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27 Jan 2012 14:52

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U.S.: Erin Brokovich investigating mystery disease affecting high schoolers

  • We don’t have all the answers, but we are suspicious. They have not ruled everything out yet. The community asked us to help and this is what we do.
  • Activist Erin Brokovich • Banking on her getting-to-the-bottom-of-stuff reputation to help a bunch of Le Roy, N.Y., high school students who have developed Tourette’s-style verbal and facial tics, in the wake of evidence of a toxic chemical spill near their high school 42 years ago. Regarding the claims, the school district said that “medical and environmental investigations have not uncovered any evidence that would link the neurological symptoms to anything in the environment or of an infectious nature,” but Brokovich plans to investigate anyway, saying that there are some significant holes in regulatory testing records. She previously exposed a toxic chemical cleanup in California that built her evil-chemical-company-fighting reputation and became a Julia Roberts movie, in case you were wondering where you heard that name before.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2011 21:25

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U.S.: Andrew Cuomo sure flies around a lot using taxpayer money

  • bad A little while back, cost-cutting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got a lot of crap over taking a helicopter to his son’s softball game. He ended up repaying the costs of the plane ride, but he didn’t apologize, claiming that it was important for him to be a good father.
  • worse Now, his neighbor directly to the north, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is facing similar scrutiny, but in his case, he used state aircraft to fly 19 times between his girlfriend’s place in Westchester and his job in Albany. Should we judge him for this? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jun 2011 16:22

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Politics: Fervor over gay marriage vote grows in NY as state senate stalls

  • Still waiting on history: Protests and passions have continued to flare as the New York state senate has still not yet resolved the gay marriage bill before it. The AP is reporting that Wednesday might be the decisive day, but it’s not certain — legislative schedules change dynamically, as they did last week when it rumors swirled that Friday would bring a vote for the bill. Also of note in this video is the New York Giants’ Super Bowl hero of a few seasons ago, David Tyree, giving one of the most common, irritating arguments against gay marriage; if marriage is one way for a long time, why change it? This argument’s been used in other cases, of course — ones which most people now view as pretty dubious. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 14:23

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U.S.: NY gay marriage bill to set a precedent about the issue

  • This is not about religion, this is about civil rights.
  • Sharon Baum, a protester for gay marriage in New York • Describing her take on the gay marriage situation. (Another take, from 80-year-old Ginny Winn: “If this passes, we will become Sodom and Gomorrah.”)Tension is growing as the bill to legalize gay marriage hits in a critical stage — one that requires at least some Republican support to make it happen. It’s a key battleground state for the gay rights movement: If gay marriage passes in New York, there’s a good chance it will set a precedent that other states will follow the Empire State’s lead. A large number of people on both sides of this bill have come forward to protest a decision that could go either way at this point. Keep an eye on this today, guys. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 23:47

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Biz: Home foreclosure backlogs laughably long in some states

  • 62 year backlog for foreclosures in New York state (no really) source
  • » And they’re far from alone: Nearby New Jersey has a backlog stretching back a solid 49 years, and noted foreclosure mecca Florida has a decade-long backlog. A big reason? The courts are overworked on this issue and can only handle so many cases. But even in the 27 states where courts aren’t involved, the wait is often still significant — at least a year in many cases. Beyond the courts, the entire system is overworked — and lenders seem to be in no rush to add any more repossessed houses to their balance sheet.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2011 17:12

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Politics: New York senate may vote on marriage equality soon

  • New York close to marriage equality: As it stands now, New York could become the 6th state to legalize gay marriage, if they can convince just one more Republican state senator to support it. The problem is that in situations when one legislator’s vote tips the balance, that person might get labeled as having cast “the deciding vote.” The question is what a Republican on the fence fears more: conservative backlash against gay marriage support, or the ire of pro-equality advocate groups (58% of New Yorkers support gay marriage). It’s possible this could get a vote tomorrow — we’ll be following it. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jun 2011 17:31

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Politics: So, when does a scandal force a political resignation?

  • then New York Rep. Chris Lee was caught in a very embarrassing position when it was revealed that he’d sent a shirtless photo of himself to a woman he met on Craigslist. Lee immediately resigned, giving way to the recent special election in NY-26.
  • now Anthony Weiner admitted he was lying, and carried out a number of sexy online relationships, sending not just a shirtless photo of himself (jeez, he looks good for 46), but a photo of him in his boxers. He will not be resigning. Chris Lee never knew it was this easy! source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

25 May 2011 10:19

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Politics: Paul Ryan: This special election not a referendum on my plan

  • I saw the ads. I saw burning people’s Medicare cards. If you can scare seniors into thinking that their current benefits are being affected, that’s going to have an effect. And that is exactly what took place here. So yes, yes, it’s demagoguery, it’s scaring seniors.
  • Rep. Paul Ryan • Blaming Democrat Kathy Hochul’s win in New York’s 26th House District on scare tactics, rather than the New York Times’ line (“a referendum on the Paul Ryan Medicare plan”). Ryan also blamed Jack Davis, a third-party guy that siphoned votes from the GOP’s Jane Corwin: “When a Democrat runs as a third party, tea party candidate and spends a couple million dollars, it’s going to have an effect,” he says. A few things here:  Remember how the guy in this district — a Republican, mind you — resigned, leading to the special election? You don’t think that could’ve had an effect on things? That’s a question for both Ryan and the NYT. Also, to Ryan’s point about Davis: There were four candidates in this election, and we’re sure Ian Murphy (while a minor candidate) siphoned some votes from Hochul as well. (Also, we’re sure this stunt of Murphy’s hurt Corwin’s election chances too.) Either way, Paul kind of has a personal stake — Jack Kemp, who gave Ryan his first job, long represented this district. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 May 2011 23:17

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U.S.: Upset: Dem Kathy Hochul wins GOP House seat in special election

The NYT portrayed her win in a conservative NY district as a statement on Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan. They didn’t mention Scott Walker prankster Ian Murphy’s 1 percent of the vote. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Feb 2011 18:55

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Politics: Republican Congressman quits amidst Craigslist scandal

Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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