Outside of the privacy of my office and bedroom I am generally hostile to technology, cell phones in particular and cells phones in restaurants particularly in particular. So the last place I expected to fall in love with technology was in a restaurant, but that is exactly what happened last night. I was dining in one of my favorite neighborhood eateries, The Red Cat. If you don't know it, good. Stay away. It's too popular already. And as my BFF and I were still sipping our cocktails, that one thing happened that any and every New Yorker dreads more than anything else imaginable: a family with a young child claimed the adjacent table. The high chair was presented. A 12-to-18-month-old bundle of screaming horror was installed, casting a nightmarish shadow on my table setting. I thanked God this wasn't happening on a plane and then settled in for a ruined dinner.

But then magic happened. Mommy reached into her Chelsea Market tote and placed a portable DVD player in front of the little creature. Barney popped up, silently, and the entire evening was enjoyed sans even the slightest cry or whimper, jettisoned mashed potatoes or gravity-defying fluids.

As Eugene fights for his seat I find it interesting Yvette is backing him though the same reason why he is being held up on his swear in is the same reason she felt Yassky could not be the Congressman on the 11th CD.

Here is a blurb from a interview on Channel 4 with Jay DeRapper during the race last summer:

DeDAPPER: Yvette, you've been in the city council, too. You've worked on many of these issues.

Ms. CLARK: That's right.

DeDAPPER: You ran against Major Owens last time...

Ms. CLARK: Yes, I did.

DeDAPPER: ...and you lost.

Ms. CLARK: Yes, I did.

DeDAPPER: Should this seat be held by an African-American to represent--or not even necessarily an African-American, someone of color--to represent the people in this district, the majority of the people in this district, who are people of color?

Ms. CLARK: And clearly that is a decision that the voters will make. We have the candidates in this race, and they're seated here today. I think what's most important is that the voters look at authentic representation. Those who have fought...

DeDAPPER: What does--what does that--what does that mean?

Ms. CLARK: When I say authentic...

DeDAPPER: Because that sounds like--that sounds like a code word.

As Speaker Quinn, and the Attorney General decide if Dr. Eugene is worthy of his seat "Team Clarke" as put the word out as shown in the letter that follows she is sending out:

Rally for Justice and Democracy
Thursday, March 8th, 2007

Greetings:

The Supporters of Dr. Mathieu Eugene, the Progressive Democrats Political Association, as well as a broad support of community leadership is organizing for a show of strength to demonstrate our firm and passionate demands for fair representation at City Hall. We support and ask for the prompt swearing in of Dr. Mathieu Eugene, the undisputed winner, immediately upon the certification of the election results.
Thursday, March 8th, at 12 noon, at City Hall
Your participation is crucial. Democracy and justice do not come to you. History has taught us that we must actively seek, demand, and fight for it. Always.

Share this with 5 of your friends and ask them to share with their 5 conscious friends who support this just cause for the representation of our district in the on- going business of our city government.

Representation delayed is Representation denied!
This is an un-precedented situation, and we believe that there is no reason to deny the immediate seating of our elected representative.

Y'all a traditional 9-to-5 bunch aren't y'all? The stats show us that most of the traffic on this site happens between the traditional working hours. But I am not a traditional 9-to-5er and, quite frankly, my writing biorhythms don't kick in most of the time until 5pm.

So, to better the New York political zoology after dark, I am going to try out posting here during the afternoons and evenings.

I hope y'all join me sometime.

Feb. 6 we saw Craig Johnson get in. On Feb. 20 we..well saw.. sorta had two more special elections. We now have three more on March 27. So much for an off year in New York. It looks like it if Dr. Eugene does not get through we are looking at a 40 City Council race part 2. Now do not forget Diane Gordon is expected to got to jail and her 40th Assembly seat will be vacant which means another special on the way.

With so many specials still on the way anybody here looking to run for office?

Coming off the Special Election in Central Brooklyn my ideas about voting slightly changed. Matthieu Eugene winning the 40 City Council on the ticket of first Haitian City Council person to galvanize turnout made me wonder about voting on a national level.

We talk about picking the best candidate yet when asking people why the voted for Eugene or another candiate some state "I am Haitian and I will vote for Eugene" or "He is Jamaican and I am Jamaican too" There is nothing wrong for voting for someone who can relate to you on that level but does that guarantee the best candidate for the community at large.

Obama now running for President sends the same signals in my opinion. Most people will be supporting Obama because he is black. The idea of the First African American President ever does get people excitied. However is he the best qualified candidate?

The question I pose here I guess would be do we vote more with our hearts and emotions than our minds and good judgement?

P.S. Congrats to Matthieu Eugene on his victory.

PUBLIC NOTICE
THE BROOKLYN AND STATEN ISLAND OFFICES
OF THE
BOARD OF ELECTIONS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
WILL BE OPEN ON
PRESIDENT’S DAY,
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2007
FROM 10 AM UNTIL 4 PM
TO PROCESS ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS ONLY
FOR THOSE VOTERS REGISTERED WITHIN THE
40TH CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT - BROOKLYN
and the
51ST COUNCIL DISTRICT - STATEN ISLAND
FOR THE SPECIAL ELECTIONS BEING
HELD IN THOSE DISTRICTS ON
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2007

With so many candidates in the race it makes it difficult to choose one.I am partial to some and thought about going the "Citizen Union" route but I have a better idea. I am proud to announce I have endorsed the voters of the 40th Council District and the Weatherman.

With a special election turnout will be low. This is disappointing with so much on the line in regards who wins this seat. The winner will be responsible for getting money from the City Council's huge budget(millions of pork) in this area. With 4 days to go not many people still do not know there is an election.

10 candidates fighting for 3000 votes is not how the future of the district should be decided. I hope with each candidates GOTV strategy as well as other venues to alert the voters yields higher turnout. We can not complain or blame the system if we do not participate in the system.

As for the Weatherman endorsement this was a tough one. I was leaning toward Mother Nature but its easier to blame the weatherman. As it stands its looks like at mid 30's day with no precipitation. This help with turnout. If we had anything like the last two days the winner may have had 74 votes total.

So lets make a s

Straight from the SteamRoller himself.

He outlines Day One on Day 43? So take a look and listen:

On January 31st, I introduced my roadmap for revitalizing our economy and bringing opportunity back to New York State. The budget I proposed will not raise your taxes, yet it will fundamentally change the way we provide health care, the way we educate our children, and the way we encourage homeownership here in New York. And it will do all this while adhering to sound economic principles and fiscal responsibility.

Changing the way we deliver health care to the people of New York is imperative, because we can no longer afford to support a system driven by inefficient institutional spending. New York leads the nation in Medicaid spending, yet we still have 2.6 million people uninsured, 400,000 of them children. We are also first in the nation in the percentage of deaths due to chronic disease. 1 in 4 New York children is obese and 1 in 12 has asthma. My budget puts patients first. It provides universal access to health care for all uninsured children, and funds important public health programs to reduce the rates of chronic disease, while cutting the growth of Medicaid spending from 8.0% to 1.7%.