Gotham Notes...

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NYC Welcomes RNC Conventioneers!

Deeply inhale that wonderfully clean (according to the Republicans' own EPA) NYC air.

Many of you of the Republican faithful have always wanted to be just like your all-time hero, John Wayne.

Well, happily, here in New York, now you can be!

NY Daily News: 14 WTC search and rescue dogs dead

No need to thank us.

Consider this NY's small gift to you.

posted by Gotham 11:57 AM

Saturday, August 21, 2004

YOU CAN BE A WINNER!

NY Post: Ms. Subways 2004 Contest

As the official newspaper sponsor of the NYC Subway Centennial celebration, The Post is seeking Ms. Subways 2004. Are you a dynamic, articulate woman who is full of pride in New York?

If the answer is yes, then you could be the next Ms. Subways! Just answer the following questions (your answer can be up to 100 words for each of these questions):

• Why are you proud to be a New Yorker?
  
• Why do you think that you deserve to be Ms. Subways 2004?
  
• Why is the subway important to you?
  
  and
  
  
• Are you willing to let us push you in front of a speeding train entering the station, so we can get some super photos and at least a week's worth of great headlines about either your plucky "miracle" survival ("with all NYers tearfully praising your can-do American spirit") or your tragic demise ("with all NYers tearfully mourning the loss of your beauty and your can-do American courage"), whichever occurs.
  

Always looking to boost circulation, these guys.

Grand Prize Winner "Ms. Subways 2004" will be crowned in October at Ellen's Stardust Diner [Owned by an real former Miss Subways from the 1950s. - GN] and will receive:

* The opportunity to represent the MTA in a "courtesy campaign"
* An appearance at the MTA Subway Centennial Event on October 27
* One year of free transportation on NYC transit subways and local buses
* Ms. Subways 2004 crown and sash
* New York Post home delivery for a year

Ohhhh, that last prize is a deal-breaker, I afraid. Lose that last prize, and, hell, even I'd apply!

posted by Gotham 2:54 PM

Friday, August 20, 2004

Ted Kennedy on "No-Fly" List

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Voice of America: US Senator Complains About Being on Anti-Terror 'No Fly' List

And Ted Kennedy has clout.

How soon before Kennedy becomes a "political prisoner"? Next Tuesday? A month from now?

Imagine if it's just cloutless you in that spot.

Is everyone who hasn't contributed money to the Bush/Cheney '04 campaign a "terrorist"?

Should we now start thinking of all of these "terrorist" measures as the official George W. Bush administration's "Enemies List"?

Richard M. Nixon would be proud.

posted by Gotham 12:25 PM

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While Bush Becomes ...

...More frantic in trying to hold onto his job as the poll numbers slowly drift away on him, it seems one of his buddies and mentors is having his own serious political problems.

[Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon´s dilemma

Actually, while George W. Bush has been diddling with his poorly planned clambake in Iraq all these years, there have been all manner of actual conflicts around the world that needed his attention as president, and, of course, received none or precious little.

There's always Israel / Palestine, of course, but truthfully now, how much have you heard about:

Nepal

or

South Ossetia,

at all, let alone any participation by the U.S. in solving these crises?

We can't even get him to pay attention to Darfur, even when the whole rest of the world and half of this country fully agree that genocide is afoot in the Sudan. Even the pro-administration folks at CNN call this, "... the worst humanitarian crisis in the world."

Not to George.

While Feckless Leader has been busy creating friendly campaign photo-ops by packing rallies with hand-picked supporters, and controlling the media's reports, telling you that the U.S. is safer now that he took over an unarmed country, reporters can't even do their basic jobs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank without getting themselves killed or beaten and harrassed.

And while Bush is focusing his rabid base on the horrors of gay marriage, I imagine you haven't seen much about gay torture.

I assume these weren't in Condoleeza Rice's news briefing this morning. Otherwise, you'd think these affairs might be on the day's agenda for the President of the United States of America.

Granted, he doesn't like to take any time to read a newspaper, but at least he could take thirty seconds to scan the headlines at Google News or Yahoo News.

Just a thought...

posted by Gotham 10:36 AM

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Willie Horton Goes to War

NY Times: Politics as Usual

This whole anti-John Kerry ad flap is truthless campaign sleaze at its Lee Atwater finest.

It's been designed purely to steer Americans away from the crumbling Bush/Cheney '04 campaign, and to make conservative Democrats and any possible Kerry Republicans think twice and perhaps stay home (B/C '04's only real chance) on an election day where every single vote may prove critical.

Who cares if the Not-Too-Swift Boat Vets campaign is true or bogus? Doesn't matter. The conservative press has given it legs, so it's effective.

The simple fact is, it's a search and destroy mission. Period. They're just following orders. The mission is to destroy something. In this case, John Kerry. How you do this doesn't matter: just destroy it. As always, Truth (along with American Freedom, Liberty and Justice, etc.) is collateral damage.

As Kerry said today, turn your boat towards your attacker and counterattack.

So, it's time for the Kerry/Edwards campaign to push these two phrases—relentlessly:

"Prove it!" and "Then testify under oath!"

This is where John Edwards comes in. This is where we should see his value to the ticket. John Edwards needs to start working the phones, as he never has before.

It's time for his "Legally Blonde" epiphany moment. Send out the SOS to all your legal friends and colleagues; then, mobilize them. Get the courthouse phonetrees working.

His whole career has been built on salvaging the day for clients in peril who are being belittled and maligned by well-financed, major corporate media and legal efforts (i.e., corporate sleaze campaign strategies when companies realize they have a weak case: blame and destroy the victim).

The best way to make sleaze stop is to sue it. Sue it fast and hard for defamation and libel. In local courts, state courts and federal court. And most importantly, in the Court of Public Opinion. Make their heads swim. Scare the bejeesus out of the small Vet players and tie up the money of the GOP's big dogs.

But most importantly, put them in a position where they'd have to face the possibility of having to testify under oath and pain of perjury. Tell them to go ahead and prove it. We'll see if they stand their ground, or call for a speedy tactical retreat.

This is the aspect of John Edwards that scares the corporate right so badly. He, and his attorney colleagues, take their toys away and force them to pay up for their actions.

So the K/E campaign should just go ahead and utilize this weapon.

He can't do so directly, but Edwards must know scores of D & L attorneys who can step into this fray—apart from any Kerry campaign connection—and file suit in federal court against John O'Neill, Bob Perry, Larry Thurlow and the lot of them, up to, and including, any White House or Bush/Cheney '04 connections.

Considering that, as middle-class shills, the Not-Too-Swift Boat Vets Gang (aside from Perry) most likely don't have the finances to fight a federal suit, this should slow their step quite a bit.

You also would see how desperate the Bush campaign would be: we would assume that they'd let the whole thing disappear from a cost-analysis basis (they took a shot; it worked some and now it's time to move on to something else), but if they're really as scared of Kerry as they appear and are committed to going down this road as their only chance, they'd raise as much cash as needed.

Oh...BTW, while all this Not-Too-Swift Boat Vets Gang nonsense is keeping Wolf Blitzer and Joe Scarborough and the Cable Gang panting breathlessly until the Scott Peterson trial comes back from hiatus, has anybody noticed that this country and, by extention, major parts of the world are going to hell in a handbasket under this administration?

And that increasing numbers of Americans are telling polls they're now holding the administration accountable for all this mess?

And that no B/C '04 ad touts successes from their first term nor points to any uplifting agenda for a second term? That 15% of all B/C '04 ads say that George and Laura are "warm and fuzzy" while 85% of their ads follow the "Kerry is Satan" motif?

And that John Kerry's poll numbers still keep inching ever-upwards?

Not that there's any connection in all of this, of course.

posted by Gotham 2:25 PM

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

The Mayor of NYC Listens

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is our Gotham Notes Hero of the Day.

On both financial and political grounds.

Congratulations, Mr. Mayor, and from the citizens of New York City, thank you!

No sooner did we post yesterday's report on the drag on NYC's economy the Republican Convention should ultimately prove to be, and how the City should turn its financial affections towards the demonstrators pouring in by the hundreds of thousands with cash in their hot, progressive little hands, then the Mayor's office released this announcement on its official website, NYC.gov (BTW, look there for the announcement photo, which includes a NYC poster with Lady Liberty holding a protest sign instead of a torch. Classic. More Maalox for Karl Rove.):

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, FORMER MAYORS EDWARD I. KOCH AND DAVID N. DINKINS AND NYC & COMPANY TO WELCOME POLITICAL ACTIVISTS TO CITY WITH PROMOTION DESIGNED TO BOOST VISITOR SPENDING DURING THE 2004 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, NYC & Company Chairman Jonathan Tisch and President Cristyne Nicholas today announced a new visitor program created to welcome political activists and protesters during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Visitors to New York City planning to participate in permitted gatherings will be able to enjoy savings at participating NYC & Company member hotels, restaurants, retailers, cultural organizations, tours and attractions available online at www.nycvisit.com, the official visitor information website. The "Peaceful Political Activists" visitor program is the first of its kind for a national political convention, and visitors can take advantage of these special offers by wearing a button that will be distributed through NYC's Official Visitor Information Center and the organizations hosting these gatherings.

Now, along with the various, wonderful goodies, discounts and perks you gain by joining up with this program, I assume its snazzy official PPA Program button will make a police officer less likely to arrest or club you, n'cest pas?

This is Soooo much better an idea to alleviate the threat of violence during that week than having the FBI banging on doors of people who merely make travel plans to be in New York that week.

And so much more American.

This is why New York is simply better, smarter and hipper than anywhere else.

Plus, they've even lopped off the Sales Tax for the week!

Why, we can now even afford to rescind and mothball our popular, city-wide Rob-a-Republican Program! Shaking down the odd GOP weenie who wanders out of the compound, while emotionally comforting, is such a spit in the ocean compared to warmly welcoming the wallets and politics of a sea of progressive folks.

Well done, people! The citizenry salutes you all!

"Your Government At Work!"

(You've noticed in all this, of course, the glaring omission of the name of one Rudy Giuliani. Probably too busy scouring the Republican Donors List for a new girlfriend.)


"RNC? We don' need no stinkin' RNC!"

posted by Gotham 1:45 PM

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Maalox for Rove on Charley FEMA News

Man.

Consider this a bad swing state day.

Hurricane Charley ripped straight along the Interstate 4 corridor across Florida, which just happens to be one of the most hotly contested areas of the state in the upcoming election. Hence, the visit by the Bush Boys.

However, I can't imagine this response from FEMA director Michael Brown went down very well at Karl Rove's house this morning:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued $2 million in payments to 1,070 disaster victims. That's a small portion of the 35,000 people who have applied for relief, but FEMA director Michael Brown pledged that more checks were on the way.

[snip]

The government won't just hand money out pell-mell, FEMA chief Brown emphasized.

"We have a moral and fiduciary obligation to give this money to those who need it and meet the criteria so that we can protect the taxpayers," Brown said. "This is your money and my money." [GN's emphasis]

What an incredibly stupid, callous and ill-timed comment.

That quote is certain to cheer the hearts of all those remaining 33,930 Florida residents who have applied for relief because their lives have been ripped away from them.

Who happen to live in the area that may decide the next Presidential election.

My.

KR: "Get me Diebold on the phone; we've got problems!"

posted by Gotham 12:37 PM

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The Bush Boys' "Hearts and Minds" Thing

"C'mere and stand on this rubble with me for a moment while they get a shot of me feelin' your pain. How're ya doin'? I'm George W. Bush."

St. Petersburg Times / Hurricane Charley: As survivors wait in heat, hope wilts, tempers fray

Let's see here...

Florida has two to three serious hurricanes buffet each of its coastlines every late summer/fall. Happens every year. So, these storms come as no real surprise. They come every year; and there's always a few days' to a week's warning to prepare.

It seems that by now, The State of Florida (Jeb Bush (R), Governor) should have this drill pretty much down. Like clockwork. Not only its internal state governmental response, but its interagency relationships with the feds. Florida and FEMA should be hand-in-glove on this. Seems it should take only a phone call or two to put everything in motion. The only joker in the deck is exactly where landfall is. Everything else should be good to go. Or so one would think.

Throughout Florida nearly 700,000 people are still without power, and some may have to wait until the end of the month before they can turn on their lights again.

As of Monday, Progress Energy Florida had about 298,000 customers without electricity, and customers in Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties may have to wait until Aug. 24. Tampa Electric Co. was expecting to have fewer than 10,000 customers without electricity, while Florida Power & Light said it still had about 313,000 without power.

Getting information like that out to the survivors is proving to be a challenge. Charlotte County officials plan to print fliers and distribute them by hand, street by street. Also under consideration: airplanes towing banners.

"Gee...thanks for the flyer."

"Your Government in action!"

Tin cans and string might be an option as well.

This report also points out that Florida may replicate last summer's horror in France as scores of seniors died during that country's ongoing freak heat wave.

PUNTA GORDA - On Monday, the third morning after Hurricane Charley laid waste to Southwest Florida, the people who survived the storm began to wonder if they would survive its aftermath.

For every commodity—ice, water, federal aid—the lines are long. The days are hot and humid. There's no power. Air conditioning is a dream. Cars have no gas. Tempers are frayed. Rumors are widespread. So are mosquitoes.

"I'm afraid that more people will die in the recovery than died from the impact," fretted Charlotte County emergency management director Wayne Sallade.

Sallade said he worries about the toll that living for weeks in homes without air conditioning will take on the county's many elderly residents, or what could happen while they're cleaning up storm debris in the broiling sun.

"My biggest concern is my seniors and their exposure to the elements," he said. "There is no way to take this 90-degree weather and make it go away."

This event is more than a Karl Rove opportunity for payback for seniors not embracing the Medicare Card boondogle.

If George W. Bush is capable of doing anything more than smiling nicely during photo-ops and rallying his hand-picked supporters, he has to move quickly to save the lives of many of these elderly Americans.

If he's wanted to show those millions of Americans who think he's merely a poor little rich boy who's never had to do much in his life while the family's or the government's paid staff did the work, then here's his opportunity to prove that he is capable of an honest day's work.

He has to actually be President for a moment.

He has to lead.

Does he have it in him? Does Jeb Bush?

Or are they just a couple of those "Points of Light"?

We'll see.

posted by Gotham 12:07 PM

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Like Clockwork...

It's an old story.

No sooner do the Bush Boys come to town, then prices go up.

NY Times: With Storm Gone, Floridians Are Hit With Price Gouging

posted by Gotham 10:53 PM

---

On a Beautiful Tuesday Morn...

Today is one of those perfect New York days of lore.

The sunlight is caressing each nook and every cranny of some of the most amazing architecture in the world.

It's a gorgeous 69 degrees, going up to perhaps 80. The normal sauna-like humidity of New York in August has broken and the air is sweet and clear.

And beautiful Gotham's politicians and her bureaucratic minions are starting to panic. Really panic.

So, what could be bad?

NY Times: New York City Lowering Its Sights for a Convention Boom

Yup.

The city's host committee and all the city's bureaucracy never thought that they'd be in a position to be fending off questions along the line of, "So, how big a financial bath is New York gonna take on this wingding?"

The numbers are starting to come in from Boston, and little beads of sweat are starting to pop up on the smartly clean-shaven upper lips of the RNC Convention Host Committee members.

Officials in Boston had said that the Democratic convention would pump $154 million into that city's economy, but it virtually shut down much of the city, strangling businesses that had hoped to profit from the influx. The Beacon Hill Institute, a research organization affiliated with Suffolk University in Boston, found that the convention brought in only $14.8 million, a tenth of what Boston officials had anticipated, though city officials dispute the study's findings, and final figures on hotel occupancy and the like have yet to be tallied. [GN's emphasis]

Hmmm.

Our guys are quoting $254 million extra for our coffers.

Those little beads of sweat seem to be getting larger.

It's now a safe bet to say that the majority of NYers want this little coronation ceremony to just go away and be over with. A sentiment I assume is shared by the honchos at the RNC. A frat party in the middle of 8 million hostile residents can't be the swell idea it seemed when they booked this shindig at a time George W. Bush's approval ratings were through the roof.

Like the L.A. Olympics in the '80s and the Democratic Convention in Boston last month, this event is causing a major segment of moderate- to better-heeled NYers to flee to their vacation homes, or basically to just get the hell out of town. Along with their millions of natively spent disposible dollars.

Yes, there will be a sizeable financial bump from this convention, but unfortunately for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, it will be in the Hamptons, the Jersey Shore and the Adirondack Mountains.

These thousands of folks are being supplanted by only 50,000 Republican delegates—some of whom will be very well off and would not deign to leave the cushy confines of catered swank; they'll only see bits of NYC on their way to and from the airports.

One should assume that the bulk of the GOP revelers will be your basic homespun party faithful who are being given a trip to The Big City.

Assume that you will hear "Hey, Big Spender" from Sweet Charity played often in clubs around town that week. We can safely assume most of this drunken, evangelical corn-fed crowd won't get the joke.

The Host Committee fears these folks (as well as the hordes of journalists covering them) will do what all types of convention-goers do:

• Leave their families home to save money
  
  
• Double up on their hotel rooms to save money
  
  
• Scour the list of parties to scrouge all the free eats and booze they can ingest, rather than deal with the sticker shock of the basic NYC diet
  
  
• Twitter among themselves about the $14 pancakes one of them had yesterday when they actually ventured out "into New York" a block away
  
  
• Utilize all the freebies they can get their grubby little mitts on, from Broadway show tickets to the tons of "stuff" from retail stores' and manufacturers' giveaway promotions
  
  
• Without their families along, they'll look to each other for safety, comfort and camaraderie and just stay at their hotels and the convention with all its glitz, glamour and things to entertain them. It's a stretch to think that more than merely a handful of the GOP's intensely curious will break from the cocoon set up for them, and actually venture out to engage with "Real New Yorkers."
  
  Which is just as well since "Real New Yorkers" are staunchly Democratic and hate Republicans both as a party per se and for what it has done to our fair city (remember, it was Republican Gerald Ford who gave us the headline in the New York Daily News, "Ford to NY: Drop Dead" and it's Republican George W. Bush who smeared the ashes of 2,000 NYers on himself, hugged a fireman then screwed us out of not only the $21 billion in relief aid he promised us during one of his famous 9/11 photo ops, but continues to do so in every budget he sends to Capitol Hill).
  
  Besides, we'd probably just spit on them anyway. So, it's better they stay safe inside the Garden—although their having to clean spittle off their suits for four days straight would be a boon to the Dry Cleaning industry throughout Manhattan. Consider it a bipartisan action: Democrats helping the GOP support small business.
  
  
• Stay within the confines of the safe police bunker that's being set up for them.
  
  Many of them will assume that, yes, NY has cleaned up, but will still be scared that we've swapped "Thugs from the South Bronx" for "Thugs from Saudi Arabia."
  

One glorious thing about New Yorkers is that we are resourceful. If Plan A doesn't work out so well, we don't shed tears, we just slide over to Plan B, smile, and hug It as our new best friend.

So, it seems more and more likely that Mayor Bloomberg will need to shift his focus from those deadbeats at the convention, and instead, look to the possibility of having the City embrace upwards to 500,000 to a 1,000,000 people for a Protest Demonstration Party.

50,000 weenies shuttling back and forth between the Garden and various hotel ballroom parties, on the hunt for already paid-for goodies for four days isn't going to help us any.

But A MILLION PEOPLE IN THE STREETS?!!!?

Now, THIS is something The City of New York can understand and embrace!

• A million people have to eat. With no access to the catered affairs, they'll wipe out every deli and restaurant in this city. Ka-ching!
  
  
• A million people have to use toilets. In NY, that means going into a restaurant or store. Not all, but many people feel the need to buy something in return for the hospitality. Ka-ching!
  
  
• A million people have to get around, covering wide areas to attend various demonstrations popping up all over town. The taxi industry will be delighted to ferry them around from protest to protest, since the GOPers will be ferried everywhere and tying up midtown, effectively killing the taxi trade for these four days. The MTA will also gain a massive fare boost for subways and buses. Ka-ching!
  
  
• A million people have to sleep somewhere. So all those hotel rooms that are going begging should jump on the phone to MoveOn, ACT, Not In Our Name and all the other protest organizers and start offering their best discount deals. It's found money. Ka-ching!
  
  
• A Progressive fashion surge. A million people from around the world means at least 600,000 women, most of whom have never been here before, and many of whom can be expected to succumb to shoe lust at some point during their four days here. Ka-ching!
  
  
• That leaves some 400,000 men, many with moderate means who will not be able to afford the tourist trap food prices in midtown Manhattan and will naturally seek more affordable fare further afield in the boro and in the other four boros as well. Ka-ching!
  
  
• With a million people expressing their American Privilege to protest and dissent, it's inevitable that there will be:
  
  
  
  1. Republican honchos who will want this "riff-raff" arrested and taken off the streets, and
     
  2. At least a couple hundred crazies who have a history of bad family problems and just want to wreck things whenever they're in a crowd greater than six.
     
     Every demonstration I've been in since 1968 has had them, so we should just expect it this time as well. The media loves them. The coverage of all protests consists of pictures of fourteen assholes being clubbed instead of the 40,000 or 400,000 folks peacefully filling the streets for miles on end.
     
  
  This means thousands of people will need a lawyer when the orders come down to clear the streets and the crazies get going and the NYPD, who'll most likely be fabulous to that point, overreact and lots of folks get caught up and beaten and wounded in the melee.
  
  Good for the lawyers; good for the hospitals and doctors folks get taken to; good for the pharmacies; good for the insurance companies; good for New York City.
  
  Ka-ching!
  
  Ka-ching!
  
  Ka-ching!
  

So, New York's new RNC Convention Host Committee banner should read:

NEW YORK WELCOMES THE RNC DEMONSTRATORS!
HAVE A GREAT TIME!


"Republicans, who? Yo, kid, come back when you've got some money to spend."

As Karl Malden put it so very well:
"The American Express Card. Don't leave home without it!"

posted by Gotham 1:01 PM

Monday, August 16, 2004

Welcome to Your Shiny, New Police State

"They'rrrrre heeeeeerrrre..."

You thought they were joking.

Right-wing nut-job militias have holed up in bunkers around the country for decades now, arming themselves against what they've contended was the inevitable onslaught of federal troops declaring martial law in the U.S., putting an end to American freedom and liberty as we have come to know it.

We scoffed at their lunacy.

Over the last three years, easily tens of thousands of liberal and middle-of-the-road Americans have become increasingly fearful of the United States becoming a police state under the Bush administration overall, and the Justice Department headed by John Ashcroft in particular.

We laughed at their paranoia.

Well, scoff no longer. It's official; you no longer have any rights protected under what used to be called the Constitution of the United States of America.

F.B.I. Goes Knocking for Political Troublemakers

And it will only get worse.

"Political Troublemakers" created this country. "Political Troublemakers" are the men and women we study in school.

"Political Troublemakers" have put this country through the crucible of dissent for hundreds of years, making this nation stronger and forcing it to stay on the path of freedom and liberty. Three centuries' worth of selfish and powerful interests have attempted to steal this land's greatness and its riches from the American people. "Political Troublemakers" stopped them every time. Often at the cost of great personal sacrifice and, occasionally, bloodshed.

Today, your right to free speech is gone. Your right to dissent is in tatters.

As it stands now, the only greater peril for the future safety and stability of this country other than George W. Bush's re-election would be the election of John Kerry.

Not on its merits, but on its feared impact on this country.

We can now safely assume that there is no conceivable way that this Bush administration will relinquish power in any way at any time for any reason.

This is all about power. They've got it; they're not giving it up.

The Constitution be damned.

Period.

If they can do it peaceably, through the ballot, fine. If that doesn't work, we can now also safely assume that they will take any and all measures to assure the continuation of their grip on the power of this country.

If that means burning the Bill of Rights on the Washington Mall, no problem.

If that means martial law, then this administration says, so be it. If that means civil war, then this administration says, so be it. They have the reins of power, and all its perks, and the mighty, mighty advertising cudgel of "9/11" and "terrorism" (whatever that means), and they will now stop at nothing.

Through the administration's actions, we see this nation slide closer and closer towards becoming a fascist state.

Just as in Nazi Germany, those who propose and plan for evil are only a small percentage of those effecting deadly changes.

They are only as powerful as those legions who aid and abet their compact with the devil.

There are thousands of trained, competent Field Agents in the FBI. Many of them are fine people, with families, who care passionately about their jobs. It is up to them to avoid allowing themselves and their Bureau to be manipulated and molded into a hammer of evil.

These are the people who are going to look in the mirror one day, and have to accept the fact that they, personally, through their actions, assisted in the end of the United States of America.

That they struck a blow against Liberty.

Even if they are stuck "following orders," we all know that there is a quantum leap between simply driving past "a suspect's" house and filling out a form, and digging into some innocent American's life like a dog after a bone.

Everyone has a certain lattitude built into their job.

Each FBI agent and FBI office functionary will have to decide for themselves if they truly are Americans or simply the minions of thugs.

posted by Gotham 2:34 PM

Friday, August 13, 2004

"The Shadow Knows...
But Not On the Record

Rational behavior is creeping back into the national press.

A case in point from today's Washington Post:

This article by Mike Allen—White House Warns of Terror Strike—ends up buried back on Page 5 of the paper rather than plastered across Page 1.

We at Gotham Notes salute the bit of sanity that is creeping back into the offices of the Post.

But a side note to Mr. Allen:

Enough with the blind quotes, already.

"The Bush administration believes..."

as well as

"...a White House official said yesterday. "

Oh, really. Which one? If he doesn't want to be named, then he/she/it has noting to offer us but spin. And spin is in overabundance, as we all know.

Unfortunately, you give this cipher way too much airtime.

"The official ratcheted up administration warnings of an election-related attack..."

They seem rather at-sea over this whole presidential election process, don't you think?

"The White House official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity, ..."

That is a Bush administration hallmark, only because you on the WH beat have allowed it. The only things on the record to emerge from this WH has been the State of the Union speeches and you see how well THEY turned out.

"... said the government had not gleaned any new information about political motives for an attack since the spring, ..."

Ahem...Why is it that you're wasting precious moments of your life talking to this person, then? He/She/It's telling you clearly that there's no news to report.

"Nothing to date indicates "an imminent operation," the official said."

Oh.

"Administration officials said over the weekend ..."

And

"Nevertheless, the official referred to "the preelection plot" ..."

Why not? It's a winner for the the WH so far; so stay with it.

"... the official said." / "the official replied" / "The official invoked the elections in Spain," and again, "The official invoked the elections in Spain, however, the official added, 'I have seen no indication of an imminent operation.' "

You sure let He/She/It get a fair amount of uncorraborated, unsubstantiated fear-mongering in there, didn't you, Mike? And without even having to submit to the evil "On The Record" trap.

Mike, get back to us when you've got a living human being who'll go on record. Otherwise, it's just more spin and we're not going to believe them (or you) until they fess up.

posted by Gotham 8:27 PM

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Passages

NY Daily News: Mets' Announcer Bob Murphy dies at 79

and

Voice of the Mets passes away

Bob Murphy's voice wasn't the first voice I heard on a New York Mets' broadcast in 1962—that voice belonged to one of his partners, the dean of this new broadcast team, Lindsey Nelson.

But Bob's lasted most consistently and for the longest time.

Nelson was grace and professionalism personified. Ralph Kiner had a former player's eye for the game and a treasure trove of great stories, and enough malaprop-isms to turn into a signature style.

Bob Murphy was in love with, and in awe of, everything baseball. I can only imagine he was the same way with life.

I started listening to Murphy, Nelson and Kiner during the Mets' inaugural season—when I was 11, an age when every moment of existence is immense. And they had just created a brand new major league baseball team! In New York City! How immense was that? The Murph seemed to feel the same way.

While never a partisan home team rooter, or the dreaded "homer," he still always conveyed that every Mets' opponent was possessed of extraordinary skills: every opposing pitcher was "marvelous" and had "dominant stuff", every enemy hitter was "a marvelous hitter," and exhibited enormous power, speed and bat control. The Mets seemingly always faced insurmountable odds. Yet through this crucible came a never-ending stream of young and aging New York Mets, skilled, able and ready for the challenge. They also were "marvelous" young pitchers and hitters.

Of course, being a slow child, it took me until I was 19 or so before I realized that, no, a lot of these Mets' prospects and veterans, about whom Bob found nice/kind things to say, weren't all that skilled or particularly able. As a kid, I was always wondering how it could be that all of these amazing young propects moving through the Mets' farm system to the big leagues could be traded to other teams and never seem to prosper as major league-caliber stars.

But Murphy made you listen. No matter your age. No matter your station in life. No matter the state of the world. No matter where you were.

I remember more than one occasion when a trip to the market, or even to a club or restaurant's Men's Room would include a period of prolonged lingering, after all duties were accomplished, listening to the transistor radio belonging to the counterperson or the Washroom Attendant, or the big radio coming from the big kitchen at the bottom of the stairs, next to the phonebooth and the restrooms.

In these blue-collar places, there was always the sound of Bob Murphy—telling the story of some excruciatingly important moment in a ballgame, which he was watching and you were missing. It didn't matter if it were the playoffs in October or an unimportant game on a Tuesday night in June, there was always drama and an urgency about the situation he saw before him. He'd force you to stop, hanging on what was to happen next. Often, others collected with you, caught by the moment as well. "What's the score?" stands as the official NYC motto. Then you'd hear the pitch or the batter or the inning resolve itself, related in Murphy's singular style, allowing you all to breathe again, to smile and to nod to each other, then off you all went, back to rejoin your respective lives.

This could and did happen at places like Tavern on the Green, as well as the grungiest coffee shops and hot dog stands in New York City. Didn't matter. Junkies or bankers, everyone bonded listening to the Murph.

If he could do that with a simple summer ballgame, his true power was in a championship game. He was truly Mr. October.

The famous 16-inning Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS against the Houston Astros remains as much notorious for the fact that this early afternoon game collided with NYC's evening rush hour as it was for Bob's now world-famous call of its ending. New York City stopped dead in its tracks at 5 o'clock—it was only the 10th inning, and in the 9th inning, the Mets had tied up a game that was certainly lost; so no one moved; no one rushed home. The streets of midtown were deserted. Almost every NYer was clumped with scores of other NYers—friend, foe and total strangers—glued to a radio someone had, hanging on Bob's account of the game, everyone rising and falling with every pitch, through every torturous extra inning. Millions were terrified that he or she would be in the subway or in a LIRR train tunnel when whatever momentous thing we all knew was coming happened. After Bob's famous call, after 6:30 pm or so, if I recall correctly, midtown Manhattan exploded. People held captive by the game for hours came pouring out of office towers, stores, bars, shops, wherever they had been, now all trying to "get home." The sidewalks were a party, akin to New Year's Eve—hundreds of thousands of people laughing and smiling, shouting "Let's Go, Mets!" to total strangers as they passed. It was a New York Carnavale. A magical moment when all of New York bonded in a way I had never seen to that point, and have never seen again other than, in a different form, on 9/11.

Consider it Murph's fault.

A few years ago, he said something that has stayed with me. And probably always will.

It was a hot miserable night against a team I don't remember. I don't even remember the play. He and his last partner, Gary Cohen, were sitting, relating a fairly hum-drum ballgame. They were doing their utmost to breathe some life into this dull game when something exciting and unique happened. Cohen called the play, but when he was done, Murphy chimed in, sounding duly stunned.

"This is what I love about the game of baseball: Just when you think you've seen everything there is to see, you see something that you've never seen before!"

Not only did Murphy's awe of baseball that night match my own, but it's stayed with me as one of the most profound statements about the awe of life I've ever heard.

So, to Bob Murphy, whose voice always seemed to be coming "from over there, somewhere" in your life: from some distant window, from the neighbors' backyard, from a stoop down the block, from a car stopped at a red light, from some beach blanket twenty yards from yours, from the boardwalk somewhere, from the hot dog stands, the gas stations and, yes, even from the restrooms and kitchens of our lives, I say, Thank You, Bob, for having been there for all of us. And for allowing us to share your awe.

posted by Gotham 3:37 PM

---

Government Waste

From: New York City
To: The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security
(with special focus on their respective New York offices)


Please shut up, and just go do your jobs.

And stay out of the papers until, and unless, you have a case to bring to court, a report of a plot that you've just broken up or a concrete threat where you can give us at least a few of the Who, What, When, Where, Why & How's of the situation. If you've got nothing, then I repeat: Shut up!

What we especially don't want to see is crap like this:

NY Daily News: FBI fears Qaeda suspects in city

Gosh. Who knew???

Well, no shit, Sherlock.

It took all of you four years to reach THIS conclusion?

NYC has rats and roaches, too. You left out that newsflash.

Pasquale D'Amuro, director of the FBI's New York office and a veteran terrorism investigator [sic], ... said the monitoring began long before this weekend's heightened alert was announced.

Oh.

And up 'til now, you've been OK being quiet about the fact you had nothing.

So now, the RNC Convention Circus is heading to town, with enough headlines to pass around to everybody, and now you decide to walk behind the Elephant with a broom?

You up for a job review, or something, D'Amuro? You think scaring the shit out of people when you've got nothing is gonna get you a raise?

Plus, citizens of New York, it seems D'Amuro isn't the only shining beacon in this office.

It's not clear whether the updates are from publicly available sources or from personal surveillance.

"The whole question is, how do we assess all of this?" said FBI counterterror director John Pistole.

Yo, Pistole! Why the hell are you asking US?!

You're supposed to be the professional cop here; we're just the working schlubs you're getting paid to protect. So, now you're telling us that you don't have a clue?

What? Are you guys deputizing the whole city now? You can't do it alone? Poor babies!

Your question is meant for serious pondering at your desk, pally, or at a conference table with guys like D'Amuro, not for splashing across the front of "New York's Hometown Paper!"

How much are we paying you guys, here?

My Lord! What incompetent schmucks!

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge met yesterday at the Citigroup Center with security chiefs from the city's largest financial institutions and rejected suggestions that presidential election politics were behind the weekend's terror alert.

Simply put, Tom Ridge is lying.

Plus, if you think about it, the Citigroup Center isn't all that immediate a target if Ridge and a posse of corporate security chiefs are actually sitting in it. They're incompetent; not stupid.

He also dismissed the fact that much of the surveillance is several years old."

[snip]

"So I don't want anyone to disabuse themselves of the seriousness of this information simply because there are some reports that much of it is dated .... "

A-bugga-bugga! Oooooh, scary...

You're giving us no great faith in your department's investigative skills, here, Tom.

Your whole operation has become a laughingstock.

BTW, any luck in finding Amelia Erhardt's plane yet?

How about The Anthrax Guy?

Can your department even find a container ship in a U.S. port, let alone inspect one?

"We know that this is an organization, a terrorist organization, that does its homework," said Ridge.

As opposed to the Justice and Homeland Security Departments.

" .... This is a resilient organization that does its homework, and we just have to accept that reality."

Here, it's obvious he's talking about Karl Rove and Bush/Cheney '04—owners in perpetuity of the Universe and all things governmental.

Oh. BTW Tom, while you're having fun scaring us, where's our $21 billion 9/11 aid package?

And, also, have you written a check yet to Mayor Michael Bloomberg to cover all the NYPD's overtime costs your little ruse just incurred? You can just messenger it on over to City Hall.

Thanks.

Oh, yeah. And you be sure to call us if you boys get something.

posted by Gotham 1:12 PM

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Laura Heinz Bush

AP: Laura Bush Takes Swipe at Journalists

Man, they're scared.

posted by Gotham 9:57 PM

---

The Matrix Reloads

It's Ba-a-a-a-ck.

AP: ACLU Sues to Halt Mich. Police Database

The Matrix, that is.

Remember, this isn't a movie. This is real terrorism, from a federal administration run amok. Invented by a convicted Boca Raton drug smuggler and brought to you by early backer, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who introduced it to the White House. Where, of course, it received rave reviews and funding.

And what is rising Democratic star Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm doing harboring such a dangerous toy?

Cheeeesh...

It just looks really bad for a Republican former governor to be suing in order to get the current Democratic administration to stop illegally collecting information on its law-abiding citizens.

posted by Gotham 9:48 PM

---

Dead-Cat Bounce for Bush?

The GOP is currently obsessed with bounces.

So it's not too early for them to be terrified about what little bounce George W. Bush is facing, as he comes out of his convention.

Returning to today's NYTimes polling story, a couple of points arise.

For good or for ill, the American people already feel they have an firm idea of just who George W. Bush really is. Like him or hate him, they "know" him.

This limits the amount of convincing spin allowable in his presentation. It's already been established. As the stock market enjoys saying, "this news has already been priced in."

The newschannels and papers have been saying for months that Americans don't "know" John Kerry.

Which is why Karl Rove has been trying mightily to tell them. With mixed results, as we're now seeing.

This gives the Kerry campaign great lattitude in how they can present their candidate—since everything they say gets met with an "Oh, I didn't know that about him" response from around the country.

So, for all the harsh orchestration of the Democratic convention in Boston last week, a great deal was actually accomplished.

Fast forward to late August in New York City—where the GOP will be as welcome as U.S. air bases in Mecca.

The American public won't see the bulk of what is actually accomplished during that week, since the real action won't be on the floor but rather at the luxurious parties thrown by and for the corporati. That's where all the deals will be made.

The convention delegates will basically have nothing much to do other than pray mightily that Tom Ridge's terror alert was, in fact, a hoax, so that they don't get blown to kingdom come while trying to have a good time in the Big City. What time is left over after praying for their very lives will be spent cheering boring speeches, all repeating that John Kerry is Satan; wearing funny hats; gettting the clap from a hooker; getting spat upon and/or robbed by angry NYers; and having obscenities screamed at them by rioting activists.

What fun!

The GOP knows how to take care of their core support, boy.

The rest of the American people will be spared most of that; seeing only spot coverage of the "Kerry/Satan" stuff, and a beaming and oh-so-surprised George happily thanking the delegates who've survived the week's experience for his nomination.

Yawn.

Nowhere in all that will there be any ability to re-define Bush; to reach out in any meaningful way to the "Persuadables," who are beginning a slow but steady move to Kerry.

Team Rove has labored 24/7/365 for many years to create the George W. we all now know.

Like him or hate him, what you see in George W. is what you get. Don't expect any "The New Nixon" type of makeover. It's just too late for that.

So, if, in fact, the vast majority of Americans have already set their choices in granite; if the undecided vote is starting to slide slowly to Kerry; if some moderate Republican support is actually starting to ebb from Bush; and if the core Democratic base is simply a larger number than the core Republican base to begin with, where exactly does Bush get his bounce?

As passionately as the GOP has climbed all over this "bounce issue," it's going to bite them rather badly when there's NO bounce for Feckless Leader.

How does the GOP avoid hearing, "Thud"?

In this New World Order of "Perception Is King," that's going to look and sound very, very bad.

How do you cure Bush's "Dead-Cat Bounce"?

Might it be possible that Bush family uber-fixer James L. Baker is currently in the Middle East, trying to negotiate a terror attack for convention week, thereby giving Bush and the GOP something to rally around?

Nah....that's too paranoid, even for me.

That's...

That's...

Hmmmm...

posted by Gotham 3:01 PM

---

OUTRAGE! GOP IN TERROR HOAX!

Moving from last night's NY Times and Washington Post to today's AP:

U.S. officials: Intel dated back as far as 2000, 2001

Old news. No threat. Just lies. Tom gets to laugh at John Ashcroft since HE gets to blow the horn this time.

Tom Ridge has squandered any last credibility he had. Americans, and especially, NYers and residents of Washington, D.C., will never believe a thing this man says ever again. And—in that—we face our gravest peril.

The GOP has now gone too far.

Over time, they have come up with a stunning array of clever spins, mockeries, lies and distortions to steer our emotions away from our actually looking at their "achievements."

But even by the GOP's low brain-stem standards, this is a thoroughly disgusting and nausea-inducing ploy.

We here in New York City have lived with a target on our backs for close to three years now. We know that danger and that horror; we've learned to live with it. We've come to terms with that reality the same way Californians do, when living directly on the San Andreas Fault or in a palatial house surrounded by tinder-dry brush.

You live your life. Period.

What we don't need is the GOP abusing that horror, using us for their own political gain.

After Karl Rove's wall-to-wall attempts to define who John Kerry is for the American public this spring, it's becoming very clear that his efforts have fallen short.

Here—in case you have any doubt—are the real reasons for the alerts:

WP: Convention Gives Kerry Slight Lead Over Bush

Kerry energized his Democratic base and effectively introduced himself to many voters who had only a vague impression of him and reestablished himself as the candidate who better understands the problems of average Americans, the poll found. He appeared to answer questions about his fitness to assume the presidency in a time of crises abroad and terrorist threats at home.

Kerry, who emphasized his military service and began his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination by announcing he was "reporting for duty," is viewed by 52 percent of all voters as better able to serve as commander in chief, while 44 percent back Bush. And Kerry has erased the president's double-digit advantage as the candidate best able to deal with terrorism.
[snip]
A bare majority of voters -- 53 percent -- say they now have a clear idea of where Kerry stands on the issues, up from 46 percent immediately before the convention.

and this as well,

NYT: Polls Show Tight Race With a Few Gains for Kerry

Pollsters said such little movement after the extravaganza of a convention and a vice-presidential selection underlined how tight and frozen the contest was, and suggested an electorate that had largely made up its mind and was resistant to the kind of gyrations typical in most presidential campaigns. Some pollsters said that in this environment, slight shifts in voter sentiment that could prove significant on Election Day might not be picked up in national polls. The pollsters also said voter opinions of Mr. Kerry's qualifications had improved markedly.

Mr. Kerry's pollster, Mark Mellman, pointed to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, a CBS News poll, and a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, which all showed that Americans' views of Mr. Kerry had improved after a convention that had sought to build up his security and foreign policy credentials. The Gallup Poll found that an equal number of Americans—48 percent—said they trusted Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry to "handle the responsibilities of commander in chief of the military." Before the convention, Mr. Bush led Mr. Kerry on that question 51 percent to 43 percent.

"All the numbers suggest that this convention was a huge success," Mr. Mellman said. "The one thing you don't see is a big change in the horse race, but you can't have a change in an election like this."

Here is what is afoot here:

[Disclaimer: Once again let me state that I worked for Louis Harris & Assocs., The Harris Poll, for close to twenty years.]

Despite the GOP's Talking Points Army fanning out across the media Sunday, there never WAS going to be a decent-sized overall-race bounce for Kerry. The population has locked in emotionally, in an extremity not seen since before the Civil War. So, these numbers were not going to move much at all. What IS fascinating to look at, however, is the major movement within the Internal numbers.

This "paltry" four-to-seven point jump taken by Kerry should chill B/C'04's leaders to the bone.

Since there was no room for any bounce, even this minor four-to-seven point jump means the hotly contested "Persuadables" are in motion. And they're moving towards Kerry. That's very bad news for Rove.

All the Internal numbers show that the American public is starting to "know" John Kerry in a way they hadn't before the convention. And they seem to like what they see so far. That's very bad news for Rove.

The dramatic Internal number movement also means Kerry's core Democratic base is moving from merely hating Bush (which could conceivably spend itself and peter out at some point) to embracing Kerry as a man, leader, etc., and re-energizing Kerry's base. Now they have something to work FOR, as well as to work AGAINST.

At the same time, it means some of Bush's core support is also seeing a different John Kerry than they'd been told about, giving some of them second thoughts. Perhaps Kerry isn't Satan. Even if these moderates aren't ready to tell some pollster that they're changing their vote, that's still VERY bad news for Rove.

You can believe that the GOP could and would have handled a large horse-race bounce. Those leads come and go all the time. They could have weathered a large jump in Kerry's domestic numbers. They've already ceded that to Kerry. But Kerry's success in upping his "Commander-in-Chief" numbers were absolute poison for Bush/Cheney '04.

And do not for a moment doubt that these people behind Bush will go to ANY lengths to salvage their deteriorating position.

If it gets bad enough for them, watch for them to resurrect their idea of last month to postpone the election—for "terror concerns." Indefinitely, if need be (i.e., the poll numbers don't improve). Because, they'll say, "while we're safer than we've ever been, we're still not safe."

[ BTW, have you actually taken the time (when you're not fearfully running for your life) to parse that statement?]

This terror hoax clearly points out in earnest what I've recently been saying merely in jest:

"Vote for me—or die!!" is the official campaign slogan of B/C'04.

This administration owes New York City and Washington, D.C. a formal apology.

Oh, and BTW, where's our $21 billion 9/11 aid package?

posted by Gotham 1:13 PM