So, it’s come down to this; an occasional piece when the fancy strikes, plus a monthly Gateway summary of my sporadic FACEBOOK posts, just to keep my toe in the water.
With any luck at all, I’ll probably see you before the end of next month. I’ve omitted most of my comments about Pete Seeger because I think there’s a (likely to be ignored and despised) piece there.
January 2, 2014
We all knew that Michele Obama's cousin was a Rabbi, but who knew Obama's brother was Jewish?
DOMESTIC PARTNER: Typical Jewish male; he married an Asian Woman.
GATE: Rumor has it he has no foreskin and eats Chinese food on Christmas. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/02/obamas-half-brother-reveals-what-the-president-did-the-first-time-they-met-in-kenya-and-talked-about-western-culture/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=ShareButtons
January 3
Brooks apparently lives in a world where alcohol does not exist.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/opinion/brooks-weed-been-there-done-that.html?_r=3&
I note that I was carded every time I bought alcohol til I grew a beard at age 27. I was never carded when I bought weed.
Podhoretz: "Indeed, not since Theodore Roosevelt became vice president in 1900 has a major local politician gone on to do anything of consequence nationally …That was 117 years ago, if you need help with the math. Since his day, not one mayor or high-ranking city official has even gone on to win statewide in New York, not for governor and not for senator."
GATE: Except for Al Smith who went straight from being President of the Board of Alderman (a Citywide elected post, with a seat on the Board of Estimate, which ran the City) to the Governorship.
http://nypost.com/2014/01/03/de-blasios-national-impact/
NOTE: I actually emailed the Pod concerning his error about Smith, and he answered "that was a joke office–the Board of Estimate ran the city in those days, the aldermen had no power and were strictly party functionaries." When I sent him a link proving the Board President was a member of the Board of Estimate, he changed the terms of the argument. He's just incapable of admitting error.
Some might call comparing DeBlasio to FDR a bit of a stretch, but the author may not be so far wrong. I do note that Roosevelt was considered personally untrustworthy by every pol who ever did business with him. According to Caro, NYS's lobbyist, Ruben Lazarus, once told him "Governor, from now on we deal in writing and I'm going to demand a bond on your signature," while Moses once told him "Frank Roosevelt, you're a goddamned liar and this time I can prove it! I had a stenographer present!" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brent-budowsky/bill-de-blasio-the-fdr-of_b_4537954.html?utm_hp_ref=new-york&ir=New+York
The Times’ called on the President to grant Snowden “some form of clemency.”
I agree; the form of clemency I advocate is that we do not shoot him.http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2014/01/edward_snowden_doesn_t_deserve_clemency_the_nsa_leaker_hasn_t_proved_he.single.html
Downplaying your Zionism, or moving to Carroll Gardens; a Hobson's Choice. http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/157686/new-look-for-crif
Snow removal: Doherty: Meet the new boss; same as the old boss.
January 6
Apparently, the church is modifying its position on divorce. Maybe they meant he should get an annulment.
January 7
Orson Welles: "Once, off the hump of Brazil I saw the ocean so darkened with blood it was black and the sun fainting away over the lip of the sky.We'd put in at Fortaleza, and a few of us had lines out for a bit of idle fishing. It was me had the first strike. A shark it was. Then there was another, and another shark again, 'till all about, the sea was made of sharks and more sharks still, and no water at all. My shark had torn himself from the hook, and the scent, or maybe the stain it was, and him bleeding his life away drove the rest of them mad. Then the beasts took to eating each other. In their frenzy, they ate at themselves.You could feel the lust of murder like a wind stinging your eyes, and you could smell the death, reeking up out of the sea. I never saw anything worse… until this little picnic tonight. And you know, there wasn't one of them sharks in the whole crazy pack that survived."http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/194637-eric-cantor-gets-a-tea-party-challenger?utm_campaign=hillballotbox&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
The other day, I posted a story about interview with the President's half-brother, who is Jewish. The link was from a website controlled by the repugnant lunatic Glenn Beck, but it was the best link available for a really interesting story, so I used it, and some of my fellow liberals got upset.
My question is, do they oppose me linking this as well?
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/01/07/putin-anti-freedom-not-just-anti-gay/
In Senator Paul's defense, he didn't make this lie up; he plagiarized it from a Wikipedia page:http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/rand-paul-son-kentucky-automatically-enrolled-medicaid
Hope there's less protest than there was in Sheepshead Bay. http://www.towleroad.com/2014/01/new-tel-aviv-monument-to-honor-lgbt-holocaust-victims.html
January 8
I lived thru the Speaker's battle in 86, so this one line made my left eye jump (and I do not include it because it has predictive powers):
"But Ms. Mark-Viverito’s supporters were taking no chances. To ensure no defections, they planned to meet Wednesday morning in her office at 250 Broadway and then walk across the street to City Hall, en masse, for the noon meeting."
In the 86 race, the Manhattan delegation did the exact same thing. As the meeting ended, and the members prepared to cross the street, I yelled out "Take No Prisoners." Ruth Messinger actually smiled, then laughed out loud and repeated the line. Then we all walked across the street together.
January 9
Because what Virginia really needs is a law criminalizing all teenage sexual conduct which cannot lead to pregnancy. http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/gop-senator-pushing-emergency-bill-to-make-oral-sex-between-high-school-students-a-felony/politics/2014/01/09/81446#.Us8uwzYjJno
January 10
I don't get it; where is the evidence that anyone in the Obama administration had anything to do with the IRS thing? Where is the smoking email? http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304347904579310832305028924
Brace yourself Bridget:http://galewynmassey.blogspot.com/2014/01/will-bridgegate-turn-into-bridgetgate.html
This isn't DeBlasio eating pizza; this is a guy named Warren Wilhelm eating pizza: http://politicker.com/2014/01/with-a-fork-bill-de-blasio-eats-pizza
January 11
Sharon’s coma may have destroyed the chance for real peace as much as Rabin's assassination.
Sez Goldberg: "What changed was not his heart, not his life’s aim, but his understanding of reality. In his heart, he understood Israel’s enemies to be implacable. His objective was unaltered: to defend the existence of the Jewish state by any means necessary. For many years, he believed that the existence of the Jewish state was dependent on the occupation of Gaza. But he then came to realize that the “occupation” of Gaza was undermining Israel’s democracy, international standing and security. And so he left. He left Gaza for the same reason he invaded Lebanon: He thought it would make Israel safer… If Sharon had not been stricken eight years ago, Israel might today already be out of the West Bank." http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-11/ariel-sharon-never-changed.html.
To those of my friends who toss around the term “war criminal,” I charge, I must note that Sharon’s own government found him culpable for the abomination which occurred at Sabra and Shatila, but let's also recall that what he was culpable for was inaction–not one shot was fired by an Israeli, and Time magazine deservedly was found by a court of law to have been untruthful when it accused Sharon of being an accessory before the fact.
Bibi reminds me more of Arafat every day. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/world/middleeast/israel-publishes-plans-for-new-housing-in-settlements.html?_r=0
Slow news day?
Btw, Roseanne Roseanndanna was somewhat modeled after Eyewitness News' Roseanne Scamardella, who lived in Carroll Gardens where she was married to the Assemblyman and owned a Chinese restaurant with him, which still survives ("Me and My Eggroll").
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/nyregion/a-mr-feder-once-of-fort-lee-chimes-in.html?_r=0
January 13
Maybe it had nothing to do with endorsements, or judgeships. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/following-the-money-on-bridgegate
January 15
The Post: "New York’s GOP must be in dire straits if its state chairman has to beg his fellow Republicans not to endorse a Democratic governor for re-election."
The real question is not what this says about the dire straits of the Republican Party, but what it says about the dire straits of the Democrats. http://nypost.com/2014/01/15/republicans-for-cuomo/
Nothing says over like a Jersey pol getting personally dissed by the Boss (and I don't mean Norcross). Given Christie's well known Bruce-mania, this one was clearly meant to hurt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKHV0LLvhXM
January 21
Gatemouth (7/23/12): " To answer the question posed in my email today by Orthodox Pundit, the Lee Avenue pharmacy where Domestic Partner's mother and brother works is not the one with the dress code.
And just to be clear, while I oppose gender segregation on buses which operate under a City franchise, I don’t have any real concerns about store owners enforcing a dress code in their own private space (as long as it is not a pretext for some form of invidious discrimination)—it is surely not only Hasidic establishments which do such things–many restaurants do as well–as I recall, an Orthodox Jew was once denied entry to the bar at the River Cafe because his hat didn't meet their specs (actually, that one may have been invidious). And NY Perks, the black-oriented nightclub in my neighborhood has a very strict dress code (but I hear they do admit white people)."
(UPDATE: NY Perks no longer exists).http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/city-settles-hasidic-businesses-dress-codes-article-1.1586663#ixzz2r49D1fPa
January 22
The Mayor on UES snow whining: “Nobody was treated differently, I think people need to be mindful when they hurl those charges.”
Doesn't the Mayor understand that not being treated differently is exactly what the moneybaggers are complaining about. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/nyregion/east-coast-storm-brings-snow-and-disruptions-to-the-new-york-region.html?_r=0
Kevin Rofheart: This is just the beginning. Mark my words…by this time next year everyone will be begging for Bloomberg to come back.
Gate: because he was such an expert in giving snowjobs.
DeBlasio was the one who picked Greenfield? Well, actually, maybe there is some indirect element of truth there.
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/01/22/de-blasio-picks-david-greenfield-to-chair-land-use-committee/
if one's ever lived in southern Brooklyn, it is hard to think of "ax" as a purely black phenomenon.http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-78941194/
These noble Jewish leftists disdain Jewish exceptionalism, all the while believing that we are so good and pure that we are the only people who need not sully themselves by embracing the brutality of having a nation-state of its own. They portray J-Street as an insidious fifth column shilling for Bibi while disguising their intent. I heartily recommend this to my friends on the Zionist right, so they will stop bashing J Street as it were the enemy.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norman-solomon/the-blind-alley-of-j-stre_b_4644658.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics
Left academic Sean Wilentz exposes the truth about left heroes Snowden, Assange and Greenwald.
Verdict: You been bamboozled!
A must read:http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116253/edward-snowden-glenn-greenwald-julian-assange-what-they-believe
January 23
How does she explain Kansas? http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/23/1271963/-Illinois-Republican-says-God-makes-tornadoes-to-punish-gay-people
Zac Segal: The tornado states do tend to be red.
Allen Montgomery: Might have had something to do with what Dorothy was doing to Toto when she didn't think anyone was looking.
GATE: bringing new meaning to "Friend of Dorothy"
Allen Montgomery: God responded by giving the whole town a blow job.
Charlie Hall: Groan.
Gerry O'Brien: Atanus has never been the same since a house fell on her sister and the ruby slippers disappeared.
Massimo S. Salerno: How do the straight people avoid the tornado?
Republican men sincerely believe women have no trouble controlling their libidos, because their experience tells them this is so. Perhaps if they treated women with respect, their experience would be a bit different. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/mike-huckabee-women_n_4653426.html
January 25, 2014
Gail Collins expresses nostalgia for the old lovable Huckabee: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/25/opinion/collins-huckabee-spills-the-beans.html?ref=gailcollins
I'd be a lot less likely to dismiss BDS supporters as anti-Semites if they restricted their boycott to the occupation zone–though I doubt it, there is even the possibility they'd convince me. http://forward.com/articles/191541/theres-a-good-reason-for-singling-out-israel/#.UuR36adSjng.facebook
January 26, 2014
I'm a big Roth devotee, but Nixon's conversations with his staff about Roth's Nixon satire, "Our Gang" are funnier than anything in that book, which, unlike Roth, has not aged well. http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/nixon-asked-haldeman-philip-roth
January 29, 2014
A Brooklyn Republican blog calls for a Tony Blundetto-style in-house whacking of Michael Grimm (I suggest they use a lady to entice him into the bathroom of a Bay Ridge bar). http://galewynmassey.blogspot.com/2014/01/how-long-are-brooklyn-and-staten-island.html#comment-form
January 30, 2014:
Instead of coming up with a new cheapshot at Melinda PussyKatz, I’ll just link my old ones.
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/katz_pajamas_victorious_secrets.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/katz_in_the_cradle.html
January 31, 2014
We longtime "South Brooklyn" residents are aware there are actually two unrelated Scotto families. Buddy Scotto's family runs a funeral home; the other Scotto "Family" supplies funeral homes with work (Though not the Scotto Funeral Home; Buddy has a longtime adversarial relationship with the mob).
Michael is one of the "other" Scottos.
Congressman Grimm had better come to understand that Sollozzo’s assumption that a different Michael was "not from the muscle end of the family" proved to be somewhat inaccurate.
In the meantime, I would stay out of Sam's Restaurant (though if you do go, order the Clams Posillipo—might as well go out in style, “Mickey Suits”).http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/grimm-and-grimmer-for-grimm
What is it about the inability of political commentators to make simple factual corrections? This seem especially acute on the right (see my comments earlier this month re: Podhoretz).
I have no problem with most of right wing Jersey columnist Paul Mulshine's calling out of liberal and the media for burying the story of Pete Seeger's participation in the Almanac Singer’s repulsive functionally anti-anti-Hitler propaganda album "Songs for John Doe," but felt impelled to comment because he'd slurred the memory of Woody Guthrie (someone too ornery and independent ever to join a topdown hierarchy like the Communist Party USA) by saying he'd participated in the recording of that repugnant piece of trash.
Mulshine's reponse?
He cited a Wikipedia article, which said that Guthrie had been a member of the group.
This is true, but Guthrie's first album with the Almanacs was two albums after "Doe." It was a collection of sea chanties. http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2014/01/pete_seeger_was_a_great_guy_an.html
Always be wary of any pol who alternative between referring to himself in the first person plural and the second person singular.http://politicker.com/2014/01/john-messer-mulling-a-third-bid-against-toby-stavisky/
Though there are a few inaccuracies here (the basic contours of the 11th CD have changed since Guy Molinari's election–at that time, the district included lower Manhattan and none of Brooklyn; the Brooklyn portion is somewhat more than a sliver; Fran Powers died before he was officially nominated and an actual GOP primary was held to pick their nominee; Libertarians, being a non-ballot status party in NYS, don't have primaries); the "right leaning district" was carried by Obama in 2012), the really amazing thing about this three ring portrait of Staten Island politics is how many good stories didn't make the article (for starters, there's not one reference to Brit Hume).
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/31/grimm-s-dysfunctional-district.html
The center of all the world evil continues its disingenuous campaign of commit selfless humanitarian acts.
The bastards!
I'll agree with Bill Maher that we shouldn't judge someone harshly for having a lover who is in the process of getting a divorce (been there myself), so we shouldn't be slut-shaming Lis Smith.
But, I gotta tell ya, I don't have any problem at all slut-shaming someone for having a lover who's in the process of getting married to someone else. (and I don't care if you call me Katty for saying it).