Brokered Convention

We could see the first televised brokered convention one maybe even both national parties this summer. With the GOP so scatter-shot four or even five candidates that are plausible to be nominees (plausible= Giuliani; Huckabee; Romney; McCain, and much less plausible Thompson). On the Democratic side Obama and Hillary are unlikely more than 45% of the delegates except in their respective home states. A brokered convention is probably what Edwards is banking on, because when Denver rolls around and head-to-head match ups are the only thing the political press can write about Edwards will certainly look better than Hillary, and Hillary will probably start slinging mud at Obama to take the shine off him. Saving grace for Hillary and Obama are that some states have winner-take-all primaries, I couldn't find a list of them on the net , but thenattering-nay-bobs of negativity (aka the media) will get around to talking about it by Febuary 5th.

Democrats: Colleges must police copyright, or else | CNET News.com

Democrats: Colleges must police copyright, or else | CNET News.com
Ridiculous! Democrats can not find the huevos to stop Bush breaking the law regarding American's right to privacy and from illegal searches, but they can crack down on peer-to-peer networks (not the individuals who participate mind you but the colleges that may have only one student illegally downloading music and movies). The Democratic Congress is threaten to withdraw all federal finacial aid and benefits to institutions of higher learning that will not name-names of students who download copyrighted material. The Congressional Democrats cannot get it together stop the Iraq War which they were given the majority last November for, but they twiddle their thumbs and do the bidding of copyright holders! American universities and colleges do not have anything better to do that track every move their students make online? Really!?! Because I remember in 2004 Kerry, and the Democratic platform had nothing but bad things to say about unfunded mandates regarding education... what happened to that old saw? It is not the government's job insure the movie and music industries' profits. It is not the government's job to be the movie and music industries' thug to scare individuals. We do not have the FBI or local cops standing in the doorway of Wal-Marts to prevent Wal-Mart customers from shoplifting. Our government does not pull up the roads that lead to the Wal-Mart to punish the shoplifters.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) are throwing a temper tantrum over the fact that their industries are changing. Despite the legal concept of safe harbor (ie media hosting services such as YouTube.com who pull copyrighted material after notified or internet service providers not being culpable of their customers' actions online) the media industries cannot seem to get over the fact they are going to have start suing all of their potentional customers or deal with the fact that they will always have some of their copyrighted media loose on the net.

The Chief Reports: Can't Keep Both Salaries: Say City Reservists Repaying Too Much

Can't Keep Both Salaries

Say City Reservists Repaying Too Much

By
REUVEN BLAU
The state should create a uniform differential pay program to accommodate city workers returning from military duty who are now required to pay back as much as $100,000 of their supplemental earnings, a Democratic candidate for State Assembly said last week

"These are people who are literally defending the city against future terrorist attacks," said Rory Lancman, who's running to succeed Queens Assemblyman
Brian M. McLaughlin, who is not seeking a new term. "We are not asking for them to get free money. All we are asking for is that the city calculate the money fairly, so that these guys are not paying more
than they received."

PBA,
Council Supporters

The proposal has also been championed by City Council Members Michael E. McMahon and Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. as well as the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

The Bloomberg administration, however, has traditionally opposed legislation that would add to the city's already burgeoning pension and labor costs.

"It's a very small sum in the scheme of things to protect this city," Mr. Lancman countered. "We are not talking about more than a couple of thousand city workers. It's not going to be more than a few million dollars."

State statute requires every locality to continue to pay up to 30 days a year to workers who perform ordinary National Guard and Reserve military service. After Sept. 11, 2001, that period was extended to 60 days for employees called up in connection with the terrorist attacks.

The state Department of Civil Service provides differential pay for state workers called to duty, who must choose between receiving their military or state salaries. The state determines the employee's total military pay, which includes a housing and food allowance, and then adjusts and supplements the worker's periodic paycheck so that the combined pay equals their normal civilian salary.

City
Staff Must Repay

City workers, however, are required to repay the lesser of the two salaries upon returning from military service. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services has also asked that the workers repay military housing, food, and hazardous duty allowances."The way the city is calculating how much these guys owe is based on gross pay as opposed to net pay," Mr. Lancman added. "The city is actually asking them to pay back more than they receive. That's ridiculous."

Kristen Zach, Councilman McMahon's Deputy Chief of Staff, said that her Police Officer husband returned from a year of military service in 2002 but only recently received a letter from DCAS asking for the money to be returned.

"It was a huge surprise," she remarked, noting that they owe $37,000 according to the city's calculations. "Now we have to figure out what to do. A lot of people were lulled into a false sense of hope."

Saved But Then Spent

Most officers initially saved the extra wages but then spent the money, she said. "Because there was no word for four years, people didn't really expect they were going to have to pay back," she commented. "Other cities such as Philly and Los Angeles have cancelled the debt." Most of the officers, she continued, aren't expecting the Bloomberg administration to erase the debt. "Nobody is saying we shouldn't have to pay anything back," she added. "It's just not reasonable the way the city is calculating payments."

Council Member McMahon has drafted a resolution urging the Bloomberg administration to change the way the city has estimated what employees owe. "It's a way to encourage the Mayor to do the right thing," Ms. Zach said. A mayoral spokesman declined to comment on the proposal, noting that it has not yet been drafted.

According to an internal DCAS memo, there have been 1,624 city workers called to active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. The departments most affected and the numbers of reservists in each are: Police Department, 988; Fire Department, 172; Correction Department, 149; Sanitation Department, 65; and Human Resources Administration, 34.

Sanitation
Faster to Notify

Agencies have established their repayment plans differently, the document noted. For instance, the Sanitation Department has been notifying employees of their obligation to pay back the money shortly after the workers return from service.

The NYPD, however, has only recently begun sending letters to members telling them about the amounts that they owe, the memo acknowledged. "The first letters went to approximately 100 individuals who returned from military duty from 2001 through September 2002," the DCAS document noted. "The NYPD expects to issue letters at a later point to those individuals who returned from leave in more recent years."

Because of the delay, many of the officers have already retired, Mr. Lancman pointed out. Those officers have been ordered to pay the money in full within 30 days. In contrast, current employees are required to give no more than 10 percent of their biweekly civilian salary towards repayment. "When they came back, the city was going to let it slide," the Assembly candidate asserted. "You can't retire, because the day you retire you are going to owe the whole thing."

Not a Crowd-Pleaser

The DCAS memo also noted the negative media attention the issue had been attracting since the notification letters were mailed. DCAS Director of Communications Mark Daly advised city officials that the matter "appeared in at least two news reports and was the subject of a call to the Mayor's radio show."

Mr. Addabbo, who chairs the Civil Service and Labor Committee, said that he will hold a hearing on the matter in early fall. "The issue has to be paid attention to," he remarked in an Aug. 15 phone interview. "So many of our city workers are being hit with a severe financial burden." Mr. Lancman's broader proposal is in its nascent stages. He is pitted against Morshed Alam, who is running as a Democrat and a Republican, in the Sept. 12 primary election. Mr. Alam is also a member of District Council 37's Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375.

But Mr. Lancman is quick to point out that Mr. Alam's own local has refused to endorse him, despite his gaining the backing of DC 37. Mr. Lancman, who political pundits view as the favorite, has been endorsed by many elected officials and has broad labor support, including
that of the United Federation of Teachers and the DC 37 Retirees' Association.

Alam Hate Rally Backfires

All you really need to know about the difference between Democrat Rory Lancman and Republicrat Morshed Alam can be found by reading this week's community newspapers and see how each of them spent their week: Rory's law firm took on the case of dozens of Queens businesses devastated by last month's blackout in a lawsuit against Con Ed (Courier; Chronicle), and he spoke at a rally in support of Israel alongside Congressman Anthony Weiner, Councilman Jim Gennaro and other elected officials attended by over 500 people (Times Ledger), while Morshed was excoriated for playing the race card to hide his seeming inability to muster the 500 signatures necessary to qualify for the ballot from actual Democrats who actually live in the District (Tribune: "Shame on Morshed Alam for stooping to such low campaign tactics . . . Morshed Alam should be ashamed of the actions of his campaign -- and he owes Rory Lancman an apology."; Examiner: "Poking holes in Alam and Nath's charge of xenophobia is Lancman's choice for female district leader, Uma Sengupta, herself a member of the South Asian community. Her petition was also challenged [by Alam]. 'If these candidates are so concerned about South Asians having the opportunity to run for office, why did they challenge my petitions to prevent me from getting on the ballot?'"; Times/Ledger: "Seven leaders of the district's civic associations also made a joint statement defending Lancman, calling Alam's allegations "a tactic to win votes.";)

The funny (sad?) part about Alam's rally, as the Tribune reported, is that he tried to pretend it was staged by a non-political and heretofore unknown group, "The Immigrant Coalition For Democracy" (headed by, you guessed it, Alam's campaign manager), except that someone forgot to tell Alam that when you fax a press release from your campaign office, it prints out of the recipient's fax machine with the sender's identity printed on top (you guessed it again: "Alam4Assembly"). D'OH!

Tough Week For Morshed Alam

It's been a tough week for Republicrat Morshed Alam, who is Democrat Rory Lancman's opponent for the open 25th District State Assembly seat in Queens. First, he got caught using a non-union printer for his lit and posters, even though the lit in question touts his being a DC37 member and claims he "Supports labor's right to organize and for their members to be treated with dignity and respect." I guess that doesn't apply to workers in the printing trade. Then the New York Observer caught him fabricating endorsements. The reporter's conversation with Councilman Leroy Comrie is particularly funny ("He's been calling me and begging me and calling me and asking me and calling me and asking me."). Then the Queens Tribune outed Alam as also running on the Republican line (understandably, Alam was "reluctant" to discuss his Republican endorsement). And finally Alam's campaign finance filing showed him with barely $14,000 on hand. (Rory Lancman filed with over $78,000 on hand). Like I said, it's been a tough week for Morshed.
Rory, on the other hand, had another great week, with UNITE HERE adding its name to the formidable list of unions already backing Rory, including 32BJ, RWDSU, CSEA, DC37 Retirees, DC37 Local 983, UFCW Local 1500, Carpenters Local 45, Mason Tenders, Painters DC9, SEIU Local 74, CWA 1180, 1106 & 1102 (and, of course, the Working Families Party).

Les Roberts drops out from the 24th Congressional Race

Les Roberts, Public Health Expert and former CDC official, decided last week to end his run for Congress and leave Michael Arcuri, DA of Oneida County, to be lone Democrat running for the seat being vacated by Sherwood Boehlert (R-Utica).


It is my opinion that if there was enough demand from New Yorkers for him to run for State Senate (against James Seward), he might roll his current federal contributions to a state account and have a considerable amount of money to run a viable race against a State Senator who has been involved in lots of corruption centered around railroad exec and cooperstown fundraiser Walter Rich. I urge anyone reading this please ask Les Roberts to throw his hat into the ring and run against James Seward.

les@lesroberts2006.com

Roberts drops out of 24th District race

Democrat’s decision leaves Arcuri and three Republicans remaining

By Tom Grace, The Daily Star

Cooperstown News Bureau

Chenango County Democrat Les Roberts, 44, withdrew Wednesday from the 24th Congressional District race.

Roberts, of German, said it had become clear to him that Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri was better-funded and supported by Democratic leaders in the district.

"Michael Arcuri is a strong candidate, and I came to the realization that my staying in the race would only make it more difficult for him to win in November," Roberts said Wednesday morning. "I think it’s critically important that we elect a Democrat and that Democrats take control of the House of Representatives."

Roberts said, "Republican control of the Congress and White House in recent years has given us the most destructive governance since the Vietnam War."

The pre-emptive war against Iraq and record deficits fueled by "tax gifts for the richest few" have left the United States greatly weakened, he said.

In recent years, "one-party rule has degraded the Constitution and American civil liberties dramatically," Roberts continued. "We need to do something about that this year."

Roberts said he would try to help Arcuri win in November, and later in the morning, Arcuri had kind words for his former opponent.

"Although it’s helpful to be the only candidate from my party, I’ll miss Les Roberts on the campaign trail," Arcuri said. "He’s very intelligent, very honest, and I know he brought our campaign up a few notches."

Roberts was the third Democrat to leave the race to succeed retiring Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford. Earlier, former Cortland Mayor Bruce Tytler and Utica attorney Leon Koziol ended their campaigns. Koziol is now running for the New York state Senate.

Roberts’ withdrawal leaves four declared candidates in the race: Arcuri and three Republicans: state Sen. Raymond Meier, R-Western; Brad Jones, general manager of ITT Industries-Gould Pumps of Auburn, and Robert "Ken" Camera, an energy consultant from Geneva.

In response to Roberts’ comments, Meier said, "You know, the Democrats in this district continually try to make this race about Washington, but it’s not: It’s about who best reflects the desires and aspirations of the people in the district.

"They’d like to run against Tom DeLay, but they’re not," he said. "They’re running against me."

Meier said he already has been endorsed by Republican committees in Oneida, Cortland and Ontario counties, and by Republican executive committees in Seneca and Herkimer counties.

Jones, the first candidate to enter the race, said, "It looks like that leaves us with two lawyers and me in the race. One lawyer is a career politician, and the other one wants to be. Then we have one businessman who’d like to restore some fiscal responsibility to the federal government."

Camera said, "I can understand the problems Les encountered because it’s tough to run against big money. In my race, I tell people the Republicans have a choice between a candidate with few ideas and lots of money like Ray Meier, and one with lots of ideas and little money, like me."

Typically, GOP leaders have opted for money over ideas, Camera said, but he will stay in the race nonetheless to force a primary, campaigning mostly from his website, http://www.kencamera.us.

Roberts, an epidemiologist whose study of deaths in the Iraq War was published in the British medical journal Lancet, said he doesn’t regret his foray into politics in central New York.

"I’ve found that the Democratic Party of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt and the Republican Party of Dwight Eisenhower are still alive at the grass-roots level, and that’s heartening," he said. "Our local governments are far better and more honestly run than the federal government, and that’s good to see, too."

However, Roberts said he also is more convinced that ever that American elections need immediate reform:

"I think it’s very important that we take the private money out of elections, so candidates can discuss the issues in depth, and voters can find out who they’re really voting for."

Democrat running in NY's 24th Congressional District

This guy has worked in more war zones than the entire bush administrations. I know that the Bushies are not ones to every put themselves in the line of fire that why Les Roberts needs to be sent to Congress.

Democrat running in Ny's 20th

Fundraising by Boehlert trails previous years

Opponents say he may not run again

By Tom Grace

Cooperstown News Bureau

Is U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford, running for re-election?

Based on the amount of money the congressman has raised, the answer might well be "no."

Boehlert, 69, will make an announcement in March, his spokesman, Sam Marchio, said Friday.

"I think he’ll announce his plans in the third week of March because that’s when Congress will be in recess," Marchio said.

First elected a representative in 1982, Boehlert, a self-styled moderate Republican, has cruised to victory in every general el

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ection since then. But in 2002 and 2004, he faced strong primary challenges from conservative candidates in his party.

And in 2004, an underfunded Democratic candidate, Utica College Professor Jeff Miller, managed to win about a third of the vote with a campaign that raised less than $40,000.

In the same election cycle, Boehlert’s campaign spent more than $1.5 million, according to the Center For Responsive Politics.

Boehlert, chairman of the House Science Committee, has consistently raised more money than his opponents over the years. But money has not been pouring in at the usual rate this time. As of Sept. 30, Boehlert’s campaign had $166,220 on hand, according to the CFRP, which obtains its information from the Federal Elections Commission.

Asked why Boehlert, who has three challengers registered with FEC and others professing interest in the race, has not been more aggressively raising money, Marchio said, "I think he’s been more focused on policy than politics."

In about two weeks, the FEC will release figures on money raised in the last quarter of 2005. Marchio said these numbers "probably" will show Boehlert has raised less money at this stage of the 2006 election cycle than in recent elections.

"What you have to remember is he’s shown he can raise the money when he needs to," Marchio said.

But will he need to?

Democrat Les Roberts of German, who announced his candidacy for 24th District seat a few weeks ago, said Friday that the smaller-than-usual size of Boehlert’s war chest does make it appear the incumbent is getting ready to retire.

Also, although Boehlert has often voted with his party on budgets, alienating some liberal voters, he has also broken ranks on other issues, such as drilling for oil in Alaska, alienating some in House leadership, Roberts observed.

With the House dominated by conservative Republicans, Roberts said, Boehlert may not be given another committee chairmanship when his tenure as Science Committee chairman expires this year.

"That might be a reason to retire, too," he said.

Miller, who said Friday that he will announce his election plans Monday, said he, too, thinks the incumbent is getting ready to retire.

The first candidate to challenge Boehlert in this cycle was Republican Brad Jones, general manager of ITT Industries-Gould Pumps in Auburn and the former mayor of Seneca Falls.

Jones, whose campaign has raised nearly $86,000 so far, said he has heard the rumors that Boehlert will step down.

"It won’t really affect my campaign, because I’m running for the office no matter who else is running," Jones said.

Jones said he has heard that state Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, and state Sen. Raymond Meier, R-Utica, are considering runs for the 24th congressional district seat.

Duncan Davie, Seward’s spokesman, said Friday that Seward is not considering a run for Congress at present.

"There is no vacancy in that district," Davie said.

However, if Boehlert were to announce his pending retirement this spring, Seward might consider running, Davie said.

In addition to Jones and Roberts, Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri, a Democrat, has registered with the FEC.

Other candidates who have expressed interest include Utica lawyer Leon Koziol and former Cortland Mayor Bruce Tytler, both Democrats.

Spitzer picks Patterson over Eve for Lt. Gov

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 23, 7:38 PM ET

ALBANY, N.Y. - Democrat Eliot Spitzer, the leading candidate for governor, has chosen New York's top black legislator as his running mate, a person familiar with the decision said Monday.
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State Senate Democratic leader David Paterson, who is legally blind, is credited with narrowing his party's deficit in the Senate, controlled by Republicans since 1965.

Paterson has agreed to run as lieutenant governor with Spitzer, according to the source, who would speak only on condition of anonymity because no official announcement is expected for a few days. Spitzer, the state's attorney general, is known for his crackdown on Wall Street abuses.

A spokesman for Paterson, 51, had no immediate comment. A spokesman for the state Republican chairman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

"He is a legitimate, intelligent and so far effective reformer," former Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo said of Paterson.

Paterson was elected in 1985 at age 31, representing a Manhattan district. He was elected minority leader in 2002 and addressed the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

He has sought to open the budget process and change the workings of the Senate, which provides little power to the minority party.

He lives in Harlem with his wife and two children. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Hofstra University Law School.

His father, Basil Paterson, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1970 and later became New York secretary of state.

In October, Basil Paterson endorsed another Democrat running for lieutenant governor, Leecia Eve, according to Eve's Web site.

As if the NY GOP could be anymore divided

This great

GOP 'TURNCOAT'

By FREDRIC U. DICKER

EXCLUSIVE

INSIDE ALBANY

AN INFLUENTIAL GOP leader wants a prominent Republican Party consultant fired for allegedly working to help a Democrat defeat an upstate Republican congressman.

The extraordinary demand was made over the weekend by Saratoga County GOP Chairman Jasper Nolan, a prominent upstate GOP leader.

He says consultant Patrick McCarthy, a former executive director of the party and a close political ally of Gov. Pataki, is trying to undermine incumbent Rep. John Sweeney.

Sweeney, a former GOP executive director, has been highly critical of Pataki's leadership.

Sweeney, a Saratoga County resident and close political ally of Mayor Bloomberg and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, has told friends he believes that Pataki himself approved of McCarthy's alleged efforts to help his Democratic opponent, Kirsten Gillibrand.

Gillibrand is the daughter of Albany lawyer/lobbyist Doug Rutnik, a longtime fixture at the state GOP headquarters and the significant other of Zenia Mucha, the Walt Disney Company exec who was once one of Pataki's top political advisers.

"Doug Rutnik's daughter is not going to challenge Sweeney without Pataki's OK," said one of the state's most prominent Republicans.

Nolan made his demand over the weekend in a stinging letter to state GOP Chairman Stephen Minarik, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.

"I am deeply concerned to learn a paid consultant for our party was recently spotted having dinner at an Albany restaurant with the announced 2006 Democratic opponent of Congressman John Sweeney," Nolan wrote.

"This is an outrageous development, and I respectfully request that Mr. McCarthy be removed from the Republican Party payroll immediately.

". . . He should be replaced by someone who is committed to defeating Democrats and not to aiding and abetting those who seek to defeat incumbent Republicans like our congressman."

McCarthy, who was once Pataki's chief patronage dispenser and is now a lobbyist with the politically wired Patricia Lynch Associates, is paid $25,000 a year as a part-time consultant to the state GOP.

He told The Post that he'd merely had "a couple of sodas" with Rutnik and his daughter.

"I have nothing to do with that effort at all," he insisted, saying that Rutnik was a longtime family friend and that the meeting was strictly social.

But others familiar with the situation said they believe that McCarthy was an informal adviser to Democrat Gillibrand as part of Pataki's effort to retaliate against Sweeney, who has publicly blamed the governor for a long string of GOP defeats.

fredric.dicker@nypost.com