Mamdani's Disingenuous Statement on Israel

In an interview yesterday with Jonathan Karl of ABC News, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he could not support Israel as a Jewish state.

Mamdani said he “support[s] the state of Israel as a state with equal rights" but added, "I think any state that privileges one religion over the other is one that I can't tell you I support, whether it be Israel or Saudi Arabia or anywhere else.”

This statement is utterly disingenuous. 

For starters, Karl asked Mamdani if he supported Israel as a Jewish state due to the DSA not supporting a two-state solution. The DSA is not out in the streets objecting to Saudi Arabia as a Muslim state. The same can be said for Iran which DSA characterizes its Islamic regime as "a popular revolution." Needless to say, Israel is far more egalitarian than the Iranian regime which subjugates women and LGBTQ persons and yet DSA refers to Israel's establishment as "Nakba" while supporting "a liberated Palestine from the river to the sea."

Mayor Mamdani, like the DSA, directs his ire to one country in the entire world in both word and deed - Israel. How else does one explain why Mamdani characterizes AIPAC as "monsters" but not Hamas? He, like the DSA, does not support Israel in any way, shape or form. Mamdani and the DSA simply want Israel eliminated from the face of the Earth.

When I Was Contacted by a Mass Murderer

 

This morning I learned of the death of Valery Fabrikant. 

Fabrikant was an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Concordia University in Montreal. He was also an abrasive and paranoid man who had grievances with nearly everyone he encountered be they faculty, staff or students. In August 1992, Fabrikant shot and killed 4 of his fellow professors while wounding a staff member. 

I remember this horrific attack as I was living in Ottawa at the time where I was about to begin my second year as an undergraduate student at Carleton University. 

Fast forward to February 2010 when a similar attack took place at the University of Alabama in Huntsville which claimed the lives of three professors while injuring three other people. Like Fabrikant, Amy Bishop, who had been an assistant professor of biology, was a paranoid woman who had grievances with nearly everyone she encountered be they faculty, staff or students. 

At the time of the incident, I could not help but think of what had occurred at Concordia University nearly 20 years earlier. Indeed, I made a point of writing about it most likely on the blog of The American Spectator where I was contributing articles at the time. 

Alas, I cannot find the substance of what I wrote. But what I do know is that it infuriated Fabrikant because he contacted me in the comments section. As it turned out, Fabrikant's thoughts (such as they were) had been posted online mainly by his son and had been for many years.

How he managed to maintain an internet presence let alone continue to write academic papers I'll never know. Needless to say, I had no desire to correspond with a mass murderer. 

Now that he is gone, I will give him no further thought. Whatever thoughts I have regarding the Concordia University massacre will be with his victims and their families.

Phoivos Ziogas

Matthew Douglass

Michael Hogben

Aaron Jaan Saber

R.I.P.

Celebrating Mel Brooks' 100th Birthday at The Brattle

(YouTube screenshot from CBS Sunday Morning)

Today marks the 100th birthday of actor, comedian, writer, director, producer and all-around mensch Mel Brooks.

In honor of the occasion, I went to the Brattle Theatre both yesterday and today to take in several of his films - Young Frankenstein, History of the World, Part I and The Producers. 

Alas, Blazing Saddles was not part of this retrospective. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention seeing Blazing Saddles in the presence of the man himself in October 2016 when he was a mere lad of 90. At the time, I wrote, "Mel Brooks has lived a full life and yet he has so much more to do." Indeed, Spaceballs: The New One is due to come out in April 2027. Let us hope that he is there for the premiere. 

Until then, here are my thoughts on what I saw yesterday and today.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

The proceedings began yesterday afternoon with Young Frankenstein. I should mention that I saw Young Frankenstein at the Brattle during my Memorial Day Reverie in 2024. Since my last viewing of the film, both Teri Garr and Gene Hackman passed away leaving Brooks the last living link to the film.

There was enthusiastic and uproarious laughter to Young Frankenstein from start to finish. The laughter was spread around all the main cast members - Gene Wilder (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein - That's Frankensteen), Peter Boyle (The Creature), Marty Feldman (Eye-gor), Cloris Leachman (Frau Blücher) (cue the horse sound), Teri Garr (Inga, Frederick's lab assistant and later wife), Kenneth Mars (Inspector Kemp) and Madeline Kahn (Elizabeth, Frederick's fiancée and later the wife of the Creature). An honorable mention goes to Hackman who played a blind man who wishes to befriend The Creature who has unexpectedly come into his home only to cause The Creature one agony after another.

As hilarious as Young Frankenstein is, it remains faithful to the story crafted by Mary Shelley more than two centuries ago while also using some props created by Kenneth Strickfaden which were part of the original Frankenstein movie from 1931. As I noted in my previous dispatch on Young Frankenstein, the intro music produced by John Morris is melancholic. While it is among the funniest films ever committed to celluloid, Mel Brooks made it with the utmost care and seriousness. 

History of the World, Part I (1981)

This was the second half of the Saturday afternoon double feature with Young Frankenstein. I first saw History of the World, Part I 40 years ago during a Canadian Jewish Congress sponsored camping weekend outside Peterborough, Ontario. It was the same program which would culminate in my only trip to Israel two years later.

To give you an idea how well received History of the World, Part I was received, we watched it on two consecutive nights, and the second viewing was just as funny as the first. Early in the film there is a depiction of Sid Caesar dropping a stone on a young man's foot and he reacts by wailing. Immediately after this scene I exclaimed, "And this is how heavy metal was invented," to a big laugh. It was one of the first times I ever remember people laughing with me than at me. So, I did it again the following night. They laughed with me again.

History of the World, Part I was also popular in the Goldstein household. The film culminates with the early days of the French Revolution. In this vignette, Mel Brooks portrays both Louis XVI and Jacques, the piss boy. In the years which followed, if I ever found myself in an undignified position in a work setting, I would tell my family that I was the "piss boy". During my unpleasant two months with soon-to-be UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, I referred to myself as the "parliamentary piss boy".

Needless to say, History of the World, Part I holds a special place in my heart. Yet I was disappointed by the audience reaction to this film compared with both Young Frankenstein and The Producers. Perhaps they were uncomfortable with Dom DeLuise uttering "faggot" during his portrayal of Emperor Nero in the Roman Empire vignette. Or maybe they didn't like it when Mel Brooks would say "It's good to be the king!" after Louis XVI would make advances at various young, well-endowed women. 

I must admit that in a world of resurgent anti-Semitism, I did feel a tad uneasy with the musical number during the Spanish Inquisition sequence. There is always the risk of minimizing the suffering Jews endured. On the other hand, our ability to laugh even in the darkest of times has helped ensure our survival. 

Of course, certain actors will get a warm reception no matter what. In the case of History of the World, Part I this would apply to both Madeline Kahn as Empress Nympho during the Roman Empire skit and Harvey Korman as the Count de Monet (a.k.a. Count the Money) in the French Revolution skit. 

I suspect that most people prefer both Young Frankenstein and The Producers in higher regard than History of the World, Part I. But for me, History of the World, Part I is second only to Blazing Saddles amongst Mel Brooks' filmography.

The Producers (1967)

Fast forward to today which marked the first time I had seen The Producers in almost 25 years. I previously viewed it at the Harvard Film Archive which is situated less than a mile away from The Brattle. At the time I saw the film at the Harvard Film Archive, it had been revived on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick playing Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, respectively. The Broadway production of The Producers would win 12 Tony Awards. Of course, Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder would play these roles in the film version.

Aside from the film's basic plot, I did not remember much of the actual story. The one thing I clearly remember from that screening was how big a reception Gene Wilder got when he showed up on the silver screen. Today wasn't that much different. There is simply something about Wilder's manic charisma which transcends generations. 

The film's basic plot has Bloom, a young high-strung accountant, join forces with failed Broadway producer Bialystock to produce a Broadway flop as they are convinced it will make them more money than a hit. In order to guarantee this outcome, they produce the most offensive play they can find - "Springtime for Hitler" written by an ex-Nazi soldier Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars). Bialystock and Bloom's plan backfires when "Springtime for Hitler" becomes a hit after L.S.D. (Dick Shawn) portrays Hitler as a stoner. 

As with the Spanish Inquisition scene in History of the World, Part I, I do have some unease with "Springtime for Hitler". Yes, Brooks is mocking the Nazis just as he mocked racism in Blazing Saddles and anti-Semitism in History of the World, Part I. Yet what struck me was Franz Liebkind's monologue comparing Hitler and Churchill:

Nobody ever said a bad word about Winston Churchill, did they? No! "Win with Winnie!" Churchill! With his cigars. With his brandy. And his rotten painting, rotten! Hitler, there was a painter. He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon! Two coats!

This monologue is as funny now as it was nearly 60 years ago. The difference now is that there is a critical mass of people who believe Churchill was the bad guy in WWII and this narrative is being legitimized by the likes of Tucker Carlson. 

Don't get me wrong. The Producers is a funny film. I'm only afraid of those who view the Nazis as the good guys having the last laugh.

Whatever my fears, Mostel, Wilder, Mars and Shawn deliver manic performances which continue to evoke manic laughter. The foundation of these manic performances was Mel Brooks' screenplay which would earn him an Oscar.

Epilogue

It is delightful that Mel Brooks made it to 100. Perhaps he will live long enough to become the 2,000-Year-Old Man after all. G-d willing!!!

"What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?" Shows David Clayton-Thomas at the Height of His Powers

 

I have been on something of a Blood, Sweat & Tears kick since the passing of its former lead singer, David Clayton-Thomas, earlier this week.

Truth be told, though, I have been listening to Blood, Sweat & Tears for as long as I can remember. The group's eponymous second album which represented Clayton-Thomas' debut with the group is among the first albums I ever remember listening to as a child. Dad told me how I would bounce around the room when I heard "Smiling Phases". That album would spawn three Top 5 singles - "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Spinning Wheel" along with "And When I Die" and would best The Beatles' "Abbey Road" to win the Grammy for Album of the Year for producer James William Guercio who would also produce the likes of The Buckinghams, Chicago and Moondog.

Yet I needed something more by which to remember Clayton-Thomas. When I saw that the 2023 documentary What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? was available for viewing on YouTube, I leapt at the chance to see it. Directed by John Scheinfeld, What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? tells the story of their 1970 tour of the former Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland and how it would lead to the group's decline. I only wish I had saw it in a movie theatre to get the full glory of the sights and sounds.

When Blood, Sweat & Tears played in the Soviet bloc, they were the first rock 'n roll group to play behind the Iron Curtain. However, this was a tour that Blood, Sweat & Tears had no desire to embark upon but did so under duress. The reason for this duress was that Clayton-Thomas had been arrested for an alleged assault and faced revocation of his Green Card as he was a British born Canadian citizen. To make matters worse, Clayton-Thomas had a criminal record as a juvenile growing up in Toronto.

In an effort to prevent Clayton-Thomas' deportation, their manager Larry Goldblatt made a secret deal with the U.S. State Department. In exchange for Clayton-Thomas to remain in the U.S. they would partake in this cultural exchange. Less than a year earlier, President Nixon had visited Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu in an effort to promote detente. However, several of the group's members particularly guitarist and occasional lead singer Steve Katz were strong critics of not only the Nixon Administration but their escalation of the Vietnam War and thus felt uneasy about their involvement. But for the sake of Clayton-Thomas they reluctantly went along with it.

For his part, Clayton-Thomas made a point of saying he was not as political as Katz but did share his opposition to the Vietnam War. While not mentioned in the film, it is well worth noting that before Clayton-Thomas joined Blood, Sweat & Tears, he had fronted a Toronto-based group called The Bossmen which had a minor Canadian hit with a song called "Brainwashed" which was an anti-war song with jazz undertones. The song featured Clayton-Thomas singing "damn" which was bleeped out for radio airplay. That was heady stuff in 1966.

During their time in the Eastern bloc, the band members were followed not so inconspicuously by local spies while having their rooms trashed by some other not so conspicuous local spies. Accompanying Blood, Sweat & Tears on the tour was a film crew led by first-time director Donn Cambern who had recently completed work as a film editor on Easy Rider. Cambern and his crew would capture the sights & sounds of Romanians loving the music, chanting "U.S.A." and Ceaușescu's goons turning their dogs on people who wanted nothing more than peace, fun and music. 

Cambern's crew would also capture representatives of the State Department pressuring the group to emphasize jazz over rock, tone down their gestures and to dump long-haired members of their road crew. To their credit, Blood, Sweat & Tears ignored their edicts. Unfortunately, this was not what either the Nixon Administration or the Ceaușescu regime wanted to see. So, the original documentary never saw the light of day. While Cambern had a successful career as a film editor and would earn an Oscar nomination for editing the 1984 film Romancing the Stone, he would never direct another film. Sadly, Cambern died a few months before the release of the documentary, and it is dedicated to his memory.

When Blood, Sweat & Tears returned to the U.S., the group was not treated as cultural Ambassadors for peace but as tools of the Nixon Administration as Clayton-Thomas, Katz and drummer Bobby Colomby fielded hostile questions during a press conference. The group still opposed Nixon and the Vietnam War but had a newfound appreciation for American freedom after being exposed to the repressive nature of Eastern bloc Communism.

Then as now, there was little appreciation for nuance. The group would subsequently face a slew of negative articles in the press and would become the bête noire of the New Left culminated by a protest led by Abbie Hoffman outside a Madison Square Garden concert dubbed Blood, Sweat & Bullshit! During the performance, an audience member hurled horseshit on stage striking Colomby's drum kit. Meanwhile, conservatives assailed the Nixon Administration for subsidizing supposedly long-haired radicals to a Communist country. This was a no-win situation for Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas expressed sadness for putting the group into said no-win situation.

What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? essentially argues that this tour represented the end of the group. I think it would be more accurate to say that it was the beginning of the end. At the time of the tour, Blood, Sweat & Tears had just released Blood, Sweat & Tears 3. While not as successful as their previous album, it did yield two Top 40 hits - "Hi-De-Ho" and "Lucretia MacEvil" both of which were played during the Eastern Bloc tour. The following year, the group would release B, S, & T 4. This would yield "Go Down, Gamblin'" which would prove to be their final Top 40 hit. Another single "Lisa, Listen to Me" would peak at #73 on the U.S. Billboard charts but would get more airplay in Canada. 

Clayton-Thomas along with founding members Dick Halligan and Fred Lipsius would depart the group after B, S & T 4. By 1975, Clayton-Thomas would return to the group but by this time Blood, Sweat & Tears would be for all intents and purposes a nostalgia act which remains the case to this day under the direction of Colomby. There have been over 150 members of Blood, Sweat & Tears. 

What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? gives the most important members of the band the opportunity to share their firsthand experiences. Along with Clayton-Thomas, Katz and Colomby, Jim Fielder and Fred Lipsius also share their insights. We also hear from Clive Davis who signed the group to Columbia Records back in 1967. Davis passed away two days before Clayton-Thomas. Perhaps the most joyful aspect of the film was hearing David Clayton-Thomas sing songs originally sung by Al Kooper on their debut album Child is the Father to the Man such as "Something Goin' On", "I Can't Quit Her" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know". While I enjoy Kooper's performances, Clayton-Thomas takes those songs to places which Kooper couldn't. We get to hear Clayton-Thomas' voice at the height of its power.

If nothing else What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? gives the uninitiated to see and hear how the innovators of jazz-rock got to the top of the mountain even if it also meant seeing their inevitable fall. R.I.P. David Clayton-Thomas.

Mets Give Mendoza His Marching Orders; Name Ex-Padres Skipper Green Interim Manager

Exactly halfway through the 2026 MLB season, the New York Mets have parted ways with manager Carlos Mendoza. Andy Green, who managed the San Diego Padres from 2016 through most of the 2019 season, has been named interim manager for the rest of the year.

The Mets began today 34-47 amid a six-game losing streak and have already lost their first game under Green. Both the Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies began the season with a record of 9-19. On April 28th, the Phillies dismissed Rob Thomson in favor of Don Mattingly. Under Donnie Baseball, the Phillies have gone 37-17. They are the top seed in the NL Wild Card race and are only 3½ games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.

From April 28th through June 18th, the Mets treaded water going 25-22 before dropping back-to-back games to the Phillies and being swept in a four-game series with the Chicago Cubs which precipitated Mendoza's firing. Back on April 18th, I reflected on Mendoza's job status after the Mets had lost 10 in a row in what would ultimately be a 12-game losing streak:

For starters, the Mets have the second highest payroll in MLB. This means the Mets are expected to win and to win now.

Let us also consider Mendoza himself. Hired prior to the 2024 season on a three-year deal with a club option for 2027, the Mets would earn a NL Wild Card berth and reach the NLCS falling to the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. But then there was last year. Things were looking very good for the Mets. In mid-June, the Mets had the best record in MLB with a 45-24 and had a 5½ game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. The Mets were not so amazin' going 38-55 the rest of the way. As Mets announcer Gary Cohen put it at the time, "And the Mets agonizing, three-and-a-half-month, slow-motion collapse, is complete."

This collapse has now lasted more than a year. Fittingly enough, it began on Friday the 13th beginning a 7-game losing streak going 3-13 for the rest of the month and it hasn't got much better since.

Unless, the Mets go on a Knicks-like surge, Andy Green will be a short-term solution to get the team to the finish line. During his near four-year stint in San Diego, the Padres never finished better than 4th place as the Los Angeles Dodgers began their dominance of the NL West. I'm not sure if even Danhausen could uncurse the Mets at this stage.

3 Candidates Endorsed by Mamdani Will Be Headed to Congress

(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani displayed his clout this evening as all three congressional candidates he endorsed won their Democratic primaries including two candidates who unseated incumbent Democratic Congressmen.

Brad Lander, the former New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate, unseated two-term incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman winning his primary in New York's 10th Congressional District by more than 30 points.

New York's 13th Congressional District proved a closer contest, but Darializa Avila Chevalier unseated incumbent Adriano Espaillat by 3.5%. Espaillat had served five terms in Congress and was the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Chevalier was part of Mamdani's DSA.

Meanwhile, New York's 7th Congressional District was an open seat, but Mamdani's pick, Claire Valdez bested Antonio Reynoso, who was endorsed by retiring Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, by nearly 18 points. Valdez is also a DSA member.

Given that these are safe Democratic seats, all three of these Democratic nominees will be elected to the next Congress in November.

What is unsettling is how Israel was a defining issue in these races and, in so doing, has become a litmus issue among Democrats. How else does one explain a business openly bragging about wishing they could deny service to soon to be former Congressman Goldman? Or for that matter how Mayor Mamdani can call AIPAC monsters when he won't use that term to describe Hamas?

But most frightening of all is how this sentiment among Democrats is not confined to New York City as we have seen in Maine with Graham Platner, in New Jersey with Adam Hamawy and perhaps in Michigan with Abdul el-Sayed or possibly Nithya Raman in Los Angeles or Janeese Lewis George in Washington, D.C.

Andy Burnham Was a Horrible Boss

When I wrote my lament for soon to be former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, I mentioned that I had firsthand experience working for his likely successor, Andy Burnham.

Back in 1995, I was an undergraduate political science student at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. I was selected to partake in an academic exchange with the University of Leeds during which I would intern for a UK Member of Parliament (MP). 

As I was a card-carrying member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), I wanted to intern for a Labour MP. I would be assigned to Tessa Jowell, a MP representing a constituency called Dulwich which was situated in South London. Jowell would later serve as a cabinet minister in both the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and subsequently was appointed to the House of Lords. Sadly, she passed away of brain cancer in 2018. 

There were two staffers working for Jowell, one of whom was Andy Burnham. He was for all intents and purposes my boss. I'm sorry to say that he was a horrible boss.

To put it bluntly, Burnham treated me like shit. He constantly talked at me as if I were a buffoon. Indeed, both he and his assistant Duncan went out of their way to belittle my intelligence. They would tell me that I had limited intelligence.

Needless to say, I was largely confined to opening mail and was often sent downstairs to an empty desk where for the most part I would catch up on my homework. The problem with this arrangement was that in order for me to graduate I had to demonstrate what kind of parliamentary work I was doing be it at the constituency or policy level. The fact that I could not demonstrate this put my university graduation into jeopardy. Burnham was well aware of the situation, but he did not give a toss. 

There were occasions when I was asked to attend surgeries. In the context of UK politics, a surgery is where a MP will meet directly with their constituents. In Canada, MPs have permanent constituency offices for that purpose. 

I didn't have a problem being involved with that process. The problem was that I had to get there on my own. While I had my Nicholson's Guide to London, I was nevertheless in unfamiliar territory and frequently got lost often in very rainy weather. By the time I would arrive there would be nothing for me to do except stand around soaking wet while Burnham would laugh at me derisively.

I do remember Burnham getting very angry with me after he found out I had contacted Tony Benn, a legendary Labour MP who would serve in the House of Commons for nearly half a century. My undergraduate thesis was a comparison between the youth wings of the NDP and the Labour Party. The reason I wanted to get in touch with Benn was to interview him due to his support of Andy Bevan, who had been hired as the party's official youth organizer, despite considerable resistance from the party establishment.

In any case, Burnham made a point of accusing me of "sleaze". Sleaze? This wasn't cash for questions. I was trying to fulfill my academic requirements. Nothing more.

I should mention that I did interview Tony Benn. In the years that followed, I was not crazy about Benn's softball interview of Saddam Hussein. But when I visited Benn at his home, he treated me with the utmost courtesy and respect and I did the same. Tony Benn provided me with more courtesy and respect in 30 minutes than Andy Burnham could muster in two months.

I'm not sure why Tessa Jowell wanted an intern. I'm also not sure why Andy Burnham treated me the way he did. All I know is that I was miserable and things got to a point where University of Leeds faculty agreed to reassign me to a different MP. I would be placed with a Scottish Labour MP named Jimmy Wray who gave me the following advice after telling me he thought I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown:

You're the boss!

Don't worry and don't hurry!

A man who never made a mistake is a man who never made anything!

Needless to say, my time with Jimmy Wray proved a far better use of my time and Jimmy's. And yes, I was able to graduate.

Now, I write all this with the understanding that this took place more than 30 years. Burnham would subsequently be elected to the House of Commons in his own right in 2001. He would later serve in Gordon Brown's cabinet and twice sought the leadership of the Labour Party in 2010 and in 2015. 

Following the ascension of Jeremy Corbyn in 2015, Burnham was smart enough to leave Westminster and successfully seek the mayoralty of Manchester. He would be re-elected to the same post twice before making his successful return to Westminster last week.

Going to Manchester was a shrewd move on Burnham's part. He managed to create a power base for himself outside of London and I'm sure other MPs may take a similar path should he end up living at Number 10 Downing Street.

So, I will be the first to acknowledge Burnham's success. I can only hope that he treats the people who work for him now a lot better than he treated me more than 30 years ago.