RandySF
RandySF's JournalThis is going to be big. Anemic Sandy aid had been noted was cause of concern for a while.
You may have already seen Mayor Zimmer in the news this week. Hoboken received only 1% of the aid they had requested for Hurricane Sandy relief and planning funds even though it was one of the hardest-hit communities in the state during the storm. At one point, 80% of the 50,000 person city was flooded. If you remember the footage of water gushing through an underground subway station, that was in Hoboken; it has, in fact, the highest per-capita use of public transit of any city in America. Yet so far the state of New Jersey has given the city about $350,000 from the billions of dollars in federal disaster relief and planning aid that it is charged with administering. That’s about $6 per resident. It has been enough to pay for one major planning study and to buy one backup generator for an $18 million emergency storm water pump.
50,000 people. 80% flooded. $6 a head.
News outlets and the mayor have both wondered if the anemic aid was a punishment for Zimmer not endorsing the governor’s reelection bid. Mayors in Jersey City, Elizabeth, and other New Jersey municipalities have been asking the same question since Fort Lee mayor Mark Sokolich raised the possibility that his refusal to endorse Christie led to the lane closures on GWB and the four-day-long traffic nightmare in that town.
This Hoboken story and the Fort Lee/GWB story might seem like separate tales. But they’re not. Moreover, these latest revelations put to rest the notion that Hoboken’s Sandy aid or the Fort Lee/GWB story have anything to do with local Democratic officials’ endorsement of the governor during his reelection campaign. Forget about the endorsements. It never really added up anyway.
The subpoenaed documents in Bridgegate show that the Christie administration used the Port Authority as an extension of their political operation, although we do not yet know to what end.
And the Hoboken story clearly demonstrates the Christie administration took steps to aid the material interest of a client of the chairman of that agency.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/hoboken-mayor-christie-team-shook-us-down-for-sandy-relief
Attorney Says Christie Ally Has 'A Story To Tell' If Granted Immunity
An attorney for David Wildstein, one of the men at the center of the investigation into last September's lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, said his client has a "story to tell" if granted immunity from state and federal prosecution. Alan Zegas told the Wall Street Journal Friday that Wildstein wants to testify before one of the legislative committees investigating the closures.
"There is a story to tell," Zegas said. "He would be happy to talk about all he knows."
On Jan. 9. Wildstein plead the fifth when he was subpoenaed to testify before a state Assembly hearing about the closures.
The New Jersey General Assembly committee investigating the lane closures announced on Friday that Wildstein is one of 20 individuals and organizations who were served with subpoenas. Some Democrats have alleged the closures were ordered by allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) to retaliate against a local mayor.
Documents subpoenaed by the Assembly's transportation committee as part of its initial investigation into the matter showed Wildstein played a role in the order to close the lanes. Wildstein resigned from his position at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which oversees the bridge, last month as questions mounted about his role in the closures, which led to days of gridlock in Fort Lee, N.J.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wildstein-story-to-tell-immunity
Accusations of racism hurled toward U.S. Skating Committee over Olympic team selection
Do officials at U.S. Figure Skating have a penchant for blondes over brunettes?
After a controversial decision to put Ashley Wagner (along with Gracie Gold and Polina Edmunds) on the U.S. Olympic figure skating team instead of Mirai Nagasu, some skating fans think that more than hair color played a part. The decision was made a day after Wagner performed miserably and finished a distant fourth to Nagasu’s third at last week’s U.S. National Championships.
The selection was unprecedented. Only four previous times in history did the association pick a skater out of order for the Olympic team – and each time it was because of an injury that kept the chosen skaters from performing at the national championships. Wagner was not suffering from a malady of any kind (except maybe stage fright).
Given that the three female skaters chosen for the Olympic team all had hair of gold (with one even named as such), it didn’t take long for accusations of racism against Asian Americans to surface. First on Twitter, then in The Wall Street Journal.
“Wagner’s flowing blond hair, bellflower-blue eyes and sculpted features mark her as a sporting archetype,” thundered Jeff Yang in the Speakeasy blog. “She’s the embodiment of the ‘golden girl’ the media has extolled when they’ve waxed poetic about idealized ice queens of the past, from Norway’s Sonja Henie to East Germany’s Katarina Witt, a marketer’s dream who’s already signed up tent-pole sponsors like Nike, Pandora Jewelry and CoverGirl, which assessed her Teutonic beauty as being worthy of serving as one of their global ‘faces.’”..
In 1998, after Tara Lipinski edged Kwan for the Olympic gold in Nagano, MSNBC blasted an Internet alert that screeched “American Beats Out Kwan.” The network announcers on NBC also appeared to favor Lipinski in their commentary, never mind that the Southern California-born Kwan was every bit as “American” as the Philadelphia-bred Lipinski.
http://thediplomat.com/2014/01/mirai-nagasu-skating-controversy-did-race-play-a-part/
Pope Francis fires all but one Cardinal Running Vatican Bank
ROME — Pope Francis on Wednesday (Jan. 15) took his biggest step yet at cleaning house at the scandal-ridden Vatican Bank, replacing most of the institution’s advisers with fresh faces.
Among the new appointees: Vatican Secretary of State and Cardinal-designate Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn from Vienna; Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto; and veteran diplomat Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, a close friend of the pontiff’s.
French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran is the lone cardinal adviser who was retained.
Francis’ move essentially undid a decree issued last year by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who confirmed the Vatican Bank’s supervisory body for another five years, just days before announcing his retirement. The most high-profile figure sacked on Wednesday was Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Benedict’s secretary of state and the face of administrative woes of Benedict’s papacy.
Officially known as the Institute for Religious Works, the Vatican Bank plays an essential role in helping facilitate the Vatican’s role in confronting poverty worldwide. But it has also been connected with widespread corruption and money laundering.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/pope-francis-shakes-up-vatican-bank-sets-financial-cap-for-sainthood/2014/01/15/2ecf5d20-7e21-11e3-97d3-b9925ce2c57b_story.html
Bad News Bachmann! Minn. Could Be Next to Ban Conversion Therapy
Bad news, Marcus Bachmann. A Minneapolis state representative introduced a bill Monday in the state legislature to ban gay conversion therapy in Minnesota. If passed, the Gopher State will join California and New Jersey in banning the discredited practice, the Fridley Patch reports.
"We have such high rates of suicide, substance abuse, homelessness and I think it stems from difficulties families experience when one of their children comes out and they seek professional services and they’re susceptible to these types of practices especially if they may come from a Christian based approach," Rep. Susan Allen said in an interview with Julie Bartkey on local PBS affiliate’s "Capital Report" about the proposed legislation.
If passed, Allen’s bill would prohibit licensed practitioners from practicing conversion therapy to minors. Disciplinary action for non compliance would be determined by state licensing boards.
"We don’t dictate the terms of what the discipline should be, but we do deem it that it is prohibited and that it is something that needs to be regulated," Allen Challenges to overturn conversion therapy bans on the grounds of First Amendment rights of free speech and religion have failed in both California and New Jersey.
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=national&sc2=news&sc3=&id=154146
County GOP Auctions Rifle In MLK's Honor
The geniuses who run the Multnomah County Republican Party in Multnomah County, Oregon are honoring Martin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln by raffling off a rifle in their honor.
From the MCP website ...
Portland, OR January 13, 2014: Multnomah Country Republicans recognize the incredible time of year we are in. In successive months to start the year, we celebrate the legacy of two great Republicans who demonstrated leadership and courage that all of us still lean on today: Martin Luther King, Jr and Abraham Lincoln. In celebrating these two men, and the denial of the rights they fought so hard against, the Multnomah County Republican Party announces that we have started our third raffle for an AR-15 rifle (or handgun of the winner’s choice). The drawing will be held at our Lincoln Day Dinner on February 15th, 2014. Tickets are once again $10 apiece, or 12 for $100, and there is a hard cap of 500 tickets in the raffle.
Notably, both honorees are associated with gun violence. In fact, Dr. King was shot to death with a 30-06 Remington Game-master.
And it gets better! Because doesn't it always? The keynote speaker will be none other than Rafael Cruz, father of Sen. Ted Cruz (R) of Texas.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/county-gop-auctions-off-rifle-in-mlks-honor
Fox News Regular At Cruz Rally: Shoot If You See California License Plates
A conservative blogger at a rally for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) jokingly said Texans should start shooting if they see cars with California license plates.
The blogger, Bill Whittle, is a regular guest on Fox News and frequent contributor to Pajamas Media. He also previously wrote for National Review Online.
He was speaking at a Freedom Rally hosted by Texans for Freedom and Liberty on Saturday night.
"You will see a lot of cars coming west heading east on Interstate 10, and they're going to have California license plates," Whittle said in remarks flagged by Raw Story. "Now, if you see these cars pull into rest areas or hotels or restaurants, that's fine. Wave goodbye, make sure they go out on the Louisiana end."
Whittle went on to say that if you see those people drive into residential areas "you need to open fire on these vehicles immediately. Immediately. Not with 9mm or AR rounds, you need to put mortars on those things, you cannot take any chances."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/conservative-blogger-tells-crowd-to-shoot-if-they-see-cars-with-cali-license-plates
This article title feels like an insult to dads.
"Universal Preschool Push Will Test Cuomo’s Commitment to New York Women"
http://www.thenation.com/blog/177866/universal-preschool-push-will-test-cuomos-commitment-new-york-women
When did only moms start caring about pre-school?
Is a Billion Dollar Development Project at the Heart of Bridgegate?
If you’ve seen Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich mention a “billion dollar redevelopment” going on in his town during his media appearances, you might think that he’s just bragging about some political accomplishment. Something he cares about, but that you don’t need to worry about. Yet those two pieces of land are where that billion dollar project, a commercial, residential and business complex called “Hudson Lights,” is being built.
Now consider the project’s proximity to the bridge. When we think about transportation infrastructure, we usually think only about the ‘thing’ being built: the bridge, tunnel, rail line, road, etc. But those projects have value because they connect things. They’re built because they allow people and goods to move, and they can dramatically increase the utility and value of the properties they connect. The Erie Canal did this in the early republic. Then the railroad. Then the subway, the highway, the airport.
The Hudson Lights project is a billion dollar project because it offers unparalleled access to the George Washington Bridge. But take away that access and it’s no longer a billion dollar project.
Mark Sokolich knew this back in September when the toll lanes from Fort Lee had been cut from three down to one. He asked Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni on September 12: “what do I do when our billion dollar development is put on line at the end of next year?”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/is-a-billion-dollar-development-project-at-the-heart-of-bridgegate
Michigan GOPer: Russian anti-gay propaganda law is 'common sense'
GRANDVILLE, MI — Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law is “common sense” according to a Facebook posting by Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema.
Agema, known for making inflammatory statements about gay people, reportedly endorsed the Russian law that makes it illegal to discuss LGBT issues in front of children.
According to the Washington Blade, a news site that covers LGBT issues, Agema’s post was screen-captured on Jan. 7 by Republican Party members with access to the former Grandville state representative's Facebook news feed.
According to the Blade, Agema posted a link to an Illinois Family Institute blog post by Laurie Higgins titled “Russia’s Anti-Propaganda Law Riles Pro-Homosexuality Crowd.”
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/01/dave_agema_russian_anti-gay_pr.html
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