Monday, May 3, 2021
In case you still have a job and have a choice where to perform it, a recent study suggests "The Best (and Worst) States for Remote Work." https://wallethub.com/edu/
Without being too chauvinistic, I am suspicious about the results. I can't imagine any situation where Mississippi is better than Hawaii.
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If continuing to work remotely is not your goal and you are looking for an excuse to move now that you are no longer homebound, consider the politics of your potential neighbors. https://nyti.ms/3gSYZJ2
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
The executive director of the Jewish History Museum of Tucson, Arizona, a Jewish woman of color, has resigned in a controversy with the institution's major benefactors. She said that she wanted "to place our history alongside the history of others, to make connections between the things we have experienced as Jews, with the experience of others in our wider community," particularly African Americans at present. https://forward.com/fast-
The husband and wife donors asked that their name be removed from the Museum's Holocaust Resource Center, because “We donate to anything that helps educate people about the horrors of the Holocaust as long as it is apolitical.” Remember those non-partisan Nazis?
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It seems that we are reaching the tipping point of lunacy. "Debate Erupts at N.J. Law School After White Student Quotes Racial Slur" https://nyti.ms/3eOmWyK
In a discussion of criminal law, the student quoted the defendant's words contained in the court's decision signed by the judge. It wasn't the aptness of the reference that aroused controversy, it was the bad word itself, spoken aloud.
Should medical students refrain from saying Cancer, returning to use of the "C word," once common to avoid disturbing people? Ugliness does not have to be embraced, but avoiding it does little to advance understanding of our surroundings.
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
There is art and there is artifact. They both merit admiration, although only one has transcendent value. Consider:
Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Bette, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned.
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The decision this morning by Facebook's Oversight Board to maintain the ban on Donald Trump obviously raises questions about the role of a private (non-governmental) entity in the public sphere. When "free speech" is invoked, many forget that it applies to government restraint, not any or all utterances. I'm reminded of the issue raised by the "white primaries," the restriction placed by Democratic parties in the Deep South on participation in their primaries, that is limited to white people only. The parties claimed status as private organizations, beyond the reach of governmental power. The 14th and 15th Amendments were understood to apply to "state action" only.
In 1944, the Supreme Court, reversing itself, ruled 8–1 against the white primary system, holding that Texas, by delegating its authority to its state's Democratic Party, unconstitutionally denied voters based on their race. So, the constitutional right to vote cannot succumb to the constitutional right to freedom of association. But, may the Vegetarian Party bar carnivores from its ranks or the Working Families Party bar unemployed bachelors? Does the success of the organization make a difference? Is Facebook no different than CharliesBackyardGossipGroup.
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Happy 90th Birthday, Willie Mays.
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We did it! Stony Brook Steve, Michael Ratner and I went to Chinatown for lunch today, breaking the blockade. Many shanties were up, providing outdoor dining. Yet, many places were closed and the streets were relatively quiet. There were few tourists and the court employees in the nearby buildings have not returned to work.
We headed immediately to Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, the beloved home of classic Chinatown Cantonese Chinese food. However, once we got to Mott Street, we learned that it was closed for a short vacation and we sat down outdoors at Wo Hop Next Door, formerly Wo Hop City, formerly just Wo Hop, 15 Mott Street. At one time, the two joints were thought of as one, 15 at street level, 17 one flight down, but I abandoned 15 several years ago when a dish of cold sesame noodles proved inedible.
My charitable view of the world kept us from seeking an alternative once seated, a mistake as it turns out. We ordered conservatively, sort of greatest hits: egg rolls, beef chow fun, pork fried rice, sweet and sour chicken and vegetable lo mein. Most items were bland, the lo mein almost as salty as the sesame noodles years before. But, it was Chinatown and the portions were large.
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Speaking of food, Michelin has released its 2021 Holy Land restaurant ratings. https://ny.eater.com/2021/5/6/
What I noticed about the list, aside from how few I have visited, is how new so many of the establishments are, just a few years old. Maybe New York rents, the pace of life or the neurotic citizenry have instilled instability in the local restaurant market, even pre-Covid. When I think of the places that I can't afford to eat in in Paris or London, they are the same year to year. Here, they seem to keep changing.
Michelin isn't just for snobs. There is a secondary list of good(ish) deals, places I am much more likely to patronize. https://guide.michelin.com/us/
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Regarding free speech: The National Hockey League fined the New York Rangers today for criticizing the league's Department of Player Safety for the minimal punishment of a player who injured two of its players in a single brawl on Monday night. The team's fine was 50 times the amount charged the offending player. Expensive speech.
Friday, May 10, 2021
You don't have to be Jewish to be interested in Israel's approach to economic development, agronomy, human rights, electoral politics, immigration, military strategy, water conservation, and family law among other topics. Here is a recording of a brilliant, provocative presentation about Israel's future by Dan Ben-David, economics professor at Tel Aviv University, which I heard live on Monday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
It's not good news. About half of Israel's youth are either Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) or Arab, both getting inferior education in secular subjects, the Haredi by choice, the Arabs by neglect. And, each of these populations has birth rates far exceeding the rest of Israeli society. Under these circumstances, Ben-David believes that, barring significant reforms, Israel will sink to third-world status. Listen to him with a stiff drink at hand.
Chock full of thought provoking fare
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