Since we’ve been on a rant against the establishment media, Phillipe + Jorge count ourselves among the legions appalled by how the country’s purported organ of record, the New York Times, has hired William Kristol as an op-ed page columnist (?!?!).
This is the disgraceful hiring of a political operative, not a journalist. One blogger calls Bill “an intellectually bankrupt neocon shill.” Never mind that Kristol can’t even write well.
His first offering was laughably poor, and he misattributed a quote that led to the publication of a correction. Nice debut. This is a simple case of capitulation by wimp liberals to ruff-tuff right-wing conservatives, lest they creep up behind them and say “Boo!,” potentially leading folks such as the guilty parties, Times’ publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. and editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal, to pee in their Dockers.
Sulzberger and Rosenthal are merely self-absorbed New York liberal “intellectuals” throwing a sop to the Podhoretz/Kissinger/ Kristol neocon cabal, with Wolfowitz and Perle ascendant. But hey, leave Billy alone. He actually criticized the mighty NYT, yet we will still let him write for us. Wow! Bow-wow.
This was such a hideous, offensive choice of a blatant right-wing activist that even the Times’ public editor, Clark Hoyt, criticized the decision in his January 13 column (“He May be Unwelcome, But We’ll Survive”).
Phillipe + Jorge are all for airing opposing points of view, but Kristol, the unspeakable little GOP Gollum, hasn’t the smarts or the chops to warrant the opening of his mouth in the Times. Nice work, Messrs. Sulzberger and Rosenthal. You must be quite proud of yourselves. Wussies.
Do the RI bump
You gotta love how the state government layoffs show such respect for a person’s education and job skills that, once laid off, they are forced to enter into the union “bumping” scheme.
The bump allows them to take the position of a less senior employee. P+J cite the follow-up news on four Southeast Asian interpreters from the Depart¬ment of Human Services who did the bump: one retires on June 30, and one is going to a much-desired job at the Department of Motor Vehicles, while two others will be telephone operators at DHS.
That’s the way for the state to benefit from specialized abilities and training.
Three cheers for Dennis
Your superior correspondents are happy (for him) and sad (for ourselves and for Rhode Islanders) to see that our old friend Dennis Riley retired from public life on New Year’s Day.
Dennis was a top staffer for Senator Jack Reed, and before that, Senator Claiborne Pell. Witty and wise, Dennis was well known for being the first congressional aide to wear a thong and heavy mascara to work.
But on a more serious note, he is one of those folks who simply got things done behind the scenes, and who helped more people through the years than even he could keep track of — all the while retaining a great disposition and sense of humor.
You don’t miss your water, but we will miss Dennis being on patrol. Good luck in your future endeavors, you old sharpie.
Eva Marie Snot
OK, this is worthy of junior high (what isn’t these days?), but from the “For the Record” section of the New York Times of January 10:
“A film review on Dec. 21 about ‘National Treasure: Book of Secrets’ referred imprecisely to a scene in the film ‘North by Northwest’ that takes place at Mount Rushmore, as does a scene in ‘National Treasure; Book of Secrets.’ While Eva Marie Saint dangles near George Washington’s face in ‘North by Northwest,’ she is not shown dangling from his nose.”
R.I.P., Bob Enos
Word of the passing of Bob Enos started spreading throughout the close-knit Vo Dilun music community early last Friday afternoon. Bob was pretty much where he had been for the past 26 years: on the road with Roomful of Blues. They had just finished a gig in Douglas, Geor¬gia. It hit a lot of people hard, because Bob was healthy, only 60 years old, and he died in his sleep.
Not surprisingly, for a man who played music for a living for pretty much entire life, Bob’s closest friends were musicians. P&J spoke with Greg Mazel, the great jazz saxophonist who grew up with Bob, and he was pretty shaken up, talking about what a warm person Bob was.
Jorge had known Bob since his days with Channel One in the ’70s, first meeting him in New¬port, at the wild and wooly Harpo’s. He was a warm and funny, and a wonderful trumpet player whose sound, while definitely emanating from an earthy, soulful Louis Armstrong influence (you really can’t avoid the true giants), mixed in a bit of blaring pyrotechnics to keep you on your toes.
The thing that strikes P&J about the life of Bob Enos, a reality that is true for precious few people, is how he did what he loved and that was his life. Bob Enos never made the big money, never had a huge fan base, and never was a household name. But he was one of those incredibly fortunate people who lived his life doing what he loved, and who never had to compromise his taste, his style, or his sense of what was good and strong. How many people can say that?
P&J are familiar with a short list of people who have lived such a life. They are inspirations and role models for those who, well, just believe. Bless you, Bob. We extend our deepest condolences to your family at home and your large musical family, which is spread around the world. And thank you for the joy of your music.