Shout-Out: I'm a *H*A*I*R*y kind of Guy

Edit-2-21-09 Ya'all know that Hair is now back on Broadway again too, right?
wish I had the $$$ to see it again...

You'all Know I was raised in NYC (manhattan), right?

Well When I heard that a revivial of "THE TRIBAL Rock Musical", Hair was coming to Broadway this summer (first time since 1969), I was intrigued.

I first saw HAIR, when my big sister (9 years older then me) took me to see it when SHE was just a wee lass, unmarried, and a great influence on me.. (HIYA sis, if you read this!)

Better then that, it's FREE *(almost!)... It's at the Delacourt Theatre in Central Park. NO Thanks to Robert Moses the onetime Parks commissioner (among other titles he collected)of NYC, **

At any rate, the NYT's Review is here

I'm kind of Wistful, as I don't know if I can travel the 30 miles (to NYC) to get to see it before the end of August.

If you go:
Pack a LIGHT, disposable picnic lunch. Take PLENTY of water, or at least BOTTLES that can be FILLED with water...It gets VERY hot in the park during the day (doy.)
oh, and pack some sunscreen, as well as a good book and a frisbee!


* Free: Unless you are 'gifted' enough by the IRS to be able to DONATE CA$H to purchase PRE-reserved Seats, You are required to go in person (one person per two seats) to the theatre the DAY of the performance, and "hang out" in line. It makes a very very very nice picnic day. Last time I went, it was around 10am, and we got our seats about 5pm.



** Robert Moses demanded that Joseph Papp, Founder of the NY Shakespear festival charge admission for the summer plays at the Delacourte. It is a service to NYC that Mr. Papp refused, and so the plays are still (almost!) free.

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OK, you wanted a Political discussion: Here goes.

The background I believe that:
* We're HEADING into a DEPRESSION.
* It's going to be as BAD as the last one.
* According to Robert Reich (former Sec'y of Labor under Clinton): The only number that he EVER saw, defining the
depression was that the unemployment rate hovered around 25%.
* We need a new deal.
* After 58 years of NO Health Care Reform (since 1950!) it will FINALLY be coming soon...
* We've managed to WASTE a FULL generation (from Zero to thirty) with decaying social, educational, and interpersonal skills.
* Our nation is no longer DOING (producing) anything.
SO, from these few premises, I have extrapolated a great deal of items to FIX our society...

But....
We need to make sure that a number of issues are resolved ALL at once.
If we don't do them ALL at once, its like juggling three RUNNING chain saws, but dropping one!

Here's what I came up with:

We need to do the FOLLOWING to FIX our Society:
* Create A Living Wage
* Create a National Single payer Healthcare
* Create a National 3-4 year draft (or alternate service)
* Create a Federally paid Day Care starting at six months
* Implement Tax Reform on the ULTRA Rich
* Lobbying (Political Reform)
* Education
* Infrastructure (road /bridge/Systems repairs)
* Lack of Training/futures
* Truth and Reconcilliation Commission
* A new "Manhattan" project, focusing on Energy INDEPENDENCE

See my other blog: http://sos-newdeal.blogspot.com for more detailsu.

Robert Moses -- The power broker and destroyer of New York

This is essentially a placeholder. Please note that you will need to understand the following to fully understand this post:

1. I grew up in Manhattan
2. I first read, "The Power Broker" when it was first published, in the mid-70's.
3. There is a lot of discussion in this post about physical spots in NY.
   

This post will discuss Robert Moses, and the pulitzer Prize winning book, "The Power Broker" by Robert Caro. (click HERE to buy at amazon now!)

Essentially, Caro's book is a very thorough biography and analysis of his impact on New York, and our country.

I feel that several key items regarding Moses's foibles caused a great deal of shame and problems for New York City, that remain to this day such as:

• Mr. Moses was a racist.
• Mr. Moses was an upper class slob.
• Mr. Moses was class conscious
  

These three factors totally influenced how and where our City developed in his reign of terror and power in our city.

Racist
Mr. Moses specifically designed ALL of his parks, parkways, beaches and even highways so that blacks, lower class "masses", and others need not partake of his designs.
Upper Class
All of Mr. Moses's works were designed for access to cars. His parks, his roads, and even his bridges were built with a car in mind, and were designed to NEVER allow public transportation.

• Bridges: All of Robert Moses' bridges were designed to be transit inaccessible. A specific requirement was that they NOT be adaptable to add RAIL lines on them.
• Parkways were designed by Robert Moses to be TOO SHORT for public buses. The overpasses over the highway were built too low to accommodate busses.
• The Van Wyck Expressway in Queens was built (deliberately) without a center median lane, because Robert Moses allegedly said, there will never be a rail line that could run down the median to the airport.

Imagine.... if...

1. All of the Robert Moses Highways could accommodate buses.
   
1. All people (even the poor) could have gotten into Jones Beach.
2. All of the Robert Moses roads had space (or included mass transit/Rail tracks)
1. Imagine a new commuter (subway, not commuter rail) transit system that went straight down the Long Island Expressway (L.I.E.).
1. If there was a new mass transit line down the L.I.E. ,imagine how industry and housing on Long Island might have been changed. Instead of a totally commuter based (read Property-over-Taxed) infrastructure, there might actually be substantial manufacturing up and down the entire island.
2. Reverse commuting might have brought thousands of under-employed and underpaid employees to the Long Island area.
3. The industry and problems of the tax base we currently have in the NYC metro area would not be as bad, with a commerical tax base.
2. Imagine a center median Rail line (such as Chicago has) that has a rail line from the airport directly to downtown Boston. If we had such a rail line going down the L.I.E., it could easily have met up and transfered into the Van Wyck Expressway line.
3. Imagine that ALL of New York's (MTA) bridges had a built-in Rail line. Imagine the freight possibilities of cheaper goods, and less trucks into the area.

Essentially, I say that because of Robert Moses myopias, New York has stagnated, and been unable to break out of the "5 boroughs" mode that was set in the early 1900's.

Had he had a true foresight, our entire community and area would have a thriving commercial tax base, and we wouldn't have as much problems with property taxes today.