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
(The Band from left to right: Richard Manuel, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson & Robbie Robertson)
Among my earliest childhood memories are album covers.
A few which comes to mind:
The Beatles Abbey Road
Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks
Bob Dylan Nashville Skyline
Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water
America America
Blood Sweat and Tears Blood Sweat and Tears
The Moody Blues Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Gordon Lightfoot Sit Down Young Stranger (later retitled If You Could Read My Mind)
Ozark Mountain Daredevils It'll Shine When It Shines
Carly Simon Greatest Hits
The Band The Band (a.k.a. The Brown Album)
It is this last album on which I wish to focus at this time as all five members of The Band have left our mortal coil with the passing of Garth Hudson on January 21st.
Yet in some way when I first saw this picture as a wee lad, I thought these guys were already dead as they looked like they had lived during the Civil War. Mind you, I don't think I knew anything about the Civil War when I was four years old. Nevertheless, they looked to me as if they were from another time.
I remember The Brown Album being played sporadically during my formative years. But it wasn't until about 1985 that I really began to listen to it in earnest. While The Brown Album is best known for "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek", my favorite track was and remains "Whispering Pines", the closing cut on side one.
"Whispering Pines" is the gentlest yet most somber song on The Band with Richard Manuel's wailing, at times faint pleading vocal which is held onto with dear life guided by Hudson's Lowrey organ. Manuel is accompanied by Levon Helm on the third verse:
Standing by the well Wishing for the rains Reaching to the clouds For nothing else remains Drifting in a daze When evening will be done Try looking through a haze At an empty house, in the cold, cold sun
I could hear the anguish in Manuel's voice. A voice silenced when Manuel took his own life on March 4, 1986, a month shy of his 43rd birthday. Of all the subsequent passings, it is Manuel's which I remember the most. Aside from "Whispering Pines", the songs on this album which resonated with me most deeply are "Across the Great Divide", "Jawbone" and "King Harvest" all of which were sung by Manuel. The fact that he could not bear to share his voice for all eternity is something which has stayed with me for nearly 40 years and will continue to do so for as long as I shall live.
As life progressed, I learned about their debut album Music from Big Pink, their formative years backing up Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan and The Last Waltz. I even saw them play once (without Robbie Robertson) during Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in the early 1990s.
Notwithstanding that negative impression, Robertson will always be part of The Band and The Band will remain an integral part of my musical upbringing. The Band might be gone but the Brown Album will play on for as long as I have ears to hear.
Despite the fact the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hadn't begun its investigation, President Trump wasted no time in telling us what led to the crash - DEI.
The President claimed, "A group within the FAA determined that the workforce was too white, then they had concerted efforts to get the administration to change that and to change it immediately. This was in the Obama administration.” Trump also claimed former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg ran his department "right into the ground with his diversity."
When challenged to back up his assertions, Trump maintained he has "common sense."
If you go back to just some of the headlines over the past 10 years, you have many hundreds of people suing the government because they would like to be air traffic controllers, but they were turned away because of the color of their skin. That policy ends under Donald Trump's leadership because safety is the first priority of our aviation industry.
But they're not supposed to add up. The Trump Administration has created a story, and they are sticking to it. The reason they are sticking to it is because they know there is a significant segment of the country which will accept what they say at face value and will repeat it because that is what they want to hear.
Meanwhile, 67 people are dead and instead of consoling the families of those who perished and providing reassurance, President Trump and his quislings are disregarding their grief so they can use their deaths as a cudgel to scapegoat DEI.
The second Trump Administration is scarcely 10 days old. Today's display of cruelty is but the tip of the iceberg which runs colder than the depths of the Potomac.
Scherzer, 40, is among the greatest pitchers to ever toe the mound.
He enters the 2025 season with a career record of 212-116 with an ERA of 3.16 striking out 3407 batters in only 2878 innings pitched while walking a mere 756. His 3407 strikeouts are 11th on MLB's all-time list only 9 strikeouts behind former Detroit Tigers and New York Mets teammate Justin Verlander. Scherzer also has two World Series rings (2019 Washington Nationals and 2023 Texas Rangers) and three Cy Youngs (one in the AL with the Tigers in 2013 and back-to-back honors in the NL with the Nats in 2016 and 2017).
However, injuries to his back, shoulder and hamstring limited him to only 9 starts with the Rangers in 2024 which saw him go 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA. What are the chances he stays healthy in 2025?
But let us assume Scherzer is healthy and returns to form. If the Jays aren't contenders at the All-Star Break, his tenure north of the border shall be short-lived.
The Blue Jays are Scherzer's seventh MLB team. Scherzer has spent his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and the Texas Rangers.
Then came release of the seven remaining hostages - Israelis Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes along with Thai agricultural workers Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Rumnao Surasak.
The release of Yehoud and Mozes, who were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, proved to be the most difficult. Both hostages were forced to walk through a crowd surrounded by angry Palestinians eager for Hamas or Islamic Jihad to kill them on the spot.
I don't know if it will be sufficient for Hamas to release the next group of hostages in a more humane way. After all, there is nothing humane about Hamas. They demonstrate whether they take a person hostage and when they release that hostage from captivity.
Yes, there are 8 more hostages who now get to live their lives, and this is a very good thing.
I have an awful feeling that one of these days, ceasefire agreement notwithstanding, that one of the living hostages is going to be killed by a Palestinian mob while Hamas looks on while looking the other way.
When such inquiries are established, its members are appointed by the Chief Justice of Israel's Supreme Court as was the case with the Agranat Commission following the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Shimon Agranat was then Israel's Supreme Court chief justice.
However, with the Netanyahu government at war with the Supreme Court, it plans to come up with its own inquiry which would be appointed by the Knesset consisting of government and opposition members. Of course, this defeats the whole purpose of having an independent inquiry. A government-controlled inquiry would minimize any responsibility for any intelligence and military failures leading up to October 7th on Netanyahu and his coalition.
Of course, Hamas bears the blame of what happened on October 7th. It planned the attack and carried it out. An independent inquiry would not change that fact. Nevertheless, it must be determined if the attack could have been prevented or at least mitigated and identify steps as to how such an attack is to be prevented from happening again.
Then again, Netanyahu is all too aware of what happened after the Agranat Commission. Golda Meir resigned as Prime Minister. This is exactly the last thing Netanyahu intends to do whatever responsibility he might bear. Certainly, so long as Donald Trump is in the White House.
Musk's appearance at this rally comes only days after making a Nazi salute during President Trump's inauguration rally at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Frankly, I'm surprised Musk wasn't sporting a mustache by now.
Even if AfD doesn't win the election, I have a feeling it will play an influential role in the next German government and so too will Musk.
It's bad enough that Musk has power in the Trump Administration. It will be even worse if he has power in Germany where he in a position to tell Germans to forget about the Holocaust and go ahead and persecute Jews once more.
On Saturday night, I went to the Somerville Theatre to see The Brutalist starring Adrien Brody. Earlier this week, The Brutalist was nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor (Brody) and Best Director (Brady Corbet).
It was my first time in over a year at the Somerville Theatre. I could have seen a later showing of the film at the Kendall Square Cinema. But a film as grandiose as The Brutalist not only must be viewed in a movie theatre, but in an old movie theatre. The Somerville Theatre which will turn 111 this year fit the bill.
Indeed, like the movies of yesteryear, The Brutalist featured an overture at the beginning of the film and an intermission in the middle. However, unlike any movie I've seen, the opening credits were presented horizontally while the closing credits were presented diagonally.
In between the opening and closing credits was a 3½ hour story about the life of a Jewish architect named Laszlo Toth (Brody) and his life in post-WWII America. The first part of the film covers the period between 1947-1952 as he struggles to find his foundation in America while trying to bring over his wife and niece who remain in Europe. The second part of the film covers the period between 1953-1960 where Laszlo is reunited with his wife (played by Felicity Jones) and niece (played by Raffey Cassidy). During this period, Laszlo has been commissioned to build a vast center of creation and activity for a wealthy benefactor (portrayed by Guy Pearce in what was the most dynamic performance of the film). Pearce has received a Best Supporting Actor nomination while Jones has also been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The epilogue of the film is set in 1980 where a now wheelchair bound Toth is a guest of honor at an exhibit of his work in Venice.
One thing that will stay with me was the first line on the closing credits - In Memory of Scott Walker.
Scott Walker is among my favorite musicians from his tenure with The Walker Brothers and his solo albums during the 1960's and 1970's. Over time, however, Walker's music became more avant-garde featuring blocks of sound without a formal song structure. While I was aware that Walker had done some film work, I was not aware that Walker's final works before his death in 2019 were on Corbet's films The Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux. During the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, Corbet spoke of Walker's influence on his work, his collaborations with Walker and how composer Daniel Blumberg's music for The Brutalist was a continuation and an evolution of Walker's work.
As for Brody, this performance puts him back on the A-list. Brody has enjoyed a fine career since becoming the youngest actor to win Best Actor for his performance as a Holocaust survivor in The Pianist with his collaborations with Wes Anderson in films like The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch and Asteroid City, this is his most critically acclaimed role in more than decades. There's something about Adrien Brody playing a Holocaust survivor. I will say that Brody appears as though he has hardly aged over the past quarter century.
The Brutalist is a stark, modern epic which one ought to see once in your lifetime.
Four female IDF soldiers are the latest group of hostages to be released by Hamas under the terms of the ceasefire which went into effect six days ago.
The names of the soldiers are (pictured from left to right) Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev.
However, before the four were freed, they were brought up on a makeshift stage surrounded by Hamas terrorists in full battle regalia and paraded in front of a banner full of anti-Semitic slogans such as "Palestine - The Victory of the Oppressed People vs. Nazi Zionism", "Gaza is the Graveyard of the Criminal Zionists" and "Al Asqa Flood - A Revolution Against Zionist Injustice and Criminality".
Although we can be grateful that these four young women are alive, their release was also a triumph for Palestinian propaganda.
The only remedy for this is for these women to tell of their ordeal if they are prepared to do so. As I argued when Romi Ganen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher were released nearly a week ago:
It is my hope that these women will tell the world about what happened to them - if they are prepared to do so. It is a lot to ask of them and any other hostages who were previously freed and shall soon be freed. As with Holocaust survivors, they would have to relive their traumatic experiences. These women are fully within their right to never share their what they endured.
Yet I have to believe there are enough decent people in the world who would be moved by the words of Romi Ganen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher to see Hamas for what it is - an organization committed to murdering Jews for being Jews.
There are more hostages to be released in the coming weeks. While we can feel some measure of relief for their return home, that relief must be tempered by whatever evil spectacle Hamas is prepared to put on full display in the weeks to come. We can only hope that these displays will remind people of Hamas' hatred and inhumanity towards Jews and civilized society.
But the damage has been done to the ADL. When civic organizations dedicated to combatting anti-Semitism refuse to criticize someone for their anti-Semitic acgts because they have the capacity to sue them it leads to the decay of civil society.
Among those who criticized the ADL was New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who stated on X:
Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.
People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.
Nevertheless, I am dismayed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw fit to defend Musk claiming he had been "falsely smeared." Netanyahu stated:
Elon is a great friend of Israel. He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
But if this is the atmosphere in which we know find ourselves we can expect more Nazi salutes from Musk and MAGA World who may adopt them as their own. Well, everything else has been normalized. I suppose it was only a matter of time before it was Nazism's turn for legitimacy.
On Monday, Anthony Santander became the first high profile free agent to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Venezuelan born outfielder agreed to a 5-year, $92.5 million contract.
Santander had played his entire 8-year MLB career with the Jays' AL East division rival Baltimore Orioles. In 2024, Santander belted a career best 44 HR and 102 RBI. He enters 2025 a .246 career hitter with 155 HR and 435 RBI.
What makes Anthony Santander different from everyone else?
It isn't like Santander didn't have options. Both the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels were interested in Santander's services. But there is a combination of things. There is the connection with the Jays front office as GM Ross Atkins signed Santander while he was with the Cleveland Indians. There is a strong Venezuelan connection as Santander is close friends with former MLB catcher Victor Martinez who is now also in the Jays front office. Santander also calls the Rogers Center his favorite ballpark.
Then again perhaps there is something about Rogers Centre and Toronto at large that goes beyond baseball for Anthony Santander. That something is why Santander signed with Toronto. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani had no connection to Toronto beyond baseball. Good luck in finding another free agent who has Santander's affinity for Toronto.
Yesterday, Harvard University became the latest academic institution to settle lawsuits filed against for an ineffective response towards anti-Semitism on campus following the events of October 7, 2023.
Among other things, the terms of the settlement will see Harvard adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism which covers anti-Zionism, with Jewish and Israeli identity covered by the university's Non-Discrimination and Anti-Bullying Policies (NDABP), prepare an annual report on anti-Semitism on campus for the next five years, hold an annual symposium on anti-Semitism and strengthen ties with Israeli academic institutions.
Notably, Shabbos Kestenbaum, a plaintiff in the suit, declined to be a part of the settlement and plans to pursue separate legal action against Harvard. Kestenbaum, who spoke at the Republican National Convention and subsequently endorsed Donald Trump, wants to go to trial so that Harvard can be subject to "punishment and discipline". I can understand some of his reservations about the settlement as it does not provide for punishment or discipline against students who harassed and physically accosted Jewish and Israeli students.
Yet, given that Kestenbaum no longer attends Harvard, I'm not sure how his case can proceed unless he gets other plaintiffs currently attending the school to join his suit and they can demonstrate further relief from the courts not provided in the settlement. Perhaps he is seeking to further raise his public profile within Trump World. We shall see.
Nevertheless, I cannot imagine Palestinian students and their supporters taking this decision laying down. It would not surprise me if they were to disregard the terms of the settlement and engage in more confrontational behavior.
Let me put it this way. If a student at Harvard were to criticize the Israeli government for not being fully prepared for October 7th or questioned its judicial reforms undertaken prior to October 7th, I hardly think that student would be subject to discipline.
On a personal note, as a resident of Cambridge who lives but a 15-minute walk from Harvard and saw anti-Semitic graffiti on posters of Israeli hostages, I think the settlement takes several steps in the right direction. Enough that I would be prepared to attend a movie at the Harvard Film Archive or go to a concert at the Sanders Theatre. Until yesterday, the only thing I could abide at Harvard is Remy the Humanities Cat. If not for this great creature, I would have shunned Harvard altogether.
Obviously, Harvard will need to be kept under close scrutiny should it try not to live up to the terms of the settlement.
Ichiro received 393 out of 394 ballots earning 99.7% of the vote in his first year of eligibility. The Japanese born batsmen played 19 MLB seasons mostly with the Seattle Mariners along with stints with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins. He finished his MLB career with 3,089 hits with a lifetime batting average of .311 with 117 and 780 RBI. Ichiro won AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP as well as the AL batting title in 2001 becoming only the second player in MLB history to do after Fred Lynn pulled it off with the Boston Red Sox in 1975. Earning AL All-Star selections in his first 10 seasons, he collected 200 or more hits in each of those seasons leading the AL in hits seven times. In 2004, Ichiro set the single season record for hits with 262 surpassing George Sisler 257 hits with the St. Louis Browns in 1920. He would also win his second AL batting crown posting a career high .372 batting average. For good measure, Ichiro won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves for his outfield play. Ichiro is the first Asian born player to receive a plaque in Cooperstown.
C.C. Sabathia was also elected to Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility receiving 86.8% of the vote. Drafted by the Cleveland Indians out of high school in the first round of the 1998 MLB Draft, Sabathia would make his MLB debut in 2001 and finish runner up in AL Rookie of the Year balloting to none other than Ichiro. In 2007, he won the AL Cy Young Award. In the middle of the 2008 season, Sabathia was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers where he helped them earn a NL Wild Card berth. Prior to the 2009 season, Sabathia signed a large free agent contract with the New York Yankees and would pitch with them the remainder of his playing career finishing in the top five in AL Cy Young balloting thrice. In 19 MLB seasons, Sabathia appeared in 561 games (560 starts) with a record of 251-161 with an ERA of 3.74 striking out 3093 batters along with six AL All-Star Team selections.
Billy Wagner got the call in his 10th and final year on the BBWAA ballot. A native of Virginia, Wagner was selected in the first round of the 1993 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros and make his MLB debut late in the 1995 season. The southpaw spent 16 seasons in MLB mostly with the Astros but had stints with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves and was selected to the NL All-Star Team seven times.. Although Wagner never led the league in saves, he finished with 422 which is 8th on the MLB all-time list. Only John Franco has more saves as a southpaw (424). Those 422 saves came out of 853 career appearances on the mound all in relief. Wagner went 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA striking out 1196 batters while walking only 300 in 903 innings pitched.
Ichiro, Sabathia and Wagner will join Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen (who were elected by the Classic Baseball Era Baseball Committee last month) for induction ceremonies in Cooperstown on July 27th. A hearty congratulations to all.
We have to bring them home. And you know, tonight, I'm going to be signing on the J-6 hostages' pardons to get them out. And as soon as I leave, I'm going to the Oval Office and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people, a lot of people.
They said, don't talk about the J-6 hostages that you're going to be releasing today. Sir, don't put that in your speech, please. I said, but really, I want to put it in my speech. They said, sir, it won't be unified like it is. It's so beautiful the way it is and it is getting great reviews. You know, if I put things like that in, I'll get terrible reviews.
We're going to release our great hostagesthat didn't do, for the most part, they didn't do stuff wrong.
All they want to do is go after the J-6 hostages. A 76-year-old grandmother was arrested the other day because she was looking, I think because she was looking at the Capitol or something like that. Nah, we're not going to put up with that crap anymore. And to stop the weaponization of law enforcement.
MAGA was the most successful political operation, political movement in the history of our country, maybe in the history of the world. Let's see what happens because we're not finished yet. We're not finished yet. We got a long way to go. But we're doing this in the very first day in office and in just a few moments, I'm not only signing the release of the J-6 hostages, I'm signing other things that you're going to love.
President Trump was gaslighting Noa Argamani and the families of Israeli hostages while they were standing next to him on stage so he could talk about the people he considers to be real hostages.
None of the 1500 plus people Trump chose to pardon yesterday know any of the suffering endured by Noa Argamani at the hands of Hamas and what Avinatan Or continues to suffer at the hands of Hamas.
That is, of course, assuming he is still alive.
Let me be clear. Those who assaulted U.S. Capitol Police on January 6, 2021, are not now and never have been hostages. They are criminals, pardon or no pardon. Period.
Say what you will about the DOJ. They are not to be confused with Hamas. Ever.
The only reason Trump considers the January 6th rioters to be hostages because they acted in his name.
To him Noa Argamani and the families of Israeli hostages are nothing more than props which are to be disposed of once he has no further use of them.
Unless it is for his own personal benefit, President Trump doesn't give a damn about the Israeli hostages or their families.
At this point, there is nothing we can do about Trump. It is Day 2 of a second term which will last four years and very possibly beyond.
But it would be a good opportunity for Democratic Senators (and perhaps a Republican Senator with a spine) to question former Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, his nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the UN, during her confirmation hearings for her characterization of the J-6ers as "hostages" more than a year ago.
Because we need to be clear about who is a hostage and who isn't a hostage.
A year ago, I cast a ballot for Jimmy Rollins, but not Chase Utley. This year I'm including Utley. I view Rollins and Utley the same way I view Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker. You can't have one without the other. They were the glue of those great Phillies team in the late 2000's and early 2010's.
Ichiro Suzuki, his longtime Mariners teammate Felix Hernandez and C.C. Sabathia are newbies on the BBWAA ballot. Ichiro with his 3089 hits is a lock to make Cooperstown. Ditto for Sabathia and his 3093 career strikeouts. King Felix doesn't quite have Sabathia's stats. But he was the game's most dominant southpaw between 2009 and 2015. He might not get in this year, but he will get his share of votes. That he played his entire career in Seattle could help.
The 2025 Hall of Fame ceremonies will take place on July 27th.
However, the proceedings got off to a very bumpy start. When I arrived at Porter Station the sign said the Braintree train was 5 stops away. But Alewife, the termination point for the Red Line, is only two stops away. I knew this long day was going to become that much longer.
Eventually, the entire Red Line shutdown and we were told to take shuttle buses. But not surprisingly the shuttle buses were slow in coming. I waited 30 minutes for a shuttle bus only to discover that it was only going to Harvard Square. Had I known that particular detail, I would have walked from Porter to Harvard rather than stand around in the bitter cold.
To give you an idea of how slow things were, Christopher had already arrived at the MFA from Providence before I managed to leave Porter Square. Well, I should qualify that a little bit. He arrived on the grounds of the MFA and had to wait 40 minutes to be admitted. My wait turned out to be only half an hour, but I had to endure several LGBTQ college kids talking about their sex lives in graphic detail. It's not that I object to sex talk per se, but it is the sort of talk which is better discussed among friends in private. Let me put it another way. Somehow, I cannot imagine them wanting to hear any unsolicited graphic sex talk from me. In any case, I held my tongue and waited for it to blow over.
We were brought back to reality when he had dinner at Galway House in Jamaica Plain. The Trump inauguration was on nearly all the channels and its red and yellow decor had a decidedly North Korean flair. Fortunately, the sound was down. If this was not the case, then we would have likely lost our appetites. Alas we both enjoyed hearty meals.
Whatever may come in the next four years and beyond, I still have friends with whom I can gather from time to time to enjoy life's small pleasures. If these small pleasures and the company which come with them aren't taken away, then the next four years will be a little more tolerable.
I think Biden should resist any temptation to issue such pardons.
First, by doing so, Biden would create the public perception that Cheney, Fauci and Schiff and anyone in receipt of such a pardon had actually committed crimes. People would think, "Gee, Biden pardoned Cheney. She must have done something real bad."
Second, Biden would also be basically telling us that if Cheney, Fauci and Schiff and others should not expect a fair trial with an impartial judge and jury. This certainly sends a bad message.
Third, let us not forget that President-elect Trump called for the "termination" of the U.S. Constitution. Trump could do that and render Biden's pardons moot. Absent the U.S. Constitution (including the 5th and 14th Amendments), the law would be whatever Trump says it is leaving him free to go after Cheney, Fauci, Schiff and anyone else he perceived as an enemy.
Preemptive pardons are an easy answer. But easy answers are invariably the wrong answers.
I would add the following. Not only do I think that Trump will countermand Biden's pardons, but that he might go as far as to issue preemptive pardons to Vice-President-elect Vance, his cabinet, staff and political appointees. They would effectively enjoy the same immunity as Trump will now enjoy.
Now one could argue that Trump might have done something like this whether Biden issued the pardons or didn't issue them. But the fact that Biden has issued these pardons gives Trump the political space to use his pardon power far more nefariously than he has done previously.
President Biden may have good intentions with these pardons especially with a January 6th witness like Cassidy Hutchinson. To paraphrase the old adage, Donald Trump is going to take the United States down the road to hell and President Biden has helped him pave it.
As I write this, there are just over 11 hours left in the presidency of Joe Biden.
At noon tomorrow, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.
Along of millions of other Americans who did not vote for him nor support him in any way, I cannot help but feel a tremendous trepidation of what is to come.
Whatever does come, it will be a very long four years and it may be longer than that should Trump see fit to remain in office beyond 2028. The 22nd Amendment might very well become a dead letter just like 14th amendment where it concerns presidential immunity.
Nevertheless, CBS will likely follow ABC's lead which amounted to an in-kind donation to the Trump Presidential Library (an oxymoron if there ever was one). George Stephanopoulos had said Trump had been found liable for raping E. Jean Carroll in a civil suit when he had "only" liable for sexual abuse. A distinction which warranted an on-air correction, not a civil suit. In what way did this story "damage" Trump? He won the election.
If media outlets bend to Trump's whim, he will eventually launch defamation suits for editorials merely criticizing his performance in office or perhaps editorials which endorse his opponents (this means you Washington Postand Los Angeles Times). The media has effectively begun to self-censor. But this isn't enough for Trump. He wants Vladimir Putin/Kim Jong-un like adulation.
The day before the election, I made the case that America had the choice between good (a Harris win), bad (a Harris win which was nullified by the states/Supreme Court installing Trump back into the White House) or ugly (a Trump win):
It would be ugly because Trump has made it loud and clear that he is seeking retribution. When I heard Trump say he'd be a dictator on day one, I understood it to be his intention to suspend the Constitution. Should this come to pass, and it survives judicial challenges, then Trump is free to jail and execute his enemies real and imagined, restrict the First Amendment by shutting down the free press, and make himself President-for-Life.
If a second Trump terms results in Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the Obamas, the Clintons, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Liz Cheney being imprisoned and/or executed for treason then none of us are safe. What consequences would I face from a second Trump Administration for posting these thoughts? Would I lose the job I worked so hard to earn? Or would I lose a great deal more than that?
What makes this truly ugly is that we will have freely chosen this path with no hope of going back. There are a great many Trump supporters who despise immigrants, look down upon women and LGBTQ persons and cannot countenance any viewpoint contrary to their own. These are people who are sick of democracy and want to try something else.
Well, we chose ugly. This is exactly what is so lamentable. The outcome was of our own making. If a plurality of Americans has concluded an unemployment rate of 4.1% and an inflation rate of 2.9% is a catastrophe, then we truly have no idea how good we have it. Granted, the 4.1% who are unemployed might not have it so good right now, but they are in a better position to find work that if the unemployment rate were 8.1%. We are the authors of our own discontent.
President Biden managed a COVID pandemic, produced sustained levels of low unemployment, reduced inflation, got an infrastructure bill passed, enabled Medicare to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. Yet none of it mattered. He was all but kicked to the curb from seeking a second term because he couldn't stand on a debate stage with a convicted felon. Harris capably stood on the debate stage with Trump, and it meant absolutely nothing.
I shudder to think what America has to lose during yet another Trump Administration. At this point, I am free to criticize President-elect Trump for his words and deeds. By this time tomorrow, the U.S. Constitution could be suspended. Even if he doesn't go that route, our freedom to criticize Trump will be eroded.
With that, I must reiterate what I wrote the day before the election. Will the words in this blog result in me losing my job or perhaps losing my life? It is a question I thought I would not have to ask during my near quarter century in the United States. But now the question must be asked, and I have a feeling I won't like the answer.
Until such time when the answer is revealed, I shall continue to speak out against Donald Trump, his words and deeds as President of the United States as I see fit. People are free to accept, reject or ignore my critique as always. Yet it must be said that if the incoming President of the United States cannot abide what I write in this space, then he will have once again demonstrated that he is ill-suited for the task for which he has been chosen. Trump might be immune from prosecution, but he is not immune from criticism. It is our duty to exercise that right as long as we have it.
At the hour Trump is inaugurated, I plan to meet my former roomie Christopher Kain at the MFA Boston to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It is my hope that I can while away a couple of hours seeing the beauty produced in art from America and beyond.
Former MLB player, coach, manager and broadcaster Jeff Torborg passed away today following a nearly 15-year battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was 83.
Although Torborg was the Angels' number one catcher during the '73 season, the team traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals. However, the Cardinals would release Torborg during spring training. However, Torborg's career in baseball was far from done.
In 1975, Frank Robinson, MLB's first African American manager, named Torborg to the Cleveland Indians coaching staff. When the Tribe fired Robinson during the 1977 season, Torborg succeeded him. Torborg was 35 when he took over the helm of the Indians making him the youngest manager in MLB. Torborg lasted just over two seasons in Cleveland before he was fired in favor of Dave Garcia after Bob Lemon (who had just been dismissed by the New York Yankees) declined the job.
However, Torborg was not out of a job for long as Billy Martin, who had replaced Lemon in the Bronx, hired him to his coaching staff. Somehow Torborg managed to stay on the Yankees coaching staff for nearly decade during the height of the George Steinbrenner era without getting fired. Torborg served under six different managers - Billy Martin (thrice), Dick Howser, Gene Michael (twice), Bob Lemon (the same Bob Lemon who nearly replaced Torborg in Cleveland), Clyde King and Lou Piniella (twice).
Torborg left the Yankees on his own terms when he was hired to manage the Chicago White Sox in 1989. After a last place finish during his inaugural season on the South Side of Chicago, the team would win 94 games in 1990 and finish in second place in the AL West behind the Oakland A's. It didn't hurt to have Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura and Bobby Thigpen saving 57 games. This turnaround earned Torborg AL Manager of the Year.
From 1995 to 2000, Torborg became a broadcaster for CBS Radio and FOX Sports. For the former, Torborg provided color commentary for the World Series alongside Vin Scully from 1995 to 1997. Indeed, during the 1997 World Series between the Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins, I remember listening to Scully and Torborg's coverage on the radio.
During the 2001 season, Torborg returned to the dugout to manage the Montreal Expos succeeding Felipe Alou. When Expos owner Jeffrey Loria sold the team to MLB so he could buy the Marlins, he hired Torborg to be his skipper. However, early in the 2003 season, Loria dismissed Torborg in favor of Jack McKeon who led the Marlins to their second World Series title in franchise history.
Pro wrestling fans of a certain vintage might remember Torborg's son, Dale Torborg, who wrestled in WCW as The Demon. The younger Torborg also served under his father as a strength and conditioning coach for the Expos and Marlins and would fill the same role with the Chisox earning a World Series ring in 2005.
In all, Jeff Torborg devoted nearly half of his life to baseball spending 40 years in the game as a player, coach, manager and broadcaster. R.I.P.
Gonen had been abducted during the Nova Music Festival while Damari and Steinbrecher were taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023.
Their handover in Gaza from Hamas to the Red Cross was chaotic to say the least. Hamas members were armed and in full regalia with the crowd slowing down the Red Cross vehicles carrying Ganen, Damari and Steinbrecher to freedom and taunting them with anti-Semitic chants thus prolonging their ordeal. The mob could have quite easily lynched the women. The people from Gaza, far from having endured a famine and genocide, are alive, well and hungry only for their hatred of the Jews.
Fortunately, Ganen, Damari and Steinbrecher are also alive and, hopefully in time will soon be well.
It is my hope that these women will tell the world about what happened to them - if they are prepared to do so. It is a lot to ask of them and any other hostages who were previously freed and shall soon be freed. As with Holocaust survivors, they would have to relive their traumatic experiences. These women are fully within their right to never share their what they endured.
Yet I have to believe there are enough decent people in the world who would be moved by the words of Romi Ganen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher to see Hamas for what it is - an organization committed to murdering Jews for being Jews.
This is the Vance children’s first introduction to life in Washington — and, unfortunately, it’s an entirely on-brand representation of the personal, partisan small-mindedness we often see in the nation’s capital.
Harris’ pettiness with the Vance family is emblematic of a woman who prides herself on empathy but practices little of it when faced with her political opponents.
Even thesmall childrenof her political opponents.
Her behavior in this instance is a microcosm of why she lost: The American people saw through her act.
Kamala was never going to bring a kinder, gentler, more caring shift to our political landscape.
She is a vindictive political operator, and we’re all better off with her moving truck headed back to California rather than down Massachusetts Avenue to the White House.
While one could argue that Harris ought to have shown Vance and his family the VP residence, it is hard for me to take Mandel's argument with any degree of seriousness. Did Donald Trump welcome Joe Biden into the White House? No, Trump claimed he didn't lose and tried to prevent Biden from assuming his rightful place in the White House. Thus, Mandel's admonition rings hollow.
If Mandel thinks Harris is "a vindictive political operator" who was "never going to bring a kinder, gentler, more caring shift to our political landscape" then what does that make Trump?
Mandel praises Vance's behavior with his children:
JD and Usha Vance’s children are 7, 4 and 2. They’ve grown up down the block from extended family in Ohio and just endured an unsettling six months as their father shuttled around the country campaigning.
Before that, their dad had to split his time between their Ohio home and Washington while serving as a US senator.
It has surely been a struggle for these young parents to maintain their children’s sense of stability amid so much uncertainty and stress.
They’ve done so admirably. Throughout the campaign, Vance was often photographed with one or another of the kids as they shared activities like baking biscuits and playing outside Mar-a-Lago, the home of his running mate.
His commitment to his kids was visible and endearing.
Indeed, during the campaign, Vance also made a point of telling Harris to "go to hell" and called her "trash". It could explain why Harris was disinclined towards giving Vance and his family a tour. Needless to say, Mandel omitted any mention of these incidents.
In less than 24 hours from now, Vance officially becomes Vice-President under a second Trump Administration. If the Bethany Mandels of the world were insufferable before I can only tell you it gets much worse from here.
On Saturday night, I went to the Kendall Square Cinema to take in a screening of September 5, a cinematic account of ABC Sports coverage of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the hands of Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics.
September 5 makes for a compelling, suspenseful drama despite knowing the tragic outcome. Perhaps because of this fact, I could not help but think about October 7. More than a half century after the events in Munich, Palestinian terrorists are still taking Israelis hostage and killing them.
To be certain, unlike in 1972, some hostages have been released, and more are due to be released under the auspices of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. But make no mistake. Palestinian terrorists will take Israelis hostage and kill them all the while demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners who have killed Jews before and shall surely kill Jews again. Plus ça change.
