The Cotton Club 47

A BLAST FROM THE PAST:

 "Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."

The Logan Act, 30 December 1799

Just thought I'd run that by you. 

It's as obvious as a setting sun on a westbound, highway: Tom Cotton has a severe case of Ted-Cruz-envy. Two years ago Cruz, a bloviating gasbag from the Lone Star State, was a newly arrived freshman senator, all set to shake up Washington in whatever way he could. Not since Joe McCarthy in the late forties had the nation seen anyone like this extremist dingbat. In two short years, he is now viewed (by some at least) as being a major contender for the 2016 nomination. Certainly Cruz has a high enough opinion of himself that, in his delusional megalomania, he has convinced himself that he is going to succeed Barack Obama as the next president of the United States of America.

Can you guess why I love writing about this stuff so much?

Tom Cotton, a freshman from Arkansas just took his senate seat in January. You can almost feel the little freak's lust for the same type of fame and notoriety that Cruz was able to achieve in so short a time. Less than a month-and-a-half after arriving in the senate chamber, this pathetic nonentity was able to talk forty-six of his colleagues into signing a letter addressed to the leaders of Iran, effectively torpedoing (or trying to - we shall see) negotiations in which the administration is presently engaged in trying to stop Iran's potential development of a nuclear weapons program. Some are saying that what they have done was in direct violation of the Logan Act, a law that has been on the books since January 30, 1799. Some even dare to call it "treason". Whatever the case, "the party of Abraham Lincoln" is looking crazier than ever - a feat which takes some doing.

I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for the Obama Justice Department to prosecute these clowns. In fact there has some precedent set in the past for publicity-crazy politicians (on both sides of the aisle) sticking their noses, where they clearly don't belong, into foreign affairs. But the undeniable fact is that it has never been done quite at this level before. They basically informed the Iranians in this sophomoric message that any agreement they make with Barack Obama will be null and void come January 20, 2017 when the Grand Old Party is once again in control of the executive branch of the American government.

EARTH TO REPUBLICANS: THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN, BABY!

Apparently it has yet to dawn on these assholes that their party - at least on a nationwide basis - has become virtually unelectable. You want the proof? In the last two national election cycles the American people chose as their leader a black politician from Chicago. Given this nation's sad history with respect to race, that's an extraordinary thing. Can they really be so demented to think that defeating a white woman at the polls two Novembers from now is going to be any easier? To quote the great Johnny Mercer:

"Dream when the day is through
Dream and they might come true
Things never are as bad as they seem
So dream, dream, dream...." 

The only way that disgusting party is going to be able to take back the White House in two years will be via the route of an electoral coup d'etat; they won't be able to do it any other way. That's what the gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was all about. Remember you read it here, folks.

I don't lose any sleep over the knowledge that there are blathering imbeciles like Tom Cotton or Ted Cruz - or the forty-five other senators who were stupid enough to sign that letter - rampaging the floors of the nation's capital. I'll be honest with you: it makes life awfully interesting. 

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

Bob Crane 1928-1978

AFTERTHOUGHT: Hogan Revisited

I go to see my mother twice every day at the adult care facility she lives in (it's called Glen Arden). Lately I've taken to watching about an hour of reruns of Hogan's Heroes when I visit. They run every morning on TV Land, replacing the Cosby Show which was removed from the lineup a few months ago for reasons I don't think I need to go in to.

I used to love this program when I was a kid; however in the forty-plus years since I last viewed it, it has made its way onto every list as one of the worst TV shows in history. I wasn't too surprised to hear this. Back in its day, I thought Rowan and Martin's Laugh In was a hoot. When I viewed a few episodes a number of years ago, I was taken aback by how embarrassingly bad it was. I only assumed that Hogan's Heroes would suffer the same fate of adult hindsight.

After watching it for about a month now, I can only say that it's not one of the worst programs in history - far from it. In fact, when compared to other shows of that overrated decade, it holds up remarkably well. Let's face it: the sixties were a dreadful period in the history of American comedy. Other than a small handful, most of the "comedies" of that era are virtually unwatchable today. Hogan's Heroes is the happy exception to the rule: It's funny - very funny. Recently TV Guide named it fifth from the bottom of the worst shows of all time. That's complete nonsense.

Perhaps in the politically correct culture in which we live, certain people cannot forgive a program that was able to mine humor out of a Nazi-era POW camp. I would only advise that if you happen upon it while surfing the channels, give it another chance. It's not only very funny, there is enough suspense - and even a bit of drama - to keep it interesting. In that respect it paved the way for M*A*S*H, another comedy set within a man-made tragedy.

The show disappeared from syndication for decades following the 1978 murder of Bob Crane, who played Colonel Hogan. When the details of his somewhat lecherous private life and the circumstances that lead to his killing became known to the public, perhaps viewers wanted to forget about him for a while. Enough time has passed, I guess. Maybe in thirty-seven years we'll be able to watch Bill Cosby again without wincing.

dear Abbie

SUGGESTED READING:

Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture
by Abbie Hoffman

I first read his memoirs about thirty years ago and they're even better with hindsight on the second reading. What I always loved about Abbie Hoffman (and why I miss him) is that he was utterly fearless without ever losing his madcap sense of humor, despite his trials - real and figurative. He was too unique for emulation. It's unspeakably sad that mental illness implanted in his mind the belief that his life wasn't worth living. That happens to a lot of good and decent people. We sure could use him now.