Live from WNYC's Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, a debate among the five candidates hoping to be the Democratic nominee for attorney general. The participants are: Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, former federal prosecutor Sean Coffey, former state insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice and Manhattan State Senator Eric Schneiderman.

New York Times columnist Gail Collins is back to share some of her favorite examples of outlandish things politicians have been saying recently.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and playwright Lawrence Wright discusses the film adaptation of his one-man show “My Trip to Al Qaeda.” It chronicles fundamentalist Islam’s rise to power, as well as his struggle to maintain objectivity as a journalist in the wake of 9/11.  “My Trip to Al Qaeda” debuts at 9:00 pm, September 7, on HBO.

For the first segment of our series on the upcoming midterm election, Julia Preston, immigration correspondent for the New York Times, and Scott Wong, reporter for Politico, discuss how immigration reform is shaping the elections—from Arizona to New York.

Jonathan Mintz, commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, talks about discovering pricing violations in city grocery stores and explains how consumers can protect themselves.

Guest host Elliott Forrest fills in for Leonard Lopate. Jonathan Mintz of the Department of Consumer Affairs about pricing violations at city grocery stores and bodegas. Then, our 2010 election series, The Big Picture 2010, focuses on immigration with the New York Times’ Julia Preston and Politico’s Scott Wong. Also, Lawrence Wright talks about “My Trip to Al Qaeda.” And Gail Collins returns to talk about the ridiculous things politicians say. Plus, soldier Patrick Hennessey tells about the reading club he ran while is unit was fighting against Mullah Omar in Afghanistan.

Patrick Hennessey, Jr., gives an account of his coming of age as a young enlistee, staving off the tedium and pressures of army life in the Iraqi desert by creating a book club. In The Junior Officers’ Reading Club: Killing Time and Fighting Wars, Hennessey captures how boys grow into men amid the frenetic violence, frequent boredom, and overwhelming responsibilities that frame a soldier's experience.

The Dø (pronounced “dough”) made history by becoming the first French band to hit #1 in France - with an album sung in English.  The Franco-Finnish duo brings their catchy blend of indie rock, folk, and dance music to the Soundcheck studio.   

Make sure your vote counts: Before heading to your polling place, learn about the mistakes you might make while voting.

Ballot-design expert Jessica Friedman Hewitt, former managing director of Design For Democracy, took a look at New York City's "Demonstration" election ballot. She and a team of designers came up with these tips to remember:

Check both sides

One side is a grid, which is obviously the place to vote for candidates. But be sure to flip it over, because ballot questions appear there.

Think inside the box

To vote for a candidate, fill out the oval that's in the same box as the candidate's name. Some ovals are actually physically closer to candidates' names in other boxes.

Watch for "vote-for-many" contests

Some races have several seats open for the same office title. (For example, in the Democratic primary September 14, voters in some districts can choose up to 12 convention delegates). Watch for the tiny "Vote for any ..." notations under the contest name. And remember that in these cases, you can vote for people whose names appear next to each other.

Write-ins

If you're going to write in someone for an office, find the Write-In box at the far right of the ballot. Write as clearly as you can in the space provided. Also, don't write in someone who's already on the ballot for that race. Hewitt says voters sometimes do this to emphasize their pick, but doing so risks invalidating your vote.

2009 and 2010 have been big anniversary years for Miles Davis fans. But only one album can reign supreme. Today, Soundcheck's weekly Smackdown series pits the iconic Kind of Blue (1959) against the genre-bending Bitches Brew (1970). May the best riffs win!

Joining us is Ashley Kahn, music historian, journalist and author of several books on jazz including Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece; and Will Layman, writer, teacher and a jazz critic for Pop Matters and other publications.

Which is the more influential album? Tell us why below.

Last year, jazz fans celebrated the 50^th anniversary of Miles Davis’s masterpiece, Kind of Blue. This year marks the 40^th anniversary of his fusion classic, Bitches Brew. But Miles Davis fans remain divided over which album has been the more influential. It's Blue versus Brew in this week’s Soundcheck Smackdown. And later: Live music from the Franco-Finnish indie pop duo The Dø.

Tell us: Do you prefer Kind of Blue or Bitches Brew? Leave a comment.

Rick Lazio, former congressman (R-NY2), who is running for Republican nomination for New York governor, discusses his bid to get the Republican nomination for governor in the September 14th primary.

Sarah Ellison, a contributor to Vanity Fair, discusses the rivalry between The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

WNYC reporters Bob Hennelly and Azi Paybarah introduce the new politics website, It's a Free Country, and talk politics a week before the New York primary.  David Webb , co-founder of TeaParty365, joins in.

Andrea Stranger and Michael Porter discuss how they made information beautiful and what they learned in the process.

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio weighs in on his campaign and reflects on making the Islamic cultural center in lower Manhattan the centerpiece of his run. Plus: Bob, Brian, and Azi talk about the debut of the new WNYC politics website; the battle between the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal; and covering the financial meltdown with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo.

Maria Bartiromo, CNBC anchor, discusses her new book The Weekend That Changed Wall Street: An Eyewitness Account  and what's it's been like covering the financial meltdown.

→ Event:  Maria Bartiromo will be signing her new book tomorrow, September 8th, at the Wall Street Borders Book Store.  

A clear front-runner emerged from the women’s draw of the U.S. Open this afternoon on Arthur Ashe stadium, though it comes as no surprise.

One day before the main event began in Flushing Meadows, Queens, world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was in New Haven capturing her third title of the summer. Early in August she won the Canadian Open in Montreal, besting two Grand Slam champions enroute to thumping Vera Zvonareva in the final. A few weeks before that, Wozniacki took the Copenhagen title.

The main thing lacking on her resume these days is a slam. The Dane came close last year but succumbed to Belgian Kim Clijsters, fresh out of retirement. But her chances to make a breakthrough this year just got a whole lot better this afternoon.

In the highly anticipated fourth-round match, Wozniacki blasted former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova out of contention. Sharapova made 36 unforced errors and notched nine double-faults in the hour and 53 minutes it took the 20-year-old Dane to run the 2006 US Open champ off the court, 6-3, 6-4. But to simply look at the stats, in this case, is misleading. Sharapova by no means gave it away.

“I felt like I was playing good tennis,” said Wozniacki. “I felt I was playing well out there. I made her do those errors, and I'm really happy to be through and that I won this match.”

Indeed. Sharapova played well, but happened to run into a gifted defender. While Sharapova shrieked, Wozniacki scrambled. And just when Sharapova put herself in a position to wreak havoc, Caroline stepped up her own offense. At times, Wozniacki appeared to be moving her feet twice as fast as the Russian.

“She's retrieving a lot of balls,” said Sharapova of her opponent. “You know, she served really well today. She used the wind really effectively, especially when she was playing against the wind. She was able to use many things to her advantage. I wasn't able to capitalize.”

At this point, what Wozniacki seems to do well is serve at a high percentage and respond effectively to the attack of her opponent. She can adjust the speed of her game, almost to the millimeter. She does all this without appearing to be a classic counter-puncher. She forces errors and hits winners when she needs to dig a bit deeper. And she’s gaining strength. This is not the Wozniacki of yesteryear.

“I definitely think I've improved a lot,” said Wozniacki, “not only physically, but also I believe in myself more. I believe I can do it. Also I think I can mix up my game a little bit more than I could last year.”

It’s also important to point out that while Sharapova is certainly disheartened by the loss, she’s by no means shattered.

“Obviously, losing a match, 30 minutes later, you're not the happiest person in the world,” she said in her post-match interview. “But at the end of the day, I'm sure you've heard it many times, but it's a tennis match. You've just got to look back at the match and what you should have done differently, what you need to work on.”

Off the court, one could be excused for thinking Wozniacki is trying to catch some of Sharapova’s commercial thunder. That will be a bigger mountain to climb. 

“I'm so lucky that I am the face of Adidas and Stella McCartney and I have my own special line that no one else is wearing,” Wozniacki said about her endorsements. “I think that's really nice.”

As for those who think her dress is too short, Wozniacki dismisses the critique. “For me, it's important to feel good on court and of course to look good,” she said. “Then I can focus on my tennis 100 percent. I definitely am sure I'll get a lot of male fans now.”

Va-va-va-voom!

Up next, Wozniacki will play Dominika Cibulkova in the quarters. Cibulkova beat the No. 11 seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in straight sets first thing in the morning.

Also upset today was Yanina Wickmayer by Kaia Kanepi—slayer of No. 4 seed Jelena Jankovic—while No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva withstood German Andrea Petkovic in her round-of-16 match. The Russian dropped only three games in the 1 hour 7 minute contest.

The news took everyone by surprise this morning at the National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open. Shortly after 10:30 a.m., U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe announced he will be stepping down as captain of the American squad after the World Group Play-Offs against Colombia later this month in Bogota.

McEnroe—younger brother of Hall of Famer John McEnroe—is the longest-tenured captain in U.S. Davis Cup history. He coached the U.S. team to victory for the first time in 12 years in 2007. The following year, McEnroe was named general manager of USTA Player Development, a position he is taking very seriously.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am resigning as Davis Cup captain, but it is a decision I felt was best for the team and myself right now,” McEnroe said.  “Davis Cup is a significant time commitment and this decision will allow me to focus more energy on my family and to the USTA Player Development program.”

“Patrick is the one the finest and most decorated captains in U.S. Davis Cup history,“ said Lucy S. Garvin, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA.  “He leaves an indelible mark on the Davis Cup, and has always handled his captaincy with class and distinction. Patrick is and will remain a tremendous asset to U.S. tennis as he continues to lead our player development efforts.”

McEnroe’s final team for the showdown in Bogota will include Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, John Isner and 18-year-old Ryan Harrison. The win is crucial if the U.S. is to remain in the exclusive world group competition.

The debate over the role of charter schools in education reform isn’t just academic. New York’s decision to allow more charter schools played a critical role in the state winning its $700 million federal Race to the Top award. Now, charters have become a political issue in a Harlem State Senate campaign.

Senate candidate Basil Smikle passes out leaflets on Lenox Avenue, and introduces himself to a voter outside a shoe store when a man sitting on a milk crate nearby immediately brings up the subject of schools.

"OK, yeah, are you connected – you know, that charter school?" asks Mark Garraway.

"Right," Smikle says, eager to meet an interested voter, as the two discuss charters in Harlem.

Garraway says he doesn’t have any kids. But he’s concerned about the public schools and he’s heard of Basil Smikle.

"A friend that was talking about Basil on 132^nd Street and Seventh Avenue was telling me about Basil," says Garraway. " And what they trying to, like, they want the charter schools more for the children because the public schools is terrible out here."

Charter schools are a huge issue in Harlem because there are so many of them. Lots of parents desperate for a better education for their kids apply for the lotteries to get into charters. But others resent the limited number of seats in charters, and believe the city’s obligated to invest in making all schools better. Smikle says this debate over improving education is why he entered the race for State Senate.

"It’s the first thing that I talk about when anyone asks me why I’m in this race," he says. "It’s really to get the children in my community educated. I want them to have the same or better opportunities that I had."

Smikle is a Bronx native and child of Jamaican immigrants who went to Catholic schools as a child. Now 38, he has a Master’s degree in public policy from Columbia University. He became a political consultant after working for Hillary Clinton when she was a U.S. Senator. Over breakfast at a café in Morningside Heights, Smikle concedes charters are just one solution to improving education and says he supports all schools - noting that his mother is a public school teacher in Queens. But he views the incumbent State Senator, Bill Perkins, an obstacle to reform because he’s been a vocal critic of charters.

"What I think he has done is significantly played people against each other," he explains. "And parents against each other and schools against each other, which ultimately does not serve the interests of the children well."

Smikle is referring to Perkins criticism when the governor proposed a bill to more than double the number of charters allowed in New York. Perkins presided over a State Senate hearing in downtown Manhattan where he noted:

"Currently corporations in the charter industry hire their own accountants to produce the financial statements that are disclosed to the public. Lest we forget, Enron hired its own accountants to produce the audits it showed to investors."

Supporters of charters complained that they weren't given enough time to speak at this hearing.

But where they saw divisivness, Perkins saw a need for taxpayer-funded charters to be held more accountable. The Senator wanted charters to be audited by the state comptroller. He also wanted assurances that they’d take a bigger share of special education students and kids who are still learning English. Supporters of charters thought he was carrying water for the teachers union. But Perkins says his insistence led to a better law.

"My job is to be responsive to parents," he states. "And I’m grateful for the fact they thought that there was something we could to do move towards a better day in terms of charter schools, in terms of choice."

 He also insists he’d not against charters -- he just wants good ones. Perkins sat on the board of the first charter to open in Harlem back in 1999.

Perkins has the backing of the Democratic establishment and labor unions. The state teachers union recently sued the board of elections, so that its political action committee could give him more than the $6000 campaign limit. The union lost and has declined to comment. Teachers unions typically help get out the vote for their favorite candidates. But with education reform in the headlines, new players are now emerging. Joe Williams is executive director of the political action committee Democrats for Education Reform.

"I think for the first time you’re starting to see folks who are involved in the charter school side of things showing an understanding that because education is so inherently political they need to be engaged in the political process," says Williams.

Smikle has raised almost $160,000 since he entered the race in May, with help from Democrats for Education Reform. The PAC connected him with people in the financial and real estate world who give to charters. Perkins -- who's raised $260,000 -- notes that many of Smikle's contributors live outside Harlem. But the desire to improve education by giving to candidates isn’t limited to a single district or type of person this year. A political action committee of parents is now helping Perkins. Zakyiah Ansari, who lives in Brooklyn, says her Educational Justice PAC wants politicians to listen.

"Why can’t we do it?" she asks. "Just because we’re working class people or we’re not working and maybe we live in high poverty areas? No! We can do that, and that’s why we decided to build this PAC."

On the streets of Harlem, many people seem to know Senator Perkins as he campaigns outside a subway stop. They say they've seen him in church or know "he's a good activist," in the words of one man. Now 61, Perkins previously served in the City Council before his election to the State Senate four years ago. Voter Angela Michael calls him a great leader but acknowledges she doesn’t know much about his education record.

"No I don’t," she says. "I got to look into it. But my son is going to a charter school now, pulling him out of one school into a charter school now. And it’s excellent."

While Michael looks into where the candidates stand on education, she says she also concerned about jobs and cleaning up the community. It’s a reminder that while candidates and PACS have definitely put public education on the radar, it’s hardly the only issue on the minds of voters.

Rick Lazio and Carl Paladino

The Republican primary for New York Governor is a contest between GOP nominee Rick Lazio, a former member of the House of Representatives who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate against Hillary Clinton in 2000 and his challenger Carl Paladino, a lawyer and businessman from Buffalo, who until 2005 was a registered Democrat.

Rick Lazio

WNYC Coverage of Rick Lazio:

Lazio Poses Questions About Ground Zero Mosque (July 7, 2010)

Lazio, the GOP's Favored Candidate: From Politics to Business and Back Again (June 3, 2010)

Republicans Nominate Rick Lazio for Gubernatorial Candidate (June 2, 2010)

WNYC Archive: Rick Lazio

Fast Facts:

·  Elected to the Suffolk County Legislature in 1989
·  Elected to the United States House of Representatives to represent New York’s Second Congressional district in 1992, where he served four terms
·  While in Congress, served on the House Committee on the Budget, the Banking and Financial Services Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee. He became the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
·  Ran for Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2000 and lost
·  After leaving Congress, he worked as a Wall Street lobbyist, first for Financial Services Forum and then for J.P. Morgan Chase

Polling:

·  The latest Quinnipiac poll, which was released on September 2, 2010, says that Lazio leads Paladino 47 percent to 35 percent among registered New York State Republicans

Positions:

·  Opposes the Park51 project and has made it a cornerstone of his campaign
·  Pledges to create an ombudsman for New Business if elected
·  Wants to decrease property, personal income, and energy taxes
·  Opposes holding terror trials in New York
·  Wants to remove the charter school cap

Other Links:

Times Topics: Rick Lazio (The New York Times)

Voters Guide: Rick Lazio (New York Newsday)

Campaign Web site: Rick Lazio for Governor

Carl Paladino

WNYC Coverage:

The Brian Lehrer Show: Candidate for NY Governor: Paladino (August 30, 2010)

Paladino Raises Off Islamic Center, Hits 'Young Cuomo' (August 4, 2010)

WNYC Archive: Carl Paladino

Fast Facts:

·  Buffalo businessman
·  Practiced law in New York for 15 years
·  Was a registered Democrat until 2005 and made campaign donations to  Democrats including Hillary Clinton and Al Gore
·  Largest landlord for state offices in Buffalo
·  Trying to appeal to Tea Party backers

Polling:

·  The latest Quinnipiac poll, which was released on September 2, 2010, says that Lazio leads Paladino 47 percent to 35 percent among registered New York State Republicans

Positions:

·  Opposes Park51 project     
·  Pledges to immediately cut taxes 10 percent and spending 20 percent if elected
·  Promises to challenge public employee unions to cut the pensions and benefit packages of public employees
·  Has stated he will cancel the pension benefits and free health care for state legislators
·  Pledges to institute a one-year residency in New York before citizens can collect welfare or Medicaid

Other Links:

Conservative Developer Joins Race for Governor (The New York Times)

Times Topics: Carl Paladino (The New York Times)

Voters Guide: Carl Paladino (New York Newsday)

Campaign Web site: Paladino for the People

To help us launch It’s A Free County, we reached out to politicians, academics, cultural thinkers, and activists to help us define our mission. The question we asked is simple: “What’s Broken in Politics, and How Do We Fix It?” This is Mark Alexander's answer.

I've been asked to help kick-off this new website and to answer the question: "What's Broken in Politics and How Do We Fix It?"  Well, maybe this isn't what the good folks at WNYC want, but I'm gonna reject their premise. You see, they assume through the question that politics is broken and needs fixing. I think not.

Politics can be messy. Politics can be unpredictable. And so it is right now. I would say that we are running through a messier-than-usual period in politics. Everyone is feeling it. The Republicans are a mess. The Democrats have power, but our nation is suffering through a major economic downturn; in power, the Democrats are getting beat up and blamed. President Obama is feeling the heat from inside and outside his Party. Individual candidates are reeling. The parties are losing much of their grip on the voters. But this doesn't mean politics is broken. Messy, yes; broken, no.

Our nation is built on the premise that politics and the government belong to we the people. And we can look back throughout our nation's history to see that we constantly struggle as a people to gain control over our politics. At the same time, as the people surge and push, those in power confront the question of how to maintain their own control. So right now, the people in power are facing a major challenge. Being an incumbent is not what it used to be. Political parties don't have the same stronghold as they used to. But in many ways, this is just politics and ordinary squabbling.

Politics is one thing, but having an impact through actual governance is another. That's where the problem lies.

The nature of change in a representative democracy requires cooperation. The ways of Washington at present seem to be heavily influenced by the politics of obstructionism, often masked as grassroots populism. From my perspective outside Washington, there does not seem to be consensus on the importance of cooperation and just getting things done. It looks like everyone wants to fight for political gain.

In that sense, politics is hurting governance. Barack Obama wanted to change that culture. But that work will take a long time - longer than one term, and longer than a second, if he is re-elected. He is right to push for greater civility, and this is a chance to move us forward for the long term. But it won't just be Obama's work, but that of future presidents and elected officials for many years to come.

As we move forward toward the midterm congressional elections, the key question is what sort of leadership will November's winners bring to Washington? With so many people now clamoring to be the one who is most anti-Washington and anti-establishment, what will that mean once they get there? Will the newcomers do more than simply say that they are outsiders who came to change the ways of Washington? Will they do more than just say no?

Here's the news for all those candidates who claim to be outsiders and anti-Establishment: if you win, you will become part of the Establishment. You will no longer be outside the system. That will be a big challenge, for all candidates, and perhaps for President Obama as well.

It doesn't mean that they will have to do things the way they have always been done before, but being elected carries an obligation to do things and to move things forward in a positive direction. It means moving forward in ways that break through the partisanship.  Sometimes there's common ground. Sometimes there's a majority whose will must be accommodated. And sometimes there are matters of deep principle that cannot be compromised.

For politicians of all political stripes, that is the challenge.

We have an historic opportunity to build on a movement that is sweeping across the country at the grassroots level. We can build something greater than ever before, but it will require putting governance and true leadership ahead of posturing and politics.

Mark Alexander is a Professor at Seton Hall University in Newark, New Jersey, specializing in constitutional law and the First Amendment. He was a Senior Advisor for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.  

When voters go to the primary polls on September 14, they will use New York's new paper ballots for the first time. WNYC's Brian Lehrer and Azi Paybarah recently took the new ballot for a test drive.

Kirsten Gillibrand and Gail Goode

The Democratic US Senate primary will be decided between Kirsten Gillibrand and Gail Goode. Gillibrand has served in the Senate for the last two years, filling the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton when she became U.S. Secretary of State. This is the first time Goode has run for office. She is a lawyer and the deputy borough chief of trials for Brooklyn. She's also a former lawyer for the New York City Transit Authority.

Kirsten Gillibrand

WNYC Coverage of Kirsten Gillibrand:

The Brian Lehrer Show: Gillibrand on the Democrats’ Future (January 22, 2010)

Financial Reform a Tricky Balancing Act for NY Senators (May 4, 2010)

Questions Linger Over Gillibrand's Immigration Stance (January 29, 2009)

The Brian Lehrer Show: The Junior Senator (June 9, 2009)

The Brian Lehrer Show: The Freshman Class (January 2, 2007)

Fast Facts:

·  Born and raised in upstate New York. Both parents are attorneys, and her father was a Democratic lobbyist with ties to former Governor George Pataki and former Senator Al D’Amato.
·  Special counsel to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Andrew Cuomo) during the Clinton Administration
·  Democratic Congresswoman 2006-2009
·  Senate Committee Assignments: Special Committee on Aging; Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Environment and Public Works; Foreign Relations

Polling:

·  Latest Quinnipiac University poll (9/1/10) has Gillibrand dominating any of her three possible Republican challengers and shows that New York State voters approve of the job she’s doing as Senator.

Positions:

·  Has 100% approval rating from the National Rifle Association
·  Voted against the Wall Street TARP bill, otherwise known as the "bank bailout" bill
·  Favors abortion rights
·  Favors the English-only movement
·  Voted to withdraw troops from Iraq

Campaign Funding and Spending:

Guide to Gillibrand's campaign fundraising and spending (OpenSecrets.org)

Other links:

Times Topics: Kirsten Gillibrand (The New York Times)

Campaign Web site: Gillibrand for U.S. Senate

GAIL GOODE

WNYC Coverage of Gail Goode:

Digesting Politics: Rangel’s Birthday Bash, Race for New York’s Attorney General, “The Professional Left” and More (August 13, 2010)

Poll: Voters Looking for Gillibrand Alternative Don't See it in GOP Crowd (July 15, 2010)

Fast Facts:

·  Collected the signatures of over 45,000 registered Democrats to run and emphasizes the need for free elections
·  This is the first time Goode has ever run for office. She’s using her life savings to fund her campaign

Positions:

·  Strong proponent of gun control, supports Wall Street regulation, supports current immigration law, supports marriage equality
·  Supports Wall Street regulation
·  Supports current immigration law
·  Supports marriage equality 

Campaign Funding and Spending: (of NY Senate race including Goode):

Guide to to the New York Senate Race, including Goode (OpenSecrets.org)
 
Other links:
 
Gail Goode Interview on Capitol Tonight with Liz Benjamin, Parts One and Two (YouTube)

Gillibrand Finally Gets A Primary Challenger In New York Senate Race (Talking Points Memo)

Gail Goode Is Good to Go Against Gillibrand in Primary (The Village Voice)

Gail Goode Petitioning To Run Against Kirsten Gillibrand (The New York Daily News)

Campaign Web site: Gail Goode for U.S. Senate

To help us launch It’s A Free County, we reached out to politicians, academics, cultural thinkers, and activists to help us define our mission. The question we asked is simple: “What’s Broken in Politics, and How Do We Fix It?” This is David Webb’s answer.

I began losing faith in the institution of government in the late 1990's.

I had high hopes when the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years, but then they settled into the swamp they swore to drain. I took the Contract with America seriously, but the GOP leadership didn’t keep their vows to require balanced budgets, to hold Congress to the same laws as the rest of us, and to open up the work of Congressional committees to greater public scrutiny.

Under their watch, existing government programs continued to weaken America’s social fabric. The social engineering through entitlement programs failed to help those in need, and instead made the vulnerable more dependent on government. It created a welfare class, especially in the minority communities as evidenced by the further destruction of the family unit and degradation of the black community. Personal responsibility was gradually removed from the life equation. Bloated bureaucracies became the foundation of government instead of the Constitutions at the state and federal level.

But all this is not just the fault of Washington lawmakers. It is our responsibility to become a smarter, more demanding electorate. Americans -- especially Baby Boomers -- became complacent, financially fat, happy, apathetic and cynical of the process. We must delete short-term thinking and stay engaged between election cycles. We must accept that there will be a great deal of pain to extricate ourselves from this current crisis to leave a better America for the future. To remain selfish and shortsighted is to doom the future.

Government is needed and plays a vital role, but it needs to be cleaned out. That will not come from within. It will take outside pressure. We also need to decentralize power and put responsibility back in the hands of officials at the state and municipal level. We must give them the latitude to make choices and live with the consequences. The parties must put forth qualified candidates who not only express their desire to serve but, more importantly, their ability to do the job if elected. The American voter must not accept slick and polished mediocrity.

There is optimism in the awakened America mainly through the Tea Party Movement and in every citizen who now sees an overreaching government as the problem. In a confluence of times and technology, ease of information access and sharing, we have begun to ask government at all levels to do what is enumerated in the Constitution.

I have witnessed many simple but encouraging examples of citizen courage. The volunteers and leadership of my organization, TeaParty365, work tirelessly to educate themselves, each other, neighbors and strangers honestly. They’re Republicans, Democrats, Independents or have no political affiliation. Recently a tall imposing black man in a dashiki stopped me in Columbus Square with the words, "Tea Party?" I hesitated, not knowing what would come next. He shook my hand, said thanks and told me keep up the good work and said that no one defines him. I do not know his party nor did I ask. He is simply an American.

David Webb co-founded TeaParty365 in April 2009. It has an active membership of thousands in New York City and was a founding member organization in the National Tea Party Federation. He is host of "The David Webb Show" on Sirius XM Patriot.

On September 14, New Yorkers vote in primary elections that will determine the final slates for federal, state and local races this November. If you are a registered voter in New York and have a designated political party affiliation, you can vote in your party’s primary elections. Or if you're not sure whether you're registered, don't know who represents you, and have no idea where to go come Tuesday, fear not. We can help. 

Up for grabs this primary season are places on the ballot for federal, state and local offices, including New York's U.S. Senate seats and seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, plus New York Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, the state senate and assembly and other local races. Here's what you need to know if you're planning to go to the polls.

Are you registered to vote?

If you're not sure, check the status of your voter registration on the New York State Board of Elections Web site.

If you’re not registered, it's too late to register in time for the September 14 primary. Voter registration forms must be received by the Board of Elections 25 days before an election day. But there’s still time to participate in the November general election. Download a voter registration form and be sure send it in or deliver it to your county’s Board of Elections by October 8, 2010.

You're also out of luck if you’re registered to vote but did not enrolled in a political party, because New York has a closed-primary system. In order to vote in primaries, you must indicate your party of choice when you fill out a voter registration form. Your choices are: Democratic, Republican, Independence, Conservative and Working Families parties.

Changing your voter registration

If you want to make changes to your existing registration, including choosing or changing your party affiliation, you can use the same voter registration form. But remember, you won’t be able to vote in your party's primary in the same year. And if you've moved to a new county, you will need to re-register. For more information, call 1-800-FOR-VOTE (1-800-367-8683).

Learn about your representation

Who are your current elected officials? Use this map to find the officials now representing your congressional, senate and assembly districts.

Where and when to vote and what to bring with you

Use this tool from the New York City Board of Elections to find your polling place if you are voting in New York City. This search, created by Vote411.org -- a site launched by the League of Women Voters -- covers the whole state.

Polls open at 6 a.m. on election day and close at 9 p.m.
 
If you registered to vote by mail and are voting for the first time, bring your current New York driver’s license or the last four digits of your Social Security number.

If you don't have either of these sources of identification, you can bring a valid photo ID, a current utility bill, a bank statement, a government check or paycheck or another government document that shows your name and address.

If you don’t have any ID or your name is not on the rolls at your polling site but you believe you are eligible to vote, you can still vote. Ask for an affidavit ballot, also known as a provisional ballot. You’ll need to swear that you are a registered voter and provide your current and previous addresses. For the primary election, you’ll also need to include the name of the party you’re enrolled in.

After the election, the Board of Elections will check its records, and if you’re indeed eligible to vote and are at the correct poll site, your vote will be counted. If not, you will receive a notice that you are not eligible, along with a registration application for future elections.

What you can expect at the polling site

For starters, brand new voting machines! Lever machines are out and starting this year, all New Yorkers will be voting with paper ballots.

Vote NY has videos that demonstrate on how to vote on the new machines. It’s a simple three-step process: 1. Get a paper ballot from a poll worker. 2. Mark the ballot with a pen or request an accessible touch-screen machine. 3. Feed the marked ballot into the vote counting machine. If you have any question about the new voting machines, you can ask a poll worker for help.

Who's running?

Need to learn more about the candidates participating in the 2010 primaries? Check out race pages from It's a Free Country and WNYC:

Republican Primary for New York Governor: Rick Lazio, Carl Paladino

Democratic U.S. Senate Primary: Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Gail Goode

Republican U.S. Senate Primary: Gary Berntsen, Jay Townsend

Republican U.S. Senate Primary: Blakeman Bruce, Joe DioGuardi, David Malpass

Democratic Primary for Attorney General: Richard L. Brodsky, Sean Coffey, Eric Dinallo, Kathleen M. Rice, Eric T. Schneiderman

Republican Congressional 13th District Primary: Michael Allegretti, Michael Grimm

Democratic Congressional 14th District Primary: Carolyn Maloney, Reshma Saujani

Democratic Congressional 15th District Primary: Joyce Johnson, Vincent Morgan, Adam Clayton Powell IV, Charles Rangel, Jonathan Tasini (Ruben D. Vargas did not participate in this interview)

Democratic State Senate, 30th District Primary: Bill Perkins, Basil Smikle

Democratic State Senate, 33rd District Primary: Pedro Espada Jr., Daniel Padernacht, Gustavo Rivera

As voters size up their picks this midterm election, they might wonder just where is "the change we can believe in?" If the reordering of national priorities that President Obama and the Democrats promised in 2008 has occurred, there is little sign of it in the lives of the middle class households they promised to champion.     

The economy continues to lose more jobs than it creates. And for Americans with a job, wages remain flat, even as they are working harder and their productivity climbs. Employers are increasingly passing on the cost of health care to their workers while sitting on billions of dollars in revenues. July sales of existing homes dropped 27 percent from the month before and the sales of new homes came in at the slowest pace since Feds started tracking them in the early 1960s. And despite the historic passage of health care legislation, Obamacare’s impact remains largely theoretical.

Welcome to "Stucknation" where homeowners can't afford to stay in their homes or sell them, employed workers fear for the stability of their jobs while the unemployed still search, and economists can’t tell us if we’re going up or down.

All this goes back to the health of our markets, which is all about confidence. What engenders confidence? Leadership and vision. That’s where the White House is missing a key opportunity.

For two years, the Obama Administration has failed to articulate a coherent vision for just how the nation will regain its footing. It has short circuited the chemistry between the President and his supporters with an uptight media strategy that suggests they have let Fox News get in their head. Right now the Obama Administration remains reactive. The President weighs in courageously on the question of the location of an Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque than appears to try and walk it back later. The great communicator comes off as the great equivocator. 

When there is the potential for an authentic interaction between the President and his diehard supporters, it is squandered so he can stay on the canned message and be on time for the next million dollar fundraiser.

I saw this firsthand as one of the local reporters picked to do pool reporting in July when the President visited a sandwich shop in Edison, New Jersey. The White House press person for the event was a temp. Hundreds of well wishers turned out in a spontaneous outpouring of support, but were pushed blocks away by the Secret Service.

Tanesha Wyles was there with her two young sons Joshua and Emmanuel in tow. “We have come from Elizabeth, New Jersey, and we would like to get a good look at our President that we voted for," she complained to me. "We can't get a simple glimpse of him. I think it is unfair that we have to go blocks down where we won't even see the color vehicle he is stepping out of."

Disabled homeowner Harry Klaine was told to move along with the rest of the throngs of supporters. "I came out here to thank Mr. Obama for my mortgage loan modification," Klaine said. "I was going to get foreclosed on Saturday now I can save my house!" Harry would have been great on stage with the President instead of being shuffled off like a vagrant.

The media was permitted to document the President ordering a sandwich and than was ushered out while he had lunch privately with some handpicked small business owners. One of the lunching business owners was Tom Horsburgh, a Republican who manufactures cardboard tubes. He said he told the President that America needed to get back to basics and re-instate shop classes in the nation's high schools because he couldn't find anybody who could read a tape measure, much less use a circular saw. That would have been a great moment on a local high school stage in a town hall! It could have helped spark a broader conversation about how we might re-imagine the America that comes next.  

After the staged lunch reporters were permitted back in to record a few canned words from the President. No questions from reporters were permitted lest something spontaneous happen that they would have to account for later. Meanwhile the crowds continued to grow blocks away. Obama supporters sat on roof tops patiently waiting for the leader they never got to see.

New York City's new paper ballot includes several trouble spots where voters could easily make mistakes, like those made by WNYC's Brian Lehrer and Azi Paybarah when they tried, according to experts in ballot design.

→ VIDEO: Hi, I'm A Paper Ballot! Watch Brian and Azi Struggle With The New Voting System

[+ Expand post for more on ballot trouble spots]

Voters run the risk of filling in the wrong oval for a candidate, misunderstanding which races allow voting for more than one candidate, or missing the write-in area altogether.

That's the assessment of Jessica Friedman Hewitt, an adviser for Design For Democracy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps governments make voting easier. At WNYC's request, she and a circle of designers looked at New York's "Demonstration Ballot" and highlighted areas of concern, which you can see below. They also provided suggestions for how the ballot could be better and offered some tips for voters.

Anyone frustrated by the ballot should look to Albany. Almost every design detail, down to the size of the candidate's names and where lines must go, is dictated by state law, says Steven Richman, general council for the New York City Board of Elections.

"To the extent that we could make it user-friendy, we have," Richman said, adding that the only real option left to the board's descretion was whether voters fill in ovals or squares.

Click on the yellow boxes below to explore the city's "ice cream" demonstration ballot and see the experts' comments.



This is a "Demonstration Ballot" provided by the New York City Board of Elections to help people prepare for the new paper-based voting system. Flavors, foods and sports take the place of candidate names. The titles at the top of the columns (Maple, Pine, etc.) represent political party groupings, which will appear on general election ballots. For primary elections, the offices appear across the top.

The Free Country Manifesto

Read | Argue | Listen | Act

Every schoolyard argument seems to devolve to the exclamation that “It’s a free country.” This, of course, is never a political statement. It’s just every kid’s assertion that she or he can do whatever the hell they please, like change the rules of dodge ball so they win. But as a future wonk of a ten year old, I did sometimes wonder: Do kids in North Korea not change the rules because it’s not a free country? My guess is that they do, but they hang it up on some other cultural narrative. This one is ours. It’s active rather than passive, individually liberating and a little in your face. And I like it.

But of course, with freedom comes responsibilities. I wouldn’t recommend that to my son as a retort on the schoolyard. The rule changers will think he’s a nerd and immediately act on their free country right to pummel him.

But for us grownups concerned with the state of the union, the freedom/responsibility continuum seems to be at the heart of our current troubles and polarization. Sometimes it feels like our whole nation has become a schoolyard, with politicians, businesses, the media, and a lot of regular folk shouting right past each other.

That’s where we come in. “It’s a free country” usually ends a conversation. What do you really say after that? It’s like saying “everything is relative” or “we’re all gonna die eventually.” Yeah, so? But here, it’s a conversation starter.

Our mission here is twofold: to provide you lively political content and to partner with you to build a unique interactive community. That doesn’t mean glossing over our differences. But it does mean airing them with the idea that we don’t have to become Babel in the process. We can do it in pursuit of building that shining city on a hill. Together.

Don’t just say something, do something.

If this experiment succeeds, there will always be something to learn here and there will always be something to do. We hope to make this not just another news and opinion site, but a diverse political community to come hang out in. Get to know each other through social media. Mix it up with people you disagree with. Maybe even find some common ground or come to see things in a whole new way. Challenge yourself with our news and politics quizzes. Join a crowdsourcing team and help with an investigation, or help us invent a new tool. Tweet us a link for others to follow. Nominate and vote for your favorite posts. Or just take in some strong narrative writing from our guest bloggers, visit our Politics Bites soundbite roll, or gaze at some beautiful and illuminating infographics. I’ll say it again: There will always be something to learn here and there will always be something to do. So get ready to participate. Get ready to act and to interact.

Maybe we’ll change the world, or at least the way we talk politics. Or maybe it’ll suck and we’ll all go home early – storm off the dodge ball court because we didn’t get our way. But one thing’s for sure. This ain’t North Korea. It’s a free country. So let’s give it a try.

Hearings are set to begin tomorrow on why New Jersey failed to win hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education funds. An Assembly committee will question members of Gov. Chris Christie's administration about a clerical error that caused the state to lose the Race to the Top money -- and Education Commissioner Bret Shundler his job.

Assembly Majority Leader Joe Cryan says he's disappointed Christie, who's a Republican, won't allow some officials to testify before the Democrat-controlled committee.
        
"I don't understand the governor's logic behind not taking this hearing as an opportunity to prevent a problem for the future," Cryan says. "Frankly, I think the lack of people showing up is going to raise more questions and probably continue this debate further."

Cryan says the hearings are about the lost money -- $400 million of it -- not party affiliation.

Republicans attacked President Barack Obama's $50 billion plan to build the nation's infrastructure even before he announced it at a Labor Day event in Milwaukee.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the plan would raise taxes, even as Americans are "still looking for the 'shovel-ready' jobs they were promised more than a year ago" in the $814 billion economic stimulus measure. And House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said, "We don't need more government 'stimulus' spending."

But New York's construction industry applauded the plan.

"It's especially timely because we're starting to run low on state and city infrastructure funding and the previous federal stimulus funding is also starting to run out," said Richard Anderson, president of the New York Building Congress. 

The Obama plan calls for rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads; building and maintaining 4,000 miles of rail lines and 150 miles of airport runways, and installing a new air navigation system to reduce travel times and delays.

Anderson says the construction industry hasn't suffered as badly in New York City as it has in other parts of the country, but that total construction spending in the Big Apple is off 25 percent from its peak in 2008. "We're starting to see declines and that's where the real concern is, and some of the building trade unions are starting to report 20 to 30 percent unemployment."

The infrastructure spending is part of a package of economic proposals President Obama is expected to announce this week. 

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who's running for governor, says he's still deciding whether to endorse any of the five Democratic candidates looking to replace him.

Speaking to reporters at the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, Cuomo says there's still time to evaluate the candidates in the race.

"I said I was going to watch the campaigns as they develop. It's Labor Day now. You'll see the campaigns start to heat up, and I'll be watching the campaigns and then we'll make a decision to endorse or not to endorse," Cuomo said.

Cuomo's support could be a big factor in the race. The latest polling shows the five Democratic candidates are largely unknown to voters.

Two of the candidates were in Brooklyn for the parade: Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice and State Sen. Eric Schneiderman of Manhattan.

The Coast Guard says a nearly 10-mile-long ribbon of red tide has been spotted in New York Harbor.

The naturally occurring reddish brown algae bloom stretches from the area near the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum off Midtown Manhattan's West Side to Hoffman Island, off Staten Island. Another patch was spotted about three miles south of Long Island's Jones Beach Inlet.

The Coast Guard say swimmers and boaters should avoid contact with the reddish-brown sheen; it can cause skin and eye irritation, and breathing problems. Red tide can occur in coastal areas when the seas are warm.

Today's show is a best-of, so we won't be taking any calls. But the comments page is always open!

School is about to start. Hear NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein talk about test scores and the upcoming school year. Plus, what kind of job training is actually valuable; wrapping up the summer's Your Anecdotal Census series; and your best "I Quit!" stories. 

New Yorker editor David Remnick and longtime writer Roger Angell discuss the art of sports writing. The Only Game in Town, Sportswriting from the New Yorker is a classic collection of more than eighty years of some of the wisest, funniest, and most moving sports writing around—from reportage and analysis to profiles and tributes.

On Day 8 of the U.S. Open, Serbian Novak Djokovic filleted resurgent American Mardy Fish in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. All in all, it took the Serb a mere hour and 50 minutes to cook the 19^th seed and advance to the quarterfinals.

“I played a great match today,” Djokovic said. “Conditions were tough, as well, with a strong wind. I was using my serve in important moments extremely well and opening the court and, kind of, not giving him enough chances to come to the net and be aggressive.”

From the very first point, Djokovic put Fish on the defensive, muscling the slimmer, 6’2” American frame from sideline to sideline. Fish had his chances in the second set. On two occasions he had opportunities to inflict damage to the Djokovic serve. At one point, Fish actually held triple break points. Sadly for U.S. tennis fans, he let the Serb off the hook.

“I felt so many times today, like even off my first serves, I was sort of fighting to neutralize the point,” said Fish about his struggles. “I was on my back foot quite a bit, even when I was with the wind.”

Fish now joins the ranks of fellow routed countrymen Andy Roddick, James Blake and John Isner. The sole American remaining in the men’s draw is Sam Querrey. He’ll play Andy Murray’s vanquisher, Swiss former-top-tenner Stanislas Wawrinka for a spot in the quarters tomorrow.

Though Fish was certainly disappointed to see his hot streak come to an end, he was happy with the result and even inspired by his peers. And he’s not about to throw in the towel.

“I'd love to make it into the top 10,” said Fish. “You saw someone like Stan Wawrinka yesterday beat Murray. He's had a run, and people have put together runs like that. I've certainly put myself in a great position.  I got 1400 points or so in just in the U.S. summer.  So, I mean, I've got a great opportunity. That would be a huge goal for me.”

Djokovic will next play French dynamo Gael Monfils for a spot in the semifinals. Monfils beat his former Davis Cup teammate Richard Gasquet in their meeting this afternoon on Louis Armstrong Stadium. The score was 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.

One of the reasons oddsmakers haven’t considered Djokovic as a viable contender for the slams the past few years, in part, has to do with his perceived frailties. He has a history of shortness of breath, especially under taxing, physical conditions. But according to the Serb, he’s ‘A Okay’ in New York.

“Periodically, it comes in the year,” Djokovic said about his purported breathing difficulties. “I guess in the spring I had a lot of allergy trouble. But right now I'm feeling quite good.”

Whether he can hang on the court with the top two players in the world remains to be seen.

Also moving through the men’s field to today was 5^th-seed Robin Soderling. He defeated Albert Montanes of Spain comfortably after losing the first set, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Vendela Vida talks about her new novel,  The Lovers, about the love between husbands and wives, mothers and children. It tells the story of Now Yvonne, a widow with grown twin children, who returns to the Turkish coastal village where she and he husband honeymooned, hoping to remember a happier time. But her plans for a restorative vacation are quickly complicated.

Daniel Asa Rose discusses the lengths he and his cousin Larry Feldman went to in order to get a kidney transplant. In Larry’s Kidney, Rose tells the story of helping his black-sheep cousin, who he hadn’t spoken to in 15 years, go to China and secure a kidney transplant, even though Chinese law forbids transplants to Westerners.

Today we're airing some of our favorite interviews from the summer. Historian William Jelani Cobb looks at how Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination without the support of much of the established black leadership. He argues that the term "postracial" is inaccurate. Then, one man discusses the struggles he and his estranged cousin went through in order to get a kidney transplant. Also, Vendela Vida talks about her new novel, The Lovers. Plus, New Yorker editor David Remnick and longtime writer Roger Angell discuss the art of sports writing.

Historian William Jelani Cobb looks at the 2008 election of Barack Obama—who won the Democratic nomination even though old-line civil rights leaders—Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, Andrew Young—all openly supported Hillary Clinton. In The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress, Cobb examines America's changing political and social landscape, and a new generation of voters with priorities not shaped by the legacy of Jim Crow.

President Barack Obama was in Milwaukee on this Labor Day, announcing another plan to help stimulate the economy. This time, spending $50 billion to help rebuild roads, railways and airport runways. "This is a plan that will be fully paid for," the president said. "It will not add to the deficit over time."

Republicans have already attacked the plan, saying the U.S. economy doesn't need more government stimulus spending.

Markets were closed for Labor Day.

Today saw the end of a big money-making movie season. Hollywood hit record revenues this summer, drawing in nearly $4.5 billion, according to Hollywood.com. But the $100 million bump from last year didn't come from more people going to the movies but rather from higher ticket prices.

A Year After Rezoning, More Changes Coming to Coney Island

It's been a year since the city approved an ambitious rezoning plan for Coney Island. In that time, a new amusement park has opened, a developer is poised to tear down at least four well-known buildings -- and nearly a dozen long-established boardwalk stores are being required to submit business plans or close up shop. WNYC's Kathleen Horan covers Coney Island and joined us to give us an update on the "People's Playground."

Kathleen, when the city first began pursuing the rezoning plan for Coney Island, we were in a very different economy. Do city officials still feel confident that developers still will want to come and build hotels and housing way out there?

Well, they're moving forward with the plan. They say that it will take some time -- not only for the economy to rebound but also to assess and potentially fix the infrastructure there that will make new buildings possible.

Lynn Kelly with the Coney Island Development Corporation says right now they're in the process of creating an Amended Drainage Plan or ADP. That's basically an x-ray of everything that occurs under the street -- all sewer lines, electrical lines, etc. Once they have the ADP, they'll know all the improvements that need to be done and any major development will follow. Kelly says the first phase of the infrastructure design and construction will cost the city about $137 million.

"We're encouraging development to come to Coney Island, and if a developer wants to start a project prior to the infrastructure being complete, we'll walk them through the steps that they need, but this is all being done so that we can complete  the framework for full build out," Kelly says.

The results of the ADP will be complete sometime this month and Kelly says the infrastructure re-design will then commence. Next year, a shovel will hit the ground to begin the actual fixes that need to happen.

What's the status of the buildings on Surf Avenue that might be torn down?

They're owned by developer Joe Sitt of Thor Equities. He's bought a lot of the key parcels in Coney Island as well as other parts of the city. Last year he sold a major chunk of land on Coney Island to the city for more than $91 million.

Now he's seeking to tear down at least four buildings on the remaining land he owns. This has many people in the area angry because most of these buildings are over 100 years old. Opponents say they can be repurposed and kept for their historical significance. The Henderson building, for instance, is said to be the place where the Marx brothers launched their careers.

Why is Sitt seeking to tear these down?

Critics say it’s that he wants to deliver the land clean and empty of tenants. But a Thor Equites spokesman says that most opponents are anti-development and that the buildings have absolutely no historic value and that they're just ramshackle structures. Next year, Thor plans to build a one-story complex in place of some of the buildings, offering games, souvenirs and snacks -- much of what was there before.

What about Luna Park?

In just 100 days, 19 new rides were built for this summer season. Alberto Zamperla, the owner of the park, says it's been a great season, though he doesn't have numbers yet. Businesses around Luna Park have also reported an increase in business of about 25 percent.

Next year, Zamperla says the second phase of the amusement park will be called "the Scream Zone" with four new roller coasters: "Next year we want to invest more on the teenagers -- crazy wild, so we are going to have rides that are very extreme,” he says.

And roller coasters bring in more money because there are more people per ride and they’re quite popular.

I understand that Zamperla is requiring that about a dozen long-time businesses along the boardwalk submit plans for how they will spruce up their boardwalk stalls or lose their short-term leases?

Eleven businesses along the boardwalk, including Ruby's Bar, the "Shoot the Freak" attraction and many of the small eateries, called “grab joints,” have to submit a plan for how they'll update and possibly modernize their operations. Their contracts expire by October.

Writer and resident historian, Charles Denson who runs the Coney Island History Project says he hopes this isn't an attempt to sanitize these funky old spots.

"What makes Coney Island unique are these old-time businesses," Denson says, "and as far as the food, if people didn't like this food they would have been out of business overnight, they wouldn't have lasted a season. The reason they’ve been in business for decades is that people like that kind of food. It would be a shame to see the businesses go that make Coney Island unique."

Looks like there could be a lot of changes coming to Coney Island, and perhaps even a bit of a battle for the soul of the place. Thank you, Kathleen.

Sam Roberts, urban affairs correspondent  for The New York Times, Angelo Falcón, president and founder of the National Institute for Latino Policy, and Andrew Beveridge, professor of sociology at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center and developer of socialexplorer.com, wrap up our census coverage with a discussion of the overall demographic trends of the last 10 years in the New York City metropolitan area. 

Sheila Maguire, senior vice president of Program Effectiveness at Public/Private Ventures, a research group that works to improve policies and programs for low-income communities, discusses the effectiveness of job training and a new study on sector-based employment programs. 

The most shocking result of this weekend in U.S. Open tennis was, without a doubt, the stoic exit of Glasgow, Scotland's golden boy, Andy Murray, the world's No. 4 seed. Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka, the No. 25 seed in the world, knocked Murray out on Sunday, 6‑7 (3), 7‑6 (4), 6‑3, 6‑3.

After the match, Murray gave a simple explanation for his loss to Wawrinka. “He played better than me," Murray said. “There's not a whole lot more to it. He had a chance to win the first set...didn't take it. I had a chance to win the second set...didn't take it. I just struggled from then on.”

During the third and fourth sets, Murray was visibly struggling. At one point, commentator John McEnroe mentioned that he thought Murray was fighting himself, along with Wawrinka. Murray even punched the strings of his racquet during one point in the match.

Murray said he would have to examine what exactly caused him to lose the match.

"There was a lot...that I was feeling on the court," Murray said. "So, I'm going to have to go look at why that was the case, and try and get better.”

Could it be that the pressure—and the wrath—from the British tabloids is getting to Murray? It's no secret that a British player hasn’t won a major since 1936.

“I don't think that is the reason why I lost the match today,” Murray said emphatically. “It hasn't been the reason I've lost any matches in a very, very long time, you know, since I was 21 years old. I think the last two, three years, it's not the reason why I've been losing matches."

Not surprisingly, Wawrinka said that he thought this was one of his best matches to date.

“I think all my game was pretty good,” Wawrinka said. “I was very aggressive...I'm very happy."

Hear music from Armenia, Iran, and Brooklyn, as New Sounds takes a journey off of the Silk Road for this program.  There are works from the new music quartet Brooklyn Rider, with and without kamancheh (Persian spiked fiddle) player Kayhan Kalhor.  We'll also listen to music from Duduk virtuoso Gevorg Dabaghyan and Yo Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble as well.

PROGRAM # 2836, a journey off the Silk Road (First aired on 8-22-08)

New Jersey native Dan Weiss was recently named by The New York Times as one out of five drummers who are finding new ways to look at the drum set. He also has an eclectic music taste: As a jazz composer, he mixes metal, Indian ragas, and 20th-century classical music.

He joins us with his trio for an in-studio performance. This is a repeat edition of Soundcheck.

This week’s picks include fresh takes on Southern rock, some old English folk, and an even older French composer. This is a repeat edition of Soundcheck.

The Unthanks - Here’s The Tender Coming (Rough Trade)

British folk music is timeless. It’s partly because the songs talk about universal themes of love, death, and the like. But it’s mostly because of bands like The Unthanks, who find incisive, contemporary ways of presenting old songs. Whether it’s the shimmering minimalist piano of “Lucky Gilchrist,” or the tremulous chamber music of “Living By the Water,” they keep you guessing without resorting to rocked out electronics. Formerly known as Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, the Unthanks feature the haunting vocals of sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank, and an assortment of sad tales from the darker corners of north England. The album is called Here’s the Tender Coming. --Picked by John Schaefer [Amazon]

Robert Sadin - Art of Love (Music of Machaut)

This is a producer’s album, in a way. Robert Sadin is a producer who has worked with people like pop star Sting and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. Then one day we went all the way back to the year 1300, into the music of French composer and poet Guillaume de Machaut with the song “Douce Dame.” The record, called Art of Love, features several voices, from the Morrocan singer Hassan Hakmoun to French singer Madeleine Peyroux to Brazilian singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento. The result is an eclectic and poetic collection of voices and sounds, beautifully woven together. --Picked by Gisele Regatao [Amazon]

Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do (ATO)

The past year has been memorable for the Southern rock group Drive-By Truckers. They were the backing band on a Grammy winning album from soul legend Booker T. Jones. The group’s frontman, Patterson Hood, gained a newborn son, which inspired the song “Daddy Learned to Fly.” So, yes, 2009 was a good year for the Truckers – but a bad one for many American workers as is evidenced by one particular song that shall remain nameless on the air. Let’s just say it’s something along the lines of “This Frustrating, Very Low-Paying, Disappointing Job.” We can thank Court TV for the song “The Wig He Made Her Wear,“ which features a song that was inspired by the real-life trial of a Tennessee woman accused of murdering her husband. Their new album is called The Big To-Do. --Picked by Joel Meyer [Amazon]

A recent biography of Benny Goodman recounts how the jazz clarinetist was plagued by insecurity when he was invited to play at Carnegie Hall in 1938. Today: hear how similar feelings have shaped the careers of major artists like choreographer Jerome Robbins, pianist Martha Argerich, singer-songwriter Cat Power and actress-singer Doris Day.

We're joined by guests Terry Teachout, drama critic of The Wall Street Journal, and Margret Elson, a concert pianist, certified hypnotherapist and licensed psychotherapist. This is a repeat edition of Soundcheck.

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

Everyone's speculating on Oprah's next book club selection, scheduled to be announced on Sept. 17.

Douglas Perry, author of "The Girls of Murder City," talks about the true cases that inspired the musical "Chicago."

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.

The Bruce Wayne Batman is coming back – but the Dick Grayson Batman is staying put.

"My Ishmael," a 1997 novel by Daniel Quinn, was featured in the manifesto of gunman James Jay Lee.

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

Penguin Books has been commissioning "comics-inspired" covers for classics.

Monitor readers share their favorite picks.

"Freedom" has got everybody talking about Jonathan Franzen.

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

Temple Grandin was a big winner at the 2010 Emmys. But for many viewers, she is still not a household name.

I fell in love with Scott McCloud's "Zot!" as a teen. This summer, I remembered why.

Monitor readers write and share their favorite book picks.

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When the Justice Department's report on the so-called torture memos was finally released in February, the agency's internal watchdog noted that the 5-year inquiry "had not been routine" and included the intriguing detail that a trove of key documents had been destroyed. These included almost all of John Yoo's emails, which, investigators for the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility were informed, "had been deleted and were not recoverable." Without the emails of one of the primary authors of the memos, OPR could only cobble together a partial picture of how Bush administration lawyers had come to craft a legal rationale for the use of torture. "Given the difficulty OPR experienced in obtaining information over the past five years," the watchdog reported, "it remains possible that additional information eventually will surface."

Months later John Yoo's emails have surfaced—some of them, at least, though they probably are not what OPR had in mind.

In response to a lawsuit filed by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the agency has produced 900-plus pages of email records, and says it had identified but is withholding an additional 147 documents for as-yet unspecified reasons. This might sound like a lot, but given that Yoo's tenure as a top political appointee in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel spanned almost two years, from July 2001 to May 2003, the emails account for what would be less than week's worth of email traffic for any prodigious email user. And though OPR noted that the supposedly destroyed records included "relevant documents" to its investigation, nothing of the sort was included in the files Justice handed over to CREW. They are remarkable if only because they are so mundane—and because virtually none of them have anything to do with Yoo's official Justice Department work. If the messages are at all representative of Yoo's stint there, then they suggest that the bulk of his time was spent arranging speaking engagements, authoring journal articles, and, as CREW put it in a release, "expanding his credentials" for his return to academia.

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She welcomed me to the classroom with the coldest of stares, piercing my eyes with hers, saying "Fuck you" without even opening her mouth. When I placed the worksheet on her desk and offered a "Hello, what's your name?" she quickly stood up, snatched the paper, held it a foot from my face, ripped it into 100 pieces, and sat back down, fuming as the shreds of white dropped harmlessly to the floor.

This happened on Day 1 for me as a first-year English teacher in the Washington, DC, public school system. I had never been treated in this fashion by anyone, much less a 15-year-old girl. My face reddened. The other 10 girls in the classroom sat giggling, pointing, awaiting a reaction. "Show them I'm not intimidated," I thought. So I went back to my stack of papers, returned to the steaming student, and put another worksheet—filled with 15 simple yet personal questions—in front of her. If her first greeting was angry, her second was apoplectic. "Who the fuck are you, nigga? Get the fuck out my face!" The words flew out with unchecked fury as she sprang out of her seat, and this time, she did not sit down. Instead, she demanded an answer. "You don't want to participate today?" I whispered, my voice cracking. She widened her stare and held it a moment. "Man, get the fuck out my face!" She then sat down, burying her head in her forearms, disappearing for the remainder of class. And that was that.

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Adapted from the forthcoming book Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists, by Courtney E. Martin. Excerpted with permission by Beacon Press.

Raul Diaz is crushing flowers underfoot as he runs. Though he doesn't have the stamina of his teenage years, he's grateful that his legs can still take him up a hill at thirty-four. He pauses at the top of a slope in Elysian Park, puts his hands on his hips, and looks out at Los Angeles, the city that has formed him in all of its beauty and violence. He can almost make out the outlines of Boyle Heights, his courageous little neighborhood—just east of downtown L.A. and the Los Angeles River, César E. Chávez Avenue rolling boldly through.

Up here Raul can get a break from life down there—the way the boys drag their feet as they head back to their cells in Chino when his visits with them are over, the sadly predictable swollen bellies on teenage girls hanging out in the project playground, the incessant needs of his clients (housing, jobs, work clothes, car insurance, food), unmet unless he figures out a way to meet them. He runs up here because it's a way to leave all that behind. But even more, he runs up here because he has never figured out any other way of staving off the sadness.

The youngest of eight brothers, Raul was raised by one firecracker mom who fled an abusive husband, the father of her six initial sons, in Texas and relocated to the Pico projects of Boyle Heights without a single friend in 1968. In the early seventies, she met Raul's father—a Vietnam vet—who would end up shirking responsibility for his two kids. By the time Raul was five years old, his father was mostly absent, with the exception of a few random Saturdays when he would pull into the parking lot of the projects and start drinking. On those days he might show one of the boys how to fix a car or give them advice about girls, but Raul mostly stayed away.

"Don't get me wrong," he says. "I wanted a dad, but I realized that not having a dad at all was sometimes better than having one that abused you."

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Mark Fiore is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a website featuring his work.

    

Pat Tillman's family says "fuck" a lot. And who can blame them? Pat's youngest brother, at the memorial service for the fallen NFL-star-turned-soldier, follows Maria Shriver's "Pat is with God now" rhetoric with, "Pat would want me to say this: He's not with God, he's fucking dead." A year later, Pat Tillman Sr. writes a blistering letter to the military brass who continued to stonewall the investigation into his son's death signed, "Fuck you…and yours." Such is the seething flavor of director Amir Bar-Lev's The Tillman Story (open today at select theaters), which paints a striking portrait of Pat Tillman's devoted and outraged family's search for the truth behind his death in eastern Afghanistan in April 2004.

The footage and documentation do perhaps more than either Tillman book (one by his mother, the other by Jon Krakauer, telling Tillman's wife's story) to walk through the life and death of the country's highest profile war-fighter. For not only do we get the emotions and efforts of the entire clan (Krakauer didn't speak with his mom, for example) but we see what unfolded in pictures, whether it's home video of Pat's Ranger outfit, rugged footage taken the day after he was killed, or evidence of the reams of redacted documents his mother pored over for years—only to be served up an anemic congressional oversight hearing.

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In his new (self-serving, of course) memoir, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair praises George W. Bush as a man of "genuine integrity and as much political courage as any leader I have ever met." Yet Blair leaves out of the 700-page tome any mention of a meeting he had with Bush in which the US president proposed a plan to trigger the Iraq war through outright deceit.

The early media coverage of Blair's book, A Journey: My Political Life, has zeroed in on his complex and dramatic relationship with Gordon Brown, his onetime political soulmate. (Blair writes about him as one would an ex-lover.) Yet Blair devotes a serious chunk to defending his decision to partner up with Bush for the Iraq war. "I can't regret the decision to go to war," he writes. "…I can say that never did I guess the nightmare that unfolded." He adds, "I have often reflected as to whether I was wrong. I ask you to reflect as to whether I may have been right."

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[Editor's Note: See a related photo essay here.]

THE FIRST BABY'S NAME was America. She was born in September 2007, with Down syndrome, two heart murmurs, and part of her upper lip missing. She couldn't suck from a nipple, so her mother, Magdalena Romero, would stay up through the night to feed her with a special tube. America showed pleasure in music and delighted in being held by her four siblings. Magdalena thinks they felt a special tenderness for her because of her vulnerability.

Hospital officials told Magdalena that the baby wouldn't live a year, but she didn't want to believe it. Then, one morning when America was nearly five months old, her lips turned purple. Concluding that paramedics would consider a rescue futile, Magdalena drove the baby to the hospital herself and insisted that all efforts be made to save her. For a few days, America survived, tethered to machines. Then she died in her mother's arms.

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It's a classic move by an industry player feeling the squeeze of pending regulation: Hire a lobbying firm to create the appearance of widespread opposition via a carefully stage-managed astroturf campaign. One of the latest outfits to give this strategy a try: Education Management Corporation (EDMC), a multibillion-dollar heavyweight in the for-profit higher education industry that's the subject of multiple lawsuits and ample criticism from investors, lawmakers, and government officials who accuse the company of a range of deceptive business practices. The company, whose majority stockholder is Goldman Sachs, recently hired a GOP-linked lobbying shop known for its astroturfing prowess to fight a proposed federal rule that has the entire industry fretting about its future.

Education Management Corporation operates Argosy University, Brown Mackie College, South University, and various Art Institutes. On August 24, EDMC CEO Todd Nelson blasted out an internal email, first reported on by the New America Foundation's Higher Ed Watch blog, saying that the company had hired DCI Group, a Washington-based lobbying and public relations firm with a controversial history, to coordinate a campaign against the Education Department's proposed "gainful employment" rule. The rule would establish metrics for assessing graduates' ability to repay their student loans as a way of judging whether an academic program is truly fulfilling its mandate: preparing graduates for "gainful employment." 

For-profit colleges have made no secret of their opposition to this rule; Harris Miller, president of the Career College Association, the industry's top trade group, described it as "unwise, unnecessary, unproven." And for-profit colleges have let the Education Department know their displeasure in a major way. Little wonder why: Education Department officials say the new rule would disqualify 5 percent of programs from receiving federal student aid money, and 55 percent would face limits on growth and mandates to warn students about the risks of excessive borrowing.

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In the small Latino farmworker community of Kettleman City, California, at least 11 babies in the past three years have been born with serious birth defects, and several infants have died. Residents blame the recent spate of tragedy on the vast hazardous-waste dump three miles from town. But Kettleman City has numerous environmental villains, including contaminated tap water, heavy air pollution, and daily toxic pesticide exposure. In fact, residents' health is compromised in so many ways that Rachel Morello-Frosch, an environmental health researcher at UC-Berkeley, calls Kettleman City "a poster child for cumulative impacts." You can read the full story here, or view a photo essay exploring the tragic impact of cumulative pollutants on Kettleman City families. 

Interstate 5 and State Route 41 Each day up to 400 semitrucks pass within 4 miles of residential homes in Kettleman City. Nearly 100 trucks, some of them bearing toxic waste, roll directly through town on State Route 41. Farms The state of California is investigating possible links between pesticide exposure and Kettleman City's birth defects. Waste Management landfill The largest hazardous-waste dump west of the Mississippi stores asbestos, pesticides, and petroleum products, as well as PCB-contaminated wastes, which the EPA suspects may be linked to birth defects. A recent EPA investigation found PCBs in the soil (PDF) outside a storage building and concluded that Waste Management had improperly disposed (PDF) of waste.

Gas fumes The California EPA says pollution from gas stations—there are 5 in the town of 1,500—could be linked to the birth defects. Petroleum deposits Potential contamination from oil and gas drilling in the Kettleman Hills includes toluene, which has been linked to birth defects.

Food desert Cleft palates and neural tube defects are associated with deficiency in the vitamin folic acid, which is found in leafy green vegetables as well as fortified baked goods and cereals. Some researchers suspect diet might be a factor in the Kettleman City mystery. Contaminated tap water Kettleman City's two municipal wells contain what the California EPA calls "elevated levels" of arsenic and benzene, both carcinogens that are also suspected of causing birth defects. California Aqueduct The state Department of Toxic Substances Control is testing the aqueduct for toxic chemicals; some Kettleman residents eat fish (PDF) from the waterway.

    

As he walks the quiet Main Street of Farmville, Virginia, Rep. Tom Perriello has his work cut out for him. Wearing khakis, brown boots, and an open-collar shirt in the 100-degree heat, the freshman Democrat pops into stores and offices—he's not always recognized—and asks how business is going and what he can do to help. He tells his constituents that America needs to "make things," and "the elites" in Washington don't get this. At Key Office Supply, owner Jim Ailsworth thanks Perriello for his health care reform vote, noting that he plans to use the law's small-business tax credit for his staff. At Davenport & Company, an independent stock brokerage, manager Brad Watson says he's worried that the stimulus (which Perriello also supported) won't yield long-lasting public works. Perriello points out that he argued "for a stimulus that is focused on 10 years—not 18 months." After Perriello leaves, Watson points to campaign literature on his desk for state Sen. Robert Hurt, who vanquished several tea party candidates to become Perriello's Republican challenger. "Hurt's a nice, moderate Republican," Watson says; he intends to vote for him.

Some 175 miles away in Washington, Republican strategists would be heartened to hear Watson talk. Defeating Perriello is one of the GOP's top priorities as the party fights to gain the 39 seats it needs to seize control of the House and create an anti-Obama fire wall. These few sleepy blocks in central Virginia constitute one of the front lines in this fight. (Before the campaign even began, Perriello was already the target of $1 million in attack ads.) Given that political handicappers estimate the GOP is likely to bag at least 30 House seats, the Dems' fate could depend on whether Perriello manages to hold on.

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