The two “Johns” of whom I write are John Liu and John Sampson. Liu is the NYC comptroller. Sampson is the state senator from Brooklyn’s 19th district. He is also the conference leader of the senate democrats. I want to believe he is actually the senate minority leader but some folks tell me that’s not official.

Anyway, both Liu and Sampson have come in for some serious ragging in mainstream media lately. I want to believe there is more to this than meets the unsuspecting naked eye.

A few columns aback I told you folks that the three major newspapers (Times, Daily News and N.Y. Post) are in the tank for NYC council speaker Christine Quinn: with the objective being to make her the next mayor of this city. They have been trying without subtlety to decimate those they perceive as her main opponents in the 2013 mayoral primary. Thus, over the last few years, they have been taking occasional pot shots at people like Marty Markowitz, Bill DiBlasio, Adolfo Carrion, Scott Stringer and Bill Thompson (don’t forget Anthony Wiener also). It is sad. These forces seem to believe that many aren’t observing all this. They are wrong in that assessment.  read more »

[Note: posted and title chosen by mole333]

WHERE IS “NEW YORK ONE” WHEN YOU NEED THEM?
An article by Rock Hermon Hackshaw, candidate for the New York City Council

Over the past decade or so, the cable television station New York One (NY1) has emerged as a prominent source for local news in this city. They break many stories. They also highlight many pressing issues facing this city; plus they permanently keep their fingers on the pulse of New York’s politics: much more so than all the other news stations here. Political junkies in this city try not to miss Dominic Carter at 7pm on weekdays; it’s a political high most nights. The “Road to City Hall” program is definitely one of the best ways to find out about the citywide races for mayor, comptroller and public advocate. It is also informative as to races for borough president, district attorney and/or city council member.  read more »

The Spitzer scandal and resignation probably still has a few days to go - Sex! Money! Power! Fall from Grace! Read All About It! - and there are a few gems in the flood of dross.

The Nation profiles incoming Governor David Paterson.

Feministing spotlights the harrowing tale of Dr. Laura Schlesinger, who has found the root cause of the Spitzer scandal: Silda.

"When the wife does not focus in on the needs and the feelings, sexually, personally, to make him feel like a man, to make him feel like a success, to make him feel like her hero, he’s very susceptible to the charm of some other woman making him feel what he needs,”

Oh, fuck you, Dr. Laura.

Scott Horton in The New Republic asks "Was the investigation of Eliot Spitzer politically motivated?" Look for that story to not be picked up by the Times, Post, News, and so on.

Just wrong: The New York Times finds the young woman at the center of the affair, complete with links to her freaking MySpace page. In contrast to the Horton piece, look for this story to be picked up by every media outlet under the sun.  read more »

New Media and Science Communication

Thursday, January 31st 7:00pm

Mount Sinai School of Medicine 1425 Madison Avenue at 98th St East Building Seminar Room

A discussion of how science is communicated effectively - and ineffectively - through emerging media outlets, such as blogging, podcasts, online multimedia, and more.

Please join:

Carl Zimmer, award-winning science writer and author

Christie Nicholson, science journalist and contributor to Scientific American's "60-Second Psych" online programming

Eliene Augenbraun, President/CEO of ScienCentral, Inc.

Eitan Glinert, Project Coordinator of "Immune Attack", a science-based video game and graduate student at MIT

Every once in a while, you stumble across a story in the lamestream media that departs from the lemming mindset of our distinguished fellows in the press to a most remarkable degree. Today's story on Rudy Giuliani in the Washington Post is such a story.

Now, we all know the legend of Saint Rudy the Watchful, endlessly retold by every media outlet that can afford the newsprint: how he planted his 200-foot-tall hulking frame at The Narrows, ever on the watch against Islamist evildoers. How he would have leaped across Manhattan in a single bound to stop the planes hitting on 9/11, if that dastardly Bill Clinton hadn't had him under a mind-control spell. How siting his Emergency Command Center in the World Trade Center was just a ruse that Osama, of course, fell for.

The filthy iconoclasts at WaPo desecrate the national legend by offering up some chilling observations about Hizzoner's actual tenure, and how it's somewhat at odds with what he's saying now as he runs for higher office.  read more »