Wilson rebuke deserved

Congressman Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) got just what he deserved Wednesday when the House of Representatives voted to admonish him for his callous, disrespectful outburst during last week’s speech by President Barack Obama. Wilson’s shout of “You lie!� at the president marked a new low for the United States Congress, which is no stranger to single-digit approval ratings.

Democratic legislators noted that Wilson had an entire week to apologize to the House of Representatives for violating House rules, but Wilson seemed content with a phoned-in apology to the president, followed by an immediate online campaign to raise money for his re-election. Wilson proudly announced he would “not be muzzled� by members of the opposing party, whatever that means.

Congressional historians noted during the past week that Wilson’s outburst is unprecedented in recent history. Going back more than 100 years, experts could not find an instance in which a single member of Congress shouted directly at the president during a speech. The sheer audacity of the act should be enough to make members of both parties cringe in disgust and embarrassment. Add to that the fact that Wilson is a retired colonel in the South Carolina Army National Guard, and his direct insubordination to the commander in chief becomes an ignorant, unprincipled offense. Congressional colleagues, blind to the transgression, went so far as to call Wilson’s outburst “inadvertent.�

Many have wondered aloud if there are racial undertones to the conflict, but Wilson’s outburst should be seen for what it was —  an abandonment of general decorum and respect for the sake of a partisan argument. Thankfully, 240 members of the House agreed that this was unacceptable. Anyone who continues to support the congressman is missing the point, which is that he crossed the line and earned a rebuke from his colleagues.

Latest News

Walking among the ‘Herd’

Michel Negroponte

Betti Franceschi

"Herd,” a film by Michel Negroponte, will be screening at The Norfolk Library on Saturday April 13 at 5:30 p.m. This mesmerizing documentary investigates the relationship between humans and other sentient beings by following a herd of shaggy Belted Galloway cattle through a little more than a year of their lives.

Negroponte and his wife have had a second home just outside of Livingston Manor, in the southwest corner of the Catskills, for many years. Like many during the pandemic, they moved up north for what they thought would be a few weeks, and now seldom return to their city dwelling. Adjacent to their property is a privately owned farm and when a herd of Belted Galloways arrived, Negroponte realized the subject of his new film.

Keep ReadingShow less
Fresh perspectives in Norfolk Library film series

Diego Ongaro

Photo submitted

Parisian filmmaker Diego Ongaro, who has been living in Norfolk for the past 20 years, has composed a collection of films for viewing based on his unique taste.

The series, titled “Visions of Europe,” began over the winter at the Norfolk Library with a focus on under-the-radar contemporary films with unique voices, highlighting the creative richness and vitality of the European film landscape.

Keep ReadingShow less
New ground to cover and plenty of groundcover

Young native pachysandra from Lindera Nursery shows a variety of color and delicate flowers.

Dee Salomon

It is still too early to sow seeds outside, except for peas, both the edible and floral kind. I have transplanted a few shrubs and a dogwood tree that was root pruned in the fall. I have also moved a few hellebores that seeded in the near woods back into their garden beds near the house; they seem not to mind the few frosty mornings we have recently had. In years past I would have been cleaning up the plant beds but I now know better and will wait at least six weeks more. I have instead found the most perfect time-consuming activity for early spring: teasing out Vinca minor, also known as periwinkle and myrtle, from the ground in places it was never meant to be.

Planting the stuff in the first place is my biggest ever garden regret. It was recommended to me as a groundcover that would hold together a hillside, bare after a removal of invasive plants save for a dozen or so trees. And here we are, twelve years later; there is vinca everywhere. It blankets the hillside and has crept over the top into the woods. It has made its way left and right. I am convinced that vinca is the plastic of the plant world. The stuff won’t die. (The name Vinca comes from the Latin ‘vincire’ which means ‘to bind or fetter.’) Last year I pulled a bunch and left it strewn on the roof of the root cellar for 6 months and the leaves were still green.

Keep ReadingShow less
Matza Lasagne by 'The Cook and the Rabbi'

Culinary craftsmanship intersects with spiritual insights in the wonderfully collaborative book, “The Cook and the Rabbi.” On April 14 at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck (6422 Montgomery Street), the cook, Susan Simon, and the rabbi, Zoe B. Zak, will lead a conversation about food, tradition, holidays, resilience and what to cook this Passover.

Passover, marked by the traditional seder meal, holds profound significance within Jewish culture and for many carries extra meaning this year at a time of great conflict. The word seder, meaning “order” in Hebrew, unfolds in a 15-step progression intertwining prayers, blessings, stories, and songs that narrate the ancient saga of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. It’s a narrative that has endured for over two millennia, evolving with time yet retaining its essence, a theme echoed beautifully in “The Cook and the Rabbi.”

Keep ReadingShow less