Da Cuomo a Cuomo

Today's local political story of note was the shot fired across Governor Andrew Cuomo's bow by primary candidate Zephyr Teachout. Cuomo's recent woes began in earnest when it was revealed that his vaunted anti-corruption was restricted from investigating the governor's office. Cuomo's recent campaigning was strictly bush league, beginning with his attempt to have Dr Teachout removed from the ballot. In a very petty move, he refused to debate Dr Teachout, and the NYC NPR affiliate arranged a debate between Teachout and the Repblican gubernatorial candidate. In a particularly boorish display, Cuomo ignored Dr Teachout at the NYC Labor Day parade. Despite overspending Teachout by an overwhelming margin, she was able to tweak Cuomo's nose by pulling in more than a third of the vote.

Cuomo is no progressive, despite the liberal legacy of his storied father. He's a corporatist and an opportunist through and through. There's a hell of a lot of difference da Cuomo a Cuomo... a reference to one of my favorite Ennio Morricone compositions, from 1967's Death Rides a Horse:





That being said, I'll be holding my nose and voting for the guy come November, Astorino's desire to bring fracking to New York state is simply unacceptable. I'll take the crumb-bum in the governor's mansion over the 'bagger executive of my home county any day.

We Need to Talk About Andrew

 I've been on the record stating that Andrew Cuomo really wasn't my first choice in his primary races, being way too centrist, and an opportunist to boot.  Still, it's a bit jarring to see the barrage of sexual misconduct accusations that have been leveled against him this week... and I really can't address the issue better than this post at LGM.  I mean, 'the picture' is problematic:

 

The optics are bad... a young woman grimacing as the older governor touches her while sizing her up as if she were one of the prosciutti hanging in the background.  If you told me that it was a picture of a kindly uncle consoling an upset niece at her father's funeral, it wouldn't seem so bad, but that's a wedding picture.  Of course, the other allegations, involving inappropriate conduct toward subordinates, is worse.

I believe that these allegations against Cuomo should be investigated, and Leticia James, our Attorney General, is the perfect person to do so- she's smart, and no-nonsense, and won't let partisan politics blind her.  Speaking of partisan politics, Lindsey Graham has been particularly gross, suggesting that Democrats 'follow the Republican model' when dealing with Cuomo.  If I were a prominent Democrat, I'd make a deal- we'll get rid of Cuomo as soon as the Republicans get rid of Trump, Jim Jordan, Madison Cawthorn... need I go on?

The other big Cuomo scandal to come to light involves downplaying nursing home deaths due to COVID-19.  In the early days of the pandemic, hospitals released recovering COVID patients to nursing homes before they were completely cured, a procedure which was blamed for the horrific death tolls in nursing homes.  It was a bad decision, made at a time when there were no good decisions- the hospitals were filled to capacity, and nursing homes have the wherewithal to provide for a level of care necessary, but not as intensive as ICU care.  It was a Catch-22 situation.  I used to work in a nursing home from time to time, and I know how terrible conditions can be during outbreaks (I worked during a norovirus outbreak which ended with entire floors being quarantined), but there was no better alternative for these early patients.  That being said, the coverup was really bad, and unnecessary- we need authorities who tell us the truth, especially during crises.

If Cuomo gets bounced, I certainly won't shed a tear for the guy.  Lieutenant governor Hochul, an upstate conservative Democrat, is no prize pig, but if Cuomo is found to be a serial harasser, I will support her ascent.  Going forward, though, I think I'm only going to vote for women in the foreseeable future, and non-nepotism hires going forward.  Enough with toxic males in power.

Farewell, Failson

The big news here in New York State is the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo.  I've always thought that Cuomo was an opportunist, unfit to fill his illustrious and beloved father's shoes.  Well, nepotism hires usually work out that way.

Before Attorney General Letitia James uncovered Cuomo's sexual misconduct, Cuomo's principal sin was conspiring with a coterie of right-of-center Democrats to collude with state Republicans to prevent the progressive Democrats from accomplishing anything legislatively.  Yeah, he was pretty much an 'I Can't Believe It's Not a Republican' official.

One particular schifo in Cuomo's response to the allegations against him was his claim that his grabassitude was due to his Italian-American heritage... I'm sure my very proper Ligurian-American grandfather would have punched him in the labanza for that merda.

Well, the failson is done, and New York State will get its first female governor, Kathy Hochul, who is running away from Cuomo as quickly as possible.  I have to confess that I don't know much about Hochul, who is a conservative Democrat from far-off, exotic Buffalo.  She's maintained a low profile in her tenure as Lieutenant Governor, and I really need to read up on her politics.  For me, the real good news is that Yonkers' own Andrea Stewart-Cousins, President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader of the State Senate, will become acting Lieutenant Governor until Hochul appoints one.  Stewart-Cousins has been my State Senator for a long time, and I have long been a fan of hers.

It's an all-too-late historic moment, having two women at the top executive spots in this not-quite-liberal-enough state, the sort of historic moment which can only happen when you get rid of a failson public figure.  Back in April, I railed against failsons, and a scant four months later we are getting rid of ours.  Personally, I hope to be able to vote for an all-woman ticket in the next election... well, except for this guy, but he's not a nepotism hire.

Local Voting Chicanery

I headed over to my polling place, which is across the street from my house, shortly after noon today. As usual, I had absolutely no difficulty in voting. I gave my name to the poll worker and signed the voters' ledger, with no need to show identification. I know a bunch of the poll workers, so it was a social call as well as a civic duty and an opportunity to exercise my rights as a citizen. As an added bonus, there was a bake sale to benefit the PTA of the school which served as polling place... one dollar cupcakes for the win!

One of this year's developments in local politics has been the creation of a "third way" so-called Women's Equality Party to undermine support for the genuinely progressive Working Families Party. It was a real dirtbag move, because Cuomo received the support of the Working Families Party... it was particularly cynical because, in order for the party to achieve the fifty-thousand votes that it needs in order to remain on a ballot line for the next four years, its supporters have to vote for Cuomo. Talk about having your detractors over a barrel!

Such national sounding boards as The Nation, Daily Kos and Move On have criticized Cuomo's cynical move. In a particularly off-putting move, the name of the party makes criticism of such seem scummy... I mean, what kind of jerk is against women's equality?

I have to say, I held my nose as I voted for Cuomo, and voted a straight Working Families Party ticket. I'm not happy with Cuomo, but I couldn't take the chance that NY State's genuinely progressive party gets dropped from the ballot. Yeah, over a barrel...

Addio Zio Mario

Soon after putting up my last, insubstantial post, I checked out the news to discover that quintessential New York liberal Mario Cuomo has died. While I was really too young to appreciate "Uncle Mario", as my mom would facetiously refer to him, while he was governor, his legacy as a liberal giant who stood up for working people and assiduously opposed the death penalty, was something I came to admire. Roy, an astute observer of all things New York as well as All Things political, posted a wonderful memorial and Jimmy Vielkind of Capital New York wrote a beautiful wrap-up of other political figures' remembrances of the man.

In 1983, Governor Cuomo spoke out against the inhumane "small government" policies of Ronald Reagan (which really boiled down to small government for the little guy, and a huge defense boondoggle, naturally):

“Of course, we should have only the government we need. But we must have..all the government we need. A society as blessed as ours should be able to find..shelter for the homeless, work for the idle, care for the elderly and infirm, and hope for the destitute.”

He expanded on this theme in his speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention:





Thirty and a half years later, this speech sounds as timely as ever. Sadly, Governor Cuomo's son, Governor Cuomo, has decided to cast himself as a "Republican lite", all too eager to embrace the "austerity" route. I think Andrew lost his way somewhere between Albany and Albany.

Rest in peace, Zio Mario, you were a liberal titan, the like of which we need now more desperately than ever. Addio!

Not Even a Speedbump

Appropriately for Ash Wednesday, the **ack** Executive for my county of residence has announced that he is running on the Republican ticket against Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose approval rating stands at 63%.

Astorino supports fracking in NY State, a position which is facing more opposition even upstate. Astorino brought gun shows back to the Westchester County Center, a divisive policy that won't win him any friends in the post "Sandy Hook" milieu.

In his announcement speech, Astorino said, "I'm tired of watching New York's decline."

Operating on the handy principle that Republicans are always wrong, a glance at New York's unemployment rate indicates that it has dropped to 7.1%, and that New York accounted for 12% of the country's private sector job growth in December. If that's a decline, I'm Rapunzel.

The best strategy the Cuomo campaign can come up with is to tie the Republican gubernatorial albatross around Astorino's neck and let the combined weight of Scott Walker, Chris Christie, John Kasich, and Ricks Snyder and Scott sink him into the depths of the tea-dark sea.

From an Ash Wednesday announcement to an ashy heap after the inevitable crash-and-burn, I don't think Astorino will even act as a speedbump to slow the Cuomo juggernaut. Cuomo's no doubt got his eye on the White House in the future, and he won't let the pissant Westchester County Executive stand in his way.

A Most Unusual Primary Election Day

I arrived at work in the predawn hours this morning, because my workplace is a polling site and today is the day on which a bunch of primary elections take place. Typically, election days are on Tuesdays, but Rosh Hashana falling on Monday and Tuesday pushed the election back to a Thursday this year. My role on election days is to open up the building and to help the poll workers set up the voting machines, the 'Plan B' backup scanner, and the various tables and privacy desks provided by the Board of Elections. I'm also the guy who remembers where the 100 foot 'no electioneering' sign goes.

The big election today is the NY State Democratic gubernatorial primary. Governor Andrew Cuomo is being challenged by Cynthia Nixon, who is best known as a 'Sex and the City' actress. I'm a little leery of celebrity candidates, especially given the reality TV turkey in the White House, but Ms Nixon has been a good foil for Governor Cuomo, forcing him to tack to the left on numerous issues. Cuomo is an opportunist, and a bit too much of a centrist for me, but I suspect he will steamroll Ms Nixon. This is why the distribution of a flyer accusing Ms Nixon of antisemitism was a bizarre, as well as a nasty, campaign strategy, no matter who drew it up. The lieutenant governor race pits NYC councilman Jumaane Williams against current lt gov Kathy Hochul. Hochul is an upstate conservadem, while Williams is more likely to prioritize the needs of downstaters such as myself.

The other big semi-local election is the primary against Democrat-who-caucuses-with-Republicans asshole Jeff Klein. Christ, I hope the people of the Bronx vote his ass out of the state legislature.

I'm only here for four hours- once 9AM rolls around, the dayshift will be here, the onsite gift shop and cafe will be open, and tourists will be mingling with the voters. I will be going home to my beloved Yonkers to vote in the primary, after which I shall pass out and sleep the sleep of the just.

An Unforced Error, or Soundbitten

Almost a decade ago, I learned how to talk in soundbites, and to word responses to questions carefully, saying only what I wanted to see print. After a Secret Science Club lecture, a web-journalist wanted to interview some attendees, and I was approached to give my opinion regarding the lecture series. I gave a well-considered answer about how science wasn't a series of proclamations from an Ivory Tower, but a methodology, and that it should be accessible to the layperson, not intimidating. I considered my statements and articulated them... then I made a joke: "Now that we have a nerd in the White House, they're going to need a bigger venue!" Guess which utterance saw print...

This brings me to the latest local news kerfuffle, Governor Andrew Cuomo's ill-considered statement: "We're not going to make America great again. It was never that great." Andrew, Andrew, Andrew... you don't say that. Sure, the American Experience wasn't so great for people of color, women, LGBTQ people, and religious minorities, but a seasoned politician doesn't just blurt out an easily decontextualized statement like Cuomo did. He could have conveyed a message counter to Trump's 'Make America Great Again' by saying that he wanted America to be great for everybody. This is the sort of soundbite which will be played ad nauseam by all media outlets, and amplified by right-of-center media. I'm not a huge Cuomo fan and would support many politicians, particularly Kirsten Gillibrand, over him in a 2020 Presidential primary... I think this pretty much spells the end of his national campaigning. He's running for re-election with Cynthia Nixon as a more liberal opponent, and I believe he will steamroll her simply by being an Establishment Candidate, but I think he blew his chances on the national stage. I can't say that I'm too upset at that.

Don't Vote for Failsons

The biggest problem in the United States, from a political standpoint, is that there are just too many damn failsons involved in our gocernment.  George W. Bush is a failson, and he damn near destroyed the country with his wars of choice and his laissez faire economic policies which tanked the economy.  Donald Trump is a failson, and he was even worse than Dubya.  Matt Gaetz?  Failson...  

Here in New York State, Andrew Cuomo has turned out to be quite the failson.  Who better to challenge this failson in the upcoming gubernatorial election than another failson named Andrew?  Andrew Giuliani has stated that he is running for the governorship of New York, despite never have served in an elected position- he was involved in Former Guy's Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison, but we all know that Former Guy's maladministration was a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Andrew Giuliani's campaign is pretty much dead on arrival, as New York is a heavily Democratic state.  I suspect that Andrew Cuomo's campaign is also dead on arrival, he just has too much baggage.  Personally, I even find our lieutenant governor too conservative for my tastes, and would rather see our attorney general or senate majority leader running for the office.

We don't need another failson in a position of authority... ever.  Don't vote for failsons, not in the primary, not in the general.  Just don't ever vote for failsons.

A Local Triumph

It's been a while since I have written about infrastructure. The conventional wisdom is that American infrastructure is subpar. The big local infrastructure story in my neck of the woods, which I have devoted multiple blog posts to, was the deterioration of the Tappan Zee Bridge, which spans the Hudson River, and the construction of a new bridge. Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo cut the ribbon on the westbound span of the bridge, which has been named after his father, the late Governor Mario Cuomo. While a fan of the late governor, I really don't think that the bridge should have been named after anyone- the old name honors both the original indigenous people and the Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley, so I will stick with calling it the 'Tapp'.

The eastbound span of the bridge should open to traffic in the fall, just in time for the main upstate Autumn foliage tourism. It's nice to see a local infrastructure project come to fruition. My one beef with the new bridge design is the failure to incorporate a light rail line into the structure to connect the I-287 Corridor to the three lines of the Metro North railway system, thereby linking New Jersey to Connecticut via rail. Oh, well, that's me, ever the curmudgeon... at any rate, at least something has been accomplished.

Coronaberg

Back in March, in a conversation with a coworker, I predicted that the US would see a half-million person death toll from the COVID-19 outbreak. He, being an optimist, answered, "I think it'll be a million." Well, today's full-on freakout news is the CDC's announcement that the COVID-19 infection rate may be ten times the number of reported cases... this information was obtained by testing blood samples from a variety of donors and patients for coronavirus antibodies. If this is true, the true COVID-19 picture resembles that of an iceberg, with about ten percent being visible above the surface. With cases surging in Florida and Texas, two states in which mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing were rejected, the situation is going to look apocalyptic in a couple of weeks. The outbreak in New York should have served as a warning, but some people really need to touch the stove to test your assertion that it is hot. Hell, I truly believe that the lackadaisical response in 'Red State' America was a misguided snub against Andrew Cuomo... defying that nanny-stater from the Coastal Northeast is preferable to living without respiratory distress and cardiovascular inflammation.

Already, Texas hospitals are nearing capacity and convention centers are being tapped as emergency medical facilities. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK A MONTH AND A HALF AGO! This was no mystery, the situation in Florida, Texas, and Arizona was entirely predictable! At this rate, we will never get over this pandemic, and I'm starting to think that my coworker was lowballing his prediction.

Sore Feet, Soaring Heart

Last evening's walk was glorious, but I ended up with a case of sore feet (no blisters, though). I have to confess that this five mile (8km) stroll was the first long walk I've taken since the COVID-19 outbreak. My friends and I met up at 7:30PM in front of the Tarrytown train station, where free parking is to be had on the weekends. If I were to undertake this hike on a weekday, I'd take the 25 bus from an intersection three blocks from my home to the Yonkers train station, then take the glorious Metro North Hudson Line trip to Tarrytown. At the train station, we caught a free shuttle bus to the West Nyack trail head, and the journey began.

The Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge, like it's predecessor, the Tappan Zee bridge, spans the widest section of the Hudson River, named by the Dutch for the indigenous Lenape people. It might seem counterintuitive to build a bridge across the widest section of the river, but the site was chosen because it was about as close to New York City as could be while outside the purview of the New York/New Jersey Port Authority, being under the New York State Thruway Authority.

The bridge itself has always consisted of a superstructure close to the eastern bank of the mighty Hudson, with a long causeway forming the western portion of the bridge. There are high barriers on the sides of the bridge to forestall despondent people from taking swan dives:

The actual pathway is divided into a four foot wide pedestrian lane and an eight foot wide bicycle lane:

Along the span, there are six wide areas which double as observation posts and rest stops:

All along the watchtower causeway, the central superstructure beckoned like a... uhhhh... beacon:

As night fell, the view of the superstructure became more and more breathtaking (or maybe that was the upward incline), especially when contrasted with the view of the river below. Passing cars, though, made focusing the camera a pipe dream:

A plaque on one of the towers of the bridge eulogized the late, great governor of New York State:

There were quite a lot of people walking across the bridge, and the atmosphere was pretty festive. It's impossible to be in a cranky mood when the view is so gorgeous, sore bodies notwithstanding. By the time we reached the eastern shore, we were fairly tired, what with the distance traveled and the heat, and we had approximately a mile's walk remaining between the eastern visitors' center and the Tarrytown train station. We arrived in T-town just at the tail end of their COVID-19 related closure of Main Street to allow outdoor dining. I was able to hit a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that was still open for some tacos and a restorative horchata. It is said that hunger is the best sauce, but La Perla Poblanita's food needed no additional embellishment.

I parted with my friends in order to go to work, and as soon as I arrived, I took a couple of aspirinas. Yeah, my feet, between balls and arches, were still a little sore. As I confessed, it had been a while since I'd taken a long walk like this, which means that I need to get back to a routine in which such beautiful expeditions are... uhhh... routine.

In New York, We Don't Negotiate With Terrorists

In a clear case of 'do what I want or your airports get it', Donald Trump is trying to extort the government of New York into dropping investigations into his fiduciary chicanery:

I’m seeing Governor Cuomo today at The White House. He must understand that National Security far exceeds politics. New York must stop all of its unnecessary lawsuits & harrassment, start cleaning itself up, and lowering taxes. Build relationships, but don’t bring Fredo!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020

Put succinctly, Trump wants to exclude New York airports from security pre-screening 'Trusted Traveler' programs unless the state drops its 'sanctuary' policy. Sanctuary status ensures that undocumented persons aren't afraid to go to the authorities if they are victims of crime. By keeping immigrants afraid, exploiters and abusers, such as Trump himself, are allowed to exploit and abuse their victims with little fear of their misdeeds coming to light.

Thankfully, our attorney general, Letitia James, isn't having any of it, reminding Trump that he is picking a fight with someone who has no responsibility for the lawsuits against him:

When you stop violating the rights and liberties of all New Yorkers, we will stand down.

Until then, we have a duty and responsibility to defend the Constitution and the rule of law.

BTW, I file the lawsuits, not the Governor. https://t.co/tsOLeEgiQp

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 13, 2020

As a New Yorker, I can say that I have had a disdain for and disgust with Trump for decades... we deplored him before it was cool. It's nice to see that Tish James is continuing this grand tradition of dunking on The Donald. Besides, the people being discomfited by this policy are people who can afford regular air travel, so it's not as if the average New Yorker can't wait out this stupid conflict until our attorney general kicks Trump's ass.

Ceci N'est Pas une Peep

In comments to my last post, former NYC resident Thunder asked the burning question:

Was it teh prudes/Disney that put Times Square porno outta bizness? Or the internet.

My response in the comments was:

It was the gentrification/Disneyfication combo that put the venerable Peep World out of business.

The main impetus to close the peep shows in Times Square occurred in the 90's when gentrification and the "Tough on Crime" Giuliani Time was in full swing. Show World was one of the larger venues, and died a slow death as tighter regulations forced all of the "blue" venues to devote a certain percentage of their space to non-pr0n product. If I recall correctly, the theaters started showing wuxia and cult films (I have to admit, I never liked Times Square, so my memories of the neighborhood aren't very vivid). Judging from this photo, it seems that Peepworld is still a going concern- gotta dig the juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane (and I leave it up to the reader to determine which is which).

In the modern, sanitized Times Square, in which a store like M&M's World can exist, I think a revamped Peep-O-Rama would be a logical addition.

Gadzooks, if there's one thing I find more repulsive than Times Square, it's marshmallow peeps... make that two things, that candy corn that comes out around Halloween is even more off-putting than peeps, and this is coming from a guy who eats kidneys and tripe.

UPDATE: Having mentioned Giuliani in the body of the post, I just want to comment about the kerfuffle over Gov. Cuomo fils receiving communion during a Roman Catholic Mass. I don't recall this ever coming up with regards to the thrice-married Giuliani. Why do only Democratic politicians have to put up with this bullshit? This kind of nonsense is what turned me from a Shane MacGowan Catholic to an apatheist. Well, this kind of bullshit, and the whole child-abuse nightmare.

Primary Day

It's primary day
My workplace is a poll site
I'm "minding the store".

The primaries here in New York State promise to be pretty interesting. Today marks the debut of the optical scanners- gone are the old mechanical voting machines with the levers (I hope some have made their way to museums- voting on one of the old machines was a visceral experience). I have to confess, I think I have a bit of a crush on one of the candidates for Attorney General, not that I'd let scarlet tresses sway my vote... The Republican gubernatorial race is interesting- "Tea Party" favorite Carl Paladino, known for his class, is running neck and neck with GOP establishment candidate Rick Lazio, even after sending campaign literature which is almost as noisome as his e-mails. Whoever gains the GOP gubernatorial nomination will most likely be nothing more than a speed bump for the juggernautorial candidate Andrew Cuomo, whose only apparent flaw is his taste in women.

The general elections should be interesting as well, so I'll be popping some popcorn, tossing it with a little pesto, and settling in to take in the spectacle.

Update: One thing that strikes me as odd is how quiet the voting process is now. I can't hear that satisfying **KA-CHUNK** *click-click-click-click* **KA-CHUNK** sound that always characterized voting, and that makes me nostalgic for the noisy old days.

Can't Spell Rage without AG

I spent much of yesterday in a foul mood, a sort of righteous rage... I woke up to the news of abuse allegations against NY State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Schneiderman has portrayed himself as a defender of women, a champion of women's rights, and a key member of the Resistance to Donald Trump. Schneiderman has a record of solid accomplishments- among them ending Brooklyn Hospital's charging for rape kits and going after serial sexual abuser/harasser Harvey Weinstein. He was a progressive crusader... and a shitbag who apparently hit and choked the women he was involved with without their consent, attempted to control what they ate and drank... and then attempted to use his power to coerce them into silence, even threatening them with harm. Sickeningly, he tried to pass off his actions as 'kink':


“In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”


I am totally vanilla in my amatory proclivities, but I have a sort of academic fascination with paraphilias, no matter how outré, and I have to note that, done properly, kinky sex has to involve stringent ethical standards, consent being paramount. Schneiderman's Fifty Shades of Gray fanfic is unconvincing and insulting. Thankfully, Schneiderman resigned, but the resulting political shitstorm will have repercussions throughout New York State- hell, even the investigation of the allegations against Schneiderman are a cause for division, with Governor Cuomo appointing Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas as special prosecutor because Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance bungled the Harvey Weinstein case so badly. Meanwhile, Barbara Underwood is acting Attorney General, but there is a probability that the election of a replacement will be a goddamn rugby scrum.

The whole scandal is sordid and enraging- the hypocrisy of Schneiderman merely compounds the hideousness of it. In a climate in which Trump Neanderthals are castigated for spousal abuse and Republican 'bros' are condemned for partner abuse, Schneiderman's violence against women is particularly egregious. Women don't need fake allies, such as this Joke Woke Bloke, and I have to opine that Schneiderman's replacement should be a woman... enough with shitbag men.

The Brian Lehrer Show has been devoting a lot of time to this story. If you need to be outraged, give a listen.

The Schaden, as Thunder Would Say...

Freudes itself. When I heard the news of Rick Perry's indictment on the radio while I was getting ready for work, I actually took a pause in order to laugh uproariously. So much for Perry's pre-2016 tough-guy cosplay... the guy whose stupidity dashed his 2012 presidential hopes just might see his criminality dashing his 2016 presidential hopes- not that criminality stops Republicans from backing a crook or deadbeat.

Monsieur Bouffant excerpted the NY Times article concerning the indictment. This was the kernel of the article for me:


The investigation centered on Mr. Perry’s veto power as governor. His critics asserted that he used that power as leverage to try to get an influential Democrat and elected official — Rosemary Lehmberg, the district attorney in Travis County — to step down after her arrest for drunken driving last year. Ms. Lehmberg is Austin’s top prosecutor and oversees a powerful public corruption unit that investigates state, local and federal officials; its work led to the 2005 indictment of a former Republican congressman, Tom DeLay on charges of violating campaign finance laws.


While it initially looks bad for Ms Lehmberg, further reading reveals that she may have been railroaded:


One night in April 2013, Ms. Lehmberg was found by sheriff’s deputies with an open bottle of vodka in the front passenger seat of her car in a church parking lot in Austin and was arrested for drunken driving. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.


It looks bad, but was she actually driving in the church parking lot when she was arrested? Doesn't driving while intoxicated actually involve driving? Note that I'm not defending DWI perpetrators- when I get loaded, I do it within walking distance of home, or in a neighborhood to which I traveled by mass transit.

At any rate, Mr Perry's indictment still has me cackling with glee. It's nice to see a dumbass and a fraud taken down a peg or two. Here in New York State, our own not-a-real-liberal governor is facing an investigation about his dismantling of a contra-corruption commission that refused to back down from investigating Cuomo cronies. Maybe the two governors can end up as roomies in a federal hoosegow, rather than as candidates on the 2016 presidential campaign trail. That would make for an interesting "Odd Couple" type comedy.

Needless to say, here's a tip of the hat to Thunder.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder Is One Hell of a Pandemic Response

Tengrain is a must-read. He brings the facts, the funny, and the fury in equal measure... and he has always been unfailingly supportive of smaller bloggers. He put a post up today summarizing a Washington Post newsletter about the pandemic:


The virus is still spreading at epidemic rates in nearly half of U.S. states, with Texas at the top of the list, according to a study by Imperial College London. “There’s evidence that the U.S. is not under control, as an entire country,” Samir Bhatt, a senior lecturer in geostatistics at the college, told The Post.

There’s good news, too: The study found that the virus’s spread has slowed to a trickle in some states. But the numbers look grim across much of the South and Midwest.


I have come to the conclusion that America's greatest misfortune in the course of this pandemic is that it began in largely liberal areas. The Red Staters say experts like Dr Fauci and governors like Andrew Cuomo advocate social distancing and mask wearing, and a certain Oppositional Defiant Disorder kicked in... because these liberal 'foes' are advocating these policies, they have become Culture War issues. Not wearing masks and clustering around, both contagion-conducive behaviors, are done to 'own the libs', and that is pretty much the only position these people have anymore. It's not even about personal freedom- these people don't believe that others should be wearing masks, to the extent that they have been harassing and even assaulting reporters who wear masks.

I don't usually indulge in counterfactuals, but in this case, I wonder what a hypothetical pandemic that started off in a solidly Republican -led state, such as Georgia or Texas, would have looked like. If Brian Kemp had been the early public face of gubernatorial responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, would a culture war around simple transmission mitigation efforts have been launched?

Right now, much the country is in 'hot stove touching' mode... New York state should have served as a cautionary tale, the outbreak hit before the pathogen was understood (it's still not sufficiently understood) and the early response was incoherent to a deadly extent. We learned our lessons the hard way, and the spread of the pandemic has slowed. Right-wingers took exactly the wrong lesson from New York's COVID-19 trajectory, and they seem to be heading for a spectacular, tragic phase of this disaster. At least they will be able to claim that they 'owned the libs' as the body count mounts.

Happy Cabrini Day!

 As is typical for us in October, we grapple with Columbus Day.  Christopher Columbus, put succinctly, was a terrible human being.  As someone of Italian, and like Columbus, Ligurian descent, I really think that a better exemplar of the Italian and Italian-American people is needed.

This year, I am inspired by fellow paisano Andrew Cuomo, who will be presiding over the dedication of a statue of Mother Cabrini tomorrow, and nominate Maria Francesca Cabrini, canonized as St Frances Xavier Cabrini, as a proper substitute for Columbus.  Francesca Cabrini, born in Lombardy in 1850, took holy orders and in 1880 founded the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the S67acred Heart of Jesus.  She was filled with missionary zeal, desirous of proselytizing in China, but was instructed by Pope Leo XIII to minister to the burgeoning Italian population in North America.

In the course of her missionary work, Mother Cabrini founded schools, orphanages, and hospitals, totalling 67 establishments by the time of her death in Chicago in 1917.  When she was canonized in 1946, the first American citizen to achieve sainthood, she was given the position of Patron Saint of Immigrants.

Whatever your opinion of the Roman Catholic Church may be, Maria Francesca Cabrini's contribution to society shouldn't be that controversial- no slave trade or heinous torture in her portfolio, no awkward explanations to schoolkids why such a horrid person is honored with a federal holiday.  The elevation of Columbus Day to federal holiday status was pretty much done to placate more conservative Italian-American interests, the sort of staid interests that are foreign to the Anarchist and Socialist impulses of many persons of Italian descent.  Even the most impious socialist Italian, though, can be brought to tears by a rendition of Ave Maria... none of us would object to swapping out Christopher Columbus for Maria Francesca Cabrini.  More importantly, isn't naming a federal holiday for a woman long past due?

Llorando Para Puerto Rico

Being a New Yorker, and one who worked in the South Bronx for fifteen years, off and on, I have an appreciation for Puerto Rican people and their culture. Being U.S. citizens, the Puerto Rican population of New York city, Nuyoricans, often have jobs as civil servants- cops, firefighters, state and local clerical workers. Puerto Ricans have a long history of serving in the US military- they are good people, good neighbors, and good Americans.

It's heartbreaking to see Puerto Rico devastated by hurricane Maria after having been hit by hurricane Irma just days before. To compound matters, the government of Puerto Rico has labored under a debt burden for too long with no relief in sight.

At least FEMA seems to be on the ground, though Trump has been spending his day picking fights with football players. Knowing the close relationship between New York and Puerto Rico, our governor Cuomo traveled to the stricken island with needed supplies and a cadre of aid workers. At least one of our local papers has been vociferous about Puerto Rico's need for aid.

I've been reading up on which charities to donate to, and I think I will choose Voices for Puerto Rico, as they don't have a 'faith-based' agenda.

Here's a video of Ponce, Puerto Rico-born Eddie Palmieri and his band playing a love song to the island:





To all of my Puerto Rican friends, tuvieron mal suerte, tiene que estarán fuerte... y no se olvidáramos.