Open Thread Wednesday

It looks like the bouncy bridge won’t reopen until next year, unless it’s really beyond repair. They’re really keeping people in the dark with that.

You must be new to the city…cops have almost no power to do anything when it comes to mentally ill or homeless…if the guy is just yelling and talking to himself, they have no reason to arrest or detain him…

This is a really good illustration of why this blog can be so frustrating. Everything about your comment (MonroeOrange) is useful, helpful, and accurate (probably, I honestly have no idea about it’s accuracy, but I’m not disputing it). But why do you need to insult someone right off the bat with “You must be new to the city.” What’s the use in that? Why not just share your thoughts without insulting your neighbor?What’s the goal in doing that? To make someone feel stupid for posting something you disagree with? Feels like more and more this blog is just a place where people come to fight.

me saying you must be ‘new to the city’ is saying, we have been dealing with issues of homeless or mentally ill for decades with the city doing nothing about it…..this ‘new guy’ started his comment saying ‘This is what’s wrong with the city: if something like that happens, it’s anyone’s responsibility to put a swift end to it.”

This guy is putting the blame on the citizens shoulders when the blame should be put on the city’s admin shoulders..

and before you continue to sound off on your high horse…have you ever volunteered at a homeless shelter, worked with mentally ill? and i hope your answer is yes, and we can compare notes.

Futhermore, im sure this guy appreciates being discussed, picture shown, by a bunch of arm chair psychiatrist.

Hmm..last night I tried to post my humorous take on the Republican debate, using actual quotes from a few of the participants. The BHBlog has evidently refused to post it which I find odd. I can only think of 2 reasons:

1. They didn’t think it had any humorous value (fair enough, but still…I’ve read some god awfully dry stuff on the OTW. )

2. It had one cuss word in it. The word (please put your children to bed before reading further…OK, are they out of the room? Good.) was “a#s”. “A#s”, as in “rear end”. The back of our fronts if you will, or, for your international readers, “derriere”. (See..Je parle un peu français. No really, that’s all I can say in French… unless beret counts?)

3. Nefarious political motivations of the most diabolical nature that threaten the very fabric of journalism and democracy as we know them.

I’d like to point out to the editor that this not suitable for the delicate ears of your readers English word was cited by me from a verbatim and documented quote uttered in a past interview by the referenced candidate, who will remain nameless, but has the worlds most notorious comb-over and a mouth that looks like the business part of an …oh wait I can’t say that word can I?

If reason # 2, Then I shall endeavor to clean up my filthy gutter vocabulary in future posts.

Either way, you hurt my feelings, and now I am sad.

hmm…. http://www.wnyc.org/story/show-us-your-blocked-bike-lane/?utm_source=Newsletter%3A+WNYC+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=92f3d2ca71-Daily_Brief_July_4_20141_26_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_edd6b58c0d-92f3d2ca71-69134325&mc_cid=92f3d2ca71&mc_eid=c97677b3b2

Several friends have reported to me that comment I have posted have been been erased. I don’t really have the time now to monitor such activity but I am now getting repeated reports of this. Mr moderator, is this true?

thanks Donald

For whatever it’s worth I’m a proponent of equal opportunity lampooning. And while I certainly don’t tune into the BHB, let alone OTW, for political commentary at the federal level, I think a certain standard of even-handedness would behoove any commentators. I realize that for many, Donald Trump makes this kind of difficult, but let us consider a few points that ensure all of those seeking the highest American office deserve our scorn in equal measure:

-the American system of Democracy ensures that votes are counted equally between people who are informed, and may have some notion of what is the best course of action or representation for his/her society, and people who are actually affected by a mental disability and may not even be capable of understanding the words on a ballot, let alone, for example, the greater economic and social impact of providing federal funding to Planned Parenthood. It follows that the entire spectrum of political, sociological, economic, and cultural awareness falls between these two points, and all who fall therein are invited to participate in elections based only on the qualifiers of citizenship and age.

-the American system of political electioneering (in which candidates must solicit money in order to pay an administration to coach them and distribute advertisements, etc., and the only determining factor for whether an individual may endeavor to enter a race is their American citizenship, rightful age, and possession of campaign finances) ensures that candidates can be bribed to act in the interests of one group or another, rather than according to things like scientific research or even a widely accepted ethical code.

What I’m coming around to is that if you think the GOP primary candidates are the problem and you’re satisfied enough to sit on your laurels and make fun of them just because they all think the earth is 4000 years old and immigration is a problem that can be solved by building a wall (and guess what–if you cross the Hudson and just keep driving you’ll meet a lot of other people who hold such notions), you haven’t considered its breadth or depth.

I’ve seen those electric delivery bikes going against the flow of traffic on many local streets.

The tourists blithely cycling down the sidewalks is another problem.

If you download them to a computer, you can usually fix this problem before you post them here.

As they say in Chicago, vote early, vote often!

We’ll find out if there’s at least one connection if, suddenly, the bridge opens after construction has finished on the adjacent buildings. It’s a shame the park can’t just be a little transparent about the issues there (and I don’t think it’s being a conspiracy theorist to suggest these ties).

The crime shows I recommended from the UK seem to delve quite deep into the personal lives of the characters and the acting is also more nuanced. This is refreshing. I enjoy cross-cultural approaches to fiction. In the case of George Gently, the viewer gets a commentary on the zeitgeist of the 60s in addition to the spirited relationship between Gently and the more superficial John Bacchus.

Phone was drunk. See comments.