Azi Paybarah

Bob Steele, Michael Bloomberg's new deputy mayor for economic development is going to Washington later this week, wearing a slightly different hat than he does around City Hall.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission announced the list of witnesses for their hearings, starting Wednesday. Steele, who was head of Wachovia, is testifying on day one.

Here's the announcement:

(Washington, DC) - Today the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) announced the Commission's next public hearing titled "Too Big to Fail: Expectations and Impact of Extraordinary Government Intervention and the role of Systemic Risk in the Financial Crisis."

When: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 @ 9am ET
Thursday, September 2, 2010 @ 9am ET
Where: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 538, Washington DC

Day One - Wednesday, September 1
Session 1: Wachovia Corporation

Scott G. Alvarez, General Counsel
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

John H. Corston, Acting Deputy Director, Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection
U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Robert K. Steel, former President and Chief Executive Officer
Wachovia Corporation

Session 2: Lehman Brothers

Thomas C. Baxter, Jr.,General Counsel and Executive Vice President
Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Richard S. "Dick" Fuld, Jr.,Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Lehman Brothers

Harvey R. Miller, Business Finance & Restructuring Partner
Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP

Barry L. Zubrow,Chief Risk Officer
JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Day Two - Thursday, September 2
Session 1: The Federal Reserve

Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Session 2: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Sheila C. Bair, Chairman
U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

The president of NYC OTB, Greg Rayburn, told reporters there's a Tuesday deadline to strike a deal with DC37, the union representing OTB workers, in order to prevent a massive restructuring that could, in a worst case scenario, include liquidating the entire operation.

I'll update when I hear back from DC37.

Here are the three options Rayburn laid out for OTB (Plan A expires Tuesday, he says):

Plan A:

1. Maintain the 50 parlors/restaurants we will have after the group of 10/11 are closed.
2. Partner with private capital to build a new prototype similar to Woodbridge, NJ location.
3. Transfer the ADW operation handle to the consortium of track creditors and they will find gaming talent to manage it.
4. Significantly reduce overhead (roughly 400 positions).
5. Pay $7.5m over 5 years for ERI [early retirement incentives] Part A.
6. Pay severance of over $2m for employees let go that are not eligible for ERI Part A.
7. Seek reduced distributions from tracks and state.

Plan B:
1. Reject all union collective bargaining agreements in the bankruptcy proceedings.
2. Reset all payroll and fringe significantly lower.
3. Keep the ADW [placing wages online or by phone] and automate its operations.
4. Seek reduced distributions from the tracks as part of a reorganization plan.

Plan C:
1. Liquidate the business, shutter all parlors, all employees terminated.

Columbia Journalism Review says they’re going to sue Governor Pateron’s office over a denied FOIL request:

the records we’re seeking would likely help illuminate the press’s role in a bizarre chain of events in state history that led to the appointment of an Independent Counsel and to the governor dropping his election campaign. Sure, there will be lots of chaff in those e-mails. But perhaps they’d offer some information explaining the resignations, show reporters testing the most bizarre theories circulating at the time, or catalogue an evolving damage-control line from the state’s highest official.
Any of that would all be potentially interesting, and that’s why we will exercise our rights under the law and file suit.

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The shield law protects journalists from subpoenas about their sources and reporting. It does not protect sources from being compelled to testify. Expanding its protections to sources—especially to government sources, paid by taxpayers, and acting in their official capacity—would pervert and dilute the law. Besides, any talk of testimony is entirely besides the point here. The FOIL process is not a subpoena, and the shield does not protect public records—even if those records reflect some aspect of a journalist’s communication with a public official—from being disclosed pursuant to a proper records request.

And, worth noting:

lawyers at Friedman & Wittenstein, who have generously agreed to take the case at no charge to us. Instead, they hope to recoup their costs under a provision of New York’s FOIL allowing plaintiffs to bill the state if the judge finds that a denial was especially capricious.

The only Muslim City Council member, Robert Jackson of Northern Manhattan, has a question for critics.

Azi Paybarah / WNYC

Who is Obama's best friend?

To hear Congressman Charles Rangel tell it, he is. Rangel, a 20-term congressman facing a five-way Democratic primary, defended his ability to be President Obama’s biggest booster in Congress, even as a spotlight was brought on their disagreement about the wars overseas.

In a televised debate Thursday night, Rangel reiterated his belief that the presence of oil in Iraq and Afghanistan was a major reason for the presence of American troops in those countries. In June, Rangel told the Daily News editorial board, “The lack of an honest explanation is consistent with Bush and Cheney.”

Thursday night, Powell seized on the comment in an attempt to paint the 20-term congressman as an insufficient supporter of Obama.

“Even if this war is about oil, it is not an opportunity to disrespect our president, Barack Obama, or even compare him to Dick Cheney. The fact is, Dick Cheney and President Bush engineered these wars. President Obama inherited these wars,” said Powell.

Rangel responded by saying the troops need to be withdrawn immediately, and that nobody in Congress has passed more legislation in support of Obama’s agenda than he has.

Earlier in the debate, Rangel broached the topic of supporting Obama. He said inside the Congress his challengers are “anxious to join they will find no support at all from the Republicans, and many of the Democrats are not supportive of the president.”

Rangel went on the offensive against Powell, citing the Assemblyman’s numerous absences from the Assembly. The New York Post, and WNYC, reported that Powell was absent more than 30 percent of the time from the Assembly, during its 2010 legislative session.

A spokesman for Powell told WNYC that the Assemblyman’s absences were because in large part he was actively campaigning for congress, and that before the campaign, his attendance was better.

Throughout the hour-long debate, sparks flew in all directions, usually, but not always, at Rangel. Other debate participants included Labor activist Jonathan Tasini, who challenged Hillary Clinton for Senate in 2006 on an anti-war platform; business woman Joyce Johnson, who worked in the 2008 primary to get Obama elected, bucking Clinton, the New York favorite; Vince Morgan, a one-time aide to Rangel who now runs a small business group in the district; and Ruben Vargas, a retired perennial candidate who has run as a Republican and conservative in the past.

Tasini said the country’s immigration problem stems from trade deals Rangel supported.

“You cannot look at immigration without asking why people come here,” said Tasini. “And the reason people are coming here is because the United States of America is impoverishing people in other countries by, for example, trade laws, some of which Charlie Rangel has voted for.”

Those trade laws “reduce people’s wages, force them off the land. The reason people are coming from Mexico is because we passed NAFTA,” said Tasini.

Tasini’s remarks drew an immediate rebuke from Morgan, who repeatedly made a point of invoking small business concerns.

“People are coming to this country Jonathan, for the same reason they’ve been coming to this country for the past hundred, two hundred years. This is the land of opportunity. This country was built on immigrants and I’m ashamed that you’d say that, as the son of immigrants, that these people are coming over here for whatever reason.”

In many ways, Tasini and Morgan are the most polar opposite candidates in the race. Tasini runs on a platform where he tries drawing as many distinctions with Rangel. Tasini blames the congressman for gentrification in the district, saying the incumbent accepts political donations from landlords, and in turn, supports development projects that push out poorer residents.

Morgan, who once worked for Rangel, espouses a gentler message. He argues that Rangel should be replaced not because of any policy reasons, but simply, that Rangel’s time has come, and that a younger person should be allowed to start working immediately – while Rangel is still alive – in order to build on the progress he’s already made.

After Morgan’s closing remarks, Rangel quipped, “You sound like my designee.”

Johnson – the early Obama supporter – said the “jury is still out” on what impact the federal stimulus package has had on New York.

“It has been slow to be draw down,” Johnson said. “That’s for the administration to work on.”

Johnson has moderated her comments about Rangel, and chided Powell for constantly going after the incumbent.

“He does that everywhere we go,” Johnson was quoted as saying, after Powell went after Rangel for his Bush/Cheney comparison.

The most entertaining elements of the debate came from Vargas, who, in addition to running for office before, is a retired member of the air force.

Vargas said he opposed plans to build an Islamic center near Ground Zero, but, added, “I would love to have them, even in my house, in my home, on my head. Anywhere, but not in the Ground Zero.”

Vargas also advocated for, “a tax credit for pet owners.”

Bob Hennelly provides a few gems from WNYC's latest bi-weekly political podcast, saying:

Attorney General candidate Eric Schneiderman has momentum, or, in Hennelly-speak, he "has it going on."

Hennelly also questions Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio's maverick credentials, saying he "colors within the lines."

Brian Lehrer wonders if America would be talking about an Islamic center near Ground Zero if it weren't Lazio.

Bonus feature: after a joke about reporters needing a hygiene lesson after following candidates on the campaign trail, Lehrer deadpans, "I've been meaning to talk to you about this Azi."

Kirsten Artz / nyc.gov

The more serious side of Bloomberg's appearance on "The Daily Show," via a pool report distributed by the mayor's office:

The New York Times wrote about this mosque a year ago. Laura Ingram did a show about it, or mentioned it on one of her shows, and said she was in favor of it. This mosque has been operating for over a year. There is nothing new [here]. The difference is we’re in an election season. And this whole issue, I think, will go away right after the next election. This is plain and simple people trying to stir up things to get publicity and trying to polarize people so that they can get some votes. And I don’t think that most of these people who are yelling and screaming really care one way or another. The family members, they do care. And the family members that I’ve talked to, and I’m chairman of the board of The World Trade Center Memorial, 100% in favor of saying these people who want to build a mosque can build a mosque, that the lives of our loved ones were taken because the right to build a mosque or to say what you want to say was so threatening to people.

Paterson's flickr page

Paterson, in Midtown the other day, announcing Race to the Top federal funding.

Kaye says Paterson's remarks "warrant consideration" of criminal charges.

Paterson's lawyer says his client didn't lie.

Albany DA: the matter is "under review."

The Post replays the history.

Public Integrity Commission clears it's throat.

Beltrone notices an important omission from NYS Democrats latest ad.

Sharpton responds to DN City Hall Bureau Chief Lisberg, who wrote about a group Sharpton founded, which got money from Bloomberg right before Sharpton went unexpectedly quiet before the term limits debate.

Mike Allegretti's latest ad in NY13 hits his GOP rival because he "just moved here" and "faked his resume."

But it's not all an attack ad. One man refers to Allegretti as a "paisan" and "one of us."

Michael Blooomberg is taping an appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" this afternoon.

Bloomberg speech/joke writer Francis Barry is probably sharpening his pencil as we speak.

Among Rangel's five opponents in the Democratic primary, only one is a sitting elected official: Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV.

Along with the benefits of having a staff and demonstrated electability in a part of the district, being a current office holder comes with one notable drawback: attendance records.

According to LoHud, which has a way of searching this sort of thing, Powell has a 32 percent rate of absence.

That, according to LoHud's search database, puts Powell in the top five for the 150-member chamber.

It also undercuts the argument Powell, and others, have made about needing a younger congressman to pick up the slack for the 80-year-old Rangel.

Powell's campaign spokesman told me the Assemblyman had a better attendance record before he started actively campaigning for congress, and said the spike in absences is common for sitting officials running for higher office. The spokesman, rightly, points out that the issue was written about last month in the New York Post.

Al Sharpton endorsed Eric Schneiderman for attorney general, capping off what has been a pretty good week for the campaign (endorsements from NYT, UFT and probably a few others I missed).

Schneiderman promised that Sharpton's House of Justice - where his National Action Network is headquartered - would have an "annex" in Albany.

Afterward, I asked Sharpton if he'd spoken with Andrew Cuomo, the current attorney general who, as widely reported, prefers another candidate in the race.

Sharpton took the high road, saying he hasn't discussed the race with Cuomo.

The New York State Democratic Party - whose members control the governor's mansion, every statewide office and both houses of the state legislature - is out with a new ad describing Albany as "a swamp of corruption, overrun by lobbyists and special interest."

The ad goes on to hit GOP candidates Rick Lazio for working as a lobbyist after leaving congress - and Carl Paladino for making political contributions to candidates and collecting "$10 million a year in government rents."

Ira Stoll gets his hands on the invite for Michael Bloomberg's September 20 fund-raiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, whose guest list includes Chuck Schumer.

If you're watching this through the prism of the Park51 debate, that's three distinct perspectives represented.

Stoll suggests "maybe it's just transactional, with the mayor calculating Mr. Reid will probably win and be in a position to direct federal funds to New York City."

Jay Townsend smiled at the end of nearly every sentence. Gary Berntsen measured each syllable coming out of his mouth like a man trying not to lose his temper.

The two senate candidates running for the Republican nomination and the chance to take on Senator Schumer differed more on style than on substance. In their fist televised debate Monday night in Schenectady, Townsend, a communication consultant, and Berntsen, a former CIA operative, both agreed on supporting Arizona’s tough immigration law; disbelief in global warming; and, somewhat surprisingly, support for civil unions for same-sex couples.

The biggest clashes between the two candidates came when each claimed to have been early opponents to the plan to build an Islamic center two blocks from Ground Zero.

“I’m proud to say I was the first statewide candidate to go to Ground Zero and speak publically about the mosque and suggest that the imam put it elsewhere,” said Townsend.

Later, Bernsten, whose work in chasing the Taliban through the hills of Tora Bora were told in a best-selling memoir, said, “I’ll let you know I’ve been doing this for twenty years and a time stamp on your press release doesn’t mean very much.”

The other flashpoint between the two came when Townsend argued he’s more electable in November because already has the endorsement of the Conservative Party, a necessary ingredient for any Republican running statewide.

Townsend said, “I’m the only one on stage tonight who will have the Conservative line. No Republican has won a statewide election in New York without the Conservative line since Gerry Ford.”

Berntsen shot back, “I have the Taxpayer line, a new line that was created. I am the Republican designee, having won by twenty-five percent at the convention. I will turn out a large number of Republicans, I will turn out the Tea Party, in force. The Tea Party is the new conservative movement in New York. The Conservative Party will be small in comparison.”

Both men were unsparing in their criticism of Schumer, who is seeking his third term in the Senate and, depending on whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid survives his re-election, be in a position to become that chamber’s highest ranking official.

Townsend and Berntsen – when they finally put their focus on Schumer, said he had compromised his responsibility to New York for the sake of elevating himself in the Senate.

“He is more interested in being majority leader than fighting for the state of New York,” said Townsend. Specifically, Townsend said the new federal health care legislation contained billions of unfunded mandates that will be borne by New York property taxpayers.

Schumer “doesn’t stand up on the tough issues,” said Berntsen. “On the issue of the mosque right now, he’s in the fetal position in his office. He hasn’t made a statement. He’s hiding.”

A spokesman for Schumer has previously said the senator “is not opposed” to the plan.

mediaite.com

Scott Stringer asks Laura Ingraham  "Why did you support the cultural center in December 2009?" and tells her "You supported this before Michael Bloomberg, before anybody else."

Ingraham interviewed Daisy Khan, wife of the Park51 imam, but is now an outspoken critic.

WSJ also picks up [$] on a key point in a recent GOP debate: all three Republican senate candidates looking to face Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in November agree on at least one thing: Ed Cox has not been a good state chairman of their party.

DioGuardi, Blakeman and Malpass each expressed their opinion during the "Lightening Round" portion of Tuesday night's televised debate.

A GOP insider takes umbrage with the candidate's answers, saying, they all sought Cox's support. There's also some airing of the intra-party factionalism that, as a spectator, I find refreshing.

Anyway, the view from a GOP insider:

All three Republican Senate candidates for the Gillibrand seat have actively sought Chairman Cox’s support and endorsement. Since Bruce Blakeman is the party’s official designee, Chairman Cox is supporting Blakeman. As a Mondello acolyte, however, it’s no surprise that Mr. Blakeman was unwilling to defend Ed Cox or offer up kind words about the Chairman in public. As far as Malpass and DioGuardi are concerned, it’s no surprise they’re both upset at Chairman Cox’s backing of Blakeman, though the mature reaction would have entailed the two of them acknowledging the position Chairman Cox is in, give that Blakeman is the party’s designee.

Rick Lazio will not debate his GOP rival Carl Paladino and is blaming…NY1.

The station tried scheduling a debate for this upcoming Monday but was unable to get Lazio to confirm to it.

Here’s how NY1 describes it:

The Lazio campaign sites a scheduling conflict, but NY1 first proposed this date to Team Lazio weeks ago and did not get a final answer until yesterday. NY1 also asked for alternate dates that would fit Lazio’s schedule, but his campaign never proposed any.

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Lazio’s campaign accused NY1 and [member station] YNN of being in league with Paladino but said in an email, “we look forward to debating Andrew Cuomo on YNN before November 2.”

FYI: today, Lazio is campaigning at the New York State Fair.

So, allow me to inject myself pointlessly into the debate about debates.

Since scheduling is difficult, what about doing what they did in the 2008 presidential debates: let's have readers post their questions to YouTube and I’ll post them on the blog. Then, if either Lazio or Paladino want to respond, they can upload their answers to YouTube as well.

Just an idea.

msnbc.org

Pataki tells Chris Matthews "I don't speak for my party," when confronted with a poll showing a majority of GOP have an unfavorable rating of Muslims.

Rangel said he's one of Obama's "best friends."

Vielkind notes Lazio appears in his ad; Cuomo is absent in all three of his.

"Schumer, whose spokeswoman said he is "not unopposed" to the current site, brushed past an Advance reporter seeking clarification."

Lazio, who won't debate Paladino, criticizes Cuomo: "What you have here is what's wrong with Albany, people who won't have a reasonable debate."

Bloomberg's candidate in Washington's mayor's race is, some say, "starting to look desperate."

WaExaminer on Bloomberg's Park51 speech: "he mayor needs to get a grip and apologize to those he has insulted."

In CT, McMahon spokesman defends against WWE's death rate: "I think the public knows it’s the media that keep writing about this."

In NJ, Christie blames bureaucrats in Washington, but teachers blame him, for losing $400 million in federal aid.

Stab suspect Michael Enright is a film student as SVA - and NYP has a trailer to a movie he worked on.

Bloomberg invited the stabbed cab driver to City Hall.

When he was arrested, Enright had a diary fled with "pretty strong anti-Muslim comments."

Paterson: "The potential for this kind of violence is one of the reasons why I have called publicly for a respectful and unifying conversation about the Park51 [mosque] project."

NY Post says the incident should not curb the Park51 debate.

WSJ [$]: The attack comes amid tensions over a planned mosque near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan, but police didn't link it to the simmering debate."

"A drunk barged into a Queens mosque last night and shouted anti-Muslim slurs as he urinated on prayer rugs, cops and witnesses said."

Jonah Goldberg: "In 2001, there were twice as many anti-Jewish incidents as anti-Muslim ones, according to the FBI."

Taranto [$]: Bloomberg "employs scurrilous McCarthyite rhetoric in an attempt to inflame emotions and divert attention from a point that should be equally obvious: The Ground Zero mosque planners have implicated themselves by seeking to exploit the symbolism of the site, whatever their purpose is in doing so."

Damien Cave finds a pastor who plans on hosting a bonfire of Korans, on September 11.

"At least in America…there's a debate," says a man who's tried building a mosque in Milan for two decades.

Former RNC chairman and Bush43's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, says he's gay.

"Mehlman and his aides went to considerable lengths to conceal his sexual identity, arranging 'dates' with women and photos of him dancing in heterosexual situations.

Thompson and Stachowski lose union support.