(Note: Cross-posted from my website)

One standard effect among magicians is misdirection. They make you look in one place while they’re busy fooling you somewhere else. The same practice is common among politicians.

As Mayor Bloomberg “holds a hearing” prior to signing his bill extending term limits, everyone’s attention – especially that of the press – will be focused on the Blue Room at City Hall. Meanwhile, something sinister will be happening down at 40 Rector Street; the Campaign Finance Board (CFB) will almost certainly be breaking the law.

Before the City Council voted to extend term limits, many Council members were planning to run for higher office. To that end, they had been spending a lot of money. If they decide instead to run for a third term, they will not be eligible for matching funds, because they will not be able to stay under the spending limits that come with matching funds.

That’s not really a problem. What is the problem? Read on...

Liz Benjamin reports that the Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization that is prohibited by their 501(c)3 status from engaging in political activities (such as supporting the mayor's power grab), may have been engaging in political ... well, you get the idea.

Putting two and two together, it is now obvious that the 50-60 people who filled the front rows at the term limits hearing on Thursday were Doe Fund people whom Mayor Bloomberg paid to sit there, holding preprinted signs, and claiming (as several did when I asked what group they belonged to) that they were only there as individuals.

This being the case, the leaders of the Doe Fund, especially President George McDonald, should be fired, and Mayor Bloomberg's activities should be investigated for possible criminal and conflict of interest violations.

I can only hope that Daily News reporters who have begun looking into this scandal finish the job, rather than giving up because it's not easy to get the facts.

As I walked in to the hearing just before noon (over an hour before its scheduled start), I noticed about 50-60 people filling the first few rows on the right side of the aisle, and just behind the two "reserved" rows on the left. They were all holding preprinted signs, and were clearly an organized group. I asked several of them which group they were with -- they all answered that they were there on their own, except one, who didn't answer at all.

When I questioned whether they were ashamed to admit which group they were with, one woman who also falsely claimed not to be with the group (or any group) tried to take me to task for it.

Seriously, it's bad enough for the mayor to try to shove a power grabbing bill down our throats, but to fill a significant portion of the overcrowded hearing room with a bunch of paid, lying lackeys is beyond the pale. Whatever one may think of his record to-date as mayor, this in my opinion disqualifies him from ever holding public office.

Shame on you, Michael Bloomberg.

(Note: Cross-posted from my website.)

In show business a standard phrase is, “Timing is everything.” The same goes for many other fields, including politics. The timing on Mayor Bloomberg’s quest for a third term must be questioned, because it is so easily questionable.

It may be considered merely convenient that the financial meltdown that led to all the speculation of a third Bloomberg term occurred when it did. But the meltdown didn’t happen overnight, and speculation has built for months – even years. The convenience of the timing is clearly not coincidental, but the result of careful planning.

How is the timing convenient? It is too late to put a referendum on the ballot for this year’s general election, when most New Yorkers will go to the polls. Waiting until next November would be too late for this mayor. Setting up a special election is possible under New York law, but it would be expensive, and the activists who are far more likely to vote, and far more likely to vote against the mayor’s proposal, might just have enough to defeat the proposal.

(Note: This is cross-posted on my website.)

During the several centuries of the Roman Republic, their constitution allowed for the occasional appointment of a Dictator, or Magister Populi ("Master of the People"). Dictators were appointed by one of two Consuls, who served together for a single one-year term. In times of emergency, when it was believed that a single person should be in charge, a Consul could appoint someone as Dictator for a single six-month term.

The first Dictator was Titus Larcius Flavus, appointed in 501 BCE. Over the next three centuries, dozens of Dictators were appointed, served their six-month terms, and then stepped down. After the Dictatorship of Gaius Servilius Geminus in 202 BCE, the practice fell out of favor for 120 years.

Then, in 82 BCE, Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, known as Sulla, got himself appointed Dictator. This time, however, he didn't step down after six months, but extended his term. This marked the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic.

From the flyer:

The People Have Spoken Coalition

Join Us

(Note: This is cross-posted from my website).

In light of the current economic difficulties, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed extending term limits so that he can keep his job past the end date set by voters. He should be ashamed of himself. Christine Quinn, the Speaker of the City Council, appears to be supporting this effort; she should be ashamed too.

Mayor Bloomberg is known for not making definite statements until he's ready to do so. It is difficult, therefore, to pin him down on opposing an extension of term limits. For example, he has been reported as saying that he doesn't remember how he voted on the two term limits referenda in the 90s.* In that same article, he was directly quoted as saying that he "always thought term limits were a good idea," but also that, "You can debate how many terms that should be."