Saturday, December 20, 2008

Bringing The Criminal Charge Drama To An End: A Potential Lawsuit


Bringing The Criminal Charge Drama To An End: A Potential Lawsuit

December 20, 2008

Hello Rudra.

You mentioned a James Harris, a criminal lawyer friend of yours, back in July. I think I need to get a private lawyer for my January 5 court date. You could argue I should have thought of that for June 4 itself, but I did not know better. My idea of a court appearance was the judge will want to talk to me, and I get to make my statement. But instead you stand in court like a statue. The system grabs you and processes you like chicken on chicken farm.

I thought this drama was coming to a close on December 18, but now instead I got a new court date for January 5. I mean, how is it possible that the harassment charge was dropped by the city "for lack of prosecutorial evidence," but the bogus court order violation charge - based on an email that never was sent - emanating from that harassment charge has not been dropped?

If the harassment charge was dropped by the city, I am thinking Charlie Rangel's office forced the NYPD to press the charges against me for long enough to fly me away. I can imagine getting into a political fight with Charlie Rangel, I think I already did. But Justin Krebs is small fry, Dan Berger is small fry, Mike Lupinacci is small fry.

Let me summarize the situation best I can. I don't think Ms. Elizabeth Caputo is trying to suggest she runs DL21C events, and it is a professional, political space where people are not supposed to express interest in each other. Heck, DL21C events are all party scenes.

And this is not a case of a woman who never liked me, but who I liked in a criminal way. She liked me the first day she met me. I don't know what she saw in me. I would like to believe I am a good looking kind of guy. Justin Krebs messed up on that day. He played the role of the white why not me guy. She expressed like in me again six months later, most explicitly at the summer bash of 2007, and at the four events after that. December 18, 2007 was Elizabeth Caputo really, really liking Paramendra Bhagat. February 7, 2008 was Elizabeth Caputo really, really liking Paramendra Bhagat.

I was the guy who kept suggesting, if you like me shoot me your number, let's talk and meet one on one. A one on one talk is going to have to be the starting point. It can't be some DL21C event, because when you come for me at a DL21C event, you make me feel like it is not about me, it is about the 50 white jokers in the room. You want me to tell you it is normal behavior that in a city that is 60% nonwhite more than 90% of the people in this room are white? It's not normal behavior. And day one was the only day one there ever was going to be.

I have hated the idea of white guys playing matchmakers. A relationship is not a committee, it is a two person thing. Although I have mellowed on that concept a little. If someone like me and Ms. Caputo were to hook up, I can imagine about 20 top young progressives in the city wanting to act like they were extended members of that relationship. Back where I grew up, there is extended family, there are relatives, who very much are part and parcel of the relationship. Here I guess they got friends. It is a similar situation. So maybe a relationship is a committee after all, not a two person thing. But she has some really weird friends. I can name two guys, and one girl.

While I was doing cutting edge work for Nepal, all the action was in Web 2.0. So I was in horror that she did not recognize email at all, or at least not in my case. I am not in horror no more because the hard work on Nepal is behind me, but back then I was in horror. It felt like I was being asked to choose between my cutting edge 2.0 work and a woman who does not recognize email. It felt like a false choice.

I am on record saying Ms. Caputo is going to be America's first woman president. That is a big enough thing to say. But I have said something bigger. I introduced the concept of a Caputo 2016 back in the spring. Of course I put myself half of that equation. I still think she is a future president, only she will take twice as long to get there on her own. I have bigger political achievements under my belt than Bobby Jindal, and Bobby is thinking Bobby 2016. I don't think out of place having thought of a Caputo 2016. It would be a first in American history for someone to run for the top office in the land as their first office, but there is always a first. Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon. Caputo 2016 could be a bi-coastal two women ticket. But before that she would be my company's CEO that lists the company on Nasdaq, and DL21C would have to become the premier digital democracy organization in the world, the organization that cultivates the concept of Grassroots 3.0. You could say that is career, that is work. Sure. Ms. Caputo is part of a generation of women who can take it for granted that they are going to have careers like generations of women before them could not. But she and others like her find themselves in workplaces that were designed for bodies that don't bear children. The solution is to grab the presidency and turn America into a full-fledged knowledge economy. Finally the workplace will have become gender neutral.

I am top political talent. You should compliment my political talent that I have talked of a Caputo 2016. A guy who articulates the concept of a Caputo 2016 is not a sexist guy, a guy who suggests a two woman ticket is not a sexist guy. And that October 2007 Senator Mary event was Ms. Caputo sensing a rival's national possibilities. And I really admired her political radar. She was very much in tune. She saw the future. But at that point Spitzer was looking at two terms as New York Governor, and Hillary could have been president or vice president. Spitzer and Hillary are no longer in the way of a Caputo 2016.

But that is work, that is politics. This is not relationship talk. Right now I don't exactly feel like Ms. Caputo is trying to revive her old feelings for me. And even if she were to express interest this is what I would have to say. I need to sit down and talk about every time we have been in each other's presence, and I need to talk about about a dozen individuals, and I need to talk about a half dozen situations, and this could last about five hours. At the end of those five hours, I get to say hello, not before. If you are not interested in that conversation, you are not interested in me, who are we kidding? That is my attitude today. That is not the attitude of a sick mind with a sick interest in a woman who wants to and has always wanted to completely stay away. If she is not interested in me, all she has to do is not be up for that conversation. And that will take care of it.

But we are not talking relationship here. We are talking a criminal case here. Mostly we are talking politics.

What do I want? I want the legal mess to come to an end. The harassment charge was dropped by the city. The court order violation charge is completely bogus. I want that to be dropped immediately.

Considering she is the one with the track record of having expressed romantic interest in me at DL21C events, not me, what is the point in trying to keep me away from DL21C events? Really? I have never had a violent thought about ERC. What is this protection business? To me it feels like racist demonization. When the Homeland Security people say you are "a flight risk," do you try to disprove them or do you accuse them of racist demonization?

The bogus court order violation charge has to be dropped because it is bogus. That is reason enough. That is the first order of business.

And then I want some legal advice, some social advice.

Me not being allowed into DL21C events to me feels like when Mahatma Gandhi was asked to get off the first class compartment in the train even when he had the ticket. Either this city and this state and this country is going to have to enact a law barring me from DL21C events, or I should be able to show up for DL21C events. That is what I think. What do you think?

Thank You.

Yours sincerely.

Paramendra Bhagat

P.S. Do I have the option to sue Charlie Rangel?

Hello Barack, I Was In Chicago

At The Bill Thompson Penthouse: Elvis Sighting
Request For Change Of Venue
December 10, 11, 16, 18

Lingering Detail: December 18

To Go Or Not To Go
December 10: Holiday

A MLK Style Death Awaits Me In Nepal
Lipstick On A Pig
Jail Time
Letter To The Department Of Homeland Security
Freedom, Finally

June 4, 2008 Court Appearance: Prepared Statement: Final Draft
June 4, 2008 Court Appearance: Prepared Statement: Rough Draft

Hillary's Bobby Kennedy Comment: Bitter Heart, Bad Taste
Bobby For McCain's VP?
Bobby Jindal For President Of The United States 2016

Elizabeth Caputo: Trying To Make Sense

Eliot Spitzer Needs To Go Into Business With Me

Looking At White Women: The Search For Vocabulary
Louisiana Senator Event: Crime Scene




Friday, December 19, 2008

Possible Pitfalls In Barack's Way


Bush did not see 9/11 coming, and neither did I, before I go on some Bush-as-stupid rant. But you could argue dictatorships have always struck at America. Japan was a dictatorship when Pearl Harbor happened. The Cold War was a clash with another dictatorship, the Russian kind. You could have argued that since the Arab world is a large swathe of dictatorships, it was only a matter of time before America got hit. You could also argue that unless China moves towards political reform and ultimate plurality Taiwan could some day become a hot flashpoint between the two giants.

For now I am trying to look ahead for Barack. What could go wrong? You could argue what could go wrong has already gone wrong. This financial hole is really, really huge. America has to fix this, and America has to make sure Bin Laden inspired people don't end up exploding a dirty bomb somewhere. And that does not have to be in America. They do it for global media attention. Any big city would work just fine for them. It is another thing that any such act of mass murder is going to generate a major backlash against them in the Arab world itself. And I really hope they are nowhere close to getting their hands on the material needed for the task. And I don't feel bad imagining the scenario. It is better to think and prevent than to exhibit ostrich behavior.

So what could be some of the pitfalls Barack could face over the next eight years? Here are some of my guesses.

(1) A Stimulus Package That Is Too Little Too Late

Minus the stimulus package, this country will head into a deep recession, and that in turn will lead to a global recession. At that point not even a two trillion stimulus will work. Sure, this piles onto the already huge debt and deficit. But when the building is on fire, you don't try to save on water.

(2) A Second 9/11

The Al Qaeda is as resilient as ever. America should have stayed focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan, it should not have got distracted in Iraq. When the whole world is its stage, expect that organization to think of newer ways to create "spectacular" attacks. Mumbai was the latest strike. It likes big cities. And it has not forgotten America. Actually it never stopped trying. A second 9/11 in the current economic climate would have a huge negative multiplier effect. Bin Laden, the business student, thinks more about money than about material harm.

(3) No End To Iraq War

If the Iraq War is not ended, and the war expenses are not drastically cut, the current bailout and the stimulus package are going to look really, really expensive in a few years. That war has to be brought to an end at the earliest responsible time.

(4) Unbalanced Budgets As Far As The Eyes Can See

I think Barack has about five, maybe six years to end up with a balanced budget. With a Democratic hold on the White House and the Congress, the tribe is going to find it hard down the line to not go back to the tax and spend liberal ways. If Barack can't check that, the opposition party will find fuel to take back the reins of power. They might still come strong even with balanced budgets, but unbalanced budgets as fas as the eyes can see will really hurt the country going forward. You are swiping credit cards of children not yet born.

(5) Another Russian Misadventure?

It could be the Russians, or it could be some third rate Third World dictator. You can always expect some unexpected flashpoint on the globe. Every president has had that. What will be Barack's such flashpoint? I don't know.

(6) Universal Health Care Without Health Care Sector Reform

Just throwing money at the problem would be the wrong way to go about it. More money is needed, sure, but that is not the only thing needed. You got to bring the costs down also for the currently insured. The market forces need to be brought into greater play.

In The News

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Stocks Rise on Auto Bailout New York Times
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Feds to lend $13.4 billion to automakers CNN International
Nepal may declare emergency in face of power crisis:Prachanda Press Trust of India
Anand launches chess academy in state`Bihar Can Produce A Lot Of ... Times of India
Obama Relies Heavily on Congressional Democrats to Fill Key Posts Wall Street Journal Blogs
Obama economic stimulus to be worth 775 billion dollars: report AFP
Senators get briefing on Jindal Medicaid plan Forbes
Obama Team Assembling $850 Billion Stimulus Washington Post
Caroline Kennedy: I'm a 'Clinton Democrat'
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Nepal doubles daily power cuts ABC Online
Franken opens first lead in Minn. Senate race The Associated Press
Iraqi shoe thrower wins hearts in Iran CNN
Violence to escalate after Hamas ends ceasefire with Israel Xinhua
Clinton's donor list spans the globe Los Angeles Times
WiMax: Not dead yet CNNMoney.com
WiMAX rumbles on, but not to New York City Examiner.com
Bachchans' Unforgettable tour in India NDTV.com
Paulson Urges Release of Next $350 Billion From TARP Bloomberg
US Treasury Paulson: Auto Plan Uses Last Of Available TARP Funds CNNMoney.com
New York City Prepares for Snowfall as Air Traffic Is Delayed Bloomberg
The rise of the Netbook CNET News
Green Battery Startup Starts Small New York Times
Yahoo Limits Retention of Search Data New York Times