WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR DEMOCRACY?

It was painful enough to see pictures of the devastation in Iraq, Afghanistan and places distant from us here in the States.  However, things have changed.  Governor Scott Walker is acting like an autocratic dictator.  To the TV news viewer, it appears nothing is being done to curb his terrible governance. 

When a State legislator cannot gain access to his office and is thrown to the ground like a criminal when he attempts it, we have to ask ourselves,  "How can this happen here?"  Feeling helpless in not understanding American laws that allow such behavior, I join the rest of the middle class in frustration.  What has become of the Republican party for whom I had great respect as I was growing up?:  What has become of the election process, that people use it as a way of getting personal monies from the donations to a campaign they know they will never win.  How can the lies persist about Obama as being not patriotic, non-American, and worse; how can they be spread by a minister who professes to be a competent candidate to be President of this country?

But the real question is not why are we here.  It is,  "How do we get our democracy back? "

BSO GOODBYE TO MAESTRO JAMES LEVIONE

On March 3, 2011, Maestro James Levine announced he was resigning from the BSO (Boston Symphony Orchestra) for reasons of need to concentrate on his health.  For more detail, click here for the Emily Rooney show

Few would question his musical talent and the wonderful job he has done conducting many wonderful concerts.  Unfortunately, when he first came to Boston he made some public comments about changing the selections towards the style of Arnold Shoenberg.  While he may have put the Orchestra back on the world stage, he lost many of the BSO subscribers who, while they liked having new pieces, the majority did not like his dissonant, atonal music.  Research showed that the music is distasteful to many because of their brain structures.  There is no way they will learn to like that music.

On Sunday Februjary 24th, 2008, I wrote in my blog: ......"Berg’s Chamber concert for Piano and Violin with thirteen Wind Instruments, totally unrecognizable as music to my ears, began with Thema scherzoso con Variaszioni followed by an Adagio movement, and ending with Rondo ritmico con Introduzione. The Chamber Orchestra score called for piano, violin and thirteen wind instruments, namely flute, piccolo (doubling as second flute), oboe, English horn, e-flat Clarinet, Clarinet in A, Bass Clarintet, Bassoon, Contrabassoon, Trumpet, Two Horns and Trombone (tenor and bass).

Throughout, my mind was stuck on pitying the waste of instrumental talent of these two fine musicians soloing, at times, wildly. Occasionally the trombone, another wonderful BSO musician, came in with the few flatulent sounding accompaniments written into the score. Other brass and wind instruments added the dissonance of a terminally ill Greek chorus, while fingers on keyboard or violin flew wildly and would have been better in a silent movie where the skill, more than the sound, could have been appreciated.

After the performance, I spoke with several people who hated it. Only one man commented, “Well, it is complicated” seeming to imply “you wouldn’t understand it” which I readily confessed was true. Another commented wryly, "It is obviously an acquired taste!" We agreed we would both be unlikely to acquire that taste. Many in the audience walked out after the piece and did not return following intermission. If anyone took an exit poll, the results were not shared. As I read up more on Berg I realized that he had also written the opera Lulu. It was probably the first piece of music I had heard (somewhere in the 70s) that made me want to leave the theater, as I did last night had it been possible and less rude to others around me."

I will miss the beautiful pieces Levine conducted but will be happy if I don't hear his favorite music, that with which he planned to teach the Bostonians what music was really all about, his way.

ROGER AILES LIES; SHOULDN'T THE RULE OF LAW APPLY TO HIM AS HE HAS CALLED ON IT BEFORE FOR OTHERS?

Roger Ailes

Judith Regan, reportedly has Ailes on tape urging her to lie to federal investigators about her affair with Bernard Kerick, a former top lieutenant of Rudolf Giuliani when he served as New York’s mayor. With Giuliani eyeing a possible presidential run, Ailes allegedly told Regan to lie in order to protect both Kerik and Giuliani.(as reported in the NY Times)  For the entire article written by Eric Boehlert of Media Matters, click here. 

Meanwhile, three right-wing hypocrites  continue their union bashing.  An article in AlterNet by Ted Fox turned up an interesting observation.  "Confirmed: Union-Bashing Right-Wing Media Stars Hannity, Limbaugh and O'Reilly Are AFL-CIO Union-Affiliated Members"  They are in the American Federation Television and Radio Artists.

Meanwhile, Presidential hopeful, Huckabee, continues his 'birther' crusade, spewing lies about Obama's early history, religion, and education.  Why he is foolish enough to be on permanent record with his lies.  Does he still expect to be President?  It makes one wonder about his intelligence.  Unless, of course, he knows he won't be elected president but will continue to get campaign donations from the people who wish to believe what he is saying   And so, another politician, for whichever reason, gets a citation  for SHAME.  He confirms all my fears about religion's employees.  Do they make rules for themselves as they go along?  We seem to be in an era where the rules are governed not by integrity or truth but of 'whatever works'.

MANDATES CHANGE AFTER THE VOTE IS TALLIED AS DO POLITICAL PRIORITIES

Gov Scott Walker

Speaker John Boehner repeatedly says,'The American people gave a mandate when they voted us in, last November.'  He thinks that a mandate to a politician is a static plea and does not change with time or circumstances. 

Wrong!

Governor Walker has only been in office a couple of months and already polls show that half the people in Wisconsin, had they to do it over (many Republicans included) would vote this time for the Democrat candidate. 

Boehner might do well to focus less on maintaining a tan, or playing golf.  He might check what his constituents are wanting and saying today.  Those who came to Washington to reverse Roe vs Wade will be a great disappointment to the people who thought the change they would be bringing to Washington would be about getting jobs for the unemployed and helping the middle class.  The wealthy, Wall St thieves, big corporation greed, and lying lobbyists, may soon find out that people can only be pushed so far.  When the snake oil for which  they paid to cure their ills clearly does not work and they realize they were lied to, eventually they will realize they are not alone and the power is in numbers.  Peaceful protests, right now, seem to be quite effective.  Let's support the peace.

GIVING CHARLIE SHEEN SO MUCH MEDIA TIME IS SHAMEFUL ON THE PART OF THE MEDIA

Charlie Sheen

The TV media seems to have lost all sense of decency.  Charlie Sheen is clearly not functioning as he has been in the past.  He sounds manic and his rambling speech and arrogance does not make it as news.

After the hostile remarks made on TV by Charlie Sheen about the producer of Two and a Half Men  caused a halt in the production of the sitcom.  He left his rehab center after only a few days.  He has abused alcohol and drugs by his own admission, saying they made him feel better.  Having worked in a psychiatric hospital for a number of years, I can say that is a classic description I have heard from many people often diagnosed as bi-polar.  It is generally viewed as the result of an attempt at self-medication.  Whether Mr. Sheen is bi-polar or not is not for me to diagnose from my distance.  However, I can safely say that his public interviews show, without question, he is either manic or hypomanic and not likely to remain at that place in his head.  His thinking and decisions about his own care are clearly not in his best interests.  If he keeps it up, he will be committing professional suicide.

However, the point that I wish to make, is that the media is exploiting an obviously sick man .  To do so makes them no better than the gossip publications one can buy at the grocery store, shocking, prurient, and quite often not true.  For the current details from BBC, click here.  Today, even his long time publicist has jumped ship  as it seems also his current wife has done.

Click here for CNN coverage of his erratic thought processes and pressured speech.  Dr. Drew describes his underlying problem of addiction and offers his professional opinion as to some of the possibilities of what is going on for him.  (check out more videos on the left  on the CNN site). It confirms my impression that he is a very sick man who should not be exploited by the media and the public who love looking into private keyholes and showing what they see to the world.

OSCARS 2011

The King's Speech

For the first time in more than twenty years, I watched the entire Oscar presentation.  Since I am very selective in my films experience, I avoid those with too much painful reality, those stirring up too much angst, and unhappy endings.

Despite my limited taste in movies, I had seen six of those of the many nominated, six more than is usual for me to have seen, but enough to wonder if anyone saw those six as I did.  (Actually that rarely happens).

Those six were:  The King's Speech, The Social Network, Inception, Alice in Wonderland, How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3.  The presentation of the Oscars was as well done as I have ever seen.  No one gave insults against the USA, no one made political statements, no one cried, no one refused to get off the stage, and no one thanked even the maid who emptied the chamber pots in the 19C English movies..

Despite lacking the sarcastic and belly jolting comedians of the past, the hosting pair (James Franco and Anne Hathaway) gave a lovely balance and enough laughs to go around.  In all,. the show seemed very well directed, itself, and deserved its own kudos. My habit of not going to bed early was .rewarded with a Jimmy Kimmel satire on the King's Speech, discussing an attempt to make the movie into one more fitting to Americans.  It had Tyson teaching President GW Bush to speak properly.

It left me hoping that Hollywood has once again gotten the message that movies should be entertaining, not heart wrenching.  As a nation, we need to have more laughs, not tears of frustration or pain.

HOW TO FIGURE OUT REALITY

• If you can't change it, it's real.
• If it is white and sticking to tree limbs and your car windshield, it's snow.
• If it is Sunday and you have no where else you have to be, hunker down.
• If the thermometer reads above freezing, don't bother shoveling, it is soft and will soon melt.
• If you think you have control over Nature, you're wrong.
•  If the street plows have not piled up a berm too high to drive through, either stay in bed or watch TV until your body says it will now cooperate with you.
• Watching the snow dropping in large chunks, off tree limbs, is as much fun as watching the grass grow.