When South Carolina senator Jim DeMint made the stunning announcement that he would resign from Congress to lead conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, it represented a major blow to the beleaguered Tea Party movement. Not long ago the dominant force in the Republican Party, the group now struggles both in the polls and at the ballot box. DeMint support every far out idea that the Tea Party wing of the GOP could fulminate. He has been a “birther” and a flat-earth thinker for years. He denies Darwin, he supports “Creationism” and has been at the forefront of anti-worker, anti-women and anti- minority rights. He’s the poster child for State’s Rights and Jim Crow.

But DeMint’s departure may be the least of the right wing’s problems. Here are five more signs that the Tea Party’s time may be up: The 2012 elections were tough on the Tea Party’s favorite congressmen. Although creative gerrymandering protected the GOP’s congressional majority, voters sent Allen West, Joe Walsh, and several other high-profile Tea Partiers packing on November 6th. Michelle Bachmann barely escaped being defeated and misogynist GOP candidates like Akins and Mourdock were soundly defeated.

Those Tea Partiers who survived the election may not like the Congress they return to. House Speaker John Boehner is consolidating his power by removing Tea Party favorites David Schweikert (R-AZ), Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) and Justin Amash (R-MI) from their plum committee assignments — and has also served notice that other Reps. who aren’t “team players” could suffer a similar fate. The GOP must make up its mind whether it wants to be a 19th Century party dominated by an anti-science, anti-intellectual, anti-women, anti-education, anti-minority block of intolerant troglodytes. Can the GOP sustain itself, while active members of its right-wing bloc advocate: secession, impeachment of the president, bigotry, xenophobia and gun worship?

FreedomWorks — one of the largest and most influential Tea Party groups in the country — faces an uncertain future after its chairman, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, left the group due to a bitter dispute with its president, Matt Kibbe. When will the Tea Party understand that its far out issues are not really supported by the power brokers who fund GOP-leaning Super PACS. The billionaires support none of their social issues, but only want Congressional leverage for deregulation and low or no taxes. Armey will be fine — he is reportedly receiving an $8 million golden parachute on his way out — but after FreedomWorks’ highly unsuccessful 2012 results, the same can’t be said with certainty about the Tea Party PAC.

Without active promotion from Fox News, the Tea Party would literally not exist. After Fox and the rest of the right-wing media epically blew their electoral predictions, however, some Republicans — such as Bruce Bartlett and David Frum — have turned against the “conservative entertainment complex.”
As Bartlett wrote, “Living in the Fox News cocoon, most Republicans had no clue that they were losing [in 2012] or that their ideas were both stupid and politically unpopular.” If more Republicans figure out that they’ve been lied to, then the Tea Party will be dead in the water (maybe that’s why Fox banished failed pundits Dick Morris and Karl Rove).

The only factor more vital to the Tea Party’s success than Fox News is the financial backing of Charles and David Koch — and the billionaire brothers may be throttling back from the Tea Party movement. In an interview with Forbes, Charles Koch claimed that the brothers will spend the next year fighting against corporate welfare (hardly an issue that animates the Republican Party).

The Kochs have no intention of giving up the fight long term — David Koch told Forbes that “We’re going to fight the battle as long as we breathe” — but that may actually be a bad thing for the health of the Tea Party movement. After all, Koch-backed candidates failed miserably in the 2012 elections.
Remarkably, the Tea Party Republicans have now alienated their party’s most important constituency — the upper echelon of the business community. It is a profound irony that the issue raising friction between these politicians and their erstwhile backers is a fanatical partisan determination to defend the tax benefits enjoyed by those same wealthy executives.

The president’s opponents are backing themselves into a corner where even their own old friends cannot defend them. Meanwhile Obama may finally have learned that if he stands firm and refuses to negotiate with himself, he can win over public opinion and break the partisan obstructionism.

What a simplistic and sophomoric view of the reality in Europe and Yalta. The author should read Frank Costiglioli’s excellent book, “FDR’s Lost Alliances.” Truman made many mistakes, but learned the job quickly. Unfortunately, FDR’s deteriorating health and sudden death, created the vacuum that allowed the Cold War to begin. Harriman, a Cold Warrior from the start, advised Truman poorly about how to deal with the Russians, and later regretted his decision. But, in truth, it was only FDR who could have handled the post-war dilemma regarding peace or Cold War. As to Yalta, FDR comported himself quite well, and all the revisionist right-wing fiction can’t change the facts.

We could not have won the war without Stalin or the Soviet Red Army. They had 10+ million soldiers on the Eastern Front, they distrusted the Western Allies’ sincerity, especially Churchill, who had little clue how to lead a peace time nation. The Soviets feared a resurrected Germany, and its partition was well justified. Unfortunately, because of the ensuing Cold War, Germany escaped greater and more deserved draconian punishment. At least in the Soviet Zone they suffered more deservedly then in the three Western Occupation Zones.

The great cause of the failed peace was the death of FDR, because he was the only one with the skills and prestige to lead the West and insure the peace. Truman did as best as he could, considering his inexperience and poor advice. As to the West, its fear of communism obfuscated the crimes of the Fascists, Nazis and Eastern European strongmen, who brutalized Germany, Italy and all the countries east of the Oder-Niese. The dictators of Bulgaria, Hungary, Roumania were not democratically inclined and Poland was run by a military junta. FDR was not going to commit the US to go to war over Poland and he had stated that the Russians and Poles had hated each other for centuries and they both had blood on their hands. How correct he was. Poland was the trip wire with regards to Britain and France . They had no special allegiance to Poland and their treaties were signed to draw the line with regards to German aggression. As to the Soviet Union, they were making geo political deals to survive no differently then the West. As to Stalin, he was in a long line of oligarchs who had run Russia forever. The crimes of the Romanov’s, which had lasted 400 years, were not much different then the Bourbons of France and the other royal dynasties that disappeared in Austria and Spain. As Napoleon sagely said, “The victors write the history.” In the same sense, that the Soviets and the Russian people, after hundreds of years of oppression, turned to another system and, for better or worse, supported it.

It is always fascinating to me to see the subjects featured on this site: Land stealing by the president, impeachable offenses by the Attorney-General, constitutional shredding, the president’s legitimacy, his education, and every other specious claim invented by the authors. With all the other issues available for discussion few are ever mentioned. How should we deal with fiscal or monetary policy, our immigration laws; should they be liberalized, tightened or changed regarding quotas, defense spending, new weaponry, the budget:; new revenues, cuts in spending, states’ rights, federalism and who and how power should be shared. We have critical issues regarding our health care and how the new program can address obvious problems, education, why we are ranking so poorly and the disparity of income.

These problems did not start 3.5 years ago; they were decades in the making. They are not a result of Woodrow Wilson and the Federal Reserve, nor FDR and the New Deal. The problems of race have been with us from the day the first slave boat arrived in Virginia. The problem of federal versus state power has existed since the 1830’s with the debates between; Webster, Calhoun and Clay. The problems of energy began with a decline of our production and the increase in our needs in the late 1960’s. It was Jimmy Carter who first addressed its reality. Clean water and clean air were not issues until pollution, the death of our waters and smog began to affect everyone’s health. Budget deficits existed after every war, the New Deal created great deficits for the time, but WWII’s deficits dwarfed the New Deal expenditures. Ronald Reagan’s eight years featured large spending, tripling the National Debt, an average of over 7% unemployment until the last year and unprecedented scandals and massive shakeups regarding his White House staff.

There are so many issues that could be discussed. But, what do I see each day? I see insults to the president regarding his race, religion, education, birth, and philosophy. He is called every name allowed on the website. His name is twisted, abused, parodied with unlimited scatological reference. Is this Americanism? Is this toleration? Of course not! Every contrary assertion is greeted with: commie rat, fascist, pinko, Marxist, socialist, stupid, twisted, un-American, impeachment, lynching, forcible resignation, go home, or worse. More clatter regards the following: the election will be fixed, the elections will never be held, martial law will disarm and arrest all dissidents, Acorn thugs will cart “real” Americans to FEMA concentration camps and freedom of speech has been taken away, the Constitution has been violated and the country will be destroyed by Obama’s re-election. In truth, all of the above is idiotic, phony, provocative and never going to happen.

The key element to any debate, discussion or argument is to have two sides: a protagonist and an antagonist. Each side needs some intellectual grounding. Where is on this site?

NORTH BEND, Wash. (AP) — Peter Keller spent eight years carving his hole in the side of the mountain, camouflaging the rugged underground bunker with ferns and sticks and stocking it with a generator and ammunition boxes sealed in Ziploc bags. Suspected in the deaths of his wife, daughter and pets last weekend, he headed there prepared for the long haul with high-powered rifles, scope and body armor.
Seattle-area tactical officers who slogged for hours over dangerously steep, muddy ground to find him were prepared too. They pumped in tear gas, called for him over bullhorns, and, after 22 hours, set off explosives along the top of the bunker Saturday.
Keller was inside, already dead of a self-inflicted gunshot. A handgun was next to his body.
The 41-year-old hadn’t been seen since his wife, Lynnettee, and 18-year-old daughter Kaylene were found shot dead in their home last weekend.

The raid ended a tense week for law enforcement officials who tried to track down Keller, a gun enthusiast described by his family as having a “survivalist mentality.” That Keller was likely armed and on the loose in an extremely popular hiking and mountain-biking area east of Seattle kept many people on edge.

“The gas didn’t work, we’ve got fresh people here, it was time to take the next step,” said King County Sheriff’s Sgt. Katie Larson. “There’s been a huge sigh of relief. Our people are out safe, and the trails are now safe for the community to use.”
The bunker, tucked into Rattlesnake Ridge, was “amazingly fortified” with at least 13 guns inside, propane tanks, a large gun scope, gas cans and binoculars, said sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West. Photos released by police showed stacks of ammunition in plastic bags on shelves.
SWAT teams spent a grueling seven hours in the Cascade Mountains foothills Friday morning, virtually crawling over terrain slick with mud from recent rains, before they found the bunker. A number of officers were treated intravenously for dehydration, and one broke his ankle, said sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West.

The officers appeared exhausted, their faces smeared with camouflage paint, as they rode down the mountain in sport-utility vehicles or armored carriers to be replaced by fresher teams.
SWAT officers who kept watch on the bunker through Friday night said they saw lights going on and off, and they believed its occupant had everything necessary to remain inside for a long time — including a generator, food, gas mask, bullet-resistant vest and guns.

Photographs found in Keller’s home after they found his wife and daughter gave authorities an idea of where it was; in one picture that they enhanced, detectives could make out buildings in nearby North Bend. Combined with reports from alert hikers who remembered seeing his faded red pickup truck at the Rattlesnake Ridge trailhead, the sheriff’s office sent experienced trackers to the area, where they found off-trail boot prints confirming their belief that he was somewhere on the ridge.
They could smell smoke from its woodstove before they found it.

Authorities pumped tear gas into the structure Friday, but it failed to flush the man out, either because it didn’t penetrate deep enough into the structure or because the person had a gas mask.
Court documents described Keller as a loner who has a survivalist mentality and has been stockpiling supplies in the woods.

An arrest warrant issued Wednesday accuses Keller of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson; the home was set on fire after Lynnettee Keller, 41 and Kaylene were shot in the head.

Their bodies were found in their bedrooms April 23. The family cat and dog were also killed.
The fire at Keller’s home was stopped before the house burned down, and authorities said they found seven gasoline cans placed in different areas of the home.Kaylene’s boyfriend told detectives that Peter Keller had shown him his gun collection and several large-caliber rifles and handguns, court documents said. The boyfriend, who was not identified, said Kaylene had told him her father took long hikes on the weekends and was stockpiling supplies at a fort in the woods. Peter Keller withdrew $6,200 from a bank last week and told one of his co-workers at a computer refurbishing store in Preston that he might not return, according to court documents.

As I watching the Masters yesterday, a great and incredibly unique occurrence happened. On the 2nd hole, a par five, of 575, Louis Oosthuizen, a South African golfer, holed out from the fairway, a 253 yard shot for a double-eagle. In the 77 year history of the Masters that shot had never been done on that hole. There are usually about 96 golfers who are invited to play in this prestigious event. After the first 36 holes there is a “cut” and usually half the field is eliminated. So, in each tournament the 15th hole is played about 288 times. Over the years, there may have been slightly different fields and smaller cuts because of ties. But, all in all, that hole has been played over 22,000 times.

A double-eagle, which is 3 under par, is always quite rare. It is even much, much rarer than a hole in one, which happens often in almost every professional tournament, Of course, in each tournament, there is a number of par threes and the average professional golfer hits the green at a very high percentage. So it stands to chance that there will be holes in one.

The most famous shot in golf history was done by the legendary professional golfer Gene Sarazen. In the 1935 Masters, on the 15th hole, Sarazen holed out from the fairway for a double-eagle and wound up tying Craig Wood. In their only 36-hole playoff in history, to crown a champion, Sarzaen eventually beat Wood. Today, because of television, playoffs are restricted to either sudden death or the lowest total of strokes over three holes.

From 1957 through 1959 I had the pleasure of caddying at Winged Foot where the 1959 US Open was held. I was also there for the 1974 and 1984 Opens. Sarazen, who was famous for his “Plus Four” knickers, and one of the world’s greatest golfers, was one of the various, honorary starters at the Masters until 1999. He died at age 97 only a month after his last Masters’ tee off. In the 1960s thought the 1980’s, I used to see him every once in a while at Winged Foot, when I was there for a local tournament. Craig Wood, was Winged Foot’s club professional, before the late Claude Harmon took over in 1945. I followed him and my old buddy Billy O’Hara in 1967 as they played in a friendly $200 Nassau against two “suckers.” Wood smoked a cigar throughout the round, and often he would take a swig from a flask stored in his golf cart. He was quite rotund, but he could still hit a long and straight drive. It seems his lifestyle caught up with him, because he died in Palm Beach, at age 67, in 1968.

The 2nd WW, the Crash, the New Deal and the recovery are incredibly complex historical and economic events that cannot be summarized, no less explained by trumpeting one philosophy over another with cavalier confidence. On one hand, right-wing revisionists have stated from Milton Friedman to Amity Schlaes, that with all the money thrown at the economy from the New Deal, the Depression was never really ended. And it took WWII to do the job.

Doesn’t that logic beg the issue? Who would have allowed $350 billion, which was borrowed and spent on the war to bring us out of the economic malaise brought on by the Crash? So spending actually ended the Depression! But, we needed a war to justify the means to the end. But, in fact the recovery was well on its way until late 1937 when those Federal Reserve, Dixiecrat conservative Democrats and Republicans pressured FDR to balance the budget. FDR, certainly wanted a balanced budget and talked about it from day one, and when he went in that direction, with the urging of Fed Chairman Morris Eccles, the bottom fell out of the economy, and we had the short but vicious Recession of 1937. By the way, it quickly ended, by loosening credit once again and priming the pump. More Keynesian economic philosophy at work!

Look at the size of the 1929 economic downturn and compare it with today. We are still reeling from the 2008 crash and it maybe years ahead before we return to the artificial heights brought on by the “Housing Bubble,” created, and delivered by cheap credit, phony oversight, and de-regulation by industry groups like FINRA that failed, and private sector ratings companies like; Moody’s, D & B, S & P and Weiss Reports who were either bribed or incompetent. The halcyon days of the Bull Market of 1929 were not reached until 1950, when the DJIA again reached the levels before the October Crash. Many on the right seem to have forgotten that the DJIA average has doubled in 3 years since the double bottom of the Dow from the lows in the 6000’s.

American big business and capitalism did the job of creating the “Arsenal of Democracy,” but with two essential components, the great leadership, foresight and brilliance of FDR and enough money and monopoly power thrown at under utilized capacity. Do not forget that in 1928, US Steel had 220, 000 employees and at the time of FDR’s inauguration in March of 1933, it had one.

As to who won WWII, the argument is moot; Russian blood and American production and know how. But, don’t short change the Russians on their production. Their tank and aircraft production was remarkable and their courage and sacrifice was great.

In spite of Forbes, Schlaes, Friedman, Rand along with other revisionists and proponents of de-regulators, the New Deal worked, the country survived, CCC built up our manpower along with its parks and forests and creation, and the WPA and PWA built the rest of the country. The infrastructure of this country was built by the New Deal and its legacy is irreversible. What we needed could have never been done with the “free market” alone. Today is a prime example of that reality. After decades of starving our infrastructure, only government with big dollars, fed into the private sector can rescue a rotting system.

The Intercontinental Railroad, the Civil War, the Interstate Highway, the Space Program, the New Deal, WWII and the Cold War put trillions of dollars back into American industry and created 10’s of millions of jobs. To deny that is to deny history. By the way, during the so-called wonderful Eisenhower Years we created only 3 million jobs in eight years and endured three recessions. That period was one of our worse job creation periods in the 20th century. Also, do not forget, from Truman on today, who created the most jobs.
Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/
Jobs created:
GW Bush 3.0 million
Clinton 23.1
GHW Bush 2.5
Reagan 16.0
Carter 10.5
Ford 1.6
Nixon 9.4
LBJ 11.9
JFK 3.6
Eisenhower 3.5
Truman 8.4
For all you doubters, Democrats have created far more jobs than the GOP.
On a year by year basis- Clinton, Carter, Reagan, LBJ, Truman, Nixon and JFK lead Ford, Bush I and II and Eisenhower by a wide margin. In 28 years the Democrats created 57 million jobs to the GOP’s 36 million in 36 years. Those are the facts. Look it up from the WSJ.
Typical insincere title. That was not an attack on capitalism, but on Romney’ s sorry record regarding job creation and workers. He was constantly attacked by your favorites on the right-wing and now you are attacking the President on the same exact issues. That’s hypocrisy and a lack of real world thinking.

In truth, 200 of the 400 billionaires in America do not work, many are heirs and like Romney the bulk of their fortune’s are parked off shore in tax shelters like the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Monaco and Luxemburg. Many, like Romney, are paying less than 15% federal taxes.

Of course, every suggestion of tax reform and regulation: the Volcker Rule, Dodd- Frank or even the Buffett tax is decried by the folks who benefit from de-regulation and low taxes. Few of these folks even pay the Reagan 28% bracket. We should go back to Clinton’s 39.5% on incomes above $250K, go back to inheritance taxes on the rich and the Buffett tax on the 1% earners. There are 375K American who make more than $1 million per year. As many of you may know, JP Morgan just lost $2 billion of their depositor’s money. Their CEO has been at the fore front of decrying and opposing regulation. Which way do you want it?

If there is such a deficit crises start there with more revenues on those who can afford to pay.. As for cuts, there are three sectors where the money is spent: the military, vets, homeland security and debt service in the discretionary budget. We can’t touch debt service so, there isn’t much wiggle room. The long-term entitlement budget obligations :SSI and Medicare will affect you if they are cut, but have little to do with current economic needs. Your choice. But the Medicare tax is only 1.45% and the SS pay roll tax is cut off at $106K in earnings. If you are concerned about more taxes on businesses, raise the pay roll tax only on the workers who will get the benefits in 40 years or less. Meanwhile you had better have an idea for the 100 million pre and post baby boomers. But let us face it, there are huge infrastructure needs, jobs for returning vets, and there is always budget creep. You don’t want federal workers to be paid a middle class wage or to have raises, well apply that to yourself and to your progeny.

All this talk about socialism and communism is bunk. Long term benefits exist in every Western country of the world and they are tweaked upward when needed. You may not like taxes, but a raise in the middle class federal withholding taxes is not being considered. Just remember we have an expensive country, a large world-wide volunteer military, and police, fire, sanitation on the local and state level. We also must maintain roads, harbors, airports, all sorts of aging infrastructure, national parks, clean water and clean air. Don’t depend on the private sector. They have no interest except the accumulation of wealth for succeeding generations.

Here we are with 25% of the season now in the books. Who would have thought that the helpless Mets would have a better record than the Yanks and are playing better ball with a makeshift lineup, with injuries to their catcher, centerfielder and shortstop?

Meanwhile, getting back to that old adage from the late great Connie Mack, that “pitching is 90% of baseball,” for sure the Yankees don’t have it. Aside from the loss of Mariano and Robertson, which normally could be fatal to a contender, their starters are rarely putting the Yanks in position to close a game. Their starters ERAs can’t excite anyone: Nova-5.80, Hughes- 5-23, Kuroda- 4.50, Sabathia 3.78, Garcia -8.27 and the “rookie,” Andy Pettitte at 2.51.

But if that wasn’t bad enough, just look at their hitting, it stinks. Other than Jeter who started hot as a firecracker and has cooled off the last three week, at least he is still batting .347 with 14 XBHs. But, what of the others? ARod is batting .270 with 9 XBHs (extra base hits) with 31 Ks out of 148 Abs. Even Granderson, who is an excellent outfielder, and has been hitting homeruns at fierce pace, has fanned 46 out of 158 ABs. That is a horrendous pace of almost 30%. Russell Martin, who cannot hit, is currently batting .168 with 7 XBHs and has struck out 25% of the time. Andruw Jones, batting .220 has also struck out 22 times in 59 ABs. Teixiera, though under the weather, and currently on the bench, has continued his weak hitting from last year with a .226 BA and 13 XBHs, The only bright stops have been Swisher, Ibanez and Chavez. Without Ibanez 27 RBIs coming from his 30 hits, the Yanks would really be embarrassing.

Since my letter of 4/15, Nunez’s fielding finally caused him to be optioned out to the minor leagues, Gardner is still injured, and the Yanks went from 13-11 to 21-20. They have lost their bullpen and have to depend on Soriano, who at least has had some decent experience as a closer. Again, the Yanks aren’t moving any runners, cannot hit in the clutch, and cannot hit with men on bases, especially with 2 outs. Most of their runs come on homeruns with no one on base. ARod is one of the worst offenders. When did he have a “key” hit? I have little confidence in the boring style of their dull and uninspiring (to me) manager. They do have Lou Piniella in the waiting, and stranger things have happened.

So the rest of the season is ahead of them, and yes, there is time left to be competitive, but they did go through a long stretch with weaker teams featuring fair to mediocre pitching and they hit badly. I sense it will get worse before it gets better.

Speaking of baseball attendance, times have changed in NYC over the last few years. The Yankees are averaging 41.4K per game (5th in MLB). This is a pace of 3.3 million fans per year. But there are rarely 41K in the ballpark and that figure reflects many season tickets sold, and many other seats sold at a deep discount from Stub Hub. The across town Mets are averaging 27.7K per game and are currently at a pace to sell 2.23 million seats. If those figures hold, they will draw 5.5 million souls. The halcyon days of 3-4 years ago, with larger stadiums, are a fading memory, when the Yanks and Mets drew over 8 million fans. Of course, if the Yanks and Mets fade from making a run at the playoffs, the numbers could turn a lot uglier. The Mets have 62 games left and if their attendance falls 20% over those games, they will draw a shade under 2 million. (1.99.) The Yanks have 59 games left, and if their attendance also falls off 20%, they will draw under 3 million (2.953). That would mean NY baseball would draw under 5 million fans. That would represent a significant decline of interest and a reason to lower ticket prices, to re-attract fans. But, the Yanks, with an aging team and huge payroll obligations on the books, would be forced to eat more contracts, pay more penalties, and go further into the “red” with the risky free agent market. Maybe they can bailout the LAA and get Pujols cheap! He’s batting .211 with 11 XBHs.

So stay tuned! Maybe the Yanks have bottomed, and their stars will start to earn their inflated salaries and make things exciting. But don’t bet on it.

The Yankees: 1965 Redux?
April 15, 2012
Richard J. Garfunkel

I spent a very lovely afternoon yesterday at the new Yankee Stadium. My friend Tom Kochman and I took the Hudson Line RR from tarrytown to 153rd Street in the Bronx; the Yankee Stop, for the remarkable price of $4.50 for a round trip ducat. For those who have not taken a train ride down the Hudson, it is an experience filled with picturesque vistas of the Tappan Zee, the Palisades, and the Spuyten Duvvil which is at the confluence of the Hudson and North Rivers. One can also see Columbia University’s famous Baker Field, Wein Stadium, and sometimes the Light Blue’s oarsmen as they move their 8’s oared shells into the churning waters of what the Iroquois Indians called the Great Mohegan.

Yankee Stadium, the world’s largest cash register, usually attracts between 43 and 46 thousand fans to each and every game. One can have the pleasure of paying $40 to park, $9.50 for a beer, $10 for a program, and $8 for a pale of popcorn. To give one even greater perspective, two Nathan’s dogs, two French fries and two cokes cost $36 and that isn’t wampum. It wouldn’t have been that bad if the Yankees played some interesting and inspiring baseball. They didn’t.

Of course, as the great Connie Mack said, long ago, “pitching is 90% baseball.” But that was in the dead ball era. Of course, looking at the baseball power numbers, in the wake of a few years after the Steroid Era, we may be entering another era of “small ball,” or weak offensive production. Home runs and batting averages are way down from the halcyon “juice ball” era that spawned Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Manny Sosa, Jason Giambi, Mike Pizza, Alex Rodriguez and other faux strong boys. The days of “household” names like Andruw Jones (He really spells it that way), Brady Anderson , Luis Gonzales, Greg Vaughn and Albert Belle hitting 50 homers again (they actually accomplished that rare feat) are long over.

Well the Yankees did not get “good” pitching from former wunderkind Phil Hughes and they faced good pitching from the Angels’ CJ Wilson. Hughes, who was 18-10 in 2010 with a very mediocre 4.19 ERA, and great run support (the best in the Majors) did nothing last year. He spent time on the disable list with a “dead arm,” had two stints in the minors and on Saturday he was cuffed around for 6 runs in 4 innings. Everyone raves about his “stuff” this year, especially the Angels who hit balls all over the lot. The “Blankies” looked tired. It certainly wasn’t cold weather that froze their bats, but CJ Wilson, a 31 year old veteran recently liberated from Texas via free agency.

Yes, it is very early in the season, but what can we really expect from ARod, Teixeira, Martin, and an aging pitching staff? Sabathia got crunched in the playoffs last years with 6.23 ERA in three games, after he wilted in September. Freddie Garcia is 35, newly acquired Hiroka Kuroda is 36, Mariano Rivera will be 43 in the late Fall, young Michael Pineda is on the DL, and Andy Pettitte, who, like Lazarus who rose from the dead, is 42 years young. Do they really have to depend on a Senior Citizen for pitching? Hopefully Ivan Nova will continue to impress, but he had a horrible spring.

Derek Jeter is fine, but he’s already peaked, and few 37 year old shortstops have ever even started for a Major League Club. Will Granderson repeat or was his 2011 season, a career year performance? Gardner shows me very little with his bat or on the base paths. Can the Yankees afford a 260 hitting outfielder with 7 homeruns, who is dividing his “picket” duty with Andruw Jones, who is an old 34, cannot run, and in 190 at bats hit only .247 with 8 doubles and 13 homeruns, while facing only left handed pitching. He’s way over the hill to platoon, no less start. Russell Martin cannot hit. He is a career .267 hitter, who hit only .237 last year and that was after a very fast start and a terrific April. He was horrible the rest of the year. Only Teixeira was more disappointing with a .246 batting average. He seems to have forgotten how to hit leftie. But here’s the rub, when you take out his better, but much fewer right handed at bats, he hit only .224 as a left handed batter. No big-time, starting Yankee first baseman has been that bad since before Wally Pipp (1915) who preceded Lou Gehrig. (Pipp did have bad season in 1925 when he was replaced by Gehrig and Joe Collins in the 1950’s as a part timer, had some rotten seasons also.) So we have left Nick Swisher and Alex Rodriguez. Nick is a decent right fielder and an underrated defensive outfielder. We are now left with Alex Rodriguez, who is 36 and has spent plenty of time on the disabled list the last four years. In fact, he has missed 150 games in the last four years as he has weaned himself off the “juice.” His numbers are way off his “salad” years before 2008.

So the big question is whether 2012 is going to be a repeat of 1965 when that latest incarnation of the Yankee Dynasty, which had been in high gear since 1947, started to unravel. Everyone on that team got “old” all of a sudden and the team with new ownership started to flounder. In the post “Boss” Steinbrenner Era, will history repeat itself? Will the next generation of Steinbrenners get bored with the team and eventually take the money and run? Of course, it is still early and anything can happen. Just look at the Mets.

Now we have reached the merry month of May, the Yankees are 13-11 and wallowing in 5th place. Jeter is playing well, Swisher had a great start and is injured and Gardener has been on the DL for weeks. ARod is hitting .267 with very little power and no clutch hitting. Teixeira is hitting .226 with little power and Martin is hitting .150. I never expected much from these three, but what happened to Cano? He’ll come on, but can he, Granderson and Jeter carry this team? Jones is hitting .167 and should be released. Ibanez, Nunez and Chavez have their own problems. Nunez has proven that he cannot field where ever he plays and Chavez and Ibanez are spot players. But without pitching, how can any team contend? The bullpen is being worn down already and Garcia and Hughes do not seem to be able to win a game. Andy Pettitte may have some short term effectiveness, but I doubt he’s a game changer. Ivan Nova, who was quite lucky with his unbeaten streak, but he cannot depend on six runs a game forever. When the traditional bottom dwelling O’s shut you out on five hits, there is very little any pitcher can do. So the next few weeks are the test. They have a relatively easy schedule which continues with KC, the plucky Tampa Bay team and Seattle. They better start hitting or it will be a long summer of discontent.

Isn’t it fascinating that according to the fellow travelers of the Tea Bag Brigade and right wing blogs, that being a liberal is tantamount to being stupid, an idiot, the bane of all civilization, brain-washed, a second cousin to a commie and the cause of all of our problems? In other words the majority of the educated, who come from some of the better schools in America, and have liberal or moderate views are either stupid, anti-American or a commie.

Are these thoughts ever backed up? These specious ideas are always backed up by the revelations of scripture, or some rational from an “arm chair general” spewing banalities, or some deprecating insult. Every one on Social Security or Medicare is a blood-sucker, being poor is a crime, taking welfare or food stamps is disgusting and un-American and fighting for the unions, women or minorities is obviously a Marxist. Is there any beef to those arguments? Of course not! But the liberals who support conservation, anti-child labor laws, clean air and water, fair housing, social safety nets, sex education and hygiene and gender equality are all commies about to tear down America.

But why do people like me label these people the “lunatic fringe?” Because anybody who bolsters their arguments with name calling, insults, slander, “birther” nonsense, and other claptrap, are card-carrying members of the “lunatic fringe.”

But, what do we hear or read from these “fringers?” The president is a Marxist, a commie, a Kenyan rat, not a citizen, illegitimate, a liar, a shredder of the Constitution and worse. I won’t lower myself to repeat the crude remarks that are rife on these sites and their clones.

So we have two Americas. One group of Americans are located on the coast lines, New England, the big cities, the college campuses, the wealthier suburbs, and the rust belt union communities. They are the conservationist, the well-educated, immigrants and yes, the poor. They are open minded, tolerant regarding race and religion and moderate in their lifestyle. The Democrats have always worked for the poor and new Americans. Has that failed us? No, it hasn’t. They seem to be the active majorities in the hated and obviously “stupid” Blue States.

What is the other America? Well it is centered in the Red States, amongst the aging Eurocentrics, It is amongst the flat-earth, flat-tax thinkers, who believe that sales taxes are not regressive, that Social Darwinism winnows out the week, and that all people who work for government are blood-suckers. It is centered among the mythology folks, who believe that the media is controlling the news, that the left-wing and the Jews control everything, and that all minorities and immigrants are criminals, degenerates and welfare recipients. The other America believes in conspiracies centered around; FEMA prisons for dissidents, fluoride in the water, aliens in Area 51, and even the belief that we never landed on the Moon. They often are Bible-thumpers, who take the scripture literally from mouths of their Evangelical preachers.

What a pathetic situation we have entered into where one half of the nation hates the other, questions their patriotism, Americanism, and legitimacy. As a Democrat, I do not hate Republicans; I support the two-party system, capitalists, the military and the right to own guns. As long as the far right is going to excoriate liberals, moderates and the open-minded by spewing hatred, we will believe and label them and their acolytes the “lunatic fringe.”

The unequaled impresario of Westchester radio, Bill O’Shaugnessy, hosted the 53rd annual Saint Patrick’s corned beef and cabbage hoedown at Dudley’s, which is located at the New Rochelle Marina, across from Hudson Park and at the end of New Rochelle’s Shore Road. It was held a day earlier, because the real “the wearing of the green,” falls on the weekend.

The honored guests were Judge Fredman who served the City of White Plains and the State of New York for more than 50 years and Douglas Fleming, the Headmaster of Thornton Donavan. They are two long-time supporters of WVOX, the community radio station and Judge Fredman has been the co-host of the popular show, “The Judge and the Rabbi”. His radio partner, Rabbi Emeritus Amiel Wohl of New Rochelle’s Temple Israel, was at Dudley’s to join the celebration.

Even though the weather was not up to recent early spring standards, Dudley’s had a great crowd. The County Executive Rob Astorino, former long-time Assemblyman Ron Tocci, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, super lawyer Murray Richman, and Phil Reisman, the ace Journal News columnist, joined scores of other guests.

It was great to see Judge Fredman and the famed, criminal defense lawyer, Murray Richman shake hands. It was like two giants of the legal community meeting on neutral ground. Judge Fredman and I go back 43 years to intraparty squablles within the White Plains Democratic Party. When Linda and I moved to White Plains, the GOP basically controlled every elected position and city board. Forty years later the Republican Party was financially and electorally broke and the Democrats controlled the City. A lot of credit must be given to Judge Fredman and other Democrats who fought the good fight against overwhelming odds in the 1950’s.

As usual Bill, held court with his WVOX mike and was assisted ably by Judy Fremont, Don Stevens, morning host Bob Marrone, David and Matt O’Shaughnessy and other WVOX staff helpers. Meanwhile “Erin Go Bragh” and everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day.

Last August 31, 2011, Mayor Clinton I. Young, Jr., Westchester County Board of Legislators Vice Chairman Lyndon D. Williams and Recreation Commissioner Peter J. Neglia, as well as hundreds of elected officials and community members broke ground at the new Stadium at Memorial Field. The $12.7 million renovation of Memorial Field had pushed forward despite attempts to derail its progress. Mayor Young and Vice Chairman Williams were joined by U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel, State Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Council members Steven Horton and Yuhanna Edwards.

At the ground breaking, Young stated, “I thank Vice Chairman Lyndon Williams for delivering the funding for this important project. Memorial Field is a jewel for the city and the County of Westchester. It’s a real exciting day for the City of Mount Vernon,”

Mayor Young announced that Mount Vernon based Avanti Building and Construction Corporation had been awarded the contract to perform Phase I of the Memorial Field project, which included demolition of the old stadium and construction site prep work. The demolition was expected to be completed in three months. Of course, this was now almost two years after the money authorized by the County of Westchester.

As time advanced, concern was finally voiced by Westchester County Board of Legislators Vice-Chairman Lyndon D. Williams (D-Mount Vernon) who said he was unhappy that the $12.7 million state-the-art Memorial Field renovation project continued to be stalled because if inaction by Mount Vernon city officials. In a letter to Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young and City Council President Karen Watts, Vice-Chairman Williams expressed disappointment with the city’s delay of a project, which he had worked hard to have funded through the County’s Legacy Program. “It’s been two years since the City of Mount Vernon and the County entered into an agreement for the development of Memorial Field into a state-of-the-art stadium through the County’s Legacy program,” said Vice-Chairman Williams.

“In December 2009, eleven (11) months after approving the Memorial Field project, the County Board approved a similar project in New Rochelle. Although Mount Vernon’s Memorial Field project was approved almost one year before New Rochelle, the Flowers Park Renovation Project in New Rochelle is far ahead and is in its final phase of completion. The New Rochelle City Council adopted bid legislation in early 2010 and bids were awarded in May 2010,” said Vice-Chairman Williams.

Where is the money? That is the question on the minds of taxpayers throughout the City of Mount Vernon. On Tuesday, May 17, 2011, bids were opened for Memorial Field to begin the construction phase of the project. Prior to the bid opening by the Board of Estimate and Contract, City Clerk George Brown made it crystal clear that the City of Mount Vernon had only $11.5M to spend on the re-building of Memorial Field.

As the bids were opened, the lowest bid came in at $13.7M leaving a shortfall of $2.2M. Many taxpayers questioned the motives of City Council President Karen Watts. The Journal News and News 12 ran stories about City Council President Watts collecting unemployment insurance while on the City of Mount Vernon payroll. Watts may face criminal charges.

City Hall inundated with e-mails and phone calls regarding the situation of Watts. Concerned citizens are looking for answers and seeking advice on how to oust her from office. Mount Vernon resident Mike Sklar publicly called for Watts’ resignation.

In a story in Mount Vernon Exposed, one of the city’s news blogs, it was alleged that Watts had reached a deal with Mayor Young., regarding his help with her unemployment situation. Mayor Young then allegedly told Watts that he would help her out if she endorsed his candidacy for Mayor and publicly trash Comptroller Maureen Walker. Again, it was alleged that Watts agreed to this deal. It was told to Mount Vernon Exposed that Watts’ public endorsement of Mayor Young was scheduled for the same day the Journal News and News 12 broke their stories about Watts’ unemployment fiasco.

It has also been alleged that Watts will be stepping down from the City Council after all approvals are complete for the Memorial Field project. Mayor Young has allegedly agreed to hire Watts as the Recreation Commissioner. It is public knowledge that Watts is having financial difficulties such as 20 thousand dollars in back taxes. This type of behavior leads to major improprieties, scandals and corruption. Watts would then be out publicly lobbying for Mayor Young’s re-election campaign as part of the deal to push her criminal activity under the rug.

The Memorial Field project was planned poorly from the beginning. Greed and incompetence were the key driving forces behind this project. As part of the agreement with the County of Westchester, the City of Mount Vernon now has to maintain all County roads and sewers previously owned and maintained by the County of Westchester. One single road opening to repair the County sewer line that runs through Memorial Fields will cost upwards of $500K.

City Officials also seriously underestimated the true cost of construction for the Memorial Field project. City Officials put the price tag for construction at $13M when in fact the cost of construction is $21M. Where is the money?

Where to Park? Poor planning on the part of City officials also comes into play with the Memorial Field project. The ambitious design of Memorial Field currently plans to accommodate 6,500 spectators and employees; however City planners did not factor in parking for all these cars. On average, a car holds approximately 2.5 persons. This would equate to 2,600 cars at full stadium capacity. The current facility can only accommodate 400 cars. There was speculation that City Officials plan on using eminent domain to demolish homes on Garden Avenue to build a new parking lot for Memorial Field. Poor planning done by City officials will prove costly for taxpayers as the Town of Pelham will likely litigate to stop the construction of Memorial Field.

Meanwhile Legislator Watts had been busy making deals with Mayor Young and others. Intercounty Paving was hired at a cost of $600K to repave various streets throughout the City of Mount Vernon. The project had a mysterious cost overrun of $309K and immediately thereafter, Comptroller Maureen Walker began to audit the contracts and change orders for Intercounty paving. Instead of allowing the audit to take its course, Council President Watts joined forces with Mayor Young and decided to vote to pay Intercounty Paving over the objections of Comptroller Walker. Needless to say Comptroller Walker did not vote on behalf of this payment.

The audit that was being conducted by the Comptroller’s office didn’t mean anything to Watts and company. I guess being afraid that Mayor Young would expose her dirty little secret influenced her to vote the way she did on Memorial Field and to issue payment to Intercounty Paving. The City of Mount Vernon is a municipal mess of mismanagement and corruption.

Cost overruns are common in the construction business, however many experts and professionals view cost overruns as a scam to bilk the consumers out of tens of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars. The paving of Mount Vernon City streets performed by Intercounty Paving and approved by Commissioner Horton were not installed to the Dept. of Transportation and NYS BID Specifications. In fact, the work done by Intercounty Paving that resulted in overbilling City of Mount Vernon taxpayers $309K, was done prior to City Council approval. Watts was fully aware that the original purchase order was only for $600K. Instead of protecting the taxpayers that she was elected to serve, Watts chose to go along with the status quo and voted to defraud the City of Mount Vernon of $309K, knowing fully that the deal was made in her and Mayor Young’s best interest.

Intercounty Paving was represented by August Nigro, a big time financial supporter of Mayor Young. Mr. Nigro is also a high ranking member of Mayor Young’s golf outing committee. Sources told Mount Vernon Exposed that Mr. Nigro was in attendance at the Board and Estimate meetings in attempt to put pressure on City officials to release funds that he was not entitled to.

The illegal payment authorized by Watts and her colleagues on the City Council was done even though City Council members received written notification of the ongoing audit. Watts is no stranger to controversy. At the Board of Estimate meeting, Watts was adamant about Intercounty County paving getting paid.

Mount Vernon Exposed recently learned that a complaint was filed with the F.B.I and the New York State Attorney General’s office seeking a full investigation on Watts and Intercounty Paving. In addition to possible corruption on behalf of Watts’ and Intercounty Paving, City of Mount Vernon taxpayers will again be left holding the bag due to greed and incompetence of City officials.

The New York State Department of Transportation sets forth guidelines for paving road surfaces. The D.O.T. standards were part of the Bid Specifications but were not adhered to by Commissioner Horton and Intercounty Paving. Hot Mixed Asphalt is not to be applied to surfaces that are colder than 34 degrees, and the cutoff date of November 15, is clearly stated in Bid Specifications. Eager to say that roads were not paved during an election year, Mayor Young chose to put his personal ambitions and agenda above the constituents that he was duly elected to serve. Streets in Mount Vernon were paved up to and including December 27, 2010, well after D.O.T regulations and guidelines. The damage of this blatant abuse is irreparable, the reason for these dates and temperatures for work to be performed is, if applied when it’s cold the Hot Mixed Asphalt will not stick to its surface and will not adhere and lift over time. That is the purpose for following the D.O. T. State Regulations. The State of N.Y. wouldn’t condone this type of taxpayer waste of monies. Funding for the paving of City streets came from two sources; Mount Vernon taxpayers and Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). The City of Mount Vernon is in danger of losing the (CHIPS) money due to City officials not adhering to guidelines.

Meanwhile on January 31, 2012, Ernie Davis, the newly elected mayor has put the brakes on his predecessor’s plan to raze the old stadium at Memorial Field to make way for a state-of-the-art sports complex. Instead, Mayor Ernie Davis is proposing a more modest renovation at the field that he says will cost less in the long run and preserve the 81-year-old stadium and tennis courts. Davis said Tuesday he recently ordered Avanti Building Construction Corp., the contractor hired for the park site’s preparation, to halt further demolition. The contractor will be paid for the work it has done up to this point.

This “is a historic building, and it should be treated as such,” Davis said during a Board of Estimate and Contract meeting Tuesday. “To take it down and put up what they have planned to put up to me is ludicrous.” The original plan, backed by former Mayor Clinton Young, called for razing the old stadium and building a new complex with grandstands to seat 4,000; an eight-lane track; an illuminated synthetic-turf football/soccer field; a natural-turf illuminated soccer field; and an illuminated basketball court. The city broke ground at the site in August amid much fanfare.

Davis said Tuesday that such a project would be grossly out of scale with the city’s needs, and would almost certainly exceed the original 2009 cost estimate of $12.7 million. Maintenance alone would cost the city about $600,000 per year, he said. Davis’s revised plan calls for a running track with fewer lanes; grass playing fields; the restoration of the old stadium with renovated bathrooms and improved handicap access. He would also like to incorporate a restaurant into the new design.
Davis could not provide a cost estimate for his proposal Tuesday, but maintained it would be cheaper than the original plan. The county had committed $9.7 million from its Legacy Program to fund the project, with the city responsible for the balance.

Westchester County Legislator Lyndon Williams said Tuesday that the county’s commitment was based on the original design approved by the city and the county in 2009. Williams said that any new plan will have to be reviewed by county officials if the city is to continue receiving that funding. Still, Williams said he is not opposed to changing course, as long as the field is rehabilitated in some form. “My role is to change what I see as a very deteriorated facility,” he said. “I have no basis for quarreling with a different vision.”

Yesterday, I made my annual FDR “birthday” pilgrimage to Hyde Park, NY, the birthplace of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. On January 30th, one hundred and thirty years ago Franklin Roosevelt, a large healthy 10 pound baby, was born to Sara Delano Roosevelt, the 2nd wife of James Roosevelt, a Hudson River Valley patrician. His mother, who at 26 years old at the time of her marriage was half the age of her husband, who was actually her 6th cousin, was warned by her doctor to never risk pregnancy again. James Roosevelt, who was a Democrat and was from a different branch of the large Roosevelt family tree from his cousin Theodore Roosevelt, was born in 1828 and passed away in 1900 after a number of years declining health. Sara Roosevelt would outlive her husband by forty one years and was a critical influence in the development of her only child.

Springwood, the home where Franklin Roosevelt was born, was enlarged significantly in 1915. Franklin D. Roosevelt, together with his mother Sara, undertook a final major enlargement and remodeling of the home. This was done in order to accommodate his growing family, but also to create an environment for entertaining his growing circle of political associates. Roosevelt contributed many ideas for the new design, but his mother commissioned the design work to the firm of Hoppin and Koen from New York City. The size of the house was more than doubled by adding two large fieldstone wings (designed by Roosevelt), a tower, and a third story with a flat roof. The clapboard exterior of the house was replaced with stucco and most of the porch was replaced with a fieldstone terrace with a balustrade and a small columned portico around the entrance. These alterations gave the exterior of the house the look of a mansion in Colonial Revival Style. The interior retained much of the layout of the old family home and was designed primarily with housing Roosevelt’s growing collections of books, paintings, stamps, and coins. The famous historian, Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison said, “If FDR had never been elected president, he would have been famous as a collector.” The remodeling work was finished within one year in 1916. Roosevelt also changed the appearance of the surrounding land by extensive planting of trees. Between 1911, when the large scale planting started and Roosevelt’s death in 1945, more than 400,000 trees were planted on the estate. Eventually, large portions of the estate were turned into an experimental forestry station under an agreement with the Forestry Department of Syracuse University. In fact, in an early 20th Century US Census, Roosevelt identified his profession as a tree planter. He always regarded, “the big house” on the Hudson as his home, and it was here in the Rose Garden that he was buried on April 15, 1945.

This January 30th, it was a beautiful bright day in Hyde Park, with temperatures in the mid 30’s. As usual many local citizens gathered for a ceremony that is held in the same Rose Garden where he was buried almost 67 years ago. The garden is, of course, still sleeping in its mid-winter form and the guests, many of them elderly made their way to their seats of honor. West Point Cadets and a US Army firing party were all at attention as wreaths were placed by the Town of Hyde Park, the American Legion, the Jewish War Veterans, the Chamber of Commerce, the March of Dimes, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt Historical Association, The Eleanor Roosevelt center at Val-Kill, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, the FDR Presidential Library, the National Park Service, the Roosevelt Family, and the President of the United States. The invocation and the benediction were given by the Reverend Charles Kramer, Rector of Saint James Episcopal Church, Hyde Park, where the Roosevelts worshipped. The honor guard honored the late president with a 21 gun salute.

The main speaker of the afternoon, Ms. Aileen Rohr, the Supervisor of the Town of Hyde Park, was introduced by Ms. Francescka Macsali Urbin, the Supervisory Park Ranger. Ms. Rohr spoke movingly about the critical impact the Roosevelts have had on Hyde Park. She recalled her parents connection with the town and how there were many townspeople who still had fond memories of the President and Mrs. Roosevelt. Ms. Rohr cited the courage that the president exhibited and the pain he endured. She told the gathering of a few hundred onlookers, that the president, who was born to privilege, had a sense of exceptional concern for the less fortunate. She spoke of his call to service, his efforts to stop the panic, confront and end the Depression, his great leadership in the late war and .his dedication to his responsibilities to the very end of his life. It was a moving and well-crafted tribute to one of the world’s greatest citizens.

In this day of cynicism and revisionism, we seem to be debating the same issues that faced us in the Progressive Era, the halcyon days of the 1920’s, the middle years of the New Deal, the Reagan Revolution of the 1980’s and the Tea Party insurgency of 2010. Again, it is, in my view, couched in the phrase of Eleanor Roosevelt, “Greed versus need.” The “right wing” of this country always seems to trash the rights of the many for the rights of the few, by hiding behind “original intent.” Again, the Framers had no understanding of our modern world that would. As Franklin Roosevelt said, in his speech accepting re-nomination to the Presidency, on June 27, 1936, “out of this modern civilization, economic royalists carved new dynasties…the royalists of the economic order have conceded that political freedom was the business of the Government, but they have maintained that economic slavery was nobody’s business.” Also, in his Second Inaugural, on January 20, 1937, the late President said, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

Professor William Leuchtenburg, one of America’s greatest historians, wrote in his book, In the Shadow of FDR, that Adolph Berle, in May of 1945, said, “Great men have two lives: one which occurs while they work on this earth; a second which begins at the day of their death and continues as long as their ideas and conceptions remain powerful.” More that two decades later, in 1967, Time-Life correspondent Hugh Sidey, wrote of a White House gathering that drew a number of dignitaries to honor FDR. He said, “You could stand on this Tuesday afternoon in 1967 and look out over the faces in the East Room of the White House and suddenly understand that Franklin Roosevelt still owned Washington. His ideas prevailed, his men endured!” With that in mind, and now almost 45 years later after that remark, and 28 years after the publishing of his book, the men have passed away, but it seems FDR’s ideas have endured.

PS: Tomorrow, in my weekly broadcast of The Advocates, I will address what Professor Leuchtenburg, eloquently wrote in the 1980’s. In my 25th show on FDR, the New Deal and Eleanor Roosevelt since I first hosted Jonathan Alter in July of 2007, I will discuss these issues with Professor Terry Golway, author of Together We Cannot Fail. Professor Golway’s operative word is “together” and that is something we sorely lack in today’s political atmosphere in Washington. It seems to me that this election will be a choice between FDR’s vision of a compassionate America versus the Social Darwinism of “might makes right,” and ”to the victor belongs the spoils”