In a bit of politics/public speaking 101, Fight Back NY is doing what makes sense: Get a famous person to speak slowly and persuasively to explain politics and raise awareness. The organization is using famous lady Cynthia Nixon, who lots of women (and their gay friends) see as their smart, confident, successful, older gal pal due to Sex and the City, and having her explain how her own personal rights and freedoms are being subverted by New York State lawmakers. 

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Carl Kruger, chair of the State Senate Finance Committee, has told Andrew Hawkins of City Hall news that "I still have confidence in him [Paterson] as a human being. But if his actions become too bizarre, there are other Constitutional avenues the Legislature can explore." When asked if that could mean forcefully removing the governor from office, Kruger repeated himself, adding: “You can take out the Constitution and read it yourself.”

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As Paterson seems to tumble further—after news that he ordered calls in the abuse case—we also look at "The Short Goodbye," a piece published in The Capitol by Edward-Isaac Dovere, who spent time with Paterson during those couple of days when he still had a political future. Paterson told him: "I enjoy being governor. I want to make the decisions. I want the ball. I think I should be leading the state for the next four years. And I have felt that way all along. I did think about the fact that when you’re running and you’re making tough decisions at the same time, this is not going to help your popularity. But I’ve decided to weigh my fortunes on this: that the public will hear me, that they will eventually hear me." The paper also looks at the people who backed Paterson—all the way to the end.

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With all the papers calling for Gov. Paterson's resignation, and his announcement that he will hold a press conference today at 11:30 to give us the goods about whether he will indeed continue his campaign to run for governor, you may wondering what the hell you will do. Who will you vote for? Is there anyone out there you can trust these days? Well, Kristin Davis, aka the Manhattan Madam, has sent out a press release stating that she will announce her campaign to run as part of the Personal Freedom Party. What does she believe in? Well, she supports the "legalization, taxation and regulation of marijuana. Kristin Davis also supports legalization, taxation, and regulation of prostitution. Because Kristin Davis also believes in real equality for all people she strongly supports gay marriage in New York." Plus, she's got quite a rack on her.

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Same-sex couples in New York State don't have to worry about preparing their vows anytime soon since the State Senate defeated a bill forwarded by Gov. David Paterson that would have extended legal rights to gay marriages. The Democrats did not have enough votes without Republican support and not one Republican Senator voted in favor of the bill. State Senator Tom Duane of Manhattan, who is also gay, said (as reported by the NYTimes), “This legislation would merely provide me and tens of thousands of other New Yorkers with equal rights in New York State. It would make me equal in every way to everyone else in this chamber.”

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City Hall newsaper is reporting that, despite midterm elections this week that saw a wave of Republican victories around the state and a series of setbacks for gay marriage around the country, supporters of same-sex marriage say they are closer than ever to achieving passage. According to City Hall’s most recent count, 21 Democratic Senators have expressed that they are in favor of passage, however several of those have said they would prefer it if a bill did not come to the floor right now. Read the full story here.

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Tell us what you think! What do you think the best "Hotel Experience" is? Have a favorite place to take a date? It's your chance to make your opinion count. Take the 2009 Best of Manhattan (and Beyond) Readers' Poll available here. 

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The Second Avenue subway line is gonna be delayed. According to a yearlong MTA review, it may be delayed to 2017. That's news that came around the same time that area landlords of businesses located along the route of the subway route learned that a bill that would have offered them much-needed assistance was killed.

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Queens Assemblywoman Grace Meng (pictured) has penned a bill that will rid the State from using the term Oriental from documents used by the state, public and city agencies. The term Oriental is usually used to refer to objects, such as rugs and porcelain, not to people. Instead Asian will be used when referring to those with an Asian or Pacific Islander heritage. Of course, the assumption is that this is a term to be used when referring to those from the Far East (Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan) and not all Asians since that would mean referring to most Russians, Indians, Pakistanis, etc. as Asian as well. See, this labeling thing gets complicated fast! Our big question though is how this escaped the watchful eye of Queens City Councilmember John Liu, the man who is always quick to point out any offensive Asian slur or slight. Don't worry, John, there's sure to be another issue to take up during this election year.

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In a blazing show of "my daddy can beat up your daddy" level political discourse, the Senate Democrats locked themselves in the Senate chamber today ahead of Governor Patterson's special session.

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