Eagles Owners Divorce No Surprise

Christina Lurie solo at the Barnes Gala

Jeff and Christina Lurie, billionaire owners of the Philadelphia Eagles, have announced that they are getting a divorce after twenty years of marriage. For anyone watching, this is not a surprise. 


Christina Lurie often appeared without her husband. I remember seeing her alone at the Steppingstone Scholars benefit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in June 2011. She also came solo to the opening gala of the Barnes Collection. At both these events, she was very pleasant and approachable. 


She animatedly discussed her Oscar winning film, "Inside Job" at the Barnes and the Eagles Charities at the Steppingstone. By contrast, she was very nervous when she came to the star studded opening of the Museum of American Jewish History with her husband. 


David Binswanger, who is on the board of Eagles Youth Partnership, once told me that she had a hard time when she arrived. She was not used to all the attention. 


Later, he said, "She came to her own after the Oscar." 


Lurie did not just write the checks to get that Oscar. The director of "Inside Job" said that she provided him introductions to people in the financial industry that were invaluable to the film. Lurie wants to be intimately involved in filming, but that was very hard to do from Philadelphia. Her work with the Eagles did not keep her occupied. 


Her friends tell me she will be sending more time in Los Angeles to concentrate on her film career. NBC recently bought a television series from twitter celebrity Kelly Oxford that she championed.


Christina does a lot of good. The Eagles Youth Partnership has a mobile optometrist's office that used the celebrity of the Eagles to convince kids to get eye exams. 


I hope that both Luries find happiness. For two billionaires who could have anything they want, they never struck me as particularly happy. 


I am wondering who gets to keep the former Annenberg estate that they are currently living in. 

NBCUniversal CEO Burke: "I Am Having Fun"

Steve Burke, CEO/President of NBCUniversal, was chatting with other executives in the Comcast family at the opening gala for the Barnes Foundation in May.

He said, "I am having fun. I am making some progress."

I repeat these words now not to gossip, but to illustrate how clueless an executive, who is paid $23.7 million,   is. It is obvious that he does not know what is going on at his network.

Today show host Ann Curry, one of the first personnel decisions made after Comcast took over NBC, left the show a few weeks later. NBC will be stuck paying Curry $10 million for the next two years. As one blog put it, Curry, who will become a foreign correspondent, will be paid more than the GNP of some of the countries that she covers. 


The Today Show brand was damaged during the personnel change. NBC's golden boy Matt Lauer was made to look like the heavy in Curry's leaving. The introduction of Savannah Guthrie, Curry's replacement, was handled as awkwardly as a teenage boy going on his first date. 

After NBC was forced to apologize for their editing of the Zimmerman tapes, you would have thought that the network would have put in steps to avoid this kind of misstep in the future. They obviously didn't.

The tapes that NBC handed over to the prosecutors in the Jerry Sandusky child abuse trial contained errors. This time, an apology will not suffice. The error on the Today Show tape, a repeat of a question by Bob Costas making Sandusky look even guiltier, could be the basis of an appeal by Sandusky.

At the end of the incredible evening, I caught NBC anchor Brian Williams, who served as the evening's master of ceremonies, on his way out. Williams' wife, who could not have been nicer, asked if I wanted to take a picture.

Williams said in his booming announcer's voice, "Hurry! We are making like the Von Trapp family. We are vamooosing to New York."

I am guessing that the "Sound of Music" is one of Williams' favorite movies.

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Friend Defends Penn State's McQueary's Actions

Bryan Machamer played basketball for Penn State at the same time as former Penn State Coach Mike McQueary played football for the school. McQueary, who saw Jerry Sandusky with a young boy in the shower, and he were friends. The university's former athletic director, Tim Curley, was invited to Machamer's wedding. He characterizes the entire Pen State athletic community as "close knit".

Machamer, now an optometrist, assures me that McQueary is a "good guy" despite not reporting former coach Sandusky to the police.

He said, "He could not believe what he saw. Jerry was like his uncle. His father and Jerry were friends. Jerry was Linebacker U."


More troubling, he describes the culture in the athletic department as "military like." 

"McQueary did the right thing. This was Big 10 athletics. If there was a problem, you reported it to your coach. He followed the chain of command, which is what we were taught," said Machamer, who has often returned to campus for games after graduation.


Machhamer confided that it was an open secret among the Penn State community about Sandusky's activities. If that is the case, it is very disturbing that no one went to the police. 


Sandusky most likely will soon be punished, but that does not guarantee that the these horrible transgression will not be repeated against other innocent victims. I am wondering what Penn State is doing to change their hierarchical culture. 


Comedian Bill Maher has noted that all male cultures, such as the church and the military, seem to run into this kind of trouble. I suspect women question a chain of command culture. 


If legendary coach Paterno insisted or perpetuated this type of culture, then Penn State was right to fire him. His players should have always known that their first loyalty was to protecting the abused.

$1 million raised for Alex's Lemonade Stand

Daniel Stern of R2L

Alex's Lemonade Stand, which benefits pediatric cancer, raised $1 million dollars at the Great Chef's event on Tuesday night at the Urban Outfitter's offices in the Naval Yard. Alexandra Scott, who later died of cancer started the charity with one lemonade stand when she was four years old. Credit for the success of the event should go to Alex's parents, Liz and Jay Scott, and chef Marc Vetri and his business partner Jeff Benjamin.

Alcohol was the star this year. The bartenders outdid themselves with creative concoctions.

Everything else was a disappointment. Call me a food snob, but Shake Shack does not belong at a Great Chef's event. The tiny portions and wooden forks made it difficult to enjoy the food. There was an hour wait to get your car at the end of the night.

Enjoy the pictures.

Jose Garces, the fiery Spanish chef. Have you ever seen a Jose that is not sexy?

It was fun to see the chefs.

This woman took the lemon theme seriously

The Glamorous Amorosis

Govberg's Jewelers cleverly turned a boring jewelry case into a  lemonade stand

Add caption

Some people asked me why it is still called the Naval Yard. 

Steinhardt: I am voting for the third one

When I had a chance to talk to legendary hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt this week, I asked him his thoughts on the election. 


He said, "I am voting for the third one."


In other words, he is not planning to vote for Obama or Romney. I naturally assumed that he was opposed to Obama because of the Buffett rule. 


"I do not know anything about that," answered Steinhardt, the Jewish philanthropist that founded Birthright. "He is not good for our people. He has not been an effective president."

Emanuel Bets on Favorable Supreme Court Ruling

Knowing the serious side of Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the University of Pennsylvania's Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, I was surprised when he disclosed at the Jewish Social Policy Action Network (JSPAN) annual meeting that he had placed 5 bets speculating that the insurance mandate in the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) would survive the Supreme Court. Despite making dinner for him, he does not expect that his good friend Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will vote yes. 

Emanuel, who served as a Special Advisor on Health Policy to the administration when the bill was being drafted, said, "I believe that the mandate will survive. I think the vote will be 6:3 in favor with Kennedy and Roberts voting for. Otherwise, it will be 5:4 against. If that happens, the country will have bigger problems because then it will be a partisan ruling along party lines."

He argues that the commerce clause of the constitution makes the healthcare mandate constitutional. 

"The constitutionality of this clause has been upheld many times," said the doctor. "One example is Heart of Atlanta Motel vs United States. The owner of the hotel, which was on an interstate highway, was forced to integrate."

He continues, "There are already plenty of healthcare mandates. "Vaccinations. No Smoking Laws."

He has a ready answer for those that fear mandating health insurance will mean more mandates, such as requiring funeral coverage. 

"What is so wrong about that? Funerals are expensive," said Emanuel. "I had a poor patient who could not afford to bury her husband. She wanted to donate his body to science. To avoid the costs of a funeral home, she just wanted to drive the body to MIT herself. I had to tell her that it was illegal to transport a dead body in Massachusetts without a special license."


Emanuel is emphatic that if the Supreme Court rules that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional that this country will never again see comprehensive health reform. 


"We have been trying to trying to reform healthcare since Teddy Roosevelt's administration and never succeeded until now," he noted. "If it is over turned again, no one will have the political will to attempt it again."

Emanuel, who is the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy Professor, blames the Republicans for the lack of medical malpractice reform included in the bill. 

"There was no Republican support for the bill so there was no incentive for malpractice reform," explained the doctor. "We talked to Olympia Snowe. We made the changes that she wanted, but she still did not vote for the bill."

According to Emanuel, there is still hope for malpractice reform. A trial program in Michigan, which allows doctors to apologize to patients but not allow the apology be admitted into court, has shown encouraging results. 

Dr. Emanuel turned serious when the discussion turned to end of life counseling aka death panels. 

"My critics named me Dr. Death," said Emanuel. "I am an oncologist. I love to talk, but even I avoid having this talk with my patients. Patients want to have that talk with their doctor."

Emanuel is always ahead of the curve in his thinking about medicine. He is now suggesting that both medical school and residency be cut by one year.  

My one question for Emanuel- Is it ethical for the renowned bioethicist to bet on the outcome of a Supreme Court ruling? 

Two Philadelphia Greats: Shanks Painting Lenfest

Shanks at easel, Lenfest looking patrician in coral chair, Thatcher  overseeing from  corner

I stopped by Freeman's auction house today to watch renowned painter Nelson Shanks, who has painted the portraits of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, President Ronald Reagan, and Princess Diana, at work. Taking a break from giving money away, philanthropist Gerry Lenfest was scheduled to sit for three hours while Shanks painted his portrait. The portrait painting was a program of Studio Incamminati, a Chinatown art school devoted to realism that was founded by Shanks. 

You could have heard a pin drop while the master was at work. I am guessing that the audience was afraid to make too much noise for fear that Shanks, known for his irascibility, would throw them out. Or it could have been because they were awed to be in the presence of two Philadelphia greats, Shanks and Lenfest. 

For sitting patiently, Shanks was giving the portrait to Lenfest for free. I am not sure where Lenfest is going to put it since he still in the same house that he originally bought 45 years ago for his growing family. 

BTW, it is no accident that I chose this particular picture. It was quite fitting to juxtapose Lenfest with Margaret Thatcher. The Iron Lady would have approved of him. 

I got a chance to take a picture of Shanks when he was taking a smoke break. A portrait of the portrait painter- totally Meta.