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jswdmb1 · 4 years

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Smells Like Teen Spirit

“With the lights out, it's less dangerous

Here we are now, entertain us

I feel stupid and contagious

Here we are now, entertain us”

- Nirvana

Americans have many good traits, but patience isn’t one of them. Sometimes that works to our advantage, but this does not happen to be one of those times. I have fully admitted that I was in denial about the severity of the pandemic at its onset, but that was a long time ago. In the intervening eight weeks or so since then, I now find myself on the other side of the coin as I am not excited at all about the prospect of reopening things and the enthusiasm I am seeing to bust out has me actually quite disturbed. And I am not just talking about those gun toting idiots in the Michigan capital last week; it is the disintegration of the vigilance necessary to continue the progress we have made against the virus.

I understand where the restlessness is coming from and why people feel their liberties are being violated because they are. But the current practices are not what they should be protesting against. The protests should be about how government at every level failed us by not having a plan other than keeping us shut in for months to deal with the pandemic. As angry as that makes us, however, it is the only choice we have at this point. The opening up of society and the relaxing of social distancing guidelines is going to prolong our isolation when the inevitable “second wave” hits. Worse, it is going to lead to countless more deaths and stretch our overly maxed out health professionals. While what we have had to do by staying at home and having things we enjoy cancelled is not ideal, it cannot be considered as bad as what those folks have endured. For their sake alone, we have to keep up this fight.

I am sure there are many readers of this who sharply disagree, and I again understand your frustration, but I challenge you to provide me a scenario where opening up right now doesn’t make this much, much worse. Is it that you do not believe the disease is real or as bad as people are saying? Have you talked to people on the front lines in the medical community? I have heard from a couple of them and the horror they are experiencing is quite real. My experience with medical people is that they are not known for hyperbole, so if they are saying that things are bad, it’s much worse than bad. Even if you don’t care about the health professionals putting their lives at risk, or the tens of thousands of people that will die on top of our already gruesome death tolls, it is against your best interest to relax at this time so why would you rally for it? As soon as we get out there and start spreading these germs around, we are going to experience the same spike in hospitalizations and deaths we saw in March and it’s right back to lockdown, which I fear will be even more strict than what we have now. I mean, as much as we have all been complaining about how tough we have it, we can still get outside and exercise, pick up carryout dinners, have some social interaction six-feet apart, and have been able to lead a relatively comfortable life where we really want for nothing. That has not been the case in some other countries. Do you really want to risk complete lockdown for more weeks or months on end just because you need a haircut or want to play a round of golf? The risk/reward just doesn’t seem to be there.

Again, you have a right to be mad about this, but that horse left the barn months ago when governments sat on their hands with full knowledge of what was coming. There is nothing we can do about that now. But, if we go into a second wave of this and experience even tighter restrictions, then we will have only our own impatience to blame. As much as you can’t tolerate getting out to your favorite restaurant or seeing live sports, I cannot bear to think about what that second wave will bring. I especially fear for what it will do to the most impacted members of our society by the pandemic which are our kids, our seniors, and those who were already at severe disadvantages in society before this hit and now are being disproportionally affected by the virus. From a personal standpoint, I would sit in my house for six more months with a big old smile on my face if I knew that it would guarantee my kids can get some semblance of normalcy back into their lives at that point. I would sit here for even longer if I knew it would keep the seniors I know safe and healthy, as I treasure their presence in my life versus others who I have heard suggest they are expendable for the sake of the economy. I just cannot fathom how someone would put profit or social gathering over one human life regardless of age, but I guess maybe there is a lot I just don’t understand.

There probably isn’t much of a point to writing this as many people will look at this and immediately draw political lines around it. But when exactly did public safety and the caring of our vulnerable members of society become a political battle? To me, for all the talk about liberties being taken away, the real story is that it has become okay to take the away basic safety of all citizens and throw it out the window because a few are feeling cooped up. But, I post this anyway because I think it is worth stating somewhere, somehow that I don’t think that is how most people really feel. I think a lot of people no matter what their political affiliation want to do the right thing and keep everyone as healthy as possible. For me, I will continue to try and be a part of the solution versus adding to the problem regardless of how or when restrictions are loosened. I informed my staff earlier this week that I do not see our office fully reopening for quite a while – at least not at full function as we were before this – and they should plan to work virtually throughout the summer. I am preparing my kids for not starting the school year like they would normally and hoping for, at best, a partial on site/virtual learning experience that allows them some ability to reconnect with their peers and get their academic development back on track. I am also preparing myself for the inevitability of life without the things I love such as live sports, marathons, and concerts for the foreseeable future. I am adjusting to the reality that, no matter how fast this came on, the definition of “normal” has been forever changed. The sooner we can accept that as a society the faster we will all be to enjoying life as fully as possible.

Peace,

Jim

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

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Coming soon to the Katharine Cornell Theater in the small town of Vineyard Haven, emeritus Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz will be answering questions about President Donald Trump.

Specifically, Dershowitz tells the Boston Globe, “I want to start a civil, serious dialogue on the Vineyard about the civil liberties implications of the current efforts to impeach or prosecute President Trump.”

It’s the latest twist in a bizarrely long news cycle about a well-known legal scholar’s summer vacation that touches on many of the flashpoints in American civic life today: Trump, the exceptional anti-Trump political mobilization of educated women, the ambiguous posture of the mainstream news media in the crisis, the sometimes perplexing nature of social class in contemporary America, contradictory ideas about “law and order,” and the growing substitution of celebrity grifting for actual politics.

The saga touches on many subjects of profound importance, but it began with something extremely unimportant — a Trump apologist whining about not getting invitations to dinner parties.

It all started with an op-ed in the Hill published on June 27 in which Dershowitz, like any good author, tried to promote his book by linking it to a currently hot topic of discussion.

At the time there was a lot of talk about “civility” in the context of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders being refused service at the Red Hen restaurant in Virginia. Dershowitz, who is currently trying to get people to buy copies of The Case Against Impeaching Trump, chimed in with an op-ed about how despite not favoring impeachment, he disagrees with many of Trump’s policies.

“But that is not good enough for some of my old friends on Martha’s Vineyard,” he wrote. “For them, it is enough that what I have said about the Constitution might help Trump. So they are shunning me and trying to ban me from their social life on Martha’s Vineyard.”

This fairly unremarkable claim ended up spurring a remarkable four New York Times articles with contributions from eight reporters which, in turn, spurred a well-reported Lloyd Grove story in the Daily Beast that revealed that even Times executive editor Dean Baquet felt things had gotten out of control.

“We are trying to increase our coverage of cranky white guys,” Baquet quipped in a text to Grove. “Seriously, it’s a big place and different desks made their own plans. We should have coordinated better and done fewer.”

But rather than ending the story, Grove’s reporting if anything confirmed that the story by now had its own momentum — if a celebrity is defined as a person who is famous for being famous, Dershowitz’s social life on Martha’s Vineyard is now being covered specifically for being overcovered. Now you can find him on CNN and The View talking about Martha’s Vineyard.

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Those of us who’ve tried in the past to promote a book about public affairs can only gaze with wonder at Dershowitz’s stunning success here, especially because arguing that Trump should not be impeached at a time when nobody is actually trying to impeach Trump is on its face a not particularly interesting thesis.

Martha’s Vineyard is a fancy vacation spot close to the major Northeast Corridor population centers. Consequently, it’s so well-known to the people who run the major media outlets in America that stories that take place in or around it have often been covered as if the typical person knows what Martha’s Vineyard is. (Realistically, people might wrongly assume it has something to do with wine production and/or Martha Stewart.)

In reality, Martha’s Vineyard an island south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts whose geography makes it an isolated getaway (you can’t drive there after all) that is also reasonably close to the most densely populated portion of the country.

Historically, Martha’s Vineyard was a center of the American whaling industry (the harpooner Tashtego from Moby Dick was from Martha’s Vineyard), which is why the preppy apparel brand Vineyard Vines uses a lot of whale iconography. In the 19th century, a quirk of population genetics gave rise to a large deaf population on the island, many of whom (along with many hearing islanders) used a distinctive Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language.

The widespread deployment of railroads and especially the rise of the automobile, however, greatly changed the economic geography of the East Coast’s off-shore islands. At a time when water-based travel was generally faster than land-based travel, islands were not particularly isolated from other coastal communities. Automobiles inverted that logic, and rapidly turned places like Martha’s Vineyard into essentially specialized vacation communities that made a virtue out of their relative isolation from the hustle and bustle of the Northeast Corridor.

All the various Northeast summering spots have a fair amount in common, but the Vineyard does distinguish itself in several ways. For starters, the town of Oak Bluffs has long specifically been the vacation destination of choice for African-American elites on the East Coast. Secondarily, as an island the Vineyard leans in the direction of being a tight-knit community with defined edges.

The heavy presence of academics among Greater Boston’s social elite and the relative paucity of truly super-duper rich people compared to New York also means that the Vineyard has a distinctly tweedier, less flashy vibe than, say, the Hamptons. This in turn makes it a good getaway spot for celebrities who prefer to stay out of the public eye, and both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama enjoyed the ability to vacation there in a low-key manner.

None of this is super relevant to the story, except to say that between the relative diversity, the association with Democratic Party presidents, and the disproportionate academic population, Martha’s Vineyard is more uniformly liberal in its politics than other places Dershowitz might have chosen to go on vacation. It’s also the kind of place that lots of journalists might like to go on vacation, which helps explain the media coverage.

There have been a lot of stories lately about the impact of Donald Trump’s trade policies on the lobster industry in Maine. While this is unquestionably an important story in its own right, as a person whose family has long owned a summer house on the Maine coast, I can’t help but notice that the East Coast media’s level of interest in the economic well-being of seaside Maine towns invariably seems to skyrocket in the summertime.

In a practical sense, the off-season would be a much better time to do this reporting since lodging would be considerably cheaper and a reporter could be confident that almost everyone he encounters is a bona fide local. But from the standpoint of wanting to get a little work done while on vacation, wanting to get work to pay for you to go on vacation, or simply spending or week or two “working from home” while remote in a scenic location, it’s better to report from Maine in the summertime.

Something similar, I strongly suspect, was at work in the overwhelming enthusiasm Times reporters exhibited for following up on Dershowitz’s social life.

To this one might add that while the question of which dinner parties Alan Dershowitz does and does not get invited to is fundamentally uninteresting, Dershowitz’s political trajectory over the years actually is pretty interesting.

Dershowitz began his career as a very typical — albeit unusually successful — liberal legal academic, clerking for the chief judge of the DC Circuit and then for Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg before joining the faculty of Harvard Law School in 1964 and becoming the school’s youngest-ever full professor at the age of 28 in 1968. Though primarily an academic, he did dabble in litigation work, including the successful 1976 appellate defense of Deep Throat star Harry Reems.

In 1984, Dershowitz became a legal celebrity thanks to his successful representation of British socialite Claus von Bülow, who’d been convicted of the attempted murder of his wife, Sunny von Bülow, who had fallen into a coma. Dershowitz got the conviction overturned on appeal, Bülow was acquitted in a retrial, Dershowitz wrote a successful book about the case, and the book was adapted into a very good 1990 film, Reversal of Fortune, that earned several Oscar nominations.

One particularly charming detail of the story, as told by Dershowitz, is that he was initially reluctant to take the case, believing Bülow to be guilty. But Dershowitz agreed to take Bülow on as a client when he agreed to also finance the defense of two African-American teenagers facing death penalty murder charges.

This kind of upstairs/downstairs class dynamic, where the famous law professor serves as an advocate for privileged clients while making the case that he is serving the core interests of the underprivileged, is at the core of a lot of Dershowitz’s most noteworthy legal work.

He served, for example, as an appellate adviser for O.J. Simpson’s legal team during the former football star’s murder trial. The Simpson defense team managed to use the considerable resources at its disposal to successfully wield the black community’s longstanding grievances with police and prosecutorial misconduct into an acquittal for their client without really accomplishing much of anything for less famous members of the community.

By the same token, Dershowitz insists he’s not defending Trump because he’s suddenly become a right-winger — he’s doing so because as a longtime progressive civil libertarian he’s concerned about prosecutorial overreach and the FBI running amok to persecute an enemy. The larger political context in which Trump is governing as the least civil libertarian president in a generation, mobilizing and implementing a massive political and cultural backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement, is not interesting to Dershowitz. So while the Trump advocacy is a bit of a new posture for Dershowitz it is, on another level, entirely consistent with the broader trajectory of his career, which has always been more focused on exonerating individual high-profile clients than on systemic reform.

Meanwhile, separately from his main academic work Dershowitz has over the past 15 years been increasingly involved in pro-Israel advocacy, writing The Case for Israel in 2003 and The Case Against the Iran Deal in 2015. For a liberal Democrat to also have stridently hawkish views on Israel was not uncommon in the recent past, but the sands have been shifting on this issue.

Dershowitz supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary campaign in part over Israel-related issues, and Israel became a much more party-polarized topic during Obama’s administration with Democrats shifting to the left even as Israeli politics has shifted well to the right. Meanwhile, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been openly supportive of Republicans.

The point, however, is that when Dershowitz tells his Vineyard friends that they — rather than he — are the ones who have changed, he has a point. And that includes the fact that, fundamentally, he’s just a guy out there doing a good job of promoting a quickie book.

The really crucial point in all of this is that while Dershowitz would like you to think that we are talking about his social life because he is being shunned over his pro-Trump book, the truth is the opposite — we are talking about alleged shunning (or lack thereof) because he is out promoting a book.

Dershowitz writes a lot of books — indeed, The Case Against Impeaching Trump is his second book of 2018, following February’s release of The Case Against BDS — and he is a shrewd self-promoter. His impeachment book is on an interesting subject, but it suffers from several fundamental problems.

First and foremost, nobody is really trying to impeach Trump! Democratic congressional challengers aren’t running on impeachment, Democratic congressional leaders say the impeachment issue is a “gift to Republicans,” none of the incumbent Senate Democrats in tough reelection battles favor impeachment, and it’s overall a nonissue.

Secondarily, while the possibility of impeachment is obviously a subject of Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation, that investigation is not complete and Mueller himself has said almost nothing about it. Depending on what Mueller finds, it’s certainly possible that support for impeachment will grow (maybe even Dershowitz will be convinced). But it’s also entirely possible that Mueller will bring charges against a few more Trump associates and ultimately conclude that the president personally didn’t do anything wrong, and the currently very low levels of political support for impeachment will go even lower.

Whether or not to impeach Trump is not really a live issue in American politics this summer. What is very much on the agenda is how college-educated liberals who feel viscerally that Trump is much worse than the average Republican should react to Trump supporters they encounter socially.

Stories about Sanders’s trip to the Red Hen, White House adviser Stephen Miller’s misadventures in take-out sushi, and other day-to-day acts of civic disrespect for Trump figures have been widely trafficked and widely debated despite a lack of obvious significance. Among other things, even in a social circle where nobody would actually defend Trump on the merits, it’s easy to reach an equilibrium where reasonable people can disagree about exactly how much shunning of Trump supporters one should engage in.

By linking his book directly to a live controversy, Dershowitz has managed to secure oodles of coverage and sell books. And I, frankly, can only admire him for it.

Original Source -> The bizarre media hoopla over Alan Dershowitz’s social life in Martha’s Vineyard, explained

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

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expatshaarlem · 7 years

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Interview of the month 2017 Challenges of Expats – Interview with Sagar Singamsetty

While supporting expats with integration and languages, these interviews reveal personal stories, tips and advice.

Arriving in a new country is a big change and how to feel ‘at Home’ can be a challenge. [Or not?]

This month I introduce you to Sagar from India to Belgium.

Original country: India

Expat countries: The Netherlands

Current country: Belgium

Your story in a nutshell: Indian born Dutch national, Sagar Singamsetty, pursued his under-graduate legal studies in Hyderabad, India. In 2004, Sagar was awarded a Huygens Scholarship by the Netherlands government to pursue graduate studies (LL.M) in air and space law at University of Leiden, NL.

After that, he joined multinational company as a counsel in aviation/transport sector.

Sagar enjoys travelling and currently resides with his family in Belgium. He stayed in Leiden 10 years and then relocated to Brussels, Belgium in 2015.

Biggest challenges: is it a right decision to go to the Netherlands was the biggest question I had. Upon landing, the Netherlands is one country where as an expat you will feel comfortable because most of them speak English and most of the Dutch are helpful.

People often asked if have experienced any culture shock? NO.

What about the food and weather in the Netherlands? The food choices are quite good (as to Belgium – it is a challenge to resist good food, beer and chocolates). Coming to weather, you could not help but to carry your jacket despite the sun shining; it is part of life if you can look at it in a positive way rather than as a challenge.

Moving to a new country is always a big challenge and it takes a while to adjust and to adapt to the local situation. The biggest challenge for me has been language and improving Dutch language is an ongoing project.

On overcoming fear: As a foreigner in any country is not easy. One needs to overcome the fear of adapting to the local situation, which can be hard and a very tiring process. If moving to a new country is in itself a challenge then language, new social relationships, food, weather, and most importantly, health care and education for the family members become far more fearsome queries to answer. It is not easy even for the Europeans because the culture, habits and the environment is totally different compared to their home country.

One suggestion for an expat is, stay with the locals as one tends to learn more about the country or it helps in enriching your own experience of living abroad in comparison to those who prefer to stay with their own compatriots.

Working practices and benefits in your adopted country: ‘Life balance’ is a common topic. Sorry but this is something an individual has to decide and it has nothing to do with the country or region of this world you are working in. It is this simple – a workplace or a country you choose to live does not provide this balance. YOU have to decide on your priorities in your life. Once you make your own preferences, this work and life balance will be an issue of the past. Most companies based in Europe certainly help their employees lead a better life compared to other parts of the world. Certainly, the standard of living in the Benelux region is above many other developed countries, which in itself is a huge benefit despite the high taxes.

Did you integrate and adjust smoothly? What went well and what was hard?

Frankly, no one can integrate 100% into any system. Being objective is key here – in a globalized world, we are inter-dependent on the strengths to realize the potential. Living here in Europe for over 10 years, it is still not clear as to what integration means – can language alone determine that you have integrated? Paying taxes and investing in buying a home can be considered as being part of integration as it is helping the economy? Being a lawyer, I have to say that we are bound by the laws of the country we are living and we have to adhere and respect those laws. This should be the guiding principle to every expat, and automatically, your stay in the country gets smoother. Personally, have not had any major difficulties in adjusting (except for the language barrier, which can be a real pain) but we do hear the difficulties people are facing on a day to day basis, e.g., racial profiling, discrimination etc. It is just sad given that we are living in a developed country where we are taught about freedom and liberty!

Where you find inspiration from: The inspiration comes to do better for your family, your country and for yourself. You are already away from home and sky is the limit to do your best and that inspiration is sufficient to anyone to excel. My colleagues at work and my compatriots add fuel to the inspiration, which I am thankful.

What is your current job? My role as a regulatory lawyer is to advice the company management of the regulatory developments affecting or potentially affecting the operations of our business from a legal/regulatory/policy standpoint. This includes: international aviation regulations; export control laws and trade sanctions; and transport and environment. Having moved to Brussels, I also enjoy my engagement with European institutions in developing meaningful policies for our sector.

Was it difficult to start your job in a foreign country? Hasn’t been a cake walk…after a several 100 of job applications, I got an internship opportunity as a student of Leiden University, which later turned into a job in their Contracts team.My experience working in the Netherlands and Belgium is that employees are given a free hand in their job, so that the employee can perform better. At the same time, every assignment is time bound and it is really important to get the work done within the timelines. It is a cultural thing to be on time and it shows that you respect others time and your professional approach.

How you stay motivated: Well…when market is not doing well and job opportunities are scarce, the motivation to do well will be there. I personally believe one is always motivated if there is a focus on the goal one wishes to achieve for themselves. I know it is a philosophical answer but I cannot compare always with others achievement as that will undermine what I have achieved for myself. So, compete against yourself – the best way to keep you motivated and to reach higher goals.

Useful TIPS for expats: Talk to the locals, talk to your own compatriots, talk to other expats, visit the local city hall for information. Also, every country has an expat center and loads of bulletins/newspapers that provide information.

What are your words of Wisdom? For any expat, I believe these 2 qualities will come very handy to build their career or social network: 1/ Honesty and integrity in what you do or even say; and 2/ Communication skills.

What is the worst that happened to you as an expat? I would not say there has been anything as the ‘worst experience’. Having said that, someone telling me that I have stolen someones job by working in the country as an expat did make me think if it is still good to be an expat or not? As these sentiments are growing in recent times, it is important for expats to remain positive as they bring lot of experience and diversity into the community; and for the expat, it is equally important that they pay respect/attention to the local customs and traditions.

What is a misunderstanding that happened to you as an expat? The Dutch are stingy and their food habits always make me laugh – one cookie rule; or questions from Dutch friends, how hungry are you or how much rice you want to eat? Or when someone invites you to a drink or dinner, at their home, it is expected they pay as well… Initially, I wasn’t sure if I understood the question or such conversations…but now, it might be possible that I turned Dutch as well. Belgians can be cold at first but with a beer you can start making a conversation…funny thing is that most of the Belgians have very dry humor, like their art, and I find it difficult yet times if I should be laughing or not! It could be the same thing for expats in India, when we shake our head in every direction and it is not only confusing but amusing to most foreigners.

Your Plans for the future: We made Belgium our new home. For the time being, want to spend our time here; and my focus will be on my family and work. I enjoy counseling and teaching – hopefully, will enrich someone’s life as the year��s progress!

Final words or anything else you wish to share: 1) Every country in the world has something good to offer, so do not be naive in your expectations as disappointment could be around the corner.

2) Every expat continues to be in that intuition that they are going to go back home one day as ‘home will remain home’. The hard reality is that majority of the expats remain to stay abroad for most years of their life and it is not a bad thing per se. Enjoy your stay abroad and share your worldly knowledge to the younger generation.

Please tell us yourimportant TIP(s) when moving to a new country?

Always know for what reason you are moving to a particular country? For instance, in my case, I moved to Belgium with my family as the education and health care sectors are one of the best in the world. There is so much choice around us and it should be the case that you are happy with your decision in the long term.

Rachel: “Great interview Sagar. Your inspiring words are useful for both new or experienced expats. Staying motivated and positive is important, which is what you do and share. Being an expat is an amazing opportunity I can recommend to everyone. However, it’s crucial to keep certain key points in mind.

This is why I’m writing my next book to prepare ANY move abroad in such way that you can ENJOY your journey to the fullest.”

Thank you very much!

Interviewed by Rachel Smets

Picture taken at Sint-Michel, France

#expat life #interview of the month

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