Hillary Clinton: Even Though I Already Said I'm Running for President, Today I Am Announcing That In Two Weeks I Will Announce I Am Running For President

She'll announce on Roosevelt Island, in New York City, because Democrats no longer pretend to be part of broader America.

They've always been about NYC, San Fran, LA, DC, etc., but in previous bids they would pretend to have a heartland connection; they're no longer bothering with that pretense, and all former Democrat presidents will now settle in Manhattan.

The location: Roosevelt Island in the middle of the East River in New York City.

"Her speech will lay out her view of the challenges facing this country and her vision and ideas for moving the country forward," according to Clinton’s campaign.

It will be hard to escape the symbolism: The island is named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a political giant whose New Deal programs launched a revolution in the relationship between the federal government and American citizens.

FDR's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, became one of history's most influential first ladies, traveling the nation and the world to serve as "the eyes and ears" for her wheelchair-bound husband.

"Throughout her career, Hillary Clinton has been inspired by FDR’s belief that America is stronger when we summon the work and talents of all Americans and has long admired Eleanor Roosevelt as a role model," her campaign said.

Hillary wants to tap into the symbolism represented by Roosevelt Island...?

She should have done more homework. The island was formerly named Welfare Island, due to its use as a place to store lunatics and the incurably sick, as well as criminals.

Through the 19th century, the island housed several hospitals and a prison. In 1828, the City of New York purchased the island for $32,000 (equal to $687,224 in 2014), and four years later, the city erected a penitentiary on the island; the Penitentiary Hospital was built to serve the needs of the prison inmates. By 1839, the New York City Lunatic Asylum opened, including the Octagon Tower, which still stands but as a residential building; it was renovated and reopened in April 2006. The asylum, which was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, at one point held 1,700 inmates, twice its designed capacity. In 1852, a workhouse was built on the island to hold petty violators in 220 cells. The Smallpox Hospital, designed by James Renwick, Jr., opened in 1856, and two years later, the Asylum burned down and was rebuilt on the same site; Penitentiary Hospital was destroyed in the same fire...

By 1895, inmates from the Asylum were being transferred to Ward's Island, and patients from the hospital there were transferred to Blackwell's Island. The Asylum was renamed Metropolitan Hospital. However, the last convicts were not moved off the island until 1935, when the penitentiary on Rikers Island opened.

So, perfect, I think.

posted by Ace at 01:02 PM

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