May 15, 2023

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Al Sharpton – “heading” to the Ninth Circle

In 1998, after an eight-month trial, a jury found that Al Sharpton had defamed Steven Pagones when he accused him of raping Tawana Brawley.  Sharpton was ordered to pay $65,000 in damages to Pagones. Sharpton has since paid off his debt with money raised by supporters. Tawana Brawley was ordered to pay $190,000. With interest the judgment against her has grown to more than $430,000.

Unlike the reverend Al, Tawana didn’t have any supporters to pay her debt. She was 15 at the time. She did have Advisors – that would be the reverend Al Sharpton and two expensive attorneys. They advised her right into a life of hiding and debt. Did anyone hold a fund raiser for Tawana? Did Al? I looked up slimebag and sleazeball in my Webster’s but didn’t see Al’s picture next to either definition. Sometimes life can be cruel.

Rumored to be suffering from adult-onset Dwarfism and Stage 3 Hydrocephalus, Al has had to scale back his activities lately. The rare combination of Symptoms can be witnessed by his shrinking body and large bulbous head. Death, most of the time, occurs during public urinal elimination, when the head unconsciously looks down and the spinal cord can no longer support the weight and the patient’s neck breaks. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

May 11, 2023

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About Jordan Neely:

The New York City Health Care System had previously sentenced Jordan Neely to Death. The young men in the subway car that night simply carried out the sentence. Good job all around, I’d say. At last count there were 1689 lawyers vying to represent the young man pro bono should he be indicted.

I cannot figure out why most of the comments I receive are for more Stock Stuff. If I was THAT good at investing, I’d be living on a high elevation South Pacific Island stocked up on chickens, chicken feed, propane, charcoal, corn seeds, a milling wheel and Spam. Oh, and at least 2 Griswold cast iron pans. Actually, except for the first three items (and the South Pacific Island), I’m already there!

I’d like to see the algorithm that said “it might be profitable to send this ad to kongoboken”:

Full Roll of 1943 circulated steel pennies by US Mint

$22.13

Grade Rating      Circulated

Material              Steel

Brand    US Mint

About this item

A full roll of 50 circulated 1943 steel pennies

Let’s repeat that thought – for a mere 22 dollars I can purchase 50 pennies minted in 1943. My heart is beating so fast I fear it will burst through my ample bosom. Dare I think I might be allowed to buy 100 pennies for 44 dollars? On the other hand — a tip of the hat is warranted to the gal who thought up this scam.

May 10, 2023

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Three Questions asked to the new improved Bing AI:

Question 1: When did our prisons stop attempting to reform criminals and start to just HOUSE criminals?

According to the Harvard Political Review, in the 1989 Supreme Court Case Mistretta v. United States, the Court upheld federal “sentencing guidelines” which removed rehabilitation from serious consideration when sentencing offenders.

Question 2: What is the purpose of prison?

The purpose of prison is to punish criminals for their crimes and protect society from dangerous individuals. Prisons are also meant to rehabilitate offenders and prepare them for reentry into society.

Question 3: What happened to the money Mayor DeBlasio's wife was given to fight homelessness in New York City?

According to the New York Post, no one seems to know what the $850 million awarded to Chirlane McCray, the wife of  former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, was utilized for after four years. The money was awarded to launch a mental health project aimed at assisting the city’s homeless.

Note from kongoboken:  “Each answer is clear and concise. It’s a shame Chirlane gets a buy because she’s married to a connected white guy. Just another nigga to me (with a wry wink to Kendrick Lamar).”

Could someone please forward this to Chirlane or maybe former Mayor Bill could do the honors with a very small h. There always have been and there always will be “carpetbaggers”; slimeballs who prey on the less fortunate. Methinks Chirlane might be Ninth Circle material!

May 9, 2023

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Fifty-one years ago,

television journalist Geraldo Rivera (joined by print reporter Jane Kurtin) used a stolen key and an inside tip to go behind the walls of the Willowbrook State School for the developmentally disabled on Staten Island, New York. His investigative report captured a story and scenes so shocking; it changed the face of mental health as we know it.

No criminal charges were filed as a result of the report, but Rivera says a greater outcome was achieved.

“Now everyone knew that the institution was no way to care for this population,” he said. “It absolutely began the end of the institutional era that had existed since Bedlam and the United Kingdom in the 19th century.”

My Mother used to yell (she was a yeller!), “You kids are going to send me to Snake Hill!” Everyone knew Snake Hill was a crazy house on a hill they built the New Jersey Turnpike around. Snake Hill is long gone but the Turnpike still has a bend that goes around – nothing mostly. Snake Hill is gone along with most of the “institutions.”

The really sad part here is, yes, we have slayed the Beast of Poorly run Institutions. But we have only succeeded in relocating the REAL problem from an institution setting to a subway car in the case of New York City. Or to a yard chair and a gun in Texas, or tent cities in most urban areas. There MUST be something in between an ‘institution’ and ‘you’re on your own, Bub!’

My grandmother would describe neighbors taking care of their own. “Before social security,” she’d say, “people depended on themselves their family and their neighbors for any help they needed. Otherwise, it was off to the Poor House with you, and no one wanted that.” Nana made it seem so do-able. Of course, she only knew hard work as a fact of life. A notion me-thinks we might have forgotten.

May 8, 2023

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California

continues to move forward with its effort to grant reparations to all African Americans. In less than 10 weeks, by July 1, California’s Reparations Task Force is set to deliver final recommendations to the Legislature for how the state can begin to undo 300 years of harm from slavery and racism. 

With the clock winding down, two key questions remain unanswered: How much would the proposed reparations cost? And will the Legislature support the recommendations of the task force?

The first-in-the-nation task force was appointed in 2020 to study whether and how the state government should issue reparations for residents who are descendants of enslaved persons.

I truly, cannot think of anything funny or sarcastic or even nasty to say about this notion. Fortunately, there is a Dad Quote that covers this eventuality:

“Sometimes saying nothing is the best thing to say.”

                                                                             (true Wisdom is rare)

May 7, 2023

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Nice to see Prince Charles

opps, King Charles had his day in the Sun. Well, it was London so there was no Sun. A typical drizzly, cloudy day with a chill that somehow goes through your coat and clothes and skin and muscle and wraps around your very bones causing an almost manic urge for cellar temperature Carling and boiled meats. It is truly a British thing and so far (thank the Lord) hasn’t spread from the culinary desert of this island nation.

It IS thrilling to see actual Pomp and Circumstance outside a Netflix Studio or Reality show or Nixon inauguration. The Brits do Pompous well, yet they are good decent folk and I enjoy their company. They are deep down a jolly person longing for a hot dog and a Rusty Nail. Not many noticed, Queen Camilla had herself made up to look like King Charles’ favorite horse. Now THAT is Love!

May 6, 2023

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The City of Chicago

deserves its own Drawer. But in the meantime this will do because it’s Spring and Spring in Chicago brings only one thing to mind (no, it’s not Svengoolie, nor is it Svengoolie lookalike Lori Lightfoot):

In August 1947, Maurie Berman married his high school sweetheart Flaurie. In May 1948, they both opened Superdawg at the corner of Milwaukee, Devon and Nagle in Chicago. A visit to Chicago is not an official visit without a trip to Superdawg. When Maurie and Flaurie took their iconic Dancing Dogs down for re-furbishing, many locals would miss their turns and all directions ceased to work because ALL included the Dancing Dogs reference.

Maurie and Flaurie are serving Superdawgs in Heaven these days, but their children are keeping the spirit alive at the corner of Milwaukee, Devon and Nagle. And the Dancing Dogs? Well, see for yourself:

Visit Superdawg

May 5, 2023

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I think Greg Gutfeld

(the only late-night guy not on strike) just might be right. Our problems started with the Village People singing “In the Navy”. We liked the performance and rewarded the guys in the costumes and in doing so, confused an entire generation of youngsters. Those confused youngsters went on to create another generation of ultra-confused youngsters who think it’s perfectly normal for weird acting people to live in tents wherever they want. And maybe while we’re at it, ‘society’ should support these people at least for the essentials to live a ‘decent’ life. Meanwhile, I’m looking around thinking “I’m part of the ‘society’ these assholes are talking about paying for some other assholes to live decently”. I don’t think that’s right.  I’m thinking about doing something about it. No, it does not involve guns.

Here’s a concern of mine: if I’m thinking this stuff then a lot of other people are thinking this stuff and a lot of the people thinking this stuff (25% in fact) are not NICE people. I’m not JUST talking vigilante stuff; I’m talking about the rise of a charismatic leader of the angry masses who depending on his (or her) own inner demons can rule the roost for a generation. Let’s all take a knee and pray an American Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus will rise soon and save our sorry asses.

May 4, 2023

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May the 4th

I am a proud member in poor standing of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus. Spent a week at an Air B&B on Frenchman Street in New Orleans and got to see the parade of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus from my balcony. The reviews for this particular apartment included the complaint, “The jazz music coming from the bar across the street kept us up half the night.” To each his own. There was not one but FOUR jazz bars on the block. Lovely.

It was a great visit to a true Party City. Four weeks later the world closed with the Covid Pandemic and life hasn’t been quite the same since. But it is comforting to know that there is ONE place where foolishness reigns. I can’t wait to get back. 

April 29, 2023

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One year after the 9/11/01 attack, my lovely wife and I decided to take our 10-year-old son to the “Site”. We took a ferry from Jersey and a bus downtown. We got off the bus at West Street and Albany, walked two blocks to West Broadway and turned left. We were 2 blocks from the “Site”. I stopped dead in my tracks. The smell of concrete dust was overwhelming (remember – it was 1 YEAR later!). I said, “We’re not going any closer.” And we didn’t. We walked south to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and bought pretzels.

In 2016, in a Guardian US interview with Editor, Betsy Reed, former EPA head Christine Todd Whitman admitted she was wrong to tell New Yorkers post-9/11 air was safe. “I’m sorry. We did the very best we could … with the knowledge we had”, Whitman said.

One of Dad’s Quotes says :  “ When you screw up – APOLOGIZE!”

I guess I must forgive her. (Damnit!)