I hadn't heard about this incident until now, but seems there were three or four Staten Island losers who were so outraged that (GASP!) a black man won the election that they went on a rampage beating up and insulting black men. [UPDATED at bottom with more info from Staten Island Advance...thanks to Daniel Millstone!]

From Salon.com:

Three white New Yorkers, riled by Barack Obama's victory, spent election night hunting down black people to beat up and yelling insults about the president-elect, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

The men beat a Liberian immigrant teen, pushed a black man to the ground and drove their car over a white man they thought was black, according to the indictment unsealed in Brooklyn.

Yes, you heard right. These not too bright individuals hit a white guy thinking he was black. Shows you the intelligence level of your average racist.

A fourth defendant was expected to separately plead guilty to unspecified charges, according to law enforcement officials...

This comes from Democracy for NYC:

Did You Get a RoboCall from an Insurance Co. Against Obama Healthcare Reforms?

President-Elect Obama has said that he wants to end the $11 billion corporate welfare subsidy - passed by the Bush Administration - to private companies that provide Medicare through Medicare Advantage. These companies cherry-pick the best patients and have been making record profits. While Medicare Advantage was designed to reduce costs through competition, this has not worked; a Georgetown University study found the cost to taxpayers of treating patients through this program increased in 2007.

Join us at Linkup [tonight] (Wed) to discuss this and other healthcare reforms being proposed in Washington this year...

Robocalls:

Sometimes you meet someone you like and respect and can talk to, but don't always agree with on every issue. The best part about such encounters is it gives you a chance to hone your arguments in a respectful environment.

Argue abortion with Sarah Palin and it is useless because she is an idiot. Argue abortion with an intelligent, respectful opponent and you get the chance to refine your arguments.

Which is what I am doing now.

The fight over abortion comes down to two fundamental, and in this case seemingly (but not necessarily) opposing, values: the value of life and the value of a person's right to have legal jurisdiction over their own body. Both are important values, so in many debates over abortion where people are not respectful of eachother, it appears that one of these two values is being neglected by each side. I believe this does not have to be true.

Having just discussed some law enforcement officers running for City Council, I also want to highlight a couple of teachers running for City Council. These are candidates that WFP seems to be considering supporting. [UPDATE: I left off our own Rock Hackshaw! Added at the end.]

Daniel Dromm: Running for City Council in Queens' Council District 25 aginst Helen Sears

Daniel Dromm is an educator, community organizer, union leader, and political activist. His experience and dedication to the community has led to Dromm being overwhelming elected Democratic District Leader in the 39th Assembly District, Part A (Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Corona and Woodside in Queens) in 2002 and re-elected in 2004 and 2006.

This comes from Maquez Claxton's somewhat disorganized and unweildy (but informative!) website:

4 Veteran City Workers Ready Runs for Council; 2 Each From NYPD, Correction

At a time when Mayor Bloomberg plans to shrink the size of the NYPD through attrition and he and Governor Paterson want to decrease benefits to new uniformed city employees, two former cops, a Correction Captain and a former Correction Department lawyer, have announced plans to run for City Council in 2009.

The three members of 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement Who Care who are running — Carlton Berkley, Marquez Claxton and Jerome Rice — are calling for change on the heels of Barack Obama’s election as the nation’s first black President in November, though all three said they would have run for the Council regardless.

Jerome Rice, a soon-to-be retired Correction Captain, is running for the 12th Council District in The Bronx, currently held by Larry B. Seabrook...

It is easy to feel horrifed at the images of Israeli planes hitting Gaza. But the context behind the attacks is that Gaza has been attacking Israeli civillians almost constantly since Israel withdrew from Gaza.

(House in Sderot hit by Qassem rocket, image from Bokertov.com)

(Injured woman in Sderot, image from BBC news)

I supported the withdrawal from Gaza. The dismatling of the illegal settlements in Gaza was a controversial move in Israel, but a necessary move. The withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza was also controversial, but necessary. Likud, the far right wing nut jobs of Israel, predicted that Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would result in increased attacks on Israel from Gaza.

Latinos for Norman Siegel Party on the eve of Three Kings Day
Monday, January 5th
6:30 to 9:30 PM

at Camaradas el Barrio Bar & Restaurant
2241 First Avenue at 115th Street

Norm Siegel is running for Public Advocate. Well known for his work on behalf of 9/11 widows and firefighters, Norman Siegel is also fighting the Bloomberg term limits coup. But his advocacy for the people of NYC goes back decades to his years with the ACLU’s Southern Justice & Voting Law Project and later as the Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. You can read more about his decades of service to NYC here.

Latinos y Latinas por Norman Siegel is holding their kick-off event for Norman on Jan 5th. This is the first of a series events geared to the Latino community to raise awareness and support for Norman’s campaign for Public Advocate.

Public Transportation:
By public transportation, you can take the No. 6 subway to 116 Street, or any local bus traveling on the East Side of Manhattan (116 Street is a Limited Stop).

I recently took my son to the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Although I have been to many far better Children's museums (like the Exploratorium in San Francisco and the Children's Museum in Balboa Park in San Diego), I will say my son LOVED it. He loved it so much he had a massive temper tantrum when we had to leave. Which isn't really typical of his behavior anymore, so he REALLY wanted to stay there.

I think he said he wanted to stay there for a HUNDRED hours!

In 2008 there was a massive shift in the electoral map and a rejection of failed Republican ideology. But it seems New York "Democrats" didn't get the memo. New York Democrats seem to be wetting themselves over the man who was the biggest individual donor to Tom DeLay's right wing extremist PAC: Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg may not be an insane right winger like Bush, but he WAS a major donor to the Bush Republicans and advocates a very similar "privatization" scheme that favors donors and sacrifices actual effective government. Closing down firehouses while showering developers with money, outsourcing pre-K enrollment to an inept company, creating a crisis for many parents, illegally imprisoning Democrats protesting the Republican Convention...the list of Bloomberg BS goes on. And for some reason we are seeing Democrats glom their lips on Bloomberg's posterior, almost fighting eachother to get in the wettest kiss.

It has been just over a year since I learned about the site Free Rice. I got addicted, then forgot about it. Now I am reminded of it again and getting readdicted.

Free Rice is fun and feeds the poor around the world. You play educational games and for every answer you get right, rice is donated to feed the hungry. Last night my wife and I had a nerdy good time with world capitals, chemical symbols and famous paintings, and in the process donated some 16,000 grains of rice to feed the hungry. Given that sometimes I get addicted to this kind of nerdy game anyway, it''s nice to be able to feed some people as well.

Do you know the capitals of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan? How about the difference between a Fanz Hals and a Bruegel? Learn math, science, Spanish, French, famous paintings, etc. while helping to feed the hungry. What could be better?