A Comeback From Over the Rainbow

She keeps showing up though her name is rarely mentioned.  And that is how she prefers it. She is there in spirit.  Never an egotist, she spent her life being under appreciated, neglected, an ugly duckling (according to MGM), the girl next door, and a diamond in the rough waiting to be discovered.  Yet those qualities are what endeared her to audiences everywhere.  They could relate to her down to earth nature and innocence.

Her impact is still being felt in the world of entertainment.  Let me point out some sightings.  Last March at the Academy Awards she showed up twice (with still no mention of her name).  When they did a filmed bit featuring past Oscar song winners, a fan stated that “The Trolley Song” was her favorite as they played a clip of her singing it.  Then, at the end of the ceremony, they had a school choir from Harlem singing “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz” with the backdrop of the Emerald City and the four main characters following the yellow brick road.  That was her signature song (the number one movie song of all time, by the way.)

Speaking of “Over The Rainbow”, it was used to begin Oprah’s next to last show with young Jackie Evanko wearing red ruby slippers and Josh Grobin and Patti LaBelle crooning the tune.  It was really refreshing to hear “Over the Rainbow” with a gospel touch.  It must be one of Oprah’s favorites.

Then she showed up on “The O’Reilly Factor” of all places.  They were doing a segment on immigration and interviewing residents of San Francisco and they showed a clip of her as Dorothy from “the Wizard of Oz” saying “People come and go so quickly here.”

Another time I saw a picture of her as Dorothy next to Michelle Bachmann in an article for the Huffington Post that implied that Bachmann’s candidacy was the like the man behind the curtain pretending to be a wizard.

By now you probably know I am speaking about Judy Garland.  I don’t know if America is still fascinated by her or just the 1939 movie that is shown several times a year on network TV.  Maybe it’s both. But many credible show business elites consider her to be the entertainer of the century (I would say of all time.)

I got hooked on her when I was in a record store, minding my own business and her CD popped up begging for me to hear it.  I was her fan as a child so I bought it.

I am so glad I did.  I had no idea what a great artist she was.  So now I listen to her all the time in my car.  Then I went out and rented her movies and have come to realize what a phenomenal actress and dancer she was.  Her talent far exceeds Dorothy of Kansas although that wasn’t a bad way to start her career.  She is so much more than that winsome teen of the 1930s.  I am so happy that I am rediscovering her for my own entertainment.  And now she is popping up everywhere.

Another example is the day after I received her “Carnegie Hall” CD and started listening to it in my car.  I had an appointment with my hairdresser (also a Garland fan, no surprise there.)  While waiting to get my hair done, I was reading the May edition of “Vanity Fair” and up pops an article on her Carnegie Hall concert and the making of the CD.  Seems this is the 50^th Anniversary of that event.  Coincidence?  I think not. 

There’s even a picture of her as Dorothy Gale near the front of the magazine.  The title of the article is “Over The Rainbow and Then Some!”  I learned a lot of things I never knew about Judy from that article: that she was near death two years before that due to pills and alcohol and told by doctors that she must never work again.  Well, work she did.  Some who attended that Carnegie Hall concert called it “probably the greatest evening in show business history.”

Judy also recently made a guest appearance in “Glee”.  It was an episode titled “duets” and at the end of it, Rachel and Kurt recreated a collaboration sung by Barbra Streisand and Judy from the “Judy Garland Show” in 1963 called “Happy Days Are Here Again/ Get Happy”.  Again, their names were not mentioned although Rachel wore Barbra’s same outfit.  It’s featured on YouTube and someone blogged that “Kurt was channeling Judy.”  No doubt.

Judy had some turbulent times in her life, mostly related to a drug addiction forced on her by MGM.  But after every rough patch, she kept bouncing back as she made several well documented comebacks:  The 1954 movie "A Star Is Born", her concerts at the London Palladium, her 1961 Carnegie Hall concert and tour of America.   A fellow blogger pointed out once to me that she never really left so there is no reason for a comeback.  That may be true.  As Frank Sinatra once stated:  "We're all be forgotten, but not Judy."  Somewhere over the rainbow, she is smiling and plotting where she will pop up next.

Cantor Plays Politics With Disaster Relief Funds

As the weather gets nastier and deadlier with more and more record breaking tornadoes and floods and wildfires around the country, the majority party in the House of Representatives have done the unspeakable. They have played politics with Federal Disaster Aid. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Monday that tornado victims in Joplin, MO would only get emergency relief if money could be diverted from somewhere else in the federal budget.

The GOP are so obsessed with reducing the deficit and debt that they are losing their sense of moral priorities. While balancing spending sounds sensible, I just have three questions. Firstly, where were these Congressmen and women when the deficit started exploding in 2004when they took over Congress and a fellow Republican was in the White House? I heard nary a peep when billions were spent on two wars, a new Homeland Security Department, and tax breaks were given to corporations and the wealthy. Conservative fiscal responsibility? I think not.

Secondly, how can anyone in good conscience put disaster relief on the table? Is not the main function of government to protect and support its citizens? If FEMA funding is put to question, why not also the Pentagon spending or entitlements or tax reform (raising taxes for the top 1% and big business)?

Thirdly, why do the Republicans in the House want to ax a clean-car program to pay for the FEMA funds? The under-funded Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program at the Department of Energy was designed to help the nation wean off fossil fuels and also create cleaner air and cut down on CO2 emissions which, according to many scientists, contribute to global warming.

But the GOP have their heads in the sand, vehemently denying such a thing as climate change exists as thepolar caps are melting, islands are disappearing, oceans are getting warmer and rising while dangerous weather patterns over the globe are becoming more severe and more frequent.

The irony is that if more is not done to create green energy, cut CO2 emissions, and clean up polluted air and water, these climate related disasters will continue and in fact, worsen in numbers and size.

I believe part of the reason we are in such an economic mess is because we have had to pay so much in disaster funds over the last decade. In 2010, FEMA reported 81 disasters after having 60 years of averaging 33 a year. Economic damage exceeded $6.7 billion. And that doesn't include 2011 with its record tornadoes and floods. So yes, the cost should be scrutinized but solutions to prevent these weather events should be explored. Cutting green energy initiatives is not the answer. In fact, it is idiotic. It's like pouring gasoline on a burning barn.

As Brad Johnson from the Wonkroom put it, referring to the Joplin, MO tornado:

"The deadliest twister in U.S. history since 1947 is the latest multi-billion-dollar climate disaster in this season of unprecedented death and destruction. Scientists have warned for decades that our climate system would grow deadlier as greenhouse pollution from coal and oil increases, with greater floods, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and storms. Instead of responding to reality by mobilizing our nation to protect people from climate disasters and build a resilient, green economy, Republicans are keeping us tethered to big oil."

With the GOP in charge, it's a vicious circle of pollution caused climate disasters creating economic costs, cutting green energy (thus not bringing any solutions), leading to more weather related disasters etc.

No wonder everyone gave so much attention to Harold Camping who predicted the end of the world. The way we are going, it makes me fear for tomorrow's generations. I have heard many Republicans speak of how we are mortgaging our grandchildren's future with a mountain of debt. How about leaving them with a polluted planet with rising temperatures and continued natural disasters? Which is worse: debt or no planet? It's a no brainer to me. But then it is hard to see the light with one's head in the sand.

 

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