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Weiner Stands Tall in Face of Obama, Is Not Impressed with Quinn's Reforms

Representative Anthony Weiner, a devout Hillary Clinton supporter, recalls for News Forum host Jay DeDapper what it was like meeting Barack Obama on the floor of Congress the other day:

From a transcript of sent over by the studio:  read more »

Bay Ridge Club Split Between Fossella's Democrat Challengers

The Brooklyn Democrats for Change, a reform club in Bay Ridge, held their endorsement meeting last night to decide which Democrat to endorse against Republican Vito Fossella.

The club’s decision was an even split.

According to a political operative who attended the meeting but is not actively working for either campaign, there were 25 votes for each of the two declared Democratic candidates, attorney Steve Harrison and City Councilman Domenic Recchia.  read more »

Economy in 'Double Bubble' Trouble?


Looking for some depressing news to read during lunch? See below.

Gene Sperling, top economic adviser to the Clintons, argues today in a Bloomberg column that the economy may be in for double-real-estate-bubble trouble.

That's right. Not just one deflating bubble. Two.

We all know about the recently poppped residential real estate bubble, but is there a second commercial real estate bubble that is on the brink of bursting, too?  read more »

Virginia is Not for Adulterers

An unserious footnote to the story of Vito Fossella's mistress and love child: technically speaking, in her home state of Virginia, adultery is still a crime.  read more »

The Local: Bridal Industry Remains Very Marry

playbeasy via flickr

Luke and his fiancé are getting married at the Foundry in Long Island City this weekend. Like many of the New York couples tying the knot in this uncertain economic climate, they are still going all out for the big day. “We just said ‘let’s hang the cost because it’s only going to happen once right,'” said the British native.

His American-born fiancée’s parents have thrown in $30,000 from their 401K to help foot the bill for the 125-person reception. The newlyweds will cap off the celebration with a two-week honeymoon in Bali, which Luke just bought new scuba gear for.

Based on reports from about a dozen of the city's bridal retailers, the economic slump has done little to dilute the appetite for lavish weddings. Like Manhattan's luxury real estate market, the wedding industry here not only appears to be impervious to a recession, but also has been buoyed by Europeans taking advantage of the almighty euro.  read more »

Where Have You Gone, Morgan Ensberg?

Morgan Ensberg, backup third and first baseman for the New York Yankees, knows that fans don’t flock to Yankee Stadium to see him.

“For the fans, I am so overshadowed, which makes sense,” Ensberg said, sitting at his locker with a copy of a Dan Brown novel in his left hand prior to Thursday’s game against Cleveland. “I’m not that big-name guy. They get to see me if somebody is hurt, or needs a rest.”  read more »

Camara on Rethinking Council Funding

Here is Assemblyman Karim Camara of Brooklyn saying the City Council’s slush fund scandal should prompt state lawmakers to review their own use of member items.
 read more »

Real Estate Industry Still a Sausage Party

Kent Swig
Michael Nagle
Kent Swig

Merle Gross-Ginsberg recalled a dinner hosted by the Real Estate Board of New York back in 1975, where she, Leona Helmsley and one other woman were grossly outnumbered by some 1,800 men—"all smoking the most enormous cigars you've ever seen," she said.

The industry's vast gender gap has slowly begun to close in recent years. Yet, even at the Association of Real Estate Women's 30th Anniversary gala at the Mandarian Oriental Hotel at Time Warner Center on Thursday night, males still dominated the crowd by about 2 to 1. Maybe even 3 to 1.  read more »

Rangel on Why Hillary Still Runs

Getty Images

Charlie Rangel said the proof that Hillary Clinton can still win the Democratic nomination is that she is still pursuing the Democratic nomination. Either she has a chance, he said, or she’s nuts.

"If mathematically she couldn't get the nomination, it would mean that Obama has won and so she wouldn't be in the race," said Rangel. "And so obviously mathematically she can."

When asked how she could win the nomination, Rangel replied, "I don't know, but if mathematically she cannot win, then why aren't we declaring Obama the winner? I mean, it doesn't make sense. It is not my job to explain how, if she put $6 million of her money, the team is still together, the campaign is still going on, why do I have to explain mathematically why she can't win? If mathematically she can't win, then they are crazy. They ought to go to an insane asylum."

He added, "Anybody who really knows that they can't win and they won't quit, there is really something wrong with them."

Clinton is still in the race. So by that logic, she must see some way of winning. What is it?

"I have no clue," said Rangel, explaining it wasn't his job as chairman of the House's Ways and Means committee to chart or analyze Clinton's path to the nomination.  read more »

Why the Popular Vote Argument Has Disappeared

The voting booths used in North Carolina.
Getty Images
The voting booths used in North Carolina.

Two weeks ago, I examined the officially meaningless but symbolically crucial popular-vote tally on the Democratic side.

At the time, Hillary Clinton had just won Pennsylvania by nine points and was claiming to be the popular-vote leader, positioning herself – in theory—to assert a moral claim on the loyalties of uncommitted superdelegates.  read more »

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