Sweet, Sweet Relief!
At last, some happy news! No Olympics in New York!
Trey picked me up from work yesterday and we took a detour through Rockefeller Center where people were gathered in some bizarre pro-Olympics rally, waving "NYC 2012" flags. Not a single person I saw appeared to be a resident of the city. There was a very cute team of martial arts students from Singapore, and many cops carrying semi-automatic weapons, which Trey pointed out to me when I suggested screaming "NO OLYMPICS!" at the top of my lungs.
And this morning, the happy, happy news! But not happy for all.
Seeing this picture of Jake Duhaime of Mansfield, Massachusetts, despondent over New York's failed Olympic bid instantly called to mind those people making a scene outside of Terri Schiavo's hospital: both were intensely, personally invested in a situation they knew absolutely nothing about.
Jake Duhaime doesn't live here. Every time a city is lured into hosting the Olympic games they end up wrecked financially, and the promised jobs and tourism never amount to much. The estimated 1.3 billion cost for the games in Athens ended up costing a whopping 14+ billion, doing a real number on Greece's deficit. Montreal is still paying for 1976. Dave Zirin's Counterpunch piece says more.
New York remains the biggest target for terrorists, and W's policies mint more of 'em every day. Our airline security still sucks, there's still little inspection for shipping containers. The MTA is such a TRAIN WRECK (intended baby!) not to mention the new "robot train" L line [Trey's and my subway line, by the way, and now an even easier terrorist target]-- we have schools without air-conditioners, potholes, inadequate affordable housing -- it would be an obscenity to impoverish New York AND increase the risk of its inhabitants. But perhaps that's too "reality-based" for Bloomberg and Hillary and Duhaime and anyone else who is willing to subordinate the quality of life of others for their political gain or selfish projections.
When the RNC held its thug-fest in the heart of the city BushCo ALLOWED, yes, willfully ALLOWED to be attacked, everyone said it would be good for the economy. And that was a bunch of lies. People fled town if they could afford it, or worked from home, and all the local businesses in the Madison Square Garden area lost tons of regular business, except perhaps for the good ol' red state favorite, TGI Friday's on 34th and 8th. Oh, yeah, I forgot about the escort services and strip clubs' BIG spike in business as all those values voters got their rocks off.
I'm sick of my city being used as a hook for other's projections and agendas. I'm glad New York escaped the "occupation" of 2012.
I wish I wasn't worried of possible future occupation, of a more malevolent sort.
Trey picked me up from work yesterday and we took a detour through Rockefeller Center where people were gathered in some bizarre pro-Olympics rally, waving "NYC 2012" flags. Not a single person I saw appeared to be a resident of the city. There was a very cute team of martial arts students from Singapore, and many cops carrying semi-automatic weapons, which Trey pointed out to me when I suggested screaming "NO OLYMPICS!" at the top of my lungs.
And this morning, the happy, happy news! But not happy for all.
Seeing this picture of Jake Duhaime of Mansfield, Massachusetts, despondent over New York's failed Olympic bid instantly called to mind those people making a scene outside of Terri Schiavo's hospital: both were intensely, personally invested in a situation they knew absolutely nothing about.
Jake Duhaime doesn't live here. Every time a city is lured into hosting the Olympic games they end up wrecked financially, and the promised jobs and tourism never amount to much. The estimated 1.3 billion cost for the games in Athens ended up costing a whopping 14+ billion, doing a real number on Greece's deficit. Montreal is still paying for 1976. Dave Zirin's Counterpunch piece says more.
New York remains the biggest target for terrorists, and W's policies mint more of 'em every day. Our airline security still sucks, there's still little inspection for shipping containers. The MTA is such a TRAIN WRECK (intended baby!) not to mention the new "robot train" L line [Trey's and my subway line, by the way, and now an even easier terrorist target]-- we have schools without air-conditioners, potholes, inadequate affordable housing -- it would be an obscenity to impoverish New York AND increase the risk of its inhabitants. But perhaps that's too "reality-based" for Bloomberg and Hillary and Duhaime and anyone else who is willing to subordinate the quality of life of others for their political gain or selfish projections.
When the RNC held its thug-fest in the heart of the city BushCo ALLOWED, yes, willfully ALLOWED to be attacked, everyone said it would be good for the economy. And that was a bunch of lies. People fled town if they could afford it, or worked from home, and all the local businesses in the Madison Square Garden area lost tons of regular business, except perhaps for the good ol' red state favorite, TGI Friday's on 34th and 8th. Oh, yeah, I forgot about the escort services and strip clubs' BIG spike in business as all those values voters got their rocks off.
I'm sick of my city being used as a hook for other's projections and agendas. I'm glad New York escaped the "occupation" of 2012.
I wish I wasn't worried of possible future occupation, of a more malevolent sort.
posted by Lillet Langtry at 1:30 PM
2 Comments:
Another benefit is that we will no longer have to endure those smug, unfunny commercials with Jerry Seinfeld.
Of course, if I were Jerry Seinfeld I'd be all in favor of holding the Olympics in NYC, too. I'm sure it's a lot of fun to take helicopters from VIP seat to VIP seat.
I'm with you! New York needed the Olympics like a Hole in the Ground (i.e. West Side Stadium)
I'm still recovering from what the RNC did to the city last summer! Pure paralysis...
Cheers,
Mr. H.K.
Postcards from Hell's Kitchen
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