Cross Town Thoughts
Watching the Sunday nail-biter with my guys and texting all weekend with J3. The Masters 2019. Doesn’t get any better than this.
After the 9th hole, I kept whispering to Tiger. Think of Daddy & Navy Seals. And. It seemed to work.
A miracle that anyone could comeback from that.
Ken Langone, Home Depot financier and billionaire. Put his name and money behind NYU’s Med School. And. Now has made it tuition free for all students. Something political gridlock could never get done.
Howard Schultz’ Starbucks gives tuition and health care coverage to all including even part-time employees. Better than Obama-care.
What the hell has the government done about mass shootings? Don’t wait for Congress to love its children more than its NRA money. So. The parents of the Sandy Hook victims are bringing legal suits against gun manufacturers for wrongful deaths by their assault products. Like successful litigation of the tobacco industry changed smoking laws.
TTSD is over! No more Trump! Sorry. April Fool’s.
What is true is that Mayor Pete raised over $7m in the first quarter. You’re welcome. And. Michigan State really did beat Duke. I Am Not Charlotte Simmons. And. Texas Tech also made it to the Final Four. And. It’s a bright sunny Spring day. So Yay.
Matt Taibbi compares the lack of press objectivity, integrity and depth of investigative journalism in its failure to shine the light on the ridiculous excuse for the Iraqi War with Russiagate. Broken Record Alert!
“As a purely journalistic failure… WMD was a pimple compared to Russiagate. The sheer scale of the errors and exaggerations this time around dwarfs the last mess. Worse, it’s led to most journalists accepting a radical change in mission. We’ve become sides-choosers, obliterating the concept of the press as an independent institution whose primary role is sorting fact and fiction… WMD damaged our reputation. If we don’t turn things around, this story will destroy it.”
And. What about the press publishing unsubstantiated claims against Brett Kavanaugh by Julie Swetnick client of Michael Avenatti.
Still waiting for The Mueller Report.
Drinking German pilsner outside at The Tavern is the only way to do it. With a spicy chicken flatbread. 
Who is it? And. What is an aperol spritz? 
Tennessee and Michigan State are in Sweet Sixteen. 2 to go.
I was a managing director for a Dutch Bank. ABN AMRO. It was a premier global bank rivaling CitiBank at the time. Not to be confused with Deutsche Bank. Which is German.
ABN had a rule never to do real estate deals. EVER. Deutsche Bank came on the scene in the late 90’s and made the same mistake as the Japanese Banks had done in the ’80’s. Lots of bad high rise bets.
Deutsche got cozy with the biggest real estate loser, giving loans to Trump from each side of its so-called Chinese Wall. Much to its demise.
Last gasps of a long gray if fairly mild winter. In between Saints Days. Patrick and Joseph. Ready for Spring.
Rory went on to win The Players. He’s a good rep of the sport. Even if everyone wished him happy green when he’s orange.
Opined away on Frank Bruni’s column about the college cheating scandal. And. Maureen’s Dowd’s query, Is The Force With Beto?
Why. Every time I flip onto the end of Rachel Ray, she seems to be making mushy slop not even appetizing to a dog.
So it begins. Spring road closures. Gates and tents all over Central Park. St. Patrick’s Day Parade today on Fifth. Half marathon on Sunday.
As usual, lots of talking going on while actual golf is being played somewhere in the background at The Players in Florida. Can Tiger stay on the Island? Brexit brothers Rory and Tommy lead the pack.
And. Trump will run over Beto the Manic Bozo as easily as Johnny & Moira Rose ran over that cat on Schitt’s Creek.
And now. Just in time for St. Patty’s Day. Enter Robert Francis (Beto) O’Rourke. Complete with daddy Patrick Francis issues. A mixed bag background. Lots of oversharing and youthful hijinks. Never quite made a go of small business ventures, yet his mother did. He inherited some wealth from her. Also. Daddy-in-law issues.
Vanity Fair article worth the read.
Born to run? Shades of Obama. Generational newcomer could break through. The darling of the donor class who rail against Trump’s dishonesty yet cheat to get their kids into good schools. So. We’ll see.
Pete Buttigieg. President? Maybe not. But. So far. Best of the lot.
Funny. Smart. Glib. Relatable. Not strident. Talking points-free. Just really … smart. Understands people. Communicates crisply and cleanly. Pragmatic. Yet empathetic. And. Smart. Harvard. Oxford. Rhodes Scholar. Yet. Not a wonky moonbat. Served in Afghanistan. Worked at McKinsey. Mayor of South Bend. More executive experience than most. Say it. Booda-judge. What’s not to love?
Sent him a few bucks. He’s worth supporting.
Side Trek . NYC 