By Eric W. Schoen
Listening to the hearing last week for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, I kept thinking to myself that maybe growing up it was better being poor. I wasn’t fortunate to go to Georgetown Prep School outside of Washington, or Yale for my college education. I went to Yonkers High School (as did my mother and grandmother) and Pace University for my bachelors and master’s degrees. And I got a good education!
We didn’t have parties where people got inebriated with beer and did or didn’t do things they would resent later in life. In fact, let me tell you about the one time I got a little drunk in high school.
Some friends and I decided to go to a bazaar at a local synagogue in south Yonkers. For those who don’t know what a bazaar is, it is an opportunity for the synagogue to raise money. Members of the synagogue and friends who are in business donate items for sale at bargain basement prices – paints, hardware, toiletries, some items new and some items that are in-between. Someone’s trash is someone’s treasure.
Back then, bazaars were held not only at this southwest Yonkers synagogue but, in fact, most Jewish synagogues and fraternal organizations had some form of a bazaar.
I was 16 or 17 and legal to drive a car. I was not legal to drink, but it didn’t matter in this scenario. One of the features of the bazaar was a liquor wheel where you placed a dollar on what you hoped would be your lucky number. The man would spin the wheel and you would win the prize if the needle landed on your lucky number. The prizes ranged from inexpensive bottles of wine to liquor. We are not talking about Chivas Regal or Dom Perignon.
So I won a bottle of Manischewitz wine. For those of you who don’t know what Manischewitz wine is, it is a red, thick, overly sweet wine served for the Jewish holidays. It’s an acquired taste. If you have never had it before you might think it tastes a little like the cough syrup you had as a child.
So I gathered my friends in my car and we passed the bottle of Manischewitz wine around, everyone taking a drink. The four or five of us finished the bottle. We really did not get drunk. We got sick to our stomachs drinking the thick, Concord grape wine. It took me two days to recover. But I learned my lesson that drinking Manischewitz was not a way to get drunk, but a way to get sick.
We were all guys and we were not heading to the homes of girls we knew to continue the party. The girls were smarter than we were. They didn’t attempt to get drunk on Manischewitz.
So this brings us to the debacle that mesmerized America last Thursday. On the one hand, you had a doctor who very believably told us she was a victim of sexual abuse. On the other hand, you had a judge wanting appointment to the highest court in the land denying any form of sexual abuse involving the doctor.
None of the doctor’s friends could corroborate her story. The one man who was supposedly in the room when the sexual assault allegedly occurred has had alcohol and psychiatric issues and could not corroborate the doctor’s story. He is not a public speaker because of his instability. Given his situation, I doubt he can bring much more to the picture.
I pause for a minute to make one thing perfectly clear: Obtaining the votes to put Judge Kavanaugh on the bench is in the hands of President Donald Trump. If he can’t obtain the votes needed for this important appointment, unless something truly earthshaking comes out of the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ one-week probe, Trump will be a one-term president. No Kavanaugh approval? Forget about the Trump agenda. This is such a critical point in his presidency.
As I watched the television Thursday I was shocked at so many things.
The prosecutor who questioned Dr. Ford for the Republicans did a lousy job. You noticed that many of the Republican senators did not use her services, as her questioning was weak. She came out with a report that said a reasonable prosecutor would not bring a case based on the evidence that has come out and the discrepancies in testimony. I think both Democrats and Republicans ignored her.
Kavanaugh looked emotionally unstable when it was his turn to speak. After the break, he was calmer and reserved. Someone must have given him some good meds to calm him down. He certainly was right to go after the partisanship of the Democrats and the fact that the ranking Democrat held onto important information until the very end. Sen. Feinstein turning around to ask her aide if she released the confidential information was laughable. Does the senator think we are gullible enough to believe her act? I hope not.
Do you have your calendars from high school detailing everything you did, as Kavanaugh put forth? I doubt it. Can you rattle off the names of every girl in your high school or college class? After more than 36 years have passed? I certainly can’t.
So what do we have in this mess? A president accused of sexual abuse caught on tape bragging about his ability to assault woman. A seventh FBI investigation of what appears to be a popular judge. The FBI getting directions to look at everything or limited in what they can look at, depending on who you talk to. An FBI that will simply investigate and report back its findings. Democrats who will never be happy with an FBI investigation that they screamed and cried for.
A judge who lets his young children watch this saga – something I don’t think a normal parent accused of such serious allegations would do. Senators accused of having passed out drinking. No one remembering anything. A judge scolding U.S. senators. And U.S. Senators acting rude and obnoxious.
And attorneys, senators, congresspersons, witnesses and everyone else wanting their 15 Andy Warhol minutes of fame. What a mess. How can “We, the People” let Democracy break down like this? How can our leaders in the Senate and Congress act in a disgusting partisan fashion?
It’s all very simple. You have a bunch of rich kids drinking beer and having house parties that are out of control. How does this differ from the Jersey Shore television show? The only thing missing are the tans and bathing suits. Oops, I forgot that the doctor was wearing a bathing suit.
It all goes back to my initial point: Maybe we (or most of us) should be glad we grew up poor… And haven’t saved for 36 years our daily calendars from High School.
These are issues that bring up strong feelings. If you agree or disagree with me, send your letters for publication (space permitting) to risingmediagroup@gmail.com.
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com and follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show on Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m. on WVOX 1460 AM or download the Simple Radio app for free from the App Store.
