DELIcacies

One time there were a dozen Jewish delis on the Lower East Side, now there is one - Russ & Daughters. The reason seems to be that no one wanted their kids in the business. The owner said his son practices medicine. "As far as I know I am the only Jewish father who was disappointed that his kid became a doctor. I was thinking sturgeon not surgeon." But the old timers I have watched slicing lox with a razor thin blade were as good as any surgeon. Cut, cut, cut as the old lady told them - now I'll take that one!
tjs

Empathy

Our leader's post hurricane visit to N.C. was more subdued versus his Puerto Rico experience. He complimented one homeowner as having gained a yacht that was leaning against his home. One man said "I named my dog after you!" Trump said "That's nice". Then he asked how were conditions in Lake Norman. (He has a golf course there.) Nothing changes ........except he did leave the Bounty at home.
tjs

Double Jeopardy

The NYT obituary writer, Margalit Fox,  must have come out of retirement to do the full page coverage of the "second" death of that hoaxer, Alan Abel, who had faked his earlier demise in 1980. His first prank was creating the Society for Indecency to naked animals or SINA which sought to clothe all naked animals that appear in public. The idea was spawned when he was tied up in traffic by a bull and a cow copulating in the middle of the road. Later he fooled Walter Cronkite with a slogan "a nude horse is a rude horse." He said his primary intent was to give people a kick in the intellect. He later created Yetta Bronstein, a Jewish grandmother from the Bronx, to run for President with the slogan "Vote for Yetta and things will get betta." But lest I spoil it for you, try to catch his full page obit - NYT  Tuesday September 18, 2018.
tjs

Primarily Political XXXVI

Senate Hearings: There was a time when the questioning of witnesses was handled almost exclusively by the Committee Counsel:
- Rudolf Halley was counsel to the Kefauver Committee in 1951 investigating organized crime and he handled most of the questioning, although Senators were free to speak as did Sen. Tobey when he challenged a witness to "be ye clean!"
-In 1952 Robert F. Kennedy was counsel to the McClellan Committee investigating corruption and he went after Jimmy Hoffa with a vengeance.  Of course this was in the early days of having cameras in the hearing room. In the current atmosphere it might be well for the eleven "R"men on the Judicial Committee to appoint a neutral questioner to avoid embarrassment. They are in a NO WIN situation.
tjs

Quotes of the week

This week marks the tenth anniversary of Lehman Bros. implosion which precipitated the great Recession - too many people extended with debt. Warren Buffett famously said "You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out."

This week marks the death of Adam Clymer, veteran journalist. On the campaign trail in 2000 he was the subject of a vulgarity from Geo. W. Bush who spoke into a live microphone unwittingly.The comment was seconded by Dick Cheney. Covering campaign candidates, Clymer said "If they all love you, you might as well just be driving a Good Humor truck."
tjs

United Nations

The United Nations Security Council presiding officer is shared on a rotation basis and this month is our turn. This means that Donald J. Trump will be presiding in the chair. There will surely be a debate over Iran. Do we realize the damage he can inflict with a gavel in his hand? Nikki Haley will have her hands full. The date is September 26th when the fireworks should take place. And the protesters need to move from Fifth Avenue over to the East Side. Mark your calendar.
tjs

Primarily Political XXXV

Donald Trump was critical of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (yes, there were two others before him) - for his "accent" - he a speaker of the "Queens" English. When Trump is rattled he sounds like Joe Pesci. My own accent prompted someone to tell me "You must be from Philadelphia, you slur your dipthongs." Wow!

Ted Cruz is in a tough race in Texas. He must be desperate as he has asked Trump to "rally" for him. The man who called him Lyin' Ted, insulted his wife and dragged his father thru the mud. All to try to BEAT a man named BETO. Hope not.
tjs