Author: ssw15

As I’m writing this in the wee hours of Monday, I shall say that this will be an interesting First Monday at the US Supreme Court, as it is the first day of the Ch. J. Roberts Era.

A little rundown –

Saw “Serenity” on Saturday. Interesting movie, picking up where the cancelled FOX show “Firefly” left off. (I never got to watch “Firefly,” but knew enough about the show). Sad but triumphant ending for the Serenity crew (brought to us by that Buffy/Angel creator, Joss Whedon, who’s gifted with the sardonic dialog).

“Veronica Mars” season premiere was interesting; so it turns out that Veronica opened her door, and – considering the hesitancy in her voice – it might not have been exactly the person she expected (who was she expecting we may never really know). But, it was her bad boy toy Logan, who was beaten up and accused of assault. Did he commit the crime? Unknown. But, Veronica took the summer off from crime detection, only to be persuaded back into it by the time her senior year begins. And, inevitably, her relationship with Logan did not last. She’s back with her ex (and Logan’s best friend) Duncan. Hmm. And, a new season-long mystery begins…

“Alias” – that show drives me nuts. The latest season premiere was nutty as heck. Oh, and the local FOX station has the “Alias” reruns, showing Season 1. Great nostalgia for me (especially as I haven’t gotten the Season 1 DVD’s). Season 1 was crazy, but fun crazy.

Weird to see “Enterprise” reruns syndicated on the local NBC station, when “Enterprise” used to be on the local UPN station (which used to show “Voyager” reruns and would have expectedly shown the “Enterprise” ones). Oh well. Nice to see a little Star Trek somewhere on non-cable tv (’cause I’m still cable-less).

Local UPN station is showing syndicated reruns of the Season 1’s “Stargate Atlantis.” Good stuff so far. And, thanks to the local UPN, now I can watch “Farscape”! Geez, I’m getting my geek tv sci-fi fix (without going cable/DVD/or checking on-line).

Something of note for Asian-Americans, reported by NY Times’ Winnie Hu:

Shemini Atzeret, Id al-Fitr, Immaculate Conception, Election Day, Purim and the Asian Lunar New Year – all important days, to be sure. But to New Yorkers of any religious, cultural or political background, they have another significance.

It may sound crass to say, but for those who drive in the five boroughs – and spend endless hours looking for a spot to park – these are among the 33 holidays each year when alternate-side parking rules are suspended, freeing up infinite acres of curb space.

Now, those drivers have Diwali, too.

For Hindus, Diwali is an annual festival of lights that begins at the end of October. It is believed to ward off evil spirits and usher in prosperity for the community. For drivers, it is parking holiday No. 34. Mark your calendars: the final day, and the culmination of the festival, falls on Nov. 1 this year.

But just as Manhattan motorists who find themselves racing to the same precious spot engage in a little verbal road rage, so too have arguments boiled over Diwali. The City Council yesterday unanimously passed a law to suspend parking rules on that day, but only over the objections of city sanitation officials. Those officials have opposed the proliferation of parking holidays, saying they hamper their ability to keep the streets clean.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who is seeking re-election in November, is expected to veto the Diwali legislation – even though that could cost him votes in predominantly Hindu communities in Queens and elsewhere, and even though Council leaders say they have enough votes to override a veto. Aides to Mr. Bloomberg said they were reviewing the legislation.

More than a dozen Hindu business and civic leaders showed up at City Hall yesterday to demand respect and equal treatment from the mayor when it comes to parking privileges for their religious holiday.

“Hindu doesn’t have a single holiday yet, and we also contribute to the business and professional communities,” said Subhash Kapadia, senior adviser to the Jackson Heights Merchants’ Association, which has 250 members. “It’s high time for us. This is about honoring Hindu just like the other religions in the city calendar.”

In one of those accepted peculiarities of New York street life, parking is prohibited during certain hours on one side of the street and then on the other, to allow for street cleaning and unimpeded traffic flow. [….]

Kathy Dawkins, a spokeswoman for the Sanitation Department, emphasized that the parking rules were intended solely as a cleaning tool. “Alternate-side-of-the-street parking helps us to sweep streets and keep streets the cleanest they have been in more than 30 years,” she said.

When parking rules are suspended, she said, 250 sanitation workers who would normally clean streets have to be reassigned. This year, the 33 holidays stretch over 39 working days for the department; for instance, Id al-Fitr lasts three days.

Councilman John C. Liu, the chairman of the Council’s Transportation Committee, said that suspending parking rules on Diwali would be a small inconvenience for the city but a large source of pride for the city’s Hindu residents.

“The precedent was set decades ago,” he said. “It’s now a question of equal treatment, and that’s what we’re saying.”

The passing of Judge Constance Baker Motley, Civil Rights trailblazer. A pioneer, indeed:

Judge Motley was the first black woman to serve in the New York State Senate, as well as the first woman to be Manhattan borough president, a position that guaranteed her a voice in running the entire city under an earlier system of local government called the Board of Estimate.

Judge Motley was at the center of the firestorm that raged through the South in the two decades after World War II, as blacks and their white allies pressed to end the segregation that had gripped the region since Reconstruction. She visited the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in jail, sang freedom songs in churches that had been bombed, and spent a night under armed guard with Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader who was later murdered.

But her métier was in the quieter, painstaking preparation and presentation of lawsuits that paved the way to fuller societal participation by blacks. She dressed elegantly, spoke in a low, lilting voice and, in case after case, earned a reputation as the chief courtroom tactician of the civil rights movement.

I should have mentioned this previously, but I’ll post this now — the passing of Don Adams, a.k.a. Maxwell Smart of the “Get Smart” tv show. Check out the NY Times obit, or the Associated Press article. I didn’t realize that he did the voice of Inspector Gadget, although that makes sense, since that was his voice all right. (yeah, I watched Inspector Gadget when I was a kid).

The Museum of the Chinese in the Americas is going to expand. Cool.

“Veronica Mars” Season 2 starts tonight. The question is, when Veronica opens her door, already anticipating who it is, who will be it? Hmm.

FC’s the real Amazing Race fan, so I’d rather let him comment on it. But, I’m watching the 1st episode of this season, and it’s kind of annoying (I mean, families of four? And, where are the other people of color? Only one African-American family? Come on, Asians go around the world too!). nice start though – going from the park under Brooklyn Bridge and getting to Soho and racing to 92nd St/Lexington — a nice spin around NYC as a first leg. Let’s see who gets knocked out first.

Thanks to the handy-dandy VCR, I’ve taped “Everybody Hates Chris,” so I’ll get to watch the show that the pro tv critics (and according to preliminary ratings, all other viewers) loved or were eager to try out. Eventually, anyway(Imagine if I had TiVo?)… Heavens knows, I’m a little behind on viewing things and reading things, and writing things…

But, I did get to watch the new “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.” It’s Martha, for gosh sake, so it’s very tasteful (as opposed to the usual pomposity of Donald Trump). Martha seemed very mellowed out (I suppose prison time does that, not to mention house arrest and the ankle bracelet to keep track of oneself). I thought the first episode played up the whole Martha brand very well – Martha built her company, made mad money, and is a true corporate big shot (I’d rather buy Martha or Oprah approved water over Trump bottled water, I shall say; Oprah Winfrey’s bigger than Martha or Trump, I might add – although, I’m sure she wouldn’t just pick any lousy Apprentice and would take the higher road of teaching the universe). Martha’s Apprentice contestants are already sickeningly obnoxious – one guy was such a jerk. To me, though, the weirdest thing was that the contestants were so white. Only one Asian female. Huh? Martha, I could have sworn the corporate world is getting to be/trying to be more diverse. And, yeah, Martha handwriting a letter of consolation to the fired contestant is a bit of a, well, hokey-pokey thing if you asked me. Like, don’t you have an assistant to just type it up for you, Martha? As Newsday’s tv critic Verne Gay (who didn’t really like the new Martha show all that much) observes:

And there lies the key problem with “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart,” which is otherwise better looking than the original.

There is no fear in this show or any of the doom, shame, ignominy or flat-out reprobation that comes with getting one’s head handed to one by the Donald. This show’s light (his is dark.) This one’s happy (his threatening.) Martha laughs (he scowls.)

Without fear, there is no danger and without danger, no drama. And drama, along with that magnificent cheeseball, Donald Trump, is what makes the original “Apprentice” work so well.

The contestants are good — sharp, obnoxious and terribly blonde for the most part. But where is an African-American contestant? Just wondering.

Yeah, sure, you almost miss the stereotypical Angry Person of Color. Too many obnoxious white folks don’t make “a good thing” (and, yeah, I’ll borrow that Martha-ism).

Hurricane Rita coverage.

Alma Mater Young Alumni organization held a wine tasting event on Thursday night, at the Burgundy Wine Company in the vicinity of the Flatiron Building. I like this kind of stuff – for a decent price, you get to sample stuff. I’m not a wine drinker, but I figure if I like it, I like it. Red wines and white wines were available; the two red wines I tried – I liked them – they were “earthy” (as the purveyor said) and fruity (I’m no expert, but that’s the word I’m picking); the whites were a little more dry for me, so I’m more partial to the reds (I liked the color and smell too). TV food shows capture the food sense; I haven’t been appreciative of how wines get taught on the tv food shows. Ah, well.

Tuesday night: I caught most of NBC’s “My Name is Earl” (wherein actor Jason Lee plays this Southern hick, Earl, who decides to improve his luck by improving his karma – i.e., redeem himself for all the bad things he did). The ads in Entertainment Weekly (wherein you flip open a page and listen to a recording of the hick say words to the effect of, “My name is Earl and I believe in karma…”) was a huge turn-off, but the show’s first episode itself was interesting. It has potential, although I’m not sure how much Earl can pull off all 100-odd items on his list to improve his karma.

FOX’s “House, M.D.” – Dr. House gets all sensitive about saving a dying girl by actually killing her for a few minutes. Aww. Pleasantly amusing that he continues to (psychologically) torture Dr. Chase (who deserves it for having betrayed House to Vogel, the opposing ex-CEO of the hospital of last season).

Wednesday’s NY Times had this interesting article on Hyphenated Chinese food. Julia Moskin notes:

NEW YORKERS always think they know the real thing when it comes to Chinese food. Forty years ago it was egg rolls, chop suey and drinks with paper umbrellas. Then it was General Tso’s chicken and sesame noodles.

But over the past decade, as large communities of people from India, Peru, Korea, Trinidad and Guyana have formed here, New York has had to expand its ideas about what Chinese food can be.

“I call them second-generation Chinese restaurants,” said Cheuk Kwan, who has directed a documentary film about the spread of Chinese restaurants around the world. “These restaurants always have a hyphen: Chinese-Venezuelan, Chinese-Norwegian, Chinese-Mexican.

“Chinese-Malagasy,” he said, on the island of Madagascar, “was the best food, with lots of coconut milk and spices.”

Dishes like chili-spiked, deep-fried chicken lollipops, which are a Chinese-Indian specialty, and lo mein topped with chunks of peppery jerk chicken, served at De Bamboo Express, a Chinese-West Indian restaurant in Brooklyn, are what Chinese food is now to thousands of New Yorkers.

The city’s first hyphenated version of the cuisine – after Chinese-American, of course – was Chinese-Cuban, which arrived in the 1960’s, when thousands of Cubans of Chinese descent came to New York after Fidel Castro’s rise to power.

“My grandfather was born in Zhanjiang, but his whole life was in Havana,” said Manny Liao, a musician who lives in Washington Heights. “He always ate Chinese food, but he cooked Cuban.”

Seafood soups, fried rice with pork, scallions and tiny shrimp, and chicharrones de pollo -chicken cut into small pieces and deep-fried in the Cantonese style – were and are standbys in restaurants like Caridad la Original on the Upper West Side and La Chinita Linda in Chelsea. [….]

But for others it does not matter how real the food tastes, so long as it tastes like home.

When New York’s young Korean-Americans go out for Chinese food, they often eat ja jiang mien, boiled noodles in a rich meat sauce, mixed with Korean brown bean paste and studded with Chinese fermented black beans. “Kids grow up on Chinese noodles in Korea,” said Jinny Song, a customer at Hyo Dong Gak in Midtown.

In Elmhurst, La Union, a Peruvian chifa (slang for Chinese restaurant), serves platters of chancho, a Hispanic rendering of char siu, Chinese for roast pork.

The roots of these hybrid Chinese cuisines around the world are the same as those of Chinese food in America. Millions of Chinese men, most of them from the province Guangdong (formerly known in English as Canton), left China in the late 19th and early 20th century. Only men were allowed to leave the country, often by becoming indentured workers to companies in need of cheap labor in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and South America.

Professional cooks were usually not among the emigrants, so the earliest Chinese restaurants outside China were started by men with little knowledge of cooking and a desperate need to improvise with local ingredients. The dishes they came up with, like chop suey, have long since been dismissed as “not Chinese” by scholars of the culture.

But Chinese food has never been quite what outsiders think it is.

“The term Chinese food represents an area four times larger than Western Europe and the eating habits of more than a billion people,” Mr. Kwan said. “You could say that there is really no such thing as Chinese food.”

Eugene Anderson, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Riverside, and author of “The Food of China,” disagrees. “Chinese food is defined by a flavor principle of soy sauce, ginger, garlic and green onions” and methods including stir-frying and steaming, he said. “Once you get too far away from those rules, it is no longer Chinese.”

Whatever and wherever it is, it is in flux, said Eric Kwan, a New York native and chef and owner of Hip Hop Chow, a new East Village restaurant serving a hybrid of Southern American and southern Chinese cooking.

“Chinese food in China didn’t change much in 2,000 years, but now it’s changing,” he said. “And Chinese food in America is something totally different.”

At De Bamboo Express in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, Chinese cooks toss rice and vegetables in huge woks, then top that with peppery jerk chicken wings and handfuls of raw cabbage, which steams gently in the rice and adds a crispness to the plate. “Chinese food and Jamaican food are tight-tight,” said Monica Lambert, a customer who was eating the dish. “This food is both. You know, like Naomi Campbell,” she said, referring to the supermodel whose father is Chinese-Jamaican.

Questions of ethnicity, some of them awkward and others simply mysterious, inevitably come up when tracking the cuisine of the Chinese diaspora. The passionate relationship between American Jews and Chinese restaurants, for example, is well documented. [….]

Naomi Campbell’s part Chinese? Really?

Hurricane Rita in the Gulf. Umm. Hmm.

What woman could be the next US Supreme Court justice? Slate’s Emily Bazelon does an analysis – one could be troubled by the conservative women already on the federal appeals bench:

The women on the shortlist are crazy or lightweights or both, the naysayers complain. In their most despairing moments, they worry that the administration has deliberately cut down the pool of women candidates by refusing to seriously consider anyone who isn’t a federal appeals court judge (with the exception of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson).

So, Bazelon notes that one could try to find the female John Roberts:

It may be that the female John Roberts is out there. Like Roberts, Maureen Mahoney is a leading Supreme Court litigator; she’s been arguing before the court since 1988. Like Roberts, she’s from the Midwest (born in South Bend, Ind.). Like Roberts, she clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Like Roberts, she was one of Kenneth Starr’s deputies when he was solicitor general for Bush I. Mahoney’s problem: She has argued in favor of affirmative action—on the winning side for the University of Michigan Law School in the 2003 Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger. But that shouldn’t disqualify her if defending development restrictions around Lake Tahoe—a bad loss for the property-rights movement—didn’t disqualify Roberts. Also, Mahoney isn’t a judge. In 1992, George H.W. Bush nominated her for a federal trial bench seat in Virginia, but Bill Clinton became president before confirmation. So, she’s still a lawyer at the Washington, D.C., firm Latham & Watkins. At first blush, it would seem odd for the administration to single out a plain old lawyer for the nation’s highest court. At second blush, why not? Mahoney is smart and she knows the court. […]

Mahoney lacks what another late-surging female candidate has—a longtime spot in the president’s inner circle. White House Counsel Harriet Miers has been vetter-in-chief of the Supreme Court candidates. What if Bush selects her over them, in the Dick Cheney tradition? Before she got her current job, Miers was assistant to the president and his staff secretary. She was the person who knew where all the paper in the White House was coming and going. She never talked to reporters. She came with Bush from Texas, where she was chair of the state lottery commission and the first woman president of the Texas State Bar. But Miers isn’t a skilled Supreme Court advocate. She has no reputation outside the insular Bush circle. Firepower-wise, she looks like a big gamble.

So, there are many factors to consider. Hmm. Obviously, deciding who would replace Justice O’Connor isn’t going to be easy.

Alan Alda – what a guy.

Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek does an interesting analysis of what in the world is the government doing to deal with the numbers behind the problems this country is facing:

People wonder whether we can afford Iraq and Katrina. The answer is, easily. What we can’t afford simultaneously is $1.4 trillion in tax cuts and more than $1 trillion in new entitlement spending over the next 10 years. To take one example, if Congress did not make permanent just one of its tax cuts, the repeal of estate taxes, it would generate $290 billion over the next decade. That itself pays for most of Katrina and Iraq.

Robert Hormats of Goldman Sachs has pointed out that previous presidents acted differently. During World War II, Franklin Roosevelt cut nonwar spending by more than 20 percent, in addition to raising taxes to finance the war effort. During the Korean War, President Truman cut non-defense spending 28 percent and raised taxes to pay the bills. In both cases these presidents were often slashing cherished New Deal programs that they had created. The only period—other than the current one—when the United States avoided hard choices was Vietnam: spending increased on all fronts. The results eventually were deficits, high interest rates and low growth—stagflation.

Bush is not the only one to blame. Congressional spending is now completely out of control. The federal coffers are being looted for congressional patronage, and it is being done openly and without any guilt. [….]

Today’s Republicans believe in pork, but they don’t believe in government. So we have the largest government in history but one that is weak and dysfunctional. Public spending is a cynical game of buying votes or campaign contributions, an utterly corrupt process run by lobbyists and special interests with no concern for the national interest. So we shovel out billions on “Homeland Security” to stave off nonexistent threats to Wisconsin, Wyoming and Montana while New York and Los Angeles remain unprotected. We mismanage crises with a crazy-quilt patchwork of federal, local and state authorities—and sing paeans to federalism to explain our incompetence. We denounce sensible leadership and pragmatism because they mean compromise and loss of ideological purity. Better to be right than to get Iraq right.

Hurricane Katrina is a wake-up call. It is time to get serious. We need to secure the homeland, fight terrorism and have an effective foreign policy to advance our interests and our ideals. We also need a world-class education system, a great infrastructure and advancement in science and technology.

For all its virtues, the private sector cannot accomplish all this. Wal-Mart and Federal Express cannot devise a national energy policy for the United States. For that and for much else, we need government. We already pay for it. Can somebody help us get our money’s worth?

Plenty of food for thought.

Friday – I checked out the symposium at Alma Mater Law School about Justice Blackmun. It was intruiging stuff. And, of course, considering the timing of the event, no speaker could avoid talking about the proceedings to confirm prospective Chief Justice John Roberts. A lot of great praise for Linda Greenhouse’s book, “Becoming Justice Blackmun,” which I’d love to get my hands on one of these days (if only to glimpse what a treasure trove of info that his rat packing ways provided).

Sunday – Emmy night!

— Such a shame Hugh “Dr. House” Laurie did not win best dramatic actor (I suspect that the nomination of HBO’s “Deadwood” actor – also a Brit doing an American accent – cancelled out the Hugh Laurie nomination). Don’t quite understand why that award went to James Spader, while his colleague William Shatner won the best supporting actor – their work on ABC’s “Boston Legal” wasn’t that strong in my mind.

— Tony “Monk” Shalhoub won best comedic actor – umm, well, I guess that’s nice (mind you, I consider “Monk” to be in the (not-yet-in-existence) category of dramedy, not comedy.), but I do wish Jason Bateman or Zach Braff had their shot at winning the Emmy.

— Felicity Huffman of “Desparate Housewives” won best comedic actress; lovely speech about how she loved her husband William H. Macy. Roseanne Arquette won the best dramatic actress award for her work in NBC’s “Medium.”

— Best supporting comedic actor and actress given to Brad Garrett and Doris Roberts of “Everybody Loves Raymond” – but too bad that Peter Boyle didn’t win (it was a toss between him and Brad Garrett, I’m sure, and Brad Garrett had the more laughs, simply because those writers could not stop torturing his character in such hilarious situations).

— The theme song Emmy Idol gigs was a not entirely fun. I missed the Shatner pairing with Fredericka von Stade doing the “Star Trek” theme; Kristen “Veronica Mars” Bell did “Fame” – while I enjoyed it, I felt she was a bit light on the singing chops. Gary Dourdan (“Warrick” of “CSI”) paired up with Macy Gray to sing the “Jeffersons” – and they captured the “Jeffersons” feeling just right, I thought (ok, I confess – I used to watch way too much “Jeffersons” when I was a kid). O just didn’t think much of the Donald Trump-Megan Mullally doing “Green Acres” (while I can buy Mullally as Eva Gabor, I just don’t see Trump as Eddie Albert) – so I thought it was silly that they “won.”

— the homage to the TV anchormen – Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather doing a tribute to Peter Jennings and David Letterman’s homage to Johnny Carson – both were stuff that gave me a lump in the throat.

— S. Epatha Merkerson won for her tv movie role on HBO’s “Lackawanna Blues” – and as the MSNBC’s posting of the AP article notes:

S. Epatha Merkerson was named best actress in a miniseries or movie for “Lackawanna Blues,” on HBO, and proceeded to charm the audience by announcing her acceptance speech, which she’d tucked into her bosom, had slipped down and couldn’t be retrieved.

There was something touching about watching a veteran of stage and tv so surprised and happy to win and shocked that her thanks fell into her dress. She thanked her “Law and Order” crew too – wow. The show really is something, to get thought about even when the winner wasn’t winning for it.

— So pleased that David Shore won for the best episode of “House” (the one where House reveals how the stroke in his leg ended his relationship with the lawyer).

— I was disappointed that the speeches were cut by the music; I’m sorry, I’m a sucker for speeches.

— Hugh Jackman! Sorry, but he’s a showman. Nice that he won for his Tony work. Thought it was cute that at the end, he and Whoopi Goldberg (frequent Oscars host) were the ones giving the final awards to best drama and comedy (“Lost” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”).

— “Everybody Loves Raymond” getting a final send-off, winning the Emmy over the “Desparate Housewives.” At least an old fashioned sitcom won.

— Ellen DeGeneres did a pretty good job.

Monday – premieres on tv! “Arrested Development” – funny season premiere. America – please watch this funny show! (and “Scrubs,” once it’s back from hiatus, whenever that it’ll be).

Watching the series premiere of “Kitchen Confidential” on FOX, wherein Bradley Cooper (the ex-Will of “Alias”/the TA of “Jack and Bobby” of WB/and the Psycho Boyfriend of “Wedding Crashers” the movie) is a chef. A sitcom by the makers of “Sex and the City.” A show with potential, so is my sense of it. Cooper’s a cutie (I’ve obviously warmed up to him since his “I’m in deep trouble, Secret Agent Sydney” days). Actor John Cho plays a seafood chef. An Asian in a cast!

The series premiere of “Out of Practice” on CBS, in the 9:30pm slot — well, I will always have a soft spot for Henry Winkler (previously the incompetent attorney on “Arrested Development”), but this new series had a premiere episode that just wasn’t funny to me. Oh, well – to each his/her own.

New Orleans v. NY Giants – on Monday night football. Hmm…

The past couple of days in the city has been a sweltering humid ick.

NY Times’ Thomas Friedman is in Singapore, and he came up with this analysis of Singapore’s reaction to US’ Hurricane Katrina situation:

There is something troublingly self-indulgent and slothful about America today – something that Katrina highlighted and that people who live in countries where the laws of gravity still apply really noticed. It has rattled them – like watching a parent melt down.

That is certainly the sense I got after observing the Katrina debacle from half a world away here in Singapore – a city-state that, if it believes in anything, believes in good governance. It may roll up the sidewalks pretty early here, and it may even fine you if you spit out your gum, but if you had to choose anywhere in Asia you would want to be caught in a typhoon, it would be Singapore. Trust me, the head of Civil Defense here is not simply someone’s college roommate.

Indeed, Singapore believes so strongly that you have to get the best-qualified and least-corruptible people you can into senior positions in the government, judiciary and civil service that its pays its prime minister a salary of $1.1 million a year. It pays its cabinet ministers and Supreme Court justices just under $1 million a year, and pays judges and senior civil servants handsomely down the line.

From Singapore’s early years, good governance mattered because the ruling party was in a struggle for the people’s hearts and minds with the Communists, who were perceived to be both noncorrupt and caring – so the state had to be the same and more.

Even after the Communists faded, Singapore maintained a tradition of good governance because as a country of only four million people with no natural resources, it had to live by its wits. It needed to run its economy and schools in a way that would extract the maximum from each citizen, which is how four million people built reserves of $100 billion.

“In the areas that are critical to our survival, like Defense, Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs, we look for the best talent,” said Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy. “You lose New Orleans, and you have 100 other cities just like it. But we’re a city-state. We lose Singapore and there is nothing else. … (So) the standards of discipline are very high. There is a very high degree of accountability in Singapore.” [….]

The discipline that the cold war imposed on America, by contrast, seems to have faded. Last year, we cut the National Science Foundation budget, while indulging absurd creationist theories in our schools and passing pork-laden energy and transportation bills in the middle of an energy crisis. [….]

Janadas Devan, a Straits Times columnist, tried to explain to his Asian readers how the U.S. is changing. “Today’s conservatives,” he wrote, “differ in one crucial aspect from yesterday’s conservatives: the latter believed in small government, but believed, too, that a country ought to pay for all the government that it needed.

“The former believe in no government, and therefore conclude that there is no need for a country to pay for even the government that it does have. … (But) it is not only government that doesn’t show up when government is starved of resources and leached of all its meaning. Community doesn’t show up either, sacrifice doesn’t show up, pulling together doesn’t show up, ‘we’re all in this together’ doesn’t show up.”

So, Friedman has some interesting points, and I loved his dig at the ex-FEMA director.

Thursday night – I got home too late to watch George W. Bush’s primetime tv speech, but I actually watched ABC’s “Primetime” showing of how we can prepare for the Next Big One – i.e., a deadly possible avian flu pandemic that could kills millions, reminiscent of (or be worse than) the 1918 flu epidemic; or, a Big One earthquake in San Francisco (in which the mayor of San Fran actually admits that they are not prepared, having learned nothing from 1989’s earthquake); or a nuclear attack (hypothetically hitting… NYC. Gee, thanks, Chris Cuomo, for breaking down that particular storyline). Scary stuff. ABC’s reporters try to reassure that, with the right preparation and positive determined attitude, we could be okay, but apparently, US is hardly ready (we haven’t stockpiled enough flu medication; there’s no heightened awareness/public education about how to prepare or what to do; clearly, San Fran’s in deep doo-doo; and, yeah, Times Square will be wiped out by the nukes – but NY’ers are hardy people – as if this city hasn’t seen enough disaster). Oh, well.

Registered NYC Democrats: did you vote today? It’s your civic duty. Really. But, an altogether odd primary election, I will say. Haven’t been entirely impressed by the candidates. But, I liked this article in the NY Times about the NYC electorate – Sam Roberts reports that NYC white population may very well be a voting minority (as well as population-wise minority) in today’s primary.

Today’s Democratic primary is the prelude to a potentially revolutionary turning point in New York City’s traditional tribal politics: In November, for the first time, non-Hispanic whites are projected to constitute a minority of the voters in a mayoral general election.

The impact of the shift, coupled with changes wrought by term limits and public campaign financing, is already apparent in the choices voters face today. Polls say the front-runner for the Democratic nomination is Fernando Ferrer, a Puerto Rican raised in the South Bronx. Among his three challengers is C. Virginia Fields, a black woman who grew up in the South. William C. Thompson Jr., who is seeking a second term as comptroller, is black. And dozens of black, Hispanic and Asian candidates are competing for borough presidencies and City Council seats.

But rather than guaranteeing minority domination of New York government, the demographic changes have just made the city’s politics more complex. A surge of new immigrants – many of them not bound, like their predecessors, to the Democratic Party – has so diversified black, Hispanic and Asian voters that some of the monolithic blocs and natural coalitions once taken for granted among those minority groups no longer apply.

Non-Hispanic whites became a minority of the city’s overall population in the 1980’s, but still made up a majority of voting-age citizens, registered voters and, according to exit polls and other surveys, New Yorkers who actually turned out on Election Day. It is estimated that non-Hispanic whites were 52 percent of the electorate in the 2001 mayoral race and 51 percent of the city’s voters in last year’s presidential election.

“This is the first election in New York City history where the majority is minority,” Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant, said. [….]

One sign of Hispanic ascendancy is that Rodriguez has now become the most common surname on New York’s voter registration rolls, according to an accounting by John H. Mollenkopf, director of the Center for Urban Research at the City University of New York Graduate Center [….]

Interesting stuff.

Just finished watching most of the series premiere of the FOX series, “Bones” (I say “most” because I got back from voting). The series brings Kathy Reichs‘ medical examiner Dr. Temperance Brennan to life. Brennan does autopsies for both the jurisdictions of North Carolina and Quebec, Canada, like the author Kathy Reichs herself.

I was a bit wary of this tv show. While I found the idea attractive, since American TV do not bring literary character to life too often, at least, not for tv series. But, the Brits do it much better, even if it means fiddling the tv character slightly – but no less interesting, since the character would still resemble his original book version – ex., Inspector Morse on tv is a whole lot like his book version, except with the sister and suicidal niece (which I don’t think were in the books). But, it’s not like the tv Morse can be shown cleverly doing crossword puzzles like his book version; some things just don’t translate as well on tv.

Another reason why I was wary about “Bones” – David Boreanaz (the former “Angel”). Hmm, I hoped he showed enough range. Not that he didn’t have range on “Angel,” but the character kind of had reason for range (umm, cursed to never have true happiness; doomed to be the Champion of the Good; losing everyone he loves; etc.).

“Bones” as a tv series seemed interesting – Dr. Brennan (played by Emily Deschanel) is assigned to the FBI in Washington, D.C. (not her North Carolina/Quebec jurisdictions) and writes mystery novels based on her work (like Kathy Reiches – talk about metatextual presentation!). She works with Seeley Boothe (played by Boreanaz), FBI agent/ex-army sniper. With obvious Mulder/Scully overtones (much too obvious), they solve a murder. Brennan, whom Boothe nicknames “Bones,” is overly rational and detached and yet solidly determined to shoot or kick someone in her way (hmm, Scully like, without the religious faith elements), whereas Boothe is the intuitive detective, who appreciates human nature (umm, sort of like Mulder, without the paranormal paranoia). Both are young and attractive and smart. Oh, and Brennan gets a young and bright team of forensic scientists, out of the NBC “Crossing Jordan” realm. Brennan lacks a bedside manner (like a female Dr. House). She just dumped a boyfriend, who accuses her of poor intimacy skills, but great in the area of sex.

Other than the forensic stuff, it doesn’t feel like the same Dr. Brennan of the books (okay, so I only read one or two, and it was awhile ago, but I always meant to read more later; I thought the Quebec stuff was interesting, but the North Carolina stuff not as interesting). Brennan there is older (middle-age-ish), having got over a previous marriage; has a college-age daughter; is called “Tempe” not “Bones” (the nickname “Bones” reminds me of “Bones” McCoy of “Star Trek”). Book Brennan also falls for a Montreal detective (who could pass for tv’s Boothe, barring the lack of age similarity). Just not the same thing. Oh, and they gave TV Brennan the obligatory Really Sad Past (her parents disappeared when she was 15, which is why she became this detached lunatic medical examiner).

The end of the episode (I’m not giving away the plot itself) was amusing. Apparently, Brennan had been trying to get Boothe open up to her about his army sniper past, but he’s a little pissed that she won’t reveal more of herself to him first. Finally, she discloses her pain of losing her parents, and he revealed that he, as an army sniper, killed a lot of people, so he’s trying to make up for that by catching killers. “Trying to even out the karmic balance sheet?” Brennan says (I’m paraphrasing – she did use the balance sheet term); Boothe smiles and concedes so. Umm, that whole I’m-trying-to-redeem-myself-for-the-guilt-of-my-past – that’s so Angel! 😉 For a guy who wants to move away from his vampire hero past, Boreanaz is still playing a certain kind of character. (well, I don’t expect his new character to start singing “Mandy” like Angel did).

“Bones” hit all the correct tv cues. Boothe’s FBI boss is played by the actor who played the “JAG” boss – is this actor forever typecasted as a Stern Authority Figure? (well, he has the look, so it happens, I guess). Boothe is missing more range (sorry, Boreanaz), but it’s only a series premiere, so more may come. Is it a must-see tv show yet? Well. I’ll reserve judgment.

Hmm. Well, so on Monday, the Senate began its hearings with Judge John Roberts. Apparently, it was all very well choreographed (article by Todd Purdum and Robin Toner). Judge Roberts had a lovely opening statement, Linda Greenhouse reports – befitting a brilliant appellate attorney. (seriously, he seemed very good, from what I’ve seen of the video clip of his speech – he obviously practiced a lot). But, as the NY Times’ Purdum and Toner article notes: “Senator Graham told Mr. Roberts: ‘You have been described as brilliant, talented and well qualified, and that’s by Democrats. The question is, is that enough in 2005 to get confirmed? Maybe not.’” Definitely interesting stuff.