Endorsement

 

 

The Weekly Bystander endorses Donald Trump for President.

A year ago I was looking forward to this year’s Presidential election with great anticipation. President Biden was running virtually unopposed in the Democratic primaries and was a lock to get the nomination. Although former President Donald Trump faced stronger opposition in Republican primaries, he seemed unstoppable. The 2024 election was shaping up to be a rare event, a contest between two Presidents. It would be a contest between the current administration, and the previous one. It would be easy to compare the two administrations on the basis of what they actually achieved, and not on some promised reforms or future policies.

However, it was not to be. Biden’s inept performance in the early debate led to a Democratic insider party coup that forced him out of the race. As a result it seemed as if Kamela Harris, Biden’s anointed successor was a reform candidate running against Trump who now appeared as the incumbent from whom we had to turn the page.. She has consistently declined to run on her record, but just talks about her plans for the future. Even though practically everyone in the country has already made up their mind, it still seems to me that there is no way the Biden-Harris administration can stand comparison with that of the Trump administration. *

There is no need to go over the whole list of failures of the Biden-Harris administration except to note that the greatest failure is still hidden. How long have Democratic insiders like Vice-President Harris known of President Biden’s incapacity? How long have we been governed by a secret cabal? It is claimed that President Biden removed himself from the race only after being threatened by the 25th Amendment. That amendment, however, cannot be used as a threat. If the Vice-President suspected the President was mentally or physically unable to continue, she had the responsibility to call a cabinet meeting and call for a vote. Perhaps this explains why the cabinet has met only once in the past six months, and that only for a photo op.

Whether elected or defeated, Harris and the Biden Administration will have a lot to explain in the years to come.


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* See earlier post on the resumes of the two contenders.

Yankee Tragedy

  

Ever since the ancient Greeks dramas have been classified as either tragedy or comedy. To put it simply in a tragedy things start out well for the hero but then end badly. From Oedipus to Hamlet that has always been the case. On the other hand, in a comedy things start out badly but end up well. It is not a question of laughs. There are very few laughs in Dante’s Divine Comedy, but the hero eventually goes from the depths to the heights.  

I thought of this the other night while watching the NY Yankees blow a five-run lead in the fifth inning of the fifth game of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was not the loss of the game and the Series that was tragic, but the individual tragedies involved. Just as in dramas of old it seemed as if the gods or fate were involved in bringing down not just one but three Yankee heroes. 

The Yankees had lost the first two games in Los Angeles and when they lost the third game at home in Yankee Stadium, it seemed like all hope was gone, especially since Aaron Judge, their best player and league MVP, was not hitting. Nevertheless, they won the fourth game 11-4 sparked by a grand slam home run and base running antics by Anthony Volpe, their young shortstop. Moreover they would have their ace pitcher Gerrit Cole on the mound for game five.

As in all tragedies game 5 started on a high note. Judge broke out of his slump with a two-run homer in the first inning. A couple of innings later he made a spectacular catch against the wall to add to his hero status.  By the fifth inning the Yanks had built up a 5-0 lead. Cole was cruising along, and all seemed well but fate intervened to bring down the mighty.

In the top of the fifth with a runner on first Judge dropped an easy fly ball that any little leaguer could have caught. To say this error was inexplicable would be an understatement. Now there are runners at first and second with nobody out. Still, Cole induces the next batter to hit a grounder to Volpe at shortstop. He attempts a force out at third but throws the ball in the dirt for another error. Now the bases are loaded with no one out. 

Let’s stop for a moment to consider the tragic fate of Anthony Volpe. Since the days of the legendary DiMaggio, Rizzuto, and Berra the large Italian American community in New York’s metropolitan area has always loved the Yankees. Volpe came from an Italian American family and he and his family had always loved the Yankees. His play in the series had brought him to the top of the world but one errant throw brought him down. 

Years ago while listening to a Yankee game being broadcast on the radio by Tom Seaver, one of baseball’s greatest pitchers, and Phil Rizzuto, the legendary Yankee shortstop. A player had just made an error and Rizzuto asked Seaver how he would react as a pitcher. Seaver said that rather than being angry at his teammate, he felt that it was his responsibility to bear down and get out of the inning without any further damage.  In other words, it was his job to protect his teammate from blame.

Incredibly, Gerrit Cole did just that. With the bases loaded and no one out, he struck out the next two batters, including Shohei Ohtani, the Dodger MVP. Then Cole induced Mookie  Betts to hit an easy grounder to first base but then commits his own error by failing to cover the base for the throw. Who knows what could have been going on in this great pitcher’s mind after this misplay? Two hits later and the score was tied. 

In front of 50000 fans and millions of TV watchers, three fine players had fallen from the heights. Even Shakespeare would have been hard pressed to write such a tragedy.

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

 

 

If you want a break from hurricanes and the election, try any of these films by Alfred Hitchcock.

Famed British film director Alfred Hitchcock’s long career spanned almost 50 years. Known as the Master of Suspense, he came to America in 1940 and his first film, Rebecca, won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Today, he is best known for Technicolor classics like Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest. Older readers might remember his long running TV series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, that featured short suspenseful dramas all introduced by Hitchcock himself. Who could ever forget the episode where a woman after killing her husband by hitting him over the head with a frozen leg of lamb, cooked the lamb and then served the evidence to the policemen investigating the homicide?

Nevertheless, I prefer some of his earlier black and white films that demonstrate that he was not only a master storyteller, but also a master of film noir and its techniques. Below find short descriptions of some of my favorites. It never ceases to surprise me that even senior citizens have never heard of or seen these classics. 

Rebecca. As mentioned above, Rebecca was Hitchcock’s first American film. Joan Fontaine, Lawrence Olivier, and Judith Anderson starred in this 1940 suspense drama based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier. Olivier plays a British aristocrat, a widower after the mysterious death of his beautiful and accomplished wife, who brings his new wife home to his estate that seems under the spell of the deceased Rebecca.   This film won the Academy Awards that year for Best Picture and Best Cinematography, and Fontaine, Olivier, and Anderson received Academy Award nominations for their performances. Hitchcock was at his best in Rebecca. 130 minutes. 

Shadow of a Doubt. Joseph Cotton and Teresa Wright starred in this 1943 thriller.  A long-lost relative returns to a sleepy small town for a stay with relatives who welcome him with open arms. He charms the whole town, but his niece begins to have doubts about Uncle Charley. Filmed on location in Santa Rosa, California, Shadow of a Doubt was Alfred Hitchcock’s personal favorite. 108 minutes.

Spellbound. Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman starred in this 1945 film about murder and repressed memory. Psychotherapy and psychoanalysis were starting to make their way into Hollywood and Hitchcock went all out in this film full of dreams and analysis. Surrealist painter Salvador Dali was even brought in to help with the dream sequences although most of his work never made it to the final cut. The film received nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, and famed musical director Miklos Rozsa won for Best Score. 111 minutes.

Stage Fright. Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman, and Richard Todd starred in this little known 1950 film shot in England. Dietrich plays a theatrical entertainer whose husband has been murdered. Police suspect her lover who claims his innocence and hides out with Wyman’s family.  The plot thickens until the typical Hitchcockian ending. Dietrich gets a chance to sing in her own inimitable fashion. The film also features famed British actors, Alastair Sim, Sybil Thorndike, and Joyce Grenfell. 110 minutes. 

Strangers on a Train. Farley Granger and Robert Walker starred in this 1951 Hitchcock thriller where a chance meeting on a train results in murder. This is my favorite Hitchcock film, from the opening sequence as we follow the footsteps of two men boarding a train, to the climactic finale which takes place on a carousel in an amusement park, a finale that is one of the most memorable in film history.  Robert Walker, who normally played boy next door roles, gave his greatest performance as a charming psychopath planning the perfect murder. Ruth Roman, and Patricia Hitchcock, the director’s daughter, are featured.101 minutes. 

I Confess. Montgomery Clift starred in this 1953 film as a priest who hears a killer’s confession but then is accused of the murder himself.  Unable to speak out because of the seal of the confessional, police and public opinion turn against him especially when it turns out there was a woman (Anne Baxter) in his past. The film was beautifully photographed on location in Quebec. 95 minutes.

I prefer to watch these films on DVD as opposed to streaming. Most of the DVDs for the films listed above come with special features that discuss the actual making of the films. In addition, there are no ads, and most include close captioning for the hearing impaired. 

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Vance Walz Debate

 Since I fell and fractured the humerus in my left arm five weeks ago, it has been difficult to use the keyboard on my computer for anything more than a sentence or two. But I would like to make a brief comment on last night's debate.

Before the debate, I thought that Republican Senator Vance would have to show that he was Presidential. He did not have to win but just show that he could be up to the job. Trump is nearly 80 and even his most ardent supporters must be concerned about the succession issue. So, it was not a question of win or lose the debate but would Vance show that he belonged in the arena.

I believe he passed with flying colors. He was intelligent, articulate, knowlegible, poised and young. His youth was a breath of fresh air. 

In fairness, I have to say that Governor Walz did better than I thought he would, and showed much more knowledge and experience than his running mate. This debate was the most substantive I have ever seen in all my years of following politics.

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