Hey everybody,

As busy as I am, I am taking time to liveblog the DFNYC/AQE party at *The Tank*. This is one of the things we need to do more with local politics : Cover what the local newspapers and broadcast stations do not cover due to either lack of staff or interest.

So here's some ground rules for live-blogging: there are no rules.

I am not a journalist nor do I want to play one. For the sake of accuracy, I will be podcasting the speeches. But the blogging itself, well, that will be the running commentary. This is my mind on blogging, sort of speak

The event is starting. David Alpert is here as well as several people I have met through Democracy for New York. I'll get their names and include them later.

State Senator Eric Shneiderman
If you care about out city or state you have to care about the public education system. "The only thing that ennables out democracy to work".

"We know how to run good public schools in this country but we refuse to do it in the state of New York".

"I'd like to introduce you that wonderland called the New York state legislature...

The Senator describes Albany as a wilderness, were majority backed bills will just not go on the floor at all. The monies owed to New York City, even though court ordered, are being blocked by inside bikering in Albany.

"This is the most centralized, boss driven, corrupt government in the country."

Cynthia Nixon
There's not enough balls in the yard.
There are not enough grown-ups there to make sure they are safe.
Those bathrooms should be obliterated.

"This is the Brown vs. Board of Education of our generation."

"The governor has been very bad ... Just a little eye into his mindset. His lawyers said that the ... state was only responsible for educating children until the eight grade --"A lot of the jobs that are coming up are minimum wage jobs and those jobs need to be filled up".

*In response to 12 years of lawsuits, Joe Bruno's response: He actually proposed to take more money away from NYC and give it to richer state districts.

AQE has pinpointed 3 key state senators that are very vulnerable. They will have names, phone numbers, all sorts of opinions and data and political relationship so that once the 2006 elections come, the incumbents are going to be reminded of why people vote.

They need volunteers to work the phone banks. You can call this a phone-raiser party