Saturday, August 19, 2023
An analysis of more than 10 million tax records from 965,000 physicians over 13 years comes up with some interesting findings.
The
average doctor in the United States makes $350,000 a year, mostly in
wages. Some specialties far exceed that; neurosurgeons earn $920,500
and orthopedic surgeons $788,600 (my hip contributing to that). With
higher earnings, investment opportunities arise as well. For instance,
the top 5% of earners, averaging $1.8 million annually, make only 49% of
their income from wages.
Sadly,
the doctors that we typically spend the most time with, general
practitioners and family practitioners, are at the bottom of the
financial heap.
. . .
"Some 37% of active physicians in the U.S. were women in 2021, . . . and about 47% of residents and fellows were women."
About 43% of doctors in Israel are women (https://www.jpost.com/health-
That's
the bright side of the coin, however. Looking at gender parity
overall, Israel placed 83rd, the United States 43rd. This sharp
disparity in the treatment of Israeli women versus their accomplishments is due
to man's inhumanity to women, based on the primitive patriarchy baked
into orthodox Judaism.
The
anecdotes pile up. Separate sections for men and women at concerts in
public parks; separate water fountains at some colleges; women absent
from advertising or erased publicly; women refused entry to public
transportation; an
ultra-Orthodox lawmaker granted permission to be reseated to avoid
sitting in the Knesset next to a woman counterpart; gender segregation
at the Western Wall; women lawyers seated at the back of the room of
professional training courses; women army cadets peering through a
partition to see a ceremony celebrating their training as officers. https://www.
In
many instances, the law accedes to such conduct, even when explicitly
barred. Any surprise, when observant Jews pray each day: “Blessed
are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has not made me a
woman.” This misogyny and Bibi Netanyahu's aggressive efforts to avoid
facing criminal charges underlie the current crisis in Israel.
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Madam
and I had dinner at Sahib, 104 Lexington Avenue, one of the stalwarts
of Curry Hill. We were the only patrons in the 50 seats when we
entered at 6:30 PM, but saw the joint fill up before we left.
Sahib
does a very good job with basics. The samosas, potato and cauliflower
filled, were excellent ($8.50 for 2 pieces). My main course was murgh saag, a lot of white meat chicken in silky spinach purée ($16.95). Madam had the parallel saag paneer,
cheese cubes instead of chicken ($15.95). Both dishes were served in
large portions. We shared rice and an onion naan ($5.75), a second
cousin to a bialy.
. . .
There's
good news for the many fans of Deborah Dash Moore, Professor of Judaic
Studies at the University of Michigan. She is about to publish another
book on Jewish life in America, "Walkers
in the City - Jewish Street Photographers of Midcentury New York."
This group, using lighter, smaller cameras, recorded ordinary scenes of
urban life generally ignored. She will be discussing this work on
September 28th at the Center for Jewish History, $10 admission in
person, $37 admission and a copy of the book, free virtual attendance. https://ajhs.org/events/book-
While you're at it, read her book
"GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II" and stream the PBS documentary made from it.
Monday, August 21, 2023
Because
of the woeful performance of the New York Mets, I've watched very
little baseball this season. While I noticed some important changes,
such as the pitch clock and larger bases, I almost missed one unwelcome
innovation -- advertising on uniforms. https://www.espn.com/mlb/
While
major league baseball was a bit slower than other sports to adopt this
vulgar practice, it's unlikely that Mammon will be returned to the
bench. Commercial labels have been smacked on almost every other aspect
of the game, the Joyva Halvah Call to the Bullpen, the Chicken of the
Sea Catch of the Day, so sewing patches on uniforms seems to be a
natural progression. College sports now allow sales of name, image and
likeness by athletes.
https://www.usnews.com/
Will
we soon see the sponsorship of individual players, Aaron Judge Brought
to You by Allstate Insurance? This is not far removed from Clarence
Thomas Brought to You by Trammell Crow.
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Terrific Tom was free for lunch today, so we headed to Lan Sheng Szechuan, 128 West 36th Street. However, by the time that we got there, it had changed its name to
Oohu Szechuan & Canton Cuisines. It's a worthy destination under any name, appearing to be freshly redecorated in a tasteful fashion. We had lunch specials, three for the two of us, from a list of 40 dishes. That entitled us to a choice of soups or spring roll and white, brown or fried rice. We picked spring rolls; soup seemed inappropriate on this summer day. They were small and ordinary, the only unmemorable part of our meal. We shared double sauteed pork ($12.99), baby shrimp in lobster sauce ($12.99) and "Beef in Hunan Style" ($13.99), with fried rice on the side. They were all first rate. The pork and beef were spicy without doing injury. Worthy of your attention.
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Remember that orientation gambit, Turn to your left, turn to your right, only one of you will survive? Now, it's only one of you has a tattoo.
https://www.pewresearch.org/Of course, if you're sitting with Jews on Social Security, the ratio plummets.
Thursday, August 24, 2023
We went to see “Golda” tonight. This movie first attracted attention long before being released by casting Helen Mirren as Golda Meir, raising a geschrei about a Gentile (such a Gentile) playing a Jew. Wasn’t Barbra Streisand available? Of course, Paul Hecht, Thespian Emeritus, had the answer: “They call it Acting.”
The reviews are generally complimentary to Mirren, while dismissive of the film on the whole. The view from Palazzo di Gotthelf, if you are Jewish, see the film. If you like Jews, see the film. If you don’t like Jews and want to see them existentially threatened, see the film. If you like cigarettes, see the film.
