Tea and Vitriol

  Ahh, the good old days of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union! Claiming to be "democratic," the Soviets featured regular "free" elections. Voters were handed ballots that sported the names of various candidates for various offices. All were card-carrying Communists approved of by the party. No other parties were represented. Voters were allowed to "choose" between the same sort of candidates, which fulfilled the theory if not the spirit of Democracy. Sort of like the Democratic Party's stranglehold on politics in the City of Rochester. Most of my European friends and acquaintances are fascinated by this concept of one-party rule in a so-called democracy, since they have a variety of parties representing different points of view that actively participate in the political process, which makes for some very lively election campaigns. It becomes even more amusing to explain what goes on in Rochester's Democratic Primary, which takes place tomorro

And a distance of over 3,000 miles doesn't improve the way it looks, either! I have been spending a lot more time in Europe these days, specifically in Germany. I know that there are certain people in Rochester who are delighted to have me gone, while they don't seem to understand that I find it more refreshing and peaceful to be away from our dying hometown. But then, those people don't seem to understand my extremely low opinion of them. I am long past the point where their opinion means anything to me. Thanks to the internet and instantaneous news reporting, it is easy to keep abreast of what goes on in the world, even about Rochester, New York. Apparently, our city "leaders" are either unaware of that fact or simply don't care how Rochester is perceived across the world. It isn't flattering. When people ask where I am from, I tell them. It is not my job to lie for our city government. That's what City Hall's Communications Department gets paid

For the last several years, the media has been paying a God-awful amount of attention to the British monarchy. Brexit, the collapsing economy, the illegal alien issue, the disintegrating social fabric and the political instability of its ruling elites have all taken rear seats to the antics of the costly and anachronistic House of Windsor.  In the last year, the struggling British taxpayer has been stuck footing the bill to fete the Royal Family three times, spending hundreds of millions of pounds during a time of economic hardship. First, there were the festivities surrounding the "Platinum Jubilee" of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Only the video of the Queen taking tea with Paddington Bear was delightful and heartwarming. It was the least expensive of the lot. That quite wore the Queen out, because in barely four months' time she was dead and then there were ten odd days of activities and rituals leading up to her internment. That wasn't cheap either. Today her son wa

Hereditary monarchy is an anachronism, conceived in the mists of a distant, more primitive and more superstitious past. The British monarchy is the ultimate expression of this concept. To me, it is is completely ludicrous. Based on the conquest of a kingdom by a distant ancestor, his descendants have a "right" to rule over the "little people," with whom they have nothing in common. It is a system of inequality, of superior and inferior classes, with the vast majority of the populace being inferior to the hereditary monarchy and aristocracy, since the whole thing is based on the accident of birth, not intelligence or accomplishments. And all the heirs to the throne have to do is wait around until the monarch dies. That is their only purpose in life, the only thing they were born for. The coronation is the ultimate celebration of the concept of monarchy, the zenith of an enforced period of waiting that the heir to the throne must endure. King Charles III, nearly 75 ye

On Tuesday, April 25 US President, Sloppy Joe Biden, announced that he would be running for re-election in 2024. It was an underwhelming announcement, since he had been saying that he would for weeks now, despite obvious evidence of his increasing senility and impaired motor functions. Rather than make this announcement during a specially summoned press conference, surrounded by members of his family and political supporters, he relied upon a tacky video, previously constructed, to accomplish this. Using stock footage, mostly of the January 6, 2021, clown show in Washington DC, he made outrageous lies and blamed Republicans for all of this country's woes, and that he was running again to "finish the job" he had started. What has been clear to most intelligent observers is that "the job" he was engaged in was the destruction of the United States, both as a world super power and a coherent domestic political entity. His regime has been a frightening example of a g

  The good news is that homicides by gun violence is down in Rochester, New York as compared to last year's figures. So far. There were only seven. So far. Which is less than half of the number of homicides the City of Rochester has seen this year from stabbings and assaults. So far. As of this writing, there have been 34 shooting victims this year who survived. So far. It does not include numerous acts of criminality where victims were threatened by guns but were uninjured. Sort of. Such as car jackings, burglaries, armed robberies. So, what has Mayor Mahweak Evans done to combat gun violence in particular and criminality in general in Rochester, New York? Why, Numbnutz has extended his gun violence "State of Emergency." For the ninth time! In less than a year. Since July 21, 2022. Which will supposedly give Shitty Hall "broad powers to protect life and property," which hasn't worked since he first declared this "State of Emergency" last summer. T

Remember when White entertainers put on blackface to perform in minstrel shows, like Al Jolson did in the original version of "The Jazz Singer?" Or when Fanny Brice ("Funny Girl") recorded "The Man in the Moon is a Coon?" All of this is a part of American entertainment history, reflecting the cultural mores of the time, good or bad. It was considered an offensive portrayal of Black folk to some and has become increasingly viewed as racist by progressive liberals in the 21st century. Even wearing blackface for a masquerade ball or Halloween as a kid now earns the quick condemnation of White politicians, actors and prominent people, even if the attempt was not in mockery of Black folk. In short, even in a high school theatre group, any White person attempting to play the role of  Shakespeare's Othello would be branded as a racist. The tender consciences of progressive liberals has gone to that extreme and taken leave of their senses. On the other hand, d