Born Yesterday: A Review

Born Yesterday is a play written by Garson Kanin. It premiered on Broadway in 1946 and starred Judy Holliday as Billie Dawn, a role that made her a star. It was made into a film in 1950. It showed recently at The Public Theater.

The play is a take on Pygmalion with a political/business corruption theme set in the 1940's. A rough, self-made millionaire (Harry Brock) with gangster connections comes to Washington D.C. to cement his relationship with a senator (Sen. Norval Hedges) with whose legislative help he hopes to complete a huge deal. With him has come his "dumb broad" mistress. (Billie Dawn). Brock sincerely loves Billie but becomes sensitive to her social shortcomings. Fearing Billie's coarseness might impair his business plans, Brock hires a journalist (Paul Verrall) to polish her up. As she begins to learn, Billie becomes more curious and finally more judgmental of Brock and his dealings. In the end she she destroys all of Brock's plans and leaves Brock for Paul.

There is a lot of mild tension in the play. Undue influence and crooked politics seem more ugly, as if America were newer and cleaner then. Brock really loves Billie but his decline in her eyes is easier than it might have been. The lawyer, Ed Devery, has had a moral fall but it is never emphasized more than an ironic regret. Paul is "fair and balanced;" he has no real animosity for Brock or the Senator.

The real story is Billie and her transformation, a change that is neither complete nor wholly satisfying to either her or the audience. She begins defiant: "I'm stupid and I like it." But soon it is obvious that she is more complicated. "I know what I want'" she says (of her furs), "And I know how to get it." She regularly clobbers Brock at gin rummy. And she wants her winnings; she wants what she's earned. As her education progresses the books pile up with her indignation. She begins to find fault with Brock's business plans, his illegality, the Senator's corruption, and her inadvertent involvement in all of it. But, as the drama intensifies, she is still fiery but is reduced to malapropism.

This is an enjoyable production, physical and sharp, that runs out of gas in the last act. The dialogue is crisp and clever. Melissa Miller is very good in Holliday's dreaded shadow as Billie, Ted Koch does well giving some dimensions to the often thuggish Brock, and Michael McKenzie's Devery is careful not to inject too much tragedy into the fun. Daniel Krell's Verrall is a bit academic and soft; one always worries that Billie might eventually eat him alive.

Kanin's original vision was to show that anyone--even a ditsy chorus girl--has the power to create change. And Billie does change everything, Brock's plans, his relationship with her, the Senator, Paul and, of course, herself. But the important change, the change in her, is bittersweet. She is less of what she was and little of what she might become. Nor has her education been entirely beneficial. At one moment she laments, "I don't know what I want," a real negative change from the solid individual the audience started with. Still, it's a fun night if it's not taken too seriously.

Fiscal and Moral Cliffs

So the election is over. We have a new president, same as the old president. The House and Senate are aligned exactly as before.

But new stories are afoot. The head of the CIA is sleeping with a reporter embedded--yes, embedded--with him for over a year. The Right will somehow connect all this to Benghazi; the narrative seems to be that evidence exists that this information was uncovered in May and that the administration held it in reserve so they could compromise him if necessary. The press is shocked; Petraeus seemed so solid. Questions of the esteemed reporter's ethics have not been raised but she is a mom and seems so solid. Anyway, freedom of the press is precious to us.

Petraeus is distracting for the citizens and the press because we are facing difficult financial problems and in the recent vote rejected an experienced financial guy in favor of a community organizer whose economic plan is to raise taxes and to cut military spending. 

We now face what the press calls the "fiscal cliff." If the government does not act, automatic legislation will be triggered which will raise taxes and cut military spending......wait a minute. Isn't that the President's plan? Isn't that his idea--to raise taxes and cut military spending? And if it's his plan, how could it be a cliff? And, if it's a crisis and he has to negotiate options with the Republicans, how serious will his negotiations be if the fiscal cliff is his plan?

No matter. Tell you what. I've already done the Electoral Death March; I am not going to do the Fiscal Cliff Death March. You will just have to let me know what happens. And, by the way, please spare me the ongoing, updated insights of the FOX News Conserva-preneurs with their predictions and their swell selling books. Unless they hire Petraeus' old girlfriend who looks pretty cute.

Sunday Sermon 11/11/12

Three widows in today's readings, one a widow who gives the last of her (and her son's) food to Elijah ("then we will die") and is rewarded by meal and oil for a year, one in a story where the scribes are criticized for their seeking approval--and their destructive self aggrandizement ("They devour the houses of widows") and finally the poor but devout woman who gives the last of her money to the treasury (versus the rich who give only their surplus.)

One could say the scribes are just looking for affirmation in the wrong place, they should be looking to God, but "devouring the houses of widows " seems a bit more than misdirected love-seeking. At the core of all this is Christ's relentless insistence upon the spiritual over the temporal. Rich or poor, renowned or anonymous, the spiritual must be followed and the material ignored, regardless of the consequences. One must seek the spiritual even if it leads to something as awful as crucifixion.

After all, no provisions are made for Elijah's widow after the miraculous year is up.

Cab Thoughts 11/10/12

47 of 53 landmark cancer reports can not be reproduced according to an Amgen report.

Gas demand in Europe is down about 7%, but EU carbon emissions so far in 2012 are up 10%. With the fracking bans in Europe and the Germans' closing nuclear plants, coal combustion and imports of US coal surge. With U.S. fracking and gas cheap, CO2 emissions are down to 1992 levels. The CO2 purists just will not accept half a loaf. It would be wonderful for the American economy to take advantage of this madness, develop their own natural gas, put it in trucks as fuel, decrease American petroleum use by 85% and use the trucks to drive coal for shipping to Europe.

Oliver Luck is among many who plan to shave their heads in support of Coach Pagano and his fight with leukemia. He, and those others, may have a political future. Symbolism always trumps reality.

Lincoln received 39.8% of the popular vote in the 1860 election. The remaining 60.2 percent was split among three other candidates: Stephen A. Douglas (29 percent), John C. Breckenridge (18 percent), and John Bell (13 per­cent) . There were two 'third-party' candidates -- Breckenridge and Bell. As a minority president his power was greatly diminished and the Civil War started as a chancy and uncertain effort. On the other hand, this lack of consensus created one of the greatest leaders the world has known.

Every 4 years about 3 million people age into the voting group and 3 million Americans pass away so in the space of just 4 years, the voting age population changes by 24 million, 48 million or about 30% in 8 years.

After December 31, 88% of households will pay higher taxes. The average family, $3,500 more. High-income earners can expect to pay an additional $14,100 to $121,000, or more.

Those of us who are cynical about alternative energies will have to come to grips with a surprising stat: While jobs grew in the economy 2.3% over the last 12 months, solar employment jumped 13% over the last 12 months. Solar industry employment increased from about 105,000 to 119,000, according to the solar jobs census taken by the Solar Foundation.

Baltimore is rolling out a surveillance system that, in addition to video, will record conversations. The police had an interesting take: Captain McCollum, commander of the MTA police technical services division, said that the audio is needed because he wants to take away a witness' choice not to get involved.

The United States has the highest percentage of single-parent families (34% in 1998) among developed countries, followed by Canada (22%), Australia (20%), and Denmark (19%). 13 percent of families were headed by a single parent in 1970.
real social experiment.

John Hayes, the British Energy Minister, said that Britain can “no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities” and added that it “seems extraordinary” they have allowed to spread so much throughout the country. His objections seem to be esthetic but reliability seems to be a concern as well.

From a Brit journal for the fleet industry: "Swapping to greener tyres offers the quickest return on investment for carbon-conscious fleets, according to a new report, recouping the additional cost three times quicker than an engine start-stop system and five times quicker than buying a hybrid." These small steps make more of a difference than the big, hopeful steps, it appears.

The hostility towards oil companies is curious. The ten companies with the largest oil and gas reserves in the world are all government owned. They own 71% of proven reserves. BP, ExxonMobile and Chevron combined have drilling rights, rights, to less than 2% of proven reserves.

Underpants Gnomes are little guys in the South Park series who have a business where they steal underwear. Their business plan is: 1. Collect underwear, 3. Profit. Urban Dictionary defines it as: A business model in which a company may have great offerings, but does not necessarily great profits due to a lack of strategy or how the business is run. An example: Petroleum companies are facing fines of $6.8 million for failing to meet a 2011 federal quota to blend 6.6 million gallons of the renewable fuel cellulosic ethanol into petroleum products. That is not much compared to the 180 billion gallons of petroleum fuel consumed annually in the U.S. but compliance is difficult because......... there is virtually no cellulosic ethanol made. Next: Federally funded unicorn ranches. The Chinese have great regard for the powdered horns.

The electric vehicle versus the internal combustion engine debate raise an interesting question about the direction of technology and efficiency. Would the average computer buyer think a new model of laptop that was more expensive, slower, takes longer to charge and whose battery lasts for a shorter time was an advance?

If we can influence the temperature of the earth, it is surprising we had no options regarding the hurricane that hit New York.

The 17-nation Eurozone now has unemployment reported at 11.6 percent, its highest level in 17 years of collecting data.

The federal government has a program that granted $11 million to provide business attire for 400 low-income job seekers in Detroit, Michigan. That's 27,500 dollars per person. An audit of the program showed that it provided clothing to 2 people.

AAAannnnndddd a graph.....

The Daughter of Time

"Relax, it's only natural in a period of transition for the more timid element to run for cover."
----The Hudsucker Proxy

The Obama victory has been explained in various ways: His early and often personal attack ads on Romney, new demographics, the use contraception as a proxy for young women, the weight of incumbency, the passive press. Yet these factors, as reasonable as they might be, are one generation removed from the essence of the question. The real factor here is a philosophical evolution in the American electorate. What we are seeing here is a true change in how the citizen sees his relationship with the government. There is an acceptance of government activity for the presumed benefit for the citizen, an approval of government intervention, a willingness to sacrifice individual responsibility for a perceived safety offered by governmental leadership. Essentially we are seeing a people increasingly willing to trade freedom for comfort. That is a new thinking that precedes gender or ethnic identification.

Or is it? Colin Powell said recently that Americans want more government involvement in their lives but a poll revealed that most Americans disagree. Most -- 71 percent -- say they want less government in their life. (Exit polls: 51-43.)

How can one ever explain these choices? How could Lincoln get only 35% of the vote? How could Obama get the Nobel Peace Prize? How did the room look after that vote? How could Teddy Kennedy repeatedly be elected Senator from a major state? Is there some clandestine Irresponsible, Drunken, Public Disgrace Lobby? Is Nancy Pelosi the public face of....what?  And Rick Santorium?

America is a gigantic diverse country organized around certain principles held in common, principles about the nature of men and their relationship with their government. It does not matter how many Latinos or unmarried women or gays or evangelical Christians there are voting. It matters what they think. And every voting citizen should think as an American first. If they think as a self-interested subset first, that will become America. A new America. But that America is not now. Nor will it happen over night.This is a legislative system where North and South Dakota with Wyoming outvote New York and California. And it will not be a transition that will be smooth. That self-interest has another side. This is an aggressive, demanding culture and long term mediocrity could be a long, difficult march.

New Men and Their Visions

An article in New York Magazine endorsing Obama provides several insights into the different ways of thinking that are in discussion in the nation. One line is particularly instructive: "Bipartisan panels of economists had long urged Medicare to reform its payment methods to curb perverse incentives by hospitals and doctors to run up costs as high as possible; Obama overcame fierce resistance in Congress in order to craft, as part of Obamacare, a revolution in paying for quality rather than quantity."

There is a lot here. First, it seems that there is opposition to the substitution of quality for quantity, many actually preferring quantity. Perhaps there is a "quantity lobby" that will be injured if quality is substituted. Moreover, they seemingly oppose quality. They clearly are abusing the system, are benefiting from inferior medical care and are opposed to health care improvement. Secondly, the original Medicare plan, as crafted by Congress, somehow failed to do this right. There is even the implication that the "perverse incentives" are "by hospitals and doctors'" as if they, and not government, wrote the law and are responsible for this perversion--a law, by the way, opposed by almost all physicians when it was created. This new law apparently is written by new people who know how to improve matters. The new leaders are of a different breed, have better vision and higher goals. Third, it is obvious that structuring the law makes the hope a reality. The answer is there just waiting to be uncovered by honest and well-meaning leaders--this despite the fact that most of the law is actually not very tight and is waiting for numerous committees and agencies to flesh it out. Legislating the goal makes it so.

These people live in a simpler world than most. A hospital once formed a committee to establish criteria for appendectomy; they met every week for 18 months and never came to a consensus. Amgen recently reviewed 53 landmark cancer studies and found 47 were not reproducible. 47!

Real life is hard and acting as if it is not or that some selected few have greater insight than the rest of us is dangerous. It is reminiscent of ancient societies where certain birth brought a birthright and where magic men with rabbit entrails and doves could read the implications of the past and future.

We may never step into the same river twice but it's the same old water.

The Vote

Imagine the U.N. "Observers" at the election yesterday. Imagine as they watched the lines slowly build at the polls, calm and expectant. Imagine the variety of the voters, older and younger, college and business, rich and poor. Some drive, some walk, a girl arrives on a bike--all fall in line , respectful and trusting--as they one by one equally participate in the single greatest creation of the modern age: The free man thoughtfully and confidently determining his political future. Imagine as they see the determination in the voter's eyes. Then the pride.

Imagine the "Observer's" envy.