Rowhouse Logic - Breathtaking Inanity

My job(s), however, have a strangle hold on thoughts both rational and otherwise. Just in case you were feeling good this morning, I thought I would point you towards this article in the Daily News discussing skyrocketing housing prices in Philadelphia.

If you are anything like me, making just enough on two incomes to live in a decent Center City apartment on a decent block, you too may be a placeholder. Just another schlep waiting for the day your landlord kicks you to curb so he can sell your apartment for $1,000,000 to some empty nesters from suburbia who are looking to add some spice to their lives. Ah, to be young and underpaid.

Chris Bowers:

It is one thing to say you want to reform the Democratic Party. It is quite another thing to realize that you can just take it over because you realize very few people are participating within it. This is, indeed, something that we need to do, because a lack of a vibrant party structure has very real consequences at the ballot box.

In case you missed it, Chris Bowers announced on Friday that he’s running for Commiteeperson from in Ward 27, Division 23 and will be filing early this week. Even though Ward 27 is something like the tundra of Philadelphia ward politics, due to the transient nature of its population (read: Penn students), I’m excited nevertheless. If the Philadelphia Democratic Party is going to be reformed into a party that actually represents and serves this city in the best way possible, it’s likely going to happen at the ward level first. It can only help that somebody with a decent sized megaphone, like Chris Bowers, is throwing himself into the thick of it.

Clearly, there has been an unusual amount of interest in the ward structure of late, with Neighborhood Networks representing the most visible sign of the growing rumble. Replacing the current structure, where needed, would provide the progressive and reform minded the best way to get a seat at the table. A Commiteeperson, if effective, will have real and regular contact with the people who live within their district. They will go door to door discussing the mundane, but vital topics of potholes, trash pickup, police and fire service, nuisance bars, street lights, etc, and act as advocates with the ward leader or appropriate agency. If truly committed, they will develop a report with the citizens in the community, become a trusted source of information about candidates and issues, and become a small cog in making this big town a better place. In doing so, a committed, reform minded Committeeperson will go a long way in helping to build a Philadelphia Democratic Party we can be proud of.

A very tall order, I know. Lend Chris a hand if he needs it, and think about getting involved with Neighborhood Networks. There is no time like the present.

Update: While I share Chris’ first name, I do not share his last. This, among many other things, makes us different people.

(Post deleted because it was stupid)

Alan Sandals anounced his candidacy for United States Senator from Pennsylvania on Thursday. Have a look at Sandals’ campaign website here. You can read his press release on his website and I’ve also placed it in the extended entry.

For the record, I’m supporting Chuck Pennacchio in the Democratic primary, but I will always support contested primaries. The more contest, the better the democracy.

(Via PoliticsPhilly)

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The Peg nails it, go have a look. The bit about the candles made me want to puke.

As planned, Melissa, my wife and I polished off the G8 beer blogging beers and had a stroll up to the Parkway to get involved in some of the Live 8 madness. Considering that most of the G8 beers had an alcohol content above 8% by volume, and we stopped off at a bar for about an hour on the way, we were just lucky to have made it at all. Shortly after we arrived on the parkway we came across a New Yorker, in town for her son’s chess tournament, who had just walked out of her hotel into a massive crowd and was trying to figure out how to get to where the concert was actually taking place. Naturally, we adopted her for the event and wound up having a pretty nice sushi dinner with her, after the show had ended.

The furthest we made it was 23rd street, a little less than a mile from the Art Museum steps. Beyond that, it was just too crowded for a pack of drunks to make their way any further. As expected, the sight lines weren’t anything to write home about, and the music and announcements were way too quiet, though not as bad as they could have been. Everybody seemed to have a pretty good time, and I think the city did as good a job as it could have, considering the very short time table provided for setting this whole thing up.

Since my parents live about 3 blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I had a much better bathroom experience than most people at the event did, I’m sure. I really should have considered charging for the privilege, but I’ve never been much of an entrepreneur. Being a kid from the neighborhood also meant that I knew the best spots to run off and grab some cigarettes and a six pack, without the hassle of long lines. This is an important skill set to have when you find yourself sitting on a lawn listening to Def Leppard play Pour Some Sugar On Me, on an otherwise pleasant Saturday afternoon.

The activism part of the show was very weird, and by weird I mean non-existent. There may have been some decent presentations on African debt relief from the stage, but sitting where we were, you never would have known it. That’s due in part to the poor audio, which is to be expected I suppose. I would, however, have expected to have seen people handing out literature with information on debt, aids and poverty in Africa and why it’s important, but that just wasn’t the case. Maybe I come from a different world, but this struck me as some strange activism indeed, and I was more than a little disappointed. As a matter of fact, the only thing handed to me over the course of the whole event, was a big pile of condoms. I guess I just don’t get it, but this stuff probably isn’t aimed towards me anyway.

There are some more pictures after the jump. Go have a look at Philly Future for better perspectives on the event.

Update: My wife wanted me to mention that she was quite sober, and resents being refered to as part of a pack of drunks. She was, however, presiding over a pack of drunks, for whatever it’s worth.

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I’m really excited that Albert was given one of the blogger press passes for this weekend’s Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. Albert always brings so much enthusiasm to the table whenever he gets involved with anything, that I think he is the perfect choice to cover the event. Combine that with his amazing photography and passionate writing, and I think we have a really terrific individual representing Philadelphia at Saturday’s concert. Be sure to check out his live blogging of the event on Philly Future.

Although I’m a horrific music snob, and won’t enjoy a bit of Saturday’s concert on a musical level, I’ll still be taking a walk down to the Parkway to take part in the festivities for at least a little while. I hope you join me. This is the sort of event that comes to Philadelphia very rarely, and I’m really excited to welcome the whole world to my hometown. I’d love it if my hometown would stop bitching about the lineup and enjoy, but I know that would be asking too much.

Additionally, I’m trying to work out a special, surprise edition of Saturday Beer Blogging, so be sure to check in. Sadly, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to land a decent African beer by Saturday. If not, I’ll do a G8 beer blog extravaganza, featuring beers from as many G8 nations as I can muster on a budget. I should add that the G8 beer blogging extravaganza is probably my preference, because then I’ll really enjoy the concert in ways I otherwise might not.

Aside from the fun and games, I’ll also try to get as much info about African debt relief together in a single post or page as I can for you to peruse, and I’ll try to point you towards writers with a real grasp of the issue. The importance of economic and political stability in Africa is an issue which reaches across most of our political divides, and really should be a prominent part of our conversation, for both its moral and national security implications. If you don’t think much of the way the organizers of the Live 8 event are pushing the issue, find your own way to do it . Even a little something is better than nothing.

I don’t know anything more about the death of Philadelphia Police officer Paris Williams, which occurred during today’s skateboard/biotech protests, than does anybody else who relies on the preliminary reporting. I am, however, very sad this evening. Judging from what I saw on the delayed (due to the NBA finals) late news on the local ABC affiliate, this probably will turn into something. Just what that something is, we’ll have to wait and see. We can only hope that all is as well as it can be with the late officer’s loved ones. Sadly, that isn’t likely to be all too well.

This post by Charles on Young Philly Politics is really quite timely. I have a feeling we’ll be talking quite a bit about ward leaders in the coming months. Charles’ straightforward discussion of the topic is a good starting point. Go have a peak.

I’ll get into this more heavily when I can get a minute, but I really want everybody to go have a look at this post by Chris Bowers. The young man is on fire, and I couldn’t be happier. Here’s a just little:

This is a city where the terms Blue Dogs, Progressives, New Democrats and DLC do not mean anything. We simply have never entered that modern era of politics. This is, instead, a throwback to the worst forms of corrupt political machines of the early part of the twentieth century that worked to basically rig elections on behalf of a powerful and unaccountable elite. For the Philadelphia Democratic Party, ideology means nothing. Instead, it is purely about power, and no matter what they say, the leaders of the Philadelphia Democratic Party are not taking any steps toward internal reform.

Amen brother. Go read the whole thing, it’s well worth the trip.

When even one is too many.

Atrios:

Perhaps it’s time to start spending our time and money worrying about state and local governments.

I couldn’t agree more. With absolutely no bitterness in my heart, I’d like to say that we could have used you a month ago kiddo. I admit that these words are way out of context. Whatever.

I haven’t said a thing about Vince Fumo lately, but the Inquirer just ran a three part series on the…oh, I’ll restrain. ACM has the run down and some nice analysis. Go have a look. Pictured below you’ll see my prized Vince Fumo calling card. I received it just after I wrote a post where I failed to restrain myself. A coincidence, to be sure.

Just in case you haven’t quite had your fill of last Tuesday’s primary, have a look at this article from the Inky which has a few breakdowns (Via Ray Murphy). Seth Williams had what I would call a very good loss. If you haven’t had a look at Seth’s thank you message he has up on his website, go have a look. Short but sweet.

I’ve said previously that I have no regrets about supporting Seth Williams or dedicating quite a bit of space on this site to that support. I still have no regrets about that. I did make some mistakes however. The one most apparent to me at the moment is that I was just too timid. I basically shot the site in the foot in terms of traffic by only focusing on one issue, and neglecting those that are important outside of by immediate geographical region and that I myself really care about. My thought was that I didn’t want to piss anybody off who might otherwise agree with me on the District Attorney’s race, and turn them off of a great Candidate. I didn’t want to fuck up, and in trying not to, I did. I’m still feeling my way through this whole mess, and the learning curve isn’t quit where I’d like it.

Another mistake I made was in pulling a post by a contributor that was about me personally. David, who may have given up on writing here, wrote a post about my penchant for swearing just a little worse than a sailor and provided some examples. I pulled it, not because I mind being made fun of - I deserve that, but because I didn’t want my own lack of social graces to reflect poorly on the candidate I was supporting. Silly, I know. I was defiantly over thinking the whole thing. It was a stupid move on my part and one I owe David an apology for. Anyway, David’s post is back up. If you want to look at it, it’s here, and no it’s not altogether inacurate, though I doubt I ever said “uncool”.

I work in the technology industry and I love being surrounded by the youthful idealism of my young co-workers. Their enthusiasm is contagious and if it weren’t for them, I probably never would have seen the Chapelle Show and I doubt that I would have ever heard of Bongo Jones or Pepper’s Ghost. But as much as I love them, I just don’t get their politics.

I hate talking politics in the workplace; usually it’s just not a good idea. But since yesterday was the primary, I decided to check in with a few of the kids (whom I already knew to be left-leaning) only to discover that everyone I spoke with was a registered Independent.

I’ve got nothing against Independents. In fact, with my opinions ranging all over the political spectrum, I probably should re-register as an Independent. Whoa Nellie, not so fast.

What do we need to say so people understand that change happens at the local levels and then hopefully works up to the higher levels? If you really want to know if your vote counts, look at the local elections, particularly those with low turnout. In yesterday’s D.A. race, with a total turnout of less than 107,000, Lynne Abraham beat Seth Williams by about 12,285 votes. In a city the size of Philadelphia, that’s nothing.

My two closest friends, both of whom live in Philadelphia, are registered Republicans. Matt or Joanie, if either of you are reading this, “What is the point of being registered as a Republican in Philadelphia?” You rarely get to make any difference in a primary because most everyone runs unopposed. Until somebody decides to challenge Sam Katz on his mission to become Philadelphia’s first Republican mayor in eons, you really can’t make a difference at the local level. (Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if you vote Republican every November, my concern at this point is the primary.)

I ask the same question of my kind-hearted, young co-workers. “If you enjoy living in Philadelphia and care about it’s future, why not register as a Democrat so you can have a voice in the political process?”

Ideally we should have both strong Democratic and Republican parties in Philadelphia, but since I don’t see that happening anytime soon, it seems like the only way to be a catalyst for change is by becoming a registered Democrat.

I made a mistake in my last post in that I really only spoke of myself and didn’t acknowledge the wonderful group of people who formed together to support Seth Williams. This election was important to me and its outcome was very emotional. Despite that emotion, I really shouldn’t be speaking only about myself and my own reaction.

A terrific group of people came together in the last month or so to support a terrific candidate, and I really couldn’t be any prouder of them. Off the top of my head I’d like to acknowledge Albert, Jane, Matt, Karl, ACM, Dan, Jim, Susan, Chris (not me), Tim, Alex, West End, America’s Home Town, Frank, Melissa and many others I’m too spent to recall. I’ll get them all straight tomorrow or the next day and provide links. I just have to say that I’m very pleased to have been part of this with all of them and I’m thrilled they let me in on the ride. Also, I’m glad to have done what little I could for Seth, even if it was not enough. I wish him the best. I expect and hope that I’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the coming years. Huge future on that guy.

A little from Dan:

I will leave you with what Seth said in his concession speech at the party: People said a positive, issues driven campaign could not be run in Philadelphia. People said that if an African-American candidate ran for DA, he had to resort to racism, to pour gasoline on his own City. He refused, and ran a campaign where he can look his daughters in the eyes, and tell him he is proud of what he did. And, he finished with the same thing that he said when he led a group of PSU students to Harrisburg to protest apartheid:

His feet are tired, but his soul is rested.

Go Seth!

It’s all over and the results aren’t so good. We lost this election today and Philadelphia lost a great District Attorney. I knew what the score was a long time ago, but it’s funny, I’ve still had to hold back the tears a few times throughout the evening. We lost tonight and we were right. That’s a real tough loss to swallow. That rattles your head for a long time.

I have no regrets. This was absolutely the right thing to do and the right time to do it. I supported the right person with the right positions and I will never, ever regret that. You can throw me to bottom of the deepest ocean and I will never regret my position on this race. Like all of you, I give a damn about what happens next. I give a damn about our city and I give a damn about its citizens. I choose to live here, I see the promise, I feel the pain and I give a damn. I made the right choice and no loss, no matter how hard, can take that away from me. Don’t let it get taken from you either.

Seth is not done. Far the hell from it. Seth Williams is 38 years old and just ran an insurgent campaign against the machine. He made a damn good showing against overwhelming odds and with very few useful friends. He did it without ever throwing around the worthless, divisive crap we’re used to in this town. He dealt with the issues in the most serious way possible and came up with real solutions. THAT IS IMPORTANT! (For the reporters who may cover this from some stupid blog angle, please take note of that sentiment). Seth Williams has a long way to go, and if you don’t think he’s going that long way, you better get your head out of your ass.

Anyway, if you are feeling a little off over tonight’s results, please don’t feel alone. Believe me, don’t feel alone. A lot of us are right there with you. This wasn’t a great night. It’s been so long since we’ve won that most of us don’t recall what victory smells like. We’ll smell it again soon.

I’ll discuss the results, the local Philadelphia blogsospherere’s part in the election, and the whole weird blog regionalization thing that’s been catching on of late with regards to this election later. Until then, I’ll do my own thing in private.

Until then: I don’t regret a thing. I made the right call. A lot of people made that same call and I’m very proud of all of them.

Turnout is running very low. There are still 3 hours left. If you can get down to 1606 Walnut right now and lend a hand, do it. If you can’t do that, make some phone calls. Make sure everybody you know, knows about Seth Williams.

ACM has waded through some of the down ticket races on the ballot today so you don’t have to. The Judges are always of particular concern because it can be a massive chore to wade through intentionally ambiguous material just to find out who is actually qualified and has some type of background. I know ACM has put a lot of time and research into this, so it’s worth considering the recommendations when you go into the booth.