Christine Quinn Returns $25,000 In Donations From Firm Tied To William Rapfogel Scandal

Christine Quinn illegal William Rapfogel Century Coverage Met Council slush fund campaign donations left out : http://t.co/ywcjNLLLKQ

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) August 26, 2013

How about other campaign donations tied to Christine Quinn @NYCCouncil slush funds ? @klnynews @CharmianNeary http://t.co/FfOiSZSQxf #Preet

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) August 12, 2013

Quinn donations by Century Coverage don't add up to $25,000 @unitedNYblogs @klnynews @CharmianNeary http://t.co/lfvfJx24wB @NYCCFB

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) August 12, 2013

Daily News Daily Politics : Christine Quinn Returns $25,000 In Donations To Firm Tied To William Rapfogel Scandal

Hours after we blogged that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn had allotted New York City Council discretionary funds to the Metropolitan Council, Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign announced that they were returning $25,000 in campaign donations at the center of the William Rapfogel scandal.

Mr. Rapfogel was terminated today as executive and president of the Met Council after revelations of financial irregularities. Initial reports showed that Met Council might have been using city or state funding to funnel money to an insurance company named Century Coverage Corporation, which would, in turn, funnel that money through employees to a/some 2013 New York mayoral candidate(s). But then later reports alleged that Mr. Rapfogel was taking kickbacks from an insurance company, which he would then funnel as campaign donations to a/some 2013 New York mayoral candidate(s). But a Campaign Finance Board report run today for all election cycles showing employers beginning with Century Coverage turned up no 2013 campaign donations.

2013-08-12 Century Coverage All Election Cycles CFB Advanced Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board by Connaissable

Three glaring problems exist with Speaker Quinn's announcement that she is returning $25,000 in campaign donations tied to the William Fogel-Met Council-Century Coverage scandal :

(i) The previous Campaign Finance Board doesn't show $25,000 in recent disclosed campaign donations to Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign ;

(ii) The following Campaign Finance Board report shows all Rapfogel donations made for all election cycles, and Mr. Rapfogel is not shown as having made any campaign donations to Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign ; and

2013-08-12 RAPFOGEL All Election Cycles Donations Quick Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board

(iii) In a Crain's report, it was reported that "Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran political operative and prominent member of the city's Jewish community, said Mr. Rapfogel's legal predicament will likely make more trouble" for New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. (Met Council head fired amid probe) If Speaker Quinn was returning $25,000 in untraceable donations, does this mean that Speaker Silver is going to be expected to return tainted donations, too ? And why did Mr. Sheinkopf say that political backsplash was going to splish splash only on Speaker Silver, when within hours of our first blog post it was Speaker Quinn, who was rushing to unload $25,000 in undocumented campaign donations ?

Christine Quinn Slush Funds William Rapfogel Met Council Corruption Investigation ?

Christine Quinn illegal William Rapfogel Century Coverage Met Council slush fund campaign donations left out : http://t.co/ywcjNLLLKQ

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) August 26, 2013

Joseph Ross admitted that William Rapfogel, the former head of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, told him to make contributions to various politicians and political organizations using money from their $7 million kickback scheme, The Daily News reports.

Are mayoral candidate donations by Century Coverage tied to Met Council ? http://t.co/lfvfJx24wB @NYCCouncil #Preet @AGSchneiderman

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) August 12, 2013

BREAKING : The leader of yet another charity group that receives discretionary funds from Christine Quinn's political slush fund has resigned today from an organization due to an impending investigation into financial improprieties. This morning, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty issued a statement announcing the immediate termination of its chief executive and president, William Rapfogel. (Attorney General Investigating Power Broker William Rapfogel) Under Mr. Rapfogel, Speaker Quinn has consistently funneled money to the Met Council, even when those allocations came under scrutiny for their regularity. (Christine Quinn Grants Slush Funds to Metropolitan Council) According to WNBC, "Sources familiar with the investigation said the probe is examining what happened to some of the organization’s funds and whether any of that money might have been improperly funneled into the political campaigns of some New York City mayoral candidates." (William Rapfogel Jewish Charities Metropolitan Council Investigation) We know from prior reports from the Daily News that Speaker Quinn has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in discretionary funds to nonprofit groups that have helped her mayoral campaign. (Christine Quinn Grants Slush Funds To Nonprofits Which Donated Campaign Contributions To Her Political Campaign)

Indeed, just last month, when Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign was in trouble because of Anthony Weiner's ascendant, insurgent campaign, Speaker Quinn's closest political advisers were invited to an emergency strategy meeting to help fluff up her then-troubled mayoral campaign. The invitees to this emergency strategy session included Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty CEO William Rapfogel. (Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty CEO William Rapfogel Participated In Emergency Secret Strategy Session To Fluff Christine Quinn's Struggling Mayoral Campaign) What kind of role was Mr. Rapfogel and the Met Council playing as a result of Speaker Quinn's emergency campaign strategy session ? How could there be an arm's length distance between Speaker Quinn and the Met Council if the charity group was helping her strategize her electioneering strategy ? Were slush funds payments or kickback campaign donations part of this emergency strategy ? Hmmmmmmmm......?

According to The New York Times, "Investigators are, among other angles, looking at the relationship between Mr. Rapfogel and Century Coverage Corporation, an insurance company based in Valley Stream, N.Y., according to people familiar with the investigation. Investigators are focusing in particular on generous contributions that the company’s chief executive, Joseph Ross, and other employees have made to candidates for New York City offices. The company’s employees have given almost $120,000 to various candidates since the late 1990s, including $26,175 to several candidates in 2013. Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment."

But a report generated today from the Campaign Finance Board shows no campaign donations from 2013. This report was generated from a search by employer that begins with, "Century Coverage." Were the 2013 campaign contributions deliberately not fully disclosed to the Campaign Finance Board ?

2013-08-12 Century Coverage All Election Cycles CFB Advanced Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board by Connaissable

Can Middle Class Families Afford Christine Quinn's Preschool Student Loan Plan ?

NYC Mayoral Candidate Christine Quinn: Families should go into debt to pay for preschool http://t.co/Mwe8kBqn9C

— StrikeDebt (@StrikeDebt) August 6, 2013

Separately, The New York Observer were skeptical that more student loans was the right policy for debt-burdened families. "Student loan debt may be crippling everyone from recent college grads to senior citizens, but now New York parents will be able to start piling on the educational debt when their children are mere toddlers (the inverse, we assume, of saving for college?)," The Observer reported last week. (Should Upper Middle Class Tots Get Subsidized Student Loans for Pre-School ?)

Christine Quinn NYPD Abner Louima Brutality Task Force Anniversary

Christine Quinn Watered Down Rudy Giuliani's Abner Louima NYPD Police Brutality Task Force Recommendations.

Quinn Then Went On To Enable NYPD Culture Of Racism And Brutality.

Before the evening of August 9, 1997, was out, NYPD police officers had brutalized and tortured Abner Louima inside a police station house in Brooklyn.

After the tremendous public outcry, then Mayor Rudy Giuliani appointed a police brutality task force, and among the task force members he named was Christine Quinn. She was one of the driving forces to weaken the task force's recommendations, and eventually her efforts lead to a split among the task force members.

The weaker recommendations, which Quinn championed, went on to be represented in a majority report of the task force, while a set of more aggressive recommendations were formulated in a minority report. Read this excerpt from a report published by The New York Daily News :

Norman Siegel, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union and a task-force member, spearheaded a dissenting report that made a connection between race and police misconduct. "On issues like police brutality and race, you never compromise," Siegel said. But Quinn said her strategy was to make it easier for Mayor Giuliani who called some of the report's recommendations unrealistic to adopt reforms quickly in the wake of the sodomy and torture of Abner Louima, allegedly by police. (NYDailyNews * Saturday, February 20, 1999, 12:00 AM)

On the anniversary of Mr. Louima's torture and brutality, let us not forget who Speaker Quinn sides with.

Who is Dick Dadey ? How has he improved voter participation ?

When Dick Dadey was the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, he was visible in the effort to redraw the boundaries of the Third City Council District in Manhattan that made it possible to elect an LGBT candidate for the first time from that district. In 1991, Tom Duane was elected to the New York City Council. At the time, Mr. Duane’s campaign manager was Christine Quinn. In the time since, up to and including Mr. Dadey’s term as the executive director of Citizens Union, Mr. Dadey has had a close association with Ms. Quinn, the present City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate.

Earlier this year, information about the role that each of Mr. Dadey and the Pride Agenda had in the 1991 campaign to bring Mr. Duane and Ms. Quinn to power used to be found on the Pride Agenda’s Web site. But now that information has been deleted.

Why was the Pride Agenda’s redistricting activities removed from its Web site ?

Because of the close association that still exists between Mr. Dadey and Speaker Quinn, Mr. Flores questions the independence of Citizens Union, especially since each time that Speaker Quinn’s slush fund continues to lead to more public corruption cases, Mr. Dadey is always ready to provide political cover for Speaker Quinn. After The New York Post published a critical editorial of Speaker Quinn’s slush fund, hours later Mr. Dadey was quoted as defending Speaker Quinn in The New York Times. Another example follows where Speaker Quinn’s spokesperson used Mr. Dadey’s own remarks to deflect responsibility away from Speaker Quinn for the on-going corruption tied to Speaker Quinn’s slush fund.

This week, WNYC published an interactive online map documenting the extremely low voter turnout during the 2009 mayoral election. One of the reasons few citizens vote is because good-government groups like Citizens Union make a promise to be a “watchdog” over our government. Yet, under Mr. Dadey’s leadership, Citizens Union was informed last week by the New York State Board of Elections that Citizens Union must register as a political action committee as a consequence of all of its electioneering activities. Among its questionable recent activities is the contemplation of endorsing one of its previous benefactors.

If Citizens Union is going to engage in political favoritism and make campaign endorsements, then how independent can Citizens Union remain under immense political pressures, including those of the Speaker Quinn’s political machine ? During the 10 years that Mr. Dadey has been at Citizens Union and the 15 years that Speaker Quinn has been a councilmember, have any meaningful, transformational reforms been brought about to increase voter participation in the matters of our own governance ?

2013-08-08 Roots of Betrayal - Who is Dick Dadey Press Release by Connaissable

Sen. Ruben Diaz doesn't want to start any trouble, but ...

Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., wrote a list of "Page Six" items about corrupt political reporters.

Given the culture of corruption in local and state government in New York, Sen. Ruben Diaz has decided to instead focus on corrupt political reporters by writing a round-up of riddles that allude to journalists who practise compromised media ethics.

His list is a form of pushback on how everybody assumes that only politicians are corrupt, but nobody considers the ethics of political reporters. Here are some of his "blind items" :

• Rumor has it that there are some folks in the media who do some pretty manipulative (and illegal) things behind the scenes, and I have to wonder, who investigates them.
• Rumor has it that there may be a radio personality in New York who uses his influence on the morning airwaves to push for his candidate for one of the 2013 Primary races, and that candidate may happen to be his partner. There’s no call to investigate if this is happening, or if the use of that in-kind-service-like air time for a family member is something the campaign financial board should take a close look at.
• Rumor has it that there may be a political reporter on TV who uses his evening air time for political maneuvering that may be right in line with the political will of his spouse, who might be found on the top of a list of the most politically influential New Yorkers. There’s no call to investigate those maneuverings.
• Rumor has it that there may be a Spanish language newspaper whose editorial board blocks the coverage of certain Hispanic elected officials who champion Hispanic New Yorkers, only because these elected officials will not cave in to the publication’s radical agendas. There’s no call to investigate if this is happening, and if the abuse of power by this type journalism is fraudulent or corrupt.
• Rumor has it that there may be a polling company that, more than one month before the Democratic Primary, decided to exclude in its poll the name of the only Latino candidate who is running for Mayor in New York City. There’s no call to investigate if such manipulative tactics to remove a candidate’s name from the race is, in fact, happening – and what consequences there may be if this is racist behavior.
• Rumor has it that there may be a political commentator who has freely and frequently used vulgarities and disparaging remarks on live television about Catholic Church leaders and about an elected official or two – and we all know that if any elected official used that language or attacked the Catholic Church, there would be serious consequences. There’s no call to evaluate the obvious mental instability of this type of commentator, and there is no investigation to find out if television sponsors who pay to air these types of broadcasts are comfortable sponsoring this kind of hate-speech.
• Rumor has it that there may be an editor in the print media who uses his power or influence even when he knows that he is lying to ruin the reputation of someone in elected office who may have offended the editor by holding a differing view. There’s no call to investigate the personal and professional damage that editor may have caused.
• Rumor has it that there may be a powerful political reporter who had once chummed up to a top elected official in New York State, using all of his resources to fawn over and sing the praises of that official, until the elected official took a differing position on a matter or two. There’s no call to investigate the abuse of journalism when these kinds of reporters use their columns and radio time to obviously attack elected officials when they turn a corner and personally disagree with them.
• Rumor has it that there may be a powerful political reporter from one of New York’s tabloids who accepts money and favors from elected officials when the elected officials want to get a bill passed in order to get covered. Rumor also has it that this same reporter goes out of his way to expose elected officials who take bribes. There’s no call to investigate this type of hypocrisy and bribery in the media.
• Rumor has it that some very powerful editorial boards in New York City that rightly condemn DWI cases, host Christmas parties where the hosts of the parties and even some of their ace reporters climb in behind the wheel to drive home after drinking too much at these events. There’s no call to investigate this type of hypocrisy or illegal behavior, even when they are putting people’s lives at risk.
• Rumor has it that there may be several journalists in New York who boast about what balanced and objective journalists they are, and even though they try to keep their writing balanced, they Tweet in professional capacity to spew their contempt for elected officials and issues they oppose. There’s no call for these journalists to stop lying to themselves or for anyone to investigate their apparent dual personalities.

Read more : Ruben Diaz’s Has Some Blind Items For The Press !

Who's Been "Moving On Up" During the Bloomberg-Quinn Era ?

A new video posted on YouTube takes a satirical look of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s political record. The video is set to a Karaoke recording of ''Moving On Up'' -- the famous theme song from the hit sitcom, The Jeffersons, and the video uses sarcasm when Speaker Quinn denies some of the most controversial political choices she’s made.

Among the issues addressed in this short video are :

• the $30,000 in campaign contributions Speaker Quinn accepted from Rudin Management Company, which basically foreclosed on St. Vincent’s Hospital ;
• Speaker Quinn’s controversial support for police commissioner Ray Kelly, who oversaw a culture of racism and brutality at the NYPD ;
• Speaker Quinn’s controversial use of fictitious accounts to hide her political slush fund ; and
• the ever-changing rationale for extending term limits.

NSFW : Christine Quinn Ray Kelly Police Brutality Video

Christine Quinn Supports Ray Kelly.
Does She Endorse Police Brutality ?

A new video posted on YouTube shows New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn heaping praise on NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, even though the NYPD has had a record of racism and brutality under Commissioner Kelly. The new YouTube video shows six real examples of how law enforcement officers have a pattern of using excessive force.

Links to examples of excessive force used by NYPD and by peace officers :

• Peace Officers beat man in Queens (May 2012)
• NYPD beat man with club in LES (July 2008)
• NYPD shoves Critical Mass rider (July 2008)
‪
• Woman yanked by hair (Nov. 2011)
• OWS pepper spray attack (Sept. 2011)
‪
• Pitbull shot by police (Aug. 2012)
‪

Chapter 7 of Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn, which is being serialized this summer, addresses the NYPD’s history of violating the civil rights and civil liberties of activists. The conversation around reforming the NYPD needs to be enlarged to also address the police department’s persistent violations of civil rights and civil liberties. A task force should be empaneled with subpoena power and charged with investigating and issuing binding recommendations to finally overhaul the NYPD.

Since its debut on Scribd, a free preview of Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn has generated over 16,000 combined reads, and research from Volume I inspired Michael Grynbaum to write a front page article in The New York Times : Quinn’s History of Mastering the Insiders’ Game.

Christine Quinn Negative Ad Censored By Facebook

An advertisement that is critical of New York City Council Speaker's moralizing on sexual norms was rejected last week by Facebook. Weiner jokes are appropriate content for Facebook, but not criticism of the Weiner jokes, even in the form of paid advertisements ?

Christine Quinn Michael Bloomberg Annual Budget Dance

The King And Quinn : "Shall We Dance ?"

At the conclusion of each and every year's budget negotiation, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn shakes Mayor Michael Bloomberg's hand and kisses him on both cheeks (on his face) in a City Hall ceremony that is much more about their close working relationship than merely reaching an accord on the city's $70 billion budget. Political games with severe consequences are played by Mayor Bloomberg after he announces proposed cuts to city programs, only to give Speaker Quinn the opportunity to portray herself as a champion of the people by restoring those cuts.

According to a WCBS report, the annual "budget dance" leads to serious instability in critical social programs :

"Advocates from the Campaign for Children were particularly pleased with the deal on preserving child care services, particularly since Bloomberg’s earlier budget proposal had called for cuts to 47,000 slots from the child care and after-school systems. But the organization said the city needs to quit threatening to put child care on the chopping block. But the cuts to day care and after school programs are not off the table permanently. They have only been averted for a year.

"Stephanie Gendell of the Citizen’s Committee for Children said the city has engaged in a budget dance where the city threatens nightmare scenarios then saves the day. She said the status quo seem like a victory, when it’s only temporary.

" 'It creates real instability for the programs, and the families to not know if the programs will be open next June,' she said."

When Speaker Quinn says that she uses her close working relationship with Mayor Bloomberg to the betterment of all New Yorkers, she misrepresents the danger that the budget games she's engaged in have on city agencies and on community groups. Is she taking into account how the annual budget dance leaves critical safety net programs at perpetual risk of being unable to adequately plan their future budgets ?

Read more : "City Budget Agreement: Some Expanded Services, No Tax Hikes"

Is Christine Quinn channeling Phyllis Schlafly Victorian Right-Wing Morals ?

Christine Quinn waves her finger in 50’s housewife fashion and fakes outrage over Anthony Weiner’s sex life.

O.K., so his marriage was on the rocks. But, like, are we supposed to pretend that Quinn doesn't even use sex toys with her wife ?

For the LGBT community, this is the age of sex hook-up apps like Grindr and Scruff and online hook-up sites like Craig’s List and Adam4Adam. Has Quinn forgotten that New Yorkers used to patronize the Continental Baths and Plato’s Retreat ?

In her quest for power, is she going to throw sexual liberation under the bus ? For her final act, has Quinn transformed herself into Phyllis Schlafly ?

#Gov1% Andrew Cuomo : The Grim Reaper of Brooklyn Hospital Closings

On the Brooklyn Bridge this afternoon, about one thousand activists trying to save ‪#‎LICH‬ and ‪#‎Interfaith‬ took part in a mock funeral march mourning the collapse in public health caused by the threat of several Brooklyn hospital closings. Here, members of OWS Healthcare for the 99% portrayed Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the Grim Reaper responsible for trying to close Brooklyn hospitals.

Read more : March, rally to protest Long Island College Hospital closing

Comparing Christine Quinn with Dr. Jack Kevorkian : Assisting with Early Hospital Deaths

Is Christine Quinn the "Doctor Death" of New York City hospital closings ?

Will Long Island College Hospital and Interfaith Medical Center be added to this list of hospitals that New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has allowed Real Estate Developers to close ?

Christine Quinn had 10 chances to save 10 NYC hospitals from closing or downsizing.

She saved none.

In the time that Christine Quinn has been Speaker of the New York City Council, ten hospitals have been closed or down-sized :

• Westchester Square Medical Center in the Bronx became bankrupt and was sold in 2013 ; it is expected to be down-sized into an urgent care center
• Peninsula Hospital Center in Far Rockaway, Queens, filed for bankruptcy and was closed in 2012
• North General Hospital in Harlem declared bankruptcy in 2010
• St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village was shut down in 2010, so that the Rudin family could build luxury condos
• St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst went bankrupt in 2009
• Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica went bankrupt in 2009
• Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills closed in 2008
• Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan closed in 2008
• Victory Memorial Hospital in Bay Ridge closed in 2008
• St. Vincent's Midtown in Manhattan closed in 2007

If your life depends on comprehensive emergency care, how safe will you be with Christine Quinn as mayor ?

@stopchrisquinn

Protest Before Bill de Blasio Secured a TRO to Save LICH (for now)

"We Need A Hospital. We Don't Need Condos."

On Friday, approximately 100 community activists endured an unconscionable heat wave to denounce efforts by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to close Long Island College Hospital ("LICH").

The noon-time rally took place at the LICH campus in Brooklyn. LICH has been facing imminent closure through several backchannel attempts by the Cuomo administration to close any hospital in Brooklyn as part of radical cuts to healthcare that Gov. Cuomo wants to make to window-dress the New York State budget.

Unfortunately for Gov. Cuomo, New York City mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has found the courage to challenge the governor's quest to shut down LICH.

A few hours after this photograph was taken, Mr. de Blasio triumphantly returned to LICH with a Temporary Restraining Order in a last-minute effort to keep LICH open.

2013 07 19 Bill de Blasio TRO LICH

The next few weeks will tell whether Mr. de Blasio's efforts will prove successful.

VIDEO : ACT UP Protests Against Mt. Sinai For Failing To Provide PEP HIV Prevention Medication

Mount Sinai Hospital refuses emergency HIV prevention treatment -- AIDS activists target hospital with street protest.

ACT UP has produced a toolkit about Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) as part of ACT UP's HIV emergency prevention campaign.

ACT UP Will Protest Mt. Sinai Over HIV/AIDS Medication Discrimination

Updated : Video of ACT UP Protest Against Mt. Sinai's denial of PEP treatment.

ACT UP Calls For July 17 Protest Against Mt. Sinai Hospital

From EDGE New York :

As the result of an alleged case of HIV discrimination, ACT UP has called all activists to gather in front of Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan at noon on Wednesday, July 17. The planned demonstration is the consequence of an event that occurred over the July 4th weekend, when the hospital reportedly refused to treat a man who came into the emergency room requesting Post Exposure Phrophylaxis for possible exposure to HIV.

"Emergency room personnel at Mt. Sinai incorrectly informed the man that there was no such treatment," read their July 16 press release. "The man contacted ACT UP/New York who intervened on his behalf with Mt. Sinai. Precious time was lost -- approximately two hours -- before the hospital treated him."

Read more : ACT UP Calls For July 17 Protest Against Mt. Sinai Hospital

BREAKING : Bill de Blasio Was Arrested in an Act of Civil Disobedience to Save LICH

SUNY officials order police to arrest activists trying to save LICH from closure.

DeBlasio also marched out in cuffs with a bunch of media following. #savelich pic.twitter.com/aLWH8rB3Z9

— Sarah Jaffe (@sarahljaffe) July 10, 2013

New York City public advocate Bill de Blasio was led away in handcuffs after reports that a peaceful demonstration to save Long Island College Hospital from closing turned into an act of civil disobedience.

.@BilldeBlasio being placed under arrest. Put in the back of police van. pic.twitter.com/PbleLR3hbJ

— Erin Durkin (@erinmdurkin) July 10, 2013

A demonstration had been scheduled Wednesday morning to apply political pressure on SUNY management officials. SUNY will decide whether LICH remains open or is closed as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's radical healthcare cuts to window dress the New York State budget in advance of his expected bid for the 2016 presidential race.

Healthcare activists, hospital employees, and healthcare union officials have been trying for months to appeal for help from politicians from Albany to City Hall, but the state legislative session ended last month with no rescue package, and locally Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn concluded next years budget negotiations without making any provision to save LICH from closure.

In the last few weeks, activists had been holding many demonstrations, rallies, and other acts of protest to draw attention to the plight of Brooklyn hospitals. Since 2006, ten New York City hospitals have either closed or downsized, and the remaining hospitals are over-burnded. Wait times at emergency rooms are escalating, and patients in life-or-death situations are having to take longer and longer ambulance rides to get to the next nearest emergency room. To make matters worse, Gov. Cuomo empaneled a group called the Medicaid Redesign Team to identify three more hospitals to close in Brooklyn.

On Feb. 8, 2011, four community activists were arrested in an act of civil disobedience to save St. Vincent's Hospital, but the community received no support from Speaker Quinn. At a rally outside of Gov. Cuomo's office on Monday, Mr. de Blasio accused Mayor Bloomberg of just walking away from the community after St. Vincent's Hospital closed. St. Vincent's activists don't remember Mr. de Blasio being involved in the herculean effort to first save St. Vincent's and then to later preserve the hospital infrastructure for a replacement hospital. But pressure politics from this year's mayoral campaign season has finally pushed him to take bold action. Many St. Vincent's activists noted that it was about time that Mr. de Blasio took action, after all, he is the city's Public Advocate.

Speaker Quinn accepted $30,000 in campaign donations from Rudin Management Company before she approved the billion-dollar Rudin condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital.

Quinn Approves Halloran's City Council Member Items Following His Arrest For Member Item Bribe Attempt

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn approved the disbursement of $3.2 million in member items requested by Councilmember Dan Halloran, even though the Councilmember was charged in a conspiracy and bribery scheme only three months ago relating to his member items. In the criminal complaint against him, Councilmember Halloran suggested to an undercover FBI agent that Mr. Halloran could increase the size of the discretionary funds he was using as a bribe by calling in favours from other councilmembers. ("Halloran's participatory budgeting projects will be funded" * Queens Crap)

Rudin Family paid politicians 200,000 roses in luxury condo conversion prostitution deal

Scott Stringer received almost $8,000 from members of the billionaire Rudin real estate empire, before he rendered his recommendation in support of the Rudin luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Democratic candidate for NYC comptroller Scott Rudin Stringer received sizable campaign contributions form members of the Rudin family before he made his recommendation in the ULURP application to approve the Rudin condo conversion plan in November 2011.

Mr. Stringer, who was acting in official capacity as Manhattan Borough President, makes recommendations to the New York City Council in all zone-busting ULURP applications that come up for a vote. Mr. Stringer recommended that the City Council approve the Rudin luxury condo conversion plan, but the media made no mention of the inherent conflict of interest in the Rudin family's large campaign donations. These campaign donations were made during a time when the Rudin family were anticipating plans to develop the property underneath St. Vincent's, before the hospital was driven into bankruptcy, and Mr. Stringer cashed the checks way in advance of having to render his ULURP recommendation.

New York City Campaign Finance Board records indicate that Mr. Stringer accepted $500.00 from Madeleine Rudin Johnson, $3,850.00 from Beth Rudin DeWoody, $500.00 from Eric Rudin, $2,000.00 from Jack Rudin, and $1,000.00 from Bill Rudin. These reported donations bundle into a total of : $7,850.00. It's not known if there are other, unreported campaign donations, that might have been made on top of these amounts.

Did the $7,850.00 in campaign donations made by Rudin family members influence Scott Stringer's recommendation on the St. Vincent's luxury condo conversion ULRUP application ???

Because there is an appearance of "pay to play" or quid pro quo, was Mr. Stringer prostituting himself to the Rudin family ? We already know that campaign donations allegedly play a role in New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn determining her official acts in office. Does the same hold true for Mr. Stringer ?

In total, the members of the Rudin family contributed over $200,000 in campaign donations to various politicians, each of whom would have had some kind of influence over the fate of the Rudin luxury condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital.

The Rudin campaign donations made during the 2009, 2013 election cycles follow.

2013-07-08 Rudin-Rudin Advanced Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board

2013-07-08 Johnson-Rudin Advanced Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board

2013-07-08 DeWoody-Rudin Advanced Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board

Bill de Blasio Finally Joins Fight To Save Brooklyn Hospitals

I don't know how much he really did to try to save St. Vincent's Hospital, but it is finally a good sign that he is at least speaking about the need to stop the hospital closings.

Any merger between two weak hospitals is a bad idea. We should fund each hospital so that it can fully meet the needs of their own patients.

The Nation Article About Christine Quinn And Homonationalism

"There was even an 'LGBT against Quinn' contingent at last weekend’s @HeritageofPride march." http://t.co/dq16QIhZsx @thenation @Quinn4NY

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) July 7, 2013

From "The Powerful Lesson of New York's Police Oversight Law" (The Nation) :

"Then there was Christine Quinn, notorious for her vow to offer Police Commissioner Ray Kelly the same job. Perhaps she just is not that angry about how Kelly has treated Muslims and people of color New Yorkers, whether gay or straight. But the NYPD has also directly profiled queer people. It’s common for transgender and non-gender-conforming people to be stopped and arrested for prostitution simply for carrying condoms, and until recently many trans people were afraid to carry condoms for fear they could be used as evidence against them in court. I’m not alone in my ire for Quinn or my sense that she’s a flip-flopper (e.g., she voted no on 1080, but yes on 1079). There was even an “LGBT against Quinn” contingent at last weekend’s pride march. How depressing that a host of prominent gay and lesbians groups and activists—most recently Edith Windsor herself—have endorsed Quinn’s run for mayor. That’s homonationalism in action."

Quinn Flip Flops On Outside Campaign Finance Corruption

With State Senator Brad Hoylman at her side, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said that she was changing her mind about accepting the corruptive influence of outside campaign money to help boost her sagging bid in this year's mayoral race.

In April, Speaker Quinn denounced the use of outside campaign money, sometimes called "independent expenditures" to soften the sound of corruption. That was back when Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign was ahead in the polls. But then in late June, once Speaker Quinn's campaign began a sharp nose-dive, she welcomed the assistance of outside campaign money.

Meanwhile, it was Speaker Quinn who supported loosening restrictions on the role of corporations in being able to spend money to influence municipal elections when she watered down the city's campaign finance laws.

Six More Years Of Christine Quinn's Slush Fund Scandal

Christine Quinn and Her On-Going Slush Fund Scandal ... Six Years Later

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s opponents in the mayoral race are trying to resurrect the “slush fund scandal”, when the Council allegedly assigned millions of dollars to fictitious organizations, The Wall Street Journal writes (via City & State) : Campaigns Hit Quinn on 'Slush Fund'

. @ChrisCQuinn's Quid Pro Quo : Slush Funds In Exchange for Campaign Donations http://t.co/fT05HkE4nj #Preet #corruption #indictment

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) July 3, 2013

Unauthorized Christine Quinn Political Biography Book Reading At Bluestockings

"Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn" -- Book Signing and Discussion

On Tuesday, July 23 at 7 p.m., the LGBT blogger and activist Louis Flores will be at Bluestockings, 172 Allen Street, Lower East Side, to present a short YouTube video from his online activism, which shows how the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital led to the beginning of his research about the political betrayals of Christine Quinn. And then the author will read from Vol. I of Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn. A Q&A will follow.

Please RSVP to the Facebook event : "Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn" -- Book Signing and Discussion

Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn can presently be purchased at the following bookstores :

• Book Thug Nation, 100 N. Third Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn ;
• Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers, 218 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
• St. Mark’s Bookshop, 31 Third Avenue, Manhattan ; and
• Bluestockings, 172 Allen Street, Manhattan.

2013-06-26 "Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn" - Press Release by Connaissable

Suzannah B. Troy Endorses "Roots of Betrayal" : It Was Better Than "Cats" !

Yesterday, the blogger and artist Suzannah B. Troy starred in a humorous YouTube video promoting the publication and sale of Volume I of Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn. Ms. Troy says in the video, "This book is better than Cats!" -- a reference to a campy commercial for a Broadway show that was often parodied.

Roots of Betrayal, written by the LGBT blogger and activist Louis Flores, examines the arc of Christine Quinn’s political career, which nominally began as a hero’s journey before it morphed into a tale about political betrayals. The entire book will be serialized this summer in four volumes reminiscent of pamphleteering done in our tradition of bringing about political change.

“Before the advent of blogs and digital social media, political pamphlets allowed activists to mobilize voters,” said Flores. “My hope is that Roots of Betrayal will educate voters offline about how Christine Quinn is the worst mayoral candidate this year.”

Volume I of Roots of Betrayal will become available for sale at Book Thug Nation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and at St. Mark’s Bookshop in Manhattan.

Tish James : "Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Help Us Save LICH."

At the health fair at Long Island College Hospital (LICH) this afternoon, Councilmember Tish James described some of the horrifying conditions that are being caused by the illegal diversion and transfer of patients from LICH

SUNY Downstate has been diverting ambulances from LICH, and SUNY has been discharging and transferring patients to other hospitals, as well. These acts are being undertaken in violation of a court order and in a deliberate effort to force the closing of LICH, which is an important underpinning of public health in Brooklyn.

In her remarks today, Councilmember James said that 5 fist fights broke out at Brooklyn Hospital Center on Friday, because of the overcrowded patient conditions. People who are in medical emergencies are literally having to fight for healthcare. In her speech, Councilmember called on Gov. Cuomo to show leadership, and she made other demands for healthcare, including a moratorium on hospital closings.

Mayoral Candidates. We need to ask the mayoral candidates whether they will help us to ask that the Lenox Hill urgent care center be upgraded to a full-service hospital, with the ideal situation being the restoration of a Level I Trauma Center.

Christine Quinn Update. We still don't know if Speaker Quinn will help save LICH with money from her access to over $400 million in capital improvement funds, but time is running out. LICH needs money this week.

Call Gov. Andrew Cuomo Now to Save LICH : 1 (518) 474-8390

Obama Charges Edward Snowden Under Espionage Act

2013-06-14 Espionage Act Charges Complaint : USA v. Edward J. Snowden

From The New York Times :

"Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor whose leak of agency documents has set off a national debate over the proper limits of government surveillance, has been charged with violating the Espionage Act and stealing government property for disclosing classified information to The Guardian and The Washington Post, the Justice Department said on Friday."

Read more : Ex-Contractor Is Charged in Leaks on N.S.A. Surveillance

Quinn’s History of Being Unfit To Govern

The New York Times Reviews Facts In "Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn"

We should be grateful that the The New York Times published this article. The work I have done in collecting research from almost two decades ago in "Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn" corroborates the reporting in The NYTimes. You have done the voters a great service in exposing Christine Quinn as a ruthless self-promoter. Note how Speaker Quinn still maintains the storyline that she had to "professionalize" the Anti-Violence Project and how she chose to side with watered-down recommendations when she served on a police brutality commission under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Even after decades have passed, Speaker Quinn still throws Matt Foreman, Norman Siegel, and the activism work of many LGBT leaders under the bus. The true nature of Speaker Quinn's lack of political ethics is beginning to emerge.

Read more : Quinn’s History of Throwing Leaders and Activists Under the Bus

In Passing Years - Ali Grieb

Tonight, I searched for videos of "In Passing Years," a song that was famously recorded by the late New York City cabaret singer Nancy LaMott. I only found one interpretation on YouTube. In this video, which was posted in 2009, Ali Grieb performs a haunting rendition of "In Passing Years." Enjoy it, because Ms. Grieb's voice perfectly captures the melancholy of this song's sentiments. That only Ms. Grieb's performance of this song exists on YouTube is rather remarkable for her singing career, especially since her powerful rendition will set the standard from which all future performances posted onto YouTube will be judged.

Lady Bunny Sings "The Pussycat Song"

This song is a southern drag classic revisited by Lady Bunny. Thanks to the electrifying Daisy Dalton for turning me onto this comedy classic--this was her signature number at Chattanooga's Go-Go Club and they lined up to tip this great gal whenever she performed this. She personified sass! R.I.P. Daisy Dalton.

Heart - Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) - Kennedy Center Honors

Eight GetEQUAL Activists Arrested In ENDA Protest

.@getequal ENDA protester getting arrested outside of Boehner's office twitter.com/aterkel/status…

— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) June 13, 2013

Eight activists from GetEQUAL staged a demonstration and were arrested outside of House Speaker John Boehner's office today in an effort to put pressure on the House Speaker to call for a vote and pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which is known as ENDA.

Some of the activists spoke with staff members inside of Speaker Boehner's office.

Then, in an emotional moment, the activists protested inside Speaker Boehner's office, and some of the activists made statements, some of the famous quotes, about what drove the activists to show up at Speaker Boehner's office : the need to call for a vote and pass ENDA.

In this video, one of the activists was shown as he was put in handcuffs and dragged away.

According to a Facebook posting by GetEQUAL member Michael Diviesti, the activists endured a 30 hour van drive from the south to Washington, DC, in order to demand job protections. He identified the activists, who were arrested, as : Koby GetEqual Ozias: Corpus Christi TX, Cindy Candia: Harlingen TX, Kaya Candia-Almanza: Harlingen TX, Carey Neal Dunn: Austin TX, Erin Susan Jennings: San Antonio TX, Tiffani FullEquality Bishop: Austin TX, Sean Watkins: OH, and Corey Phillips: OH.

Another GetEQUAL member noted on Facebook that today's action at Speaker Boehner's office took place on the same day when hundreds of people were scheduled to attend the LGBT Pride Reception at the White House.

Read more : 8 LGBT Protesters Arrested Outside John Boehner's Office

This is the second recent action by GetEQUAL, as part of their larger strategy, of using direct action to fight for full LGBT equality in all matters governed by civil law.

Last week, Ellen Sturtz, another member of GetEqual, was escorted out of a fundraising event after Ms. Sturtz heckled FLOTUS Michelle Obama over President Obama's inaction on signing an Executive Order making an equivalent of ENDA take effect using the president's executive powers. The Executive Order, which President Obama has promised to sign, but thus far has not, would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity of employees by federal contractors.

Read more : Lesbian activist kicked out of fundraiser for disrupting First Lady’s speech

Author Of Roots Of Betrayal Is Interviewed By BQ Brew

In my first major interview to support Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn, I shared my opinions about the many ways that New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has betrayed the LGBT community, how she turned her back on St. Vincent's Hospital, and how she has become a predictable supporter of billionaire real estate developers.

Read more : Uncovering Quinn’s Political Roots with Author Louis Flores

Please read the interview and share your links with your friends.

Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn - Copyright 2013 by Louis Flores - Uncorrected Proof Not... by Connaissable

Edward Snowden PFC Bradley Manning Videos

REVEALED : Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old whistleblower behind revelations of NSA surveillance

Justin Nozuka ft. Zaho - Heartless (la promesse)

Candidate Barack Obama in 2007 on Warrantless Wiretapping

Excerpt from President Obama's speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center on August 1, 2007.

... This Administration also puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom.

That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient. That is not who we are. And it is not what is necessary to defeat the terrorists. The FISA court works. The separation of powers works. Our Constitution works.

We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers, and that justice is not arbitrary.

This Administration acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our security. It is not. There are no short-cuts to protecting America ... .

Read more : Illinois Senator Barack Obama, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, gave this August 2007 speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center.

Obama Video Taping Your Colonoscopy

From Salon :

"Now we know for sure: The Obama administration has presided over the most thorough expansion of the domestic surveillance state of any U.S. presidency. Even as the nation was still absorbing the news, broken by Glenn Greenwald at the Guardian on Wednesday night, that the National Security Agency has been routinely collecting phone call records for millions of Americans, the Washington Post and the Guardian published articles revealing even broader government snooping powers: Since 2007, the NSA and the FBI have had the power to watch nearly every aspect of our online life as well."

Is Gina Galaviz stalking members of GetEQUAL Texas ?

Remember this face and look out for her if you're ever in San Antonio. This is the woman who was caught taking photos of the license plates of the automobiles of GetEQUAL Texas members. When asked what she was doing, Gina replied, "If y'all are going to protest, then we have a right to know where you live."

Read more : David Medina's campaign tries to intimidate GetEqual protestors

VIDEO : Drone Like Device Flying Over Luxury Condo Conversion Of St. Vincent's Hospital

Is Bill Rudin using a #drone like device for security over the luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital ? youtu.be/XXOU3C-YQNk

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) June 6, 2013

Is Rudin Management Company using a drone-like device to create a security checkpoint around the former site of St. Vincent's Hospital ? Has Rudin Management Company received clearance to operate a private security drone from NYPD ?

Quinn Betrays AIDS Activists In Exchange For Manufactured Koch Endorsement

In act of desperation, Quinn camp goes digging for endorsement from Ed Koch beyond the grave.

Christine Quinn has become so desperate for campaign endorsements that she is going to get one out of a dead man. Let's hope she doesn't try to get some votes the same way, too. She's already trying to fake her popularity with sock puppet Twitter accounts, mind you. But seriously, Ed Koch, whose endorsement she is seeking, was the beginning of the neoliberalism bent in Democratic policies. One needs to look no further than to the cruel betrayal in Mayor Koch's non-response to the AIDS crisis. Mayor Koch refused to take any meaningful action on HIV/AIDS out of fear that he would be outed as a gay man. What kind of a message is Speaker Quinn trying to send by reaching for this grave endorsement ? Mayor Koch's endorsement in encumbered with betrayal and closet politics. This one issue alone should be a clarion call for every New York City LGBT voter to question Speaker Quinn's judgement. How do AIDS activists feel about being thrown under the bus in exchange for an endorsement from the late Mayor Koch ? (Ed Koch’s Sister to Amplify His Support for Christine Quinn * NYTimes)

Will insensitive and revisionist statements like this, from the Quinn campaign, drive LGBT activists to demonstrate against Christine Quinn during Pride Month ?

“Ed Koch was an incredible leader for the city,” said Josh Isay, Ms. Quinn’s chief strategist.

Related : Ed Koch, 88, Dies : "How Am I Doing ?" AIDS Memorial Reality Check

Dalida / Jouez Bouzoukis

A great up-tempo song by the late and great Dalida.

Fake Twitter Accounts Reminiscent Of Fake Slush Fund Charity Accounts

Last week, in a sign of desperation, Christine Quinn's Twitter account jumped by 20,000 followers overnight. City & State reviewed the sock-puppet Twitter accounts, and this was their analysis before Quinn's campaign people were forced to get rid of these fake followers after the negative publicity.

Some of the fake Twitter accounts, which was pointed out by City & State, included "Mary DeBoos (@deecohunk0106), Sergio Andres (@deecohunk0105), Tiffany Stone (@deecohunk0104), Quy Sin (@deecohunk0102), Osmany Adrian (@deecohunk0100), Mukhtar Bako (@deecohunk0099), Nick Afriza (@deecohunk0098), et cetera, ad infinitum. Then there is the whole series of followers who coincidentally picked some permutation of @byhnoleda0080 as their user name like Rona Ghotra (@byhnoleda0078), Vija Kumar (@byhnoleda0074) and Kelly Batista (@byhnoleda0072)."

The 20,000 fake Twitter accounts is reminiscent of the umpteen fake charity accounts, which Speaker Quinn used to use, to divert her slush funds for years, until her shady practise was exposed.

At the time the slush fund scandal broke, The New York Post reported about the fake slush fund charity account names used by Speaker Quinn : "Among the dozens of fabricated groups that were slated to receive funds were the Immigration Improvement Project of New York ($300,000), the Coalition for a Strong Special Education ($400,000) and the American Association of Concerned Veterans ($422,763)."

Will Bill Thompson Betray Black Voters on Stop-And-Frisk ?

New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson’s restrained approach to ending stop-and-frisk policing has paid dividends with the endorsement from a coalition of city law-enforcement unions, the NYTimes writes. (via City & State First Read)

From the NYTimes :

Jumaane D. Williams, a city councilman from Brooklyn who has sponsored legislation against stop-and-frisk tactics, bluntly suggested that Mr. Thompson was taking the allegiance of black voters for granted.

“I think he believes that the color of his skin is what’s needed to get to communities of color, rather than standing on the correct substance of issues,” he said.

Obama Heckled About Drones, Guantanamo, Muslim Murder, War On Terror

From Yahoo! News :

Obama was heckled at length by Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink and a leading (and highly recognizable) critic of the so-called war on terrorism.

"Can you tell the Muslim people their lives are as precious as our lives?" she shouted as she was finally ushered from the hall. "Will you apologize to the thousands of Muslims that you have killed? Will you compensate the innocent family victims? That will make us safer!"

After trying and failing several times to get her to sit quietly, Obama went off script and enlisted her protest to reinforce his message about the need to close the Guantanamo facility.

"The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to," the president said, to applause. "Obviously, I do not agree with much of what she said. And obviously she wasn’t listening to me and much of what I said. But these are tough issues. And the suggestion that we can gloss over them is wrong."

Leading up to President Barack Obama's formal address on the drone war, it was revealed that President Obama has used drones to kill at least four Americans.

Ms. Benjamin, in her remarks made later to AOL/Huffington Post, said that the Obama administration has been playing prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner.

One of the demands Ms. Benjamin made was to call for the removal of the controversial drone program from the secret operations of the Central Intelligence Agency.

2013-05-22 Eric Holder AG Congress Letter Drones by Connaissable

Anthony Weiner Enters Mayoral Race

Christine Quinn's History Of Using Hate Crimes For Political Gain

From The Village Voice :

"... the prospect of Quinn's active participation in the march provoked a sort of counter-protest by a small contingent of activists who are unimpressed with Quinn's record. As the main rally moved south on Greenwich Avenue, marchers passed a tiny contingent of activists holding up a sign on the island intersection at Seventh Avenue. 'We need a hospital, we don't need condos,' it read. The side-vigil raised the question of why Carson was taken to Beth Israel, on First Avenue, and whether he could have been saved if he was treated nearby. The handful of activists standing in the shadow of the building that used to be St. Vincent's Hospital, now being converted into 350 luxury condo units, criticized Quinn for signing off on the zoning change that made this development possible, even though the City Council speaker's brand had been stamped all over the larger march itself."

Did New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn cancel her planned political exploitation of Monday night's Mark Carson vigil, after The Village Voice and Michael Petrelis exposed these concerns ?

Speaker Quinn has a history of exploiting tragedy for political gain.

Earlier this year, after former mayor Ed Koch passed away, Speaker Quinn's campaign staff were trying to figure out how to exploit Mayor Koch's endorsement of Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign, even after he had died -- and he was no longer around to approve of the campaign's messaging.

And in 1998, while she was in her first political campaign to be elected to the City Council, Ms. Quinn was using a spike in bias crimes against the LGBT community as an excuse to call for canceling that year's annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.

SIDEBAR : Please watch this video, which I just discovered this morning, which explains why it might be more accurate to describe the discrimination against the LGBTQ community as "heterosexual-supremacy" instead of using the term "homophobia."

Memorial & Vigil For Mark Carson At St. Vincent's Hospital

Memorial & Vigil For Mark Carson

Mark Carson was shot and killed in a hate crime over the weekend in New York City. He was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Medical Center, where he was taken by ambulance.

Since the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital in 2010, all of Lower Manhattan has been without a Level I Trauma Center.

Join us on Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. for a silent vigil for Mr. Carson, and for all the other patients in medical emergencies, who have nowhere nearby to go after the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Date : Monday, May 20, 2013
Time : 5:30 - 6 pm
Place : In front of the old St. Vincent's Hospital, 7th Avenue South, between West 11th and West 12th Streets.

Please bring candles. RSVP on Facebook : Memorial & Vigil For Mark Carson At St. Vincent's

We Mourn the Senseless Death of Mark Carson by Connaissable

Related : Adam Feldman organized a midnight vigil for Mark Carson : Reflections by Dan Fishback

"Long-time activist and Stonewall vet Jim Fouratt pointed out something that SHOULD be obvious, but which hadn’t occurred to me — that there used to be a hospital TWO BLOCKS from that corner, but in the wake of St. Vincent’s closing, Mark had to be rushed to Beth Israel all the way across town. Perhaps, in the distance between these hospitals, Mark’s life could have been saved. In that sense, the politicians that allowed St. Vincents to be converted to a luxury condo high rise — politicians like lesbian mayoral candidate Christine Quinn — may have gay blood on their hands. Jim helped us understand how depriving a gay neighborhood of a hospital is inherently homophobic and violent."

"And while I’m sure individual NYPD officers were polite in the lead-up to this vigil, we cannot forget that the NYPD ritually harasses trans people and people of color in this city ! Trans women are arrested simply for walking down the street! So when we talk about how queer people need to be 'safe,' we have to ask ourselves what 'safety' really means — because the NYPD does not makes us safe ! It harasses and imprisons us ! We must reckon with these connections — that Mark Carson’s death is an extension of the violence that oppresses so many others, from the institutional violence of governments to the random violence of a crazy guy with a gun. …"

Dan Fishback, the author of this post, added : "I wish I had specifically named the Stop & Frisk policy that makes queers and people of color vulnerable to police harassment. I wish I had called out Christine Quinn for supporting this policy."

Link : Adam Feldman organized a midnight vigil for Mark Carson : Reflections by Dan Fishback

Could the life of Mark Carson been saved if St. Vincent's was still open ?

Marc Carson, 32, shot dead in anti-gay attack in Greenwich Village.on.dnainfo.com/13Dd94b twitter.com/DNAinfo/status…

— DNAinfo.com New York (@DNAinfo) May 18, 2013

Focus On Health : Anti-Gay Bias Killing : No St. Vincent's Hospital For Victim

The bias murder of Mark Carson is tragic and must rightly be condemned. But residents in all areas in New York City, including the Lower West Side of Manhattan, which were once served by the ten hospitals that have closed since 2006 -- when Christine Quinn became Speaker of the City Council -- deserve answers, too.

Could Mr. Carson's life had been saved, if, two blocks away from the scene of his violent attack, St. Vincent's Hospital was still open ?

How many lives have been lost, because of the collapse of so many full-service hospitals in New York City ?

How much worse has the Average Ambulance ER Turnaround Time become as a result of the closing of ten full-service hospitals in New York City ?

Why don't more politicians support a single-payer healthcare system, so that all hospitals could be funded to fully meet the healthcare needs of their patients ?