`Cat in the Hat’ lives
Celebrating the Irish
The Front Page
Morning Briefing
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
By Ken Tingley
The Dr. Seuss book controversy is not only silly, it is not based on any real fact.
Politicians, like local Rep. Elise Stefanik, have jumped on the bandwagon to try to deflect your attention from their recent vote not to help Americans struggling during the pandemic.
This is what happens when politicians don’t tell the whole truth and we done’t hold them accountable by reviewing the facts.
Rep. Elise Stefanik recently posted on Facebook “Save Dr. Seuss” over a story from the New York Post with the headline, “Biden removes mention of Dr. Seuss from Read Across America Day.”
First, never trust a headline in a New York City tabloid.
Second, the headline is not true.
Third, Rep. Stefanik should clarify to her constituents that the Dr. Seuss books that she is trying to save have titled we have never heard of before.
Finally, none of this Dr. Seuss controversy has anything to do with the president or Democrats. It has to do with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. On March 2, it announced it would stop publishing and licensing six Dr. Seuss books that have been criticized for how they depict black and Asian people.
These are books you have never heard of and probably never read because they are not Dr. Seuss classic. It was a business decision because these books were not best-selling books.
About three dozen Dr. Seuss books will remain on the market, including such classics as “Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Perhaps, Rep. Stefanik would like to defend her social media post and explain what she likes about these books and how they depict minorities:
If I ran a zoo.
McElligot’s Pool.
On Beyond Zebra.
Scrambled Eggs Super
The Cat’s Quizzer
And to think I Saw It on Muberry Street.
I suspect most of us have never even heard of these books.
This is not a controversy. Nobody is out to get the “Cat in the Hat. It’s bad politicians trying to steer your attention away from real issues.
St. Patrick’s Day
My mother was from Belfast in Northern Ireland so St. Patrick’s Day was always big for us growing up, although I don’t ever remember her making corned beef and cabbage.
In some ways, I think my father enjoyed St. Patrick’s Day more because he liked beer and he liked to sing after having a few beers.
Here in Glens Falls, we made it a tradition to go to Dango’s for corned beef and cabbage, listen to Irish music and watch NCAA basketball. I took my mother there one memorable year when she was serenaded by Bobby Dick.
Dango’s is closed now and for the second straight year, it will be a subdued St. Patrick’s Day. We will have our corned beef and cabbage, but the beer and singling will be in short supply as we hope for better days.
One of my prized possession is a kelly green tie that I inherited from my father. He wore it once a year on St. Patrick’s Day. After he passed, I rekindled the tradition by wearing it to work each March 17.
This will be my first St. Patrick’s Day retired and I have nowhere to go, but I will be pulling out the tie tomorrow morning and wearing it for my wife.
You can still smell the beer in it.
Quote of the Day
“May the roof above us never fall in, and may the the friends gathered below it, never fall out.”
- Irish blessing.Morning Briefing
Tweet of the Day
