The Blizzard that Wasn’t

            So many people are complaining that it was a waste of time to close the city for the snowstorm that hit the northeast on January 27.

            These people suffer from a common malady – 20/20 hindsight. These people do not understand what it takes to determine what the weather will be based on multiple sources of data. Anything can change a forecast.

            The National Weather Service, based on the information available, said that New York City would get 12 to 24 inches of snow. There were no exceptions of which I know.

            Following the predictions from the blizzard warning, and from past experience, the proper thing to do was close the city to traffic, get people to stay off the streets, and to shut down all trains and buses.

But something very interesting occurred. There was a ridge of drier air from about New York City to the west. All the bands of snow headed west hit the dry ridge and practically petered out. No forecaster saw this happening. Central Park got 9.8 inches. Just 30 miles to the east, Long Island got 2 feet or more. That was close.

            From all the indicators, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio did the right thing. It is always better to play safe, especially when it comes to the lives of millions of people. The worst thing to do was leave everything running, have the storm hit as conjectured, and let millions get stranded in feet of snow with no way to get around.

            No one should be complaining that the city was closed down. They should be grateful that the governor and mayor did what had to be done to protect them.

Deflate-gate Nonsense

            This whole investigation into the many under inflated footballs in the AFC Conference Championship last week is absolutely ridiculous.

            All of the footballs were under-inflated except one. If only the New England Patriots used these balls, I can understand the problem. They were approved by the officials and both teams used the same balls. So neither teams had an advantage.

            So what difference does it make? Where’s the problem?

            This whole thing should be dropped. If they should not be deflated, the officials should not approve any that are.

            Now let’s get on with the Super Bowl.

Belief in Doing No Wrong

            In a review of the past few weeks’ events in relation to the NYPD, it seems that they are under the belief that they can do no wrong.

            We had the Eric Garner grand jury decision that the police were not wrong in performing the choke hold that killed him, even though that cop was brought to task for other instances.

            We had other police gunning down other unarmed black people in dark stairways or on the street and the police are still not held accountable.

            The police recently had the policy of stop and frisk. The number of black people stopped and frisked as compared to non-black was about 80% to 20%, if not greater. That is what finally led to the end of the policy instead of amending it.

            By appearances, the black populace was targeted by the police as the most dangerous people around. Could this be considered borderline racism? Perhaps.

            It was under this landscape the led Mayor De Blasio to give advice to his black son to be weary and be careful and act with caution in his behavior around the police. This was sound advice. To me, the mayor did nothing that any decent and responsible parent would do. He was 100% correct.

            However, the police were alarmed. According to them, the Mayor blasted them, pretty much saying that they were dangerous and they might pick on his son for almost anything. They felt betrayed and in fear of their safety. With the actions that the police take toward the black people, the question is – who is afraid of whose safety?

Actually, they are very afraid of each other.

            Police union boss Patrick Lynch blasted the mayor and demanded an apology. Many police demanded the same. At many functions, many police turned their backs on the mayor. Regardless of the situation, this was extremely disrespectful. These police should have been reprimanded.

            Further, there was a tremendous work slowdown. Tickets and summonses for minor offences plummeted 92%. Traffic violations dropped 94%. Drug arrests dropped 84%. In New York there is the Taylor law which forbids public employees from going on strike. To me, this tremendous slowdown is tantamount to a strike. Therefore, every member of the Police Department who took part in this slowdown should be punished according to the Taylor Law’s rules.

            For all the calls for the mayor to apologize, he won’t and he should not.

            The bottom line here is that the police and the union head labor under the false assumption that they can do no wrong. They fear for their lives, mostly in the black community. Sometimes depending on the situation, it is as if they have itchy or nervous trigger fingers. I can certainly understand the need to use their guns when necessary, though at times they can be bit too ready. Also, the police may be under the belief that if they are taken to court, they will be found not guilty for one reason or another leading to their belief in infallibility.

 

 

            Perhaps if the police stop the seeming targeting of the black community, if the police responsible for breaking the law (shootings, choke holds, etc.), and police are taught better community relations and restraint, then we will have better respect in both directions.

War’s End – Really??

            A couple days ago marked the end of NATO’s involvement in the War in Afghanistan that had been raging for 13 long years. But is it really over?

            The United States is leaving 10,000 troops of about 13,000 troops overall in Afghanistan. These troops are supposed to act as teachers and assistants for the Afghan military.

            This continues long standing tradition of U. S. involvement is war for the past 70 years. The U. S. fights a war and leaves troops ad infinitum. Germany, South Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan. We have left troops in all of them. I, for one, fail to understand the need to keep troops in these countries, especially after some of them become our allies. For a short while maybe, but for what amounts to forever?

            Aside from the perpetual presence of the troops, there is also the staggering cost of keeping them there throughout time. Stopping this would save money which could be put to better use at home.

 

            Message to the government: please don’t tell us the way is over when you maintain troops where the war was fought.

What Took So Long Reverend?

            After the senseless assassination of two policemen in Brooklyn, Rev. Al Sharpton finally spoke out against the violence connected to the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

One quote from him said: “Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases”.

I have one question for him. Where were you during the riots the occurred throughout this country in the wake of the two non-indictments? I may be wrong, but I do not recall you speaking out to end the violence.

Further, I do not see anything in his statements that refer to the officers not being black. This one admission would bring him into more positive feelings for Caucasians.

So Reverend, I ask you again, what took so long to come forward and state that the violence after the grand juries decisions that violence is the wrong way to go?

Poorly Planned Cinematic Idea

            When I first heard about the new Seth Rogan / James Franco movie, “The Interview”, on Real Time with Bill Maher a couple months ago, I thought it an interesting concept, but I could foresee the dangers in a movie of this type.

            The basic outline of the film is such that Rogan and Franco are journalists who are recruited by the CIA to post as reporters to get close enough to North Korea leader Kim Jong Un to assassinate him. Just hearing this set off bad vibes in my mind.

            Number 1, bad idea to use a real leader, especially one on the level of Kim Jong Un. A fictional leader would have made a better choice. Who knew at the time if North Korea might undertake and kind of reprisals for even suggesting slaying its ruler? The cyber hacking of Sony Pictures might be just such a reaction.

            Number 2, the idea of using reporters to get to be alone with a leader in order to assassinate him or her, could lead to the end of direct interviews. Interviews may soon be held by webcams.

 

            Number 3, the methods shown in the real world either in war, crimes, gadgets or terrorism are barbaric enough. Leave Hollywood script writers to devise new ways of fighting wars, create more violent crimes, design new contraptions to carry out their plans, or more brutal and sickening forms of terrorism. One example is in the movie “The Dark Night” when the Joker had a live bomb placed into living body. A few months later we started hearing that terrorist organizations might be using this very same method.

            Number 4, would it not be considered that we are the terrorists for wanting to kill another world leader. Does this mean that we our philosophy is “We can do something, but no one else is allowed to”? Poor philosophy, at least, one to which I am opposed.

            Returning to the cyber hacking for a moment, if a warning was issued at attacking any cinema which showed the movie, does it make any sense to pull all of the screenings for fear of an attack on any one or more of the theaters? We were told rightly just thirteen years ago not to bow to terrorists’ demands in the wake of 9/11. But Sony Pictures caved in. Could you imagine that North Korea or any other foreign or domestic entity getting the scripts for new movies through hacking, hating them enough to decide to threaten the studios with reprisals if they are released?

 

            To me, this type of movie falls into the category or ‘could we’ or ‘should we’ produce it. The answer is the latter, and the answer is no, not the way it was designed. It was a decent enough idea, but with all the various parts, it was a dangerous script in today’s world.

Next Financial Bubble Responsibility

            In the aftermath of the financial meltdown a few years ago, everyone was clamoring for someone to be sent to prison. Everyone wanted those people in the big banks who created it to serve time.

            Unfortunately, I don’t see how anyone could pinpoint the guilty party. It was due to the types of investments being made. This was found in the research and investigation on what caused it.

            One big result was the creation of the Dodd-Frank law. In part it restricted certain types of investments. One item concerns derivatives trading by big banks that receive taxpayer backing, or bailouts, can use swaps which are high-risk financial instruments (swaps push-out rule).

            One big bank drew up a proposal a few years ago which was left for dead. The proposal was the elimination of the swaps push-out rule. But it was resurrected at the 11^th hour and included into the budget thanks to Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase.

            Should there be another financial meltdown thanks to the inclusion of this item, we know exactly who to blame and demand justice – all of the Congressmen and Senators who voted for the budget with its inclusion as well as the President who agreed with the CRomnibus.