Dear Dictator Bloomberg,

Remember me? I am one of the people (along with my then-8 months' pregnant wife) who you called a terrorist for protesting the Republican Convention in 2004. So I have long known you don't like American freedoms or democracy. Of course you showed your disdain of democracy (along with your trained surrender monkeys in the City Council) when you overturned a popular vote by the people so you could serve a third term.

Well now your third term will be remembered as the one where you stomped on the 99%.

But you can't stop democracy THAT easily, Dictator Bloomberg. Despite your targeting them with particular vehemence for years, Critical Mass STILL RIDES the last Friday of every month in Manhattan (meeting at Union Square Park 7PM!) and in Brooklyn (second Friday of every month meeting at Grand Army Plaza at 7 PM).

Well Occupy is similar to Critical Mass...a disorganized bunch of American Citizens who like to exercise their Constitutionally guaranteed rights against dictatorial bozos like yourself. All of those angry members of the 99% are still out there, only now you have pissed them off more.

Let's see the kind of people you are dissing here.

How about Marine Vets:

How about Robert Reich of the Clinton Administration:

Robert Reich Speaks at Occupy SF 19 Oct 2011 from Peter Menchini on Vimeo.

How about Jeffrey Sachs, leading environmentalist and economist, and a respected Professor at Columbia University:

Teachers unions:

Transit Workers Union:

TWU: Occupy Wall Street from TWU International on Vimeo.

American Veterans:

Just to name a handful of the support for Occupy Wall Street.

More than ever we are pissed at the banks you serve. Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo are now associated with the anti-American attack on our Constitutional rights that you have carried out. Move your money day was just a start. People are learning that there are better banks and credit unions out there than the Predatory Banks that you, Dictator Bloomberg, love to serve. People are going to continue to take their money out of the Predatory Banks.  read more »

Some time back I wrote in depth about the implementation of something called Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12 (HSPD#12)which threatened my wife's rights as well as the rights of every Federal employee and contractor (my initial coverage was picked up by the Huffington Post). The directive per se isn't bad, merely requiring a uniform system of issuing IDs to all Federal employees and contractors across all agencies. But, under the Bush Administration, no good idea went unexploited for opportunities to deny people their basic civil liberties. The implementation of HSPD#12 became a wholesale attempt to get anyone with access to a Federal facility (including my wife who was a grad student in a NASA run building) to agree to allow the government to investigate every aspect of their lives from medical records, financial records and interviewing their neighbors. Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with top secret materials. EVERYONE from the Board of Ed to NASA etc. would have to comply. This invasion of privacy is back.

Don't get me wrong. I remain impressed that we are far better off in all ways under Obama than we were under Bush, and I have considerable confidence that even when Bush-era polcies are continued under Obama, they will be applied more intelligently. However, there are definitely many Bush-era attacks on our civil liberties that the Obama Administration wants to continue. And no matter how intelligently they apply it, it remains an attack on civil liberties. One such attack impacts my wife directly.  read more »

In looking over what I have written about the Public Advocate's race, it strikes me that what I originally wrote about Public Advocate candidate Norman Siegel back in 2005 still applies now and is worth reviewing why I think there is only one candidate in the race worth considering. Since 2005 I have watched Norman defend the rights of bloggers, firefighters and so many othres and to stand up during each and every major civil liberties battle in the city that to me it is inconceivable that anyone else should be our Public Advocate. But my best piece on him was back in 2005 and best expresses why I still think he is the ideal Public Advocate for NYC. So I want to update a piece I wrote back in 2005 when my son first went out campaignig with me:

Public Advocate: this office is, as far as I am aware, unique to NYC. In a city where the mayor has so much (almost dictatorial) power, the Public Advocate is the counterbalance to the mayor--the person who stands up to the mayor on behalf of the people. At least that is the ideal. Our current PA is Betsy Gautbaum. I voted for her when she first ran. For the life of me I have no idea what she has done for the past 8 years. When Bloomberg refused to give people permits to protest the invasion of Iraq, Betsy wasn't there for us. When Bloomberg arrested and illegally held hundreds of protestors during the Republican Convention, Betsy wasn't there. When Bloomberg wanted to use eminent domain to take private property to give it to developers, Betsy wasn't there. When Bloomberg started routinely arresting the Critical Mass bicyclists, Betsy wasn't there. Many New Yorkers have felt helpless as financial scandals eat away at our pension funds, slush fund scandals run rampant, the school admissions process becomes increasingly insane and divorced from the actual needs of children (as opposed to the needs of companies Bloomberg outsources the process to), ground zero remains an empty hole in the ground, the subway system gets cut back more and more while fees climb...all under the watchful eyes of Michael Bloomberg, Betsy Gotbaum and Christine Quinn.

You know who WAS there at each of those violations of civil rights that Bloomberg was responsible for? Norm Siegel. He was out there defending protestors when Betsy was nowhere to be seen. Norm Siegel has helped communities fight to keep firehouses open from Williamsburg to Staten Island. Norm Siegel has helped communities from Prospect Heights to Harlem try to stop the government from using eminent domain to take their homes for the enrichment of private developers. Norm Siegel has helped firefighters seeking the implementation of a skyscraper safety program and provisions for our firefighters to guarantee they have proper working communication equipment. Norm Siegel has helped families who lost a loved one on September 11th, 2001, as they seek the public release of materials from that day, including 911 emergency tapes and transcripts. And, here in 2009, Norm Siegel stood up against Michael Bloomberg's putch to arbitrarily extend term-limits against the explicit vote of the people. Norman has been there for protesters, bloggers, bicyclists, firefighters, 9/11 families, homeowners, renters and just about every single New Yorker at one time or another.

Back in 2005 when I met Norman Siegel, I also met another man, Paul Wooten. Paul Wooten was one of the people who wrote the law that created the Public Advocate's position, or so he told us. He said that when they wrote the law, they envisioned someone just like Norman Siegel in the position. Now, I had the impression that he also thought Mark Green had been a reasonable Public Advocate, so I can't speak to how the writers of the law creating the Public Advocate's position would choose between Green and Siegel. But Wooten specifically mentioned Norman Siegel as the perfect Public Advocate as the job was originally written.  read more »

Many of you will remember by blogging about my wife's potential run in with Homeland Security. This took the form of a NASA-wide, potentially Federal government-wide, ID system that would have been unacceptably intrusive. I discussed this in a widely read, three part blog that covered Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12, the very intrusive and potentially anti-gay Suitability Matrix, and a Resignation Letter. I also did a few followups on the court challenges to Homeland Security. The whole series was a testament to just what was wrong with Republican Bush America and why we so desperately needed a change.

Well, it seems the threat has been stopped in the Ninth Circuit Court. This comes from the plaintiffs in the case against Homeland Security's intrusive tactics:  read more »

Surprised no one else has written about this one. Awhile back I wrote about a case where the NYPD arbitrarily denied three bloggers press credentials. Those three bloggers were Rafael Martínez Alequin, a long-time critic of Tsar Bloomberg's, who publishes the New York City Free Press, Ralph E. Smith, who publishes The Guardian Chronicle, and David Wallis is founder and CEO of Featurewell.com. Gary Tilzer also had an excellent analysis of this situation.

Norman Siegel, the attorney representing the three bloggers, has won their case and they have been issued press credentials. From Your Free Press:  read more »