I find your lack of direction... disturbing. Therefore, Darth Vader is the perfect voice to run your GPS.
If you're using a Tom Tom GPS, that is. It isn't available for the Garmin.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 110
While much of the focus is on the Cordoba House project two blocks north (despite the fact that two other mosques are within walking distance of Ground Zero), progress continues on the Freedom Tower. And yes, the whole mess with the Cordoba House has gotten to the point where President Obama not only had to chime in, but then had to play it both ways. What a way to take a principled stand, where the US Constitution protects the proponent's right to build, just as surely as it protects the rights of everyone else to complain about it being built. That's one of the foundations of this great nation.
But as to why so many people are opposed to the project, maybe it has to do with the fact that so many people have gotten their information from a media that continues to botch the facts. That goes for Charles Krauthammer too, who ought to know better.
Moreover, the same people who claim that the mosque doesn't belong near Ground Zero (that is when they aren't conflating matters by claiming the mosque will be in Ground Zero) don't care that there's a strip club about the same distance from Ground Zero or that millions of square feet of office space are set to rise from Ground Zero - the space where nearly 3,000 people were murdered.
Despite all the focus elsewhere, the Freedom Tower is growing about three stories every week.
Right now, it's 34 stories tall, and the tower cranes are starting to peek over the Battery Park City buildings, which means that it wont be long before the tower itself is visible from across the Hudson River.
The Port Authority's photo stream is here. This photo shows the WTC Memorials and the footprints coming to fruition. If you're at street level, you can't see what's going on around the site because of the updated blue wraps that deter people from looking into the site. That includes the Santiago Calatrava designed transit hub for PATH.
Most of the work around Ground Zero is still below ground level, but 1WTC (Freedom Tower) and 4WTC (diagonally across the site) are rising with new steel added daily.
But as to why so many people are opposed to the project, maybe it has to do with the fact that so many people have gotten their information from a media that continues to botch the facts. That goes for Charles Krauthammer too, who ought to know better.
Moreover, the same people who claim that the mosque doesn't belong near Ground Zero (that is when they aren't conflating matters by claiming the mosque will be in Ground Zero) don't care that there's a strip club about the same distance from Ground Zero or that millions of square feet of office space are set to rise from Ground Zero - the space where nearly 3,000 people were murdered.
Despite all the focus elsewhere, the Freedom Tower is growing about three stories every week.
Right now, it's 34 stories tall, and the tower cranes are starting to peek over the Battery Park City buildings, which means that it wont be long before the tower itself is visible from across the Hudson River.
The Port Authority's photo stream is here. This photo shows the WTC Memorials and the footprints coming to fruition. If you're at street level, you can't see what's going on around the site because of the updated blue wraps that deter people from looking into the site. That includes the Santiago Calatrava designed transit hub for PATH.
Most of the work around Ground Zero is still below ground level, but 1WTC (Freedom Tower) and 4WTC (diagonally across the site) are rising with new steel added daily.
Third Time Is The Charm: Hal Turner Convicted On Threatening Federal Judges
After two prior mistrials, the third jury convicted New Jersey talk radio host Hal Turner of threatening three federal court judges.
Two previous prosecutions of the host, Harold C. Turner, ended in mistrials after jurors were unable to agree on a verdict, but the decision Friday came after less than two hours of deliberation.
Mr. Turner, 48, posted inflammatory Internet messages about the three appeals court judges who had upheld a ban of handguns in Chicago. He was charged with a single count of threatening to assault or kill the judges with the intent of impeding their official duties.
In a June 2009 posting about their unanimous decision to uphold the gun ban, which the Supreme Court overturned in June, Mr. Turner wrote, “If they are allowed to get away with this by surviving, other judges will act the same way.”
Mr. Turner, who lives in North Bergen, N.J., also wrote a blog entry accompanied by photos of the judges in which he said they “deserve to be killed.”
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, where the appeals court is, issued a statement saying, “We are grateful that the jury saw these threats for what they were and rejected any notion that they were acceptable speech.”
Mr. Turner’s lawyer, Peter Kirchhheimer, had no comment on the verdict. Federal prosecutors said the posting constituted a genuine threat.
Mr. Turner, who has said his audience includes members of the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nation, and who once proclaimed that he would be “honored” to take credit for the murder of a federal judge’s family, countered that the incendiary invective was protected speech. He testified that in saying the judges were worthy of death, he was expressing a critical opinion, not issuing a directive.
But the judges — William J. Bauer, Frank H. Easterbrook and Richard A. Posner — testified that they had felt imperiled by Mr. Turner’s posting.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Turkish Military Using Chemical Weapons On Kurds?
The German paper Der Spiegel is reporting that the Turkish military used chemical weapons against the Kurdish group PKK in an incident dating back to September 2009.
This is the same Turkish government that doesn't think that human rights laws apply to themselves. It's a continuing saga of doublespeak and double talk.
German experts have confirmed the authenticity of photographs that purport to show PKK fighters killed by chemical weapons. The evidence puts increasing pressure on the Turkish government, which has long been suspected of using such weapons against Kurdish rebels. German politicians are demanding an investigation.The Turkish military refuses to comment on the issue, although Turkish human rights groups have been demanding answers. This is the same Turkish government that demands that the world hold Israel accountable for Israel's sovereign right to defend itself against terrorists and those who support terrorists by attempting to run through Israel's blockade of Gaza.
It would be difficult to exceed the horror shown in the photos, which feature burned, maimed and scorched body parts. The victims are scarcely even recognizable as human beings. Turkish-Kurdish human rights activists believe the people in the photos are eight members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) underground movement, who are thought to have been killed in September 2009.
In March, the activists gave the photos to a German human rights delegation comprised of Turkey experts, journalists and politicians from the far-left Left Party, as SPIEGEL reported at the end of July. Now Hans Baumann, a German expert on photo forgeries has confirmed the authenticity of the photos, and a forensics report released by the Hamburg University Hospital has backed the initial suspicion, saying that it is highly probable that the eight Kurds died "due to the use of chemical substances."
Did the Turkish army in fact use chemical weapons and, by doing so, violate the Chemical Weapons Convention it had ratified?
This is the same Turkish government that doesn't think that human rights laws apply to themselves. It's a continuing saga of doublespeak and double talk.
Sauce For The Goose; Good For A Gander
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) suggested that Hispanics have no reason to join the GOP in part because of their stance on birthright immigration - the GOP wants to eliminate it.
Well, not so fast Senator Reid. It looks like you were sponsoring legislation (S.1351
Title: Immigration Stabilization Act of 1993) that would have done just that (although it is unconstitutional since legislation can't trump the Constitution). That bill was cosponsored by James Exon (Democrat from Nebraska and former NE Governor), Lauch Faircloth (Republican from North Carolina), and Richard Shelby (originally an Alabama Democrat who switched to the GOP in 1994). The key language is here:
To Reid, this is politics as usual. All the while, existing immigration laws are not enforced and businesses are not penalized for hiring illegal aliens. That too is business as usual.
Well, not so fast Senator Reid. It looks like you were sponsoring legislation (S.1351
Title: Immigration Stabilization Act of 1993) that would have done just that (although it is unconstitutional since legislation can't trump the Constitution). That bill was cosponsored by James Exon (Democrat from Nebraska and former NE Governor), Lauch Faircloth (Republican from North Carolina), and Richard Shelby (originally an Alabama Democrat who switched to the GOP in 1994). The key language is here:
SEC. 1001. BASIS OF CITIZENSHIP CLARIFIED.The legislation went nowhere in 1993, but Reid is making hay over the fact that the GOP wants to do substantially the same thing in 2010.
In the exercise of its powers under section 5 of the Fourteenth Article of Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Congress has determined and hereby declares that any person born after the date of enactment of this title to a mother who is neither a citizen of the United States nor admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident, and which person is a national or citizen of another country of which either of his or her natural parents is a national or citizen, or is entitled upon application to become a national or citizen of such country, shall be considered as born subject to the jurisdiction of that foreign country and not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States within the meaning of section 1 of such Article and shall therefore not be a citizen of the United States or of any State solely by reason of physical presence within the United States at the moment of birth.
To Reid, this is politics as usual. All the while, existing immigration laws are not enforced and businesses are not penalized for hiring illegal aliens. That too is business as usual.
Conservative Bloggers Rate 25 Worst Figures In American History
John Hawkins sent out a link to the results of a poll of conservative bloggers and who they thought were the 25 worst figures in American history. Hawkins posted the results here, and further says that he doesn't agree with the outcome in his email announcing the results.
The results (culled from 43 bloggers):
This wouldn't be my list. It's way too soon to tell if President Obama is worthy of being on the list. His signature accomplishments haven't even been fully enacted yet and only time will tell if that happens in the form as originally constituted.
You've got truly treacherous figures like Ames, the Rosenbergs, Arnold, who correctly deserve to be on the list. John Wilkes Booth deserves to be on the list.
It's notable that FDR came up as often as it did, considering that his policies helped win WWII. It was his foresight that saw the US begin to build up its paltry military capabilities, Lend Lease, and set in motion the Manhattan Project that helped end WWII. There were multiple problems with his court packing scheme, and vast expansion of the Executive, but that too is a failing of Congress to limit his powers. Every president since FDR has benefited from FDR's vision for the Office of the President.
The results (culled from 43 bloggers):
23) Saul Alinsky (7)
23) Bill Clinton (7)
23) Hillary Clinton (7)
19) Michael Moore (7)
19) George Soros (8)
19) Alger Hiss (8)
19) Al Sharpton (8)
13) Al Gore (9)
13) Noam Chomsky (9)
13) Richard Nixon (9)
13) Jane Fonda (9)
13) Harry Reid (9)
13) Nancy Pelosi (9)
11) John Wilkes Booth (10)
11) Margaret Sanger (10)
9) Aldrich Ames (11)
9) Timothy McVeigh (11)
7) Ted Kennedy (14)
7) Lyndon Johnson (14)
5) Benedict Arnold (17)
5) Woodrow Wilson (17)
4) The Rosenbergs (19)
3) Franklin Delano Roosevelt (21)
2) Barack Obama (23)
1) Jimmy Carter (25)
This wouldn't be my list. It's way too soon to tell if President Obama is worthy of being on the list. His signature accomplishments haven't even been fully enacted yet and only time will tell if that happens in the form as originally constituted.
You've got truly treacherous figures like Ames, the Rosenbergs, Arnold, who correctly deserve to be on the list. John Wilkes Booth deserves to be on the list.
It's notable that FDR came up as often as it did, considering that his policies helped win WWII. It was his foresight that saw the US begin to build up its paltry military capabilities, Lend Lease, and set in motion the Manhattan Project that helped end WWII. There were multiple problems with his court packing scheme, and vast expansion of the Executive, but that too is a failing of Congress to limit his powers. Every president since FDR has benefited from FDR's vision for the Office of the President.
Free Access To National Parks This Weekend
If you haven't had a chance to visit one of the nation's national parks, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to do so as they're free.
Still, there's no better way to see the nation's grandeur and vision for protecting the national heritage.
On August 14 and 15, all national parks are waiving normal admission fees and granting free entrance to all park visitors. Entrance fees usually run $20 to $25 at the country's most popular national parks like Yosemite and Grand Canyon.Some parks, however still require paying fees of one sort or another, including the Statue of Liberty, which requires a ferry ride, or Mount Rushmore, which requires a parking fee.
Still, there's no better way to see the nation's grandeur and vision for protecting the national heritage.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Major Democrats Still Plan Attending Rangel's Birthday Bash
Senior Democrat Rep. Charles Rangel is holding his 80th birthday bash at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, and the list of confirmed attendees leaves one's head scratching at the way politicians are more than willing to ignore Rangel's ethical and legal problems.
Among those who will be attending: NYS Gov. candidate Andrew Cuomo has confirmed he will attend. So too will US Senator Chuck Schumer. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Gov. David Paterson are planning to attend. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s campaign said the event is still on his schedule.
In fact, the fact that so many top Democrats are in attendance provides an all too easy GOP advertising campaign.
Rangel's ethics mess threatens Democrats' reelection chances in November, but these New York Democrats aren't likely to lose their reelection bids, so they're all too comfortable showing up next to Rangel.
For Cuomo, this looks particularly bad since he's running on a platform to rid Albany of corruption. Yet, he's showing up to honor a guy who's been in office 40 and spent the last decade ignoring his obligations to pay his taxes, fulfilling his ethics obligations, and violating state rent control laws.
Watch for the image of Cuomo in attendance of Rangel's function working its way into attack advertisements in the Fall.
UPDATE:
Mayor Bloomberg certainly isn't going to improve his recent polls by attending Rangel's party tonight, and yet he's going.
Is there anyone among the Democrats that will stand up to Rangel and demand that their fellow Democrats stand up for proper ethics and against Rangel's corrupt and unethical behavior?
UPDATE:
Apparently Rangel's party has sold out - it's maximum capacity.
Among those who will be attending: NYS Gov. candidate Andrew Cuomo has confirmed he will attend. So too will US Senator Chuck Schumer. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Gov. David Paterson are planning to attend. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s campaign said the event is still on his schedule.
In fact, the fact that so many top Democrats are in attendance provides an all too easy GOP advertising campaign.
Rangel's ethics mess threatens Democrats' reelection chances in November, but these New York Democrats aren't likely to lose their reelection bids, so they're all too comfortable showing up next to Rangel.
For Cuomo, this looks particularly bad since he's running on a platform to rid Albany of corruption. Yet, he's showing up to honor a guy who's been in office 40 and spent the last decade ignoring his obligations to pay his taxes, fulfilling his ethics obligations, and violating state rent control laws.
Watch for the image of Cuomo in attendance of Rangel's function working its way into attack advertisements in the Fall.
UPDATE:
Mayor Bloomberg certainly isn't going to improve his recent polls by attending Rangel's party tonight, and yet he's going.
Is there anyone among the Democrats that will stand up to Rangel and demand that their fellow Democrats stand up for proper ethics and against Rangel's corrupt and unethical behavior?
UPDATE:
Apparently Rangel's party has sold out - it's maximum capacity.
Historically Low Interest Rates Aren't Spurring Real Estate Sales
Historically low interest rates aren't doing anything to spur real estate sales. It's not hard to figure out why. High unemployment and continued uncertainty are preventing people from rushing to buy homes. People can't refinance because they're underwater - which also prevents many from selling because of an aversion to take a real estate loss that could be considerable in many markets (20-30% or more in some of the hardest hit areas, and particularly in places like Las Vegas, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California).
Real estate experts aren't sure what it would take to spur sales. Some think the rates have to fall into the 3% range. Others think 2%.
Neither is going to improve sales until people think that the markets have hit bottom and real estate starts appreciating again because there is support for existing prices. If people think that prices still have a ways to drop, they'll stand by the sidelines while prices drop, or force more price drops on properties until they're sold.
The White House's latest move to provide zero-interest loans to distressed homeowners is another misstep that does nothing to rectify the situation either.
The same people who can't afford to own the homes they're in and are now facing foreclosure will get zero interest loans that they still can't repay? How exactly does that help? The people who receive these zero interest loans are still incapable of repaying their existing obligations, let alone any new obligations. Even if they convert some or all of their existing obligations to the zero-interest loan, they still can't repay (they're unemployed). It means that the foreclosure process gets delayed just a while longer, meaning that the market readjustments take still longer and affordable housing remains that much longer out of reach for those who can actually afford the housing.
It's not even a band aid when you've got massive hemorrhaging in real estate markets around the country.
Yet, it does look like a typical election year gambit to throw money at constituencies in the hopes of enticing voters.
Real estate experts aren't sure what it would take to spur sales. Some think the rates have to fall into the 3% range. Others think 2%.
Neither is going to improve sales until people think that the markets have hit bottom and real estate starts appreciating again because there is support for existing prices. If people think that prices still have a ways to drop, they'll stand by the sidelines while prices drop, or force more price drops on properties until they're sold.
The White House's latest move to provide zero-interest loans to distressed homeowners is another misstep that does nothing to rectify the situation either.
The same people who can't afford to own the homes they're in and are now facing foreclosure will get zero interest loans that they still can't repay? How exactly does that help? The people who receive these zero interest loans are still incapable of repaying their existing obligations, let alone any new obligations. Even if they convert some or all of their existing obligations to the zero-interest loan, they still can't repay (they're unemployed). It means that the foreclosure process gets delayed just a while longer, meaning that the market readjustments take still longer and affordable housing remains that much longer out of reach for those who can actually afford the housing.
It's not even a band aid when you've got massive hemorrhaging in real estate markets around the country.
Yet, it does look like a typical election year gambit to throw money at constituencies in the hopes of enticing voters.
Nanny Staters Putting Bakeries Out of Business In New York
The move to drive transfat out of foods and baked goods is well-intentioned according to nanny staters, but the effect is to kill businesses. Bakeries, who have to comply with the transfat ban enacted for Albany County New York restaurants and bakeries are finding it impossible to comply without compromising taste and texture.
Yet, that wont stop the nanny staters from demanding compliance or else face serious fines. These businesses will either face substantial fines (which affect the bottom line and are an added cost), sue to avoid the fines (another added cost), or close up and move to another location to avoid the transfat ban.
How exactly does this make economic sense? How does this make sense health-wise?
Restaurants changed the products used in cooking, especially french fries and other fried foods, and so far there have been no complaints from them. Bakers, however, tell a different story.Not only is this harming small businesses, but it makes little sense. The quantities of transfats involved is miniscule and yet its effect as a binder and stabilizer are significant in baked goods and frostings.
Nina Crisafulli, who owns Sweet Temptations with her sister, Salina, said the issue for them was their lemon cupcakes. She has been in contact with the Health Department's Division of Environmental Health Services, which was to conduct the hearing, and she explained that the filling she uses amounts to less than 0.5 percent, about a teaspoon, which is allowed, noting, "When it's broken down for individual cupcakes, everything meets their criteria."
"Basically, there's no way to beat this," Crisafulli said. She predicted that one day it could go statewide.
"A bakery is something you go to every once in a while," she said. "It's a treat. Customers don't come in every single day. They are making laws that I don't think we really need."
The letter from the county said if the business owner didn't want to appear at the hearing and defend themselves, they could send in a check for $750, thereby admitting they were not in compliance. Fines could run as high as $3,000.
Cocca Dott said her butter cream frosting on cakes, especially wedding cakes, falls apart without a small amount of trans fat shortening that acts as the glue, or the stabilizer. Marble cake batter also falls apart with the chocolate separating from the rest of the batter, she said.
She tried using a shortening free of trans fat or using just under 0.5 percent, "but it all backfired on me," she said. The hot weather makes it even worse, she said.
"I have three choices," Cocca Dott said. "One, I could comply, or two, I can move out of Albany County, or three, I could seek counsel."
"I don't know how they can pass a law in Albany County, and it not be for everyone," she said. Price Chopper and other chains are under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and don't have to comply.
Mainella said he can't make Italian cookies, his big seller, without trans fat.
Yet, that wont stop the nanny staters from demanding compliance or else face serious fines. These businesses will either face substantial fines (which affect the bottom line and are an added cost), sue to avoid the fines (another added cost), or close up and move to another location to avoid the transfat ban.
How exactly does this make economic sense? How does this make sense health-wise?
Florida Attorney General Proposes Stricter Immigration Law
If you thought that the immigration debate now was a mess, Florida is wading in with its own version of Arizona's immigration law.
Indeed, if you ask most people, they wouldn't have a problem with legal immigrants - those that entered the US legally and have obtained their proper work documents. The problem is with the illegal aliens who entered the country illegally or have overstayed their visas and should not be entitled to work in the US because of a lack of documentation.
That latter part goes to enforcing immigration laws against businesses that hire them at lower wages (and frequently off the books). Farming and other labor intensive businesses frequently use illegal aliens as labor because of the costs of hiring documented workers, yet they too must be held accountable for their actions.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum on Wednesday proposed legislation that would toughen law enforcement measures against illegal immigrants in the melting-pot southeastern U.S. state.The concerns over Arizona's laws are the same as for Florida. How do you avoid profiling all while enforcing immigration laws that have been on the federal books for decades.
The proposal by McCollum, who is engaged in a tough election race as a Republican candidate for the state governorship, was certain to thrust Florida into the sensitive immigration debate that has become a hot political issue ahead of mid-term Congressional elections on November 2.
"Florida will not be a sanctuary state for illegal aliens," McCollum, who was accompanied by state Representative Will Synder, said in a statement that also gave details of the proposed law.
The legislation would require law enforcement officials to check a suspected illegal immigrant's status in the course of a stop, or a violation of another law.
This goes beyond the existing situation in the state where officers are allowed to check for immigration status, but not required to.
Florida, especially its southern portion, is a major U.S. migration destination for nationals from the Caribbean and Latin America, making it a cultural and racial melting-pot.
Indeed, if you ask most people, they wouldn't have a problem with legal immigrants - those that entered the US legally and have obtained their proper work documents. The problem is with the illegal aliens who entered the country illegally or have overstayed their visas and should not be entitled to work in the US because of a lack of documentation.
That latter part goes to enforcing immigration laws against businesses that hire them at lower wages (and frequently off the books). Farming and other labor intensive businesses frequently use illegal aliens as labor because of the costs of hiring documented workers, yet they too must be held accountable for their actions.
China Wont Clean Up Its Environmental Mess Because Of Ongoing Issues
Newsweek wonders whether China will finally take steps to clean up the multitude of environmental disasters ongoing or impending due to government inaction or complicity.
In a word? No.
China has been here before. Many times before in fact.
They were touting the closure of thousands of pollution spewing factories and coal powered plants in the runup of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yet, one look at the skies told the tale - the air was so thick you could see it and once the Olympics were over, the skies got even worse.
The rivers throughout the country are in horrible shape as all manner of poison and pollution pollute and are a health hazard to the local ecology and make it incompatible with human consumption.
The Chinese government has instituted all kinds of flood control, and yet every year thousands of people die in floods. However, it does appear that the Three Gorges Dam has done its job on its stretch of river because flooding downstream was averted (although pollutants and garbage jammed up behind the dam and had to be removed to the tune of 3,000 tons a day).
While some of the focus of the Newsweek piece is on the flooding rains that have swept pollution into the rivers and deforestation in an effort by the Chinese government to modernize and bring the country up to Western standards of living, it ignores that the Chinese government has routinely ignored environmental protections.
The government has looked the other way repeatedly in its quest to modernize. Property rights are nonexistent and environmental concerns are so low on the list of priorities, that it will be a long time before Chinese citizens are able to see improvements in their environment.
In a word? No.
China has been here before. Many times before in fact.
They were touting the closure of thousands of pollution spewing factories and coal powered plants in the runup of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yet, one look at the skies told the tale - the air was so thick you could see it and once the Olympics were over, the skies got even worse.
The rivers throughout the country are in horrible shape as all manner of poison and pollution pollute and are a health hazard to the local ecology and make it incompatible with human consumption.
The Chinese government has instituted all kinds of flood control, and yet every year thousands of people die in floods. However, it does appear that the Three Gorges Dam has done its job on its stretch of river because flooding downstream was averted (although pollutants and garbage jammed up behind the dam and had to be removed to the tune of 3,000 tons a day).
While some of the focus of the Newsweek piece is on the flooding rains that have swept pollution into the rivers and deforestation in an effort by the Chinese government to modernize and bring the country up to Western standards of living, it ignores that the Chinese government has routinely ignored environmental protections.
The government has looked the other way repeatedly in its quest to modernize. Property rights are nonexistent and environmental concerns are so low on the list of priorities, that it will be a long time before Chinese citizens are able to see improvements in their environment.
Expect Personal Health Care Costs To Rise in 2011
If you or someone you know takes advantage of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) that enable an individual to deduct a set amount from their paychecks to be used for the payment of medical expenses, including drug purchases, you will be hit with a significant change in 2011 due to the Democrats' health care overhaul.
It's not a change for the better.
In fact, it can mean a significant increase in your costs and would essentially gut the purpose of FSAs. The entire rationale behind FSAs is to allow individuals to set aside a portion of their income tax free so that they can use it towards health care expenses. Those expenses include copayments, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vision care, and certain listed medical expenses.
The change would eliminate the use of FSAs to pay for over the counter (OTC) drugs.
OTC drugs are frequently cheaper than prescription drugs and include everything from pain medications to allergy medications. Effective January 1, 2011, the list of items that will require a prescription includes, but is not limited to acne medicine; allergy medicine; cough, cold & flu medicine; eye drops; indigestion medicine; laxatives; nasal sprays, drops; ointment for cuts, burns, rashes; pain relievers.
Items that will remain eligible without a prescription include, but are not limited to band aids, birth control, braces & supports, contact lens solutions & supplies, elastic bandages & wraps, first aid supplies, and reading glasses.
In other words, if you're taking allergy meds for seasonal allergies and don't need a prescription drug, you'll end up paying much more because your FSA will no longer cover and reimburse those costs. Instead, you'll either have to pay out of pocket or have to see a doctor to obtain a prescription, which means you may well still pay more.
This is just the tip of the idiocy contained within the health care overhaul and which runs counter to the very claims by President Obama that his plan would reduce health care costs. The FSA change does no such thing and in fact would raise costs considerably. It would force people to seek doctor care for conditions that were previously self-treated in order to obtain prescriptions, or would require people to pay those costs out of pocket.
It eliminates a major reason for FSAs, which expands the individual's choice of care.
For instance, if you have previously had a FSA and set aside $800 for various health care expenses, and spend about $250 a year on various medications, including allergy medications, pain relievers, and indigestion aids, you'll lose the FSA and the pre-tax benefit. That's not an inconsequential amount.
It's not a change for the better.
In fact, it can mean a significant increase in your costs and would essentially gut the purpose of FSAs. The entire rationale behind FSAs is to allow individuals to set aside a portion of their income tax free so that they can use it towards health care expenses. Those expenses include copayments, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vision care, and certain listed medical expenses.
The change would eliminate the use of FSAs to pay for over the counter (OTC) drugs.
OTC drugs are frequently cheaper than prescription drugs and include everything from pain medications to allergy medications. Effective January 1, 2011, the list of items that will require a prescription includes, but is not limited to acne medicine; allergy medicine; cough, cold & flu medicine; eye drops; indigestion medicine; laxatives; nasal sprays, drops; ointment for cuts, burns, rashes; pain relievers.
Items that will remain eligible without a prescription include, but are not limited to band aids, birth control, braces & supports, contact lens solutions & supplies, elastic bandages & wraps, first aid supplies, and reading glasses.
In other words, if you're taking allergy meds for seasonal allergies and don't need a prescription drug, you'll end up paying much more because your FSA will no longer cover and reimburse those costs. Instead, you'll either have to pay out of pocket or have to see a doctor to obtain a prescription, which means you may well still pay more.
This is just the tip of the idiocy contained within the health care overhaul and which runs counter to the very claims by President Obama that his plan would reduce health care costs. The FSA change does no such thing and in fact would raise costs considerably. It would force people to seek doctor care for conditions that were previously self-treated in order to obtain prescriptions, or would require people to pay those costs out of pocket.
It eliminates a major reason for FSAs, which expands the individual's choice of care.
For instance, if you have previously had a FSA and set aside $800 for various health care expenses, and spend about $250 a year on various medications, including allergy medications, pain relievers, and indigestion aids, you'll lose the FSA and the pre-tax benefit. That's not an inconsequential amount.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Rangel Double Dealing on Deal To End Ethics Investigation
It wasn't all that long ago that New York Democrat Charles Rangel was indignantly and defiantly stating that he would be vindicated in any ethics trial carried out by the House of Representatives. He thought that the charges weren't serious and that there was a lack of evidence.
This week, he's changed tact, claiming that the Republicans are out to get him and are the ones standing in the way of any deal on the 13 charges facing Rangel.
It's all so much smoke being blown by Rangel and his supporters.
Rangel wants to shift the blame of his situation on to anyone but himself.
Rangel was the one who failed to report income for years on end. He's the one who failed to follow House ethics rules on reporting junkets and imputed income. He's the one who lived in a rent subsidized apartment for years on end even though he was using those apartments illegally.
And charges that Rangel acted improperly seem to increase by the day.
Should it surprise anyone that Rangel is not optimistic that a deal can be struck? The time to cut a deal passed long ago. Congressional Democrats protected him long enough, and they correctly see Rangel as a weight on their collective necks with the 2010 election season being a particularly challenging one.
Rangel has to go, and yet he's still campaigning for reelection (and could quite likely win reelection despite his corrupt nature).
This week, he's changed tact, claiming that the Republicans are out to get him and are the ones standing in the way of any deal on the 13 charges facing Rangel.
It's all so much smoke being blown by Rangel and his supporters.
Rangel wants to shift the blame of his situation on to anyone but himself.
Rangel was the one who failed to report income for years on end. He's the one who failed to follow House ethics rules on reporting junkets and imputed income. He's the one who lived in a rent subsidized apartment for years on end even though he was using those apartments illegally.
And charges that Rangel acted improperly seem to increase by the day.
Should it surprise anyone that Rangel is not optimistic that a deal can be struck? The time to cut a deal passed long ago. Congressional Democrats protected him long enough, and they correctly see Rangel as a weight on their collective necks with the 2010 election season being a particularly challenging one.
Rangel has to go, and yet he's still campaigning for reelection (and could quite likely win reelection despite his corrupt nature).
Plane Crazy
I'm a huge fan of jetBlue and usually think that their flight attendants are the cheery type. Yet, yesterday one of their attendants blew his stack after a passenger acted inappropriately. The incident occurred on a flight from Pittsburgh to JFK airport. The passenger went into the overhead compartment before the plane reached the jetway, and the attendant, Steven Slater, was struck on the head. Cursing by the passenger ensued.
Slater went and deployed an emergency chute, and fled the airport. He was arrested a short time later at his Belle Harbor home.
His career as a flight attendant is most likely over, but at least he got his Network moment.
The fact is that passengers are an unruly bunch. Many of them do not adhere to the rules that are there for their protection. This incident put him over the edge - literally and figuratively.
Attendant-turned-wing-nut Steven Slater's meltdown was preceded by an argument with a passenger who had told the 39-year-old airline employee from Queens "to f - - k off" after Slater asked him not to remove his baggage from the overhead compartment until the plane had fully stopped, sources said.Slater, for his part, then went on the intercom and cursed out the passenger before leaving in a most dramatic fashion.
The passenger wound up opening his overhead compartment anyway -- striking the seething Slater on the head with the door as it dropped down.
After the plane, which arrived from Pittsburgh, pulled up to Gate 3 at the JetBlue terminal and the Jetway was put in place, passengers began moving to the door.
Suddenly, Slater commandeered the public-address system and launched into a tirade, officials said.
"To the f - - king asshole that told me to f - - k off, it's been a good 28 years!" Slater bellowed incoherently, according to law-enforcement sources.
But that wasn't the end of it.
In a move fitting for an action flick, Slater then grabbed his two bags -- and a can of beer from the galley -- and popped the lever for the airliner's inflatable chute before sliding to the tarmac outside the terminal door.
Slater went and deployed an emergency chute, and fled the airport. He was arrested a short time later at his Belle Harbor home.
His career as a flight attendant is most likely over, but at least he got his Network moment.
The fact is that passengers are an unruly bunch. Many of them do not adhere to the rules that are there for their protection. This incident put him over the edge - literally and figuratively.
Christopher Hitchens Slams Demagoguery Over Cordoba Center
Demagoguery over the issue of constructing an Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero continues despite the fact that the local community board approved the project, the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected landmarking the building, and even the owner of one of two properties - Con Ed - will not block the project (as some may hope through the regulatory process). Opponents are holding out hope beyond all hope that somehow the state will swoop in and condemn the building through eminent domain as the racist and misogynist ex-Tea Party candidate Carl Paladino thinks should be done.
Opponents are running transit ads against the project, which include 9/11 imagery and makes the direct connection between the proposed Islamic center and Ground Zero, even if it isn't located in the site of the former World Trade Center.
In to that mix, Christopher Hitchens writes about the demagoguery as only he can.
The construction project will move forward contingent upon City Council approval (which is pretty much assured since the Community Board backs the plan) and its backers obtaining the financing to make it happen.
All that will be left in the end is the continued shrill opposition to a community center sorely needed in Lower Manhattan on grounds that it may possibly offend some victims of the 9/11 terror attacks or a general sense of impropriety because of the juxtaposition of a a mosque in such close proximity to where Islamic terrorists carried out the 9/11 attacks - the worst terror attack in history. It further ignores that some of the nearly 3,000 victims were themselves Muslims, and that the attacks did not discriminate between white or black, Asian or European. The roll call of those murdered includes victims from all corners of the planet and all religious creeds.
Opponents are running transit ads against the project, which include 9/11 imagery and makes the direct connection between the proposed Islamic center and Ground Zero, even if it isn't located in the site of the former World Trade Center.
In to that mix, Christopher Hitchens writes about the demagoguery as only he can.
This kind of capitulation needs to be fought consistently. But here is exactly how not to resist it. Take, for example, the widely publicized opinion of Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. Supporting those relatives of the 9/11 victims who have opposed Cordoba House, he drew a crass analogy with the Final Solution and said that, like Holocaust survivors, "their anguish entitles them to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted." This cracked tune has been taken up by Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, who additionally claim to be ventriloquizing the emotions of millions of Americans who did not suffer bereavement. It has also infected the editorial pages of the normally tougher-minded Weekly Standard, which called on President Obama to denounce the Cordoba House on the grounds that a 3-to-1 majority of Americans allegedly find it "offensive."The site has been used for some time now by its very owners as an overflow for prayer in Lower Manhattan.
Where to start with this part-pathetic and part-sinister appeal to demagogy? To begin with, it borrows straight from the playbook of Muslim cultural blackmail. Claim that something is "offensive," and it is as if the assertion itself has automatically become an argument. You are even allowed to admit, as does Foxman, that the ground for taking offense is "irrational and bigoted." But, hey—why think when you can just feel? The supposed "feelings" of the 9/11 relatives have already deprived us all of the opportunity to see the real-time footage of the attacks—a huge concession to the general dulling of what ought to be a sober and continuous memory of genuine outrage. Now extra privileges have to be awarded to an instant opinion-poll majority. Not only that, the president is urged to use his high office to decide questions of religious architecture!
Nothing could be more foreign to the spirit and letter of the First Amendment or the principle of the "wall of separation." In his incoherent statement, Foxman made the suggestion that it might be all right if the Cordoba House was built "a mile away." He appears to be unaware that an old building at the site is already housing overflow from the nearby Masjid al-Farah mosque.
The construction project will move forward contingent upon City Council approval (which is pretty much assured since the Community Board backs the plan) and its backers obtaining the financing to make it happen.
All that will be left in the end is the continued shrill opposition to a community center sorely needed in Lower Manhattan on grounds that it may possibly offend some victims of the 9/11 terror attacks or a general sense of impropriety because of the juxtaposition of a a mosque in such close proximity to where Islamic terrorists carried out the 9/11 attacks - the worst terror attack in history. It further ignores that some of the nearly 3,000 victims were themselves Muslims, and that the attacks did not discriminate between white or black, Asian or European. The roll call of those murdered includes victims from all corners of the planet and all religious creeds.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Willis Avenue Bridge One Step Closer To Completion
One of the oldest bridges in New York City is one step closer to being replaced. The new Willis Avenue Bridge was moved into place earlier today alongside the old span, which will be deconstructed once the new bridge is completed.
While Mayor Bloomberg is touting that the City has spent more than $5 billion in the past several years replacing obsolete and deficient bridges, the City has several major spans that are in dire need of replacement - but those spans are on state-owned roads or are operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The city has more than 2,000 spans, and not all of them are in optimal condition.
Some projects are threatened by the ongoing budget problems in Albany, including the Alexander Hamilton bridge, while others are still in a planning phase.
Many other bridges, including those on the Belt Parkway are reaching the end of their operational life and are obsolete. Projects are underway to build new structures that meet current engineering and design standards.
These are worthy uses of limited state and local resources.
The new bridge was built for the transportation department at a privately owned port in Coeymans, near Albany. Last month, a marine transportation crew loaded the finished span onto barges that were welded together for the 130-mile trip down the Hudson River to a dock in Bayonne, N.J. Two weeks later, the span was hauled from Bayonne 15 miles north through the East River to its final destination, where it was tied up to the shoreline near the existing bridge.
The last leg of the journey was via the East River because the load’s height, 82 feet from the barges’ decks to the bridge’s top crossbeam, was too tall for the low bridges over the narrow Harlem River.
While Mayor Bloomberg is touting that the City has spent more than $5 billion in the past several years replacing obsolete and deficient bridges, the City has several major spans that are in dire need of replacement - but those spans are on state-owned roads or are operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The city has more than 2,000 spans, and not all of them are in optimal condition.
Some projects are threatened by the ongoing budget problems in Albany, including the Alexander Hamilton bridge, while others are still in a planning phase.
Many other bridges, including those on the Belt Parkway are reaching the end of their operational life and are obsolete. Projects are underway to build new structures that meet current engineering and design standards.
These are worthy uses of limited state and local resources.
Iran Launches New Submarines Designed To Harass Shipping
Needless to say, the submarines it came up with fall well short of US standards.
State-run Press TV showed the submarines sailing from an Iranian port. Iran's fleet of the 120-tonne Ghadir-class vessels, first produced in 2007, now numbered 11, it said.They're purposefully meant for coastal operations and have limited deepwater capabilities. Ultimately, these submarines are meant to harass oil tankers - not stopping a USN Carrier Task Force. They're meant to operate as harassment of shipping in the Persian Gulf, and the Iranians think that these subs will be hard for the USN or other navies to detect and destroy because of their size, electric motors, etc., ignoring that the USN has been doing the cat and mouse with the Soviet Union's sub fleet for several generations.
They have "excellent shallow depth performance, and can carry out long-term coastal missions," Press TV said.
"With the mass production of this submarine alongside various guided-missile launchers the country's defensive production chain is complete," Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said.
"These capabilities will be used to served peace, stability and security in the Persian Gulf region and the Sea of Oman."
The launch of the new submarines comes as Iranian officials deliver daily messages of defiance to the potential threat of a strike by Israel or the United States against the nuclear program Tehran says is entirely peaceful.
Iran has said it could close the Strait of Hormuz -- the gateway to the Gulf through which 40 percent of the world's traded oil travels -- if it comes under attack.
Moreover, as a closer examination of the submarine photos will indicate, the quality of construction isn't anywhere near what the US has been able to produce for several generations of submarines. It's design harkens back to the WW II era, and the various welded segments appear to be poorly done. The ship is a fraction of the size of a modern US submarine, and is meant for littoral water operations rather than an open-ocean confrontation. Its limited size also means that it is limited in the kinds or numbers of weapons that can be stowed aboard.
Indeed, it looks like Ecuadorian narco-terrorists have more sophisticated designs than the Iranian regime.
While it is easy to laugh at Iran's feeble sub fleet, it remains a threat to the oil shipping that passes through the Strait of Hormuz - and that's its chief use. Iran doesn't care if their subs get picked off by the US Navy. If the Iranians can damage or sink a couple of oil tankers, they will send oil prices through the roof and cause further instability in the Persian Gulf. That's their ultimate intention.
Surfing the Snake River
There are some unusual places to surf around the world, but the Snake River has one of the most amazing backdrops - the Grand Tetons and the wilds of Yellowstone just beyond.
Surfers flock to an area known as the Lunch Counter because of the confluence of water runoff from the surrounding mountains that creates a perfect surfing wave from May through August.
Surfers flock to an area known as the Lunch Counter because of the confluence of water runoff from the surrounding mountains that creates a perfect surfing wave from May through August.
Krugman Off-Target On Critique of Spending Cuts
While Paul Krugman won a Nobel Prize for Economics for work done long ago, his current stint as an op-ed writer for the New York Times allows him to ignore all too many facts and observations that would prevent him from looking silly.
He's busy complaining that cities and localities around the country are busy ripping up streets, turning out lights, and cutting back on spending in the midst of a deep recession and that it is adding to the very depth of the recession. That much is true, but he associates the cuts to anti-government sentiment going back 30 years.
That's where he's wrong.
People aren't adverse to state spending. They're adverse to idiotic state spending on programs of dubious value that simply don't do what they're supposed to do. People want roads maintained and infrastructure improvements, but big-government types start throwing all kinds of social programs into the mix, that end up costing far more and draining coffers of the localities, states, and the federal government leaving the infrastructure maintenance costs to be made up through still higher taxes and spending.
States can't afford the higher costs.
Localities can't afford the higher costs.
Yet, Krugman is there demanding still more spending and more taxes to go along with the spending binge.
He thinks that the tax hikes will somehow keep the lights lit and roads paved, ignoring that the states failed to maintain the roads and keep the bridges in workable conditions prior to the Bush tax cuts that became effective in 2001 and 2003. Krugman ignores that infrastructure upkeep isn't sexy but new bridges and structures get funding all while localities struggle to maintain what they've already built.
Study after study has shown that municipalities have ignored and underfunded basic maintenance of infrastructure for generations.
You don't get states where a third of all bridges are structurally deficient or obsolete in a single year. California has 66% of its roads in poor of mediocre condition. That takes years of failing to maintain what has already been built. 42% of New York’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, despite the fact that the state has one of the largest annual budgets in the country ($136.5 billion for the 2010-2011 fiscal year).
All that's coming back to bite the country in a big way and the nation has to deal with a prioritization of limited resources - namely a lack of money. States can't spend what they don't have. Cities can't spend what they don't have, and yet everyone from the federal government on down has done just that - spending beyond their means on things that they can't afford.
UPDATE:
CNN has a major report on the state of the power distribution grid and it is indeed quite troubling. The nation has seen a troubling increasing in blackouts and brownouts, and that trend is going to continue, regardless of conservation efforts because new technologies are demanding more power at more times during the day (and no one has been able to adequately explain how electric powered vehicles are supposed to be charged with a power grid that can't adequately handle the demand - or how it is cleaner for coal powered plants to provide that power over the gas-powered engines that dominate the roads today). Throw in NIMBY and a refusal to build new cleaner alternative energy generation facilities of any kind - but especially nuclear power plants that can provide the kind of power necessary to retire older coal powered plants with a far smaller footprint, and we've got a mess on our hands.
Much of the focus is on smart-grid technologies, which don't exactly increase the power available, but rather limit customers access to power so as to keep the juice flowing to more people over time. As demand increases, the capacity to provide the power where it is needed most continues to lag, and the power distribution system is constrained because people simply do not want the power lines in their backyards or have power plants built where it might impede their views. And in the end, the NIMBY types have repeatedly won the battle, but the nation is losing the war on upgrading its key infrastructure.
He's busy complaining that cities and localities around the country are busy ripping up streets, turning out lights, and cutting back on spending in the midst of a deep recession and that it is adding to the very depth of the recession. That much is true, but he associates the cuts to anti-government sentiment going back 30 years.
That's where he's wrong.
People aren't adverse to state spending. They're adverse to idiotic state spending on programs of dubious value that simply don't do what they're supposed to do. People want roads maintained and infrastructure improvements, but big-government types start throwing all kinds of social programs into the mix, that end up costing far more and draining coffers of the localities, states, and the federal government leaving the infrastructure maintenance costs to be made up through still higher taxes and spending.
States can't afford the higher costs.
Localities can't afford the higher costs.
Yet, Krugman is there demanding still more spending and more taxes to go along with the spending binge.
And the federal government, which can sell inflation-protected long-term bonds at an interest rate of only 1.04 percent, isn’t cash-strapped at all. It could and should be offering aid to local governments, to protect the future of our infrastructure and our children.He's essentially calling for the elimination of the Bush tax cuts on the rich - a group that he doesn't define, but which would affect the middle class all to sustain a bloated government workforce that is weighing down the private sector that actually creates the revenues on which the economy is sustained.
But Washington is providing only a trickle of help, and even that grudgingly. We must place priority on reducing the deficit, say Republicans and “centrist” Democrats. And then, virtually in the next breath, they declare that we must preserve tax cuts for the very affluent, at a budget cost of $700 billion over the next decade.
In effect, a large part of our political class is showing its priorities: given the choice between asking the richest 2 percent or so of Americans to go back to paying the tax rates they paid during the Clinton-era boom, or allowing the nation’s foundations to crumble — literally in the case of roads, figuratively in the case of education — they’re choosing the latter.
It’s a disastrous choice in both the short run and the long run.
In the short run, those state and local cutbacks are a major drag on the economy, perpetuating devastatingly high unemployment.
He thinks that the tax hikes will somehow keep the lights lit and roads paved, ignoring that the states failed to maintain the roads and keep the bridges in workable conditions prior to the Bush tax cuts that became effective in 2001 and 2003. Krugman ignores that infrastructure upkeep isn't sexy but new bridges and structures get funding all while localities struggle to maintain what they've already built.
Study after study has shown that municipalities have ignored and underfunded basic maintenance of infrastructure for generations.
You don't get states where a third of all bridges are structurally deficient or obsolete in a single year. California has 66% of its roads in poor of mediocre condition. That takes years of failing to maintain what has already been built. 42% of New York’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, despite the fact that the state has one of the largest annual budgets in the country ($136.5 billion for the 2010-2011 fiscal year).
All that's coming back to bite the country in a big way and the nation has to deal with a prioritization of limited resources - namely a lack of money. States can't spend what they don't have. Cities can't spend what they don't have, and yet everyone from the federal government on down has done just that - spending beyond their means on things that they can't afford.
UPDATE:
CNN has a major report on the state of the power distribution grid and it is indeed quite troubling. The nation has seen a troubling increasing in blackouts and brownouts, and that trend is going to continue, regardless of conservation efforts because new technologies are demanding more power at more times during the day (and no one has been able to adequately explain how electric powered vehicles are supposed to be charged with a power grid that can't adequately handle the demand - or how it is cleaner for coal powered plants to provide that power over the gas-powered engines that dominate the roads today). Throw in NIMBY and a refusal to build new cleaner alternative energy generation facilities of any kind - but especially nuclear power plants that can provide the kind of power necessary to retire older coal powered plants with a far smaller footprint, and we've got a mess on our hands.
Much of the focus is on smart-grid technologies, which don't exactly increase the power available, but rather limit customers access to power so as to keep the juice flowing to more people over time. As demand increases, the capacity to provide the power where it is needed most continues to lag, and the power distribution system is constrained because people simply do not want the power lines in their backyards or have power plants built where it might impede their views. And in the end, the NIMBY types have repeatedly won the battle, but the nation is losing the war on upgrading its key infrastructure.
Statue of Liberty to Close For Renovations in 2011
The statue is scheduled to close in October 2011, after its 125th anniversary, to create a secondary stairwell down from the pedestal. Right now, tourists go up one side and down another. One elevator is installed for tourists who can't or don't want to walk up; firefighters don't use elevators in emergencies.Work will involve building a second staircase to lead up to the crown. For those who haven't made the daunting climb, it's a test of endurance and stamina because the narrow spiral staircase can lead to vertigo and disorientation, to say nothing of heat exhaustion on hot days.
The statue shut down after the Sept. 11 terror attacks and reopened in 2004 after the $20 million upgrade. The crown remained off-limits, mostly because the narrow, double-helix staircase could not be safely evacuated in an emergency and didn't comply with fire and building codes.
A stairwell to the observation area at the pedestal is forgiving, and air conditioned, with handrails and landings where people can rest of they need to.
From there, those with access to the crown ascend into the statue's body, where it's considerably warmer, aided by handrails. The shallow steps are 19 inches wide and taper at one end. Head clearance is just a little more than 6 feet.
The parks service is upfront about the difficulty of the climb to the top, warning that only people who can walk unassisted should even attempt it and should drink water at least 30 minutes beforehand on hot days. Tourists often suffer heat exhaustion, shortness of breath, panic attacks, claustrophobia and fear of heights.
The crown remains extremely popular, however: No tickets are available until November.
Monumental Mistakes at the Garden
Isiah Thomas must know where James Dolan has buried dead bodies or has video showing team executives in compromising positions, because there is absolutely no reason in the world that anyone with the Knicks should want to have anything to do with one of the worst team executives and coaches in the team's history.
In fact, no one who has a functioning neuron should want Thomas to have anything to do with coaching because of his gross irresponsibility and culpability for creating a hostile work environment and engaging in sexual harassment with female executives with the Knick organization.
Yet, what does Dolan do over the weekend? He names Thomas a consultant and claims that Thomas was instrumental in landing the Knicks' sole major player in the offseason.
What is current team executives Donnie Walsh supposed to think about this? Walsh is picking up the pieces left behind by Thomas' ignominious departure after losing season after losing season and the team and Thomas were forced to cough up $11.5 million in a sexual harassment suit.
Knick fans have every right to be pissed off about this and it once again shows just how poorly run the organization is - starting at the top.
In fact, no one who has a functioning neuron should want Thomas to have anything to do with coaching because of his gross irresponsibility and culpability for creating a hostile work environment and engaging in sexual harassment with female executives with the Knick organization.
Yet, what does Dolan do over the weekend? He names Thomas a consultant and claims that Thomas was instrumental in landing the Knicks' sole major player in the offseason.
Thomas, fired by the Knicks in 2008 after embarrassments on and off the court, was cited during last month's Amar'e Stoudemire press conference for helping in the recruitment of the free-agent forward. Thomas also was dispatched on the eve of LeBron James' decision to meet with one of the members of his entourage whom he knew.Thomas was a Hall of Fame player, but has been absolutely atrocious as a team executive and coach. He's destroyed more teams than helped, and yet the Knick owner thinks that the time's right to bring Thomas back?
“I’m excited to once again be a part of the New York Knicks organization. I was honored to have been asked to help during the recent free-agent recruiting process, and believe that this new role takes full advantage of my skill set as an evaluator of basketball talent," Thomas said in a statement released by the team.
"While I will of course continue in my role as FIU’s coach, I look forward to working with Donnie (Walsh), Coach (Mike) D’Antoni and all of the Knicks staff to help bring a championship back to New York.”
The team's statement says Thomas "will assist the team’s senior management in various capacities, including player recruitment."
However, The Associated Press reports the hire could violate NBA rules that forbid college coaches from having jobs with its teams, which aren’t allowed to have contact with players who aren’t yet eligible for the draft.
“We are reviewing the agreement, in consultation with the Knicks, for compliance with league rules,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.
Since he left the organization as a consultant to team president Walsh to head the FIU program two years ago, Thomas has remained close with owner James Dolan and kept a house in Westchester. Thomas' involvement with recruiting Stoudemire led to speculation he could return to the Knicks as GM, a job which is vacant.
What is current team executives Donnie Walsh supposed to think about this? Walsh is picking up the pieces left behind by Thomas' ignominious departure after losing season after losing season and the team and Thomas were forced to cough up $11.5 million in a sexual harassment suit.
Knick fans have every right to be pissed off about this and it once again shows just how poorly run the organization is - starting at the top.
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