I know it's not an issue that is foremost in folks' minds these days but we still have a Death Penalty in this country — one that is enforced intermittently in some locales and not others. I've been on all sides of this issue at various times and have watched as the discussion has segued from one concern to another. Once, it was about the simple morality of the State having the right to take a life. Then for a time, it was about whether having a Death Penalty was a deterrent to crime and if so, how much. Lately, it's come around to whether we're doing it right — i.e., are we only executing guilty people and if we aren't sure, isn't that a reason to not execute anyone? This last concern is helpful for some of us because if you answer "Yes," then you don't have to wrestle with the much more complex topic of whether the government should be killing people at all.
Michael Traynor is president emeritus of the American Law Institute, a group which pretty much wrote the blueprint for this nation's Death Penalty structure. I didn't hear it about then but last fall, the group reversed itself and withdrew support for its old recommendations. It now thinks the Death Penalty is unfair and unfixable. I'm still conflicted on whether if we could do it with a reasonable degree of certainty, we should be executing those who commit capital crimes. But the fact that even these people think we can't is one more reason not to.
Last year, my buddy Earl Kress and I helped the First Lady of Cartoon Voicing, the spectacular June Foray, finish and publish her autobiography. A lot of copies have been sold, many of them autographed by June. They're available with her signature at signings and if ordered through her website, www.juneforay.com. Take note of that web address because you're going to want to click it in a moment.
June is, of course, an utter treasure who has had the most amazing of careers. She's worked with everyone in radio, TV, movies and comedy records. She has anecdotes galore about folks like Steve Allen, Stan Freberg, Jerry Lewis, Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, Daws Butler and lots of folks who've made you laugh. It's an incredible tale of an incredible lady, told in (mostly) her own words.
For reasons you wouldn't care about, we will soon be closing down her site and it will no longer be possible to order signed copies from there. But I like you so I'm giving you what may be your final opportunity. If you want a copy autographed by the legend herself — the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha, Tweety's owner Granny, Nell Fenwick, Jokey Smurf and so many more — go there now and order one...or more. And don't come crawling to me when you finally decide you need one and they're no longer available. Allez-oop!
Over on his blog, Neil Gaiman writes a long and solid response to a question of how one can defend some of the more vile comic books, especially those that might be labelled as kiddy porn. I agree with all Neil says.
Here's an obit for Eric Freiwald, a prolific TV writer who also wrote or co-wrote a staggering number of comic books in his long, productive life.
Freiwald wrote an estimated 1,500 TV scripts, including thirteen seasons of the Lassie show. For a long time, most were written in tandem with his partner — who for some reason isn't mentioned in the obituary — Robert Schaefer. Their other credits included The Lone Ranger, The Gene Autry Show, Maverick, Zorro, 77 Sunset Strip, The Beverly Hillbillies and Hopalong Cassidy. Freiwald continued working in TV, mainly writing the soap opera The Young and the Restless, after Schaefer retired in 1984.
In 2007, Schaefer passed away and I wrote this item about him. It will tell you all about their work in comic books for Western Publishing. From 1957 until around 1965, the team wrote one full book of something per week for editor Chase Craig at Western. The list included comic book versions of many of the TV shows they worked on, plus Disney adaptations and even Magnus, Robot Fighter. Chase always spoke highly of their creativity and dependability.
The New York Times has an editorial up about Republican health care proposals. It's called "Small Ideas Won't Fix It," which kinda says it all right there. But it also itemizes some of the other G.O.P. ideas which I didn't mention a few items ago here, including capping malpractice awards and letting folks open tax-free health savings accounts. None of this is going to help lower class folks who simply can't afford health insurance these days.
Back in this post, I linked to a video of various stars visiting Sesame Street and performing the song, "Sing." For some reason, there's another version with different cuts of most of the same people. Hey, it's a good tune so let's look at this one, too...
February 15, 2010
