This comes from MoveOn.org:

We Can't Afford to Wait Vigil

Columbus Circle, Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10023
Wednesday, September 2nd, 7:00 PM

Let's keep the momentum going!

Residents of all five boroughs of New York City are gathering to share their own experiences with the current health care system, and to urge Congress to enact real reform this year, which includes a public option.

I am missing Yvette Clarke's town hall meeting because I am working from home to try and finish some analysis for a grant deadline tomorrow. But I will try to make this rally on Wednesday. We need a good turnout to show our support for Healthcare reform.

Not too long ago I took City Council candidate Doug Biviano to task for lying about the record of one of his rivals, suggesting that his inaccurate depiction of her record perhaps stems from the fact that he wasn't even around during the fights he was talking about. Biviano is a brand, spanking newcomer to the fights for reform in Brooklyn and against Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal. Yet he comes out accusing Jo Anne Simon, who has been part of these fights for years and who is endorsed by the strongest reformers and anti-Ratner organizations around, of not standing up on these issues. Biviano basically lied, plain and simple. But, rather than say he was a liar, I suggested his not even being a part of these fights until he suddenly got it in his head to run (I met him when that idea was incubating) was the reason for his inaccuracies.  read more »

Americans for Democratic action, an abashedly liberal branch of the Democratic Party, has announced its endorsements for the September 15th Primary election. Founded in 1947, ADA is an independent liberal political organization dedicated to protecting individual liberty and expanding economic justice. Here are their recommendations (with my inevitable comments):

Mayor: Bill Thompson

Public Advocate: Norman Siegel (Siegel has also been endorsed by Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, Democracy for NYC, Park River Independent Democrats (Upper West Side), the Village Reform Democratic Club, the Grand Council of Guardians (an organization of African-American law enforcement officials), Room 8 blogger and Brooklyn City Council candidate Rock Hackshaw, the New York Metro Area Postal Union (APWU, AFL-CIO), Audubon Reform Democratic Club (Hamilton Heights and Washington Heights), and Brooklyn Democrats for Change (Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, Bath Beach and Gravesend), The New York Community Council...and, of course, myself).

Comptroller: John Liu (Liu has also been endorsed by 504 Democratic Club (focused on disabled rights), El Nuevo Caribe Democratic Club of El Barrio/East Harlem, Lambda Independent Democrats, Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens, Stonewall Democrats of New York City, Staten Island Democratic Association, United Auto Workers, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan, American Heritage Democratic Club...and about a gazillion others, including myself).

Manhattan District Attorney: Richard Aborn (I haven't endorsed in this race. Aborn has also been endorsed by Congressman Jerrold Nadler, State Senator Eric Adams, State Senator Daniel Squadron, 504 Democratic Club, OutPOCPAC, Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats, Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan, Village Independent Democrats, and others).

39th City Council District (Brooklyn): Josh Skaller (Josh has also been endorsed by Howard Dean, Jim Dean, Assemblyman Jim Brennan, State Senator Eric Adams, Democracy for America, Democracy for NYC, The New York Community Council, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 237, 111 and 854, Service Employees International Union (Special Officers and Guards, Local 177), Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus, Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development and others...as well as myself.)

33rd City Council District (Brooklyn): Ken Diamondstone (I have endorsed Jo Anne Simon for this race, but Ken Diamondstone is another excellent candidate.)

19th City Council District (Queens): Steve Behar (Steve Behar has also been endorsed by Councilman Tony Avella, Democracy for America, Democracy for New York City, Queens County Progressive Democratic Club, The New York Community Council, Democrats for New Politics, Lesbian & Gay Democratic Club of Queens...and myself).

25th City Council District (Queens): Daniel Dromm (Daniel Dromm has also been endorsed by Stonewall Democrats, the United Federation of Teachers, 504 Democrats, among others. I endorsed him quite some time ago and think he is a very promising candidate, but I am concerned about his involvement in the Working Families Party scandal and have been unable to get a statement from his campaign).

Casa Promesa HIV/AIDS Public Advocate Candidate Forum
Wed, 09/02/2009 - 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Casa Promesa
1776 Clay Avenue
Bronx, NY
United States

Casa Promesa will be holding a Public Advocate candidate forum on Wednesday, September 2nd dealing with the issue of HIV/AIDS, moderated by Socrates Caba of the Bronx HIV Care Network. This is the second candidate forum held in the Bronx, although Norman Siegel was the only candidate to show up at the last one so it effectively became a town hall meeting. Regardless of whether the other candidates join Norman this time, we hope you will join us to hear Norm Siegel's thoughts and ideas about combatting HIV/AIDS in New York City, the epicenter of the epidemic in America.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Isn't this typical that Norman Siegel is the only one to show up? Norm Siegel has been the un-elected Public Advocate for years now, isn't about time we make him official?]

Tucked in the middle of two predominantly liberal districts in Brooklyn (the 33rd and 39th City Council districts) there are pockets of conservativism. Mostly when people think of these districts they think of the battle between the reformers and the machine candidates. In the 33rd the frontrunners are reformer Jo Anne Simon vs. Vito Lopez machine hack Steve Levin. In the 39th the frontrunners are reformer Josh Skaller vs. Working Families Party machine hack (to the extent of being caught up in the big WFP scandal this year) Brad Lander. But in each of these districts the machine candidates are also locked in another struggle: the attempt to take conservative votes from the sole conservative candidate in the district.  read more »

Okay, so this isn't how Rock's poster is supposed to look, but somehow when I uploaded it and posted it, it took on a distinctly Hippie look I admit I kind of like. So here it is, the Woodstock edition of the Vote for Rock poster:

Hubris is arrogance so great it offends the gods. When some kid suddenly appears on the political scene in Brooklyn and anoints himself king of the reform movement, and declares himself the "top of the pack" in a crowded City Council race where no one even knows his name, THAT is hubris. It also is political suicide.

I think it is about time I admit I was probably wrong about Doug Biviano when I described him, when he first appeared on the reform scene in Brooklyn, as an up and coming guy who many of us would be proudly supporting in later years...just not this year when he came on the scene too late with too little to offer an already crowded field. Now I am seeing him as a self-important brat who may never have anything to offer progressive and reform politics unless he gets his act together and stop pretending he knows everything.  read more »

I have referred in the past to the problems Brad Lander may have among progressives due to his close connection with known homophobe and Holocaust denier (denial of anyone but Jews being killed in the Holocaust, that is) Dov Hikind. While campaigning for Brad's main rival, Josh Skaller, I have encountered several people who say, "Brad Lander is that guy with Dov Hikind. I can't vote for him!" But now it seems the Brad/Dov relationship may well be getting criticism from the other side as well. A reader passed along two letters from the Jewish Press:

Hikind And Lander (I)

Given The Jewish Press's continuing complaints about President Obama, I found last week's short report of Assemblyman Dov Hikind's endorsement of Brad Lander for New York City Council dripping with unintended irony.  read more »

This comes from the office of City Councilwoman Tish James:

Join the COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS, WPIX / CHANNEL 11, & COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA JAMES for PROJECT: BACK TO SCHOOL, and help New York’s 16,000 homeless kids get the school supplies they need to succeed. As you shop for backpacks, lunch boxes and other school necessities this fall, pick up a little extra to help get our most vulnerable neighbors started on the right foot this school year. The District Office of Council Member James is a drop-off location for backpacks and school supplies; it is located at 67 Hanson Place in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

ABOUT PROJECT: BACK TO SCHOOL

The COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS has teamed up with WPIX / CHANNEL 11, Council Member Letitia James and other supporters for PROJECT: BACK TO SCHOOL, an urgent initiative to help New York’s homeless kids obtain crucial school supplies. This fall, New Yorkers will donate new backpacks and lunch boxes, along with other school supplies to help get our most vulnerable neighbors prepared for the school year. With your help, we can ensure that New York’s neediest boys and girls have the tools necessary to succeed in school, and in life.  read more »

Yetta Kurland, running against Christine Quinn, Tsar Bloomberg's co-dictator, for the 3rd City Council seat in Manhattan, just picked up another endorsement:

Yetta Kurland, who many say is quickly becoming the frontrunner and overtaking incumbent Christine Quinn to be the next City Council Member in the 3rd District, received yet another endorsement today from a local Democratic Club - The Women's Democratic Club of New York City.

The club is especially important not only because it was started almost two decades ago in Greenwich Village, but also because of its strong ties with feminists, women and men, in the community, and its support for insurgent candidates running against politics as usual in the City.

Kurland has a long history in women's rights including organizing around reproductive rights and anti-violence work as far back as the 1980's. She has also recently been very involved in working to raise awareness around street harassment in her District and throughout New York City.  read more »

While looking up events for healthcare reform, I came across this event on Organizing for America for Brent O'Leary for City Council in Queens:

NYC Council Progressive Candidate (Meeting)

Hi Everyone and thank you for all the work you did to get Barack Obama elected. I was one of the early superdelegates to go with Obama and organized Irish Americans for Obama in NY and now I need your help. I was inspired to run for office and am now on the ballot for New York City Council in Queens to represent the 26th District (Woodside, Sunnyside, Long Island City and parts of Astoria and Maspeth). I am the only progressive and am running against a machine candidates (who opposed Obama in the primary and has now used legal tactics to knock 2 people off the ballot). This will be a very close race and it is a good chance to get someone who believes in accountability and transparency in government in office. So if you have any time to volunteer for my campaign in the next 3 weeks it would be very appreciated and the first step for honest and effective government in NYC. Please e-mail me at volunteers26@gmail.com if you have some time to spare. thank you  read more »

During last year's election, a friend of mine from IND organized an amazing number of bus trips to Pennsylvania to campaign for Obama. I have no doubt that his efforts made a difference.

But it takes a particularly amazing organizer to KEEP organizing even after you win an election. And he is continuing his organizing efforts, this time on behalf of healthcare reform. We all complain that we wish Obama and the Democrats were fighing harder for healthcare reform. Well, the same applies to us. We have to fight for healthcare reform as well because so far the right wing extremists and their media pals at Fox News are dominating the discussion. Here is your chance to help seize the initiative for healthcare reform. This comes from an email from Tom:

We’re going back to Pennsylvania to campaign for health care reform.

Last year we were called to turn back the reactionary forces that had gripped our country for too long, and to win an election. I often told people that it was a war fought house by house, block by block. We won that war. But now we must win the peace, and that’s the hardest part.  read more »

This comes from the Yetta Kurland campaign:

YETTA KURLAND, CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FOR THE 3RD DISTRICT WILL BE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT BRONX PRIDE - SATURDAY AUGUST 21ST

New York, NY. August 21, 2009. Today will mark the fourth annual celebration of Pride in the Bronx. Yetta Kurland, a candidate for City Council in the 3rd District, a district known for having a large LGBT population, will be the keynote speaker at the event.

"This is a year for change, hope and opportunity, and it is an honor to be a part of the 4th annual Bronx celebration of Pride. The LGBT community in the Bronx is finding its voice, and I am proud as a member of the LGBT community to be here to show support."

Kurland is running a campaign that many say is overtaking incumbent Christine Quinn's efforts to stay in office for a 3rd term, running on a platform of restoring the voice of her community.

This year's day long event includes musical performances and starts at 12pm in Barretto Point Park. The theme of the Pride is "We Matter".

Watching Kieth Olbermann tonight I notice there are many ads by local politicians running for office. John Liu had a pretty good ad, but honestly it seemed a cookie cutter ad much like any other politician's ad complete with a voice-over voice I could swear I have heard in many other political ads. I think John Liu is his own best advocate and I suggest his campaign cut an ad that has John making his own case rather than a cookie cutter ad. But the ad that got my wife yelling at the TV was David Yassky's weasely ad. Utter bullshit.

Yassky is claiming he will close loopholes and watch every dollar the government spends, yet those of us who are actually in his district knows he has NEVER watched where dollars went unless they bought him endorsements. I think, in honor of Yassky's latest ad, I should remind people of a couple of sleazy moves Yassky has done that shows he either can't keep track of dollars at all or knows very well where dollars go and uses them to buy political favors. Let me repost what I wrote about Yassky's ties to scandals back in March:  read more »

Someone sent me an earlier version of a smear being done by City Council candidate Doug Biviano, but I chose to ignore it. I don't like jumping on people at the first chance. I like to give them a chance. In Doug Biviano's case I particularly wanted to give him a chance because I had met him and he seemed a genuinely decent person, if rather inexperienced. But now Biviano is making a habit of outright lies in his long-shot (to put it mildly) for the City Council. This time it is in a mailing I received today where he is trying to paint ALL his opponents as pawns of corrupt Party Boss Vito Lopez. And this is just plain bullshit.  read more »

According to the NY Times, in 2006 as the fight to rezone Willets Point was heating up, then-Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Dan Doctoroff had a meeting with Claire Shulman, who had been the Queens Borough President from 1986-2001. At that meeting, they agreed to create a Local Development Corporation (LDC), with some of the funding coming from the Economic Development Corporation (EDC).

According to Shulman, this LDC hired lobbyists, specifically the Queens lobbying firm Parkside Group, to lobby city officials for the mayor's plan. She is quoted in the article as saying, "We hired lobbyists from the time we began, because we were told it was something we were supposed to be doing." The Times also reports that a Parkside Group spokesperson "said Ms. Shulman hired it to lobby, among other duties."

The problem is, LDCs aren't allowed to lobby. Neither is the EDC, or (apparently) anyone funded by the EDC.  read more »

I recently covered the attack on Leo Igwe, the Culture Kitchen blogger who was attacked by a mob of religious fanatics in Nigeria. Leo is still carrying on the fight on behalf of abused children in Nigeria, despite the attacks. He has sent me his most recent post:

The attack in Calabar and the threat of religious extremism in Nigeria

By Leo Igwe

Around 11.30 am on Wednesday July 29 2009, a mob of about 200 persons from the Liberty Gospel Church invaded the Cultural Center in Calabar Cross River State The Cultural Center was the venue of a public symposium on witchcraft and child rights organised by the Nigerian Humanist Movement and Stepping Stones Nigeria.

Most of them arrived the venue in buses wearing orange Tshirt while others donned plain clothes to hide their identity. As we were about to start, some of them stormed the conference hall stamping their feet on the ground and chanting slogans critical of the event and the organisers.  read more »

Today, the Campaign Finance Board releases its second round of matching funds, and Marc Leavitt is still the only candidate for Queens Borough President to qualify.

Once again, incumbent Helen Marshall has fallen well short of the $44,588 threshold of matchable donations required to obtain matching funds. Despite her campaign’s promise to ramp up fundraising efforts, and receiving more donations from large donors and PACs, Marshall failed to garner the necessary small donations from New York City residents.

“This has become an extraordinary and exciting campaign,” said Leavitt. “The level of grass roots support I have received as I meet people all around Queens is a testament to the desire we all share for strong leadership and new ideas to make our borough an even better place to live and work.”

As Borough President, Marc plans to promote the communities of Queens as the multi-cultural heart of the greatest city in the world, bringing positive attention and new jobs and opportunities, while featuring and preserving the distinctive character of each neighborhood.

www.marccrawfordleavitt.com

(Yes, I'm still the Campaign Coordinator.)

I developed a political ideology quiz on go to quiz. It's called Where Are You On the Political Spectrum. Please note that the site features several other similarly titled quizzes.

The possible results are Lefty, Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, Wingnut and Libertarian. My results indicated that I'm a liberal. I assume most of this sites' visitors taking the test will be Lefties or Liberals. For fun forward the link to your most right wing friends.

Bill Thompson is quoted in the NY Post as saying that he's "not averse" to modifying the Taylor Law. Michael (excuse me, "Mike") Bloomberg is clearly opposed to it.

The Taylor Law prohibits unionized government (or public authority) workers from staging any kind of work stoppage. The concept behind the law is that we as a society cannot afford to have our police or firefighters go on strike. The transit strike a few years ago pointed up just how damaging some work stoppages can be.

The problem is that when workers can't strike they can't force management (the government or public authority) to negotiate. "Mike" Bloomberg forced police officers to go almost five years without a contract, because he refused to negotiate with them. It can make one wonder what damage could be done when the morale of our first responders is affected by the mayor's refusal to treat them with dignity.  read more »

Josh Skaller, candidate for the 39th City Council district, was one of the leaders in supporting Obama's EPA and Superfund status to finally clean up the Gowanus Canal. Josh's campaign has issued this statement regarding Governor Paterson's recent comments on the Gowanus Canal:

Statement from City Council Candidate Josh Skaller (D-39th District) Regarding Governor Paterson's Remarks on the Proposed EPA Superfund Designation of the Gowanus Canal

"The Gowanus Canal has been polluted for as long as anyone can remember. At long last, it looked like we might be headed toward a solution through an EPA Superfund designation - but now our governor, like so many other would-be leaders, has buckled under pressure from a developer-loving mayor. I'm disappointed to see such indecisiveness when it appears we may be finally on the cusp of achieving what everyone wants: a clean Gowanus Canal.  read more »

When Assemblymember Anthony Seminerio resigned in disgrace, the stage was set for a very interesting election to replace him, but all hopes for a true election were dashed today when Govenor Paterson issued a proclamation for a special election to be held on September 15.

Without that proclamation, there would have been a primary on Sept. 15, followed by a general election in November. Four Democrats, including Albert Baldeo, had petitioned to be on the ballot. For the special election, however, there is no primary, and the Democratic insiders can pick their nominee. That nominee will be Mike Miller, who also has the Conservative Party line. That's right - Conservative!  read more »

So my wife just got this email message from our Congresswoman Yvette Clarke:

August 14, 2009

Dear Friend:

Sincerely,

Yvette D. Clarke
Member of Congress

Hmmm...a woman of few words, I guess.

Last week Joy, Jacob and I joined my lab for a beach trip at Rockaway Beach (Ramone's song pops into my head). While there, my boss and son (with a little help from a colleague and myself) built a sand city, which my boss eventually realized bears quite a resemblance to Manhattan:

Michael (excuse me, "Mike") Bloomberg has made a big deal of how test scores for NYC schoolchildren have risen to seemingly astronomical heights. A closer examination, of course, reveals that while city tests -- the ones he and his puppet, Joel Klein, control -- seem to show significant gains, scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests show virtually no change at all over the past several years.

It would seem that when Michael Bloomberg writes the tests, kids show progress, but when someone else writes the tests the result is far different. This doesn't even take into account the fact that teachers are now wasting valuable class time giving practice tests; in theory, test scores should improve across the board if those practice tests are any good.

The anomaly to date has been state tests, given by the Board of Regents. Scores on these tests have risen statewide, and especially so in NYC. Michael Bloomberg doesn't control these tests, so he could claim that they are proof that his and Klein's methods work.

Until now.  read more »