The Rising Tide

Tom Elliott, guest-blogging at Alarming News, scores a major scoop with a damning chain of emails between Councilmember James Oddo’s chief of staff and a scientist they hoped would help them push through the aluminum bat ban. Seems the scientist told them, sorry, but there’s simply no evidence that aluminum bats are more dangerous than wooden bats. […]

There’s a chilling report on the City Limits website about the proliferation of surveillance cameras in public schools. The cameras constitute a $120 million city program intended to reduce school violence. While they’ve been successful in creating an Orwellian atmosphere, the schools are apparently more violent than ever: In Mayor Bloomberg’s preliminary Management Report for fiscal

Kids, graffiti is bad, mmm-kay? But Jesus H. Christ, arresting a 13-year-old for writing “okay” on her desk??? The poor kid was handcuffed and placed under arrest in front of her classmates in Dyker Heights, then chained to a pole at the 68th Precinct Station House for three hours. The real shame is that she got

We’re working on the next issue of Serf City, the tabloid newspaper that covers New York politics from a libertarian perspective. This is a great opportunity to get your name and opinions in print. You don’t have to be a libertarian to contribute, but articles should be pro-freedom in theme. We strongly prefer stories with local relevance, but

John Sabini, a state senator from Queens and tool of the teachers union, has introduced a bill that would expand compulsory attendance in New York State from ages 4 to 18. If passed, Senate Bill 3549 would require children to attend school three years longer than they are currently required. Where do we start dissecting this madness?

Somebody get the Albany County D.A. on the phone. Joe Bruno and Sheldon Silver just broke the law — one they enacted just this past January. As part of the “everything changes on day one” charade, the very first new law signed by Eliot Spitzer on January 24th was a budget “reform” measure. The new law mandates that,

The latest news from the train-wreck-in-progress that is the Rudy ’08 campaign proves yet again (if more proof were necessary) that what our former mayor understands about the Constitution could fit inside a gnat’s sphincter: “Ultimately, [abortion is] a constitutional right, and therefore if it’s a constitutional right, ultimately, even if you do it on a state by

How else does one explain the Sun’s bizarre lead editorial this morning floating a Dick Cheney presidential run? I mean, is there anyone on the Republican roster – from D.C. to Peoria – who would be a worse candidate? Not just in terms of whether he would be a good president (he wouldn’t), but in potential to

The Empire Center for New York State Policy posted a nifty $pend-O-Meter at the bottom of their home page showing how much New York State has pissed away since the start of the fiscal year on April 1. As of this writing, just three days in, the meter has already passed $1.1 trillion billion. Calibrated to

Legendary 1970s punk band The Spunk Lads are reuniting this Wednesday for a special benefit concert for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s legal fund. DDDB is currently fighting legal battles in state and federal courts to prevent Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development from moving forward. The Choke, Seanchai & The Unity Squad, and the Blackout Shoppers are