Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Country First...
Except If You're Republican
Bark, If You're A Republican!0 comments
There were a thousand reasons (actually 700 billion) to vote against the bailout bill. But that stupid "Nancy Pelosi wasn't nice to us!" whining dodge the Republicans tried to pull wasn't one of them. Don't like it? Fine. Say so. Constituents would have your head on a pike? OK. Just say so. That's what the Democrats who voted NO did. But being a pack of gutless Republican curs, the concept of "doing your job," or "thinking of the good of the country" or, dare I say it, "Patriotism," never crossed their crass little brains. GOP Uber Alles!
Remember, this is the group that John McCain decided to back when he landed in D.C. to "save the day," before he fucked everything up. It was his backing that emboldened this pack of curs and urged them to stand on their hind legs and bark.
And just as a side note,isn't that
Eric Cantor (R - Virginia - 7th Dist.), GOP Chief Deputy Whip in the House, just the slimiest Joe McCarthy clone you've seen in forty years? Jumping in front of the cameras, waving a transcript of Pelosi's Bush slam that seemed to upset his tummy so that he simply couldn't vote to avert a financial meltdown.
EeeeeeuuuuuuwwwwWWW.
posted by Gotham 8:42 AM
Monday, September 29, 2008
...And Good Morning To You, Too!
The Little Mary Sunshines at AP via ABC are running with this happy news for the Economy0 comments
The "money" quotes (you'll excuse the pun):It usually takes years to recover from a financial crisis severe enough for politicians to ride to the rescue with truckloads of taxpayer money.
Take, for example, the U.S. government's August 1989 bailout of the savings-and-loan industry. The stock market fell by 12 percent within the first 14 months of the rescue plan while the economy slipped into an eight-month recession that began in July 1990. Housing prices that had just begun to erode continued to fall for another three years.
There's little reason to believe it will be dramatically different this time around, particularly since this bailout involves harder-to-value assets and comes with the U.S. economy already on the edge of a recession, if one hasn't begun already.
They're such kidders at AP.
Or this:If the ratio of losses to assets inherited in the latest $700 billion bailout is similar to what occurred in the S&L crisis, the taxpayers will be saddled with a bill of more than $250 billion, which also translates into about 2 percent of the nation's current GDP.
Data from the IMF's study suggest the losses could run even higher. The monetary fund calculated governments typically recover about 18 cents on every dollar spent in bailouts—a rate that would translate into a loss of more than $500 billion. The United States seems unlikely to sustain a loss that large since it presumably will be buying the banking assets at a sharp discount—leaving plenty of room for an upside.
Well, THAT'S certainly consoling.
And the real John McCain angle in all this?
Yes, we know about Hero John being a professional POW and all of that, and how he got his hand caught in the cookie jar in the Keating 5 scandal, but we tend to forget the impact that John's little sojourn into creative accounting meets political influence had—much further ripples and greater impact on all of us across the country. Remember, McCain helped CAUSE that bailout. Remember, also, that THAT was a massive bailout, too. And here's what it did to us:Although warning signs of an industry breakdown started to flash in the mid-1980s, the government waited until August 1989 to create the Resolution Trust Corp. to dispose of the repossessed homes, offices, cars, planes and even artwork held by failed S&Ls.
During the next six years, the RTC sold nearly $400 billion in assets on the books of more than 700 failed thrifts. Taxpayers ended up sustaining a loss of $125 billion to $150 billion on the fire sale — about 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product by the time the bailout was completed in 1995. Entering the S&L bailout, the government had projected a taxpayer loss of $40 billion to $50 billion.
It's kind of like putting a notorious hacker in charge of your IT security. Could work, or he could cave in to old impulses.
posted by Gotham 8:25 AM
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Shea, au Revoir...
Yes. I cried.3 comments
Gotham City stands as old and as strong as its people.
Its people stand as strong as the places where they've congregated and made their voices heard.
From Union Square to Madison Square Garden to Katz's Deli.
This past Sunday marked the final game for historic—and dare I say it—beautiful Shea Stadium.
I'm not so sure I'll ever spend much time, if any, in the Mets' new Sub-Prime Field, owner Fred Wilpon's "I was a Dodger fan growing up!" wet dream. It would have been better if he had bought the Dodgers rather than the Mets. It would have been nice to see a new Mets field be a paean to Mets history in their own park, instead of to someone else's. That's simply disgusting. Wet dream, indeed.
Shea, named after William A. Shea, a New York National League baseball fan, as well as a lawyer and lobbyist—back in the days when those were actually honorable professions—did the bulk of the jawing that brought National League baseball back to New York after the Dodgers and Giants dumped New York like Republicans dump first wives—callous, cold, calculating, chasing something shiny and new.
Your humble Gotham servant was in the 9- to 11-year-old range as the discussions of bringing a new team to town were pursued and this new team was created—just the age when magic suffuses every endeavor.
"A BRAND NEW BASEBALL TEAM???!!! THAT NEVER EXISTED BEFORE?? Not like those dopey old Dodgers or Yankees or Indians or Red Sox!!?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???"
This was basic 10-year-old crack.
Gotham sent in an entry in the name-the-team contest (sorry, since I lost, I've forgotten what I sent, but Rebels and Blue Jays were two of the main contenders). I had a scrapbook with every picture I could find from each of the in-those-days seven or eight daily newspapers New York had. Would certainly love to see that scrapbook now—but, like most everyone's baseball card collection and other treasures, it too is lost to time.
The Mets' inaugural yearbook cover proudly showed the famous Willard Mullins drawing of his infant son in diapers and a Mets hat, which became Baby Met. We were all SO THERE! Mr. Met made his first appearance the next year. In one of these videos, you get a quick shot of Homer, the beagle, holding a Let's Go, Mets! sign in his teeth. The Mets have never wanted for mascots!
So, my life has been Mets life; Mets life has been my life.
While this video says 1964-1965 (so, it'd be a pre-game crowd only), this is how I remember the number of fans at Shea in the mid-'70s to early '80's looking, when it became Grant's Tomb, so named to honor classic New York putz M. Donald Grant, who banished Tom Seaver to Cincinnati in 1977, a dark day in New York history. You see in this video roughly the level of attendance they got in the late '70s to early '80s. Weddings and Bar Mitsvahs drew more people in those days. The fans were almost on a first-name basis.
Allow me to wander:
*** My first memory of Shea was its opening day, April 14, 1964—a school day, unfortunately. I raced home from school, just in time to catch the final wrap-up by Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy. Of course we lost, that was expected. BUT WE HAD A STADIUM NOW! We were official! No one could say we didn't count! Went to a game on my birthday, and I remember pouring over the program and yearbook in the car as we rode home. Looking at all the very cool features of this space-age sporting wonder! All the amenities, all the escalators (every park had ramps before that), state of the art! How COOL!
*** My first view of Shea, actually, wasn't for a ballgame, it came while I was heading to the World's Fair across the street in Flushing Meadows Park.
When the 7 train pulled into the Willet's Point station—awash in bright orange and blue everywhere (the city's official colors, as well as the Mets'), one ramp took you to Shea, the other, larger ramp pointed to the fairy land of the World's Fair grounds. As my family dragged me towards the Fair, I kept staring over my shoulder at this most beautiful of structures, knowing full well there was BASEBALL going on in there! METS BASEBALL!
*** One gloriously beautiful Sunday in spring of 1969 or '70, my friend Mike and I went to Shea for a double-header. Spent extra for field-level seats just past first base. Weather-wise, perhaps one of those Top 10 days you savor during a great Spring. Great seats. Oh boy, two games of baseball. Tom Seaver, untouchable through the first four innings of Game 1, in total command—we had already zeroed in on that divot his left foot hit every time like a machine, and on how his right knee was already caked in dirt from how consistent his landing point was. And Jerry Koosman was scheduled for the second game.
Now, THIS was livin'.
Out of nowhere a cloud came over. Opened up with a deluge I have never experienced before or since. In a mere matter of minutes, 40,000 to 50,000 folks were drenched to the skin. By the time we could get back over to the subway, our clothes must have weighed forty pounds.
*** Have seen many Home Runs, obviously, over the years. But three I saw at Shea stand out:
1) At Shea, thereis was a very deep gap between the outfield wall at the 376 ft. mark, and the outer wall past the bullpens and picnic area. Behind the outer wall, there's a parking lot with massive light poles in it, with the first pole being roughly thirty to forty feet behind the outer wall.
In 1976, I saw Dave Kingman—one of the game's best home run hitters, and one of its worst people—hit one against the Dodgers that went over the outfield wall, over the bullpen, soaring over the back wall and bouncing off of the first light pole in the parking lot. Arguably (the best word in baseball), the longest home run hit at Shea. If not THE longest, definitely the longest I ever saw. Of course, as you would expect, Davey Lopes also hit one out, albeit much shorter, for LA and the Mets lost.
2) With all the games I'd sat through at Shea over the years, I'd never seen either a brawl or a grand-slam home run. I had seen each on TV, certainly, but neither one in person. In 1986, the Mets happily took care of that for me, against the Dodgers. On two pitches.
We were sitting in the upper deck behind home plate, chatting/ribbing the folks seated in front of us who were from LA. Late in a close game, notoriously cranky Dodger reliever Tom Niedenfuer loaded the bases, and was visibly upset. Up came an aging George Foster, the first of many Met mega-contracts that never panned out, but who was, in this, his last year, still dangerous on occasion. Like this occasion. Second pitch, straight into the Dodgers bullpen in left field for a grand salami, scoring four, putting the Mets ahead and blowing Neidenfuer's save opportunity.
Of course, as gracious hosts, we consoled our new LA friends sitting with us in typical NY fashion. I looked out at Niedenfuer on the mound, and even at that distance I could clearly see the steam coming out of his ears. He hadn't yet moved since the pitch to Foster left his hand. He stood frozen, fuming. This did not bode well. Someone was gonna pay. But, not being a bright child, Niedenfuer couldn't control his fury long enough to get past a few more batters before retaliating. Neidenfuer's next pitch landed with a thud heard in the upper deck, squarely between the "2s" of the "22" on the back of former Gold Glove boxer, and general 1986 Mets bad-ass, Ray Knight. DOWN went the bat; DOWN went the helmet; Knight flew out to the mound, fist cocked. Niedenfuer put his spike up to deter Knight, which only enraged him further. He grabbed Niedenfuer's leg with his right arm, pummeling the once-furious pitcher with his left fist, piston-like, as they both tumbled to the ground. Knight got 5 or 6 good punches in before they landed and continued once prone. Needless to say, the players jumped in, the benches emptied, both bullpens came flying in from the outfield—it seemed as if the teams' Triple-A affiliates in Tidewater and Alberquerque were flying in for for a piece of this one. No tea was served; no simple milling about. Fists were flying all about before order was finally restored, with the key participants banished for the night.
What fun!
3) My favorite Shea moment of all—
Darryl Strawberry just simply hit home runs differently than other people. I've seen many balls jet over the wall like a laser; fly over with grandeur; just edge past someone's straining glove; get crushed into the parking lot, like Kingman's above. But none were like Darryl's. Darryl's were parabolas. They seemed to go as far up, as they did out.
One night in 1989, against the Braves, I was sitting down the first base line in the field seats, towards the outfield. Good seats. On an angle, pointed toward third base. Late in the game, Darryl came up and hit a pitch. That's all; he hit a pitch to right field. That's all that actually happened.
But once the ball left the plane of the infield, something magical happened. Time stopped. The crowd went silent. Seconds became hours. I saw the most beautiful sight I have ever been lucky enough to witness in my lifetime: a gleaming bright white baseball hanging motionless, high against a coal-black night sky. We gaped, fixated, breathlessly, as if watching a distant but crystal clear moon traverse the heavens from some rural hill. Slowly. In tiny increments. This was the longest fly ball I have EVER experienced. Not in distance; but in time. I never saw it move; I was just aware that it was in a different place overhead than it was a long moment ago. Taking forever. Thankfully, since no one there wanted it to end. Ever. It just ticked slowly across the night sky. Taking its own sweet time, actually.
It landed, finally, eventually, in the back of the bullpen in right. The crowd, still silent, took a few long moments to adjust, to come back to the here. After three to five stunned seconds after it landed, with Darryl already on his way to third, the place erupted, producing a roar that shook the very belly of that beloved old concrete shell.
Wow. Clearly, a "Did you see that!!!???" moment.
*** In May of 1986, I was working a high-stress job. Was great at it. But I was fried. Needed a vacation, but as a single guy, where was I going to go? Solution: The Mets came off the road to play a 10-game home stand leading up to Memorial Day. Perfect. Went to the ticket window, bought a handful of single-seat cancellations for the games, then went every day. Since they were cancellations, the ticket guy could give me different seats for each game. I was all over: one day in the press box, one day behind the Mets dugout; one day three rows in from third base, etc. So, every day, I saw a great game, got some sun, met a whole lot of really great people in all those different areas, and had a ball! One of the best vacations I've ever been on.
Went back to work exhausted. Perfect.
NOTE: Trust me: those day games after a night game are, in fact, killers!
*** During that multiple seat home stand, I witnessed one of the most awful things I've ever seen: I was seated in the second section behind third base, when a fly ball headed for the right field gap. Reserve Mets outfielder Danny Heap, 28 years old, in center, and Stanley Jefferson, a highly touted 23-yr.-old call-up from Triple-A in right, both took off after it, fully focused on the ball. Everyone's worst nightmare: CRAAAAAAACK!! They collided at full speed. Neither saw the other coming. The sound of their hitting was as clear to hear in the far, opposite side of the field where I was, as it was right next to them. They lay motionless for many long minutes. Eventually, they got up, and could get off the field. Heep went on to remain a valuable role player for the Mets that year, but Jefferson was basically shot for the year. Shame. He was one of their top prospects, a 1st-Round pick in the 1983 Draft, and had a lot of promise.
*** Gotham's scariest moment:
Opening Day is THE high holy day of Gotham's World. The grass is never greener; the uniforms never more colorful; the day never more hopeful.
In 1985, friend Ron and I got tickets last-minute, and had seats up in the upper deck, ten rows from the back wall, out by the foul pole. As far away from home plate as you can get, and still be able to say you're in Shea Stadium. Or even in New York State, for that matter. WAAAAAAAAAY up there. But, hey, it's opening day! We get there early, around 11:30 am for a 1:00 pm game, because—well, it's opening day!
By 11:45 am, a dozen off-duty cops from somewhere on Long Island come up the stairs and commandeer the row directly behind us. At 11:45 am, these cops were as stinking drunk as Gotham would work diligently to become by, say, maybe 2 or 3 in the morning BEFORE GOING HOME! But these happy lads decided to go right to opening day. Yippee.
Of the twelve, the single-drunkest (of course!) sat directly behind me on the aisle. As the game began, this poor child kept yelling that I was an asshole. Considering that sometimes I am, I turned to ask politely if they'd keep the screaming down to a roar, since I was trying to watch the game. His partner next to him apologized, then muttered obscenities at me once I turned back to the game. The child behind me also spent the first four innings of the game, hanging close to passing out in a stupor as only a truly fractured individual can do, that glaze, holding his beer cup so that the edge of the liquid hung precariously at the lip of the cup, hovering directly over my back and right shoulder. In the fourth inning, these two got up, and went off in search of one of the famous Shea Stadium rice-paddy bathrooms. Eventually, as luck would have it, they returned, helping each other stagger up the steep steps. They settle in and I hear the partner lean over to the gnome behind me and hiss: "If you...EVER!! If you EVER...pull that gun on me again, I'M GONNA SHOVE IT UP YOUR FUCKING ASS!!! DO YOU HEAR ME!!!???"
On that note, friend Ron and I collected our belongings and wandered to the other end of the stadium to protect life and limb.
*** Once had the chance to be down in the dugouts and playing field in 1983. There was a charity run held at Shea while the Mets were out of town. It was a cold, miserable rainy day, just like so many other cold, miserable, rainy days I've spent at Shea (no other place can grab and absorb to the marrow cold like that place could, and did). Anyway, they roped off the grass, but we had the warning track all around the field. Running is not big in Gotham's World, so I would stop to take advantage of being here or there in the place, as best I could. The dugouts alone set off two dozen baseball fantasies. But standing with my back to the 410 FT. sign on the centerfield wall and looking back in at the grandstand was stunning. My thought: "Whoa. That's a looooonnnng way back in there. Jesus!!!! You mean, those bastards can hit that shit WAY OUT HERE????? DAMN!!!!" Gave me new respect for them all. Yeah, if I could hit it over my head, standing at that spot at the wall, then, hell yeah, I'd want a million dollars, too!
*** One of the times I saw my father the maddest. Early Sixties, I talked my Dad into going to Banner Day at Shea, a truly unique Mets experience. Of course, I was not about to tell him that Banner festivities were held between games of a double-header, and no true American could ever leave a game before the final out. Nor would it have been wise to inform him that the Banner Parade would last for close to two hours all by itself. My Dad's had happier Sundays. But I was a pig in mud.
*** Gosh, I wonder...which was better?
Watching Pat Zachary get lit up in the '70s then having a snit, or Doc Gooden mowing people down in 1984 and smiling?
A couple guys I enjoyed during the '70s, Craig Swan, John Sterns, closer Skip Lockwood (who the Mets could sorely use right about now), the People's Hot Dog Willie Montanez, Doug Flynn and Willie Taveras, and Lenny Randle. But mostly, GEORGE "STORK" THEODORE. The 1970's answer to Marvelous Marv Thronberry. Couldn't play a lick, but damn, we loved both of those lugs.
*** I was there the day Joe Torre set the major league record for hitting into four double plays in one game, because that bastard Felix Millan went a perfect 4-for-4 in the spot right in front of him. So, it was all Millan's fault! This may be the quintissential Mets story of all time. As Bob Murphy said about baseball one night, "Just when you think you've seen everything, you see something you never saw before!"
*** On Monday, July 2, 1984, again I was sitting in the field level, down the first base side toward the outfield. From there, you got a pretty good cross-view of home and first. The pitch looked like it was going from right to left. Doc Gooden pitching against the Houston Astros. The ManChild was being just simply stupid good. That night, I saw something I had never seen before: The ball would leave Gooden's hand, and fly across to Ron Hodges' mitt. As you'd expect. And at a great rate of speed. Again, as you'd expect. What was different was that I'd watch the ball leave Gooden's hand, heading to the plate. But, about two-thirds of the way there, I'd see a burst, and the ball would nearly double in speed. At the 2/3 mark. When you only have 1+ seconds to figure out what you're seeing in the first place. Yeeee gods!! How the hell was a human being supposed to hit THAT! My favorite was the reaction of Terry Puhl, the Houston right fielder, who was an excellent hitter, and was always considered dangerous in clutch situations. Excellent or no, he struck out three times that night.
The first time, he just flailed at it. With no hope of making contact. The second time up, he'd pull his head away in disgust, awe and dismay after the last couple of pitches. The third time up, it took a long time for him to get to the batter's box. Then, he stood stock still while three of those exploding missiles whizzed by him. He turned, and walked slowly back to the dugout, a despondent, beaten man. I still remember watching him hanging and shaking his head as he walked back after being humiliated the third time.
*** The night the Mets clinched the NL East crown in 1988. Sitting in the upper deck above first base, again we got there about an hour and a half early. The Celebration had already begun. The entire concrete bowl was rockin' wildly. The electricity was astonishing. The current ran through every living creature in the building! Ron Darling started that game for the Mets, and I don't think there was any question that the Mets would win this game, and the Division, the League, the Series! Well, the Division, anyway...
These are just a few of my memories. Each of the millions of fans, flakes and bemused who wandered through the joint have their own.
Shea will be missed. The Wilpons have damaged the team enough, already. Sub-Prime Field will be a beautiful place to see a ballgame if you can get a new mortgage in this environment. We can only hope against hope now, that the Mets also drop the ugly black unis, along with the Wilpon Wedding White unis, and returns full-time to the Mets real home uniforms: blue caps with blue pinstripes. Always. That's the uniform. Anything else is disrespect to the brand the fans attach to.
The closing ceremonies were classy and well done. I do admit to losing it at human moments during the ceremonies: hearing the cheers for Gooden; watching Keith Hernandez jump back into the batter's box; everyone touching home plate; seeing all the winners, the losers, the survivors; hearing Fanfare for the Common Man for, as opposed to the Temple in the Bronx, Shea has always been for the common guy. Until the suits rolled in for a World Series or All-Star Game, and force the tickets up. But, for 162 games a year, it's been the People's Ballpark. Yeah, it's been a helluva 45-yr. run for the old joint.
Goodbye, Shea.
Goodnight, my friend.Labels: Mets, New York City, Shea
posted by Gotham 12:11 PM
Saturday, September 27, 2008
War Hero, My Ass...
0 comments
posted by Gotham 7:14 PM
The 700B Club
Naomi Klein explains it all for you.0 comments
The Crooks and Liars interview with John Amato.
posted by Gotham 7:05 PM
Free Sarah!
Let Palin Speak!0 comments
Those evil Republicans!
Sarah Palin's place was on TV, saying that her boss had won. Instead...the McCain campaign sent Rudy Giuliani instead. It's almost as if they don't trust Palin in front of cameras...
Not fair.
posted by Gotham 6:48 PM
Atrios nails the basic essence of the financial crisis, as you would expect.0 comments
posted by Gotham 6:42 PM
McCain: Nasty Old Fart...
...Who wants to take all your money, and then blow everything up!0 comments
That about gets it, as I understand such things.
posted by Gotham 6:38 PM
Vote McCain/Palin!!
Country First Leadership!0 comments
And what it's done to this country:Shelton Head, a 60-year-old resident of Glendale, Ariz., pulled into a Phoenix strip mall Friday destined for a coin shop with a blue velvet box full of 1942, 1943 and 1945 silver dollars.
Unemployed, he said he has tried several times in recent months to get a loan but was rejected every time for not having sufficient income. Now he needed money for gas and groceries.
He left the coin shop 15 minutes later with $65.
These people make you just wanna cry.
posted by Gotham 6:20 PM
No. Republican. Left. Standing.
Remember, Republicans did this...0 comments
Town shows economic woes weighing on election
posted by Gotham 6:11 PM
Gee, I'm Shocked!
WaPo:0 comments
Leaders Who Met With Palin Praise Biden
Who can blame them?
posted by Gotham 5:51 PM
Katie Couric's Follow Up Question For Next Time
Sarah Palin's Russia Problem0 comments
We've all now seen Sarah Palin's disastrous interview on CBS with Katie Couric the other night, what with her Who imitation, singing, "I Can See For Miles," and setting diplomacy on its ear by talking about Vladimir Putin "rears his head," etc.
But the worst part—for all of us—was the awful section when Couric revisited Palin's "I can see Russia from my house!" dopiness, and did the governor a great favor of giving the governor a chance to redeem herself. To no avail, it seems. Couric asked a perfectly reasonable question, and for her pains, received an horrifically stupid answer:COURIC: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?
PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.
Well, actually, the answer to Couric's question is "YES." And, since Couric has said she's going to be following Palin on the stump for the next week or two, allow ol' Gotham Notes to offer a thread to use in those follow up interviews.
The problem here is that while Palin has, in fact, been involved with international talks, she's screwed that up, too—so no one in the John McCain firmament wants anyone to talk about it.
In fact, since the thaw between the Russia/U.S. governments over the last twenty years, the Alaska governor has been a major player in international forums covering energy, pollution and business dealings between Alaska and the Far East, including Russia, and other Arctic countries.
A major international group, The Northern Forum, even has its Secretariat in Anchorage, which is right next to Palin's Wasilla home.
But, as Hal Bernton in the Seattle Times has reported, she's screwed THAT up, too.Yet under Palin, the state government—without consultation—reduced its annual financial support to the Northern Forum to $15,000 from $75,000, according to Priscilla Wohl, the group's executive director. That forced the forum's Anchorage office to go without pay for two months.
Palin—unlike the previous administrations of Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) and Gov. Tony Knowles (D)—also stopped sending representatives to Northern Forum's annual meetings, including one last year for regional governors held in the heart of Russia's oil territory.
"It was an opportunity for the Alaska governor to take a delegation of business leaders to the largest oil-producing region in Russia, and she would have been shaking hands with major leaders in Russia," Wohl said.
I see stupid people.
posted by Gotham 5:08 PM
Don't Blame This On Gothamites!
Yes.0 comments
Power Shifts From N.Y. to D.C.
For those of you outside of the city, here's how it really works:In fact, while New York City has for years enjoyed the fruits of Wall Street's decade of dizzying success—an estimated 10 percent of all tax revenue comes from the Street—the high-flying traders and financiers are far from loved in this city. For many, who didn't share in the spoils, there is a certain sense of schadenfreude—enjoying the new misery of the formerly wealthy.
"I do have a vengeful streak in me," said Rachelle Pachtman, a public relations consultant who lives in an Upper West Side building heavily populated by some of the rich and privileged financial titans.
"I know that there's going to be a glut of apartments that are going to be dumped in the multimillion-dollar range," Pachtman said. "They pay a lot for their mortgages. They've all got their children in private schools. They all have a lifestyle. How are they going to keep this up?
"It's going to take their breath away, because they're going to have to deal with the reality that all the rest of us do," she added. "I think there's going to be a lot of people on the therapist's couch—a very typical New York thing. People are going to start drinking a lot."
Douglas Muzzio, a professor of political science at the City University of New York's Baruch College, agreed that the fall from grace is likely to be hard for the formerly well-heeled.
"This mythology of the swashbuckling capitalist entrepreneur and trader, that may be damaged," he said. "They screwed up. And they're asking us to pay for their mistakes."
Screw 'em. They've screwed up this city horribly.
posted by Gotham 3:56 PM
McCain Pulls Another 'Palin'
You can take the boy out of the Navy, but you can't take the drunken sailor out of the boy.0 comments
John McCain's moment-to-moment presidential campaign continues to careen out of control.
We've all heard about "the chaos" from last Thursday, as McShame saw his cratering poll numbers, realized he was in deep shit, "suspendered" his campaign and swooped into D.C. to try to grab a bit of Bail-Out Pixie Dust.
What wasn't clear from all the reporting was exactly what went down, just who all the players were, and who did what when on that day and exactly what happened in that White House cabinet room meeting. The only thing that was clear was that somehow deep poop had become a bottomless pit o' woe.
FINALLY, Jonathan Weisman provides the program, rosters and play-by-play we've needed in today's WaPo:
How McCain Stirred a Simmering Pot
So, again we see McShame pandering to the bat-shit crazies of the GOP right, and deciding to align with the House Republicans who are enlightened enough to come up with the bright idea to have the banks who are about to go under pay big bucks into an FDIC-type fund, from which they could then take out loans to cover their bad debts.
Yes, you're right! How smart of you! You caught that, didn't you?
The banks would, in fact, be taking loans out on the exact funds they just put in.
Ow, you're right again!
Yes, why wouldn't the banks just hang on to the cash instead of taking what they have precious little of at the moment, give it to D.C., then ask for it back.
Another example of the GOP purists who'd be perfectly happy to sit atop the smoldering dung heap with Sarah Palin as their leader.
OK, so once he hits D.C. McShame hears what the GOP fringe leadership wants. McShame then wastes no time in picking that boneheaded side in order to pander to those stormtroops on the ground in the GOP wacky base. He obviously believes these folks are his only ticket to Pennsylvania Avenue.
McShame then bursts into a lunch meeting of his fellow Senate Republicans ("my friends") who are being briefed by their leadership on the deal that seems to have just been reached among Senate and House Dems, the White House and the Senate GOP.
His heartfelt salute to those men and women he's worked closely with for 26 years?"You all put me on the hook for $700 billion," he told his colleagues, according to an aide familiar with the lunch.
Hey, Country First at all times with Nasty John.
If he doesn't give a crap about his co-workers in the Senate, how exactly is he going to care about you or me? Just asking...
Read the whole article.
posted by Gotham 3:10 PM
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Gotham's Senator
This great city is lucky, indeed.0 comments
As John McCain limps around the country, Bob Dole-ing, it's clear the Democrats are smart, savvy and committed to enhancing life for people outside of a GOP country club.
What a refreshing concept!
Looks like Hillary may yet take up the mantle of Ted Kennedy as a legislative force.
posted by Gotham 3:17 AM
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Phil Gramm Took Your House
Phil Gramm's fingerprints are all over market mess1 comments
Yup.
posted by Gotham 2:10 AM
What Are They Hiding About Palin?
Sarah Palin is now Guilty, until proven Innocent in Trooper-gate!0 comments
The national GOP and John McCain's campaign took a simple, messy domestic dust-up involving Sarah Palin and her overreaching on a personal matter as governor, and have turned it into the Keating 5 Scandal on a national stage.
The Alaska GOP wanted Sarah's scalp as pay-back for her alleged corruption busting in the state. So her own party there was out to get her. But this was looking to be a minor wrist slap. Even Palin was fine with all this, and said she'd cooperate, most likely to help spin how it all went down.
But then in come the flying monkeys from the McCain campaign, and their attempts to shut down the entire investigation have turned it all into Watergate.
Troopergate probe appears to be unraveling
But the GOP's handling of this carpet tack with a sledgehammer proves one very important point that impacts the Election Race (besides the fact that they're incredibly stupid):
Sarah Palin—for whatever she did—IS A CRIMINAL, and is hiding something REALLY TERRIBLE that precludes her from being Vice President, and John McCain from being President, we can only assume.
An other thing proven by the GOP lawyers' actions:
No Republican has any respect for the Law. Again, here we see a dozen people acting just like George W. Bush appointees, who happily wipe their feet on subpoenas. Sorry, but here at Gotham Notes, we were taught that a subpoena was big medicine and receiving one meant, "Oooooh, you're screwed, now!"
So, we see clearly that:
Sarah Palin, is...JUST LIKE DICK CHENEY!
No. Republican. Left. Standing.
posted by Gotham 1:03 AM
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Palin: Simply The Pick For The Lock
YES, they are trying to steal your election. These are every bit American traitors, and should be hung for treason.0 comments
Mark Crispin Miller: Why They Chose Sarah Palin
posted by Gotham 7:44 PM
Hey Sarah, Cindy!
It's The Economy, Stupid!
0 comments
Lord. This is rich (you'll excuse the pun).
Rupert Murdoch is dumping on Sarah Palin.
SARAH PALIN HAS SECRET STYLE TEAM: New York Post
My. $2,500 for a Valentino top for her Convention speech. But, I'm certain she has a "good Republican cloth coat" hanging right next to it in the closet.
But she might just as well have worn that cloth coat compared to the little frock Cindy McCain wore. Her Convention outfit cost $300,000! Jewels included.
She must be a Nancy Reagan fan.
Or maybe, she just wanted to point out clearly: She's rich; and you're not.
posted by Gotham 7:11 PM
Rape In Wasilla
0 comments
Writing the last post got me to thinking.
Wasilla, AK under Mayor Sarah Palin started charging rape victims in 2000 for their rape evidence kits. It was stated that these kits cost between $300 to $1,200 apiece.
OK, we all know already that, as part of the Karl Rove farm team, Palin took office and immediately fired all the professionals working in the Wasilla City Hall, and replaced them with close friends, school chums, etc., creating a team that would protect her at all costs. She repeated this approach upon becoming Governor.
Just like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney did with all the federal agencies in Washington, D.C.
So, new Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon, the bright-light lawman that Palin installed after firing all the professionals within Wasilla government offices, and the man who instituted the kit charge for Mayor Palin, rebutted the State of Alaska's passage of laws to prohibit them from this foul attack on women bysaying the law will require the city and communities to come up with more funds to cover the costs of the forensic exams.
How much extra cash could that BE? you ask.According to Fannon, the new law will cost the Wasilla Police Department approximately $5,000 to $14,000 a year to collect evidence for sexual assault cases.
Ultimately it is the criminal who should bear the burden of the added costs, Fannon said.
Yes, an amazing two-fer from Charlie Fannon. Women are criminals. And... $5,000 to $14,000 a year IN RAPE KITS??
HOW MUCH DAMNED RAPE DO THEY HAVE IN WASILLA, AK?
OK, let's do the math. Let's assume the $300 kit is for straightforward medical procedures and the $1,200 kit is for more complex medical issues.
Low end: $5,000 extra cost / $300 ea. = 17 rapes.
High end: $14,000 extra cost / $1,200 ea. = 12 rapes.
So, in 2000, the police chief of a town of then only 5,469 people had between one and two dozen REPORTED AND FILED rapes on his docket. So, Chief Fannon, how many of these rape charges ended in arrest, prosecution and conviction?
And if Wasilla is anywhere close to the national average estimate of only 16% of rapes are even reported, what must the actual Wasilla rape numbers be?
Also Chief Fannon, if the population of Wasilla in 2008 stands at 7,025 residents, how much of that 1,556 person increase comes from the forced births of rape victims?
An interested America wants to know.
Now, THIS is the leadership that America needs.
posted by Gotham 5:36 PM
Inside Soviet McCain
"Carly will now disappear."0 comments
From CNN:[A] campaign source said [Carly] Fiorina would be discouraged from additional media interviews.
Another top campaign adviser was far less diplomatic.
"Carly will now disappear," this source said. "Senator McCain was furious." Asked to define "disappear," this source said, adding that she would be off TV for a while – but remain at the Republican National Committee and keep her role as head of the party’s joint fundraising committee with the McCain campaign.
Now, shut up and go get us some money!
The Curved Talk Express rolls on.
This simply points up, once again, John McCain's "Woman problem."
Carly just being Carly reminds everyone of the time she actually stood up for women.Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief who is now the Republican National Committee's "Victory Chairman," was discussing consumer-driven health insurance at a breakfast with reporters when she proposed "a real, live example which I've been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice." For effect, the woman frequently mentioned as a possible McCain running mate repeated: "Those women would like a choice."
Silence filled the meeting room at the St. Regis Hotel. "I don't know where I go after that," said the moderator, Dave Cook of the Christian Science Monitor.
Which, of course, prompted this reaction from John McCain:
Which, of course, brought immediately to mind Mayor Sarah Palin's famous edict to have the brutalized rape victims of Wasilla, AK, pay for their own rape evidence kits, which run between $300 to $1,200 apiece. It has been rumored that this was due to the post-rape Plan-B contraception included in the kits, which would put it squarely on morality grounds, not even fiscal conservation grounds.
This brutality to women was duly noted in the Alaska press at the time, in 2000.
Which, of course, leads us back to McCain's brutality towards women. How soon we forget that he tapped Sarah Palin as VP nominee just to spite the Republican leadership who wouldn't sign off on his picking his buddy-film pal, Joe Lieberman; his oft-repeated gorilla rape jokes; his calling his current wife a cunt; his laughing response, "That's an excellent question!" to a fan's "How do we beat the bitch (Clinton)?" question; and his chasing of his current millionaire wife while still living under the same roof with his then-wife and four kids, who had all waited patiently for years for him to come home from a Vietnamese POW camp.
Oh, and by the way, he has never said anything other than that he approves the total repeal of Roe v. Wade, and has voted unerringly in the Senate to destroy it. He would happily legislate "when life begins," and throw the women of America into the Gulags.
So, in this era of information overload: Thank you, Carly Fiorina, for reminding us of the ongoing relationship between John McCain and women.
If all men have "issues" with women, John McCain once again clearly takes the role of leader.
FREE CARLY!
posted by Gotham 4:02 PM
Sarah Who?
Americans have woken up and realized:0 comments
John McCain is a REPUBLICAN!!! "EEEEUUUUUUWWWWW! I forgot!"
Dan Balz: McCain's Fundamentals Problem in The WaPo.
posted by Gotham 3:55 PM
Rhodes On Palin
0 comments
Randi Rhodes, now of Nova Radio on Sarah Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson:She was the neighborhood Alpha-Female at the kid’s birthday party. Women know that woman. She’s the "expert" on everything from politics to lawn care. The mom who commands the gathering of adults while her children are off bullying the other kids. She’s the woman who tells you when it’s time to paint your house, pull up your tulips, bring in your garbage cans, keeps her dogs in cages, takes over the condo meetings, thinks egging houses on Halloween is a “right of passage”, knows her kids drink and party and is friends with the teenage boys. Hers is the house where you have to tell your teens “NO” to sleepovers.
She was the mayor of a troubled small town stuck 8 miles from nowhere, and a Governor with an Agenda that benefits her and her State alone. Sarah is a one trick pony and the trick isn’t even a new one. Palin’s game is to Fool some of the people ALL of the time and it shows.
Uhhhh, yeah, that's about it.
posted by Gotham 2:58 PM
EXTRA:
John McCain Reads The Newpaper!
The man who helped create this mess by deregulating everything in sight, while spending six years as Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, is now on the case!0 comments
"You mean...you mean, there's GREED ON WALL STREET??!!! Well, I never..."
Seems John slept through that 3 A.M. phone call.Labels: McCain greed Wall St.
posted by Gotham 2:47 PM
John McCain: Serial Liar
"Gee, Who Knew?"
Ruth Marcus in The WaPo.0 comments
The ugly little role of the press in holding John McCain's coat, while he cooks them BBQ and pours crankcase oil all over Barack Obama, is becoming clearer to all of them now.
They're embarrassedly wiping the corners of their mouths, and are starting to say their "Thanks for a great time," to Cindy McCain, mumble something about, "Umm, nice house, uhhh, I have to go now..." as they wander back to their desks in shock trying to explain away the shambles they've made of the electoral process.
At least one entire generation of reporters, if not two, has appeared since the tightly organized Radical Right succeeded in getting the entire Fourth Estate to capitulate to their demands that they never be held accountable for any of their evil actions because "everyone knows THEY do it, too!" For a couple of decades, the Right insisted that to NOT make every story a He said/He said shows you're biased, open for attack and nothing you write is to be believed.
Snip, snip, snip. Balls hitting the floor like the old, compressed Super Ball fad. Boing! Boing!
Now, the older among them are coming back from the BBQ, crawling around under their desks and wondering, "Anybody seen my balls? Anybody? Did the cleaning lady take them?"
While the whole puppy class of Jim Vanden Hai's, Chuck Todds, Jim Carneys and the rest, begin to struggle with the notion: "You mean...we're supposed to HAVE BALLS? They never covered THAT in school!"
posted by Gotham 1:58 PM
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
What A Way To Hurt A Guy...
0 comments
Gotham was in Maryland during the 1968 campaign, and I can say with all assurance that Maryland went to Richard M. Nixon simply to get Spiro Agnew the hell out of the governor's mansion.
The people who knew him best hated him. They knew how corrupt he was.
It's the same here in our beloved Gotham City. NYers would happily spit on Rudy Giuliani if he were to step within spitting distance of any NYer who was here during his reign of terror.
So it can most likely be accepted that the people of Phoenix should be listened to about John McCain.
posted by Gotham 12:54 AM
Monday, September 15, 2008
No Governor Left Behind...
I missed the Charlie/Palin set-to from the other night, but just noticed this tidbit, which shows a major reason why Sarah Palin is so very dangerous to every American man, woman and child.0 comments
Charles Gibson asks:
GIBSON: Let me ask you about some specific national security situations.
PALIN: Sure.
GIBSON: Let's start, because we are near Russia, let's start with Russia and Georgia.
The administration has said we've got to maintain the territorial integrity of Georgia. Do you believe the United States should try to restore Georgian sovereignty over South Ossetia and Abkhazia?
PALIN: First off, we're going to continue good relations with Saakashvili there. I was able to speak with him the other day and giving him my commitment, as John McCain's running mate, that we will be committed to Georgia. And we've got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable and we have to keep...[GN emphasis]
GIBSON: You believe unprovoked.
PALIN: I do believe unprovoked and we have got to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership there. I think it was unfortunate. That manifestation that we saw with that invasion of Georgia, shows us some steps backwards that Russia has recently taken away from the race toward a more democratic nation with democratic ideals. That's why we have to keep an eye on Russia.
No, it's very clear now.
She hasn't been paying attention to world affairs from her northern outpost.
Not a bad thing, necessarily. I mean, neither have most mayors of small towns around the country, or even most governors of those other forty-nine states.
But, then, neither am I running for Pope because I was an altar boy.
Her foreign policy experience-esqe resume comes from her job (as with any and all governors) as titular head of her state's National Guard unit (reportedly smaller than the population of Wasilla, AK, of which she was mayor.).
Now, after intense prepping at the hands of some of the most villainous Dick Cheney-era Neo-Cons encamped in Washington, D.C., she's dutifully spewing threats to the very country that George W. Bush and this cabal of neo-cons have alternatingly emboldened and pampered, then ignored, for eight long years.
They also have her lying in plain sight, spouting that Down is Up—a key neo-con tenet. Charlie was on it: "unprovoked?"
Georgia paid John McCain's staff members $800,000 to lobby for Georgia support in the White House and in Congress, specifically in McCain's office. They did; McCain has been a staunch ally of Georgia ever since the cash started coming in. Dick Cheney's office has been a powerful force behind throwing full U.S. support behind Georgia's actions.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia are on the border between the two countries, Georgian by agreement, heavily Russian by population. Georgia dearly wanted to fully cede the two areas, but was afraid to do so without help. Smart thinking. Enter $800,000 passing through John McCain's foreign policy adviser's office. Re-enter John McCain's full-throated cry for Georgian sovereignty.
Just as we had Saddam Hussein looking to Daddy George Bush for the U.S.'s OK to roll into Kuwait in order to solve a long-standing territorial dispute between Iraq and Kuwait, so Saakashvili looked to the U.S. for the go-ahead and the backing to roll into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, since the Russian response loomed a bit larger than Kuwait's, and made Georgia understandably nervous.
Through many Cheney office/Neo-con/Cold Warrior channels, we said, in effect, swell, go ahead.
Off Georgia went, rolling into South Ossetia and Abkhazia. As they assumed, the Russian response was swift and mighty.
STOMP.
So, we see that Palin's ignorance of facts and events, whether diplomatic, territorial, political, power-dealing or day-of-the-week leave her as unable to hold high office as it does the vast majority of us, who are simply used to dealing on our small local level—no matter how grand our political fantasies are—and may well prove to get us all blown to kingdom come.
"Our Sarah" is simply parroting swill she's been force-fed by the best Bush-era neo-cons available.
That makes her eminently dangerous for your family and for mine.
As for Georgia and John McCain?
Just what did Georgia get for their $800,000? John McCain screaming "Foul!" very loudly for about a week and a half, but not doing much more than that. The Cheney forces sending over a butt-load of cash, weapons and good will just this past week.
And a lousy t-shirt.
All of this dust-up proves clearly, once again, that McCain is as corruptible as the day is long. It also proves to the heads of every corner of the world that he is buyable, but will not follow through on his agreements when you DO buy him. That makes him VERRRRY dangerous in a dangerous world. Thieves have a firm, and very real code of ethics—they may not be our ethics, but that code keeps the criminal world from total self-imposed chaos. It holds firm whether among the world's highest-level shadow government financiers or the scummiest drug dealers sitting outside your kids' schoolyard.
McCain has broken his word within that criminal world. So no other country will EVER trust him on any matter again. No matter WHAT price they're willing to pay.
So, the message is out on the World's street, as it is among those in America not on the loony right fringe: John will happily take your money, but you'll never get what you pay for.
CAVEAT EMPTOR!
posted by Gotham 2:34 PM
STOP THE PRESSES!
Friedman Makes Sense!
Almost as much as anything in this 2008 campaign, the concept of Tom Friedman making clear, rational sense in The New York Times may be the wackiest.0 comments
Tom's quote from the fourth graph sums up his enlightenment, I guess.“If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got.”
Welcome to the Twentieth Century, Tom! We won't expect you to stay, but it's nice that you've dropped by.
posted by Gotham 1:41 PM
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Just A Thought On Levi
I haven't seen this anywhere else. But I was, in fact, wondering:0 comments
Why isn't anyone talking about statutory rape charges for young Mr. Levi Johnston?
With everything else Republican: It's the Hypocrisy, stupid.
It's so warming to see the Palin family hover over their darling one. Actually, as more accounts arise as people are digging into this American Stranger's life, it looks like this Family Values family is a mess.
But, let's look at Levi if he had not knocked up Someone Important's daughter, and had simply gotten another of the girls in school pregnant.
Or, God forbid, if Levi was black or non-Christian.The issue drew international attention when a Georgia teen was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.Especially with the Most Connected Girl In School.In 2005, Genarlow Wilson was tried for the rape of a 17-year-old girl at a hotel-room party. While he was found not guilty of that charge, he was convicted of aggravated child molestation for the act with the 15-year-old—even though he was less than two years older.
Georgia law, which has since been changed, required a mandatory 10-year sentence on the charge of aggravated child molestation and required Wilson to register as a sex offender when he was released. Under the revised Georgia law, the act now would be a misdemeanor.
Now 21, Wilson was released from prison in October—after serving more than two years—when the state Supreme Court ruled his sentence was "grossly disproportionate to his crime."
"The current laws leave too much to prosecutorial discretion," Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said. "We saw in the Wilson case how prosecutorial discretion can lead to grotesque results."
He said statutory rape prosecutions of teens are more common in Southern states and small towns than they are elsewhere in the country or in big cities.
B. J. Bernstein, Wilson's attorney, argued throughout his case that Wilson was imprisoned for an act that, while perhaps morally questionable, probably is going on among teens everywhere.
"If you prosecuted, even with misdemeanors, all those cases, you'd clog up the justice system with kids having sex," she said. "It's a social issue—and it may be something that parents don't want to happen or wish wouldn't happen at that age—but it shouldn't be a crime."
posted by Gotham 4:07 AM
White House warns: Don't 'exploit' Palin daughter's pregnancy
"We can do it ourselves just fine, thank you!" they assert.0 comments
White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino spoke on perhaps the future First Unwed Teen today.
What she said:
"The president of the United States (George W. Bush) believes that this is a matter that this family has chosen to work through together," and "believes that this is a private family matter."
"The family obviously loves their daughter very much, and that this baby, when it is born, will have the full love and support of a very loving family," Perino said one day after word came that Bristol, 17, was five months pregnant and would marry the father.
"Whether or not this is an issue in the campaign is actually more up to the media," she added. "The media is the one that's going to have to decide whether or not this is a story that they want to follow and that they want to exploit."
What she meant:
"Oh, Crap! Oh, no! We're fucked. We're really all just fucked."
posted by Gotham 1:35 AM
The Return of the GOP Poster Boy
Tom DeLay's back, the GOP's got him, and the money in your pocket is nervous.1 comments
A true Crook among Crooks.
A man that even a devastated Justice Department under Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales HAD to go after, and investigate. Because he just stunk the room up so badly. Even the GOPers couldn't hide the stench any longer.
Just in time to remind every voter in America that this is STILL Tom DeLay's Party!
And just in time to remind every voter in America that the Republicans in St. Paul, looking oh, so very earnest, and crying over patriotism and values, have not changed a whit—they're still the Party of Hate, and want to steal every last nickel in your pocket. Because it would make THEIR life easier.
Because it's what they do.
posted by Gotham 1:00 AM
A Shotgun Convention
Levi Johnston to join Palin family at convention1 comments
This is disgusting.
posted by Gotham 12:40 AM
