Saturday, June 1, 2024
Reading the newspaper this morning about the reaction to Donald Trump’s felony conviction, I encountered this evidence that extraterrestrials are among us. "Richard Steele, 82, a pastor and retired building contractor in Dalton, Ga., . . . praised the former president as a ‘gentleman’ who does not flaunt his wealth, and an ‘honest man’ — despite the thousands of documented lies or misleading claims he has made over the years. Mr. Trump, he said, was cloaked in ‘Godly armor.’"
Reflecting on this, I discern at least four categories of Trump support. There are the Reverend Steeles, for whom I struggle to find a polite description. Then, there are the frightened Republican politicians who propagate falsehoods (tell lies) while constantly looking over their shoulder. Most dangerous possibly are the titans of wealth whose vision does not extend beyond their bank account, emulating certain Germans in 1932. Finally are the ordinary citizens who feel disprivileged or underserved by the current administration. Is there a way forward?
. . .
Jeffrey Heller, the distinguished human rights warrior, and I were recently discussing proportionality in the tragic Israel/Gaza conflict. I gathered this data. The population of Israel was 9,842,000 at the end of 2023.
Hamas killed 1,139 people on October 7, 2023, including 71 foreigners, mostly Thai workers.
At least 21 Bedouins were among the victims as well.
2,977 people were killed in the al Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/
This included 372 foreign nationals from 61 countries. https://
Our population was about 285,000,000 at the time.
In the 20+ years that followed 9/11, at least 408,749 civilians died in the resulting wars.
. . .
Maybe the worst part of the New York Rangers premature exit from the championship playoffs is leaving me to confront the woeful performance of the New York Mets.
Sunday, June 2, 2024
Happy Birthday Allison.
. . .
A couple of weeks ago, I offered some challenging adult spelling words in contrast to the worse-than-obscure material now populating formal spelling bees. Thursday night, the Scripps National Spelling Bee concluded. Some of the stumpers were “kanin,” a kind of boiled rice used in the Philippines; “Lillooet,” an indigenous Canadian tribe; “Hoofddorp,” a village in the Netherlands. I am uncertain whether to celebrate or lament the fact that some of our young people actually know this stuff.
. . .
To celebrate Allison’s birthday in absentia, we went to dinner at DB Dhaba, Indian Cuisine, 108 Lexington Avenue, in the center of Curry Hill. The quiet premises soon added about two dozen patrons shortly after we entered. The decor has changed twice over the years that we have been customers, a little less attractive each time.
Fortunately, the food has remained constantly good. I had mustard chicken tikka ($14.95) and Chapli Kebab ($15.95). While both items appear on the menu as Starters, each are generously sized. Four hefty chunks of chicken have been marinated, deliciously spiced and perfectly grilled. The two kebabs could properly be called lamb burgers, mixed with coriander and green chilis. Near-vegetarian madam left me on my own with enough food for two normal human beings, even more than I could finish.
Monday, June 3, 2024
Discuss: Who is less Jewish, Claudia Sheinbaum, new President of Mexico, or Bernie Sanders, United States Senator from Vermont?
. . .
Two weeks ago, I joined a pilgrimage to Nathan’s Coney Island, a Holy Land landmark. The long subway ride was fun, the company of friends enjoyable, the walk on the boardwalk refreshing, the hot dogs undistinguished and expensive. This afternoon, I made amends on a trip to Costco, 517 East 117th Street, where I ate a quarter-pound, all-beef hot dog with a refillable fountain drink for $1.50 plus tax, a steal.
June 4, 2024
Nothing to be proud of. “The U.S. maternal mortality rate continues to far exceed those of other high-income nations, despite a decline since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
June 5, 2024
A healthy contingent of the Boyz Club met for lunch at Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, downstairs, dark and claustrophobic, just the way we like it. The eight of us dug into spare ribs, egg rolls, beef with scallions, honey crispy chicken, beef chow fun, Singapore chow fun, chicken lo mein and egg fried rice, costing $18 per person. I’m ready to go back tomorrow.
. . .
Tavish advises keeping a lookout for Brown Chicken Brown Cow ice cream when next in southern Colorado. He particularly recommends the caramel pretzel crunch flavor, which is right up my alley, although 2,000 miles away.
June 6, 2024
It’s 80 years since D-Day, the massive Allied landing on the French coast. V-E day followed on May 8, 1945 and V-J Day on August 14, 1945. What is amazing to me is that over 72,000 WWII American soldiers remain unaccounted for to this day.
What a burden for tens of thousands of families over these many decades.
. . .
I campaigned against a candidate who won reelection last night. As much as I wanted to call out “Stop the steal,” the results were mechanically fair and square. However, while politesse is not a quality that I usually regard, the winner this time seems congenitally unable to concede anything to her opponents. If I appear to be a sore loser, it is an instinctive reaction to a sore winner.
Friday, June 7, 2024
Our dinner plans tonight with beloved out-of-town friends at Dagon, 2454 Broadway, that excellent Israeli/Mediterranean restaurant, succumbed to the flu. Fear not, we will find something to eat.
The maternal mortality rate for Black women was 49.5 deaths per 100,000 live births and was significantly higher than rates for White (19.0), Hispanic (16.9), and Asian (13.2) women.. Makes one wonder.
ReplyDeleteAliens Amongst Us
ReplyDeletehttps://drnormalvision.blogspot.com/2017/04/aliens-amongst-us.html
As far as Trump support, use more fingers. There those enemies of democracy (e.g., Steve Bannon, Peter Thiel) who would like to see some autocracy established). Then, of course, there are the neo-Nazis and such who lunch with him. There are the celebrity-obsessed. And then there are the plain effing stupid.
ReplyDeleteJust after submitting the above comment, I found this headline in the Washington Post:
ReplyDelete"Trump loyalist pushes ‘post-constitutional’ vision for second term"