Peter Ross’s, AKA efgoldman’s, Obituary

by 5:10 pm. It has 227 Comments.

Thanks to commenter SiubhanDuinne, here’s Peter’s obituary:

ROSS, Peter F. Age 73, of Cumberland, RI, formerly of Belmont, MA, and Brookline, MA, passed away March 25. He was, for nearly 20 years, a well-known voice to Boston as an announcer for classical radio station WCRB before beginning his second career working with Fidelity Investments in 1995, where he remained until retiring in 2015. He was a dedicated musician, staying enmeshed in Boston’s classical and amateur music communities after leaving the air, serving as concert announcer for several community bands and at the annual Boston Festival of Bands held each June at Faneuil Hall. He was particularly involved with the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, where he performed as concert announcer for more than 20 years and also served as a member of the board. He was a 1963 graduate of Brookline High School and 1968 graduate of Boston University. He is survived by his brother; his wife Marilyn; his daughter Katherine, son-in-law Matthew, and beloved grandchildren Miranda and Ethan, to whom he was utterly devoted and by whom he was utterly smitten. A Memorial Reception will be held in April. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Metropolitan Wind Symphony, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, or any local music education program in your community that serves to teach and inspire the next generation of musicians.

View the online memorial for Peter F. ROSS

Also, while I know a lot of folks are concerned that something seems to have happened to his comments, when I do a keyword search at the comments tab in the dashboard, they’re all still in there. So this is probably one of the joys of WP. Just know they’re not gone. We now know there is a problem. And I’ll make sure Cole and Alain know so we can ensure they don’t go poof.

Fuckem!

Open thread!

 





This post is in and has 227 Comments.

Proud to Be A Democrat: John Dingell’s Last Warning

by 7:01 pm. It has 31 Comments.

… In my life and career, I have often heard it said that so-and-so has real power — as in, “the powerful Wile E. Coyote, chairman of the Capture the Road Runner Committee.”

It’s an expression that has always grated on me. In democratic government, elected officials do not have power. They hold power — in trust for the people who elected them. If they misuse or abuse that public trust, it is quite properly revoked (the quicker the better)…

Zack Stanton, in Politico, “You’re Living in the America John Dingell Made”:

… He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1955, a year after the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education deemed “separate but equal” unconstitutional; he remained in office into the second term of the nation’s first black president. His 59 years in Congress are the most of anyone in American history and span more than a quarter of the time since the Constitution created the legislative branch. He was sworn in at 29, the same age Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is today. She would have to remain in the House until 2078 to match his tenure. He was there for the administrations of 11 of the nation’s 45 presidents. “Presidents come and presidents go,” Bill Clinton said at a 2005 celebration of Dingell’s 50th year in Congress. “John Dingell goes on forever.”…

Modern America is as much a creation of John Dingell’s life work as anyone’s. If you or a parent or grandparent have relied on Medicare or Medicaid; if you’ve seethed about the lack of gun control; if you’ve cheered that segregation of public places is illegal and employment discrimination is banned; if you’re thankful for the continued existence of the U.S. auto industry; if you’ve raged about gas-guzzling cars contributing to climate change; if your health insurance is purchased on the Obamacare exchanges; if you’ve swum in lakes or rivers or oceans free from toxic pollution; if you’ve drunk a glass of or bathed your children in tap water with confidence that it’s free from contamination; then John Dingell played a role in your life…
Read more





This post is in , , , and has 31 Comments.

RIP, John Dingell

by 9:10 pm. It has 56 Comments.

A legendary legislator has passed:

Michigan Democrat John Dingell, the longest-serving member ever of Congress who helped write most of the nation’s major environmental and energy laws, died Thursday, his wife said. He was 92.

The Dearborn statesman was a champion of the auto industry and was credited with increasing access to health care, among other accomplishments. Dingell helped write most of America’s major environmental and energy laws.

He was also absolutely hysterical on twitter, and I can only imagine how funny he was in person.





This post is in , and has 56 Comments.

RIP, Schlemazel

by 7:34 pm. It has 254 Comments.

Valued commenter and member of the Balloon Juice community Schlemazel was taken off life support today and has passed. I have been chatting with his niece, Laura, for the past few days (and she is a delightful person so that bloodline has some good genes- I hope she realizes she has big shoes to fill here), and she stated that the plan was for him to be surrounded by loved ones. She broke the news earlier:

I only have a few moments for an update to all of you most wonderful people. I am sorry to break the news that his all to brief life is over. I thank each and everyone of you for the kind, funny, snarky beautiful comments. I have to believe that he heard Roger Stone was arrested but ducked out before he heard his orangeness for a final time. And OzarkHillbilly – do you have any idea how long that amount of fucks takes to read??? I think the poem I will save for his memorial. I will update more later, but know he is at peace and he went out knowing you all loved him dearly.

Take care, man, and don’t forget to feed Tunch.





This post is in and has 254 Comments.

Good Thoughts for Schlemazel: An Ongoing Series of Posts

by 8:30 am. It has 155 Comments.

Today we inaugurate a new, ongoing series of posts: Good thoughts and well wishes for Schlemazel. This way his niece can aggregate the comments and read them to him at his and her convenience. I’m sure it will also be okay if you throw in some good thoughts for efgoldman and the occasional fuckem in his honor, but I’m funny that way.

So let me kick this off: we’re keeping good thoughts for Schlemazel and his family. Also, for efgoldman.

FUCKEM!

Not so open, stay on topic, thread!





This post is in , and has 155 Comments.