Thursday, October 23, 2008
Gotham suckered
The people of New York City have been had, suckered, betrayed. They voted twice by referendum to impose term limits on elective offices, & the very council members subject to term limits overturned the expressed will of the people. How is that possible? It's outrageous. Whatever possesses the council to believe the current economic crisis is worse than the fear, uncertainty, & sorrow following 9/11, when suggestions that an election be postponed for a few months & Giuliani's term extended were rejected? "Don't change horses in the middle of a stream," say Bloomberg's supporters. Lincoln used that in 1864, a somewhat different situation.
I have no strong opinions on Mayor Bloomberg's performance as mayor. But Bloomberg is prepared to spend 60, 70, 80 million or more of his own dollars to crush anyone opposing him for a third term, yet was unwilling to put term limits up for another public vote & spend any of his dough on convincing New Yorkers to repeal it. The council vote is a travesty, an insult to the democratic process. New Yorkers indicated in polls that they were willing to give Bloomberg a third term, & also overwhelmingly for a new referendum. So I think it was up to Bloomberg to change their minds on term limits, not strong arm the city council into doing his bidding. Bloomberg was able to do so because he isn't a bitter ideologue like Giuliani; some of the most liberal council members owe him for supporting their pet projects. That nonpartisan largess may make him look good for a third term, but it doesn't earn him a bye.
(One pleasant result of an Obama win would be finishing off Rudy Giuliani. He won't starve. He can make his millions as a lobbyist & giving speeches to any group that cares to pay his fee, rant as an occasional cable news guest commentator, but blow flames out multiple orifices as he powerlessly watches Bloomberg & NY Gov. David Patterson ushered into the White House for what will be announced as "friendly discussions with the President during an informal lunch of New York deli sandwiches." )
***
Second fender bender on this corner in a week. Probably caused by sun glare. Surprising I haven't seen a really serious accident on my street; cars come through here 45, 50 mph, accelerating from the traffic light a block down & trying to beat the light a block up. I hear them all the time, if they went out of control they'd plow through a row of parked cars. Cherry is a narrow, tree-lined, one way residential street, but it's actually a main connection during afternoon drivetime from the county courthouse complex downtown to Morris Ave, a very major road that heads north to Union, the Parkway, Route 22, Springfield & Summit. I'm by the Morris Ave. end of that stretch, where commuters smell freedom. The big accidents occur over by Kean University, a large office park, & Schering-Plough on Morris. Sometimes the road is closed, emergency vehicles bunched up 100 yards beyond the police barricade, no easy detour.
This is Jersey driving. You need to know more than one way of getting from one place to another, & hope you choose the alternative before you're trapped.
I have no strong opinions on Mayor Bloomberg's performance as mayor. But Bloomberg is prepared to spend 60, 70, 80 million or more of his own dollars to crush anyone opposing him for a third term, yet was unwilling to put term limits up for another public vote & spend any of his dough on convincing New Yorkers to repeal it. The council vote is a travesty, an insult to the democratic process. New Yorkers indicated in polls that they were willing to give Bloomberg a third term, & also overwhelmingly for a new referendum. So I think it was up to Bloomberg to change their minds on term limits, not strong arm the city council into doing his bidding. Bloomberg was able to do so because he isn't a bitter ideologue like Giuliani; some of the most liberal council members owe him for supporting their pet projects. That nonpartisan largess may make him look good for a third term, but it doesn't earn him a bye.
(One pleasant result of an Obama win would be finishing off Rudy Giuliani. He won't starve. He can make his millions as a lobbyist & giving speeches to any group that cares to pay his fee, rant as an occasional cable news guest commentator, but blow flames out multiple orifices as he powerlessly watches Bloomberg & NY Gov. David Patterson ushered into the White House for what will be announced as "friendly discussions with the President during an informal lunch of New York deli sandwiches." )
***
Second fender bender on this corner in a week. Probably caused by sun glare. Surprising I haven't seen a really serious accident on my street; cars come through here 45, 50 mph, accelerating from the traffic light a block down & trying to beat the light a block up. I hear them all the time, if they went out of control they'd plow through a row of parked cars. Cherry is a narrow, tree-lined, one way residential street, but it's actually a main connection during afternoon drivetime from the county courthouse complex downtown to Morris Ave, a very major road that heads north to Union, the Parkway, Route 22, Springfield & Summit. I'm by the Morris Ave. end of that stretch, where commuters smell freedom. The big accidents occur over by Kean University, a large office park, & Schering-Plough on Morris. Sometimes the road is closed, emergency vehicles bunched up 100 yards beyond the police barricade, no easy detour.
This is Jersey driving. You need to know more than one way of getting from one place to another, & hope you choose the alternative before you're trapped.
Labels: Elizabeth NJ, in the news
Comments:
<< Home
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
You know how these politicians operate. The less the "people" have a say in decisions, the better. And this is not an exclusive province of either party.
As for your accident prone neighborhood, I have posted a number of times about the accidents and near misses at my corner, 6th and La Brea. It's the screech of the tires I hear first, while waiting until I hear the crash sound.
Post a Comment
As for your accident prone neighborhood, I have posted a number of times about the accidents and near misses at my corner, 6th and La Brea. It's the screech of the tires I hear first, while waiting until I hear the crash sound.
<< Home
