Azi Paybarah

WWE, the company run by CT GOP Senate candidate Linda McMahon is pushing back against statements from a former wrestler who accused the organization of lacking protective oversight for its employees. The former wrestler, Chris Nowinski, also took a shot at McMahon for saying she probably had only one passing conversation with a 29-year-old wrestler who recently died of heart failure. Nowinski said McMahon's comments equated to kicking "dirt" on the now-deceased wrestler's grave.

Today, WWE (not McMahon's campaign, but close enough) sent out a statement questioning Nowinski's credibility.

Among their statements:

Mr. Nowinski states, “They have an environment where it's absolutely unsafe to work in that ring." "They have no oversight into what actually happens in the ring.” If so, then why would Mr. Nowinski have ever wanted to be a part of such an environment?

Now that the Working Families Party says the U.S. Attorney’s office has decided not to press charges against it, the focus will return to the party’s other pressing matter: whether Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Cuomo will accept the party’s nomination?

When the endorsement was offered to him, Cuomo said no, citing the ongoing investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office.

The party, in response, nominated a placeholder candidate they could swap out later.

But a number of prominent Democrats weren't deterred. Already appearing on the WFP line are people like Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and a bunch of Democratic congress members and state legislators.

I sent an inquiry to Cuomo’s campaign seeking a response to the WFP news. I'll update when I get a response.

Michael Grimm, one of the GOP candidates looking to take on Rep. Michael McMahon in NY13, is out with a new ad featuring Rudy Giuliani.

Grimm is in a primary fight with Michael Allegretti, a local businessman with lots of ties to the Brooklyn side of the Staten Island-dominated district.

And if you're keeping track, Grimm also has the support of Sarah Palin.

(nyccfb.info)

The NYC Campaign Finance Board proudly notes that small contributions make up a big part of the story in city races, in comparison to state races.

Ed Braunstein is a staffer who worked for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Now, he’s running for an Assembly seat in Queens by railing against Albany.

“Albany is an embarrassment and career politicians are completely out of touch with our values,” Braunstein's recent mailer says.

He also signed the NY Uprising reform pledge which, his former boss, has not.

Disclaimer: Above is a photo of Braunstein with Bayside activist Frank Skala, who nearly failed me in 7th grade social studies.

The debate about Park51, animated and oddly entertaining.

"You're freedom to call these guys !@#holes is more powerful than anything they can construct," says one guy, dressed like a superhero.

As the AP goes, so does WNYC:

A top news person here at the station emails:

WNYC news is using -- Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque when talking about this news item.

News hosts please be consistent.  Please be consistent with web copy coming from the News Dept

Here's the Green Party candidate for governor.

CNN hangs out with Rangel.

"Dude! You have other mosques in New York - why here? This is lack of respect!" yells a guy from California, to a New Yorker, outside Park51.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne: "We've identified no law enforcement issues related to the proposed mosque."

Union contractors may not work on the site.

Taxpayer cost for Imam's trip: $16,000 for travel, $200 per day speaking fee.

The kid who found the site for Park51 didn't know what was going to be built there.

Team Mohammed vs Team Jesus, Jon Stewart referees.

McLaughlin: "His father ran as an unabashed progressive liberal in New York," and "Now his son is running as more of a middle-of-the-road centrist candidate."

Cuomo is greeted by hydrofracking critics, in Ithaca.

Lazio is urged to pull 9/11 imagery from his ad.

Paladino sends letters to state workers, looking for efficiencies.

Rice: "Eliot Spitzer exercised bad judgment in some of the things he did [as attorney general]."

Teachers can't spend as much as they want on a race in Harlem.

Strassel's opinion column [$]is all about the GOP fight in NY1.

Unemployment dips to 9.4 percent in NYC.

Queens BP wants $85,000 for a photographer.

How many people think Obama is Muslim?

Huntley's home address is used by a non-profit that gets state funding.

NY13 GOP candidate Allegretti goes up on air.

AP saysnot to use the phrase “Ground Zero mosque.”

Pareene: Weiner and Schumer among those “completely punting” on Park51; Gillibrand “half-hearted.”

“Change starts with you,” Cuomo says.

But not just yet.

Bill Clinton’s mid-term plea: “Give us two more years, and if we’re wrong, send us packing.”

Paladino will taunt Lazio about debating, until Paladino takes the lead.

Dems hit Lazio for using 9/11 imagery.

Rangel disappears from Schneiderman lit.

Calcaterra concedes, passes torch.

Christie, the movie.

Reader Steven Boone says of Barron’s district: “It’s a different, post-apocalyptic time now.”

The Times of India asks, “Where are India’s Schumers?”

And a reader has the answer: “Probably in front of India’s TV cameras.”

Andrew Cuomo explains why he currently accepts large sums of money from LLCs, even as he campaigns with the pledge to close the loophole allowing LLC's to give huge sums of money to political campaigns.

In Ithaca, Cuomo said:

I want to reform the campaign finance system. To reform the campaign finance system I have to get elected. To get elected I have to raise money. I don’t have large sums of personal wealth, I don’t’ come from a family with large sums of personal wealth. I have to get elected which means I have to raise money, so I can be in a position to actually make the reforms.

This will probably fuel Doug Biviano's theory the media is actively working to destroy his candidacy for New York State Assembly (and thus, keep the state's election laws in place): YouTube sent him a notice saying his video was hit with a privacy complaint from an NBC employee who appears briefly in the video.

YouTube's notice of the complaint includes this ultimatum:

"Please edit or remove the material reported by the individual within 48 hours from today's date. If no action is taken, the video will then come in for review by the YouTube staff and be prohibited from being uploaded again."

Here's the complaint, provided by Biviano:

From Youtube

This privacy complaint to YouTube was issued from a person who was at the information desk at 30 Rock
whose face was on the video for 3 seconds his voice was on for 7 seconds
The campaign did not send the employee the video

Dear BivForBrooklyn,

This is to notify you that we have received a privacy complaint from an
individual regarding your content:

-------------------------------------------------------------

Video URLs:

/> The information reported as violating privacy is at 5:45

-------------------------------------------------------------

We would like to give you an opportunity to remove or edit your video so
that it no longer potentially violates the privacy of the individuals
involved You can edit your video by removing names and other personal
information from the video's title, metadata or tags. Annotations or
marking the video as private are not acceptable forms of editing and your
video will still be at risk of removal. Please edit or remove the material
reported by the individual within 48 hours from today's date. If no action
is taken, the video will then come in for review by the YouTube staff and
be prohibited from being uploaded again.

If the potential privacy violation is contained within the metadata or
title of the video, you should be able to edit this content without video
removal. If the potential privacy violation is within the video content,
the video may have to be removed completely.

Protecting a person's privacy is protecting their personal safety. When
uploading videos in the future, please remember not to post someone else's
image or personal information without their consent. Personal information
includes things like names, phone numbers, and email addresses. For more
information, please review our Community Guidelines at

and our Safety Center at

The YouTube Team

Rap mogul Russell Simmons takes a hard-line defense of the mosque near Ground Zero:

"If you're blaming Muslims for the attack on 9/11, then you need to change your mind. Do we blame Christians [for] the first World Trade attack?"

[skip]

"Now, the idea of moving it might have been okay until it was politicized. But now, since the Imam is there, and talking about it, we should make every effort not to move it."

Republican Linda McMahon's senate candidacy in CT had been forged in no small part on the WWE wrestling empire she and her husband built, which itself is mourning the death of a 29-year-old wrestler Lance Cade from heart failure.

McMahon says she and the organization should not be held responsible.

A former WWE wrestler (and Harvard alum), Chris Nowinski, has a different view. In a television interview last night, Nowinski says wrestling organizers "have an environment that is absolutely unsafe to work in that ring. They have no oversight over what actually happens in that ring. And they are encouraging steroid use."

Nowinski also said McMahon's comment about maybe having met the now-deceased wrestler only once was, "kicking dirt on the guy's grave."

"The teen's orders were to scout out properties that might be suitable for an Islamic community center."

Paterson seeks a "magic moment" to relocate the mosque.

Anybody not comment on Paterson's CNN appearance last night?

The current site is now a tourist attraction.

Developers don't have money to start the project. Nor do they have "blueprint, architect, lobbyist or [an] engineer."

Developers "are refusing to flat out reject" taking money from Iran.

No regrets from Obama.

Time asks"Does America have a Muslim Problem?"

Utica welcomes a mosque.

Archbishop Dolan supports finding a new location.

Barrett notes [$] Rangel district is changing, population-wise.

Cuomo takes a lot of money from LLCs while campaigning to close a loophole allowing it.

Libertarian and Green Party gov candidates on the ballot.

Silver doesn't like the 'my way or the highway' gubernatorial styles.

"Undeniably disappointing" is how NYT editorial describes recent school test results.

Brodsky: "I'm not going to be afraid to stand up to corporations or the governor."

Dinallo says Schneiderman can't investigate the State Senate.

Spector: "The state in July signed off on $12.5 million in member items for lawmakers' hometown projects."

Reid gets knocked by Assemblyman Reily.

Espada denies he owes his tailor $7,200.

Ethnic politics!"Mr. Sepulveda plans to take down Mr. Rivera, a fellow Puerto Rican, by courting the district’s growing population of Bangladeshis."

Vance takes an unusual step in indicting a Harlem shooting suspect.

Quinn and Viverito on community gardens: "gardeners should not lose their licenses for activities that occur in the surrounding area — public drinking on the sidewalk, for example."

In a colorful profile, Barron tells me,"I believe America needs a radical root canal—a political root canal."

Gillibrand, still eating healthy.

Spencer looks at the term limits fight.

Janele Hyer-Spencer gets more challengers.

And pictured above is proof that Paladino enjoys taunting Lazio.

Rick Lazio's once 20-point lead over Carl Paladino among Republican voters has shrunk to thirteen points, according to a new poll from Siena.

Lazio, the GOP nominee leads Paladino, an upstate businessman who petitioned his way onto the ballot, 43-30 percent. That's down from the 40-20 percent lead Lazio had back in July.

Cuomo leads each of them in head-to-head match-ups, and in three-way matches.

Cuomo - 60
Lazio    - 26

Cuomo - 60
Paladino- 27

Cuomo                         - 56
Lazio [Republican]        - 19
Paladino [independent]  -12

Cuomo                        - 56
Lazio [Conservative]     - 16
Paladino [Republican]  - 14

One factor in the race could be the candidate's stance on the mosque and cultural center proposed near Ground Zero.

Twenty-two percent of voters say a candidate's position on this issue will have a "major impact" on their decision of whom to support. Thirty-seven percent say the issue will have "some effect," on their decision. Thirty-nine percent says it won't be a factor at all.

Sixty-three percent of voters say they oppose it, compared to 27 who support it. Interestingly, 64 percent say the developers have a right to build the project at its current location. Twenty-eight say there is no legal right.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio tries reclaiming some momentum, putting out an ad reminding people he was an early critic of the mosque plan, and renewing his call for the project's funding to be investigated by Andrew Cuomo, the state attorney general and Democratic candidate for governor.

As if it's needed, the ad features images of people running from Ground Zero on September 11, and of the rubble after the towers fell. And the only voices in the commercial are from people being interviewed, all regular New Yorkers. Many of them are filmed with the current construction site at Ground Zero in the background, which helps reinforce the point opponents are trying to make: the location is too close to the proposed mosque.

But, to be clear, the mosque is two blocks from Ground Zero, and not within eyesight of one another.

Lazio's new ad features regular New Yorkers opposing the mosque, and hits Cuomo for not investigating the project's funding.

Cuomo and Lazio sparred when they worked in Congress.

Gillibrand on mosque: "If they decide to work with the mosque to find an alternative location, I will also support that."

Mosque strains Tea Party's tight focus on fiscal and constitutional issues.

Mosque developer, Sharif El-Gamal talks to Rubinstein.

NY Post is glad the conversation is about appropriateness, not legality.

Rescue workers want the focus on the 9/11 health care bill.

The mosque will be a topic in a number of races around the country.

Staten Island concerns: "The Midland Beach community opposed MAS’ plans partly because they felt the location was too small for a religious center and partly because they feared MAS has ties to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood, which has alleged links to terrorism."

"We are not terrorists."

Paterson spokesman says governor will meet with mosque developers.

Meeting this week.

Paterson was urged to pay for Yankee tickets, before the scandal broke.

DN hits Paterson for skipping a hearing on how he got the tickets.

Maziarz:"I've got a lot of respect for Rick Lazio [b]ut clearly his campaign is not taking off, and Carl [Paladino]'s is resonating."

Niagara County is the fifth to back Paladino over Lazio.

Brodsky says he won't use AG office as a stepping stone.

Sampson's chief of staff helped one of Sampson's contributors.

Mark Green will vote to keep the current 3-term limit for elected officials.

More on term limits here.

Arcuri gets a boost, now that a Libertarian has joined the race.

Murphy won't comment on poll showing GOP challenger Gibson gaining on him.

A conflict in Queens? "He doesn't deny that he is a 'campaign adviser' to the senator - but maintained his job with Huntley doesn't affect his role as an executive at the paper."

Zeldin goes after Foley [$] on MTA funding.

Binghamton's city treasurer was fired amid accusations of improper bookkeeping.

Lawsuit filed to block cigarette tax on reservations.

TWU goes after Walder's home in France.

Government consolidation fails in Williamsville and Sloan.

More than anywhere else [$], parents from the Upper East Side and Upper West Side seek reimbursements for private school tuition.

NYO: "[W]hile the number of arts teachers is up, the means for doing their job have been slashed."

Kathleen Rice maintains her financial edge in the five-way Democratic primary for Attorney General, as she and another well-funded rival, private attorney Sean Coffey, launched television ads.

Rice, the Nassau County district attorney, ended the 32-day pre-primary filing with $4,424,391.33 on hand, with more than $623,267.47 being raised in this latest filing. She spent about half that amount, or $368,630.06. Among her expenses were $99 at Bergdorf Goodman's, for "clothing for a film shoot," according to records the campaign filed with the State Board of Elections.

But a campaign spokesman said they inaccurately described the expense. It was actually for a hairdo Rice received before a televised debate, campaign spokesman Eric Phillips told WNYC.

Rice also launched her first ad of the campaign season. It's a 30-second biopic, with a man's baritone voice telling viewers, "If anyone thought Kathleen Rice would be a pushover as Long Island's first woman district attorney, they were wrong."

No one has raised that issue with Rice during the AG race -- if anything, she's been accused of being too tough on drug offenders, and not supporting a repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Law earlier. But the ad allows Rice to underscore the point that she is a woman: the only one in this race and one of the only ones running statewide for Democrats (the other is appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand).

State Sen. Eric Schneiderman of Manhattan ends the filing period with $2,191,966.57 on hand. He raised $263,646.92, and spent more than half of that, $182,930.85, this period. Schneiderman is not airing ads. His biggest expense in this filing was for a $22,500 "database" from Voter Activation Network.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester transferred $966,576.30 from his Assembly re-election campaign account into his attorney general account. That helped him end the filing period with $1,512,534.70 [figure corrected] on hand. Among his $93,961.91 in expenditures this period was a $13,023.20 poll from the Washington-based Lake Research Partners.

Former State Insurance Superintendent Eric DiNallo has $1,627,233.68 on hand, after raising $109,231.31. But he spent more than he raised: $170,496.48.

Among DiNallo's notable expenditures was $22,500 on a voter file from Smartvan NY, and $324 on Google Adwords. He's not running ads yet, but his campaign is purchasing archival video. There was a $321 purchase of "archive video" from a place called Video Monitoring Service. Another $80 was spent purchasing "archive video" from New York 1 News.

A campaign spokeswoman told WNYC they had purchased footage from the 2006 attorney general debate, for preparation. They also paid $500 for "photo permission" to Nathaniel Brooks, better known as the New York Times photographer based in Albany who has taken many memorable photographs, including this front-page image of Gov. David Paterson's troubled aide, David Johnson, which caused quite a stir.

The biggest spender in this cycle was Coffey, the attorney in private practice who is basically self-funding his campaign, and airing television ads.

Coffey, again, lent his campaign $1 million, helping him end the filing period with $3,162,032.49. He spent $824,028.22 in this period.

Coffey's expenditures include $20,462.12 on polling from Lables & Lists Inc.

But the real big expenditure --  besides the five-figure fees to consultants like the Mirram Group -- was $286,600 for television ads with GMMB (coincidentally, that's the same firm Anthony Weiner used to create some memorable ads during his 2005 mayoral race).

In Coffey's ad, black and white images of him slowly fade in and out of the screen as a narrator talks about his military record and his record as "a lawyer who took on Wall Street."

"New Yorkers don't need another politician seeking office, they need an attorney general seeking justice," the narrator says, highlighting Coffey's lack of political experience as an asset.

Public opinion polls show that none of the candidates are really known to the public. So, much of the money candidates are raising will probably be unleashed around Labor Day, when people return from vacation and realize that one of the most sought-after offices in New York State, if not the country, is up for grabs.

UDPATE: An informed reader notes that the money Coffey spent on TV ads with GMMB was for the "ad buy," since the firm purchases airtime for the ad creator working for the campaign, Jimmy Siegel.

The world waits to hear from Schumer on the mosque.

Gillibrand says no, really, she didn’t need a phone call from Obama before hearing he backed the mosque.

Bloomberg signalsno 2012 aspirations.

Cillizza: “ultimately we see Bloomberg's backing of Sestak as the slightly less valuable 'out-of-state statewide endorsement' rather than a celebrity endorsement.”

Bloomberg tells a skeptic to read the Bill of Rights.

Salon praises Bloomberg, noting “there have been very few commendable acts in this dispute.”

Bloomberg defends Fenty on marriage.

Hikind waves the GOP flag.

Fox, attacked.

Cox spoxjabs with Conservatives and “Randolph Altschuler.”

The Republican Party in New York is, slowly, coming to terms with the reality that is Carl Paladino's insurgent gubernatorial campaign, thanks to his deep pockets, quote-filled press releases and the seemingly low-octane performance of GOP nominee Rick Lazio, whose finances have been struggling.

Paladino today announced he was endorsed by Jane Corwin, the treasurer for the state Republican Party and an Assemblywoman. Also endorsing Paladino are the GOP chairmen of Niagara County, Cayuga County, Genesse, Orleans, and Erie.

"Announcements of other GOP leadership endorsements are imminent," the campaign says.

When I interviewed Paladino on Friday in Mineola, he still sounded like an insurgent, not yet extending an olive branch to the party he's trying to represent.

"What is the Republican Party today? It’s a shell of what it was. It began falling apart when [former Senator Alfonse] D’Aamato and [former Governor George] Pataki decided they weren’t going to leave any succession. They didn’t like Tom Golisano. Tom Golisano probably would have been tremendous as a governor. But they wanted to keep the feeding at the trough system. They wanted to keep the decadent status quo. That’s all that they were about."