Does the man who once sat on Cloud 7 believe there's something to Building 7? On Howard Stern's radio show last night, Tony Bennett questioned who was really to blame for the September 11th attacks that killed 2,996 Americans. "They flew the plane in, but we caused it," Bennett said. "But who are the terrorists? Are we the terrorists or are they the terrorists?" Bennett was alluding to the imposing presence of the United States in the Middle East prior to the attacks, but the damage had already been done. Look for his new single, "Who Can I Turn To (When People Find My Views On 9/11 In Poor Taste)," this fall. more ›

There's only 9 shopping days until the real apocalypse, and that means time is running out for President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to hammer out a "grand bargain" that would reduce the deficit by trillions, raise the debt-ceiling limit, and soothe the worries of the global economy. Boehner reportedly called Obama today, but that was probably to tell him how much he cried when he saw Marley and Me. However, the original First Black President, William Jefferson Clinton, suggested last week that Obama use Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling himself. While the president said on Friday that his attorneys "are not persuaded that that is a winning argument," a few law professors tell the Times it's entirely feasible. more ›

No, it wasn't a gathering to mourn the recent death of the First Cat, but rather just a meeting of the minds when the four living presidents were invited to lunch by the president to be. President Bush said he was happy to give a holler to former Presidents Clinton, Carter and Bush 41 (his father). It was the first time all of the living presidents had gathered at the White House since the funeral of assassinated Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat in 1981. more ›

Is this the first election season where you’ve supported one of the candidates? Sort of. This is the first time I’ve supported someone during the primaries, which carries a lot of weight with people who were already going to vote for Obama. In 4th grade I campaigned for Reagan (it worked), and in 2004 I did a bunch of fundraisers for John Kerry (Sorry, America, I failed). Basically, after Bush beat Al Gore and tried to ruin America, I decided to be more politically involved. But not too much! I want to remain “cool.” more ›

Who knew thousands, if not millions, of New Yorkers would agree with presidential hopeful Fred Thompson on something? In this case, the former Senator and former Law & Order District Attorney was talking about Rudy Giuliani's reliance on touting his New York City credentials during a campaign stop in New Hampshire today. Thompson told a crowd at a gun store, Giuliani "relates everything to New York City. Well, New York City is not emblematic of... more ›

Need a last minute costume idea and in a New York state of mind? Here are a few NYC-themed ideas for your Halloween fête... more ›

An envelope filled with a white powder was delivered to former President Bill Clinton's West 125th Street office, causing the two floors of the building to be shut down yesterday afternoon. Most of the building was evacuated, but eleven people were quaratined as the police, fire department, FBI, Secret Service and Homeland Secuirty descended to the scene. A source told the Daily News, "An aide opened the envelope, and she went ballistic," when white powder fell from the manila envelope. It turns out the white powder was non-toxic and harmless, but the envelope did have a "rambling diatribe" inside. more ›

Yesterday's decision by a federal judge to sentence controversial lawyer Lynne Stewart to 28 months in prison for charges in helping terrorist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman carry out his message was met by relief from Stewart supporters and overwhelming outcry from the government (which had hoped for a 30 year sentence) and many of the local papers. The Post, Daily News and the Sun all have editorials criticizing Judge Koetl's short sentence. From the Daily News:

Perhaps kindly Judge Koeltl was touched by the sight of Stewart, all her revolutionary bravado fled, blubbering that the end of her legal career "is like a sword in my side." Perhaps he was moved by the defense argument that Stewart, who is 67 and ailing, would die behind bars if a sentence of any reasonable length were imposed. more ›

Attorney General candidates Jeanine Pirro and Andrew Cuomo delivered a crazy, mean-spirited exchange in their first debate. And if it weren't so sad that these are our candidates, it would be funny. It was a little funny when Pirro mocked Cuomo's record as a "non-practicing lawyer" (14 months in the Manhattan DA's office over 20 years ago) and his record as the secretary of HUD under President Clinton, saying, "Your running for attorney general is like my running for Joe Torre's position [as Yankees manager] because I played softball 21 years ago." Ha - but Cuomo didn't hold back, telling the audience, "Just so we're clear, there is a candidate who is being accused of criminal wrongdoing and is under investigation by a number of law-enforcement agencies and had their ethics questioned - that's not me, however. SNAP! more ›

Venezulan President Hugo Chavez followed up his devilish U.N. appearance with a visit to Harlem's Mount Olivet Baptist Church, where his tirade has earned him a nickname from the NY Post: . (Yeah, it doesn't quite have the ring of "Wacko Jacko.") Though Chavez's main goal was to announce that he would distribute discounted heating oil to the poor, he took the time to continue his jabs at the Commander in Chief :

Bush "is an alcoholic, a sick man and very dangerous. And he has a lot of power," Chavez said. more ›

It's global leader week in the city, and many who work, live and travel through East Midtown know that as intense security and more traffic are evident (plea from the Mayor: "Take mass transit"), especially as the President will address the United Nations today. Yesterday, President George Bush and First Lady Laura attended a conference on global literacy sponsored by the White House at the New York Public Library, but the bigger question was whether or not the President would come face to face with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Since Bush refuses to discuss Iran's nuclear program at the United Nations until Iran suspends uranium enrichment (though French President Jacques Chirac suggested that Iran doesn't necessarily need to suspend its program yesterday), people were atwitter at the possibility of a run-in. more ›

Slowlands more ›

Abe Hirschfeld, the millionaire developer turned jack-of-whatever-he-wanted died yesterday from complications of cancer. While Hirschfeld made his money in real estate (cinderblock, "semi-enclosed" parking garages), he became a public fixture after running for lieutenant governor, buying the NY Post for two weeks and causing the Post's staff to revolt, having a public feud with Jackie Mason, offering Paula Jones $1 million to settle her suit against then President Clinton, running for a variety of public offices - including Manhattan Beep, state comptroller, and Senate - and plotting to kill a business partner. All in all, he was a true New York character. more ›

Fernando Ferrer: $5225/month 3,300-square-foot at 14 East 38th Street; rent will kick in 6 weeks after move-in, no deposit required, as the managers are Ferrer supportersTo give the psychoanalysis of this real estate, the Times turned Columbia political science professor Rodolfo de la Garza who said, "If the minority candidates had headquarters that reeked of wealth, it will vitiate their claim that they represent 'the other.' That isn't an issue for Bloomberg; it would be disingenuous of him to have his office in Washington Heights." This reminds of when President Clinton had to move his office from a swank West 57th Street (right next to Carnegie Hall) post-Presidency office to West 125th Street! Quite frankly, we're surprised that Freddy's office are so midtown, and Gothamist would have expected Weiner's team to have built a lean-to and squat somewhere to really promote his underdog status. more ›

Gothamist could not have been the first to think of "The X-Presidents" cartoons on Saturday Night Live when we saw the press conference where President Bush announced that his daddy and President Clinton would help raise funds for tsunami relief. Of course, a more power tableau was during the Clinton Presidential Library opening, because President Carter was also present, but in this instance, President Bush is calling upon ex-Presidents to fight for a good cause. We have to tip our hat to W's team, because there is something motivating to see his predecessors back in a sort of action. more ›

Yesterday, President Bush pledged $350 million to the tsunami relief efforts in South Asia; this is a huge increase from the last aid commitment of $35 million, which had been increased from an initial $15 million right after the disaster. Whether or not putting the aid package in the hundreds of millions is a way for President Bush to deflect criticism that the U.S. was being "stingy" or to show that the U.S. is interested in other countries' welfares, Gothamist is glad that the U.S. is finally stepping up. We were amused that White House spokesman Trent Duffy had to say the funds are "not coming from Iraq money, if that's what you're asking," because it shows that even a force of nature can't get our President to budge. more ›