Voice your support for NY State recognition of same sex marriage
Someone forward me this today and it’s worth reading (and doing!)
New York Governor David Paterson has opened a phone line to determine
how much support there is for his directive to recognize same-sex
marriages from other states and countries. The call is simple and takes
about 5 seconds. Here’s all you have to do:
Call: 1-518-474-8390
Here’s what happens:
Person on the Other End of the Phone: "Executive Chamber, may I help
you?"
You: "I want to voice my support for Governor Paterson’s same-sex
marriage directive."
POTOEOTP: "OK, what’s your zip code?"
You: "11231 (or whatever it is)."
POTOEOTP: "OK, thanks, goodbye." —
My Thoughts on Tim Russert….
Like most people I spoke to, I was moved by the news of Tim Russert’s death. I became an avid fan of Meet the Press, just within the past year, and began recording it religiously and looked forward to watching the episodes Sunday nights, especially as the political season blossomed. Tim Russert was the uncontested best political journalist of the day and probably the single-best television journalist on the air. I will truly miss his insight, commentary and unmatched ability to ask the difficult questions directly without mincing words.
Watching numerous shows and commentary about his life over the past few days, what strikes me as most unique about the man was his disposition and approach to work, life, family and faith. His preparation and commitment to journalistic excellence and being the very best at his profession are clear, but he did it with a casual, hearty and just fun thread weaved throughout the experience. He often referred to people affectionately as "brother", whether they were much older or much younger. He was masterful at delivering lines, often witty and clever, as his recent appearance on Conan O’brien showed. Despite his success, it was pretty clear that his family always came first and he spoke affectionately about his father, son and wife often. It turns out he was a deeply religious man as well, during a time in which religiosity has fallen out of favor. One of my favorite quotes from the coverage of his death was by Jon Meacham, who in a Newsweek article, described Russert’s personal appeal for him to debate Christopher Hitchens. "You gotta come down and defend the faith, Brother," Russert said. Meacham had an old rule that he would never debate Hitchens about anything as he
is one of the great intellects and wits of the age and there as no
chance he could ever win, so he protested. Russert won him over by saying "It’s the faith, Brother," he said. "I can’t do it—I’m the moderator. But it’ll be great."
I’m realizing that Tim Russert was an truly inspirational figure for me. He achieved greatness on so many levels that I value….in his profession, as a father, as a son, as a husband, as a friend. He was the leading journalist of our time and yet the topics he chose for his two books were his father and father/son relationships. And despite being a somewhat public personality, he achieved his greatness kinda quietly. That’s a rare accomplishment for anybody, but should be an inspiration for us all.
Below is a clip of Bruce’s personal tribute at the memorial service today and Luke Russert’s beautiful eulogy to his father….
Congestion pricing - what’s the problem?
On Wednesday this week, my trip from Cobble Hill to Midtown took me 90 minutes. The subway was experiencing delays, so I went above ground at W4th and cabbed the rest of the trip. Sadly, the taxi portion consumed more than 30 minutes because 6th and 8th Avenues were totally clogged. This has been the case increasingly in NYC, as there are simply more automobiles on the island, than Manhattan can support on an average day. Even in Brooklyn, the roads are jammed. On Tuesday of this week, my drive to Coney Island (to defend a speeding ticket on the BQE, go figure) took 50 minutes.
Just two weeks ago, Sheldon Silver and the Democratic majority of the NY State Assembly vetoed Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan in the New York City Council, preventing the measure from reaching a public vote. While I usually vote Democratic (or even more liberally), I can’t understand the ill will towards this measure from NYC representatives. (Governor Corzine was also opposed to it, but for more obvious reasons, as he’s representing his constituents in NJ.) Automobile traffic in Manhattan has reached epic proportions. Nobody will argue that. Traveling by car mid-day is unbearable. It’s one of the most unattractive qualities of our great city. Can you imagine other global cosmopolitan centers with this issue? Traffic in LA is bad, but it’s all on the freeway. Same with San Francisco. Inner city traffic in DC, Boston or Chicago doesn’t compare. London is crowded, but all the streets are one-way which keeps traffic flowing. Paris….no chance. This measure would have raised an estimated $350 million in federal funds that would be used to improve and add subway capacity. Then, drivers entering Manhattan would be charged $8 for the day. Money also would flow towards bike lanes (an increasingly popular mode of transport) and other greener forms of movement. While yes, some people of lesser means may have lost perceived access to Manhattan, those who truly rely on the city day-to-day would benefit greatly with increased mobility. A city of this size needs the latest and greatest public transportation technology, and this measure would help raise the funds to pay for it. Mayor Bloomberg called the votes against his bill cowardly and I agree on this one. Sheldon Silver was also a major factor in stopping the Manhattan Jets stadium construction plans, a move that would have added some periodic traffic on Sundays, but one that would have revitalized Hell’s Kitchen and brought a professional sports team to the NY Metro area for the first time since the Brooklyn Dodgers. Assemblyman Silver has been in office for more than two decades and usually is elected without challengers. Given his recent voting record, which shreaks of stagnation and fear of change/improvement, it may be time for the Assemblyman to consider his next career. I hope Governor Patterson and Mayor Bloomberg will be able to resusitate this plan that would have benefited so many New Yorkers.
Barack Obama’s “A more perfect union”….
Barack sums this speech up with the essence of why he needs to be our next president. Hope and aspiration don’t solve our problems nor do beautiful speeches, but they are the right places to start if we are to have any chance of accomplishing these feats. Despite what the nay-sayers preach, a leader first needs to be able to articulute our hopes and dreams before we have a chance of living them….
Jack Nicholson ad for Hillary
Just came across this ad for Hillary that Jack Nicholson sponsored and endorsed. Pretty creative stuff….
Why Obama should be our next president….
Andrew Sullivan writes a beautiful and cogent article in this week’s Atlantic on why Barack Obama is the best choice to lead our country as the next President. This is one of the best essays and analyses of the leading Democratic contenders that I’ve seen yet. Already leaning towards Obama, I’m now sold.
Florida schools, Americana and Abstinence
I’m in Orlando for FETC and engaged in a shocking conversation with a computer science teacher today. After I presented our offering and gave her a tour of the website, she asked if there was any information available on STDs. Afraid where this conversation might be going, I explained that naturally, the answers was "yes, we cover 4 million topics from 135 reference titles - encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc and STDs are certainly included somewhere in there." She explained that her school district couldn’t condone the use of our site since it contained educational information on STDs and "high schoolers are very interested in researching these topics." Ahh…..yeah. Needless to say, the three of us working together were dumbfounded. I’ve heard and read plenty about right-wing fundamentalists, but never necessarily experienced one on this level. To deny children the right to learn and shelter them from understanding issues that will help them protect themselves from dangers that may lay ahead seems like a shocking misappropriation of state and federal resources and a betrayal by the education system in which they place their trust. Do these people truly believe that 17 and 18 year olds don’t know about sex? and/or aren’t thinking about sex? and that teenagers are better served by their parents and teachers looking the other way? I chose not to pursue this debate with the teacher, but the things you see in the heartland are truly amazing…and in this case, disturbing. By the way, in case any of you missed Jim Webb’s Democratic response to Bush’s State of the Union….he kicked ass - Jim Webb’s Democratic response
Atlantic Yards receives initial approval - runs risk of damaging historic Brooklyn
NY1 reported today that the Atlantic Yards project received the required unanimous approval from the three-member board made up of George Pataki, State Senate Majority Leader George Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. With the end of Pataki’s governorship imminent, he was pushing hard to get this through. While I was once in favor of the project, thinking it would help revitalize downtown Brooklyn, I am now firmly opposed to it. The fact is that Brooklyn doesn’t need any help with revitalization. Its neighborhoods, particularly those around the proposed project, are growing
faster and revitalizing themselves as fast as any neighborhoods in the NYC area. Prospect Heights,
Boerum Hill and Fort Greene have already become some of the coolest, most sought after neighborhoods in the borough, if not all of NYC. Traffic congestion in that area, particularly on the 
Atlantic/Flatbush intersection, is already miserable and this project will only make it infinitely worse. Forest City Ratner’s current project in the area, Atlantic Terminal, is a miserable excuse for a shopping center - I get frustrated every time I’m forced to deal with the oddly-configured multi-teared maze - and if the new project is going to be any resemblance, it will cause more anger than pleasure. Most significant, the scale of the project appears to be wholly inappropriate for historic Brooklyn, currently made up of mostly three and four-story brownstones. The Atlantic Yards Report blog posted these images showing the project’s scale, which I think are important for more people to see. And I haven’t even addressed the unproven economic forecasts or building aesthetics, the latter of which is both cheap and commercial and make no attempt to conform to the precious existing Brooklyn landscape. I’m a little confused as to why the state is making a decision that ultimately affects the city, but I think its time for us citizens to speak up.
Racism in our country…how will it ever end?
Last weekend, some friends and I found ourselves at a party at the corner of Atlantic and Nostrand Avenues in a neighborhood of Brooklyn known as East New York. Anyone familiar with East New York knows that it’s one of the roughest neighborhoods of the city with some of the highest crime statistics. Of course the neighborhood is also predominately black. Leaving the party at around 1am, one member of our crew, in spite of my suggestion to call a car service, insisted on trying to hail a taxi in the street. Fifteen minutes into this ordeal, with nary a taxi in sight (taxis don’t shop for fares in East New York), she agreed to allow me to call a car.
As a result of these shenanigans, the six of us spent 25 minutes or so standing on the curb of Atlantic Ave in this very sketchy section of Brooklyn. There was undoubtedly some element of fear that I experienced standing on this street, as 20 or so black men and women passed us on foot. Don’t get me wrong…I do not, in any way, harbor any racist thoughts or feelings. Those who know me are aware that I have friends of all color, races and religions. As a travel hound, I also value cultures and crave experiences that are foreign to my own way of life. But on this evening, smack dab in the middle of a culture very foreign to me, I experienced a bit of fear and felt unclear about my willingness to explore it. Aware of this paradox, I turned to my friend Andy (an even more experienced traveler than me) and suggested that we visit the corner bar where most of the passers-by seemed to be congregating. Without much hesitation, he rejected the idea. When I questioned him on it, explaining the paradox above, he expressed that this was not an experience of interest to him; and I couldn’t completely blame him. I certainly wasn’t going to enter the bar alone.
For the past week, this experience has troubled me. Racism still exists in our country and until last week, I believed that I wanted to end it as much as anyone. But from my actions on Saturday night, I’m not sure I can still say this with a completely straight face. If we are less curious about the cultures in the next neighborhood than we are about the ones on the other side of the world, how will our country and people every fully integrate? In my opinion, much of it comes down to psychology. I can’t place the source, but I’ve learned in my studies that behavior is largely dictated by expectations that are communicated in a variety of subtle ways. Malcolm Gladwell speaks to some of this in his books The Tipping Point and Blink. If a white man shows fear when he enters a black neighborhood, black people who witness this will internalize it and begin to think there is a reason why this man should be frightened in their presence. Compounded many times over, this may lead to behaviors that would not have occurred without that judgment having been passed. On the contrary, if Andy and I had visited the corner bar and exhibited confidence and a friendly demeanor, without even acknowledging being the only Whites in the establishment, I’m fairly certain we would have received the same in return. Ultimately, much of it comes down to fear and our own abilities to conquer it. I’m reminded of a memorial I saw touring the Guguleto township outside Cape Town. Amy Bhiel, an American exchange student working as an anti-Apartheid activist, was stoned to death and cut up with knives because she was white, despite pleas from several locals in the community. It’s an awful story, but an illustrative one for the purpose of this article. Her leadership served as a beacon of courage and conviction for South Africa’s fight to overcome Apartheid. Later, during the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings, Amy’s parents chose not to press charges against their daughter’s killers, and instead bravely chose to subscribe to the broader cause and movement. One of Gandhi’s famous quotes is "be the change you want to see in the world." If we truly care about ending racism in our country, we should start by removing our own judgments and giving others the benefit of doubt and respect that we hope to receive in return.
As a follow up, this troubled me so much that a few nights later I dreamt I was dating a Kenyan woman, and was struggling to figure out how to integrate her into my white Jewish family. What gives?
When the Levees Broke - Spike Lee HBO Joint
I caught one act of When the Levees Broke on HBO last weekend. Despite visiting New Orleans in the
past year and driving through the decimated Ninth Ward, the film’s content and the way it was presented still amazed me. My reaction was one of anger and tremendous disappointment towards our country and government. The federal response has been disgusting and FEMA, part of that response, has shown complete incompetence. The response from corporations involved - mostly insurance co’s and local industry (oil) - has been one of apathy. It’s interesting that these same industies are typically connected with Republican groups. Coincidence? I doubt it. After discussing it with several government loyalists, I have still yet to hear a strong argument to the contrary. If ever there was a clear signal that the leadership of our country is in disarray, this event should be it. New Orleans is one of America’s truly special cities and this makes the situation even more tragic. I’m currently researching Katrina relief organizations and determining what help I can provide.