Wednesday, September 14, 2011

At The Riverside Church, A Covenant To End DOMA

Invitation to Wedding and Covenant to End DOMA at The Riverside Church (Fundraiser)

On Sunday, October 30, 2011, TJ Williams and Brad Hover are to be married at The Riverside Church in New York City in a ceremony, which will include a prayer -- calling on President Barak Obama to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) before the end of his second term in office.  TJ and Brad are calling this special prayer a Covenant to End DOMA

"My partner and I started planning our wedding before we even knew that marriage equality would be made legal in New York State. But we had faith that the laws would be changed in our endless effort towards achieving equality," said TJ Williams.

To raise money for the wedding and for the Covenant to End Doma, TJ has released the above YouTube fundraiser video. TJ and Brad need your help to gather leaders and speakers and others for a civil rights event, where President Obama will be asked to covenant with our nation's communities and its leaders to end DOMA before the end of his second term. All donations will be used for this service and for purposes of community-building around social justice.

Under the discrimination of DOMA, no state is required to acknowledge the legal same-sex marriages, even if they are legal in other states.  Participants in the Covenant to End DOMA are also hoping that this event will spur a conversation that would encourage unity between the African American community and the LGBT community, as we face the 2012 election year. 

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Best Buy Was Price Gouging On Dasani Water Before Hurricane Irene Slammed Into New Jersey


Best Buy Price Gouging - Emergency Water Supplies

As hurricane Irene bears down on the Jersey Shore, the Best Buy in Howell, NJ has taken it upon themselves sell cases of Dasani water for $40.56.

Best Buy Was Price Gouging On Dasani Water Before Hurricane Irene Slammed Into New Jersey

From theCHIVE :


At a time when it’s so important for these seaside communities to come together to help each other out (maybe even lower the price on water, eh), it’s disappointing to see a massive corporation like Best Buy not only assume zero social responsibility, but also go the extra mile to make a buck by selling bulk cases of water at the single bottle price during an emergency.

So I put it to you, Chivers. Is this ethical?

UPDATE #1: I just called Best Buy and spoke to one employee and a manager to confirm the photo. Both refused to answer my questions and told me I had to call corporate offices. My response was, ‘All you have to do is deny that you are doing this. It’s that simple.’
Neither party denied it. Instead I was rudely directed to corporate and then they hung up on me.

UPDATE #2: The manager of the Best Buy has responded and said, “… Sunday August 28th 2011, we will (be) price matching any local supermarket’s price for cases of water if they are needed for one day only as a gesture of good will.”


(One of the DJs for New Jersey 101.5 sent this photo to theCHIVE.)

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Horse Carriages Work During Hurricane Irene Under Inhumane Weather Conditions


Hurricane Irene,Carriage Horses,Animal Rights,ASPCA,Humane Society,Dangerous Weather Conditions

A horse-drawn carriage makes an illegal U-turn in the middle of a busy Midtown Manhattan street, on wet and slippery pavement no less, on a day when 370,000 people were ordered to evacuation flood zones in New York City.

Carriage Horses Working Despite New York City Shut Down #Hurricane #Irene

New York (27 August 2011) -- An hour ago, the government integrity watchdog and animal rights activist Donny Moss released the following statement by social media :

In spite of the evacuations, transportation shut down, the Mayor's plea to stay off the streets, and a law which states that carriages cannot work during "slippery conditions," carriage drivers worked all day. How does the ASPCA, which collects money in the name of helping the horses, allow this ? This industry is enabled and empowered by Christine Quinn, who has killed all bills to take these horses out of harm's way.

Animal rights activists have long complained that Ms. Quinn, the City Council Speaker, has no integrity at her core, and all of her talk about animal rights (much like all of her policies) are accompanied by touches of a legislative sleight-of-hand.

In a related e-mail newsletter to other animal rights activists, Mr. Moss remarked :

Dear animal advocate:

Several hours ago, portions of New York City were evacuated for the first time in history, and the largest public transportation system in the country was shut down due to Hurricane Irene. With conditions deteriorating, Mayor Michael Bloomberg implored New Yorkers to stay home for our own safety and so that emergency vehicles can easily navigate the streets. Downpours occurred throughout the day.

In spite of all of the above, and the law which clearly states that carriage operators cannot work during "ice, heavy rain or other slippery conditions," dozens of horse-drawn carriage operators were working as of 4:30 p.m. If history repeats itself, the horses will be forced to make the long, treacherous trip through the streets of midtown back to the "stables" when the storm intensifies.

As usual, the ASPCA, which collects an untold amount of money from donors in the name of helping the carriage horses, allowed the carriage drivers to leave the stables this morning and to work all day in the wet streets in spite of the law.

The ASPCA, which was founded to protect the carriage horses, continues to stand by and watch as the carriage operators to break the law. They mock -- instead of support -- the advocates who are working tirelessly to take the horses out of harm's way. And they continue to refuse to use their substantial clout, power and resources to shut this industry down, in spite of their own stance that horse-drawn carriages should be banned from NYC.

The horse-drawn carriage industry is also enabled -- if not empowered -- by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has blocked all efforts to take these horses out of Midtown, killing bills in committee before they see the light of day. In fact, Quinn has killed every meaningful animal protection bill introduced at City Hall since she became Speaker in 2006.

Following are pictures of horses working in the rain at about 3:00 p.m. today. Please share this information with your friends who donate money to animal organizations and/or who vote in NYC.

Thank you.
Donny Moss

Hurricane Irene,Business Closing,NYC

Many restaurants were closed across New York City due to the dangerous weather conditions, but carriage horses were still being forced to work under inhumane street conditions.

Hurricane Irene,NYTimes,MTA Subway Shut Down,NYC

Officials of the MTA New York City Subway ordered the nation's largest mass transit system to be closed at noon today, due to the dangerous wind and rain conditions in connection with Hurricane Irene, but Donny Moss reported that horses were still pulling carriages at 4:30 p.m. under dangerous street conditions.

Hurricane Irene,NYTimes,Evacuation,NYC

Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed an evacuation order that demanded that approximately 370,000 people leave dangerous flood zones due to Hurricane Irene ; under these conditions, horse-drawn carriages were still working.

Hurricane Irene,Business Closings,NYC

While businesses were closed and employees making preparations for Hurricane Irene, horses were lined up to pull unsuspecting tourists through dangerous Midtown traffic.

Hurricane Irene,Carriage Horses,Animal Rights,ASPCA,Humane Society,Dangerous Weather Conditions

Riders were carrying umbrellas to protect them from the rain and wind, but horses were left to work completely exposed to the elements. Where is the humanity in this ?

Hurricane Irene,Carriage Horses,Animal Rights,ASPCA,Humane Society,Dangerous Weather Conditions

A carriage driver holds up an umbrella to protect himself from the rain and wind, but the tired horse trudges through the elements as the city prepares for Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Irene,Carriage Horses,Animal Rights,ASPCA,Humane Society,Dangerous Weather Conditions

In a burst of rain from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene, a carriage driver uses an umbrella for himself, but he offers no protection from the elements to his horse.

Hurricane Irene,Carriage Horses,Animal Rights,ASPCA,Humane Society,Dangerous Weather Conditions

A carriage driver wears a raincoat in a rainstorm from one of the outer bands of Hurricane Irene, as unsuspecting tourists are being driven through dangerous weather conditions. Meanwhile, the horse is being forced to work under inhumane conditions where everybody else is protected from the weather, but for the horse.

Hurricane Irene,Carriage Horses,Animal Rights,ASPCA,Humane Society,Dangerous Weather Conditions

Still yet other carriage horse drivers are protected from the rain and wind by giant umbrellas, but there is no protection offered to the horses from the stormy weather arriving in New York from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Irene Penis Streaking [NSFW]

Weather Channel Live Report : Hurricane Irene Penis Streaking

Naked Man Bravely Shows Penis to Irene, Weather Channel [NSFW]

Read more about the Weather Channel/Hurricane Irene penis flasher on The Village Voice.

Quinn NYPD Raid Eagle

Show Us You Care ! Will Christine Quinn hold NYPD accountable for raiding the Eagle ? Probably not, as usual.

Is Christine Quinn going to hold the NYPD accountable for raiding the Eagle on the very night when marriage equality became law ? What kind of an LGBT leader is she, if she does not fight for our LGBT civil rights ? Join our Facebook page : Gays Against Christine Quinn.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Christine Quinn Mini-Me

Christine Quinn Uses City Council Funds (aka Taxpayer Money) to Reward Political Bosses

After City Council Speaker Christine Quinn got fluffed by NYTimes reporter David W. Chen, now comes Michael Powell, a columnist for the Gray Lady, who pulls back the curtain on Speaker Quinn's slush fund-tinged campaign for mayor.

Mr. Powell reports that Ms. Quinn was appointed Speaker of the City Council after she "charmed" political bosses from Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. At her coronation ceremony, she put Vito Lopez, the notorious Brooklyn political boss (who is the target of several ethical and corruption investigations) in the front row. Speaker Quinn has also scratched Mr. Vito's back in exchange for his political support. "The fates have smiled on Mr. Lopez’s social-service empire, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council ; this year the Council sent more than $4 million its way," reported the NYTimes.

In a statement posted Facebook, a government integrity watchdog activist questioned why the latest NYTimes article stops short of probing the status of the federal investigation into Speaker Quinn's slush fund scandal.

"Instead of reporting on Quinn's criminal activity, the NY Times merely raises questions about her ethics and leadership: "But there are questions to be asked about her leadership, and not all cheery." Is it a fear of Bloomberg that prevents the Times from reporting on the well-documented budget and campaign corruption ?" Donny Moss posted on the social network.

This is how the NYTimes article ends :

Last year, a Council majority favored mandatory sick days for New Yorkers with less than a week of vacation. The mayor opposed it. Ms. Quinn killed it.

Some suggest that she has gotten lost in the game, that she can no longer recall the questions she once asked as an advocate. That sounds too definitive. Her arc is not done.

She affects nonchalance when described as a mayoral puppet: “You can call me Mini-Me. I don’t really care.”

The rub is that voters might care a lot.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Quinn NYT Infomercial Fluff


To find out how real journalists assess City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's record, one needs to look no further than the sensibility expressed in this blog post on True News From Change : NYT Sets the Definition on How To Judge and Pick the Next Mayor and It Fits Quinn

In his blog post, the journalist Gary Tilzer makes many astute observations about David W. Chen's infomercial fluff piece about Speaker Quinn, and perhaps this is the most sharpest of Mr. Tilzer's criticisms : ''It was the publisher of the NYT, along with the NYP and Daily News, that used their papers to support changing the term limits law to allow Bloomberg and Quinn to run for a third term. Mr. Chen does not challenge Quinn when she brushes off her term limits and other critics as 'naïve' ideologues.''

It's already been documented how Christine Quinn bluffs her way through important social issues.

What Speaker Quinn is doing by making her ''unapologetic'' ''move to the middle'' is selling out the working class families of New York City. Her policies favour real estate developers -- and come to the detriment, suffering, and mass displacement of working class New Yorkers. Speaker Quinn's vision of New York City is a continuation of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's vision : more glass and steel luxury condos and less hospitals, firehouses, public schools, and senior centers. Speaker Quinn wants to make life so unbearable to the average wage-earning New Yorker that we all pick up and leave town.

How do we know that Christine Quinn has sold out her values and beliefs and still find herself to be in a place of denial about it, so much so that she accuses her critics of being “naïve” ideologues ?

Speaker Quinn's ideas about leadership in New York, by supporting the luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital, which used to be the only full-service hospital with a Level 1 Trauma Center below 14th Street, is like GLAAD publicly supporting the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger. Not only would AT&T be in an even stronger position to undo net neutrality, but what is GLAAD doing by meddling in a telecom merger approval process with the FCC ? Likewise, why is a ''supposedly!! celebrated LGBT third-term politician like Christine Quinn rushing toward the ''middle'' of the political spectrum, if it means that she has to abandon her idealistic beginnings and instead now oppose paid sick leave and a living wage bill ?

"AT&T was one of the companies whose local representatives sits on the board of directors of the Tennessee chamber of commerce," wrote John Aravosis at Americablog. "You remember them, the group that endorsed and actively lobbied for the measure repealing gay and trans rights ordinances in the state, mandating it so that no trans person can ever change their birth certificate gender in the future, and banning any future civil rights ordinances for anyone in the future. That AT&T."

What does the intersection of St. Vincent's Hospital/Rudin Family Luxury Condo Conversion and the GLAAD/AT&T T-Mobile mega deals have to do with Christine Quinn and New York City politics ?

In each case, you see the erosion of core values of fighting for an activist's central reason for being : serving their constituency. But once you get to be so big, you can blow off you constituency as “naïve” ideologues (or drop the F-bomb on them, the way that one of her administrative assistants did).

If, throughout our nation's history, our goal has been to distribute power and authority equally among voters, then the voters, who have less choices on election day, get their voices muffled. Who is going to challenge GLAAD to focus once again on its original intention ? Who is going to put pressure on Christine Quinn to deliver on the community’s demands to stop all the hospital closings that are happening across New York City ?

It is not too much to expect that the people, who you elect to City Council, start to deliver something tangible for New York City voters.

  • If you disliked how City Council members extended term limits without a voter referendum, then let her know : quinn@council.nyc.ny.us
  • If you agree, that Speaker Quinn needs to hear the voices of communities, who are demanding that hospitals stop closing all across the five boroughs, then let her know : quinn@council.nyc.ny.us
  • If you can no longer accept a weekly threat by Mayor Bloomberg to layoff teachers and firefighters, and to close schools and firehouses, then let her know : quinn@council.nyc.ny.us
  • If you want Speaker Quinn to shut down her $50 million slush fund, then let her know : quinn@council.nyc.ny.us
  • If you refuse to settle for City Council members, who take tens of thousands of campaign donations from real estate developers in exchange for what seems like pay-to-play real estate development deal approvals, then let her know : quinn@council.nyc.ny.us
  • If you believe that Speaker Quinn betrays the LGBT community, then let her know : quinn@council.nyc.ny.us
  • If you have your own issue, that you'd like to bring to Speaker Quinn's attention, then let her know : quinn@council.nyc.ny.us

Speak now, or forever hold your peace.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Quinn Plaza Hotel Protest

Christine Quinn - Plaza Hotel - Gays Against Quinn (Protest Video)

Over 20 activists gathered outside the Plaza Hotel in a demonstration against City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Watch as protesters speak against Christine Quinn to former Mayor David Dinkins' entourage and hand anti-Quinn literature to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Some of us were there because of Speaker Quinn's use of a $50 million slush fund during a time when we live under constant threat by Mayor Bloomberg, that he is going to lay off teachers and close down fire houses. Others were there, because Speaker Quinn pushed through a controversial extension of term limits, allowing Mayor Bloomberg, herself, and others, to run for a third term in office. Still yet others were there because of Speaker Quinn's complete abdication of full civil rights for LGBT New Yorkers, do-nothing record over hospital closings, horrible animal rights record, and use of city staff for campaign work.

Please join us for a Third Anniversary Protest of the Term Limits Extension at 2 pm on Sunday, October 23, at City Hall.

Please also join our Facebook group : Gays Against Christine Quinn.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Hugh Carey, dead, 92

NYTimes Obituary : Hugh Carey, Who Led Fiscal Rescue of New York City, Is Dead at 92

From The New York Times :

Hugh L. Carey, the governor who helped rescue New York from the brink of financial collapse in the 1970s and tamed a culture of ever-growing spending, died Sunday at his summer home on Shelter Island. He was 92.

His death was announced by the office of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

“Governor Carey led our state during a time of great financial turmoil and pulled us back from the brink of bankruptcy and economic ruin,” Mr. Cuomo said in the statement.

As the 51st governor of New York from 1975 through 1982, Mr. Carey led a small group of public servants who vanquished the fiscal crisis that threatened New York City and the state — the direst emergency a governor had faced since the Depression — by taking on powers over the city’s finances that no governor had wielded before and none has wielded since. A liberal Democrat, Mr. Carey reversed the upward spiral of borrowing, spending and entitlement under his predecessor, Nelson A. Rockefeller, a Republican who had presided in an era of limitless government promise. ....

Thursday, August 4, 2011

A-Rod A Fraud in Trouble Again? A-Rod, Jorge, Matt Damon Explain to NYers How to Live w/out Hospitals by Suzannah B. Troy Artist

http://m.nypost.com/f/mobile/sports/yankees/games_report_ordered_rod_poker_meet_VFr7PdJm16OTKqUYHMdcsL A-Rod called a fraud after steroid scandal, part of the wealthy elite that makes a fortune in NYC but finds every way to cheat so he does not have to part with the obscene amounts of money he should never have been paid the way he cheated on his wife caught in another scandal? A very emotional protest of People fighting to save yet another hospital this one in Queens should be contrasted with Juan Gonzalez's exposes on the Mets and Yankees Stadiums which continue to screw the tax payers out of mega millions. How does A-Fraud look himself in the mirror? Quite easily. With all that $$$$ he will always have good friends.


http://youtu.be/mGXR6cDbywg

http://nycculturepoppolitics.blogspot.com/2011/08/peninsula-hospital-closing-protest.html

A-Rod what do you have to say about our hospitals being closed?

Matt Damon and Jorge Posada, you told New Yorkers to Vote for mayor Bloomberg and I do not think either of you declare NYC as your resident.

What do you have to say to all the People of NYC that need hospitals and have none because Bloomberg and his puppet Christine Quinn sold the People of New York out to real estate developers?

Look at Christine Quinn’s list of donors for her mayoral run.
http://www.councilpedia.org/index.php?title=Christine_Quinn

What do New Yorkers do if they have a heart attacks through out New York City in the different boroughs with the exception of the Upper East Side where Bloomberg and some of the richest New Yorkers live?

Why did we bail out banks and did not ask them to repay the bail-outs and why no jail for the bankers? Why did they get billion dollar bonuses but no bail out for hospitals?

http://mayorbloombergkingofnewyork.blogspot.com/search?q=juan+gonzalez

Remember the 2 new Stadiums that tax payers were forced to help build yet most can’t afford a seat, popcorn, a hot dog? Well click the link above to learn more how the Stadiums are robbing us of mega-millions and now hundreds of parks dept. workers will lost their jobs just like all the hospital workers from so many of these hospitals.

Peninsula Hospital Closing Protest

Peninsula Hospital Center - Protesters Take Over Lobby - Hospital Closings in NYC

Approximately 200 union employees, residents of Far Rockaway, in Queens, and local officials, gathered in the rain outside Peninsula Hospital Center, across the bay from JFK Airport. Peninsula Hospital Center has filed a plan to shut its doors. The hospital’s owner is embroiled in a political and financial scandal, but employees and residents are worried about the threat to public health, should the hospital’s closure plan be approved.


Attendees of the rally braved the rain, then, once the rally had ended, stormed into one of the lobbies of the hospital, until hospital officials called the police, to clear the lobby of its own employees.

In the time that Christine Quinn had been speaker of the City Council, eight hospitals (not counting Peninsula) have closed. If Peninsula closes, it would mark the ninth hospital to close under Speaker Quinn's watch.

This week, President Obama agreed to severe budget cuts to social safety net programs, that underpin the social contract we make with our government and amongst ourselves. More budget cuts to Medicaid and Medicare will lead to a further collapse of our healthcare system. Is Christine Quinn in Bermuda with Mayor Michael Bloomberg each time a hospital closes in New York City ? Is President Obama surfing in Hawaii each time a hospital closes in America ?

If we obediently listen to people, who are in power (the same people who work for us, the very same people who are closing our hospitals), telling us to leave the lobby of a closing hospital, then it just makes it that much easier for the New York State Department of Health/Christine Quinn to keep closing hospitals.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Richard Sandler 80’s When Greed Was Good

http://lightbox.time.com/2011/08/03/richard-sandlers-80s-when-greed-was-good/#1

I would always see Richard filming around the neighborhood and we love Angelica’s for great Vegetarian food....great to see his work featured in Time Light Box....


Here is my review of his film from Amazon


3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gods of Times Square on the money, foreshadows the death of 'old' New York for shopping mall nyc, December 29, 2007
This review is from: The Gods of Times Square (DVD)
I saw this film when it first came out and I thought it was powerful but now looking back, Richard Sandler's film has grown in importance because post-Sept. 11, under a billionaire mayor and a multi-millionaire socialite city planner came a tsunami of community crushing development mostly all for the mega rich and a kind of shopping mall chain story retail explosion city wide punctuated with banks on every street corner that has robbed NYC of it's soul and originality.

There are grey tones. Do I appreciate feeling safe walking down the streets of Time Square and elsewhere in the city? Yes!!! What Richard Sandler shows us is the make-over and take-over by corporations and I understand some of the positives in terms of a cleaner, safer more pleasant city but ultimately what I didn't realize at the time was that film maker had his pulse on was the end of a kind of dynamism and edginess that made NYC what it is. It seems now that we can't have the best of both worlds and my neighborhood (East Village/Bowery/Lower East Side now looks like a bad xerox of midtown even resembling Time Square)thanks to mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Now we have generic chains stores through out the city and every neighborhood looks the same. Only bars, banks and Starbuck like chain stores can afford this "new city" that under the Bloomberg administration brought sky piercing luxury condos and hotels mostly all for the mega rich reflecting a history destroyed and communities no longer welcome.

Richard Sandler "got it" before any of us and he does leave a lot of grey tones for you to come to your on conclusions. Well done. Time to do another masterful documentary..."Welcome to the "new" hideous New York.

Save Claudio's Barbershop Press Conference Harlem posted by Suzannah B. Troy Artist



Mayor Bloomberg and his mini-me Christine Quinn along with socialite city planner Amanda the People’s Burden mega-millionaire are responsible for a reckless tsunami of development crushign our communities city wide and mass displacement.

Watch the YouTube I was sent.

Rudin Family Peninsula Hospital

Peninsula Hospital Center

Is the Rudin Family eyeing their next real estate harvesting operation on the dead carcass of the Peninsula Hospital Center in Queens ?

William Rudin

After he's done with St. Vincent's Hospital, it has been heard on the street that William Rudin is considering another real estate harvesting operation, this time at the Peninsula Hospital Center in Queens.