It's 340 a.m. out here on the west Coast. About 130 a.m. i heard what sounded like two or three large explosions in the near distance. Could have been from the ICE building but the acoustics are difficult with sound reflecting off buildings around us so there's no way to be certain.
I really wonder how American history would be different if Eliot Spitzer didn't have a blind spot the size of New York City about banking law.
Let me explain, since I've never seen this reported correctly and yet I knew all about it at the time.
As Attorney General of New York, Spitzer successfully brought a number of high profile cases against Wall Street firms, including banks. His work was extremely popular with the voters and he waltzed to reelection in 2002 (he had narrowly won his first election by 0.6%, hard to believe for a statewide office in New York State), and then won the governorship with 69% of the vote, the highest margin ever.
Now, as you know, Spitzer was patronizing some high end prostitutes and that eventually led to his resignation and his becoming even more electorally radioactive than Andrew Cuomo, his successor as Attorney General and the next man elected governor after his lieutenant governor's term expired.
But here's the thing. In patronizing those prostitutes, Spitzer was withdrawing large sums of cash from his bank accounts, really large sums. And those transactions were large enough to trigger what are called "Suspicious Activity Reports" or "SARs". These are based on the federal Bank Secrecy Act and they aren't anything special. I worked on a case once where the largest non-home sale related deposit ever was made into a bank in Florida--which was about 100% likely the proceeds of a terrorist activity--and the bank didn't raise a fuss about it.
But this was Eliot Fucking Spitzer, as they probably thought of him at the banks he patronized. You are public enemy number one on Wall Street and you've just won a landslide election as governor. And you're withdrawing cash from banks at a rate that is triggering these reports. Donald Trump knows how to do this without triggering the reports. The escort service he was patronizing knows how to do this without triggering the reports. The mafia knows how to do this without triggering these reports. Fucking Al-Qaeda (with exceptions) knows how to do this without triggering these reports. Two bit drug dealers know how to do this without triggering these reports.
The people in the anti-money laundering sections of banks that deal with these reports do not like to have to do stuff with them. They're a pain in the ass and they're more likely to lose the bank a big customer than they are to improve the bank's financial position. The only thing is, the regulators really do look at them and want to know what the bank did about them, so they can't be entirely ignored, particularly if they pile up with a specific customer.
But this is an entirely different kettle of fish. If you're a bank employee and suddenly the name "Eliot Spitzer" is coming up, you're not thinking "oh, crap, we have to look into another customer." You're thinking, "Holy shit! That's Mr. Clean Government, what's he doing with all these hundred dollar bills every week or so?" So you investigate. And you find out what he's doing. And suddenly he's the ex-governor.
Oh what are all the racist Republican white supremacists to do who have vowed never to vote for a candidate whose name ends in a vowel because that's foreign?
Ta, Marcie. I early voted last night, for Zohran. A few of you know that over forty years ago (where does the time go?) I worked as a freelancer for a tiny boutique law firm. The founding partner started the firm so Mario Cuomo would have a place to practice law if he didn't get elected. RIP, Jerry Weiss. Our office also served as the address of New York's Liberal Party, when there was such a thing. The partner for whom I worked specialized in arbitration to protect the intellectual property of artists, designers, etc. We had a great working relationship.
Then Andrew Cuomo left DA Morgenthau's office and came to work with us. He was dating the female partner. Mario and Matilda Cuomo were visitors to the office even before their son sullied our space. With mine own ears, I heard that nogoodnik call the senior partner's legal secretary "that cunt." One day "my" partner came to my desk looking sheepish, and asked if I'd mind if they moved my desk. I answered that as long as I had a working computer and phone, they could put me in a closet. That weekend, Andrew and the kid who did our bulk photocopying and took our mail to the post office moved me to another space. I don't know about you, but I resented having a couple of men, neither of whom I liked, handling my box of tampons or my vitamins. That experience made me sick, quite literally. No job is worth my health, and I turned in my notice.
That was also where I was working when That Thing in the Offal Office came to visit. Ugh.
Zyx, thank you for that valuable history. I would have quit too.
In the course of a long life, one gets to meet some remarkable people. For me, it was a man sitting at a table arranging vase flowers when I first came into his presence. He was already famous and passed away forty years ago.
People like that can change ones life and he irrevocably changed mine. But that's a story for another day
I feel as if my educational and working life, as well as my participation in the greater society has been so besmirched by entitlement that I begin to wonder if maybe I’m missing something. They are so smugly self satisfied and confident in deserving the cream.
Marcie never disappoints. This takedown of A. Cuomo is a master class. It's sad to see how Cuomo has changed since his governor days. His father, Mario, was a very admirable politician/humanitarian I had a little book by him in my library but I think I gave it away. 🙁
If you believe in the God of the Bible, you have to ask yourself every day, how does Cuomo not burst into flames, after being struck by lightning while being turned into a pile of salt, every time he opens his f***ing lying mouth?
Mamdani went to a NYC public high school. It wasn’t all private schools for him.
It’s not his fault his mom’s a very successful filmmaker, and his dad a well regarded economics professor.
Also, his dad’s a non-practicing Muslim and mom is from a Hindu family, who did not convert. He’s probably some kind of secular humanist, atheist, or agnostic. I doubt he’s particularly religious.
Cuomo looks a flabby wrinkly foreskin that the mohel threw away and it got reanimated like a grotesque golem into an abuser 🤮🤣
It's 340 a.m. out here on the west Coast. About 130 a.m. i heard what sounded like two or three large explosions in the near distance. Could have been from the ICE building but the acoustics are difficult with sound reflecting off buildings around us so there's no way to be certain.
Pedantic: Mamdani is not a socialist by any traditional or reasonable use of the term. Maybe it was meant ironically.
Any time a dem or left leaning pol mentions a public service, they are branded SOCIALIST!!!!
That is to cover up how the billionaires ain't wanting to pay. They got a score to keep!
I really wonder how American history would be different if Eliot Spitzer didn't have a blind spot the size of New York City about banking law.
Let me explain, since I've never seen this reported correctly and yet I knew all about it at the time.
As Attorney General of New York, Spitzer successfully brought a number of high profile cases against Wall Street firms, including banks. His work was extremely popular with the voters and he waltzed to reelection in 2002 (he had narrowly won his first election by 0.6%, hard to believe for a statewide office in New York State), and then won the governorship with 69% of the vote, the highest margin ever.
Now, as you know, Spitzer was patronizing some high end prostitutes and that eventually led to his resignation and his becoming even more electorally radioactive than Andrew Cuomo, his successor as Attorney General and the next man elected governor after his lieutenant governor's term expired.
But here's the thing. In patronizing those prostitutes, Spitzer was withdrawing large sums of cash from his bank accounts, really large sums. And those transactions were large enough to trigger what are called "Suspicious Activity Reports" or "SARs". These are based on the federal Bank Secrecy Act and they aren't anything special. I worked on a case once where the largest non-home sale related deposit ever was made into a bank in Florida--which was about 100% likely the proceeds of a terrorist activity--and the bank didn't raise a fuss about it.
But this was Eliot Fucking Spitzer, as they probably thought of him at the banks he patronized. You are public enemy number one on Wall Street and you've just won a landslide election as governor. And you're withdrawing cash from banks at a rate that is triggering these reports. Donald Trump knows how to do this without triggering the reports. The escort service he was patronizing knows how to do this without triggering the reports. The mafia knows how to do this without triggering these reports. Fucking Al-Qaeda (with exceptions) knows how to do this without triggering these reports. Two bit drug dealers know how to do this without triggering these reports.
The people in the anti-money laundering sections of banks that deal with these reports do not like to have to do stuff with them. They're a pain in the ass and they're more likely to lose the bank a big customer than they are to improve the bank's financial position. The only thing is, the regulators really do look at them and want to know what the bank did about them, so they can't be entirely ignored, particularly if they pile up with a specific customer.
But this is an entirely different kettle of fish. If you're a bank employee and suddenly the name "Eliot Spitzer" is coming up, you're not thinking "oh, crap, we have to look into another customer." You're thinking, "Holy shit! That's Mr. Clean Government, what's he doing with all these hundred dollar bills every week or so?" So you investigate. And you find out what he's doing. And suddenly he's the ex-governor.
Judging by his hideous face he has already begun the process of physically melting. Have you ever seen a face more like a melting candlestick?
The climax of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Oh what are all the racist Republican white supremacists to do who have vowed never to vote for a candidate whose name ends in a vowel because that's foreign?
You mean Cuomo?
Cuomo. Sliwa. Mamdani.
Where's the conservative choice?
Ta, Marcie. I early voted last night, for Zohran. A few of you know that over forty years ago (where does the time go?) I worked as a freelancer for a tiny boutique law firm. The founding partner started the firm so Mario Cuomo would have a place to practice law if he didn't get elected. RIP, Jerry Weiss. Our office also served as the address of New York's Liberal Party, when there was such a thing. The partner for whom I worked specialized in arbitration to protect the intellectual property of artists, designers, etc. We had a great working relationship.
Then Andrew Cuomo left DA Morgenthau's office and came to work with us. He was dating the female partner. Mario and Matilda Cuomo were visitors to the office even before their son sullied our space. With mine own ears, I heard that nogoodnik call the senior partner's legal secretary "that cunt." One day "my" partner came to my desk looking sheepish, and asked if I'd mind if they moved my desk. I answered that as long as I had a working computer and phone, they could put me in a closet. That weekend, Andrew and the kid who did our bulk photocopying and took our mail to the post office moved me to another space. I don't know about you, but I resented having a couple of men, neither of whom I liked, handling my box of tampons or my vitamins. That experience made me sick, quite literally. No job is worth my health, and I turned in my notice.
That was also where I was working when That Thing in the Offal Office came to visit. Ugh.
NO KINGS and NO CUOMO. Enshallah.
Zyx, thank you for that valuable history. I would have quit too.
In the course of a long life, one gets to meet some remarkable people. For me, it was a man sitting at a table arranging vase flowers when I first came into his presence. He was already famous and passed away forty years ago.
People like that can change ones life and he irrevocably changed mine. But that's a story for another day
I've called Cuomo some things, I do admit.
I feel as if my educational and working life, as well as my participation in the greater society has been so besmirched by entitlement that I begin to wonder if maybe I’m missing something. They are so smugly self satisfied and confident in deserving the cream.
He sounded in that “he’s an offender” TikTok as if he had taken one or two shots of courage too many in preparation.
Marcie never disappoints. This takedown of A. Cuomo is a master class. It's sad to see how Cuomo has changed since his governor days. His father, Mario, was a very admirable politician/humanitarian I had a little book by him in my library but I think I gave it away. 🙁
💚 Project 2028:
https://substack.com/@oppositeofoligarch/note/c-171929565?r=1y1t5s&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web
Holy fuck that ad was OFF THE FUCKING CHARTS RACIST. I mean how does that even get past the idea stage? Someone actually MADE that piece of shit.
Just wow. Maybe Cuomo SHOULD move to Florida so he can hang out with the MAGA racists he so obviously loves to be around.
If you believe in the God of the Bible, you have to ask yourself every day, how does Cuomo not burst into flames, after being struck by lightning while being turned into a pile of salt, every time he opens his f***ing lying mouth?
This should surprise no one
Regardless of nominal political party, this country's biggest problem is racist White people
Regardless of all the books on the subject -
Professor Keith Boykin has a brand new video to explain to people who don't feel like they have time to learn more than that
https://youtu.be/5G9aesWK93M?si=yQK4TtESiGnRySV5
Mamdani went to a NYC public high school. It wasn’t all private schools for him.
It’s not his fault his mom’s a very successful filmmaker, and his dad a well regarded economics professor.
Also, his dad’s a non-practicing Muslim and mom is from a Hindu family, who did not convert. He’s probably some kind of secular humanist, atheist, or agnostic. I doubt he’s particularly religious.
He's brown and has a funny sounding name. That's enough to evoke 9/11 for racist pieces of shit like Cuomo.
I'm alllllllllllllmost tempted to move back to Brooklyn just to vote for Not Cuomo.
Well, like gas, that passed.