Hello Everyone:
Good to be back. I hope everyone enjoyed what they could of the summer in this unbelievable year we are in.
We rebooted Weekly Mail 5 years ago, September 12, 2015. The first paragraph of the first blog post said this...
So look, no promises, but I'm going to make an attempt to write again.
I'm not patting myself on the back or anything, but I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed I've been able to keep this going for 5 years now. What helps is when people tell me that they are reading it, whether they agree with me or not. So, we'll keep going till it's not enjoyable anymore. For now it's still a kick.
Thank you for all your support and feedback.
In the four weeks we were away, a lot of things happened. We had the virtual Democratic and Republican Conventions. We had all four major sports going on at once, and we had some notable people pass away.
Let's work our way backwards with the obits.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg-1933-2020
The death of Justice Ginsburg has cast a pall over the nation. When President Trump was told of her death he called her "a great woman, whether or not you agreed with her". Some people gave him a hard time about the second part of his statement, but I give him a pass here, especially if he was being honest that it was the first he was hearing of her death. (and I have plenty to say about Cpt Orange and his big mouth coming up later in this broadcast)
Really though, as much as she was a liberal stalwart, it seems that nobody had a bad thing to say about her. Indeed it's been noted in many places that her closest friend on the court was the late Atonin Scalia who was as conservative as she was liberal.
She ruled on many landmark cases, including writing the majority decision in 1996 in a case that overturned Virginia Military Institute's males only policy.
While I'll give Trump props for his reaction to Justice Ginsburg's passing, the award for classlessness goes to Mitch McConnell, who didn't even allow the night of her death to pass before declaring that they would seek her replacement.
How anyone can support this graceless prick is beyond me. I'm not even going to get into the hypocrisy of trying to push a new justice appointment in 6 weeks when he stalled a vote on Merrick Garland back in 2016. That I'll probably do next week.
I just think telling the world you are going head first into replacing her on the court instead of allowing at least the weekend to honor her memory is a low blow. Some of my friends are considering donating to Amy McGrath's campaign in Kentucky in her race against that multi-chinned goober. I have never donated a penny to a politician in my life, but if you are someone who has in the past, this might be a good time to do so again.
Kevin Dobson- 1943-2020
It may seem a bit werid, sandwiching an actor between a Supreme Court Justice and the person who I will write about next, but Kevin Dobson was a favorite actor of mine, seemed like a really good guy, and also I have some common ground with him.
Back in the early 1990's Channel 5 would air Kojak reruns at midnight, and during the summer my parents and I would stay up and watch them after Johnny Carson's monologue. Though most of it was filmed in Hollywood, some of it was shot in Manhattan, so I always got a kick out of seeing what the city looked like in the mid 70's. That's where I first got to see Dobson in action as Det. Bobby Crocker.
I have to confess, prime time soaps weren't my thing, so I'd be lying if I told you that I watched him on Knotts Landing, but he was in a few good TV movies, including Money, Power, Murder, which was based on Mike Lupica's book Dead Air.
But mostly, what I admired about Dobson was that he was a Queens kid like myself. He grew up in Jackson Heights, not far from my hometown of Woodside (three stops on the 7 train). He went to my high school for one year before transferring to Newton HS, where he played baseball. After graduating he was a conductor on the LIRR. I heard him once on Regis and Kathie Lee run through all the stops on the Babylon line. He was a consummate New Yorker. And that's why I felt bad when I heard he died September 6.
Tom Seaver-1944-2020
One of the real bummers of watching the Mets celebrate the 50th anniversary of their 1969 World Championship, was that Tom Seaver wasn't there to partake in the celebrations.
Early last year, Seaver's family announced that he would be retiring from public life. He had been diagnosed with dementia. The coverage that the announcement received almost felt like he had passed right then and there. In a way he had.
Because there is no 1969 Miracle with out him. Without him, the Mets would have remained a losing team. There was a reason they called him The Franchise. That's how much he meant to them.
I read a book a few years ago that made the argument that as great as Seaver was, and for all the accalades he received, he was still underrated. I don't know that I agreed with that assessment, but the evidence was compelling.
Seaver's best season was in 1971. He was 20-10, pitched to a 1.76 ERA, and struck out 289 batters, the latter two stats led the National League. The Cy Young Award that year went to Ferguson Jenkins, who while winning 24 games to Seaver's 20, also lost 13, had almost a run higher ERA and 25 fewer strikeouts.
Also Seaver pitched for a notoriously poor offensive team. Even the 69 Mets weren't going to be confused with Murderer's Row. Put Seaver on the 1970 Orioles or 1970 Reds, he may have won 30 games. (Sounds an awful lot like a current Met pitcher we all know and love).
I spent most of the evening they announced that Seaver had died watching SNY, and the tributes that poured in that night reminded me of when Mickey Mantle died in 1995. So many grown men, guys in their 40's and 50's who had grown up watching the Mick, were just heartbroken.
But that's the effect he had. As Howie Rose said (and he would know more than anybody) Tom Seaver made it clear that the lovable loser days for the Mets weren't going to happen on his watch. He made it so that Met fans could have a team to be proud of.
I wasn't around for 1969, and I was a baby in 1973. I don't even really remember his getting traded in 1977 to be honest, but my father made sure we were at Shea that afternoon in 1983 when Seaver came back to the Mets. He was 38 at the time and the first thing he did was strike out 42 year old Pete Rose. I remember how loud it was was that happened.
I was as pissed as anyone when they lost Seaver to that free agent draft pool in the winter of 1984, but I'm grateful that I got to see him pitch in a Mets uniform.
I realize the Yankees have had so many superstars over the years. Dimaggio, Mantle, Yogi etc. But most of the Yankee fans I know were born after Babe Ruth died in 1948. I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say the Babe was the greatest player in Yankee history.
Tom Seaver was the greatest player in Mets history, and many of us got to see him. It was a sad day when he died. A sad day for baseball.
POLITICS: Did He Really Say That?
An article in The Atlantic dated September 3, alleges that President Trump referred to fallen American soldiers as "losers" and "suckers". The article says that Trump canceled a visit to Aisne-Marne Cemetery outside of Paris because he didn't want to muss up his hair in the rain. The official reason was that there would be issues flying the helicopter in the rain.
But the article says that 4 people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion Trump had with his senior officials that day claim that he said "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." On the same trip, the article alleges that Trump called the 1800 marines who died in the battle of Bellau Wood, a key victory for the Allies in WWI, suckers for getting killed.
Trump, for his part, vehemently denied saying any of it.
Part of the article's author, Jeffery Goldberg's defense in standing by his story is pointing out how Trump mocked Senator John McCain being captured by the North Vietnamese, and got into a spat with Khizr Khan, whose son Capt. Humayun Khan was killed in Iraq in 2004.
But in those cases, Trump was going after people who he felt were attacking him. I'm not sayng he was right to do it, far from it. I'm just saying it's different then him mocking people who died years before he was born.
Does it sound like I'm defending him? I'm not. What I'm saying is I need more proof on this.
Why?
It's not because it's going to change how I vote in November. Whether he said these awful things or not, I'm still voting for Joe Biden on November 3, of that you can be sure.
No this runs deeper with me than a mere vote.
Because if he did say this stuff, if this is how he really feels, if he can't grasp why anyone would be willing to sacrifice their lives for their country, if he really feels that our men and women that go off to war are losers and suckers, well it's not him I have the issue with.
No, then the issue I have is with the people who will vote for this mutt on November 3.
All along, I have said that while I can't stand him, I have not held it against his supporters. I have friends, family, coworkers who support him. Not that many, but enough. I know people that voted for him because, well, what was always the 2nd thing he said he'd do after getting Mexico to pay for the wall? Go back to his 2016 stump speeches......
We're going to build a beautiful wall. Mexico's going to pay for it. We're going to take care of our vets...
He said it every freakin speech.
I've watched as my friend James Tubridy has started discussions on his FB with any of a number of Trump misdeeds, and watched as the Trumpsters have come out to defend their man. I've read so many of the responses and tried to at least understand where their defenses lie. Some of them have benefited financially. Many are just misinformed. Either way, I try to understand where they are coming from.
But how would they defend this?
You know what? There is no defense. To me for the first time, it's personal. To me , if you are going to defend this? I want nothing to do with you.
You're going to rip on athletes who kneel for the National Anthem, but you'll vote for a guy who calls dead soldiers losers? Who calls injured vets suckers? Really?
You better hope to God Trump didn't say those things, because if it turns out he did and you are defending him, then screw you. I don't want to know you, I don't even want to look at you.
And that's why I need more proof. I am always preaching unity and understanding on this blog. I don't want to lose any friends over politics, I've said that a million times here and I mean it.
But I also won't let Trump take shots at people like my dad, injured in Vietnam, or my grandfather, injured in WWII, or my father in law, a Bronze Medal winner. They are not losers. They are not suckers.
The losers and the suckers are the ones who will rationalize this and give this turd another 4 years.
BTW: If he said those things or he didn't, do yourself a favor and read Bob Woodward's book Rage (review next week) If you are not inclined to read the whole book, at least read Chapter 26. If you can read that chapter, see how Trump speaks, and still think he's capable of running a lemonade stand, much less our country, then I really don't know what to tell ya.
Before we went on hiatus, I said I was going to read Pete Hamill's A Drinking Life...
BOOK REVIEW: A Drinking Life
By Pete Hamill
Some of the best books I've ever read are ones that make you feel like you are right there in them.
When I read Joel Selvin's book about the Altamont Concert disaster, he described the scene so clearly, I felt like I was right in front of the stage where all hell was breaking loose. In Jonathan Mahler's book Ladies and Gentlemen The Bronx is Burning, I felt like I was transported back to 1977.
And this is how I felt reading A Drinking Life, I felt I was transported back to Prospect Park in the 1940's and early 50's. That I could see the bars along the avenue from an apartment high above.
You felt the excitement Hamill felt when he would go buy a comic book, or the pain he was feeling when his apartment had no heat.
It's not for the faint of heart that's for sure. This book was written in 1994, years before #metoo. Some of the language is harsh. It adds to the reality.
The week I was off from work, I vowed to read 30 pages a night. There were nights I couldn't wait to get into it. I hadn't had a book like that in a while.
4.5 Auggies.
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It wasn't all piss and vinegar these past 4 weeks. We celebrated Tim's 12th birthday and he started middle school. And he's getting taller and taller. He's caught up to Tara, and he has me in his sights next.
Last weekend, the three of us got together with my Mom and Dad, Katie, Krissy, Steve and Rachel and took family pictures at Juniper Park. I hadn't been to Juniper since I played CYO baseball there 30 some-odd years ago. Had an awesome time.
And last but not least I became an uncle again. Tara's sister and her husband had a beautiful baby boy, and everybody is doing well.
I hope all of you are well too. It's good to be back
Stay Safe
and Have a Great Week
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