Category Archives: America

08/26/20

New York City Recovery

It is fashionable to debate the fate of New York City these days with the left edge of the argument being it is doomed and the right edge the constant refrain that New Yawkers have GRIT.

New York Post writer James Altucher opines that “New York City is dead forever” whilst comedian Jerry Seinfeld (from his Hamptons mansion) counters that New Yawkers have grit.

New York City is dead forever — link

This falls under the heading of: “Two Things Can Be True At The Same Time.”

Guy calls me to discuss apartments and asks what happens when markets begin to drift. I had a good long run owning thousands of apartments and was taught some harsh lessons and some good ones by Mother Market.

Continue reading →

08/18/20

College Basketball — Carolina Tar Heels v Duke Blue Devils — A Modest Proposal

If you are like me, you are still wondering when the 2019-2020 NCAA Tournament, March Madness, is going to start.

Alas, we are well and truly fucked, amigo. It is never going to happen. Which brings me to the quandary of what to do with college basketball come November.

So, I make bold to make a modest proposal. Read to the end before you judge me. Keep an open mind.

The Modest Proposal

I propose that in order to avoid any COVID infection risk, rivalry schools, like the Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils, enter into a series of games which will approximate their season whilst mining the enthusiasm of these critical rivalries and providing loyal fans with the necessary juju and mojo they need to stabilize their lives.

It goes without saying that it will be a welcome diversion from the COVID.

Somebody may make a buck along the way, but, hey, that’s capitalism, right?

 1. The Carolina v Duke rivalry in basketball is the gold standard by which all other rivalries are measured.

Carolina, a public school founded in 1789, and Duke, a private school founded in 1838, have played each other in the noble contest of basketball for a century this year. First game was 1920, UNC 38 – Duke 25.

Continue reading →

08/17/20

Our Lost American Cities

I rise in mourning today to grieve for our lost American cities.

Count me amongst those who find the term “new normal” offputting. I am not the squeamish type, but it grates on my ear.

Not the kind of grating that makes you reach for your concealed handgun, but the kind that shortens a convo and moves you on to the next page of your reading.

One thing that does come to mind as I contemplate a return to “normal”  is there are American cities that have been so indelibly changed in the first half of 2020 that they will never return to their prior greatness.

These are our lost American cities and it is a tragedy of gargantuan proportions.

$50 Walmart Gift Certificate to the first person who can identify this city being burned down whilst the coppers stand and watch. This is a trick, so be wary.

On my personal list of such cities are:

Minneapolis

New York

Chicago

Seattle

Portland

Baltimore

Richmond

Salt Lake City

Austin

If you feel the urge, nominate your favorites and I will publish the revised list. Justify your selections.

Continue reading →

08/15/20

Middle East Peace — One Step Closer

Comes now the recent rapprochement between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel. But, first, some background, shall we?

Our country has been indelibly marked by the status of peace in the Middle East in four important ways:

 1. We have supported Israel through a series of wars with the 1973 Yom Kippur War almost ending with a tragic outcome that was prevented by direct American military material support.

Had the US not sent replacement tanks to make up battlefield losses against the Syrians in the Golan Heights, the Syrians might have taken Tel Aviv. It was a very close thing.

Prime Minister Golda Meir made a phone call to President Nixon and in that same hour American tanks were loaded onto American aircraft, off loaded in Tel Aviv, and sent into battle with no time to even over paint the American stars. It was that close.

Israel continues to be the most powerful democracy in a region dominated by despots.

Continue reading →

08/13/20

The Cloud of Darkness Versus Joie De Vivre

On the morning of my wedding in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on 1 December 1979, I heard a knock on my door at the Hilton Hotel in downtown.

Rising with the nervous energy one would expect on such a day, verifying it was just after six in the morning, I opened the door to find a courtly Southern gentleman (bride’s side of the family) standing there with a sweating six pack of beer. I wish I could recall the brand.

We shared a beer — meaning we each drank one. I believe he departed with the remaining four, but I cannot recall. I can only inform you that I did not drink them.

The man was wise and felt the need to arm me with his excess wisdom before I married his gorgeous niece.

Amongst the pearls he left behind was this:

“One cannot make oneself happy, but one can prevent oneself from being unhappy.”

The oddity 0f the circumstances under which it was delivered left a lasting impression more permanent than a tattoo.

Continue reading →

08/9/20

Tactics, Political Tactics

Outcomes in life are determined by the tactics you employ with which to grapple with it.

If you were spit out by a military school, as was I, you will learn basic infantry tactics like attacking a hill with a platoon of 50 men employing something called “fire and maneuver.”

Part of the platoon fires whilst the balance maneuvers, you reverse rolls until you are within hand grenade range whereat you fling a few grenades before closing with and killing the enemy.

It is delightfully simple when confronting the idea with pen and ink, but more troubling when done for real.

You will quickly learn that attacking a hill with a bunch of cadets who will have their turn soon enough is vastly different than doing the same thing when someone is shooting at you and your ranks are peopled with men who are having second thoughts about their career choice.

What you quickly learn is that tactics, successful tactics, require action. You will also want to know that the other guy has likely had a bit of instruction on defending a hill.

This will quickly devolve into a classic clash of wills as does much of life.

The one with the better tactics will win the encounter. Winning in the military racket is highly prized and there is actually no substitute for success.

So, now we turn to the issue of the COVID Relief Package and a lesson on tactics.

Continue reading →

08/7/20

#DefundStupid

In all the to-ing and fro-ing in the world, there are folks who want to abolish the police, defund the police, and to reorganize how law enforcement works.

Many of these folks feel a loving, patriarchal fondness for the Black community and speak for them whenever given a chance.

Turns out Black communities can speak for themselves.

Continue reading →

08/2/20

The Waning Ability To Hold Two Competing Thoughts At The Same Time

In my now post-COVID bliss, with my newly cleared mind, with my returning brain cells, I make bold to say that we are really getting stupid at a time that we need to be smart.

What pops to mind is our inability to hold competing thoughts inside our single brain.

We once debated the merits of Miller Lite thusly:

“Less filling.”

“Tastes great.”

The critical thinker of the time would whisper to his beloved, “Maybe it’s both?”

The beloved would respond, “Of course it is, you moron.”

Then, we would say to ourselves, “Well of course. It can be two ideas at the same time, those ideas are not really in conflict, they are not mutually exclusive, and my brain is large enough to hold both of them without exploding.”

Were we smarter in those simpler days?

Continue reading →