Recently in Current Events Category

With the passing of writer Budd Schulberg there is the usual outpouring of hosannas and allelujahs to a great screenwriter and novelist and he was indeed a talented man who penned some excellent, enduring and quote-worthy works of art and therefore I feel neither the need nor the desire to add to said heapings of praise. Instead, I'd like to put on record one of the aspects of Mr. Schulberg's life that is largely missing from these paeans.

Even the "Gray Lady" herself, the New York Times, glossed over the shameful fact that in the 1950's Budd Schulberg and his occasional collaborator Elia Kazan both testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and thus destroyed the lives of many of their former colleagues including Ring Lardner Jr., Dalton Trumbo and Herbert Biberman. He named at least 15 of his close friends, helping to send many if not all of them to jail. As I have written before this is a shocking and despicable act and it must not be forgotten.

So far, only Carolyn Kellogg in the L.A. Times has run a piece about Schulberg and his betrayals and the testimony quoted in the article gives a pretty good idea of the kind of a man Schulberg was at the time. He claimed that he became disillusioned with the the Communist Party when Stalin signed a non-aggression pact and that the CP interfered with his work.

Both are valid criticisms (assuming the latter was true) and Schulberg was perfectly within his rights to leave the party, which he did. However, going on to name names and cooperate in one of the most horrific instances of government abuse in our nation's history was going too far.

"Dalton [Trumbo] wrote one good novel and that's it." [Schulberg told Victor Navasky for the latter's book Naming Names.] Most of these people never tried to write any social realism. I think maybe [they had some] guilt about making two thousand dollars a week and doing nothing. You could make it up by paying ten percent dues [to the Party], and maybe that made you feel better about being a hack. Most of them settled for being hacks.

These people, if they had it in them, could have written books and plays. There was not a blacklist in publishing. There was not a blacklist in the theater. They could have written about the forces that drove them into the Communist Party. There was practically nothing written."

So according to Schulberg, even though his testimony led to the loss of his former friends' ability to earn a living, it was their own damn fault because they either weren't as prolific as he was or weren't able to shift to stage plays and books, thus avoiding the Hollywood blacklist? That's a level of ego bordering on narcissism. Of course Schulberg was also wrong about Trumbo's output.

Please, save your "but he was a fantastic writer and deserves the accolades" responses. Of course he was a great writer and yes, deserves to be lauded as such. That said, when one does bad deeds, when one betrays long-standing friendships, when one does irreparable damage to the lives of that many people and their families, it must be included in any wrap up of your life. You don't get to skate in death, just because you were a great artist in life.

William Shatner once again proves that he is a treasure!

In light of the past few months, I thought I'd take a few minutes to once again, watch Barack Obama's transformational speech from the 2004 Democratic National Convention and I am struck by three things: 1) At the time of the speech (July 28, 2004) there were "only" 900 dead American service men and women in Iraq while today, 1/23/2009, there are 4,229, according to icasualties.org. 2) My god, can you imagine what the past four years would have been like had the Kerry/Edwards ticket actually won? and 3) I suppose it's possible that then state senator Barack Obama didn't have his eyes on the prize, but David Axelrod and other certainly did. This was the mother of all coming out speeches.

I remember watching it back then and being blown away. I was not following politics as closely as I am now and admit to not really knowing him as a rising star in the Democratic Party before the speech, but after? There was no doubt that there was a bright future for Sen. Obama.

I will also admit that until late summer, 2008, I had relatively little hope for the election of Barack Obama to the presidency. My experience as a political junkie and the political and racial history of the United States made his election, to me, an incredibly unlikely thing. Up until the Democratic National Convention in Denver, I had a hard time allowing myself to believe that he could be the nation's first black president but, turning the phrase on its head, the "perfect storm" made it possible and maybe, just maybe, I under-estimated the open mindedness of the American people.

I say "maybe" because let's face it, the combination of George W. Bush's "achievements" and Senator McCain's choice of Palin to crown an awful campaign cleared the way, at least a little, for the victory that so many of us celebrated with gusto on November 4th and again on January 20th. I say "maybe" because I am not yet convinced we are in a true "post-racial America" (whatever that really means) but I am genuinely ecstatic about the result.

And as for the rest? It's up to the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama to show us what he's made of and it's up to us to do our part.

According to several reports, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board ruled today that Al Franken has won his bid to defeat GOP douchebag senator Norm Coleman in Minnesota. The current margin of victory is 225 votes or 0.0077%, according to the Huffington Post. The big loser crybaby Senator Coleman is expected to challenge the results, but that would likely require a federal court willing to hear the argument from the losing campaign which some analysts think is unlikely to happen. Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie (a democrat) must co-sign the certification within a week.

A little bit of levity for an otherwise bad news Friday, sent to me by my good friend Jeremy and remixed by a friend of his. We may be in a recession, whole industries may be on the verge of collapse and we may be stuck in two, bloody wars, but at least we have....The New Puppy!

Funny or Die is hit or miss but this one is a hit, sho nuff! My only real complaint is that it's too short. Give us a couple more numbers, guys!

No matter what, the times, they are a changin'. How much and for whom is yet to be determined but the fact remains, Tuesday, November 4th was a transformative moment in American history. That said, it's now time for us to take this advantage that we've given ourselves as the electorate and run with it. What's on the agenda?
Universal healthcare, ending the war in Iraq quickly and safely and fixing the economy in a manner that ensures that the American workforce has high-paying, productive and meaningful jobs, not just low-wage service industry positions, among many other things.

If President-elect Obama is going to fix anything, he's going to need our help and our vigilance but we're not going to be able to do it ourselves. 53% and control of the House and Senate ain't gonna be enough. As the song goes, we're going to need the senators and congressmen, as well as the mothers and fathers. Their old road may be rapidly aging, but we've yet to really pave our new one.

There are signs that the youth of America might be emerging from 40 years of torpor and apathy and I hope so. For those of us in the middle, not yet old and no longer young, it is our job to do what we should have done more than 20 years ago and that's make our voices heard and make sure those that are becoming active for the first time, those young faces on videos like this one stay active. We must engage them in the process and work of a participatory democracy.

For too long the people of the United States have been silent and for too long we have allowed those in power to erode the constitution and operate without any checks and balances. That time is over. This election was a great first step, but first step it was. Unless we take back the power and the rights that we have given up, piece by piece, since the Reagan "revolution," the election of Barack Obama, as important, beautiful and historic as it was, won't achieve its promise and we will have wasted this biggest opportunity we've had in decades to change America and the world, for the better.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Copyright ©1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

This is a heartfelt, emotional and human comment on California's passage of Proposition 8. It's just over 6 minutes long and if you know anyone who voted for Prop 8, show them this. It might not change their minds but it might just make them think about it a little. There are lessons to be learned, here. Lessons about re-defining marriage, for example. This clip is short and too the point and if you voted for Prop 8, I hope it shames you.

Bookmark this page, as I'll be posting often, including pix from the Rabbi Report's magnificent election night gala, right here on E. 9th St. in Greenwich Village (you know...the place where all the pinkos are).

11:00pm- I have no words. We've done it and I'm overcome by emotion. Colorado and Florida, too. 333 electoral vote, so far. I am going to go and be with my friends for a while.

10:20pm-Text from a Fox News staffer to a friend: "Memo sent from McCain campaign: No path to 270." Well, we already knew it, but man...it's great to hear the McCain camp say it, even if it's "secret."

9:25pm-ABC and MSNBC have called Ohio for Obama. Add that to CA, WA, OR and HI....well, you do the math.

9:21-CNN calls the KY Senate race for Mitch McConnell. Not good.

Losing Pennsylvania and NH is incredibly damaging to McCain.
8:32pm-ABC calls the NC senate for race for Kay Hagan. +3!

8:21pm-Jeanne Shaheen (D) defeats GOP senator John Sununu in NH, so that's a net pick up of 3 seats for the Dems!

8:15p,-Fox News predicts Liddy Dole, going down in flames in North Carolina. If that's true, that's another Senate pick up for the Dems!

8:05pm-Multiple networks call Pennsylvania and NH for Obama. EV counts are now 102-34. CNN, however, has NOT called PA.

7:53pm-Numbers in Florida and Indiana are looking very good for Obama. Track the county by county races here.

7:50pm-Lunsford is only down by 6/10th of a percent, with over 28% of the vote reported in KY. This is really good.

7:30pm-Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina closed. CNN unable to make any predictions.

7:13pm-Bruce Lunsford (D) is giving GOP stalwart Mitch McConnell a run for his money. It's a 2 point race with 13% reporting. Follow it here.

Adam Kersh colors in Vermont for Obama:

7:04am- Obama wins VT (3 EV) and McCain picks up Kentucky (8 EV). No big surprise, here. Mark Warner wins a senate seat in VA. Dems +1 in the Senate.

6:54pm: Six minutes. Six Minutes. Six minutes, Doug E. Fresh, you're on!

6:00pm: Polls in most of Indiana and 1/2 of Kentucky are now closed. However, networks will (rightly) not predict until 7:00pm.

4:45pm: The party will feature booze, food and the special Giant Rabbi-Tastic Map™:

Stay tuned for special election night coverage, as we watch this historic night unfold. I might even post some pix or video of special guests changing the colors on the map!

If you're voting in New York State, today and you're voting for Barack Obama I urge you to vote on Row E, the Working Families Party line. Your vote will absolutely count the same, but the WFP is a great progressive voice that speaks for the people who often have no political voice. From their latest email:

"Voting Working Families counts the same, but it sends a powerful message for the real progressive change we want to see.

Healthcare for all, an economy that actually works for working people, green-collar jobs, trade deals that benefit workers instead of multi-national corporations, paid family leave, reliable and affordable public transportation, democracy, equality - today you have a change not just to vote for one of the most exciting presidential candidates of our era, but for a party that shares your progressive vision of what America, and New York, can be."

Find out more at: http://workingfamiliesparty.org/obama

See WFP-endorsed candidates where you live: http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/elections/endorsements/

Need to know your polling place? https://voterlookup.elections.state.ny.us/votersearch.aspx

From Halloween night's Countdown With Keith Olberman's #1 story. John Cleese and Olberman on Joe The Plumber and McCain's apparently worsening mental status....
Great all the way through but at about 3:30, it really goes into orbit...

This morning on NBC's Meet the Press, General Colin Powell (Ret.) thoughtfully and with great detail discussed both John McCain and Barack Obama and the reasoning behind his endorsement of Senator Obama. It's an intelligent and often moving seven minutes that is required viewing. As I've said repeatedly, both in this blog and in personal discussions. I will not vote for someone purely based on race and Powell makes it very clear that he shares this position. Had race been his only criteria, Powell would have endorsed Obama two years ago, he said.

What effect this endorsement has on the election is still to be seen. It seems a foregone conclusion that moderate republicans will take this to heart, as will military and retired military families. Considering the military presence in states like Florida and Virginia as well as North and South Carolina, this could prove the most important endorsement received to date by the senator from Illinois. This story, from the Independent newspaper in the UK ran almost a week ago and it illustrates a trend within the military to back Obama. Powell's endorsement can only help.

Joe the Plumber is hardly an "everyman." He's about as close to Joe Sixpack as a Broadway lead is to a chorus girl. Same general ballpark, but one plays 2nd base, the other is the batboy. Get it? What I mean is, when John McCain addressed plumber Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher with "Hey, Joe, you're rich. Congratulations" he wasn't far off. He claims to have enough money to buy a plumbing business that makes from $250,000 to $280,000/year. Not what I would call "rich," but not exactly chump change, either.

The problem is, there's a whole lot of other things wrong with the picture of Joe as painted by the republicans. First, let's start with his name. Samuel J. Wurzelbacher or Worzelbacher, according to Linda Howe, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, as reported in the New York Times. Hmmmm, Might Joe be one of the voters being protested by the Ohio Republican Party in the case they filed with the Supreme Court, yesterday?

Earlier today, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell asked a guest on her newscast about losing how the campaigns could lose 48 hours on "lipstick." Are you kidding me? How dare she ask that question! Who does she think is responsible? For all Sarah Palin's whinging and moaning about how "liberal" the press is and how "biased" MSNBC is (Ok, it is and I love it) stories like "lipstick on a pig" are created completely by the media. What I mean to say is, in answer to your question, Andrea: It's the fucking press, you ninny!

If the press had ignored it as a funny, "last 5 minutes of the newscast" kind of an item, the story wouldn't have had nearly the legs it had, but instead it was the LEAD story! Are you kidding? With McCain, Obama, Palin and Biden, not to mention their dozens of surrogates) out there stumping, holding town hall meetings and generally going about the very serious business of trying to educate the general voting public about who might be best suited to lead the country going forward, MSNBC, CNN. etc. still lead with the damn pig comment.

Once again Mr. Tom Hall has delivered a wonderful piece of writing and leads the way on clear, concise coverage of an issue. After attending the Democratic National Convention (well, I was in Denver, not in the convention hall, alas) I made myself a promise that I guess I ought to make public, if only so that should I not follow through, there will be ample evidence. That promise was to write, often and passionately, about the upcoming election and why Barack Obama needs to be the next president of the United States. Thanks for kicking me in the ass, Tom!

I believe this is the most important election of the past 28 years and in hindsight, maybe the most important since 1960. Hell, why not since ever? In 1980, many of us were convinced that Reagan would lead us to nuclear war, but the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction (a better nickname, MAD, was never invented) and the inevitable destabilization of the Soviet Union prevented that fear from becoming reality. However, the Reagan presidency sharply reversed the social and civil rights gains achieved over the previous 15-20 years and continued the US policy of turning Latin America into our own little death squad playground.

But back to why this particular election is so important. Two words: Supreme Court. If you think that we barely survived the 5-4 decisions of the "Kennedy Court" of the past few years (2008 notwithstanding) wait until Justices Stevens (88 years old), Ginsberg (75, rumored to be ill) and possibly Souter (68 and fed up with the partisan court) and Kennedy (72) retire.