Emperor Bloomberg Fiddles as NYC Burns

He has no money to remove snow or save firehouses on Staten Island but allows $80 million to be misspent on bogus contracts for City Time. He praises the passage of the Zadroga Bill but spends $500 million to fight every claim submitted by workers who became ill working at Ground Zero. He appoints a School Chancellor with no education experience and changes term limits because the city needs his financial expertise and we are now on the verge of bankruptcy......Just like Nero Emperor Bloomberg fiddles as the city crashes and burns.....Can anybody say John Lindsay II

State Controller DiNapoli...How About a Political Pre-Nup?

State Controller Tony DiNapoli that he will begin to publicly push for laws that would par busted politicians busted on felony charges from getting their pensions.

While this is a good idea, with the lawyers that these politicians have (paid for with campaign funds), we rarely ever see anything less than pled out cases.

For two years we have been promoting the idea that elected officials should have to sign political pre-nups before taking office.

This would be a legally binding document

It’s very simple. They sign this pre-nup which states that if they are forced from their positions due to illegal or improper behavior they will give up any claim to any pensions or benefits that they may be entitled to. And they agree to pay back any monies that may have been illegally gained without dispute. Now any honest politician should have no problem signing this agreement. It would be interesting to see if any actually would.

Dennis


See our post from June 2008

It's Time For A Political Pre-Nup

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43838

Transcend political correctness and strive for human righteousness

The failure of the Senate to pass the Zadroga 9/11 Health Care Bill is just the latest example of all that is wrong with our current two party political system. Now while the Republicans are solely to blame in the current round a quick review of the bill’s history of this bill as well as its sister bill in the House will show that the Democrats also playing party politics have long delayed the bills getting anywhere near proposal.

In the house as well as in the Senate these bills have spent most of their times in committees as the party leaders would not even allow them out for a vote.

In the House’s case this was under direct orders from Nancy Pelosi who would not allow any bills out of committee until the President’s Health Care Agenda was moved forward.

In the Senate this was delayed and only put to a vote when they knew it would defeated as the Republicans vowed not to approve any bills until the Bush tax breaks were extended.

So we have both Republicans and Democrats playing party politics while people continue to die.

Is it only me or does anyone else believe that both parties are becoming more like the Borg Collective only moving forward as a block with no independent
thinking allowed?


They continue to totally disregard the majority of Americans and only move forward with what the “Party Wants”

All of our Senators and Representatives believe that “Resistance is Futile” as they fear the loss of campaign financing if they don’t tow the party line.

Well it’s about time we let them know that we want independent thinkers.

We elect candidates to represent us not the Republican or Democratic Parties.

We deserve more than these Stepford Senators and Representatives marching mindlessly to the orders of the Party Borg Collective.

It is now time that we make them release that “Resistance is Not Futile” and that we will no longer put up with it.

As Anthony J. D’Angelo once said we need to “Transcend political correctness and strive for human righteousness”

And we can start with the passage of the Zadroga Bill.

A Gambler's Christmas

As I was coming back from getting my newspaper this morning I noticed a group of at least 100 people (Mostly Seniors) waiting for the bus to Atlantic City.



This afternoon there was a group almost double that size waiting in the same spot.



As the economy gets worse more and more people are taking a chance.



And the government continues to try to bring draw more and more into this trap with ads in print on radio and on TV.



More and more seniors and young kids are getting drawn.



Something needs to be done.



This was first published last year and I thought we should share it again.



Take a moment and read it and the articles below.





“A GAMBLER’S CHRISTMAS”



T’was the night before Christmas when all through the house
The only sound heard came from my mouse
While the stockings where hung from the chimney with care
They were all empty barren and bare

My youngest was nestled all snug in his bed
While the piles of bills rose above my head
His mother and sister along with Aunt Bea
Were on they’re way back from a trip to AC

My other son James was locked in a gaze
As Chris Moneymaker considered a raise
Not even a Yule Log on our TV set
As he watched Phil Ivey check the last bet

The World Series of Poker on every TV
Had replaced all the classics that we used to see
No Frosty or Rudolph or Charlie Brown’s tree
Just Texas Hold'em on four channels not three

As I clicked all around to find my next site
To play online poker and cover last night
All the games that I lost both college and pro
Outside of my window it started to snow

I thought of the call I received just last night
From my dear old mom who had missed the last flight
It appears the she didn’t notice the time
While playing the slots where she lost her last dime

And the letter I got from my brother Bob
Letting me know that he just lost his job.
He had gone out to lunch and didn’t come back
Losing his pay check again at the track

I closed my eyes but I couldn’t sleep
Thinking of promises I wouldn’t keep
And Johnny would wake tomorrow to see
Not one single present under the tree

And I would have to think of a really good lie
To explain why Santa had passed us by
I would explain it was just a mistake
While thinking of even more bets I could make

But as if by magic I saw my way out
And I started to leap and dance about
For from the radio I heard a voice scream

“The New Christmas Lottery A Dollar and a Dream”



Although many of you may think that the poem above is an exaggeration it is a lot closer to the truth they you may believe.

Gambling is becoming more of the norm then the exception to the rule.

Families are losing their houses because of compulsive gambling.

Seniors on a fixed income are losing their life’s savings on repeated trips to Atlantic City and other casinos.

You cannot turn on the TV without seeing one version of a poker match or another.

Children in their teens and younger are playing at on line sites and losing real money.

Texas Hold’em tournaments are sponsored by schools and churches and teenagers are playing with alarming regularity.

Nights at the Races and Casino Nights are now regular events.

And the worst offender is New York State.

They spend millions a year advertising to lure more innocent people in with promises of millions.

Gambling is now at epidemic levels especially with teens and seniors.

Recent studies indicate that more than 70 percent of youth between the ages of 10 and 17 gambled in the past year, up from 45 percent in 1988. Almost one in three high school students gamble on a regular basis, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania surveyed 843 elderly people 65 years and older and discovered that 70 percent had been involved in at least one gambling activity in the past year and 11 percent fit the criteria of at-risk gamblers: they had recently laid down more than $100 on a single bet and/or they had bet more than they could afford to lose.
We are going to work with Gambler’s Anonymous next year and develop some seminars to address these issues. We will offer these to both schools as well as senior groups.



Anyone wishing to participate can contact us at info@where-to-turn.org.



In the meantime we need to get the Government out of the recruitment business. If people want to gamble that is their prerogative but we do not need to be barraged with lottery ads.



The state should get out of the gambling business all together. Just look what a great job they did with OTB. I never heard of a bookie losing money.



If they need to keep the lottery they should at least cut the advertising. The reduced cost would probably compensate for the lost revenue from new gamblers.



If you know of someone with a gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER

Dennis




THE GROWING GAMBLING PROBLEM IN AMERICA



http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=41184


They Are Gambling With Our Future


http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45712