Let’s Go Right Now Man!
No way man. When summer time comes I’m like in full Burning Man prep. I can only think about Burning Man until like mid-September….
More from the Kloons:
“Tits for Tats”
“Real Fur Hats”
Posts Tagged ‘New York’
Straight-Talking Republican Senator Voting For Same-Sex Marriage
The senate of the state of New York, the nation’s third most populous state, is about to vote on allowing same-sex marriage (the state assembly already approved that bill last week).
While the bill is mostly supported by Democrats, some Republicans have joined the fray as well. In the context of that, check out this awesome quote by Senator Roy McDonald (R-Saratoga):
You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn’t black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing. You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well, fuck it, I don’t care what you think. I’m trying to do the right thing. I’m tired of Republican-Democrat politics. They can take the job and shove it. I come from a blue-collar background. I’m trying to do the right thing, and that’s where I’m going with this.
Hell yeah. Additionally, McDonald has set up a Facebook page for donations and petitions:
In the wake of his announced “yes” vote for same-sex marriage, [Republican] Sen. Roy McDonald has unveiled a facebook page called “Stand With Roy” and urges supporters to donate and sign a petition. The page itself has more than 10,000 “likes” Monday morning. … When McDonald announced he [said] he was unconcerned about the impact it would have on his re-election chances. The lawmakers’ announcement, along with his blunt responses to questions about same-sex marriage, made him something of a star.
I’d like to note, by the way, that this GOP senator is more progressive on this issue than Barack Obama, who seemed to be for same-sex marriage before he was against it (before running as a candidate, of course). Yet, there’s indications that he might come out to support it in 2012, although I highly doubt it.
Why Anthony Weiner Shouldn’t Quit
Anthony Weiner is a politician who had chatroom conversations with women. Also, he sent sexually loaded text messages to women. In both instances, he transmitted non-pornographic images of himself to them.
So why the hell should this guy resign from elected office?
This incident only goes to show the surface puritanism and moralistic ambiguity of American political culture. The fact that Weiner is married, and in first instance lied about his actions (as if they should be subject of media attention in the first place) is unfortunate for him. But calling on him to resign, as well as getting psychiatric treatment for his actions is absurd.
Marital infidelity is a common aspect of modern American life, and considering the amount of sex scandals that frequently rock DC, even more common in American politics. Yet at the moment that some politician is discovered, the flock descends upon him to decry his immorality and thereby confirm their own high moral standards. Note: this goes from Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi all the way to president Obama. The Democrats supposedly do this to prevent damage to the party, yet turn this into a self-fulfilling prophecy by going on about it. But the worst of all are their demands that Weiner should get psychiatric treatment because he is “sick”; sick for being horny.
At first, Weiner said that he made a mistake, which to me seems the correct thing to do and then move on. But, now he apparently goes along with the diagnosis of his psychological ailments, and is forced to go into therapy. What a ridiculous spectacle. I hope he stays put and refuses to resign.
Excuse me for asking, but why exactly should Anthony Weiner resign? He flirted with women in a crude, dorky and easily traceable way. And he lied about it, which is what married men usually do in such circumstances. Who cares? As far as we know, he violated no law or congressional ethics rule. There’s been no allegation of sexual harassment. It’s entirely possible that his constituents would reelect him if given the chance. So why is he being hounded from office?
The current line among talking heads is that he must resign because he’s hurting the Democratic Party, which no longer can focus public attention on the GOP’s efforts to cut Medicare. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy. The main reason the Democrats no longer can focus public attention on the GOP’s efforts to cut Medicare, after all, is that talking heads would rather focus on Anthony Weiner’s pecs. If pundits are really so upset that Weiner is distracting attention from the nation’s budgetary dilemmas, perhaps they should start discussing the nation’s budgetary dilemmas and return Weiner’s seduction strategies to the obscurity they so richly deserve.
Other critics say Weiner has shown poor judgment in his private life, which casts doubt about the judgment he’ll show in public life. But there’s no necessary connection between the two. Bill Clinton was privately reckless and publicly cautious; with George W. Bush it was the reverse. And if critics are worried about what Weiner’s texting habits portend for his behavior in Congress, why don’t they look at his behavior in Congress? I think he’s been significantly less reckless than those Republicans who continue to try to deregulate every industry they can, even after such efforts nearly wrecked the Gulf of Mexico and the global financial system.
Truth be told, I don’t think the real reason pundits are baying for Weiner’s head has anything to do with his ability to be a good congressman. It’s more primal than that. We live in a kick-them-while-they’re-down culture. We love to see the powerful humiliated because it proves that they were no better than us to begin with. Yet we simultaneously imagine that because they’re powerful and famous, they don’t need the empathy that we’d desire were we in their stead. Instead of being moved by their suffering, we revel in it.
How many of the pundits mocking Weiner have marriages that could survive the kind of scrutiny they have been giving his? The realization that everyone’s private life is messy and flawed should produce humility and compassion. Instead, pundits enter the public arena as disembodied Olympian figures, entitled to render the harshest of verdicts, secure in the knowledge that no one will ever investigate their most intimate of domains.
(…)
Columnists and talk show hosts who obsess over trivialities such as Weinergate should be called out by their peers. And politicians asked about their consensual sex lives by journalists should say that they will answer on condition that the reporters and their editors answer the same questions about theirs. I hope Anthony Weiner figures out his private life; but even more, I hope he survives in public life. Someone needs to stand up to the media mobs that are making American politics both vicious and small. If he has the courage to do so, maybe others will follow.
Here’s Glenn Greenwald in a very well-written analysis of this preposterous “scandal”. Especially note how mainstream ‘serious’ journalists forgo their duties in scrutinizing government behaviour in favour of reporting about non-items such as this:
There are few things more sickening — or revealing — to behold than a D.C. sex scandal. Huge numbers of people prance around flamboyantly condemning behavior in which they themselves routinely engage. Media stars contrive all sorts of high-minded justifications for luxuriating in every last dirty detail, when nothing is more obvious than that their only real interest is vicarious titillation. Reporters who would never dare challenge powerful political figures who torture, illegally eavesdrop, wage illegal wars or feed at the trough of sleazy legalized bribery suddenly walk upright — like proud peacocks with their feathers extended — pretending to be hard-core adversarial journalists as they collectively kick a sexually humiliated figure stripped of all importance. The ritual is as nauseating as it is predictable.
(…)
This isn’t a case of illegal sex activity or gross hypocrisy (i.e., David Vitter, Larry Craig, Mark Foley (who built their careers on Family Values) or Eliot Spitzer (who viciously prosecuted trivial prostitution cases)). There’s no lying under oath (Clinton) or allegedly illegal payments (Ensign, Edwards). From what is known, none of the women claim harassment and Weiner didn’t even have actual sex with any of them.
(…)
I’d really like to know how many journalists, pundits and activist types clucking with righteous condemnation of Weiner would be comfortable having that standard applied to them. I strongly suspect the number is very small. Ever since the advent of Internet commerce, pornography — use of the Internet for sexual gratification, real or virtual — has has been, and continues to be, a huge business. Millions upon millions of people at some point do what Weiner did. I know that’s a shocking revelation that will cause many Good People to clutch their pearls in fragile Victorian horror, but it’s nonetheless true. It’s also true that marital infidelity is incredibly common.
And finally, here’s 10 stories that are more important than Weinergate (from greenhouse gas emissions to the War on Drugs to unitary executive power).
The English Language In 24 Accents
Including Cockney, posh English, Manchester, Liverpool, Welsh, Scottish, Irish (northern and southern variety), U.S. English, New York/Italian, Southern/redneck, Australian, and French, German, Russian, Italian, Chinese, Indian and South African accents.
Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime
Just because I friggin’ love David Byrne of the Talking Heads’ performance of Once in a lifetime in this clip, and rediscover it every once and a while, I’m gonna post it right here. Enjoy.
(O, and these are the original hipsters, by the way. Well, not really the original, because that were the 1940s-1950s beatniks, but at least the 1980s version.)
Live: Ground Zero Speech Geert Wilders
LIVE: Geert Wilders op je beeldscherm.
Geert weet de massa wel te bespelen. Hij begint met “no mosque here!”, en de crowd neemt het over. Dan vraag hij of Amerika, of het Westen, 9/11 “verdiend” hadden.
Verder valt het tot nu wel mee. “I stand here as a Dutchman and a European”, en iets over een liedje over 9/11.
Ah, hij begint over ”submission to sharia”. Domme Amerikaanse “yeah”-roepers erbij.
Wat een lievve speech zeg. “New York is rooted in Dutch tolerance”. Volgens mij is de speech gecaterd naar het CDA.
Zegt dat imam Rauf geen moderate is, en dat Ground Zero “hallowed ground” is.
Geert heeft moeite met het uitspreken van het woord “mayor”; klinkt als mèjr.
“The powers of darkness”, “the forces of hate”.
“A tolerant society is not a suicidal society”.
Hij valt vooral imam Rauf aan, citeert hem de hele tijd.
Belachelijk: “The West has never harmed Islam, before Islam harmed the West”.
Ik vind het zelfs een beetje saai. Wat een correcte, diplomatieke speech.
Goeie: ze moeten een centrum voor religieuze tolerantie in Mekka bouwen. Tsja.
Vertelt dat 2/3 van de Nederlandse moslims begrip hadden voor 9/11. Waar baseert hij dat op?
Nog wat over de helden van 9/11.
Ronald Reagan citeren.
Valt me vooral op dat Wilders geen gepeperde uitspraken doet over de islam. Hij houdt het de hele tijd sec bij 9/11, en het is vooral commemorative.
Nou, dat was het dan. Helemaal niks aan het handje volgens mij.
- Edit: transcript hierrr
Mayor Bloomberg Talks Sense
Mayor Bloomberg of New York City clearly knows his history, and probably has read Russell Shorto’s The Island at the Center of the World, or at least his speechwriters did. Anyway, I think the speech he gave on August 3 about the so called “Ground Zero mosque” (which is actually located 200 meters from Ground Zero) was a sane and brave speech. Here are some highlights:
“We’ve come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that more than 250 years later would greet millions of immigrants in this harbor. And we come here to state as strongly as ever, this is the freest city in the world. That’s what makes New York special and different and strong.
(…)
“In the mid-1650s, the small Jewish community living in lower Manhattan petitioned Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant for the right to build a synagogue, and they were turned down. In 1657, when Stuyvesant also prohibited Quakers from holding meetings, a group of non-Quakers in Queens signed the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition in defense of the right of Quakers and others to freely practice their religion. It was perhaps the first formal political petition for religious freedom in the American colonies, and the organizer was thrown in jail and then banished from New Amsterdam.
“Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question: Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here.
“This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions or favor one over another. The World Trade Center site will forever hold a special place in our city, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans if we said no to a mosque in lower Manhattan.
“Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11, and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values and play into our enemies’ hands if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists, and we should not stand for that.
Here‘s how the speech came about.
Analysis by Salon, The Atlantic, Washington Post, and the reaction by “Ground Zero mosque” opposers.
The full speech on video:
Times Square In The 1980s
It’s American history in pictures day today here at LSD. Presently, Times Square is a tourist attraction, with its neat electronic billboards, NASDAQ display, advertisements, etcetera; a big, clean, hypercapitalistic Disneyland. Up until the 1980s, however, Times Square was kind of a different place… As documented (for the 1940s) in On the Road, for example, it was full of dealers, pimps, hookers, junkies, adult cinemas, head shops, nudie bookstores, grindhouses, etc.
So immerse yourself in the gritty 1980s Times Square with the video below, with voice-over interviews.
Via artblogNYC
- Edit: by the way, also see this blog post about Downtown Calling, a documentary on the artistic and musical scence of New York in the 1970s, a time when the place was economically “depressed” yet thriving culturally
Pot On The Street
Move over, Los Angeles! Here’s New York City, where marihuana just grows wild on an East Village Sidewalk.
What’s going on y’all?? This little guy joins pot plants recently seen in Brooklyn and Union Square. Is this a public art project meant as wry commentary on how New York City is going to pot? You can’t tell me otherwise. Sure beats the Heroin Stamp Project at White Box Gallery last month.
'Downtown Calling': Documentary About 1970s New York
“Downtown Calling”, in the vein of London Calling and Berlin Calling, is a new documentary about the artistic and musical scene of New York in the 1970s: a time when it was an economic mess, a garbage heap and a crime-infested town, yet a very interesting place culturally.
Dangerous Minds blogger Marc Campbell:
New York City was its own planet in the late 70s. Trying to describe it to someone who wasn’t there is like trying to describe electricity. It was wild intense and unforgettable. For a young musician like myself, Manhattan was a trial by fire, a neon dream/nightmare, harrowing at times, but mostly a non-stop feast of rock and roll, art, sex and drugs. Within its decaying magnificence, a spontaneous movement erupted of creative wide-eyed rebels, visionaries, punks and provocateurs. It changed everything. Today’s hipsters may try to emulate the fashion, but they’ll never reproduce the passion of New York in the 70s. That city is gone.
Directed by Shan Nicholson, Downtown Calling documents New York City at a time when it was struggling economically, crime was rampant, streets strewn with garbage, whole neighborhoods crumbling. Yet out of the mess…
… a family of homegrown cultures that would forever change the world began to emerge. Downtown Calling not only documents, in detail, the evolution of New York City’s fertile music and art subculture during this period, but how its collective output continues to play a prominent, driving role in the international fashion, art and music industries today.
Here’s the trailer:
Times Square Electronic Billboard Interacts With Crowds, Live
Cool but mostly creepy. This electronic billboard of a Forever 21 clothing store on Times Square features virtual models that interact with onlookers, live. They take pictures of the crowd (or of individuals in the crowd), which are then displayed on the billboard. Also, they can kiss them, or turn them into frogs.
Again, the world of Minority Report is closer than you think.
About That Ground Zero Mosque…
Here’s a mosque that’s only four blocks away from Ground Zero. The Masjid Manhattan mosque, been there since 1970. So now what, demolish it?
- Edit: O, and here’s word from an area resident, a reader of Andrew Sullivan. He writes:
I live two blocks from Ground Zero in a six-building apartment complex with an active tenant association. As best I can tell, Cordoba House is a non-issue among local residents. I haven’t heard a word from anybody on the subject – not in the elevators, not in the lobby, not at the neighborhood bars or restaurants. Nada.
Here are the facts. The proposed Cordoba House is not a mosque. It’s to be a community center modeled after the YMCA and the Jewish Community Center, with most of its 13 floors devoted to classrooms, fitness and recreation – open to the entire downtown community, not just Muslims. There is to be a “prayer space” that can hold up to 2,000 people. I’ll aver that “prayer space” could just be a PC term for “mosque,” though I confess no knowledge of what procedures must take place to consecrate a facility as an official mosque. The group’s leader, Imam Abdul Rauf, has held services in a small mosque in the neighborhood since 1983. It isn’t as though the group materialized out of nowhere or has no history in the neighborhood.
I don’t think any New Yorker cares about this stupid non-issue.
New Photographs Of Collapsing WTC Towers
Released by the NYC Police Authority:
More photos @ Crack Two.
