Author: Rock Hackshaw

The calypso king of the world (the Mighty Sparrow/Slinger Francisco), who was born on the island of Grenada -but lived most of his adult life in Trinidad and Tobago- opened up a famous calypso of his, with this line: “Let me tell you something, about Labor Day in Brooklyn”. That’s exactly how I start this column; by telling you something big that happened on Labor Day in Brooklyn.  

Since 1967, the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (W.I.A.D.C.A.) has been holding Labor Day parades (millions strong) in New York City. One of their big events lately, is the breakfast ceremony – usually held under a large tent, in a park off Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.  Politicians from every corner come to this event. In the past there have been appearances from Senators Clinton and Schumer; former governors like Pataki and Cuomo; mayors like Bloomberg, Koch and Dinkins; and electeds at all levels of the political ladder. Even wannabee electeds show up for media exposure, networking, advertising purposes, photo-ops and the like. It’s the political place to be on the morning of Labor Day.

I was backstage at the convention when Obama gave his speech. I was watching him live all the way; he was probably about 50 yards from where I stood. It was an awesome moment for me (and probably anyone for that matter). One of my friends -who had crashed the floor- came back to the media area and was standing with me when Barack touched on the abortion issue. I whispered in her ear: “I hope he doesn’t dwell on this damn issue”. She agreed. We were both surprised (pleasantly) when he didn’t dwell on it. But he stayed on it long enough to shoot himself in the leg (again/on this issue). 

Last week, on Room Eight New York Politics (www.r8ny.com), there were many complaints against me from some demanding people in blogdom. You see, I didn’t write a column for a few days, since I was down at the convention in Denver, Colorado. I made the decision that I will accumulate the info (notes, observations, interviews, etc.) I needed, and write columns all the way to the November general election; using Denver as a backdrop and/or a reference point. I assumed that it was my prerogative. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I belong to the “twisted egos of blogdom” (on the other side of the fence that is/lol). But then I hate to be owned: slavery has been abolished I hope.

About two months ago, Ed Towns stood before a congregation of about three hundred people to deliver a Sunday morning sermon. Ed is also an ordained minister beyond his day job as congressman for the 10th Congressional district (Brooklyn). The pastor of the congregation had spoken before Ed, telling the congregants that they would be let out early that morning, since another major event was planned for later that afternoon. The congregation met that news with obvious elation. Ed seized on that glee when he said (as a preface): “I am going to tell you the same thing that Elizabeth Taylor told her eight husbands: I won’t keep you long”. The crowd went wild.  

It’s 4:00p.m. I just got back home from walking the West Indian Day Parade. There are still many hours left before the parade ends. For those who don’t know, it is the one day in the year where Caribbean-Americans come out in droves (over three million strong) and play mas, party, eat, drink, play their music, sing, dance and celebrate their cultural and other heritages. It is always spectacular. This year was no different.

I marched with the Ed Towns contingent. The congressman always brings an entourage to the parade, out of his love and respect for the Caribbean-American community. Poor Ed; it appears that he can hardly dance to the calypso, reggae and soca music. He needs to stay in his day job, because he wouldn’t be able to cut it as a calypsonian or a dancer. So please vote to re-elect him to Congress. I am going to endorse him later this week.

Maybe I am just like my father, since he was hardly ever satisfied. He held a lot of standards, sometimes they were outrageously high. He was a frustrated political activist and so am I. One time -way long ago- the government of Trinidad and Tobago convened a Commission of Inquiry into possible subversive political activities (and elements) on both islands; my dad was one of many targets. In the end they deemed him a “clever intriguer” amongst many things; but he wasn’t incarcerated; thank God. I thought of my dad on the first day of my first trip to Denver, Colorado -for the Democrat’s convention. He could always see through political phonies. It has always been tough for me to attend conventions -both here and back there- and that’s why I am never really excited about going. But I go nonetheless; I often wonder why: especially when I am like a fish out of water whenever I go. 

Those who have played chess professionally will immediately get the meaning of my title: “Exclam!!!!!!!” You see, it refers to when a player makes a brilliant move within the game; a move so good that it has the potential to change the outcome from there on in. You see, in the game called chess -one of the oldest in the world- we record each player’s move(s) with symbols; and once you see an exclamation mark in brackets or parentheses (!) recorded next to a move, you are supposed to take a long hard look at the move and its relevance to the later outcome of the game. It sets the stage for the post-game analysis and for later evaluation. At the end of this presidential race in early November, we will all look back at John McCain’s gambit of yesterday and we will all see the genius in this move. Whoever advised him to make this selection deserves a raise. Win or lose it was a brilliant move. 

Due to various personal problems and other issues that developed since last week Saturday (starting in New York City), I have been unable to post any columns since my piece on the vice-presidential pick of Joe Biden by Barack Obama. It is true that I was in Denver, Colorado, during the duration of the Dems convention, where I did over one hundred interviews while there. I also physically attended two nights of the convention events. The first was spent with the New York delegation, when Hillary Clinton addressed the convention; the other was the final night when Obama accepted the historic nomination.

All right, okay; so many of my blog-detractors are happy today: since I was wrong about Barack Obama’s vice-presidential nominee. But am I? Am I really? 

Almost four months ago I said that he should (and would) select Kathleen Sebileus, the governor of Kansas; this morning he officially did not. Barack Obama picked Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, and text-messaged that fact to millions of his supporters, at almost exactly 3:00 am. Touche! 

I am disappointed with this selection; but not enough to make me want to desert the ticket. The alternative to Obama/Biden is not an option for me. I still think that Joe Biden is better suited for a role as Secretary of State -should Barack Obama become the next president of the USA.  Biden is a foreign policy expert. He is also a domestic policy wonk and a brilliant intellectual. However, he brings many downsides to the ticket. And since I don’t want to arm Republicans any further, let me just say that those of us who support Obama will have to cross our fingers on this one, and for quite a few reasons. 

I haven’t done a “Vines” column in a while so here goes. And for those who are unfamiliar with these columns, let me reiterate that it is a combination of some serious newsworthy items -that you probably won’t pick up in mainstream media- plus some juicy political gossip, some analysis, some innuendo, some political history, some personalities that you probably won’t hear of again, some predictions, plus any thing else (political) that you wanted to know but was afraid to ask*(especially about Brooklyn). 

Let’s start with NYC council woman Letitia “Tish” James. She is now on her way to becoming Brooklyn’s latest “elected-thug-wannabee”. She needs to know that this “intimidation” shit won’t fly with me on a personal level. I am not afraid of her or any of her fellow electeds. Last month I saw her in the council chambers at City Hall -while we both attended the memorial ceremony for deceased council member James Davis- whereby she deliberately sat next to me, and kept hitting me in the back. She kept making the false charge that I had written libelous things about her. She claims that in my blog column I stated that she was under criminal investigation. You be the judge. The column is dated May 20th, 2008. It is entitled: “Is Council Woman Tish James In Trouble”. Go read it (www.r8ny.com). It is obvious that her reading and comprehension skills are limited. Could it be that she is an imbecile disguised as an attorney/city council member?