Category Archives: To Be Filed

Three more women performing "Up the Ladder to the Roof"…

A reader of this site who didn't specify if I could use his name sent me this in response to what I just posted about Bill Cosby…

I can't tell if you're joking in the last part, but I don't think you are. I'm inclined to believe that if Bill Cosby gets sent to jail for the rest of his life, blind or otherwise, it'll be a deterrent for others to not rape women. If he did it, he should do the time.

I agree, especially since it would be a deterrent not just to rapists but to the kind who think, "I'm too rich and/or important to be punished." It might also give his victims, including any who have never come forward, a bit of closure and satisfaction.

Believe me: Unless Cosby's lawyers can make a helluva case that all those women are lying or they were all deceived by a real good Bill Cosby impersonator, I think the guy should face whatever penalty the law says is appropriate. And the same one as a not-rich, not-famous rapist.

I just would have a hard time sending him or anyone to prison. This is one of the reasons, along with the fact that I don't look good in a black robe, that I'm not a judge. I'd do it but I wouldn't enjoy it except in the way you might enjoy completing any nasty, unpleasant obligation and getting it over with. There are lots of jobs in the world that are necessary and I'm glad there are people to do them instead of me.

If Donald Trump's main goal was to have the world pay a lot of attention to him, he's probably succeeded leagues beyond his wildest expectation. I'm weary of reading about this guy and wearier, right now at least, of writing about him. So let's see what else there is to talk about.

Stephen Colbert did well in the ratings with his convention shows, though they felt to me like he was doing two different programs at once. One was a clever comedy show with a point of view. The other was the usual infomercial for this new series or that new movie. I wish they'd decide that the latter had to go. There are about ninety things Colbert does better than Jimmy Fallon but fawning over celebrities who have a new film opening this weekend isn't one of them.

There are reports and rumors circulating that Bill Cosby is blind. Well, so is justice. In an interview in the new Playboy, Jeffrey Toobin says that he's confident that if the judge allows other women ("other" than the one this case is about) to testify about their experiences with Cosby, jail time awaits the comedian. I think he probably belongs there but I'd sure have a hard time sentencing a blind show biz legend to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

I missed mentioning the 102nd birthday of another comedy legend — Professor Irwin Corey — who hit that impressive age on July 29. This is from Wikipedia…

For an October 2011 interview, Corey invited a New York Times reporter to visit his 1840 carriage house on East 36th Street. Corey estimated its resale value at $3.5 million. He said that, when not performing, he panhandled for change from motorists exiting the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Every few months, he told the interviewer, he donated the money to a group that purchased medical supplies for Cuban children. He said of the drivers who supplied the cash, "I don't tell them where the money's going, and I'm sure they don't care." Irvin Arthur, Corey's agent for half a century, assured the reporter that Corey did not need the money for himself. "This is not about money," Arthur said. "For Irwin, this is an extension of his performing."

I dunno if he's still doing that but if he is next time I get back to New York, I think I'll track down where he panhandles and see if I can talk to him for an hour if I keep giving him change. Very funny man.

No, I don't think the G.O.P. will dump Donald Trump as a candidate. Too many people in the party love the guy and you can't alienate that many folks by taking away the guy they voted for and replacing him with someone he beat or who didn't enter the fray at all. If Trump gets out, it will have to be because someone offered him enough financial reward.

Which is not to say there aren't Republicans who'd like to see him go away. William Saletan lists ten vile things Donald has done just since the convention. How many more will it take before prominent Republicans start rescinding their endorsements or at least distancing himself from their party's nominee?

Three more women performing "Up the Ladder to the Roof"…

• Chris Christie says Trump's attacks on the Khans are "inappropriate;" threatens to not get Donald his Caramel Frappuccino Grande.

This morning, President Obama said "I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president." I figure we have about an hour before Trump fires back with both barrels and proves it.

Here's my theory: That there was a meeting recently — at the Democratic National Convention or somewhere else — to plan how to make sure Hillary wins. Someone gets up and says…

Okay, now we just have to keep Trump perpetually pissed-off and screaming. Mr. President, we want you to insult him on Tuesday. Say something about him being unfit for office. Senator Warren, you take Wednesday. Hit him about not releasing his taxes and say it must be because he's broke. Mr. Vice-President, I have you down for Thursday…

Biden pipes up and asks, "Can I make fun of his tiny hands?" And then the guy chairing the meeting says…

We'd rather you didn't. I have Bob Reich set for the Sunday talk shows. He's going to say, "My God, that man's hands are smaller than I am!" Maybe you could say something about Trump University or Trump Steaks. Then we still need someone on Friday to hit him on the sex angle. You know, he wants to bang his daughter or he has a tiny dick. Just anything that'll keep him screaming…

So I'm thinking this is the problem that now faces Donald Trump: He's behind in the polls and the only way he seems to know to react to that is to make hysterical charges against anyone who opposes him. But hysterical charges only advance the narrative that he's unstable and that puts him farther behind in the polls. This man is not thin-skinned. This man is non-skinned.

Over on this Facebook page, a gent from Antenna TV takes us on a video tour of Johnny Carson's old offices at what used to be the NBC Burbank studios. Alas, he and his crew were not able to get into Studio 1, which was Johnny's studio. A few years ago, I had lunch on the lot with my pal Wally Wingert, who was Jay Leno's announcer. After alleged food in the commissary, we snuck (sneaked?) into Studio 1 where an infomercial was being taped, though its crew was mostly off lunching, and I showed Wally where everything was: Where Johnny and Ed each stood during the monologue, where the desk was, etc.

The video also shows you Johnny's old parking spot. I once stood with him next to his car for about ten minutes and had a wonderful conversation. During that time, when Johnny arrived at the studio, his car was met by a uniformed Burbank policeman who escorted him from car to office and later from office to stage, then back to office, then back to car and so forth. There had been threats and reasons for this.

By dumb luck, I was walking past Johnny's parking spot when he pulled his car — a two-seater Mercedes — into his space. I was between him and the police officer and when I started to introduce myself to him, the cop scurried down to stop the annoying person from bothering Johnny (or maybe pulling a gun on him or something) but Johnny waved the officer away and we had our little conversation. He was polite and in no hurry to be done with me, and I even made him laugh a bit, which felt real, real good.

Years later when I discussed this encounter with his long-time producer Peter Lassally, Mr. Lassally said, "You want to know how it wouldn't have been pleasant? If he'd sensed that you were talking to him to try to get on the show. He hated that." Since I never would have considered such a thing, I got along fine with the man.

So I have to go do things today which may keep me away from posting much. That's why the mushroom soup can. Coming up in a day or three will be another installment of my "Rejection" series and, if I can think of any, things I have to say these days that are not about Donald Trump.

Saturday, July 23, 2016 the last Mary Worth newspaper strip drawn by Joe Giella appeared. I don't think it's a record but Joe has been drawing comics — books and strips — pretty continuously since 1946. Doing anything for seventy years is impressive but drawing comics is hard on the eyes…and on the lifestyle if you're as committed to meeting deadlines as Joe has always been.

Over the years, he worked on hundreds of different characters — in comic books, mostly for DC. He was associated with Batman for a long time…and I don't think there's anyone alive who worked on the Caped Crusader before Joe did. Often, he was miscast as an inker of other artists' work instead of doing it all himself. It was usually better when he did it all himself.

The Mary Worth strip continues without him. For some time now, June Brigman and her husband Roy have been doing the Sunday pages to lighten the burden on Joe. Now, they'll do the daily strips also while Joe takes it a bit easier. He is not retiring completely but will now focus mainly on commissions.

The history of Mary Worth probably begins with a strip called Apple Mary which began in 1934, the creation of cartoonist Martha Orr. Apple Mary was a good-hearted victim of the Depression who sold apples and didn't let her own meager life stop her from helping others. In 1939, Ms. Orr retired from cartooning, reportedly to devote all her time to her family. At that point, a new strip appeared in its spot in most newspapers. It was officially called Mary Worth's Family and the title character, though not a seller of apples, looked a lot like ol' Apple Mary and went around helping others the same way.

The new strip was written by Allen Saunders and drawn by artist Dale Connor, who had formerly assisted Martha Orr. It looked so much like the old strip that many of the newspapers that ran it didn't bother changing the name on their pages. Probably at the suggestion of lawyers, the syndicate (King Features) has always maintained that Mary Worth's Family was a replacement strip, not a continuation. Eventually, its name changed to Mary Worth.

Allen Saunders wrote it for a long, long time and later his son John wrote it. Ken Ernst drew it for a long time after Connor left. After Ernst died, the job went to a wonderful, unsung artist named Bill Ziegler who worked for years as a ghost/assistant for other artists and finally got to draw and sign the strip from 1986 to 1990. There were others in there too but it's been drawn by Giella since 1994 and written by Karen Moy since 2004.

It's amazing that at her age, Mary is still finding troubled people to help. I'm more impressed though by the longevity of Joe Giella, a fine gentleman and an amazing artist.

A few years ago, the Broadway show Everyday Rapture revived the old Supremes hit, "Up the Ladder to the Roof" and made it very popular in the cabaret community. Here from that show is an excerpt of the tune as performed by Sherie Rene Scott, Lindsay Mendez and Betsy Wolfe…

My "Window Ledge" Friends — otherwise rational folks who are terrified at the thought that Trump may win — are slightly (slightly!) comforted this morn by reports that Hillary got a decent-sized bounce from the Democratic Convention. The Pollster Aggregate has her up 46.0% to 40.1%, which may not seem like a safe gap but remember that Obama only beat Romney by about 4% and still managed to rack up an Electoral College landslide.

One of my friends is afraid not that Trump will win but that he won't lose by a wide-enough margin to (a) repudiate his kind of politics forever and (b) prevent him from screaming that the election was rigged. The latter is highly unlikely. Trump is already screaming that if he loses, the election had to have been rigged. To him, an alleged Trump loss is incontrovertible evidence of skullduggery since Trump never loses. The former? Well, it's possible but I wouldn't count on it.

Then again, it's 98 days until the election. So figure Trump averaging one real stupid and/or offensive statement per day 'til then, that's 98 things that may drive Independents — as well as Republicans whose antipathy for Hillary isn't set in lucite — to decide to vote for her or not at all. That may be Ms. Clinton's greatest advantage at the moment.

Still, here at newsfromme.com, we're all about the Electoral College and it's tricky to see where we are with that, this far before Election Day. The main three states to watch are, of course, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. It's highly unlikely Trump can win without all three of them and states aren't polled that often until the last month.

Looking just at the major pollsters: The last polling of Ohio was July 22-24, before the Democratic Convention, which obviously changed some minds. The last poll of Florida was July 11. And the only polling we have for Pennsylvania since the D.N.C. ended was yesterday and while it showed Hillary four points ahead of Donald, that's just one poll. Since she's been generally ahead in all three states and the national polls show that bump in her overall vote total, she's probably still ahead in all three.

How far ahead and for how long? That remains to be seen. I have the feeling though that until Election Day, there's going to be a constant lag time in the polling. Right now, we're waiting for all the post-D.N.C. polls but when they materialize in the next day or three, they won't reflect what (if anything) Trump has done to himself with his attacks on Khzir Khan, the Muslim father who scolded Trump for anti-Muslim sentiments. And by the time we do get the polls that show any movement because of that issue, we'll be waiting for the polls on the next Trump-induced controversy. Because you know there'll be one, maybe by the time I post this.

We may have to have another one of these later since there are 22+ hours left in the day. Then again, even Trump may have trouble topping this one for sheer misbehavior. Here's Rod Dreher — yes, a Conservative — outraged that Trump has neither the humanity nor the common sense to not attack the parents on a U.S. soldier who died serving his country.

And because in Trumpworld, it's important to double down on every mistake you made, here's one of Trump's closest political advisors escalating the attempt to make the Gold Star Parents out to be the bad guys.

When Michael Jackson recorded "Thriller," you just know he had this in mind: The song being performed by the U.S. Navy Band, complete with sailors staggering around the stage pretending to be zombies. Just perfect…

Josh Marshall thinks there's a good chance that Trump will try to get out of debating Hillary Clinton and that one of the excuses he'll use is to refuse if the debates don't include Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, both of whom will probably be excluded by existing rules. My guess is that Trump will begin insisting on that and all sorts of conditions, ostensibly out of fairness: He won't accept this moderator or that venue or those time restrictions or the composition of the audience, etc. The idea here is to show he's in command…and that Hillary is going to have to show up and participate in a format dictated by him, rather than the two of them entering an arena neither controls.

That seems to be a dominant trait in Trump: He never plays your game. You have to play his. In interviews, he answers the questions he wants to answer, not the ones you want to ask him. I'll bet when he engages in business negotiations, he won't go to your office. You have to come to his and sit on his furniture, surrounded by his photos and his loyal staffers and you eat and drink what he wants to serve you.

If he gets every rule change and concession he wants for the debates, he'll participate because he'll figure he's already won by getting those concessions. If he doesn't "win" that scuffle, whether he'll debate or not will depend a lot on the polls and public pressure. He can't afford to have "he's afraid of Hillary" become too popular a chant.

I'm not going to run a lot of messages that readers of this site send me about the election because…well, if I ran all of them or even a tenth, this blog would be about nothing else. But I've decided to reply here to this one from Christopher Green…

Like you, I was a Bernie supporter. Unlike you, I don't find Hillary an acceptable second choice, but I won't bother you with my reasons. I've tried to put a finger on why I'm so sullen about the situation, and the reality that I must choose between two candidates I don't like doesn't quite fully explain away my mood.

So, in terms you can appreciate, here's my best take at how I feel: The Comic-Con has decided to offer only one food item in and around the Comic-Con venue, and they are going to choose from three options: Jennie-O Turkey Pot Roast, Candy Corn, and Cole Slaw. They allow attendees to narrow it down to two choices: Candy Corn (unhealthy) and Cole Slaw (awful tasting). Not only is it upsetting that you highly dislike the final two choices, but you were so close to having a choice that was both healthy and delicious.

That's how I feel. I'll bet others do as well.

Yeah, but it was always going to come down to two choices. I'd be happier to have a wider menu in every election but it always winds up being two choices and in a democracy, they might not be the two out of the three you'd pick. The final choice of two is often someone you really don't like over someone you think was both "healthy and delicious." I wish some of the Bernie supporters would stop acting like they're the first people ever to feel that their candidate would have been a lot better than the person who won.

I don't know how old you are, Christopher, but I'm 64 so I've voted in a fair number of elections. I'm not sure I've ever had my pick of a candidate I thought was ideal; just a few who I thought were way, way better than the alternative. The folks I thought were way, way better have not always won, as has been known to happen in the United States of America.

I voted for Bernie and still admire the hell out of the guy…but I thought his agenda was a little light on realism about how some of his proposals were ever going to happen. Confronted with questions about that, he always seemed to resort to the notion that a "political revolution" was going to suddenly appear — one which would overcome Republican opposition and the fact that even some Democrats were uneasy about some of his goals. That "revolution" was not quite big enough to win him the Democratic nomination so I'm skeptical it would have materialized when necessary to get us Single Payer Healthcare.

There's a happy consolation prize in that Hillary has been shoved to the left and has taken up many items from Senator Sanders' wishlist. If she's elected, as I hope she will be, we might find that she can make more things happen from that list than he could have accomplished. Maybe that's unrealistic but I choose to be optimistic in that regard. At the very least, a Hillary victory will save us from having Trump dismantle regulation of Wall Street, bust the budget with tax cuts for guys like him, empower a lot of racists and immigrant-haters, and appoint Scott Baio to the Supreme Court for life.

Not that I would wish this on anyone but I think you need to listen to a few more Donald J. Trump speeches…and pay particular attention to the reaction he brings out in his crowds. That could make you a lot happier with…well, I started to write "Hillary Clinton in the White House" but of course, she's already been in the White House. I'm just going to do whatever I can to get her the right chair there and that's not just because I think Trump would be such a disaster. I think she'd be a good president. But to me, stopping Trump is reason enough to vote for her…or just about anyone.