2nd October, 2008
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wants a Third Term
It must be nice to make up the rules as you go!
For a long time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed to despise the very notion of changing a voter-approved law restricting elected officeholders to two terms in office. When a bill reached his desk in 2002 that would have extended the terms for some officials, he vetoed it. He said the proposed law was wrong because elected officials shouldn't be changing rules to benefit themselves politically.But Bloomberg now appears to have reversed himself. He wants to change the law and run for a third term.
A person who has been briefed on the matter told The Associated Press that Bloomberg will announce Thursday that he will seek to overturn the term-limit law and run for another four years. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hasn't been made.
Bloomberg, a former chief executive officer who started his career on Wall Street, will cite the nation's precarious economic situation as the reason that New York needs a tested financial manager to stay on and guide the city, the person said. The individual close to the mayor said his plan is to go through the City Council to extend the law to allow a third term because it is too late to get the issue on this year's ballot. Bloomberg quickly drew the scorn of term-limits supporters.
Mark Green, the former city public advocate who lost to Bloomberg in 2001, called the move "an antidemocratic, unfeeling, power grab." Green said civic and labor officials had already been talking about mounting a pro-term-limits campaign should Bloomberg seek to overturn the law.
"He's picked a fight. And now he'll get one," he said.
The New York Times said in an editorial published Wednesday that it supports the idea of scrapping the term limits law: "This is a rule that needs to be abolished. If the voters don't like the results, they can register their views at the polls."
Bloomberg, who founded the financial information company Bloomberg LP and whose worth is estimated at $20 billion, winning re-election by 20 percentage points in 2005. Bloomberg's change of heart comes amid the nation's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The turmoil has dealt a serious blow to the city's economy, which relies heavily on Wall Street profits for its tax base.
The decision follows a year in which he toyed with a White House bid, drawing constant speculation, before ultimately deciding against it. If Bloomberg did seek another term, it will be politically risky, however. Polls have shown that the public supports term limits.
Chris Kelley, associate director of the government watchdog group Common Cause New York, accused Bloomberg of attempting to subvert the will of the voters, saying it was "an end-run around the voters' choice" and "just incredibly disappointing."
After the Sept. 11 attacks, then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani floated the idea of a three-month extension to his term to ease the transition of power. He also suggested overturning the city's term-limits law, but ultimately decided against it. Even in the wake of the attacks, with Giuliani's approval rating at 90 percent, one poll found that 55 percent of New York City voters opposed repealing term limits.
Democrats lining up to run include city Comptroller William Thompson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Rep. Anthony Weiner and city Councilman Anthony Avella. On the GOP side are supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis and lawyer Bruce Blakeman.
In 2006, Bloomberg scoffed at the notion that an individual could be truly irreplaceable.
"My experience in business has been, whenever we've had somebody who was irreplaceable, their successor invariably did a better job, and I think change is good," he said. (From AP/AOL News)
Posted at 7:01 pm | Comment (0)
19th August, 2008
BREAK UPS & MAKE UPS
Michael Misick, and his estranged wife LisaRaye McCoy-Misick were involved in a violent confrontation at the Premier’s mansion on Wednesday night, according to reliable sources.
Shaq and Shaunie O’Neal are moving toward reconciliation. Things got ugly back in November when Shaq put her and the 6 kids out of the house. Shaunie didn't take that sitting down instead she spilled his dirty secrets to the press. But now, Shaunie tells the Palm Beach Post that the the two are mending their marriage:“Neither one of us could probably answer why we were getting one in the first place,” Shaunie O’Neal said. “Things have been going so great, that someone actually had to remind us that ‘Hey, you do remember those papers are still there.’ Literally, it was days ago. So, we’ve agreed that before we leave Florida in a few days we’ll make sure that that’s gone away…The kids and I kind of learned about the divorce at the same time. So that was hard. That was probably the worst part of the whole thing, was being able to deal with how hurt the whole kids were.” Tags: break up, divorce, make up, marriage, style, wife
Posted at 6:12 am | Comment (0)
5th August, 2008
Eva Longoria Parker Refuses To Wear The Real Skimpy Stuff On Desperate Housewives
Eva Longoria Parker says she has refused to wear some of the ‘Desperate Housewives’ outfits offered up onset because they are too sexy. I can’t even imagine those because if you’ve seen the ones she does end up wearing they are pretty skimpy!
She says she has arguments on the set of the hit TV show because the outfits they want her character Gabrielle because they are so revealing. She said:
“I’m always saying, ‘Isn’t that a bit much?’ to some of the lingerie. So I try on a lot of lingerie and I veto a lot.
“I have said no to some very cheeky showing underwear. I do not like to do that. And I’ve said no to different bras that do different things.”
Eva, 33, also revealed she is thrilled producers have made Gabrielle more frumpy, as the new season of the show flashes to five years in the future, because it meant she could have a break from her strict diet and exercise regime adding:
”I love it. I come into hair and make up now and it’s 10 minutes instead of two hours. It’s way more fun to play frumpy. Then you can focus on story and character as opposed to having to always look great. I feel like she’s dealing with a lot of real issues.”
photo: WENN dailystab
Tags: eva longoria, love, make upPosted at 7:24 pm | Comment (0)