It’s obvious that Vice-president Joe Biden has become the Yogi Berra of US politics. After all, Joe has dropped so many “verbal classics”, that today he is to US politics what Yogi is to US baseball: one of a kind. Joe Biden is obviously a man inebriated by the many excesses (and successes) of his own verbosity; and yet you can’t help but like “Uncle Joe”: he is both eccentric and “real”.

I remember writing -a couple years aback- that Joe had destroyed whatever little chance he had of becoming the democrat’s presidential nominee, when he said that Barack Obama was “clean” (as blacks go). He said this very early in the contest; and yet, by some strange twist of fate, he ended up on the ticket as the vice-presidential nominee. What a country! What a game! As I always say: politics is the only game in town.  read more »

Okay; so last week my employment with the city council (Darlene Mealy/41st Council district) came to an end. And no, Ms. Mealy had very little to do with that. In fact, I suspect that I could have stayed on as part time communications director, once I followed the blogging rules of the council. I chose not to work under the blogging rules set by the council’s lawyers: that’s all. It was my choice and mine alone. They have a right to set their rules and I have a right to reject them. Many disagreed with me and that’s their prerogative. I couldn’t function with handcuffs on, it’s just not me; and I have to be true to myself.  read more »

After Obama's win in 2008 there was a scientific study that showed:

Republican men nationwide may have experienced a drop in testosterone levels the night Barack Obama was elected president, according to the results of a small study that found another link between testosterone and men's moods.

By taking multiple saliva samples from 183 young men and women on election night, researchers found that the testosterone levels of men who voted for John McCain or Robert Barr dropped sharply 40 minutes after Obama was announced the winner

Teabaggers are a few leaves short today, I suspect. We, on the other hand, deserve a celebration.

There is one very obvious way we can all spend the next month or so celebrating. It's called Living Liberally:

PROGRESSIVE ACTION THROUGH SOCIAL INTERACTION

Here's what they have to say for themselves:  read more »

Healthcare reform and a woman's right to choose affect us all. Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak's attempts to hold healthcare reform hostage to his anti-choice agenda is a particularly horrible way to be an obstructionist. It is imperative that progressives and moderates all over the country show Bart and other obstructionist Dems that they had better get with the program of helping Americans or their seats won't be secure.

Connie Saltonstall is running a primary challenge against Bart Stupak (MI-1), co-sponsor of the anti-choice Pitts-Stupak amendment that would take away the right to choose from many women in America. Stupak is also part of the religious extremist cult surrounding the C-street group and has also supported the failed "abstinence only" sex-education programs that increase teen pregnancy rates. This is our chance to show Democrats who side too much with Republicans are vulnerable.

The progressive grassroots (including Daily Kos and my own small efforts) have already raised more than $60,000 for Connie Saltonstall in about a week. It isn't enough yet, but it is a great start. I predicted that once she started getting some real money for her challenge, she would start getting some good endorsements. Well, the first one came in already. The National Organization of Women has now endorsed Connie Saltonstall:

The National Organization for Women Political Action Committee is proud to announce our endorsement of Connie Saltonstall for Congress, representing Michigan's 1st District. Saltonstall is taking on reproductive rights foe and health care reform obstructer Rep. Bart Stupak in the state's Democratic primary this August.  read more »

As the returns filter in, it looks like Jose Peralta is trouncing Slasher Monserrate in the special election to fill Monserrate's State Senate seat after Monserrate got kicked out by his colleagues after he beat up his girlfriend.

Hiram "Slasher" Monserrate has always been something of a thuggish DINO. He really pissed people off by briefly switching to Republican to throw the State Senate back into paralysis out of some immature tantrum. I was disgusted by how NY State Democrats welcomed him back when his petty tantrum was over and he switched back to Democrat.

Then came the allegation, partly based on behavior caught on film, that he slashed his girlfriend's face with broken glass then brutally manhandled her to the hospital. Yes, we are talking about a State Senator here, not some common thug...or maybe he IS a common thug who happened to get to the State Senate. Here is footage of him manhandling his girlfriend...you tell me. Is this how YOU would handle your injured beloved?  read more »

Mike McMahon, who has threatened to sacrifice the health of Americans for the profits of Insurance Company executives, has just been sent a message from SEIU:

Mike McMahon: Why do you want Americans to die?

Let's review just why we need to get rid of Slasher Monserrate in the special election in Queens on March 16:

Here is video of Monserrate dragging his girlfriend outside after the slashing he claims was accidental. Is this how you would treat YOUR loved one after accidentally slashing her? From Albany Project:

More reminders here: The Facts on Hiram Monserrate

So for the sake of Queens, New York City, New York State and ALL of us, let's get rid of Slasher Monserrate in the March 16 Special Election

This comes from Democracy for NYC:

Tuesday, March 16, 2010, there will be a special election for State Senate, right here in NYC. Democracy for NYC is proud to announce that we have endorsed Assemblymember José Peralta. Here are the results of the endorsement vote:

74% José Peralta
26% No Endorsement
0% Hiram Monserrate

If you've heard about this race, it may seem like Peralta will win easily. But Monserrate has big name recognition in this district - he was the Senator until he was expelled by vote of the State Senate after a serious domestic violence offense. Peralta is a great candidate, but unknown to many in the district and it will take a lot of grassroots volunteers to make sure the voters know about this very important election.

Homophobic Flyer:
José Peralta is a strong supporter of marriage equality, and his opponent Hiram Monserrate voted against the marriage equality bill. As reported by Daily News reporter Liz Benjamin, the following homophobic flyer is being distributed by supporters of Hiram Monserrate at churches in the 13th Senate District:
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/03/anti-gay-rhetoric...  read more »

Today was the official groundbreaking ceremony for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards, which former slave traders Barclays has the naming rights for. I was going to try and make the protests against this ceremony to mark the destruction of Central Brooklyn, the increased sewage load on an already over flowing sewage system and the increased gridlock in an already over crowded road system. But I couldn't skip work today. So I missed it. From what I hear, not that many elected officials made the groundbreaking either...perhaps realizing how unpopular the traffic, street closings and sewage overflows are going to be. And maybe when taxpayers realize how much people like Bloomberg, Marty Markowitz and Vito Lopez are making us pay for Ratner to make money, people will like it even less. But now the damage begins.

Here is the statement from Councilmember Tish James on the groundbreaking:

“He, who has money, has power, influence, and ultimately politicians.  read more »

Don’t ever say that some of the female members of Brooklyn’s city council delegation are soft: they aren’t. There was a raucous public hearing last Wednesday evening at the Brooklyn Museum (near Grand Army Plaza), that was aimed at getting the general view on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposed service cuts in the next fiscal year; at this event, NYC council members Darlene Mealy and Tish James -both from Brooklyn- made outstanding oral presentations which captivated the loud crowd of attendees. Throughout the procedures scores of teenagers outnumbered the elderly, in openly expressing their disenchantment with the proposed cuts by the MTA’s board members. Eventually four arrests were made amongst the spirited -but at times rowdy- youngsters; as police officers had to be called in to help maintain order.  read more »

I should really make this title: “OF DREAMS AND DRIVES AND PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT”, since it highlights the importance of parental involvement in young children’s lives. This column deals with two black female attorneys and their two kids; and in both instances these kids were raised in single-parent households. Too often these types of situations are frowned upon; but I always caution folks not to stereotype: you will be surprised or contradicted quite often.

I know both parents involved here. They are both good friends and are also politically active. They have devoted their lives to developing their kids properly. They have also invested extraordinary amounts of time, effort, energy and money in their children’s overall development. Their combined goal has always been to maximize the potential in these kids. They both need to be commended. Maybe some organization could jointly award them the “Mother of the Year” award at some event, later this year.  read more »

Sustainable South Bronx is one of the best organizations in the city, addressing environment, health and poverty all at the same time. Here are a couple of excellent upcoming events for Sustainable South Bronx.

Happy Hour with Sustainable South Bronx
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Bruckner Bar and Grill
1 Bruckner Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10454-4411
Cost $25 in advance, includes 2 free drinks and appetizers
RSVP by March 19, 2010 at Brown Paper Tickets
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/99880
Contact: Laura Johnson Avanessian at ljohnson@ssbx.org or 646.400.5433

4th Annual Hunts Point Hustle
5K Run/ Walk Race

on the future site of the South Bronx Greenway

Saturday, May 22, 2010
9am
Hunts Point Riverside Park
Calling for Volunteers!

To volunteer, call 646.400.5432 today.

Sponsorship Opportunities! Call 646.400.5433 today for information
on a variety of sponsorship opportunities.

Not able to give right now? Ask about other ways in which you can support
the Hunts Point Hustle and Sustainable South Bronx!  read more »

I guess it was just too much for me to hope that the quality of black and Hispanic electeds will get better in a post-Obama USA. After all, there was really nothing to base that on. And after years of frustration with the quality emerging from New York, I guess I was just grasping at straws, in hope that we could elect people, who are not only intellectually developed to tackle real issues facing the polity, but also possessive of the moral character and courage to do the right thing when the right time comes.

Look, there are no perfect politicians. In fact there are no perfect human beings anywhere. If we were all perfect, we would have nothing to strive for; so hopefully we keep reaching for the good within, hoping that one day we get to become the best we can be. I know that I am not perfect, but I do strive to be a better human being every day of my adult life. I also try to learn from my mistakes and not repeat them: to me, this is basic; this is fundamental for trying to live a decent life.  read more »

Last week, I handed in my resignation to Ms. Darlene Mealy (NYC council member of the 41st District). I assume that most of you are aware that I have been working with her since December -as the part time Communications Director. Hopefully, my last day in this role will be on the 26th of March (as per my resignation letter). .

The main reasons I have chosen to go this route are what necessitate this column. I want to make it clear that this is my choice -and mine only. I was not forced to walk the plant, nor given any subtle shoves out the door. I have given her enough notice (4 weeks) so that she can hire someone to replace me without her small staff being strained, stressed and/or stretched.

As far as I read it, I can stay on with the councilwoman, once I accept the rules and regulations around public blogging that she handed to me from the City Council’s Office of the General Counsel. I have chosen not to do that, despite many friends and relatives telling me to stay on. They all think that I can offer so much more than I have so far.

These are the rules:  read more »

For the past couple of decades there has been a movement toward an approach to education that relies heavily on standardized tests, charter schools, and various other elements that have one thing in common: They deny the value of teachers.

An article in today's NY Times shoves a big wooden stake into this concept. It profiles Diane Ravitch, a major architect of the Bush administration's "No Child Left Behind" policy, and the person whose posture on education underpins the Bloomberg/Klein approach to education. Dr. Ravitch has switched positions, coming around to the realization that all she has stood for is wrong.

Welcome to the real world, Dr. Ravitch. Michael Bloomberg and Joel Klein had better take notice.

As the Times article says, Ravitch has learned, among other things, that:

• "[T]he No Child law was not raising student achievement."
• "Charter schools ... were proving to be no better on average than regular schools, but in many cities were bleeding resources from the public system."
• “'Accountability, as written into federal law, was not raising standards but dumbing down the schools,' she writes."

Combine this article with another NY Times article that talks about how public schools are squeezed for space by being forced to share some of that space with charter schools.

It is now clear, and should be clear even to ardent Bloomberg supporters, that the Bloomberg/Klein team is hellbent on destroying the public school system in New York City. It is time for Klein to leave, it is time for Bloomberg to switch positions -- in short, it is time to rescue New York City's schools from the ravages of the past eight years.

Well, perhaps soon my wife's pictures of the slime in the Gowanus canal (we beat the NY Times to it by more than a year) may become a thing of the past. Today the United States Environmental Protection Agency finally designated the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site, designated for cleanup. I think we can all greet this with relief, with the exception of developers who wanted to develop the site with stink and slime intact for reasons which I cannot understand unless their greed has just decayed their common sense. I can only imagine real estate agents trying to move luxury apartments as that Gowanus stink wafted on the breeze.

But now a real cleanup is in the works thanks to Obama's EPA. Here is the Press release from State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, an early supporter (along with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab) of Superfund designation as the best way to clean up the canal:

Senator Velmanette Montgomery on EPA Superfunding the Gowanus Canal:
THANK YOU!  read more »

Harold Ford jr.'s run for Senate is dead...

"A penny for the old guy"

Hillary Clinton, the very accomplished, brilliant wife of a very popular President, moved to New York to run for the Senate. She was widely criticized initially as a "carpetbagger," but in the end won our confidence and won her Senate seat. Hillary is an exceptional person and NY State appreciates exceptional people even if they come from elsewhere. Even though it didn't pass Congress (due to the exact same Democratic divisions and Republican obstructionism we are seeing now), I think many appreciated her efforts and recognized her Healthcare plan as something America sure could have used.

Harold Ford, jr., the failed Senate candidate from Tennessee and Wall Street fat cat, somehow convinced himself he was as exceptional a person and Hillary Clinton and thought he could follow in her footsteps. Moving from Tennessee he thought he could waltz into the Senate, banking on dissatisfaction with so-far only appointed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.  read more »