Tea and Vitriol

This is an update from my previous blog about the Nicosias' reputedly racist "Juneteenth" party held on July 7. On Tuesday, August 23 Rochester socialites Dr. and Mrs. Nicosia held a press conference to refute charges that they held a racist-themed party at their East Avenue mansion. They said that they wished to set the record straight about that party because the distorted accounts of it caused emotional distress to their family, affected their livelihood and their social position in Rochester. They, and their attorney (who was present) categorically denied that they were racists. They admitted that the party was politically themed, a liberal bashing event that Dr. Nicosia described was for his wife's "idiot friends." Which really wasn't a very smart thing for him to say since he was present at the festivities, although he stated that he had invited no one to the event and was merely "hosting." The descriptions of it can be seen in my previou

Titus Oates was an English clergyman who, in the late 17th Century, claimed that he was privy to a Popish plot to assassinate King Charles II. He accused all sorts of Catholic noblemen and prominent persons, including Charles's queen, Catherine of Braganza, and his brother James, Duke of York (the future King James II), of being in on the plot. While England was virulently anti-Catholic at the time, not too many prominent Protestant politicians really believed Titus but, as they were opposed to Charles in Parliament, allowed Titus to rouse the mob to stick it to the king, which resulted in numerous prominent Catholics fleeing to exile, being imprisoned and even being beheaded. Eventually, Titus's supporters got tired of him, and he spent the remaining twenty years of his life facing spells of imprisonment, being defrocked and dying in 1705, an object of derision to all. Fast forward to the 21st Century in Rochester, New York. Jarrod Jones, a Black Rochester firefighter with 14