All This Is That

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Painting: On The Road

By Jack Brummet

click to enlarge

---o0o---

ATIT Reheated: The GOP/Tea Party March To 2012—an army of pinheads, charlatans, mountebanks, narcissists, and third-rate grifters

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

and Jack Brummet, Social Mores Editor

[reprinted from ATIT, December 30, 2010]

The GOP Presidential candidates are charging out like clowns from a clown-car. Of course, getting in to The Show early, or even just announcing, is pretty cheap. And it increases your cash flow, your paid trips, marketability, and even perceived gravitas. Democrats on the other hand are holding back. To declare against a sitting President is generally an exercise in futility and, at times, a near-suicidal political act. However, strong candidates have pulled it off (most notably Bobby Kennedy, whom we did not get to see go the distance) and won roles at the convention, and promises of plum diplomatic jobs or cabinet positions.

Jeb Bush - who knows what he'll do?

Congressman Pence

Politico reports the House Republican Conference Chairman from Indiana is considering stepping down from his GOP leadership post to prepare for a possible presidential run in 2012. 'Though the 2010 mid-term election is just barely over, the pressure is on Pence and other GOP hopefuls to state their intentions.

Ex-Governor Romney

Mitt Romney has already been running for a couple of years, really ever since the night he conceded to John McCain during the primaries. He seems to us like one of the more plausible candidates to whom Democrats might defect (maybe his biggest appeal to Dems and most horrifying to GOP/Tea Party members is the pretty excellent health care system that he pushed for in Mass.). We think his religion is no roadblock. Yeah, we don't think a Hari Krishna will become president soon, but a Mormon? Sure, why not? We are fine with a Jewish or Moslem president, but don't think that happens anytime soon.

Ex-Governor Huckabee

Ex-Governor Mike Huckabee won the Iowa primaries last time around, had a huge buzz...and for a few weeks, he was the "It Guy," appearing on the cover of Newsweek, and was the focus of numerous political talk shows. He may or may not run. He seems to like his current FOX news gig. [Ed's Note: nearly half of the GOP hopefuls and toe-dippers are on the FOX payroll in some form or another.]

Ex-Speaker (and architect of the Contract On America) Gingrich (painting by Jack Brummet)

Newt Gingrich, another FOX hack. . .who knows? We guess he will indeed run. Newt is a guy who craves the limelight.

Governor Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty could be running...he is visiting several key, early primary states. He has a book out. He was maybe Number Two on McCain's VP list. But alas, he has a personality like shirt cardboard. His Q factor is virtually zero.

John Bolton

John Bolton, the neocon diplomat (and former undersecretary of state) has publicly toyed with the idea. He may jump in for a primary or two if he can get enough of his fat cat friends to pony up enough cash to make a short, respectable run.

Guvnah Barbour

Haley Barbour, the (once) well-thought of Governor may have killed his changes recently with racially insensitive--no, inflammatory--remarks on how nice the south was back in "the good old days."

Senator Thune

John Thune, who, a few years ago, stomped Democratic powerhouse Tom Daschle in South Dakota, is textbook politically handsome. And like Tim Pawlenty. . .about as exciting as yesterday's oatmeal.

Governor Daniels

Mitch Daniels (Governor of Indiana) dismissed a presidential run in June 2009, saying "I've only ever run for or held one office. It's the last one I'm going to hold." In February 2010 he told a Washington Post reporter that he was open to the idea of running in 2012.

The Donald

Donald Trump has made some noise about making a Presidential run. It's hard to see how a national joke could get much traction in Iowa or New Hampshire.

Ex-Governor Palin (painting by Jack Brummet)

Sarah Palin. She's certainly open to the idea--if not the reality--of running for President. If she does make a go of it, it will be fascinating watching her in those early primaries.

Ex-Senator Santorum

Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania Senator who was obliterated in the 2006 election, may just be tempted to run. Another FOX guy. He is almost in the national joke category, along with Trump. He is probably best known for his positions on the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Social Security, intelligent design, homosexuality, and the long-forgotten Terri Schiavo case.

Governor Christie (painting by Jack Brummet)

Chris Christie--a guy we think could go all the way. He's a Republican who is seen by his own party as soft on immigration; is against gay marriage, but in favor of civil unions (just like President Obama!); is not strong with the pro-gun lobby; favors medical marijuana; and while opposed to it, is soft on abortion and doesn't believe it is the state's duty to ram it down the throats of the people. However, the Tea Party wing of the party does not take a blue dog approach. You're either with them, or against them. With all the other neo-con and tea-party alternatives, it's hard to see how Christie could ever garner much support within his own party.

---o0o---

Monday, October 21, 2013

Poem: Sailing to Athens

By Jack Brummet

In a pale grey fog,
I see the ghosts

Of ancient Helleniki mariners
Sailing phantom steamships, sloops,

Prams, dories, catamarans, dinghies,
Trawlers, purse-seiners, frigates and tugboats

Across the cerulean blue sea,
Trawling for missing fish.
---o0o---

The album

---o0o---

ATIT Reheated: Remembering the 1980 NYC Transit Strike

By Jack Brummet, NYC/Metro Ed.

[reprinted from ATIT, December, 2005]

Contract talks broke off between New York transit and union negotiators last night without an agreement (just before the midnight strike deadline). 34,000 workers have gone on strike. Seven million people a day need to find another way to get around.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a "comprehensive emergency plan" to help mitigate the effects of the strike with more ferry service, only car pools allowed into Manhattan, several major streets, including Fifth Avenue, clear of all traffic except buses and emergency vehicles. I believe taxis are also required to pool riders (as they did in 1980).

We lived in Manhattan during the 1980 strike. It started on April Fool's Day and lasted 12 days. According to nycsubway.org, the absentee rate during the strike was around 15-20%. That may be true, but those of us who actually showed up for work didn't make it in until very late, and everyone left early. It was basically a circus atmosphere all over town. Employers were glad to have us show up for even a few hours a day. Even the most skinflint of employers (and that would include mine, Carl Fischer music publishers) paid people to share cabs in to work. The cab ride from the Upper West Side to the East Village took about two hours...barely faster than walking. It was a total zoo, with gridlock everywhere, and thousands of cops on traffic duty to contain the honking, chaos, and (literally) millions of pedestrians.

Heading to work on The Brooklyn Bridge

I don't remember road rage, or riots, or people being particularly angry. In fact, it was like anytime things went wrong: New Yorkers pulled together; they griped and kavetched, and they lived with it, and had a pretty good time doing it. I remember the endless commutes, schlepping back and forth from uptown to downstown. I remember sharing cab rides with Arthur Cohn (the cranky, funny composer and conductor known for his books on contemporary music, The Collector's 20th-Century Music in the Western Hemisphere and 20th-Century Music in Europe), Susan Lurie, a friend and excellent flautist, and at least one other person, possibly Pinky Rawsthorne. . .although if she was in the cab I think I would have remembered it, because there would have been a lot more laughter.

The New York Post Transit Survival

Guide - Click to enlarge

In 1980, the subways were dirty, dangerous, smelled, tended to catch on fire at times, had no air conditioning, and were covered with tags and graffiti. And boy, did we miss them. After returning home at night, you stayed in your neighborhood, or within walking distance anyhow. Somehow they settled it all in a couple of weeks. Good luck New York!

---o0o---

Middle finger of the day: a finger for President Milos Zeman of The Czech Republic

By Mona Goldwater, Signs & Gestures Ed.

Another irregular appearing "finger of the day": Czech artist David Cerny is sending a message to President Milos Zeman by floating a giant purple middle finger on the Vltava River pointed directly at Prague Castle. The BBC:

"Cerny has shocked and mocked politicians and public figures in the past, says the BBC’s Rob Cameron."

"This latest piece is clearly his message to the leftist President Zeman and the political party recently set up by his supporters."

"Cerny himself declined to say too much about the piece, telling reporters the gesture spoke for itself - what mattered, he said, was which way it was pointing."