This week's primary petition deadline came and went, with little notice of a challenger to Kirsten Gillibrand: Gail Goode submitted 45,000 signatures in her bid for the U.S. Senate seat. The notable exceptions are Daily Politics, (http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/07/lawyer-gail-goode-to-challenge.html) a must for political junkies, and Capitol Tonight (http://capitaltonight.com/2010/07/gillibrand-vs-goode-in-democratic-primary/).

How. Dare. They.

It is official. Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly have gone off the deep end. These two want us to believe that maintaining a database of 'pre-crime' suspects, derived from stop-and-frisk actions, will deter crime.

After years of cajoling from the City Council and lawsuits by the NY Civil Liberties Union, Commissioner Kelly has been forced to release data on the NYPD's stop-and-frisk program.

'People's lawyer' Ramon Jimenez couldn't say “No” when Charles Barron asked him to run. “I had no plans to run for elected office. No intention, at all,” said Jimenez. The last time Jimenez ran for elected office was in 1978, when he ran a “real people's campaign” for state senate and garnered 40% of the vote. “History is calling,” said Jimenez, “I couldn't say no.”

State Senator Eric Schneiderman (D-31) sees a resolution coming very soon on what he calls “gerrymandering by using prisoners.” Schneiderman, candidate for NYS Attorney General, said he has been working on the issue of prisoners in the Census since right after the last re-apportionment in 2002.

In the aftermath of Charles Barron's announcement of his run for governor and the formation of the Freedom Party, MSM has predictably missed the issue. The issue is what do Black voters, who have reliably voted Democrat for the last 50 years, expect to receive in exchange for their loyalty? During this year's elections, are Blacks expected to fall in line, and vote Democratic, because they have no choice? Should they have no expectation of parity, equitable distribution of resources, fair contracting opportunities, and policies that respect, not abuse, those voters?

Assembly member Annette Robinson (56^th A.D.) had quite a bit to say regarding the current political climate in NYS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK9w2UOkhLc&NR=1

Robinson: “We are missing something by not having a Democratic primary. The only way [voters] will know what [Cuomo's] vision is, is if they challenge him. If they challenge him in terms of saying 'We are not going to give you our votes unless you come and sit down and talk with us, and tell us what are you planning to do for us as a people.' Since you did not choose anybody that looks like us to be a part of your team to look at diversity, what is your vision for the people of the State of New York? Not everybody looks like you. There are black and brown people who are the majority in the state of New York. It is expected that he would do something. It could be town halls, whatever you want to call it. I think he needs to do something to come out and speak to the people. We just can't have a coronation.”

Last week gave us letters flying between Eric Schneiderman and Kathleen Rice's campaign manager regarding their respective positions on Rockefeller Drug Law Reform. Occurring just in time to hype the upcoming AG Candidate Forum on Monday June 21, this war of the letters – thoroughly documented on Daily Politics -- has a context that began last month in Brooklyn.

As the only female in the race, Nassau DA Kathleen Rice tried to distinguish herself as the only candidate who is not an Albany or Wall Street insider during an AG candidate forum at Brown Memorial Church on May 6.

Just in time for petitioning season, a new political party is being formed. This new party has not been named yet, however Councilman Charles Barron will lead the ticket. Barron announced he is running for governor under the new party at a weekly meeting of the United African Movement.

Love him or hate him (sometimes at the same time), the new party is not about Barron. Rather, there are those in various Black communities who believe a new party will provide an opportunity for self-determination by allowing these communities to run candidates for office independently of democratic or republican party machines.

When I heard that two Vietnam veterans were instrumental in the discovery of the car bomb smack in the middle of Theater District, I knew one of them had to be Duane Jackson.

I have known Duane for many years (too many to count). The Duane I know is acutely aware of his surroundings; he has been a street vendor in Manhattan for close to two decades. I am not surprised at his heroic act of bravery.

Thank God for prosecutors. Without the “people's lawyers,” a whole lot of vigilante justice would take place. Prosecutors handle the “bad guys” so we don't have to. Yes, prosecutors face challenges: proving their cases – often difficult, complex cases -- being paramount among them.

Last week, the New York Post, a tabloid best fit to wrap yesterday's fish, published two articles and two editorials about a child who had complaints about the school she attended, Paul Robeson High School.

The Post quoted 15-year-old Alisha Strawder as saying if she “could burn down this school and get away with it,” she would. Alisha readily admitted she hardly goes to class.

President Obama has threatened his first presidential veto of major legislation. As Congress works on financial regulation, Obama is keeping a keen eye on the Senate and Republicans operating at the behest of lobbyists who resist major reform. As an email from BarackObama.com states: “President Obama means business.” Obama “committed his administration to reining in Wall Street.”

Word on the streets: A highly anticipated vote will take place during the next couple of weeks. State Senator John Sampson will be voted in as Senate Pro Tempore.

The move will “officially recognize and constitutionally recognize” John Sampson as conference leader and designated President Pro Tempore. Constitutionally speaking, Malcolm Smith is still Senate Pro Tempore. That is expected to change.

Quite recently, Dominic Carter joined our Room 8 family of bloggers. His presence generated greetings from those who missed his reportage on NY1. In addition, there was an abundance of critical commentary, some of which bordered on vile.

I say, give the man a chance.

More than once, the comments section of Dominic's posts have been closed. While I don't agree, I can see why it was done.

Some of us who had pent up outrage had a perfect target upon which to vent. Much of that outrage was specifically directed to Dominic and his recent history. Some, I suspect, is mis-directed anger at Quinn, Bloomberg and others who used the City Constitution as an Etch-a-Sketch.

When Simcha Felder stepped down from his post as representative of the 44^th Council District to join Comptroller John Liu's team, he left a dearth of political leadership in that section of Borough Park. (Remember, Felder ran unopposed on all lines during his last run for council.) During the past few weeks, contenders have come, and some have gone.