Money for a Wall Street bailout, but not for the poor

Money for a Wall Street bailout, but not for the poor
Friday, September 26th 2008, 8:20 PM
The mad rush in Washington to approve a $700 billion bailout of the Wall Street firms largely responsible for the nation's economic crisis in the first place may sound like a very bad joke.
Of course it isn't, and by now we all know that it is no laughing matter. And as City Hall has already made clear, New Yorkers will have to pay a very high price.
"We're going to have some tough times," Mayor Bloomberg said on Tuesday. He was referring to the $516 million budget reduction he ordered for this fiscal year to be followed by a $1 billion reduction for the next one. The Wall Street crisis made these cuts unavoidable, the mayor explained.
Bloomberg is a billionaire and should have no problem personally sailing through the troubled financial waters ahead. For his constituents, however, that voyage is bound to be anything but smooth.
Most are working men and women (and increasingly the unemployed) who struggle daily to make ends meet in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
Not surprisingly, the most vulnerable New Yorkers - low-income families, senior citizens, the poor - will bear the brunt of the cuts. The homeless - including 7,822 families with children - will be among the hardest hit.
Advocates and homeless activists are not taking this well, and are asking some tough questions.
"When poor and homeless people ask the government for help, they're told that low-income housing and living wage jobs are not a government priority because this country is built on 'personal responsibility' and people need to 'make better decisions,'" said a written statement by Picture the Homeless, a nonprofit organization founded and led by homeless people in New York.
"[But] when giant banking corporations are on the brink of total collapse because they have made a systematic series of bad business decisions the government gives them a trillion dollars," the statement continued. "Where is the 'personal responsibility' for the rich?"
That is a question that begs for an honest answer, especially after the Wall Street debacle.
It should be noted that Mayor Bloomberg has not closed his eyes to the plight of the thousands of New Yorkers who do not have a place to live. City Councilman Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn), who chairs the Council's General Welfare committee, gives him credit for being "gutsy" in setting the goal of reducing the homeless population 66% by 2009, as part of his five-year plan to combat homelessness announced in 2004.
"It was a bold move," he said.
But the plan has not been a success, and last Tuesday De Blasio held a General Welfare committee hearing to review its progress. Robert Hess, the city Commissioner of Homeless Services, was one of those who testified.
"I found a fair amount of denial from Commissioner Hess," De Blasio said after the hearing. "I would've appreciated if he had been more forthcoming. But there was a lot of 'happy talk' even though there is almost no change in the number of homeless people."
At the hearing, De Blasio presented an innovative five-step plan (in which homelessness prevention plays a big part) to help achieve the mayor's goals. Yet, for all its merits, the future of de Blasio's plan is in doubt due to the crisis.
"I am worried about the budget cuts," he said. "Once you have a fiscal crisis, pro-active solutions tend to fall by the wayside."
Which brings us back to another one of those pesky questions the members of Picture the Homeless are asking.
They would like to know how it is that there is no money for health care, education, housing and real jobs for poor people, but there are trillions for state-sponsored corporate bailouts and tax breaks for the rich.
How indeed?
aruiz@nydailynews.com

Scientists warn US Congress of cancer risk for cell phone use

Scientists warn US Congress of cancer risk for cell phone use
by Virginie Montet Thu Sep 25, 9:15 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The potential link between mobile telephones and brain cancer could be similar to the link between lung cancer and smoking -- something tobacco companies took 50 years to recognize,
Scientists are currently split on the level of danger the biological effects of the magnetic field emitted by cellular telephones poses to humans.
However, society "must not repeat the situation we had with the relationship between smoking and lung cancer where we ... waited until every 'i' was dotted and 't' was crossed before warnings were issued," said David Carpenter, director of the Institute of Health and Environment at the University of Albany, in testimony before a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform.
"Precaution is warranted even in the absence of absolutely final evidence concerning the magnitude of the risk" -- especially for children, said Carpenter.
Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute -- one of the top US cancer research centers -- said that most studies "claiming that there is no link between cell phones and brain tumors are outdated, had methodological concerns and did not include sufficient numbers of long-term cell phone users."
Many studies denying a link defined regular cell phone use as "once a week," he said.
"Recalling the 70 years that it took to remove lead from paint and gasoline and the 50 years that it took to convincingly establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, I argue that we must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk," said Herberman.
A brain tumor can take dozens of years to develop, the scientists said.
Carpenter and Herberman both told the committee the brain cancer risk from cell phone use is far greater for children than for adults.
From Yahoo News 9-26-08

Your vote will count this time!!!

David -- Think of all the people you know -- your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors. What if every one of them voted on Election Day? That's a lot of votes. But odds are, many of them aren't registered -- or aren't sure if they are. Now there's an easy way to learn your status and get registered. Our new one-stop voter registration site, VoteForChange.com, lets you do it all: check your registration status, register to vote, request an absentee ballot, and find your early voting site or polling location. Take a minute today to check out VoteForChange.com, and encourage your friends and family to do the same:

Friday night's debate
Obama presses on --"-Americans need to hear from the person who will be the next president. It is part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once." I don't want to infuse Capital Hill with presidential politics". -- Barack Obama

http://voteforchange.com

Rastafarian guards sue over dreads

Rastafarian guards sue over dreads
BY THOMAS ZAMBITO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, September 17th 2008, 11:39 PM
Rastafarian security guards whose caps couldn't contain their dreadlocks are suing their midtown employer for discrimination - because they were punished for looking sloppy.
A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday claims the four officers, who patrol midtown streets for the Grand Central Partnership, are victims of religious discrimination.
Deon Bailey, Brian Lee, Frantz Seraphin and Milton Marcano were accused of violating the personal appearance policy, which requires employees to show up for work "with their hair properly cut."
Three of them were hit with suspensions of at least one day, the lawsuit claims. Seraphin was forced to shave his beard after being told he would be fired if he didn't, claims the lawsuit, which seeks back pay and other damages for pain and humiliation.
The partnership recently agreed to provide custom-made hats to each of the officers so they could tuck in their dreadlocks, said spokesman David Roskin

A COMMENT----

northstar Sep 18, 2008 7:51:17 AM Report Offensive Post A large part of a security officers job is to represent his/her employer or client to the public in an authoritive and positive manner. Many times if the security officer appear in charge and authorative they can avoid a confrontation. Too much hair, whether it is in the Rastafarian style or just long detracts from that authoritative look. If these men belonged to a religion that required facial tatoo's or facial piercings, would that be protected as well? In the theoretical world maybe it should be however we live in a real world and I think that employer's should have the right to determine how their employees portray the company to the public.

A COMMENT

Angry Black Man Sep 18, 2008 9:42:44 AM Report Offensive Post Northstar - Not too long ago a yamaka might have been considered not "authoratative and positive" sometimes the "real world" has to change

Will you make a donation of $25 or more right now to remind them?

David --Why would the Republicans spend a whole night of their convention attacking ordinary people? With the nation watching, the Republicans mocked, dismissed, and actually laughed out loud at Americans who engage in community service and organizing. Our convention was different. We gave the stage to everyday Americans who hunger for change and stepped up to make phone calls, knock on doors, and raise money in small amounts in their communities. You may have missed it, but we also showed the country a video with the faces and voices of those organizers, volunteers, and donors from every corner of the country.





I wasn't planning on sending you something tonight. But if you saw what I saw from the Republican convention, you know that it demands a response.I saw John McCain's attack squad of negative, cynical politicians. They lied about Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and they attacked you for being a part of this campaign.But worst of all -- and this deserves to be noted -- they insulted the very idea that ordinary people have a role to play in our political process.You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, everyday people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together. Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack's experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.Let's clarify something for them right now.Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.





And it's no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.Meanwhile, we still haven't gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies.It's now clear that John McCain's campaign has decided that desperate lies and personal attacks -- on Barack Obama and on you -- are the only way they can earn a third term for the Bush policies that McCain has supported more than 90 percent of the time.