Rudolph Giuliani has become the latest Republican to pretend to enjoy the thought of Mitt Romney being elected president. “When I look at where we are as a nation and the challenges we face, I am convinced that Mitt Romney will provide a clear contrast to President Obama,” Giuliani said in a statement earlier today. Woah, a "clear contrast?" Get a room, you two! But as Capital New York reminds us, things weren't always so peachy. Just four months ago Giuliani said of Romney, “I ran against him in ‘07 and ‘08, I’ve never seen a guy change his position so many times, so fast, on a dime." Isn't it amazing what a miserable field of candidates can do to one's viewpoint? more ›

With its full-throated defense of the NYPD's Muslim surveillance programs and the way it cheered the department's violent crackdowns on Occupy Wall Street protesters, you might say the New York Post is cozily nestled in a certain blue pocket. But today's Post carries a shocking revelation: they can be critical of the cops...about parking. Former police commissioner William Bratton possesses an NYPD parking pass that allows him to dodge the law while on "official business." more ›

Cross-dressing, bloody shirt-waving, friend of felons Rudolph Giuliani will visit New Hampshire for the second time in 30 days to "meet with newspaper editors and supporters" in advance of a possible 2012 presidential run, the Post reports. The Mayor of 9/11 Town seems emboldened by recent polling that put him atop of other potential GOP candidates, such as Mitt "Just Plain Vanilla For Me, Thanks" Romney and Sarah "Rambette: Blood Libel" Palin. more ›

Is it time to start pitying Donald Trump?* He was kicked around at the White House Correspondents Dinner, his show was interrupted by the President's Bin Laden announcement, he backed out of driving the pace car at the Indianapolis 500—and now a new poll suggests that New Yorkers don't even appreciate him. And after all the affordable housing and greenspaces bloated, gaudy monstrosities he's given us! more ›

Tell us a story about 9/11, Rudy! No, not The Pet Goat—we already know how that one ends! We want to hear our favorite fantasy story about World Trade Center Building 7, where the crazy bald King of 9/11 Town lost his emergency throne! Is it really true the King and his men destroyed the building themselves in a controlled demolition? And where did the debris go? "Oh all right," the retired 9/11 King told the students at the University of Arkansas, "Once upon a time, there was a place in America called Staten Island." Watch the video below and see Rudy Giuliani invoke this magical land after being pressed to reveal the truther about WTC Building 7: more ›

After listening to Rudy Giuliani talk for ninety minutes at the University of Arkansas Sunday night, the former Mayor of 9/11 Town opened the floor to questions. And people were still awake to ask them! One woman, in particular, had some very urgent inquires about WTC Building 7, which was destroyed on 9/11. As you may recall from reading the 1,000-plus comments on this story, some people believe the building—where Giuliani had his emergency command center—did not collapse on its own, but instead had help from shadowy government operatives who brought it down in a controlled demolition. more ›

The NY Times' editorial board has made its endorsements for the upcoming primaries. While the Times' selection of Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama is interesting (the Times cites experience), we're very taken with the editorial about the Republican candidates. more ›

Rudolph Giuliani's apparent health scare that caused his campaign jet to turn around and land back in St. Louis, Missouri was allegedly not as serious as it was made out to be. The Presidential candidate and former Mayor of New York is begging ignorance as to why his staff members said he had flu-like symptoms, when he says he just had a bad headache. Someone told the press that Giuliani blacked out at some point, which he denies ever happened.

“You’re going to have to ask them,” he said, when asked about their statement. “I’m telling you what actually happened. I had a very, very bad headache. It got worse on the plane. I then got checked out. Went through a lot of tests. All the tests came back 100 percent normal. That’s the bottom line.”

Kevin Drew (myspace) is one of the founding members by the wildly successful Canadian art-rock collective Broken Social Scene. The daring, inventive band boasts a fluctuating roster of artists who shift in and out of the line-up depending on their various other musical pursuits; another BSS member, Leslie Feist, is currently absorbed with her suddenly massive solo career, which exploded into mainstream America after her song “1 2 3 4” became an iPod commercial. As... more ›

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• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian was struck at Neptune Ave. and Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, a shooting on Bivona St. in the Bronx, and a burn victim at East 20th St. and the FDR in Manhattan.
• An assistant DA for Staten Island is considering possible charges against relatives who may have aided in the fugitive status of Rebekah Johnson, who is accused of attempting to murder a commune leader by shooting him several times.
• A Queens inventor is selling a eucalyptus-scented trash bags that repel rats and raccoons. They're so effective that most of the 2,000 residential buildings his company sells janitorial supplies to have made the switch, and they are being used in Central Park.
• The TB patient who travelled against doctors' advice to Europe and then snuck back into the US when told he should check into an Italian healthcare facility, is stunned that the CDC resorted to subterfuge to lure him to a NYC hospital for forced quarantine.
• In the first five days since a new noise ordinance took effect, New Yorkers have flooded 311 with complaints. The number of noise-related calls is up 36% from last year.
• WNBC is reporting that a helicopter equipped with pontoons crashed into the Hudson River just 50 yards north of the Lincoln Tunnel entrance this evening.
• Onetime gun control supporter Rudolph Giuliani espoused his strong belief in the 2nd Amendment and gun rights before a town hall audience in Georgia yesterday.
• NY1 is reporting that when EMS workers arrived at an accident scene in Brooklyn, the injured driver pulled a gun on them. Passing police stopped and the man was killed in a shootout. It's suspected that he has taken part in multiple recent carjackings.

The head of a firemens' union is pledging to end any hope of Giuliani's campaign for President. Rudolph Giuliani has emphasized his leadership in crisis as the centerpiece of his campaign for the Presidency. His primary set piece in this narrative are FDNY firefighters, who accumulated an enormous reservoir of goodwill during and after the 9/11 attacks, during which 343 firemen and parademics were killed. Perhaps it's a good strategy heading into a Republican nomination race, which usually favors people who are considered strong on national defense, but Giuliani's tack so far appears to have left him sitting on a one-legged stool. If he loses 9/11 as an issue to rely on, he's pretty much finished. more ›

Former NJ Governor and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christie Todd Whitman is alleging that in the days after the 9/11 attacks, she urged the city to get rescue workers and first responders to wear respirators, but was rebuffed by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. If true, the allegations would seem to severely damage Giuliani's Presidential aspirations, as he is running on the perceived strength of his leadership in the days following 9/11/01. Whitman also wanted Ground Zero workers wearing haz-mat suits and claims to have warned city officials on a daily basis of the risks that workers were facing. more ›

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that New Yorkers still really like Mayor Bloomberg. While his approval rating slipped 2 points since the beginning of the year (from 75 to 73), Bloomberg can claim that the citizens of New York like him as a mayor more than they like Rudy Giuliani's reign as Hizzoner. Forty-six percent liked Bloomberg more than Giuliani; 34% felt they were the same, while 16% thought Giuliani was better. All the boroughs thought Bloomberg was better, although in Staten Island, 36% thought they were the same (35% liked Bloomberg better, 25% liked Giuliani better). more ›

The Smoking Gun has decided to bookend the weekend with Rudy Giuliani tidbits. On Monday, The Smoking Gun printed parts of Giuliani's 1993 "vulnerabilities study" which, among other things, offered suggestions on how to answer questions about the former mayor's marriage to his second cousin. Today's installment is Giuliani's tour rider for speaking engagements. At $100,000 for one hour Giuliani time (45 minute speech, 15 minutes of Q&A), one also has to provide certain hotel and travel accommodations. The Smoking Gun writes, "We've previously posted the tour riders of Dick Cheney and John Kerry, but those two pols look like pikers compared to the high-rolling, diva-like Rudolph Giuliani, wannabe Republican presidential candidate." Why is Giuliani a diva? He needs at least a Gulfstream IV! And he doesn't like "direct, on-camera flash bulbs," either, but we can't blame him on that count - they do make him look more ghostly. more ›

In 1979 a collective of artists occupied a vacant city- owned building on Delancey Street and mounted an exhibition. The police padlocked the show but after community and media support of the artists the city offered use of a building at 156 Rivington Street as a compromise. more ›

In 1926, New York City sought to "limit interaction among the races and control public lewdness”...and in came the Cabaret Laws. This limited dancing to specially licensed public spaces serving food or drink where three or more persons congregated. more ›

When I'm in a taxi going over the Brooklyn Bridge from the FDR Drive, I always notice a sign proclaiming the onramp to be the "Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp". Who is this guy, and why did he get an onramp to a bridge named after him, of all things? more ›

Randy Cohen, The Ethicist more ›