February 8, 2021
New York holds its election for
mayor every four years, one year after the U.S. presidential election. No
other major office, Senator, Representative or Governor, is on the ballot at
the same time. I am not sure whether this isolation is intended to
attract or deflect attention.
With the notable
exceptions of Giuliani and Bloomberg, the Democratic candidate usually has a
clear path to victory, making the Democratic primary, in June this year, the
real contest. There will be no incumbent, so it's a wide open race,
attracting more candidates than would be allowed together in a medium-sized
church or synagogue under current capacity constraints.
I have one cherished friend living in Iowa and normally, in regard to Adams' comments, I would say "Nothing personal." However, it's not Adams that he has to fear, it's Kim Reynolds, the Republican Governor of Iowa. At the start of this weekend, Covid Kim, as she has been affectionately dubbed, lifted almost all restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
No masks, no social distancing, no limits on occupancy or public gatherings. This is consistent with the state's proud motto:
"Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain." They might consider appending: "Our health we ignore and our numbers we will decrease."
. . .
It's no surprise that some of the richest markets, such as San Francisco, New York and Seattle, cooled off, experiencing the largest percentage decline. However, some of the places with the highest increases, such as Gilbert, Arizona, Chesapeake, Virginia, and North Las Vegas, started with relatively high rents. Go figure.
. . .
Not unlike you, I thought that this form of substituting dreams for mathematics had ended with the incarceration of Bernie Madoff. Tain't so, it seems. In many cases, the amounts involved are large, many millions of dollars. This isn't getting grandma to part with her Social Security check. People of means are being victimized, people whom we might characterize as successful. Successful maybe, but smart?
Tuesday, February 9, 2021If your motto is "Give me liberty and give me death," but just don't wish to move to Iowa, examine the mask requirements across the country to pick out another particularly perilous place.
. . .
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Some of the boychiks decided to have lunch
today, outdoors of course. These days, you don't spend time worrying about cuisine or discovering a new spot. It's all about the heating system in the newly-built sidewalk structures scattered about.
We chose Tacumbi, 377 Amsterdam Avenue, part of a local chain of Mexican restaurants, with a limited but authentic menu. It also has good heaters over a line of about ten tables. However, with the temperature at 32°, most of the tables remained empty. Nevertheless, Terrific Tom, Stony Brook Steve and I remained comfortable through a leisurely lunch. Not perfectly comfortable, mind you, since the steel folding chairs were much more effective in chilling our bottoms than our bottoms were in warming the chairs.
Steve and I had burritas (feminine?), flour tortillas with rice, beans, cabbage, spicy escabeche (vinegary sauce) and salsa; his containing beer-battered Atlantic haddock, mine thinly-sliced sirloin steak ($12.95). Tom had a quesadilla, a flour tortilla with thinly-sliced al pastor (spit grilled) Berkshire pork, melted Oaxacan
cheese, topped with slightly spicy dried chile salsa, cilantro
and onion ($7.95). Enjoyment prevailed.
Thursday, February 11, 2021
The New York Times reports today that there has been an upsurge in prophecy among evangelical Christians. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/us/christian-prophets-predictions.html
There is controversy around "an
evangelical radio host and commentator, who believes in prophecy but
has called for greater accountability when prophecies prove false." I can hear Bob Newhart explaining to a congregation why the Anti-Christ failed to make a timely appearance.
An obituary today recounted a meeting at CBS
headquarters in Manhattan in 1969 attended by the two creators of the Mary Tyler Moore Show before they hit it big. Dismissing their proposal, a network executive told them there were
four things American audiences “won't tolerate” -- New Yorkers, Jews,
divorced people and men with mustaches. I had all four going for me, but never at the same time. Guess the duration for the condition:
- One year.
- 23 years.
- All but 12 years.
- Forever.
Friday, February 12, 2021
If moving to Iowa isn't bold enough for you, consider Tanzania. "By April, 2020, Tanzania stopped releasing official COVID-19 statistics." https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00362-7/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email
Now, it declares itself to be free of coronavirus. Accordingly, last week, the health ministry announced that the country "has no plans in place to accept COVID-19 vaccines." Instead, the health officials drank a herbal concoction including ginger,
garlic, and lemons, and inhaled steam from herbs, promoting them as
natural means of killing the virus. What have you got, Iowa?
. . .
Today should be a festive occasion, the start of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox. Just imagine 1,300,000,000 people yelling Gung Hay Fat Choy (שנה אזרחית טובה) at the same moment, which is the case in China's one and only time zone stretching over 3,250 miles east to west determined by Chairman Mao's whim.
But, this is not a happy occasion. I have not set foot in Chinatown throughout the entire Year of the Rat, which ended yesterday. I lament all the fun that I could have had with chow fun; how high I could gone with lo mein; how far I could have rolled with an egg roll; how much I could have won with won tons; and, don't even ask about moo goo gai pan.
On the other hand, Stony Brook Steve sent me this mood brightener: "Growing
up in San Francisco, Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin and her siblings
went to Hebrew school to learn about Jewish traditions, and to Chinese
school and summer camps in the city’s Chinatown. The senior rabbi at
Temple Sinai in Oakland rarely experienced the feelings of doubt that
she has helped many young Jews of Color overcome. In fact, the first
Chinese-American rabbi never thought she couldn’t be a rabbi because of
her dual identities."
Finally, I am cheered by this excerpt from a new movie's review: "The
cringeworthy drama 'Music' introduces its central character in a song
and dance sequence so gasp-inducingly crass, the scene almost demands
that the movie be shown in theaters. At least then, audiences would be
able to exercise the right to walk out."
Non-Democratic Mayors also include John Lindsay and Fiorello LaGuardia.
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