How To Wreck an Economy in Eight Short Years

This pretty much says it all:

How To Wreck an Economy in Eight Short Years

(HT Kevin Drum)

Portrait of a Scoundrel

Here's a video clip of Joe Lieberman advocating--just three months ago!!!--for the same Medicare buy-in plan he's now threatening to filibuster.

There's no excuse for anyone to pretend any longer that Lieberman's behavior can be explained in terms of logic, evidence or principle. Ezra Klein's comments on this are particularly apt.

Jon Stewart Explains Fox Noyze

I have nothing to add to this commentary.

Now's the Time

We are on the cusp of a decision that may launch our country on a path of genuine improvements to our health care system. Whether the outcome is progressive reform depends on all of us.

Here's a list of events, most in New York, some not. Please do what you can.

TUESDAY – OCTOBER 13

Upper Manhattan Health Care Reform Forum with Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan
Time: 7 PM
Location: The Armory – 216 Ft. Washington Ave., between 168th & 169th St. (ground floor theater).

• State Senator Eric Schneiderman, sponsor of a bill that would enact universal health coverage in NY State.
• Councilman Bill de Blasio, Democratic nominee for NYC Public Advocate, and sponsor of a bill to promote healthy eating.
• Geoff Berman, Deputy Field Director for OFA NY.
• Dr. Aaron Fox, National Physicians Alliance

WEDNESDAY - OCTOBER 14

National Day of Action - Rally for the Public Option
Time: 4:30 - 5:30 PM
Location: Southwest corner of Union Square.
Host: Moveon.org

Bring thank you cards written to Sen. Schumer, or write them right there at the event. A member of Sen. Schumer's office will be on hand to accept the cards.

SATURDAY – OCTOBER 17

Get BACK on the Bus for Health Care Reform
Time: 9:00 AM
Location: Easton, PA - Departing from Port Authority Bus Terminal
Host: Tom Predhome

UPCOMING EVENTS – WEEK OF OCTOBER 19TH
MONDAY – OCTOBER 19

"Health Care Issues: Urgent Issues, Critical Information"
Time 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Location: New York Presbyterian Hospital - Main Building 21 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains, NY 10605
Host: NASW NYS Westchester Division & the League of Women Voters of Westchester
Speakers:
• Mark Hannay, Director, New York Metro Health Care for All Campaign
• Mary Beth Morrissey, MPH, Health Care Attorney, Fordham Ravazzin Center on Aging

TUESDAY – OCTOBER 20 - HEALTH CARE REFORM DAY OF ACTION

OFA Phone Bank for Health Care Reform
Times: Shifts at 12 pm, 2 pm
Location: OFA office in Midtown East

Staten Island Senior Center Tour
Time: 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: TBD (Staten Island, NY)

Women Calling Women to Fight for Health Care Reform
Time: 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Bronx, NY 10463

Time to Deliver Call Party
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location: 308 East 72nd Street, 11 D (New York, NY)

Queens Senior to Senior Phonebank
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: TBD (Jamaica, NY)

Women Calling Women to Fight for Health Care Reform
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: TBD (Bronxville, NY)

Bushwick Health-Care Reform Telephone Soiree
Time: 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Location: Brooklyn, NY (Brooklyn, NY)

Call for Health Reform (UWS)
Time: 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: 300 W 110th Street, Apt. 5E, New York, NY 10026

THURSDAY – OCTOBER 22

TEACH-IN ON HEALTH CARE REFORM
Busting the myths and making the case for health care for all!
LEARN WHAT YOU CAN DO to fight the myths and misinformation about health reform!
• Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm; Doors open at 6:30 pm with refreshments
• Location: Rosenfield Building, Hess Commons (Main Flr.)
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University722 W 168th St.
Myth-busting speakers will include:
• Karen Wang, MD; THE NATIONAL PHYSICIANS ALLIANCE
• William Jordan, MD, MPH; THE NATIONAL PHYSICIANS ALLIANCE
• Tim Foley; NYC FOR CHANGE
• Mark Hannay; METRO NY HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
• Carmina Bernardo; PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NYC
For up-to-date information on speakers, visit www.phanyc.org
Help make sure we get health reform this year!

More events on my.barackobama.com

I Have to Raise My Voice

Tuesday is primary day in NYC, which of course means we're all being bombarded with flyers, ads, etc. You all know the drill.

I got home last night to find a really sleazy flyer in my mailbox from one Delia Hunley-Adossa containing the following:

At the top of the page is a very unflattering black & white photo of my councilwoman, Letitia James.

Underneath, in bold solid caps, is the following text:

CONVICTED BROOKLYN COUNTY ORGANIZATION LEADERS SOLD POLITICAL OFFICE TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER.

So just how much did Letitia James have to pay?

James' political career was borne of a corrupt county system that put a price on holding office and collected big from ambitious candidates like James. The party bosses ruled and the power-hungry paid for their support.

The County Organization hand-delivered James into office and James... well, let's just say that one hand washes the other.

A few points:

1. Note the juxtaposition of the word "convicted" with the photo, clearly implying , by association, criminality on the part of James.

2. Unnamed "leaders" are accused of selling "office" (which office?) in the upper-case text. Just below, the flyer asks how much James had to pay. There is nothing in the flyer specifying any charges whatsoever against James.

3. The accusations are all made via implication, which is pretty underhanded. The implicit argument seems to be the following:

• The Brooklyn Democratic organization (never mentioned by name, btw) is corrupt;


• Letitia James is part of the Brooklyn Democratic Party;


• Ergo, she must be corrupt, too (this is obviously guilt-by-association, which is a slimy way to make an argument).

4. The last sentence in the flyer is in two parts. The first says "The County Organization hand-delivered James into office..." This is false. James actually had decided not to run for the council seat then held by James Davis, but his assassination led to the problematic candidacy of his brother. James then entered the race, winning handily.

5. The second part of the last sentence is another unsourced smear: "and James... well, let's just say that one hand washes the other." What's the basis for this claim? As with all the other innuendos in the flyer, no evidence is provided to support it.

So who is the object of all these innuendos and smears?

Letitia James is a lawyer whose role models were Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley & Barbara Jordan. She worked for the Legal Aid Society, then was Assistant Attorney General under then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. She served as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Roger L. Green, then as counsel to then-State Assemblyman Albert Vann. She gained a reputation as a rough-edged election lawyer for the Democratic Party, which probably earned her the enmity of some. On the City Council, she led efforts to set up a Business Improvement District on Fulton Street, opposed Mayor Bloomberg's successful effort to repeal term limits, supported the creation of bike lanes, and for greater stimulus funding for the 35th district, and, most relevant to the Hunley-Adossa flyer, has been one of the most prominent opponents of the Atlantic Yards project.

And who, you ask, is the candidate behind the sleazy flyer?

Delia Hunley-Adossa is a long-time community activist whose group, Brooklyn Endeavor Experience, has received over $400,000 from Bruce Ratner. Yes, that Bruce Ratner--the developer of Atlantic Yards. Needless to say, Hunley-Adossa is a staunch supporter of the Atlantic Yards project. Her group is also heavily stocked with family members, according to The Brooklyn Paper, a practice commonly known as nepotism, and one we certainly don't need to see on the City Council.

Hunley-Adossa has distinguished herself in this campaign by comments in a debate at the offices of The Brooklyn Paper in which she exhibited unfamiliarity with the powers and responsibilities of the City Council, and a pronounced aversion to questioning by the news media, as reported by Brooklyn Paper:

The debate was a rare opportunity for The Brooklyn Paper to question Hunley-Adossa, who stopped returning phone calls from The Paper’s reporters months ago. She explained the snub, saying she didn’t know that we had called, though later revealed that she must have known about the reporters’ calls because they came to her home phone and cellphone — devices that she does not answer because they are “private” lines.

“It’s invasive,” said the candidate, whose opinion about privacy was not shared by the other candidates.

She promised to answer her phone 24 hours a day if she’s elected to office.

It remains to be seen whether Hunley-Adossa's veracity with regard to accessibility will be any greater if she's elected than it has been during the campaign.

Hunley-Adossa is very well funded, thanks to Ratner. The flyer in question is very well produced--heavy paper stock, glossy finish, high resolution, perfect registration, and diabolically clever wording & positioning of page elements. It looks and feels, in fact, very much like a piece one would expect to find in a Republican Party campaign. National political consultants have been hired to work on election races in NY city & state before, and this certainly feels like the work of the kinds of people who gave us the Willy Horton ad, the assaults on Michael Dukakis and the teabaggers, with their bogus claims about Obama plans for euthenasia, kidnapping and indoctrination.

Let's give the people behind this sort of campaigning the kind of result they deserve. Let's vote on Tuesday for Letitia James, who has done a good job representing us in the 35th district, and who does not reduce public discourse to the gutter level to promote her candidacy.

We're #37!!!!

Here's a little song about our global standing in terms of health care. I don't know who's responsible for it, but it's letter perfect:



[H/T Marta Evry at Venice for Change]

UNITY WALK AND RALLY FOR HEALTH CARE

August 29, 2009

UNITED, WE WALK FOR REFORM

2 PM Rally at Times Square, 42nd St. and 7th Avenue

Health reform is finally within grasp. Opponents are spending millions every day to destroy it. We cannot let this happen. We voted for change in '08 and we must see it through.

On Saturday, August 29, 2009, New Yorkers will walk from all parts of the city for the first ever United We Walk for Reform Rally in support of the historic health reform legislation before Congress.

It's our health care. It's our time. Save the date to make your voice heard.

MID-MORNING, ACROSS THE CITY: Grassroots groups will meet in front of hospitals and health clinics across the city to walk to rally at Times Square. Check out mybarackobama.com for meeting locations in the next week (or set up one of your own).
2 - 3:30 PM - UNITY RALLY: Rally for health care at Times Square, 42nd St. and 7th Avenue


Want to organize your own walk to the rally? It's easy:

1) List your "United, We Walk for Health Care Reform" event on mybarackobama.com and spread the word to your friends.
2) To calculate the time you'll need to get to Times Square, we recommend hopstop.com.
3) Have fun and bring banners, wear t-shirts and buttons. Be creative!
4) Remind people to use sidewalks and bring posterboard signs (nothing on sticks).

Thank you for being a leader for health care reform. This can't happen without you!