Politics

  • Like a “Keystone Stasi”

    I just read an op ed in Newsday by Ray Lemoine. Ray LeMoine is co-author, with Jeff Neumann and Donovan Webster, of Babylon by Bus, an account of LeMoine and Neumann’s experiences working for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.

    He points out that he had just spent six months working and traveling in the Islamic world — Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Pakistan — so that he wasn’t surprised when the Department of Homeland Security agents took him aside to question him. What did they want to know about? Copyright infringement related to t-shirt sales.

    No, these frontline warriors in the global war on terrorism at Homeland Security had far more pressing issues to question me about. “Why did you infringe on the Boston Celtics’ copyright in Boston in 2003?” asked my case officer, Malik – ironically a Pakistani – from behind his high desk. Uh, because I used to sell T-shirts outside sporting events, I said, wondering what this had to do with national security.

    “You’ve got a long record,” he said. Sure, for peddling “Yankees Suck” T-shirts – sans permit, which isn’t a crime but a code violation – not for promoting “Bin Laden Rulz!” DVDs or the “Idiot’s Guide to Suicide Bombing.”

    They also had information on a dispute with a parking attendant in New York. Apparently, the NYPD now feels the need to share basically all of everyone’s record of police contact with the DHS. Do you think they can really process the amount of information they’re given? Are the feds really in charge of policing all behavior now?

    Homeland Security, the $40-billion-a-year agency set up to combat terrorism after 9/11, has been given universal jurisdiction and can hold anyone on Earth for crimes unrelated to national security – even me for a court date I missed while I was in Iraq helping America deter terror – without asking what I had been doing in Pakistan among Islamic extremists the agency is designated to stop.

    Instead, some of its actions are erasing the lines of jurisdiction between local police and the federal state, scarily bringing the words “police” and “state” closer together. As long as we allow Homeland Security to act like a Keystone Stasi, terrorism will continue to win in destroying our freedom.

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  • The Human Rights Campaign: dangerous to homos

    hrc-equals.jpg

    I have never cared for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). On a superficial level, I really dislike their equal sign logo (modified above for me by Art Fag City) which is designed to be as un-gay as possible. I remember a queer American friend, who lives in Europe, visiting around the time of the NYC GOP convention in 2004. He had no idea what the little blue = stickers were that some protesters where wearing.

    Allegedly a gay rights lobbying organization, it has become so entrenched in the DC lobbying mindset that it is not merely ineffectual, it is actually harmful to gay rights in America. I am no fan of Charles Schumer, given his vote for the Defense of Marriage Act. A Jewish New Yorker representing Park Slope making an anti-gay vote? Yeah, that’ll get you the Christian Right vote. However, when the HRC endorsed Al D’Amato over Schumer in 1998, I was shocked.

    Their newest outrage? They have endorsed Joseph Lieberman for the Senate, even before the primary. Thanks to his snuggling up to the GOP and Bush on matters ranging from the Iraq War to the PATRIOT Act, he actually stands a chance of losing the primary to Ned Lamont. Guess which of the two is more pro-gay? Lamont. Of course, the HRC always argues this about realpolitik, or about preserving access, but ultimately they are working against the interests of the people they supposedly represent.

    Why is endorsing Lieberman so bad? Here is an excerpt of a blog post by Firedoglake:

    He told the New Haven Advocate that “homosexuality is wrong,” joined with notorious homo-hater Jesse Helms in voting to take away federal funding from schools that counsel suicidal gay teens that it’s okay to be gay. On gays in the military, Lieberman has enunciated the now-discredited canard that “homosexual conduct can harm unit cohesion and effectiveness.” (Tell that to the dozens of countries, from England to Israel, that permit openly gay troops in their armed forces.)

    In fact, Lieberman worked with Georgia’s Sam Nunn to fashion the destructive “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which resulted in escalating expulsions of gays from the military every year after it took effect. Its Catch-22 provisions have directly stimulated a rising wave of violent gay bashing and harassment in the military because victims can’t complain without “telling.”

    He also explains why Ned Lamont is a good candidate for the gay community, so go take a look. One more post worth reading on the subject is Howie Klein at Huffington Post.

    Note: I use gay above, but I mean it more in a general sense of queer. I don’t feel like listing a number of groups that follow under that umbrella, and I’m not offended by the word queer, but it seems to make some people (including my fellow homos) squeamish.

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  • Update on slashed terror funding

    I didn’t get around to adding these two things yesterday to my previous post. First, the excellent New York Post cover from yesterday:

    nypost-hicks-in-sticks.gif

    Second, the ABC news blog reports that part of the funding cut was justified by explaining that New York has no national monuments or icons.

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  • Working with Republicans is suicidal for New York

    I often see arguments that New York needs to work with the GOP, since they control all three branches of government, and it’s the only way to get anything done for New York. Bullshit. The only sane thing to do is work to defeat every Republican we can. There is no reason why New York State should have any Republicans representing us in Congress. And once we’ve done that, we can launch challenges from the left for politicians like Hilary Clinton and Chuck Schumer who are pro-Iraq War and pro-PATRIOT Act.

    NY1 reports:

    Local politicians are slamming the Department of Homeland Security Wednesday for its decision to slash New York City’s counter-terrorism funding by $83 million this year, a nearly 40 percent cut from the previous year.

    The Department of Homeland Security today announced its new national distribution plan, which divides a total of $740 million between 46 cities. DHS say the cuts will help spread funding to other communities facing threats.

    The new funding formula shows the Big Apple will have to make do with $124 million in federal homeland security grants for the 2006 fiscal year, down from $207 million last year.

    New York State is also taking a cut of just under $115 million this year, despite promises from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff earlier this year that his department would be distributing money based on risk.

    …

    While New York is facing cuts in funding, the DHS has decided to increase funding for cities including Omaha, Nebraska; Louisville, Kentucky; and Jacksonville, Florida.

    Funding was also cut for Washington, DC. Let’s be realistic here. If a terrorist wants to set off a dirty bomb, it’s going to happen in a dense city like New York or DC, not some place like Omaha with less than 500,000 people.

    Who is the head of the House of Representatives’ Homeland Security Committee? Peter King, a Republican congressman from Long Island. If this is what “working with Republicans” get us, I can’t imagine a better reason to work on throwing them all out.

    There is a post on this subject at Daily Gotham, with a link to the Act Blue page for New York congressional races if you would like to donate some money.

    Also from Daily Gotham, Liza Sabater points out that the state Democratic party fears bloggers and finds them a bit harsh. Good luck with that, coming from a party that couldn’t prevent charisma-free George Pataki from being governor for eight years. As she says,

    If things stay the course, they’re going to lose the 2008 elections to a pet rock.

    On a somewhat related note, Mayor Michael Bloomberg gets in the press for railing about the NRA and illegal guns, but that doesn’t stop him from donating money (up to the maximum amount) to pro-gun politicians. Steve Gilliard has the text of a New York Times article on the subject.

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  • Plan B re-opening covered by Crain’s New York

    The story is here.

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  • Sounds like a culture war

    “Sounds like a culture war” was James’s reaction when I told him about the New York Daily News editorial on the Brooklyn College MFA show.

    ‘Plan B’ from outer space

    The mewling you hear in Brooklyn emanates from Brooklyn College art students whose education obviously did not include informing them that, no, you can’t do anything you want anywhere you please.

    The young artistes are up in arms that borough Parks Commissioner Julius Spiegel closed their exhibit, “Plan B,” at the Brooklyn War Memorial after some works – including a penis sculpture – were deemed inappropriate for display in a hall that is open to the general public and, just as important, part of a commemoration of valor. How dare Spiegel close the show without asking them? the students fume. And how dare the Brooklyn College administration fail to defend their rights to show their stuff just where they please?

    Reality check, children: Not only can someone tell you “no,” but – shocking! – being told “no” is not a violation of your First Amendment rights. Spiegel showed backbone, and the college made the wise choice in moving the show onto campus, where students, faculty and assorted Chardonnay sippers can muse about its merits. Get used to not being the center of the universe, kids.

    Chardonnay sippers?! Everyone knows real men don’t have anything to do with education and going to college!

    [link via Carl Ferrero

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  • Jean Rohe’s graduation speech

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    Jean Rohe was the speaker at the New School graduation before John McCain. Many of the students were understandably outraged that the president of the school, Bob Kerrey — a war criminal — invited McCain to speak at the graduation. His right wing ideology has nothing to do with the progressive history of the New School.

    She has a post about her experience, including the text of her speech, at The Huffington Post.

    Some excerpts are below:

    It’s been noted in several columns that anti-McCain sentiment coming from the left may actually help him to garner support from the conservatives by giving him the opportunity to paint us as extremist liberals, so we should all keep our mouths shut. I say we need some “extremist liberals” if we’re ever going to get our democracy back. Others have said that he’s a moderate at heart and that we should let him continue pandering to the religious right so he can get the vote. Once he gets into office he’ll show his true colors and be the centrist he always was. I don’t buy that. People who truly care about human beings don’t vote for an unjust war, among other things, simply as a political maneuver. Enough said.

    More importantly, I feel obligated to respond to one thing that McCain told the New York Times. “I feel sorry for people living in a dull world where they can’t listen to the views of others,” he said. This is just preposterous. Yes, McCain was undoubtedly shouted-out and heckled by people who were not politely absorbing his words so as to consider them fully from every angle. But what did he expect? We could’ve all printed out his speech and chanted it with him in chorus. Did he think that no one knew exactly what he was about to say? And it was precisely because we listen to the views of others, and because, as I said in my speech, we don’t fear them, that we as a school were able to mount such a thorough and intelligent opposition to his presence. Ignorant, closed-minded people would not have been able to do what we did. We chose to be in New York for our years of higher education for the very reason that we would be challenged to listen to opposing viewpoints each and every day and to deal with that challenge in a nonviolent manner. We’ve gotten very good at listening to the views of others and learning how to also make our views heard, even when we don’t have the power of national political office and the media on our side.

    Here is the conclusion of her speech:

    What is interesting and bizarre about this whole situation is that Senator Mc Cain has stated that he will be giving the same speech at all three universities where he has been invited to speak recently, of which ours is the last; those being Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, Columbia University, and finally here at the New School. For this reason I have unusual foresight concerning the themes of his address today. Based on the speech he gave at the other institutions, Senator Mc Cain will tell us today that dissent and disagreement are our “civic and moral obligation” in times of crisis. I consider this a time of crisis and I feel obligated to speak. Senator Mc Cain will also tell us about his cocky self-assuredness in his youth, which prevented him from hearing the ideas of others. In so doing, he will imply that those of us who are young are too naïve to have valid opinions and open ears. I am young, and although I don’t profess to possess the wisdom that time affords us, I do know that preemptive war is dangerous and wrong, that George Bush’s agenda in Iraq is not worth the many lives lost. And I know that despite all the havoc that my country has wrought overseas in my name, Osama bin Laden still has not been found, nor have those weapons of mass destruction.

    Finally, Senator Mc Cain will tell us that we, those of us who are Americans, “have nothing to fear from each other.” I agree strongly with this, but I take it one step further. We have nothing to fear from anyone on this living planet. Fear is the greatest impediment to the achievement of peace. We have nothing to fear from people who are different from us, from people who live in other countries, even from the people who run our government—and this we should have learned from our educations here. We can speak truth to power, we can allow our humanity always to come before our nationality, we can refuse to let fear invade our lives and to goad us on to destroy the lives of others. These words I speak do not reflect the arrogance of a young strong-headed woman, but belong to a line of great progressive thought, a history in which the founders of this institution play an important part. I speak today, even through my nervousness, out of a need to honor those voices that came before me, and I hope that we graduates can all strive to do the same.

    [image from The Huffington Post]

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  • Village Independent Democrats endorse Hilary’s primary rival

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    The Villager has an article on the endorsement of Jonathan Tasini, who is running against Hilary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for New York Senator. I bolded one of the things of interest in the paragraph below.

    Turned off by Hillary Clinton’s position on the Iraq war, plus the recent news that archconservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch will be hosting a fundraiser for her, the Village Independent Democrats last week threw their support behind one of Clinton’s rivals, Jonathan Tasini, in the September Democratic primary.

    The New York GOP is in such disarray that they are unlikely to field a viable candidate. Now is a good time to let her know we don’t like her support of the Iraq War and the PATRIOT ACT, or her views on gay marriage. She is also starting to move rightward on abortion.

    Related: Joseph Lieberman is probably more vulnerable that Hilary Clinton to getting kicked out in the primary.

    [image from Jonathan Tasini’s website]

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  • Revolocity: The Bicycle Ball

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    James Wagner, Critical Mass on 23rd Street

    Tomorrow Saturday night there is a party / fundraiser for cyclist legal bills related to Critical Mass. Check out the website for more information.

    What’s this all about? Search James’s site for “Critical Mass,” or just start with this post.

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  • Anish Kapoor at Rockefeller Center

    I learn from the New York Times that the Public Art Fund is sponsoring a new work by him at Rockefeller Center.

    A mirror nearly three stories tall, fashioned from polished stainless steel, will stand at the Fifth Avenue entrance to the Channel Gardens in Rockefeller Center this fall.

    Unlike most of the art that has adorned Rockefeller Center, it will not be placed where visitors are used to seeing the giant tree at Christmastime. “Sky Mirror,” the work of the Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, will be facing Fifth Avenue.

    “Sky Mirror,” to be on view from Sept. 19 to Oct. 27, is a 23-ton circular sculpture, shaped like a satellite dish, its concave side angled upward facing 30 Rockefeller Plaza, its convex side facing Fifth Avenue, reflecting pedestrians and the cityscape. The work is Mr. Kapoor’s first public art project in New York City.

    The online version doesn’t have an image, but the paper does.

    Let’s hope he and Rockefeller Center manage photography a bit better than it was managed for Chicago’s Millenium Park, or they’re going to have some very angry tourists.

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