Sharpton can no longer make endorsements–thank you MSNBC! For Sharpton, an Odd Stage online.wsj.com
My neighbor Brent, the guy always sitting on his stoop with a glass of white wine, on Obama:
"We both lived in Hyde Park and had lengthy associations with the University of Chicago, where…he taught law on one of the more conservative law school faculties in the countryChicago, of course, is the home of the iconic free-market economist Milton Friedman and Leo Strauss. . . . Conservatism is in the water there; it is not possible to be engaged there intellectually without absorbing some of it. Obama clearly went to Washington with a healthy respect for rational, principled conservatism. He was utterly unprepared for an encounter with rabid conservatives who would risk the economy to destroy his presidency. The debt ceiling debate made painfully clear that his rhetoric of compromise is useless — and perhaps even self-defeating — with an opponent who has taken compromise off the table.” Up Front: Brent Staples www.nytimes.com
Point: Staples on Obama and Race. The Persistence of the Color Line — By Randall Kennedy — Book Review www.nytimes.com
Counterpoint: Gatemouth (from 2008) on Obama and Race. Exit Ghost | Room Eight www.r8ny.com
Chait: Liberal critics of Obama…generally want both maximal partisan conflict and maximal legislative achievement. In the real world, those two things are often at odds. Hence the allure of magical thinking. What the Left Doesn’t Understand About Obama www.nytimes.com
Barney Frank on purposeful paralysis as partisan politics. The Senate refuses to consider Obama nominees www.washingtonpost.com
Bouldin, my favorite Shabbos Goy, on the proposed Park Slope Food Coop boycott of Israel:
"China is, step by little step, obliterating the existence of Tibet as a distinct entity within the People's Republic.
Yet oddly enough, I'm unaware of any attempts to take Chinese products off any shelves.
The quintessence of anti-Semitism as it relates to the state of Israel is to single it out for treatment not afforded any other state."
Actually, since my sister in law manages a competitor, I hope the damn thing passes; it'll be good for business. A note on the Park Slope Food Co-Op | The Daily Gotham www.dailygotham.com
I suppose there is a heartening element in the fact that while one can still gleefully and openly call for the government to use its heavy hand to obliterate the religious free exercise rights of Muslim, one can only do your queer-bashing on the sly, pretending that the lit drops and entreaties to editorial boards are not coordinated.
But surely they are. Bob Turner is conducting a sub rosa campaign of hatred.
Meanwhile, Ed Koch has trumped his prior lie that Bob Turner's proposals wouldn't hurt Social Security and Medicare. His assertion that Bob Turner's position on same sex marriage is the same as the President's is just shameful.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevents federal recognition of State sanctioned same sex unions, which to cite one example, means no Social Security survivor benefits. The President supports repeal of DOMA, Bob Turner supports keeping it as it is.
There is ample evidence that Koch may be delusional, but I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt and call him a despicable lying sack of shit. Same-sex marriage a tricky issue for both David Weprin, Bob Turner www.nydailynews.com
UPDATE: More proof Turner is exploting homophobia: Robo-calls and radio from Ruben Diaz dog whistling in Spanish. Twitter twitter.com
UPDATED AGAIN: Republican District Leader candidate Joseph Hayon tells me that "Turner did tell me he opposes Civil Unions." Koch said Turner favors them.
SHOULD WE CHANGE OUR NAME TO ROOM HATE?
It has not gone without notice that the number one piece on Room 8 is the 2nd post in about a week written by an admitted holocaust denier which blames the Jews for 9/11. Our glorious First Amendment requires the government not censor such despicable excretions, and I would also contribute to the ACLU to defend Vince Nunes’ right to March in Skokie (I would also donate to a fund to supply said residents with tomatoes to toss in his direction). But no one obligates the owner of a blog to permit such stuff on his site. Ben and Gur, both nice Jewish boys, have taken away Mr. Nunes’ front page privileges, but that has not stopped his audience from finding him here. There is apparently a large market for the crack Mr. Nunes is selling, and it has flocked to Room 8, turning it into a de facto hate site. I promised a while back to leave Room 8 for just that reason, and I want to assure all concerned that my web designer (Brooklyn Politics’ awesome Colin Campbell) and I are working on it.
Meanwhile I apologize to all for my presence helping to give visibility to such repugnant garbage.