The New York City Rally Against H8 Just Got Out

The stretch of Broadway on the side of City Hall is empty now, but for the past two hours thousands of people have been circulating within several blocks of Lower Manhattan. Gay and straight alike came down on this humid Saturday afternoon to protest the passage of Proposition 8 in California. It is equally a rally against similar measures in Arizona and Florida as well as the gay adoption ban in Arkansas.

It should be a no-brainer that all Americans do not receive equal rights under the law, yet hate, ignorance and bigotry have prevented us from that from the beginning of our country. Yet as Jon Stewart so eloquently shoved in Bill O'Reilly's face the other night, the side of history is with us. That isn't just in Greenwich Village but every village and every city across our country. This is what progress looked like here in New York City.

Here are some crowd shots for you, all taken on the photo booth of my MacBook!

In case you can't see, it says Defend Equality.

Equal Rights Now is right!

Another crowd shot.

Yes, that's right, even the pooties are affected!

Here in New York this display of protest for human rights must be translated into action. As you may have heard, Connecticut has started to allow gay couples to get married, just a short Metro-North trip away from NYC. Now we must make sure that happens here in NYC and across the state.

You may also have heard that Governor Paterson made an executive decision to honor the rights that have been afforded by other states like CT and MA, but it isn't enough. Right now there is a battle for our State Senate. We won enough seats to take power away from the Republicans who've held the chamber for nearly 70 years. Yet three of the so-called Democrats are stymieing things. Senators Kruger, Espada (Senator-elect and current Councilman) and Diaz are withholding their support for Sen. Malcolm Smith because they fear that the Senate will join with the Assembly to pass an equal rights bill here in the Empire State.

Let the Gang of Three know what you think of their actions (especially if they are your State Senators) and do not stop pressuring all of Albany until the bill is passed.

CAP's Progressive Blueprint For Obama To Follow

If you have an hour, take a look at this video and see what the Center for American Progress thinks should be the priorities of the coming Obama Administration. There's a lot we have to do for our nation and our standing in the world. This is a very good start to begin the healing.

Protest Proposition Hate Tomorrow At City Hall

News coverage of California's prop 8 has continued for more than a week after the election and there's good reason to keep it going. It is absurd that we as a country are keeping other Americans from having human rights and equal treatment under the law, simply for their sexual orientation. Many of us outside of California and states with similar measures didn't have a chance to voice their opposition to these hateful ballot measures, but we can certainly protest it.

Tomorrow at City Hall in New York from 1:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon and at a City Hall near you if your at a computer outside the NYC area. Join the Impact has the details on where the local spot is to speak up for human rights! If there isn't one nearby, then start one really quick and tell the media. This isn't just an issue for Californians, it is a question for humanity and how we treat our fellow person. Enough is enough, it is time to let our elected officials know this is a serious problem and must be remedied.

So again, in New York City:

City Hall - 260 Broadway

New York, NY

1:30pm - 4:30pm

Bring an umbrella, your best protest voice and some signs if you got em' and we'll see you there. Fifteen thousand people showed up at Lincoln Center on a Wednesday night after work, so let's beat that on a Saturday afternoon!

Republicans Continue To Shun Sarah Palin

The nasty shots McCain aides took at Palin immediately following the campaign were vicious and reinforced her "unprepared" persona. The Alaskan Governor went on the defensive and did tons of interviews to show her getting back into the swing of things up north. Then came the Republican Governor's Association meeting. At first she took the spotlight down in Miami but when things were all said and done, the rest of the GOP Governors came down firmly against her.

From The Washington Wire:

The Republican Governors Association announced its new leadership lineup today after their annual meeting concluded Thursday in Miami.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was voted RGA chairman, taking over the top job from Texas Gov. Rick Perry who will now serve as finance chairman. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is vice-chairman, while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will serve as chair for the annual RGA gala, and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue will head up the recruitment effort.[..]

Not on the list? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who also attended the Miami meeting.

A majority of Republicans polled last week may want her to be at the top of the party, but the current leadership is definitely not that positive about Palin. I suspect that as long as she has respectable numbers, those who want to hold onto their inter-party power will continue to attack Palin and make sure she stays above the 50th parallel. Many in the leadership won't admit it outright, but going with the darling of the rabid right will do nothing but marginalize and regionalize the GOP.

Rachel Maddow Lays Out The Risks Of Keeping Lieberman Where He Is

Oh there are so many bad reasons to keep Lieberman as Chair of that Committee. So, so, many. Take notes here Lieberman apologists, I'm looking at you Senator Bayh!

Did Putin Spare Georgia The Worst To Avoid Looking Like Bush?

There are so many negative attributes about President George Bush, you'd have to write several novels to full encompass them all (oh wait, that's been done already). So I'd like to take a moment to highlight something good he's done in the world of foreign affairs, even if it was done indirectly. It seems that a conversation between Nicolas Sarkozy and Vladimir Putin might have saved Saakashvili's gonads by way of our outgoing Presidential disaster.

From The TimesOnline (UK):

With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr. Sarkozy told Mr. Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to [Sarkozy’s chief diplomatic adviser, Jean-David] Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr. Putin declared.

Mr. Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked. “Why not?” Mr. Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

Mr. Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: “Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?” Mr. Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

Now when someone as sinister as Vladimir Putin takes pause at the fear of being compared to George Bush, we can truly account for how far world opinion has fallen of our country in the last several years. That countdown clock to January 20th really can't tick fast enough. Though I wonder if Bush will take credit for that in his memoirs, hmmm.

Paterson Offers Higher Ed A Bone While Swiping A Leg

City University of New York Chancellor Matthew Goldstein praised the Governor for a "paradigm shift" by offering a small portion (10% in the first year) of his proposed tuition hikes for CUNY and SUNY back to the schools. Chancellor Goldstein of course is probably just happy from his recent $55,000 dollar raise, bringing his salary and benefits to over half a million a year. That he gets to swim in his money when students have to pay for a substitute for budget cuts is obscene. Perhaps it is his job as an Administrator to keep money flowing in and not out, but he must have forgot that the ones kicking in the extra dough are the students who can least afford it in these troubled times.

From The NY Times:

“The way it is now certainly is not the best way to do things,” said H. Carl McCall, a member of the SUNY board. “Any tuition program we put forward would be some program that would look at predictable, regular increases rather than these spikes during a crisis.”

In the past, he said, such a change has met resistance among lawmakers. “They feel their constituents are hard-pressed and don’t want to pay additional fees every year,” he explained.

Well yeah, no one wants to pay extra fees, but legislators looking at such a drastic budget cut called for by Paterson might not hear the students as well when faced with the alternative of pissing off their wealthy contributors. The millionaire's tax is getting some discussion but Paterson is adamantly against any kind of tax increase. What really needs to happen is for Paterson to be pushed to change his mind and pinch the pockets of the 26,000 Millionaires in this state and not the millions who are going to shoulder the burden of hard times if he gets to keep things his way.

As for tuition increases, Pat Callan of the National Center for Public and Higher Education has the right idea:

The concern is that if the colleges and universities are allowed to increase tuition annually, they will still turn to even-bigger increases during tough economic times because that is easier than the alternative of cutting spending.

“It is a whacko system that no one defends,” said Mr. Callan. “But it works well enough for the colleges and legislators, so no one is willing to risk changing it.”

He said the current crisis presented a brief window of opportunity by focusing attention on the problem.

“As soon as this moment passes, then there is no real incentive to fix it,” he said.

Now is the time to make things right and not spike the cost for those that are trying to go back to college in tough times. Ideally we shouldn't be paying for tuition to our state schools as it was decades ago, but we can at least start turning the trend around so that the system puts students closer to the front of the line when the budget battles heat up. We as the public can stand up and join CUNY faculty and groups like NYPIRG to fight back. Politicians do hear us when we organize, but we must be loud when Wall Street comes into the room with a multi-million dollar sound system when we have a bullhorn at best.

This Could Be Your Next Job

Or worse, it could be similar to your current position. It is past the time to give our nation's workers a fair wage and a safe workplace. Under conservative rule, many of our protections have been rescinded. Now we must fight back and this is a great way to start.



Now sign the petition to help get this bill moving!

The Spoils Go To The Most Prolific Campaign Ever

It has been over a week since Barack Obama was elected President and already there is a mad rush for jobs in the Administration over at change.gov. When you win the Presidency, plenty of positions open up in the new White House for the party faithful to apply to and receive if their credentials stack up against the challenge. However, when you are Barack Obama and have just completed the best campaign for President ever with tons of cash left over, there's cash and prizes for those that worked for the Obama operation.

From The NY Daily News:

Long-suffering political footsoldiers who toiled tirelessly, at least since September, to put Obama in the White House recently learned they will be getting extra paychecks worth a month's salary, the Daily News has learned.

And boy, are they grateful.

"I think it's a very nice gesture for people who slaved away and sacrificed for the past year," said one pleased ex-staffer.

"It was totally unexpected, and you can't believe how helpful this is with the holidays coming," the lower-level worker said. "A lot of people thought they were going to be broke and would have to try to find a job in this rotten economy. It's a huge help."

In addition to the cold cash, staffers also have the option of keeping their campaign-issued computers and BlackBerrys - but must pay income tax on the hardware if they do.

All's fair with income tax, this side is definitely going to start by respecting the rule of law. Seriously though, this is a fantastic thing for Obama to do for his campaign army. It is nothing short of grueling to be a campaign staffer and often do a lot for very little in return (sans the changing our country for the better part). Now this is set of bonuses I can definitely get behind, unlike the schmucks in the financial district who are still looking forward to their obscene benefits next month. Hopefully that'll change once the O man gets to work.

Quinn's Protests Over Senior Centers Aren't Fooling Anyone

Christine Quinn is up in arms over proposed cuts to senior centers made by Mayor Bloomberg and she isn't going to take it! She insists it isn't a symbolic protest, but I couldn't throw that denial farther than a granite slab in Central Park. She went from being a good Democratic activist to the Mayor's chief official tool. Now she wants to make believe that she is some sort of tough Council Speaker who stands up for the people, pffft!

From PolitickerNY:

Christine Quinn took the unusual step of protesting Michael Bloomberg, the mayor with whom she’s had an extremely close working relationship.

The protest was over the mayor’s plan to restructure the city's senior centers. Critics say the plan will not save money, and will reduce services unnecessarily. The mayor’s administration has argued the changes are a way to better monitor a sprawling and confusing network of social programs.

The protest comes at a time when, for political reasons, Quinn needs to demonstrate that she is willing and able to stand up to the mayor.

This is really what it is all about, because ultimately she is going to want to be re-elected and the groundswell across the city and in her district has developed into at least two challengers thusfar to oust her. I'll credit her for talking tough in this video by Azi but when it comes to her vote, she's weaker than the Mets ability to come through at the end of the season.

Dennis Miller's Homophobia On Full Display At Fox

Is this the level of discussion that a "fair and balanced" network is supposed to display? Making gay jokes about Congressman Barney Frank is acceptable? Dennis Miller shows his true scumbag-nature on the Falafel Factor and Bill O laughs right along with him. Criticizing Frank for his decisions about our fiscal policy is one thing, this joke is absolutely uncalled for.

The Bailout Is Bigger Than You Think And No One Is Paying Attention

If you think the $700 billion given to Secretary Paulson by the Congress was a lot of cash, then you'll be shocked to know how much our government is really coming up to bat for corporations with. The actual tab, when combined with loans, guarantees and other set ups is closer to five trillion, or to put it in long form, $5,000,000,000,000.00. That my friends (sorry for the McCain reference) is a incredible amount of money. Especially because the people who pay most of the taxes really do not see much of it. The way it breaks down is pretty simple.

From Forbes:

The Fed has taken on much of that total, including lending a cumulative $1 trillion in overnight or short-term loans since March to primary dealers through its emergency discount window and making a cumulative $1.8 trillion available through its term auction facility, a series of short-term transactions it began making available twice a month in January. It should be noted that a portion of the funds lent in these programs has been repaid and that the totals represent what has been made available.

The Fed also took on tens of billions in debt, including $29 billion in debt of Bear Stearns, and made $60 billion of credit available to American International Group (nyse: AIG - news - people ). It is committing $22.5 billion to set up a special purpose vehicle to manage some of AIG's residential mortgage-backed securities, and it is financing $30 billion of a second fund to hold $70 billion of multi-sector collaterized debt obligations on which AIG wrote credit default swaps.

The Treasury, in addition to the $700 billion raised in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, agreed to guarantee money market funds against losses up to $50 billion, will inject $40 billion of capital into AIG and is backing the conservatorship of Fannie Mae (nyse: FNM - news - people ) and Freddie Mac (nyse: FRE - news - people ), to the tune of $200 billion.

The FDIC, meanwhile, is guaranteeing $1.5 trillion of senior unsecured bank debt.

And there's more to that as well, but you can start by digesting those numbers. The truth is we are dropping ridiculous sums of money in these institutions and have very little to show for it. The markets are still unhappy and fears of a long recession just make things worse. The way Wall Street has fiscally managed itself (basically no management to be seen) has had a detrimental effect on us all and what is worst of all is that Congress is doing next to nothing to make sure what they have given Paulson has worked.

Literally speaking, no oversight positions have been filled and $290 billion has already been spent out of the bailout. Many of us on the left (and yes, the conservative right too) screamed and shouted to take it easy and not act in such a brash manner that gave Paulson and Bush everything he wanted. The conditions that precipitated this collapse have been formed over many years and taking a few extra weeks would have been just fine. Now we are still in a large mess with nothing to show for the billions spent. Soon we'll be wishing for this to only cost five trillion dollars and not whatever astronomical figure it eventually ends up being.