Motley Moose – Archive

From the White House – Weekly Address

In his weekly address, President Obama highlights the bipartisan budget agreement that unwinds some of the cuts that were damaging to the economy and keeps investments in areas that help us grow, and urges both parties to work together to extend emergency unemployment insurance and act on new measures to create jobs and strengthen the middle class.

Transcript: Working Together on Behalf of the American People

Hi, everybody.  This week, Congress finished up some important work before heading home for the holidays.

For the first time in years, both parties came together in the spirit of compromise to pass a budget – one that helps chart our economic course for the next two years.  This budget will unwind some of the damaging cuts that have threatened students and seniors and held back our businesses. It clears the path for critical investments in the things that grow our economy and strengthen our middle class, like education and research.  And it will keep reducing our deficits – at a time when we’ve seen four years of the fastest deficit reduction since the end of World War II.

Members of Congress also voted to finally allow several dedicated and well-qualified public servants to do their jobs for the American people – many of whom waited months for a simple yes-or-no vote.  These are judges, cabinet secretaries and military leaders.  They’re men and women charged with growing our economy, keeping our homeland secure, and making sure our housing system and financial system work for ordinary Americans.

So after a year of showdowns and obstruction that only held back our economy, we’ve been able to break the logjam a bit over the last few weeks.  It’s a hopeful sign that we can end the cycle of short-sighted, crisis-driven decision-making and actually work together to get things done.

And that’s important.  Because there’s plenty of work to do.

Right now, because Congress failed to act before leaving on vacation, more than one million Americans are poised to lose a vital source of income just a few days after Christmas. For many people who are still looking for work, unemployment insurance is a lifeline that can make the difference between temporary hardship or lasting catastrophe.  Instead of punishing these families who can least afford it – especially now – Congress should first restore that lifeline immediately, then put their entire focus on creating more good jobs that pay good wages.

That’s what I’ll be focused on next year, and every day I have the privilege of being your President.  Growing the economy.  Expanding opportunity.  Building an America that offers everyone who works hard the chance to get ahead, and every child a fair shot at success.

And if Congress continues to act in the spirit of cooperation we’ve seen in recent weeks, I’m confident we can make much more progress together in the year to come.

Thank you.  Have a great weekend and a very Merry Christmas.

Bolding added.

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Editor’s Note: The President’s Weekly Address diary is also the weekend open news thread. Feel free to leave links to other news items in the comment threads.

  Make sure you let your peeps

  know where to find you!  

The morning check-in is an open thread posted to give you a place to visit with the meeses. Feel free to chat about your weather, share a bit of your life, grump (if you must), rave (if you can). The diarist du jour sometimes posts and runs, other times sticks around for a bit, often returns throughout the day and always cares that meeses are happy … or at least contented.

On weekends (and holidays), you may find the check-in thread earlier or later than normal because … it is the weekend! Moosies need their beauty rest:

For those new to the Moose, Kysen left a Moose Welcome Mat (Part Deux) so, please, wipe your feet before you walk in the front door start posting.

The important stuff to get you started:

– Comments do not Auto-refresh. Click the refresh/reload on your tab to see new ones. Only click Post once for comments. When a diary’s comment threads grow, the page takes longer to refresh and the comment may not display right away.

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– Finally, the posting rules for a new diary: “Be excellent to each other… or else”

(Some other commenting/posting/tending notes for newbies can be found in this past check-in and, of course, consult Meese Mehta for all your questions on meesely decorum.)

You can follow the daily moosetrails here: Motley Moose Recent Comments.

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Let the greetings begin!

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President Obama held a news conference at 2:00 PM EST on Friday, December 20, 2013.

The White House live stream video.

Tweet along with the Moose.

White House transcript: Press Conference by the President

The President’s Statement:

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  I know you are all eager to skip town and spend some time with your families.  Not surprisingly, I am, too.  But you know what they say — it’s the most wonderful press conference of the year — right now.  (Laughter.)  I am eager to take your questions, but first, I just want to say a few words about our economy.

In 2013, our businesses created another 2 million jobs, adding up to more than 8 million in just over the past 45 months. This morning, we learned that over the summer, our economy grew at its strongest pace in nearly two years.  The unemployment rate has steadily fallen to its lowest point in five years.  Our tax code is fairer, and our fiscal situation is firmer, with deficits that are now less than half of what they were when I took office.

For the first time in nearly two decades, we now produce more oil here at home than we buy from the rest of the world, and our all-of-the-above strategy for new American energy means lower energy costs.  The Affordable Care Act has helped keep health care costs growing at their slowest rate in 50 years.  Combined, that means bigger paychecks for middle-class families and bigger savings for businesses looking to invest and hire here in America.

And for all the challenges we’ve had and all the challenges that we’ve been working on diligently in dealing with both the ACA and the website these past couple months, more than half a million Americans have enrolled through healthcare.gov in the first three weeks of December alone.  In California, for example, a state operating its own marketplace, more than 15,000 Americans are enrolling every single day.  And in the federal website, tens of thousands are enrolling every single day.  Since October 1st, more than one million Americans have selected new health insurance plans through the federal and state marketplaces.  So, all told, millions of Americans, despite the problems with the website, are now poised to be covered by quality, affordable health insurance come New Year’s Day.  Now, this holiday season, there are mothers and fathers and entrepreneurs and workers who have something new to celebrate — the security of knowing that when the unexpected or misfortune strikes, hardship no longer has to.

And you add that all up and what it means is we head into next year with an economy that’s stronger than it was when we started the year.  More Americans are finding work and experiencing the pride of a paycheck.  Our businesses are positioned for new growth and new jobs.  And I firmly believe that 2014 can be a breakthrough year for America.  But as I outlined in detail earlier this month, we all know there’s a lot more that we’re going to have to do to restore opportunity and broad-based growth for every American.  And that’s going to require some action.

It’s a good start that earlier this week, for the first time in years, both parties in both houses of Congress came together to pass a budget.  That unwinds some of the damaging sequester cuts that created headwinds for our economy.  It clears the path for businesses and for investments that we need to strengthen our middle class, like education and scientific research.  And it means that the American people won’t be exposed to the threat of another reckless shutdown every few months.  So that’s a good thing.

It’s probably too early to declare an outbreak of bipartisanship.  But it’s also fair to say that we’re not condemned to endless gridlock.  There are areas where we can work together.

I believe that work should begin with something that Republicans in Congress should have done before leaving town this week, and that’s restoring the temporary insurance that helps folks make ends meet when they are looking for a job.  Because Congress didn’t act, more than one million of their constituents will lose a vital economic lifeline at Christmastime, leaving a lot of job-seekers without any source of income at all.

I think we’re a better country than that.  We don’t abandon each other when times are tough.  Keep in mind unemployment insurance only goes to folks who are actively looking for work — a mom who needs help feeding her kids when she sends out her resumes, or a dad who needs help paying the rent while working part-time and still earning the skills he needs for that new job. So when Congress comes back to work, their first order of business should be making this right.  I know a bipartisan group is working on a three-month extension of this insurance.  They should pass it, and I’ll sign it right away.

Let me repeat:  I think 2014 needs to be a year of action.  We’ve got work to do to create more good jobs, to help more Americans earn the skills and education they need to do those jobs and to make sure that those jobs offer the wages and benefits that let families build a little bit of financial security.  We still have the task of finishing the fix on our broken immigration system.  We’ve got to build on the progress we’ve painstakingly made over these last five years with respect to our economy and offer the middle class and all those who are looking to join the middle class a better opportunity, and that’s going to be where I focus all of my efforts in the year ahead.

And let me conclude by saying just as we’re strengthening our position here at home, we’re also standing up for our interests around the world.  This year, we’ve demonstrated that with clear-eyed, principled diplomacy, we can pursue new paths to a world that’s more secure — a future where Iran does not build a nuclear weapon; a future where Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles are destroyed.  By the end of next year, the war in Afghanistan will be over, just as we’ve ended our war in Iraq, and we’ll continue to bring our troops home.  And, as always, we will remain vigilant to protect our homeland and our personnel overseas from terrorist attacks.

Of course, a lot of our men and women in uniform are still overseas, and a lot of them are still spending their Christmas far away from their family and their friends, and in some cases, are still in harm’s way.  So I want to close by saying to them and their families back home, we want to thank you.  Your country stands united in supporting you and being grateful for your service and your sacrifice.  We will keep you in our thoughts and in our prayers during this season of hope.

So, before I wish a Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night, I will take some questions.  Jay prepared a list of who’s naughty and nice — (laughter) — so we’ll see who made it.

The winter solstice “occurs exactly when the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26′. Though the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, the term is also a turning point to midwinter and the first day of winter.”

That moment occurs tomorrow, December 21st, at UTC 17:11 or 11:11 a.m. Central Time, which is my time zone.

Of course, that is the scientific explanation. We know better!

Twice a year, on the solstice holidays, Basement Cat and Ceiling Cat are locked in mortal combat over the Light. At summer solstice, Basement Cat prevails and the light starts receding … gradually at first and then more quickly until the autumnal equinox, when the light and dark are equal.

Then finally, on Winter Solstice, Ceiling Cat prevails!!

In many parts of the northern hemisphere, winter brings snow. And what better way to enjoy snow than to delight in our furry and feathered friends frolicking in the frozen flakiness.

(Don’t forget to hover.)

And finally … there ‘snow better way to say it …

The winter solstice or midwinter is one of the eight pagan festivals or “sabbats” from the Wheel of the Year. It is a “quarter day” along with the equinoxes and the summer solstice. The Solstice Night brings celebration as our ancestors awaited the return of the sun to warm the frozen Earth. To all my pagan and non-pagan friends: “Bright Blessings on Solstice and may the warmth of the returning sun bring you great joy and hope”.

Happy Solstice and Welcome Back Sunlight!

Music by Lisa Thiel

Vid by WiccaNoita

LYRICS:

Chorus:

Enter the night and you’ll find the light,

That will carry you to your dreams.

Enter the night, let your spirit take flight,

In the field of infinite possibilities

On the longest night we search for the light,

And we find it deep within.

Open your eyes to embrace what is wise,

And see the light of your own soul shining.

(Chorus)

Wrap up in the cloak of starry darkness my child,

And you’ll find the center of all things.

For from this space of the deepest dark place,

Life Eternal does spring.

(Chorus)

So when you find that spark

When you dream in the dark,

Hold it close to your heart and know.

All that you see is all that can be

When you give birth to the dreams of your soul.

(Chorus)

Good morning, Moosekind. TGIF! Hope it has been a good week for everyone.

Friday Coffee Hour and check-in is an open thread and general social hour. Come back when time allows through the day – the conversation continues.

It’s traditional but not obligatory to give us a weather check where you are and let us know what’s new, interesting, challenging or even routine in your life lately. Nothing is particularly obligatory here except:

Always remember the Moose Golden (Purple?) Rule:

Be kind to each other… or else.

What could be simpler than that, right?

A look at a ground-breaking short film series of the 1920’s-1940’s, after the jump …..

I have (half-jokingly) stated that my first exposure to both opera and musical theater came from an old children’s film (and later TV) series. But several years ago I came upon a book upon that series … which was quite an education on the series.

The story of Our Gang/The Little Rascals is a fascinating one, and while younger readers may be unfamiliar with it: this may bring a smile to readers of-a-certain-age. It was a series that was groundbreaking at the time: first, showing kids behaving like kids – even when they were emulating adults (unlike the prevailing style of the era). Second, it was an integrated cast, with black and white children – as well as both male and female children – in starring roles. And finally, it reflected its times – with the bulk of the talking films reflecting the Depression, with many poor kids compared to the few rich ones.

At the very least, the book by Leonard Maltin & Richard Bann clarified some mysteries I had about the series; it may well do the same for you.

The genesis of the series began in 1921 with its 29 year-old producer Hal Roach auditioning a child actor to appear in a film. He had grown tired with over-rehearsed kids acting like adults, and afterwards looked out the window to see a group of kids acting like …. well, kids.

And so Hal Roach oversaw all phases of operations: the scriptwriters (who included future director Frank Capra and “Woody Woodpecker” creator Walter Lantz) and directors (for the first twelve years, notably Robert F. McGowan, who was noted for his ability to get the best out of the very young performers). The kids would transition out of roles when they reached certain ages, replaced by younger ones. At first, they were cast locally, later sought via national auditions. Interestingly, three who auditioned but were rejected for not fitting the profile of a rascal were Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and Shirley Temple.

Originally titled Hal Roach’s Rascals (and more on the various names as we go), the 221 episodes of the series can be divided as described below. Growing up in the New York suburbs in the 1960’s-70’s, my exposure to what was shown is also indicated.

*  Silent era (from 1922 to early 1929). The first seven years these two-reel films (approx 20 minutes) were distributed by Pathé Studios, and the last two years by the newly-formed MGM Studios. Only 2-3 of the later silents do I recall seeing on TV when I was a child.

*  The Hal Roach Studio “talkies” (from 1929 to 1938). These are the ones that most people will probably recall, shown under the name “Little Rascals” on TV.  

*  The MGM Studios Our Gang series (from 1938 to the series end in 1944). I do not recall seeing any of these; my youngest sister Jeannemarie has some recollection.

Here is the etymology of the name(s) of the series. The title of the very first “Hal Roach’s Rascals” short released to theaters was “Our Gang” (which is considered a ‘lost film’ today; no copy is known to exist). Much like the 1950’s TV show “You’ll Never Get Rich” was re-named “The Phil Silvers Show” but is commonly known as “Sgt. Bilko” – the name “Our Gang” was the name that stuck: as the early print reviews used it and both theater owners (happy with the public reaction) and the press asked, “Hal, do you have any more “Our Gang” shorts coming?” And thus became the name for the series through its end in 1944.

I don’t need to tell many of you about the stars of this series: George ‘Spanky’ McFarland (1928-1993), Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer (1927-1959), Billie ‘Buckwheat’ Thomas (1931-1980), Tommy ‘Butch’ Bond (1926-2005), Darla Hood (1931-1979), and my favorite, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard (1925-1981) …. who received his bowler hat as a gift from Stan Laurel, one of Stymie’s idols.

   

As mentioned, several old songs of the era first came into my consciousness: such as 1919’s How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm? and I’m sure that many of my peers first heard opera (so-to-speak) via Alfalfa’s Barber of Seville rendition.

The series was quite contemporary for its time; with the Our Gang Follies of 1938 taking its name from MGM’s current “The Broadway Melody of 1938”. To watch the series gave one a sense of what popular music was like following the advent of sound, such as Good Old Days – the series theme song.

The adults in the show – while not reduced to off-screen, mute-trumpet roles such as in “Peanuts” – were nonetheless background players. But one of them – Miss Crabtree who was portrayed ….

   

By the mid-1930’s, theater owners were switching from two-reel (20 min) shorts to double-features, and were paying less for them, as well. At that time, Hal Roach switched to one-reel (10 minute) comedies, before deciding in the spring of 1938 that he was no longer making much money. And so MGM bought-him-out, purchasing the rights to the name “Our Gang” as well. The very last Hal Roach-produced short, June 1938’s Hide and Shriek – where the boys are trapped in an amusement park house-of-horrors – ends with them (prophetically) placing a sign on their door “Out of Bizzness.”

The subsequent MGM shorts are almost universally considered sub-standard (by theater-goers of the day as well as critics) with only some of its episodes receiving high marks. As a result, MGM kept-on such characters as Alfalfa, Spanky and Buckwheat to older ages than would have been the practice in the past. Only two new names stood out in this period: Billy “Froggy” Laughlin (with a trademark froggy voice) who was the youngest cast member to die: at age 16 in 1948, hit by a bus while he was delivering newspapers on a scooter.

The other was named Mickey Gubitosi, and for those of you who were puzzled to learn – either while he starred in the TV show Baretta in the 70’s, or during his murder trial last decade – that Robert Blake was in the Little Rascals …… it’s probably due to his appearing in the MGM shorts only, (not seen by all).

During the advent of TV, Hal Roach bought back the rights to his shorts and – since he could no longer use the title “Our Gang” – decided to go back to (a modified version) of Plan A: naming the show The Little Rascals when it went into syndication in the mid-1950’s. It took hold nationwide when a new distributor named King World took it nationwide in the 1960’s.

The show did have its critics, to be sure. It did feature some ethnic humor/racial stereotypes of the day that audiences (only a scant few years later) would wince at, and the (few) black adults were shown in stereotypical roles. Accordingly, some episodes were later cut, and some didn’t make it into syndication for those reasons.

Yet several of its African-American stars such as Thomas and Earnie Morrison (from the silent era) defended the show, saying that director Robert McGowan treated them no differently and that the series showed genuine friendship across-all-boundaries. And the African-American historian Donald Bogle wrote, “By the 1920s, black actors, especially children who joined the Our Gang cast and youngster Earnest Morrison (“Sunshine Sammy”), started receiving more roles as Hollywood became a boomtown and more studios opened”.

Most of the child actors either left acting after puberty or had limited success afterwards; with many simply taking factory or office jobs.

One meme long held that there was a “curse” with many child actors getting in legal trouble, substance abuse and dying early – with Alfalfa as Exhibit A – going from his role opening the gym floor in It’s a Wonderful Life to dying by a gunshot wound at only age 31. However, Snopes examined the records and concluded that was not true: that the majority of the kids lived fairly normal lifespans.

One person who lived an abnormal lifespan was Hal Roach himself ….

   

With the passing of Shirley Jean Rickert in 2009 and Jackie Cooper (see below) in 2011, there are only a few surviving cast members of any note from the Hal Roach era.

Two of the child actors are noteworthy due to their later success in show business (uncommon for child actors of any era).

Jackie Cooper worked alongside Wallace Beery in many post-Rascals films and from 1964-69 was VP of program development at Columbia Pictures Screen Gems TV division, responsible for packaging series (such as Bewitched) and other projects and selling them to the networks.

   

Another is Dick Moore  ….

   

During “Our Gang”, he was best friends with Stymie (who convinced his mother to name their youngest child Richard after his friend) and they had a memorable reunion on Tom Snyder’s “Tomorrow” show, just a short time before Beard’s death in 1981. Dick Moore is still alive at age 88.

Though these films have not been regularly seen on TV in some time and with scattered availability on home video, their legacy is immense. The 1960’s pop band Spanky & Our Gang draws on it, and who can forget Eddie Murphy as Buckwheat? Hopefully, these films will be still available in 2022, the series’ 100th birthday.

   

I’ll close this edition with two videos. While my favorite overall episode of the series was the 1934 episode “Mike Fright” – featuring the International Silver String Submarine Band – my favorite scene of the entire series came from 1933’s Mush and Milk – with the Scottish-born actor Jimmy Finlayson calling the boarding school headmaster to tell him that his back pension has come in. Finlayson (it turns out) was the inspiration for Homer Simpson’s exclamation “D’oh!”. And below you can see why … after Spanky gets through with him.

To me, the song that I most associate with the series is Alfalfa singing I’m in the Mood for Love – a 1935 tune written by Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields that has been covered the past 75+ years by a lengthy list of performers. An instrumental version by the tenor saxophonist James Moody was later made into a ‘vocalese’ tune Moody’s Mood for Love by Eddie Jefferson.

And below you can hear Alfalfa …. uhhh … err … well, sing it.

In Excelsis Deo (West Wing, NBC – 1999)

… a haunted Toby (Richard Schiff) learns more about a forgotten Korean War hero who died alone on the district’s cold streets wearing a coat that Toby once donated to charity.

President Bartlett: “Toby, if we start pulling strings like this, you don’t think every homeless veteran will come out of the woodwork?”

Toby Ziegler: “We can only hope, sir”.

On any given night in 2013, 57,849 veterans were homeless.

The Coming Food Stamp Cut Will Hit 900,000 Veterans

The unemployment rate for recent veterans remains incredibly high – around 10 percent

The Republican “leadership” in the House of Representatives left town last week after declining to extend unemployment benefits to 1.3 million Americans.