Lord have mercy.

I was checking my Facebook this morning when I saw on my main page an entry by Kevin Powell. So I go to check it out and what did I find?

O.M.F.G.

Just look after the jump so you can see all what Kevin needed to get off his chest. Let's just say it was more than just a couple of things.

And, mind you, I have cut and pasted the text just as it appears on the Facebook page. Exactly. I have changed not one word and have not added any spacing.

So take a peek and let Kevin now what would have been a better way to go about putting his message out to the world and US Rep. Towns.  read more »

(From the Feet in 2 Worlds blog ...)

Could the nation’s undocumented immigrants please stand up? The government will be happy to deport you.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) will encourage the nation’s roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants to voluntarily turn themselves into immigration authorities for deportation in the coming months in an unorthodox new program designed to help the agency combat unauthorized immigration.

ICE Director Julie Myers leaked the new federal effort on Univision this past Sunday at the end of an interview with Jorge Ramos, the anchor of the popular public affairs show ‘Al Punto’ and in advance of an anticipated formal announcement next week.  read more »

[UPDATE: Forgot to mention. Rosalie caught this one, not me...even though I looked before.]

When faced with two candidates, we have to weigh each candidate's positions carefully before choosing. The choice in the NY-13 Democratic Primary is not a clear cut one for various reasons. A few issues have to be considered.

1.) Candidate Mike McMahon publicly is anti-marriage equality. Candidate Steve Harrison is pro-marriage equality

2.) Candidate Mike McMahon has said contradictory statements regarding the Iraq war, telling the Conservative Party he supported Bush on this but telling progressives he opposed the war. He has consistently refused to answer any question regarding permanent bases in Iraq. Candidate Steve Harrison has clearly stated that he supports withdrawal from Iraq along a timeline similar to that proposed by Barack Obama and supported by the Iraqi government and opposes permanent US bases in Iraq.  read more »

Oh, why the hell not: Video Killed the Radio Star, by The Buggles, from their supremely brilliant album, The Age of Plastic.

Almost before Governor Paterson finished his speech this evening, union leaders and other representatives of special interest groups were complaining about looming cuts, and trying to find ways to "warn" the Governor and the legislature not to cut their particular piece of the shrinking pie.

The problem, of course, is that none of these demagogues will have any solutions. It has long seemed to me that if you're going to criticize someone else's plan, you should offer an alternative. But it's a great bet that every one of the yapping crowd will be too busy complaining to advance any alternatives.

The time has come to challenge all of them -- including those we consider friends. Governor Paterson should meet with every one of these "leaders," and challenge each of them to provide an alternative to cutting their budgets.

He should also do so publicly. Quite publicly.

Some of the complainers will shut up long enough to formulate something that at least resembles an alternative. Others won't bother. Only then can Governor Paterson separate those he can work with (because they'll have proven a willingness to work together) from those who don't merit his time. Meanwhile...  read more »

Brilliant little video traveling the intertubes:

No wonder this is the reaction McCain gets across the country:

No, not for that, most unfortunately, but Chris Owens just threw his hat into the ring - to run for Judicial Delegate from the 52nd Assembly District in Brooklyn. Via Facebook:

While my role as a Judicial Delegate will be limited by law and archaic, scripted procedures, this position provides a platform with which to continue the crusade for progressive reforms such as a more transparent and fair judicial selection process. Reformers have already been waging this fight for a few years -- everything from press releases to street protests! To get the Democratic County Leader to listen, we need to make noise on the inside.

And, through this campaign to become a Judicial Delegate, I am furthering my work as President of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID), Kings County's premiere reform political organization.

In 2006, we needed hundreds of thousands of dollars to run our Congressional campaign.

This year, however, I only need to raise $10,000.

If you would take a moment to go to my website, and make a one-time contribution of $25 -- no more -- then we will quickly be empowered to prosecute a strong campaign against Brooklyn's Democratic Party machinery. We don't need big money -- just 400 contributions of $25 each.

You can also send a check to Chris Owens for Brooklyn, 328 Flatbush Avenue, #333, Brooklyn, NY 11238-4302.

Yours for new Brooklyn leadership,

Chris Owens

So what on earth is a Judicial Delegate?

I don’t know why my friend Michael Bouldin from the Daily Gotham website/blog, chose to lock down his comment section, after an out of the ordinary column entitled The tormented egos of blogdom, on 8th June, 2008. Too many lattes in the in the dog days of June, I guess. Or could it be that sitting in the sun too long -in some overly pretentious Park Slope sidewalk café- shifts your thinking cap somewhat? Well, for whatever the reason, the bourgeois Bouldin isn’t exactly known for shying away from lively threads, so it was -to say the least- a bit surprising, to see him immediately close up shop; and after hanging me out there to dry like that. But I have been thinking about that column ever since, because it raised for me the spectre of MB agonizing over the central question here: why the fuck do I blog?

Bouldin paid me a compliment of sorts when he was refreshingly honest about his knowledge (or lack) of black politics, as it plays out in the hood. He even went further when he said that he knows much more than the average white boy cares to know about the politics of the black communities; and that he got that knowledge frown Chris Owens and myself. Herein lies one of the big political problems of this naked city: the average white person doesn’t give a damn about the problems of the average black person in this naked city. It starts with the mayor and goes all the way down the totem pole.

Look, let’s hold that for another column (maybe); let’s just try to answer the central question here. It would be easy for anyone of you to say: it’s your ego stupid; but I won’t let you off the hook that easily or so cheaply. And the reason I won’t is because it is much more complicated that that. At least for me.  read more »

Per The New York Times, Governor Paterson will speak to New Yorkers about the appalling fiscal outlook caused by the unhappy marriage of the Bush economy and the Bruno/Silver budget.

“There will be no confusion about the gravity of the situation,” said Mr. Paterson, who has been sounding the fiscal alarm repeatedly in recent months, as state budget officials began forecasting large budget gaps and a prolonged and deep recession in the state.

Risa B. Heller, a Paterson spokeswoman, said that the governor would do more than merely warn of worse times ahead.

“The governor will put forth proposals to both get the state’s fiscal house in order and ease the burden on New Yorkers,” Ms. Heller said.

The state budget office’s last official estimates, issued in May, projected a $5 billion budget gap next year, increasing to $7.7 billion for 2010 and $8.8 billion for 2011, owing in large measure to layoffs and billions of dollars in losses at Wall Street firms, which account for a fifth of state tax revenue.

Between the announcement of the largest Federal deficit ever, the weakest consumer confidence reading since 1992, and a weakening currency that's lost half its value since Bush walked into the Oval Office, that's probably not going to be a very happy speech.

As we originally reported, millionaire immigrant-basher Jack Davis has created a site that violates the copyright of Red to Blue candidate Jon Powers in the Twenty-Sixth District.

It doesn't really take a lot of ingenuity to rip off someone's web site. It takes a special level of ignorance, however, to enact the following sequence.

First, a screenshot from Davis' spoof site.

Okay, so we're all eagerly awaiting the REAL War Kids Relief story (War Kids Relief is a charity started by Powers in 2005 to help Iraqi children orphaned by the war). Well, it showed up today, as a blogspot blog, available here (h/t Phil Anderson).

You know what's really stupendous?

The new blog, already announced on a site directly claimed by the Davis campaign, complete with a disclaimer and a phone number that reaches his corporate office, claims to have no affiliation with the Davis campaign.

Right now the race is centered on the Democratic primary, which takes place on September 9th. The primary is between Jack Davis, the three time professional Congressional candidate, cooky millionaire; Jon Powers, the substitute teacher, Iraqi war hero who returned from service to start a non-profit that has a lot of questions; and Alice Kryzan, the non-existent third wheel who is irrelevant. [...]

But the real purpose of this blog is to get to the bottom or the real story about War Kids Relief out there. This isn't a pro- or anti- Jon Powers website, it's the opportunity for both sides to get information out there to dispell any questions or rumors ongoing. [Emph. added]

People, when something is announced on one of your sites, playing the "I'm just an interested citizen" card is going to make you look stupid. Whoever does Jack Davis' internet is, it would appear, really, really dumb.

Or maybe the Davis campaign feels a slight sense of shame over attacking their opponent for starting a charity that helps war orphans, who knows? Be that as it may, their fingerprints are all over this - because they announced it, with the same language used on both announcement and finished product. Really, really dumb.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently conducted a poll that should make candidates and campaign people sit up and take notice: a staggering 46% of Americans got information about the 2008 campaign via the internet. This is worth quoting at length, so bear with me.

Furthermore, three online activities have become especially prominent as the presidential primary campaigns have progressed: First, 35% of Americans say they have watched online political videos--a figure that nearly triples the reading the Pew Internet Project got in the 2004 race.

Second, 10% say they have used social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace to gather information or become involved. This is particularly popular with younger voters: Two-thirds of internet users under the age of 30 have a social networking profile, and half of these use social networking sites to get or share information about politics or the campaigns.

Third, 6% of Americans have made political contributions online, compared with 2% who did that during the entire 2004 campaign.

A significant number of voters are also using the internet to gain access to campaign events and primary documents. Some 39% of online Americans have used the internet to access "unfiltered" campaign materials, which includes video of candidate debates, speeches and announcements, as well as position papers and speech transcripts.

In May 2008, 135 million Americans used the search engine Google to search for information on the internet. And here's where Daily Gotham rules the roost in New York: if you're a candidate for office, odds are, our pages are one of the first results for your race.

For example, Ed Towns: the first result after his Congressional page and his Wikipedia entry is, you guessed, a piece on Daily Gotham.

Jon Powers (NY-26): Campaign site, Wikipedia entry, ActBlue, Daily Kos, Daily Gotham, in that order.

Eric Massa (NY-29): Campaign site, Wikipedia, ActBlue, Daily Gotham.

Brian Foley (SD-3): government site, unrelated site, Daily Gotham.

So is it worth engaging blogs, specifically, this blog? If you care about what your voters will see if they type your name into the world's biggest search engine, I'd suggest the answer is yes.

About a month ago Joy and I were over in Windsor Terrace to try out the yummy DUB pies. Highly recommend the basic Steak Mince Pie or Shepherd's Pie. The Sausage Roll was good but a bit too greasy with a bit too dry a crust. Otherwise all is great.

Afterwards we passed by a block party with an enthusiastic, if a bit mediocre, band. Jacob LOVED them and proceeded to dance like a madman: (video by Joy Romanski)

In Starrett City, Brooklyn, and in front of a few hundred adoring residents, Hillary Clinton was in fine form today. She was at a rally, to support the passing of a bill by Democrats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which seeks to preserve affordable housing initiatives in the country. Congressman Ed Towns, who has introduced legislation that specifically deals with saving the affordability standards of the Starrett City housing development, was also on hand to speak to the concerned residents. Starrett City is the largest development of its kind in the nation. For the past two years or so, the residents have been embroiled in a battle with the old-owners, who were intent on selling the complex to a group of speculators.

Mrs. Clinton was given a rousing welcome by the mostly female audience, and was fired up as she demanded President Bush sign the bill into law. She spoke well of Barack Obama and his presidential bid, projecting that she was presently a strong supporter of his effort. Standing with her (beside congressman Towns) were Brooklyn’s ebullient Borough President Marty Markowitz, Assemblyman Vito Lopez (the county leader of Brooklyn’s democrats), Congressman Anthony Weiner, plus the district leaders of the 40th AD and some tenant activists of the development. Notably absent was the council member for the area: Charles Barron.  read more »

The Gowanus Canal was once a short, but very important waterway for shipping. It also is among the most polluted waterways I have seen. Sewage from all over Brooklyn overflows into the Gowanus during heavy rains (which is better than it flowing into my apartment, which it used to do). This sewage problem will only get worse as the 4th Ave. development continues and even worse if Ratner gets to build his little project. I have always found the smell near the canal quite unique any time I happen to walk across it on my way to Carroll Gardens.

Several plans have been kicked around over the years to develop the Gowanus "water"front. In a sense I think in an ideal world quite a lovely, thriving community could well grow around such a quaint waterway. The only problem is, between pollution, sewage and the smell, it is really hard for me to envision anyone actually wanting to live, work or play anywhere near the oily mess.  read more »

It's a Powersfest today - the man is everywhere. Now, he's on the front page of Daily Kos, being announced as the newest Orange to Blue candidate - that is, as a candidate for whom Daily Kos, known informally as the Great Orange Satan, will raise money from its huge community of readers.

Jon Powers has earned a spot on Orange To Blue because he's the model of of a modern patriot. He's a soldier who fought in Iraq, saw the flaws of the war up close, and resolved to make it better by helping out the kids who were most affected. He's a guy who stuck with his hometown through the bad times, and who gets excited when talking about the potential for building it into something great again. He's an optimist who believes that government can be a real force for good, both at home and in the world -- and he believes that the key is empowering regular Americans to get involved. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the Powers campaign is his "call to service" -- a plan that would address the critical shortages in the nursing and teaching professions, and which would foster service and volunteerism in all walks of life. It's the product of a candidate who spends a lot of time thinking about how we can make our country work better -- not just about getting elected.

That said, Jon does need our help getting elected. Not only is he running in a Republican-leaning district that was home to the odious Tom Reynolds, but he's got a tough primary coming up on September 9 -- in less than two months -- against Jack Davis, a self-funding millionaire ex-Republican obsessed with self-aggrandizement and beating up on immigrants. (Davis is also responsible for the worst campaign song of the cycle.) NY-26 is a very winnable seat -- but there's no point in winning it if Jack Davis is the "Democratic" candidate. Jon needs our support if he's going to end Jack Davis's ego trip, free the Republican hold on NY-26, and bring his strong, progressive optimism to Washington.

It's a tough proposition, and a lot of candidates would be scared to take it on. But not Jon Powers. He's a breed apart, and that's why he's our newest Orange to Blue candidate.

You can contribute to Jon's campaign right here.

What we're seeing is the party consolidating around one candidate; Powers already has the endorsements of all county committees in his district, and was recently added to the DCCC's Red to Blue program.

Rock Hackshaw writes here:

Last Wednesday 23rd July, 2008, the House of Representatives passed legislation H.R.3221 which moves in the direction of securing the affordability status of the development. The bill was introduced by congressman Ed Towns. [Emph. added]

Congressman Towns didn't introduce any of the seven versions of H.R. 3221, variously known as The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008.

Rather, as the bill summary makes clear, the Act was introduced by Speaker Pelosi, with eighteen co-sponsors, none of whom happen to be Ed Towns. The co-sponsors were, per the Congressional Record, Representatives Becerra, Clyburn, DeLauro, Dingell, Emanuel, Gordon, Hoyer, Lantos, Larson, Markey, Miller, Oberstar, Peterson, Rahall, Rangel, Van Hollen, Velasquez and Waxman.

There were two co-sponsors of the bill from New York, Members Rangel and Velasquez respectively. Towns voted for the bill, but that's somewhat short of claiming the measure of credit he seems to want to acquire.

(h/t Steve)

As we wrote yesterday, when we broke this story, billionaire Congressional candidate Jack Davis, NY-26, has a scam web site, a direct one to one rip-off of the web site of his principal opponent, Jon Powers. The scam web site spreads disinformation and innuendo about Powers.

Jack Davis, in case you forgot, is the guy who went all the way to the Bush Supreme Court to overturn the millionaires amendment, which before he filed suit allowed people running against self-funding millionaires to raise more money from every donor.

Now he's using his undoubted financial advantage to steal the web site of a netroots candidate and, on that stolen web site, lie about him. To make sure people notice it, he's now bought Google ads on Daily Kos, TPM, MyDD, and other sites across Progressive blogdom, in clear violation of Google's Terms of Service, which forbid the advertising of spoof sites.

Support Jon Powers. He's running against a guy who's not just a millionaire, but obviously a scumbag as well. Self-funded scumbags, unfortunately, are the worst kind.

[Update]: Well, finally: two days after we broke the story, Albany Project chimes in; Buffalo Pundit was quicker, here.

This comes from another friend of Devin Cohen's:

Friends and Neighbors:

Please join me on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 to meet and support Devin P. Cohen, candidate for Civil Court Judge in Brooklyn. Devin was a law school classmate of mine and is a good friend. He is smart and hard-working and has been actively involved in a number of progressive political causes in Brooklyn. He will make an excellent judge.

Civil Court judges play a critical role in the life of New York City. Many of the litigants who appear in Civil Court can't afford lawyers and must represent themselves. Many are recent immigrants. It is imperative that the judges who hear their cases be patient, intelligent and dedicated. Devin is the right person for the job.

Judicial campaigns are expensive undertakings. Those of us who want well-qualified, independent judges must do our part by supporting good candidates.  read more »

There's a very compelling candidate running for the open seat in NY-26. You may have heard of him; Jon Powers is widely seen, certainly among the netroots, as the type of candidate that we want to send to Washington. Some highlights of Jon's bio include his military service in Iraq, his career as a teacher, and his founding of a charity to bring relief to Iraqi orphans of the war our country started there.

Here's a screenshot of his web site.

And here's a screenshot of a spoof web site put up by one of his opponents in the Democratic primary, one Jack Davis.

That latter site is presently being advertised on Daily Kos. It's the kind of thing put up by people who want to steal your credit card information.  read more »

For years, politicians have talked about “the crisis” of affordable housing, and how we need to have more of it. Every time an election rolls around, we hear about new “plans” to create more affordable housing, yet somehow that housing never materializes.

While federal, state, and local agencies have a variety of programs, they all have significant problems. For one thing, each program is separated from all the other programs, and consequently each individual program has its own set of rules, paperwork, and red tape. The programs also fail, as do the politicians, to address the root cause of the problem.

The problem is not with supply and demand. While vacancy rates in New York City are substantially lower than many other urban areas of the country, there are still plenty of units available, and plenty of room for more construction.

The problem is not with the cost of upkeep. Taxes, utilities and maintenance costs are comfortably below the level needed to be affordable for the vast majority of New Yorkers. Even with the large property tax increase of 2002, New York City’s property tax rates are still lower than they are in most of the country.  read more »

Hillary Clinton has been somewhat scarce since the end of the democratic presidential primary, and that’s expected, I guess. After all, she had a hard fought primary and a tough and emotional loss. As an ex-candidate who lost, I can vouch for the sense of let down and failure after a political race. It“aint” easy folks. It can be very deflating. It’s like “Preparation-H” for one’s ego and self esteem. People who are courageous enough to run for public office need to be commended and applauded, more so than ridiculed. Most people underestimate how tough it is to run for public office.

Well, it has been almost two months since the primary season ended, and I believe that Mrs. Clinton will be returning to the limelight soon enough. On Monday morning (10:30a.m.) of 28th July, she will be visiting Starett City, Brooklyn. And for those of you not familiar with the ancillary issue, let me tell you that the tens of thousands of tenants, who live in this large housing complex, have been nervously dealing with a landlord intent on selling the sprawling property to some speculators. The future is still precarious for these folks.

For some time now Congressman Ed Towns, Councilmember Charles Barron, Senator John Sampson, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and other elected officials, have been battling this issue, in hope of stopping any sale whereby the future tenancy of the residents aren’t guaranteed in a positive way. Starett City -which is the largest affordable housing development in the nation- was put on the auction block in 2006. HUD and other state and city housing agencies successfully blocked the sale then.  read more »

I am sorry to report, as my first post post-vacating, the death of Folk, Jazz legend Artie Traum from metastatic liver cancer at age 65. He and his older brother Happy had been scheduled to sing a set at Clearwater in June – but Artie’s advancing illness barred the appearance. See the family announcement here He and his brother Happy were constant figures on the NYC music scene since the late 1950's and 1960's long before their breakout success in the late 1960's.

For more, read the somewhat derivative NY Times Obit , the Wikipedia entry , Artie Traum’s largely abandoned My Space page (with some great audio files) and the The Guardian . If you’re committed to much, much more try here

In my opinion, however, the best way to remember Artie Traum is through his music. Try, for example, this wonderful You Tube performance with links to others.  read more »

During the past week, Kevin Powell’s supporters have been up on the blogs trying to discredit me, after I publicly and openly announced that I was an advisor to the Ed Towns re-election campaign. And believe me when I say that I am playing a minor role in this regard. Bill Lynch and Associates are running this campaign folks; all the congressman did was ask me as an old political acquaintance/friend to help out a lil bit. I consented for many reasons that I may eventually share. As I have said many times before: I like Ed on a personal level; he has always treated me well. We kid around a lot but it’s with respect and camaraderie.

Now this isn’t the first time that I have worked on campaigns which I announced on the blogs, however it is the first time that I took so much flack for it. And the fact is I have worked with candidates that were much more controversial than Ed Towns. So why is this heat coming down on me? I believe that Powell has many sycophants running around out there who see him as the second coming of Malcolm X. What they need to know is that the last time I looked, this was a free country; and just like any citizen, I have the right to go with the candidate of my choice. I could go with the candidate I deem better for this race. That’s my darn prerogative.

As great a man that Malcolm X was (at least to me), he still had his detractors; even today, there are many who still see him as a racist. And this is because there was a point in his history, where he ran around with the Black Muslims. They saw white people as devils and openly said and wrote this.  read more »

Via brownsox on Daily Kos comes word of Jack Davis, officially disfavored contender in NY-26, and his newest foible.

Words fail to describe it, so please check it out, here.

And when you're done, and have calmed down somewhat, check out a real Democrat - Jon Powers for Congress.

Forgot to send this out earlier! Hopefully someone out there can join in last minute: (From a fellow IND member)

I'm happy to report that our voter registration initiative in
Pennsylvania is in full swing, with our first trip to North
Philadelphia a great success. At the direction of Pennsylvania ACORN,
we deployed up and down the Broad Street subway line, registering
voters in the street and transportation hubs.

Our next trip is scheduled for Saturday, July 26th. This time we are
invited to Easton, Pennsylvania as they celebrate African American
Heritage Day. Easton is a Delaware River town with an industrial past
and a challenging economic present. This area of the Lehigh Valley is
fortunate, however, to have some talented, enthusiastic Obama
organizers, and they are excited to host and direct our efforts on the
ground.

We will depart from Port Authority Bus Terminal (South Terminal, 8th
Ave. btwn 40th & 41st St.), Saturday, July 26th, 9:00 am, aboard
Trans-Bridge Bus Lines. The bus to Easton should depart from Gate 4
or 6. Please arrive early to purchase your ticket on the South  read more »