Brooks Robinson, 1937-2023

Brooks Robinson, arguably the greatest third baseman in the history of Major League Baseball, passed away today. No cause of death was released although his longtime Baltimore Orioles teammate Jim Palmer noted that Robinson had been ill for some time. Robinson was 86.

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Robinson signed with the Orioles right out of high school in 1955 and would make his big-league debut with the team that September. However, Robinson didn't begin to make an impact until 1960 when he won the first of 16 consecutive Gold Gloves at third base. His next closest competition in that department are Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado who each have 10 Gold Gloves at the hot corner. 

Robinson would win the American League MVP in 1964 while finishing third in AL MVP balloting in 1965 and runner up in 1966 behind teammate Frank Robinson en route to the Orioles' first World Series title when they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games. He was a central part of an Orioles team which won three consecutive AL pennants between 1969 and 1971. Of those three years, the O's would only prevail in 1970. But it would be Robinson who almost singlehandedly subdued the upstart Cincinnati Reds hitting .429 with 2 HR and 6 RBIs and vacuuming up anything hit anywhere near him. The Orioles would win the Fall Classic in five games and Robinson would be named World Series MVP.

In all, Robinson would spend his entire 23-year MLB career with the Orioles. While many of his offensive achievements would be supplanted by Cal Ripken, Jr., Robinson finished his career in 1977 with 2,848 hits for a lifetime batting average of .267 with 268 HR and 1357 along with 16 Gold Gloves and 18 AL All-Star appearances. Robinson would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1983 with 92% of the vote. 

While Robinson's passing will cast a pall over the Orioles organization, it will give the team an extra spark. The Orioles have reached the post-season for the first time since 2016 and will likely win the AL East. The O's are seeking to win their first World Series title since 1983, the year Robinson was inducted into Cooperstown. With that, I leave you with his Hall of Fame acceptance speech. R.I.P.

Russia & India Wallow in Delight as Canada & Ukraine Embarrassed Over Salute to Nazi

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky's trip to Canada last week ought to have been triumphant moment for both countries. 

Instead, it has turned into a fiasco. In the midst of Zelensky's address to Canada's House of Commons in Ottawa, Speaker Anthony Rota acknowledged in the gallery a 98-year-old man named Yaroslav Hunka who he described as "a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero."

The problem is that Hunka served in the Waffen-SS during WWII. So Zelensky, Prime Minister Trudeau and every other MP unwittingly gave a Nazi a standing ovation. Earlier today, Rota resigned as Speaker. 

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre blamed Trudeau for the fiasco stating, “Canada’s reputation is broken. This is by far the biggest hit Canada’s diplomatic reputation has ever taken in its history, and it happened under Justin Trudeau, his watch.”

The problem is Poilievre and the Tories applauded Hunka just the same as Liberal MPs as well as MPs from the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois. No one covered themselves in glory. Government House Leader Karina Gould, whose grandparents survived the Holocaust, applauded Hunka too as unknowingly as everyone else who was assembled until Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies brought it to light.

While Canada and Ukraine recoiled in embarrassment, Russia and India wallowed in delight. Of course, Russia has been trying to paint Zelensky, who is Jewish, as a Nazi. Now that Zelensky inadvertently saluted a Ukrainian Nazi, the Russians will be playing that image on state TV with their Republican apologists in the United States amplifying that image for the duration of the war, not to mention Russian online propaganda machine.

As for India, its ire is directed at Canada. It was only last week when Trudeau publicly accused the Indian government of killing a Canadian citizen of Sikh heritage on Canadian soil last year. Needless to say, the Indian press is having a field day with Trudeau over this incident. That doesn't make Trudeau's allegation false, but it certainly complicates matters. 

The fact remains that Russia invaded Ukraine and Ukraine is defending itself with help from the West. No amount of Russian propaganda nor indignation from India against Canada can change this fact.

Why I'm Not Surprised Curt Schilling Harbors Anti-Semitic Views

Yesterday, former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling retweeted an anti-Semitic post on X (formerly known as Twitter) without comment thus indicating agreement and approval.

Schilling retweeted a post from an anti-Semite named Lucas Gage who demanded to know why Jews dominate a nation "when they didn't found (sic) said nation" while claiming Jews "consider themselves separate from all humanity because they're supposedly chosen by God".

I cannot say I'm surprised that Schilling harbors anti-Semitic sentiment. Given all the other conspiracy theories he's embraced over the years, I suppose it was only a matter of time before he embraced the world's oldest conspiracy theory. 

It was Johnny Bench's anti-Semitism which came as a surprise to me. To me, that came out of nowhere. Yet the fact that I am not surprised Schilling would amplify anti-Semitic sentiment online doesn't dissipate my sadness and contempt for someone I publicly said was worthy of inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame irrespective of his politics and still do. 

Curt Schilling was a great baseball pitcher. Curt Schilling is also an awful human being.

David McCallum, 1933-2023

Actor David McCallum passed away today in New York of natural causes. His death comes six days after he turned 90. 

If one is a boomer, then one is likely to best remember McCallum for his portrayal of Ilya Kuryakin in the NBC TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in which he co-starred with Robert Vaughn from 1964-1968. If one is a GenXer, Millennial or younger, then one is most likely to remember McCallum as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on the long running CBS TV series NCIS for the past 20 years. 

McCallum also had roles in movies such as The Great Escape and The Greatest Story Ever Told as well as starring in British TV series such as Colditz and Sapphire & Steel with Joanna Lumley as well as the short-lived NBC TV series The Invisible Man. Some of McCallum's other acting credits include appearances on Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, Marcus Welby: M.D., Night Gallery, Hart to Hart, Murder, She Wrote, Sex and The City and The A-Team where he reunited with Vaughn. An oboist by training, McCallum also recorded four instrumental albums for Capitol Records during the 1960's in collaboration with producer David Axelrod. One of McCallum's compositions, "The Edge" has been sampled by both Dr. Dre and John Legend.

McCallum's son Peter issued this statement:

He was the kindest, coolest, most patient and loving father. He always put family before self. He looked forward to any chance to connect with his grandchildren, and had a unique bond with each of them. He and his youngest grandson, Whit, 9, could often be found in the corner of a room at family parties having deep philosophical conversations.

He was a true renaissance man — he was fascinated by science and culture and would turn those passions into knowledge. For example, he was capable of conducting a symphony orchestra and (if needed) could actually perform an autopsy, based on his decades-long studies for his role on NCIS. 

After returning from the hospital to their apartment, I asked my mother if she was OK before she went to sleep. Her answer was simply, “Yes. But I do wish we had had a chance to grow old together.” She is 79, and dad just turned 90. The honesty in that emotion shows how vibrant their beautiful relationship and daily lives were, and that somehow, even at 90, Daddy never grew old.

Now that is a remarkable tribute for a man who lived a wonderful life, especially from McCallum's widow Katherine Carpenter. McCallum was first married to actress Jill Ireland for a decade. Shortly after divorcing Ireland in 1967, McCallum would marry Carpenter and remain married for 56 years. The fact that Carpenter told her son she wished she had grown old with him tells me they were still very much in love with each other. This cannot be said of most marriages. They were in it until death did them part. R.I.P.

Georgia Governor Kemp Claims President Biden is "Obscene" & "Destroying Our Country" as Trump Calls for General Milley's Execution, Accuses NBC/MSNBC of Treason

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has time and again incurred the wrath of defeated, former President Donald Trump where it concerns the results of the 2020 election in the Peach State.

Yet Kemp will endorse the former President when he becomes the GOP nominee for the third time.

In an interview with Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over the weekend, Kemp said: 

Despite all of that, despite all of his other trials and tribulations, he would still be a lot better than Biden. And the people serving in the administration would be a lot better than Joe Biden.

And it has nothing to do with being a coward. It has everything to do with winning and reversing the ridiculous, obscene positions of Joe Biden and this administration that literally, in a lot of ways, are destroying our country.

On the contrary, it has everything to do with cowardice. Kemp is no different from nearly all the Republican presidential hopefuls who raised their hands and said they would support Trump if he was the nominee at last month's GOP debate in Wisconsin including former Vice-President Mike Pence who if Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol had their way would have been strung up by his neck. A fate which, by the way, Trump thought Pence deserved. So, if Pence is willing to support Trump despite the fact Trump agreed with the mob which he incited to attack the U.S. Capitol, then why should Kemp be any different than any other Republican? Kemp is yet another GOP quisling.

Now that Kemp has given Trump his blessing it is well worth posing these questions.

For starters, how exactly does Kemp think Trump would be a lot better than Biden?

Is Kemp down with executing generals as Trump is with outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley? If this is what Trump thinks ought to happen to the people who serve in his administration, then what makes Kemp think any responsible adult would want to serve in a second Trump Administration? We'll be stuck with the Steve Bannons, Steve Millers, Seb Gorkas, Kash Patels and Corey Lewandowskis of the world. 

Is Kemp on board with claiming TV networks like NBC and MSNBC are engaging in treason because they dare to disagree with the Holy Orange One and refuse to amplify his lies?

Does Kemp think terminating the Constitution is one of the things which makes Trump a lot better than Biden?

In view of the fact that Trump is on public record as being in favor of executing General Milley, accusing NBC and MSNBC of treason and terminating the Constitution, what makes Kemp think President Biden's positions are obscene much less destroying the country?

Governor Kemp cannot answer these questions because his proposition regarding President Biden is predicated on a false premise, and he knows it. Kemp is concerned not with the future of this country, but the future of his career. 

In the words of Liz Cheney at the January 6th hearings in June 2022, "Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain."

In endorsing Trump, Kemp has now adorned the cloak of dishonor and will never be able to take it off.

If Trump Beats Biden in 2024

A great deal is being made of the ABC News/Washington Post poll which has defeated, former President Donald Trump leading President Biden by 10 points because the media likes to make a great deal of things. 

Yet if we look at recent polls done over the same period, this ABC News/Washington Post poll is clearly an outlier as illustrated below via Real Clear Politics.

It is worth noting the sample size for the ABC News/Washington Post poll is much smaller than the other polls conducted over the past couple of weeks or so. If we exclude this poll, all the other polls are in a statistical tie or have either Biden or Trump in the lead within the margin of error of plus or minus 4%. 

Let us also keep in mind that if a week in politics is a lifetime than a year plus is an eternity. President Biden could be re-elected and there would be not a goddamn thing Trump could do about it even if he continues to scream fraud and rigged in all caps. 

We nevertheless must be mindful that notwithstanding the fact that Trump is facing 91 charges in four separate criminal cases and that we have a national unemployment rate of 3.8%, it is certainly more than possible American voters are prepared to give Trump another shot at the White House. 

Should this come pass then it would say as much about the character of the American voter as it does about the character of Trump himself. If the American voter see fits to give Trump another chance, then that tells us the American voter doesn't really care if Trump falsified his business records, carelessly and unlawfully shared top secret war plans on tape, saw fit to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and tried to get state officials to find him votes he never earned. 

It would also tell us the American voters does not care about the low unemployment rate because of inflation despite the fact it has been cut by more than half over the past year. Nevertheless, we have a generation of voters who remember two decades of zero inflation who cannot fathom inflation of 3% much less the double-digit inflation which prevailed in this country in the late 1970's and early 1980's. A vote for Trump would be a reminder that a great many Americans trust Trump more than they trust their own families despite his numerous and ongoing lies. 

Should Donald J. Trump be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025, I am tempted to say that we deserve everything which is coming to us. However, this would be unfair to the generation of younger Americans who have no say in the matter and yet will face the consequences of his retribution every bit as much as the rest of us. 

A second Trump presidency could be constrained by a Democratic controlled House and Senate, but I could easily see a scenario where Trump uses a State of the Union address to suspend the Constitution as a means to purge members of Congress from both parties, the cabinet and Supreme Court and have them tried and executed much as Saddam Hussein did with members of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party after ascending to power in 1979. If this comes to pass, then the American experiment in democracy will have come to a bloody end. 

Although we must prepare for the worst, it is also all too easy to the American voter as it is to underestimate President Biden. While the American voter might have reservations about Biden's age and his performance, it is possible that the American voter could also see that returning Trump to the White House is not a viable option and view Biden as a safer option and give him a second term. 

Of course, Trump would howl but that would be all he could do. It wouldn't mean American democracy was in the clear, but it would mean that the American voter still wants values democracy and wants to live by it.

Will Fanny Finally Get Into The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Now That Jann Wenner Has Been Removed From Its Board?

I don't know what the hell Rolling Stone magazine co-founder Jann Wenner was thinking when he told The New York Times a few days back female musicians were not "articulate enough on this intellectual level" to be included in his book The Masters (which features interviews Wenner did over the years with Bono, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townshend). Nor do I know what he was thinking when given the opportunity to reconsider the comment. Because it was at that point which Wenner grabbed a shovel and started digging:

It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest. You know, Joni (Mitchell) was not a philosopher of rock ’n’ roll. She didn’t, in my mind, meet that test. Not by her work, not by other interviews she did. The people I interviewed were the kind of philosophers of rock.

Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as “masters,” the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level. 

Wenner's statements are reminiscent of the late Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Al Campanis who in April 1987 told Ted Koppel on Nightline that African-Americans didn't have the "necessities" to become managers or general managers. Mind you, one of Campanis' former Dodgers players Dusty Baker last year led the Houston Astros to a World Series title. 

Speaking of last year, there was Ilya Shapiro of Georgetown University's Constitutional Law Center who odiously lamented that President Biden would pick a "lesser black woman" for the U.S. Supreme Court. President Biden would appoint Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Court, a black woman but hardly lesser. 

As you probably know by now, the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Board of Directors has cut ties with Wenner despite his subsequent apology. While there is little doubt Wenner is guilty of racial and gender prejudice, he has also long been someone with a mercurial disposition. In 2007, Wenner manipulated voting in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame ballot to induct hip-hop group Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five despite having fewer votes than British invasion stars Dave Clark Five. Although the DC5 would be inducted the following year following an uproar, lead singer Mike Smith would pass away only days before the ceremony.

Now that Wenner is out of the picture, it would seem that we can look forward to more female and African-American inductees in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in years to come. The question is whether Wenner's removal help Fanny get inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame next year?

Given the inflammatory nature of Wenner's comments, one would think that an all-female band which was the first to release an album on a major record label, was a multiracial band and with members who are LGBTQ would get stronger consideration for induction and that pressure would be put to bear on the board to give Fanny its long overdue recognition as a musical influence. 

But memories are short. With everything going on in this country (much less the world) which will soon turn its attention to the 2024 presidential election, Wenner's comments will likely soon be forgotten or at the very least get lost in the media ecosystem. Notwithstanding Fanny's increased profile online and in social media and with Bobbi Jo Hart's documentary Fanny: The Right to Rock, the group's induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame is far from guaranteed even with Wenner's dubious statements. 

The best Fannynatics can do on our end is to be persistent in getting behind Fanny. Whatever Wenner might think of female musicians, Fanny talked with their music. While it is important to recognize the contributions of female rock 'n roll pioneers as well as those female pioneers who are Asian and identify as LGBTQ, should Fanny be inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame it will be because they rock.

Republicans Are Trying to Impeach President Biden in Bad Faith

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has formally announced impeachment proceedings against President Biden.

This, as with most things Republicans do, is being done entirely in bad faith.

Republicans and their sycophants in the conservative media ecosphere would have us simultaneously believe that Biden is a doddering old man with dementia while at the same time the head of the "Biden crime family". Sorry folks, but no. You can have one or you can have the other. But you cannot have both.

Of course, all of this is brought to you by the folks who decry the weaponization of the federal government who have launched a query to find something, anything to remove President Biden from office. Meanwhile, they look credulously at defeated, former President Trump's conduct while in office. 

It might have been Speaker McCarthy who made the announcement, but it was Marjorie Taylor Greene who was doing the talking. After all, it was Greene who first introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden the day after he was sworn into office. Back in May, Greene introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden concerning his administration's handling of migrant crossings across the U.S.-Mexico border. 

I hate to break it to the Marjorie Taylor Greene's of the world, but policy differences are not "high crimes and misdemeanors" are not grounds for impeachment. And while Biden's son Hunter might have broken the law, it does not mean his sins have been visited upon the President. This too is not grounds for impeachment. On the other hand, threatening to withdraw military aid from a foreign government unless they open an investigation against your political rivals or trying to unlawfully prevent the peaceful transfer of power are grounds for impeachment. 

I think most people recognize that President Biden, even if they are not very fond of him, hasn't done anything which rises (or more accurately sinks) to the level of defeated, former President Trump's conduct. But these inquiries might put in enough doubt that some voters to view Biden to be as morally, ethically and criminally deficient as Trump. 

When it comes right down to it, the whole objective of seeking to impeach President Biden has nothing to do with his actual conduct but to weaken him sufficiently for voters to see fit to return Donald Trump to the White House. Nothing more, nothing less.

From September 11th to January 6th: Rudy Giuliani's Fall From Grace

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. One of the few rays of light coming from the day of darkness was the aplomb of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. His was a voice of both reassurance and righteous outrage. He would soon be dubbed America's Mayor. 

Some thought he should become America's President - myself included. Of course, his 2008 White House bid was a spectacular failure. For my part, I ended up supporting John McCain. But Giuliani still had plenty of goodwill and he could have ridden off into the sunset.

Instead, Giuliani became a stooge for defeated, former President Donald Trump as his personal lawyer and ended up losing his law license in both New York and in D.C. in the process. Giuliani's association with Trump consisted of working behind the scenes to put the screws to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open up an investigation against then former Vice-President Joe Biden resulting in Trump's eventual first impeachment. Giuliani was subsequently heavily involved in trying to overturn the 2020 election both in Georgia and in the events leading up to January 6th up to and including telling Trump's supporters, "Let's have trial by combat." 

Of course, Giuliani is among those charged in the Georgia RICO case and is an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal January 6th case. For bad measure, a federal judge recently issued a default judgment against Giuliani for defaming two Georgia election workers who happen to be an African-American mother and daughter. Giuliani falsely claimed the daughter handed the mother a thumb drive "like they were vials of heroin or cocaine" while dealing a full deck of race cards.

In the midst of all this, there were the farts heard round the world, the press conference in front of a landscaping business next to an adult bookstore and a crematorium as Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, the hair dye running down his cheeks and, of course, then there was Borat's daughter. 

As political strategist Rick Wilson put it, "Everything Trump touches dies." Or in Giuliani's case, we have a painful, steep decline. Mind you, I don't feel sorry for Giuliani. He brought this on himself and made some awful decisions and probably won't stop short of testifying against Trump. Yet Giuliani did some good for New York City and did a great deal of good in the days after the 09/11 attacks. (And there was a time when Giuliani would occasionally call Trump out on his bullshit especially where it concerned 9/11). Sadly, that good has been all but negated by putting Donald Trump ahead of the country. The same could be said for most of the Republican Party. 

Paris Mayor Hidalgo Strips Abbas of Honorary Citizenship For Holocaust Denial; So Why Did She Honor Him In The First Place?

Photo: Dominique Faget/AFP

A couple of days ago, I made the case that Mahmoud Abbas would get away with justifying the Nazis genocide of Jews during WWII because the U.S. needs his blessing for a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

However, Abbas has received a backlash in some quarters. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that she had revoked Abbas' honorary citizenship known as La médaille Grand Vermeil de Paris because he expressed "a clear desire to deny the genocide to which the Jewish populations of Europe were victims at the hands of the Nazi regime." 

Although Hidalgo's actions are to be welcomed, it begs the question as to why she bestowed Abbas with the honor in the first place eight years ago this month in the first place. After all, Abbas has engaged in Holocaust denial going back at least four decades. 

At the very least one could ask why Hidalgo didn't strip Abbas of the honor sooner. Abbas made nearly identical remarks to the ones he made last month more than five years ago.

Is it possible Hidalgo was unaware of Abbas' previous statements? Possibly, but I would bet against it. 

My questions notwithstanding, Hidalgo nevertheless did the right thing today. Abbas' comments minimizing Hitler's efforts to eliminate Jews from the face of the Earth richly deserve scorn and I hope other leaders around the world will follow Hidalgo's example.

Mike Huckabee Says We Can Have Trump or We Can Have Terrorism From Trump Supporters

Former Arkansas Governor and two-time GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is warning Americans to choose Donald Trump or else. 

During his show last night on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), Huckabee claimed President Biden was responsible for defeated, former President Trump's shady business dealings in New York, keeping top secret documents in his home, attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and demand to Georgia officials that they find 11,780 votes. Huckabee then issued an ominous warning:

If these tactics end up working to keep Trump from winning or even running in 2024, it is going to be the last American election that will be decided by ballots rather than bullets.

In other words, if Trump doesn't get his way and return to the White House then his supporters are going to resort to terrorism so as to intimidate voters into supporting Trump. Given that we are less than 72 hours away from the 22nd anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Huckabee's words more closely resemble those of someone who represents al-Qaeda than America. A year ago, I predicted Trump supporters would commit a 9/11 inspired attack against their fellow Americans.

If Huckabee is telling us that elections will be decided by bullets instead of ballots, then this means that Trump supporters will shoot voters they don't like for exercising their G-d given right to vote and election workers who ensure the democratic process is properly and peacefully carried out. In which case, our elections will resemble those that take place in India and Nigeria.

And why? Because Donald Trump thinks this presidency is an entitlement which he owns like one of his properties and the Mike Huckabees of the world are indulging him and his supporters in this delusion. These delusions already caused deaths on January 6, 2021. Given Huckabee's inflammatory and irresponsible statements concerning the use of bullets in future elections, we have likely not seen the worst.

Why Mahmoud Abbas Will Get Away With Saying Hitler Wasn't Motivated By Anti-Semitism

In a speech last month to the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Palestinian Authority "President" Mahmoud Abbas claimed Hitler didn't kill Jews because he was motivated by anti-Semitism, but because of the behavior of Jewish bankers:

They say that Hitler killed the Jews because they were Jews and that Europe hated the Jews because they were Jews. Not true. It was clearly explained that [the Europeans] fought [the Jews] because of their social role, and not their religion,” Abbas said in August. “Several authors wrote about this. Even Karl Marx said this was not true. He said that the enmity was not directed at Judaism as a religion but to Judaism for its social role.

The [Europeans] fought against these people because of their role in society, which had to do with usury, money and so on and so forth.

Mind you most of the 6 million Jews who died under Hitler's watch had absolutely nothing to do with banking or finance. If Hitler's enmity was exclusively towards Jewish financiers, then why round up Jewish children and send them to their deaths? 

What Abbas is doing is justifying Hitler's behavior. For good measure, Abbas also falsely claimed Ashkenazi Jews aren't Semites. In saying this, Abbas is delegitimizing Jewish identity.

And he is going to get away with it.

For starters, Abbas has been getting away with it for years. Abbas pretty much said the same thing more than five years ago when he addressed the Palestinian National Council. While Abbas might claim Hitler wasn't motivated by anti-Semitism, he has no hesitation in comparing Israel to the Nazis as he did at the UN General Assembly last May. In August 2022, Abbas stated on German soil that Israel was responsible for "50 Holocausts". Four decades ago, Abbas wrote a doctoral thesis on alleged collaborations between Zionists and Nazis. 

However, at the moment, the main reason Abbas can get away with claiming Hitler didn't have anti-Semitic motivations is because the Biden Administration needs his blessing for peace talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia to proceed. This is evidenced by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's call to Abbas yesterday as well as U.S. and Palestinian officials traveling to Riyadh presumably to discuss what concessions the Palestinians want from Israel in order for normalization between the two countries to occur. 

Frankly, Mahmoud Abbas could declare that no Jew died at the hands of the Nazis, and it would not affect his standing with the United States or the international community one iota because they need him before he needs them.

3 Simple Reasons Why Elon Musk Should Be Viewed as Anti-Semitic

Elon Musk can say he opposes anti-Semitism "of any kind" until he is blue in the face. His words and deeds suggest otherwise. 

When we look at Musk's jihad against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) there are three simple reasons why he should be viewed as anti-Semitic.

1. Scapegoating a Jewish Organization For His Own Failures

Musk is threatening to sue the ADL for defamation as he claims it is solely responsible for the loss of X's (formerly known as Twitter) ad revenue. ADL is one of the world's most well-known Jewish organizations. When Musk says ADL, he means Jews.

Yet Musk has done a fantastic job of running X into the ground all on his own. In response to Musk's claim that ADL had single-handedly destroyed half of its value, Mike Rothschild replied:

I love the implication that the erratic management, mass layoffs, incoherent moderation, destruction of verification, decimated engineering staff, serial unbanning of racists, and crumbling infrastructure had nothing to do with twitter losing half its value. Nope, just Jews.

Anti-Semitism is nothing new under the sun. But Musk is the world's richest person, and he has the ability and resources to bring anti-Semitism out into broad daylight and give it acceptability, credibility and legitimacy.

2. Emboldening Online Anti-Semitism By Embracing Far-Right Efforts to Ban ADL from X

One example of Musk giving anti-Semitism acceptability, credibility and legitimacy is by embracing an X poll initiated by white supremacists and the far-right at large demanding that ADL be banned from X.

If Musk truly opposed anti-Semitism of any kind, he wouldn't have given the poll his blessing. In fact, he would have condemned it without reservation. But by giving the poll his blessing, Musk is welcoming the contributions of anti-Semites to X while stating that ADL is unwelcome.

If ADL is banned from X, then what makes you think white supremacists will stop there? Today, the ADL. Tomorrow, Hillel, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Simon Wiesenthal Center will find themselves removed from X because of their association with Jews.

If that happens to prominent Jewish organizations, then what of synagogues, Jewish community centers, schools and other non-profits will also soon find themselves unwelcome on X and will be branded with a scarlet letter.

3. Claiming Jews Are To Blame For Anti-Semitism By Drawing Attention To It

Now consider this tweet by Musk himself:

The ADL, because they are so aggressive in their demands to ban social media accounts for even minor infractions, are ironically the biggest generators of anti-Semitism on this platform!

In other words, the Jews are to blame for anti-Semitism by speaking out against it, and we ought to keep our mouths shut. 

By making this claim, Musk effectively absolves responsibility from those who actually harbor hatred towards Jews while giving them a blank check to defame us at every opportunity. 

In such an environment, anti-Semitism would be bound to become mainstream in the United States. And if this comes to pass then pogroms will be sure to follow.

This would be Elon Musk's hateful and ugly legacy.

Gary Wright Has Weaved His Last Dream

Singer, songwriter and keyboardist Gary Wright passed away this morning of Parkinson's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia. He was 80.

Wright was best known for his massive hits "Dream Weaver" and "Love is Alive" which dominated the charts in 1976. 

He started out as a child actor spending two years in the original Broadway production of Fanny with future Brady Bunch matriarch Florence Henderson. 

Wright planned a career in medicine but turned his attention to music while studying in West Germany. After making his way to London, Wright formed Spooky Tooth along with guitarist Luther Grosvenor, drummer Mike Kellie. Greg Ridley on bass and lead singer Mike Harrison. Spooky Tooth released three albums with little commercial success. With Wright's death, Grosvenor is the group's only original surviving member. 

Notwithstanding the lack of commercial success, Wright had built a reputation as a superb pianist and organist with his contributions to George Harrison's All Things Must Pass which led to a lifelong collaboration and friendship with the former Beatle. Wright also played piano on Nilsson's cover of the Badfinger song "Without You".

After reforming Spooky Tooth with a different lineup in 1972 again with little success, Wright's fortunes would change dramatically after signing as a solo artist with Warner Brothers Records. In December 1975, Wright would release The Dream Weaver, a keyboard and synthesizer driven record with no guitars which spawned his two biggest hits "Dream Weaver" and "Love is Alive".

Wright would never attain the commercial success of The Dream Weaver in his subsequent releases over the next five years and would gradually turn his attention to soundtrack work as well as both world and new age music. In this century, Wright would participate in Spooky Tooth reunions and was also part of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band. In 2014, Wright released his autobiography Dream Weaver: Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison. 

Sadly, Wright has weaved his last dream, but the love will remain alive. R.I.P.

Some Thoughts on "Golda" & Golda Meir

Last night, I went to the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge to see Golda starring Helen Mirren as the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.

This film has been greatly maligned for two reasons. First there's the objection to Mirren's casting because she isn't Jewish. To me, this is utterly silly. She's an actress for G-d's sake. Actors and actresses pretend to be all sorts of people. If Cate Blanchett, a non-Jewish woman, can play Bob Dylan, a Jewish man, then why can't Helen Mirren play Golda Meir?

The other reason that Golda has been maligned is because it is fashionable to hate Israel and all things Israeli, past or present, whether it is falsely accusing Israel of committing ethnic cleansing complaining about so-called Whiteness and a myriad of other attacks made in malice and in bad faith. In other words, these people aren't critiquing Golda on its own merits. 

With that said, I have mixed thoughts on Golda. Let me begin with the positive. Mirren turns in a splendid performance as Golda Meir while Liev Schrieber plays former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger with restraint. 

What troubles me about Golda was how the movie focuses narrowly on the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Of course, it is a significant event in Israeli history and would ultimately bring her political career to an end. However, except for a brief exchange with Kissinger discussing how her father protected her and her siblings from Russian pogroms against Jews while she was a child, the viewer doesn't get to know much about Meir herself. 

After all, let's keep in mind, that when Meir became Israel's Prime Minister in 1969, she was only the fourth woman in human history to be elected a head of state or government. The three women who preceded her (Khertek Amyrbitovna Anchimaa-Toka of the Tuvan's People's Republic, Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon/Sri Lanka and Indira Gandhi of India) were parts of political dynasties connected to husbands or fathers who were previously heads of state or government. 

This was not the case with Meir who spent her formative years in the United States in Milwaukee and in Denver where she became exposed to socialism and Zionism. Meir and her husband would move to British Mandated Palestine in the early 1920's where she would become a trade union activist with Histadrut and later became a key figure within the Jewish Agency raising money to encourage Jews to emigrate to British Mandated Palestine. Meir was also one of the signatories of Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948 and would be a key cabinet minister under David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharrett and Levi Eshkol as Minister of Labour and later Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

Although Meir stepped down as Foreign Affairs Minister in 1966 due to poor health, she was chosen to succeed Eshkol as Prime Minister when died suddenly in 1969. Meir would lead the left-wing Alignment movement to win 56 seats that year, the closest Israel has ever come to having an outright majority government in the Knesset. 

The point here is that Meir did things from the 1920's through the 1960's which were not done by women anywhere else in the world. If Golda was a grand biopic which encompassed these events rather than focus exclusively on the Yom Kippur War, then I believe it would have made for a far more compelling movie. Perhaps such an epic will see the light of day. 

But for better or for worse, Golda is about the Yom Kippur War. What also troubles me was in the film's introduction made a point of stating that Meir and Israel's leadership were in a state of hubris. I don't see it that way. Meir was given a conflicting set of facts where it concerned Egypt and Syria's intentions to go to war. An Egyptian asset had told Israel that Egypt and Syria would launch a surprise attack in May 1973 and when this did not come to pass, Israel was less inclined to take the possibility of an attack seriously. Meir made what she thought was the best choice. Of course, it didn't turn about to be the best choice, yet it might very well have been Meir's only choice as the Nixon Administration explicitly warned Israel not to launch a preemptive attack. Kissinger would later tell Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan that had Israel struck first, it would not have received so much as a nail. Presidents and Prime Ministers often don't have the luxury of choosing between good and bad options but rather a series of bad options and which one will cause the least amount of harm. 

Whatever one thinks of Golda Meir's handling of the Yom Kippur War, she was truly a feminist pioneer. But because Meir was Israeli, the Left treats her as a pariah and discards her socialist credentials. And if the Left doesn't have an open mind when it comes to Golda Meir, it certainly does not have an open mind when it comes to Golda.

Jimmy Buffett, R.I.P.

Singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and author Jimmy Buffett passed away yesterday at the age of 76. No cause of death was released. 

Back in May, Buffett was hospitalized in Boston after returning from a trip to the Bahamas for undisclosed reasons. On the Fourth of July weekend, Buffett made a surprise appearance at a waterfront bar in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It turned out to be his final public appearance.

Buffett went from being a struggling musician in the early 1970's to carving himself a niche embracing laid back Caribbean flavored country-folk music for people in pursuit of a good time with hits like "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise". His concerts developed a devoted following of fans known as Parrotheads. Buffett would open a chain of restaurants named after his two most famous songs, wrote several bestselling fiction and nonfiction books and made numerous cameo appearances in movies and TV shows. All of which made Buffett a billionaire. 

Yet I suspect that Buffett would have been a happy man, money or no money. My favorite Buffett song is "Come Monday" which was his first hit back in 1974. In its official video, Buffett notes the video was shot with "no money" and his girlfriend (and future wife) Jane working for free. They are joined by two other women and Buffett looks like he is absolutely having the time of his life. We should all be so fortunate. R.I.P.