Roy’s Our Boy, But A Cabinet Secretary?

Update:
Rep. Barney Frank, chair of the House Financial Services committee released a statement today asking President Bush to appoint an acting Secretary with the authority to: “work with us in making the decisions we need to deal with the housing finance crisis.”

Roy’s not your boy, Barney.

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson resigned today. The resignation doesn’t become official until April 18th and he has pledged to help in the transition. Holy mother of god, this could mean Roy Bernardi, currently the number two guy at HUD, may be picked to become the next Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Deveopment.

Roy served 20 years as auditor of the city of Syracuse and seven and one-half years as Mayor. The highlights of his career in Syracuse include investigation for drunken sexual assault on a young lady (no charges were brought), eviscerating the city’s finance department staff to the extent that the city couldn’t accurately track it’s revenues and expenses (resulting in the SEC citing the city for making up financial figures in a bond issue it floated) and making reckless economic development loans that left the city repaying HUD over $20 million with money that otherwise would have gone to help low income folks repair their houses.

HUD has been working with Treasury Secretary Paulson to deal with the costs of the subprime mortgage crisis for homeowners threatened with foreclosure. Sports Illustrated used to have a weekly feature, a dubious sports highlight that was evidence “The Apocalypse Is Upon Us.” Roy Bernardi sitting at the table in a U.S. President’s cabinet is just such an event. May the good lord help us all. (The band may now start playing “Nearer My God To Thee”)

Soul Food And Global Capitalism

Globalization and its discontents don’t get starker for me than the recent scare regarding the recall of most of the United State’s supply of the medicine Heparin. Somewhere in the chain of actors responsible for manufacturing the drug, most likely somewhere in China, a drug was added to the mixture that mimicked the actions of the real drug. Unfortunately, the drug was added in lieu of the customary ingredients, rendering the entire drug worthless.

Heparin is used throughout hospitals worldwide as a blood thinner. In 2006, I spent two weeks hooked up to an IV of Heparin as I fought off a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in my lung. If the Heparin hadn’t helped dissolve the clot, my option was a clot busting drug that carried a very small chance of causing a cerebral hemmorhage.

If this scare wasn’t enough to send a chill through me, the photo in the NY Times article of the small family workshop in China where the first step in the manufacture of Heparin begins sent me around the bend. The manufacture of Heparin starts by extracting mucous membranes from pig intestines. Chitlins saved my life!

So, forget offshoring Heparin manufacture to some back-alley Chinese outfit. Just go to the Chitlin’ Strut held every year in Salley, South Carolina. I went once back in the 1980’s, they’ve got more kinds of chitlins than you could believe. (I liked the deep-fried with hot sauce). The town swells from 410 to over 50,000 during the Strut and helps fund charities in the area. Imagine what kind of programs they could fund with a Heparin plant!

Tolkien Reading Day

I ain’t tellin’ no lie.
Mine’s a tale that can’t be told,
My freedom I hold dear;
How years ago in days of old
When magic filled the air,
‘Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair,
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her.

–“Ramble On,” Led Zeppelin

Today I went to the first annual Tolkien Reading Day event in Syracuse. Syracuse Post Standard columnist (and blogger) Sean Kirst is actually the creator of the entire idea of a Tolkien Reading Day, as he explains in a recent column. Sean wrote to the international Tolkien Society and asked why there wasn’t a Tolkien equivalent of the Bloomsday celebrations that fans of novelist James Joyce celebrate across the world. The society said, “hey that’s a great idea!”

So, I went to the event held at the Broadway coffee shop, corner of Midland and Seneca Turnpike (the guys who decided not to sell out to a convenience store/gas station–one of the best planning decision made in this city recently. Stop in and get a coffee, a sandwich or try the homemade ice cream they sell out of the adjacent Arctic Island stand.)

I went, not for the Tolkien, but because I liked the fact that donations would go to the Ted Grace reading program at Corcoran High School. In fact, I thought that I had never read or heard any Tolkien before (never being a big fantasy/SF reader.) But when I heard some of the people there reading from one of his Lord of The Rings books, the Led Zeppelin song quoted above drifted into my head. Jimmy and Robert obviously were devotees, so years of FM radio listening has obviously softened me up for the trilogy. The Reading Day program was great, even though I’m still not sure I’m going to read any Tolkien (I’ve got stacks of unread books all over my house that are already waiting in line, somewhat patiently.)

What was truly inspiring were the stories that all the readers told before launching into their piece of the Tolkien chapter read aloud at the event today. Readers both young and old, male and female, told wonderful stories about how they had gotten the Tolkien fever. One woman told of reading aloud from Tolkien’s trilogy for an entire summer as her younger sister recuperated from an illness–an experience that not only inculcated a love of the stories, but an even stronger lifelong bond between the sisters. Some of the youngsters came to the books through the recent movies. Others stumbled across the dogeared copies of their parents’ Tolkien books and got hooked that way. Some of the parents had gotten hooked through college English classes. One retired professor had another of today’s readers in his class. A different retired professor’s husband taught yet another of today’s readers in his class. She had been introduced to Tolkien by one of her students.

What was great about the stories was the obvious love of reading related by everyone in the room. In a time when we’re all online and kids seem to spend more time on video games than books, it was wonderful to see people transfixed by the written word. A wave of boomer nostalgia washed over me, even though I’ve never read a word of Tolkien. But I do remember the days when summer trips to the library with my mom were highlights of my vacation. I remember the times I stuck a paperback in my back pocket and went somewhere outside and private to read. I remember using a flashlight to read under the covers after my bedtime (and my reading fanatic mother never once busting me.)

Now I’ve got to find a Hunter S. Thompson, Flannery O’Connor or William Kennedy event! Thanks Sean, see you next year.

Life Begins On Opening Day

Back in the 1980’s, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post wrote a book about baseball called Why Time Begins On Opening Day. I only read excerpts of the book, so maybe that’s why I have always recalled the title as Life Begins On Opening Day.

I like my title better. Spring: the earth is unthawing, plant life starts growing and baseball starts. When I was a kid, spring meant little league sign ups and just tossing the ball around in the back yard (or if you had three guys, monkey in the middle–the better to practice your rundown skills, both defensively and as a base runner.)

As an adult, I may get in some catch every now and again, but baseball is now largely rooting for the Red Sox. And life began again today, albeit at 6 in the morning and in the Tokyo Dome. The Sox beat the Oakland A’s 6-5 in 10 innings, thanks to a two-run double by Manny Ramirez. It’s a weird way to begin the year–fly to Japan to play the first two regular season games of the year, then fly back to the United States and play a few more exhibition/pre-season games.

Oh well, our magic number over the Yankees is now . . .  

Open Letter To Larry Hoyt: Top 10 Reasons Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music

Larry Hoyt, the host of the Common Threads folk music show on WAER FM 88 , wrote a comment on my last post: Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music.

Before I launch into this diatribe, I urge everyone to tune into Larry’s show on Sundays beginning at noon on WAER FM 88. It’s great.

In his comment, Larry thought my prior post was harsh, inaccurate and painted the failures of Syracuse radio with too broad a brush. Guilty as charged, Larry. That’s blog writing for you, intemperate and wildly biased.

However, I’m unrepentant and still believe what I wrote. So I give you the Top 10 Reasons Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music:

1) Syracuse radio hates cool music because it only lets it come out and play at odd hours. The cool shows are segregated from the regular fare and largely on the weekends. Why should I have to choose between Tom Townsley (blues) and Bill Knowlton (bluegrass) on Sunday nights?

2) Syracuse radio hates cool music because there are whole genres of cool music missing from the airwaves in Syracuse: reggae, ska, punk, power pop etc.

3) Syracuse radio hates cool music because no station will play anything off Bruce Springsteen’s album Magic–even though the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard and whose single won best rock song at the Grammys.

4) Syracuse radio hates cool music because it took an organizing effort by the CNY Friends of Folk just to get your amazing show on the air.

5) Syracuse radio hates cool music because any station could have created the exact same format that WAER is now paying to simulcast on its HD 2 station.

6) Syracuse radio hates cool music because WAER yanked the “Cool Runnin’s” reggae show off the air many years ago–the last time we got to hear old school reggae in the ‘Cuse.

7) Syracuse radio hates cool music because too many of my friends have the same opinion expressed by Nat in the comment right before yours: “I didn’t realize that you could hear good music on the radio anywhere in the world until I left CNY.”

Syracuse radio hates cool music because the only world beat show on Syracuse radio comes on after my bedtime on Sunday night–I’ve got to work on Mondays!

9) Syracuse radio hates cool music because the local “community” radio station is only on the radio in your “community” if your “community “ happens to be in DeRuyter.

10) Syracuse radio hates cool music because too many of my friend ask me to play the following Buck-o-nine song :

What Happened To My Radio?

oh no, not again, please tell i’m wrong
it’s been ten minutes since they played this song
or is it the band with the one word name
I get so confused it all sounds the same.

the dj must think i’m crazy
or maybe just an idiot
last week he was spinning country
now alternative rock is the shit.

just who do they think they’re fooling
with this backwards regimen
they shove it so far down your throat
it’s swallowed with an english accent

what happened to my radio?
it used to be cool
now it just blows

Teaching Kids To Think, Rather Than Kill

I must admit I’m a sucker for this kind of thing.  The state of Idaho announced that it is establishing a state-wide chess curriculum for second and third grade students. Teaching kids in school some relatively esoteric skill that promotes thinking and mental discipline is something that I believe is a great way to promote lifelong learning.

Anything to keep kids away from freaking video games. Now we learn that video games are the premiere manner to introduce war and combat to the next generation of military cannon fodder, as the New York Times points out in a terrifying article “Facing the Horrors of Distant Battlefields With a TV and Console”:

“an entire postdraft generation of young men has had its perception of war shaped in some measure by video games. Games are perhaps the final mass-entertainment medium that regularly includes portrayals of modern war; gamers may be the last audience ready to consume them. The military figured this out a long time ago. Since 2002 the Army has developed and distributed a game called America’s Army that is explicitly meant as a recruiting tool and which now has more than eight million registered players.”

Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music

Mark Bialczak posts on the Listen Up blog about a new development with WAER radio.  On their new HD 2 format, WAER simulcasts Xponential, syndicated out of WXPN in Philadelphia.  WXPN is the college radio station at my alma mater The University of Pennsylvania.  It has been on the cutting edge of music for a long time.

Of course, this begs the question, why can’t WAER create anything of interest on its own?  Criminy, they’re supposedly educating the radio industry of tomorrow, doesn’t anyone there have an ounce of creativity? Why can’t S.U.’s university-owned radio station play anything of interest?

Syracuse radio hates cool music: S.U.’s WAER plays cocktail lounge jazz, SUNY Oswego’s station plays no music–all NPR and old-time radio drama.  WJPZ, allegedly owned by Syracuse U. students, plays dance crapola. Commercial radio is all knucklehead morning shows and bland corporate rock.  The “community” radio station can only be heard on the radio in Madison County and our ”public” radio station is averse to playing anything but classical music (I’m in envious awe of North Country Public Radio’s eclectic mix of programming.)

Most stations consign all the interesting stuff to the Sunday evening time slot, segregating it from all the rest of their fare. Don’t make any plans for Sundays if you want to catch local music, bluegrass, blues and world beat shows. At least WAER’s HD radio program will be free, so we can listen to hip music without paying for satellite radio–where all the rest of the hip stuff has migrated. But we will have to buy new radio receivers. 

I guess I’m betraying my boomer roots–there’s never been more easy access to such a wide array of music as we have now via the ‘net.  But I still long for the ease of just turning on a radio and hearing some cool tunes and a DJ that actually lives in your town talking up the good stuff.

Obama’s Speech On Race

I didn’t have the opportunity to hear the speech by Barack Obama on race, I just read the transcript from the internet–but it was truly an amazing speech and an indication of why Barack Obama should be our next President. Unlike most politicians, he doesn’t fudge on the difficult parts.

For the first time in my life, a politician has talked honestly about the wounds our nation has suffered because of racism, discussed how both sides share culpability for sweeping this discussion under the rug and then pointed a way out of the wilderness.

Whites must acknowledge the pain and suffering that still exists among blacks. Blacks must acknowledge that society can adapt and change for the better. Both sides must accept that their destinies are entwined.

But, of course, he also admitted that this isn’t something that will be accomplished within the span of an election cycle or by a single candidate.

I thought the most telling distancing of the candidate from Rev. Wright and black liberation theology was Obama’s statement that his pastor’s biggest mistake was couching his criticism of both white racism and his admonishment of blacks towards self-improvement in an attitude that denies the ability of our culture to adapt and improve. That is as much a function of younger African-Americans who have seen and experienced the benefits of improved racial relations in distinction to civil rights-era African-Americans like Rev. Wright whose experiences tended to reflect more outright bigotry and hatred, to say nothing of legal segregation and violence.

An eloquent speech–hopefully it will be enough to derail the Republican hate machine (not to mention the Hillary War Room.)

Madge Is OK

Alright, something I’ve got to get off my chest.  I don’t hate Madonna.  In fact, I might hum along to a couple of her songs (”Material Girl”, “Into The Groove.”) Her bit on SNL in a Wayne’s World sketch was priceless. She even did some impressive fundraising and education on AIDS, at a time when many celebrities ran from the stigma of the disease.  I don’t much care for anything she’s done this century–music, acting, adoptions, faux religions.  But she’s earned her place in the pop culture. 

However, she kicked ass at her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday.  She didn’t perform, but she had her Detroit homies The Stooges perform punked-up versions of a couple of her songs. Iggy and the boys have been ignored by the Hall for induction and this was a nice way to point that out.

Don’t Blame Me, I Voted For Suozzi

OK, one post and one post only on the man formerly known as “The Steamroller,” now known as Client 9. Why Spitzer needs to resign, even if no criminal charges are brought against him:

1) For giving asshats like Bruno and Tedisco a soapbox to stand up on and continue to bloviate from–delaying real consideration of New York’s needs.  We’re in for yet another year of bullshit from Albany.

2) For participating in a business that exploits and objectifies women, often subjecting the participants to violence and abuse.  Victimless crime, my ass.  Ask Client 9 if he’d like one of his three daughters to enter into this “lucrative” trade.

3) His usefulness to reform in NY government has been irretrievably lost.  How can anyone take anything he says seriously?  All we will be thinking about is how the governor apparently doesn’t like to use condoms.  

So, do we have to talk about this anymore?  Get Patterson in there and let’s get a budget.