Books: "War Against the Jews" By Alan Dershowitz

Alan Dershowitz, one of the most celebrated lawyers in the world and was the youngest full professor at Harvard Law School, where he is now the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus. He is known as one of the fiercest defenders of Israel, especially since it suffered the worst day in its history, October 7, when it's civilians were viciously attacked by Hamas terrorists. In the aftermath of the attack, Dershowitz wrote the new book, War Against The Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism and it will be released today, Tuesday, December 12. His 2019 book, Defending Israel: Against Hamas and its Radical Left Enablers, is also available in paperback today.

Books: "The Master" On The Brilliance Of Federer, By Christopher Clarey

 

The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer - New, Post-Retirement Edition

By Christpher Clarey

Twelve; paperback (revised), 448 pages; $21.99; available today, Tuesday, December 12th 

Christopher Clarey, who was a longtime tennis writer and global sports correspondent for the New York Times for over thirty years, covered Roger Federer's complete illustrious career. He was in Paris on the Suzanne Lenglen Court for Federer's first Grand Slam match and has interviewed him exclusively more than any other journalist since he rose to prominence.

RFK Jr. Pens Substack On How He Will Lead Way On Fixing Ballot Access System

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. published an op-ed on Substack on Monday detailing how the current ballot access system amounts to a deliberate and arbitrary suppression of the democractic process.

Kennedy argues that ballot access laws for independent and third-party candidates are among the worst forms of voter suppression in the United States today. 

"They artificially prop up the two-party duopoly, even as 63% of American adults agree that the Republican and Democratic parties do such a poor job of representing the American people that another choice is needed," Kennedy writes.

In this well-thought out case for reform, RFK Jr. details the enormous hurdles an independent campaign must overcome, including the collection of over one million valid pen-and-paper signatures, deciphering arcane petitioning rules that are different in each state, and defending its petitions against the inevitable litigation from both Democrat and Republican lawyers.

Some states have massive signature requirements and tight petitioning windows. Democrat and Republican state legislatures can abruptly change their rules  to sabotage any petition drive or third party. 24 states require electors on the petition forms, while 27 require a named Vice Presidential nominee.

"To fix our broken ballot access system, the American people will need to pressure state lawmakers to build a better, more democratic process," Kennedy writes to conclude his Substack. "When I am elected as America's first independent president since George Washington, I will lead the way."

This op-ed comes on the heels of the Kennedy campaign securing its first legal victory against the state of Utah, which agreed to move its ballot access deadline for independent candidates from January 8, 2024 to March 5, 2024. 

Kennedy 24 Press Secretary Stefanie Spear said in a statement, "Fortunately, the Kennedy campaign has a massive base of grassroots supporters and a robust legal team that will overcome these restrictions to get RFK Jr.'s name on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia."

To read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Substack, please click here. 

Strand Magazine Features Lost Poem By Raymond Chandler

 

The newest issue of The Strand Mystery Magazine features a lost poem by noir master Raymond Chandler that was hidden in the archives of the Bodleian library in Oxford for decades. 

This is the only poem that Chandler wrote as an adult, and it has a sentimental and mystic quality, in contrast to most of his works, which were dark and cynical. The mystery is why this was never released in his lifetime.

Chandler wrote this in 1955, after the passing of his wife, and this was a time when there were quite a few things he left unpublished. That included this poem, and a short story which was a searing indictment of the healthcare industry, which The Strand published years ago. 1955 was also the year he attempted to kill himself.

Andrew Gulli, the Managing Editor of The Strand, said in a statement, "Chandler has been cited as a formative influence on scores of crime writers from Laura Lippman, Janet Evanovich to Michael Connelly and Richard Price. After combing over thousands of pages of his manuscripts, I can safely say in a bittersweet way that is the final word from Raymond Chandler."

Here is a sampling of this newly-discovered Chandler poem:

There is a moment after death, yet hardly a moment,

When the bright clothes hang in the scented closet

And the lost dream fades and slowly fades,

When the silver bottles and the glass and the empty mirror, 

And three long hairs in a brush and a  folded kerchief,

And the fresh made bed and the fresh, plump pillows

On which no head will lie,

Are all that is left of the long, wild dream.

But there are always the letters.

I hold them in my hand, tied with green ribbon

Neatly and firmly by the soft, strong fingers of love.

The letters will not die.

Books: Christmas Stories That Will Warm Your Heart

Christmas is just around the corner, and there are five books that are sure to warm your heart at this magical time, perfect to read on a cold night curled up by the tree: Christmas at Corgi Cove, by Annie England Noblin; Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop, by Jenny Colgan; One Christmas Morning, by Rachel Greenlaw; The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, by Susan Wiggs; The Christmas Brides of Twilight, by Lori Wilde; A Christmas to Remember, by Beverly Jenkins; and A Wish for Christmas, by Courtney Cole.

NABC Brooklyn Showcase: St. John's Blitzed By Boston College In Late Loss

 

Chas Kelley III taking a three-pointer that put BC up 76-70 late. Photo by Jason Schott.

The St. John's Red Storm saw their four-game losing streak end in a brutal loss late to Boston College, 86-80, on Sunday evening in the NABC Showcase at Barclays Center.

The whole game came down to a series of streaks in the second half, with Boston College having the final say.

St. John's, now 6-3 on the season, was trailing 42-38 in the opening stages of the second half when they went on a 14-0 run over two minutes and 36 seconds to go up 52-42 on a Joel Soriano bucket at the 14:55 mark.

BC responded with a 19-4 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes, capped by a Prince Aligbe dunk off a turnover, to take a 61-56 lead with 10:22 left.

St. John's then went on a 10-0 run over the next 2:27, capped by a pair of Soriano free throws, to go back up five, 66-61, with 7:56 on the clock.

Boston College responded with a 10-2 run, and then an elongated 15-4 clip capped by a three from Chas Kelley III, to go up 76-70 with 3:11 remaining.

The Eagles really sealed it when Claudell Harris Jr. was hacked across both arms by Chris Ledlum on a three-point attempt. He sank all three free throws to give BC a commanding 83-75 lead with just 1:41 left.

Boston College was led by Harris Jr. who had 14 points off the bench, on 4-9 shooting, including 2-5 on three pointers, with four assists and two rebounds. Quinten Post also had 14 points (6-11 shooting, 1-1 on threes), with 11 rebounds and nine assists - he was one assist away from a triple-double. Jaeden Zackery rounded out the trio of Eagles with 14 points (7-10 FG), with three rebounds and three assists. 

St. John's was led by Soriano, who had 21 points on 8-12 from the field, 1-1 on three-pointers, with 11 rebounds to give him a double-double, and an assist. Chris Ledlum also had a double-double with 16 points (8-19 FG, 0-2 threes) and 11 assists, with three assists. Daniss Jenkins had 10 points (5-13 FG, 0-4 threes), eight assists, and three rebounds, while Jordan Dingle and Glenn Taylor Jr. also had 10 points apiece.

Pitino Postgame: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino referenced BC's 19-4 run in his postgame comments, as he said, "When we are up 10, coming out of the timeout, I said 'look they are going to come with threes. We have to stop the three and get out and get your hands active.' They made three threes in a row. 

"We are not going to win until we get committed to defense and this group is not. It's partially our fault, we recruited offensive basketball players, trying to teach [older players] about defense, and it cost us tonight. When you take all the offensive rebounds and the fact that they shot [52.9 percent]. They were scoring almost every time down the floor. [Our players] are trying to win with offense and you can't win with offense. 

"We are very disappointed. With a 10-point lead, you have to play great defense and we didn't and we paid for it. We are pressing like I want most of the time, but the half-court defense is such a disappointment."

On the team's defense: "We have good enough athletes, but defense is a matter of will. You have to want to play defense. If you make a change and tell a guy to blitz and he stays behind him, it's frustrating. But the first year is all frustrations, that's what you get. It's not young players not being committed to defense, it's the entire team."

On tonight's game: "It's very difficult When you have a 10-point lead, you are not supposed to lose it. It's been difficult from the summer until now with defense. It's a broken record. Give a lot of credit to Boston College, they made a lot of good shots down 10. You have to give credit to them as well." 

NABC Brooklyn Showcase: Fordham Wins It At Buzzer

 

The celebration was on for Fordham after the buzzer beater. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Fordham Rams outlasted the North Texas Mean Green, 60-59, on Sunday afternoon at Barclays Center to open the NABC Brooklyn Showcase.

Abdou Tsimbila won it on a dunk as the clock hit 0.00. Because of the nature of the play, the referees had a lengthy review after to determine when it released his hand or when it was in the cylinder.

It appeared Tsimbila had it in with one-tenth of a second on the clock.

This completed a comeback from 12 points down at halftime for Fordham, who improved to 5-5 on the season.

North Texas led 35-23 at the end of the first half when they closed it on an 11-2 run.

Fordham responded with a 10-0 run to open the second half, and it was 35-33 NT with 16:42 left.

Fordham took the lead at the 13:22 mark when Will Richardson made a layup that put them up 40-38, which made it a 17-3 Rams run by that point.

North Texas would bounce back and take a four-point lead, 47-43, on a Jason Edwards layup at the 9:47 mark.

That would be the biggest lead from that point on, as it went back and forth with Fordham never leading by more than one point.

Fordham took a 58-57 lead with 1:58 left when Jephet Medor made a pair of free throws. 

North Texas got it back when Edwards made a layup with 1:09 left to make it 59-58.

It would stay that way until the walk-off buzzer beater for Tsimbila.

Fordham coach Keith Urgo said of the win, “I’m really proud of the way we played the second half. I think it was one of the best defensive efforts that we’ve had the three years I’ve been coaching here, and we needed that. We kind of got back to our identity that last 20 minutes, which is tough, nasty, defending and rebounding, not worrying about making and missing shots. We talked about that at halftime; we talked about how we were playing a little too soft, and they were taking it to us, and then the next 20 minutes that’s as good and physical as we’ve played since I’ve been here, and that’s what it needs to be for this team, and every day we’re getting better and better and better.”

Urgo said of the final play, “It was drawn up exactly how we like it,” he said to laughter. “We were just trying to get down on the high-ball screen. We knew they would most likely blitz or switch and make “Japhet (Medor) go to his left, but that’s the direction he likes to go. They did a great job of getting him cornered, not letting him turn the corner and they forced him into a trap, and Abdou rolled hard to the rim, sat in front of the rim - he’s been getting better understanding where he is on the court. You can see his development is through the roof his last several games, you’re starting to see how talented and the potential that he continues to have, and he’s not even close to to what he is going to be…There’s no one you’d like to see have an opportunity to win a game than this guy.”

Fordham was led by Antrell Charlton, who had 10 points in 4-9 shooting, including 2-3 on three pointers, with four rebounds and four assists. Five Fordham players followed with eight points apiece - Tsimbila, Medor, Josh Rivera, Will Richardson, and Ogheneyole Akuwovo.

PHOTO ESSAY: Fordham wins it, and they get to celebrate again after the review confirmed Tsimbila’s dunk:

The referees at the table during the review.

Fordham celebrated after their win was confirmed.