Steve Kelman on Politics, Culture, and Life, 2.23.23
Steve Kelman, Harvard Kennedy School prof, moderate Dem, pro free speech/anti cancel culture, pro tax rich, pro-Israel. Research improving gov performance, China interest. Blog reprints Facebook posts
Killers in Florida
The wonderful Miami Herald columnist Fabiola Santiago has a superb piece today on DeSantis effort to legalize concealed carry in the state. "Yes, we do have it all in our trigger-happy state, the cozy home of the infamous neighborhood watchman who shot and killed a 17-year old teen walking home with candy and soda in his pocket, and got away with murder."
Chinese students suing in court to try to overturn discipline
Fascinating story from China: two students at the prestigious Tsinghua University who were disciplined for distributing rainbow flags have now sued in court to have the discipline overturned. WOW.
Biden and Zelensky
A Chinese friend posted on WeChat a picture of Biden with Zelensky, with a caption "great."
Queer and gay
I was somewhat surprised to see the phrase "queer rights" used in a story in the Times today, rather than "homosexual" or "gay." ALSO, could someone help an out-of-it old guy: what (if anything) is the difference between gay and queer?
Another factoid: the same story reports that Christian conservatives in KOREA have persuaded libraries to remove books with transgender themes. And remember that drag story hours have been an issue in Sweden. Amazing US cultural influence on the world.
The origin of the Anti-Defamation League against antisemitism
I'm starting a book on how Jews in Los Angeles fought the Nazis in the thirties and forties. At the beginning of the book it is mentioned that the murder of Leo Frank, a Jew who was head of the Atlanta B'nai Brith, and was wrongly convicted of killing a 13-year old girl and then lynched, led to the establishment of the Anti-defamation League (ADL), an organization originally founded to fight anti-Semitism but that expanded its activities over the years to fight against prejudice of all sorts. When I was a boy, my dad, an immigrant from Austria and refugee from the Nazis, was very active in the ADL on Long Island, where we lived. He was away many nights after dinner for meetings with the organization, a strong memory of my childhood.
The writer Joe Klein on racism
I agree with this statement that Joe Klein just posted: "those who believe racism has defined America are living in bizarro world—which is to say, too often, leftist academia. Democracy has defined America, with all its flaws and glories. Diversity—e pluribus unum—has defined America. The past 50 years, in particular, have seen unprecedented human rights progress—the growth of a substantial black middle and professional class (as well as historic progress for women, the gay community and Latinos)." How do others react?
Punishment in Saudi Arabia
The Times reports that a 72-year-old Saudi retired product manager living in Florida was arrested on arriving on a visit to Saudi Arabia for some tweets a number of years ago. He was sentenced to 16 years in jail. When he appealed the sentence, it was increased to 19 years. WOW!
A PhD student in the West was sentenced to over 30 years in jail for retweeting anti-government tweets.
The mayors of the four largest cities in the US
The mayors of the four largest cities in the US are all black. The New York Times has an article today about their working together. They are the children of a single mother who cleaned homes. a postal service letter carrier, a nurse’s aide on the night shift, a painter and a maid
How long did people live in colonial America?
Many of the figures I am reading about in the book about Samuel Adams seem to have all died in their fifties or even their forties.