Saturday, January 12, 2013

New York State of...Insanity

Okay, I guess I just can't get around it anymore. I have to give you an update on the happenings in the State of New York. Ugh. Let's see where do I begin?

Sports: The football season is winding down. The Giants are still in the playoffs. Go Team! Oh, but the Jets, those wacky Jets! Do you remember Tim Tebow? You know, that college quarterback who went viral with his kneeling and praying bit? Well, he was drafted by the Jets this season and pretty much benched for the entire season. Nobody liked him, not even his teammates.

I think it is because of his obvious religious tendencies and the fact that he is openly "pure and chaste" (if you know what I mean), he was making the rest of the drugging, drinking, and womanizing element on the Jets team look, well, like the drugging, drinking, and womanizing sinners that they are! I am guessing he made them feel bad about themselves just because he was around. In all my years of watching team sports, I have never seen a team turn against a teammate for being a great guy. We'll never know whether he was a good player because they wouldn't let him play. He did win the Heisman, so he must be a fairly good player, right? Well, he is now being released from his contract, but nobody wants him.

The State of the State: Okay our state is broke, and because of some ridiculous political wrangling, we haven't actually settled on which party is in the majority in our state Senate (more on that in the next installment), BUT we must focus our attention on GUNS, GUNS, GUNS! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE GUNS??? (and casinos and other stupid stuff) I am sure you have all read about the edicts and swearings of our dear Mayor Bloomberg- about "automatic weapons bans" which forced our Governor Andrew Cuomo to make his own edicts and swearings in his State of the State address this week. Ooooh, he got angry and was yelling and stuff too! We can't get anything else done in this city and state, but BY GOD we are going make automatic weapons illegal. Except I thought they already were illegal. As a matter of fact, most guns are illegal in New York.

But here's the really funny part. As our Mayor and Governor are swearing and edicting, our state-appointed judges are ruling that the police are being really heavy handed and mean when they are stopping and frisking people with potential illegal guns on their persons. It's just not fair that the police are targeting Black and Hispanic youths in the high crime areas of New York City and not targeting those dastardly mostly-White stock brokers on the Upper Eastside!

It doesn't matter that crime rates in these high crime areas have gone down dramatically since they first started the "stop and frisk" policy OR that New York City saw the lowest rate of gun crime in 50 years in 2012. And, of course, that MOST of the gun crimes in the city are perpetrated by Blacks and Hispanics on other Blacks and Hispanics. No, that would racist, now, wouldn't it?? So here we are, trying to get laws enacted to do what is already being done, so that everyone can feel like they are doing something.

Oh, and the Gawker and Journal News in Westchester posted the names of ALL the legal gun owners in one of New York's wealthiest areas (Westchester and Rockland Counties) which only really served to let all the criminals with all the illegal guns in on the places that they could safely target. Good job you liberal idiots! Of course, the Journal is so upset that gun owners objected (and one clever blogger posted a list of the names and addresses of Journal News journalists) that they hired their own contingency of armed guards to protect them! Boo-Hoo! They really are stupid.

But on a lighter note: Let's see where to begin, where to begin? Oh, let's see, another City Councilcritter was sentenced to hard time upstate for the usual graft, greed, and theft of city funds. His name is Larry Seabrook. You can read about it if you want. At least he has temporarily lost his seat on the City Council, but that is probably only until he is out on parole. Oh, I shouldn't be so hard on him. The city council members are given "discretionary funds" to spend on "projects" in their respective districts in anyway they want. Unfortunately one of those ways has been to use these funds to set up "non-profit" agencies to "help people" that are just fronts to pay their family members and friends to do pretty much nothing. They just forgot to include in the by-laws, that the money should be spent legally, that's all! But in the State of New York, "legally" for politicians is some kind of undefined grey area that always leaves them surprised when the handcuffs go on.

Just to keep up, here is a list of public officials who have been convicted since 2010:

State Senator Carl Kruger (D) - resigned his seat and pleaded guilty to charges of corruption and bribery. (2011)

State Senator Hiram Monserrate (D-NY) - of the 13th District, was expelled by the New York State Senate on February 9, 2010 in connection with a misdemeanor assault conviction against his girlfriend.

State Senator Efrain Gonzalez (D-NY) On May 25, 2010, Gonzalez was sentenced to 84 months (7 years) in prison, followed by two years supervised release, after pleading guilty to two conspiracy counts and two wire fraud counts in May 2009.

President of the New York City council Andrew Stein (D) - was convicted of tax evasion regarding a Ponzi scheme in November 2010.

Majority Leader of the New York State Senate Pedro Espada Jr. (D) - On May 14, 2012 a federal jury found Espada guilty of embezzling money from federally funded healthcare clinics, after 11 days of deliberation.

State Senator Nicholas Spano (R) - in 2012 Spano was indicted for Federal Income Tax evasion. Spano pleaded guilty to the single felony. He admitted that he under-reported his income — $42,419 in federal income taxes and $10,605 in state taxes — from 2000 to 2008. He is to be sentenced to 12 to 18 months in Federal Prison in June 2012.

Oh, by the way, this list does not account for those already serving time or who are currently under investigation because quite frankly that list is too long.

Next time More Mayoral Hijinks and we are now less than 12 months and counting down until the end of the reign of Mayor Bloomberg.

31 comments:

AndrewPrice said...

Bev... bad news, the Giants didn't make the playoffs. Apparently, the NY papers have been lying to you.

As for Tebow, I'm still amazed at how much hate there is for this guy, particularly from the sports media. They HATE him with an irrational intensity that is just stunning. It's beyond obsessive.

As for Mayor Chavez, did you see his latest edict to limit pain killers? The first couple words of what he says make sense... then he starts talking about armed robberies at pharmacies and suggesting that kids are getting hooked on pain pills because adults are using all of their pills and are storing them at home and he claims that people in pain should be made for suffer for a reason to be determined later, etc.

His interview the other day is really a fascinating read because it's borderline insane.

Anthony said...

Bev said:

But here's the really funny part. As our Mayor and Governor are swearing and edicting, our state-appointed judges are ruling that the police are being really heavy handed and mean when they are stopping and frisking people with potential illegal guns on their persons. It's just not fair that the police are targeting Black and Hispanic youths in the high crime areas of New York City and not targeting those dastardly mostly-White stock brokers on the Upper Eastside!
------
I don't see the hilarity. Giving the police unlimited power of detention, seach and interrogation is just asking for trouble.
Widespread untargetted invasive searches and interrogations are almost never popular.

Look at all of the people who are down on airport security. Watch the video below (which includes audiotape of an encounter with the police) and bear in mind that airport security (who does what they do in front of hundreds of witnesses) has never been as bad the cops you hear below.

http://www.thenation.com/article/170413/stopped-and-frisked-being-fking-mutt-video

For the record, I sincerely doubt most of their detentions are quite that bad, but those cops clearly felt comfortable doing what they were doing, so I'm also sure what we here in the audiotape is quite common.

I support the police (worked for AMW while I was a grad student, I've thanked hundreds of them) and I support racial profiling, but that doesn't mean I support unlimited search, seizure and interrogation.

Being a young brown guy on the wrong street at the wrong time can and should be part of the justification, but it shouldn't be the whole justification.

BevfromNYC said...

Anthony - Most people are "down on airport security for the same reason that they have NO problem with "stop and frisk". The TSA isn't allowed to profile those people who are statistically MOST likely to perpetrate a crime!!!! And here's a hint...it's not my 80 year old mother!

And the police do not have "unlimited power to detain, search or interrogate" ANYBODY! They have to have probably cause and sometime that may mean an instinct from years of watching young men die on the streets. But here's the reality in NYC as of 2012:

95% of the victims of gun-related deaths are either Black (67%) or Hispanic (24.7%)

90% of the perpetrators are Black either (55%) or Hispanic (34%)

Shootings (that's any crime in which a victim is struck with a bullet)

a staggering 97% of victims are either Black (73%) or Hispanic (24%).

Perpetrators - 69% Black and 26% Hispanic

That is the reality. Where exactly are the police supposed to look to stop crimes before they happen? It flies in the face of reality that they are NOT supposed to. But as long as the Black and Hispanic communities refuse to accept reality and take responsibility as parents and guardians of their youth, they will continue to be statistics in jail or at the morgue.

BevfromNYC said...

Andrew - Okay so I stopped caring once the Cowboys lost, so I missed the part about the Giants losing.

Oh, yeah now Mayor Mike wants to take away our pain meds. I know, I know, he just can't help himself. What he doesn't understand is that we need the Oxy to get through the pain of withdrawal for all the other stuff he keeps banning like no fat, no salt, no sugary soft drinks! It would all be so much better if they'd just keep the Valium in our drinking water...
http://www.businessinsider.com/15-pharmaceutical-drugs-and-chemicals-found-in-new-york-city-drinking-water-2011-8?op=1

LL said...

Have you forgotten about Congressman Weiner?

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I think it's amazing that liberals aren't worried about Mayor Mike's instincts. Their big selling point on Obamacare has always been that the government will pay for it, but it won't interfere with your relationship with your doctor... yet here is Mayor Stalin deciding that he knows better what doctors should be prescribing. That should worry people.

AndrewPrice said...

On racial profiling... let me put it this way.

I don't think RACE is relevant, I think CONDUCT is relevant. In other words, two blacks walking down the street shouldn't be a reason for the police to stop them anymore than two whites.

Two blacks in Raiders jackets acting like thugs, that's different. But it's not because they are black, it's because they profile like gang bangers just as if it were two whites in Raiders jackets acting like thugs.

That said, I am frustrated (as apparently is Bev) that everything turns into calls of racism when the reality is that the reason for the disparities are that minorities are committing more crimes. No one should ever be allowed to shout someone down for pointing out facts and trying to solve the problem. Nor is there any reason for the cops to hassle an equal number of whites just to make the numbers look fair.

Do I think the police could do better in minority communities? Absolutely. BUT minority communities also need to realize that we can't pretend they aren't ground zero for the crime problem right now.

BevfromNYC said...

LL: My list is just politicians and elected officials on the State and Local level. Anthony "The Big Weinie" Weiner was a Congressman and actually did not commit any real crime. He just committed a crime against good judgment and then lied about it to save his "weinie". And as we all know, NO ONE wants a politician with poor judgment who lies!! //sarc

BevfromNYC said...

Andrew - This is one of those issues where he may be trying to help. but of course, going about it in the wrong way. I have many family members who have worked in the ER and all of them can tell you that drug addicts show up regularly and ER hop with some excuse or another about why they need their prescription filled just this once.

That being said, it is as if he decides there is a problem and only he can fix it by royal edict. 11 1/2 more months of this. But what worries me more is what he will do AFTER he is no longer Mayor. It keeps me up at night.

BevfromNYC said...

Oh, and "Mayor Stalin" is a little harsh. He hasn't actually executed anyone...yet. But of course he still has time for a one good purge before he goes.

Anthony said...

Bev said:

They have to have probable cause and sometime that may mean an instinct from years of watching young men die on the streets. But here's the reality in NYC as of 2012:
--------
Stop and frisk expanded 600% under Big Gulp Bloomberg. It is a valid and useful tactic, but used in excess and without discretion, its a waste of time both for the people being stopped and the officers stopping them.

Its worth noting that stop and frisk dropped by 30% last year, the same year the murder rate hit that historic low. Perhaps because in 2012 the cops were wasting less time stopping random people and spending more time on people they actually thought were criminals?

-----
On the afternoon of Sept. 16, 2011, 20-year-old Cory Bennett walked out of a building on E. 175th St. in the Bronx and was immediately stopped by two cops.

The officers wanted to know what Bennett had been doing inside. They asked him for identification. Bennett, who was newly arrived in the city from Georgia, told them he lived upstairs with his grandparents. He was rushing to pick up a sandwich he’d ordered by phone from the deli across the street, he said, and had forgotten his ID in the apartment.

The cops could have taken a moment to walk upstairs with him to confirm his story. Or they could have checked at the deli.

But Bennett was just another young black man in the Bronx in the era of mushrooming stop and frisk. That year alone, 685,000 New Yorkers were stopped by police, most of them black and Latino. Ninety percent of those stops resulted in no arrest.

In Bennett’s case, the cops took him into custody and drove him to the 46th Precinct. There they strip-searched him and held him for four hours before slapping him with a summons for disorderly conduct. Two months later, Bennett appeared in court but the arresting officer failed to show up so the case was dismissed.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/innocents-harassed-nypd-article-1.1236098#ixzz2Ho9gOGQ6

BevfromNYC said...

But 10 percent WERE arrested for something And for every anecdote you can post a link to about some kid who was wrongly accused - I can find three where some poor toddler or grandmother was shot by random gun fire probably near the same building that that young man was coming out of.

The real issue is the complete denial of the fact that over 95% of the crimes committed in this city are committed by mostly young black men under 25. Not just gun related crimes but rape, theft assault, etc. Why don't we discuss why that is. And it's not because they have been wrongly profiled by some overzealous cops. The overzealous cops is the symptom- not the disease.

If we cannot have an honest conversation about what the real problems, then there is no hope of changing anything. But we don't.

T-Rav said...

Andrew and Bev, on the rationed meds thing, I expect liberals will respond by merely shrugging and saying, "What do you want? We have to deal with the facts." Once they get what they want, they're all too happy to play the reality, this-is-how-it-is card.

AndrewPrice said...

T-Rav, Consistency is not a liberal trait, so you could be right. I think it's more likely they just won't connect the two in their heads.

1. Government is good, ergo government healthcare is good.

2. Bloomberg has good intent, so whatever he said is fine.

3. How come I can't get more pills? This must be evil Republicans or corporations trying to hurt me.

AndrewPrice said...

Anthony and Bev, I don't think anecdotal evidence is helpful because it promotes the idea that one bad apple represents all apples.

I agree with Bev on the issue that this is an issue that needs to be looked at more honestly if we want to solve it. You can't solve a problem if it is considered racist to consider all the facts.

AndrewPrice said...

OT: Peyton Manning is nothing if not consistent... he always throws an INT at a critical moment.

Anthony said...

BevfromNYC said...
But 10 percent WERE arrested for something And for every anecdote you can post a link to about some kid who was wrongly accused - I can find three where some poor toddler or grandmother was shot by random gun fire probably near the same building that that young man was coming out of.
----
Correction: 10% were ticketed or arrested, and often the tickets were citations such as loitering or trespassing (even in buildings they lived in) which in many cases were dismissed.

*Shrugs* But don't take my word for it, or pay any attention to examples, look to the fact that judges have repeatedly found that stop and frisk was being abused and that people were being stopped and even charged for no real reason (which is why a judge ordered the practice ended a few days ago, though I'm sure the city will keep on doing it).

To cite statistics, in 2011 1 in 879 stops resulted in a weapon being found, so either cops have really, really, really lousy instincts or they are just randomly searching people.

I'm not denying a serious crime problem in minority neighborhoods, I'm saying random stops are not an efficient solution.

Trading liberty for security is one thing, trading liberty for smothering inefficiency is another.

Anthony said...

Andrew said:

I agree with Bev on the issue that this is an issue that needs to be looked at more honestly if we want to solve it. You can't solve a problem if it is considered racist to consider all the facts.
----
Who is saying that the facts are racist?

My point is that stop and frisk is used too broadly and thus isn't accomplishing anything.

Most shooters and victims are minorities, but if cops are only finding guns on 1 in 879 people they choose to search for weapons, they are either searching random people (something you stated was unacceptable in this very thread) or wildly incompetent.

AndrewPrice said...

Anthony, Sorry, let me be clear -- I'm not talking about you at all. What I'm talking about is that every time someone says "there is a crime problem in black/Mexican neighborhoods," they get accused of being racists. That makes it impossible to talk rationally about the issue.

In fact, the word "racist" gets thrown around so much when discussing crimes that it's almost impossible to talk about crime except in very broad, useless strokes. Any time there is the slightest disparity in the percentages, it automatically becomes "racist," which is just a way of shutting down debate.

And I do agree about the lack of wisdom in random stops. That just angers people. It's much smarter to target people who are likely to be criminals, i.e. conduct.

tryanmax said...

I think it would be fun if the State of NY banned all guns of any time for anyone and then had their police patrol armed only with mace and batons like British bobbies.

tryanmax said...

*any kind* don't know how that typo happened :-/

Patriot said...

Bev....I'm sure you know that most "gang-bangers" don't carry their illegally procured pistoleros when out walking to the deli. Especially, during daylight hours.

What I'm waiting for are the convictions to start happening in Mayor Mike's village from closed circuit cameras "catching" perps with drugs, guns, etc. Won't even need the police then. Facial recognition software has the capability to identify the perp if they've been booked prior. So, "people" (American citizens if you please) will receive a computer generated summons to appear in court on such and such a date for illegally possessing a weapon or drugs or "disorderly conduct" (pick your favorite crime, lawyers!). Wait til you see those rap sheets after a couple months of this!

No Patriot...could never happen in America. Ladies and gentlemen I give you...........red light cameras, speed cameras and Great Britain.

BevfromNYC said...

Tryanmax - I am sure if Bloomberg had a 4th term, that a full ban on any guns in NYC would be implemented. But even Bloomberg is not stupid enough to de-arm his police force. Then who would protect HIM?

BevfromNYC said...

Actually, Patriot, the cameras are already up and the city generates a lot of income from sending tickets through the mail for traffic violations. On the otherhand, I was kind of shocked when I served on a criminal grand jury at how much of the evidence presented was on video. It was disturbing. Not that they used it as evidence, but the whole Orwellian idea at some point it could be used against us by the State. There is no real privacy anymore especially when you walk out the door. YEY, that it catches criminals in the act, but also YIPES that under the right conditions, it could be turned against me as a private law abiding citizen. I am conflicted on this issue.

Patriot said...

Bev....I think if the public only knew how often we are being surveilled by the State it would drive them to revolution.

I am also conflicted about the technological aspects of police power. I really don't like the idea of being watched whenever I'm in public....'for my own safety.' But then, if my car was stolen or broken into it sure would be nice to have video evidence of the crime.

This is the conundrum scientists and inventors have faced since when. Someone, some entity, some political "leader" or group will take that technology and think "wow, this would make a really bad-ass weapon!" Sorta like when DaVinci worked for the Borgias and was forced to be a "Defense Contractor" basically!

Koshcat said...

Having watch Tebow all last year, The biggest reason the Jets didn't put him in is because he isn't a very good quarterback. He is strong, he can run fast, and he can throw but he couldn't read a defense even if they wore biblical sayings on their chest. I also questions Tebow's "do everything to win" mantra. In my opinion, I think he would have made a spectacular H-back; perhaps even pro-bowl quality. However, he has refused to play or even consider other positions except quarterback. There are plenty of players who tend to their own business and are religious. I'm not exactly sure why the significant dislike. He may be more than religious. I suspect he is one of those "Jesus Freaks" that when you ask them politely to leave you alone (No, I don't want to join you in a bible study group) just won't.

I still think it's funny when people out here pop off that Elway had to sacrifice a virgin to get Manning. The not so funny part is we are at the exact same spot as last year; out before the AFC Championship.

AndrewPrice said...

Koshcat, This is Manning's history... he loses big games with bad play. He looks great during the season, but get him into the playoffs and he just falls apart. I don't know if it's nerves or a higher level of competition, but it's been noticeable his entire career.


As for Tebow, it's possible he's a Jesus freak. I wouldn't doubt that. But what I find amazing is the level of hate from people who never met him. There are sport writers who've never met him who seethe at him try to spin everything about him into some hateful tirade. And these are the same people who claim that guys like Vince Young deserve a million second chances but aren't willing to give Tebow a first chance.

Do I think he's a good quarterback? Nope. But I see no reason to hate the guy.

Patriot said...

I always wondered if Tebow wore his religion on his sleeve, as they say. There is also the possibility he is just a great guy with some old-fashioned quirks (virginity) that freak out many people who just can't understand how someone could think like that!

I also consider him in the Doug Flutie class. The only thing either guy does is WIN!

AndrewPrice said...

Patriot, I wonder that too. Every time I've seen him on the news or whatever, he really is doing great things -- like visiting sick kids in the hospital without turning it into a PR thing. Yet, the media spins all of these things into him being a monster. If he doesn't see sick kids, then he's a jerk for not caring. If he does, then he's doing it cynically to fool us all. That kind of logic tells me the real problem is with the media and I suspect it's that he makes them uncomfortable because he's not someone the media can spin and control his image.

I agree with the Flutie analogy.

Individualist said...

I guess this is the exception that will prove or disporve the rule.

Are two blacks who are known crips or two hispanics who are known members of the LAtin Kings as likely or more likely to be searched than two whites who are known members of the Outlaws MC.

If the answer to that is anything other than No, Not more likely one way or the other than the racial profiling charge is bogus.

The real answer to this question unfortunately may lie not with race but with which gang has paid off corrupts cops that might be doing the profiling. But again the profiling would be corrupt and not racial in that case.

Koshcat said...

Doug Flutie was a very good quarterback; just undersized.

I think it is a little difficult to know exactly what the players on the Jets think about Tebow. Most probably don't care one way or the other. That team is a disaster and amazing they won any games. Any issues in the lockerroom probably have more to do with coaching and lack of disipline than just Tebow. He is just the convenient whipping boy.

The game on Saturday was odd and the more I think about and listen to some of the experts, the more I think the blame lies squarely on the coaching staff. They changed the defense especially up front and didn't pressure the quarterback nearly as much as they usually do. In addition, they played VERY conservatively on offense. They played not to lose. Manning had 30 secs and 2 times outs and you kneel down?!?!? Look what Matt Ryan did with the exact same situation.

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