The fuss about 'Hamilton' is well-deserved

By Michael J. Fitzgerald

The award-winning stage musical “Hamilton” is one of those clever shows that remain cemented in your consciousness well beyond the confines of the theater and last strains of music.

Nearly a week after seeing the play in San Francisco, the song “The Room Where It Happens” still rings in my ears.

Lin Manuel Miranda

It’s not just the catchy hip-hop lyrics, stunning dance choreography or haunting tunes. It’s how pertinent this Broadway snapshot of historical events from 200-plus years ago is today.

The life and times of Alexander Hamilton are likely hazy for people who haven’t been swept up in the mania generated by this musical or history buffs immersed in the founding of America.

To many people, he’s just the guy on the $10 bill.

But Hamilton was a key figure in the American Revolution, credited with creating the foundations of our modern banking and financial systems. He died famously in a duel fought with pistols with political rival Aaron Burr on July 11, 1804.

That’s an exceptionally bare-bones description of a very complicated life, detailed in an excellent 2004 biography written by award-winning author Ron Chernow.

It was Chernow’s book that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to spend six years writing the lyrics, music and pulling together the show that has been racking up an impressive stack of awards.

But the Hamilton tale reaches far out of the late 18th century into today’s headlines, featuring a racially diverse cast (reflecting 21st century America) emphasizing Hamilton’s humble early life and struggles.

He was born on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Illegitimate, and orphaned in his early teen years, he was a scrappy survivor using his writing skills to essentially pen his way out of poverty.

The play makes much of his intensity, offering in one pivotal scene that he authored 51 of the 85 documents we know as The Federalist Papers.

It also points out that Hamilton — and many other key figures in the American Revolution and among those drafting the U.S. Constitution — were immigrants.

“Immigrants! We get the job done!” Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette shout at one point in a song. The line gets a huge roar of approval in every “Hamilton” performance.

Chernow writes in his biography: “He embodied an enduring archetype: the obscure immigrant who comes to America, recreates himself, and survives despite a lack of proper birth or breeding,”

The heady victory of the colonists over the British gives way to darker scenes in the latter part of the musical. Political struggles among Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, take center stage.

If you follow today’s news from our nation’s capital, much seems hauntingly familiar.

Not much has changed politically in the last two centuries.

That the nation’s capital is Washington D.C. — and not then-favored New York City — is a product of Hamilton’s aggressive politicking. He engineered a compromise so the federal government would assume states’ Revolutionary War debts in exchange for locating the capital somewhere in the then-agrarian states of Maryland or Virginia.

Throughout the musical, Aaron Burr is ever-present, always in competition, never quite achieving the fame, fortune, or power that Hamilton garnered.

And Burr jealously competed for attention.

The Burr-Hamilton duel — one bit of American history still taught in schools — was preceded by a less-famous volley of pistol shots, resulting in the death of Hamilton’s oldest son, Philip.

Philip’s duel was over an insult spoken about his father by a political supporter of Jefferson. Philip died from a bullet wound he received at the same Weehawken, N.J. dueling area where his father would die three years later.

Maybe one of the most important lessons from “Hamilton” is that the history taught in most schools is a sanitized version of what really happened as our nation was being formed.

“Hamilton” is changing that.

Fitzgerald worked for six newspapers as a writer and editor as well as a correspondent for several news services. He splits his time between Valois, NY and Pt. Richmond, Calif. You can email him at Michael.Fitzgeraldfltcolumnist@gmail.com and visit his website at michaeljfitzgerald.blogspot.com.

Golden Age of full employment for lawyers

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This column first appeared in the Finger Lakes Times newspaper in Geneva, NY)

By Michael J. Fitzgerald, columnist

The Donald Trump administration may one day be remembered as the Golden Age of full employment for lawyers.

In the 100-plus days since he took the oath of office, lawsuits and legal motions have flown like confetti at a New York City ticker-tape parade, keeping attorneys, judges, courts, legal staff — and the media — scrambling to keep up.

In just the first 10 days of the administration, 41 lawsuits were filed naming the new president. Many were related to his immigration ban. But there were others alleging violations of the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, suits to protect sanctuary city status and others against relaxing mining rules that will result in pollution of waterways.

Expect this tsunami of lawsuits and legal challenges to continue for the balance of Trump’s time in the White House, possibly including an epic legal blizzard if enough evidence is amassed to prompt Congress to vote for impeachment.

More important than these numbers, however, is that the new Trump administration is actually hashing out legal disputes via the legal system.

So far, anyway.

In the first days of Trump-as-president, much of the nation held its collective breath over whether he would try to bulldoze over the courts claiming his presidential power trumps (pardon the pun) any challenge to his authority.

Given his flamboyant rhetoric on the campaign trail last year, that fear was not ungrounded.

The pivotal moment came Feb. 3 when a federal judge blocked enforcement of a presidential executive order to implement a travel ban for residents of seven predominantly Muslim nations.

Although the president responded to the judge’s order with characteristically acerbic tweets, he didn’t attempt to enforce his executive order through extralegal means that could have triggered a national crisis.

Trump’s grudging recognition of the court’s authority — again, so far anyway — seems eerily reminiscent of staunch segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace standing in an auditorium doorway in 1963 at the University of Alabama to block the entry of two black students.

Gov. George Wallace, flanked by police

A federal court had ruled that segregationist policies that kept blacks from enrolling at the university were illegal.

After a long, tense confrontation Wallace, flanked by Alabama State Police, finally stepped aside, averting a national crisis.

In the Finger Lakes, groups like Gas Free Seneca and others use the legal system to protect the environment and promote a vision for the region.

Those who disagree with the vision of these groups — and/or believe many environmental safeguards are unnecessary — have their own legal knights on the courtroom chessboards, jousting via legal argumentation.

Peaceful protests are the norm. And civil disobedience is peaceful — and legal — too.

But 100-plus days into the new administration, there are troubling signs the president’s legendary impatience has reached its limit, with his legally questionable initiatives stalled under judicial review.

Adding to his frustration is that even with a heavy GOP majority in both houses, Congress seems hapless at passing Trump-supported legislation.

In speeches and interviews, the president has been speaking ominously about a need to consolidate power by changing legislative rules, like dumping the filibuster.

It’s making people nervous about what might happen in a major national emergency.

One fear is that Trump might attempt — by invoking national security — to suspend key democratic freedoms such as the rights to peaceably assemble, of free speech, and to have a free press.

Such a move, of course, could also suspend judicial power and get rid of those pesky lawsuits blocking Trump’s first 100-days worth of pending dictates.

A lot of lawyers could find themselves suddenly out of work.

And regardless whether you support the president or not, we could all find ourselves living in an unrecognizable United States of America.

Fitzgerald worked for six newspapers as a writer and editor as well as a correspondent for several news services. He splits his time between Valois, NY and Pt. Richmond, Calif. You can email him at Michael.Fitzgeraldfltcolumnist@gmail.com and visit his website at michaeljfitzgerald.blogspot.com.

If a tree falls in the forest ...

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following column appeared in the April 21, 2017 edition of the Finger Lakes Times newspaper in Geneva, NY)

By Michael J. Fitzgerald, columnist

Philosophy students still ponder this centuries old question: If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Now the question in our 21st century cellphone-camera-video-media culture would be more like: Did someone capture a video clip, photo or audio file of the tumbling timber?

Consider the recent media-frenzy/brouhaha over a United Airlines passenger dragged off a plane when he refused to give up his assigned seat — a seat United wanted to reclaim for an airline employee’s use.

The incident escalated overnight from a Kentucky airport dustup to an international incident, fueled by cellphone videos taken by other passengers, then posted on Facebook and Twitter.

In social media jargon, the videos went viral.

Then numerous mainstream news reports were published worldwide about the incident, including the links — all followed by hundreds of clever memes and commentaries that had a lot of fun at the expense of United Airlines.

This isn’t to diminish any mistreatment of passenger Dr. David Dao, the stunning clumsiness of United Airlines’ handling of the incident or the upset experienced by other passengers who watched Dao hauled roughly from his assigned spot and dragged down the narrow aisle.

But if those cellphone videos hadn’t been posted to social media and circulated widely, would this incident between a passenger and security at a regional airport been any more than a small footnote on the back pages of some newspapers?

You don’t need to be a philosophy student to answer that question.

Similarly, consider the police-vs-water protector clashes at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. Activists would not have garnered a fraction of the attention without the tsunami of video, still images and powerful audio recordings that spread nationally and internationally.

We see the power of images often.

Dozens of snippets of videos have been posted from protests at NY GOP Congressman Tom Reed’s office and town hall meetings, adding strong visual and audio elements to Reed’s statements, also reported in print media.

His widely viewed video reply to a question about responsiveness to his constituents, “I try to listen to that silent voice,” is particularly popular among his critics.

Until the group We Are Seneca Lake suspended its arrest-generating protests at the gates of the Crestwood Midstream facility near Watkins Glen, video and photos frequently circulated widely on social media, encouraging mainstream media locally and across the state to pay attention.

The same for videos at local courthouses when protesters had their day in court.

That video attention put added political pressure on the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to be especially diligent in its continuing review of Crestwood’s proposal to store millions of gallons of liquid propane gas in unlined caverns.

But as informative as this imagery explosion can be, there are plenty of troubling elements.

Overexposure — sometimes called information overload — can prompt a numbing desensitization to situations. Or sometimes promotes assumptions based on just seconds of video footage, often out of context.

Perhaps the most problematic is deliberate manipulation of video or images.

Several weeks ago California prosecutors charged two anti-abortion activists with 15 video-related felonies. The charges stem from their roles in the filming, editing and distributing of secretly recorded videos that inaccurately portrayed Planned Parenthood and prompted waves of threats.

The since-discredited videos — which might be called “fake news” — were edited to smear Planned Parenthood and were a major factor in prompting a dozen state investigations into allegations against the health-care provider in the last two years.

The question for 2017 has become “If an incident happens and it isn’t videoed, is it still news?”

This fake news vs. real news debate makes me long for simpler times and debates over “if a tree falls in a forest ... ”

Fitzgerald worked for six newspapers as a writer and editor as well as a correspondent for several news services. He splits his time between Valois, NY and Pt. Richmond, Calif. You can email him at Michael.Fitzgeraldfltcolumnist@ gmail.com and visit his website at michaeljfitzgerald.blogspot.com.

Retiring superintendent's $20-million legal mess

(Editor's note: The following column appeared April 14, 2017 in the Finger Lakes Times newspaper in Geneva, NY.)

Leaving a $20 million legal mess

By Michael J. Fitzgerald, columnist

The legal legacy of retiring Watkins Glen NY Unified School District Superintendent Tom Phillips will likely be long remembered by area taxpayers.

When Phillips leaves later this year, the district, Watkins Glen Police and the tiny Village likely will still be scrambling to defend against a federal lawsuit alleging abuse of power and violation of a citizen’s constitutional rights — all linked to Phillips’ actions last year.

The damages demanded by the plaintiff tally up to approximately $20 million, not counting legal fees that are quickly piling up.

Hansen arrested at a tennis match

The 20-page lawsuit in the federal Western District of New York court is the outgrowth of two arrests of a Watkins Glen woman, a persistent critic of Phillips’ administration and the elected school board.

In both arrests Kristina Hansen was handcuffed and taken into custody by Watkins Glen Police, once for attempting to attend a publicly noticed school board meeting, the second for attending a public, outdoor tennis match.

You read correctly — a public meeting of elected officials ... and a public outdoor athletic event.

She raised the superintendent’s ire to the boiling point when she tried to attend a school board meeting about staff cuts. When Hansen attempted to enter, Phillips blocked her entry.

“Phillips behaved in an intimidating manner, flailing his arms and continuing to shout at her,” the lawsuit says.

Police were called and escorted Hansen off campus without incident.

Days later she received a letter from Phillips barring her from setting foot on any school district campus or office without his written consent.

That letter, which a Watkins Glen judge months later ruled was unlawful, was the basis for Hansen’s two arrests, both of which the judge tossed out.

“No citizen of the United States, the State of New York or the Watkins School District needs to ask ‘permission’ of anyone in order to exercise her constitutional or statutory rights,” the judge wrote.

While Phillips’ clumsy, illegal attempt to silence a critic is clearly the headwaters of this fiasco, school board members, Watkins police and the community share the blame for letting a simmering local disagreement boil over into literally a $20 million federal case.

The school board members should have lassoed their superintendent at the first meeting at which staff cuts were to be discussed. A quorum of the board was present. It was a public meeting. Hansen should have been welcomed, not shunned, despite her history of asking skeptical questions.

Ten days later, when Phillips had Hansen arrested to bar her entry into a public school board meeting, the board members should have overruled him on the spot and invited Hansen’s attendance.

An apology that evening — versus arrest — was in order, too.

Instead they sat passively while Kristina Hansen’s wrists were shackled in handcuffs.

Had the board used its words, a second arrest at a tennis match the next month, ordered by Phillips’ staff, also would have been avoided.

While Watkins police should have diffused both arrests with thoughtful community policing and mediation, the Watkins community needed to voice outrage that a fellow citizen was being denied basic constitutional rights.

If this could happen to Hansen, anyone could be at risk.

All this is likely to prove costly to taxpayers.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial. And juries historically frown on bureaucratic trampling of First Amendment rights.

Juries also are not fond of mothers being hauled off in handcuffs for simply wanting to attend a public meeting.

The school board has done its best to ensure Phillips and the two school district employees who ordered the second arrest won’t have to pay cash penalties.

The board voted to provide their legal defense and indemnified the trio against any financial judgments.

Too bad it can’t indemnify taxpayers whose money will pay for district lawyers and the potential $20 million legal-judgment avalanche rumbling their way.

Fitzgerald worked for six newspapers as a writer and editor as well as a correspondent for several news services. He splits his time between Valois, NY and Pt. Richmond, Calif. You can email him at Michael.Fitzgeraldfltcolumnist@gmail.com and visit his website at michaeljfitzgerald.blogspot.com.