Ferryboat Binghamton

One of the regular sites I pass when I paddle north is the ferryboat Binghamton. It's a retired ferry, former restaurant, national historic place, and now a wreck, just south of Edgewater Marina.

For years, the river folklore was this: It was an old ferry that was retired, used as a restaurant briefly, and then gutted by a fire, laying mortally wounded in the water ever since. That's the basic truth, but the full story is much more interesting.

I culled most of the details from Wikipedia; librarians be forewarned.

The Binghamton was a steam-powered ferry, one of the first roll-on/roll-off style to plough New York Waters. Built in 1905, she was one of six that carried traffic across the water in New York City. SHe was built for the Hoboken Ferry Company, and spent most of her time ferrying passengers from Hoboken to Barclay Street in lower Manhattan.

As alternate methods of crossing the mighty Hudson were developed - the Holland Tunnel, the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln Tunnel - ferry service diminished, and the company ceased ferry operations in 1967. The ferries were put up for sale, and a local developer bought the Binghamton to set up as a restaurant near Edgewater.

Unfortunately those plans did not come to fruition, due to delays and difficulties dredging the berth and getting the boat in position. Therefore, the Binghamton was sold to another developer seeking to turn her into a restaurant, and after some renovations, she operated as such for more than twenty years. In 1982, she was added to the National Resister of Historic Places.

Here is where another interesting story intersects: Nelson G. Gross: state assemblyman, US Attorney, Nixon crony, convicted felon ad, eventually, manager of the Binghamton.

By his late twenties, Gross had obtained a divorce from his first wife, maried a Guggenheim heiress, joined the local Republican Party, and been elected to NJ General Assembly. He supported Nixon in the Republican primary, and following his victory, Gross worked in various government and Party positions until, after losing a run for the Senate and working as an appointee in the State Department, he returned to private practice.

Shortly after Nixon resigned, however, Gross' role in the election of NJ Governor Cahill was investigated, and he was sentenced to two years of prison for, basically, campaign finance fraud, and after serving six months, he was released in 1977, whereupon he  managed a real estate business and the Binghamton restaurant.

In 1997, Gross was kidnapped, taken to the bank to forcibly withdraw money, and then murdered and dumped. Three young men from Washington Heights were convicted of the crime, one of whom had been a busboy at the Binghamton. Two were sentenced to thirty years, while the third got 17 as part of a plea agreement.

Despite his retirement from politics, gross' wife continued to be active in the Party, and she served as a member of the US delegation to the United Nations. His daughter published a memoir about his murder in 2007.

So - yeah. A lot more history than some crappy little ferry falling apart on the river. The Binghamton is over a hundred years old. She was an innovative vessel for the time. She served well as a restaurant, and was touched by a locally notorious political player and, sadly, crime victim. Her colors - the red white and blue - betray a more festive spirit the is belied by her current condition. If anyone can pony up the money to save her and fix her up, I hope they do. Till she succumbs to the elements, she'll always be a pleasant site on the water.

Where I Come From

I asked my mom a few questions about our family recently. A fair amount was me wondering about my grandparents' politics (independent) to when I got one of my teeth capped (because I had some work redone). Some of the information was fascinating, and I think it might be at least interesting to others.

There is a rumor that there is some Indian blood in our family. It would certainly help explain these insanely high cheekbones I have . " It's on the Lassiter side, and I suspect that it is the Martin and or Orange families." So this would go back to my grandmother's grandmother, and clearly too much for me to cash in on tax-free tobacco or casinos.

Also of note? My great-grandmother was widowed at 42 with 9 children. FORTY-TWO. My grandmother divorced in her thirties, with three daughters, and remarried by the time she was my age.

This is all on the heels of some tales I got from my aunt and a cousin recently. My aunt commented on a dress I was wearing, and got to talking about how my grandmother made their dresses for school each year (my aunt hated wearing dresses, but guess what? My mom was the real tomboy in the family).

Here is one that really floored me, though I vaguely recall hearing this before: "They both grew up so poor during the Depression that their families were actually better off during the Depression than they had been in the 20's and before. There had not been much education before that, and it was scattered about. Mother had a grandfather who was a doctor but her mother only completed 3rd grade."

My grandmother was the first (and only) one to go to college. She also learned to fly a plane before she learned how to drive, apparently at the behest of her then-husband.

I'm not sure that the where-you-come-from idea is more important for me than for others, but it is very important, and furthermore important to get it right. A few years ago I realized our family hadn't always been middle class, and I started to look around to realize what I took for granted. This went hand-in-hand with some political awareness, especially as the current economic state was compared to the Depression.

In any case, I thought I'd share.

The Real David Brooks and his Magic Green Jacket

It's official: David Brooks is a Democrat.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/opinion/27brooks.html

&^%@! Politics

So the Republicans have pushed for a change to the Financial Regulatory Reform Bill (or whatever it's called):

Basically, instead of creating a recovery fund formed from money banks pay in, they want to take TARP money and use that as the basis for the fund.

This is after Republicans have erroneously maligned the recovery fund as another "taxpayer bailout". In the original version, it was not - it was formed by a tax (better described as an economic rent) on big banks.

So now, the Republicans are sayings that sure, this fund can be resourced from taxpayer money that has already been allocated - a provisioning that they complained about before, during, and after its use.

Want to bet that Democrats get accused of using taxes to save big banks next election cycle? Want to see the world turned upside down? You will, you betcha.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/business/30regulate.html

Tea in a Tizzy

I'll say up front that I've been skeptical about the Tea Party activists practically since their inception. I've been skeptical about how they were formed, skeptical about their politics, and skeptical about whether they even qualify as a political party. I've debated with a paramour what their fate will be; he's afraid they'll actually gain power, while I've long thought that eventually they will get co-opted.

On this last point, I may be a little less certain. However, after reading this article in the NYT, it's still hard for me to take them seriously as a political party.

A tax code limited to the number of words in the US Constitution? Seriously? Would you like to build a baseball stadium based on the total number of hot dogs sold in the first year of baseball history? The tax code is a tool for the government to encourage and reward behavior, and it applies to citizens and corporations alike. Do you really think you'll have enough room in such a limited document to, say, require corporations to re-invest money in the US instead of parking it off shore? 4500 words is about twenty double-spaced pages. That's not a tax code, that's a term paper. The best you might hope for is tax code haiku.

Divine intervention? At least they're trying to manage this part of it. Did you know that it's possible to be fiscally conservative and not believe in God? Did you know that many people who do believe in God do not believe in divine intervention, at least not in the sense that it is commonly intended?

You want to promote States' Rights? Really? So if a given state enacts strong gun control measures, you won't run up to the Federal level to repeal it? Politically, it makes sense to prefer States' Rights, because then you can make incremental progress. However, every States' Rights proponent I've ever known, liberal and conservative alike, drops that plank as soon as they stop getting what they want at the state level.

The Tea Party is full of symbolic ideas. They are going to collapse if they ever obtain any real power. They do bring up some very valid issues, but they barely have an affirmative platform (until I read this article, I didn't think they had an affirmative platform at all).

So go on Tea Party. Bitch about the government. Bitch about taxes, bitch about the economy. Maybe one day, when you grow up, you'll be able to do a better job, but until then, keep trying.

Article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/us/politics/13tea.html

Depressing News Day

So, in the news lately:

1) Supreme Court affirms corporate donations as "free speech", maintaining the potential for corruption within our political system.

2) Health care reform, already so badly mangled as to be negligible in effect, is now in real danger of not being passed at all.

3) New York's unemployment rate now exceeds the nation's, which is already and a long-time high.

Being an amateur student of history, it's remarkable to live through these times, to look back at similarly divisive debates, and hope that eventually, we'll get ourshit straight. We have to, in order to manage whatever comes next.

My October Symphony

The past three weeks have flown by quickly; even now, I hesitate to take time to blog. I have had a lot of homework to catch up on, as well as activities outside of work and school. Was I really diving in Florida three weeks ago? Seems like much longer ago.

In the meantime, I've been fighting of some ragged thoughts. Friends have asked about my dating life; it's hard not to be defensive - I've been dating, but no fish worth keeping yet. I'm keenly aware of my age as well, even though I know plenty of other women my age who are single, never married. We are not crazy cat ladies (I have an extra layer of defense - no pets in my apartment).

In the meantime, watching the growing liberal backlash against Obama, along with the conservative chorus practically egging them on. For a moderate, it's interesting to watch. What did anyone really think would happen? Most of the isues seized upon by the chattering classes are simple chew toys - politics as usual. The real decisions, the policy-making that will have long-term impact, isn't part of the public debate.

Mentally, I'm already in November - a year on from the Presidential election. There are only three weeks left in October, and then three weeks till I see my parents for Thanksgiving. then, another four to see my sweeties, niece and nephew. By then, the current semester will be over, I'll be halfway on in my degree program, and considering where I want to head to next.

Election Eve

My mother is convinced that Obama is the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln, returned to finish the work that he started in his previous lifetime. Or so says my father. It sounds like my mother, at least, the mother I floated through adolescence with. Leave me unburdened with the sensible questions; I can tell you there are no good answers. Questions like, isn't Obama good enough within characterizing him as the return of a historical figure? Or hey, as long as we believe in reincarnation, who was Abraham Lincoln the reincarnation of?

It's Monday night, the night before the election. I vote in the morning. I like voting; I really do consider it to be a civic duty. While it's tempting to say that this election matters is extremely important - and it is - I'm not sure that elections are ever unimportant. In my own voting lifetime, 1992 seemed like a given, as did 1996, but maybe that's my own ignorance talking. The 2000 election, for all is endgame drama, didn't seem important at all at the time, but certainly was in retrospect. 2004 was the first election I really felt emotionally vested in, and based on those results, I have been withholding myself a bit in this election.

I was a Hilary supporter. For all her flaws (real and perceived) I thought she was the best candidate. I still do. I think Obama ran a better campaign. And let's be clear, I don't think Obama is a bad candidate. I just thought Hilary was better.

On the Republican side, I feel much more strongly about Sarah Palin than I do about John McCain. I can criticize McCain's policies and his campaign just as easily as I might criticize Obama's, but the inclusion of Sarah Palin has got to be the most laugh-out-loud disturbing move that could sway me one way or another. It's easy to say she's stupid, naive, or whatever - if that were all true, then you wouldn't have to worry much about her possible tenure in the White House. I think she is smart, politically savvy, and very focused on achieving the White House. I wouldn't really be concerned otherwise.

In any case, I vote tomorrow morning before going to work. In many ways, my vote doesn't matter; New York is solidly Democratic, so it's a given that Obama will get New York. I have a midterm tomorrow night; after that, it's of to the pub to watch the results with all the other downtown rabble-rousers.

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