Going To Ohio

So. I am going to Ohio. I have decided. I did not think I would do it. But I am going. All political junkies I know are going. This is too much peer pressure. It is like, if you are not going to Mecca, how are you a Muslim?

Since I moved to NYC, I once went a few hours out to New Jersey for a Christmas party with the Madhesi friend who authored the idea of me moving to the city, her boyfriend's family's place, second home. They actually live in Fairfield, CT. I actually did not like the idea of going out of the city.

But this is going to be a big one, an entire weekend out. Adam tells me once in a while you have to get out of the city. So when you come back in, you get excited all over again.

Anything for Barack. Anything for Godfather.

Barack's Mother Makes An Appearance
Barack Has To Talk Much About His Mother

But I am Obama 2008's self-appointed national shadow Campaign Manager. Campaign Managers don't go knock doors, hand flyers. We inspire. So I think I am going to be doing a lot of sightseeing in downtown Cleveland. And I am going to meet as many Obama people as I can. I am sure this is like Iowa. Barack is already on schedule to winning Texas. So the feeling must be, let's take Ohio, and then we are done. I am sure there are Obama volunteers there from literally all over the country. I know Kathleen Sebelius is there.



This is going to be an entire weekend totally offline. That might be good for me. I need to get into the talkative thing. I think I might end up with dozens of new Facebook friends by the time the weekend is over.

It is between sightseeing and just whiling away at the headquarters. And some knock, knock, knocking on the heaven's door.



Come to think of it, Cleveland is the first American city I went to. Cleveland, Indianapolis ("But where are the people?"), Atalanta. I covered those three the first year. Downtown Atlanta was quite a feeling. In Cleveland, I kept bugging people, but where is the water, where is the water, show me the water. So they took me. Deep in the night. You could hear the water. The lake.

I have figured out the logistics. Wear jeans. Take one small bag: guys are stuck with the shaving thing. Be super light. Two days of eating out, six meals, okay so that is some more money. And some extra cash, in case you get left out for some reason and have to make the return trip on your own.

I once got left out. I was five, maybe less. This was some relative's wedding. Weddings back there are like this trip to Ohio. They last full three days. So you show up Friday evening. All of Friday night is rituals. All night, I am not kidding. So when my running mate and subsequent SGA Vice President Damien got married, I am like, wait a minute, I was just warming up, the ceremony is already over? It lasted all of 20 minutes.

So you show up, and they feed you Saturday, three fancy meals. Sunday they feed you, and then you leave. And it is not always a weekend thing. Depends on when the holy days are.

So I get taken to this wedding. And Sunday morning everyone leaves. In the confusion, I get left behind. Then someone in the jeep asks, Where is Pappu? Where is Pappu? And they turn around and drive back. This is on mud roads. Jeeps raise dust like it was a tornado trying to rise up from the ground up.

They found me all by myself, not a soul in sight, crying.

So carry extra cash just in case you have to buy a ticket back to the city.

$110 is an extremely good deal. I like Walmart, Dell, that 99 cent pizza place on 41st and 9th. I like the low price businesses. They are democratizing. $110 for round trip, and lodging and pizza. How did they do that?

I emailed saying I want to pay cash. Cash is real money.

DL21C Bus Trip to Cleveland, Ohio

Friday, Feb 29 - Sunday, March 2, 2008

Welcome to DL21C's Buckeye State road trip! We hope you'll join us next weekend. We expect the bus to fill up quickly, and the only way to confirm your spot is to sign up here.

The cost for the trip is $110 which covers roundtrip transportation on Campus Coach luxury bus lines, lodging (3-4 per room at the Holiday Inn Express, downtown Cleveland) as well as bus trip, pizza and beverages. You will sign a release upon departure and be responsible for all other incidentals not related to travel and lodging. Dress warmly (lake effect snow!) and be prepared for lots of walking to get out the vote!

Itinerary
(we will mail a complete itinerary to you early next week):

Friday, February 29
6:30pm Depart Penn Station via Campus Coach (pizza and welcome party on the bus!)

Saturday, March 1
2:00 am Arrive Cleveland, OH (Accommodations at Holiday Inn Express downtown, around corner from campaign headquarters)
8:00am-8:00pm Volunteer work with campaign of your choice (Cleveland and surrounding suburbs)
9:00pm Dinner and DL21C party - downtown Cleveland

Sunday, March 2
9:00am - 4:00pm Volunteer work with campaign of your choice
5:00pm Depart Holiday Inn for return to NYC
12:30am (Monday) Arrive Penn Station

Please email campaignvol -at- dl21c -dot- org with any questions or if you need more information.

We look forward to you joining us and being a part of history next weekend!

In The News

Superdelegates switching allegiance to Obama Guardian Unlimited After once leading Obama by a 2 to 1 ratio in the superdelegate chase, Clinton now has 241 to his 181 ...... the trickle of superdelegates who have defected from her corner to Obama's. The shift comes as she failed to deliver a telling blow on him in their penultimate TV debate before the Texas and Ohio primaries ...... two percentage points in Texas, well within the margin of error, and seven points in Ohio ..... "I think that it will sort itself out," Clinton said. "We will have a nominee, and we will have a unified Democratic party, and we will go on to victory in November." .... Superdelegates who represent areas won by Obama face pressure to declare for him.
In South Texas, Obama Focuses On Hispanic Voters Washington Post Clinton led Obama 59 percent to 36 percent among likely Latino voters ...... Obama offered a brown-black connection with the largely student audience with references to Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez, who organized the United Farm Workers Union in California. King, he said, had once written to Chavez to say their causes were one. ...... "Crank it up, guys," he said to the reporters huddled over their laptops. "Words matter. Don't listen to Hillary."

Obama Campaign On "The Moment" Atlantic Online the difficulty Hillary Clinton would have drawing a clear contrast with John McCain in a general election was when she, quizzically, attacked him for supporting the war in Iraq. Clinton also voted for the war

Texas Debate

In The News

Clinton, Obama spend differently Los Angeles Times Clinton pays top dollar to her aides -- giving her communications director twice as much in one month as Obama paid his communications director in a year. .... In the past year, Obama spent $1.8 million on buttons and other paraphernalia, whereas Clinton paid dearly for the fuel of many campaigns: pizza and doughnuts. ..... Since the campaigns began, Obama has spent $138.2 million and Clinton $120.9 million through Jan. 31. ...... Obama's fundraising has since surged ahead by $20 million, leaving her unable to match his spending in the March 4 showdown contests in Ohio and Texas ...... much of the money fueling his campaign has arrived via the Internet. ..... Clinton relies more on large fundraising events, often holding them at the mansions of wealthy donors and collecting the maximum $2,300 from people attending. ....... since the campaign began, she has paid almost $8 million to the firm Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates. She has another $2.1 million in unpaid bills to the firm

Texas Debate Watch: Two Stops

Texas Debate Watch: Another Story In Indignity?

So I showed up at around 7:35. Actually I got off the train around 7:15. But I whiled some time away at the Virgin store. There's one of those near Union Square I have visited where I have bought quite a few movies for $10 each. The last one was this great movie on Mozart, his life, oh so beautifully made, eight academy awards. Genius is a child. Genius is childish. Genius does not seek to please. Power seeks to be pleased. And so Mozart died an early death.

So I showed up. I liked it that it was the Connolly's Pub, not the O'Lunney's Pub, although both are on the same street, almost next to each other. But as soon as I got in, I got lost. People are sitting down and eating. This is not a bar situation. Where do I go from where? A waitress/receptionist came to my rescue quick. She did not ask me if I wanted to be seated. She totally read my mind. She addressed my confusion very directly. I was impressed. Women know to read faces. Better. She said the event was upstairs. When I proceeded to walk up, she came right behind me. I think she realized I might get lost upstairs as well.

But I found out. Caputo was working on the sound system of the TV with a waitress. But that was one of three big rooms, two of which were just like downstairs, people dining. Nobody else was there. No sign in sheet, nothing. I guess the place had not been set up yet.

She looked at me once. Next time she looked a few second later, she walked over and gave me a talking to that sounded gentle but firm.

"Let's have a conversation. I don't like you. I have never liked you. I am nice to everyone who shows up for these events. Nothing happened on day one. You are delusional. I am going to take precautions."



First thing I felt was, it might be okay for me to show up for future DL21C events. Here, I just went ahead and RSVPd for the March 4 event. By now, it is so obvious Barack is going to be the nominee, even Hillary knows that, Bill Clinton sure does. He has already said Hillary needs to win both Ohio and Texas to remain viable. Well, she is going to lose Texas for certain, and Barack is gaining fast in Ohio too. I no longer feel the need to pump up the Obama crowd. I feel the need to reach out to the Hillary crowd. Hillary saying "I am honored" during the debate sounded like she would be honored to be on the ticket. We are on our way to a dream ticket, a progressive dream come true. We will carry 40 plus states.

Tuesday, March 4
7:00 pm
Ohio/Texas Primary Returns Party
Tonic Lounge (West-Times Square)

"Let's have a conversation. I don't like you. I have never liked you. I am nice to everyone who shows up for these events. Nothing happened on day one. You are delusional. I am going to take precautions."

Precaution is what I took in showing up. The script at the blog reads like, I am going to show, then you are going to ask me to leave, then I am going to go to destination two. (Texas Debate Watch: Another Story In Indignity?)

This is what you wanted to happen. And so this is what happened. It is your responsibility. I did not even have to read your face, it is at your blog.

She did not ask me to leave. But I left. "I hear you," I said and left. As if I already knew the script myself.

Delusional? About my ambitions? Or about you?

Steve Jobs told the Pepsi CEO before he agreed to get hired by Apple around 1984. "Do you want to sell sweetened water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to make history?"

That is what I want to say to Caputo. So looks like you want to work the Stanley environment for the rest of your life, and you will likely lead the DL21C for a few years, although I never see you getting politically not interested. But is that it? Sugared water?

You liked me better when I was just a blogger to you. Like this guy friend of yours said "the blog gets read all over the world" at the Irish Rogue event. I have never been a blogger. I have always been a digital democrat. I penetrate the political walls to make impact. You have amazing 5.0 strengths. But you so look down upon 2.0.

Delusional about my big dreams? When I used to show up for DFNYC events before the April Revolution 2006, those people also talked dismissive. What does this guy do? And then Nepal hit the local media in NYC full force, and then they knew. Some guy at your bank who had written directly to his CEO to create his 2.0 job which he has now quit despite a very recent promotion has joined my startup team and has raised all its round one money. Is that delusional? The cutting edge application of 2.0 to make real political impact in Nepal that has as many people as California minus the physical and communication infrastructure, is that delusional? I bring the same passion to my startup that I brought to April Revolution 2006. It is because the internet is the only way to bridge the gap between the so-called First World, and Third World. People should not have to go to far away countries to get college education.

I am not delusional. I am a dreamer. I am cutting edge. I am daring. I am pushing hard at the edges. You are the one who seems to have stopped dreaming. If you were to keep doing the DL21C routine over and over again for the next five years, where do you expect to end up? Minus 2.0, DL21C is not going too much farther. With 2.0, it could go national. But you have a 2.0 phobia going on. But I am not going to be too hard on this count because I am as weak on 5.0 right now as you are on 2.0. I used to be super my freshman year at college. I could look at any random face and say something unique and be smiling high voltage all the time. How else do you think I got elected student body president within six months of landing?

If not me, then who? If not you, then who? Who will do the big things? Who will look at the big problems? Who will dream the big dreams? I feel like I am just starting out. I feel like I have just been born. The whole world is a virgin territory.

Yes, you could be president. I take enough pride in my political eyes to be able to make that claim. I already got some of Barack's attention. I don't need someone I know to be president to get a president's attention. But if not you, then who? What if I could neutralize sexism, physicalism and funds? Would you then dream? Could you then do it? I know you want to. You tried to pose for a picture with that young Pakistani girl at the Rangel event. What does that mean? All top politicians have posed with that girl. Hillary, Spitzer, Bloomberg, Cuomo, you name it. I have been to her home in Queens. You got the political pulse. But you feel like you have been around long enough on the planet to get "realistic." Well, I am too new to New York City to get "real." This city is nuclear fission to my mind. I am exploding with dreams and possibilities. A done deal on round one of my startup gives me supreme confidence.

You are going to be the first woman president of this country. If not you, then who? This is not pressure. This is what I see. So very clearly. Other people around you see that as well. Maybe not as clearly and as early and as in stark terms as me, but they all feel it. This woman is not going to retire when her time with DL21C is up. DL21C is a space shuttle that is in Florida. It has not taken off yet. This woman's heart is not in banking.



I have bet a million dollars on this with Adam that he does not pay me if his net worth does not exceed a billion. I have said, if you ever run for Mayor or Senator, you are going to end up president.

(1) Planned Parenthood night out with women in politics. "Disappearing" on ball drop.
(2) Holiday party. Looking at me, gazing, dancing to tease me, brushing against me full force.
(3) Washington governor event, final minutes, whisking the two women away.
(4) Education committee event of serving water. But then "disappearing" on ball drop.
(5) Irish Rogue debate watch party.
(6) Paterson event where you came to stand next to me and waved like a candidate spouse.
(7) Street fair where you were going to finally share your two campaign experiences with me.
(8) Summer bash where you did touch my private part, although it might have been unintentional because you were not looking in my direction. You came to stand in front of me - that was a very conscious decision - and did move your hand as if to reach out, and took one then another step towards me. That was after following me around a few times. On stage, the "republican" you talked about was me.
(9) The Republican debate watch party you arranged fully knowing I will be the only person to show.
(10) Day one. It was magic.

I can accept the version where you don't feel for me today. But the version where nothing ever happened. That is a lie. Flashes happened here and there. Flashes did not move to fruition, that is another thing. But flashes happened.

For you it was, either it is going to happen in 5.0 or not. For me it was, if it is going to happen in 5.0, it is also going to happen in 2.0.

Also, my thing has been, it is not about feelings. It is about the external reality. And it is not about feelings, but if you can bring yourself to say something, some verbal statement. Something as simple as, I like you, could get it started. Gestures are dangerous. You act on them a little slow, a little 2.0, and all hell breaks loose. For you it has been like, no, it is not the external reality. If two people are into each other, the external reality does not matter, but if they are not into each other, no amount of curing of the external reality will matter. And I kinda agree. But then I don't. Your WASP comfort zone needs a little unsettling.

And then there came a point when you gave up on the idea. This guy is not into it. So he might as well act professional now on.

So there was no conversation. My bad.

I should have stayed. I should have disagreed. I should have talked back. What we perhaps need is a little shouting match. Her style is combative. She likes combat.

But that's okay.

By the way, she was looking amazing.

I went over to the Obama venue to watch the debate. The place was packed with people and TV screens.








Nader Hopes Third Presidential Run Is the Charm Washington Post

Texas Debate Watch: Another Story In Indignity?

My Third World People Don't Get To Vote In This City
Wrong Circles
The Jewish Identity In New York City
Three Very Different Worlds: Nepal, Obama, Startup
Looking For 10 Ninja Women
Planned Parenthood: First Impressions
Message To Elizabeth Caputo: SOS Call
Planned Parenthood: A Different Kind Of Event
Tonic: What A Party

I am Al Pacino. Elizabeth Caputo is Meryl Streep. She is top political talent. So am I. She could be president, I am going to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I am also going to list my company on Nasdaq.

Granted there is this thing called feeling uncomfortable, but I did not think she was uncomfortable at the last event I saw her which, by the way, was not a DL21C event. Neither of us had to be there. Resolved, the uncomfortable thing is over.

You always have to be careful about Jewish people. You don't want to end up facing the question, so what up, you don't like Jewish people? But no one is going to out Third World me, I don't care if you are Jewish or what.

I still officially don't know if this Berger dude is Jewish, although I have two strong reasons to believe he is. One, there is that er. Two, he grew a beard over the Holidays like my man Friday Adam who is also Jewish. This guy works for a top name in Congress, Charlie Rangel. So he has to be technically competent. He is not exactly Rudy Shenk, who was Obama 08's New York state director. But he belongs in that camp of people who acquire technical knowledge on the details, not my personal specialty. He has his skill set, something I will never acquire.

Jesus was a Jew. Buddha was a Madhesi. We Madhesis have shut down all of Nepal's south for the ninth day in a row now. We are fighting for liberation. Berger and I might have more common ground than he realizes. What's up with these dudes like Jesus and Buddha? They come and go, and their peoples end up bearing the brunt for centuries.

So I have decided to show up for this DL21C event, the Texas debate watch party. The best that could happen is Elizabeth and I could end up having our first ever conversation. The worst that could happen is I could get kicked out third time in a row. At least I might then know never to show up again, since third time is the charm.

I show up early, like perhaps 7:25. If I get kicked out, I take a cab to the Obama debate watch party 30 streets down. I might take a cab. I think I am going to carry a hundred dollar bill if only to fluster the cab driver.

I am not much of a cab guy. I am a train guy. The subway is the most New York City thing about New York City. Trains are better and cheaper. But today I am going to be a cab guy if I have to be.

What the heck.


Thursday, February 21
7:30 pm
DL21C Texas Debate Watch Party! (This is an open event. Anyone can join and invite others to join.)
7:30pm
Connolly's Pub
121 W. 45th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues)
(Ten-gallon hats, cowboy boots and yellow roses optional...)

Name:	Obama NYC and Generation Obama Feb. 21st Debate Watch Party!
Tagline:	Let's make some noise for Barack!

Date:	Thursday, February 21, 2008
Time:	7:30pm - 10:00pm
Location:	Village Pourhouse
Street:	64 3rd Ave
City/Town:	New York, NY

Please join Generation Obama, Young Lawyers for Obama, and ObamaNYC for the Texas CNN and Univision Debate at the Village Poorhouse.
This debate could be huge for Barack and OUR movement, so let's celebrate together!
7:30-10pm
Village Pourhouse
3rd Ave and 12th St.
**Drink Specials all night**

Visits on previous 'day': 1,736.









In The News

Barack Obama keeps winning form BBC News
Obama, Clinton trade punches ahead of debate Houston Chronicle
Hillary's in trouble, Clinton admits Sydney Morning Herald Perhaps Mr Clinton is just enjoying himself too much on the campaign trail. ..... the snipers on the rooftops and the Texas national guardsmen, wearing flak-jackets, helmets and armed with semi-automatic weapons ..... Texas and Ohio have become Senator Clinton's last frontiers. ..... For the first time her usually optimistic husband admitted that if she does not win Texas and Ohio on March 4, she most likely will not win the nomination. .... the final Democratic contest in Puerto Rico on June 7
Obama wins Democrats Abroad global primary, over 60 per cent in Canada The Canadian Press
Clinton begins to cast Obama as hopeless dreamer Canada.com
A Clinton Strategy? New York Times
Clinton camp splits on message Los Angeles Times Bill Clinton, who suggested that his wife could not survive a loss in either of the next two major contests, in Texas and Ohio on March 4. ..... she did not heed calls to limit the overarching power Penn wielded within the brain trust as both its pollster and message- maker.
Bill Clinton says Texas, Ohio could be make-or-break for Hillary Dallas Morning News Obama on Wednesday held a rally for 17,000 supporters at Dallas' Reunion Arena, following a rally the night before at the Toyota Center arena in Houston before more than 16,500 supporters ...... "The biggest personality to come through Victoria in the last 50 years was John Wayne, so this is big," Stephen Jabbour, the county Democratic Party chairman, told the Victoria Advocate about Clinton's visit. ..... Clinton condensed his basic campaign speech Wednesday, which was running an hour or more last week during appearances in the state.

Visits on previous 'day': 1,736.

Talks on to end Nepal blockade AFP

Nepal Extends Terai Curfews; Madhesi Groups to Boycott Election Bloomberg Police fired tear gas to break up protesters in Janakpur yesterday as authorities maintained curfews in Nepalgunj and Biratnagar
Political Memo Clinton Aides Split on How to Take On Obama New York Times what could be her last stands, in Ohio and Texas on March 4. ..... intense frustration among Mrs. Clinton’s advisers ..... Mrs. Clinton woke up Wednesday to the realization that she had lost nearly every advantage she once could claim over Mr. Obama: money, momentum, a lead in national polls and an edge in delegates.
President Clinton: Texas and Ohio Are Must Wins FOXNews Bill Clinton said that March 4th is do or die for his wife making Ohio and Texas “must-wins” for her struggling campaign. ..... over 200,00 Americans gave Hillary 17 million dollars over the Internet in small contributions in the last 17 days
Powerful Teamsters Union Endorses Obama The Associated Press

Obama's Strategy to Avoid a Convention Fight Washington Post the idea is to win so many delegates that the Democratic leadership presses Clinton to concede ...... even after eight consecutive victories, Team Obama's ears were ringing with the warnings bells of New Hampshire. ..... it's like boxing: When you're the challenger, you don't win on points
Hawaiians Flood Polls for Obama U.S. News & World Report
Obama wins Hawaii in a landslide USA Today Obama had 28,347 votes, or 76%, to U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's 8,835 votes, or 24% .... 20 of the state's 29 delegates .... "I think Hawai'i is going to count this year," she said. "Before, we didn't matter."
Obama campaign insists that Clinton concede Guardian Unlimited The argument from the Obama camp appears designed to paint Clinton as a nuisance candidate -- much like Mike Huckabee ........ Obama and McCain increasingly are taking swipes at one another on the stump ...... "It is time to get real, to get real about how we actually win this election and get real about the challenges facing America," she said in her speech. "I am not running for president to put Band-Aids on our problems. I am running to solve them." ....... Clinton is being deserted by even her most ardent supporters: the working class voters she had been banking on in Ohio and even middle-aged white women. ....... The Clinton campaign also appears to have miscalculated with a last-minute burst of negative advertisements in Wisconsin. ...... Clinton also continues to face a cash crisis. Obama outspent her four to one in Wisconsin ..... Obama took 58% of the vote in Wisconsin against 41% for Clinton. He did even better in Hawaii, the state where he was born, carrying 76% of the vote. ..... Obama 1,336 delegates against 1,251 for Clinton
Obama Camp: Clinton Tactics 'Damaging to the Party' Washington Post the two sides are battling over the ground rules going forward.



Visits on previous 'day': 1,454.

My Third World People Don't Get To Vote In This City

Jewish people get to vote, black people get to vote, women get to vote, but my Third World people don't get to vote in this city.

Many of them don't even get to vote in their own countries because they got dictator creatures lording over them.

The right to vote is fundamental. Every human being deserves that basic outlet. Otherwise people end up with suffocation. That suffocation is painful to those who have to go through it, but it also has implications for the world at large. Swamps are no good. Mosquitoes show up ultimately.

Wealth is literally created out of thin air. Bill Gates did not steal 50 billion from someone. That 50 billion did not exist before he came along. Political space is also created out of thin air. A people who become free do not eat up space of others who were free before them. They expand the overall space through their freedom and so are now in a position to contribute to the larger good. It is a win win situation.

Nelson Mandela talks of "a thousand little indignities" in his autobiography. New York City is not exactly under the cloud of apartheid, but it sure is a city where about 40% of its people go about disenfranchised. And that has concrete implications. You end up with tens of little indignities.

Why do people petition Senators? Why don't they do it on their own? It is because there is a vertical degree of separation between the Senators and the citizens.

America Is A Senator Country

New York City is a Senator city like no other. Every little town on the planet is represented here. Everybody you need to spread democracy into the far corners of the earth lives right here inside the boundaries of this magic city. But so far they have been wasted. Because they have been kept disenfranchised.

New York City does not belong to New York City. New York City does not belong to America. New York City is one city that belongs to the world. This city like no other has the potential to be the progressive dynamo to all humanity. But the city's global political potential goes unharnessed.

If the neocons can be on schedule to spending two and a half trillion dollars just in Afghanistan and Iraq, the progressives must counter by giving the right to vote to every New Yorker in the city elections. It is a political decision, it does not cost money. And that one act can help the cause of democracy in countries across vast swathes of the planet, why only Iraq and Afghanistan?

If you live in the city, you should be able to vote in the city elections, as simple as that. Your landlord gets to certify you live in the said building. The data thus collected gets used only for city election purposes and for violent crime control. The date does not get shared with federal or local immigration officers.

But right now the political establishment in the city is no different from Third World dictators in its thinking. Both deny their people the right to vote.

Bill Perkins: Next Mayor Of New York City

When I think Third World, I don't think perceived slights, or oh you made me feel uncomfortable. The implications are much more concrete. People are dying, to unnecessary violence, to petty, curable diseases. There is the slow death of poverty, ignorance, primitive social ills, super sexism, ethnic divisions.

Thirld World woes get measured in deaths, daily deaths. A big chunk of that is just plain, utterly preventable infant mortality. I am pro-life on that one.

Democracy is where it begins. You introduce democracy into a country with a big bang.

Progressive Political Religion: No Place For Superpowers

In the long run, you want a leveling out. Through democracy, robust economic growths and the internet, you want to end up with a level playing field. People should not have to immigrate for greener pastures.

And New York City is in a unique place to be the dynamo for that positive change. Shanghai also has the skyscrapers, but it does not have NYC's diversity. But NYC has so far acted blind to that wealth.

The Third World people have to demand the right to vote in the city, and the political establishment has to meet it half way, happily so. The people should not have to struggle. If the establishment makes the people struggle, they are not acting progressive.

The current arrangement is racist. Racism is not part of the progressive ideal. This city is lying when it proclaims its progressive credentials. Progressive for whom? Not for the disenfranchised.

The war on terror concludes the day every Arab country is a democracy. That is the only way. This voting rights thing is the progressive way to become strong on defense and eat the neocons' lunch.

And, by the way, you get to say Global South. The term Third World is like the term n____. Only black people get to sometimes use that on each other, although that too has to be discouraged.

Wisconsin, Hawaii Returns Watch Party

Time:	Tuesday, February 19 at 7:30 PM
Duration:	4 hours
Host:	Faina Ibragimova
Location:	Irish Rogue (New York, NY) 356 W 44th St New York, NY 10036

In The News

Miami Quiet Following Castro Resignation The Associated Press
Voters Go to Polls in Wisconsin Primary Voice of America
Obama opens Texas campaign with housing talk Baltimore Sun
Pakistan Opposition Parties Win Nationwide Elections (Update1) Bloomberg
Call for Musharraf to Go After Election The Associated Press The vote was also a slap to Islamist parties, which lost control of a province where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have sought refuge. .... the two main opposition parties won a total of 154 of the 268 contested seats ..... plans for a new government and a possible showdown with Musharraf. ..... The Pakistan People's Party of assassinated ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto was leading with 86 seats ..... The two main opposition parties were unlikely to finish with two-thirds of the seats required to impeach the president.
Fuel, electricity shortage in Nepal continues Xinhua
Obama nudges into first-time lead The Press Association words do matter -- and can influence history.
Clinton wages war over Obama's speeches Newsday
Clinton Waits Out Wisconsin Results in Ohio CBS News
Patrick defends Obama on national TV Boston Globe
Obama leading Clinton as contests get underway MarketWatch Wisconsin is the last primary leading up to the March 4 contests in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont. .... a 90-day moratorium on subprime-mortgage foreclosures, ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and providing universal health care
Clinton's Dallas office opens, Dallas Morning News

Obama Camp Raising Specter of 1968 Atlantic Online 2008 will be just like 1968, but worse. ..... given the silence of the superdelegates so far, a scenario whereby Obama's having recieved the majority of both earned delegates and the popular vote results in an annointment of Hillary Clinton is a big stretch.

Clinton 08 Is Getting Desperate

• Michigan and Florida don't count.
  
• Obama has won many more states, more votes, more delegates. He almost took Brooklyn.
  
• It has now become technically, mathematically, impossible for Hillary to win enough delegates to secure the nomination. She can not get a 30% margin in OH, TX, PA, which is what she needs. (OH, TX, PA: Treat Them Well)
  
• Obama has more money, and can raise much more, faster.
  
• March 4 will be tougher on her than it ought to have been. She is hastening her demise through the tactics of desperation. Her supporters have started to desert. The negative tone will make things worse for her. (If Hillary Goes Negative, She Finishes Third In Iowa)
• Worst case scenario: she might not even be running mate if she goes too negative now. (Running Mate) There are women governors in Kansas and Washington waiting in the wings. (Barackface: A Ying Yang Scenario, Barackface: A Woman For Running Mate, Perhaps A Governor)
• I think Barack will take Texas. (Hillary's Rudy Strategy: She Will Lose March) Then it is over. If she delivers a good concession speech, she could be running mate. (A Vote For Barack Is Not A Vote Against Hillary)
• The convention will be no firewall. The superdelegates are not going to disrespect the people.
  

Jupiter And Obama (February 2007)

In The News

Do-or-die Hillary turns bully as Obama Times Online an air of desperation in Hillary Clinton’s camp. ..... Obama, 46, is being tarred as a cultish, messianic figure who talks big but cannot deliver. ..... white women, blue collar workers and Hispanics – her core supporters – have begun to peel away. ...... Privately, her mood has darkened after losing eight primaries and caucuses in a row. The reali-sation that without a series of huge victories in the remaining contests it is impossible for Clinton to win enough “pledged” delegates to clinch the nomination has sent her staff into shock. ...... Tempers have been running high within the Clinton camp. ..... Insiders say the atmosphere is dark, even though the fight is not over yet. ..... there have been too many chiefs and not enough Indians ....... friends of Bill or “white boys”, as Penn and Terry McAu-liffe, the campaign chairman, are known, have long viewed “Hillaryland” – the closed circle of female friends – with suspicion. ....... “There was a feeling that nobody was in charge,” said one observer. “She would try to play honest broker and go to Hillary with, ‘Mark says this, Mandy says that, Howard [Wolfson, her communications chief] says this’ when what they needed was a general.” ....... she did not have the nerve to tell her the campaign was haemorrhaging cash at an alarming rate, a troubling sign of the fear and apprehension that Clinton inspires among staff. ....... staff blew through a mind-boggling $130m and still ended up out-organised by Obama ...... Obama ahead by 47% to 43% ....... Bill Clinton is also campaigning with begging bowl in hand for funds. ...... Daughter Chelsea, 27, has gone from silent campaign accessory to full-throttle surrogate, holding rallies of her own on college campuses. Only now is Clinton’s campaign beginning to invest in states that have yet to vote, after assuming that Obama would at this stage be out of the race. ......... Clinton’s camp has been circulating stories criticising the “cult” of Obama in the hope of portraying “Obamania” as a mass delusion ........ “Media figures call Obama supporters’ behaviour ‘creepy’, compare them to Hare Krishna and Charles Manson followers”. ....... The campaign entered a nasty phase last week with the determination of Clinton’s team to revive delegates from the “ghost” primaries of Michigan and Florida, by legal action if necessary. ..... Even some Clinton supporters are aghast at the prospect that she might try to “steal” the election in this way. ..... her last stand at the Alamo. Her Texas firewall may already be crumbling: one poll on Friday put Obama ahead by 48% to 42% ...... Many Democrats predict a bloody civil war should Obama be defeated by the white men in suits who have run the party for decades. ...... Party leaders are watching her performance with apprehension, wondering if she really is willing to tear the Democrats apart in order to capture every last vote. Nancy Pelosi said: “It would be a problem for the party if the verdict would be something different than the public has decided.” ....... Obama’s ability to outmanoeuvre Clinton is showing in the battle for superdelegates. ...... Obama was already planning for the long game.
Clinton Campaign Gearing Up For Convention Showdown CBS News behind the scenes, the Hillary Clinton campaign is gearing up for what could be a nasty fight over the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August. ...... "The Clinton campaign should focus on winning pledged delegates as a result of elections, not these say or do anything to win tactics that could undermine Democrats’ ability to win the general election.”
Clinton Aide Wants Mich., Fla. Delegates The Associated Press
Op-Ed Columnist The Grand Old White Party Confronts Obama New York Times Regardless of party, it’s hara-kiri for a politician to step into the shadow of even a mediocre speech by Barack Obama. ...... Letterman memorably pegged its lineup of presidential contenders last spring as “guys waiting to tee off at a restricted country club.” ...... McCain jokingly invoked the Obama slogan “I am fired up and ready to go” ...... the G.O.P. looks more like a nostalgic relic than a national political party in contemporary America. A cultural sea change has passed it by. ...... What was only months ago an exotic political experiment is now almost ho-hum. ...... vestiges of the Southern strategy persist in some Republican quarters. ..... Jerry Falwell, once an ardent segregationist, and Pat Robertson, a longtime defender of South African apartheid ....... nativist overkill on illegal immigration. ...... a 2000 Republican National Convention that had more African-Americans onstage than on the floor ....... the so-called millennial generation (dating from 1982) is the largest in American history, boomers included, and that roughly 40 percent of it is African-American, Latino, Asian or racially mixed ....... In the vast arena of the Internet he has been shrunk to Grumpy Old White Guy, the G.O.P. brand incarnate. ....... if she tosses her party into civil war by grabbing ghost delegates from Michigan and Florida. ..... the Republican Party will face Mr. Obama with a candidate who reeks even more of the past and less of change than Mrs. Clinton does. ...... “I am tired of fighting the Vietnam war. I have drifted toward Obama.” ..... it is Mr. Allen who is the foreigner in 21st century America, Mr. Allen who is in the minority in the real world of Virginia. A national rout in 2008 just may be that Republican Party’s last stand.

Obama's Momentum vs. the Clintons' Moxy Forbes, USA Barack Obama leading Hillary Clinton 49% to 37% among likely Democratic primary voters. ..... on February 14 the United Food and Commercial Workers, one of the largest unions in the country, endorsed Barack Obama. The backing of both unions will strengthen Obama’s support in the Hispanic community.

Wrong Circles

Moving To NYC

I moved to NYC summer of 2005 to launch my company but got distracted by urgent Nepal work, best work I ever did. I did not move to the city to run for office. My passions are too global. I am very political, but my style is not about shaking many hands. My way is the digital democrat way. Don't join organizations. Don't sit on committees. Show up for select events. My blog is not journalism. It is space time travel. You cut through a thick world to land in front of the right eyes. The idea is to have impact. And I have had that.

The internet is what will bridge the gap between the west and the rest. And so if your constituency of choice is the Global South, entrepreneurship makes a ton of sense. It is not just a demand issue, it is also a supply issue. I think my personality type is suited for that executive feeling of creating, growing a company. Political organizations just come across as so very inefficient to me. They also come across as socially lacking. My relationship with four white political organizations in Manhattan have soured, in each case it has been race. In a city that is 60% nonwhite, all these organizations are overwhelmingly white in their composition. That is not random. That denotes a value system.

The Jewish Identity In New York City
The Need For A Race Gender Coalition
Tackling Race As An Issue The Average Person Way

2.0

I can't imagine a political involvement minus 2.0. That is the next big thing. America is Europe. The Internet is the new America.

The Disenfranchised

The people from the Global South who live in the city are a people disenfranchised. They ought to be able to vote in the city elections. That is the single best thing this city could do to fight the War On Terror. You do that, you engineer political mobilization, you help spread democracy.

Wrong Circles

I have been moving in the wrong social circles. My startup beckons me.

I am not opposed to political involvement at all. It is just that it has to seamless 2.0 and 5.0.

Looking For 10 Ninja Women
Bill Perkins: Next Mayor Of New York City

Being Fair

I don't seem to care on a daily basis what happens in the Philippines. So it should not bother me there are people in NYC who don't care what happens in Nepal. Nepal simply is not on their radar.

The 99% Rule

More than 99% of the people also in this city stick to bonding inside the races, more like 99.9, most get even more specific. Like a woman said once, "I like my men like I like my food, which is Italian." It is a privacy issue. It is not offensive. What is offensive is when it takes the tone of social segregation. The soldiers of social segregation feel the need to enforce the rules on others, draw the lines.

The most diverse city on the planet is also the most segregated. Technology is ahead of human attitudes. At some level the whole thing is so exotic.

Work

Work brings some discipline to the landscape. You are focused on specific tasks.

Silicon City

Global

NYC is the most global of all cities. That is its appeal.

No Excuses

When the most exotic culture is but one simple search away, there is little excuse for people to pretend otherwise.

In The News

Unofficial Tallies In City Understated Obama Vote New York Times In the Harlem district, for instance, where the primary night returns suggested a 141 to 0 sweep by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the vote now stands at 261 to 136. In an even more heavily black district in Brooklyn — where the vote on primary night was recorded as 118 to 0 for Mrs. Clinton — she now barely leads, 118 to 116. ....... On Feb. 5, Mrs. Clinton carried 61 of the state’s 62 counties but won Brooklyn by a margin of less than 2 percent.

'One Madhes one province’ demand cannot be met: PM NepalNews
Prachanda reaffirms his presidential dream Prachanda said that the first development agreement during his presidency would be with Norway.
Steering Committee to govt: Recognise those killed in Terai movement as martyrs The seven-party Steering Committee today asked the government to recognise those killed during agitations in Madhesh as martyrs.
NSP (A) pulls out of SPA Anandi Devi Singh announced that her party was no more with the ruling alliance, and also announced her resignation as the member of the interim parliament. ..... She said the party would now start peaceful movement for the rights of the Terai people.
Police open fire at protesters in Bara, strike cripples life in Terai Cadres of the United Madhesi Democratic Front have been demonstrating demanding that their 6-point demands be fulfilled before the constituent assembly elections. ...... The indefinite general strike called by the front has affected normal life across Terai region on the fourth day today. The hilly districts in eastern region also remain closed due to the strike called by a Limbuwan group.
Tankers to transport fuel with security escorting two armed guards will be posted in each tanker on top of security escorting.

RJP leads a new ‘democratic’ front The RJP has launched Samyukta Samabeshi Morcha (SSM) by bringing together half a dozen smaller parties. ..... The front includes RJP, Dalit Janajati Party, Nepal Rastriya Janabhawana Party, Rastriya Janamukti Party and Rastriya Jana Ekata Party.
JTMM-Jwala bombs election office in Banke

Building the Perfect Laptop BusinessWeek Steve Jobs had unveiled the supersvelte, aluminum-clad MacBook Air by declaring it the "world's thinnest notebook" and dramatically pulling it out of an interoffice envelope ..... superthin X300 .... one of the most competitive markets on earth: the portable computer business. The best engineers and designers at the most powerful technology companies slug it out with top-secret plans and ulcer-inducing deadlines. ....... From Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Dell (DELL) to Acer, Lenovo (LNVGY), and Toshiba, design and production teams race to carve out their share of the fast-growing market. They fight over ounces and millimeters, but their victories are measured in billions of dollars. ..... The goal now with the X300 is to deliver a machine that will burnish Lenovo's reputation worldwide. "We want to send the message that if there's a company in the industry that can continuously develop the most inventive and best-quality products with efficiency, it will be Lenovo," says Chairman Yang Yuanqing. ...... Lenovo doesn't expect the X300, with prices ranging from $2,700 to $3,000, to be a huge seller. ..... For the first time ever, more laptops are expected to sell in the U.S. this year than desktops
The One-Guy Theory the fundamental media conglomerate problem: There are too many layers. There are too many fiefdoms. There are too many...guys. ..... at News Corp., Rupert Murdoch is the one guy who sets the parameters, who makes the decisions, and whose sensibility is stamped onto the brains of underlings ..... unattractive One-Guy traits—micromanagement, tone-deafness, the inability to stop undermining successors
Microsoft and Yahoo!: Happily Ever After?