Saturday, July 1, 2023
Terrific Tom came by to see that I got in some al fresco walking. In fact, we made it all the way to Gray's Papaya, 2090 Broadway (72nd Street), whose founder died just over one month ago, leaving a major gastronomic landmark. After breakfast, when an egg sandwich is available, Gray's offers hot dogs, called franks, and hot dogs alone to eat and a variety of "tropical drinks," notably papaya juice.
I ordered the Recession Special, 2 hot dogs and a medium drink ($6.95 including tax), a good deal and a good meal. While it did not necessarily put pep in my step, it made the limp home more pleasant.
. . .
I could spend the rest of my days discussing the radical departure of the current United States Supreme Court from established jurisprudence, the positing of political goals and the backfilling of pseudo legal arguments to reach the foregone conclusion. Almost every major decision of this court's conservative Trumpified majority leaves precedent and established constitutional principles behind. Yesterday, we got a double whammy.
Both the Colorado gay-averse website designer and the opponents of student loan forgiveness had no case or controversy to resolve, according to the requirements of Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution. Lorie Smith did not actually have a website design business and had no customers, straight or gay, for a website design for a wedding or anything else. Her company did graphics design and she was considering extending its scope. The Court, as paraphrased by the New York Times, held that "Ms. Smith and her company had established standing to sue because they faced a credible fear of punishment under a Colorado anti-discrimination law if they offered wedding-related services but turned away people seeking to celebrate same-sex unions." In basketball, it's No Harm, No Foul, but to this Court, when all you have to fear is fear itself, you are elevated to historic martyrdom.
Who successfully sued to overturn Biden's student loan forgiveness program -- borrowers, lenders, students, colleges? No, the Republican attorneys general of several states. As Elena Kagan wrote in dissent: "The plaintiffs in this case are six States that have no personal stake in the [government's] loan forgiveness plan." Only a batter's box designed by the Federalist Society would keep these guys at bat. Did it matter that the law allowed the government to "waive or modify" the financial assistance programs? Not to the textualists in the conservative majority.
Sunday, July 2, 2023
A Q&A column in today’s paper is headlined “What to Say When You Want to Say No.” No problem. “No.” The “Seinfeld" show is ballyhooed as being about nothing. I disagree, it’s about not being able to say No.
Next time you see “Seinfeld” on the Comedy Channel, Netflix or local syndication, listen for the unspoken No.
. . .
Utility bills, property taxes, insurance and essential home maintenance are considered the hidden costs of homeownership. However, their ever-growing size makes it hard to keep them hidden. https://www.zillow.
Not surprisingly, the high cost of real estate foreshadows high hidden costs, putting the Bay Area, the Holy Land and La La Land at the top of the list.
. . .
Gentleman Jerry came along on my walk today and we made it to Fairway Market, 2131 Broadway at 74th Street. At this rate, I should be on your doorstep for Halloween.
Monday, July 3, 2023
“Smoking prevalence is nearly 50% higher in a group of Midwestern and Southern states compared to the rest of the country.” They are Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia. https://
In 2016, they all voted for Donald Trump; in 2020, all but Michigan did.
. . .
Aryeh Gold, David Goldfarb and Nate Persily are all non-smokers and share this birthday.
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
As much as I would like to believe that we locals are constantly choosing between Le Bernardin and Per Se for our next meal, reality is most accurately conveyed by this collection of quintessential New York meals. It is a near perfect, but not perfect, snapshot of what I might eat in any four-week period of time.
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Mossad Moshe was my wingman today. The temperature reached over 90°, but, proceeding at a snail’s pace, I remained cool and dry.
Friday, July 7, 2023
Affirmative action is a difficult issue. Focusing typically on admissions to select institutions, it bears the burden of trying to right the wrongs to millions of people over hundreds of years. Today, the rights of Asian Americans are sometimes compromised as we attempt to bring justice to African Americans.
There is one certainty, though, when we examine the reasoning of members of the United States Supreme Court’s conservative majority — they will say anything to support their foregone conclusions. In his concurrence in the Harvard case, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote “Under our Constitution, race is irrelevant.” Even if he stopped reading at the 12th Amendment, ignoring the articulation of citizen rights for formerly enslaved people in the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, he must have blacked out when reading Article I, Section 2's reference to "all other Persons," worth three-fifths of "free Persons." In oral arguments, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson tried to explain that the 14th Amendment was "not a race-neutral or race-blind idea," but maybe Thomas just doesn't care.
Clarence Thomas... no words
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