(Source - AP)
Caption or photoshop this scene, top entries will be posted on Monday (7/23). 

Click on Read More for previous contests.

Runner Up (1 point) - "Yes, Joe, those are your hands." - Behold a Pale Horse

Click on Read More for the Winning entry!

From the Journal News:

Assemblyman Michael Spano's decision to become a Democrat angered local Republicans, but the Yonkers lawmaker is already being welcomed into his new party with few questions asked. Spano's moderate voting history - which includes support for abortion rights and minimum wage increases - and his already-close ties to Democratic lawmakers have party leaders predicting a smooth transition to his new role as a member of the Assembly's majority. "He's gonna fit right in," said Assemblyman Adam Bradley, D-White Plains, who added that Spano, even though he was a Republican, often worked in unison with Westchester County's Democratic-controlled Assembly delegation. "For me, this is too bad, because I was always able to use Mike as an example when they said I always voted with (Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver)," Bradley joked. "And I'd give my statistics and I'd be at 97 percent or at 96 percent (with Silver) and Mike would be at 95 percent." ... "You can't say anything is 100 percent, but I would expect that he would be the party nominee," said Westchester Democratic Chairman Reginald LaFayette. "He's an incumbent with a voting record that falls in line with the Democratic Party of New York state."

Update on the Rockaway Republican‘s Club, July 10th Party / Fundraiser for the Queens 23rd Assembly District for State Committee.

A good time was had by all, nothing beats live entertainment and it’s at it best when performed by fellow club member Ed Deacy. While Jane Deacy greeted and thanked folks for coming, Eric Ulrich was busy collecting and going over the petition sheets. The total count of petitions gathered up to now stands at app. 850.

Mr. Phil Ragusa, Chairman of the Queens County Republican Party sent representatives to deliver the an official letter stating the endorsement of Queens County for our candidates.

After expenses $450. was raised to help their campaign. The bar stayed active till app.11pm

From http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/07/new_york_times_bond_rating_cut.html

"How much longer will Pinch Sulzberger's family allow him to drive the family fortune into the ground? Under his leadership, the company has not only turned to the hard left editorially, it has committed a series of business blunders imperiling their prosperity.

We reported in March that the company was in danger of having its bond rating cut to just one step above junk bond status. According to this, Standard & Poor's has now made that ratings cut. This will mean that many bond funds will be unable to purchase NYTCo debt,Pinch Sulzberger meaning that the company will have to pay sharply higher interest rates on its borrowings. I have labeled this process the "slow motion business collapse" of the company."

From the Journal News:

Assemblyman Mike Spano, the brother of former state Sen. Nicholas Spano and a member of an iconic Yonkers Republican family, will switch parties today and become a Democrat, said Westchester Democratic Party Chairman Reginald LaFayette. The party switch will be announced at a press conference at 11:30 a.m. today at Westchester Democratic Party Headquarters in White Plains, LaFayette said. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, is expected to attend.

FYI: This post has nothing to do with politics, just a little humor to start your day. I try and read Newsday's free daily AMNY every morning, it's like my cup of joe.  When they turn over the pages to everyday people, it becomes utterly comical.  If you are clueless at what I'm talking about, check out their "Letters to the editor" section and take a drink each time you read the word "impeach".

Today, the lead story in AMNY is about a pill that claims to curb addictions like smoking, drinking, and voting Democratic. Well the last one still has to be tested on lab rats. AMNY went to the street to ask people on the  what they think of a pill that could end their addiction to harmful things like smoking and drinking...well just check this out.

Is smoking safe? 

Have you seen this man? He's been missing (from the political scene) for about five years.

He is Ray Harding, the former chairman of the NYS Liberal Party. Harding was one of the most powerful political bosses in the city.

He reached the height of his influence during the 1990s when he backed Rudy Giuliani's successful campaigns for mayor. Harding became one of Mayor Giuliani's top advisors and supports. Harding was often a guest on NY1.

Giuliani left office on Jan. 1, 2002. Harding, perhaps foolishly, did not endorse Mike Bloomberg. In 2002, the Liberal Party lost its place on the state ballot and went out of business.

So where did Harding go? I know his son, Russell Harding, also a Giuliani staffer, had some legal problems, including one worthy of Dateline's "To Catch a Predator" series. (See http://edition.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/17/giuliani.exaide.ap/)

Is Ray Harding involved with the newly-resurrected Liberal Party? Is he playing a role in Giuliani's campaign for president or even supporting him?

This plan, created by a large group of urban "experts" and organized by Sen. Schumer, was published a few months before 9-11. Although some of it has been addressed by Mayor Bloomberg's administration, most of it has been left incomplete.

In justifying any Congestion Pricing Plan, the Mayor will need to address why we should be so focused on Manhattan south of 86th Street as the way to preserve economic prosperity in NYC when the other 4 boroughs could be used in the following way.

Group of 35

To address the impending shortage, the report recommends implementing a five-part commercial development strategy which includes:

NY1 is reporting that the police raided Queens Councilman Dennis Gallagher's district office. There was no indication on what they were looking for and what Gallagher is suspected of, if anything.

Gallagher is one of three Republicans on the NYC Council and considered a candidate for Padavan's or Maltese's seat in the future (should they still be available as open seats.)

Bob Grant, the legendary New York radio talkmeister, has spoken up to condemn the hapless incompetence that comprises the neoconservative agenda in the Middle East.  Grant, who has entertained New York radio audiences for nearly 40 years, and is semi-retired, was acting as a replacement host on News Talk Radio WABC 770AM.

Grant bravely broke ranks with has become the "mainstream" conservative media view of such formerly conservative media outlets as the National Review,  the Wall Street Journal editorial page, WABC Radio and others.  Those outlets, whose changes in editorial viewpoint often coincided with a change of ownership,  have almost uniformly drunk the neoconservative Kool-Aide that the Middle East can somehow be transformed by force of arms.  Even old-school conservatives like James Baker III, Bush 41's Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Aministration, take hits from the new purportedly "conservative" media. 

Grant discussed the situation in Iraq with a journalist who accurately described the neoconservative agenda to invade Iraq, Iran, and Syria as the continuation of Trotskyism, the philosophy of continuous, never-ending revolution.  (One writer for the National Review Online even went so far as to write an ode of praise to the murderous Trotsky, saying, inter alia, "[T]o my last breath I will defend ... Trotsky...".  No word on how the writer feels about Pol Pot, Idi Amin, or Dr. Mengele.)

For neoconservatives, the reason Communism failed is that the "right" people weren't in charge of it.  Richard Perle, who had been beating the drum for an Iraq War for a decade before 9/11, ended up condemning the president and the Bush Administration for the conduct of the war that he so strongly advocated.    (You see, if only the neoconservatives were in charge, everything would be good.)

Al Gore's recent Scare Tactics in the Times.

But there's something even more precious to be gained if we do the right thing. The climate crisis offers us the chance to experience what few generations in history have had the privilege of experiencing: a generational mission; a compelling moral purpose; a shared cause; and the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict of politics and to embrace a genuine moral and spiritual challenge.

Richard Bennett, a reader of Best of the Web-Today writes:

Mr. Gore clearly lays out his driving force and what he offers to the world: "a compelling moral purpose; a shared cause; and . . . a genuine moral and spiritual challenge." The entire man-caused climate change racket is a new secular religion that is used to help a drifting generation feel better about itself. Feeling guilty about their prosperity, confused by a world that seems to resent them, and perplexingly empty after having jettisoned the religion of their parents, the Climatists search for something to make them feel better.
But here is the irony: nearly 500 years after Copernicus took man out of the center of the universe and placed the sun firmly at the center of our little planetary system, the new secular religionists are trying to put man back at the center as the cause of everything. In order to feel good about themselves, they need to feel that man is causing all negative change and only Enlightened Man (Homo goriens) can make it right. Only by listening to, and following, our modern Moses in form of Al Gore can we reach the Promised Land. Welcome to the new Middle Ages, all you have to do is believe!

It is a truly stupefying feat of react

In Today’s NY Post, the Mayor has attempted to explain his congestion pricing plan to the city. Let’s go over his justifications for the plan to see if it makes sense.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has already expressed strong support for our congestion-pricing proposal. In fact, they have indicated New York City can get up to $400 million to $500 million in federal funds to start a three-year pilot program.

Seems to me that 1) The Dept of Transporation hasn’t approved the plan, but expressed strong support, whatever that means. So we essentially could rush to get this done and get no funding; 2) This will be a pilot program, of which the next administration or congress could deem unworthy three years from now and cut off funding.

Time is running out on this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

This is a scare tactic, nothing more. Even with Albany as dysfunctional as it is, we here in NYC don’t want to live under one man rule. Any plan of this magnitude should have the opportunity to have hearings and discussions before being passed. Seems the Mayor would just prefer to have everyone trust his “great judgement” that this is a good idea.

(Source - AP)
Summer break is over!  Caption or photoshop this scene, top entries will be posted on Monday (7/16). 

Click on Read More for previous contests.

Runner Up (1 point) - World championship co-ed sumo wrestling competition begins in New York. - quickjustice

Click on Read More for the Winning entry!

As the Staten Island Advance is reporting on its' website,(http://blog.silive.com/advanceupdate/2007/07/prominent_attorney_john_damato.html),prominent Staten Island Republican attorney John D'Amato (http://statenlaw.com/attyBiog.jsp?x=1114827&y=1114819&z=939547) passed away today at age 51. A devoted family man, John had recently been appointed New York City chairman for Rudy Giuliani's Presidential campaign. He was also serving as Finance Chairman for the re-election campaign of Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan. He was a friend of many charitable causes in the Staten Island community and was an invaluable asset to many New York Republicans. He will be sorely missed.

I heard the interview between Sean Hannity and then attorney general Eliot Spitzer several years ago in which Spitzer threatened to "bring the full power of the state" against Sean for asking Spitzer if he had even bothered to read a certain book about Bill and Hillary Clinton. Now Spitzer is doing the same thing to Joe Bruno by having the state police track every one of Bruno's moves. I don't know about you, but this sounds like police state/bully tactics to me. I guess after a six month period of apparently accomplishing NOTHING, Governor Spitzer wants to "steam roll" (i.e., intimidate) Bruno, a political opponent. Spitzer has not meted out the same treatment, however, to State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. That is probably because Shelly has "D" after his name instead of an "R". Can Spitzer fall even lower? But don't blame me: I voted for Faso.

Join us for First Thursday, the Met Club's informal social event. $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers includes all refreshments. Met Club, 122 East 83rd Street, just west of Lexington.

Over the next two weeks, political party leadership will be decided across most of New York City. There are no elections scheduled, however, nearly all candidates who correctly file their petitions for the 2007 primary elections will be elected as a result of a current shortage of candidates in New York.

In an effort to remedy this situation, Grassroots Initiative is providing free assistance to any individuals interested in running. There are County Committee seats up for election in all five boroughs, as well as District Leader (the next step up) and State Committee positions. County committee seats do not require a significant time commitment and are a good starting point for individuals who interested in developing their political influence or seeing their community better represented.

To get your name on the ballot, you will need to collect signatures (approximately 20 on average) and file your paperwork with the Board of Elections prior to July 19th. Interested candidates should contact Grassroots Initiative ASAP by email at info@gograssroots.org or by phone at (212) 379-1274 x214. More information is also available online at www.gograssroots.org

by Jim Kouri, CPP

Twenty-two known Nuestra Familia/Nuestra Raza/Northern Structure/Norteno gang members and associates have been nabbed as a result of a nearly two year investigation by the Stockton Violent Crimes Task Force (SVCTF), a FBI-led Safe Streets Task Force which consists of agents from the FBI and officers from the Stockton Police Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The Task Force also had assistance from the San Joaquin County Metro Narcotics Task Force comprised of officers from the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement and the Manteca Police Department.

Other agencies assisting included the Merced County Sheriff's Office, Los Banos Police Department, the Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force, and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.

Federal arrest warrants within the Eastern District of California were executed in Stockton, Hanford, Merced, Los Banos, Orangevale, Dos Palos and Manteca. Additional investigation and arrests of Nuestra Familia/Nuestra Raza/Northern Structure/Norteno gang members and associates were made in San Francisco, Castroville, Salinas, Greenfield, Petaluma, and Fremont by the North Central Coast Gang Task Force with assistance from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Salinas Police Department, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, Watsonville Police Department, San Francisco Police Department, Fremont Police Department Petaluma Police Department, Capitola Police Department and Marina Police Department.

One individual was arrested by the Los Angeles Division of the FBI in Moreno Valley. Federal search warrants were executed in eight locations within the Eastern District of California, nine within the Northern District of California and one within the Central District of California.

The investigation focused on the Mario Diaz drug trafficking organization whose members are presently involved in the distribution of large amounts of illegal narcotics, including methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy, throughout the Eastern and Northern Districts of California with supply lines from Mexico and distribution channels reaching to eastern cities, to include Warren, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia.