A LETTER TO OBAMA
January 29, 2009
Dear Citizen Obama,
’Twas not too long ago you were roaming the country fearlessly expounding on the wrongs wrought by the right and telling all within earshot what you were going to do to restore our country to its honorable place among the nations of this earth. At least some of the populace voted for a Congress they thought would bring the thugs, thieves and killers who had been ruining the country to trial. But the spineless, sniveling Democrats in the person of their leaders, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, announced that impeachment was “off the table,” confirming that law, justice and the Constitution were also off the table.
You, Citizen Obama, pounded podium after podium with your message of change. Well, sir, banks make change without changing anything. What we need is progressive thinking. [Read more]
QUITTERS NEVER WIN
January 29, 2009
Caroline’s a quitter, and I’m quite incensed.
Not because I thought she was the best choice, but because out of nowhere she threw her hat in the ring and was henceforth treated like a butterfly emerging from her chrysalis. Caroline, who never made a show of herself, was going public. People took her seriously enough to invest emotionally in an opinion as to whether or not she should get the Senate job, debated it, held press conferences about it, and when it came to her competitors, started swigging Mylanta straight from the bottle over it.
OUR NANNY TAX PROBLEM
January 29, 2009
There’s no such thing as an honest mistake in politics, just like there’s no such thing as gender parity when it comes to the scrutiny that candidates face when nominated to powerful positions in government.
Much has been made of the “tax” problems of President Obama’s choice to head the Treasury Department. Tim Geithner failed to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for a domestic household employee whose legal immigration status lapsed during her employment. Supporters praised his stellar credentials and stints as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and as a senior official of the International Monetary Fund. They insisted it was an “honest mistake.”
Geithner has been confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury (which fined him for his errors). But his “nanny tax” problem reveals the lingering two-tiered litmus test for nominees. [Read more]
FORDHAM NEEDS TO GROW
January 29, 2009
In the latest of many development debates facing the Upper West Side, Fordham University has asked the city to grant it several variances so that the school can expand its Lincoln Center campus. Important questions about the project have been raised during recent community board meetings, but we believe that with some key modifications, the school should be permitted to move forward with the plan.
The need for Fordham’s growth is clear. The school says it currently handles almost 8,000 students on a campus designed for 3,500; by 2032, that number is expected to grow to more than 11,000 students. The amount of space per student here is exceptionally low as well: only 106 square feet per student, compared with 388 square feet per student at Columbia, and a national average of 360 square feet per student. [Read more]
AS WRITER-PRODUCER IN TAKEN, LUC BESSON PROVES HIS MASTERY OF THE ACTION FILM
January 28, 2009
If French producer-director Luc Besson worked in Hollywood, he’d have won his Irving G. Thalberg Award by now. That particular Oscar, presented to “creative producers whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of [Read more]
RENEE ZELLWEGER ONLY INDUCES YAWNS IN TRANSPARENTLY POPULIST NEW IN TOWN
January 28, 2009
The funniest thing about New in Town is the title. Its fish-out-of-water story of Miami-based corporate executive Lucy Hill (Renée Zellweger) sent to small town Ulm, Minnesota, to downsize a snack-food plant is old as Zellweger’s clumsy female Bridget Jones formula—and old as Hollywood’s hills. Yawn-inducing déjà vu descends upon scenes of [Read more]
BLESSED IS THE MARTYR
January 28, 2009
Hannah Senesh is the Jewish Joan of Arc. As part of the only military operation to attempt a rescue of Jews held in concentration camps, the Hungarian Senesh left Palestine to parachute into Yugoslavia, where she was arrested, tortured and eventually executed. Her story has inspired millions, so why does she comes across as such a pill in the new documentary Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh?
Narrated by Joan Allen, with a wealth of Senesh’s poetry and diary entries quoted, the film makes a fatal misstep by including reenactments. Seeing Senesh brought to humorless life and watching actresses wordlessly portray Jewish prisoners turns Senesh’s story into a lackluster installment of a TruTV television series.
But there’s a larger problem than the flat-footed recreation of Senesh’s final days: Hannah herself. Idolized as a Jewish heroine, the story that comes together from interviews with her ancient friends, fellow parachutists and her own letters and diaries is an intriguing one. Safe in Palestine, Senesh insisted on returning to war-torn Eastern Europe to do her part; then, despite being warned by her colleagues not to continue on her mission into Hungary, Senesh stubbornly went anyway, and was captured in a few hours.
Gradually, the picture that we form of Senesh is that of a woman determined to martyr herself, even drawing comparisons to Joan of Arc by lambasting the men putting her on trial as a traitor. Grossman’s documentary never stops to examine what inner fire made this particular Jewish woman so willing to put herself in such highly dangerous situations; we’re expected to accept that some people are capable of selfless heroic actions—even if their heroics are disastrous failures—and some are not. There remains, however, a sneaking suspicion that Senesh’s motives weren’t as pure as they’re presented to be. After all, who doesn’t want a little credit for their good deeds?
Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
Directed by Roberta Grossman
At Landmark Sunshine Cinema
Running Time: 86 min.
BANKING ON A CELEBRATION
January 28, 2009
Last week, TD Bank celebrated its newest branch, on East 59th Street and Park Avenue, with a street fair that included free food, a stilt walker (pictured) and juggler, live music, games and prizes. To mark the occasion, the TD Charitable Foundation also made a donation to Health Advocates for Older People, Inc., Central Synagogue, Young Women’s Leadership Foundation, Police Athletic League, Inc. and New York City Bridge Centennial Commission.
KALLOS FOR COUNCIL
January 28, 2009
Ben Kallos, chief of staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, is the first person officially running for the seat held by first-term Council Member Jessica Lappin.
In December, Lappin’s office confirmed that she was considering a run for public advocate. Unlike other prospective candidates who are waiting for Lappin to officially jump into the public advocate’s race and give up her seat, Kallos is acting quickly. Last week, he filed with the city’s Campaign Finance Board for Lappin’s Council seat but his campaign account was empty.
Kallos declined to comment on his candidacy.
David Liston, chair of Community Board 8, and Dan Quart, one of Lappin’s primary opponents in 2005, have also said they are interested in succeeding Lappin on the Council.
HS CANCER FUNDRAISER
January 28, 2009
Hunter College High School’s Athletic Association and the American Cancer Society are organizing the school’s first “Coaches vs. Cancer Week” to benefit cancer research.
Fundraisers during the first week of February include a bake sale and “Shoot For a Cure,” in which all of the girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball athletes will take 100 sponsored free throws.
The Hawks will also dedicate their two final home games to the cause. On Feb. 3, the girls’ team will play rivals Stuyvesant High School and on Feb. 4, the undefeated boys’ team will take on the Richard Green High School of Teaching.
The Hawks, along with their visitors, will wear pink shoelaces during the games and will tip off with a specially designed “Coaches vs. Cancer” basketball from the American Cancer Society, which will later be auctioned off. Extra shoelaces and pink Hunter “Coaches vs. Cancer” T-shirts will be sold on both days.
Tickets will be available at the door of the gymnasium, 71 E. 94th St., for $5 starting at 4 p.m. on both days. Proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society. For questions about the fundraiser, call 646-206-9095 or 917-568-9811.
