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
In recent weeks, I have been disturbed by the violent acts of anti-Semitism which have taken place in and around New York City. If Jews cannot observe our traditions and go about our business without fear of violence in a city more Jews call home than any other then we are not safe anywhere.
This was the reason I was among an estimated 25,000 people who participated in the march and rally against anti-Semitism today (officially called the No Fear No Hate March organized by the United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York. To me this is a rather conservative estimate. It took 90 minutes to get from Chambers Street to the Brooklyn Bridge, a trek that would normally take 10 minutes. Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge took a little over an hour.
During this 2 1/2 hour period, I ought to have felt elation at the outpouring of support. Instead I was overwhelmed with disappointment. You see during those 2 1/2 hours there were plenty of chants of support for the rights of Muslims, transpeople and sex workers, signs which said "Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Up 57% Since Trump Was Elected" and "No War in Iran" along with the refrain of "Hey, hey!!! Ho ho!!! White supremacy has got to go!!!". White supremacy should die an awful death, but it had nothing to do with has transpired in Brooklyn, Monsey and Jersey City. Of course, those chanting for queer rights dare not mention Brooklyn, Monsey and Jersey City. That would mean holding minority communities to account and too many people would rather Jews be murdered than be accused of racism. These people, many of them Jews, also couldn't give a flying fuck about their brethren in the Orthodox Jewish communities.
I am pleased to say once in Cadman Park Plaza there was plenty of talk about Brooklyn, Monsey and Jersey City. Speeches by Bari Weiss and Eric K. Ward (the rare African-American leftist willing to call out African-American anti-Semitism) were rousing as was the brief set by Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu. But a speech by an MaNishtana, an African-American Orthodox rabbi was a downer when he patronizingly suggested that if Jews wanted solidarity they had to confront racism in our own communities and be engaged with other communities. I would suggest MaNishtana does not know his religious community very well at all. By the time the rally concluded at 3:30 I felt drained and dejected.
Now if this rally puts these acts of violence against Jews behind us then it will have been a worthwhile endeavor. But as long as a critical mass of Jews are unwilling to acknowledge who is responsible for attacks against their fellow Jews this violence will continue and get much worse. God help us.
I would like to make five observations about the U.S. military drone strike which killed Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force which is the elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
First, I believe that the killing of Soleimani is an entirely appropriate response in view of the attack on diplomatic personnel U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. That attack had Iran's fingerprints all over it. If Iran is involved then Soleimani was the head of the snake.
Third, even if one agrees that Trump's decision to order the military to kill Soleimani is the right decision, his foreign policy is still haphazard and incoherent. Trump takes a hard line on Iran while placating an equally evil regime in North Korea. I cannot help but wonder if Trump would have made such a decision if U.S. forces were still in Syria. After all, Soleimani has been a major source of support for the Assad regime during the nearly decade long war in Syria and worked closely with Vladimir Putin when Russia increased its presence in Syria in 2015. Had U.S. troops still been in Syria would Soleimani turned his attention to diplomatic personnel at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and put himself into President Trump's crosshairs?
The cruelty of last month's anti-Semitic attack at the kosher deli in Jersey City did not end with the death of two Jews, a Hispanic employee and a police officer. It has carried on in the form of two African-American officials justifying the attacks.
First there was Jersey City school board official Joan Terrell-Paige who in a Facebook post a week after the attack(which was subsequently deleted) referred to Jews as "brutes". Terrell-Paige went further by martyring David Anderson and Francine Graham, the two people responsible for the attack:
Mr. Anderson and Ms. Graham went directly to the kosher supermarket. I believe they knew they would come out in body bags. What is the message they were sending? Are we brave enough to explore the answer to their message?
Are we brave enough to stop the assault on the Black communities of America? My people deserve respect and to live in peace in this city.
Somehow I cannot imagine Terrell-Paige asking if we would be brave enough to explore Dylann Roof's message after he massacred the pastor and eight parishioners of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Anderson and Graham were motivated to kill by their hatred of Jews just as Roof was motivated to kill by his hatred of African-Americans. Evil is evil. There is no bravery in excusing it. Ever.
Indeed, had any public official asked if we were brave enough to explore Dylan Rooff's message that person would have resigned within a matter of hours. But when it comes to Terrell-Paige not only has she not resigned but a vigil was organized on her behalf which took place last night. Vigils ought to be reserved for those who lost their lives not those who justify their slaughter.
Yet it gets even worse. John Flora, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination in New Jersey's 10th Congressional District by challenging Democratic incumbent Donald Payne, Jr., also defended Terrell-Paige:
Rather than hastily demanding her resignation this was an ideal moment for our locally elected to sit down with Mrs. Terrell, clarify her statements, and be prepared to demonstrate empathy.
When Terrell-Paige says "the brutes of the Jewish community" "brazenly came on the property of Ward F Black homeowners and waved bags of money" what is there to clarify? Terrell-Paige has made her position loud, clear and unambiguous. As for our empathy, methinks it should be spared for those who are dead and cannot defend themselves.
Sadly Terrell-Paige isn't the only African American public official who justified the Jersey City slayings. Earlier this week, New Jersey NAACP official James Harris publicly blasted Hasidic Jews at a community forum characterizing them as “folks in long black suits and curly locks” who control the city council and school board. Note: there are no Jews on either body. Fortunately, Harris was publicly rebuked by Rabbi David Greenstein who stated, “If you take the word ‘Hasidics’ out and replace the word with ‘blacks,’ this whole room would be in an uproar. To generalize and to paint with that kind of broad brush, a situation that is so much more painful and complicated, is a sin.”
While Harris did state he was not speaking out on behalf of the New Jersey NAACP as of this writing the New Jersey NAACP has not sought to distance themselves from Harris.
This isn't to say that Terrell-Paige and Harris speak for New Jersey's African-American community at large. But when they make anti-Semitic statements and vigils are organized on their behalf with other public figures coming to their defense instead of being shamed and shunned it is a harbinger of things to come. If Terrell-Paige and Harris can get away with their defamation of Jews then you can be sure they won't be the last African-American public officials in New Jersey and elsewhere to make anti-Semitic statements. The floodgate will be soon unleashed upon us and most will try to wash their hands of it. All of which will lead to the social acceptability of anti-Semitism in the United States. If that happens then we can also expect more violent attacks against Jews in New Jersey, New York and everywhere else we dare to breathe.
Earlier this week, while addressing a rally in Derry, New Hampshire, Joe Biden had some advice for coal miners - learn to code:
Anybody who can go down 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well... Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God’s sake!
The remark was followed by dead silence and with it his chances to defeat Donald Trump.
Nothing is more insulting than a politician implying that his audience his stupid and that all a coal miner need to do is get training and all their problems will be solved despite the dubious results of most federal job training programs. Joe Biden has said a lot of stupid things over the years, but this might be the most foolish. It's the sort of thing that people remember when going to the ballot box. It's the kind of thing which cost Hillary Clinton Pennsylvania when she infamously said "we're gonna put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business."
This could cost Joe Biden a lot more than Pennsylvania. There are miners in New Hampshire and Hillary won the state by 0.4% in 2016. Biden would be wise not to take New Hampshire for granted much less for granite.
On a personal note, my maternal grandfather was a coal miner in the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta for 43 years starting at the age of 15. It was dangerous work, but it was dignified work. My grandfather got the job in 1930 when the Great Depression was in its infancy. As such he was lot more fortunate than most. He didn't expect the world to owe him a living, but I can't imagine he would have tolerated a politician calling his intelligence and dedication into question.
The Democratic Party, a political entity which proclaims to speak for working class people, does itself no favors when it's likely presidential standard bearer speaks of the working class with such contempt and ridicule instead of compassion and respect. Biden words to coal miners in America will come back to haunt him and Donald Trump will see to it that it does even if he doesn't give a damn about coal miners than he does about anyone else who works for him.
Although Castro appeared on the debate stage in October, he failed to make the cut off for November and December's debate and it was highly unlikely he would make this month's debate in Iowa. The Left will complain about the lack of diversity as it did when Kamala Harris departed in December, but last I checked AOC, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were stumping for Bernie Sanders.
Castro could still play a big role in the 2020 election. He is certainly a possible VP running mate. I wouldn't be surprised if Elizabeth Warren would give him the nod. Castro would be Warren's bad cop and I'm sure Democrats would enjoy him debating Mike Pence. It also wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility if Biden forgave Castro and named him his running mate although I suspect Biden will pick a woman of color like Harris or Stacey Abrams. In which case, Castro will probably be on a lot of TV screens as a campaign surrogate for the Democratic nominee whoever he or she might be.
But if Castro rubbed people the wrong way during his presidential campaign chances are his efforts won't help any other Democrat get elected President.
Former major league pitcher Don Larsen, best remembered for throwing a perfect game for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series, died on New Year's Day of esophageal cancer. He was 90.
If one looks at Larsen's big league stats, he hardly had a distinguished career. Larsen did pitch for 14 seasons but had a decidedly mediocre career record of 81-91 with a 3.78 ERA in 412 big league appearances, most of which came out of the bullpen at a time when being in the bullpen was far from glorious. Originally signed by the St. Louis Browns out of high school in 1947 when he was 17. Larsen missed two seasons due to serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War although he did not see combat. Larsen made his big league debut with the Browns in 1953 and would follow the team to Baltimore in 1954 and would go 3-21 with a 4.37 ERA during the Orioles' inaugural season.
Despite his 21-loss campaign, the Yankees saw something in the lanky right-hander and acquired Larsen in a 17 player trade along with future 20 game winner Bob Turley in exchange for the likes of Gene Woodling, Gus Triandos and Hal Smith (who would come back and haunt the Yankees in the 1960 World Series). The Yankees used Larsen as a swing man in 1955 going 9-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 19 appearances (13 of them starts) despite walking more batters (51) than he struck out (44). Larsen pitched well enough to earn a start in Game 4 of the 1955 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was far from perfect lasting only four innings as both Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges took him deep en route to an 8-5 loss in what proved to be Brooklyn's only World Series title.
Larsen would have his best season in 1956 earning career highs in wins (11) and strikeouts (107) in 38 appearances including 20 starts. Despite his contributions, Larsen would have probably voted the pitcher least likely to throw a perfect game in the World Series. Larsen was nicknamed "Gooney Bird" for his love of the nightlife. Of course, Larsen wasn't the only Yankee who loved to party. Can you say Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Billy Martin? Yet it was Casey Stengel who said of Larsen that the only thing he feared was sleep.
It didn't help matters when Larsen got knocked out in the second inning of Game 2 of the 1956 World Series after walking four batters as the Dodgers scored six runs that frame wiping out a 6-0 lead. The Dodgers would win this game 13-8. But 72 hours later, Larsen would make himself a baseball immortal and earn his first World Series ring along with World Series MVP honors. Well, here's how he told it to Bob Hope who was kind enough to give him a Corvette in return.
Larsen contributed to the Yankees' AL pennant winner in 1957 and earned another World Series ring in 1958. He pitched in four more World Series games. He wasn't perfect, but he won two more World Series games for the Yankees. Larsen was also very good hitting pitcher. In 1958, Larsen hit .306 with 4 HR and 13 RBI in only 57 plate appearances. Larsen had a lifetime batting average of .242 with 14 HR and 72 RBI.
The Yankees parted ways with Larsen prior to the 1960 season when they shipped him along with Hank Bauer, Norm Sieburn and "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry to the Kansas City A's for a young slugger named Roger Maris. While Maris would win the 1960 AL MVP and earn a baseball immortality of his own the following year, Larsen struggled with the A's going 1-10 with a 5.38 ERA in 22 appearances during the 1960 season.
The A's traded Larsen to the Chicago White Sox in the middle of the 1961 season. Prior to the 1962 season, the Chisox dealt Larsen and Billy Pierce to the San Francisco Giants which would win its first NL pennant on the West Coast. Larsen made three relief appearances for the Giants against the Yankees in the Fall Classic earning a win in Game 4. However, the Giants fell to the Yankees in seven games when Willie McCovey lined out to Bobby Richardson.
Larsen pitched with the Giants through the middle of the 1964 season when his contract was purchased by the Houston Colt-45s. Larsen was with the team when they were renamed the Astros, but would be traded back to the Orioles early in the 1965 season. Despite posting a respectful 2.67 ERA in 27 appearances with the Orioles, the team parted ways with him early in 1966 - a season in which the O's would win their first World Series. Larsen would spend 1966 in the minor leagues in the Giants organization. He briefly returned to the bigs for three appearances with the Chicago Cubs in 1967 before returning to the minors where he would remain before hanging it up after the 1968 season thus ending two decades as a professional baseball player.
In the 60 plus years after Larsen's day in the sun, his stature has only grown as his accomplishment has never been replicated. The late Roy Halladay did throw a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds. But even Halladay's achievement made Larsen's performance that much more amazing.
Larsen's perfect game took on a mystical quality when David Wells and David Cone threw their perfect games for the Yankees in 1998 and 1999. Larsen and Wells both attended Point Loma High School in San Diego. Cone's perfecto was even more poignant as both Larsen and Yogi Berra were in attendance. It was Berra's first appearance at Yankee Stadium in 14 years after his public falling out with George Steinbrenner. Larsen might have only been perfect for one day, but his perfection rubbed off when he was in the presence of other Yankee pitchers.
If Yogi Berra were still with us he might say of Don Larsen, "He didn't have to be perfect to be perfect." R.I.P.
The defending AL Central champion Minnesota Twins have added two veteran starting pitchers - Homer Bailey and Rich Hill. Each signed one year contracts worth $7 million and $3 million, respectively. Incentives could take Hill's salary up to $9.5 million.
Bailey, 33, enjoyed a renaissance 2019 season which he split between the Kansas City Royals and the Oakland A's. His 13 wins in 2019 tied his career best which he attained back in 2012. A year ago, it seemed Bailey's career was over. In 2018, Bailey went 1-14 with a 6.09 ERA in 20 starts with the Cincinnati Reds. Last off-season, the Reds dealt Bailey to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Alex Wood in a deal that didn't bear fruit for either club. The Dodgers quickly released Bailey and the Royals took a chance on him. Bailey pitched well enough in K.C. to draw interest from the A's shortly after the All-Star break and would win 6 of his 9 decisions with the club en route to an AL Wild Card berth. Bailey will give the Twins innings in 2020.
The same cannot be said of Hill who had elbow surgery in October. Hill, 39, was limited to 13 starts with the Dodgers in 2019, but went 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA striking out 72 in 58 2/3 innings pitched. Hill could help the Twins down the stretch as might Michael Pineda. But whether Hill and Bailey can make up for the departure of Kyle Gibson remains to be seen. Let's put it this way. Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez will make more impact on their AL Central rival Chicago White Sox than Homer Bailey and Rich Hill will for the Twins.
