Dr. Ben Carson (R-Mayo Clinic) appeared on Meet the Press this past Sunday. I tend not to write much about the doctor, since he's not really and truly an actual, serious candidate for president without any actual qualifications for the job, but rather pushing for a lucrative post-campaign speaking tour, book deal and gig of "Fox News" as a pundit, and because he's not getting the GOP nomination, and has shown little awareness about the details and specifics of what's important for a President of the United States. But when he is a guest on such a huge national platform as Meet the Press and says something so outrageously harmful and divisive, it's not appropriate to let it pass.
On the show, host Chuck Todd asked the doctor if it should matter to voters what a president's faith is. Which brought about the following exchange. BEN CARSON: Well, I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the Constitution, no problem. CHUCK TODD: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the Constitution? BEN CARSON: No, I don’t, I do not. Now, I know that a lot of people have pointed out that it would help a whole lot if Dr. Carson actually understood at least the core basics of the Constitution as taught in junior high before going off half-cocked about what's "consistent" with it. After all, it doesn't even remotely "depend on what the faith is" because Article VI, paragraph 3 of the U.S. Constitution states very specifically “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” Not a single world there about if that religion is consistent with...well, anything. Or if it passes Dr. Ben Carson's Traditional Values Litmus Test. But that's pretty obvious, and something that probably wouldn't even pass getting selected as a contestant on the show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? I'm not saying that Dr. Ben Carson is stupid, because he isn't. He's a very bright man and accomplished in medicine. And hate-filled divisiveness. It's just that they don't ask questions about the Constitution on the Medical Boards test. (Side Note: Muslim Americans are, in fact, Americans.) Instead, the question which came to my mind was something else entirely. Because if Ben Carson, neurosurgeon extraordinaire and failed-Constitutional Authority really wants to focus on consistency with the values of America, then by necessity we must go back to the very beginning, to the Founding Fathers themselves and what's consistent today with their views and the principles of America back when these framers wrote the Constitution. And with that being the case, as it must be when looking for consistency, I think the only appropriate follow-up question to ask Dr. Carson is -- do you believe the freedom of a black man running for president or pursuing any job across the entire United States is "consistent with the values and principles of America" and "consistent with the Constitution" as it was written? Or is electing three-fifths of a president close enough when it comes to consistency, traditional values and the principles America was founded on? To be clear, this has next to nothing about Dr. Ben Carson's qualifications for being President of the United States. Because he's not getting the GOP nomination. It's about wondering when in the world responsible voices in the Republican Party leadership are going to start being mortified and stand up in their own house and shout, "ENOUGH!!", and put an end to anyone, most-especially purported leaders, stirring up visceral racial hatred.
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This is for all you Supreme Court classical music lovers out there.
Tomorrow, Monday (September 21), the wonderful classical music station in Chicago, WFMT, has a special guest for a few hours -- Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, basically playing DJ and then variety show host, spinning some disk and introducing acts. No, really. At 10 AM Chicago time (adjust your clocks accordingly, that's 8 AM in Los Angeles), Justice Ginsberg will be sitting in with host Lisa Flynn to play and talk about some of her favorite classical music. And then an hour later, she will participate in a discussion and live performance of music concerning "Opera and the Law," As the station notes, it will include "operatic excerpts with legal scenes, personally selected by the Justice." It turns out that Justice Ginsburg is a major opera fan, and her son James runs Cedille Records, which is a nonprofit classical music label based in Chicago. You can hear the two broadcasts online by clicking here, and then clicking on "New! Pop-Up Player.". This is how WFMT describes it all on their website. * Starting at 10:00 am, Justice Ginsburg will join WFMT’s midday program host Lisa Flynn live in the broadcast booth as a Guest Host, to share some of her favorite music with WFMT’s audiences, who can listen at 98.7WFMTor at wfmt.com. Immediately following at 11:00 am, she and Ms. Flynn will join singers from The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago for a live broadcast from WFMT’s Fay and Daniel Levin Performance Studio. Justice Ginsburg, a well-known opera aficionado, will discussOpera and the Law with Lisa Flynn, during which the singers will present operatic excerpts with legal scenes. Performers from the Ryan Opera Center will be mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen, tenors Alec Carlson and Jesse Donner, and bass Patrick Guetti, with piano accompaniment by music director Craig Terry. Audiences will hear: o The “Seguidilla” scene from Bizet’s Carmen —Ms. Rosen and Mr. Donner as Carmen and Don José, performing a duet that is arguably opera’s most famous plea bargain. o “Abendlich” from Wagner’s Das Rheingold —The character of Wotan, on the importance of contracts (a recording). o “I Accept Their Verdict” from Britten’s Billy Budd — Mr. Donner as Captain Vere, on the difference between law and justice. o Patrick De Rocher’s aria from Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally — Ms. Rosen, on the death penalty. o “A Paradox” from Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance—Mr. Carlson, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Guetti as Frederick, Ruth, and the Pirate King, on strict versus sensible construction. The repertoire in the program was personally selected by Justice Ginsburg, who will also provide her own commentary. Ms. Flynn will introduce each segment. Following the broadcast, Justice Ginsburg will record a segment for wfmt.com in which she will reveal her top five favorite operas. Brief clips from the broadcast will also be aired on WTTW’s nightly newsmagazine Chicago Tonight that evening. “We are thrilled to welcome Justice Ginsburg to WFMT,” said Steve Robinson, General Manager of WFMT. “To have someone of her stature who has such a passion for classical music on our air is a great honor, and we are delighted to partner with our friends at Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Ryan Opera Center for this very special event.”
With the growth and popularity of webseries, this week on the WGA podcast, Third & Fairfax, the guest is Issa Rae, who created (and starred in ) the successful web show, The Misdventures of Awkward Black Girl, which she then followed-up with The Choir. The success of these series got her a pilot deal at HBO to develop a program there. She's interviewed by writer Amy Aniobi, who works on the HBO series Silicon Valley.
Also for the writer geeks among you, the podcast includes a discussion with Laurie Espinoza about the services provided by the Contracts Department, and the importance of sending in your contracts. So, take notes. Rounding our W.C. Fields Day, in honor of the 100th anniversary of his first appearance in a movie, here's one of his funniest pool-playing sequences. It also features one of his favorite props, a curved pool stick which he used in several movies. Fields used pool gags throughout his career, and so the jokes were constantly evolving. This comes from The Big Broadcast of 1938. As I mentioned, today marks the 100th anniversary of W.C. Fields appearing in his first movie, the silent short Pool Sharks. As I mentioned, too, playing pool was a recurring gag throughout his career, and I thought I'd post a couple of the most famous. Here is his classic "Honest John" scene from Six of a Kind. 100 years ago today, W.C. Fields made his movie debut in a silent short, Pool Sharks. He doesn't yet have the screen persona he would later develop, though there are several details that do point to the future. For instance, there's a brief moment when...let's say he doesn't get along with little kids even in his first movie. And playing a game of pool is a recurring gag that he used throughout his career. Here is Pool Sharks. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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