the Political Pugilist

By Ese McGlown

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

I do not believe it is possible to have witnessed a better example of contradiction in representation than the last Community Board 10’s (CB-10) meeting that I attended in Central Harlem, N Y.

CBs in New York City (NYC) are suppose to represent and serve the “interests” of communities regarding real estate development and social issues, among other things.

But they don’t, because there is one huge problem: Members of CBs are not voted in, nor do they earn their seats; instead, they are hand picked and appointed by New York’s Borough Presidents, and NYC has five.

Through the tentacles of appointed Community Board members, the puppeteers control Harlem. In essence, it is not the majority of the residents, nor is it the long-standing cultural voice that determines the interest of Central Harlem, but the Manhattan Borough President does.

This means that(…)

By Anthony Whitaker: 917.416.3782 or imhoptep@valleyofthekings.com

The inescapable facts: On January 20, 2009, at high noon, Washington D.C. time, in the capitol of this nation, shrouded in white-concrete structures, America will swear in Barack Obama as its 44th President.
 
The entire nation, if not the whole world, will watch a ceremony befitting a newly crowned king. If this were a monarchy, there might be three to four million subjects in attendance for the inaugural ball, “ba dis hera—is A melricca,” said Fidla in the movie “Roots”. 
 
How we Americans have seen it, despite his momma and poppa’s background, for the past 300 years,

(…)

“All politics is local,” goes the folklore; but was it local with the most recent elections? 

As a country, we had had enough. As a nation, we were compelled to vote against the blatant corruption, lack of respect for our anti-war protesting, and denial of basic rights by the Bush administration: an eight-year long political crisis defined a nationwide agenda.

On November 4, this country voiced an attitude for change, organized, mobilized, and voted for the first time, a black family into the White House. We found the national change we needed in Barak Obama – an intelligent, thoughtful, reasonable, grounded man.

However, were we so awestruck by the potential of Mr. Obama that we left our local politics behind? On the night of the election we celebrated in the streets, but

(…)

The “Political Pugilist”, coming soon to minds near you.  

(11.14.08)

 ——————————————————

The “Political Pugilist” is here!

I, Craig Schley, am “The “Political Pugilist”. From here forward, my posts will justify my nom de plume with hard hitting truths and reasonable solutions to the problems they raise. Before we begin this journey, let me first acknowledge those who fuel this pugilist with the reason to fight for what is right:

To Black Star News, I thank you for creating this opportunity to share thoughts and express views through this blog, Failure Precedes Success. To my family, daughter and all those who worked on or supported my congressional campaign, our efforts to bring progressive change to the 15th District have

(…)