MESSAGE
| DATE | 2016-05-03 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout-NYLXS] All Politics is Local
|
In case anyone is not aware of it, Hangout is a HANGOUT and we often
slip into local, national and international politics, even when it
doesn't relate to computers.
So, I hate this Mayor. I've hated him since he was directly responsible
for the inflamation of the Crown Heights Riots that resulted in the
sweeping in of the only rational government I'd ever experienced, with
Rudy as mayor.
This crazy man, William Wilhien (who changed his name to Bill Diblasio)
has turned 2 decades of progress on its ear, destroying public safety,
and the quality of living in this city. He is literally driving me out
of town.
Never the less, the legal investigations of him have been disgusting.
The supposed charges against him are flatly fictitious and individuals
involved in these investigations should be JAILED of political
corruption. NOTHING IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
THAT SERVES ITS OWN INTERESTS FIRST. In fact, this is the very reason
why the political consequences of what DeBlasio is doing to NYC is so
odious, so maybe it is perverse justice that DeBlasio is being
victimized by the kind of police state that he advocates.
Regardless, this summery by Anthony Weiner in the Daily News today is
spot on:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A cheat sheet on Mayor de Blasio’s scandals: Anthony Weiner says
they're (mostly) overblown
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, April 29, 2016, 5:00 AM
Mayor de Blasio has had a bad week or two, or so it would seem. So as a
public service here I cut through the sea of unsupported innuendo and
bring you a readers’ guide to the three “scandals” and how the mayor can
put them behind him — and us.
Policebrassgate. Top cops at local precincts have a close relationship
with the political, business and clergy leaders in their command. They
are supposed to. It keeps the cops connected and it is a building block
of good community relationships.
MAYOR DE BLASIO BLAMES POLITICS FOR FUNDRAISING SCRUTINY
In my years in the City Council and Congress, I have seen good
commanding officers give out their personal cell phone numbers dozens of
times. Sometimes that “hotline” relationship is a prize in and of itself
to community leaders who want to be big shots. But more often than not,
it is a way to make sure that the city’s most omnipresent government
workers know what’s going on.
Sometimes lines get crossed. Reciprocity and mutual respect blur into
inappropriate gifts and improper benefit for the gift giver. Closing a
street for a charity stick-ball tournament is kosher, but deploying
officers to stand sentry at a wedding of a muckety muck is not.
In this case, some police officials have been questioned about gifts
from a couple of citizens of New York and the favors those citizens may
have gotten in return from the cops. So what does the mayor have to do
with this? They donated to his campaign and were on a ceremonial
committee with 70 other city big wigs.
Yep, that’s it.
Here, the mayor has done exactly what he should do — let his police
commissioner act on the information and take steps to change
assignments, fire or refer any of the cops implicated.
Rivingtonstreetgate. The facts on this one are outrageous. With the
stroke of a bureaucratic pen and a modest check to the city coffers, a
piece of property that was bound to be used as a community health
facility in perpetuity suddenly became the lucrative site for a
developer of condos.
MAYOR DE BLASIO'S POLITICAL ALLIES HIT WITH SUBPOENAS
How did it happen? A conspiracy involving an acknowledged lobbyist
friend of the mayor and the highest reaches of City Hall perhaps? Almost
definitely not. Gross incompetence that is more than enough to cost
people their jobs? For sure.
Let’s clear a few things up SHANNON STAPLETON/REUTERS
Let’s clear a few things up
Owners of real estate are in a constant tug of war with city officials
and local residents over how much and what type of building can go
where. Not only was this deal a shadowy one, but the return to the
taxpayer or the community was laughably small.
Here, mayoral finger-pointing is not enough. Heads should roll over
gross errors in judgment.
Donationsgate. This one is pretty easy to summarize. The mayor and his
staff asked friendly political committees around New York to give money
to help Democratic state Senate candidates because Republican state
senators are bad for the city he runs.
Cue the breathless headlines!
Look, there is too much money in politics. Fundraising is tops among
things I don’t miss about being in office. But spare me the selective
outrage at the mayor for doing it.
De Blasio’s supposed high crime was raising donations for candidates and
the Democratic committees that support them. His critics say giving to
both is an attempt to get around the limits on each. Baloney. Doing what
the mayor did isn’t wrong, it’s smart and completely unremarkable.
The mayor’s defense is not “everyone is doing it,” it’s “it’s the only
way to do it.”
On this one the mayor should not flinch. If his opponents don’t like him
raising money to throw them out of office, then they should get out of
the way of the city’s plans to tax mega-million-dollar condos; let us
control our own school system; give us control of our rent laws and
otherwise make life harder for the mayor’s constituents.
But until then, don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Weiner represented Brooklyn and Queens in the City Council and U.S.
House of Representatives.
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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