Bloomberg's Claims--Fact or Fiction?

I've been watching Bloomberg's ads on TV recently and decided to look at his claims about Bill Thompson. I looked at a New York Times article, Experts say Mayor Bloomberg's city schools ads slamming Bill Thompson features some fuzzy facts for some information.


Claim #1) Bloomberg says Thompson failed as leader of the Board of Education.
FACT OR FICTION?
This claim is false, Thompson did not lead the Board of Education. He was one of seven voters. He had no full control.

Quoted from the NYT article:
"Mayoral control of the schools did not become law until 2002, when Albany passed it during Bloomberg's first term, making comparison tricky."


Claim #2) Bloomberg says Thompson's leadership led to failing schools and lower test scores.
FACT OR FICTION?
This is not true either.
According to the NYT article and the Department of Education, reading scores went up for fourth graders by 11% in 2 years when Thompson was a member of the Board of Education. For eighth-graders, scores went down by 2%. Math scores went up by 2% for fourth-graders and stayed the same for eighth graders. Graduation rates also increased. Summer school was also put into effect. However, dropout rates did slowly climb.


Claim #3) Bloomberg says Thompson wasted billions while he was "in control" of the Board of Education.
FACT OR FICTION?
This is false.
"During the late 1990s, some experts say, it was the three or four members who often aligned with Giuliani who wielded more power than the president. The mayor, not the board, controlled the school system's purse strings.

The schools operating budget has jumped to $18.4 billion this year from $7.9 billion in 1996. It was $8.9 billion in fiscal year 1998."

I also checked out You're a Disgrace, Mayor Bloomberg! for the scoop on some Bloomberg habberdashery. Looks like a lot of people don't like him. I definitely suggest checking out the site.

In other news, the 2 train has been worse than usual lately. Yesterday the 2 train paused for 20 minutes and then stopped running between Chambers Street and Nevins Street. Of course, I have to work at Fulton Street, so instead of riding back up to 42nd Street and taking the S/N to the 5, I decided to wait. For a half-hour. Then I realized they forgot to advertise the A train that was 1 block away.

WHAT THE HECK, MTA?

So after 50 minutes I had to walk over a block and take the A train (or else I'd have to walk for 20 minutes with a heavy laptop, no no no). The MTA owes me $9 for the hour of work I missed. If I didn't have an unlimited MetroCard I'd be even angrier.

Whatever... (-_-)*
Later guys. Remember to check your facts before you vote!

♥ Chotpy

Woo! Oh yeah, IS BLOOMBERG A JERK?

So it's been a while since I last posted.
I've been very busy with work and school and roaming around the city. I've discovered a lot of nice things and will share them with you guys!

And I still want to take fashion photos.

Anyway, very soon (hopefully today) I will upload a bunch of photos taken around the city. I feel like it would be a waste if no one saw them.

In other news, how does everyone feel about Mike Bloomberg? He's running for his third term that he forced convinced the government into letting him run for. Was there ever an election for that? I'm pretty sure it happened behind closed doors.

Is anyone rattled by the fact that WE as New Yorkers didn't have the chance to ACTUALLY vote for the new term limits?

Also, I don't really appreciate how Bloomberg seems to be segregating his print ads. Instead of general print ads, he's gone a bit nuts and separated them according to race (or ethnicity if you're Dominican). Asians for Bloomberg, Latinos for Bloomberg, Dominicans(? Is this necessary if you have LATINOS for Bloomberg? Does 'Latinos' not encompass Dominicans???), etc, etc.

I remember Obama had something similar, but it was more general and way broader, like areas of New York City, stores, and women. How do you feel about this 'divide and conquer' approach of Bloomberg's?

I think that's all the New York Rage I have for now!

Good day people!

♥ Chotpy

Racism in the Media

So the post's recent screwup has spurred me to talk about racism in the media.
In case you missed it, here is the comic that started this whole mess:



My question is, if it's supposed to represent our gov't as a whole, why not put more than one monkey? What is the Post trying to portray here? Why did they pick to show it like this? Why would they even agree to put this out?
To make it worse, they released a statement saying:

"The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist."

Even my friends thought Sharpton was right on this one. What were you guys thinking?

Next, here is an ad from Subway on the subway.



Seriously?! Asian people, do you not feel one bit bothered by this portrayal of an angry chinese food man? They could've at least straightened his teeth. That is really brutal. If I were Asian, I wouldn't let it slide.

What is wrong with the media today? Do you think we need to take a good look at the portrayal of races in the media? Please voice your complaints and post things you hear and see in the comments.

♥Chotpy

New Year, New Stuff!

Hello and happy belated New Year! I have been busy sleeping and stuff of that nature for the past month, and I also had a bit of writer's block so I couldn't write much of anything here. However, I did manage to create a new website on a spur of the moment. It's called Japan in 2010 and is located here. I suppose I'll redo the layout sooner or later, but I can't guarantee it because class starts in a week.

As for a rant, Bloomberg is going to ask Obama for some money for the city. I heard nothing about our crappy transportation system. Is that getting a bailout too? When do I get my bailout? When does my cat get a bailout? He needs a new fitness trainer anyway.

Well I'm gonna go tinker with the new site again.

Good day, ya'll!
-Chotpy

Dear MTA,

Please cut your salaries instead of our service. You deserve it.
Love,
New York

My Search for the Best Point & Shoot Compact Camera

I've been looking for a new camera for months. I need one to capture the full beauty of the city and for class projects. Before, I had settled on the Canon PowerShot SD750 after seeing my coworker's beautiful, clear pictures. However, after searching the internet that desire was gone due to a common "LENS ERROR" that renders compact Canon cameras useless. I decided to continue my search in hopes of finding the best compact camera. Here are some I found.

In third place, I put the Canon PowerShot SD750 because it lakes beautiful pictures. However, as I stated earlier, beautiful pictures can't be taken with a paperweight. Until Canon chooses to recognize its cameras' errors, I'm not buying anything non-professional from them.

In second place, I put the Sony Cybershot DSCT300 because it also takes great pictures and looks very nice. The downside to Cybershot cameras is that the use Memory Sticks, not SD cards. Sorry SONY, I'm really not willing to shell out another $50 for some memory card I can't use with any other equipment. No, I'm not buying a PSP either.

In first place, I put the Panasonic DMC-LX3K because it is compact, yet semi-professional. It is more expensive, but it also takes great pictures (look it up on Flickr). I will most likely be buying this one in the near future.

Here are some pictures of the city that I took with my G1.

5th Avenue during a citywide marathon

Obama/Biden support days before the election

Packed 42nd Street station

Tricolor boots

Empty outdoor station

5th Avenue (23rd st) at night

Huge crowd on election day

Newly-emptied rental space on 5th Ave near 23rd street

5th Ave in the afternoon

As the escalators in the train stations say,
HAVE A NICE DAY :)
♥ Chotpy

My experience with the G1 so far

I've had my T-Mobile G1 for a few weeks now, and I have to say that it is really helpful with many things. The Google Maps program works very well, and as my coworkers have said, the keyboard is great and the touchscreen is very responsive. T-Mobile's EDGE service is great and their 3G is amazingly fast. Google updates the android market daily, and the copy and paste function is one of the most useful tools on this phone. Web pages look stunning and the screen is very clear. To make things better, all apps are free until January.

Many have complained about the lack of a virtual keyboard, but one is in the works and should be out in January or close to that month. In all, it's a great phone and it's a joy to use.

In other news, free MetroCards are being given out, and I want one. I deserve one after the MTA's train delays on the 6 line caused me to be late for class AGAIN. Seriously, why is the MTA so inefficient? I'm tryng to be all green and environmentally clean, but they make me want to buy a car (which I don't have the money for). MTA, stop giving out all those bonuses and give me an on-time train.

That's all for today, boys and girls.
Until next time,
Chotpy