Kassar showed-off his “Horse-’n’-Buggy” attitudes in article advocating that Marty Golden and other GOP Senators use their opposition to the NYS Dream Act as wedge issue against Democrats in Brooklyn and elsewhere

Golden’s Chief of Staff, Jerry Kassar, thumps chest over 30-29 NYS Senate vote defeating the proposed NYS Dream Fund

Golden and most NYS Senate Republicans formally at odds with Catholic Church  —  Cardinal Dolan called for Tax Credit–Dream Act compromise  —  Golden, and NYS Senate Co-leaders Skelos and Klein all specifically rejected Cardinal Dolan’s proposal

Jerry Kassar is one gift that just keeps on giving. In this week’s “Common Sense” column, Kassar linked the apparent ‘unified” GOP opposition to the Dream Act in New York with a defense of the horse and carriage trade in Manhattan (See “Common Sense: No DREAM Act” by Jerry Kassar, 3/25/14, Home Reporter/Spectator
[http://www.homereporternews.com/news/government/common-sense-no-dream-act/article_b3b85f54-b455-11e3-9350-001a4bcf887a.html]). His column also made special mention of Conservative party-supported Simcha Felder’s joining with the unanimous GOP members of the Senate. Kassar’s coverage is fundamentally dishonest and an attempt to use the Dream Act issue as a racist and ethnically-based wedge issue.

After that vote, won in the state senate by the GOP and IDC Democrats, Cardinal Timothy Dolan made a proposal to include the Dream Act provisions in the state budget coupled with an education tax credit for private schools that had been supported by the GOP. Cardinal Dolan was quickly rebuffed by Marty Golden and the NYS Senate leadership last week. See “Republicans sour on Dolan’s Dream Act compromise” by Jimmy Vielkind, 3/27/14,
[http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/03/8542770/republicans-sour-dolans-dream-act-compromise]). In rejecting the cardinal’s idea, Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos and Brooklyn State Senator Marty Golden said that “the two items should stand separately and be judged on their merits....”

New York’s Cardinal obviously supports both proposals and will be working to get them both passed. Golden’s brainy staff has fed their boss a poison pill —  the paleo-conservative biased position advocated by Kassar not only puts Golden and his allies on the wrong side of history (a version of the Dream Act will soon pass the NYS Senate with a few GOP votes), it puts Golden and his supporters at odds with the Catholic Church (Not only Cardinal Dolan, but the entire New York Catholic Conference).

Grimm’s Brooklyn Poster Shows Exactly How He Turns His Back On Brooklyn — And Clearly That He Intends to Continue With His Hostile Posture Toward Our Borough and County

One picture is worth a thousand words.... 

His 2014 Slogan in and for Brooklyn is this:  “Our Congressman...  He’s Got Brooklyn’s Back !”  —   But hasn’t Congressman Grimm pretty much ignored the parts of his district that are in Brooklyn since 2010

The poster says, “Michael Grimm – Brooklyn * New York” and it contains a photo that shows Congressman Michael Grimm in a blazer with a USMC lapel pin and an open-necked dress shirt; he’s obviously standing on the Staten Island side of the Narrows with the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and the Brooklyn Vets Hospital in the background.  Even though the poster proclaims, “Our Congressman...  He’s Got Brooklyn’s Back !”; it is obvious that Grimm has his back turned to Brooklyn.

The fact that this poster was designed, approved and produced shows the absolute disdain, in which Brooklyn is held, by Michael Grimm, his campaign, and everybody that counts in his corral of Staten Island oriented supporters.

In 2010, the Brooklyn GOP did not support Grimm in his primary against Michael Allegretti; ever since that time, Grimm’s real slogan has been something a lot closer to “Our Congressman...  He’s Getting Brooklyn Back !” than it has ever been to the current slogan, “Our Congressman...  He’s Got Brooklyn’s Back !”

Amid myriad instances of technical problems, Frenemies’ blogcast gives some details of GOP Exec Board flap with State Senator Golden’s representative and staffer, Anthony Testaverde

RUSS GALLO CALLS OUT RINOs INSIDE THE BROOKLYN GOP   —   STATE SENATOR GOLDEN'S STAFFER AND REPRESENTATIVE AT BROOKLYN GOP EXECUTIVE MEETING, ANTHONY TESTAVERDE, SAYS THAT HE WAS PERSONALLY BEING ATTACKED AND THREATENED BY GALLO’S REMARKS IN SHOUTING MATCH WITH GENE BERARDELLI 

GALLO AND BERARDELLI SUM-UP THIS WEEK’S BROOKLYN GOP RADIO PROGRAM BY SAYING THAT IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO “CLEAN UP” THE REPUBLICAN PARTY THAN TO WIN CONGRESSIONAL, STATE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN 2014

After repeated “Technical Difficulties” announcements, Gene Berardelli and Russell Gallo did a blogcast on Brooklyn GOP Radio concerning political corruption of various sorts in New York City (See “Rotten To the Core - NYC Corruption & More” hosted by Gene Berardelli and Russell Gallo, 3/26/14, Brooklyn GOP Radio [blogcast] [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brooklyngopradio/2014/03/27/rotten-to-the-core--nyc-corruption-more]).

According to Russell Gallo, corruption is not just something that involves Democrats. He then noted that, based on a recent report, the Board of Elections is largely hiring Democrats to replace Republicans at the BOE; and all of it is with the approval and/or at the direction of Brooklyn GOP Commissioner Simon Shamoun, whom Gallo called the hand-picked puppet of State Senator Martin Golden.

There also was a very interesting mention of a confrontation that occurred at the Brooklyn GOP Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday at Brooklyn GOP Headquarters. After Russell Gallo began to complain about RINOs who have been weighing down the Brooklyn GOP, Golden staffer and State Committeeman Anthony Testaverde started to speak out (out of order and without recognition by the chair) against what Gallo was saying. At this point Gene Berardelli and Testaverde “took it outside.” When Berardelli asked Testaverde what he expected after all the stuff Golden and his allies had pulled in 2013, including a lawsuit that ran into 2014; Anthony Testaverde said that he was complaining about an attack that was being aimed at him, personally, and that he felt personally threatened by all of it.

SIDEBAR STORY: THE “WHEN RUSSELL GALLO GOES DOWN THE STREET, ALL THE BIRDIES GO ‘TWEET, TWEET, TWEET’ ” EDITION

As near as I can tell, the following “Tweet” by RG has been picked up and re-tweeted about a dozen times:

“ Russell C. Gallo @RussGallo
Anthony Testaverde (employee of @SenMartyGolden) melts down at @BklynGOP Executive Committee Meeting. Someone worried? #Primary ”

Is this a sign of good times coming ? --- Marty Golden robo-calls for Congressman Michael Grimm in March --- mechanically chatting-up everybody about "Flood Insurance"

Meanwhile  ---  the Brooklyn GOP will debate the vetting of candidates for congress, including Mike Grimm  ---  later this week 

To date, there has been no formal decision as to whether the Brooklyn GOP will back Grimm in any way

One of my Baker Streeters tells me that a key operative for the group, up-to-recently referred to as the "Republicans for Change," is calling around for petition gatherers for Grimm.  Did you ever notice how the group, up-to-recently referred to as the "Republicans for Change," strangely sees the high pressure surrounding the re-election of incumbents as a sign of good times on its barometer for "...Change" ? Expect even more of that when it comes to State Senator Golden's petitions later this year.

Love it, Love it, Love it ! ! ! Sandinista Mayor Bill DeBlasio Doubles-down on wanting wealthier parks conservancies to share their funds with “Poorer Parks”

Mayor de Blasio appoints Mitchell Silver as New York City’s new Parks Commissioner, calling him “a visionary” with “a passion for fairness and equality”

More and more redistributionism  —  At least this time, it’s the turn of liberal-leaning large parks and green belt enthusiasts 

“Mayor Bill de Blasio and his new parks commissioner today threw their weight behind the idea of getting wealthy, privately-funded parks conservancies to help subsidize parks with less green–but stopped short of endorsing making such an arrangement mandatory....” (See ““NOT EASY BEING GREEN –  De Blasio Still Wants Conservancies to Share Money With Poorer Parks” by Jill Colvin (with reporting by Ross Barkan), 3/21/14, NY Observer/ Politicker [http://politicker.com/2014/03/de-blasio-still-wants-conservancies-to-share-money-with-poorer-parks/]).

The Jill Colvin post on the Politicker blog went on to report that “[deBlasio] also suggested he was open to a model that might be voluntary, arguing that people who contribute to one park may be open to contributing to others. *** ‘I think a lot of people are excited at that opportunity to help and to be part of another neighborhood, too. And that’s the direction we want to go in,’ he said. ***  The mayor’s new parks commissioner, Mitch Silver, said he agreed with the mayor. “The status quo is not working.... There are probably many ways to get there,” he added. “But I think we can all agree that to have a successful parks system in our city, it has to be a great parks system throughout the entire city.”

“Speaking at a press conference at Seward Park on the Lower East Side, Mr. de Blasio praised Mr. Silver... as someone who will lead the department in a more equitable direction. *** ‘No one is more qualified to usher in a new era of expanded access to our parks and sustainability for our parks than Mitch Silver,’ he said....”  (See “PARKS AND RECREATION – De Blasio Appoints Mitchell Silver New Parks Commissioner” by Jill Colvin, 3/21/14, NY Observer/ Politicker  [http://politicker.com/2014/03/de-blasio-appoints-mitchell-silver-new-parks-commissioner/]).

State Senator Golden apparently has been a supporter of parks conservancies in and around his district. What does our local GOP state senator intend to do about the Mayor’s and the new Parks Commissioner’s proposals about the redistribution of conservancy funds.

FBI RAIDS DOZENS OF HOMES — IN AN ELECTION FRAUD CASE IN NEW YORK STATE

Are Satmar and related Orthodox Jewish Sects in a Sullivan County hamlet seen as a threat to Homeland Security in small towns and big cities across the country  —  or just a threat to the status quo in various parts of New York ?

I smell some big time Brooklyn Democrat Party involvement getting the FBI involved in all of this  —  somebody call Darrrell Issa; this could be big

According to the New York Times, “On March 13, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided dozens of properties in Bloomingburg [NY] in what opponents of [a controversial local housing] development said was an inquiry into their claims that [an owner in the local housing developement] had orchestrated voter fraud....” (See “Vote Fails to End Fight Over Growth in Catskills” by Joseph Berger, 3/19/14, NY Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/nyregion/vote-fails-to-end-fight-over-growth-in-catskills.html?ref=nyregion&_r=1]).

It seems like the old-timers in Bloomsburg, New York, which is located in Sullivan County, are worried that their small hamlet will be overrun by members of the Orthodox Jewish Satmar sect and the place will become another Kiryas Joel.  Kiryas Joel is a much larger village of about 20,000 people farther south in Sullivan County that is populated largely by Hasidim of the Satmar sect.

This looks like much more than a political fight over an Orthodox Jewish development in some hamlet in upstate New York. The only ones with enough juice in Eric Holder’s Justice Department to get the FBI involved are those with a real stake in all Satmar activities in partisan politics. To be clear, that’s obviously some big time Brooklyn Democrats.

Will Republicans be going a different way in 2014 in their attempts to unseat Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny ?

The leading Republican, Marcus A. Nussbaum, who has emerged to challenge Brooklyn Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny does not fit the profile of earlier GOP candidates that have run for that office

It’s been mentioned that State Senator Marty Golden’s operation is trying to line up other Republicans from Bay Ridge or Dyker Heights for "the more traditional” losing effort against the long term Democrat incumbent from the much larger Brighton Beach/ Coney Island part of the assembly district

According to a report in the Politicker blog, “Stamatis Lilikakis, a Bay Ridge business owner and political newcomer, and Marcus Aurelius Nussbaum, a Republican district leader, are planning to face off in a Republican primary that insiders are calling another stage of a Brooklyn GOP civil war....” (See “Two Republicans Battling to Challenge Alec Brook-Krasny” by Ross Barkan, 3/17/14, NY Observer/ Politicker [http://politicker.com/2014/03/two-republicans-battling-to-challenge-alec-brook-krasny/]).The post by Ross Barkan goes on to state that “In addition to a challenge against Mr. Brook-Krasny, the face-off, Brooklyn sources say, represents a growing rift in Brooklyn Republican circles. Brooklyn GOP chair Craig Eaton is said to be supporting Mr. Nussbaum, while Republican State Senator Marty Golden, a power broker in Bay Ridge, is pushing Mr. Lilikakis. Mr. Golden recently tried–and failed–to oust Mr. Eaton from his leadership position.”

An important fact that isn’t mentioned is that Marc Nussbaum is the newly-elected Republican State Committeemember for the 46th AD and the candidate selected by the Fiorello LaGuardia Republican Club, which recently easily defeated the incumbent leadership candidates of the Edmond Seergy Club, who had run as the slate supporting and supported by State Senator Golden. More important, or at least equally important, Mr. Nussbaum lives in the more populous southern part of Brook-Krasny’s 46th AD; and he is ethnically right for that part of the district. Such a candidate would be a first for the GOP, which has traditionally run Irish or Italian candidates from the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights part of the 46th. Recently, those candidates have struggled to get a third of the vote in the general election in November.

Very little is known about Mr. Lilikakis, who is apparently a complete newcomer to Brooklyn and/or Republican politics. One wonders whether Jerry Kassar and Nicole Malliotakis were discussing the Stamatis Lilikakis candidacy when they were together at the Bridgeview Diner late last week.

Is Obama blindly and pointlessly stumbling toward global thermonuclear war ? ? ?

Diplomatically and in their various foreign policy statements and other manifestations Obama, Biden and Kerry are clearly all dressed up in their finest clown clothes and makeup for all the world to see  ---  and, of course, Putin and his closest Russian military and foreign policy officials are laughing their asses off, because they just love the sight of American clowns

Be afraid  ---  be very afraid ! ! !    Barack Obama, the clown with the biggest nose and the biggest ears, has his finger on THE BUTTON  ---  what will this fraudulent, phony and patently non-presidential POTUS do next -- or next-to next -- or next-to, next-to next  ? ? ?

Neville Chamberlain and the British Foreign Office, with their active policy of non-confrontation, non-war appeasement, were far more deft in their dealings with Hitler and the Nazis in 1937 and 1938 than Barack Obama and his clown car foreign policy team are now being with their moves and counter-moves to Russia’s aggressive initiatives in eastern Europe  —  and remember in 1939, everybody saw the start of the principal European aspect of World War II  –  Britain's and France's declaring war on Nazi Germany over its  invasion of Poland (though interestingly, not against Soviet Russia's simultaneous moves from the Ukraine into Eastern Poland).

Obama needs to follow through on his foreign policy initiatives, clearly stated in 2007, 2008 and even 2009. He needs to call up Vladimir Putin, tell him: 1)  that the U.S. will do another “RESET” (maybe, Hillary Clinton can be sent as a special emissary with another Staples-style “NEW RESET” button); 2) that we will physically RETREAT and remove all U.S. military hardware as far as Putin thinks is necessary under the circumstances; and most important, 3) that Obama will personally APOLOGIZE to Putin for anything indicating a U.S. interest in democracy and self-determination around the world, or that might have suggested an overbearing American exceptionalism, in any way.

Anything else brings us closer to an Obama initiated real global environmental disaster of H-bomb mushroom clouds rising and covering most of the inhabited regions of the northern hemisphere –  to be followed by several years of nuclear winter ( See 1960's cinematic representations “Fail Safe” and “Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” and 1983 TV movie “The Day After”).

New York Post Slams Mike Long’s Conservative Party in Editorial Praising GOP Gubernatorial Hopeful Rob Astorino

“... The Conservative Party is little more than a patronage mill....”                                                       —   NY Post Editorial, 3/17/14 edition

According, to the Post’s Editorial Board, “Minor parties once served a useful purpose here as an ideological check on Democrats and Republicans. No longer. The Conservative Party is little more than a patronage mill; the Working Families Party is a clearinghouse through which elected officials are bought by the public-sector unions; and the Independence Party stands for nothing at all, having spent much of the last few years under investigation....” (See “EDITORIAL –  Rob’s declaration of independence” by NY Post Editorial Board, 3/16/14 [similar text appeared in print edition of NY Post on 3/17/14 ] [http://nypost.com/2014/03/16/robs-declaration-of-independence/]).

What the Post has finally articulated about the New York State Conservative Party in yesterday’s editorial praising Rob Astorino’s decision to renounce any attempt to get the Independence Party line is exactly what this blog has repeatedly announced about the Brooklyn GOP’s  and it’s candidates’ misguided efforts at chasing after Conservative Party endorsements. It’s gone on for about the last five decades; and it is long overdue to be dumped for practical and moral reasons.

Interestingly, many of the candidates that get the endorsement of Jerry Kassar’s Brooklyn Conservative Party also manage to get the Independence Party line, as well. This suggests that there might well be a multi-faceted type of political corruption involving paired or multiple third-party endorsements afoot. That is certainly something that needs to be looked into.

A MODEST proposal: Why doesn’t the NEW YORK STATE SENATE get behind opening WHORE HOUSES “at International Airport Departure Terminals located within a city of a million or more...” – You know – They would be located at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, just like the proposed on-line gaming parlors

Since the NYS Senate now thinks that tapping the vices of travelers is a good way to cover holes in the NYS budget, whore houses at the airports should be a BRILLIANT addition to the plan

Does the NY State Senate’s latest budget gimmick to open computer gaming casinos at New York City’s two airports tie into anything being done by State Senator Golden’s Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship ?

Maybe, if you were paying attention, you first heard or read about the possible connection of Golden’s “Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship” with expanded computer gambling in New York State right here on this blog back in November....

According to Newsday, “The state Senate is betting visitors to John F. Kennedy International Airport will want to take their chances on playing video slots while waiting for their flights.
The innovative budget proposal would provide the state about $40 million a year, a Senate spokesman said Saturday....” (See “State Senate favors video slots at JFK” by Michael Ghormley, 3/15/14, Newsday
[http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/state-senate-favors-video-slots-at-jfk-1.7403078; also at michael.gormley@newsday.com]).  Based on Mr. Ghormley’s report in Newsday today, the budget proposal that came out of the NYS Senate would make video slots available to JFK visitors through their iPads ( according to the Senate's Republican conference, there would be no actual machines in the airport; and in an aim to block gamblers from descending on the airport solely to play the virtual one-armed bandits, those video slots would be accessed only beyond the airport's gates in the departure terminals). A similar article that appeared in yesterday’s NY Post; and in that article it was observed that “...the state Senate quietly inserted a provision in its state budget plan to allow slot machines at Kennedy Airport....  The provision is buried in the Senate’s budget resolution, which says it wants to ‘allow VLTs [Video Lottery Terminals or slots] at International Airport Departure Terminals located within a city of a million or more’.” ( See “Slot machines could be coming to JFK” by Carl Campanile, 3/14/14, NY Post  [http://nypost.com/2014/03/14/slot-machines-could-be-coming-to-jfk/]).

For those with a taste for such things, the entire cynical thought process about airport computer gaming is laid out in a single article that appeared in the NY Daily News back in October, 2013 (See “A far safer bet: Slots at our airports  –  Get more money out of tourists without spreading casinos all over the state” by Anthony Figliola, 10/25/13,  NYDaily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/safer-bet-slots-airports-article-1.1495919]). What makes that article and those proposals even more interesting is how they dovetailed with what State Senator Martin Golden was talking about at around that time (See e.g. “New York looking to lure video game developers to the state...” by  Rick Moriarty, 10/23/14 [http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/new_york_looking_to_lure_video_game_developers_to_the_state.html; also  rmoriarty@syracuse.com; and  rmoriarty@syracuse.com]). As I suggested around that time, Senator Golden’s focusing on the development of “computer games” was oddly looking at the “hole and not the donut” when there was an immediate windfall in “computer gambling” right there to be plucked right out of the air ( See “BACKFILL: THE "DON'T MIX UP YOUR DONUTS AND HOLES" EDITION” by Galewyn Massey, 11/18/14  comment to my earlier 11/18/13 post “Is State Senator Golden now also Herr Doktor Professor, Il Dottore di Ricerca and a throw-back to TV’s ‘Mister Wizard’ ? — OR, is this all a send-up like Bob and Ray’s ‘Mister Science’ ” [http://galewynmassey.blogspot.com/2013/11/is-state-senator-golden-herr-doktor.html]). Well, maybe State Senator Marty was looking at the donut the whole time and the chit-chat about computer games development was nothing more than a nifty head-fake.

The real problem is that any state that cantilevers its budgets on vice-based financing schemes like airport computer gaming is adopting the economics and fiscal practices of the caudillos who ran various “Banana Republics” back in the good old days  —   does anybody  remember the earlier scenes in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” with the hawking of the lotteries ?  Any debate about the wisdom of embarking upon such fiscal gimmickery needs to look into the downside. There have been a number of reasons given to pass various types of gambling in New York over the years: initially to save the horse racing industry (OTB), then it was the jobs and economic development for Indian Tribes and then for failing race tracks. The same debate has been repeated in state after state  across the country  —  “Any revenue the state might gain from casinos and slot machines will be negated by the crime, addiction and social costs associated with expanded gambling...”  And eventually,  the state will become addicted to the revenue and then seek to approve more and more gambling venues.  Once we are into foreign airport travelers’ gambling at Kennedy and La Guardia, how can we keep it from inter- and  intra-state travelers at those airports or from all such travelers moving through Westchester County, MacArthur, and Stewart, etc., etc., etc.....

So since the Republicans in the NY State Senate have decided to take this solid step in the direction of vice and licentiousness  –  in for a penny, in for a pound  –  let’s have them open some brothels along with their airport video gaming parlors  –  where such “airport whore houses” will only “victimize” overseas travelers, many of whom are probably going on their trips just to get laid anyway.

“Son of Sal” – “Duffle Bag Joe” railroad of Salvatore Perrone moving on a local track and below the radar

The last hearing in the Salvatore Perrone case had been scheduled for January 17, 2014; it was unceremoniously adjourned to March 28, 2014  — are all these delays intended to keep the “Son of Sal” case out of sight and out of mind ?

By March 28th, this open and shut, slam-dunk case against the self-represented defendant, Salvatore Perrone, will be pending fifteen (15) months in front of one judge, Alan Marrus, since the indictment was handed down by the Grand Jury 

There was no news coverage of the January 17th hearing in the Salvatore Perrone case before Judge Alan Marrus, so I cannot really tell you why the case was adjourned more than two months until March 28th.  In any case, I can predict to a degree of almost metaphysical certainty that on March 28th, Salvatore Perrone will not have all of the evidentiary material that he has sought in open court from his prosecutors. It is also not clear whether Perrone is getting any legal assistance as he tries to prepare the case, based upon quotes by Judge Marrus at an earlier hearing, one doubts it.

For a case that was so big in November and December of 2014, all of the running out the clock by the Brooklyn DA and the Court handling the case has rendered all of it “Out of sight and out of mind ! ! !” I don’t know if Salvatore Perrone is guilty of any of the murders with which he has been charged, but I do know that neither Perrone nor the families of the victims are getting any justice or vindication in the way this case is being handled by the so-called  “adults in the room,” specifically including the judge.

State Senator Martin Golden’s >>> STATEMENT <<< about charter schools [cue the four notes from Ludwig Von’s 5th]

“Charter schools are public schools that enhance and improve education opportunities for all New York's children and are proven effective. I am disappointed in Mayor de Blasio, and his administration. Charters [sic] schools are a vital and important part of the education equation, and must be part of the conversation when discussing the educational needs of our children. I hope that the Mayor and the Chancellor reconsider their opposition to charter schools and I will continue to work in Albany to ensure that students and parents have as many options as possible when it come to schools, and that includes charters.”

State Senator Golden’s statement above about charter schools is surprising and welcome  —   BUT, IF THAT’S ALL THERE IS, IT WILL BE BITTERLY DISAPPOINTING

State Senator Golden’s office put out the above “statement” in a release to the press and an item on the sate senator’s website on Friday ( See “STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARTY GOLDEN ON CHARTER SCHOOLS” –  Posted by Martin J. Golden on Friday, February 28th, 2014 [http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/statement-senator-marty-golden-charter-schools]). I cannot even begin to list all the ways this “STATEMENT” comes up short. It is a nice expression of sentiment and very little more than that. In other words, it is a typical piece of warm, steamy Marty Goldenism. Given his genius, Beethoven was able to take even the simple four note theme of his 5th Symphony down to a one note theme — yes, briefly he was “Ludwig One Note” —  but the key was “Given his genius...”  After a few superficial toots about charters, Marty Golden basically has a no note theme.

Nonetheless, coming about a week after Golden’s semi-secret breakfast with our com-symp mayor we should be thankful for small favors. Also, given Golden's almost constant constant sniffing and huffing of UFT essences, any statement favoring charters is surprising.

As you can tell, I don't think Marty G's heart is in this, but I do hope that the state senator has something more substantial to offer concerning charters in the near future.

Gene Berardelli needs to stop “tearing down,” or is that “building up,” Glenn Nocera

Yesterday, Glenn Nocera, the President of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, Member of the Republican State Committee from the 44th AD and a “Republicans for Change” activist suffered a major political set back when the case, in which he was one of the named petitioner-plaintiffs, was dismissed by NYS Supreme Court Justice David Schmidt

Overnight, in a game of Cyber- Spy vs. Spy, Nocera showed that he is still one of Brooklyn’s top independent operators by shutting down all attempts by the county organization to get out their “good news” on the Brooklyn GOP Facebook page  —   you see Nocera has managed to become the administrator of that media spot 

There is a very strange post on the Brooklyn GOP Radio >Official< Show Blog this morning (See “More #EpicFail: Nocera Throws Facebook Tantrum, "Steals" Facebook Group” by Gene Berardelli, 3/1/14, Brooklyn GOP Radio >Official< Show Blog [http://brooklyngopradio.blogspot.com/2014/03/more-epicfail-nocera-throws-facebook.html]). The Berardelli post is a full-throated attack on Glenn Nocera, but it focuses on Nocera’s administration and control of the Brooklyn GOP Facebook page of late, especially yesterday. A particular item in Berardelli’s craw is that Nocera has shut Mr. B out of that Facebook page.

Gene Berardelli needs to step back, take some deep breaths and decompress.  He is stepping on what should be the Brooklyn GOP’s only talking point today  >>> County Chairman Craig Eaton’s big win in court over State Senator Martin Golden is a big, big deal. <<<   Nocera’s capture of the Brooklyn GOP Facebook page was accomplished months ago  —  nothing about it, or what Nocera is doing with it, needs to be put out there today or tomorrow or the next day.

Furthermore, if the purpose of the attacks on Nocera are to silence or inhibit him, they have been a complete failure. The media wars between Nocera and Berardelli have gone on for years. Any objective observer would have to acknowledge that Glenn Nocera has been the big winner as a result of many of those fights. During the era of the Berardelli attacks, Nocera has risen from a mere GOP county committee member and failed GOP candidate for office to become President of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, in which position he is one of  the most quoted Republican operators in Brooklyn by the city-wide media, and he was selected as the Male Member of the Republican State Committee from the 44th AD, in which position he is an executive member of the Kings County Republican Organization. In addition, Nocera has been an active participant in each and every successful or significant GOP race in Brooklyn over the last five years; and now it looks like he has completely outmaneuvered Berardelli, Eaton and Company for control of the Brooklyn GOP Facebook page.  A strong argument can be made that a lot of Nocera’s advance within the Brooklyn GOP is due to the media attacks by Berardelli — and Nocera’s outburst at Craig Eaton at the 2013 County Convention was certainly directly attributable to his treatment at the hands of Berardelli and others lined-up with Eaton.

At a time when Craig Eaton’s Brooklyn GOP should be focused like a laser on Eaton’s principal antagonist Marty Golden, Berardelli’s blunderbuss attacks on Glenn Nocera are just counter-productive. The Berardelli Bad wolf needs to stop trying to blow down “Piggy” Nocera’s house of bricks —  it’s a waste of time and effort. Besides, who’s going to think you can beat Marty Golden when you can’t seem to be able to beat Glenn Nocera ?