October 14, 2008
Election 2008: Rudy Giuliani in the news
TODAY'S PICKS
CSI (9 p.m., CBS/2) - Season premiere: After Warrick is shot in a Las Vegas alley, the CSI team comes together to deal with the aftermath.
CORRECTION
Michael Bloomberg was a candidate for mayor of New York City when former Mayor Rudy Giuliani explored overriding term limits. In his column Monday, Les Payne incorrectly referred to Bloomberg as the mayor-elect.
Steve Israel skillfully uses incumbency to gird for challenger
WASHINGTON - With the Capitol dome behind him on a recent clear day, Rep. Steve Israel unveiled a legislative package to help the middle class: 13 bills that he conceded could not be enacted until next year.
"Wall Street" scriptwriter sees missed message
Two weeks ago, Michael Douglas fielded questions at a United Nations panel discussion on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. During the course of the conversation, the actor/activist was asked to compare nuclear Armageddon to the "financial Armageddon on Wall Street." After he answered, he was asked by another reporter, "Are you saying, Gordon, that greed is not good?"
Obama, McCain campaign volunteers on Long Island
Behind a Uniondale accounting office, eight kids leaned over broad white poster boards, and with bright markers spelled out O-B-A-M-A on signs destined for store windows.
Support for Bloomberg, but not for ditching term limits
Con Ed inspector John Lebron smiled widely yesterday at the prospect of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's staying in office four more years.
Support for Bloomberg, but not for ditching term limits
Con Ed inspector John Lebron smiled wide yesterday at the prospect of Mayor Michael Bloomberg staying in office four more years.
Mayor eyes third term with change to term-limit law
AFTER weeks, even months, of straddling the fence, it appears Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided to make a bid for a third term and will push to change the law that keeps him from running.
Bloomberg once called change to term limits a 'disgrace'
The blatant power grab Mayor Michael Bloomberg is poised to make, with the blessing of fellow New York billionaires, is "an absolute disgrace."
Bloomberg eyes third term with change to term-limit law
After weeks, even months, of straddling the fence, it appears Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided to make a bid for a third term and will push to change the law that keeps him from running.
Bloomberg once called change to term limits a "disgrace"
The blatant power grab that Mayor Michael Bloomberg is poised to make with the blessing of fellow New York billionaires is "an absolute disgrace."
Candidates should redo slogans, in light of economic crisis
Crisis is clouding the slogans. John McCain's "Country First" sounds like the name of a busted bank, and Barack Obama's "Change We Need" suggests a search for coins behind the seat cushions.
Economy's meltdown moves NY pols to center stage
Less than nine months ago, many people believed that one of this state's two Democratic U.S. senators would appear in a national spotlight this fall.
Alternative leaders offer views on financial bailout
Shock and awe over the nation's financial crisis - and the enormous taxpayer bailout of failing ventures - are giving alternative candidates and leaders an opportunity to show off differences from major-party figures, and to boast of their prescience.
September 18: Campaign fluff, broken political press, who's a grandpa?
Politics: style over substance
Republicans fault both candidates for negative ads
WASHINGTON - Leading Republicans yesterday faulted both presidential campaigns for the increasingly negative tone of their advertising, suggesting the bitter attacks undermine John McCain and Barack Obama's credibility with voters and could backfire.
LI ARTS: Dung at the gallery with no controversy
Why is a psychotherapist from Stony Brook creating abstract watercolors on paper derived from elephant dung? Well, there's a certain consistency here. Both her brush strokes and the excreted fiber that makes up the paper on which she applies those strokes are from Asian sources. Her art is in the style known as sumi-e, a Japanese word for ink painting.
Punchlines
Jay Leno, "The Tonight Show": "The government is spending $200 billion to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Unemployment (is at a) five-year high. Foreclosures are at a 19-year high. This means the Democrats are going to have to work extra hard over the next eight weeks to blow this election."
Mayor pushes on two fronts on eve of 9/11 anniversary
On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the 2001 attacks, Mayor Michael Bloomberg pressured the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to commit to completing the national Sept. 11 memorial and museum by 2011.
Community organizers are staple of democracy
The way to make the case for John McCain should not be by tearing down the work of Barack Obama's early career, which is the hard work that thousands of community organizers are doing daily to make democracy more vital and improve our lives.
Nassau ballot devices for disabled lack privacy screens
SCREENED OUT: No secret ballot for disabled
SPIN CYCLE: Party crashers mke rough week for GOP
The third audible disruption came about 10 minutes into John McCain's big speech in St. Paul on Thursday. Delegates chanted "USA" to drown it out.
Les Payne: A pitiful showing at McCain/Palin GOP convention
Upstaging the GOP presidential candidate who can't read a speech, the exuberant Gov. Sarah Palin exposed the nominee as a listless, 72-year-old senior citizen taking a tricky handoff from the nation's most unpopular commander-in-chief and likely its most incompetent.
Rick Brand: POLITICS & POWER: LI McCain backer gets his due
Back in 2000, Assemb. Phil Boyle (R-East Islip) angered top Suffolk Republicans when he first helped maverick presidential contender Sen. John McCain sweep all of Suffolk's convention delegates, save one - then-County Executive Robert Gaffney.
BEST OF SPIN CYCLE
During his speech last night, McCain was interrupted several times by protesters. The crowd chanted "USA" to drown them out. Cameras showed them being dragged out. McCain handled it with aplomb: "Don't be diverted by ground noise and static!"
Could Palin handle 9/11 attacks? Depends who you ask
When ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's experience as a mayor and governor gave her the experience to handle a disaster such as the 2001 terror attacks, the comment didn't surprise the Port Authority police union president.
Giuliani's spirited attack on Obama: 'He led nothing'
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Ridiculing Sen. Barack Obama, citing the Sept. 11 attacks anew and suggesting that freedom and safety depend on John McCain's election, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani stirred the convention hall as a buildup to Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential candidate, last night's main event.
TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Republican presidential nominee John McCain delivers his acceptance speech as the national Republican convention concludes a tumultuous week.
RNC 2008: TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Although events remain fluid and the convention's schedule was changing often, John McCain's vice-presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is expected to make her acceptance speech tonight. While pundits and commentators have questioned her relative lack of experience, Palin's speech takes on new meaning after she revealed on Monday that her teenage daughter is pregnant.
If only the fans could jump the car traffic
Even for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, there's no way around the traffic clogging the Hamptons' roads over Labor Day weekend.
Long Island Republicans resigned to convention delay
MINNEAPOLIS - Long Islanders arrived here for a four-day Republican pep rally only to have Hurricane Gustav blow away the hoopla from a distance. They expressed concern for Gulf residents first, but when pressed on the politics, they admitted regret that their party will miss a big chance to showcase its standard-bearers.
TODAY'S PICKS
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (8 p.m., TCM) (Drama, 1983) - A spunky woman (Shirley MacLaine) babies her daughter (Debra Winger), then her ex-astronaut neighbor (Jack Nicholson).
Key role for America's mayor
Rudy Giuliani, the fast-moving conventional wisdom now has it, is the wrong choice to deliver the keynote address at the Republican convention in St. Paul this week. The New York and Long Island native who's never been more than a mayor was debunked as a national figure, goes the thinking, by his poor performance in the GOP primaries, where he'd once been the favorite.
THE REPUBLICANS: VIEWERS GUIDE TO THE CONVENTION
The Republican National Convention begins tomorrow in St. Paul, Minn., where Arizona Sen. John McCain and the GOP will begin their counterpunch to the Democrats' week in the media spotlight. Republicans will seek to distance themselves from the perceived negatives of the George W. Bush years while capitalizing on the many issues on which he and McCain agree. Bush himself speaks tomorrow night and Rudy Giuliani keynotes Tuesday, with McCain's surprise running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, talking Wednesday and McCain on Thursday. (Events may change because of Hurricane Gustav.) Here is a look at important moments from past conventions and what to watch for this week.
Rudy, Republicans hammer at Obama's experience
DENVER - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared a few miles from the convention hall where Barack Obama was to be nominated and cited past statements from Giuliani's twice would-be rival Hillary Rodham Clinton to make his case for Sen. John McCain.
Obama hopes Biden can fill in the blanks
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama is hoping Joe Biden can be all the things he's not in this campaign.
ON THE TRAIL
Rudy Giuliani won't just be the keynote speaker at the Republican convention. He's going to Denver during the Democrats' gathering next week to try to get the GOP message out. Giuliani is one of about two dozen Republicans who will set up shop near the Pepsi Center during the Democrats' big week. He's due to appear at a Wednesday news conference to make the case Barack Obama isn't ready to be commander-in-chief, the GOP announced.
Giuliani the keynote speaker at GOP convention
WASHINGTON - By making Rudy Giuliani the Republican Convention's keynote speaker yesterday, presumptive GOP nominee John McCain hopes to lure independent voters, but might find the former New York City mayor also tends to draw controversy.
James Klurfeld: Will political drama outstrip Olympics?
Like a lot of you, I've spent most of my evenings the past two weeks, late into the night, watching the summer Olympics from China.
Mark Herrmann: LI GOLFBEAT: History echoes at Friar's Head
Judging only from some of the open, emerald fairways, you might think you were in Ireland. Judging from the views that encompass both tall trees and water, you might think you were at Pebble Beach. Judging from the general ambience, as Champions Tour player Loren Roberts recently did, you could say you were in heaven.
Ex-mayor David Dinkins doing well after heart surgery
Former New York Mayor David Dinkins looked forward to returning home after having surgery in Manhattan yesterday to have a pacemaker implanted, a spokesman for the city's first black mayor said.
Golfer Andrew Giuliani tees off in Met Amateur contest
It was barely 9 a.m., but the day looked promising. First, a thwack and a solid opening drive. Then a few precision putts. Other golfers complimented his strokes. By the fifth hole, Andrew Giuliani already had a birdie on his scorecard.
Hillary Clinton roll-call vote unlikely at convention
In the end, it would make little sense to push a symbolic roll-call vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in three weeks as some suggested - especially since she's now due to deliver the keynote address, several of her home-state supporters said last week.
Details emerge on Andrew Giuliani's suit against Duke
An apple almost killed Snow White, Adam ran into trouble when he ate one, and Andrew Giuliani says one reason cited by a Duke University coach for removing him from the school's golf team was that he tossed the forbidden fruit at a teammate.
Ellis Henican: Andrew Giuliani files lawsuit against Duke
Andrew Giuliani has hit a rough patch in his drive to become a pro golfer - being tossed off the Duke University golf team, his lawyers say, over "unfounded accusations" and a coach's "bizarre Lord of the Flies scheme."
Is McCain ready to announce his running mate?
ROCHESTER, N.H. - Yet another town-hall meeting isn't doing the trick. Neither is dropping in on a former Republican president.
Local Republicans seen as possible governor candidates
For the moment, the biggest Long Island names in statewide politics belong to Thomas DiNapoli, the Democratic state comptroller, and Dean Skelos, the Senate's GOP majority leader. Fast forward to the 2010 governor's race, and at least five regional names pop out of the rumor mill, on the Republican side.
McCain takes in Yankees game with Giuliani
With Democrat Barack Obama on the other side of the planet, Republican presidential candidate John McCain stayed closer to home yesterday, visiting Yankee Stadium with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Bishop, McCarthy have more cash on hand than opponents
WASHINGTON - Mineola Mayor Jack Martins may be a long shot to topple Rep. Carolyn McCarthy - but he's raised nearly as much as the six-term incumbent in the past three months, according to new federal campaign filings.
Impact of trial's sex revelations on Cook's career?
If former President Bill Clinton could remain a respected figure even after testifying about having phone sex with a White House intern, then Peter Cook need not worry too much about what will become of his professional life after the salacious revelations of his divorce trial, a prominent divorce lawyer said yesterday.
9-11 Memorial
Thirteen days after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Yankee Stadium was site of an inter- faith prayer service and group hug featuring prominent politicians, religious leaders and a crowd of approximately 50,000. Cardinal Edward Egan, Imam Izak-El M. Pasha, Rabbi Arthur Schneier and the Rev. Calvin O. Butts were in attendance along with former President Bill Clinton, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Fame can make celebrities' divorces more trying
Fame, money, attention - some things come easier to those who make their livings in the public eye. Not divorce, in which the well-known face the same tribulations as everyone else, plus some extra.
Josh Peck gets serious in 'Wackness'
Josh Peck is glad to be back amid the noise, crowds and cabs. He's a New Yorker, born and bred, raised by his mom in Hell's Kitchen. But at 14, he moved to Los Angeles when he was cast in Nickelodeon's "The Amanda Show." He soon got his own series - the zany, volume-pumped "Drake & Josh," with Drake Bell.
Walk the planks: A Long Island boardwalk tour
Sun, sea breezes and forgiving, easy-on-the-joints surfaces: Is there any better place for your walk, jog or bike ride than one of Long Island's boardwalks?
SPIN CYCLE: Ex-LIPA chief may win this power play
The resignation of New York Power Authority's chief executive appears related, in some measure, to an uproar over the agency's former inspector general, who's the focus of a widely publicized state-police probe headed by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Voters: Bloomberg would be good fit for governor
ALBANY - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may not want to be governor, but he hasn't convinced voters.
Casting backward glances can throw you off balance
Looking backward for clues to the future has its limits.
May 22: Catholic abortion politics, SUNY merger, Suffolk health plan, Israel stays
Communion exclusions
Voice mail tirade may 'haunt' Baldwin's political aims
If Alec Baldwin is again flirting with seeking public office, as he hints in an interview Sunday on "60 minutes," a tirade in which he called his daughter "a thoughtless little pig" may come back to "haunt" him, as one political consultant put it.
May 3: Rudy's Communion, the Rev. Wright, LIPA, syringe case
Communion a teaching moment
Mixed reactions to Egan's public rebuke of Giuliani
Heading into the noon Mass at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre yesterday, Anne-Marie Patton said she had no doubts Rudy Giuliani was out of line when he received Holy Communion at a papal Mass despite his public advocacy for abortion rights.
Cardinal Egan snipes at Rudy over taking Communion
Cardinal Edward Egan swiped at Rudy Giuliani yesterday, saying the former mayor violated a private agreement by receiving Holy Communion during the pope's visit this month, despite Giuliani's support of abortion rights.
Sports figures take sides with campaign donations
The world of sports is a multibillion- dollar enterprise that allows owners, team executives, head coaches and players to walk around with money clips filled with hundreds and investment accounts stuffed with millions. People with substantial money are likely to back up their political affiliations with donations. A quick search through the Federal Election Committee's public records shows contributions by several dozen sports figures.
'Baby Mama'
What may be the first real outsourcing comedy, "Baby Mama" is like a pacifier: floppy, nourishment-free and may even keep your teeth from growing in straight. It stars the likable Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, as a wannabe mother and her trailer-trash surrogate, but it's mild to the point of pabulum, taking a pretty fertile topic - surrogate motherhood - and making it inoffensive to anyone. This is not an endorsement.
April 23: Schumer on gas prices, Green commuting, Pope coverage
Being at one with the Earth