As we move deeper into New Years Eve and start to count down to the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016.....

Let's hope the Brooklyn GOP finds itself in time to do something meaningful in 2016

Wishing all my friends, and political and blogging associates of all stripes, hues and descriptions  >>>  A Happy New Year for 2016  

And to all the villains in my life  >>>  A miserable undoing before the next New Year

I intend to revel very quietly and think fondly of many New Years past. At the same time, I will be grateful at not having to wait in Canarsie or Mill Basin for a bus back home to Bay Ridge well into the AM; and be amazed that all of that seems not very long ago, even though it's been close to fifty years.

Also my images of that revelry are intruded upon by a few moving picture images of people shouting "HAAAPP-PEEE NEW YEAR !!!" -- like William Powell, as Nick Charles in "After the Thin Man," or  Joe E. Brown, as Cap'n Andy in "Show Boat".....  Something that shows the power of certain mediums to substitute fabricated images in place of, or at least ahead of, real ones.

Brooklyn Eagle report shows there is general acceptance of Arnaldo Ferraro as KCRP Chairman

Several NYS GOP leaders lend support to Ferraro as "Chairman" elected by 2015 Brooklyn GOP County Convention at "official" KCRP Christmas-Holiday Party

 

According to a feature article in the Brooklyn Eagle,  "New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox came to the Brooklyn party’s headquarters in Bensonhurst to help new Brooklyn GOP Party Chairman Arnaldo Ferraro and his troops celebrate the holiday season. Ferraro, who was elected chairman of the Brooklyn Republican Party on Sept. 30, hosted the holiday get-together at the party’s headquarters at 8024 17th Ave...." (See "State GOP chairman parties with Brooklyn leaders" by Brooklyn Eagle Staff, 12/28/15, The Brooklyn Eagle [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/12/28/state-gop-chairman-parties-brooklyn-leaders][with photo of  "Brooklyn GOP Chairman Arnaldo Ferraro" and Ed Cox]).

The Eagle article went on to say, ".... Jason Weingartner, executive director of the New York State Republican Party, also attended the holiday party. The guest list included Craig Eaton, former Brooklyn GOP chairman; Diana Sepulveda, president of the Brooklyn Young Republicans Club; Jeffrey Ferretti, Republican candidate for the 59th Assembly District; and Jaime Sanders, candidate for the 19th Congressional District. Brooklyn GOP Secretary Lucretia Regina-Potter organized the party with help from GOP Treasurer Stephen Maresca...."

Perhaps the most important aspect of the coverage  by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of the  "official" Republican event hosted by Mr. Ferraro and Party Secretary Lucretia Potter was this description of how Mr. Ferraro became the Kings County Republican County Chairman in 2015:    "....  This year marked a changing of the guard in Republican Party politics in Brooklyn. Eaton, a Bay Ridge lawyer who had served as Brooklyn GOP chairman for eight years, suddenly stepped down at the party’s Sept. 30 meeting and threw his support behind Ferraro, a retired educator from Bensonhurst. Ferraro was elected chairman by an overwhelming margin, 327-46. Eaton’s political enemy, state Sen. Marty Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-Southwest Brooklyn), had sought to nominate Ted Ghorra a lawyer from Bay Ridge, for the chairmanship. But Golden’s forces lost a floor fight over proxy votes and Ferraro cruised to victory."

“Bay Ridge” Bob Capano’s Letter to CB-10 Shines Bright Light on Problem of Radicalism In Our Midst

Islamic Radical Linda Sarsour’s rabble-rousing antics resulting in her arrest at Gracie Mansion highlight a growing alliance between jihadi-oriented Arabs and American Black radicals fomenting riots and other anti-police violence across the country 

Letter to CB-10 also points up how far left the local Democrat-dominated planning board has swung

Even though Bob Capano’s E-mail announcement this morning is about the “Vast News Coverage...” of several of the interviews on his boss John Catsimatidis’ “Cats' Roundtable...” show on the radio, Capano deserves his own kudos for putting his own spotlight on a news story and problem that is closer to home for those of us living in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.

Of course, if you’ve been reading this blog or the local newspapers, you’d know that Mr. Capano has been publicizing the nefarious exploits of Bay Ridge’s own Islamic radical, Linda Sarsour  —  this time in connection with her out of control attacks on the NYPD, which resulted in her recent arrest and which are part and parcel of her alliance with the domestic Black radicals and trouble-makers that have been fomenting riots across the country throughout 2014-2015.

LETTER TO COMMUNITY PLANNING BOARD 10 CHAIRMAN

The most recent coverage of the Bob Capano-Linda Sarsour story appeared as a “Letter to the Editor” in the Courier Life’s “Brooklyn Daily” section, but it was really a “cc” of a portion of Bob Capano’s recent letter to the CB-10 Chairman Brian Kieran.

Capano thinks that it is necessary for the local board to reign-in Sarsour, who was recently arrested in an anti-cop demonstration at the Mayor’s residence – Gracie Mansion.  Sarsour has been increasingly vocal and active in her attacks on the NYPD.  Those attacks have run the gamut from her complaints about NYPD surveillance programs that were aimed at Islamic terrorists right here in Brooklyn, to her more recent rants on behalf of “Black Lives Matter” and the “Justice League of New York.”  Thanks to Bob Capano's efforts, everybody now knows that Linda Sarsour is a CB-10 member that was put there by the incumbent Democratic City Councilman, Vincent Gentile.

However, don’t expect very much to come of that.  CB-10 has slipped very far left lately – even though it is ostensibly being controlled by people identified as middle-of-the-road Dems, like Mr. Kieran, who also writes a Democratic-liberal column for the Home Reporter.

NOT A PEEP FROM GOLDEN OR HIS STAFF  —  NO LONGER ANY GOP INFLUENCE ON CB-10 

Long-gone are the days when people like Craig Eaton held sway over CB-10. Now, it’s as if local Republican electeds, like Marty Golden, and the people on their staffs, like Jerry Kassar and John Quaglione,  no longer have any interest whatsoever in the community-based board for Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. Once upon a time, things had been completely different. When Golden still cared about such things, he made sure that his interests were heard on CB-10; and that was long after he’d moved-on from the NY City Council to the NY State Senate.

If nothing else, Bob Capano’s push-back on Sarsour’s activities by way of his direct appeal to the Community Planning Board Chairman puts at least one local Bay Ridge Republican on the record in favor of the NYPD in the face of the growing attacks against them.

Important Announcement: Craig Eaton is still the KCRP Chairman

Marty Golden's blockage of the "certification" of Arnaldo Ferraro as the duly elected KCRP Chairman actually means Craig Eaton continues as the Brooklyn GOP Chairman beyond his term, because Chairman Eaton is NOT "Functus Officio"

Craig Eaton's last official act should have been to complete the transition of his leadership to Arnaldo Ferraro ---  the actions of the State Senator Martin Golden - Ted Ghorra cabal at the NYC Board of Elections and in court have had the effect of extending the Chairmanship of Craig Eaton until the selection of the new Brooklyn GOP Chairman is "certified" 

It looks like Craig Eaton has some other cards to play in this game....   

One of the things that "Chairman" Eaton might do is re-convene the County Committee of the KCRP to report on what has happened since the convention elected Arnaldo Ferrao and for additional matters related to the election of Arnaldo Ferraro. After such matters have been conducted by the County Committee, a new certification of the election of Arnaldo Feraro might be submitted to the BOE; and a motion made to the court that the current pending matter should be dismissed.because the case is moot.

Maybe there will be an announcement about some or all of this at the "official" KCRP Christmas/Holiday Party.

Marty Golden — Robocalls — Parties at the Bay Ridge Manor — And lots of brass

You’ve got to hand it to Brooklyn Republican State Senator Marty Golden  —  He sure does have a pair of brass bells when it comes to holding his Christmas/ Holiday Party at the site of his family business, The Bay Ridge Manor

Marty might be having all his friends and insiders in to bring out a figgy pudding, and they won’t go until they have some  —  But, SSMG doesn’t seem to give a flying fig about Preet Bharara or what the U.S. Attorney’s done lately to some of Marty’s good friends of Christmas Past

Did you get your robocall invitation to State Senator Marty Golden’s holiday party at the Bay Ridge Manor ???   Well, I did  !!!   Given all that’s been going on with Marty Golden this year, I must say that I’m a little bit surprised.

If you are a regular follower Capital New York you already know that  —   last Friday's corruption conviction of former Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos knocked out another of the “three men in a room” who have controlled the Albany for years. However, unlike the guilty verdict handed down a month before to former NYS Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, Dean Skelos’ partisan opposite, the Skelos' conviction will touch off a political war that will probably dominate Albany next year; and which will most likely probably side-track any efforts at serious legislative reform in the state capital ( See “The partisan reform war launched by the Skelos conviction” by Jimmy Vielkind, 12/11/15, Capital New York/ PoliticoNewYork beta [http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/12/8585456/partisan-reform-war-launched-skelos-conviction]). Judging from outward behavior, that suits Brooklyn GOP State Senator Marty Golden just fine  —  because it all seems like water off of a duck's back; or in this instance, off the back of a Christmas goose.

But, as we get closer to Christmas in this Year of Our Lord 2015,  might there be more than visions of sugar plums dancing inside Marty G’s head ???  Are there things that he should be more worried about than hitting his electronic breezer with messages inviting people to his annual holiday soiree ???

If you read deeper into Jimmy V’s article, cited above, you’ll see that he buries the Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Marine Park state senator both literally and figuratively.  Literally – since there is only one sentence  mentioning Marty; and its almost in the perfect middle of a paragraph at the perfect middle of the article. However, Vielkind’s figurative burial of Senator Golden might be more significant, because that one sentence specifically says “....  Marty Golden, a Republican from Brooklyn, acknowledged that federal prosecutors were looking at campaign money he spent at a catering hall now owned by his brother....”  It’s not a quote by SSMG   —   but, it is about as close to a quote as you can get (about a month from now anybody will be able to put quotes around it, and then you’ll have the damn quote).

QUICK BIT OF AN ECHO ON A LOCAL BLOG

Before my favorite “fans” followers start razzing me that I’ll put up any little negative thing about Marty up there on my blog as soon as I get it, let me say that other local pundits and punters beat me to the punt on this one. One of my oldest and loyalist BSIs sent me the link to the Jimmy Vielkind article two days ago  —   shortly after that, he sent me a link to some commentary about that article posted by “Kip” in the Bay Ridge Journal.

According to Kip  —   “....  Politwatchers are now waiting for the next shoe to drop, with eight Long Island senators subpoenaed during the Skelos investigation, and federal prosecutors looking into campaign money that Republican state senator Marty Golden dropped on the Bay Ridge Manor, which nominally belongs to his brother....”  (See “What's Next for Corrupt Albany?” by Kip, 12/12/15, The Bay Ridge Journal [http://bayridgejournal.blogspot.com/2015/12/whats-next-for-corrupt-albany.html]).

A BOLD MOVE IN THE FACE OF A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION

I must say that, if nothing else, Marty Golden sure is a bold one. He seems completely unmoved by the observations and running commentary the likes of Jimmy Vielkind, Kip, Galewyn Massey and all similarly situated carpers and whiners.  I get that  —  and part of me even respects and likes it.

On the other hand, what I don’t get is SSMG’s getting right into the grillwork of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, fresh off of some more corruption convictions, one of whom was Marty’s Republican caucus boss in the NYS Senate.

I feel that going back to the Bay Ridge Manor well – one more time – in such an open and notorious manner does not demonstrate wisdom.  However, in the spirit of the holidays it does show that Marty Golden does have one big pair of brassy Christmas bells that he is tugging, moving and  shaking to beat the band for the 2015 holidays.

In what looks like a budding political campaign --- Bob Capano goes back to some favorite old themes

Former Republican City Council Candidate Bob Capano has been  hacking away at the opposition on his computer issuing statements going after Bay Ridge Islamic activist Linda Sarsour for her more outrageous anti-police rhetoric and lawless behavior  ---  The once [and future?] GOP City Council Candidate again goes after Linda Sarsour and NYC Councilman Vinny Gentile in a series of E-Mail releases

"FORMER DIRECTOR OF BROOKLYN COMMUNITY BOARDS SAYS LINDA SARSOUR DOES NOT BELONG ON COMMUNITY BOARD 10 AFTER HER PARTICIPATION IN ANTI-POLICE DEMONSTRATION‏  --  CAPANO SAYS SARSOUR’S ANTI-POLICE VIEWS DOES NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF BAY RIDGE & DYKER HEIGHTS"*  ---   ROBERT CAPANO, E-MAILED PRESS RELEASE 

__________________________

*Note:  Emphasis and Caps were Mr. Capano's



Mr. Capano, was Director of Community Boards under former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, today called on Linda Sarsour to resign from Community Board 10 or for Borough President Eric Adams and Councilman Gentile to not re-appoint her after a video showed her participating in an anti-police protest and getting arrested.  His thoughts were contained in three similar E-mail releases that were distributed to separate mailing lists maintained by Capano.
Since Mr.Capano also was the Republican, Conservative, and Independence party candidate against Gentile in 2009,  one cannot escape concluding that these releases definitely look like they have a political purpose that goes beyond bashing Ms. Sarsour and the Democrat officeholders that Capano mentioned.

According to Capano's statement  ---  “When I was director of Brooklyn community boards, I always recommended to the Borough President individuals for appointment who were in touch with the general values and needs of a community. Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights has always been communities known for their strong support of the NYPD and the 68th Precinct. Linda Sarsour, through her active participation at this protest where vile statements were made against the NYPD, and where she was arrested, demonstrates that she does not represent the values of the community and should not be a member of Community Board 10. She should resign. If she does not, Councilman Gentile and Borough President Adams should finally say ‘enough is enough’ with her pattern of irresponsible and extreme actions and make sure she is not re-appointed.”

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On Thursday, December 3rd, protesters led by something called "The Justice League of New York" protested against the NYC Police Department outside of Gracie Mansion. Video from the event showed a protester yelling in the face of a police officer, “Nobody looks at you like a hero, just a racist.”  In addition, there were repeated chants  at that demonstration  about “the violence of the racist police."   The video also showed a number of protesters being arrested, including Linda Sarsour, the Islamic activist from Bay Ridge.

CAPANO SAYS SARSOUR’S ANTI-POLICE VIEWS DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF BAY RIDGE & DYKER HEIGHTS

Reflecting on what he saw in the video, Bob Capano made note of the following:  “Having been born and raised in Bay Ridge, I know that these comments do not represent the community.  Maybe Chairman [of Board 10] Brian Kieran should call for a vote expressing the support of Community Board 10 for the NYPD to demonstrate that Linda Sarsour does not represent the views of the board, Bay Ridge, or Dyker Heights.”

Maybe it's just me, but maybe  -- just maybe --  this is  beginning to look a lot like a budding political campaign for something.

_______________________________
** NOTE:  A link to the video referred to by Mr. Capano is at: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/12/04/black-lives-matter-protester-walks-up-to-nypd-officer-delivers-shockingly-nasty-message-to-his-face/

GALEWYN MASSEY'S EDITORIAL -- IN RESPONSE TO THE NY TIMES FRONT PAGE EDITORIAL

In light of the recent terrorist attack on Americans in their homeland, and the NY Times front-page editorial about a  so-called "Gun  Epidemic" ---  Americans must do something to END  >>>  The Knee-jerk Liberal Epidemic In Response Guns and Gun Rights in America and the simultaneous attempts to completely disarm us in the face of rising threats foreign and domestic

It's about time to consider BANNING all speech, writing or mass transmission of anything that seeks to limit the Second Amendment in any way -  Shutting down the New York Times would be a good way to start

​It is a moral outrage and national disgrace that Liberals can legally speak-out against the lawful purchase of firearms protected by the U.S. Constitution. This is especially true now, when Americans face an onslaught of radical Muslim Jihadis within their borders, in their communities --- and just this week, being present to kill Christians and Jews at their year end holiday observances.

All REAL AMERICANS feel sorrow and righteous fury about the latest attack on our freedoms first by terrorists  --  and now by the Liberal Establishment's main organ of propaganda the New York Times.

Across the country  REAL AMERICANS are searching for a proportional and effective response, including addressing the vital question of whether the Times and other liberal outlets might need to be SILENCED in their hateful jihad against Americans'  bedrock and essential right to bear arms.

Given these times and the outrage perpetrated by the terrorist and the New York Times, that is only right and proper.

What better time than during a presidential election to show, at long last, that our nation has regained a righteous sense of itself?  An outraged citizenry needs to rise up --  and  --  SHUT DOWN THE NEW YORK TIMES --  to silence its hateful and un-American rantings once and for all.

SPECIAL UPDATE: GOLDEN-SPONSORED LAWSUIT AGAINST THE BROOKLTN REPUBLICAN PARTY SIDE-TRACKED BY COURT

A NYS Supreme Court Judge, Hon. Edgar Walker, JSC, has delayed the progress of the State Senator Martin Golden-sponsored case against KCRP Chairman Arnaldo Ferraro for at least another two months  

In ordering  the second adjournment in the case,  Justice Walker wanted both sides to clarify their positions on the issues by filing additional briefs by January 26, 2016,  allowing both sides to "reply" by February 2, 2016  --  the next date in NYS Supreme Court is now scheduled for  February 5th 

The Golden groupies left court & went home like a bunch of grumpies !!!

In an exclusive interview with the attorney for KCRP Chairman Arnaldo Ferraro and the KCRP, Ezra Glaser, Esq., of the firm Conde & Glaser, LLP, I have obtained several details of today's session before the Honorable Edgar Walker, JSC, in the case brought by several named petitioners ( but, as in 2013, sponsored by NYS  Senator Martin Golden [R-C]).

The formal result of today's appearance in front of Judge Walker is that the matter was again adjourned --- this time until February 5. 2016.  Before that date, however,  the Court directed the opposing parties to submit briefs to narrow the issues and clarify their positions on those issues -- the date for serving and  submitting briefs is January 26th; and all sides were given an opportunity to serve & submit reply briefs by February 2nd.

All of that was the result of an abbreviated argument this morning wherein Mr. Glaser had argued to the Court that ".... Those challenging the validity of the duly convened 2015 GOP County Convention have a heavy burden to demonstrate with evidence that the formal convention was not duly conducted according to the law and the KCRP rules...."
The main arguments on behalf of the Golden team were made by John Ciampoli, an attorney long-associated with  NYS Senate Republicans, including Marty Golden on some matters.  Ciampoli appeared as the retained counsel for Diane Rudiano and some other allied petitioners.  One of the main arguments advanced by Mr. Ciampoli was that the 2015 KCRP Convention was not conducted pursuant to "Robert's Rules...";  in addition, he argued about  the deliberations of the "Credentials Committee" designated by the former County Chairman and the Temporary Chair of the Convention. He said those deliberations were not open to all sides for observation, there was no submission of any report of the "Credentials Committee" for any vote at the convention, and that a majority of the proxies were eliminated without a "hearing" or the submission of any evidence.  Mr. Glaser countered all of those arguments.

After asking both sides several questions showing a familiarity of the papers previously submitted, Justice Walker indicated that the mornings arguments went well beyond what was in the papers before the Court.   When the Court first mentioned the need for a briefing schedule, Mr. Ciampoli and his co-counsel for other petitioners demurred and argued for a decision on the papers before the Court, or for the taking the Petitions on submission along with allowing the later submission  of supplemental papers.  Mr Glaser argued against that;  and the Court granted the complete adjournment of proceedings on condition of a clear briefing schedule in advance of the adjourn date.

Although he heard none of the specific conversations by those on the Golden side,  Mr. Glaser seemed certain that the Golden folks were completely dissatisfied at what had happen in court today.  His observations came down to this:  You could tell  by the body language and everybody's pantomime movements that it wasn't a happy crowd.

A CLASSIC FAIL --- Hillary Clinton only "Gets It" after her Benghazi-like diversion about San Bernadino fizzled and not acknowledging "Terrorism" became a political liability

Clinton's first impulse was a classic diversion ---  to respond just like Barack-O  by attacking all American's Constitutional rights and blame the San Bernadino carnage on gun violence

HILLARY STICKS WITH GUN VIOLENCE THEME EVEN AFTER IT BECAME KNOWN THAT  >>>  SYED RIZWAN FAROOK & TASHFEEN MALIK CARRIED OUT THE SAN BERNADINO SHOOTING,  AND THAT THEY WERE APPARENTLY "RADICALIZED" & IN TOUCH WITH OTHERS INVESTIGATED FOR "INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM"

FOR OBAMA, HILLARY AND OTHER LEADING DEMOCRATS:  IT'S STILL MOSTLY ABOUT THE "GUNS" AND LESS ABOUT THE "TERRORISM"

According to a print report from CBS News ---  "Hillary Clinton on Thursday evening commented further on the shooting in San Bernardino, California that killed 14 people a day earlier, saying it's 'becoming clearer that we are dealing with an act of terrorism....   I have confidence that the local police working with the FBI, we will learn more about what went on and who these people were and what their motivation were. But it is becoming clearer that we are dealing with an act of terrorism something that included bombs, luckily one that didn't go off,' Clinton said after calling hours earlier for gun safety reform in the wake of the shooting...."  (See "​Hillary Clinton: Becoming clear San Bernardino shooting 'act of terrorism' " by Hannah Fraser-CHanpong, 12/3/15, CBS News [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-we-need-to-take-action-now-on-guns-after-san-bernardino-shooting/]).

HRC'S EARLIEST REACTION WAS THE TYPICAL DEMOCRAT KNEE-JERK ABOUT GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA -- HILLARY ALSO SPOKE IN DEFENSE OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS 

Rather than rallying America against a rising and real threat to the nation, homegrown Islamic terrorists and terrorism, Hillary Clinton was quick to join President Obama in scoring quick political points, making the focus "gun violence" and calling for more gun-control on good law abiding Americans.

CNN has reported that  ---   "....  Clinton told a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire on Thursday that she would 'not be silenced' on gun violence....  (See "Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders seek gun control reform after shootings" by Dan Merica and Tom LoBianco, 12/4/15, CNN [http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/03/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-gun-control/]).

The CNN report on Mrs. Clinton's remarks was careful to note the following:  "....  Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, carried out the San Bernardino shooting massacre, according to investigators. Law enforcement officials said Thursday that Farook was apparently radicalized and in touch with people being investigated by the FBI for international terrorism...."  Then it contued with this quote from HRC:  ".... 'They should not have been able to do this,' no matter 'what motivated' the shooters, Clinton said. 'I don't believe we can stop every incident of gun violence but we sure can stop a lot of them ... We need to take action now.'...   Clinton also defended Muslim Americans during her forceful remarks, telling the audience at an event focused on women in business that 'the vast majority of Muslim Americans are just as concerned and heart broken about this as anyone else.'..."

So !!! Why is Conservative-Republican State Senator Marty Golden tryin' to tear down the Brooklyn GOP >>> AGAIN ??? ..... or is that >>> STILL ???

For the second election cycle in a row,  SSMG, and his main gunsels, Jerry Kassar and John Quaglione, have gone to mattresses along with a bunch of  Brooklyn GOP Board of Elections types, in what has been a long-time and quite futile attempt to gain full control of the Kings County Republican Party

Some say that since almost none of the organized GOP clubs are carrying Marty Golden's petitions anymore --- Pretty much, the Golden cabal is trying to avoid the cost of hiring "consultants" to go out and get him on the GOP ballot for 2016 --- Team-Golden needs to hold control at the BOE to force GOP appointees to collect signatures for their boss (And, yes, that would be a felony, if it were to be proven against any individual or organization)

The current Republican leadership team seems very confident that the Golden-sponsored court case will again be dismissed without much fanfare -- sooner or later [like last time] -- but hopefully sooner, because of that precedent

This week the mixed bag of Republican opportunists and hangers-on to State Senator Golden's ever diminishing coat-tails will again go into Brooklyn Supreme Court to argue why they should be put in charge of the Brooklyn GOP.  Perhaps "ARGUE" is not the coorect word for what they will be doing  ---  if the past is in any way a guide, they will make noise in court and come away losers.

You see, it will be the attorney for the Brooklyn GOP, Ezra Glaser, who will be arguing the law and the facts to the court -- a duly noticed and  properly conducted convention; an authoriized and properly empaneled credentials committee,  and an openly conducted vote for chairman with the results announced and certified at the convention. He will also argue the presumption of validity and the past precedents of the Brooklyn Supreme Court's endorsing the  results of duly-conducted GOP County Conventions in the past  ---  and that the challengers to that presumed valid  result have the burden at the outset of  showing with admissible evidence that something invalid occurred during the proceedings.

So giving this case the seriousness it deserves ---  Let the games begin !!!   ---  and if you have a mind to do so, enjoy whatever fun there is in any of it.

And remember, please, this an exhibition for the entertainment of some only,  brought to you by the Marty and his Goldenistas; so, please, NO WAGERING.

AN INTERESTING THEORY

One of my best Baker Street Irregulars informed me of this interesting bit of Brooklyn GOP history, as told by that BSI. Several election cycles back, there was a blow-up between SSMG and the head of the Fiorello La uardia  Republican organization.  Golden said he was refusing to be "shaken down" and the representative of that club said Golden being a "dead beat," not being willing to pay his fair share of the expenses for his petitioning.  The La Guardia Club hasn't gotten Golden any signatures for years,  and other clubs have functionally joined that boycott. As a result, since then, Marty Golden has come very near to not qualifying for the GOP line once or twice.

The cost of qualifying with an independently run petitioning effort run by a "consultant" has gotten higher and higher.  So as to avoid that expense (with real documented campaign $$$$) the Golden team needs to gain control of enough Republican Board of Elections jobs to guarantee a cadre of petitioners working at the good old volunteer rate (00.00), and the not nearly so good  "consultant" ($$$$) rate. That, says my BSI, is why SSMG's fighting to get control of the GOP County leadership to lock in the BOE crew, once and for all.

I think there might be something to that ---  what do you think ?

Report shows U.S. gun-running to Libya in 2011 run by Sec/State Hillary Clinton and U.S. special envoy [later Ambassador] Christopher Stephens resulted in arms flow to ISIS & al-Qaeda

Former CIA officer charges that:   "The Obama administration effectively switched sides in what used to be called the Global War on Terror [GWOT] when it decided to overthrow the sovereign government of our Libyan ally, [which had] been helping in the fight against al-Qaeda, by actually teaming up with and facilitating gun-running to Libyan al-Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood [MB] elements there in 2011"

By 2012 the CIA was put in charge of collecting up and shipping out [surface-to-air missiles] SAMs from Libya on Libyan ships to Turkey for overland delivery to a variety of jihadists, many of whose members later coalesced into the Islamic State,  aka ISIS 

Edwin Mora, writing in Breitbart News says that  "The Obama administration pursued a policy in Libya back in 2011 that ultimately allowed guns to walk into the hands of jihadists linked to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and al-Qaeda (AQ) in Syria, according to a former CIA officer who co-authored [the] report ....  (See "Benghazi Commission: Obama Admin Gun-Running Scheme Armed Islamic State" by Edwin Mora,  11/30/15, Breitbart News   [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/30/benghazi-commission-obama-admin-gun-running-scheme-armed-islamic-state/]).   "So says Clare Lopez, a former CIA officer and the primary author of CCB’s interim report, titled How America Switched Sides in the War on Terror, speaking with Breitbart News...."

“....  'The Obama administration effectively switched sides in what used to be called the Global War on Terror [GWOT] when it decided to overthrow the sovereign government of our Libyan ally, Muammar Qaddafi, who’d been helping in the fight against al-Qaeda, by actually teaming up with and facilitating gun-running to Libyan al-Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood [MB] elements there in 2011,' explained Lopez.  'This U.S. gun-running policy in 2011 during the Libyan revolution was directed by [then] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and [the late Libya Ambassador] Christopher Stevens, who was her official envoy to the Libyan AQ rebels.'...”
To avoid having the funds tracked back to the Obama administration, the arms flow to Libya was financed thru the United Arab Emirates, while Qatar served as the logistical and shipping hub, Ms. Lopez noted.

STARTING IN 2012 U.S. SUPPLIED -WEAPONS STARTED MOVING FROM LIBYA THROUGH TURKEY TO ISIS IN SYRIA

“In 2012, the gun-running into Libya turned around and began to flow outward, from Benghazi to the AQ-and-MB-dominated rebels in Syria,” Lopez added. “This time, it was the CIA Base of Operations that was in charge of collecting up and shipping out [surface-to-air missiles] SAMs from Libya on Libyan ships to Turkey for overland delivery to a variety of jihadist militias, some of whose members later coalesced into groups like Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS [also known as IS]...”  [Jabhat al-Nusra is al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate].

PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNED ORDERS ALLOWING CIA AND OTHER AGENCIES TO DEAL WITH AMERICA'S ENEMIES IN TIME OF WAR

“It’s been reported that President Obama signed an Executive Order on Syria in early 2012 [just as he had done for Libya in early 2011], that legally covered the CIA and other U.S. agencies that otherwise would have been in violation of aiding and abetting the enemy in time of war and providing material support to terrorism,” notes Lopez. “Still, such blatant disregard for U.S. national security can only be described as deeply corrosive of core American principles.”

LOPEZ EXPLAINS WHY THERE HAS BEEN SUCH A WET BLANKET THROWN OVER BENGHAZI

“... 'There can be no greater treason than aiding and abetting the jihadist enemy in time of war – or providing material – weapons, funding, intel, NATO bombing – support to terrorism,' she continued.  'The reason Benghazi is not the burning issue it ought to be is because so many at top levels of U.S. government were implicated in wrong-doing: White House, Pentagon, Intel Community-CIA, Gang of Eight, at a minimum, in Congress, the Department of State, etc. ...'. ”   The "members" of the so-called  “Gang of Eight” in 2011 included:  the House Speaker Rep. John Boehner, , the House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi,  Rep. Mike Rogers, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger,  the Sen. Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, the Sen. Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, , Sen. Dianne Feinstein  and Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

HILLARY'S RECENT TESTIMONY ABOUT "GUN RUNNING" IN LIBYA

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had been asked about gun running operations when testifying before the House Select Committee on Benghazi in October.  At that time, the Democratic presidential frontrunner claimed she had  not been aware of any U.S. government efforts to arm jihadists in Libya and Syria.  However, Clinton admitted that she had been open to the idea of using private security experts to arm the Qaddafi opposition, which included al-Qaeda elements, but she added that it was “...not considered seriously...”

Even with his looming case involving the Brooklyn GOP leadership held by Arnaldo Ferraro, the biggest Marty Golden story remains his support for Mayor Bill deBlasio's "Zoning for Quality and Affordability Plan"

Local activists in Bay Ridge  worry about "Micro-conversions" legitimizing illegal conversions of one- , two- and three- family houses into subdivided housing throughout neighborhoods in State Senator Golden's district

More proof of the conspiracy of politicians, developers, union activists and low-income housing advocates comes from the Southeast end of Golden's district  ---  Planning Board 11 voted in favor of creation of micro-units  ---   Interestingly, a statement by an erstwhile Golden ally and close associate of Jerry Kassar, Ross Brady, "sounds the alarm" about the measure's legitimizing illegal conversions

Even with the clock ticking down to next week's  NYS Supreme Court showdown between the duly elected KCRP Chairman Arnaldo Ferraro and Marty Golden's hand-picked man for the job, Ted Ghorra,  some real world political maneuvering is going on  ---  and it is likely to change the face of much of State Senator Golden's home neighborhood, as well as the rest of his district.

According to an article recently posted in the Bay Ridge Journal,  "....   Local critics of the proposed plan have zoomed in on a provision that would enable the inclusion of studio apartments under 400 sq. ft. in new residential construction. Gentile fears this provision would create a loophole through which illegally-subdivided one-room apartments in existing homes could be legitimized....  But the provision responds to a finding by the NYC Department of City Planning that there is a surging demand for micro apartments to alleviate the shortage of single-occupancy units in a city where 50% of all households are comprised of a single adult and developers have stopped including studio apartments in new construction....  (See "Would Micro-Units Legitimize Illegal Home Conversions?" by Kip, 11/24/15, Bay Ridge Journal -- The View from My Block  [http://bayridgejournal.blogspot.com/2015/11/would-micro-units-legitimize-illegal.html]).

This article by Kip provides the latest insight into what I have called  "Marty Golden's  stab in the back" to older generation Brooklynites, many of whom have been part of his base of Republicans and Conservatives.   Oddly, it was an associate of Jerry Kassar who seemed to have been most vocal in sounding the alarm.  This is how the Bay Ridge Journal reported it:  "....  [C]ritics of the zoning proposal [say that] meeting the demand for single-occupancy units is less significant than confronting the threat of illegal home conversion. Lawyer Ross Brady, who sits on CB 11, sees the plan, by incentivizing the creation of new micro-units, as legitimizing existing illegally-subdivided units....   [Others disagreed, or simply steam-rollerd Brady]  On  November 12, CB 11 voted in favor of the zoning amendment."

Ross Brady is only described as a lawyer and member of Community Board 11.  However,  Brady was a former GOP district leader in a part of Brooklyn that included the Southeast tip of State Senator Golden's district in Marine Park.  More recently,  Mr. Brady has represented that area and been an executive member of Jerry Kassar's Brooklyn Conservative Party.

As I have said in the past; Golden, Kassar and the whole of the Golden-supporting cabal, including people like teddy Ghorra, need to clarify and explain what Golden is doing supporting Mayor de Blasio's housing plans.

Coming soon to backs very much like YOURS — State Senator Marty Golden lurking behind YOU with big knives in the form of low income housing

This time it's for the "Homeless" —  But, more is coming from the developers for other categories of "low & middle income" folks

Citizens from Bay Ridge and other areas, who make up the backbone of the conservative Republican support for State Senator Martin Golden,  are about to get a series of knives in the back from “their” state senator  —  “ The [de Blasio] plan calls for about 7,500 newly constructed apartment buildings and 7,500 “scattered site units.”  —  Republican-Conservative State Senator Martin Golden (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Marine Park)  promises “... to develop even more...”

For some very ulterior reasons Golden looks like he has completely signed onto to a lot of low-income housing for Southwest Brooklyn  —  Marty Golden’s newest allies call local communities and local planning boards  “... pains in the ass...” for their opposition to all or parts of the plan

By now, most of you have heard about Republican-Conservative State Senator Martin Golden’s appearance with Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday; or seen State Senator Golden’s beaming visage next NYC’s Mayor on the local news broadcasts ( See e.g.,   “Mayor de Blasio announces $2.6B supportive housing plan for NYC – without support of state” by Erin Durkin, 11/18/15, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mayor-de-blasio-announces-2-6b-supportive-housing-plan-article-1.2439827}).

GOLDEN SHOWS HIS SUPPORT FOR DE BLASIO’S $2.6 BILLION HOMELESS  PLAN

According to the report in the Daily News —   “....  Asked about the breakdown of talks with the state, de Blasio suggested his rival, Gov. Cuomo, was to blame — saying both houses of the Legislature have shown “extraordinary” support....   ‘It’s rare, this level of agreement within the Senate, within the Assembly,’ said de Blasio, who was flanked by state Sen. Marty Golden (R-Brooklyn) in addition to Democratic pols. ‘I don’t want to speak for anyone else, in terms of how they make their decisions. I think we’re seeing a lot of leadership from the Legislature.’...”

Here’s how the NY Observer dealt with Marty Golden’s support of the mayors’s homeless housing plan:  “....  Mr. de Blasio was joined by Republican State Senator Martin Golden, who praised Mr. de Blasio and called for the creation of more supportive housing, and the mayor argued that showed there was bipartisan support in the Legislature—implying that the holdup was with the governor....”  ( See  “City Moves Forward Without the State to Build Housing for the Homeless, by Jillian Jorgensen,  11/18/15, Observer/News [http://observer.com/2015/11/city-moves-forward-without-the-state-to-build-housing-for-the-homeless/]).

According to the Observer report  —  “....  The plan calls for about 7,500 newly constructed apartment buildings and 7,500 “scattered site units.”

A report in “J*P Updates” characterized Republican State Senator Golden’s support of Mayor di Blasio’s homeless housing plan as being “...in de Blasio’s corner...”    The J*P Update’s  article said that “... [a]mong those in de Blasio’s corner were Sen. Martin Golden and Councilman Stephen Levin (D-Brooklyn Heights), who commended his efforts in cleaning up the streets....   ‘Supportive housing will be an effective long-term solution to our growing homeless problem, providing an environment in which we can deal with the homeless with dignity, respect and care.’...” ( See “De Blasio Fights NYC Homelessness with 15,000 Housing Support Units
by Ryan Haas, 11/18/15, J*P Updates [http://jpupdates.com/2015/11/18/de-blasio-fights-nyc-homelessness-with-15000-housing-support-units/]).

HERE’S WHAT GOLDEN HIMSELF SAYS ABOUT SOME OF IT 

“Republican State Senator Marty Golden considers the plan to be an effective, long-term solution.  ‘Not only are individuals provided with safe clean housing, they are offered counseling and programs to provide the necessary help to address their individual needs. I commend Mayor Bill de Blasio for his commitment of 15,000 units over 15 years and I am confident that New York State will agree to develop even more. Supportive housing provides an environment in which we can deal with the homeless with dignity, respect and care.’...” (See “Brooklyn Pols Hail De Blasio Creation Of Supportive Housing” by Lenore Fedow, 11/18/15, Kings County Politics [http://www.kingscountypolitics.com/brooklyn-pols-hail-de-blasio-creation-of-supportive-housing/]).

COMMUNITY OPPONENTS OF CITY’S CURRENT $2.6  BILLION HOMELESS HOUSING PLAN CALLED “...PAINS IN THE ASS [ ]...” 

Also contained in the News report cited above is this politician’s view of community opposition to the mayor’s housing plan: “... there are ‘people in the neighborhood who are pains in asses when it comes to siting a place for the building[s]  —  pains in the asses!’  [That politician] urged supporters to register to vote and get active on their community boards right away to counteract the eventual opposition.”  That politician, Manhattan leftist Borough President Gale Brewer is one of State Senator Golden’s and Mayor Bill di Blasio’s allies in this homeless housing program.

WHY IS MARTY GOLDEN DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS ???

Golden now sees himself principally as a power in Albany; but at the same time, he’s terrified of an attack from the left in his old bailiwicks in Southwest Brooklyn. By siding with various leftish advocacy groups, liberal establishment Democrats >>> and building developers <<< Golden is trying to head off or minimize support for any strong left-of-center Democratic candidate for state senate in the 22nd SD in 2016, like Andrew Gounardes in 2012.

Fact or Fiction -- OR -- Folly or Flim-flam -- OR -- Fantasyland or Fait Accompli

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, TEDDY GHORRA HAS RUN HIS FIRST BROOKLYN GOP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING AS KCRP CHAIRMAN  —  SO SAYS JERRY KASSAR IN THIS WEEK'S "COMMON SENSE" COLUMN

According to the Kings County Conservative Party Chairman, wearing his Home Reporter columnist's hat:
—   “Congratulations to Bay Ridge’s Teddy Ghorra who chaired a very well-attended meeting of the Brooklyn Republican Party executive committee, his first, held recently in a meeting room at the Bridgeview Dinner. The party’s executive committee is comprised of elected State Committee members representing Assembly districts from all around the county.

As much as there has been some controversy relating to who chairs the Brooklyn Republican Party, which has resulted in the Board of Elections refusing to recognize a chairperson until a court or the State Republican Party provides guidance, the fact that, according to those in attendance, over 75 percent of the Brooklyn party’s leaders either attended in person or by proxy this executive committee meeting, it is apparent who the rank and file view as their chairperson. As proof, the Brooklyn party posted to various social media sites pictures of the filled meeting room and those in attendance.

Arnaldo Ferraro, who has also been mentioned as chairperson, will continue to dispute who is chairperson. What he cannot dispute is who the leaders of his party have shown allegiance to by flocking to a duly called meeting by Ghorra....” (See "Common Sense: Teddy Ghorra" by Jerry Kassar, 11/12/15, Home Reporter/ Spectator [http://homereporter.com/common-sense-teddy-ghorra/]).

What is Bob Capano really up to ??? — OR — Is this ALL about Linda Sarsour and her radical Islamism ??? — AND — Democratic Councilman Vinny Gentile’s failure to call her out, or even take notice of her radical “Arab” connection

BOB CAPANO HAS DONE ANOTHER OP-ED ABOUT RADICAL ISLAMIST SPOKESPERSON LINDA SARSOUR FOR THE “J*P UPDATES” BLOG

Former GOP Assembly Candidate in the 46th AD and City Council opponent to NYC Councilman Vincent Gentile AGAIN calls out “VINNY” to speak-out against the extreme and inflammatory rhetoric of fellow Bay Ridge Democrat Linda Sarsour

The most recent Bob Capano Op-Ed for the Orthodox Jewish-oriented blog,  “J*P Updates,” started off like this:  “One month after Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab-American Association made her most recent extreme comments on twitter, Bob Capano, who was the Republican, Conservative, and Independence party candidate against Councilman Vincent Gentile in 2009, today called on the incumbent to end his silence on the issue. He said that Gentile must use his influence with the Arab-American Association to end the pattern of irresponsible comments of Linda Sarsour, or end taxpayer funding of the organization....”  (See “Op Ed: One Month Later Councilman Gentile Still Silent On Extreme Comments Of Linda Sarour” by Bob Capano, 11/10/15, J*P Updates/ Op-Ed [http://jpupdates.com/2015/11/10/op-ed-one-month-later-councilman-gentile-still-silent-on-extreme-comments-of-linda-sarour/]).

Capano continued this “attack” portion of his piece with this: “... ‘Councilman Gentile can no longer remain silent as Linda Sarsour, the Executive Director of the Arab-American Association, an organization based in [his] district that he spearheads funding for each year, continues to make statements promoting violence against Israelis that divides our community and city.” Since 2012, the Arab-American Association has received over $164,000 in taxpayer funds from the City Council. Mr. Capano stated that Gentile should demand that the organization ensure that Ms. Sarsour, his constituent, ends her pattern of extreme comments against Israel and Jewish citizens. If she refuses, the Arab-American Association should end their association with her or face losing taxpayer funds....”

What jumps out of the text of this piece is that it doesn’t mention the word  >>>  “AGAIN” <<< nearly often enough.  The people of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights need to have it driven home that Gentile funded and subsidized Linda Sarsour for some time now, but Councilman Gentile has been AWOL in keeping Sarsour on the right side of the line of civility. Nonetheless, Op-Ed-ster Bob Capano did chide Councilman Gentile about this very think just last month.

Whether this is just a Bob Capano redux, or if BC were being annoyingly  repetitious to drive his point like a spike into Vinny’s heart  —  he needed to let everybody know why he’s doing what he's doing.  In the absence of that, I have my own theory.....

WHAT’S BOB CAPANO REALLY DOING ?   

Following the passages quoted above, Bob Capano added this: ‘As an aide to Democrat and Republican elected officials in Brooklyn for many years, and as a little league baseball manager and President of the 68th Precinct Youth Council, I have coached many Arab-American children in our community, had positive relationships with their parents, and worked with many respected leaders of this community. I know that the pattern of extreme and radical statements of Linda Sarsour do not represent the vast majority of Arab-Americans in our community.’  I think all of that is more of a buildup of Bob Capano than it is an attempt at a takedown of Linda Sarsour.

An earlier passage contained this fragment: “...  Capano, who served as District Director to former Republican Congressman Bob Turner and Director of Community Relations to former Democratic Borough President Marty Markowitz...”.   Now, I put it to you, just how much of your own biography and resume do you need to put into the sauce,  if the purpose of your recipe is just to cover somebody else with dollops of hot gravy?

I doubt that this second chorus of  “Row, row, row your boat....” is really a hit piece at all.....  If it were, it would have been much tougher on Gentile and/or Sarsour than the first iteration [which I also covered at the time].  I think the answer is something a little less obvious, but certainly more reasonable and PREDICTABLE.

IS BOB CAPANO GETTING READY FOR A RUN ?   IF SO, THEN WHAT”S HE RUNNING  FOR ?

Yes, YES ! ! !   I think he is.  Exactly "WHAT'S HE RUNNING FOR" is discussed further down this page.

After this year’s spectacular crash and burn by the Republican candidate for assembly in the 46th AD; and, along with her, the classic fail of the new KCRP Chairman Arnaldo Ferraro to deliver anything or anybody for any meaningful political purpose on election day, the field is wide open in the 46th AD for Bob to run there  —  and remember, he did this all before without any real help or support from either Arnaldo or Lucretia ..... [In fact, there’s a bit of opposite history there].

So why do that ???   Well, you might ask !!!

A little birdie told me [well, not that little] that “Bob” has a plan to BE >>> THE GOP CANDIDATE <<<  for Vinny Gentile’s open City Council seat in 2017 [and, actually, it’s not just “Bob’s” plan —  wink, nod, touch the side of the nose].  Last time out for Bob Capano, he ran for the Assembly in the 46th AD in 2008 as a prelude to his City Council run in 2009.

The difference in 2016 and 2017 is that Bob is now part of a bigger city-wide operation and coalition.  Also, he comes into 2016 and 2017 as a relatively fresh property, and he's not tainted by the Brooklyn GOP organizational  wars of 2013 and 2015  [the Golden-Eaton-Ferraro thing] —  something that John Quaglione can’t say vis a vis the City Council seat, and Lucretia Potter can’t say about the 46th AD assembly spot. More important, Bob Capano can run all-out for two straight years with a real competitive run for a seat that will almost be like an “open seat,” since Pam Harris still won’t be right for the district. – but wasn’t even tested in 2015 by Lucretia Potter.

Unless somebody else comes along, Bob will be tough to beat in a GOP primary in 2016 or in 2017; in fact, Bob will be tough to beat in GOP primaries for offices in both 2016 AND 2017.

More details when I get them.....

Btw, don't be surprised to see more Sarsour-Gentile Op-Eds by BC in the future —  possibly in an Orthodox Jewish oriented blog near you.....

Hillary Clinton, and her peeps, folks and flacks want everybody to think that there’s NOT anything there with her E-mails — Instead, Hillary’s E-mails look like a big Gordian Knot because of her Non-disclosure Agreement

Hillary has a big pebble in her shoe and it’s called E-mails ---  But, whenever she tries to get rid of the pebble, she finds a new knot in her shoelace

Former Secretary of State and her top State Department aides signed security Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs)  

HRC’s personal NDA  contained specific warnings against ‘negligent handling’ of sensitive classified information  —   her NDA also made it Hillary Clinton’s personal responsibility to determine whether information was sensitive or “classified”

At long last, an important missing link in the Hillary Clinton E-mail saga has suddenly turned up.  Security experts have long opined  that Clinton signed such some kind of non-disclosure security agreement upon assuming her duties as Secretary of State.  However,  a copy of her specific agreement, wasn’t available until it had been obtained by the Competitive Enterprise Institute through an FOIA request.  The agreement that was obtained was shared with the Washington Free Beacon; and it reveals for the first time the exact language of the NDA signed by former Secretary Hillary Clinton (See “Clinton Signed NDA Laying Out
Criminal Penalties for Mishandling of Classified Info” by Lachlan Markay, 11/6/15, Washington Free Beacon [http://freebeacon.com/politics/clinton-signed-nda-laying-out-criminal-penalties-for-mishandling-of-classified-info/])..

HILLARY CLINTON’S NDA

According to a report in the “Washington Free Beacon”  —   “As the nation’s chief diplomat, Hillary Clinton was responsible for ascertaining whether information in her possession was classified and acknowledged that “negligent handling” of that information could jeopardize national security, according to a copy of an agreement she signed upon taking the job....  A day after assuming office as secretary of state, Clinton signed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement that laid out criminal penalties for “any unauthorized disclosure” of classified information....”
According to the clear import of the language of the non-disclosure agreement,  it was Clinton’s responsibility to ascertain whether INFORMATION shared through her private email server was “classified.”  The agreement specifically states the following: “....  I understand that it is my responsibility to consult with appropriate management authorities in the Department....  in order to ensure that I know whether information or material within my knowledge or control that I have reason to believe might be SCI....”

ALSO  —  CHERYL MILLS AND HUMA ABEDIN SIGNED THEIR OWN NDAs

Also according to Lachlan Markay’s report in the “... Free Beacon”  —   “....  Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, Clinton’s two top aides, also signed copies of the classified information NDA....
Mills sent classified information to officials at the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2012, an email released by the State Department in September shows....”

HER SIGNED NDA LIKELY WILL PUSH HILLARY’S E-MAILS BACK INTO THE NEWS

After several weeks of good news cycles for Hillary Clinton in her role as presidential candidate, her E-mails and what her duties were vis a vis their security will again be topics of discussion by many in the media going forward.

“And the beat goes on – La-dee-da-dee-da...” — Is there a story behind the latest story about the Potter-Harris Race — Somebody mentioned Golden & Kassar to “J*P Updates” for its provocative coverage of the GOP side of the 46th AD post-election story

After what seemed like a nice puff piece about newly elected Democrat Assembly Member for the 46th AD, Pamela Harris, and her strongest supporter among the Democrat electeds, Councilman Mark Treyger   >>>>>   SOMEBODY thought it would be a good idea to pour gasoline on the embers of blame and recrimination smoldering inside the Brooklyn GOP as a result of the still-born campaign of Republican Lucretia Regina- Potter

“...  Some activists believe had Golden supported Regina-Potter, it would have been enough to pull out the marginal difference....”    —   J*P UPDATES, 11/5/15

The J*P Updates article attributed to Mr. Ryan Haas starts out tamely enough:  “Democratic candidate Pamela Harris defeated Republican Lucretia Regina-Potter in the AD 46 Special Election held Tuesday to fill the seat vacated by Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, who left the New York State Assembly to take a job in the private sector....  Harris ‘margin of victory’ was approximately 1,500 votes....” (See “Sea Gate Elects Pamela Harris as New Assemblywoman”
by Ryan Haas [however the article also contains this apparent attribution “(By: JP Staff)”], 11/5/15, J*P Updates [http://jpupdates.com/2015/11/05/sea-gate-elects-pamela-harris-as-new-assemblywoman/]).  However, it doesn’t finish-off any thing like that.  —  After mentioning something that Democratic County Leader Frank Seddio said about needing to work hard to hold the seat in the future, the Republicans are contrasted by showing them looking backwards and still fighting old fights.

The article takes turn that is quite snarky and slams several of the current top card Republicans, obviously contending in what clearly seem to be on-going Brooklyn GOP fisticuffs flowing out of the 2015 election cycle.

WHAT J*P UPDATES HAD TO SAY

Since this is principally a local Republican blog that tries to cover local GOP politics, let’s cut to the chase of this feature purportedly by Ryan Haas in  J*P Updates from a local GOP POV.

Here’s what Mr. Haas or somebody else on the J*P Updates staff had to say about the Brooklyn GOP coming out of the 46th AD special elecetion:  “....  Following the election, the Republican party, along with its activists, had bitter feelings toward Sen. Marty Golden  —  the lone GOP candidate elected from Brooklyn for not helping enough. Some activists believe had Golden supported Regina-Potter, it would have been enough to pull out the marginal difference....
In recent fighting within the GOP Brooklyn Party, some claim that Golden went against former Assemblyman Arnaldo A. [Ferraro], who was heavily involved trying desperately to pull out a win.  [Accusations] surfaced that the conservative Brooklyn Chairman Gerry Kassar was responsible for pushing Golden to not help the GOP....”

Somebody inside the Brooklyn GOP or very close to it had to be the source of the material in this J*P Updates piece.  Judging by whom was put in the distorted focus and whom was cast in a relatively better light, I do have my suspicions.....   HMMMMM !!!

Based upon those suspicions, I think it’s fair to opine that whoever is slamming Marty Golden and Jerry Kassar to the folks at J*P Updates, clearly intended for public dissemination is not following one of the key post-election plays called in a huddle of the Brooklyn GOP leaders at the candidate’s headquarters on election night.

"MARGINAL DIFFERENCE" ???  —  "MARGINAL DIFFERENCE" !!!  

If the line that mentioned "marginal difference" came from the GOP source, it bespeaks an absolute delusion on somebody's part.  It also shows a complete lack of political astuteness when speaking to the press. 

Hmmm, who might that be???

[Time to cue the DJ with that old Cher recording] ...  La-dee-da-dee-dee.....

Political newcomer, Democrat Pamela Harris, hands one of the "Old Hands" of the Brooklyn GOP a humiliating loss

IN A SPECIAL ELECTION THAT HAD BEEN TOUTED TO BE "COMPETITIVE"  ---   LUCRETIA REGINA-POTTER APPEARS TO BE HEADED TO ONE OF THE WORST DEFEATS EVER BY A REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE IN THE 46TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

Neither repeat mailings targeted at GOP households, repeated robo-calls by the candidate, nor "unofficial" dog whistle letters from un-named "neighbors" made any difference in a "Special Election" with clear racial overtones  

The Democratic Party's decision to select a "black woman"  to represent a majority "white district" in the New York State Assembly  had been seen as an excellent "opportunity" for the new Kings County Republican leadership team to have an unexpected "win" in the home area of the newly elected KCRP Chairman, Dr. Arnaldo Ferraro, and the newly selected KCRP Secretary, Lucretia Regina-Potter [ in addition to being part of the new Brooklyn GOP leadership team, Candidate Potter had also been the long-time GOP district leader in the 46th AD and it's predecessor district].

The GOP in Southwest Brooklyn is expected to undergo at least a year of recrimination over this race, back-and-forth, which is likely to continue well into the 2016 election cycle

At midnight on Election Night, the result, as posted on the NYC BOE, is as follows:

"....  Member of the Assembly 46th Assembly District
Name Party Votes Percentage 1 PAMELA HARRIS  Democratic   4078  58.45 % 2 LUCRETIA REGINA-POTTER  Republican   1898  27.20 % 3 LUCRETIA REGINA-POTTER  Conservative   530  7.60 % 4 PAMELA HARRIS  Working Families   286  4.10 % 5 LUCRETIA REGINA-POTTER  Independence   111  1.59 % 6 LUCRETIA REGINA-POTTER  People's Choice   34  0.49 % 7 WRITE-IN   40  0.57 % 6977 Totals by Candidate 1 PAMELA HARRIS      4364  62.55 % 2 LUCRETIA REGINA-POTTER      2573  36.88 % 3 WRITE-IN      40  0.57 % 6977 Percentage of Scanners Reported: 99.00 % ..."  (See " BOARD OF ELECTIONS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK -- General 2015 -- UNOFFICIAL ELECTION NIGHT RESULTS   [http://enrweb.boenyc.us/CD172150.html]).

HILLARY finds herself DEEP in the “BIG LIE” of the BENGHAZI SCANDAL after her TESTIMONY at the House Select Committee Hearing

Former CIA top officer clearly stated that no questionable intelligence was ever given to Secretary of State Clinton about any “Video” being part of any motivation for the Benghazi attackers on 9/11/12  

Evidence clearly points to fact that the Benghazi narrative pushed for weeks by the Obama Administration following the attacks of 9/11/12 was a “Big Lie” motivated by domestic U.S. politics  —   and Hillary Clinton was completely signed-on to that “Big Lie” from the very beginning

AND NOW  —  THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WON’T AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF SEC/STATE HILLARY CLINTON’S E-MAILS WITH THE WHITE HOUSE  —  INCLUDING THOSE RELATED TO BENGHAZI

WHAT THE FORMER [ACTING] HEAD OF THE CIA SAID

According to Kerry Picket writing in the Daily Caller  —   “Michael Morell, former deputy director and acting director of the CIA, disputes former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s assertion that bad intelligence led her to blame the attack on the diplomatic facilities in Benghazi was a result of a You Tube video that ridiculed Islam....   In Morell’s 2015 book The Great War of Our Time, he writes that while the CIA knew ‘the demonstration and violence in Cairo were sparked by people upset over a YouTube video,’ intelligence ‘analysts never said the video was a factor in the Benghazi attacks.’ (p. 205-206)....”   (See “Former CIA Chief: ‘Analysts Never Said The Video Was A Factor In The Benghazi Attacks’ ” by Kerry Pickett, 10/31/15, Daily Caller [http://dailycaller.com/2015/10/31/former-cia-chief-analysts-never-said-the-video-was-a-factor-in-the-benghazi-attacks/]).

As those who watched Hillary Clinton testify at the Benghazi Hearing and readers of the Daily Caller article cited above know clearly, Hillary Clinton’s E-mails and other records of her communications show that she was quite aware on the night of the Benghazi attacks and the days immediately following that a You Tube video had nothing to do with causing those attacks.....

CLINTON REPEATEDLY BLAMED THE INTERNET VIDEO — STARTING ON THE NIGHT OF  THE BENGHAZI ATTACKS AND THE DAYS IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER

According to the Kerry Pickett- Daily Caller analysis —   Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton, made public statements that were vastly different from her private remarks about the attack.

On the very night of the attack, the State Department sent out a statement by Secretary Clinton wherein  she blamed the Benghazi attack on “inflammatory material posted on the internet.”
Clinton made a similar public statement the day after the attack, “Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior [the deadly attack in Benghazi], along with the protest that took place at our Embassy in Cairo yesterday, as a response to inflammatory material posted on the internet.”

Secretary Clinton then continued to blame the internet video for the attack in Benghazi during her formal public remarks in the following days after the attacks, as well. Some of these remarks statements were reported to have occurred at the formal transfer of remains ceremony for the Benghazi victims at Andrews Air Force Base; and others privately with some of the family members of the victims.

THIS WEEKEND THE HOUSE SELECT BENGHAZI COMMITTEE RELEASED A REDACTED E-MAIL THAT SHOWED THE LIBYAN EMBASSY HAD CAUTIONED THEIR HIGHER-UPS AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT THAT THEY SHOULD NOT CONFLATE THE INTERNET VIDEO NARRATIVE WITH ANY OF THE STATED CAUSES FOR THE ATTACK ON BENGHAZI ON 9/11/12

In part, the E-mail released by the Benghazi Committee said the following: “Date: Friday, September 14, 2012 6:43:39 AM....  Colleagues, I mentioned to [redacted] this morning, and want to share with all of you, our view at Embassy Tripoli that we must be cautious in our local messaging with regard to the inflammatory film trailer, adapting it to Libyan conditions. Our monitoring of the Libyan media and conversations with Libyans suggest that the films not as explosive of an issue here as it appears to be in other countries in the region....  And it is becoming increasingly clear that the series of events in Benghazi was much more terrorist attack than a protest which escalated into violence. It is our opinion that in our messaging, we want to distinguish, not conflate, the events in other countries with this well-planned attack by militant extremists....”

NONETHELESS, HILLARY CLINTON TESTIFIED TO THE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE THAT SHE “...  NEEDED TO BE TALKING ABOUT THE VIDEO...”

Very importantly, key passages in the Pickett-Daily Caller article made note of the following testimony by former Secretary Hillary Clinton: “When asked at last week’s Benghazi Committee hearing why she blamed the You Tube video when she knew very well it was not the cause of the attack, Clinton proclaimed, she ‘needed to be talking about the video....  ‘None of us can speak to the individual motivations of those terrorists who overran our compound and who attacked our CIA annex. There were probably a number of different motivations,’ she said, adding that the intelligence community ‘took the lead’ in analyzing the information at the time....  ‘We also knew, congressman, because my responsibility was what was happening throughout the region, I needed to be talking about the video, because I needed to put other governments and other people on notice that we were not going to let them get away with attacking us, as they did in Tunis, as they did in Khartoum,’ she said....”

ANOTHER CONSERVATIVE OUTLET FOCUSES ON HILLARY CLINTON”S VERY “NUANCED” AND “EVOLVED” TESTIMONY ABOUT THE YOU-TUBE VIDEO AND THE BENGHAZI ATTACKS

“[Hillary Clinton] now takes a more nuanced, twisted-like-a-pretzel position in which maybe some non-terrorist Muslims were suddenly stirred to violence in Libya by the video, but really at the same time it was a terrorist attack, something she testified [at the Benghazi Hearing had] been her position the whole time. She talked about the video publicly not to point fingers but as a warning, she testified, to those who might attack U.S. interests in the region. In other words, like a good defense lawyer, Hillary was trying to confuse the issues and muddy the waters....   [Former Sec/State Hillary Clinton] seems able to function just fine with what must be chronic cognitive dissonance....” (See “HILLARY: I DIDN'T BLAME BENGHAZI ON THE YOUTUBE VIDEO –  Four pinocchios for the pantsuit” by  Matthew Vadum, 10/23/15, Frontpage Mag [http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/260544/hillary-i-didnt-blame-benghazi-youtube-video-matthew-vadum]).

It seems that based upon her testimony, Hillary’s current position about the You Tube video’s “CAUSING” the Benghazi attacks is that  —  she didn’t specifically say that about Benghazi, itself, but she had to say it when talking about Benghazi to stop other events like Benghazi happening in other locations that were similar to Benghazi  —  and she said during the days shortly after the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, the intelligence wasn’t clear that the video didn’t cause the Benghazi attacks and there was confusion about whether it did  —  and she believes to this day that some of those involved in the Benghazi attacks might have been motivated by the video to some extent.   OR TO PUT IT MORE SIMPLY —  SHE BELIEVES SHE NEVER SAID IT, BUT IF SHE DID SAY IT, SHE BELIEVED THAT TO SOME EXTENT  IT WAS TRUE AT THE TIME BECAUSE OF ALL THE CONFUSION  —  AND FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES, SHE STILL BELIEVES IT

WHITE HOUSE BLOCKS RELEASE OF CLINTON-OBAMA AND OTHER CLINTON-WHITE HOUSE E-MAILS

Along with the scheduled release of thousands more pages of HRC’s E-mails this past Friday by the State Department, came an announcement that the State Department won't release any Obama-Clinton E-mails, because the White House won't authorize the release of the handful of emails between President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Citing as its justification for that non-release was longstanding precedent invoked by several past  presidents of both parties, which precedents established that internal presidential  communications should remain confidential (See “White House Aims to Stop Release of Obama-Clinton Emails” by Maichael D. Shear & Michael S. Schmidt, 10/30/15, NY Times
[http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/us/politics/white-house-seeks-to-keep-some-clinton-emails-secret.html?_r=0]).

It should be noted that the Times' article cited above made clear that although it was refusing to allow the State Department to "release" the problematic E-mails and other communications, the White House was not specifically invoking the principle and doctrine of "Executive Privilege," which usually involves significant political conflicts with one of the other branches of government.

Former Secretary Clinton has long said that she wants ALL of her E-mails related to Benghazi (And other matters of Public Interest) released — subject to vetting for classification and redaction for security.  However, from very early in the process, there had been talk of the probable invocation of Presidential privilege for E-mails to the President and his top White House advisers.

In some ways Hillary might have been playing it all ways to the middle all along — calling for complete openness, while expecting that security considerations and Executive Privilege would be used to shield some very significant material in her E-mails, including critical Benghazi material.

Does a recent Brooklyn Eagle article seal the deal in 46th AD assembly race — OR — Does the Eagle just tell a story about a “sealed deal” in that race involving the invisible and unmentioned State Senator Golden ? ? ?

Innocuous piece by Paula Katinas shows a clear tipping of the scale(s) toward Pam Harris —  and that almost all Republican Marty Golden’s levers are being worked invisibly AGAINST Republican candidate Lucretia Regina-Potter

Look at these magic words  —  “....  Harris...  has frequently campaigned in the Bay Ridge end of the district. She attended the 49th annual Ragamuffin Parade and recently sat in on a meeting of the Merchants of Third Avenue....  In many campaign appearances, Harris has pointed out that her father lived in Bay Ridge...”  —   now tell me what jumps out at you from that

Then, look at these very routine and completely non-magical words  —  “....  Several elected officials have come forward to endorse Harris. The officials backing Harris included U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, state Sen. Diane Savino, Assemblymember William Colton and Councilmember Mark Treyger [and, to be Shakespearean, the rest is silence....]”  —   now tell me what jumps out at you from that silence

I’m doing this post before the last week-end of the 2015 election campaign.  There are lots of things going on; and maybe some (or even just one) of them might change my observation(s) and opinion  —   BUT  —   I’m not expecting anything will change.

THE “DOG WHISTLE” —  THAT DIDN’T BARK

Many election campaigns are a lot like paint-by-numbers pictures. The one’s done by people with no artistic heart and soul inside of them look like paint-by-numbers pictures; the ones done by people with real artistic sensibilities look like actual artwork.

Earlier this week, a very quiet looking and sounding  article in the Brooklyn Eagle actually showed something that was really something closer to a symphony or opera (See “Bay Ridge Assembly seat up for grabs in Nov. 3 election” by Paula Katinas, 10/26/15, The Brooklyn Eagle [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/10/26/bay-ridge-assembly-seat-grabs-nov-3-election]).  In the background to that article by Paula Katinas were two parallel campaigns  —  both being run to elect Democrat Pamela Harris as the 46th AD’s next Member of the NYS Assembly.  On the one hand, it showed Ms. Harris formally being introduced into significant parts of the Bay Ridge establishment; and on the other, it showed that nothing like that was going on for the Republican candidate Lucretia Potter.

Early articles in various local and at least one city-wide paper pointed out that the Democratic party nominee, Pamela Harris, was a black woman, who had run a non-profit organization in Coney Island after she retired as a NYC Corrections Officer.  Several of those articles also noted that GOP candidate Lucretia Potter had a good chance to win because of the demographics of the district and the fact that no black person had ever been elected to represent a majority white district in NYC.

Political realities being what they are, for Potter to have had a real chance to win in the 2015 special election in the 46th AD, the dog whistles in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights would have had to be cranked up so loud that they would’ve sounded like the Fort Hamilton High School Marching Band practicing late on a night before a game. The back-beat of that dog whistle march needed to have been that Pam Harris was just not a right fit to represent neighborhoods like Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights  —  and that message needed to come from several branches of the “non-political” establishment of those communities.

If any such dog whistles ever sounded, then only a small pack of K-9s in the 46th AD was able to hear them. What actually happened was that Pam Harris repeatedly was introduced around Bay Ridge and Dyker like she were a dear cousin, whose welcome was not only appropriate, it was really what was best for everybody. Almost needless to say, the Ragamuffin Parade and Third Avenue Merchants did jump out as avatars of the Bay Ridge establishment in the Katinas article in “The Brooklyn Eagle”  —   btw, that it appears in a  Katinas article in “The Brooklyn Eagle” makes is jump even higher.

BUT WHAT ABOUT STATE SENATOR MARTY GOLDEN’S FOLKS ? ? ?

Well, you might ask ! ! !

There is a subliminal message (sometimes not so subliminal) that has been repeatedly being pushed by many in the Bay Ridge establishment  —   one of the candidates running in the 46th AD special election really isn’t one of us. That part of the Bay Ridge crowd has often been identified with Republican State Senator Martin Golden  —  in fact, several of those people also self- identify as solid establishment or social conservative Republicans.  The odd thing about it is that the one candidate running in the 46th AD special election, who was being whispered about as not really being one of us is the neighborhood business woman and long-time Republican activist, Lucretia Regina Potter.  I don’t think that’s an accident, and it wouldn’t have happened unless Golden and/or several of his key insiders wanted it to.

You know what this all shows to me   —   that Republican-Conservative State Senator Marty Golden would never have ANYTHING to do with “Dog Whistle Politics”  —   AND  —   I’m sure that explains all of it, completely, with nothing else to do with it, no intra-party politics, no Brooklyn GOP leadership fights with Arnaldo Ferraro and/or Craig Eaton, none of that  —  I repeat: I'm sure  —  maybe even, certain.....

What do you think ?

Matt Drudge talked about what the Benghazi Hearing showed about Hillary Clinton and her health issues — Hillary’s folks flipped-out; and, in effect, they flipped-off Drudge

The quick reaction and repeated articles by Hillary Clinton’s media bodyguards to Matt Drudge’s exclusive revelation about Hillary’s health issues being exposed at the Benghazi Hearing shows that somebody on Hillary’s side of things is taking Drudge’s observations and “Health Warning” for Mrs. Clinton very seriously

Thanks to Matt Drudge, his tweets and his iconic internet resource, “DRUDGE REPORT”  —   the Issue of Hillary Clinton’s  HEALTH was raised in the context of her appearance in front of the Benghazi Committee  —   Predictably, Hillary’s media bodyguards were quick to respond and pounce on Matt Drudge

And btw  —  WHERE ARE those medical and hospitalization records involving Hillary Clinton’s post-Benghazi circulatory event and serious cerebral accident

At 10:26 PM and at 10:57 PM both on October 22nd 2015, Matt Drudge sent a pair of Tweets that were the beginning of a war of words concerning health concerns about Hillary Clinton due to her appearance, speed of talking and certain physical responses at the Benghazi Hearing.  In those two tweets, Drudge said, “Hillary health was biggest revelation at hearing. Coughing fit. Slow-speaking, obviously induced by meds. Choose not to believe if yo must....   Last time she showed up with prism glasses from blood clot, vertigo. Today obvious anti-anxiety meds, hypothyroid issues. #BenghaziCommittee....”   Shortly, thereafter a headline in the “Drudge Report” proclaimed,  “HILLARY HEALTH WARNING: COUGHING FIT...”

TOP CLINTON SPOX AMONG FIRST TO REPLY TO THE DRUDGE’S TWEETS CONCERNING HRC’S BEHAVIORS AND PHYSICAL RESPONSES AT THE BENGHAZI HEARING OF 10/22

One of the earliest responses to the Drudge observations and interpretation of those observations was Hillary Clinton and Clinton Campaign spokesperson Nick Merrill. This very high-up Clinonista  replied by Twitter to what Drudge had Tweeted by contending that he considered Mrs Clinton’s only having a “little dry mouth” after such lengthy testimony to be a “good day.”  That Tweet was as follows: “Nick Merrill @NickMerrill ....   .@DRUDGE if a little dry mouth is all you've got after 10+ hours of testimony, that's what I would call a ‘good day.’...  cc:@KarlRove.... 11:48 PM - 22 Oct 2015 ”

NEXT, “MEDIA MATTERS” RESPONDED SEMI-OFFICIALLY FOR HILLARY & HER CAMPAIGN

Within hours, one of HRC’s most important media bodyguards, was among the first to launch a counterattack on behalf of former Secretary of State Clinton and her presidential campaign against Drudge’s Benghazi Hearing observations and “medical report.”

At about 10:00 AM on the morning following the Benghazi Hearing, Media Matters posted the following:  “Matt Drudge, proprietor of The Drudge Report, claimed the ‘biggest revelation’ from the October 22 House Select Committee on Benghazi hearing was Hillary Clinton's health because she had a ‘coughing fit.’...   After numerous hours of public testimony, Clinton coughed during the 8pm hour. That prompted Drudge to tweet from his account [as follows] : “ ...  ‘Hillary health was biggest revelation at hearing. Coughing fit. Slow-speaking, obviously induced by meds. Choose not to believe if yo must...  10:26 PM – 22 Oct 2015'  ....  ‘Last time she showed up with prism glasses from blood clot, vertigo. Today obvious anti-anxiety meds, hypothyroid issues. #BenghaziCommittee... 10:57 PM – 22 Oct 2015’....” ( See “Matt Drudge Pushes Hillary Clinton Health Conspiracy After Benghazi Hearing Coughing” by Media Matters Staff, 10/23/15,  Media Matters for America Blog [http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/10/23/matt-drudge-pushes-hillary-clinton-health-consp/206387]).

The Media Matters piece closed with this observation:  “....  Conservative media previously promoted the conspiracy theory that Clinton faked a concussion to avoid testifying on Benghazi in 2012.”  MM made no attempt to explain what significance that snarky remark might have in connection with the Drudge tweets about Hillary’s cough and slow speech at the 10/22 Benghazi hearing. Neither did Media Matters seem to note that Drudge apparently accepted the evidence of Hillary Clinton’s manifest disability during her earlier appearance.

SOON AFTER, THE LEFTISH “POLITICUS USA” TOOK IT’S OWN POLEMICAL SWIPE AT WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS DRUDGE’S WAY-OFF-BASE HILLARY BENGHAZI HEALTH REPORT ON 10/22

There was more offal being tossed at Drudge by 2:43  PM on the afternoon of 10/23/15.   According to a post by Sarah Jones that appeared on Politicus USA, “Unable to deal with Hillary Clinton’s masterful dominance and unflappable poise, Matt Drudge announced to the world that the Benghazi hearings actually did something important by revealing that Clinton was on drugs due to a health issue, possibly anti-anxiety medication....  ‘Today obvious anti-anxiety meds, hypothyroid issues,’ the right winger concluded, completely missing the reality bus....”  (See “Unable to Deal with Hillary’s Dominance, Conservative Accuses Clinton of Being on Drugs” by: Sarah Jones, 10/23/15,  Politicus USA [http://www.politicususa.com/2015/10/23/unable-deal-hillarys-masterful-dominance-drudge-accuses-medication.html]).

Ms. Jones piece went on to say, “....  Detective Drudge has discovered that Hillary Clinton was coughing and speaking slowly, which means — if you will get out your right wing conspiracy chalk boards, please — that Hillary Clinton is on drugs....”

However, giving a better taste of the full flavor, of what an obvious Hillarybot Sarah Jones is, are these lines: “....   [What the Republicans] did instead of take her down was show the world that they were fools and she was presidential. Ironically, Republicans gave Hillary Clinton a chance to show voters that her temperament could be cool, measured and distantly superior....  But Hillary Clinton was obviously on drugs, y’all! Believe Matt Drudge, not your lying eyes and ears....”

PHILLIP BUMP’S ATTEMPT AT A “FIX” IN A WASHINGTON POST COLUMN  —   DOES HE QUESTION HRC'S DOCTOR ?  —  NO,  BUMP SPOKE TO HIS OWN DOCTOR

The next defense to Drudge’s 10/22 HILLARY HEARING HEALTH HIT was by Phillip Bump at the Washington Post, who had this to say: “The biggest story of Hillary Clinton's marathon testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi was not that there wasn't much of a story. At least not in the estimation of conservative blogger Matt Drudge....   For Drudge, the biggest story was Hillary Clinton's health....  ‘Hillary health was biggest revelation at hearing,’ Drudge tweeted shortly after the hearing ended. ‘Coughing fit. Slow-speaking, obviously induced by meds. Choose not to believe if you must.’...  He went on to issue his assessment of her illnesses.... [Bump then showed a capture of the screen of Matt Drudge’s Tweet, quoted above] (See “Which doctor is smarter about Hillary Clinton: Matt Drudge or a doctor?” by Phillip Bump, 10/23/15, Washington Post/ The Fix [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/23/an-actual-doctor-disagrees-with-matt-drudges-diagnosis-of-hillary-clinton/]).

So what did Phillip Bump do next ?  He called his OWN doctor and this is what he came up with to push back against the Drudge Report: “....  Matt Drudge is not a doctor. So I called my doctor to see how seriously we -- and Clinton -- should take Drudge's diagnoses. Philip Weintraub is an internist and cardiologist who has been practicing medicine for 35 years, since Matt Drudge was 14.  ‘I think he has an active imagination,’ Weintraub said of Drudge. ‘I think he's probably Googled and seen that there may be some overtones to this in other people.’  That’s the basis of Bump’s column for the WaPo.

Both Bump and his Doctor Weintraub went on to pretend that they had debunked Drudge’s observations and theory that Hillary Clinton exhibited symptoms of “[s]low-speaking, obviously induced by meds” and “hypothyroid issues.”

However, inconveniently, Hillary Clinton's own medical personnel have said that she does, in fact, suffer from hypothyroidism. Also, quite Interestingly, Phillip Bump had to add this quote from Doctor Weintraub: “I'm not saying that it's healthy [referring to Hillary’s slow-speaking throughout her testimony and her couching fit late in the proceedings]....  But certainly it should not under the circumstances be presumed as unhealthy....”

Some among the conservative media types took serious exception to what Mr. Bump and the Washington Post were trying to pull on Matt Drudge. One of the best rebuttals of Phillip Bump and Bump's personal doctor was a piece that appeared on the MRC Newsbusters blog (See “Wash Post's Bump: My Doctor Trumps Hillary's Doctor in Assessing Her Health” by Tom Blumer, 10/24/15 | October 24, 2015, MRC Newsbusters [http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tom-blumer/2015/10/24/wash-posts-bump-my-doctor-trumps-hillarys-doctor-assessing-her-health#sthash.EeUirEtO.dpuf]).

Tom Blumer quoted from HRC's doctor's recent health report on Hillary Clinton that indicated Mrs. Clinton did suffer from hypothyroidism.

MANY IN THE CONSERVATIVE PRESS AND MEDIA TOOK THE DRUDGE-CLINTON HEALTH REPORT AT OR NEAR FACE VALUE

Typical of most of the right-wing press and media,  the Washington Examiner made the following observations in its report on the story that Drudge broke: “Matt Drudge, founder and editor of the influential Drudge Report, believes Hillary Clinton was hopped up on anti-anxiety medication during her testimony Thursday in front of the Republican-led House Benghazi Select Committee....    Clinton's doctor Lisa Bardack said publicly over the summer that the Democratic presidential frontrunner was in "excellent physical health," but did admit that she was taking blood thinning medication for her thyroid....  Drudge, along with some other conservatives, have suggested in the past that Clinton is hiding serious health issues. In his latest book, ‘Unlikeable: The Problem With Hillary,’ controversial author Ed Klein wrote that Clinton is facing ‘mounting health issues.’...” ( See “Clinton's voice was slowed down by meds, says Drudge” by Eddie Scarry, 10/23/15, The Washington Examiner [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clintons-voice-was-slowed-down-by-meds-says-drudge/article/2574791]).

One of the first mentions of Drudge’s raising Hillary Clinton’s health issues as a result of her coughing and slow-talking before the Benghazi Committee was an article that appeared in Glenn Beck’s “The Blaze” at 12:01 AM, in the “morning” of 10/23/15 (See “Matt Drudge Reveals What He Thought Was ‘Biggest Revelation’ From Clinton Benghazi Testimony” by Oliver Darcy, 10/23/15  [http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/10/23/matt-drudge-reveals-what-he-thought-was-biggest-revelation-from-clinton-benghazi-testimony/]).

The article in “The Blaze” contained recaptured images of Drudge’s Tweets and a “Drudge Report” headline that said “HILLARY HEALTH WARNING: COUGHING FIT – DRUDGE REPORT.”   That Blaze item also reported on Hillary Clinton spokesperson Nick Merrill’s reply Tweet to Matt Drudge with the recaptured image of that Merrill Tweet.

DRUDGE TAKES THE PUSH-BACK BY THE PRO-CLINTON FORCES IN STRIDE — HE EVEN LINKS TO THEIR STORIES

Matt Drudge seems somewhat bemused by all of this attention from Hillary’s folks.  So when some clearly Hillary Clinton-supporting trolls blogged on the same theme five days after his initial Tweets on the night of the Benghazi Hearing, Drudge linked their negative coverage on his own iconic blog, the “Drudge Report” (See “DRUDGE REPORT –  Why is DRUDGE REPORT weirdly obsessed with Clinton health?” by Matt Drudge, 10/27/15, Drudge Report [http://www.drudgereport.com/] [with direct link to material quoted and cited directly below]).

THE BLOG POST ON POINT, PICKED-UP & LINKED BY DRUDGE  —  BY SUSAN  J. DEMAS ON A BLOG CALLED “MLIVE.COM” (“MICHIGAN  LIVE DOT-COM” ? ? ?)

The article selected by Matt Drudge started off like this:   “We need to talk about Drudge....   That's Matt Drudge, the king of conservative media, whose old-school site has 2 million daily unique visitors and roughly 700 million monthly page views....”; and it went on to make this important point: “.... The famously reclusive Drudge rarely talks to the media and usually lets [his Drudge Report]  site speak for itself. He's so paranoid that he routinely erases his own tweets....  [S]omething has changed. This month, he came out of hiding, doing an interview with wacky conspiracy theorist Alex Jones [ ]....  Drudge's motivation seems clear: He's utterly terrified at the prospect of President Clinton. He doesn't see anyone else sufficiently leading the charge, so he must speak out....   ‘She's old and she's sick,’ Drudge declared desperately, slamming the media for ‘propping’ her up....  A few weeks later, Clinton testified before the hostile, GOP-led Benghazi Committee without breaking a sweat — something noted even by conservative pundits. That would seem to lay to rest any fears about her health and stamina....  But Drudge wasn't buying it with this blaring headline: ‘Hillary Health Warning: Coughing Fit.’ And he tweeted: ‘Last time she showed up with prism glasses from blood clot, vertigo. Today obvious anti-anxiety meds, hypothyroid meds.’...”  (See “...Why is the Drudge Report weirdly obsessed with Clinton's health?” by Susan J. Demas, 10/27/15,  Mlive.com/ Political [http://www.mlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/10/matt_drudge_hillary_clinton_co.html#incart_river_home]).

So here’s how this Susan J. Demas tried to break Drudge’s bubble: “....  The Washington Post responded with an amusing fact-check: "Which doctor is smarter about Hillary Clinton: Matt Drudge or a doctor?" (Answer: The actual MD)....   It's hard to believe anyone still listens to Drudge after all this. He's like a drifter screaming at street corners about the government putting fillings in his teeth. The difference, though, is Drudge has a big megaphone....   So plenty of people in the mainstream media will continue to take him seriously.”

Too bad  –  that Ms. Demas didn’t have the benefit of either this post or the MRC Newsbusters article cited above that rebutted the so-called amusing “fact-check” by Phillip Bump in the WaPo, also cited above.....   Wait one minute, if Susan J.Demas did any real researching or did any meaningful“fact-check[ing]” of her own, she should have found Tom Blumer’s piece on MRC Newsbusters.....   HMMMM ! ! !

BTW, WHERE ARE HILLARY CLINTON’S MEDICAL AND HOSPITAL RECORDS DURING  HER TERM AS SECRETARY OF STATE ? ? ? 

In the six months following the attacks in Benghazi on 9/11/2012, Hillary Clinton suffered a serious circulatory event and cerebral accident that rendered her disabled and incommunicado.  That medical condition and the resulting period of recovery for the former Secretary of State interfered with the earlier Benghazi investigations.  To date, the official medical records for that time period have not been produced either to the Benghazi Committee or to the American public.

Where are Hillary Clinton’s medical and hospital records from that immediate post-Benghazi period; and when will they be produced ?