By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO–Emails, phone calls and snail mail–an editor never knows what the day will bring. Here’s the most recent sampling:
POLITICS—The Republican candidacy of former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch in the 51st Congressional District has prompted incumbent Bob Filner, chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, to caution supporters that “there are no safe seats.” Popaditch, who once was pictured in a tank by the infamous statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, lost an eye in combat and has written a book, Once a Marine, about his experiences, clearly appealing to the same veterans constituency that Filner has so assiduously cultivated. “The candidate running against me has no credentials but his photograph trumps a centerfold,” Filner declares.
LINKS TO OTHER PUBLICATIONS—Nabucco, the Verdi opera exploring the life of the biblical Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, is being produced by the San Diego Opera. With it comes considerable commentary dealing both with the opera and its subject. Here is a link to a piece by John Lydon in the San Diego Union-Tribune. ….
*
Texas has the largest budget in the nation to purchase school books, making textbook publishers responsive to the political demands of its conservative state school board. The New York Times Magazine takes an in-depth look at what this means for education throughout the United States. … Rabbi Ben Kamin reflects on Examiner.com on the souls of the American presidents from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. …. Also on Examiner.com, Cynthia Citron tells of two plays at the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles: Wrecks starring Ed Harris and Female of the Species starring Annette Bening.
*
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World