On September 12, 2006 DDDB officially went the way of dodo. This group headed by the self-riotous, egotistical moron know as Daniel Goldstein will never be a factor in Brooklyn politics ever again. Well at least as long as Daniel the idiot keeps running the show.

All DDDB had to do was work hard for one candidate, Bill Batson and they didn't even do that. I know they raised some money and went out and petitioned and canvassed a few times but it wasn't enough. Now there were a few very active DDDB members in the Batson campaign and they should be commended. The first person that comes to mind is Raul Rothblatt, who kicked ass for Bill Batson and Chris Owens for 4 straight months. If the leaders of DDDB had half a brain they would leave this group to people like Raul, who actually care about the community and put their money where there mouth is.

A note for readers not familiar with Room 8NY.  A prominent, and well-respected blogger, Gate-Mouth takes issue with the fact that I praised Councilman Charles Barron for refusing to include indicted assemblywoman Diane Gordon on his palm cards on Election Day.  The story begins with quotes from my article “Yvette Clarke & Charles”

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Yvette Clarke & Charles
Submitted by Gate (not verified) on Fri, 09/15/2006 - 7:28am.

“Finally, once more, Charles Barron showed his integrity by refusing to carry an indicted elected official on his palm cards. He did it in 2004 when he was the only elected official to support a challenge to Clarence Norman. And he did it again this year.”

In today's LunchBox, host Adam Green on: Adam Green, viewer comments, Rock - of Hackshaw and Gatemouth, Larry Littlefield, Governor's Island, Jeannine Pirro, Charles Barron, John Bolton, Kofi Annan's son, Emma B. and Council Member John Liu.

Ben is working ferociously to unclog the tubes of his Internets.  In the meantime, here's a backup link to his posts on the Daily Politics: http://thedailypolitics.blogspot.com/

The news broke earlier this week that the latest planning process for the redevelopment of Governors’ Island has been scrapped, and the agency charged with the redevelopment of the island would start over.  Again.

The latest plans called for a variety of uses, including hotels, condos, conference centers, and an amusement park.  Mayor Bloomberg’s earlier plan called for moving the CUNY campuses there, and using the existing campuses for public schools.  Mayor Giuliani’s plan called for a casino.  The next failed plan, which will no doubt provide positive publicity (and that is the point isn’t it?), will be the fourth.  Under the circumstances, you may be interested in what I suggested, while working at the Department of City Planning, when the first plan was being cooked up – moving the United Nations and all related embassies to the island.  That proposal may be read after clicking “read more."

At the end of this article are the endorsements listed by Carl Andrews in his bid for the Congressional seat won by Yvette Clarke.   We estimate that these endorsements must have been worth more than a million bucks.  Not listed is the endorsement of  Elliot Spitzer. Spitzer didn’t just endorse Carl. He published  a personal letter on Carl’s website, requesting support for Carl.

And then  in the last week , Carl mailed another personal letter from Spitzer urging voters to cast their ballot for Carl.(Carl may have had over 12 mailings in some sections)

In today's LunchBox, host Adam Green on: Hillary Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic Convention, Sen Harry Reid, Sen Edward Kennedy, Cornell University's Global Village Project, Albany, Jeannine Pirro (pronounciation, Frenched), Andrew Cuomo, John Hall, Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown...and more

People like me who think Al Sharpton is more a creation of the media than an authentic leader of the African-American community were hopeful that Rev. Al’s truly pathetic vote totals when he ran for President would cause people to stop taking him seriously.

In that year, Sharpton lost the black majority District of Columbia primary to Howard Dean, finished 3^rd with less than 10% in South Carolina where Blacks were 50% of the turnout and lost badly to “soul brother” John Kerry in both of Central Brooklyn’s Congressional districts.

Since the New York Observer has anointed me as an expert on New York Times endorsements, I feel compelled to point out what’s wrong with these comments in Tuesday’s New York.

First, not even New York City Democrats listen to what New York Times editorials tell them to do. The Times endorsed three candidates in closely contested races: David Yassky in a Brooklyn congressional race; Ken Diamondstone in a race to represent a Brooklyn district in the state Senate; and Mark Green in the race for attorney general. All three candidates — Yassky, Diamondstone, and Green — lost. The New York Observer ran a 2,000-word article last year claiming that "It's a given among the city's political classes that an endorsement from The Times in a race for City Council, the State Legislature or a judgeship is tantamount to election in affluent, Times-reading neighborhoods." Not anymore.

The netroots are bubbling, New York, and they've got their sights set on you.

The problem: they're not diggin' this whole let's-bring-the-Democratic-Convention-to-New-York-City bit.  No, not at all!

To put it mildly, they're kinda sick of your "liberally" coasted self; and generally, find the values of many of your inhabitants - wealthy Democrats, in particular - antithetical to their own.  And, to boot, they seem to think that you think that the world revolves around you and only you.  Wha?

Yvette Clarke’s Congressional victory was definitely remarkable. After stumbling badly, she refused to surrender, and fought back to a well-deserved win. I was impressed by her gutsy performance on New York One coming immediately after the revelation that she had “forgotten” whether she graduated from college. The new Congresswoman showed no defensiveness, virtually dominating the show, and intimidating the three men.

This is an articulate, smart and quick woman who will do well in Congress. Hopefully, her mother’s flaws are not genetic. I cannot forget Una’s  betrayal of her mentor and sponsor, Major Owens, her kissing up to Rudy Giuliani and her switch from Democrat to become a servant of Geroge Pataki when it served her financial interest.

by Jenny Klion 

One thing's for sure, the Durst Organization knows how to throw around its political capital.  In 2006 alone, Co-President Douglas Durst spread over $131,000 into federal political coffers; 80% of which fell into the hands of Democrats.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, for one, claimed $14,700 in donations from Durst - his largest contributor to date in the '05-'06 cycle.  And West side Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and State Senator Tom Duane took in over $11,000 combined from Durst and relatives.

Question is, besides the usual, more obvious real estate plays, what else is in it for Durst?  Turns out, potentially quite a few things...