A Dirty Bomb Just Went Off In The Gulf

FoxNews.com: Massive Gulf Oil Spill From Space

Bill Clinton on his way out told Bush the Al Qaeda was the number one security threat he needed to worry about as president. Bush did not pay attention. 9/11 changed that. 9/11 has gone on to define an era, or at least a decade; it sure hijacked the Bush presidency.

By now many of the smart people in the relevant government agencies are on the lookout for the dirty bomb. The terrorist threats persist and are real, but the environmental threats are much bigger. It is like a dirty bomb just went off in the Gulf Of Mexico.

This spill - the word does not quite capture it - just might destroy the fishing and tourism industries in a few different states. That alone is tens of billions of dollars.

The scale of this thing is mind boggling.

Gulf Coast oil spill could eclipse Exxon Valdez - Yahoo! News
Louisiana Oil Spill 2010 PHOTOSOil Spill Gulf Oil Spill Photos...
Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico : Natural Hazards
Gulf Oil Spill Containment Efforts Photos- CBS News
Gulf oil spill: latest NASA satellite photo| Greenspace | Los...
Oil spill approaches Louisiana coast - The Big Picture - Boston.com

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First Ever British Television Debate

In South Africa They Had Apartheid, In America They Got Immigration

June 3 Immigration Court Date

America is a country of immigrants. Even the Native Americans crossed the landmass into Alaska back in the days. Expressing hostility towards immigrants in America is like saying you might be at McDonald's but you don't get to order a quick sandwich.

Race is America's original sin. Only now finally there is a black man in the White House. (Jupiter And Obama) The anti-immigration people are racists. You can draw a line that threads up slavery and segregation and anti-immigrant hostility. The emotional content is the same in each case. Hatred might be in your heart, but you don't get to translate that into policy. Policy is in the public domain.

America is not a landmass. It is an idea. That idea is democracy. Until we as a planet become fully democratic, until we have managed to create decent living standards everywhere, America is going to have to allow a steady flow of immigrants. Granted there is a smart way to do it, but saying no is not an option. That is off the table.

The American economy fundamentally owes its number one position to immigrants, and that is true at both high and low ends. Say thank you to those who put food on your tables.

Immigration Is Today's Civil Rights Movement
Immigration, Duh
Immigration Makes Economy Sense, Democracy, Justice, Family Sense

Reshma Saujani: Comprehensive Immigration Reform To Create Jobs And Secure Our Future
Reshma Saujani: Innovation, Ethnic Pride, Thought Leadership

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Reshma Saujani: Innovation, Ethnic Pride, Thought Leadership

Finally I got to meet Reshma in person on April 5 at the event put together by South Asians For Obama (now Opportunity) and Voterbook, both organizations I got to know very well during Obama 08. I was already sold on her before meeting. But meeting in person really cemented it for me. I don't make statements. If I did not believe she has a clear shot at winning, I would not get excited about putting some volunteer time into her campaign. She is supremely qualified. She is hugely promising as an up and coming political figure. She is going to win. She has to win.

She was for Kerry in 2004, I was for Dean. Actually this blog's launch itself was inspired by Dean 2004. She was for Hillary in 2008, I was for Barack. Check out the name of the blog: Barackface, like the movie Scarface. But we are putting all that aside and getting behind Reshma 2010.

Reshma Saujani was one of Kerry's top 10 fundraisers. I did not do a-n-y fundraising for Dean. She is leaps and bounds ahead of me in political skills. She was also a top Hillary fundraiser. They had a name for people like her in 2008: hellraiser, or hillraiser. We Obama people were running scared.

Innovation

Nate Westheimer, March 4: The Innovation Platform

I first heard of the Reshma Saujani name at Nate's blog. Nate, some of you might know, runs the NY Tech MeetUp, he is a friend of mine. (Social Media Week: The Best NY Tech MeetUp Ever) I wondered where she was running. Maybe in California, I thought. The name was obviously Desi, but I don't know of any New York politician who has got any major techie in town excited, and Nate was clearly excited.

AnyClip.com: More Thoughts
AnyClip.com: Second Thoughts
AnyClip Is Live Now




TechCrunch: Mark Zuckerberg's Coding Skills, Circa 2001

The next 10 million jobs America needs will be created largely by startups. Reshma Saujani "gets" that.

Reshma Saujani has the distinction of being the first politician in America to use Square for fundraising. Jack Dorsey is more well known for Twitter, but he is also the founder of Square which turns your smartphone into a credit card reader.

Square Now Being Used For Mobile Payments At Political Fundraisers

Here's Jack Dorsey speaking at a Reshma Saujani fundraiser in the Bay Area.

Ethnic Pride

Many districts in New York City that are overwhelmingly brown in composition are represented by vastly white guys at various levels of government. This rule by the East India Company has to come to an end. And I also notice and like the fact that Reshma is a woman. I harbor feelings on gender that some white guys in the South harbor on race. South Asia is a pretty sexist landscape, and the Desi culture is a pretty sexist culture. Figures like Reshma rising up give me hope about my community that perhaps we can do better going into the future. It was great to hear her say her first 50,000 dollars were raised through the "Auntie network" all across America.

Do I Know Rajiv Shah?
Happy Holi
Adhikaar: International Women's Day



Thought Leadership

Representing a safely Democratic district in Congress, Reshman Saujani will be able to push the limits on many progressive causes. Her opponent Carolyn Maloney has been a checkbox Democrat. She has a track record of having voted the right way many many times, but she has no track record of having provided national leadership on any issue. Carolyn Maloney is no thought leader. Carolyn Maloney is no leader, period.

Reshma Saujani for Congress - Democrat for the East Side and Queens
Reshma Saujani's bio
Reshma Saujani (reshma2010) on Twitter
Reshma Saujani| Facebook
Reshma Saujani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reshma Saujani - LinkedIn
Reshma Saujani - Yale Law School
Reshma Saujani
Yale Alumni Magazine: Yalie of the week
Congress.org - Election...Reshma Saujani

Reshma Saujani
Eleanor's Legacy: Spring Breakfast 2009 - ERLC Board Member
PEU Report: Blue Corporacrat .....Reshma Saujani Running for House Seat
IndiaPost - Voice of Indians Worldwide - New York attorney Reshma
Reshma Saujani Ditches the Pearls, Wins Over Fashionistas on
Hillary Lawyer Reshma Saujani to Challenge Maloney? | The New York...
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Reshma Saujani, 34: Candidate for Congress | The New York Observer
Maloney challenger brings in $403G
Reshma Saujani: Financial Reform From Soup to Nuts
Reshma Saujani Takes On Carolyn Maloney for U.S. House - NYTimes.com

Geraldine Ferraro says some pretty stupid things in the New York Times article. She also had stupid things to say about Obama back in 2008. Hillary disowned her in the aftermath. Carolyn Maloney has not disowned her yet. The clock is ticking.

Geraldine Ferraro, Geremiah Wrong
Geraldin Ferraro, Geremiah Wrong: A Dialogue

DNAInfo

Reshma Saujani Raised More Money For Primary Race Than Carolyn Maloney In Last Two Quarters
Reshma Saujani Courts South Asian Voters In Upper East Side Congressional Race (I am quoted ... this is where I met Reshma for the first time.)

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Do I Know Rajiv Shah?

I came across this on the New York Times page earlier today, and the face and the name made me think. This face looks familiar. Is this that guy I met in Philly in summer 1999? No, can't be. (Video: 10 Minutes With Rajiv Shah) I watched the nine video clips. That confirmed it. No, I have not met the guy, although he does remind me of someone I met over a decade ago. That put the matter to rest.

After a nap, the name kept coming back at me. So I told myself, why don't you just google up the guy? That will put matters to rest. I googled up his name. And that did put matters to rest. I have met the guy. Rajiv Shah is the Rajiv Shah I met back in 1999. I was in Philly doing my summer stint with Chaitime.com that was trying to be the premier South Asian online community. I found myself at his apartment for a gathering of I believe it was called IAPAC, Indian American Political Awareness Committee. I might have mangled the name right now. He was leading the organization. So I met him once. I got to meet his fiance, Shivam. We connected because she was Bihari. I am half Bihari, Laloo Ka Aadmi. My gripe had been you literally don't meet Biharis in the US. You meet Gujaratis, Marathas, Tamils, but no Biharis. The other day I was at a SASI - South Asia Solidarity Initiative - event here in New York, and I met three Biharis. When it was my turn to speak I said I have been in America over 13 years now, and I have met a total of five Biharis, three of them I met today. SASI is lead by my friend Prachi. Prachi passes the landgrab test.



(At that SASI event only a few days back, I show up and I meet this guy who is from Sri Lanka. "Oh, you from Sri Lanka?" I said. I started talking to him about this Sri Lankan I met several years back. Ends up I was talking to Ahilan about Ahilan. "I sported a beard back then," he said.)

So I met Shivam, and I met her again randomly at a mall in Philly. We talked on the sidewalk for a few minutes. Then I went to another Rajiv Shah event, this was not at his place. I was talking to a white guy friend of his. We must have been talking a lot because Rajiv then walked over and expressed a slight jealousy that I was getting along so well with his friend. I guess they were pretty close. I did not know. I forget the guy's name. Actually I never learned.

Chaitime went down after two years. The nuclear winter set in. And this morning I meet Rajiv Shah again on the pages of the New York Times. The Wikipedia entry on him says he is "the highest-ranking Indian American in any presidential administration." Now we need someone to become Secretary and then for Bobby to become president, and the circle will be complete. I'd think Rajiv has as good a shot as any Indian to become Secretary of this or that or the other. (Independent For Bloomberg)

So I looked up Shivam on Facebook, and there she is in her family portrait. Facebook says we have a mutual friend in Akin Salawu. Akin I got to know doing Obama 08 in NYC.

I sent a friend request. But Shivam's Facebook page lists Seattle as her hometown. Something tells me she does not log into Facebook all that often. And Shivam has not done the Facebook land grab thing yet. That also makes me wonder. (Facebook Landgrab: A Friday Midnight Call)

At the time Rajiv was at Wharton and Shivam was at Harvard Medical School. That is where my sister Babita's husband is at right now. Babita was in town a few days back. It was so good to see her after months. (Landgrab test. Fail.)

Is Rajiv Shah on Facebook? You gotta ask.

Reshma Saujani for Congress - Democrat for the East Side and Queens
Reshma Saujani Takes On Carolyn Maloney for U.S. House - NYTimes.com

Obama's Got Momentum: He Could Defy History In November

Barack Obama has momentum. The guy has wind behind his back. Having turned the Great Recession into an upswing, the guy is on his way to his original agenda. History will tell you this guy is supposed to suffer losses in November. Midterm elections are not for presidents. But this guy has a track record of defying history. Black people were not supposed to be president. He became one. Now he is on track to defy history again and do well in November. Passing health care will cement his grip on Congress so he can go on to do bigger and better things.

If this guy can cure the Great Recession, if this guy can deliver Universal Health, I am going to argue this guy could even deliver Peace In The Middle East. Is there an upper limit to how many Nobel Peace Prizes any one individual can get? I am wondering.

This guy has confounded me since I got to know of him. His successes seem so effortless. I guess he is extraordinarily charming. He keeps his cool. He stays positive. He has challenged some of my assumptions.

I was one of those who at some level thought his talk of a new kind of politics was at some level naive, but I was willing to cut him corners as long as he kept scoring political successes, and I watched him primary after primary, caucus after caucus. Finally at one point I declared myself a student of his new kind of politics.

How can you make progress on race if you don't even talk about race, I thought. This guy has done as much for race relations as anyone in history already, and he does not seem to believe in talking about race, not much.

There is tremendous power in positivity, Obama teaches by example. Stay positive, and get things done.

There is this intoxicating mix of idealism, pragmatism and ambition in his personality that really gets me. He smells of possibilities. When he does big things, instead of looking exhausted, he makes you feel like bigger still things are possible, and are in the works.

He has shifted so many major paradigms. He has redefined so many old ways of doing business.

This guy delivers health care, and then he begins his presidency. That is what I am feeling right now. I love this guy as much as ever.

If Obama keeps the House and the Senate in November, he will have defied history. I think he will. November 2010 will be a repeat of November 2008. History will be defied.





New York Times

As Health Vote Awaits, Future Of A Presidency Waits, Too the presidential equivalent of an all-in bet on the poker table .....  his hopes of passing other ambitious legislation like an overhaul of immigration and a market-based cap on carbon emissions to curb climate change.... the legislative procedure Democrats are using to avoid another filibuster.....Democrats have bitter memories. “A lot of them have P.T.S.D. from 1994,” said a White House official, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder. .......Mr. Clinton’s problem was not taking on health care but losing on health care. .......an opposition with its own challenges
A Broader View of Health Care if at least 25,000 people die per year for lack of insurance (it may be twice that), that’s a greater toll than America suffered in World War II
Access, Access, Access one-quarter of Californians are now uninsured......Republicans today are lined up overwhelmingly against a health care package that is more modest and moderate than one that Richard Nixon proposed in the early ’70s........American women are 11 times as likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth as Irish women. The average person in Honduras or Vietnam is expected to live longer than the average African-American in New Orleans.........there is one group of Americans who do fine in international comparisons — and that’s the 65-plus crowd. They have Medicare........uninsured people are significantly more likely to die than insured people. That’s because diseases are caught at later stages on uninsured people.......the best way to hold down abortion numbers is to improve access to health care
Obama’s Strong First Round
Fleeing A Sinking Governorship



John Liu, Future Mayor
June 3 Immigration Court Date

DL21C

DL21C Out Of My Mind Forever

The Manhattan District Attorney

Robert Morgenthau, Manhattan District Attorney, 1975-2009 .... he grew up knowing Roosevelt. ..... In 1961, after twelve years of practicing corporate law, Morgenthau accepted an appointment from President John F. Kennedy as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He was the Democratic nominee for governor of New York in 1962, but was defeated by the incumbent Nelson Rockefeller. He then was reappointed U.S. Attorney and served for the remainder of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. As a United States Attorney Morgenthau established a special unit to investigate securities fraud and prosecuted highly publicized bribery cases against city officials and IRS attorneys and accountants....... He was eventually forced out of office at the end of 1969 ...... seek the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1970 ...... Morgenthau returned to private life until 1974, when he was elected to the office of District Attorney of New York County. This was a special election caused by the death of Frank Hogan, who had served as D.A. for more than thirty years. Morgenthau defeated Hogan's interim successor, Richard Kuh. He was elected to a full term in 1977 and was re-elected seven times. He was not opposed in a general election from 1985 to 2005. ...... In the general election, he was once again the candidate for all political parties in the election, having been nominated by the Democrats, Republicans and the Working Families Party. Morgenthau won re-election with more than 99% of the vote....... On February 27, 2009 Morgenthau announced that he would not seek re-election in 2009, saying "I never expected to be here this long ... [R]ecently I figured that I’d served 25 years beyond the normal retirement age." He was replaced by Cyrus Vance, Jr., a prosecutor under Morgenthau and the son of former President Jimmy Carter's secretary of state Cyrus Vance. Morgenthau officially endorsed Vance on June 25. Vance went on to win the primary election on September 15, 2009 and the subsequent general election on November 3. On January 20, 2010, Morgenthau joined the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. ...... Notable Assistant District Attorneys under Morgenthau ...... Sonia Sotomayor (1979-1984): Current Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Andrew Cuomo (1984-1985): Current New York State Attorney General, and previously served as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton. Eliot Spitzer (1986-1992): Former Governor and Attorney General of New York State. John F. Kennedy, Jr. (1989-1993): First son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. Former journalist, lawyer, pilot, and socialite. .... The character of District Attorney Adam Schiff (played by actor Steven Hill), the New York district attorney in the long running TV series Law and Order, was loosely based on Morgenthau. It is reported that Morgenthau was a fan of the character.

Richard Aborn For Manhattan District Attorney

Charlie Rangel

Sorry, Charlie - Rangel Makes More Excuses for His Failure to Pay Taxes Sep 15, 2008
Charlie Rangel, Rental Income, Tax Evasion: Stop The ACLU Sep 5, 2008
Caveat Bettor: The Charlie Rangel Tax Evasion Story keeps on giving Sep 16, 2008
Charlie Rangel Tax Evasion Sep 16, 2008
Charlie Rangel Tax Evasion Sep 16, 2008
GOP calls for Rangel to step down - Los Angeles Times Sep 10, 2008
Charles Rangel's tax problems | flashpoint Sep 15, 2008
2008 Most Embarrassing Re-Elected Members of Congress - Home
Why Charlie Rangel stepped down as Ways and Means chairman / The Christian Science Monitor Mar 3, 2010
Charles Rangel on the brink of losing Ways and Means chairmanship Mar 2, 2010

Governor Paterson Kickoff Event In Harlem

The FBI

If the FBI has a file on me, that would make the FBI people motherfuckers. My guy is in the White House. That would be your boss, assholes. I got the White House. What else do I need to get for you to stop engaging in racist demonization?

I first witnessed this tendency to demonize in Kentucky in 1997. I did not like it. I am not putting up with it. You are going to back off. Fuck 9/11. This is nothing to do with 9/11. Your racism is older than 9/11.

The Obama FDR Parallels
Iran: An Opportunity

February 2007: Jupiter And Obama
November 2006: Switching To Obama




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The Obama FDR Parallels

Image via Wikipedia

"The New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who fears a lost decade, said in a lecture at the London School of Economics last summer that he has “no idea” how the economy could quickly return to strong, sustainable growth."

FDR's was the Great Depression. We are calling ours the Great Recession. FDR gave us Social Security, Obama is going to give Universal Health Care. The recession is over. The recession is not over. You love me, you love me not.

I think there are obvious parallels between the Great Depression and what we are going through right now, but it is also important to realize we are treading new territory.

(1) The Bailout

That was necessary. It is interesting that many of the banks have already paid back most of the money. I am on record at this blog saying that is what will happen, although I did not see it happening this fast. But they have not paid back all the money, so.

The bailout was putting the fire out. Without the bailout it would not have been a Great Recession but Great Depression II.

(2) The Stimulus 

It was necessary but insufficient. When it was put together, I was not shocked by the size of it. What did bother me was it focused too much on the past and too little on the future. I was surprised how little was allocated to broadband, for example.

(3) Banking Regulation

Work here has not gone as well as needed. Wall Street needs a new set of pants. Take off the boxer shorts. Put on some pants.

(4) Public Works Programs

Basically I am arguing for a second stimulus package that might be similar in size to the first one. This would be one pig push to create a truly post-industrial America. The first big wave of job creation will have to be the government's work, otherwise the 10% unemployment figure is feeling pretty comfortable where it is. You did not rely on the market for the bailout, or the stimulus, you sure do not expect the market to do the regulation work. That same courtesy has to be extended to job creation.

Most of the job creation will happen in the education and health sectors. Instead of creating a Tennessee Valley Authority, you would create a program to hire a ton of mentors to kick-start the inner cities, for example.

Universal and faster broadband is fundamental to this very idea. That is the centerpiece. That basic physical infrastructure is what will take both education and health to their next levels. Obama has to build that universal, faster broadband infrastructure like Eisenhower built the interstate highway system. Without that America is not going to become a post-industrial society. People will have to be plugged in.

The idea has to be for the government to hire five million people. If you are going to do it anyway, it makes no sense to do it later, or do it in small steps. Creating new jobs has to be the centerpiece of the second stimulus bill.

Education and health will have to be reimagined. That is why getting health care right is so key. It can't just be about adding entitlement programs for people who are known will not pay in, although everyone has to be covered. It also has to be about bringing the costs down across the board. You inject technology and the market forces into the sector.

On Deficits And Debts

The time to reign in the deficit and the debt will come, but that time is not now. Once the recovery is full, the political wind will blow in that direction.

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Happy Holi

Facebook Photo Album

Governor Paterson Kickoff Event In Harlem

Image via Wikipedia

(This post by request of my good friend Aisha Ahmed.)

Please join

GOVERNOR

DAVID A. PATERSON

as he kicks off

The People First

2010 Campaign for Governor

Rescheduled: new date Sunday, February 28

Doors open at 1:15 p.m., event starts at 2:00 p.m.

Our Children’s Foundation

527 West 125th Street, Harlem, NY

Event is free but R.S.V.P. requested

To R.S.V.P. visit http://www.governorpaterson2010.com/events or call (212) 286-2010

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please fill out and bring with you to speed entry

Name _____________________________________ Phone ____________________________________

Address _______________________________________________________________________________

Email _________________________________________________________________________________

YES! I will vote for Governor Paterson Call me to volunteer! I will host a house party

GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON
Biography

DAVID A. PATERSON became New York's 55th Governor on March 17, 2008. In his first address as Governor, Paterson spoke about the challenges facing New York and his plans to build a better and brighter future for the citizens of this great state.
Governor Paterson was ahead of the national curve in predicting and acting on the State's current fiscal downturn. Despite the greatest economic crisis our State has ever faced, Governor Paterson has enacted sweeping reforms on a wide range of issues facing New Yorkers.

Governor Paterson led the movement to create permanent reforms to the way health care is delivered in New York State to rationalize the State's Medicaid reimbursement system and provide increased investment in primary and preventative care. He overhauled the Rockefeller Drug Laws for the first time in more than 30 years and after a 9-year struggle to update the 1982 law governing bottle deposits, Governor Paterson guided the legislature to enact the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. In addition, as a result of the Governor's leadership, the Empire Zone Program is being reformed, the basic welfare grant was increased for the first time in two decades to help assist those struggling in poverty during a time of unprecedented economic turmoil and unemployment insurance benefits have been extended.

Governor Paterson successfully negotiated an MTA bailout plan allowing commuters to avoid painful service reductions and he introduced landmark civil rights legislation that will end legal discrimination against same-sex couples in New York.

In 1985, at the age of 31, Governor Paterson was elected to represent Harlem in the New York State Senate, becoming the youngest Senator in Albany at the time. In 2003, he became the first non-white legislative leader in New York's history when he was elevated to Minority Leader of the Senate. He made history again in 2004 when he became the first visually impaired person to address the Democratic National Convention and again in 2007 when he became New York's first African- American Lieutenant Governor. As Lieutenant Governor, he led the charge on several crucial issues for New York's future including achieving legislation for stem cell research, working to prevent domestic violence, putting forth a statewide renewable energy strategy and championing the expansion of minority and women owned businesses in New York.

Governor Paterson, who is legally blind, is nationally recognized as a leading advocate for the visually and physically impaired. He is a member of the American Foundation for the Blind and he serves on the Board of the Achilles Track Club. He serves as a member of the Democratic National Committee and as a Chairman of the Coalition of Northeast Governors (CONEG).

Governor Paterson was born May 20, 1954 in Brooklyn, NY to Portia and Basil Paterson, the first non-white Secretary of State in New York and the first African-American Vice-Chair of the National Democratic Party. He earned his bachelor's degree in History from Columbia University in 1977, and completed his J.D. at Hofstra Law School in 1982. He lives with his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, and their two children, Ashley and Alex. Ashley attends college in Upstate New York and Alex attends public school in New York City.

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