"And Make Us All More Freer Than We Were Yesterday"

Have you met Basil Marceaux, candidate for Governor of Tennessee?  No?!  Well, let me introduce you!

If I Ruled the World...

Wyclef Jean for Haitian President?!  I can get on board with that.  Why shouldn't the arts be experience for politics?  Reagan... Schwarzenegger... Franken... The Mayoress... yes, performers translate to brilliant (or at least, very good looking) leaders!

Let's consider his resume:

WYCLEF JEAN
+1.917.555.4325
wj@wyclef.com

OBJECTIVE
Serve as president of Haiti

EXPERIENCE
2000s - Present  Independent Performing Artist; Producer; Community Activist
- Over 1,000 contacts in entertainment and politics
- Garnered global attention for insightful lyrics and progressive tunes
- Ability to work long and unusual hours, as well as travel extensively
- Comprehensive knowledge of social media
- Blogger for Huffington Post
- Produced mildly successful Fugees spinoff group City High

1990s - 2000s The Fugees   Band Leader/Artist
- Worked in collaborative environment
- Grossed millions of dollars in sales
- Toured extensively, gave crowd-moving performances (aka speeches)
- Global recognition for talent, innovation
- Bandmate Pras once went on date with future Mayoress of New York City; it didn't go that well but it's a good story.

SPECIAL SKILLZ
Brilliant oration, good fashion, rhythm, ability to seize unique opportunities.


See?  There you go.  Clef for Prez!!

God Bless Anthony Weiner

Mayoral election do-over!  How could we have not elected previous candidate, current Congressman Anthony Weiner?!  At least there's someone with some degree of sincere passion in the House.  Check out his editorial in today's Times.



Seriously.  I am so frustrated with the Republicans who are blocking every piece of legislation just to be difficult, under the paper-thin excuse of a given health care, energy, finance bill not being perfect/sufficient/etc.  I don't see any of them trying to do anything to solve the real problems the vast majority of Americans face, only securing their big-corporation campaign contributions, creating Fox News soundbites, and making sure the rich stay rich.  No, it really is that simple.  We have to start somewhere, and the GOP and their brilliant subsidiary tea party is the epitome of every reason things aren't getting better.  Or as Weiner puts it:

Instead of engaging in a real debate about how to address the challenges we face, Republicans have turned to obstruction, no matter the issue, and then cry foul after the fact. They claim to want an open legislative process with more consultation and debate, but the truth is they simply don’t want to pass anything.  Meanwhile, conservative television and talk radio programs are full of false anger, intended to scare Americans. I think some genuine frustration at this misleading tactic is overdue.

When I am Mayoress... Parenting

More parenting posts!  Don't worry, I'm not nine months out or anything so your dreams of a mini-Mayoress will just have to remain delicious fantasies.

Check out this comment on Jezebel's post about the Daily Mail article on nannies' opinions of their employers:

Invite a friend to comment

I am a nanny and have an agent that sends me on interviews when I'm not employed. I recently went to one for a woman who doesn't work, and already has both a full time nanny and maid. She was looking for a second nanny for her 3 kids. She told me I would be the "fun" nanny and she would expect me to entertain them constantly. She told me I'd have to stay every day until they were asleep because when the kids went to bed she took one child, the other nanny took one child, but then there was a third child with no one to help put her down (like the child's father).

My agent called her to ask her why I didn't get the job and she told him that I was lovely, but that she didn't feel comfortable ordering around an American girl and would prefer a Puerto Rican or South American. Yeah.

Now, you guys know I have strong feelings on parenthood, mainly rooted in my belief that procreating should be a decision, not a given.  But when I wield the limitless power of Mayoress, people deciding to become parents will have to at least pass a simple test first, like...

Via College Humor

Reverse Racism or Affirmative Action?

We can't live in a post-racial world if this is the sort of thing that makes people go crazy.  Then again, we can't live in a post-racial world if there are magazines that only cater to a particular race either.  Regardless, I side with Burt-Murray on this one.

But interestingly enough, the things I think should most upset people and inspire boycotts and Facebook protests, often seem to go relatively unnoticed. Like when Essence conducted a three-part education series this year on the plight of black children falling through the cracks in under-performing schools. Crickets. When we reported on the increase in sex trafficking of young black girls in urban communities? Silence. When our writers investigated the inequities in the health care services black women receive? Deadly silence. When our editors highlighted data from the Closing the Gap Initiative report “Lifting as We Climb: Women of Color, Wealth and America’s Future” that showed that the median net worth of single black women was $5? There went those darn crickets again. When we run pieces on how unemployment is devastating black men? Nada. When we run story after story on how HIV is the leading cause of death for black women age 18-34? Zilch. The things that really are the end of our world apparently aren’t.

And... Better News for the Disenfranchised

The divine Frank Rich breaks down why the Mel Gibson fallout is a sign of progress:

Six years ago he was not merely an A-list movie star with a penchant for drinking and boorish behavior but also a powerful and canonized figure in the political and cultural pantheon of American conservatism. That he has reached rock bottom tells us nothing new about Gibson. He was the same talented, nasty, bigoted blowhard then that he is today. But his fall says a lot about the changes in our country over the past six years. We shouldn’t take those changes for granted. We should take stock — and celebrate. They are good news.

Check out the full op-ed for an entertainment/politics time travel back to 2004, when Mel was already openly anti-Semitic, Haggard was still closeted, and Gibson was actively supported by conservative leaders from the WSJ op-ed page to the Vatican.

Who are the Disenfranchised White People?

I usually disagree with Ross Douchbag Douthat, the smug, often borderline-ignorant conservative Times columnist, and it's no surprise he chose this as his subject matter for his most recent column.  But I found it of particular interest as someone who once wrote a one-act play solely on the topic of deciding whether to check the box on her Yale University college application (I didn't, nor did I get in - your loss, bulldogs!).

Glenn Beck Has a Point

In a rare moment of agreement between The Mayoress and The Dickhead, it's true: Michelle Obama did not make the best satorial choice for her goodwill visit to oil spill territory.

Shuttered.

Key economic indicator of the week: is it just me or are a lot of places closing?  Not just places that probably shouldn't have existed in the first place (call me a Republican, but "if you build it they will come" is the worst business plan ever), but beloved neighborhood standards that you never imagined would disappear.

I was walking up Elizabeth Street last week and Cafe Colonial - site of my first-ever NYC brunch in 1999, was down, making way for a Rag & Bone.  Perfect new tenant and all, but this being just a couple blocks from the CBGB-turned-Varvatos, you can't help but wonder who's next.

Artepasta, the West Village standard for decent cheap Italian, was suddenly gone when I walked past two weeks ago.  I even had my birthday there in '03 or '04 (not to rival Dana, whose bday has been there I believe every single year except last, when we moved around the corner for Drag Queen Brunch - solid).

And now I just read that the Ohio Theater in Soho is closing after 29 years - it was such a great space housing some really solid work.

So what is it - these businesses can't keep up with their original operating costs, or are landlords being unreasonably greedy in this economy?  I just fear that all of Manhattan (and beyond) will be major chains and nothing else - who else can afford these retail rents?

If you've noticed any surprising closures I'd love to hear about it - comment below...

"Americans are a little too complicated about everything"

New Yorkers are all abuzz about New York mag's cover article this week: Why Parents Hate Parenting.  As someone without kids who also doesn't want kids, I find this sort of candidness incredibly refreshing.  As you know/can assume, having kids is the more popular choice, and I have heard everything from "Oh you'll change your mind" to "I just feel like my life had no meaning until I had my kid," which um, hmm, puts me on the defensive.  If everyone would just be like, hey, yes, I chose this but it's really hard, I don't always know what do do and my whole life isn't always transformed for the better because of this, it's just another choice with pros and cons alike, I know I'd be a lot more likely to want to jump in and help out, from babysitting to listening to shaking up a mean martini.  Lord, if we all didn't have to project perfection all the time, wouldn't like be so much more bearable?

Ha - great comment by scpimpjuice:

so... of the commenters on this thread... parents are happy! Great!  The childfree are happy! Fantastic!  And everyone would be happier if the other group would stop criticizing the other's choice! Wow, so simple.  If someone says that they don't want kids, or that they want 25 kids, the best response is, 'How lovely, I wish you all the best'. Then change the subject.

 

Eh, not that simple.  Can I also have a shower and paid work leave and less taxes because I'm not putting anyone through school?  Just sayin'.

Yes, We Know, It's Hot.

I just checked in on Foursquare to "Heatpocalypse NYC."  No doubt.  I was complaining to myself this morning on the commute that probably half the status updates and tweets today will have something to do with heat, when it dawned on me that it's not boring to talk about the weather - the weather has fried us so much that our brains don't function beyond registering what's obvious.

So how is The Mayoress dealing?  Personally calling* every New Yorker to unplug unnecessary appliances, hydrating, and gearing up for swim lesson #3 tonight.  Yeah, you heard me.  Watch out, Ironman!

*blogging