Roger O Green

The former Cuomosexuals

Ch-ch-ch-changes

My daughter pointed out that after Andrew Cuomo agreed to resign as governor of New York, Trevor Noah was trending on Twitter. Otherwise, I never know what’s trending on Twitter.

The talk show host was being mocked for declaring himself one of the Cuomosexuals in 2020.

“’Never let Trevor Noah forget this,’” the rightwing pundits proclaim when including “a 2020 video of Noah praising the governor for ‘crushing it the most right now’ when it came to his pandemic response…

“While Noah changed his tune since news of the sexual assault allegations and nursing home scandal broke, even posting a celebratory tweet following Cuomo’s resignation, conservatives want to ensure Twitter does not forget the late-night hosts’ initial take.”

Fascinating, he said, in his best Mr. Spock voice

My takeaway here is that, according to these folks, one is not allowed to have an opinion about someone, then to change one’s mind when new circumstances arise or when additional information becomes available.

OK, got it. That is plain stupid. We’re supposed to feel about, say, Bill Cosby in 2018 as we did in 1988?

Many people were comforted by Andrew Cuomo’s daily briefings. They felt that he was attempting to tell them the truth about the coronavirus infection rates, and the latest science, even when it was not particularly good news. This was in drastic contrast with the daily briefings in DC when whatever things Drs. Birx and Fauci et al. said were often countermanded and undermined by their boss.

There were LOTS of Cuomosexuals all over the country, notably the parodist Randy Rainbow. This is explained well in this New Yorker article.

I was recently reading an issue of the magazine The Week from June 2021. The experts suggested that the decline of COVID-19 was on track. No, they did not predict the level of vaccine resistance nor the speed of the delta variant – those two factors being related – so that now mask-wearing indoors is recommended, even among the vaccinated like me.

Changing their minds

It’s also OK to change one’s mind. Back in 2007, Kathy Hochul – pronounced HO-kul – “while serving as the Erie County clerk… threatened to arrest undocumented immigrants who applied for driver’s licenses.” But in recent years, the future New York State governor has supported “the state’s so-called Green Light law.”

Even as President, Barack Obama evolved on the issue of marriage equality. Initially, he opposed same-gender marriage, but his position evolved.

As a person growing up in the church, I’ve seen the changing roles of women, laypersons, and others. The church I attend now only had male ushers, dressed in a certain way, when I was born.

Frankly, people who believe that God, whoever They may be, never changes, so that we need to be doing the same thing, regardless of the needs of the people, make me damn angry.

Movie on TV review: Sneakers

Test driver Tetrault

When the movie Sneakers came out in 1992, I had intended to watch it at the cinema, and for a specific reason. Yet I did not.

But when my daughter was flicking through the channels when we were on vacation at the end of June, there it was. We were introduced to the team led by Robert Redford as Martin Bishop. His company tests the security of banks and other businesses.

His colleagues include Crease (Sidney Poitier), the ex-CIA man with anger issues; Mother (Dan Aykroyd), the conspiracy theory nut who, two decades later, would probably spewing his nonsense on Twitter; Emory (David Strathairn), who’s blind but hears extraordinarily well; and Carl (River Phoenix), a brilliant hacker.

Martin is approached by two NSA guys to steal a newly invented computer decoder. He eventually susses out that his new clients aren’t who they say they are. He ends up asking his ex, Liz (Mary McDonnell) for help.

In many ways, this is a traditional caper movie in the Dirty Dozen/Mission Impossible/Ocean’s 11 traditions. But, in hindsight, it has the veneer of a sociological study about how the world changed – or didn’t – after the Soviet Union broke up.

Before its time?

The movie received 79% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. I do agree with most critics that River Phoenix was underused in the film.

The most interesting negative review is this one from 2001. “But this MacGuffin… it could shut down the Federal Reserve, Air Traffic Control, the National Power Grid. Oh, the power! The sweet, warm, delicious power! With this thing I could, dare I say it, rule the world!

“Gack. How 1992. How so early post-Cold War. Here I am worried about cloned supersheep herding humans for food, and Sneakers wants to get me upset over a few crashed airplanes.”

And that is precisely the type of terrorism that we’re worried about in the past decade or so. Because the technology has nearly caught up with the imagination of the script.

I enjoyed Sneakers and I found it surprisingly relevant. My daughter was occasionally confused because it was tricky figuring out who the good guys were. The final scene, featuring a well-known actor, was played for laughs. The film also stars Ben Kingsley as Cosmo, Martin’s former colleague; Timothy Busfield; and Stephen Tobolowsky.

But the reason I always wanted to see Sneakers is that the late Ernie Tetrault, a long-time anchor of WRGB-TV, Channel 6 in Schenectady, NY played the news anchor; he performed the role credibly.

It was the 4th of August

consult your tax advisor

All of these events took place on the 4th of August. Or maybe one was on the 3rd. I’m retired, so the days blur…

I went to my dentists’ new office, inconveniently (for me) located in Loudonville, which is a suburb of Albany. The previous office was in downtown Albany, which required me to walk one block, take the #10 Western Avenue bus, then walk another block. Getting to the new place involved a bike ride, a bus ride (#125) to avoid the I-90 interchange, then a ride on Osborne Road, which is uphill almost all the way.

Alternatively, one could take the bus to frickin’ Corporate Woods (#737), but it runs at rush hour, but sparsely during the day.

I find the place – I THINK it’s the place, as the signage is unclear – but there’s the familiar receptionist. My dental hygenist took pictures of my teeth, which showed deterioration from the films taken 18 months ago. My former dentist was going to take some ameliorating actions in March or April of 2020, but then COVID. Then he retired. Bottom line, I’m blaming my cavity on the pandemic.

Klyuch is “key” in Russian

My daughter found a pair of keys. A tag from a fitness center less than a mile away was attached to the ring. So I rode my bike over to return them.

At the light, just before my destination, I heard a bunch of motorcycles, colorful, relatively lightweight ones. Four of them to my left in the two lanes, waiting, as I was, for the light.No big deal. But then another rider passed me on the right, and a compatriot rode in front of me then stopped, as the light changed.

I’m more puzzled than nervous. Then another rider flicked their hand, which was apparently a signal to let me pass. Hmm. Another dozen or more rode by me, many of them doing wheelies.

I return the keys to the center, which the guy at the desk, appreciated, and I went home. Should I have been nervous about the bikers? Did I get a pass because I’m an old black man? I dunno.

For the love of money

I’m rich, I tell you, rich! I received this email:

Google Plus Profile Litigation has sent you $2.15 USD.

Note from Google Plus Profile Litigation:

“This is your settlement payment as a Class Member in the Google Plus Profile Litigation, held in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. This settlement payment has been calculated in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement and Order Granting Final Approval of Class Settlement, Awarding Reasonable Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Service Awards; and Entering Final Judgment which are located on the settlement website www.GooglePlusDataLitigation.com.

“If you have questions regarding this payment, you may contact the Settlement Administrator at Info@GooglePlusDataLitigation.com. If your questions are regarding the tax treatment of this distribution, please consult your tax advisor. We cannot provide individual tax advice regarding this distribution.”

Oh, geez. It hadn’t occurred to me the tax implications of this payment, which I received via PayPal. I’d better contact my accountant right away, and sock some money into an escrow account.

Things I’ll never know about dad

a mission

agathales — Les (center), Agatha (right), and presumably other Walkers

My sisters and I long knew the biological father of my dad, Les Green, was someone other than my grandfather, McKinley Green. But what we’ll never know: was he aware of the name of his biological father, Rev. Raymond Cornelius Cone? Did he have any dealings with him whatsoever? I tend to doubt it, but…

And how did he feel about being treated as “illegitimate”? When did he find out? Did he know about the newspaper coverage? My maternal grandmother remembered the stories. Did this affect the way she saw Les Green? They were not fans of each other, which left my mother in the middle of that mess.

One of my sisters suggested that we ask dad about this while he was alive. I was highly resistant in no small part because whatever information that we did know came not from him but from his wife and mother-in-law. I surmised that it was not something he wanted to discuss. I could have been wrong, I suppose.

His maternal grandparents claimed him as their son in the 1930 Census, though the truth had come out in the subsequent decade. As mentioned before, Cone had denied paternity. This was, of course, far before the days of DNA testing that would have proved the minister was a lying son of a…

Did dad know that his mother Agatha, the day after he was born, had taken legal action against RCC? After reading the newspaper clippings from September 1926 through January 1927 in the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin, I’m still unclear precisely what Cone was being charged with. I THINK it was the failure to own up to the paternity, as opposed to assault or rape.

Mission back on

In March 2020, I had planned to go to Broome County Clerk’s office in Binghamton. Reportedly, there are printed volumes with the transcripts of trials of that vintage. But that trip was scuttled because of the COVID outbreak, with that office closed.

It has now reopened. I need to make a pilgrimage to my hometown to copy the record of grandma Agatha’s fierceness. Did dad believe that despite the verdict exonerating Cone, that his mom was telling the truth?

I’ve been working on my time-travel machine. One needs to line up the questions because one doesn’t know how long one can survive sojourning in the past.

Dad died on August 10, 2000.

A lot to say about Governor Andrew Cuomo

59% of New Yorkers say they want Cuomo to resign

My friend Catbird assumes I have a lot to say about Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and the allegations of sexual harassment, and I do. But it’s tricky to write about such a dynamic situation.

There have been legal activities at many levels for a few months. In March, the Assembly began a broad impeachment inquiry. It chugged along slowly, in part because it was examining several scandals involving Cuomo, including his handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic.

But when the 168-page report by the office of state Attorney General Leticia James came out, indicating that he broke several state and federal laws, it acted as an accelerant.

While there was some desire for him to resign months ago, those calls have become louder and broader. The chorus includedng the entire NYS Congressional delegation, several Democratic governors of neighboring states, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and President Joe Biden.

Go away, Andy

A Marist survey last week reported that 59% of New Yorkers, including 52% of Democrats, say they want Cuomo to resign. And “about the same number say the Democratic governor should be impeached and removed if he doesn’t resign. Fewer than one-third of New Yorkers surveyed say” he should serve out his third four-year term.

Check out the Times Union podcast for August 6. Cuomo has until Friday to provide evidence defending against the sexual harassment allegations

” Violated, demeaned, humiliated, a horror movie: Those are some of the words 11 women used to describe how Gov. Andrew Cuomo made them feel when he touched, kissed, or hugged them or asked invasive questions.

“Many of these women who spoke to investigators hired by the New York attorney general’s office were state employees. Others encountered Cuomo in professional settings or at public events.”

I find the women who have spoken publicly to be quite credible. Additionally, it’s fairly clear that he lobbied for an attractive female state trooper to be assigned to his detail, though she didn’t have the requite three years of experience.

Romances

The 63-year-old governor was married to Kerry Kennedy, the seventh child of Ethel and the late Robert Kennedy, from 1990 to 2005. They had three daughters, twins Cara and Mariah, and Michaela. The marriage, according to several sources, including this Vanity Fair piece, was challenging.

The New York Post – not a newspaper of record – ran an article back in April about the split between Cuomo and his significant other from 2005 to 2019, lifestyle personality Sandra Lee. FWIW, the piece suggests that the governor was unfaithful.

It’s a crime

While the AG’s report addressed civil law, it might have empowered one of the women named to file a criminal complaint with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. An assistant to Cuomo, D-N.Y. is listed as “Executive Assistant #1” by the report.

His denial of all actions was pretty much what I expected. In my view, he won’t resign unless he’s impeached by the state Assembly, and maybe not then, despite this Seussian admonition.

Lawmakers in the Assembly could impeach Cuomo with a simple majority vote, and I expect that to happen.

More scandals

I’ll admit that his COVID press conferences in 2020 were often useful, especially in contrast to the blather from other sources. But the pandemic led to other scandals, which theoretically could be folded in as charges. He “appears to have used gubernatorial staff and resources to write his 2020 bestselling book ‘American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.’ That might violate state ethics rules and possibly the Public Officers Law. “

The trial portion after impeachment is cumbersome and rarely used, so Cuomo may take his chances. Here’s what must happen. “A trial would be held in the state Senate, where Democrats are also in the majority.

“If convicted, Cuomo would be removed from office and potentially barred permanently from seeking statewide political office. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would replace him as governor.”

Yes, I voted for him (but not lately)

As I’ve noted, I knew that he was an SOB. That’s why I voted for him in his successful run as NY Attorney General in 2006. I even picked him as governor in 2010, though not in the primaries. But not since, either in the 2014 and 2018 primaries or the general elections.

Someone had asked what did it say about New York, with three of its last governors embroiled in some sort of controversy. Are we competing with Illinois? Eliot Spitzer was also AG before he was governor, then was felled by sex crimes; he resigned.

His replacement, David Patterson’s flaws were far less severe. One of his top aides was involved in an alleged case of domestic abuse into which Patterson attempted to intervene. His chances for election to a full term disappeared.

The only NYS governor to be impeached was William Sulzer was impeached and removed from office in 1913. “The political machine took on a brand new governor, and won.” Curiously, I read a book about Sulzer’s successor Martin H. Glynn.

Yes, I do wish that Andrew Cuomo would resign. But I’m not holding my breath.