Michael Daly‘s column has to be a put-on. If it’s not, then give him an “F” for fatuous.
In “Let’s make Caroline Kennedy our special envoy to Washington,” the self-serious Daily News scribe fights back his tears about Caroline Kennedy‘s withdrawal from the Senate appointment race and opines:
Maybe our mayor can now make her a kind of special city envoy to Washington in these difficult times ahead.
She will still have a deep connection with our new President, one of whose daughters now sleeps in Caroline’s old room at the White House.
Christ, at least make sure she votes a few times before we make her our “ambassador.”
I’m not attacking the Kennedys or rich people. Ever since Chappaquidick, Teddy Kennedy has worked hard in the trenches as a senator. And Jackie O took on big cultural battles, leading the successful fight to save and restore Grand Central Station.
Now we have a huge crisis on our hands. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers are being fired, and basic social services are being slashed, feeding a downward spiral.
There are a million fires that need to be put out — and I don’t mean the problems faced by Carnegie Hall, which is slashing its schedule and budget. Yes, that’s a shame, but stay away from that “cause,” Princess Caroline.
Do some public service before you’re anointed as our ambassador. If you have celebrity capital (and you do), then start spending it to help goad other rich New Yorkers (and there are still plenty of them) into helping their increasingly desperate fellow residents.
Do something noblesse before we oblige you.
As for Daly, one of his readers, hjo4, said it best in a cranky 7 a.m. post:
For news of other deeds, click on these items…
NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
Bloomberg: ‘Palestinians Sift Gaza’s Rubble After Shelling for Pieces of Former Lives’
N.Y. Post: ‘OBAMA A MAN OF ACTION ON DAY 1: JUGGLES MIDEAST CALLS, FREEZES STAFF PAY AND TOUGHENS ETHICS RULES’
Wall Street Journal: ‘Obama Freezes Top Staff Pay’
President Barack Obama, on a busy first full day in office, announced a wage freeze for top White House staff, waded into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and prepared to issue executive orders Thursday — including one to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year.
He also issued the strictest rules to date on lobbying activities for members of the administration and met with his national security team to begin the process of withdrawing troops from Iraq.
In an unusual moment that was not part of his team’s extensive planning for day one, Mr. Obama also retook the oath of office. That came after Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and then Mr. Obama, spoke one of the words out of order during the swearing in on Tuesday.
N.Y. Daily News: ‘After 24 hours, change is real’
N.Y. Post: ‘CAROLINE’S KAPUT’
N.Y. Daily News: ‘HIL SEAT BLUES’
N.Y. Daily News: ‘Let’s make Caroline Kennedy our special envoy to Washington’
N.Y. Post: ‘SHOT DOGS IN GUN NUT’S APT’
Bloomberg: ‘Avril Lavigne, Radiohead Shift to YouTube as Illegal Downloading Persists’
Crain’s New York Business: ‘Carnegie Hall shrinks schedule, slashes budget’
Vanity Fair: ‘Farewell to All That: An Oral History of the Bush White House’
N.Y. Daily News: ‘MTA kickback susp eyed for shredding evidence’
Bloomberg: ‘Obama Needs “Yes We Can” From Overseas to Help Lead World Out of Recession’
N.Y. Post: ‘SON OF “SCAM” IN YACHT “PLOT”‘
N.Y. Post: ‘KIDDIE CROOK AND SIBS IN SI HORROR HOUSE: COPS’
Vanity Fair: ‘The Ultimate Bubble?’
Bloomberg: ‘Nokia, Intel Slump Hammers Israeli Economy as Cease-Fire Curbs Rocket Risk’
N.Y. Post: ‘ATLANTIC YARDS LOOKS TO $LASH TRANSIT UPGRADE’
Wall Street Journal: ‘China Fourth-Quarter GDP Confirms a Major Slowdown’
Harper’s: ‘Did Bush’s Terrorist Surveillance Program Really Focus on American Journalists?’
Wall Street Journal: ‘Nationalization Fears Grow as U.K. Banks Struggle’
Wall Street Journal: ‘What if Uncle Sam Takes Over Your Bank?’
N.Y. Daily News: ‘Mother of little Adolf: No abuse here’
Wall Street Journal: ‘Parsons Named Citi Chairman’
Wall Street Journal: ‘Crisis Q&A: What “Bank Nationalization” Means For You’
Wall Street Journal: ‘Obama Inauguration Sets Record for Private Jets’
Wall Street Journal: ‘EBay’s Growth Stalls as Shoppers Pull Back’
Wall Street Journal: ‘Even in Test Form, Windows 7 Leaves Vista in the Dust’ (Walter S. Mossberg)
…In my tests, even the beta version of Windows 7 was dramatically faster than Vista at such tasks as starting up the computer, waking it from sleep and launching programs.
And this speed boost wasn’t only apparent in the preconfigured machine from Microsoft, but on my own Sony, which had been a dog using Vista, even after I tried to streamline its software. Of course, these speed gains may be compromised by the computer makers, if they add lots of junky software to the machines. Windows 7 is also likely to run well on much more modest hardware configurations than Vista needed….
Compatibility with hardware and software, which was a problem in Vista, seems far better in Windows 7 — even in the beta. I tried a wide variety of hardware, including printers, Web cams, external hard disks and cameras, and nearly all worked fine.
I also successfully installed and used popular programs from Microsoft’s rivals, such as Mozilla Firefox, Adobe Reader, Apple’s iTunes, and Google’s Picasa. All worked properly, even though none was designed for Windows 7.
Wall Street Journal: ‘More Than X Marks the Spot’
Crain’s New York Business: ‘Hudson Yards could be in jeopardy’
‘Madoff’s Chosen People — What Can and Can’t Be Said Out Loud’
In a provocative HuffPost piece, Larry Gellman writes:
Reuters: ‘Columbia says it lost $3 million tied to Madoff’
CNBC: ‘Former Madoff Accountant Claims He Is a Victim Too’
Bloomberg: ‘Santander’s Madoff Sales Mean “Catastrophe” for Teacher, Vendor’
Banco Santander SA sold Bernard Madoff investments to a teacher and a street vendor, not just to wealthy private banking clients in Spain and Latin America.
Branch managers channeled customers with money from property sales or inheritances to private banking salespeople, lawyers for the investors said.
Bloomberg: ‘Madoff Clients May Recoup More Losses Through Taxes Than Suits’
Bloomberg: ‘Madoff Scandal May Lead to New Rules on Adviser Accountability’