I haven't been able to keep up with too much news in depth, but a few things have been able to make their way through.
Notably, for starters, that Bill O'Reilly was fired from "Fox News." It was his self-serving statement that most-caught my eye, blaming all this on unsubstantiated rumors. Right, never mind the $13 million in payoffs that Fox has made, and the audio tape that surfaced, and the public statements that one woman has recently been making (sorry, her name slips my mind at the moment, and I'm rushing out in a few moments), very outspoken about what she faced. Also, I love O'Reilly's lawyer talking about a liberal conspiracy. If there even was, it would be for getting the news out about the actions, not the fireable actions themselves. And now the rest of the world can tell Mr. O'Reilly in his own adorable words, "Shut up." Also, interesting to see Rep. Jason Caffetz (R-UT) head of the House Ethics Committee (sic) say he wasn't running for re-election -- but even more interesting that he wasn't ruling out running for office another time other than in 2018. It might have been a face-saving thing, or what I suspect is that he wants to run for the Senate, and sees the chance of Republicans (and himself, especially in his "Ethics" position having to deal with Trump -- or not deal him, rather) being vulnerable in 2018. So, get out of that race, and leave him without the mark of a loss on his record. And good to see that the Navy's battleship convoy finally got its coordinates fixed. And so it at last made it on its way properly toward North Korea. (Sigh about that...) Sean Spicer's comments about how this was exactly what the president meant all along was pretty more by his own low standards. More anon...
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The tech event hasn't started yet -- I came here a few days early to make it more of a vacation -- and so I spent another day gallivanting around Lisbon. This morning took us over to Belem on the western seashore coast, to quite an impressive place, the Jeronimos Monastery, built around 1500. Well, started then, the building process went on for a long while. Vasco da Gamma is buried here, and his tomb is in the main cathedral. The courtyard reminded me a bit of the courtyard at Oxford University, which you might recall in the movie, Chariots of Fire when they have their race around the corridors. But to be clear, there was a whole lot more to the impressive edifice than just that. And this here got there first by about 150 years. Afterwards we stopped a block away at a bakery for a mediocre lunch but a great desert which was the point. The place, Pasteis de Belem, which was founded in 1837. They're known for a particular pastry, which other places call "pasteis de nata," but theirs go by the name of the restaurant. It's sort of of a flaky pastry dough cup filled with a creamy custard, though custard is usually thicker or more gelatinous than this. It really was delicious and I understand their looooong reputation. Not for the regular menu though. I had a "chicken spread" sandwich, that I assume was their translation of a chicken salad. Nope, it was literally that -- shredded chicken on bread. They did provide a couple of mayonnaise packets though which helped, sort of. But it was their pastry that made it worthwhile. Even the elves back taking care of the homestead got a bit jealous when I told them about the dish. It turns out that elves love pastries... Afterwards, we wandered nearby to the harbor estuary that leads to the ocean. They have an impressive, modern statue-like structure that's a tribute to mariners and navigators, shaped like a ship's prow. While we were there, a tall ship entered the harbor which was nice to see. And a street singer performed a fairly shaky but sweet rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." (Given that the local name of the city is Lisboa, when I saw this written on the rear of sailboats docked in the harbor, I noted that they were missing a great opportunity, even if would be mixing languages. All one had to do was simply add a "t" and make it a Lisboat.) Then, heading down to where the estuary opens up into the ocean is Belem Tower. It was used in part as a guard sentry for ships entertaining into Lisbon, but probably more in its other function as a prison, though it's not all that big, as far as towers and prisons go. Another very good dinner, this time at Pinoquio's. More fish for me, but with only a touch of cod. I shared a double-paella with two others. I'd been looking for the dish since I got here -- yes, I know it's mainly considered a Spanish dish, but hey, it's the Iberian Peninsula. No fan of squid am I, so that left more of that for the others, but clams, lobster, scampi, shrimp, and...yes, cod, along with very tasty rice. And a terrific, lively waiter who helped make the evening enjoyable, particularly considered our group that kept wanting things moved around in our patio seating, mainly the outdoor heaters. And now back to the hotel, and writing this up, and off to bed. Sorry to see that the Democrat Jon Ossoff didn't get past the 50% mark in the special for Georgia's 6th Congressional seat. It was a long-shot in the very heavily Republican district, but he came extremely close with around 47% (the full numbers aren't in yet). So, there will be a run-off with the next-highest finisher, a Republican. There was another Democrat in the race, but he only got about 1%, so Osoff is still short for the general election on June 20.
Even though already close, it will still be difficult for Democrats to pick up the seat, since the district has long been so Republican. But then, there's clearly Republican dissastisfaction, since Osoff is almost at 50%. if there's any more drop-off from Republican voters, that could push him over since he only seems to need to pick up about 2%. It's possible, but it will be hard. Still, whatever happens in the June election, even if Republicans hold on to the seat, this should be troubling news to Republicans (regardless of what Trump tweeted about how forcing the run-off was a big win for the GOP). This was a very safe, deeply Red state for Republicans, and for a Democrat to end get around 47% of the vote (let alone at least 48% in the general election) shows a profound shift in voter attitudes towards the Trump GOP. It's less than ideal for Democrats to keep coming close, but losing, as they did the other week in Kansas, but one has to remember that these haven't just been Republican seats, but overwhelmingly safe seats, with margins in the last election of up to 30%. In fact, after the Kansas loss, Nate Silver on his 538.com site did an analysis and wrote that if that kind of voter shift held up in the 2018 elections -- even considering that Democrats lost the Kansas race -- it would mean Democrats could win 315 seats and control of the House. The Georgia race would seem to support that. A small group of us hit the roads today, so I was out all day from about 9:30 in the morning until being joined by others mid-day and then a a couple more for dinner and just getting back at 11:30 at night. It was a long day with a lot of walking. We began by heading to the Castle of St. George which is an oddity, built in the 12th century but destroyed in the Earthquake of 1755, and rebuilt though not really used as a castle in the traditional sense. So, although it's a real castle, it's not the actual castle of its origin. Unlike some castles, there are no inside rooms that you really can take a tour of, but instead walk around the convoluted twist of parapets and walkways around the place, with a wonderful of the nearby estuary and surrounding city. Maybe the most interesting attraction of the castle was the period Camera Obscura. I'd never seen one before, and it was absolutely fascinating. Not just for what it is, but seeing the guide operate with it was ropes and levers. A "periscope" is located at the top of the castle, and a mirror reflects the image surrounding the castle down to a large, white concave bowl, and the ropes and levers manipulate what angles are seen and the focus. The remarkable thing is that although it all looks like a color photograph, it's not, and you can see people walking at a distance, and boats moving, as well as cars. Almost more odd than the castle are the incredibly narrow and winding streets of the Alfama District it's in, on the western end of the city up against the waterfront. Many of the streets of Lisbon are narrow, in part because there weren't many cars in Portugal until the 1960s. But in Alfama, being the Old District, it's even more pronounced -- and since the area is especially hilly (even for the Seven Hills of Lisbon), it's quite an adventure getting around. This isn't a back alley. This is a street. And it's what so much of the area is. It's odd passing by stores and restaurants and wondering how and why they got located there, and if any customers can find them -- but they do, and it's a lively district. We stopped for lunch at a nice, little place, with the cafe on one side of the street and its outdoor seating on the other side. It was very tasty, and I tried another of the city's main dish, cod, this time grilled with potatoes. And it confirmed my position that cod just is not my favorite fish. They make it well, though. Oddly, the best part of the dish were the stunningly delicious small roasted potatoes -- and everyone who had them agreed. Soft, with olive oil permeating the inside, they were great. Cable car trams are common in the area, and they aren't for quaint show. Because the streets are so narrow and winding the cable cars are often the best mode of transportation in some parts of the area. It's not like all of Lisbon only has these narrow streets, though they certainly are prominent. But so too are public squares. And the one in the Commercial Center, located in Baixa District that borders Alfama by the estuary, has one of the largest. Lots more walking, including past an interesting iron, standalone two-story elevator built by a student of Gustave Eiffel, and its influence are apparent, though for anyone in Los Angeles it looks a bit like the elevator in the Bradbury Building. The structure has no specific use anymore, other than as a tourist site to head up to its observation deck, but it had been used for getting people up to a second floor in days long past. Then a very good dinner -- at which I did not have cod, but gnocchi with gorganzola sauce. (There's a heavy Italian influence in the city, so I felt justified.) It was a birthday event for one of the group, and took about 2-1/2 hours. Which is why I got back so late. And why I'm going to bed now. The elves who are taking care of the homestead said that as a treat for when I get back, they are going to prepare a dinner for me. I thought that was very thoughtful of them, but then they said it would be poached cod and burst into laughter. That's what we in the know refer to Lisbon here. Got in this morning, which was about 2 AM Los Angeles time. The American Airlines flight was fine -- but then I consider any flight that lands safely and reasonably on time (and this was a bit earl) to be fine. Other than that, it was like a budget airline, not American. The plane seemed like it was built in 1982, and hadn't been upgraded since. I had no music in my seat, they played a movie all night -- which meant it was like a spotlight was shining down from above in the dark, and during meal service I saw a roll fall on the group, the flight attendant pick it up and put it back on the tray. Fortunately, it was for the seat next to me, so I told him, and he put it aside. (Yes, it was wrapped, but the wrapping was now all-covered with dirt and germs.) I got a taxi at the airport and headed off to the Marriott Hotel where we're staying, which is pretty close by. Fortunately, I had done a lot of checking before leaving on the trip because when I got there I said, "This isn't the Marriott." And so it wasn't -- it turns out, the cab driver thought I'd said the "Myriad Hotel"! To his credit, he re-set the meter and we headed off to the right place. Again, thanks to checking things beforehand, I mastered the Metro system and took it to mid-city Well..mastered in only taking it to a location within my comfort zone. And I had a humorous effort trying to get a "Viva" card and ticket in the first place, even with the help of a Metro official. Not only wouldn't it take my credit card -- it wouldn't even take my coins! She tried everything -- this didn't seem to be the first time she'd faced this -- including bouncing the coins off the ground, rubbing it against the glass, scraping it and more. Nothing worked...but eventually it kicked in and all was well. I went the the Calouste Galbunkian Museum, which is interesting and generally pretty good. He was an incredibly wealthy oil magnate who had a massive art collection which he bequeathed to Portugal. Also took a walk to Eduardo VII Park. Nice view --. Then on to a very nice dinner at Laurentia Restaurant, known for its cod -- which is the fish of choice here in Lisbon. I'm not a cod fan, but tried it, and it was a good disk, as far as cod goes. But all the sides were delicious, in particular a local cheese from nearby, azeitao. Delicious, sort of like a pungent brie, and a bit more soft. Very difficult to find the restaurant on the map, since the street almost isn't a street. When you get there, neither end has an entrance. for cars. A car can only get on it by a side street that intersects. And even then, it seems more like a walking mall than street. And cars seem to park wherever they want. Yes, this is a street. I know there are cars there, but that's the only evidence. But then, it seems like Lisbon (sorry, Lisboa) does its best to hide its streets, or at least street name. When it decides to, the street signs are well-hidden, bolted to the side of a building, sort of like Paris. But it seems hit and miss in spotting them. And I have a feeling that all the sidewalks are cobblestone. This is not a complaint, mind you. Nor is most of this. It's a very pretty city, and seems charming at first glance. More on that latter. Others in the group start showing up tomorrow, and the conference starts on Thursday. And now FINALLY off to bed. It's much too late for me, albeit early. It's 11:15 PM here, though 3:15 in the afternoon back in Los Angeles. But I'm running on fumes. I'd have written this early, but...the WiFi has been out in the rooms all evening. Finally, I called the front desk, who said to come to the lobby and use the open WifFi there. So, I got dressed again, headed down, and here we are. And there we go... Bed-time now! The elves taking care of the homestead while I'm a away got a kick out of me being taken to the wrong hotel, but then that's why they're elves... Okay, I made it to the first leg of the trip, which is Philadelphia, and got here with enough time to post something. It was an easy walk for the C-Gates to the A-Gates about 10 minutes, so all's well.
I had an odd experience trying to check-in for my flight online the day before leaving. I got an error message saying that I couldn't check in and had to do so instead at the airport with a Customer Service agent. Surprised by this, as well, I called the airline -- and they were surprised by it, as well. This isn't the odd experience (it turns out to be a normal glitch that they didn't know about on the phone banks, but at the airport they explain you can use the self-service kiosks and don't have to stand in line for a Customer Service agent), but the background. As the phone agent and I tried to figure out why I couldn't check-in online, to no avail, she offered the suggestion that perhaps it's because this is a two-leg flight that first went to Philadelplhia and then on to an international destination in Lisbon. No, I said, that can't be the problem, because I've taken a lot of international flights from Los Angeles and never couldn't check-in online before. There was a pause, and then the airline phone agent lowered her voice almost conspiratorially and said in a near-whisper, "Trump has never been president before." I almost burst out laughing (or crying), sort of shocked that an airline rep would say that with such brutal honesty to an unknown customer. I did chuckle, though, and said "No, that can't be the reason...because I'm trying to leave the country. " She laughed and answered, "Ah, well, then you should be okay." I wrote a year ago about a very good experience I'd had with American Airline customer service over an annoying problem. The short version is that they were having a lot of their flights leave from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, which defeated the purpose of having just bought a TSA PreCheck number since those aren't used at the International Terminal. And so, I've largely stopped flying American and using my AA credit card. I do have a lot of frequent flyer miles on the airline, though, so I flew American on occasion. While at the airport, on a whim I asked about them still flying from the International Terminal. It turns out that there might be good news on the horizon. An agent there said that after May/June they were taking over the desks from Delta -- which would be moving -- and pretty much take over Terminals 4 and 5, which means they will likely ("likely" being the operative word, since he wasn't in on the final decision...) no longer need the extra space and won't be flying from the International Terminal any more. I'll check on that later, but...here's hoping. I had another chance to laugh with the flight. With 20 minutes to go before boarding, they announced that the flight was overbooked and were offering a $500 reimbursement for anyone willing to give up their seat! It doesn't seem to be a problem, since they haven't yet repeated the request. (Which confirms what I noted to a friend the other day, that Delta's really smart move to authorize agents to offer up to $9,950 for bumping someone was a great PR decision, since they'll likely never have to offer more that $1,500, and usually much less.) I'd have considered the $500 offer, except that I have a connecting flight to Lisbon to make. The word from the elves back at the homestead say that all is well there. They've kept the electricity going and haven't blown out any circuits, so things should keep running. That's all for now. The flight to Lisbon boards in about a half-hour. (It's 8:15 PM, Philadelphia time.) I get in to Portugal during mid-morning and most likely will be able to post again tomorrow afternoon (Monday), Los Angeles times. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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