Free Republic

It’s primary day in New York and as many voters scramble to cast their ballots before, during, and after work, some are also running into unfortunate circumstances. It’s not often that New Yorkers’ votes are pivotal in a presidential primary and many at polling places across the state are determined to make their’s count.... At one polling site at Carlton Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, the site coordinator didn’t even bother to show up and it took about an hour-and-a-half to find a replacement so the poll could open. Television and radio contributor John Burnett took to Twitter to...

It looks as if the only thing standing between Client #9 and his control of New York City’s five pension funds is a last-minute effort by African-American officeholders to convince their constituents that Eliot Spitzer’s abuses of power make him unfit to be their city’s comptroller. Eliot Spitzer has spent millions from his family fortune to build a lead in the September 10 Democratic primary, which would make him a clear favorite in the November election over the Republican, Wall Street executive John Burnett. In the most recent Quinnipiac poll, Spitzer leads Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer 56 percent to...

Two of the men seeking to be New York City’s next comptroller touted their different backgrounds and experiences in an Aug. 1 forum in Laurelton, each saying his made him more qualified than the other to be the city’s next top financial officer. Democrat Scott Stringer is the Manhattan borough president and also served 13 years in the state Assembly. Republican John Burnett has spent more than 20 years in the financial services industry, including supervisory and management positions at Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch. Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who joined the Democratic campaign just prior to the deadline for...

Eliot Spitzer may be Scott Stringer’s worst nightmare, but he could be a dream come true for John Burnett. Who? A 43-year-old African-American with nearly a quarter-century experience on Wall Street, Burnett is also running for city comptroller — as a Republican. Spitzer has brought an explosion of public attention to the race for comptroller. Good: It’s arguably the second most important office in city government and shouldn’t be handed to someone in a walkover. Maybe now we’ll have a conversation about the job — and job qualifications. Until Sunday, Manhattan Borough President Stringer was looking at that walkover, with...

DC-10 Captain, a Police Officer, Talks Straight September 26, 2001 Fraternal Brothers and Sisters, My name is John Burnett. I am a DC-10 Captain for FedEx. I am also a Police Officer for the Memphis Police Department.My purpose in writing this is to share some of my thoughts regarding actions a pilot might consider when faced with a modern-day hijacker. These thoughts are outside-the-box when it comes to the way we've all been trained. Neither the FAA or our companies will suggest any of these techniques or implement them as a part of our normal training cycles. They couldn't for ...