NEW YORK STATE FOCUS: Blogs, 2009 Candidates, Groups and Events

Here are some articles worth reading:

The case against Bloomberg: Tsardom for Bloomie NOT a good idea

Upstate NY as The Silicon Valley for Alternative Energy

Election Reform In New York? Assemblymen Brennan, Lancman Introduce Bill, Ammendment

Bloomberg vs. Thompson on Bruce Ratner: Comptroller and possible mayoral candidate Bill Thompson is saying no more public money for greedy developer Bruce Ratner while Tsar Bloomberg is raising YOUR taxes and cutting jobs but letting rich Ratner dodge taxes.

Hate Crime on Long Island

Racist Right Wing Attack on Staten Island

A NYS Budget Calculator: Whole Categories Only, and No Plus Sign Available

Here's an interesting rundown of the polluters in Brooklyn from the Josh Skaller for City Council website. Con Edison - Hudson Ave Station, Gowanus Generating Station, Kings Plaza Total Energy Plant, American Sugar Refining Inc, Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Plant seem the worst polluters in Brooklyn. I think the fact that our air and water are being poisoned mostly by the energy generating stations in our neighborhoods shows how important conservation on our part and alternative energy solutions are to our own health and the quality of our neighborhoods. You can help by choosing to buy YOUR energy from all wind and small hydroelectric power through Con Ed. You will get your same Con Ed bill, and it costs only 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) more, which is partly offset by an elimination of the sales tax on the delivery portion of your utility bill. Joy and I have been doing it for at least three years now and we didn't really notice the slight increase. We saved far, far more money when we switched to compact fluorescent light bulbs, so the combination made us far less polluting and saved us money.

Massa, McMahon, Maffei prevail: NY State has three new Democratic Congressmen, and NYC has no remaining Republican Congressional Reps.

Democrats Win NY State Senate: Welcome Seantors Joseph Addabbo and Brian Foley

The Bloomberg Putsch has been rubber stamped by the NY City Council, leading to considerable outrage, particularly against Councilman Yasssky whose convoluted flip flopping disgusted many even in clubs like Independent Neighborhood Democrats which used to be one of his bastions of support. But what is even more disgusting were the thuggish tactics used by wannabe Tsar Bloomberg and his Director of the Gendarmes Christine Quinn. This complete surrender by most of the Democrats on the City Council led Kieth Olbremann to award them the Bronze Medal for Worst Person of the Day award.

New Yorkers not happy with Bloomberg's power grab. Funny how people object to having politicians ignore their votes.


NEW YORK BLOGGING:

The Albany Project gives excellent coverage of New York State politics.

The Daily Gotham covers both New York City (with a slight emphasis on Brooklyn) and New York State politics.

Reform NY is the blog of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

No Land Grab: News from the point of view of Brooklyn opposition to overdevelopment

On NY Turf is run by someone I know. Long overdue that I add his blog here. Contains political info, good map resources for NYC and discussions of development issues.


Let me highlight some excellent candidates running in New York in 2009:

Norm Siegel for Public Advocate
For those of you who live in NYC, let me introduce you to Norman Siegel, one of America's top Civil Rights Lawyers, is running for New York Public Advocate. Here's a Youtube video of him:



And here is Youtube footage of Norm Siegel and the NYC Coalition To Preserve Term Limits Press Conference:




Josh Skaller for City Council. A progressive who is coming in second in fundraising, Josh is considered a serious contender by several pragmatic allies I have talked to and has been endorsed by State Senator Eric Adams. Josh may well become the frontrunner if he keeps it up. Josh is a good friend of ours, a solid progressive, and about as honest as you can get. Josh will be one of my top priorities in 2009!


Here are a handful of Organizations worth checking out:

NY Citizens for Clean Elections: We are committed to passage of Clean Money Clean Election legislation in NYS that provides a non-partisan approach for full public funding of campaigns for all qualified candidates who refuse private money and abide by spending limits. We want to ensure that all Americans, regardless of wealth, have an equal voice in the political system and that qualified candidates are not discouraged from running because they do not have access to the money needed for a competitive campaign.

The Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats is a community-based Democratic club. CBID has fought for reform and progressive causes since 1968. As a Brooklyn-based Club, we have been instrumental in the election of many candidates for public office. Much of this success was a result of our question-and-answer forums with prospective candidates as well as our extensive on-the-street contact with our constituents.

Staunchly opposed to political corruption, we are proud of our independence and our commitment to progressive reform in city, state and national politics. We are a vehicle for citizen empowerment and making government more accountable to our neighborhoods.

We meet monthly, usually the fourth Thursday evening of the month in the basement of the Park Slope United Methodist Church, on the corner of 6th ave and 8th street, at 7:30pm. All are welcome.

New Kings Democrats (”NKD”) is a new, grassroots organization in Kings County (Brooklyn), New York whose primary mission is to recruit and prepare individuals to run for Kings County Democratic Committee. NKD hopes to achieve the goal of an inclusionary and participatory democracy by making it easy for individuals to run for local, elected office. NKD will serve as a training ground for individuals seeking higher office, and hopes to build and nurture a new group of Brooklyn Democratic leaders.

Stonewall Democrats of Western New York is the GLBT Democratic voice in WNY. Our mission is to advocate for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community within the Democratic Party and to encourage GLBT participation within the Democratic Party. Our membership includes representatives from State, County, and City government, and several Democratic committee members amongst the various County Committees in WNY.


DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA MEETINGS IN NY STATE:

Capital District of NY/GenDFA

Democracy for the Hudson-Mohawk Region

Democracy for the Hudson Valley

Mid-Hudson Progressive Alliance

dfaROCHESTER

Democracy For Westchester

Democracy for Long Island

Democracy For The Greater Glens Falls Area

North Country Democracy for America

Central New York DFA

Eastern Long Island Democracy for America

Democracy For Saratoga Springs

Kingston Democracy for America

Democracy For The Southern Adirondack/Tricounty Area

Democracy for Otsego and Delaware Counties

Philipstown for Democracy

DFA: Greene County

Livingston County for Democracy


DEMOCRACY FOR NYC MEETINGS:
First Wednesday of every month

Staten Island, Muddy Cup, 388 Van Duzer Street with hosts Al Dykes and Tracey Denton at 7pm

Upper West Side, The Parlour, 250 West 86th(btwn Broadway & West End), with host Merle McEldowney,7pm

West Village, Kettle of Fish, 59 Christopher St. (near 7thAve.) with host Abhishek Mistry, 7pm

Astoria, Queens, at Sanford Diner, 30-13 Broadway, with hosts Costa Constantinides and Jeremiah Frei-Pearson. Note: this Linkup will begin at 7:30.

Sunnyside, Queens, at The Grind, 39-24 Queens Blvd. in the back room, with host Dan Jacoby. Note: this Linkup will begin at 7:30.

Bayside, Queens, The First Edition, 41-08 Bell Blvd, right near the LIRR stop, with host Steve Behar of Democrats for New Politics, 7pm

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Wycoff Bennett Homestead, 1669East 22nd Street, 7pm with host Annette Mont


DRINKING LIBERALLY MEETINGS IN NY STATE:

Clifton Park, New York
* First Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm onward
* Old Dublin Inn, 130 Meyer Rd (Google maps is wrong, please contact me for directions.)
* Hosted by Chris Selkirk, cliftonpark (at) drinkingliberally.org

Ithaca, New York
* Every Wednesday, 6:30 pm onward
* Felicia's Atomic Lounge, 508 W State St
* Hosted by Joseph Cannon Murtagh, ithaca (at) drinkingliberally.org


New York City, New York:

The Original Drinking Liberally
* Every Thursday, 7:30 pm onward
* Rudy's, 627 9th Ave (between 44th and 45th)
* In the backyard, weather permitting
* Hosted by Justin Krebs, Matthew O'Neill and Katrina Baker, nyc (at) drinkingliberally.org

Drinking Liberally Steps Out
* Third Tuesday of each month, 7:00-9:00 pm
* XES Lounge, 157 W 24th St (@ 7th Avenue)
* In conjunction with the Stonewall Democrats of New York City www.sdnyc.org.
* Hosted by Matthew Carlin and Greg Rae, outnyc (at) drinkingliberally.org

Harlem
* Second Wednesday of each month), 6:30 pm onward
* Soundz Lounge, 3155 Broadway (between 123rd and 124th)
* Hosted by Yolanda (Shoshi) Shoshana, harlem (at) drinkingliberally.org

Park Slope
* Second Wednesday of each month, 7:30-10:00 pm
* Commonwealth, 497 5th Ave (at 12th Street)
* Hosted by Anthony Accurso, Emilie Harkin and Emily Farris, parkslope (at) drinkingliberally.org

Queens
* Fourth Wednesday of each month, 7:30 pm onward
* Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden, 29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11102 (group of young liberals taking up one lane)
* Hosted by Donald Graff, queens (at) drinkingliberally.org

Upper East Side
* Last Tuesday of each month, 7:30 pm onward
* Doc Watson's, 1490 2nd Ave (at 77th)
* Hosted by Matthew Bachiochi, ues (at) drinkingliberally.org

West Bronx
* First and third Friday of each month, 7:30 pm onward
* An Beal Bocht, 445 W 238th St (between Waldo and Greystone)
* 1 to 238th, turn left, straight on 238th, just past the top of the stairs
* Hosted by Jamin Sewell and Scott Kennedy, westbronx (at) drinkingliberally.org

Rochester, New York
* Every Thursday, 8:00-10:00 pm
* Monty's Korner, 355 East Ave
* Hosted by Tom Tucker and Tracy Logan, rochester (at) drinkingliberally.org

And then we have: Shooting Liberally
Tuesday, Feb 19
From your friends at Drinking Liberally comes the debut of SHOOTING LIBERALLY...

For the First Amendment enthusiast ready to move on to the Second. A social evening at the gun range including training & weapon rental.

For more info and to reserve your spot, contact: Stanley Sherman - maskarts (at) worldnet.att.net