Monday Reads

The USSC didn't decide on the "big issue" in the Christian baker case in Colorado.
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A couple of obituaries to note of people I have heard of:

Actor Robert Mandan, 86, known for his role as Chester Tate in the satirical 1970s show Soap, has died.  He died on April 29.

Mandan acted in actual soap operas in the beginning of his career. He starred on “Search for Tomorrow” and “Edge of Night.” 

The character actor made appearances on numerous television series including “Three’s Company,” “All in the Family,” and “The Golden Girls.” 

He also appeared on the stage.

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Someone I actually saw in person, founding member of the Blind Boys of Alabama, Clarence Fountain, has also died.  He was 88 years old, which is young considering the fact he had been in show business for nearly 80 years.

The singers literally started out in show business as boys or teens, in 1944.

Blind Boys of Alabama, originally called the Happyland Jubilee Singers when the group was founded in 1944, played a large role in shepherding gospel music into mainstream popularity. Largely due to Fountain's holy dedication, the band forever resisted calls to transition into the more commercial genres it helped birth: R&B and rock and roll. "There was no way we were going to go pop or rock," Fountain is quoted in a press release confirming his death. "Who needed it? Our bellies were full, we had no headaches, we were happy. At least I was happy, singing real gospel." Fountain's pop resistance resulted in the severing of at least two professional relationships — one with the manager of Ray Charles, the other with Specialty Records, the Blind Boys' label during the early '50s.

He died yesterday.

The group was a subject of a post on this blog over a decade ago.

By the way, he WAS at the concert that I attended.  I am surprised I didn't review it then.  I did pick up a couple of CDs and later my sister bought me one of theirs.  They were great.  The three originals who were alive then had autographed CDs following the concert despite the fact they were blind.  They knew what they were doing.
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Frank Carlucci, 87, one-time defense secretary under Ronald Reagan, also died.

He later on joined the Carlyle Group, which owns or owned a bunch of businesses, including an employer I worked for during the years 1984-1995, Baker & Taylor.  Eventually Follett bought the company in 2016.

Carlucci died of complications of Parkinson's disease.

Though he was defense secretary for only 14 months, Mr. Carlucci was not a caretaker. He presided over $33 billion in budget cuts, closing domestic bases while maintaining strength abroad as the Cold War wound down. He shared Reagan’s faith in space-based missile defenses and mobile missiles on rail cars, which were not developed. But he also backed arms control agreements with Moscow.

Leaving government when President George H. W. Bush assumed office in January 1989, Mr. Carlucci joined the Carlyle Group, a Washington investment partnership. He retired as its chairman in 2003.

The Carlyle Group was a favorite of conspiracy theorists.
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