The Audacity of Hope and the Tenacity of the Dream

Welcome, my fellow Americans to a day of historic proportions. It has been 76 spirited days since the selection of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th President. He has already been given charge of "the football." That's the code name for the briefcase which holds the top secret codes that can unleash the nuclear might of the United States in the event of the unthinkable. At this pivotal moment in time, he is in fact more of the Commander-in-Chief than George W. Bush. Change has come, America. To all those who rode the Obama Express to victory, the words "Yes we can" will reverberate as a continuing call to action. To those who supported the campaign of John McCain (or others), those same words should act as reassurance that the Obama administration is attempting to forge a more perfect union at a time when good news is long overdue. He will need all of our help and support. The challenges ahead on the domestic front and in foreign affairs are daunting and the hardship of the office will begin to show on the President-Elect. Mr. Obama has come to identify with Abraham Lincoln, our nation's 16th President, in many ways. His railroad trip from Philadelphia was intended to summon forth a similar trip that Lincoln made on his way to his first innauguration. Obama's appearance at the Lincoln Memorial at the concert in his honor on Sunday certainly added to that connection. Lincoln was born in Kentucky, but lived most of his life in Illinois. After having lived in Hawaii and Kansas, Obama has also spent much of his life in Illinois. For the next four (and possibly eight) years, he is to make 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue his home. The reins of government are to be passed peaceably and with great fanfare today on the steps of the Capitol. It is a testament to our greatness as a nation that we do so with precision and reverence towards the office of Chief Executive. Today is a day to be proud to be an American and, coming the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it is also important to remember that part of his dream comes true today with the searing in ceremony of our nation's first African-American President. It is a long time in coming. From the great debate over slavery that split our founding fathers and resulted in our nation's bloodiest war, the dream was only begun. With the rise of hate and Jim Crow, we struggled as a nation for a century to do what was right until the Civil Rights era dawned and the final battles were waged. Some of these struggles were waged with Dr. King, but, sadly, many more were waged without him. There is still much work to be done on this front. Nonetheless, I can't but help think he would be proud of our country on this historic day and say to us all in his powerful, booming voice "God bless the President and God bless America."

Madoff manages to muck things up here too

Bernie Madoff, the $50 billion rip-off artist, who took advantage of so many banks, charities and hedge funds, has finally been acknowledged as a source of pain here in Louisiana and New Orleans. None of the major Jewish philanthropies like the Jewish Endowment Fund of Louisiana or the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans suffered direct losses from the Madoff Ponzi scheme. The same cannot be said for federations in other areas like Greater Washington that reportedly lost $10 million or major Jewish philanthropies like Hadassah, who suffered $90 million in losses. Last week it was revealed that the Louisiana State Police and the New Orleans Police Department retirement funds had each lost approximately $400,000 from investments they had placed with legitimate hedge funds that had been taken in by Madoff's scheme. Charles Ponzi, the criminal whose name is ascribed to the criminal enterprise in which one pays out the oldest clients with proceeds from his most recent, would have been proud of how long Madoff sustained his thievery. So, the heroes of Hurricane Katrina are now the hapless victims of Madoff's greed. Meanwhile, while prosecutors plot their case against the former head of NASDAQ, he is quietly ensconced in his $7 million apartment, apparently still enjoying some vestige of the good life. If I were Madoff, I would be looking over my shoulder. One thing I wouldn't want is an angry Louisiana State Trooper or New Orleans Police Officer gunning for me.

Peace in Gaza?

It is perfectly obvious to anyone who has looked into the situtation in Gaza that cease fires may come and cease fires may go, but the underlying problem between Hamas and Israel is probably going to continue for the foreseeable future. In fact, if Israel has been successful in its recent incursion, it may be just enough to turn the tide against Hamas. The fact is that Israel's future is secure in the knowledge they possess a superior force against a ragtag group of terrorists with little training. What makes Hamas dangerous is not that they can inflict massive destruction to the Jewish State, but that they have the psychological advantage of depriving Israelis of their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the things our forefathers sought for themselves and their posterity. What needs to be cemented in the thoughts of the Palestinians is that there is no future for themselves or their children if the philosophy of continued warfare is maintained. Someday they must pursue a course of peaceful coexistence or the bloodletting will continue. What Hamas does so well is act like terrorists. They instill fear among their own people and dozens of deaths during the recent fighting were attributed as murderous reprisals by Hamas against those they suspected of collaborating with Israel. That is troubling, but understandable. We've seen a number of regimes whose despots hold sway over their people through fear. The best recent example of that is Saddam Hussein. If the Israelis can lessen the hold of fear over the Palestinians by dispatching the most zealous of Hamas fighters in campaigns like this with little loss of life to their own forces (as they apparently have done), they may be able to bring about necessary change in Gaza. The key for the Israelis is to make themselves look less like murderous invaders than vanquishing liberators. That will be tough to do, but their survival and the possibility of living in peace with their neighbors seems like high enough stakes to warrant their actions.

Number Six and Mr. Roarke are cancelled forever

Patrick McGoohan, left, and Riccardo Montalban

Two icons of television passed away within a few hours of one another yesterday. One had a rather prominent place in the pantheon of my youthful heroes, while the other was not, but was someone I met in real life. Patrick McGoohan, 80, and Riccardo Montalban, 88, may have not been on the A-list for most people in Hollywood, but they both played characters who were larger than life. McGoohan was "Number Six" in the strange cult-followed British TV series "The Prisoner," but he was also more than that. The season before McGoohan premiered as the captive on the strange little island, he was the epitome of the British super spy in the short-lived series "Secret Agent Man." Although the series only lasted for one season, its theme song by Baton Rouge native Johnny Rivers was a mainstay of the Sixties at parties and other events where music was played. It was during the height of the interest in the James Bond films starring Sean Connery and McGoohan played the role with aplomb. I loved watching it. McGoohan also played a great villain as evidenced in the first Gene Wilder - Richard Pryor pairing in "The Silver Streak" or as King Edward Longshanks in "Braveheart." He was always cocksure and brooding and I loved him as an actor. Montalban, on the other hand, started work in Hollywood as a singer in movie musicals of all things. Most people will remember him for his role as the mysterious Mr. Roarke on "Fantasy Island," the hit ABC series of the early 1970s. Of course, trekers (or trekies) will recall him as Khan Noonien Singh, the eventual villain in "Start Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Montalban was way past his prime as an actor when he happened into a jazz club in New Orleans in the late 1980s. He came in one winter night with an entourage and it was decided to let him into the club as a celebrity. I couldn't help noticing he was wearing a leather jacket and...yes...I couldn't help it...I asked him if it was made "of rich, Corninthian leather." To his credit, he laughed genuinely with me, even if he had heard that line 10,000 times before. In any event, he was gracious and I enjoyed sharing a piece of New Orleans with him as he and his guest plainly enjoyed the music that night. So, goodnight, "Number Six" (or as he became in the last episode "Number Two")and goodnight Mr. Roarke. May you both rest in peace until reruns.

A teacher says goodbye to New Orleans

The Recovery School District in New Orleans has lost yet another dedicated teacher in its ongoing work in progress towards improvement in public education. This teacher took a chance and hoped that she could make a difference. She contacted officials in New Orleans and alerted them that she was available and willing to leave her home on a long term basis in order to apply for a position with them. After months of the application process in which her certifications were checked, she made several trips back and forth to the city at great expense. Finally, in July she was told to report to work by the middle of the next week. She started off the school year with promise in her heart. In the end she found the system so broken down that there was little doubt she could accomplish very much and it became increasingly clear that conditions would never improve. As to discipline in the classroom, a few of the children were entirely out of control. Many had never attended pre-schools and lacked the most basic tools in learning. In some cases they lacked proper skills and manners such as how to properly hold a fork at mealtime or a pencil in the classroom. The children and the teachers were forced to endure impossible hours. Paul Vallas, the superintendent of the Recovery School District, implemented a school schedule that stretched from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. School teachers found precious little time for bathroom breaks during the day and the only downtime seemed to be during lunch. The conditions endured by faculty and students alike throughout the school day were nothing less than horrid. Like others in the Recovery School District, this teacher spent many of her own dollars on school supplies that should have been provided by the Recovery School District such as paper or pens. What became unimaginable and eventually intolerable for this teacher was the sad fact that the education of many of the students in her elementary classroom was being hijacked by the one or two who acted out throughout the day. If they were incapable of understanding the work or were bored, all they had to do was act outlandish or threaten other students. Their behavior would bring about the total disruption in the classroom and the teacher would have to stop instruction in order to attend to the behavioral problems of the one or the few. It was a way for these students to "dumb down" the educational process, guaranteeing that all would eventually fail in the wake of their disruptions. Sadly, this teacher who had big hopes for making a difference in the lives of Hurricane Katrina affected youngsters is preparing to go back from whence she came, a drive of well over a thousand miles and several states away. So goes the hopes of one teacher who wanted to make a difference. How sad for her and how sad for the Recovery School District.

A rally by any other name

Four area cantors sing "Am Yisoel Chai ("The People of Israel Live") at the JCC

Last night the Jewish community-at-large and segments of other communities (notably the Coushatta Nation and a representative of the Baptist community) assembled together at the uptown JCC in solidarity with Israel as it entered its second week of fighting against Hamas. The program was spirited with an opening outside by Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans executive director Michael Weil. Weil, a citizen of the United Kingdom with two daughters living in Israel told of how the rocket attacks launched by Hamas terrorists in Gaza now threatened them both. Small glowsticks were passed out to the crowd who lifted them high in solidarity with the Jewish state as large candles burned in a menorah at the front entrance of the JCC. Weil then invited three area cantors and one cantorial solist to sing two powerful renditions of "Am Yisroel Chai ("The People of Israel Live")" and "Od Yavo Shalom (Peace Will Come")" before leading everyone in the singing of "Hatikvah ("The Hope")," the Israeli national anthem. Afterwards everyone was invited inside to hear from several of the invited speakers. Touro Synagogue Rabbi Alexis Berk spoke first on behalf of the New Orleans Rabbinic Council. Then came an impassioned City Councilman-at-Large Arnie Fielkow, a probable entrant in the next mayor's race. Speaking as both a concerned public leader and a prominent Jew, Fielkow spoke more about Israel than I ever had heard him before. He alerted everyone that his speech was going to run over the alloted three minutes the program had offered him. No one minded a bit. He was very dynamic and downright statesmanlike. Community shalicha Savion Medaleion spoke of the ongoing psychological damage suffered by the constant barrage of missile, rocket and mortar attacks and the loss felt by the entire Israeli community when one 17-year-old female was killed in one such attack, acting as a shield to save her 12-year-old brother. Congregation Beth Israel's chazzan (cantor) Ofer Kurtsberg, a native of Sderot, spoke of his personal knowledge of family and friends who are in constant peril. First Baptist Church senior pastor David Crosby offered unwavering support from the Christian community in a short address to the mostly-Jewish crowd. Next up was the vice chairman of the Coushatta Tribe, David Sickey. Since last November, the Coushatta Tribe situated in Louisiana and Mississippi became the first Native American tribe to recognize the state of Israel. So, it was deemed most appropriate for a representative of another sovereign nation to lend its support for Israel at the public forum. The last invited speaker to appear was Asher Yarden, the Consul General for the State of Israel representing the Southwest United States, which includes -- by Israel's figuring -- the New Orleans metropolitan area. Yarden's speech spoke to the heart of the reasons that the Jewish state could no longer tolerate the status quo. He bemoaned the loss of life, but spoke to the moral imperative that Israel has placed at the fore in their struggle against Hamas. Echoing earlier statements that Rabbi Berk uttered, Yarden exclaimed that Israel has chosen life, not embraced death as their enemies. He pointed out the extreme measures Israel has taken in calling their targets and advising them to vacate their premises because an attack was forthcoming. Hamas leaders would gather their families around them, foolishly believing that Israel would stand down, he continued. But Israel will no longer back down to Hamas or any other terrorist group that feels they can threaten them with a possible backlash of unpopular world opinion. The greatest duty a government has in its charge is to protect its citizens, he continued. As long as a threat from Hamas continues, Israel will continue to wage war against them, Yarden vowed. The final words for the evening came once again from Federation executive director Weil, who expressed his thanks for all who had been in attendance in solidarity with Israel at the gathering. Once again,"Hatikvah" was sung and the crowd dispersed. It was a powerful night and, like the national anthem that resonated throughout the auditorium, everyone left with a feeling of hope for Israel. (A highlights video is available online by clicking here.)

Oh, I see one ate very well

What is it about January 8 that makes it so very special? True, today is the 194th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, but not to downplay the contributions of Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte, I am more keen to look back in history to this date...less nine months. What I mean is: what is it about April 8 (or dates around then) that inspires genius in the progeny of lovers who romp in Cupid's grove at that time? Let's examine the record: January 8 is the birthdate for several composers of note including Robert Schumann. Also, for those of you who remember several James Bond theme songs, it's the birthday for Shirley Bassey, who still has the record for the most Bond title songs sung. Most of us know that this would have been the 74th birthday of the King, Elvis Presley. But how many of you know that it's also the birthday for David Bowie (his 62nd) and the Doors' Robby Krieger (his 68th)? Children's author R. L. Stine, who is one of the most prolific of authors, was also born on this date in 1943 and the incredible genius of Stephen Hawking entered the black hole of existence on this date exactly one year before. Director John McTiernan (Diehard, Predator and The Hunt for Red October) is one of several stars of the big screen and Darrell Hammond of Saturday Night Live fame is one of the small screen stars born this date. They are a fairly disparate group, but all brilliant in their own way. Yes, the cold of today's winter makes me think of the warm, inviting spring day that brought about these incredible celebrities. All of them have made a significant impact on me and maybe even you. And as the King would say, "Thank you....thank you very much!"