Too bad Marvin Tarplin never did an instrumental album of the songs he wrote and played on–he couldda called it "Marv Plays Smokey," which would have been a very apt description. Marv Tarplin, Motown Guitarist and Songwriter, Dies at 70 www.nytimes.com
In other music related news, Bruce Blakeman continues his career as a footnote to someone else's history. Paul McCartney wedding: Nancy Shevell emerges the morning after www.dailymail.co.uk
A stinging portrait of the young Schumer, from one who was there. Schumer Suffers, and Hates
talesfromthesausagefactory.wordpress.com
For more info, read this. New York Magazine books.google.com
Message from an East New York Friend:
“I just wanted you to know that Farook Samaroo has changed his Facebook page back to Queens, NY. Not sure how long ago.”
The perpetual left question (usually made as an assertion) is "Could Obama have done more?": Now Ezra Klein determines the answer:NO! Could this time have been different? www.washingtonpost.com
Sully’s Quote of the day: "I think what [Obama is] doing is articulating actually a pretty sensible center-ground position. I mean, look, I’ve been through all this, and I find a lot of this liberal critique of him just absurd. … This “what does he stand for?” idea. What he stands for is absolutely clear. He’s trying to lead America out of a very difficult economic situation, which every developed country in the world shares, by the way, and he’s trying to do it on the basis that’s fair," – Tony Blair, cutting to the chase Quote For The Day andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com
Wikileaks continues its consistent record of service to humanity. Baghdad priest: City’s Jews must leave after names in WikiLeaks | World | Jewish Journal www.jewishjournal.com
Real friends of Israel don't vote to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority. Cutting Off Aid to the Palestinians Remains a Very Bad Idea www.theatlantic.com
Perhaps it's time for " Altalena–The Sequel," before Netanyahu become Abbas and Israel becomes Gaza. The Existential Threat of Settler Violence – by Liel Leibovitz – Tablet Magazine – A New Read on Jew www.tabletmag.com
I know I shouldn't be petulant about any article which calls my work "Superb," but the biggest insight I got from this is that I need to invite rock for Sabbath dinner so I can teach him how to do links.
Also, while I'm sure there are Jews whose sense of priorities in loyalties would be better served by making Aliyah, where they could doubtless give Israel more than lip service, I think Rock overstates the problem. First of all, the war he posits is an unlikely hypothetical–Israel and the us do not have identical interest, but they are interests with an extremely high degree of overlap, and that is likely to remaim true in any foreseeable future.
More to the point, Jews voting against someone they believe is anti-Israel is no worse than blacks (or anyone else) in the 80s voting against someone they thought was pro-apartheid; it's their right. That being said, the decision of pro-Israel Jews to vote against a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat on the basis of Israel still baffles me.
And while it would delight me if Ed Koch left the political stage, he should not be "forced off" it. The fact that so many, and not only Jews (he was crucial in giving Bob Turner credibility on Social Security and Medicare) find his advice important alone justifies the attention paid to him by the media.
I think Koch's rapid 180 degree spin on Obama, in spite of the fact Obama's Israel policy remains substantively the same, is one more proof among many that Koch's pronouncements are the product of self-indulgence, and that voters SHOULD ignore them. But, like the bag man screaming at Cadman Plaza, no one has the right to "force" Koch to shut up. A FEW THINGS TO SAY AFTER WHAT HAPPENED IN CD #9 | Room Eight www.r8ny.com
Perhaps the least significant Gatemouth article of all time get a national link–and not on the remainders page, but in a full-fledged article post of its own. How good was the Turner campaign? – Ben Smith www.politico.com