<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV><FONT size=2 face=Tahoma>----- Forwarded Message ----<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> David Shasha <david.shasha.shu@gmail.com><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> davidshasha@googlegroups.com<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Tue, July 13, 2010 8:30:53 AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> SHU TV Note: "The Phenix City Story" (7/17)<BR></FONT><BR>
<MailScannerScript91585 SCRIPT type=text/javascript defer charset=utf-8>
if (typeof YAHOO == "undefined") {
var YAHOO = {};
}
YAHOO.Shortcuts = YAHOO.Shortcuts || {};
YAHOO.Shortcuts.hasSensitiveText = true;
YAHOO.Shortcuts.sensitivityType = ["sensitive_news_terms", "illegal", "adult"];
YAHOO.Shortcuts.doUlt = false;
YAHOO.Shortcuts.location = "us";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_id = 0;
YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_type = "";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_title = "SHU TV Note: The Phenix City Story (7/17)";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_publish_date = "";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_author = "david.shasha.shu@gmail.com";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_url = "";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_tags = "";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_language = "english";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.version = "2.8.1";
YAHOO.Shortcuts.annotationSet = {
"lw_1279033791_0": {
"text": "Turner Classic Movies",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 306,
"endchar": 326,
"start": 310,
"end": 330,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "PLACE",
"predictionProbability": "0.367999",
"weight": 0.64785,
"relScore": 1.77009,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.64785,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/tag/other/wiki"],
"category": ["WIKI"],
"wikiId": "Turner_Classic_Movies",
"relatedWikiIds": ["TV_Links", "AMC_%28TV_network%29", "American_Motors", "Internet_Movie_Database", "Hulu", "Michael_Douglas", "Emile_Hirsch", "The_Assassination_of_Jesse_James_by_the_Coward_Robert_Ford", "Ben_Affleck", "Alfred_Hitchcock"],
"relatedEntities": ["michael douglas", "emile hirsch", "the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford", "ben affleck", "alfred hitchcock", "gone baby gone", "ellen page", "no country for old men", "body of war", "casey affleck"],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "The Phenix City Story will be screened on Turner Classic Movies Saturday July 17th at 2:00 PM On Fighting Lost Causes",
"metaData": {
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_1": {
"text": "Phil Karlson",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 1249,
"endchar": 1260,
"start": 1256,
"end": 1267,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 0.666946,
"relScore": 2.65508,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.666946,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/tag/other/entity_db/person", "shortcuts:/us/tag/other/wiki"],
"category": ["WIKI"],
"wikiId": "Phil_Karlson",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "2:00 PM On Fighting Lost Causes The Phenix City Story Phil Karlson 1955 Many people staunchly avoid getting involved in what would",
"metaData": {
"visible": "true"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_2": {
"text": "human beings",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 1865,
"endchar": 1876,
"start": 1876,
"end": 1887,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 0.623078,
"relScore": 2.44702,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.623078,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/concept"],
"category": ["CONCEPT"],
"wikiId": "Human",
"relatedWikiIds": ["Animal_rights", "Human_body", "Birth", "Humana", "Pregnancy", "Human_anatomy", "Brain_death", "Tooth", "Sleep", "Three-toed_sloth"],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "the ills that we face are those that we as human beings have created Human suffering can often be due to causes",
"metaData": {
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_3": {
"text": "mob rule",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 2433,
"endchar": 2440,
"start": 2446,
"end": 2453,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 0.585201,
"relScore": 2.19514,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.585201,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/concept"],
"category": ["CONCEPT"],
"wikiId": "Ochlocracy",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "is completely unknown to us today is the story of mob rule in a town called Phenix City on the border of",
"metaData": {
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_4": {
"text": "Phenix City",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 2508,
"endchar": 2518,
"start": 2521,
"end": 2531,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "PLACE",
"predictionProbability": "0.982959",
"weight": 0.490518,
"relScore": 2.58329,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.490518,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/instance/place/destination", "shortcuts:/us/instance/place/us/town"],
"category": ["PLACE"],
"wikiId": "Phenix_City,_Alabama",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": ["marietta, ga", "athens, ga", "chapel hill", "fort carson", "auburn university student", "iraq", "north carolina", "capital murder charges", "delta gamma sorority", "alabama"],
"showOnClick": ["lw_1279033791_5"],
"context": "is the story of mob rule in a town called Phenix City on the border of Alabama and Georgia The story of",
"metaData": {
"geoArea": "53.439",
"geoCountry": "United States",
"geoCounty": "Russell",
"geoIsoCountryCode": "US",
"geoLocation": "(-85.000816, 32.46764)",
"geoName": "Phenix City",
"geoPlaceType": "Town",
"geoState": "Alabama",
"geoStateCode": "AL",
"geoTown": "Phenix City",
"type": "shortcuts:/us/instance/place/us/town",
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_5": {
"text": "Alabama",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 2635,
"endchar": 2641,
"start": 2648,
"end": 2654,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "PLACE",
"predictionProbability": "0.592931",
"weight": 0.322136,
"relScore": 0.970395,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.322136,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/instance/place/us/state"],
"category": ["PLACE"],
"wikiId": "Alabama",
"relatedWikiIds": ["Tennessee", "Arkansas", "California", "Kentucky", "Oklahoma", "Mississippi", "South_Carolina", "Connecticut", "New_Jersey", "Arizona"],
"relatedEntities": ["tennessee", "arkansas", "california", "missouri", "kentucky", "oklahoma", "mississippi", "south carolina", "connecticut", "new jersey"],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "in a town called Phenix City on the border of Alabama and Georgia The story of Phenix City which captured national",
"metaData": {
"geoArea": "134237",
"geoCountry": "United States",
"geoIsoCountryCode": "US",
"geoLocation": "(-86.680733, 32.614361)",
"geoName": "Alabama",
"geoPlaceType": "State",
"geoState": "Alabama",
"geoStateCode": "AL",
"type": "shortcuts:/us/instance/place/us/state",
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_6": {
"text": "Georgia",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 2745,
"endchar": 2751,
"start": 2758,
"end": 2764,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "PLACE",
"predictionProbability": "0.639535",
"weight": 0.332668,
"relScore": 1.03842,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.332668,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/instance/place/ambiguous"],
"category": ["PLACE"],
"wikiId": "",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "town called Phenix City on the border of Alabama and Georgia The story of Phenix City which captured national headlines in",
"metaData": [ {
"geoArea": "152651",
"geoCountry": "United States",
"geoIsoCountryCode": "US",
"geoLocation": "(-83.222954, 32.67828)",
"geoName": "Georgia",
"geoPlaceType": "State",
"geoState": "Georgia",
"geoStateCode": "GA",
"type": "shortcuts:/us/instance/place/us/state",
"visible": "false"},
{
"geoArea": "69818.8",
"geoCountry": "Georgia",
"geoIsoCountryCode": "GE",
"geoLocation": "(43.365791, 42.31152)",
"geoName": "Georgia",
"geoPlaceType": "Country",
"type": "shortcuts:/us/instance/place/ge/country",
"visible": "false"}
]
},
"lw_1279033791_7": {
"text": "Fort Benning",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 3504,
"endchar": 3613,
"start": 3476,
"end": 3634,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "ORGANIZATION",
"predictionProbability": "0.504947",
"weight": 0.487052,
"relScore": 2.08741,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.487052,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/tag/other/wiki"],
"category": ["WIKI"],
"wikiId": "Fort_Benning",
"relatedWikiIds": ["Ak%c5%8d,_Hy%c5%8dgo", "Fort_Bragg,_North_Carolina", "Recruit_training", "United_States_Army", "Sadr_City", "Iraq", "Mississippi", "Iran", "Afghanistan", "Civil_war_in_Iraq"],
"relatedEntities": ["natick, mass", "fort belvoir, va", "sadr city", "georgia", "lakewood, wash", "iraq", "mississippi", "iran", "danielson", "afghanistan"],
"showOnClick": ["lw_1279033791_6"],
"context": "simple one Across the river from Columbus Georgia home to Fort Benning Phenix City s criminal element saw vast commercial opportunities in the",
"metaData": {
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_8": {
"text": "crime bosses",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 3971,
"endchar": 3982,
"start": 3987,
"end": 3998,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 0.553664,
"relScore": 2.98261,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.553664,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/concept"],
"category": ["CONCEPT"],
"wikiId": "Crime_boss",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "army personnel in their recreational hours A leadership cadre of crime bosses bought the local officials and law enforcement agencies who served",
"metaData": {
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_9": {
"text": "Film Noir",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 4965,
"endchar": 4973,
"start": 4988,
"end": 4996,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "MOVIE",
"predictionProbability": "0.944198",
"weight": 0.533533,
"relScore": 2.77103,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.533533,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/instance/other/movie/movie_name"],
"category": ["MOVIE"],
"wikiId": "Film_noir",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "turn back this scourge in their home town In his Film Noir classic a film that for inexplicable reasons is unavailable on",
"metaData": {
"ambiguous": "true",
"movieDuration": "3 min",
"movieID": "1809402068",
"movieYear": "1996",
"notrailer": "true",
"visible": "true"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_10": {
"text": "Albert Patterson",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 5291,
"endchar": 5306,
"start": 5316,
"end": 5331,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 0.800473,
"relScore": 4.05063,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.800473,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/tag/other/wiki"],
"category": ["WIKI"],
"wikiId": "Albert_Patterson",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "the eventual ouster of the syndicate by a lawyer named Albert Patterson who successfully ran for the office of Alabama s Attorney General",
"metaData": {
"visible": "true"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_11": {
"text": "Attorney General",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 5459,
"endchar": 5474,
"start": 5484,
"end": 5499,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 0.471814,
"relScore": 1.3938,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.471814,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/tag/other/wiki"],
"category": ["WIKI"],
"wikiId": "Attorney_General",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "Albert Patterson who successfully ran for the office of Alabama s Attorney General The story of Phenix City is a prime example of",
"metaData": {
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_12": {
"text": "Clete Roberts",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 6203,
"endchar": 6215,
"start": 6236,
"end": 6248,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 0.611364,
"relScore": 2.43691,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.611364,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/tag/other/wiki"],
"category": ["WIKI"],
"wikiId": "Clete_Roberts",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "Beginning oddly with an actual real-life report by the journalist Clete Roberts we see for a few minutes the main real-life protagonists",
"metaData": {
"visible": "true"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_13": {
"text": "Martin Scorsese",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 12889,
"endchar": 12903,
"start": 12977,
"end": 12991,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "MOVIE",
"predictionProbability": "0.684273",
"weight": 0.571417,
"relScore": 2.78219,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 0.571417,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/tag/other/wiki"],
"category": ["WIKI"],
"wikiId": "Martin_Scorsese",
"relatedWikiIds": ["Brad_Pitt", "The_Departed", "George_Clooney", "Steve_Martin", "Diana_Ross", "Leonardo_DiCaprio", "Helen_Mirren", "Daniel_Day-Lewis", "Alfonso_Cuar%c3%b3n", "Paul_Thomas_Anderson"],
"relatedEntities": ["shine a light", "the departed", "george clooney", "steve martin", "diana ross", "leonardo dicaprio", "helen mirren", "daniel day-lewis", "brad pitt", "alfonso cuaron"],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "one of its biggest fans the director and film scholar Martin Scorsese The film is not available as I said for purchase",
"metaData": {
"visible": "false"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_14": {
"text": "Davidshasha@googlegroups.com",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 15229,
"endchar": 15256,
"start": 15341,
"end": 15368,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 1,
"relScore": 0,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 1,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/instance/identifier/email_address"],
"category": ["IDENTIFIER"],
"wikiId": "",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "Update group To post to this group send email to Davidshasha@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group send email to Davidshasha+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For",
"metaData": {
"visible": "true"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_15": {
"text": "unsubscribe@googlegroups.com",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 15323,
"endchar": 15350,
"start": 15435,
"end": 15462,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 1,
"relScore": 0,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 1,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/instance/identifier/email_address"],
"category": ["IDENTIFIER"],
"wikiId": "",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "",
"metaData": {
"visible": "true"
}
},
"lw_1279033791_16": {
"text": "http://groups.google.com/group/Davidshasha?hl=en",
"extended": 0,
"startchar": 15398,
"endchar": 15445,
"start": 15510,
"end": 15557,
"extendedFrom": "",
"predictedCategory": "",
"predictionProbability": "0",
"weight": 1,
"relScore": 0,
"abtScore": 0,
"csScore": 1,
"prismaScore": 0,
"type": ["shortcuts:/us/instance/identifier/URL"],
"category": ["IDENTIFIER"],
"wikiId": "",
"relatedWikiIds": [],
"relatedEntities": [],
"showOnClick": [],
"context": "email to Davidshasha+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For more options visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Davidshasha?hl=en",
"metaData": {
"visible": "true"
}
}
};
YAHOO.Shortcuts.annotationSetID = "f35b6fe47991b952097af33ddcfcbc3a";
</MailScannerScript91585>
<META content=off http-equiv=x-dns-prefetch-control></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“The </SPAN></B><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Phenix City</SPAN></B><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> Story” will be screened on <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_0 class=yshortcuts>Turner Classic Movies</SPAN>, Saturday, July 17<SUP>th</SUP> at </SPAN></B><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">2:00 PM</SPAN></B><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">On Fighting Lost Causes</SPAN></B><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"The </SPAN></I><I><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Phenix City</SPAN></I><I><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> Story" (<SPAN id=lw_1279033791_1 class=yshortcuts>Phil Karlson</SPAN>, 1955)</SPAN></I><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Many people staunchly avoid getting involved in what would be considered lost causes. A lost cause is one that is noble, but is laden with challenges that we would much prefer to sidestep in order to ensure our personal comfort. While we often question the role of God in the world, many of the ills that we face are those that we as <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_2 class=yshortcuts>human beings</SPAN> have created. Human suffering can often be due to causes beyond human control, but as we have seen in the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, natural disaster can be mitigated - or conversely made worse - by the things that human beings do.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A shameful episode in recent American history - an episode that is completely unknown to us today, is the story of <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_3 class=yshortcuts>mob rule</SPAN> in a town called </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN id=lw_1279033791_4 class=yshortcuts>Phenix City</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> on the border of </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN id=lw_1279033791_5 class=yshortcuts>Alabama</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> and </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN id=lw_1279033791_6 class=yshortcuts>Georgia</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The story of </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Phenix City</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, which captured national headlines in the 1950s, is a tragic yet simple one: Across the river from </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Columbus</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Georgia</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, home to </SPAN><SPAN id=lw_1279033791_7 class=yshortcuts><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Fort</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Benning</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Phenix City</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'s criminal element saw vast
commercial opportunities in the creation of a network of gambling establishments to cater to the army personnel in their recreational hours. A leadership cadre of <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_8 class=yshortcuts>crime bosses</SPAN> bought the local officials and law enforcement agencies who served as a protection racket to secure the vice industry in </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Phenix City</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">. Along a patch of </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">14th Street</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, gambling establishments took root and gripped the town in a vise-like stranglehold.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A group of local citizens banded together, against all odds, to try and turn back this scourge in their home town.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In his <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_9 class=yshortcuts>Film Noir</SPAN> classic - a film that, for inexplicable reasons, is unavailable on either DVD or videotape - Phil Karlson has reconstructed the events in </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Phenix City</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> which led to the eventual ouster of the syndicate by a lawyer named <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_10 class=yshortcuts>Albert Patterson</SPAN> who successfully ran for the office of </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Alabama</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'s <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_11 class=yshortcuts>Attorney General</SPAN>. The story of </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Phenix City</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> is a prime example of the ways in which ordinary human
beings can rise up and take back their lives from those who would have them prisoner to corruption, greed and evil.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Karlson tells this story in a way that is surely familiar to those Noir buffs who understand and appreciate the ways in which that genre represents reality. Beginning oddly with an actual real-life report by the journalist <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_12 class=yshortcuts>Clete Roberts</SPAN>, we see for a few minutes the main real-life protagonists in the story - people whose lives were endangered by their heroic struggle against the criminal elements who had run the town. These people are soft-spoken and quite ordinary - there is little to overtly suggest that they are of a heroic character.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">After the short but chilling prologue, the actual film begins. We quickly see in the documentary style that was so much a part of the Noir style of the 1950s how it was that </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Phenix City</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> became what it did. With the use of sex, liquor and gambling, the town was forced to accept a degraded and corrupt system that was run with ruthless efficiency.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">As the story develops we see the corrupt ways in which the syndicate operates. They will kill and maim at will - in the most shocking scene in the film, a very young black girl is murdered and thrown onto the lawn of the lawyer Albert Patterson in a grotesque display of brutality and as a warning to those who might choose to do battle with the syndicate.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The more that people band together to fight the mob, the more violence the mob perpetuates against them. But rather than give in, those who have taken on this lost cause of fighting the powers-that-be intensify their commitment and become fearless crusaders against evil.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The lynchpin in this process is Patterson's son John, just returned from his tour of army service as a lawyer at the </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Nuremberg</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> trials, who exhorts his father - and a wife who is ready to leave him if he takes the cause on - to lead the fight. It is the elevation of the respected lawyer Albert Patterson who turns the cause into one that can be won. After spending fruitless years trying to band together to turn back the corruption, the group now has a leader who has the cachet to take the cause on and win it.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The road to victory is not easy, nor is it without tragedy. Dozens are injured and intimidated and some are killed by the mob whose ruthlessness harshly tests the resolve of those who want their town back. Any break in their commitment and the mob would have won. But understanding that there are causes that need to be fought in the name of justice and of simple human decency, those citizens of Phenix City who took on the evildoers, those who profited from the criminal activity and those too weak to stand up to them, fulfilled their responsibility to make their world a better place and did so at very great personal risk to their own safety and well-being and to the safety and well-being of their families and loved ones.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This is a moral theme that is as rare as it is noble and precious: Like the Biblical prophets of old who were asked by God to go to their countrymen and speak words of truth however hard they were to swallow, those in our day and age who rise up from the stupor that rules our narcoleptic society, a place where looking after number one is the priority and helping others is seen as a matter of lesser importance, are the ones who promote God's vision for humanity.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">While we see the selfishness, apathy and isolationist ignorance that permeates all levels of our society and its debased culture, we must remain completely aware that those who do the work of social repair often live in the shadows of society - alone, ignored, brutalized, often humiliated and made a mockery of - and left to sit in their isolation unsure if anyone gives a damn about their cause and the harrowing difficulties they face in human terms.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In this sense, we can point to the endless litany of the nameless heroes of the human past who have stood up to evil and have been forced to pay for their activism with their lives or with their own personal security. We are able to live decent and secure lives because of the sacrifice of those who have made the decision not to live in security and luxury. While we are constantly made aware of the rich and the famous - those parasites who offer us very little of true substance in the quality of life - the whistleblowers and do-gooders are often left out of our purview. Frequently, those who take on the lost cause do so at great personal risk.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But without those who anonymously and selflessly work to better our society to root out corruption and dishonesty, we would live in a world of darkness and evil.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"The Phenix City Story" is a film that I was made aware of by one of its biggest fans, the director and film scholar <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_13 class=yshortcuts>Martin Scorsese</SPAN>. The film is not available, as I said, for purchase and is rarely screened on television. I had the privilege of recently seeing it on one of the Cinemax channels and a recent search on their website indicates that the film will not be screened in the near future.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But if at all possible, keep a close eye out for the next screening of the film - it is one of the most stirring examples of an American art that speaks to the most elevated morality of our culture. It is a cry for people to look around them and fight the evils in their midst. It is a passionate argument against mindless apathy and nihilistic cynicism - the very things that have made our civilization one of the most selfish and uncaring in the history of the world. We fear taking on the lost cause because we are afraid to make the personal sacrifices that are necessary to win the battle. But if we do not take on the fight, as this landmark film argues, we are left living in a world that is polluted by the greed and evil of the corrupt.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">David Shasha </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">From SHU 178</SPAN></I><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></I></P>
<P></P>-- <BR>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sephardic Heritage Update" group.<BR>To post to this group, send email to <SPAN id=lw_1279033791_14 class=yshortcuts>Davidshasha@googlegroups.com</SPAN>.<BR>To unsubscribe from this group, send email to Davidshasha+<SPAN id=lw_1279033791_15 class=yshortcuts>unsubscribe@googlegroups.com</SPAN>.<BR>For more options, visit this group at <A href="http://groups.google.com/group/Davidshasha?hl=en" target=_blank><SPAN id=lw_1279033791_16 class=yshortcuts>http://groups.google.com/group/Davidshasha?hl=en</SPAN></A>.<BR>
<META content=on http-equiv=x-dns-prefetch-control></DIV></DIV></div><br>
</body></html>