For Supreme Court pick, Obama chooses minority over quality

It's no surprise that President Obama would pick a Latina to be the next Supreme Court Justice. After all, it would re-affirm his commitment to fill more positions with minorities. But is Sonia Sotomayor the right choice as a Justice in our highest court? Is the President blinded by his desire to "diversify" the Supreme Court with a nomination of an unqualified person?

Although New York Senators Charles Shumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, highly recommended Sotomayor in a letter to President Obama in April 2009, her experience and qualification warrant closer scrutiny. In particular, her six out of seven cases were reviewed and reversed by the Supreme Court. I wouldn't call that the result of an exemplary legal mind?

Republicans are preparing for a challenge to the nomination, but some have cautioned that grilling her in the Senate confirmation hearing would alienate even more Hispanic voters. The GOP should start focusing on getting conservative Hispanics on board to spread the opposition message. After all, the President's message is clear: He wants to place an activist judge in the Supreme Court. And it's a danger when a Justice would disrespect the Constitution for personal agenda.

White House idiot(s) cause panic in New York

Is dealing with the economy too big of a task at hand for the White House that nobody cared to think through the idea of Air Force Once flying through Manhattan with two fighter jets on a "photo op" mission? Many New Yorkers panicked because of memories of 9/11. Buildings were evacuated, businesses closed down.

Can the city and state sue Washington for damages?

High taxes will turn NYC into a dump

New York City is a great place to visit and to live. It's one of the top American cities which attracts millions of tourists per year. The Big Apple, in some ways, embodies what many others think of America.

But all that greatness may soon disappear as Gov. Paterson and the state legislature prepare to increase taxes, especially for those earning over $250,000 annually. Talk show giant Rush Limbaugh has already voiced his displeasure with this and contemplates relocating to Texas for a backup studio (he spends only a few days in NYC per year). The governor doesn't seem to mind the negative publicity Limbaugh has inflicted on the city.

Does the governor think New York is so great that people simply won't leave the state because of high taxes? Hopefully he knows that there are 49 other states competing against N.Y., and a few of them without state income taxes. When the wealthy decides to leave the state, they take with them not only the tax revenues, but also job creation and consumption power.

When the next election is up we'll find out how Gov. Paterson fare with this move. My prediction: a new governor.

Tedisco leads for now

Some good news in the NY-20 special election as Jim Tedisco (R) takes a razor-thin lead of just 12 votes!

NY-20 race too close to call

The result of the first election after Obama's inauguration is still undetermined. Murphy (D) leads Tedisco (R) by just a handful of votes and now thousands of absentee ballots will come into play. This special election in the blue state of New York is viewed by many to be a gauge on the popularity of the President and his economic policies. Republicans are hoping to see an early victory before the mid-term elections come up.

Jim Tedisco FTW!

Resignation letter from an AIG executive

From Jake DeSantis, Executive V.P. of AIG Financial Products, to Edward Liddy, CEO AIG, with love. Here is an excerpt:

After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company — during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 — we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself.

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down.

You and I have never met or spoken to each other, so I’d like to tell you about myself. I was raised by schoolteachers working multiple jobs in a world of closing steel mills. My hard work earned me acceptance to M.I.T., and the institute’s generous financial aid enabled me to attend. I had fulfilled my American dream.

I started at this company in 1998 as an equity trader, became the head of equity and commodity trading and, a couple of years before A.I.G.’s meltdown last September, was named the head of business development for commodities. Over this period the equity and commodity units were consistently profitable — in most years generating net profits of well over $100 million. Most recently, during the dismantling of A.I.G.-F.P., I was an integral player in the pending sale of its well-regarded commodity index business to UBS. As you know, business unit sales like this are crucial to A.I.G.’s effort to repay the American taxpayer.

Is this any surprise? Because of the government witch hunt, Wall Street is losing honest, hardworking, seasoned executives like Mr. DeSantis. New York City will no longer be a beacon of capitalism, but a swamp of mediocre bureaucrats treading about. If $500,000 is the most money one can make in Wall Street, who would even want the job? The pay sucks, and the work hours are long.

Mr. DeSantis, I feel sorry for what you (and your family) had to go through recently. Best wishes in your next endeavor. We can only hope you choose to remain in the U.S. as a productive worker instead of joining other firms overseas.

Obama, Democrats' attack on life

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) failed to come out of subcommittee in 2004, but now Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is ready to give it another go considering the bill's former Senate co-sponsor, Barack Obama, is president. The other Senate sponsor is Barbara Boxer (D-CA) who intends to introduce to the Senate a similar bill.

FOCA would make federal law to protect abortions established by Roe vs. Wade in 1973. The bill defines abortion as a "fundamental right" that cannot be denied or interfered by government. That sort of language would nullify existing state laws which require parental notification and ban certain procedures.

Some Roman Catholic bishops are threatening to close 624 Catholic hospitals if FOCA becomes law. Who could blame them? Abortion is terminating a life, denying a new life any chance of survival, an act of murder. Catholics, and followers of other faiths, simply won't allow it.

The Democrats better watch carefully what they're doing with the re-introduction of FOCA. This is a pro-death bill, inked in words to harm a helpless life. President Obama ought to be ashamed of himself for being one of the sponsors. His view about when life begins is on public record, during a Q&A with Paster Rick Warren:

Well, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade. But let me just speak more generally about the issue of abortion because this is something I — obviously, the country wrestles with...

So here's a guy who's not even sure about when life begins, yet he sponsors a bill to force physicians and health care workers to abort life. Isn't there something wrong with this picture?

Be reminded of the Declaration of Independence, the document that started what is America:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Life is the first of our "unalienable rights," my friends! Our Founding Fathers were God-fearing men, and from that had the wisdom to create this profound historic document.

How are the politicians -- or any person -- be one to judge life? From Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV):

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Sen. Charles Schumer wants to force federal money into states

Hat tip to RedState for uncovering this.

Sen. Schumer (D-NY) needs to re-read the Constitution and learn about Washington's boundaries. Feel free to contact his office to give him an education about it.

Jim Tedisco poised to enter House

New York Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R) is leading in the polls against opponent Scott Murphy (D) to fill the House seat vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand. Although this doesn't affect much of the House politics, it's still a small victory for Republicans. The election is set for March 31.

For more information and to contribute to his campaign, click here.

And the new N.Y. Senator is...

Albany is abuzz with Gov. Paterson's pick for New York's senate seat to replace now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Caroline Kennedy's out of the race. Democrats predict State A.G. Andrew Cuomo.

But looks like Paterson throws a curve ball -- it's Kirsten Gillibrand, considered by many to be a moderate Democrat. She's won elections with the backing of the National Rifle Association and opposition to TARP.

Democratic activists are already protesting the selection and planning to unseat her in the next election.

Caroline Kennedy halts senate bid

Is she or isn't she? Today we have confirmation that Caroline Kennedy withdraws her bid as a New York Senator. Although there's been reports of various exchanges between her and Gov. Paterson, the NYT claims it's all about her taxes and a household employee:

Problems involving taxes and a household employee surfaced during the vetting of Caroline Kennedy and derailed her candidacy for the Senate, a person close to Gov. David A. Paterson said on Thursday, in an account at odds with Ms. Kennedy’s own description of her reasons for withdrawing.

The account emerged 14 hours after Ms. Kennedy announced that she was taking her name out of contention for the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and as Mr. Paterson appeared to be leaning toward selecting Representative Kirsten E. Gillibrand, an upstate lawmaker in her second term in Congress.

Hard feelings toward Ms. Kennedy were clearly building among the governor’s staff on Thursday, after a dramatic evening in which she was reported to be dropping out, then wavering, then ultimately, shortly after midnight on Thursday, issuing a statement ending her candidacy.

The likely appointment now? State Attorney Andrew Cuomo.

Caroline Kennedy faces an uphill battle (already)

It's not easy being a Kennedy, even when you have a Senator uncle. And I don't really think lunching with Al Sharpton would help. Come on, is that really a good strategy? Not to mention New York lawmakers are now examining a charity she helps run, The Fund for Public Schools, for questionable exemption grant by the state. Then there are voices against the sense of entitlement just because she's a Kennedy and a buddy of Obama's.

Kennedy off to a bad start in N.Y. senate bid

American politics have changed into a rougher and tougher sport. Just having a Kennedy name doesn't automatically catapult a person to Congress, as we've found out that having a Clinton name doesn't automatically elect a person to the White House. Caroline Kennedy has publicly declared interest in filling Hillary Clinton's senate seat in New York, and she's already touring the state to garner support (and headlines).

Unfortunately for her, she went upstate to meet with mayors and reporters, but her lack of political experience exposed her as the downtown city elite that she is. John Riley of Newsday.com writes:

It's true that NY is, nominally, a Democratic state. But upstate success is a recent phenomenon, and with no economic improvement despite endless promises from Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson, that worm may be ready to turn. Al D'Amato won three terms in the Senate by nurturing class and cultural resentments against Manhattanites with accomplishments like Javits, Holtzman, Green and Abrams.

In what way doesn't Caroline Kennedy fit that mold, without the accomplishments?

Best of luck, Caroline...

New York may get a Sen. Kennedy

With Sen. Hillary Clinton leaving the Senate to become the new Secretary of State, rumor has it that New York Gov. David Paterson may appoint Caroline Kennedy to fill in the seat. And she's said to be considering it.

Calls for Bill to replace Hillary in Senate

Some people would like to see a Clinton replaced by another Clinton. Now that Hillary will be Obama's Secretary of State, it's up to New York Governor David Paterson, a Democrat, to appoint a replacement to serve out Hillary's term. Other high-profile contenders include Caroline Kennedy and her cousin, Robert Kennedy, Jr. I doubt the Democratic leaders would like Bill to enter the Senate. That would turn the Senate into a drawn-out soap opera...