Month: July 2020

Every morning I sit at my desk with my coffee and my cats. Thank God for them.

They said he was the conscience of congress. We’ve lost our conscience, and our heart.

“I want to see young people in America feel the spirit of the 1960s and find a way to get in the way. To find a way to get in trouble. Good trouble, necessary trouble.” I used this quote just because I see this country becoming more and more horrible every day and I do nothing. Yesterday Trump went full-on racist, not making even the least effort to disguise it. I think it’s very important people know Trump’s personal history behind the words he said.

For the past five months I’ve been researching the history of housing desegregation, and the effects of redlining, blockbusting, and the efforts (often violent) to keep people of color out of the suburbs. I focused on 1968 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to present. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is also known as the Fair Housing Act.

Yesterday Trump said this. He’s using the exact same words and logic employed by 20th century racists, and his 20th century racist self. He was talking about the AFFH rule (Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing), which was part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, and was established to prohibit housing discrimination.

“Your home will go down in value and crime rates will rapidly rise,” he said. “Joe Biden and his bosses from the radical left want to significantly multiply what they’re doing now and what will be the end result is you will totally destroy the beautiful suburbs. Suburbia will be no longer as we know it.”

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is something Trump is personally acquainted with. In response to a 1973 Justice Department case against Trump Management for racial discrimination, Donald Trump complained of being forced to “rent to welfare recipients.” Trump Management counter-sued and the case was settled in 1975, requiring Trump Management to provide a list of vacant apartments to the New York Urban League, to train their staff about the Fair Housing Act, and to place ads for two years informing the community that they would be abiding by the Act. He’s probably been stewing about this ever since and now he’s talking about undoing some of the greatest legislation of our lifetimes, something John Lewis would have fought with everything he had.

I should stop playing it safe. I should get in good trouble. Rest in peace, John Lewis.

I went for a long walk yesterday and came across yet another building that had collapsed (partially this time) at 34th and 3rd. There were no injuries, but I just read that a couple of hours later there was a scaffold collapse on 36th! Horribly, someone died in this accident.

As I moved in closer at the 34th Street accident I saw that they were using a drone to assess the damage.

I’ve just hear about Comet Neowise for the first time. Has anyone seen it yet? I’m going to try tonight, but I wonder how visible it will be in the city? Oh! Just read this!

Skywatching is typically a failed endeavor in the immediate NYC Metro Area, as light pollution creates very difficult viewing conditions. Comet Neowise is an exception, however, thanks to its brightness and the time of day at which it is best viewed. Over the next week, Neowise will be visible from the NYC Metro Area at the following times:

9:30pm to 12:30am in the Northwest sky
2:30am until sunrise in the Northeast sky

My morning company. My pandemic partners. Oh God I am so sick to death of the pandemic. I think I need to do something today to get out of this funk I’ve found myself in. Maybe a long walk? Grilled cheddar cheese and french fries?

Composed by Britlin Lee Furst. This will be performed by Britlin’s “Inner Light Choir” of 300+ singers across the globe on September 29th, 2020, also known as World Heart Day.