Monday, June 28, 2010

NYU higher greed by Suzannah B. Troy

NYU is branching out from being a community crushing real estate magnate to venture capitalism!  Crain's  reports NYU is launching their own venture capital fund

Dear Blog Readers:  NYU's president is John Sexton.  He ran down to City Hall to testify Mike Bloomberg must have a third term.  Let me translated John Sexton' who is paid 1.8 million a year plus real estate and other perks courtesy of NYU.  NYU has big financial deals and real estate investments -- huge greedy goals that good friend Mike Bloomberg and socialite mega millionaire Amanda the people's Burden will aid and abet and a mayor and a real city planner -- that actually cares about the people would have said "NO!".  No is a word that NYU can't seem to understand when the community says no more mega dorms, no more supersizing our neighborhoods, no to supersizing.


I posted this comment on Crain's website and see my YouTube on a letter I wrote President Obama asking the President of the United States of America to help protect our community from NYU and helping us to get community outreach resource centers in every mega dorm where NYU and universities copying NYU's real estate greed use the term, "community facility" to exclude the communities.

By the way I continue to ask if NYU's president, John Sexton can even vote here in NYC?  Sexton supported Mike Bloomberg flushing democracy down the toilet by denying us, the people a referendum so Mike could buy, steal, win a third term -- nice example for NYU students.

Parents of NYU students, visit 120 East 12th Street and see the facade of St. Ann's Church from 1847.   St. Ann's survived everything all these years except NYU's need and greed to build yet another mega dorm.

Here is the comment:

Good to know NYU, the evil empire, posing as higher education so NYU can buy up and displace as many people and small businesses as possible is expanding their endeavors.  Karma served NYU by hiring someone who was suckered by Bernie Madoff.  NYU could care less about the communities where they occupy and gobble up prime real estate.  NYU only has one focus "greed" and being a big business that uses "higher ed" as a tax shelter for "higher greed".







VH1's You're Cut Off: Rehab for Spoiled Brats. By Nikky Raney

You're Cut Off on VH1 is a reality show worth watching. The show premiered Wednesday, June 9 at 9PM ET/PT.


There are so many reality television shows on the air that is can be difficult to sort out the ones worth watching. You're Cut Off can be classified as a mix between I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, The Simple Life, and The Bad Girls' Club.



You're Cut Off is like rehab for "spoiled brats." The nine young women on this show are self proclaimed princesses. They have relied and mooched off their families' money. The surprise comes in the first episode when life coach Laura Baron declines their credit cards and tells them what's really going on. The girls had originally thought they would be appearing on a reality tv show that filmed them shopping.


The nine ladies watch video testimonials from their family members. Each video ends with the phrase, "You're cut off!" This means that instead of living the ritzy lifestyle they are put into a house together (not one of those flashy mansions that most reality tv stars get to live in).


The girls are so surprised that there is not a maid there to wait on them. There is one bedroom with bunk beds that they have to share, and Baron gave each girl one duffle bag to fit all her things in. These women live like Paris Hilton, and now they are living like "middle class" citizens. The girls are given $200 a week for groceries if they follow their life coach.


The life coach hopes to teach some lessons that will instill values and make it known that money is earned. These girls are encouraged to become productive members of society, and Baron has them complete daily chores, among other things.



"Laura Baron is a professional lifestyle and relationship strategist who is regarded as a premier change agent. Laura's clients report greater success using her signature intuitive and customized methods over traditional therapy. Her clients include CEOs, entrepreneurs, celebrities and women in transition," VH1 informs.


In part of an episode the girls were cleaning Omarosa's house. One of the girls, Gia, got in Omarosa's face and refused to clean her house. That must be one of the most disrespectful moments caught on reality TV. That was Gia. Gia has a baby girl at home and refuses to change her diaper. Gia makes it known in the first half hour of the show that she will not cook or clean, ever. She says, "I don't even know what color my kitchen is!"





















Gia is a wife and mother from California who also refuses to wake up in the middle of the night to take care of her baby. Her husband hires nannies while Gia smokes on her hookah all day. She claims she could not survive without her hookah, and when listing the most important things in her life she mentioned her family AFTER listening all the material items. Gia divorced her first husband, because he could not keep up with her lifestyle. Her current husband is extremely fed up with it and is cutting her off. He even admits he looks in the mirror some days and wonders what he's doing.


Gia is only one of the divas on this show. It's entertaining to watch, because it's hard to believe that this type of person exists. There rest of the divas include:


Chrissy, the rotten princess from LA. She is the most disrespectful of all the girls. She has the nerve to do her make up and stare at herself in her hand mirror while others are speaking. She does not think that it is rude at all to interrupt others or to constantly stare at herself while having a conversation with another person. Her highest goal in life is to be married THREE times so she can have three fabulous weddings, but she won't say "I DO" unless the ring costs at least $300K. Her grandmother says Chrissy is "acting a fool," and prays that by cutting her off she will learn some responsibility.


Leanne is a diva from California who is supported entirely by her father. She didn't like the color of the Mercedes S-Class her dad bought her, and she decided to buy a $375K Ferrari while he was out of time; she crashed the Ferrari a few weeks later. Leanne will not knave the house without her six bodyguards, a make-up artist, or her best friend. Her father is cutting her off, because he has had enough of her spending all his hard-earned money.


Pamela claims that she worked on Wall-Street. She is a New York girl that says she WAS a princess and now she's a QUEEN. Pamela is really good at spending her family's money. They are cutting her off in hopes she will make something of herself.


Erica is a pampered princess who will never be seen without a tiara. She is from Texas and her father is a plastic surgeon; she spends over half a million dollars of her dad's money ever year. Erica lives at home and consults her personal astrologer for every life decision. She can't imagine life without bottom and lip injections. Her family is cutting her off in hopes she will learn to value money and make something of herself.


Jessica belongs on The Jersey Shore. This girl could have some fun with Snooki and J-WOWW. This girl is a loud Italian, and she doesn't care what people think about her. She doesn't cook, clean or do anything to help society. She does however like to nag, insult others, and spend money. Her mother is cutting her off in hopes Jessica can learn to survive on her own.


Courtnee is the North Carolina "it-girl." This socialite is being cut off by her family, because they don't understand how their "little princess" turned into a demanding diva. Her father is cutting her off so that she stops treating him like an ATM, and she starts putting her people skills to good use.


Amber, the southern belle hails from Georgia and admits that she always judges people by what they are wearing. She took a semester off from college to catch up on her shopping. Her father is cutting her off in hopes that she will take school more seriously, and apply herself.


Jacqueline is the one to pay attention to. She is the daughter of a successful business executive. Her house is 10K square feet, and she has three walk-in closets. She says there's nothing wrong with checking a man's bank account before going out. Jacqueline got her first Chanel bag at age five, and now her parents are cutting her off. They hope their college graduate will stop with the endless partying and reckless spending.


At the end of the season (8-weeks) the girls will be reunited with the people who cut them off, and that will be the test to whether the girls PASS or FAIL. The girls will need to adhere to new guidelines if they want a chance of getting back in good graces with the loved-ones that put them on this show.


Give this show a try. You're Cut Off can be watched online or tonight, Monday, June 28, at 7PM, 8PM, and 9PM. There are three episodes total, and hopefully by the end of the season these unrealistically superficial barbies will become humble and hard working and respectful young ladies. Follow VH1 on Twitter for more updates. Psst. Perez even makes an appearance.

(All images courtesy of VH1 and Starcasm except for the Nikky Raney ones)

Nikky Raney:

Sandra Bullock and Jesse James: Bullock's divorce a done deal


After months of legal paperwork, Academy Award-winning Actress Sandra Bullock's divorce from her husband Jesse James is final according to TMZ.com.

 The news marks and end to their four year marriage and points the way to Sandra Bullock raising her adopted baby Louis Bullock as a single paren without Jesse James, and with her adoption paperwork nearing completion.

Sandra Bullock, who won the Oscar For Best Actress in A Leading Role for her portrayal of Lee Anne Touhy, the tough-minded Houston socialite who takes in a homeless Michael Oher in The Blind Side, learned that Jesse James was having an affair with a woman named Michelle "Bombshell" McGee as she was making the film.



Then, in a process of two weeks, gossip websites revealed that Jesse James had slept with four different women over the course of their marriage and their adoption of baby Louis. As James went to therapy for sex addiction, Bullock moved to seek a divorce.

Now, it's final.

Bullock, in hiding for a while, has finally come out into the public eye, most notably at the MTV Movie Awards, where she planted one on Iron Man 2's Scarlett Johansson.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal's aide gets off Gay-bomb in Rolling Stone

Gen. Stanley McChrystal 
The Runaway General, the Rolling Stone Magazine article that cost Gen. Stanley McChrystal his job as commander of Allied Forces in Afghanistan, and exposed a culture of McChrysal's aides that were hostile to civilian military officers, is out on newsstands and online, and it opens with the now famous blast against NATO allies slated to attend a dinner he was assigned to go to.

While Gen. McChrystal's comment that there was no one in the room who could beat him up, or:

"I'd rather have my ass kicked by a roomful of people than go out to this dinner. Unfortunately, no one in this room could do it."

..made the press, there's more that didn't, until now. This is what else McChrystal's aide said after the writer Michael Hastings asked "Who's he going to dinner with?" The McChrystal aide says "Some French minister. It's fucking gay."

Hastings says McChrystal's staff consists of "a handpicked collection of killers, spies, geniuses, patriots, political operators and outright maniacs."

Overall, the article paints a picture of a man who's every bit the schoolyard bully portrayed in this space and shows that he was trying, but failed, to bully President Obama. (It also confirms my system dynamics blog post from Saturday.)

President Obama made the right move in ousting Gen. Stanley McChrystal. McChrystal was toxic; that's the view this space gains from The Rolling Stone.

YouTube.com/Zennie62 tops 15 million video viewers

YouTube.com/Zennie62 has reached over 15 million video viewers today, Monday. The video channel this video-blogger started April 2006, has continued a near-1 million video viewer-per-month growth rate that started 14 months ago.

What does all of this mean? First, it means it's time for a new t-shirt. The last one, modeled here by my friend Marin Female Bodybuilder Megan Avalon, reads "Zennie62.com 11 million viewers and growing." Second, it means YouTube.com/Zennie62 is on pace to top 20 million viewers before the end of 2010. Third, it means the subscriber base is growing and will continue to do so. And it means that Zennie62 is becoming a recognized brand, or as one viewer said at WonderCon SF "You're that guy who just makes these videos anywhere."

That's the idea: YouTube.com/Zennie62 is covering politics, news, sports, and tech with a lot of entertainment industry related subjects thrown in.

YouTube helped a lot

YouTube.com/Zennie62 could not have reached 15 million video viewers without the help of YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley and the YouTube Partner Program Team, especially Erik Brown, who's been there through all the good times and the bad ones, like the TMZ Miley Cyrus Lap Dance Video controversy where TMZ granted the right to use it after a day-long series of negotiations, errors, and misunderstandings. Thanks, Eric.

I have to include thanks to YouTube's Jim Woods, Mia Quagliarello, Yenie Ra, Shenaz Zack and many others at YouTube who know who they are for their involvement and encouragement too. YouTube is serious about helping YouTube Partners build their video businesses. While Zennie62 is on Blip.tv (Yeah, to Blip.tv), Dailymotion, Vimeo, and a total of eight other sites thanks to Tubemogul.com, YouTube has been hands-on in its approach with video-bloggers.

Also, a big thanks to my content friends and partners at The Hearst Corporation including The San Francisco Chronicle, Mediaite,  CNN and the iReport team in Atlanta, and CoLoursTV, home of The Blog Report with Zennie62.

Zennie62: Giving people a voice

What's changed about Zennie62 is that it's helped give a lot of people, especially those who were running for local office or people working at small businesses and had no video presence, a voice and a face.

I talk to people even when I don't agree with them.  I give them a platform.  Also,  I've become fearless: willing to use the camera to show what's happening at any time, and to record people giving their view of a subject.  But now I want to do something that reflects our growth: add video-bloggers.

I'm expanding Zennie62, both videos and the blog network into a media company called Zennie62media.com.  If you have a video camera, are looking for a place where your work can be seen and to learn how to "vlog", and want to make a little money for it, contact me at the email below.

YouTube.com/Zennie62 since 2006; at 982 videos

YouTube.com/Zennie62 has been around since April of 2006 and is up to 982 videos. Which of them is my favorite? I don't have just one.

The first one that comes to mind is "Double Rainbow Over Oakland, California" because it was a great example of spontaneous video-blogging of a rare event. Here's that video:



The second one is of the NY Giants Final Drive at Super Bowl 42 and marks the coming of age of Giants QB Eli Manning:



The third is of then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama who gave a 25-minute speech as Senator Barbara Boxer's guest at her fundraiser in San Francisco in 2007. Obama used no notes or teleprompter; just let it rip and I was there:



The 1,000th Video Series

After Monday YouTube.com/Zennie62 will be just 15 videos from 1,000. And for that, I plan to make my videos 1,000 through 1,005 ahead of time and special. It's Zennie62's 1,000th video series, which will have its own blog and promotion effort. If you have an idea for someone you want to see interviewed for the series, send an email to zennie@zennie62.com .

Finally, thank to the people who've come up to me in airports and shopping centers around America to express what they like and don't like, too.

Thanks

Senator Robert Byrd dead: Byrd opposed Civil Rights; backed Obama

Robert Byrd
West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd died at the age of 92 and with him, as with his friend Senator Ted Kennedy, went the passing of an era where Senators were more statesmen and women who knew the rules and cultivated friends on both sides of the aisle. People like Senator Sam Irvin.

But even with that, Robert Byrd was, for a long time, not well regarded by blacks because he voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Amendment and considered a conservative Democrat because of that stand and his support for the Vietnam War.

But Robert Byrd grew with America. Byrd is an excellent example of being able to change because he was willing to learn. From one perspective, he had to in order to remain in office, but he could have chosen not to change and just leave the Senate and go back to West Virginia. Byrd did not do that.

Here, Byrd talks about why he would have changed his vote on the Civil Rights Act:



Kentucky GOP Senate Candidate Rand Paul, who made an unfortunate comment about not supporting the Civil Rights Act, should learn from Robert Byrd. Rand Paul would do well to pay attention to his words and be all the smarter for it.

Robert Byrd is a proud symbol of America's enduring ability to grow in the face of a moral challenge. Byrd went from opposing civil rights and backing the Vietnam War, to supporting then-Senator Barsck Obama for President, helping Obama become America's first black President.

At a time when it seems racism is on the rise in some quarters, Americans would do well to learn about Robert Byrd. If he can grow, so can all of us.

Senator Robert Byrd. A true American who will be missed.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Nikky Raney asks Tila Tequila for an interview by: Josh Grattan

Zennie62.com's Nikky Raney asks Tila Tequila for an interview.
The video may seem silly and joking, but Nikky is serious. Nikky has been writing blog entries exposing Tila Tequila for the past month, and Tila has recently fought back with tweets & two blog entries. One of the blog entries attacked Nikky for not being on TMZ's blogroll, because Tila was excited to announce she was on TMZ's blogroll. However, MissTilaOMG.com is no longer on TMZ's blogroll. Zennie62.com is on TMZ's blogroll, and Zennie62.com is where Nikky blogged about Tila. Nikky has always remained objective and with any opinion has backed it up with a link to an interview, tweet, or one of Tila's own blog entries. Nikky mentions she doesn't hate Tila, but is reporting as a journalist & writing as a blogger. Tila attacked Nikky's weight & in the video Nikky accepts Tequila's offer for liposuction.

So, now that this video is public we will see how Tila responds.

Oakland parking problem: another one for Rebecca Kaplan

Oakland Parking is STILL a problem
Yes. Another Oakland Parking problem. This space continues to receive tips and emails from Oaklanders and people visiting Oakland who have horrible parking stories they want to share with the World.

Since Oakland's At-Large Councilmember and would-be mayoral candidate Rebecca Kaplan thinks it's OK for Oakland to use parking fees to balance its budget, even at the expense of the poor from what was yelled to this blogger earlier this year, and without provocation or apology from Councilmember Kaplan (and not bloggers who support her run for Mayor), this space will continue to present each Oakland Parking problem to her. The last one was from Nick Mitchell, who complained of the ugly DMV and Oakland system that works to cause late payment of parking fines.

This one is from an Oaklander, Terese Tatum, who shared a letter sent to Oakland Parking Head Noel Pinto:

Dear Mr. Arnold and Mr. Pinto,

I have spent hours on the phone and left a number of voicemails and have had no response. Although I could simple pay this ticket and avoid this hassle, it is an erroneous ticket. On principal, I will continue to call and email the City of Oakland until it is appropriately dealt with. I would appreciate a response as soon as possible.

On April 10, 2010, ticket #1602620950 was issued at 3321 Webster Street in Oakland. The car was parked in a spot with inactive meter (meter head had been removed) and a Pay-to-Park machine did not accept money and stated "Coming Soon". In other words, there was no viable way to pay for parking.

I approached the parking enforcement officer and asked him why he gave me a ticket. He stated that "it was Pay-to-Park". I told him that the machine was not currently available. He apologized and realized he made a mistake and he took the ticket back from me and stated that it would be cleared.

In order to dispute a ticket, I must respond within 21 days. However, I never receive the ticket in my hand (because he took it back) and I never received the notice of payment or late payment via mail (I have double-checked that my car is registered to my current address). I only learned of this tickets while online paying for another (legitimate) parking ticket. Now I am being charged $127.00 for what I consider to be an absolutely erroneous ticket.

Please also note that when this parking enforcement officer learned of his mistake, he took my ticket and drove off, knowingly leaving ~10 tickets on the cars in front and behind me that were also written in error. This type of behavior is appalling and appeared to be an egregious attempt to take money from citizens who believed they were parked legally.

Thank you,
Terese Tatum

In other words, the parking enforcement officer didn't remove the copy of the ticket, and for a simple reason: they don't care. If the parking enforcement officer had to pay for the error, they would take steps to remove it. Instead, Terese Tatum suffers for it.

Councilmember Kaplan, that's not right and Oaklanders know it. It's not OK to raise revenue in this way. This practice must end.

Ecuador, Peru boarder oil spill pollutes Marañon river

While the BP Gulf Oil Spill problem continues in the United States, and non-goverment organizations like Amazon Watch fail to point to similar problems in Ecuador while claiming to have concern for Ecuadorians and a desire to sue American Chevron that does not do business in the region, an oil spill took place on the Ecuador, Peru boarder, polluting the Marañon river.

According to LivinginPeru.com's Isabel Guerra, the spill happened as oil was transported on a ship called the Sanam III, that had been hired by Pluspetrol, the largest oil and gas producer in Peru, and the fourth largest organization in Latin America.

Guerra writes:

The spill was first reported by residents in Parinari, three hours away from Nauta.

Officials from Pluspetrol told RPP Radio that they have started the contingency and monitoring plan, and the spill is currently under control.

Local residents told the press that this spill affecting the wildlife and their own lives, too.


While the spill is on the Ecuador boarder, there's no word if the country will assist in clean-up efforts.

Stay tuned.

World Cup Soccer 2010: Brazil vs. Portugal, Germany vs England

Koman's off the hook, sort of
While it's a bit harder for this space to be excited about FIFA World Cup 2010 after the USA was eliminated by Ghana 2-1 on Saturday, the fire for World Cup still burns. After all you have to love a sports event where Soccer fans Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton have a better chance of scoring than some of the teams.

Take Brazil vs. Portugal, and England in it's match against Germany. In the Brazil vs. Portugal match, neither team scored; it ended in a 0-0 draw and both advanced to the second round. Brazil won Group G play, while Portugal was two points behind them. Now, Brazil will play Chile in the second round, with Portugal vs. Spain.

Portugal needed a draw and so played like they did, much to the frustration of Brazil. "It's really boring when we have to play against an opponent with 11 players on the back, only trying to draw," Brazil's striker Luis Fabiano said according to The LA Times.

England and the Disallowed Goal Problem

Not scoring more than one or two goals was England's problem against Germany, which clobbered the brits 4-1. But some viewers will contend that had England not had a disallowed goal, they could have come back to at least tie the match.

The diallowed goal by Frank Lampard of England and that was made in the 38th minute, is so controversial it's the third highest topic on Twitter and rivals the USA v. Slovenia controversy of two Fridays ago that made FIFA referee Koman Coulibaly a household name. The problem is that it wasn't the real difference maker; arguably England still would have lost 4-2, but the goal error, again, points to the need for Instant Replay in Soccer.

That the diallowed goal happened again, and again in the USA v. Ghana match, sorts of gets Koman Coulibaly off the hook, but not FIFA. Instant Replay must be installed.

My view is it will happen at some point because too much more is at stake now that America has become aware of Soccer and because communications technology has allowed viewers to see what should have been. FIFA's credibility could be damaged by lawsuits and claims of corruption; it can ill afford an large backlash regarding its integrity.

Con Ed DEP Gas leak hell NYC? by Suzannah B. Troy





See my YouTube from this morning that shows all the Con Ed trucks, DEP vehicles where it looked like a bomb dropped by the North West entrance of Tompkins Square Park which was closed off by the Parks Dept. for safety.

I wrote Dollar Bill Dan Doctoroff before the steam pipe explosion by Grand Central and alerted him to William Yardley's piece in The New York Times as well as my letter in AM New York the month before Yardley's piece concerned for infrastructure and safety.

I was told by DEP it was a water main break but in actuality a source told me it was a gas leak and the FDNY responded first.

Watch the YouTube to get more of a visual of how much of the street they are tearing up and for those unfamiliar with the area DOT is getting ready to pave 2nd and 1st Avenue but it will be a short term mess in my opinion because we have had too many infrastructure breaks and I don't think they root problems have been addressed so I believe the "new" streets will be looking like this one Sunday morning.


I have a YouTube documentary series plus NY1's coverage of a water main break on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street from 3 years ago and part of the intersection keeps reopening.


I am going to be repetitive because I am tired and I want your attention.


This morning the FDNY responded and I am told it was a gas leak. A DEP guy told me it was a water main break but I heard it was a gas leak. What ever it is it looks like a bomb dropped and this is Mike Bloomberg's streets of New York ever since he pushed a reckless, stupid, greed driven development to help his rich buddies and the construction industry but at the expense of the people of New York in way too many way.

We need more press coverage on this.  We need the press to make city gov tell us how many infrastructure breaks we have had since Bloomberg came to office in each section of NYC and we need to examine how we can stop what feels like another Bloomberg Titanic problem and finally put the safety of New Yorkers first.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0oiUtXoG5c

Yes this is the YouTube from this morning in case you missed it.

I don't know what else to do except hire a hot air ballon that says "Safety First!" stop the reckless tsunami of development mayor Bloomberg and for once put the people first.  Enough is enough!

Mike Bloomberg decided that the commissioner of DOB did not have to have an architectural degree or an engineering degree. Mike and the city have been sued on this issue and lost the first round. I am assuming the judge is a friend of rich developers and blind to how many deaths and injuries suffered by this Bloomberg's reckless tsunami of development.

As told to me BP over ridded their engineers advice and I get the vibe this was the same here in NYC.

More on that later.  I have heard some news and I think news reporters will be reporting more on this soon.

The East Village, Lower East Side looks like a bomb dropped and Cooper Union next zone buster has been put on hold for 2 years while the area around the building where I filmed a YouTube voicing my concerns for the safety of the community looks like bombs have dropped and Con Ed is also a main stay there.

The tsunami of reckless development was as stupid and greedy as what brought the implosion of Wall Street on and the streets are in the worse shape they have been in years.  DOT repaving them appears to be a wasteful band-aid because the infrastructure problems have not been addressed and as the old infrastructure problems keep busting open, Mike is pushing more infrastructure expansion but all of this -- old and new expansion should have been addressed city wide before the reckless development.

Go to YouTube and search under Suzannahartist and street conditions,  Suzannahartist infrastructure and you will also find my playlist on Mike Bloomberg' streets of NY including a fire truck on the upper west side, the front wheel falls in to a hole in the street that was from infrastructure problem.  I tried to supply you with links but who knows because there is so much and I am one person.  I even show you the subway station at Union Square with water on the ground from a pipe leaking with gauze around the pipe like a broken limb.

Mike and his developer friends only cared about their reckless development and not that the city was in bad shape and not able to absorb the development including Columbia University, NYU and Cooper Union as well as hotel and condo developers all busting through zoning and wanted the people displaced and cared nothing about our safety and the conditions of our streets, way lay beneath them and a rotted, dilapidated subway system where the stations are rotted and leaking and there are so many rats I call it the MTA Rat Circus for New Yorkers standing waiting for trains.

Welcome to king Mike's "new" hideous New York.

Rand Paul interviewed by David Weigel on McChrystal and BP

David Weigel's last blog post for The Washington Post  in his Right Now section (RN) consisted of an interview with Rand Paul, the GOP candidate for the Kentucky Senate. Apparently still chaffing from his public flogging over comments on the Civil Rights Amendment, Rand Paul was eager to steer clear of any statement that could be interpreted as support for British Petroleum (BP) or Gen. Stanley McChrystal's resignation / President Obama sacking on Wednesday.

Rand Paul cleans up

Already called a "wacky guy" in this space for his civil rights law comments...



...Rand Paul recently came under much more fire for accusing President Obama of being "un-American" for criticizing BP. Apparently already pained from the scar tissue developed over his incendiary comments, Rand Paul walked on eggshells with David Weigel about McChrystal and about the BP Escrow Fund. Weigel tried his best to pull a straight answer our of Paul at his fundraiser. Witness:


Rand Paul 
RN: Do you agree with the president's decision to accept Gen. Stanley McChrystal's resignation?

PAUL: Ultimately it is the prerogative of the president to decide who his generals are. My first thought was, going back to the historic controversy between Truman and MacArthur, but the thing is I'm not sure I'd call this insubordination, but he had a public disagreement and I think -- I don't think anybody questions that it's the prerogative of president, whether it's a small or big disagreement, to decide who generals are at the top level. I haven't read all his comments nothing specific to say.

RN: You've started to take heat for your approach to the BP escrow fund. Do you support the fund, the way it's set up?

PAUL: Well, I don't think there are many people who don't believe in any regulations, myself included, and even my dad -- I don't think you'll hear him say he doesn't believe in any regulation. But I'm not sure I have the answer to that, sincerely. I think everyone in the country wants BP to pay for the clean-up, myself concluded. I've never had any argument with that -- it's amazing how you say things and they get blown into things you didn't say! I'm not even sure I can talk to some people anymore because they take things out of context.


Paul went on to dodge and weave around Weigel. Paul never addresses the question of whether he supports the fund or not. Rand Paul's dancing now will eventually damage him when he faces his Democratic opponent, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway. (Conway himself has to deal with that $9,600 contribution from BP, so he's not totally in the clear, here.)

Rand Paul's knee-jerk desire to give a controversial spin on issues of the day will harm him in two ways: 1, by making the statements, and 2, by sounding less than honest when he tries to avoid making such statements. In short, he's trapped within himself.

David Weigel resigned

Unfortunately David Weigel quit The Washington Post for, well, being too libertarian. I'm liberal but feel for Weigel not being with an organization who gets that New Media, in this case blogging, is edgy and challenging in its approach. Bloggers are supposed to be opinionated and attacking without being malicious. It seemed Weigel was walking that path, and switching his hat to pure journalism. But emails to his more liberal co-workers were used to do him in and that's really too bad. I hope he resurfaces sooner rather than later.