Home and Ownership

Today is tax day and across America we will be writing checks, filling in forms for both State and Federal taxes in which to ensure our role in the defining marker of equality and parity in American Democracy. Yeah that is working out great, right?

One of the ideas that is instilled in Americans is the dream of Home Ownership. And that has been peddled along with the idea that a College Degree is the key to success. And that is working out great, right?

Owning a home is perhaps the most daunting project one can take on. It is considered wealth building, provides economic security and builds a concept of community as one lives, builds a family, works and lives in a home for at least the term of the Mortgage (that usually 30 years) and in turn sends their Children to local schools, which are paid for through the taxes on said home. This like Meritocracy is a massive myth.

Home ownership MAY have been that at some point in the economic ladder but like Union jobs, decent wages, pension plans and other financial incentives such as supporting infrastructure that includes schools, public transportation, roads and all that align said roads, from crosswalks to street lighting, I suggest you take a trip to a Southern City and see how that fails in every stretch of the imagination. Even some larger cities that are appreciated for density fail in providing that equally across the board to all citizens as you can see in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco.

One book that deals with some of the failures of policy when it comes to issues regarding housing, especially affordable housing is a book called San Francisko. But there are other books that have covered the economic failures such as Evicted, Nickel and Dimed to name a few. The reality is that housing has always been a NIMBY issue by many regardless of their political and economic leanings. They may be for different reasons but the issue is the same when it comes to costs. And by that we mean Property Tax. This is the least transparent of tax systems and this article about how New York City demonstrates that the poorer homeowner often subsidizes the richer home owner when it comes to the way taxes are assessed.

And this is not just in New York, Colorado is facing a similar situation. And the move to remote work led many to find themselves relocating to cheaper environs in which to work and live and surprise they are not the Nirvana one imagines. As I can attest living in Nashville I experienced first hand the United States equivalent of third world country trying to navigate a city with lackluster public transportation, poor sidewalks, no crosswalks, high traffic fatalities, shitty infrastructure when it comes to weather issues and then the largest issue – the failures of the public school system. This article discusses the way these areas nickel and dime you to death when it comes to subsidizing the city when property and/or income taxes are low.

One of the major beliefs in home ownership which still mystifies me is a “starter home” that one buys and maintains to eventually leave and build up or move up. I had never heard of this until the arrival of HGTV and with that flipping also became a new moniker in which to convey they idea of buying properties that a dilapidated and in turn fixing them and turning them over to make a buck. I recall that may have been a factor in the crash of 2008 but again those were different times, right? True lower than lower mortgage rates, less down, shorter term loans and of course Realtors and Mortgage Brokers willing to find suckers, whoops I mean, clients willing to sign the contract. That worked out well, didn’t it?

I could get into a discussion about Real Estate and their MONOPOLY (the reality not the game on which irony that it is based) on selling and buying homes. The recent Missouri Case regarding the National Association of Realtors and that subject is best explained in this article from some of the actual Homeowners behind the case. It is shocking to realize how exploited and dependent we are on agents who have little to no business background, accounting or legal knowledge yet we hand over thousands of dollars to them to exchange property. A Lawyer could do it for a flat fee and so could any Agent, but that is not how it has been done. Okay then.

I have written often about how Real Estate Agents are one step above a Used Car Salesman and again Television has glorified it with varying reality shows that have them raking in the bucks and living the life. That is not the life of the “average” Real Estate Agent. This is one perspective I found that explains wages and incomes in varying markets. But like many other industries, this is industry that is not exempt from those that define corporate hierarchy, or is that Patriarchy? As the the story behind the such as this reason the NAR (irony that the acronym is so close to the NRA) head stepped down. Or this story about another Real Estate Agency, eXp, and their “issues” regarding harm. But just a review of a search in the NY Times brings article after article about the real estate industry and its many “issues.”

Aside from that industry that has contributed to housing costs, housing shortages and denting one’s savings via commissions and costs (come on do you really need to stage a home?) that ultimately come out of the seller’s pocket, there is little to no reason to believe that the equity you have built in your home for many will entitle them to a million dollar retirement. Again that is the reality of real estate, the rich stay richer, the poor stay well less poor in some cases if they have a hot house in a hot market.

But the real problems with home ownership other than maintenance which includes insurance, upkeep as those two factors with Climate problems of late are placing burdens on many, is the biggest check one will write – Property Taxes.

I have reprinted this editorial from the Times regarding this issue and it is something that we have to ask why? As I live in Jersey City the city mentioned in the article I can see firsthand what happened to this city and the aftermath of what it means for its residents, past.

It’s Time to End the Quiet Cruelty of Property Taxes

April 11, 2024 The New York Times Guest Essay

By Andrew W. Kahrl

Dr. Kahrl is a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Virginia and the author of “The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America.”

Property taxes, the lifeblood of local governments and school districts, are among the most powerful and stealthy engines of racism and wealth inequality our nation has ever produced. And while the Biden administration has offered many solutions for making the tax code fairer, it has yet to effectively tackle a problem that has resulted not only in the extraordinary overtaxation of Black and Latino homeowners but also in the worsening of disparities between wealthy and poorer communities. Fixing these problems requires nothing short of a fundamental re-examination of how taxes are distributed.

In theory, the property tax would seem to be an eminently fair one: The higher the value of your property, the more you pay. The problem with this system is that the tax is administered by local officials who enjoy a remarkable degree of autonomy and that tax rates are typically based on the collective wealth of a given community. This results in wealthy communities enjoying lower effective tax rates while generating more tax revenues; at the same time, poorer ones are forced to tax property at higher effective rates while generating less in return. As such, property assessments have been manipulated throughout our nation’s history to ensure that valuable property is taxed the least relative to its worth and that the wealthiest places will always have more resources than poorer ones.

Black people have paid the heaviest cost. Since they began acquiring property after emancipation, African Americans have been overtaxed by local governments. By the early 1900s, an acre of Black-owned land was valued, for tax purposes, higher than an acre of white-owned land in most of Virginia’s counties, according to my calculations, despite being worth about half as much. And for all the taxes Black people paid, they got little to nothing in return. Where Black neighborhoods began, paved streets, sidewalks and water and sewer lines often ended. Black taxpayers helped to pay for the better-resourced schools white children attended. Even as white supremacists treated “colored” schools as another of the white man’s burdens, the truth was that throughout the Jim Crow era, Black taxpayers subsidized white education.

Freedom from these kleptocratic regimes drove millions of African Americans to move to Northern and Midwestern states in the Great Migration from 1915 to 1970, but they were unable to escape racist assessments, which encompassed both the undervaluation of their property for sales purposes and the overvaluation of their property for taxation purposes. During those years, the nation’s real estate industry made white-owned property in white neighborhoods worth more because it was white. Since local tax revenue was tied to local real estate markets, newly formed suburbs had a fiscal incentive to exclude Black people, and cities had even more reason to keep Black people confined to urban ghettos.

As the postwar metropolis became a patchwork of local governments, each with its own tax base, the fiscal rationale for segregation intensified. Cities were fiscally incentivized to cater to the interests of white homeowners and provide better services for white neighborhoods, especially as middle-class white people began streaming into the suburbs, taking their tax dollars with them.

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One way to cater to wealthy and white homeowners’ interests is to intentionally conduct property assessments less often. The city of Boston did not conduct a citywide property reassessment between 1946 and 1977. Over that time, the values of properties in Black neighborhoods increased slowly when compared with the values in white neighborhoods or even fell, which led to property owners’ paying relatively more in taxes than their homes were worth. At the same time, owners of properties in white neighborhoods got an increasingly good tax deal as their neighborhoods increased in value.

As was the case in other American cities, Boston’s decision most likely derived from the fear that any updates would hasten the exodus of white homeowners and businesses to the suburbs. By the 1960s, assessments on residential properties in Boston’s poor neighborhoods were up to one and a half times as great as their actual values, while assessments in the city’s more affluent neighborhoods were, on average, 40 percent of market value.

Jersey City, N.J., did not conduct a citywide real estate reassessment between 1988 and 2018 as part of a larger strategy for promoting high-end real estate development. During that time, real estate prices along the city’s waterfront soared but their owners’ tax bills remained relatively steady. By 2015, a home in one of the city’s Black and Latino neighborhoods worth $175,000 received the same tax bill as a home in the city’s downtown worth $530,000.

These are hardly exceptions. Numerous studies conducted during those years found that assessments in predominantly Black neighborhoods of U.S. cities were grossly higher relative to value than those in white areas.

These problems persist. A recent report by the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy found that property assessments were regressive (meaning lower-valued properties were assessed higher relative to value than higher-valued ones) in 97.7 percent of U.S. counties. Black-owned homes and properties in Black neighborhoods continue to be devalued on the open market, making this regressive tax, in effect, a racist tax.

The overtaxation of Black homes and neighborhoods is also a symptom of a much larger problem in America’s federated fiscal structure. By design, this system produces winners and losers: localities with ample resources to provide the goods and services that we as a nation have entrusted to local governments and others that struggle to keep the lights on, the streets paved, the schools open and drinking water safe. Worse yet, it compels any fiscally disadvantaged locality seeking to improve its fortunes to do so by showering businesses and corporations with tax breaks and subsidies while cutting services and shifting tax burdens onto the poor and disadvantaged. A local tax on local real estate places Black people and cities with large Black populations at a permanent disadvantage. More than that, it gives middle-class white people strong incentives to preserve their relative advantages, fueling the zero-sum politics that keep Americans divided, accelerates the upward redistribution of wealth and impoverishes us all.

There are technical solutions. One, which requires local governments to adopt more accurate assessment models and regularly update assessment rolls, can help make property taxes fairer. But none of the proposed reforms being discussed can be applied nationally because local tax policies are the prerogative of the states and, often, local governments themselves. Given the variety and complexity of state and local property tax laws and procedures and how much local governments continue to rely on tax reductions and tax shifting to attract and retain certain people and businesses, we cannot expect them to fix these problems on their own.

The best way to make local property taxes fairer and more equitable is to make them less important. The federal government can do this by reinvesting in our cities, counties and school districts through a federal fiscal equity program, like those found in other advanced federated nations. Canada, Germany and Australia, among others, direct federal funds to lower units of government with lower capacities to raise revenue.

And what better way to pay for the program than to tap our wealthiest, who have benefited from our unjust taxation scheme for so long? President Biden is calling for a 25 percent tax on the incomes and annual increases in the values of the holdings of people claiming more than $100 million in assets, but we could accomplish far more by enacting a wealth tax on the 1 percent. Even a modest 4 percent wealth tax on people whose total assets exceed $50 million could generate upward of $400 billion in additional annual revenue, which should be more than enough to ensure that the needs of every city, county and public school system in America are met. By ensuring that localities have the resources they need, we can counteract the unequal outcomes and rank injustices that our current system generates.

Blown Away

I am not sure what I like more, the bad fleece, the bulging gut, the bad posture and the wind swept hair.

Often that expression is to connote one of amazement that is both transcendent and breathtaking. It can be seeing a performance or reading something that you did not expect to have such an impact when you first were exposed. That expression now means the reality of what is Florida. Puerto Rico is now in full blown disaster stage and we ignore it at our own peril which means we simply refuse to realize that this is an American island and with that should have all the pleasures and pains of belonging to the mainland, which would include FEMA and other federal responses for the damage to their STATE from Hurricane Fiona which preceded Ian a week earlier. How soon we forget.

Florida is now on record as having the worst hurricane fatalities and damage since 1935. Standing at over 100 deaths and I am sure more will follow as the damage clean up begins we have YEARS before we will fully restore much of what was lost. Ask New Orleans about that one, 18 years post Katrina. Sigh.

Florida has been long a retirement mecca and with that the snowbird capital of the US with Canadians long migrating there every winter to avoid the chill of the Canadian tundra. That won’t matter soon enough but with that Florida is a destination state for many visitors thanks to the beaches, the amusement parks and other storied places worth a visit. I am of the Miami Beach kind who goes every few half dozen years and then goes home and thinks, “Meh.” But then again I am not a beach person and with that I bore easily. Washington DC has my type of energy as it has a lesson tucked into every street corner and building. I love history of the living kind. *

In full disclosure my idiotic ex and his wife live in Ft Myers. Why? To avoid income tax. They are endlessly in search of fame and fortune and with that are also desperate to be famous, so living in Florida makes about zero sense but then again I know him so yes, it makes total sense. With that they have not posted on their social media any concerns or updates only to advise they were in Madrid and loving it. Good to know and an update on the Yankees. Compassion and empathy not a strong suit clearly. It appears the largest swath of Ian was the city of Ft Myers In Lee County. What may have contributed to much of it was the late evacuation notice led to more confusion if not more damage and loss to those who are already on the fringes of economic stability, aka the old and the retired. The reality is that a State that builds an industry on retirees with limited incomes, has NO income tax and relies on tourism is not exactly the most stable financially. The pandemic drew many to the area and with Ron “these boots are made for moon walking” DeSantis angry rhetoric it is drawing many of the elite class whom love the no regs and taxes thing. Yeah it really pays off when you have BILLIONS in restoration dollars being picked up by who? So they will fare just fine, the poor no. And once again we foot the bill.

When I was a child we had Christmas Club accounts that you deposited each week some allowance money and in December you could draw from it and buy gifts. It earned interest so the more you saved the more you had. Remember when banks paid interest? Me neither. And with that since there are no taxes and many of the populace hate the Federal Government they should be able to pocket extra money and in turn enable the State to draw on their accounts in case of disaster. They should waive all federal monies as States do when they are acting on Political concert to provoke rage or do theater as they did in many with ACA money to expand Medicaid and with Covid Relief funds. Irony in Florida they set aside 12M to handle Immigration issues and in turn chartered a flight for 50 Refugees to go to Martha’s Vineyard. Well that worked out, kinda sorta, no. Wish they had done that for some old folks I bet? What would that money be used for now? Hmmm.. But add to the problems Florida’s lack of Insurance in most the counties hit. Sorry, not sorry. Not paying for you either. Or climate deniers who vote no on Climate Change Bills and steadfastly decry SS and Medicare Increases, which irony on top of more of it, affect their largest population cohort.

I am not donating one dollar to any relief organization that is dealing with Florida or to A State run one the Governor and his wife are managing, me thinks that is equally not a good idea as they seem to have a problem handling money. Aside from making poor fashion choices. Florida you can fuck off and fly to Newfoundland where we sent many planes during the 9/11 chaos. They would love to make an updated musical about that I am sure! Come from Away and Fly Away, no really!

I am exhausted reading story after story of some quasi retired folk who now find themselves without a home, water, electricity or functioning vehicles. Cause they the expert weather/historian had rode through them all the last 100 years and know that storms are utterly predictable and they will be fine. Even if it doesn’t touch them it is irrelevant that surrounding communities will be hit. That roads and services are not going to be accessible and then complain that having to rely on such orgs as Churches and non-profits are serving them. The same kind, you know, like the ones that cared for the Immigrants when they landed against their consent/knowledge to places like Kamala Harris’ home, to Washington DC or NYC. As for the Vineyard, frankly I am trying to figure out how to get a free trip and I am willing to go on a bus so hey call me Conchita from Columbia…. Tennessee but hey.

But these excuses stand true regardless: “We’ve never experienced anything like this” Or “We just didn’t know.” Or “Oh my God … wrong decision” “My entire life changed in a matter of hours.” “We’re lucky to be alive” And of course the self reliant and refusing help or believing any messaging that would affect said belief: “I don’t have a place to live. I have been self-reliant my entire life,” he said. “I’ve never counted on anybody, and I’m not about to now.” And the search and rescue teams found this: Many residents planned to stay, despite the lack of power and water and the presence of dangerous debris everywhere. “FEMA, the government, they don’t give a crap about people down here like us” But hands will be out and waiting for the Government check. That is some self reliance baby.

One crackpot who stayed behind and lost everything said this: “The long-term recovery of Fort Myers Beach should be funded privately, as homeowners recoup insurance money and developers rebuild. Keep the government out of that part ” Right, so no updated building codes, any roads or bridges, power/water lines, or establishing a better communication and evacuation protocol? Nah that the Gummit! And so with that I agree not one cent. Not one dime. Nothing. And let’s add mandatory flood and property insurance, what did you say MANDATE? But hey you CHOSE to live there and I CHOOSE to not pay for it.

So bring me your old, your poor, your huddled masses. And with that we will demand money from you and in turn reject you and ship you out when shit or water or wind hit the land. And with that you refuse to leave anyway regardless so sit that out then and see what happens. Older not wiser, clearly.

Elderly bear brunt of Hurricane Ian as Sunshine state retirement turns sour

The devastating storm hit Florida’s high population of seniors hard and some are now reconsidering their future in the state

Michael Sainato in Gainesville, Florida Wed 5 Oct 2022 The Guardian

Joy McCormack had just retired and moved to a mobile park in Fort Myers near the Sanibel Island causeway before Hurricane Ian hit Florida last week. Her entire community was wiped out and her mobile home is still flooded.

She had managed to evacuate before Ian arrived with just her car and a few belongings, spending the night in a two-story office building inland. “You don’t expect it to be anything, because we’ve never been hit that hard,” said McCormack.

She is far from alone. In a state like Florida – popular with retirees seeking warm weather, cheap property and beautiful beaches – hurricanes hit the elderly hard. According to US census data, 40.5% of residents in Charlotte county, 33.1% of residents in Collier county and 29.1% of residents in Lee county are age 65 or older, nearly twice the percentage of the US population. Fema has cautioned residents to “make informed decisions” about rebuilding in areas hit by natural disasters.

In the days since the neighborhood where McCormack lives has seemed like a war zone. Electricity and internet access in the area are still spotty, boil water advisories remain in effect in Lee county, gas stations have long lines and information is sparse. She’s still waiting on her pharmacy to open to refill medical prescriptions.

“I can’t get into any of my accounts because of the internet, it’s really hard, you can’t do anything. It’s like living in a war zone,” added McCormack. “I’ve lived here for 20 years and there’s no reason for me to stay in the state of Florida any longer.” She plans to move up north to be closer to family rather than try to get a new home in the area.

Many other elderly are suffering too.

George Hill, 81, lost his mobile home in North Port, Florida, due to the hurricane, while his two daughters who live in Virginia and Delaware have been trying to coordinate assistance and make sure he’s safe throughout the storm and the aftermath. They are trying to find him another place to stay, but are unsure whether he will remain in the area or not.

“We’ve never experienced anything like this, so we’re just thanking God he is OK,” said Dawn Hill Anders, Hill’s daughter. “We’re trying to be patient and do what we can right now as far as finding some answers, help raise money and see how long everything is going to take for what needs to be done.”

Hurricanes nearly always hit senior communities particularly hard; a study found Hurricane Irma in 2017 caused over 400 nursing home resident deaths as the storm cut power supply. Half of the nearly 1,000 deaths during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were individuals 75 or older.

Florida officials are facing scrutiny over delayed evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Ian’s direct hit in south-west Florida, as the death toll is continuing to climb as search and rescue efforts in hard-hit coastal areas continue.

There have been numerous dramatic rescues and narrow escapes of seniors who were stranded as storm surges flooded their neighborhoods.

Johnny Lauder lives in a low-lying flood zone in Naples, Florida, within a few blocks of his two sons and his 84-year-old mother, an amputee who uses a wheelchair. She refused to go to a shelter, having ridden out previous hurricanes, and he stayed nearby at his son’s house in case something happened.

Then the storm surge came.

“It looked like a river on the side of the house,” said Lauder. “Within a matter of 15 to 20 minutes, it was already up a foot and we had two feet of water on the other side of the glass window.”

His mother’s house began flooding and the water was showing no signs of subsiding, so Lauder decided to brave the flooded streets. By then, cars were submerged, telephone poles were arcing and sparks were shooting off. On his way swimming to his mother’s he found a floating bench to help him maneuver and a life jacket from a boat. He finally made it to his mother’s house but couldn’t get in through the front door.

Karen Lauder in her home flooded by Hurricane Ian on 28 September 2022. Photograph: Via the Lauders’ GoFundMe campaign *nope refused to leave and handicapped. Not one red cent.

“When I made it to the back window, I was able to get the back window open and I saw her probably the happiest I’ve ever seen her to see me,” said Lauder.

The water had risen to her chest and she had started showing signs of hypothermia when Lauder reached her. He managed to wrap her in dry blankets and put her on a floatation device to keep her out of the water. He spent the next three hours with her to keep her dry until the storm surge started to subside enough for him to move her out of the house, at which point his son arrived and they were able to safely leave.

His house and his mother’s were severely damaged by the hurricane and flooding, as were most of their possessions and vehicles.

“It was just horrifying. Everything is just a total loss,” Lauder added. “The amount of water that hit here, there’s no way anybody could have prepared for that.”

Billionaires Boys Club

Americans love two things: Guns and Rich People. American are an aspirational group, who believe in Unicorns, the most egregious is the one about Meritocracy. No wonder Lottery Dream Home is a favorite on HGTV along with the Flippers. We are sure we are going to make it big, through the only two avenues available to the great unwashed, sports and entertainment; Sort of the same thing as drugs, sex and cash are all possible (but again short lived and not across the spectrum). Sports are however unique as getting the shit beat out of you and in turn having long lasting physical damage including the brain is possible, dependent upon the sport… no wait, ask Prince about that. Oh wait he is dead. We ask a lot out of our entertainers.

The Billionaires of Tech are a unique group of Bros as many of them did rise up through a type of a ladder, as they were in prominent Ivy League Schools, often from families whose sacrifices enabled them to get there or that they were connected to the school in some way did not hurt either. But many of them did drop out as they came up with the “Big Idea” about saving the world or some other crap slogan that enabled them to make billions. Almost all of them had some other attached at the hip who they quickly cut loose once the name recognition and quasi celebrity came in. And with that they were revered, as in feared. That is what reverence is – fear. Americans are also afraid, very, very afraid and that once you get to the rung, you do your best to preserve that belief just in case someone tries to take it from you. Think poor folks and their Bibles and Guns, Obama hit that proverbial (pun intended) nail on the head.

Today’s dueling banjos or pianos are Musk and Gates. Well it is always Elon and somebody or something as he is fucking batshit nuts. And with that I am now reading about his sister and his Mother is a Sports Illustrated Cover girl making him the unique outlier in parading the family tree for exploitation. He even was a mention in the Depp/Heard trial so it is like he is the new everywhere man. If there was a God I would right now be praying for him to take him to space on a permanent tour. Yet Bill Gates needs attention, newly single and ready to mingle he needs to right himself with those that may have a few questions about his behavior, particularly regarding his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

And now the two Billionaires are having a chick fight over who is the bestest baddest Leroy Brown in town over climate change. If that is not a laugh riot what is? Space exploration is not exactly a green diamond in the rough. Oh that is right it is exploratory to find a new planet in which to relocate when this implodes. Yeah sure, right, what.ever. And when I read this article in The Guardian it did make me laugh. I could use one right now.

What are Bill Gates and Elon Musk feuding about this time? Who is better at saving the world

Arwa Mahdawi UK Guardian June 7, 2022

Sitting on mountains of cash doesn’t appear enough to keep these billionaires happy. They want to be worshipped for their benevolence, too

Billionaires shouldn’t exist. I am firmly of the opinion that all billionaires are policy failures and their very existence is immoral. That said, if I accidentally happened to become a billionaire, I think I would be pretty good at the whole being-richer-than-God thing. I would chill on my yacht, drink champagne and not give a damn what anybody thought about m

Real billionaires aren’t terribly good at that last bit. Sitting on mountains of dubiously gotten gains does not appear to be enough for them. Rather, a lot of high-profile billionaires seem desperate for us plebs to worship them as benevolent “philanthropists”; to understand that they are not avoiding taxes and hoarding wealth because they are greedy, no, it’s because they are saving the world. Apparently, it is impossible to do this quietly or collaboratively: they are also all busy trying to outdo each other loudly when it comes to the world-saving.

See as the latest example of brash billionaire “benevolence”, the row between Elon Musk and Bill Gates (who hasn’t let having one of the highest carbon footprints in the world stop him from becoming a moral authority on the environment) over who is donating more money to the climate crisis. The two men have been feuding for years now, with Musk accusing Gates of not being serious about fighting the climate crisis because he shorted Tesla’s stock. However, the conflict intensified over the weekend, after Gates informed a French journalist that he gives “a lot more money to climate change than Elon or anyone else”. So there! Musk responded by tweeting “Sigh” – which was pretty restrained considering his history of vulgar tweets about Gates.

Imagine having that much money and spending your spare time on silly little feuds. Seriously, what is wrong with these people? I’m not a psychologist; I can’t answer that. But, I can say that if these guys really care about the climate crisis, they should stop releasing so much hot air and pay more taxes.

Time Out

We all need said time outs, either by choice or by assignment. The reality is that we have been living under extraordinary pressure and fear that has only accelerated for some as they live in seclusion, isolation or in a small cohort or pod. The mirror held is one that reflects much of the same dynamics that enables one to thrive and succeed when times are tough. I am one who thrives on my own, I have always known that and now this has only confirmed it in ways that have made me relieved, sad, glad and whatever the day brings I ultimately know that I am on my own and I must do what needs to be done to get through it; whatever it is.

The past year has demonstrated Biblical proportions of all that defines the Apocalypse – as defined by the Book of Revelation. This from James Tabor on a Frontline discussing this issue:

If you open the Book of Revelation and simply begin reading it as an unfolding scenario, it goes something like this. There will be wars and famines and disease epidemics and heavenly signs that will alert the world to some sort of crisis. Then will come an Antichrist as he’s called, or a political ruler, that will establish control over the whole earth. He’ll be backed up with a religious ruler, who’s called the false prophet. They together establish a unified social, economic and religious system that dominates the world. The only thing opposing them are the people of God and these two prophets, they’re called the two witnesses, who appear in Jerusalem, and begin to speak against this power. The rest of the book, really the last half of the book is about the overthrow of this system. The beast, the false prophet, who has the number 666, the Antichrist, is overthrown with judgments and plagues. Most of them are very cosmic. Asteroids hitting the earth. The water turning to blood and that sort of thing, until finally, Jesus Christ returns as a warrior on a white horse and sets up the kingdom of God. ...

And with this comes the Four Horsemen with their signs, which we can see as War/Unrest, Plague, Pestilence, Floods/Tornados, Starvation and of course the Met Gala. Seriously what the fuck was Anna Wintour thinking dressing adults in ostensibly overpriced Halloween Costumes, calling it fashion to descend upon New York City and paying for the privilege of looking like idiots? Talk about out of touch. When a self described Socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is wearing a six figure gown with the message, “Tax the Rich,” folks the irony is not lost there, it is fucking buried. I think someone needs a time out!

Then we have the denial and claims that the current state of affairs with regards to the weather as a 500 year flood. From Alabama, Texas and Tennessee to here in Tri-State area that is some 500 year spread as Sandy was just nine years ago. At least I can do the math. As one clean up begins another continues. This is climate change folks and if you are denying it at this point it may be time for a time out for you!

As for the Covid vaxx deniers. Let’s start with the South, the region of the country going out of its way to deny voting rights to ensure that the majority is ruled by the minority. Again, going with that math thing – when you have 70% of your population not voting by choice or because of convoluted laws to ensure that you have a minority, 30% of the population deciding who will represent you and create said laws that are equally convoluted about a myriad of subjects. Such as the weird ass Abortion law of Texas, written by a religious zealot, male of course. And the equally wierd ass gun law in Missouri which is the Abortion law only about guns. So this is why the South gets the stereotype notion they are hicks and dicks. Well that is partially true but they are the loudest voices in the room and that dick swinging takes up a lot of energy. Yet they are also the biggest liars and hypocrites I have ever met. The Southern Conundrum I call it where they say one thing, do another and blame Jesus. Tennessee has quite restrictive mandates when it comes to vaccinations as does Mississippi. Why? Well the issues are racist and public health in mind, the priority is of course neither it is about the most critical thing – money. The reason being is that these are states with poor public health programs and hospitals and why? Black people. The poor in the South are by far largely faces of color but they are not the majority: however, the largest driver in their economies are jobs without insurance and deceent wages and the reality is that by having everyone inoculated it saves medical care costs if a pandemic arises. Covid is such an example as right now Tennessee has the largest cases of Covid per capita.. As a result profitable and needed surgeries and treatments that keep hospitals going (I was going to say alive but felt it was an inappropriate pun) cannot schedule them, as in this case. So it is time for the Legislatures to wake up and take a time out on this bullshit.

Be that it was MANDATED to be vaccinated at the Met Gala last night, Nikki Minaj, apparently missed out, the story being something to do with the mandate but also with some family members testicle, but she is like many in the Black community – unvaxxed. Hey folks, if Little Nas X, or whatever his name is, can show up, wear three outfits it says that yes it is fine to be vaccinated as I am sure he is not risking his balls. He is our new Gaga. And on that I can make even an exception for him but the others not so much. He gets no time out!

And the last time out I want to give is to the uneducated. A week ago the Wall Street Journal did an article about how men, across color lines, are dropping out of College and joining a long line of those who are uneducated and in turn working for less and feeling isolated as again women are, across color lines, attending college in 2:1 ratio. That said it has been like this for decades and little has changed with regards to pay equity for women, regardless of color and with women of color making substantially less that their white counterparts in same said jobs. But overall the reality is that women are still picking up the check and paying for it. As pink collar jobs still require licensing and credentials and still pay shit. The equivalent blue collar ones for men do not. Time out on that!

We are a stupid lot of sheep. We are afraid and we take no for an answer quite often and yet when you choose not, including Ms. Minaj, you are mocked, derided and often “canceled.” What we have is a culture of talking AT you not WITH you. Active listening, asking questions is not wrong as that is how you grow. Take a Time Out and try it, you may be surprised.

Mix and Match

Well the weather here is frightening, but not as bad as elsewhere. In Tennessee home of the deniers of science, climate included, has had flooding that has led to over 20 dead. But hey don’t ask the Legislature to do anything about infrastructure as well they will take that Government check and promptly build some monument to a White Supremacist over doing needed repairs to roads, bridges and flood controls on the rivers despite the 200 year old floods that now are Decade new ones. Hey they have mask mandates to overturn, civil rights to oppress and open carry laws to pass. Priorities people! (Yes folks I hated every waking minute living in Tennessee and that will not change, no absence and heart not in the least fond)

That said Memphis was a cover story in The Washington Post with regards to the issues of hiring and how it is affecting small businesses, mostly those owned by people of color. Memphis is largely a chocolate city and perhaps unlike most of the other racist cities in the State it is the one that truly reflects the concept of Southern Hospitality. I loved it there and cannot wait to return but this issue is one I am seeing everywhere. From Bridgeport to Newport the swath of Help Wanted signs is why many of the businesses have permanently closed, from small business, to major ones you see CLOSED on many doors or limited days and hours. And no folks it is not the extended UI benefits as again as a study has shown that employment in states that ended in earlier versus those still in the plan have a slight difference in that trajectory, the irony is that the states which have elected to keep the extended benefits hiring is up and most notably the workforce has changed, to one of teenagers; a group that has found in the past few decades the lowest employment, go figure. What this says to me is that is what these jobs truly are, low wage entry level which for years have been the jobs that were the ones that we have neglected with regards to paying a living wage and filled by Immigrants and Women. As for those other jobs, such as child care and home care health workers, we pay them poorly as well but those cannot be held by teens and much like the ongoing Nursing and Teaching shortage, little will change until they stop paying in change.

Then we have another Tennessee tale, Phil Valentine, the Covid denier is dead, from Covid. Irony much? May Governor Greg Abbott of Texas join him soon. He has a colleague from a Texas town who thought it was all bullshit too, waiting to greet him. Not so much bullshit now is it? Well can’t suppress voting rights from six feet under! Okay, I have zero problem wishing the deaths of men who are largely enabling people to die from something preventable. Sorry folks pity for the ones who did not do anything wrong and died or became seriously ill thanks to the bullshit peddled by assholes like these. Hey but in Florida it is a new way to defund the Police, kill them with Covid.

Next up on the hit parade is the riots and mayhem in the streets of Kabul. What? You mean Portland. Oh yes same difference, angry men fighting to prove who are the bigger meaner men. One is about religion and the other about religion. Christianity vs Islam when it comes to that issue it is literally a race as in a color of skin and gender. Men swinging dicks with guns as the condom. Oh wait these shitholes won’t wear masks so would they wear condoms? No love no glove or mask. Wow you know this mask thing is kinda sexy folks, and the Proud Boys do love some cosplay costumes there. Funny that at least the women in Afghanistan are more than masked. Yes we women are the problem.

And Trump had a rally in Alabama. Was Jeff Sessions invited? Guess not. Odd, he promoted vaccines. Well he has to as he needs his Trumptards alive. They are going old school Japanese and doing it Kamikaze style. Just say NO. Wow we are back in the Reagan years!

And lastly in this the Country of Old Men, great movie btw, we have my beloved Joe Biden doing the right thing and upholding the deal Trump made and getting eviscerated for it. Again this war was useless and we knew this and The Washsington Post had long uncovered how the Military had obfuscated this fact for decades.. yes all two of them we were there. The link is to the NYT and it in turn has the link to the Post and they are a must read, so anyone who truly believes we are handling this wrong, needs a dose of Fox News and a recall back to another decade of my life that was all GOP all the time, the Nixon years and Cambodia. Kissinger is still, well, alive and I am sure railing that we should have stayed there too. War kills all living things.

And then we have the R. Kelly trial (number one)going on in Brooklyn. There is so much luggage there to unpack I am not sure what to make of this. But the Doctor who diagnosed Kelly’s Herpes but never took a payment from him in exchange for free tickets and comped show travel seems to have some problems with being a licensed Physician. As stated in the trial: Dr. McGrath said that he had first believed that Mr. Kelly could have had herpes in 2000. He had first begun to serve as the singer’s doctor around 1994, but did not charge him for his services, he said. (Instead, he testified, Mr. Kelly invited him to about a dozen concerts, sometimes flying him across the country and paying for his accommodations.)

And to hear one former employee describe working for R Kelly as being in the Twilight Zone you realize how money and access to fame color our vision when it comes to men doing harm to young women. And in turn enabling toxic workplaces such as former Governor Cuomo (who assured all of us or reassured us that he would still be leaving office today as scheduled, despite the weather. Yeah a bitch to move during a Hurricane) or Scott Rudin who did not sexually harass anyone (and apparently Gay and married which makes this one a glass ceiling breaker and steadfastly unusual) who did discriminate in his abuse, women and especially those of color the targets of his abuse; however it seems that regardless he was a Grade A asshole across the boards, literally across the boards as he became one of Broadway’s most notorious or most voracious, either/or, none of it good. What we tolerate in the search of money and fame – herpes, death, rape and beatings by a computer keyboard. When does it stop Mommy?

To demonstrate my quest to prove equality when it comes to abuse can we discuss Naomi Campbell? Yes folks, phones were thrown but the Guardian is right, someone has to work with these people. Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

Father Figure

I have spent the better part of the last weeks traveling to Rhode Island to attend a day at the Newport Jazz Festival. The irony that two of the artists I wanted to see are also new fathers and had their now year and near year old babies with them to celebrate what is the essence of life for me, music. And with other artists they too had families, sons and fathers in the band so it was a full circle of life in celebration. The women were there too and of course my favorite song was one by Catherine Russell, I like my men like I like my Whiskey, aged and mellow. No truer songs could have been sung to remind myself why I travel alone. But with that I am able to meet interesting individuals whose paths I would not have crossed had I not.

My seat mate to RI was a man nearing 60 who owns a business manufacturing plant in Queens and was heading home. He and I could not be more distinctly different in the spectrum of politics but we found an engaging conversation that included such facts as his sister was in NXVIM for seven years and he had Covid in. March of 2020. He found himself driving back to RI made it Fall Rivers, MA and stopped at hospital and was there for four days when they said he was to be put on a respirator, or as he and I agree the kiss of death, so he got a private Nurse and O2 tank and went home to recover. He was very sick but he again took control and got through it. That is money folks right there and the distinct ability to tell a hospital to go fuck themselves and they probably were relieved and needed the bed space. So that is again a reflection of the health care system, rich or poor, when they need you gone they will do whatever it takes. Yikes how many did they send home without the kit they needed to survive? Anyway he is also unvaxxed and when he said, “You will try to talk me into it.” I said, “No, I am a great believer in preventative medicine and I blur the line between the metaphysical and physical so I am all about anything that will keep me out a hospital, including prayer and I am an Atheist. So, no you are on your own but with that drug it will keep me out as for you, you figured it out on your own before you will do so now.”

He was a much more interesting traveling companion that the Big Game Hunter or as I call the serial killer I met going to Raleigh NC. Truly I will never understand that mentality of killing innocent animals and mounting their skins on a wall as a trophy. Really? Said Ted Bundy.

Then this week another Big White Daddy made an appearance at the final show of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett at Radio City Music Hall. Mr. Bennett turned 95 on Tuesday and is suffering from Alzheimer’s and they had managed to cut what will likely be his last album during the past year. I had seen the two a few years ago at the Hollywood Bowl which was a magical evening and I knew this would be as well. As we had to get their early to check our Covid vaccination status and check our phones so they could not be inside the auditorium which led many in the line to shove them down shirts, pants and bury them in bags. I tucked mine in my wallet and used it in the restroom so it was just to not film/tape the event as it was being done so for broadcast. Gaga’s father was there in the front tables they had set up and there were some on the stage as the rest of us filed into seats in the amazing Radio City for a night of music and memories, ours being of the greatest jazz singer still alive and his paring with a dynamo who crosses musical genres with ease. It was from Tony I learned what a gift Gaga possesses and I am now a big fan of this amazing woman. And then we waited, and waited and waited some more. Three G&T’s in finally the reason we were waiting arrived, it was Bill Clinton. No, he was not with Hilary it appears that it was his daughter and her husband included in his entourage. Another famous/celebrity wandered in shortly after but by then we were sorta kinda over it as what was at 8 pm start now was 9. I was furious as it interrupted my plans and in turn thought HOW RUDE as this man performing is likely also on a schedule and needs to be well managed and organized. Thankfully when Gaga arrived on stage wearing all white and said, “Hello, I see you Mr. President.” I laughed and thought of another era with a similar star and the girl next to me said, “Well at least it is not Trump.” How true and the show began and ended with my tears seeing Tony Bennett still singing tunes he had for years and fighting the good fight to the end.

This week it is Pink Martini on a rooftop a band with its own tragedy’s and history and then next week to Connecticut to see Kings of Leon. I am filling my time with as much music as I can and thankfully now the requirement of vaccinations that we had to have in Newport has extended to NYC which has traumatized the anti vaxx set. You know the same people that demand personal liberty unless of course it is a woman’s vagina, no. Sorry folks you women folk cannot have your own body and your own choice unless it is about masks and vaccines.

America led the way on preventative medicines/drugs, we supposedly have the best treatment and care in the world (which I will debate to my death on that one) but we have no CURATIVE treatments for most disease and little on the front of Covid. So go ahead test that one out I have a man in RI who fucking got out with a tank and his life, you many not be so lucky there daddy!

And speaking of Big White Daddies, Andrew Cuomo’s report on his behavior with women came out and showed he was a hypocrite, speaking one thing in public and in private demanding to see/touch women’s privates. Your body my choice kinda thing. Nothing changes there when it comes to powerful men and their ambition and lust for one thing – power. Basically the toxic masculinity that one carries inside their briefcase is like Pandora’s Box and once opened it spreads into the culture of the workplace and many become enablers if not equally predatory in all to preserve their own power. We have seen this with Trump and Cuomo is not different. And like Jeffrey Epstein, women are used to cover and shield much of this in the same way Ghislaine Maxwell did for her keeper and Melissa DeRosa did for Cuomo. Is it deflection or fear or sheer ambition that enables this and proves that women clearly are breaking the glass ceiling, just not the one we need right now. Again Hilary not at the concert told me all I needed to know about that marriage. Maybe she and Melinda Gates need to get together and have some tea, I am sure there is a lot to spill on both sides of that table. I wonder what Mrs. Tucker Carlson has to say about her husband being the big white daddy to White Supremacists as he is Hungary touting Totalitarianism? She must be a fucking moron or an abused spouse, either/or. And the same goes for Mrs. Ron deSantis, the Governor/Autocrat of Florida. What is with that state? No seriously that entire state.

And lastly we have the environment who is joining Covid in kicking our respective asses. The fires that began out west have extended to Greece and Turkey. Floods now are now a problem in Germany and China and we are of course waiting out the worst summer on record with immense heat problems that are in turn causing serious health problems and deaths. Yeah, Covid is a bitch, meet Mother Nature. One town in California is now totally out of water. Mendocino is where Oprah and Harry/Megan live, so they better have wells, just saying. But compared to this one, at least you can breathe, sort of. The fire in the air travels as I found out a few weeks ago in North Carolina, and with it created its own weather pattern. This is truly the long hot summer folks and not in a fun vaxxed way. Well thanks to the Delta variant that put the kybosh on that one but again the bioweapon that Covid has become seems to be working against the very individuals determined to let that fly. America the great – ish. Yes in America until it happens to you its all bullshit, smoke and mirrors. Hello Covid, my old friend its back to meet me once again. Ask this dipshit how his journey ended. He was lucky he lived. Some not so much. Or these fuckwads. Or this idiot.

We love our big white Daddies, from those in the sky to those on the planet and yet all of them repeatedly fuck us without dinner or lube. They are the big game hunters on the prowl to kill anyone or anything that could enable them to have a trophy to mount on the wall and prove what big dicks they are, whoops I mean have. It exhausts me at this stage as from the beginning we have known exactly who or what they are and yet we expect them in a crisis to fix it all. They cannot they live their entire lives in crisis mode so they can enable and obfuscate the truth, they are incompetent assholes. And we on planet earth pay for their sins which will never be forgiven, even the Sky Daddy is starting to say, hey coming up here isn’t going to fix it.

A Week In Repose/Review/Reprise

I was not sure what the week would bring as with it came unrelenting heat and humidity, and in the Pacific Northwest it was truly a new level of pandemic catastrophes that have literally and metaphorically plagued the region. And being from there we thought Air Conditioning was for sissies and then this. For years they have been facing drought, fires that literally poisoned the air and once again proved that yes folks stupid does live in Liberal regions. They ran out of air conditioners and people being asked to turn off power to prevent surges, and even grocery stores had to stop selling perishables thanks to the issues with cooling. The irony was that Seattle, finally out of stage whatever level lockdown ends up with rolling blackouts, deaths and hospital overcrowding thanks to heat related illnesses. Portland was even worse and the irony is not lost as both cities took it upon themselves the last year to go batshit crazy over Black Lives Matter in ways that cities with way higher Black populations and incidents of Police related deaths and incidents did not. We saw some horrific displays of White Power in Kenosha and in Minneapolis where the Boys were proud to step it and up or whatever the fuck Trump said they did to basically make things worse; I did not see this in Newark or in Cleveland, Baltimore and Detroit that are by far more Chocolate cities. The South, however, well it is the South and even some Southern cities found themselves much calmer than the whitest cities in the U.S., Seattle and Portland. But again over 90% of the protests were in fact civil and peaceful. And with that the greatest threat to American safety is not urban crime or violence, but White Supremacy. Go figure. It is they who are suffering from White Fragility, not normal folks who simply are ignorant about race, as most folks are not actively oppressing those not of the same race, they are just as bubbled and self involved as our culture has permitted if not encouraged. That said, ignorance is not bliss it is ignorance and for many it took a pandemic where you forced into lockdown yourself to watch a man die and realize that this was not something new or unusual in the Black/Brown community. Yes we are now broadcasting Snuff films on national television and we watched, let the Gladiator games begin. Stephen King called it in The Stand, he is a prophet and now I am off to Maine to form a cult around him.

And with that we have the sentencing of Allison Mack former actress from a long ended series but who ended up with a new role as crazy recruiter for another angry sexually perverted white man, the head of NXVIM. Having watched all the documentaries on this subject, listened to the podcasts and read all I can I am trying to understand this as to why anyone would listen to this dude who looks like a Middle School Science Teacher, let alone get branded with his initials. I would not get a hand stamp from the man nor engage in what is multi level marketing, something this idiot did before turning it into a sex slave mindfuck cult. Hey, nice work if you can get it and my Stephen King one is going to be fantastic!

In more sentencing news, Derek Chauvin was also sentenced, the relative calm again surrounding it proves that Black Lives Matter and for many it was not long enough but it was enough as for years their tears went unrecognized. And the rest of the douches that sat there and watched the murder are up next. This may again prove that sometimes just sometimes Justice works.

Speaking of Justice the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell is getting ready to begin and this time I too am ready to finally photo bomb and become a MEME after Covid shut down the Harvey Weinstein trial which I had been prepping for days to attend. I actually find this more interesting as we seem to think Women are often just victims and yes many times they start out that way but to prevent further abuse they too become the abuser. And here we have two women who were never victims in any sense of the word, they simply joined the hideous lunatic in his pursuit of lurid sex and debauchery, and the examples are Allison Mack and now our dear Ghislaine. She too is the subject of her own documentary on Peacock which for the first time I will sign up, watch it and then immediately cancel, like I did Starz with the one on NXVIM.

And as one celebrity goes to jail another comes out and Bill Cosby was released as the Superior Court of Pennsylvania found that his prosecution was illegal. Who knew? Well half of the people currently in the slammer for crimes they did not commit. Ah yes but they aren’t famous and rich and have to wait for a non-profit to take up their case to dig that shit up. But hey Bill is free! And the only person happy about is Phylicia Rashad. Watch for her to get quietly written out of This is Us. Canceled!

In California they are trying to cancel the Governorship of Gavin Newsom and the contestants on this new reality show include a reality star from Orange County, the love tank filler of Vicky Gunvalson and formerly Bruce Jenner. This is again while a State reels from fire and drought and Covid and it appears that maybe all that glitters is not gold in California, home of Hollywood so that much is true, as the fire preparations were not what Newsom claimed. This could be the undoing as this has been a major problem in the region and with that a drain on the state in ways Covid could never be. And while the New York Mayoral race is plagued with issues it provides the cover for Cuomo that all the handy Covid art failed to do. Welcome to term three Andy!

And with that comes the last bit of the saga of Britney Spears who testified that it was abuse and imprisonment and promptly the new female Judge connected with her on a woman to woman level and retained the arrangement. Yeah, women our are worst enemies especially with little evidence to support Britney’s argument or the Conservators beliefs she is not capable, carry on! Really? And with that the Conservator is resigning leaving Dad to his trailer. But lawmakers are on it as they have never seen or heard a public lynching that didn’t require their intervention, just the type and kind have been debatable of late. Hi, Mike Pence! So they are beginning to look into these “arrangements” as it is a form of abuse and control that often enriches one and isolates the other held in non-covid captivity. Try to imagine that as permanent and even more restrictive. Again this is not about Britney bitch, but she brought this to light. One time White Fragility worked out and we got woke.

And talk about prisons, apparently Australia is one as it is now once again in big time prison bitch lockdown. Even residents are beginning to be come distressed as the costs and measures to make Australia number one in preventing Covid deaths is in fact killing people softly. Good on ya mate!

And with that the Trump Organization is facing its own type of inquiry and challenges and with that it will all I will say about he who should be nameless as it is time to move forward and onward with a new optimism and hope about the future. I never thought it would come in the form of an aging white man who has spent his entire life in politics and then yet again as I have long thought we are moving back in time and Biden is LBJ, which means Harris the JFK who will have a short term Presidency and be one that we will always look back with in fondness and go, “Wow we had a Black-Indian Woman as President and a Jew as her First Man.” Yes we go one step forward and two steps back, welcome folks to the late 60’s. Swing On!

Some Cheese with that Wine?

Well once again sitting in the belly of the beast I opened the New York Times to find an opinion piece from my favorite whiner, Margaret Renkl.  I’ve never met the woman but since she has become the “Southern Voice” for the paper I have never laughed or rolled my eyes more as she is another classic example of what defines white privilege in Nashville.  That the Times could not find anyone else to opine on the region is disturbing, marks of laziness and even The Bitter Southerner (which is largely a retail outlet with essays) does a way better job of finding diverse voices and views about the region.  Hey this is apparently still it city if by it you mean it is one hot mess here then yes.

Again the local news which is largely a crime and sports reporting mentioned the crime stats as it affects the only industry that matters – tourism.  They found the biggest violent crime was deep in the heart of Broadway just two blocks from where I sit and where I walked into a liquor store to witness the robbery I wrote about yesterday.  And last night more crazy on the same street with a fight, a home invasion and a woman robbed at gunpoint by two teens during an evening walk through her neighborhood.  Meanwhile the city continues to decline with public health clinics falling apart, schools still the dumpsters they always have been with a new corruption scandal unfolding and of course the State Legislation is now working on another law requiring students to play only sports and on teams that are connected to their in gender assigned at birth .  Hate laws go well served with meat and threes.

So Mags in her opine piece is upset that the media did not cover the now decade old flood that devastated the city and she is particularly upset that is was not until day four that Anderson Cooper arrived! Bless his heart!

To Mags, I just want to say: Shut the fuck up you whiny little bitch.

Here is the story that she neglects to mention: That the powers that be knew that the Cumberland could overflow and in fact cause damage, that nothing not one thing has been done to circumvent this from happening again despite two Mayors addressing the issue the money is not in the budget for this. That in fact Nashville has been aggressive in buying up land from homeowner in direct line of a floodplain and do so with federal money, which a very article in this very paper she writes for has covered. That during the post flood cleanup the City and State got the usual wealth of dollars from the feds and have used some of it do build an Amphitheater in downtown that brings in more shows and in turn more tourists, along with complaints about noise in the nearby community of East Nashville, where the housing project of Shelby is located and largely faces of color reside; It is alongside the Nissan Stadium (I wonder if that will still be the name in a year or few after all said and done) and one of the most violent blocks in the city, the other being right smack in the middle of the honky tonks at 3rd and Broadway.  Is that in the tourist info brochure? That in turn much of the abatement money renovated properties that were vacant and then in turn sold to build the now honky tonk paradise row that dominates the city. That in turn millions went to millionaires who turned this property over in a flip that defies property brothers dreams as Tennessee does not require flood notifications on sales transactions. In turn that lead to further boon and bust in gentrification as now right along the flood line they are building a Four Seasons Hotel Condo building and on the basement of the new building that is all things Nashville they have housed the African American Museum. So lets see how those do when the flood hits them in a year or few.

Mags you need to tell the truth in this passive aggressive missive about Climate Change and whatever else this is about, the poor me bullshit that dominates the discussion here about all things other than truth. Mags needs to note that Nashville the City nor the State of Tennessee gives one flying fuck about any of this unless it has to do with the NFL, Tourism, Bachelorette Whores and other big ticket items that will pass through like the flood leaving damage in their wake but easier to clean up after. No one cares Mags, you got that much right.

Nobody Cared When Nashville Drowned
A new exhibit marks the 10th anniversary of a national disaster the nation ignored.

By Margaret Renkl
Contributing Opinion Writer
Jan. 20, 2020

NASHVILLE — On the Saturday I had set aside to visit a new exhibit at the Frist Art Museum, it rained so hard I was afraid to leave the house. Nashville was built on the Cumberland River, and even those of us who live far from its banks are invariably a stone’s throw from at least one creek that drains into the great Cumberland or one of its tributaries. A deluge falling on saturated soil will flood the creeks and leave water pooling on low-lying roads. “Turn Around Don’t Drown” is a truism I conscientiously heed.

The exhibit I planned to visit that day, ironically enough, was a retrospective of the devastating 2010 flood that dropped more than 13 inches of rain on this area in 36 hours — twice the amount of rain that fell during the previous two-day record. The Cumberland River crested more than 11 feet above flood level, leaving 10,000 people in the region displaced and 26 others dead, including an elderly couple who drowned when their car was swept off the road not far from my house.
Area landmarks were shut down for months. Opry Mills, a massive mall on the banks of the Cumberland, was closed for nearly two years. Nearby, the Opryland Resort & Convention Center had to evacuate 1,500 hotel guests, and the first floor of the Grand Ole Opry House itself was completely submerged. Twenty-four feet of water entered the Schermerhorn, Nashville’s transcendently beautiful symphony hall, where the losses included two Steinway concert grand pianos. Soundcheck, a sprawling rehearsal and equipment-storage facility in East Nashville, took a nearly fatal blow, with millions of dollars of instruments — belonging to both session musicians and industry superstars — lost to the water. It all felt almost personal: What would Music City be without the music?

The cleanup took months and resulted in 111,000 tons of debris. But the rescue efforts and the following recovery are a legacy of the flood that Nashvillians are proudest of. The self-described “Redneck Armada” used their own boats to rescue strangers and carry them to higher ground. Garth Brooks performed nine sold-out benefit concerts — nine of them — and raised almost $5 million for flood relief. Volunteers, some 29,000 strong, worked for months to help both neighbors and strangers recover. Flood-ravaged Nashville was the biggest small town in America.

At the Frist, “The Nashville Flood: Ten Years Later” occupies an entry-level gallery that’s free to the public. It includes photographs taken both during and after the flood, oral-history testimony from survivors, a map showing the hardest-hit areas and an interactive before-and-after display of city scenes. There’s even a flood-damaged guitar from Soundcheck. It’s multisensory history at its best.
It’s also a devastating reminder of an event that reshaped the contours of civic life: the water shortages caused by inundated water-treatment facilities, the roads closed because bridges had been washed away, the mildewed carpet and drywall piled up in mountains in virtually every neighborhood in town, the funerals. Days and days of funerals.

And yet nobody outside Nashville seemed to have any idea at all of what was happening to us. If you’ve never heard of the Nashville flood, you are far from alone. The national media completely ignored the catastrophe as it was happening. A few days after the sun came out, we began to see short reports here and there — a brief article by The Associated Press, an essay by Ann Patchett for The Times. Days later, Anderson Cooper finally showed up. “When Anderson Cooper is late to your local disaster,” Jeff Severns Guntzel pointed out in the Utne Reader, “you know something is wrong.”

It’s worth asking, even now, what was wrong. Partly it was timing: On May 1, the day it began to rain in Nashville, an attempted terrorist attack was thwarted in Times Square. Ten days earlier, B.P.’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig had exploded, leaking 200,000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico. The massive oil slick that resulted was due to hit the fragile Gulf Coast just as the rain began to fall in Nashville.

No question, both of those stories deserved every bit of ink and footage and pixels they engendered. But when a major American city gets hit with a natural disaster that kills more than two dozen people and drives 10,000 others from their homes, and the national news media responds with a shrug, something more than limited bandwidth or disaster fatigue may be to blame.

Perhaps it’s just that Nashville hadn’t yet captured the national imagination the way it has in recent years. “Nashville” the television show was still more than two years away from its premiere on ABC, and The Times was still nearly three years away from crowning this town “it” city. On May 1, 2010, Nashville was just a midsize American city in flyover country, and when something bad happens in flyover country, the feeling everywhere else seems to be that we somehow brought it on ourselves.
God knows we’re guilty, here in the red states, of inadequate environmental policy, of shoot-yourself-in-the-foot governance, of staying put when the smarter thing would be to leave. There are complicated reasons for those decisions, reasons not easily summed up in a single news story. But none of it should prevent a compassionate response to another human being’s suffering or admiration in the face of another human being’s heroism. The Redneck Armada saved countless lives, whatever you might think you know about “rednecks” in general. In any case, Nashville could not have made the rain stop falling any more than California can keep the San Andreas fault from shifting.

A decade ago, we got hit by a “thousand-year flood,” but we know now that such estimates no longer hold. Nashville has taken measures to mitigate the damage of the next flood because we know there will be a next one. Smaller, poorer towns will simply have to hope for the best. That’s why “This region stands to bear the brunt and lose the most from the effects of climate change,” as Lyndsey Gilpin, editor of the indispensable website Southerly, points out. Surely the national media won’t be able to turn away from it now.

Darker Nights

Fall means a time for shorter days and longer nights and this fall we went from 60 to 0 in  record time.  I had noted earlier that we had no fall and that until October most of the trees were holding both to their leaves and their shade of green.  Within a week that all changed and I headed South where the weather was 91 degrees in the shade.  Unseasonably warm and all in a time of immense stress as election day neared.

As fall settled in the weather went much colder and here in Nashville it has been all over the gauge as winter seems to have moved in up to the north and east with gusto and an early Christmas surprise.  Why wait to make snow angels!  Meanwhile the flames of California found themselves two fold: Turning the entire state nearly blue as that is the Pacific but the waves should have gone farther into the central coastal region as the flames that burned there were both bright and hot bringing a very unhappy Thanksgiving to those residents of the area.  They may find themselves with rain this weekend and that may be way more welcome than Turkey.

Of course we had the Resting Dump Face in Chief make idiot remarks, he is good at one thing – those – and in turn we saw people rising from the ashes like a phoenix to show how good fires make good neighbors but little can be said of the neighborhood for in some cases there is one no longer.

I am not sure what to say as I watch the devastation and in turn another moronic Hausfrau show up to pretend she cares and other reality whore with their private fire fighters that shows that even nature they seemingly need to control. Not to mention the other rich idiots who  will  rebuild and go on as if it was only a  blip on the radar.  Tell me what they are doing for the hundreds of families living in tent towns or those who have no clue – right now in the 700 mark – who have no idea where their relatives, friends and co-workers may be?    I have seen too much of late, the destruction of Hawaii with its volcanoes, the Hurricanes that destroyed much of the gulf coast and parts of the Carolina’s in October.  And we still have much to do with our family, our Americans in Puerto Rico as we go onto the next with each effort taking from the last.   The reality is that the very phrase “natural disasters” seems to be a farce as well as they are of nature but they seem very much man made. Climate change is real and there is no news that is fake about this.  And nature is what is our resource, our safe space and our true economy.  And we have crashed it like no other depression in history.

Then we have the shootings. Really, I cannot stress that the time for moments of silence and prayer are over.  We need to be loud we need to speak up and we need to demand change and by that I mean gun control. The year is not up but living here in Nashville every day I hear another story about another gun and how it was used to shoot someone or at least threaten them.  We love our guns like our sweet tea and to deny that we have a real problem with poverty is a farce.  Funny less than six months ago the Mayor stood and said we are a city in arrears and must tighten out belts only a week ago to then open the vaults and write a blank check to Amazon. Funny times change and people don’t.  They told the big wigs of Amazon that this was a City on Fire, a metaphor that could not be more inappropriate and again that is Nashvile, vile in every way.  True that it was written a year ago and leads off with a quote from the former Slattern Mayor who was convicted on fraud charges, but hey that was then this is now and this is the city of now! What.the.fuck.ever.

Yesterday I came home from work and they were posting a sign on the building that units are for sale starting at 199K.  To that I go: What.the.fuck.ever.   Seriously the building has 65 units and most are occupied with tenants.  In the last year I saw much turnover in the building and we now have more couples and families which was odd but also more faces of color. In comparison to many apartments in the area this one lacks.  It lacks outdoor space, communal areas and a safe space for mail and packages. There is no covered nor assigned parking nor is the area well lit and there is one way out and one way in as it is one way street with the railroad tracks that  run behind the building and cross the main road which means they often slow down or stop blocking  traffic for hours.  This does not include the horns blasting 24/7 as we await the final decision on a silent zone when the building across the street is completed (cell pods yes those) which is supposedly paying the fees associated with this.  What.the.fuck.ever.

To suddenly turn a nearly 95% occupied building despite its flaws into condos seems odd. There is a great deal of building here, single family homes and some luxury condos so what market this is is clearly investment for either Airbnb or short term rentals as no way would anyone buy this to live here and presume that the builder has established the appropriate trust fund, established bylaws and all the necessary paperwork in which to make this a functioning condo building. And again as I live here the idea of a Condo board with some of my neighbors is not only laughable it is absurd.  And not because of the color of their complexion but the reality of intellect, ability to manage and engage.  We barely speak to each other now so how will that work when making decisions to operate the building and handle finances?

What I do think this was was the owner’s attempt to dump those units and clean house.  You cannot kick out paying residents but you can either out price them by raising rents or selling the property.  He chose the former as again there is only so much you can charge as there are many more buildings with way more perks (still badly run however) that one can rent from so why again would you which is the same argument in which to buy one.

The reality is that racism is alive and well and the current agent from the property management company is also black and it would make sense that more tenants would be faces of color – like likes like – and that is the way of the world.  I have zero problem with it and in fact the most disturbing tenants are the white beanie wearing dude with the two pit bulls (funny his neighbor is a young black dude who has, wait for it, a French bulldog so much for that stereotype) and the weird white guy with numerous cats.  They bother me more go figure.  Plus can you not love a Frenchie?  Pit bulls are fine but irony is that we have a one dog rule but who is going to argue with that dude and again while the little gal “in charge” is black she is  truly stupid and again if she is from here I am not surprised as again the education here lacks and her former white equivalent was even dumber so there you go equality attained.

To have to deal with this with people who seem so resigned and oddly spoiled given their lack of wages and education is surreal.  I actually think they are so used to be maligned and marginalized they have no clue how to change the situation and landscape, hence the voting issues here with TN being the lowest voting on record in America and in turn their sheer level of false bravado that comes from the whole Southern City on Fire bullshit they peddle here.  When you are dumb you are dumb and it makes sense why some of the most corrupt and venal politicians have come from the South.

As I look on the horizon to the early setting sun I used to love dusk and still do there is something about the sky’s changing colors and the drop in temperature that invites warm sweaters and a cool evening walk to take away the day that never changes in season.  One thing is always consistent and work is that and today as I Substitute Teach and have for many years I have found myself using that time to console, to cajole and chide myself for giving a fuck.  I had to change that dynamic living here and I am mystified why anyone would but then compared to some cities that have utterly been decimated by economics, politics and opioids, the new deadly triangle, this city with its low paying easily attained service jobs seem like not Nashville but Nirvana.  And it explains the suppressed anger and rage that you had to come hundreds of mile to serve a beer while everyone else around you seems to be better, doing better and making more money than you.  A darker nights means happy hour starts earlier and better to fake it til you make it or at least make it home to start the same again tomorrow.

I truly hate it here and I finally have allowed myself to admit that and perhaps once away I can find the dusk again and recall what I did like about it but that is like the spring a long way off.

To those in challenges of any kind, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving for at least we are alive to tell each other about it.  That is what it means to be human to live again another day.

Lois non Words

I lost interest in the Paris climate talks early as I learned that as in Copenhagen it falls to the last day and what will result in the long term and that of course will remain to be seen.

As we come to realize that our climate is at risk and in turn the reality of what that means globally, locally and of course personally.   We all bear some responsibility and accountability when it comes to living in a world where climate change is now a permanent part of reality regardless of your beliefs.  Look to the air, the weather and the seas.  Sorry if you are utterly oblivious to what you see then you need glasses.

I have much respect for Bill McKibben and his words I think summarize the truth behind words, that they are only as good as the acts that follow them.

Falling Short on Climate in Paris

By BILL McKIBBEN
The New York Times
DEC. 13, 2015

Paris — THE climate news last week came out of Paris, where the world’s nations signed off on an agreement to finally begin addressing global warming.

Or, alternately, the climate news came out of Chennai, India, where hundreds died as flooding turned a city of five million into an island. And out of Britain, where the heaviest rains ever measured over 24 hours in the Lake District turned picturesque villages into lakes. And out of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, where record rainfalls flooded atolls.

In the hot, sodden mess that is our planet as 2015 drags to a close, the pact reached in Paris feels, in a lot of ways, like an ambitious agreement designed for about 1995, when the first conference of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change took place in Berlin.

Under its provisions, nations have made voluntary pledges to begin reducing their carbon emissions. These are modest — the United States, for instance, plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 2025 by 12 to 19 percent from their levels in 1990. As the scrupulous scorekeepers at Climate Action Tracker, a nongovernment organization, put it, that’s a “medium” goal “at the least ambitious end of what would be a fair contribution.”

And that’s about par for the course here. Other countries, like gas station owners on opposite corners looking at each other’s prices, have calibrated their targets about the same: enough to keep both environmentalists and the fossil fuel industry from complaining too much. They have managed to provide enough financing to keep poor countries from walking out of the talks, but not enough to really push the renewables revolution into high gear. (Secretary of State John Kerry, in a fine speech, doubled America’s contribution — to $800 million, which is more than Congress is likely to appropriate, but risible compared to the need.)

So the world emerges, finally, with something like a climate accord, albeit unenforceable. If all parties kept their promises, the planet would warm by an estimated 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit, or 3.5 degrees Celsius, above preindustrial levels. And that is way, way too much. We are set to pass the 1 degree Celsius mark this year, and that’s already enough to melt ice caps and push the sea level threateningly higher.

The irony is, an agreement like this adopted at the first climate conference in 1995 might have worked. Even then it wouldn’t have completely stopped global warming, but it would have given us a chance of meeting the 1.5 degree Celsius target that the world notionally agreed on.

Instead, as we now know from recent revelations about Exxon Mobil, those were exactly the years the fossil fuel industry set to work to make sure doubt replaced resolve. Its delaying tactics were cruelly effective. To meet that 1.5 degree target now would require breakneck action of a kind most nations aren’t really contemplating. At this point we’d need to leave almost all remaining coal and much of the oil and gas in the ground and put the world’s industries to work on an emergency basis building solar panels and windmills.

That we have any agreement at all, of course, is testament to the mighty movement that activists around the world have built over the last five years. At Copenhagen, world leaders could go home with nothing and pay no price.

Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, The Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world.

But what this means is that we need to build the movement even bigger in the coming years, so that the Paris agreement turns into a floor and not a ceiling for action. We’ll be blocking pipelines, fighting new coal mines, urging divestment from fossil fuels — trying, in short, to keep weakening the mighty industry that still stands in the way of real progress. With every major world leader now on the record saying they at least theoretically support bold action to make the transition to renewable energy, we’ve got a new tool to work with.

And we’ll try to keep hoping that it adds up fast enough to matter. That’s a little hard, as the hottest year ever measured draws to a close. One doesn’t want to rain on the Paris parade — but that’s what seems to be happening somewhere every day now.

Like Washington State, where high temperatures and heavy rainfalls led the governor to declare a state of emergency late last week, as landslides closed highways. Or Portland, Ore., which had the rainiest December day in its recorded history. Or Norway, which had the worst flooding in more than a century of record keeping. Or …