Fwd: We're coming to get you!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brian Ellner
Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Subject: We're coming to get you!
To: Teddy Douglas

Dear Teddy,

I am a New Yorker. And I believe New York should be leading the
nation on equality. It's an embarrassment that five other states and
the District of Columbia have embraced marriage equality before New
York.

That's why I'm so excited to share with you the news that I've joined
the Human Rights Campaign to lead its Campaign for New York Marriage.

The goal of our Campaign is simple: to elect state lawmakers who support marriage equality and to oust those who voted against it. We
plan on winning – but we need your help, right now, to fuel our campaign.

Please support the Campaign for New York Marriage. We'll use every single dollar in the New York fight for equality, beginning with Senate primary races happening right now.

Donate today: www.hrc.org/nymarriage

It's simple math. We now need 6 more votes in the State Senate. This fall, with your help, we can make that happen. A warning to New York
State Senators who voted against marriage equality: we're coming to get you. And if you support equality, we will support you.

Your support is urgent. The Senate primaries are in full swing between now and September and the general election is in November.

Your support is critical. Our success will come down to how much money we can raise and spend in these races, many of which are against anti-equality incumbents with deep pockets.

One-hundred percent of your contribution goes to ensuring that we
have the votes to pass marriage equality: www.hrc.org/nymarriage

When you donate, you're ensuring that we have the resources to elect candidates who support equality and defeat candidates who don't.

Best,

Brian

PS Check out the New York Times article about the Campaign, and a huge thank you to everyone for your personal support.

A Whole Lot of Nothing...

Wow. So I had some vacation days from work that expire at year's end, so I took off two days for some long weekends. Last week, I went out to the Opera with a beautiful 18 year old boy at FIT. I thought it was kind of a date, and I think we both had a good time. After the show, we parted and each began heading home in our separate directions. Somehow, about 15 minutes later we bumped into each other in Times Square. I don't know what it means. IT WAS SO RANDOM! But we hung out for a little bit in Times Square, and then went home. I was happy for the extra time with him. But this weekend he was pretty spotty with answering my calls or texts.

Friday night, a 20 year old from Parsons came over. I've known him for some time, but I'm not really that into him. We fooled around a little, but I didn't want to kiss or have sex with him. He kept asking why not, and trying to go in for a kiss. Like really kept trying again and again. Too much.

Hey, why do people ask the stupid questions whose answers they don't want to know? Like, "So how many boys have you brought back here?" I don't get it. You want me to say you're my one and only? You may one day be. But you can't erase my past, so what do you want? I should tell you all about how you're one of a long illustrious line of hot boys? Or lie and say you're the first? I mean, when you ask a question like that, what do you want to hear?

Now that awful Gaga song is stuck in my head. I'm almost afraid to tell you which one because you probably haven't heard it and if you go find it, the song's awfulness may become lodged in your head as well. It's called Monster, and the refrain "He ate my heart, he a-a-ate my heart" is pretty much the whole song.

I got a few cool items. A memory foam mattress topper which I'm lying on right now for the first time. Well, second. I lied it out on the floor when it came, but this is the first time I set it up on my bed.

Today in the city I got a few reed diffusers from Sabon (check them out - great stuff!) and put them around my room. I am now taking repeated deep breaths because with every breath I want to inhale deeply the fragrance.

I stayed at a cool hotel as part of my "staycation". But no one would join me, so I enjoyed it alone. But it sucked to be alone. I kept reaching out to people to come visit, but half the time they were busy or away or couldn't make it, and half the time they said they would come and then "their phone died" and I didn't hear back until the next day.

The hotel's fitness room was fairly small, but I had it all to myself. Felt like my own private gym. And they had a great steam room. The room was well appointed, and of a pretty fair size for the city. I had enough booze with me for a football team, but I didn't drink. I was feeling too good to drink by myself, but it still hurt that I was so alone. (Another giant breath of Sabon Bordeaux.)

I have a massive pile of unwashed laundry at the foot of my bed. By tomorrow morning it's going to be my freshest-smelling load of dirty laundry ever.

When I asked about the wifi, the guy at the hotel desk told me it was $12.99 for 24 hours. Well, what he didn't say is that the hotel's wifi is also available through Boingo, which charges just $10 a month. Think maybe that's something he could have mentioned?

At 3:00AM I called the desk and ordered a pillow. Whatever.

I got a haircut. But you might not even notice. I told him to leave it long. Partly because I want it long, partly because I didn't trust him. I think it was a good choice. New Yorkers who love their barber or stylist - please comment and tell me who you use.

The super sexy 18 year old bi boy who goes to school upstate is home for the holidays. I was looking forward to seeing him. He almost came over, but his "phone died" and we couldn't coordinate. I'm tempted to believe it's true. But it's been happening so often with different people...

The TV in the hotel was beyond useless. Nice big screen, 25 or so different channels. Nothing on. Ever. I think they do it on purpose to try to sell you VoD movies. But I decided to just stream stuff on my laptop, tiny screen and all. At least I get to choose what to watch. In the end I didn't spend much time watching anyway.

Next stops. Sephora, Bloomingdales, H&M. At Sephora, I was overwhelmed by the vast numbers of tiny bottles and jars with exhorbitant price tags that, as far as I could tell, all do the same thing. Or nothing at all. Who knows, right? I went over to the men's fragrances and sprayed them all on those little tester paper strips (which Sephora actually named "Scenta") and smelled them. I wasn't a fan of 212Men, but I liked 212SexyMen (it's different, dark, not your everyday scent) and Gucci Pour Homme (more classical). Givenchy Play Intense was interesting. Not bad, but probably not for me. Some of them just reeked bad. Malodorous. Interesting that I liked the sexy men but not the plain men...

I also saw the brand of toiletries they had at the hotel. That was cool. A lot of hotels have hotel-branded "specially made" stuff that you can never find in a store (probably because in the store it's sold under the Procter & Gamble label...)

H&M was a hot mess. I would so go there to shop for boys, but it seems the boys aren't for sale. But I digress. So there was a shirt I wanted. I own one, and I wear it all the time, and I want to get a few more just like it. Maybe in a few different colors. Why is this so difficult? So the shirt is $40. But they have another line of shirts for $20. The difference? The $20 line is cut wrong, made from cheap materials and generally just a pile of trash. So why do they adulterate their clothing with inferior stuff like that? Maybe it's a good thing. I don't know. It has happened before. Two vests. Same style and color and everything. One is 100% cotton, the other ersatz polyester. But what really threw me is that when I found the shirt I wanted, it was covered with dust. Looked like it was still there untouched from that last time when I bought the shirt that started this journey. Wow. Dusty clothing on store racks. Big no-no. I didn't buy it.

At Bloomingdales, the dressing rooms were so big and spacious I thought it might be a good place to hook up. Cheaper than a hotel. That idea was dampened when after a few minutes inside an attendant called out, "Eveything fit okay?" But I still think it could work. Hey, it beats the johns in the college library...

I feel like every one of my friends wrote a tweet or a status raving about how awesome the movie Avatar is. I'd never even heard of it until this deluge of viral.

Well you're all caught up now. And as for making my posts more explicit, well, maybe that will come later...

Poop on His Suit?

According to Ronnie Lowenstein of the Independent Budget Office the dollar amount of a fine does not reflect the social harm inflicted by the fined violation. For example, the same $25 fine applies to sidewalk vendors who refuse to allow inspectors to ensure food is being handled safely and to taxi drivers who wear cut-off shorts.

Another salient observation he presents: In 2002, the city spent $0.22 for every $1 in parking fine revenue collected. For all other fine revenue, the city spent $2.09 for each $1 collected.

False certification of correction of Housing Maintenance Code violations (administered by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development) are subject to fines of $50 to $250.

Parking violation fines range from $25 to $180.

The fine for performing plumbing work without a permit is $250 for the first violation.

In general, the penalty for a non-hazardous Housing Maintenance Code violation is a flat fine of $10-$50. For a hazardous violation the penalty is $25-$110 per day.

Fines for critical violations by licensed food establishments doubled from $100 to $200 per violation.

The Environmental Control Board handles fines for street cleanliness, waste disposal, the cleanliness of the city's water supply; air, water and noise pollution; street peddling; fire prevention and building safety; and the misuse of city parks. These include not following recycling regulations and improper disposal of canine waste. Violations are divided into types A (no action required) and B (corrective action required). The average payment is considerably higher for B violations—$394, five times the average A violation fine of $81. For some correctable violations of the Building Code and the Fire Code, the respondent has the opportunity to cure the violation within 35 days from the date of the Notice of Violation. If the violation is cured, no payment of the imposed fine is required.

Railroad trespass carries a $10 fine in New York, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The maximum fine for Driving While Alcohol Impaired is $300 to $500/$500 to $750, according to law firm Grunwald & Seman.

So what is going through city councilman Simcha Felder's mind when he proposed $1000 fines for feeding pigeons? This is beyond excessive. Even if you agree with the ban, the amount of the fine gives pigeon-feeding parity with much more serious crimes such as breaking-and-entering or driving while intoxicated.

While we are on the topic of inconsistency in US penal codes, here are some examples that blew my mind. (From 1910, a lot must have changed since but there is still a great deal of inconsistency.) Or look at this from People for a Fascist America .

The Economics of Congestion Pricing

Bloomberg's traffic reduction plan has won federal grant money to the tune of $350 million (Daily News). Why they need a federal grant to charge more money is beyond me, but let us examine the logic of congestion pricing as a traffic reduction plan.

Bloomberg argues that a congested city will not attract business as well and this will hurt New York's economy. He therefore proposes a plan to charge tolls for cars and trucks entering the city to reduce the amount of traffic and make the city more appealing.

The catch is obvious: The only way the fee will reduce traffic is if its cost is higher than the cost of sitting in traffic! If people would rather shell out than sit in traffic, the city will be clogged anyway. And if the fee is high enough that it is worse than the traffic, then it will drive people (and business) away faster than grid-lock. So what gives?

Applause for Governor Spitzer

A response to Spitzer Pushes For Shameful Bill.

Since when was a doctrine of tolerance "shameful" to Jews? Have we forgotten the centuries of oppression we suffered because others could not accept our religious way of life? Should we now be in the business of depriving others of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness just because the winds of power have shifted?

If, as religious Jews, we are not permitted to engage in an act or way of life, that doesn't mean we ought to impose our values on our neighbors. As Jews, we must continue to champion the ideals of freedom if we hope for our religious rights and freedoms to endure. Let us stop judging others and dictating the "right" way to live, lest power shift again and leave us the ultimate losers.

Sands of Time Flow Always In the Hourglass

Postmaster: Please note change of address. I returned from the Holy City back to the economic capital of the world. Left the Land of Canaan, returned to the erstwhile superpower of the world. Alas my time abroad has come to a close. But there is always a chance that this time next year, or even sooner I'll be someplace even more exotic. And anyway, there is plenty exotic in New York City. Like Eliot Spitzer and Michael Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton and George E. Pataki. I hear there is a big art show here next week, and the MLB All-Star game.

The city truly doesn't sleep, doesn't stop. But it is so BIG. Maybe next time I'll try some little remote village. I stick too much to capitals and big influential cities. If I get that internship in London, at least it won't be influential. LOL. But I figure London is pretty big as well. And not all that clean. NY is pretty clean. For a city this size, for all its shortcomings give them credit. This city runs so well for a city so full of people. And people are like animals. And animals are like people. And I'm overtired.

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers
Four score and seven years ago, our fathers
Fourscoreandsevenyearsago. Our fathers
FourSCore and seven years aagoo, ouur fathers brought forth
Four score and seven years ago, our fathers

Four score andseven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a NEW nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that ALL men are created equal.

Speech class. I think I've just set the record, along with my compatriots, for hearing the greatest number of Gettysburg recitations in a row.