Today we held our NYC Primary for upcoming Mayoral elections. Sadly for us, it is only a matter of how much Mayor DeBlasio wins the nomination rather than "If". I surrender to the fact that NYC is doomed to have another 4 years of him.
The only possible positive is that we will get a brand spanking new City Council since all of the members are termed out. The general election in November is when we will find out if we'll be hosting more or less parades for terrorists who have bombed our city. Well, at least we will know that our Mayor will continue to be late for appointments, berate us for driving while not taking public transportation himself as he is driven 20 miles every morning to his Brooklyn gym to work out, and can always be found every afternoon napping with a "Do Not Disturb" edict to his staff. Oh, and the homeless population will continue to grow.
- This ought to amuse you. Michael Moore opened his one-person show "The Terms Of My Surrender" in Broadway's Belasco Theatre in August 10 (July 30 - Aug 10 previews) to much fanfare. He delighted his first week's audiences with bus trips to Trump Tower so everyone could protest and hot vendors for free eats! Ain't that great? Well, unfortunately after the bus trips stopped (and the free tickets to paper the house dried up), there is also no audience to listen to Mr. Moore rant about, well, everything you'd expect.
One of the real reasons for the low ticket sales doesn't take a genius to figure out. Most of the sales come from tourists. And with the non-Hamilton ticket prices averaging about $150 bucks a ticket, they want to be entertained, not preached to. [FYI - Ticket prices for "Hamilton" go for approximately $500-890]
Frankly,there should be a sign on either end of the block this show is on declaring "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Ironically or by design, the new British play "1984" is runing right next door at the Hudson Theatre which is literally causing audience members to faint, vomit, and scream at the actors from their seats. Of course, it could be the ticket prices too. I read the book, I don't need to see this.
- Oh, since she does live in NY and all, I must mention Hillary Clinton's new book "What Happened" released on Tuesday! If you have been keeping up, she has compiled a million and one reasons why she lost in November, though interestingly very few include Clinton herself. Here's a list from the NY Daily News (and they supported her):
Discuss.
Addendum: This has nothing to do with the above, but it came across my Twitter feed late last night and I just have to share it with the group...
I just hope it's true because it's just genius! I love Poland!
The only possible positive is that we will get a brand spanking new City Council since all of the members are termed out. The general election in November is when we will find out if we'll be hosting more or less parades for terrorists who have bombed our city. Well, at least we will know that our Mayor will continue to be late for appointments, berate us for driving while not taking public transportation himself as he is driven 20 miles every morning to his Brooklyn gym to work out, and can always be found every afternoon napping with a "Do Not Disturb" edict to his staff. Oh, and the homeless population will continue to grow.
- This ought to amuse you. Michael Moore opened his one-person show "The Terms Of My Surrender" in Broadway's Belasco Theatre in August 10 (July 30 - Aug 10 previews) to much fanfare. He delighted his first week's audiences with bus trips to Trump Tower so everyone could protest and hot vendors for free eats! Ain't that great? Well, unfortunately after the bus trips stopped (and the free tickets to paper the house dried up), there is also no audience to listen to Mr. Moore rant about, well, everything you'd expect.
One of the real reasons for the low ticket sales doesn't take a genius to figure out. Most of the sales come from tourists. And with the non-Hamilton ticket prices averaging about $150 bucks a ticket, they want to be entertained, not preached to. [FYI - Ticket prices for "Hamilton" go for approximately $500-890]
Frankly,there should be a sign on either end of the block this show is on declaring "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Ironically or by design, the new British play "1984" is runing right next door at the Hudson Theatre which is literally causing audience members to faint, vomit, and scream at the actors from their seats. Of course, it could be the ticket prices too. I read the book, I don't need to see this.
- Oh, since she does live in NY and all, I must mention Hillary Clinton's new book "What Happened" released on Tuesday! If you have been keeping up, she has compiled a million and one reasons why she lost in November, though interestingly very few include Clinton herself. Here's a list from the NY Daily News (and they supported her):
1. Bernie Sanders, for attacks on the campaign trail that “caused lasting damage” to her run. The Vermont senator — who famously gave Clinton a huge break by saying he wouldn’t focus on her “damn emails” — “had to resort to innuendo and impugning my character.” “It was beyond frustrating that Bernie acted as if he had a monopoly on political purity,” she wrote.The list is just keeps growing and growing. The really good news is that, if you wait long enough...like 'til the end of the week, you may be able to get a "buy 5/get 5 free" deal just in time to pass out for Halloween to scare the kiddies! [Okay, that went too far...]
2. “Bernie Bros” for “harassing my supporters online” with attacks that were “ugly and more than a little sexist.”
3. Green Party Candidate Jill Stein, who “wouldn’t be worth mentioning” had she not taken tens of thousands of votes in swing states that Trump won. There "were more than enough Stein voters to swing the result, just like Ralph Nader did in Florida and New Hampshire in 2000."
4. “Sexism and misogyny,” which led to the victory of a “flagrantly sexist candidate.”
5. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian hackers, for working “to influence our election and install a friendly puppet.”
6. Former President Barack Obama, for not giving a national television address about the Russian hacking so that “more Americans would have woken up.” Also, for telling her to go easy on Sanders, which made her feel like she was “in a straight jacket.”
7. Former Vice President Joe Biden, for saying the Democratic Party “did not talk about what it always stood for" after campaigning for her.
8. Former FBI Director James Comey, for turning her campaign “upside down” in its final days with his renewed email investigation. “Was this a bad joke?” she writes. “What the hell was Comey doing?”
9. Anthony Weiner, whose teenage sexting scandal led to Comey's new probe, and to his wife and Clinton aide Huma Abedin yelling out, "This man is going to be the death of me!"
10. Clinton’s own statement about putting coal miners out of business, which Trump repeatedly used against her and she says was the campaign moment she “regret(s) the most.”
11. Her “basket of deplorables” statement about Trump’s supporters, which was “a political gift” to her opponent. People "misunderstood me to be criticizing all Trump voters."
12. Her use of a private email server as secretary of state, which she deems “dumb” in retrospect.
13. The ongoing scandal that erupted from her email use, which she deems “even dumber.”
14. The New York Times, for focusing on her emails in reporting that "affected the outcome of the election."
15. Her “traditional” presidential campaign, which was based on “carefully thought-out policies and painstakingly built coalitions” that could not compete with Trump’s “reality TV show that expertly and relentlessly stoked Americans' anger and resentment."
16. The “godforsaken” Electoral College, which went to Trump even though Clinton crushed him in the popular vote by nearly three million votes.
17. Herself, for not realizing “how quickly the ground was shifting under our feet” in the national mood.
18. Hillary hate. "I have come to terms with the fact that a lot of people — millions and millions of people — decided they just didn’t like me,” Clinton writes — though she doesn’t understand the dislike. “What makes me such a lightning rod for fury? I’m really asking . . . I’m at a loss.”
Discuss.
Addendum: This has nothing to do with the above, but it came across my Twitter feed late last night and I just have to share it with the group...
After Germany tried to sue Poland for not accepting refugees, Poland returned the favor by suing Germany for $1 Trillion because of WW2. pic.twitter.com/6R1m3g682x
— /pol/ News Infinity (@polNewsInfinity) September 11, 2017
I just hope it's true because it's just genius! I love Poland!
Phe-flippin'-nomenal addendum! I'm not Polish, despite my last name's Ellis Island blunder-related spelling, but this is one those times I wish I was. Would love to see my Slovak and Czech-mates get in on that action, too. Day-in!
ReplyDeleteRe. Hillary, treating her as I do most all lefties these days: paying her no never-mind.
EP: I am 1/4 Polish, and that 1/4 is just dancing with delight! I read that Poland may lob a similar suit against Russia. Love it! The Poles have had enough. And if you've ever read anything about the history of Poland, it is apparent they've had enough of being a pawn.
ReplyDeletePoland is destroying a bunch of old monuments because their continued existence casts a psychological pall over observers, their central government is seeking to expand its already considerable power and is demanding (more) reparations for demanding decades old wrongs. A common pattern among developing countries.
ReplyDeleteAnyway,the Hillary book sounds unsurprising. I'm glad America dodged the bullet of an incompetent conspiracy theorist who blames everyone else for their failures.
My condolences about the NYC election. A nearby (to me) county in MD is weighing letting illegals vote in local elections. Truly we live in strange times.
Anthony - Poland has been occupied over and over for centuries. Austria-Hungary Empire, Russia, Germany, the the Soviet Empire all have seized all or part Poland. and with the new threat of Russia w/Poland's neighbor Ukraine, they aren't going to take it laying down. Ironically, Germany was defeated in war, but is now taken the leadership in the EU. And those same countries who Germany could not take over in war have now surrendered their autonomy to the might of Germany economically except Poland.
ReplyDeleteAnthony - Thanks for the "condolences"...we'll survive as long as The Blas keeps taking those naps! It's when he's awake that he causes trouble.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone think that it's odd that the TV Emmy Awards was not broadcast live on Sunday??
ReplyDeleteBev,
ReplyDeleteThe EU has always been an overbearing but generous (in terms of wealth transfers from Germany to everyone else) institution dominated by Europe's great powers. Knowing that, Poland fought for years to join (jumping through numerous bureaucratic hoops including a national referendum) and then started siphoning off billions of dollars.
If the lost autonomy has become less alluring than the billions, great but I don't see how they can view themselves as victims since the end of the Cold War. Poland can leave the EU (which does seem to be crumbling) even easier than they entered it.
I think the citizens of the EU countries are realizing they got a raw deal. Who would have thunk that the citizens would not like being forced to follow rules from a distant unelected body of politicians forever. I can't wait for them to declare German the official EU language if/when the UK does exit...
ReplyDeleteBev,
ReplyDeleteWhere are you getting your info from? Trump will join Antifa before the EU declares German its sole language.
The EU infamously has a ridiculous amount of official languages (24) and a massive bureaucracy (several thousand people) dedicated to translating its evergrowing mountain of regulations into all sorts of obscure languages.
But enough about California, Anthony. ;-)
DeleteYeah, that description is probably a fair characterization of CA as well :).
DeleteAnthony, English is the official diplomatic language of the EU. All official docs are in English. When the UK exits, that will change.
ReplyDeleteBev,
DeleteIt sounds like you are talking working languages, which is a separate smaller pool than official languages. Final documents are translated into the 24 official languages, but the transnational discussion leading up to the final docs happens in one of the three working languages.
The three working languages of the EU are English, French and German, though English is by far the most popular.
https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21721861-despite-jean-claude-junckers-joke-anglophones-should-rest-easy-britain-leaving-eu-its
Eurocrats are polyglots, often able to speak all three tongues, plus another of their own. Mr Juncker may be right that in the halls of the EU’s institutions, English will be heard somewhat less after Brexit, simply because of the exodus of a big group of Anglophones. But English is not just British: it is also an official language in Ireland and Malta. More important, the three enlargements of the EU since 2004 have decisively shifted the balance in Brussels from French towards English. There is no consensus for going back, still less for switching to German.
--------
Fully 66% of EU citizens speak another language, a number that is growing steadily. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, does not break those figures down by language spoken, but it is easy to extrapolate from what is studied in schools. Among students at lower secondary level outside Britain, 97% are learning English. Only 34% are studying French and 23% German. In primary school 79% of students are already learning English, against just 4% for French. Some countries, such as Denmark, begin English in the very first year.