brooklynite
brooklynite's JournalAcosta digs a deeper hole
AxiosTrump insiders tell Axios that Labor Secretary Alex Acosta did little to help himself at his high-stakes news conference defending his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida.
The state of play: Trump hates being goaded into action by media outcries, and a source close to the president said there was "zero" chance he fires Acosta right away. "Zero," the source repeated — but allowing for Trump's impetuousness, another close source said: "I wouldn't say zero."
What happened when Brooklyn's oldest nursery school decided to become less old-fashioned?
(I don't have kids; you can't blame me...)
The Cut
When you buy a home in Brooklyn Heights, you aren’t just purchasing real estate, you’re purchasing a lifestyle. The stately townhomes and converted carriage houses, with their window boxes of Algerian ivy winking over splendidly preserved original details — the Grecian columns, the soaring Romanesque windows offering a glimpse of curated furniture — connote a certain level of not just wealth and taste but respectability. These are houses not just for people who have money, but people who have values.
They’re also enormous, which is one reason that, from the 19th-century sea captains with their “great broods of future bankers and fashionable brides” (as Truman Capote put it in his famous essay, “A House on the Heights”) to the “urban, ambitious young couples” with their “Wall Street–whatever careers” that came after, the neighborhood has always been considered “a good place to raise children,” as Capote said.
Capote didn’t have children himself, though if he had, they would likely have attended the Grace Church School on Hicks Street and Grace Court. Located behind a bright-red door adjacent to the landmarked Episcopal church, the school is known as “the oldest preschool in Brooklyn.” And until recently, for as long as anyone in the neighborhood could remember, the school was run by Hope Prosky, who was something of an original fixture herself. Over the course of her 37-year tenure, Prosky gently encouraged generations of Brooklyn Heights children to “expand the cocoon of the little world of home to include and trust in the community.” So familial was the environment that a good number of graduates returned with their own broods to partake in the same whimsical traditions they had as kids: the Japanese Kite festival, the annual Holiday Sing. Of course, New York being New York, many families also left, making room for new families, who paid ever-higher prices for the same handful of properties. But even as the bankers got more bankerly and the wives got more fashionable, the neighborhood remained much the same. Insulated by its status as a historic district, it was unable to grow up, only out, and this Peter Pan quality was part of its charm for transplants from places like Manhattan. To them, Prosky and the fellow teachers at Grace Church — who played “Oh! Susanna” on guitars and dressed up as Pilgrims every year on Thanksgiving — were exemplars of the kind of authenticity they sought in moving to Brooklyn in the first place. “It was this sweet neighborhood school with this kind of loosey-goosey atmosphere,” recalls one.
Then one morning in 2015, one of the school’s 3-year-old charges walked several blocks to her home, surprising her parents, and loosey-goosey started to seem like a liability.
Not long after, Prosky announced her retirement and the rector of the church, which oversees the school, met with the Grace Church School Advisory Board, a volunteer body made up of parents and members of the church, and formed a search committee to find her replacement. Under Prosky, Grace Church had functioned as a “glorified playgroup,” as one parent put it. The children pressed leaves into paper, explored textures, and danced the Wiggle Worm. The atmosphere had often been compared to a “warm bubble bath,” and while this was lovely, there were some who felt the school could turn up the temperature a notch. The ideal director, the board noted in its advertisement, would “embrace our traditions” while being “informed and guided by current research regarding best practice in the 21st century.”
Labour bosses accused of undermining fight against antisemitism
Source: The Guardian
Eight whistleblowers have said how they felt fatally undermined by senior Labour bosses in their attempts to tackle antisemitism, alleging consistent interference in complaints and claiming that one key aide mocked their efforts.
Four of the whistleblowers, including former Labour general secretary Iain McNicol, who left his post last year, have broken non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to come forward.
The Labour party has raised complaints to the highest level at the BBC about the Panorama programme. Former officials allege key aides including Labour’s director of communications, Seumas Milne, and the current general secretary, Jennie Formby, interfered with investigations.
Jeremy Corbyn’s personal email address was also copied into leaked email chains, which former officials allege show interference.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/10/labour-bosses-accused-of-undermining-fight-against-antisemitism-bbc-panorama
This will be brought out publicly on the BBC program PANORAMA starting in five minutes....
Acosta defends Epstein deal, says 'facts are certainly being overlooked'
Source: The Hill
Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on Wednesday defended at length his handling of a 2008 plea deal with wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein and insisted his relationship with President Trump is “outstanding.”
During a news conference, Acosta said he is “pleased” that federal prosecutors in New York City are bringing sex-trafficking charges against Epstein and said “facts are certainly be overlooked” in criticism of the deal he struck.
“Times have changed and coverage of this case has certainly changed,” he said to reporters.
Acosta has faced calls for his resignation for the deal he struck Epstein, which required the financier to plea guilty to soliciting prostitution, register as a sex offender and spend just over a year in jail while enjoying work-release privileges.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/452462-acosta-defends-epstein-deal-says-facts-are-certainly-being-overlooked
Question: Why are all the members of the US Women's Soccer team wearing sunglasses?
They're cool?
or
They were out partying all night?
In victory speech, Megan Rapinoe calls on Americans to 'love more, hate less'
Source: The Hill
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe urged Americans to "love more" and "hate less" in a speech Wednesday during a ticker tape parade celebrating the U.S. women's national team in New York City.
"This is my charge to everyone, we have to be better. We have to love more, hate less. We got to listen more and talk less," Rapinoe told the crowd.
"We got to know that this is everybody’s responsibility, every single person, here every single person who is not here, every single person who doesn't want to be here, every single person who agrees and doesn't agree. It's our responsibility to make this world a better place," she continued.
Rapinoe and her teammates took home their fourth Women's World Cup on Sunday, breaking their own record and defending their championship status. But the team has drawn international recognition not only for its championship record, but also for its calls for equal pay.
Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/452435-in-victory-speech-megan-rapinoe-calls-on-americans-fans-to-love-more
New York governor signs equal pay legislation during the parade
Source: CNN
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo just announced he has signed equity pay legislation in New York state.
He tweeted a photo of himself at today's parade.
"The women's soccer team plays the same game that the men’s soccer players play — only better. If anything, the men should get paid less," he tweeted.
Months before the World Cup kicked off, women's team stars Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn filed a lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation, claiming they deserve to be paid what the American men are paid for their international performances.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/sport/live-news/us-womens-soccer-parade-nyc/h_c53e5a594932648b2c1160e6fae519cd
Donald Trump, without a teleprompter...
https://twitter.com/CillizzaCNN/status/1149014747720945664Third Democratic Presidential Primary Debate to be Held in Houston, Texas on September 12-13, 2019
DNCThird debate on September 12 - 13 in Houston
The debate will air on the ABC television network, on Univision with Spanish translation, and on ABC News Live, the network’s streaming channel. It will be available on the ABCNews.com website and apps, as well as Hulu Live, The Roku Channel, and Facebook Watch, among other outlets.
Additional details on the venue, moderators, communication accessibility, and timing will be announced at a later date.
“The DNC made a wise choice by deciding to come to Houston for their third presidential debate,” said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. “We’re a city that represents what’s best about America. We’re resilient. We’re tough. We always look out for our neighbors. And we never stop working for a brighter future. But those aren’t just Houston values – those are the values of the Democratic Party too. So when the candidates take the stage, I know they’ll show the country what real leadership looks like. And I know they’ll get voters everywhere fired up to run Donald Trump out of the White House once and for all.”
“I’m thrilled that we’ll be hosting the third Democratic primary debate here in the most diverse and dynamic city in the nation,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, “where we build relationships, not walls. When the debate comes to Texas, our party’s candidates will show everyone watching that the Democratic Party has the ideas and ambition that America sorely needs in the White House.”
"Texas is a battleground state, period,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa. “We know that when Texas goes blue, the White House will follow. We are pleased that our partners at the Democratic National Committee have agreed to host the third presidential primary debate here in Texas.
“As the nation’s most diverse city, Houston is the perfect place for the Democratic Party’s third debate. Leaders like Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner have been key to making Houston the world-class city it is today,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez. “Like the people of Texas, our candidates come from all kinds of backgrounds, and are all united by their deeply held values. We’ve seen firsthand in Texas that organizing everywhere through the Texas Democratic Party has led to victories all across the state, including flipping a dozen state House seats and making the state more competitive than it has been in decades. Houston is the perfect place to showcase our candidates so that they can share their vision for a better future for the American people.”
Ursula von der Leyen signals she will not reopen Brexit talks
Source: The Guardian
Ursula von der Leyen, the nominee to lead the European commission, has signalled she will not reopen Brexit talks with the next British prime minister and stressed the “precious” Irish backstop must be defended.
She said she still hoped the UK would remain in the European Union, while indicating she had no intention to renegotiate the withdrawal deal agreed by Theresa May and EU leaders.
“I think it’s a good deal, but it is your responsibility and your noble task to sort this out,” she told a British Liberal Democrat MEP in the European parliament, in her first public comments on Brexit.
In a thinly veiled message to the Tory leadership candidates Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, Von der Leyen said the tone and attitude with which Brexit happens were crucial, adding: “Brexit is not the end of something, Brexit is the beginning of future relations and it’s of absolute importance that we have good cooperation.”
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/10/ursula-von-der-leyen-signals-not-reopen-brexit-talks-backstop
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