03.12.2008: Spitzer Scandal, News
Clients One Through Eight
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was referred to as client number nine in the prostitution sting this week. Assignations run around $4,500 for the top gals in this house, so I ask myself: why haven’t we been provided the names of clients one through eight? It goes without saying that all are wealthy men, and there are probably a few other politicians among them. The prostitution ring — the Emperor’s Club V.I.P. — was under federal wiretap, so they MUST know the identities of the others. There are probably a lot more than nine clients too, eh, so why have their identities not been released? Though they vigorously deny it, it sure smells like a Republican setup.
Alberto Gonzales was Attorney General at the time this investigation was begun — he who fired a whole slew of high level federal prosecutors because they wouldn’t kiss Bush’s ass. It’s just the sort of thing he would do, with the quiet urging of Karl Rove or Dick Cheney. The dirty trickster Roger Stone — whose work goes back to Nixon days — has been after Spitzer for some years. He was behind a threatening phone call to Bernard Spitzer, Eliot’s father, regarding campaign contributions to his son’s election campaign for attorney general in 1994. Here is part of the voice message he left: “There is not a goddamn thing your phony, psycho, piece-of-shit son can do about it. Bernie, your phony loans are about to catch up with you. You will be forced to tell the truth and the fact that your son’s a pathological liar will be known to all.” Stone was being paid by a group of Republicans to bring down Spitzer, and now he may have succeeded. (He was also involved in orchestrating protests against the Florida vote recount, the debacle that allowed George Bush to become president.)
Like a lot of politicians and people in power, it seems Spitzer believed he could get away with some shit. He should know that if he’s going to play moral crusader, he’s got to be a saint. People like Roger Stone are all too willing to make a quiet call and tip off whomever at the slightest slip or indiscretion of their enemies.
News
Good news, I hope: the city has given the Red Hook ball field vendors a reprieve, allowing them time to get their kiosks and trucks up to health code. The articles don’t specify exactly what that entails or whether the requirements are ridiculous or not. And it’s a little unclear whether each vendor or all of them together need to raise the 30k estimated to get up to code. 30k is a lot of money to come up with when you’re selling huaraches and pupusas as cheaply as they do at the ball fields. These vendors are one of the things that make New York a good place to live. They represent the opposite of the mallification of the planet.
Other good news: the city (specifically the Department of Transportation) is proposing to make Prince Street car-free on Sundays from 11am to 6pm. This experiment faces some opposition from car owners in the hood, but for most local residents, and for all the local businesses, it will be a big improvement.
