"Turn The World Around" sung by Harry Belafonte, Jim Henson's Memorial, May 21, 1990
When Jim Henson died, much too young, he left specific instructions that no one was to wear black at his funeral. Each person was given a brightly colored foam butterfly, which they waved as Harry Belafonte (who is such a legend, he can wear any damn color he wants) sang this song in tribute to the man who really did turn the world around in his own special way. The closing of the service began with Richard Hunt (who also died far too young, just two years later) coming out with his Muppet Scooter and sang Just One Person. One by one, he was joined in song with other Muppeteers, until a crowd of thirty Muppeteers and their alter egos crowded the stage. If you haven't seen it, be prepared to get a little misty-eyed.
There's a larger lesson for we progressives. Individually, we can feel powerless and impotent all too often. But with the grace of having someone believe in us and in whom we can believe, we gain strength and power. And though we might feel like just one person, if we believe in ourselves, we CAN turn the world around.
Looking to the Sunday shows, the debt ceiling/budget debate is still topic #1, with White House Budget Office head Jack Lew hitting three shows. Sen. Dick Durbin gets two appearances. Whether he'll be the strong Democrat and take a stand against cuts to safety nets or if he's drunk the austerity Kool-aid remains to be seen. The rest of the bookings are just dreary. You have the usual suspects of John Kyl, Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint and Lindsay Graham. Presidential wannabe Herman Cain will be on Fox News Sunday. Maybe he'll give us a tune or two from his recently released gospel album. Rudy Giuliani will be on State of Union, defending Rupert Murdoch again. I'll give 10 to 1 odds that Candy Crowley will neglect to mention that Giuliani's firm used to lobby on Murdoch's behalf. Gov. John Kasich will be on Meet the Press. Think David Gregory will mention that activists got one million more signatures than they need to place their referendum to overturn his pet project SB5 on the ballot? Like I said, it just takes one more person and then another and then another to believe in you to turn the world around.
ABC's "This Week" - Jack Lew, head of the White House budget office; Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Lew; Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio; David Cote, CEO of Honeywell International and member of the president's deficit commission.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Kelly O'Donnell, John Heilemann, Joe Klein, Gloria Borger. Topics: Big Irony: If the GOP Denies Barack Obama A Debt Package, Does It Boost Obama For 2012?
Michele Bachmann and Her Family Clinic's Therapy For GaysCBS' "Face the Nation" - Durbin and Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
CNN's "State of the Union" - Lew; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Larry Summers on the debt ceiling, the latest developments in Egypt and Syria.
"Fox News Sunday" - Herman Cain, GOP presidential candidate; Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
So what's catching your eye this morning?
