by doling out even more borrowed money in the same opaque and purely partisan fashion as before doesn't look much like reform to me.

More on the flip...