Thursday, July 5, 2012

Mayor Bloomberg, Jaws, the Black Widow, and the American Dream ***** Mayor Bloomberg opened the traditional July 4th festivities at Coney Island yesterday. He gave an obvious reluctant intro.to the Coney Island (CI) Nathan’s hot dog stuffing contest. Nathan’s gruesome ritual has no redeeming health or cultural qualities. Bloomberg’s nanny instincts in health and obesity issues would normally compel him to ban the hot dog “Circus Smirkus”. But corporate marketing reigns supreme. Bloomberg is, at heart, a corporate plutocrat; and he was not about to denounce Nathan’s hot dogs. July 4th is a day celebrating our country’s declaration of independence. Thomas Jefferson’s declaration states “ that We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” John Adams always thought TJ was a prolific, and good, writer. What a blogger TJ would be today. The winners of the Nathan’s contest were the infamous “Jaws”, who stuffed 65? Dogs into his body within 10 minutes; and the female Black Widow (no racial slur in the name) who took in 48 dogs. If TJ had attended the Nathan’s circus, he would likely tell Jaws and the Black Widow that they have an inalienable right to destroy their health. TJ may also have decided to go on YouTube, which he may have invented at Monticello, in a public service warning to all of us that modern corporate marketing can be hazardous to our health and freedom. As Mass. Senate candidate Eliz. Warren recently said: “And Mitt Romney tells us in his own words that he believes corporations are people. No Mitt, corporations are not people. People have hearts, they have kids, they get jobs, they get sick, they love and they cry and they dance, they live and they die. Learn the difference. And Mitt, learn this. We don’t run this country for corporations, we run it for people.”