I am blogging today from Boston where I am visiting with my sweet little sister Babita for Rakchha Bandhan. (I Was In Chicago? Facebook Places Messing Up) In NYC it feels like the buildings will all fall down on you. Boston is more manageable. She moved here from NYC over a year ago. Her place is much, much nicer than mine for a similar price. Like much much. Her neighborhood is straight out of the textbook. Mine only a few blocks away looks like I never left my country of origin. A North Carolina dude once told me, the only thing I like about New York is the doughnuts. I, on the other hand, love the city. My love is for the whole package deal, the filth, the crowds, especially the crowds.
I am going to be back in town to attend the Upper East Side community conversation, which is tomorrow.
Last night I showed up for the Lower East Side conversation. It was near the 14th Street and First Avenue intersection. It was well attended. It felt to me like I was seeing Reshma for the first time. I think the town hall format is my favorite setting in which to see Reshma in action, although I think she looks great on TV too. She is an amazing, amazing candidate. She is the most amazing politician I ever met. She makes it sound like Obama's health care reform has been the 1.0 version, and some day she would like to take a crack at Health Care Reform 2.0. Same about Wall Street reform.
The question answer session went great. There were one or two agitated ones, but that is statistical. You have to expect that.
It was good to see the staff again after long. It must have been two weeks since I last saw them, but it felt like ages. Reshma has a wonderful relationship with her staff. I used to hear that about John Liu last year on the campaign trail.
It was good to see Arthur, it was good to see Josh. And I bumped into Nina near 33rd Street when I went for a long walk after the event. She informed me of a major Reshma fundraiser that was taking place this evening. The host was someone who was a major player with Obama 08, yet another piece of evidence that the Obama people are slowly but surely coalescing around Reshma 2010. The Obama 08 people owe me one on this one. And it helps that Reshma is an Obama like candidate.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Cordoba Controversy: America In Early Stages Of War On Terror
Image via WikipediaFirst of all, it is not a mosque, it is a community center. It is not a new idea. That community center has been in that location for ages. They are just trying to put a new building in that old place. It can not be called a Ground Zero mosque. It is not a Ground Zero mosque. It is not a mosque, and it is nothing to do with Ground Zero. The location just so happens to be a few blocks from Ground Zero. But that location predates the 9/11 tragedy. 9/11 killed many Muslims the day it happened. 9/11 has killed many Muslims in the ensuing years back there in the Arab world. Both the Bush soldiers and the Al Qaeda have gone on to kill many innocent Muslims.
But then since when did prejudice have logic? Prejudice by definition is illogical.
The American public opinion on the so called Ground Zero mosque controversy tells me America is very much in the early stages of the War On Terror. We are perhaps in the 1950s of the Cold War, or maybe 1960s. There is too much existent anti-Muslim racism in America for America to make rapid progress on the War On Terror. Politicians avoiding the debate and succumbing to the prejudice are not helping any.
America is going to have to become a non racist country to conclude the War On Terror.
Two major transformations have to take place. All Arab countries have to be turned into democracies, and my method of choice is nonviolent mass movements. And America is going to get rid of its anti-Muslim prejudice and racism.
Politicians succumbing to the prejudice should empathize with those forces that try to bring democracy to an Arab country and have a hard time doing it. Clinging to the status quo of prejudice or non democracy are not exactly forces of progress and change.
Similarly America is going to have to make progress on total campaign finance reform if it wishes to see multi-party democracy and federalism in China.
America is a concept, an idea, a mission. A total spread of democracy is America's mission. That is what this country was born for.
America needed the FDR transformation of its capitalism to be able to defeat communism. America is going to have to work to get rid of its Islamophobia to conclude the War On Terror.
Reshma, Obama And The Ground Zero Mosque
Political Office, Political Essence
Image via WikipediaJimmy Carter was President Of The United States. Bill Clinton was a first term Governor of a small state occupied by "four men and a dog." Their political offices did not even compare. But even then Jimmy Carter was able to see Bill Clinton was a bigger deal than him. Jimmy Carter's political office was bigger, but Bill Clinton's political essence was bigger, and Carter could sense that already. And so he did the natural thing to do, he shit on Clinton. He unleashed a whole bunch of Cuban refugees on Arkansas costing Bill Clinton reelection. Bill Clinton was Jimmy Carter's chosen one. Carter wanted Clinton to feel the pain of an electoral loss. It is not much fun being a one term president. You are not even considered for greatness by historians if you are a one termer.It can be argued Jimmy Carter was Bill Clinton's Charlie Rangel. (Charlie Rangel: Motherfucker)
Barack Obama has surpassed Bill Clinton in the greatness department. Barack has been wading FDR waters since the passage of health care reform.
My Progressive Political Religion
Positivity, Excellence, Dark Matter
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