Glenn Nocera's Brooklyn YR Club puts out Guest Feature about Obamacare by Radio Talk Show Host, Dr. Ronald Hoffman

A partial text of Dr. Ronald Hoffman's feature is provided herein for you to preview, compliments of  the Brooklyn Young Republican Club and its President Glenn Nocera --  it is a example of what his organization considers serious and responsible guest commentary on issues relevant to Republicans in Brooklyn

The complete article "OBAMACARE—A COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE PERSPECTIVE WITH SPECIAL GUEST WRITER RADIO TALK SHOW HOST DR. RONALD HOFFMAN" is available at the Brooklyn Young Republican Club Home Page .... http://www.brooklynyr.com/2013/03/28/obamacare-a-complementary-medicine-perspective-with-special-guest-writer-radio-talk-show-host-dr-ronald-hoffman/ 

FROM:  "Obamacare—A Complementary Medicine Perspective"  by Dr. Ronald Hoffman [www.drhoffman.com]

The merits of PPACA—the Patient Protection and Access to Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare—can be debated endlessly....

What I offer instead is an analysis based on what I envision to be the impact of Obamacare on my chosen medical specialty, complementary medicine. 

First and foremost, complementary medicine is about freedom of choice in health care.  As such, it is uniquely imperiled by Obamacare.  Already imbedded in the stimulus program of 2010 were provisions offering billions for EMR (electronic medical record) systems. 

I don’t have anything against having automated records at my fingertips to improve safety and reduce redundancy, but these systems were designed to lay the groundwork for government regulation of the practice of medicine.... [T]hese systems will hasten the day when doctors need to adhere to standard algorithms of medical care.  Libertarians would also deplore the loss of personal privacy these systems portend. 

At the heart of complementary medicine is a critical stance toward standard medical interventions....  Future centrally-decreed medical guidelines might call for the institution of drugs, with denial of insurance reimbursement and even penalties for doctors who don’t toe the line. 

Obamacare already envisions the creation of the IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board), an appointed group of medical expert who will decide what’s covered and not covered in a vast, centralized, computer-driven medical system.  Drug manufacturers and medical specialty groups will undoubtedly wield powerful influence over this “independent” group.  Iconoclastic complementary practitioners will not be invited to the party. 

.... The regulatory burdens of Obamacare are forcing more doctors to become hospital employees....

For those who don’t defect to hospital groups... [the drive toward] early retirement. 

And that’s not to mention one of the most glaring deficiencies of Obamacare, which is its complete obliviousness of the need for malpractice reform....  Defensive medicine means doctors prescribe more unnecessary drugs, tests, and procedures for patients, to their detriment and perpetuating spiraling of medical costs. 

Finally, there’s the issue of moral hazard.  I strongly believe in personal responsibility as the basis of sound health care.  Cradle-to-grave, unconditional deployment of advanced medical resources undermines the incentive to stay well.... [by healthy living].

.... The current trend toward mandated coverage for all manner of minor preventive care encourages unnecessary utilization, and patients have no “skin in the game” for maintaining wellness....  

Health Savings Accounts, which are severely undermined by Obamacare, would promise to provide more freedom of choice to patients, and offer an incentive for healthy behaviors and enlightened, discretionary self-care. 

Some of my liberal colleagues in the field of complementary medicine point to language in PPACA that calls for inclusion of natural modalities and non-MD practitioners in a revamped health care system....   Do you really want to see acupuncture services, for example, regulated under Medicare or Medicaid, with burdensome reporting requirements, paltry reimbursement, stringent rules for where you put the needles and under what circumstances, and fines and even criminal penalties for those who don’t adhere to the bureaucratic guidelines? 

I believe that medicine is at a crossroads, and the answer is not more access to drugs and high-tech medicine as envisioned in Obamacare.  When the interim fix of PPACA crashes and burns, there will be those who will be quick to call for a single-payer system. Maybe that’s been the point of the unworkable Obamacare legislation all along. That’s when we’ll all have to head offshore to obtain quality care.

Listen to Dr. Hoffman on his weekly radio show, Health Talk, Saturdays from noon to 2PM on WOR 710 AM

GOP Chairman Craig Eaton Needs to Listen to Tonight's Brooklyn GOP Radio Show --- "The Ryan James Girdusky Show"

Girdusky's Quote of the Night --- "...I have a compromise: teach ' fisting ' in kindergarten, if we can teach gun use..." Russell Gallo's response: "Use that as a promo..." *  

* at  33:00 -- 33:10  minute:second  mark of show

Why did the Brooklyn GOP and the Dianna Sepulveda's "Official Brooklyn YRs" sponsor this guy and his friend, Fernando Ardillo, who did their disgusting misogynous and racist shtick throughout their hour on Brooklyn GOP [Blog] Radio ?

Another wonderful moment for the "Ryan and Fernando Show" was their Mark Sanford riff, during which they discussed the significance or insignificance of marital infidelity in a GOP candidate. The extended spot on Sanford included somebody's doing a turn as Howard Stern, making an example of their own father's leaving his mother to run off with his father's mistress as an example of something —  frankly, who cares what that might have been. Even better was the comparison of the effectiveness of the unfaithful Mark Sanford with the relatively faithful Adolf Hitler -- and then with [a faithful or unfaithful]  Churchill and an unfaithful Roosevelt (Wonderful stuff for Passover and Holy Week).

The only real objection from Berardelli and Gallo came from Russell Gallo, when Ryan and Fernando impliedly criticized George W. Bush as a example of below par GOP  politicians from Texas.  Near the close of the show, Gene Berardelli gushed that it was a "great job ... great show ... great job ... leave the vagina jokes at home, though..."; and Russell Gallo did a shout out in favor of guns and against gay marriage that the guest host and the guest host’s guest didn’t really seem to appreciate.  Overall, what a mess !

Mr. Eaton, is this really part of your great GOP Renaissance in Brooklyn ?

Catsimatidis announces endorsement

Today John Catsimatidis announced the endorsement of the Kings County Republican Chairman Craig Eaton [Oops! Not Yet] a former Queens County Republican Party Chairman and State Senator Serphin R. Maltese. 

According to Maltese, Catsimatidis is "the only candidate, Republican or Democrat who has the hands on experience needed to run a city like New York"

The Catsimatidis Campaign issued a press release about the endorsement by the former Queen County leader and state senator that among other things contained the following quotes:

"Serphin Maltese said, 'I am proud to endorse John Catsimatidis for Mayor of New York. John Catsimatidis is the only candidate, Republican or Democrat, who has the hands on experience needed to run a city like New York. He gained that experience as a self-made businessman who has built companies from the ground up; balancing budgets, making payrolls and creating tens of thousands of good paying jobs.' *** 'John Catsimatidis understands the frustration that small business people face; he'll work to cut regulations and rein in taxes and he'll never stop fighting for New York's forgotten middle class. He's a graduate of New York City Public Schools and he'll work so that today's kids get the quality education they deserve. John Catsimatidis is the type of Mayor our borough and our city need.' *** 'John Catsimatidis stated "I am honored to receive the endorsement of former Senator Serf Maltese. Serf appreciates how much I love New York and knows I will work tirelessly to create jobs, improve education and keep our city safe'."

I have to observe that the long-expected endorsement of John Catsimatidis by the current Brooklyn GOP leader Craig Eaton has again not made the cut as a major announcement by the Catsimatidis Campaign. This time it appears to have been bumped by the endorsement of a former GOP county leader. To be fair Mr. Maltese also was a former Conservative Party leader, so that probably does rightfully put the former Queens leader ahead of Mr. Eaton for priority of announcements. 

GOP Council Candidates Step Off at Bay Ridge's Saint Patrick's Parade

John Quaglione and Andy Sullivan were both at pre-march ceremonies at Hunter's Steak and Ale House before they headed off for a fairly quick march down Third Avenue --- and all that meeting and greeting

John Q is well known to the folks who annually present the Bay Ridge St. Patrick's Parade, so he was no stranger either at the pre-march breakfast, working the crowd at start at Marine Avenue or along the parade route.

Quaglione made especially good use of his time getting an album-full of photos with almost all of the parade honorees and many of the folks just there to march or watch. Perhaps scoring the biggest photo of the day, before he moved very far along the parade route to meet and greet the folks with the rest of State Senator Golden's staff and other local Republicans, John Quaglione got into a nicely framed shot with Republican Mayoral candidate Joseph Lhota near the intersection of Third & Marine Avenues. Both men were all smiles; and Joe Lhota looked fine in his Irish knit sweater, while JQ's green number was partially hidden away under his overcoat (next time it might be warmer and JQ'll leave the coat at home).

For his part, Andy Sullivan raised a few eyebrows at the pre-march breakfast at Hunter's when he came in and started working the room along with his daughter, Noelle. He was welcomed at one of the tables where he was interviewed by one of the reporters for a local newspaper. Sullivan and daughter later marched with the Saint Patrick's Society Mens Club contingent in the Saint Patrick's Parade. After marching, Mr. Sullivan walked along Third Avenue and dropped in on several Third Avenue Merchants , who were happy to talk to Andy about things he could do as a City Councilman to help in their businesses.  

Andy Sullivan said he was glad to be getting  back into things following his recent sport's injury that had kept him off of the campaign trail for almost two weeks. He also said he was happy to be able to get back in touch with so many neighborhood business people, many of whom had already supported his campaign in various ways.

Is a DA Railroad of "John Doe Duffel Bag" - "Son of Sal" getting Express-ed Service on a Home-court in Brooklyn ?

In spite of what Judge Alan Marrus and a few newspaper guys might think, it’s not very nutty for a criminal defendant, like Salvatore Parrone, to try very hard have some communications with his closest family members, and for Perrone to ask for a lawyer in whom he can trust to try very hard to do that and everything else

For those of you who lost track of the 2012  “John Doe Duffel Bag” –  “Son of Sal” murder cases, like I have, let me bring you up to speed. In December, Salvatore Perrone pleaded “Not Guilty” to the three charges of murder and three charges of attempted murder three charges of first degree murder and three charges of second degree murder that the Brooklyn DA has brought against him (“‘Son of Sal’ accused serial killer Salvatore Perrone grins as he pleads not guilty to three Brooklyn shopkeeper slays ...” by Oren Yaniv & Ginger Adams Otis, 12/12/12,  NY Daily News  [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/son-sal-grins-pleads-guilty-murders-article-1.1218589#ixzz2ORJoDuR8].). At the start of that arraignment hearing, Perrone, supposedly initiated a tirade against the judge the moment that he took the bench. Parrone is reported to have said, “I have not been given any access to the outside world....  Are we in the United States of America?” Dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him, it was reported that Mr. Perrone  repeatedly interrupted the arraignment with his rambling; and that William Martin, Sal Perrone’s court-appointed attorney, had asked the court to order a psychiatric evaluation of his client. In response, the judge noted, “I’m going to check off the box that says ‘disruptive, confused or bizarre’ behavior....”; then the judge referred the matter for psychiatric evaluation and adjourned the case until February 22, 2013 for a hearing.

About a month ago, a competency hearing was conducted by the same judge, Alan Marrus. According to a Wall Street Journal reporter, Sal Perrone “...spent more than 10 minutes sparring with [Supreme Court Justice Alan] Marrus, rejecting advice from the judge not to speak and to listen to his attorney” ( “Suspect in Shopkeeper Slayings Fit to Stand Trial” by Pervaiz Shallwani, 2/22/13, WSJ – Metropolis Blogs [http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/02/22/suspect-in-shopkeeper-slayings-fit-to-stand-trial/]). However, if you had listened to and watched the video clip of the February 22, 2013 competency hearing conducted by Judge Marcus, you might just as easily have said, “Judge Marrus spent more than 10 minutes sparring with the defendant Salvatore Perrone, refusing to really listen to what Perrone was saying about his lawyer William Martin’s lack of work on the case and inability to get in touch with Perrone’s family members.”

In the courtroom drama that played out on February 22nd, everybody had a part to play and Alan Marrus was playing the part of “Dispatcher” on the Brooklyn DA-Supreme Court Railroad of Bensonhurst Sal Perrone, most recently of Clove Lake, SI.  Judge Marcus isn’t letting the prosecution and trial of “Son of Sal” Perrone get sidetracked by issues like the diligence of defense counsel and the cooperation between a criminal defendant and his lawyer. As far as Judge Marrus was concerned, February 22, 2013 was scheduled in order to get a couple of psychiatric reports completed and admitted into the record, and then to determine that Sal Perrone was competent to participate in his own defense; on February 22nd that part on  Judge Marrus’ Dispatcher’s schedule was checked-off with dispatch.

As a result, Sal Perrone must now defend himself with an attorney, William Martin, a man in whom Sal Perrone has no faith; and one of the reasons for that is that Martin had not been able to reach certain members of Perrone’s family. Even though it really looks like the police and prosecutors had been able to do that early on in the case, and that there have been some other specific communications with those family members by the DA's office since then.

Since his arrest, Salvatore Perrone, 64, has repeatedly asked to see his daughter. According to the accused killer, “She’s the only person I trust who can clear me in this matter.”  However, people in the Brooklyn DA’s office have said that just won’t happen. “It’s my understanding that his ex-wife and his daughter do not want any contact with him,” said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Melissa Carvajal.  On February 22nd, when Perrone again made his pitch to the judge to get in touch with his family, Prosecutor Melissa Carvajal told the judge that she had communicated with Perrone’s family members and that "they don't want to have any contact with Mr. Perrone." After much back and forth, between the defendant and the judge, Judge Marrus accepted the representations of the Brooklyn DA’s office at face value and  told Perrone, "Apparently, your family members are not interested in coming to court or to assist you.” ( “Accused serial killer ‘Son of Sal’ Salvatore Perrone mentally fit to stand trial....” by Oren Yaniv, 2/22/13, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/son-sal-salvatore-perrone-mentally-fit-stand-trial-article-1.1270861#ixzz2OR8OBp6k]). For some reason, it didn't occur to the judge, or anybody else in court on February 22nd, to see if Perrone's relations would at least talk to Perrone's lawyer.

As to the questions raised by Perrone in his application to obtain new defense counsel – mostly about his counsel’s not diligently pursuing Perrone’s interests in the case, a video clip that is part of the Daily News article of 2/22/13 above shows Judge Marrus telling Salvatore Perrone that the judge knows that Perrone’s attorney, Mr. Williams, is diligently working because Williams  had filed an “Omnibus Discovery Motion that the DA had to answer” and that Williams had called the DA's office for contact information about Mr. Perrone’s family members, which was not available.

By these remarks, the court is showing that it is obviously intent on making a fool out of the defendant.  The first item, about the “...Omnibus Motion...” is literally one of the meanings of  “...going through the motions...”,  which implies routine and perfunctory treatment. The second, about attempting to obtain contact information for Perrone’s family from the DA’s office was specifically contradicted by ADA Melissa Carvajal’s statements on February 22nd. On the main matter before the court on February 22nd, Perrone’s competency, which had been established on the record by the psychiatric reports and confirmed by the court’s decision, William T. Martin who is still Perrone’s court-appointed defense attorney said this about his client’s fitness:  “He’s been found fit to proceed.... Based upon my investigation, he’ll likely be found competent even by an independent examiner.”

One can only guess what that “investigation” might have uncovered that makes Mr. Martin so certain, since he hasn’t even reached Perrone’s family.

According to the papers, Perrone’s next scheduled court appearance is set for April 12, 2013.

A major part of the prosecution strategy going forward has already been accomplished thanks to Judge Marrus  —  Perrone has been made to look like both a  nut and a fool, but as a matter of law, he has been ruled fully competent to “proceed with his defense” with a lawyer that he doesn’t trust and doesn’t want representing him. That’s a great formula to get a guilty plea out of Perrone, which avoids all the troublesome evidentiary questions, like those mentioned back in 2012, that can be swept under the rug with a plea.

If you were in the same situation, how would you feel at this stage of the criminal case  —  probably a lot like Sal Perrone.

Independent and Organization-bound Brooklyn Republicans Need to Take a Look At the “Growth and Opportunity Project” Report of the RNC — And then do a parallel self-evaluation

The RNC of Reince Priebus and the Brooklyn Republican Organization of Eaton, Golden, Berardelli, Gallo, along with several other of their most dedicated Executive Committee Members are completely and absolutely not on the same page — And they probably never will be !

Whether you agree with findings and recommendations of  the RNC’s “Growth and Opportunity Project” Report or not, Brooklyn GOP activists need to become familiar with the report (See “Growth and Opportunity Project” Republican National Committee - www.gop.com, 3/18/13 [http://growthopp.gop.com/RNC_Growth_Opportunity_Book_2013.pdf]).  And be able to respond to it.

I think it’s fair to say that the current reality of anyone active with or involved in the workings of the Brooklyn GOP reflects little of the positive direction and many of the negative observations contained on the pages of the RNC’s “autopsy” report on the national GOP in the 2012 cycle. Given that, it is no wonder that the recent meeting in Brooklyn of RNC and NYS GOP Chairmen Priebus and Cox with Brooklyn community and religious leader, Rev. A.R. Bernard, as a prelude to the release of the RNC report, had no place at the table for Brooklyn GOP Chairman Craig Eaton.

Many leftish commentators have focused on the most negative data generated by the RNC surveyors  —  "Asked to describe Republicans, they said that the Party is 'scary,' 'narrow minded,' and 'out of touch' and that we were a Party of 'stuffy old men.' This is consistent with the findings of other post-election surveys," the report states. Another main stream media outlet indicated that the Republican task force that released the report, made a remarkably hard-headed diagnosis of the GOP’s many liabilities, such as:  ideological rigidity; a perceived preference for the rich over workers and the middle-class; a general separation from and alienation of minorities; an emphasis on what many consider reactionary social policies; and an institutionalized repression of internal dissent and innovation ( “The Republican Autopsy Report” by Thomas B. Edsall, 3/20/13, NY Times - Opinionator [http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/the-republican-autopsy-report/]).

Although the RNC report is skewed by a national establishment GOP bias, it is nonetheless a formal  “internal GOP review” of the current state of the GOP nationally, and it is in the nature of a “self-critique.”  After reviewing the findings and recommendations in the “Growth and Opportunity Project” Report of the RNC, local Republicans in Brooklyn – whether they agree, disagree or are completely unmoved by it – should do a similarly rigorous self-examination of the Brooklyn GOP; and then talk about it with their fellow Brooklyn Republicans.

Russell Gallo needs to stop – take a few deep breaths – get some discipline and be the GOP leader he was always intended to be

This isn’t a send-up — Russell Gallo needs a systematic detoxifying program or whole body cleanse, a religious retreat or period of spiritual reflection and a smack up the side of his head

Obviously, Gallo’s heart and his spleen are in the right place, but posts like his 3/21/13  “Dianne Feinstein is Reprehensible” on the “Brooklyn GOP Radio -Official- Show Blog” [http://brooklyngopradio.blogspot.com/2013/03/dianne-feinstein-is-reprehensible.html] are completely an unsatisfactory waste of his time, effort and ability —  and for the rest of us, just so much waste.

Russell Gallo should know that lines like these: “Like most liberal pieces of _______, [as in original] Senator Feinstein is a hypocrite. They believe they are the ‘elite’ and that we are...”  may serve as a venting exercise for the speaker or writer, but they neither win friends nor influence people.

Ultimately, what little “argument” was being advanced by Mr. Gallo was mixed up with his seething rage and overwrought irony. That really doesn’t matter because Gallo’s little "argument" is transparently cheap and dishonest. Mr. Gallo writes that, “She says here [in the video link contained in Gallo’s post] that she bought a gun to protect herself, her family, and her property. I guess her life is more important than mine, yours, your mother, and your children.” I don’t believe that Senator Feinstein has ever said or advocated any position that holds that adequately vetted American citizens should be prohibited in any way from obtaining a gun, just like she did, to protect themselves, their families, and/or their real and personal property.

Gallo then stated that Senator Feinstein recently proposed a bill that would ban hundreds of specific models of guns that are currently legal to own. However, that isolated fact is not logically connected to any other fact; nor is it linked, other than by physical proximity on a page, to any particular conclusion.

Lastly, what are we supposed to do about Russell Gallo’s concluding lines, “In the end we deserve what we get. Elections have consequences and far too many of our neighbors are either uninformed or simply stupid. If you are offended by that statement then think about which category you fall in...” ?   Well, I’m very offended by that statement, for the same reason I wrote above, “Lines like this ...neither win friends nor influence people”; furthermore, even though I am offended,  I certainly don’t fall into any of the categories suggested by Mr. Gallo. Moreover, Gallo’s concluding lines simply do not present any coherent conclusion relative to the proposition, “Dianne Feinstein is Reprehensible.”

Gallo can do better than this. He owes it to himself and to the rest of us to do so. As I said above, he needs a systematic detoxifying program or whole body cleanse, a religious retreat or period of spiritual reflection and a smack up the side of his head, and the last should be first.

Paired Interviews with Republicans John Quaglione and Andrew Sullivan... (CONTINUED)

Part II  — Background and plans of John Quaglione, prospective Republican candidate for City Council from the 43rd Council District

Yesterday at the Bridgeview Diner, a top operative of this blog sat down and talked at some length with Republican City Council candidate John Quaglione.  As stated in an earlier blog below, by prior agreement, it was understood that what was said by Mr. John Q  yesterday was off the record and in the nature of background.  However, it had been made clear that other “on the record” material and any material available from other sources would be used in this introductory piece, whether or not it was specifically discussed by Mr. Quaglione at the Bridgeview.

It was immediately clear that John Quaglione was gratified and humbled at the turnout for his Kickoff-fundraiser Event at Vicolo last Monday, where he estimates that he was joined by about 150 of his friends and neighbors from Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and other parts of Brooklyn. As planned, he both announced his plans to run and gave his vision for the 43rd Council District. In addition, to describing the size and enthusiasm of the crowd,  he wanted everybody to know right away that his campaign had raised, over $30,000 in donations from 162 individuals, 121 of whom live within the 43rd Council District  —  all significant factors when attempting to maximize municipal matching funds.

Even though the 43rd Council District has an incumbent Councilman, who is apparently popular and has handily won races over several other Republicans over the years, John Quaglione was neither discouraged nor deterred in anyway from his expected efforts to unseat Vincent Gentile. Quaglione believes that he and his campaign will able to distinguish those parts of the public’s view of the Councilman that are associated with Vinny Gentile’s general likeability from his general competence. Oddly, just about the first item that John Quaglione brings up sort of bridges Gentile’s likeability-competence gap — Quaglione’s pitch goes something like this: “To start with, Vinny Gentile voted against extending term limits and made a big deal about it, so how can he now justify running for a third term that puts him well beyond normal term limits?”

As a long-time aide to State Sen. Marty Golden, and also when Golden was the prior City Councilman from a district very similar the one in which he is now running, John Quaglione says that he is in a unique position to make very detailed observations and to accurately describe what is or isn’t being done by the current Councilman in and for his district.  According to Quaglione, there aren’t many people that he has talked to around the neighborhood that do not recognize or believe it is time for a Councilman to do better job throughout the district. For example, Mr. Q observed that in the last ten years, Councilman Gentile had only gotten ten of his proposed bills passed into law — an average of only one per year.  More important according to John Q,  funding for Gentile’s  district had slumped to 50th out of the 51 Council Districts in the City of New York, a dismal record that speaks for itself. Like a real John Q Public, John Q  Republican speaks forcefully when he says, “It is safe to say that in these past four years, we have sent more money to City Hall than City Hall has sent to us... and our community can’t afford four more years.”

John Quaglione can buttress his arguments about the competence of Councilman Gentile by going  through a very long list of specific complaints about a decline of various city services during  the incumbent Councilman’s term in office that, if fully written out, would almost resemble a complex Bill of Particulars in a lawsuit.

When questioned about his possible primary opponent, Quaglione answers that he knows Andy Sullivan, and that he had recently learned where Sullivan said he stands on some of the issues. However, John Quaglione thinks that down to earth reality and local issues are the most important things to know about, “I have a good read of what the real issues are in the neighborhood. And I put my garbage out, I change diapers, I go food shopping. I have a house here and a kid. I’m an average person. And that’s what people are looking for in their Councilman.” One wonders if John Quaglione is trying to make this a distinction between himself and Sullivan, or himself and Councilman Gentile, or both.

Paired Interviews with Republicans John Quaglione and Andrew Sullivan have been completed by The Brooklyn Independent GOP Fountainhead --- Both are off and running for Democrat Vincent Gentile's 43rd Council Seat

Two Republicans talk about who they are  ---  and why each of them is the best candidate to take on Councilman Vincent Gentile in the 2013 General Election

It took a while, but earlier today one of my Baker Street Irregulars completed interviewing the Republican candidates running in the 43rd District for the New York City Council, Andrew Sullivan and  John Quaglione.

By prior agreement with both candidates, these brief conversational inquisitions were largely off the record and for background only, the interviews will therefore only serve to guide and animate this post (and the Part II that "follows above"). Since, both of the Republican candidates for City Council from the 43rd District already have substantial  trails of “on the record” remarks or “multiple-sourced”anecdotes, those items will constitute the form and content of what follows. Nonetheless, almost everything that appears in this post (and the Part II that "follows above") was either specifically talked about by the candidates in their interviews or alluded to generally. So even if the quotes might be sourced from a while ago, the Brooklyn Independent GOP Fountain Head does present all that is here as the candidates' current views, and possibly even their very recent statements about the things expressed.

I can say with some confidence that the 2013 race for City Council in the 43d District should be very interesting, but very strange, for everybody directly involved and for a lot of the hangers-on, as well.

Because of the length of this introductory post about the Republican candidates in the 43rd Council District,  I am breaking it into two parts.

Part I  — Background and plans of Andrew Sullivan, prospective Republican candidate for City Council from the 43rd Council District

Since the Hardhat Andy Sullivan chit-chat at the Pegasus Diner took place several weeks ago, he was called by phone for a brief follow-up earlier today. That discussion started with a discussion of the comparative  fund-raising activities of the two candidates.

Needless to say, Andy Sullivan was a little churlish when confronted by the numbers posted by JQ on his Facebook. Sullivan quickly charged that it clearly looked to him like John Quaglione had used his boss, State Senator Marty Golden’s, list of donors. Since we were familiar with some of Golden’s past fund-raising events, it was pointed out to Sully that what was described as John Quaglione’s kick-off event at Vicolo was not nearly on the scale of any of State Senator Golden’s  affairs at Gargiulo’s.  When pressed,  Sullivan admitted that he hadn’t compared the list of Quaglione’s donors with any of Golden’s filings. For his part, Andy Sullivan claimed that his early fund-raising has literally been hamstrung as a result of his recent sports accident. His plans now call for an initial dinner-type get together with a select group of close supporters, coupled with a direct personal outreach to many other smaller donors. He said that he is fully aware of the NYC matching funds rules and filing requirements and that he expects to have sufficient funds for the kind of campaign that he wants to run.

Hardhat Andy Sullivan believes that he has a compelling message to bring to the still-aspiring middle-class workers and small business owners who live all around Bay Ridge and the nearby  neighborhoods of Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst-Bath Beach.

He’s ready to show people, who are basically just like himself, that he has had the drive to be “a community activist for decades” and that he has been “a leader on [ ] controversial issues [who has] brought solutions where others have failed.”  It’s almost second nature to the man to go through his personal history of being “a 9/11 survivor and a 9/11 rescue and recovery worker”; who in the years following 9/11 took “all his energy and organizing skill” to push the start of construction of the “Freedom Tower” and "to succeed in stopping  the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ in its tracks after all the influential, wealthy and politically powerful had said ‘it was a done deal’.”

Andy Sullivan says that his constituents will see what he is capable of accomplishing  right away after he’s elected.  If he becomes “City Councilman Andrew Sullivan,” he says that his motto will be “Taking Care of Business” and his placards with that slogan prominently displayed will be placed at locations where he has gotten specific jobs done for the people of his district.

Andy Sullivan believes he’s the right man to replace Vincent Gentile as the Councilman for Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Bath Beach, because he is the only person that can bring his diverse a set of special skills and life experiences to the job of councilman. Andy has been a full-emersion resident in the Southwestern part of Brooklyn for most of his life. Not only has he been a graduate of OLA Grammar School and Bishop Ford HS, he participated in his father’s business which was operated locally, and he has been an owner-operator of two neighborhood bars in Bay Ridge. Hardhat Andy also knows what it is be a middle-class union construction worker who depended on the metropolitan transit system to get to jobs in and around the city, and to get home after a hard days work. On top of all that he says that he has been a mixed martial arts fighter, inventor of a patented construction tool, a professional interviewer, spokesman and blogger and a musician.

There is something very strange happening at Brooklyn GOP [Blog] Radio and with its subsidiary the “Brooklyn GOP Radio -Official- Show Blog” — Could it be Secret Messages and Occult Images ?

The audio program is often beset by glitches and technical problems and recently ran short of dedicated time for its expanded CPAC 2013 coverage; the most recent post on the blog “Tuesday, March 19, 2013 –  An Analogy –  By Brooklyn GOPRadio” was made to look like it was just some filler by some “...good friend of the show.”

The game’s afoot.  “Tuesday, March 19, 2013 –  An Analogy –  By Brooklyn GOPRadio” was not written by “... Brooklyn GOPRadio” nor does it appear to be by any of the well-known Brooklyn Republican associates of that show. It was also completely misidentified in its title as “An Analogy” (one suspects that was a secret clue, with something else being the single analogous item). The post repeatedly described the US economy as “in recession,” which thankfully it is not. So clearly, something or somebody else is figuratively stuck “in recession,” which would be the real victim plunged into the hole of the misidentified  “...Analogy.”

I won’t explain the differences between analogies, metaphors and allegories. Neither will I do an exegesis on the various metaphorical components that were extended like a series of bridges, each and every one of them too far. Suffice it to say, the narrative was neither compelling nor apt for a demonstration of the grid-locked debate on economic matters between the Obama Administration along with congressional Democrats on one side, and congressional Republicans on the other.

However, several of the individual  images, which were singly diabolical and terrifying, might have been plotted slightly differently to signal the attempted escape of whomever it might be who was sending “the hidden message” —  my guess is, it was Russell Gallo and not Gene Berardelli. That message was hidden in plain sight as the caption to the picture accompanying the post  —  “ Hello ! Get me out of here !”.  Sadly,  the use of the “Ropes and Ladders” references (reminiscent  of the Hindu "Snakes and Ladders" morality lessons) does lead to an inescapable conclusion that hopeless damnation into some middle earth cavern will be the victim's fate  regardless of the chosen implement of escape from the well (giant worm hole) into which the victim had been thrust, probably by his own original misadventure.

Sellout Alert ! ! !

New York State's GOP Senators and Assembly Members soon will be telling their constituents what a great job they did helping Governor Cuomo and their Democrat colleagues drive the bus over the cliff and how responsible they were for cooperating and helping with the driving.

The search engines are showing all the major news outlets reporting that a deal either has been made or is very close on a New York State budget that will increase state spending by more than two percent (+2%). Also tucked into that budget bill is a continuation of a temporary tax on the "wealthy" and an increase of the minimum wage in New York to levels higher than most of the present Wage-Hour Law proposals in Washington. Some Republicans are already saying what a good deal they negotiated under the circumstances and what a good thing it was making sure that this budget was passed on time.

In New York State we have one-party rule by the Democrat Party. In New York the Democrat Party has two wings: the traditional Democrats and the cat's paw pretend-to-be-Republican  Democrats.

Republican Leadership ? Boehner was “Absolutely Fabulous” on ABC this week — Just like the Britcom that he’s obviously imitating

"We have met the enemy and he is us." ---  Walter Kelly (Various versions in his comic strip "Pogo”; countless  quotes and copies by others, with and without attribution)

If you clicked through the Sunday talking head shows on March 17th, maybe you stumbled upon John Boehner, arguably head of the House Republicans, Speaker of the House and number two in line for the presidency. Specifically, on ABC’s This Week, hosted by Martha Raddatz, Boehner intentionally downplayed the problem of national debt while loudly proclaiming his wonderful relationship with President Obama.

Here’s what the House Republican leader and messaging master actually said, “The president and I, as I have made very clear, have a very good relationship. We're open with each other. We're honest with each other.” Following up, ABC host Raddatz asked, “Do you trust President Obama?” ***  “Absolutely,” Boehner replied. ***  “Absolutely?” Raddatz emphasized. ***  “Absolutely,” Boehner repeated.  After that, things just went from bad to worse.

Here’s how Breitbart put it: “Then Boehner dropped the bombshell. Raddatz, after quoting President Obama saying we don’t have ‘an immediate crisis in terms of debt,’ asked Boehner for his thoughts. And Boehner eagerly agreed: ‘We do not have an immediate debt crisis. But we all know that we have one looming …. It could be a year or two years, three years, four years. It’s not an immediate problem.’ And then Boehner said he agreed with Obama on the immediacy of the problem.” (“BOEHNER: I 'ABSOLUTELY' TRUST OBAMA” by Ben Shapiro, 3/17/13 Breitpart - Big Government [http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/03/17/Boehner-absolutely-trust-Obama]).

In case you want to dismiss Boehner’s gaffs as just a Republican version of Bidenism, you should know that Boehner was >> ON ! << his talking points. What he was saying wasn’t all a mistake [it’s possible that none of it was a mistake at all]. Obviously, some of what Boehner had to say was some part of yesterday’s House GOP talking points, because on another talk show, Representative Paul Ryan, another GOP congressional leader  said on CBS News’s  –  Face The Nation –   “We do not have a debt crisis right now, but we see it coming.”

After yesterday, I have to ask:  What is the problem with the GOP House leadership ?   Why the re-messaging ? Why the equivocation ?  Why the hairsplitting ?  Why the praise of Barack Obama ?

IT’S NOT JUST THE GOP LEADERSHIP IN THE HOUSE  —   IT’S THE ENTIRE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.

Rank-and-file Republicans, and every man in the street who cares about the GOP, see the same sort of re-messaging is coming out of Rance Priebus, the RNC Chairman; Ed Cox the NYS Republican Chairman; and Craig Eaton, the Kings County Republican Party Chairman, who recently did his own switcheroo from “Game-changer A” to “Game-changer B”.  At all levels, it shows nothing but confusion at the top of the Republican Party. What everybody sees is an accelerating attempt at  “re-branding” Republicans by the likes of the House Republican leadership, the RNC and establishment Republicans generally.

If they want to change the Republican Party so much, why not change the party’s name as well.  I suggest “Ab Fab,” as in “The Ab Fab Party.” This name would be most appropriate for reasons that are intuitively obvious to the casual observer.

Craig Eaton seems to have moved into the Catsimatidis camp very quietly

Obviously bumped by the news of former Governor Pataki’s endorsement of John Catsimatidis last week, Eaton’s formal announcement is a hang-fire round until Catsimatidis & Co. can schedule a proper event

Reports a week ago indicated that Brooklyn Republican boss Craig Eaton was all set to formally  withdraw his support from Adolfo Carrion and join the two other county GOP chairmen who already had endorsed billionaire John Catsimatidis’ run for mayor.

Last Tuesday, the Daily News was reporting that Craig Eaton ( corrected from the Daily News’ who used the name “Craig Easton” in its headline) was ready to shift his support from Carrion to Catsimatidis (See “NEW YORK  –  EXCLUSIVE: Adolfo Carrion may be nixed from Republican mayoral ticket after Brooklyn GOP boss withdraws support” by Celeste Katz, 3/12/13 [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/adolfo-carrion-dropped-republican-mayoral-ticket-article-1.1286938#ixzz2NlmuVuLx]).

According, to Celeste Katz’ 3/13/13 article, “Until this week, Carrion had the support of two county GOP leaders: Eaton and his Bronx counterpart, Jay Savino. ***  Eaton said they struggled for months to get one more borough boss to allow Carrion to the Republican primary. ***  With no luck getting that third chairman on board, Eaton said he's now leaning strongly toward Catsimatidis, who ‘has the financial wherewithal to self-fund the race for mayor, and also has crossover appeal with Democrats and independents due to his various political and business relationships’.”

Eaton’s abandonment of Carrion was mentioned by me on this blog almost a day earlier, on Monday, 3/11/13, primarily based on Colin Campbell’s report (See my post “Republicans Cox, Priebus and Bernard have little to say to the Brooklyn GOP or anybody else --- Meanwhile, Craig Eaton talks up a storm about Catsimatidis and Carrion,” 3/11/13). At the time my sub-headline just about said it all, “On another front, Eaton comes out with his hands up....  And he’s probably looking for a Catsimatidis  handout, just in time for the Lincoln Dinner.”  For the uninitiated that’s exactly what guys like Eaton really mean when they say things like this, “Catsimatidis [ ] has the financial wherewithal to self-fund the race for mayor....” to Celeste Katz, above.

My Baker Street Irregulars have reported to me that Eaton had told several of his Brooklyn GOP insiders that he had “switched” his support from Carrion to Catsimatidis more than a week ago. My sources with Catsimatidis would neither confirm nor deny that Eaton is about to formally endorse “JC.” However, what was acknowledged by “JC’s” guys was that everybody in the “JC” campaign knows that Brooklyn GOP Chairman Eaton will not be bringing a lot of the Brooklyn GOP with him when he does come on board the “JC” bandwagon.

The uncommon sense of Jerry Kassar ! — OR — Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

This blog almost writes itself.  I just wait for people, like the Brooklyn “Republican-Conservative” State Senator Martin Golden, and/or the Kings County Republican and Conservative Chairmen Eaton and Kassar, to do or say almost anything; and then I just write what they did or said and give my opinion about it....

Sometimes, the hard part is the waiting, especially with Eaton; that’s why so many of my posts about him are in the nature of  “... the dog that didn’t bark when...” or like why the second empty seat and/or the second cup of wine next to Elijah’s at any Brooklyn Republican Jew’s Seder Table is always for Craig Eaton. But, this post isn’t about Republican State Senator Golden or Republican County Leader Eaton, it’s about the 800 pound gorilla in any room full of Brooklyn Republicans, Jerry Kassar; and   Kassar makes things easy, because he does his own political column almost every week in a local newspaper.

Since some time late in 2009, I and about ten of my closest friends have been posting and  commenting on blogs, and writing on the walls in the jakes in gin joints all around Bay Ridge that Mike Long is the most important person to the GOP in Brooklyn. [NEWSFLASH  —  he still is.]  Now, I can say without a doubt, Jerry Kassar is the second most important. That might or might not come as a shock or even a surprise to anybody whose name is “Michael”; “Marty”; “Nicole”; “Craig”; “David”: “Russell”; “Gene”; “Jacob”; “Joseph”; and “Diana” —  But, as we say in Brooklyn, “Irregardless, doze are duh facts.”

A case in point is this week’s “Common Sense” column by Jerry Kassar in the Home Reporter-Spectator News (See “Hugo Chavez – Common Sense” by Jerry Kassar, 3/11/13, The Home Reporter & Sunset News - The Brooklyn Spectator
[http://www.homereporternews.com/opinion/common-sense-hugo-chavez/article_52fbe6dc-8a98-11e2-951c-0019bb2963f4.html]). Right in the middle of Kassar’s column set off by asterisks is the following: "The Brooklyn Conservative Party has issued its first set of endorsements for the 2013 election cycle. The party has endorsed Charles Hynes for re-election as district attorney, David Storobin for City Council in the 48th Council District and David Greenfield for re-election to the City Council. [ ]  The votes, made by the party’s Brooklyn executive committee comprising elected party leaders from throughout the borough, were unanimous.  In June, party members will be on the streets collecting the required number of signatures form [sic] party members to place the names on the ballot. [ ]  The Conservative Party will be conducting interviews regularly over the next few weeks.  If you or someone you know is interested in seeking the Conservative Party endorsement, contact the party at 718-921-2158."

I had reported on two of those three endorsements in comments to earlier posts on this blog below. The third –  “... David Storobin for City Council in the 48th Council District” is being mentioned on this blog for the first time in this post.

By making these endorsements, Kassar and his band of Brooklyn Conservatives have effectively taken the whip out of the hand of the “leadership” of the Brooklyn Republican Party, and in particular its County Chairman Craig Eaton. No other Republican in Brooklyn wields this degree of control over the Republican Party, not even Kassar’s nominal boss in his day job, State Senator Martin Golden.

For purists in the art/craft of journalism, I must confess that I have buried my lead.  In addition to being an effective exercise of muscle flexing at the expense of his “junior partner” the Brooklyn Republican Party, Kassar’s and his Brooklyn Conservative’s three picks are all three right on the money for the Brooklyn Conservative Party.  Two of the three, Hynes and Storobin are also the right choices for Brooklyn’s Republicans. (I’ll explain why I think so in future topical posts about the DA’s race and for City Council in the 48th Counc. Dist.)  So for all that, Jerry Kassar gets front-runner status for this  year’s “Stopped Clock and Blind Squirrel Award.”

Now, tell the truth; is there anybody out there who knows me or about me ( including ykw who rates a gate with an eight) who would have expected anything like this column at this time ?  And gw probably isn’t as shocked as ykw might think ?

For a moment, why does the so-called conservative Republican State Senator from Brooklyn, Martin Golden, sound so much like President Barack Obama, a very liberal Democrat ?

Golden in his own words ?  —  OR  —   were they Obama’s ?   

—   “It’s got to be balance in it. If you’re going to return money to the taxpayers and the families across our state. That’s what we’re going to do to make sure there’s a fair and balanced approach.”

Needless to say, the words above have a few more problems connected to them than State Senator Golden’s normal fractured syntax. What is the Brooklyn State Senator really trying to say and why is he trying to say it ?

First, a little contextual background  —   for some reason early on Friday, State Senator Martin Golden (R-C Bay Ridge- Gerritsen Beach -Marine Park) came out of a Senate GOP budget meeting and made a bee-line to Nick Reisman to dish about the current status of NYS budget negotiations; and the item at the top of Golden’s list was the push to raise New York’s minimum wage ( See “Golden: Minimum Wage Increase ‘Very Possible’ As Tax Code Talks Are Underway” by Nick Reisman, 3/15/13, YNN Capital Tonight [http://capitaltonightny.ynn.com/2013/03/golden-minimum-wage-increase-very-possible-as-tax-code-talks-are-underway/]).

In the dysfunctional way that things are done in Albany, the proposal to increase the NYS minimum wage for all workers, not just those paid for by government, is part of the negotiations for a NYS budget, whose province would seem to properly involve the annual cost of NYS government and how to pay for it. The way things stand according to Reisman’s post on Capital Tonight, “Cuomo’s $142 billion budget proposal includes a minimum wage of $8.75 up from the current $7.25....  Assembly Democrats back a $9 minimum wage that was passed in a separate bill last week and includes an index to the rate of inflation.... [and a] one-house budget resolution from the coalition-led Senate of five independent Democrats and 30 Republicans included language that said an unspecified minimum wage increase was under consideration.”

That’s where Golden stepped up to try to clarify things to Nick Reisman. According to Reisman’s quote of the Republican State Senator, when Golden was asked about the minimum wage increase, he answered,  “That seems to be — it looks like it’s very possible that will be in the final version.... It’s an open issue and it’s being discussed.”  Golden then explained that a phased-in increase in the NYS minimum wage remained under discussion along with off-setting the effects of that increase on NYS businesses through tax cuts and credits.  That’s where Reisman’s interview with State Senator Golden turned surreal; and the white-haired, red-faced Brooklyn guy went on by channeling the POTUS himself, BH Obama, saying this: “That’s on the table.... It’s got to be balance in it. If you’re going to return money to the taxpayers and the families across our state. That’s what we’re going to do to make sure there’s a fair and balanced approach.”

Other than that strange moment the rest of Golden’s quoted lines sounded like the Marty Golden we’re all used to hearing:  “We’re still looking at parts of it and we’ll see how it works out and whether it benefits the people of the state of New York or not....  That’s why it’s still being discussed. It’s an open issue.... We’re moving closer to a deal on the budget.... There are still some issues that have to be worked on and we’ll work on them through the weekend.”

That’s all Goldenese for there’s going to be an increase in the minimum wage; and as part of the “deal” for the minimum wage increase, the taxes in New York State are still going to be very high.

Post by Nick Riesman implies (and almost says straight out) that the NYS Senate power sharing deal between thirty (30) GOP members and five (5) independent Democrats was largely enabled by Governor Cuomo

New York's Democratic Governor wanted to continue the good working relationship in the state senate from 2010 through 2012 when Republicans ran the show

The grist of Nick Reisman’s mill is that Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo refused to call for and  declined to endorse a full Democratic takeover of the New York State Senate in the 2012 election. Instead, the Governor supported a mixed bag of candidates to the state senate; for example, he endorsed the following: IDC’s David Carlucci; mainline Queens Democrat Joe Addabbo; and Hudson Valley Republican Steve Saland. In a strange maneuver, many of the  Republican candidates for state senate, incorporated  the image of the popular Democratic governor in their television advertising and mailed flyers. That particular GOP  tactic was neither condemned nor even objected to by Cuomo, who was content to stand aside doing nothing to encourage or discourage such Republican election efforts in state senate races (See “Cuomo: Senate Coalition Working.” by Nick Reisman, 3/14/13, YNN Capital Tonight [http://capitaltonightny.ynn.com/]).

According to the Nick Reisman report, Governor Cuomo is still quite content with the governing coalition in the state senate.  Reisman quotes the Governor about the coalition, as follows : “I think at this point — again, whatever point we’re at … I think it’s all working.... I think the coalition is working. I think the relationship among the parties is working....”

As for whether life would be easier if a mainstream Senate Democratic Caucus were to have been in charge of the State Senate, Cuomo said there could be no guarantee that would have been the case; according to the Democrat Governor, “...you could never predict what they could do.”

“Berardelli, Esq. — What Has Become Of Honor? — Featured ”

The above is the title of a “featured” post in a blog “Berardelli, Esq. [http://www.berardelliesq.com/] (Copyright © 2013 BerardelliEsq.com - The Official Site of Gene Berardelli, Esq.. All Rights Reserved )

Will someone, please, look at this particular post [http://www.berardelliesq.com/on-politics/item/19-what-has-become-of-honor?.html], read it and think about it for a while. Then drop us a comment and let me know if  “Berardelli, Esq.  —  What Has Become Of Honor?  —   Featured ” says anything meaningful or makes any sense at all.

Conservatives endorse Democrat David Greenfield — Independent Republicans look around for “Organization GOP” support for an independent GOP stop-Greenfield opponent

Brooklyn GOP Chairman Craig Eaton is being put on the spot to decide whether to back a candidate with strong Republican support or again to go against his party’s rank-and-file to back an "outsider" against the real Republican choice in the race

At the moment it doesn’t look like the Borough Park Orthodox Jewish Community is united behind City Councilman David Greenfield, a Democrat, who occasionally makes some conservative-sounding noises.  At the same time for reasons related to the internal GOP politics of State Senator Martin Golden and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, the Conservative Party, under the cramped and servile leadership of Golden’s Chief of Staff Jerry Kassar, has put its marker down for Greenfield. Reports by Colin Campbell and Paula Katinas, and even the Conservative Party blog indicate that the “Conservatives” have already endorsed Greenfield ( See “SUGGESTED READING – Morning Read: ‘Biding My Time, Laying in Wait Like a Fox’,” by Colin Campbell, 1/13/13, NY Observer/Politicker [politicker.com/2013/03/morning-read-biding-my-time-laying-in-wait-like-a-fox/]; “Conservative Party backs Greenfield’s re-election bid,” by Paula Katinas, 3/13/13, Brooklyn Daily Eagle [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/conservative-party-backs-greenfield%E2%80%99s-re-election-bid-2013-03-13-205000]; “Brooklyn Conservatives Nominate City Councilman David Greenfield Endorsing Re-Election,” by Ross Brady, 3/12/13, Brooklyn Conservative Party Blog [http://brooklynconservativeparty.com/]). 

Here’s where the rubber is going to meet the road for the Chairman of the Kings County Republican Party Craig Eaton. For the first time, he has an opportunity to be his own man and actually back a solid Republican candidate in the Borough Park-Midwood  Orthodox community. The alternative is to appear twice as servile as his Conservative Party counterpart, Kassar by backing the Democrat Greenfield or trying to put another GOP “organization hack” into the race with no real purpose other than to frustrate and antagonize the independent Republicans in the 44th Conc. Dist.,  many of whom are Orthodox Jews. ( Here’s a little bit of background, the last time this council seat was in play, Eaton did not back the strongest local Republican in the race, Jonathan Judge, but instead backed an out-of towner named, Kenneth Rice, who racked up an embarrassing  2-3% of the vote (with fewer than 315 votes out of over 12,000 votes cast) in the special election in the 44th Counc. Dist. against Greenfield and another  Democratic candidate; then as now Greenfield had the support of Kassar and his boss Golden).

Btw,  how can the Conservative Party explain the haste that attended its endorsement process in 2013, other than as a gambit intended to leave Craig Eaton and the Brooklyn GOP with myriad fait accompli across the borough.  

In the era of Craig Eaton’s Brooklyn GOP regime, it seems always to be interesting times.

Remembering Angelo Arculeo long-time Republican leader in the New York City Council

Angelo J. Arculeo was a lawyer and  member of the Republican Party in Brooklyn. He represented several Brooklyn neighborhoods, now part of the 43rd Counc. Dist., in the New York City Council from 1962 through 1982. He held the position of Minority Leader of the City Council from 1962 to 1970, and again from 1973 to 1982. During the period between his two terms as Minority Leader he served as the Republican Party Leader in the Council. For much of his time in the City Council, Angelo Arculeo was the only Republican Council member elected in a geographically defined district and not elected from a borough/county at-large. He was 89 years of age.

Republicans Cox, Priebus and Bernard have little to say to the Brooklyn GOP or anybody else --- Meanwhile, Craig Eaton talks up a storm about Catsimatidis and Carrion

To me the biggest news is the derivative story —  the National Republican Chairman was at the table in Brooklyn —  the New York State Republican Chairman was at the table in Brooklyn —   BUT GUESS WHO WAS NOT REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN AT THE TABLE IN BROOKLYN !  —  (you do the math)  the Brooklyn Republican Chairman seems to have been very noticeable by his absence 

On another front, Eaton comes out with his hands up....  And he’s probably looking for a Catsimatidis  handout, just in time for the Lincoln Dinner

According to Celeste Katz' early evening post on March 11th, “Bernard today hosted RNC Chairman Reince Preibus and state GOP Chairman Ed Cox at his Christian Cultural Center....”
( “Brooklyn Megachurch Pastor A.R. Bernard Stops "Actively Considering" 2013 GOP Mayor Run” by Celeste Katz, 3/11/13, Daily News/ Daily Politics [http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/03/brooklyn-megachurch-pastor-ar-bernard-stops-actively-considering-2013-gop-mayo]). That quote encapsulates about half of the content of the article; the rest is probably summed-up by Celeste Katz like this, “The influential Brooklyn megachurch pastor specified in a conversation with the Daily News this afternoon that he is "no longer actively considering" a leap into the crowded GOP primary field.”

Maybe I’m too cynical to be reading into what pastors, and state and national chairmen are getting at, but as near as I can tell the big meeting between Cox, Priebus and Brooklyn Mega-Church Pastor A.R. Bernard didn’t result in anything newsworthy other than a proclamation of the already obvious, the Mister Reverend Bernard still is not running for Mayor of the City of New York.

The fact that Mr. Eaton apparently was no longer in mourning didn’t alter the more significant fact that he didn’t seem to make the cut for the meeting of influential Republicans at A.R. Bernard’s Christian Cultural Center.

Btw, the reason we suspect that Brooklyn GOP Chairman Eaton was no longer in mourning on Monday morning was that he was doing other politics in the form of giving quotes on the record on the GOP mayoral front. The specifics of that were provided by Colin Campbell in his column on the Politicker blog.  Although I doubt that he might describe it quite this way, what I’m getting out of Campbell’s post is that Craig Eaton was slipping John Catsimatidis some heavy tongue action, while at the same moment slipping  Adolfo Carrion a nifty stiletto just left of center right below the ribcage, along with a neat oyster-opening-like flick of the wrist that works equally well on the aorta (See “CATS OUT OF THE BAG  –  Brooklyn GOP Now ‘Leaning Heavily’ Towards Endorsing John Catsimatidis,” Colin Campbell, 3/11/13, Daily Observer/Politicker [http://politicker.com/2013/03/brooklyn-gop-now-leaning-heavily-towards-endorsing-john-catsimatidis/]).  You see instead of Colin’s version, my headline would have been something like this “EATON  NEEDS ANY KIND OF GOP MAYORAL PUSSY HE CAN GET – Tries to get to Second Base with Catsimatidis, while giving Carrion [an anatomy lesson]” (Sorry, even I thought my preferred headline was a little over the line).

A Leading GOP Candidate for Mayor, Joe Lhota, makes a Sunday appearance in Downtown Brooklyn in front of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club

Unhappy with the Brooklyn Republican Party’s support of non-Republican candidates, Club President Glenn Nocera keeps working to get all the “REPUBLICAN” GOP mayoral hopefuls to appear in front of his meetings of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club

Mr. Lhota arrived at the Brooklyn Young Republican Club meeting with fewer people in his entourage (Lhota had one advance person and one other assistant) than had Tom Allon, the candidate who had spoke there one month before. However, Lhota was no less impressive for that. Brooklyn YR Club President Glenn Nocera introduced Joe Lhota, as a man who had so many bullet points on his resume for the job of mayor that they’re tough to go through in a short introduction; so he only mentioned a few of Lhota's NYC government credentials:  former head of the MTA; former Deputy Mayor of Operations; and former Head of the Office of Management and Budget.

Joseph Lhota, the candidate, the speaker and the man, took it from that formal and lofty intro and quickly made it all seem real for those who were gathered at the Ceol Irish Pub on Smith Street in Boerum Hill to hear and see him. He gave a comfortable speech in a down to earth style that demonstrated the length, breadth and depth of his mastery of almost any governmental aspect of city life. He quickly had the crowd of about forty-five YRs and guests impressed and comfortable asking follow-up questions. The time that Mr. Lhota was there, about an hour  between about 2:30 and 3:30 passed quickly. He responded to every question asked with detailed and informative answers. The highlights included: Joe Lhota saying that he favored reducing or eliminating the use of traffic cams for automatic ticketing; he said he thought the big-gulp “soda ban” was an overreach and should be handled as an item of persuasion rather than prohibition; and he said he would seek the transfer of all MTA bridges in the city to New York City control.

After Joseph Lhota had finished, Glenn Nocera announced  he was finalizing the appearance of Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis for the April meeting, but that the details still needed to be worked out. A second scheduled speaker for last Sunday’s meeting, City Council candidate Andrew Sullivan, had to cancel due to a medical emergency and Glenn Nocera communicated his apologies and said Sullivan’s appearance would be rescheduled. Instead of the second speaker, Glenn spoke briefly and again urged that the members of the club who lived in Brooklyn should sign up to be members of the County Committee of the Republican Party; and he gave a full explanation of the duties of committee members and the method of petitioning to get onto the County Committee.

Once the formalities of the meeting had been concluded, the  Glenn Nocera spoke privately, but in his capacity as President of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, to some of the media in attendance. He expressed his concern and dissatisfaction that the Chairman of the Kings County Republican Party Craig Eaton was openly supporting Adolfo Carrion, a non-Republican with a very liberal Democratic Party history.  Nocera said this was especially troubling since so many good and competitive Republican candidates were in the race. Asked if he were supporting any candidate, Nocera responded that he would not announce who he intended to support until every candidate had a fair opportunity to present themselves to the Brooklyn Young Republican Club.

Sarah Palin Loud and Clear — “ Cling To God, Guns And The Constitution ! ”

Stressing a need for the nation to remember God, the former Fox News Commentator, and Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential nominee urged conservative-minded students to  "Get out there and influence culture..... The future of the country depends on what you do...."

Speaking at a leadership forum at Southeastern University in Lakeland Florida on Friday, Sarah Palin told a gathering of conservatives to “influence the culture” by clinging to God, guns, and the Constitution. Ms. Palin encouraged conservatives to "infiltrate" the culture by studying journalism, and making a mark in things like “Hollywood” and the sports world ( See “Palin To Conservatives: Cling To God, Guns And The Constitution,”
Fox Nation, 3/10/13 [http://nation.foxnews.com/sarah-palin/2013/03/10/palin-conservatives-cling-god-guns-and-constitution#ixzz2NDK5OtkF]). She also asked the next generation to help change the country's moral fiber because "our foundation will crumble if we choose to ignore it."  "Get out there and influence culture.... The future of the country depends on what you do."

Palin also said that Southeastern had asked her to talk about hope and resilience. Palin indicated that she was willing to do that,  but "...not that Washington, D.C., ‘hopey-changey' blah, blah, blah stuff, but real hope." She then went on to hammer the corruption of Washington, D.C. — "It's a hotbed of cronyism... and federal spending... the federal government is bloated, corrupt and out-of-control."

Sarah Palin was introduced and questioned by Christina Gard, an assistant professor at the Southeastern University's Seventh Annual Leadership Forum; Ms. Palin felt quite at home, because Professor Gard is a former Miss Alaska. Not one to tiptoe around sensitive topics, Palin dug right into one of the reasons she said the country is in crisis —  "Today, look around, and don't you wonder sometimes if, as a nation, we have forgotten God altogether? This is a crucial question."

Since Sarah Palin has always been fluent in popular culture and sports, she discussed those avenues as  prime examples of how young people might move out and "infiltrate" the culture.

City Council Candidate John Quaglione is all set for "Kick-off Fundraiser"

As his campaign for the 43rd Council District seat, now occupied by Vincent Gentile, moves into more formal channels, "JQ" is apparently very upbeat about where things stand and how things are going as he prepares to "...officially launch [his] campaign for the NYC City Council, District 43"  

If you go by his tweets, Republican City Council hopeful John Quaglione is expecting to have a lot of wind at his back coming out of his fundraiser tomorrow night at Vicolo -- the event at the 3rd Avenue & 86th Street eatery starts at 6:30 in the evening. According to Mr. Quaglione, with about two days to go "...the response has been great..." to his pre-event solicitations.

No word yet if  the Conservative Party made any decisions after interviewing Quaglione  last Thursday, along with the other GOP candidate in the race, Andrew Sullivan. However, John Q says that he is quite proud of his appearance in front of that group.

With New York State Republican Chairman Ed Cox and his National Committee counterpart, Reince Priebus, appearing together in Brooklyn for a ‘listening tour’ — will anybody be listening to Brooklyn GOP Chairman Eaton ?

Perhaps Eaton's invitation is in the mail and will arrive shortly.... Perhaps he doesn't even want to go...  Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps....

According to a report in the Daily News’ Daily Politics blog, “The Rev. A.R. Bernard... will host RNC Chairman Reince Preibus at his Brooklyn megachurch for a Monday talk about the future of politics.... State GOP Chairman Ed Cox, who's spoken enthusiastically about Bernard getting into the already packed NYC mayoral contest, is also in on the Monday talk.” ( “Rev. A.R. Bernard To Host Chairmen Of National, NY Republican Parties For Brooklyn Talk” by Celeste Katz, 3/7/13, Daily News/Daily Politics [http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics]). Specifically omitted from any mention about this upcoming GOP event in Brooklyn is the Brooklyn GOP Chairman Craig Eaton, who is apparently not going to be present at the big Monday parley.

Other coverage of the announcement of the upcoming Republican event in Brooklyn similarly omits any mention of Eaton or of  Brooklyn’s only elected Republican official, State Senator Martin Golden (See “Cox, RNC Chair Priebus, In Brooklyn For ‘Listening Tour’” by Nick Reisman, 3/7/13, YNN Capital Tonight [http://capitaltonightny.ynn.com/2013/03/cox-rnc-chair-priebus-in-brooklyn-for-listening-tour/]).  Nick Reisman described next Monday's event as part of an effort by the Republican Party in New York and across the country to reach out to minority communities. At that time NYS GOP Chairman Ed Cox and his RNC counterpart, Reince Priebus, will be together in Brooklyn for what is  being called an “African-American listening tour.”  The event apparently centers on the Rev. A.R. Bernard; and it is scheduled to take place Monday at 2PM  in the Christian Cultural Center, where the Rev. Bernard is the pastor.

Meanwhile in the Southwest part of Brooklyn, perhaps Eaton can get Golden to use the time to sit down and talk over how things are going among themselves and the rest of the Brooklyn GOP, since it looks like neither will be busy with the GOP big shots at their Monday afternoon meeting with Reverend Bernard. And Craig when it comes to the Brooklyn GOP leadership in 2013 be sure to say to your old friend Marty,  "Please don't tell me, 'Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps *** Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps *** Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps'."

Was tonight’s “Brooklyn GOP [Blog] Radio” broadcast, hosted by Gene Berardelli and his sidekick Russ Gallo overtaken by events or sudden irresistible urges that were bigger than both of them?

Kidnapped by aliens ?   A mystery ripped from the headlines ?     —    Or just a sordid tale dripping with irony from between the lines of the Village Voice personal ads

After the late news I sat down in front of my Philco cathedral-style computer with my cup of Ovaltine all set to listen to latest of Gene and Russell “On Demand.”  And there was nothing there...   No excuses...  No “Gone Fishin’ sign...  No nuttin...   So I started my quest after a quick gulp of my scalding watery chocolate malt-like essence of itself, which was still so hot that it burned both the tip of my tongue and my alveolar palate. After I had forced the destructive brew down my gullet, probably to do even more damage to my alcohol toughened esophagus than it did to my tongue and the roof of my mouth, I began my search, starting with the “Brooklyn GOP Radio -Official- Show Blog.” I savored the numbness at the front of my mouth while the vacuum tubes inside my chestnut-veneered console chugged in response to my quick-fingered commands on the Olivetti-Underwood keyboard and the slow feed of  information came up on the screen of my Dumont CRT.

The plot thickened [ heavy chords on the accompanying Wurlitzer ] !  The last couple of tweets on Gene Berardelli’s Twitter sidebar indicated that he was all revved up to do this week’s show, a tweet at about 7:04 PM showed that Gene was obviously inspired by Rand Paul’s heroic efforts in the well of the U.S. Senate. His last “Pre...show” message was texted at about 7:55 PM; it was so very hopeful: “Get ready for the PRE-Pre-CPAC Show on @bklyngopradio! Five [sic] minutes to showtime!... @russgallo”

It was much the same at the “Follow Russell on Twitter” sidebar. Russ was also all jazzed about Rand Paul’s heroic turn at Jimmy Stewart’s  “Mr. Smith...” —  Russell’s last was this: “RussGallo Water? #AintNobodyGotTimeForThat, #StandWithRand @BklynGOPRadio goin live in five min: blogtalkradio.com/brooklyngoprad… pic.twitter.com/MtXB5cl35C” also at 7:55PM.

Based on the Brooklyn GOP Radio internet feeds, since that time  —  7:55PM  —   there has been no record of anything happening on Brooklyn GOP Radio on the night of March 6, 2013. I waited and tried again at about 1:00-1:30 AM  — except for the Ovaltine bit, I got the same result.

I can only hope that this is just another of Gene Berardelli’s technical glitches, which are one of the charming features of the show.  However, I am concerned; because as I do this post at about 2:15 AM, I still don’t know what happened to either Gene or Russell last night.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Quick – Somebody Tell Craig Eaton The Republican Mayoral Field Doesn't Need More Carrion Problems

Somebody needs to remind the Brooklyn Republican Chairman that the GOP has enough home grown problems  —  dealing with the problems of choosing among its OWN mayoral candidates is part of what GOP leaders have to do  —  bringing in other distractions, like what a “liberal Democrat” did in bygone days is not.

The Adolfo Carrion "hits" just keep on coming. Now it's a campaign filing problem for a little known PAC from long ago and far away (well, kinda long ago, but not so far away). The News has done a little bit of digging and found another instance of Mr. Carrion or those acting on his behalf failing to have properly handled and/or accounted for some PAC  "Cash" during his days as Bronx Borough President.

So it looks like Craig Eaton’s favorite mayoral hopeful, Adolfo Carrion, may be in more hot water over his political finances back in the days when he was Bronx Borough President. While serving as the Bronx BP, Mr. Carrion created a PAC that regularly made cash disbursements in apparent violation of the New York State election law. According to a Daily News article by Greg Smith, records show that something called the BXNY PAC received $172,000 in contributions, mostly from developers and other business interests with dealings in the Bronx and BXNY PAC made up to $15,800 improper "Cash" disbursements based papers filed with the BOE.  The existence of  BXNY PAC was not widely known until Smiths' report appeared yesterday in the News (See  "Politics -- EXCLUSIVE: Adolfo Carrion's mayoral campaign hits new snag as improprieties with borough president war chest discovered" by Greg B. Smith, 3/5/13, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/adolfo-carrion-mayoral-campaign-funding-legal-trouble-article-1.1280424]).

This is yet another instance of possible improprieties involving Brooklyn GOP Chairman Craig Eaton’s personally chosen mayoral candidate’s  past. Again, the problem appears to involve Carrion’s dealings with money and/or services from those doing business with government agencies under his control, and his failure to follow the rules and/or make proper disclosures. According to the Daily News, Carrion’s BXNY PAC  made several prohibited cash payments up to $500, totaling $15,800 in all. In addition, the PAC didn’t properly account for how the money was spent, leaving open the possibility that the disbursements specifically were used for otherwise illegal purposes, as well .

It’s long past time for Eaton to cut the tie that binds him to Carrion and to give up on the idea of that non-Republican’s running in the 2013 GOP primary.

Another Reason Why State Senator Martin Golden No Longer Should Be Taken Seriously

For a long time, State Senator Golden and/or his staff have been accused of crashing the announcement events of other elected officials or making statements stealing credit for the accomplishments of others  —  occasionally, those kinds of charges have had more than a grain of truth in them —   with their own statement released yesterday, Golden & Co. have moved in on a topical news story  in a way that far exceeds anything, of which even their worst detractors would have charged them in the past   

Something has become commonplace with Brooklyn’s lone elected Republican official  and whoever does his PR releases  —  the absolute overselling of various pieces of legislation that Martin Golden either has proposed or supports.  Very often these Golden-supported measures have no chance of passing both chambers of the NYS Legislature and being signed into law; more often the proposed pieces of legislation are either non-controversial or so very technical, and/ or are changes of such a minor degree, they wouldn't have any significance for the average citizen or resident of New York State. So routinely something needs to be connected to the story to gin up the public's interest. Perhaps to be expected, such a practice can lead to a serious overreach.

CASE IN POINT: on Monday, March 4th, 2013  “Martin J. Golden”  posted  this statement on the “Official” tax-payer-funded webpage of  “NEW YORK STATE SENATOR MARTIN J. GOLDEN  –  ASSISTANT SENATE MAJORITY WHIP, (R, C) 22ND SENATE DISTRICT”:

“SENATOR GOLDEN: IN WAKE OF WEEKEND BROOKLYN HIT AND RUN HORROR, ASSEMBLY MUST ACT TO INCREASE PENALTIES
Brooklyn – In the wake of this weekend’s hit and run horror that killed Nachman and Raizy Glauber, and baby, that has devastated the Williamsburg community, State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) today is calling on the State Assembly to pass his legislation, S. 2503, that increases penalties for such offenses. Senator Golden is calling on the Assembly to stop putting the brakes on life saving legislation and urging a vote as soon as possible....

....Each day that the Assembly fails to act, it is another day that New Yorkers are traveling in danger. ***  The bill increases the penalties for drivers who leave the scene of an accident without stopping and/or reporting it, causing property damage, from a Class A Misdemeanor to a Class E Felony. The penalty for repeat hit and run drivers who cause property damage or personal injury, would be elevated from a Class E Felony to a Class D Felony. Drivers who flee from the scene of an accident where someone was killed would now face a Class C Felony.”

Is State Senator Golden serious ?    “...[L]ife saving legislation...”  —   “...Each day that the Assembly fails to act, it is another day that New Yorkers are traveling in danger...”   How does raising the category of a crime one level save any lives at all ?   How is the assembly failing to quickly act on this legislation, or even it fails or refuses to act on it in any way, causing any increase in the dangers of any New Yorkers that are traveling?

I submit to you that this shows quite clearly that State Senator Martin Golden is not being serious at a time when he should be very serious in the conduct of his office.  However, this is more than mere hyperbole, puffery and cheap grand-standing; it is something darker, something that changes the act from something cynical to something sinister.

Senator Golden and/or some member(s) of his staff are trying to capitalize on a very painful local tragedy  —   the untimely deaths of  Nachman and Raizy Glauber  —  together with that of their traumatized and very premature posthumously delivered child, who lived mere hours. These three very tragic, very young victims died on March 3rd and 4th.  They specifically had been mentioned in Senator Golden’s statement about a piece of legislation that was proposed, and largely processed in 2012 and overwhelmingly passed the NYS Senate on February 11, 2013 without any controversy; and more important, without any knowledge that those people mentioned in Golden's March 4th statement even existed, would come into existence and die as the result of a "hit and run accident." They were mentioned solely as part of an overly emotional appeal, calculated to milk all the news value that a single non-controversial piece of legislation proposed by State Senator Golden could obtain under these very sad circumstances.

It's so cynical that it's practically indescribable, even now that it has unfortunately seen the light of day.

Let’s just leave it at this   —   The State Senator’s statement above is one that a serious community representative and state legislator should never have made; and connecting a piece of legislation that had already passed in the Senator's chamber to an unrelated recent tragedy is something that should not have been done.

The New York Post Smacks Around the NYC Republican Party -- First, an editorial on Friday: “New York’s clueless GOP”! -- Then, a news item on Monday: “City GOP fears death of party”! -- Or was that one an obituary ?

When a New York City daily tabloid starts acting like Humphrey Bogart doing the one-two on Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook Jr. in “The Maltese Falcon” those at the top of the Grand Old Party had better start taking notice, because rank and file Republicans might soon be looking elsewhere for leadership

I already mentioned the Friday Post Editorial at length in a March 1st comment, “BIG DEAL/ BIG TIME UPDATE: NEW YORK POST SLAMS NEW YORK CITY REPUBLICAN COUNTY LEADERS” ( See 3/1/13 comment to my 2/27/13 post below, “Marty Golden stepped-in to save Craig Eaton at the 2009 GOP County Convention....”; that comment specifically dealt with the Post’s 3/1/13 editorial,  “New York’s clueless GOP,” NY Post Editorial, 3/1/13 [http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/new_york_clueless_gop_EwNWe3YJJnL3GJtKPStjII]).

All of that was followed by the Post’s Monday brew by Carl Campanile, who was even more scalding  —  “The city Republican Party is in shambles — engulfed by infighting and weak leadership that damages whatever chances its nominee has of winning City Hall this fall.....”  (“City GOP Fears Death of Party” by Carl Campanile, 3/4/13, NY Post [http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/city_gop_fears_death_of_party_72MFtDvnoAdQh7vRnmMhwN]). Of particular interest to those of us in Brooklyn was the succinct introductory clause, “* Brooklyn’s party is splintered....”

For regular readers of this blog, this might seem old hat. However, the NY Post is a city-wide daily that is read by millions of people every week, and its full-throated criticism of the NYC GOP is reaching lots of Republican readers. For that reason alone, the Post’s repeated public scourging of the NYC Republican leadership should be viewed as an eye-opener rather than a pointless beating of a dead horse.

Yesterday CNN rebroadcast “CNN Presents: Waco – Faith, Fear and Fire.” That twenty year old event in Waco, Texas will reverberate in Brooklyn, New York during the 2013 race for District Attorney

That program and many other reports of investigations and hearings about the government’s misfeasance and malfeasance at Waco in 1993  need to be dusted off before Brooklyn voters select their next District Attorney, because one man running for DA, Kenneth Thompson, was instrumental in putting together a report that responsible journalists, commission members and members of the U.S. Congress have described as a “Whitewash” of high officials in the U.S. government, whose faulty actions and/or inaction lead to the violent deaths of eighty-six (86) Americans on American soil, including four (4) U.S. Agents and twenty-six (26) children

Reports like  “...Waco – Faith Fear and Fire” and the general history of the repeated U.S. Government attacks on the scores of Americans surrounded by governmental paramilitary forces gathered at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas is proof to many millions of Americans why the right to keep and bear arms is much more than an arguable  “Constitutionally Protected Privelege” it is a fundamental human right dictated by necessity.

On Feb. 28, 1993, federal ATF agents ( aka "BATF," referring to the U.S. Department of the Treasury Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) tried to serve search and arrest warrants for allegedly illegal weapons at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas (although later on the U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno, indicated that reports of sexual abuse of children inside the compound also motivated her decisions).  After a botched attempt at a surprise incursion by a heavily armed ATF force, a full-scale gun battle between the ATF invaders and the encircled church followers erupted with heavy casualties on both sides. A cease-fire was negotiated to collect the dead and minister to the wounded. The FBI intervened to negotiate Koresh’s surrender to authorities (and formal authority shifted from Clinton's Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen to Clinton's Attorney General Janet Reno). However, after David Koresh repeatedly refused to surrender without conditions, the government brought in heavy reinforcements, including military equipment and support personnel.  After a 51-day siege, and a final assault using tanks on the ground and Huey helicopters in the air, 82 people from the Branch Davidians "Cult," including twenty-four children, together with four ATF agents, had lost their lives and scores of civilians and government agents had to be hospitalized with and recover from various war-type wounds, including PTSD.

Neither the CNN report nor the saga of Waco is new.  As told by the American "Right," including many mainstream Republicans, early in the Clinton Administration, paramilitary forces of multiple agencies of the United States Government went to war against U.S. citizens inside the borders of the  United States. Before the end of the first protracted battle of that war, the “Battle of Waco,” which included a 51-day siege and two violent assaults by heavily armed agents in full military gear, eighty-six (86) "Americans" (not everybody was a U.S. citizen, but everybody was lawfully on U.S. soil and entitled to full constitutional protection) had died, including at least twenty-four (24) children; and in addition, four (4) government agents were killed along with a score of injured officers. Make no mistake, the reason the ATF was there was that they had been ordered to forcefully disarm a large group of Americans, without any actual knowledge that any of their weapons were illegal. [It has also been reported that several of the local ATF agents and other local law enforcement officials later indicated that other avenues of inspecting the suspected "illegal" weapons were being pursued with the Davidians.]

Kenneth Thompson is running as the candidate of a large segment of the Brooklyn Democratic establishment who are now opposed to the incumbent Kings County DA, Charles Hynes, who still enjoys the support of most mainstream Democrats ( and who has consistently run with the endorsement of the Republican and Conservative Parties since 1997) and against another declared candidate for the Democratic nomination. The people of Brooklyn should not consider Kenneth Thompson as the possible chief law enforcement official in Brooklyn without knowing that he had once been an agent of the U.S. government with a hand in trying to bury actual wrong-doing by high U.S. government officials in authorizing and directing the attacks by Americans on Americans at the Waco compound in 1993.

Mr. Thompson’s campaign website  repeatedly boasts about his part in preparing a report on Waco that limited the blame for the fiasco that claimed eighty-two (82) civilians' lives on  low level law enforcement officers, while exonerating higher governmental officials, like Thompson’s immediate supervisors. That report, signed by Thompson’s immediate boss and long-time patron Ronald Noble, has repeatedly been called nothing but a “Whitewash” by witnesses, reporters, law enforcement officials and congressional chairmen.

I am gathering source material for several items about Mr. Thompson’s part in the aftermath of Waco, including several reports of the journalistic and governmental investigations, commission and congressional hearings, and the legal cases and proceedings directly involving the immediate victims of the government's 51-day war on its people. That job is still in its early stages. In the mean time, if you get an opportunity to do so, make every effort to see “CNN Presents: Waco - Faith, Fear and Fire” if it is rebroadcast (perhaps next weekend) on CNN or another cable station. It is also available on the internet via video link (see “What Happened in Waco –
‘CNN Presents – Waco: Faith, Fear, and Fire’” 4/11/11, CNN Pressroom [http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/11/what-happened-in-waco/]).

“A house divided....” — A speech delivered to a Republican Party that was not yet national, grand or old is relevant to an old party that isn't feeling grand and that is lost in the weeds on the local, state and federal level

Republicans need to look deep into themselves and into their history in order to find out —   Who they are  –  What they are all about  –  To understand the fix they’re in –  And to know how and why they got there  –  then  –  JUST BE REPUBLICANS !

Some call it the speech that changed the world. Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” was a very layered speech that used a recognizable scriptural and religious hook to achieve its poignancy — but, what should not be forgotten amid the historical significance heaped upon it, anachronistically,  the “House Divided” speech was a very political speech addressed directly to in-state Republican politicians.  Lincoln gave this speech to a state convention of a new Republican Party. The speech was considered by Lincoln’s closest friends and advisers to be too radical even for the relatively radical Republicans gathered in Springfield, Illinois for their 1858 state convention.  Once it had been delivered it was viewed as polarizing both inside and outside that convention, and many attribute Lincoln’s subsequent loss in his U.S. Senate race against Stephen Douglas as a reaction to the radicalism thought to be inherent in Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech.

Most would argue that the “House Divided” speech was just about chattel slavery in America  —  and it certainly is a discourse on that subject in tremendous detail.  However, it is clearly something else.

When one reads the ultimate paragraph of Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech, delivered to the Illinois Republican State Convention on June 16, 1858; it should be clear to any and all that Lincoln was exhorting a bunch of politicians in an upstart party to not give up the fight, but to build on their past successes which had been achieved “under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud, and pampered enemy.”

More important is his  peroration:

 “Did we brave all [that] to falter now?  Now, when that same enemy is wavering, dissevered, and belligerent? The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail-if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate, or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to come.”

Lincoln was exhorting his party  —   “DON’T BE AFRAID TO  BE  REPUBLICANS  —  JUST BE REPUBLICANS AND YOU WILL WIN !”

The critical issues may have changed in the last hundred fifty or so years, but Lincoln’s exhortation still rings true.