Congresswoman Code Pink (D-Unforgiven)

Dear Congresswoman Gillibrand,

"Rep. Gillibrand Opposes Troop Escalation"

That was the headline from your news release issued on January 11, 2007. It was your first week as a Member of Congress, and you felt compelled to address the surge.

In case you forgot the words, the full text:

"The President's proposal for an increase in troops, and today's testimony by Secretary Gates, have failed to provide a clear strategy for success and a plan to reduce violence and bring long-term stability to the region.

"At this point the future of Iraq rests squarely on the shoulders of the Iraqi people. The solution to peace in the region is a political one - not a military one. The American people need to see a commitment from the Iraqi people that they are serious about taking responsibility for their own security and stability.

"America's commitment in Iraq should not be open-ended and I will continue to encourage this Administration to put Iraq on notice that we will redeploy our troops. A defined notice period for redeployment will be the best way to force the Iraqi government to step up to the plate, make the necessary compromises, and take responsibility for their future."

How do you think this vapid, talking points release will be received by your constituents now, Congresswoman? Little attention has been paid to it as you run for re-election.

One sentence after another is now proven wrong. Colossally wrong.

"The President's proposal for an increase in troops, and today's testimony by Secretary Gates, have failed to provide a clear strategy for success"? Wrong.

"The solution to peace in the region is a political one - not a military one"? Wrong.

"At this point the future of Iraq rests squarely on the shoulders of the Iraqi people"? Wrong.

The surge, thank God, worked. It worked so spectacularly that the pacifist Left in your party avoids denial.

Yes, you're a Freshman, with foreign policy experience from Emma Willard High School and the faculty lounges of Dartmouth and UCLA. That's no excuse. Your goal was to grovel before the Code Pink lunatics who disrupt Congressional hearings and the Moveon.org extremists that helped you get elected.

But what are the veterans you represent going to think about that release once it receives more publicity? From what I can tell, your opponent Sandy Treadwell has not made it an issue. He should. And if he does, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do. Bumbling explaining, at best.

What makes your decision most troubling is you're a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Who did you talk to at the Department of Defense, or in the field, before you adopted Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco rhetoric? Did you speak to a General or a Private First Class or a Command Sergeant Major?

Probably not.

You should have simply echoed your fellow Democrat Senator Harry Reid when that release you approved went out. He said: This war is lost.

"This war is lost" is exactly what you believed on January, 11 2007. You were a defeatist.

Now, I could recite to you how and why the surge became a tremendous success, but you already know how and why.

As a veteran, you failed me. You failed our dedicated fighting men and women, and you failed yourself.

You're not forgiven. You probably don't even want to be forgiven for such an egregious lapse in judgment. Because we hardly hear a word from you about your opposition to the surge.

You can issue all the "news" releases you want about veterans health care or any veterans issues, and it won't matter. On the most critical strategy that has allowed our country to move toward total victory in the war against Al-Qaeda and their Islamofascist allies, where were you? You were wearing your Code Pink t-shirt. Congratulations.

So, Congresswoman Gillibrand, what do you have to say for yourself now? How about: The surged worked, and I was wrong.

Perhaps if you can utter that phrase you may begin to regain the trust of veterans and our troops in the field. But I doubt it.

- Chris

Whining We Can Believe In

Is there a New York Democrat who refrained from incessant whining, complaining and apologizing this week?

Yesterday, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester was upset because Governor Paterson didn't tell him of plans to build a new Tappen Zee Bridge in his district.

"I was glad to learn from media accounts that my district was to host the announcement about future plans for the Tappan Zee Bridge," Brodsky said in a news release.

"We welcome the Commissioner and state officials here, and urge them to spend some additional time listening to public concerns rather than just making announcements. We are releasing this statement because we have been neither briefed nor invited to the announcement."

Oh, boo hoo hoo, Dick. You know why you were kept in the dark? Because Republicans and Democrats know you're an obnoxious pain in the ass. It's bi-partisan.

Also yesterday the Assembly Ethics Committee recommended banning married Assemblyman Sam Hoyt from the Assembly intern program because of a "past inappropriate relationship" with a 23-year-old intern.

"I accept the committee's findings and once again apologize to my family and the people of the 144th Assembly District."

Assemblyman Hoyt won his Democrat primary this month with an apology-filled campaign after e-mails he exchanged with the intern were leaked to the media.

And earlier this week Congresswoman Tracy Flick Kirsten Gillibrand released a new ad because Republican opponent Sandy Treadwell hurt her feelings:

"With all of America's challenges, you'd think Sandy Treadwell could do better than a false, negative campaign. Now, rest assured Sandy's personal attacks don't hurt me. I expected it."

"Personal attacks don't hurt me." Right. Play the non-victim victim card.

The Most Corrupt, And Weird, Party In America

When then-Republican John Lindsay ran for mayor of New York City in 1965 columnist Murray Kempton wrote: "He is fresh, and everyone else is tired." Forty-three years later, it applies to his former party.

Only, New York Republicans are not merely tired.

They're exhausted.

Republicans in control of the Senate will likely lose their slim 32-30 seat majority on Election Day. It will engender little sympathy because Albany's Republicans and Democrats reach agreement so often it's nearly impossible, ideologically, to distinguish between them.

Even worse, Governor David Paterson has skillfully positioned himself to the right of the state G.O.P., especially on property taxes and cutting government spending. Our liberal Democratic Governor has become more of a Republican than Albany's Senate Republicans on the two most critical issues facing our state.

But, there is one difference between Albany's two parties, and it's significant: The legislation proposed by Senate Democrats as well as the appalling behavior of New York Democrats in general.

The New York Democratic party is infested with corruption.

Congressman Charles Rangel's rent-controlled apartments scam is merely warming up in the unethical bullpen. His party's Assembly Sopranos have been forced from office with one felony conviction after another. Gloria Davis, Clarence Norman, Diane Gordon and Brian McLaughlin, among others.

So it was no surprise when Democratic Assemblyman Anthony Soprano Seminerio was arrested for accepting $500,000 in bribes two weeks ago. The 17-page indictment is rife with Seminerio's greed and narcissism.

"I'll break his balls. And I know what to break his balls about," Seminerio boasts to his bribe-paying hospital executive who was angry with a senior Department of Health official for not helping him fend off "cuts" to his budget.

It's unrelenting with Albany's Democrat La Cosa Nostra.

Don Speaker Sheldon Silver's former chief counsel, J. Michael Boxley, a man he vigorously defended against rape charges, is now a registered sex offender. Comptroller Fredo Corleone Alan Hevesi resigned in disgrace because he was using state tax dollars to chauffeur around his wife. And New Yorkers know well how Luca Brasi Eliot Spitzer made our state a national laughingstock.

This is not normal for a state party as a whole.

If the New York Democratic Party is not the most corrupt state party in the country, what state, either Republican or Democrat, outperforms its sleaze?

Tell me.

Tell me what state party, blue or red, is more corrupt.

I want to know.

Despite their undefined and undisciplined existence, New Yorkers should vote to keep the Senate Republicans in the majority. Why?

Because:

* Nearly every Senate Democrat has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, which favors a "progressive" tax system, and they will undoubtedly be a major force in leading the effort to raise taxes on every New Yorker;

* Brooklyn Senator Eric Adams supports legislation that gives illegal aliens and convicted felons the right to vote, and he's in line to become the Chairman of the Senate Crime, Crime Victims and Corrections Committee;

* Westchester Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins introduced legislation that would make obtaining an abortion so convenient that her colleague, and ordained minister, Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. called it "one of the most dangerous and radical pieces of proposed legislation in New York State that I have ever seen"; and

* Manhattan Senator Liz Krueger has pronounced a revived death penalty bill will never receive a vote in a Democratic Senate (this is also the same Senator who told New Yorkers to "drive less" while gasoline prices were exploding and she voted against suspending the gas tax for the summer months).

If New Yorkers believe the future is dire now, just wait until Senate Democrats move to implement their agenda. Tax hikes, voting rights for illegal aliens and convicted felons is merely the beginning. They will also revisit the attempt to provide driver's licenses to illegal aliens despite the intense backlash when Spitzer proposed it. And we'll witness more criminal convictions.

When Senate Democrats inherit the majority this January, upstate and Long Island will be completely dominated by New York City interests. Once we have statewide one-party Democratic rule, it's the kiss of death. New York won't recover for a generation.

Paul Tonko: The Triumph Of Mediocrity

Chichester's op-ed in The Sunday Gazette of Schenectady on soon-to-be Congressman Paul Tonko.

Boss Paterson's Hackocracy Strikes Again

"Empire State Development today announced that 25 Upstate New York grants totaling $67 million received formal approval at the Board of Directors Meeting held in New York City on September 18."

That was the first paragraph from a news release the Empire State Development Corporation issued two days ago. It was the same day The Daily News ran my piece on Governor David Paterson's ESDC funneling millions of tax dollars to McDonald's, Fordham University and multi-billion dollar corporations.

$67 million went down the drain on Thursday, and the largess included:

* $200,000 for Alpla, Inc., an Austrian plastics manufacturer with 10,000 employees and 119 manufacturing plants in 34 countries;

* $100,000 for Luvata Buffalo, a Swedish metal fabrication company with 8,500 employees in 18 countries;

* $500,000 for Erie County tool manufacturer Dynabrade; and

* $500,000 for Anaren, a self-described "world leader" in wireless infrastructure based in Onondaga County.

No explanation whatsoever was given by ESDC for why these four businesses received tax dollars. Not one quote appeared in the release. ESDC simply announced the company, and the cash is now in their bank accounts.

ESDC also approved:

* $50,000 for the Erie County Industrial Development Agency;

* $26,000 for Current Applications of Jefferson County;

* $34,200 for Exelco Developments Inc. of Chautauqua County;

* $50,000 for Graham Corporation of Genesee County;

* $40,000 for J.R. Clancy of Onondaga County;

* $40,000 for Nixon Gear Inc. of Onondaga County; and

* $25,600 for Qualicoat Inc. of Monroe County.

No explanation was provided. Again.

This is payola. It's Tammany Hall-style vote-buying and legalized bribery.

Nearly every company that gets its claws in New York's taxpayers describes itself publicly with superlatives such as "leading" or "global" or "innovative" or "worldwide." O.k. If that's the case, why do they need even one penny from New Yorkers?

Our accidental Governor has an opportunity to prove he's a real Governor by abolishing the ESDC, and it's repellent corporate welfare culture. New Yorkers would be spared from funding its bloated $1 billion budget, at the very least.

Anyone who has worked at the highest level of New York politics knows why ESDC exists. It's a patronage mill; a dumping ground for relatives and friends of the well-connected. These people have no training, no experience and no clue how a free market economy functions. All they understand are political favors, and hustling businesses to stay in New York when they would otherwise leave because of our punishing tax burden and excessive regulations.

Our state Legislature should schedule multiple hearings on Boss Paterson's ESDC operations. Summon their bureaucrats to the Legislative Office Building in Albany, and grill them on how they reach their decisions.

Why are certain businesses lavished with taxpayer goodies, and others blown off? Because right now, we have no idea. The public record is barren.

But I do have a good idea why.

For Thomas Valentine Hennessy

Thomas Valentine Hennessy was my Grandpa. He would have loved this piece in the News today.

The Daily News: New York Economic Development Giveaways Are A Bloody Ripoff

Velmanette Montgomery, A Pervert's Best Friend

Our New York State Senate is controlled by Republicans with a precarious two-seat majority, 32-30. Unfortunately, they are nearly certain to lose their majority for the first time in forty years because of their own ineptitude, and the record turnout that Barack Obama will create in minority communities.

But New Yorkers should be aware of what they'll get once the Senate is controlled by New York's Democrats. There are Democratic Members of the Senate who possess a disturbing inability to punish criminals. Paramount among them is Senator Velmanette Montgomery of Brooklyn.

Ms. Montgomery is obsessed with protecting sex predators, and that’s no exaggeration. From her voting record, she believes it's a crime right up there with jaywalking.

On May 19th, the Senate passed legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos that would require the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to post personal information regarding every registered sex predator in New York State. Under current law, New Yorkers are prohibited from accessing any information about so-called Level 1 Sex Offenders online.

It means if one of these deviants happen to live right next door to you, there's a good chance you'll never know about it. They’re supposed to be a “low risk” to commit additional sex crimes, and exempt from the online public registry.

The Skelos bill also requires all sex predators to provide their zip codes. Zip codes enable authorities to send New Yorkers an immediate e-mail informing them a sex predator - at any level - has just moved into their neighborhoods. All it takes is a request to be notified.

This common sense legislation passed 60-1. Well, who was the only Senator to vote against it? Velmanette Montgomery.

On May 14 the Senate passed another bill sponsored by Senator Skelos that would make it a class E felony for any Level 3 Sex Offender who fails to register or report a change of address. The vote was 60-1. And Senator Montgomery was again the only Senator to vote against it.

Finally, and also on May 14, the Senate passed legislation sponsored by Republican Senator George Maziarz that would make it a class A misdemeanor for first-time sex offenders to apply for a job that would allow them to have access to children in any way. Those guilty of a second violation are subject to a felony conviction.

The Maziarz bill passed 60-1. And, yes, the chairwoman and sole member of the Senate Friends Of Sex Predators Caucus voted against it.

What the hell is this woman's problem? The precious "rights" of people who commit such heinous crimes that even murderers believe they're the scum of the earth?

I attempted to find out what crime renders someone a Level 1 Sex Offender. That information is not publicly available. Why? Because the court of jurisdiction assigns the offender level. Isn't that wonderful? We have some of the most criminal-friendly judges in the country and they're making these decisions.

According to DCJS, there are 9,778 Level 1 Sex Offenders living in New York. I doubt all of them are 75-year old Alzheimer's patients who briefly opened a rain coat on Main Street.

In Senator Montgomery’s Brooklyn borough there are 636 Level 1 Sex Offenders. But she doesn’t want her northern and central Brooklyn constituents to know that one of them may be living in an apartment right next to them.

If you’re a Level 1 Sex Offender and decide apply for a job teaching second graders, Senator Montgomery has no problem with it. Since it’s just dandy that Level 1 Sex Offenders can become teachers, perhaps Ms. Montgomery should track one down on her own and ask him to do some babysitting for her family or friends.

And if you fail to register she also doesn’t believe you should be prosecuted for a felony. It’s called a registry and Senator Montgomery finds no fault with failing to register.

This is beyond ludicrous.

There is no way to describe these three votes by Senator Montgomery as anything but disgusting. I wonder how many Democrats in her district were appalled enough to mount a primary challenge. We already know the answer. Zero.

If a Senate Republican cast these three “no” votes there would be a stampede to get on the ballot. The Member would also be denounced publicly by party leaders.

It becomes even more Orwellian.

Senator Montgomery is the Ranking Member on the Senate Social Services, Children and Families Committee. That means she'll likely Chair the Committee if her party wins the Senate majority. She is also a member of the Senate Crime, Crime Victims and Correction Committee.

So, New Yorkers, vote for every Senate Democrat on the ballot this November 4th if you want the demented thinking of Senator Velmanette Montgomery to sit in a position of power in Albany where she can dote on and excuse sex predators.

With A Blue Moon In Your Eyes

They are The Assembly Sopranos.

Since 1975 Democrats have controlled the New York State Assembly, and they don't merely resemble a fictional organized crime family. They are an organized crime family.

All the shadow of the Capitol requires in Albany is the Bada Bing! and Satriale's Pork Store.

So it was no surprise when Democratic Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, who once boasted of being "John Gotti's Assemblyman," was arrested last week for an eight-year scheme he concocted to collect $500,000 in bribes. The 17-page indictment is damning.

"I'll break his balls. And I know what to break his balls about," Stugots Seminerio tells a bribe-paying hospital executive who was angry with a Department of Health official for not being helpful enough.

Seminerio, a 30-year incumbent, was also brazen and dumb enough to bring the undercover F.B.I. agent who nailed him onto the Assembly floor.

"Seminerio introduced the undercover to the Assembly Chambers' security guard, and requested that the security guard let the undercover enter the Assembly Chamber," the indictment charges. He immediately introduced the agent to Assembly Members who could help pass environmental legislation, and subsequently accepted a bribe for the "service."

Seminerio responded to the charges with his trademark arrogance. "It's one of those stupid things," he said.

He will likely join his disgraced former colleagues in resignation or expulsion from the Assembly. Or in prison. The body's most recent Assembly Sopranos, all New York City Democrats, include:

* Brian McLaughlin, allegedly the "confidential witness" who set up Seminerio. Plead guilty to racketeering charges for stealing $2.2 million from labor unions and nonprofit groups for personal use. Awaiting sentencing;

* Diane Gordon. Convicted of receiving a $500,000 bribe to build a new home. Awaiting sentencing;

* Clarence Norman, former Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman. Convicted of accepting illegal campaign contributions. Currently serving time in a New York prison;

* Gloria Davis. Convicted of receiving a bribe. Served 90 days in jail;

* Roger Green. Plead guilty to larceny for billing taxpayers for rides to the Capital he received free of charge from a contractor. Resigned.

It never ends with this crew.

A day after Seminerio was hauled in by the F.B.I., the toothless Assembly Ethics Committee met to investigate Democratic Assemblyman Sam Hoyt and Assemblyman Greg Ball (a rare Republican Assembly Soprano). The married Hoyt has confessed to exchanging sexually explicit messages with his goomah, a legislative employee, and Ball is accused of stalking and sexual harassment.

Democratic Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV has twice been accused of rape, and exonerated. Earlier this year he was charged with a D.W.I., and his female passenger was so drunk she had to be taken to a hospital emergency room by the police.

The Don of The Assembly Sopranos is Speaker Shelly Silver. He's no stranger to ethical gray areas and excusing criminal behavior.

Don Shelly once stayed at a posh Las Vegas hotel (how fitting) paid for at a discount rate by a casino company looking to expand in NewYork. And he works for a law firm notorious throughout our business community for supporting tort laws that have enriched trial lawyers and helped cripple our state economy. Because of our weak ethics laws, Silver is not required to disclose how much the firm pays him.

In perhaps Don Shelly's most appalling example of looking the other way in the face of criminality, he aggressively defended his chief counsel, Michael Boxley, after he was charged with raping a 22-year-old legislative employee.

It was not the first time Boxley was accused of rape, and Silver called the young woman a liar publicly. Boxley was dragged out of the Capitol in handcuffs, and is now a registered sex offender.

"Speaker Silver has acknowledged repeatedly that he was wrong about Michael Boxley," said one of his spokescapos at the time. Boxley's victim received a $500,000 settlement from the state.

A primary reason why the Assembly is an organized crime haven is because of its shameful refusal to pass financial disclosure reform legislation. Its Members can hold outside jobs, and they're not required to disclose income and holdings beyond the pittance of $1,000.

The Assembly Sopranos want it that way. It's how they stay organized until they get caught. Until they remove this veil of secrecy and pass strong financial disclosure legislation we will continue to witness the convictions of small-time Roger Green grifters as well as big-time thieves and aspiring Jimmy Hoffas like Brian McLaughlin and Anthony Seminerio.

However corrupt, from bribes to sex scandals to F.B.I wiretaps to rats to convicted felons, The Assembly Sopranos fall short of their fictional counterparts in one respect. No Assembly Member has whacked anyone.

But it wouldn't be a surprise if it's reported one day that one of them: Woke up this morning, got yourself a gun.

Good, You Know, Will, Uh, Hunting Speaks

Matt Damon solidified his status as a leading Hollywood dimwit on CBS News today. To comprehend his complete meltdown, this is the full text of what he said about Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin:

"I think there's a really good chance that Sarah Palin could be president, um, and I think that's a really scary thing. Um, because I don't know anything about her. Uh, I don't think in eight weeks I'm going to know anything about her. Um, I know that she was the mayor of a really, sma- , really small town. Um, and she's Governor of Alaska for, for less than two years.

"I just don't, understand.

"Uh, I think the pick was made for political purposes, but in terms of governance, it, it's a disaster. You do the actuary tables, you know, there's a one out of three chance, if not more, that McCain doesn't survive his first term. And it'll be President Palin.

"And, it really, you know, we was talking about it earlier, it's, it's, it's like a really bad Disney movie, you know. The hockey mom, you know. Oh, I'm just a hockey mom from Alaska and she's the president and it's like she's facing down Vladimir Putin and, you know, and using the, you know, the, the, folksy stuff she learned at the hockey, you know, rink, you know, and it's, it's absurd. It's totally absurd, and I don't understand why more people are not talking about it. How absurd it is.

"I, I, I, it, it, it's a really terrifying, uh, possibility. The fact that we've gotten this far, and, and we're that close to this being a reality is crazy. Crazy.

"She, I mean, did she really-. I need to know if she really thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago. That's an important - I wanna know that. I really do. Because she's gonna have the nuclear codes, you know. I, I, I wanna know if she thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago.

"Or if she banned books, or tried to ban books.

"I mean, th-, th-, you know, we can't, we can't have that."

I mean, th-, th-, you know, Hollywood people really gave this guy an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay? He can barely, uh, complete a sentence. Perhaps th-, those rumors about legendary screenwriter William Goldman writing Good Will Hunting are true.

I just don't, understand.

Well, you know, I-, I-, I- can't, can't believe how he dared to bring up Senator McCain, you know, possibly dying in office. It, it, it's so low class. You do the actuary tables, and, and there's a room temperature IQ for The Talented Mr., Mr., Um, Ripley, right up there with Madonna. Crazy.

And, it, really, you know, he, uh, insulted small towns across America with his really elitist, condescending comments. I mean, th-, th-, how can, how can any Alaskan or small town resident ever want to watch, rent or, um, own, one of his movies ever again?

Uh, even though Damon said he doesn't know anything about Governor Palin, and won't, for the next, ah, eight weeks, he certainly expressed a strong, you know, op-, op-, opinion about her.

It's, it's, it's a really bad Disney movie, you know, when a Hollywood actor attempts to address the, the most serious issues before our country and comes across, like, a, a, a complete, stammering idiot. It's, like, Snow White, and, and, and the Seven Dwa-, you know, Little People running for president.

But, hundreds of thousands of Americans take their children to the hockey, you know, rink, and the bet here is they won't appreciate Damon's comments in swing states where hockey, you know, rinks are a major part of their lives. Like, in Minnesota, Michigan and Montana.

I, I, I wanna know why Matt Damon believes Governor Palin wants to ban books, as if, like, you know, she's a Nazi or something trying to fool everyone by using, the, you know, folksy stuff. Whatever.

She, I mean, uh, I think it's really terrifying to think the dinosaurs could have been in those really bad Disney movies 4,000 years ago, too, carrying the nuclear codes with them, and, I mean, Sarah Palin starring in them. Disney movies I've already seen, like, Benji the Hunted, and The Mighty Ducks.

You know, th-, th-, we can't, we can't have that.

Governor David A. Paterson, Amnesiac

From today's New York Daily News:

"Republicans disguised their digs at Barack Obama with 'racial coding' to subtly make an issue of his color, Gov. Paterson said Tuesday morning.

"'There are overtones of potential racial coding in the campaign,' Paterson told the Crain's Business Forum, when asked whether racism would hurt Obama's chances to become president.

"'The Republican party is too smart to call Barack Obama 'black,' Paterson said.

"'But you can take something about his life, which I noticed they did at the Republican convention. A 'community organizer.' They kept saying it, they kept laughing, like what does this mean?' "

Dear David,

Get a life. There was nothing remotely close to racism at the Republican National Convention, or in Senator McCain's campaign operation.

I hate to break the news to you, but Senator Obama himself refers to his past as a "community organizer." So do his supporters. Are you even paying attention to the presidential campaign?

The reason why "community organizer" is mocked by Republicans is because Obama has yet to explain what exactly this position entailed beyond feel-good nonsense. "Community organizer" is yet another part of his paltry experience.

What about your strong association with Al Sharpton? Anyone who claims Sharpton as a close friend and political ally, like you do, should be very careful about tarring public officials as racists.

Sharpton was - and still is - New York's premiere demagogue on race. He never apologized for his despicable role in perpetuating the Tawana Brawley rape hoax, and a civil jury ordered him to pay $345,000 in libel damages to the prosecutor Steven Pagones.

And, David, let's not forget Sharpton's role in inciting the armed attack on Freddie's Fashion Mart that led to the death of eight people.

"We will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business," said Sharpton at the time. Of course, your buddy Al didn't stand by. One of his thug's entered the "white interloper's" store with a gun and flammable liquid. Does that horrible crime ring a bell, David?

How about the Crown Heights riots, and your pal Sharpton's destructive role?

"If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house."

That's what Sharpton said at the time. He also referred to Jewish New Yorkers as "diamond merchants."

You're obviously trying to score points with the Obama campaign. Fine. But at least attempt to achieve that goal without Al Sharpton exposing your hypocrisy.

"Racial coding." Right. You're the only one who seems to be the codebreaker.

- Chris

The Last Place Cable Network Makes A Decision

From today's New York Times:

"NBC Universal executives are also known to be concerned about the perception that MSNBC’s partisan tilt in prime time is bleeding into the rest of the programming day. On a recent Friday afternoon, a graphic labeled 'Breaking News' asked: 'How many houses does Palin add to the Republican ticket?' Mr. Griffin called the graphic 'an embarrassment.'”

Mr. Griffin is the genius NBC network executive who defended the teaming of former ESPN jockstrap idolator Keith Olbermann and former Jimmy Carter speechwriter Chris Matthews to anchor the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. They were removed this weekend from anchoring any future political events, and replaced by David Gregory.

Both should be fired.

Olbermann and Matthews disgraced MSNBC with their insufferable ramblings, frequent adolescent cracks (Olbermann snidely saying a "Pawlenty" sounds like a side dish) and their unrelenting partisan unprofessionalism. These two characters should have been delegates to the Democratic convention.

Instead, MSNBC showcased them. For a last place cable network that consistently gets blown out in the ratings by Fox News and CNN, it's curious that the most important barometer doesn't apply to Olbermann and Matthews.

Olbermann is the most offensive person on cable television news, and Matthews, the rudest. The fact that they reportedly despise each other is amusing.

MSNBC long ago lost its credibility as a legitimate news operation. Maybe today's canning of Olbermann and Matthews from anchor duties shows they understand attempting to appeal to the Democratic party's moveon.org fanatics is not the right strategy to move up in the ratings. But I doubt it.

McCain

Senator John McCain is blowing it. Big time.

His acceptance speech was mediocre, at best. He had eight years to prepare for the night he accepted the nomination from his party to be the next president of the United States, and it was a major disappointment.

To win, he must tell the truth about Senator Barack Obama.

He likely will not. Because the truth about Obama will be reported as "negative politics" by the mainstream media. Senator McCain, and his people, can easily be intimidated by the MSM.

If he loses on November 4th, it will be because of his excessive pandering to the media.

Senator McCain should make Obama's unrepentant terrorist pal William Ayres an issue. His extremist, paranoid, conspiracy-theory former pastor Jeremiah Wright is also a legitimate line of attack. And his "slum lord" buddy and convicted felon Tony Resco should never be off limits.

Senator McCain is not going to make Ayres, Wright and Resco part of his campaign. If he loses this election by a dozen electoral votes, that will be the reason. He was too afraid to expose his opponent for what he represents by his unseemly associations.

PROVOCATIONS: The Ticket

Senator John McCain's choice of Governor Sarah Palin was necessary because he had to jump-start his floundering campaign rather than accept a conventional, lackluster running mate. The Alaskan is a risk, and may prove a mistake, but she's gifted, authentic and tough.

Unfortunately, we are now witnessing the hatred that consumes fringe bloggers and their mainstream media enablers. They are obsessively attempting to find something - anything - to humiliate, if not destroy, Gov. Palin. And that goal made her 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy fair game.

It has been an ugly and indecent last 72 hours, and with the media swarming all over the Palin family we will be subjected to more "analysis" about how a 17-year-old who made a mistake can impact the two most powerful offices in the world. How is that good for our country? It's not.

Bristol Palin's pregnancy is irrelevant. It should not diminish Gov. Palin's status as a rising Republican star, and is certainly not an indication of flawed judgment by Sen. McCain. Gov. Palin is guilty of being an ordinary American with a family issue millions of mothers and fathers cope with today.

Parents can impose restraints on teenage girls, but they are not foolproof. Were Gov. and Mr. Palin too trusting or too busy with their careers and neglected their parental duties? Perhaps. It's unflattering, and all too human.

What has been lost in the Minneapolis feeding frenzy is how the Republican Party desperately needs people like Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin to shake things up, as it has become a dysfunctional, pork-barrel party that lost its way and its principles. Our country needs them as well.

Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are both true reformers who have demonstrated determination and independence on issue after issue. In addition, neither has not hesitated to forcefully stand up to entrenched special interests, their opponents and their own party's faltering leadership.

By contrast, Obama has the experience of a yes-man state legislator dutifully obeying his leadership's orders, and casting the cowardly vote of "present" 129 times on dozens of issues in Springfield. If there is one example of Sen. Obama demonstrating his willingness to pursue and achieve the reforms he claims to support as a State Senator or United States Senator, it has yet to be revealed.

Unlike Gov. Palin he's never run anything. Not a state. Not a city. Not even a village. Nor has he accomplished anything that denotes real reform, and his supporters have no answers beyond platitudes when they are asked for examples.

Yes, Sen. Obama is a great communicator - an important talent for a president. But take away the script, he actually does poorly in question-and-answer sessions and debates. He simply is not good on his feet. Unscripted questions are above his pay grade. And his ideas are forty years out of date and bad for the economy and national security. He merely makes them sound more appealing than the Kerrys, Gores and Dukakises.

That the Republican vice presidential nominee has short-term experience is hardly a talking point for the Democrats, and it comes off as deeply hypocritical. In fact, the 44-year-old Palin's career highlights just how flimsy Sen. Obama's credentials are as the man who aspires to lead the free world.

And Gov. Palin's counterpart Biden? Joe Biden has been a major part of the most ruthless partisanship in Washington for the last 20-plus years as the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a party to destroying the reputations of qualified men and women for Federal judgeships. The extreme partisanship Obama claims to want to move on from, Sen. Biden revels in.

For all his purported foreign policy experience, Sen. Biden proposed a "plan" to partition Iraq, comparing it to Bosnia - a colossal error in judgment and since removed from his website. He also, like most Democrats, opposed President Reagan's 1980's military build-up that helped win the Cold War. On the most critical foreign policy issue that consumed America for 50 years, Sen. Biden was on the wrong side.

By choosing Gov. Palin, Sen. McCain showed us he is no different than the man who first ran for president eight years ago. He's been a thorn in the side of President Bush's fecklessness for most of his presidency, and he picked a new generation leader who has been a thorn in the side of Alaska's knuckle-dragging, corrupt old-boy network.

Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are the right man and woman for our times, and that fact will become more evident as we approach Election Day.

The Perfect Song For Jilted Hillary Supporters

"Sarah, you're the poet in my heart."

Written by Stevie Nicks, and listen here.

Wait a minute baby,
Stay with me awhile...
Said you'd give me light
But you never told me about the fire

Drownin', in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown.
But now it's gone, it doesn't matter what for
So when you build your house, then call me home

And it was just like a great dark wind
Within the wings of a storm
I think I had met my match
He was singin'
And undoing and undoing
The laces, undoing the laces

He said "Sara, you're the poet in my heart,
Never change, never stop..."
But now it's gone, it doesn't matter what for,
But when you build your house, then, call me,home

Hold on, the night is comin'
And the starling flew for days
I'd stay home at night all the time,
I could go anywhere - anyway - anyway...

Ask me and I'm there, yeah,
Ask me and I'm there, I care
In the sea of love where everyone would love to drown
But now it's gone, they say it doesn't matter any more
Well, if you build your house, then please call me,home

"Sara, you're the poet in my heart,
Never change, and don’t you ever stop..."
But now it's gone; no, it doesn't matter anymore
When you build your house, I’ll go by

Sara

Sara, baby
There was a heartbeat and it never really died,
Yes it never really died
Oh will you swallow your pride?

All I ever wanted was to know that you were dreaming...

Sarah Rising

She did it.

With elegance and eloquence.

"I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment."

She sure isn't, and she's ready to lead.

The Night of the Barracuda

It has been a long time since the fringe left and their mainstream media accomplices made me this angry.

Senator John McCain's choice of Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate was a brilliant choice. Her speech last Friday was nothing short of thrilling. She is an impressive, gutsy woman who took on Alaska's corrupt, male-dominated Republican dinosaur establishment and defeated them. Gov. Palin is a true reformer in the McCain style, and the kind Barack Obama merely pretends to be.

A Mayor (albeit from a small town) and Governor is a resume with significant executive experience, and neither Obama or Joe Biden possess it. The contrast with Obama - a quintessential, privileged, yes-man Chicago machine politician is immense.

Yet, none of that matters tonight. What matters is destroying Sarah Palin and smearing her family.

Governor Palin will rise to the challenge of her life tonight, and deliver a speech that will electrify this convention.

PROVOCATIONS: The Fat Grams Mayor

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

During your 16 remaining months in office, you need to understand what the people of New York don't have to endure from you. It's lectures about our health and diets.

From your recent announcement to spend $500 million with Bill Gates to "fight smoking" to your pet bill that would force chain restaurants to display calorie information on their menus to your banning so-called trans fat from city restaurants, it's been incessant smothering-by-government from you.

If you were a private citizen, I would have no problem with your efforts. You're not, though.

Guess what, Mr. Mayor? It's none of your business what New Yorkers decide to eat, or smoke, legally. If we want to eat a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken or smoke five packs of Marlboro cigarettes every day, it's a personal choice. Making a personal choice - a pro-choice - on other life issues before the public is usually language politicians like you enjoy using to score points with the electorate. Right? More on that in a moment.

You obviously fail to understand the proper role of government. When James Madison and his fellow Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution they didn't have your obsessive calorie counting and "anti-smoking" crusades in mind. The Federalist Papers and The Declaration of Independence also make no mention of the foods and cigarettes you disdain. It's why we don't have any monuments dedicated to a cholesterol test.

You, sir, are a health fanatic. Your goal is to impose this fanaticism upon the 8 million people you represent.

I know your defense: People who eat unhealthy foods and smoke cigarettes drive up the cost of health insurance and burden the health care system.

So what.

Once your reasoning is accepted, elected officials like you can bring the full force of the government down upon private decisions at any time. If I can't eat a Whopper at Burger King or grab a smoke without you leering over my shoulder like a dietary Humbert Humbert, it creates more opportunities for you to regulate and harangue me about my behavior.

Your health hectoring insults the intelligence of New Yorkers. I know smoking is unhealthy and a salad is healthier to consume than a Nathan's hot dog. Because my Mom and Dad told me - when I was five years old.

"Eat your peas."

Didn't your parents tell you to eat your peas because they're healthy? Of course. It wasn't eat your Ding Dongs at the dinner table.

Mr. Mayor, your city has tens of thousands of abortions take place every year. In 2006, according to the New York State Department of Health, of the 121,278 abortions in New York, 83,226 abortions were here.

Although the Department does not have a statistical break down for the number of previous abortions by geographic area, statewide there were 16,815 women who already had a third abortion, 8,068 with a fourth abortion, and 3,804 with a fifth abortion. Undoubtedly, these disturbing multiple abortion numbers include your constituents.

Is abortion a life and death issue that compares to your calorie counting and smoking agendas? Of course it is. Yet, we don't hear a peep of concern from you about those lives taken in your city day after day. Not one word.

The psychological and family repercussions that these women have suffered are tragic. It doesn't compare, in any way, to ordering a box of McDonald's french fries you so sanctimoniously condemn..

You're promoting a cause because you believe you'll save lives - the lives of New Yorkers who make decisions of their own free will. Fine. But you wake up leading a city where you strongly support a barbaric "procedure" that costs the lives of babies who have no free will. And you have done nothing about it.

Think about the unborn, and your hypocrisy, the next time you feel the compulsion to condescend to us about what to eat or smoke in order to live a "healthy lifestyle."

- Chris