Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

Client 9: Rise and Fall of Eliot SpitzerThe documentary Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010) is a fascinating portrayal of the former New York governor and his downfall. The movie follows Spitzer’s fast rise from a state attorney general heralded as “the sheriff of Wall Street” through his presidential aspirations to his even faster fall following the discovery of his use of prostitutes.

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, directed by Alex Gibney and now available on Blu-ray and DVD, does an excellent job of showing all sides of the story, featuring interviews with Spitzer as well as with several of Spitzer’s enemies. The story gives one a new perspective on the major players. Among other revelations, one learns that the woman featured in multiple covers of New York tabloids and interviewed by Diane Sawyer had only one encounter with Spitzer. As a result of the media attention, she is now a columnist for the New York Post, while the actual woman who met Spitzer frequently avoids the spotlight.

The story of a powerful man who falls has been around for ages. In a famous quote from the Bible, Jesus asked a question that one might recall while watching Client 9: “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” The movie reveals that the beam in Spitzer’s eye included his hubris and pride, which led him to make numerous enemies and few trusted friends. While Spitzer admits he caused his own descent, and that is true, his downfall is much more complicated. Some of the people who had past run-ins with Spitzer — including legislators and those he prosecuted as Attorney General — played interesting roles in the drama.

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer does not let Spitzer off the hook, but it also portrays the man and the scandal in its complexity. Spitzer, who now has his own television show on CNN and who may eventually return to politics to run for mayor of New York City, was one of the first leaders to reveal the problems on Wall Street that later led to the most recent recession. But he lacked empathy in his encounters with other people. He was a man who was driven to reform government because he saw the flaws in others, but who then fell because he could not see the flaws in himself.

Has Spitzer learned from his mistakes and become more humble? What do you think? Leave a comment?

  • New Documentary About Guy Clark
  • “The Staircase” Is a Fascinating Real-Crime Documentary
  • “Paul Williams Still Alive” (Missed Movies)
  • Watch “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise”
  • Searching for Sugar Man (Missed Movies)
  • Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop . . . Being a Jerk?
  • (Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

    Illinois Abolishes Death Penalty: Steve Earle’s Over Yonder

    Lethal Injection Fish eye

    Today, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill passed by the state legislature abolishing the death penalty in the state. He also commuted the death sentences of the fifteen Illinois inmates on death row to life in prison. The law takes effect July 1 and will make Illinois the sixteenth state without the death penalty. Illinois also joins other states that have abolished the death penalty in the last several years, including New Mexico and New Jersey. Connecticut, Maryland, and Montana currently are considering abolishing the death penalty.

    Gov. Quinn explained: “”Since our experience has shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment, I have concluded that the proper course of action is to abolish it. . . . With our broken system, we cannot ensure justice is achieved in every case.”

    Gov. Quinn showed courage in signing the bill, as it is usually easier for politicians to maintain the status quo. Too often politicians use death penalty support as a political issue to play on people’s natural emotions to want murderers killed like in the movies. But in thinking about the death penalty as a criminal justice issue, Gov. Quinn recognized that the death penalty causes too many problems that a logical society should not tolerate. Plus, because maintaining the death penalty is more costly than life in prison, Gov. Quinn reasoned that “the enormous sums expended by the state in maintaining a death penalty system would be better spent on preventing crime and assisting victims’ families in overcoming pain and grief.” More needs to be done to prevent crime and help those victims harmed by crime, and the death penalty is merely a distraction from the real issues.

    Chimesfreedom previously discussed two of Steve Earle’s death penalty songs, so now is a good time to discuss another one. “Over Yonder (Jonathan’s Song)” is from his outstanding album, Transcendental Blues. While “Ellis Unit One” is in the voice of a prison guard, “Over Yonder” is like “Billy Austin,” in the voice of a death row inmate. Unlike “Billy Austin,” though, “Over Yonder” is about a real person, and it shows in the song.

    Steve Earle catalogs many of the problems with the death penalty in his earlier “Billy Austin,” such as the racial and economic discrimination inherent in the punishment. But in “Over Yonder,” perhaps because he was writing about a real person, Earle tries to convey what a human being would feel like preparing to be executed.

    Give my radio to Johnson
    Thibodeaux can have my fan
    Send my Bible home to Mama
    Call her every now and then.

    The real subject of the song, Jonathan Nobles, corresponded with Steve Earle for ten years, and the two met and spent several days together talking in the visiting area at Ellis Unit One before Nobles was executed on October 7, 1998 in Texas. Nobles was convicted of killing two women while he was under the influence of drugs in 1986. When he first went to death row, he was a trouble-maker. But as time passed, Nobles became a Catholic and worked to turn his life around. He fasted on his last day and requested Holy Communion for his last meal.

    When Earle visited Nobles, they spent a lot of time talking about issues where they shared common ground, such as love of music, their times spent behind bars, their use of drugs, and their recovery from addiction. Steve Earle later wrote an essay about their time together and witnessing Nobles being killed by lethal injection. In Earle’s essay, he concluded that because Nobles had changed so much, society could have learned about rehabilitation from Nobles, which is especially important considering the large number of people in U.S. prisons.

    In the song, Earle does not condemn those who executed Nobles, he just tells the story. And he does not argue the inmate is innocent, he just reminds us that he is human.

    The world’ll turn around without me
    The sun’ll come up in the east
    Shinin’ down on all of them that hate me
    I hope my goin’ brings ’em peace.

    I am going over yonder
    Where no ghost can follow me
    There’s another place beyond here
    Where I’ll be free I believe.

    Just as importantly, Earle reminds us that we are human. Because, as has been noted, the death penalty is more about who we are as a society than about the handful of people executed. Gov. Quinn today chose for the state of Illinois to be a little more wiser and more humane.

    Bonus Illinois Death Penalty Information: The Chicago Tribune recently did a study of the state’s capital punishment system. The paper found “at least 46 inmates sent to death row in cases where prosecutors used jailhouse informants to convict or condemn the defendants. The investigation also found at least 33 death row inmates had been represented at trial by an attorney who had been disbarred or suspended; at least 35 African-American inmates on death row who had been convicted or condemned by an all-white jury; and about half of the nearly 300 capital cases had been reversed for a new trial or sentencing hearing.”

  • Will Gov. Quinn Sign the Death Penalty Bill?
  • “Nebraska” and the Death Penalty
  • Dylan’s “Julius & Ethel”
  • The Journey of “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me” From the Scaffold to the Screen
  • The End of Maryland’s Death Penalty and “Green, Green Grass of Home”
  • The Killing of “Two Good Men”
  • (Related Posts)

    International Women’s Day: Helen Reddy

    On March 8, governments around the world celebrate the anniversary of International Women’s Day. The idea for the day began when more than a million women and men marched in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland on March 19, 1911 to protest discrimination against women.

    “I Am Woman”

    Helen Reddy

    In the early 1970s, Helen Reddy was trying to find songs to record “that reflected the positive sense of self that I felt I’d gained from the women’s movement.” But she could not find such songs.

    She later explained her quest to Billboard magazine. She noted, “I realized that the song I was looking for didn’t exist, and I was going to have to write it myself.” She did.

    “I Am Woman” was released in the spring of 1972.  But did not go anywhere on the charts that summer. Then in the fall, the song reappeared on the charts and started climbing, becoming the anthem we know today.

    In the 1975 clip below, Reddy explains how the United Nations declared it the “Year of the Woman.” And then the UN chose her song “I Am Woman” as its theme.

    Helen Reddy in Recent Years

    We are fortunate to have the recorded versions of the song.  But unfortunately for a long time we did not have live performances of “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy to celebrate International Women’s Day. Reddy suffers from Addison’s Disease and had stopped performing.

    According to Helen Reddy’s website, after retiring from performing in 2002, she practiced “as a clinical hypnotherapist and motivational speaker.”  Update: In 2013, Helen Reddy returned to touring for her first performances in ten years, but subsequently again retired from performing.

    In late 2015, her family reported that she was doing fine but had moved into the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills. Then, in January 2017, Reddy appeared in Los Angeles at the Women’s March and sang an a cappella version of . . . “I Am Woman.”

    We are thankful she gave this great popular song to the world. (Also, you may hear the demo version of “I Am Woman” on her website.)

  • Actress Hedy Lamarr Invented the WiFi?
  • (Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

    Book Stores Close: A Cash Brothers Song for Workers

    Borders Book Stores Closing

    Cash Brothers – Night Shift Guru

    {Night Shift Guru – The Cash Brothers}

    The Closings. In a previous post, Chimesfreedom wrote about the closing of a CD store and the losses from changes in technology. That post concluded by reminding us that at least we still have bookstores. But Borders just recently declared bankruptcy and announced it is closing most of its stores.

    While I enjoy smaller independent bookstores, there were two Borders stores that I sometimes visited because of their location and selection. Both of them are among those closing. Although you may get anything you want through the Internet, there is something about seeing the physical objects in a store. I have found a number of my favorite books while browsing a book store, and I never would have found the books online. For some people, Borders was the only book store in their area. So, yes, I am sad about the closings. And I felt like a vulture picking through the going-out-of-business sale.

    The Workers. But there are other casualties. As I stood in the long winding line, annoyed that I had to wait for so long to get my 20%-off books, I noticed the two cashiers struggling to handle the extra load. The customers were annoyed that the long line was so slow, the store was a mess from everything being out of place, people where complaining that the store would not take coupons, etc. It must be horrible to work under those depressing conditions as you face unemployment. One of the cashiers who had been working since early in the morning was trying to arrange with a supervisor to be able to take a lunch break before 4:00 p.m.

    Someone who works at a Borders told me that the employees are not getting any severance pay or anything — just declining working conditions until the final day when they become unemployed. It may be hard to blame the company because they are in bankruptcy. There have been some articles arguing that Borders executives mismanaged the business and that had they been more creative they would be doing better, as is Barnes & Noble. I do not know if that is true, but I am sure that they did not want to go out of business when they were making the decisions. Still, it really sucks for the workers, while usually the executives end up okay.

    We have seen too many of these types of layoffs in the last few years during the recession, even though people lose jobs in good times too. So, if you happen to be shopping in a store that is going out of business, take a minute to acknowledge the workers and say a kind word as you grab up your bargains.

    The Song. There are various songs about the working life, and one of my favorites is “Night Shift Guru” by The Cash Brothers. The above song, while not about working in a book store, is about working in the service industry waiting on people.
    Cash Brothers How Was Tomorrow
    Oh I know my job’s just working in a store
    I’ve got an L on my forehead and a stupid uniform
    It’s 7/11, it’s twenty-four seven
    I’m the night shift guru, made to serve you
    How do you do

    The Cash Brothers are two brothers from Canada, Andrew and Peter Cash. They had separate careers, including Peter’s work with the Skydiggers. But after they sang a song together, they decided to form their own band in 1996. Once you hear their voices together you will understand why. Several years ago, I heard The Cash Brothers perform at a free outdoor performance at Lincoln Center in New York City. It was a small affair, and I was able to talk to them about their guitar pedals, etc. I also bought another copy of a CD I already owned and a t-shirt that was too small for me because I wanted to support their music.

    “Night Shift Guru” is off of their album How Was Tomorrow (2001), which is one of my favorite CDs. If you like their sound on “Night Shift Guru,” check out the entire album as all of the songs are outstanding. For Chimesfreedom readers who are Springsteen fans, you might be interested in the song “Nebraska” off How Was Tomorrow, which is about driving around listening to the Springsteen Nebraska album. Their other albums are good too, although I suggest starting with How Was Tomorrow. You may hear Nebraska and some of their other music on free mp3’s on the website. [Sept. 2011 Update: The Cash Brothers website is no longer available.]

    Unfortunately, like Borders, the Cash Brothers appear to be out of business, or at least they are on hiatus. The last music I have from them is from a 2006 collaboration with the Skydiggers. The Cash Brothers website is up but does not have any recent news. Andrew Cash has his own up-to-date website and is recording his own music, working as a journalist, and recording television soundtracks. Peter Cash also has his own website, with plans to add music and more information soon. So even if it is unfortunate they no longer perform together, at least they are still working — unlike the Border employees who are losing their jobs.

    I found How Was Tomorrow while browsing through a record store. That store is now closed.

    Update (May 2011): Andrew Cash was recently elected to Canada’s House of Commons.

    What do you think about Borders closing? Leave a comment.

  • Skydiggers (and the brothers Cash) Still “Ramblin’ On”
  • Cash Brothers Website Gone?: Long Live The Cash Brothers!
  • Springsteen’s “Whoop-Ass Session on the Recession” in Greensboro (Guest Post)
  • Do You Miss CD Stores?
  • Bruce Springsteen’s Fighting Prayer for the U.S.
  • 10 Thoughts on Bruce Springsteen’s “Only the Strong Survive”
  • (Related Posts)

    The Better Angels of Our Nature: Lincoln’s 1st Inaugural

    Abraham Lincoln Bobblehead On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn in for his first term as President of the United States as the nation was on the verge of coming apart. As Lincoln addressed the crowd from the steps of the unfinished U.S. Capitol building, he sported a beard he had grown a few months earlier.

    Lincoln grew the beard after Grace Bedell, an 11-year-old girl from New York, had written the then smooth-faced presidential candidate suggesting the facial hair.  She wrote, “[Y]ou would look a great deal better for your face is so thin.”

    Lincoln’s Speech at His First Inaugural

    But on this date in 1861, Lincoln had other things on his mind besides his appearance. In writing his speech, he had struggled to find the words to keep the South from seceding and to keep his Northern supporters in his corner in case of a civil war. He closed his speech with poetic words that offered a warning to those who might divide the nation (I will crush you!).  But he also offered an olive branch (We are friends!):

    “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to ‘preserve, protect, and defend it.’

    “I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

    Hal Holbrook as Lincoln

    In a previous Chimesfreedom post, we noted how most contemporary accounts of Lincoln’s voice classified it as high-pitched or squeaky, unlike many of the deep baritone portrayals we usually hear today. This short clip of Hal Holbrook giving Lincoln’s closing of the First Inaugural seems along the lines of what the crowd heard on this date in 1861.

    The video is from the TV miniseries Sandburg’s Lincoln (1974-76).  Check it out.

    Hal Holbrook is well-known for a number of roles, including his portrayals of Mark Twain. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his recent role in Into the Wild (2007), which made the 82-year-old the oldest actor to be nominated for an Oscar in that category. For more, see Holbrook’s IMDb page.

    Bonus First Inaugural Coverage: The New York Times has several essays about the historical importance and background behind the First Inaugural. You may also read the entire speech.

  • The Civil War and Conan O’Brien
  • The Honored Dead and the Gettysburg Survivors
  • “Lincoln” As Both Icon and Human Being (Short Review)
  • Anniv. of Civil War’s Start: Elvis’s American Trilogy
  • Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln
  • A Lincoln Portrait
  • (Related Posts)