Liam leaps out from the pack --- and --- the response is “More of the Same” from the usual suspects

Maybe, Liam McCabe is nothing like Keyser Soze;  then again, remember what you have to be aware of when it comes to analyzing any events arguably attributable to KS.....

Liam has had a pretty good week or two;  and his main competitors Bobby “C” and Johnny “Q,” have had to react, quickly……   perhaps more quickly than they would have liked, if they had been left to their own devices and timetables

Suddenly, after last weekend, Johnny Q’s posters and signs are popping up like mushrooms in out-of-the-way places all over Bay Ridge  ---  I haven’t really been around the rest of the district,  so I can’t comment about those locations [but, surely, some of you can]  ---  almost with equal intensity, Bob Capano has gone on one of his patented press release blitzes…..

What Bobby “C” and Johnny “Q” have in common is they are relying on tried and true techniques and tactics,  which they and their advisers  and/or consultants think had worked in the past and might work again at least one more time

Make no mistake, all three of these Republican campaigns for City Council are facing stiff headwinds in their petitioning efforts.

ELECTION LAW PETITION CHALLENGES ARE NOT OUT OF THE MIX

Those headwinds against all GOP petitioners are so significant, that I know of at least one GOP insider, who has counselled his/her favorite in the race to look very closely at his opponents’ petitions once they are filed.  Then have his candidate's folks do a real risk-reward analysis of knocking one or both of his opponents off the ballot with properly crafted general objections, well-founded and detailed specifications and all by a really capable election law advocate in the various proceedings against one or both Republican opponents. 

Thus, the possibility of one or more candidates acing their serve at “The Board” and/or “In Court,” apparently has focused the minds of all of the candidates and their campaigns on tightly-run, close to the vest petitioning efforts.  Whether it's stiff headwinds or terrain that is all-uphill-all-of-the-time,  these campaigns are apparently soldiering on to get enough "legit" signatures to withstand any and all possible challenges.  Remember, the local Federal Court pretty nearly has a substantial compliance or "close enough" standard for NYS Election Law ballot access cases.

THE PETITIONING DRAIN DOESN'T LEAVE A LOT OF ENERGY AND RESOURCES FOR NORMAL GENERAL CAMPAIGNING 

With the energy and resource drains all three candidates are suffering as a result of their very difficult petitioning efforts and their need to be prepared to defend their petitions throughout the challenges process;  it is almost a wonder that these three chuckle heads have anything left in their tanks to run an early-to-mid-summer campaign of any sort.

So far  at least,  Liam McCabe seems to have gotten the biggest bang for his buck with his well-orchestrated-and-reported antics concerning reduced garbage collection, and the wanton destruction of neighborhood trees by contractors working for rogue housing re-developers interested in creating more multiple-dwelling sights in our residential communities.

Johnny Q’s and Bobby C’s  attempted push-backs are remarkable because they happened at all.  However,  they are completely unremarkable in what they are actually doing  in the face of Liam’s  repeated leaps forward in the early- and mid-campaign phases.  "More of the same"-type  general campaigning is not a real solution to what Liam has been doing, and  is doing right now.

Unfortunately for "C" and "Q"  ---  the title above says it all,  "...  'More of the Same'  from the usual suspects..."

Liam McCabe‘s hits just keep on coming

Knocking a big branch off a tree in Dyker Heights caused much more than a swarm of confused and angry bees to spread out and menace the epicenter of the 43^rd Council District….

It was yet another instance that allowed Liam McCabe to strut the kind of stuff that makes it look like he’s not only gonna walk away with the GOP nomination for council in the 43rd Counc. Dist. come primary day,  but also be in a position to take on all comers in November as the area’s new Republican  “King of the Hill”

The Brooklyn Reporter tells this basic story clearly and succinctly,  as follows:   “A hive of bees and the tree that it called home fell victim Friday, June 23 to a construction truck working nearby, according to local residents who alerted this paper to the “chaos” unfolding on an otherwise quiet Dyker Heights street….   ‘I got a call about a few hours ago from [local resident] Anthony Ceretti saying that his son watched this garbage truck back into a 100-year-old tree [knocking off a large branch],’ local resident and City Council candidate Liam McCabe told this paper. ‘Then they proceeded to just leave it there.’…   The truck, McCabe said, was a private carting vehicle, raising suspicions that 934 78^thStreet, the property the construction crew was working on, might be another alleged illegal conversion, an issue that has long-plagued the Dyker Heights community….”  (See  “Dyker buzzing over damage to century-old tree in course of home construction work” by  Meaghan McGoldrick,  6/23/17,  Brooklyn Reporter   [http://brooklynreporter.com/story/dyker-buzzing-felling-century-old-tree-course-home-construction-work/]).

THE BIGGER STORY IS HOW LIAM MC CABE’S AND OTHERS’ ANNOUNCEMENTS AND/OR COVERAGE OF THE ACCIDENT-SPAWNED "NATURAL  EVENT " SWARMED ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA IN JUST ONE DAY

Almost mimicking the Dyker Heights’ swarm of bees caused by the collision of the truck hauling industrial debris from a house in middle of Dyker,   Liam’s words, photos and video shots buzzed all across various social media outlets.   What they showed is Liam McCabe being completely on top of a very important local issue to many of the, dare we call them >>>  VOTERS  <<< in his prospective City Council District.

Don’t take my word for it,  see some of it  for yourself…..  (See  “This is outrageous!”  at Facebook: Liam for City Council @BK Liam [w/photo array],  6/23/17   [https://www.facebook.com/BkLiam/posts/1582313158500909];  see also  “Not only are they illegally redeveloping the block,” at Liam for City Council @BK Liam [w/photo & multiple comments],  6/23/17  [https://www.facebook.com/BkLiam/posts/1582533341812224];  and  “On the site of an illegal demolition on 78th Street….”.at Twittter:  Liam McCabe @BKLiam [w/photos, Retweets, etc.], 6/23/17,   [https://twitter.com/BkLiam/status/878312305783578624]).

__________________

Of course there is much more to this story,  but I’m on a deadline this week-end;  and this is a case of good enough for now being the enemy of much better, much later.

Tomorrow is another day !!! --- But will it be another BIG DAY FOR LIAM ??? That’s what McCabe, the McCabe Campaign and the McCabe fund raisers are hoping

Liam McCabe is having a bit of  blast at the Salty Dog tomorrow evening  ---  I know, because I received a robo-call from Liam himself telling me so  ---  also part of that robo-call was Liam McCabe's explaining in his own words what he did at Gracie Manson to dramatize the sad plight of some of his Bay Ridge neighbors  ---   Yes, Liam was getting specific about his >>> collect the garbage and bring it to the mayor <<<  demonstration

Liam also got his share of earned media with a major broadcast network's local affiliate CBS 2 New York coverage of his protest of changes in Sanitation Department practices that are leaving perhaps hundreds of NYC citizens without the right to full and complete garbage pickup like most of their neighbors, near and far --- these are rights to routine garbage pckup that they had enjoyed for their whole lives, but which were ended by fiat recently by some faceless bureaucrats in city government

The sudden flurry of earlier comments at the end of the comments thread to my most recent post immediately prior to this one doesn’t come close to telling the full story about Liam McCabe's garbage collecting and delivering antics.   To be sure there was some nitpicking about Liam’s “stunt”;  and to be sure there was some preening about the TV news coverage.   But really, all that was about the issue itself  ---  what the folks were complaining about, the very recent non-collection of garbage on a local terrace mews in Bay Ridge ---  and Liam's demonstration to highlight the issues by personally collecting the garbage at his neighbors homes and then carting it into Manhattan, all the way to to Gracie Mansion as a "gift" to Mayor De Blasio.   

Some say that Liam didn’t do enough or go so far as engage in civil disobedience (puhleez,  we are Republicans,  we leave the real law-breaking to the crass Dems).   Clearly, some people who know news thought that what Liam did as well worthwhile,  it was a good local TV news story to boot  ---  and mind you not a local-local station,  it was a national network-local with a nice low number (See "Garbage Is Piling Up With City’s New Pickup Rules, Bay Ridge Residents Say" Staff Writer(s) [w/ video link to segment about McCabe], 6/19/17,  CBS 2 NY   [http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/06/19/bay-ridge-garbage/]).

However, until now, nobody had mentioned how the McCabe campaign has fully integrated this issue, along with Liam McCabe’s highlighting it with his personal ballsy demonstration immediately into the McCabe of City Council campaign.  Not only that, Liam's robo-call shows that he and his fund raisers have incorporated it into their next fund raising event  ---  the one tomorrow night at the Salty Dog.

In the past, Liam has shown an uncanny ability to parlay his successes  ---  let’s see if his luck holds out through this event at the Salty Dog…..

I smell a rat --- maybe a lot of them --- Kings County Politics article about 77th Street drug treatment center gives all the “CREDIT” to State Senator Golden

>>>  HAS EVERYBODY GONE STARK RAVING MAD  <<< 

   

Since when do we give anybody “credit” for opening drug treatment facilities on residential streets in Bay Ridge  ---  like that sort of thing is a good thing  ! ! !

According to the Kings County Politics article by Kadia Goba,   somehow a troika of Marty Golden,  Khader El-Yateem and Larry Morrish  facilitated or enabled a “drug treatment expert” named Donna Mae Dipola to open “a substance abuse counseling and treatment center” in the heart of Bay Ridge  (See  “Substance Abuse Center Head To El-Yateem: Where’s the money?” by Kadia Goba,  6/14/17,  Kings County Politics/  43^rd  District City Council Race   [http://www.kingscountypolitics.com/substance-abuse-center-head-el-yateem-wheres-money/]).  

This article really caught my eye,  because that drug center is located at 408 77^th  Street on a block that is near to my heart.   That is a block with which I am very familiar, because my mother owned a house and lived there on and off for many years before she finally sold the house moved to Florida for good.   Also, I had a family doctor that conducted his practice on the very same block.    

THE "KINGS COUNTY POLITICS" ARTICLE SAYS:   >>> GIVE THE CREDIT TO MARTY GOLDEN  <<<

Kadia Goba’s article on the subject of the drug center at 408  77^th  Street focused on the issue of funding or the lack of it for Donna Mae Dipola’s drug treatment facility.   According to this article and Donna Mae DiPola,  who is quote on the point,  all credit for the key funding for this drug treatment facility should go to State Senator Martin Golden…..   Oucha-magoucha ! ! !   MARTY GOLDEN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS  ? ? ?   WHAT THE HECK HAS HAPPENED  TO MY BAY RIDGE ? ? ?

CREDIT !    A DRUG TREATMENT CENTER IN BAY RIDGE ? ? ?   MARTY GOLDEN ?    HAS  EVERYBODY GONE NUTS ?   

Then I thought about it some more.    There seems to be something wrong with this Kings County Politics article.    I think that I am right identifying the initial political troika as Golden, Morrish and El-Yateem…..   However, according to the Kadia Goba-Kings County Politic piece,  Reverend Khader El-Yateem is painted as the villain of the piece;  and with equal measure, Marty Golden is put on a pedestal as a hero.   I’m sorry folks  ---  THAT DOG WON’T HUNT ! ! !

WHO  BENEFITS  ? ? ?

This  story stinks to high heaven as a planted piece.  Now,  who has the juice and the motivation to do that kind of planting job ? 

As far as I’m concerned,   Marty Golden and Khader El-Yateem both come off as villains in this thing…..

Now,  who would unequivocally benefit from this article ? 

YOU TELL ME ! ! !

White House is doing a "War Dance" over [among other things] Mueller's appointment of partisan anti-Trump assistants

Has the time come for Trump to dump Special Counsel Mueller ???

Since the appointment of Mueller was engineered by a long-time associate, former FBI Director Comey,  according to Comey's own testimony  ---  the appointment is now suspect  ---  and since Comey also is a likely witness to various matters in the investigation, Mueller's continuing as a "prosecutor" does appear to violate DOJ rules and guidelines

Records indicate that several of the Mueller-selected Special Counsel assistants are partisan anti-Trump donors

According to the "Gateway Pundit"  a well-know and heavily followed  internet website  ---  "Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to President Trump and the first woman to successfully manage a presidential campaign, took to Twitter Tuesday night to call out Special Counsel Robert Mueller for hiring lawyers who gave heavily to Democrats and opposed Trump’s candidacy, writing,  “FEC report: Mueller’s team includes big Democrat donors. Some maxed out, none wanted Trump to be POTUS.”  Mueller was appointed to investigate alleged, so far unproven, ties between the Trump campaign and Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election...."   (See  "WAR? Kellyanne Conway Calls Out Special Counsel Mueller for Hiring Anti-Trump, Democrat Donors"  by Kristin Taylor, 6/14/17,  The Gateway Pundit   [http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/06/war-kellyanne-conway-calls-special-counsel-mueller-hiring-anti-trump-democrat-donors/]).

The Kristin Taylor-Gateway Pundit article also note that   "....  Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a Republican firebrand, was first to call out Mueller for his hires with a tweet early Monday morning. Gingrich had previously supported Mueller’s appointment but told Sean Hannity Tuesday night he changed his mind after fired FBI Director James Comey said he tried to orchestrate the hiring of a special counsel by leaking confidential memos to the press which resulted in the appointment of longtime Comey friend Mueller. Gingrich wrote, 'Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check fec reports. Time to rethink.'...”

Others have observed that former FBI Director Comey's testimony and his history with Mueller clearly showed a significant closeness between someone that is now intertwined as an actor in the case and the prosecutor  ---  that fact in itself violates DOJ rules and guidelines.

EARLIER REPORTS HAD IT THAT TRUMP WAS CONSIDERING SACKING MUELLER  ---  AND THE WHITE HOUSE WAS VERY SLOW WALKING IT BACK

There have been  many reports that presidential "friend" Chris Ruddy was telling everybody that President Trump was considering firing DOJ Special Counsel  Robert Mueller after a visit to the White House ( See e.g.,  "Trump's friend Christopher Ruddy says President considering firing Mueller"  by By Saba Hamedy, Jim Acosta and Kevin Liptak, 6/13/17,  CNN/  Politics   [http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/12/politics/ruddy-robert-mueller-white-house/index.html]).

THE LOOK OF A WHITE HOUSE WAR DANCE

With the recent disclosures about the questionable staffing decisions by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and with the even more recent remarks by White House insider  Kellyanne Conway;  it looks like presidential advisers are becoming increasingly and more openly critical of Mueller.  All of the goings-on of the last week at the White House are increasingly taking on the look of a "war dance" in advance of a formal presidential move against the Special Counsel.

IT'S TIME FOR TRUMP TO DUMP MUELLER  ---  AND IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT,   COMPLETELY DEEP-SIX ANY FURTHER NOTIONS OF A "SPECIAL COUNSEL"  FOR RUSSIA OR ANY OTHER PURPOSE

In spite of Congressional testimony to the contrary. as reported in the Washington Post  (See  “”Jeff Sessions testifies: Refuses to say whether he spoke to Trump about Comey’s handling of Russia investigation”  by Sari Horwitz, Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky,  6/13/17, Washington Post  [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jeff-sessions-set-to-testify-this-afternoon-before-senate-intelligence-committee/2017/06/13/ac5321bc-4fc6-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html?utm_term=.7b00f538719a]) J  ---  “.... Earlier Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein appeared before lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee. He responded to questions regarding comments Monday from Christopher Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax Media and a friend of Trump, that the president might fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Mueller was recently appointed to lead the investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election....   Rosenstein said that if the president ordered him to fire Mueller, he would comply only if the request was 'lawful and appropriate.'...    Rosenstein, who has been on the job for six weeks, said only he could fire Mueller and only if he found good cause to do so. He described Mueller as operating independently from the Justice Department in his investigation...."  ---  there is clearly "good cause" to dismiss  this dour-faced clown Mueller.

First public hostile engagement of the 2017 GOP Primary in the 43rd Council District involves Candidates --- Liam McCabe and John Quaglione --- along with incumbent Republican State Senator Martin Golden

Liam McCabe sinks his teeth into Marty Golden’s ass  ---  and draws John Quaglione’s blood  ---  Doctors and Scientists Mystified*…..  

GOP candidate Liam McCabe’s call for GOP State Senator Marty Golden to apologize for his  “FAT BOY”  remark about Democrat Justin Brannan included  >>>  a call-out aimed at McCabe’s “fellow” GOP candidate John Quaglione, at whose campaign event Golden’s remark was made,  and who also works for Golden

 
Here’s the real “money shot”:   “….   John Quaglione should have been the person to say what I just did but decided to be silent. Look, if you can't speak up when your voice is needed then we have to wonder how you will stand up to Bill de Blasio and the City Council Speaker…..”   

                    --    In Liam McCabe's Statement of 6/12/17 on Facebook 

At about 7:00 PM last evening,  Liam McCabe posted the following statement on his Facebook page at  “Liam for City Council”:

“Liam for City Council [@ 7:00PM,  6/12/17]

‘Fat Boy’

Spending the last few days campaigning in the district many people want to know how I feel about the off color remark Marty Golden made toward Justin Brannan. To be honest I thought I would have heard more from ANY of my opponents both Democrats and Republicans but there has been silence. I'm shocked no one has said what needed to be said so let me say it.

Marty Golden is a well respected and effective public servant that has worked hard for this community but he owes Justin Brannan for City Council a simple apology.

John Quaglione should have been the person to say what I just did but decided to be silent. Look, if you can't speak up when your voice is needed then we have to wonder how you will stand up to Bill de Blasio and the City Council Speaker.

Justin Brannan, could have let the comment speak for itself but instead was quick to call out Senator Golden and score cheep political points. That to me is the pot calling the kettle black. Especially since Mr. Brannan has thrown around locker room talk himself and has have never apologized for his own insensitivity.

I myself am far from perfect, I have said things I regret and used language I shouldn't have but when I make a mistake I will own up to it and if I need to address an off color remark, I will do it.

That's who I am.”

New plateau reached in 2017 as one candidate for City Council raises an issue with a GOP incumbent State Senator,  and then uses it to go after one of his own Republican intra-party opponents for that council nomination

Like Ceasar,  Liam McCabe has decided that it was his time to cross the Rubicon.  And like the Rome of pre-Christian times, Marty Golden's cabal in Bay Ridge is the nexus of Republican governance in all of Brooklyn.  Make no mistake, Liam's statement means that he intends to be the conquering hero vis a vis the GOP City Council Primary.** 

Oddly, Liam's message appeared on John Q's Facebook space

Whether it was a calculated raid by Liam,  or a quirk of Facebook algorithms,  there is no way that Liam's statement should have been allowed  to appear in any of Q's social media  spaces.

Unless, of course,  JQ saw this as an opportunity  to spring a trap on  his rambunctious adversary;  with a real "Ides of March-Forum Welcome" for anybody with so much ambition.

I guess we'll have to see how that all plays out in due course. 

______________________________________

* BTW, just kidding about the “Doctors and Scientists…”  part.....   

______________________________________

**Left inchoate is whether Liam will accept the golden laurel crown as Emperor of the Brooklyn GOP;  and,  more important,  are there enough  [or any]  Republican leaders ready to offer that crown to Liam McCabe,  either in 2017 or the future.

Don’t forget, John Quaglione is supposed to be Marty Golden’s “Communications Director”

I was all set to make this posting only about John Quaglione’s social media presentation of himself and the very limited self-coverage of his campaign  ---  my conclusion would have been that it’s not an exaggeration to say that his Twitter and Facebook footprint has been and continues to be  >>>  ABYSMAL

Then I got a look at the  most  recent comments following my earlier post on this blog,  “At long last, my critique of the ‘Third Man’ in the race for the GOP nomination for City Council for the 43rd District --- Liam McCabe”  ---  starting at comment, “Anonymous said…   June 8  at 10:59 AM”  and  continuing through several later comments  ---  AND  ---  It was then I realized that Mr.  Q  was even more challenged as  Marty Golden’s  “Communications Director”  than I had previously thought

 

If Mr. Q’s opponents want to start deconstructing the candidate called  “Q”  by some and the  “Q”  campaign,  they could easily begin with a critique of  “Q”   as Marty Golden’s  “Communications Director.”

I routinely check out the social media postings by the GOP candidates running for City Council in the 43^rd Council District.   I run a Brooklyn Republican oriented blog,  so why wouldn’t I regularly eyeball the Tweets and Facebook footprints of the candidates in the most competitive GOP primary in Brooklyn in 2017….

It didn’t take me long to conclude that Quaglione’s stuff lagged the field for a variety of reasons,  some of which I have commented about specifically in the past  (you know,  things like pictures of empty or near-empty rooms for Quaglione’s announcements,  in-home get-togethers and  scheduled  campaign events).

Then,  it occurred to me that near the top of JQ’s list of his  “supreme qualifications”  is the hat  that he wears on State Senator Marty Golden’s staff as  “Communications Director”…..   Really, Mr. Social-Media-Malaprop JQ does keep pedaling that canard ! ! !  (I don't dispute the title,  but I do find the underlying reality to be quite problematic.)

How can somebody who’s so badly represented on Twitter and Facebook convince anybody that he is now or ever has been an effective or positively affective  “Communications Director” for Marty Golden or anybody else ? ? ? 

Something else popped up earlier this evening that buttresses any critique I might make of  “Q”  as Golden’s “Director of Communications”  ---  or that anybody might make,  for that matter

Earlier this Friday evening, I was surveying the comments on my blog,  which I often do in my capacity as the blog administrator and moderator of  “The Brooklyn Independent GOP Fountainhed.”   I noticed that part of a recent comments thread  [the one mentioned above in the sub-headline, “At long last, my critique of the ‘Third Man’ in the race for the GOP nomination for City Council for the 43rd District --- Liam McCabe”  ---  starting at comment, “Anonymous said…   June 8  at 10:59 AM”  and  continuing through several later comments]  were giving Marty Golden and the Quaglione campaign a real tanning over the mishandling of the Golden endorsement with some member(s) of the local press.

“EUREKA ! ! !”  says I  ---  this ties in with my critique of the candidate called  “Q”  by some and his resume item of being Marty Golden’s  “Communications Director.”   

WHO MORE THAN JOHN QUAGLIONE SHOULD BE BLAMED FOR THE  >>> EPIC FAIL <<<  OF MARTY GOLDEN’S ENDORSEMENT OF HIS ALLEGED  “COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR”  THAN THE  “COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR” HIMSELF ? ? ?   Can there be any dispute ? ? ?   Can there be anybody else nearly as culpable than the chief beneficiary and the one charged with controlling the roll-out of the endorsement ? ? ?

It even gets worse

Right now,  the only thing clearly coming out of the Quaglione campaign are whines, gripes and complaints.  

I can’t report that the wheels have come off the  “Q” train yet,  but they are getting very, very squeaky;  and the “Communications Director”-Candidate that some call  “Q”  can’t seem to find the right oil can to stop the squeaks, or the plugs and patches to stop the leaks.

To quote Colin Quinn,  “That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL RIPS COMEY A NEW ASSHOLE

Just hours before his long- expected and much ballyhooed testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee,  the "Wall Street Journal" tore into Former FBI Director James Comey on multiple counts  ---  but mostly because he doesn't know the place and function of the FBI in our democratic-republic

The WSJ's expressed comparison of James Comey to J. Edgar Hoover was in no way intended to be complimentary

Bottom line, the WSJ says the information contained in Comey's written testimony together with his handling of the Hillary Clinton investigation completely justified his firing by President Trump

According to the unattributed opinion piece in the June 8th paper,  the writer or writers for the WSJ opened with this:   "The Senate Intelligence Committee released James Comey’s prepared testimony a day early on Wednesday, and it looks like a test of whether Washington can apprehend reality except as another Watergate. Perhaps the defrocked FBI director has a bombshell still to drop. But far from documenting an abuse of power by President Trump, his prepared statement reveals Mr. Comey’s misunderstanding of law enforcement in a democracy...."  (See "The ‘Independent’ Mr. Comey --  His prepared testimony shows why he deserved to be fired" opinion by WSJ writer or editor, 6/7/17,  Wall Street Journal/  Opinion/ Review & Outlook   [https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-independent-mr-comey-1496878266]). 

Things didn't get any better for Mr. JC after that, either.   "....  The most troubling part of Mr. Comey’s statement is his belief in what he calls “the FBI’s traditionally independent status in the executive branch,” which he invokes more than once. Independent? This is a false and dangerous view of law enforcement in the American system....   Mr. Comey is describing an FBI director who essentially answers to no one. But the police powers of the government are awesome and often abused, and the only way to prevent or correct abuses is to report to elected officials who are accountable to voters. A director must resist intervention to obstruct an investigation, but he and the agency must be politically accountable or risk becoming the FBI of J. Edgar Hoover...."

After a detailed discussion of what Comey's testimonial letter said he did vis a vis his meetings with President Trump, the WSJ shifted to what Comey had done last summer vis a vis Hillary Clinton;  and the WSJ concluded that   "...  Mr. Comey’s disregard for the chain of legal command is why Mr. Trump was right to fire him, whatever his reasons...."

MORE AND MORE NON-NEWS FROM THE BROOKLYN EAGLE --- this time, it's so insignificant that even their own reporter referred to it as a “flurry”

THE EARTH-SHATTERING HEADLINE AND LEAD  ---  BOB CAPANO ENDORSED BY CURTIS SLIWA AND THE NEW YORK STATE REFORM PARTY

AND AS IF THAT WEREN'T ENOUGH  ---  COUNCILMAN GENTILE ENDORSES HIS STAFFER JUSTIN BRANNAN TO GET HIS JOB

 

AND STILL MORE  [NO, NOT THE GINSU KNIVES ! ! !]  ---  MARTY GOLDEN [AGAIN] IS REPORTED TO BE [STILL] ENDORSING JOHN QUAGLIONE*

Flurries on June 7^th can be big news,  but not this time…..

Earlier today,  Paula Katinas,  one of the Brooklyn Eagle’s reporters,  wrote that  ---  “As the petitioning process began in the race for the Bay Ridge City Council seat, a flurry of endorsements came in for candidates, including Republican Bob Capano, who has won the support of WABC radio personality Curtis Sliwa….   Sliwa, who is the founder of the Guardian Angels citizen patrol group and the chairman of the New York State Reform party, said Capano is an impressive candidate…..” (See  “Curtis Sliwa backing Capano for City Council”  by Paula Katinas, 6/7/17,  Brooklyn Daily Eagle   [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/6/7/curtis-sliwa-backing-capano-city-council?cn=bWVudGlvbg%3D%3D]).  

 
CAPANO & SLIWA GET TEENSY-WEENSY BIT OF “EARNED MEDIA” IN THE FORM OF A LEG-OVER HEADLINE AND LEAD PLACEMENT IN A NON-NEWS STORY ABOUT THREE LOCAL CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES’ NON-NEWS ENDORSEMENTS

If what you saw immediately above this sub-heading was the lovely PK’s headline and lead,  you know that she was really reaching on this sunny but cool Wednesday in June.   However, in this instance,  maybe,  we all should cut this Bay Ridge working girl a little slack;   maybe she was trying to give Bob Capano a little boost over the others mentioned in the article:  or maybe she and the folks at “The Eagle” actually thought the Capano non-news was more worthy of the headline and lead than the other candidates’ non-news.  

You see,  the Katinas-Eagle article was not just about Bob Capano’s endorsement(s) by  Curtis Sliwa and/or the NYS Reform Party.   Don’t forget,  Paula was reporting on a “flurry” of endorsements;   she included in her report two other (what some might have you believe were "Day the Earth Stood Still" level) news events  ---  fellow Republican John Quaglione's endorsement by Marty Golden (yes, that momentous occurrence had been reported previously in the Eagle and on this blog, as well);  and Democrat Justin Brannan's endorsement by the incumbent City Councilman,  Vinny Gentile.

If I haven’t been clear,  I think that all three of these endorsements were non-news events of the first order.   They had been long expected and not one of them changed the political landscape one iota.   In fact,  the only interesting news story , which might have been generated about these candidates and these endorsers,  would have to have been a report about one or more of these endorsers’  >>> NOT ENDORSING <<< the respective  potential endorsee or endorsees.  Alas, that "man bights dog" story did not come to pass.

_________________________________

*PLEASE NOTE:   I WAS TORN BETWEEN SAYING >>> THAT GOLDEN WAS STILL ENDORSING QUAGLIONE  ---  OR  ---  THAT THE BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE WAS AGAIN REPORTING THAT GOLDEN WAS ENDORSING QUAGLIONE <<<.

Please note further:    that it would be a mistake to read-in  both of the bracketed words,  [AGAIN] and [STILL] in the same sub-heading at this time.   However, if the Brooklyn Daily Eagle were to re-report that non-news event yet again,  then both “again” and “still’ could be used in referring to that second re-report of that similar non-news event, as well as all subsequent similar re-reports.

At long last, my critique of the “Third Man”* in the race for the GOP nomination for City Council for the 43rd District --- Liam McCabe

 
He broke from the gate well  ---  outpacing Capano in the early fund raising  ---  AND  ---  forcing Quaglione’s hand by making him enter the race earlier than he wanted and not really prepared for a tough fight for the Republican and Conservative Parties’ nominations…..

Even though his campaign remains very present and visible by way of postering, door-to-door introductions and appearances at significant community events  >>>  "Liam" has fallen off the pace in the backstretch leading up to endorsements and petitioning    

THE BIG QUESTION NOW IS THIS   >>>   CAN LIAM MC CABE AND HIS CAMPAIGN REGAIN THEIR EARLY FORM AND RETAKE A LEAD DURING AND AFTER PETITIONING AND CHALLENGES ? ? ?

Liam McCabe’s  early organizational efforts caught everybody’s attention,  but it is organizational short-comings that appear to be plaguing his mid-campaign performance.   The McCabe campaign structure looks like it has not grown fast enough for it to maintain it’s early qualitative advantages and quantitative successes.

Not long ago, the candidate himself told me that his small inner circle was as busy as ever,  but that they are dealing with lots of necessary details that just don’t show up to public scrutiny.  ---  And that all of the other campaigns have looked like they slowed down too;  so it's not just the McCabe Campaign that's faltering.

PROBLEMS IN THE INNER CIRCLE ???

When one takes another closer look at the problem,  one finds that the small inner circle of McCabe’s closest supporters are not all pulling for "McCabe the Candidate" in the same direction or in efficient interactive ways.   The problem, as it has been described to me,  is very much like something that I long ago described as a shortcoming of Liam McCabe’s earliest efforts to define and present himself as a candidate.   Now,  as then,  there seems to be an odd distribution of focus among the candidate,  a major outside consultant, and a few former business associates of the candidate, who are acting like a hybrid composite, part consultant and part volunteer.

In spite of obvious intensive effort and activity by the candidate himself,  the campaign  appears to have suffered from a recent depression in messaging and image building;   and that translated into an apparent loss of momentum by the campaign as a whole during April, May and now June.

MORE DISTRACTIONS AND DIVERSIONS COMING !!!

With at least two months of technical heavy lifting in  New York’s onerous  petitioning,  filing  and  challenges process,  and a campaign that lately hasn’t demonstrated its ability to walk,  chew gum  and whistle a happy tune, all at one time  ---  one has to wonder if the Liam McCabe Campaign will ever regain its early form and get back onto its impressive early pace.

Thus far, it doesn’t look like any of the other candidates have established any kind of lead  ---  and certainly not any momentum that will carry through September.  ---  If McCabe does get his mojo back, like he had in the early stages of this 2017 campaign,  then he can win this  GOP primary;  and he is the only GOP candidate that you can say that about.

__________________________

*  I call Liam Mc Cabe the “Third Man” in this GOP field for several reasons  ---  one of those reasons is that he (like Harry Lime) and his "team" function like a bunch of mysterious outsiders…..   There are more reasons than that,  but I’ll save them for later on in the discussions of all the candidates and their campaigns going forward…..

Maybe it could have been a "Game Changer" --- But the way things are for Bob Capano nowadays "It Don't Mean a Thing ['cause] It Ain't Got That Swing

It started with Duke Ellington in 1930 or '31  ---  and it's still apropos in June of 2017

In this instance it's very applicable to Bob Capano's soon to be announced endorsement that he says is a  "Game Changer" 

Unfortunately,  the way things stand right now,  I have to completely disagree with Bob's assessment of  what any of this means.....

Earlier this evening,  I received an E-mail from Bob Capano addressed to  "Friends";   it mostly went like this:   "There will be a more formal announcement tomorrow,  but I wanted you to be one of the first to know that I have been endorsed by the NYS ****** and [its] Chairman *****....   This means I am the only Republican candidate that will be assured a place on the November ballot. I am confident this will give us the momentum to win the Republican primary!  As the *****-Republican candidate we will win."

I have left out the key details even though Bob's pre-release release made no mention that it was OTR, just for background, or personal for eyes only and not for distribution.

Nonetheless,  I do have to say this  ---  Bob's expected announcement is not only wrong on several key facts,  it is completely wrong-headed in its presentation of his place in this 2017 GOP endorsement-petitioning-primary process for a nomination to be a candidate for City Council in the 43rd District for any party.

Okay,  all you jazz aficionados  ---  
"....   It makes no diff'rence if it's sweet or if it's hot
Just give that rhythm ev'rything you gotOh, it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing
(Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
(Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)..."

The pinhead of the day award goes to MSNBC’s Richard Liu

MSNBC host's  interview questioning of law enforcement expert suggested that the London Police might be overreacting to the London Bridge Terror attack

Based on a Daily Caller report,   in reaction to an MSNBC guest law enforcement expert, MSNBC program host Richard Liu said this:  “…   [T]here certainly is a risk of under reaction–but is there any risk of overreaction….   You know as we’ve been watching all of this live coverage…is there ever a point where you go, ‘well, that’s too much’ or ‘you shouldn’t be applying that amount of force there?'  “  

The guest expert,  Jim Cavanaugh,  quickly and firmly responded   “Well in the city that’s experiencing the attacks–multiple attacks–really I don’t think the response can be too large….”   (See  “MSNBC Host: Could London Police ‘Overreact’ To Terror? [VIDEO]”  by Amber Athey,  6/4/17,  Daily Caller/  Politics  [http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/04/msnbc-host-could-london-police-overreact-to-terror-video/]).  

Liu is a pinhead;  and the culture at CNN that treats people like Richard Liu as any kind of legitimate "journalist" is so overtly politically correct that  >>>  it has reached the point of caring more about the rights of those in the breeding grounds of the terrorists ( like the Muslim neighborhoods of East London) than those victimized or defending against the terrorists.

First Kathy Griffin --- Now Bill Maher --- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! ! ! ! ! --- COMICS ? ? ?

NOTICE: THIS IS NOT NEWS --- IT'S NOTHING LIKE NEWS --- AND IT NEVER WILL BE --- State Senator "endorses" very, very long-time staffer to be a City Councilman

John Alexander is either the most gullible fool ever to call himself a journalist,  or he deserves an award for creative fiction.  The article under his name in the Brooklyn Eagle is in no sense professional reporting or journalism  ---  it is much closer to being flackery for a tread-worn office holder and his hand-picked toady, who happens to be a candidate for City Council

ON THE OTHER HAND,  GET A LOAD OF THE PICTURE PROMINENTLY POSITIONED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BROOKLYN EAGLE ARTICLE  (also by John Alexander) ---  Was Marty Golden drugged ???  ---  OR  ---   Did Marty Golden just suffer the normal consequences of listening to a speech by John Quaglione  ???

If I were to boil down the "big lies" portion of John Alexander's fishy tale to only one representative bite, it would be this:   "Golden offered strong words of praise for Quaglione, and said that the decision to endorse him was an easy one. Golden detailed all the initiatives he’s tackled with Quaglione and admitted that if Quaglione were to win the City Council seat it would be an added advantage because together they could get so much more done...."   (See "Marty Golden endorses John Quaglione for City Council" by John Alexander, 6/2/17,  The Brooklyn Daily Eagle   [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/6/2/marty-golden-endorses-john-quaglione-city-council#.WTHNexl4YLY.twitter]).

LET'S GET REAL, NOW  ---  I'm sure that Marty Golden doesn't want anybody to really think that he would have gotten nothing done if it weren't for John Quaglione being at his side for nineteen years.  Marty was doing his best to come up with some good things to say about John Quaglione.

For his part, the reporter who penned this piece let down the general public and local journalists everywhere.

All of the good ink appearing in John Alexander's article quoting Golden is nothing but pure puffery;  and by reporting all those hollow quotes unchallenged and without proper background and context, the 'reporter" reduced himself to the status of a flack  ---  or even worse,  he made himself into a "PUFFER" building up a certain kind of "Star" for some kind of a "Money Shot."

At the same time, it needs to be noted that an important fact left out of the Brooklyn Eagle "STORY" is that by only getting his boss Marty Golden's "endorsement" at this late date in the campaign  (up to the eve of petitioning)  shows that John Quaglione has generated NO MOMENTUM and even LESS ENTHUSIASM for his candidacy for the City Council.

THE PICTURE WORTH MORE THAN THOUSANDS OF WORDS

All of the above criticism of John Alexander is more than penumbrated by the magnificent photo that he presented under this caption:  "State Sen. Marty Golden endorses his Deputy Chief of Staff John Quaglione for City Council. Eagle photo by John Alexander".....

The John Alexander photo shows Quaglione and Golden sitting and having only coffee in an obviously empty Bridgeview Diner  (when was this photo taken at 5:00 AM ???).....   Marty Golden looks like more than ten miles of bad road (and I think almost everybody knows what the Marty Golden version of that looks like... ),  In spite of  his crisp shirt and nicely combed white hair,  Boss-man Marty looks like he's on a heavy dose of  Thorazine....   Of course there might be a simpler explanation,  Marty Golden might have just been listening to John Q fill him in on some of the issues that he would be talking about during his campaign.

President Donald Trump's June First Rose Garden Declaration against the Paris Agreement on the Environment was >>> The Greatest Single Presidential Act in One Hundred Fifty-four and a half years

In one fell swoop, Donald John Trump, the 45th President of the United States, has lifted himself into the Pantheon of "Historic Presidents" of the United States with a valorous act of historic significance unequaled since the U.S. Civil War and the Presidency of America's 16th President Abraham Lincoln 

President Trump's Rose Garden Declaration of 6/1/17  is so historic that one has to go back to the Emancipation Proclamation of 1/1/63 to find anything comparable

If one wanted to be historically honest and accurate, President Donald Trump's action is actually by far the more momentous and liberating to the citizens of the United States and, in fact, to the rest of the people on earth than Lincoln's very crafty and limited wartime Emancipation Proclamation of 1/1/63

The heroic image that should be adopted is one of Trump's standing like Publius Horatius Cocles full of valor and pure Republican virtue against a foreign horde bent on the destruction of the greatest Republic in the World of its day

Nothing more needs to be said.....

JUST THE BUZZ --- BROOKLYN GOP GIVES >>> QUALIFIED <<< ENDORSEMENT TO NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS FOR MAYOR

Marty Golden dictates terms & Ted Ghorra parrots them  ---  Kings County Republican Politburo does as expected (Now, where is that rubber stamp ?).....

"WE ENDORSE NICOLE FOR MAYOR, BUT ONLY IF SHE  *#(*^#((-))*@...   AND...   >>> IF SHE CO-ENDORSES JOHN QUAGLIONE <<<  IN THE GOP PRIMARY FOR CITY COUNCIL FOR THE 43RD DISTRICT..."     --(Paraphrase /) Brooklyn GOP endorsement of Nicole M for mayor

More details soon....