The Weekend That Was

[Mayor Bloomberg will visit London to view its security camera network and wants to spend $200 million on something similar for Lower Manhattan and eventually Midtown.]

Several concerns.

First of all, it’s George Orwell’s novel “1984″ in reality. The “telescreen”, with 24/7 video surveillance and the total and utter loss of privacy. This should concern libertarians. Can the Anti-Sex League, 10 minutes hate, the Minister of Truth (where actual news events and history are altered to fit the ruling party’s desires) and the Ministry of Love (where “enemies of Big Brother” are tortured) be far behind?

$200 million eh? You plan in kicking that in yourself, Mike? Aren’t you constantly pleading poverty and doing your Chicken Little dog and pony show for the legislature? Shutting down firehouses, laying off teachers and cops but you have the bucks for a glittery new video surveillance system from downtown to midtown? Which one of your buddies has the inside track for that contract?

I rode the Staten Island ferry several times as a child. Never had a problem. Never heard of a crash. Now we have two. Sign of the coming apocolypse or drinking on the job? Does anyone care about excellence at their work anymore?

New Yorkers have a right to know when our Mayor is out of the country.

We have a right to know where he was when the Staten Island ferry crashed and why he didn’t come to the site.

If he was in Bermuda, he should just say so already.

By the way, how does he promote tourism in NYC – when he gets out of the city just about every weekend?

The media must demand to know when he is leaving the country, and who is in charge in his absence.

[The furlough budget extender coming up for a vote tomorrow has an escape clause.]

It’s my understanding that state workers are supposed to be protesting the furlough proposal tomorrow, in several cities across the State.

GET BACK — IT’S A TRAP!!!

Dave’s putting the heat on YOU. No furlough? Fine, then. That must mean you prefer the lag / 4% give-back.

Stay at work, enjoy your lunch hour and let him get out the way he got in.

I believe he was just blowing smoke with the furlough scare all along. He knows that if passed, it will be met with immediate court action, and won’t go anywhere. He wants your money.

But, that’s just me.

(Rick Lazio expressed concern about favoritism at the upcoming state GOP convention.)

I guess he does not mind the “favoritism” Boss Long has shown him.

(Carl Paladino’s radio and TV ads hit the airwaves tomorrow.)

The “Socks” behind the curtain and his “Puppet” Michael Caputo will be showing off their skills with a nice media buy.

They need to close the gap in polling that shows Levy The Bold doing the best against “Defender of The Faith” Cuomo who did the smart thing and missed the LCA show.

BTW A very long long time ago “Rudy” also bomb like the Good Ship Laziostein, but he did go on the become Mayor and then bomb again when he ran for President.

The big winner this weekend was “Lord” Paterson who upstaged everyone by riding the Staten Island Ferry and spending time in Times Square.

Before there was the “Oracle at Delphi” there was Count Vampire J. Machiavelli

VJ Machiavelli
http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com
No More Schumer, Pelosi, Rangel,Engel, and Arthur Finkelstein & Co
“After Four Years of Scandals it is time for Levy/Faso/Callaghan/Garcia”

The Syracuse Post-Standard is opposed to Assemblyman Richard Brodsky’s organ donation bill.

Good. Brodksy has brass balls trying to steal my body parts the minute I croak.

People should realize that organ “donation” is a BUSINESS. There’s money to be made. Money would no doubt still be made even with presumed consent.

Ask yourself: does the recipient get the “donated” organ for free? I think not. Does the organization providing the organ get reimbursed above and beyond costs? Hmmm.

Here’s an excellent comment from the NYT by someone who was a participant in the organ “donation” business. See if you feel all warm and fuzzy about donating yourself to science after readiing it,

From the NYT (5-4-2010):

As a former organ donor coordinator for the largest organ mill in the country I absolutely oppose these people getting any more leeway in profiting off tissue.

Get it into your heads folks, the notion that this is any sort of “donation” is wholey incorrect. The profits off of tissue and bone, eyes and skin are tremendous! They are also hidden behind a single layer of “non-profit” management but the fact is once that initial “harvesting” is done, the tissue is distributed much like your local hamburger and steaks and shipped all over–even overseas. Fact.

The average take on a donation of “everything”, ie bones, skin, connective tissue and eyes, is $250,000. After that the pieces and parts are resold to insurance companies and health providers, although it certainly doesn’t appear that way from the patients viewpoint. And yes, as a nurse I understand the need.

What I oppose is the method of disengenuous consent.

My opposition to this is that families are NOT fully informed about what happens to their loved ones bodies. Please re-read that last sentence. Often, often, people picture in their minds that they are participating in a benevolent scene of brain dead patient on table and a dreamy vision of tear stains and glowing light.

The reality is 90% of these donations are not that….

{snip}

If these companies were forced to read a true informed consent statement which says, “I understand that this donation is being made to a non profit which will then sell my loved one’s tissue to insurance companies and health providers. I also understand that the person removing the tissue is not a nurse or health care provider and will remove the tissue in manner which may not be in keeping with my religious beliefs and which may violate my sensibilities gravely.” Few donations would happen because it would open up real information and cause questions to be asked.

I left my job after a short time, and after trying to convince the company to respond to the morally reprehensible procurement procedure itself, as well as the disengenuous approach to informed consent for families. I feel it is the right of families to understand exactly what happens to their loved ones in that butchering room….

http://community.nytimes.com/comments/roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/should-laws-encourage-organ-donation/?permid=189#comment189

Agree, Topo. Informed consent should be discussed. Not transparency. They’re not the same.

Topo… maybe you answered it before but I want to change my gravatar to garden 2010 and can’t remember how to do it — I went to my google account… no… not there… Maybe you answered this on another thread since the first time I set this up.

6 comments and I’m still “awaiting moderation”????

[Does anyone care about excellence at their work anymore?]

No. Everything is half-assed. Nobody wants to think too hard and look past the most superficial level of things. They’d rather be quick than right. That includes the legislature.

[6 comments and I’m still “awaiting moderation”????]

After a month, you’d think that the SoP would be running like a swiss watch. Instead, it’s running like a $5 watch bought at some NYC street fair. Let’s get our sh*t together, ynn! The break-in cruise is OVER!

Taken care of, topo. Thanks, Liz.

BTW, you are on the money.

Thanks, Topo.

I had to go to gravatar.com then into my wordpress account. Mission accomplished.