Thoughts on The Old Pfizer Building on East 42nd Street

As some of you might know, I worked at the Chrysler Building in New York City for 18 months circa 2018 through 2020 before the COVID pandemic hit.

During my lunch hour, I would often walk around the neighborhood and sometimes I would pass the old Pfizer Building at 235 East 42nd between Third and Second Avenues.

Today, much of the area had to be evacuated because the old Pfizer building was in danger of collapsing as several columns buckled causing floors to cave resulting in a widespread evacuation. 

I was not aware that Pfizer moved to Hudson Yards in 2023. After Pfizer left, plans were put in place to convert the old site into residential apartments with it being joined with another building down the street at 219 East 42nd Street. An additional 19 floors are being added to the latter address. 

To say that this is massive undertaking would be an understatement with very little margin for error. Efforts are being made to stabilize the area.

All things considered, I am amazed there aren't more incidents of these types. Of course, it is quite possible there are these sorts of incidents happen with some regularity, and we are unaware of it. But when things of this nature happen in New York City, it makes the news. I experienced this firsthand with a blackout in July 2019 and a busted water main in January 2020. 

One can only hope the area is safe. However, I suspect that those who can work from home will work from home. For those who have to work in the area, they will tread lightly in and around East 42nd Street.

The Western Journal Tries To Give The Patriot Front a Veneer of Respectability

 

(Cheney Orr: Reuters)

America's 250th anniversary may long be remembered for the image captured by Reuters photographer Cheney Orr of an African American woman who has now been identified as Bernita Bowlding surrounded by members of the Patriot Front, a white supremacist riding the D.C. Metro.

It is an unsettling image. 

Even more unsettling are those who make excuses for these white supremacist groups.

Take a right-wing rag like The Western Journal which posted an article complete with pro-Patriot Front tweets trying to give the group a veneer of respectability. The article highlights posts on X contrasting the Patriot Front with the murder of the Ukrainian refugee named Iryna Zarutska who was stabbed to death on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina last August by an African-American male. 

What the Western Journal doesn't tell you is that the man who took Zarutska's life was found not competent to stand trial last month. Simply put, those who invoke the murder of Zarutska in simply wish to paint African Americans with a broad brush. 

Another tweet from an account called Mostly Peaceful Memes highlighted noted the following:

So a black lady road on a subway with a bunch of “Nazis” and they made sure she had a seat and didn’t harass her in any way? Wow really makes you think

Of course, this assumes that Bowlding boarded the train after the Patriot Front members did so. We don't know if "they made sure she had a seat". And until we hear from Bowlding, we won't know if there was any interaction between them - positive, negative or neutral.

The Western Journal also does not mention that the fact that the Patriot Front viciously assaulted an African American man while hurling racial epithets against him when they marched in Boston's Back Bay on Fourth of July weekend in 2022. Last year, a federal judge awarded Charles Murrell III $2.75 million in civil damages.

In view of these facts, Bowlding or any other African American riding on that subway car with the Patriot Front had grounds to fear for their life. 

There is nothing respectable about the Patriot Front nor those who try to glorify them like The Western Journal.

Hamas Isn't Relinquishing Power in Gaza

Much is being made of Hamas' announcement yesterday that it was dissolving its government in Gaza and turning over authority to NCAG (National Committee for the Administration of Gaza) which is backed both by President Trump's so-called Board of Peace and the UN. 

From where I sit, it is utterly meaningless. For starters, NCAG is based in Cairo and not on the ground in Gaza, a point even Hamas apologists will cede. It can scarcely be called a government in exile.

But even if NCAG were in Gaza, Hamas is still armed and isn't about to give up their arms much less their ability to construct tunnels unless they are forced to do so. NCAG would act at the pleasure of Hamas just as any civilian authority in Lebanon operates at the pleasure of Hezbollah. 

This so-called resignation is cosmetic. Peel off the makeup and you will see Hamas is running the show in Gaza. Dissolving a government isn't the same thing as relinquishing power let alone laying down their arms.

Darrell Jackson Led a More Successful Life After Baseball Helping Others

Former MLB pitcher Darrell Jackson, who pitched parts of five seasons with the Minnesota Twins between 1978 and 1982, passed away on July 5th at the age of 70 of complications of lung cancer.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Jackson played baseball at Locke High School where he was teammates with future Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Ozzie Smith. Jackson would play collegiate baseball at Arizona State pitching in three College World Series and was teammates with the recently departed Bob Horner. 

The Twins long coveted Jackson originally selecting the southpaw right out of high school in the 6th round of the 1973 MLB Draft. Of course, Jackson opted for Arizona State. But the Twins bid their time and selected him again in the 9th round of the 1977 MLB Draft. 

Jackson would make his MLB debut with the Twins the following season and, only his fourth big-league appearance, tossed a complete game 3-hit shutout against the Oakland A's. As it turned out, it would be his only big-league shutout.

For most of his career, Jackson shuttled back and forth between the Twins and the Triple-AAA Toledo Mudhens. Jackson's only full season at the big-league level was in 1980 when he went 9-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 32 appearances (25 starts). By 1981, Jackson developed shoulder troubles and would be out of the big leagues by June 1982. Aside from a brief stint in the Mexican League in 1983, Jackson would never play professional baseball again. In 102 big league appearances (60 starts), Jackson went 20-27 with a 4.38 ERA striking out 229 and walking 186 in 411 innings pitched.

Jackson would have issues with alcohol, drugs, women and money. In a 2022 interview, Jackson admitted he wasn't ready for the big leagues and lacked the discipline and focus of his high school teammates Eddie Murray and Ozzie Smith. 

For Jackson success would come after baseball and after finding religion. He would spend the better part of 40 years helping at risk youth in L.A. running a small non-profit called the 10-20 Club. Jackson would become a pillar of the community. 

From that 2022 interview, Jackson summed up success in this way:

My obituary will hopefully define that success, but today, as we talk right now, I'm a success. I have to live by principles in order to stay sober. We try to do the right thing when nobody is looking.

My success is based on one, not picking up a drink and not getting drunk....I'm more successful now than when I was a pitcher in Minnesota.

Darrell Jackson led a successful life after stepping off the mound and helping others. R.I.P. 

Al Holland Always Wanted The Ball

Former MLB pitcher Al Holland, best known for serving as the closer for the 1983 NL champion Philadelphia Phillies, passed away on the Fourth of July at the age of 73. 

Born and raised in Roanoke, Virginia, Holland attended North Carolina A&T State University, a historically black college, where he played both baseball and football. While attending North Carolina A&T State University, Holland was drafted twice. First by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round of the 1974 MLB draft and then the following year by the San Diego Padres in the 5th round of the MLB draft. However, Holland declined in order to complete his college education.

Holland would sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the summer of 1975 as an amateur free agent at the behest of Branch Rickey III. He would briefly pitch with the Bucs as a September callup during the 1977 season. 

After spending all of the 1978 season with the Pirates Triple-AAA affiliate in Columbus, Holland was sent to the San Francisco Giants in the middle of the following season along with fellow pitchers Fred Breining and Ed Whitson in exchange for then two-time NL batting champion Bill Madlock, journeyman Lenny Randle and pitcher Dave Roberts. The trade would help the Pirates win the 1979 World Series.

As for Holland, it would give him an opportunity to pitch which he earned during the 1980 season after posting a 1.75 ERA in 54 appearances out of the bullpen. Holland would finish 7th in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. 

After two more seasons mainly out of the bullpen with the occasional spot start, the Giants sent Holland along with future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan to the Philadelphia Phillies for future NL Cy Young Award winner Mark Davis and future 20-game winner and Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow. Holland was an integral part of the Wheeze Kids which would win the NL pennant earning 25 saves and a career high 100 strikeouts. Holland would finish 6th in NL Cy Young balloting and 9th in NL MVP balloting. 

In 1984, Holland would save a career high 29 games and earn his only All-Star Team selection as the Phillies would regress to being a .500 team. Early in the 1985 season, the Phillies would send Holland back to the Pirates in exchange for fellow reliever Kent Tekulve. Holland's second tenure in Pittsburgh was marred by his involvement in the Pittsburgh drug trials. By August, the Bucs sent Holland along with fellow southpaw John Candelaria and veteran hitter George Hendrick to the California Angels. 

After accepting a suspension, community service and wage garnishment, Holland would finish his career with the New York Yankees pitching with the Bronx Bombers in the 1986 and 1987 seasons. In 384 career appearances (373 out of the bullpen) over parts of 11 seasons, Holland went 34-30 with a 2.98 ERA saving 78 career games striking out 513 while walking only 232 over 646 innings pitched. 

In a 1985 interview with Baseball Digest, Holland said, “I’ve always said that when I die, I want to have engraved on my tombstone the words: ‘Give me the ball,’”

I have no doubt that Al Holland's family will grant him this wish. R.I.P.

Sure, Now Democrats Want Nothing To Do With Graham Platner

 

Amid a report from a woman who came forward to allege that Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner sexually assaulted her, Democrats are now falling all over themselves trying to rescind their support after backing him with unbridled enthusiasm including California Congressman Ro Khanna who saw fit to travel to Maine to rally on his behalf only a month ago.

Mind you, at the time Khanna endorsed Platner, the so-called oyster farmer had been accused of physical abuse of a former girlfriend. But since she is a Republican, the Ro Khannas of the world didn't really give a shit what Platner did to her.

I can't say I'm surprised that a guy who sports a Nazi tattoo on his chest would physically assault one former girlfriend and then sexually assault another. There was a time where people would have given pause to sporting a Nazi tattoo. Not no more.

Needless to say, I have no sympathy for Maine Democrats who chose to stand with the swastika. Platner, who once said a soldier shot multiple times by the Taliban didn't deserve to live, earned almost quadruple the vote of sitting Governor Janet Mills. Graham Platner is an awful person and Maine Democrats got the candidate they deserved.

As such, I don't think Maine Democrats will want Mills. They want someone who hates Jews who hasn't raped anyone. Swastikas are optional.

McMorrow Drops Out of MI Democratic Senate Primary Leaving Two-Way Race Between Stevens vs. El-Sayed

{Mallory McMorrow (L), Haley Stevens (C) & Abdul El-Sayed (R)}

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow today suspended her bid for the Democratic nomination of the open U.S. Senate seat in the Wolverine State.

This now makes it a two-way race between Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Hamas apologist Abdul El-Sayed. In recent polls, El-Sayed has led Stevens between 2 to 9 points with McMorrow polling in the single digits. McMorrow's suspension might aid Stevens, but this is far from guaranteed.

Given the recent success of virulently anti-Israel candidates like Graham Platner in Maine, a trio of congressional candidates backed by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Melat Kiros unseating longtime Congresswoman Diana DeGette in Colorado last week, one cannot discount the possibility of Democrats nominating El-Sayed. Back in April, El-Sayed made excuses for the terrorist attack on a Michigan synagogue by the brother of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon.

One might think such apologism would deter the voters, but if NY Democrats weren't deterred by Avila Chevalier's attendance at a pro-Hamas gathering the day after the October 7th attacks, then is there any reason to believe Michigan Democrats would behave any differently?

Stevens did get a boost after McMorrow's announcement when Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel endorsed her. But then again endorsements only go so far in this day and age.

As for McMorrow, she did not endorse either candidate but pledged to support the winner. McMorrow, who was once seen as the future of Michigan's Democratic Party after giving a viral speech in which a Republican lawmaker accused her of grooming and sexualizing children, still wants that future and is hedging her bets.

The vote will take place on August 4th.