DL21C is the right organization. But to be frank I was not awfully impressed with the people on its women's issues committee. (Martha Outed Kenton And Women With Issues) They are good for what they are used to doing: creating events. But they are not good for what I think needs to be done and how. (2.0 Penetrates DL21C)
Planned Parenthood is not the organization I have been looking for. It is a great, great organizaiton, but it is not hard core political enough for me. But Planned Parenthood is so big as an organization, I should be able to shop around and from the motley crowd I should be able to find myself 10 ninja women.
I might have found a lead in Rosemary who I met at the first Planned Parenthood I went to. She happens to be gay. But I felt a rapport with her. If she is not one of the 10, I got the feeling she will lead me to those 10. I am going to look around at the event Monday to look for the potential ninja women.
What qualities am I looking for?
You are politically alert. The Spectrum On Gender makes sense to you. You feel the need to talk about gender to make progress on gender.
You are willing to meet once a month for an hour. The hour will be videoblogged. The power is in the conversation.
You know the term Web 2.0 and are comfortable with it. You have a high comfort level with the basic digital tools, all of which really are as simple as point and click.
You are extremely comfortable with your writings, photos and videos ending up online. You will do that to reach out to women in small town America. You recognize NYC is the progressive capital of America, the world. Politically active women in this city carry a special responsibility.
Ideally, we want to be replicated, in this city and across America. And we want all those groups of 10 women to link to each other's blogs. But there is no hierarchy. There is no central leader. Each group is independent and complete on its own.
Obama wins Maine caucuses MarketWatch After Obama won contests on Saturday in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state, he was trailing Clinton by just 25 delegates. ....... Obama has tended to do well in caucuses to date, thanks to his grass-roots support, so he may edge Clinton out to complete a clean-sweep weekend.
Democrats neck and neck as Obama reclaims momentum with easy wins Independent, UK Wide margins of victory for Barack Obama in weekend voting have helped close the gap between the Illinois senator and Hillary Clinton ...... he may pull ahead by the end of this week. .... 796 so-called super-delegates ...... both camps have already launched a frenzied effort to woo super-delegates to their side. ..... He took both Washington and Nebraska by margins of roughly 68 per cent to 32 per cent. ...... voters in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland are expected to favour him. ...... she had raised $10m (£5.1m) in new campaign cash since polls closed on Super Tuesday. Her aides meanwhile are pointing to 4 March, when they believe they can win in two key states, Ohio and Texas. ..... Obama has appointed the former Senate leader Tom Daschle to lead his lobbying. .... the possibility of an ugly floor-fight at the convention. .... if it is the delegates who finally break the tie in August, some will contend that the party will be making a mockery of the democratic process that came before in the primaries and caucuses.
Clinton shuffles team to blunt Obama's momentum Reuters Clinton replaced her campaign manager after a string of losses Saturday .... Maggie Williams, a top aide when she was first lady, had taken over from Patti Solis Doyle as campaign manager. Solis Doyle will move into the role of senior adviser. ..... the shake-up "can't be a good sign." ..... Obama's landslide victory in South Carolina seemed to be a turning point in the race. ...... if she does well in Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania, she could win the nomination.
I went to my first Planned Parenthood event on Thursday, and I am about to go to my second tomorrow. I guess I had heard of the organization. Barack had made a speech under the organization's banner when he wanted to come across as big on gender, so I guess the organization is a leading one in what it does. When I learned just the NYC chapter had 300 staffers, my jaw dropped. This is huge.
It was a great event. I wonder why I had to be in the city two and a half years before I came across an event called A Night Out With Women In Politics. I got a clear picture of how many women elected officials there might be. I think they stand at about 20% of the total right now at the city and state levels. That is more than zero, but it is a poor proportion for a state that would like to believe is progressive. It should be more like 40%. If it is 20% in NY, I wonder what it is like in Texas or Alabama.
I got to meet Bidya Bhandari, a leading woman leader from Nepal, a few months back in NYC when she was visiting. After Nepal's April Revolution 2006, she pushed through a resolution that women must be one third of the next legislature. I like that style. You make reservations.
At the event, there were like 50 women at the peak, or maybe 40, and perhaps five men. One of them was Phillip, a Florida transplant, in his 40s perhaps. He has a marketing company. I said I had a startup myself. He gave me his card. I said thanks, and kept it. That was before the evening started. Then he bought a huge bottle of beer. "Come to a women's event, got to go extra macho on the beer," he said teasingly. I did not share the sentiment but got the same beer. After the event was over, he came over and said that was the last card he had been carrying, can he please have it back to give it to a more regular client of his? I think the guy got offended I did not give him my card when he gave me his. He does not realize he might have been more offended if I had given him my card that is highly misleading. The name on it is correct, the rest is a circus. The point being, find me and friend me on Facebook. I gave him his card back. It was all in good taste. He gave it to the last Libertarian candidate for Governor.
Another guy was there with his wife, to be there for her. But he had a hard time lingering around. He would go off away from the gathering to some other part of the bar.
Women flip the whole porn notion. Looks like they do want to talk about their bodies. Why does that not get men excited? Instead men get queasy. That is interesting. Race and gender are Calculus 301, keep them away from me. That is the attitude. But that won't work. Men are going to have to join the conversation or women will still be ironing men's shirts a generation from now. Gender equality should be part of the high school curriculum, part of the sex education package.
I think what makes race and gender tricky is we all know the idea is to co-exist. Would it not be so much easier if we could send off all sexist men to Siberia? But since the idea is to co-exist, the relationship has to be reimagined and reimagined again. But that can not happen unless women talk gender and men talk gender. The conversation is key. That is where the action is. That is why I got so excited about this: 2.0 Penetrates DL21C. But so far it has not taken off. But the basic template is there. Here's the beauty of the suggestion. Groups of 10-20 women anywhere could take off on their own. There is no central organization, there is no hierarchy, no leader.
The idea is to help women and men identify where they are on the spectrum, and to help them get educated and try and move them on to a higher level. Online video would be powerful. And I can guess privacy and safety concerns. But I don't see how we can skip the online video part.
During Nepal's April Revolution 2006, tens died, hundreds got injured, for democracy. Women themselves have a brave history in this country of having fought for the right to vote, for example. It was not easy. Being willing to put photos and videos online is what the women's movement asks for today.
When I go to wonderful events in the city, it pains me to see none of them are being videoblogged. What a waste. You put so much effort to seek publicity. And you don't take that one step that would magnify publicity. Most politically active women in the city are okay themselves. They have access to contraception, hopefully they are in egalitarian, healthy relationships. I think the whole push has to be to reach out to women in small town America. And there online video can be a big help. Women got to step out. But I am not sure about the men in NYC. They are not all that different. I mean, you meet racist white guys left and right in this city. Sexist attitudes are there aplenty.
One thing struck me though. Why is contraception being talked about like it were a women's issue? Unless this is contraception that helps people masturbate. Not even breast feeding is a women's issue alone. The social space for it is also of concern to men.
Somebody brought up breastfeeding. And I was amused. Because I grew up in one of the 10 poorest countries on the planet, and I grew up seeing breastfeeding all over the place. You would be in a crowded public bus from the village to the town, and there would almost always be some woman in some part of the bus who is breastfeeding. Granted she has covered it up with her sari, but the action was on.
The American workplace has to be reimagined. The same design got carried over from the industrial age over to the service age. An information age workplace necessarily has to be 100% gender egalitarian and also egalitarian in all other ways. First and foremost that is a productivity issue. Companies that will not do it will get mowed down by the market forces.
All aspects of conception, childbirth and raising children has to be a fluid proposition. Men have to be part of all. Men can learn to raise children. Children are so much fun.
The trick just like on race is to not make it identity politics only, although there is no escaping identity politics. The trick is to make it issue politics. Have a clear agenda and build and grow a coalition around it.
But ultimately you just have to have many more elected women officials. Ultimately all the hot gender topics of today should become wallpaper. You should be able to take it for granted.
So in a way it was a rich experience just to be there. But I was kind of disappointed these are women's issues and not just plain issues for everyone.
And I am naturally eager about the global dimensions of all of the issues.
My summary statement would be, let's go 2.0 on gender.
I am so glad to have found this organization, but it is not hard core political enough for me.
Maybe the group I am looking for is Women For Obama! Ha.
That is why my style of not joining organizations, only showing up for events of choice works for me. I am a digital democrat. People often scratch their heads trying to figure me out. What do you do?
The idea is to have impact.
Caputo
She was there. We both lingered around for two and a half hours after the formal event was over. Okay, so you are not uncomfortable. Then I left.
That made me think.
Justin Krebs turned our first meeting into a disaster. I was not ready for his behavior. Because I had always been nice to the guy. And he gave the impression it was mutual respect. More than that. He made it sound like the smile on his face depended on me or something. But then he went berserk.
First he is like, oh, so Caputo thinks she beat that Jewish guy in Kentucky in a student election, I also waved at many people out of my dorm window. First he is competing with Caputo for my attention. As opposed to thinking he does not belong in the conversation.
That first contact was amazing. That is how I felt before 1989. That is how I felt my first year in Kentucky. That is how I felt my first NYC weekend in 1999. It was one of those feelings to me. It was special.
Then we all stepped out to leave. Caputo and a woman friend a few steps ahead, Krebs and I lumbering a few steps behind.
She is doing this walk thing to walk you off to the train station, then she will take the cab, that kind of suggestion from Krebs. As in, make no mistake, she is not trying to pick you up, take you home or anything. The guy felt a strong urge to tell me what to think. Then he suggested I was reacting the way I was reacting to Caputo because I was some desperate Brooklyn guy.
Then once near the train station, a few blocks from the bar, I halted. Caputo looked back.
"We just met," she said.
She walked to me and gave me a big hug.
"You just met me!" Krebs interjected from a few feet away. Caputo was just about to embrace me in a hug.
First, Krebs competed for my attention. Then, he tried to explain away Caputo's reaction to me. Then, he disrespected my reaction to Caputo. Finally, he is like, why not me, why this guy? Why not me?
The motherfucker so totally thoroughly spoilt it for me.
Well, for one, you are one ugly dumbass. How about that? 20 years from now you might run for City Council if you are lucky.
I felt the feeling. I participated in the conversation. And Krebs killed it with gusto. And the white woman and the brown guy explained it away in the aftermath. I said Indiana. It was nothing to do with Indiana. I said weak social muscles from 2.0 work. That is an excuse. It was this insecure white guy. He messed up.
Caputo probably explained it away by saying, oh, I just overreacted to him being a homeboy, a guy who knew KY and IN. Indiana, weak social muscles, homeboy. We are both strong and so very political, but this dumbass white guy pulled one off on us. How does that work? We are both stronger, smarter, way more political, so it is not like we don't get race and gender.
It never kind of went away but Caputo went cynical on me. Oh, you found out online I ran Wes Clark's northeast operation? Here, meet Wes Clark.
I quietened down. I was fearless about going for the person. But if it instead feels like a socio-economic ladder climb, no thank you, not worth it.
I asked her for her number over email. She did not give it to me but she did plan for a Republican debate watch party that then she canceled. I showed up. She showed up. In retrospect it feels like, you can't have my number, but you can talk to me. But at the time her parting comment was, "I don't give out my number."
"That's okay," I said.
My attitude at the time was, if you are not giving me your number, I know all I need to know.
But it is never that neat and clean. Touching at the summer bash, brushing against at the Holiday party. If you feel this way today, you must have felt this yesterday, you must feel it tomorrow. Can we talk? Can you email me your number? That is where I would get stuck.
Krebs on his part went on a tangent. He had by insinuation tried to hook me up with a few mediocre white women, the kind that are his lifestyle. Here is your station, where my station is. At one DL21C event, he was with a girl, and I approached him to say hi, he totally ignored me, like go away, can't you see I am with a woman?
Your ass belongs in New Jersey. New York City belongs to me, all of it. I owned this city the day I moved in. I just now have to work and make it official. This city is custom made for me.
Twice he felt the need to "rescue" from me a Russian wife to a friend of his at Drinking Liberally. She is all enamored I know so much about Russian history and politics and that I have read War And Peace and also Crime And Punishment, while her guy is talking baseball and such inane shit. Krebs has to step in and right the ship. He has to draw the line. He has to do it for his friend. The woman belongs to his friend.
Another day I am talking happily to this young woman. Krebs asks her when was the last time she talked to her own brother! He had to intervene and desex the conversation, just to make sure, to be on the safe side. If you ask me, it is called hitting the glass ceiling at an early age.
Once I was talking tech with a programmer high school friend of his. I briefly mention how I plan on hiring people in India. It is like his face became devoid of blood. Krebs walked over to "rescue" the friend. To the friend it probably sounded like I were saying I will outsource your job to India.
Right now I don't have the slightest clue for sure if Caputo and I are upto anything at all, but that is not the point. Justin Krebs, hereby I kill our acquaintance. You don't mean shit to me as a human being going forward. I guess you get to focus on your work, I get to focus on mine. But then I will be seeking over the years ways to translate nonviolent militancy to New York City's realities. Just make sure you don't end up target practice.
Berger: "I am hot!" NYU. That was another Krebs-like moment. Small minds think alike.
It has not been weak social muscles, it has been dumbass white guys. This is not a race issue, this is a personal space issue assholes. If you are on my good side, that means my privacy is important to me. If you are on my bad side, that means there are big chunks of New York City where you don't belong.
My political eyes saw a French Revolution in Nepal months before it happened. Those same political eyes see this.
The day I touched a Senator is the day a president hugged me.
Bill Perkins is the next Mayor of New York City, but it is Elizabeth Caputo who is the top political story in this town. (Bill Perkins: Next Mayor Of New York City)
Visits on previous 'day': 713.
In The News
Obama sweeps Saturday contests; Huckabee takes 2 USA Today completing the best night of his campaign and securing a burst of momentum for upcoming races on Sunday, and beyond ..... Obama also notched a victory in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first-term senator's winning margins were substantial, ranging from more than two-thirds of the vote in Washington and Nebraska to nearly 90% in the Virgin Islands. ...... "He has made the decision to embrace the failed policies of George Bush's Washington," Obama said of McCain. "He speaks of a 100-year war in Iraq and sees another on the horizon with Iran." ......... Clinton had 1,095 delegates to 1,070 for Obama, counting so-called superdelegates. Obama seeks more wins over Clinton in 'Potomac Primary' AFP Hillary's toast: Obama unstoppable National Post The only winning ticket for Democrats is Barack Obama for President with Hillary as his running mate. Obama swept the weekend caucus and primaries and will continue to do so. He wins everywhere. His momentum is growing. ........ The fact that Bill Clinton has been forced to disappear from the campaign in order to keep his foot out of his mouth is an admission that the couples' two-for-one candidacy is now a negative. Nobody wants a President with a First Lady (Bill Clinton) who does his own thing, socially and financially, or is invited to cabinet meetings. .... He thinks out of the box. He is collaborative not polarizing. He is brilliant not cunning. He is optimistic not angry. ..... Hillary just hasn't got the right stuff. Never did. Or the right husband. Women Could Give Clinton the Edge In Maine's Caucuses Washington Post Maine should be friendly territory for Obama. Its voters are staunchly antiwa ...... You have a lot of women working two jobs, working on their feet, with their hands.
The peace process in Nepal is right now on very thin ice. This is the worst it has been since it started since the decade old civil war came to a halt. The Maoists have now said they will revive their parallel governments in the districts. What used to be called the royal army has said it will come out of the barracks. There are more than a dozen armed groups already active in the Terai, the southern plains, my part of the country, that was mostly okay during the civil war, but now will bear the major brunt should civil war break out again. The prime minister and his ruling clique are too status quoist, unimaginative, largely incompetent. They are adding fuel to the fire. All sorts of ethnic groups that have sprouted add to the complexity of the picture.
When a civil war starts, it takes a life of its own. Nepal could become worse than Sri Lanka if it were to fall off the cliff. The best time to act is before it all starts, like now. And it is political work. I am in a good position to plug back in and make some moves.
Otherwise this downturn could cost tens of thousands of lives and years of time before it peters out again. The last round cost 13,000 lives lost to warfare, twice that many lost to suicide, 10 years of time, and that is not even mentioning the damage to the economy.
But if things turn for the better and work out, Nepal not Iraq becomes the model for how to spread democracy in the world. Both countries have 27 million people each.
You are in a position to help. I need some help. This is a SOS call. Please give me our first ever conversation. Please come to the Planned Parenthood event on February 11 and do so. I would greatly appreciate that.
February 11, 6 PM Planned Parenthood of New York City 26 Bleecker St. New York, NY
Barack draws his African heritage from the Lou in Kenya. I knew that from his autobiography. What I did not know until the recent violence in Kenya is the Lou in Kenya are like the Madhesi in Nepal, the lowlanders who have been marginalized by the highlanders who control the politics and the economy. And now when it looked like a Lou got himself elected president, the highlanders' election commission went ahead and messed things up, risking the ensuing violence.
So the goal for someone like me is not just to make sure there is no second round to the civil war in Nepal, and I do not mean to sound alarmist at all, but the goal also is to help the Madhesi achive equality through nonviolent political action.
I had been eager to go to this event. And I showed up on time, at six. A night out with women in politics. There was one State Senator, Liz Krueger, and an elderly lady on the City Council from the Upper West Side who was the funniest. She looked like she had a walking difficulty. She walked in just in time to be announced.
"No, don't read my bio," she said. I was laughing. She also used the f___ word in her speech, just the first letter, as in nobody gives a f about.
There was Jessica. There was a staffer to Congressman Yvette who one false DFNYC rumor had it I campaigned for when she ran against Chris Owens. I had seen her at a Park Slope event where Weiner was a panelist, and I asked a question, and I decided this is not the next Mayor of New York City.
There was Suzie. She was the Asian woman I saw at the DL21C women's issues committee meeting I showed up for. Today I got to know more about her, like her name, I learned she works for Betsy Godbaum. She is a policy analyst. She did her grad school at GWU.
The setting was a great pick. This place actually had been a zipper factory in the 1900s.
There were a few things I noticed.
The planners had set out an entire hour at the end so people could mingle. My bet is this is one of those women things. Their take on group dynamics is different, slightly different. I greatly appreciated that hour. Most events tend to be in and out. Except Obama events of course. We linger around too.
Some things were not different at all. Once in a while you walk over to join a group for its conversation, and they will act like you are not even there. That is statistical. You can find a few of those at every event.
And then there is the 99% rule. That is the guarded white women. They will go out of the way to make sure you don't get the wrong hint. As in, I am cool and all that. But it is not fashionable, you know what. There is a flip side to that 99% rule. Since you are so less likely to bump into Indians, 99% of those are going to end up the no chemistry variety. But if it is about cultural overlap, I don't get that with either Indians or Nepalis.
But then I really did show up for the event. I wanted to meet women politicians. I had no hidden agenda. But one Planned Parenthood person was trying to get me to come to future events because there are mostly women and so "the odds are greater!" Okay.
Met a couple who lived in my part of Brooklyn: neighbors. How often does that happen?
Met Rosemary. She talked of her partner, so I guess she is gay. She had a comfortable body size. She talked so pleasant, the most pleasant of anyone I talked to at the event. She was working so hard to get me onto something called the Activist Council, whatever that is. I guess it is a Planned Parenthood thing.
I mean, I would like to meet New Yorkers who have a passion for going after Third World dictators. Then we can trade. Until then, I have to be fleeting. The eagle has not landed.
How do you explain? I have been so hard core for Barack, but I refused to be part of any structure. I don't join organizations. I just show for select events. I have zero interest in event planning: that has been true also for Obama 2008.
There was someone of Trinidad background.
"I could tell. I had a friend called Keisha at college. She was from Trinidad, and she had this sing song accent."
"I don't have an accent," she said. But then she gave me a flyer for the next event. I did not think I was planning on going to another event. But I might go for this one, if only to express some Third World solidarity to her.
Let's Talk About Sex Monday, February 11 6 PM 26 Bleeker St
Elizabeth Caputo showed up late. After the formal event was over, we both lingered around for more than an hour, and at one point the crowd got very thin, down to maybe half a dozen, but then a new crowd came in and the place was full all over again. I went downstairs for a little while, then I came back up once, then I left. On the sidewalk I realized I was not walking too straight. The drink downstairs.
Partly it felt like an issue unresolved. Part of it even felt like circling each other from a distance. But we are two individuals who never really have had a conversation. And that perhaps is the way it will be. When you are having to ask if it might even be proper to say hello, stay away. It is Safety 101. I just find the predicament weird though. Or did you lift the ban? Where do you get that info?
Caputo and I got major culture clashes. There is the obvious white, nonwhite thing. But the bigger might be 2.0. Hers has been the textbook route, Indiana to Harvard to Stanley. Mine has been wilderness to wilderness to wilderness to startup.
I also feel distant for another reason. The peace process in Nepal is back on extremely thin ice. I had not noticed while distracted by February 5 for weeks. People who did not care about Benazir - blip on the screen - are not going to care about something much more abstract, like the political predicament in Nepal. During my intense Nepal phase, I would be at an event in Manhattan and my mind would be 10,000 miles away.
After the April Revolution, I got a few DFNYC overtures. The time to like me was before not after.
I am also in the surfacing phase of my life when you don't abandon 2.0 but you go reclaim 5.0. This is not like claiming wisdom as inheritance. This can be to create, invent. 5.0 can be reshaped.
DL21C is very clear in my mind though, this is what I have to say.
Er
Dan Berger is a racist mofo. Two times he has gone ahead and described me a physical threat to Caputo. This asshole's claim has been that in a one on one with him I issued a physical threat to Caputo: he invented that stuff and found ready buyers. I am offended. He sure managed to engineer a compulsory coat check based on that invention of his. I have talked to this guy for a total of 20 seconds in this lifetime and those have been extremely unpleasant 20 seconds.
I am on my way to winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Berger's image of me does not quite chime in with that possibility. Stupid jerk.
Caputo never asked him to racially demonize me. He went ahead and did that on his own. He acted entrepreneurial.
I met racist people in Kentucky whose excuse for racism was that they were poor and uneducated. What is this asshole's excuse?
He talks and acts racist because he thinks that will make him less Jewish and more white. That is the gameplan. In his mind it is pretty darn sophisticated. Mitt Romney tried the same thing on Barack. He figured out talking racist was his ticket to becoming less Mormon and more white.
Berger does his DL21C work for his boss Charlie Rangel. He does not do it for me, or anyone else. He gets paid for it in a roundabout way.
This guy has a friend called Aaron. Aaron I knew myself from meeting at many events. I liked him, I thought he was funny. Aaron had a so so job. Looks like he lost that so so job and got another so so so job. Somewhere along the way these two assholes decided I am the reason Aaron lost his first job. Can it get any more ridiculous than this? These two toothpicks have a bonding thing going on.
So if I were to talk like Arabs who hate Jews, would that make me a macho man? The point being it is a progressive thing to do to not tolerate racism, especially the petty racism of the Burger kind.
I have a much more sophisticated appreciation for the Jewish predicament than this Berger dude ever will. One rotten apple is not going to color my perception of the Jewish people. There are assholes among all peoples. There are white assholes, there are black assholes, there are brown assholes. Assholes have planted themselves among all peoples.
This asshole bought himself a one way ticket out of my personal space. That's final.
The last time Caputo tried to talk to me was in the presence of this Berger guy. I was not exactly in the mood, no thank you. The next two times she sent him to tell me to leave.
Tonic is at the corner of 29th and 3rd, something like that. On 28th and Lex there is Curry In A Hurry. The official Barack Obama Super Duper Tuesday victory party was in Little India. Good pick. I had a mixed platter Indian dinner on my way to Tonic.
There were so many TV vans on both sides of the road. It was such a sight. And there was a long line. The crowd got so huge, a few other nearby bars had to quickly be arranged as alternate locations. It was a circus. I was already about 15 minutes late but I decided to stay across the street and take it all in for a few minutes. Two young women pedestrians approached me and asked, "Is this where Barack Obama is going to show up?" Yeah, right. They looked excited, like they might be able to catch a glimpse. They looked like they were 18.
"Well, he is in Chicago, but this is where many of the top Obama volunteers in the city are going to gather."
Another passerby asked me what was going on, why the ruckus? I said it was the Obama Victory Party.
"He won?"
"He is going to."
After that I got in line. While you waited you got to peep through the window of the next door bar that was one of the alternate destinations and see some of the early results. The guy ahead of me in line gave a nice recap.
Barack swept the country. He got more states and more delegates.
The white media kept showing Hillary won Michigan and Florida. That is so disrespectful of Howard Dean.
The Kennedy endorsement helped all across the country but not in MA. In MA the voters decided Patrick, Kerry, Kennedy, that was a little bit of an overdose.
I am not complaining about early voting in California. That is a big state's way of making up for not being a January state. I am thinking long term in not complaining. When Bill Clinton was president, he would fly off to California every other month or so. He has a thing for Hollywood.
The Blac - Black, Latino, Asian Coalition - identity is nowhere close to forming. You would think Hispanics and Asians are more racist than whites in terms how they viscerally stayed away from a black candidate. That was one of the shockers to me when I moved to NYC, all these Nepalis talking vile anti-black stuff.
But of course that is not the full picture. The Blac identity has to be forged. It has to be a positive one. It has to be about pride and participation. Plus, as people become more educated, they open up to possibilities.
Hispanics went 2-1 for Hillary, Asians 3-1 in CA. I don't think Barack has the option to try too hard to get the Hispanic and Asian votes. There are more white votes out there. And he has made a firm decision to stick to his broad themes. It took me a little while to realize that. And that is the right decision.
To come so close in CA, NY, NJ, come on. We did good. I am on record hoping we would do 40-60 in CA, NY, and that is what we got.
If we did 40-60 in NY state, we must have pulled even or better in New York City. I would like to know how we did in the city. Where do I go to get the breakdown?
Hillary was looking great on TV. There have been times in January when she looked harried.
I think by now both Barack and Hillary are resigned to the idea it will be a unity ticket. Good thing they like each other. I mean, that glaring possibility has been there all along. But now it is so concrete.
I routinely meet Obama volunteers who are like, no way, not Hillary. Duh, just crunch the numbers, dude.
Lamont is the pearl of the Obama 2008 operation in this city. I have only seen him a few weeks now, I don't know who found him, how he got in, but this guy is a magician. He works the crowd like noone can.
So Tonic is downstairs and upstairs, and from upstairs you can see most of downstairs. After having explored all nooks and corners - quite a task since the crowd was so thick - to look for any familiar faces, I was downstairs next to a nice semi-circular black leather couch, table in between. Lamont appeared out of the blue, stood up on the sittery, placed his left arm on my shoulder for balance, and waved with his right hand once this way, once that way, then twice to the crowd above, and a hey here, and hey there, and he had literally everybody's attention. How do you do that? This guy is supple. Then he led the chants. I say O, you say Bama, O-Bama, O-Bama. And one more. He got everyone riled up. Then when he cooled down and looked like might call an end to it, Sylvan from upstairs shouted a new chant for him to repeat, O-O-O-Bama-O. He pretended not to hear. Then he did the Barack thing on Sylvan: I Love You Back. Ha.
This guy is sheer joy. And to think Arthur introduced me to him only a few weeks back. He is one of those sunshine cheerful guys.
Bumped into Mistry. It is like as soon as I got in, he left. "Ain't gonna happen," he said. Looked to me like a busy banker was trying to go home and get some sleep before a busy day tomorrow.
Watch Out For Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton had fun in South Carolina. But he is a quick study. He must have learned his lessons. That makes him more dangerous. He is going to work the phones like a demon. But we are in good hands. These superdelegates are not his cousins in Arkansas. These are power brokers. If it is between a past and a future president, I think they will go for the future president. But I guess now Barack has to do some of what he had made hundreds of thousands of volunteers do across the country, and that is phone bank. How many are there? 700? I think the superdelegates from the states he won will be under some pressure to come along.
February should look good for us. March 4, the actual Super Tuesday, will have its day, looks like.
Barack's Victory Speech
I feel like we should keep giving him victories so he keeps giving those wonderful victory speeches.
Bill
Bill Perkins walked straight in when I was in line waiting for my turn. I guess he is a famous, important kind of guy. I call him Bill. When he becomes Mayor, I start calling him Mr. Mayor. But until then I will stick to Bill. Soon he was facing a TV reporter, and then he was gone. I guess he had a few different bars to make happy.
But my greeting Bill sped up things for me. Because the bar was full, you had to wait for someone to come out before you were let in. Soon after I was in. Some old faces, mostly new faces.
In The News
How Clinton won CaliforniaSan Francisco Chronicle by winning big among women, Latinos, Asian-Americans, gays and lesbians, older voters and working class Californians ..... She had a narrow edge, 49 percent to 46 percent, with those who made up their minds in the last three days, but held a 17-point advantage among voters who had decided earlier. ..... Clinton with a huge 59 percent to 34 percent advantage with women. ..... winning among Latinos by a 2-to-1 margin and among Asian-Americans by a 3-to-1 margin. ..... The two major immigrant groups voted for Clinton as opposed to the candidate who has the immigrant background. ..... Clinton won overwhelmingly with voters who did not complete high school (82 percent to 15 percent) Barack Obama ahead of Hillary Clinton Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom Clinton Lent Campaign $5 Million, Considers MoreNew York Times Many Indonesians cheer Obama in Democrat race Reuters Feminist leader sides with Obama over ClintonBaltimore Sun Obama Wins Big on Independents Yahoo! News Barack Obama Wins Missouri Democratic Primary, Fox ProjectsBloomberg How He CanWashington Post Obama's failure to engage Hispanic Americans on the issue of race. ....... Obama's insistence on treating race as a secondary matter is morally laudable. ..... all people are of mixed racial descent, and that there is no "pure" race. We are all the synthesis of many racial origins US Primaries: Obama wins in 13 states Rediff, India Did Obama or Clinton win Super Tuesday?Slate The Obama waveBoston Globe Clinton watched 20- to 35-point leads in the polls shrivel all over the nation. ..... Nationally, Obama got 64 percent of the young white vote. Super Tuesday fever reaches Obama's Kenyan villageTimes of India Barack Obama "said to me right in front of this home that he would be seeking the presidential seat," Sarah Hussein Obama said. "I joked with him: 'You just got the senator seat and now you want to leave that one and go for the other?'" Hillary vs. Obama: It Ain’t Over - New York Times He took the most states last night, he continues to build momentum, and there’s starting to be talk that the nomination is his to lose. .... him sweeping on Feb. 9 ..... the contest does not look a whole lot different today from how it looked yesterday.
We Barack Maniacs are going to take over the party, I mean we already did as Deaniacs, but we are doing it all over again, then we are going to take over the country - you are looking at a sweep of 40 plus states - and then we are going to take over New York City. Bloomberg is the last Republican Mayor this city will see. We have to reform the Democratic Party and make it transparent and accountable directly to the people instead of to narrow interest groups inside the party structure. New York City is the progressive capital of America, it is the progressive capital of the world. That fact has to reflect in the city's power structure.
Bill Perkins is the mascot for Obama 2008 in this city. And he is the next Mayor of New York City. Perkins 2010 is going to be a city version of Obama 2008.
I have said this before. I don't know a whole lot about local and state politics. But does it matter if the soccer field is in Brazil or Germany?
If this city is 40% white, and 60% nonwhite, the campaign staff and the subsequent administration necessarily has to reflect the diversity. It can not feel like some kind of a black takeover, although there is no escaping the black empowerment theme. But primarily it has to be about getting the job and doing the job well.
Bill Perkins can't be running to be the Black Mayor, but simply Mayor. That is the Barack way. He has a strong base in Harlem and Brooklyn. He has to ride the Obama 2008 wave for the rest of this year and go to events all over this city and get on a first name basis with 1,000 and more Obama volunteers all across this city. Become a man of all peoples. Barack did it by birth, you are going to have to do it one conversation at a time.
A place like New York City, you have to be tough on crime. Most of the crime infested parts of the city tend to be minority, and so tough on crime is a necessary minority agenda. But a Democrat could do one better on an issue often neglected by fire-breathing Republicans like Rudy: community policing.
Bloomberg has been a pretty good Mayor. You might not able to replicate the management skills of a self-made billionaire, but there is a strong message there to hire competent technocrats to keep the wheels running.
If you do a good job, that is the best racial statement to make also. Bill Perkins should make it feel like it is but natural for a black person to be Mayor of New York City.
I have seen Anthony Weiner in action. His personality type is for legislative work, not an executive position. He should keep working the ladders in DC. He lacks the gravitas to be Mayor. Bill Perkins got the gravitas.
Jewish Governor, Black Mayor, brown friend to the Mayor: that will look good. Does someone running for Mayor get a running mate? Could Jessica be that person?
The subway, education, health, crime control, baby, you can keep. I am personally interested in only one thing, and that is to help ensure a total spread of democracy by 2020. The single best thing anyone could do to help achieve that goal is to give everyone who lives in this city a right to vote in the city elections. That will bring about a political mobilization that will be a huge boost to the democracy cause. This most progressive of all cities will simply have to deliver on this one, or it is lying in its progressive claim.
Bill Perkins for New York State Senate 2006 New York State Senator | 30th Senate District | Bill Perkins Perkins served on the New York City Council. During his eight year tenure, he was the third highest ranking member of the Council serving as the Deputy Majority Leader. ..... After graduating from Brown in 1972 with a BA in Political Science Perkins returned to and dedicated himself to giving back to his community through activism and public service.
Rival Democrats Clutch Their State Prizes, and Look to Collect a ... New York Times Talks on Political Settlement to Election Violence Open in Kenya Voice of America Most Punjab labourers not from Bihar Times of India Pakistan Is Threatened, Intelligence Chief Says Washington Post France watches Chad-Sudan border BBC News Clinton, Obama Brace for Long Battle After Super Tuesday Split Bloomberg Obama won more states, extending their struggle for the Democratic presidential nomination into next month and beyond. ...... Obama, 46, prevailed in Connecticut, next door to Clinton's home base. He also won his own state of Illinois as well as Georgia, Delaware, Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho, Alaska and Utah. ..... the racial and gender divisions that appeared in earlier contests were once again in evidence. ..... one in five Democrats said gender was important in determining their votes ... Hispanics gave about 60 percent of their votes to Clinton ...... blacks favored Obama by 80 percent to 17 percent. Women favored Clinton by 51 percent to 46 percent while men backed Obama 53 percent to 42 percent. ...... Mark Penn, acknowledged that his candidate may be at a disadvantage in the next contests. ``We're coming on to some states that are more favorable to Obama,'' he said, adding that Clinton would likely fare better in the Ohio and Texas primaries on March 4. ..... He brought in about $32 million last month. Clinton raised about $13.5 million during that same period ..... the two were also deadlocked in national polls. Clinton Wins California Primary The Associated Press Was Clinton's Massachusetts win a surprise?Los Angeles Times Excitement builds in Clinton camp BBC News Already the focus is on the super delegates
I showed up for the Women For Obama rally at noon: Columbus Circle. It was great to see Anna again.
"Hey, I have not emailed you yet, but I am going to," I said to her after tapping on her shoulder.
It was a great rally.
It has been amazing to watch the Obama 2008 operation grow in New York City. I have pretty much watched it since day one. There is no strict hierarchy. Many organizations and committees have sprouted up. Leaders have emerged. Crowds have grown and grown some more.
I met some Indians. When you meet Indians, you get reminded what you look like.
"I came all the way to New York City, and still I mostly end up meeting white people. We should figure out ways to meet more often," I said to the Indian women at the rally after it was over.
One said she was married. Another said she was a "trite Indian doctor." She said she was taking the train to Long Island a little later to meet her "in-laws."
"You are married?"
"Yes."
Just then this young woman approached me. She handed me this really pretty, colorful postcard. It was an invitation to an event on Thursday.
"Is this a DL21C event?" I asked.
"No. This is not a DL21C event. This is a Planned Parenthood event."
"Hmm."
"But their women's committee people are going to be there."
I don't know about that committee. They never jumped onto the 2.0 bandwagon.
I decided I was going to show up. I have been curious a long time as to who the women politicians in the city are. I know one: Jessica. I mean, I know of her.
Politicians in this city are white guys, and black guys, and some more white guys and black guys. Women are few.
I met her last at this event with the Washington state Governor. She looked kind of familiar but I was not so sure. I asked her if she was with the Governor, and she said no. And then she got introduced and I realized.
If I get to talk to her, this is what I am going to say.
"Jessica, I hope you forgive some day, but I gave about two hours of my time to Cesnik when he ran against you. He was a Dean 2004 person, and I was a Dean 2004 person, and I met him at an event. But I look forward to seeing your career unfold."
Nina was shopping around a party she was throwing later in the evening somewhere in Chelsea trying to get as many Obama people to show up as possible. I asked her the precise location for it. She said go home and look it up online. It was a sublime moment of Indian self hate.
After the rally, I took the train to Washington Square park. There was supposed to have been some small event there. But I did not find it. The next event was Times Square, 4:30. So I decided to go to Chinatown.
I like the Chinese. If you are in Nepal, you have one option, and that is to be friendly with the Chinese. But if you like the Chinese in New York City, that is an act of free will.
I bought a watch for five bucks.
After I put it on, I asked the guy, "Is this waterproof?"
He burst out laughing. "For five dollar you want waterproof?" His eyes squinted further.
There was an Indian who looked like worked at the same shop.
"You from India?" he asked. It was not curiosity. It was an act of bonding.
I was not dressed right. Underdressing is Britney's thing to do during summer, not Paramendra Bhagat's thing to do during winter. I did not have my woolen cap, not my woolen socks, no woolen scarf around my neck.
I walked inside a noodles place. I wanted dumplings. No dumplings. They gave me something that looked like dumplings, but were rice cakes.
The event in Times Square was the most boisterous visibility event to date I had been to. There were about 200 of us. Next to us were about five Hillary people. And I was wisecracking about them most of the time.
"Did you notice? There are like f-i-v-e Hillary people over there."
The line always got a laugh. We were scheduled to be there from 4:30 to 7:30. Towards the end I realized as our ranks went down in number, the Hillary ranks gradually swelled. MTV might have arranged it that way. Civil wars are for Kenya, not America.
"So, Mikie, you think Harlem can do 80% or more on the 5th?" I asked.
"More like 99.9%. You know who that one person voting for Clinton is gonna be: Charlie!"
Half way through Barack showed up on this huge screen across the street. That gave me another line that I delivered upon at least two dozen people.
"Do you think Barack can see us?"
I also met a student called Hillary who was an intern at the downtown office.
"You spell it the same way?" I asked.
"Yes."
"So you are Hillary For Obama."
"Yes."
I made two trips to the 99 cent pizza place on the 41st and 9th before the event was over. The pizza did not taste good. That was a warning sign. I was falling sick. But I told myself I was just maybe not hungry. The cold was getting at me. I also made two trips to the nearby Toys R Us store. The founder of that chain was the primary investor into the dot com I was one of the founding members of in 1999. I also made one trip to the Starbucks, just to sit down for a little while.
Wait a minute, it was not Toys R Us, it was the Zany Brainy dude.
I knew of a Desi party that started at nine: Leela Lounge, 1 W on W 3rd St. I was interested in going. I showed up right on time. This was an Indian place, Indian food and all that.
I checked in, and then I gravitated towards this circle. I was surprised they were eating full fledged meals. But I was impressed so many Obama Indians had showed up. I sat down and introduced myself to two people. Then I looked around. I waved at one or two people who looked at me.
As the small talk rolled on, I came to realize this was not the Obama crowd.
I begged off. It was somebody's birthday party. One or two women who looked at me curious must simply have been amused. "Maan na maan main tera mehman." (You like it or not, I am your guest.)
I joined the then thin Obama crowd that grew over the hour. I met a white guy from Ohio who followed his college sweetheart to Mumbai where he works a local job on local pay for Rediff, our primary competitor with that 1999 dot com. "Yes, I ride the trains."
He told me of the anti-black sentiment in India. He said two Kenyans got thrown out of a restaurant in Mumbai. They were refused service. He said of another time, there was this black guy in this train, and trains in Mumbai are packed affairs, and it was like he was in a phone booth. Everybody had just stayed away from him, kept their distance.
Racism is wrong no matter which angle you come to it from. India has its many social ills. But an India that can not see an ally in Africa is an India that will not become a superpower.
For me taking pride in India, its heritage and its possibilities, and totally denouncing its social ills are no contradiction. They go hand in hand.
I met Assem Chhabra. I said, you know, I remember you from somewhere. It was from SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association. He knows some top journalists in Nepal. He writes a column for the Times Of India on the US election. He got me to read an article of his on his handheld that was set to be published the day after.
After an hour, I begged off. I said I was tired after going to a few different events.
I came home and went straight to sleep. I just felt so tired.
The following morning I woke up sick. I decided I was going to wait out this bout of sickness in bed. I knew where it was coming from. I knew it was not anything serious. But there were small stretches of time when it felt like pain. By the time the bout was over, I must have lost track of time, because I showed up at the Tonic Monday evening for Arthur's party scheduled for Tuesday evening. I had not been sick as long as I thought I had been. But my falling sick proves I have been absolutely dispensable to the Obama 2008 operation in NYC.
The waitress who told me it was Monday and not Tuesday yet gave me a mischievous smile. From there I decided to walk over to pay homage to the Empire State Building. How do you pay homage to the Empire State Building? You go stand right next to it, and then you look up.
That is the grassroots way. The only person who is indispensable is The Leader. The only thing indispensable is The Message.
