Desert Local News Jan 21, 2011 Special Palm Springs Film Festival coverage

Desert LocaL News © JaN. 21, 2011 1

MODUS OPERANDI FILMS and UK FILM COUNCIL in association with SMOKE & MIRRORS present a fi lm by CRAIG McCALL “CAMERAMAN: THE LIFE AND WORK OF JACK CARDIFF” Composer MARK SAYER-WADE Associate Editor CHRIS DICKENS Art Director MILES GLYN Line Producer MARTIN DOREY Associate producers SEAN BROUGHTON HELEN IRESON STEVE PARISH PENNY VERBE MARK WILDIGCinematographers STEVEN CHIVERS RICARDO COLL SIMON FANTHORPE NICHOLAS HOFFMAN JONATHAN RHO IAN SALVAGE JOHN WALKER JAMES WELLAND BOB WILLIAMS Executive producers MASON CARDIFF LENNY CROOKS CHRIS ROFF JULIE WILLIAMS Editor DAN ROBERTS Co-producer RICHARD McGILL Directed and Produced by CRAIG McCALLW W W . J A C K C A R D I F F . C O M

JANUARY 21, 2011 ISSUE 2 ‘Palm Springs Fi lm Festival ’ PRICE $5.95

Deser t People M agazine

Desert LocaL News © JaN. 21, 20112

DHS Cit y Council Ed Smith talks to Channel 2 news rep or ter

The publ ic conf idence level in the t wice delayed Wor ld Wel lness and Music Fest ival ac tual ly tak ing place rose exponentia l ly when Ed Smith announced he would be work ing with Tony Clark .

Wellness & World Music Festival b a c k o n t ra c k !Ed Smith announces he wi l l be work ing with Tony Clark to br ing the Wor ld Health and Music Fest ival to town.

Ed Smith ,

who res igned f rom the Deser t Hot Spr ings Po -l ice Depar tment on Jan-uar y 2nd announced he

would immediately be -gin work ing with Tony Clark . He thanked the c i t y for the oppor tunit y to ser ve the last three and one hal f years. He maintains a res idence in the Coachel la Val ley and sa id, “ I want to see a successful event .”

R e p o r t a n d P h o t o s b y B r u ce M o n t g o m e r y


2 0 1 1 D a t e Fe s t i va l Q u e e n S c h e h e ra z a d e, A n n a Aco s t a ; P r i n ce s s D u nya z a d e, H a l e y G l a s s ; a n d P r i n ce s s J a s m i n e,

M y l e a W I l s o n ~ P h o t o b y B r u ce M o n t g o m e r y

Wind is our fr iendCongratulations

M ichael Douglas ar r ived at the Annenberg Theater with his beaut i fu l wi fe K ather ine Zeta Jones and his Brother Joel Douglas and his wi fe. M ichael was given the Icon Award f rom the Palm Spr ings I nternat ional Fi lm Fest ival .

He was photographed by most of the large magazines and photography companies on a Red Carpet ins ide the Annenberg Theater. T V crews got to ask him Quest ions for L ive T V dur ing this t ime.

He arr ived a few minutes late so Harold Matzner sa id he wasn’t going to make a long speech. Harold did mention that the Fest ival has done ver y wel l and this i s their best year ever in audience attendance. He a lso

stated that the whole Douglas Family has t ies to the Museum with Donat ions and suppor t

Moderator for the Q&A was Renown Peter Bar t . He star ted with a br ief Video of M ichael Douglas’s career. M ichael Douglas came onto the Stage to a Standing O vat ion. Peter asked M ichael some tough quest ions about his bout with Cancer. M ichael sa id he had just found out the tumor is gone and he is cancer f ree. He sa id he had found a new appreciat ion of fami ly. He has a deeper love for fami ly and grateful for a l l the suppor t f rom fami ly and f r iends.

He spoke about his new movie about L iberace and sa id some of the movie wi l l be f i lmed here in the Deser t . Another quest ion was

asked about independent f i lming and how hard i t i s today to get f i lms into the Market .

Peter Bar t asked him about todays stars and the di f ferences f rom today and when he became an ac tor. He sa id when he star ted the only one they had to worr y about was Hedda Hopper and today i ts the paparazzi . M ichael sa id he has been coming to the Deser t s ince he was a chi ld and his father was a big inf luence in his career as K i rk Douglas has made over 100 movies. M ichael wants to make a movie with his wi fe as soon as they f ind a good scr ipt . M ichael learned a great deal f rom fe l low ac tor K ar l Maldon.

The f i lm The Sol i tar y Man was shown af ter the Q&A.

By Pat Krause

The f i lm The Sol i tar y Man was

M i k e D o u g l a sat the Annenberg Theater


A sk any woman what essent ia ls she a lways car-

r ies with her, and you’re l ikely to get a long and var ied l i s t : ce l lphone, keys, makeup, wal let ; those are just the bas ics. But comedienne, ta lk show host and mother Joy Behar has recent ly added a new i tem to her l i s t of “must-haves.” I t ’s a smal l s i lver- colored tote and key chain that ’s s l ight ly smal ler than a l ipst ick , and i ts contents could one day help save her l i fe.

“ We have a long histo -r y of hear t d isease in my fami ly. M y mother had a hear t attack at 50 , and her brothers and parents a lso died f rom hear t d isease,” says Behar. “ With so much hear t d isease in my fam-i ly, I k now that I have to be prepared in case I have a sudden hear t attack .”

I n her tote, Behar keeps aspir in , so she could chew i t in the event of a hear t attack to help reduce damage to her hear t af ter d ia l ing 911. Exper ts agree that aspir in , when taken as di rec ted by a doc tor dur ing a suspec t-ed hear t attack , can help reduce the r isk of death by 23 percent .

“ I keep my pi l l tote c l ipped to my ID badge for work so that I a lways have i t with me,” says Behar.

Behar and her daugh-ter Eve have par tnered with the makers of Bayer Aspir in and WomenHear t :

The Nat ional Coal i t ion for Women with Hear t Dis-ease to encourage women to k now their r i sk for hear t d isease and to be ready when a hear t attack str ikes by cal l ing 911 and tak ing aspir in as di rec ted by a doc tor. As par t of the campaign, Bayer is of fer ing a l imited edit ion pi l l tote at IAmProHear t .com for a $5 donat ion to WomenHear t , and Bayer wi l l match each dona-t ion up to a maximum of $100,000. L imit f ive (5) per household, whi le sup -pl ies last . Donat ions help fund educat ional pro -gramming and outreach that enable women with hear t d isease to share their exper iences and per-sonal stor ies of courage and sur vival with other women who have or are at r isk for developing hear t d isease.

Betsy Abdulghani i s just one of the more than 30,000 WomenHear t mem-bers across the countr y, and she had her own c lose cal l with hear t d isease at the ear ly age of 42 .

“ I am ac t ive and have no fami ly h istor y of hear t d isease,” says Abdulghani . “S ix months af ter a check-up, I began exper iencing t ightness in my chest that fe l t l ike indigest ion and pain in my r ight arm and hand. I took aspir in just in case i t was a hear t attack . Two days later, I saw my doc tor and was rushed to the hospita l where tests showed I ’d exper ienced a hear t attack and was on the verge of a second

hear t attack . M y doc tor discov-ered that one of my ar ter ies was completely blocked.”

Af ter re -ceiv ing three stents and being placed on an aspir in regimen, Abdulghani i s now a WomenHear t Champion, a group of WomenHear t members specia l ly t ra ined to advocate for impor tant programs, awareness and resources in suppor t of other women with hear t d isease.

“ The unfor tunate t ruth is that hear t d isease is st i l l the leading cause of death for women in the United States, and too of ten the s igns of a hear t attack in women can be subt le and go unnoticed or under treated,” says K arol Watson, M.D. , chair of the WomenHear t S c ien-t i f ic Advisor y Counci l and co - direc tor of the Pro -gram in Preventat ive Car-diology at UCLA. “ That ’s why i t ’s so impor tant to have advocates l ike Joy, Eve and Betsy help -ing to ra ise awareness in women, encouraging preparedness and helping to save women’s l ives.”

Dr. Watson expla ins that hear t attack symp -toms that women may exper ience include:

* Chest pressure, t ightness and heaviness

* Pain in the shoul-ders, neck , jaw or arms

* Lightheadedness or faintness

* Paleness, sweating or nausea

* Shor tness of breath, with or without chest pain

Studies have shown that women are less l ikely than men to sur vive a hear t attack , mak ing i t even more impor tant for women to recognize these symptoms.

For Behar ’s daughter Eve, preparat ion is just one way that she and her mother are revers ing the t rend of hear t d isease in the fami ly. “ We encourage each other to eat health-ier, exerc ise more of ten and get regular health checkups,” she says. “ The pi l l tote makes for a great conversat ion star ter i f you’re not a l ready having this ta lk with your mom, and I ’m glad that she has her aspir in nearby in case she ever needs i t .”

“Ever yone’s so busy these days,” adds Behar. “ We’ve taken care of our chi ldren for a l l of these years, and now we need them to look out for us. Women have to put their own health f i rst for a change.” Cour tesy ARA

The must-have accessor y that could help save your l i fe


T he 333rd Star on the Palm Spr ings Walk of

Stars was dedicated to Palm Spr ings Author, C lark Howard, on Sat . Jan. 8th . M r. Howard has been a profess ional wr i ter for over 40 years and has garnered many awards. He has authored 16 novels , s ix non-f ic t ion books and hundreds of shor t stor ies. C lark is best k nown for books on cr ime, f ic t ion and

myster y. E l ler y Queen and Al f red H itchcock M yster y Magazines are just a few of the publ ica-t ions that carr y his shor t stor ies. C lark has l ived in the Deser t for many years and is proud to cal l th is h is home town. H is fami ly came from Aus-tra l ia to be here for this Star edicat ion.

The 334th Star was dedicated to Dr Andrew P. Ordon on Sat . Jan

15th. Dr. Ordon i s an accla imed plast ic and reconstruc t ive surgeon. He has t raveled to many countr ies to provide reconstruc t ive surger y to needy chi ldren. Dr. Phi l McGraw picked Andrew to star on the CBS show, “ The Doc tors”. Andrew is a publ ished author and has many presenta-t ions, Plast ic surger y papers and is honored for h is work . Dr. Ordon is considered a great

humanitar ian in his f ie ld. He has been a guest on many T V shows includ-ing 20/20, 48 hours, Phi l Donahue and several major news stat ionsDr. Ordon operates The Plast ic Surger y I nst i tute with of f ices in New York , Bever ly H i l l s and R an-cho M irage. Dr. Ordon is a lso a res ident of R ancho M irage. H is fami ly and f r iends attended this star with a par t y af ter wards at Spencers Restaurant .

Stor y and Photos by Pat Krause

The 333rd Starthe Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedic ated to Palm Springs Author, Clark Howard.

D r. A n d r e w P. O r d o n Po s e s w i t h h i s S t a rC l a r k H o wa r d ’s S t a r p o s e s w i t h h i s g ra n d c h i l d r e n . P h o t o s b y Pa t K ra u s e

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M a r i l y n M o n r o e A u d r e y H e p b u r n

S o p h i a Lo r e n A n i t a E k k b e r g

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Life Work Of Iconic Movie Cameraman Jack Cardif f Is A Triumph!By Jack Lyons Theatre and Fi lm Crit ic

N ot many people in show business, let a lone in any busi -

ness, can lay c la im to a career that spans nine decades whi le standing r ight in f ront of you shar-ing the stor ies and anec -dotes of h is l i fe’s work . Br i t ish c inematographer and movie di rec tor Jack Cardi f f i s that rare in-div idual who not only worked with some of the t wentieth centur y ’s most creat ive and inf luent ia l motion pic ture ar t ists , but is wi l l ing to share his thoughts and ins ights on the sometimes vexing, and def ini te ly col labora-t ive ar t of mak ing motion pic tures.

I n captur ing the fasc i -nat ing and br i l l iant stor y Cardi f f ’s career, f i lm di -rec tor Craig McCal l has in-vested 13 years of h is own l i fe in order to document the ful l impac t of the man most ever yone sa id was the f inest color c in-ematographer whoever peered into a camera lens.

I n this creat ively des igned and intel l igent ly craf ted tr ibute/documentar y f i lm, McCal l del ivers a fu l l -bod-ied profess ional por tra i t of what movie -mak ing ge -nius is a l l about .

Cardi f f, born in Eng-land in1904 to music hal l enter ta iner parents, be -came a chi ld ac tor in the s i lent era at the age of four. Growing up mainly se l f - taught (he was a vo -racious reader) , he lef t being “in f ront of the cam-era”, for a posit ion behind

i t , becoming a teenaged ”c lapper boy ” and then an ass istant cameraman, and eventual ly camera operator. Cardi f f was l i tera l ly a movie camera-man sponge, absorbing ever y aspec t of deal ing with how best to l ight a scene, where to place the camera, and how best to f i lm the ac tors for maxi-mum effec t and appeal . He went on to become the favor i te cameraman of Mar i lyn Monroe, Mar-lene Dietr ich, and Ava G ardner, among others.

H is f i lmography as a c inematographer is im-press ive. The turning point in Cardi f f ’s career came, in 1943, when, as a young 2nd unit cam-eraman work ing on “ The L i fe and Death of Colo -nel B l imp” he caught the attent ion of the great Engl ish motion pic ture producing, wr i t ing, and direc t ing team of M i-chael Powel l and Emric Pressburger. Ta lk about for tuitous t iming. He was hi red by them to be the cameraman on their impor tant , post-Wor ld War I I Technicolor epic, “A Matter of L i fe and Death”. Their col labo -rat ion cont inued with “Black Narc issus” with Deborah Kerr, in 1947, which won him both an Oscar and a Golden Globe. He was now con-s idered to be one of the top three c inematogra-pher ’s in the wor ld work-ing with the Technicolor process.

Cardi f f moving amid

the ranks of top -t ier c in-ematographers found himsel f behind the cam-era lens on the prest i -gious and much hon-ored 1948 f i lm “ The Red Shoes”, again for the team of Powel l and Pressburger. The nex t ten or so years found Cardi f f behind the lenses on such impor tant f i lms as : “ The Black Rose” with Orson Wel les and Ty-rone Power, “ The Pr ince and the Showgir l ” with Mar i lyn Monroe and the great S i r Laurence Ol-iv ier, “ The Vik ings” with K i rk Douglas, “Fanny ” the Char les Boyer/Les l ie Carron Technicolor f i lm, “ War and Peace” the epic Tolstoy stor y, and “ The Afr ican Queen” for d i -rec tor John Huston star-r ing Humphrey Bogar t and K ather ine Hepburn, among many others.

Jack Cardi f f the c in-ematographer was a lso a ver y accompl ished movie di rec tor (he made thir teen f i lms) as wel l as a f ine painter. I t was a gi f t and a sk i l l that would come in handy, t ime and t ime again , on locat ions and on sets. Cardi f f was of ten cred-i ted by grateful produc-ers and direc tors for be -ing an addit ional p layer, in the col laborat ive pro -cess, that of ten helped save their p ic tures.

Cra ig McCal l ’s loving homage to a t rue genius of the motion pic ture camera is one of the best t r ibute documentar y ’s

I ’ve seen in years. I n a ser ies of inter v iews with Cardi f f, which began in 1997 in Cannes, to his in-ter v iews in 2007, McCal l shows us the playful and whimsical s ide of the man and his wonder ful sense of humor, and his honest se l f - ef fac ing personal-i t y. I t ’s a genuine treat to learn about someone we’ve k nown only by rep -utat ion. McCal l takes us into the inner-sanc tum – Cardi f f ’s home where Mc-Cal l ’s camera explores the craf t of Cardi f f at home as a painter and as a col lec-tor of pr ints, paint ings, and ar t i fac ts f rom his many f i lms made around the wor ld ; ex trac t ing a l l the whi le, amazing anec-dotes and yarns you’ve never heard before.

As a way of val idat ing the nine - decade work ing l i fe of Jack Cardi f f, Mc-Cal l uses inter v iews with Hol ly wood heav y weights Mar t in Scorcesse, K i rk Douglas, Lauren Bacal l , Char l ton Heston, R ichard Fle isher, and others (20 in a l l ) as a means of captur-ing the Cardi f f essence, inf luence, and legac y.

I t was a pleasure for me to see the f i lm and to in-ter v iew a f i lmmaker who is ver y k nowledgeable and pass ionate about his craf t and his projec ts. I f you love f i lms and docu-mentar y f i lms, in par t icu-lar, then this i s a f i lm not to be missed. I t ’s a Five Star work of excel lence.

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O lympic Medal winner, Ice Sk at ing queen, Peg-gy Fleming, appeared

at the screening of “RISE” dur ing the Palm Spr ings I nternat ional Fi lm Fest ival on Sat . Jan 8th. . A plane that carr ied the 1961 Figure sk at ing team to the Wor ld Championships crashed k i l l ing a l l aboard. This t ragic loss was the subjec t of the f i lm. This was the f i lms Debut dur ing the PSIFF and was shown t wice dur ing the Fest ival .

The documentar y f i lm te l ls about the l ives of the sk aters that lost their l ives on that fateful day. Figure sk aters that k new the them talk about their memories of the team. Their associat ion with them and how i t has af fec t-ed their l ives.

This movie commemorates the 50th anniversar y of th is ter r ib le

event . The f i lm is about the pow-er of the human spir i t and honors those v ic t ims of that crash.

“R ise” took Iconic Ice Legends, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamil l , Scott Hamilton, Br ian Boitano and M ichel le Kwan as stor y te l lers in the f i lm. The crash happened on the way to the Wor ld Champion-ships in Prague, Czechoslovak ia on Sabena Air l ines Fl ight 548. Their loss t r iggered inspirat ion of hope and dreams in Olympic spor ts .

“R ise” wi l l make is debut in theaters nat ionwide as a one -night- only engagement on Feb, 17th. Proceeds f rom “R ise” wi l l be used for the U.S . Figure Sk at ing’s Memoria l Fund. 34 athletes, of -f ic ia ls , Judges, coaches and even fami ly members died on the day.

Pe g g y Fl e m i n g w i t h P r o d u ce r, D i r e c t o r a n d Ca s t m e m b e r s. Pe g g y i s i n t h e g o l f co l o r e d s k i r t


Pe g g y Fl e m i n g

‘RISE’

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P am Price, a lo -cal author with many books to

her credit held a book s igning at Just Fabu-lous Book Store in Palm Spr ings with her co -au-thor Laura K ath, of their latest book , “Day Tr ips f rom Los Angeles”.

The Book s igning was held on Saturday Jan 15th. The book gives getaway ideas for the lo -cal t raveler. There is a whole chapter on Palm Spr ings. Pam Pr ice has wr i t ten many books on Spas around the wor ld. ‘Just Fabulous” Book Store hosted this s igning with Appet izers and wine be -ing ser ved to guests. The store has hosted many ce -lebr i t y authors with one of the latest , Stephanie Powers just last month and M ichael Parks last week . O ther Celebr i t y au-thors are planned in the coming months.

Pam Price Book s igning in Palm SPringsStor y and Photos by Pat Krause

Pa m P r i ce, J u s t Fa b u l o u s o w n e r S t e p h e n M o n ka r s h a n d L a u ra Ka t h


We n d y M a l l i c k ~ P h o t o b y Pa t K ra u s e

R i t a R u d n e r 2 n d f r o m l e f t i n R e d B l o u s e a n d ca s t f r o m h e r m o v i e ~ P h o t o b y Pa t K ra u s e


The Palm Spr ings I nternat ional Fi lm Fest i -val had i ts best year ever. The Red Carpet event with a sold out G ala was the highl ight of the Fes-t ival . O ver 200 Diverse f i lms and documentar ies were shown to f i lmgoers f rom around the wor ld.

Opening night and c los ing nights f i lms were sold out ear ly. Each had an af ter par t y for a l l guests that saw the f i lms. Another perk for f i lmgoers were the af ter par t ies that were held at local restaurants. Bra-z i l held par t y at Tr io. A M id-Fest ival G ala was held at Wangs, G ay-La “H is” and “Hers” par t y was held at Toucans and a Cinema Safar i G ala was held for a l l Afr ican Fi lms. Austra l ia held i ts sec-ond G-Day gala on Sat . at the Viceroy Hotel . The Counci l General pres ided over the Isreal i G ala at

the Renaissance Hotel in Palm Spr ings. O ther smal ler par t ies for d i f fer-ent countr ies were held.

O ther specia l events brought Stars f rom a movie to the Deser t . O ther stars inc luded R ita Rudner and cast mem-bers for her f i lm and ac tress Wendy M al l ick with members of the “50 Nothing” cast . The f inal n ight of the fest ival held a specia l event with R yan O ’neal and his daughter Tatum O ’Neal walk ing the Red Carpet at the PS H igh School . Shor t ly af ter that they held an autograph s igning ses-s ion at the Camelot The -atre pr ior to the screen-ing their h i t movie, Paper Moon, That was shot 40 years ago. The f i lm is in B lack and white. R yan and Tatum held a Q&A just before the f i lm was shown


R ya n a n d Ta t u m O ’ N e a l ~ P h o t o b y Pa t K ra u s e

D e p u t y C o u n c i l G e n e ra l o f I s ra e l, G i l A r t z ye l i

h o s t e d t h e I s ra e l i Pa r t y


The Athlete



There is a purpose for ever yone being on this p lanet . We may not com-prehend the meaning of l i fe, or a lways understand or recognized the reasons, but there is a purpose.

The Ethiopian f i lm “ The Athlete”, i s the coun-tr y ’s f i rst of f ic ia l entr y in the in the 2010 Academy Award Foreign language f i lm categor y, and i t ’s a st rong contender. Fi lm-makers Davey Frankel and R asselas Lak we co -wr iters , and co - direc tors, have se -lec ted the l i fe of arguably, h istor y ’s greatest long distance and Marathon runner, Abebe Bak i la as the subjec t of their ver y moving biopic.

The scenic v istas of Ethiopia’s rura l h i l l s , va l leys, and v i l lages provide the backdrop and mark the beginning of an incredible journey for the son of a shepherd who ran his way into the record books of the Mod-ern Olympics, and into the hear ts of people the wor ld over. He is the f i rst b lack Afr ican in histor y to win a gold medal in the Olympics. When he is not sett ing Olympic Athlet ic records Abebe Bak i la (p layed in the f i lm by R as-selas Lak we) ser ves his countr y as an of f icer in Emperor Hai le Selaass ie’s I mper ia l Guard.

The f i lm opens a couple years af ter Bak i la’s back-to -back Olympic

Marathon Gold Medal wins in Rome in 1960 and Tok yo in 1964 - the only Olympic Marathoner in histor y to do so. Whi le dr iv ing to his Addis Ababa home one eve -ning, af ter t ra ining in the Ethiopian countr ys ide for the upcoming 1968 M exico Cit y Olympics, an automobi le accident occurs leaving the great runner and Nat ional hero paralyzed - never again to use his golden legs in competit ive rac ing.

Through a se -r ies of f lashbacks and f lash-for ward scenes, h is long-t ime white Swed-ish f r iend Onni , (p layed by Dag Malmberg) , and others, a long with the doc tors, nurse him back to health and rehabi l i ta-t ion, inst i l l ing in him a wi l l to l ive once more. I ntrospec t ive and stoic a lmost to a fault , Bak i la mul ls over the hand that fate has dealt h im. The competit ive spir i t and dr ive in the DNA of great athletes however, i s way too strong for any sel f -pit y, and in a re lat ively shor t t ime he is compet-ing as an archer in his Engl ish rehabi l i tat ion hospita l in tournaments against other pat ients.

Now able to get around, with the a id of a wheelchair Dag con-vinces him to enter a dogsled race for the

By Jack Lyons Theatre and Fi lm Crit ic and Reviewer

The Athlete

C o n t i n u e s o n Pa g e 1 5


handicapped, in Nor way, as a way of test ing his resolve to re join soci -et y. Needless to say, the ensuing race is an excit-ing event , with the issue never in doubt as to who was going win.

The f i lm blends ac tual footage of Bak i la’s Olympic Gold Medal races and then inter- cuts these scenes with the stor y l ine of the movie. R asselas Lak we, the ac-tor, captures that stoic Bak i la look and inten-s i t y quite wel l . Born in Ethiopia , ra ised in Idaho, Lak we attended Montana State Univers i t y where he made f i lms as a wr i ter/direc tor. This f i lm marks his debut as an ac tor.

Yes, Bak i la’s stor y is upl i f t ing in his ac-compl ishments, but i t ’s incomplete. The stor y needs more balance. I t lacks the narrat ive force required to ful ly explore his l i fe, both on and off, the wor ld spor ts stage. The f i lm focuses too much atten-t ion on the Olympic rac-ing aspec ts ; as a result we don’t get to pierce that vei l of quiet Bak i la dedicat ion and intensit y and discover what made him the great champion he became. Where, for example, are the scenes of h is fami ly and the role they undoubtedly played in his l i fe and in his recover y? One doesn’t just become an award

winning athlete over-night by onesel f. Let ’s do the math. There are four years bet ween each Olympics. Bak i la won back-to -back Gold med-als . That adds up to e ight years. I t takes t ime to become a nat ional hero. There is a back-stor y here that needs to inform us a l i t t le more. These stor y points, i f inc luded, would make his t ragic accident even more poignant than i t a l ready is .

Bak i la was quoted af ter h is acc ident as saying “ Men of success meet with t ragedy. I t was the wi l l of God that I won the Olympics, and i t was the wi l l of God that I met with my accident . I accepted those v ic tor ies as I accept this t ragedy. I have to accept both c i rcumstances as fac ts of l i fe and l ive happi ly ”.

H is l i fe ser ves as an inspirat ion to this day for young Ethio -pian men and women and chal lenges them to achieve in l i fe as he did – with dedicat ion, grace, and a sense of purpose. One never k nows how many people are touched when l ives intersec t . Bak i la d ied in 1973 of a cerebral hem-orrhage, a compl icat ion re lated to his auto acci -dent of four years ear l ier. He lef t a wife and four chi ldren. He was only for t y- one years o ld.

PS IFF Sc r eens E th iop ia ’ s F i r s t O f f i c i a l En t r y F i lm For T he 2010 Oscar Compet i t i on

By Jack Lyons Theatre and Fi lm Crit ic and Reviewer

C o n t i n u e d f r o m Pa g e 1 4

The Athlete


For f i scal years 2010 and 2011, many states are fac ing budget shor t fa l ls . Some, l ike Cal i fornia , face s igni f icant shor tages (Cal i -fornia’s was a mult i -bi l l ion dol lar gap, and i t wasn’t the only one) . The lack of resources is forc ing states to e l iminate and consol i -date depar tments and ser-v ices. S ome are explor ing ways to combine af ford-able housing-related ac-t iv i t ies. Vermont is a pr ime example.

Vermont current ly has t wo separate af fordable housing agencies and t wo addit ional government de -par tments that deal with var ied aspec ts of af ford-able housing development. A repor t commiss ioned by Governor J im Douglas’ ad-ministrat ion recommends consol idat ing a l l of those depar tments into one.

Current ly, the Vermont State Housing Agenc y, the Vermont Housing Finance Author i t y, and programs in the Vermont Housing Conser vat ion Board, and Depar tment of Economic, Housing and Communit y Development a l l of fer s im-i lar programs and ser vic -es. Combining them, says the repor t , could save the state about $450,000.

Proponents of the consol idat ion plan say the money saved could be re - invested into de -velopment programs that would create more

af fordable housing in Ver-mont. However, because the state current ly has a budget shor t fa l l , any sav-ings would l ikely be used to br idge the gap. Though there may not be a di rec t monetar y benef i t , devel-opers could benef i t f rom s impl i f ied appl icat ion pro -cesses. They ’d only have to submit one appl icat ion to one depar tment for any Vermont-re lated develop -ment, and wouldn’t have to spend t ime researching the var ious depar tments to determine which one should receive appl ica-t ions for a cer ta in t ype of development.

The governor ’s of f ice has received the repor t and is consider ing the recommendat ions. There’s no indicat ion i f or when any of the recommenda-t ions wi l l be implement-ed. The ful l repor t can be v iew at the Depar tment of Economic, Housing & Communit y Development web s i te. As we move into 2011, and states cont inue look ing for money-saving opt ions, depar tment con-sol idat ions are not un-l ikely. Af fordable housing advocates and developers are encouraged to stay in contac t with depar tments in their respec t ive states so they ’re not surpr ised by sudden changes.

Go to : http://w w w.govern-m e n t d e a l f u n d i n g. c o m / g o /programs/

By : S ean Carp enter

Budget Cuts Force Housing Depar tment

ConsolidationsBefore going into the

commentar y, let me please ex tend my prayers and sup -por t to a l l of the v ic t ims of the horr i f ic shoot ing inci -dent that unfolded midday this past Saturday in Tucson. I t i s a terr ib le, ter r ib le set of c i rcumstances that a l lowed one lone craz y to cause so much gr ief and pain . We should a lso be thankful for the brave indiv iduals that immediately took ac t ion to suppress the gunman and provided immediate f i rst a id to those that were in jured. News repor ts indicate that these brave Amer icans prob -ably kept the death and in-jur y tol l f rom going much higher.

Violence, for pol i t ica l change or any purpose, i s never the answer for three reasons. Fi rst and foremost by far, the tak ing of another human l i fe for pol i t ica l gain , or just about any other rea-son, i s never acceptable. No one should have that power or incent ive to do so. Sec-ond, usual ly v io lence begets more v iolence and senseless k i l l ing and maiming for no reason. And f inal ly, v io lence of this sor t many t imes re -sults in fur ther government repress ion, suppress ing the ver y f reedom that a de -ranged v iolent person might have thought they were f ight ing for.

Al though i t looks l ike this was an ac t of a lone gunman that apparent ly has ac ted and behaved in less than stable ways over the past few years, according to news repor ts, the inevitable debate is under way as to whether the heated rhetor ic in our pol i t ica l realm con-tr ibuted to his ac t ions. No one wi l l probably ever k now the answer to that quest ion but maybe i t i s t ime that we star t look ing at ourselves and ask ing ourselves, the Amer ican c i t izenr y, and not

this a l legedly unstable indi-v idual , for answers. Maybe we should ask ourselves i f we have a l lowed this heat-ed, b i t ter pol i t ica l rhetor ic to grow and grow so much that we ourselves might be to blame for the shoot ings in Tucson.

Before you brush this poss ibi l i t y of f as nonsense, consider the fol lowing ques-t ions. I f you are a Republ i -can, ask yoursel f :

- Did you objec t when the Bush administrat ion branded non suppor ters of the I raq war as being unpatr iot ic for their honest di f ference opin-ion with the administrat ion on the mer i ts and legal i t y of invading I raq?

- Did you objec t when Republ ican leaders used the image of r i f le cross hairs su-per imposed on their oppo -nents faces in the run up to the November e lec t ions as a market ing tool , an image that takes on par t icular un-eas iness, given the Saturday shoot ings?

- Did you objec t when Congresswoman Gif fords op -ponent in the past e lec t ion used an M-16 shoot ing event for a campaign strategy?

- Did you objec t over the years when L imbaugh, Han-nit y and Beck crossed the l ine f rom intel l igent , c iv i l pol i t ica l debate into person-al degradat ion of pol i t ica l opponents?

I f you are a Republ ican and answered “no” to any of the quest ions above, maybe you should ask yoursel f i f you contr ibuted in any way to what happened in Tucson.

I f you are a Democrat , ask yoursel f the fol lowing quest ions :

- Did you objec t when

The Tucson Shootings - Just Ask Yoursel fBy : Walter “Bruno” Korschek


Americans, with honest and legit imate concerns and who were in opposit ion to Obama’s health care reform legis lat ion, were f requently branded rac ists and associ -ated with the Ku K lux K lan by Democrats in Congress in-c luding Congressman Gray-son, Congressman R angel , Congresswoman Lee, and others?

- Did you objec t when Congressman Alan Grayson cal led Republ icans “k nuck le dragging Neander thals?”

- Did you objec t when an Obama administrat ion czar publ ic ly and on tape cal led a l l Republ icans “a__h___s?”

- Did you objec t when Speaker of the House Nanc y Pelos i , the thi rd rank ing po -l i t ica l leader in this coun-tr y, sa id that those Amer i -cans opposed to Obama Care were unpatr iot ic even though their oppositon was honest and based on legit i -mate concerns?

- Did you objec t when former Democrat ioc Con-gressman Paul K anjorsk i of Pennsylvania sa id of Repub -l ican R ick Scott , candidate for govenror of Flor ida , “ I n-stead of running for gover-nor of Flor ida , they ought to have him and shoot him. Put h im up against the wal l and shoot him.”

- Did you objec t when the Pres ident stated that h is s ide would br ing a gun to the pol i t ica l table i f the oth-er borught a k ni fe?

- Did you objec t through the years when Olberman, M atthews, and Maddow crossed the l ine f rom intel -l igent , c iv i l debate into per-sonal degradat ion of pol i t i -ca l opponents?

I f you are a Democrat and answered “no” to any of the quest ions above, maybe you should ask yoursel f i f you contr ibuted in any way to what happened in Tucson.

Unt i l we a l l s tar t to ob -jec t to the v ic ious and per-sonal pol i t ica l rhetor ic , i t wi l l not stop. M ost pol i t i -c ians’ only goal i s to get re -e lec ted and i f th is t ype of v ic iousness “energizes their base” and gets them re -elec ted, they wi l l cont inue to do i t . Most cable news shows only goal i s rat ings and en-ergiz ing their base of v iew-ers. This behavior spl i ts the countr y to such a point that gett ing e lec ted becomes the end game, not the means to an end.

As a result , we as c i t izens end up with such animosit y towards our neighbors, we end up elec t ing people that cannot solve the issues fac-ing the nat ion. We end up elec t ing them because they are f rom our s ide. Never mind that they could not solve a f i rst grade problem, “we won,” our s ide got e lec t-ed. Maybe that expla ins why the war on drugs has never been “won”, why our publ ic schools cont inue to fa i l , why we st i l l have no nat ional en-ergy pol ic y, why we st i l l have leak y borders, why we st i l l do not have the upper hand in the war on terror, why we st i l l have a ver y shak y econ-omy with whole industr ies decimated and high unem-ployment, why our nat ional debt is sk yrocket ing, etc. But our s ide won the e lec t ion, i sn’t that good? Not i f e i ther s ide never solves anything

Consider the f i rst of t wo quotes f rom George Or wel l ’s doomsday for f reedom novel “1984:”

“ This i s not to say that e i ther the conduc t of war, or the prevai l ing att i tude towards i t , has become less bloodthirst y or more chiv-a l rous. On the contrar y, war hyster ia i s cont inuous and universal in a l l countr ies, and such ac ts as raping, loot-ing, the s laughter of chi l -dren, the reduc t ion of whole populat ions to s laver y, and repr isa ls against pr isoners

which ex tend even to boi l ing and bur ying a l ive, are looked upon as normal, and, when they are committed by one’s own s ide and not by the en-emy, mer i tor ious.”

Now consider the same quote with a few words changed to descr ibe the po -l i t ica l horror we are current-ly endur ing:

“ This i s not to say that e i ther the conduc t of pol i -t ics , or the prevai l ing att i -tude towards i t , has become less bloodthirst y or more chivalrous. On the contrar y, pol i t ics i s cont inuous and universal in a l l par ts of the countr y, and such ac ts as name cal l ing, personal deg-radat ion, accusat ions of unpatr iot ism, sexual degra-dat ion, verbal assaults , the reduc t ion of whole groups of fe l low c i t izens with opposing v iews to id ioc y and repr isa ls against common Amer icans with opposing v iews, are looked upon as normal, and, when they are committed by one’s own s ide and not by the enemy, mer i tor ious.”

When the other pol i t i -ca l s ide is s landered or de -graded, i t i s now viewed as normal and mer itor ious. When the same is done to our pol i t ica l s ide, these are unspeak able af f ronts.

Our pol i t ica l c lass has shown that they are not ca-pable of ac t ing l ik ing adults , debat ing issues and resolv-ing issues based on intel -l igent discuss ion, debate, and compromise because we have not demanded that they do so. I t i s more impor-tant , pol i t ica l ly, that our s ide win. Unt i l that happens we wi l l cont inue to l ive in a ver-s ion of Or wel l ’s wor ld where the winning of e lec t ions is a l l that matters. Consider an-other Or wel l quote that fo l -lows a lmost immediately af -ter the “1984” quote above”

“ The pr imar y a im of modern war fare is to use up

the produc ts of the machine without ra is ing the general standards of l iv ing.”

Subst i tute the word “pol i t ics” for “war fare” above and you can see that Or wel l was r ight . We have a l lowed pol i t ics to div ide us as a nat ion, us ing up much of our energy and resources to f ight each other, which has resulted in more hate and has not ra ised the standards of l iv ing. Worse case, i t contr ibuted to the senseless v iolence in Tucson this past weekend.

Can we learn anything? Maybe we should do a bet-ter job of ask ing ourselves whether this i s the k ind of pol i t ics and wor ld we want for ourselves and our fami-l ies. A wor ld where you are an id iot i f you disagree with me, a genius i f you agree. Just ask yoursel f, maybe i f we did check our emotions and star t to respec t our di -vers i t y, there wi l l not be any future Tucson- l ike t ragedies. Maybe then our pol i t ica l processes would f inal ly e lec t problem solvers and not the t ypes of non-prob -lem solvers we have e lec ted for the past few decades. Just ask yoursel f. . .

Ab out The Author

Walter “Bruno” Korschek is the author of the book , “Love M y Countr y, Loathe M y Government - Fi f t y Fi rst Steps To Restor ing Our Freedom and Destroying The Amer ican Pol i t ica l C lass,” which is avai lable at w w w.loathemygovernment.com and onl ine at Amazon, Bor-ders, and Barnes & Noble. Our dia ly dia log on f reedom in Amer ica can be jo ined at w w w.loathemygovernment.blogspot .com.

The author invites you to v is i t :

http ://w w w.loathemygov-ernment.com

The Tucson Shootings - Just Ask Yoursel f



Helen du Toit , the v i -vacious, Direc tor of Pro -gramming for the Palm Spr ings I nternat ional Fi lm Fest ival (PSIFF) an-nounced f rom the podium on Januar y 6th, at the Opening N ight f i lm that this year, in a l i t t le de -par ture f rom past years, the Fest ival would begin by screening a foreign f i lm instead of an Amer i -can or Engl ish language f i lm. “Af ter-a l l ” she sa id smi l ing, “ this i s a foreign f i lm fest ival ”. With that the audience, a l l t welve hundred of them, smi led and leaned back in their seats ready to enjoy what would prove to be anoth-er outstanding and record break ing Fest ival for Palm Spr ings.

“Pot iche” (mean-ing a decorat ive thing) i s a French f i lm, wr i t ten and direc ted by Francois Ozon. Now in i ts USA pre -miere run, i t s tars the st i l l beaut i fu l (at 67) Cath-er ine Denueve and the beef ier than usual Gerard Depardieu, a long with a sol id suppor t ing cast of French f i lm favor i tes. I ts se lec t ion as the opening night f i lm of the fest ival

was a safe choice and an appeal ing love valent ine to the ageless beaut y. L ike Sophia Loren, De -nueve is able to deny the aging process f rom win-ning the day. Loren cred-i ted ol ive oi l as her secret whi le Denueve demurs as to her formula for remain-ing young look ing (maybe i t ’s a gar l ic th ing?) .

The stor y is set in the 1970’s when most French women fe l t more com-for table in the home than in an of f ice or running a business. Business is the province of men. No one however, does the st y l -ish sex-romp -farce thing better than the French. Suzanne Bujol (Denueve) a t rophy wife ( “pot iche”) i s forced to switch roles with her husband Rober t (p layed by Fabr ice Luchi -ni ) when a catastrophic str ike cr ipples her hus-band’s umbrel la fac tor y.

Fol lowing an a l -tercat ion with his work-ers, Rober t ends up in the hospita l , and having l i t t le choice, leaves Su-zanne in charge to run the business. Proving to have a natural f la i r for

business, she quick ly as-sesses the s i tuat ion, and enl ists her devoted son Laurent ( Jeremie Reni-er ) , her daughter Joel le ( Judith Godreche) , her husband’s secretar y and lover Nadege (K ar in Vi -and) , and Babin (Gerard Depardieu) playing the head of the Union Coun-ci l , a man with whom she once had a br ief f l ing many years ear l ier, and Voi la ! – the umbrel -la business posit ively booms. Babin, who has never quite gotten over their br ief t r yst cannot repress his feel ing for Suzanne, and her abi l i t y to take on any chal lenge and succeed. But Rober t wi l l be out of the hospi -ta l soon and i t then be -comes interest ing seeing how i t wi l l a l l turn out .

I n a s ide bar note : One s imply cannot miss the i rony or the tongue -in- cheek choice by Ozon of an umbrel la fac tor y as the fami ly business. Denueve burst onto the wor ld c inema scene at n ineteen playing a cap -t ivat ing young worker in an umbrel la fac tor y in Jacques Demy and

M ichel Legrand’s 1964 musical masterpiece, “ The Umbrel las of Cherbourg”. She st i l l looks much the same but with a few more charac ter l ines added to her patr ic ian good looks.

The screen sto -r y is f ic t ion, of course, but Ozon admits he was approached to wr i te a screenplay a year or so ago about a business-man and his “pot iche”, t rophy wife. I t took but a New York minute for the French to ident i fy their Pres ident , N icholas Sar-koz y and his wi fe Car la Bruni as the roman a c lef charac ters of Suzanne and Rober t Bujol .

The f i lm is l ight and enter ta ining, and was never intended to chal -lenge the intel lec t of i ts audience. Al l that i s re -quired for a fun romp is to s i t back and enjoy i t and the glamorous Denuve. Vive la France!

Movie Review

“Pot iche” French (with subt i t les)

PSIFF Opening Fi lm

PoticheOPENS TWENTY SECOND

F ILM FESTIVAL

By Jack Lyons T h e a t r e a n d Fi l m C r i t i c a n d R e v i e we r

Judith Godreche, d i rec tor Francois Ozon, Cather ine Deneuve, Fabr ice Luchini and K ar in Viard pose at the

premiere for Pot iche. Photograph: Claudio Onorat i /EPA

A FRENCH Bon-Bon


Ever yone who is any-one made sure to attend the latest per formance of Patt i LaBel le at Morongo. Even though she was feel ing a bit under the weather Ms. LaBel le did not disappoint . Belt ing songs and holding im-poss ible notes, sent the audience into waves of cheers. There were even shouts of,” we love you Patt i .”

No one was able to remain s i t t ing through the i r res ist ib le reper toire of nostalgic h i ts . Always mindful of others, Patt i

gave hear t fe l t wishes of prayer to Aretha Frank-l in , G abr ie l le Gi f fords and tr ibutes to M ichael Jackson and R &B s inger Tina Mar ie. Statements of how the wor ld needs to heal were echoed in her songs and shor t ta lks with the audience.

Dur ing the song “Lady Marmalade” Patt i invited three men up on stage with her as wel l as a ver y ta lented up and coming young drummer, Lexi . Whi le Lexi wowed the crowd the three men were invited to s ing

and dance for the audi-ence. H i lar i t y at i ts best , ac tual ly the men were ver y good. Each had a shor t duet with Patt i and busted their moves. Lexi never missed a beat throughout the segment, FANTASTIC.

One of the men invit-ed to the stage with Ms. Patt i was Bonggo Beane, who attended tonight with his lovely wife, Jacquel ine. They bumped into their f r iends, local s inger, Angie Whitney and ac tress/vocal ist/choreographer Tr ina

Parks f rom, “Diamonds are Forever ” with Sean Conner y. They a l l reveled with excitement f rom the night ’s show.

Thank you Patt i LaBel le for your warm soul and love that you blessed us with this n ight .

Vis i t Patt i LaBel le’s web -s i te http://patt i label le.com

Find upcoming enter ta in-ment events at Morongo http://w w w.morongoca-s inoresor t .com

By Lisa Robyn L awrence

Photos by M ark Ostrom


Patti La Belle

Photos by M ark Ostrom


F itness should be fun and af-fordable. I t should not be bor ing, t ime - consuming

or cost ly. Make your exerc ise rou-t ine a bit more excit ing this year with some f i tness ac t iv i t ies you can do without an expensive gym membership.

1. Sp or ts ho op your way to s l immer shap eThe thought of hula hoops probably

conjures memories f rom your chi ldhood, but the fac t i s hula hooping is a great f i t -ness ac t iv i t y. Spor ts Hoops are large, weighted f i tness hoops that adults use to tone and lose weight . These af -fordable hoops are easy and fun to use, and can help you lose weight .

2. Tr y a new ac tivit y you’ve never done b efore

There’s no better way to get your blood pumping and your body moving than tr y ing something you’ve never done before. Always

wondered what i t ’s l ike to rock c l imb? S ign up for a c lass, or see i f your local spor ts store has a f ree rock c l imbing wal l .

3. Join a walk ing or running groupWalk ing and running are great physi -

cal ac t iv i t ies that burn calor ies and tone the body. Discover the parks and neigh-borhoods around you by planning regular walks. Consider f inding a walk/run buddy to keep you motivated.

Cour tesy of ARA

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m -f r e

e f i t n e s s i d e a s f o r 2011


‘Preventing illness, before it happens!’

• Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy• ChelationVitaminImmuneDrips• HolisticGynecology

Preventive Medicine Clinics of the Desert2825 Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite B200 - Palm Springs, California

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Neal Rouzier, M.D.Allen Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D.

Fiv e g y

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e f i t n e s s i d e a s f o r 2011


2 0 1 1 D a t e Fe s t i va l Q u e e n S c h e h e ra z a d e, A n n a Aco s t a ; P r i n ce s s D u nya z a d e, H a l e y G l a s s ; a n d P r i n ce s s J a s m i n e, M y l e a W I l s o n ~ P h o t o b y B r u ce M o n t g o m e r y



the First two Years in oFFice

Pr omises KePt “we meet at a moment of great uncertainty for america. the economic crisis we face is the worst since the great depression. ... i know folks are worried. but i also know this—we can steer ourselves out of this crisis.”

– b a r a c K o b a m a

o ct o b e r 2 0 0 8

rebUiLdinG OUr ecOnOmY

an economy that had been shrinking for

nearly a year is now growing. after nearly two

years of job loss, our economy added more

than one million private sector jobs in 2010.

“the stimulus alone represents a strikingly

progressive presidential legacy—rivaling the

biggest reforms of the clinton presidency.

and it passed on obama’s 24th day in office.”

– t i m d i c K i n s o n o ct o b e r 2 01 0

“the bailout of the auto industry protected

against absolute devastation in the economies

of the midwest. ... and it is now turning out to

be a huge financial boon for taxpayers.”

– n o r m o r n st e i n o ct o b e r 2 01 0

recoverY act the recovery act represented the largest infrastructure investment since

President eisenhower, the largest education investment since President

Johnson, and the largest clean-energy bill ever. it has saved or created as

many as 3.7 million jobs across america while creating a foundation for

future growth.

wall street reFormwall street reform empowered consumers and investors, put a stop to

predatory lending practices, brought shadowy wall street trades into the

light, and ended taxpayer-funded bailouts.

middle-class taX cutsthe recovery act reduced taxes for 95 percent of working families,

putting more money in the pockets of americans who need it most.

President obama also worked to prevent a middle-class tax increase,

while extending vital unemployment benefits for americans who lost

their jobs through no fault of their own.

credit card reFormthese reforms put a stop to unfair credit card practices. reform banned

retroactive rate hikes, implemented new protections for students and young

people, and required credit card companies to explain their terms in plain

language.

building a clean-energY economYnew emissions and fuel efficiency standards for american cars and historic

investments in clean-energy technologies are helping pave the way to a

more sustainable future, creating new jobs and entire industries here in

america.

rebuilding the american auto industrYthe obama administration acted decisively to invest in america’s auto

industry, preventing hundreds of thousands of job losses across the country

and revitalizing the backbone of america’s manufacturing sector.

PR

IVA

TE

-SE

CT

OR

JO

B L

OS

S |

GR

OW

TH

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

PRIVATE-SECTOR U.S. JOB LOSS & GROWTH (OCT. 2007 TO DEC. 2010)SOURCE: BUREAUOF LABOR STATISTICS 01/07/2011

OBAMA ADMINISTRATIONBUSH ADMINISTRATION

Q2Q1 Q4 Q2 Q3 Q4Q3Q4Q2Q12007 2008

Q4 Q32009

Q12010

-2,000,000

-1,500,000

-1,000,000

-500,000

0

500,000

“Let’s be the generation that

maKes future generations

Proud of what we did here.”

– President barack Obama –

the challenges that President obama and this

administration inherited were immense—two

wars, an economY in FreeFall, record deFicits,

and a health care sYstem in crisis. although

there is still more work to do, we have made an

incredible amount oF Progress over the Past

two Years. together, we have begun to laY a new

Foundation For growth, building an economY

that works For all americans.


the First two Years in oFFice

Pr omises KePt “we meet at a moment of great uncertainty for america. the economic crisis we face is the worst since the great depression. ... i know folks are worried. but i also know this—we can steer ourselves out of this crisis.”


o ct o b e r 2 0 0 8

rebUiLdinG OUr ecOnOmY

an economy that had been shrinking for

nearly a year is now growing. after nearly two

years of job loss, our economy added more

than one million private sector jobs in 2010.

“the stimulus alone represents a strikingly

progressive presidential legacy—rivaling the

biggest reforms of the clinton presidency.

and it passed on obama’s 24th day in office.”

– t i m d i c K i n s o n o ct o b e r 2 01 0

“the bailout of the auto industry protected

against absolute devastation in the economies

of the midwest. ... and it is now turning out to

be a huge financial boon for taxpayers.”

– n o r m o r n st e i n o ct o b e r 2 01 0

recoverY act the recovery act represented the largest infrastructure investment since

President eisenhower, the largest education investment since President

Johnson, and the largest clean-energy bill ever. it has saved or created as

many as 3.7 million jobs across america while creating a foundation for

future growth.

wall street reFormwall street reform empowered consumers and investors, put a stop to

predatory lending practices, brought shadowy wall street trades into the

light, and ended taxpayer-funded bailouts.

middle-class taX cutsthe recovery act reduced taxes for 95 percent of working families,

putting more money in the pockets of americans who need it most.

President obama also worked to prevent a middle-class tax increase,

while extending vital unemployment benefits for americans who lost

their jobs through no fault of their own.

credit card reFormthese reforms put a stop to unfair credit card practices. reform banned

retroactive rate hikes, implemented new protections for students and young

people, and required credit card companies to explain their terms in plain

language.

building a clean-energY economYnew emissions and fuel efficiency standards for american cars and historic

investments in clean-energy technologies are helping pave the way to a

more sustainable future, creating new jobs and entire industries here in

america.

rebuilding the american auto industrYthe obama administration acted decisively to invest in america’s auto

industry, preventing hundreds of thousands of job losses across the country

and revitalizing the backbone of america’s manufacturing sector.

PR

IVA

TE

-SE

CT

OR

JO

B L

OS

S |

GR

OW

TH

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

PRIVATE-SECTOR U.S. JOB LOSS & GROWTH (OCT. 2007 TO DEC. 2010)SOURCE: BUREAUOF LABOR STATISTICS 01/07/2011

OBAMA ADMINISTRATIONBUSH ADMINISTRATION

Q2Q1 Q4 Q2 Q3 Q4Q3Q4Q2Q12007 2008

Q4 Q32009

Q12010

-2,000,000

-1,500,000

-1,000,000

-500,000

0

500,000


“i will end this war in iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the taliban in afghanistan. …i will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. and i will restore our moral standing, so that america is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.”


au g u st 2 8 t h , 2 0 0 8

HistOric HeaLtH refOrm

aFFordable care act the affordable care act provides stability and security to americans who have

insurance and provides affordable options for those who don’t. it lowers costs for

families, businesses, and america as a whole, provides the largest middle-class tax cut

for health care in our history, and puts an end to the worst insurance industry abuses.

children’s health insurancethe expansion of the state children’s health insurance Program (schiP) extended

coverage to another 4 million low-income children, increasing the total number of

children covered by the program to more than 11 million.

natiOnaL secUritY

ending combat oPerations in iraQ we have ended our combat mission in iraq and removed nearly 100,000 troops so

that we can focus on fighting al Qaeda and rebuilding our nation at home.

toward a world without nuclear weaPonsthe President reached the most important arms control agreement with russia in

two decades. new start will reduce our nuclear arsenals, put inspectors on the

ground in russia, and renew america’s leadership in pursuit of a world without

nuclear weapons. President obama also rallied the world behind a plan to secure all

nuclear material from terrorists within four years, fulfilling a key campaign promise.

a new strategY For aFghanistan and Pakistanthe united states and our allies have gone on the offense in afghanistan, in

Pakistan, and around the world to ensure that al Qaeda and other terrorists do not

have any safe place from which to plan future attacks on america.

“Let’s be the generation that finally tackles our health care crisis. Let’s be the generation that says right here, right now, that we will have universal health care in america by the end of the next president’s first term.”


s e P t e m b e r 2 0 0 8

“all progressives since theodore roosevelt

wanted [health care reform], all democrats

since harry truman fought for it, and only

barack obama got it. ... this is his huge

accomplishment.”

– d ou g L a s b r i n K L e yo ct o b e r 2 01 0

“in foreign policy, [President obama] has set

the stage for engagement and multilateralism.

he has reset relations with russia, made

overtures to the muslim world in his cairo

speech, and provided a philosophic discussion

of war, peace, and human rights in his nobel

speech.”

– d o r i s K e a r n s g o o dw i nJa n ua ry 2 01 0


“as president i’ll support the complete repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’” – b a r a c K o b a m a

o ct o b e r 2 0 0 8

“now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. ... i will not settle for an america where some kids don’t have that chance.”


au g u st 2 0 0 8edUcatiOn

reForming student lendingPresident obama signed into law student loan reform that makes college more

affordable for students and families and will save american taxpayers roughly $68

billion over the next 10 years.

sPurring innovation Programs like “race to the top” and “educate to innovate” are giving american

schools and states the tools and resources they need to be successful.

a new gi billthe implementation of the Post-9/11 gi bill increased educational opportunities for

veterans by making college more affordable for returning service members.

ciViL riGHts

rePealing “don’t ask, don’t tell”President obama signed legislation that will bring an end to “don’t ask, don’t tell,”

strengthening our national security and ending this discriminatory law.

Protecting against hate crimesthe matthew shepard and James byrd Jr. hate crimes Prevention act gives law

enforcement officials new tools to prosecute those who commit hate crimes.

Fair PaY For womenthe lilly ledbetter Fair Pay act makes it easier for women to challenge unequal

pay practices, which helps all americans earn a fair wage.

As we ApproAch the hAlfwAy point of president obAmA’s first term,the list of accomplishments already dwarfs that of many of his predecessors. the actions taken by this administration and by democrats

in congress have eased the burden on middle-class families, making it easier for working parents to meet their families’ daily needs while

opening doors of opportunity for their children. together, these accomplishments form a foundation for a new generation of prosperity,

a new era of possibility, and a new century of american greatness.

“during his first two years in office,

President barack obama and his

democratic allies in congress

compiled a substantial record of policy

accomplishment—[including] major

changes in student loan programs,

among many others.”

– w i L L i a m g a L st o n n ov e m b e r 2 01 0

“Less than halfway through his first

term, obama has compiled a remarkable

track record. ... on the social front, he

has improved pay parity for women and

hate-crime protections for gays and

lesbians.”

– t i m d i c K i n s o no ct o b e r 2 01 0

“this president has delivered more sweeping,

progressive change in 20 months than the previous two

democratic administrations did in 12 years.”

– t i m d i c K i n s o no ct o b e r 2 01 0


Documents

Desert Local News Jan 21, 2011 Special Palm Springs Film Festival coverage