CitizeNYC Podcast #13

Posting Two Beers In, the podcast I co-host, a few days late. I've been busy! Text from CitizeNYC.

Two Beers In! Taxing Soda, Ravitch's Budget Plan, and Yank, A Love Story

On this week's episode of New York's political talk show, hosts Ryan J. Davis and Greg Palmer discuss Ravitch's new budget plan, taxing soda, Mayor Bloomberg's public health efforts, and Yank The Musical.

Listen online right here!

We start with Lt. Governor Ravitch's plan to fix New York's longstanding budget problems and why legislators need to learn to do their jobs or face our wrath in this fall's elections. We wonder if the state is insolvent and when we're getting our tax returns, and we talk about how the state can generate more revenue.

Ryan thinks we should raise taxes, while Greg says we're already one of the highest taxed states in the country, but we agree that the proposed soda tax is a good idea. Unfortunately, Governor Paterson has gotten behind it, which probably means it's dead on arrival.

Which brings us to Mayor Bloomberg's public health efforts and why a soda tax needs to be partnered with hardcore nutritional education for parents throughout the city. Some kids' best meals are coming from their schools, where the food actually looks like food... unlike a lot of other school cafeterias across the country.

Ryan stops by Yank, a musical love story set in World War II, and thinks we should all go to Monday's equality rally in Brooklyn in response to the vicious gay-bashing that occurred in Carroll Gardens earlier this month. It'd also be a nice gesture to show some support for the 9 year old kid whose teacher taunted him as being "gay."

Coming up next week, loads more fun and a review of the Whitney Biennial. In the meantime, you can subscribe on iTunes and use Facebook Connect to discuss topics from this week's episode below!

CitizeNYC Podcast #10

On this week's episode, hosts Greg Palmer and Ryan J. Davis talk about renaming the Freedom Tower to One World Trade, New York's most popular politician, and David Paterson's improbable campaign. Plus, gay activist groups that sound like gay bars.

Listen online right here!




Or listen on iTunes, and be sure to check out last week's episode, all about Governor Paterson's sex habits (kidding... sorta).

Via CitizeNYC.

CitizeNYC Podcast #7

We're two beers in again this week and talking about waiting until 2011 to push for marriage equality, Mayor Bloomberg's lackluster State of the City address, and Pamela's disaster of a jean dress on Project Runway. (Plus loads more!)

Listen on iTunes, and be sure to check out last week's episode.

Next week we'll have Dorian Davis as our special guest! Watch out, it's gonna get crazy...

Via CitizeNYC.

CitizeNYC Podcast #4

In this week's episode of Two Beers In, Greg & I cover airport security, the Four Amigos, Mayor Bloomberg's third term, and how to smoke pot legally in the city. You can listen here, or subscribe free on iTunes.

Via CitizeNYC.

NY Times Smacks Bloomberg for Private Jet to Copenhagen

The NY Times notes the unsubtle irony of Mayor Bloomberg's environmental record. On the public front, he's a "visionary." But, in private he is one of the "worst individual polluters ever to hold public office."

He owns two private jets, the least efficient form of transportation on earth. I take the L train everywhere, Mayor Bloomberg takes a jet or, if he's feeling cheap, a personal helicopter.

Just how bad is it to take your private jet to a climate change summit overseas? Someone did the math: "By taking his Falcon 900 to Denmark, Mr. Bloomberg will be responsible for the release of 37 times the carbon dioxide than if he and his entourage flew on a scheduled commercial flight." Way to be a jerk Mr. Mayor.

Originally posted on CitizeNYC.

Live-Blogging Tonight's NYC Mayoral Debate

Starting at 6:45pm tonight, I'm live-blogging the final NYC Mayoral Debate between Mike Bloomberg and Democrat Bill Thompson on CitizeNYC.

CitizeNYC is a new site, founded by my friend Greg Palmer, that is dedicated to people-powered New York news and I'm excited to be involved at this early stage.

Visit CitizeNYC starting at 6:45 for the live story.

Update: Live-Blog was very fun. Read the entire transcript here.

LGBT for Mike Bloomberg

On Thursday we joined hundreds of other LGBT New Yorkers at City Winery to show our support for Mayor Bloomberg's reelection camapign. See the video below for some highlights from the event and join LGBT for Bloomberg now.

We're surrounded by GDINOs!

An e-mail circulating among NYC gay politicos of a poorly photoshopped wanted poster, attacks the many gay New Yorkers who recently endorsed the reelection of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The image contains some familiar faces including Corey Johnson, Brian Ellner, Andrea Batista Schlesinger, Co-founders of Friends of the Highline: Robert Hammond and Josh David, Kelli Conlin, former Clinton aide Richard Socarides, and me. We're all GDINOs, Gay Democrats In Name Only, and wanted for treason against the LGBT Community for supporting Michael "Leviticus" Bloomberg.

We're lucky that the anonymous author, obviously ashamed of their design skills, is only going after gay Democrats. I'd hate to have both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama wanted for treason, after having said favorable things about Bloomberg in public. New York's openly-gay City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has, so far, refused to endorse a Democratic Candidate for Mayor. However, she did appear on stage with Bloomberg at last week's Gracie Mansion Gay Pride Celebration, a wonderfully fun and well attended BBQ. There sure are a lot of GDINOs.

A recent poll, showing the Mayor up 22% against the presumptive Democratic opponent, also had him leading with Democrats by 9%. Bloomberg is just 2 points shy of being the choice of a majority of New York City Democrats. Only 40%, the loyal Democrats, are voting for the party's choice.

It will be interesting to see in November just how many real, loyal, non-treasonous, Democrats will show up to vote for whoever that guy is running against Bloomberg.

Crossposted on The Huffington Post.