Month: August 2017

Elvis has left the building

Calling Elvis
Is anybody home?

“Elvis has left the building” has become such a cliche, or as the Wikipedia puts it, “a catchphrase and punchline,” if you’re young enough, you may not know that people actually said it of Elvis Presley in an unexpected way .

It was “announced at the end of [his] concerts to encourage fans to accept that there would be no further encores and to go home. It is now used more widely to indicate that someone has made an exit or that something is complete.”

From Phrases:

“Oddly, although the phrase was routinely used to encourage the audience to leave, the first time that it was announced it was to encourage them to stay in their seats. That first use was in December 1956 by Horace Logan [listen], who was the announcer at the Louisiana Hayride show, in which Elvis was a regular performer.

“Presley had very quickly become very popular with teenagers but had previously taken a regular lowly spot at the Hayride, which was his first big break. He was on the bill quite early in proceedings but after his performance was over and the encore complete, the crowd of teenagers, who weren’t Hillbilly enthusiasts, began to leave. Logan announced: ‘Please, young people … Elvis has left the building. He has gotten in his car and driven away … Please take your seats.'”

Throughout the 1970s, the phrase was captured on record several times, spoken by Al Dvorin.

Now, it is “used to refer to anyone who has exited in some sense. For instance, it might be used when someone makes a dramatic exit from an argument, to relieve tension among those who remain. Baseball broadcasters on radio and/or television sometimes use the phrase as a humorous way to describe a home run, which is typically hit over the outfield fence, leaving the field of play.”

There is a movie called Elvis Has Left the Building (2004): “A fugitive Pink Lady rep hooks up with a bored ad exec as she’s trying to avoid going down for the murder of several Elvis impersonators.”

The phrase is referred to in the Dire Straits song Calling Elvis [listen].

Calling Elvis
Is anybody home?
Calling Elvis
I’m here all alone
Did he leave the building?
Or can he come to the phone?
Calling Elvis
I’m here all alone

The Wikipedia lists several pop references to the phrase, including the films The Usual Suspects and Independence Day. But it doesn’t mention Elvis is Dead by Living Colour [listen], which is the strongest reference for me.

Elvis is dead, 40 years today. Or as I read 40 years ago tomorrow, Elvis HAS left the building. Right? RIGHT?!

F is for fascists, white supremacists & other thugs

“God” Responds To White Supremacist Terrorists

The oddest political statement this weekend may have come from Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sunday. He said he’s not entirely sure why white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other groups feel DJT is sympathetic to their cause, that “they believe they have a friend in Donald Trump.”

The mayor of Charlottesville, VA knows why: There is a “direct line” between how President Donald Trump’s campaign played on the nation’s “worst prejudices” and the rioting that ended in the deaths of three people in his city, plus lots of other violence, Mayor Mike Signer said Sunday. “Look at the campaign he ran,” Signer told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I mean, look at the intentional courting, both on the one hand of all these white supremacists, white nationalists, a group like that, anti-Semitic groups, and then look on the other hand the repeated failure to step up, condemn, denounce, silence… put to bed all those different efforts, just like we saw [Saturday].”

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke knows why: At the start of “Unite the Right” rally kicked off in Charlottesville, Virginia, Duke said the gathering of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and far-right individuals pointed to a future fulfillment of Trump’s “promises.” For instance, when he picked Steve Bannon, who had been executive chair of “Breitbart News, a far-right news, opinion, and commentary website,” to participate in his campaign and then become his White House chief strategist.

Graham urged the Donald to immediately condemn the hate groups. “They are enemies of freedom,” but DJT “missed an opportunity” in his comments Saturday to disavow any relationship with racist organizations.

Or as John Oliver coarsely put it, ‘Idiot’ Trump Managed To Screw Up Disavowing Nazis. “Nazis are a lot like cats. If they like you, it’s probably because you’re feeding them.” Yet, DJT was able to lash out at an African-American C.E.O. who quit an advisory panel over the response to Charlottesville.

Meanwhile, several Republicans, including Orrin Hatch, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and even First Daughter Ivanka Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence, had strongly denounced the white supremacists and their allies, as did the chancellor of Germany. The “evil attack” by a driver on a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville was domestic terrorism, the attorney general said.

When the White House offered its weak tea rejection of the Nazis and their allies, Duke warned Trump, “Remember it was white Americans who put you in the presidency.” Trump did eventually recite something, too little and too late.

I understand that we need to talk to each other, but what does one say to someone at the rally so utterly oblivious to his xenophobia? These are people who fancy themselves the victims of the so-called politically correct assault on American democracy, “a false narrative that helped propel Mr. Trump to victory. Each feeds on the same demented lies about race and justice that corrupt true democracy and erode real liberty.”

Here a map of hate groups in the United States. It is mourning in America. “God” Responds To White Supremacist Terrorists.

The summer of financial planning: MEGO

I told our financial advisor straight off that the process was akin to going to the dentist.

What we did on my wife’s summer vacation: a whole lot of financial stuff.

For one thing, we worked on our will. The major, although by no means only, issue, is what would happen to the Daughter if something were to happen to both her mother AND her father. This is such happy business.

Then we worked with not one, but two financial planners. OK, I personally only went to one of them, trying to figure out how I can retire in a couple years and still be able to help the Daughter through college. And what would retirement look like, since I don’t play golf?

My young bride would also like to retire eventually, and she attended some additional workshops to get a better idea what her benefits would be.

We’re developing an “asset allocation strategy that is consistent with your risk tolerance, time horizon and investment objectives so there is coordination amongst all your investment so that all your accounts are working together vs independently.”

ZZZ, what?

My risk tolerance, it must be stated, is EXTREMELY low, When I was getting those quarterly statements during the great recession, the sole (not that much of an) upside was that others were taking even a worse financial bath.

I should note that my wife LOVES this stuff, reviewing our life insurance programs – she used to sell insurance before she became a teacher again. She taught for a couple years in the mid-1980s, then returned to it at the beginning of this century after back to graduate school.

But for me, MEGO – My Eyes Glaze Over. I told our financial advisor straight off that the process was akin to going to the dentist; it’s important but painful. That initial 100-minute meeting was probably twice what my attention span could take.

That said, he was surprised, given my stated disdain for the process, that I knew Stuff. Just because it bores me doesn’t mean I’m unaware.

Come September, our fun summer project will (I hope) blessedly be over.

Telling the Story of Two of Our Albany Political Prisoners

The case violated the men’s rights, from the use of secret evidence to the judge’s “targeting instruction” to the jury.

Attendees at the rally
Photo credit: Jeanne Finley

Telling the Story of Two of Our Albany Political Prisoners

Portraits of Injustice:
Yassin Aref and
Mohammed Hossain
August 2017 –
13 Years Later

“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.” ~ Montesquieu

by Jeanne Finley

Banner made in honor of Yassin Aref by Max Grieshaber. Photo credit: Jeanne Finley

August 4 marked the 13th anniversary of the arrests of Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain, two Albany Muslims who were arrested in 2004 and convicted in 2006 of terrorism after a phony “sting” operation. To commemorate the date, a coalition of activist groups held a rally, march, dinner, and panel discussion. Each year since the men’s convictions, the Muslim Solidarity Committee and Project SALAM have sponsored such an event so the community will not forget the men, their families, and the injustice done to all of them—and to us. This year we were joined in sponsorship by the Capital Region chapter of NCPCF and the Capital District Coalition Against Islamophobia, but representatives from several other peace and justice groups participated too.

Photo credit: Carl Strock

We started with a rally at the Masjid As-Salam on Central Ave., where Yassin was the imam (farther down Central Ave. was where Mohammed, a founding masjid member, ran his small pizza shop). Shamshad Ahmad, masjid president, addressed the crowd of nearly 100. Naturally once the march got underway, it began to rain. We planned to go only two blocks, to the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, but when we arrived everyone was pretty soaked (including cameras).

(Note: The photo at right was taken in front of Masjid As-Salam just before the rally began. Jeanne Finley is on the left. The man is Salah Muhiddin, Yassin’s oldest son.)

As soon as we arrived, of course the rain stopped. Thus we were grateful for a good dinner and for the peach pie dessert—which came with a story told by its originator, Michael Rice, a longtime supporter of Aref and Hossain. Michael planted a peach tree in 2007 at his farm in honor of the men. This year for the first time the tree promised peaches at harvest time—11 of them. Another supporter, Barbara Chapman Dworkin from the Interfaith Alliance, brought peach pies to note this hopeful sign––enough for second helpings for everyone.

L-R: Steve Downs, Carl Strock, Kathy Manley, Lynne Jackson. Photo credit: Jeanne Finley

The panel discussion, titled “Telling the Story of Two of Our Albany Political Prisoners,” featured attorney Steve Downs, who spoke about the necessity of community and how support for our Muslim community in particular is more important than ever.

Kathy Manley, Esq., Yassin’s appeal attorney and NCPCF Legal Director, spoke about the details of the case and how it violated the men’s rights, from the use of secret evidence to the judge’s “targeting instruction” to the jury – (“The government had good and valid reasons for targeting Mr. Aref, but that should not be a concern of yours.”)

Carl Strock, former columnist with the (Schenectady) Daily Gazette, spoke from a journalist’s perspective; he attended the trial, wrote several columns deploring the case up to and including sentencing day, and later received (along with his editors) a visit from the the FBI and the U.S. Attorney, who complained about the “intellectual dishonesty” of his writing.

Lynne Jackson, a community activist, described the effect of the trial on the men’s families and spoke passionately about the community’s response to the case. And Abuhamza Hossain, Mohammed Hossain’s oldest son, who at age 12 became the family’s media spokesman, was eloquent as he described his family’s resilience and hope through these long years of Mohammed’s absence. Questions, comments, and some emotional observations followed the panel.

Yassin will be released next year, in October; Mohammed’s release date is October 2020. We will continue to hold a remembrance event on August 4 every year until both men are free!

Note: For more photos of the event, click here.
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NCPCF Mission
Established in October 2010, the NCPCF is a coalition of national and local organizations as well as prominent individuals, whose mission is: To educate the public about the erosion of civil liberties and political freedoms in society; to provide legal advocacy and support for prisoners within the U.S. criminal justice system and their families targeted after 9/11; and to defend and preserve the rights of all people according to the U.S. Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Geneva Conventions

Reprinted, with permission, from the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms

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