Let Stossel Teach

It wasn't so long ago that we reported on Randi's Pavlovian response to John Stossel's "Stupid in America" segment on ABC's 20/20.

After ABC aired this controversial piece, Randi brought out the troops to bash Stossel and ABC. But remarkably, Stossel responded by going outdoors to face the angry mob. At the protest, he also accepted what was then a very loud invitation to teach for a week at a school of the UFT's choosing.

Did you notice all the chatter on TV about Donald Rumsfeld saying he didn't know what Condeleezia Rice was talkimg about? 

Neither did I but there it was in the Washington Post.         

One reason why nobody on TV was talking about it was because they were talking about the self-indulgent foolish actions of a liberal Democrat.

And that's why the Cynthia McKinney story is important.

Because this "progressive" who cares about poor people, who wants to end the war in Iraq put her personal demons ahead of all those issues she cares about.

The connection between the Yankees and the Bronx Filtration plant is not obvious.  Unless you think about it for about 60 seconds.  The shadow of the Bronx County Democratic Party, its agents, lawyers, etc., are hovering, not even so surreptitiously. What do they stand to gain?  It reminds me of what Plunkett called "honest graft."  Won't some reporter spend some time with this?  Ben:  you couldn't be that busy these days. There's a Pulitzer a-waiting.

It is surprising to me that this story has not really taken on more life.  State Senator Ada Smith was censured by the Senate and has lost those coveted "perks" that she had as a person in the Senate leadership.

The interesting part involves the Queens County Organization and its minions.  For so long, they have supported Smith and her antics, and have turned a deaf ear to those who were crying for change.  It begs the question - where is Denny Farrell, Thomas Manton, Gregory Meeks, Floyd Flake, the labor community and others?

Could it be that those involved enjoy having her around, or simply, they could care less about the community and progressive, sane leadership?

We know people like Anthony and Keith are still in other offices; Eva is running a charter school; Margarita finally got a job working for honorary lesbian Mike; Clara and Bill are running for state senate; unfortunately word is that Stan isn't in the best of health; Andrew Rasiej is wealthy and has his Personal Democracy thing; Norman is still a lawyer; I am friends with Brian Thomas Johnston—he's working on a short film he wrote. (I won't expand this to the council or other races (the list gets crazy) or to the Republicans (because I don't care).

But what happened to:

Last week in response to an entry of mine about Andrew Cuomo, someone wrote:

AGAIN this 1977 thing comes up. Why?

THINK FOR A MINUTE: Not one person in this whole wide world has ever kept a copy of any of those so said posters. How come? Wouldn't they be collector's items? And also different people who recollect seeing them have diff descriptions . It's another URBAN POLITICAL LEGEND.

I direct all to this Daily News column -

"Alas, there is still one big sore spot, and Cuomo raised it yesterday: signs that appeared on Queens lampposts in 1977, saying "Vote for Cuomo, not the homo." The issue threatened to derail Koch, who denied on TV he was gay. Koch believed the Cuomo camp was behind the signs, while Cuomo has always denied it. He said yesterday he thinks he knows who did it, but that there is no point in identifying the person now."

That's The Word

Today's a big day at the Council. A sold out crowd is anticipated in the Council Chambers as Members, lobbyists and Yankee fans anxiously await the Council's approval of the Yankee stadium deal.  And from what we hear on the proverbial street, la Speaker Quinn has no intention of disappointing.

Quinn has taken the not-so-unusual, Giffie-style-step of warning her rogue-est of Members - Barron, Avella and James, to be exact - that should they fail to fall in line with the Yankees deal that they might as well kiss their sweet pet projects good-bye.

Dateline Jerusalem. Via various satellite dishes around the world.   I just saw NY1 Monday's edition, where Scott Levenson (where does he get that tan?--in the same salon as Bob Dole and Jeff Klein?) was providing "objective commentary" about Andrew Cuomo and Mark Green and the Attorney General race.  He basically said that Cuomo had it wrapped up, and no one in history has ever won when they have had to petition to get on the ballot.  Did he disclose that he is working for Andrew?  Of course not.  (And "working" is used expansively.)  Memo to Bob Hardt:  this kind of thing won't wash.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, whose party has a much slimmer 35-27 hold on the Senate and faces a greater threat to holding the majority this fall, denied there will be raises this year.

"There has been no discussion of pay raises, other than for judges," Bruno said. "We're ruling it out. It's never been discussed."

 

The rumor continued that some guys arrested had nothing to do with the drug dealing going on. The rumors, at least part of them, were true; in an article you might have missed in the Times today was the story that "Police Say Focus in Club Raids Was Crime, Not Gay Clientele." I was struck by the defensive tone of the headline—does it say it all?

Since there has been a lot of talk recently about whether statewide Democratic candidates will get 25% of the vote at the State Committee or will have to petition and whether receiving the designation of the State Committee was worth anything, I thought it might valuable to look at the history of Statewide Democratic Primaries.

The history does not go back far. Statewide Primaries began in 1968. Up until then, each party’s State Committee chose candidates with voters having no direct say in the process.

The change continued the Committees having a role but not a decisive one. Each Committee would have a meeting (or convention). Candidates receiving 50% or more of the vote became the Party’s designated candidate. Any candidate receiving 25% or more could also run in the Primary. Others could submit petitions signed by enrolled Party members to vote. The original petition requirements were harsher than they are. But it is still a difficult task. Now candidates in the Democratic or Republican parties must submit at least 15,000 signatures, with at least 100 signatures from ½ of New York’s congressional districts.

New York's status as the nation's most prominent state where the major parties' are held hostage by the minor parties is coming under new scrutiny. As the Gubernatorial and other state-wide races begin to heat up, Democratic and Republican leaders are privately wringing their hands about the stranglehold over their nominating process by the Independence, Conservative and Working Families Parties. Legislation requiring a political party to nominate one of their own members only, and ending New York's tradition of cross-endorsements, may be in the offing.