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.
