Monday, February 06, 2006

Sean Maloney


Last Wednesday I was trying to figure out which LinkUp to show up for.

I started out at the East Village one because that looked the largest. Recently I have switchd to the West Village one that Dana runs. But the LinkUp this past week looked different. There were all these guest speakers. A few were running for the US Senate against Hillary. I immediately discounted them out. I don't like the idea of people running against Hillary. But I figured this is the DFNYC leadership's plot to bring in Hillary herself down the line. "Senator, we have been parading candidates for the US Senate. You are next!" Smart move. I have seen Howard Dean, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, but not yet Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama. I am sure they look like in their photos, but there is something to be said to meeting in person.

So I find myself choosing between two candidates running for New York Attorney General, the job Eliot Spitzer has so famously glamorized. I google their names. There is a woman who is showing up at the West Village venue.

But then there is Sean Maloney. He had Harriet Miers' job in the Clinton White House. Miers of course got nominated for the Supreme Court by Bush. He left her out to sizzle for a while. "We Democrats don't take good care of our own," Maloney quipped.

Maloney reminds me of Leecia Eve. Eve happens to be African American, she happens to be a woman. Maloney happens to be gay. He has the distinction of being the first openly gay person in a senior White House position. Maloney is going to be a total asset in 2008. From my political point of view, it is not enough to be gay, it is not enough to be openly gay, it is not enough to be gay, and out of the closet, and politically vocal. You also have to navigate the electorate and the system to be of the best possible service for the gay rights issue. You need that sophistication. Being right is not enough, you also got to win. And for the most part you do that by beating the opponent by being as good or better on most other issues. You win, you keep slugging it out, win or lose.

Leecia Eve was not Spitzer's choice for Lieutenant Governor. (Mixer For Ferrer, Who Is Leecia Eve?) Maloney is third in polls, at around 5%. Andrew Cuomo with a famous last name and having been a Clinton cabinet member and Mark Green, the almost Mayor of New York, are in the run and are ahead of him (A Great Mixer). They both are better well known. They are both brand names, wheres Maloney is much younger and only starting out.

But Maloney's got it. He is qualified, he is passionate, he could shake things up. I found him very impressive.

I had a lot of fun during the question answer session. I asked him two questions, one normal, and one "elongated," Lewis Cohen's word for it. And then one after question after he casually mentioned if anyone wanted to know more about his children.

"It is not enough to have the guts to pick the fights, you also have to have the skills to win them. What have you learned from Eliot Spitzer on winning?"

"You say you are third in polls. How do you hope to bridge the gap and pull ahead?"

Someone in the audience asked, "What exactly does an Attorney General do?" Fair enough.

Maloney came across as someone smitten with the DFA. He seemed to be using the DFA network for many of his appearances across the state.

This was the LinkUp on the Upper East Side that Lewis Cohen hosts.

After Maloney left, the LinkUp group had this wonderful conversation on the possibilities of a national Democratic resurgence. I just sat back and listened. I could not believe my ears. And I had been thinking for a few weeks that DFNYC was a local group. (A Huge Mixer: Happy New Year)

On The Web

seanmaloney.com > Sean Patrick Maloney, Democrat for New York ...
Join Us
Sean Patrick Maloney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
happily stuck in Ithaca: Sean Patrick Maloney visits Ithaca
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute - Events
Sean Patrick Maloney: Information From Answers.com
Windy City Times
New York's Premier Alternative Newspaper. Arts, Music, Food ...
DanielFTL of Fort Lauderdale talks about his life, his education ...
blogJosh: Sean Maloney Seeks AG Seat
Sean Patrick Maloney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Politics1 - Online Guide to New York Politics
New York Blade Online
Rivals Spar at Gay Democrats' Forum - New York Times
Slant Point: Dem Maloney Enters State AG Race

In The News

Pirro stands strong in attorney general campaign Auburn Citizen, NY - 2 hours ago
Matt forman, mandy carter, and coretta scott king in washington ... Gay City News - Feb 2, 2006
Rivals Spar at Gay Democrats' Forum New York Times, United States - Jan 25, 2006
Political Memo Democratic Elbows Are Flying, Mostly Aimed at Cuomo New York Times, United States - Jan 26, 2006
Dark horse Democrat shakes money tree Albany Times Union, NY - Jan 13, 2006
Staten Island DA considering entry into attorney general's race Newsday, NY - Jan 23, 2006

Visitors


2 February12:13CTX Mortgage Company, Dallas, United States
2 February12:14Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, India
3 February10:27Adelphia Communications, Buffalo, United States


3 February20:17United States (dickinson.edu)
5 February03:00Road Runner, New York, United States
5 February13:02Road Runner, Stanley, United States
5 February22:16Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, United States
6 February08:36UNI-C IT Center, Denmark
6 February09:21Bredbåndsfylket Troms, Norway
6 February11:07Telenor Internet, Norway
6 February13:19Pacific Coast Net Inc., Canada
6 February15:41France Telecom, France

I bought a 1 GB memory card for my camera on eBay from a merchant in Singapore. I get to pick it up at the post office tomorrow morning. Now my camera could do one hour of video in one go as opposed to the less than 9 minutes it has so far in the past. I also ordered an extra battery at the same time that arrived last week.

This blog is going multimedia and pay per view down the line.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

The Jyllands Posten Muhammad Cartoons Controversy


A friend called earlier in the day and was surprised I was not aware of this huge global controversy. I must have had my head buried in all Nepal all the time.

But this controversy has to be addressed. This reminds me of the riots in France. Like a friend said to me after those riots: "Europe is worse than the South in terms of diversity."

Is falsely shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre protected by free speech? These cartoons have caused violence.

These Europeans need a major dose of sensitivity training. These are the Trent Lott crowd. They make their racist comments and for the life of them do not understand how their comments are racist.

Hate speech condoned by the leading newspaper of a major European country tells me a whole lot about Europe, and I don't like what I see.

Has that newspaper ever published anything remotely similar on Jesus Christ in the name of free speech?

Defaming an individual can find you at the receiving end of a libel suit. Does defaming an entire religion, and its hundreds of millions of adherents count?

French Society: No Easy Solutions
Sick Sarkozy
Riots In France

Google Search

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy - Wikipedia, the ...
Jyllands Posten Muhammed Cartoons
Jihad Against Danish Newspaper | The Brussels Journal
Face of Muhammed - Drawings of Muhammed
FrontPage magazine.com :: Thou Shalt Not Draw by Robert Spencer
Firestorm over Danish Muhammad cartoons continues | csmonitor.com
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Muhammad cartoon row intensifies
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Anger grows over Muhammad cartoon

Google News

Igniting More Than Debate Newsweek
Cartoons: 'Cut them to pieces' News24
Cartoons cause offence The Good News UK
Muhammad Cartoons: Global Lynch Mob Attacks Free Speech Human Events
Violence Over 'Muhammad' Cartoons Spreads on Sunday
Editor & Publisher
Muslims torch embassies over Muhammad cartoons
Houston Chronicle, United States
Danish embassy in Beirut burned in ongoing row over cartoons ... Monsters and Critics.com
Damascus: Embassies set on fire Jerusalem Post
Violence Spreads Over Muhammad Caricatures The Kindred Times
Empathy and the Muhammad cartoons
American Thinker, AZ
NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL INTERVIEW: Flemming Rose Editor of Jyllands ...
PR Newswire (press release), NY
Cartoons: Under the Veil of Freedom of Speech
Al-Jazeerah.info, GA
Free speech clash over Muhammad cartoons flares into violence JURIST
Does the right to freedom of speech justify printing the Danish ... Guardian Unlimited
Hate Speech in the Guise of Freedom of Expression Arab News
Heavily-guarded newspaper stands firm on free speech
Gulf Times, Qatar
Hateful hypocrisy over cartoons East Valley Tribune
Internal politics behind cartoon furore Zee News
Insulted Muslims step up offensive over cartoons that rocked world Sydney Morning Herald
How cartoons fanned flames of Muslim rage
The Observer, UK
Threats against Danish cartoonists no laughing matter Houston Chronicle
East: Islamic Officials, Journalists Reflect On Publication Of ... RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Hysteria that only highlights the differences between us Scotsman
Boycott costing Arla £1m per day Radio New Zealand, New Zealand
Outcry prompts Danish food giant to ditch US$50m Saudi investment ITP.net
Cartoon Costs Danish Dairy Company Millions newswire.co.nz
Demonstrators Outraged, Apology Accepted Yemen Observer
Counting the cost of religious rage
African News Dimension, South Africa