I don't know that anyone's made this connection yet, but it's noteworthy that Brooklyn, America's hometown, has been the scene for two extravagant displays of bigotry in the last few days.

One, obviously, was Carl Paladino's foray into the fringes of Chasidic Williamsburg with his charming message about dysfunctional gays.

The other, and this one slipped under the radar, was the most recent blighting of the the Borough by Fred Phelps' anti-gay, anti-Jew, anti-everything-of-goodness-and-value Kansas hate church.

Why does this coincidence of timing and place matter?

Because it shows the underlying mindset of the bigot. It's not that big of a step from declaring LGBT Americans 'dysfunctional' and not something you want your children exposed to to picketing funerals and synagogues. The only distinction is one of degree.

That's what New Yorkers need to consider before casting their ballots in November.

I have referred in the past to the problems Brad Lander may have among progressives due to his close connection with known homophobe and Holocaust denier (denial of anyone but Jews being killed in the Holocaust, that is) Dov Hikind. While campaigning for Brad's main rival, Josh Skaller, I have encountered several people who say, "Brad Lander is that guy with Dov Hikind. I can't vote for him!" But now it seems the Brad/Dov relationship may well be getting criticism from the other side as well. A reader passed along two letters from the Jewish Press:

Hikind And Lander (I)

Given The Jewish Press's continuing complaints about President Obama, I found last week's short report of Assemblyman Dov Hikind's endorsement of Brad Lander for New York City Council dripping with unintended irony.  read more »

Earlier in the week I discussed the amazingly ignorant comments of Assemblyman Dov Hikind regarding the Holocaust, where he claimed it was a uniquely Jewish event, thus ignoring 5 million non-Jews killed by the Nazis. I also posted comments by Dov Hikind's political ally, Brad Lander, and one of Brad's political rivals, Gary Reilly, criticizing Dov Hikind's ignorance.

Josh Skaller, another candidate in the race for the 39th City Council seat, has this to say about the controversy:

I am saddened that some oppose honoring all Holocaust victims. The Holocaust has a deep meaning for all Americans. The memorial should recognize everyone who lost their lives in this terrible chapter of human history. By seeing and acknowledging the full scope of this tragedy, we do our part to make sure it doesn't happen again.  read more »

Did some extensive petitioning today with Jo Anne Simon and John Liu in Park Slope. I was carrying CBID petitions with Jo Anne Simon, John Liu and Norman Siegel. People were pretty responsive, far more so than past petitioning seasons. John Liu even noticed that a lot of young people seemed very interested and eager to talk to him. I suspect the enthusiasm of the Obama election has really made some difference and people, especially young people, are more engaged than ever politically. I hope it lasts. I suspect it will dissipate pretty rapidly, but I hope not.  read more »

Earlier this week I wrote about Assemblyman Dov Hikind's ignorance regarding the Holocaust. Dov Hikind opposes adding five stone markers honoring the 5 million non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust to the 234 markers honoring the 6 million Jewish victims at Brooklyn's Holocaust Memorial Park. The excuse for opposing honoring the 5 million non-Jews who died at the hands of Nazi brutality is: (from the DAILY NEWS Sunday, June 7th 2009)

"The Holocaust is a uniquely Jewish event," said Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn)...

As I discussed in my last article on the subject (where I also quote the Daily News more extensively), Dov Hikind is rewriting history here, writing out 5 million victims of the Holocaust and joins hands with the Iranians in being a Holocaust denier. I should add that Dov Hikind has previously openly supported racial profiling of Muslim Americans and keeping blacks out of "good neighborhoods," so he is known for his intolerance.  read more »