By The River

It was a mild surprise to wake up today and see the Patriot-News story that presumptive Republican gubernatorial nominee Lynn Swann has a six-point polling lead over Gov. Ed Rendell. I don't ascribe much significance to this. What you're seeing here is fascination with celebrity, not Lynn Swann's very conservative, rightwing positions. Those are largely unknown to the general populace, who right now know him only as the accomplished former wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rendell's people haven't even begun to pick Swann apart. Wait till clips of Swann's long list of TV and film cameos start making the rounds. Did you know, for example, that he hosted "To Tell the Truth" for 14 weeks in the early 1990s, drew critical brickbats, and was replaced by Alex Trebek? His post-football career appears to be entirely based on celebrity. Look him up in Wikipedia. Is he as Cosby-like as he seems? Time will tell.

Now celebrity can carry you far. No one thought Minnesota would elect pro wrestler Jesse Ventura as governor. But you can't rule out the race issue in Pennsylvania. Swann needs a big vote in the "T" counties to overcome the huge lead Rendell will amass in the Philadelphia region. Some Democrats wonder how well Swann will do in those rural counties.

Posted by David at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was in New York City the other weekend and saw two films, "V for Vendetta" and "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days." Both are excellent, especially the latter, and both make political points relevant to today's world. "Vendetta," is about an anti-government terrorist in England at some unspecified point in the future. It's a great story, kind of Charles Bronson meets "1984." It forces the viewer to contemplate the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter, and at least think about when violence (mainly against public buildings here) might become a justifiable tactic against a government that lies to the public and keeps people docile through fear of terrorism. The director makes rather obvious parallels to our current political situation that only a complete idiot could miss, which is one reason conservative reviewers tend to hate this movie.

In "Sophie Scholl," we see a brilliant performance by German actress Julia Jentsch in the title role of a young woman, a Munich college student, who sacrifices her life in the anti-Nazi cause in 1943 after the war had turned decisively against Germany in the catastrophic Battle of Stalingrad. It is based closely on a true story about the White Rose movement. The scenes of her interrogation by Gestapo agent Mohr come right from the actual transcripts, which were found in East Germany after reunification. If Lutherans had saints, Sophie would be high on the list. Her religious faith sustains her as she catapaults toward her doom, and she uses her last days to rail against the brutal Nazi regime. The ending is grim, but not bloody (at least on camera). Lets hope the Midtown gets this one soon.

I should say right now that I'm not comparing Bush to Hitler. But in "Sophie Scholl," we see what can happen when courts are politicized. The Nazi's had what they called the People's Court, which sounds comical in light of the old TV series, but wasn't at all. Headed by Dr. Roland Freisler, an ardent Nazi, the People's Court was used for political offenses, such as "defeatism," one of the charges against Sophie Scholl and her friends. Freisler actually did scream in court at defendants--that wasn't made up for the movie. Freisler died in an Allied bombing raid on Berlin later in the war.

Posted by David at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I get the sense that there is a lot of anxiety in America about where things are going with our country and culture. Kind of like the man who has maxed out his credit cards to keep his lifestyle afloat, but now sees the end of the road ahead and dreads what will happen when the bill comes due. We have endured four years and three months of the Bush Presidency. During that time he led us into a war on false pretenses, a war that will cost the country trillions of dollars when all is said and done. Think what could have been done with that money at home. He dropped the ball completely when it came to protecting the people of the Gulf Coast, of New Orleans, from the hurricanes and their aftermath. Our government is dangerously underfunded because of the tax cuts for the wealthy. We just don't have enough money in the budget anymore to be a modern, progressive nation at the dawn of the 21st century. Do we want to be like a South American country with gross disparities between rich and poor, but where the rich need to live in houses surrounded by walls with broken glass embedded in the top? I don't.

Posted by David at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What does one write in his first blog entry? This will be a blog about American politics and culture, plus an occasional look at my neighborhood, Shipoke, which is by the river. Just like the title says.

Posted by David at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)