Tag Archives: sag aftra

11.12.23
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Hello Again

This is what happens when you leave for just a little while.  When you return, everything is a mess.

Of course, I blame no one but myself.  Certainly not any of you.  For the last month or so my other half and I have been furiously working day and night to meet a deadline on an update to a book he first wrote about the history of Saturday Night Live ten years ago. 

Oh, you want to know what it’s called? 

Sure! 

Saturday Night Live FAQ: Everything Left To Know About Television’s Longest Running Comedy.

Actually, it’s part history, part academic, part fan-based nostalgia, a lot of reliving of outstanding and controversial moments, a TON about how they cover politics (especially in the last 20 years) and hopefully all fun and informative.

And it will be coming out Fall 2024.

But meanwhile, what the what with the world??????

This Jewish, gay man of a certain age wants to know.  Or do I?

Is it safe??

Let’s not get too heavy this first week back, though it’s a little difficult to even broach the subject of being Jewish these days with a sense of humor while saying anything relevant.

On the other hand — um — FRAN DRESCHER!!!!

Yeah, you didn’t think she’d get the SAG strike settled to almost everyone’s satisfaction AND do anything about A.I. and streaming residuals. 

Hahahahahahaha!

See, like Fran, I grew up in Flushing so I know what we’re capable of when we put our minds to it.  You want to make fun of her for bringing a plushy heart to a negotiation with Bob Iger or speaking with a NY (nee Jewish) accent?  Go ahead.

It only makes her/us stronger.

Fran’s body language says “f*ck around and find out”

See New York Jews tend to thrive when the chips are down.  Which is not to say we are the only ethnicity or cultural people this applies to.  Far from it.  It is also not to say we Jews, as a whole, are always right about everything, despite what our tone and manner might suggest.

However, what I can’t wrap my mind around is the knee-jerk anti-Jewish sentiment  (Note: It used to be called anti-Semitism) that has suddenly blazed across the country and world, especially among the academic community, like wildfire.  It makes one suspect it was always there.

Here’s a link to an article in The NY Times this weekend about what’s going on in college campuses across the country.

The bottom line for me is that it is possible to hold two or more thoughts in your head at the same time. 

You can be appalled at the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that killed hundreds of Israelis of all ages, took hundreds of hostages of all ages and was joyfully celebrated by its perpetrators of all ages.

You can also be horrified at the brutal decimation of the Gaza Strip and the deaths of many more hundreds of innocent Palestinians by Israel in an attempt to retaliate, protect itself and get its people back.

It’s ALL appalling and horrifying. 

Our brains at the moment

But to blame Jews for being, well, practicing Jews and protective of its people, or Muslims for feeling and advocating for Palestinians while practicing their faith is two awful sides of the same coin.

I have no sense yet of what the answer is to a many centuries old issue but it isn’t reveling in what about-isms like who was here first and who did what to whom when. 

And it’s certainly not about threats and name-calling — veiled or not so veiled.  It’s about trying to turn down the temperature a little and to then, slowly, begin to talk – or at least communicate.

also known as: not this

This seems strange coming from a citizen of a country that elected Donald Trump president (Note: Ugh, saying his name, feel free to turn away) and may do so again.  Though I, for one, do not think that will happen.  It’s clear to me that Never Trumpers far, far outnumber those foolish enough to vote for the four times indicted, twice impeached huckster sociopath from Queens (Note: Yeah, we gave you Fran but we also gave you Him) again.  Mark my words, he will lose any kind of national vote anywhere and anytime despite what any one snapshot in time poll number might now be saying.

Vote, vote, vote, vote, vote

None of which says anything about being Jewish anywhere, especially in the U.S. and most especially on a college campus, from 2023 on.

The only thing to remember is to be wary of ANYONE spouting racist, anti-Semitic, anti-democratic or virulently non-factual, pro-nativist dogma.  Giving voice to, reproducing or energizing their platforms of hate in any way is how we got into this mess in the first place.

SNL – A Thanksgiving Miracle (Adele)

10.01.23
by

Labor Gains

So this week the Writers Guild of America and members of the AMPTP – aka the major studios and streamers – reached an agreement on a new three-year contract. 

Yay!!

What this means is that once WGA members vote between Oct 2 – Oct 9th and make it official, an almost FIVE MONTH strike/work stoppage will end.

Hopefully, this will be followed by successful SAG-AFTRA negotiations this week, using some of what the WGA negotiated in terms of wages, streaming residuals and AI use as a template (Note: Yes, our issues differ but they also overlap so this will be a start). 

There will certainly be a few hiccups but if all goes according to expectations, the actors will also get a fair deal and the entertainment industry should be fully up and running again.

Weeeeee!

The agreement is a bit complicated but not so much that it is incomprehensible.  This Deadline Hollywood account gives you the highlights.

Click here for all the details!

But you know what would also be great? 

If the auto workers get a fair deal from their employers after agreeing to massive pay cuts when the economy tanked more than a decade ago in order to save their employers.

That would be great not only because they deserve it but also because it’s the JUST thing to do. 

You know the BIG THREE auto MAKERS (Note: Whose CEO’s now each make tens of millions a year apiece in salary and stock options thanks to their laborers work and past sacrifices) are behind the eight ball when none other than FORTUNE magazine runs an article a few weeks ago with this headline:

Auto workers want 36% pay hike…automakers can afford it.

Has the AMPTP gotten into cars?

I’d provide a link to the article but like so many things these days it’s hiding behind a pay wall.  And let’s face it, neither you or I are going to pay for a year’s worth of Fortune.

Still, here’s an article from NBC explaining some of the same issues.

There’s a reason labor unions exist and their workers sometimes must go on strike.

And no, it’s not because workers ENJOY going on strike. 

hence the post-strike celebration like this!

Nor is it because most employers will voluntarily pay their employees anything more than the bare minimum they can get away with.

That is why the labor movement began in the first place, unions were formed and FDR became a hero to everyday Americans when he went a step further by creating the social security safety net.

It’s also the reason that I believe Union Joe Biden will be elected president a second time. 

Eighty, schmeighty.

Doubt me, I dare you.

Most union members know when someone is blowing smoke up their engines, laptops or clip reels.

Especially when it’s happened before and the smoke is orange.

SHADE

So yeah, times are tough. 

But the majority of the country doesn’t want to go back in time before unions existed.

Nor do they want to recreate an era when women did not have the right to choose whether to have a child or had the ability to vote. 

And they certainly aren’t going to choose to live in a decade where their non-white friends and co-workers didn’t have equal rights or their gay and lesbian relatives could never even consider legally getting married.

My blood is already boiling

Sure, some people want all of that.  Somewhere. 

But they’re the VAST minority.

The kind of folks who rejoice at shutting the government down just so they can inflict pain on people in the military, civil servant employees and kids from low income families who rely on federal nutrition programs in order to eat.

The types who think people who don’t agree with them should be put to death. 

You can say that again

Or don’t mind if the guy they’re voting for says it. 

Even about a four-star U.S. Army general.

Science tells us that for every action there is a reaction. 

But in the last few months the labor movement has shown us that this can more often than not be a very good thing, especially when you stand up for what’s right.

Lisa Simpson – “Union Strike Folk Song”