In America, unkempt is the prevailing male look. Facial stubble or untrimmed beards. Torn jeans. Sloppy shirts. Baseball caps. This was not the case when HG reached maturity in the 50’s and 60’s. (Mid to late 60’s introduced the “hippy” and “flower child” looks — things went downhill from there). Barber shops provided the ultimate in masculine grooming. The best was the barber shop in Manhattan’s Park Sheraton Hotel, Seventh Avenue and 55th Street. It was a favorite of music publishers, theatrical producers, talent agents, entertainers, night club proprietors, bookmakers, money lenders (known as “Shys”); mob bosses and a variety of big shots, legitimate and criminal. (Mobster Albert Anastasia was shot to death in the barber shop in 1957. “King of the Underworld” Arnold Rothstein was killed at the hotel when it was named the Park Central). This was the routine at the barber shop for a classy gent. Haircut. Shave (with a straight razor, steaming towel and brushed on shave cream. Talc and fragrant aftershave to finish). Manicure (by an attractive woman). Shoe shine by a skilled bootblack. Finally, a brushing of suit, coat and fedora by an aged “brusher.” After tips to all, the stylish gent (Probably wearing a suit from Leighton’s, a nearby Broadway shop. Leighton’s was on Broadway for 67 years. Closed in 1986) was off to meet the world or conduct a stealthy assignation in the hotel’s rooms.
The usual bullshit. That’s what we’re getting from the Republicanazis, their mouths firmly locked on the NRA money tit. None of them will admit that the AR-15, the weapon of choice in school killings, is an attack weapon, a military weapon. It is designed to kill people as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Easy to buy. Easy (sadly) to use. They should be banned. They are not used for hunting or self protection. HG assumes they are flying off gun shop shelves as crazy copycats dream of murder.
The Republicanazis, devout followers of Der Trumperer, are a slimy bunch. HG, rarely surprised by their nasty conduct, was shocked while watching two Republicanazis comment (on CNN) about the Florida school massacre. The male said the fault was Hollywood’s so don’t attack the NRA. He said Hollywood makes violent movies and that’s the basic cause of school shootings. Well, Canadians watch violent movies, have the usual drug problems, broken homes, etc. Very few mass shootings because they have strict gun laws. Japan, where there are are plenty of violent movies, comic books, etc., has a Samurai tradition and powerful skills at warfare. No mass shootings (police shot a total of six bullets last year). Very, very strict gun laws and annual gun surveillance. The female blamed the Florida attack on the FBI. Called for investigation of FBI plus resignations. No mention of gun laws or the NRA. One would think FBI agents shot those Florida kids.
Well, HG can be wrong about the stock market. In a recent post, HG presumed that the stock market would continue its plunge. HG reasoned that Trumponics, with its huge tax giveaways to corporations and the wealthy plus vast military spending, would create gargantuan deficits. HG believed that the resulting high interest rates and inflation would torpedo stocks. It seems investors don’t care. The market continues to gain. Misguided euphoria?? In the meantime, the cost estimate for Der Trumperer’s military parade is thirty million dollars. Der Trumperer is generous with taxpayer money except when it comes to Medicare and aid to the poor. And, in Florida, some 17 are killed in a high school massacre. The weapon? An AR-15 rifle. It is the preferred weapon for school shootings. Why are they sold (In Florida, they are easier to buy than a handgun)? Because our disgusting Republican congressmen, champion hypocrites, intone prayers while wallowing in NRA campaign dollars. And, the “war on drugs” and the war in Afghanistan continue. Both expensive and futile. Der Trumperer wants billions to build his Mexico Wall in order to stem drug trafficking and and keep out “bad hombres.” The “Wall” won’t stop the flow of drugs. Since Americans want forbidden drugs it is all a simple matter of demand and supply. When will there be legalization of narcotics and the acknowledgment that addiction is a medical problem and not a criminal problem?
So, Der Trumperer is going to get a big time military parade. The expensive show will be at taxpayer expense, of course. Dreams come true. Putin, Stalin, Hitler, Kim Jong, Mussolini all had many big parades with marching corps, missiles, tanks, guns, etc.. It is the signature move of any dictator worth his salt. Of course, Der Trumperer’s parade will be the best, the biggest, most watched extravaganza ever (as DT will loudly proclaim and tweet). Meanwhile, a Nazi is a Republican congressional candidate in Illinois. To paraphrase “The Producers”: “Don’t be a dummy, be a smarty, come and join the Republi-nazi party.” All of this made HG log into Youtube and listen to “Springtime for Hitler and Germany” from “The Producers.” (Google the lyrics, please). There’s a Yiddish saying: “lacht mit yashikehs”. It means laughing with tears. That’s what HG did. Was Mel Brooks prescient? Meanwhile, the stock market is “correcting” dramatically. Der Trumperer claims the plunge is a big mistake. His tax bill will put the United State in trillions of dollar in debt and his Mexican Wall madness will cost billions. Obviously, the oft times bankrupt Trumperer has never heard of the consequences of this: Inflation. Investors throughout the world seem to have gotten the inflation message.
Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are professors of government at Harvard and authors of “How Democracies Die.” They point out that the extreme polarization of the two American parties, Republicans and Democrats, is not “A traditional conservative-liberal divide. People don’t loathe each other over taxes or health care.” In a New York Times article (Sunday, Jan. 28), the professors state “the roots of today’s polarization is racial and cultural.” Decades ago, both parties were predominantly white and worshiped a Christian God. “Advances in civil rights, immigration and the migration of Christian conservatives to the Republican Party have given rise to two fundamentally different parties: one that is ethnically diverse and increasingly secular and one that is overwhelmingly white and predominantly Christian.” America’s “once dominant” white Christians are in decline. Year by year, America becomes more multi-cultural and multi-racial. The Republican white Christians are furiously fighting back and damaging (if not destroying) the American democracy. The Mexican Wall and the immigration battle are part of their effort to block blacks, browns, Asians, muslims, Hispanics from entering the United States. In HG’s opinion, armed conflict has not begun but Americans are nonetheless engaged in a civil war. The outcome is in doubt.
June 9, 1954. Army-McCarthy hearings. Sen. Joseph McCarthy had charged the U.S. Army with lax security at an Army base. Army hired Boston attorney Joseph Welch to represent t them at the hearings. The Senator charged that a young colleague of Welch’s had communist affiliations. Welch responded: “Until this moment, Senator, I never truly gauged your cruelty and recklessness.” When McCarthy continued his spurious attack, Welch said: “Have you no sense of decency?” The hearings were on national television. Welch’s comments ended McCarthy’s popularity and influence. He died at age 48. HG asks Republican Senators and members of Congress when they do not respond to Trump’s spewing of racist filth: “Have you no sense of decency?”
HG/BSK are lucky to have a warm friendship with the remarkable Anthony and Claudia C. As HG has noted before, Anthony is the brilliant manager of a mutual fund that has provided happy returns for investors. Claudia is a journalist, author and incisive radio interviewer. Though American citizens, they remain indomitably English (though Claudia comes from 100% Irish stock). Anthony scoffs, but he is an ornament of the nobility with a patrician education and connections (Oxford graduate and member of Boodles, a very selective gentlemen’s club). Claudia embodies her family’s theatrical traditions and is ebullient, eccentric, stimulating and an enemy of boredom and complacency. A. and C. are fun, generous and progressive. And, kind. For example: They are taking care of Toby, The Wonder Dog, while HG/BSK enjoy family Christmas in Rhode Island. Toby is frolicking with Boodles and Genghis, their endearing dogs. Joyous Toby. The C. log home, high on a mountain slope in Evergreen, Co., is a dream vision of a Colorado home. Huge windows in rooms of lofty ceilings provide panoramic views of mountain ranges, snow covered peaks. Sunsets are an explosion of color. Though constructed of logs, the home is not rustic. There are ancestral portraits. Many artifacts from the C.’s many years in Japan, China and Singapore. Bedrooms of regal luxury. A pool and hot tub regulated by an electronically controlled cover and heating system. Extraordinary. For their evening stay in C. paradise, Claudia prepared a sumptuous dinner. HG overindulged in after dinner sipping of a rare, flavorful single malt Scotch whisky, Laphroaig “Triple Wood.” Blissful sleep on a superb mattress. Thank you, dear friends.
And, so it goes on. Another slaughter by a deranged Caucasian American male. Armed with an army assault rifle Guess what? Der Trumperer offers prayers. We’ve had a slaughter of children in Connecticut. A slaughter at a church in Charleston. A slaughter at a Las Vegas concert. And, today, a slaughter at a little church in Texas. The number of dead continues to grow. The Republican response: Prayers. Hey, why not? Doesn’t cost a dime. Prayers, Mother, apple pie are good things. But, in the land of The Free, Brave and Armed nothing is more worshipped than guns and their apologist, the NRA, is a generous dispenser of campaign funds and possibly more important, a voter bloc that will follow anyone they endorse. So, let the murder continue. Be lucky, my friends.
