The Last Kander-Ebb Show

Tomorrow marks the end of an era. Curtains, the last original Kander and Ebb musical to play on Broadway (John Kander died a few years ago) will close tomorrow. Any and all Kander-Ebb productions on the Great White Piece of Asphalt from here on will be in the form of revivals. (Don't expect a revival of Steel Pier, their 1997 flop.)

In the meantime, there's the twelve-year revival of Chicago, still going strong. And all that jazz.

Second (Amendment) Thoughts

The Supreme Court's ruling on the Second Amendment rendering the District of Columbia's ban on handguns may seem chilling at first, until you you read the fine print. While Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, declared that the right of the people to bear arms is not limited to state militias, he did say that some common-sense regulation is necessary, especially in keeping guns away from schools or out of the hands of people with criminals. The only problem is that the Second Amendment was interpreted so vaguely by the Court, someone without a criminal record could conceivably buy a gun with the intent of committing a crime - given the laws the vary between locales. While this decision may embolden the National Rifle Association, it might just as easily embolden gun control advocates, eager to get a president more sympathetic than George Walker Bush to their cause once the Shrub is out of office.

Newly Discovered Lovers Of the Everglades

Some good news about the environment today. . . .

U.S. Sugar, the nation's largest can sugar producer, said it was closing its facilities in the Everglades and selling its land - nearly 300 square miles - to the state of Florida for restoration of the Everglades area. Plans include cleaning up the sugar farm runoff before allowing it to be diverted into Lake Okeechobee by back-pumping.

This action means restoring the natural water flow between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades, which will help the Everglades to revert to its natural state.

Oh, To Be In Montreal, Now That Summer Is Here

Today is the Feast of St. John the Baptist, a big holiday in Quebec.

Old Uncle Tom

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas turns sixty today.

Famous Seven Last Words

I was saddened to hear of the death of George Carlin of a heart attack at 71. He was a voice for laughing at the absurd, moronic side of life with his pointed barbs and his love of word play; comedians like Bill Maher and Lewis Black would have had different careers without him. Unlike Tim Russert, Carlin was a mean old bastard - and he didn't care! And that's how we liked him. He even got to say those seven dirty words you can't say on television. R.I.P. 

Big Money

I've heard a lot of nasty comments from both sides over Barack Obama's decision to spurn public financing for his presidential campaign - the first presidential nominee to do so since the Watergate-inspired reforms of 1974 - but since nearly half of Obama's money is coming from small donors (much like the way Howard Dean funded his 2004 presidential bid), I don't think it will damage Obama's reputation as a new-style politician. After all, the Republicans will have some advantage with the right-wing independent "527 groups" (named after the section of campaign finance law that allows them to operate) smearing the Democratic candidate, and besides, this is a perfect way for Obama to force John McCain to defend more states normally considered safe for Republicans. If I sound cynical, that's because I don't expect much from efforts to reform the system anyway. Obama didn't so much go back on his word as realize that the system as it is is broken and, if he can avoid using a broken system to maximize his advantages, that's what he'll do.

They're Attacking Michelle???

Michelle, Ma Belle: You know the Republican party is reverting to form when they try to get to a Democratic candidate by going after the wife.

Michelle Obama has immediately come under attack for her critical comments about the United States, mainly for its "mean" policies and the fact that she was proud of her country for the first time as an adult when her husband began to win several primaries and caucuses. Criticizing a black woman was always going to be difficult for the Republicans, but Mrs. Obama has given them enough ammunition in the form of comments that suggest a tinge of anti-Americanism and could just as easily have come from a white man. People want a First Lady who reminds them of Angela Lansbury, and the GOP will use Mrs. Obama's comments to make her look like Angela Davis.

Except that it likely won't work. Mrs. Obama has criticized attitudes among Americans more than America itself, and a comment she allegedly made on tape at a conference supposedly sponsored by the Trinity United Church of Christ - you know, the church the Obamas just quit? - in which she referred to Caucasians as "whitey" never happened. There is no tape.

Barack Obama himself has already started a Web site to counter the rumors about Michelle, and he has issued a forceful request against the GOP (Greedy Old Patriarchs): "Lay off my wife." Jeez, if Michael Dukakis had spoken that passionately about his wife in his second presidential debate with George Bush in 1988, instead of failing to show emotion over her hypothetical rape and murder, history would have been very different.

Equine and Human Athletes

I don't normally comment on sports, but I have to put in my two cents' worth about the Triple Crown. How could Big Brown win so decisively at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, only to come in dead last at Belmont? Usually, two out of three ain't bad, but not when you're vying to make your horse the first horse to win the Triple Crown in thirty years.

You did a heck of a job, Brownie. :-O

Among human athletes, baseball's New York Mets are living up to their reputation for sucking. They start out great and choke at the end, losing unloseable games. Ironically, they play like the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, who lost that series to . . . the Mets.

Tim Russert: 1950-2008

I was saddened to hear of the death of Tim Russert this afternoon. Russert, the moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," was a tough journalist who asked some tough questions of politicians of all backgrounds and gained the respect of Washington power brokers and the admiration of fellow members of the press, but perhaps his proudest role was as a father and as a son. He spoke glowingly of the values and guidance his father (who's still alive) gave him, and he tried by all accounts to be as good a father to his son Luke. The biggest ironies of his passing at 58 are that it occurs just before Father's Day weekend, and that Russert - ever a political junkie if there was one - will be denied knowledge of the outcome of a presidential election campaign he was so eager to cover. R.I.P. :-(

Game On

With Hillary Clinton having officially conceded, the battle for President of the United States is joined between Barack Obama for the Democrats and John McCain for the Republicans. Already, the parameters have been defined. Obama is focusing on the economy, while McCain is focusing on Iraq. But when they go into each other's comfort zones, Obama comes out looking better either way, what with McCain fudging his answers on questions related to the war and demonstrating an insensitivity to the struggles middle-class Americans are going through these days. He continues to support keeping the capital gains tax low, despite the fact that it benefits the rich, and he won't support extended benefits for military recruits to kick in after one enlistment.

Obama is charging out of the gate, with a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showing him ahead of McCain outside the margin of error and leading among different demographic groups - including the ones he's supposed to have problems in. Obama's rose bed has produced some thorn; one of the members of his vice presidential running mate search committee, former Fannie Mae lending company chairman James Johnson, had to resign due to improper mortgages he got from Countrywide Financial Corporation.

Scott McClellan Is Not For Real

Scott McClellan is either the biggest liar or the biggest fool. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and conclude he's a fool. Only now does he seem to realize that he was lied to about Iraq, and that he provided false information to the press. And, he says, there's way too much political nonsense in Washington. Thanks for clearing that up, Scott.

At least he's donating the proceeds from his new book to help military families. You have to wonder, though, if you're better off giving at the office.

A Burning Issue

Congress won't be passing a bill to fight global warming even though it has broad support because of a small group of Republican senators blocking it on technicalities - all of which affect big business, of course.

This is despite the fact that both Barack Obama and John McCain are bent on doing something about the problem.

My British ladyfriend Therisa is big on promoting animal welfare. While I support and sympathize with her pet (no pun intended) cause, it's worth noting that if we're going to do anything about animal welfare, we also have to do something about the planet they call home.

Dig that in the Northeast as daytime temperatures are about to hover in the mid-nineties for the next few days, before summer has even begun.

Scott McClellan - Relax, I'll get to him.

No More Hillary-Bashing

Now that Hillary Clinton has finally conceded the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama, I'm going to stop saying nasty things about her. This does not mean, however, that I have no reason to say anything nasty about her. I'm just not saying it for the good of unity among Democrats and like-minded independents.

Besides, I remember what my mother said: If you can't say something nice about someone, then don't say it all.

Though, I also remember what Jeff Foxworthy said: If you can't say something nice about someone, then you must be talking about Hillary Clinton. :-p

Okay, starting now . . .

McAfee Meandering

If the McAfee computer virus protection system is so damn terrific, how come it has to update itself every day and slow down everything in the process?

It's all I have, I guess. . . .

Winning Stone Cold

Barack Obama will likely be declared the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States when all of the votes from today's final primaries in South Dakota and Montana are counted and enough superdelegates have weighed in Hillary Clinton isn't ready to concede yet, but she has indicated she's, uh, available for the vice presidential nomination.

Yeah, right.

She gets to tweak Obama one more time tonight - she won the South Dakota primary. It makes sense that she win a primary in the state where Mount Rushmore is located. She has a gaze that could make you turn to stone. :-O

Bo Diddley: 1928-2008

I was saddened to hear of the death of Bo Diddley at 79 of heart failure. The artist legally known as Ellis McDaniel was one of the greats of rock and roll, helping to invent it with his eponymously named beat. He influenced artists such as the Rolling Stones, George Thorogood, Bruce Springsteen, and even U2.

Who do you love? R.I.P.