My heartfelt warning to America

"There is no federal law prohibiting CURRENT presidents from criminal prosecution. Yet House Republicans want to pass a law prohibiting FORMER presidents — regular citizens — from criminal prosecution. I assume they will call it what it is: the Protect Donald Trump Act."

- Daniel Goldman, U.S. House of Representatives, 10th Congressional District, New York, Democrat

This is a cry from the heart from a deeply concerned Canadian. I am profoundly disturbed by the political landscape in the country next door to mine.  If, God help us all, Donald Trump should become president of the United States again, we will witness the end of democracy in the "land of the free and the home of the brave."  Democracy can be fragile and it must be nurtured.  Sadly, Trump and his spineless Republican colleagues are chipping away at the pillars of democracy every day.  The rise of the far right in the United States has spilled into Canada.  A case in point is the so called "Freedom Convoy" protest in Ottawa that brought that city to a standstill.

What is wrong with America?  What has happened to civility?  Why have mass shootings became a common occurrence in the United States?  How can people claim to be free when they don't feel safe anywhere?  What has happened to American democracy?  Why hasn't a man like  Donald Trump been banned from public office?  Trump behaves like a mob boss.  He is vengeful, mean-spirited and cruel.  His behaviour is erratic and I believe that he is fundamentally unstable and sociopathic.  He incites violence and his most loyal supporters are racist and ant-Semitic.

How can Donald Trump claim that he does not support violence when his actions prove otherwise?  With a possible indictment pending, the Republican former president has ramped up his rhetoric, warning that "potential death & destruction" would accompany any indictment.  He also posted a photograph of himself holding a baseball bat beside a photo of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.  Trump referred to Bragg, Manhattan's first Back D.A., as an "animal."  This was too much even for the New York Post, a conservative tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch.  The Post published an editorial denouncing Trump.

Trump won the election of 2016, due to the unfair and outdated Electoral College system in the United States.  The Republican Party will not allow the system to be changed.  Its only path to power is via Electoral College and by gerrymandering electoral maps.  Instead of becoming more inclusive,  the party of Abraham Lincoln, has become a party led primarily by white males.  It has not adjusted to the rapidly changing demographics of America.  Instead of making itself more attractive and relevant to Blacks, Latinos, Asians, immigrants and women, it has embraced a far right agenda.  It endavours to suppress votes, rather than encourage participation in the democratic process.

The Republican Party is no longer the Grand Old Party.  It is the  party of right wing extremists, gun lovers, hate mongers and Q-Anon conspiracy believers.  The face of the party now belongs to the likes of Trump supporters Josh Hawley, Margorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, Lauren Boebart and Paul Gosar.  If Ike Eisenhower were alive today, he wouldn't recognize his own party.  He'd be appalled.  These are not traditional conservatives.  They are far right MAGA Republicans.  By the way, "Make America Great Again" is a Trumps dog whistle for "Make America White Again".  Exactly when did America lose its greatness?

In 2016, Hillary Clinton officially won the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million.  Yet, the will of almost 2.9 million Americans was cast aside due to the Electoral College.  Still, Hillary Clinton conceded defeat and did not claim the presidency.  She did not yell and scream, "Stop the Steal." 

Trump is clearly an authoritarian.  He admires Vladimir Putin of Russia, Jim Jong-un of North Korea and Xi Jinping of China.  They are his heroes and they are all brutal dictators.  He aspires to be like them.  He would love to stand before a military parade as a great authoritarian.  The only thing standing in his way, should he become president again, is the United States Constitution.  Authoritarians and dictators can certainly find ways to get around constitutional law.

Donald Trump is the first American president who declined to peacefully hand over the reigns of power after losing an election to Joe Biden.  The peaceful transfer of power after an election is a cornerstone of democracy.  On January 6, 2021, Trump followers stormed Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.  I saw the images with my own ideas.  The picture that Tucker Carlson paints of the angry mob to his Fox News viewers is patently false and deceptive.  I saw what happened with my own eyes, as did countless others.  I am sane and clear-thinking.  That mob was out for blood and they would have killed former Vice President Mike Pence if they had been able to get their hands on him.  Donald Trump could have stopped the insurrection, but he chose not to.  In fact, he hoped it would succeed in preventing the certification of Joe Biden as president.

How can people of faith, particularly Evangelicals and Catholics, support a man whose behaviour is so un-Christian?  His gods are money and power.  He has lied and cheated his whole life.  "What's new about that?" you may say ask "Don't most politicians lie and cheat?"  Yes, many do.  However, Trump has taken lying and cheating to a new level. He makes Richard Nixon seem like a boy scout.  His transgressions are far more serious than Nixon's.  Yet, Nixon was forced to resign.  Meanwhile, Trump is running for president again.

Check out these facts.:

* Just before the 2016 election, Trump bragged about groping women. He dismissed it as "locker room talk."  

* Trump has branded Putin and Xi as "very smart people/"

* During the first 2020 presidential debate, Trump did not condemn white supremacy when asked.to do so.  He told the Proud Boys, a far-right hate group, to "stand back and stand by."  Of course, the Proud Boys considered those words an endorsement of them.

* Trump is the first American president to be indicted twice.  He is facing four criminal investigations: 

The Stormy Daniels hush money investigations (Manhattan District Attorney's Office).

The Georgia 2020 election interference investigation (Fulton County District Attorney's Office)

A pair of investigations into Trump's actions around January 6th and his mishandling of classified documents (the U.S. Department of Justices).

Ah, but poor Donald!  He never does anything wrong.  He never makes a mistake and he never loses.  He is always the victim.  His enemies (not opponents) are out to get him.  He can't get a break from all those "witch hunts."

Fox News is responsible for feeding its viewers a steady diet of lies and false narratives.  The network tells its watchers exactly what they want to hear.  Regardless of Donald Trump's actions, his deluded and brainwashed base will never change  Their support of Trump is not based on facts or on truth.  It is based on emotion.  It is based on fear.  They are afraid of losing their power and influence to non0wwhites and immigrants.

Trump's adherents would kill for him, even though he would throw them under a bus if it would save his own skin.  Their Dear Leader once said that he could murder someone on Fifth Avenue and his supporters would still stand by him.  How true!  That is why I appeal to all conservatives who respect the rule of law to oppose Trump's candidacy for president in the 2024 election.  

In a democracy, country should come before party.  Loyalty should be to country, not to one man such as Donald Trump.  No one is above the law, be that person a president, a prime minister, a king or a queen.  The scales of justice apply to all, including one Donald J. Trump.  For the sake of justice, for the sake of democracy, this disgraced former president must be held accountable before the law. To many, he may seem invincible.  But he is not.  Soon or later, the law will catch up with him.  

- Joanne

The link between mental health and homelessness

Earlier this week, I had lunch with some friends and acquaintances at a local restaurant.  The subject of homelessness came up during a conversation about some of the issues facing the city of Toronto as the June 26th byelection for mayor draws closer.  Two of my lunch companions immediately slammed the homeless. They claimed that the homeless preferred to be without shelter, that they chose to live that way.  I begged to differ and I tried to point out to them that most are not homeless by choice, but by circumstance,  Unfortunately, my companions had bought into a false narrative about the homeless.

I do not dispute that many homeless people prefer living on the street rather than in a shelter.  They can't stomach the conditions in a shelter and the lack of privacy.  However, the majority do not wish to live in abject poverty.  Who really enjoys being hungry?  Who really enjoys freezing outside in cold winter weather or in a sweltering during a summer heat wave?  People become homeless for a variety of reasons.  Every homeless person has a different story.  So, why are they all lumped together.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada estimates that between 25 percent and 50 percent of homeless people in Canada suffer from mental illness.  Out of those with severe mental illness, up to 70 percent struggle with substance abuse. Sadly, those with mental illness experience homelessness for longer periods of time and have less contact with family and friends.  

With the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the high cost of food and rent, is it any wonder that homelessness is so prevalent, especially among the mentally ill?  In the city of Toronto, where I live, there have been calls to declare homelessness a public health crisis.  The Ontario Human Rights Commission has expressed concern about the "significant lack of cold weather services in Toronto." 

South of the border, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that 20 to 25 percent of homeless population of the United States suffer rom some form of severe mental illness.  The National Coalition for the Homeless has found that 38 percent of the homeless are dependent on alcohol and 26 percent are dependent on chemical substances.  Addiction is frequently the result of homelessness.  Mental illness, alcohol and drug addiction are not crimes or moral failings.  They are illnesses.  They are diseases.

Although little more than one percent of the U.S. population suffers from schizophrenia, the estimates go as high as high as 20 percent of the homeless population.  There is definitely a correlation between schizophrenia and homeless, especially since many, for a number of reasons, do not take anti-psychotic medication.

Dealing with mental illness is deeply personal for me as I have a close family member who suffers from mental illness.  He is unable to work and is often filled with anxiety.  If it weren't for the support of his family, he would probably be homeless and living on the street.  Not every mentally ill person is fortunate enough to have the support of a family.  Not every mentally ill person has access to medical care.  Many youths end up on the street to escape an abusive home life.

More and better services and safe, affordable housing are needed for the mentally ill.  A clearer  understanding of the nature and causes of homelessness is urgently required.  Our society must deal with the link between mental illness and homelessness.

- Joanne

The Pebble Art of Erzsébet {Elizabeth) Furman

I am very impressed by the "pebble art" of  Erzsébet {Elizabeth) Furman. That is why I wish to share it with Number 16 readers. It is so beautiful that I want others to enjoy the work of this talented Hungarian artist. Check out her Facebook page. (20+) Kavicsművészet, Kavicsképek - Pebble Art by Erzsébet Furmen | Facebook

Elizabeth Furman combines art with storytelling.  To enjoy more of her work, click on the following link.

An Artist Turns Pebbles Into Works of Art That Seem to Have Stories Behind Them (25 Pics) / Bright Side

- Joanne

Language Corner: What does the prefix "ortho" mean?

 

What does the prefix "ortho" mean?

The prefix ortho is derived from the Greek word orthos, meaning "right, true, straight, upright."

Examples include:

Orthodontics (noun): The branch of dentistry concerned with the treatment of irregularities of the teeth or jaws.

Orthondontic (adjective): Serving to correct or straighten the teeth.  

Orthodontist (noun): An orthodontics specialist.  A dentists who is qualified to treat irregularities of the teeth or jaws.  The orthodontist informed you that you needed braces.

Orthopedics (noun):  The branch of medicine dealing with the correction of deformities of bones or muscles.

Orthopedic (adjective) is derived from the Greek roots ortho and pedo, meaning child.  The word was coined by French physician Nicolas Andry do Bois Regard (also known as Nicholas Andry), a professor of medicine at the University of Paris.  Originally the term meant the correcting of bones or muscles of a child.  

Orthotic (nonun): An artificial support or brace for the limbs or spine, especially a supportive device inserted into a shoe, most commonly to stabilize the foot, correct alignment and provide cushioning

Orthodoxy (noun) is derived from the Greek term orthodoxia, meaning righteous/correct opinion.  It is the adherence to strict or accepted creeds, especially with regards to religious beliefs.  Hence, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church or Orthodox Judaism.

Orthodox (adjective): Of a person or their views, especially religious or political ones, or other beliefs or practices} conforming to what is conventionally or traditionally accepted as right, true, established and approved

- Joanne

Number 16's Oscars Quiz 2023

The 95hh Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2023.  The live show will start at 8 p.m. on ABC and will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.  It will also be live-streamed on the ABC app.  This year's Oscars will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.  As you prepare for the big night, why not challenge yourself and try Number 16's 11th annual Oscars quiz. There are 10 questions. Good luck!

NUMBER 16 OSCARS QUIZ

1.  Brad Pitt did not receive an Oscar nomination this year for his performance in the film Babylon.  Has he ever been awarded an Academy Award.  If so, how many Oscars has Brad Pitt won?

A.  Three

B.  One

C.  Two

D.  Four

E.  None

2.  Jimmy Kimmel will host the Academy Awards this year.  He has hosted the Oscars twice before.  When was the last time he hosted the ceremonies?

Jimmy Kimmel

A.  2017

B.  2018

C.  2016

D.  2021

E.  2015

3.  What was the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Makeup?

A.  The Wizard of Oz

B.  Planet of the Apes

C.  Amadeus

D.  An American Werewolf in London

E.   The Fly

4.  Who took a tumble on her way up the stairs at the Academy Awards in 2013?

A.  Jennifer Lawrence

B.  Anne Hathaway

C.  Jennifer Aniston

D.  Tina Fey

E.  Natalie Portman

5.  For which film was Lauren Bacall nominated for an Oscar?

A.  Key Largo

B.  To Have and Have Not

C.  The Mirror Has Two Faces

D.  How to Marry a Millionaire

E.  The Big Sleep

6.  Who received the longest standing ovation at the Academy Awards?

A.  Sidney Poitier

B.  Judy Garland

C.  Shirley Temple

D.  Alfred Hitchcock

E.  Charlie Chaplin

7.  What is the name of of the 1944 film for which Bing Crosby won the Best Actor Oscar? 

Bing with Oscar

A.  Holiday Inn

B.  Gong My Way

C.  White Christmas

D.  The Bells of St. Mary's

E.   High Society

8.  Which was the first film version of a Shakespeare play to win an Academy Award for Best Picture?

A.  Julius Caesar

B.  Romeo and Juliet

C.  Macbeth

D.  Hamlet

E.  Antony and Cleopatra

9  Which film  had a production budget estimated to be about $280 million.  It was nominated for nine Academy Awards.  It won three.

A.  Avatar

B.  Titanic

C.  Spider-Man 3

D.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

E.   Avengers: Age of Ultron

10.  In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director.  What is the name of the film that earned her an Academy Award?

Bigelow with Oscar 2010

A.  Lyndon

B.  Nomadland

C  The Hurt Locker

D  The Matrix

E.  Selma.  

ANSWERS

1.  C

Two

Brad Pitt with 2020 Oscar

Brad Pitt has won two Oscars.  In 2014, he won a shared Best Picture Oscar as one of the producers of  12 Years a Slave.  In 2020, he received another Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as stuntman Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

2.  B

2018

On March 12th Jimmy Kimmel will  host the Academy Awards for the third time.  He has previously hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018.  The first time he hosted, the awards featured the famous Best Picture mix-up.  Presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway accidentally announced that La La Land  had win the Oscar for Best Picture, when the the actual winner was Moonlight.

3.  D

An American Werewolf in London

Special Achievement Oscars were awarded twice to makeup artists for 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) and Plant of the Apes (1968).  However, the Academy Award for Best Makeup was first given out in 1981, thanks to the film Elephant Man.  There were complaints when the makeup achievements of Elephant Man were unacknowledged the year before.

Beginning in 1993, the name of the award was changed to Best Makeup and Hairstyling.  It was to be shared with hairstylists if hair effects "contribute greatly to the appearance and effect of the characters."

4.  A

Jennifer Lawrence

There was an awkward moment at the 2013 Academy Awards when Jennifer Lawrence took a slight tumble on the steps on her way up to receive her award for Best Actress.  The moment went viral and Jennifer, of course, just laughed it off.

5.  C

The Mirror Has Two Faces

Bacall in The Mirror . . .

In 1997, Lauren Bacall received her first Oscar nomination at the age of 72.  She was nominated in the category of Best Supporting Actress for her role as Hannah, the vain, overbearing mother of Barbra Streisand's character in The Mirror Has Two Faces.  Bacall was widely expected to win, but the Best Supporting Actress went to Juliette Binoche for her performance in The English Patient.  The English Patient, a tragic World War II-era romance, dominated the awards that year, winning nine out of 12 nominations, including Best Picture.

In 2010, Lauren Bacall received an Academy Honorary Award.  She died in 2014 at the age of 89.

6.  E

Charlie Champlin

Charlie Chaplin with Oscar

Charlie Chaplin received a 12-minute standing ovation at the Oscars in 1972 when he was given the honourary award.

7.  B

Going My Way

Crosby (Left) and Fitzgerald}in Going My Way

In 1945, Bing Crosby received an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the 1944 film Going My Way.  Crosby won for his portrayal of  Father Chuck O'Malley, a young priest who is assigned to a church in New York.  The paster, played by Barry Fitzgerald, takes a dislike to O'Malley's casual style, and the younger priest tries to win him over.

In 1946, Crosby was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the 1945 film The Bells  of St. Mary's.  He once again portrayed Father O'Malley, becoming the firs actor to be twice nominated for an Oscar for portraying the same character. However, the winner that year was Ray Milland for his performance in The Lost Weekend.

In 1955, Bing Crosby was nominated for Best Actor in a Lead Role for his performance opposite Grace Kelly and William Holden in the 1954 film The Country Girl.  Marlon Brando won the Oscar for On The Waterfront.

8.  D

Hamlet

Olivier as Hamlet

The 1948 British film adaptation of Hamlet, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Olivier won for Best Actor.  Olivier was not present at the 1949 awards ceremony and Robert Montgomery accepted the award on his behalf.  Hamlet was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

9,  A

Avatar

Scene from Avatar

Avatar, a 2009 science fiction epic was officially budgeted at $237 million, due to its groundbreaking, dazzling special effects.  Oher estimates, however, put the cost of the James Cameron film at between $280 million  and $310 million, and at $150 million for promotion.  Although Avatar did not win an Oscar for Best Picture or for Best Director, it did receive Academy Awards for Art Direction, Cinematography and Visual Effects.

10.  C 

The Hurt Locker

Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director in 2010 for her Iraqi war thriller, The Hurt Locker.  She was only the fourth woman to receive a Best Director nomination - the others being Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation (2004), Jane Campion for The Piano (1994) and Lina Wertmüller for Pasqualino Settebellezze "Seven Beauties" (1977)

Kathryn Bigelow beat out her ex-husband, James Cameron who was also nominated that year Best Director for his 3-D epic, Avatar.  The Hurt Locker won six Oscars, including Best Picture, out of a total of nine nominations.  However, it did not do as well at the box office, It is estimated to have earned $21 million at the box office, less than two per cent of what Avatar earned in tick sales in the same year.

- Joanne

Inflation, politicians and climate change

It's not hard to understand why so many Canadians are frustrated and frightened.  They are concerned about kitchen table issues.  After all, they have to put food on the table.  They have to feed their families.  So, imagine that you are a low income worker.  You don't earn much more than minimum wage and you are living from paycheque to paycheque.  Your rent has increased or you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments.  Inflation has eaten away at your income and you haven't gotten a significant raise for quite a while.  Although inflation has eased as of late, the cost of food is still rising.  That's the most important item for you and your family. 

When you check the morning news, you read the following headline: "Loblaw Companies reports $529 M Q4 profit, revenue up nearly 10 per cent."  You read the first paragraph.  It says that Loblaws Companies Ltd. has announced that it earned a profit available to common shareholders of $529 million in its latest quarter as its revenue rose nearly 10 per cent compared to  a year ago.  You can't help but feel angry.  Certainly, it's not all Loblaw's fault and the pandemic has a great deal to do with it.  Yet, you can't help feeling the unfairness of it all.  You can't help feeling that companies such as Loblaw's are making excessive profits at your expense.  

Most of our politicians have not faced a situation like that - certainly not Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Ontario Premier Doug Ford - but it's very real for many people in this country and in this province.  This should not be happening in a country as rich in resources as Canada or a province as industrious as Ontario.  South of the border, former U.S. president Donald Trump was born with a siler spoon in his mouth and has shown no empathy for lower income Americans.  Current American president, Joe Biden, grew up in a family that struggled financially.  His father had to move his brood from Pennsylvania, where Joe was born, to Delaware, in order to find employment.  

This is certainly not to say that people who are well off don't have any empathy for those who are struggling financially.  It's just easier to identify with the less wealthy if you've been there.  There are obvious exceptions such as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.  She was a grocer's daughter, not a child of privilege.  Yet, she never showed much empathy for lower income Brits.

Sadly, kitchen table issues have put environmental issues on the backburner for many people.  However, climate change is not going to disappear anytime soon.  It has to be dealt with sooner rather than later.  For example, Premier Ford's proposed Highway 413 has to be stopped.  If it goes through it will be an environmental disaster for Ontario's precious Greenbelt.

This year, the Rideau Canal Skateway, the world's largest skating rink, did not open for the first time in the history of Ottawa's Winterlude festival, due to fluctuating weather patterns and warm temperatures.

This winter, instead of flooding, a long stretch of low tides has left the ancient city of Venice with low water and dry canals.  Many of its waterways are unnavigable for gondolas and other boats.  Some canals have been reduced to muddy pits.

Although Venice's problems have been attributed on a high pressure weather system that has lingered for weeks over Western Europe, environmental groups have warned that the Alps have received half their usual snowfall this winter.  This has caused concern that Italy could face another summer of dry rivers.

This is why, despite inflation and the pandemic, climate change can't be left on the backburner. 

- Joanne

The Life and Times of Bobby Rydell

 "I can't complain at all about my career. You know, it's had its ups and downs, it peaks and valleys, so on, so forth. But I've survived through all of that, and I'm continuing to do what I really enjoy doing."

- Bobby Rydell

Interview with the Philadelphia Sun Sentinel, July 21, 2016

In the 1960s, "Bobby" was a popular name among singers and teen idols.  There was Bobby Darin, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Curtola, Bobby Vee and Bobby Rydell.  Sadly, except for 87-year-old Bobby Vinton, they have all passed away.: Bobby Darin in 1973, Bobby Curtola in 2016, Bobby Vee in 2016 and Bobby Rydell just last year.  

Bobby Rydell was born Robert Louis Ridarelli in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 26, 1942.  He was the son of Jennie Ridarelli (nee Sapienza), a homemaker, and, Aldo "Al"  Ridarelli, a foreman in a machine shop.  Both of his parents were of Italian descent. and Bobby grew up in the Lower Moyamensing neighbourhood of South Philadelphia. 

Bobby and his mother, Jeannie

Bobby was a teen idol and part of the Philly music scene which also produced Frankie Avalon and Fabian Forte.  He was known for songs such as "Wild One" and "Volare," and for his portrayal of Hugo Peabody in the 1963 film adaption of the musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie in which he co-starred with Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret and Janet Leigh.

Bobby's father, Al, sparked his musical interest by bringing him to see the jazz bands of Arte Shaw and Benny Goodman.  At the age of seven, Bobby began playing the drums and singing in nightclubs in Philadelphia and New Jersey.

As a pre-adolescent, Bobby won a talent contest on the TV series Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club.  The nine-year-old won a spot in the cast, where he remained for several years.  Whiteman, a bandleader, had difficulty pronouncing "Ridarelli"  and Bobby's last name was anglicized to "Rydell."

As a teen, Bobby played in several bands in the Philadelphia area, such as Rocco and the Saints, for which he was the drummer.  Frankie Avalon was also a member of Rocco and the Saints and he played trumpet for the group.  

Bobby eventually signed a recording contract, and in1959, at the age of 16, his first hit, "Kissin' Time," appeared on the Billboard 100 .  According to a statement by his representatives at the time of his death, Bobby 34 Top 100 hits and over 25 million album sales during his career.

Bobby frequently appeared on television as a singer and an actor.  By the age of 17, the kid from South Philly with the high pompadour was a fixture on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.  

Below is a photo of Bobby with Dick Clark and fellow teen idols: From left: Fabian, Dick, Clark, Bobby and Frankie Avalon

Bobby appeared in a 1960 episode of The Danny Thomas Show entitled "The Singing Delinquent" (Season 7, Episode 29, Air Date: April 18, 1960).  He portrayed a talented young singer with a bad attitude, whom Danny tries to help.

Below is a photo of Bobby in a scene from The Danny Thomas Show in which he sings "All of Me."

During the golden age of the television variety show, Bobby was a guest on shows hosted by Red Skelton, Jack Benny, Perry Como and George Burns.  Bobby also appeared in a 1964 episode of Combat!, an hour-long World War II drama series.  He portrayed Mickey Shay in an episode entitled "The Duel."

The British Invasion of 1964 had a negative impact on Bobby's career as a teen idol.  The arrival of The Beatles and their British counterparts changed the pop scene dramatically.  However, Bobby did have some modest success on the charts with his cover of the Peter and Gordon hit "World Without Love" (Please lock me away) (1964).  In 1976, he recorded "Sway" with a disco flavour.  "Sway" is an English language version of a 1953 mambo instrumental song by Mexican composers.  Dean Martin recorded the most well known English rendition of the song in 1954.

In 1985, Bobby formed a trio called The Golden Boys with former teen idols Frankie Avalon and Fabian.  For years, The Golden Boys performed nostalgia concerts all over the world and delighted fans.

Below is a photo of the Golden Boys (Left to Right): Bobby Rydell, Fabian and Frankie Avalon.  

   

In 1987, Bobby guest-starred in an episode of the TV comedy The Facts of Life episode entitled 62 Pick Up (Season 8, Episode 18, Air Date: February 21, 1987.  He played himself in a flashback to the early 1960s.

Bobby was married twice.  He was married to his first wife, Camille Quattrone Ridarelli for 35 years, until her death of breast cancer on September 15, 2003.  The couple wed on October 5, 1968 and they had two children, a daughter, Jennifer Ridarelli Dulin and a son, Robert Ridarelli.

Bobby and Camille 1967

In 2009, Bobby wed Linda J. Hoffman (born Linda Ferrino) , a cardiac sonographer from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  Bobby first met met Linda in 1964 when he appeared on The Mike Douglas Show. At the time, Linda had just been appointed Bobby Rydell's National Fan Club President.  

Linda went on to marry Jake Hoffman and Bobby wed his South Philly high school sweetheart, Camille Quattrone.  Bobby and Linda met again after Camille's death.  In October 2007 and they were married in Las Vegas.

Bobby and Linda in 2014

On July 9, 2012, Bobby underwent a double organ transplant (liver and kidney) at which was detailed in his 2016 autobiography Teen Idol on the Rocks: A Tale of Second Chances, a collaboration with award-winning author Allan Slutsky.  Bobby became a promoter of organ donations and a supporter of The Gift of Life, a nonprofit organization that assists families affected by organ transplants.

In January of 2013, only six months after his double transplant surgery, Bobby returned to the stage in Las Vegas.  He performed for three night to a sold out audience.  On April 5, 2022, Bobby Rydell died of complications from pneumonia  at Jefferson Abington Hospital in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, a a suburb of Philadelphia.  He was 79 years old at the time of his passing.  He was survived by his wife, Linda, his son and daughter, and five grandchildren.

END NOTES

* Bobby Rydell grew up on South 11th St. in Philadelphia.  In 1995, the street was renamed Bobby Rydell Boulevard in his honour.  In Wildwood, New Jersey, there is a mural of Bobby on the boardwalk of the beach resort that that inspired his 1963 hit "Wildwood Days."

* In 1961, Bobby's success as an entertainer prompted his father, Aldo, to resign from his job as a foreman at the Electro-Nite Carbon Company in Philadelphia after 22 years.  Aldo then became Bobby's road manager.

According to Bobby's official website, he was the youngest performer, at the age of 19, to ever headline the Copacobana Club in New York City.

* Bobby writes about his struggles with alcoholism in his autobiography Teen Idol on the Rocks: A Tale of Second Chances.  The book tells of his deep depression after the death of his first wife, Camille, and how it contributed to his alcoholism, jeopardized his career and led to his liver and kidney transplant.

* In his autobiography Bobby also discusses his relationship with his controlling mother, Jeannie, whom he describes as "high strung, bipolar, schizophrenic, manic depressive - anything you want."

* Frank Sinatra ranked Bobby as his favourite pop singer of the early 1960s.      

* Fittingly, Bobby's name was chosen for "Rydall High School" in Grease, the Broadway musical and later 1978 hit film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.  The musical depicts American teenage life in the late 1950s.

SOURCES: The Guardian, "Bobby Rydell obituary," April 7, 2022; CNN Entertainment, "Bobby Rydell 'Wild One" singer dead at 79." by Sandra Gonzalez, April 5, 2022; Parade (parade.com), "Rydelll High School Inspiration, 'Volare" Singer and Bye Bye Birdie Star Bobby Rydell Dies at 79," by Jeryl Brunner, April 6, 2022;  Philadelphia Sun Sentinel, "Philadelphia's former teen idol Bobby Rydell tells of life on the rocks in new book," by John J, Moser, July 21, 2016; Unexpected Philadelphia, The Great Photo Album Adventure: Linda Hoffman and Bobby Rydell," May 31, 2016; Wikipedia; IMDb (Internet Movie Database)

- Joanne       

Keeping up with Gino Vannelli

[For your love]

[For your love]

When I think about those nights in Montreal

I get the sweetest thoughts of you and me

Memories of love above the city lights . . .

That mane of thick, black, curly hair!  Those rich vocals!  I wonder if Gino Vannelli still thinks about those nights in Montreal?  Do you remember the lyrics to his smash hit "I Just Wanna to Stop?"  The song was released as a single in August of 1978 and it remains Gino's biggest hit to date, his signature song.

"I Just Wanna Stop" climbed to Number 1 on the charts in his native Canada and reached Number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.  Gino produced the recording, along with his older brother Joe Vannelli,  and his younger brother Ross Vannelli.  The song was composed by Ross and earned Gino a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Performance.

Gino Vannelli was born on June 16, 1952 in Montreal, Quebec to a family of Italian background .His father, (Joseph) Russ Vannelli, was a cabaret singer who performed with Montreal dance bands.  Gino originally had dreams of becoming a drummer.  His idols were Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.  As a high school student, he became the drummer for The Cobras, an East-End Montreal band.  

In 1969, before his 17th birthday, Gino signed his first recording contract with RCA Records of Canada, using the pseudonym "Van-Elli."   He released a single entitled "Gina Bold."  Determined to make his mark in the music industry, Gino lived on and off in New York City, knocking on the doors of record companies and publishers.

In 1972, Gino and Joe headed for Los Angeles.  The brothers were desperate and broke.  They made one last stop at  the studios of A&M Records in Hollywood, before having to head back to Montreal.  The brothers waited patiently for Herb Alpert, co-owner of A&M to emerge from the building.  Gino handed Alpert a demo tape before being chased away by a security guard.  A&M signed a record deal with Gino, and released his debut album, Crazy Life, in the summer of 1973.  

It was not until 1974 that Gino had his first hit, "People Gotta Move." for A&M.  In 1974, Gino became one of the first Caucasians to appear on the television dance program Soul Train.  He was invited to tour with Stevie Wonder.

Gino Vannelli reached the height of his creative and commercial success in the 1970s.  In 1975, he  began touring in Canada and the United States.  In 1978, he moved to Los Angeles.  After his 1979 tour, he kept a low profile until 1990.  After the success of "I Just Wanna Stop," Gino signed with Arista Records,, headed by legendary record producer Clive Davis.  Gino's next album, Nightwalker, contained his second top-10 hit, "Living Inside Myself," which was released as a single in 1981.  However, executives at Arista were not pleased with the singer's plan to release an edgier album.  A year-long conflict followed, a time in which Gino felt blacklisted from recording.  During that time, he immersed him self in the study of philosophy, world religions and poetry.

Although Gino's 1985 singles "Black Cars" and "Hurts to Be in Love," as well as 1987's "Wild Horses," were well-received, Gino made a few appearances during the 1980s, after his 1979 LIVE "Brother to Brother' World Tour.  Gino never again sold as many recordings, but his artistic zig zags various musical genres, including jazz, blues and classical, gained him many fans around the world.  

Gino's music was enjoyed by Pope John Paul II.  In the year 2000, he was commissioned by the Vatican to perform "Parole Per Mio Padre" (A Word to My Father) for the pope. (The song was written as a tribute to Gino's deceased father). 

The papal event was televised in Europe and was noticed by the head of BMG Records, who requested that Gino  record a contemporary classical recording in a similar style to "Parole Per Mio Padre."  In 2003,  BMG released Canto, which, a multilingual disc -English, Italian. Spanish and French - which many fans, and Gino himself, regard as one of his most treasured musical achievements.

In 2013, Gino headlined two concerts at the Rialto Theatre in Montreal.  At that time, he told Pop Tart   that it felt good to be be back home.  "It's nice to visit Mount Royal again, and it's nice to see my mom," he said at the time.

Gino's album Wilderness Road was released by an independent label in 2019.  It was his first studio album of original material in over a decade.

At the age of 70,  Gino Vannelli may not be in the spotlight, but he continues to record and perform. H He toured in 2022 and, according to his official website, he will be performing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 1st, 2023 and Clearwater, Florida on March 3rd.  Gino has a following around the world.  He is an accomplished musician and songwriter.

“I grew up in a more singer-songwriter generation. People want instant success today. They are fed that kind of diet. There’s a little less substance and a lot more bling. But I’m not a cynic. Every decade has its strong points and its weak points. The strong points today are people know how to present themselves, they’re more accomplished, more precocious. You see a lot of younger singers who are better singers than there used to be 30 years ago. The weaker side of it is they’re not as well-rounded and don’t understand the humanities as well. They’re not interior-oriented like [performers] were in the 1960s and 70s, like [Bob] Dylan.”

- Gino Vannelli, Montreal Gazette, 2013

END NOTES

* Gino Vannelli studied music theory at Montreal's McGill University,

* Gino has received seven Juno Awards (to honour Canadian artists for their achievements in all aspects of music).  He won for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year (1975) and Male Vocalist of the Year (1976, 1979).  In 1979, Gino and his brother, Joe, shared a Juno for Best Production for the1978 album Brother to Brother, which included "I Just Wanna Stop."  In 1986, 1987 and 1991, Gino and Joe also won Junos for Best Production.

* Gino is married.  He and his wife, Patricia, wed in the 1980s and had a son named Anton.  The couple first met in Portland, Oregon.  According to The Oregonian, Gino arrived in Portland to perform as the opening act at a concert, in the early 1970s.  The show was cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales, so Gino had some time to walk around the city and met Patricia, who was working in a jewellery store.

When the couple tired of Los Angeles, Patricia's Northwest Pacific Roots led to them to move to Oregon in 1992.  They resided in Portland's Mount Tabor neighbourhood  four eight years before settling in the Columbia River Gorge, near Troutdale, Oregon, where. Gino teaches music in his studio.  Troutdale has a population of about 16,000 people and Gino avoids the spotlight there.  He enjoys relative anonymity and seldom performs in the city, choosing to have his concerts elsewhere.

* Gino's mother, Delia Vannelli, died of COVID-19 in 2020.  She passed away in a Montreal nursing home just shy of her 93rd birthday.  Gino and his brothers could not see their mother in her final days due to the pandemic.

* Gino's published an autobiographical book is called Stardust in the Sand.  He spent a few years in the Netherlands seeking new inspiration for his music before returning to Oregon.  While away, he assembled a band of local musicians.  The result was a recording entitled The Best and Beyond  Released in 2009, the album features new interpretations of Gino's most well-known songs.  The linear notes from that album eventually became Stardust in the Sand.

SOURCES: Montreal Gazette, "All Those Nights in Montreal with Gino Vannelli," by News Desk, November 1, 2013; The Oregonian (www.oregonlive.com,), "Gino Vannelli avoids spotlight in Oregon where he lives, but draws crowds elsewhere," by Eric Apalate, August 28, 2013; Gino Vannelli Official Website; iHeart Radio. "Canadian singer Gino Vannelli Loses Mother to COVID-19,:" by John R. Kennedy, May 8, 2020, Wikipedia.

- Joanne

Dr. Ewan Cameron and the banality of evil

Look at the face in the photo above.  That could be your uncle or your next-door-neighbour, but it's the face of a man who performed Nazi-like experiments right here in Canada.  To be honest, I knew very little about Dr. Ewan Cameron until recently.  I vaguely remembered having heard about him many years ago.  

Earlier this month, however, I was reminded of the infamous psychiatrist when I read Louise Penny's novel, The Madness of Crowds.  Cameron and his experiments figure prominently in the novel.

Donald Ewan Cameron was born in Bridge of Allan, Scotland on December 24, 1901, the eldest son of of a Presbyterian minister.  As the son of a clergyman, he was certainly not raised to treat human beings as guinea pigs.  Cameron is an example of the "banality of evil," a term coined by author and Holocaust survivor Hannah Arendt.  In her 1961 report for The New Yorker on Nazi operative Adolf Eichmann's war crimes trial, Arendt wrestled with the philosophical question of whether one can do evil without being evil.  

Eichmann was responsible for organizing the transportations of millions of Jews and others to concentration camps in support of Hitler's Final Solution.  Yet, Arendt considered Eichmann to be a rather bland and ordinary bureaucrat, not an amoral monster.  She described him as being "neither perverted nor sadistic," but "terrifyingly normal."  He only wished to boost his career in the Nazi bureaucracy,  He claimed that he was just "following orders."

Eichmann

In her 1963 study of the case, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report o the Banality of Evil,  Arendt stated her belief that Eichmann performed evil deeds without evil intentions.  She found that he was detached from the reality of his evil actions.  She concluded that he was not able to "think from the standpoint of anybody else."  It seems the same can be said of Dr. Ewan Cameron.

Dr. Cameron attended the University of Glasgow, where he was a fine scholar and athlete.  He received a Degree in Medicine in 1924 and a Diploma of Psychological Medicine in 1925.  That same year, he begam his training in psychiatry at the Glasgow Royal Mental Hospital.  

In 1926, Dr. Cameron left Scotland and immigrated to the United States, where he continued his training at the Phipps Clinic at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore under the auspices of Swiss-born U.S. psychiatrist Adolf Mayer.  After leaving Baltimore in 1928, Cameron moved to Switzerland to work at the world-renowned Burghölzlim, the psychiatric hospital of the University of Zurich.  There he became acquainted with the Dean of Manitoba's School of Medicine, Dr. A.T. Mathers, also the Chief Psychiatrist for the province,  Dr. Mathers persuaded him to come to Canada and become head of the Brandon Mental Hospital's Adamson's Unit, where he took charge of "admitting."

In 1933, Ewan Cameron married Jean C. Rankine, whom had met while they were students at the University of Glasgow.  Rankine had captained the Scottish the woman's field hockey team and she was a  skilled tennis player.

Dr. Cameron left Brandon in 1936.  He moved to Massachusetts, where he worked at Worcester State Hospital.  For the year ending November 30, 1937, Cameron is listed in the hospital's annual report as "Resident Director of Research, continues engaging in insulin coma research, and publishes a paper: Electrical brain waves in schizophrenics during insulin treatments."

By 1943, Dr. Cameron was a well-known psychiatrist.  He was invited to McGill University.in Montreal by celebrated Canadian neurosurgeon Dr. Wilder Penfield.  Penfield asked Cameron to be the first director of the new Allan Memorial Institute, a psychiatric teaching hospital, located on the slope of Mount Royal, on the McGill University downtown campus.  It was named in honour of Sir Hugh Allan, a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate and financier, whose former mansion was situated on the site.         

According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, psychiatric experiments were conducted at the Allan Institute between 1957 and 1964 (possibly as early as 1948).  It was Dr. Cameron who orchestrated these experiments. which were partially funded by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as part of their top-secret MKULTRA program through a front organization named "The Society for the Investigation of Hunan Ecology."

The CIA wasn't the only organization providing funding Dr. Cameron's experiments.  Tragically, the Canadian government was also complicit in his atrocities.  From 1950 to about 1965, Cameron is also believed to have received a million dollars in funding from the federal government.  

The Cameron lab would have proceeded with its experiments with or without the CIA's financial support, according to Alfred W. McCoy, an American historian and educator, who stated that "Ewen Cameron did not need the CIA to corrupt him.  He clearly had his mind set on doing unorthodox research long before the the Agency front started to front him.  In Cameron, the CIA had a psychiatrist, conveniently outside the United States, who was willing to do terminal experiments in electroshock, sensory deprivation and then trying to program in new behavior.  Cameron carried the process known as "brainwashing" to its logical extreme." 

Cameron's purpose was to de-pattern the brain into practically an infantile state, before rep-patterning it to learn the proper reposes to situations.  In this infantile state, Cameron's patients lost their capacity to speak, walk or control their bowels.  The ended up in a vegetive state.

Cameron left the Allan Memorial Institute abruptly in 1964 for a position at the Albany Medical School in New York State.  According to Rebecca Lemov, a professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, Cameron's lab associates remained after his departure and continued his brainwashing techniques well into 1965, despite orders to stop.

When the MKULTRA program ended in 1973, former CIA director Richard Helms ordered that files related to the Montreal experiments be destroyed.  However, in 1977 it was revealed that not all the files were demolished.  Over a decade after Cameron's death, the CIA'S connection to  the Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology was finally confirmed,  In an August 1, 1977 New York Times interview, Leonard Rubenstein, Cameron's former lab assistant, stated that the work Cameron performed with CIA funds was "directly related to brain-washing,"  He explained that they "had investigated brainwashing among soldiers who had been in Korea" and that "we in Montreal started to use some of these techniques, brainwashing patients instead of using drugs."  According to Rubenstein, Cameron and his colleagues were not aware of the CIA involvement in their funding.              

As is pointed out in Louise Penny's book, this was the time of the Cold War, the Red Scare and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.  The CIA was trying to further its knowledge of brainwashing, particularly since some American soldiers captured during the Korean War had returned with praise for communism and condemnation for the United States. Some members of the U.S. Congress feared that the American POWs had been transformed from patriots to sleeper agents.

A Dutch psychologist wrote in the New York Times Magazine, "The totalitarians have misused the knowledge of how the mind works for their own purposes.  They have applied the Pavlovian technique - in a far more complex and subtle way of course - to produce the reflex of mental and political submission of the humans in their power."  Enter Dr, Ewan Cameron.  Under his stewardship, patients at the Allan Memorial Institute were subjected to electroshocks, drug-induced sleep and large doses of LSD.  

Dr. Ewan Cameron went on to become the president of the World Psychiatric Association from 1961 to 1966,  He died on September 8, 1967 at the age of 65, in Lake Placid, New York.  He passed away after suffering a heart attack while hiking in the Adirondack Mountains with his son.  At the time of his death, obituaries provided details of the eminent psychiatrist's career, and the British Medical Journal expressed awe at his accomplishments.  

How did it happen that Ewan Cameron, at the time of his death, was held in such high esteem by his colleagues in the psychiatric profession?  How did it happen that his egregious experiments were not condemned during his lifetime?  According to historian Alfred McCoy, "the dehumanizing nature" of Cameron's methods "were published without complaints from other psychiatrists."  McCoy pointed out that "Cameron read papers about "depatterning" with electroshock before meetings of his fellow psychiatrists; and they rewarded him, electing him president of the American. Canadian and World Psychiatric Associations."

It is now known that Dr. Cameron's brainwashing experiments caused considerable pain and ruined lives.  Some of his victims have come forward, in particular women he supposedly treated for post-partum depression. The truth is that the supposedly good doctor engaged in torture in the name of science.  By all accounts, Cameron had a brilliant mind - too brilliant.  He was a prolific researcher and tried to gain insights into such afflictions as epilepsy and schizophrenia.  Somewhere he got lost along the way.  His legacy remains an ugly blight on Canadian history and Canada's reputation.

END NOTES

* In 1945, Dr. Ewan Cameron gained world-wide prominence when he was invited to become a member of the team of psychiatrists who examined Rudolf Hess at  the Nazi war crime trials in Nuremburg, Germany.  Hess was diagnosed as having amnesia and hysteria.  He later admitted that he had faked the amnesia. 

* The directors of the Allan Institute defended Dr. Cameron in the late 1980s.  They contended that psychiatrist were not expected to inform patients of the treatment they were receiving in the 1950s and 1960s.  They further contended that there was no proof that Cameron had any knowledge of the CIA's funding of his experiments.

* Dr. Cameron maintained American citizenship from 1942 until his death in 1967.

*  In the 1980s, the CIA and State Department conducted a public counterattack on the Canadian government for questioning the appropriateness of CIA activities.  The CIA treated the Canadian government as an active and hostile enemy.  It highlighted the theme that Canada also funded Cameron.  Neither the CIA, nor the Canadian government, has offered an apology for the damage done to so many lives.

* According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, more than 300 people have made claims for compensation from the Canadian government after undergoing Cameron's experimental treatments.  In 1992, about 77 survivors were given $100,000 in compensation from the government, of Canada.  However, more than 250 claimants were refused compensation because they couldn't produce medical records, filed too late or were not deemed to have suffered enough.  

* Nine survivors of  Cameron's experiments were awarded compensation from the United States government in 1988.  

* In 2019, two legal actions were taken by relatives of people subjected to Dr. Cameron's "depatterning" at the Allan Memorial Institute.  The first, filed on January 24, 2019 in Quebec Superior Court, was an application for class action by Julie Tanny.  The second, dated February 13th, is a $1 million per family lawsuit launched by Marilyn Rappaport and Alison Steel.  The two actions alleged that Cameron's experimental procedures were done without informed consent and that they left patients with permanent psychological damage and had long term negative effects on their families.       

* A 1998 Canadian television movie, entitled Sleep Room, details Cameron's experiments at the Allan Memorial Institute.  It was originally broadcast as a miniseries and is based on the book In the Sleep Room: The Story of CIA Brainwashing Experiments in Canada.by Anne Collins.

* The Allan Memorial currently houses outpatient psychiatric care for Montreal General Hospital,  which is part of the McGill University Health Centre.  It has not been used as an active psychiatric hospital since 2015, when a new psychiatric department opened at the Montreal General Hospital.  

SOURCES: Harvard Education Files: Grey Room 45, Fall 2011, pp. 60-67, "Brainwashing's Avatar: The Curious Career of Dr. Ewan Cameron," by Rebecca Lemov; AEON (aeon.co), "What did Hannah Arendst really mean by the banality of evil?" by Thomas White,  Alliance for Human Research Protection website , "1950s-1960s: Dr. Ewan Cameron Destroyed Minds at Allan Memorial Hospital in Montreal," January 18, 2023; The Canadian Encyclopedia; "Montreal MKULTRA Experiments," ebrandon.ca, "Dr/ Ewan Cameron took charge of "Admitting" at the Brandon Mental Health," August 1, 2012; National Post, "What they did to my mother was torture," by Joe O'Connor, November 13, 2017; The Canadian Jewish News, "Families of Allan psychiatric experiments go to court," by Janice Arnold, February 25, 2019; Wikipedia

    

- Joanne    

The trouble with Prince Harry

Maybe "Mexit" was never about Meghan Markle, Maybe it was always driven by Prince Harry, who, in his American wife, found the much-needed catalyst to leave a family where he could never outrun the feeling of being second-best. The spare as opposed to the heir.

- Vicky Ward, NBC News, opinion piece, January 12, 2023

The title of Prince Harry's tell-all memoir says it all.  There's a reason Harry titled his book Spare.  He's never really gotten over feeling that  he's been cheated in life, that he was destined to always be runner-up to his older brother, William. This may seem contradictory because Harry seems to be relieved that he is not faced with the responsibility of being the future king.  He would much rather leave the royal protocol to William.  Still, it appears that the Duke of Sussex is wrestling with notion that he has always been regarded as less important than his big brother.  This goes far deeper than mere sibling rivalry.  It is a profoundly painful.

Harry, 38, claims to be content with his life in California.  However, Judi James, a body language expert, says otherwise.  James, a prominent non-verbal correspondence instructor in the U.K., suggests that the image on the cover of Harry's book suggests that he is still hurting.  "This is not a fun, smiling, playful man, and it's not Harry the family man either, hugging his adoring wife and children to show how it looks to be saved by that power of love," she told the Daily Express, a British tabloid.  If Harry now has the life he has always wanted, why does he still seem so unsettled and so conflicted?  Why does he still feel the need to lash out at his family?

I've wondered about Harry's motives, his mindset.  His motives are probably complex and varied.  One thing for certain, the book is clearly aimed at his family.  He feels that he and Meghan have been slighted.  But  is it purely revenge?  Christopher Andersen, a royal expert, thinks Harry is trying to get a rise out of  family members.  "I think he's trying to get a rise out of somebody," Andersen told US Weekly.  But as we approach the coronation, I think all (King) Charles wants is calm . . .(which is), I think, making (Harry) very frustrated that he's not getting any kind of response."

In some ways, I sympathize with Harry.  Despite immense wealth and privilege, it isn't easy to be a member of the royal family, also known as The Firm.  Harry was only 12 when his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris, after being chased by the paparazzi.  That must have been very traumatic for him, and he is obviously still grieving her.  I can also understand why he is upset by the racism that has been directed at Meghan, who is biracial.  Some have judged Meghan very harshly,.  They are far more severe with her than with her sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales, which is indeed reprehensible.  Having said all that, I think Harry has gone way too far.  He's crossed the line.

Harry wants to have it both ways.  He complains about how horribly the British press has treated him and Meghan  Understandably he is wary of the media, after what happened to his mother.  Yet, at the same time, he and Meghan have sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey.  They have  appeared in their own Netflix series.  Harry written a tell-all book and promoted it on talk shows in Britain and the United States.  

How can Harry insist that he wants to protect his privacy and at the same time bare his soul to the world?  He accuses his step-mother Camilla, Queen Consort, and others of leaking private conversations and other information to the media.  That is a weak justification for disclosing the most intimate details of his life and his relationship with his family.  Meanwhile, the media are having a field day with each "bombshell" revelation and Harry's book is flying off the shelves.  

I don't think it's a matter of money.  I doubt that the Duke of Sussex wrote this book purely for mercenary considerations.  Besides, Harry has other ways of enhancing his already considerable wealth.  I just find him so contradictory.  On the one hand, he claims to want to mend fences with his family.  Yet, he chose to write a book that strongly attacks them and paints them in an unflatteringly light.  Does he really expect to reconcile with them that way?  He had to know what he was doing.  The book wouldn't have been published if it didn't contain a certain amount of "dirt."

Like it or not, and Harry claims not to like it, the British monarchy is more than just a family.  It is undeniably an institution.  Harry's actions have done considerable damage to that institution.  Americans may regard members of the royal family as mere celebrities, especially if they appear on talk shows.  The British see it differently.  They are far more aware of the constitutional and historical background of the monarchy.  That is why Harry and Meghan's popularity has plummeted in the U.K.

Prince Harry will likely regret having written this book, and he believes that he had to tell his story and what he perceives as his truth.  Patti Reagan, daughter of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, also wrote a tell-all book about her family.  She has come to regret it. 

It's time now for Harry to stop complaining.  Many have it much worse and our suffering considerably from the effects of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the ravages of inflation.  Harry would be well-advised to lay low for a long while, to stay in the shadows, Unfortunately, the stench from his actions will last for a long time.  He has opened a Pandora's Box.  

- Joanne