Room Eight is closed to new posts. The existing archive will remain up for the immediate future.
If you were a Room Eight writer and would like access to an export of your content, please contact the editor.
This site is not affiliated with or collaborating with any other news or opinion site.
Let's face it.
If you're City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the race for NYC Mayor can't get here fast enough.
Quinn who has a shot at making history not only as the first woman mayor of the Big Apple, but also as the first openly gay mayor of the city, has been receiving some good press regarding her strong support for gay marriage and legislation she's backed mandating a controversial "living wage" for employees of businesses receiving city subsidies.
My partner, Stu Osnow, has decided I should tweet. Against my better judgment, I have started. You can “follow” me at Twitter @primenewyork
Some say the tale comes from the Jewish tradition; others credit the Russians.
It matters not, because there is an equivalent tale in practically every society, and because, regardless, whatever the origin, the moral remains the same.
The tide continues to rise worldwide against conservatism. The swell began last year with the Occupy Wall Street movement and has now been caught up by European voters eager to break the yoke of severe austerity. Even Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is tacking to the left saying recently that his fondest memories are of vacationing in Paris, the city of light that is a pariah to those on the right.
Lena Dunham said “Washington Commons,” but she meant “The Waterfront Alehouse.” What 'Girls' Gets Right and Wrong About New York www.theatlan
Last March featured one of the angriest opinion pieces I have ever read in Planning magazine. The subject was the Republican House Transportation bill, which seeks to eliminate dedicated funding for mass transit and other alternative modes while increasing funding for highways. This would restore the situation before the arrival of pro-choice Ronald Reagan, when the cities were taxed (in many cases into oblivion) to build infrastructure for growing suburbs, in a development pattern the free market would not have chosen. My interest in the article is not based on the specific issue – frankly given the damage it had done I wouldn’t mind if all federal infrastructure spending was eliminated, and everyone had to pay for their own. It is based on the “big picture” discussion at the end.
“Budgets allocate resources, demonstrate priorities, and determine winners and losers in any society. So where does this leave those who are now choosing different options when they are provided by the market? The Gen Xers and the Millennials are making very different choices than their parents or grandparents. Their brand loyalty is up for grabs. And that frightens the dumb growth industries that now seek to tilt the playing field back in their favor.” Aha. And guess what, aside from the one percent and future retired public employees, Gen Xers are poorer than Boomers, and Millenials are poorer than Gen Xers. And they are being forced to pay more for less government to offset the greed of the generations who went before, and control the government. They can’t afford the lifestyle older generations had chosen any more than the older generations could, which is why older generations made younger generations pay for it. You’d think older generations would leave them alone to get by as best they can. But no.
On Friday, I linked the attached article (from the same day) on my Facebook page, wherein David Storobin made the case for how strong a State Senate candidate he’d be in the Warsaw Ghetto constructed by the State Senate Republicans (even though his own community had been divided in such a manner that they were envying Gaul its good luck).
A routine bail hearing for George Zimmerman took a surprising turn into remorse and explanation Friday when the neighborhood watch volunteer got on the witness stand and told Trayvon Martin's parents: "I am sorry for the loss of your son."
While I (gack!!!) supported Kevin Parker against Simcha Felder when Felder ran for State Senate in 2008 (in a working class minority district where his fiscal conservatism was not a good fit), it is hard for me to conceive that (barring the return of Seymour Lachman—who may be a bit too modern Orthodox) this district could do any better than either Felder or David Greenfield (and Greenfield is supporting Fel
So, polls show that about 45% of the country supports a candidate who opposes any sort of tax increase under any circumstances, and about 45% supports a candidate who might consider some level of revenue enhancement to pay for vital infrastructure and other future-minded spending.
This presents a conundrum.
Tom Friedman's solution is to divide the sane vote between multiple candidates and facilitate the return of the Flat Earth Society.