BLACK FRIDAY

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and with it comes Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But with the economy in the worst shape since dinosaurs roamed the earth, Friday and Monday may not be so black.

But if you're looking for deals, there are plenty of places to check out the sales. Try here, here and here. You can also check out Cyber Monday deals here.

Happy shopping.

LEFT BAY RIDGE

Sorry, dear reader, for the lack of posts this week. I have left Bay Ridge until after the new year. Yep, I'm in Orlando, Florida, the city beautiful, soaking in the sun until 2009. Posts will be few and far between, but I'll do what I can.

NIGHT LAUNCH

For you space buffs, hie thee down to Florida asap. Tonight there will be a night launch. Years ago I saw a night launch and it was absolutely amazing. The light was dazzling and the roar of the rockets was deafening. I'm sorry I won't be down there tonight.

But if you can make it, here's where to go.

BRAIN FREEZE

Sarah Palin's return to chilly Alaska has evidently caused some serious brain-freeze. At a Republican Governors Association convention in Miami, Florida (where you'd think her brain would have thawed), Palin told her fellow Republican Governors -

not to let obsessive, extreme partisanship ... get in the way of doing what's right.

Palin also -

criticized the national media for wanting to "dissect the past."

This from a woman who couldn't stop talking about William Ayers, whipped up crowds with her talk about Obama "palling around with terrorists" and one was one of the most polarizing candidates in recent history. In fact, Palin has been blamed for an increase in death threats against Obama. According to the Standard -

The Secret Service warned the Obama family last month that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Palin’s attacks.

And now she's calling for an end to partisanship and criticizing the media for wanting to dissect the past?

Really, Governor!? And you're supposedly the future leader of the GOP?

All of which begs the question: who is the real Sarah Palin?

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Sheesh, I'm late to my own party. Two days ago Left in Bay Ridge celebrated its one year anniversary. What started as a lark to keep me occupied has grown into a full-fledged whim that still keeps me occupied.

While I'm no Rover with his 100,000 hits, I would like to thank the one person who has visited Left in Bay Ridge 50,694 times.

And especially, thank you Melisa Christian.

BUSH LEAGUE

You gotta hand it to Still President Bush. The man doesn't give up.

It was announced today that Bush has just become the

most unpopular president since approval ratings were first sought more than six decades ago.

76% of Americans disapprove of w. 76%!

No other president's disapproval rating has gone higher than 70 percent. Bush has managed to do that three times so far this year.

Congratulations, wanker. You've carved out quite the legacy. Mission accomplished.

US VERSUS THEM

I read today on the Rover that the Green Church's cornerstone has been stolen. You can read more about the theft here or at the Brooklyn Paper.

But what I find disturbing is Pastor Emerick's quote -

“This is consistent with the attitude that has been directed towards us, but this is theft. We want it back. We want to keep it because it is ours.”

And he wonders why the community isn't crazy about him.

Instead of saying the cornerstone is a part of the history of Bay Ridge or the community, he instead made it about his congregation. Yes I know the cornerstone belongs to the Methodist Church, but it seems that the hurdle of the battle for the Green Church was"us" versus "them." The congregation versus the community. The preservationists versus the church.

The church is torn down. A new church, hopefully, will be built (along with some swanky condos). But still Pastor Emerick can't get passed the "us" versus "them" attitude. We all want that cornerstone to be a part of the new building. It is part of the history of Bay Ridge and of the Methodist church. But until Pastor Emerick can rise above the past (or his perception of the past) and talk and act as if he and the church are an actual part of the community, it will continue to be "us" versus "them."


Photo courtesy: The Daily News

BURGLARY SUSPECT ARRESTED

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, police have arrest a suspect they believe to be responsible for the recent wave of burglaries here in the Ridge.

You can read the article here.

No mention whether the suspect was involved in the armed home invasion last month.

RALPH NADER'S AMERICA

Last night we celebrated an historic moment in American history...but not in Ralph Nader's America.

On a night when we celebrated the first African-American elected to the highest office in our country, Ralph Nader clung to the past by publicly pondering whether Obama

"is going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations."

Mr. Nader was given several opportunities to change his wording. You know, maybe not use the term "uncle Tom." But ol' Bitter Nader would have none of it. "Uncle Tom" it would be.

In ol' Bitter Nader's defense, he probably worked a long time on the whole "Uncle Sam/Uncle Tom" word play and he wasn't about to give it up so easily. But I am disappointed he didn't have a witty backup. He could have used -

"is going to be a Master for the people of this country, or a slave to the giant corporations."

Although that may have been too subtle for ol' Ralph Bigoty. He could have used -

"is going to step up for the people of this country, or step and fetch it for the giant corporations."

Or even -

"is going to be Rambo for the people of this country, or Sambo for the giant corporations."

I mean, come on Ralph! If you're going to be a racist, come out with all guns a blazing.

So on a night when we all celebrated an historic event, Ralph Nader did a lot of Jim Crowing. Thanks Ralph. Real classy.

THANK YOU, W

What a night! What an amazing night. An historic night. America reclaimed herself last night and sent a message to the world that no longer will we be business as usual. It truly was a defining moment in history.

I'd like to thank the man responsible for such the historic moment...George W. Bush.

Without W, last night wouldn't have happened. In the last 8 years, under W's watch, we've entered into 2 wars, we've experienced the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression, our country's image has been severely tarnished, we have escalating costs in health care, W and his cronies ignored the scientific reality of climate change, they stood idly by while thousands of Americans lost everything during Hurricane Katrina, they failed to properly fund our education system, and we have a record deficit. My god, I could go on and on.

It's fairly unanimous that W's legacy is a profound disaster.

But without W, last night wouldn't have happened. We wouldn't have seen Americans vote in record numbers. The official tally isn't in, but it could be the largest turnout in US history. We wouldn't have seen so many Americans determined to get our country back on the right track. (Nearly 81% of Americans think we've careened off the right track) We wouldn't have seen so many Americans determined to seize back our country.

The excitement yesterday was amazing. Never in my life have I seen such enthusiasm about an election. There were signs all over the Ridge reminding people to vote. Most signs didn't say to vote one way or the other, but simply to vote. To take action. To be involved. To once again be united.

So W, thank you. You finally were a uniter.

BARACK OBAMA

11:18. McCain concedes. His supporters boo. But McCain shows a lot of class.

Barack Obama is the next President of the United States.

FIRST TO CALL IT

11:00. The Daily News.

SO LONG BOYCOTT

My personal boycott of Long's Discount Wines and Liquors has come to an end. My wife and I decided not to purchase anything from Long's when we discovered Mike Long is the Chairman of the Conservative Party of New York State. Granted we don't disagree with absolutely everything the Party stands for, but we disagree enough. So we stopped shopping there. Nothing earth shattering, but it meant something to us.

But one of my fellow alcoholic friends told me yesterday that Mike sold the business. I called over and, indeed, my friend wasn't too drunk. Heather Hamilton now owns the business. I'm not sure why she didn't change the name. Maybe because the store is such an establishment in the Ridge.

At any rate, the ban has been lifted. And just in time for the holidays.

TEXAS STYLE

My wife just got back from a business trip to Dallas. On her ride from the airport to the hotel, her cab driver was telling her how crooked the state is. He voted early and when he tried to vote straight Democratic party, his votes flipped to the Republican party. He tried it several times, each time getting the same response. He reported it to an election official who came over and hit the machine. Sort of like hitting your old TV.

Then I saw this:

A report in the El Paso Times newspaper Friday said that early voters in at least eight Texas counties are telling election officials that e-voting machines are initially switching their votes to the wrong candidates.

Voters have reported, for example, that when they tried to vote a straight-party Democratic ticket, the machine flipped their choices to Republican candidates instead.

But El Paso County Elections Administrator Javier Chacon will have none of it.

Chacon told the newspaper that "the intensity of the election may be spurring conspiracy suspicions in some voters."

The cabbie also told my wife that his college-aged son was denied the chance to vote, even though the son was a registered voter. The son's friend had the same problem. However the friend's father and grandfather are lawyers and they marched down to the polling place and got it settled, Texas-Style, I'm sure.

Ah Texas, the wrong star state.

ELECTION DAY 2008

Bright and early this morning, daughter in tow, I went to my local polling place and cast my vote for Obama. The place was packed. The most crowded I've ever seen it. Record numbers are expected. It's very exciting to see so many Americans getting involved and making their voices heard.

Then it was off to Starbucks for a free cup of coffee. In case you haven't heard, Starbucks is giving away free cups of coffee to anyone who voted.

And as if the day couldn't get any more exciting, it's cup changeover day at Starbucks. That's right baby. No more plain white cups. It's holiday red cup time.

You need more?

Between 5:00 and 8:00 tonight, hie thee to your local Ben and Jerry's for free scoops of ice cream.

Still not enough?

Busta move to your local Krispy Kreme for a free Election Day donut.

God bless America.

STUPID ACT OF VIOLENCE

I got an email today from a long-time listener, first-time caller. She's heavily involved with the Obama for America campaign, working on his campaign for 2 years. Saturday morning she was greeted with red paint on her car. Nice. Some yahoo decided the best way to show his/her disagreement of who should be the next President was to paint over her Obama bumper stickers. Keeping it classy.

As she wrote to me:

"I have set-up tables and make-shift information sites on the corners of Bay Ridge and the 13th CD since March of 2007, registering thousands of voters, providing information, campaigning, petitioning non-stop to get candidates on the 13th Congressional District ballots, phone banking for hours and hours, and, after nearly 2 years of activism in the neighborhood and Staten Island, this is what I am greeted with Saturday morning.

My Bay Ridge neighbors have had every chance under the sun to confront me, disagree, discuss, argue, debate, et al. (we have also opened up our apartment for 8 separate meetings!) regarding these times and this election, yet this, THIS, is how they choose to communicate."

Understandably, she's furious. And who wouldn't be? Sure Bay Ridge is a predominantly Republican neighborhood and Obama may not be the candidate of choice, but that doesn't give anyone the right to vandalize property. It's alright to disagree. Hell, that's what makes it a ballgame. But when disagreement turns to violence, then we have a huge problem.

Ours should be a country united, not divided.

As the reader went on to say:

"I love this neighborhood, and I expect nothing in return with the exception of simple, legal decency."

Unfortunately, the national campaign has become increasingly nasty. But let's not forget we're all in this together. Nothing will be gained if we remain so viciously divided. Let's hope we're not greeted with stupid acts of violence like this over the next few days.

OY WITH THE SPREADING OF THE WEALTH

Here's an unfortunate story. This security guard, who is just getting by, is campaigning for McCain because she says she can't afford to "spread her wealth."

Will someone please tell her that her taxes will go down with Obama, not up!

McCain and Palin have seized upon the "spread the wealth" comment and are spreading lies about Obama's tax plan.

A RACING HEART

My daughter and I, donuts in hand, stood at the 5k mark of the NYC Marathon yesterday and cheered the runners on.

We high-fived runners and yelled for what seemed like the entire population of both France and Italy.

But the most mesmerising moment came 18 minutes into the race. That's when she appeared. I could see her in the distance, her tight, taught and toned body gliding effortlessly towards me. My heart raced. Suddenly she was upon me. The sight of the muscles in her legs, the muscles that could crush my skull in a second, made my knees go weak. Her face, free of any make-up, shone like fresh summer's day.

My daughter in one hand, my camera in the other, my donut stuffed into my mouth. I nearly panicked. I spit out my cruller and yelled, "Melisa!" The very sound of her name like angels singing.

She looked my way. Her eyes glistened. She smiled. Her smile pierced my heart. And then she mouthed, "I love you, always!"

At least that's what I think she said. It could have been, "I'll have you arrested." But I'm not sure. Either way, my future wife and I locked eyes, locked hearts. Our souls fused and shot out through eternity.

I shot picture after picture, unable to aim. But I captured more than a few ill-aimed pictures yesterday. I captured her heart.

A NIGHT WITH THE JERSEY DEVIL

Better late than never.

Hope you had a happy Halloween.