Carl Paladino
Amid Diversity, Worries About Jews and Gays
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — When Julia Watt-Rosenfeld went to P.S. 9 in Prospect Heights to vote in the presidential election two years ago, she waited for nearly two hours in a line that went around the block. On this election day, though, she was in and out of the polling site in minutes.
Homophobia: An Insidious Outgrowth of Misogyny
Let’s be honest: It’s not like I was going to vote for Carl Paladino in the first place. If there were some kind of reverse political dictionary, and I was in it, Carl Paladino would be listed as my particularly aggressive antonym. That was before he decided to publicly demonstrate his homophobia, while bringing the Jewish community into it. Unfortunately, it’s not as though we weren’t in it to begin with. This is everyone’s problem, whether or not we consider ourselves to be queer positive folks, but particularly if we do.
Who’s That Guy in the Black Hat Next to Cuomo?
Only one ultra-Orthodox fixer appears to have accompanied New York gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Cuomo on all four of his early October visits to Brooklyn’s Hasidic rebbes.
Bagels and Ballots — Wednesday
A Story You Can Bank On: Illinois senatorial candidate Alexi Giannoulias, a former official at his family’s Chicago area bank, is “consistently vague” about just what he did there, the Chicago Tribune finds. In the words of his opponent Mark Kirk, “First he said he was the senior loan officer and ran much of the bank in order to be elected state treasurer. Then, when it was revealed that the Tony Rezko loans were made, he said, ‘Well, I left in 2005.’ Then when it was revealed that he took a $2.7 million tax deduction that required him to justify 500 hours of work (in 2006), he said that he actually was there in 2006.” (Chicago Tribune)
Bagels and Ballots – Monday
-Less Competition in the Windy City: Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has been eyeing a run for mayor of Chicago — the first Jewish one, at that. Yesterday, former city inspector David Hoffman, also Jewish, announced he isn’t running — a decision the Sun-Times expects will help Rahm’s candidacy. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Bagels and Ballots- Friday
-Philanthropist and liberal activist George Soros has been funding J Street, the Washington Times has revealed. Though J Street’s executive director, Jeremy Ben Ami, has denied any donations to the dovish group by Soros in the past, tax records reveal that Soros and his two children have contributed a total $245,000 to J Street from a Manhattan address in New York from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.
The Tea Party’s New Stars: How Will They Play with the Jews?
The Tea Party upsets in New York and Delaware are the big news items from yesterday’s primaries. But the key question now, of course, is: Is it good for the Jews?