What to do about Woody?

I've been a huge Woody Allen fan since about '64 when I saw his hilarious stand up routine on Carson. He's right there with Robin, Rodney and Buddy Hackett as the only stand ups who could make me fall down laughing. He's a terrific jazz clarinetist...just check out the documentary 'Wild Man Blues' to see why. And the movies, 64 with 'A Rainy Day in New York' in process, represent among the greatest of directorial life works ever. Some are duds, but others, like 'Match Point', 'Zelig' and 'Bullets Over Broadway' are among my all time favorites. At 82, Allen is likely near the end of an amazing career. Now, some actors and movie folks are bailing on Woody, who, 25 years after the alleged events, is facing 'Me Too' backlash for adopted daughter Dylan's 1992 charge he sexually molested her during his messy breakup with Mia Farrow. Whether true or not (a Connecticut hospital's month long investigation determined Dylan wasn't abused), the episode is the one such blip on Allen's nine decade life, and he was never criminally charged. At this late stage we'll never know the truth unless Woody or Dylan recants their story. Some men forced off the public stage deserve their fate. Some don't and are victims themselves, a sad fate not only for them, but for those entertained or enlightened by their artistry. I, for one, plan to see 'A Rainy Day In New York', hoping it's a keeper...and not one of Woody's duds.

Easier to advocate against Bannon than support his speaking at UChicago

I'm sure the 1,000 plus UChicago alums signing a letter to President Bob Zimmer to cancel Steve Bannon's upcoming participation in a business school debate are sincere. And I doubt I could easily get 999 other UChicago alums to sign a letter advocating, as I have, for letting him speak. It may simply be the passion to deny a forum to an unlikable public social critic and tweak the establishment, in this case the vaunted bastion of free expression University of Chicago, exceeds that of those interested in hearing all sides of an issue. After reading the anti Bannon letter I'm more firmly convinced Bannon must be heard.

In arguing for banning Bannon the letter fails. It states "Stephen Bannon seeks to silence dissenting voices of large portions of society" without a word of substantiation. “Denying him a platform to speak at our university does not restrict our environment of fearless freedom of debate and deliberation; rather, it protects that environment.” How can the authors not comprehend that statement precisely restricts the UChicago environment of 'fearless freedom of debate and deliberation'? Would the thousand UChicago alums feel the same way if an Evangelical college banned Pentagon Papers purloiner Daniel Ellsberg or famed social critic Noam Chomsky from speaking because he might hurt the feelings and environment of sheltered Christian believers? Steve Bannon is not some unknown extremist troll hiding in anonymity and dug up to cause uproar. He may have been the most important single person responsible for electing the president, and served as his chief adviser and strategist. We ignore his views and appeal to tens of millions at our peril.

The story says the thousand letter signers go back decades. I suspect a substantial majority are fairly recent grads who, in spite of their UChicago education, still have much to learn about the high wire act of American freedom.

Ives to Trib: 'I can bust unions better than Rauner

State Rep Jeanne Ives revealed her mendacity toward working people in stark terms Monday in her Tribune Editorial Board faceoff with Governor Rauner. Dismissive of Rauner's attempts to degrade state union wages and working conditions, a signature Rauner initiative Ives supported, she scoffed at his first term failure. Asked how she could do better, Ives responded she'd fire them if they don't agree to her changes. Ives also took a swipe at Rauner's masculinity, charging he lied about not having a social agenda for Illinoisans in need, claiming he's simply taking orders from wife Diana to help folks Ives doesn't see, hear or care about. Ives dodged a proverbial bullet when the Trib failed to ask her if gays are still disordered, trying to weasel their way into acceptability; something she has argued must be resisted to save our children. Let's not make the same mistake with Ives some made about Trump...hoping he'd get the nomination because he'd be the easiest to defeat. Ives is vicious...and dangerous for Illinois.

Turkey doing Congress' work...kicking US out of Syria

Congress may look away while the US war party pours thousands of troops and tons of weaponry into the Kurdish area of Syria. The US, still smarting from 7 years of failure in changing the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad, simply ignores the Constitution, international law, Syrian sovereignty and common sense in its drive to keep Assad in its gun sights. But Turkey is doing with military threat what Congress should be doing with their Constitutional mandate; demanding the US pull out from our criminal, murderous and self destructive incursion in Syria. Turkey, still furious the US supports Kurdish forces trying to overthrow Assad, is telling Uncle Sam he'd better get the hell out of the Kurdish sector of Syria or US troops may be targeted in Turkey's efforts to degrade Kurdish forces they see as a threat to Turkish sovereignty and interests. Uncle may not be afraid of Congress, which has snoozed since 911 as the US military, headed by Bush, Obama and now Trump, rampages all over the Middle East and Africa without scrutiny. Body bags of US canon fodder coming home, courtesy of NATO ally Turkey, may have him rethink that policy...at least as far as our continued defiling of Syria.