Saturday, September 27, 2026
When I was in college well over 60 years ago, I worked Saturdays at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York in its magisterial law library. The reading room contained countless thousands of volumes within the attorneys' reach. My job, with other guys, was to fetch books from several floors of closed stacks. That was the state of legal research until 1973 when Lexis was introduced, followed by Westlaw in 1975, computerized search engines eventually having access to almost any legally relevant document anywhere. By 1998, when I went to law school, these were mature and highly efficient products that had revolutionized legal research. What I knew, though, from my business dealings, was that legal fees had risen steadily, billing by the hour replacing "For services rendered," the sort of gentlemen's agreement that had widely prevailed. Even as the time to do critical legal research shrunk dramatically, the client's cost to have it done seemed to jump geometrically.
Now, the New York Times reports that AI is having this same counterintuitive economic effect.
Less (human activity) is more (expensive). Go figure.
Healthcare seems to be experiencing the same paradox. https://www.nytimes.
. . .
We went to lunch at Butch and Toby's, in the sukkah that Butch has been proudly erecting for more than 50 years. While there was no rain while we were there, a major storm had left things damp enough that we sought comfort indoors. We were not only comfortable, but well fed. Toby made apple/butternut squash soup, a green salad with tangerines and slivered almonds, roasted salmon, haricot verts (green beans with a passport) and chocolate chip cookies.
Sunday, September 27, 2026
We have been watching the fifth season of Fauda on Netflix, the mostly fictionalized exploits of an Israeli commando team after October 7, 2023. However, episodes 6, 7 and 8 offer a view of the events of October 7th as Hamas attacked civilian and military targets inside Israel. I remember thinking back then that Hamas had scored an immediate tactical victory, only to expose itself and all of Gaza to violent retribution. Could it be worth it?
Whether or not Hamas's leadership planned it, Israel stands largely defeated today in the aftermath of October 7th in spite of or maybe because of disproportionate casualty figures. Admiration by governments and populations has been replaced by skepticism and aloofness; toleration by other governments and populations has been replaced by scorn and opposition. The peace and security of diaspora Jews have been collateral damage.
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
I had a session with my new physical therapist this morning. I took some time initially to explain that I am older and have a worldview rooted in many ways to events in the distant past. Additionally, I explained that I am prone to draw on cultural references from another time. That led, of course, to Charlie Chan and what going to the movies was like back then. You went to a double feature and entered at your convenience, not regarding starting times. You left when "this is where we came in," a phrase that proved useful on other occasions, but heard much less often now.
. . .
In a hearing today intended to embarrass and compromise former special prosecutor Jack Smith, Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt accused Smith of perjury when Smith denied attending an Atlanta Hawks home game in February 2024. Schmitt then provided a blow up of text messages from Smith's colleagues discussing the basketball game and labelled him a "dirtbag"!!! It took Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar to explain that Smith attended a game at the University of Maryland on the date in question when the University of Iowa "Hawkeyes" were the visiting team.
. . .
Hey, single guys, Kristi Noem, the sharpshooting former Secretary of Homeland Security, is getting divorced.
The handling of a rape case at Cornell University has aroused a lot of indignation. A couple of male students were expelled and several others disciplined in unspecified ways. No criminal charges were filed. The local district attorney seemed ineffectual, relying on university supplied evidence. However, our legislature is much to blame. It has failed to amend the governing statute, accurately paraphrased by the New York Times. "The way the [New York rape] law is written now, people who were voluntarily intoxicated cannot claim they were mentally incapacitated during an assault, unless they can show they were physically helpless. This means that they had to be unconscious or physically unable to communicate consent at the time of the act."
In this case, the female student victim was given beer, marijuana, rum and ketamine. She claimed to have been pressured, but not necessarily forced, to ingest them. No matter how her behavior is characterized, though, her impaired condition was evident and any exploitation of it warrants legal punishment.
. . .
Once inside Westway Diner, 614 Ninth Avenue, you can easily forget that you are in midtown Manhattan and imagine that you have just pulled off Route 46 near Totowa, New Jersey. As Stony Brook Steve, Terrific Tom and I observed, Westway has the thick, plastic-coated menu, all-day breakfast, display of layer cakes too good to eat, and choice of any food that can fit in a microwave oven essential to a roadside diner.
I had the Lamb Dip, sliced leg of lamb, melted mozzarella, au jus on toasted garlic bread with French fries ($17.99, $18.57 on credit card). The cheese was good, the bread was good, the French fries were good. The lamb, however, seemed to have missed even qualifying for the halal carts found on midtown street corners. Next time, I'll go for the vegetarian version.
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Happy Birthday to Susan and Moshe, otherwise unconnected.
. . .
Madam and I went to hear Patti LuPone in concert, a program titled A Life in Notes. It was wonderful. She was accompanied by a pianist and a fellow on stringed instruments, violin, mandolin, guitar. The audience was interesting, definitely appearing to be a deserving Social Security crowd, yet able to jump to its feet several times for standing ovations, a feat exceeding my physical limitations.
Friday, October 2, 2026
When I first read about the Cornell rape scandal online, I thought that the story would come and go in a flash as often happens. I forwarded what I read to two friends, both proud Cornell alumni, one also the mother of a current student there, the other also a father of a graduate, thinking that they might miss it.
Instead, it has become a major story. Today's New York Times devotes more than two whole pages to it, beginning on the front page above the fold. "In direct and sometimes angry remarks, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York on Friday questioned how Cornell University’s police department and the local district attorney handled sexual assault allegations made by a former student, who said she had been raped at a fraternity house in 2024."
What will change in a country governed by a convicted sexual predator?
