Former Socialist, Former Republican, Former Contributor to The American Spectator, Former Resident of Canada, Back in Boston Area After Stints in New York City & Atlanta, Current Mustache Wearer & Aficionado of Baseball, Bowling in All Its Forms, Cats, Music & Healthy Living
Before Gorbachev came to power in 1985, the Soviet Union was a nuclear power that was as much of a mystery to much of the West as North Korea is today. While there is no doubt President Reagan's greatest legacy is ending the Cold War, he could not have done it with anyone other than Gorbachev who genuinely sought to reform Soviet society and open relations with the West through "glasnost" and "perestroika". His leadership brought a spirit of optimism which was admired the world over.
However, the collapse of the Soviet Union happened under Gorbachev's watch and he would become a despised figure at home and his influence would gradually recede. Gorbachev's glasnost would give way to Putin's personality cult. Gorbachev himself fell under that cult claiming Putin was "devoted to democracy".
But in recent years, Gorbachev was more critical of Putin and only last month he reportedly complained that Putin had undone all his work. It may take decades, if not centuries for someone of Gorbachev's political philosophy to have any meaningful power in Russia or anywhere else in the former Soviet Union. R.I.P.
Why can't Trump wait until November 2024 like the rest of us as proscribed by the Constitution? I suspect it's because he knows time isn't on his side and that he will be facing an indictment before then. This might not deter Republicans from nominating him again, but the rest of the country won't be onboard with electing an enemy of the United States to our nation's highest office.
Then again if Republican Secretaries of State are elected in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania elects Doug Mastriano Governor who would then appoint a Secretary of State then we could end up with Trump as President whether we want to or not.
However irrational Trump's statements are let us keep in mind that every time Trump speaks he undermines our collective faith in democracy while strengthening the resolve of those who wish to bring him back to power by hook or crook. Trump's madness certainly has its methods. As such we can expect to hear Trump say he should be sitting in the Oval Office a lot more between now and November no matter the damage for he cares only for Donald J. Trump.
Today marked the 51st anniversary of the release of Fanny's second album Charity Ball and would like to offer the same treatment. Featuring an album cover shot by actress Candice Bergen, Charity Ball contains 11 songsof which 10 were originals.
"Charity Ball" - Canadian listeners got a sneak preview the year before on the pressing of their debut album Fanny which was mistakenly released north of the border. In my review of Fanny's "Secret Canadian Album", I noted that the initial version of "Charity Ball" had a jingle jangle feel to it and was a work in progress. There was a void and it was filled courtesy of a blistering June Millington guitar solo. The result was Fanny's first of two Top 40 singles.
"What Kind of Lover" - This was the first of three consecutive songs penned by Nickey Barclay on Side One. In all she wrote or co-wrote, six of the eleven songs on Charity Ball. "What Kind of Lover" features hard edge vocals by Barclay and yet another prominent June Millington guitar solo.
"Cat Fever" - As soon as Alice de Buhr yells, "Cat Fever!!!", Barclay's piano leads a three and a half minute jam. While June Millington has said this is not among her favorite Fanny songs you wouldn't know it from her guitar playing.
"A Person Like You" - This Barclay composition has a bit of a country flair with June Millington throwing some slide guitar into the mix evoking a "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow pedal steel guitar kind of sound.
"Special Care" - Penned by Stephen Stills, this was the only cover on Charity Ball. Originally appearing on Buffalo Springfield's final album Last Time Around, Fanny turns a good song into an all-time great highlighted by Jean Millington's gritty lead vocal.
"What's Wrong With Me" - This song has three particular distinctions. First, it is the first Fanny song written entirely by Jean Millington. Second, it is Fanny's first all acoustic ballad. Third, at 1:42, it is also the shortest song in Fanny's entire catalogue. Despite its brevity, "What's Wrong With Me" says a great deal.
"Soul Child" - Side Two begins with an unusual collaboration between Barclay and the Millington sisters. The result is the funkiest song on Charity Ball. Its most notable verse is, "Well she says she won't but you know she will/'Cause she's going to school on her daddy's bill/And she knows she's cool 'cause she's on the pill," sung defiantly by Jean Millington. It represented Nickey Barclay and June Millington's Lennon-McCartney moment. It was also a radical statement to make in 1971 and if Republicans have their way it will be taboo again.
"You're The One" - Written by the Millington sisters, this song also contains the rather sassy lyric, "Ooh, baby I can make you follow me/Ooh, baby I can make you come." If there is a song on Charity Ball that should have hit the Billboard charts this should have been the one.
"Thinking of You" - While Fanny put their own spin on Buffalo Springfield's "Special Care", this June Millington composition has a very strong Buffalo Springfield vibe to it. The elder Millington sister has made no secret of her admiration of Buffalo Springfield and it shows here.
"Place in the Country" - Along with the title track, "Place in the Country" was first heard by Canadian ears albeit at a more languid pace. Here the tempo picks up slightly and so does the energy in Barclay's vocals.
"A Little While Later" - In my opinion, the closing track is Nickey Barclay's masterpiece. At 5:15, it is the longest song in the Fanny canon. Although it takes a while to build up, never before and never again is she so emotionally raw and vulnerable especially with the verse, "Ooh - And I ain't got a hand to guide me/Ooh - And I ain't got a friend beside me/And I do need a place to hide me/From all of the troubles that bother my head". After building to a crescendo, it and the album closes with a harpsichord which fades out but never fades away.
For your listening pleasure, I have affixed a link to Charity Ball. So go ahead. Dance, stand and move to Charity Ball.
When South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham tells us "if there’s a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information, after the Clinton debacle … there’ll be riots in the streets,” he tells us many things.
For starters, Graham is telling us the violence will come at the hand of Trump supporters. In which case, it says a great deal more about MAGA than it does about the DOJ. It also says a great deal about Senator Graham. He's basically telling us, "You've got a nice democracy there. Too bad if anything were to happen to it." In so doing, Graham is also telling us Senate Republicans have abandoned all pretense of the GOP being a law and order party along with the rest of the MAGA faithful. Of course, that won't stop them from accusing the Biden Administration and Democrats of lawlessness. In abandoning law and order they have also abandoned any notion of facts and truth as Trump has since he slunk down the escalator at Trump Tower more than 7 years ago.
Graham is also signally that he knows Trump is guilty as sin and so does MAGA. They have precluded the possibility that Trump might be acquitted or if convicted be given no jail time. Guilty or not, the Republican Party at large has concluded the very notion that defeated former President Trump is subject to the laws of the United States is verboten.
Of course, Graham has his own problems as he is trying to move Heaven and Earth to keep from testifying in Fulton County DA Fani Willis' probe of election interference in Georgia. Like Trump, Graham saw fit to get in touch with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger regarding election results in 2020. What business it is of an elected official from South Carolina to concern himself with the election process in Georgia anyway? That's what Willis wants to know and Graham doesn't want to talk because he knows it won't be good for him.
The fact that Graham is publicly willing to say there will be violence and acts of domestic terrorism in the streets if Trump is held to account for breaking the law then I shudder to think what he had to say to Brad Raffensperger if he didn't overturn the election results in Georgia.
Last night, I went to the Somerville Theatre to see a double feature of On Golden Pond and Stand By Me.
On Golden Pond was released in theatres in 1981. I did not see on the big screen at the time it was released but was keenly aware of the film as it starred Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn and Jane Fonda along with Dabney Coleman and Doug McKeon. It was the only film where father and daughter appeared onscreen. This was when I first became aware of the import of the Oscars. On Golden Pond was nominated for 10 Academy Awards winning three for Best Adapted Screenplay for Ernest Thompson (who wrote the original play for Broadway), Best Actress for Katherine Hepburn and Best Actor for Henry Fonda in what proved to be his last film. He passed away in August 1982 at the age of 77.
I have seen On Golden Pond on TV a couple of times and remember bits and pieces such as when Henry Fonda gets lost in the forest while trying to pick strawberries, Jane Fonda does a backflip into the lake, a dead loon and the phrase "suck face". What I did not appreciate at the time was that the film was set on Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire.
In November 2016, my former roommate Christopher Kain and I drove out to Holderness, New Hampshire to have lunch with David Catron and his wife Mary at Walter's Basin which overlooks Squam Lake. Walter isn't a person but is a reference on a large trout which Henry Fonda wants to catch. David Catron writes for The American Spectator and I was several months removed from having ceased my contributions. At the time, David and I shared a mutual disdain for Donald Trump who had been elected earlier in the month. Alas, as with most conservatives, David has changed his tune on Trump considerably.
At least on this day, we were in accord on everything especially on the beauty of Squam Lake. I'm surprised Squam Lake isn't a more popular tourist destination. Most New Englanders tend to vacation on the Cape or in Maine. To the extent New Hampshire is a destination, the focus is usually on Lake Winnipesaukee which is about an hour south of Squam Lake. It is probably just as well. When one wants to truly get away the fewer people the better. I have not been back to Squam Lake since that warm Saturday afternoon nearly six years ago. Perhaps an opportunity to return shall arise and possibly rent a cabin.
I'm not sure if it would be like the cabin shared by retired Professor Norman Thayer, Jr. (Henry Fonda) and his wife Ethel Thayer (Katherine Hepburn). While Ethel is very much in love with life Norman is cantankerous about everyone and everything. Norman is about to turn 80 and is certain this birthday will be his last. Their daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) comes up to the cabin along with her new boyfriend a dentist named Bill Ray (Dabney Coleman) and his son Billy (Doug McKeon).
Things are frosty between Norman and Chelsea with Ethel forced to be peacekeeper. Chelsea and Bill are going to Europe and decide to leave Billy with Norman and Ethel much to Billy's consternation. Over time, Norman and Billy bond over fishing while navigating treacherous waters which appear deceptively calm.
Watching On Golden Pond only augments my desire to return to Squam Lake. The sound of the loons also made me think of Loon Lake. Not the Loon Lake in New Hampshire, but rather the Loon Lake north of my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. I have not been there in many years either.
As for On Golden Pond itself, its centerpiece is Henry Fonda whose performance is remarkable considering how ill he was at the time. While Fonda's Professor Thayer knows death will soon come, over the summer, he goes from anger to acceptance of the autumn of his years.
Speaking of autumn, I first saw Stand By Me in September 1986 in a theatre on Victoria Avenue in Thunder Bay. I had just begun high school and, although the film was set in 1959, it was very popular amongst my peers at Port Arthur Collegiate Institute. Before seeing it again last night nearly 36 years have passed. Some details had escaped my attention. I did not realize John Cusack had a small role in the movie as did Bruce Kirby. The setting had also escaped my attention. Whereas On Golden Pond is set in Northern New England, Stand By Me is set in the Pacific Northwest in rural Oregon. It had also escaped my memory that Rob Reiner directed the film.
Although Stand By Me is a coming of age film, the central plot is very much centered on death. Adapted from Stephen King's The Body, four boys Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Donnell) hike across the railroad tracks in search of a dead boy. Unbeknownst to them, a gang of hoods is also searching for the body led by the sadistic Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland).
What I do remember is the onscreen chemistry between Wheaton and Phoenix as brothers in arms from different sides of the track. While Wheaton was the lead in the film, it was Phoenix's performance which stood out and displayed a maturity well beyond his years. Of the four, it was Phoenix's star that would rise the quickest and fall the fastest. In the film, it is revealed that Phoenix's character was killed and he disappears from the screen. There is a certain eeriness and foreboding as of course Phoenix would die of a drug overdose in 1993 at the age of 23. Phoenix has been dead longer than he was alive and next year will mark the 30th anniversary of his death. His star shone bright, burned out suddenly and now he is scarcely a memory. Where has all the time gone?
Both On Golden Pond and Stand By Me were well worth viewing and viewing together as companion pieces. Now they shall go their separate ways and I shall go mine.
Earlier this week video surfaced of Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen likening mask mandates to Nazism specifically citing Kristallnacht. At an anti-mask rally this past April, Jensen said:
As is the case with so many powerful initiatives like MaskOff, it starts with one thing, but it becomes another and another and it expands. If you remember, go back to World War II. If you look at the 1930s and you look at it carefully, we could see some things happening. Little things that people chose to push aside. ‘It’s going to be okay,’ And then the little things grew into something bigger. Then there was a night called Kristallnacht. The night of the breaking glass. Then there was the book burning, and it kept growing and growing, and a guy named Hitler kept growing in power, and World War II came about. Well, in a way, I think that’s why you’re here today. You sense that something’s happening, and it’s growing little by little.
So when I make a comparison that says that I saw government policies intruding on American freedoms incrementally, one piece at a time, and compare that to what happened in the 1930s, I think it's a legitimate comparison. It may not strike your fancy — that's fine. But this is how I think, and you don't get to be my thought police person.
You don't get to be my thought police person? Jensen sounds like he has a maturity of a 12-year old. But alas he is a 67-year old physician who his seeking his state's highest office and is telling us his way of thinking is beyond criticism.
Kristallnacht was a pogrom in which the German state saw fit to destroy Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues while rounding 30,000 Jews who would be sent to concentration camps, many to their deaths. At the time, Jensen was likening mask mandates to Nazism, most of Minnesota's mask mandates had already been lifted including in public schools.
Either Jensen has no idea what Kristallnacht truly was or he is being deceitful and inflaming ignorance. To make matters worse, Jensen defended his comments at a forum sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition. It's not clear how the RJC received Jensen's comments, but I have yet to see any RJC officials give Jensen their backing - yet. Even if RJC members disagree with mask mandates which are no longer in effect it would be truly irresponsible to stand by and allow your party's standard bearer to invoke Nazism without a forceful repudiation.
Whatever the case, Jensen is not fit to hold elected office and one can only hope Minnesotans re-elect Tim Walz for a second term.
While we continue to add 1 million new COVID cases every 7-10 days, hospitalizations have been slowly declining. After surging from just under 10,000 hospitalizations in early in April to just over 40,000 in late July, hospitalizations have been declining over the past four weeks. As of August 23rd, we are at 34,248 hospitalizations according to Our World in Data. These declines are happening everywhere from Oregon, Iowa, Utah, Illinois and Louisiana.
Whether these positive trends will continue after Labor Day Weekend remains to be seen but for the moment things are going in the right direction where it concerns COVID.
I have a confession to make. Although I have been aware of its existence since its cinematic release in 1978, I had never seen Grease in its entirety until tonight.
Oh, I knew the story centered around Danny and Sandy as played by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. I knew Jeff Conaway was also in the movie who I remember as Bobby Wheeler in the hit TV series Taxi. I also knew Frankie Avalon was in it as well. When I would go bowling in Times Square, Grease was always running on one of the big screens and it always seemed to play his scene. But I had never viewed the movie from beginning to end.
Which brings me to another confession. Had it not been for Olivia Newton-John's death earlier this month, I wouldn't have gone to see it. But The Brattle Theatre was paying tribute to her and I figured the time had come.
Now here comes the third confession. I didn't like it all that much. Let me put it this way. The musical numbers were much better than the story and the dialogue. But the music was at its best was when ONJ sang whether on her own with "Hopelessly Devoted to You" or with Travolta with whom she had an undeniable chemistry most notably with "Tell Me More" and "You're The One That I Want". Yet I cannot help but think I would probably like the much maligned Xanadu better.
I have to admit that in watching her scenes I had to remind myself that she was dead because she was so alive in the film. I needed no such reminder with Jeff Conaway who died at 60, but has now been gone for over a decade. The best thing I can say about Grease is that it will keep Olivia Newton-John forever young. R.I.P.
Christian's onetime Babylon Five co-star Bill Mumy (best known for playing Will Robinson in the 1960's TV show Lost in Space) replied noting that he had worked with Cassavetes and Rowlands in the 1963 film A Child is Waiting which starred Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland and was directed by Cassavetes and produced by Stanley Kramer. Mumy described Cassavetes as "a yeller." To which I asked Mumy, "If Cassavetes was a yeller than how would you describe Kramer, Lancaster and Garland?" Much to my surprise, Mumy replied describing Kramer as passionate, Lancaster as professional and Garland as fragile.
Judy Garland would have turned 100 in June. In commemoration of her centennial, the Brattle Theatre has held a retrospective of her films throughout the summer. In light of my exchange with Mumy regarding A Child is Waiting, I wanted to see the film. In so doing, I made a point of not looking up anything about the movie online.
Written by Abby Mann (who also wrote the screenplay for Judgment at Nuremburg), A Child is Waiting is centered around a child named Reuben Widdicome (played by Bruce Ritchey) who is abandoned by his parents (played by Rowlands and Steven Hill who later went onto fame playing D.A. Adam Schiff in Law & Order) to a home for children with special needs run by Dr. Matthew Clark (played by Lancaster). Dr. Clark hires Jean Hansen, a failed pianist who is unmarried and drifting (played by Garland). Mumy appears briefly in the film as a child who is fascinated by the pearls worn by Hansen when she arrives at the school. Hansen develops a strong bond with Reuben much to the dismay of Dr. Clark who seems to have a particular disdain for Reuben calling him one of the school's "most spectacular failures".
As this film was released nearly 60 years ago, the term special needs, developmental disability or intellectual disability were not in our lexicon. Rather the terms used were mental retardation or mentally defective. There is an authenticity about the film as many of the children cast in the film had special needs and this bit of realism was right up Cassavetes' alley. Although after viewing the film, I learned that Cassavetes and Kramer clashed over editing and Kramer ended up re-editing much of the film although Cassavetes retained the directorial credit.
Nevertheless there are remarkable performances delivered by Garland who was going through a divorce at the time from Sidney Luft which goes a long way in explaining her vulnerability. Garland shines the most in her interaction with Ritchey who despite uttering very few words during the film spoke volumes with his facial expressions. Remarkably, this was Ritchey's only film credit and very little about his life after A Child is Waiting is known other than he died in 2018 at the age of 67. Hill's performance also stands out for his conflicted feelings over his son at one pointing bluntly wishing he was dead.
A Child is Waiting would turn out to be Garland's penultimate film. Later in 1963, she made her final onscreen appearance in the musical drama I Could Go On Singing. Garland would perform sporadically in concert up until a few months before her death in 1969 at the age of 47.
While the language has changed where it concerns developmental disability we are truly no further along in understanding the human mind than we were 60 years ago much less in knowing how to treat people, particularly children who have this condition. Whatever disagreements there were between Cassavetes and Kramer, the film was direct in dealing with its subject matter without being heavy-handed. Notwithstanding the turmoil which Garland was experiencing at the time, she managed to channel that turmoil into a fragile, vulnerable yet determined character trying to find her way in the world.
Marin was only 34 when she was elected Prime Minister in 2019. Currently, she is the third youngest head of state in the world behind only Dritan Abazovic, the Prime Minister of Montenegro and Chilean President Gabriel Boric.
Had there been video of either Abazovic or Boric drinking and dancing with women I cannot imagine it would generate any scrutiny, certainly not any demands for a drug test. But Marin is a young woman, and to put it bluntly, she is a very attractive young woman. As such Marin is held to a different standard than her male counterparts. Indeed there were other politicians at this party. The response has just been plain sexist.
The question is what is the motivation behind the leak of this video? It was found on an unknown Instagram account. This certainly raises red flags.
While those who oppose the governing Social Democratic Party would have a motivation to leak this kind of video as there will be parliamentary elections in Finland in April 2023. However, I suspect that it is more likely an external force at work here. Let us consider that Finland is on the verge of joining NATO much to the ire of Russia - namely Vladimir Putin. One cannot dismiss the possibility this video was leaked by a Russian source in an attempt to exploit fissures in Finnish society, discredit Marin and perhaps put the kibosh on the NATO ratification process namely by Turkey. Russia has done a bang up job of exploiting and exacerbating crevasses in the United States. So why wouldn't they do the same in Finland?
Now if Marin fails the drug test after denying taking them then that it is another matter. There was the incident in December 2021 in which she went clubbing and left her phone at home. While she was clubbing there was a text message that she had in contact with someone infected with COVID-19 and needed to isolate. While Marin did not contract COVID she was compelled to apologize.
While a positive drug test would raise doubts about Marin due to her denial in taking them there would have been no test if not for the leaked video. In which case, by virtue of the presence of other Finnish politicians, there must remain a suspicion if the video would have ever seen the light of day had Marin been a man.
A judge in Escambia County Florida has ruled against a 16-year old ward of the state who had sought the court's permission to obtain an abortion on the basis that she's too immature.
If this 16-year old girl is too immature to have an abortion then how is it this same 16-year old is mature enough to give birth let alone raise a child?
As it stands now, the girl is 10 weeks pregnant and can appeal. However, Florida law prohibits abortion after 15 weeks.
This decision has nothing to do with this girl's maturity and it has everything to do with the current political situation in Florida. The result of which is this girl is denied any choice in the matter.
During a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday in Berlin, Mahmoud Abbas was asked if the Palestinian Authority was prepared to apologize for the terrorist attack which claimed the lives of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the 50th anniversary of the which is next month. Not only did Abbas not apologize, he accused Israel of committing "50 Holocausts":
From 1947 to the present day, Israel has committed 50 massacres in Palestinian villages and cities, 50 massacres, 50 Holocausts, and until today, and every day there are casualties killed by the Israeli military.
After a swift backlash against Abbas and Scholz (who did not immediately condemn Abbas' statement), Abbas issued a press release in which he claimed his reference "was not intended to deny the specificity of the Holocaust" but of "the massacres committed against the Palestinian people since the Nakba by Israeli forces, crimes that have not stopped to this day." His statement is little more than sleight of hand which still has the effect of equating Israel to Nazi Germany.
Mahmoud Abbas is 87 years old. His views aren't going to change. His claim to the presidency of the Palestinian Authority also expired 13 years ago. Why does anyone treat him with an ounce of legitimacy much like French President Emmanuel Macron did last month? Perhaps the alternatives are worse. But if the world wants to seek a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority then Abbas must depart the world stage and never open his filthy mouth again.
8-year old Cooper Roberts is lucky to be alive. He was among 48 people who were wounded during the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Cooper was shot in the back.
This is an incredible burden for anyone to carry. For an 8-year old it's unfathomable. Further complicating matters is COVID protocols have limited contact with his family. That Cooper must endure this in near isolation could result in irreversible psychological damage. In the limited contact Cooper has had with his family they have said, "It is very hard to convince Cooper that he will be happy again."
I can only hope that Cooper can find the inner strength to cope with his burden to ease his physical pain and his mental anguish. Cooper may find it eventually but the journey will not be swift even if justice is done.
As widely expected, Liz Cheney has lost the Republican primary for her Congressional seat in Wyoming. As of this writing, with 38% of the vote tabulated, challenger Harriet Hageman has nearly a 23-point lead over Cheney (59.2% to 36.4%). In her concession speech, Cheney accepted the results but it made it clear she isn't going anywhere:
Two years ago, I won this primary with 73% of the vote. I could easily have done the same again. The path was clear. But it would have required that I go along with President Trump’s lie about the 2020 election. It would have required that I enable his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic. That is a path I could not and would not take.
Tonight, Harriet Hageman received the most votes in this primary. She won. I called her to concede the race. This primary election is over. But now, the real work begins.
Well, the real work will resume. Next month, the January 6th Committee will hold another set of hearings into defeated, former President Trump's attempts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
With Cheney gone from Congress in 2023 (and possibly the January 6th Committee with it) and Trump's imminent announcement that he will seek another bid for the White House there's a good chance Cheney will make a White House bid of her own. Cheney won't defeat Trump in a Republican primary, but she will be a thorn in his side and can damage him as much as he can damage himself. I, for one, would love to see Cheney on a debate stage with Trump. That is, of course, assuming Trump is man enough to debate Cheney.
While Cheney did support Trump during his presidency, he has crossed a line with her for which there is no going back. Not only has Cheney remained steadfast in not wavering from this threshold she was prepared to lose her seat in Congress and now it has come to pass.
For Republicans, it isn't a question of choosing party over country. Rather it is a matter of choosing Trump over country. Liz Cheney has refused to make this choice and will spend the next two years or so trying to convince the country this is a choice which we cannot make again if we want to remain a constitutional republic. This will be Liz Cheney's legacy to the country. As for Harriet Hageman, she will barely register a footnote as she will yet become another Republican who holds office to worship at the altar of Trump.
The Rangers did add some firepower in Marcus Semien and Corey Seager as well as adding top pitcher Jon Gray in the offseason. But in a division dominated by the Houston Astros, contending was going to be a tall order. Texas did get to the .500 mark on Memorial Day Weekend after going 17-10 in May. However, since July 1st, the Rangers are 15-25 though they just took two out of three games from division rival Seattle Mariners who currently occupy one of the three AL Wild Card berths.
Did Woodward lose control of the clubhouse as Montoyo evidently did in Toronto? There aren't any indications thus far. It is true the Rangers have not had a winning season in Woodward's tenure which began in 2019. But then it goes back to the original question. Why fire someone whom you have granted a contract extension? If this continues to happen then it will tell managers their job security is truly a mirage.
In the midst of declining hospitalizations, the CDC announced changes to its guidelines a couple of days ago. For starters, unvaccinated individuals who get exposed to COVID do not need to quarantine at home but recommend wearing a mask for 10 days and get tested after 5 days. Chances are if you're unvaccinated by this point you're probably not going to wear a mask much less get tested.
If one does test positive, the CDC recommends isolating for five days regardless of vaccination status. Isolation can end if one is fever free without the use of medication for 24 hours, are without symptoms or are improving. A 10 day isolation is recommended if shortness of breath, a compromised immune system or hospitalization occurs. Testing and consulting a physician is also recommended. If symptoms recur for those in the latter category, another 10 day isolation period is strongly recommended.
My guess is that cases will start to surge again, but that the guidelines will remain so long as hospitalizations continue to fall or remain steady.
The suspension would run through the post-season and for up to 32 games in the 2023 MLB season. Tatis, Jr., 23, is also ineligible to play for the Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Tatis, Jr. had been due to be activated sometime this month. His return had been highly anticipated as he would reunite with Manny Machado as well as Juan Soto and Josh Bell who were acquired from the Nationals earlier this month in arguably MLB's most formidable lineup. The Padres faded down the stretch last year and missed the post-season after earning a NL Wild Card berth in 2020. Presently, the Padres have the third NL Wild Card berth.
From where I sit, Tatis, Jr. now has two strikes against him in San Diego. One more mistake and he is gone. Such a scenario would have been inconceivable a year ago. Tatis, Jr's stay in San Diego will depend both on his own behavior and how the Padres perform. If the Padres miss the post-season yet again this year then Tatis, Jr. might be given a longer leash. But if the Padres win the franchise's first World Series or win their first NL pennant in 24 years (before Tatis, Jr. was born) then I think the organization might try to move him if they can without him. Despite his behavioral problems, there will be teams prepared to take on Tatis, Jr's contract with the Padres getting top prospects in return.
While Tatis, Jr. does have two strikes against him, there is always the chance that he will take the time to reflect and see this a wake up call, work his way back into the Padres favor and redeem himself. Fernando Tatis, Jr. will get at least one more chance at the plate.
Rushdie was airlifted to a hospital in New York City where he spent hours in surgery. His agent Andrew Wyllie says the news is not good as Rushdie, who is 75, sustained damage to his liver and that he could lose an eye.
Rushdie was under protection from the British government for nearly a decade before Iran said it would not enforce the fatwa though it was never lifted. Over time, Rushdie returned to public life and seemed to have to put fatwa behind him as there were no security precautions of which to speak.
At this point, one can only hope Rushdie will survive the attack. But it just goes to show and extremism (in this case of the radical Islamic variety) and the hatred which drives it might recede it never disappears and can return without warning as Rushdie would find out.
In the case of Islamic extremism, it also demonstrates that fatwas are forever whether they are issued by al Qaeda against American civilians or by the Iranian against writers.
To whom would he sell them? Russia would be at the top of the list. But Trump being a businessman in the worst sense of the word, I suspect he would sell them to the highest bidder including a terrorist organization.
If Trump was prepared to summon a mob to prevent the peaceful transfer of power then I don't think it is implausible he would sell state secrets.
I only mention this because Trump has turned out to be so much worse than I ever contemplated and continually demonstrates why he should never be allowed to seek much less hold any elected office again. And yet the Republican Party will not only nominate him for a third White House bid there is a chance the country could elect him President again.
Actress Anne Heche has died one week after a fiery car crash into a house in a residential neighborhood in Los Angeles which destroyed the property and injured the woman living there.
While Heche had a lengthy career in movies and on TV, I must admit that when I thought of her I always associated her with romantic relationship with Ellen DeGeneres though that relationship ended more than 20 years ago.
Whatever her success in her field, Heche led a difficult life alleging she was sexually assaulted by her father and was estranged from her family. Her brother also died in a car crash eerily similar to her own. One rarely escapes such tragedies unscathed and Heche had her share of mental health troubles.
The moment I learned a man had fired shots at the FBI office in Cincinnati, I was almost completely certain it was in connection the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago on Monday night.
I am certain there will be more attacks to follow. These attacks will likely target the FBI, the DOJ and other law enforcement agencies perceived to be cooperating with them. This could take the form of a suicide bombing or a truck bomb on the scale of Oklahoma City. One also cannot discount the possibility of kidnapping, hostage taking and murder of public officials with Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray at the top of the list.
Songwriter, producer and arranger Lamont Dozier, best known for being one third of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team at Motown, passed away yesterday at the age of 81.
The Detroit born Dozier collaborated with brothers Brian and Eddie Holland to write, arrange and produce some of Motown's biggest hits. Here is but a small sample of their collaborations.
"Heat Wave" - Martha and The Vandellas
"Mickey's Monkey" - The Miracles
"Can I Get a Witness"- Marvin Gaye
"Where Did Our Love Go?" - The Supremes
"Come See About Me" - The Supremes
"Baby I Need Your Loving" - The Four Tops
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" - Marvin Gaye (and later James Taylor)
"Stop in The Name of Love" - The Supremes
"Nowhere to Run" - Martha and The Vandellas
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" - The Four Tops
"It's The Same Old Song" - The Four Tops
"I Hear a Symphony" - The Supremes
"My World is Empty Without You" - The Supremes
"You Can't Hurry Love" - The Supremes (and later by Phil Collins)
"Reach Out I'll Be There" - The Four Tops
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" - The Supremes (and later by Vanilla Fudge & much later by Kim Wilde)
"Standing in The Shadows of Love" - The Four Tops
"Jimmy Mack" - Martha & The Vandellas
"Bernadette" - The Four Tops
"Reflections" - Diana Ross & The Supremes
Let's add the songs they wrote under the name "Edyth Wayne" following a contract dispute with Motown. The Chairmen of The Board had two hits with "Just Give Me a Little More Time" and "(You've Got Me) Dangling on a String" as well as "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne.
You could have a Motown Greatest Hits album exclusively of Holland-Dozier-Holland songs. The trio was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
As for Dozier, he did have some modest success in the 1980's through the 2000's writing the underappreciated "Invisible" by Alison Moyet, "Anything is Possible" for Debbie Gibson and "Spoiled" for Joss Stone. He also co-wrote "Two Hearts" with Phil Collins (who memorably covered the Holland-Dozier-Holland composition "You Can't Hurry Love").
My favorite Holland-Dozier-Holland song is one of their lesser known compositions - "There's a Ghost in My House" by R. Dean Taylor, who was a protege of Holland-Dozier-Holland as the first white employee at Motown. Sadly, Taylor also passed away earlier this year of COVID.
I leave you with Dozier discussing his songwriting inspirations from childhood including how he remembered his grandfather would flirt with women by referring to them as "sugar pie" and "honey bunch". Dozier would turn his grandfather's flirtations into a hit for the Four Tops and a chapter in the Great American Songbook. R.I.P.
MAGA world is making the claim the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago yesterday is the best thing to have happened to defeated former President Donald Trump.
During an appearance on CNN, former Trump White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah Griffin claimed the raid could hand Trump the presidency in 2024. Griffin said, “This, I’m hoping, goes beyond simply not complying with some archiving laws or the DOJ just handed Donald Trump the Republican nominee and potentially the presidency."
No, the FBI raid will not hand Trump the presidency. It will not motivate independent voters who are on the fence to break Trump's way. The only people whose voting behavior this will impact are people who already view Trump as a victim and who believe the 2020 election was stolen from him. While it is a significant voting bloc, it would not put Trump over the top.
However, the FBI raid will make Republicans circle the wagons around Trump and make those who were starting to favor Florida Governor Ron DeSantis return to the fold. An example of this is Matt Vespa at Townhall.com. While Vespa foamed, "The FBI is the Democratic Party's political hit squad," he does provide an insight into the mindset of the MAGAverse:
I was leaning toward Ron DeSantis. I would have been happy voting for either man, but it was a 51/49 split in favor of Ron until last night. The good news is that the debate about whether this would be a bloody duel between Trump and DeSantis is over. Before last night's events, I wouldn't be shocked if DeSantis had beaten Trump should both men run next year.
Mind you, I've never had a doubt in my mind that Trump will seek the GOP nomination in 2024 and it will be his for the asking. After all, this man has spent more than 18 months claiming he won an election that he lost. This tells me he wants back in the White House.
At best, DeSantis is a baby Trump. The only Republican who could launch an interesting, if quixotic challenge to Trump would be Liz Cheney. She would lose but she would be a thorn in his side and could bloody him in a way no other Republican could.
Still, the long and the short of it is that Donald Trump will be the 2024 Republican nominee. Any doubt if it was removed by the FBI raid. But there is still a doubt if America will be foolish enough to make him President again.
Singer and actress Olivia Newton-John passed away today at the age of 73. No cause of death has been released but John was first diagnosed with breast cancer 30 years ago and had a recurrence in 2017.
The British born John began to display her musical talents in Australia as a teenager. In 1971, she came to prominence in North America with her cover of Bob Dylan's "If Not For You" using the arrangement deployed on George Harrison's All Things Must Pass. Her first number one hit came in 1974 with "I Honestly Love You". She followed this hits such as "Have You Never Been Mellow" and "Please Mr. Please" as well as an uncredited vocal on John Denver's "Fly Away".
Between 1978 and 1982, John was arguably the most successful female artist in the world as she was launched into the stratosphere with her appearance in Grease spawning the number one hit "You're The One That I Want", a duet with John Travolta. The Grease soundtrack would feature "Hoplessly Devoted to You" and "Summer Nights", another duet with Travolta.
In 1980, John starred with Gene Kelly in Xanadu. While Xanadu flopped, its soundtrack did not as she scored hits with "Magic" as well as "Xanadu" and "Suddenly" with ELO and Cliff Richard, respectively. John's other notable hits from the early 1980's include "Physical", "Make a Move On Me", "Heart Attack" and "Twist of Fate".
John's recordings became less frequent with motherhood and her troubles with breast cancer though she regularly toured and occasionally acted. But if you were a sentient being in the late 1970's and early 1980's you knew who Olivia Newton-John was surely as you knew who the President of the United States. For those of us who were alive in those years, her passing is a kick in the gut.
With that being said while she is now gone, the magic will always stay. R.I.P.
It also turns out he despises President Biden almost as much as he hates Jews and thinks the Russian and Chinese regimes are just swell.
In an interview with CNN's Michael Smerconish, Waters called Biden "a war criminal" for "fueling the war in Ukraine" demanding that he encourage Ukrainian President Zelensky to engage in diplomacy. I think Vladimir Putin fueled the war when his troops entered Ukrainian territory. But Waters holds Putin blameless claiming Russia was provoked by NATO expansion eastward. The Kremlin couldn't have said it better.
If that wasn't enough Waters also called Taiwan "a part of China" and asked Smerconish, "Who have the Chinese invaded and slaughtered?" When Smerconish indicated China has killed its own people including its Uighur Muslim population, Waters claimed it was "bullocks" and "nonsense" and insisted Smerconish needed to do more reading. Yet one wonders what Waters has been reading.
Whatever screeds Waters has read, there is no doubt Waters' useful idiocy on behalf of two of the world's largest totalitarian regimes will be rewarded with command performances in Moscow and Beijing in the not too distant future in gratitude for his apologism.
Democrats who don't want Biden to run again in 2024 should be careful for what they wish because they could end up with Donald Trump back in the White House. Because unless Trump dies he is going to be the Republican presidential nominee for a third time and lot of Americans are still prepared to vote for him and very possibly enough to for him to win despite Fox's flirtation with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. If Democrats don't want Biden to run then they run the risk of nominating someone who will won't be able to carry Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin not to mention Arizona and Georgia.
To be sure, Biden has had his share of problems. The inflation situation isn't ideal because it reduces individual purchasing power and does increase costs for business. But inflation is an issue among all G7 countrieseven Japan. We would be dealing with inflation regardless right now even if America had seen fit to re-elect Trump in 2020.
No doubt the Afghanistan withdrawal was a mess but it was Trump who saw fit to legitimize the Taliban in the first place. This left Biden with few, if any good options. COVID also has not and will never disappear. But it's not like the Biden Administration hasn't made testing and vaccines widely available. Some people simply refuse to get vaccinated. While cases continue to abound hospitalizations and deaths have been greatly reduced. Progress has been made.
Then there is the question of Biden's age. Writing in The Atlantic, Mark Leibovich asserts:
Let me put this bluntly: Joe Biden should not run for reelection in 2024. He is too old.
Biden will turn 80 on November 20. He will be 82 if and when he begins a second term. The numbers just keep getting more ridiculous from there. “It’s not the 82 that’s the problem. It’s the 86,” one swing voter said in a recent focus group, referring to the hypothetical age Biden would be at the end of that (very) hypothetical second term.
Last I checked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 82 and is second in line in succession to the Oval Office behind only the Vice-President. Yet in all of the hoopla regarding her recent trip to Taiwan there was no reference made to her age nor has anyone seen fit to make an issue of it.
Joe Biden has never been beloved by the Democratic base in the way Barack Obama or the Clintons were. I am not surprised that nearly 95% of Democrats under 30 do not want Biden to seek another term. They didn't want him to seek a first term. I remember watching one of the Democratic presidential debates at a pub near NYU and Biden was lustily booed every time he came on the screen. I suspect that most of those people who booed him that September night in 2019 cast a ballot for him in November 2020 albeit as a vote against Trump.
If not for the pandemic, Democrats probably would have nominated Elizabeth Warren who would have been soundly defeated by Trump. But the pandemic did happen and the Democratic Party and the nation turned to Biden.
In so doing (with the help of a Democratic controlled Congress) President Biden brought about COVID relief, an African-American female Supreme Court judge, an infrastructure bill and now the Inflation Reduction Act. It doesn't make America a socialist utopia, but Biden made no such promise in the first place. Yet these are good things. So what good would it do the nation, let alone Democrats, to turn away from President Biden now?
The Seekers were the first Australian act to enjoy significant success on the North American and UK charts most notably with "I'll Never Find Another You" and "Georgy Girl" as well as "A World Of Our Own", "The Carnival is Over" and "Some Day, One Day", one of Paul Simon's earliest songs.
A classically trained pianist, Durham was also a soprano and her angelic voice made her first among equals with The Seekers' four part harmony accompanied by the six string guitar of Bruce Woodley, the 12-string guitar of Keith Potger and the double bass of Athol Guy whose Buddy Holly glasses were almost distinctive as Durham's voice. At the height of their fame, the group was bestowed with the prestigious Australian of the Year Award in 1967.
Hospitalizations have begun to plateau. According to Our World in Data, after falling below 10,000 back on April 10th hospitalizations slowly but steadily rose peaking at just over 40,000 on July 28th but have now begun to decline modestly.
Deaths have also plateaued although it is being aptly described as "a horrible plateau" as more than 12,500 Americans died of COVID in July. This is the far cry from the more than 75,000 and 80,000 COVID deaths in December 2020 and January 2021, respectively. Nevertheless, 12,500 COVID deaths a month is not insignificant. While we are better able to manage COVID than we did 18 months ago so long as COVID exists some people are going to be hospitalized and some won't make it.
For more than 10 years, I lived in Jamaica Plain and had to take the Orange Line. Needless to say, I am thankful I am not living in Jamaica Plain now although I had been planning to take in the JP Porchfest which is scheduled for August 20th - the day after the closure begins.
If the Red Line is shutdown for a month, let alone a week there will be utter chaos. Two weekends ago, the Red Line was shutdown between Alewife and Kendall/MIT. Under normal circumstances, I would have walked to the Kendall/MIT station, but it was 95 degrees plus outside. So I took a shuttle bus from Porter Square to Kendall/MIT and it took 45 minutes to make three stops. I can scarcely imagine how long it would take during morning and evening rush hours. It will be a disaster, but then again there might not be any other choice.
Among the many reasons I wanted to return to Boston was because of its extensive public transit system. But the MBTA is literally at a crossroads and passengers will probably be stuck there for the foreseeable future.
Vin Scully, who was the voice of both the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 2016, passed away on Tuesday. No cause of death has been released though his passing comes only a year after he lost his wife Sandra to ALS. He was 94.
This news takes the wind out of my sails. While I've never rooted for the Los Angeles Dodgers, I have always been a fan of Vin Scully and his style of broadcasting. Scully would invite to pull up a chair and listen to the game. He could tell a story and yet never lose focus on what was happening on the baseball diamond. Alas this has become a lost art.
I first became familiar with Scully in the early 1980's when he joined NBC and partnered with Joe Garagiola on NBC's Game of the Week. While with NBC, Scully famously called Bill Buckner's error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets. Two years later, he was behind the mike when he called Kirk Gibson's walk-off HR off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the World Series between the Dodgers and the Oakland A's.
When I lived in Ottawa, I got access to KTLA regularly watched Dodgers games solely for the pleasure of listening to his voice. I remember the game when Chan Ho Park gave up two grand slam HRs to Fernando Tatis, Sr. in the same inning.
Scully was behind the mike when Jackie Robinson stole home during the 1955 World Series (the only Fall Classic ever won in Brooklyn), Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, all of Sandy Koufax's five no-hitters as well as the one Clayton Kershaw threw, Hank Aaron's 715th home run and when Rick Monday saved the American flag from being burned at Dodger Stadium and I am only scratching the surface.
It's no secret that my love of baseball has diminished over time and the passing of Vin Scully will not help matters. I shall now have to be content to keep his voice in my memory. Well, I suppose this is why we have YouTube which is as much for listening as it is for viewing.
Case in point was when he threw out the first pitch prior to Game 2 of the 2017 World Series between the Dodgers and Houston Astros. Honestly, that crowd would not have minded if he had thrown a complete game. R.I.P.
After a half season in Anaheim, Noah Syndergaard returns to the NL East, but in a Phillies uniform where he can reminisce about his Mets days with Zack Wheeler while competing for a NL Wild Card berth. The Phillies have also reunited with David Robertson acquiring the veteran reliever from the Chicago Cubs.
Perhaps the strangest trade of all is the Toronto Blue Jays acquisition of second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield from the Kansas City Royals. Merrifield was among 10 players who did not make the Royals' road trip to Toronto last month because he was unvaccinated. He upended Royals fans when he said he would get vaccinated for a contender who ended up playing against the Blue Jays. Well, now he's going to Toronto and now he's going to get vaccinated.
The Minnesota Twins have added a trio of pitchers - starting pitcher Tyler Mahle from the Cincinnati Reds, reliever Michael Fulmer from the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles closer Jorge Lopez. I really feel sorry for Orioles fans. The team has played beyond expectations and the Angelos family rewards them by trading away Trey Mancini to Houston and now Lopez who is having a breakout season.
Lopez is not the only closer who was dealt though. The Los Angeles Angels dealt their closer Raisel Iglesias (who they lured away from the Cincinnati Reds in the off-season) to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Jesse Chavez and southpaw Tucker Davidson.
Of course, there will be other deals but those will need to go through waivers. Although there was a lot of movement today all eyes will be on Juan Soto in San Diego given that Soto powered his way to a World Series ring for Washington in 2019 - their first in franchise history. The Padres are looking for their first World Series title and, with respect to Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr., Soto is now their franchise player.
With a little over 18 hours left in the MLB trade deadline, all eyes are on Washington as Juan Soto is very likely to be dealt along with Josh Bell and perhaps a cast of thousands. We shall see what stages they next appear on tomorrow evening.
