THE "PORK" IN NEW YORK, Thoughts of an older American on Constitutional Government in the USA Options

[Livyjr]

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ...

topo gigio says: “I’ve never much liked the word hinky … but things sure did sound “hinky” with respect to Uncle Joe’s development endeavors.”

Comment by John Galt — March 14, 2007 @ 5:34 pm

“Hinky” is a DEFAULT word out here in the countryside, a word we use because there just is not another that can adequately express what HINKY really is …

Anything and everything a “POLITICAL” does, whether it violates some puny law, or other, or the Constitution, for that matter, is always ALRIGHT …

And it is never wrong ….

Especially when what they are doing is in violation of the law and the Constitution, to boot, so, it’s simply HINKY STUFF, then ….

And yes, one can in fact be a lot more specific in this matter under discussion in here, especially when it comes to describing the HINKY STUFF that is attributed to the New York State Department of Law under “STEAMROLLER” Spitzer in connection with this matter of the UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT of this disabled veteran …

Which HINKY STUFF would have been a violation of Rule 11 of the Federal Civil Practice Rules IF this had not been a matter involving POLITICAL PROTECTION and RETALIATION in “IRON DUKE” Joe Bruno’s fiefdom of Rensselaer County ….

And IF those rules actually pertained to a non-lawyer disabled veteran seeking to vindicate his civil rights in federal District Court for the Northern District of New York ….

Which they do not ….

Federal Civil Practice Rule 11(b) states in clear and concise language, readily understandable by someone with a minimal high school education, that by “presenting to the court (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating) a pleading, written motion, or other paper, an attorney OR UNREPRESENTED PARTY is certifying that to the best of the person’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances,–

(3) the allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, are likely to have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; and

(4) the denials of factual contentions are warranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on a lack of information or belief.

Now, there is where the HINKY STUFF on the part of the New York State Department of Law comes into this matter, and it is HINKY, because while it did violate the provisions of Federal Rule 11(b)(4), it was still alright with the federal court because the PLAINTIFF was only a disabled veteran without a lawyer, or any political clout, while the DEFENDANTS all had the arm of the SKADDEN MAN “STEAMROLLER” Spitzer around them …

The problem for the defendants in this matter was that in a sworn affirmation to Rensselaer County Supreme Court dated August 16, 2002, which was early on in the proceedings, long before the federal three-year statute of limitations had expired, Assistant New York State Attorney General Lisa Ullman had sworn that:

1. I am an ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL ON THE STAFF OF ELIOT SPITZER, Attorney General of the State of New York, ATTORNEY for the State respondents in this proceeding.

I HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED THIS CASE AND AM FAMILIAR WITH THE FILE.

I make this affirmation in opposition to PETITIONER’S (PLAINTIFF) motion for leave to reargue and renew.

2. This proceeding was commenced by pro se petitioner PLAINTIFF under Article 78 of the Civil Procedure Law and Rules (”CPLR”), who requested a court order compelling the release of certain mental health records.

SPECIFICALLY, PETITIONER HAD BEEN INVOLUNTARILY COMMITTED TO THE VETERAN’S ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL PURSUANT TO MENTAL HYGIENE LAW 9.45 FOR SEVERAL HOURS ON AUGUST 22, 2001, and had obtained redacted versions of documents pertaining to that COMMITMENT.

Now, that sworn affirmation was indeed MANNA FROM HEAVEN for the disabled veteran, because in it, the Office of the New York State Attorney General firmly established the basis of his federal claim against the DEFENDANTS, including REPUBLICAN Kathleen Jimino, who runs Rensselaer County for “IRON DUKE” Joe Bruno …

So what the New York State Department of Law did was to have Lisa Ullman and her version of “reality” disappear, along with a sworn affidavit of New York State Officer Barbara A. Soldano, which contained false assertions that she had sworn to in Rensselaer County Supreme Court ….

And then they had an attorney named Nelson Sheingold go to federal court and tell the judge some real COCK-AND-BULL STORY that was completely inconsistent with the LISA ULLMAN affirmation, and the VA Hospital records, and the sworn testimony of the Albany Police Officer, and the statements of New York State Police Investigator Chris O’Brien who was stationed in KENNETH BRUNO’S OFFICE OF THE RENSSELAER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY on the day the “PSYCHIATRIC TAKE-DOWN” of this disabled veteran went down …..

And based on the COCK-AND-BULL STORY, the New York State Department of Law got this disabled veteran’s federal civil rights lawsuit tossed right into the trash can ….

And so ….

HINKY STUFF ….

Because it is never against the law when a “POLITICAL” does it …

And there is no other name for it …

And so …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4050#comments

[Livyjr]

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ....

AN OPEN LETTER TO NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMAN RICHARD BRODSKY

IF YOU ARE FOR ENDING STEREOTYPES, MR. ASSEMBLYMAN BRODSKY, AND IF YOU ARE FOR NEW YORK STATE ACTUALLY BECOMING A REAL “BEACON OF LIBERTY” …

THEN PLEASE, GET YOUR COWBOY BOOTS BACK DOWN OFF OF YOUR DESK, AND GET YOUR *** UP OUT OF YOUR CHAIR, AND GO DOWN TO THIS “STEAMROLLER’S” OFFICE DOWN THERE IN ALBANY, AND DEMAND TO KNOW WHY THE “STEAMROLLER” HAD HIS ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERALS BURY SWORN TESTIMONY FROM AN ALBANY POLICE OFFICER CONCERNING THE UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT OF A NEW YORK STATE CITIZEN WHO IS FOR “CIVIL DIALOGUE IN NYS WITHOUT THE SPECTER OF CIVIL CONFINEMENT LOOMING LARGE IN THE BACKGROUND” WHEN THE DIALOGUE IS ONE OF OPPROBRIUM FOR OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS INSTEAD OF APPROBATION …

AND THEN DEMAND OF THE “STEAMROLLER”, PURSUANT TO Section 63(8) of ARTICLE 5 of the New York State EXECUTIVE LAW:

“Whenever in his judgment the public interest requires it, the attorney-general may, with the approval of the governor, and when directed by the governor, shall, inquire into matters concerning the public peace, public safety and public justice ….”

THAT THIS BURIED EVIDENCE, INCLUDING FBI RECORDS OF MISFEASANCE, MALFEASANCE AND GROSS NEGLIGENCE IN THE STATE AND RENSSELAER COUNTY DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH ALLEGEDLY INVOLVING RENSSELAER COUNTY’S “IRON DUKE” JOE BRUNO, ALONG WITH THE TESTIMONY OF A NEW YORK STATE POLICE INVESTIGATOR STATIONED IN KENNETH BRUNO’S OFFICE OF THE RENSSELAER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN AUGUST OF 2001 BE “RE-SURFACED” ….

BROUGHT BACK TO THE “SUNSHINE”, OR LIGHT OF DAY, AS IT WERE ….

And then, Mr. Assemblyman Brodsky, PERHAPS YOU MIGHT BE JUST A LITTLE MORE BELIEVABLE TO THE PUBLIC-AT-LARGE HERE IN NYS WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR COOING SOUNDS TO THE MEDIA ABOUT “BEACONS OF LIBERTY” …

ELSEWISE, TO US, YOU ARE JUST ONE MORE SELF-SERVING ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL DOWN THERE IN ALBANY, RIDING THE GRAVY TRAIN UNTIL YOU CAN RETIRE, FANCY COWBOY BOOTS THAT WE CANNOT AFFORD UP ON YOUR DESK DOWN THERE, HAND HELD OUT FOR YOUR OWN PAYCHECK, WHILE OUR LIBERTY ALL BUT DISAPPEARS OUT HERE …

And so …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4050#comments

TO SEND A MESSAGE TO NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMAN RICHARD BRODSKY REGARDING YOUR OWN VIEWS OF WHAT IS CONTAINED IN THIS OPEN LETTER, SIMPLY CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK, WHERE YOU WILL SEE UNDER HIS PICTURE A BOX THAT SAYS "SEND MESSAGE", AND IT IS JUST THAT EASY TO MAKE YOUR VIEWS AS A CITIZEN KNOWN CONCERNING THIS MATTER:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/?i...L&chamber=H

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ...

So what the New York State Department of Law did was to have Lisa Ullman and her version of “reality” disappear, along with a sworn affidavit of New York State Officer Barbara A. Soldano, which contained false assertions that she had sworn to in Rensselaer County Supreme Court ….

And then they had an attorney named Nelson Sheingold go to federal court and tell the judge some real COCK-AND-BULL STORY that was completely inconsistent with the LISA ULLMAN affirmation, and the VA Hospital records, and the sworn testimony of the Albany Police Officer, and the statements of New York State Police Investigator Chris O’Brien who was stationed in KENNETH BRUNO’S OFFICE OF THE RENSSELAER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY on the day the “PSYCHIATRIC TAKE-DOWN” of this disabled veteran went down …..

And based on the COCK-AND-BULL STORY, the New York State Department of Law got this disabled veteran’s federal civil rights lawsuit tossed right into the trash can ….

And so ….

HINKY STUFF ….

Because it is never against the law when a “POLITICAL” does it …

And there is no other name for it …

And so …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4050#comments

"A cloud over Albany"

Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, March 15, 2007

So here it is Sunshine Week, a media-led effort to drive home the importance of open government and the need to vigorously enforce Freedom of Information laws.

And here's Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno marking the occasion by acting like the prince of darkness.

Now, Mr. Bruno's record when it comes to making what's supposed to be public information just that is mixed at best.

This week, though, of all weeks has him trying to kill the necessary funding for one of the best ideas about public access to state government yet.

That's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's Project Sunlight.

It's a huge, easy-to-search database for information about almost anything in state government -- campaign finance reports, information about lobbyists, public contracts, legislators' voting records -- that Mr. Cuomo envisions as part of his office's new Bureau of Public Integrity.

Mr. Bruno is out to cut $700,000 from Governor Spitzer's proposed state budget that would help get this project started.

The budget that the Senate's Republican majority just voted for also would eliminate the money necessary to pay the salaries for five new state jobs associated with Project Sunlight.

Talk about an odd and politically suspicious stunt.

Mr. Bruno and the Senate Republicans want to spend considerably more money, overall, in the coming fiscal year than either Mr. Spitzer or Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

And yet they're trying to squash an initiative that barely qualifies as loose change in the state budget?

"We're just doing what we think is in the best interest of the people," Mr. Bruno says by way of explanation.

That would be, of course, the very people -- ordinary citizens without political connections or the money or access to politicians -- in whose interests Freedom of Information laws exist in the first place.

Mr. Cuomo is actually understating the irony and the outrage behind it when he says, "At a time when everyone has claimed a 'new day' in Albany and a commitment to reform, this is the exact opposite."

Of course the old days and the old ways don't necessarily serve Mr. Bruno so badly.

Here's the senator's office, in the middle of the jeopardy they've put Project Sunlight in, denying there was any obfuscation intended over Mr. Bruno's use of campaign funds to pay legal bills associated with a federal investigation of his private business activities.

The fact that he did so almost surely would be more readily accessible when, or if, the database Mr. Cuomo plans is up and running.

Mr. Bruno does say, meanwhile, that the funding for that project could be restored yet.

"We're open to negotiate, and we're going to negotiate effectively, objectively and in good faith and we'll see what the result is."

Nice try, Mr. Bruno.

In fact, that $700,000 should be back in the budget at once.

Think of it as a nonnegotiable issue.

[Livyjr]

Thank you for using Congress.org Mail System

Message sent to the following recipients: Assemblymember Brodsky

March 15, 2007

I came across this OPEN LETTER to yourself as a New York State Assemblyman on an internet site dealing with NYS issues, and as a disabled veteran in the State of New York who is being plowed under by higher and higher property taxes in this state, I want to sign on to it, to add my voice to the chorus, as it were:

AN OPEN LETTER TO NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMAN RICHARD BRODSKY

Civil dialogue, Mr. Assemblyman Brodsky, in OUR society here in New York State, DOES NOT and CANNOT happen when one party, the "GOVERNMENT", i.e. New York State Senator "BIG JOE" Bruno and "STEAMROLLER" Spitzer, has both the RIGHT and the PRIVILEGE to place a telephone call to a political medical doctor at a CORPORATE HOSPITAL in Troy, New York to secure a "PICK-UP" ORDER so that the State Police can send a team to pick up this person for transport to a secure CORPORATE mental facility in Troy, New York for incarceration and "GENTLING" at the literal drop of a hat, no questions asked, by anyone, at all, because that individual has chosen to stand up for the Constitution and OUR laws, which, Mr. Assemblyman Brodsky, ARE REALLY WHAT MAKE THIS COUNTRY A BEACON OF LIBERTY ….

And not the New York State Assembly, as you maintain …

WHEN A CITIZEN OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, ANY CITIZEN, CAN BE LITERALLY "SNATCHED RIGHT OUT OF THEIR TRACKS" BY THE POLICE FOR INCARCERATION IN A SECURE MENTAL FACILITY BASED ON WHAT BY LAW IS A FALSE INSTRUMENT BACKED UP BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK ITSELF, THEN IT IS INDEED A LAUGHABLE PROPOSITION TO ASSUME AND STATE TO US THAT WE HAVE ANY "LIBERTY" LEFT TO US AT ALL, JUST BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE WHAT CALLS ITSELF AN "ASSEMBLY", OF WHICH YOU, MR. ASSEMBLYMAN, ARE A MEMBER, COWBOY BOOTS UP ON THE DESK, AND ALL ….

WITHOUT ACCESS TO EQUAL JUSTICE, MR. ASSEMBLYMAN BRODSKY, HERE IN NEW YORK STATE, TO PROTECT US COMMON CITIZENS FROM "STEAMROLLING" NY STATE SENATORS AND A POWER-HUNGRY FORMER NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL ON-THE-MAKE WHO IS NOW GOVERNOR "STEAMROLLER", WHEN WE CHOOSE TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED, WHICH IS BOTH OUR RIGHT AND OUR DUTY AS CITIZENS OF THIS STATE, WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO US TO HAVE YOU DOWN THERE IN ALBANY, POSING FOR "PUFF-PIECE" PHOTOS OF YOURSELF AND YOUR COWBOY BOOTS, WHILE TELLING US THAT IT IS TIME TO END "STEREOTYPES"?

IF YOU ARE FOR ENDING STEREOTYPES, MR. ASSEMBLYMAN BRODSKY, AND IF YOU ARE FOR NEW YORK STATE ACTUALLY BECOMING A REAL "BEACON OF LIBERTY" …

THEN PLEASE, GET YOUR COWBOY BOOTS BACK DOWN OFF OF YOUR DESK, AND GET YOUR *** UP OUT OF YOUR CHAIR, AND GO DOWN TO THIS "STEAMROLLER'S" OFFICE DOWN THERE IN ALBANY, AND DEMAND TO KNOW WHY THE "STEAMROLLER" HAD HIS ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERALS BURY SWORN TESTIMONY FROM AN ALBANY POLICE OFFICER CONCERNING THE UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT OF A NEW YORK STATE CITIZEN WHO IS FOR "CIVIL DIALOGUE IN NYS WITHOUT THE SPECTER OF CIVIL CONFINEMENT LOOMING LARGE IN THE BACKGROUND" WHEN THE DIALOGUE IS ONE OF OPPROBRIUM FOR OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS INSTEAD OF APPROBATION …

AND THEN DEMAND OF THE "STEAMROLLER", PURSUANT TO Section 63(8) of ARTICLE 5 of the New York State EXECUTIVE LAW:

"Whenever in his judgment the public interest requires it, the attorney-general may, with the approval of the governor, and when directed by the governor, shall, inquire into matters concerning the public peace, public safety and public justice …."

THAT THIS BURIED EVIDENCE, INCLUDING FBI RECORDS OF MISFEASANCE, MALFEASANCE AND GROSS NEGLIGENCE IN THE STATE AND RENSSELAER COUNTY DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH ALLEGEDLY INVOLVING RENSSELAER COUNTY'S "IRON DUKE" JOE BRUNO, ALONG WITH THE TESTIMONY OF A NEW YORK STATE POLICE INVESTIGATOR STATIONED IN KENNETH BRUNO'S OFFICE OF THE RENSSELAER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN AUGUST OF 2001 BE "RE-SURFACED" ….

BROUGHT BACK TO THE "SUNSHINE", OR LIGHT OF DAY, AS IT WERE ….

AND THEN MAKE A DEMAND ON OUR BEHALF AS NYS CITIZENS, PURSUANT TO NYS EXECUTIVE LAW section 63(12) ….

"Whenever any person shall engage in repeated fraudulent or illegal acts or otherwise demonstrate persistent fraud or illegality in the carrying on, conducting or transaction of business, the attorney general may apply, in the name of the people of the state of New York, to the supreme court of the state of New York, on notice of five days, for an order enjoining the continuance of such business activity …"

THAT THIS POLITICAL DOCTOR AND CORPORATE HOSPITAL IN TROY, NEW YORK BE PERMANENTLY ENJOINED FROM ISSUING FRAUDULENT INVOLUNTARY PSYCHIATRIC COMMITMENT ORDERS TO THE NEW YORK STATE POLICE TO APPREHEND OUR CITIZENS OVER HERE WHO ARE FOR "TRUE LIBERTY" AND THE LAW HERE IN NYS …

And then, Mr. Assemblyman Brodsky, PERHAPS YOU MIGHT BE JUST A LITTLE MORE BELIEVABLE TO THE PUBLIC-AT-LARGE HERE IN NYS WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR COOING SOUNDS TO THE MEDIA ABOUT "BEACONS OF LIBERTY" …

ELSEWISE, TO US, YOU ARE JUST ONE MORE SELF-SERVING ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL DOWN THERE IN ALBANY, RIDING THE GRAVY TRAIN UNTIL YOU CAN RETIRE, FANCY COWBOY BOOTS THAT WE CANNOT AFFORD UP ON YOUR DESK DOWN THERE, HAND HELD OUT FOR YOUR OWN PAYCHECK, WHILE OUR LIBERTY ALL BUT DISAPPEARS OUT HERE …

THANKS TO THIS "STEAMROLLER" WHOM OUR ASSEMBLY MINORITY APPEARS TO BE KOW-TOWING TO, AS THE ACTIONS OF THIS JIM TEDISCO OF LATE REVEAL …

WHICH MAKES THE NYS ASSEMBLY ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS TO US …

And so …

Sincerely,

TO SEND A MESSAGE TO NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMAN RICHARD BRODSKY REGARDING YOUR OWN VIEWS OF WHAT IS CONTAINED IN THIS OPEN LETTER, SIMPLY CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK, WHERE YOU WILL SEE UNDER HIS PICTURE A BOX THAT SAYS "SEND MESSAGE", AND IT IS JUST THAT EASY TO MAKE YOUR VIEWS AS A CITIZEN KNOWN CONCERNING THIS MATTER:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/?i...L&chamber=H

Web Site: assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=092

E-mail: brodskr@assembly.state.ny.us

[Livyjr]

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ....

Comment by topo gigio — March 14, 2007 @ 8:38 pm

John Galt said: “topo gigio is indeed a serious researcher and skilled investigator, which is something that we countryfolks are for, actually ….”‘

Thanks for the compliment ...

But you still need to seriously work on being more concise.

See what you can do, dood.

Comment by John Galt — March 15, 2007 @ 6:40 am

What John Galt really thinks is that it would be so nice to live in a state where people like John Galt never had to say a single word, because life was so smooth and ordered because of GOOD LAWFUL, CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT, that words were not needed ….

The “dood” John Galt has been actively involved in this “citizenship business” since returning to here from Viet Nam as a disabled combat veteran in 1970, and the mountain of **** that represents politics in this state seems to have become a MT. EVEREST, in that time, with nothing but thumb-sucking and indifference and ABJECT APATHY from the citizen-body out here, “OH, THERE’S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT” in whining, plaintive tones, hands wringing, eyes averted, lest someone mistake them for a person with some spirit and independence of thought, AS A REAL AMERICAN used to be in the days of my youth out here in the countryside …

And they readily submit to what is at least a QUINTUPLE, if not SEPTUPAL SCREWING that we folks on fixed incomes are taking out here in the countryside, getting the FIRST SCREWING by paying taxes for a State Health Department that is not doing its job per OUR Constitution, and a SECOND SCREWING paying more taxes for a county health department that is not doing its job, and a THIRD SCREWING on top of the first TWO SCREWINGS paying for an OUT-OF-CONTROL MEDICAID program full of sick people because of the FIRST TWO SCREWINGS, and then there is the FOURTH SCREWING that comes from paying for the FRAUD in the MEDICAID system associated with the FIRST THREE SCREWINGS ….

And then the FIFTH SCREWING comes from paying higher and higher property taxes as the ill-gotten gains from the FOURTH SCREWING are poured back into SWAMP-LAND SUBDIVISIONS to LAUNDER them, which cause us who had the sense to find dry ground to live on, to have to pay more and more for “IMPROVEMENTS” that are intended to de-water these “SWAMP-LAND SUBDIVISONS”, long after the “developers" have taken their money and have cleared town with it …

AND THIS CRAP HAS BEEN GOING ON NOW FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS …

THIRTY YEARS ….

DESPITE OUR LAWS TO THE CONTRARY …

Without a peep from anyone ….

And now we countryfolks on fixed incomes CANNOT EVEN AFFORD to live on our own property, anymore, paying for all of this BLOAT and GRAFT and CORRUPTION …..

And you ask John Galt to be CONCISE ….

Well, topo, wouldn’t I wish it could be so …

And so …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4050#comments

[Livyjr]

"Bruno And Spitzer Have A Blowout"

March 14, 2007 at 7:01 pm by Elizabeth Benjamin

The already-contentious budget negotiations probably weren’t helped much by the expletive-laden blowout this morning between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

During the fight, Bruno, a Brunswick Republican, said Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens; is “so far up (the governor’s a**) he can’t see,'’ according to several sources.

Both sides confirmed the fight, which occurred in Spitzer’s office on the Capitol’s second floor, but refused to say exactly what was said or what sparked the exchange.

One source described the clash as a “screaming match,” during which both the governor and the senator “lost it.”

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/

"Things Heat Up in Albany, and Not Just the Weather"

By DANNY HAKIM

Published: March 15, 2007

ALBANY, March 14 — Now the budget fight is getting personal.

The testy relationship between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, veered into nastiness during an argument in the governor’s office on Wednesday, just minutes after the two had appeared together at a solemn bill-signing ceremony.

“It was a spirited discussion between two guys who aren’t effete,” said Darren Dopp, the governor’s communications director.

“It only broke down after Majority Leader Bruno made some disparaging comments about the minority leader and his house.”

Mr. Dopp said that Mr. Bruno, the state’s top Republican, used some vulgarities to describe the relationship between Malcolm A. Smith, a Democrat and the Senate minority leader, and the governor’s posterior.

The governor, a Democrat who has a reputation for using salty language himself, said, according to Mr. Dopp, “Joe, I’m not going to abide that kind of vulgarity.”

Not surprisingly, Mr. Bruno’s spokesman offered a different version of events — though he did not dispute that the meeting was heated.

“They talked about trust, keeping one’s word, and from there things deteriorated,” said Mr. Bruno’s spokesman, John McArdle, who also disputed the description of the vulgarity and tenor of Mr. Bruno’s comment about Mr. Smith.

“As far as what they are characterizing,” Mr. McArdle said, “he has talked directly to Senator Smith and the speaker and has said very similar things to them directly, and it was certainly not meant in a disparaging way.”

Indeed, in a hallway outside the governor’s office before the bill-signing ceremony, Mr. Bruno could be heard grousing to Mr. Smith and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, in a more G-rated way, that they were “joined at the hip” with the governor.

The clash came two-and-a-half weeks before the state’s budget deadline and underscored the tense nature of the negotiations.

The governor has been portraying Senate Republicans as profligate spenders, while Mr. Bruno has said his chamber has done more to lower taxes.

What precipitated the argument on Wednesday is a matter of interpretation.

Mr. Bruno had been critical of the governor on a radio show shortly before he attended the governor’s public signing of legislation allowing for the civil confinement of sex offenders after their prison terms.

The governor’s staff circulated a transcript of the interview, on radio station WROW-AM in Albany, in which Mr. Bruno described himself as “the greatest reformer in this state, probably since Teddy Roosevelt.”

Some lawmakers also said that Mr. Bruno was angry about which lawmakers were permitted to stand at the lectern and speak during the news conference.

The blowup may not be a bad sign — Capitol lore has it that such exchanges are necessary to clear the air before deals get done.

In a previous outburst, now widely publicized, the governor described himself to the Assembly minority leader, James N. Tedisco, as a “steamroller” — adding a profane adjective for emphasis — who had accomplished more in just a few weeks than any other governor.

But Mr. Tedisco praised Mr. Spitzer at the signing ceremony on Wednesday.

“Thank you, governor,” Mr. Tedisco said.

“There’s no question about the tremendous work you’ve done.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/nyregion...amp;oref=slogin

[Livyjr]

"Things Heat Up in Albany, and Not Just the Weather"

By DANNY HAKIM

Published: March 15, 2007

ALBANY, March 14 — In a previous outburst, now widely publicized, the governor described himself to the Assembly minority leader, James N. Tedisco, as a “steamroller” — adding a profane adjective for emphasis — who had accomplished more in just a few weeks than any other governor.

But Mr. Tedisco praised Mr. Spitzer at the signing ceremony on Wednesday.

“Thank you, governor,” Mr. Tedisco said.

“There’s no question about the tremendous work you’ve done.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/nyregion...amp;oref=slogin

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ...

Comment by John Galt — March 15, 2007 @ 6:12 am

Talk about Sliver, Smith and “EL CAUDILLO STEAMROLLER” Spitzer being joined at the hip reminds me of a political cartoon in the style of Thomas Nast that some of the school kids out this way came up with, after looking at a cartoon from back in Teddy Roosevelt’s time with the “EASY BOSS”, Thomas C. Platt, a REPUBLICAN, sticking out of STALWART REPUBLICAN Roscoe Conkling’s pocket with a sign that said, “ME, TOO!”

The kids came up with one of “EL CAUDILLO STEAMROLLER” Spitzer and REPUBLICAN Jimmy Tedisco as a kind of MADONNA AND CHILD, with “EL CAUDILLO STEAMROLLER” as a heavy-jawed Madonna with a five o’clock shadow holding a swaddled Jimmy Tedisco in his arms, with Madonna and child looking into each other’s eyes, while the babe, Tedisco, waves a sign that says “WHATEVER ELIOT WANTS, ME TOO” …

Ah, the way the world looks through the eyes of children …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4070#comments

[Livyjr]

State/Region

"Budget fray riles leaders"

BY DAN JANISON

an.janison@newsday.com

March 15, 2007

ALBANY - Tempers flared yesterday in the running budget battle as Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno slammed Democratic legislators and even referred to himself as "the greatest reformer in this state, probably since Teddy Roosevelt."

For his part, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said of Bruno's budget proposal that its "profligacy ... is simply stunning in its scale."

"Further analysis shows that not only is the Senate's proposal profligate and ruinous, it is colossally misdirected," the Democratic governor said.

In private following a ceremony for signing new legislation permitting post-sentencing confinement for sex offenders, Bruno reportedly complained to Spitzer about being made to wait beforehand, and the exchange flared into other issues including the budget brawl, officials said.

Later, on a radio interview on WROW-AM, Bruno accused Spitzer of being "joined at the hip" to both Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), who were together politicizing the budget.

Despite documents showing Bruno's proposal would restore spending cuts by at least hundreds of millions of dollars, Bruno insisted that it was only called an expenditure because of an ideological bias against tax reductions.

"I haven't been run over yet, I haven't been knocked on my ass yet and I am not going to be by this guy or anybody else," he said of Spitzer, who has called himself a steamroller.

"I am the greatest reformer in this state, probably since Teddy Roosevelt, and I need people to acknowledge that, instead of all of these liberal writers talking about tax cuts as spending," he said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny...enews-headlines

[Livyjr]

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ....

Comment by John Galt — March 15, 2007 @ 5:38 pm

“IRON DUKE” Joe Bruno has indeed reformed Rensselaer County by bringing it right on backwards in time to the days to the feudal Patroons, who were LORDS OF THE MANOR over here until the early-1800’s, until the tenants began to revolt and finally the Legislature changed the laws in this area ending feudalism, and this was all right around Sand Lake and Hoags Corners in Rensselaer County ….

And then, some years later, along comes the “IRON DUKE”, and for him to be a real DUKE, well, of course, he needed to have vassals and serfs and a fiefdom, and not being a man who is afraid of ANYTHING, especially the use of violence against those who would oppose him, the “IRON DUKE” got just what he wanted ….

LAWS TO THE CONTARY BE DAMNED …

And his judges and his son Kenny the District Attorney helped the “IRON DUKE” hold his power, by force of arms when necessary ….

So what we have in Rensselaer County today is a THUG-O-CRACY with “IRON DUKE” Joe Bruno as its head ….

A bit like a THEOCRACY, when you think about it, since “BIG JOE’S” real religion is NAKED POWER ….

SO while “BIG JOE” calls himself a REPUBLICAN, in actuality, to those of us over here who know the old “DUKE” well, he is a THUG-O-CRAT …

And all who cleave to his banner, and they are many, indeed, are THUG-O-CRATS with him …

And because as a group they are all bound by one thing - blind obedience to the old “DUKE”, and his money, of course, which pays for their loyalty, the “IRON DUKE” has indeed managed to make a long, long run of it …..

Like the feudal lords before him who ruled by force of arms over here …

Where they were the only law there was …

Just like the “IRON DUKE” is today …

And so …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4070#comments

[Livyjr]

"Things Heat Up in Albany, and Not Just the Weather"

By DANNY HAKIM

Published: March 15, 2007

ALBANY, March 14 — In a previous outburst, now widely publicized, the governor described himself to the Assembly minority leader, James N. Tedisco, as a “steamroller” — adding a profane adjective for emphasis — who had accomplished more in just a few weeks than any other governor.

But Mr. Tedisco praised Mr. Spitzer at the signing ceremony on Wednesday.

“Thank you, governor,” Mr. Tedisco said.

“There’s no question about the tremendous work you’ve done.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/nyregion...amp;oref=slogin

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION

Comment by John Galt — March 15, 2007 @ 6:42 pm

Children out here in the countryside call Eliot Spitzer “GOVERNOR FALSEFACE”, and they draw political cartoons of him with a big mouth like a hippopotamus with “promises” coming out every side of it at once, while his hands are behind his back shaking hands with the “special interests” that he is beholden to, or perhaps, in some cases, the protector of ….

And here the children are drawing their inspiration from a series of lawsuits over here in Rensselaer County where “GOVERNOR FALSEFACE’s” New York State Department of Law was actively protecting a CORPORATE HOSPITAL and doctor in Troy, New York who had issued, sight unseen, an INVOLUNTARY PSYCHIATRIC COMMITMENT ORDER for a licensed professional engineer over here investigating professional misconduct on the part of a politically connected engineer from East Greenbush and a surveyor from Poestenkill in Rensselaer County …

Now, by law, what this doctor did was to issue a FRAUDULENT INSTRUMENT, but that did not faze the “STEAMROLLER” one bit, because it was a case of POLITICAL RETALIATION, and in cases of POLITICAL RETALIATION, FRAUD is as good a tool to use as any …

Now, to connect this to the present time, and this issue of high-paid hospital executives, on September 21, 2006, while he was still attorney general, Eliot Spitzer met with the New York State Business Council up at posh Bolton Landing on Lake George in the State of New York, and if one goes to the website for the membership of the New York State Business Council: …..

http://www.bcnys.org/members.htm

And looks under members under the letter “R” …”

http://www.bcnys.org/inside/membershp/rmembers.htm

Lo and behold, one finds the RENSSELAER COUNTY REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ….

http://www.renscochamber.com/

And looking for members of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of commerce under “R” …”

http://www.renscochamber.com/directory/dir…t.cfm?company=R

One comes across THE COUNTY OF RENSSELAER and THE RENSSELAER COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE, both of which would be JOE BRUNO’S crowd, of course … …

And looking for members of the NYSBC under “N” …

http://www.bcnys.org/inside/membershp/nmembers.htm

One scrolls down a bit, and lo and behold, there is NORTHEAST HEALTH, the CORPORATION in Troy, New York involved in that business with the FRAUDULENT PSYCHIATRIC COMMITMENT ORDER that the “STEAMROLLER” was defending the issuance of ….

http://www.nehealth.com/

So to us countryfolk, when we hear the children calling Spitzer “GOVERNOR FALSEFACE”, with regard to this matter of health care in the State of New York, we find ourselves inclined to have to agree with them, because something sure does seem funny here ….

After all, the “STEAMROLLER” certainly had no compunctions whatsoever about climbing into bed with the high-paid executives of Northeast Health to protect them against a civil rights lawsuit for having this engineer unlawfully incarcerated in the secure mental facility of the Stratton VA Hospital on August 22, 2001, based on a FRAUD committed by a doctor at that hospital that certainly had a very adverse effect on the health of that engineer …

And so, what gives here, Eliot?

Can you edify us, please ….

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4080#comments

[Livyjr]

NY POST

"SPITZER AND BRUNO TRADE @#%! BOMBS"

By FREDRIC U. DICKER and KENNETH LOVETT

"'I'm the governor; and I'm not going to be insulted."

- Gov. Spitzer, in a shouting match with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

March 15, 2007

ALBANY - Gov. Eliot "Steamroller" Spitzer was at it again yesterday, in a 15-minute, expletive-laden exchange with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno that left top state officials aghast - and caused a secretary to flee the face-off in horror, insiders said yesterday.

"I'm not going to be bullied, I'm not going to be steamrolled," Bruno shouted at Spitzer, sources said of the explosive behind-closed-doors confrontation.

Spitzer fired back, "I'm the governor and I'm not going to be insulted," according to a senior state official.

Another official said Spitzer infuriated Bruno by accusing him of seeking "absurd" and "indefensible" increases in the governor's proposed new state budget.

Bruno then angrily countered that Spitzer was "embarrassing me in the papers."

To which Spitzer was said to have responded, "You're doing that to yourself."

Bruno was also said to have exploded when Spitzer told him he had to "get serious" about the state budget.

Bruno angrily contended the claim was the "same mantra" embraced by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), both Spitzer loyalists.

"That's all I hear," said Bruno, adding, "They [Silver and Smith] are so far up your ass it's ridiculous."

"There was a lot of screaming and curses," a senior state official who said he was briefed on the blowup told The Post.

Things got so heated that one of Spitzer's secretaries "got up and ran out of the room," said a source close to the Bruno camp.

Several sources said the confrontation between Democrat Spitzer and Bruno, a Republican from upstate Rensselaer County, was triggered by Bruno's morning appearance on Albany's WROW-AM.

On the radio, Bruno angrily accused the "liberal press" of ignoring the governor's alleged efforts to raise state taxes by $800 million and his alleged misstating of available state revenues.

"Gov. Spitzer walks on water, Gov. Spitzer is infallible, Gov. Spitzer can't do anything wrong."

"Gov. Spitzer is the reincarnation of everything that is good and holy and Bruno is evil," Bruno said on the radio show when asked about Spitzer's criticisms of his just-unveiled budget proposal.

A source close to Bruno claimed Spitzer "went ballistic" over several of the senator's comments on the radio show.

Minutes later, Spitzer allegedly retaliated by refusing to invite Bruno into a meeting with the family of Connie Russo-Carrierro whose murder by an ex-con sex-offender contributed to the political climate which led to the passage of a "civil-confinement" bill last week.

The snub - which is how aides to Bruno described it to several members of the press - occurred a few minutes before Spitzer and Bruno were set to appear together at a bill-signing ceremony at which the governor approved the civil-confinement measure.

Spitzer has earned a reputation for a confrontational style both as attorney general and, since Jan. 1, as governor.

The Post disclosed last month that Spitzer had warned Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R-Schenectady) not to oppose his proposals because he was a "f- - - -ing steamroller" prepared to crush him.

Meanwhile, the "peace pact" between Spitzer and the state's top healthcare association and union abruptly ended after just one day.

TV advertisements attacking the governor - pulled to permit serious negotiations on Spitzer's proposed healthcare cuts - suddenly went back on the air.

fredric.dicker@nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03152007/news/...neth_lovett.htm

[Livyjr]

"Gloves come off at the Capitol - Tempers erupt as Spitzer, Bruno engage in 'screaming match' inside governor's office"

By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, March 15, 2007

ALBANY -- Budget negotiations probably weren't helped much by an expletive-laden blowup Wednesday between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

During the clash, Bruno, a Brunswick Republican, said Spitzer's Democratic ally, Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, is "so far up (the governor's posterior) he can't see," according to several sources.

Both sides confirmed the altercation, which occurred in Spitzer's office on the Capitol's second floor, but refused to say exactly what was said or what had sparked the exchange.

However, one insider described the clash as a "screaming match," during which both the governor and the senator "lost it."

Another official said Bruno was angry with Spitzer for calling a truce in his TV-ad war with Bruno's health care allies -- SEIU/1199 and the Greater New York Hospital Association -- while continuing to publicly slam the Senate Republicans for restoring Spitzer's Medicaid cuts and adding other spending in their budget plan.

The truce, which started Tuesday morning, ended 24 hours later.

SEIU/1199 and GNYHA put their ads opposing Spitzer's health care budget back on the air.

Spitzer said Wednesday he would follow suit.

Bruno spokesman John McArdle said the conversation "did get heated and was meant to clear the air."

He said Wednesday evening that Spitzer and Bruno "could have left on better terms," and had not spoken since the fight.

Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said the characterizations from Bruno's office about the exchange were "unfortunate and untrue."

She said Spitzer "urged Mr. Bruno to reconsider using certain language when speaking about his colleagues in the Legislature."

A Spitzer ally said the governor told Bruno he would not "tolerate profanity" in discussing fellow elected officials in his office.

This isn't the first exchange between the governor and a legislative leader to involve salty language.

In January, Spitzer, during a telephone call with Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, described himself as a "(expletive) steamroller" who would "roll over you and anybody else."

The relationship between the new Democratic governor and the veteran majority leader was strained this week after the Senate Republicans passed measures to restore the governor's Medicaid cuts, rejected his efforts to redirect funding from hospitals and nursing homes to community-based care, and proposed adding more than $2 billion worth of tax rebates.

Spitzer slammed the Senate Republicans for spending too much, calling them "profligate."

Wednesday's trouble started in the morning when Bruno gave an interview to radio station WROW AM-590, during which he accused Spitzer of "politicizing this whole budget" and said Smith and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are "joined at the hip" with the governor.

Bruno declined an invitation to debate Spitzer on the radio and rejected the idea that he is "afraid" of the governor.

"I've lived too long to be afraid," Bruno said.

"People don't run me over with steamrollers . . ."

"I haven't been knocked on my ass yet, and I am not going to be by this guy or anybody else."

Spitzer retaliated by refusing to invite Bruno into a pre-news conference meeting with other legislative leaders and the family of a woman who was killed by a convicted Level 3, or highest risk, sex offender in 2005.

Bruno was forced to wait with reporters in the Capitol's Red Room for the news conference, at which Spitzer signed a bill on civil confinement for sex offenders, to begin.

Bruno went into Spitzer's office after the signing, and the fight took place.

Sources said Spitzer made it clear that he was displeased with what the majority leader had said on the radio, but Bruno refused to back down.

Benjamin can be reached at 454-5081 or by e-mail at ebenjamin@timesunion.com.

Budget coming

17 days to the April 1 budget deadline

Developments:

Gov. Eliot Spitzer continued to hammer the Senate Republicans' counter to his budget plan, calling it "colossally misdirected."

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno credited his conference for fighting Spitzer's new taxes and fees and calling for hundreds of millions more for education and hospitals.

Joint legislative conference committees began meeting to publicly negotiate a legislative budget, but the groups had no guidance from the general conference committee on how much money they could budget for priorities.

Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union ended its TV ad-war truce with Spitzer after they failed to reach an accord on health care spending.

Today: Joint conference committees will continue discussing differences between the Senate and Assembly budget plans.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...sdate=3/15/2007

[Livyjr]

NY POST

"SPITZER AND BRUNO TRADE @#%! BOMBS"

By FREDRIC U. DICKER and KENNETH LOVETT

March 15, 2007

ALBANY - Spitzer has earned a reputation for a confrontational style both as attorney general and, since Jan. 1, as governor.

The Post disclosed last month that Spitzer had warned Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R-Schenectady) not to oppose his proposals because he was a "f- - - -ing steamroller" prepared to crush him.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03152007/news/...neth_lovett.htm

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ....

Comment by John Galt — March 16, 2007 @ 7:58 am

I have been “in here” but a short time, and as an older New Yorker who is a disabled combat veteran, I personally have to salute whomever’s efforts and energy have made this public forum possible, because THIS is what really makes and keeps us “FREE” ….

Free from intimidation …

Free from coercion …

Free from fear …

The stronger using a public forum like this to speak out for those of us who are weaker, or who might have no voice at all, which includes many of the elderly among us, and the disabled, such as myself ….

For years and years and years, we in New York State have been entirely excluded from the “processes” of government here in New York, through coercion and intimidation, at least in Rensselaer County here in the State of New York …

But the problem is not only here, or I would not be in here bothering to make the effort to speak up, and speak out ….

As these continued attacks on segments of OUR citizen body by this “STEAMROLLER” who we are stuck with as governor illustrate, we really do have some quite serious problems here in the State of New York that are directly related to the elevation of POLITICS, i.e., the games that career politicians like “STEAMROLLER” Spitzer and “IRON DUKE” Joe Bruno play to hold power, above GOVERNMENT, which Black’s Law Dictionary defines as:

“That form of fundamental rules and principles by which a nation or state is governed, or by which individual members of a body politic are to regulate their social actions”

Where the BODY POLITIC is defined as:

“A SOCIAL COMPACT BY WHICH THE WHOLE PEOPLE COVENANTS WITH EACH CITIZEN, AND EACH CITIZEN WITH THE WHOLE PEOPLE, THAT ALL SHALL BE GOVERNED BY CERTAIN LAWS FOR THE COMMON GOOD”

Each day that this “STEAMROLLER” continues to make his attacks on segments of OUR society here in New York State, and each day that he is egged on in that endeavor by his partisans in the New York State Assembly and Senate is a day that takes us further and further away from, and not towards, good government here in the State of New York ….

Each day that this “STEAMROLLER” continues to proclaim himself as “THE LAW”, and each day that he is supported in this FASLE CONTENTION or ASSERTION by his partisans in the New York State Assembly and Senate is a day that takes us further and further away from, and not towards, the notion that we in fact are “governed by certain laws for the common good” ….

Because when a “STEAMROLLER” like this CORNBURY Spitzer can use the media, and his financial resources, which we common folks do not have, to single us out as objects of derision, or spite, because he chooses to, to advance his own personal political agenda, then there is no longer a “COMMON GOOD” based on common laws left to us ….

And when that “state” is reached, which it has been in my estimation as an older person out here, then we are on the road to serious decline in this state, which is a quite dangerous state of affairs for the weak and weaker among us ….

This “STEAMROLLER CORNBURY” Spitzer is way out of line with what he is attempting to do with all of this ATTACKING that he is doing from the BULLY PULPIT of the Office of Governor, and having been twice wounded in a place where there was NO LAW at all, except that from the muzzle of a weapon in the hands of whomever could shoot first, faster and straighter, I believe this seemingly unstable man from down in New York City is taking us in a very dangerous direction, back to a state of anarchy, where only the strong like him, and “BIG JOE” Bruno and their adherents and disciples and toadies and boot-lickers and such can survive …

And as any schoolchild could tell us, that brings us right on back to about where we were in 1776 ….

And so …

My word this morning to this “STEAMROLLER”, and I do apologize to all of those out there who cannot comprehend words of more than three letters or one syllable, is:

“WAKE UP, CORNBURY, AND GET OUT A COPY OF OUR CONSTITUTION, ALONG WITH A HISTORY OF US AS A PEOPLE IN THIS STATE, CIRCA 1776, AND MAKE A DECISION THIS VERY MORNING AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE REALLY FIT TO TAKE CARE THAT OUR LAWS ARE FAITHFULLY EXECUTED, AS OUR CONSTITUTION DIRECTS YOU TO DO, AND IF YOU FIND THAT YOU ARE NOT UP TO THIS TASK, WHICH WOULD BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT MOST COUNTRY PEOPLE OUT HERE NOW BELIEVE, THEN DO US ALL A FAVOR, AND GO BACK TO NEW YORK CITY AND LEAVE US IN PEACE” ….

David Patterson, in our estimation, is more than capable of stepping into the Governor’s office and getting things back to where they belong, or at least he deserves an opportunity to fail, LORD CORNBURY, as you have already done, by attacking us, with your money and power ….

And so ….

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4082#comments

[Livyjr]

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ....

Comment by John Galt — March 16, 2007 @ 8:30 am

To all of those out there who whine and complain about posts containing more than about two words of two or three letters each, and one syllable, as an older New Yorker who took an oath to OUR Constitution and then went and did some bleeding in the mud of Viet Nam to defend it, in principle, anyway, what I say is “TOO BAD” ….

OUR Declaration of Independence, which defines who we are as a nation, actually contains a lot of words, and a lot of paragraphs, and it is our duty as American citizens to know that document, regardless of how hard it might actually be to sound out each word …

And OUR state Constitution itself contains a lot of words of more than one syllable, and it too contains a lot of paragraphs …

And it is again OUR DUTY as New York State citizens to know and understand that document, since it in fact is the LAW that keeps OUR society functioning here in this state where I was born, and to which I returned from Viet Nam as a disabled veteran, who had to rehabilitate himself without any “assistance” from the “state” in that endeavor …

When one takes an oath to “protect and defend” something, as common soldiers here in America do, when they step up to the plate and join our military, then it would seem to me, and indeed, I am very “old-fashioned” about this, that they have incurred an obligation to know exactly what that something is, and guess what, all of you who whine and complain about having to sound out big words, that takes effort and exertion on their part …

And if they can do this, common people like me, then what about you?

From whence comes your exemption, in regards this matter of citizenship here in OUR state?

Just curious, of course …

And so …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4085#comments

[Livyjr]

And getting away from the on-going dialogue in the web-edition of the Albany, New York Times Union ...

And getting back to something looming large on the horizon ....

We have ....

"As subprime crisis deepens, some fight back"

By Jason Szep

Fri Mar 16, 9:00 AM ET

BOSTON (Reuters) - The home loan for Thomas Hilchey and fiancee Robin Crevier started with a "teaser" -- an attractive interest rate for two years with a monthly payment of $1,692 that was well within their budget.

The middle-class couple from Harwich, a village on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, were confident they could keep up with the adjustable-rate mortgage payments to refinance their home and signed papers with subprime lender Ameriquest Mortgage Co.

What happened next swept them into the property foreclosure wave spreading across the United States and sparked one of a growing number of legal fights against lenders such as Ameriquest that specialize in loans to higher-risk borrowers.

When U.S. interest rates rose in 2005, the couple's 5.75 percent mortgage rate swelled to 7.75 percent and monthly payments ballooned to $2,035.

The rate was set to jump to 9.75 percent on March 1, bumping payments up to about $2,750, a threshold that would have pushed them into foreclosure.

But Hilchey and Crevier fought back.

Accusing Ameriquest of deceit and negligent misrepresentation, among other charges, the couple sued the lender, saying its salesman failed to provide documents and disclosures on the loan required by state and federal law.

Across the nation, anger and litigation are growing against the tactics of subprime lenders, who offer easy credit for homes that are turning out to be too expensive for millions of Americans now that mortgage rates are going up.

"If you go in and apply for a mortgage and get approved at 5.75 percent, how many people two years later are going to qualify for the same loan at 9.75 percent?"

"Probably no one, unless you are extremely wealthy," said Bruce Bierhans, an lawyer representing Hilchey and Crevier.

The couple won a first round this month when a Massachusetts judge ordered Ameriquest to halt a $715 monthly increase kicking in from their March payment and refrain from repossessing their property until the lawsuit is resolved.

"I would expect more lawsuits like this," said Boston University law professor Tamar Frankel.

"People are going to lose their homes."

"Are they going to fight?"

"Yes."

"Are there going to be lawyers who will help them fight?"

"Sure."

"The question is going to be: Where will the courts draw the line?"

FIGHTS HARD TO WIN

But such battles are notoriously hard to win, legal experts say, and the odds are stacked in the lenders' favor.

"What happens most of the time is that people are just lied to," said Jordan Ash, director of the Acorn Financial Justice Center advocacy group in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"But if the documents are in order and their signature is on all the papers, there really aren't many ways to fight back."

Mary Beyer, a 52-year-old divorced mother of four from Jenison, Michigan, said she was misled while refinancing her home with a subprime loan she could not afford.

The loan salesman, she said, listed her as employed on the application even though she told him she was out of work and surviving on Social Security payments of just $643 a month.

Beyer, who suffers from chronic asthma and receives disability payments, admits she did not read all of the fine print but said she was desperate for the loan after running out of money to pay her electricity bill.

This month, she was told her home of 20 years would be repossessed.

"I was too trusting when they said I could do this loan," she said.

"Now, every time someone talks about foreclosure or selling it, I get asthma attacks and the lungs just start closing up."

"Everything I've ever done is between these four walls."

Local housing advocates plan to take her case to court.

As a housing slowdown puts millions of subprime borrowers at risk of default, debate is shifting to whether lenders should be required to ensure their loans are suitable for their customers, said Deborah Goldstein, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending.

Some states such as Ohio have called on mortgage lenders and brokers to do more to make sure their loans are realistic.

Maine, California and Minnesota look likely to follow, Goldstein said, noting that federal banking regulators proposed guidelines this month for lenders who issue adjustable rate mortgages to subprime borrowers.

But that is little solace to those being foreclosed.

"There are lots of people who may be trying to fight back in terms of yelling at the company over the phone or writing letters, but people don't necessarily know what to do legally when they are being foreclosed," said Ash.

end quotes

Well, here we are, right back to the Savings and Loan crisis from what?

When was that?

1980's or so?

GREAT BIG BAIL-OUT REQUIRED ...

All these alleged "CONTROLS" put in place so that that couldn't happen again ...

Just like the "CONTROLS" put in place after the GREAT DEPRESSION in the 1930's ...

"CONTROLS" that are really just as BUNCH OF NOTHING ....

Nobody really pays any heed to them ...

They are not enforced ....

They just give the POLITICIANS something to gull us one more time with ....

While in reality, they are giving the ones who are screwing people a nudge and a wink ...

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT A THING, BOYS, IT'LL STAY BUSINESS AS USUAL ..."

Which it has ...

One more time ....

PHONEY CONTROLS notwithstanding ....

And so ...

[Livyjr]

And by way of some background ....

Savings and Loan crisis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s was a wave of savings and loan association failures in the United States in which over 1,000 savings and loan institutions failed in "the largest and costliest venture in public misfeasance, malfeasance and larceny of all time."

The ultimate cost of the crisis is estimated to have totaled around USD$150 billion, about $125 billion of which was consequently and directly subsidized by the U.S. government, which contributed to the large budget deficits of the early 1990s.

The concomitant slowdown in the finance industry and the real estate market may have been a contributing cause of the 1990-1991 economic recession.

Background

Savings and loan institutions (also known as S&Ls or thrifts) have existed since the 1800s.

They originally served as community-based institutions for savings and mortgages.

In the United States, S&Ls were tightly regulated until the 1980s.

For example, there was a ceiling on the interest rates they could offer to depositors.

In the late 1970s, many banks, but particularly S&Ls, were experiencing a significant outflow of low-rate deposits, as interest rates were driven up by Federal Reserve actions to restrict the money supply, a move Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker instituted to wring inflation out of the economy, and as depositors moved their money to the new high-interest money-market funds.

At the same time, the institutions had much of their money tied up in long-term mortgage loans that were written at fixed interest rates, and with market rates rising, were worth far less than face value.

That is, in order to sell a 5% mortgage to pay requests from depositors for their funds in a market asking 10%, a savings and loan would have to discount their asking price.

This meant that the value of these loans, which were the institution's assets, was less than the deposits used to make them and the savings and loan's net worth was being eroded.

Under financial institution regulation which had its roots in the Depression era, federally chartered S&Ls were only allowed to make a narrowly limited range of loan types.

Late in the administration of president Jimmy Carter, this range was expanded when the Federal Home Loan Bank Board eased up on some of its restrictions pertaining to S&Ls, specifically to try to remedy the impact rising interest rates were having on S&L net worth.

And it was the status of an institution's net worth that could trigger a requirement that the Federal Home Loan Bank declare an S&L insolvent and take it over for liquidation.

Also in 1980, Congress raised the limits on deposit insurance from $40,000 to $100,000 per account.

This was significant because a failed S&L by definition had a negative net worth and thus would likely not be able to pay off depositors in full from its loans.

Increasing FDIC coverage also permitted managers to take more risk to try to work their way out of insolvency so that the government would not have to take over an institution.

With that goal in mind, early in the Reagan administration, the deregulation of federally chartered S&Ls accelerated rapidly (see the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982), putting them on a more equal footing with commercial banks.

S&Ls could now pay higher market rates for deposits, borrow money from the Federal Reserve, make commercial loans, and issue credit cards.

They were also allowed to take an ownership position in the real estate and other projects to which they made loans and they began to rely on brokered funds to a considerable extent.

This was a departure from their original mission of providing savings and mortgages.

Deregulation and other causes

Although the deregulation of S&Ls gave them many of the capabilities of banks, it did not bring them under the same regulations as banks.

First, thrifts could choose to be under either a state or a federal charter.

Immediately after deregulation of the federally chartered thrifts, the state-chartered thrifts rushed to become federally chartered, because of the advantages associated with a federal charter.

In response, states (notably, California and Texas) changed their regulations so that they would be similar to the federal regulations.

States changed their regulations because state regulators were paid by the thrifts they regulated, and they didn't want to lose that money.

This is similar to the concept of a race to the bottom.

In an effort to take advantage of the real estate boom (outstanding US mortgage loans: 1950 $55bn; 1976 $700bn; 1980 $1.2tn) and high interest rates of the early 1980s, many S&Ls lent far more money than was prudent, and in risky types of ventures in which many S&Ls were not competent.

Whereas insolvent banks in the United States were typically detected and shut down quickly by bank regulators, the Congress and the Reagan Administration sought to kick the can down the road by changing regulatory rules so S&L's would not have to acknowledge insolvency and the FHLB would not have to close them down.

One of the most important contributors to the problem was deposit brokerage.

Deposit brokers, somewhat like stockbrokers, are paid a commission by the customer to find the best certificate of deposit (CD) rates and place their customers' money in those CDs.

These CDs, however, are usually short-term $100,000.00 CDs.

Previously banks and thrifts could only have five percent of their deposits be brokered deposits; the race to the bottom caused this limit to be lifted.

A small one-branch thrift could then attract a large number of deposits simply by offering the highest rate.

In order to make money off this expensive money, it had to lend at even higher rates, meaning that it had to make more risky investments.

This system was made even more damaging when certain deposit brokers instituted a scam known as "linked financing."

In "linked financing" a deposit broker would approach a thrift and say that they would steer a large amount of deposits to that thrift if the thrift would loan certain people money (the people however were paid a fee to apply for the loans and told to give the loan proceeds to the deposit broker).

This caused the thrifts to be tricked into taking on bad loans.

Michael Milken of Drexel, Burnham and Lambert packaged brokered funds for several savings and loans on the condition that the institutions would invest in the junk bonds of his clients.

Another factor was the efforts of the federal government to wring inflation out of the economy, marked by Paul Volcker's speech of October 6, 1979, with a series of rises in short-term interest.

This led to borrowing money and paying interest on deposits costing a thrift more than it could make by lending its money as home loans.

Fallout

The damage to S&L operations led Congress to act, passing a bill in September 1981 allowing S&Ls to sell their mortgage loans and use the cash generated to seek better returns; the losses created by the sales were to be amortised over the life of the loan and any losses could also be offset against taxes paid over the preceding ten years.

This all made S&Ls eager to sell their loans.

The buyers - major Wall Street firms - were quick to take advantage of the S&Ls lack of expertise, buying at 60-90% of value and then transforming the loans by bundling them as, effectively, government backed bonds (by virtue of GNMA, FHLMC, or FNMA guarantees).

S&Ls were one group buying these bonds, holding $150bn by 1986, and being charged substantial fees for the transactions.

A large number of S&L customer's defaults and bankruptcies ensued, and the S&Ls that had overextended themselves were forced into insolvency proceedings themselves.

In 1980 there were 4002 S&Ls trading, by 1983 962 of them had collapsed.

For example, in March 1985, it came to public knowledge that the large Cincinnati, Ohio-based Home State Savings Bank was about to collapse.

Ohio Gov. Richard F. Celeste declared a bank holiday in the state as Home State depositors lined up in a "run" on the bank's branches in order to withdraw their deposits.

Celeste ordered the closure of all the state's S&Ls.

Only those that were able to qualify for membership in the FDIC were allowed to reopen.

Claims by Ohio S&L depositors drained the state's deposit insurance funds.

A similar event also took place in Maryland.

The U.S. government agency Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, which at the time insured S&L accounts in the same way the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures commercial bank accounts, then had to repay all the depositors whose money was lost.

The Federal Home Loan Bank Board reported in 1988 that fraud and insider abuse were the worst aggravating factors in the wave of S&L failures.

The most notorious figure in the S&L crisis was probably Charles Keating, who headed Lincoln Savings of Irvine, California.

Keating was convicted of fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy in 1993, and spent four and one-half years in prison before his convictions were overturned.

In a subsequent plea agreement, Keating admitted committing bankruptcy fraud by extracting $1 million from the parent corporation of Lincoln Savings while he knew the corporation would collapse within weeks.

Keating's attempts to escape regulatory sanctions led to the Keating five political scandal, in which five U.S. senators were implicated in an influence-peddling scheme to assist Keating.

Three of those senators — Alan Cranston, Don Riegle, and Dennis DeConcini — found their political careers cut short as a result.

Two others — John Glenn and John McCain — were exonerated of all charges and escaped relatively unscathed.

Neil Bush, brother of President George W. Bush and son of former President George H. W. Bush, was director of Silverado Savings and Loan when the institution collapsed in 1988, costing taxpayers $1.6 billion.

Neil Bush was accused of giving himself a loan from Silverado with the cooperation of Ken Good, of Good International, although Bush stated it was not a conflict of interest.

In 1989 congress passed the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) and set up the Resolution Trust Corporation to liquidate assets of failed Savings and Loans.

See also

Fractional-reserve banking
Tax Reform Act of 1986
Cottage Savings Association v. Commissioner, a United States Supreme Court case dealing with the tax consequences of the S&L crisis

External links

FDIC: The S&L Crisis: A Chrono-Bibliography
The Cost of Savings & Loan Crisis: Truth & Consequences
Classic Financial and Corporate Scandals

References

Inside Job, by Steven Pizzo, Mary Fricker, and Paul Muolo. ISBN 0-07-050230-7
"The S&L Debacle: Public Policy Lessons for Bank and Thrift Regulation," by Lawrence White(1991)
"High Rollers: Inside the Savings and Loan Debacle" by Michael Lowy(1991)
United States v. Winstar Corp., 518 U.S. 839 (1996), a US Supreme Court case to be found on FindLaw.com that gives a concise but useful history of the crisis and the accounting practices that aggravated that crisis.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_Loan_crisis"

[Livyjr]

FROM THE WEB-EDITION OF THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION ....

Comment by John Galt — March 16, 2007 @ 7:58 am

As these continued attacks on segments of OUR citizen body by this “STEAMROLLER” who we are stuck with as governor illustrate, we really do have some quite serious problems here in the State of New York that are directly related to the elevation of POLITICS, i.e., the games that career politicians like “STEAMROLLER” Spitzer and “IRON DUKE” Joe Bruno play to hold power, above GOVERNMENT, which Black’s Law Dictionary defines as:

“That form of fundamental rules and principles by which a nation or state is governed, or by which individual members of a body politic are to regulate their social actions”

Where the BODY POLITIC is defined as:

“A SOCIAL COMPACT BY WHICH THE WHOLE PEOPLE COVENANTS WITH EACH CITIZEN, AND EACH CITIZEN WITH THE WHOLE PEOPLE, THAT ALL SHALL BE GOVERNED BY CERTAIN LAWS FOR THE COMMON GOOD”

Each day that this “STEAMROLLER” continues to make his attacks on segments of OUR society here in New York State, and each day that he is egged on in that endeavor by his partisans in the New York State Assembly and Senate is a day that takes us further and further away from, and not towards, good government here in the State of New York ….

Each day that this “STEAMROLLER” continues to proclaim himself as “THE LAW”, and each day that he is supported in this FALSE CONTENTION or ASSERTION by his partisans in the New York State Assembly and Senate is a day that takes us further and further away from, and not towards, the notion that we in fact are “governed by certain laws for the common good” ….

Because when a “STEAMROLLER” like this CORNBURY Spitzer can use the media, and his financial resources, which we common folks do not have, to single us out as objects of derision, or spite, because he chooses to, to advance his own personal political agenda, then there is no longer a “COMMON GOOD” based on common laws left to us ….

And when that “state” is reached, which it has been in my estimation as an older person out here, then we are on the road to serious decline in this state, which is a quite dangerous state of affairs for the weak and weaker among us ….

This “STEAMROLLER CORNBURY” Spitzer is way out of line with what he is attempting to do with all of this ATTACKING that he is doing from the BULLY PULPIT of the Office of Governor, and having been twice wounded in a place where there was NO LAW at all, except that from the muzzle of a weapon in the hands of whomever could shoot first, faster and straighter, I believe this seemingly unstable man from down in New York City is taking us in a very dangerous direction, back to a state of anarchy, where only the strong like him, and “BIG JOE” Bruno and their adherents and disciples and toadies and boot-lickers and such can survive …

And as any schoolchild could tell us, that brings us right on back to about where we were in 1776 ….

And so …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4082#comments

"Steamroller Spitzer's tactics may end up working against him"

Fred LeBrun, Political Analyst, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, March 18, 2007

Spitzer and the state Senate are in full battle over the future of financing health care in this state, and the governor wants to bring the war into your living room.

Again.

"I will take the argument to the people," he calmly told Times Union editors last week.

"And I will stick to the facts."

Ah, yes, the facts.

Each side seems to have a suitcase full of those.

By no means is there general agreement as to what the facts are, which makes it all the more difficult for the public to figure which side to support in this fight.

For example: the Senate, backed up by a prominent health care union and the hospital associations, claims the $1.3 billion in Medicaid cuts the governor wants will cripple hospitals, affect services and cost nursing and other health care jobs.

So the Senate wants to restore much of what the governor proposed cutting.

Nonsense, responds the governor, who claims his plan only impacts hospital budgets one half of one percent.

A negligible amount that they should be able to easily make up with efficiencies and stricter negotiations with insurance companies.

Neither jobs nor services are in jeopardy as a result.

"They have an appealing emotional argument that is not fact-based," Spitzer added, also calmly.

No question it is an appealing emotional argument; the problem is we can't be sure there isn't some substance to it as well.

We just don't know.

The first time Steamroller took his case directly to the people was over the DiNapoli appointment as state comptroller a scant month ago, although it already seems like ancient history.

In retrospect, the Legislature was more right than wrong in that heated debacle -- appointing a comptroller was their job, not his -- but the governor came out the big winner anyway in terms of public perception and public relations.

A Legislature with no credibility got tarred as being dysfunctional when it didn't deserve it.

Lord knows that there are enough times when the Legislature does deserve it, but not then.

But the public and much of the media bought it, and Spitzer capitalized on it.

But there are down sides to that victory that already are coming back to haunt him, and will serve him poorly as he fights the far greater battle ahead.

His tactics, for instance, which are those of an unyielding prosecutor, not a consensus builder, came jarringly to light.

His thin skin showed.

A strategy that personalizes attacks on those who even legitimately disagree with him emerged.

It humbled legislators, but didn't go unnoticed by the public either.

Spitzer relied on a short, blunt message that he pounded home over and over in the DiNapoli affair.

"The Legislature is dysfunctional."

"I am the reformer."

"I am right; they are wrong."

Medicaid, by sharp contrast, is an agonizingly complex that no simple message can touch.

Arguably, nearly everything that's been said by both sides could be true.

My sense is that the governor is far more right than wrong about Medicaid, but will turn out to be the short-term loser anyway.

Radical change is needed with Medicaid, and the right approach is Spitzer's shift to a patient-oriented system.

The Senate is committed to perpetuating the traditional provider-institution oriented system we now have.

Radical change, though, will affect the public as well as the Senate, and that's why Spitzer will be the loser in this round.

I'm not sure the public in the living room is ready to hear about sacrifices during this withering crossfire of facts from which no sense can be made.

Confusion of the moment works against Spitzer's progressive plan.

Too bad.

In addition, he's already poisoned the budget negotiations atmosphere with the Senate by his cocky personal style, and now he has to live with the consequences.

And while he can veto the Senate's version of a budget, Eliot Spitzer will not get everything he wants out of ensuing negotiations.

No governor ever has; no governor ever will.

Which means that regardless of his reformer mantle, and some great progressive ideas, we are apt to see that Eliot Spitzer's first state budget is more than 8 percent bigger than last year's.

That represents neither reform, nor the promised constraint, and is bound to take some of the steam out of his roller.

LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

AP New York

"Cuomo details corruption in student loan industry"

By MARK JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

March 15, 2007

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Colleges across the country are taking kickbacks from student loan companies and reaping other benefits while making it harder for students to get better deals on their loans, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo charged Thursday.

Cuomo said an investigation he began last month into the $85 billion student loan industry found numerous arrangements made to benefit schools and lenders over the students.

Cuomo said he notified more than 400 colleges and universities nationwide, including all in New York State, to end such deceptive practices.

Cuomo said he is actively investigating at least 100 schools.

Cuomo would not divulge which schools were being investigated, but they include some Ivy League institutions.

Cuomo's office is investigating at least six lenders: the nation's largest student-loan provider SLM Corp., Nelnet Inc., Education Finance Partners Inc., EduCap Inc., the College Board and CIT Group Inc.

"There is an unholy alliance between banks and institutions of higher education that may often not be in the students' best interest," Cuomo said.

"The financial arrangements between lenders and these schools are filled with the potential for conflicts of interest."

"In some cases they may break the law."

Investigators found that many colleges have established questionable "preferred lender" lists and entered into revenue sharing and other financial arrangements with those lenders.

In the process, students have been denied their choice of lender, or faced difficulty using that lender, hurting their chances of getting better loan terms, the attorney general said.

According to Cuomo, investigators found:

_Lenders pay kickbacks to schools based on a percentage of the loans directed to the lenders.

_Lenders foot the bills for all-expense-paid trips for financial aid officers to posh resorts like Pebble Beach and exotic locations.

They also provide schools with other benefits like computer systems and put representatives from schools on their advisory boards to curry favor.

_Loan companies set up funds and credit lines for schools to use in exchange for putting the lenders on their preferred lender lists and offer large payments to schools to drop out of the direct federal loan program so that the lenders get more business.

Tom Joyce, a spokesman for SLM, commonly known as Sallie Mae, said his company was cooperating with Cuomo's office and he denied participating in any of the practices being investigated.

Joyce said preferred lender lists increase competition and help drive down the cost of loans while helping students sort out the complex web of financial aid.

He noted that many private-sector lenders are now offering rates below the rate set by the federal government.

He said Sallie Mae has never paid any kickbacks to schools, nor has it flown financial aid officers to exotic locations.

The company has only flown financial aid officers to places like Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Killeen, Texas, so they could view the company's student loan processing centers, Joyce said.

George Pappas, spokesman for EduCap, said his company was supporting Cuomo's "effort to investigate these collusive practices."

"We don't engage in any of the practices with student loan departments the attorney general's office is investigating," he said.

Sandra Riley, a spokeswoman for The College Board, said her company, which runs a small loan program, is cooperating with the investigation.

Ben Kaiser, a spokesman for Nelnet, said his company has fully complied with the law and was cooperating with Cuomo's office.

"What I get out of it is parents and students should shop around and try to get the lowest interest rates and we fully support that," said Abraham Lackman, president of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.

"As long as the college is just giving recommendations and not requiring students to use a particular lender, I don't see anything wrong with it."

Lackman said preferred lenders in many cases do offer the best rates.

Cuomo disputed that, saying such lists are deceptive because "the lenders are preferred for the school, not the student."

About 90 percent of students and their families use lenders on "preferred" lists while two-thirds of college students take out loans for college, he said.

Dave Henahan, spokesman for the State University of New York System Administration, said SUNY will participate in Cuomo's investigation, and the school shares the attorney general's concern that parents and students need adequate information about how preferred lender lists are created.

"SUNY supports the Attorney General's call for full disclosure to parents and students with regard to financial aid and lending practices," Henahan said.

"No finding of deceptive or illegal practices has been made against any SUNY campus."

Last month, the attorney general requested information from more than 60 public and private colleges and universities nationwide regarding their student loan practices.

Cuomo's office has prepared a pamphlet to help students make more informed decisions on loans.

It's being distributed to every high school in New York and is posted on Cuomo's Web site.
___

On the Net:

www.oag.state.ny.us.

[Livyjr]

New York Business.com

"Cuomo warns colleges on lending practices"

By: David Jones

Published: March 15, 2007 - 4:10 pm

New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sent out letters to more than 400 colleges and universities warning the institutions to disclose or end deceptive practices in the $85 billion student loan business.

The notifications come after a five-month investigation uncovered widespread practices of kickbacks and other conflicts of interest.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer began probing financial arrangements between the schools and loan providers last November, while he was still attorney general.

Lenders, such as Sallie Mae, were found to have paid kickbacks to schools in return for getting a certain percentage of loans.

Mr. Cuomo said the AG's office found that lenders had funded all-expense-paid trips for financial aid officers and their spouses to high-end resorts, like Pebble Beach.

"There is an unholy alliance between banks and institutions of higher education that may not be in the students' best interest," said Mr. Cuomo.

"The financial arrangements between lenders and these schools are filled with the potential for conflicts of interest."

A source familiar with the probe said that some schools were getting more than $100,000 in kickbacks.

However the source said that many schools were using the funds as financial aid to attract low income and international students.

The AG said every school in New York state was sent a copy of the warning letter, which cautioned schools to ensure they were abiding by state and federal laws.

In February, Mr. Cuomo formally requested information about lending standards from 60 public and private universities.

That number has now risen to 100.

Besides Sallie Mae, Mr. Cuomo's office has requested information from Nelnet, Education Finance Partners, Educap, the College Board and CIT Group.

Sallie Mae officials said the lender was cooperating with the probe.

"Unfortunately, complaints about lender lists have been raised by a few disgruntled competitors who have failed to achieve market success due to inferior, higher-cost products," said Sallie Mae spokesman Tom Joyce.

Officials at CIT Group said it has been contacted by Mr. Cuomo's office and is cooperating with the request.

http://www.newyorkbusiness.com/apps/pbcs.d...E/70315012/1048

[Livyjr]

"Improving the Business Climate"

by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer

New York State Business Council, Bolton's Landing, NY

[As Prepared for Delivery]

September 21, 2006

Thank you, Peter, for that kind introduction, and thank you all for inviting me here today.

I want to recognize Dan Walsh and thank him for his leadership over the past 18 years as President and CEO of the Business Council.

Dan, you have been an outstanding advocate for New York's private-sector business community, and you will be missed.

I also want to welcome Ken Adams as the Business Council's new President.

Ken, I look forward to working with you to make New York the best place to do business in the world.

As Governor, I will ensure that the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform places renewed focus on breaking the regulatory logjam in the State's permitting process for new development.

It's time that our State government becomes part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Thank you.

http://www.spitzerpaterson.com/main.cfm?ac...&s=spitzer3

Reuters

"Housing 'nightmare' tarnishes the American dream"

Sunday March 18, 12:37 pm ET

By Emily Kaiser

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Jillayne Schlicke's father used to tell her that mortgage banking was the "highest calling of all" because it involved helping people live the American dream of homeownership.

"I learned how to spell 'mortgage' when I was about 6 years old."

"It was on a flash card," said Schlicke, the daughter of two mortgage bankers and co-executive director of the Ethical Lending Foundation near Seattle.

As a widening crisis over nontraditional and subprime mortgages gone bad threatens to force millions of people out of their homes, Schlicke worries that mortgage brokers are well on their way to overtaking used car salesmen on the list of professions least trusted by consumers.

"We're in ethical chaos in mortgage lending," said Schlicke, who followed in her parents' footsteps and became a mortgage banker and now teaches classes for real estate agents, lenders and consumers on ethical mortgage practices.

"All you have to do is open up your spam (e-mail) bin and you see porn spam, and you see Viagra spam, and you see mortgage spam," she said, adding that the unethical behavior of a small minority of brokers was tainting the entire industry.

"It's going to be a long road to climb out of that gutter."

After the housing market slowed in 2006 and more people fell behind on mortgage payments, the foreclosure stories became front-page news across the United States.

In the last three months of 2006, lenders began foreclosure proceedings on about one out of every 200 mortgages, the highest rate on records dating back 37 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Some 1.5 million homeowners will face foreclosure this year, research firm RealtyTrac estimates.

"An American dream has become an American nightmare," said Howard Pitkin, commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Banking.

PAYING FOR THE DREAM

Many people accepted complex mortgages to buy homes that were probably out of reach, but deals such as 100-percent financing and adjustable-rate mortgages that initially carried low monthly payments encouraged excess, critics contend.

"The quality of the loan has everything to do with this crisis," said Josh Nassar, vice president for federal affairs at the Center for Responsible Lending in Washington.

Among the biggest culprits were the so-called "2-28" loans that offered low interest rates and payments for the first two years, but then spiked up.

Many borrowers misunderstood the terms or thought they could refinance, and found themselves stuck with mortgages that they could no longer afford.

Nassar and others worry that the true cost of chasing the American dream is adding up quickly.

They say soaring foreclosure rates will rip apart lower-income communities where a disproportionate number of those loans were written.

A study released this month by a group of fair housing agencies showed that the price of homeownership was often higher for black and Hispanic borrowers.

The groups examined lending in six major cities including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago and found that black borrowers were 3.8 times more likely to receive higher-cost home loans than were white borrowers.

Hispanic borrowers were 3.6 times more likely.

"There's a lot of pain that's occurring and will occur because home ownership was sold at too great a price," said Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, one of the agencies that worked on the study.

John Taylor, president and chief executive officer of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, said foreclosure not only devastates the homeowner's credit rating, but also tends to lower the value of properties nearby.

"We're not anti-subprime."

"There's a role for them."

"They're important."

"But these exotic, nontraditional mortgages that are designed to strip wealth need to be eliminated," Taylor said.

He wants lenders to restructure loans to help people stay in their homes, and has called on the Bush administration and Congress to amend rules governing the Federal Housing Administration so that the agency could refinance subprime borrowers' loans that are in default.

For many, any changes would come too late.

Almas Sayeed, an economic policy analyst at the liberal policy group Center for American Progress, said borrowers going through foreclosure had little chance of regaining the financial footing they would need to qualify for another loan.

"This promise of home ownership starts to elude families that tried to buy a home, bought into a loan that they really couldn't afford, and once they foreclosed, the possibility of owning a home again is really, really limited," she said.

For further information on the subprime crisis, see (ID:nN14246848).

[Livyjr]

NY TIMES - The Empire Zone

"Odd World as G.O.P. Seeks More Spending"

By MICHAEL COOPER

Published: March 19, 2007

ALBANY — These are strange days in the capital.

When the Republican-led State Senate called last week for spending more in next year’s budget than did the Democratic governor, Eliot Spitzer, or the Democratic-led State Assembly, newspapers around the state marveled at what one called a political “Freaky Friday” and another termed “Bizarro world,” a nod to the alternate, topsy-turvy universe of Superman and “Seinfeld” fame.

That through-the-looking glass quality was only heightened when Michael R. Long, the chairman of the state’s Conservative Party, wrote a letter to Governor Spitzer in support of his budget, saying, “as difficult as your budget is, what the Republican-controlled Senate is proposing forces me to re-evaluate your proposals.”

Senate Republicans even held two long floor debates to get Senate Democrats to come out on record against more spending for health care and education.

All this has allowed Governor Spitzer — who proposed a $120.6 billion budget that would raise spending well above the rate of inflation, but who is calling for some politically difficult health care cuts — to portray himself as the fiscal conservative.

So what does John Faso, the former Republican assemblyman who ran against Mr. Spitzer last year as the fiscally conservative candidate, make of it all?

“I think that I laid out last year the place where the Republican Party needs to be,” he said.

“We need reform, first of all."

"We need fiscal responsibility and lower taxes."

"I don’t think any of the budget proposals out there meet those criteria.”

“But I got just under 30 percent of the vote,” said Mr. Faso, who has returned to the practice of law.

“I’m not sure New Yorkers at this point really are focused on the fiscal condition of the state in the long term.”

“No one has yet repealed the business cycle,” he said.[/size]

“None of the decision makers seem to be considering what happens if the money spigot slows down."

"That’s my concern with the level of projected spending with all the parties’ budgets.”

To Act on False Claims?

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are rejecting a proposal by the governor to create a state false-claims act for health care fraud, which encourages employees to blow the whistle on malfeasance.

The Senate argues in its budget report that such an act “would be redundant and unnecessary” because there is already a federal False Claims Act that allows the state to share in half of all fraud recoveries.

But recent federal legislation adds an incentive for states that have their own false claims acts, increasing their share of recoveries to 60 percent from 50 percent — a difference that can amount to tens of millions of dollars.

The provision was inserted into legislation by Senator Charles E. Grassley, above, an Iowa Republican, who has been a champion of false claims acts.

Republicans in the State Senate have argued that such a law would be a gift to trial lawyers, and also point to the fact that the federal government has not recognized many states’ false claims acts, considering them insufficient.

The governor and other Democrats argue that such legislation would bring more fraud cases to light and have said their proposed act is tailored to qualify for increased federal benefits.

DANNY HAKIM

A Push for Clean Energy

There may be some money coming into state coffers next year that no one is accounting for.

Under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate pact intended to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, New York State could be in a position to begin auctioning emissions allowances to power plants in January.

Those auctions could yield more than $250 million a year, officials said.

Now Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris, below — a Queens Democrat whose long interest in energy policy was heightened after the Con Edison blackout in Queens in 2006 — is calling for that money to be earmarked for energy conservation and clean energy development.

In a letter to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver that was signed by 25 colleagues, he calls for putting language in the budget to make sure the money is dedicated to energy initiatives, not closing budget holes.

“New York should set a goal of doubling energy-efficiency spending,” Mr. Gianaris wrote.

“The best way to do that would be to invest the proceeds from our sales of emissions allowances envisioned by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiatives and other emissions allowances back into energy conservation activities.”

MICHAEL COOPER

Generous Judicial Screeners

Glittering legal résumés abound among the 23 people Governor Spitzer appointed earlier this month to five screening committees that will review candidates for the state bench.

Among Mr. Spitzer’s appointments are senior partners at some of New York City’s leading law firms, eminent law-school professors and several retired state judges.

But many of the appointees have another qualification, too.

Ten of them contributed to Mr. Spitzer’s gubernatorial campaign, including the leaders of all five committees, who are selected by the governor.

(Each committee will eventually have 13 members, including members appointed by the state bar association, the leaders of the State Assembly and Senate, the attorney general and others.)

The positions are unpaid.

In total, the appointees contributed about $85,000 — small beer in the current world of gubernatorial fund-raising.

Most of that was given by two of the appointees: Robert A. Bourque, chairman of the First Judicial Department Committee, and Henry B. Gutman, who sits on the second department’s committee.

Both are partners at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; together they gave $68,500 to Mr. Spitzer during the 2006 election cycle.

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Mr. Spitzer, noted that Mr. Spitzer’s campaign supporters were motivated by his message of reform, and that those selected for the screening panels were among them.

“It’s not surprising that some of the same people who got involved, spoke out or contributed to Eliot’s reform efforts would be interested in getting involved in his administration,” she said.

NICHOLAS CONFESSORE