So, yesterday we learned that in his own words the White House occupant is a white nationalist, Nazi-sympathizer; he called the torch bearing thugs shouting "white lives matter," the Nazi slogan “blood and soil” and "Jews will not replace us" fine people while equating them with counter-protesters ("Alt Left").
I heard the press conference in real time and wanted to throw up.
GA rarely publishes press releases.
I am publishing this one, and am calling on Hoboken officials to DENOUNCE the KKK-Coddler-in-Chief by name, and to stand up for our diverse Hoboken community: Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and all GOOD people of ALL Faiths- my Christian brothers and sisters.
Thank you, Ravi.
Statement of Councilman Ravi Bhalla, candidate for Mayor of Hoboken, on President Trump's Comments on Charlottesville
"President Trump's comments yesterday on Charlottesville were a failure of moral leadership. Let's be clear. There can be no moral equivalence between white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and those who stand up to bigotry. There can be no "fine people" who march with those chanting racist words. More than ever, for our neighborhoods, communities, and schools we need a message of calm, healing, and affirmation of our nation's highest ideals."
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| White nationalist, Nazi sympathizers don't belong in the White House |
Please enjoy this GIGANTIC haiku:
ReplyDeleteI say funny things
Like Bhalli Ravioli
I am never wrong
wonder if another blog in town will trot out the "many sides" non-defense defense, and (of course) label this statement as another example of ravi "nationalizing" the mayoral election. i say "wonder if..." because i refuse to visit that blog.
ReplyDeleteguess what: national issue DO impact local affairs.
btw, noticed jen just posted a paul ryan-like comment on FB regarding charlottesville: denounced racial hatred but apparently unable to bring herself to denounce her party's leader for saying it. lay the blame where it belongs, jen. say his name.
Really? Unconscionable.
Deletehere's what she posted...so close, yet soooooo far:
Delete"While watching the events in Charlottesville and the official response to it unfold this week, I find myself horrified by such racial intolerance and religious ignorance. As it would any caring human being, the violence brings me to tears. We may have nowhere near the same level of conflict in our city, for which I'm grateful, but we also cannot let such hatred spread. People are not born racist. They learn it. Together we must find a better way forward - nothing justifies murder."
WEAK.
DeleteOur Director of Conspiracy Theories has come up with a real winner to get us out of this cheap. Trump is innocent! The real culprit is .....
DeleteJason Kessler!
He's part Obama guy, part Occupy guy. A real bad hombre for sure. So we don't have to condemn Trump. He had nothing to do with it. It's all Jason Kessler's fault.
Read about it here: http://www.dailywire.com/news/19747/reports-man-behind-unite-right-was-occupy-wall-james-barrett
Our Director of Conspiracy Theories is running with it! More to come! Stay tuned! Keep voting Team Giafusco in any poll with a refresh button!
Hoboken has a few bad hombres too - including one who must be stopped from using the Mayor's office for SIKHING contracts for his law firm. It's tough to stop the dreaded Bhalli Ravioli and his well-funded war chest and machine operation, but I know of one GIGANTIC candidate who's just the man for the job! And don't worry, he's not another one of those disgruntled Bajardi/Soares types who applied for a position and felt he didn't get the royal red carpet treatment from Lady Mayor and Bhalli Ravioli. He's got REAL LEGITIMATE reasons based on his SUPREMELY GIGANTIC knowledge of how the city should be run.
DeleteNo egoes run amuck here, that's not how this guy operates. He spends his days and nights cavorting with our resident konspiracy kook/Nazi rationalizer, so he's GIGANTICALLY well informed on the issues!
Pretty piss poor analysis and is a real disingenuous reflection of what went down with respect to the Sewer Authority appointment in 2016. More scumbag spin from a Ravi Robot from where I stand. You have as much ethics and knowledge as Trump from what I have seen so far.
DeleteRavi did the bidding of Mayor Zimmer on two fronts. First he tried to pull a two year term for 5 year swap with respect to Brian Assadorian and Raia. When that did not work he tried to get 5 votes for Frank. He failed on both accounts but earned my respect for telling me the truth during process. I got nothing but BS from the shadow and the Mayor. But hey a Backroom deal is a Backroom deal.
Frank Raia was on the school board majority in 2006 when the devastating audit revealed how much money was funneled out of the clsssroom. Nancy did an outstanding job highlighting the skullduggery and fiscal malfeasance and it is actually still to this date is one of her signature posts on the importance of good government and exposing the truth of Hoboken's corrupt past.
So why then was there the attempt to put Frank back on the board? Many good government advocates thought the swap attempt was bad but Ravi vociferously defended it. Blind spot for ethics? Perhaps.
On the day of the appointment Ravi would not even look at me but was more than happy to talk at length with Frank Raia. From Frank's body language I knew they didn't have 5 votes for him.
So the vote went 8-1 I my favor and Ravi gave me a lecture about CSOs for 8 minutes. You have to watch it to believe it because Ravi was clearly not happy he could not deliver for Zimmer. His role as majority whip. His loyalty to Zimmer is the best explanation as to why he got her endorsement. Makes sense.
The other theory is Zimmer did not want to support Jen because she is smarter than her. Plus all Republicans are evil in the era of Trump.
And that's why we are here with a split in reform.
Thank you, sir, for the detailed explanation of your experience applying for a board position and why it is, in your view, the cause of "why we are here with a split in reform."
DeleteNot that it's all about you, or anything! So if you are the real reason for the reform split, doesn't that make you Jen's shadow?
Actually, NOT really, GA - Jen's comment wasn't "paul ryan-like" at all. Just went there and read it. It was pretty all encompassing. That "base of hate" exists with or without Donald Trump. Horrifying to see in our country - but a fact. I've seen Trump apologists on my FB thread talk about "all sides" and people that blame the whole thing on Obama (unbelievable!) and consider the black lives matters movement the same as the aryan nation movement. (insane!) but, if we neatly package the whole thing into "it's Trump's fault" such hatred will continue to grow and fester....and will rear itself in more ways than just racial and ethnic.
ReplyDeleteTrumps response was shockingly inappropriate and it's mind boggling that anybody would try to defend him since we're used to, and expect, Presidents' whether we support them or not, to comfort us all during moments of crisis (think Reagan during the Challenger, W. after 911, Clinton after the Oklahoma bombing, Johnson after the MLK assassination). But I saw no defense of Trump on Jen's FB page and horror about the ugliness in the world.
No person, democrat or other, is morally superior simply because they include Trump in their outright condemnation of racial intolerance and religious ignorance. I'm personally more upset that we're using Trump as the barometer for all things intolerant and racist. Racism and intolerance isn't partisan anymore than are Hoboken's elections.
Sure, I applaud a Mayor that supports gay marriage and condemns racism and participates in the bigger conversation. But, on a local level where the local residents are the ones that the Mayor serves, such things are no substitute for a Mayor that will roll up his or her sleeves and get down into the weeds in order to serve Hoboken's residents instead of one that serves the brightness of the spotlight.
jen's statement, which i posted above, is 100% paul ryan-like: denounces racial hatred but doesn't have the nerve to condemn the leader of the free world (and her party) who is fanning the flames with his moral equivalencies. no one said it "was trump's fault", but he is providing tacet support with the "many sides" attitude, and local leader fail themselves in not taking a stand.
DeleteIndie, that is your opinion- or defense of Jen's incredibly weak, generic statement avoiding the essence of the ISSUE. The issue is that our PRESIDENT TRUMP has encouraged dangerous white nationalist and neo-nazi groups- new Jersey has 15- because he admitted he is a white nationalist, neo-nazi SUPPORTER. President Trump needs to be repudiated head on- weak, generic statements about "hate" do not cut it. Very sorry Jen was "brought to tears"- that means she is human. WEAK.
DeleteIf you need a leader to say "I condemn Trump" in order to think their message is on point, I think you are narrow minded.
DeleteMore than half of the voting population didn't vote for the man. I'd wager even some of those who did vote for him don't like him. So It's safe to guess that more than half of the entire population of adults in this country doesn't like him. Condemning him accomplishes what?
Condemning the actions of reprehensible "persons" and condemning the message these "people" spew is the important thing. But that is just my opinion of course. And I'm a Ravi supporter.
I say "persons" and "people" because they're subhumans. Anyone whose hate dictates their life is a subhuman.
snoopy, condemning the leader of our country who fans the flames of racial hatred with his moral equivalencies accomplishes a lot, actually. those "persons" who beat people and killed someone by driving their car into a crowd ISIS-style were marching with nazi flags and chanted "jews won't replace us" and "blood and soil". if you don't think there's any need to condemn political leaders who provide cover for those white supremacists with their moral equivalencies, then i really don't know what to tell you.
Deletesnoopy, I respect your opinion, but that's not quite what I said. The PRESIDENT of this country has given aid and comfort to DANGEROUS white nationalist and Neo-Nazi hate groups by not condemning them by name: Neo-Nazis, white nationalists- dangerous groups that exist in our midst here in NJ. Yes, the wink and nod from President Trump threatens local municipalities that harbor these groups, or where they hold protests. Our leaders are responsible to keep the public safe. Being "moved to tears" doesn't cut it. It is weak and cowardly for leaders not to repudiate these hate groups by name and the President who has clearly encouraged them. " this is not who we are" as a nation. WEAK.
DeleteTrump said this on Monday:
Delete"Racism is evil," said Trump, two days after a driver rammed a car into a crowd of people in the midst of violent clashes over a white nationalist rally in the city. "And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the [Ku Klux Klan], neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans."
i didn't watch the broadcast because I work. I hear that he looked like a hostage in a hostage video. Perhaps that's true, perhaps it's the bias of the person I spoke with. I saw this video: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-condemns-repugnant-hate-groups-including-kkk-neo/story?id=49208560 He looked fine to me. Maybe it's doctored.
To both of your points about Jen: No, I don't think she needs to condemn Trump. In fact, I think that our leaders should stop grandstanding on the "Hate Trump Train" and recognize that the low hanging fruit isn't particularly delicious.
Put another way: Adults shouldn't be looking to local government to act like a security blanket and comfort them. Jen said racism is bad, mmmkay? I agree, it is bad. Most everyone will say that they agree it's bad, even Trump did on Monday!
Trump was forced to read that statement. He stepped on his hostage statement when he spoke extemporaneously yesterday.
DeleteLook snoopy, if you see this event like any other "Trump Train" moment, I disagree heartily, and I think a plurality of this country does too. No one can make you feel it if you don't.
Sorry, but public safety is the job of the local government and police. Your taxes pay to keep law and order where you live. City Hall coordinates public safety and coordinated with law enforcement. If the Confederate Knights of the Klu Klux Klan (Toms river) decide to march in Hoboken, perhaps you'll change your tune.
I think the local government covers it when they say racism is bad.
DeleteThe plurality of this country is being spoon fed their feelings by the media who "reports" on what you just saw and gives their spin. In other words, infotainment drives the feelings of this country.
Good grief, the idiot in charge was only put on the republican ticket because the infotainment industry could not stop putting his name in the news and giving him unlimited free exposure. That was, in my opinion, by design to pave the way for a clear democratic victory. Instead it blew up and we're all stuck with the asshole.
But, that all aside, I don't need Ravi or Jen or Dawn or anyone to say "Trump isn't saying things strongly enough" to know that the three of them would deploy the police or ask the governor to call in the national guard if the KKK descended
upon Hoboken.
Um, actually when I heard Trump's news conference in real time I almost threw up. I didn't need the news media to tell me I should feel sick. A plurality of this country is more decent than you give them credit for. This transcends party. No one needs the news media to tell them the U.S. President is not supposed to defend Nazis and white nationalists. It is literally black and white.
DeleteWell snoopy, your feelings and opinions are yours. What you need and don't need is clear.
The essence or 'real issue' is hatred, intolerance and racism. It's not that Trump is an A-hole, he is. Don't get me wrong - I was appalled by his response to the events in Virginia and I'm angry too. But, there is nothing WEAK about being brought to tears by the horror of racism and intolerance. That's called empathy and compassion. Perhaps something that's generally lacking... even here in Hoboken.
DeleteHe didn't defend nazis or anyone else. He said something incindiary and that anyone with half a brain would disagree with (that good people were also marching), but he never defended the KKK.
DeleteI do believe some moral and good people are interested in defending the statues that represent the past and could have a rational discussion about it.
I hope that's to whom Trump was referring when he lumped them in with demonstrators who were not moral or good.
I would think anyone moral or rational willing to discuss the statues staying put was not out at the rally Saturday because that was a shitshow of epic proportions. Neonazi klansman are not something moral people associate with.
On the other side, social justice warriors and self-righteous moral police are not on the same morally repugnant plain, but they are also part of the reason for the divide in this country.
snoopy, Trump defended the torch and baseball bat carrying mob chanting a Nazi slogan, Jews will not replace us, etc.- white nationalists and Neo-Nazis. So YES, he defended neo- Nazis and white nationalists. Please. There is nothing self-righteous about rejecting a white nationalist, Nazi-defending President, I would call that patriotism.
DeleteDisagree with me as much as you want. Interviews with white nationalist/neo Nazi marchers today thanking Trump for "having our back" tells me all I need to know who about who the scumbag in the White House really is.
snoopy, maybe you missed trump's words yesterday. on saturday, he made his "many sides" comment; on monday he read his hostage statement (aka, someone else's words) that criticized the white supremacists; then yesterday he pulled a 180 and went back to his moral equivalencies.
Deletethis is one of those rare (thank goodness), unique times in history when leaders need to speak out, unequivocally. trump is fanning the flames of racial hatred by not calling it out unequivocally, and he -- as president -- must be held accountable by anyone in a leadership position.
also, defending "statues" is a smoke screen. think about what those statues actually are: monuments honoring confederate leaders who committed the act of treason by declaring a civil war against the government because they (the confederates) supported slavery. confederate leaders weren't great figures in american history, they were people who ripped the country apart because they wanted to keep slaves. why would we want to honor those confederate leaders with statues?
I don't think he actually defended neo-nazis. He was clear on that. He said there may have been good people marching with them, clearly indicating they are not good people because they are a separate set of people. He was wrong, good people wouldn't march with them, but that's a different issue.
DeleteThere are "many sides" to the statue issue. And there were many groups of assholes in Charlottesville. We can all agree racists and neo-nazis are the worst part of humanity, sure, but that doesn't mean there aren't other bad actors out there. I think anyone showing up to a "peaceful protest" against racism with bats and other weapons are probably looking for a fight and bottom dwellers. On the scale they are above the racists, but they're still not people I want to associate with.
There's a peaceful "anti-racism" rally in Philadelphia tonight. There was a candlelight vigil in Hoboken Sunday night. That's the type of peaceful anti-neonazi protesters that I'd like to associate with and that good people. They're not part of the "many sides" to which Trump referred.
The rest of this is noise. He condemned neo nazis. During the campaign he disavowed the KKK support. I get it, no one likes him, but I can't agree that he's pro-white nationalism or whatever the eff they call themselves.
Note: the social justice warriors were the protesters in charlottesville to which I was referring earlier. Not posters on this site.
@me- southerners lost kin in the civil war. Those statues represent their kin. They were Americans. They were merely doing (in their opinion) what Washington and Jefferson and other forefathers had done before them - fought tyranny. We can look back from the lens of 2017 and say, "They were racist pigs." But pulling down statues doesn't erase history and even if it did, those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.
I'm not sure where I come out on the statues (or confederate flag for that matter). I don't live in the south, I'm not from the south, and I don't know what it is to be southern. I'd like to let them debate it amongst themselves and stay out of it completely.
i like you, snoopy, and as GA says we are all entitled to our opinions. not sure i would call the federal government's push to end slavery a form of tyranny, though.
Delete@me - that's not what I said at all. I never once said anything about slavery.
DeleteWhat I said was the men who fought for the south thought (as in they believed) they were fighting tyranny (from a far away and central government) as their forefathers did before them.
c'mon, snoop, let's not dance around it: the civil war was all about slavery. from wikipedia: "...the Union proclaimed loyalty to the U.S. Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States of America advocating states’ rights to perpetual slavery and its expansion in the Americas."
DeleteI don't really consider wiki a valid source of info since it's crowd sourced, but sure, the war was about slavery. And why did they fight over slavery? Because the south felt the tyrannical, centralized, US Gov't was trying to take it away from them. So, they thought they were fighting tyranny. I've read quite a bit on this subject.
DeleteI've also read that Stonewall Jackson was a man who taught his slaves to read and write. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/may/5/20060505-083815-2779r/
I think there's nuance here that is worthy of discussion before just saying, "Tear down all of the statues."
But if we're going with the latter route and we are going to tear them all down, where does it end? Should we tear down statues of all slave owners? How about accused rapists/philanderers? How about drunk driving politicians? Where does the "This offends me" line get drawn? Also, should we rename all parks, squares, streets, libraries etc that bear the names of these people? Where does it end and what is the purpose of pulling it all down?
All of that aside, I don't see what this has to do with Trump condemning neo-nazis, then blaming both sides for the violence, and then the problem with Jen not condemning him.
I hear the Egyptians were pretty nice to their Hebrews. After a whipping, they gave them an extra scoop of ice cream on their dessert.
DeleteNo one needs Wiki to tell them the Civil War was fought over slavery.
Shall we agree to disagree?
snoopy, that's like saying drug gangs clash with law enforcement not because drugs are illegal, but because the gangs are fighting against the tyranny of a central government that wants to end their livelihood and way of life.
Deleteit's not about tyranny, it's about drugs (or, slavery).
I'm not saying the Civil War wasn't fought over slavery. I'm saying that the slave owners believed a tyrannical central government was trying to take away their rights. Those same slave owners believed states' rights trumped all, and wanted their slavery and way of life to continue. So they fought "tyranny" to keep slaves so they could line their pockets.
DeleteThe founding fathers fought to stop paying taxes. They fought "tyranny" to keep the money in their pockets. Incidentally, they also owned slaves.
me I just read your analogy - apples and oranges. Drugs are illegal. They're not state sponsored. And although it is a way of life for some, it's not a recognized way of life for a recognized society.
Deleteall good, snoopy. we view most things the same way and some things differently.
DeleteDawn Zimmer, hero of the taxpayer
ReplyDeleteOnce referred to as a "lady mayor"
The person who said this was Haley Barbour, a political hack
Whom we all knew meant it as a pejorative attack
Yet too my great surprise
I'd never have surmised
That it is now being tossed around by two kooks using the other blog as a shitsprayer
Libelous verse if you are implying that I ever used said expression.
DeleteZimmer should be thanked for her 8 years of service. But as far as the handoff.....
well well well, this is interesting: nearly a week after her initial charlottesville statement on facebook (see above), jen issues a second statement that (finally!) calls out the leader of her party, president trump. a simple oversight? or did the blowback lead to some arm twisting?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.insidernj.com/press-release/hoboken-mayoral-candidate-jen-giattino-statement-charlottesville-president-trump/