Just no respect, I tell you. Heh.

(Via The New Yorker)

You can't keep a bad man down, apparently. TPMtv interviews our old friend Roger Stone; if you'll recall, we and Albany Project exposed his email/web campaign against Eliot Spitzer, leading to his departure from Joe Bruno's payroll two days later.

Say what you will about Team Nixon's old hands: they're persistent.

Odetta, the fabled, fabulous folk-singer who was a fixture of the NYC folk scene beginning in the late 1950's and 1960's died at 77 of heart failure after long illness. Long associated with the Civil Rights Movement by those of us of a certain age(She sang, among other places at the 1963 march on Washington), as well as with Art D'Lugoff's Village Gate where she often performed. Links to obits, bio and Youtubes, post jump.

Obituaries from the Washington Post and the New York Times remembered her as a voice of the civil rights movement. (The Times obit has a link to a interesting video clip.) See also the LA Times and Huffpost .

Blogger's block, Obama-swing-state campaigning and some small amount of work lured me to take an extended break for the last few months. Following minor complaints from friends, family (did I grow grumpy while blog-silent?) and a few former readers, I'll restart now.

[UPDATE: I have now been removed from the "Stalinist" list on DFQ's website because I publicly stated I didn't think we should have his personal info up here. DFQ deleted my personal info from his site, but I will keep it here since honestly, it isn't a secret.]

Some of you may have been confused by some of Michael's recent postings which were, basically, outing someone who seems unstable and a bit paranoid and who has apparently been stalking something of an enemies list. The gentleman in question blogs under the name Dave from Queens and if you want to know more about him, so far the picture and real name are still up elsewhere on this site if you care.

If you want cheap eat's, buffet style, in the Murray Hill area of Manhattan, I have a few do's and don'ts.

The real reason I am writing this is to warn people off of a terrible place that will more than likely make you feel ill if you have the misfortune of eating from their buffet table. This place is called Miss K's Italian Eatery on the corner of 30th St. and Madison. It has a deli counter, groceries that look like some have been there for years, a salad bar and a steam table buffet of hot food. I have twice made the mistake of catching a quick bite from this place going from work to Brooklyn if I knew I'd have no chance to grab a real dinner before, for example, a political meeting.

Both times I grabbed dinner from Miss K's I found the food largely repulsive and felt literally ill afterwards. I have a strong stomach even for cheap food. But Miss K's made me nauseous twice. Their food just isn't right. Perhaps their deli counter or salad bar is less nausea inducing, but their hot buffet sucks. One time I threw out a fair amount of what I bought because I just didn't want to eat the crap. I am NOT the sort who throws stuff away if I'm hungry!

You may have noticed that posting volume has gone down markedly recently. To a large extent, this reflects the slower news environment after the election. As far as I'm concerned, however, it also reflects the irritating fact that I apprently have a case of anemia; as do, interestingly, several friends of mine who worked equally hard on that electing Democrats thing. If you have a good name for this syndrome, please post in comments.

There's no need, though, to worry about me. The treatment for anemia consists of steak and sleep, two of my favorite things. I'll be going to a doctor too as soon as certain clients of mine pay their late bills.

What you will notice, though, is that low posting frequency. I do apologize for that; I estimate, just based on how I'm feeling today, that we'll be back to normal in a few days. Meanwhile, I'm sharply curtailing my social schedule; so sorry, but I won't be able to see your play, go to your event, and so on. This is not by choice, it's by necessity. I can't even drink, imagine that. Cruel.

Long story short, the blog will be for the next few days in the very capable hands of Mole and Dan.

On the same day that Mayor Bloomberg signed the term limits extension into law (and held that mockery of a "hearing"), the Campaign Finance Board issued an "Advisory Opinion" in which they gave people who had spent a lot of money on higher office a "do over" if they choose to run for their current seat.

It's a clearly and obviously illegal ruling, to anyone who bothers to read NYC's campaign finance law, something the CFB theoretically should have done. For those who haven't read the law, ask yourself if high-spending incumbents should be allowed to pretend they didn't spend the money, just so that they can get your tax money to spend on their campaigns, and so that their opponents' spending was limited while they went crazy. Ask yourself if the campaign finance system, which was supposedly designed to level the playing field, should be [ab]used to tilt that playing field instead.

There will be a press conference to announce the lawsuit, Tuesday, December 2, at 2:30, on the steps of City Hall (where better to announce we're fighting City Hall?).

Come on out and support this fight -- see you at City Hall!

Today is the 20th anniversary of World Aids Day. Over the last twenty-five years, since the disease was first discovered, science has made some remarkab;e advancements in treating it, and regrettably few towards and outright cure.

From an affliction primarily of gay men and IV drug users, Aids has moved into new demographics; the black and Hispanic communities have been grievously affected, aided in part by the rampant homophobia that leads men to have clandestine sex with other men before going home to their wives and girlfriends.

In New York City today, there are roughly 100,000 citizens infected with HIV, per the NYC Department of Health.

New York City remains the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. More than 100,000 New Yorkers are living with HIV, but thousands don’t know they’re infected. New York City has the highest AIDS case rate in the country, with more AIDS cases than Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Washington DC combined. HIV is the 3rd leading cause of death below age 65 in New York City. HIV is also the health problem with the largest racial disparity; 80% of new AIDS diagnoses and deaths are among African Americans and Hispanics. Prevention, testing, and treatment programs are being expanded, but more must be done.

Indeed, more must be done. Aids is not over.

I have always been a fan of Japan. I have been there four times, including on my honeymoon. I even had the pleasure of living for a year in Kyoto working at Kyoto University. It is, in many ways, a wonderful place and I do hope to go back when time and money permit. I even am teaching my son what little Japanese language I still remember.

But there are always strange undercurrents in Japan. Korean and Chinese friends of mine cannot understand why I ever would visit Japan. They have an anger towards Japan that Americans have a hard time understanding. The presence of the yakuza (Japanese mafia) in Japan is omnipresent, once you are aware of it, which seems strange for an otherwise so law abiding nation. When World War II comes up in conversation, many Japanese still think Japan was justified in its imperialism and that America should apologize for the nuclear bombings and for the occupation. It is a constant source of scandal that Japanese leaders frequently downplay and misrepresent Japanese imperialism in Asia. I was amazed at how unresolved WW II seems in Japan and in Asia.