In case you missed last night's WABC-TV mayoral debate, we've prepared a short montage for your personal use. Shorter than a 60-minute debate. Longer than a six-second sounbite. A nutritious snack for the ear.

Or: if you can't stand either man's voice, Ben Smith live blogs the showdown over at The Politicker.

Posted by leboheme at 04:02 PM

Listen to today's "Cult of the Occult" segment featuring Mary Roach, author of Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife.

Subject: mediums
Recently, NJ Monthly ran an article on a woman who has helped a NJ police dept. solve crimes through her psychic abilities. In one instance, she was taken to someone's bedroom, the site of an alleged murder, where she had a vision of a murder weapon, and of several other things not apparent to other investigators, that led to the perp and to his conviction. She continues to work for that PD, as far as I know. More info at www.njmonthly.com.
-ES

Subject: correction - halloween/samhain
Halloween/Samhain (pronounced sow-en …like pig sow) as it comes from the Celts is not to ward OFF evil spirits but to celebrate and dance with them as the “veils between the worlds” are very thin at this time of year.
-JF

Subject: Psychics
I think the most compelling argument against the "supernaturalness" of psychics is that there has never been a psychic whose "powers" couldn't be reproduced by a skilled magician. (The Amazing Randi has made a career out of reproducing psychic phenomena.)
-TH

Subject: Psychic psegment
First of all, there is in fact such a thing as time, a thing that we call
time. The psychics love to go there to try to explain their work and give
it an air of veracity. Read any of Jane Robert's "Seth" books.

Would you please do a longer segment on this? You were surprised to see
how many of your show's listeners want to chime in.
-HE

Posted by leboheme at 02:39 PM

Samuel Alito, Jr. new nominee to the Supreme Court (NY Sun)

Ferrer slams Bloomberg in ABC debate (NY Post)

Daily News Endorses Bloomberg

Forrester picks up Record and Start-Ledger endorsements (WNBC)

Corzine and Forrester vie for environmental creds (The Record)

ACLU Subway searches lawsuit begins today (NY Post)

Schumer calls on Bush to free up oil reserves (NY Newsday)

NPR's Libby Lewis confused with I. Lewis Libby (NY Daily News)

Posted by leboheme at 10:27 AM

From the Libby indictment:

Rober Novak: 2 times
Judith Miller: 12 times
Matt Cooper: 17 times
Tim Russert: 22 times

Posted by leboheme at 03:20 PM

VP Cheney: Mr. Libby has informed me that he is resigning to fight the charges brought against him. I have accepted his decision with deep regret.

Scooter Libby is one of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known. He has given many years of his life to public service and has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction.

In our system of government an accused person is presumed innocent until a contrary finding is made by a jury after an opportunity to answer the charges and a full airing of the facts. Mr. Libby is entitled to that opportunity.

Because this is a pending legal proceeding, in fairness to all those involved, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the charges or on any facts relating to the proceeding.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, on the BL Show:

"the administration deliberately lied to the American people and quite likely lied to Congress in order to deceive Congress into authorizing a war. If they did that, that would amount to a criminal conspriacy and it would be among the worst crimes I can conceive of--to mislead Congress into authorizing a war."

Freddy Ferrer, via email (click for larger version):

Posted by leboheme at 02:00 PM

Deal reached between city and firefighters (NY Post)

Libby indictment likely, Fitzgerald may investigate Rove further (NY Times)

Republicans call for a new nominee in the mold of Roberts (LA Times)

Analysis: Miers nomination troubled from the beginning (Washington Post)

Red Cross borrows money to cover costs (Washington Post)

Sweet smell befuddles people in lower Manhattan (NY Times)

Posted by leboheme at 09:05 AM

Leslie Savan: Pop language, is like, so icky

Posted by leboheme at 12:10 PM

Miers nomination crumbles (Washington Times)

Volcker report details kickbacks in oil-for-food program (NY Times)

MTA passes fare hikes over gov's objections (Newsday)

Port Authority held liable in 1993 bombings (NY Post)

Ferrer calls for downscaling of Atlantic Yards project (NY Daily News)

Bloomberg meets Ellner at Bowery Bar (NY Daily News)

Bloomberg to deploy Giuliani (NY Sun)

Huge gift made to CUNY (NY Sun)

Bad accounting found in DeLay legal defense fund (NY Times)

Mary Cheney hired by AOL (NY Daily News)

Posted by leboheme at 12:05 PM

CNN's Dana Bash is literally out of breath over this one. In a letter, Miers cites unwillingness to share White House documents. More to come.

Posted by leboheme at 08:58 AM

The BL Show's (probably) biggest fan in Japan (and sometime BL Show guest) has started her own blog- in English. It's full of observations on English vocabulary ("proactive", "wonk") and Japanese baseball.

Welcome to the club, Naoko!

Naoko's Journal

Naoko Masui's appearance on the BL Show

Posted by leboheme at 02:36 PM

We get this all the time:

Posted by leboheme at 01:34 PM

Richard Clarke: terror tracker, novelist

Posted by leboheme at 01:29 PM

Just got the press release on the Village Voice's 50th anniversary issue, out this week. Lots of great stuff in there, including reprints of old VV articles by Norman Mailer, Edward Albee, and Joyce Carol Oates...but hardly a word on the paper's unpopular planned merger with alt-weekly chain New Times, also announced this week.

Jarrett Murphy drops two sentences on the NT-VV deal at the end of his history of Voice ownership:

"Just over 24 hours before this anniversary issue went to press, Village Voice Media...announced its plans to merge with New Times, which has 11 papers and is the country's biggest alternative-newspaper chain. The deal is subject to Department of Justice approval, a process that could take up to six months because the DOJ is expected to request additional information from the companies."

Former VV writer Mick Farren vents about the deal on his blog, Funtopia.

Click here for VV's entertaining slideshow featuring 50 years of VV covers.

Posted by leboheme at 12:08 PM

2,000th US soldier dies in Iraq (NY Times)

Ferrer acknowledges he may lose race (NY Daily News)

Pataki tells MTA to drop reduced fare plan (NY Post)

The Observer endorses Bloomberg and Corzine

David Lee Roth to take over Howard Stern's spot (NY Daily News)

European court rules feta is Greek, as champagne is French (Finanacial Times)

BBC dumps Eastern European language services in order to fund new Arabic TV network (The Telegraph)

Howell Raines email sheds light on NYT inner workings (Editor & Publisher)

Posted by leboheme at 09:11 AM

In an upcoming episode of 30 Issues, we'll explore the charge that Mayor Bloomberg is a RINO. In today's Times, Nick Confessore explores the question by looking at Bloomy's relationship with the Manhattan Institute-- a great source for BL guests like Heather MacDonald and EJ McMahon, but not, apparently, a great influence on Mayor Mike's thinking.

NY Republican bloggerUrban Elephant certainly ain't happy. Check out his recent post on Bloomy's proposed expansion of medicaid to cover all children.

NB: Freddy made a similar proposal in August.

Posted by leboheme at 04:11 PM

El Diario picks Freddy. Read the English-language endorsement here.

Posted by leboheme at 03:23 PM

From yesterday's POTUS interview with Al Arabiya:

Q I hope so. Thank you very much, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks.
Q Thank you for your time. Thank you. Wonderful.
THE PRESIDENT: Very good interview.
Q Well, one day I'm going to run as the mayor of Gaza, so probably I need your help. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely. After I'm President I'll go help you. (Laughter.)
Q Thank you, sir.

Unfortunately, the press release does not include the name of the journalist. If you read Arabic, click here for Al Arabiya's version of events.

Posted by leboheme at 03:17 PM

Goodwin: Honest Abe was sexy, too

Posted by leboheme at 03:04 PM

Cheney told Libby about Valerie Plame (NY Times)

Rosa Parks, 1913-2005 (NY Times)

VP proposes CIA loophole for anti-torture bill (Washington Post)

Silver furious at Bloomberg statements on WTC site (NY Daily News)

Suspected Afghan drug lord extradited to US (NY Times)

That's Afghan, not Afghani, Post editors!

The Onion ordered to stop use of presidential seal (Editor & Publisher)

Posted by leboheme at 08:39 AM

The AP reports Ben Bernanke is President Bush's pick to head the fed. He is chair of the White House Counsel of Economic Advisors, a professor at Princeton, and a former governor of the Federal Reserve.

Announcement today at 1. BL will host live on AM 820.

Click here for Professor Bernanke's Princeton University bio.

Posted by leboheme at 11:54 AM

Bush dismayed and cranky (NY Daily News)

Ferrer proposes cut in property taxes on homes worth less than $800k (Newsday)

Bloomberg wants Silverstein out of Ground Zero plans (NY Daily News)

NYT endorses Bloomberg

Newsday endorses Bloomberg

Village Voice joins chain of alternative weeklies (NY Times)

Lautenberg loses, then finds wallet, thanks to cabbie (NY Post)

Anne Rice finds god (NY Daily News)

Posted by leboheme at 09:19 AM

Adam Gopnik: explaining evil to tots

Awaz Saleem Abdulla, Jessica Graham and Ayub Nuri: giving the low-down on the Iraqi beat

Hank Levin: schooling listeners on the economic implications of bad education

Michael Rebell: starting a public school funding revolution in studio A

Posted by leboheme at 03:34 PM

Subject: Related to the Question of Good and Evil
I believe we all come from the same "stuff" - and the vagaries of birth, family, country, gender, race, you name it, pulls or pushes us in various directions. To categorize human behavior as GOOD and EVIL separates us from one another in our hearts, and this is destructive to my mind. This does not mean that we condone all behavior - on the contrary, we are constantly needing to make choices, evaluating, acting or not acting - all across the scale of human experience, from the huge cataclysm of 9/11 down to something as seemingly simple as cutting off a person as we race to the closing subway door. Keeping love in our hearts is the most important and perhaps most difficult of all human endeavors, and without it, what are we left with?

Thank you.
-EC

Subject: Harry Potter on the issue
I was reading Harry Potter 4 to my 7and 9 year old last night and I was struck by something that Dumbledore the headmaster said to the students about evil:

"The Ministry of magic does not want me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so...It is my belief that the truth is generally preferable to lies and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric dies as a result of an accident, or some sort of blunder, is and insult to his memory...Remember, that if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy..."

It occurred to me that this is the appeal of the Harry Potter books and that Dumbledore was talking about me.
-JC

Subject: 9-11 evil and kids
My two little kids are now 8 and 9. At the time of the attacks, they saw it on TV, of course, and I told them that evil people attacked us, the United States, and used airplanes as missiles to destroy buildings, kill people and hurt our country. They wanted to know why they would do such a thing. I told them they had a desire to harm us and I told them they senselessly pursued their desires.

Thus, I gave them my take on evil deeds and evildoers.
-HE

Posted by leboheme at 02:39 PM

Chertoff wants to work better with New York City officials (NY Times)

Sound system snafus at Ferrer event featuring Pres. Clinton (NY Daily News)

French company late to deliver subway cars to MTA (NY Sun)

Reporters relied on children at Ferrer-Clinton event (The Politicker)

McCain gets laughs at Al Smith dinner (NY Newsday)

Posted by leboheme at 09:45 AM

Oliver Traeger, Dylan maniac

Posted by leboheme at 12:32 PM

Smithsonian recruited to advise on Ground Zero museum (NY Daily News)

Rev. Daughtry group took money from Ratner (NY Post)

Miers responses to questionnaire deemed "inadequate" (Washington Post)

US Army investigating Afghanistan abuse video (LA Times)

Bono had lunch with Bush (Fox News)

Michael Jackson called for jury duty (BBC News)

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg called for jury duty (NY Daily News)

Posted by leboheme at 08:48 AM

A few minutes late, but Freeh at last

Posted by leboheme at 01:44 PM

As you may have heard in Brian's promo, the Notorious C.H.O. will be a guest on the show today, prompting this email from a listener:

Subject: Margaret Cho
I never heard of Margaret Cho until coming across this tableaux at an
upper east side flea market in 2003. No, I don't live on another
planet. Just Upstate.
-DD

Posted by leboheme at 09:53 AM

Bush got angry with Rove two years ago over Plamegate role (NY Daily News)

Judith Miller allegedly "screamed" at exec. editor Bill Keller (NY Daily News)

MTA plans a temporary fare reduction (NY Times)

Daily News Exclusive: MTA plans a temporary fare reduction [huh?] (NY Daily News)

Sharpton and Jackson stump for Freddy (NY Post)

Wilma "strongest Atlantic storm ever recorded" (Newsday)

Saddam trial begins in Iraq (Guardian video)

"Splogs" = spam + blogs (Washington Post)

Posted by leboheme at 08:24 AM

Confused about Judy Miller's actions, even after reading her own accounting of it? The New York Times has contributed to the fog by hosting a sampler of the most popular blog entries on Millergate (what? The Times' reporters can't get a handle on it themselves?).

Don't worry, none of it is TimesSelect.

Posted by leboheme at 04:09 PM

Just a salacious headline, actually. But someone in the White House press corps did ask SMC to make the connection in today's edition of the WHPB. He declined, of course.

Q Yes, Scott, you said that the President has directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation. So can you tell us whether Harriet Miers, in her connection with the White House, has been involved in any way with the leak investigation, or whether she's testified before the Fitzgerald grand jury?

MR. McCLELLAN: She has been -- carried out the direction of the President, just like the rest of us here, to cooperate fully with the special prosecutor. She has been White House Counsel during part of the time that this investigation has been ongoing. I'm not going to comment on the investigation, though, beyond that.

Q Is the President confident that Cheney did not leak Valerie Plame's identity?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I appreciate any question on this, but as you know, Suzanne, our policy is not to comment on an investigation while it's ongoing. And that means any question relating to it. And I'm just not going to comment on an investigation while it's ongoing. The President has directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation. I would encourage you not to prejudge the outcome of the investigation and not to speculate about it. What we have done is to make sure that we're cooperating fully with the special prosecutor. We want him to come to a successful conclusion, and he continues to do his work.

Q You said that you were going to check to see if President Bush or either Cheney had been asked, once again, to go before the special prosecutor and answer questions after their initial hearing.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, the President has not. I provided you information when he was interviewed previously. And my understanding is the same applies to the Vice President.

Q Yes, Scott, you said that the President has directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation. So can you tell us whether Harriet Miers, in her connection with the White House, has been involved in any way with the leak investigation, or whether she's testified before the Fitzgerald grand jury?

MR. McCLELLAN: She has been -- carried out the direction of the President, just like the rest of us here, to cooperate fully with the special prosecutor. She has been White House Counsel during part of the time that this investigation has been ongoing. I'm not going to comment on the investigation, though, beyond that.

Posted by leboheme at 03:59 PM

The MIT linguist who's better known for his political writing won Foreign Policy's and Prospect's top public intellectual web-vote. Christopher Hitchens at #5 would probably like to pick a fight with Chomsky, which one can easily imagine #6 Paul Krugman joining in. Then there was top write-in vote-getter Milton Friedman...

Posted by leboheme at 03:40 PM

Larry Beinhart: fighting "fog"

Amartya Sen: an argumentative Indian

Posted by leboheme at 03:04 PM

Pirro seeks campaign $ from Clinton (NY Times)

Moskowitz endorses Bloomberg (NY Sun)

Special prosecutor Fitzgerald focusing on VP's office (Washington Post)

Special prosecutor Fitzgerald worked as a doorman in Brooklyn (NY Daily News)

Pentagon reconsiders goal of preparedness to fight two wars (NPR)

Rainwater may burst Massachusetts dam (Boston Globe)

Fox's O'Reilly has a bodyguard with him at all times (Newsday)

Posted by leboheme at 08:31 AM

They don't put it in the press briefing index, but we bring it to you anyway.
-ed.

PRESS BRIEFING BY SCOTT McCLELLAN

TOPIC PAGE #

Berlusconi visit...............................................1
Harriet Miers........................1-5; 9-10; 11-12; 13; 18-19
India/Pakistan...............................................7-8
Terrorism....................................................8-9
President Abbas visit.........................................11
Energy........................................................14
Iran..........................................................14
Medicare/Medicaid..........................................14-15
Syria......................................................16-17
Social Security...............................................19

Q Is Karl Rove here at the White House working today? And if indictments were to come down in the special prosecutor's case, is there a contingency plan to replace someone such as Mr. Rove or Mr. Libby, who hold enormous positions within this administration?

MR. McCLELLAN: Karl is here at the White House doing his duties, as he always does. And in terms of your question about any contingency planning, I'm not going to get into prejudging any outcome of the investigation. The investigation is ongoing at this time, and that would be speculating about outcomes of the investigation. I'm just not going to do that. As you heard, the President responded to that question earlier today, as well.

Q In the cutaway shots from the Oval Office event, since I was not pool today, I did not see Mr. Rove. But in previous events such as that, he's typically in that kind of a meeting.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, he does not typically attend meetings with world leaders.

Q If the status changes -- if either Rove or Libby were to get a target letter, would you inform us?

MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, those are questions that need to be directed to the special prosecutor or others, not the White House.

Q No, I'm just saying, if either of those gentlemen receive a target --

Q Well, they work here --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, who is saying what? Ed, I think that you've heard us talk about this. There's an ongoing investigation. And we're not going to comment on that investigation while it's ongoing. The special prosecutor's office has asked us to not get into discussing the case while it's ongoing. And that's why the best way to help this case move forward is to refer questions like that to the special prosecutor.

Now there are individuals that have lawyers that represent them, as well, and you can reach out to those individuals, too. But it's not -- we wouldn't necessarily know here at the White House what letters or information goes out from the special prosecutor.

Q But you wouldn't make a commitment, though, if you found out, to disclose it here to the press?

MR. McCLELLAN: I will do my part to help the investigation proceed forward. And doing our part means not commenting on it here from this podium.

Q So that's a "no," is that correct?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you can talk to the special prosecutor.

...a few minutes later...

Q I'm wondering about your response to charges that you, Scott McClellan, were, in fact, spinning the media -- and as a result, the American public -- when you consistently said in the Valerie Plame case that Scooter Libby and Karl Rove had nothing to do with it, and continue to say that.

MR. McCLELLAN: I've already actually addressed this question. This is relating to an ongoing investigation.

I'm sorry, tell me your name and who you're with?

Q Maria Hinojosa, Public Television Now.

MR. McCLELLAN: Okay. Nice to -- welcome to the briefing, first of all. These questions have come up; there is an ongoing investigation. And for months and months and months, we've said that we're not going to comment on the investigation while it's ongoing. And that goes back to mid-October of 2003, when the investigation was getting underway. We said, while it's an ongoing investigation, we're not going to comment on it. We're going to do our part to cooperate as the President directed us to do, and let that investigation hopefully come to a successful conclusion, because the President wants to get to the bottom of it, I want to get to the bottom of it. We want to know what the facts are. And the best way to support the special prosecutor is to let him do his work.

Now, people that work here in this room know me very well, and I'm confident in our relationship. It's a relationship that is built on trust. And I'm confident that I have done my part to earn that trust.

Q Just one last follow up. Scott, do you appreciate having reporters in this room that hold your feet to the fire? Or is it easier to do your job when they're just, "fine, okay, sounds good"?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, I'm missing that question. I've never seen anyone say, "Okay, sounds good," in this room. We are all just doing our job. All of us in this room have a job to do, and the one thing that we share, hopefully, is that we're all doing our part to help the American people get an accurate picture of what's going on here in Washington, D.C.

Now, the media challenges me every day, and I look forward to that. It's an opportunity for us to talk about our agenda and the President's decisions and his nominees. And I'm going to vigorously defend the President's agenda, his policies, and his nominees. That is part of my job.

But I'm also here to work with each and every one of you in this room, to help the American people get an accurate account of the decisions that are being made here in Washington, D.C. And I have great respect for the people in this room that I've worked with for many years, and they're a good bunch. I have deep respect for all that they do and the hard work that they do. And nothing is ever -- nothing --

Q Okay. (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: And one final point. Nothing is ever personal in this room. We're all just doing our job, and I recognize that, and I think people in this room recognize it, as well.

Posted by leboheme at 04:13 PM

Time has hopped on the "best" bandwagon (where have you been, Time?) with staff critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo picking the 100 best novels since 1923, when Time started publishing (well, isn't that when most people started reading?) It includes at least one issue-oriented novel published this year, Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go.

What do you think of the list? Tell us!

Posted by leboheme at 04:02 PM

The Times spills the beans on Judy Miller, raises questions about self (Editor & Publisher)

Iraq constitution likely to pass (LA Times)

Rice predicts constitution OK before votes are tallied (Islam Online)

Bloomberg gave to Republican in 1994 (NY Daily News)

FBI: New York the sixth-safest state in the union (NY Post)

New York City pockets the coins dropped in city fountains (NY Daily News)

Posted by leboheme at 08:37 AM

If YOU got an email with no subject from someone called "Mercy Schlapp" would you:

a) delete it right away and then check that your spam filter is working?

b) forward it to someone you don't like and hope that they open it?

c) throw caution to the wind ?

A few minutes ago, BL Blogger picked (c) and discovered...the latest in VNRs (video news releases).

Mehlman...Cheney...Bush...Roberts: Republican TV

Mercy Schlapp, it turns out, is the anchor of a "In The Know" new "news" show on gop.com. By the way, Schlapp means "flabby" or "floppy" in German.

Mercy Schlapp

Here's their first show rundown:

For our premier show, we take a "Front Page" look at the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts and the nomination of Harriet Miers. We then take a look at the rebuilding efforts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and we bring you coverage in English and Spanish of the "Life of the Party" celebrating Hispanic Heritage month. We are "On the Move" in Pittsburgh, PA with Chairman Ken Mehlman at our Party's summer meeting, and finally, we wrap things up with a few interesting trivia questions in our "Did You Know?" segment.

More on VNRs from On The Media.

Posted by leboheme at 02:05 PM

On the show today we'll talk about pork-barrel spending with Tom Schaltz from Citizens Against Government Waste. For a detailed look at the specific pledges some congresspeople have made to forego pork for their constituencies, check out the blog The Truth Laid Bair's Porkbusters.

Posted by leboheme at 09:52 AM

Majority wants Bloomberg to direct Ground Zero Redevelopment (NY Sun)

In pre-Miers White House "life had been simpler, the the editing and fact-checking a little more casual" (NY Times)

1.6 m evangelicals in New York City to be mobilized to oppose gay marriage (NY Daily News)

Rain to end soon (Newsday)

Gingrich to run for prez if Repubs don't adopt his ideas (NY Daily News)

Guinness to get milder (NY Daily News)

Posted by leboheme at 08:18 AM

This just in from the White House Press Office. Dribs and drabs of info on last week's subway threat...

Q Thank you, Scott, very much.

Q Thank you.

Posted by leboheme at 04:01 PM

Thesmokinggun has Harriet Miers' now-infamous birthday card to the President. The lady clearly gets W's love of dogs.

Posted by leboheme at 03:53 PM

Posted by leboheme at 02:39 PM

We're taking calls now from teachers on the contract agreement reached by the UFT and the city. Click here to read the UFT's contract summary.

Posted by leboheme at 10:43 AM

Lately we've been noticing Gertrude Stein's words being employed in a manner that would provoke the old scribe to scurry home and beat Alice B. Toklas with Escoffier's Guide Culinaire.

For the record, "there is no there there" refers to Stein's hometown, Oakland, California, and comes from her book Everybody's Autobiography. Given the somewhat incoherent sentence those words come from, journos and newsmakers might give a little more pause before quoting Stein:

"What was the use of my having come from Oakland it was not natural to have come from there yes write about if I like or anything if I like but not there, there is no there there."

from the Village Voice: "In a Hollywood film, these logos would be given the star treatment of product placement. In Cohen's lens, they are simply there, as resolute as geological formations. Except, in Chain, there's no there there."

from the New York Times: "There was no there there," one senior United States counterterrorism official said of the possible threat that surfaced publicly late last week.

from Richard Ben-Veniste on the PBS Newshour: And one can properly ask why it took Kenneth Starr the ensuing three years until he resigned and still could not bring himself to announce that there was no "there" there in terms of any criminal responsibility by the Clintons.

from the Asia Times: So if you reverse the president's little jingle, there's no there there. "As Iraqis stand down, we will ... " Well, what?

from the San Francisco Chronicle: The Raiders have some tools, there's a glimmer of offensive potential, but so far, there's no there there.

More on Gertrude Stein (Wikiquote)

Posted by leboheme at 09:51 AM

Subject: NYC Hospitals
I agree with the Mayor 100%. The distinction in Mayor's statement is about the service not the access. Let me give you an example. Last year I had an unfortunate accident and broke my leg. I was in HSS for almost a whole week. During the time, a Hispanic immigrant ~70 yrs old was admitted and was the in the bed next to me. He was an indigent patient who did not have a dime, no relatives, did not speak English, did not know his address and did know where he was! I was amazed and impressed at the care and the service he got!
-RS

Subject: NYC Public Health discussion...
These discussions are absurd. They leave out the middle class that can't afford health insurance and isn't eligible for Medicaid. That's a lot of people. Only a national or state program will solve that problem and it's the crux of it all.
-IE

Posted by leboheme at 03:20 PM

Between Richard Cohen and Adam Cohen, a lot of respected newspaper writers named Cohen seem to have started taking Judge Judy seriously. As seriously as she takes bullies who break little boys' glasses. In today's Times, Judy responds:

Posted by leboheme at 03:09 PM

Bobby Rivers, out loud (and proud)

Posted by leboheme at 02:37 PM

Breitbart.com has the report by Agence France Presse.

Posted by leboheme at 02:35 PM

» The Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA)


» The Association of Pakistani Professionals (AOPP)

» The Islamic Center of Long Island (516)333-3495

» Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)

» USA Edhi International or (718) 638-5120

Posted by leboheme at 10:54 AM

No, it's just Cheryl Halpern, the CPB's new chair, as reported in Current, the journal of public TV and radio.

Cheryl Halpern: formerly of the GOP, now of the CPB

Terrence Stamp: what was the name of the tranny he played in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert?

Posted by leboheme at 03:47 PM

Green Party mayoral candidate Tony Gronowicz

WCBS 2's Andrew Kirtzman, live on 125th Street

City Council member Robert Jackson

C. Virginia Fields

Brian looks inside Mike Bloomberg's dressing room

Posted by leboheme at 09:20 AM

While there are certainly better things to do with one's time, we thought it so conspicuous that the President insisted on listing geographic locations in his speech this morning (e.g. "...Mombasa, and Casablanca, and Riyadh, and Jakarta, and Istanbul, and Madrid, and..." you get the idea) that we decided to count the geographic mentions. Grand total? Over 60!

Presidential address on war and terror or geography bee grandstanding? Your call.

Posted by leboheme at 03:41 PM

Today we received this bizarre fax for WNYC's President, Laura Walker.

DO NOT PANIC! No one is shopping WNYC around.

Posted by leboheme at 03:25 PM

Leafing through the Lowdown during the President's speech...Lloyd Grove reports on the ruckus emanating from 740 Park Avenue (AKA "The World's Richest Apartment Building"). The very short version: Georgette Mosbacher has upset her neighbors by agreeing to host a book party at her home in 740.

"I often have people at my dinner table who have probelms with each other, and I assume that people will be polite," she told Grove.

And if that doesn't work out...how about The Windermere?

Posted by leboheme at 10:41 AM

A number of listeners wrote in yesterday to correct a caller who favors Ferrer's proposed vacant property tax because of a "property at 9th ave and 57th St. that's been empty since the middle seventies. The building's boarded up and has never been developed."

Not empty, just under-inhabited writes CM: The building at 57th Street and 9th Ave. is the Windemere, and it is not empty. Somebody who refused to move is still living there.

Also, the Windemere has some historic significance: It is made up of "French flats." The apartments in each part of the building have their own entrance--there is no one central entrance to the building.

After the show, we went to the indispensable NY real estate blog curbed, for the lowdown. Lockhart Steele last wrote about on the Windermere on May 12. A correspondent told him "the last I checked the seller wanted over $35m for this hulking, mold-infested mess."

The Times also wrote about the building in 2002.

For the record, Windermere is the name of the largest lake in England.

Feedback!

Posted by leboheme at 09:47 AM

Serious BL listeners will remember our "New Tocquevilles" series of interviews with foreign-born observers of America, which included Peter Jennings, Bernard-Henri Levy, and Isabel Allende.

Now former Secretary of State (and Jamaican-American) Colin Powell has won the Alexis de Tocqueville Prize for his 1995 autobiography "My American Journey".

["Colin Powell picks up French book prize for autobiography" - Yahoo News]

Is the Franco-American relationship thawing? Or did the selection committee catch Powell's recent maybe-culpa on 20/20?

Posted by leboheme at 09:02 AM

More news on Thursday's WNYC-sponsored CFB debate, which mayor Bloomberg has said he will skip:

Al Gore joins the Ferrer team in chiding Bloomy. Gore: the Apollo "an ideal venue for an honest exchange".

The Rev. Floyd Flake says Mike may reconsider. Flake: "anything can happen in 48 hours."

Posted by leboheme at 08:40 AM

Rush and Molloy have the story in today's Daily News. Al voted near his temporary Upper East Side home, instead of the Brooklyn residence where he is registered. Now the Board of Elections is investigating. Bloomy team deny they had anything to do with it.

["Al's vote a moving violation?" - Daily News]

Posted by leboheme at 08:31 AM

Yesterday's intra-office quarrel between Amsterdam News publisher emeritus Wilbert Tatum and AN executive editor Jamal Watson got a mention on The Politicker yesterday.

Tatum gave Bloomy a pass for skipping Thursday's debate at the Apollo Theater.

Watson called in to publicly disagree with his boss.

Tatum says Watson's job is not in danger-- he'll just see a 75% reduction on his next pay check.

Click here to hear the shenanigans.

Posted by leboheme at 04:19 PM

Just got this amusing package from Audrey Silk, the Libertarian Party candidate for Mayor and founder of New York City C.L.A.S.H. (Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harrassment).

Well, who wouldn't want to get a free lighter in the mail? But aren't subway searches, the uses and abuses of eminent domain, and the cabaret laws more pressing concerns for lovers of liberty?

Posted by leboheme at 02:54 PM

Home Secretary Charles Clarke

Posted by leboheme at 12:42 PM

With two votes, Brian Lehrer was as popular a write-in candidate as former president Bill Clinton in the September Democratic primary. Actually, the ballots said "Brain Lehrer", a flattering pun which we nonetheless find a little grotesque.

With 121 votes, Mike Bloomberg led the field of write-ins.

On email this morning, BL was coy about his party affiliation and his intentions:

In the words of General William Sherman, “If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve!”

["Write-In Voters Give Bloomberg a Tiny Victory" - The New York Times]

Posted by leboheme at 09:17 AM

White House counsel Harriet Miers is the President's nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. W made the announcement at 8 this morning.

Harriet Miers

A few important facts:
It's "myers", not "meers". Former head of the Texas state bar. Never a judge. Dallas born and bred. Unmarried. Former donor to the '88 Gore for President campaign.

W once called her "a pit bull in size six shoes". A friend for Barney?

Click here to see Miers' complete campaign contributions.

More on Miers from Wikipedia.

One of the perils of newspaper reporting

Posted by leboheme at 08:58 AM