Cliffhanger Fatigue

As we get set to shelve 2012 blame the lazy Mayan elves and their gullible jolly boss for your new Chia Pet or Clapper. But blame the pending coal in your shrinking bank balance on Boehner and the tone deaf GOP Congressional brigade.

If the Fiscal Follies extend into 2013, the shrill show will get real old, real fast. It's time for the people stand up. Obama won re-election, guys. Get your job done already. Or maybe let's talk about freezing Congressional salaries and overhauling your bennies before you even think about touching so-called "lock box" entitlements.

If that doesn't bring it home for the House nothing--short of being tossed out of office--will.

Here's to a most merry and lucky 2013!

Drive safe. Play nice Think peace.

aba

Two Hitchcocks

Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar. I thought, after all the Awards' Season popcorn dust settled the master of suspense would achieve a little posthumous payback in the guise of Anthony Hopkins' recognition. But the two time Oscar winner, who plays Hitch with honey-glazed ham homage in the uneven, but ultimately delicious "Hitchcock," has so far been shut out of the biggies ( Globes, SAGs).



Helen Mirren, who glams up Hitchcock's long suffering wife and creative collaborator Alma Reville, has so far, fetched all the glory with a slew of noms. And, in many ways, the film is a tribute to Alma's contributions to the classic film making operation. The film, which focuses on the Hitchcocks' relationship during the making of "Psycho" meanders a bit, particularly when it shows Hitch in imaginary counseling sessions with Ed Gein( Norman Bates' real-life inspiration) as therapist. Still it's a compelling, witty, often generous portrait of both Hitchcock and his wife. And, dare I say, far more entertaining than the much ballyhooed, Oscar-bound "Lincoln."


But Hitch may still get his due this season. Toby Jones, the diminutive British actor, rode the balcony a few years ago when his turn as Truman Capote took a back seat to Phillip Seymour Hoffman's portrait largely because "Capote" came out a year before the lighter "Infamous" ( now a cult fave; if you haven't seen it, it's a must add for your DVD list) hit the big screen. This year, Jones, who stars as Hitch in the smaller and far creepier "The Girl," HBO's brilliant but very dark exploration into Hitchcock's psyche as seen through his obsession with Tippi Hedren during the making of "The Birds," has scored noms from both the Globes and Screen Actors' Guild.


And if that's not enough Hitchcock, A&E is set to run a series called "Bates Motel" billed as a prequel to "Psycho." The master of suspense would surely find all this renewed fascination very fascinating.

Drive safe. Play nice. Think peace.

aba

Carole King's Crown

Music has always had the power to heal, to soothe, to bring people together. So, after last week's devastating news, I am happy to celebrate some truly good news about an inspired and inspiring artist.

Carole King will be the 2013 recipient the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. She will be the first woman to enjoy the much deserved and lauded recognition, and only the third composer, following behind the pioneering Pauls, Simon and McCartney respectively.

When I was nine, ten years old, I couldn't resist the lure of my older sister's record collection. The Beatles, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Jim Croce, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Patti Smith, all held my passport to the mysterious and forbidden teenage world. I'd find out about Elton John, Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Smiths, and Elvis Costello a bit later on during my precocious adventures in Marconi's box.

But Carole King's "Tapestry" album was one of my sister's perennials. The earth moved us through that seminal album over and over. Long before I truly understood the heartbreaking pathos behind 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? and "It's Too Late." the yearning in "Way Over Yonder" or "So Far Away."

The irony of "Smackwater Jack's" jaunty tune eluded my innocent imagination, and for obvious reasons, now grips my psyche at this writing.

It would be a while before I learned about King's first fame as a (very) young Brill Building scribe, penning hits for a slew of groups from The Shirelles to The Monkees.

Carole King's music has become indelibly etched into the pop cultural landscape. The celebration of her musical canon will give us another chance to revel in its powers.

Bravo, Carole King! And congratulations.

Drive Safe. Play nice. Think peace.

aba

A Call For Action & Compassion

The tragic Sandy Hook Elementary massacre has broken America's national heart. The loss of 28 people, 20 of them innocent six and seven year old children, is an unimaginable loss. Add the festive patina of the December Holiday season and we have a perfect storm of paralyzing emotions.

As the days, weeks, months pass, we'll also have an opportunity for reflection and action. Mostly action. President Obama eloquently called for "meaningful action," and now is his time to finally make good on that promise. We must ban all assault weapons. And do it as swiftly as possible. Obama has no re-election to worry about, no more need to cower to the power of the NRA. The public must put pressure on the President and Congress. Petitions are floating through the social media matrix. Sign one. Or six. Call your reps. Join the Brady Organization or other like-minded gun control groups.

Beyond that, we must examine the value of mental health services. Long the neglected step-child of the medical community, and often eschewed by insurance plans, psychiatric treatment must be included in insurance coverage. Mental health professionals educators, parents, neighbors, we must all reach out to those at risk. Let's be clear: not all "bright but troubled loners" are human tinderboxes. But we must listen and look for signs of isolation and alienation. Reach out before it's too late.

Love, prayers and compassion for all affected by gun violence. Compassion, too, for all who feel isolated, alienated and abandoned. There is a help out here. There is a positive place for you in this world. Please reach out for that helping hand. It will embrace you.


Drive safe. Play nice. Think peace.

aba

Whine Country, U.S.A.

Sour grapes make the best whine! Mitt Romney, in his campaign autopsy phone tour to donors attributes Obama's victory to giving away stuff. You know goodies like health care, immigration reform and college loans. Different from the big time bennies like 13 % ( or lower) tax rates, shelters and off-shore incentives Romney and his ilk in the one percent have been feasting on for decades. Repubs,who are hoping to revive the GOP brand, essentially threw what was left of the Romney legacy under the big old limo out of town. Still, running mate Paul Ryan, dumb-founded over the big loss, clings to the notion that the campaign didn't "lose on issues." instead, the Wisconsin wonk insists, Obama's win was thanks to "the urban turn-out." Translation: dang, that voter suppression thing didn't turn out so well. Meanwhile, doing his part to sully the grand old pouters even more, John McCain is busy trying to whip the tragedy in Benghazi into a scandal beyond Watergate proportion. He's so hellbent on sticking it to Obama ( by way of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice) that he actually missed a briefing on the incident so he could kvetch about it on TV. Then he complained about scheduling snafus. Whine on, boys. Whine on. We'll just drink it all in. Drive safe. Play nice. Think peace. aba

Barack The Vote

Have you heard the one where Obama squeaks into a second term with an
Electoral College victory, but Romney wins the popular vote? That poli sci-fi scenario has been bandied about by the chattering class for a while. But I've always dismissed it. I mean how could that be? How could the worst presidential candidate in modern history, and one so clearly unpopular even among his own party, this political hologram, the love child of Thurston Howell III and Monty Hall, walk off with more votes than the man who consistently leads him by double digits in affability and values?

Ah, but now I see how a cynical nexus of voter suppression (you bet they're still trying to steal Ohio!) and apathy could trigger such a depressing event,. Okay, sure, I'd rather wind up on the winning end of such a deal  than  repeat 2000, where Al Gore won the popular vote and W. was handed keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in a neat little box filled with hanging chads by the Supremes.

So, yeah, we'll take an Obama victory any way we can get it. But to loosen the Beltway's legislative gridlock and avoid the patina of illegitimacy the fright wing has been dying to bestow upon his presidency, Obama needs something akin to a mandate. And here's where we all come in. It will all come down to turn-out.So no matter where you live, you have to vote. Even those of us residing in the deepest of deep blue states: New York, California, Illinois, Oregon, Vermont, we have to get off our duffs and out the door. Every single vote counts.

I know we feel slighted, because the antiquated Electoral College hands sway to a few chosen states. This year it looks like Ohio, and probably Virginia and Florida and maybe Colorado will play heavily into the finale. But if every vote counted equally more people would vote and Obama would win. Maybe even by a landslide.

Alright, maybe not a landslide. Sure, I know a lot of progressives are disappointed in Obama. That hope and change seems like a lot of hype now. Okay, so the  guy isn't exactly Superman. But let's be fair: he 's started to dig us out from under that flaming pile of reckless rubbish he found on the doorstep of the White House back in January 2009. We may have a long way to go, but we're moving in a positive direction.And why anyone would  want to revert to the tried and tired policies that nearly brought this country to her knees boggles my mind.

If you can't imagine voting for Romney, a man who flips and flops with such alacrity he must suffer from chronic vertigo, than you can't just stay home. Or cast a protest vote for Roseanne Barr. Or Gary Johnson. Remember how that Ralph Nadar for reform business went in 2000? Only the truly cynical or naive can sit this one out. There is a huge difference between Obama and Romney. We simply can't trust a man who consistently airbrushes history, runs from his own record and then embraces it, often within the same day. There's a reason--beyond the commonwealth's electoral blue hue--Romney is losing in Massachusetts by 20 plus points. He wasn't nearly as good a governor as his propaganda suggests. His landmark health care legislation--the model for the national reform he so desperately promises to repeal--was largely crafted by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. And his mythic "reaching across the aisle' has been debunked by those who lived and worked in Massachusetts during his tenure. It essentially came down to vetoes and running Republicans against Democrats. He never considering running for a second term because he knew he'd never win one.

So pretend your vote really means something. Especially if you care about a future with a thriving middle class, health care reform, education,equal pay for equal work, reproductive rights, gay rights,  medicare, social security, the environment, energy,world peace. Oh, and the trajectory of the Supreme Court for the next generation or two, which, by the way, will most certainly inform all the aforementioned.

I know you don't want what Mitt's hiding behind Door Number 3.If it was anything other than an ill-tempered chicken and a year's supply of Rice-A-Roni  he wouldn't so evasive. It's, as Obama calls it, a "sketchy deal," one that will surely continue big time bennies for the wealthiest, while the 47% Mitt so clearly disdains and the rest of us in the middle continue to bear the burden. Wait until he repeals Obamacare and your pre-existing condition once again bars you from insurance and your college grad kid gets tossed off your plan and your parents have to shell out more for prescriptions.

Wait until Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires and Robert Bork handpicks the next Supreme Court Justice.

So, yeah,  your vote for Obama matters. It really matters. No matter where you live.

Elephant Wrung

Even true blue libs must have a scintilla of compassion for Andrea Saul. Mitt Romney's beleaguered press secretary has tirelessly cleaned up after the candidate's gaffes,. missteps and whoppers. Add to the mix an embarrassing assortment of fright wing buffoons dragging on slick Mitt's coat tails and the gal's got to be exhausted. Aiken, Ryan, Mourdock, oh my! Drive safe. Play nice. Think peace. And VOTE!! aba