NY State, at LONG LAST, has become the most populous state to recognize marriage equality. It took us too long, but it looks done. Details on dKos. Can I hope California comes pretty soon after this? Come on California. I am sitting right here at UCLA admiring New York for something YOU should have led the way in. Now is California's turn to step up to the plate.

Another poem written by a young Guatemalan-born man named Otto Rene Castillo -now
deceased. It has been translated from Spanish to English. This one is entitled “Beyond the Scales Forever”.

And when the fantastic story of our time
is told
by those yet to be born
but who will announce themselves
with more generous face;
we will come out ahead:
those of us who have suffered most from it.

And that
being ahead of your time
means suffering much from it.

Well,
it's beautiful to love the world
with eyes that have not yet been born;
and it is splendid to know
you will be victorious
when all around you
is still so dark,
so cold.

************************************************************

This column is going to surprise many; especially some of those within Caribbean-American political circles. I have decided to support the present legislative initiative to allow for same-sex marriages in New York. It has been a long journey: I have come full circle.

I was born on the island of Trinidad. I lived there until my teenage days were over. My upbringing was a religious one, in a culture that one can be objectively called “somewhat homophobic”. At first, I was totally against same-sex marriage. Many blog-readers will remember my writings on Room Eight New York Politics (www.r8ny.com) -and on other blogs- where I raised many concerns (some of which I still have) relative to re-defining marriage. My column “Getting Down On the Same-Sex marriage Debate” (6/25/2007), drew many comments.  read more »

Now that Anthony Weiner has resigned from the House of Representatives, the
complexion of NYC’s next mayoral race has changed. Weiner was the presumed
frontrunner for the office, so his expected departure leaves a significant void.

At this point in time these are the main contenders: Bill Thompson, Bill DiBlasio,
Christine Quinn, John Liu, Adolfo Carrion and Marty Markowitz. Of course there
are one or two others who claim to be considering the run, but so far these six
appear to be the key contenders.

Of these six, there are two candidates that I will not support under any condition:
Christine Quinn and Marty Markowitz. I cannot support them based on their
active involvement in the NY city council’s overturning of term-limits in 2008.
Christine Quinn shat on the ideals of democracy when she allowed herself to be
used by Mayor Michael Bloomberg -who selfishly wanted another term in Gracie
Mansion. Plus, she has essentially functioned as a deputy-mayor (and not as an
independent council speaker) since 2006. In my estimation, she blew her chance
of being mayor when she let the term-limits bill come to the city council floor for
a vote.  read more »

Let me get this correct: so far it hasn’t been proven that Congressman Anthony Weiner has committed adultery; or patronized prostitutes; or stolen money; or avoided paying taxes; or assaulted anyone; or corrupted the morals of a minor; or taken any bribes; or perjured himself in a legal matter; or abused his powers of office; or was censured by the House of Representatives; indicted or convicted; yet he is being pressured to resign; when others who have done some of what I just outlined are still in office. I will say this again: until it is shown that Weiner has broken some law(s), we need to let him face his constituents next election -if he so chooses- relative to the current imbroglio.

Only Weiner and his God could tell if his behavior amounts to law-breaking. They know if there is still an avalanche of “stuff” out there waiting to be unleashed, or continuing to trickle-in like a dripping faucet. If he knows that an investigation by the ethics committee will reveal sordid stuff that’s even worse than what we have already been exposed to, then I trust he will do the right thing by resigning.  read more »

Republican Senator David "diaper" Vitter actually BROKE the law and hired prostitutes. There are at least two documented cases where he called a Madame while Congressional votes were going on. He broke the law and failed to do his job. The fact that Vitter had a diaper fetish only adds a bit of "eww" factor to the whole incident.

Republican reaction to the CRIMINAL actions of David "diaper" Vitter? Full support and forgiveness. They didn't call for his resignation or in any way held him accountable for his crimes.

Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner flirts with some women online. That's all he did. There is no indication to date he broke any laws the way Republican Vitter did. There is no indication there was anything all that strange about it (no diapers, for example). No money exchanging hands. Just online flirting. Would you want your daughter to text him? Maybe not, but big deal. Hell, even Republican House Speaker John Boehner had extramarital affairs. He didn't resign. So how can Republicans attack Anthony Weiner for FLIRTING online when Republican John Boehner actually screwed around for real.  read more »

This will not be a lengthy column. It will be relatively straightforward. I dislike hypocrites. It is that simple. I come close to hating them; but since I try not to hate anyone or anything, I don’t quite get there. As long as Anthony Weiner hasn’t broken any criminal laws then he shouldn’t succumb to the pressures being mounted on him to resign right now. The overwhelming majority of people calling for his resignation are hypocrites. And I am talking about both Republicans and Democrats (especially the spineless Democrats).  read more »

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 is the primary election in Brooklyn. Brooklyn's newest and probably most dynamic political club has just announced its endorsements for this primary.

New Kings Democrats describes itself as:

...a progressive, grassroots political organization committed to bringing trans­parency, accountability, and inclusionary democracy to the Kings County Democratic Party. Founded by veterans of the Obama campaign, NKD serves as a training ground for individuals seeking to become more engaged in local politics, and hopes to nurture a new generation of elected Brooklyn Democratic leaders.

At their 2011 endorsement meeting tonight New Kings Democrats have endorsed:

Cheryl Gonzalez and Peter Sweeney for Brooklyn Civil Court Judge (2 seats open)  read more »

June 2011's Eating Liberally meeting will be June 14th at 7 PM at Born Thai Restaurant

Born Thai is one of the best Thai restaurants in Central Brooklyn.

293 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(347) 663-3674

To see their menu click here.

This month we have a lot to talk about: Anthony Weiner, the upcoming mayoral race, critical but under reported local judicial races, marriage equality, WalMart, Fracking and whatever else you have on your mind.

Come join us for excellent Thai food and great progressive political discussion.

America is one of the nations with LEAST guarantee of privacy. We are under almost as much surveillance as people in China or Russia (at least we were during the Bush administration).

So with that in mind, when I saw the following sign posted on a building in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I couldn't help thinking politicians like Anthony Weiner (and he is not alone!) needed to post this on their computer:

We all need to remember, the internet may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it sure isn't private. If you're a public figure and you want to do something you might regret later, don't do it online.

Last week I wrote a column on my Room Eight New York Politics blog (www.r8ny.com) about Anthony Weiner’s contemporary political problems. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, relative to his claim of being “hacked”. Yesterday, at a hastily arranged press conference, Congressman Weiner admitted that the photo of a man’s pubic area -which went viral on the internet last week- was his. He also admitted texting it to a young female student. He further admitted to internet- dalliances with at least six female strangers over the past three years.

We now know that Anthony isn’t as cool, calm and collected as he has always projected. The congressman pusillanimously panicked, when internal concerns grew over some of his semi-kinky fetishes being publicly exposed. In the panic, he made some strange decisions: like being mendacious when there was no life or death reason to be. As I have asked him before: who do you talk to before you make big decisions? Who do you reach out to for advice and counsel? Are you an egotistic one-man (wrecking) crew?  read more »

I am pissed at Anthony Weiner. I have been for a couple years now. I think he suspects it. I suspect he remembers when I confronted him at the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) meeting two springs ago. I am certain that he reads my column regularly (well, he has told me so a few times now). When I wrote that he will regret not running against Bloomberg last time out, I guess he thought I was just being obnoxious. I wish he would honestly tell us all, how he now feels in retrospect.  read more »

We always need to keep in mind, that there are different types of political activists out there; just as there are different levels of involvement and activities; and there is a co-relation. There are those whose activism has been driven by family heritage: generations of political involvement and community activism from close relatives. Then there are those whose activism has been driven by religion, or philosophy, or something ideological from within. Then there are those whose involvements come via the “academic” route: professionals, bureaucrats, technicians, students, teachers, professors, journalists, reporters and the like.

Furthermore, there are those who get involved because of issues and/or personal need(s). For example, some type of situation comes up within the school system in which their kids are being educated -and from there on in they are moved to be active participants in the political process: because of a newly found awareness.  read more »