Tarek Fatah's the Jew is Not My Enemy

In general it is good to read books that challenge your assumptions, unless they are written by Marxists whose views are worthless. While it is important to learn from Spenser it is more valuable to read the thoughts of Muslims who care about their faith and share our concerns. I have learned very much from regularly read Stephen Schwartz and the articles at the CIP.

Fatah does decry the pro Arabic racism that is directed at non Arabs as part and parcel of the Saudi variant. Arabs muslims tend to look down on non Arab muslims who make up a majority of the faith.  The primacy of this faith and the mindless conspiratorial Jewish obsessions are traced to Saudi malfeasence.

What is new is the authors questioning if a certain massacre assumed to be true actually happend or it got added later. The author makes a convincing argument it did not happen quite the way the haddith conveys it. The author questions why Muslims themselves are so willing to embrace the story of a vengeful prophet
who butchered people who were basically bystanders in the events. As with the building of the Dome of the Rock there appears to be political reasoning behind the fable. The author points out that there is zero confirmation of these events in Jewish sources who wrote about events in great detail. The massacre of 900 people should have created ruins that would have been dug up in Medina multiple times in construction.

The author points out that if this haddith is rejected then inevitably we would end up wondering what else is false or exagerated.

Are we ready to challenge out assumptions? While I grant that the author may be factually correct, Muslims themselves believe these legends. Of course clinging to represive theocracy is not in anyones interest as it is not the basis of a modern state. The problem is the author leaves out the damage of the Marxists who inane strongmen like Saddam and Assad have been just as disasterous. Of course the notion of getting a Muslim Capitalist reformer has just not happened. I have learned to never say never but don't hold your breath.

Movies and you

When a well crafted movie is made there is but so much that can be conveyed in 90 minutes. Most of this is directed at plot and charachter develpoment. Thus a movie about the Catskills Hotels or set there is unlikely to ever touch upon the troubled transients who washed the dishes and cleaned the floors. Cleaning the flo ors in the kitchen was done by a series of water hoses and wasnt so bad. Running the silverware spinners was bad and clapping plates in the huge dishwasher was the worst.

In film it is just easier and more interesting to portray the owners child or spoiled wealthy kid having a forbidden romance. There likely were many of these between the young college students who were passing through on their way to somewhere else. In general most of these students were from upper middle class families. The parents did not necessarily frown on these relationships so long as everything went well. If it didn't then can expect the worst.

A dance instructor was not a great candidate. They were considered on a lower plane than the entertainers or even the musicians. Yes there was the celebrated marriage of the late Lou Goldstein to a dance instructor. Goldstein was the brilliant activities director and an upper level employee, not a guest or an owners family.

A TV series about the Catskills Era would be a blast. You could have cameos of actual entertainers who played there playing cranky guests while a younger person plays Jackie Mason or Don Rickles. Even in an hour format 15 minutes could be devoted to the show. I doubt this type of series would ever hit paper or come to the attention of studio heads. However, given the bad cop shows and dreadful shows on HBO it would be worth a try. In a TV series the world of the long term employees and the transients can be discussed in passing.

The real world of Dirty Dancing

I have been reading some of the articles from the Catskill Institute. I arrived at the very end, and some of the famous places were closed when I arrived. I did stay at both the Concord and Grossingers as a guest. I stayed with my Grandparents at a bungalow on the site of the Hotel Gradus and visited them at the bungalow colony next to the Pines. I visited Stevensville and Kutshers many times.

The Catskill era was about a simpler time. Families went to a Hotel to be pampered. The food was excellent and the entertainment was world class. A comedian worked the pool and a Jazz Musician played his standards and the guests could have a meal on the patio on the pool where I worked for a few seasons.
I spent my nights at the coffee shop at a slow station or by the takeout area.

There were clear divisions between workers and guests. The owners didn't mind if the college students sunbathed on the cabana. An attractive 20 year old co-ed was a pleasant distraction and harmless. There were romances between the children of seasons guests and the college students. Most of the college students were from wealthy families.

There was an unwritten caste system. A college student could enjoy the cabana or was encouraged to visit the mixers on singles weekends. The next caste was the young townies. They were forbidden to be anywhere on the grounds. Romances between the college students and townies did happen but they were frowned upon by all. I found myself on the wrong end of one of these romances. When it went bad my heart was broken. Quietly while I went to school the hotel had fired this girlfriend. My heart was devastated and two young managers who were like sisters looked after me. To this day I remain grateful to Barbara and Dana who looked after me with my first broken heart. The girl was an alcoholic, but very beautiful. Even a local famous comedian quipped "hey kid why not make love to a bottle of cheap booze and cut out the middle man.." I always thought she was deceased but I found her name in a recent police report in Troy listed as homeless. A famous writers daughter who I thought of as flighty said "Beaky, she isn't for you. You are going on to other things and she will just drag you down and ruin you and kick you while you are down. The writers daughter was correct and in no definition flighty. She was a brilliant live wire who was smarter than you realized and had a huge heart. It was only in the Catskills that our paths would cross. She used drag me out when I wanted to work. I can't thank her because she passed away before her time in her 40's. I went to the funeral and sat near a neighbor who mistook me for a lawyer. I guess I don't carry the federal officer bit with bearing.

As a college student we lived and ate in different places than the others. There was a separate dinning area for the students. The place where the workers ate was called the bimi cafeteria. I loved the bimi cafeteria and looked forward on rare occasions eating the midnight meal with the workers. There were friends of mine who were stewards, security guards and others.  One special friend was named John Hyde who was a veteran of WW2. He was an army buddy of the owners nephew who ran the kitchen. He worked in the kitchen and described army life. He was a conservative who lived in the rooming house up the block. He worked in house keeping. One day in the eighties when I returned a security guard I used to chat with late nights told me "your friend died of a heart attack over the winter". I liked eating in the dreaded bimi cafeteria on the rare occasion I ate with the students it was usually the writers daughter dragging me kicking and screaming. I had a look that was frequently confused with a young Tony Curtis. It was not uncommon for one of the fellow students to take an interest and drag me around. They were beautiful special daughters from the best families, but my head was in a different place. I was really, not of their world as my family though locally prominent and respected was not in those stratospheres. I remember the writers daughter explaining to me everything was in my mind and I was one of them. Funny, but I didn't like the idea of being served. Later on when I lived briefly with a supermarket heiress I would create a stir by cooking my own meals and letting the cleaning woman eat with us. I learned the basics of cooking at the hotel and made world class meals on lower fifth where I lived briefly.

The building I lived in was called the Congress building. It was a short distance from the pool and coffee shop. The building was mostly similar college students. The exception were a famed Jazz musician in his later years, the planets best busboy who looked like Dan Hedaya and the infamous playboy I called Captain S. There was a notorious and nasty gay Captain who lived in the building. He used to try and peek
at the college students as they showered and was creepy. I later worked with many fine gay men in several jobs but this guy was seedy. The planets best busboy was a brilliant student who arrived in the 50's and never left. He hired me to help him out and was generous. His area had most of the season guest high rollers. One of them had two breath taking daughters and the youngest one went from ordinary to dreamy overnight. She was never snobby, but I kept my distance as her family was just in another world that I didn't belong in. The greatest busboy was someone I call the Great Mr. G. He was going to Brooklyn College and swore he couldn't learn languages. He stayed over the summer and promised he would go back to school thirty years later it never happened. He was a brilliant stock player and never needed to work. Somehow love never seemed to hit him and he just remained frozen in time collecting a huger portfolio and occasionally going to Florida on vacation. He got into a fight with the maitre d  a few years before the end and was spared seeing the last chapter.

The Captain across the hall was the planets most notorious playboy. He slept with everything but never more than once or twice. If a woman had a fantasy he lived it. He sunned himself on the cabana and went to Mambo night at the hotel up the road and every singles event at every hotel in the area. He literally farmed out his excess like an X rated version of Fonzi. His room had a mirrored foil and he had every novelty gag on the planet. We used to prank each other with stuff that was similar to MASH type stuff. Lets just say that the behaviors that went on there were on a par with XXX material from a cheesy porn flick. I can't ever complain about the guy as he used to set my social schedule. When my younger coworkers think I haven't lived a life of adventure I tell them about my days as a sometimes wing man of Captain S. Of course many of these people are sceptical and think that someone who behaved like the Captain should have been felled
by venereal disease, an outraged spouse or family member or psycho chick he picked up. The Captain stayed with the hotel until it ended and went to a resort in Florida where he remembers the good old days.
The captain was a real person who just defied every known law of mathematical probability. There were some younger college students he refused to sleep with because they were like kid sisters to him.  He has generations of new fans who think my descriptions are exaggerations. The secret was as a good hotel man the Captain grasped catering to his audiences desires and he did. He catered to whatever fantasies his women wanted. He was angry that a few times a woman he scheduled with me didn't bother with him when they returned. I guess my naive fresh enthusiasm had its uses. I was told that it had the illusion of something more but I was literally a #%$^^ buddy, but having someone who wasn't in a hurry to leave was appreciated. It wasn't real, but it conveyed the illusion of it. I was no angel and if my younger coworkers think they are all that they just would not think I was capable of doing things they only imagined with breath taking beauties.

The upper caste long term employees lived in an excellent place across the road from the employees entrance. No college students lived there to the best of my knowledge. It was a former hotel that was in much better condition than the congress building where I lived. Maybe the great Mr. G just came as a student and never left. The famous aging Jazz musician was a good friend who played a late night show would go to the coffee shop get a bite and go a short distance to the Congress building.

Long term employees who did menial jobs filled the next caste. I identified with these hard working simple folk. Most lived in town and had families. Underneath the huge kitchen they toiled in the pantry, bakery or butcher shop. The best of these were sent to the golf clubhouse or the patio kitchen. The most clean cut were sent there. Sometimes, I helped out in the pantry and met the Hispanics who ran the area in their chores. Later as a waiter they took good care of me. Many of these people were interesting. My cousin was a security guard and went onto a job as a correction officer in a facility nearby. I was friendly with many of the security guards as a result of that relationship. My cousin married a woman who worked behind the front desk.

The last caste were generously known as transients.  There were some dangerous criminals and I remember a young boss pointing out to me stay far away from that one, there is much you don't know. These transients lived in the bungalow down the road. I stayed there once when we had too many females in the congress building. By then I was a veteran at the Hotel and a tough customer. I didn't mind staying there but the folks in human resources moved me quickly. The workers drank and many were devoted to their cats.

Across the road was a former hotel where the really dangerous place. It was a former hotel that had a single entrance and was surrounded with a thick barbed wire fence. This place was so dangerous the security guards except for gung ho Nick never wanted to go there. When they went even former Vietnam vets went in pairs.  Allegedly, the place was full of drugs and violence. If you were homeless you could come here work as a dishwasher and make a few bucks for drugs or alcohol.

Down the road was a nasty bar where the hard core alcoholics would give the owner their whole paycheck. It was a nasty place down the road and some retirees were there. Oddly, when  the hotel was demolished and few structures remain this one is still there all boarded up. Across the road was the boarding house where my friend John Hyde lived.  That structure not only exists but appears in better shape than when John lived there.

Back towards the hotel was a bar that at one time was topless. Above it was a smaller hotel where some workers lived. It was said to be owned by the nasty son in law of the owner. His wife and daughter were such wonderful people. Some of the higher class transients lived there and there was plenty of alcohol and sexual activities of all type. This was where the ill fated girl of my romance lived with her breath taking red head sister. The sisters violent boyfriend fancied himself a drummer. They disappeared and I hope she ditched this guy as she was sweet in her own way.

The owners son in law was a Dr. and a first class jerk. He used to do an absurd physical. Lift your shirt drop your pants turn your head cough. He would frequently make rude comments. I joked that I had been through the physical so many times the Dr had probably seen my privates more than a few girl friends.

The owners sons were okay. The second one was just a decent guy who married an exceptional wife. His wife exuded beauty, grace, poise and charm. She was the queen of the hotel and her smile and warmth were genuine. She helped many people and her children had the best of her qualities.

In general my place in this world was probably higher on the food chain than I was aware of. Then again I was petrified of falling in love with a super wealthy girl and not fitting in that world. As a business scool student the townies were not really my world either. Some strange marriages too place that were the exception like a friends brother who married a sweet but slow coffee shop waitress. She really was a townie but her brother likely enjoyed her good natured personality.

Long term relationships between the seasons guests and the staff were frowned upon. There was no shortage of flings and people breaking every vow imaginable.

I miss those days and I am thankful to see it even if it was right before the curtain dropped.

Heat Wave

I hate the steaming heat of NYC. This current heat wave is expected to  last into the week end. When I retire I will go someplace beyond the heat. It seldom gets to 95 in Sulivan county as Ferndale is about 1100 feet above sea level. Thee next time the Vermonters call me a Flatlander I will have to remind them Staten Island is also way above sea level and Fendale is likely higher than wherever they live.

In January I will be at blog post 3000.

I am working on a very long one about the real world of the Catskill resorts as I saw it.  I wish I could locate my uniforms from the resort I worked it and donate it to the Catskill Historical Institute.  Much of this history is being lost and reclaimed by nature. All those memories of fun and families, entertainers, gangsters and transients lost forever in time.

You might encounter some of this world in Dirty Dancing or Sweet Loraine but this is a fairly tale compared to the real world I knew.

Finnishing Thhe Jew is Not My Enemy

I am near the end of the book. The book makes some interesting points. While the book is intereting ang thought provoking it is more interesting what the reaction of so called official spokesmen like CAIR have to his voice of reason. In general there are voices of sanity within the Islamic community like Stephen Schwartz of the CIP. Unfortunately, the media prefers shrill and bellicose to sane and rational.

America are you stupid

Much has been said about the recent moves by Obama to sure up his bases. The most transparent of these moves was his alleged 9th hour conversion to support of gay marriage. Obama always was a supporter but threw gays under the bus in an attempt to make himself look like a centrist on election day. There have been plenty of reports showing his actual position prior to running. He peddles the myth of courage and changes his position and goes directly to a Hollywood fundraiser. Only in Hollywood does a moron like Barbara Streisand qualify as brilliant. Other than James Woods you can not find too many Hollywood types with a brain.

Hispanics are alegedly big supporters due to Obama's last second immigration theartrics. He does this act also right before his head is in the chopping block.

Blacks have suffered disproportionately in this recession. What has Obama done to create real jobs???

Obama is not capable of fixing the economy. Our best hope is that the business cycle will blunt his negligent initiatives. The house members need to strangle Obama care by cutting off all funding. We should also demand a similar cutt off unless with aid to higher ed unless they agree to substansive reforms. The bottom line is that Obama has made no efforts to control costs in these areas. We as taxpayers need to demand accountability in DC and if we get serious about cutting budgets we can negotiate actual reforms.

A vote for Obama is a vote to extend the recession. If you like high unemployment, poor leadership and a self deluded pot head intellectual Obama is your man.

The question for Obama supporters is are you stupid.

Lost worlds

I have searched far and wide for articles with what happened to the workers in the former Catskills hotels and the garment center. The students like myself went on to careers that are likely unextraordinary. I graduated from college went into the fashion industry and reinvented myself as a federal law enforcement officer. My cousin David never finnished college and went from security in the hotels to a career as a corrections officer and recently retired. What happened to the cooks, housekeepers and others that worked full time.

Even before the Hotels were finnished many went to Florida for the winter but came back for christmas and passover.

We have the stories of the movers and shakers and to a lesser extent the guests but the kitchen help was invisibile.

Oddly, in my trip to the Catskills one place that still exists is the nasty bar the hard core alcoholics used to visit after work. The bar is long since shuttered the dishwashers and other addicts used to walk down the hill to the bar and give their whole check. They would live in a nasty place surrounded by barbed wire. The guards would almost never venture in there. A few times with shortages I ended up in a bungalow across the road with the area that handled some of the skilled kitchen help. It was memorable how the lonely workers took great pride in their cats and talked of distant dreams. Across the road you could hear the ocaisional fight.

The story of Dirty Dancing captivates many and oddly even in distant Guyana is a film that resonates there.
The workers knew their place and even when I was told it was okay to mingle there was hesitation. As a Jewish male who was a serious college student there was a chasm between my upper middle class world and many of the guests. I remember discussing it with the late Kelly Breslin who was vivacious lively and ever opinionated. Her view was that these divisions only existed in my mind and I was just another college student. Somehow, I always knew my place and never identified with that crowd. There were a few times she dragged me out and I will always cherish those memories of a fun loving fiesty and witty charachter.

Lost Worlds

The younger officers I mentor sometimes hear me wax on about the Catskills and or the Garment District. Today, they are vestiges of what they were and I may as well be talking about dinosaurs. My journey across those lost worlds to become an officer is a story in and of itself.

A favorite of the younger crowd was the antics of Captain Scott. The Captain lived across the hall from me for many seasons. He was a legendary playboy who literally who was so busy it is a miracle that his privates didn't fall off from all the abuse. People think the antics I describe were part of a comedic routine but they were based on fact. What was amazing with all of those women he never got killed by venereal diseases, a jealous boyfriend or a psycho chick. He was also the greatest practical joker, I ever saw.

Now amongst my travels, I located a short paragraph written by the Captain. I will show the paragraph to his fans who think of him as a literary archetype/comedic foil. Some day, I seriously have to pen a tome about all these crazy adventures across the lost worlds in the various industries. If I were reading about some of these people I would think they were fiction. In many ways reality is much stranger than fiction.

Returning home

The Catskill Mountains has a very special place in my heart. It is connected intimately with my childhood and young adult life. It was there that I walked through the woods as a child. It was there that I had my first job. It was there I had my first love and many other firsts.

My fathers connection goes back decades before mine. You can get a glimpse of the life there by viewing the movie Dirty Dancing or Sweet Lorraine.

The largest and greatest hotel was the Concord. The demolition of the place was so complette you can't even tell anything stood there. The sole survivor is home of the Robert Parker family, but that may be temporary. The cottages where the workers lived are similarly gone. The bar across the street is also gone.
Oddly, the nasty bar where the diswashersused to give the owner their paycheck is also gone, but the structure is there. The rooming house where my friend John lived 20 years ago is still there. John worked at the Concord for 30 years and we had many meals together. One summer, I came up and a security guard told me your buddy had a heart attack and died in the spring.

There was a small town named Parksville with the best soft ice cream place on the planet. The highway was moved so it passed the town. This is probably the last season the custard place will be there. Long ago an excellent resturant named Poppys burned in a fire and never reopened.

Surprisingly, many of the bungalow colonies I summered in are still there. They were rebuilt and sold as condos. Small kosher pizza places and coffee shops open for the summer. The hassidic Jews come in droves for the summer and provide money for the local businesses other than fast food shops.

I went to the family estate and visited a cousin. I could not find the stone walls where I learned about snakes. There was a grassy field about 30 feet long that is gone. There were the familiar orange flowers that were everywhere around July. I didn't even get to see the nearby hemlock forrest with a single paper birch oddly in the center. I did not get to see the huge boulders that I played on as a kid and imagined they were mountains or vestiges of a sandbox that was reclaimed by the forrest. I did view a swimming hole I helped build.  The family dredged a stream pool  with rocks and made a stone dam. The hole was about eight foot deep and cold on a hot day.

The famous Brown's Hotel was doing okay as a time share until April when it was burned beyond repair in a mysterious fire.

When I retire I want to spend the last years of my life away from NYC in these hills. A nice small place to spend my golden years watching the few remaining seasons of my life dreaming of woods and watching the land reclaim itself. I hope enough of it is left so that I can live this dream.

The towns are not imaginitive. Oddly, they could probably survive by luring NYC people with busses to the City. A place where Civil Servants could live and raise small families. There is ample land and modular housing on two acre lots could be the field of dreams for many.

It was a depressing visit. I will see if I can locate the book the oral history of the Catskills. It will be good to hear of Grossingers and the comedy of Lou Goldstein. I can imagine the music of Erskine Hawkins who was a friend and the horrible bimmi kitchen. Some of you can hear glimpses of this world when Michael Savage talks of the long gone Hotel Flagler and strange locals who lived off the land.

The assasination of the American Economy

The Supreme Court has unwittingly provided a shot to the head to the United States economy. Ever since Obama passed his health care attrocity companies have put off hiring employees. Now thanks to the blunder of the supreme court you can expect this to continue. Of course extending children to the age of 26 was a bone thrown to Obamas allies in big education.

Expect the recession to continue.

A blast from the past

I called a former boss from the 90's. He has relocated to LA where he has found employment in our old line of work. He recognized the voice but it took my stating of the less than flattering name he used to call me. It was odd that even though I worked for family in that business my boss and his brother were like family to me.

We laughed about old times and how many of the workers fell on hard times. In the modern economy it is sad that when people have to relocate their marriages don't survive.

We discussed my family and how I disowned them and walked away. My immediate family has zero to do with them save my mother who never learned to cut off bad blood. This relative thinks because she is wealthy I owe her deference. I was sitting at a familiar haunt when an annoying voice "Beakerkin". I asked the waitress for my check and left the meal without acknowledging her.

Her Aunt calls from time to time and I respond with the curt "Its nice to hear from you. I'll call you back".

Now some of you are probably wondering what this person did to get such treatment. Actually, being a condescending POS and treating me like a serf  does wonders. Funny, that when something goes wrong in her business she always looks for me. The usual song and dance with a severe problems and needing her people abroad. Got this same song and dance when I visited from VT. My response then was to offer the five figures she owes me as a divorce. Keep the money, but never come near me again.

I have nostalgia for my old boss and a soft spot for the workers. We really worked hard and in some ways
it was really fun. The work I do now is far more important, but on some levels it is different. I enjoy working with the old messed up cases. Yet part of me longs for the days of leading a crew and the latest impossible task. Many of those I worked with are dead and gone. I remember the boss of a subsequent company pointing to myself and a Vanilla Ice clone as the future of his company. I left to pursue something else and drugs and maturity dogged the other guy. The company is still around but is a shell of itself.

Racist Bigot Barron Defeated

Those of you pondering the centrality of the obsession with Jews and Israel amongst racists need look no further than David Duke. While falsely trying to tie himself to conservatism, he endorsed OWS. This should tell us all we need to know about the far left.

Now alliances between hard core racists and so called progressives are well established. Black nationalists and abortion advocates met with the Klan. Thus it comes as no great shock that a white racist would endorse a Black racist like Charles Barron. Supposedly, the Obama people poured money and experts in as a Barron victory would focus more attention on Jews who are increasingly leaving the Democratic Party.

Of course one could lift various statements from Duke and see little variation from the comments of Lance Thuster. Thruster wanted to be a porn star but failed in that job, so he became a hacktivist spouting the most hackneyeed anti semitic garbage.

Foreskin Follies

The moronic German courts have once again reminded us of the imperial and intrusive nature of the far left. The practice of male circumcision predates the familiar religious untilization of the procedure. For thousands of years it has been practiced with a ceremony here and there. Other than the ceremony it is a given with zero fanfare.

The left likes to portray itself as enlightened and tolerant. However, this toleration seems limited to gay sex and abortion. The left likes to portray actual Christians ( not the imposters practicing liberation theology) as obsessed with the private lives of others. It is not the folks at the 700 Club who are trying to ban a religious practice and ban Jewish Kosher slaughter of animals.

You can view this blatant and obnoxious as part and parcel of the faux enlightenment of the EU. Thus using legal chicanery the left is in full Nazi mode. Who decided that their intrusive morality trumps religious and parental rights. Of course this will lead to back alley circumcisions done with chainsaws. The previous sentence was a parody of the shrill abortion activists who hold up coat hangers. I am not pro life and am dismayed at the vulgar self righteous rhetoric of the abortion advocates.

The sum of your liberties on the left appears to be the right to gay sex and abort your children.

Who would enforce this law is unknown. However, there are an abundance of unemployable types with useless social science degrees and delusions of actual scholarship with high student debt loads. Get your far left morals away from my privates and back under a rock.

Immigration abomination

One of my pet peeves in immigration is TPS. Temporary Protected Status is an abomination of a program due to the failure of politicians to reign in benefits granted. TPS was a great idea, but as with every other program it has serious flaws that the beneficiaries use and abuse.

Most of want to be helpful to people from countries where there are disasters and war. This is quite different then allowing people to stay for a decade long after the emergency is over. They frequently return home for a small fee to the country they claim is dangerous multiple times. If the country is so dangerous why do you return twice a year. The small fee does not even cover the cost of processing the form, but the beneficiaries gripe about it. Excuse me you have been in the USA about a decade after whatever natural disaster and need to return home.

The Beakerkin plan

1) TPS must end after three years for any natural disaster. Beneficiaries may go home one time on parole for a fee of $1000.
2) Any marriages to a citizen or births in that time should be treated under the law as a penalty of three to one for citizenship. Thus a person in TPS who would normally have to wait three years to become a USC would have a time penalty of an extra three years for every year they used TPS. In the case of a child sponsoring a parent the parent would have to wait an additional five years for every year they are on TPS.
3) TPS beneficiaries are barred from visiting the USA for the same length of time invoked by their status. If they stayed three years they are barred for three years unless US citizen children are involved.
4) In the case that the applicant has parented a USC child TPS can be extended, but a federal surcharge of $500 per year tax is imposed per child until the child turns 21. This is on top of any child support  or local taxation.
5) Any combination of five arrests including disorderly conduct and dismissals results in immediate deportation with one appeal. Any DWI or felony gets immediate deportation with a single appeal. The sole exception is vocational arrests such as being a clerk in a store and failing to get proper Id for beer. Each arrest add one year to the time the beneficiary must wait out of the country.
6) TPS may be extended for more than three years only for a war.
7) TPS beneficiaries may not receive educational loans and must pay out of state tuition at universities.

The goal of the plan is to stop the abuse of a noble program exploited by many for a decade after whatever natural disaster hit their homeland. Countries that receive TPS designation should be barred from the Diversity lottery for a decade after the designation has ended.

Package from Vermont

I received a box of books from a store I patronize in VT. The books are mostly on Abenakis or historical fiction set in the Revolutionary War in Upstate NY. I am reading the Jew is Not My Enemy by Tarek Fattah. The books chapter on the reaction of the Islamic community in Mumbai to the terror attacks is interesting. The descriptions of well educated Jewish conspiracy loons and the damage to the faith by Qutub and his followers in chapter 2 is informative.

It is not my typical reading but one learns by reading other vantage points.

Last Week.

Those of you are familiar with my vocation know what I do for a living. Those select few I talk with off line know the battles I go through every week. I am modest by nature and try to keep all but abstract discussions of the law on this site.

I want to state again that my employer is the American people not the President be he Obama, Bush or Beamish. I am tasked with upholding a set of laws. I work with attorneys and the general public. My reputation for fairness and dedication to the public has been well doccumented.

Lets point out that even if I agreed with Obama in aspects that impact my job I still live in the USA with an economy that is a wreck. Plenty of good people can't find work while our clueless leader thinks the private sector is doing well. Obama must be having flashbacks from the Alice and Wonderland Party if he can't see the mess.

At mid day on Friday Obama did made an earth shattering announcement . We will break this into two parts.

A) He announced he was going to suspend immigration on a certain class
B) He created a new set of benefits for this class

A) Plenty of people have fought for humane treatment in the system. The previous system was numbers driven. The problem was we were sending the wrong people before Immigration Judges. This was the worst example of careerism I have encountered. Many people including myself fought for sanity and a balanced system. We want to send the right people to the judges. Now a balanced system of the whole case gets discussed. 58 year old from China two USC kids one peddling arrest. The next agency will almost certainly pass and get a termination of proceedings and get this person legal status. Next case Honduran female married to a USC a conviction of drug dealing. They want this person out yesterday and we should toss them out.

The system has focused on criminals and does not play games. The person is pushed to the front of the line
and whatever resources are needed are provided. In this aspect the current plan makes sense. Actual deportation cases take decades. People with serious criminal convictions get moved out quicker because they have fewer appeal rights.

One thing the government is really good with when they identify a dangerous criminal they really take no chances. We had one the other day for a very serious crime commited abroad. I was handling the matter with our specialist when the other agency got accidentally alerted. In no time armed guards were present
and a team of attorneys reviewed the case from multiple angles. Public safety is and always should be job one. If a dangerous suspect walks into a Federal Office it is far safer to grab them on our turf than outside.

Basically Obama said we are not going to deport people who almost never get deported anyway. Actual deportations take about a decade between appeals venue shopping . The most common outcome is witholding of removal.  Basically Obama stated what was going on for the last two years and made it into a cheap campaign point. Where was he when the fights for sanity were taking place golfing?

B) Creation of a new class of people for an immigration benefit employment cards

This is done through congress and crafting the correct sections of law. On this element the President appears to have overstepped his authority.

Laws are not done via touchy feely stories. Left out in this discussion is the rights of those who played by the rules and adding 400,000 people looking for jobs that do not exist.

Don't want to touch Immigration

I know many of you look to me for insight into this matter. This is an area where I live work and beathe. The crying shame is that in the forrest of evil the good guys and the bad are really shades of gray. The narrative of the left is painfully wrong and some of on the right are pretty nasty at times. My sypathies rest with fixing a system that has been used and abused. The right is mostly correct but in the furthest reaches there is a racism that has zero to do with big tent Reaganism and people that are familiar. You don't see these racists here but you can see them at Amren, Vdare, Stormfront and sadly Bad Eagle. They are a key segment of the Paul brigade and you can find them at Tea Party events and OWS. In Tea Party events the focus is on domestic policy so this ugly side seldom rears its head. At OWS which is all over the place it gets lost in a sea of bigoted shrill voices.

The system like everything else has decent folks and thugs at all levels.  The notion that immigrants are all angels that look like the raindow colored Swiss Miss lady is outdated. People emigrate here for a variety of reasons some honest and some dishonest. Immigrants will use and abuse every program with noble intentions to suit their needs

The system is broken and a long time ago there should have been dialouges about how to fix it.

A Beakerkin plan would contain sticks and carrots and look at the reality of this country and where we are headed and scrap the family based immigration as we know it.

Maybe the Obama non announcement will spur real reform from the outrage.

Maybe it is not so bad

I tend to agree that it might not be such a bad idea to place historical personas and possibly charachters from literary fiction into video games. The Battle of Oriskanny is not a well known event and maybe some people will learn about Herkimer and Joseph Brant. Maybe a few might even read the classic Drums Along the Mohawk.

Sadly even the tribes that supported the American cause got dispossesed. The real shame of the revolution was the disgusting treatment of the Oneidas who were our allies.

I would be interested to find out how some of you would react to seeing a charachter from War and Peace or Le Mis make a short appearance or cameo in a video game. Maybe we can build E books with tests that would reward students with short mini video games for correct answers.

The Speech no politician can say

The economy is in a mess and we are all in this together. For decades the notion of what is a right and the role of government in our lives has been expanded endlessly. A series of special intrests have built up piles of gold on the back of the American people.

It is wrong to divide society amongst classes. A proper functioning society gives a welcoming hand and guidance to those who need it and takes care of those who can't help themselves. A normal society also punishes people for their actions which violate our norms such as criminality. Social services should be a stop gap solution with the goal of getting people off them. We may have to raise the retirement age to 70 for all except police, firefighters and military.

All of us need to re-examine every facet of government and its relationship to the governed. We need to do more with less and set new priorities. We need to encourage growth in the private sector. We need to examine healthcare and educational policies and costs. We need to rethink our immigration laws and we need to rethink our military and foreign policy strategies. We need to forbid and severely punish nepotism
and cronyism in government.

America needs to stop apologizing for its actions and history and move ahead based upon its own best interests. The opinions of the reality impaired political zombie class mostly in Europe and in enclaves of deluded prestige in the USA are not relevant to what is best for the country. Those who wish to be like the EU, live under communism or under a theological totalitarian cannon should be encourage to depart and close the door on their way out.

It is time for a new American vision based upon individual liberies, individual rights, limited efficient government and accountability for all.

Holly Crap Batman Marxist Moron gone Jooonatic

Some people think that I go a tad tough on the Duck. The truth is when we aren't talking about politics the Duck is a decent guy who frequently has interesting things to say. Oddly many of the best posts on this site come when I toss the politics aside and talk about Lit, movies and so forth. In short the Duck is a genuine person who frequently lets his obsessions get the best of him and has dreadful political ideas.

Lance Thruster is a wannabe porn star who is a stark raving mad anti-semite. A Lubavitcher Chasid gets thrown out of the NYPD over bear length and Thruster makes a snide remark about the guy being free to join the IDF. This is on a par with your KKK guy telling a Black citizen to go back to Africa or telling an Indian to head back to Bombay. Unlike Ducky Lanve Thruster aka Butthead has zero redeming qualities and is encouraged to continue fouling USC as the "aethiest chaplain". Thruster usefull as a comedic prop and he should be considered a real Trojan just not the type that plays at USC the type that Dr Koop talks about.

Some TV sucks

I am bored stiff by the reality show nonsense. Perhaps a new TV show where contestnts compette to get one million dollars or give Donald Trump a wedgie is the prize. If they choose to give the Donald a wedgie he keeps the million. He has incentive to irritate the contestants. Cheese burger death match is a show where a cheese burger is tossed between two kids who haven't eaten for 18 hours. Do you think you can fool a critic. Fake critics with hysterical reviews will review various things. The critics will be Borat style boors.

Just wrong on history

I am quite amused that a videogame that has the American Revolution as the back drop will be out in October. The game Assassins Creed 3 will be set in the French and Indian War to Revolutionary war period.

While some of the criticism has been over its rural setting. Boston and NYC were not major citties as we know them today. Most of the familiar landmarks other than Trinity Church and a small area in Boston date back to this era.

The criticism of Europeans using bow and arrows and tomahawks is just wrong. The tomahawk was used as a common weapon by European settlers. In fact if you read about the Indians of Upstate NY many considered the mostly Scott mountain men to be the real savages. We romance the Mountain Man today because of the TV show Grizzly Adams. However, long before American settlement crossed the West there was a rugged man of the woods. He was a tough brutal survivor in a rugged woods. His life was violent and he was a tough opponent. The use of the bow and arrow was much less common but not unheard of.

In the Northern Army Mountain Men and Indians wrecking havoc were facts. In this respect this part of the video game is on target.

As period litterature is abundant I hope someone makes mods from Drums Along the Mohawk, Last of the Mohicans and the Kenneth Roberts novels. It would be nice to meet Cap Huff, Steve Nason, Nattanis and Doc Means . While George Washington and Ben Franklin are confirmed in the game it would be nice to see Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan. It seems likely that Rogers Rangers will show up in some capacity.

Tired of the Media Malfeasence on Obama

The media has done a lousy job looking into the past of Obama. The fact that Obama was a stoned out Al Gore style preppie who has used his famililies far left ties and likely affirmative action to get through the system. No candidate has ever gotten this type of free pass from the media.

The media has proclaimed the latest birth certificate authentic. The latest version of the American Thinker
shows the mechanics of doccument authentication. The process is done from originals by comparing it to known exemplars. While typographers and various computer experts can provide some information they are not qualified to authenticate a parking ticket. If Obama wanted to end this he could have followed the process and sent his birth certificate to the lab.

We are getting a series of lies debunked daily with no accountabiility.

Obama was claimed not to be a member of the "New Party". This claim was debunked by additional evidence that the traditional media ignores. Obama has been claiming he barely knows communist terrorist
lowlife Bill Ayers. Amazingly he was witnessed celebrationg July 4 at the Ayers household by a friendly blogger.

How many lies and free passes will the media give Obama. It is not even attempting to do even the most basic research into the least qualified person to ever be elected President.

NYPD stupidity

Leftists always ranble on about the "need for diversity" in the work place. Jews tend to be historically under represented in the NYPD. There was a candidate that passed the training, but was fired before they could serve due to failure to trim his beard. The beard is religiously mandated and this is a clear case of bufoonery by some dimwit in human resources.

Do not expect the lefties at the ACLU or the National Laywers Guild to lift a finger as Jews are passe.

Bloomberg should be held directly accountable for this.

Tired of the MSM malfeasence on Obama

Obama was elected as a symbol of the media's dreams of a perfect candidate. He promised a post racial America and while there is definitely those who are against him based on his race plenty of people voted for him because of his race. No candidate in any election has ever been allowed this level of deception and lapses about his past.

The result of this media coronation was the election of a prep school pothead who used and abused family connections in the far left to toady his way into social promotions. Then using the same far left connections
a job in academia, then local elected office and social promoted into the White House.

Obama has presided over a train wreck economy clueless blundering and making every situation he goes near worse. His sole achievement is he was the President who gave the order to get rid of Osama.

I am perplexed at why his admirers think his every utterance is genius when all he does is read off a teleprompter. He shows zero leadership and surrounds himself with buffoons.

Now the media is going to go into overdrive trying to scare Blacks, gays, Latinos and senior citizens that the election of a moderate Republican is going be their dooooooom. The Union thugs will leave OWS and will hold jack booted rallies. Obama's allies in big media, big academia and Hollywood will be everywhere trying to distract you from the obvious.

Is your country a mess? Do you have any confidence Obama can correct the economy?

Anyone not named Ron Paul is preferable to the potted Marxist narcissist.

Organized Labor and beyond the mythology

There is an arrogance about unions in some quarters. There is the presumtion that anything corporate is evil and unions are saintly. Big labor has lost its way by allowing far left activists to marry them to inane and toxic causes like OWS. The purpose of a labor union is to collectively negotiate for its members and protect the rights of its members.

Unions lose credibility when they do things as stupid as defend teachers having sexual relationships with students. There are plenty of cases where management wrongfully abuses or terminates workers, but this is a tad much. Even guilty people are entitled to a defense, but teachers unions are utterly disgraceful sometimes.

Do note the major newspapers go crazy and hype the stories of sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church and the Ultra Orthodox Jewish sects. Despite many high profile cases they have not placed educators and their union defenders under similar scrutiny. Sorry, but the media feigns ignorance when discussing the union defence of boorish behavior by educators.

When discussing job actions like an honest mistake. I tend to be forgiving as these are clerical errors that can happen to anyone. When discussing corruption, gross misconduct or ethical lapses this is something far more serious. An educator wearing sneakers instead of shoes is a small matter. Selling grades or sexual relations with students is a more serious matter. All people are entitled to a defence including the guilty and ethically challenged. Sometimes the union guys are the good guys and frequently they are not.

Obama just stupid and arogant

Obama claims he knows more about Judaism than any other President because he has Jewish friends and
read about the subject. This sounds much like the redneck who swears he isn't a racist because he has a Black friend or two and has read the biography of Malcolm X.

The logic of Obama is that a few bog hits with Jews make one an expert on Jews  is puzzling. 

I would sooner trust Nixon whose antisemitic words stand in contrast to heroic support  for Israel than Obama.

Time to take animal cruelty seriously

I seldom side with animal rights nuts. However, when a disturbed nut executes cats in a bag by sucking the air out with a vacuum cleaner or feeds them to pythons this is something that desrves notice and action.
Unfortunately, abuse of animals is frequently a sign that shows up later in serial killers.

The subsequent snuff film is not unexpected from this moron.

In this case where a person deliberately tortured his victim the death penalty is waranted.

Retirement at 80

This may indeed be no joke given the dire financial situation.  In my job this is not so bad as barring health problems I can keep going. In the end rather than trim the large entitlements the mandatory retirement age will be raised.

If you like your job an extra 15 years is no problem. Plenty of people retired at 55 after 25 or 30 years. Social security,  pensions  and IRA's will do wonders. Of course those job openings for the young won't be there as people work longer.

Actually a more humane way is to reduce the days at 65 four day work week with a small social security payment. 70 three days a week with a larger payment. 75 two days a week  full social security and 80 retirement. Transitioning into retirement is better and the last five years should be a mentorship time.

Moved

My duties at work have been slightly altered somewhat by the managerial rotations. I have deftly avoided all specialty work until now. Specialty work is loved by many, but I have little love for this type of work.
I like my odd generic cases day in and day out year after year.

I remained with my supervisor which is a plus. I am now her senior officer and the one with longest tenure
in the area and with her. In reality the most senior officer is expected to mentor and provide technical expertise. The supervisor provides the policy and crunches the numbers and the lead is a buffer.  The lead knows the team and provides direction. This supervisor and I rarely disagree and when we do she knows how to get me moving. It is really quite simple give a rational reason and I move accordingly. My sole difference is we take care of our own first before helping others. I was all ready mentoring three of the members of this team. 

Our team focus is military cases and general work. We do have military cases and they deserve extra effort. This is something no manager needs lecture me on. I did this long before it was a priority as the right thing to do. Top management is extremely helpful when a military problem happens. I have been called in as a specialist when nasty problems occurred with this type of case a few times. A more aggressive officer with a talent for networking is sometimes needed to achieve the task.

It is a slight diversion from my current task. Remaining with the same supervisor is a plus as I expected to remain with the same crew more or less. Being a lead is not something I really wanted as I am happier just working away on my own issues.

Mayor Nuts

Mayor Bloomberg has invaded the personal liberty of NYC with his proposed ban on soft drinks larger than 16 oz. This ban appears aimed directly at 7-11 which provides slurpees and big gulps. The soft drinks are especially needed in the summer durring a heat wave.

While Bloomberg is admirable in many respects, he does go way too far with his draconian public health initiatives. Rather than directly address the issue of personal liberty, his aides dance around the issue.
Soda consumption is on the decline and blaming obesity on any single factor is a stretch.

In the lean mean workplace there have been changes. We are expected to do the job with almost no staff. We have less than half of the officers of two years ago. All that remain are working the way I was used to. A really great coworker said "Beaks how do you keep your energy after the third interview to number 8".
I pointed to the bottles of Diet Mountain Dew. I gave him one and now we have three people using Dew as a leveler to provide cafine and water at the same time.

I have not had a lunch break since this new program started. I have resorted to grazing and others have adopted the tactic. Grazing is when workers have a break they eat quickly for five minutes. This tactic allows for a bite or two from a sandwich or a bag of chips. Even on a review day I am dumped calander cases and have to junk lunch or eat everything in five minutes.

Basically, the union is largely correct when they describe the current mode as the new plantation. We are in essence working ten hours and getting paid for eight. The system of work measurement is arbitrary and capricious and designed to punish rather than gain productivity or quality. We spend all day counting things three times when once is sufficient. My boss chided me Beaks you are 6 under draft a sheet. This information was gleaned by looking at another report. Why I simply don't copy that report I don't know.

Of course speculating on why people are obese is not resolved by cup sizes at 7-11. The world we live in has changed.  We don't get home cooked meals. Workers don't get formal lunch breaks and are harried by impossible standards and are exausted. Of course the new work place includes the brutal days worked by the 1%.

Lets pick a sample reading list for and Intro Lit course

My selections are based upon simplicity and imparting the joy of reading

1) The Tempest
2) The Hairy Ape
3) Moby Dick
4) The Grapes of Wrath
5) 1984 and Animal Farm as both are short.

Time to Hold Higher Ed Accountable

The time has come to hold Higher Education accountable for its shady business and hiring practices. There is much anger in the land at Wall Street. I work nearby and live with hard working people who work there.
While the business practices of Wall Street at times have deserved scrutiny it should not come from the even more corrupt Big Academia Mafia and its Godfather Don Barak Obama. Unlike the real mafia higher education has no business plan and has a better track record of dealing with cronyism. Barak Obama is basically a high functioning druggie who used his families left wing ties to get into elite prep schools, did poorly at Occidental and magically turns up in the Ivys via nepotism, legacy points or affirmative action. Obama then repeats every cliche from the far left and is socially promoted to a law degree and a University job.

Most of us know lower functioning druggies who lose their life's savings and end up meandering through debt, job loss and pathetic lives. Blaming Wall Street and Bankers for student debt loads with worthless degrees is akin to blaming loan sharks for drug addiction. The only responsability banks do have is not doing a better job at eliminating certain loans by major. You want to get a doctorate in Anthropology do so on your own dime or make the universities liable for default.

There is much talk about diversity in faculty and the student body. 90% of this is speculation and having seen yet another example of a far leftist contrive fake Indian heritage it seems like a way for the far left to merely get the Indians of their own imagination. Ward Churchill was nothing more than a far left cliche with sunglasses and a greasy ponytail. Elizabeth Warren pretty much said hey I am from Oklahoma and all you rubes think we all have Indian DNA. She used her far left connections to get a job at an elite university that she had not earned through merrit. Of course she is one of the people who have the dubious claim of founding OWS. Unlike David Graeber, whose scholarship and credentials as a genuine scholar, are not in question even by those opposed to his innane politics Warren benefitted from this scam. The notion that an Indian ( Native American) Marxist brings something unique to the table that a Marxist from other places does not is false. They basically look at issues from the same vantage point and pretty much say Amen on the large issues while making mountains out of molehills as only Marxist morons can on minor Marxist theological dogma.

 In fact the scarcity of people who hold differing philosophies results in a series of lunatics creating sham scholarship and a series of statements like wishing for 1000 Mogadishus or Little Eichmans after 9-11.
The social science fields is pretty much a jobs probram for fellow believers in Marxism with a few slots for Greens and Anarchists. Leftists like to use the term "adverse impact" in terms of testing and race and abuse statistics to advance the case to place more minorities on campus at the expense of more qualified non minorities. Of course any use of the same statistical tools to cast doubt on hiring methods that allow 1% of the population to be exponentially over represented or remedies to correct these imbalances are not open for discussion. We are supposed to shovel more money at what amounts to a job program for a different 1% of the population and saddle young people and society with crushing debt loads so political hacks can bandy Martov, Menchu, Marx and Mengistu in faculty lounges. Work is something to be done between bong hits and after attending whatever political activist activity suits the current fashion.

We are supposed to wonder how a series of Marxist activists get hired in Universities miraculously even when they are terrorists, related to NYC communist leaders, fake Indians or even a University head related to Bernie Sanders. What is utterly amazing is a Maoist crank with an obsessive pathological obsession about Jews and Israel and personality disorders got hired multiple times for jobs with no peer reviewed articles. Of course lefties can point to the equally odious nut who testified at the David Irving trial as a non leftist racial power friendly crank. A genuine look at the bio shows this professor was also very much a part of the far left and kept going until they found common ground with the folks at Stormfront. Lefties point out that Kovel was merely a "green" who when not ranting incoherently about Israel was obsessed with anticommunism.

The far left is full of vapid conspiracy theories that involve Jews controlling whatever. Some unfortunates talk of a velvet mafia that has inordinate influence in Hollywood. No group has ever contolled anything more than the far left has abused Academia and the taxpayer for its whims. We are supposed to be outraged by the underworked banker selling worthless paper between coke hits. Bankers are many things and need to be regulated but they are not underworked. How does Prof Chomsky have time to write all these books speak everywhere, write scores of articles and teach classes. Does he even work 20 hours a week for his huge salary. Bankers are greedy, but lazy politically connected academics making six figure salaries paid for by the tax payer are paragons of virtue.

It is time for the GOP to run against Obama and his faculty lounge lizard allies.

The Beakerkin Platform

1) Universities must cosign all loans. This would discourage the unqualified students and useless degrees.
2) Elimination of all preferences except those for veterans
3) Complette review of staffing models. Hire must be done above board by the University President and board of directors. The days of Bolshevik star chambers ends.
4) Elimination of tenure for unprofessional conduct detrimental to the university. The days of Norman Finklestein and Ayers spanning the globe making their Universities look absurd are over.
5) No student loans or research grants for any University with a terrorist on faculty
6) Consolidation of sociology, anthropology and victims studies into one department. Philosophy and Political Science merged into one department. All of the above reduced in favor of business classes as degree requirements.
7) Foreign students who get arrested at polical protests get mandatory deportation from the USA and barred for two years. American students arrested lose all Federal loans for the same period. American students arrested for political activity abroad may not get student loans and be barred from hiring for 20 years after the arrest.
8) Financial institutions may withold parts of loans on specific courses they deem objectionable. This would encourage universities to be more careful with their course offerings.
9) Into to lit would draw from a list of One Hundred Books and must include at least one work of Shakespeare.
10) Triple tier pay system Hard science and math professors get top pay, Business, Nursing and Law get the next grade of pay and Social Sciences and Lit get the bottom tiered pay. Publishing is de-emphasized at the third level but course loads are increased and Sabaticals are eliminated.

Rip Eitan Patz

Around the time of my bar mitzvah  a few days later a child disappeared in Greenwich Village. The child was never seen again and his name has entered the lexicon for abducted children. Most children are abducted in a custody situation and this was clearly not the case.

All of us in NYC knew the ending of this story in our hearts. The question of if the killer would be brought to justice was something many of us doubted. Today with video cameras this likely would have been resolved quicker.

The real tragedy is that a Jamaican handiman who had no connection to this crime was a suspect. Even scarier was that this person lived an unexceptional life and may not have repeated this act. The other suspect was a convicted pedophile and should be loathed even if not guilty of this crime.

The body of Eitan Patz will likely never be recovered. However, his family does have some measure of closure for this crime. Those of us in NYC in 79 and many around the world will never forget the name of Eitan Patz.

Do any of you remember Ari Halberstam? How about Robert Stethem? Edward Byrne?

Thank You Editrix

The Editrix and AOW and a few of you know today is my birthday. I share this day with John Wayne, James Arness and Sissy Spacek. Oddly this date including the year is shared with the people of Guyana.
Today is Guyana independence day.  When I do work with my families community this is part of the stand up comedy act I do for a few charities. The charities raise money to send Guyanese kids for medical treatment in India.

I am going to spend time with my daughter and the little dog. The little dog is probably the only living creature that steals food from me and lived to tell the story. Actually the daughter has been known to steal a spinach roll or spinach pie from me. Sometimes she gets mad at me because of the jokes. I told her the story of a little girl who drank pineapple soda on the night of a full moon with a thunderstorm and became a werepinapple. There was a thunder storm outside and I spun the tale and told her to check her skin and hair. She was scared but I told her there was no full moon. What would a werepineapple do anyway search for coconuts.

As I age it is impossible not to see how much I have mellowed out over time. How much of that is time or being a dad only the guy upstairs knows.

Other May 26 events House Unamerican activities started and Stevie Nicks, Peggy Lee and Brett Musburger were born today.

Z thanks for your help.

Time for a rant

Readers of this blog are well aware of the dialouge that goes on between myself and the Duck. Generally, I am very modest about the work I do. I have been decorated many times for my service above and beyond the call of duty. This is something that doesn't mean much because the public deserves this each and every day. The job I do is a labor of love for my country and the American people.

Those I talk to off line are amused by the stories from the front. This is why I am amused when a hack educator who teaches videography questions my values. I change lives for the better and protect the public and he teaches would be bar mitzvah photographers.

I am the first Kahanist in recorded history with Hindu family. How a Marxist who imagines he is soooo bright confuses a secularist with those who want to create a Torah State is beyond comical.

In my private and professional life I am a modest man who avoids public speaking and award ceremonies. Unfortunately some of the charities like me to do standup comedy. Even at work when I get mad, frequently
it just comes out funny. The humor is based on just thinking differently at odd situations. The building is evacuated by an earthquake and I grab a hot dog and a Dew and grumble about finding a Knish.

I mentor many officers and am a union activist. While the Duck talks .. I do.

Yet at the end of many a tough day it is the greeting of the Maltese or my daughter that I long for. I ejoy letting the dog hang out with me or steal a lamb chop. When I go for a walk he is there waiting to join me and he never gives me trouble other than wanting to play with every dog he sees.

I wouldn't trade the magical moments I share with the public for more prestige.

Yes I am a liberal

The most amusing thing about this blog is those who are off the map to the left never get beyond the actual cliche lines about their opponents. When the sanctimonious left is criticized they go into reflexive memes. It took Communist Clown Renegade Eye years to deduce I am a liberal.

Liberals used to be more like me and less like John Kerry.

1) I am proud of my country and its history. I can look at the unpleasant chapters like the treatment of American Indians and Slavery in a balanced manner.

2) Communism is a nasty death cult of morons who are nore dogmatic than the folks at the 700 Club they mock with zero social graces and low IQs. They are not the moral arbiters of anything. I do not work with them or put up with their presence.

3) While I am not a Conservative, I usually respect their integrity. When I disagree with policies I respect their intentions. Communists rationalize every actions of our enemies and reflexively blame America for every imagined ill on the globe.

4) Socialism is a lousy idea. True socialists frequently allow actual commies into their ranks and are frequently obstructionist. While workers rights are an important item unions need to work place issues
and be as apolitical as possible.

5) Man made global warming is a hoax. Greens that go on diatribes against anti communists  like Kovel or ex Maoist Finklestein  fool nobody.

6) Obama is inept as a leader. He is incaple of correcting the economy.

7) I do not aspire to make the USA more like the EU.

8) The cost of higher education is outrageous.

9) I do not worship psychology. The field has become way too politicized. Long term patients like Woody Allen and Barbara Striesand have been at it for decades and are still loathsome on many levels.
A professional who told either to grow up and get their inflated egos back to reality would have been replaced long ago. Rationalizing their clients gross behavior does not promote sound mental health. Therapy has become a poor substitue for religion. The advice of most therapists is no more sound than that of a trained clergyman.

10) While I do believe in regulation, I oppose paper tyranny, procedural fetishism and cowboyism of governmental workers. Get people of sound judgement on the job and stay out of their way.

11) 90% of what we call art is BS.

12) Popular culture should entertain first and everything else is secondary.

Not a classic rant but it feels goooooooooood

Surf music is theraputic and clears my office. I fantasize about wearing a loud tropical shirt, Bermuda shorts and white shoes to work on a day I don't have to deal with the public. Until then I can unknown
songs like Gypsy Surfer, Sandstorm, Bullwinkle 2 and Bumble Boogie on the CD player and imagine.
I can also imagine Don Rickles style retorts to the human hockey pucks that make policies in DC.

Not exactly what Lennon Imagined but I am a real NYC guy.

Dudeology question of the day

Your girlfriend says she is angry at you for something and is not talking to you until you figure it out

Which response is worthy of being a dude

A) Give her flowers and let her vent
B) Ask exactly how is this a punishment
C) Pop a beer and get some chips and wait for whatever
D) Tell her how important she is to you and that you are not a psychic
E) Plan some romantic gesture to ride out the storm.

Remember, being a dude and sound judgement often are not the same. Not all of us can be Mr. B or Beakerkin.

Sandwich Wars

I forced myself to go to Quiznos for a more recent evaluation. Their product still is far better than Subway but has gotten worse. You likely get more bang for your dollar at Quiznos than Potbelly. However, Potbelly seems to taste better and have better attmoshpere despite lame chips. I might visit more frequently because they have Diet Mountain Dew on tap. If you want the best product Lennys is hands down the best if you can handle the ordering system which is almost like being mugged. Au Bon Pain is creative but not up to par. They have some interesting offerings, but are just mediocre. Blimpie provides amazing value and nostalgia but nothing else. Subway is over rated uninspired and I only go there when they have a limited time offering. I can't say that any of these offerings got me to run back looking for more except the Garden Chicken Salad.

There are some on the left whose hatred for Obama is worse than that of the Tea Party. I just finnished reading an off the wall rant by Pilger. Bradley Manning is not being charged with treason because he is gay. Even if his tales of bullying are true there is never a rationale for treason. Any rationalization of his actions are insults to gay people everywhere.

The fake indian in MA is looking worse as she submitted recipies. I shall invent my own tribe of the Jouix and ask if I can submit Gefilte Fish and roadkill mashed potato recipies into the next book. Genuine Native American Indian food as served in the Museum of the Native American is far superior to cliche fancy resturant fare. If Americans ever knew how good Native American food tasted it would be everywhere.

The Long Voyage Home

I watched one of John Wayne's films that I have not seen. One of the oddities of Wayne's career was he did do a film based upon Eugene Oniels play. Unlike many authors who hate the film version of their work Oneil loved this version. You will see many familiar faces from John Wayne films. Ward Bond gets the meatier role as Yank and dies. John Qualen and Barry Fitzgerald are seen quickly. Qualen one again is playing a Scandanavian including multiple  " By Yimminy'. The star of the film is Thomas Mitchell who is seen in Stagecoach with Wayne. Ian Hunter plays a large role as a sailor trying to forget a misdeed at home.

The film was about the stark lives of broken men who passed their days as merchant marines. Oniel unlike modern communist authors understood that a playwright must never bore his audience or shriek at them. The story comes first and Oniel wrote about a subject he knew well life at sea. His works show the stark depessing world he knew well. One was familiar with this world from Two Years Before the Mast which is seldom read in school anymore.

Ouch

I bought my daughter her first bicycle. It was better than hearing endlessly I want a bunny. The dog would probably eat the bunny. Where do kids get the absurd ideas. Rabbits can not be released after byou get bored with them. They are also not exactly like the Maltese which oddly never wants to spend time with the daughter. The dog jusst wants to hang out with the old man or go to the dog run.




















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Junk Food Culture

I was talking with friends about films we remember and why. Some films are shown many times because they are worthy like The Good The Bad and The Ugly or The Searchers. Their are other films that we love to watch and are dreadful and are played over and over again like Dirty Dancing, Kelly's Heroes, Flash Gordon and the Revenge of the Nerds films.

Kelly's Heroes was a film that was chopped to death. Watching it over the years and growing up it takes new shapes as you age. The film would likely be forgotten if it were not for the proto hippie played by Sutherland and the edgy NYC scammer played by Rickles. Telly Savalas plays Sgt. Kojak well and Eastwood is there but almost secondary. As a young child the combat held the attention as we age the comedy and the perplexed reactions to the beatnik are hysterical. The original film had more charachter development and antiwar sentiment and allegedly showed Eastwoods crew getting caught. In the end the actual ending is better because you wonder did they get away. In reallity the answer has to be no except for the Germans who likely had a greater chance to bury the loot and come back.

On certain levels these films are memorable and you want to see them again knowing they aren't high art but they are fun. Maybe the fun factor is why we don't see the Deep or Black Sunday as often. I saw the excellent Harry and Tonto a year or two ago. For whatever reasons the second Planet of the Apes film is never shown. Our own Ducky has a cameo playing a mutant worshiping the atomic bomb. Logans Run is seldom shown but was a good film.

Maybe the trick to fims impact is to have a great star like Wayne or Eastwood and be shown for generations. My daughter hates surf music and quckly knows who John Wayne is. Similarly, I have a fun time watching Zach and Cody or Wizards of Waverly Place with my kid. She doesn't get Fonzie or Alex Keaton or that dad was a cross between the two. It doesn't have to be high art if you watch it with your family.

More Sandwich Chains

I am delving into the sandwich wars of NYC. There are many options but I decided to look at the first entry into the crowded market Blimpies. It was a great concept in the 80's and I can remember sitting with my friends in college and we would scounge some money together and buy two foot long heroes. Blimpie was a great value to the College student. I still prefer it to Subway and on some levels it provides great value for your dollar. Unlike Subway where all you get is bread Blimpie gives you a fair deal. I really don't go there for the food as much as the nostalgia. I miss some of those friends from college and one of them didn't even make 40.

I have been hearing amazing things about a new chain in NYC called Lennys. Pot Belly is more of a Starbucks hip feel with small but decent sandwiches. Lenny's has the essence of NYC it is fast paced like getting jammed into a subway. However, the secret is that the sandwiches are the best of any comercial sandwich chain I have been to. You don't sit about and listen to music,but the food is stellar. Oddly, I order a combination I frequently make at home Turkey and Corned Beef on Rye with Russian Dressing and Coleslaw. At home I add a a few pickled peppers and a slice of NY Deli Pickles. It was almost as good as the ones I make at home. Lenny's is like NY and if you can get past the ordering system that is intially confusing and almost adverserial you have found a gem.

I am going to have to get around to Pret a Manger, Cosi and the very hyped Earl of Sandwich. Sadly the places that need Lennys are the least likely to have one. I probably would have lived in the place if they had one in Burlington. It is like a slice of real NY even with the attitude.

The question of where I rank Lennys vs Potbelly. Lenny's food wins hands down, but if I am unwinding Potbelly is fine. I still have never found a reason to enter a Subway other than convenience or an advertised special.

Yet another fake Indian

After the Ward Churchill scandal, I thought I heard the last story of leftists faking being Indians for jobs in higher ed. Elizabeth Warren is not an Indian and should be facing charges for falsely claiminmg  to be one in order to get a high paying job she did not earn on merrit.

The time has come for a full review of hirring practies in higher education.

More Junk food

I went for round two at Potbelly. I had a sandwich called a "wreck". It was a work of brilliance. Frankly, there is zero reason or rationale to sit in a Subway if a Potbelly is available. At this location Boylan Black Cherry was available. The only thing that was less than perfect was the high end chips that lack a punch. I have no idea who makes Zaps but they are not upto par.

The Sandwich shop is a crowded genre. For a Philly Cheese Steak I still prefer Carl Jr's and every now and then they have an awesome fish sandwich that would be perfect with a better bread. I don't think I have set foot in a Quiznos in two years or more. I may go in and take a look. I will go into a Subway only for a special and not their ordinary fare. I do like Au Bon Pain but Pot Belly is so much better that unless I am by the SI Ferry I will not set foot in one. Many people have tried to get me to try Cosi and I will have to get around to it.

Onto Music. J&R moved the Oldies Music Upstairs. I have been listening to CD's from an outfit called ACE Records. I can honestly say that the Teen Beat 3 was so good that I ran to locate vollume 2 and 4.
One of my CD's went Bad but I got another. A CD with Ride the Wild Surf by Jan and Dean and the hysterical Surfer Joe is worth a play.

I got killed at work. I am still in a holding pattern due to jury duty. I was told to call in and given a message to go to work and call again. I do not know until 5 if I have to report to the court. I got nailed with seven cases and zero prep time. No officer gets more than five but I brought them home with no fanfare. The attorneys were overjoyed with the switch as I was not scheduled to hear cases and work on another team.
Hopefully, I will get nothing tommorow and make room in my office.

Junk Food Review

From time to time I venture into fast food joint and give my thoughts. The sandwich shop is one that I go to frequently. I am largely unhappy with Subway and will go in only if they have something new. The standard menu items are not as good as Au Bon Pain, Quiznos or the newest entry to NYC Potbelly.

You probably get more bang for your dollar at Quiznos. The sandwich at Potbelly was on the small side. However it tastes better than at the other chains. I was disappointed they had only premium root beer as a beverage. Had they offered Boylan Soda this would be the best chain going. The mood and the attmosphere make this a place I intend to visit again.

Back to the Jungle

It looks like I will be making another trip to the jungle. The locals are still talking about my previous trip. How much of it is exageration and just small town boredom is open for discussion. My odd items such as assorted condiments, surf music, strange food items and misadventures are still discussed over a year later.

In Guyana one does not expect to encounter Country Music but the locals are quite fond of it. I was rather surprised at the amount of queries about surf music. I sent a few CDS of it after I departed with friends going in as well as some Odd CD's for the home when I arrive. I expect the relatives to poke around as my items are luxuries. Having all of the Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns, Ben Hur as well as Hannah Montana and Rocky and Bullwinkle for the kids has provided hours of fun.

My food items did not survive the first day. Japanese Cherries, Pumpernickel Bread and canned goods went fast. Most of the locals were curious and had never seen those items

This trip will be into the interior. I do not know if the locals will allow me the time to enjoy this trip. The last time I was pretty much stuck around town except for a day. We had plenty of visitors and I was not allowed the time to adventure into the interior.

I did take a boat to crab Island which was a great mini adventure. I did not see the rare Canjee Pheasant. You frequently smell them long before you see them. My trip was at the wrong time of day for the boat to get into the Canjee Creek. I also enjoy buying fish and shrimp off the dock.

I am not a great guest. However, this time I will be better prepared for the trip. I will send supplies ahead so that I can travel lighter.

Leftist BS about Gays

The left lives in a fantasy world of fear mongering. Elect a Republican and gays get herded into closets and watching Will and Grace is prohibited.

The truth is that there is a severe problem with homophobia in the West Indian community. Contrary to imagined media rationalizations the perpetrators are neither religious nor Conservative. The same people that will end a career over real and frequently imagined racial slights have no problem using homophobic slurs and claim that certain women posses "gaydar".

In media circles the craven Obama move is being potrayed as courage. In fact he was elected by cowardly hiding who he is. At the last hour his position on this issue changes after talking with his family. I want to point out that this series of expedient back flips is exactly why he shouldn't be trusted and can not lead. The anti Obama Mayor Bloomburg stated his convictions when expediency was not in his favor. Bloomberg is a genuine leader  and Obama is a joke on all levels.

The joke is on the American people and was never funny, it is pathetic.

Leftist hysteria

I am amused at the continued hysteria by those on the left about abortion. Sorry, but as much as we loved Reagan he did not overturn or impede abortion availability. On HP some moron whined about Roe being the sum of all rights.

Sorry but the left has been intruding in on my person liberties everywhere except the bedroom

I am stuck with pricey toilets that don't get the job done
Lightbulbs that stink
Energy taxed onto the sofa
Beverage taxed into water
Cigarette taxed from the same crowd pushing legalization of weed
Taxing chips and Junk food

Sorry, but I am tired of these intrusions into my personal liberty by the left. The sum of mosts peoples lives is not defined by the bedroom and folks need to eat, drive and go to the bathroom daily.

Obama the genius

I am flaberghasted how people presume a President who reads whatever inane items are on a teleprompter is a genius. The same people complained about GW Bush being unarticulate. Anyone can read from a teleprompter, even Katie Couric who is from the special ed school of journalism.

Obama is arrogant and undecisive. If he has a child it would look like Trayvon Martin. Is that before or after the faux gold teeth and gangster tatoos. That was a dopey statement from a President who could have urged or dedicated resources to aid the investigation.

When he talks off the cuff as he did to Joe the Plumber you see the arrogance come to the forefront.

Lefties in scare tactic mode as Elmer Fudd

I am borrowing the rhetoric of the far left before elections. They trot out the usual hysterical fear bit like the claims about lynching and the election of Bush. The idea is to scare seniors, gays, Hispanics and Blacks into voting for Obama the savior.

Lefty Fudd: If you ewect a Wepublican its back to the closet for you hooomoosexuals. The sex police are going to invade your bedwooms and burn all your Bette Midler cds. Will and Gwace will be taken off cable and Fox will show Wedneck Eye for the Gay Guy.  The GOP plans to make a weal man card requiring men to was NASCAR and the NFL and ban tofu.

Of course this is utter bs. There are countries that do indeed have sex police, but it is not politically correct to name them.  Of course the left is too busy stoking Jooo hatred or worrying about the 700 Club to get this one right. Most conservatives don't care about who does what in private as long as all parties can consent. The problem starts with the hysterical need to indoctrinate politically correct views about homosexuality in grade school. Problems with low class behavior at Gay parades are frequently mentioned by many gays who are embarrassed by these antics.

Similarly, there are those who portray all opposition to Obama as racist. Actually, the GOP was well on their way to electing Cain before a media campaign side tracked him. Does anyone remember John Edwards or Bill Clinton getting a fraction of the scrutiny of Cain. Nobody accused Cain of rape, and Bill Clinton lied until Blue stained dresses and tapes made this impossible. Are some people bothered by Obama's race? Did many vote for him because he was Black and a symbol?

We live in an era where Hispanics outnumber Blacks. Many of the new Blacks come from Africa and the West Indies and are not the desecndants of slaves or people who labored under Jim Crow. Obamas sole genetic relation to slavery in America was his mothers family owned slaves. We were given a series of guilt trips about slavery. However, why should an immigrant from Mali benefitf from programs designd to right historic wrongs that have little or nthing to do with them. In fact slavery in Africa was ended by those evil colonialists that the left likes to whine about.

Its time we started to laugh at these scare tactics.

We need look no further than Greece to see where the cult of Obama goes.

Great Pot Smoke In

I passed through Union Square Park on my way home. My favorite Pizza place is gone. I had been visiting there for more than 20 years. The place across the street is pretty good. However, one can not get the same feeling from a destination that has been part of your life for so long.

Unfortunately, I was wearing clothing with my employers name on it. As such I was careful not to engage the locals. An communist anti semite from the tiny but stridently antisemitic Pseudostine movement was there. I really need to locate a bunch of Caterpillar hats and Tonka Bulldozers. Now some of you may think that making pancake jokes about Rachel Corrie is cruel. However, signs describing Jewish conspiracies to control the government and calling Jews who support Israel traitors deserves a response. Communists questioning the loyalties of anyone is at best some sort of joke. Julius and Ethel weren't executed for being Jews, think again comrades.

The main event appeared to be a meeting of aging communists with the Bill and Ted crowd of druggies. Lengthy speeches about legalizing drugs were the topic. I could have drawn a larger crowd than that with a free Vanilla Ice concert.

Violating the office and position

I want to point out that the very vocal anti American clowns at OWS who don military and police uniforms at political events are violating US laws. There are numerous laws agaainst this behavior and people like Ray Lewis and Shamar Thomas should be prosecuted.

A mentally deranged Thomas was viewed on tape screaming and foaming at NYPD officers who were remarkably restrained durring his temper tantrums. The media portrayal of the event could not be further from the truth. This was the case of a publicity seeking imbecile abusing his former status as a member of the military to aid and abet Communists and Anarchists seeking to provoke the NYPD and ordinary NYC resdents into violent counter reactions to their provokations.

The script is familiar and really fools nobody who is familiar with the thugs, losers and morons of OWS.  A police officer is provoked by lawless behavior and the cameras film screeching protesters screaming about police brutality. Did you see what happened ten minutes before the film? Do you ever see this or hear about abusive behavior.

Was Shamar viewing actual Police brutality when he made his well rehearsed rant? No. The rant of Shamar was a well rehearsed publicity stunt. The fact that a deranged nut was allowed to abuse NYPD officers in a well rehearsed rant says much about the actual restraint of NYPD.

OWS is not spontaneous nor is it leaderless except in the demented minds of the MSM amen chorus. In fact there were areas of Zuccoti Park that its members tried to illegally close off from the public where the strategy of media manipulation and tactics are discussed. 

Maybe Shamar and Ray Lewis could find some more people in uniforms and sing a few protest songs. There probably are a few actual construction workers and bikers with too much free time. All that is missing is a person dressed up as an Indian and they have mocked the Village People.

The Village People were gainfully employed skilled performers who brought enjoyment to many these words do not describe the mentally unstable Thomas and the attention whore Lewis. Thomas appears to have been in logistics and descriptions of his decorated service are exagerated. He might have done a partol here or there. We thank him for his service and he is free to protest without his uniform and would appreciate if he took his meds and found gainful employment..

Lets try this again

Long term readers know I lived in Vermont for a spell. One of the many quirks that I have is like to stop at Au Bon Pain for a their excellent food. Their newest wrap is called the Vermonter.

Whoever thought this up was obviously not a Vermonter.

Feta Cheese is not a Vermont staple. Plain chicken is also not a Vermont staple. Idiots who have never lived their have Vermont illusions of a pristine place with well manner rednecks driving Subarus and quoting long dead French Philosophers.

A real Vermonter would have a fresh cooked croissant with a freshly shot Canada goose or deer meat tenderized by gas guzzling cars. If locals insist on chicken it should be raised on beer and raised in pens listening to 60's folk music.

Vermont makes some excellent cheddar and a mix of mustard with a splash of maple syrup would be authentic.

Vermont deserves better than this wrap and my satire.

A break in the action

My hours at work are now very taxing. Unfortunately with all the retirements I am getting the nastiest cases and serving as a mentor to junior peers.

My priority with what little free time is my family, including the little dog.

Regular service will resume when I have more energy.

The True Face of the Left

Kieth Olbermann in his pompous and arrogant displays of bufoonery has shown America the true face of the left. Leftists like to talk about working class people but many have zero contact with them other than the cleaning person they regularly exploit and demean. Olbermann's antics of outrage because a limo driver had the nerve to talk to him are familiar behaviors to those who have walked in that world. He complained that another driver smelled and went through multiple companies.

Olbermann could have done himself a favor and driven himself to work. He would have to endure his own ego and would have spared the working class driver abuse. Modern celebrities like J Lo and moron extraordinaire Tom Cruise ban eye contact by the hired help. Barbra Streisand made hotel employees walk backwards in her presence. I contrast this with the love of the fans and working people shown by John Wayne who was modest enough to shake the hand of his waiter on many occaisions.

Olbermann should do a segment on himself as the worst person in America.

RIP Lou Goldstein

Earlier this week a comedic giant of the Catskills Mr. Lou Goldstein passed away. Lou Goldstein was the ultimate master of the comedic form of Simon Sez. His act worked on speed, misdirection and some of the best timing in comedy. His other routine was less well known whose the boss and what room are you the boss in. Goldstein was the entertainment director in Grossingers until it closed in the mid 80's.

Early in my career I had to learn how to interview. I incorporated much of my style from watching my fellow officers adding NLP with a touch of Goldstein's charm. In a tight spot his misdirection and speed have yielded positive responses. Goldsteins brand of ceberal wit and classic timing fit naturally into my own style.

 There is a short snippet of Lou Goldstein doing his act on the Dick Clark show. This is a smidgeon of a brilliant act that was best viewed live and in person. Long before people were doing improv, Goldstein honed his act based upon witty reaction to the people he was working with. The key to Goldstein was he used you as a comedic prop and you loved being a part of the act.

Rest in Peace to a comedic giant who was loved by all who saw him perform.

The Long Journey Home

The voyage home took three months. There were many of us who did not yearn to return to regular jobs. I was the exception spitting vinegar and hostile to the end. Yes I made new friends and my time away proved my critics wrong again. The question of if I could excell at this new task was a foregone conclusion to all those who knew my work.

I returned to my desk on Monday. Some of the lawyers were new, but I prefer familiar foils who know my quirks and mannerisms. Some of the interpreters were new but very good. There are a few who are so used to me that I do not have to even remind them I am changing tone. With the newest interpreters I do a two minute gameplan. My style depends on split second timing and misdirection and Monday I was off. It took two days but I am in top form.

This may sound odd but the other assignment is said to play to my strengths. However, I am happier in my large office with fewer people winning the ballgame rather than placing things back on track.

It is good to be home.

Life is not like TV

There are some who may be surprised that no weapon or motive has been established for the Oakland shooting rampage. As humans we place too much emphasis on motives. Most of us are wronged daily but go about an ordinary lives.

As stated in many other cases let investigators do their jobs.

Office Raided

On my last day of the detail I allowed the older workers to open my file cabinets. I have vintage CDS in the cabinet. When I go my my father to the old car shows I look for vintage cds and retro food. The workers were treated to Peter and Gordon, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Neil Diamond and countless compilations I never bothered to open

A day in town

I want to leave final judgement on the Museum of the American Indian to Native Americans. If you are looking for heavy history you are in the wrong place. The Museum excells at showing the adaptability and artistic brilliance of Native Americans. Rather than be shown as victims we are given a look into the communities today. They do not gloss over poverty either. The star of the Museum is the brilliant use of architecture and landscaping. The grounds are better than any Museum I have visited. The wetlands park is so well crafted that you can see birds clearly that you are apt to see at greater distances.
We saw a red wing Blackbird a mere 4 feet from us.

The museum has the best food I have ever had in a tourist facility. The venison and turkey and deserts were outstanding. Americans really need to spend more time eating this cuisine and it is indeded our loss that it isn't more common.

The next time I visit AOW I need to bring exotic produce. NYC has many unique stores so for this trip I went to the movie memrobilia shop and grabbed a movie still from the movie Harvey and a reproduction of the movie poster, I also purchased two Bernie Schwartz photos and an original photo with Don Rickles and Buddy Hacket.

This time Johny Rockets was good. I would have gone to the cajiun place but the lines were too long.
My next rail trip will likely be Baltimore to the huge aquarium.