Political Spouses And Gender Roles

From City & State :

Earlier this month, a miniscandal erupted over a story with a lurid headline: “The Lesbian Past of Bill de Blasio’s Wife.” The central thesis seemed to be that Chirlane McCray (a.k.a. Mrs. de Blasio) is somehow duplicitous, because as a married woman with two children, she once identified as a lesbian.

Anyone who lived through the sexual revolution or received a liberal arts degree in the last 30 years might have failed to grasp the inherent conflict. Nevertheless, the sensational article strongly implied the existence of a public fraud.

Read more : Mrs. De Blasio And The Pigeonholing Of Political Spouses

Political spouses and the roles some of us want them to play : @agrenell @hunterw cityandstateny.com/mrs-de-blasio-… #LGBT #sexism #bias @chirlane

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 23, 2012

Lhota Entry Into Mayoral Race Upsets Carolyn Ryan Over Quinn Tumble From Grace

Now that Joe Lhota is running for mayor, Twitterverse is in apoplexy over Carolyn Ryan's nervous breakdown. That's right, Ms. Ryan is worried that her favourite candidate, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, now will not be such a shoe-in to become mayor. Ms. Ryan is concerned that the business community will abandon Speaker Quinn in favour of Mr. Lhota.

Ms. Ryan recently had lunch with former Mayor Ed Koch, to talk about Speaker Quinn's election strategy.

Wow wonder what @chriscquinn is doing now? RT @carolynryan: BREAKING: @joelhota to step down from MTA on Friday, preparing run for mayor.

— Emma Gilbey Keller (@emmagkeller) December 18, 2012

Indeed, Ms. Ryan has begun a schmear campaign against Mr. Lhota over Twitter. I wonder what her superior editorial bosses at The New York Times have to say about this ?

Lhota once called Mike Bloomberg an "idiot" and told an elderly Holocaust survivor to "be a man" in dispute at hearingnyti.ms/SESwj8

— carolynryan (@carolynryan) December 19, 2012

Whereas Ms. Ryan's reporting may be factual, it is not objective for an editor to be attacking a mayoral candidate over Twitter, when she must supervise and edit the reportage of objective reporters. How is that possible ?

Blog Comment Questions Integrity Of NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau

The Devil is a Liar! has left a new comment on your post "Adrian Schoolcraft Whistleblower Retaliation Update - The Snake Pit":

"So says Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, whose office conducted a criminal investigation of the incident together with the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau."

"Together with NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau"

And there is the problem. The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the NYPD Investigations Bureau is as crooked as it gets. Their main role seems to be tormenting the members of their own department who have angered or annoyed the brass. Look closely at what agencies have busted REAL criminal cops, I.e. gun runners, drug dealers, etc. and it becomes very clear that these criminals are most often caught by outside agencies. State police departments, Federal law enforcement agencies, etc. Rarely does the NYPD's own internal agencies catch real criminals.

Christine Quinn, El Bloombito, y parar y revisar

Desde que se hizo la presidenta del Concejo Municipal, más de 3,7 millones de neoyorquinos se han pasado por el programa de policía de "parar y revisar." ¿Por qué es esto aceptable ? Por que tiene Christine Quinn que hacer todo lo que le dice El Bloombito ?

Únase a nosotros para marchar y exigir que el Concejo Municipal reduce los recursos proporcionados a la policía de Nueva York que permite a la policía para continuar con su práctica inconstitucional de "parar y revisar" a personas inocentes.

Traiga pitos. Nos reuniremos en la calle 74 y la Avenida Roosevelt. Entonces, nos marcharemos a lo largo de la avenida Roosevelt. Y soplamos nuestros pitos contra la programa de "parar y revisar."

Christine Quinn and Stop-And-Frisk : How Am I Doing ?

NEW YORK (AP) — The police practice known as stop and frisk has been part of the New York Police Department's crime-fighting strategy since the early 1990s, but the number of stops shot up in the last decade. The vast majority of those stopped have been black or Hispanic.

Take a 5 seconds to like us on Facebook : Queers Against Christine Quinn

A look at the numbers:

2002

Number of stops: 97,296

2003

Number of stops: 160,851

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 31 percent Hispanic.

2004

Number of stops: 313,523

Demographics: 55 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2005

Number of stops: 398,191

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2006

Number of stops: 506,491

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 29 percent Hispanic.

2007

Number of stops: 472,096

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 31 percent Hispanic.

2008

Number of stops: 540,302

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2009

Number of stops: 581,168

Demographics: 55 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2010

Number of stops: 601,285

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 33 percent Hispanic.

2011

Number of stops: 685,724

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 34 percent Hispanic.

2012 (first six months)

Number of stops as of June 30: 337,434

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

___

Source: New York Police Department and New York Civil Liberties Union

Related : Quinn Says Next Mayor Would Be ‘Lucky’ To Have Kelly Stay As Commish

I Support The Aclu panel print (Google Affiliate Ad)

Adrian Schoolcraft Whistleblower Retaliation Update - The Snake Pit

Queens District Attorney Rules That No Crime Took Place When NYPD Retaliated Against Whistleblower Cop Adrian Schoolcraft By Throwing Him In The Psych Ward Of Jamaica Hospital. Only In New York, Kids, Only In New York.

From NYPD Confidential :

Neither the NYPD nor Jamaica Hospital committed a crime when they forcibly took whistleblower cop Adrian Schoolcraft from his home and held him in the hospital’s psych ward against his will for three days.

If you are a whistleblower, how the NYPD treats you is by labeling you an emotionally disturbed person [EDP], and then by throwing you in the Snake Pit.

So says Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, whose office conducted a criminal investigation of the incident together with the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.

According to a draft report, which was obtained by NYPD Confidential, Brown concluded that both the police and the hospital doctors acted reasonably because they believed Schoolcraft to be an emotionally disturbed person [EDP]. ...

Read more : DA: No Crime to Throw Cop Whistleblower in Psych Ward

No word, yet, if New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has an opinion about the injustice facing Mr. Schoolcraft. :'(

Stop and frisk in NYC: A decade of rising numbers

NEW YORK (AP) — The police practice known as stop and frisk has been part of the New York Police Department's crime-fighting strategy since the early 1990s, but the number of stops shot up in the last decade. The vast majority of those stopped have been black or Hispanic. A look at the numbers:

2002

Number of stops: 97,296

2003

Number of stops: 160,851

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 31 percent Hispanic.

2004

Number of stops: 313,523

Demographics: 55 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2005

Number of stops: 398,191

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2006

Number of stops: 506,491

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 29 percent Hispanic.

2007

Number of stops: 472,096

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 31 percent Hispanic.

2008

Number of stops: 540,302

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2009

Number of stops: 581,168

Demographics: 55 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2010

Number of stops: 601,285

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 33 percent Hispanic.

2011

Number of stops: 685,724

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 34 percent Hispanic.

2012 (first six months)

Number of stops as of June 30: 337,434

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

___

Source: New York Police Department and New York Civil Liberties Union

Grumpy Cat Hospital Closings Meme

Hurricane Sandy Hospital Crisis Grows

From True News From Change NYC :

Closing of NYU and Bellevue Hospitals Because of Sandy Should Have Been A Wakeup Call That NYC Has A Hospital Crisis.

New Yorkers are Getting Sicker and Even Dying (esp. the poor) Because of A Hospital Crisis Made Worse by the Floods . . . Where is the Pols, Media and Activist Outrage?

Nobody Notices Hospital Crisis Or Sandy's Wake Up Call

With Some Hospitals Closed After Hurricane, E.R.’s at Others Overflow (NYT) Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn had 1,100 more emergency patients last month than in November 2011; the increase was mostly attributed to a hospital shut by the storm. * Hospital in Brooklyn Files for Bankruptcy Protection (NYT) Some New York medical centers are adding extra shifts and converting offices and lobbies into space for patients as emergency room visits surge. * Half of Brooklyn hospitals on life support | Crain's New York Business

The Angry New Yorker's Who Demanded Their Rights is Gone

Where are the Mayoral Candidates on the Hospital Crisis?

Why Is There No Movement To Save These Hospitals Like There Was in 1980 Against the Closing of Sydenham Hospital? 3 hospitals closed in Queens, St Vincent's murdered for a Co-op in Manhattan, 5 hospitals in trouble in Brooklyn. The activist and progressives are all over Facebook and twitter demanding pay for fasttfood workers because it is being pushed by unions looking for membership. It is very stranged that these same activists are silent on the health care needs of many of these workers who depend on the hospital system for all their health care needs. Could it be that the help unions provide the reason the activist are supporting their issues?

Hillary Clinton vs. Christine Quinn

The story that seems to have been intentionally leaked, or planted in The New York Times, that Mayor Michael Bloomberg approached Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for mayor in 2013 is full of half-truths. First, it was an attempt to saddle Mrs. Clinton in another public office, so that she would not run for president in 2016, a win for Republicans. Second, it was an attempt to make it appear that Mayor Bloomberg was not so invested in electioneering machinations to clear the Democratic Primary field for the mayoralty, so that Speaker Christine Quinn could have an easier time at winning, because, as we all know, the only way that she can win is if a billionaire Republican with his own Super PAC would interfere with the election process.

From The Wall Street Journal :

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg organized an awkward show of unity with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, standing side by side at a press conference Tuesday following reports that he had discussed next year’s mayoral race with Hillary Clinton.

Quinn, of course, is the mayor’s political ally and the potential candidate widely viewed as his favored successor. Bloomberg on Tuesday didn’t confirm or deny a report in the New York Times that he has sought to lure Clinton into the race.

When asked why he recommended that the current U.S. secretary of state consider running for mayor, Bloomberg replied: “Why do you think I encouraged Hillary Clinton to run for mayor? I mean, were you — did you hear me say that?”

“I have run for mayor three times, successfully each one,” he added. “I considered a fourth. Chris [Quinn] and I talked about it. She kept urging me to do it. But I said, ‘No. It’s enough.’ ”

The mayor was joking about running for a fourth term. As he did so, Quinn made a face and motioned with her hand to suggest Bloomberg was talking crazy.

In 2008, Quinn reversed her position on term limits and persuaded her colleagues in the City Council to overturn the law, paving the way for the Bloomberg to run for a third term in 2009. As she pursues an expected mayoral campaign in 2013, her position on term limits will certainly be brought up by her opponents.

On Tuesday morning, however, Bloomberg focused more on extolling Quinn’s leadership. He said her role in the council had been a major factor in his success at City Hall.

The two politicians were speaking at a news conference marking the ground breaking at a 26-acre development on Manhattan’s West Side. During the mayor’s first term in office, he attempted unsuccessfully to win approval to build a stadium at this location — marking one of his biggest setbacks. Quinn, who was not yet speaker, fought aggressively against the stadium.

Bloomberg did not dwell on that Tuesday. “This woman has made an enormous difference in this city,” he said of Quinn. “She’s a leader and I have nothing but respect for her.”

When asked if he’s dissatisfied with the current crop of mayoral candidates, the mayor said: “I don’t know who’s going to run. But if you want to start a fight between me and Chris Quinn, you’re not going to do it. It’s cheap, lousy journalism.”

For her part, Quinn said she thought Clinton would make an excellent mayor. Clinton, a former U.S. senator from New York, is planning to step down as secretary of state next year and is being discussed as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2016.

“You know, I think Hillary Clinton would excel in any position she ever takes. And why do I say that? Because she has,” Quinn said. “I don’t think there’s anything Hillary Clinton would put her mind to that she wouldn’t do extremely, extremely well — better than maybe anybody else who’s ever done it.”

NYPD Proves Drone Poster Artist Right by Tracking Him Down and Arresting Him

From Gawker :

Essam Attia is the New York street artist responsible for placing fake NYPD ads reading "Drones: Protection When You Least Expect It" around town. In September, he gave a video interview to Animal NY, with his identity and voice obscured, in which he discussed this project and his art in general. Wednesday morning, the NYPD arrested him at home.

The NYDN reports that he's charged with "56 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, grand larceny possession of stolen property and weapons possession," the last (and possibly worst) charge coming because cops found an unloaded .22 pistol under his bed when they arrested him. On a practical level, Attia was not the most careful art criminal. He signed his work "ESSAM;" and he told Animal that he was a "a 29-year-old art-school grad from Maine, who served in Iraq as a 'geo-spatial analyst.'" It probably did not take an incredible amount of police work to narrow down the possibilities.

Still—great work by the NYPD to prove Essam's point: you are all being watched. Poke humor at the ALL SEEING GOVERNMENT EYE, and it will make you pay. IT KNOWS ALL. In the Animal interview, author Matt Harvey noted, "He agrees that there is an inherent irony in his spoofs: the very fact that the NYPD (which claims to be strongly pursuing him with their 'counter terrorism squad') hasn't caught him yet, is proof that we have not reached a state of Orwellian control."

Ah.... cancel that.

[Photo via Animal]

Still no statement by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn about whether the New York Police Department will ever put into active use a squadron of unmanned drones against its own citizens, much less about the First Amendment violations stemming from the NYPD's arrest of the street artist.