2013-05-24T12:04:32-04:00 Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=michael-berkowitz Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Michael Berkowitz Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2824093 2013-03-11T12:08:55-04:00 2013-05-11T05:12:01-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
With Oz the Great and Powerful, Disney gave it a try. Certainly inspired with the box office success of their 2010 reworking of another classic, Alice in Wonderland, which saw over a billion dollars in receipts, 13th highest of all time, Disney assembled a highly-talented hit squad to show us what happened previously in pre-Dorothy Oz. The new Oz the Great and Powerful better perform well -- at cost of $325 million it is the most expensive movie ever made on either side of the rainbow.

The project began with mixed results. They failed to land their first two choices -- Robert Downey, Jr. and Johnny Depp -- to play the lead, the callow Oscar "Oz" Diggs. Still, James Franco may be a better choice than either of the more familiar, more jaded, more popular leads. He rises to the occasion, bewitched by Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams and directed by Spider Man's Sam Raimi. Drawing on his success, bringing horror and iconic characters to screen, Raimi delivers a very watchable product.

It was a gamble with house money. The success of Broadway's Wicked, the high tide of youth fantasy films fueled by CGI and just-add-water to the witch fan base, figured to reap the Disney studio enormous profits.

But how artistically would this witch's brew mix? Not as bad, as feared, nor as good as hoped for. Overall it's a compelling watch with a few charming performances.

The thin plot line deals with the development of Franco from small time, trickster magician without moral compass to the almost-great and powerful, if still a bit flawed, but personable Oz. To get there he has to fight his way past riches and enemies, put the public good slightly over personal gain and determine which witch to trust while developing his use of super powers. Perhaps his road parallels Franco's development from distracted Oscar host to lively, sometimes charming, knight-errant savior of the Emerald City.

The unholy triad of Kunis, Weisz and Williams, although a bit uneven, thrills and threatens. Of the three, Kunis sparkles as the Witch of the West. She deftly lays the groundwork for her Wizard of Oz predecessor, Margaret Hamilton, one of American films towering villains. Although the evil Hamilton's later work was little noted, nor long remembered, there is no humor lost in seeing her appear subsequently in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family or The Patty Duke Show.

Michele Williams doesn't fare quite as well. Beautiful and disarming, she still suffers in comparison to the 1939 film's riveting and comforting Billie Burke.

But narrative, dramatic tension and character development are often overshadowed by look-at-me CGI. Beautiful and impressive, especially the use of 3D. At times it frames and advances the plot. At other times, its a bit like the later wizard who wanted Dorothy to focus on his smoke and mirrors, while the man behind the curtains was all too human.

When the hurlyburly's done, when the battle is lost and won, this Oz will be remembered for its special effects. Certainly not the straight-to-elevator music of Mariah Carey, which can't hold a candle in the wind to Judy Garland's rich contralto soaring Harold Arlen's memorable score. Perhaps a bit of spry performance here or there. Franco et al. do a decent job. But in the end, the Disney team is merely providing another piece in the frame of one of America's film masterpieces. The earlier wizardry isn't diminished or superseded -- its explained and enhanced.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2784293 2013-02-28T18:56:08-05:00 2013-04-30T05:12:01-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
As a young man, Smith won an academic scholarship to the University of Kansas. There he played collegiate basketball, football and baseball. But it is what he did after and outside of his participation in athletics that truly distinguishes him.

Following in his father's footsteps, Dean Smith became a basketball coach. And following in his father's footsteps, he championed the rights of African-American athletes both on and off the field. Smith's father Alfred coached the first African-American high school basketball player in Kansas history. Later, as a coach himself, Dean Smith recruited the first black player to the University of North Carolina's storied program. But unlike today's self-aggrandizing coaches who frequently use their athletic mercenaries only to win games then discard them, Smith pushed his players to a 97 percent graduation rate and worked with those who didn't go into professional sports to secure other jobs, as well as to complete their degrees.

Smith also worked in the community to desegregate local businesses, taking African-Americans with him into establishments which found it hard to close their doors to the popular, successful coach, no matter who he had with him.

Dean Smith won two national championships, many conference and regional championships in the course of his 879 career victories. But he was known as much for running a clean program and pushing for progressive change in his players lives and his community. He opposed the Vietnam War and the fear-mongering of right wing North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. He did radio commercials for a freeze on nuclear weapons and campaigned against the death penalty and for gay rights. He prominently endorsed Barack Obama's presidential bid long before it was popular.

While the coach of traditional rival Duke, Mike Krzyzewski, held an ill-advised fundraiser for the party of the Right Wing's senatorial candidate Elizabeth Dole on Duke University property and chanted "Blue Devils for Dole," Dean Smith has stood as an icon for progressive change both on and off the basketball court. In an era where sports has been plagued by scandal and disappointing performances in life as well as games, Smith has always been a true sports hero.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2035074 2012-10-29T10:52:58-04:00 2012-12-29T05:12:02-05:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/ Cloud Atlas have double meaning. Workers and servants, debtors and peasants, slaves and free men ... our lives are not our own. We are also responsible to those who have gone before us and to those who will follow. This social responsibility, often over generations, defines us and gives us meaning.

Through these themes Cloud Atlas turns on its head the shallow, self-centered, individualism of Ayn Rand's book and movie with which it shares partial title -- Atlas Shrugged. Instead writers and directors Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer have spun from David Mitchell's highly acclaimed book an ambitious epic film that follows six stories, cross-cutting the years to weave a complex tapestry that is always fueled by the spirit of optimism and hope.

The directors helm the voyage with a firm hand. The stories are diverse: A mid-nineteenth century Pacific Ocean crossing. A young composer's creative efforts in Europe between the World Wars. A reporter's dangerous investigation of California's nuclear industry in the 1970s. Escape from a dictatorial skilled nursing home. The struggles of a Pacific Islander battling marauding tribesmen. The discovery of Sonmi-451.

Pieces of each story are shown in what at first appears random order. But the burst of story from each tale always seems to advance the plot. Sometimes the plots of the stories advance similarly; sometimes character development parallels, sometimes complements. Despite the varigated narratives, there is little confusion as to what is unfolding. Suspense as to what might occur, certainly. Surprise as to the unfolding plots. But not confusion.

Much credit goes to generally stellar performances. Yeoman work from the principles who each handle six different parts: Academy Award winners Halle Berry and Tom Hanks, the brilliant British character actor Jim Broadbent, Wachowski regular Hugo Weaving, One Day's Jim Sturgess and the stunning Korean actress Doona Bae, so memorable in Bong Joon-ho's gripping horror story The Host. Only Hanks' role as Pacific Islander Zachry fell somewhat victim to his futuristic dialect.

Most of the credit must go to the Wachowskis. Their huge critical and commercial success of The Matrix and V for Vendetta was followed by the bump in the road of the failures of Speed Racer. Taking the option on Mitchell's popular book, they were able to capitalize the highest budgeted independent film, the most expensive German produced film ever. They put together an award-winning cast and challenged it with multiple nuanced roles in different stories echoing through time and place.

Despite its daunting run time of almost three hours, Cloud Atlas has been greeted by mostly good reviews, high per theater attendance resulting in its number three ranking on opening weekend and a 10 minute standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival, just as the audience in this film reviewer's theater applauded loudly at its conclusion.

And what were the audiences applauding? More than whether characters lived or died, found happiness or bitter disappointment ... they struggle, learn, change themselves and the world around them, rippling through history and our consciousness... giving us the impetus and hope for change. Our lives are not only our own.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1852308 2012-09-07T11:04:53-04:00 2012-11-07T05:12:01-05:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
So begins Killer Joe the smart, funny, well-written, exactly executed, over the top turn on Film Noir directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) and written by Tracy Letts. Letts last Southern Gothic piece of family mayhem, August: Osage County, won five Tony Awards, including Best Play, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Contrasting with the messy unfolding action, Letts precisely piles the story's requisite elements -- anti-heroes, dark plot turns, crime, threatened and realized violence, characters caught up in a world they neither completely understand nor control. All is done with a sure hand and tongue firmly in cheek. Not since Lucky Number Slevin has modern noir flashed such self-satisfied chops.

The five central characters to varying degrees plot a murder for the insurance money. Thomas Haden Church works magic as the dim witted ex-husband. Gina Gershon, as Church's new wife, is slutted for success. The mishaps of the loser son Emile Hirsch keep the plot moving. Juno Temple opens eyes as the sleep walking, ethereal, sainted virgin daughter of Church.

To execute their crime, they enlist Dallas Police Department detective Matthew McConaughey, -- the snarling, lean, mean, moon-lighting, assassin for hire... Killer Joe. But this is not your father's Matthew McConaughey, the pretty boy hero of sit-coms like The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past or Failure to Launch, nor even the action hero McConaughey of Sahara and U-571.

This Matthew McConaughey renaissance as the Dark Knight of Neo-Noir seems to have begun with his both sides of the law, sympathetic turn in The Lincoln Lawyer. After that pivot, he was certainly less likeable as the self-promoting District Attorney Danny Buck pursuing Jack Black in "Bernie" and raunchy porn impresario Dallas who mismanages Channing Tatum's Magic Mike.

McConaughey may have realized his apotheosis with his homicide for hire, full derriere flashing, chicken drumstick wielding performance as Killer Joe. His beady-eyed, bird of prey features take flight in a schizophrenia that dominates the Jukes Trailer Trash ensemble of Church, Hirsch, Gershon and Temple.

Sadly, after the ensuing mayhem, we won't be able to look forward with guilty pleasure to a Killer Joe sequel. Still, we will relish the release next year of the movie version of Tracy Letts' August: Osage County featuring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Abagail Breslin, Juliette Lewis, Chris Cooper and Sam Shepard.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1834317 2012-08-29T12:51:46-04:00 2012-10-29T05:12:04-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/ 2016: Obama's America is a tempest in a Tea Party. Dinesh D'Souza's movie is a breathless attempt to find questions for the long since settled answers widely known by most of America. Dressed up to look serious, it is actually just one more attempt to define President Barack Obama as an outsider using red-baiting, fear mongering and intellectual dishonesty. The irony is that these contrivances are engineered by a filmmaker whose subjectivity and heterodox beliefs put him well outside fact and public opinion.

The movie is based on D'Souza's notably dishonest book The Roots of Obama's Rage. This book would be humorous if considered a spoof of one of the world's most placid leaders. But D'Souza makes truth the victim in his selective effort to demonize the president.

There are false economic claims, such as that Obama initiated the bailout and stimulus plans. Actually, George Bush initiated the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 on October 3, 2008. Obama followed this bill with his own attempt to stem the economic crisis and correct the earlier flaws in amount and administration.

There are misleading policy claims, such as D'Souza attacking Obama for supporting the reduction of nuclear weapons and idealizing a nuclear free world. As former Republican Secretary of State George Schultz has repeatedly stated, President Obama shares President Ronald Reagan's desire to rid the world of nuclear weapons, though both realize the need for a nuclear deterrent.

And there are incredible omissions and mis-interpretations, such as the conclusion that Obama was elected sheerly because of white liberal guilt ... without even mentioning the economic catastrophe that the previous Republican administration had created.

Over and over, D'Souza puts words in Obama's mouth or his mind. Obama doesn't say that America is a nuclear menace to the world, though D'Souza says that Obama thinks this. Obama doesn't say that he hates the rich. But D'Souza says that Obama thinks this. In D'Souza's contorted world, when Obama speaks of fairness and equality, D'Souza claims that means that Obama hates the rich.

Other times, the "scholar" filmmaker just blatantly lies. For instance, he claims that Obama sympathizes with terrorists, hates all white colonialists and supported the release from prison of the Lockerbie Bomber. He claims that Obama called BP "British Petroleum" (the former name of this oil company), demonstrating his anti-colonialism. He claims that Obama Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, when dean of Harvard Law School, kicked military recruiters off campus.

Between the book and the movie, all of the above have repeatedly been proven false. Despite the film's repeated red-baiting, when Obama had the chance to nationalize the nation's banks, some of its key failing industries, and call for a socialized national health care or even a Public Option, he studiously avoided all of those choices. Similarly, it is interesting to note that often, the very opposite of what D'Souza claims actually occurred. For instance, Kagan insured that all students had access to military recruiters when she was dean.

Despite the film's claims, Obama doesn't support a 100% tax rate on the wealthy, as D'Souza would have us believe. Obama supports raising the marginal tax rate only 3% to a maximum of 39%, the rate during the Clinton prosperity, and a rate far lower than that during the Republican Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan years.

Perhaps stranger than these fictions is the fact that the author of them is himself a person quite at odds with established scientific and political beliefs. If there is an outlier here, it would seem to be D'Souza.

Although he tries to portray Obama as un-American, it is D'Souza who has argued against evolution, blames liberals for the 9/11 attacks (The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11), rails against the very separation of church and state principles upon which our country was founded and even against the principle that human nature is intrinsically good. Despite his being an Indian American, D'Souza, a convert from Catholicism to evangelical Christianity, is a strong opponent of multi-culturalism.

Dinesh D'Souza disingenuously frames his movie as an effort to find out who Barack Obama is. But Obama has been subject to such critical scrutiny that we have a wealth of data about Obama. Because the movie is not an honest, objective exploration of this question ... the more pertinent question raised by this very flawed film is -- who is Dinesh D'Souza?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1814014 2012-08-23T11:56:39-04:00 2012-10-23T05:12:11-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/ The Expendables, released August 13, 2010, made over $100 million in the United States and over $175 million internationally. How could the team that put out this fine picture resist going to the well again?

Of course, there were artistic considerations. They had to take care that they not sully the aesthetic nuances or finely calibrated message of the original. And then, they would have to make sure there were enough explosives to last for two hours of film.

They would have to gather the old action heroes together again for yet another walk through to greatness on the way to a rich payday. The gracefully aging heroes agreed again to put the boom out for Boomers. But would there be enough ear plugs or did the approaching geriatric crew even need them.

Two years earlier, Sylvester Stallone had taken screenwriter David Callahan's original idea, rewritten that script and shepherded the project through to completion. Expendables 2 would need another of his finely tuned scripts tailored to the acting abilities of his re-aligned stars. Or they could play it by ear, which it looks for the most part they did. Of course, it must have been hard playing it by ear over the wall-to-wall pyrotechnics.

So wing it they did, quite often... mostly on a vintage Grumman HU-16 Albatross amphibious flying boat. Their mission: fight bad guys, rescue a rich Chinese businessman, liberate an Eastern European village and, of course, save the world by locating tons of plutonium.

Actually, where and why doesn't matter much. Nor does script, though Stallone gets isolated screen time to throw off a few philosophical gems that seemingly are seriously intended to show depth, but are as funny as any Judd Apatow set piece. Our assembled cast of over the hill action characters also gets their crack at humor or philosophy, as well. Each has one or two carefully scripted quotes or references to their action movie better days. What's listening to an oldie without a good refrain.

The most memorable quotes, however, are the ones that seem to sum up the actors attitude toward the picture or their audience. In a fleeting moment of self-awareness, one says, "This is embarrassing." Later another asks, "Got any ideas," before another memorably observes "You can be someone who you don't even have to talk to know what they are thinking." Unfortunately the answers to both those snippets seems to be in the negative.

Some of it actually works. Schwarzenegger repeats "I'll be back" over and over ad nauseam, until Stallone finally chides him, "enough of that I'll be back... just go already!"

But more often, Stallone has a bit of a problem making himself understood. The film is badly in need of subtitles whenever he emotes. He may never be allowed in Arizona or any of the other English-only states.

Furthermore, he looks quite a bit worse for wear. It seems like all the botox, lifts and procedures have taken their toll. He appeared to be so creaky and walked so painfully stiffly that I was praying he wouldn't fall over. Luckily, there were enough action figures and hardware assembled to get him back upright.

While Stallone walked through the movie like he needed a hip replacement, Jason Statham distanced himself, Chuck Norris parodied himself and Dolph Lungren pretended to be someone else altogether. Claude Van Damme, on the other hand, infused his villain with the dignity of fighting these would be movie stars. It is notable that when offered a role in the first Expendables movie, Van Damme initially refused it. He told Stallone that instead of that project Stallone should be "trying to save people in South Central (the large Los Angeles ghetto)." Apparently Van Damme later saw the errors of his humanism and capitulated to join Expendables 2.

But petty social and artistic considerations aside, so successful is this second Expendables movie that we may indeed see a third version of this budding franchise on the horizon. In its first week out, the Ex-2 topped the box office charts making $28.6 million. It seems like old action heroes never die... they just become Expendables.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1808187 2012-08-20T17:17:34-04:00 2012-10-20T05:12:04-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/ Hope Springs, can be a little messy and uneven. You need to take your time with it, be patient and open. But it is ultimately satisfying.

Certainly watching the greatest actor of our generation, or for that matter of all time, makes the experience rewarding. So effortless is her work, so ingratiating and fully-fleshed out is her characterization, that her co-star Tommy Lee Jones suffers a bit by way of comparison.

The last time these two appeared together in a film, the sadly ending documentary Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, she was the ingenue, the nervous Vassar girl that everyone worried was too shy to be successful. He was the Harvard roommate to the future vice president and a football star instrumental in the most monumental undeserved upset in the history of college football. But that was before an acting career which has seen her with more Academy Awards and nominations than any other actor in history. And before her overshadowing performance in Hope Springs.

Its not just that Jones character in this film is the arch-typical remote to clueless husband. Much to his credit, Jones wrestles the character to the mat and wins. But at first he seems to be asked to portray a caricature instead of a person. Gruff, Omaha, asleep in front of television's golf channel, the same one fried egg and bacon every morning without a word to his wife. Of course its an intimacy-free relationship -- no communication, no sex, no bonding. Parallel lives barely intersecting.

Jones seems to repress it, while Streep percolates resentment, resilience and reaction. Even after 31 years of this marriage, Streep sees more in Jones than we do. So she gambles all, insisting that they travel from their Mid-West home for a one week session with a noted marriage-saving therapist in Maine. Thankfully, Steve Carrell as the therapist abandons his usual cloying, self-satisfied, too cute annoyances. Perhaps he really is better suited for being a therapist than a thespian as he backs off, providing just enough framework for these two consummate professionals to discover their characters and create a movie.

In his defense, Tommy Lee Jones is a vision of yesterday's man -- the family's single breadwinner buffeted by constant worries, justified or not, about his economic circumstances. His concerns stem less from his apparent class position than his unwillingness to expend emotional capital -- some kind of accountant, seemingly unable to afford much more than cold embraces and meals of coldcuts at the EconoLodge, his accommodations of choice on the couple's trip to their marriage saving in Maine.

Cheap? Perhaps. Where Jones sees cost, Streep sees investment. Jones is less sympathetic, a bit extreme compared to Streep's more reasonable every woman. Her soft, easy curves are certainly more attractive than his craggy obstinacy.

But the imbalance serves a purpose. His character makes it safer to view, less threatening to us in the audience. We can never be that guy. Sure we may watch a bit too much TV, miss cues, hide out in work too much. But we will always be better than Jones. And that allows us to take forward at least small lessons from the movie.

The only real dramatic tension is whether Streep and Jones can hold their relationship together. Will he change even the minimal amount that she needs in order for her to stay with him? Will he notice if she leaves him?

It may be a more restrained, less ambitious work than saving the world from aliens and terrorists. But it just may help save the summer from mindless bombast and supercilious sequels. And isn't it vastly better having Meryl instructing us on how to save our relationships than playing the unwitting apologist for Margaret Thatcher.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1773380 2012-08-15T17:38:45-04:00 2012-10-15T05:12:02-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/ The Campaign, which is already in progress.

If you are political, have ever voted, are considering voting or live in a city, state or country where voting has not yet been suppressed, rush right out and see The Campaign.

So lifelike are the situations and characters in this movie that it is hard not to think of it as a documentary. While some may think of it as a bit over the top, clearly it is more of a reach for the bottom!

The Motch Brothers (rhymes with Koch Brothers), the rich industrialists who are trying to steal this election, are so familiar they might have been ripped right out of the pages of the National Review. The chief protagonists Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) and Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) in so many ways resemble current political figures like Sen. David Vitter (R-La), involved in a prostitute scandal, or Sen. John Ensign (R-Nv), involved in an adultery and ethics scandal, or former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Id), involved in a gay solicitation scandal. The family values the actors embody are consonant with not only such rhetorical champions of freedom and morality, but compare favorably with many of our fine life worshiping fun-loving evangelicals.

But this similarity is probably because of the stellar dramatic performances of Will Ferrell, master of the deadpan and inventor of cognitive dissonance, and Zach Galifianakis, whose great physical humor and exquisite timing would make Olympians jealous. Steadfastly backing them are such stalwarts as Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Jason Sudeikis and Brian Cox, one of the great supporting actors of our generation. The comic turn done by Sarah Baker as Galifianakis' wife turns on its head the now shopworn, long sufferingly brave, scandal-wronged wife icon of modern American politics.

So when the hurly burly's done, when the elections have been lampooned and won... is there a message to take out of this frothy mix? Certainly, the director Jay Roach (HBO's Recount and Game Change as well as the Austin Powers movies) and writers Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell hammer out the evil of the wholesale sale of elections to folks like the Kochs.

But some reviewers have bemoaned the plague on both your houses approach the film seems to take. On the contrary, the film reminds us of the dastardly role played in our elections by the Republican funding Koch Brothers and such self-enriching and neighborhood impoverishing schemes that motivate this ilk. Both Ferrell and Galifianakis are strongly identified as critics. Galiafanakis' uncle Nick was a North Carolina Congressman who ran against right-winger Jesse Helms for the Senate in 1972. He led until Helms made the contest about nativism. Ferrell famously lampooned President George H.W. Bush on Saturday Night Live and refused to even meet with Bush. "I declined partly out of comedic purposes, because when I was on the show SNL at the time, it didn't make sense to really meet the people who you play, for fear of them influencing you. And then the other side of it is, from a political standpoint, I don't want to meet that guy."

Certainly the pillorying of the Koch Brothers alone identifies Republican big money as an issue. But truth be told, the Democrats have yet to prove themselves substantially better. Perhaps the coming fights over the Ryan Budget will give them an opportunity to improve their stances on social welfare, civil liberties, war and peace, support for organized labor and the war on women.

But as the crew of The Campaign dramatizes, the fight starts with ridding our electoral system of the deleterious effects of the back room financiers. Hopefully the last laugh will be on them.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1740309 2012-08-06T13:14:03-04:00 2012-10-06T05:12:17-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
This beast is Wisconsin State Senator Glenn Grothman. Check out some of his fire breathing, even flaming utterances. Women don't need equal pay because money is more important to men, Grothman argued, as he sponsored legislation to repeal Wisconsin's 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act, which would help victims of wage discrimination trying to legally redress such bias. The demise of the family, says Grothman, can be laid at the doorstep of women. "There's been a huge change over the last 30 years and a lot of that change has been the choice of women," Grothman warned. "We should educate women that this is a mistake." Further, Grothman advises that "the Left and the social welfare establishment want children born out of wedlock because they are far more likely to be dependent on the government."

Lately, Grothman has increased his attacks on the modern family, introducing Wisconsin Senate Bill 507. The Bill would require the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board to emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect. One-third of Wisconsin's parents are single parents. But the law was written to criminalize an even larger sector, as it applies to even non-married couples, including, of course, same-sex couples.

Meanwhile, Grothman has voted against sex education in the schools.

Grothman, the Senate Assistant Majority Leader and staunch ally of Governor Scott Walker, was a strong supporter of Walker's drastic austerity budget, which cut services, benefits, pensions and collective bargaining rights.

Like viewing a scary movie, Tanya Lohr, longtime social studies teacher at West Bend High School in Glenn Grothman's district, watched as her budget, her benefits and her family's health care was cut. Growing up in the small Wisconsin town of Marathon in a household where both of her parents were teachers, Lohr valued education as a calling and a way of life: "One of my most vivid memories growing up was people coming up to my parents in the grocery store or the post office to thank them for being their teacher. I knew they were making a difference in their community."

Following in their footsteps, she has taught for 16 years, 13 at West Bend High School where she met her husband Andy, a chemistry teacher. Despite being a social studies teacher her involvement in politics was minimal. She had always assumed that "we'd elect some Democrats and some Republicans and they'd hash out the issues to come up with a compromise that everyone could live with. ... I believed that as long as I read about politics and always voted, that I was politically engaged."

So it was with shock and fear that Lohr watched the Walker agenda. His budget decimated support for public education and directly attacked government workers, including teachers. Her family considered leaving, but decided to stay and fight.

Tanya organized locally to recall Scott Walker and his extremist colleagues, including her State Senator Glenn Grothman. She became a coordinator of the Recall campaign and then Chair of the Washington County Democratic Party. And this November, Tanya Lohr will challenge Glenn Grothman for Wisconsin's 20th District Senate Seat.

Will this beauty and the beast tale have a storybook ending? Grothman has been in the Wisconsin State Legislature for 20 years, running virtually unopposed to victories of 99 percent and 80 percent in the strongly Republican district. But, as Lohr points out, this was before the extremist Walker budget with its anti-woman and anti-family bents. Grothman, the live-at-home, never-been-married, never-had-kids crusader for someone else's idea of family versus Lohr the mother of four, school teacher. It would be an amazing upset, should she win --something on the order of a fairy tale!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1311833 2012-03-04T14:34:11-05:00 2012-05-04T05:12:01-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
This time you really need to support them. But don't give them money! You need to sign their petitions by April 20... to get the Millionaires Tax on the ballot in California. And if you are not lucky enough to live in California and don't already have such a tax, please contact us. We can help!

Why sign petitions for this tax? Didn't Governor Jerry Brown advance his own tax measure aimed at more equitable revenue raising?

Well... sort of. The tale of two tax proposals provides a clear contrast. Brown's measure proposes to raise between 4.8 and 6.9 billion dollars by temporarily increasing the state sales tax by half a cent and raising taxes on those who earn over $250,000 annually. At the same time, the governor would amend state law to shift local government's responsibility to include raising revenue and paying for prisons and other state services. So Brown's bill would help fund public schools, police departments, social services and prisons. But its dependence on regressive sales taxes would cost the average tax payer $123 and disappear after 2016.

Brown takes a half step in the right direction. But other states should not emulate it. Instead Californians and others should support a proposal which advances real change -- The Millionaires Tax.

The Millionaires Tax is aimed at those who have profited the most from the benefits offered by our society, underwritten disproportionately by the rest of us, including our roads, hospitals, schools, universities and courts which provide the structure supporting the millionaires business and production.

Historically, marginal tax rates have been as high as 91 percent under President Eisenhower, taxing incomes over $400,000. Reagan in his first term reduced the marginal tax rate from 69 percent to 50 percent. Currently this marginal rate, on incomes over $380,000, has been reduced to 35 percent. But as taxes on the rich and famous from Warren Buffet to Mitt Romney illustrate, the wealthy, through loopholes and creative accounting, are able to effectively reduce these intended rates of 35 percent to 14 percent, while the average citizens pay vastly higher percentages.

The revenues which would be raised are estimated at 6 to 9.5 billion dollars, far more than Governor Brown's proposal. These funds would be held strictly accountable under separate audit, by passing Sacramento, flowing directly to local school districts and county government. They would be apportioned as follows: 36 percent to schooling from kindergarten through grade 12; 24 percent to public colleges and universities; 25 percent to children's and senior services; 10 percent to public safety and 5 percent to road and bridge maintenance.

Beside the Brown proposal and The Millionaires Tax, civil rights attorney Molly Munger has proposed an initiative titled Our Children, Our Future. She proposes to raise funds exclusively for early childhood programs and kindergarten through high school education by raising personal income taxes on all Californians earning in excess of $7,316 annually. This proposal would sunset after the year 2024. Although it has achieved some support, Munger's initiative trails The Millionaires Tax and the Brown proposal.

Independent polling done in January shows Munger's initiative supported by 51 percent, the Brown Proposal by 62 percent and The Millionaires Tax by 70 percent. Harry and Carol Brill, retired educators collecting signatures to qualify the Millionaires Tax for the ballot found out about this popularity first hand. While outside their local market collecting signatures last week, they were beseiged by voters eager to sign qualifying petitions. As one of the signers, who confessed to being a millionaire, said "Its the least that I can do!"]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1292357 2012-02-21T19:29:21-05:00 2012-04-22T05:12:01-04:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
"W.E.", Madonna's ill-advised, poorly reviewed, mishmash biopic brings back the Wallis Simpson-Prince Edward romance of the 1930's that caused Edward to abdicate the throne of England. Or was that the real reason? Madonna doesn't even get her feet wet in considering Simpson, shuffling and buffering the "romance" with a modern parallel that makes little more sense than Eddie-Wallis debacle.

So let's refresh the events. Simpson had been married twice before her royal involvement, had a swirl of ex-lovers and a rumored terminated pregnancy from Count Galeazzo Ciano, later Mussolini's son-in-law. She had worked the night clubs and very possibly the brothels of Hong Kong as an "escort." According to the head of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch, she was having an affair with a used car salesman while she was hooking Edward. According to other royalty (the ex-Duke of Wurttemberg), she had an affair with Nazi Ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop, as well. So much for her fairy tale romance with Edward.

Yet the movie's pandering promotionals and pot boiling posters sell this tawdry hook-up as a dream romance: "Their passion brought down an Empire." While this is certainly not the case, many in the British government did fear that if Edward had assumed the throne, it may very well have brought down England. Just like the Academy Award winning Best Picture "The King's Speech," "W.E." glosses over Prince Edward's unabashed pro-Nazi sentiments and Simpson's right wing dalliances.

Edward and Wallis maintained high praise for the Nazi rulers of Germany, applauding their accomplishments while befriending their high officials. Many thought Simpson might have been a Nazi agent. FBI files indicate the depth of her Nazi sympathies. Wallis and Edward were married at Chateau de Conde, lent to them by Charles Bedoux, who worked for the Nazis during WWII.

Perhaps most embarrassing was their 1937 high profile visit to Nazi Germany where they were entertained by Hitler at Berchtesgarden. Hitler praised Wallis, telling all that she would have made a wonderful Queen of England. Wallis clearly shared Hitler's racism, referring to Blacks as "lazy, thriving niggers" and Asians as servant "Boys."

Compared to Wallis Simpson, Margaret Thatcher is even more difficult to romanticize. In the "Iron Lady" celebration, Streep excells in an otherwise unwatchable film. Forget for a minute that she is portraying the woman who devastated the working class and impoverished millions by breaking unions, selling off state enterprises, de-regulating large sectors of the economy, attacking Argentina over old colonial overreach and pandering to the racist policies of the National Front while supporting the apartheid policies of South Africa.

Giving Thatcherism another platform, humanizing her as an individual, just lends aid and comfort to one of the most vicious right wing lions. Glossing over the hardships that she visited on the working class and further concentrating wealth in Britain's Ruling Class, turns a deaf ear to current issues as well as papering over the problems of the past. The gauzy, foolish flash backs and poorly written script only fool those with little knowledge of history.

As Madonna and Meryl less than gracefully exit the back stage door, thankfully we have many talented, politically active young actresses like Scarlett Johansson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway and others breathing life into roles that provide examples of how to change our society for the better. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1184636 2012-01-05T12:51:59-05:00 2012-03-06T05:12:01-05:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/ Matt Taibbi, Glen Greenwald and other investigative reporters and analysts have repeatedly shown how large institutions' financial practices undermined the national economy and impoverished local communities.

But one of the bright spots of last year was the return to progressive political action to hold financial institutions accountable. Not all of this action has been in the streets. Some of the most constructive attempts at change have taken place in local agencies where progressive political leaders have used their powers creatively.

One such local activist is Abel Guillen, a bright, energetic education leader in his second term as Trustee of California's Peralta Community Colleges. These colleges -- Laney, Merritt, Berkeley and Alameda Colleges -- serve the large East Bay Alameda County working class population in the San Francisco East Bay (Alameda County). The schools are stepping stones for immigrant and blue collar families to achieve employment and improve their standards of living.

Guillen himself, the son of a baker and a cook, the first in his family to graduate from college, grew up in a neighborhood where few people even considered college. He persevered through University of California, Berkeley, to earn his bachelor's degree, then a master's degree in public administration. For the last 10 years he has used these skills to give back to his community. Working as the vice president of a public school finance firm, he has helped raise over 2.5 billion dollars to build and modernize public schools and community colleges.

But as he worked on funding, he saw taxpayers dollars and student fees in the college system being railroaded out of the district into investment schemes that jeopardized the schools and enriched the few at the expense of the many.

So Abel Guillen fought back. On Nov. 25, he introduced -- and the Peralta Community College District passed unanimously -- a resolution for the local reinvestment of its student fees and community tax dollars that will move its funds from large, for-profit banks to community-based financial institutions. Guillen noted that these goals were in line with the most constructive aspects of the popular Occupy Movement, but removed from the destructive vandalism of fringe groups that trashed store fronts and disruptions that harassed workers.

"This practical action will redirect our college funds and spending power into community-based financial institutions and serve the interests of our students and the East Bay residents who make up the 99 percent," said Guillen. The Peralta Colleges serve more than 45,000 students and have an annual budget of $140 million dollars.

Guillen's resolution emulated the spirit of National Bank Transfer Day, the consumer action which paralleled and to some extent over-lapped Occupy Wall Street. For Transfer Day, consumers were urged to move their accounts from commercial banks to not-for-profit credit unions. Some in the Occupy movement did not think this action went far enough. But the Credit Union National Association reported that 650,000 people opened new accounts by the target date of Nov. 5. Some 80 percent of credit unions increased their new accounts as a result.

This movement gave concrete, constructive action to many who could not or would not join the movement in the streets and to those who wanted to take more than the symbolic act of demonstrating. Abel Guillen himself is seeking to take the next step... declaring himself a candidate for the California State Assembly. "There is much work to do," promised Guillen. "We are the generation to carry this all forward!"]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1175456 2011-12-30T09:12:28-05:00 2012-02-29T05:12:01-05:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
Glaubman called a few friends, who called a few others. She picked a busy corner of Berkeley's Solano Avenue, across from a Chase Bank and next to a recession closed movie house. Joined by her friends and theirs, they waved hand made signs that said "Tax the Rich" and "Join Us." And people did... at first a dozen or so.

But then more and more came. They stayed for an hour or so every Monday, met with an enthusiastic reception from passing autos which honked and gave thumbs up. Some stopped, parked and joined in. Now the numbers have swelled to almost a hundred. People have committed to spin off to satellite locations closer to their homes.

The group is largely seniors, volunteers seasoned in the labor, civil rights and anti-war movements. Some call themselves "Senior Action" or "Occupy Retirement." Out of the senior centers and into the street, they joke. Glaubman herself was a friend of politically conscious, science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (1928 - 1982, whose work gave us the movies Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and more).

Harry Brill, the group's co-founder, is 82. He is a veteran of labor and political struggles. "We needed something for people who normally don't get active, something they would feel comfortable doing, but have their voices heard," he said. One woman came because she felt alone after her activist husband's death. Another woman, wheelchair bound as a result of arthritis, felt the group was more appropriate for her than the younger Occupy Berkeley and Occupy Oakland demonstrations.

But younger people as well have joined. Many enjoy the socializing and festive air of the group. The local newspaper has complained that the group showed "too much gaiety," as if one shouldn't enjoy taking political action. Local musicians have aided and abetted. Popular local artists have serenaded the demonstrations, including Hali Hammer and Nancy Schimmel. Schimmel, whose mother Malvina Reynolds wrote such standards as "Little Boxes on the Hillside" and "What Have They Done to the Rain," has formed the group Occupella which organizes public singing at Bay Area occupation sites and marches, promoting peace, justice and an end to corporate domination. It currently specializes in supporting the Occupy movement.

Festive atmosphere or not, local politicos like former Berkeley Councilmember Carla Woodworth and former Rent Board President Randy Silverman have lent their support, as well. "It would be nice," observed Woodworth, "if more local officials would join in, rather than try to squelch the movement. There is ample evidence that the Occupy Movements provide services that the City often doesn't. Besides, the clean up from the financial system is much worse and more toxic than anything generated by Occupy." And, indeed, last week, a woman being wrongfully evicted from her home sought support at the demonstration, was referred to Congresswoman Barbara Lee's constituent services and has secured her home. People from the demonstration have also organized out of it a food collection for those in need. Others are talking about taking a more pro-active stand, possibly civil disobediences.

So as Occupy Oakland, Occupy San Jose and Occupy San Francisco have been repeatedly broken up by police, moved and reconfigured. . . the more modest, but growing, seniors and their friends seek to occupy your neighborhood next. And they want your help! Like the sign says: "Join us!"]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1073063 2011-11-03T17:10:34-04:00 2012-01-03T05:12:02-05:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
Much like San Francisco's General Strike of 1934, which was called after two workers were killed by police, Oakland's General Strike was called after two tour of duty marine Scott Olsen's skull was fractured by police. Coincidentally, the third worker injured in 1934's Bloody Thursday, the one who survived, was also named Olsen.

The General Strike started slowly, with a morning rally and an educational session about the self-enriching Wall Street and bank practices which have impoverished the country. The morning also included a flash mob performance of the old disco hit "I will survive... Capitalism!"

The afternoon featured a Children's Gathering at the Oakland Public Library, a rally and press conference. Free communal lunch was served by the People's Grocery, Farm to Table, Food First and other providers.

After lunch, bank actions included a tour of local banks with more information on the practices that brought on the Great Recession and still strangle our economy. Disabled groups and Seniors Action Brigade sponsored a short march/roll, while others engaged in sit-in/teach-ins on the sides of Oakland City Hall. Later in the afternoon, a family bike ride and stroller march was organized for families in the downtown area. A labor cook out supported and staffed by National Nurses United, Service Employees International Union, International Longshore and Warehousemans Union and other labor organizations fed thousands a nourishing, balanced, free meal.

People would need the nourishment for the mile and a half march from the Occupy Oakland encampment in front of City Hall to the Port. As marchers reached the Port's main entrance, a bicycle brigade blocked large semi trucks from entering. The tractor trailers were soon surrounded by thousands who also blocked the entrance, shutting down the Port. Some drivers just abandoned their trucks at least temporarily. Many drivers, like Mann Sing from the Central Valley, were supportive of the Occupy march even as dozens of protestors climbed the cabs and boxes, waving banners and sometimes playing music. Bands and drum contingents representing labor and community organizations played old labor standards and freshly composed songs celebrating the Occupy movement.

The marchers were as diverse as Oakland itself: middle-aged and young, women, men and kids, college students and workers. All ethnic groups were well represented. There was not only a festive feeling, but a peaceful, almost friendly atmosphere that local reporters and media observed. When a few black clad, masked anarchists broke bank windows, the demonstrators restrained them, then cleaned up the broken glass. When a Mercedes, driving erratically, hit two marchers in a crowd on the way to the Port, demonstrators cared for them until emergency vehicles could navigate the thronged marchers. Finally, well after the day's conclusion and the thousands had dispersed, a small group of anarchists struck again, setting fire to a few dumpsters. This time there were no marchers to clean up their mess. They were dispersed by the police who had maintained a low key presence.

But overwhelmingly positive, peaceful spirit may not hold if the demonstrators concerns are not addressed. As time goes on, people may be less inclined to clean up the mess that banks have left us with whether it be broken windows, bankruptcies or foreclosures. If Wall Street and their lobbyists prevail in protecting the ill-gotten gains of the 1%... if the generosity of people continues to be taken advantage of and the largest wealth transfer in history is not reversed, then next time people gather they will not be so genial.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1033968 2011-10-26T19:45:58-04:00 2011-12-26T05:12:01-05:00

Michael Berkowitz http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/
- Police Over-reaction: Tear gas and police batons have been used largely without warning to break up an overwhelmingly peaceful encampment... an encampment made up of dozens of orderly tents, a school and playground area for the resident kids, a regular clean up crew, a largely self-governing assembly that provided more security than the truncheon wielding attack police. Certainly there were problems, including some disorder and an often truculent anti-authoritarian tone that was often as hostile to the press as to the gendarmes. But no one was as badly injured at Occupy Oakland as they were by the police who broke up the camp and beat protestors.

- Diversity:The camp and its supporters reflect the diversity that has endured the Great Recession: Not only the young, the unemployed and people of color, but seniors, retirees, those lucky enough to still be workers, military veterans and job-seekers.

- Numbers: The size of Occupy Oakland ranged from the two thousand marchers and campers present on October 15 to the thousand or more that demonstrated in support last night (October 25).

- Peaceful Nature: Despite the size of the crowds and their anger at the system that has betrayed them, the campers and demonstrators have not used violence to register their discontent or strike back. Even the reporters covering the events thought it remarkable that no windows were trashed or stores looted. At one point last night, as demonstrators marched past a stranded police car, they made a point to protect it from any angry outbursts.

- What do they want and when do they want it: By now even the most obtuse commentator knows why the Occupy movement has swept across the United States and the world. Every day more data piles up showing how the greatest transfer of wealth in history has undermined the health of our economy, broken families and ruined lives. The cry from the streets is to address this problem. But it certainly is not the responsibility of those protesting to effect this change. Clearly it is the responsibility of those in power who have underwrote the change and those who have benefited from it.

- Where do we go from here? Where we should go from here is out into the streets to join the protestors because that is the only thing that media, politicians and corporations seem to understand. The demonstrations need to be as large and long lasting as possible. They may not always be on as good behavior as Occupy Oakland, where last night a few kids resorted to throwing stones. There will also be more casualties among demonstrators, like the two-tour Marine Iraqi War Veteran who police hit with a rubber bullet to the head or the young people hit with batons.

But the threat of large scale protest from Wisconsin to New York, from Chicago to Oakland, in 1000 cities and towns around the world has drawn attention that the large-scale suffering of unemployed and impoverishment has not. It is long past time for suffering in silence and timid politeness. Occupy may be only the first step in pushback.]]>