Monday, June 3, 2019
After
a harumph or two, I addressed a letter to the newspaper asking whether
Sanders was ashamed or fearful of acknowledging where he really came
from. The issue was defused, for the moment at least, when the
print edition came out bearing the headline "Helping
Americans Make Ends Meet." The text was otherwise the same; his father
was still an immigrant, he still came from Brooklyn, FDR still helped
extricate many Americans from economic hardship. The headline change,
however, blurred Sanders's rear view mirror sufficiently to blunt my
indignation, but not enough to bury his past.
. . .
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Residents of Hong Kong are commemorating the 30th anniversary of the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, brutally repressed by the government. Other Chinese citizens are doing so only at their peril, resorting to subtle or indirect references.
Leon
Redbone died late last week. He was a delightful performer, described
by Variety as "specializ[ing] in old-school vaudeville and Tin Pan
Alley-style music." I enjoyed him most in small clubs, where it felt
that your weird and wonderful friend had stopped by your home to
entertain you.
Herein is a tale of 2 headlines. When I first saw an op-ed by Bernie Sanders on the New York Times website, it was entitled "I
Know Where I Came From. Does President Trump?" I read the piece
carefully and then I read it again. Sanders mentions his father, an
immigrant, he references Brooklyn and he extols the legacy of the New
Deal.
Up
to that point, I might have been the author, but I would not, could
not, avoid a central factor "where I came from." I was raised in a
Jewish family in a Jewish neighborhood. So was Sanders, although he
never admits it here or, apparently, whenever he recalls where he came
from. For almost everyone that I know, those childhood influences are
not easily forgotten or overcome.
. . .
What happens when you compare "rents, apartment sizes and median incomes in the 100 largest
metropolitan areas in the United States, with Brooklyn, Manhattan and
Queens added to the mix as individual markets"? You find that "in
only 14 markets could median earners afford an average or
larger-than-average apartment without being rent burdened [spending more than 30% of your income on rent]." https://www.nytimes.com/2019/
The
article informs us that if you wake up in Gilbert, Arizona (a suburb of
Phoenix) or Plano, Texas, your rental digs will have a generous amount
of space. If, on the other hand, you choose to perch in Brooklyn or
Boston, you best read up on the Japanese approach to letting go of
possessions.
. . .
Tight
space of another kind is an abiding New York obsession, the population
of our specialized high schools, Stuyvesant High School (my school) as
the leading bad example. Of the 895 students entering Stuyvesant in the
Fall, 7 are black, a few more Hispanic. They will be attending a
school that is currently 74% Asian-American.
The New York Times does an almost thorough job of exploring the issue, providing excellent data. https://www.nytimes.com/
What
is missing is any attempt to quantify the impact of aggressive
recruiting by private schools, local and boarding, attempting to
diversify their student body by culling the best and brightest black and
brown students. Also, a factor may be the increasing suburbanization
of middle-class minority families, seeking better educational
opportunities for their children through all grades. Doors in Scarsdale
and Great Neck and Westport and Short Hills may not be entirely flung
wide open to one and all, but neither are they being slammed shut.
Even
adjusting for these oversights, however, we still face an unjust
situation. Recognize, though, that Stuyvesant is a symptom, not the
cause. Fixing the elementary and middle schools will fix the
specialized high schools, not the other way around. That is certainly a
more daunting task. Let's not pretend that "curing" the 8
admission-by-test high schools will engender success in the other 1,700
public schools in New York City.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Mae
West said "Enough is never enough." Guided by that principle, I
returned to Pastrami Queen, 1125 Lexington Avenue, for lunch with Stony
Brook Steve and Michael Ratner soon after enjoying dinner there with 2
lovely ladies who now wish to make their consumption less conspicuous.
Instead of teasing you with details of our very good lunch, I
will tell you that I found the pastrami and corned beef at Pastrami
Queen superior to the roast beef. Act accordingly.
. . .
. . .
Today
is the last day to register for the July Law School Admissions Test
(LSAT), the target for most graduating seniors aiming for law school.
What's notable is the huge increase in applicants over last year, about
66%.
https://blog.spiveyconsulting.
Not
just the volume of test takers is special, the character of the LSAT
will change after this round. Future tests will be administered
digitally; paper and pencil will be out and this may have prodded larger
than normal numbers to sit for the test this time. Probably more
influential is the "one time offer to allow July takers to take the test, see their score, and if they choose, to cancel and retake for free anytime until April 2020." What more can a slacker ask for?https://blog.spiveyconsulting.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Residents of Hong Kong are commemorating the 30th anniversary of the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, brutally repressed by the government. Other Chinese citizens are doing so only at their peril, resorting to subtle or indirect references.
Exactly
30 years ago, I was on a two-week vacation in the Netherlands,
traveling solo from city to city, not knowing anyone. I stayed in centrally-located, older
properties, canal houses and the like, dealing with their steep stairs
and tight quarters. There were no television
sets. As I walked up and
down city streets, I saw bold headlines on local newspapers.
In Dutch. I really felt like a stranger in a strange land. What was going on?
Eventually, I caught up with the terrible truth, but for a couple of days I was an innocent, suspended in an information vacuum.
. . .
. . .
I
finally saw an episode of "The Amazing Mrs. Maisel" and I have to
quibble. By the way, if the director and the writers paid more
attention, I, and possibly countless others, would not be quibbling. I
don't park myself in front of the television set/movie screen/theater
stage to quibble. I'm there to enjoy myself, but lax craftsmanship just
gets in my way.
1)
Set on New York's Upper West Side in 1958, Mr. Maisel is a successful
businessman, aspiring to be a comedian. He comes home from work, while
Mrs. Maisel is watching the Ed Sullivan show, formally "Toast of the
Town," which ran on Sunday nights, 8-9 PM. In case you imagine that Mr. Maisel worked Sundays, I have to point out that the couple
agreed to go downtown the next night, Saturday night, so that Mr.
Maisel could do a standup gig in Greenwich Village. Saturday minus one
is Friday, not Sunday.
2)
Mrs. Maisel is excited because the rabbi is finally coming to her home
to break the fast after Yom Kippur. While the denominational
affiliation of the rabbi and the Maisels is not spelled out, I could not
believe that Mrs. Maisel would go to a non-Kosher butcher for her
anticipated main course. (Another customer is purchasing pork chops.)
Unlike today, Kosher butchers were commonplace in Jewish neighborhoods
throughout New York and, in 1958, a non-Kosher rabbi would have been an
extreme rarity.
Also,
not a quibble, but a personal observation: Breaking the fast after Yom
Kippur is best done with milchigs, not fleischigs. If you have to ask,
it doesn't matter.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
The
Boyz Club had a lively lunch at Jing Fong, 20 Elizabeth Street. As
usual, I lost count of the many plates of dim sum that landed on our
table, around two dozen. The six of us were very pleased and
five of us were even more pleased when Gentleman Jerry announced that he
was picking up the tab, because tomorrow he retires after 40 years working as
an engineer after graduating from CCNY.
Friday, June 7, 2019
A sad coda to the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is the prosecution of a deputy sheriff for dereliction of duty, charged with doing “absolutely nothing to mitigate” the mass shooting. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/us/scot-peterson-parkland-shooting.html
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has an answer. She wants to arm our teachers to protect our children. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/us/politics/betsy-devos-guns.html
She's obviously confident that many of our educators have been honing their skills on the Grand Theft Auto series of video games, which will better prepare them than the officer who proved ineffective even after more than 30 years on the job.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has an answer. She wants to arm our teachers to protect our children. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/us/politics/betsy-devos-guns.html
She's obviously confident that many of our educators have been honing their skills on the Grand Theft Auto series of video games, which will better prepare them than the officer who proved ineffective even after more than 30 years on the job.
Why does Bernie Sanders run away from his Jewish origins? Maybe he doesn't want to alienate his left wing anti-Zionist backers.
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