We all love local politics. Well here in Brooklyn we are fortunate to have a skilled, principled City Councilwoman named Letitia James representing us.

A local blog, The Footprint Gazette has taken a recent speech she gave at a rally against developer Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal, and remixed it into an instant classic. It's well worth the listen.

Keep an eye on Tish, as she is called, she has a great career ahead of her. Audio remix and link after the jump:

Drudge has this headline:

SHOCK: 2/3 OF WHITES CITING RACE WON'T VOTE OBAMA IN GENERAL..

then you go to the article:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/...

Drudge's promo sounds like 2/3 of white people won't vote for nominee Obama because of race. what does the article actually say?      

...Racially motivated voting appeared to be running higher than usual: Two in 10 whites said the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote, second only to Mississippi. And only a third of those voters said they'd support Obama as the nominee against John McCain, fewer than in other primaries where the question has been asked...

More after the jump

Disgraced Ohio Republican Bob Ney has been given a job with Talk Radio News Service with the help of self described Fox News "Proud Liberal" Ellen Ratner, sister of Center for Constitutional Rights President Michael Ratner and mega-developer/Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner.

NoLandGrab, a blog that follows Bruce Ratner's eminent domain abusing, controversial Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, New York points to the story:

Good to see Bruce isn't the only Ratner creating jobs, and for an ex-con, no less. Of course, this ex-con just happens to be disgraced former Ohio Congressman Bob Ney, who was sentenced to 30 months on corruption charges back in 2006. Ney, we should point out, is a conservative Republican...

God bless those Ratners. They never let ideology get in the way of friendship — or campaign contributions.

Original article is in The Hill

How can we get Chris Matthew off of MSNBC's campaign coverage? His behavior is unethical. Just a few minutes ago he said, re; The Tear "But can you win a campaign on sympathy?"

That's analysis? No, that is venal. And his role as the Hillary Killer couldn't be plainer, it's embarrasing and disgusting and sexist.

How can we get him off the air?

Hillary has announced that she supports Gov. Spitzer's withdrawing his immigration drivers license proposal.

From the NY Times

Clinton Now Against Licenses for Illegal Immigrants

...Her campaign issued a statement saying that she supported Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s decision today to drop his plan for such licenses.

“I support Governor Spitzer’s decision today to withdraw his proposal,” she said in the statement. “As president, I will not support driver’s licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration, including border security and fixing our broken system.”

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 Do we need a President who follows the lead of a Governor? Or panders to a big endorser?

If she is against the bill today, she was against it two weeks ago. But she parsed so as not to piss off Spitzer.

Talk about safe politics.

Chris Owens is a community activist. There are too many lawyers, wonks and bureaucrats in congress, particularly in the New York delegation.

From the New York Daily News: "It's incumbent upon the shooter to assess the situation and make sure it's a safe shot," said Mark Birkhauser, president-elect of the International Hunter Education Association. "Once you squeeze that trigger, you can't bring that shot back."

first verses:

The Joe Wilson Rag (The Frog March)

WASHINGTON'S A PARTY TOWN
YOU'VE GOT YOUR SUITS AND YOUR EVENING GOWNS
BUT IT'S NOT YOUR FATHER'S WHITE HOUSE BALL
LOOKS MORE LIKE A FREE FOR ALL

THEY GOT CAUGHT WITH THEIR PANTS DOWN
WE NEED A NEW DANCE IN TOWN
NO MORE REPUBLICAN TWO STEP
WE NEED SOMETHING WITH A BIT MORE PEP

HOW `BOUT A FROG MARCH?
WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO SEE A FROG MARCH?
VISUALIZE A FROG MARCH
OUT THE WHITE HOUSE DOOR

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BUT, if Bush were wise he would respond to Ms. Sheehan by implementing a U.S. version of India's Daily Darshan

"And he<Nehru> never forgot that he derived his authority from the people of India; not only was he astonishingly accessible for a person in his position, but he started the practice of offering a Daily Darshan at home for an hour each morning to anyone coming in off the street without an appointment, a practice that continued until the dictates of security finally overcame the populism of his successors."

Is this possible to do in the U.S.?  Sure, why not. Would Bush ever do it? Surely not.

Instead he has a Daily Darshan with his bed, his donors, his Schwinn, his pork BBQ, his brush, his little leaguers and his private G-d.

The meeting was about his public support for one of the worst corporate boondoggles New York City has ever seen: Bruce Ratner's proposed 17 high rise and Nets basketball arena in Brooklyn. It will suck 2 billion from the taxpayers, abuse eminent domain, be completely out of context with the existing residential neighborhoods, create a traffic and environmental mess. The arena is a bread and circus front for a massive corporate crony land grab. (Ratner is old friends of Pataki's and the Ratner family is surely friendly with the real estate Spitzer family). AND the approval, input and oversight of the development proposal will completely bypass ALL local (city) control and community involvement. (more info here)

more after the jump

Its too bad Mr. Hart has an albatross on his career. He should be a Democratic national level leader. Maybe he still can be, but I don't think so.

But his OpEd is the best critique, I've seen so far, of the so called "moral values" bent of the electorate.

The most prominent activist group to protest plans for Bruce Ratner's proposed Atlantic Yards development, Develop-Don't Destroy Brooklyn, is holding a fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 6.

It will be a dance party, at the Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 Fourth Ave., at President Street.

The old bath house-turned-theater space will host the party, set to start at 9 pm and go "until the music stops," according to their flier, and entertainment will be provided by DJ Rekha, the band Paprika, and DJ Fabian Alsultany. A raffle will take place at the end of the night, and prizes include gift certificates to local restaurants and a bookshop, clothing from a local designer and a grand prize of two tickets to the Broadway musical "Hairspray."

Edwards needs to keep a high profile, political position from now until then.

Edwards speaks to the South, to the working class, to "moral values".

Here's a perhaps radical thought, but how about John Edwards as DNC Chair? I'm not sure what other position he can hold that would keep him in the national eye.

Thoughts? What should John Edwards do for the next four years?

 Randy Rhodes, on a screed all afternoon on Wednesday, kept arguing that we, the citizens, are now the only check and balance left. To play that out, citizens should fight this election result. Our leaders won't (and as I said, I can understand why), so why can't we?

Why shouldn't we? Its our election, its our democracy.

Email Ohio Dem Chair Dennis White: dennis@ohiodems.org

and ask the Ohio Dems to organize 5 citizens per county to call for a recount. it is their legal right. and their duty to the disenfranchised.

I can understand why Kerry chose to concede. And if one thinks about the GOP gains in Congress, one can even argue that it made sense on those grounds. A sense of giving Bush his mess. Though i doubt that was the case. You don't give up the number 1 seat of power because you have an opposition Congress.

But I am also so angry that K/E conceded. I truly thought they were going to fight. And why not? What was there to lose? What was at risk? A more rancorous country?  I don't think that should be the concern, or that it was.

I can understand why Kerry chose to concede. And if one thinks about the GOP gains in Congress, one can even argue that it made sense on those grounds. A sense of giving Bush his mess. Though i doubt that was the case. You don't give up the number 1 seat of power because you have an opposition Congress.

But I am also so angry that K/E conceded. I truly thought they were going to fight. And why not? What was there to lose? What was at risk? A more rancorous country?  I don't think that should be the concern, or that it was.

But I, like every Kossite, I would imagine, have been fighting this fight since that day in 2000. I remember that night so vividly. The anger, the hope, the strength, and the fear. Gore (we) had to fight to from behind. Over the month of the ballot fight we seethed and fought, and then got screwed by partisan judges.

And we were given a mandateless President, glowing in his illegitimacy. And we know the rest.

Susan Metz is running against the indicted incumbent Roger Green. Roger Green was indicted, and under the pressure of having an Assembly ethics report released, resigned on June 1st. The next day he announced he would be running again. That ethics report has never been released.

The number one issue in this district is the 17 high-rise and basketball arena development proposed by Forest City Ratner.


Roger Green supports this project, while a majority of the district opposes it. The approval process for this proposed development is corrupt and stinks to high heaven. Bruce Ratner, the CEO of Forest City Ratner, is Gov. Pataki's old law school buddy. Mr. Pataki is doing all he can to roll out the red carpet for the development that would use enormous taxpayer subsidies, displace hundreds of residents through the abuse of eminent domain, and would create an environmental and traffic nightmare.