Top Banana and the Topkick

 

You know how influential TV is with children. I was no more than six when I first cast an admiring look at the Sergeant Bilko lifestyle and said to myself, now that’s the kind of man I want to grow up to be. By the time I was eight, I’d added Richard M. Nixon to that select list of inspirations (“Do you want to win? Steal!”). Well before I was twelve, Cardinal Richelieu (Armand du Plessis, onetime bishop of Luçon), had joined them as my role models. A soldier. A statesman. A man of God. Men of confidence.

In 1954, Phil Silvers was still a year away from the role that would bring him lasting fame. Top Banana had been his big breakthrough on Broadway, a hit 1952 musical about a TV comedian’s struggle to top the ratings and produce his show in the middle of chaos. Top Banana, the film, has echoes of other mid-fifties comedies about television, like the TV show finales of White Christmas and It’s Always Fair Weather; or Bob Hope’s That Certain Feeling, with its disruptive broadcast of Edward R. Murrow’s “Person to Person.” Top Banana’s New York Times review is hilarious—wildly laudatory towards Phil Silvers, a locally well-known night club comic who was then all but unknown nationally—but on the other hand, “It is hard to imagine a picture appearing more cheaply made. Even the color is shabby. It’s the cheapest-looking film we’ve ever seen.” Quite a Times review!

Dennis has the three biggest stories of the week in his sights. First up is the Veep-stakes as JD Vance and Tim Walz battle on CBS.

And then we welcome in Melissa Francis, formerly of Fox News, about her new documentary on the October 7, 2023 massacre that sparked the current conflict between Israel and Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. The film, Revelation, debuted on YouTube two weeks ago,

In this episode of Homeschooling Journeys, Curious Mike interviews Uli and Toni, the founders of Surf Skate Science, a unique program that combines beach-based science lessons with surfing and skateboarding activities. The program offers kids hands-on experiences in physics and chemistry, both on land and in the water. They explore how Surf Skate Science highlights the advantages of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), which allow families to fund specialized, engaging educational experiences. This episode also reflects on how traditional schools often lack the resources, freedom, and partnerships, like those between Uli and Toni, that can make learning truly relevant and memorable for kids.

Et Tu, Kamala?

 

File:Brutus and Caesar's Ghost, illustration to 'Julius Caesar' IV, iii by William Blake.jpgApologies for the way I’m easing myself into this post.  And thanks to the Ricochet member (you know who you are) who read a comment of mine on this subject elsewhere and suggested that I post it separately.  You deserve what you get.

“Kamala,” I suppose, passes in an odd way for a first declension Latin noun.  When I was ten years old and going through my first Latin grammar lessons, the object lesson for first declension nouns (which generally end with an “a”)  was “Mensa,” meaning “table.”

The second declension example was always “Dominus.” Meaning “master.” (I don’t think the word conjured up any other connotations at the time, and wasn’t necessarily in opposition to any other term indicating servitude.)

Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker joins Henry to consider how J.D. Vance’s debate performance might have given us a glimpse of post-Trump populism, and they discuss how Trump and Harris might win undecided voters by sticking to their (wildly different) campaigning guns.

Plus, Henry draws our attention to three far-flung disturbances that have the potential to form into great October surprises; and he takes a close look at two competing ads aimed at defining PA senatorial candidate Dave McCormick based on his time in the private sector.

The Evil That Was Always There

 

When I was a wee bairn in the 60s, I remember seeing movies about WWII, the Holocaust, and all of that.  I could not believe that people could do the things that were done.  How could they be so evil?

My mother fixed her gaze on me when I voiced these opinions and told me that someday the evil that is hatred of the Jews would rise again, because it is an ancient evil that will never go away.  It’s just something that goes along with being God’s chosen.  Satan will always be after the Jews, and he has many allies.  When antisemitism came back in full force I would have to choose whether I would be good or evil.

Darwin Would Vote for Vance

 

“Haughty, shallow with an utterly mediocre intellect such that the increasingly error-filled zeitgeist of one’s peer group has entirely devolved into a kneejerk partisan creed.”

The above description is:

Join Robert Chernin and Ericka Redic as they welcome American diplomat, businesswoman, and former deputy administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Bonnie Glick. Bonnie, Robert, and Ericka will discuss Israel Appreciation Day where Bonnie was a featured speaker, Israeli tech, the expanding conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and her work in USAID.

Brash, irreverent, and mostly peaceful!

If you had to move out of state, where would it be?

 

If you had to move away to any state in the country, which one would it be?  Many years ago, my wife and I had a decision to make: Do we stay in liberal Massachusetts, or start a new life somewhere else? It really didn’t take us very long to decide to stay where we were. I’ve never lived more than five miles from Podunk. This is where I will stay. This is where I’ll die. Family is everything.

However… (Yes, this sounds like a big BUTT.) But should I have to move out of state, there is only one place for me: western North Carolina. My job brought me all over this country. I have spent time in every state other than the Dakotas and Oregon, (Not organ). This area of the Southeast is truly a jewel of the country.

Tim Walz said WHAT in the debate!?

 

Tim Walz perhaps just turned himself into a viral internet meme as a result of that debate. The one line that absolutely cracked me up in disbelief was when he stated: I’ve become friends with school shooters. Ooph, that’s a rough gaffe. And the expression on his face when he said it just enhances it.

I thought I might have misheard it, so I searched online and found the New York Post had already clipped it and put it in a post here.

What Islam and Paganism Have in Common

 

“If blood, suppuration, and pus, were to pour from the husband’s nose and the wife licked it with her tongue, she would still never be able to fulfill his rights over her.” (This Hadith is repeated, also with great reverence, five times by commentator Imam Suyuti who is regarded as one of the greatest of all Muslim scholars.)

The West often sugarcoats cultures with whom we are not well familiar. My local newspaper will do anything to make Catholic schools a hotbed of the most vile crimes against humanity. But “natives” in other countries are perceived as noble savages, above all criticism or condemnation — even they happen to, from time to time, eat other people. Or just the odd household pet.

This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Meredith Coolidge of DFER – MA interview James Conway, a World History and Psychology teacher at Revere High School, and Ela Gardiner, a freshman at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Wellesley High School alumna. Conway discusses the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) and its role in establishing a progressive state funding formula, high-stakes testing like The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), and rigorous curriculum standards. He highlights the national and international successes of Massachusetts students, particularly through NAEP, TIMSS, and PISA assessments, and emphasizes MCAS as a key tool for improving educational equity. Mr. Conway also reflects on the importance of MCAS for instruction and accountability, and the negative implications of eliminating it as a high-stakes test. Ms. Gardiner discusses her personal experiences with the Massachusetts curriculum standards and MCAS testing. She shares how the rigorous academic expectations helped prepare her for college and how her experience compares to peers from other states and countries. Gardiner also addresses the critics’ questionable concerns about MCAS, explaining how her high school’s curriculum aligned with the standards and MCAS effectively prepared her for both state and national tests. Finally, she speaks on the potential academic consequences for future students if MCAS is removed as a graduation requirement, stressing its importance in maintaining high academic standards in the Bay State.

In Defense of the 7 Deadly Sins

 

One of the differences between Christianity and Judaism is that Christianity is more prone to simply labeling things in this world as “good” or “bad” and acting accordingly. So, for example, alcohol, to many Christians, is “the devil’s drink.” But to Jews, everything in the world can be used for holy OR profane ends. Nothing is considered inherently positive or negative.

So we could, for example, look at the 7 Deadly Sins. Though, to my reading, they really ought to be considered “desires” or “temptations.” Nevertheless, I’d like to offer a quick Jewish defense of each of them.

What is a ‘regime,’ and what does America’s current “anti-discrimination regime” do and portend for individual liberty, limited government, and rule of law? Jeff discusses this thorny topic with scholar Thomas Powers, exploring the background of today’s regime, how it functions, and what it might mean for our future.

#civilrights #woke #antiracism #antidiscrimination

Till the Green Ember Rises, or the End of the World

 

The worst thing I can say about The Green Ember and its sequels is that they aren’t as good as Tolkien. Actually, I think they’re rather like something Tolkien or Lewis would have written if they’d seen and enjoyed the great action movies of the last 40 years. It is as if the books we never knew we needed have fallen unlooked-for onto our shelves; “You may find friends upon your way when you least look for it,” said Elrond wisely.

Had I world enough and time, I could say something about the Christian worldview that shines through the stories without even a hint (in what I’ve seen so far, being a little over halfway done with the series) of Aslanification.

Ann welcomes back Ryan Girdusky as they break down the 2024 Vice Presidential Debate between Sen. JD Vance (R – OH) and Gov. Tim Walz (D – MN).

(One of them is a self-admitted knucklehead.)

Another Night of Watching

 

The Israeli warfront continues to develop. It appears that Hezbollah has indeed been hollowed and decimated. Numerous towns and tunnels have been captured, along with various arms. There was almost no resistance. The decades of intelligence followed by the intense and relentless strikes against the organization appear to have neutered it. The collapse has been so complete that Iran’s credibility and the credibility of its proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen is at risk. Local suppression is often supplied by Arabic-speaking militiamen brought in from Iraq and Lebanon. If those movements collapse in their home countries, where does that leave the Ayatollahs?

Into this fray, Netanyahu launched the most impactful strike yet. He claimed that the regime’s days were numbered; that the great Persian civilization will once again emerge, prosperous, wonderous, and as the allies of Israel and the Jewish people that they have been since the days of Cyrus the Great.

REQUIESCAT IN BELLO

 

“What’s that darkish smudge on your forehead?” I asked my longtime friend and attorney, E. Hobart Calhoun.

“Lent,” he said. “You’re not supposed to wash it off.”

My October Ritual

 

It’s time once again for leaves to turn, nights to get colder, and me to listen to Roger Zelazny’s masterwork, A Night in the Lonesome October. It is RZ’s last novel, and some have called it his best; he was clearly at the peak of his writing powers. What’s not to love about a Lovecraftian battle against the Elder Gods, involving a Great Detective, a werewolf, a witch, a Count, a mad monk, a Good Doctor and his Experiment Man, all narrated by Jack the Rippers’ faithful dog?

The book came about because RZ and Gahan Wilson happened to have the same agent, and he took them to lunch in NYC one day. The idea of a collaboration grew out of the table conversation. This illustration is from the back cover of the book, showing RZ as the Great Detective and Wilson as his companion; I treasure it.

Zelazny recorded an audiobook version of Lonesome October weeks before he passed. He did it all in one take. There are other narrations out there; the one on Audible is acceptable, but once you’ve heard RZ’s performance nothing else comes close. He recorded it for a little company in his New Mexico home called Sunset Productions, and they produced a six-cassette set. There were plans for a downloadable version, but the fellow who owned the company was in a serious car accident and everything stopped. Years later the master tapes were discovered in a storage locker. Speaking Volumes has published the audiobook as downloadable MP3 files or on CD; I recommend the files. They also have most of RZ’s recordings of his Amber books, but be aware that the later volumes have missing pieces filled in by other voice artists, and RZ never had the chance to record the tenth Amber book.

Unworkable “Solution” to Housing Crisis

 

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota have boldly announced a “solution to the housing crisis” in the form of the Homes Act of 2024. Their new confection contemplates the creation of a nonprofit “community land trust,” whose mission is to “develop a stock of permanently affordable, quality, publicly financed, and climate-resilient housing that is shielded from market speculation” as a way to “stabilize” housing markets that serve families who cannot pay for market-rate housing. These organizations must be “democratically accountable to residents, the community, and the public, with residents having a direct role in management decision-making, such as through a tenant organization.” Furthermore, these organizations are required to meet a series of simultaneous (but often clashing) conditions on such matters as gender and racial balance, long-term sustainability, efficient energy, and long-term safety for residents in a healthy environment. The federal budget for this operation is now set at $30 billion from 2025–35, drawn from a mix of direct appropriations and government borrowing. No one knows what the true costs will be.

To make good on their innovation requires that AOC and Smith first make an accurate diagnosis of the malady to which they then respond with a sensible cure. In their recent New York Times op-ed, the two advocates come up short on both points.

Charlie Hustle, Aged 83

 

The man with more hits in Major League Baseball than any other player in the history of the game is dead at age 83.

He was the guy you hated the most when he played against you and the man you loved the most when he wore your team’s uniform. And when he wore your team’s uniform, it was guaranteed to be covered in dirt by the bottom of the 9th inning.

Potemkin Brothers sandwich anyone?

 

Pennsylvania is obviously a battleground state in 2024. Trump won an upset victory in the Keystone State in 2016 and that is again a possibility. Western PA is a hotbed of campaigning for both parties.  A Pittsburgh-based food icon became an illustrative case of how each side campaigns and how they treat people. Primanti Brothers has been around since 1933 and has grown into an iconic Pittsburgh-area restaurant and sports bar chain. Prices are moderate for the generally plus-size portions along with its available mid-tier beers. Sports will always be on, especially if the Steelers are playing. Primanti’s is perhaps best known for its large stacked, meaty sandwiches with fries and slaw packed on. The original sandwich was known as the “Primanti’s Brothers sandwich.”

A Tale of Two Primanti Brothers visits:

(1) J.D. Vance, in a bit of retail politics, recently made a visit to a Primanti Brothers but was apparently refused service. Vance and his crew entourage were not all able to enter for a meal while meeting with supportive restaurant goers as part of their campaign. The details are still a bit unclear. Perhaps the visit was not pre-scheduled and he simply dropped in and took the staff off guard. Maybe the cameras and attention were a bit much and thought disruptive to regular customers. Or maybe the local manager simply didn’t like Vance and had the segregationist attitude of not allowing deplorables a seat at the Primanti lunch counter. The report states that a Vance staffer attempted to negotiate with the location manager and even call corporate.

A Steaming Serving of Hash from My Week

 

Welcome to the Club: I asked my husband what we were going to do with the satellite dish he’d taken down. It had been sitting on the deck for some time, and I hoped to hear something about hauling it to the dump.  “We’ll keep it,” he said. “And set it down there. And just shoot at it. It’ll be something to shoot at.”

“Ah,” I said. “We’re officially rednecks now.”

Prequel of the Civil War: The Demon of Unrest

 

If you haven’t read Erik Larson’s latest book on the Civil War, you will probably think I’m hallucinating when I say the book is intimate, delightful and enlightening. I have read my share of books on the Civil War, which usually focus on Abraham Lincoln and the incredibly difficult decisions he had to make; on Ulysses S. Grant who was beleaguered early on with military losses, but ultimately was victorious; the strategies with which the war was fought; and the tragic loss of lives on both sides.

But Larson’s book takes us into a new realm of understanding about the conflict.

A Tough Week…

 

All the fallout from Hurricane Helene, some of which has gravely affected those I love.

Followed by the death of Maggie Smith. And now, that of Kris Kristofferson.