AS of January 1, New York has a new mayor. Bill de Blasio was sworn in and outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg was almost literally sworn out.
Yeah, the incoming Mayor de Blasio and his roster of speakers did not have much nice to say about the Bloomberg Administration. Now, don't get me wrong. I have spent many years railing against Nanny Bloomberg, but there is one thing that in indisputable. In the twelve year that Mayor Bloomberg was in charge, he and his Administration left New York City a much better place to live. Maybe too much better, but you wouldn't know if from de Blasio and his "friends". His ongoing campaign theme was "Tale of Two Cities". You know where the rich just get richer and the poor get poor and never the twain shall meet.
It started off okay. Bill Clinton (yes, that Bill Clinton) was chosen to swear Mr. de Blasio in as the New Mayor and he was about the only one who didn't swear at outgoing Mayor Bloomberg. Clinton spoke glowingly of Mayor Bloomberg and how he improved the city since taking office in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. And he was only one to say "Thank You" to Mayor Bloomberg for his "incredible commitment" and stewardship. The rest of the speakers spent the remainder of their valuable time...well, let me just give you some of the more choice quotes.
First up, Harry Belafonte - He should have sung a song, but sadly he did not. First, he called the Bloomberg Administration "Dickensian" and he did not mean it in a good way either. He stated that "New York alarmingly plays a tragic role in the fact that our nation has the largest prison population in the world." He could have been referring to the many New York City elected officials who have been arrested, but sadly that is not what he meant. He was referring to that evil, yet highly effective "stop, question, and frisk" policy of the New York City police department which oddly has brought the murder rate down to historic lows and incarceration rates down 36% since 2002. But why let facts get in the way of "speaking truth to power", right?
Next up, Sanitation Department Chaplain Fred Lucas Jr. (who knew the Sanitation HAD a chaplain!) - He referred to New York City as "a plantation" and but not before he asked God to free New York from the "shackles of partisan politics" and "political correctness". Needless to say, many are calling for him to resign. Not only because of his tasteless remarks, but the more pressing question as to why the Sanitation Department needs their own dedicated Chaplain.
Then came Letitia James, newly elected Public Advocate (the most pointless position in our city government) who trotted out a 12 year old girl recently profiled in the NYT as the face of poverty and homelessness in New York. (more on that later, maybe) Here is what Ms. James had to say - “The policies that made us voiceless must give way to a government that works for them, that speaks for them, that cares more about a child going hungry than a new stadium or a new tax credit for a luxury development that a majority of New Yorkers can’t afford.” and added that “we live in a gilded age of inequality [see: Tale of Two Cities] where decrepit homeless shelters and housing developments stand in the neglected shadow of gleaming multimillion-dollar condos.” Ironically, in the seven day since the inauguration, Ms. James has been called out as a liar for falsely taking credit for bringing the plight of the 12 year old to the attention of the NYT, and that, even better, she owns a few of those "decrepit" housing developments that stand neglected. Oopsey...
Interestingly, Al Sharpton was not invited to speak. I am pretty sure that it was because he wasn't really needed as the grievance lobby was well represented.
Mayor Bloomberg who was sitting on the dais right behind all of the speakers and sat stone-faced the entire time. It was reported that he made a brief appearance at the post-inauguration reception inside City Hall, but did not linger. The fallout has been amusing. Though New Yorkers loved to whine about Mayor Bloomberg (me included), they...we give him credit for making the city better and safer and the inauguration speakers have been universally condemned as insulting, "smug", and "graceless". It does not bode well for New Yorkers that Mayor de Blasio declared that he was "very comfortable" with what his speakers had to say.
Issues for NY'ers to look forward to with our new Mayor de Blasio - higher crime rates, higher taxes, and a more entrenched Big Labor on the public payroll...yey!
39 comments:
Bev, What a bunch of shits. On the other hand, I have no sympathy for Doomberg. The guy thought he could endear himself to liberals and now he's found out how unwelcome he will be in their ranks. Thus is the fate of useful idiots everywhere... loved from afar, up against the wall once their "friends" takes power.
They invited Harry Belafonte to speak? I respect the man's past work but he's a hard leftist who has gotten crabby(er) in his old age. Inviting him was a 'bull in a china shop' move. Sounds like the others are pieces of work as well though I've never heard of them.
Given that NY's stop and frisk resulted in seizures of guns in less than .1% (note the decimal) of cases, I do think the NYPD and Bloomberg killed the program by going crazy. Many conservatives complain about intrusive airport security. Imagine if that was the level of scrutiny one had to face when one was walking to the school or the local 7/11 or what have you. People will trade liberty for security but there are limits.
Still, the other de Blaisio goals are insane. Drive up taxes on the rich, they move. On a similar note, capital is fleet of foot (certainly fleeter than workers) so if unions/workers demand too much, capital sets up shop elsewhere. Yeah, its a race to the bottom and it kind of sucks, but nobody said life is fair.
I'm sorry, I'm still stuck on the Sanitation Department chaplain! Does the Sanitation Department have their own chapel? Does he do weddings?!
Sounds like business as usual... but I'm still itching to go back one day, if only for a week to visit. :-)
Even the New York Times is blasting the speakers. The New York Freakin' Times.
LINK
Andrew - Like I said, I have been one of Bloomberg's stalwart complainer mainly since his 3rd Term overthrow of the democratic process and other nanny issues (we all know what those have been). However, where Bloomberg IS a flaming social liberal, he is decidedly a fiscal and security conservative who made it his priority to lower crime - because they work in tandem. Lowering crime means rise in tourism (which has been dramatic and frustrating), gentrification of failing neighborhoods and real estate, boom in real estate prices and an overall economic boom. When people feel safe, they spend money. The flip side is that Manhattan is now "Little Monaco" where there is no real Middle class except for those of us who were lucky enough to move here before 1993.
I am thinking not many people are moving to high crime/low rent cities like Chicago and Detroit right now. Btw, this is where everyone expects NY to head...again. NY has already had to be bailed out because of their liberal irresponsibility in the '70's...
Harry Belafonte - sheesh! (cue the music .... "I hate New York, oh I hate new York")
Anthony - Yes, Bill de Blasio was thrilled to have Harry Belafonte speak for the very wealthy entertainer/champion of the Marxists grievance committee. And don't get me wrong...I mean Marxist in the true sense of the word. We used to play at calling people who faked being far lefties. de Blasio and his cronies are the real deal. They are so far left they make Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi look like Ted Cruz...which I will address in the coming weeks.
And, the "stop, question, and frisk" IS less intrusive than being patted down, probed and x-rayed by the TSA. And yields about the same percentage of contraband as well. But that's just me. And since they limited it to neighborhoods with VERY HIGH crime rates, the only people really complaining are the people who dress, skulk, loiter, and act like criminals. The citizens who live in these neighborhoods were thrilled with what the police were doing and were pushing back. Otherwise they would be completely neglected. Their children were safer. And since 70% of the victims of violent crimes in NYC are perpetrated by and AGAINST the minority population, then imagine how many minority lives have been saved because of it.
To put that in real nubmers in 1991 when Mayor David Dinkins left office, violent crime had peaked 210,184 violent crimes committed. As of 2012 (the last full record) it was down to 79,610. Non-violent crime 1991 - 917,467 2012 - 376,140
Yeah, I get it...but I also get that it targets the problem that minority community refuses to address in any meaningful way.
So, we will have to agree to disagree on that one...
ScottDS - Who knew?? I wonder how many "chaplains" are on the public payroll. And isn't that a clear violation of our Constitutional separation of church and state that liberals are always yammering on about being a bad thing? If the Sanitation Department can have a chaplain, I think that the courts can have a statue of the Ten Commandments somewhere too...
10J - Harry Belafonte was the least offensive too! The others are local "community organizers" turned elected officials who have been chomping at the bit to get their mitts on the public coffers..to spend on the "people" of course.
Kit - Yes, even the NYFT! I can't remember which editorial page it was, but they blasted him for taking the position of "divider" when he could united the city.
Bev,
Dinkins was a disaster, but why does your defense of Bloomberg ignore Giuliani, who oversaw a far vaster reduction in crime than Bloomberg did and was nowhere near as enthusiastic in his use of stop and frisk (the stop and frisk program ballooned 600% under Bloomberg)?
Targeting black and Hispanic males makes sense (I'm sure the police were doing the same under Giuliani), but giving anybody a blank check (search who you want to when you feel like it!) is generally a bad idea because it tends to encourage waste and abuse (when 1 in 1000 stops results in a gun seizure, one is casting too broad a net).
*Shrugs* But like you said, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.
Bev, I fully expect a return to crime and decay and that de Blasio will blame it on Bloomberg or those pesky rich.
Scott, Who knew is right! What in the world does the sanitation department need with a chaplain? Are the sci-fi movies right about what lives in the sewers?
My 2¢ on stop and frisk: It was a good program that Bloomberg, like all short-sighted Democrats, figured he could capitalize on by doing more of the same. A lot more. It's difficult to tell who exactly this pissed off, since the only people I encounter complaining about it aren't affected by it either way, but running good things into the ground is something liberals tend to do.
Is the sanitation chaplain available for gay weddings?
Only if the gay wedding is between Sewer Monsters.
Of course the sanitation department has a chaplain. Where do you think holy sh*t comes from?
We have a winner!
Anthony - I do not mean to give short shrift to Mayor Giuliani. It's just that Bloomberg has been Mayor for SOOOO long, Rudy is but a faint memory. Interestingly, it was Rudy and Bill Bratton (the newly named Police Commissioner) who started the whole "stop and frisk" thing. Bratton was replaced by Ray Kelly shortly after because the two ginormous egos could not occupy the same space.
And, when the program was first implemented, it was ALL over NYC, not just in isolated place. Why you ask? Because there were no neighborhoods that were safe and crime was rampant...all over the city. Under the Bloomberg/Kelly regime (for lack of a better term), they managed to narrow the field of crime to isolated neighborhoods that are statistically where the violent crime occurs. Hence why they are targeted rather than stopping and frisking Upper Eastside stock brokers. Statistically speaking,they are mostly committing white collar crimes anyway and will be arrested by Preet Bharara, ace US Attorney/New York...and my personal hero.
But yes, we can disagree on this...as long as you eventually agree with me. ;-)
Yes! Koshcat wins that round! LOL!
And Anthony, remember this has been a process that has been going on for 20 years. First with the 8 years of under Giuliani and then 12 endless years of Bloomberg. And it was Bloomberg/Kelly that also had to deal with post-9/11 cleanup and implementing our very successful post-9/11 security training.
The only thing I can say is that if de Blasio, Blommberg, Belafonte, or any of these other clowns were in a boat that was sinking, well, it would be a hard decision as to what kind of beer I would open to celebrate. I feel for the good folks in these socialist states like CA, NY and MA...they're the ones suporting all the freeloaders.
You know, this is just a small point, but philosophically, aren't all public officials "Public Advocates?" What a moronic position....
And of course, to justify her position, Ms. James will do nothing but agitate on someone's behalf, every day of her tenure. If she didn't, there'd be no place for her.
T-Rav - I think that the office of "Public Advocate" is a holding cell for pending mayoral candidates. As de Blasio was our previous "Public Advocate" and frankly, I do not recall ever hearing his name until he ran for Mayor...
Oh, and I think there will be ALOT of agitation. Just wait until I tell ya'll what happened last night...but that will have to wait until next week.
Critch - I can honestly say that these are not your run-of-the-mill "Socialists". They are honest-to-God Marxists with all the street cred and meetings/handshakes/best bud status with Fidel Castro included...
Bill de Blasio was married and honeymooned in Cuba...by way of Canada...
What exactly is a public advocate?
Critch, I think Stella Artois is a good celebration beer. If you're looking for something domestic, however, a Sam Adams has a decidedly patriotic flare which would certainly add to the trio's ire as they slowly slipped under the surf.
Kit, here is the official definition from LINK
The unofficial definition is "Hell if I know". Like I said, I didn't even know de Blasio existed until he ran for Mayor...
Okay, this may be really scary and sad to say, but I think NYC'ers are really going to regret not having Weiner and Spitzer around...
Usually, when someone creates a public advocate in an government agency, the idea is that this person is supposed to speak for the public when the government is planning its decisions. Whether it works that way is another matter.
"the idea is that this person is supposed to speak for the public when the government is planning its decisions"
Isn't that the point of electing officials in the first place?
Kit, It's called bureaucratic creep. As bureaucracies grow, they lose their original missions and find new ones. Eventually, they are seen as out of touch. Thus, they appoint someone who is meant to be seen as keeping them in touch, but this is just another jobholder in the same machine.
Sam Adams it'll be...De Blasio will probably try to rename Rockefeller Plaza after Che' Guevara....
Critch, I don't know... I see that more as the name for a sex shop: "The Che Guevara Jerk Off Emporium For Lefties Only."
Andrew and Kit - The timing of the creation of the "Public Advocate" is very telling - 1993. This was right after Giuliani's first year in office - the first Republican Mayor of NYC (with the first Republican Governor) and the position has only been held by...you guessed it...Democrats.
"The Che Guevara Jerk Off Emporium For Lefties Only"
Does that refer to hand dominance or political persuasion? Or does it matter?
Critch - I will choose a more local beer - Brooklyn Brewery. It just seems fitting, right? Though de Blasio is from Boston, so maybe Sam Adams will work too. Yes, like Bloomberg, he is a native of Boston.
tryanmax, this was supposed to be a family blog....
Pervert.
T-Rav, Hey! Andrew named it. I just asked for clarification.
Yeah, tryanmax, talk about taking it too far! ;-P
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