Thursday, February 28, 2013

Cuomo Presidential Ambitions Eclipsed by Hillary’s Giant Shadow - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Cuomo Presidential Ambitions Eclipsed by Hillary’s Giant Shadow - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Owing to the proliferation of conventional and social media, political campaigns are unending. Politico's already begun writing about a potential Gov. Andrew Cuomo vs. Hillary Clinton faceoff in the 2016 presidential primary.

So has the New York Times. Cuomo's aspirations are in limbo until Mrs. Clinton makes a decision, leaving the New York governor to focus on reelection in 2014. But that focus on New York State issues may be a sign that Cuomo is resigned to regional rather than national prominence. Cuomo seized upon the Newton tragedy to make the toughest gun laws in the country even tougher. New York State currently requires the registration of all handguns, even those kept at home.

On other fronts, Cuomo has stalled "fracking" in an appeal to the party's left. He hasn't made clear a final position, perhaps keeping that a hole card to play out at the right time. Still, with a political pedigree and deep roots in New York politics, Cuomo is the "man who would be king." Facts indicate that a major obstacle stands in Cuomo's way: Hillary Clinton.

Pro-Gun Rally Hits Cuomo - WSJ.com

Pro-Gun Rally Hits Cuomo - WSJ.com

Another anti-Cuomo rally is set for Albany today.   The extreme position Gov. Cuomo has taken on gun control could sink his 2016 dreams as more Democrats plead for a moderate Democrat to represent them nationally.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Put Blue-Collar Workers on Endangered Species List in Upstate New York - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Put Blue-Collar Workers on Endangered Species List in Upstate New York - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Put Blue-Collar Workers on Endangered Species List in Upstate New York

‘Blade Runner’ Defense Attorney Put Cops on Trial to Free Pistorius - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

‘Blade Runner’ Defense Attorney Put Cops on Trial to Free Pistorius - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

A third strike by the defense and the legendary runner will be able to resume life as the hero who triumphed over impossible odds to secure a berth in sports history. The first line of The Guardian account spelled trouble for the case in general, as it sub-headlined "lead detective taken off case after attempted murder charges."

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Cuomo’s ‘Pension Smoothing’ Just Another Name for ‘Vote Hustling’ - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Cuomo’s ‘Pension Smoothing’ Just Another Name for ‘Vote Hustling’ - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Cuomo's plan is to lower worker contributions to the pension and to mandate a standard contribution rate across the entire state. This upends local control and responsibility, but that seems to be the point. Cuomo says his plan will balance over a 25-year period of economic ups and downs, but if it doesn't, then who will be around 25 years from now to complain about it?

Miner correctly points out that the uniform contributions are not a cure-all for the state's pension and benefit debt. Cuomo's uniform contribution rate plan is much like Social Security's FICA tax, also uniform, also spread over eons of time, and we all know how that's working out.

Factbox: Similar Facts, Different Conclusions in Death of Reeva Steenkamp - Yahoo! News

Factbox: Similar Facts, Different Conclusions in Death of Reeva Steenkamp - Yahoo! News

What is the prosecution version of events?

The prosecutor's version is that Steenkamp fled to the bathroom in fear, that Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs, marched to the toilet where Steenkamp was hiding, and fired the fatal shots through the door. The prosecutor's "premeditation" case is atypical, in that the only planning and deliberation involved occurred in the bedroom.

Pistorius allegedly decided to kill Steenkamp just before he "walk(ed) seven meters" across the bedroom with his gun, and fired into the small locked toilet room.

 "Why would a burglar lock himself into a toilet?" prosecutor Gerrie Nel was quoted as saying in the New York Times article.

Factbox: Similar Facts, Different Conclusions in Death of Reeva Steenkamp - Yahoo! News

Factbox: Similar Facts, Different Conclusions in Death of Reeva Steenkamp - Yahoo! News

What is the prosecution version of events?

The prosecutor's version is that Steenkamp fled to the bathroom in fear, that Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs, marched to the toilet where Steenkamp was hiding, and fired the fatal shots through the door. The prosecutor's "premeditation" case is atypical, in that the only planning and deliberation involved occurred in the bedroom.

Pistorius allegedly decided to kill Steenkamp just before he "walk(ed) seven meters" across the bedroom with his gun, and fired into the small locked toilet room.

 "Why would a burglar lock himself into a toilet?" prosecutor Gerrie Nel was quoted as saying in the New York Times article.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Dead or Alive, Chris Dorner Haunts the American Psyche - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Dead or Alive, Chris Dorner Haunts the American Psyche - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

AlterNet carries an account of the intentional burning scenario largely consistent with others of its type. A YouTube audio carries scanner audio of police communications regarding remote-operated vehicles, "blood spatter" inside the cabin, and snippets of reference to a "plan."

"We're going forward with the plan…like we talked about," someone says on the scanner audio," followed by "burners deployed, and we have a fire."

How much the scanner audio points to any one conclusion is a matter of interpretation. San Bernardino Sheriff John McMahon, seen in this YouTube video, disputes that police intentionally burned the cabin.
"We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," he said.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Jury Should Explain How it Arrived at ‘Murder Two’ in Figoski Killing - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Jury Should Explain How it Arrived at ‘Murder Two’ in Figoski Killing - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Here's what happened, according to a New York Daily News account, when a crew planned to rob a drug dealer in the basement of a Brooklyn apartment building.

One of people who lived there heard the ruckus and called police. While trying to escape, Pride says he collided with Figoski, stumbled, and accidentally fired a round into Figoski's face.

Prosecutors tend not to believe in the miraculous, even less when suspect has a lengthy criminal record. But a first-degree murder conviction depended on what the jury believed. The jury of 10 men and two women ruled out first-degree murder.

You have to marvel at the jurors' love of fantasy. They wanted to pretend Pride didn't know how his gun worked.

A Daily News report says that Pride's accomplice, Ariel Tejada, testified he had "racked" the pistol before entering the basement. Tejada's testimony shows an awareness of intent and a familiarity with handguns. "Racking" meant operating the pistol slide to move a bullet from the magazine to the gun's chamber. You can learn at least that much from listening to gangster rap.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Factbox: Tesla CEO Elon Musk vs. New York Times Car Review - Yahoo! News

Factbox: Tesla CEO Elon Musk vs. New York Times Car Review - Yahoo! News

The Great Electric Car Challenge is about to begin, as the New York Times reports that the Tesla-S model it test drove didn't live up to its advertising in cold weather. The conclusion drawn by car expert John Broder didn't sit well with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who claimed the newspaper's auto reviewer had "faked" the test. The looming question is whether electric cars will work in the cold northeast. Broner planned to drive from Washington to Boston, but claimed he had to stop at a Dunkin' Donuts to warm his hands and be towed to a charging station. Let's look at some of the facts of this budding public brouhaha:

Monday, February 11, 2013

Dorner Case Tests the LAPD - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Dorner Case Tests the LAPD - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

A photo of a bullet-riddled truck accompanying a story in the Los Angeles Times shows how badly things went wrong. The two women were delivering newspapers in the early morning hours when their pickup truck was mistaken for that of the fugitive.

Jittery police opened fire. Bullet entry holes in the back of the blue truck lead to a single conclusion. It will be nearly impossible to make that mistake right no matter what extenuating circumstances investigators find.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Factbox: Suspected Cop-killer Christopher Dorner Boasts of Tactical Superiority - Yahoo! News

Factbox: Suspected Cop-killer Christopher Dorner Boasts of Tactical Superiority - Yahoo! News

Suspected Los Angeles cop-killer Christopher Dorner doesn't fit the media profile of a crazed murderer. He's a former police officer, an honorably discharged officer in the Naval Reserve, and a man with grievances against the Los Angeles Police Department. Dorner's lengthy manifesto was posted with named individuals on the site Crimes, Guns, and Videotape. While it reads like a resume of martial skills, it is also a political diatribe. Dorner's ramblings exhibit media-consciousness, a sense of persecution, and a liberal political philosophy. Dorner's "manifesto" is a touchy-feely justification for indiscriminate murder. The facts to date are chilling:

What Set Dorner Off?

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Due Process Laws Don't Apply to Battlefield Situations - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Due Process Laws Don't Apply to Battlefield Situations - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

By this writing, I hereby bequeath to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) the legal authority to strike me down with a Predator drone should I ever become a "senior operational leader of Al Qaida" or "its associated forces."
I don't believe constitutional due process laws apply to battlefield situations, whether the president is named George Bush or Barack Obama.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Factbox: Advanced Speculation on 2014 New York City Mayor’s Race - Yahoo! News

Factbox: Advanced Speculation on 2014 New York City Mayor’s Race - Yahoo! News

* New York Magazine analyzed Public Advocate Bill De Blasio's chances of defeating Quinn in the Democratic primary but NPR host Scott Simon wondered if "his family life has gotten more attention than maybe he wanted," the reason being his wife's "I am a Lesbian" treatise from the 1970s, reported in the New York Post.