In Rink Rats’ opinion an individual who just does their job
and helps their fellow citizens quietly and without fanfare is the true “dynamic”
person.
We would like to highlight one of these people this week,
Sula Vanderplank. Sula is a botanist who specializes in native plants. But she
is also a humanitarian, an environmentalist, a good pool player, and a
wonderful human being.
Like many of our Rink Rat followers what sets Sula apart is
she could care less about pats on the back and Facebook bragging. She cares
about her profession, her friends, and the world she inhabits. Her work in
research and cataloging native plants in Mexico and Southern California is
outstanding. Her photographs and journals of her experiences are truly a wonder
to view and read. Sula truly cares about her friends and their well-being.
This writer is truly blessed to have friends and colleagues
like Sula to share experiences, a beer, and friendship with. I just wish there
were more people like her.
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Mel
Blount (65), Andy Garcia (57), Ethel Kennedy (85), Julian Lennon (50).
BILL
CLINTON WATCH - "Former President Bill Clinton endorsed
Wendy Greuel to be Los Angeles' next mayor a few weeks back, saying that her
track record, including a stint working in his administration [as a senior
adviser at HUD, helping manage Northridge earthquake relief], makes her a
proven leader ... The support comes at a critical time in Greuel's campaign, as
she tries to move past a rocky stretch that included a staff shake-up and
continued questions about her ties to labor with less than two months to go
until the May 21 runoff with City Councilman Eric Garcetti. ... Clinton has
frequently endorsed people who have been loyal to his family, either helpful
during his time at the White House or supporters of his wife's unsuccessful
2008 presidential run. Greuel fits both categories."
ANTHONY
LEWIS, 1927-2013: Reporter Brought Law to Life, Anthony Lewis, a
former New York Times reporter and columnist whose work won two Pulitzer Prizes
and transformed American legal journalism, died on Monday at his home in
Cambridge, Mass. He was 85. The cause was complications of renal and heart
failure, said his wife, Margaret H. Marshall, a retired chief justice of the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. ... His column, called 'At Home Abroad'
or 'Abroad at Home' depending on where he was writing from, appeared on the
Op-Ed page of The Times for more than 30 years, until 2001. His voice was
liberal, learned, conversational ... Before Mr. Lewis started covering the
Supreme Court, press reports on its decisions were apt to be pedestrian
recitations by journalists without legal training, rarely examining the court's
reasoning or grappling with the context and consequences of particular rulings.
Mr. Lewis's ... articles were virtual tutorials about currents in legal
thinking, written with ease and sweep ...
"Lewis's coverage of the Warren court helped expand as
well as explain its impact ... Joseph Anthony Lewis ... joined The Times as an
editor in what was then the paper's Sunday department, but he left after four
years to work on Adlai Stevenson's 1952 presidential campaign. After that he
was hired by The Washington Daily News, a lively afternoon tabloid, and won his
first Pulitzer there, in 1955, when he was 28. The prize was for a series of
articles on Abraham Chasanow, a Navy employee unjustly accused of being a
security risk. The Navy eventually cleared and reinstated Mr. Chasanow, who
credited Mr. Lewis's work for his vindication. Mr. Lewis returned to The Times
that year, hired by James B. Reston, the Washington bureau chief, to cover the
Justice Department and the Supreme Court. Mr. Reston soon sent him off to
Harvard Law School on a Nieman Fellowship ... to study law ...
"Bringing independent intellectual scrutiny to news
coverage was an innovation often associated with Mr. Reston, who was known as
Scotty. ... 'Scotty ran interference' for Mr. Lewis's 'analytical reporting,
moving away from sterile news agency "objectivity,"' said Max Frankel,
a former executive editor ... In 1969, Mr. Reston, after a brief stint as The
Times's executive editor, called Mr. Lewis [then London bureau chief] to offer
him the No. 2 spot at the paper under Mr. Reston's eventual successor, A. M.
Rosenthal. But the job was not Mr. Reston's to offer ... The paper's publisher,
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, apologized to Mr. Lewis and offered him a consolation
prize. 'Out of the ashes of the Reston-Rosenthal wars arose a columnist who
occupied a part of the Op-Ed page for more than three decades,' Mr. Reston's
biographer, John F. Stacks, wrote ... Lewis's first marriage, to Linda J.
Rannells, ended in divorce. The couple had three children, Eliza, David and
Mia, who survive him, along with seven grandchildren. Chief Justice Marshall,
whom Mr. Lewis married in 1984, wrote the Massachusetts court's landmark
decision in 2003 recognizing a right to same-sex marriage. She retired in 2010
to care for her husband - 'so that Tony and I may enjoy our final seasons
together."
POPE
FRANCIS AFTER 3 WEEKS - "Pope's foot-wash a final straw for
traditionalists, Pope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his
simple style and focus on serving the world's poorest, but he has devastated
traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring
much of the traditional pomp to the papacy. Francis' decision to disregard
church law and wash the feet of two girls -- a Serbian Muslim and an Italian
Catholic -- during a Holy Thursday ritual has become something of the final
straw, evidence that Francis has little or no interest in one of the key
priorities of Benedict's papacy: reviving the pre-Vatican II traditions of the
Catholic Church. ... Virtually everything he has done since being elected pope,
every gesture, every decision, has rankled traditionalists in one way or
another. The night he was chosen pope, March 13, Francis emerged from the
loggia of St. Peter's Basilica without the ermine-rimmed red velvet cape, or
mozzetta, used by popes past for official duties, wearing instead the simple
white cassock of the papacy. ...
"Francis ... received the cardinals' pledges of
obedience ... not from a chair on a pedestal as popes normally do but rather
standing, on their same level ... Traditionalists ... fondly recall the days
when popes were carried on a sedan chair ... In the days since, he has called
for 'intensified' dialogue with Islam ... The church's liturgical law holds
that only men can participate in the [foot-washing] rite, given that Jesus'
apostles were all male. Priests and bishops have routinely petitioned for
exemptions to include women, but the law is clear. Francis, however, is the
church's chief lawmaker, so in theory he can do whatever he wants. ... The
inclusion of women in the rite is problematic for some because it could be seen
as an opening of sorts to women's ordination. ... Francis is clearly opposed to
women's ordination."
THE
PRESIDENTS CLUB TO CONVENE - "Obama, Both Bushes, Clinton and
Carter, the 'World's Most Exclusive Club,' to Reunite: On April 25, President
Barack Obama will be united with his four living predecessors [and their five
spouses] in Dallas for the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at
Southern Methodist University ... [B]oth Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama
will be on hand when the 43rd President's library and museum are dedicated. The
last time all five met was in January 2009 before Obama was sworn in, in a
meeting and lunch hosted by Bush in the Oval Office ... The opening of a
presidential library is traditionally attended by the living and former
Presidents, with one memorable exception. Carter skipped the 1990 opening of
the Nixon library in Yorba Linda, Calif., citing scheduling conflicts."
COLLEGE
HOCKEY PICK OF THE WEEK – Friday April 12, 4:30 PM ET, ESPN2: the
national NCAA semifinal – Yale Bulldogs (20-2-3) vs. Mass-Lowell River Hawks
(28-10-2). In what is a very surprising NCAA hockey playoffs, where the Eastern
teams are winning, this should be a good one. Yale (ECAC) has been a true
surprise, with senior Andrew Miller (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) leading the
way. We like Yale to win over the River Hawks, 4-2, and go on to win the NCAA
title. Go ECAC!! (Season to date (9-5)
SPORTS
BLINK: Double jinx? Like Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine
picks the Washington Nationals to win the World Series. ESPN The Mag says Nats
beat Detroit Tigers; SI had Tampa Bay Rays in Series.
RINT
RATS MLB 2013 PICKS – American League: (East) Tampa Bay Rays,
(Central) Detroit Tigers, (West) Los Angeles Angels, (Wild Card) New York
Yankees, Texas Rangers. National League: (East) Washington Nationals, (Central)
St. Louis Cardinals, (West) Los Angeles Dodgers, (Wild Card) Atlanta Braves,
San Francisco Giants. World Series: Detroit Tigers to win over the Los Angeles
Dodgers.
THE
SWAMI’S TOP PICKS: ice –
(NCAA) Yale 4 Mass-Lowell 2, golf - (Masters) Tiger to win at 12 under par. Season
to date (65-37)
REMEMBERING
MARGARET THATCHER - "Mrs. Thatcher, the sharp-tongued
veteran political operator, and Mr. Reagan, the genial outsider from
California, may have seemed too different in style to mesh personally. But they
shared humble working-class backgrounds ... and they were ideological soul
mates, on both economic policy and international affairs. They also were linked
by their successful, parallel efforts to launch conservative revolutions that
upended long periods of more liberal governance ... They rose to power 18
months apart on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and their ascension was seen as
heralding a new conservative wave across the Western democratic world. Indeed,
Mrs. Thatcher and Mr. Reagan were followed to power by Helmut Kohl in Germany
and, in France, by François Mitterrand, who, though a leftist by ideological
background, sometimes proved nearly as hawkish when it came to relations with
the Soviet Union. Together, Mrs. Thatcher and Mr. Reagan began exerting
pressures on the Soviet Union that helped speed its unwinding." Free in
Google; paste in headline
RINK RATS BOOB TUBE REVIEW: Don Draper: Stuck in place as 'Mad Men' drifts. The
two-hour opener [for the sixth season] was ... a disappointment - even annoying
- for how much it demanded from the viewer and how little it offered in return.
... Ad man Don Draper (series star Jon Hamm), though still married to his
adoring mate Megan (Jessica Pare), was still tormented, brooding -- and
philandering. As his inaugural tryst of 1968, Don cheated with the wife of a
physician neighbor who was called away from the Drapers' New Year's Eve party
on a medical emergency. ... Meanwhile, Don's agency partner Roger Sterling
(John Slattery) was still gin-soaked and sardonically bleak. ... Don and Roger
and the other principals of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce took turns posing for
company photos. Their individual portraits seemed to capture what's happened to
many of these characters: They operate more than ever in isolated spheres, barely
able to relate to one another, barely able, it seems, to even stand one
another."
DRIVING
THE WEEK - Congress is back! The initial focus will be on guns and
immigration but budget issues will also percolate ... President Obama's FY2014
budget, which Republicans have already dismissed as dead on arrival for
including new revenue in addition to Social Security and Medicare cuts, is due
on Wednesday ... US Chamber of Commerce holds its annual Capital Markets Summit
on Wednesday. M.M. hosts a panel in the afternoon on the regulatory environment
featuring heads of many of the big financial industry lobby groups (more info
below) ... First quarter earnings start today when Alcoa reports. JP Morgan
Chase and Wells Fargo kick off bank earnings season on Friday ... Fed Chair Ben
Bernanke today keynotes the Atlanta Fed's Financial Markets Conference ...
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew today begins a two-trip to meet with European
economic officials to urge a renewed focus on growth over austerity ...
NFIB survey on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. EDT expected to dip to
90.5 from 90.8 ... Treasury budget at 2 p.m. Wednesday expected to show deficit
of $109 billion in March down from $198 billion mostly due to calendar effects
plus they payroll tax hike and spending cuts ... FOMC minutes at 2 p.m.
Wednesday expected to show no change in policy ... Initial jobless claims at
8:30 a.m. Thursday expected to reverse some of last week's big jump, dropping
to 360,000 from 385,000 ... Retail sales at 8:30 a.m. on Friday expected to be
flat ... Univ. of Michigan consumer sentiment expected to tick up to 78.8 from
78.6 ... Senate Banking subcommittee on Thursday holds a hearing on the use of
independent consultants in home foreclosures ...
WALL STREET WEEK - "With U.S. companies set to begin
reporting first-quarter results on Monday, big investors are shaking off
lukewarm profit forecasts and gloomy economic data and betting that
central-bank action will help keep stocks rolling. ... On Friday, the Commerce
Department is scheduled to release its retail-sales report for March. Those
figures may show whether consumers' surprising resilience this year is likely
to persist.
Next week; On the Cheap, words of the month.
Until Next Monday, Adios!
La Quinta, CA
April 8, 2013
#III-51, 156
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