The Rest of Everything Archives - Page 41 of 56

Cuba

December 18, 2014

Cuba! It’s certainly a touchy topic, but it’s no longer ignorable, or a topic which can wait. So, I’m all in here.

Formal relations with Cuba do not exist. The signal feature of the relationship, however, is the embargo on trade. The embargo had as its purpose forcing Fidel Castro and his Communist regime from power. It began on October 19, 1960, under President Dwight Eisenhower. It has lasted for more than 54 years, albeit with many exceptions. (Several MRW readers have been to Cuba in the recent past, traveling from Miami on cultural exchanges.) Ten successors to President Eisenhower—Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama—have come and, excepting President Obama, gone. And the Castro brothers,

Barack Obama, Cuba, Dwight Eisenhower, embargo, Fidel Castro, John McCain, Rand Paul, Raul Castro, Ted Cruz

The Rest of Everything

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Holiday Hodgepodge

December 13, 2014

Mark Rubin

It’s holiday hodgepodge time! TBT, this is very much a free-association post, and for careful readers there might be brain mapping—watching my brain bounce arounds—and baking opportunities.

Let’s start with Hanukkah aka Chanukah, etc. (Joe Maller offers Sixteen Ways to Spell Hanukkah.) It starts at Sundown on Tuesday. The holiday has limited significance in the Jewish religion. It’s a historical holiday, coming after the Torah was written, and definitely matters in the USA because of Christmas.

Robert Siegel offered up a report on Hanukkah on Friday, December 12. Hanukkah’s Real (And Imagined) History features Simon Schama, author of The Story of the Jews, with important reporting on the Hanukkah story. Say it ain’t so, Simon!

The holiday season

Better Living Through Chemistry, casablanca, Chanukah, Chocolate Whisky Cake, fruitcake, Hanukkah, NPR, Panettone, Robert Siegel, Schama, Stollen, Zingerman's

Food, The Rest of Everything

Chicken Hawks and Blowhards!

December 13, 2014

Mark Rubin

The War Hero and the Chicken Hawk appeared on my screen early Tuesday morning. Written by Timothy Egan for the New York Times, it is—in the word of Mona Lisa Vito (Lisa Tomei) in My Cousin Vinny—“dead on balls accurate” in explaining why, on torture, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) is right, and former Vice President Richard Cheney is not.

About chicken hawks. There are three conditions for being one: 1. You had a chance to fight; 2. You did not fight; and 3. You’ve never met a war you did not think America should fight. Famous chicken hawks include … gee, so little space, so little time. No, seriously, The New Hampshire Gazette offers up the Chickenhawk Hall of

blowhard, Bush, Cheney, chicken hawk, Kerry, McCain, McGovern, Nixon, Theodore Roosevelt, war

The Rest of Everything

2 Comments

Chinese Food-Gate

December 11, 2014

Mark Rubin

Chinese Food-Gate has hit the Internet. Here are the facts, more or less:

Ben Edelman teaches at the Harvard Business School. He has a degree from Harvard Law School and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

Sichuan Garden is a Boston-area Chinese restaurant with a location in Woburn. The manager—who may also be an owner—is Ran Duan.

Professor Edelman bought Chinese food from Sichuan Garden. He—and others—enjoyed the food. However, he noted a $1.00 per item discrepancy per dish, between website pricing and actual prices.

Professor Edelman sought a refund, and wanted treble damages pursuant to Part I (Administration of the Government), Title XV (Regulation of Trade), Section 9 (Civil actions and remedies; class action; demand for relief;

attorneys, Ben Edelman, Harvard, overcharging, Sichuan Garden

The Rest of Everything

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Casablanca, Meet The New Republic!

December 6, 2014

Mark Rubin

Getting ready to leave Casablanca (one way or another, and with a companion to be named later), Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) makes a deal with Signor Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet) to sell Rick’s Café Américain. Sam the piano player (Dooley Wilson) and others have to keep their jobs, however. The deal gets done, with Ferrari noting to Mr. Blaine that “Rick’s wouldn’t be Rick’s without them.”

I thought about that scene when I read Facebook Prince Purges The New Republic: Inside the Destruction of a 100-Year-Old Magazine by Lloyd Grove for The Daily Beast. I also heard about the changes from my friend Sam Kleiner, who writes wrote for the magazine, and read Huge Shakeup at The New Republic: What

casablanca, jeffrey rosen, the new republic

The Rest of Everything

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Race

December 6, 2014

Mark Rubin

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar captured my attention recently. He’s the greatest basketball player, ever—yes, I’ll make the case, and I do welcome disagreements, really—but I noticed him because of his exceptional clarity about race in some recent writing.

About basketball. Kareem Adbul-Jabbar played college ball at UCLA as Lew Alcindor. As a professional he played for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers.

When Lew Alcindor arrived at UCLA, freshman did not play varsity basketball. UCLA had won national championships in 1964 and 1965. On November 27, 1965 the UCLA freshman played the defending two-time national champion varsity team. The freshman, led by Mr. Alcindor, won by 15. During Mr. Alcindor’s three years on the varsity team UCLA lost only two

basketball, class, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, race

The Rest of Everything

6 Comments

250 Posts for Mark Rubin Writes!

November 29, 2014

Mark Rubin

Two hundred and fifty posts! (If you count up, you’ll see more than 250 posts. Some pre-date Mark Rubin Writes, while others are non-substantive, like this one.)

I’m delighted! I hope you have enjoyed reading my writing. Honestly, almost every moment of the writing has been truly pleasurable. I’m thrilled by every comment I receive: those which are posted here and on Facebook; and the ones I receive by email, by phone, or in person. I even get a kick out of the Google and Facebook analytics, telling me 2, 3, or 10 more people have read or liked a piece since the last time I checked.

Milestones are funny things; they have proved to me that we live

Food, The Rest of Everything

2 Comments

Ferguson

November 29, 2014

Mark Rubin

The death in Ferguson was a tragedy! No matter where you stand on race, guns, law enforcement, etc., someone died.

Responsibility will not be determined in a state court criminal proceeding. The “no indictment” decision resolved that. Stay tuned, though, for a civil suit and, maybe, action in federal court under civil rights laws. Regardless, Michael Brown died, which is why Officer Darren Wilson’s answers to George Stephanopoulos’s questions bother me so much. Officer Wilson told Mr. Stephanopoulos, repeatedly, that there was nothing he would have done differently, and that the killing did not haunt him. Really? If I played a role in someone’s death I cannot imagine not questioning my options and actions forever. Forever!

I’m not discussing the

conflict of interest, ER 1.7, Ferguson, McCulloch

Law, The Rest of Everything

2 Comments

Attorneys: A Positive Pitch

November 27, 2014

Mark Rubin

I took an oath on October 17, 1981 in Gammage Memorial Auditorium at Arizona State University, Frank Lloyd Wright’s last public building, and an amazing space. On that day, 12,904 days ago, I became a member of the State Bar of Arizona. (Quick aside: Standing just ahead of me—and a stranger then—was future friend, law partner, and Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild.)

The swearing-in ceremony was a big deal, like graduating from college and law school. Nice clothes, lots of hugs, and a good lunch at Oscar Taylor’s, back when a brick of onion rings seems like the height of haute cuisine.

What the ceremony really imparted, though, was a sense of professionalism. There were speakers and an oath-taking.

attorney, nonprofits, Tucson

Law, The Rest of Everything

2 Comments

Market-Based Health Care

November 22, 2014

Mark Rubin

I am not an economist … but I am a sentient being and I buy stuff, so I know something about markets! And when I hear paeans to “market-based health care” I get cranky. Really cranky!

Let’s get some terms straight. Markets exist to buy and sell goods and services. Someone sets a price, and negotiations may or may not occur. At Safeway you pay $3.49 for a box of cookies; at the Ford dealership you expect to pay a negotiated sum for that new F-150.

Fair market value represents the result of a market based exchange. I’ll spare you the fancy definition, which boils down to: Willing buyer and seller; acting freely; with reasonable knowledge.

Safeway willingly sells

The Rest of Everything

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