Category Archives: History

When Political Vitriol Was Infused With Wit

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Mark Stern

In 1968, ABC News’ ratings were in the basement. The networks’ executives knew they “needed a media event” and hired two public intellectuals, Gore Vidal, a Democrat and historian, and William F. Buckley Jr., a “new” Conservative, to debate during the Democratic and Republican … Continue reading →

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Grace Lee Boggs: 100

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Mark Stern

American hero, the indomitable Grace Lee Boggs is 100 today–and for more than three quarters of a century, with a literal belief in the promises made by our Constitution, she has been fighting for civil rights, equality. Boggs, brilliant and indefatigable, still … Continue reading →

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Is Paris Exploding?

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Mark Stern

Before dawn in Paris on August 25, 1944, a German aristocrat, General Dietrich von Choltitz (Niels Arestrup), prepares to execute an order from Hitler (enraged  by the destruction of Berlin), to replace beauty with rubble in the City of Light, to greet the advancing Allied … Continue reading →

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Today Is the Leo’s Birthday Holiday

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Mark Stern

And why shouldn’t it be?  Although the country seems to be celebrating Presidents’ Day (without any agreement on whether or not the apostrophe should be there), the United States government recognizes the third Monday in February as Washington’s Birthday. Some states … Continue reading →

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Who You Calling a Lady?

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Mark Stern

I just read that Mae Young (that would be the Great Mae Young), professional wrestling champion and Hall of Famer, died nearly a month ago, in Columbia, SC, age 90. The headline of her New York Times obit called her “unladylike.” … Continue reading →

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“Savage Contradictions”

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Mark Stern

In Rome in 1975 director Claude Lanzmann filmed his first protagonist, the brilliant Benjamin Murmelstein, for what would become his masterwork about the Holocaust, “Shoah.”  But Lanzmann subsequently omitted all of the footage from the the week-long interview, “‘Shoah’ is … Continue reading →

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Seven Score and Ten Years Ago

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Mark Stern

150 years ago today Abraham Lincoln attended the dedication ceremony for the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg, the final resting place for the more than 3,500 Union soldiers who had died during the ferocious three-day battle. He was not the … Continue reading →

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Bye, Bye, Bloomberg

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Mark Stern

Tomorrow, as we count down the final days of the three-term, 12-year reign of a plutocrat (with four of those years run for illegally, in defiance of the will of the majority, who twice voted to term limit our mayor), … Continue reading →

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37, 5 and 1,138

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Mark Stern

My dear friends Jeff Weinstein and John Perreault met in  San Diego in the fall of 1976. By December they knew they were a couple. Some thirty years later, as same-sex marriage was being legalized, tentatively, a state at a … Continue reading →

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This Is 40: Roe v. Wade, 2013

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Mark Stern

Terry O’Neill, president of National Organization for Women, a tireless fighter for women’s rights, will lead a candlelight vigil tomorrow, January 22, from 5:00-6:00 pm, at the U.S. Supreme Court to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The Court’s … Continue reading →

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