Democracy in Amerikka; Almost Every Major New York Politician is Unelected

Go Fuck Yourself

Nice little nugg in yesterday's NY Post on the sentencing of former New York State Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio to six years in the clink on corruption charges related to his "consultancy" work for area hospitals , work he carried out while still holding office. Seminerio was caught on tape saying to Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, "I don't give a f--- [if] you close down every hospital in the city -- you leave my hospitals alone."

Worth remembering the state of New York politricks right now:
Governor-Unelected (Patterson replacing Spitzer)
State Comptroller-Unelected (DiNapoli replacing Hevesi)
Junior Senator-Unelected (Gilibrand replacing Hillary after months of dithering, chicanery and delay by Patterson, somehow we survived all that time only having one Senator)
New York City Mayor-Elected to third term by slim margin only after spending more than any campaign in history and overturning two public referendums on term limits through City Council backroom dealing.

Kinda stunning to see in print. I feel like this info should be put in a box and placed somewhere on the front pages of the NY Times, Daily News, NY Post and Newsday everyday. It's the kind of eye-opener that makes you question the very need for government. If the State Assembly and Senate were to disappear tomorrow, would New York City slide into the sea?

Life would go on, our garbage would get picked up, kids would get taught, cops would bust boombaclot heads, and train service would be nonexistent on weekends, while more than $6 billion of our tax dollars every year would continue to go to just pay off debt for past failures. When the State and City income tax go up, when the sales tax goes up, when every fine and fee goes up, when the subway fare goes up, when mysterious surcharges are added to the cost of every mundane parking ticket, when libraries are open five hours a day five days a week, when there are no crosstown buses, we have to ask if the people in charge tried their hardest to save, and we have to ask just who it is that's actually making the decisions over our lives. Maybe it all sounds a tad Tea Party-ish, but looking back up at the list of major unelected players should cause any person, regardless of party affiliation, great concern.