Nine year old Dybbuk sums it up best; recalling the New Republic cover of a few weeks ago depicting the GOP race as a dog show ("and that's the lady who says shutzpah"), he pronounced Newt "King of the Bitches"

Traditionalists are perfectly willing to accept "sins" as long as they are onerous and burdensome. The thought of couples dealing honestly with their issues and changing the structure of their own marriages, or young men dealing honestly with their homosexuality and eschewing the Priesthood (and the limited outlets it offers) is too earthshaking for them in the challenges such alternatives make to the existing order.

The fact that the earthshaking changes surely cause less harm and misery than the status quo seems to elude traditionalists-or maybe the fact that changing the status quo would cause less misery is their problem with the idea. Voters Prefer Newt Gingrich's Adultery to Open Marriage - Room for Debate www.nytimes.com

Why is the GOP so anti-business? Are they against a Lezzie-Fair economy? Microsoft, others endorse same-sex marriage legislation seattletimes.nwsource.com

Obama imitates Al Green singing “Let’s Stay Together”

Clearly the right song and he does Al so well that I was afraid some crazed female fan was going to attack him with hot grits.

Query: Has the President ever even tasted grits? Obama Nails Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at Apollo Theater Fundraiser www.slate.com

Five minutes after I posted my Johnny Otis piece, I discovered we also lost one of Johnny’s greatest discoveries.

Etta James’ recordings ran the full gamut of black post war music (she even recorded with rappers), but despite the bopping "Roll With Me Henry," the ubiquitous "At Last" and the many triumphs of her later years, in my mind her high point was the Muscle Shoals based "Tell Mama" album ,which included not only the title tune, but the stunning "I'd Rather Go Blind" Etta James, Singer, Dies at 73 www.nytimes.com

David Haglund agrees: the greatest Etta song is "I'd Rather Go Blind." The Story Behind Etta James’s Greatest Song www.slate.com

Colin Campbell may think he's hot shit, but this is the real reason most people read the Observer Meet Marie Calloway: The New Model for Literary Seductress is Part Feminist, Part ‘Famewhore’ and Al www.observer.com

John Gangemi Sr. was the Republican candidate against Hugh Carey in his last election for Congress (1972), and did pretty well.

In 1973, Gangemi was elected Republican City Councilman At Large from Brooklyn (not much of a trick, given each party was allowed to run only one candidate for the two open seats; still the GOP managed to lose to minor parties in 1969 and 1977). He served one term.

In 1980, Gangemi ran as a Democrat for the State Senate seat held by Republican Chris Mega (Jim McCall, the kinda reform insurgent supported by some of the liberals against Gangemi in the primary, later became a pretty conservative Republican, though an insurgent one who was backed by many liberals when he ran against Noach Dear for a Judgeship in 2007). In 1978, the Dems had nearly beat Mega with the very liberal Jack Carroll, and got the idea that running a very conservative Dem might do the trick. Gangemi was slaughtered. Two years after Gangemi’s loss, the Dems won the seat with the liberal Joe Montalto, only to lose it back to Mega in 1984. The GOP held the seat until 1996.

In 1982, a Judgeship opened at the last minute and Meade Espositio ran Gangemi for it in the primary. He was beaten, however, by the far more liberal Maggie Cammer (full disclosure: Cammer's brother is married to my mom's first cousin).

In 1996, Gangemi's son, John Jr. ran a primary challenge to Mega's successor, GOP State Senator Robert DiCarlo, and took him out, only to lose the general to Democrat Vinnie Gentile. In 1998, John Jr. tried again, but lost the GOP primary to Mega, who then lost in November to Gentile.

In 2001, John Sr.'s daughter Ursula ran in a Democratic primary for the area's Council seat, but came in a very poor third place.

It is hard for me to take the announcement of 73 year old John Sr. that he is running for Congress as anything but either the product of a GOP plot or psychotic delusion.

The fact that Frank Morano of the Staten Island Independence Party seems to be lurking in the wings only heightens the suspicion that it is likely the former (possibly taking advantage of the latter). John Gangemi: I’m Likely to Challenge Congressman Grimm www.politickerny.com

Intellectual Honesty Test; Part One: Before GOP State Senate candidate David Storobin denounces Lew Fidler again for a two year old contribution he got from Carl Kruger (before Kruger’s indictment), perhaps he should also call upon the people who are financing his campaign to return (or give to charity) the ill-gotten gains they received from Kruger's bagman, Richard Lipsky.

LIPSKY, RICHARD 2,000.00  17-OCT-02

 NYS SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

 2002 11 Pre General

 LIPSKY, RICHARD 2,000.00  18-OCT-10

 NYS SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

 2010 11 Pre General

Intellectual Honesty Test; Part Two: Intellectual honesty is a tough cookie, but it requires that I mildly criticize Councilman Lew Fidler.

The other day I mildly criticized blogger Mole333 for going too far in linking State Senate candidate David Storobin with white supremacists based upon articles I has written on the topic.

Now Lew Fidler has done the same.

Mole responded: "Gatemouth thinks I overstate the "link" and maybe instead of saying Storobin is "linked" to white supremacists I should say he has seemed frighteningly sympathetic to them though has managed to avoid a clear link. One still needs to ask my wife's question: why the hell is a Russian in Brooklyn so interested in the Afrikaaner Independence Movement in the first place??]"

Fair enough.

But I do think one should be careful in appearing to yield the moral high ground one inch to such an extremist and unfit candidate.

Why exaggerate about Storobin, guys?

The truth is quite sufficient. Video: Fidler Says Opponent Has Ties To White Supremacists |SheepsheadBay News Blog www.sheepsheadbites.com