Progressive Democrat Issue 124: THOUGHTS

For the next couple of months the newsletter will be pretty minimal. But I will do my best to keep it going.

First thing I want to mention is someone I recently met in NYC who I first heard about through John Kerry's new book. Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, was a guest at one of my local political meetings and she really rocks! I urge you all to check out Sustainable South Bronx not just because of the good work they do in NYC, but because I think their ideas and their model for environmental justice is applicable around the nation. Green jobs, parks, green roofs, organizing to preserve community...and she did it all in one of the poorest communities in America.

Second, I want to express my sadness at the passing of one of the founders and most prominent members of the progressive blogsphere: Steve Gilliard. I didn't know Steve Gilliard, but he was a big name in blogging when I was just barely poking around wondering what Daily Kos was all about. Two diaries on Daily Kos cover his death better than I can:

Steve Gilliard has died, by Rosebuddear

and

Steve Gilliard - R.I.P. by Meteor Blades

This photo from Campus Progress:


I once heard someone say of Gilliard an utmost complement: There are those who bullshit and those who don't and Steve was one of those who don't. To me, that is a great compliment in this world. I have a little bit more about him in the context of NYC politics below.

Here is this week's VERY SHORT newsletter (sorry, no time for local stuff).

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PROTESTING BUSH: Responding to Bush's Visit to New Jersey

STEVE GILLIARD SPEAKS: Comments on precedent-setting, corrupt development in Brooklyn

CANDIDATE AND ACTIVIST TRAINING IN INDIAN COUNTRY

Progressive Democrat Issue 124: PROTESTING BUSH

This last week, Bush came to New Jersey to raise money for Republicans in that state. Which is, of course, something that is part of his job. But, as someone who is pissed as HELL at the complete BULLSHIT of Bush's presidency, and the lies and incompetence of his presidency, I want to PROTEST anytime he comes close to my NYC home. He screwed NYC when he refused to pay attention to the warnings of 9/11, he screwed NYC when he lied about the toxicity of the WTC smoke plume, condemning many of our SURVIVING firefighters to early deaths, and he screwed NYC each and every time he exploited 9/11 for his Iraq fiasco while letting bin Laden go.

I am PISSED and I want to get back at him! So, when I heard about his little fundraising visit to New Jersey, I wished I could join in the protests, which I knew about early on and helped publicize in my own little way. But...My ability to go to neighboring states to protest is limited to about zero. So how does one protest Bush when one can't get to the protests? With money!

We are kicking ass this year in fundraising. We have put THE FEAR into the Republicans because we are rivalling them in their ONE SINGLE ADVANTANGE: fundraising. So, in honor of Bush's visit, I created an ACT BLUE PAGE for New Jersey Congressional seats, and gave the initial donation.

Now last year I was an early, WAY early, proponant of aiming for a sweep in my own New York State. People were skeptical at first, but in the end we won BIG in NY. Sure, we didn't sweep, but we won seats we never expeceted to win...though I started to expect we would win them before most people did. And people are predicting we have a shot at winning MORE NY State seats.

Well, I am saying we can do for NJ in 2008 what we did for NY State in 2006: ROUTE the Republicans. I said it early in NY and was proven right. I am now saying it early for NJ...and expect to be proven wrong but intend to try just as hard as I did for NY.

At a bare minimum we need to fight damned hard for NJ-5 and NJ-7. Ideally we should fight for each and every NJ Congressional seat. And I choose to honor Bush's visit to NJ as my excuse to initiate my SWEEP NJ effort in the hopes that it will be as successful as my "Sweep NY State" effort in 2006. Remember that early money can make the difference!

Please donate. Please donate to say "Drop dead" to Bush. Please donate in memory of those who died in 9/11 because of Bush's failure to act on clear warnings. Pease donate because NOW is the time to show the right wing fanatics that their days are numbered.

Thank you!

Click here to go back to THOUGHTS section and Table of Contents for this issue.

Progressive Democrat Issue 124: STEVE GILLIARD ON DEVELOPMENT IN NYC

Was reminded of this by Develop, Don't Destroy Brooklyn.
I had forgotten that Steve Gilliard wrote a great piece on a topic that affects me directly: the extremely corrupt Atlantic Yards development plan for Brooklyn, NY. I, and others at Daily Gotham, have written extensively about this subject and its pervassive influence on Brooklyn politics...and its affect on all of NYC as well as its implications on the nation. But Steve Gilliard summed up a major aspect of the project and why it was so insane much better than I ever could. This is only part of a long article he wrote for his blog, The News Blog:

Forest City Ratner basically told working class black people that they would get jobs and shiny new homes. Which is probably not going to happen.

Atlantic Yards is overscale, ugly and will destroy the character of the neighborhood. But more importantly, those jobs will not materialize, because they never do. Unless there are firm committments, nothing happens...

Lets understand something. Most of the people Ratner bougtht off want jobs and have ZERO power to enforce any deal...

This is a point NOT ONE SINGLE RATNER SUPPORTER HAS EVER ADDRESSED: holding Ratner ACCOUNTABLE for his promises. One of the few politicians who nominally supports Ratner's project who has advocated enforcement of his promises is David Yassky. The white-dominated media, the City Council, Marty Markowitz, etc. have in no way addressed how these bright, shiny promises of jobs and housing for working class New Yorkers will be guaranteed.

Now, about the stadium: what an insane idea.

No one in New York cares about the Nets. Their fan base is in Jersey. Their fans will drive in.
Atlantic Avenue with massive traffic jams three nights a week. Drunk Nets fans roaming the streets, filling bars. Remember, unlike Knick fans, Nets fans drive. They aren't going to stop.

A limited use building, for a team most Brooklynites will root against, filling the streets with traffic.

The Jets made the same promise, but the insanity of their plan was obvious. Here, Ratner went to people without the resources to check his promises and offered them money and support. The people who had the resources opposed the plan or it's scale.

Why do you need this monstrosity in downtown Brooklyn? Who does it serve? The five Nets fans in Brooklyn? Or rich developers, gullible "community activists" and even more gullible newspaper columnists.

One place where I differ with Steve here is that there were people both with the resources and the moral responsibility to check his promises AND THEY DIDN'T: these people are the media, the Empire State Development Corporation and our elected officials. These white dominated groups side with Ratner DESPITE knowing full well that he is lying to the city and they are facillitating his project in every way they can...even to the point of lying themselves. The average New Yorker is footing the bill, buying the land for Ratner, will suffer large rate increases for energy (according to Con Ed), will pay higher taxes while Ratner gets tax breaks, will suffer more sewage overflows, more traffic jams, more crowded schools, worse fire house coverage, higher insurance rates, etc...and we have no guarantee that there will be more jobs or housing for working class New Yorkers.

And Atlantic Yards affects the entire nation because it represents a ground breaking misuse of eminent domain whreby the state can evict (and IS EVICTING) private property owners to give the land to another private property owner for his own profit. This will be a precedent that will be used by developers and corrupt politicians that bow to their every desire to take land on a whim based on vague and ultimately unfulfilled promises of jobs and affordable housing. These promises are even now being backed off from before ground is even broken.

New Yorkers are being screwed. Screwed by Ratner, screwed by the media, screwed by our City Council, screwed by the mayor, screwed by the Empire State Development Corporation, and screwed by our elected officials from top to bottom. And it is something that will haunt us for a century to come. Thanks Steve Gilliard for telling it like it is, and thanks to DDDB for reminding us.

Click here to go back to THOUGHTS section and Table of Contents for this issue.

Progressive Democrat Issue 124: CANDIDATE AND ACTIVIST TRAINING IN INDIAN COUNTRY

On Culture Kitchen I recently wrote about the Indigenous Democratic Network (INDN's) Prez on the Rez project trying to bring together voters from Indian Country with our Democratic candidates for President.

Another project of theirs is training of candidates and activists who want to work on campaigns. These kind of training camps have been quite successful not just for INDN but for other groups like Progressive Majority and Democracy for America. Here is a letter I got from INDN as well as a flyer for their Campaign Camp 2007:

Campaign Camp is the country's only training seminar to train American Indians in the art of political campaigning - whether as a candidate or as campaign staff. This year, Campaign Camp will be held August 20 - 25 on the reservation of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, near Palm Springs, California.

The training will include sessions on fundraising, targeting, direct mail, message, field organizing, canvassing and phone banks, using a voter file, working with tribes, local and state parties, building a political resume and GOTV, to name just some of the topics covered. Participants will be trained by the best and brightest campaign professionals in the country, and will hear speeches from political leaders and personalities throughout the week.

Our first Campaign Camp was hosted in October 2005 by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Minnesota and was hugely successful in recruiting and training winning candidates. The camp was attended by the nation's best and brightest campaign professionals to prepare 109 people from 21 states and 50 Indian Nations to work on campaigns and run for public office. Support for the conference was astounding, with presentations by DNC Chair Governor Howard Dean, radio personality Al Franken, and 3 members of Congress - Stephanie Herseth (D-SD), Mike Honda (D-CA), and Jim Oberstar (D-MN).

[Below] is a flyer that we urge you to post on your website and/or blog and to distribute to people you think might be interested. The application to attend Campaign Camp can be found on our website.

Application and registration are due by June 15. We have limited funds available to provide scholarships to some attendees, and space is limited, so we encourage you and your peers to apply early. I look forward to seeing you there!

Click here to go back to THOUGHTS section and Table of Contents for this issue.