The Grammys: In The House of Kobe, The Show Must Go On

The 62nd Grammy Awards went on Sunday night, hours after former basketball star Kobe Bryant and nine others went to their deaths in a helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles.  The event was held at the Staples Center, where Bryant had long starred for the NBA Lakers.  His presence was felt by the two uniforms numbered 8 and 24 hanging in the rafters.

Alicia Keys, who did her best to host the proceedings on the CBS telecast, did so in a manner that resembled a new age life coach trying to make sense to viewers in the wake of tragedy and Kobe shout-outs.  Oh yes, she sang and played the piano too.

Billie Eilish was the big winner, taking home the top four prizes:  Best New Artist, Album of the Year ("When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"), and Song and Record of the Year for "Bad Guy".  Nobody has done that since Christopher Cross four decades ago. (Anyone here remember "Arthur" and "Ride Like The Wind"?)  Eilish is 18.

Lizzo, the ubiquitous presence from TV commercials who spent enough time in Minnesota to qualify as an honorary citizen, didn't get as many Grammys as some had thought.  But she did get three, including Best Pop Solo Performance for "Truth Hurts".  Maybe it's that Minnesota Vikings reference . . .

Not a word was uttered during the telecast about Deborah Dugan, who was briefly Recording Academy president before being let go for allegedly being a "toxic" influence in the work environment there.  She fired back with an EEOC complaint, alleging conflict of interest, racial discrimination and sexual harassment within the Academy.

But there was plenty of room in the three-and-a-half-hour telecast for a lengthy musical tribute to outgoing TV director Ken Ehrlich, an all-star cast performing a number from "Fame" that served as a plug for the Academy's music education program.  Yes, it was one of those "only at the Grammys" moments Ehrlich helped put together over the past 40 years.

As the first month of 2020 comes to a close, the future of music according to the Grammys appears to be a green-haired teenage girl honing her talent in the bedroom with her brother, turning out songs of depression and climate change.  Which, when you think about it, is a reflection of the world we live in now.  Losing Kobe Bryant on a day of celebrating music is another.

We Interrupt This Impeachment. . .

Stung from the reality of being only the third President of the United States to be impeached by the House of Representatives,  Donald Trump reacted like he has at any other time in his unconventional administration when confronted with shots to his ego.  Only instead of ranting on Twitter, he came close to starting a war.

As the new year of 2020 dawned, U.S. airstrikes succeeded in killing Qasem Soleiman, who was major general in the Iraqi armed forces, in a missile attack. 

As soon as Iranians finished mourning their assassinated general while shouting "Death to America", which is what they have been doing since becoming an Islamic republic 40 years ago, the world waited to see what they would do next. The response came on Tuesday when they bombed American military bases in Iraq, leaving behind--amazingly enough--no casualties. 

It was then that the Iranians decided to close the matter if the Americans were willing to do the same.  Trump, content to claim victory by killing who he thought was a danger to U.S. security, agreed. 

It's no secret that Trump doesn't get along with the mullahs of Tehran.  The President has pulled out of a nuclear treaty because of Iran's alleged cheating, then sought to keep its citizens from emigrating to this country. If that wasn't enough, Trump could always issue more economic sanctions. 

For now, the United States and Iran are not at war. Not when there are still American troops "advising" in Afghanistan. But that could change, so we're told, if Iran starts kidnapping U.S. citizens still living in Tehran, makes cyber attacks, or uses other forms of terrorism. 

Of course, Trump has other fish to fry. He's got a possible trial going in the Senate that could help determine whether he keeps his job or not, but majority leader Mitch McConnell wants this over with without so much as hearing from witnesses. So the question is what kind of distraction will the president try to spring next?