Politics
The craziest thing about my trip to Chicago was my visit to the Sears Tower (now “Willis Tower” – but nobody calls it that). I went in, looked around, stood against the outer wall and looked up, and admired it from a distance. But I didn’t have time to go to the top.
It is a cool building and it is black. Black is cool. But it isn’t that tall. Yes, I know the stats. I know that it is supposed to be the tallest building in America.
But it isn’t.
Stand next to the Empire State Building. The Empire State feels taller. And it dominates the skyline in a way that the Sears Tower doesn’t. I used to get the same vibes from the Twin Towers – they felt tall, too. And they also dominated the Manhattan skyline.
But not the Sears Tower. The Sears Tower is just another big building. Some people have a theory that it looks short because it is black. If it were white it would look bigger. Maybe.
But I don’t buy it.
I think it is a Chicago-style scam – similar to their dirty politics – to get recognition for their city.
Sorry Chicago – but cut it out. Admit that the Empire State Building is taller. And feel good about yourselves. Chicago is a cool place. It has a lot to offer. You don’t have to lie about your buildings to get people to love you.
March 7th, 2010
I am not happy with Massachusetts today.
Here is my story. I need to renew my registration for my car by the end of April (Thursday). I received a letter in the mail that I could not renew until I paid all my old tickets. It listed the tickets and told me I had to contact each municipality separately. Not cool. But it gets worse.
Ticket Number One:
This ticket is from Brookline. I hate Brookline. I hate everything Brookline stands for. If you read the signs that welcome you to Brookline they say, “Welcome to Brookline. Don’t Park In Our Town.” Right away you know they are scum.
Last year, my wife’s father died. She went to England and I was leaving the next day to join her for the funeral. I went to Brookline to buy a book for my flight. I parked and put a quarter in the meter. The meter didn’t acknowledge my quarter! I was not going to put another one in so I left and went to the store. I came back five minutes later. The meter maid was writing my ticket. I yelled, “STOP!” and told her my story. Unfortunately the meter maid was filth and kept writing. She didn’t believe me and told me I could fight it if I wanted. Who has time to do that?
In the end it cost me $65. I hope they choke on it.
Ticket Number Two:
This ticket is from Amherst. In October 2007 I was in Amherst meeting students and drinking coffee. I noticed a cop writing tickets when I parked my car. It was 2 o’clock. I asked the cop, “Do I have until 5 or 6?” He said, “6.” The meter only let me feed it until 5. At 5:05 I went out to put in more money. There was already a ticket on my car marked at 5:01. The despicable slime came back, stood by my car, and wrote the ticket the second it expired!
In the end it cost me $50. At least the Parking Clerk is super-friendly on the phone and very helpful and empathetic.
Ticket Number Three:
Boston. I never got a ticket! One day a letter came in the mail and said I owed $53. I blew it off too – who has time to waste dealing with all this nonsense?
In the end it cost me $73.
Total: $188 for nothing. Impeach Deval. Fire Menino. And I still have to pay the fee to renew my registration!
April 28th, 2009
Call me slow, but I finally figured out why Obama had that crazy Greek temple stage set-up for his speech in Denver last week – he thinks he is Spartacus. (Compare photos below.)
True, Obama can only take his Spartacus fetish so far – he cannot give a major political address in his underwear and holding a sword. But he can stand in front of Greek columns.
(Yes, I know, the real Spartacus was in Roman times – so what? In the subliminal world these subtleties are unimportant.)
I am sorry but I don’t think it worked. First of all, Obama didn’t have the arm guard – in my opinion the most important part of the outfit.
Secondly, try as he might, Obama is no Kirk Douglas. Proof? Kirk had legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick to design his set – Obama had to settle for someone who works for Brittney Spears.
September 2nd, 2008
I heard yesterday that McCain is thinking about a Jew for the VP slot and my instant, knee-jerk reaction is, “No way, bad news, we don’t need a Jew in the White House.”
For many reasons, the worst thing we Jews need is a Jewish president (or Jewish VP for that matter). His hands would be tied as he did contortions to prove he is not “favoring Israel” or “Jewish interests.” I say, give us a good old bible-thumping Christian. They make the best Zionists and will take care of our interests.
But then I took a look at the guy they are talking about – Eric Cantor – and in spite of my philo-Semitic misgivings, he looks great. He is an anti-tax, small government, pro-business conservative, strong on all the social issues, and this is the best part – one of Israel’s most avid congressional supporters.
My conclusion is like this: If the McCain camp is thinking, “We need a Jew so we can win over the Jewish vote.” Bad idea. Most Jewish voters are idiots and are loyal to Obama and his message. But if they are just looking for a great guy who will balance the ticket – then Cantor is the man.
Think of it, we could easily end up with a Jew in the White House and wow; he would be from the last place anyone would have ever guessed.
August 4th, 2008
I gave a talk the other night at George Mason University in Virginia, and so did Bill Clinton.
I am not sure what Bill was thinking – like how could he book a talk the same night as me? It was probably scheduled at the last minute in an effort to help Hillary in the Virginia primary.
I feel kind of bad about what happened though. Bill probably didn’t realize it, but I am sure that his numbers suffered because of our “double booking.” I hope he doesn’t blame me for Hillary’s loss – I think there were other factors involved like Obama’s momentum and the make up of the Virginia electorate – but you never know what these crazy politicians are thinking.
February 13th, 2008
I posted this link to a late-80’s performance of Bruce Springsteen covering the Edwin Starr classic “War” on Retro Chicken – my music only blog. Bruce and his band sound great (I wrote over on Retro Chicken that I am pretty sure he is with the E Street Band) and the video rocks – except for the last 5 seconds. Just as the song ends Bruce makes this pedantic statement about war being bad – like duh Bruce, obviously war is bad – but war isn’t going to end just because you don’t like it. The only way to end war, or any other social ill which plagues our society, is to stop pointing fingers and assigning blame and to stand up and take responsibility.
Incidentally – this is exactly the message of “War.” According to Edwin Starr, even though the song was seen as an anti-Vietnam anthem – that was not the message at all. It is actually about the evil of “war” between friends, family and neighbors – about the need to start looking inward and solve our personal problems as a means to change the planet – now that is a message.
October 15th, 2007
I am not sure what to make of this. Columnist Ann Coulter said:
“We [Christians] just want Jews to be perfected.”
I mean yeah, Christians do believe they have the monopoly on religion and that their beliefs are the fulfillment of the promises of Judaism. If they want to believe that – fine, I think it is silly, but believe what you want. But I am surprised that Ann Coulter believes this, or is at least so vocal about it – I thought she was a liberal-hating conservative, not a bible-thumping fundamentalist.
Click here to see the whole article.
October 11th, 2007
Check out this video, the dean of Columbia University* clearly states that “if Hitler were alive today, he would be invited to speak at Columbia.” How did such a dimwitted baboon get to be dean at an Ivy League university?
He tries to make himself out to be I’m-Mr.-Openness-in-a-world-of-ideas: “I know what Hitler believes is despicable, but if he is willing to take questions from Columbia students then sure, he can speak here.” (I paraphrased because I don’t have the stomach to look at his idiotic talking face again to get the quote right.)
Doesn’t the brainless turd dean realize that he is legitimizing Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s Jew-hating message by giving him a platform to speak from at prestigious Columbia University?
What an idiot – but what would you expect from the dean of the school who gave tenure to Edward Said? (Remember him – he was the professor who went to Lebanon and threw rocks at Israelis – my hero.)
Visit this Facebook group or go here if you want to join the protest on Monday in New York.
*Actually, he is the acting dean of the School of International and Public Affairs.
September 22nd, 2007
Check this out - it is me (the “Jew”) dancing with an Arab in the west bank. Saving the world one dance at a time. Maybe I should start a new group - Boogie Without Borders or something like that - any suggestions?
August 7th, 2007
