LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Monday, February 4, 2008

NYC's Super Tuesday AND ITS FAT TUESDAY, Mardi Gras

New York's part of Super Tuesday. So, what's going on? I don't know about the rest of the state, but here in NYC, there's this: Weather-wise it's supposed to be raining and / or snowing in NYC in the a.m., but at least it will be warm, so it's really just slop, but it will screw up transportation, because that always does affect rush hours. BTW, "Rush Hour," long ago stopped being an hour, but more like from 4 to 7:30. in the evenings.

So tonight McCain's holding a big rally during RUSH HOUR in Grand Central Station. He's holding another one in Midtown, at 42nd St. during RUSH HOUR tomorrow a.m., which in the mornings tends to be from about 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Our Mayor Mike Bloomberg's, hosting a ticker tape parade for the Giants from the Financial District up to City Hall from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. -- blocking access to at least 3 polling places. Bloomberg's throwing as close to a tantrum as I've ever known him to do (except when voters refused to allow him to build a new Yankees' stadium on the Upper West Side), because there are those who have suggested this was bad planning and bad timing, the ticker tape parade, I mean, not McCain. Bloomberg has nothing to do with McCain's dumb moves, as far as I know.

Obama's got the money to spend ... so much so that he's a big presence here in NYC and upstate. I don't know about television, since I don't have one, but I bet he's spending like crazy there too, since that's where most of the political money does go.

This is supposedly the Billary Kingdom, but the Big O's challenging on the home turf. There are fired up college kids in all the subways handing out Obama lit and pins; I see elderly people on the sidewalks and in the supermarkets wearing Obama stickers; I've gotten mail from his campaign (I've received zilch from the Hil-Bil machine, and see nothing from them on the street, or even on parked cars, though a lot of the cars have Obama bumper stickers -- they may be sorry they took out Edwards so soon ....).

When Obama's campaign can paper the streets like that, as well as do television, in the Hillary state, they've got some real dough all right.

We want saviors. We've been taught by all our entertainment tropes / fairy tales to expect them. As I mentioned to Vaquero passing yet another elderly white gentleman with an Obama sticker, "If he actually gets in the White House, they are going to be shocked to be as disappointed as they are going to be. You'd think by now we'd all have learned not to be so gullible." Kids probably haven't learned it yet. And it's good to have something to feel excited about. It's probably better that all of the world not be as experienced as some of us are.

The polls are all over the place. But what seems to be embedded in the the head to head polls -- at this moment -- as in the one by the WaPo is that McCain's showing as having a very good chance of beating both Hillary and Obama. More and more it's difficult to look at the O's campaign and find no there there.

Like this YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

Governing is NOT in the realm of Musicvideolandia. But I don't like her either, and McCain? Shudder.

Edwards is still on the ballot here. And so is Kucinich and Biden and Dodd. Though that is a wasted vote They say. At this point, in the billion dollar smokenmirrors distraction Big Media entertainment programming that POTUS Campaign 2008 is, one must constantly give oneself good talkings to, to convince oneself that one's vote matters.

What is also worrying is that with Edwards not in the race, well, how about this? Either Hillary or Obama are the nom. One of them picks either the other or -- Richardson, as the VP running mate. That means a woman and / or a black person and someone who represent the latino vote (at least that's the way people who think speaking Spanish means all the same thing). So there's all these fabled white males who -- have NOBODY that's like him. They're gonna vote for McCain. Well, that's one of way of theorizing.

Politics is not my real life, but it so affects my real life. Boston on Wednesday. And I'm missing Mardi Gras for the first time in years, and it hurts.

2 comments:

Frank Partisan said...

We need a labor party. If there was a mass party, that was progressive and brought down the Democratic Party, that would be equal to Castro in the mountains, for this country.

Foxessa said...

This is true. But much more difficult to manage in a place as large and diverse as the U.S, vs. an island nation where everyone identifies as Cuban, not something-American.

Love, C.