It’s not quite an uphill battle, but with his reelection bid Mike McMahon faces a kind of strange paradox:

How does he remain true to the centrist Democratic principles that made him quite successful as a city councilman on the North Shore, while at the same time appeasing the rest of the borough, which was so eloquently described to us on Fox last week as “not Obama country?”

This negotiation will play itself out over the next seven months, but it leaves the rest of New York City wondering: Why is Staten Island not “Obama country?”

We spoke a little last week about the geographic and cultural isolation of the borough, the overwhelming preponderance of white people on the South Shore, and a particularly vehement hatred for liberal, black politicians (Debi Rose, Al Sharpton, President Obama, Charlie Rangel).

Another question to ask might be: Where do these people get their information from?

Well, primarily Fox News.

Staten Islanders will proudly tell you that they get all their right-wing propaganda from Fox.

“I watch Fox News every night,” a small business owner told me in the heat of the health care debate.

This may seem innocent enough but he wore it like a badge of honor. As if to say, “I know exactly what is going on with this ‘socialist health care scam,’ because I follow it very closely — on Fox News.”

The other trusted news source on Staten Island is it’s only local paper, the tragically sinking ship known as the Staten Island Advance, and its sister site SILive.com.

SILive reposts the Advance ‘news’ and its comment threads are usually littered with right-wing rants that have nothing to do with the substance of said news.

Here’s an enlightening remark about a piece regarding North Shore City Councilwoman, and the Island’s first black politician, Debi Rose.

This is just anonymous online posters, they are not representative of much.

But I wonder if we could somehow poll these people, maybe find out, say, what political fringe they are most associated with.

Oh wait look, they voted on their favorite story of 2009.

Wow, I guess those racist trolls voted on the Tea Party — just an educated guess.

As far as the paper is concerned, the editorial board is, at times, rabidly right-wing.

Here a recent selection from April 13 by Daniel Leddy, a man whose moral compass swings more frequently then a ’70s leisure suit.

The piece is called “A leftist agenda drives smear campaign against Pope Benedict.”

“…the New York Times, which has been spearheading the shameless defamation of Pope Benedict XVI, is a demonstrably and obsessively anti-Catholic publication. Facing bankruptcy and shedding all but the thinnest disguise of responsible journalism, the newspaper struggles to survive by intensifying its long-standing prostitution for left-wing causes.”

Alright, the column argues that the pederasts in the Catholic church are completely not at fault here. (NAMBLA would be proud of this column.) It is all the fault of the New York Times and their “prostitution of left wing causes.” OK…

Well, this is opinion right, the Advance does have ‘straight news.’

A week after the President signed his historic health care reform bill Staten Islanders were comforted to find this piece of ‘news’ in their morning papers:

‘Are there enough doctors in the house?’

“But if all of Staten Island’s 49,000-plus uninsured adults get insurance and start going to the doctor more often,” the newspaper warned, “there may not be enough primary-care physicians here to serve them.”

Sound the alarm bells.

Never mind that Obama’s health care overhaul will dramatically improve the lives of millions who currently do not have insurance. The real issue here is that these uninsured people, most likely poor, and probably black, will be flooding the waiting room at MY doctor’s office.

It’s not surprised that the paper would play this kind of ‘class warfare’ card on dawn of a new age of health care reform. It’s exactly the kind of alarmist bullshit that Staten Islanders have come to expect from their news sources.

The Island, or most of it, has become a vapid echo chamber of right-wing talking points. A two-way dialogue between the ‘man-on-the-street’ or the Tea Party and the Island establishment, or the Richmond County Country Club.

Unless this cycle ends, it won’t become Obama country any time soon.

Used to be, America’s phone lines were a lawless frontier town. Just about any unknown stranger could bust through your phone’s saloon doors and pretend to be somebody else.

That was before Rep. Eliot Engel came to town, guns a-blazin’.

Yep, it was high noon Wednesday when Engel mosied down mainstreet flashing a polished sheriff’s badge, spurs and H.R. 1258 the “Truth in Caller I.D. Act of 2009” — the latest in anti-“spoofing” legislation. You see, Engel had seen one too many outlaws “spoofing.” That is, using false Caller Identification to trick unsuspecting homesteaders into giving away their personal information. So he did what any lawman would do, he got enough support to pass a bill in the House by voice vote.

Sheriff Engel likes to tell a story about spoofers. The way he (and various news reports from 2009) tells it, a group of Queens bandits who used fake Caller I.D.s managed to steal $15 million from over 6,000 American settlers. The authorities wrangled that gang of Queens varmints, but Engel vowed he’d make it tough for posers to copy their scheme.

Now, know this youngeon, Engel ain’t no fool. If you don’t want your Caller I.D. to say your name, that’ll still be OK after his bill becomes law. H.R. 1258 is a weapon that’s only meant to target thugs and conmen. The Associated Press says, “The legislation would only outlaw the use of spoofing technology when the intent is to deceive and harm the recipient of the call. Legitimate uses of the technology, such as a domestic abuse shelter changing its number to protect an occupant of the shelter, would still be permitted.”

It was high noon, and Engel brought his legislative guns.

Can you find anything in your office/room/wherever you are right now that has that little gold sticker that says “Made in the USA” on it? I remember peeling it off sometimes as a kid, but haven’t seen one lately.

I spent a while looking for it in my apartment, and couldn’t find one. Instead, I got Doc Martens made in Thailand, a camera made in Japan, a Samsung TV made in Tijuana, Mexico (who knew), and my Macbook Pro was designed in the U.S., but made in China.

For now, my apartment is Made-in-the-U.S.A.-less. Wait, found one, a saltshaker made in the U.S. – but it’s Mediterranean Sea salt, damn.

President Obama said he wants to double exports in the next five years and that this move will create 2 million jobs – quite a goal for a country that has a $39.7 million trade deficit, as of February 2010.

Joseph Crowley is trying to do his part. He hosted a seminar last week for business leaders from the Bronx and Queens to help them learn more about how the Federal government can assist them in exporting their goods.

“By opening up new markets to American goods and services, we will help U.S. businesses increase their bottom line and hire new workers,” he said.

Here’s part of Crowley’s Press Release:

Recent statistics compiled by the Department of Commerce show that exports are an important part of New York’s economy. In 2007, a total of 27,329 companies exported goods from New York locations, the third-highest number among the 50 states. But what percent of what they sold was exported?

More than one-fifth (20.9 percent) of all manufacturing workers in New York depend on exports for their jobs. How much do they depend? Are there companies whose livelihood depends on exports?

The number 1 export out of New York: diamonds. Yeah, I know, who knew.

Mike Mandel, an economist and journalist, doesn’t quite believe diamonds should count as real exports. Most likely, those diamonds are transported here.  A New York firm designs and cuts them, and then re-exports them.

Number 2 is drawings and paintings by hand – that makes a little more sense, number 3, jewelry parts and other precious metals. Those 3 add up to 25% of New York State exports.

The rest of the exports are an amalgam of engine parts, antiques, and digital processing units. Here’s the list of the top 25.

I don’t think the Bronx and Queens are producing much of those, but I could be wrong – I’m talking with someone from the Mayor’s office tomorrow.

This could be a good thing for growth in the Bronx and Queens, maybe there’s a market to be made. But there’s a reason why just about everything in my apartment was made somewhere else. It’s too expensive to pay people here.

I could be wrong, but it seems a few businesses here can export some products – there’s actually one commercial aviation facility in the Bronx, APD. Crowley is in tune with Obama’s message, but it might be a stretch for his district.

“By any measure, our system of trying detainees has been an enormous failure. Over the course of nearly seven years, there has not been a single conviction for a terrorist act at Guantanamo. There has been just one conviction for material support for terrorism. Meanwhile, this legal black hole has substantially set back America’s ability to lead the world against the threat of terrorism, and undermined our most basic values.”

— Barack Obama on June 18, 2008

Oh to try or not to try.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is accused of helping to plan the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, returned to the headlines this week. Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee that New York City was “not off the table” as a potential sight of the trial.

This is the latest round in a bare-knuckles political brawl. It’s put city and state lawmakers, the lower Manhattan community and political commentators opposed to civilian trials for terror suspects against the Obama administration–and, in particular, Holder’s justice department–and those who support civilian trials for those detained as part of the “war on terror.”

Congressman Nadler tries to straddle this line. Weeks ago he sent, along with local congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and a number of other local elected officials, sent a letter to Holder. In it the New York-area politicians stated their support for civilian trials but questioned the wisdom of holding the trials — given the public outcry — in lower Manhattan.

However, in this recent round, nary a word from Nadler. Not like New York’s senior senator, Charles Schumer. The contrast is telling. Schumer has said he also supports civilian trials–a reversal of his position stated shortly after the terror attacks in 2001.

Yet Nadler’s silence recently is surprising. He’s been out front on issues the Obama administration has been loath to embrace, such as prosecuting Bush officials, the dismantling of the Patriot Act and even gay marriage. Yet this issue–one that straddles the former administrations more combustible policies in the war on terror and the current one’s attempt to forge some sort of new course–has Nadler only taking a stance when in the company of others.

Even someone as staunchly liberal as Nadler might have a hard time pushing against the mayor of New York, his own constituents downtown and his state’s senator even if he did believe the trials should be held here. But given his nature, it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t like to see KSM get his day in court in New York City.

Adam Clayton Powell IV is the most serious contender Rangel is facing so far, unless State Senator Bill Perkins gets involved, and he quickly showed he knows how to play the game by accusing Rangel of conspiring to handpick his successor to Congressional District 15. A nice move, considering Rangel’s accusations of misusing his power and the New York media obsession with poking fun at Charlie.

Powell floated out the theory that Rangel would resign after being elected, something he called thoroughly undemocratic:

“Everybody in political circles knows that [Rangel] doesn’t want to fulfill another two years… I’m not making this up. Absolutely. The fact is everyone knows that the strategy is for him to be re-elected and then resign abruptly to appoint his successor. That would be totally undemocratic. The people in Northern Manhattan — not Charlie Rangel — [should] be the only ones who choose who the next congressman is… The other speculation is that he may collect the signatures and then hand them over to somebody else, like [Manhattan Democratic] County Leader Keith Wright or whoever they pick, much like it happened in Queens, when Congressman Tom Manton did that, and he went all the way through a re-election, collected signatures and then in the middle of July, surprised everybody by giving them to Joe Crowley.”

As for Clayton Powell’s chance, I spoke with Jeff Merritt, president and founder of Grassroots Initiative, a non-profit that helps insurgent campaigns.

“Elections are not always predictable, and I don’t know if the scandals will grow or go away,” said Merritt. “You never know what election day is going to bring.”

Merritt mentions the low voter turnout as a big factor. “A lot of the voters have been there for years, and I don’t think they’re going to change their ways or change on a whim,” he said. “Assuming there’s no big surprises, it’s a pretty big challenge [to beat Rangel].”

The first thing I noticed once I got to New Orleans was there were beads everywhere.

The second thing I noticed was something was still terribly wrong in the Crescent City.

We were staying in the French Quarter, a pretty hotel with a pool a few blocks from Bourbon Street. We rode bikes to a big park one day and saw some signs of the destruction along the way, but it was during the day. Sunlight helps even the saddest situation not seem so bad. There were tours of the Lower Ninth Ward, but I didn’t feel right about poking my head out from a bus to stare at one of the country’s biggest failures. I hate and silently mock people who ask me for directions to “Ground Zero” in Manhattan–wasn’t this the same thing?

On my vacation agenda was a tour of the Garden District, some po’boys, cold-brewed coffee, a few nights out for some brassy jazz. I did not have time to think about slimey local politicians, but New York followed me, via daily email updates about Greg Meeks’ continued involvement with duping Katrina victims out of money and shelter. And there I was, in the place where the wrong was supposedly done, with hints of all that did go wrong just peeking beyond the gilded surface

On our third night in New Orleans my friend and I decided to grab dinner away from the main drag. After some research we settled on a popular soul food restaurant that was a few blocks away. The map said to hook a right after Toulouse Street and take Basi Street past the highway until it turned into Orleans Avenue and we hit Dooky Chase’s. We got dressed and set out and it didn’t take long for us to realize things had changed.

Basin Street was dark and empty. We heard sirens off in the distance and didn’t see anybody for a few blocks. There was an abandoned old pharmacy and some boarded up corner stores and we finally saw some people gathered around a store in the middle of a block that sold candy and cigarettes. All of the houses on the street were abandoned and boarded up, with spray painted tallies and dates on the white or blue or beige clapboard.

There was one white house, the paint curling up and peeling off, with black spray paint scrawled on the front. Two cats, one chow. Two Xs. The “chow” had two Xs on it. The cat had a box. 9/26/05. Five years ago. Five years and that house still looks like that?

And all I could think about, despite what I told myself I wouldn’t, was Greg Meeks. All that missing money. No, it wasn’t millions of dollars. No, he didn’t wait five days before visiting it via helicopter. But here was a New York guy, representing areas of Queens that hurt without the hurricane, and promised them something and they never received it. What could that money have done for Basin Street?

We got to Dooky Chase’s—it was closed for the night.

“You wanna go back?” I asked my friend, and he said yes almost as soon as I asked, and we walked fast back to the French Quarter. I like to pretend I’m streetwise and tough and not scared by dark corners in strange cities but I was. I felt bad feeling better walking away from the piles of rubble and towards the bright lights and hand grenades of the French Quarter.

Halfway through our walk back a man stepped out of an abandoned house and walked by us.

“Bourbon Street,” he said, in that low, smooth, mumbly New Orleans accent I tried deciphering in the remaining few days in the city. Yes, I thought. And I’m sorry.

______________________________________________________________

-Seminal NYC journalist Gabe Pressman wrote about Meeks and New Orleans on Friday

-Some residents are saying the Aqueduct deal fell through because of “racist journalism”

-Greg Meeks had to stand in front of the class and tell them he’d been served a subpoena . Officials say he’s been complying with requests for documents and tax returns on various non-profits.