Thursday, March 13, 2014

Stupid Liberal Tricks That Are Stupid...Really, Stupid.

So things just get weirder and weirder in New York. Frankly, my forehead is getting a permanent dent from beating my head against the nearest hard surface. So, here are just two examples of the strange and fascinating world of liberal stupidity from this week...

Number 1 - Let's call it "The Perfidy of the Koch brothers" - Their crime - donating too much money to the worthy cause of medical treatment for the poor...damn them! Who the hell do they think they are with all their money and voluntary donations of huge chunks of it for worthy causes! Damn, I say...where can I get some. I mean, they haven't reimbursed me one red cent all my political activities. And the liberals promised...PROMISED me that they did and would!

Okay, let me stop being snarky and explain. David Koch, cancer survivor and serial giver who is known to give freely of his own vast fortune to worthy causes like cancer research, New York State Theatre in Lincoln Center, museums, and many other worthy causes, had the unmitigated gall to donate $100 million (that is not a typo) to New York-Presbyterian Hospital to open a ambulatory care unit. This is the largest donation to this hospital in its history.

From the reaction from the anti-Koch groups in New York, one would think that they took money from the hospital to open their own private hospital for themselves or that Mr. Koch demanded to be PAID $100 million and that the hospital's entire staff be fired just for his evil pleasure. Joining in the protest were the New York State Nurses’ Association, the NAACP New York State Conference and SEIU Local 1199. They are outraged that the hospital would accept such a gift from such a person who is known for his personal "War On Women"! So outraged that they spent the weekend protesting in front of the hospital and Mr. Koch's residence to show their outrage. As one person commented on The Blaze - "They don’t want them to give it to us of their own free will, they want to take it from them." That seems about right.

Now, I realize the government is supposed to be supplying our ambulatory care now, but this is...well, I don't know what this is.

Number 2 - "The War On the Carriage Trade" - So, Mayor de Blasio who is fast becoming the most hated man in New York City, has set his sights on the quaint tourist attraction in Central Park. If you've ever been to New York, you may have seen the horse-drawn carriages lined up along Central Park South near the famous Plaza Hotel. They have romanced New York City lovers and tourist for over 150 years. Well, de Blasio made a campaign promise (to PETA) to shut the carriages down and replace them with electric cars. The reasoning is that live horses have no business on the busy streets of New York with all the cars and people and noise and the horses are being mistreated and some other stuff. And dang it, de Blasio has mandate from the election in which he won 75% of the vote and the people have spoken.

Who would imagine that the carriage-drivers, stable hands, and other related trades could get a bit out of sorts that someone wants to put them and their horses out of business. Some of the carriage owners/drivers and their families have been doing this for generations. But mostly they are outraged that they are being falsely accused of mistreating their animals. Fortunately, Liam Neeson, star of stage and screen, has taken up their cause. Many of the carriage owners/drivers are his personal friends. I know, can you imagine that someone of Neeson's stature has regular friend who do regular stuff? He is personally outraged that the city wants to shut down a long standing piece of living history for no rational reason.

This week Mr. Neeson invited the Mayor and City Counsel members to come to the stables to see for themselves how the horses are treated. The Mayor and most of the City Counsel members regretfully declined citing "their minds are made up"..er..I mean, scheduling issues. Now, I do not know much about the horses (I know I'm from Texas), but from what I have read and personally seen, they are treated much better than most humans who work in New York City. Heck, these horses do not have to work in inclement weather or snow and get an 8-week vacation every year to frolic on an upstate farm. This is a highly regulated industry and there have been a steady stream of testimonials from veterinarians, equestrians, and pretty much anyone who knows horses, that they are healthy and happy. If only the people who live in public housing were treated as well!

Oh, the Mayor said that he will be happy to meet with the carriage people to discuss what they could do after he shuts them down and they are forced to sell their horses to the knackers...abattoir...glue factory...slaughter house whatever. Oh, did PETA not know that was a possibility? Oops...

Bonus Number 3 - Remember my rant last week about the charter schools? Well, first of all, the School Chancellor Carmen Farina, who last week told the very successful Harlem Success Charter school that they were losing their space and that they were on their own, has done a one-eighty. Realizing that she might just be an idiot and a tool, relented and said she would of course help the school find an alternate space. Oh, but as a consolation prize, Eva Moskowitz, founder of the charter school will have to submit to a grilling by the City Counsel and New York State Comptroller Tom Di Napoli informed her of his intention to audit its financial records. Nah, that's not political at all.

Oh, and one more thing. De Blasio blathers on about how he won by a huge majority and "the people have spoken". The reality is that only 24% of the registered voters actually voted in the last election which means by my math-challenged brain, that comes out to only 19% of the available votes. Which also means that there are another 81% of us who did not vote for him. That is hardly a "mandate". That should explain why de Blasio has been in office for 10 weeks and has an approval rating of 39% with 59% giving him a "poor" rating. That has got to be a some kind of record...

36 comments:

T-Rav said...

Yeah, I saw where Neeson was on the Daily Show and just got really steamed about it. I kinda felt sorry for Jon Stewart (ok, not really), he was wanting to ask Neeson about his new movie and got an earful instead. Ah well.

Liberals seem to have a hard time understanding this, but yes, it is possible that horses might actually enjoy a life where they get taken care of and can go sightseeing every day. Lots more secure than what they'd have in the wild, duh.

Kit said...

10 Weeks in office and he's already got a near-60% disapproval rating? I'll give him credit, he's been working hard.

Also, didn't De Blasio actually hire Bill Bratton as Police Commissioner?

Kit said...

I read about the whole hospital thing. Its ridiculous, silly, and stupid. If George Soros donated money to our local hospital I would not mind it in the least. Even if it had his name attached to a wing.

"They don’t want them to give it to us of their own free will, they want to take it from them."
Huh? Bev, maybe its just late and I'm tired but could you or Andrew translate that for me?

Koshcat said...

I would feel sorry for New Yorkers but all I have to say is elections are important and count. When you sit out you get what you deserve.

tryanmax said...

Kit, there seems to be a lot of pronoun confusion going on in that quote. Here's how I understood it:

"They (liberals) don’t want them (the Koch Bros.) to give it (money) to us (the hospital) of their (the Koch Bros.) own free will, they (liberals) want to take it (money) from them (the Koch Bros.)."

tryanmax said...

Bev, I must admit to being stunned on one account: a liberal politician who keeps his promises!?

LL said...

But - but - but - DeBlaso DID run Hillary's campaign. Can't he get some 'loveability" points for that? He was the architect of Hillary's coming out party in New York City.

BevfromNYC said...

Tryanmax - What is funny is that the reason that de Blasio (or OBlasio as he has been dubbed in the local papers because of his similarity to Obama's rhetorical political style) has such a low rating is the people who voted for him are shocked that he is doing all the things that he promised. Why, they didn't want THAT to happen. They didn't know that he really WAS a Marxist. They thought that was just Republican negative campaigning stuff...

BevfromNYC said...

""They (liberals) don’t want them (the Koch Bros.) to give it (money) to us (the hospital) of their (the Koch Bros.) own free will, they (liberals) want to take it (money) from them (the Koch Bros.)."

Tryanmax - This is almost accurate, but I will change one word and add one phrase at the end that will bring it home. "...they (liberals) want THE GOVERNMENT to take it (money) from them (the Koch Bros.) for justice and fairness and equality and stuff."

BevfromNYC said...

T-Rav - One of the reasons that PETA uses is that these animals must be abused and mistreated because the found 8 former carriage horses had been moved to some farm in Massachusetts and only 2 can be accounted for. See, the other thing that liberals don't understand is that...horses can die when they get old...

Another aspect of this story - one of the PETA people was asked "Well, you are so concerned about carriage horses in crowded, noises trafficky streets, so what are you going to do about the mounted police? The answer "well, that isn't the issue right now..." Oops they forgot about that and all the people who take their dogs on these same streets and all the other stuff. Oh, yeah and the very lucrative race horse industry in the state and so on and so on...

PETA and the Mayor make it sound like people are using these carriage rides for transportation through rush hour traffic having to dodge crazy NY cabs and buses. They go from the far west side stables early in the morning (and back at night) and ride through the park which has been closed off to motorized traffic for about 15 years now...

BevfromNYC said...

Kit - Yes, Bratton is our new Police Commissioner. He's not a bad guy. As a matter of fact he was Ray Kelly's predecessor and the one who starting the whole "broken window" concept of policing. He was a pleasantly surprising choice to me.

Kit said...

I know Prime Minister David Cameron wanted to hire him as head of the London Metropolitan Police after the London Riots but Home Secretary Theresa May nixed it because he was not a British citizen.

Kit said...

"He was a pleasantly surprising choice to me."
Even a broken clock is right once in a while, I guess.

BevfromNYC said...

Kochcat - Don't feel sorry for New Yorkers. They must be reminded every 20 years or so how bad it can really get when the "grievance lobby" and far left takes over. Fortunately then someone like a Giuliani or LaGuardia takes over and it balances out. But pity us that it started so quickly. I have never seen the press take on a liberal mayor so quickly and without apology. If only they would do the same on a national level.

Kit said...

For every Beame there is a Koch, for every Dinkins there is a Giuliani. Just imagine who De Blasio will bring!

tryanmax said...

Bev, one counter-correction: liberals believe themselves to be the government, so the terms are interchangeable as far as they are concerned. (Republicans and conservatives are just meddlers and saboteurs.) But the addendum is spot-on.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev and tryanmax, To liberal minds, theft by the government isn't theft, it's a public good.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I've been amazed at how quickly everyone on the left turned on OBlasio. It's like he didn't get the message that leftism is for rhetorical purposes only. And I love that Niam Leeson has been all over him on this horse issue.

I didn't realize the horses weren't actually out in traffic. They always show them parked in front of a hotel with cabs around them so I assumed they use city streets. If they mainly travel through the park, then OBlasio and PETA are total liars on this issue... imagine that.

BevfromNYC said...

Good point, Tryanmax. And as Andrew points out, the government can't steal 'cause they are the government and it's good for us.

Oh, hey, speaking of stealing for "us", I haven't really updated the List of New York Elected Officials Who Are In Jail, On Parole, And On Trial" in a long time. But this happened last week - The newly elected Brooklyn Borough President (kind of a mayor-ette for Brooklyn) is already under investigation and only 10 weeks in office. He allegedly has been hitting up wealthy business owners for donations to a charity that does not even exist. Oops, he didn't know that he couldn't/shouldn't do that....

Kit said...

Andrew,

Its Liam Neeson.

"I've been amazed at how quickly everyone on the left turned on OBlasio. It's like he didn't get the message that leftism is for rhetorical purposes only."
Well, if you look at his actions, he seems to be actively going out of his way to tick people off. He goes after Charter Schools, which even Obama (sort of) supports. Now he goes after horse-drawn carriages.
While at the same time he hires Bratton as Commissioner, thereby angering part of his uber-left-wing anti-cop base.

AndrewPrice said...

Kit, LOL! Whoops. I blame Mr. Neeson for having a name I'm told was not correctly remembered. :D

He does seem to be going out of his way to tick people off. I'm not sure why. It almost seems like personal scores he's settling.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I'm glad the crimes-by-elected-officials haven't stopped. That would be disappointing.

BTW, I saw the other day that there are something like 100 people on the NYC city council. Wow. Talk about make-work. I think we have five.

Kit said...

"He does seem to be going out of his way to tick people off. I'm not sure why. It almost seems like personal scores he's settling."

Well, he is a Red Sox Fan so maybe its New York City in general.

Just read about the Brooklyn Borough President. If that is true then... wow.

BevfromNYC said...

I think that with De Blasio is it a strategy. And it is strikingly similar in tone and action to Obama's first term strategy - hit every issue hard and fast and anyone who disagrees smear. Dissent will not be tolerated in any form.

Btw, I cannot tell you how many times I have heard "Boy, I never thought I would miss Bloomberg..."

Anthony said...

The NAACP has a position on horses in public parks? Man, they've really gone far afield.

Anyway, hilarious read.

Kit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kit said...

Anthony,

Its the Koch Brothers donating to a hospital the NAACP objects to, the other stupid liberal push in New York. :-)

BevfromNYC said...

Anthony - Yeah, they don't like the Koch brothers. But what is interesting is that the unions are standing with Liam Neeson and the Carriage drivers.

Honestly, I think the carriages are really charming, but it's not like we don't have enough "touristy" things to do in NYC...

Anthony said...

Kit,

Thanks for the correction. The NAACP objecting to private donations to hospitals is also pretty damn random though. I know the Koches are to liberals what Soros is to conservatives, but hospitals are hospitals and money is money.

Tennessee Jed said...

Couple of thoughts here, Bev ... late to the party as I am. Regarding the whole carriage thing, I suspect DiBlasio once got a ride in the carriage where Jerry Seinfeld had mistakenly given Beefaroni to the horses. As far as the Koch Brothers episode, that is just so progressive. It's all about the ideology with them. It trumps (no pun intended) practicality and common sense every time.

BevfromNYC said...

UPDATE: The court rules yesterday that the State Comptroller has no authority the to investigate and audit Eva Moskowitz or her charter schools.

And to that I say, the State Comptroller DOES have the power to investigate and/or audit the City Counsel members, state elected officials and agencies who steal money from the tax payers at an alarming rate...

tryanmax said...

Here's a silly story about how Harry Reid is trying to drum up fear of the Koch Bros. in an attempt to turn out Democrat votes and donations: LINK

The best part of the story is the comments, where smart people are fact-bombing the ever-living **** out of it.

AndrewPrice said...

The whole Koch Brothers as boogeyman thing is intensely stupid.

BevfromNYC said...

Tryanmax and Andrew - How does Reid get away with making the truly scurrilous and unfounded accusations on the floor of the Senate as the Senate Majority Leader? He made the same kind of accusation about Romney and tax evasion. How are these not censurable offenses?

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I suspect because people don't go after him for it.

Kate W said...

There have actually been articles on liberal news sites saying that targeting the Koch brothers is both useless and pointless. Just because some people go after 'easy targets' doesn't mean a whole demographic does. Likewise, a heck of a lot of liberals HATE Peta. Equating them to liberals is similar to equating the KKK to conservatives. That said, all of the examples above are examples of incredible idiocy...

Oh, and do bear in mind that almost all politicians use their being elected as 'the people have spoken' - regardless of political party or voter turnout.

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