Wednesday - I don't know what happened to my Saturday post and Trump is just a loose cannon out to ruin our democracy

I thought I posted on Saturday a short note on self-examination before the Jewish Day of Atonement, but it seems to have not gotten published and I've lost the text. Oh well. Moving on, it's been an interesting week, mostly because out-of-control Donald Trump made a mockery of debate. His attacks on the election and the electoral process are meant to provoke anxiety. We cannot let him get away with it. The process is imperfect but for more than 220 years, we've made it work most of the time. We can do it again.

Q-Anon is going crazy, and needs to be stopped legally. Freedom of speech is not absolute. Death threats fall outside the line, and whether direct or implied, they are illegal and the Q-anons doing them need to be caught, indicted and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Sick Doofus Donald Trump is aiming to get the crazy vote and thinks he won't alienate people who are not as crazy. I believe it will backfire on him.

I'm voting directly and will go to the polling place in my town when it opens later in October.

These photos were shot on Thursday last week, in the public passage fin the MetLife Building, leading rom E. 45th St. to the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal, in the terminal. It was nice to see the news stand open in the Met Life Building.

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Thursday - Deconstruction of the JPMorgan Chase building continues. Trump threatens a coup while the rest of the Republicans say no.

Late September is a nice time of the year in the New York area. Cool nights and mornings followed by temperate afternoons and evenings. Today was like that. Now all we need is to see more people back in town, keeping their masks on and managing the social distance dance.

I keep walking past the food court, Urban Kitchen, near Grand Central, hoping that they will open for grab and go until they are ready to open for limited indoor seating, but no such luck. I thought I saw some activity there earlier this week, and perhaps they are getting ready for re-launching at the beginning of October.

At least Mama Jo’s Breakfast cart is steadfast and reliable on its corner on E. 47th St. at Park Ave. She’s been there for more than 30 years, seen the bank across the street change hands and name a few times, and now dealing with the de-construction workers taking the building down. They are making real progress and one day soon that building will follow the one on Madison Ave. and become a temporary hole in the ground before new construction begins.

Somehow, I don’t think I’ll still be working in the area when that happens.

Doofus Donald seems to be rattling the coup d’etat alarm - won’t commit to leaving office if and when he is defeated, won’t promise a peaceful transition. I am trying to evaluate what these noises  really mean. In the worst case scenario, he tries to stay on after being defeated. It’s worst case because he will be escorted from the White House by the same Secret Service tasked with protecting him from assassins and other dastardly characters. He might try to lock himself in and hope that the far right wing of the Repulsive Republicans rise up in arms against the legitimate government. Shades of Spain 1936 when Francisco Franco tried to seize power and thrust his nation into a bloody and divisive civil war. I do think that some people might but Doofus Donald has done his best to alienate the military hierarchy and they will do what they’ve traditionally done, and stayed out of politics. With that in mind, those White Supremicists, Armed illegal militias and such would find themselves outmatched by the police, state troopers and even the National Guard. In fact, it might serve to see them crushed once and for all.

The sad thing about what is going on in the White House now, and for the past four years, is the level of corruption the Trump administration has fostered. You can open up a real newspaper on any day and find something to make you sigh, grit your teeth and push to get the bastards out of power and into prison. Today there is news that the fungicide lobby -  who knew such a thing existed - pushed hard and successfully to keep any mention of drug resistance driven by increased use of fungicides in agriculture, a threat to all of us, from the international policy position on things such as this and food safety standards. It figures that Trump had a vetinary pharma executive put in charge of these things at the FDA.

And since it is up to the White House to enforce violations of the Hatch Act, which was designed to keep current administration officials from making Political and commercial pitches while on the job. It’s been a drumbeat phenomena for the self-serving Trump administration, and it makes me want to see some teeth added to the act. It won’t happen as long as Doofus Donald Trump and his band of mobsters are in office.

I could go on. But we know the drill. Vote for Biden/Harris and unelect Trump and his band of evil-doers. 

Biden/Harris for President/VP 2020

These photos were shot today. The first one is Mama Jo of Mama Jo's NYC.  The rest are of the construction site and a couple of the people working there. 

Dig they must for a better NY. But get your coffee from the best breakfast cart in Midtown Manhattan.

 

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Wednesday - It's more than six months now since the March lockdown. Fauci schooled Rand Paul the magical thinker

 It's odd and interesting to think it's now more than six months since NY State locked down as corona virus started to spread, six months since the full impact and the dread that came with it landed. I didn't think it would be bad, then I saw it was very bad and so I did what I needed to - cocooned, isolated at home and was glad I had the money to pay bills and keep things going. It was so strange, not going out to the diner for dinner on Friday evenings, not hanging out with friends at a bar or cafe in the city, not taking the train into Manhattan every weekday and many Sundays, never going to the movies, not able to visit a museum. 

But the efforts proved themselves and now, as NYC looks at limited seating indoor dining at restaurants, at reopening museums, and working harder to enforce the wearing of face coverings to prevent the spread of the Covind-19 virus. The number of positive tests is below 1% in NYC and across the state, methods are in place to limit community spread when an outbreak seems on the verge of starting, as happened in Oneonta and might be occurring in some communities insisting on a traditional instead of cautious approach to the High Holy Days and synagogue prayer, and most people seem to get it.

Where cases were scarce, and people were disbelieving, they are putting themselves at risk if they act as if nothing is happening, because it is a very serious illness. We've had more than 200,000 deaths in the USA from the virus, and the potential for that number doubling before the end of the year is too possible.

It is neither difficult nor inconvenient to wear a mask when around other people you don't live with. Not wearing one is not an exercise of your rights, it's an exercise of selfishness and inconsideration, rashness and a willingness to both give and get the illness. You want to exercise your rights? Stop wearing pants.

In DC, Senator Rand Paul, who claims to be a "board certified ophthalmologist," even though the board that certified him is not recognized by the AMA, and was created by Rand Paul, showed off his ignorance and a bit of that magical thinking that is rife among the Repulsive wing of the Republicans. He claimed that the reason for NY State's low rate of positive testing for Covid-19 is due to herd immunity. While more than 20% of New Yorkers test positive for antibodies, that is far too low a percentage for anything like herd immunity to be involved, as Dr. Fauci clearly explained to the doubtful Senator. It goes against Senator Paul's worldview, so it must not be. I'm sorry, Mr. Paul but just because you want something to be a certain way, doesn't mean it is, no matter how hard you wish for it.

Mr. Paul - who calls himself Doctor - argues against what he calls the "nanny state." I say let someone start shitting on the edge of his property and say it's their right, and see how fast he gets the "nanny state" involved. If people only act on their own behalf, thinking that what's good for them is good for everyone, then we'd see the bodies piling up.

I try not to hate but there are more people edging onto the schadenfreude list, where when something bad happens to that person I'll take some pleasure. Rand Paul just made it.

These photos are a couple of years old. I was at a reading at the Parkside Lounge on East Houston St. and ran into a vegan chef I was acquainted with, Teresa Borek. She was in a good mood and played around for the camera. Fun.

 

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Tuesday - No way to catch up but hoping the worst for the Repulsive wing of the Republican party.

 The weather is changing. Today is the equinox, so Autumn is here. The temperature over the weekend was cool which was fine indoors, with the windows closed, but it made sitting in synagogue for Rosh Hashanah services with the walls open somewhat uncomfortable. Today it warmed a tad, though the scooter ride down to the train station yesterday and today was rather chilling. Yesterday I wasn’t as well layered as I was this morning, but even today I was feeling it by the time i got off the scooter.

But riding a Citibike to meet up with Shalom and Ron at the Remedy Diner on Houston St. was fine. What was interesting to me, since this is the first time in months that I was riding back uptown to Grand Central Terminal during the PM rush hour, was just how many bikes and electric kick-scooters were using the bike lane on First Ave. My previous experience was that I pretty much had the bike lane to myself or shared it with just a couple of riders, from E. 14th St. until I turned off at E. 37th St. It wasn’t jammed but it was busy, and almost nobody passing me bothered to announce their presence. Easy to have an accident that way.

Grand Central Terminal is still pretty empty, even at 5PM. I’ll post a couple of pictures of the concourse. The train is busier, though. Still not crowded but I don’t feel as isolated as I’d like. Partially this is because of the number of people but also because  person decided to sit right across the aisle from me even though there are empty rolls further down the train. She’s wearing her mask and facing the same direction, so I’m not really breathing her air, I hope.

I didn't post yesterday because I am feeling a bit burnt out. The death of RBG left me feeling empty, and seeing that cheese curl headed man who currently is the POTUS seize on her passing as a political moment, aided and abetted by 50 or so Repulsive Republicans, chortling at their moment, smiling through their hypocrisy, cheered on by their base who long for a moment when their version of how other people should live - regardless of their own hypocrisy, and believe me, I’ve seen it - based on a set of beliefs they claim is given to them by god, something I firmly doubt, since god doesn’t really seem to give a shit about us or them - might be made into law.

It’s disheartening, it’s dismaying and all I can do is hope that come November we do something about it.

I don’t know how the rash actions of McConnell, Graham, Trump and the rest of that repulsive, despicable group can be held back, and so I look out from there and wait for Clarence Thomas to kick the bucket, or have a stroke. And I hope Graham loses his reelection bid, smug and self-satisfied SOB that he is. They all are full of themselves, and think they know how everyone should think. I’m sorry, their version of orthodoxy is simply wrong when applied universally. It is merciless, it is bigoted and it is hateful. It makes me think the worst pains for them. If the god they believe in is a just god, which I doubt, then they will suffer in their personal hells. But since I doubt there is a god, let alone a just god, then it is up to us to see justice done.

And, as promised, some pictures taken today and also yesterday, in Grand Central Terminal. Not empty but still eerily quiet for the time of day when these were taken.

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Sunday - thinking about friends I haven't seen. And how hypocritical is McConnell? Can it be measured?

 It's six months since I've seen some of my friends, especially those living in the city, people I'd meet once a month or more often after work for drinks and sometimes dinner. Most of them are still in the job market, a few are retired or semi-retired, and they haven't been going out after work, if they've even been coming into the city. Talking on the phone is great, and sometimes it has to serve as a replacement, but really, it is not the same thing.

As we head into the Autumn, and the positive test rate for Covid-19 in NY is hovering at 1% or so, it becomes more likely that we will start to get together, whether for take out or outside dining if possible, or indoors if the restaurant is following guidelines. Since mid-March, I've eaten inside a restaurant once, and that was last Sunday at Mo's Midtown in Hartford, CT, long past their high-traffic morning. When we were there, two tables were occupied and both of those empties by the time our meal arrived, and didn't get refilled.

It's still worrisome, but less so than it was early in the summer when reopening of bars and restaurants in places such as Florida, Texas and Michigan were followed by large jumps in new cases, both in real numbers and as a percentage of tests.

New York stayed vigilant and except for a few isolated outbreaks - after a high school graduation party in Chappaqua, for instance, and this month at SUNY Oneonta after some close contact parties - the pandemic has been largely controlled. This could change, especially with reopening restaurants, even at 1/3 capacity. If people wear their masks and stay apart, it might not happen. And so I've been mulling the possibility.

I will see.

Four years ago, Mitch McConnell would not allow Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court to have his hearing before the Senate. Now, he is eager to start the process in a similar situation, just before the election for President because he is a hypocrite. If he can get the court packed before the election, he won't care so much about the President, though I can't see him bailing on his lord and master.

Personally, I think both Alito and Thomas are on the verge of croaking, so it may not matter that much. But McConnell should remember that he won't have a moral leg to stand on after this, if he finds himself with the situation reversed. Not that Moscow Mitch, the corrupt and hypocritical piece of turd that he is, won't act as if he's on the high moral ground. That's the general attitude of the Repulsive wing of the Republican party.

The photos tonight were taken nine years ago today, walking around midtown Manhattan while I was on my midday break. Times change. 

 

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Saturday - posted on Sunday morning - Rosh Hashanah and saying goodbye RBG

 

 Today is the second day of Rosh Hashanah. For those who don't know, this is the Jewish New Year. In Israel it is one day, in the diaspora it is two days but some streams of Judaism only take one day. It is the time of year when many if not most Jews, whether they are religiously observant, believers, or not, take some time to reflect on their lives and the live of their community, in both the broad and narrow sense. Yesterday was the first day of a ten day period concluding with the blowing of the shofar at the end of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. I am not a religious person, though many people I know think I am because I am a regular attendee at services on the Sabbath. I won't go into my reasons for this because my reasons are my own and in this matter I don't care much what others think. 

I do believe taking time to reflect on oneself, on one's life and that of our communities and the world is a good thing, without regard to religious commandment. I also believe that believing in a religion is more than simply mouthing the words or going through the motions. Wrapping oneself in the mantle of religious orthodoxy of any religion without acting out the precepts of the religion both internally and externally, is hypocrisy. In our leaders, hypocrisy seems to be the norm, but the levels to which some carry it, are simply breathtaking. 

Since I don't believe, I see myself as both a neutral arbiter and an outsider when it comes to judging just how revolting the lies of our political leaders are when it comes to their self-promotion of their own religiosity. Do I need to name examples or can you picture some people without my naming them?

I write this now thinking about the passing on Friday of the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Reflecting on her years on the Supreme Court and looking at the eight men and women with whom she served, I see a level of honesty, perhaps even righteousness among most of them, even those with whom I disagree. To name one, Chief Justice John Roberts, with whom I certainly have political differences, and with whom I differ philosophically. I look at him and I see a man who has taken the importance and pivotal nature of his position as one that cannot be bought or sold by any one side. He makes an effort in his voting and his opinions to put his personal, non-legal biases to the side and decide based on the merits of the case in front of him as a matter of law, of precedent and constitutionality. Again, I don't always agree with him, but I don't feel he is so doctrinaire that his vote will be predictable.

I feel that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was like this, too. She might have been predictably liberal in her outlook and statements but her votes and her decisions  could be reliably weighed on the scale of justice and that scale would be close to balanced. I cannot say the same for Justices Alito and Thomas, both of whom seem to have a view that they understand what was going on inside the minds of those who wrote the Constitution, and those who amended it where there were problems, and that those minds were in perfect concord with their doctrinaire beliefs.

In our current political environment I fear where things will go over the next several weeks but I need to keep working for what see as right and hope enough people who are open to hearing opinions from all sides  without making death threats, keep working to bring some order out of our current chaos. 

These photos were taken about a year ago on Park Ave. and decending into Grand Central Terminal from the north entrance. It's about going home pre-pandemic.

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