By Michael Boyajian
When I was younger I used to watch war movies, mostly John Wayne stuff like his cavalry trilogy, his World War II forays and finally the Green Berets. As kids we all played with our G.I. Joes dressing them up in Marine dress up or a frogman outfit. All the neighborhood kids would run around the block playing army with toy guns. How did we know how to play army? Well, they were broadcasting the Vietnam War on television every evening.
By Michael Boyajian
When I was younger I used to watch war movies, mostly John Wayne stuff like his cavalry trilogy, his World War II forays and finally the Green Berets. As kids we all played with our G.I. Joes dressing them up in Marine dress up or a frogman outfit. All the neighborhood kids would run around the block playing army with toy guns. How did we know how to play army? Well, they were broadcasting the Vietnam War on television every evening.
Later in our teens we would, all us under the drinking age guys, sit in the park sipping beer on Saturday nights even on the coldest day of winter wearing our green snorkel parkas. Were we alcoholics? No, we were on deck just waiting. We were waiting to be eventually drafted into the Vietnam War.
That was our destiny. My small Long Island town was a recruiting ground. Have a minor brush with the law the judge gave you a choice, go to jail or go to Vietnam. Older brothers of my friends went and came back different. They were violent, cursing around the dinner table and arguing. Not the smiling boys they once were. One guy came back and he would be catching imaginary flies with his hand while you talked to him. Some houses had a gold star in their front window; their son was not coming home. Those houses remained shut tight with curtains closed tightly in grief.
We missed the draft by a couple of years, they ended the Vietnam War. We left the parks and went to college or started a vocation. We now watched movies like Paths of Glory, Coming Home and Deer Hunter. We realized war was about trauma. The trauma was to ourselves, to our enemies and to all the innocent civilians in the war zone.
And now we have new wars and new traumas and you can only hope that our soldiers will get the right treatment for their trauma knowing that there is no trauma care for our enemies and the civilians we left behind.
Nations, not just people, suffer trauma also. North Korea after the Korean War withdrew from the world of nations making its only economic product weapons and its government secretive. The United States suffered trauma after Pearl Harbor spending the next half century fighting wars driven by paranoia and fear. The nation was further traumatized after 9/11 allowing some to throw out the Constitution, torture people and launch an unjust war.
So Mr. President, let’s end the trauma and finally bring the troops home. We have been fighting wars for over 50 years and now our soldiers overseas are like dry logs on a hot fire. Take out the logs and the fire will go out and the trauma will finally end.
End
Today’s New York Times reports on the latest candidate who thinks he can beat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
Today’s New York Times reports on the latest candidate who thinks he can beat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
It’s Dan Senor, whose main claims to fame is his service as the Bush administrator’s chief liar in Iraq and that he is very lucky in love.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/fashion/weddings/09vows.html
I don’t think we have a Senator Senor in our future but one sentence in the story stood out as it either reflects on either how lazy the Times has become in reporting on politicians or gives us a rather loose definition of a social moderate..
He is known as fiscally conservative and socially moderate, a combination that eventually defined Alfonse M. D’Amato’s time in the United States Senate from New York.
If Michael Barbaro, the Times reporter who wrote those words took a minute to Google the words Al D’Amato Right to Life, he could have the following FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES!
Mr. D'Amato has voted with the Right to Life Party 100 percent of the time on abortion-related legislation during his 18 years in the Senate.
The abortion rights league's scorecard shows that in 18 years, Mr. D'Amato opposed the league's position in 92 out of 101 votes, or 91 percent of the time. Those included votes for a constitutional amendment to allow states to ban abortion, for a ban on a procedure that opponents call partial birth abortion, against legislation protecting abortion clinics from blockades and against financing abortion and other family planning services in foreign countries.
and more on Massa's mess via City Room
and more on Massa's mess via City Room
First of all, he isn't including all state debts, which totaled $114 million at the end of 2008, as tabulated by the U.S. Census Bureau. (Don't be fooled by assets in the row below -- they are incumbered by far greater pension liabilities, a far greater off the books debt). And there are no assets to pay for retiree health care, an even greater off the books debt.
And as for capital expenditures, what do you see in New York State that wasn't there in 1980? Not much. What is being described as "capital expenditures" is actually ongoing normal replacement and maintenance of capital assets that were already there. Payment for maintenance that was done or, in some cases not done. Not borrowing to accomodate population growth, to be paid back by a larger future population and economy.
The Tappen Zee Bridge is ready to collapse, but money was already borrowed, to be paid back by its tolls, to pay for the early 1990s recession. A rising share of the signal systems that allow the subway to move are over 75 years old and beginning to fail: none were in 1980.
Almost these debts have been run up without the permission of voters, and that's what Richard Ravitch, respected by the legislators, proposes now. A quick deal with no details announced and no debate. Someone else blamed when the consequences come due.
And the debts that were passed by voters? Three times they voted to build the Second Avenue Subway, in the early 1950s, late 1960s, and not long ago. Twice East Side Access was also promised. Where are they?
Fraud and theft. No one under age 50 has any moral obligation to any of New York's moral obligation bonds. None whatsoever.
On Wednesday, March 12, 2008 a meltdown occurred on my hard drive destroying a nearly complete 600 page manuscript documenting my life and times in the world of New York City political blogging. Simultaneously, a meltdown of far less significance to my daily life occurred in Albany, as New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation from office.
The origins of both these events, each of which I consider to be tragic (but surely regarded by many others with glee), stemmed from similar sources. My hard-drive contracted a virus probably acquired from visits to venues mostly frequented by naked women. The origins of the Governor’s meltdown had a similar pedigree, although my disabling virus was contacted at sites where the admission was free, while the Governor’s problems seemingly stemmed from a misunderstanding of the Albany concept of “pay to play”.
On Wednesday, March 12, 2008 a meltdown occurred on my hard drive destroying a nearly complete 600 page manuscript documenting my life and times in the world of New York City political blogging. Simultaneously, a meltdown of far less significance to my daily life occurred in Albany, as New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation from office.
The origins of both these events, each of which I consider to be tragic (but surely regarded by many others with glee), stemmed from similar sources. My hard-drive contracted a virus probably acquired from visits to venues mostly frequented by naked women. The origins of the Governor’s meltdown had a similar pedigree, although my disabling virus was contacted at sites where the admission was free, while the Governor’s problems seemingly stemmed from a misunderstanding of the Albany concept of “pay to play”.
Although my old buddy, Roscoe Conway, sent me a copy of an earlier and far different draft I’d sent him, I took my meltdown as a portent. I concluded that the time to cash in was now, and the times demanded a far less unwieldy document focused like a laser upon the acts of prostitution which are the day to day mother’s milk of life in Albany, as well as the far less common acts which brought down Governor Spitzer. So, I went back to my source material and found the book I just described largely buried within.
A rough draft was completed just around the time Room 8, meaning in this case myself and Rock Hackshaw, was selected by the Democratic National Committee as New York State’s designated blog for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. At the time I saw this as an opportunity to market my masterwork, but in the hubbub which ensued I pretty much forget about it until now.
In a felicitous concatenation of circumstances, the publication of Spitzer insider Lloyd Constantine’s self serving , self important and obtuse “Journal of the Plague Year” has coincided with both the imminent publication of Peter Elkind’s “Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” (inspired, no doubt by Gatemouth pieces provided to him by a mutual acquaintance at Fortune Magazine) and the State government’s current outbreak of déjà vu all over again. The incipient fall of David Paterson, happening as I write, demands a volume which puts the whole sad Spitzer-Paterson rollercoaster ride in its proper context as bedroom farce.
In order to keep track of the Paterson investigations one would need the political equivalent of the Daily Racing Form, which probably already has a reporter on the case, thanks to the stable-like stink emitting from the “deliberations” over the video slot-machine contract for Aqueduct Racetrack, In an effort to see that the operations were conducted with the requisite level of purity, the contract was awarded to a company in which one of the principals (not principles) was a man of God, whose had ample prior experience leading a congregation with a prosperous bingo operation, although some skeptics believe the Governor may have been more concerned about the Reverend Floyd Flake’s experience running political field and election day operations.
As they say one good contract deserves another.
Some have noted with suspicion that the bidding process rules for Aqueduct changed several times. On the other hand, baseball’s rules have remained pretty steady since the dark day the designated hitter became law in some jurisdictions. Still, one must be concerned that the Governor may have tried to secure free World Series tickets without being Rudy Giuliani. The quality of this line of inquiry is probably signaled by the fact that it was spurred not by the New York Times, but instead by the Post, but then again, nobody sane reads anything in the Post besides their sports pages and the Sudoku (for which Floyd Flake has not yet received the contract), so naturally the World Series probe is of major importance to them (and them alone).
The real concern here is that the Public Integrity Commission believes the Governor lied to them.
What arrogance!
Why should the Governor treat them any differently than he treats anyone else?
Talk about a double standard. Actually, we don’t need to; the Governor will do it for us. Of course, this is nonsense--there is no double standard; there are barely any standards at all.
Also tied up in the Integrity Commission investigation is the Governor’s eyes and ears, Special Assistant David “DJ” Johnson, who seems to have proven that Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver’s decision to be his own driver was a sagacious move. Though this might not normally be an option the Governor would want to consider, it can be argued that doing the same might actually have been the safer move for him.
As I write this, the State Police are about to gain their third Superintendent in the course of little more than a week. Not coincidentally, DJ also figures in Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s probe of whether the Governor had his State Police security unit, his Press Secretary, and at least one other State employee reach out to DJ's ex-girlfriend after she called police to report that DJ assaulted her. We won't even get into the phone conversion involving the Governor himself.Luckily for the Governor, he is no longer a State Senator.
Despite this embarrassment of riches, I’m pretty sure I’m missing something. The Post says there are now seven probes of Paterson, while the News counts only five; and none have anything to do with adultery or cola products.
Although little noted elsewhere, it is perhaps most significant of all that even before the first whiffs of major and minor scandal, the State was going to hell in a handbasket while the Governor himself barely made an impression on its operations
It is clear that it is time to exhume my old draft and take it to the present.
As such, I am today announcing that my book on the Spitzer/Paterson Era (eros? error?) is nearly complete.
I am calling it “Why Jesus Wasn’t Born in Albany.”
[Because they couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.]
The contents contained inside those pages documents a particular period in the history of New York politics, mostly as it was occurring. Certain themes (and jokes) recur in a manner which eventually forms the outlines of a somewhat coherent (I hope) worldview, as portraits are painted of the evils of the “Albany Bi-Partisan Iron Triangle”, the reflexive idiocy of the catechism of the politically correct, the cognitive dissonance and outright hypocrisy of self-proclaimed “reformers”, the complete bankruptcy of the Republican Party, the emptiness and preeminent centrality of the politics of identity, the avarice of much of the political class, regular and insurgent; and so on.
In my original draft, the story began in late 2005, with the post-conviction exit from the Leadership of the Democratic Party of the County of Kings (AKA Brooklyn) by Assemblyman Clarence Norman and his replacement by Assemblyman Vito Lopez. In the earlier draft, the story ended in early 2008 with the exit from the Leadership of the State of New York by Governor Eliot Spitzer and his replacement by Governor David Paterson. In other words, the book began with the transition of power from a black man to a white (Italian passing as Latino) one and ended with the transition of power from a white (Jewish passing as WASP) man to a black one.
The running order has now been changed somewhat. More importantly, the book now goes on to document the two years since that time, and the reversal of that trajectory.
This story has been organized in the manner of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.’s trilogy “The Age of Roosevelt.” Franklin Roosevelt, a former New York Governor, served as President of the United States for a little over 145 months, lifting the hopes of Americans praying for real change, while guiding America through the Great Depression and winning the Great War, before suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. Spitzer’s 15 minutes ran about 14.5 months, dashing the hopes of New Yorkers praying for real change by facilitating great depression and losing the Great War (with Joe Bruno), before suffering a decidedly non-cerebral hemorrhage of his own. Then the story repeats itself, with the not so surprising twist of our present day Harry Truman dropping the bomb upon himself instead of Hiroshima.
Schlesinger divides his story thus: “The Crisis of the Old Order”, “The Coming of the New Deal”, and “The Age of Upheaval”. By contrast , here we have: “The Stasis of the Old Order”, “The Coming of the New Sheriff (No pun intended)”, and “The Age of Upchucking”.
Another useful framework for examining this story is the Passover Haggadah (the one facet of my life where I am a member of the “Reform Movement”). The opening of a Haggadah is much like a political dinner, with the food arriving far too late, a pro forma introduction and acknowledgment of important guests, some of whom are not in the room, or only there in spirit.
Then come the questions. In the Haggadah there are four, but they are only variations on the central matter at hand: Query: Why is this night different from all other nights? In this book the question is “Is this Knight different from all other knights?” Like any good Jewish text, by way of answers, this book only provides more questions.
The Haggadah not only asks four questions but describes four children, who in this narrative are echoed in the personalities of the two Governors: “The Wise Child, The Wicked Child, The Simple Child, and the Child Unable to Waive His Fifth Amendment Rights”.
As the Haggadah notes: “There are many questions. Now we begin to answer….Our narration begins with degradation and rises to dignity. Our service opens with the rule of evil and advances toward the Kingdom of God.” The story within the pages of my book is somewhat different. There are many questions, but no answers. In describing the Albany Bi-Partisan Iron Triangle, our narrative begins with the degradation of the people of New York and sinks to the public humiliation of a man who dared to challenge it, followed by the humiliation of a man who did not. Our public service begins with the rule of evil and advances nowhere.
The book more or less begins in late 2005. In Brooklyn, the epicenter of this blogger’s universe, corruption scandals had caused a crisis in the existing order of the local Democratic Party. Power transitioned, but cynics said things remain unchanged. Gatemouth, the main character I play on the web, posited that things were very different, although not necessarily any better (or worse).
Statewide, the existing arrangements, collectively known as the “Albany Bi-Partisan Iron Triangle”, put their finger into the wind, and collectively and ruthlessly signed onto the bandwagon of the prohibitive frontrunner, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who although not one of the club, ruthlessly worked with all elements to consolidate his likely victory. Don Quixotes in both parties failed to fall into the bandwagon’s conga line, and instead set out on the road to ignominious defeat, while the pragmatists of the existing order ruthlessly arranged to exploit circumstances to control damage and ensure that all remained the same.
Along the way, an heroic figure (State Comptroller Alan Hevesi), who appeared to embody all that was decent and classy, was revealed to be little more than a common criminal (and what little more was revealed was equally unpalatable). Still later, the man most responsible for facilitating Hevesi’s expeditious exit (Spitzer) is forced to depart the scene moments after the revelation of a ridiculously tragic flaw (as opposed to his far more significant tragic flaws which had been foreshadowed far earlier).
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Spitzer took office, and then came war. Unlike the one in Iraq, Spitzer’s war with Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno was not without good reason. Unlike the one in Iraq, there was never a moment where the mission seemed accomplished. Like the one in Iraq, it initially focused not on the target which posed the greatest threat (i.e. Al Queda or Joe Bruno), but on one (Saddam Husssein or Shelly Silver) who, however deserving, was a distraction from the main objective. Unlike Iraq, the proper target eventually became the focus. Like the one in Iraq, those considered allies never encompassed full-hearted commitment to the cause; some may even have been duplicitous. Like the one in Iraq, the war was administered with limited competence. Unlike like the one in Iraq, there was no reluctance to commit the necessary resources. Like the war in Iraq, there was little notice paid to the so-called “rules of war” and insufficient notice paid to the rules of human decency. Like the one in Iraq, there was no exit strategy. Like the one in Iraq, it was seemingly without end. Unlike the one in Iraq it ended
Ant then came the rise and fall of the Man Who Knew Too Little (or accepted Too Much).
None of the strands described herein took place in isolation. They connected, they collided, they interacted in a comic operatic ballet replete with pratfalls and pathos, and were scored with a soundtrack of rock, soul and blues while immersed in the baby boomer cultural stew from which both the music and the author emanated.
So, I have a very hot commodity on my hands, nearly ready to be served, and just waiting for the last chapter to write itself. Luckily (for me, not the State) the Governor seems in no hurry.
Besides the resignation, all I need is a publisher.
Those interested in discussing this matter further can contact me at Gatemouthnyc@hotmail.com.As Gatemouth likes to say, “Stay tuned for more fun and laughter.”
By Michael Boyajian
The pariah of school cuts to arts and music has raised its ugly head once again. Those who use but one side of their brain have decided that only math and science count when it comes to financing our schools. By corrupting and taking a hard right off Plato’s conjectured road they say to hell with art, music, philosophy and the humanities in general without giving thought for a minute to the simple modern world facts that those with musical skills excel in science and that without the art and literature of science fiction there would be no landing of a man on the moon.
By Michael Boyajian
The pariah of school cuts to arts and music has raised its ugly head once again. Those who use but one side of their brain have decided that only math and science count when it comes to financing our schools. By corrupting and taking a hard right off Plato’s conjectured road they say to hell with art, music, philosophy and the humanities in general without giving thought for a minute to the simple modern world facts that those with musical skills excel in science and that without the art and literature of science fiction there would be no landing of a man on the moon.
And our politicians sit around lamenting the fall of American power. Well here is why. We are not financing the arts in education. No great civilization has stood the test of time without solid education programs and an appreciation of the arts. Don’t believe me? Just visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and see in wonder the great works of art from ancient Assyria, China, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome.
Oh sure, a wise cracking illiterate pundit will say if they were so smart why are they all gone. Well Rome lasted a thousand years, Egypt and dynastic China thousands. How long did America last before she began to wane, two centuries?
Our spending on education should in fact not be contracting but expanding beyond K through 12. College and a liberal arts education should be free and mandatory to all. This is the only way America is going to survive in the new global marketplace. There can be no advancement without imagination and no imagination without liberal arts. Where would the world be without the imagination and vision of the founders of Apple or Microsoft? Would there have even been a Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell or an Albert Einstein without it?
When a corrupt and decaying Rome lost its imagination and finally fell Europe went dark for a thousand years. If America does not take the high road with education she will collapse as well and the lights will go out worldwide for a millennium. Q.E.D. Quod Erat Demonstrandum, thus it has been shown.
End
The evening started out with a detailed speech by Brooklyn’s boro-prez Marty Markowitz, in which he vehemently spoke out against the proposed cuts. Marty’s speech was the longest of the night, but he made his point quite clear: he is totally opposed to the MTAs proposals in current form. Marty stirred up the crowd with his typically energetic speaking style, and seemed to have set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Speaker after speaker spoke out against the proposed cuts. Council member Tish James also spoke early and was powerful in her presentation. She suggested that we shut down the MTA Board and create another entity to supervise our public transportation needs, if the Board continues to be as dysfunctional as it has been over the years. She lamented the fact that the board’s racial and ethnic composition (only one black member there) didn’t reflect the reality of this city’s demographics. She also railed against their bogus dual- accounting system(s).
Councilmember Mealy seemed to suggest that the Board was sado-masochistic in its psychology. She said that they appear to go through this ritual every year or so, wherein these public hearings get out of hand because of the heavy-handed draconian cuts being proposed. She wondered aloud whether or not board members were gluttons for this type punishment: meaning of course, the regular public scolding they generally receive.
Ms. Mealy also entered a written submission to the hearing (for its public records, and for posterity). She slammed the proposed cuts in student metro card services, and also the proposed cuts to the para-transit rides, which will mostly affect seniors and those who are physically challenged. She also spoke of the dual accounts (books) that the MTA board seems to play games with. She wondered aloud as to which figures they used this time in coming up with these proposed cuts in services during the next fiscal year.
She said that in this society we have to be particular in how we treat the most vulnerable (children and seniors) among us. She is totally against any cuts in these programs.
In her written submission Ms. Mealy suggested that the MTA seek monies from the funds made available through President Obama’s stimulus package. She also suggested some other new funding streams/sources for the MTA board. Ironically, Ms. Mealy once worked as an employee of the MTA, prior to seeking public office. Her successful candidacy was backed by other employees of the MTA and through the transit union.
Stay tuned-in folks.
I know both parents involved here. They are both good friends and are also politically active. They have devoted their lives to developing their kids properly. They have also invested extraordinary amounts of time, effort, energy and money in their children’s overall development. Their combined goal has always been to maximize the potential in these kids. They both need to be commended. Maybe some organization could jointly award them the “Mother of the Year” award at some event, later this year.
I know both parents involved here. They are both good friends and are also politically active. They have devoted their lives to developing their kids properly. They have also invested extraordinary amounts of time, effort, energy and money in their children’s overall development. Their combined goal has always been to maximize the potential in these kids. They both need to be commended. Maybe some organization could jointly award them the “Mother of the Year” award at some event, later this year.
On any given day in this naked city (New York) you can find hundreds of negative stories coming out of the ‘hood. Stories about some young black male or female being shot and/or killed; some other(s) being sentenced to some long jail stretch for something or the other; or some others contracting the HIV virus; or some others caught up in the drug-world; and others being homeless with no place to go. Stories like these (and others) are commonplace in the inner-cities where significant black and Hispanic populations reside.
As a very public person, as someone deeply involved in the happenings of communities of color, as an educator, and also as a political activist, I have heard more than enough of these types of stories: believe me.
And then there the stories you hardly ever hear about: the ones that don’t bleed. You see, in media, “if it bleeds, then it leads”; especially if it emanates from the ‘hood. The bloody stories become headlines in the newspapers; and the lead-in stories on television newscasts; and the opening words for radio news; and so on and so on. It’s a shame: but it is true (ask Farai Chedeya).
Please go find the story I wrote almost two years ago (04-11-2008), entitled “Of World Class Fencing and Brooklyn Politics”. It’s in my archives here. In that column I highlighted the efforts of a Brooklyn-born young lady, who had emerged as the number one fencer in the world -in the under sixteen age category. Her name is Nzingha Prescod. The hopes are high that this young woman will capture a medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. Her mother (Marva Prescod) is a Brooklyn attorney who has worked many years in Family Courts.
Today I want to highlight the successes of another young lady (under sixteen) who was born in Brooklyn also, named Darrian Robinson, who plays chess on a level only dreamed of by many grown-ups.
Many of you who regularly read my columns know of her mother: her name is Cinceria Edwards. She too is a well know Brooklyn n attorney. Two years ago I wrote a few columns about her run for the New York State Assembly in Brooklyn’s 56th Assembly District; there she challenged long-time incumbent Annette Robinson and found the going to be real rough; real tough.
During the campaign, Ms. Edwards was subjected to many indignities: too many indignities. The list is long: stones were thrown through the windows of her home; human feces were left at her door step; intimidation and threats followed her supporters/campaign workers; and so on and so on. Beyond all this she had to spend loads of time, and lots of money, in the state courts, trying to make the ballot -even though she came in with about four times the required signatures needed to qualify. Her strength, fortitude and perseverance left everyone impressed. She ran a credible race and has since been recruited to head up the Brooklyn Chapter of the National Action Network.
Darrian Robinson is already an expert in chess. She is ranked #3 in the under 16 category (females) in this country. She has represented the USA in at least half a dozen tournaments in different countries of the world. She has travelled many times across this land of ours, playing chess tournaments; sometimes she gets into the adult tourneys with decent success.
Her coach is a young man named Maurice Ashley. He was the first Caribbean-American to become a grandmaster in chess. He was born on the island of Jamaica and came to New York as a youngster. It is said that he was also the first black grandmaster ever. I remember first meeting Maurice when he was a teenager. He would come to various parks in Brooklyn to play with us grown-ups. Everyone saw the talent. He worked hard to achieve his title. At one point I used to travel to various tournaments with him. He spent years and years developing his talents. Eventually CNN recruited him to cover televised tournaments and big international events. He has since written a few books on the topic.
He must be a very good teacher; word is that Darrian has the potential to become the first black master or grandmaster. We all hope that she has the fortitude to stick with the game -given its fluctuating fortunes. It’s all up to her now.
In high school, Darrian is in the tenth grade; and just like Nzingha Prescod, she too is doing well with her studies. Maybe one day, when chess is returned to the Olympic Games (it should have always been there), both Darrian and Nzingha will be representing the USA in different sports, at the same time. That would be something to see; won’t it?
Stay tuned-in folks.
At the Harvard Club seems a couple of its members, Master Eliot Spitzer and Master Lloyd Constantine are having a bit of a scrap. Eliot doesn't like what Lloyd has written in his soon-to-be-released book about how if Eliot had only listened to Lloyd, Client No. 9 would still be in charge . It's called "Journal of the Plague Year." Since nobody's ever wrong in the Harvard Club (by dint of divine entitlement) the silver spoons are flying, with the ex-governor spittle-ing:
At the Harvard Club seems a couple of its members, Master Eliot Spitzer and Master Lloyd Constantine are having a bit of a scrap. Eliot doesn't like what Lloyd has written in his soon-to-be-released book about how if Eliot had only listened to Lloyd, Client No. 9 would still be in charge . It's called "Journal of the Plague Year." Since nobody's ever wrong in the Harvard Club (by dint of divine entitlement) the silver spoons are flying, with the ex-governor spittle-ing:
“What Mr. Constantine has written is little more than a self-serving and largely inaccurate interpretation of events mixed with unfounded speculation. That such a close adviser and confidant of my family and member of my administration would choose to write such a book is a fundamental breach of trust.”
Ain't that so classic Spitzer? Grandiose presumption, turgid syntax, zero self-awareness, moralization, victimization, the whole nine. It sounds like he's going after Dick Grasso again.
For Constantine's part, it's like Tojo blaming Hirohito for Japan's annihilation. Constantine was front and center on Spitzer's cavalcade of clueless, partnered lawyers playing managers of a $132B a year operation. Which is not to say these people don't make good lawyers, maybe they do, only that screwing up the state in record time was a collective effort--and that managing the state was/is way, way over their arrogated little heads. We could list it all, chapter and verse, but what's the point?
Meanwhile, further uptown there was another Summit of the Harlem Club, where (also by dint of divine entitlement) they're never wrong either, and have also pretty much destroyed everything they touch, like crippling two-thirds of New York's representative democracy. And that they're even discussing Paterson-options--as if he has any--is an indictment of either their judgment or their cupidity. But this is exactly how they got into the mess they're now in, and exactly how they're not going to get out of the mess they're in now. We could list it all here, chapter and verse, but like with Spitzer's blazing trail of destruction, there's no use.
Yet there the somber solons of Harlem sat, preening in civic gravitas. Like Nero's bucket-brigade, attempting to rationalize "their" governor's inveterate public lying and five contemporaneous investigations--three of them criminal--while implicitly denying the immediacy of the state's disintegration through an explicitly race-based prism. One thing that sure wasn't discussed was some form of Sherr-una's law legislation to keep that woman's nightmare from becoming somebody else's. Nor did they consider or care that photographics like this are GOP--mailer fodder--on themes like this and like this--for all New York Democrats. They probably tell each other that the Republicans wouldn't dare.
The Harlem club says that they only want to ensure that the governor gets his "due process," evoking some epic constitutional thematics as if the question is whether the governor should be thrown immediately--without trial--into prison rather than resigning state office. No doubt they conjure "due process" as the E-Z Pass of political self-preservation. And that either New Yorkers are stupid enough to buy that or that they're stupid enough to genuinely believe themselves--or both. This "due process" red herring is nothing but a gussied up version of the Kevin Parker rationale: After chasing down and attacking a New York Post photographer, accusing the photographer of instigating it to a literally whipped-up Brooklyn crowd, then after arrest declaratively stating: "I am a victim and this is a miscarriage of justice." So give that man his "due process," he really, really needs it.
But ultimately what the Harlem Club says or does really doesn't matter, they're like a color-coded country club or maybe like network news, nobody pays attention to it any longer save themselves, the MSM and senior citizens. And it's probably all good because each ducat in political capital they waste on this governor is one less ducat of political capital they have to screw something else up at a later date. And the longer the governor stays in office, the more they bleed.
So hopefully the Uptown guys really had at it Thursday night at Sylvia's. (Serious soul-food fans: if/when in DC you need to go here!).
At the end of the day, the common core principle of the Harvard and Harlem clubs--and seed of their respective self-destruction--is that both presume to have some kind of proprietary ownership of New York State; the Harvard Club's ownership was based on some platonic notion of the self-anointed philosopher king(s) while the Harlem Club ownership is based on historical grievance or accounts payable. And given such metaphysical investment, each had a suicide-murder pact with themselves and New York State. In other words, keeping Paterson--or Spitzer--in office is far more important than the state incinerating.
The final unifying theme of the Harvard and Harlem clubs is that both despise--and blame--Andrew Cuomo for the all the crap they've gotten themselves into. The Spitzer people going so far as labeling him "an animal."
As to whether Paterson should stay or go, or who's to blame, Michael Goodwin of the New York Post puts it this way:
While voters are hardly innocent -- we did elect Spitzer and Paterson -- we don't deserve to be punished by their presence any longer.
Nor with their club members either.
Submitted by: John Ross