Why I'm Not Surprised Curt Schilling Harbors Anti-Semitic Views

Yesterday, former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling retweeted an anti-Semitic post on X (formerly known as Twitter) without comment thus indicating agreement and approval.

Schilling retweeted a post from an anti-Semite named Lucas Gage who demanded to know why Jews dominate a nation "when they didn't found (sic) said nation" while claiming Jews "consider themselves separate from all humanity because they're supposedly chosen by God".

I cannot say I'm surprised that Schilling harbors anti-Semitic sentiment. Given all the other conspiracy theories he's embraced over the years, I suppose it was only a matter of time before he embraced the world's oldest conspiracy theory. 

It was Johnny Bench's anti-Semitism which came as a surprise to me. To me, that came out of nowhere. Yet the fact that I am not surprised Schilling would amplify anti-Semitic sentiment online doesn't dissipate my sadness and contempt for someone I publicly said was worthy of inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame irrespective of his politics and still do. 

Curt Schilling was a great baseball pitcher. Curt Schilling is also an awful human being.

David McCallum, 1933-2023

Actor David McCallum passed away today in New York of natural causes. His death comes six days after he turned 90. 

If one is a boomer, then one is likely to best remember McCallum for his portrayal of Ilya Kuryakin in the NBC TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in which he co-starred with Robert Vaughn from 1964-1968. If one is a GenXer, Millennial or younger, then one is most likely to remember McCallum as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on the long running CBS TV series NCIS for the past 20 years. 

McCallum also had roles in movies such as The Great Escape and The Greatest Story Ever Told as well as starring in British TV series such as Colditz and Sapphire & Steel with Joanna Lumley as well as the short-lived NBC TV series The Invisible Man. Some of McCallum's other acting credits include appearances on Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, Marcus Welby: M.D., Night Gallery, Hart to Hart, Murder, She Wrote, Sex and The City and The A-Team where he reunited with Vaughn. An oboist by training, McCallum also recorded four instrumental albums for Capitol Records during the 1960's in collaboration with producer David Axelrod. One of McCallum's compositions, "The Edge" has been sampled by both Dr. Dre and John Legend.

McCallum's son Peter issued this statement:

He was the kindest, coolest, most patient and loving father. He always put family before self. He looked forward to any chance to connect with his grandchildren, and had a unique bond with each of them. He and his youngest grandson, Whit, 9, could often be found in the corner of a room at family parties having deep philosophical conversations.

He was a true renaissance man — he was fascinated by science and culture and would turn those passions into knowledge. For example, he was capable of conducting a symphony orchestra and (if needed) could actually perform an autopsy, based on his decades-long studies for his role on NCIS. 

After returning from the hospital to their apartment, I asked my mother if she was OK before she went to sleep. Her answer was simply, “Yes. But I do wish we had had a chance to grow old together.” She is 79, and dad just turned 90. The honesty in that emotion shows how vibrant their beautiful relationship and daily lives were, and that somehow, even at 90, Daddy never grew old.

Now that is a remarkable tribute for a man who lived a wonderful life, especially from McCallum's widow Katherine Carpenter. McCallum was first married to actress Jill Ireland for a decade. Shortly after divorcing Ireland in 1967, McCallum would marry Carpenter and remain married for 56 years. The fact that Carpenter told her son she wished she had grown old with him tells me they were still very much in love with each other. This cannot be said of most marriages. They were in it until death did them part. R.I.P.

Georgia Governor Kemp Claims President Biden is "Obscene" & "Destroying Our Country" as Trump Calls for General Milley's Execution, Accuses NBC/MSNBC of Treason

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has time and again incurred the wrath of defeated, former President Donald Trump where it concerns the results of the 2020 election in the Peach State.

Yet Kemp will endorse the former President when he becomes the GOP nominee for the third time.

In an interview with Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over the weekend, Kemp said: 

Despite all of that, despite all of his other trials and tribulations, he would still be a lot better than Biden. And the people serving in the administration would be a lot better than Joe Biden.

And it has nothing to do with being a coward. It has everything to do with winning and reversing the ridiculous, obscene positions of Joe Biden and this administration that literally, in a lot of ways, are destroying our country.

On the contrary, it has everything to do with cowardice. Kemp is no different from nearly all the Republican presidential hopefuls who raised their hands and said they would support Trump if he was the nominee at last month's GOP debate in Wisconsin including former Vice-President Mike Pence who if Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol had their way would have been strung up by his neck. A fate which, by the way, Trump thought Pence deserved. So, if Pence is willing to support Trump despite the fact Trump agreed with the mob which he incited to attack the U.S. Capitol, then why should Kemp be any different than any other Republican? Kemp is yet another GOP quisling.

Now that Kemp has given Trump his blessing it is well worth posing these questions.

For starters, how exactly does Kemp think Trump would be a lot better than Biden?

Is Kemp down with executing generals as Trump is with outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley? If this is what Trump thinks ought to happen to the people who serve in his administration, then what makes Kemp think any responsible adult would want to serve in a second Trump Administration? We'll be stuck with the Steve Bannons, Steve Millers, Seb Gorkas, Kash Patels and Corey Lewandowskis of the world. 

Is Kemp on board with claiming TV networks like NBC and MSNBC are engaging in treason because they dare to disagree with the Holy Orange One and refuse to amplify his lies?

Does Kemp think terminating the Constitution is one of the things which makes Trump a lot better than Biden?

In view of the fact that Trump is on public record as being in favor of executing General Milley, accusing NBC and MSNBC of treason and terminating the Constitution, what makes Kemp think President Biden's positions are obscene much less destroying the country?

Governor Kemp cannot answer these questions because his proposition regarding President Biden is predicated on a false premise, and he knows it. Kemp is concerned not with the future of this country, but the future of his career. 

In the words of Liz Cheney at the January 6th hearings in June 2022, "Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain."

In endorsing Trump, Kemp has now adorned the cloak of dishonor and will never be able to take it off.

If Trump Beats Biden in 2024

A great deal is being made of the ABC News/Washington Post poll which has defeated, former President Donald Trump leading President Biden by 10 points because the media likes to make a great deal of things. 

Yet if we look at recent polls done over the same period, this ABC News/Washington Post poll is clearly an outlier as illustrated below via Real Clear Politics.

It is worth noting the sample size for the ABC News/Washington Post poll is much smaller than the other polls conducted over the past couple of weeks or so. If we exclude this poll, all the other polls are in a statistical tie or have either Biden or Trump in the lead within the margin of error of plus or minus 4%. 

Let us also keep in mind that if a week in politics is a lifetime than a year plus is an eternity. President Biden could be re-elected and there would be not a goddamn thing Trump could do about it even if he continues to scream fraud and rigged in all caps. 

We nevertheless must be mindful that notwithstanding the fact that Trump is facing 91 charges in four separate criminal cases and that we have a national unemployment rate of 3.8%, it is certainly more than possible American voters are prepared to give Trump another shot at the White House. 

Should this come pass then it would say as much about the character of the American voter as it does about the character of Trump himself. If the American voter see fits to give Trump another chance, then that tells us the American voter doesn't really care if Trump falsified his business records, carelessly and unlawfully shared top secret war plans on tape, saw fit to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and tried to get state officials to find him votes he never earned. 

It would also tell us the American voters does not care about the low unemployment rate because of inflation despite the fact it has been cut by more than half over the past year. Nevertheless, we have a generation of voters who remember two decades of zero inflation who cannot fathom inflation of 3% much less the double-digit inflation which prevailed in this country in the late 1970's and early 1980's. A vote for Trump would be a reminder that a great many Americans trust Trump more than they trust their own families despite his numerous and ongoing lies. 

Should Donald J. Trump be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025, I am tempted to say that we deserve everything which is coming to us. However, this would be unfair to the generation of younger Americans who have no say in the matter and yet will face the consequences of his retribution every bit as much as the rest of us. 

A second Trump presidency could be constrained by a Democratic controlled House and Senate, but I could easily see a scenario where Trump uses a State of the Union address to suspend the Constitution as a means to purge members of Congress from both parties, the cabinet and Supreme Court and have them tried and executed much as Saddam Hussein did with members of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party after ascending to power in 1979. If this comes to pass, then the American experiment in democracy will have come to a bloody end. 

Although we must prepare for the worst, it is also all too easy to the American voter as it is to underestimate President Biden. While the American voter might have reservations about Biden's age and his performance, it is possible that the American voter could also see that returning Trump to the White House is not a viable option and view Biden as a safer option and give him a second term. 

Of course, Trump would howl but that would be all he could do. It wouldn't mean American democracy was in the clear, but it would mean that the American voter still wants values democracy and wants to live by it.

Will Fanny Finally Get Into The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Now That Jann Wenner Has Been Removed From Its Board?

I don't know what the hell Rolling Stone magazine co-founder Jann Wenner was thinking when he told The New York Times a few days back female musicians were not "articulate enough on this intellectual level" to be included in his book The Masters (which features interviews Wenner did over the years with Bono, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townshend). Nor do I know what he was thinking when given the opportunity to reconsider the comment. Because it was at that point which Wenner grabbed a shovel and started digging:

It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest. You know, Joni (Mitchell) was not a philosopher of rock ’n’ roll. She didn’t, in my mind, meet that test. Not by her work, not by other interviews she did. The people I interviewed were the kind of philosophers of rock.

Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as “masters,” the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level. 

Wenner's statements are reminiscent of the late Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Al Campanis who in April 1987 told Ted Koppel on Nightline that African-Americans didn't have the "necessities" to become managers or general managers. Mind you, one of Campanis' former Dodgers players Dusty Baker last year led the Houston Astros to a World Series title. 

Speaking of last year, there was Ilya Shapiro of Georgetown University's Constitutional Law Center who odiously lamented that President Biden would pick a "lesser black woman" for the U.S. Supreme Court. President Biden would appoint Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Court, a black woman but hardly lesser. 

As you probably know by now, the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Board of Directors has cut ties with Wenner despite his subsequent apology. While there is little doubt Wenner is guilty of racial and gender prejudice, he has also long been someone with a mercurial disposition. In 2007, Wenner manipulated voting in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame ballot to induct hip-hop group Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five despite having fewer votes than British invasion stars Dave Clark Five. Although the DC5 would be inducted the following year following an uproar, lead singer Mike Smith would pass away only days before the ceremony.

Now that Wenner is out of the picture, it would seem that we can look forward to more female and African-American inductees in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in years to come. The question is whether Wenner's removal help Fanny get inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame next year?

Given the inflammatory nature of Wenner's comments, one would think that an all-female band which was the first to release an album on a major record label, was a multiracial band and with members who are LGBTQ would get stronger consideration for induction and that pressure would be put to bear on the board to give Fanny its long overdue recognition as a musical influence. 

But memories are short. With everything going on in this country (much less the world) which will soon turn its attention to the 2024 presidential election, Wenner's comments will likely soon be forgotten or at the very least get lost in the media ecosystem. Notwithstanding Fanny's increased profile online and in social media and with Bobbi Jo Hart's documentary Fanny: The Right to Rock, the group's induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame is far from guaranteed even with Wenner's dubious statements. 

The best Fannynatics can do on our end is to be persistent in getting behind Fanny. Whatever Wenner might think of female musicians, Fanny talked with their music. While it is important to recognize the contributions of female rock 'n roll pioneers as well as those female pioneers who are Asian and identify as LGBTQ, should Fanny be inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame it will be because they rock.

Republicans Are Trying to Impeach President Biden in Bad Faith

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has formally announced impeachment proceedings against President Biden.

This, as with most things Republicans do, is being done entirely in bad faith.

Republicans and their sycophants in the conservative media ecosphere would have us simultaneously believe that Biden is a doddering old man with dementia while at the same time the head of the "Biden crime family". Sorry folks, but no. You can have one or you can have the other. But you cannot have both.

Of course, all of this is brought to you by the folks who decry the weaponization of the federal government who have launched a query to find something, anything to remove President Biden from office. Meanwhile, they look credulously at defeated, former President Trump's conduct while in office. 

It might have been Speaker McCarthy who made the announcement, but it was Marjorie Taylor Greene who was doing the talking. After all, it was Greene who first introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden the day after he was sworn into office. Back in May, Greene introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden concerning his administration's handling of migrant crossings across the U.S.-Mexico border. 

I hate to break it to the Marjorie Taylor Greene's of the world, but policy differences are not "high crimes and misdemeanors" are not grounds for impeachment. And while Biden's son Hunter might have broken the law, it does not mean his sins have been visited upon the President. This too is not grounds for impeachment. On the other hand, threatening to withdraw military aid from a foreign government unless they open an investigation against your political rivals or trying to unlawfully prevent the peaceful transfer of power are grounds for impeachment. 

I think most people recognize that President Biden, even if they are not very fond of him, hasn't done anything which rises (or more accurately sinks) to the level of defeated, former President Trump's conduct. But these inquiries might put in enough doubt that some voters to view Biden to be as morally, ethically and criminally deficient as Trump. 

When it comes right down to it, the whole objective of seeking to impeach President Biden has nothing to do with his actual conduct but to weaken him sufficiently for voters to see fit to return Donald Trump to the White House. Nothing more, nothing less.

From September 11th to January 6th: Rudy Giuliani's Fall From Grace

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. One of the few rays of light coming from the day of darkness was the aplomb of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. His was a voice of both reassurance and righteous outrage. He would soon be dubbed America's Mayor. 

Some thought he should become America's President - myself included. Of course, his 2008 White House bid was a spectacular failure. For my part, I ended up supporting John McCain. But Giuliani still had plenty of goodwill and he could have ridden off into the sunset.

Instead, Giuliani became a stooge for defeated, former President Donald Trump as his personal lawyer and ended up losing his law license in both New York and in D.C. in the process. Giuliani's association with Trump consisted of working behind the scenes to put the screws to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open up an investigation against then former Vice-President Joe Biden resulting in Trump's eventual first impeachment. Giuliani was subsequently heavily involved in trying to overturn the 2020 election both in Georgia and in the events leading up to January 6th up to and including telling Trump's supporters, "Let's have trial by combat." 

Of course, Giuliani is among those charged in the Georgia RICO case and is an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal January 6th case. For bad measure, a federal judge recently issued a default judgment against Giuliani for defaming two Georgia election workers who happen to be an African-American mother and daughter. Giuliani falsely claimed the daughter handed the mother a thumb drive "like they were vials of heroin or cocaine" while dealing a full deck of race cards.

In the midst of all this, there were the farts heard round the world, the press conference in front of a landscaping business next to an adult bookstore and a crematorium as Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, the hair dye running down his cheeks and, of course, then there was Borat's daughter. 

As political strategist Rick Wilson put it, "Everything Trump touches dies." Or in Giuliani's case, we have a painful, steep decline. Mind you, I don't feel sorry for Giuliani. He brought this on himself and made some awful decisions and probably won't stop short of testifying against Trump. Yet Giuliani did some good for New York City and did a great deal of good in the days after the 09/11 attacks. (And there was a time when Giuliani would occasionally call Trump out on his bullshit especially where it concerned 9/11). Sadly, that good has been all but negated by putting Donald Trump ahead of the country. The same could be said for most of the Republican Party.