No one in Albany carries nearly as much clout these days as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
As the undisputed boss of an overwhelming 102-47 Democratic majority, he could probably round up the votes to rename the Bronx as Red Sox Nation if he really tried.
Yet Silver (above) has allowed his house to drift almost seven weeks into the new fiscal year without acting on a budget as the state Constitution requires.
And he wants us to believe the delay is Gov. Paterson’s fault?
That was the clear implication of the shot he took at the governor last week.
“Some have suggested that, given that his remaining time in office is running out, the governor is unwilling to do a budget now for fear that he will become irrelevant in the public arena,” he sniped. “I believe that as long as he or she has the bully pulpit, a governor can be as relevant as they choose to be.”
File that beauty under “Freudian projection, classic examples of.” Because no one is more responsible for holding things up than Silver himself.
Continue reading 'Budget mess tarnishes Silver: He blames Paterson, but the Speaker should look in the mirror'»
When the news broke about alleged safety defects in Toyota vehicles, official Washington was appalled. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood accused the company of being “safety deaf” and said “they have a very bad business model.”
Then there was the reaction from customers, the very people whose lives and safety are at stake every time they get in a car. In the first four months of this year, Toyota’s U.S. sales did not fall, as you might expect. They rose by 12 percent.
Continue reading 'Congress accelerates out of control'»
It was a lawn to die for.
It was the work of a meticulous man.
From the street, it didn’t look all that spectacular. The grass was thick and green. There was an American flag out front, flower beds, everything neat, tidy, well-kept.
But inches away, I could see the consequence of his hands. That edged sidewalk, the patch of seed worked into a thin spot, a clump of purple iris out back, roses out front. And that cement angel in the corner.
Continue reading 'Love of lawns clashes with love of dogs in University Park slaying'»
WITHIN HOURS of Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court Monday, it was clear that her confirmation battle would — at the outset, anyway — represent a departure from President Obama’s previous nominee, Sonia Sotomayor: Kagan will have to overcome skepticism from the left along with the expected skepticism from the right.
The same thing that makes her confirmation so likely — the lack of a paper trail for opponents to parse and attack — has also become a prime source of concern for her own side.
There’s little hard evidence to reassure liberals that she’ll adjudicate in the way they would prefer. Kagan’s lack of a judicial record and scant legal writing during a career spent mostly in politics and the deanship of Harvard Law School leave open the possibility she’ll turn out to be more conservative than advertised.
Continue reading 'Nightmare for the left: Getting ‘soutered’ by Kagan'»
MARTHA COAKLEY is running the kind of campaign she’s used to winning — the kind with no opponent.
No one is challenging “the woman who lost Ted Kennedy’s seat,’’ as she described herself after last January’s ugly loss to Republican Scott Brown. That leaves Coakley cruising toward reelection to a second term as attorney general.
Continue reading 'For Coakley, a lonely reinvention'»
Thanks to soaring tuitions, more colleges are now able to spend big bucks on high-profile graduation speakers. Here are “excerpts” from what I imagine will be this year’s most expensive commencement remarks:
Former Gov. Sarah Palin
“One quick announcement before I begin, and I betcha you’ll help me with this. Audio, video, and other recording devices, including still cameras, are prohibited during my appearance and will be confiscated by campus security. Pistols and hunting knives are OK.”
TV host Conan O’Brien
“I had a dynamite commencement speech prepared, but NBC owns the rights. So, let’s just say I hope someday you all get the chance to work in a job you really love for seven months.”
Continue reading 'Degrees of celebrity'»
Yesterday’s announced compromise on teacher evaluations between teachers unions and New York State is a win for teachers, although many don’t see it that way. The deal, which makes students’ test scores count for 40% of a teacher’s effectiveness rating, marks the first time that test data will influence teachers’ ratings or job security.
The concept of tying teacher evaluations to test scores – an idea endorsed so emphatically by President Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan that it’s a prerequisite for states’ applications for the Race to the Top billions – is moving with the momentum of a bullet train. As trains go, you’re either onboard, on the sidelines or getting run over.
Continue reading 'Why the new evaluation plan is good for teachers'»
People of all faiths died on Sept. 11, 2001, a reflection of the fact that the United States is a nation of diverse cultures and religions. First responders from the New York City Police Department and the Fire Department – including our sons – sacrificed their lives trying to rescue those trapped in the burning towers, irrespective of their faith, race or ethnicity. They risked their lives because they had a reverence for life and a commitment to the value of every human being.
Continue reading 'The case for a mosque near Ground Zero: Two mothers of 9/11 heroes argue for a Muslim center there'»
Around 1924, the professor seduced his student. He was 35 and married, she was 18 and single. He was an important philosopher and she was a precocious kid, destined for great things herself. He was to become a Nazi and she was a Jew – Martin Heidegger and Hannah Arendt. If you could understand them both, as a couple and individually, you would understand the world and all its mysteries. You might also never sleep again.
The Heidegger-Arendt affair is a much-told tale that never loses its attraction for writers. Yet another book has appeared, “Stranger From Abroad” by Daniel Maier-Katkin, which was reviewed, along with a separate book on Heidegger, on the front of last Sunday’s New York Times Book Review – a place of honor befitting these two intellectual giants, not to mention their very strange, and in terms of affection, enduring affair. After World War II, Arendt defended Heidegger and resumed the friendship.
Continue reading 'Two geniuses, one mystifying affair: Martin Heidegger and Hannah Arendt'»
The nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court by President Obama has sent pundits and opinionmakers on the left and the right into a frenzy of breathless speculation and skepticism. But the collective anxiety isn’t just about whether she’ll push the court left or right – and both sides are worried she will – but over how little we actually know of her. I think this is all just a little hysterical.
True, she’s never been a judge, so we don’t know much about her positions on the issues that, as a Supreme Court justice, she’ll be forced to confront. And yes, her academic record, while impressive, also doesn’t offer a whole lot of insight into her political leanings. As solicitor general she was appointed to represent the government, so her opinions there aren’t really illuminating either.
Continue reading 'What do you mean, we don’t know Elena Kagan?'»
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