Do the Right Thing

Monday, September 6, 2021

This article says that "[w]ith the quick escalation of home prices during the pandemic, it’s become increasingly difficult to qualify for a typical mortgage."   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/realestate/can-you-still-afford-a-mortgage.html 

 

The contrast between locations is dramatic.  To qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home in San Jose, California requires an annual income of $286,703, while $38,275 is sufficient in Pittsburgh.  In fact, it's more than dramatic, it's extraordinary.  Yet, we get a different picture when we put it in terms that I can best appreciate.  A center ice ticket, 19 rows back from the ice, at an upcoming San Jose Sharks game in October is $183; the same seat at a Pittsburgh Penguins game is $219.  Of course, the Sharks have never won a Stanley Cup and the Penguins have three this century already. 

 

Now, I'll turn it over to a mathematician to determine how many hockey games it will take to even up the income differential between San Jose and Pittsburgh.

. . . 

 

Now, to move from the profane to the sacred or is it the other way around, I want to look at religious philosophy.  An essay suggests that "We Should All Be a Little More Like Dorothy Day."  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/05/opinion/dorothy-day-christian-labor.html?smid=url-share

 

Dorothy Day converted to Catholicism after leading a bohemian existence in Greenwich Village in the early part of the 20th century.  While adhering to the formal rituals of the Church, she lived her life to the challenging demands of the Sermon on the Mount:

• feed the hungry
• give water to the thirsty
• clothe the naked
• shelter the homeless
• visit the sick
  

She founded the Catholic Worker Movement which established Houses of Hospitality around the country putting these "works of mercy" into practice.    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_mercy#Corporal_works_of_mercy 

 

For those of us who only take holy water internally, this may still be familiar. "Gemilut Hasadim is the most comprehensive and fundamental of all Jewish social virtues, which encompasses the whole range of the duties of sympathetic consideration toward one's fellow man."  https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/gemilut-hasadim  

 

"A few examples of gemilut hasadim are clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, burying the dead, and visiting the sick."  https://www.123helpme.com/essay/Gemilut-Hasadim-Analysis-PJHLMLYQBG  

 

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Today is the first full day of 5782, our new year.  When I first looked back to the year past, I lamented our failure in Afghanistan, having been raised on the myth of American omnipotence.  Then, I tallied our record with a more critical eye.  In the last half century, we have lost the War on Poverty,the War on Drugs, the Vietnam War, the War on Cancer and the Afghanistan War.  Maybe we should try pacifism. 

 

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

I had excellent professors of constitutional law in law school, but last night I learned an important lesson in the subject from Rachel Maddow.  Massachusetts had a law permitting churches to veto applications for liquor licenses in nearby establishments.  In 1982, the United State Supreme Court ruled that law unconstitutional in Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc., 459 U.S. 116 (1982), because it delegated state power to a religious institution in violation of the First Amendment.  The decision was 8-1. 

 

This decision may well serve as a precedent in attacking the new Texas anti-abortion law, which delegates enforcement to private citizens, just about any and all private citizens.  On the other hand, we have seen that the Coney Island Court is firmly exercising the political role designed by Mitch McConnell, so predicting reliance on Larkin may be wishful thinking.  

 

Thursday, September 9, 2021

I happened to be thinking about some great disc jockeys of the past, such as William B. Williams, Al "Jazzbo" Collins and Allison Steele, when I heard of the death of Phil Schaap.  With his encyclopedic knowledge of jazz and his relatively uninflected vocal delivery, he seemed to be an eternal presence on FM radio, WKCR, King's Crown Radio at Columbia University, yet he was only 70 when he died. 

 

Sometimes, I got impatient with Schaap.  While he put together long sets of great music, he would follow with equally long discussions of what we just heard.  It wasn't just the information that was once found on liner notes.  (For those of you under 50-years old - Liner notes were writings on the back cover of 12" long playing vinyl records, discussing the music and performers.  Note also that liner notes are a clue in the PBS series "Guilt," ending this weekend.)  Schaap would not only identify the date, place and even time of a recording session, but also the musicians who failed to show up.  He was brilliant and irreplaceable. 

 

Friday, September 10, 2021

"God Has No Place in Supreme Court Opinions"  Read this.    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/opinion/abortion-supreme-court-religion.html

. . . 

 

I had the pleasure of eating lunch with Irwin Wall, University of California professor emeritus of modern European history.  We agreed to meet at Szechuan Gourmet,  242 West 56th Street, which changed its name to Rong Cheng House by the time that we got there.  It has no outdoor seating, but we felt comfortable with only a few tables occupied indoors during our visit.  

 

At lunch time, it offers over 40 dishes plus soup and rice in addition to its regular menu.  We shared a very good scallion pancake ($5.95) and six gummy soup dumplings ($8.95).  Irwin enjoyed pork with baby eggplant in a rich brown sauce ($11.95), while I had a generous portion of Singapore mei fun, angel hair pasta with chicken, egg, pork, green onion and bean sprouts flavored with curry powder ($11.95), both as lunch specials.  

 

We walked home, Irwin to 64th Street, me to 69th Street, more than compensating for the amount of food that we ate, or so we said. 

. . . 

 

Andy Borowitz informs us that "Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that he was 'actively considering' additional measures to prevent people from wanting to ever set foot in the state."