Tag: New York

Don’t You Remember?

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Don’t You Remember ?

Don’t You Remember ?

 

By Cate Rees-Hessel

 

I loved the break out hit when the band originally known as Jefferson Airplane became Starship – we are musically reminded “We Built This City on Rock and Roll.” Jefferson anything brings on music that I love and that song is my favorite of theirs. This brings me to another thought regarding memory, as we remember a very dark twenty-four years ago. “Don’t you remember” we built this nation on democracy and toil, not dictatorship and racism.

“Don’t you remember” the first term of Donald Trump? As a college student in 1985, I danced on my chair at the Pittsburgh PA Civic Arena to the tunes of Starship and Night Ranger, full of hope for the future despite the fact Geraldine Ferraro would not be our first female Vice President on the Mondale-Ferraro ticket. I loved this intelligent, beautiful, and Godly woman. Disappointed they lost the election, but still I knew in my heart we one day would have a female in office. Then another major and frightening disappointment when Hillary Clinton lost to an incompetent and delusional opponent.

Hope was restored after Trump’s disastrous first term, when President Joe Biden brought us our first female VP,  the intelligent, kind but tough, beautiful Kamala Harris. I cried for twenty minutes after she proudly said “…so help me God” – the glass ceiling was finally broken and we were never going back. My heart broke when President Biden bowed out of the 2024 election, but right here in Chicago, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination. A winning team and our first female president, finally. Then the unthinkable occurred – without all the votes counted, it was announced that Donald Trump, the most incompetent non-president to ever hold office, had been re-elected.

“Don’t you remember” Trump’s horrific first term, with millions dead from the COVID pandemic? “We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll…” We built this country on honesty and broke away from a king in 1776 – there is no king of America. “Say you don’t know me or recognize my face” – well, remember my face and my words, because I will not be silenced by a dictator. “Say you don’t care who goes to that kind of place” –  I care who goes into the White House, that’s for sure. “Knee deep in the hoopla, sinking in your fight” – we sure do need our hip waders dealing with the MAGA s..t, but we will not sink in our fight, not now, not ever. “Too many runaways eating up the night” – we won’t run, we face the night without fear.

“Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don’t you remember?” Our radios bring bad news each day, but when “The Donald” is finally impeached, we will dance the mamba in the streets and party ’til dawn. “We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll, built this city, we built this city on rock and roll”, not on hatred and toil. “Someone’s always playing corporation games, who cares they’re always changing corporation names“, while the GOP gives tax breaks to the biggest corporate structures, taking food and medicine away from those in need. “We just want to dance here, someone stole the stage, they call us irresponsible, write us off the page“, but we will never be written off, Mr. Trump, we will continue to resist.

“Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don’t you remember? We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll…” Impeach the convicted felon before he does more damage, before more billionaires receive more tax breaks, before Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security cease to exist.

“We built, we built this city, yeah (Built this city)

We built, we built this city

We built, we built this city yeah (Built this city)

We built, we built this city

We built, we built this city yeah (Built this city)

We built, we built this city (Built this city)”

“Don’t you remember” when our nation was strong, proud, and a world leader, not a laughing stock? We just remember what we were and can be again, just as we must remember 9/11, when our nation gathered together in the face of hatred and terrorism; we survived and thrived. We can do it once again, as long as we remember that America is a democracy, a melting pot of humanity, built on the strength of our values, not the weakness of hatred. We built this country on morality, diversity, and hope.

“We built this city

We built this city on rock and roll

Built this city

We built this city on rock and roll

 

Say you don’t know me or recognize my face

Say you don’t care who goes to that kind of place

Knee deep in the hoopla, sinking in your fight

Too many runaways eating up the night

 

Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don’t you remember?

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

 

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

 

Someone’s always playing corporation games

Who cares, they’re always changing corporation names

We just want to dance here, someone stole the stage

They call us irresponsible, write us off the page

 

Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don’t you remember?

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

 

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

 

It’s just another Sunday in a tired old street

Police have got the choke hold, oh, then we just lost the beat

 

Who counts the money underneath the bar?

Who rides the wrecking ball into our guitars?

Don’t tell us you need us ’cause we’re the ship of fools

Looking for America, coming through your schools

 

Don’t you remember? (Remember)

Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don’t you remember?

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

 

Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

We built, we built this city, yeah (Built this city)

We built, we built this city

We built, we built this city yeah (Built this city)

We built, we built this city

We built, we built this city yeah (Built this city)

We built, we built this city (Built this city)”

9/11, Remembered

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Remembering 9/11

Remembering 9/11

 

By John Curran

My first time ever in New York, I’d been there 13 days, n I’m already hooked up with Social Services. On this beautiful early Fall morning I was on Lafeyette Street at the food stamp offices, ostensibly to pick up my ID card. I signed in at 8:45. One minute later the first plane hit the North Tower. At that moment nobody, not even witnesses knew what was really going down. It wasn’t until the second plane….so, I’m just sitting there waiting to be called back to the window to get my card n then head back to the park and another day when this woman comes rushing in. She’s distraught, she says to me n the other guy sitting there, that a second plane had just hit the South Tower. I’ll never forget her words “It’s a disaster” Well, something now is up. I’m hearing the sirens starting up outside as by this time every fire house in Manhattan has been alerted and the units are rolling a mad rush down Second Avenue to the towers. And me, I still don’t know nothing only that this is taking too long. I go up to the window and the nice lady says,  “well you can wait or you can come back later.” She don’t know anything either of what’s happening but that is all fixing to change, real fast and I did not get my card that day. So, I leave, walk outside, and that’s when it was starting to register. Myself, I still did not know anything else, but to walk back over to Thompson Park the hangout. But as I’m walking I’m catching snatches of talk now, everybody come out now, n I hear someone talking about the damn hit and that you can see the building actually on fire from over on Third Street ‘n Second Avenue, the main one way going south, where all the fire trucks were now streaming full tilt and sirens blasting. And as this was not far from where I was, I figured I might as well have a look, what could it be? Well, what it was was that famous Time magazine cover photo live right before my eyes. Both buildings on fire and the city in the process of shutting down, for the most unforeseen damn thing that anybody had seen, maybe ever. And nobody that I know, had any idea that they weren’t yet seeing the half of this, that these buildings were actually going to completely collapse from the weight of all this;  maybe some structural planner somewhere might coulda figured it out, maybe. We were bewildered, New York would never be the same. I saw it for the first time in it’s saddest time, Lord have mercy, I love New York. That’s all I can say, right now.

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: Saint or Scammer

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Kirsten Gillibrand:

Saint or Scammer

By D.S. Mitchell & Trevor K. McNeil

The Pendulum Swings

It seems like each new each day brings us a new candidate for the job of president of the United States. At the beginning of Trump’s third year, anyone able to walk and talk at the same time, thinks they can do a better job than Trump. In fact, not to bring peels of laughter from the audience, I am sure that I could do a better job. Being able to do a better job than Trump however could probably be accomplished by any of the last six Westminster champions.

Blinded By Desperation

There are those who say there is no way Trump can win in 2020.  Didn’t everyone say that about Trump in 2016? The prognosticators also said George W. Bush couldn’t win in his second term in 2004. Single term presidents do occur, although not often. In every case such losses occurred it was due to a compelling opponent. The most recent instance, when relatively unknown Arkansas governor Bill Clinton ran against, and beat George H.W.Bush. Who was, by all accounts, in line for a second term.

A Champion Shall Rise?

If the Republicans stick with tradition and name Donald Trump their nominee for 2020. The key to victory for the Democrats will be selecting the right candidate. Someone with a specific set of attributes that appeal to the base, as well as making them impervious to Trump’s already proven attacks and tactics. One of a bevy of Democrats to recently throw their hat into the ring is second-term New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

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Part VII: Behind The Curtain

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Part VII: Behind The Curtain

D. S. Mitchell

At the end of Part VI it was January 11th and Donald Trump was holding his first press conference since his Electoral College win. Trump stood to one side of the stage, flanked by Donald Jr 39, Ivanka 35, and Eric 33, listening to his tax attorney, Sheri Dillon explain to the audience of reporters and staff, the changes that were being made to the Trump Organization.

The stage with a center podium was decorated with solemn dark blue drapes and a row of American flags with long gold tassels giving the event a sober tone. On a black shrouded table, to the left of where Dillon stood at the podium, were stacks of manila folders. The stacks were impressively high. Pointing to the stacks of folders, Dillon claimed they were filled with 1000’s of documents proving that Trump was re-arranging his empire to satisfy the growing chorus of critics.

Dillon claimed the Trump “business empire” was “massive”. She emphasized massive several times. A couple of times Dillon tried to draw a correlation between Trump and former Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller as she talked about the changes being made at the Trump Organization. Evidently, she did not know that Rockefeller had released his tax returns and later offered to place his sizeable assets in a blind trust. Neither of which Trump has offered to do.

“The plan” was, according to Dillon, to put the Trump Organization into a trust to be managed by his sons and a long time executive. She emphasized that there would be no more foreign deals, an ethics advisor would be chosen and lastly, Donald Trump would have no involvement in the business. It quickly became clear that Trump was not going to sell his business or put those assets in a blind trust, or release his tax returns.

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Part IV: Behind The Curtain

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Part IV: Behind The Curtain

D. S. Mitchell

As we have already seen, Russians have floated in the Trump swamp for decades. The President’s first contacts with Russians came in the late 1980’s when Trump was wooed by the Russian government to look at the prospect of building hotels in Moscow and Kiev.

Trump has had many Russian tenants in the Trump Tower.  One very memorable Russian tenant was alleged Russian mob boss Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov.  An apartment at Trump Tower rented to Tokhtakhounov was the subject of a raid in April 2013 by federal agents as part of an investigation in to two separate gambling rings. Interestingly, Ali Tokhakhounov was, despite being under indictment in the United States for various gambling and corruption charges, made an appearance at Trump’s Miss Universe Pageant held in Moscow that same year.

In addition to Russian tenants, Trump has had several Russian partners, most notably the boys from Bayrock. The Trump Organization has sold an endless stream of condo’s and private residences to Russians. His children have traveled extensively throughout Russia.  In fact, according to recent news stories the Trump Organization was actively negotiating with Russian officials to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 Presidential election.

In January of 2017 Trump tweeted, “I have nothing to do with Russia–NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING.” We now know that was a blatant lie. In separate interviews about that same time Trump said in weird rambling denials that neither he or his campaign had any connection to Russians.  Trump’s praise of Putin, and his refusal to ever criticize the Russian strong man has brought those assertions into serious question, causing many to speculate that Trump has been compromised.

Going back to that 2013 Miss Universe Pageant, prior to the event Trump issued a very strange tweet, “Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow–if so, will he be become my new best friend?”

The answer to that very strange Twitter inquiry is unknown. Putin did not go to the event, but he did send an expensive lacquered Russian box to Trump. The event venue was the Crocus City Mall.  The Crocus City Mall is owned by Aras Agalarov a Russian oligarch with known ties to Vladimir Putin.  It is common knowledge that Agalarov and Trump discussed the construction of twin adjacent Trump towers in downtown Moscow during that 2013 visit.

Trump bizarrely equating business deals with diplomacy; answered as follows when a FoxNews commentator confronted him on his lack of foreign policy experience. “I know Russia well.  I had a major event in Russia two or three years ago, which was a big, big incredible event,” referring to the Miss Universe Pageant.

Really? Please explain to me, and the 70% of Americans who do not equate running a beauty pageant with running a country, how that answer and that experience would in any way qualify him as knowledgeable of foreign policy. Trump, I believe, is slowly beginning to realize what many of us already knew, that the two are in no way similar, or interchangeable.  In fact, many of the tactics used in business are inappropriate as national political strategy or policy.

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Part II: Behind The Curtain

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Part II: Behind The Curtain

D. S. Mitchell

I have talked about Donald Trump and his struggle to overcome his boyhood wealth in the dismal back water of Queens, N.Y. and his four decade effort to impress the only world that mattered at the time., the glittery world of Manhattan real estate. It was only later that he set his sights on the White House. Come with me while we continue that tumultuous journey.

In 1988, Donald bought a profitable shuttle line from the failing Eastern Airlines.  He had assembled a $380,000,000 loan from a consortium of twenty-two banks. Trump decided to go “high-end,” turning the shuttle service  into a very pricey hour trip. By 1992 the Trump Shuttle was in receivership and had ceased operations.

Trump has learned the art of spin.  He tells anyone that will listen, that every major bank in the country is begging him to borrow their bank’s money.  What a crock of crap.  In fact, according to many financial sources, Trump had no choice but to morph his real estate business in to a “licensing, branding company, where other people own the assets, because he couldn’t get bank loans, he had no choice.”

Mike Burnett, a transplanted Brit, was riding high in 2002 with the biggest hit on reality television, Survivor. Burnett wanted to spend more time with his children in New York and Survivor was filmed in far off jungle islands.  Burnett came  up with an idea for a show set in New York and he  needed a bigger than life central character to pull it off.

After seeing Trump’s picture plastered everywhere he looked around New York he decided to pitch the project to Donald Trump.

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