Monday, April 22, 2019
I feel a bit awkward writing about bagels
during Passover, but I recognize my responsibility to provide a complete record
on a timely basis. Last week, in discussing the prospect of living in the
lower Hudson Valley, I commented that bagels purchased in the Holy Land might
still be warm when returning to your home north of the city. That
observation was based on two logical elements: a) bagels are a necessary
component of the Good Life; b) bagels were not characteristic of the cuisine
of the Hudson Valley. Well, Tom Terrific has come along to set the record
straight, based on his part-time habitation in Columbia County. "The
first bagel bakery to appear in my neck of the woods was in the village of
Chatham, followed soon thereafter by two more in the adjacent villages of
Kinderhook and Valatie. I commend all three, with my personal favorite
being the Kinderhook location.” So, there you have it. Tom’s word
on this is authoritative, because, in spite of bearing the map of Ireland on
his face, he had one Jewish grandfather.
. . .
Sometimes, even I get tired of Jewish whining;
how hard to be a Jew, how many enemies we have, how we have suffered through
history. For instance, look how a Jewish publication makes Jews the focus
of what is patently anti-Muslim legislation in the province of Quebec.
But, then the Gentiles come to my
rescue, reminding me of the relentless idiocy that attends us to this
day. This weekend, the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, in a fit
of ecumenism, sent holiday greetings to that country’s Catholics and
Jews. Oh, the horror!
https://www.foxnews.com/world/
. . .
One thing that Jews rightfully complain about
is eating during Passover, the doors to our favorite restaurants
figuratively closed for a long week and our options at home somewhat limited by
the ole time religion. Here is one bright spot, though, a dessert that
does not evoke sawdust.
. . .
The New York Times sometimes offers
wonderful interactive features. This one is really good. It
provides, among other details, a financial profile of students at American colleges and universities. It can be a road map for
snobbery. "The median family income of a
student from Yale is $192,600, and 69% come from the
top 20 percent. About 2.1% of students at Yale came
from a poor family but became a rich adult.”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/
Would you believe that Barnard has the third highest percentage of low- and middle-income students, or that CCNY has the second highest mobility rate, or which 38 colleges had more students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60 percent? Good stuff here.
Would you believe that Barnard has the third highest percentage of low- and middle-income students, or that CCNY has the second highest mobility rate, or which 38 colleges had more students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60 percent? Good stuff here.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
After Brown v. Board of Education,
politicians counseled us to wait for change in the “hearts and minds” of
white people to govern the desegregation of public schools. Instead, we
got white flight and disparities in public education that plague us to this
day. So, I am somewhat surprised that "Data from more than 4
million tests completed between 2004 and 2016 show that Americans’ attitudes
toward certain social groups are becoming less biased over time."
The study found “long-term durable change” in attitudes
regarding race and sexuality. By comparison, the elderly,
disabled and overweight (a trifecta that I am approaching) have experienced
little, if any, shift in acceptance.
. . .
Chinese food, Yes; Chinese
medicine, Less. Except, "China has been pushing for wider global
acceptance of traditional medicines, which brings in some $50 billion in annual
revenue for the nation's economy.” And, it seems to be working, not
necessarily curing ills, but changing responsible opinion. According to
the Scientific American, the World
Health Organization, in "an egregious lapse in evidence-based thinking and
practice," will include these remedies for the first time in
its International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related
Health Problems.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Unlike
almost all residents of North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, I
am almost totally ignorant of the comings and goings of Harry Potter. I
acknowledge knowing a few names of key characters, because they have
occasionally appeared in crossword puzzles. But, that's the limit. So,
there had to be an external reason for sitting about six hours through
both parts of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the very
successful Broadway play imported from London. It took the form of
Grandson #1 and Grandson #2, visiting us together for the first time,
both conversant with the Rowling oeuvre.
Grandpa
Alan found the show(s) to be very well acted, with some marvelous
stagecraft, appropriate to a work about wizards. However, the story
line(s) began obscure, moved to obtuse and concluded at opaque. I was
able to understand some scenes on their own, but rarely discerned the
connection to what came before. I tried to follow the action, but the
work includes time shifting, time travel and alternate realities, almost
as difficult to understand as the double switch in a National League
baseball game.
This
is not meant to discourage you spending a lot of money at the Lyric
Theatre, especially if you have to entertain an 8-year old and an
11-year old.
Friday, April 26, 2019
Here is a compilation of the best and the worst 2018 bar exam results. The Ivies predominate at the top, with one interesting exception. Liberty University's law school had the fifth best performance, close behind Harvard and Yale.
Liberty
was co-founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell as a private Christian
institution. Its law school dates from 2004 and only had 44 graduates
taking a bar exam in 2018, although with a very high success rate. We don't know what percentage of Liberty law students are single, but, since the "Liberty Way" holds that “Sexual relations outside of a biblically ordained marriage between a
natural-born man and a natural born woman are not permissible,” a lot of free time is made available to study for the bar exam. Other diversions are also difficult to pursue, because "the university conducts an on-going program of mandatory random drug testing." Additionally, "the possession, use, manufacture, or distribution of alcoholic beverages" is prohibited, along with "movie content rated 'X' and 'NC- 17' and video game content rated 'A'."
https://archive.org/stream/TheLibertyWayLibertyUniversity/Liberty+University-Way+of+Liberty_djvu.txt
Since every state has its own path to success, we don't have a perfect apples-to-apples scenario. Students apply wherever they choose, regardless of where they went to law school. Pass rates differ widely state-to-state, suggesting that the examinations range from easy to hard.http://www.ncbex.org/pdfviewe/?file=%2Fdmsdocument%2F205
By the way, the University of Wisconsin had a 100% bar admission rate, but it had nothing to do with an examination. Wisconsin observes "diploma privilege," a state law that allows graduates of ABA-accredited law schools within the state to skip the bar exam entirely. Unlike Liberty, however, students are subject to very few dos and don'ts. Even eating cheese is voluntary.
I wonder what the acceptance rate and entrance requirements are for Wisconsin law schools? Then there’s that thing of having to live in Wisconsin which may be too great a price for not having to take the Bar exam.
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