Bloomberg

Moskowitz, Frequent Bloomberg Critic, Endorses Him
Profile of the Incumbent: Bloomberg Lives By Statistics And Gives Aides A Free Hand
Ferrer Returns to "Two New Yorks" Theme as Bloomberg Picks up More Endorsements
Consultants Consider How Ferrer Can Rebound

My early blog entries have all been based on tribal instinct, and that is important. (Ferrer Can) Party loyalty is important. But I am capable of objectively looking at the other guy. For one, I did not know the longest time that Bloomberg did not inherit his fortune. He made it. I respect entrepreneurs. That new fact made me take a second look at the guy.

The lives-by-statistics article is a good one on Bloomberg. Some things in there that look good on him are: (1) the open house setup of his office that broke with 190 years of history, (2) his being driven by objectivity and numbers, (3) his delegation style, (4) his refreshing criticisms of the working of the political world ("too much horse trading"), (5) his respecting his own privacy: I admire his not telling the media where he goes for his weekends, and (6) his attempts to heal racial wounds.

That last one is key. Looks like all he had to do was shake Al Sharpton's hands early on! That is news to me. Guliani apparently would not have done such a thing. Looks like where politics touches race is kind of surface. But then that is whole another topic. Although Sharpton is an important man, and his hand has to be shaken, my idea of working on race relations goes way beyond shaking anyone's hand. It has to be policy talk. One that comes to my mind is community outreach programs by the police department so as to bridge the trust gap between the department and the immigrant communities.

So Bloomberg is a self-made billionaire who has a proven management style who pays for his own campaign and so is not beholden to interest groups, and he is largely socially progressive in his personal capacity. That last part really seems to work for him. The voters seem to feel a direct connection to him. I mean, if the guy is leading among blacks.

If I could vote, who would I vote for? That's easy. Ferrer. It is called party loyalty. I do think Ferrer still has a chance. But it is uphill. He needs to come fighting.

I think the biggest hole is he is not talking about his executive experience as Bronx Borough President. He has to be able to say his management style is better. Policy talk alone will not help. Some lines to say:

"Bloomberg lives by numbers. That is great. I want to live by numbers and people both."

"Bloomberg has an open house office for his senior staff. I want to have that and an open house approach to the people of New York. I will hold regular town hall meetings, one a month, for my entire term."

"Bloomberg is a self-made billionaire, and I admire that. But most people who worked for him and helped him make his fortune were products of public schools. Bloomberg should be ashamed of the dropout rate in the city's public schools."

"You want a mayor, not a CEO. What do people mean when they say Bloomberg is not beholden to any interest groups? You have to be beholden to the people of the city, as a whole and their many organized groups. You have to be responsive. I believe Bloomberg is distant."

"You don't see me on TV that often, because I don't have $100 million of my own to spend on ads. But if you get swayed by 30 second beauty ads that show you the city skyline and ask you to vote for Bloomberg, I am not your man. Do not vote for me. I am the message man. I invite you to intellgent conversations on issues."

"Crime rates are down. Good job, Bloomberg. But what are your plans for the next four years?"

"Do you promise not to revive the stadium plan?"

"Do you promise not to raise taxes, and to not break your promise to not raise taxes?"

"Where do you stand on Amadou Diallo?"

"Do you think George W. has been good or bad for posterity?"

Another big mismatch is it is Ferrer and his $1 million versus Bloomberg and $100 million, something of that sort. Bloomberg has basically blanketed the media. I tried suggesting countering that through email viral marketing techniques that would not cost a dime but would really reach voters if done right: you only get emails from people you personally know. But the idea has not been picked up.

For now it does feel like a Bloomberg shoo-in. But then the fun is in watching, in following the race, regardless of which way it goes. Unless Ferrer were to do something dramatic. Get more aggressive. It is possible for the race to tighten up over the next few weeks.

We will see how it goes. I mean, it does not look good that not even the Democrat President of Bronx has endorsed Ferrer. What's up with that?

The Saudi Royal Family Has Got To Go

The War On Terror is the same magnitude as the Cold War, but it does not have to last 70 or 50 years. It can be concluded by the year 2020 or earlier. And you do that by ensuring a total spread of democracy in a proactive way. Spreading democracy the progressive way has got to be the progressive strategy to win the War On Terror.

The House Of Saud has to fall, it has to get out of the way. Looks like there is a convergence point between me and Osama Bin Laden there. But then disagreements start. How to get there? We disagree. What to do after getting there? We disagree. His strategy of getting there is violent. And he wants to turn the country into a medieval theocracy. We want a Saudi Arabia that is a republic and a democracy.

The idea has got to be to ensure the most sophisticated moral and logistical support to the grassroots, non-violent activists for democracy right there in Saudi Arabia. We are going to give Osama a run for his money right there. We are going to train non-violent activists for democracy like he never trained an Al Qaeda fighter. It is going to be war with communications technology.

King George was wrong for America. The House of Saud is wrong for the people of Saudi Arabia. Monrachies make no sense.

Either a country is a democracy, or it is not, there is no middle ground. And countries that are not democratic need some rapid therapy.

The Arab immigrants in New York City will take the lead, first by aligning themselves with DFNYC, and then by splitting like amoeba to spearhead their own movements. Democracy For Qatar, Democracy For Yemen, Democracy For Kuwait, Democracy For Saudi Arabia, what have you.

NYC is the capital city of the world, and it is going to act like it too.

5 Steps To Democracy

Once the activists can get a critical mass of people out in the streets, all the world's powers need to come around to recognizing them as the new interim government. Start out by kicking out the ambassadors of the old regime.

I Am Running For Dean 2008 Campaign Chair

I think I am. I think of Dean 2008 every single day. Google my name: I am qualified. It can be said I moved to NYC, the progressive capital, to set up shop, although it has been more like gelling than an outright announcement.

I am old enough, in my early 30s. You could not have hired a 40 plus executive to launch Google. Dean 2008 is nothing less than a Google. This is like launching a Google. You need me. I will hire older CEO, COO, CTO, CFO types if I have to balance it out, duke it out. But not for the sake of it. You need the person with the idea leading the effort. Nuts and bolts are not the primary challenge. What you are looking for is oomph, fire in the belly, and I have it.

I am the only person who has so totally thought it through. I deserve it because I have thought it.

Dean 2008 is like a major dot com startup. Only its impact will be much larger than any dot com ever. A startup does not get launched by a veteran. A startup gets launched by a newbie.

Only a Deaniac can lead Deaniacs. I am a 2004 veteran.

Dean 2008 can not be launched until January 2007, and that is all good. But that does not prevent me from working on it every single day till then. On my own. Howard Dean is an inspiration, and that is all I really need to do my work. And I am really hoping I can make enough money through online marketing and blogging in a residual way by then that I can become a Campaign Chair who refuses a salary. A volunteer might better inspire an army of volunteers.

There is not another Democrat in America who has a strong on defense prescription like I do, and the experience I have acquired by telecommuting into the movement for democracy in Nepal.

I have personally won an election in the South. I think I have a solid strategy to win at least half the Southern states.

I have invented a few concepts that are really going to blow the competition out of the water.

I can do it. I have the talent, the vision, the will, the desire. I am ready as is. I will prepare more.

50% Women Friends, 50% Women Colleagues

A progressive corporation would be 50% women top to bottom. That would be one aspect. But it would not be too efficient to have a quota system. For the political sphere, I think the four concepts can really create a level playing field. And it does so without even identifying the various groups and subgroups. It is a mathematical model that treats each Home Sapien as one unit, and then builds up. Maybe someone can create something similar for corporations. It might even be a mirror image with slight modifications.

In a non sexist world, half of a man's friends would be women. Half the colleagues.

I just posted a blog entry at my Group Dynamics blog that kind of throws light on some of the tools I have worked on the social progressive front: A Few Diagrams. Click on the diagrams to study them. That way they appear larger.

Social progress is tricky. A 6 or a 7 can feel defensive among the 9s. A 5 can mistake himself for a 6. A 10 might make little or no sense to a 5. I think the key is to stay engaged in respectful dialogue.

2008: Some Themes

1. One person, one vote, one voice.
2. Total, transparent democracy.
3. Non-violent militancy.
4. Face time, screen time.

U2, Me Too

I could not believe it when I read the headline yesterday. My Google News page has a custom section for Hillary. And there was news that U2 had blasted Hillary. I am like, is that a typo? I thought Bono and Bill Clinton were friends, and the Irishman Bono was also grateful to the guy who did some political healing to the pain in the U2 song Sunday, Bloody Sunday, in ways only Bill Clinton could have. Bono was there at the dedication ceremony of the Clinton Library.

U2 is a class act. Don't get me wrong. I am a huge U2 fan. But then so is Hillary. And Hillary's best work lies ahead of her.

Apparently Hillary and some other Senator, Republican, had sold some U2 concert tickets as a fundraiser. Hillary has money: she is a multi-millionaire, and I am happy for her. But it is in the nature of politial fund-raising that you get to raise small amounts from many individuals. And that is all good. That is the democratic way.

U2 should have had the decency to say whatever they had to say privately. They could have picked up the phone. They could have requested a step-back from the Hillary staff.

The statement said, "U2 concerts are only for U2 fans." So who bought those tickets from Hillary at high prices? Not U2 fans? Come on.

The hurt has been done.

Hillary went on a talk show with a celebrity woman friend of her own, invited her to NYC and all that. Hillary will take her around.

Men can be predictable. Men. White men. Whites. In certain situations, they act certain ways.

If you hurt your man friend's wife, is that supposed to make that man think you and him are closer than him and his wife? That would be immature.

And there is this whole crowd thing.

Bill Clinton is a rare leader. He really makes the crowd come alive. The crowd is a virus at low temperatures, there but not moving. And Bill Clinton comes along, and raises the temperature, and the crowd comes alive. And the crowd starts having sex and money thoughts. And Bill Clinton is just vocabulary, bearing the brunt of all that talk.

And there is this another weird thing. Happened to both Amitabh Bachchan and Bill Clinton. The crowd so loves you, it has to constantly look for the other woman in your life. Because, if you love your wife, you could not be returning back the crowd's love. In Amitabh's case, it was Rekha in the press.

The crowd is a cloud, at best passing. Genuine affection only comes from intimate relationships.

Hillary said on the show, "Bill Clinton is a husband you want to keep around for 30 years because he does the dishes." Looks like the Man from Hope is hurt.

Bono, what did you do now?

Like the JFK daughter Carolyn asked Jackie Kennedy when a bunch of Nobel Prize winning physicists rang alam bells on apparent White House unconcern on atomic weapons: "What did Daddy do now?"

The One Voice Concept

Nuts, bolts and logisitcs are not my forte. I focus more on vision and broader group dynamics. I am not too eager at shaking many hands, but I can really raise morale when I get to it. So no, I am not all that theoretical. It is just that my specialization is at the big picture level.

I am really proud of the work I have done on the Nepal front. I am really part of the peace process conversations at the highest levels.

I don't live in offline America. I drop off just to socialize, do some grocery, things like that. You really have to imagine the Internet as a new country. The Internet makes multi-tasking more possible. I am more active in Nepali politics today than I was ever before, even more so than I was active when I was back there, before I came to the US for college.

And I am active in US politics, in NYC politics. Recently I have had this outburst of mental activity, and I really feel I have been able to cover some new ground. I almost feel a sense of completion. Yesterday I was thinking for the first time in months, I could really devote some time to my business activities. I felt that sense of completion on both Nepal and America fronts.

DFA is not just another PAC. If it is just another PAC, it is not going too far. So what makes DFA different? I have thought long and hard. I have come up with some concepts.

1. One person, one vote, one voice.
2. Total, transparent democracy.
3. Non-violent militancy.
4. Face time, screen time.

The thing about all my concepts is all of them are open source. They are not going to descend upon you like a law. People get to pick and choose. People get to modify the concepts for local use. And all of them are subject to an open discourse, starting right from my comments sections.
But I stand by them. I think I have a broad idea of how I would run Dean 2008, if I were Campaign Chairperson. I would have a CEO to take care of the logistics, a CFO to take care of the finances, a CTO for the technology, and a COO for operations. And I would whizz by the competition. That is the kind of confidence my concepts give me. I could do it.

The one voice concept, I have talked about it earlier. The best ideas do not come from committees. And groupthink is the name of a disease. The one person, one vote transparent mechanism has to be in place. Even the best ideas will have to go through that democratic filter, true. But one voice has to be alive. Individuals should freely think, and express and archive those thoughts. The most effective organizations live by the dictum the best ideas could come from anywhere.

On the big issues of race relations, I have already thought out the big thoughts. My approach is highly sophisticated. Policy talk is often inter-related. But then once in a while you bump into white folks at a micro level who say or do or suggest something as if maybe you should go organize a civil rights movement. At that level, I would rather respond in a way that it is they who feel the need to organize a civil rights movement. Or you just avoid them. I don't consider it my personal responsibility to help every Tom, Dick and Harry climb up the social progressive ladder. I don't have that kind of time. They need to be wiping their own noses. When I am politicking, I am in the business of getting votes, like business people are in the business of getting money. It is political entrepreneurship. Race is only one of many issues, although it is a big one as is. Progressives will, simply put, just have to feel comfortable talking about it.

And while I am at it, let me also briefly touch upon Howard Dean. I have often asked myself this question, what makes Howard Dean different? I asked that in 2004. I have asked that this year before I got to meet him. I have asked that while I met him. I have asked it after.

John Edwards is made for TV. Howard Dean is made for the internet. I think that is the difference. Edwards is good with soundbites, and looks good on television. But Dean feels much more real. You can not package this guy, and that is good, because with the new medium of the internet, you could not even if you wanted to. Dean's very appeal is that he is a regular, plainspoken guy. The TV creates a facade, the Internet takes it away. If 2008 will be an internet election, Dean wins, if it will be a TV election, Dean will have to work harder.

Don't Need To Wait Till 2008

If you want to see Howard Dean in the White House, you start work now.

Take back the City 2005.
Take back the Congress 2006.
Take back the White House 2008.

We need to apply and perfect our basic principles of organization. We need to put them to use now so when we have to put them to use for 2008, we are all experienced. We are ready to go. The guy in the White House will be relying on the MeetUps also for governance.

1. One person, one vote, one voice.
2. Total, transparent democracy.
3. Non-violent militancy.
4. Face time, screen time.

DFA Organization Framework

We could formally launch in January 2007, that is the earliest. And Howard Dean himself can not talk about it before that. But nothing stops us. And until then it is not even about Dean 2008, but rather our local races.

This is to be a bottom up organization. And hence the local races matter. The White House does not operate in a vacuum.

One Blog One LinkUp One Atom

Roll the ball, get it moving.

You don't need any resources beyond what you already have. Get your MeetUp moving. Get your MeetUp group blog to blossom.

Drop the buckets. You are at the mouth of the Amazon.

MeetUp, LinkUp

DFA was with MeetUps. That was true when I came into town. And suddenly DFA launched LinkUps. It was kind of unexpected for me.

Not long after I came into town I became personal friends with Scott, the self-effacing CEO of MeetUp.com. I am proud of that friendship. And I wish him all the best, of course.

The MeetUp, MoveOn cocktail can be positively devastating. They did some real good work with Katrina.

Social Networking: Where The Internet Comes Down From The Clouds

I hit the road. Scott went to work a coutner at McDonald's. We both had our downtimes. If in the late 1990s, you were not part of the dot com mania, where were you!

And it is not like I landed in NYC, more like I landed at DFNYC. As I have said, NYC is the crown city, DFNYC the crown jewel. I expect to go to the White House with Howard Dean in 2008, the year America the republic will become America the democracy.

DFNYC In The News
Tracey Denton Of DFNYC
Who Is Leecia Eve?
Lewis Cohen Has Been Behind Ferrer Since Summer 2004

Soaking In Howard Dean
Dean Was In Town Yesterday

DFA MeetUps were and still are the largest at that site. And I was not part of the LinkUp decision, and still am not in any position to have a say. I am kind of on neutral ground. That might actually help what I have to say.

I am for DFA using Google's Blogger, as opposed to starting something in-house from scratch. That "outsourcing" helps us stay focused. We are a political organization. In Blogger's case, it helps that it is free. We instead work the blogalaxy idea in-house. Google will always beat us on the blogfront. We should not even compete.

One Blog One LinkUp One Atom

The same argument could be made for MeetUp. A company whose sole focus is to leverage out MeetUps and is financially backed by eBay will likely do a better job than our in-house LinkUps in the long run.

MeetUp.com and Dean 2004 fed on each other. Dean 2004 could not have been imagined without the MeetUps. We have history together.

I would like to suggest a second attempt at a newfound business relationship. It might not bear fruit, but why not give it a shot?

MeetUp.com should realize losing its largest customer is a crisis situation, and should go out of its way to please that customer, especially when Dean 2004 and Dean 2008 are going to be whole different ballgames: Dean 2008 will be much, much larger. The DFA MeetUps will likely grow even larger after Dean is in the White House. The MeetUps will be key to the Dean governance style.

More On Organization
DFA Organization Framework

On the other hand, we DFA people need to realize the MeetUp idea is not our specialty.

Can something be worked out?

Costs. Those have become a major issue. What about applying the wholesale-retail concept? Prices at Sam's Club are not the same as those at the Walmart stores. As the largest customer, DFA should not have to pay the same price per MeetUp. If the rest of the world pays, $19 per MeetUp, perhaps DFA Organizers should pay $12 a MeetUp. Or $10. Just because there are so many of them, and there will be many more of them, if allowed.

Another way to bring down costs would be for the central DFA to "subsidize" some. And so individual Organizers chip in maybe $8 per MeetUp. Something like that. That might lead to a $1 per MeetUp price tag for each participant. And that is fair enough. We don't want just anyone to show up.

Living wage is around $10. If you go attend a MeetUp for an hour, that is already $10 you did not make that you could have. Or if you are a lawyer, that is $100, maybe more.

And MeetUp.com should be willing to add features that LinkUp has but MeetUp does not. And MeetUp should be willing to add more features down the line, always giving ears to its largest customer.

I think if we talk, something could be worked out.

One feature I request, a Google map that lists all DFA MeetUps on one map. As you zero in from the country to state to city to locality, you start seeing the specific locations.

The amount DFA must be spending to upkeep the LinkUp might pay for the "subsidy" part.

Ours tend to the most prominent, largest MeetUps in any town. When people go to the site to join, say, Knitting MeetUps, some of them end up joining us. Our standalone LinkUps do not have that advantage.

MeetUp is snazzier.

MeetUp could further reduce costs by really getting into the ad model. Google ads alone will not do. Even Wonkette sells its own ads. Maybe video ads like Yahoo. The more MeetUp.com works on the members' profile pages, more it can make through ads.

Ideally, MeetUp shoud be able to support itself solely through ads. Paid Yahoo Mail does not seem to fly all that high.

Lessons for social networking are to be drawn from real life. Members should have the option to tab each other, for example.

But those details are something to keep working on.

For now I throw in the idea of dialogue. Maybe something can be worked out. Maybe not. I don't know. I am not in any position to decide.

I mean, was the DFA taken into confidence before the mega decision of charging Organizers $19 a month? And if not, did that become a stickler? Was DFA's decision to launch a LinkUp also as abrupt?

Maybe we should talk and see if something can be worked out.

This Is What I Am Talking About

A woman has become Chancellor of Germany and suddenly a lot of career women in Germany are coming forth with gender specific workplace questions.

A few days back I talked of going beyond foetus talk. This is what I am talking about. The pro-choice stand is all good, but that is not the only issue women face. Infact, for most women, that is more symbolic than a choice they personally hope to face.

So expand the agenda. Talk more broadly. Dig up many more issues in gender relations. Issues to do with relationships and marriages, issues in the home, at the workplace, issues out in the streets, issues where big money and big power come into play.

The same applies to race relations, and cultural diversity issues. Too often worshipping Martin Luther King is used as an excuse to make no further progress on race relations. Education, health and economic growth cut across all racial lines, but there are a host of issues that are race specific, and those have to be talked about openly.

Digging up issues, and putting them on the table, and engaging in productive dialogue might be the best way to make progress on both race and gender.

Only I wish the women in Germany talked these issues up also before.

• Woman on top Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
• Merkel Becomes First Female German Chancellor Zaman Online, Turkey
• Let the Merkel era begin International Herald Tribune, France
• German Press Names Merkel 'Miss Germany!' Zaman Online, Turkey
• 'Merkel smashes stereotypes' Independent Online, South Africa
• 'The girl' who surprised the old boys in Berlin politics San Francisco Chronicle, United States
• Deal gives Germany 1st female chancellor San Francisco Chronicle, United States
• Merkel emerges as new face of Germany Globe and Mail, Canada
• Merkel to lead Germany as first female chancellor Detroit Free Press, United States
• Merkel to Be Germany's First Woman Chancellor Los Angeles Times, CA
• Chirac invites Germany's Angela Merkel to France People's Daily Online, China
• Merkel reaches deal to become Germany's first female chancellor Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription), MN
• First female chancellor plays it cool Financial Times, UK

My Photo At ABCNews.com

It is from this event: Dean Was In Town Yesterday. I am in the top right corner.

Howard Dean Backs Bloomberg Challenger
ABC News Sep 27, 2005

The Bloomberg Machine

Poll: Bloomberg Extends Lead in NYC Race Two new polls indicate the mayor's response to the terror threat helped him nearly double his lead over Fernando Ferrer. And an overwhelming majority of voters said they believe Bloomberg is stronger on security than his opponent....... Bloomberg with a 28-point lead over Ferrer, 60 percent to 32 percent, among likely voters....... the mayor appeared with the police commissioner and FBI officials to announce the potential al-Qaida attack and a tightening of subway security........ A Quinnipiac poll released three weeks earlier found the incumbent leading by 14 points...... CNN and the New York Post, citing unidentified sources, reported that an informant in Iraq who had told U.S. authorities about the plot later admitted he made it up. Bloomberg and police officials questioned those reports Tuesday........ The billionaire incumbent, who is financing his campaign with his fortune, led among both black voters and Democrats in the Quinnipiac poll. Ferrer, who is of Puerto Rican descent, had a slight edge over the mayor among Hispanic voters...... More than three-fourths of those surveyed gave Bloomberg high marks on security and favored him over Ferrer for keeping the city safe.......

Ferrer Attack: Ferrer's chief complaints about Bloomberg's security record are that he has failed to fight for federal counterterrorism funds, and should hire more officers to the city's police force of nearly 37,000.

Bloomberg Attack: Bloomberg's opposition grumbled about whether last week's threat announcement was a political ploy, but Bloomberg said Monday that he and his police commissioner were not playing politics....... "The implication that Ray Kelly or I would try to scare people for some sort of petty political gain is pretty cynical," the mayor said. "You can't stop and worry about politics when you're talking about keeping people safe in this city."

Looks like Bloomberg did get a major security boost.

Bloomberg: No Mr. Security

And compare the Ferrer attack to the Bloomberg attack. Bloomberg's is sharper. Sharpness works.

Bloomberg's online ads the past few days have been more message focused. The beauty ads are gone. I wonder if people on the Bloomberg campaign have been reading my blog. Maybe not. But I did criticize the beauty ads a few days back.

Ferrer could get more aggressive. But then if Bloomberg is getting most of the black vote, something is cooking up.

The self-made billionaire perhaps has limitless supplies of money and a political instinct or two to top that.

Ferrer Can