March 1 was the 395 day anniversary of my wife’s sudden and unexpected death on Leap Year, 2024. I want to thank everyone who has been so kind , tolerant and supportive here. To be honest, it seems like yesterday that I found her lifeless body. I still have nightmares, anxiety, attacks of regret and sudden sadness when something triggers a memory, and almost anything can, from my dog to movies to songs, like this one, which for no reason at all suddenly started going through what I laughingly call “my mind”….
Anyway…thanks.
Meanwhile…
1. On the Academy Awards: I didn’t watch the Oscars last night, as I literally couldn’t care less. I do take some satisfaction from the fact that “Wicked,” an over-long, bloated, over-hyped, wokified mess, didn’t win “Best Picture,” although I haven’t seen the movie that did win, and that Demi Moore, she of the plastic surgery mask and wan talent, didn’t win one of those periodic “Let’s give him/her an Oscar for sticking around” awards. The fact that nobody blurted out any anti-Trump manifestos may mean that Hollywood has learned that its business is entertainment, not ideological indoctrination and propaganda, but if so: Too late, assholes. Back when I paid more attention to the show, I would do a post about the significant actors and actresses left out of the “In Memoriam” segment. The Academy always has the same excuse, which is that there are too many to mention and the full list is on its website, but a) nobody goes to the website; b) a website mention isn’t a high-profile tribute and c) many of the snubs make no sense, especially this year. I can understand why the performers overwhelmingly identified as TV stars are left out, like Shannen Doherty, Linda Lavin, Martin Mull, and Michelle Trachtenberg of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girls” fame. But leaving out Olivia Hussey is inexplicable, since she starred in a cultural phenomenon (“Romeo and Juliet”) as well as a horror film classic (“Black Christmas”) in a long film career. Similarly Alain Delon was an acclaimed film star and one of the most famous European actors of the mid 1950s and Sixties, an international sex symbol whose career continued into his eighties. The suspicion is that Delon was “cancelled” by Hollywood as a result of some offensive remarks he made about his relationships with women. He is one of the most important actors aver left out of the “In Memoriam” segment, which is supposed to be about an artist’s work, not his personality.
2. The eagerness of the usual Axis suspects to side with a foreign leader against the President of the United States (because he’s Donald Trump) is stunning. One of the Vindemans (I get them mixed up) said that Vance should resign (for telling a White House guest that he was insufficiently respectful, which is true) and that Trump should apologize to Zelenskyy, which is beyond belief. Now Zelenskyy says he is ready to sign the minerals agreement that he botched last week, showing that he just doesn’t get the international diplomacy and negotiation thingies. He’s going to have to accept less beneficial terms, smile, and like it if he wants to get a deal now. (And he’d better wear a suit.)
3. Here’s a story of the red tape hell a father is going through because his infant daughter is listed in state records as “Unakite Thirteen Hotel.” She can’t get a Social Security number or a passport. Yes, it’s another government bureaucracy SNAFU story, but under-emphasized in the report is the real cause of the mess: the girl was born to a drug addicted, sexually promiscuous and irresponsible mother that her father impregnated in casual sex and forgot about, and who wanted to give up her baby the second she was born. Then the Mother of the Year didn’t bother to tell the Father of the Year that there was such a child, so by the time he tracked down the human being he is responsible for she had already been assigned to foster parents and been been given a computer-generated name by the government.
4. Remember the old Rip Taylor joke about the compass with a frozen dial that only pointed in one direction, the “Tates Compass”? “He who has a Tates is lost!” said the (late) prop comedian. I thought about the joke when I was pondering the controversy over the Trump Administration securing the release of misogynist web influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan who had been stuck in Romania under a two-year travel ban while facing human trafficking and other charges. The two are certainly disgusting, but they are also American citizens whose crimes in a foreign country have not been proven at trial. Nonetheless, both Democrats and Republicans have condemned the rescue. Delaware Senator Chris Coons (well, Chris Coons) posted on X, “Why is the Trump administration importing sex traffickers?” “What’s the point of booting out illegals and criminals while somehow becoming a safe haven for the Tate brothers?” asked Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy in another tweet on X. “America does not need more self-proclaimed pimps and terror supporters with outstanding criminal allegations of sex trafficking and a history of pornographic distribution,” conservative pundit Ben Shapiro posted. GOP Senator Josh Hawley said, “I don’t think conservatives should be glorifying this guy at all … I certainly don’t think that we should be using any influence in our government to try to get him out of what seemed to be extremely serious charges in Romania.” Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference, “Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct in the air.”
Funny, I thought the principle here was that a citizen is innocent until proven guilty, and that the U.S. tries to rescue citizens who fall into the clutches of foreign justice systems, where our constitutional rights are not observed. As part of those rights, the offensive speech of such citizens shouldn’t affect our government’s determination to get them out of foreign detention whenever possible. I recall that progressives cheered when the Biden Administration traded a dangerous Russian criminal for WNBA star and Black Lives Matter, anti-American loudmouth Brittney Griner after she had been tried and sentenced in Russia for possession of illegal drugs.
5. And speaking of the Bill of Rights: A Mississippi judge, Hinds County Chancellor Crystal Wise Martin, ordered the Clarksdale Press Register to remove an editorial criticizing the mayor of Clarksdale and city leaders after the officials sued the news outlet for its editorial titled “Secrecy, Deception Erode Public Trust.” The column criticized the city for not sending the newspaper a notice about a meeting city commissioners held over a proposed effort to ask the state Legislature for permission to enact a local tax on alcohol, marijuana and tobacco. Even a careless reading of the First Amendment should have informed the judge that a government can’t order a newspaper to censor itself.
Fortunately, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE (where was the ACLU?) was on the case. FIRE agreed to defend the Press Register, its editor, and parent company in court and to demand that the unconstitutional restraining order be lifted. “The implications of this case go beyond one Mississippi town censoring its paper of record,” said FIRE attorney David Rubin. “If the government can get a court order silencing mere questions about its decisions, the First Amendment rights of all Americans are in jeopardy.”
Three days later, Clarksdale’s Board convened, voted not to continue with the lawsuit, and filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with the court, making the illegal restraining order moot. However, as FIRE pointed out in its victory press release, it is profoundly disturbing that such an incident could occur.
6. Finally, I can’t let this pass...Zoë Saldaña won best supporting actress for her role in “Emilia Pérez” at the Academy Awards. Saldaña then celebrated that she had become “the first American of Dominican origin” to win an Oscar, and was therefore “historic.” Representing every distinction and achievement by an individual as some kind of remedial reward for that individual’s group is silly, divisive, and part of pernicious DEI indoctrination. We can make any achievement historic that way: it just depends on how we choose to describe the group. Group identification or membership shouldn’t be a factor, positive or negative, in honoring individual achievements. But I guess if Zoë insists on that framing, I’ll have to surmise that she didn’t win the award because of the excellence of her acting in “Emilia Pérez,” but because it was “time” to parcel out an Oscar to a Dominican-American.
Ethics Alarms 
1.And, in fact, last night’s In Memoriam segment put to rest the argument that they can’t make changes for last-minute deaths. They could not ignore the death of Gene Hackman even though he died past whatever cut-off date they use when putting together the traditional montage of deceased actors. If not outright ignoring a performer who has outlived his or her fame, they will usually kick a notable person to next year’s segment. In Hackman’s case, they wouldn’t dare do either. They managed to add him to the montage, appropriately giving him the final Honor Position (I told Mr. Golden yesterday afternoon that the only way that wouldn’t happen was if Robert de Niro, Al Pacino or Jack Nicholson dropped dead within the next couple of hours). Point is, of course, they can add people to the montage who have died recently…if they are motivated enough to do so. Speaking of motivation, they also left out O.J. Simpson – which I do get as they excised Robert Blake from memory last year, too – but the artist’s work didn’t trump personality or murder charges in either case.
And there was at least one speech criticizing the administration. Mr. Golden blogs the ceremony every year and he included this bit when No Other Land won Best Documentary Feature (it’s a Gaza-connected feature, of course).
“They acknowledge the strife in their native lands (‘the harsh reality that we have been living for decades’), the power of team filmmaking beyond borders (‘Together our voices are stronger’), hope for ‘a different path without ethnic supremacy’, and condemn the current American administration for ‘block[ing] this path.'”
3. What kind of system auto-generates such a stupid name? The same kind of system that makes it hard to change said stupid name.
4. Please don’t forget the rules – Men accused of sex crimes are automatically guilty and do not deserve due process. Also Brittney Griner is a woman of color, drugs are no big deal – a nonviolent offense, this was Russia (a terrible dictatorship invader run by Trump’s buddy) and, in the eyes of the so-called Resistance, there is no equivalence between the two cases.
Mein Gott in Himmel! Saturday Night Live used to be really, really funny. Comedians doing really funny stuff to get laughs. What a concept.
Why do celebrities do heroin?
I haven’t seen “Emilia Pérez” but her performance as Joe McNamara in “Lioness” is excellent. Perhaps it is the subject matter of the Netflix series but she has a commanding screen presence.
jvb
Regarding #3:
This is the type of bureaucratic SNAFU that makes my blood boil. The heads of the two states’ child welfare agencies should be able to straighten out their part in this mess over a few phone calls. Those agencies have attorneys on staff to handle the court orders, etc. These agencies are also usually well-connected at the governor’s office and state legislators in their respective states. There is no reason for this situation to linger beyond a couple of weeks, including any necessary court appearances, if put on a fast track for resolution. A judge in the right court could be a real hero by moving obstacles and requiring timely compliance.
How could anyone seeing that name when it first appeared on a document or computer screen not immediately rectify the situation?
And don’t agencies frown on weird names? At first, I thought the addled mother had come up with the name and thought surely they wouldn’t indulge her fantasy. I also thought maybe this was one of Elon Musk’s brood.
This was the first I had ever heard of a computer-generated name in a legal proceeding. Is this a common occurrence? In my state I have seen many ” Baby Does” or use of initials, but not a computer-generated nonsensical name. Oh, the wonders that AI will be bringing us in the future.
6. It seems a bit of a stretch to say Saldana ‘celebrated’ her Dominican heritage, although more than a few news media outlets say exactly that. She did say, “I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last.” That came in the 6th of 7 paragraphs in her acceptance speech, after she gave recognition and thanks to her fellow nominees, director, cast and crew, producer, agents, family, and husband.
Only then did she mention being the proud child of immigrant parents and note her Dominican heritage.
She concluded with a tribute to her grandmother.
The word, historic, in quotes in the lead-in above, does not appear in the text of the speech.
First generation immigrants often display pride in the heritage of their parents. For Saldana to do that does not make her selection to play Rita nor her Oscar win a DEI action.
I didn’t say it did. I do say the “I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award” is stating that it is a first, a distinction, hence historic. It is, rather, irrelevant, meaningless, and making a group’s accomplishment out of an individual one, which is the essence of DEI and the idiotic mindset underlying it.
Furthermore, I saw the clip—she was ecstatic over the the “first.” That’s called “celebrating.” It is nauseating, juvenile and a pathological reaction. I’ve won awards: it never occurred to me to say, “I am the first half-Greek American from New England to win this award!” because I’m not an idiot. My ethnic background had zero, nada, zilch to do with any award I get, and no other half-Greek Bostonian should feel hope, pride, or anything else as a result of it.
The actress got the award because her performance earned it (I guess.). Her performance would have earned it if she were Irish, French, a Tiera del Fuegan or Babylonian unless it WAS a DEI award. There was nothing to celebrate, or even mention. Fine: she salutes her parents (without saying “salute”). Everyone has parents, and often they get thanks from winners. But everybody also is from somewhere, and no somewhere is any more or less significant than anywhere else
Jack, this is sort of tangential to this issue. I recently saw a notice of public comment period for Maryland Public Schools Social Studies curriculum.
Beginning in first grade kids are being taught to believe that communities (read collective good) is very important. Kids must be able to identify different communities, why you must adhere to community rules and authority, how communities improve economies and safety etc. You would think that at age 5 even the word community might be beyond a child’s understanding. There is no way that a child could comprehend that this is dividing people into competing groups because different “communities” have different wants that must be satisfied by other “communities” who may feel differently about providing for those wants. This appears to be more indoctrination than education.
I want to spend more time evaluating the entire k-12 curriculum but the way it is laid out makes it time consuming.
This is the type of crap that leads people to tribal identification. Ironically, those who want to push us all toward a collective American identity so we can actually achieve the outcomes the first grade curriculum claims happens when people form a community are labeled right wing nationalists.
From the title, before I even clicked through from the email link, I knew you would have that SNL bit at the top. 🙂