One small state-of-the-culture observation on last night….
Shortly after leaving the Hilton, where a gunman attempted to enter the room in which the President, Vice President, several cabinet members, congressmen, dignitaries, business executives, and hundreds of America’s leading journalists were gathered, I went to a bar with a small group of colleagues to touch base, get our bearings, and, ideally, watch the news coverage.
When I lived in Washington a decade ago, bars like this one usually had at least one TV tuned to CNN or Fox News. These TVs were on a hockey game, and no one in the bar seemed aware of what had just taken place mere blocks away. We asked a bartender to change the channel to CNN so we could watch the president’s briefing with captions, which they did. But then, a few minutes later, the bartender said he’d been informed by the manager that the bar had a policy against showing political content, and he’d have to go back to sports.
I tried to imagine what this bar might have looked like on March 30, 1981, an hour or so after Hinckley fired shots at Reagan at the very same hotel. I imagine every television would have been on CNN or the wall-to-wall special coverage on the broadcast networks, and that passers by would have come in to watch, as well.
The media is giving this the ample coverage it deserves. But it’s unnerving how desensitized so many people have become—to shootings, obviously, but also to political violence and the abnormality of the moment.
Maybe I’m wrong, maybe we just picked the wrong bar. But I doubt it. Pew Research recently reported that attention to news in the U.S. has declined across all age groups since 2016, and that young adults (ages 18 to 29) have consistently had the lowest levels. Even as the news itself intensifies—in politics, geopolitics, technology, etc—more and more people seem to be tuning it out.
And I suppose this is how you find yourself in a bar in the nation’s capital, an hour after crouching behind a chair as secret service members evacuate the President of the United States from the room, being told that you’ll have to watch Penguins vs. Flyers.
The Rockets Discover The Pitfalls Of 'Defense First' (@wcgoldberg on the challenge of sticking to principles versus making the ad-hoc adjustments needed to survive) https://t.co/MkCwEi6LMZ
@RedNinetyFour He had a long summer, I think he’s broken down. Shots coming up short, not using his lower body the same way. I bet the back has been bothering him for months
@RedNinetyFour Completely agree. The way teams are bodying Rockets ball handlers will still be an issue with FVV and his size. There seems to be no pathway to score on the Spurs and Thunder in the next decade without a system overhaul
@RedNinetyFour I’m more on the fence about Udoka than ever. I do wonder if a coach has ever turned an offense this broken into a good one. He certainly hasn’t.
@BinkleyHoops Look at Bari’s elbow man. Can we get a shot doctor in with this team to get them consistent? Everyone’s footwork on their 3s was all fucked up last night, even KD
A shady PR firm just contacted me, demanding we take down this factual post about Brian Ferdinand's bankruptcy. So naturally we did a little research.
Be a shame if everyone retweeted.
Bisnow reported that Ferdinand, founder of LuxUrban Hotels (LUXH), filed personal Ch.7 bankruptcy — less than $4.5M in assets vs. $98M+ in debt, $169.69 in the bank, and a $30K/month allowance from dad.
Full article: https://t.co/jEulPVyreS
The court record and public reporting also show:
• Prior SEC settlement and $115K fine for disclosure failures at Liquid Holdings — which also went bankrupt
• Allegedly reported fake hotel deals as signed leases in SEC filings
• Class-action securities fraud lawsuit survived motion to dismiss
• $1.2M NYC fine for 4,300+ illegal short-term rentals — bounced the check
• Hotels shut overnight — workers unpaid 5 weeks, $57K raided from 401(k)s, guests stranded at locked doors
• Company kept booking rooms online at shuttered hotels
• DOJ cited "gross negligence" — Ch.11 → Ch.7 in 37 days
• $123.6M in claims, trustee says "no property appears available to pay creditors"
• Two reputation management firms already listed as creditors in his bankruptcy — and apparently he's hired another one
Case No. 8-25-74635-ast (EDNY) #bankruptcy