honest and wise men

 

Supreme Court corruption

two contemporary viewer Comments under a news-reportage video:

~  I used to think the USA had a well developed constitutional government.  That is far from the truth.  It is a very fragile system.

~  To be fair, all systems of political organization are based on the honor system at the end of the day, and if enough of a society is devoid of honor and they make it into power, then no political system can correct for that.

____________________

These came after a day when the Supreme Court heard arguments from one of Donald Trump's lawyers that presidents should have "immunity" and be allowed to kill people, without consequences.

(That quote from the psychologist:  "Fragile systems bend toward the most dysfunctional person in them.")

        "...If enough of a society is devoid of honor and they make it into power, then no political system can correct for that."

---------------------------------------------

The second U.S. President, John Adams, wrote in a letter to his wife:

"I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House and All that shall hereafter inhabit it.  May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof."

        I guess now is the time to Pray, and this coming November is the time to Vote.

-30-

ease had corrupted them

 

(left) American actor Broderick Crawford playing Willie Stark in the 1949 film  All The King's Men.  Movie based on the novel.  Willie Stark based on the real-life Louisiana politician Huey Long.

----- [excerpt from All The King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren.  Copyright 1946.  Harcourt Inc.] -----------

        But, speaking vulgarly, the Sheriff and Pillsbury were part of Willie's luck.  I didn't know it that night in Pappy's parlor, and I didn't know it when I got back to town and gave Jim Madison my tale.  Well, Willie began to appear in the Chronicle in the role of the boy upon the burning deck and the boy who put his finger in the dike and the boy who replies "I can" when Duty whispers low "Thou must."  

The Chronicle was turning up more and more tales about finagling in county courthouses around the state.  It pointed the finger of fine scorn and reprobation all over the map.  Then I began to grasp the significance of what was going on in that world of reasons high above the desk of Jim Madison, and caught the glint of those diaphanous spirit wings and the fluting whispers of the faint angel voices up there.  

In brief, this:  The happy harmony in the state machine was a thing of the past, and the Chronicle  was lined up with the soreheads, and was hacking away at the county substructure of the machine.  It was starting there, feeling its way, setting the stage and preparing the back-drop for the real show.

It wasn't as hard as it might have been.  Ordinarily the country boys in the county courthouses have plenty of savvy and know all the tricks and are plenty hard to pin anything on, but the machine had been operating so long now without serious opposition that ease had corrupted them.  They just didn't bother to be careful.  So the Chronicle was making a good show.

        But Mason County was Exhibit Number One.  On account of Willie.  He gave the touch of drama to the sordid tale.  He became symbolically the spokesman for the tongue-tied population of honest men.  And when Willie was licked at the polls of Mason County, the Chronicle ran his picture, and under it the line KEEPS HIS FAITH.  And under that they printed the statement which Willie had given to me when I went back up to Mason City after the election and after Willie was out.  The statement went like this:

        "Sure, they did it and it was a clean job which I admire.  I'm going back to Pappy's farm and milk the cows and study some more law for it looks like I am going to need it.  But I have kept my faith in the people of Mason County.  Time will bring all things to light."

-30-

if you think of 25 of them, you're a genius

 

On You Tube, find the video titled

Nice Mickey Rourke scene in 'Body Heat' (1981)

It is 2 minutes long.  Watch and listen.

viewer comments:

~  In every bar buddy conversation when this comes up and guys imitate Rourke in this scene, they pretend to be smoking - I've always found that interesting... "Hey! no smoking in here".

~  The Counselor brought me to this.  Thanks Ridley Scott and Dariusz Wolski.  And Cormac McCarthy

        ~  Same here.  Just now stopped the movie to You Tube this scene.

~  2 truly amazing actors.

~  ...Rourke always had a great screen presence and everything he says is intense.  It's scenes like this I remember from great movies.

~  General Thunderbolt Ross and Whiplash Ivan Vanko

~  "There's 50 ways you can F this up.  A genius might think of 50, and you ain't no genius, Councilor!"  Words to that effect.  This movie ran for 6 months straight in an Albuquerque theater, 44 years ago.  Walter White should have seen this scene!

~  Mickey was great, and so were William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.  Great parts for all three - roles that actors live-for.

~  ...Great scene in a great movie.

~  RIP William Hurt, eri un attore che ho sempre amato molto.  Grazie per I personaggi che ci hai regalato.

-30-

fragile systems

 

"Fragile systems bend toward the most dysfunctional person in them."

        I heard the above statement in a You Tube video, from a psychologist.  

---------------------------------------------------

As the current trial of Donald Trump goes along, there are all these courtroom sketches showing up in some of the news stories.

        I became interested in the artwork of the sketches.  Why do we see drawings instead of photographs?

I asked Google, and from what I can understand, in federal courts there are no cameras or recordings allowed, so if there are going to be any visual depictions, they are going to be drawings.

In state courts, some allow cameras, and some don't.

So anywhere cameras aren't allowed, the courtroom sketch artists are the backup.

-30-

"you look like Pine Haven"

 

I often feel that the 1981 film Body Heat doesn't receive the recognition that it should.  Some movies, you will find many (or several) videos on You Tube, analyzing them:  Taxi Driver, Rear Window, Citizen Kane...

Not much on there for Body Heat.  I did hear Mr. Sheffield on "The Nanny" mention the film, and then recently while watching clips of "Law & Order" episodes, fan favorite character Lenny Briscoe (portrayed by actor Jerry Orbach), in a conversation about whether someone had their spouse killed over money, says, "I watched Body Heat three times...!"

I felt like, "Finally!"

Finally someone besides me says it.

-30-

too funny

 

Under the video on You Tube of the Kennedys meeting the British royals in The Crown are Comments:

~  President first, President first.

No curtsy, no curtsy...

I love those two men.  XD

~  Bloody shambles

~  Almost like commentary at a sporting event.

~  Your royal highness is for princess / prince, your majesty is for king / queen.

~  Hilariously awkward scene

~  The way the president says "your Royal Majesty" with such confidence [3 laughing emojis]

~  and loud!

~  I love that the Queen's face is a combination of ever so slightly annoyed, surprised, and amused.  And then she's gracious enough to go and save Mrs. Kennedy from wherever she's going lol.

~  I'll never get over this [laughing emoji] "Your Royal Majesty" omg

~  "Lord knows!"  That was too funny.

~  When she said your Grace I cringed so hard

"Your Royal Majesty" [6 laughing emojis] I can't

~  Honestly, Charteris  and Adeane's reactions make this scene.  I was chortling Britishly to myself throughout.

~  Charteris and Adeane are a TOTAL MOOD here...

~  Prime Minister:  "Oh, for goodness' sake!"  I howled.

~  bloody shambles

-30-

Lord knows

In this scene from The Crown U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at an "informal" dinner.  (What the royals call informal looks very very formal to many of us!)

It's a big room with tables, and people, dressed up.  Near the door are the Queen and her husband, waiting to greet the Americans.  There's a whole "right way - wrong way" of greeting and moving about:  you don't walk in front of the Queen, for example, and the correct way to address the royals...  Their ancient traditions that are supposed to give "stability."

 Off to the side near the door are two men:  Martin Charteris and Michael Adeane.  Adeane is the Queen's private secretary and Charteris is the deputy.  They try to make everything go right.

        A little ways into the room is British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and his wife.

INT.  Castle's dining hall - Evening

The Queen and Prince Philip stand watching the large, grand doorway, awaiting the Kennedys' arrival.  Before they (and we) see the Kennedys and their entourage, we can hear them walking in the hallway.

Philip (in a low voice, to his wife) -

Come on, it's like royalty.

Queen -

Very funny.

The Kennedys enter the room.

Philip -

Gosh.

 

Michael Adeane (sotto voce, to Charteris) -

President first, President first.

Jackie (who has gone first) -

Your Majesty.

Adeane (in a tone of ominous foreboding) -

No curtsy.

Charteris -

No curtsy.

Queen -

(startled - and with a look of faint disapproval)

Mrs. Kennedy.

Jackie (to Philip) -

Your Grace.

Adeane - 

Your royal highness.

Philip -

Mrs. Kennedy.

President Kennedy -

Good evening, Your Royal Majesty.

[Queen nods her head, a little stunned]

Charteris -

Oh dear.

Prime Minister Macmillan (to his wife) -

Oh for goodness' sake.

Queen -

Mr. President.

[staring, transfixed]

Philip -

Mr. President.

Kennedy -

Your Grace.

Adeane -

Did he not get the protocol sheet?

Charteris -

Yes!  He obviously didn't read it.

Queen (brightly) -

Yes!  Well - shall we?

Kennedy -

Uh - Jackie?

[Jackie walks on further into the room.]

Charteris -

Where do you think she's going?

Adeane (resigned tone)

Lord knows.

[The Queen catches up with Jackie and then we hear her voice from off-screen]

Queen (in a tone of warm politeness) -

Mrs. Kennedy.

Kennedy -

I feel like that went wrong in about ten thousand different ways.

Philip -

I've seen worse.  Though I'm not sure when.

[The president laughs, and Philip joins in.

Philip -

Drink?

Kennedy -

Please!

Charteris -

Sorry, sir.

Adeane -

Bloody shambles.

-30-

we'll see

 

------- [excerpt from All The President's Men.  Carl Bernstein / Bob Woodward.  1974.  Simon & Schuster] ------

        Maybe she could convince him?  Bernstein smiled, trying to suggest a good-natured conspiracy.

        She laughed.  "We'll see," she said.

        There was a pretty fair bike shop in McLean, and Bernstein drove there to kill a couple of hours and look halfheartedly for a replacement for his beloved Raleigh.  But his mind was on Jeb Magruder.  He had picked up a profoundly disturbing piece of information that day:  Magruder was a bike freak.  

Bernstein had trouble swallowing the information that a bicycle nut could be a Watergate bugger.  And Magruder really was a card-carrying bicycle freak who had even ridden his 10-speed to the White House every day.  Nobody would ever steal Jeb Magruder's bike, at least not there.  

Bernstein knew that, because he had ridden his bike to the White House on July 14--not the Raleigh, but a Holdsworth that he had had built in London--and as he went through the gate he knew no one would get near it.

        So Bernstein had rested his bike against the wall of the little guardhouse at the entrance and not bothered to lock it.  He was there to hear Vice President Agnew talk about cutting red tape to get help to victims of the Great Flood caused by Hurricane Agnes.  And he had run into Ken Clawson in the hallway.

        "You guys back at the  Post are going to bark up the wrong tree one too many times on Watergate," Clawson had said.

_______________

on You Tube, find the video titled

Buddy Holly - Not Fade Away (1957)

uploader / channel:  Marvin Pollei

...and listen.  It's the Bo Diddley beat!

-30-

he certainly liked her

------- [excerpt from All The President's Men, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.  Copyright 1974.  Simon & Schuster] ----------------

        Had  she read the Post's story?  Mrs. Sloan nodded.  She had been pleased; it had been a relief finally to see what she knew in print.  Bernstein told her the Post's staff had no preconceived notions.  And there were some people who were not concerned about the truth, he added, much less about what happened to her husband.

        "I know," she replied.  It was spoken sadly.  Her husband had been let down by people he believed in, people whose principles and values they had both thought were the same as their own.  But the values of many of the others had been hollow.  There was a flash of anger as she spoke, but mostly sorrow.

        Bernstein wanted to move the conversation away from generalities.  They had established a common ground philosophically, and seemed to like each other.  He certainly liked her.

        What had her husband's reaction been when he realized what he was being asked to hand out money for?  Bernstein was trying to cross the line slowly but she recognized it immediately.

        That was something he would have to talk to her husband about.  It wouldn't be appropriate for her to say.  She asked for his phone number again and Bernstein wrote it on a page from his notebook.  He had another appointment in McLean that evening, he lied; if it ended early enough, would it be all right to come back and talk to her husband?

        Bernstein was welcome to come back, but she did not know if her husband would talk to him.

__________________

On You Tube, find the video titled

Buddy Holly - Rock Around with Ollie Vee

uploader / channel:  Rockin' Bandit

play and enjoy, and had probably better dance, too

__________________

-30-

an honest house

---------- [excerpt from All The President's Men] -----------

        The development consisted of imitation Tudor houses clustered along little concrete-and-grass pedestrian lanes.  The place was doubtless designed for families with young children; traffic and parking areas were safely isolated and almost every house seemed to have a tricycle or some form of hobbyhorse overturned on the lawn.  Bernstein got soaked as he searched on foot for Sloan's house.

        Mrs. Sloan answered the door.  She was very pretty and very pregnant.  Bernstein introduced himself and asked for Sloan.  He was downtown and would not be home until 7:30 or so.  She was friendly, and asked where Bernstein could be reached.  

Bernstein was looking for a way to talk to her at least for a while.  She had worked at the White House as a social secretary, he knew, and she had been an important influence in her husband's decision to quit the Nixon campaign.

        He guessed she was about 30.  There was a softness about her good looks that seemed to suit the idea of becoming a mother.  She had big brown eyes.  Bernstein thought these must be awful days for the Sloans--a former assistant on the President's staff, out of work and under a cloud of suspicion, and his wife expecting their first child.  

At this time when they should be happiest, his name was showing up in the papers every day in a way usually associated with mobsters . . . she spent her time waiting for him to come back from the grand jury . . . FBI agents were talking to their friends and neighbors . . . reporters were knocking on their door at all hours . . .

        Bernstein shared these thoughts with her, trying to dissociate himself from the hordes.

        She sensed his discomfort.  She understood he was only trying to do his job, she said.  Like her husband.  "This is an honest house."  It was a declaration, proud, firm.

________________

On You Tube, find the video titled

1958 Buddy Holly - I'm Gonna Love You Too

uploader / channel:  The45Prof

and Play!

-30-

all your turtle - dovin'

 

---------- [excerpt from All The President's Men, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward] ------------

        The next morning, the New York Times did not mention the secret-fund stories.  At the White House, Ron Ziegler was not asked about them.  The networks carried neither of the stories, and most papers didn't either.  

On Capitol Hill, the Republican leader of the Senate, Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, told an informal morning press conference that the Watergate case was not of concern to the average voter but of interest to "just Senator McGovern and the media."  "Nobody is paying any attention to what you're writing," he said.  

In the newsroom, Bernstein and Woodward waited for the first edition of the afternoon Washington Star-News to arrive.  The only Watergate story was about a George Washington University law professor who had filed a motion in federal court seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor in the case.

        Late that afternoon, Bernstein signed out a company car an drove to McLean, in the Virginia suburbs, to visit Hugh Sloan, the former treasurer of CRP.  The trip, ordinarily half an hour's drive, took more than an hour and a quarter in the rain; Sloan lived in a new development, and Bernstein had trouble finding it.

------------------------------

On You Tube, type in

That'll Be The Day, Buddy Holly

-- pick your video, and Play!

-30-

the cautious side

 

(excerpt from All The President's Men) ---------------- Magruder's tone had made more of an impression on Woodward than his words.  He was second in command at CRP.  His job at the White House had been to deal with the press.  But his voice had been shaking as he talked to Woodward.

        A section of the story was about Hugh Sloan.  Deep Throat had said that Sloan had had no prior knowledge of the bugging, or of how the money was to be spent.  He had quit as treasurer of CRP shortly after the bugging because he "wanted no part of what he then knew was going on." 

        The story quoted the Bookkeeper anonymously.  "He didn't want anything to do with it.  His wife was going to leave him if he didn't stand up and do what was right."

        There was one problem in writing the story.  Deep Throat had been explicit in saying the withdrawals financed the Watergate bugging.  But the Bookkeeper--who suspected as much--could not confirm it.  

The reporters conferred with Sussman and Rosenfeld,  who decided to fall on the cautious side and say the money was used to finance widespread "intelligence-gathering activities against the Democrats." 

Gradually, an unwritten rule was evolving: unless two sources confirmed a charge involving activity likely to be considered criminal, the specific allegation was not used in the paper.

---------------------

On YouTube, find the video titled

Oh Boy

--------- uploader / channel: Buddy Holly - Topic

... and play!

___________________________

All The President's Men, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.

Copyright 1974.

Simon & Schuster.

-30-

mother, don't you recognize your son

 

I've said  before,  I love every single song they used in The Sopranos.  David Chase and I must have the same taste. 

The Rolling Stones 

Bob Dylan 

Joan Baez ("Diamonds And Rust")

Artie Shaw

Chuck Berry 

The Faces ...

In The Sopranos episode titled "Marco Polo" there's a song at the end - "Bad 'N' Ruin".

It's so good!  And I had never heard it before. 

        It's by a band called The Faces, lead singer Rod Stewart. 

One viewer comment said the song is "underrated."  (That word is used a lot on the internet.)

        On YouTube, type in  

Faces, Bad 'n' Ruin

and you will get several videos of the album cut you can listen to. 

One video I want to highlight:

Faces - Bad 'N' Ruin  / THE SOPRANOS 

uploader-channel -- WGON Music 

Click on that one and play it.  It's the song,  with scenes from the Marco Polo episode. 

----------------------------

Comments under one of the album cut videos:

--   I swear to God I find a new song after every episode of the sopranos 

--   Thank you again David Chase.  This song rules. Rod Stewart is awesome as f---.

--   I literally can't kill someone outside of a brothel without literally listening to this first 

--   God I love how the comment section of every song featured on the sopranos on YouTube is overrun with sopranos quotes 

--   Loved this when it was released.  Blew my mind when heard it on the Sopranos.  One of my favorite songs. 

--   What a track.

______________________

-30-

every game you play

 

Since Sean Combs has been in the news so much lately I realized I've never heard his music. Typed him into YouTube and tapped on a video: it was a song with P. Diddy singing / rapping, but it was a song I had heard before, by The Police.  "Every Breath You Take."

A viewer comment under a news video argued that a young lady said she wasn't attracted to Mr. Diddy but then she became his girlfriend anyway after he "showered her with gifts, clothing, jewelry, apartments"...

The concept of showering someone with apartments.

It made me think of The Wizard Of Oz, when Dorothy Gale's house falls out of the tornado and lands on the Wicked Witch Of The East.

____________________________

-30-

unpleasant people

 

Several years ago I watched a documentary called "Surviving R. Kelly" - it kind of helps the viewer to contemplate what goes wrong with some people who get fame, money, and power.

        Or - does something "go wrong" with the person, or were they always that way and the power just put them in a position to run amuck?

(John Oliver had a segment on Rudy Giuliani a while back, he said people ask what went wrong with the former New York City mayor, but - leaning forward to the camera and vibrating with his trademark manic energy - "HE'S ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY!!!")

Now it's Sean Combs (P. Diddy) ...

You tube viewer comments:

--   How arrogant do you have to be to record your own illegal crimes with someone else's phone?

--   Just rich..... the rich have different rules.

--   In any society where money and influence can build a shield against the law, this will continue to happen.

--   Pro tip: if you're in a position of authority, do not abuse your subordinate(s).

--   Like R. Kelly, Diddy has been on my "never listen to this fool's work EVER" list for a few decades.

--   Diddy earned everything that he's getting.

______________________________

I was reading about this, and someone referred to R. Kelly and Mr. Combs as "unpleasant people."

        Bit of an understatement.

--------------- I learned who Jennifer Lopez was when I saw the movie Selena in 1997, when it came out.  Then she was making a record album called "On The Six." (Back then I would get my music news from VH-1.)

        THEN, later on that year, I was getting dressed, getting ready for work, and the news said Jennifer Lopez had been arrested (ARRESTED?!) along with her companion puff Diddy, p. Daddy, Whatever, they were at a nightclub and a gun was involved in the scenario...??

I was thinking, OK, that young lady should NOT be dating that person.

...And as soon as she calls me to ask my advice, I will Tell her that. ...

-------------------------------

-30-

the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling

 

Listening to "Texas Hold 'Em" by Beyonce recently, the banjo-playing reminded me of Pete Seeger.

On YouTube, play for yourself and your family and friends the video titled:

Pete Seeger This Land Is Your Land

----  uploader / channel - Ruchira Natraj

___________________________

-30-

take it to the floor now

 

In conversation with a friend a few days ago - we got onto the subject of Las Vegas, and he said gambling isn't as popular with the younger generations as it was with ours and the one before - the Depression era and World War II people.

I thought that was interesting.

He said same way with smoking, not nearly as common for younger people today.

With the Internet and technology, there are more things for people to do, now.  Maybe that's why.

------------------------ Beyonce put out a country song called "Texas Hold 'Em."  You can play it from You Tube--there are many videos.

        There are videos of the song, and there are videos of civilians dancing to the song (check out the Bearded Boomer in a Short titled "So much fun I danced it twice").

        There are even several videos where the song is "on a loop" - it plays over and over, back-to-back, for an hour.  (Who would click on that and listen to the same song over and over for an hour?  Certainly not me....)

🪕 Banjo playing opens the song.  It's good. I think if Pete Seeger heard it he would approve.

-------------------------------

-30-

the time I was "gangster"

 

In the last post here I was describing how startling and surprising it was to me, when a man shoved in front of me in line at the post office.

It seemed so strange - and from that memory, my mind was led to recall another time when someone stepped in front of me in line.  That other time was when I was in third grade.  Thirty-some years earlier than the post office incident.

        That time, the line was in school.  This girl just stepped in front of me and I pushed her to the side and stepped forward to reclaim my place. (!) That might be the only time in my life when I pushed somebody.

LOL.

Even at that moment, I could hardly believe I did it.

        My family had just moved, from Mineral City, Ohio to Rootstown, Ohio.  I think I was a little bit stressed.  We had moved away from my best friend Jackie.  And all the upheaval with your stuff, and being in a new place....

        And it was during the school year.  So I had begun third grade with kids I knew, and our teacher Mrs. Busby.  And then we moved to Rootstown and it was kids I didn't know, and a different teacher, Mrs. Rine.

In Mrs. Rine's class we were doing punctuation.  I hadn't had that at all yet, and I came in in the middle, and I remember I found it kind of difficult, and inexplicable at first.

And that's so weird, because I was a child who read for entertainment... The Bobbsey Twins; Adventure At Black Rock Cave... Why was punctuation hard for me at first?

Just a bunch of changes that I didn't ask for, all at once.  That girl cutting in front of me in line was the last straw, I guess.

Should I have applied the same "gangster" tactic to the man who shoved in front of me in the post office line, 30 years after the third grade incident?  

        There was no way I would have pushed him.  

Older and wiser and more educated and experienced, I did not have the freedom of physical response that I found within myself at the age of 9.

_______________________________

- 30 -

are you talkin' to Me?

 

"Each story tells you how it wants to be told."

-  Paul Schrader, screenwriter / Taxi Driver

_______________________

I started noticing inappropriate aggression in regular society in either the late '90s or early 2000s.

        Sometime in there - 1998? - 2000? - I was at the post office in the town where I still live... standing in line, so to speak... there were posts with velvet rope or chain or something connecting them, and that's where you were supposed to stand, to wait your turn to walk up to a "window" and conduct your business.

A man who was maybe 15 years older than me entered the post office and stood behind me, and then took a step forward and "butted" in front of me in line.

When the customer at the window stepped away, finished with their post office task, the man who had pushed in front of me walked to the window and got - whatever he wanted, I guess.

I don't know if I should say I was shocked, but I was definitely extremely surprised.

        Like - you're quote-end quote "butting in line"??!! I mean, I'm old, and you're Even Older, and you're Butting In Line?!

        WTF?  Are you stoned or stupid?

It was so weird.

---------------------

-30-

celebrity poetry

 

Pretty Boys Are Poisonous

is a book containing poems written by an actress named Megan Fox.

        I heard about this book on a YouTube channel about poetry.

        The narrator used the phrase "celebrity poetry."

        ...New knowledge.

Each poem, the title of it is underneath, instead of above the poem's lines.

____________________________

-30-

coping

 

Tina Turner:

---------- My parents returned to Nutbush when I was five, so I was freed from the stifling environment at my relatives' place.  But our home wasn't much better because my parents were still fighting tooth and nail.

        Whenever they'd go at each other, I'd run out of the house...

        ... I knew I'd have to find my own way to carry on, to construct my own path to happiness.

        I spent a lot of time outside, where I could think in peace.  Nature was the only place where I always felt welcome and enjoyed a sense of belonging--my truest childhood home.  

Whether sitting in the garden at night staring up at a star-filled sky or lying in the noon shade of a tulip tree, watching butterflies glide by, I felt the healing force of love everywhere in nature, and I soaked it in.

        I didn't let my unstable family situation prevent me from finding enjoyment in the world around me. 

In those days, Nutbush and other areas north of Memphis were a mecca for local and traveling gospel, blues, and jazz musicians.  

They performed in our churches, cafes, and juke joints and became my first musical influences.  I loved listening to all different types of music, and I did so every chance I got.  

We didn't have a record player, but we always had a radio, and that was good enough for me.

        I enjoyed singing in the church choir and occasionally performed with Mr. Bootsie Whitelaw, a popular Nutbush native, and his String Band.  During high school, my music teacher even had me learning to sing opera.

___________________________

(excerpts from the book 

Happiness Becomes You 

    by Tina Turner, with Taro Gold and Regula Curti

Copyright 2020 - Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

-30-

baptized every other day

 

A you tuber I listen to sometimes says people don't continue with situations where they are treated badly unless there is some "pay-off" they're getting from it.

I thought about that idea recently while wondering about the Israeli - Palestinian conflict.  I.e., Do they like to fight?  Is it possible that they enjoy living in constant peril?

And whose fault is it? The people's, or the governments?

Is it because it is more exciting to fight, and life would be too boring if it was just regular?

        (In an episode of The Sopranos Christopher Moltisanti says he can't stand "the regularness of life."...)

In one YT video it showed an outline of a map, and the narrator said there are four contested areas:  Israel, Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.

        But wait, isn't Jerusalem IN Israel? See how confusing it always is?  Drives me crazy.

        Checking Wiki, yes it is in Israel, it's the capital--maybe I memorized that map wrong dammit.

This caused me to remember a song, "Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan" -- it's good, very upbeat, you-tube it and listen.  There's one by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (uploader NGDB). Ricky Skaggs sings the lead - one commenter wrote, "When Ricky holds the word moan my dogs howl."

There's a video of a super old-timey version of the song, by Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers.  Someone typed the lyrics in the comment section - they're hilarious.  "... there's a Campbellite preacher an' his soul is saved / don't you hear Jerusalem moan / but he has to be baptized ever' other day / don't you hear Jerusalem moan..."

-30-

Rudy, we hardly knew ye

 

On Amazon Prime Video right now - two excellent documentary series:

Giuliani: What Happened to America's Mayor?

        and

Watergate: Blueprint For a Scandal

_________________________

Both very informative and interesting.

----------- 'What in the world happened to New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani?' is a question I have asked myself a few times, in recent years.  He used to be serious, and a decent politician and leader / manager.  Now he seems like a hostile buffoon, running around like a crazy nut.

This behavior ratcheted up during the Trump-in-spotlight years.  I don't think Trump told him to act like that, but it does seem like Giuliani saw Donald Trump exhibiting crazy behavior and lying and being cheered for it, and he followed suit.

That's the impression I get.

        In the Amazon program they show a scene where Giuliani is appearing in front of a large applauding crowd.  It's during George W. Bush presidency before the Era Of Crazy, and Dick Cheney (vice president at the time) can be seen at the front of one section of the crowd. He is clapping, but not smiling.

____________________

-30-

any secret fund

 

-------------- (excerpt from All The President's Men, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Copyright 1974. Simon & Schuster) ----------------

        Moore agreed.  It was a breakthrough, the reporters felt: an opportunity to penetrate the committee's haze of anonymous and ambiguous statements.  Magruder called about half an hour later and said it was "absolutely untrue" that he received any money from any secret fund.  "I only received my salary and expense account," he told Woodward.

        Then how did he account for the fact that the federal investigation had determined he had received at least $50,000 from the fund in Stans' safe?

        "I was questioned about it, but it was discarded . . . and it was agreed by all parties that it is incorrect." The FBI had questioned him extensively.  "That's on background," he added as an afterthought.

        Woodward told him he should know better than to try to put something on background after saying it.  Magruder had served as the number-two man in the White House communications office before becoming deputy campaign manager.

        "But you've got to help me," Magruder pleaded.  "I'll get in trouble if I'm quoted."

        Woodward told him he might put that statement in the paper, too.  Then, at Magruder's request, they went on background.  Woodward told him the Post intended to go ahead with the story unless Magruder could come up with a convincing reason to hold it.  

Magruder did not argue.  

But he asked Woodward to write that "government investigators," rather than the FBI, had informed Magruder of allegations against him.  "You've got to help me on some of this."

        It was a small point.  Magruder obviously thought that an allegation attributed to the FBI sounded more serious than "government investigators."  The request didn't seem unreasonable.  Woodward agreed.

_________________________

On YouTube, find video:

Paul Simon - Late in the Evening (Official Audio)

---- uploader / channel:  Paul Simon

and play and enjoy!  The song has a sort of reggae-like rhythm.  Or maybe salsa-like, I don't know...

-30-

when evening falls so hard

 

---------------- (excerpt from All The President's Men) -----------

        A touch of his old good humor returned:  "Let's just say I'll be willing to put the blossoming situation in perspective for you when the time comes." But there was disgust in the way he said it.

        Bernstein was already sparring with the typewriter.  Woodward glanced at the lead:

-------- Two of President Nixon's top campaign officials each withdrew more than $50,000 from a secret fund that financed the bugging of Democratic headquarters, according to sources close to the Watergate investigation. ----------

        Woodward reached Powell Moore, the deputy press director of CRP, and told him in general terms what the Post intended to report in Monday's paper.  Moore was a jocular 34-year-old Georgian who had worked in the White House communications office before the campaign.

        "Thanks a lot," Moore said.  "That's just what I need on a Sunday." He was sure the story was untrue--the reporters were getting bad information somewhere, he didn't know where, but he wished they would come off this crusade and check out these things better before putting them in the paper.

        Woodward saw a lever.  The reporters were sure of their facts, he told Moore.  They had verified the information with sources in enough different places.  

But there was always the possibility of some explanation that they might be unaware of.  If Moore would get Magruder to call him and discuss the allegations substantively, Woodward would agree to hold the story until after Magruder had his say.  

And if Magruder could convince the reporters that the story was in any way wrong, or based on some misunderstanding, they would continue to hold it until everything was checked out.

        Moore agreed.

_______________________

On YouTube, listen to this video:

Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (Audio)

uploader / channel:  Simon & Garfunkel

-30-

something was horribly amiss

 

-------- (excerpt from All The President's Men, Woodward and Bernstein.  Simon & Schuster) ------------------

        The call clearly was a mistake. His friend was displeased,  even angry at him. But what struck Woodward even more was how frightened Deep Throat seemed.  The fear had been building, but Woodward had not recognized it until now.  

Only a part of it was personal.  It had more to do with the situation, the facts, the implications of what he knew about.  Woodward had never known him to be so guarded, so serious.   At their last meeting,  he had seemed weighed down.  If Woodward was reading his friend right, something was horribly amiss.

        Woodward told him what he and Bernstein had heard from the Bookkeeper about Magruder and Porter.

        "They're both deeply involved in Watergate," Deep Throat responded.  He sounded resigned,  dejected. 

        Woodward asked him to be more exact. 

        "Watergate," he repeated.  Then he paused and added, "The whole thing."

        He confirmed that Magruder and Porter had received at least $50,000 from Stans' safe. And Woodward could be damned sure that the money had not been used for legitimate purposes--that was fact, not allegation.  That was all he would say.  From there,  Woodward and Bernstein would be on their own for a while. 

_____________________

On YouTube,  play the video -

Taylor  Swift - I Wish You Would  (Taylor's Version) (Lyric Video)

uploader / channel:  Taylor Swift 

       and experience the soaring! 

------------------------

-30-

the reporters

 

------ [excerpt from All The President's Men] -------

        Back at the office,  Woodward went to the rear of the newsroom to call Deep Throat.   Bernstein wished he had a source like that.   The only source he knew who had such comprehensive knowledge in any field was Mike Schwering,  who owned the Georgetown Cycle Sport Shop.   

There was nothing about bikes--and,  more important, about bike thieves--that Schwering didn't know.   

Bernstein knew something about bike thieves:  the night of the Watergate indictments, somebody had stolen his 10-speed Raleigh from a parking garage.   

        That was the difference between him and Woodward.   Woodward went into a garage to find a source who could tell him what Nixon's men were up to.   Bernstein walked in to find an eight-pound  chain cut  neatly in two and his bike gone. 

        The tone of the conversation that Sunday afternoon was ominous.   When Deep Throat heard Woodward's voice there was a long pause.   This would have to be their last telephone conversation, he said flatly.   

Both the FBI and the White House were determined to learn how the Post was getting its information and to put a stop to it.   

       The situation was far more dangerous than Woodward realized.   The story about Mitchell's aides had infuriated the White House. 

_____________________

On YouTube, the video --

Taylor Swift - Now That We Don't Talk (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) (Lyric Video)

--- uploader / channel:  Taylor Swift 

play and enjoy 

(I have discovered Taylor Swift's music and I'm liking it!  So many albums!   So many songs!)

--------------------------

-30-