Sharpton's Off Key Barrett-Tone

Once again, Wayne Barret humbles us in his devastating portrayal of the bravura performance of Al Sharpton in the re-make of The Silence of the Lambs. Barret's commentary focuses in on the reverend's loudmouth critique of Rush Limbaugh-and contrasts this with his lock jawed status over all things Bloomberg and Cuomo: "Thank God for Rush Limbaugh. So long as he's calling George Steinbrenner a "cracker" who "made a lot of African-Americans millionaires," there's still a white guy with power in America that Al Sharpton is free to attack. So yesterday, "Silent Al" found his voice and called Rush "repugnant."

But, following up on our critique of Silent Al, Barrett hones in on the money trail: "The mouth that once roared is now compromised by a complex intertwine of alliances, as well as legions of benefactors who dump their largess into the National Apathy Network (NAN) and other Sharpton troughs, subsidizing an opulent Midtown-hotel lifestyle that the Rev. now believes is his own civil right. Remember when the New York Times recently devoted its front page to the race record of the Bloomberg administration, pointing out that Mayor Mike's top team is actually whiter than the hated Rudy's? Remember what New York's civil rights giant said? Try nada."

Hey Al, "Check's got your tongue?" But it gets worse: "A couple of months ago, Bloomberg spoke at NAN's annual event and called Sharpton "a partner," which might have been a reference to some undisclosed relationship with Bloomberg L.P. What else could explain Sharpton's Ralph Ellison-like portrayal of "The Invisible Man" on everything Bloomberg?"

But Bloomberg has certainly got his money's worth: "I called Rachel Noerdlinger, the spokeswoman for Silent Al who's also learned to say less and less. I asked if Bloomberg had found a way, through Sharpton's nonprofit alliance with Chancellor Joel Klein or any other mechanism, to subsidize such slumber. I asked what King actually does for NAN, and what Gilly does for Al besides pay King. I have no answers."

And let's remember that Charlie King has been moonlighting as a well paid lobbyist for the richest beer wholesaler in the state. Can, "No forty ounce, no peace," be far behind? The entire network of interrelationships that has NAN as its nexus needs to be explored and exposed by the rest of the media that is currently fully occupied by all things Pedro. The danger to the public interest is all too real when you have a preacher for sale to the highest political bidders.