Tuesday, December 25, 2007
December Baby?
It took me a few days to figure that out, but I think I just might have celebrated my birthday for the first time ever. I am pretty sure I am a December Baby. My official birthday says October 11, but that is Amitabh Bachchan's birthday. When it was time for me to go to attend this fancy school in the capital city in Nepal, my father put October 11 down on the papers.
Beware of white people. They will mix beef into your food, and you will have lost your religion. I heard some people say that while I was growing up. My freashman year Naqib and I ordered a pizza, half beef, half pork. Afterwards we realized he had eaten the pork, I had eaten the beef. I became a Buddhist not long after.
Decades back English was talked of as "the beef-eating language" in Nepal. When it was time for me to fly to the US for college, one of my aunts said to me, "Beware of white women, they wear clothes that exposes their legs!" At the time she was wearing a sari that exposed her navel.
I am not saying Pollak tricked me into celebrating my birthday. I have long felt Pollak and I might have something in common. Now I know. We are both December Babies. And the communal birthday bash had listed more than a dozen December Babies. So, I guess, they do it every year.
I have long been defensive about birthday celebrations. Why can't you just accept it as a cultural difference? Some cultures don't celebrate birthdays. But I think I can live with a communal birthday celebration.
Amitabh Bachchan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michelle Obama, Everyday Woman No More
A few weeks back Michelle said with some pride at an Iowa event how she still goes to Target, she still pumps her own gas. I am alarmed. This everyday woman thing can not last beyond January 3.
I don't know if the secret service protection is only for the candidate, but if it is, then Obama 2008 needs to hire some bodyguards for Michelle. It needs to be a campaign expense. It is about time she moved only in a caravan of cars, three vehicles, one in the front, one in the back.
When she got into that minor accident in Iowa a few months back, my first reaction was, this looks so very bad on Obama 2008. This is called not running a good campaign.
You still get to go to Target and to the gas station, but accompanied.
In The News
Hillary disappearing in Bill's shadow
What Hillary Stands For
In NH poll, Obama inches ahead of Clinton
Obama on 'Face the Nation'
Obama 30, Clinton 28 in NH, Globe poll shows
Interest Groups Plan Barrage Of Attack Ads, Mailings in Iowa
Dallas Morning News endorses Huckabee, Obama Reuters
Obama Continues Criticizing 527s CBS News, NY
Clinton tied with Obama heading into Iowa MSNBC
Michelle Obama says they ‘couldn't just wait' Fort Madison Daily Democrat, IA One year ago Michelle Obama said she wasn't planning on being on the campaign trail for her husband ..... “Everything looks better in Hawaii,” she said. ...... she and her husband want a world they can turn over to their daughters ..... throughout her whole married life she and Barack have been told it wasn't their time.
We Recommend: Barack Obama Dallas Morning News, TX his consistently solid judgment, poise under pressure and ability to campaign effectively without resorting to the divisive politics of the past. ....... His message isn't about anger and retribution. It's about moving forward. ..... Obama's experience in elective office matches that of Abraham Lincoln before he became president. And he has served more time on Capitol Hill than four of the past five White House occupants. ...... When Mr. Obama's support recently surged in early primary states, her campaign tried to smear him over drug use in his youth. ...... Mr. Obama drew criticism for saying he would pursue terrorists, if necessary, by sending troops into Pakistan. The fact is, U.S. troops have been going into Pakistan for years in pursuit of terrorists. All Mr. Obama did, in effect, was to keep that option open for the future. To say otherwise is to declare Pakistan a sanctuary for America's enemies. ...... Americans are tired of divisive, hard-edged politics.
Obama’s Not-So-Sudden Moves New California Media, CA Is white America’s collective guilt about the state of African Americans strong enough to brush aside the fear of the black man and support the feel-good candidacy of Barack Obama to its logical end? ........ a black man who is educated, ambitious, amiable and married to someone named Michelle rather than Shaneque. ...... Chris Matthews is right when he says supporting Obama “makes us feel good.” ....... the man with a Muslim middle name has become a redemptive symbol of white Christian America’s collective guilt about the state of African Americans ...... “No sudden moves” is apparently his mantra to deal with white America’s fear about the black man, something that Obama learned while dealing with his white mother. ...... a majority of Americans are supportive of the idea of a black president as much as they are of a woman president. But are they ready to make race a dispassionate subject of political discourse
Obama Ain’t No Angry Black Man PoliGazette, Netherlands some black activists such as Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Andrew Young aren’t too happy with Obama. In short: African-Americans are now looking at him, and not at them anymore. ...... When Jackson holds a speech somewhere, only a dozen people show up. ...... “Even if one doesn’t like his policies, he deserves at least some accolades for marginalizing Jackson and Sharpton.”
'Telegraph' endorses Obama Concord Monitor, NH
Obama contrasts his experience with Bill Clinton Baltimore Sun, United States
Obama strives to overtake Clinton in Democratic race Canada.com, Canada
Why conservatives love Barack Obama Salon In the weeks since Karl Rove offered his unsolicited advice on how to defeat Hillary Clinton in the pages of the Financial Times, right-wing expressions of support for Barack Obama have become increasingly conspicuous and voluble. ........ Exactly why the American right hates the Clintons so fervidly remains a subject of debate among both political scientists and psychiatrists ........ So powerful is their fury that they will not hesitate to promote the career of a liberal black politician whose background and religious affiliation they regard with suspicion. ...... There are no questions that catch him off guard, no issues he hasn't considered. .... radio hooligan Rush Limbaugh ...... the bigoted crudeness of Limbaugh than the manufactured erudition of Will. .... He will need the same kind of armor that she has worn proudly for years. What the right likes best about him is that he doesn't seem to own any.
Only Obama Defeats all 2008 Republicans, Per New Zogby Poll About - News & Issues, NY
AP Interview: Obama Pans Campaign Tone The Associated Press
Is Obama a Shrewd Progressive or a Sellout? Yahoo! News Some people think Obama, through the sheer force of his empathy and skills as a communicator, would broaden the political landscape and convince moderate Republicans and Independents to back progressive policies they ordinarily wouldn't go for.
Barack Obama praises Arnold Schwarzenegger Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom the California governor would still be welcome in Barack Obama's cabinet. ..... the former actor had shown excellent leadership, particularly on the environment. ..... he's taken leadership on a very difficult issue ..... he would include Republicans in his cabinet
Poll: Huckabee leads; Clinton, Obama tie in Ga. Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA
Monday, December 24, 2007
I Want To Join The DL21C Steering Committee
Hello DL21C/Elizabeth.
I think at some high rise DL21C event at the swankiest venue of all DL21C events I ever been to you said I was already a member of DL21C. I sure have paid the money in many small sums. Long before that at the event after the Charlie Rangel event I think you suggested I join the DL21C Steering Committee. I might be mistaken, or the offer might no longer hold.
But if I am not a member, I would like to be a member. If I am a member, I would like to continue being a member. If the offer to join the Steering Committee still holds, I would like to take it. If it no longer holds, I would like to make a case for myself.
I have found you and the DL21C founder Dave Pollak to be mesmerizing personalities politically and personally from the very outset. I look at someone like you and end up wondering what you might do in the future. You hold promises. I grew up in a very sexist part of the world. It makes me very happy to see that a woman is the dynamo of the top political organization in the city.
This city is magic to me. It was custom made for me. That is how I feel. Before this city, I did not have a hometown, I never had a sense of belonging. I don't think you have any idea what this city means to me.
And I am a very political person. It is in my blood, it is my brain.
At first, it did not occur to me to join. I did not think I would go to as many events to offset the membership fee. But I have gone to more. And also, the first two years of my NYC life were a zombie existence of intense online work for Nepal: days, nights, weekends. I just did not have the space, the bandwidth. When that was no longer the case, I was too busy trying to steer my very young startup. And also, I think I was just happy consuming the DL21C end product: its events. I remember thinking, do I just want to come to the DL21C events, or do I also want to get into the logistics of event planning? I remember thinking rather strongly I have no interest in the logistics of event planning. I want to make it clear from the outset I still don't have much if any interest in the logistics of event planning.
My primary interest would be to help take DL21C into a Web 2.0 environment. DL21C right now is like this wonderful, wonderful house. But it lacks electricity. I want to add electricity to it.
I don't know a whole lot about the history of DL21C but the name sounds awfully like DLC, the organization that Bill Clinton rode all the way to the presidency. But I believe DL21C is one better. DLC was/is primarily a think tank. But DL21C has the template of a think tank and much more. It has this huge social and political capital of amazingly talented large group of members. It features the top political guests in the city. You have no idea how I have cashed just Dave Pollak's name in the Nepali circles a few times to my advantage. I think even he might be amused to know.
So that would be my primary thrust, the electricity of Web 2.0.
(1) DL21C needs a new website. Something that feels 2008 and not 1993.
(2) DL21C needs to videoblog all its major events and get itself a national audience.
(3) DL21C needs to become an organization where 2.0 and 5.0 are seamless. 2.0 as in Web 2.0, and 5.0 is face time.
I don't want you to feel like I am trying to turn DL21C into some kind of a dot com company. That is not the idea at all. The action later as now will still be in 5.0. Face time is still where all the action is.
DL21C has the template of a think tank, and it offers a very casual setting for young professionals and whoever to drop by and get engaged in some cutting edge political action. It is an organization that makes political work seem like one big party. That is no small achievement. And it provides the top venue for the top politicians in the city and the country to show up to speak. Before I started attending DL21C events, US Senators were abstract concepts to me.
The 2.0 idea would be to build a great, robust template of an organization locally, and then, thanks to 2.0, have it replicated all over the country.
Other than 2.0, my interest is in policy. I keep thinking in terms of an online think tank.
But DL21C is not my very young company where I can just go ahead and decide. It is a democratic organization. And changes have to be made by following the democratic process. I understand that. You don't demand change from the outside as a precondition for getting in.
You might wonder why it took me so long to get to this point. Two intense years spent online took its toll: atrophied social muscles. I'd participate in little social action, and even most of that little social action would feel like a movie. But I am beginning to feel bursts of social energy here and there. I am working to reclaim my once hyperkinetic 5.0 self. And suddenly DL21C makes so much more sense as something to be part of. I hope you will understand.
I am not gunning for a political career, I don't think so. For me it is my company. But I am very political. Quite a lot of my socializing in the city has been political.
I'd be honored to sit on the DL21C Steering Committee. If I have to make a case, here goes.
I might be the only person in this city who is a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. If Condi creates Palestine next year, she will deserve it more. Other than that, I intend to make a case for me. This is to do with the work into the democracy movement in Nepal. Nepal's April Revolution of 2006 is the template to spread democracy into all the other nondemocratic countries in the world. My claim is I have invented nonviolent militancy.
Also, Barack takes advice from me once in a while. It feels to me like we were in telepathic sync. And this has been the case of what you know, not who you know. The connection was made the Web 2.0 way.
I am very invested in my young startup. So I don't think I could end up giving too much time to DL21C, but I am sure I will have a say in how much time I end up giving and what exactly my role will be.
I look forward to building a great local template, and then having it replicated all over this country. I think DL21C deserves to see that kind of growth. And I look forward to your continued great leadership of this organization. I think you are simply put amazing.
And also, to make my case, I would like to add I know Indiana like the back of my hand.
I hope I am on the same page as you with this request. And I hope you will bring me into this wonderful organization.
I look forward to a confirmation email.
Paramendra Bhagat
Holiday Party 4: Is This Where The Bingo Game Is At?
Sunday 8 PM, Holiday Party 4
The Doors: Out Of The Box Thinking
"Is This An Obama Party?"
I showed up about 10 minutes late, I was planning to be on time. It was a Sunday, makes no difference to me if it is a week day or not. My workstyle is cloud group dynamics. I take time off when I take time off. And that is pretty random. You are looking for bursts of work. So you actually end up putting in more hours. Earlier I had gone for a walk in my neighborhood. And tea at Kabir's Bakery. Then I watched two different versions of a Himesh Reshammiya song a few different times before I dressed up and left for the party number 4. I decided to put on a white shirt.
There was this one elderly white lady sitting in the corner at the Bakery. I was sipping through my tea. I was half done. Suddenly she bursts into a minor tirade. "Hey Mister!" She is like, why are you sitting there forever? This is not a place to hang out. You should empty the chair. Everybody in the restaurant was Bangladeshi, including the two people looking for chairs, which they promptly found. They turned to me in solidarity and started to talk to me in Bengali.
"I am from Nepal," I said. "Sorry, I don't fully follow what you are saying."
I took my time, finished my tea, and then on my way out waved her goodbye, "Bye bye now."
It is almost like she saw on my quiet face a challenge to the social reality. She did not see that on any other brown face.
And money talk is black and white at once. It is not just, if you are going to end up a millionaire it is okay if you are not white. Black women are so much more careful on money matters. From my very limited experience. And that too is totally understandable. Talking about "Mexicans" is no bonding experience for me. Mexico is richer than India. I draw my Indian heritage from Bihar in India. And it is near impossible to bump into someone from Bihar when you meet an Indian in the US. It is like you were from Poland, and all Europeans you meet are from France, Britain and Germany. Indians are primarily Maratha, Tamil and Gujrati. I mean, India is a big country. You put America, Europe and Africa together, and you get India.
The second took me out to dinner. She paid. When it was over, she said she was glad only to have "invested" 49 dollars into me. Her parting comment was something racist about "Nepalis." To the 99.9% of the Nepalis in NYC, I am Nepali, but not really. But to this wonderful black woman, I was a Nepali.
New York City speaks to my rootlessness. I took to the city like duck to water from day one. You don't feel lost, not at all. Instead you feel like you get to define yourself even more acutely as an individual. The image is sharper. You are really forced to know yourself. Like my realization I am not cut for politics. Like a camel thaws a cactus before eating it, I have to translate politics into group dynamics before I can make sense of it.
In politics you get impatient if race relations don't improve fast enough. Not so in the domain of my tech startup. It is like Third World group dynamics with its super sexism and ethnic prejudices were white belt. Unresolved issues in race and gender in day to day America were brown belt. And the post-ISMs individual group dynamics inside my company of a seamless 2.0 and 5.0 is black belt. It is a higher level of consciousness. The white belts and the brown belts are not of immediate concern. And if the competition lags behind, you just make more money than them. Works beautifully.
So I show up. I kind of felt this pang. This feeling that somehow noone will show up. But I figured maybe people will come in fashionably late. I waited until 10.30 before I went ahead and ordered my food: spicey shrimp, spicey fries, spicey potatoes. 15 bucks and 2 for a tip, that is more expensive than beer in Manhattan, but at least this was filling, and spicey. And also I felt less guilty in the aftermath, having drank so much of their water while waiting. They must have felt the discomfort. They changed the music. First it was what I would call black music. A lot of a certain kind of jazz. Then after an hour or so, they played a Saturday Night Fever tune, and I felt a sense of relief. That is not how I wanted to feel. But that was my natural reaction. I felt embarrassed. Then they played another 80s tune. I ordered food not long after.
I think everyone who walked into the restaurant the entire time was black. Well, there was this one white guy, but he did not order food. He spent some time at the bar.
Before the meal I read an article on Jack Nicholson in a local paper that I borrowed from the guy who ran the place. It was on his desk where he was doing paperwork. You mind if I read your paper, I said. He just looked at me. I picked up the paper after having paid the courtesy of asking. Nicholson is one fascinating character. And I am not talking of his screen characters.
My ex' mother once said to her in my presence, she also had a Chinese boyfriend at college. As in, it is not like she brought him home! During my last phone talk with her she said she had a new boyfriend, I said good for you. She said after her father found out, his first question was, "Where is he from now!" I asked her what was the hardest part for her to be with me. She said "hygiene."
Mao could go for decades without taking a bath.
I did not move into Brooklyn because it is the blackest of all boroughs. My first pick was East Harlem, the Spanish Harlem. I really liked the neighborhood. It felt so alive. But the guy said he will call in the evening and never did. So I moved into the next place I had found on Craig's List. It is a house full of Estonians and one me. Why me? Why me? I asked of my Jewish landlord. Because I like you, he said. It is a Hasidic neighborhood. I have never struggled with people's collective identities. It is like having an accent. Everybody has one. I did not plan it to be Little Bangladesh either. I found that out after I had moved in.
Racial politics is complex. But it is like America is almost begging for Barack. People want to feel the relief of moving on. Time is ripe.
First thing after I take my seat, this black guy Isaiah walks over to my table from his table and asks "Kya haal hai?" (How are you?) I did not expect Hindi from his mouth so I did not understand. But he was trying to be nice and welcoming. As in, you might not be from around here, but we are nice people, just so you know.
What was that again, I said a few times.
"Do you not speak Urdu?" he asked.
Sunday 8 PM, Holiday Party 4
The Doors: Out Of The Box Thinking
"Is This An Obama Party?"
The Doors: Out Of The Box Thinking
"Is This An Obama Party?"
I showed up about 10 minutes late, I was planning to be on time. It was a Sunday, makes no difference to me if it is a week day or not. My workstyle is cloud group dynamics. I take time off when I take time off. And that is pretty random. You are looking for bursts of work. So you actually end up putting in more hours. Earlier I had gone for a walk in my neighborhood. And tea at Kabir's Bakery. Then I watched two different versions of a Himesh Reshammiya song a few different times before I dressed up and left for the party number 4. I decided to put on a white shirt.
There was this one elderly white lady sitting in the corner at the Bakery. I was sipping through my tea. I was half done. Suddenly she bursts into a minor tirade. "Hey Mister!" She is like, why are you sitting there forever? This is not a place to hang out. You should empty the chair. Everybody in the restaurant was Bangladeshi, including the two people looking for chairs, which they promptly found. They turned to me in solidarity and started to talk to me in Bengali.
"I am from Nepal," I said. "Sorry, I don't fully follow what you are saying."
I took my time, finished my tea, and then on my way out waved her goodbye, "Bye bye now."
It is almost like she saw on my quiet face a challenge to the social reality. She did not see that on any other brown face.
Web Worker Daily » Archive Busyness vs. Burst: Why Corporate Web ...I have briefly dated two black women since I have been in the city. I met both at political events. No, not at the same time. The first I took to an Indian restaurant on our second date and the mood got very glacial very fast. Her discomfort was so concrete. Both times I was left with this strong feeling that I am not black. The feeling is even stronger than the I am not white feeling. You realize it is not just white people, black and brown people don't want to talk about race either. It might as well be health care policy. If it is of great interest and excitement to you, keep it to yourself. Don't try to push Calculus 301 down my throat. And then there is that look, you don't got no slavery segregation baggage look. True. Both sides of my family had servants while I was growing up. Ferdy at college - from Bangladesh - also had a family with servants, and he would brag about it, and it would be so embarrassing. Ferdy, that is something to be ashamed of.
Are modern knowledge workers burst or busy? « Matt’s Musings
People Over Process » Miss Burst vs. Miss Busy: Working Enough vs ...
acidlabs » Working in burst mode
acidlabs » Always on and manging the busy/burst dichotomy
And money talk is black and white at once. It is not just, if you are going to end up a millionaire it is okay if you are not white. Black women are so much more careful on money matters. From my very limited experience. And that too is totally understandable. Talking about "Mexicans" is no bonding experience for me. Mexico is richer than India. I draw my Indian heritage from Bihar in India. And it is near impossible to bump into someone from Bihar when you meet an Indian in the US. It is like you were from Poland, and all Europeans you meet are from France, Britain and Germany. Indians are primarily Maratha, Tamil and Gujrati. I mean, India is a big country. You put America, Europe and Africa together, and you get India.
The second took me out to dinner. She paid. When it was over, she said she was glad only to have "invested" 49 dollars into me. Her parting comment was something racist about "Nepalis." To the 99.9% of the Nepalis in NYC, I am Nepali, but not really. But to this wonderful black woman, I was a Nepali.
New York City speaks to my rootlessness. I took to the city like duck to water from day one. You don't feel lost, not at all. Instead you feel like you get to define yourself even more acutely as an individual. The image is sharper. You are really forced to know yourself. Like my realization I am not cut for politics. Like a camel thaws a cactus before eating it, I have to translate politics into group dynamics before I can make sense of it.
In politics you get impatient if race relations don't improve fast enough. Not so in the domain of my tech startup. It is like Third World group dynamics with its super sexism and ethnic prejudices were white belt. Unresolved issues in race and gender in day to day America were brown belt. And the post-ISMs individual group dynamics inside my company of a seamless 2.0 and 5.0 is black belt. It is a higher level of consciousness. The white belts and the brown belts are not of immediate concern. And if the competition lags behind, you just make more money than them. Works beautifully.
So I show up. I kind of felt this pang. This feeling that somehow noone will show up. But I figured maybe people will come in fashionably late. I waited until 10.30 before I went ahead and ordered my food: spicey shrimp, spicey fries, spicey potatoes. 15 bucks and 2 for a tip, that is more expensive than beer in Manhattan, but at least this was filling, and spicey. And also I felt less guilty in the aftermath, having drank so much of their water while waiting. They must have felt the discomfort. They changed the music. First it was what I would call black music. A lot of a certain kind of jazz. Then after an hour or so, they played a Saturday Night Fever tune, and I felt a sense of relief. That is not how I wanted to feel. But that was my natural reaction. I felt embarrassed. Then they played another 80s tune. I ordered food not long after.
I think everyone who walked into the restaurant the entire time was black. Well, there was this one white guy, but he did not order food. He spent some time at the bar.
Before the meal I read an article on Jack Nicholson in a local paper that I borrowed from the guy who ran the place. It was on his desk where he was doing paperwork. You mind if I read your paper, I said. He just looked at me. I picked up the paper after having paid the courtesy of asking. Nicholson is one fascinating character. And I am not talking of his screen characters.
My ex' mother once said to her in my presence, she also had a Chinese boyfriend at college. As in, it is not like she brought him home! During my last phone talk with her she said she had a new boyfriend, I said good for you. She said after her father found out, his first question was, "Where is he from now!" I asked her what was the hardest part for her to be with me. She said "hygiene."
Mao could go for decades without taking a bath.
I did not move into Brooklyn because it is the blackest of all boroughs. My first pick was East Harlem, the Spanish Harlem. I really liked the neighborhood. It felt so alive. But the guy said he will call in the evening and never did. So I moved into the next place I had found on Craig's List. It is a house full of Estonians and one me. Why me? Why me? I asked of my Jewish landlord. Because I like you, he said. It is a Hasidic neighborhood. I have never struggled with people's collective identities. It is like having an accent. Everybody has one. I did not plan it to be Little Bangladesh either. I found that out after I had moved in.
Racial politics is complex. But it is like America is almost begging for Barack. People want to feel the relief of moving on. Time is ripe.
First thing after I take my seat, this black guy Isaiah walks over to my table from his table and asks "Kya haal hai?" (How are you?) I did not expect Hindi from his mouth so I did not understand. But he was trying to be nice and welcoming. As in, you might not be from around here, but we are nice people, just so you know.
What was that again, I said a few times.
"Do you not speak Urdu?" he asked.
Sunday 8 PM, Holiday Party 4
The Doors: Out Of The Box Thinking
"Is This An Obama Party?"
David, a personal request
Between David Pollak and YouHi David. You are a big shot guy, powerful, popular, busy person. This might not even be of interest, you might not have the time or the inclination. But I thought I would shoot this your way anyways.
I can't be sure, but I think DL21C wants me on its Steering Committee. My thing is, for me this is not a Yes/No question. Either I stay detached like I have been, or if I come in, the organization will have to see a rebirth. You are the founder. I am not trying to impose myself, but I do need to engage in a conversation. Will you please help mediate?
I think DL21C should go 2.0 and build a robust local template and explode nationally like Drinking Liberally. 2.0 makes it possible. Minus 2.0, you just can't do it. But with 2.0 you just build a great, local template, and other chapters will just copy. A lot of expansion with very little effort. 2.0 will have a huge multiplier effect.
PS. That was one great party Thursday night. You are such an unpolitician politician. Also, looks like you are throwing another party Sunday in my borough. I am coming. Brooklyn is special.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paramendra Bhagat
Date: Dec 21, 2007 4:44 AM
Subject: Danny
To: Dan Berger
Cc: Elizabeth Caputo
Think this through with a cool head. This is what I said at my blog
that seems to have got you so excited.
(1) DL21C needs a new website. Something that feels 2008 and not 1993.
(2) DL21C needs to videoblog all its major events and get itself a
national audience.
(3) DL21C needs to become an organization where 2.0 and 5.0 are
seamless. 2.0 as in Web 2.0, and 5.0 is face time. It is that or death
to the organization. But if this 2.0 and 5.0 seamlessness is achieved,
Elizabeth could run for Mayor and President. A guy less talented than
her is about to become US Senator from KY.
Hillary and Barack are mega operations. We are largely irrelevant to
them. This is not about Hillary and Barack. This is about DL21C.
You know. You got a major inferiority complex about the fact that you
don't know as much politics as Dave Pollak, or Elizabeth Caputo, or
me. Barack takes advice from me once in a while. And you try to make
up for it by engaging in rude, hostile, obnoxious behavior. The good
news is you have this raw intensity that could be channeled and put to
good use and you could be doing wonderful political work. And you can
always learn more politics. Read. What school you went to is
irrelevant. Jack Welch said that.
Get back with me on this one, the three points above.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Sunday 8 PM, Holiday Party 4
Iowa Is America Wishing It Were A Small Country
A small enough country where you personally get to meet the leader. That does not happen in big states, or in big countries. And so Iowa is a uniquely American invention.
First Primary
It will be the fundraising figures for the fourth quarter. I think Obama 2008 should issue a whip, a million dollars a day, seven million dollars in seven days to the New Year. Online. Since he already had his final fundraiser for the year. This is the time to cash on the fact that we have more online donors than all others running for president put together.
Sexist Bill
The beginning of the end of Hillary 2008 was when Bill Clinton went to Iowa and said he had opposed the Iraq War from the very beginning. He forgot who the candidate was. That is sexist behavior.
Four Holiday Parties
I went to three great parties this past week. On Tuesday was what looked like the official state Democratic Party party. Thursday I went to Drinking Liberally. "Got to wear your button," says Krebs. It sounded like he were saying, got to eat your vegetables. Same evening later was Pollak's birthday party. This guy might be a closet Indian. He has modified the idea of a birthday party and made it communal. Okay, so December babies, let's go. I have never celebrated my birthday. First, my official birthday is not my real birthday, it is the birthday of my favorite movie star. Second, I grew up in a culture that does not celebrate birthdays, we celebrate a ton of festivals. Before I got told Pollak is a Party guy, my total impression of Pollak was that he is a party guy. So that's three. And there is another party tomorrow, Sunday, in my borough of Brooklyn. Brooklyn is classy. I might be biased but I think it is different from all the other boroughs. There is something about Brooklyn. Pollak's Brooklyn party.
Sunday, 8 PM
Brooklyn Moon Cafe
745 Fulton St
Brooklyn, NY 11217
A, C at Lafayette Ave.; G at Fulton St.
..... and to dance the night away at Frank's Lounge.
In The News
Obama Moves to Defend Foreign Policy Experience
As Earth Warms Up, Tropical Virus Moves to Italy
Clinton, Obama seek to lock in key votes before Christmas AFP
Clinton Returns the Fire
Amitabh's mother Teji passes away
Obama strives to overtake Clinton in Democratic race Canada.com
Clinton Strives to Wrest `Change' Mantle From Obama in Iowa
Obama shows no modesty on foreign policy record
Zogby: Obama is only Dem leading all 5 Republicans
Congress At Crossroads NepalNews Had the CA polls act been formulated immediately after the reinstatement of the parliament, CA polls would have been held in October, 2006 and the present crisis would have been averted. ...... While two billion rupees were given to the Maoists to look after their cadres, the displaced persons got nothing. Government ignored the Maoist victims. It even stopped the scholarship given to the martyrs' (people killed by Maoists) children. ....... Maoists have not changed their actions as they have shown that their ultimate aim is to grab state power. By forcing the postponement of the elections for CA, Maoists showed that they don't have any faith and commitment in the election. Despite joining the political mainstream, Maoists continue to engage in terror, abduction and extortion. ...... In the last one and a half year, the law and order situation has deteriorated. There is a virtual anarchy in the country ....... Home ministry failed to contain the activities of Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL). The public felt that law is in the hand of Maoists and their cadres are above the law. ....... neither our party could penetrate into communist vote bank nor could we retain our traditional support base. Our party has lost its political base. ........ our party is making another major mistake by agreeing to integrate Maoist cadres into national army. ....... When we have been busy all the time tackling the Maoists, we have undermined many other problems. Madhesi issue is one of the major ones. Of course, there are some genuine grievances of Madhesis, which Nepali Congress needs to address. Maoist leader Prachanda's statement in Janakpur and senior cabinet minister Ram Chandra Poudel's provocative statement in Nepalgunj are just two recent examples how they tried to ignore Madhesis. People from Madhes feel that the government and Nepali Congress have become pro-Maoists as the government oppressed Madhesi uprising in Lahan, Kapilvastu, and Nepalgunj. Even as the government is preoccupied with the Maoist agenda, we must realize that until and unless we solve the problems of Madhes, CA is impossible in coming April also. ..... Failure of home ministry is that it decided to address it through security actions, which are inevitable to boomerang.
Gaur bandh called off MJF's Rautahat district chairman Ganesh Yadav said the bandh was withdrawn for some days in view of the Muslim festival Eid-ul-Adha. ...... Security forces had been kept alert on many occassions during the bandh amidst fears of violent clashes between the bandh organisers and the Maoist cadres.
ICG urges parties to address issues that delayed polls The two armed forces have started to exert greater influence on the positions of the sides, Maoist parallel structures still hold sway in much of the country, and new ethnic and regional fronts have added to the situation's complexity
Murarka’s whereabouts still unknown
Seven-party meeting cancelled as Maoist leaders fail to turn up the Maoists have said they will still push for all-out proportional representation-based election model.
Madhesi Tigers attack police post The Madhesi Mukti Morcha (MMT) cadres attacked the police post in Madhar of Siraha district mid-night Monday. There are no confirmed reports of injuries though police claim some MMT cadres were injured. The clash occurred after the MMT cadres attacked the police post ahead of the bandh called in the district. The clash occurred for half-an-hour. The attackers exploded three home-made bombs and made several rounds of gun-fire towards the police before escaping across the border into India . They fled after the reinforcement of the armed police force and Nepal police from district headquarters arrived. The police post, which lies some seven kilometres south of the district headquarters, has 16 personnel.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
"Is This An Obama Party?"
December 18: Crash The Party
About two hours into the party, an Indian guy who I had never met before and who had just arrived approached me and asked in earnest, "Is this an Obama party?" This might even have been his first political event in the city. He knew it was a party, and he knew it was political. But he was kind of surprised that every direction he looked into, people were flashing Obama stickers on their chests.
That question was the best part of the party for me. Totally made my day. I was dancing for hours after that, sweating it out, dressed all in black. I have taken to dressing all in black. I hate the tie, I don't like the shirt. But the rest feels fine. And I especially like the feel of an overcoat. So I was kind of not okay that there was a compulsory coat check in. But that was probably a good idea. The overcoat might have gotten in the way of the dance.
The first two hours, you could barely move. Twice at the bar I gave up. The waitress just would not even look in my direction. She was so busy. The place was jampacked.
At first I could barely locate a face I knew. Well, not true. Dave Pollak was outside, talking to someone. From my very first conversation Pollak struck me as someone who would happily politic for food money. Such people are rare to find. But for all that hard core aspect to his politicking, he is also so very pleasant as a person. He has high emotional intelligence. When Dave got on Facebook, someone was like, someone buy Dave a beer, Dave is now on Facebook. I left a comment on his Facebook wall. Facebook is 2.o, face time is 5.0, Dave Pollak is a master of 5.0. I was superkinetic 5.0 myself. But then that was before experiencing institutional racism at Berea as SGA President, and then all that time spent on the road (before you take over a country, it is a good idea to take a good look at it, Barack will take over on my behalf, how about that), and two intense years spent online for Nepal, a zombie existence. I admitted to atrophied social muscles. But at some level I feared I might have lost my original 5.0 presence, the hyperkinetic self.
I am happy to have been proven false. My business partner, my man Friday with my startup ("You raise round 1, I will raise round 3, I already got a solid lead, we will skip round 2") and I, when we meet in person, the conversations are multidimensional, better than what I feared I might have lost. It is because we move seamlessly between 2.0 and 5.0. 2.0 to us is not email. Email we just use to ping each other.
On that count these political organizations in Manhattan are dud. They are so f_____g 2.0 deficient. This has been true for me for DFNYC, and all organizations that followed. It is like you can meet and talk and really feel like you are, you know, talking to someone. And then you go home and shoot an email, and it is like you just shot an email into outer space. They just don't recognize the email. And that also applies to the Mistry guy at DFNYC. He is Indian. Desi.
I met Leila. And the last time I had met her was the summer bash of DL21C. That makes me think, I think I should also cut to doing two DL21C events a year. And so we meet. And she introduces me to her friend she is with. And she warms up. And we talk. And it is a good feeling. It feels so very real. And she gives this goodbye hug before leaving. She leaves early. She lives on Long Island. She used to live in Manhattan. White-black flight. She is like Barack, she is both. During my DFNYC phase, I interacted with her the most.
And I am looking at Leila and I am kind of laughing to myself. Tomorrow I am going to shoot her an email, and it is going to be like I shot it into outer space.
I don't think I am ever going to run for public office. This s___t is too slow. I can't think of any office I might want to run for. I am not a blogger. I am a digital democrat. There's a difference. Politics is my baseball. My business partner is into gaming. He lives near Union Square. He was showing off his latest gadgets. Impressive stuff. Obama 2008 is my gaming, I told him. It keeps me sharp in terms of group dynamics.
Elizabeth Caputo once tried to get me to come onto "the DL21C steering committee." I don't think I ever said no, but I think I got scared. The word committee scared me. She has persistently tried to get me to at least become a "member." I have said no. I don't blame her for wanting. If you look at this past year and more, the only person who attended more DL21C events than me is her. I did not realize that until she got persistent.
So if you are the second most regular person, why not just f____g formalize this s___t? Plus, you save money. I think I have already paid more money to DL21C than members do.
Okay, so this is what I am saying. If you want me to get more involved, let me videoblog your events. If I were to enhance my DL21C involvement, that would be it. Can't be committee. When I think event planning logistics, I get headaches. I am going to die a slow death if I were to get into event planning logistics for DL21C. I have a specialty. I think presidential politics. I think of having Third World dictators for breakfast, on my plate. That's my specialty. I necessarily have to keep sharp my killer instincts. I am completely nonviolent, nonviolent as a cockroach, but nonviolent militancy asks for killer instincts. I fear committee. I would not mind sitting on a committee, I already sit on the executive committee of my company that is in formation. I am the top guy. I run the show. So it's not committee I fear. I guess I'd be willing to sit on the DL21C steering committee if that committee were to agree to become seamlessly both 2.0 and 5.0. I will join DL21C if DL21C will go completely digital.
And this is not a technology challenge. All the tech tools are freely available online and as easy as point and click. It is about changing the group dynamics of the operation. You make 2.0 and 5.0 seamless, and you add as much transparency as possible into your operation.
Every time DL21C has a fancy guest speaker I have felt, what a waste. An event like that that is not videoblogged is a wasted event.
I tried that with DFNYC people. They are like, no way, you can't blog these events. I thought that was so dumb. You put so much energy to put it together. You put so much energy to publicize it. You want as many people as possible to know. But you don't want it blogged?
DL21C has an antique website. I see cobwebs on it when I visit it. That website was designed soon after Al Gore invented the internet. If only DL21C were to videoblog all its major events and display them on the site, the organization could grow like Drinking Liberally. DL has grown right in front of my eyes. Like rabbits birthing babies. Now they are all over the place. DL21C, the NYC chapter, would get a national audience that it deserves to.
It is so easy to do.
So that is my counter offer.
In this city I think more than 60% of the people are nonwhite. But at these Manhattan political events almost all people are white. That is not racist. There is no sign outside saying only whites are allowed. But it sure is racial.
But white is not the attraction. I am a progressive. That is my political religion. NYC is a progressive city. It sure is the capital city of the world. Most people who I meet at these events don't realize what this city means to me. Before I moved into this city, I was gasping for air. This city is sacred to me.
And I am not naive. This is no city of angels. But this city is sacred to me precisely for the package deal that it is. I live in Little Bangladesh. I ride the train. Both are cheap. But they feel so very good. I am not home, but I am in Little Bangladesh. Nepal did not have space for me, the mini Nepal of NYC is no different. There are, broadly speaking, two kinds of people in Nepal, the Pahadis and the Madhesis. I am Madhesi. We are about 45% of the population, but of the 30,000 plus Nepalis in NYC, maybe 30 are Madhesi. That is how the filter in Nepal works against the Madhesi. The Pahadi in NYC I got closest to I later learned had not even grown up in Nepal, he had grown up in Hong Kong. You felt the prejudice vibes from eveyone else. And these are people who at one point elected me convenor for a meeting of all the Nepali organizations in the city. Unanimously. But then they went ahead and sabotaged the meeting that was to take place six months later. Can't believe we let this guy talk us into voting for him.
I told my "let's go for world travel" business partner, I will take you on an all India tour February 2009, so you can meet people to whom I am MLK. Recently I suggested a name for a large Madhesi party. That is the name they went for.
That is the beauty of 2.0. You can do Madhesi, you can do Obama 2008, and you can build a company.
Plentiful use of 2.0 for me is about interacting at the post-ISMs individual level. This city is not that innocent. I wrote a paper years ago about how Wall Street and Capitol Hill were the two most racist, sexist places on the planet. They are tools of power. I know power, I have an instinct for it. I can smell the contours.
You can not have an ambitious startup like mine and not appreciate all that knowledge that goes into creating wealth. I have a very sophisticated take on race. Like I told my business partner, I am so mad at the racism in the world that I want all countries to become democracies, that is my number one anti-racism agenda. But then I am also mad at the super sexism in India.
That sharpness comes from wanting to create post-ISMs individual group dynamics. That comes from meshing 2.0 and 5.0 seamlessly.
I feel the serial killer thing with Dave Pollak. They say serial killers know each other. The top politicians in Nepal know me the same way. I was at an event with some visiting Nepali MPs near Jackson Heights. One MP got off stage and came to sit two seats from me in the front row and asked his picture to be taken, but felt embarrassed, and so he explained it away saying he wanted the crowd in the background.
It is not about hierarchy. I actually make a point to stay away from politicians. I am picky. It is about being able to smell. You feel it. It is not about the chair he holds. But good thing there is that superimposition. But I don't follow local and state politics at all. I felt so bad when Hillary floundered the undocumented worker driver's license question. You mean Spitzer has been working on this and having a hard time? If I had known, I would have thrown myself into it like I threw myself into Nepal's democracy movement, and into Obama 2008. It would have been a one issue thing for me, just a small aside.
I got to shake Justin Krebs' hand. That guy is an entrepreneur. A political entrepreneur. I am very impressed with his thing. His is the only Manhattan organization that is so very national. If Spitzer ever wants to go national, he is going to want to become best friends with this guy. DL is throwing its own holiday party on Thursday. I dig the 99 cent pizza place near Rudys'. I have the same affection for it that I used to have for Walmart before I moved into the city. There is something in that business model.
I have taken to wearing all black. Is that a statement? Is that a phase?
There is no hierarchy. When you mesh 2.0 and 5.0, you create this scalable infrastructure that just provides a malleable platform for everyone who wants to get involved. You call it cloud. It is cloud group dynamics.
If DL21C will go for it, I make my counter offer, I am willing to talk.
Next year I am going to have a dozen or two part timers in India working for me, maybe more. That is still group dynamics, but that is 2.0 exclusively. I am going to have to have some 5.0 group dynamics locally. To stay sharp.
Most of that is going to be Obama 2008. But once we Obama people take the city on February 5, a foregone conclusion, we are the new establishment. Make room. The thing about NYC is even white people are progressive. And when they are not, they are so easy to drop off. You never seem them again.
I have been in the city over two years. The hardest part for me has been to explain as to what exactly it is that I do. Cloud is not really cutting edge for people who are into 2.0. Web 2.0 is like electricity. Pre-electricity, and post-electricity are two very different scenarios. Pre-2.0 and post-2.0 are the same way. 2.0 impacts everything. I guess the white, progressive, Manhattan organizations are going to have to meet me half way. They are already great at 5.0. They should mesh all that into 2.0.
Women are different. In case you have not noticed. A long long time back I said to a friend, you know, when a woman looks at a human face, she sees different stuff than what you and I see. They have eyes like flies. They see a much richer texture. Do you agree or disagree?
I don't know for sure, but women might have an edge in terms of 5.0. Look at it this way. TV is not interactive. But the internet is. You can click. You can not only read, but also send email. But isn't face time just so much more interactive? There is immediate, constant feedback, emotionally loaded.
Women are not unequal, but they are different. Asians are not unequal, but that is a different heritage.
When I moved to the city, I was so delighted by the subway. It felt so good to not need a car. Cabs look like cars. Trains are more spacious, more peopled. But people do the cab thing. Are you taking a cab? The other day after a party, this guy is like, let's take a cab. He is a great guy to be with, but I was tempted to tell him, you don't look rich to me, nobody does.
The subway is the most New York City thing there is.
When I moved into NYC, socially I landed at DFNYC. We were Dean 2004 alumni. So it was a good start. I think at some level I did like Tracey. I was new in the city, single. She had a boyfriend a continent away. But I was also upfront about the fact that not only was I not rich, I was not even looking for work. I moved to the city to start my company but got sucked into doing full time zombie work for Nepal, that was not planned. There was this 2.0 and 5.0 tension. It was jarring to me. I am not seeing things. I looked in your direction and saw you liked. I did the 2.0 thing. If that does not work for you, you do the 5.0 thing. America is not that less sexist a country compared to India. Women will hint, punish. But all that milk boiled over. A few days before she was to fly off to Europe for six months, I threw the bomb. She got on the phone and totally humiliated me. It is not "cute," she said. She also mentioned cab. I am like, okay, now live by those words. The guy who wrote papers at the last minute. But the following day, from a few events to the train station, her pendulum was swinging the other way. In 5.0 she was acting different. But my defense mechanism gave me the lag time of a few hours. And this was before I cleaned myself up through an online autobiography. Kentucky memories were still bothering me. I felt like screaming, give me a conversation. There were so many memories and issues to sort through.
She came back from Europe and the April Revolution happened, and it was all over the local media, and she had a relapse on me. It was not like I decided to not go or go for it, my attitude was like, this feels like a conspiracy to deprive me of my conversation. What, if anything, are you saying? You don't have to do the 2.0 thing, but if 5.0 is your thing, what, if anything, are you saying even in 5.0? I can look in your direction and see someone who likes me, but if you can't bring yourself to say it, and by the time you are out of my face, I am nonexistent already.
The non-sexist version of courting is, first, it is hard enough to communicate when people are really trying to communicate. It becomes unnecessarily harder when people don't try to communicate. You can keep your money. A Larry Ellison wife dumped him for a Harvard MBA.
But then Tracey went to Europe, and Heather is like, oh no, now this guy is going to hit on me. I am the only other. She promptly got herself a boyfriend. Sorry, not available.
Very new in the city, I found myself emailing back and forth with Leila. After a few questions, I said, you know, I think you are so very cute, I like you, how would you like to? She said she had a boyfriend, and we had pleasant conversations ever since at the many events thereafter.
This city is merciless. People have worked hard to get wherever they are at. And so I try to be upfront about money. I don't have it. I will have a ton. And you don't have to believe me saying it.
Someone told me once, you meet someone in NYC for three minutes, and you will never see them again. For the most part that is true. But the political organizations are different. You know about 50 people, and you keep seeing them again and again. It feels like a small town.
Towards the end of the party when the floor was almost empty, I found Lewis Cohen. He was drunk drunk. "Lewis, you are a good man."
"You are a liar," he said.
The first time I ever met Elizabeth Caputo. It was a DL21C event. This lady who is now Senator for Missouri. I had no idea she was a DL21C person, let alone the DL21C person, Caputo. I was standing with Krebs who I had come to know. The first Krebs event I went to, he saw me go for hot dogs, he ordered pizza for everybody.
Caputo dug into me.
"Where did you go to school?"
"I went to a school in Kentucky?"
"What school? What's the name?"
"It's a school called Berea College."
"I know Berea."
"You have heard of Berea?" I was surprised.
"I am from Indiana."
She mentioned something about financial aid.
"Berea has the best financial aid program of any school in America, second to none. Listen Harvard," I said and teasingly gave a side swap to Krebs who was standing next to me.
Ends up she is not only from Indiana and knows Berea, she also went to Harvard herself. A friend of hers was holding a statewide elected office in Kentucky.
Then she hit the ball out of the park. "I beat him!" That floored me. I am like, hmm. You beat him for a student election at school?
Right until that point I was used to saying I was a refugee into New York City from KY/IN. And here was somebody who was feeling like she had found a homeboy in me, someone who knows her state. I do know Indiana like the back of my hand. She did manage to dig a part of me that is KY and IN.
My feeling was, okay, pause, wait a minute. She is being so nice, but she is from Indiana. This is a problem.
To be fair, I come from a part of the world where gender is today where race was in the US South half a century ago. If you were to react to where I come from on gender, you should call the cops on me every time you see me. Things are bad back there. And I might have shared that over email. I know I did.
But then politically I am thinking. Okay, granted you get famous people to show up, but how hard can this be? You call up some bar and you are done. I was not impressed.
After an event, I emailed her: great event. We are all your fans, she said. Not only was she from Indiana, and she was being nice, now she, the dynamo of the top political organization in the city, someone who beat some guy who is about to become US Senator from Kentucky, no, you are not going to be a fan of me. I am a nobody. This is too much of a shock value. I have had a hard enough time getting taken seriously. Just ask Lewis Cohen. After Nepal's April Revolution, his attitude is like, now you have to go through me if you want to go anywhere in New York City politics.
We all read your blog, she said.
Well, I was just emailing to say you were looking great yesterday. And the email system froze or something. No response.
And so I googled her up. There was this one small paragraph from some speech she had given at some Harvard gathering. She had played a major role in the campaign of the last black guy who ran for governor of New York. And she had run Wes Clerk's entire northeast operation when he ran for president.
And I am thinking, this is not just calling up some bar and you are done thing. This is big league.
This was hard core. I emailed that paragraph to her and said, you owe me a conversation. I am a nobody, but if you can say "we are all your fans," I think you should at least give me a conversation. I wanted to download her two campaign experiences. No such luck.
Lady, you are out there in the deep waters, I said.
What is your number, she emailed. I emailed my number. What is your number, I emailed. No response.
Months later another banker did that to me, a Harvard Law classmate of Barack. What is your number, he emails. I email my number. What is your number, I ask, to return the courtesy. No response. A few weeks later he friended me on Facebook and his number is displayed on his profile but I have never called him.
I wrote a blog entry called the 12 year itch. I put in a Republican, Asian woman in that profile. But Caputo still got scared. Her friend in Kentucky. I know the wife of his chief of staff. I told her, tell that guy, it is 2008 or never if he wants to be Senator.
Today's holiday party was de ja vu. Caputo did what she did at the summer bash. It gets so confusing for me.
I am a word person. You are going to have to use words if you want to communicate with me. In person, on the phone, or over email. I like email best with the provisio that I am open to all three. The whole idea behind 2.0 is space and time are irrelvant. Humans don't become irrelevant in 2.0. The whole point behind 2.0 is to enrichen 5.0.
I saw arranged marriages in India. I saw social segregation in Kentucky. And NYC is not that innocent. Communication is hard enough when people use words.
And, by the way, we Obama people are taking this city on February 5.
As a young community organizer in Chicago, Barack and his small staff were sitting dejected because noone had showed up for a meeting. And then a few seniors streamed into the church basement. Barack told his sfaff, see, I told you, they will come.
"Is this where the bingo game is at?" one of the seniors asked.
December 18: Crash The Party
In The News
Clinton's lead over Obama shrinks in new state poll San Francisco Chronicle, USA Clinton's robust 25-point lead over Sen. Barack Obama in California has shrunk by nearly half since October ..... 1 in 5 Democrats is undecided - a number that has nearly doubled since early last year.
Obama toughens campaign trail persona; Clinton shows a softer side Boston Globe In their last-minute efforts to reach out to voters, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have reversed their appeals. Clinton, who spent most of the campaign communicating her confidence and readiness to lead, is now emphasizing her life story and her sensitivity to voters' concerns. Obama, who spent most of the campaign communicating his life story and sensitivity to voters' concerns, is now emphasizing his confidence and readiness to lead. ...... Clinton projecting more humility and Obama a greater sense of command. ...... Obama skipped those biographical points. He also smiled less and spoke with a more insistent tone. .... an adult politician, drawing sharp lines on issues. ....... "I have fought my entire career for reducing money in politics," he said, and then told how he once chewed out a fellow senator. The unnamed senator, Obama explained, had privately questioned the Obama-backed ban on lobbyists paying for senators' meals, saying, "Do you want me to eat at McDonalds?" .... "And I said: 'A lot of your constituents eat at McDonalds. But you earn more than $160,000 per year. You can eat at Applebee's. Go upscale.' " ....... he didn't want to "wake up" and find problems like global warming, healthcare, and wars in the Middle East out of control........ Obama's harder edge seemed designed to counter the Clinton campaign's depiction of him as naïve. ...... childhood friends choking up with affection for her; parents of ill children thanking her for efforts on their behalf ........ She said her decision to work on behalf of children was based on her mother having been left on her own at age 13 by her divorced parents. Then, speaking softly, she talked of walking into apartments and seeing children unable to go to school because no one would take them.
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