Friday, March 16, 2007
Ice Storm Tid Bits
Elephants, Skinned Cats and de Blasio at 1199 Rally Against Spitzer Cuts ..........yikes some very weird stuff........"When elephants fight, the grass gets hurt."
That's according to Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera, who spoke at today's SEIU 1199 rally opposing Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed health care cuts. Rivera said he told Spitzer those words himself at a half-hour meeting the previous day before leading the crowd in a chant: "You cut back, we're gonna fight back." and we learn there is More Nontraditional Help for Spitzer "Here's a new radio ad that criticizes "special interests" for not supporting Eliot Spitzer's plan to lift the cap on charter schools. The group running the ad is Real Reform Now, a new collaboration between the New York Charter Schools Association and Dems for Education Reform.
So far, there's a $100,000 ad buy for this radio spot, according to Michael Tobman, head of Dems for Education Reform........thanks Azi for above tid bits...........Pataki Releases His Iowa Volunteers Iowapolitics.com is reporting: “Former New York Gov. George Pataki has told supporters he cannot guarantee he is going to run for president this cycle and has given his blessing for them to join other presidential campaigns.” A couple of big names have apparently made the jump to Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts." This Cycle??? meanwhile...Minority Leader Malcolm Smith tells us good friends...never leave their friend's behind??? Malcolm’s Happy Place........this totally grosses Liz Benjamin out.......“(Bruno) actually told me what he said to the governor in terms of how he described me being so close to the governor, and I said: Well, you know, there’s room. You can be that close as well.”
Later Smith said: “I told Joe(Bruno) there’s room, he can come on up, too. He can come on up there.”................and Newsday's Spin Cycle gives us Hallelujah poor John Riley...he hates Spitzer so very much...it must be killing him..to see Eliot actually leading and getting things done................."Gov. Spitzer's latest ad in the health care wars (below) features a children's choir in hospital robes singing 'Hallelujah' while his hired narrator recites newspaper excerpts praising his "reforms." The ad, as is typical of both sides in this fight, never bothers to explain what the "reforms" are -- except at the end, where the narrator cites "all the kids who'll finally have medical coverage."
This sounds wonderful. But for the record, the actual fight here is over $1.2 billion in cuts in health care funding, most of them from the Medicaid program, most of them from hospitals and nursing homes. When you delve into the details of his budget, you find that a grand total of $34.7 million is going into expanding childrens health insurance. Most of the health money is being diverted to school aid and property tax cuts.
Meanwhile, Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson is lashing out at the "distortions and misrepresentations" in ads from the other side, which suggest the cuts will lead to mass layoffs etc." and speaking of lashing out......and finally is Eliot trying to get unions to start fighting each other??
divide and conquer??? Solidarity Forever " Gov. Eliot Spitzer meets this afternoon in New York City with District Council 37. Though it's always possible to read too much into political schedules, the timing is interesting. It comes as he's engaged in a very public battle with 1199/SEIU, the health-care workers' union, as evidenced by the statement yesterday (click continued, below) from union leader Dennis Rivera.
There has long been a certain feeling of competition for political clout between DC 37 and 1199 in the labor world. As representatives of some of the lower-paid constituencies in the municipal and state workforce, both are big political contributors and providers of personnel on Election Day. "
That's according to Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera, who spoke at today's SEIU 1199 rally opposing Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed health care cuts. Rivera said he told Spitzer those words himself at a half-hour meeting the previous day before leading the crowd in a chant: "You cut back, we're gonna fight back." and we learn there is More Nontraditional Help for Spitzer "Here's a new radio ad that criticizes "special interests" for not supporting Eliot Spitzer's plan to lift the cap on charter schools. The group running the ad is Real Reform Now, a new collaboration between the New York Charter Schools Association and Dems for Education Reform.
So far, there's a $100,000 ad buy for this radio spot, according to Michael Tobman, head of Dems for Education Reform........thanks Azi for above tid bits...........Pataki Releases His Iowa Volunteers Iowapolitics.com is reporting: “Former New York Gov. George Pataki has told supporters he cannot guarantee he is going to run for president this cycle and has given his blessing for them to join other presidential campaigns.” A couple of big names have apparently made the jump to Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts." This Cycle??? meanwhile...Minority Leader Malcolm Smith tells us good friends...never leave their friend's behind??? Malcolm’s Happy Place........this totally grosses Liz Benjamin out.......“(Bruno) actually told me what he said to the governor in terms of how he described me being so close to the governor, and I said: Well, you know, there’s room. You can be that close as well.”
Later Smith said: “I told Joe(Bruno) there’s room, he can come on up, too. He can come on up there.”................and Newsday's Spin Cycle gives us Hallelujah poor John Riley...he hates Spitzer so very much...it must be killing him..to see Eliot actually leading and getting things done................."Gov. Spitzer's latest ad in the health care wars (below) features a children's choir in hospital robes singing 'Hallelujah' while his hired narrator recites newspaper excerpts praising his "reforms." The ad, as is typical of both sides in this fight, never bothers to explain what the "reforms" are -- except at the end, where the narrator cites "all the kids who'll finally have medical coverage."
This sounds wonderful. But for the record, the actual fight here is over $1.2 billion in cuts in health care funding, most of them from the Medicaid program, most of them from hospitals and nursing homes. When you delve into the details of his budget, you find that a grand total of $34.7 million is going into expanding childrens health insurance. Most of the health money is being diverted to school aid and property tax cuts.
Meanwhile, Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson is lashing out at the "distortions and misrepresentations" in ads from the other side, which suggest the cuts will lead to mass layoffs etc." and speaking of lashing out......and finally is Eliot trying to get unions to start fighting each other??
divide and conquer??? Solidarity Forever " Gov. Eliot Spitzer meets this afternoon in New York City with District Council 37. Though it's always possible to read too much into political schedules, the timing is interesting. It comes as he's engaged in a very public battle with 1199/SEIU, the health-care workers' union, as evidenced by the statement yesterday (click continued, below) from union leader Dennis Rivera.
There has long been a certain feeling of competition for political clout between DC 37 and 1199 in the labor world. As representatives of some of the lower-paid constituencies in the municipal and state workforce, both are big political contributors and providers of personnel on Election Day. "
