"Ultimate deal" w/ Mexico. U.S. military deaths since Revolutionary War. Trump's embarrassments in Israel. Marlo Thomas. Eve Ensler. Film. Books. Hiatus until Labor Day
LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN NEWSLETTER #50 MAY 30, 2017
After this issue, the Newsletter will go on hiatus until after Labor Day to allow its curator/commentator to return to her own writing. (more below)
TRUMP WATCH
Was it something he said? Only one man could turn the jovial Pontiff into a sourpuss.
Recap of POTUS in Israel
Among the 7 Most Awkward Moments of Trump's 27 hour visit to Israel were these: The White House said the President's goal was to “Promote the possibility of lasting peach.” They also spelled Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, "Yad Vanshem." (Typos are forgivable except when they are signify lack of respect and preparation.)
"So amazing" wrote POTUS in the visitors' log (above) at Yad Vashem. His message reads like something a kid might scrawl in a high school yearbook:
"It is a great honor to be here with all of my friends. So amazing + will Never Forget!"
His note was a stark contrast with that left by Barack Obama, who spent over an hour in the museum:
"I am grateful to Yad Vashem and all of those responsible for this remarkable institution. At a time of great peril and promise, war and strife, we are blessed to have such a powerful reminder of man's potential for great evil, but also our capacity to rise up from tragedy and remake our world. Let our children come here, and know this history, so they can add their voices to proclaim "never again." And may we remember those who perished, not only as victims, but also as individuals who hoped and loved and dreamed like us, and who have become symbols of the human spirit." -- Barack Obama
Cartoonists had a field day with Trump's fly-by at the Western Wall.
Could this be "the ultimate deal" with Mexico?
I don't sign "Impeach Trump" petitions on the theory that the Veep would be worse. POTUS is a blundering blowhard but he's the devil we know whereas Pence, a rigid Conservative possessed of Washington savvy, could conceivably actualize his radical fundamentalist agenda.
Jared Kushner
Some call the President's son-in-law (above) as "the good one." In "The Real Jared Kushner" David Freedlander suggests otherwise: "It has always been part of the Kushner Way: unfailingly polite and urbane on the surface while searching for the soft underbelly to stick the knife in."
VIDEOS
Fake but funny. Melania's public brush-off of her husband's hand grab has become the meme for all seasons. Now watch the Pope swat away Trump's hand.
Talented little girls show their stuff in first 3 minutes of this ebullient flamenco fiesta. Watch here.
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Maso, 17. performs heart-piercing rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah
INTERFAITH
American Muslims and American Jews make connections. The Economist describes several (mostly female) groups, including Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, whose goal is "to build bridges and fight hate, negative stereotyping and prejudice." Register here for SoSS conference, Nov 5 @Drew University.
Also check out the NYC Muslim Jewish Solidarity Committee which organizes monthly events, programs, and celebrations to serve as a model for interfaith collaboration and friendship/
ACTIVIST GIVING
To revive the Constitutional principle of "checks and balances" we must reclaim the legislative branch of the federal government. This requires supporting Democratic candidates who have the best chance to win. For instance:
Right now, the most important (& expensive) race in the U.S. is in Georgia's 6th C.D. where Democrat Jon Ossoff is running neck-and-neck with his GOP opponent in the special election to be held three weeks from today, on June 20th. The Koch Bros. & other right-wing moneybags have been POURING big bucks into the coffers of their candidate. Let's do our part & support ours. Every $ makes a difference. Give here.
[Kindergarten graduates at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 2017]
For years, Marlo Thomas has been furthering the work of her father Danny who founded St. Jude, the Memphis hospital and research center that provides a full range of state-of-the-art treatments to child cancer patients absolutely free while also covering their families' housing & educational needs. Give a graduation gift to the adorable kids pictured above; contribute to St.Jude here.
Memo to fans of Eve Ensler. Last week, upon turning 64, Eve said she wants only one thing for her birthday --to turn PAIN TO POWER TO PLANTING in Congo. Help make her wish come true here.
HUMOR
Listen to the podcast, "Playdate with Sarah Jones," & catch up with her warm, funny, candid conversation with the "one & only, or rather, one & multiple" Lilly Tomlin. Sarah, a Tony Award winner, speaks in the voices of multi-cultural characters and plays clips of Lilly doing her iconic alter-egos: Edith, Ernestine, Truby the Bag Lady, Buster, etc. An homage to Lilly's work, a sampling of Sarah's, and a paean to sisterhood.
BOOKS
Janet Benton
Just started reading Lilli di Jong by Janet Benton (above) and I'm already hooked by its propulsive story line and crystalline prose. Benton's debut novel, considered "a new feminist classic," is set in 19th century Philadelphia and told through the diary of an unmarried Quaker woman who opts to bear and raise her child despite misfortune, hardship, Victorian society's disdain for "illegitimacy," and the sanctimonious judgement of many. Reviews and excerpt here.
Nathan Thrall
In his cutting-edge book, The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine, Nathan Thrall (above) rejects the conventional view that violence has thwarted peace in the Middle East. His counter-claim is that what "has impelled each side to make its largest concessions, from Palestinian acceptance of a two-state solution to Israeli territorial withdrawals," is force. Israeli philosopher, Avishai Margalit, says of Thrall, "He may be right, he may be wrong, but he must be read by anyone who hasn't given up the idea and the hope of ending this bloody conflict."
Family saga. The captivating novel, Salt Houses by Hala Alyan, is a multigenerational narrative of a single Palestinian family and their displacements over six decades.
FILMS
"Letters From Baghdad: The True Story of Gertrude Bell and Iraq" illuminates the remarkable life of "the female Lawrence of Arabia," who knew "more about the Arabs and Arabia than any other English men or woman." Watch trailer here. The documentary opens 6/2 in NYC 6:45 PM @Lincoln Plaza.
"Heather Booth: Changing The World" honors a woman who knows how to challenge the status quo and change lives. Lilly Rivlin's inspiring documentary will have its D.C. premiere at 8 PM on 6/7 @The Avalon Theater 5612 Connecticut Avenue NW
Nadia Comanici's autobiography is the basis for this documentary film, "The Gymnast & The Dictator." The former Romanian gymnast, winner of 3 Gold Medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and two Golds in 1980, was the first to be awarded a perfect score in an Olympic gymnastic event. But there's lots more to her story. Film available now on Amazon.
WOMEN
Trump's Medicaid cuts imperil American babies. Did you know that half of all births in the U.S. are paid for by Medicaid? In 8 states, more than 60% of all births are Medicaid covered. See state by state breakdown. If Trump's draconian cuts go into effect, women will have to give birth in the fields.
The War on Women's Health. In a recent column Nicholas Kristof worries "...that we’re so focused on the battles at the White House that we neglect the administration’s policy impact at the grass roots — on, say, women who will die unnecessarily all over the world from cervical cancer. "
New York's legislators will meet 11 more times before their session ends on June 21 so there's still time to pressure them to pass the Reproductive Health Act. The website Rally & Rise tells you what to do.
[Feminist-activist Roxcy Bolton with Eleanor Roosevelt, ca 1956]
The Times headline said, "Roxcy Bolton, Feminist Crusader for Equality, Including in Naming Hurricanes, Dies at 90." After activist Bolton succeeded in getting storms alternately named for women and men, studies revealed that female-named hurricanes are the most deadly because, as with other gender biases, they get less respect. People seem to take advance warnings about female-named storms less seriously and prepare for them less rigorously than for male-named hurricanes. Bolton obit here.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
Equal time to an opposing view. Daniel Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, (second from right with his family, Netanyahu, Obama, and Shimon Peres) has a more positive perspective on Trump's role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process than I expressed in my Haaretz OpEd last week.
The current issue of Tikkun magazine is packed with thoughtful, provocative, authoritative essays on the 50th anniversary of Israel's military rule over the Palestinian people. June 2017 marks the start of the Occupation as well as the end of the 6-Day War. Subscribe to Tikkun here.
Women Wage Peace works to "place the option of a political resolution at the top of the public agenda (in Israel), as it is the only outcome that offers life and hope." WWP's optimistic goal is for Israelis and Palestinians to reach a bilateral peace agreement by the end of 2018. See their mission statement here.
I admire the efforts of Just Vision, which honors the power of women's leadership & story telling while "working to end the occupation & build a future of freedom, dignity and equality for all. [The group's} overarching goal is to render Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders more visible, valued and influential."
MEMORIAL DAY POST SCRIPT
[Jewish, Muslim, and Christian gravestones, Section 60, Arlington National Cemetery]
Dept. of Consciousness-raising. Fact #1: More than one million military personnel have lost their lives in our wars, declared and undeclared, from the American Revolution to "the war on terror." (as of 2015)
Fact #2: Since its inception as a nation, the U.S. has been at war for 93 percent of the time -- in other words, for 222 out of the 239 years since 1776.
Summer hiatus: I had no idea that curating a Newsletter, my main means of resistance, would turn out to be such a time suck. Clearly, the reactionary battle plan is to exhaust activists into submission. However...
Susan B. Anthony said about the struggle for women's suffrage, "Failure is impossible." (1906)
The Apollo astronauts said about the space program, "Failure is not an option." (1970)
Today, with democracy itself at stake, failure is out of the question. And so are the other 'F' words: Fatigue. Frustration. Fear.
It's time for me to return to the manuscript I abandoned after Trump was elected but I hope to be back in your In Box after Labor Day. Meanwhile, thanks for reading me all these months. And have a great summer.