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I will be re-posting articles and commentaries from various sources. I will post in reverse chronological order so the newest articles are first.


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Posted by me 8/5/2006

AG Spitzer Agrees: Keeping $200M in PORK Spending Secret, is “OK”
Friday, August 4, 2006 by Cynthia Locklear

There is a fascinating lawsuit pending against Bruno and Silver that is alarming on two levels. The first is the blatant and abusive contempt state legislators have for us taxpaying schlepps. The other, is Eliot Spitzer’s apparent collusion, despite his claimed zeal for ‘reform’ while on the campaign trail.

In a nutshell, the Albany Times Union started an ”Article 78? proceeding against Bruno and Silver in June, alleging violations of the Freedom of Information Law (”FOIL”). You simply HAVE to read the Petition (paraphrasing it here cannot do it justice) to get truly enraged at what these jamokes are doing with gobs of taxpayer money; and then refusing to tell us about. They have written secrecy agreements and ”MOUs”, and proxies, and convoluted ‘legal’ arguments all to keep their dealings out of view.

But then, to add insult to injury, the “Sheriff of Wallstreet”, the Annointed Crusader has agreed with them, that their records regarding what Legislators sponsored what pork projects, in what amounts, to what organizations, employing whose girlfriend, father, wife, whatever, are shielded by the Legislative Immunity provisions of the state constitution (WHUT???)

“Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s office, in papers filed Monday, said the names are protected under the state constitution, which says “for any speech or debate in either house of the legislature, the members shall not be questioned in any other place.” Spitzer’s office argued that disclosing “information concerning a legislator’s involvement with particular pieces of legislation could potentially chill the legislator’s activities.”

While Legislative Immunity may shield the legislators as individuals from civil money damages suits for the proper discharge of their legislative functions, I fail to understand how Legislative Immunity plays a role in this analysis. Isnt the purpose of the open meetings and freedom of information laws is to compel disclosure of the Legislative process to ensure the propriety of those actions and process?

Isn’t it disengenuous for Candidate Spitzer to swath himself in the mantle of reform, while AG Spitzer sides with the Bad Guys?

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Posted by me 7/10/2006

This article from The Atlas Society and its Objectivist Center is a must-read analysis of Eliot Spitzer.

Eliot Spitzer: Ayatollah General
by Roger Donway

Eliot Spitzer became the attorney general of New York in 1999. In addition to carrying out the routine functions of that office, he has used a broad anti-fraud statute to conduct a series of aggressive and well-publicized campaigns against businesses, most notably in the financial industry. His purpose in these campaigns has not been the narrow one of punishing law-breakers. Rather, he has sought a sweeping restructuring of the business landscape in order to make it accord with his moral vision, as though he were a religious dictator suddenly transplanted from the Middle East to Manhattan.

Last December, Spitzer announced that he is seeking to become governor of New York in the 2006 election. Should he succeed, his status as a large-state governor will instantly bring him attention as a possible presidential candidate. Indeed, the talk has already begun. Mark A. Hofman, senior editor of Business Insurance, wrote this about audience reaction to a speech Spitzer gave in Washington last January: “Many of those listening to Mr. Spitzer at that Press Club luncheon couldn’t help wonder if the gaze he fixed on the audience wasn’t really directed about three blocks due west on a certain white mansion.”(1) Even earlier, Spitzer’s father had been asked if his son would like to be president. His answer: “I think he would. It’s his very nature.”(2)

Before it is too late, then, the American public deserves to know: Who is Eliot Spitzer?

continue reading here.

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Posted by me 7/9/2006

… After reading my op-ed piece, Mr. Spitzer tried to phone me. I was traveling in Texas but he reached me early in the afternoon. After asking me one or two questions about where I got my facts, he came right to the point. I was so shocked that I wrote it all down right away so I would be sure to remember it exactly as he said it. This is what he said:

“Mr. Whitehead, it’s now a war between us and you’ve fired the first shot. I will be coming after you. You will pay the price. This is only the beginning and you will pay dearly for what you have done. You will wish you had never written that letter.”

read the full post here.

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ATTORNEY GENERAL Eliot Spitzer, the top cop for New York’s 60,000 charities and nonprofits, also helps his family run a charity regulated by his office.

The Spitzer Trust invests nearly all of its assets - $25.9 million - in hedge funds and equity funds. Executives at those firms, meanwhile, have pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into Spitzer’s front-running Democratic gubernatorial campaign.

IRS records and state Board of Elections filings reviewed by the Daily News show that the trust:

# Placed $9.5 million with Cramer-Berkowitz, a hedge fund. Jeffrey Berkowitz, its principal, gave $50,100 to Spitzer through his limited liability company, Berkowitz Capital.

# Invested $7 million with hedge funds Seneca Capital and Seneca International. Douglas Hirsch, the managing partner, also plunked down $50,100, the maximum allowable by law.

# Put $3.8 million into Bedford Fall Investors, another hedge fund. Karen Finerman, president of its parent firm, also handed Spitzer $50,100. Another manager gave $10,000.

# Placed $1 million with Golub Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Lawrence Golub, its president, also maxed out, and another executive tossed in $25,000.

read it here
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New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer appeared on Comedy Central late last year, admitting to host Stephen Colbert that as a kid he was the “enforcer” on the soccer team, the guy who “took people out.” “You play hard, you play rough, and hopefully you don’t get caught,” he said. The AG was trying for a laugh, but it may have been one of the more revealing insights into his career.

Mr. Spitzer has certainly played hard and rough in his time as New York’s top law enforcer, and for the most part he hasn’t got caught. More telling is his reaction when he is called out, as is happening more often now that the business community has started to challenge his authority. Mr. Spitzer, now running for the governor’s mansion, has responded to a growing list of accusations of abuse by denying, dissembling and developing convenient cases of amnesia.

read it all here.

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This report, found in RollingStone Magazine, is an in-depth analysis of the election anomalies that resulted in George W. Bush stealing winning his second term as President. The statistics, remember that this is a science, portray a compelling argument for outright fraud and other illegal activities. At the heart of the controversy is the Ohio Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, who was also a co-chair of Bush’s reelection committee. Blackwell also advised Katherine Harris, the Florida Secretary of State, when Bush won(?) that close count to secure his first victory.

”The secretary of state is supposed to administer elections — not throw them,” says Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from Cleveland who has dealt with Blackwell for years. ”The election in Ohio in 2004 stands out as an example of how, under color of law, a state election official can frustrate the exercise of the right to vote.”

The most extensive investigation of what happened in Ohio was conducted by Rep. John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.(52) Frustrated by his party’s failure to follow up on the widespread evidence of voter intimidation and fraud, Conyers and the committee’s minority staff held public hearings in Ohio, where they looked into more than 50,000 complaints from voters.(53) In January 2005, Conyers issued a detailed report that outlined ”massive and unprecedented voter irregularities and anomalies in Ohio.” The problems, the report concludes, were ”caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell.”

Read the whole article here.

When I originally heard about Brian Higgins’ idea for Buffalo receiving the whole cut, including the State’s, from the proposed casino, I thought we might actually be in line for some tax relief. I should have known better. Brian Higgins has shown us in the past how he likes to recover our own money (the Power Authority deal), but instead of returning it to us, he decides how it should best be spent. Now he’s applying the same concept to his casino plan. The devil is in the details, as noted in today’s Buffalo News.

Higgins sees a better way. In his view, the state should forego its share and instead invest that money into Western New York cultural institutions large and small. It’s a tiny percentage of the state budget, but over time it could mean $400 million. That could be delivered up front through bond issues backed by steady revenue that could pay huge dividends in boosting the region’s emerging cultural and heritage industries. . . .

Higgins sees a tourism fund providing boosts for the bigger museums, art galleries, architectural meccas and performance groups, and also for smaller and start-up nonprofit cultural groups as well. And he sees a chance to restore desperately needed but budget-sacrificed funding to the Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau, to help that agency regain lost marketing ground and promote big-ticket cultural items that can really bring in tourism dollars.

Why should the government decide which art and cultural organizations are worthy of receiving our money? This will lead to more bureaucracy and government jobs needed to administer this “benevolent” program. I fail to see why a government official is more qualified than the average person to contribute tax payer’s money. Return the money to the people and they will be able to voluntarily fund and support causes of their choice.

Mark your calenders now!

The Central Terminal Restoration Corporation presents:

Non-Profit Open House - July 22nd from 2pm to 6pm

To carry on our theme from last year’s “Restore Buffalo”, the CTRC is once again opening its doors to local pro-Buffalo non-profits and groups interested in helping the Buffalo revitalization effort.

As we found out last year, this was a great networking venue and an ideal way to get your mission statements out to the public.

The event will run concurrently with our “Cruise into the Past” custom/classic car show on Saturday, July 22nd from 2pm to 6pm.

Please stop by to show your support for all of the various groups working hard for a better Buffalo. I will be there representing Free Buffalo.

Cruise into the Past sounds very cool!

Cruise Into the Past - the First Annual Central Terminal Car Show - July 22, 2pm-6pm - The CTRC and Lakeside Classic Cruisers in conjunction with the East Side Car Club are pleased to announce that they will be co-hosting a classic and custom car show at the Central Terminal on July 22nd from 2 pm to 6 pm. Along with the beautiful cars to see, there will be food, beverages and entertainment from the Colored Musicians Club!

Let them strike, it could be the best thing that ever happened to Buffalo. There is one condition to my previous statement. First, repeal the Taylor Law. That law has handed the public service unions unfair advantages in salary negotiations for far too long. In return for not striking they get “binding arbitration” by PERB, a government agency that leans toward the public service (government) unions. BTW, after repealing the Taylor Law, the Public Employee Relations Board will no longer be necessary, that would save the oppressed and over-taxed citizens of New York State a bit of money. Perhaps all salary increases for public service employees should be subject to a public referendum, much like most school budgets, with a recusal clause that states no one can vote on their own raise.