Cambridge City Council Rejects Israel Boycott But Supports Divestment Measure

Last week, I wrote about my public testimony against the latest effort to persuade Cambridge City Council to support BDS measures against Israel. 

Yesterday, Cambridge City Council convened to determine a course of action. 

The result was a split decision. There were two separate resolutions - one was for the city's pension fund to divest from “companies with severe and consistent involvement directly contributing to genocide, apartheid, and occupation of Palestinians" with the other for the city boycott companies which do business with Israel. 

Cambridge City Council defeated the boycott measure but passed the divestment measure.

Yes, the outcome could have been worse, but the passage of the divestment measure is not a good thing. It singles out Israel for genocidal behavior while ignoring countries which actually commit genocide. It is only a matter of time before the pro-Hamas mob persuades Cambridge City Council to take up the boycott measure. 

All of which means that the anti-Semitic hatred in this city will continue to fester until there is bloodshed and violence.

Trump Still Wants to Rig The Alaska Senate Election Regardless of Democratic Shenanigans

(From left to right: "Independent" Dan Sullivan, Republican Dan Sullivan, President Trump & Mary Peltola)

Last week, I wrote about President Trump's efforts to rig Alaska's Senate election after he got the DOJ involved.

The objection was confusion over the presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot - the incumbent Republican Senator and an independent.

It now appears via the New York Times that Alaska Democrats were responsible for placing this second Dan Sullivan on the ballot and that Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola had knowledge of the plot despite her denials. 

This changes things.

At the same time, it doesn't change things.

It changes things to the degree that Peltola and Alaska Democrats have given Trump a gift. It has given the DOJ the opportunity to issues subpoenas as well as an opportunity for Alaska's Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy to launch his own probe.

But nothing has changed in that Trump was happy to use to the DOJ to prevent a Peltola win regardless of whether Democrats were involved with the independent candidacy of Dan Sullivan. Trump doesn't want a Peltola victory under any circumstances and is willing to use the DOJ for his own personal aims.

Simply put, Alaskans will have to decide if they are more offended with Trump interfering with their election or if they are more offended by Democratic shenanigans with the other Dan Sullivan.

In a better world, Alaskans would have a better set of choices to make. But we don't live in that world.

Patrick Stewart Made It So

 

Late this afternoon, I read of the passing of actor Patrick Stewart, best known for his portrayal of Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

Stewart died following what his spokesperson described as “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.” He was 86.

This has been a sad week for Star Trek fans as Stewart's passing comes only 72 hours after the death of Walter Koenig, who portrayed Ensign Chekov on Star Trek. 

I must admit it took me a while to accept and appreciate Stewart as the Captain of the USS Enterprise. Then again, it took Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry some time to be sold on the idea of having an otherwise obscure bald middle-aged British Shakespearean actor be at the helm of the Enterprise. 

Patrick Stewart was not William Shatner. While I personally prefer Captain Kirk over Captain Picard, Kirk's successor had to be distinct and display his own kind of strength. Stewart's voice could recite a technical manual and make it sound like a sonnet.

In other words, he made it so. R.I.P.

Brewers Win 1st World Series Title; Best Rays in Five Games

(A screenshot of the Milwaukee Brewers after winning the 2026 World Series featuring World Series MVP William Contreras, October 28, 2026)

The Milwaukee Brewers have won their first World Series title in franchise history beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 to win the Fall Classic in five games.

Their franchise began in the Pacific Northwest as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 but would move to the Midwest the following season. Originally a Junior Circuit team, the Brewers did win an AL pennant in 1982 under manager Harvey Kuenn. Harvey's Wallbangers featured the likes of Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Ted Simmons and Rollie Fingers along with AL Cy Young Award winner Pete Vukovich, Cecil Cooper, Jim Gantner, Ben Ogilive, Gorman Thomas and Charlie Moore (who sadly passed away earlier this year). Alas, they would fall just short losing in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Some very lean years would follow. The Brewers moved to the NL in 1998 and would not return to the post-season until 2008 and again in 2011. Since 2018, the Brew Crew have made post-season appearances in 8 out of the last 9 seasons including 6 NL Central titles including four in a row. For the past three seasons, the Brewers have been managed by Pat Murphy.

This year following a 13-13 start, the Brewers went 90-46 the rest of the way. Despite winning 2 out of every 3 games since late April their longest winning streak this season was 5 games. They did that four times this season including twice in September. Steady but unspectacular got them to 103 wins and an 11-2 record during this post-season dispatching with the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS and now the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series.

The Brewers won Game 1 & Game 2 by the scores of 3-2 and 5-4 in front of the hometown crowd in Milwaukee. As it turned out, the hometown crowd followed them to Florida as flights & tickets were cheaper in St. Petersburg than in Milwaukee. 

Those who followed the Brewers to Milwaukee South were rewarded with a 10-1 blow out in Game 3. The Rays would deny the Brewers a sweep in Game 4 with a 12-inning 4-3 victory. The Tampa Bay Rays are a great team. It's too bad their fans don't seem to want to show it. Maybe the Rays should just move to Montreal. 

Brewers catcher William Contreras was named World Series MVP. Contreras went 9 for 21 (.429) with 4 RBI. This is Contreras' second World Series ring earning one previously with the Atlanta Braves in 2021 during his rookie season. 

A parade is in the works for the people of Milwaukee. While Milwaukee did have a parade when the Bucks won the NBA Title in 2021, this will mark the first time a baseball championship parade has convened since 1957 when the Milwaukee Braves beat the New York Yankees in that year's World Series. It proved to be Hank Aaron's only World Series ring.

Whatever else they from this day forward, the likes of Contreras, Jake Bauers, Brice Turang, Cooper Pratt, David Hamilton, Jackson Chourios, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Christian Yelich, Jacob Misiorowski, Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall will be part of Milwaukee lore. 

The only sad note to all of this is that Bob Uecker didn't live quite long enough to see the Brewers finally win the big one. Then again maybe he did and we just didn't notice.

Congratulations to the Brewers. The next few days in Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin are bound to be as good as it gets.

NY Governor Hochul is Wrong: Her Job Won't Get Easier if Netanyahu Loses

In an interview with Politico, New York's Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul was asked if her job would get easier if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu loses his country's elections which took place yesterday:

A lot easier. And here’s the challenge: I represent the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel. And I know they’re suffering. A lot of people are anxious about antisemitism, which is sky-high right now. And I take that personally, because I represent everyone. I went to Israel right after Oct. 7. I saw a lot of pain there. But I actually cautioned the government there, in private conversations, not to overreach. The world is with you when it comes to the brutal assault by a terrorist organization known as Hamas on innocent Israeli people. An overreach could change that dynamic, and that’s what’s happened. We have to have leadership there that understands the security of Israel is paramount — critically important to me, but also the world — but to have a safe Palestinian state as well, which has been talked about my entire life. I still believe that this can happen. I believe we have to get people of goodwill who can make this happen, and as long as Netanyahu is sitting there, that is not in his interest to do that. It’s just not, and it won’t happen.

Hochul is simply wrong.

For starters, it is not for her to say who should win Israel's elections any more than it is for President Trump who recently endorsed Netanyahu. 

Who forms Israel's next government is up to Israelis and only Israelis.

But let's say that opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot becomes Israel's next Prime Minister. 

How that make her job any easier?

Does Hochul think NYC Mayor Mamdani will suddenly stop singling out Israel because Eisenkot becomes Prime Minister?

Does Hochul think Eisenkot becoming Prime Minister will ease the dogma of the pro-Nakba crowd at Columbia University?

Does Hochul think that anti-Semitic attacks in and around NYC synagogues will suddenly cease because Netanyahu is suddenly no longer Prime Minister?

If antipathy towards Israel didn't cease during the 18 months Netanyahu was out of office when the Arab List's Mansour Abbas held the balance of power between Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid then why would the antipathy cease if he leaves office once more?

Hochul says she supports a two-state solution and chides Bibi for not wanting one. With whom should Israel negotiate this two-state solution? Hamas? Or Mahmoud Abbas who cancelled Palestinian elections yet again?

Frankly, Hochul should be more concerned about her re-election campaign even if she is leading Republican Bruce Blakeman by 14 points. The polls can always be wrong.

Susan Saint James Was The Name of The Game

 

(Screenshot of Susan Saint James from The Name of the Game)

I was saddened to hear of the passing of actress Susan Saint James. She died of pancreatic cancer yesterday at the age of 80.

Saint James has been out of the public limelight for many years having last acted in 2011 on an episode of Suits. But there was a time when Saint James was a fixture on television. Her first notable role was as Peggy Maxwell on the NBC TV series The Name of the Game co-starring with Gene Barry, Robert Stack and Anthony Franciosa between 1968 to 1971. She would win her lone Emmy for this role. 

Saint James would then co-star with Rock Hudson in the NBC Murder Mystery TV series McMillan and Wife from 1971 to 1976 before finding success once more with the CBS TV sitcom Katie and Allie with Jane Curtin from 1984 to 1989. 

It wasn't until about 2013 that I saw The Name of the Game when it aired on COZI TV. Saint James was the thread that kept the show running as the three male leads would alternate episodes. There was an energy and exuberance to her performance which served as a counterbalance to her older male co-stars. Her portrayal of Peggy Maxwell exemplified a good-hearted idealism which could occasionally get her in hot water. Barry, Stack and Franciosa didn't try to stamp out Peggy's idealism but helped fine tune it by subtlety pointing her in a better direction. The Name of the Game is a vastly underrated TV show with a groovy opening theme composed by Dave Grusin.

In thinking about Susan Saint James, she shares one harrowing thing in common with Walter Koenig who passed the day before she did. Both of them had children predecease them. Koenig's son Andrew took his own life in his 40s in 2010 while Saint James' son Teddy Ebersol was killed in a plane crash at the age of 14 in 2004. 

The crash also injured his father Dick Ebersol and older brother Charlie Ebersol while killing the pilot and crew. The younger Ebersol was an avid Boston Red Sox fan, and several baseball fields were constructed along the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge in his memory.

One can only imagine the grief she endured losing her youngest child. Yet upon her passing, her family marveled how she composed herself with remarkable reserve and strength stating, "Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone else first."  

Susan Saint James found her own way to carry on. That was her name of the game. R.I.P.

Thoughts on The Anti-Semitic Incident at The St. Louis Blues Game Last Week

(Screenshot from Facebook)

Anti-Semites have become emboldened when it comes to demonstrating their hatred of Jews.

This ugliness would rear its head last Thursday at an NHL game in St. Louis. During the match between the St. Louis Blues and the Vegas Golden Knights, two banners were unveiled. One read, "Israel Kills" with images of blood accompanying a crossed-out Star of David with the other read "Free America from Israel" with imagery of the Statue of Liberty.

Blues owner Tom Stillman issued the following statement this morning:

The St. Louis Blues organization — and I personally — condemn antisemitic rhetoric in all forms. The vile messages of hate briefly displayed at our game last Thursday were unfortunate and unforgivable, and not remotely representative of our fans or our hometown. Our arena staff and local law enforcement responded immediately to confiscate the prohibited banners and eject the offending individuals. Antisemitism has no place in our community, and we will never allow it in our building.

Frankly, I cringe when I hear or read the statement "anti-Semitism has no place in our community" because it is usually little more than a platitude. However, Stillman gave the statement teeth when he added that "we will never allow it on our building" and backed up their words with action.

Freedom Convoy USA, the organization responsible for this garbage, had no shame:

We spent multiple hours talking with the good people of St. Louis outside and inside the arena. And an overwhelming majority agreed: they don’t want their tax dollars funding Israel’s genocidal military while they struggle to afford food, housing, healthcare, their children’s education and the basic necessities of life.

Blues fans have every right to ask why their tax dollars help fund Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people -- while their own communities struggle. In a city at the heart of America’s defense industry, those questions hit close to home. They deserve answers, not smears.

Criticizing Israel is in no way, shape or form antisemitic. Tom treating the two as interchangeable actually holds Jewish people collectively responsible for a state’s actions, and that’s incredibly antisemitic. Tom Stillman should know better than to silence legitimate criticism by branding it hate.

For starters, I think the last thing most people attending a hockey game want to talk about is politics. Going to a sporting event is about enjoyment and to be away from miserable people who suck the fun out of life.

Nothing is more anti-Semitic than claiming that Israel is sole reason Americans struggle to afford food, housing, healthcare, education and the necessities of life. They might as well as utter the statement in the original German.

Aside from repeating the "Israel is committing genocide" lie, Freedom Convoy USA has some chutzpah in claiming Stillman is anti-Semitic. They claim to decry holding Jewish people collectively responsible for Israel actions and yet take a look at their mission statement:

The 2026 Freedom Convoy is a grassroots, cross-country journey bringing Americans together to learn, connect and have honest conversations about Israel and Zionist influence in the U.S., U.S. foreign policy, American priorities, and the impact of our government's decisions on hardworking Americans.

Zionist influence?

When they say "Zionist influence" they mean Jews. Let us not pretend otherwise. 

If the phrase "Zionist influence" isn't about putting a target on the back of Jews, then nothing is.

For bad measure there is also the demand to "put American families and children first".

This is anti-Semitism 101 straight out the KKK/Aryan Nations playbook.  

While it is unfortunate that this disgraceful act occurred, I am heartened that the St. Louis Blues organization put a bodycheck on anti-Semitism.