Hack Attack

I've recently been a little consumed with the politics surrounding the Atlantic Yards developent. For one reason, it's an issue that concerns me, in a way that much of city politics doesn't, beyond a certain lurid curiosity that I have about it. And yes, as I seem to have to stress every time I discuss, I don't have my papers, and thus The Vote.

[On another note, who knew that Tony Blankley, editor of top Moonie-owned right wing samzidat sheet the Washington Times is not only of limey extraction, but reasonably charming over email? We salute you, Tony, or give you celestial love greetings, or whatever Reverend Moon's adherents do]

What's fascinating to me about the way that this big-assed real estate scam dressed up as a basketball stadium is how it intersects with the existing fault lines in Brooklyn politics. What we previously had was this rather cool (for the uninitiated and deeply cynical) but mostly inconsequential insider-insurgent dynamic, which was notable for the sale of judgeships, politically-motivated prosecutions of rivals (and bonus specious firings of underlings!), and Clarence Norman.

Now, what the stadium financing has done is expose just how rotten the Brooklyn one-party Borough is. It is probably of little surprise that top Clarence Norman pal Carl Andrews is among the candidates up for election in November. It is probably more surprising that since he's a former state senator he's picked up a bunch of endorsements in his bid to replace Major Owens as my (?) congressman. He's rather pally with Ratner too.

I will heartily encourage you to visit the Atlantic Yards Voting Guide to get an idea on where the candidates stand on the issues. And please sodding vote in the Democratic primary on the 12th September, because there are politically starving limeys in Park Slope that would kill for your vote. By the time we get to the November election you'll be faced with either the guy who was hand selected by the Democratic party party machine or a Republican patsy.

And you know where that gets us? Betsy Bloody Gotbaum.