That's a phrase Jim Odato and the Times Union ought to be gracious enough to use when they report on something 7 hours after I have posted on the blog. http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/JCOPE-leader-ballot-splits-commission-9-5-4941143.php
I posted the 5 NO votes on Letizia Tagliafierro's appointment as executive director of JJOKE at 3:14 pm.
If you want to know whats going on with JJOKE Jim just call me I'll tell you and save you the trouble of ripping off my reporting.
Now to the important stuff and Jim you may want to take notes so you can report as if it is your exclusive.
I've narrowed down the vote flippers (the ones that were NO until something made them YES)
It's 2 of the following 3 (and it may be all 3 if David Renzi voted NO which I'm told he did)
Gary Lavine
MaryLou Rath
Joseph Covello
Now what a real reporter would do is find out what these 3 Republicans had in common when it comes to there vote.
I've spoken to Gary enough times to know that his was not a vote of conscience if he voted yes.
Something else got people to switch votes and if I had to guess I would guess that it involved a violation of the Public Officers Law
But what do I know?
I do know the only way to serve on an ethics agency and sleep well is to act independently with integrity.
Given that measure I'm sure Ellen Yarashefsy, Marvin Jacobs, George Weismann, Renee Roth, Pat Bulgaro, and Ravi Batra are sleeping like babies.
Lavine, Rath, Covello, Horwitz, Uncle Vinnie, Arroyo, Hormozi, DeArcy and Knox not so much ... here is a song for you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD-E-LDc384
And Mariano is not coming in to save you he is there to close out JJOKE
Don't worry about bedbugs worry about subpoenas
can you tell the difference between Rob Cohen and Cosmo Kramer?
monkeeys
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
That didn't take long
Using my super spy skills and technological gadgets that I have in place in the JJOKE conference room, my dedicated analysts have deciphered the data and determined who voted AGAINST LT for the JJOKE executive director job.
And it's more than you think.
5 NO votes during the super secret enclave before we got the white smoke.
What makes this interesting is that at least 2 yes votes had been no votes last time so who flipped and why?
It really cries out for LT to investigate her own appointment.
Put the commissioners under oath and ask who they spoke with and what they were promised or threatened with.
The real problem for LT is that over 1/3 of her commissioners DO NOT WANT HER ouch
Well I can tell you from experience (many times more than half of my commissioners did not want me) your best protection LT is to do your job in a very public way and be judged by your actions.
For example hold a press conference and tell us what you plan on doing at JJOKE. I've been watching JJOKE for years and have not heard you say one word.
Find your voice.
By the way I really don't have any bugs or spy's its just that JJOKE leaks like a sieve and I know who to ask.
All you disgruntled commissioners and employees keep the intel coming I found my voice a long time ago.
And it's more than you think.
5 NO votes during the super secret enclave before we got the white smoke.
What makes this interesting is that at least 2 yes votes had been no votes last time so who flipped and why?
It really cries out for LT to investigate her own appointment.
Put the commissioners under oath and ask who they spoke with and what they were promised or threatened with.
The real problem for LT is that over 1/3 of her commissioners DO NOT WANT HER ouch
Well I can tell you from experience (many times more than half of my commissioners did not want me) your best protection LT is to do your job in a very public way and be judged by your actions.
For example hold a press conference and tell us what you plan on doing at JJOKE. I've been watching JJOKE for years and have not heard you say one word.
Find your voice.
By the way I really don't have any bugs or spy's its just that JJOKE leaks like a sieve and I know who to ask.
All you disgruntled commissioners and employees keep the intel coming I found my voice a long time ago.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Congrats to LT
My insiders have reliably informed me that LT will be named the next executive director of JJOKE.
A deal was struck and several legislative appointees will vote for LT after months of refusing to do so.
Only a couple of questions are left to be answered.
Will the no votes insist on the vote being done in public?
Will the no votes at least be able to discuss in public the process?
Will the yes votes explain to the public why we should believe LT will be independent of the Cuomo administration?
Will the legislative appointees explain why they changed their votes and what caused them to make that change?
Why is LT the right candidate now when she has been the wrong candidate for 6 months?
I am especially interested in Gary Levine's public discussion of the questions posited above.
Anyway congrats to LT I'm not sure why you would want the job under these circumstances but I guess you have your reasons.
And who knows you may turn out to be a breath of fresh air after Herb Teitelbaum, Barry Ginsberg and Ellen Biben. If not I'll be sure to be talking about it in the blog
As to the commissioners until you explain what took so long I'm going to be a cynic and assume Uncle Vinny found some takers for that piece of business he was shopping or Dan came up with something better or this deal got cut at much higher levels and everyone is just following orders.
At this point it doesn't matter the public has lost faith in JJOKE that's why the governor created MOREJOKE.
It's like an ethics groundhog day and I'm Bill Murray.
A deal was struck and several legislative appointees will vote for LT after months of refusing to do so.
Only a couple of questions are left to be answered.
Will the no votes insist on the vote being done in public?
Will the no votes at least be able to discuss in public the process?
Will the yes votes explain to the public why we should believe LT will be independent of the Cuomo administration?
Will the legislative appointees explain why they changed their votes and what caused them to make that change?
Why is LT the right candidate now when she has been the wrong candidate for 6 months?
I am especially interested in Gary Levine's public discussion of the questions posited above.
Anyway congrats to LT I'm not sure why you would want the job under these circumstances but I guess you have your reasons.
And who knows you may turn out to be a breath of fresh air after Herb Teitelbaum, Barry Ginsberg and Ellen Biben. If not I'll be sure to be talking about it in the blog
As to the commissioners until you explain what took so long I'm going to be a cynic and assume Uncle Vinny found some takers for that piece of business he was shopping or Dan came up with something better or this deal got cut at much higher levels and everyone is just following orders.
At this point it doesn't matter the public has lost faith in JJOKE that's why the governor created MOREJOKE.
It's like an ethics groundhog day and I'm Bill Murray.
Monday, October 28, 2013
OLD NEWS
Jim Odato had a paragraph in his column today about JJOKE
Waiting and hoping within JCOPE
Another government panel that meets in private and divided on issues is meeting Tuesday. A few people within and close to state government with ties to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics say the commissioners are planning to try another vote on the preferred candidate for executive director, Letizia Tagliafierro. She is JCOPE's director of investigations and is a protege of the Cuomo administration. Tagliafierro, a lawyer who has handled external and governmental affairs for Cuomo's gubernatorial and attorney general operations, couldn't get enough votes in a commission meeting earlier this year, according to a person in the legal community briefed on the matter.
The commission may take up the executive director issue at its regularly scheduled meeting in Albany, two people familiar with the matter say.
I've written about this before every JJOKE meeting since this summer. It really is old news.
I even know from my inside sources how the vote will go tomorrow and who is voting for and against, I know which legislative appointees have been told to vote for LT and why. The only question I have about tomorrow is will it be done in public?
The outcome of tomorrows vote is not nearly as important as the questions the media should be asking such as:
Why has it taken 6 months?
What changed since the last meeting? Did LT become more or less appealing?
Has anyone from the governor's office lobbied for LT?
Is anyone thinking about how difficult it will be for LT to lead after this delay and her obvious connection to the Governor.
And someone should ask LT why she wants to do this job? There really is no upside anymore . . . trust me no upside.
Waiting and hoping within JCOPE
Another government panel that meets in private and divided on issues is meeting Tuesday. A few people within and close to state government with ties to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics say the commissioners are planning to try another vote on the preferred candidate for executive director, Letizia Tagliafierro. She is JCOPE's director of investigations and is a protege of the Cuomo administration. Tagliafierro, a lawyer who has handled external and governmental affairs for Cuomo's gubernatorial and attorney general operations, couldn't get enough votes in a commission meeting earlier this year, according to a person in the legal community briefed on the matter.
The commission may take up the executive director issue at its regularly scheduled meeting in Albany, two people familiar with the matter say.
I've written about this before every JJOKE meeting since this summer. It really is old news.
I even know from my inside sources how the vote will go tomorrow and who is voting for and against, I know which legislative appointees have been told to vote for LT and why. The only question I have about tomorrow is will it be done in public?
The outcome of tomorrows vote is not nearly as important as the questions the media should be asking such as:
Why has it taken 6 months?
What changed since the last meeting? Did LT become more or less appealing?
Has anyone from the governor's office lobbied for LT?
Is anyone thinking about how difficult it will be for LT to lead after this delay and her obvious connection to the Governor.
And someone should ask LT why she wants to do this job? There really is no upside anymore . . . trust me no upside.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Morejoke who are they and what are they doing but we support them
Thats the latest takeaway from the recent Sienna poll. We don't know what the Moreland Commission is or what they are doing but they should keep doing it.
Explain to me again why one person one vote makes sense.
And did you see the comments from Co-Chair Rice's campaign? They will not solicit money from those being investigated IF THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE FROM THE MEDIA
Are you f***ing kidding me?
Doesn't Ms. Rice have anyone in the campaign responsible to avoid conflicts in fundraising?
What do they do fundraise from those about to be indicted unless the media writes a story.
I thoght it was toungue in cheek when I warned Morejoke not to solicit donations from those that were being investigated, but now I'm hearing that is exactly what some have done.
In their honor and as a reward for their stupidity here is my thought for MOREJOKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_50-gOeBilc
And the sooner the better
Explain to me again why one person one vote makes sense.
And did you see the comments from Co-Chair Rice's campaign? They will not solicit money from those being investigated IF THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE FROM THE MEDIA
Are you f***ing kidding me?
Doesn't Ms. Rice have anyone in the campaign responsible to avoid conflicts in fundraising?
What do they do fundraise from those about to be indicted unless the media writes a story.
I thoght it was toungue in cheek when I warned Morejoke not to solicit donations from those that were being investigated, but now I'm hearing that is exactly what some have done.
In their honor and as a reward for their stupidity here is my thought for MOREJOKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_50-gOeBilc
And the sooner the better
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Morejoke is a disgrace
The Morejoke commission is all over the news today claiming to have turned over a new leaf. They are talking tough and rattling their sabres.
Before they start all these new "we will go wherever the facts lead us bullshit" areas of inquiry I think they ought to investigate themselves.
They should subpoena anyone and everyone that was involved in the decision not to issue subpoenas before yesterdays meeting. Get them under oath and find out what really happened and if any member of the executive branch violated the Public Officers Law (the Dopp violation) by instructing MOREJOKE whom to investigate. AND DO IT IN PUBLIC!!!!!
Because at this point it is a tossup who the public has less confidence in, JJOKE or MOREJOKE.
In fact all subpoenas and responses thereto that Morejoke issues going forward should be done publicly. While they say that everything is on the table how will we ever know what they decided to take off the table and put on there plate to dine on? A thorough and professionally performed investigation will stand up to public scrutiny.
If they want to show some independence they could start by investigating why the State Democratic Party account that paid for the Governor's ads, which included a call to action for viewers to lobby for passage of the governors ethics bill, was never required to register as lobbyists. As a bonus that would give them a good reason to get the JJOKE commissioners and staff under oath, which could yield a career worth of investigations.
Do that one thing and I'll stop calling you MOREJOKE.
Oh and one more thing this being the silly season make sure none of the MOREJOKE commissioners do anything stupid like soliciting campaign contributions from those they are probing.
I can't believe any MOREJOKE commissioner could be that stupid but hey this is NY and they are elected officials so nothing would surprise me.
Before they start all these new "we will go wherever the facts lead us bullshit" areas of inquiry I think they ought to investigate themselves.
They should subpoena anyone and everyone that was involved in the decision not to issue subpoenas before yesterdays meeting. Get them under oath and find out what really happened and if any member of the executive branch violated the Public Officers Law (the Dopp violation) by instructing MOREJOKE whom to investigate. AND DO IT IN PUBLIC!!!!!
Because at this point it is a tossup who the public has less confidence in, JJOKE or MOREJOKE.
In fact all subpoenas and responses thereto that Morejoke issues going forward should be done publicly. While they say that everything is on the table how will we ever know what they decided to take off the table and put on there plate to dine on? A thorough and professionally performed investigation will stand up to public scrutiny.
If they want to show some independence they could start by investigating why the State Democratic Party account that paid for the Governor's ads, which included a call to action for viewers to lobby for passage of the governors ethics bill, was never required to register as lobbyists. As a bonus that would give them a good reason to get the JJOKE commissioners and staff under oath, which could yield a career worth of investigations.
Do that one thing and I'll stop calling you MOREJOKE.
Oh and one more thing this being the silly season make sure none of the MOREJOKE commissioners do anything stupid like soliciting campaign contributions from those they are probing.
I can't believe any MOREJOKE commissioner could be that stupid but hey this is NY and they are elected officials so nothing would surprise me.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
I found the set list for the governor's birthday party fundraiser
Don't ask me how I got it but here is the Billy Joel set list for the governor's fundraiser.
Who knew Billy understood New York's ethical climate and fundraising so well.
Rumour has it that the MOREJOKE commission will be taping at the fundraiser
Easy Money http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xp54Y39uM
A Matter of Trust http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yYchgX1fMw
An Innocent Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exSD7rHVI4U
Miami 2017 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZuFziOqRx8
Movin Out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBUwUCcGOE
Say Goodbye to Hollywood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47PtUvHIQpk
Downeaster Alexa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47PtUvHIQpk
Famous Last Words http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bdtuwPpQIk
BTW Downeaster Alexa doesn't really fit the theme but it is a great song and was part of Billy's lobbying effort when Andrew's dad was the gov
UPDATE after reading the blog I'm told an encore was added
I Go to Extremes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FwqaDPyewI
I'm not sure who it applies to the gov or the blog
Who knew Billy understood New York's ethical climate and fundraising so well.
Rumour has it that the MOREJOKE commission will be taping at the fundraiser
Easy Money http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xp54Y39uM
A Matter of Trust http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yYchgX1fMw
An Innocent Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exSD7rHVI4U
Miami 2017 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZuFziOqRx8
Movin Out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBUwUCcGOE
Say Goodbye to Hollywood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47PtUvHIQpk
Downeaster Alexa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47PtUvHIQpk
Famous Last Words http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bdtuwPpQIk
BTW Downeaster Alexa doesn't really fit the theme but it is a great song and was part of Billy's lobbying effort when Andrew's dad was the gov
UPDATE after reading the blog I'm told an encore was added
I Go to Extremes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FwqaDPyewI
I'm not sure who it applies to the gov or the blog
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Senator calls for an investigation of Governor's office
I never thought I would be saying this I AGREE WITH SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER
Read Senator Krueger's quote in the New York Times:
"If what was reported is true, that there are people in the governor's office who have directed the commission not to follow through on subpoenas, that is worthy of it's own investigation."
It's actually a very easy investigation to perform.
The Moreland Commission has 3 co-chairs who approve subpoenas. Put all 3 under oath and ask them about the issue. For good measure ask the other Moreland Commissioners what they know. And then to put icing on the cake ask Barbara Bartoletti to disclose to the public what is going on. Barbara should have done that already without an investigation. All those years being a goo goo calling for more disclosure and she finally gets to work in the sausage factory and doesn't tell us how the sausage is being made. Another goo goo hypocrite co opted and joining the list of Dadey and Lerner.
Anyway once you get the under oath testimony you will know if anyone in the governor's office violated the Dopp provisions of the Public Officers Law or if anyone on the Moreland Commission committed perjury during the investigation.
The only problem is the investigation would have to be commenced by the governors wholly owned ethics agency JJOKE. JJOKE to investigate MOREJOKE? That doesn't seem likely . . . or does it?
Remember JJOKE is now split internally between the cut dog gubernatorial appointees and the newly empowered legislative employees.
All it takes is some of the legislative employees to bring the issue up in a public session and we are off to the races.
Or JJOKE can do nothing and play right into the media perception that MOREJOKE is a rigged game.
How bad can these folks get at doing the PR spin surrounding ethics?
Maybe I should send Susan Lerner and Dick Dadey a strongly worded letter explaining how foolish they look. . .
One last thought on MOREJOKE and money in politics How about the following as the theme song for the governor's birthday fundraiser?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xp54Y39uM
It's not Marilyn Monroe at the Garden but hey you gotta start somewhere
Read Senator Krueger's quote in the New York Times:
"If what was reported is true, that there are people in the governor's office who have directed the commission not to follow through on subpoenas, that is worthy of it's own investigation."
It's actually a very easy investigation to perform.
The Moreland Commission has 3 co-chairs who approve subpoenas. Put all 3 under oath and ask them about the issue. For good measure ask the other Moreland Commissioners what they know. And then to put icing on the cake ask Barbara Bartoletti to disclose to the public what is going on. Barbara should have done that already without an investigation. All those years being a goo goo calling for more disclosure and she finally gets to work in the sausage factory and doesn't tell us how the sausage is being made. Another goo goo hypocrite co opted and joining the list of Dadey and Lerner.
Anyway once you get the under oath testimony you will know if anyone in the governor's office violated the Dopp provisions of the Public Officers Law or if anyone on the Moreland Commission committed perjury during the investigation.
The only problem is the investigation would have to be commenced by the governors wholly owned ethics agency JJOKE. JJOKE to investigate MOREJOKE? That doesn't seem likely . . . or does it?
Remember JJOKE is now split internally between the cut dog gubernatorial appointees and the newly empowered legislative employees.
All it takes is some of the legislative employees to bring the issue up in a public session and we are off to the races.
Or JJOKE can do nothing and play right into the media perception that MOREJOKE is a rigged game.
How bad can these folks get at doing the PR spin surrounding ethics?
Maybe I should send Susan Lerner and Dick Dadey a strongly worded letter explaining how foolish they look. . .
One last thought on MOREJOKE and money in politics How about the following as the theme song for the governor's birthday fundraiser?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xp54Y39uM
It's not Marilyn Monroe at the Garden but hey you gotta start somewhere
Friday, October 4, 2013
Regina Calcaterra what's your next career move after this ethics fiasco?
Hey Regina you know you are going to be blamed for the Moreland fiasco It might be time to focus on your fabulous book tour. Here is a little inspiration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jeZtxB_pGI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jeZtxB_pGI
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Who takes the blame for the Moreland Commission failure
Hey Regina Calcaterra or Kathleen Rice or William Fitzpatrick or David Soares have you ever really listened to this song?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP5Xv7QqXiM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP5Xv7QqXiM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)