Center for Anti-Violence Education Punch-a-thon
June 5th from 10:30am – 12:30pm
In Prospect Park near the Lincoln Road/Ocean Avenue entrance to Prospect Park

My wife has been training at a local Brooklyn Karate Dojo for many years. She is, in fact, now in training to be a teacher there. The Dojo is unusual in that it is only for women, children and transgendered people. The Dojo is called the Center for Anti-Violence Education and here is their statement of purpose:

The Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE) works as a catalyst for change in the lives of women, LGBT people, teen women, children, and other communities especially affected by violence. CAE’s programs are designed to develop participants’ skills, knowledge, and awareness to enable them to heal from, prevent, and counter violence. We do this work to actively create a peaceful, just, and equitable world.

Every year the Dojo raises money for their efforts through a punch-a-thon. My wife and son are participating in this fundraiser and I ask you to contribute to their excellent efforts through their pledge page (my son is the team leader).

Where Your Money Goes:

* $25: Enrolls a low-income child in an hour workshop on bullying and conflict de-escalation.
* $50: Provides a homeless LGBT young person with a two hour workshop in violence prevention.
* $100: Teaches self-defense and empowerment strategies to a pre-teen girl in our two-week course.
* $250: Provides a full 5-week Self-Defense Course for a survivor of intimate partner violence.
* $500: Reaches 20 survivors of domestic violence with strategies for self-defense and violence prevention.  read more »

Last week, a federal judge in Virgina struck down laws that prohibit corporations from donating directly to political campaigns. The judge reasoned that if, under Citizens United, corporations are people too, then they should be able to donate to political campaigns just like people can.

This ruling destroys over a century of settled law, going back to the Tillman Act of 1907. Granted, that law, which prohibited corporate contributions to federal elections, was completely ineffective -- corporate boards merely voted huge bonuses for top employees who then donated the bonuses. Still, it's yet another blow to attempts at campaign finance reform.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 is the primary election for Civil Court judge in Brooklyn. This is an election that will be extremely low turnout, yet actually the quality of our judges is something that is extremely important. If you or someone you know has to go before a judge, you damned well want that judge to be good, and yet most people ignore these races. I make it a point to get involved, learn about the candidates, and help some good candidates. Remember, a number of Brooklyn judges have been indicted and even convicted of corruption. The more people pay attention to these low turnout elections, the more likely we will have GOOD judges and avoid having judicial seats be nothing more than a political plum awarded by the corrupt Vito Lopez machine.

I want to report on two endorsement meetings that have been held by reform organizations in Brooklyn: the 52nd Assembly District County Committee and Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats.  read more »

Guys like Donald Trump are the kind of people who made 1789 a great year for regular folks like me. Here is a guy born with a gold spoon stuck in his mouth and with a silver spoon protruding from his ass. And yet, he swears he is “all that and a bag of chips”; but he is not. He was born on second base and swears “he hit a double”.

He hates Barack Obama with a passion, mainly because “The Donald” has always coveted the US presidency: and it galled him to see this mulatto win this the most elusive of prizes. Look; this wasn’t just about winning the fondness of some bimbo named Lolita; it was the US presidency for Christ’s sake!

So what does Trump do? He starts disrespecting the presidency from the day Barack Obama swore in. For the past few years now, the failure that is Donald Trump has made himself into a buffoon. I say failure because he isn’t “self-made” as say Oprah Winfrey or Bill Gates: but he boasts and swears he is. This guy who has gotten everywhere because of his daddy’s money is as boastful as they come, but when you examine what he says, you realize that he is talking loud but saying nothing.  read more »

As a novice to Brooklyn politics, I'm not sure how to handicap Item #2 of this post from Celeste Katz.

Item #1 is easy; Hakeem Jeffries has no intention of spending the rest of his career in Albany.

I have no idea how to handicap Item #2. Is Fidler the most likely Democratic nominee to succeed Kruger? Who are the Republicans?And what are the odds of a Republican victory, either next year or in a special election?

Finally, how could redistricting alter the odds, and what effect
could it have on neighboring Senate districts?

Perhaps some veteran Brooklynites can chime in.

The May meeting of Central Brooklyn Eating Liberally will be TONIGHT, Tuesday
May 10th at Rachel's Taqueria in South Slope. 7 PM

408 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215-7510

Great Mexican food (Los Angeles style Mexican food in my mind...they
even have a dish called "Tito's Tacos"...a reference I can explain if
you come to the meeting) and LOTS to talk about. Death of Osama bin
Laden, Wisconsin recalls, Michigan recalls, local politics, etc.

Join us for great food, great discussion and plotting progressive
reform.

From Lambda Independent Democrats:

Town Hall Meeting with NYC Comptroller John Liu

Tuesday, May 17, 2011
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
at
Kane Street Synagogue
236 Kane Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(Cobble Hill)

Comptroller John Liu will discuss his achievements in his first 17 months in office and take questions from the audience.

Co-Sponsors:
Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats
Independent Neighborhood Democrats
New Kings Democrats
Prospect Heights Democrats for Reform
The 57th A.D. Democratic Organization

Admission is free.

For more information:
Visit: www.lidbrooklyn.org
Call: 917.499.8198 or 917.696.1781
Email: LIDBrooklyn@gmail.com

It was one of those defining moments predictable in near every US presidential debate. The moment when a speaker steps out of the crease so to speak, and hits for the boundary (cricket talk). Usually, these moments appear when caution is thrown to the wind; and they often give a deeper insight into a candidate’s true feelings and character. But sometimes these moments are scripted. Sometimes they are exquisitely calculated: especially when the candidate is as cunning and cerebral as Barack Obama. One of these moments came during the last presidential debate-cycle. I remember it well. I have referred to it in one or two columns since, because I found the statements candidate Obama made that night to be quite profound. I now deem them “surreal”.  read more »