London in New York

“I AM COUNTESS DRACULA. I COME TO SUCK THE BLOOD & THE LIFE OUT OF YOUR CITY”

THINK DIFFERENT – examine all the political machinations in the media with suspicion. Everything is not always what it seems.

NY Magazine placed the Vampire of the City – Speaker of the New York City Council: Christine Quinn on its cover this week. Ironically enough, Quinn was styled and posed to look like a cast member from one of the multitude of vampire television series that have been all the rage in recent years. She could have been Eddie Munster’s sister. While NY Magazine gave her what amounts to an editorial puff piece, on the cover, while nobody will ever mistake her for Ashley Greene from the Twilight series, Christine Quinn looked very much like the daughter of Count Dracula or CoUNTess Dracula (as noted by the NY Post)  The only thing missing were fangs and bats swirling overhead.

The New York Post followed this week mocking the NY Magazine cover, referring to  ”Chris Quinn’s vamping it up” and then made reference to her as “MAYOR DRACULA”.

QUINN’S BIZARRE ROLL OUT: Identity Politics Trap?

Think about what is going on here. It crystallized for me after the NY Post allusion to her as Mayor Dracula.  While her fangs were not exposed and no bats were flying over head in the cover image, you had to wonder whether Quinn was going after the Twilight or goth vote or whether there was in fact  something else to this.

It is a bizarre roll out for sure. But, Quinn is a master of identity politics. She and her team are not unsophisticated nor were they duped. Team Quinn has been preparing for this moment for several years. Quinn is trying to ‘nationalize’ her campaign and make it a cause celeb much like her lobbyist filled high profile power wedding, as her support locally erodes among the non-elite ordinary citizens of Gotham City. The master of identity politics needs the symbolism of being female and gay to deflect from a career of enabling crony capitalists who have ripped off the city of New York.  So, they have courted national women’s organizations, feminine political leaders and national and regional LGBT leadership including: the Empire State Pride Agenda, Emily’s List et al etc.  to support her candidacy because she is vulnerable in her own local community for compromising the LGBT community, women and turning her back on the very real concerns of middle class citizens.

ANTI-QUINN MOVEMENT IS MAINSTREAM: NOT FRINGE

The anti-Quinn movement is a mainstream political movement that is truly beginning to gain coverage, even if some political pundits attempt to marginalize its significance at this stage. It is not a fringe movement with fringe players. It is being led by Registered Democrats, including those in her own district at the heart of her Quinn’s Chelsea base which supported those who  in 2009 presented a significant challenge to Quinn’s re-election effort.  It includes also voters like artist  Suzannah B. Troy who voted twice for Mayor Mike Bloomberg but who will not vote for Christine Quinn.

Alec Baldwin has stated that Christine Quinn is a very untrustworthy person’ and has ‘blood on her hands’. Gloria Steinem put the breaks on endorsing Quinn. Cynthia Nixon “rejected identity politics” in bypassing Quinn to endorse Bill De Blasio.  Likewise,  a truly diverse array of citizens and demographic groups within the Democratic Party, including Queers Against Christine Quinn,  have joined in a grassroots campaign to Defeat Christine Quinn or to Vote Quinn Out: http://www.votequinnout.com

So what is going on here you ask?

PLANTING SEEDS TO IGNITE A BACKLASH?

QUINN’S NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR: Quinn needs a national profile for her local race.

Anti-Quinn forces are being set up and this includes those in the Democratic Party as well as her potential Republican opponents. The Quinn political machine needs a crisis or an attack on her character to paint it as an assault on women or the LGBT Community to create a nationwide backlash. That will cause  financial contributions pour in from outside NYC from all across this country to support the ‘victim’ who is striving to be the first female Mayor of New York City as well as the first openly gay mayor of New York City. Then her allies in the mainstream media will have their perfect narrative to install the puppet of cronyism.  Ed Koch is proof we have already had a closeted one but that is besides the point. Because of Quinn he is not even dead but had a bridge already named after him (not that anyone will ever call the Queensboro Bridge – the Ed Koch Bridge). The people working for her are straight up political gangsters who know exactly what they are doing. If you need further evidence the NY Times reports: As Election Nears, Release of Quinn Memoir Does, Too. The agenda as outlined by Quinn’s editor:

“Ms. Quinn’s editor has said he expects the book to attract a national audience, with women and gay men a particular focus. . . Becoming the first female and first gay mayor of New York City are considered significant assets of her campaign.”

The Art of War is deception and timing. With Quinn nothing is by accident. Remember always: gangsters, political gangsters is who and what they are.  To charges of cronyism, lack of character and integrity along with an anti-democratic agenda the Quinn campaign will remind voters:

• Christine Quinn is a woman
• Christine Quinn is a Lesbian (Gay)
• Christine Quinn is married to her partner and supports Gay Marriage
• Christine Quinn aspires to be the first openly Gay Female Mayor of New York City

This is the veil which will be used to cloud her corruption and anti-democratic agenda, which apparently should be of little or no concern to New York voters. In answer to her eroding support among your own defrauded constituents Quinn hopes to raise money from people who have not been impacted by her policies, outside her district and outside New York City who have no comprehension of your agenda but they just will identify with your identity in order to put someone with your identity in office.

It appears that New York Magazine and the NY Post got it exactly right – you are the Vampire of NYC. That is your true identity; a fangless social predator.

Furthermore, my suspicion is that Quinn’s handlers are hoping to ignite or attract vitriolic commentary against her; language that goes over the line just enough so that Quinn can pose as a victim of a “Sexist Media Campaign” against women and gays. She can frame all of her opponents as bigots, homophobic or  angry leftist reactionaries who are  hesitant if not afraid of handing over the keys to New York City to the first  openly gay female mayor. This is her way to provide cover for her Crony Capitalist Backdoor deals with societal elites which  are the primary source of her vulnerability with New Yorks democratic voters, including defrauded constituents in her own City Council District 3. Otherwise why else would ‘A Democratic Club in Chelsea Continue its War on Christine Quinn’ but to insure that the corrupt political phony does not become the Mayor of New York City? Quinn is losing appeal locally so she needs a national agenda.

NY Citizens Challenge Forces of Evil: Quinn, Duane & Rudin

CRONY CAPITALISM IS NOT CAPITALISM: It is Anti-Democratic

Consider the case of  Quinn’s sponsor, crony capitalist Bill Rudin who leads the Rudin Real Estate dynasty and is head of an organization called ABNY – Association for a Better New York (for the Rudin’s only?)  who was led to St. Vincent’s slaughter so he could feast on a 160 year old landmark property of a historic medical treatment facility (which was the epicenter of the AIDS Crisis and a place that once treated society’s forgotten and neglected with great humanity)  for pennies on the dollar and turn it into what activist/artist Suzannah B. Troy referred to as the ‘Rudin Family Blood Condos’.

Bill Rudin: Crony Capitalist Predator?

Tom Allon, CEO of Manhattan Media, the now Republican candidate for Mayor, one who you assume might go easy on the Rudin’s and their slimy  crony capitalist insider deals, slammed Christine Quinn for her backroom deal with Bill Rudin that led to the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital and created a significant financial windfall for the Rudin family who just happen to be Quinn’s principal sponsors.

Tom Allon: Quinn & Rudin Screw the Community

Many of my own heroes in life are women. But as proof that I am human and far from perfect, even I was even tempted say she looked like COUNT Dracula (minus the ‘O’).  This is precisely what Quinn and her handlers need and want to fuel her campaign. Truth is that until I began to do my research on Quinn I was ambivalent and actually thought a female Mayor would be a good idea but the Rudin deal for St. Vincent’s was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. You do not have to go too far down the rabbit hole to know that deal stinks and they hope that New Yorkers will just look the other way at this criminal transfer if they simply put up a memorial: St. Vincents/AIDS Memorial Park and place of a few celebrities in Rudin Family Blood Condos

Quinn is deeply corrupt and an enemy of democracy and the democratic process. Don’t ever lose sight of that.  Understand that identity politics and trading on her status as a gay female victim will allow her handlers to raise money for her nationally. Quinn will run a national campaign for a local office.

QUID PRO QUINN = NOT  QUALIFIED TO BE MAYOR OF NYC

New Yorkers will see Quinn’s fangs if they put this bloodsucker and Crony Capitalist enabler in Gracie Mansion for Christine is more personally ambitious than she is a capable or visionary leader. Quinn has no vision or meaningful record of accomplishment in her life, political or otherwise, that would serve as a legitimate credential qualifying her to lead the greatest city in the world.

Ms. Quinn’s tenure as Speaker of the City Council illustrates and perhaps has only confirmed that she does not have the ethics, character, integrity or temperament to be the proverbial leader of New York City.  Quinn has a career profile representing skill in opportunistic political graft, personal greed and pure identity politics. Simply being a gay elitist does not make Quinn a visionary of any kind. NYC needs a real Chief Executive, not a corrupt, unfit and unqualified political hack consumed with her own personal enrichment. Simply put Quid Pro Quinn’s identity politics undermine democracy and help mask, camouflage and provide cover for her her true anti-progressive and anti-democratic agenda.

Should New Yorkers be foolish enough to elevate this con-woman to the Mayoralty, it will take all of about 5 minutes before most New Yorkers wish Mike Bloomberg was serving his fourth term.  Christine Quinn is not Bloomberg’s fourth term but something far worse. While I voted for Bloomberg three times, he has an independent voice and has made many decisions many which I have agreed with and others which I have disagreed with on principle. Christine Quinn on the other hand seems to operate with a moral compass that always points to self interest. Quinn has illustrated a willingness to sell out communities of average folks for an extra plate of macaroni. Lobbyists moved into her Chelsea apartment building. Real Estate families like the Rudin Management clan have bought her for less than a broker’s commission on a Chelsea Micro-Studio apartment. New Yorkers need to examine this woman’s record and insure that this in fact the ‘twilight of this particular elite’. We do not need any New Adventures for the Old Christine [Quinn]

The Anti-Quinn Grassroots Movement

Key Websites: Vote Quinn Out | Facebook: Defeat Christine Quinn | Facebook: Queers Against Christine Quinn | The Campaign to Be Mayor of NYC in 2013 | Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club – Chelsea Democratic Club

Constituent Abandonment: A Democratic Club (Jim Owles Club) Continues its War on Christine Quinn | Capital New York: Actress Cynthia Nixon endorses Bill de Blasio, Criticizes Quinn over Paid Sick Leave | Anybody But Quinn | City & State NY | Citizens Union: Council Politics Taint Discretionary Funding

Quinn Slush Fund Scandal – NY Magazine: Quinn in the Slush | NY Times: NYC Council Speaker Presides Over $4.5 Million Slush Fund | Pauline Park: Christine Quinn the NYC Slush Fund Scandal | Christine Quinn Sold Out: Quinn Slush Fund Lawsuit Update | NY Times: Christine Quinn Uses NYC Council Funds to Reward Allies | Bronx Chatter: Quinn, Seabrook & the Slush Fund Scandal

RUDIN Family Blood Condos – SATANIC LUXURY: Rudin Family Blood Condos |St. Vincent’s Hospital to Close in Manhattan | NY Times: The Decline of St. Vincent’s Hospital | Norman Siegel Calls to Mayor to Open Investigation to City Council Hospital Hearing St. Vincent’s Site |  Tom Allon Slams Quinn For St. Vincent’s Closure | Suzannah B. Troy (NY Artist):NY Post Christine Quinn our Belladonna Porn Queen [Killed] St. Vincent’s Hospital

Repeal of Term Limits – Term Limits & Christine Quinn | Christine Quinn Wants to be Mayor of NYC | WSJ: City Council Speaker Defends Power to Overrule Voters on Term Limits | Boss Quinn Will Do Anything to Win to Become First Gay Mayor: insults constituent in her own district by referring to him as a no-name blogger. | NPR: Christine Quinn Never Supported Term Limits | Facebook -The Day Democracy Died: 3rd Anniversary of Quinn’s Repeal of Term Limits | NY Magazine: How Bill DeBlasio Can Defeat Christine Quinn

Character, Integrity & Temperament – The New Corrupt Adventures of Old Christine | Christine Quinn: Corrupt Democrat of the Week |  The Epoch Times: Challenging Quinn A Risk For NYC Council Members | Why Quinn Must Go | The Voice of the West Village | Politicker: Christine Quinn Storms Out of Living Wage Rally

Twitter: Stop Christine Quinn | Christine Quinn |

**Historical Footnotes**

1. St. Vincent’s Hospital – Epicenter of AIDS Crisis
St. Vincent’s Hospital | AIDS Memorial Park: St. Vincent’s Hospital did not turn its back on the LGBT Community during the AIDS Crisis, quite the opposite in fact. St. Vincent’s was the epicenter of the AIDS Crisis. I am pretty sure that the entity’s compassionate policies exemplified for its care for those that nobody else would care for, destroyed its balance sheet. Yet, the humanity of the institution was not reciprocated by the liberal elites from Boss Quinn to Bette Midler of New York Restoration Project, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Susan Sarandon, Rosie O’Donnell et al etc.  Perhaps they would rather have a luxury condo and toast in restoring the Continental Baths at the Ansonia or Studio 54 than fighting for a Catholic Hospital. You see, it is truly important to put in the Mayor’s Mansion, a woman who enables the corruption of NYC Insiders in backroom deals. Enabling her sponsor: Bill Rudin of the ABNY – Association For A Better New York to build luxury condos over the corpse of a Landmark medical treatment facility is critical, because its not like we have enough of them already in this town. The physicians, nurses and staff were there for the West Village Community during the AIDS Epidemic but the politically corrupt, grandstanding and annoyingly verbose, self serving and pontificating windbag - Tom Duane and his protege Christine Quinn turned their back on St. Vincent’s in its hour of need. History will show that those running St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center made a huge mistake in letting in the vultures: Rudin Management Company, Inc. For years leading up to its 2010 closing, St. Vincent’s was the target of a controversial billion-dollar luxury condo conversion plan by the Rudin real estate dynasty. Quinn’s Sponsor, Crony Capitalist Vulture Bill Rudin long had plans to develop Luxury Condo’s on the landmark site of the 160 year old hospital and chapel. With the assistance of Speaker Quinn, State Senator Tom Duane and a media campaign hatched and waged by societal elites in the shadows of society, the true vampires pulled the strings to enable Quinn’s sponsors: the Rudin clan to shutter a historic humanitarian medical institution and acquire for pennies on the dollar a landmark property of the 160 year old medical treatment facility and leaving the Lower West Side of Manhattan without a trauma hospital.  Maybe someone should ask Bill Rudin who leads the Association For a Better New York whether more luxury condos for celebrities is preferable for a better New York than a critical hospital to treat its citizens in a vulnerable part of Manhattan.

2. QUINN & DUANE – LGBT Elites & Media Campaign Assisted Rudin Family in Acquiring/Stealing St. Vincent’s Hospital

Background: St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center (wiki)

The Vultures Gain Access: St. Vincent’s ‘Let’s in the Vultures’ (Rudin Management Company, Inc): For years leading up to its 2010 closing, St. Vincent’s was the target of a controversial billion-dollar luxury condo conversion plan by the Rudin real estate dynasty. As noted by the following article, the vultures initially promised something quite different then before commencing construction decided that a hospital was impractical. See:  The Villager: St. Vincent’s and Rudin unveil elliptical hospital, condo tower: St. Vincent’s Hospital and the Rudin Organization last week revealed their preliminary plans for a new state-of-the-art hospital building on the west side of Seventh Ave. and for the residential redevelopment on the east side of the present hospital complex.

Orchestrated Media Campaign Leading to Closure: St. Vincent’s Hospital to Close in Manhattan | NY Times: The Decline of St. Vincent’s Hospital

The Plan: DNAinfo.com: Rudin’s St. Vincents Plan Debated at City Planning Hearing | Curbed: Plans Filed For Latest Aspect of St. Vincent’s Redevelopment | Observer: Rudin’s St. Vincent Project Gets Green Light From Planning Commission | CRAINS: Last Minute Deal Saves St. Vinnie’s Redevelopment | SATANIC LUXURY: Rudin Family Blood Condos with an AIDS Memorial Park

The Luxury Condos: 130 West 12th Street

Community Outrage: Coalition For A New Village Hospital | Hospital Now: Coalition Calling for Re-establishment of a Medical Center for Lower West Side of Manhattan | Video: Community Outrage at Rudin Family, Mayor & Quinn | Senator Tom Duane Shamed on St. Vincent’s Hospital Closing | Norman Siegel Calls to Mayor to Open Investigation to City Council Hospital Hearing St. Vincent’s Site |  Tom Allon Slams Quinn For St. Vincent’s Closure | Rudin Family Blood Condos

On The Memorial – NYC AIDS Memorial Park Competition | Queerty: St. Vincent’s Hospital NYC Epicenter of AIDS Crisis to Become [Rudin Built] Luxury Condos | The Villager: Should AIDS Be Part or All of Park Triangle Memorial?

AIDS History (selected): Avert: History of AIDS up to 1986 | AIDS & Politics – 1980 to 1989| PBS: 10 Films that Address the Aids Crisis | Contrarian View: Virus Myth: HIV & AIDS – In 80’s, Fear Spread Faster Than AIDS | The Changing Face of Gay Men’s Sexuality in Response to AIDS

On Toasting the Elite Crony Capitalists: Oh yes,  I am sure we will have a nice little Memorial and a cute fundraiser or cocktail party hosted by the Rudin’s, Quinn and all their elite friends but it will not make up for the elimination of this critical and vital NY institution.

SOCIETAL SAFETY: Will Come From Greater Peace, Understanding & Love

The ‘Methodical Massacre’ at Sandy Hook Elementary School has struck a chord deeply within the American psyche about the state of our nation.  Many Americans, across a wide spectrum or demographic groups, including with those who are far removed from the horrific tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Perhaps, it is because beyond the loss of so many precious young lives in Connecticut, the gruesome details of Adam Lanza’s premeditated attack on school children and teachers illustrates how still vulnerable still are many Americans to random acts of violence by our fellow citizens; citizens in many cases who operate in the shadows of American life – even in sheltered communities,  either suffering from diagnosed or un-diagnosed mental illness or assorted other psychopathic or sociopathic personality disorders and for whom quite often there is also a lack of proper treatment or supervision. By the time we learn of the  true danger to society of these ‘ticking time bombs’, often it is too late.

In a piece entitled, “I am Adam Lanza’s Mother”, another mother explains the frightening scenario that perhaps many mothers across America are facing in the attempt to control mentally ill children who may some day pose a risk to the rest of us:

“No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.”

I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal.”

You have to wonder whether Nancy Lanza,  “A mother, a Gun Enthusiast and the First Victim” of her son Adam Lanza, were she alive today, might think differently about housing such an extensive gun collection in her home with a son who allegedly suffered from Asperger  syndrome and perhaps other forms of mental illness, and a self destructive personality disorder.

We owe it to those families who lost their children as well as the family and friends of Victoria Soto, a heroic young teacher, who along with several other teachers and educational professionals died shielding their students from certain death,  not to tarnish the legacy of these heroic individuals or cause their survivors to suffer the further indignity of having to listen to any of us pontificate platitudes or offer faux solutions that provide political cover but not meaningful change. We need to evolve beyond entrenched political positions whether they take the form of  NRA sloganeering or anti-NRA campaigns and ‘put reason back in America’s gun debate’. Otherwise we do a disservice to those who died,  those who survive them and the future generations we place at risk. The true lunacy beyond the acts of maniacal gunman Adam Lanza in Connecticut is that what happened at Sandy Hook can happen anywhere at almost any time in America. That is what is truly horrifying.

SOCIETAL BREAKDOWN: FUELING MORE LOVING SPREES vs. KILLING SPREES

What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me— nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.

-Hamlet, William Shakespeare

And yet even so:

How dare they try to end this beauty?
How dare they try to end this beauty?

-Hair the Musical

We kill too much in America. Too many Americans die as a byproduct of ‘random acts of violence’. But are they truly so random given our present societal values, discourse, understanding and treatment of mental illness?  The statistics bear out that more Americans are killed from the use of handguns than any other civilized country on the planet. How do we get America to put down the guns? Surely, we need more loving sprees vs. killing sprees. It is really that simple and yet it is still even more complex to get there. And I do not say that to make light of the situation or to be humorous.

Despite the nobility, the reason, the grace, and the beauty of man, much like Hamlet, I too cannot be delighted. The real question is how do we prevent more of our citizens from going on killing sprees? Few reasonable people would argue that we need to love more and kill less. That is a fact but how do we create or facilitate that reality? Is gun control the magic bullet or is it merely one component of a complex and multi-pronged societal solution to the increasing violence, disconnect and breakdown in civil society? How do we stop other mass murderers like Adam Lanza from emerging at the wrong time from the confines of America’s wealthiest suburban communities? How many other ticking time bombs are out there?

If we choose to recognize and accept that that the solution to preventing more massacres of our young and innocent like that at Newtown Elementary School, is a complex multifaceted one, then ultimately that will be the beginning to fortifying our society and enhancing the security of our citizens. There is no doubt that once we decide to grasp the breadth and complexity of the problem, it will be an exhaustive process to come up with the proper formula or prescription for the proper treatment of certain societal ills which undermine our security.

We may not get it right immediately but we ought to never stop trying. In my estimation, thoughtful restrictions on gun ownership, use and display are merely one component of the solution to secure the safety of many Americans who are actually right now quite vulnerable to the kind of tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. We owe the victims and their families an earnest dialogue on this issue that leads to thoughtful and creative solutions on several fronts.

GUN CONTROL: Is Not the Only Answer

Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
Trying to find some money then you die
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah

You know I can’t change, I can’t change
I can’t change, I can’t change
But I’m here in my mind
I am here in my mind
And I’m a million different people
from one day to the next
I can’t change my mind
No, no, no, no, no

-Bittersweet Symphony, The Verve by Richard Ashcroft (but unfairly credited to the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger & Keith Richards – for their utterly bullshit legal maneuvers to claim rights to and royalties from this song)

I do not own a gun. I do not want a gun. Yes, perhaps maybe I want to shoot one in a controlled environment with proper training and supervision at a private gun range or rifle range. I had the experience of doing so at Summer Camp on Cape Cod back in the 1970’s even though I was actually quite a terrible shot. Archery on their other hand was more my thing, perhaps because the simple bow and arrow conjured up more romantic ideas of a bygone era. I diverge. Truth is that I recognize that even if I owned a gun, chances are it might prove to be a greater danger to me than to anyone else.

The ‘Methodical Massacre’ at Sandy Hook Elementary School in all of its gruesome, disturbing detail illustrates how still vulnerable are wide segments of society to random acts of violence of private citizens who become unhinged in the quiet privacy of their suburban homes.  I would love to believe that tighter gun control laws alone would make us all safer from maniacal acts of the mentally deranged, including the types of mass shootings in the United States in recent years.  Some thoughtful restrictions, waiting periods and background checks certainly can be constructive, including qualifications as well as to whom should be allowed to purchase and own semi-automatic and pump action shotguns or what amounts to an assault weapon, more suited for military operations. Yet, I simply do not believe that better, tighter or stricter gun control laws or banning ‘killer weapons’ entirely will magically make us all safer. Instead, I think at best they will make us marginally safer in certain instances. And in others, it might make us more vulnerable, akin to sitting prey to criminals who will always be able to find a way to obtain guns and powerful assault weapons in an underground black market.

Instead we should strive to create the kind of civility, respect and equity in society that would lead to fewer people losing their cookies and engaging in these random acts of lunacy. And where that is not possible, greater manned security may be required. And even then that may not be enough. It will not be easy. It may even be a never ending project for an advanced society or one that hopes to evolve beyond the madness to fortify itself to strike the right balance between societal safety, individual rights, security and privacy.   I wish it were so easy to make the rest of us safe from the random break downs in civility and the deranged souls, minds and spirits of men who become undone,  but it is far more complicated. It is just as important in these times that thoughtful people not allow society to reach for  simple answers to complex problems. We must respect human life and dignity. Any time even one child is taken from a parent, it is a horrible loss and deeply saddening. And that loss deserves thoughtful introspection and solutions crafted by serious people; not band-aids that only leave us unprepared at risk for more of the same in the future. Consider the viewpoint of one commentator who says that ‘It’s Time to Hate Mass Murder and the “Liberal” and “Conservative” Idiots Who Help It Happen’:

We now have the perfect formula for horror: cut mental health funding, cut education in the arts and everything else that builds empathy and the human spirit, worship a military industrial imperial “culture” of violence sold as “defense,” desensitize our young men with violent porn, abandon all gun regulation, accept irony and cynicism as entertainment and “higher education” and then teach unstable young men to shoot and to glorify violence all round.

The Newtown Massacre ought to get us to finally commit affirmatively and deeply to our own evolution as a people, not to protect one political viewpoint or another. Our survival and the advancement of our society requires an affirmation that we need not just a new beginning but also the recognition and acceptance that it shall be a never ending process. We must, however, never give up on striving towards achieving a more rewarding and secure way of life for all of our citizens, even the downtrodden and mentally ill. In the end, happy, loving, secure and completely sane people do not kill other people, regardless of whether they own guns.

WAR ON REASON, FACTS & COMMON SENSE: Romney Joins McCain’s Weekend at Bernie’s

In the wake of President Obama’s victory in the Election of 2012 where the Democrats gained seats in the Senate and marginally closed the gap in the House, most earnest and semi-serious Republicans or at least those who hope to carve out a political future, seem to be moving on after accepting the results of the election. With the GOP in the midst of an intense re-branding effort,  many Republicans are distancing themselves from Romney’s failed campaign and poisonous political rhetoric,  two sore losers and otherwise angry white men seem to be doubling down on the stupid.  Caught in a time warp are Mitt Romney and John ‘McNasty’ McCain, each of whom were defeated by the Democrat, Barack Obama in the last two Presidential elections.

THE 47% vs. 1% IRONY – Mitt Still in Denial

Mitt Romney, the man who demonized nearly half of Americans or the 47% of Americans who are ‘lazy, stoned, moochers’ who are ‘unwilling to take responsibility for themselves’ and thus were likely to vote for President Obama in the hopes of a handout, proved that in the recent 2012 Presidential election, he was truly only 1% better, gaining 48% (47.8% to be exact) of the vote nationally and got trounced in the battleground states and there might even be ‘divine justice’ as Romney’s final vote tally is likely to be 47%. Romney gave what some might consider a gracious concession speech on election night.  But in a ‘Sneering Farewell to the ‘47 Percent’, he has since doubled down on caricaturization of the American electorate or at least that portion which gave the President his margin of victory. As reported in the Chicago Tribune:

“He did so in a conference call with donors saying President Obama won reelection essentially by bestowing “gifts” to minority voters, the young and women through his policies and campaign promises. Romney cited the extended benefits of the Affordable Care Act, free contraceptives and forgiveness of interest on college loans essentially as bribes that helped put Obama over the top.”

The ‘Great White Hope’ – the Romney Con ran a campaign calling for a restoration of the white ‘Anglo Saxon World’, tipping his cap to Lee Atwater and the GOP’s southern strategy.  ‘Finally Liberated from Facts, Mitt Romney the Pure Bull Artist [took] flight’, hoping perhaps that those in battleground states and even a few blue states would accept that he was not a racist but instead a racial opportunist, who might be allowed to get away with this type of campaign with a wink and a nod because so many disliked to the black guy. He failed miserably.  The CEO who portrayed himself as the more capable manager than the ‘community organizer’ relied on faulty data and Project Orca, a GOTV application that was a killer whale for his own campaign on election day when it was rendered inoperable. Perhaps the man who hoped to fulfill the Mormon’s white horse prophecy must accept that he may not become a god in the Mormon Church after all.  Americans  will not be wearing cartoon pins bearing his likeness  for generations like he hoped when he put his face on the pins for the Salt Lake Olympic Games so that the self promoter could burnish a legacy as an Olympic savior.

INSANE MCCAIN – SENATOR PTSD ON WARPATH OVER BENGHAZI

Insane McCain, the landslide loser to Obama in 2008 still apparently has a chip on his shoulder. Senator PTSD, with all the legitimacy of a delusional angry white man  is once again on the warpath making little sense to anyone but himself.

The serial opportunist channeling his inner crazy, which comes rather easily to McCain, thinks America needs to convene a Watergate styled panel to investigate the President and his administration over the attacks on our embassy in Libya that resulted in the death of the beloved and respected, Ambassador Christopher Stevens.  In terms of ‘The GOP’s Absurd Attack on Susan Rice Over Benghazi’ actually Andrew Sullivan gets it right when he says that  “McCain: [is] Still A Douche”.

The Real McCain is the old man who crashed planes into the sea and who graduated in the bottom 1% of his class at the Naval Academy and is the same one who would have put the ‘cuckoo for Coca Puffs’ – Sarah Palin a heartbeat from the Presidency. Yet this same man has the temerity to question the qualifications of  Ambassador Susan E. Rice,  the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of President Obama’s Cabinet, referring to Susan Rice, a highly regarded diplomat, intellectual prodigy and think-tank scholar, as “not very bright”. Adding insult to injury, he then went further and concluded that Susan Rice is “not qualified” to be Secretary of State after Benghazi.

MCNASTY – MENTALLY & MORALLY INFERIOR TO UN AMBASSADOR SUSAN RICE

Ambassador Rice is being attacked for her role as the messenger delivering the chosen narrative, derived from preferred intelligence community talking points. Susan Rice was not ‘hiding’ anything but delivered what amounts to a preliminary message fit for public consumption by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence while Americans were still in harms way. Nevertheless, she took the high road delivering respectful and measured remarks in her defense to her critics. (as illustrated below)

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Representative Marcia Fudge defended UN Ambassador Susan Rice from these nonsensical attacks by Senator McCain. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) called out Republicans for their use of “code words” in attacking Rice’s professional capabilities. (See: Think Progress: “Top African American Lawmaker Says GOP Attacks On Susan Rice Use Racial ‘Code Words’”)

Furthermore, according to the Huffington Post that the ‘Republicans attack compromised (breached?) U.S. Security’ at a time when the intelligence community had reason to keep the details of what transpired in Benghazi murky.  Yet even so, McCain stated that he now also ‘refuses to support any Secretary of State nominee’. It is clear to any rational observer that John McCain and Lindsey Graham who have not accepted the legitimacy of President Obama, are  using Benghazi tragedy to foster the illusion of  ‘the incompetence of the Obama administration’ as their best hopes to bring down and discredit the President.

MCCAIN’S QUESTIONABLE MENTAL CAPACITY

Has John McCain every looked in the mirror or even highlight reels of his own intellectual deficiencies? Regardless of what is behind ‘McCain’s Machinations’ whatever deference the war profiteer and Cindy McCain’s – ‘Sugar Baby’ may have previously earned in certain journalistic circles must finally be called into doubt by the mainstream media. You see,   I am pretty sure that Susan Rice has a higher IQ than Mr. McCain and Palin combined. Examine their respective anemic academic pedigree’s relative to Susan Rice and I expect you will come to the same conclusion. ‘McCain’s theory on Benghazi is in the toilet’, where his career belongs at this stage.  Even Republicans and military men [have issues with] John McCain; this guy is simply nuts.

McCain, Graham, Romney and others in the GOP are ignoring the simple reality that ‘Obama Won a Mandate’.

The truth be damned. McCain has resorted to slandering a female intellectual who had no meaningful role in what transpired in Benghazi. McCain continues in this regard even after the scapegoating of Rice has been ’soundly debunked.’ In the end, his heading down this path will come to be remembered as the moment where he truly jumped the shark as a credible and earnest human being. The  man is so corrupt and confused that he does not even know who or what he is shilling for anymore but is walking around wondering who is going to reward him for his mishagas in attempting to tar and feather Susan Rice and the Obama administration with the tag of incompetence.

According to ABC News the President bristled at their threat to ‘Block Susan Rice Nomination Over Benghazi’.

OBAMA TAKES ON MCNASTY’S ROTTING CORPSE

Dr. Larry Hunter (former U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Chief Economist) who became an Obamacon, in 2008 stated (but who has since reverted):

“The Republican Party is a dead rotting carcass with a few decrepit old leaders stumbling around like zombies in a horror version of ‘Weekend With Bernie,’ handcuffed to a corpse.”

Now that rotting corpse resembling a U.S. Senator who has had four years to stew over his landslide defeat to President Barack Obama has become further flustered only to witness him get reelected. Angling for a scandal to tar and feather the President with, since we no longer lynch unacceptable black men in America, Insane McCain finally thinks he has found one and some members of his party who have still not learned any lessons may be tempted to go along with his looney crusade. The only problem is that the ‘Benghazi debacle’ is a clear case of over reaching. Mitt Romney tried to take the President out with that one and now he is pumping gas or sitting in his home in La Jolla, California or one of his four homes watching the President on one of his wide screen televisions hoping that McCain and Lindsey Graham (who has his own issues) can do what he and Paul Ryan could not do, take down a Democratic President.

Reasonable men no longer question John McCain’s manhood, values or character because it is by now clear to all that the fiction of  of McCain’s legacy is a greater illusion than his testicular fortitude. The selling of the “Maverick John McCain” is a fiction perpetuated by his handlers and friends in the media. “WAR HEROES” do not run around telling anyone and everyone that they can find how how damn heroic that they are. Do they? Ever listen to Bruce Springsteen’s Song Glory Days? Heroes do not live to tell tall tales. Myths like McCain do. Heroes die. Liars never tell you how they graduated 5th from the bottom of their class at the Naval Academy, how their legacy admission is the only reason they were not expelled or that they were never promoted to Admiral because McCain was of such low intellect, had little if any intellectual curiosity about flight plan preparation, spent more of his time behind a bar stool and chasing skirts than actually studying, crashed numerous military aircraft and was hardly viewed by anyone at the Naval Academy as a serious Naval Aviator.  He was perhaps more enamored with the title “Naval Aviator” then he was in actually becoming a marginally proficient pilot and he was known to have spent most of his time at the Naval Academy in a drunken stupor.  One might reasonably conclude that John McCain was a terrible pilot who crashed and destroyed many planes and probably should not have been given his assignment in Vietnam where he was shot down, briefly tortured and then sung like a canary for the Viet Cong. Ask Ross Perot and what he will tell you is that McCain is a soul less man, ‘a classic opportunist’ who gravitates towards the limelight and rests his laurels on—being shot down and tortured. Now if you want to ask whose incompetence resulted in more military deaths, you need only look at John McCain. If only he spent more of his time at the Naval Academy studying, learning how to fly a plane or giving up his legacy seat for someone more qualified and dedicated, maybe a few more lives could have been spared.

MCCAIN’S ETHICS REVEALED: The Keating Five Scandal & Financial Opportunism over Loyalty, Honor & Country

The Keating Five Scandal stained John McCain as the political Madoff of his generation of Senators.  His days of corruption and of influence peddling made him ‘the most reprehensible of the Keating Five’ and probably should have ended his political career.

If the media in this country were truly honest, they would acknowledge that even Michael Tomasky’s recent criticism in the Daily Beast on ‘How John McCain Humiliated Himself on Susan Rice’ is even too deferential to this man and the true import of his legacy. McCain’s legend is as much a myth as is the idea that this man has ever represented reasoned, thoughtful and intelligent leadership. As Tomasky states therein:

We don’t yet really know as a society what a person has to do to completely and utterly cancel out a record of war heroism, but we may be about to find out. If this CBS News report is even close to accurate, John McCain’s arguments of the last few weeks about Susan Rice are thrashingly demolished. He has, or should have, zero credibility now on this issue. It will be fascinating to see if he emerges from the holiday weekend subtly chastened, attempting to shift gears a bit, or whether he keeps the pedal to the paranoid metal. He’s getting toward the sunset of what was once a reasonably distinguished career, a career (if we count his time in Vietnam) that began in the highest honor and has now descended into the darkest farce.

McCain’s life story is that of a political myth – a ‘war hero’ who was shot down because the legacy admission did not learn how to properly fly a plane at the military academy because he spent most of his time behind a bar stool and skirt chasing. This is a man with questionable ethics, morality and loyalty who has made a career of prostituting himself; he  callously dumped his wife upon return from Vietnam when he saw that she too was now also partially disabled, for Sugar Momma Cindy McCain. Yet this moron now thinks Benghazi is that scandal that can do to Obama what the Impeachment hearings did to Clinton or maybe what the Keating Five Scandal did to undermine his own falsified legacy, ethics and character.  McCain could not be any more wrong.  He should find a retirement home already and get some Obamacare for his PTSD.

CLOSING ON DECEPTION: Claims to Romney Momentum, Lead in Polls, Romney Supported Auto Bailout and that “Ohio is in the bag” for Romney – GOP PSYOPS

ROMNEY LEAD: A Myth?

The Romney Con of America is in full force and effect in battleground Ohio.    ‘The Great White Hope’ is doubling and tripling down on deception spreading misinformation, lies and fear about President Obama  in an effort to churn out the angry white vote and low information voters.  Whether Romney’s Mythmentum is a ‘white lie’ in an attempt to build a narrative of inevitability in the final eight days as the election draws to a close or an expression of prophecy from the Mormon’s White Horse is not certain but is contrary to the existing evidence. Nevertheless,  hopefully, a majority of Americans learn the truth before it is too late. Even the Boston Globe would not endorse Mitt Romney nor would the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, a Mormon stronghold where Romney has all the advantages, even despite his China Pin-Drome where memorabilia manufactured in China for the games in Salt Lake bore his likeness. Buzzfeed reported: “As head of the Salt Lake Olympics Mitt Romney became the first Olympic executive to approve a series of commemorative pins in his likeness.” It seems the Mittster has always been rather obsessed with myth building and burnishing his legacy as a savior.

Romney’s lead in the polls is contrary to leading authorities: NY Times: 538 blog -Nate Silver’s Political Calculus, the Cook Political Report & Reuters/Ipsos.   Notably, Reuters reports that ‘voters most battered by the economy still favor President Obama’. As New York Magazine reports ‘Romney Says He’s Winning – It’s a Bluff’. Romney momentum narrative is not grounded in fact.

ON AUTO BAILOUT: Romney Campaign’s Attempt to De-Fraud America’s Heartland

“Mitt Romney has so little economic patriotism that even his money needs a passport.” -Former Ohio Governor, Ted Strickland

In November of 2008, Mitt Romney famously penned an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times entitled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” but then in his debate back tracked stating “saying I would let Detroit go bankrupt is the height of silliness.” But most commentators recognize that Romney’s plan would have resulted in a Chapter 7 liquidation of major auto manufacturers and not a managed restructuring under Chapter 11 with federal financing that preserved the supply chain and greater equity in the industry. Americans have a right to question Romney’s economic patriotism for his duplicity and complete lack of sincerity.

Republican Harry Wilson, Former US Auto Task Force Adviser, has broken free from the Romney deception in his willingness to acknowledge openly that ‘Romney’s Auto Bailout Claim is ‘Simply Not True’. As stated in the Nation, quoting Wilson backing away from Romney’s claims about his position on the bailout:

The Detroit News endorsed Romney recently—an endorsement cited in Romney’s ad—but still branded his bailout philosophy “wrongheadedness,” and made the same point Wilson did: “Romney suggested government-backed loans to keep the companies afloat post bankruptcy. What GM and Chrysler needed were bridge loans to get them through the process, and the private markets were unwilling to provide them.” The Romney ad, of course, omits this condemnation.

See also: Daily Kos: Republican Harry Wilson: “What Romney says about auto bailout is not true.” | The Nation: Republican Harry Wilson Says Romney’s Auto Bailout Claim Is ‘Simply Not True’ | Bloomberg: Harry Wilson Interview Excerpt on Necessity of Auto Bailout.

IN OHIO: ROMNEY EXPANDS ON HIS BIG LIE ON AUTO BAILOUT IN GAMBIT TO DECEIVE CHRYSLER WORKERS

The Romney Con, in a ‘deceptive, desperate gambit for Ohio’, went a step further than lying about support of Obama’s auto bailout by attempting to perpetrate a complete and total FRAUD on American auto workers. Stoking fear in Obama’s blue collar Ohio coalition, Romney told ‘a false scare story in Ohio’ alleging that Jeep/Chrysler was planning to move production to China.

See also: New Romney ad misleads on auto bailout | Romney Jeep Ad Continues To Provoke Controversy | WP: The Morning Plum: Romney’s false scare story in Ohio | Daily Kos: Romney, losing Ohio, tells his biggest lie |  TNR: A Desperate, Deceptive Gambit for Romney in Ohio | The Romney Campaign’s Big Ohio Lie Has Its Own Commercial Now | WP: Calling Romney’s lie what it is: A lie | Mothers Jones: Mitt Romney Gets Desperate in Ohio |  Collapse – Obama for America TV Ad

HACKING DEMOCRACY: “Ohio is in the Bag” – Again?

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FACT:  The Romney family has a personal ownership interest (through the investment firms Solamere and H.I.G. Capital) in Hart Intercivic, which owns, maintains, programs and will tabulate alleged votes on machines in the critical swing states of Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Colorado. Despite an almost total blackout from the corporate media and various official disclaimers, the election could be decided on Hart machines producing “vote counts” with little connection to how 18 million people actually voted. (Source: The Free Press, October 26, 2012: Why Romney has already won this election, unless….)

Ohioans have by now have come to realize that Republican Governor John Kasich is no ‘Plain Dealer’ but simply just another cheap shill for the Plutocratcy, one who benefits from favorable employment statistics because President Obama (and his policies) saved Ohio and less from his own magnificent leadership.  Governor John Kasich’s words that “Romney has Ohio in the bag”on Meet the Press are quite troubling given the history of electoral fraud including the hacking the vote in Ohio, rigged voting machines combined with Romney/Priebus crime syndicate ties to electoral fraud in 2011-2012 election cycle,  and the Romney ownership/controlling interest in the company which owns the voting machines which will tabulate votes in the key battleground state of Ohio, among others.  This ought to be viewed as a warning to forces on the ground and the media that there is an earnest effort to push Romney across the finish line with deception if necessary. But it may also be part of a greater overall voter suppression effort that includes destruction of voter registration forms, restriction of voting hours and an effort to drive down democratic registration and voter turnout. As postured by another commentator ‘Romney [is] willing to win without honor’. Ohioans should not be fooled and continue to vote early whenever possible and come out in droves for Obama on election day without being deterred by more Republican Psyops.

The bottom line is that Mitt Romney does not exhibit the honesty, integrity and character to lead America, not just through the Frankenstorm where he would have dismantled FEMA, but to move this nation Forward through uncharted waters. He has ‘a truthfulness problem’.  Trust matters. This is why I expect that voters in Ohio and other battleground states will in the end turn away from the Romney Con and the Great White Hope’s attempt to fool low information voters and others lured by deployment of race baiting surrogates and continued use of racist code language.

PRESIDENT ROMNEY TO SHUT DOWN FEMA: No Federal Emergency Management and Disaster Relief in a Romney Presidency.

A major ‘Frankenstorm’ and impending disaster threatens millions of Americans in many states and population dense areas along the eastern seaboard, including my own state of New York and the greater Tri-State area. Sandy threatens ‘catastrophe’ which may impact 60 million. Forecasters have issued ’sharp warnings’ leaving Mayor Bloomberg no choice but to order mass evacuations in low lying areas and shut down of the transit system.

As reported by Reuters:

Tens of millions of East Coast residents scrambled on Sunday to prepare for Hurricane Sandy, which could make landfall as the largest storm to hit the United States, bringing battering winds, flooding and even heavy snow.

The massive storm, which has already killed 66 people in the Caribbean, was headed toward a densely populated region that includes Washington, New York and Boston and its effects could be felt for hundreds of miles, officials warned.

It could be the largest storm to hit the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

New York and other big cities closed their transit systems and schools and ordered residents of low-lying areas to evacuate before a storm surge that could reach as 11 feet.

They warned that power outages could last for days.

In the event of a major national disaster, the federal government often steps in to help. As reported in Slate:

“But that wouldn’t necessarily be the case if Mitt Romney got his way. During a 2011 GOP primary debate he said it was “immoral” for the federal government to be spending money on disaster relief when it should be focused on deficit reduction:

First Romney says: “Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better. Instead of thinking, in the federal budget, what we should cut, we should ask the opposite question, what should we keep?”

“Including disaster relief, though?” debate moderator John King asked Romney.

His response:
“We cannot — we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all.” (Slate, Yglesias, October 28, 2012: Romney’s Wants to Cut FEMA)

ROMNEY: “We cannot afford to do those things” [those things =rebuild America communities after disaster]

On the eve of this historical super storm Mitt Romney has assured us that under a Romney Presidency, Americans can basically drop dead when it comes to Federal Management & Disaster Relief; FEMA will no longer exist. Election day is November 6th and this should give people of reasonable minds one more reason to pause when it comes to even considering embrace of The Romney Con of America.

Hurricane Sandy is ‘already setting records’ and it has not even set down or struck in earnest yet. According to the NY Times: ‘Panicked evacuations mix with nonchalance in Hurricane Sandy’s path.’  WNYC and NY Times have posted the evacuation zones, illustrating clearly the risk of the impending storm to my fellow New Yorkers. ‘President Obama has a plan for Hurricane Sandy.’ Romney’s plan is that you are on your own because he will ‘get rid of it.’

But his position makes absolutely no sense. Local infrastructure can often be more efficiently and quickly restored after a major national disaster, by a collaborative effort. As stated by Matthew Yglesias in Slate:

“If a storm damages basic physical infrastructure (power lines, bridges) and imperils human life it would be the height of penny-wise, pound-foolish thinking to suppose that the afflicted area should wait months or years to repair the damage. Ultimately, anyplace is going to go back to robust wealth creation faster if basic stuff gets fixed up faster. But that requires financing by an entity capable of rapidly financing expensive projects—i.e., the federal government. Left to its own devices a storm-ravaged Delaware or Louisiana is going to be squeezed between balanced budget rules and falling sales tax receipts and be forced into an increasing state of dilapidation.”

Romney Position is Immoral, Irresponsible & Not Patriotic

Romney Revealed – Family, Faith and the Road to Power aired tonight on CNN. What many Americans will wake up tomorrow is still unknown, but the Great White Hope powers on full steam ahead without regard to the import of the things he says to the American people. Some of us won’t simply vote for Mitt Romney simply because he is a white man, a CEO or a Billionaire. Yes, I said ‘Billionaire’ with a capital B. Nor will we even vote for him simply because a Meat Loaf makes the pitch for him.  The Federal Government’s involvement in emergency and disaster relief measures is not what is immoral. What is immoral is Romney’s call to privatize the security of Americans in the event of a national disaster.

LINKS
Emergency Management
-FEMA: Ready
-NYC.Gov
-NY Times: NY/Region
-NY 1: Sandy Approaches
-NPR
-NBC New York
-CNN U.S.: Hurricane Sandy
-NY Times: U.S. Satellite Plans Falter, Imperiling Data on Storms

Mitt Romney: Will End Federal Emergency Management & Disaster Relief
-Think Progress: Mitt Romney: Federal Disaster Relief For Tornado And Flood Victims Is ‘Immoral,’ ‘Makes No Sense At All’
-Politics USA: Remember When Mitt Romney Called Disaster Relief Immoral and Wanted to Privatize It?
-America Blog: Romney stands by pledge to shut down FEMA
-SLATE: Romney’s FEMA Cuts
-Daily Beast (David Frum): Romney & FEMA: Read Between the Lines