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No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

David Pechefsky is the Green Party's Candidate for City Council District 39

A big field of good candidates (all white guys) to fill Bill de Blasio's City Council seat in the 39th District just got bigger.

David Pechefsky, the Green Party Candidate for City Council District 39 (and one of the Park Slope 100) just invited me, you and anybody to a kick-off party for his campaign with suggested donation prices of $25-$175 at Barbes on Friday, March 27th from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. That's 376 Ninth Street near Sixth Avenue.

In today's email blast, he opens with: "Interested in a greener, more equitable, more democratic city?"

I'm not sure if you have to make a donation to take a look-see at the candidate. Donation is suggested not mandatory. If you want to RSVP for the event, email Jonathan@pechefskyforcitycouncil.com

Coming Soon: OTBKB's Breakfast-of-Candidates Series

Soon I will begin publishing my stories about my breakfasts with all the city council candidates in the 39th District.

In these posts, I hope to convey a palpable sense of who these men are as people and politicians. I want to find out what they believe in, what they're like to have breakfast with, how they grew up, what matters to them and whether or not they're suited to be in the City Council.

So far I've had breakfast with Brad Lander and Craig Hammerman and a lunchtime coffee with Bob Zuckerman; I am in the process of scheduling breakfasts with Josh Skaller (who I met the other day at a Meet-the-Candidate private party), John Heyer and Gary Reilly.

And is Steven Di Brenza actually running?

And now for some breaking news:  David Pechefsky, the Green Party Candidate for City Council District 38, just invited me, you and everybody to a kick off party for his campaign with a suggested donation prices of $25-$175 at Barbes on Friday, March 27th from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. That's 376 Ninth Street near Sixth Avenue.

So, hey, David: when do you wanna have breakfast. There's no way around it.

Some of the City Council Candidates pictured left to right: Bob Zuckerman, Josh Skaller, Brad Lander, Craig Hammerman, Gary Reilly, Johy Heyer and Gary Reilly.  Not pictured: Steve Di Brienza and David Pechefsky.

Bill de Blasio Raised Two Million Dollars for Public Advocate Campaign

Here's the press release statement from Council Member Bill de Blasio from the 39th district who is running for NYC's Public Advocate, the position currently held by Betsy Gotbaum.

"With 6 months left to go, our campaign has already passed the halfway mark. With this filing, we have raised a total of nearly $2 million with matching funds, a huge milestone. Our filing for this period put a large dent in the gap, bringing in over $300,000 with matching funds,” said Councilmember Bill de Blasio.

Rep. Anthony Weiner On The Fence About Mayoral Run

The New York Times reports that Brooklyn congressman Anthony Wiener may not run for mayor against incumbent Mike Bloomberg, who re-engineereed the city’s term limits law makien it possible for him to run for a third term. Weiner announced yesterday that he is going to take a wait-and-see approach and won't make an announcement until late spring.

After delivering seemingly ironclad vows that he would run for mayor, Representative Anthony D. Weiner cast serious doubt on his candidacy on Wednesday, telling supporters that he would not decide whether to enter the race until late spring

Representative Anthony D. Weiner, who has raised about $6.6 million for a mayoral race, said Wednesday that he would decide in May whether to run.

His sudden — and very public — ambivalence could significantly reshape the campaign. Mr. Weiner, 44, a Democratic congressman, tireless political street-fighter and dogged critic Michael R. Bloomberg. Bloomberg has been considered a threat to the mayor’s re-election.

If he leaves the field, what many had expected to be a spirited Democratic primary could dissolve into a placid affair, with William C. Thompson Jr,  the city comptroller, easily winning the nomination in the fall.

deBlasio to Appear with Parents, Children and Day Care Advocates

Councilmember Bill de Blasio wants the city to explain its plan to move 3000 5-year-olds from day care to public school.

Tomorrow, he will stand with a large crowd of parents, children and day care advocates to support low incomeparents’ choice to send their children to child care centers instead
of public schools.

Afterwards, there will be a joint hearing of the General Welfare and Education Committees to demand the City explain its plan to move over 3,000 five year olds from day care to public school

Press Conference
12:00PM, Thursday March 5
City Hall Steps

General Welfare and Education Hearing
1:00PM, Thursday March 5
250 Broadway, 16th floor (bring photo ID)

The Candidate Blogs: Brad Lander on Julian Brennan

Brad Lander is running for City Council; he's the so-called front-runner if you can be a front-runner nine months before the primary.

Then again, Brad has more money than the other capable candidates in the race, including Josh Skaller and Craig Hammerman. All are hoping to replace Bill deBlasio, who is running for Public Advocate. I'm set to interview Brad tomorrow about his perspective on things,which I am looking forward to.

I've been exploring his website and I see that's he's got a blog. I found this story interesting. It confirms my sense that personal blogging can bring a candidate to life.

Last night, I was honored to attend a memorial service at the Prospect Park Picnic House for Marine Lance Corporal Julian Brennan.  Julian grew up on 15th Street in Park Slope.  He was 25 when he was killed in Afghanistan last week.

The event was heartwrenching, of course.  It was impossible not to cry while listening to his friends talk about how Julian made them laugh ... or while reading the note he wrote to his mom for Christmas in 2005, wishing that he could be 5 years old again, so she could cradle his head in her arms.

But there was also tremendous inspiration, both in Julian's life, and in how his parents are responding to their almost unimaginable tragedy. Julian was a remarkable person, a gifted actor, who felt a call to service at the funeral for his grandfather, Marine who fought in WWII.  "The only way I think I can describe myself,” he wrote, “is as a guy who will go out of his way to make someone laugh, write a great song, find a reason to dance, and watch the sun rise every chance he gets."

One of the most remarkable things about Julian – and about the Brennan family – is how they combine the deepest ideals of service from both older and newer parts of our neighborhood.  Julian followed his Irish Catholic grandfather James into the Marines, feeling that after September 11th he had a duty to fight for the ideals and the security of our country.  And he also followed his father Bill Brennan, a musician and actor who performs kids music (he appears on one Park Slope Parents CD), and who played a song of forgiveness and healing at the memorial service.

Too often in our neighborhood, it seems as if these very different ideals might exist in neighboring houses on a block in the Slope or Windsor Terrace or Carroll Gardens, but that they are still two different cultures, sometimes even worlds apart.  Julian and his family's example reminds us that they can and should go together -- that they are merely different ways of serving something bigger than yourself.

In a remarkable act of compassion, his parents Bill and Thya Brennan are asking us to make contributions in Julian’s memory to the Central Asia Institute, at www.ikat.org.  CAI’s mission is to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in the remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Please consider a donation in Julian's memory to:

Central Asia Institute
P.O. Box 7209
Bozeman, MT 59771  
In memo line, please write: Julian Brennan

Please help the Brennans to make a deep and abiding blessing of Julian’s life and memory.

The Race for Public Advocate: Mark Green Wants His Job Back

Today Mark Green announced that he's putting his hat in—again—for the job of public advocate. The job is currently held by Betsy Gotbaum.

Other candidates in the race include civil liberties attorney Norman Siegel and City Council members Eric Gioia, Bill de Blasio and John Liu. deBlasio sent out a statement this morning:

"I am running for Public Advocate because I believe we need an independent presence in City Hall, fighting for all New Yorkers who do not have a voice. I have known Mark Green for many years and have a great deal of respect for him. I look forward to an engaging debate with all of the candidates over the next several months about the best ways to ensure every New Yorker is heard in this time of economic crisis.

600 Attend Continue the Change Service Fair

600 people attended Sunday's Brooklyn for Barack's "Continue the Change Service Fair" at Union Temple. More than 65 local nonprofits, charities and advocacy group came together to promote volunteer opportunities, including sewing new clothes for women at domestic violence shelters to stocking shelves at a local food bank, from mentoring a child to working with abused animals.

Organizers hope that the fair provides former campaign volunteers with opportunities to make a positive difference close to home.

Anyone out there who was at the fair want to make a comment?

Illustration by Antar Dayal

Sun at Union Temple: Continue the Change Service Fair

On Sunday, Feb. 8, massive volunteer fair will unite grassroots supporters with local nonprofits and charities

Hundreds of Brooklynites who volunteered for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign will join together this Sunday, Feb. 8., to make sure change comes right to their own backyard.

On Sunday, more than 65 local nonprofits, charities and advocacy groups will take part in the first-ever “Continue the Change Service Fair.” Organized by the grassroots group Brooklyn for Barack and the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, the volunteer fair will seek to harness the incredible energy sparked by the Obama campaign.

From sewing new clothes for women at domestic violence shelters to stocking shelves at a local food bank, from mentoring a child to working with abused animals, the volunteer fair will provide former campaign volunteers with countless opportunities to make a positive difference close to home.

“The election was just the beginning,” Brooklyn for Barack co-founder Jordan Thomas said. “This campaign was not just about bringing change to Washington, but bringing it to Brooklyn and the rest of New York, too. It is up to us to make the change real.”

What: Continue the Change Service Fair

When: Sunday, Feb. 8, 2 to 6 p.m.
Where: Union Temple, 17 Eastern Parkway (at Grand Army Plaza) 3rd Floor ballroom, Brooklyn
Cost: Free, but a box of dried pasta for Union Temple’s food drive would be appreciated

To RSVP, please email continuethechange@gmail.com or call 718-757-8572

Participating organizations include the Arab-American Family Support Center, Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger, HousingWorks, Marriage Equality New York, New York Aquarium, Sue Rock Originals Everyone, Transportation Alternatives, Oxfam, the Women's Prison Association and more than 50 others. The fair will also include roundtables on Local Environmental Activism, Using Technology to Monitor and Influence the Legislative Process, Health Care, Voting Rights and Food Justice. In addition, parents are encouraged to bring their kids for a “make-and-take” craft table, sponsored by Materials for the Art

illustration by David Choe

Feb 8: Brooklyn for Barack "Continue the Change Service Fair"

I thought this sounded like a cool idea.

Brooklyn – Change in Washington may have begun in the voting booth, but hundreds of Brooklynites who volunteered for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign are determined to make sure change comes right to their own backyard, too.

On Feb. 8, more than 65 local nonprofits, charities and advocacy groups will join together for the first-ever “Continue the Change Service Fair.” Organized by the grassroots Brooklyn for Barack and the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, the volunteer fair will seek to harness the incredible energy sparked by the Obama campaign.

From stocking shelves at a local food bank to sewing new clothes for women at domestic violence shelters, from working with abused animals to mentoring a child, the volunteer fair will provide former campaign volunteers with countless opportunities to make a positive difference close to home.

“The election was just the beginning,” Brooklyn for Barack co-founder Jordan Thomas said. “This campaign was not just about bringing change to Washington, but bringing it to Brooklyn, too. It is up to us to make the change real.”

What: Continue the Change Service Fair

When: Sunday, Feb. 8, 2 to 6 p.m.
Where: Union Temple, 17 Eastern Parkway (at Grand Army Plaza) 3rd Floor ballroom
Cost: Free, but a box of dried pasta for Union Temple’s food drive would be appreciated

To RSVP, please email continuethechange@gmail.com or call 718-757-8572

Participating organizations include the Arab-American Family Support Center, Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger, HousingWorks, Marriage Equality New York, New York Aquarium, Sue Rock Originals Everyone, Transportation Alternatives, Oxfam, the Women's Prison Association and more than 50 others. The fair will also include roundtables on Local Environmental Activism, Using Technology to Monitor and Influence the Legislative Process, Health Care, Voting Rights and Food Justice. In addition, parents are encouraged to bring their kids for a “make-and-take” craft table, sponsored by Materials for the Arts.

Paterson Picks US Representative Gillibrand For Senate

From WNYC:

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Gov. David Paterson has picked Democratic U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill New York's vacant U.S. Senate seat, an aide to the governor said early Friday, a day after Caroline Kennedy abruptly withdrew from consideration.

Gillibrand, a second-term lawmaker from upstate New York, will be named to fill the seat vacated when Hillary Rodham Clinton resigned to become secretary of state in the Obama administration, the aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity because an announcement hadn't been made. An announcement was scheduled for later Friday.

That Sort of Day

Photo by friend of OTBKB Sheva Fruitman

Text from DC: Really Cold, Very Excited

My friend Betsy is in Washington for the inauguration. She'll be texting me all day:

On the Metro heading to the mall. Train full but stations along the way aren't packed. Really cold. Very excited. Getting off now. More later...

Craig Hammerman Throws in His Hat for de Blasio's City Council Seat

Craig Hammerman is running for Bill de Blasio's city council seat (Bill is running for Public Advocate). He sent this around today:

WE'RE TAKING IT BACK!

 

I've spent nearly two decades as an appointed City official working to organize, support and empower the communities of my district.

I've been holding government's feet to the fire and delivering projects and programs in an unprecedented and exciting period of growth and change.

And I've been transforming the neighborhoods of my district into the hottest destinations in the City of New York for people to live, work and visit!

Great challenges lie ahead.

 

Grassroots democracy and our community's values are increasingly under attack from powerful special interests and out-of-touch politicians from the national to the local level.

 

And, in what will be a seasoned City Council in 2010, we'll need to have strong, experienced representation to get our fair share from government, for our voices to be heard.

With less than 9 months until the 2009 New York City Primary, we're ramping up our grassroots campaign for New York City Council's 39th District being vacated by Bill de Blasio.

In 2008 we took back our nation;

In 2009 we're taking back our community!

There will be a kick-off reception to meet the candidate:

Thursday, January 29, 2009
6:30pm-9:30pm

at Magnolia Restaurant
486 6th Avenue
(at 12th Street)
Brooklyn, New York 11215

Inauguration Party at Community Bookstore

The Community Bookstore is having an inauguration party. Here's the email from Catherine.

No plans for inauguration day?  Come on over to our place!  It'll be completely ad hoc and according to the whims and wants of those of you who scuttle over here, but here's what we've got in mind…

To begin with, who needs a TV?  Around 10am we'll rig up ye old digital projector (the swearing-in starts at 12), and stream video feed from somewhere like Democracy Now, the AP, or the New York Times (Decision to be made by those in attendance (We'll take a vote. Ha!)).

Bring the kids, bring the dog, and maybe bring a snack to share? We'll load up on eatables from a few of our favorite local shops (D'vine Taste, Blue Apron (Ooh, should we have sweets, too? From Cousin John's or Sweet Melissa? Oh! I'm excited already.))  And if the weather's right, we'll brew up some mulled wine in the crock pot.

Which brings us to the evening.  I suspect we might just feel like drinking a toast (or two), and would love for you to join us.  The wearing of ball gowns is of course optional,  but strongly encouraged for everyone, of whatever gender, race or political orientation, whenever possible (weather permitting).

Oral Arguments in Term Limits Lawsuit Begin on Monday, January 5th; Media Availability Following Court Appearance

Oral arguments on the merits of the Term Limits lawsuit will begin this Monday, January 5th, at 4:30pm.

This diverse coalition of local elected officials, candidates, good-government groups, and voters filed the lawsuit in November to challenge the term limits extension that was passed by the City Council and signed into law by Mayor Bloomberg this fall. The plaintiffs seek to invalidate the law, and further seek the court's declaration that a fundamental change in the City's term-limits law, such as the extension enacted by the Council and the Mayor, requires a public referendum. The case has been assigned to Judge Sifton in the Eastern District. The judge has set an aggressive schedule for moving the case forward, and has also rejected the City's request to transfer the Term Limits case to the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, after finding that combining the cases in the Southern District would not save any resources or serve the interests of justice, as the City had claimed.

Term Limits Law Suit Filed by Councilwoman Tish James and Others

The complaint filed yesterday states:

“Allowing a self-interested mayor and City Council to dismiss the results of two recent referenda undermines the integrity of the voting process, effectively nullifies the constitutionally protected right to vote, and perniciously chills political speech by sending the unavoidable message that the democratic exercises of initiatives and referenda can be disregarded by public officials."

Councilmember Bill de Blasio released the following statement on Monday about the filing of a lawsuit challenging the newly enacted law to extend term limits to three consecutive terms for New York City elected officials:

"One week ago, the Mayor enacted his term limits bill into law, officially signing away the votes and voices of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. Public outrage at this move, made by a handful of politicians to circumvent the democratic process, has been blatantly disregarded. The people will long remember the events of the past few weeks, and they will be rightfully unforgiving.

"Today marks an important next step in our fight to restore democracy in New York City. All voters have a constitutional right to have a meaningful vote on term limits; one that cannot be overturned at the drop of a hat by a self-interested few. I have pledged to my constituents and to all New Yorkers to continue fighting to restore public participation in this process. Today we took this matter to court to ensure that the voices of the people are heard."

Bill and Tish: Term Limits Law Suit To Be Announced Today

I got this press release from Bill de Blasio and Tish James about their press conference today:

Councilmembers Bill de Blasio and Letitia James, joined by Comptroller Bill Thompson, attorney Randy Mastro, and other elected officials, will hold a press conference on last week's term limits vote. Last Thursday, the Council voted 29-22 to extend term limits to three consecutive terms for City elected officials. State law, local law, and voting rights guaranteed under the US Constitution, however, require that a mandatory referendum be held on this issue.

Councilmembers de Blasio and James have authorized their lawyers to prepare a lawsuit to challenge the legality of changing voter-ratified term limits by legislation. The two Councilmembers have also authorized their lawyers to review the legal infirmities and adverse impacts on minority participation that will result from this major change by legislation to the local electoral system, and to continue to pursue claims that the vote blatantly violated local conflict of interest laws.

The Where and When

Councilmembers Bill de Blasio and Letitia James; Comptroller Bill Thompson; Randy Mastro; Other elected officials
12:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 29^th
City Hall Steps

Brooklyn Optimist is Quivering with Rage Over Term Limits Vote

Here's an excerpt from the Brooklyn Optimist:

To say that I am appalled at yesterday's Council vote is to grossly understate my reaction. Last night, I was indignant. This morning, I woke up quivering with rage.

After sitting through the Brooklyn Democratic County Committee meeting last month, I felt certain that this farce would be the most ridiculous political theater of the year. But, leave it to the New York City Council to come storming back a mere month later with a production so well-orchestrated and rehearsed that it deserved Broadway's most ostentatious marquee.

At least, the Brooklyn Democratic County Committee meeting had no pretension. All of our electeds, except Charles Barron, dutifully read through the script in a homogenous monotone that laid plain the emptiness of our faux democracy. To his credit, the evening's chair Marty Connor practically admitted that our attendance was all just for show.

City Council's De Blasio and James: Let Voters Decide About Term Limits

Yesterday I received this press release from the offices of De Blasio and Tish James about the term limit controversy:

Today, Councilmembers Letitia James and Bill de Blasio, and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum held a town hall to allow community members to voice their opinions on the Mayor's legislation to extend term limits. The Council held nearly twenty hours of hearings this week on this issue. New Yorkers who signed up to speak had to wait for hours, and many were no longer present when their names were finally called.

"Voters have made the decision to enact and uphold term limits; let's not engage in runaround democracy.  8.2 million people always trumps 51 members, and the Mayor's proposal is in clear violation of the rights of voters," said Councilmember Letitia James.

"The Mayor's blatant attempts to circumvent democracy and keep voters out of the process continued at this week's hearings. We are here today to ensure that all New Yorkers have a chance to voice their opinions on this important issue. There is absolutely still time to hold a referendum on extending term limits, and the legislation that Councilmember James and I have introduced ensures that the voters will be heard," said Councilmember Bill de Blasio.

Multiple pieces of legislation were heard this week. The Mayor presented his own bill to extend term limits for elected officials from two to three terms by Council vote. The Council also considered legislation by Councilmembers de Blasio and James that calls for the creation of a Charter Review Commission that would examine the issue of extending term limits, and would hold public hearings and a referendum in the spring. The two Council hearings this week at City Hall provided the only opportunity for the public to voice its concerns over the Mayor's legislation, thereby excluding many working New Yorkers and those who live in the outer boroughs.

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said, "This is not about term limits, it's not about the job the mayor has done, and it's also not about continuity during a financial crisis. It's about whether or not, in a democracy, it is okay to disregard people's votes. While I can only support extending or changing term limits through a public vote, at the very least, the Council must prolong any vote until public hearings can be held in all five boroughs. That's why we're here today, to give as many New Yorkers as possible an opportunity to have their voices heard."

City Hall Press Conference Tomorrow

I'm like David Yassky, I haven't made up my mind. But it seems like a lot of people have and they're against changing the term limits law. There's a rally on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Read the Brooklyn Optimist and keep up with the term limits news and more.

 

WHAT: Elected Members of the Kings County Democratic County Committee and their constituents will be joined by Brooklyn Councilwoman Letitia James to voice their outrage over the Mayor and City Council's proposed legislative change to New York City's term limits law.

 

WHERE: The steps of City Hall in Manhattan

 

DATE: Tuesday, October 21^st, 2008

 

TIME: 1 p.m.

And One More Thing You Can Do for Obama

I just got this note from Art Obama organizer David Konigsberg about one more thing you can do to help Barack Obama go to the White House. Yo can support a band of volunteers that is heading for the swing state of Virginia and going door-to-door in a get-out-the-vote-effort!

Some of you know Neil Goldberg (an artObama contributor),  but many of you do not.  Suffice  it to say that Neil is not only one of the best artists I know, but also among the most deeply committed to moving this country in a progressive direction.   An astute activist and organizer, Neil is always ready to join the fight.  Today, that fight is in Virginia, a state that twice voted for George Bush, but one that has since sent Jim Webb to the Senate and is now leaning Democratic.

As Neil has repeatedly pointed out, this is no time to relax, no matter what the polls say. This is especially true in states like Virginia that have been in Republican hands for so long.  That's why Neil and a band of volunteers are joining the campaign's get-out-the-vote effort in  Richmond, and why you (if you've got anything left to give) might think about giving some time--or, in lieu of that, helping Neil do it for you.

From Neil:

Beyond voting yourself, going door-to-door in a swing state is the single most important thing you can do in this election, period. Polls aside, the Obama campaign believes it will lose without a massive get out the vote effort. To find out how to volunteer, go to http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/PABorder

If you absolutely cannot volunteer, please consider sponsoring those of us who can. At least eight of us are going to the crucial swing state of Virginia for the five days leading up to election day. Between transportation, housing and other expenses we're estimating that the trip will cost about $300 per person.

If you're interested in contributing any amount directly, please email me and I will let you know how.

Thanks for giving this your consideration. May we be celebrating an Obama victory in 20ish days!

Best,
Neil

Contact for Neil: neil(at)neilgoldberg(dot)com

Phone Banking at Brooklyn for Barack on Fulton Street

Brooklyn for Barack is opening its headquarters TOMORROW (Tuesday) night for the final
sprint to the finish. They're having phone banking there from about 10 am until 8
pm every day through the election.

The grassroots office is now open at Vanguard Independent Democrat Club,
located at 1424 Fulton St.

The kick-off Open House is tomorrow evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. We're expecting a couple hundred volunteers to stop in during the next two weeks.

The Where and When

Brooklyn for Barack
Vanuard Independent Democrat Club
1424 Fulton Street
From 10 am until 8 p.m. every day through the election

Report From Berlin: When Obama Spoke, Everyone Listened

A longtime friend and fellow Park Sloper was in Berlin yesterday and went with her husband and two daughters to hear Obama speak. Here is what she had to say about this historic event in that most historic city.

All four of us rode our bikes to see Obama speak at the Siegesaule—the Prussian victory monument that was deemed such an inappropriate place to speak.  He tried to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, but the Prime Minister, Angela Merkel, and others, decided it was inappropriate to have a candidate speak in a place where only elected officials have gone before.

The Victory monument faces the Brandenberg Gate—between the two structures, there is a street called the Strasse17Juni named to commemorate the uprising of the East Berliners on 17 June 1953.   This street lines the side of the Tiergarten, a large tree-filled park, nearly a forest, in the middle of Berlin.  The Central Park of this city.  (or should I say, the Prospect Park of Berlin).  People came teeming through the park to reach this wide boulevard, one of the widest streets in all Berlin (a city which claims the widest boulevards in Europe) and by the time we got there, you could no longer squeeze into the part that was in front of the Siegesaule.  It was full by 4pm—the speech was at 7pm.  No bikes were allowed on the streets, so we locked ours to a tree—along with thousands of other bikes—and walked through the tree-filled park until we were nearly at the Gate.  We forced our way onto this end of the Strasse 17 Juni and realized that we wouldn’t even be able to see one of the two enormous screens that were set up to give a view of the Man.

But we were glad to be there—more fun to hear his voice ringing out over Berlin, than to see his face in the Close-up of a newscast.

Obama was asked to speak from the side of the monument that faces the Brandenberg Gate—therefore, when the cameras focused on him, the gate would NOT be in the background.  Therefore, Germany could not be said to be using their famous backdrop to support a presidential candidate—especially one running against the party of the president in office. Good luck.  A poll yesterday showed that nearly 70% of Germans support Obama. That much more pathetic when

McCain said he’d like to speak in Berlin too, but only AFTER he’s president.  Hah!

And who needs the Brandenberg Gate anyway?  This power of the location was everywhere evident without the cliched backdrop.  It was a real Berlin location—steeped not only in history—but in so many histories—Prussian, World War II, the Cold War—triumph and defeat—good and evil.  This was not lost on our well-educated Obama of course, and his speech as you heard, often referred to the spirit of Berlin, the quest for Freedom, the American pilots who dropped food during the Berlin blockade—he braided this history artfully into the present—leading up to the need for partnership. The great partnership of the Luftbrucke—the need for partnership between Europe and America today.

Of course, it’s all more complicated than that.  Of course, after WWII Germans were our despised enemies until the Communists took their place.  But once they accepted defeat and became our allies in the cold war,  the evil Germans were transformed into civilian victims.

But Obama knows all this, I’m sure—and just as he smoothed over the last 60-70 years, so he also moderated his criticism of America.  But Berliners are not only full of spirit, they’re also a practical people—why else would they ride their bikes everywhere—and they know he has to moderate the rhetoric when speaking in a foreign land.  He mentioned ending the war—but he didn’t say the war was a mistake—he said America’s not perfect, but that we always strive to be better.  And so on.

SO: between the Prussian War Memorial and the Gate-where this street named for anti-Communist protest lies—We stood along with roughly 200,000 people—mostly Germans, mostly young, but we also heard languages from all over the world—including English.  It was said that many Americans living in other parts of Germany came to Berlin to hear him.  It was also said that many people from the eastern European countries came to Berlin to hear him.  It’s notable that Obama spoke in English and that most Germans could understand him.  That’s a feature of this country—how well they all speak English.

Mostly young people, but also many old ones, many children and babies.  They were selling beer and bratwurst and people came to juggle and sing and enjoy.  I felt like I should be carrying a sign that said “Make Love Not War.”  But when Obama spoke, everyone listened.  They clapped often and not only when he brought up the spirit of Berliners.  The German radio later reported that his speech was a great success.

I was especially happy to be there with my daughters and wondered if they’d remember this day the way I remember the peace marches my mother took me to when I was a kid. Of course, it all depends on what happens.  If Obama wins and fulfills even half the promise we expect—if he wins and ends this dark time in American politics, if he wins and does something, anything about the environment or the war, if one can come to Berlin, as we often do, and stop being embarrassed to be living in a country run by buffoons, if, in fact, they’ll be able to look back and say that they were in Berlin at the Siegesaule and that they had a good feeling, some kind of sense that things might, finally, change for the better.

We walked back through the Tiergarten with hundreds of others, through this typically German park which is part wild forest and part manicured gardens and retrieved our bikes, and rode home.

Our phone rang off the hook from Berlin friends who’d either been there too, or watched him on television.  It’s a town obsessed with politics—even and especially American politics.  Everyone wanted to know what we thought and we spent the night going over his speech, the reactions (people here were watching CNN and German news at the same time).  I liked his speech, and so did most of our friends.  It’s a bit too much like a preacher, especially for the low-key Germans, but they accepted that too.  They admire and even envy the emotion that this American candidate can project.   There’s a certain kind of theater that no German politician could ever create, and Obama creates that. I know he always manages to move me.  And it was doubly moving to see it along with so many other people, to confirm that his voice has stretched across the ocean and moved so many Europeans.  This guy certainly has something and that I think that something is desperately needed in the White House.

Photo found on Flickr, that global village of photography

YVETTE CLARKE A SUPERDELEGATE FOR HILLARY

I may be hours from Brooklyn but I'm still on top of the Brooklyn news. This story arrived in my in-box and I had to post. Luckily, the hotel where I am staying has an Internet connection (for a fee). OSFO is taking a break from the pool so I had a few minutes to blog this.

Seems that Yveltte Clarke has announced that she plans to use her superdelegate vote for Hillary Clinton at the convention despite the face that Barack Obama was a big winner in her district.

A Prospect Lefferts Garden blog had a post that I thought might be of interest to other Brooklyn residents. The congressional representative for the 11th district (which includes Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Kensington), Yvette Clarke, is planning to use her superdelegate vote to back Hillary Clinton at the convention - despite the fact that Barack Obama won the 11th district by a higher margin of votes than Clarke herself received when she was elected. Personal preference aside, it's irksome to see a superdelegate planning a vote against the direct will of her constituents.

http://www.hawthornestreet.com/2008/02/yvette-clarke-n.html

DELEGATE COUNT

The New York Times reports the delegate count as of 6:51 a.m.

Clinton: 845

Obama: 765

2,025 needed

McCain: 613

Rommney: 269

Huckabee: 190

1,191 needed

PARK SLOPE'S ANDREA BERNSTEIN IN IOWA

For those of us addicted to WNYC radio, we've been hearing a lot from Park Slope's Andrea Bernstein, Political Director at WNYC, and one of the many public radio reporters covering the presidential campaign. This week, she was in Iowa reporting ont he caucuses.

Andrea Bernstein at Clinton headquarters had this to say about Clinton's third place finish and Obama's triumph. "A very tense night for Hillary. It looked likes Obama has been winning for the last few days...The Clinton campaign wanted an easy campaign. This is a real struggle for her. She has not been in a contested primary before. This is a new one for her. It will be interesting to watch how she handles herself in the days leading up to New Hampshire and Super Tuesday."

From Bernstein, one can expect a very knowledgable, thorough, well-researched, well-observed approach to political journalism; she is one shrewd reporter. Bernstein is in charge of political and campaign coverage at WNYC. Since joining WNYC in 1998 Bernstein has covered national, local, and state politics.

Bernsteins's on-air reporting just gets better and better. She has won numerous awards, including the 2003 Investigative Reporters and Editors prize for radio, the 2003 Heyward Broun Award, the 2003 Society for Professional Journalists award, for her series, with Amy Eddings, on New York's "Handshake Hotels" for the Homeless.

In 2006-2007 Bernstein was one of 12 top U.S. journalists to win a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University. Now that she's back on the east coast, she will be covering the presidential campaign for WNYC.

OBAMA WINS IOWA CAUCUSES

As reported by WNYC radio, Barack Obama is the winner of the Iowa caucuses. John Edwards is in second place followed by Hillary Clinton.

Huckabee is the Republican winner. Mitt Rommney is the big loser of the night.

BLOOMBERG AND OBAMA HAVE BREAKFAST: GREAT PIX

I love this AP pix by Diane Bondareff, that is on The City Room today. Read more at The Caucus.

IT'S OFFICIAL: DAVID YASSKY IS RUNNING FOR COMPTROLLER

City Councilmember David Yassky has decided to run for Comproller in 2009. Here's an excerpt from his e-newsletter:

As New York City’s Comptroller, I will be a citywide leader with a strong platform for progressive and effective City government. I will be an aggressive fiscal watchdog, working to make sure we get every penny’s worth of value from our City agencies. I will push to attract more investment to New York, to reduce the City’s massive debt burden, and to confront long-term environmental challenges. And I will measure my success – just as I have done in the Council – not by headlines or votes, but by concrete results

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HAS ANYONE READ NAOMI WOLF'S NEW BOOK?

I happened upon her new book, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot while surfing around Amazon.com. Then I saw that there's an excerpt from the introduction on Wolf's blog on the Huffington Post. Here it is:

Dear Readers,

I am happy to share with you in this space today and Wednesday the introduction to my new book, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot. As the title implies, the book is a letter of warning to all Americans about the actions...

Read Post

FIRST STREET ON PRIMARY DAY

There was a cluster of candidates, handlers, and campaigners on the corner of First Street and Seventh Avenue in front of Artisanna, the store that sells furniture from exotic places, urging Park Slopers to vote at PS 321.

For most of the day there were more candidates, handlers and flyer people than voters from what I could tell.

"Did you vote yet? This is Park Slope," one man said as he thrust a ShawnDya Simpson flyer in my face. The race between the two women running for Surrogate Court Judge seemed to be all anyone was talking about.

On the corner of 2nd Street, a man was saying "ShwandyaLevine, SawndyLevine" so fast I thought, "What an interesting name." Nancy Levine was the name of a candidate for another judgeship.

Inside the school, PTA parents were selling baked goods at the tradition primary day bake sale.  "Lately, it's been a lot of Entemann's at the bake sales," a friend told me. "But everything looked very homemade there."

Must be the new kindergarten parents.

At 7:30 p.m.  ShawnDya Simpson was standing on the corner talking to a voter, still hopeful that she could get enough votes to beat Diana Johnson, her rival.

But it was State Supreme Court Justice Johnson, who won the Democratic nomination for a Surrogate’s Court judgeship with 60% of what must have been a small number of votes.

In November Johnson will face Theodore Alatsas, a lawyer, who is running on the Republican and Conservative Party tickets.

If she wins, she will be the first African American Surrogate Court Judge.

BED-STUY FOR OBAMA

Found this on Clinton Hill Blog:

The next Presidential election is coming sooner than later (thank GOD), and our neighbors in Bed-Stuy are organizing some events to watch the Democratic candidate debates. It’s a good reason to motivate: not only make sure you keep abreast of the issues, but also an excellent excuse to visit some of Bed-Stuy’s most talked-about hangouts: What: Two simultaneous parties starting at 8:30 pm June 28 to watch the Democratic Debate (hosted by Tavis Smiley, live from Howard University, focused largely on African-American issues).

Where: Common Grounds coffee shop, 376 Tompkins (b/t Jefferson & Putnam) and Bread-Stuy, 403 Lewis Ave (@ Decatur). Both locations are close to the C train.

The events are hosted by Bed-Stuy for Obama, though they’d love to have anybody interested in listening to all the candidates. RSVPs can be sent to bedstuy@brooklynforbarack.org.

Everyone is welcome!

BUSH TOOK A THUMPIN'

The best thing about my work shift at the Park Slope Food Coop is that I get to listen to WNYC while I'm working.

Today I was doing my Food Coop shift during Bush's mid-day press conference so I found out, while I was counting coins, that RUMSFELD IS OUT.

I was working alone today so I had no one to share THIS GREAT NEWS with Until a friend called and I got to tell her. It was fun to say into the cell phone: RUMSFELD IS OUT, did you hear?

Such a momentous day. Big wins for the DEMS and then BUSH announces that RUMFELD IS FINALLY OUT.

The Republicans really tood a "THUMPIN" said Bush. With Democrats taking control of the house and the Senate still in the balance over a close race in Virginia, he said he was very disappointed.

 

Pray god this means a real change of direction in Iraq. Pray this means the end of this god awful war.

AMERICANS SPEAK: DEMS CONTROL HOUSE, SENATE STILL HANGS IN THE BALANCE

From The Guardian Unlimited

President George Bush's job is a lot tougher this morning, after the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives, breaking the conservative monopoly of power in Washington and clearing the way for congressional investigations into the conduct of the Iraq war.

The future of the Senate still hangs in the balance, with two states yet to be decided. The Montana count is tight but leaning towards the Democrats, while in Virginia lawyers were preparing to fight over the outcome. The Democratic challenger, Jim Webb, holds a lead of a few thousand out of 2.3m votes cast. If the vote is close enough, with less than a 0.5% margin, Virginia state law gives the loser the option of calling for a recount once the first count has been finalised by November 27.

In the early hours of the morning, the Republican incumbent, Senator George Allen, said counting would continue throughout the night and he called on his supporters to watch the tally "like eagles and hawks". Even before the sun rose over Virginia, both parties were firing off emails to sympathetic lawyers calling on them to prepare do battle over provisional ballots, absentee ballots, challenges to results from computerised voting machines and every other legal grey area.

Complicating the picture still further, the FBI opened an investigation into alleged fraud and intimidation involving phone calls made to Democratic voters in Virginia falsely claiming their names were not on the electoral rolls or giving false information about the location of polling stations.

Elsewhere, the Democrats made Senate gains in Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Joe Lieberman won the Connecticut race standing as an independent. He beat the Democratic candidate, Ned Lamont, but has pledged to vote with the Democrats in the new chamber.

The Democrats also won a brace of governorships, putting the party in power in a majority of states, an important boost to the party nationwide and a strategic advantage for the 2008 presidential election.

The president will give a press conference at 1pm (1800 GMT) and the Democrats will be listening critically to his tone as they try to gauge how ready he is to work with the new Congress and compromise over the management of the war. By then, Mr Bush will almost certainly have made the call he must have feared most, saying "Congratulations, Madam Speaker" to Nancy Pelosi, who Republicans turned into a hate figure in the last days of the campaign.

Ms Pelosi, a tough, resoundingly liberal Democratic leader from San Francisco will become the first woman ever to serve as speaker of the House of Representatives, where the party looked likely to gain 30 or more seats.

Among other milestones passed last night, Bernie Sanders of Vermont became the first socialist in the US Senate and Deval Patrick was elected governor of Massachusetts, only the second black governor in US history. Keith Ellison in Minnesota became the first Muslim elected to the House of Representatives.

As speaker, Ms Pelosi will be in a powerful position. She will appoint the chairs of the all-important House committees - which can launch enquiries and ask difficult questions about the Iraq war and other issues - and she will control the legislative agenda in the chamber. She and her party will also have a powerful say over taxes and spending.

In theory, the job gives her less sway over foreign policy, but in her victory speech last night, she made it clear she would not be bound by such traditional constraints. "Today the American people voted for change and they voted for Democrats to take our country in a new direction and that is exactly what we intend to do. And nowhere did the American people make it clear they wanted a change more than in Iraq," Ms Pelosi told a crowd of supporters in Washington. "And so we say to the president, Mr President we need a new direction in Iraq. Let us work together to find a new solution to the war in Iraq."

She promised to restore "civility and bipartisanship" to the political process in Washington. Whether that happens remains a major unanswered question. In France they call it cohabitation, but in the US a situation in which a president from one party has to work with a Congress from another is usually known as gridlock.

Cooperation between the White House and a Democratic majority in the House would require a sea-change in political style on the president's part. On the basis of the most questionable mandates in 2000, he governed as if he had won a landslide.

It will also require some tough decisions from Ms Pelosi, who must bridge the gap between the liberals on her wing of the party and its conservatives, boosted by the new intake of House Democrats such as Heath Shuler from conservative "red" states. Mr Shuler won his seat in the deepest Republican territory of North Carolina only because he stood as a social conservative, opposed to abortion, gun control and gay marriage.

Gay marriage was one of the big losers in the election as a string of ballot initiatives calling for a ban were passed. In South Dakota, however, a proposal to ban abortion under almost all circumstances was defeated.

Overall, the election continued a long political realignment in the US, leaving the demarcation line between a Republican south and a Democratic north-east and west even more pronounced. The biggest Republican losses last night were "behind enemy lines" in the liberal east, holdovers from a more bipartisan age. By that measure the sharp geographical divide in US politics just got deeper.

V O T E : TODAY'S THE DAY

vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *vote * vote *

TOMORROW'S THE BIG DAY: VOTE

THIS FROM NEW YORK 1:

With midterm elections tomorrow, it looks more and more like it's going to be a big day for Democrats both in New York State and nationwide.

Democrats are trying to take control of the House and Senate. Candidates on both sides of the aisle around the state and the nation are squeezing in as much handshaking and baby-kissing as they can.

State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer appears poised to become the next governor of New York. The latest New York 1/Newsday poll shows the Attorney General with an incredible 50-point lead over Republican challenger John Faso.

The same poll shows Andrew Cuomo with a 28-point lead over Jeanine Pirro in the race to become Attorney General. Cuomo was campaigning with Senator Hillary Clinton this morning.

But Pirro is not giving up her fight just yet. She has a full day of campaigning scheduled for the Bronx, Manhattan, and Westchester. She says she hopes all of her hard work pays off.

"It's been 18 hours a day, but I'm a worker and I'm accustomed to working and I'm very energized by the people who are here," said Pirro. "And hopefully tomorrow is going to be a very good day."

Back in September, Pirro was forced to disclose a federal investigation into whether she wiretapped her husband. She said the investigation was politically motivated.

On the national front, Democrats appear ready to gain control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. Control of the Senate is up for grabs with Democrats needing six seats to win back control. Key races in Virginia, Missouri, and Tennessee could be the deciding factors.

President George W. Bush will be out campaigning today in Texas, Florida, and Arkansas for Republican gubernatorial candidates. With the president's popularity dropping, many GOP candidates have kept their distance from Bush.

THIS WEEKEND: ROCK THE HOUSE WITH PHONE PARTIES

There are dozens of Rock the House (and Senate) Phone Parties in Brooklyn this weekend. Go to moveon.org and find a party near YOU. All you need is a cell phone to convince someone to vote. VOTER TURNOUT IS CRITICAL THIS YEAR. CRITICAL!

From Moveon.org: Dozens of congressional races are tied. We’ve identified over a million progressives in these districts who don’t always vote. If we call them and make sure they get to the polls, we’ll win.

Your host will provide everything you need. Grab your cell phone and join your neighbors on the weekend of Nov. 4-5, and again on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 7) and help us “Rock the House (and Senate)” at a party near you.

Go here for more information