The Silver State Chronicles

Evidently, the Colt 45 flows freely in the streets of Harlem, NY

Howard Stern took to the streets to see just what the voters in New York City had to think.  He found numerous Obama supporters uptown in Harlem, who evidently had no idea what they were talking about.  To be fair, he found one McCain supporter who was comparably clueless, too!

My personal favorite interview is the Harlem woman who insists that Obama had more facts & information and spoke well (not in so many words), but then proceeds to misstate several of Obama’s positions with conviction!

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Bloomie’s The One!

It must be quite a world view to actually believe that you are the only one to best navigate New York City through tough economic times!

Then again, Bloomie probably doesn’t actually believe it, and he is just making the best case he can to keep himself in power and feed his ego.

This guy must have a whopper of a Little Man Complex. The loathsome New York Times reports…

Bloomberg Ready to Announce Third-Term Bid
By MICHAEL BARBARO and DAVID W. CHEN

After months of speculation about his political future, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg plans to announce on Thursday morning that he will seek a third term as mayor, according to three people who have been told of his plans.

The extraordinary move promises to upend New York City’s political world.

Right now, Mr. Bloomberg is barred by law from seeking re-election. But he will propose trying to revise the city’s 15-year-old term limits law, which would otherwise force him and dozens of other elected leaders out of office in 2009, the three people said.

In his announcement, Mr. Bloomberg, a former Wall Street trader and founder of a billion-dollar financial data firm, is expected to argue that the financial crisis unfolding in New York City demands his steady hand and proven business acumen.

The move represents an about-face for Mr. Bloomberg, who has repeatedly said he supports term limits and once called an effort to revise the law “disgusting.” He will apparently try to do so through legislation in the City Council, rather than the ballot box.

Mr. Bloomberg’s gambit carries significant political risk. The city’s term limits law was passed twice by voters, in 1993 and 1996, and several polls show widespread popular support for keeping it in place. Under the plan Mr. Bloomberg has outlined to associates, those voters will have no say in the matter, raising the possibility of a backlash.

Mr. Bloomberg, 66, who in public statements in recent weeks has become equivocal about term limits, has discussed in detail with his friends and advisers the pros and cons of changing the law and running again. “This has been thoroughly thought out by the mayor,” said a person who has advised the mayor in the past.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Help a lady out!

Looks like one of the ladies working at the recently busted S&M club Rapture NYC is in a bind and is starting a legal defense fund to help cover the legal expense.

I think those Wall Street guys who will benefit from the big Federal bailout should throw some money their way!  After all, the ladies helped them out in the past!

My beloved NY Post reports…

WHIPPING UP $$
DUNGEON DAME SEEKS FUNDS TO FIGHT CHARGES

By JAMIE SCHRAM and TODD VENEZIA

A former dominatrix at the busted Rapture NYC S&M club is cracking the whip – and trying to get supporters to donate to a legal defense fund to help the owner fight prostitution charges, sources said.

A dominatrix who goes by the name of Mistress Ardenne has opened up the fund to help bondage dungeon master Collin Reeve get off – and has even vowed to give part of the proceeds from her own steamy S&M sessions to help support the cause.

“The best thing anyone can do right now is to book a session with me,” she wrote on her blog, announcing the fund. “I will be contributing significantly to the legal defense of those who were arrested.”

She also asked other dominatrixes to donate space for her to perform sessions because Rapture is closed.

The cuffs were slapped on the Manhattan S&M club last week, when Reeve, 35, and bondage babe Gina Noto, 21, were arrested. Reeve was charged with promoting prostitution and Noto was hit with disorderly-conduct charges.

The fund is being organized for Ardenne by the Sexual Freedom Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Valerie White, the head of the group, told The Post yesterday that they were contacted by Ardenne this week and asked to help. She said that performing bondage services is in no way prostitution.

“I think it’s outrageous,” White said. “Assuming their protestations are correct, and they never permitted any sex acts to take place on the premises, then they are not committing the crime they are charged with.”

Members of the bondage community are already rallying to the defense.

“As a friend and teacher to the people at Rapture, I was definitely planning on helping out,” said S&M expert and prominent podcaster Graydancer. “I’ve already encouraged others to do so as well.”

Reeve is free on $30,000 bail. Noto pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was released.

White said that any money that winds up in the fund will go directly to lawyers for Reeve – and will not be handed over to the S&M shop owner.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Well, that’s an easy way to make $35,000

Well back in October we reported about the mannish young woman who caused a fracas in a downtown NYC restaurant bathroom. She was so traumatized by the incident that she decided to follow that American time-honored tradition – she sued!

Well, looks like she settled the case, and the restaurant is forking over $ 35,000. Absurd, really, but it’s the way the law works in the 21st Century.

Lesbian chased out of NYC bathroom settles suit

The Associated Press

Article Launched: 05/13/2008 11:56:18 AM PDT

NEW YORK – A popular restaurant has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a lawsuit with a lesbian who said a bouncer chased her out of the women’s bathroom and forced her to leave because she looked masculine.

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund announced the settlement Tuesday on behalf of Khadijah Farmer.

The Caliente Cab Company, while denying the allegations, also agreed to add gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy, amend its employee handbook with a section on customer restroom use and adopt a gender-neutral employee dress code.

Farmer said the confrontation at the Greenwich Village eatery occurred June 24 after she attended New York City’s annual Gay Pride march.

“We believe the changes implemented will serve all the members of the community well in the years to come,” the company said in a news release.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

And Happy Birthday

Pope Benedict XVI landed in the good old US of A yesterday, beginning a six-day tour that brought him to Washington DC and will bring him to The Big Apple, New York City, in the coming days.

Today is also his 81st Birthday, and I hear he has been serenaded ‘Happy Birthday’ numerous times and in several languages!  Wonderful!

Here’s to you, Pope Benedict!  Have a great, safe visit!

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

So Long, Skipper

Sad to report that one of my favorite political commentators, the legendary William F. Buckley, Jr., passed away earlier today. He passed away while at work, and I suspect he would have liked to have gone out that way, doing what he loved.

RIP William F. Buckley

1925-2008

Mr. Buckley had a long and wonderful career, with his thoughtful advocacy for conservative principles. He founded National Review in 1955, a political journal that has been at the vanguard of mainstream conservative throught.

A complete account of his long career is beyond the scope of The Silver State Chronicles, so I’ll just direct readers to National Review’s website, which will no doubt have a very thorough analysis of his life.

That being said, there are some real standout moments in his career I will briefly mention. He ran for the mayor’s office of New York City back in 1965. challenging incumbent Republican/Independent John Lindsay along with famed NYC bureaucrat Abe Beame. In one of my favorite moments in American politics, he was asked what he would do first were he to win the race, and he responded “demand a recount!”

But he was ahead of his time in many ways. In that race he proposed charging a fee for autos entering midtown during business hours, and a network of bicycle lanes to ease urban congestion. Both proposals have found their way into the debate in the 21st Century.

Buckley appeared in a series of televised debates with Gore Vidal during the 1968 Democratic Party convention. In their penultimate debate on August 22 of that year, the two disagreed over the actions of the Chicago police and the protesters at the ongoing Democratic Convention in Chicago.

At one point Vidal called Buckley a “proto- or crypto-Nazi,” to which Buckley replied, “Now listen, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I will sock you in your goddamn face, and you will stay plastered.”  Haha!

He hosted the excellent television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and penned a nationally syndicated newspaper column into 2008.

Going down William F Buckley, Jr.’s memory lane is indeed a treat! So long, skipper! Thanks for all your contributions to the political discourse over the decades.

You shall be missed.

VV

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Humans vs Apes…The War Begins!

I’ve been keeping my eye on the ape population my entire life, ever since I first saw Planet of the Apes in the mid 1970s on WABC-TV’s 4:30 Movie in New York City.

Well, the apes have finally made their big move, with the assassination of an Indian politician!

The BBC NEWS reports…

Monkeys kill Delhi deputy mayor

The deputy mayor of the Indian capital Delhi died on Sunday after being attacked by a horde of wild monkeys. SS Bajwa suffered serious head injuries when he fell from the first-floor terrace of his home on Saturday morning trying to fight off the monkeys.

The city has long struggled to counter its plague of monkeys, which invade government complexes and temples, snatch food and scare passers-by.

The High Court demanded the city find an answer to the problem last year.

Solution elusive

One approach has bajwa, a member of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is survived by his wife and a son, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

I say we go all Taylor on their primate rear ends and avert a Planet of the Apes!

Be Sociable, Share!

•