There are two hotly contested primaries happening this Tuesday in our fair City's core, both of which feature young, Progressive reformers going up against well-established incumbents. In one case, we have Paul Newell and Luke Henry taking on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, in what Errol Louis called the most important race in this state; in the other, former Senate Minority Leader Marty Connor is in the fight of his life against Progressive challenger Daniel Squadron.

Here's a map: light blue is the 64th AD, red, the 25th Senate District.

The Working Families Party has taken positions in both races. In the SD-25 race, they're backing Dan Squadron, saying:

"This district is in need of a State Senator who will champion responsible development and shake things up in Albany. Daniel Squadron has a proven record of fighting for change," said Rocky Chin a member of the Chinatown/Lower East Side Club of the Working Families Party.

In the AD-64 race, by contrast, WFP stuck with Silver, arguing:

I know that some of my fans on these here blogs will take umbrage with my choice of words for the title of this piece; let me apologize in advance. It is not meant to disrespect anyone. It is simply meant to highlight in plain and unambiguous language (at least on the streets of the hoods I peregrinate), a problem that not too many want to touch; an issue that few seem to care about: the double standard of justice that permeates the courts of this land. It is meant to shock a few more complacent people into reading this and commenting. Bon appetit!

[Ed. note: the original title, which contained a pejorative against females, has been altered. We don't have a lot of standards, but this is one of them.]

Let me preface this column by saying that I am in no way condoning or exonerating anyone in this article, especially those whose womanizing ways have caused pain to others; worse yet those who were married during their escapades. Their questionable proclivities must be condemned by me and others; and rightly so. The damage(s) caused by the actions of many in this column, have long lasting effects on families, friends, relatives, and also society at large.

About a dozen years ago or so, then president Bill Clinton, made a young White House intern (Monica Lewinsky) practice flute-blowing on his most private part. When he was caught with his pants down (so to speak) he lied to the American public in prime time and on mainstream media. At the point of this revelation, Bill Clinton was also embroiled in a court case, whereby he was being sued for sexual harassment by a government employee of the state of Arkansas (Paula Jones). The event in contention happened while Clinton was governor of that state, many years before becoming the president of the USA.

No one can say that Monica Lewinsky would have been credible against a lying president, if one of her friends hadn’t made her secure a blue dress, on which the former president’s semen stains were extractable -given contemporary technological advances relative to DNA. Ponder this for a moment before you read on.

From The New York Times:

Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, denounced the “Eastern elites” that he said dominated the television broadcasts and editorial pages.

It would be worthwhile for the Times to have extended their characterization of Romney just a bit further to make clear what a bald-faced hypocrite he really is. Mitt Romney is, indeed, a former governor of Massachusetts; his father was the governor of Michigan. Romney Junior was given his first name, Willard, after his father's best friend, J. Willard Marriott, of the hotel chain Marriotts.

Willard Romney proceeded to graduate from an exclusive private school, received a ministerial deferment from the draft, and went off to France for thirty months as a missionary - not Angola, not Paraguay, France. On his return, he graduated from both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.

His business career took place mainly at Bain and Company, the most white-shoe of consulting firms. Romney went on to co-found Bain Capital, a subsidiary that made money primarily via leveraged buyouts.

It really doesn't get more elite than that. What's startling here isn't just the absence of coverage of what is arguably an important qualifier to a speech given on live national television, it's this: how dumb are republicans that they wouldn't notice being played for fools?

Mitt Romney is the Eastern Establishment. That he could get away with his attack lines says everything you need to know about the credulity of republicans.

Congressional Quarterly quotes Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) calling the Obamas "uppity."

Spread the word.

Wednesday: Sarah Palin speaks to a newly invigorated rightwing fringe base and promises to reignite the culture wars.

Thursday: the stock market tanks, losing 300 points and wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in value.

Coincidence? Or a sign that God doesn't like McCain/Palin?

We report, you decide.

Go say hello to Markos Moulitsas tonight. He's in town promoting his new book, Taking on the System.

September 04, 2008
7:00 PM

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Court Street
106 Court St (between Schermerhorn and State Sts)
Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Subway: A, C, F to Jay St-Borough Hall; M, R to Court St; 2, 3, 4, 5 to Borough Hall

Then there's a McCain speech watching party at the Tank :
Special Guest Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of Daily Kos, will be on hand to comment on the GOP nominee's address (and sign his new book "Taking on the System") - and drinks will be on hand to help wash McCain's speech down...as Drinking Liberally offers a drinking game to toast the end of Convention fever.

87 Lafayette Street at the corner of White Street
Subway: A, C, E, J, M, Z, N, Q, R, W, Z, or 6 to Canal Street

(h/t Albany Project)

As we pointed out yesterday, the Bronx Supreme Court dismissed a suit brought against Governor Paterson's executive order mandating that state agencies recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages.

That suit was brought by several respondents, including republican Senator Serph Maltese and the Alliance Defense Fund.

One of the founders of the Fund is James Dobson, founder of the national organization Focus on the Family, an extremist rightwing group.

It's hard to imagine a figure moe at odds with our values here in New York than James Dobson. He believes that men and women are inherently unequal, and that women should not work outside the home if they have minor children.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has accused Dobson of inciting violence against gays and lesbians.

Per his book, Dare to Discipline, he believes that children should be beaten regularly.

"It is not necessary to beat the child into submission; a little bit of pain goes a long way for a young child. However, the spanking should be of sufficient magnitude to cause the child to cry genuinely."

Slate.com described him in 2005 as the most powerful leader of the religious right and credited him with delivering Ohio and Florida to George Bush.

It might be worthwhile for the media to ask Maltese whether he shares Dobson's views, in especially given that Maltese is the prime sponsor in this state of extremist rightwing legislation.

While Mayor of Wasilla:
The budget grew by 40% in 7 years -- after adjusting for inflation.
She raised taxes to build a stadium.
When she became mayor, the city had no long-term debt; she left behind $19 million in debt.
She hired a lobbyist to bring in federal earmarks -- that lobbyist, Steven Silver, was a former chief of staff to Ted Stevens.
Among pork that McCain has found "objectionable": A 2001 earmark of $500,000 for a public transportation project in Wasilla; $450,000 for an agricultural processing facility in Wasilla in 2002; In 2002, $1 million for an "emergency communications center" in Wasilla that local law enforcement said was redundant and confusing.

As Governor:

The RNC just released excerpts of Rudy's prepared remarks to the faithful in Saint Paul.

This is not a personal attack....it's a statement of fact - Barack Obama has never led anything.

Nothing. Nada.

Strong words coming from someone who ran his own Presidential campaign into the ground and reigns supreme as the most hated mayor in New York City history, but there you have it. If you want to know how Barack Obama would run the country, look at his campaign; if you want to know how John McCain would, look at his campaign.

As the Democratic Primary draws near (Sept. 9th!) some more people are speaking out on the First Civil Court race in Brooklyn. I want to offer up the opinion of the Brooklyn Papers and Lambda Independent Democrats on Roger Adler and Devin Cohen (the two candidates running). Let me remind our readers of my standard disclaimer: one of the candidates, Devin Cohen, is a friend of mine, so I am biased.

That said, most people seem deeply disturbed by Roger Adler's anti-gay stands, ties to the Conservative Party, ties to jailed former machine head, Clarence Norman, and his public admission that he openly participates in a pay to play political system. By contrast people seem to like Devin Cohen for his even temperment and honesty. From what I can tell, Devin Cohen has practically all the endorsements while Roger Adler has more money.

The Brooklyn Paper has a pretty good rundown on both candidates. To quote: