The place is being gentrified out of existence as we sit here. So it probably does not matter that these clueless stooges are dividing the dwindling Black vote to the extent that they potentially could. As it is going now, the race, neither will win anyway. BTW this gentrification or relocation of the neighborhood's longtime folks is underway on Owen's dad, Major, watch. To be honest, however, one could make the same case for Harlem under Rangel's watch, but this racial scenario, to date, has not played out, yet!

to blame but themselves. The consequences of a loss won't be pretty, but there is no doubt that this too is avoidable. When last I saw Major Owens (in his office) it was clear there was no plan for ongoing leadership in the district. In point of fact, he has willingly surrounded himself with incompetent flunkies. He deserves all that he has. Plenty can be done to avert this electoral shift, but this group does have much capacity beyond rolling out the preachers. The snooze bar has been pounded into submission by these folks since their "Electoral 6AM." It's damn near midnight and the only thing black about this election will be Yassky's bank statement. If you've ever met these folks, you would be tremendously underwhelmed. Tick, tock.

I hate that phukking word! I'm thinking along the lines of SnS-SnG. Subsidized and Sanctioned - Snatch and Grab. The anatomy of gentrification goes a bit like this...Black elected officials operate as plantation whips over much of the best real estate in New York City. I can't call them managers or overseers because they lack the stones or the brains to manage and lead. They "govern" neighborhoods with classical pre-war housing stock, hill top views of the Manhattan skyline, sweeping views of all major waterways (East and Hudson River, Jamaica Bay, etc.) and have staunchly resisted building institutional power.

The deals are multi-ethnic in nature. Jewish (often Hasidic) real estate developers work closely with municipal government to get projects through the pipeline. The elected types engage in some bargain basement negotiations to secure some "benefit" for the community...a home or condo for the crew (often a hootchie or 2 - since they often live outside their districts)...the vacant lots had been development projects for which elected types made "discretionary donations" to CBOs for years. Ho-fficial 1 gives CBO $50K per year for 10 or 15 years (if you have a church-CBO and a voting congregation, it's hard to get off the gimme list once you get on). The churches never develop the land...they kickback some of the $50k as cash donation and man the polls when needed...the lot remains undeveloped until a developer rolls in..."

Stage2: Ho-fficial 2 holds a press conference to inform the community they're bringing jobs to the community. The community, by now, should know the work crews come in only three sizes and colors: green, red and blue...In this case, green symbolizes the first stage latino immigrant workers who do all the grunt work at work sites; red symbolizes the growing russian and eastern european cats who are beginning to dominate work sites; and blue symbolizes ciao italia, baby...the ongoing presence of italian-american labor at construction sites (most def in Brooklyn) precludes ho-fficials from sending some of their own to earn a day's pay.

Stage3: Elected ho-fficials fail to build a viable, sustainable political or economic apparatus and lament the rise of political competitors...ho-fficials reach out to preachers to demonize their competitors and stir up talk of spooks and nefarious plots...all the while ignoring their own missteps. Preachers convene meetings of baptists, methodists, pentocostals, 7th day adventists, etc. on atlantic ave, flatbush avenue, pennsylvania avenue, marcus garvey blvd, martin luther king blvd and malcolm x blvd.

Stage 4: elected ho-fficials are replaced - one by one and never mount a serious campaign to thwart opposition...each retires to long island democrats club/caribbean democrats club and laments the good old days. Fade to black. Exit, stage Right.

B-I-N-G-O!!!

Is that this scenario is playing out in hundreds of locales across the country. Nulan wrote extensively about the death of the suburbs - and in NYC, black folk are deep in the suburbs - but not getting services like their white neighbors...and that's attributable to three things: wealth differentials (accrued multiples of invested/inherited/created streams of revenue); income differentials (secondary wages earned as appendages to euro-amer institutions); and fragmented political institutions. This choir recognizes the inherent limitations of the Dismal-crats. They do more to undermine effective leadership than Republicans (speaking locally, of course) because they hold the reigns to collective negotiations on behalf of non-unionized black labor, concerted electoral action through pulpits, and subsidized economic development through federal, state and private grant/donation sources.

My critique of these folks begins with their staff. Legal analysis, financial analysis, policy analysis...education policy, health policy, foreign policy? Nope. Big breastsss and badonka-donks on undergrad sociology majors and a secretary whose favorite transitional phrase is "Um..." That is the order of the day.
"Excuse me, Miss..."How does the Ho-fficial feel about the recent actions of the real estate lobby to change zoning laws along this industrial corridor located in your district?" "Um, well, um...we'll, um, have to um, get, um, back to you. Um. Do you have a card? Um, ok. I see it has your e-mail address. Ok, great. Um. The Ho-fficial or a designee will, um, get back to you as soon as possible. Our website, um, has some press releases from the Ho-fficial."

"Yes, I saw that. No position papers though. Is this something you've discussed?"

The worst part of it is that these lunatics assume their cool because they can turn an occasional phrase or quote scripture. I will say that the food is pretty good at these church functions. Ummm, ummm! The game is as ugly as ever - and it's precisely the type of game run by feuding factions of Africans four centuries ago. Small picture, small time frame. One by one, dead and done.