Not fake news, though I'd have dropped the "could"

Coming October Attraction

Upcoming revaluation could bring change in Greenwich properties [sic] values

Board of Estimate and Taxation members have said to expect a shift downward in the backcountry while homes in downtown and central Greenwich may grow more valuable.

[Assessor Lauren Elliott] said this week she is not ready to make any declarations.

“The truth is it’s really too early to know for sure what’s going to happen throughout 2020,” Elliott said. “We’re going to know a lot more in the spring and the summer.”

She did allow there has been a trend toward depreciation in the backcountry.

“How much we don’t know yet and what I’m going to do is sit tight and wait until I see sales from the spring and summer,” she said. “I’m always looking at sales for my assessments. I always know statistically where we are because I see homes being sold at 95 percent of value or 90 percent of value. Certain areas and certain districts and neighborhoods stand out as changing a little bit.”

BET Chair Michael Mason said he sees a shift based on what he has heard from Realtors and homeowners and what he has seen of sales data.

“This reval is going to show a change, which it always does,” Mason said. “When the reval hits there is going to be an impact and it will show where people are buying, why they’re paying and what level of services there needs to be around town.”

Jack Kriskey, chair of the town Board of Assessment Appeals, said he too is seeing a shift.

“The deeper you go back in this town the more you have seen values fall,” Kriskey said, citing areas like North Street, Lake Avenue, Round Hill Road and Conyers Farm.

Russell Pruner, a resident and Realtor with Houlihan Lawrence in Riverside, said the trend is not new. It has been unfolding since the 2008 economic downturn, he said.

Greenwich remains an “unbelievable investment,” he said, but people are not buying as big as they used to.

“I think it’s a change in personal tastes,” Pruner said. “It used to be that big is better and now big is just big. People are looking for less than they did in the past in terms of square footage of their houses and property to maintain. It’s more expensive to maintain all of that and it’s taxed more.”

But Carolyn Anderson with Anderson Associates said she doesn’t buy the idea that the backcountry is becoming less valuable. A resident of Northwest Greenwich as well as a local Realtor, she said she “cares deeply about the property values in backcountry” and indicated a lower reval for those homes can be a boost to the market.

“I have spoken with many backcountry residents who look forward to a lower assessment in this upcoming reval,” Anderson said. “For years, the assessed value rarely matched the selling price. Lower taxes will make buyers happy.”

It’s always nice to see Realtors don happy faces and speak of Greenwich real estate remaining an “unbelievable investment” — it’s a reassuring reminder that some things never change in this world, like the used car salesman peddling that old Dodge with a rolled back odometer and promising it was only driven on Sundays, to church. But give Carolyn Anderson credit for admitting that backcountry sales haven’t matched their appraised value “for years”; I’ve been accused by a few agents of single-handedly destroying the value of backcountry homes when in fact I’ve merely reported the disaster. Did anyone blame Herbert Morrison for his live description of the Hindenberg catastrophe? I think not.

So what happens when the tax burden shifts south, to Riverside, Old Greenwich and our shorefront? I’ve heard guestimates that taxes down there may rise as much as 25%, which should elicit a few grumbles. Bob Horton has heard the same number and he has a think piece on the subject in today’s Greenwich Time, with more promised for next week. Bob and I don’t often agree on our politics, but he’s got a good feel for the town. Well worth reading (a reader told me that disabling Java in my browser -”command-comma) knocks down that paper’s cash wall and by golly, he’s right).

Sisters, rise up!

And by the way, Chris Matthews will be dropping by to impregnate you

Mike Pence orders all women to wear new coronavirus-resistant uniforms

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Shortly after being put in charge of taking care of the coronavirus pandemic for the United States, Vice President Mike Pence unveiled a new, coronavirus-resistant uniform for women. The uniform consists of a red robe and white bonnet and is mandatory for all women in the country.

"We can't be too careful here," Pence said as he debuted the uniforms in front of a crowd of horrified reporters. "Every woman in the country must don this red dress thing and white head covering, effective immediately. It's great at preventing both coronavirus and fornication."

"Also, refrain from premarital relations, front hugs, or any public displays of affection outside of marriage," Pence added. He then began to cackle, as he does sometimes.

The first rule when down in a hole is stop digging

The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Golden Shovel Award goes to the inspirer herself

Challenged by Senator Cruz, OCA beclowns herself

The spat began Thursday when Ocasio-Cortez criticized President Donald Trump for putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the task force responding to Coronavirus. Cruz responded by asking the self-proclaimed oracle of science “Three scientific questions:

1. What exactly is a Y chromosome?

2. At what age of gestation does science tell us that an unborn child feels physical pain?”

3. Of the 195 countries on planet Earth, which country produced the greatest total reduction in CO2 emissions in 2019?
   
   

Cortez didn’t answer the questions, she deflected:

“Two double-shots of espresso and a jigger of rum, you achieve … well, something!”

So.

Turns out, “Intel global finalist” was second prize in a high school science fair.

A “multi-year intern for Ted Kenndy was a summer gig for the champion of women and integrity while he was out of action from terminal brain cancer.

A “Former educational director for national organization” turns out to be (per Wikipedia), “an educational director for the 2017 Northeast Collegiate World Series, for the National Hispanic Institute”.

And while a B-level graduate of BU, might have been a significant achievement when John Silber ran the place, it meant nothing by 2011, when OCA received her social promotion. As her own mouth makes so clear, she managed to graduate with a degree in economics while knowing nothing about the subject matter.

And she has yet to answer Cruz’s question.

The media knows exactly what it's doing

Did he really call the coronavirus a hoax? I might, buty what Trump actually said is that the Democrats’ criticism of his administration’s response to Kung Flu is a hoax, a follow-up to their failed Russian collusion hoax. And he’s right, as demonstrated by the post immediately preceding this one, but the Democrat operators with bylines knows that it’s headlines that control, and they're making sure that their headlines serve the purposes of their masters.

Here’s what he said:

Trump told a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, that Democrats want him to fail and argued that steps he has taken so far have kept cases to a minimum and prevented virus deaths in the U.S.   

In response to the hysteria he said: 'A virus that starts in China, bleeds its way into various countries all around the world, doesn't spread widely at all in the United States because of the early actions that myself and my administration took, against a lot of other wishes, and the Democrats' single talking point, and you see it, is that it's Donald Trump's fault.'   

'They tried the impeachment hoax. ... This is their new hoax,' Trump said of Democratic denunciations of his administration's coronavirus response. 

And here’s how the media presented those remarks to its sheeple:

Law Professor Anne Althous has also picked up on this ugly tactic: The Deceptiveness of Politico’s Claim that Trump Called Coronavirus a "Hoax”. Politico, however, went full Daily Mirror and edited his words, rather than merely limiting itself to a deceptive headline.

But it's not politics, it's CRISIS RESPONSE, goddamnit!

Wicked Witch of New Haven, Rosa DeLauro, demands answers, right now!

I’m more sanguine about the Kung Flu mania sweeping the world than our media masters, but maybe I’m wrong to be so. So let’s see how our Democrats are handling the matter; surely they are convinced there’s a doomsday machine up and running and threatening to destroy civilization as we know it. If so, they’d be working with the president and his party to bring a non-partisan attack on the disease, right? I mean, if they really did see a threat, they’d set aside politics for the duration, right? Wrong.

Connecticut’s own, Congressman Rosa DeLauro, rails against Trump

Several House Republicans walked out of a closed-door briefing on the coronavirus by Trump administration health officials after a Democratic chairman railed against the White House response to the crisis.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the leading House health appropriator, kicked off the briefing by criticizing the administration for being disorganized and lacking urgency in its response. Several GOP members started to boo before most Republicans got up and walked out.

"If I wanted to hear the politics of it, I'd read Politico or something, let's be serious," said Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan. Even Democrats were uncomfortable with DeLauro's tirade.

Politico:

[At] least one Democrat also left the briefing irritated. Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), who led the health department under President Bill Clinton, said DeLauro’s diatribe missed the purpose of the meeting.

“No one wanted to hear that, either the Democrats or Republican. We just wanted to hear the substance,” she said.

DeLauro was unapologetic.

As lawmakers transferred to a bigger room to accommodate all the attendees, a visibly frustrated DeLauro told colleagues she didn’t “give a rat’s ass” and about the reaction and that members needed answers from the administration.

“I feel that the issue on resources and current expenditures has been less than adequate and that these are some of the questions that we have to get answered,” she told reporters afterward, and her office later released a transcript of her remarks. “I quite frankly don’t worry about people who may have a concern. I just know that the questions are right.”

Well okay, then, nice to know that there’s a non-partisan group of politicians down there in the swamp looking after our interests and making sure we’re safe. Just for fun, let’s see how their own champion did in the last one of these panics:

Obama sat idle while millions were infected, 1,000 died in the U.S.

Now, let's go to the Wayback Machine. In April of 2009, the H1N1 became a pandemic.

But it wasn't until six months later, October, that then-President Obama declared a public health emergency on what was already a pandemic. By that time, the disease had infected millions of Americans and more than 1,000 people had died in the U.S.

CNN reported at the time:

Since the H1N1 flu pandemic began in April, millions of people in the United States have been infected, at least 20,000 have been hospitalized and more than 1,000 have died, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [emphasis added]

Furthermore, the CDC's Frieden fretted at the time that efforts to create a vaccine had stumbled:

"We are nowhere near where we thought we would be," Frieden said, acknowledging that manufacturing delays have contributed to less vaccine being available than expected. "As public health professionals, vaccination is our strongest tool. Not having enough is frustrating to all of us."

Frieden said that while the way vaccine is manufactured is "tried and true," it's not well-suited for ramping up production during a pandemic because it takes at least six months. The vaccine is produced by growing weakened virus in eggs.

But wait, there's more.

According to Virology Journal, the 2009 H1N1 came into the U.S. from Mexico:

The swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus that appeared in 2009 and was first found in human beings in Mexico, is a reassortant with at least three parents. Six of the genes are closest in sequence to those of H1N2 'triple-reassortant' influenza viruses isolated from pigs in North America around 1999-2000.

Border walls, anyone? No, they’re waacist!

Returning to today:

HOW AUSTRALIA DEFIED THE WHO ON ITS TRAVEL BAN.

Why were the Australians ahead of the world? For a very simple reason. They don’t trust the WHO. The information from multiple international sources is that the WHO is under intense pressure from the Chinese government, and succumbing to it.

The Australian Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, Brendan Murphy, told the NSC that it was medically inexplicable that the WHO hadn’t already declared a global pandemic. It’s politics, in other words.

That’s why Australia had earlier forged ahead of the WHO in declaring the China travel ban, on February 1. It was, again, on the unanimous advice of the AHPPC.

The travel ban was decided immediately after the US made the same call. Beijing instantly lashed both the US and Australia on that occasion – the Chinese Communist Party’s official mouthpiece, People’s Daily, calling it “racist”.

And so, as recently as 5/20/2020, did our Democrats:

So, either the Democrats don’t believe there’s a crisis, and are cynically manipulating this panic for their immediate political advantage, or they do believe it, but just can’t help themselves from being who they are. It’s disgusting either way.

What an unpleasant world Millenials must live in

Carnage in the makeup room

Political free-lancer complains that Chris Matthews, 74, “inappropriately” flirted with her.

MSNBC host Chris Matthews “inappropriately flirted” with a much younger female guest on at least two occasions while she was getting made up to appear on his “Hardball” show, the woman wrote Friday.

During one incident in 2016, Matthews — who’s married to Kathleen Matthews, a former Maryland Democratic Party chairwoman — allegedly “looked over at me in the makeup chair next to him and said, ‘Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet?'” Bassett wrote.

“When I laughed nervously and said nothing, he followed up to the makeup artist. ‘Keep putting makeup on her, I’ll fall in love with her.'”

Another time, Bassett said, Matthews complimented her red dress and asked, “You going out tonight?”

When Bassett replied that she didn’t know, Matthews reportedly told the makeup artist, “Make sure you wipe this off her face after the show. We don’t make her up so some guy at a bar can look at her like this.”

Bassett said that although she’s “pretty sure that behavior doesn’t rise to the level of illegal sexual harassment…it undermined my ability to do my job well.”

“Pretty sure” it wasn’t illegal behavior? “Made her nervous”? An old man tosses a couple of mildly flirtatious compliments to a younger [lesbian, if that matters] woman, and instead of ignoring them or brushing them off, which used to be a social skill anyone, male or female, could effortlessly accomplish, she responds with fear and anger, and loses her ability to do her job? “Nice dress” is now “felt” to be a threat to rip it off and ravish her there, right now, on the dressing room floor? Oh, the poor, poor dear.

Did Matthews cross the line between a mere compliment to sexual harassment? I’m sure he didn’t think he had (I’d say he did, slightly) but this woman saw it differently, and in the new world, subjectivity rules; lawsuit to follow.

This will all sort itself out as the older generation is replaced by the new, and the corporate world will become a cold, sterile workplace where men and women stick to business, goddammit, and never ask or discuss anything that isn’t directly related to the job. The inchoate, seething resentment in the breast of young college students will fade away, and all will be right with the world. Until then, the HR departments will be kept busy, 24-hours a day.

Just four years ago, Mike Pence was ridiculed for his refusal to ever dine, meet or even drive in a car with a woman unless accompanied by a third-party witness. Today, one would be a fool to even hold a door open for a woman, let alone say good morning to her.

Sad.

Ninth Circuit strikes again

Happy days are here again

Blocks Trump’s “Stay in Mexico” program. The knowledge that, if caught, they wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the US but would instead be returned across the border discouraged tens of thousands of would-be migrants from even attempting entry, and as the result, Illegal immigration has dropped to its lowest level in 17 years. Now it’s back to catch and release.

Trump/McConnell can’t reform the Ninth Circuit fast enough.

Don't worry, you can still find them in the news section, where they've been for decades.

gone, but not forgotten

The New York Times is eliminating its daily editorials.

Doesn't leave much hope for when a real crisis hits

Americans strip grocery shelves bare in panic over Kung Flu.

Jesse Colombo, who is a financial analyst in Dallas, tweeted a photo of his emergency food pile, including rice, Spam, freeze-dried foods and beans.   

'I just bought an additional year's worth of food last night. Everyone needs to have a stockpile of food. I wouldn't even touch stocks (or even gold/silver) before having food in these times,' he tweeted, adding he was 'on edge' with everything that was happening in relation to coronavirus and the economy.  

This from a man who passes as a financial advisor.

It’s possible we might have something interesting coming our way, but to me, it looks like a needless global hysteria, whipped up by our “if it bleeds, it leads” media. I’m going out to buy a bunch of green bananas.

Fire sale on Hemlock

Fire at 6 Hemlock Drive today. The house has been listed for quite some time, with current (and, now, probably last) price of $1.750. Owners paid $2.050 for it in 2007, did a remarkable reno job and placed it back up for sale in 2008 at $3.325 million. That didn’t work, so it’s been rented out, off-and-on, since then and, I think, it’s been vacant for some time.