Yetta Kurland's Website To Hit Obama Levels

There may not be as much going on at myBarackObama.com anymore but that doesn't mean your organizing fun has to be over. City Council candidate Yetta Kurland is launching a site of her own, aptly named "myYetta.com" The webpage isn't just your standard politician's site. Sure, the "Volunteer" and "Contribute" buttons are over on the main page, but that is just the beginning for this challenger in the 3rd district.

Just like on Obama's social networking site, users can join groups, start events, invite friends and much, more more. When you are going up against the Speaker of the City Council, innovation and using that to spread your ideas is essential. Quinn has the backing of the Mayor and through her power, commands many different groups. However, if a challenger is dedicated like Yetta, anything is possible. Remember a couple years ago no one thought that the skinny Senator from Illinois could ever make it past the vaunted Hillary Clinton and now look at where we are.

Now I'm not suggesting that myYetta.com is going to propel her past Quinn. What I am saying is that when you are ready to do whatever it takes, come out with state of the art campaign tools and work hard, then there is a real chance of winning this thing. New York City is a big place, but the Council District is only a small part of it. With social networking capabilities and a strong message that resonates in the area, all the tricks Quinn has up her sleeve will not be enough.

Howard Dean Speaks About Sebelius As HHS Secretary

Always a man of character, Howard Dean is full of praises for Governor Sebelius becoming the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Of course this doesn't mean that Dean will just go away and do nothing. Expect plenty from him in the months and years to come as a staunch advocate of progressive issues.

Rove Believes Bush Did Enough For Hurricane Katrina Victims

If there was any defining event in Bush's eight years that showcased his utter failure as President, it was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The nation and the world watched as a city drowned, losing nearly two thousand residents due to ineffective levees, not the actual hurricane. The government response was a disaster. When seen through the ideological lens of movement conservatives (who wish for less government by starving it of resources) the response was a huge success. While that sounds awful, Karl Rove affirmed that callous opinion yesterday on live television.

From RawStory:

Don't be surprised if this causes you to spill your coffee. When pundits began to critique the recent speech of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in an ABC News green room on Sunday, former Bush adviser Karl Rove declared that the federal government met its responsibilities with regard to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

The following exchange appears on the video below at 2:11.

"With all due respect, the government official who was responsible for managing Katrina under the Stafford Act was the governor of Louisiana and she lost office in large measure due to the poor quality of her performance," Rove quipped.

To Rove, this was about politics, pure and simple. He doesn't mention how FEMA didn't have the funds or manpower to take care of thousands upon thousands of refugees. How the director of FEMA had no training in disaster management does not figure into the political calculus that Rove considers. Though if he really wants to talk about politics, can he tell us which party went on to lose resoundingly at the polls this past November and the midterm elections in 2006? Louisiana was sick of all their political leaders (save for Ray Nagin who talked a lot of serious shit) but the country was collectively disgusted with Bush and the neo-con ideology for which he...and McCain are associated with.

Reverend Billy Throws His Hat Into The Mayoral Ring

Several challengers to Mayor Bloomberg have already stepped up to defeat the two term King of New York. There's the Congressional member Anthony Weiner, City Comptroller Bill Thompson and progressively-minded Councilman Tony Avella. Though none of those three compare in terms of personality than the newest candidate on the block, Reverend Billy.

From The NY Times:

Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping is — to say the least — not your typical candidate for mayor. With his blond pompadour, cobalt blue suit, black shirt and white collar, he made his announcement in Union Square on Sunday accompanied by a choir in green robes.

But he has the nomination of an actual political party and might have a spot on the ballot in November, something Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has yet to secure.

“Even if you have 20 billion dollars, you’re not going to buy this election!” he shouted through a white bullhorn to a small gathering of supporters and reporters. “This campaign will be the revolt of the fabulous 500 neighborhoods, amen!”

Amen indeed!

Having Reverend Billy in the mix should definitely liven things up a bit. I don't believe that he'd be the only one to speak his mind (Tony Avella certainly has no problem with that) but his persona is most definitely unique. Not only that, the issues he speaks to carry great resonance with many New Yorkers. If he can connect them to what Bloomberg has done to the city in terms of development then who knows what will happen.

I'm sure that Bloomberg and the more "serious" contenders will protest the Reverend's candidacy and proclaim him as a side show. However, Billy does have that one thing that the Mayor still covets....a ballot line.

Joan Adams' Story Is The Story Of Our Nation

You may or may not be in the situation Joan Adams finds herself. Many Americans have not even had the chance to own a house. Yet just as Joan was taken advantage by the banking industry, all of us are being used to cover the damage caused by the widespread greed in the financial sector. Hundreds of billions have been given to these banks, yet when Obama wants to give a fraction of what they got to homeowners, they cry bloody murder.

Limbaugh Can't Tell Difference Between Constitution And Declaration Of Independence

The leader of the Republican party showed off his ignorance at CPAC this weekend when he talked about the Constitution. Not only did he mistake the Declaration of Independence for the Constitution, he completely misunderstood the intent of the framers and what we as a nation are allowed to do with the "living, breathing" document.

From ThinkProgress:

During his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, Rush Limbaugh got some of his loudest applause when he declared that President Obama’s policies represent a “bastardization of the Constitution.” He attempted to prove his devotion to the document by quoting from it:

We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause]

"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is a quote from the document 'heard round the world' on July 4th, 1776, not when the Constitution was written more than a decade later. Of course, the principles that our country was founded on don't mean much to Rush, since in his mind, the primacy of the General Will has been replaced by the particular will.

Yeah that's right, I used a little Rousseau on Rush. I'm sure the famous French theorist would have a field day with the likes of Limbaugh and his dittoheads.

Of course, dittoheads, Republicans, especially the types that attend CPAC pride themselves on being ignorant, so that their failed ideology can still live on in their narrow minds. Later on in the speech, Rush said that the Constitution does not need to be redefined, which would make most rational people wonder what he thinks of the twenty-seven amendments to the document. Items such as ending slavery, giving women the right to vote, for the people to be able to elect their Senators are all "redefinitions" of the Constitution.

As incompetent and irrational as he is, Rush is still the de facto leader of the GOP and yes, that is pretty sad.

NY-20: Republican Resurgence Can Only Happen By Dropping The "R"

Now don't get me wrong, to Republicans this race is extremely important, just as it is to Democrats. The top GOP leaders have no problem talking up the race in NY-20 to their most dedicated followers. Yet when it comes to swaying voters in New York's Capitol region to come back and support the Grand Old Party, the way they are going about it isn't as direct as a dyed-in-the-wool partisan would hope for.

From FireDogLake:

Did you notice in the ad where the man who's going to bring Republicans back mentioned which party he belonged to? Nah, me neither, despite the fact that there are 75k more Republicans than Democrats registered in the district he's hoping to win. Which is why it's a little bit odd that the candidate with the greatest name recognition (Mr. Tedisco is a Republican leader in the State Assembly) has halved his lead from a few weeks ago (the AP is calling it a competitive race now)

Or maybe not. Being a Republican is a bit of a problem for Mr. Tedisco these days:

The biggest political matchup in the country right now pits a seasoned Republican lawmaker against an unknown Democrat in one of New York’s most traditionally conservative Congressional districts. National Republican leaders have vowed to make the contest a turning point for their beleaguered party, while Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have signaled that they will not be doing any heavy lifting to help out.

All the makings of a Republican rout.

Yet now when layoffs, foreclosures and anxiety are freezing the Catskills, Adirondacks and Hudson Valley like an economic ice storm, a single issue — the $787 billion federal stimulus package — appears to be providing the Democratic newcomer, Scott Murphy, with some traction in the campaign to succeed Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand in the House of Representatives.

His Republican opponent, James N. Tedisco, the minority leader in the State Assembly, refuses to say how he would have voted on the stimulus bill.* To endorse it, Republican operatives acknowledge, would put him at odds with every House Republican and endanger his support from Washington.

...

Still, Mr. Tedisco’s advisers believe the election will come down to which candidate voters like more, pointing to the 2006 election, when voters chose the appealing Ms. Gillibrand over her Republican predecessor, John E. Sweeney.

So far the polls have Tedisco polling ahead of Murphy, but that is because people are just getting to know the Democratic candidate. The more he's out there, the better his ratings get. In the two weeks between the latest polls, he halved his opponent's lead. Tedisco is trying to hold onto that lead for the rest of the month by ignoring the controversy between the national parties and running on his name alone.

Even if he does manage to hold on, the GOP will scream and shout about their tangential victory over Obama, but that would be news to the voters that put him there. If anything, it shows that Murphy did not do as good a job campaigning in such a short amount of time. If Murphy inundates the district with ads, specifically with his name, "Democrat" and "endorsed by Gillibrand" then the Dems should be able to hold onto the seat.

No matter what the outcome though, a "Republican resurgence" or proof that the GOP can publicly repudiate Obama's agenda at the polls is not even close to becoming a reality. If the GOP tries to promote a victory as such, they are only deluding themselves of the political dynamic in the nation.

Karl Rove Gets A Smackdown!

There was no fear, only stone-cold resolution in the eyes of Katrina vanden Heuvel as she ripped Karl Rove for trying to talk about deficits when he was one of the principal players who put us in the economic mess are dealing with now.

In Lean Times, Paterson Shows Off His Expensive Taste

As the battle for the budget becomes more defined as we get closer to the deadline to finish it, Governor Paterson's leadership abilities have been called into question. He's been adamant against a Fair Tax and at times considered passing it. He was gung ho for the obesity tax and then said it was just to make a point about our general health. Oh and don't get me started on his Senate appointment fiasco. There are many things that Paterson needs to stay straight on and his leadership ability is affected by all of those. So when it comes to shaping the budget and calling for tough cuts across the board, he had best be able to show that he can do it for himself, especially when he should show discretion in using taxpayer funds on the Governor's Mansion that he lives in. For example, buy the $20 toaster, not the one for $200.

From The NY Daily News:

A review of the mansion's expenses found that in the weeks after Paterson took over in mid-March, staff bought hundreds of wine glasses, bedding, furniture and other items.

"These are authorized expenses that are associated with the operation, maintenance, preservation and the day-to-day functioning of the mansion," said Paul Larrabee, a spokesman for the state Office of General Services, which runs the mansion.

Taxpayers footed the bill for $61,951 in equipment and other costs for the mansion during the first nine months of Paterson's administration, a 14% increase from a year earlier under then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, OGS said.

Now you may say that he had done all this a year ago, before he even had time to consider the 2009-10 budget, but those were ominous times as well. Perhaps not $14 billion-in-the-hole bad, but certainly dire enough to consider not spending tens of thousands redecorating a mansion. I get that politicians like the perks of having their office, but they should know the office can be taken away in an election if they get too greedy.

NY Drug Law Reform On The Fast Track

Besides passing a budget, Governor Paterson is dead-set on reforming our state's regressive drug laws. Unlike his dilli-dallying on the budget, Paterson is clear on what he wants the Legislature to help him accomplish. Giving judges the authority to decide the best sentence for the convicted drug user is what he and many advocates of this reform want. It has been more than thirty long years that we as a state have overreacted in the legal sense to those that get caught using illicit substances and it is far past the time that we should correct the problem by working to treat people's problems, not exacerbate them by sticking as many of them in jail.

From The NY Times:

The Assembly is expected to pass legislation on Tuesday that would once again give judges the discretion to send those found guilty of having smaller amounts of illegal drugs to substance-abuse treatment instead of prison and allow thousands of inmates convicted of nonviolent drug offenses to apply to have their sentences reduced or commuted.

Meanwhile, the governor’s office is preparing legislation that it plans to present to Senate leaders on Monday that would also give judges discretion in sentencing, according to a senior administration official involved in drafting the bills. But for now, the governor is not taking a position on whether sentences should be reduced for some prisoners.

For its part, the Senate is expected to take up legislation in the coming weeks that would also be aimed at strengthening judges’ roles in sentencing.

And it can all happen by the beginning of April if the language is inserted into the budget. As the Times tells the story of Paterson being arrested for protesting in front of Pataki's office not too many years ago, it is an important issue to the Governor and admirable goal. To see him accomplish it will be great to see. Not only will it be a victory against the powerful prison lobby, but an intelligent way of turning the "drug war" into a more caring system where society treats those with drug problems instead of throwing them into a penitentary.

Gates: Obama Thinks More Than Bush

David Gregory had Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Meet the Press this morning. One question he had to ask, as his interviewee has now worked for Presidents #43 and #44, is what differences there are between the two men. So how do you say one is more intelligent and thoughtful than the other in the nicest way possible?



That's how.

The Problem With Our TeePee

I thought about leaving the puns aside, but this is a sensitive subject. Toilet paper is serious business and comfort is king of many Americans' "thrones". One-ply, two-ply, three-ply, paper with lotion, with aloe and a stuffed teddy bear are a part of our culture as is baseball and apple pie. Of course, we talk more in public about baseball and dessert more than we do about wiping our behinds.

That means it has been hard for the green revolution in this country to permeate the toilet paper market. Yet environmental advocates must wipe away misconceptions about the issue and confront what those few seconds of softness means to our forests and ultimately the health of our planet.

From The Guardian:

"This is a product that we use for less than three seconds and the ecological consequences of manufacturing it from trees is enormous," said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defence Council.

"Future generations are going to look at the way we make toilet paper as one of the greatest excesses of our age. Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving Hummers in terms of global warming pollution." Making toilet paper has a significant impact because of chemicals used in pulp manufacture and cutting down forests.

A campaign by Greenpeace seeks to raise consciousness among Americans about the environmental costs of their toilet habits and counter an aggressive new push by the paper industry giants to market so-called luxury brands.

More than 98% of the toilet roll sold in America comes from virgin forests, said Hershkowitz. In Europe and Latin America, up to 40% of toilet paper comes from recycled products. Greenpeace this week launched a cut-out-and-keep ecological ranking of toilet paper products.

Now those are some scary statistics. Just as we Americans have wised up about fuel-efficiency, recycling and conservation in other areas, it is time to do the same for toilet paper rolls. The industry will complain but in the end, if we as consumers demand change, so will the suppliers. So spread the word and buy recycled.