Last night, Linda and I went to the Ethical Culture Center on 64th Street in NYC, and attended a NY Historical Society event that featured Professor Jeffrey Rosen of George Washington University and Frederick M. Lawrence, the new president of Brandeis University. As usual, the NY Historical Society presents an outstanding and informative program.

Professor Rosen is working on a new book about Justice Louis D. Brandeis, and he appeared with me on The Advocates on January 12, 2011. You can listen to that show by going to:
http://advocates-wvox.com/2011/01/12/the-courts-conservatism-and-the-tea-party-with-professor-jeffrey-rosen.aspx

I suggest that all of you that are interested in the Supreme Court get his book which is now in paperback. It is a terrific read!

He was a fierce advocate for workers’ rights, a pioneer in pro bono work by attorneys, and one of the most distinguished justices in the history of the United States Supreme Court. Louis D. Brandeis is a giant figure in American history and his influence can be felt beyond the realm of law. As a young lawyer and reformer, he was instrumental in the battles against monopolies and for minimum wage/maximum hour regulations for laborers, and was coauthor of “The Right to Privacy,” one of the most important law articles in history. As Associate Supreme Court Justice, he was a powerful—though often minority—voice in defense of civil liberties and his dissents paved the way for many future reforms. In this program, two speakers discuss Brandeis’s continued relevance and the impact of his life and work.

The drive up the old Taconic Parkway was smooth and uneventful, despite the heavy rains that inundated the Hudson Valley. The road that had been started in the 1920’s and repaired, and re-structured many times since, is not unlike most in New York State, it needs a great deal of work, in the wake of a difficult winter.

It would encompass almost forty years to finally finish this winding and picturesque road from the original parkway proposal by Taconic State Parkway Commission chair Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1925 to the completion of the of the final stretch, in Columbia County in 1963. The delays were due to the high priority needs of labor and material demanded by World War II. Throughout FDR’s two terms of governor and his presidency, his vision of the Taconic Parkway went from an idea, to a proposal, then to legislation, appropriation, to the design period and then construction.

In the same way that the Taconic Parkway is a testament to his foresight, vision, drive and determination that FDR possessed, it also foreshadows the great public works FDR, as the architect of the New Deal, would initiate.

Once I reached Route 9, the Albany Post Road, in the City of Poughkeepsie, it is a short uphill drive to Hyde Park, where FDR’s memory still casts his mighty shadow on almost everything from the post office he helped design to the Saint James Church where he prayed, was a vestryman, and where his parents are buried. All along the Albany Post Road, there are banners with his name leading to his father’s old estate, Springwood, where the big house still regally stands, his museum and library still functions and the relatively new Wallace welcoming center hosts tens of thousands of guests each year.

In the preface of his book, In the Shadow of FDR, the renowned historian, William E. Leuchtenburg, writes. “A ghost has inhabited the Oval Office since 1945 – the ghost of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR’s formidable presence has cast a large shadow on the occupants of that office in the years since his death, and an appreciation of his continuing influence is essential to understanding the contemporary presidency.” In the same way that FDR’s memory and shadow still dominates this Hudson River Valley village,

Every day in a thousand blogs, on the editorial pages of hundreds of newspapers and inside and outside the corridors of the Congress, the debate over the New Deal rages amongst the old New Deal liberals, the new proponents of social justice, the environmentalists, the deficit hawks and the revisionist lunatics of the radical right. Whether it is over investing in infrastructure, the rights of civil servants to collectively bargain, the future of United Nations, the Keynesian spending of the New Deal and today, the entitlement safety nets, or the rhetoric of the Tea Party heirs of Ronald Reagan, the philosophy, actions and legacy of FDR are still paramount in our political dialogue sixty-six years from the day of his death.

On that day in 1945 hundreds of thousands of mourners waved good-by to the 32nd President as his funeral train slowly made the three-day journey from his winter home in the hamlet of Warm Springs, Georgia, to the rolling hills of Dutchess County.

The Poughkeepsie Journal told of one local resident, Bernard Kessler, who was a young attorney in 1945, who attended the gravesite service. “It was a sad day for everyone,” he said, “They set up a stone there in the Rose Garden, Everything was beautifully laid out.”

The Journal told of some of the other residents who fathers were friends of the late president. Saul Kessler, Elmer Van Wagner Sr., and Harold and Rosabel Clay, to name a few, were also political supporters of Roosevelt.

Amongst, the local residents, The Journal reported that Elmer Van Wagner Jr., who is 75, remembers his father hearing the news of Roosevelt’s death. The elder Wagner was plowing the family farm, the Vanderbilt Estates, at the time.

Wagner said, “He got right off his tractor, got down on his knees and cried like a baby.” Another resident, Ann Dingee, who is now 79, of Hyde Park, vividly recalls the reaction of her mother Rosabel Clay, on learning of the president’s death. “All I remember is coming home and my mother screaming,” she said. “I remember that like it was yesterday.”

The actual funeral service took place at 10:34 am, with the Reverend Dr. W. George Anthony, the rector of Saint James Episcopal Church presiding and it lasted just seventeen minutes with howitzers in the distance and the roar of planes flying overhead in a farewell salute. At 10:51 an Army bugler played taps.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Tournament MVP Jabarie Hinds scored 31 points, including a breakaway dunk in overtime that helped seal the win, to lift Mount Vernon to a thrilling 84-78 victory in the Class AA final Sunday at the New York State Boys Basketball Federation Tournament of Champions.

Isaiah Cousins added 12 points for the Knights (19-5), including a key 3-pointer off the glass with less than a minute to play in regulation that momentarily put Mount Vernon in the lead.
Khalid Samuels added 21 points for Mount Vernon, which went 22-of-26 from the free-throw line, including 10-of-12 in overtime to put the game away.

Omar Calhoun scored 33 points, one shy of the tourney record, for the Lions (22-7), who were able to force overtime when Calhoun hit a 3-pointer from the right side with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter, tying it at 66-all.But Christ the King, which blew an early 10-point edge and a 33-28 halftime lead, never led in overtime. Chris Ortiz and Corey Edwards added 14 points apiece in the loss, as the Lions went just 24-of-37 from the free-throw line.

Mount Vernon had a chance to win in regulation, but Hinds’ fall-away jumper was off the mark in the final seconds and a pair of attempts by the Knights in the paint wouldn’t fall.
Six-time finalist Mount Vernon, representing the PHSAA out of Westchester County, got to the title with a 70-63 win over Boys and Girls in Saturday’s semifinal round.
Six-time finalist Christ the King, from Queens, represented the CHSAA.

Though many believe that this day is now officially named Presidents’ Day they are wrong. The law, HR 15951, which was signed in 1968, officially shifted Washington’s Birthday to the 3rd Monday in February. It came into affect on January 1, 1971, during the administration of the late and unlamented Richard Nixon, who named it Presidents’ Day. Well the official bill to change the name to Washington-Lincoln Day failed in Congress, and even though “Tricky Dickie” renamed it Presidents’ Day, the change was never signed into law.

In fact, there is no official way to even spell Presidents Day or Presidents’ Day. The only one clear fact is that under federal law it is still Washington’s Birthday and that only a handful of states have changed it to Presidents’ Day. Therefore, Washington’s Birthday, which was enacted as a federal holiday in 1880, in the District of Columbia, and was expanded to the nation in 1895, still remains. The holiday was first celebrated in 1796, the last year our first President was in office, but because when Washington was born, the old style calendar was in use, and many celebrated his birthday both on February 11th and February 22nd, the generally recognized birthday of the “Father of Our Country.” Aside from all of that this past Thursday was the 201st birthday of Abraham Lincoln and his birthday was never celebrated in any of the states south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

I am glad people still think seriously about the IQ and mental health of our leaders. It would surprise me greatly, and almost everyone else I have known, that George W. Bush was reported to have an IQ near JFK. If George W. Bush has IQ of 115 and that sounds reasonable, then Bill Clinton has one of 215. I know of no example that George W. Bush has ever read a book of any consequence and he was by all accounts a barely passing student in college (560 Verbal on his SATs and a legacy!). I do not know what his core curriculum was, or whether he just didn’t care, as many rich boys (and poor boys) don’t. But, all in all, it is the poor boys that must excel to succeed. Certainly Bill Clinton was a poor boy, and he excelled, was incredibly well read, and his language and overall skills reflected that intellect. Yes, he was flawed, like many of us.

But, all in all, good political leaders do not have to be intellects, and in a sense the public has a tendency to mistrust them. Certainly Stevenson was labeled an “egg head” and the country rejected him, by wide margins, over the affable, but non-intellectual Dwight Eisenhower, who favored Zane Grey western novels as a way to intellectually test his gray matter or just relax. He spent more days on vacation, and away from work then any President, except maybe Calvin Coolidge or GW Bush in his term up to 9/11.

Jack Kennedy was a bright, and talented young man, who had many more advantages then most of his presidential peers. His great communicative skills were not hurt by his Hollywood good looks, and he had terrific political instincts fostered by his close connection to world events and the political theater of his upbringing. FDR raised himself to be President in the model of his cousin TR, but JFK, after the death of his brother, was fast-tracked to the job by the incredible heavy-hitting Kennedy political machine. Despite his incredible advantages he still had to produce, and he was quite capable of reflecting those skills on all of his campaign venues. As President he was inexperienced, a bit too young, and therefore pushed around by his own Congress. In a potential second term he would have had a short window of opportunity to succeed before morphing into the traditional lame-duck status that befits presidential 2nd terms. Certainly Michael Dukakis, who was and is quite bright, suffered from some of the same fear that the public has of intellectual superiority. In the modern era, only Teddy Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, two true intellects, were elected to the Presidency. Few people saw TR as an intellect and he was elevated initially by violence, and not the direct will of the electorate. Ironically Wilson, former President of Princeton, an intellectual reformer, historian, and a writer, besides being the popular reform Governor of New Jersey, was elected as a true minority President, when his eventual political enemy, the former president, Teddy Roosevelt, split the vote in a three- way election.

So we do not have a long wonderful history of electing truly bright people. Maybe, in his own way, Nixon would be considered bright, a law school graduate from Duke, along with the highly educated and successful businessmen and engineers Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter. Certainly anyone smart enough to captain a nuclear submarine and to pass Admiral Hyman Rickover’s rigorous tests was no dope. But few give or gave him good marks as a President, and he was never perceived as an intellect. Most people saw him as a country-boy peanut farmer! William Howard Taft, our largest president was an educated man, a lawyer, territorial governor, a cabinet official and also a Supreme Court Justice. But no one accused him of being overly gifted as an intellect. Warren Harding was a handsome fellow, with an eye for the ladies, and a political hack, as was Gerald Ford. Harry S Truman, like Coolidge, Teddy Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson and Gerald Ford was elevated to the job and unlike those I just mentioned, did not attend college. But Truman, who was never thought of as an intellect, was certainly not a fool, and now is widely recognized as near-great President, but still an unpopular one. LBJ was a political animal with a minor college education, who was quite bright, and incredibly energetic and ambitious, but not an intellect either. Coolidge was a dour fellow who slept through most of his five years in the job and had little vision or transferable ideals. Reagan certainly would never be accused of being well educated or bright, and was at best a line-reciting puppet with a primitive understanding of almost anything. His familiarity with the scientific world was appalling and his total inability to react with a spontaneous thought was embarrassing. Again he never had high marks regarding his reputation of being well read or an intellect, but he was and remains popular. He certainly could deliver a quippish line and was well-liked as a genial non-malevolent soul. History may just flay him to shreds as he will probably fall significantly in the minds of future generations of historians. This recent meltdown of our financial system may relegate him as being a modern day Coolidge to Hoover. Of course no two circumstances in history are exactly the same.

Of course we are left with one President who has always confounded everyone. FDR, the most successful politician and statesman in the history of the western world, was not an intellect. Everyone remembers Oliver Wendell Holmes “supposed” remark that he (FDR) was “a second rate intellect, but (had) a first-class temperament.” (Denied by Oliver Wendell Holmes to his death!) According to Thomas Corcoran, his former and favorite clerk when he was on the Court, Holmes, when he met FDR at his home, confused him for a moment with his old rival Theodore Roosevelt. Holmes was thinking of TR has a “first rate-rate intellect with a second rate temperament.” Then in contemplation he reversed it with FDR. He never thought FDR was a “second-rate” intellect, but second to his 5th cousin!

FDR was reasonably better educated then most, and had very high communication skills. His great strength really resided in his exceptional “people” skills. He knew how to get good people to do good and loyal work. He engendered great loyalty and love from his staff, and even received grudgingly given respect from his political enemies. Even the Japanese, in the midst of the war and on the edge of defeat, offered moments of silence, over the radio, at the news of his death and recognized him as a “great” man. No man in history had the combination of domestic, worldwide and posthumous acclaim. He owned the office and almost no one, even his great and most vicious opponents, could discount his power and skills. In a sense, an eternally healthy FDR would have gone on and on. His supporters were never tired of him, and his opponents were plum worn out by his skills, charm and worldwide support. Today he remains an almost unchallenged icon, far above his contemporaries and all who have followed. Most collective memories of FDR are unique and reverential. Though he was secretive, at times vindictive, and often politically too bold, his legacy remains unprecedented and will continue to grow.

It is always cold in early February here in the northeast. Up here on Watch Hill, which looks down on the wide, frozen Hudson River, it can be especially windy and bone chilling in the winter.
In the Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, a date between January 21 and February 20. This means that the holiday usually falls on the second (or in very rare cases third) new moon after the winter solstice. In traditional Chinese Culture, lichun is a solar term marking the start of spring, which occurs about February 4.

Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac, there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart.

The Chinese character for “Yin Earth” represents a field or a garden. It is associated with the quality of moderate, peaceful, intellectual, charming and charitable kind of person. People born in a day of “Yin Earth” are often moderate and harmonious and slim.

On the Western calendar, the start of the New Year falls on Thursday, February 3, 2011 — The Year of the Rabbit. If you were born in 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, or 2011 – you were born under the sign of the rabbit. Like the rabbit, you are one of cuddliest & sweetest creatures in the Chinese zodiac. Although considered somewhat timid by more dynamic signs, you are wise and cautious, and know better than to jump into any situation without thinking! Tactful, considerate, and popular with a wide circle of friends and family, luck just seems to come to you unbidden.

For the rabbit in 2011, any recent setbacks or obstacles can be overcome, so look forward to a Year in which to really shine, either personally or professionally. Some of the famous people born under the Sign of the Rabbit include Albert Einstein, Frank Sinatra, Pope Benedict XVI, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and David Beckham.

Meanwhile, many confuse their Chinese birth-year with their Gregorian birth-year. As the Chinese New Year starts in late January to mid-February, the Chinese year dates from January 1 until that day in the new Gregorian year remain unchanged from the previous Gregorian year. For example, the 1989 year of the snake began on February 6, 1989. The year 1990 is considered by some people to be the year of the horse. However, the 1989 year of the snake officially ended on January 26, 1990. This means that anyone born from January 1 to January 25, 1990, was actually born in the year of the snake rather than the year of the horse. Many online Chinese Sign calculators do not account for the non-alignment of the two calendars, using Gregorian-calendar years rather than official Chinese New Year dates.
Traditionally the color red is worn on and during the Chinese New Year to scare away evil spirits and bad fortunes. Red is a bright and happy festive color, which is sure to help bring the wearer a sunny bright future. It is considered lucky to hear a songbird or a swallow or a red-colored bird. One should not greet a person in their bedroom, and therefore even the sick should be dressed and be seated in the living room. The use of knives and scissors should be avoided because their use may cut off good fortune. No borrowing or lending should be done on the New Year and the use of off-colored language is strictly forbidden. Good luck is encouraged, by opening doors, windows, switching on lights at night to scare away ghosts and spirits, and candy is eaten to insure a “sweet year.” One also will avoid bad luck by not buying shoes, pants or having a haircut. It is said that on the first day of the New Year one should not sweep the floors or buy any books!

According to custom, the entire house should be cleaned before New Year’s Day. On the eve of the New Year’s all cleaning equipment should be stored away. Shooting off firecrackers on New Year’s Eve is the Chinese way of sending out the old year and bringing on the new. One should open all their doors in windows to allow the old year to escape forever. If one cries on New Year, they could be cursed to cry throughout the year.

Despite all of these forebodings, we did celebrate another edition of our annual Chinese New Year’s fandango. We supplied the Tsing Tao Chinese beer, other soft drinks and libations. This year Linda made chicken, sweet and sour meatballs, oriental cole slaw and fruit salad. We also supplied egg rolls and fried won tons.

In keeping with the red theme of the holiday, we had red and white plastic plates, cups and plastic utensils made setting up and clean up very easy!! In order to further the holiday atmosphere, we festooned our home with our usual Chinese decorations purchased in Chinatown for our first party.

Because of the threat of icy roads, and other commitments, our mix was a bit different and smaller this year. Guy Fairstein was a newcomer this year, but because of the weather his wife Marissa extended her stay with her grandchildren in NJ. Guy dressed in red from his shirt to his pajama bottoms to his socks. He definitely heeded our request to dress in red. He brought beef with string beans. Sol Haber made his 6th straight appearance, but his wife Linda was off in the warmer climes of Florida with her ailing mother. Linda was going to bring an Asian salad, and we sure hope she will join us next year with Sol and her salad! John and Eileen Berenyi, who brought fresh pineapples, made their 4th visit along with Neil and Laura Goldstein, who contributed egg rolls. Ron and Diona Koerner, after a one year hiatus returned to our party for the 6th time, brought stir-fried veggies. Diona just returned from a National Geographic cruise to Antarctica.

Abby and Jeff Kurnit, who made their 6th visit in seven years, brought Abby’s homemade and delicious fried rice. In years past they brought our old friend Robin Lyons, who also lives in White Plains, but she was off in Princeton, NJ with her grandchildren. Bob Schulman and Corinne Levy made their 4th visit, and they brought Chinese dumplings. Bob and Corinne are off to Boca Raton for a month, and they hope to avoid the rest of the cold weather up here. Leslie Morioka, a Barnard friend of Linda’s, after missing last years gathering, made her 4th visit and brought scallion pancakes. Jeff Tannenbaum and Rosalie Siegel, Linda’s Barnard apartment mate, joined us for their 4th time and brought sesame noodles, and some much appreciated books on FDR and the Kennedys. My friend Rose Uzzo, not only brought string beans, fresh whole oranges and chicken cutlets but brought one of her friends who is going off to China to become the headmaster of a school not far from Shanghai. This is Rose’s 3rd visit, and it is the 2nd time that she has brought someone to talk about China. Finally we welcomed Town Supervisor Paul Feiner and his wife Sherrie Brown, who made their 6th visit over the past seven years, and they brought grapes for dessert. After six straight Chinese New Year appearances, Warren and Mary Adis could not attend, because they are spending Warren’s sabbatical year in Israel. Hopefully, they will have some great stories and photos for us upon their return this summer.

Finally after four hours of culinary debauchery and stimulating conversation, the party ended, and everyone escaped into the chilly night air. Thanks to the generosity of our neighbor, we had loads of room in our combined driveways, and the parking was not too difficult this year. How much pleasanter would this be if the New Year were celebrated in the summer!!

By the way, “Happy New Year” is conventionally thought to mean in Cantonese, Gung hei fat choi. But that really means, “Congratulations and be prosperous.” In reality the Cantonese saying for “Happy New Year” is Sun nin fai lok. So either way, thanks for coming, we had a great time, and let’s look forward to a better year than the last!