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The 92nd Street Whine

Monday, December 2, 2002

• TITLE: "92nd Street Whine"

  We discussed recently the notion of the pre-school program of the 92nd Street Y, and its role in the change in the rating of AT&T's stock.

  For years - decades, actually, the center of liberal intellectual thought in the United States has had as its ground zero the section of Manhattan known as the "Upper West Side." The Upper West Side is defined as the area from 59th Street in the south to 100th Street in the north, and from Central Park in the east to the Hudson River in the west.

  The New York Times op-ed pages, the network newscasts, Hollywood scripts, and weekly newsmagazines are written for - or at least to - the people who live in this area. They talk to each other - almost exclusively - and so are certain that everyone believes as they do, or should.

  Implicit in the complaints of Al Gore and Geraldine Ferraro and Tom Daschle are that the Washington Times is now more important to the culture than the New York Times. And that the Fox News Channel is now more important to reporting important news than CBS. And Rush Limbaugh is more important as an analyst of public policy than Bill Moyers.

  Although the 92nd Street Y is on the Upper EAST Side (From Central Park to the East River) it works as a metaphor for the kind of thinking which exists in Uptown Manhattan and, as the recent elections show all too clearly, has a declining influence on the rest of the nation.

• "... NY Observer ..." Here is a link to the New York Observer's interview with Al Gore.

• "... Geraldine Ferraro..." During the segment I referred to her as "Mrs. Ferraro." She finally referred to me as "Galen." I broke in and suggested I had called her "Mrs. Ferraro," and it would be fine for her to call me, "Mr. Galen."

  Under her breath she suggested I call her "Congresswoman." I was about to say, "But no one will ever call you "Vice President," but I didn't because I was afraid the Mullings Director of Standards & Practices might be watching.

• "... NY Times ..." Here is a link to the New York Times' analysis of how Fox News has moved into the mainstream. (Free registration required)

• "... Roger Mudd-Ted Kennedy ..." Before Roger Mudd became a staple on The History Channel, he was a pretty serious reporter/anchor for CBS News. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) decided to challenge incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter for the 1980 Democratic nomination (this was the election in which Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush defeated Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale).

  As part of the run-up to the campaign, Kennedy agreed to sit down with Mr. Mudd for a one-on-one interview. During the course of the interview Mudd asked Kennedy why he wanted to be President. Kennedy could not, in any coherent manner, answer that basic question. That effectively ended Kennedy's campaign even though he didn't quit the race until the Democratic National Convention, thus continuing to sap strength and resources from the Carter re-election campaign.

  Mullfoto of the Day:
  
  These are the actual before-and-after photos of our Thanksgiving turkey.

  It is what you get when you combine a normal number of adults, together with a rapidly growing 14-year-old nephew, and the very healthy appetites of The Lad and a buddy who also works in the White House who, otherwise, would have been a Thanksgiving orphan.

  ---

  
  
  
                                        War II Painting

  The Sea Wall At Utah Beach
  Mitchell Jamieson
  Watercolor June 1944
  [From the U.S. Navy History website]

  "This was the scene at the easternmost of the two American beaches (Utah Beach) at about 3 p.m. on D-Day. The fighting had moved inland, but all along the seawall, which extends a considerable length of the beach, men dug themselves in - hospital corpsmen, beach battalion members, Sea Bees, and anyone whose work was on the beach itself.

  "The beach first aid station was a short way down from here, and the wounded and dead are in the sand in front of the sea wall. The tide was out at this time, and the wounded could not be evacuated back to the ships because of the difficulty in getting landing craft in and out.

  "An enemy artillery battery, located some distance inland from the beach but still in range, sent shells steadily over the Americans, impeding work. An ammunition truck was hit and burned at the beach's far end. A lone LCI unloaded her troops and the men filed across the beach and started inland. In this section beach obstacles were not as formidable as in other areas, and the demolition parties were able to clear the way for landing craft with few losses."

  
  

      Mullings' Catchy Caption of the Day:
  

  
  Here are two versions of the same image as published on the Web yesterday.

  The image on the left was pretty much the way Kerry looked on my television set. The image on the right, fed nine minutes later, appears to have been digitally altered to make him look more tanned and, thus, healthier.

  The cut line for the right hand photo was made stronger in Kerry's behalf, as well.

  (Left hand photo cut line: Senator John Kerry (D-Ma) speaks on the NBC television news program 'Meet the Press,' December 1, 2002 in Washington, DC. Kerry said on Sunday he had taken the first step toward a run for president in 2004, forming an exploratory committee ahead of a formal announcement next spring. Photo by Reuters (Handout) REUTERS/Alex Wong/Meet the Press/NBC NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, MUST BE USED BY DECEMBER 8, 2002
  - Dec 01 12:13 PM ET)

  (Right hand photo cut line: Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) speaks on NBC's 'Meet the Press' during a taping at the NBC studios in Washington, DC., Dec. 1, 2002. Sen. Kerry, a Vietnam veteran and former prosecutor, said he will take his first step on running for president in 2004 by forming an exploratory committee this week. (Photo by Alex Wong/Meet the Press/NBC)
  - Dec 01 12:24 PM ET) ____________________________________________________________________________________