Proud Jews Are Not Welcome at Utah Jazz Games

On Monday night, four rabbis attending a Utah Jazz game were told by team officials to remove signs which read, "I'm a Jew and I'm proud."

The Jazz claim the signs violate the team's audience code of conduct because it prevented the game from being played "without distraction or disturbance." Utah was hosting the Dallas Mavericks. Kyrie Irving, known for his virulent anti-Semitism, complained about the signs which prompted the Jazz to admonish the rabbis. However, for his part, a representative for Irving said he did not complain about the signs.

I'm buying neither the Jazz's explanation nor that of Irving.

Had there been signs which read, "I'm a Muslim and I'm proud," would the team have asked patrons to remove them?

Had there been signs which read, "I'm African American and I'm proud," would the team have asked patrons to remove them?

Had there been signs which read, "I'm LGBTQ and I'm proud," would the team have asked patrons to remove them?

Considering that this took place in Salt Lake City, had there been signs which read, "I'm Mormon and I'm proud," would the team have asked patrons to remove them?

The answer is no on all counts.

Except when it comes to Jews. 

Shame on the Utah Jazz for kowtowing to anti-Semitism and contributing to its normalization of it as acceptable behavior in American society.

Trump's Businesses Received Nearly $8 Million From Foreign Governments Including China While He Was President

A report released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee revealed defeated, former President Trump made nearly $8 million from foreign governments while he was in the Oval Office. An estimated $5.5 million came from the Chinese government alone. 

This is a clear violation of Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution known as the Foreign Emoluments Clause:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Donald Trump, holding the office of President of the United States, accepted emoluments from foreign states without the consent of Congress.

Alas, Republicans have long since ceased to care about the Constitution. To them, we are no longer a nation of laws, but rather a nation of men. The law applies to some, but not to others.

Enter House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer who said in response to the report, "It's beyond parody that Democrats continue their obsession with former President Donald Trump. Former President Trump has legitimate businesses but the Bidens do not."

Mind you, this is the same James Comer who has for months been obsessed with impeaching President Biden and has launched an impeachment inquiry which can be generously described as a parody. Comer objects to Biden being reimbursed slightly over $4,000 for son Hunter's truck payments while he was a private citizen. But Comer is undeterred in his idiocy:

There is now a pattern of members of the Biden family using their bank accounts that have been funded by Chinese and other foreign entities to send money to Joe Biden. Based on witness testimony, Joe Biden knew and participated in his family’s influence peddling schemes. The checks and payments we’ve uncovered reveal Joe Biden benefited from them.

So, to be clear, Comer is perfectly OK with foreign entities sending money to Donald Trump's businesses while he was President of the United States, but Joe Biden loaning his son money to buy a truck and being paid back for that loan while he was a private citizen is an impeachable offense.  

This goes a very long way in explaining our sorry state of affairs.

Five Thoughts on Claudine Gay's Resignation as Harvard President

This afternoon Claudine Gay announced her resignation as President of Harvard University after just over six months on the job. 

Here are five thoughts.

First, I believe Gay stepped down over allegations concerning plagiarism rather than her response to campus anti-Semitism as suggested by Bess Levin at Vanity Fair including her infamous testimony on Capitol Hill. Had there been no accusations of plagiarism I believe Gay would still be on the job. When former President Obama intervened to save her job last month, I wrote:

However, if Gay does resign it will not be because of her tolerance of anti-Semitism, but because the plagiarism accusations keep piling up. Even former President Obama's word only goes so far.

And the hits just kept coming. 

Second, in her resignation statement, Gay played the race card:

It has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor — two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am — and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.

Last I checked both former UPenn President Liz Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth are white. Kornbluth is also Jewish. The calls for their resignation had nothing to do with race let alone gender. 

Third, with that said, I don't think Kornbluth is going to resign despite Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman's turning his attention to her following Gay's announcement. Ackman took to X and asked, "Et tu, Sally?" Ackman, a Harvard alumnus, had been among the leading voices demanding Gay's resignation.

The reason I don't think Kornbluth is going anywhere is because MIT is fine with anti-Semitism just as is the case at Harvard. The only way Kornbluth steps down is if there is some other scandal involving her be it plagiarism, financial improprieties or scandal involving sexual assault and/or race/gender/sexual orientation bias. As for anti-Semitism, the only way I see that costing Kornbluth her job is if such an incident results in the death of a Jewish student or students. Yes, I think someone has to die before Kornbluth is held answerable for campus anti-Semitism and even then, I don't think it is guaranteed.

Fourth, as was the case with Liz Magill, while Gay had to go, I don't think her successor will be any more inclined to combat campus anti-Semitism. As I wrote following Magill's resignation:

As ineffectual as Magill's leadership was on the question of anti-Semitism, the fact remains that anti-Semitism on university campuses in this country run far deeper than Liz Magill or for that matter Claudine Gay at Harvard and Sally Kornbluth at MIT. While Magill's resignation is warranted that alone won't solve the problem as anti-Semitism is seeped into academia. 

In order to counter this culture, UPenn would need to name a President from outside academia to shake things up. The same would be true should Gay and Kornbluth step down at Harvard and MIT, respectively. Naturally, there is no guarantee this will come to pass.

Even if UPenn does have a successful change in leadership, the level of anti-Semitic indoctrination absorbed by students will take years to deprogram. 

Which brings me to my fifth and final thought on the subject. The Harvard Crimson editorial page vehemently opposed Gay's resignation on the grounds that it was "a national outrage manufactured by conservative activists intent on discrediting higher education." So even though Gay couldn't publicly bring herself to say genocidal threats against Jewish students violated Harvard's code of conduct and there were legitimate grounds to question Gay's scholarship, it is dismissed as something invented out of whole cloth by conservatives and thus there is no need to seriously address the matter. 

Although I have plenty of issues with conservatives such as New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik who has been doing her happy dance in the wake of Gay's resignation, this is most certainly not a manufactured crisis. Unfortunately, as long as those at Harvard (and at other institutions) insist this is a manufactured crisis invented by conservatives then campus anti-Semitism will continue to be tolerated and will thrive while plagiarism will be something at which to look the other way.

2023 Was Mostly Good, But Two Things Worry Me About 2024

When I wrote my year end dispatch for 2022, I declared it may have been the best year of my life. 

In so doing, I set myself a high bar. With just under 6 hours remaining in 2023, I can say that the past 12 months were mostly good. I am still where I want to be in my travails in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville and occasionally beyond. Aside from several trips to New York to see my Dad (as well as my older brother Ezra back in July), I also ventured out to Western Massachusetts to see June Millington play at a club in Amherst and stayed at an AirBnB for the very first time.

In 2023, I began posting #AaronsSongofTheDay2023 on my Facebook page. Today, I posted The Pointer Sisters' cover of Allen Toussaint's "Yes We Can Can" in honor of the anniversary of Anita Pointer's passing. I plan to continue sharing more songs with #AaronsSongofTheDay2024 beginning tomorrow.

My employment situation remains very good, and I come and go as I please - although sometimes I don't have as much access to the kitchen as I would like. Fortunately, there are restaurants within a stone's throw of home. There are annoyances but they are easy enough to navigate.

I did have a significant health scare with a kidney stone which required 4 ER visits and 2 surgeries which took up late October and most of November. Most of that is behind me save for some post-op follow ups and, of course, the bills. Fortunately, I had a fair amount of OT in December and expect this to resume in mid-January. 

However, going into 2024, there are two things which worry me greatly - the future of American democracy and anti-Semitism in America. I did touch on these concerns a year ago:

Then there are concerns over the future of American democracy and the rising acceptance of anti-Semitism in this country. Sadly, these two things go hand in hand. 

While American voters denied Republicans a red wave in part over their insistence about overturning elections, we must remember a majority of Republicans led by defeated former President Trump insist on overturning elections. There are also a growing number of Americans of both right-wing and left-wing persuasion who while condemning anti-Semitism among their adversaries are willing to tolerate anti-Semitism among their own ranks. 

A year later, my concerns have grown exponentially on both fronts.

First, let's address the future of American democracy. Of course, much of this concern centers around defeated, former President Donald Trump. During 2023, Trump was indicted on 91 state and federal charges pertaining to his business practices in New York, withholding and refusing to return top secret classified documents, his role in inciting an insurrection on January 6, 2021 to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as well as his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. 

Despite all of these things, Trump will become the Republican presidential nominee barring death and even that might not be enough. On top of this, it is more than plausible the American electorate will see fit to return him to office despite his unlawful behavior and his stated desire to adopt an authoritarian style of governance. Should this come to pass then we will deserve everything that is coming to us. The only people not deserving of this fate are the children who had no say in the matter.

There is a more frightening scenario. President Biden wins as he did in 2020, but if there is a Republican controlled House or Senate, I do not see those bodies certifying Biden's victory as they would make unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. This would throw the election with the House of Representatives. Even if Democrats were to take control of Congress, the majority of state delegations would likely remain under Republican control thus returning the nuclear codes to Trump. In this case, we would not have ourselves to blame as the will of the voters would be expressly denied.

Whatever the circumstances which could lead Trump returning to the White House on January 20, 2025, I believe he would invoke the Insurrection Act to impose martial law, rule by decree and suspend the U.S. Constitution. Such decrees would likely outlaw demonstrations and organizations perceived to be disloyal to Trump, a purge of civil servants, a shuttering of media outlets perceived as being disloyal to Trump and arbitrary detention and imprisonment of his critics real and imagined. I can easily envision a scenario in which during a State of the Union address, Trump takes a page out of Saddam Hussein's book and declares members of Congress, the military and the Supreme Court to be traitors and they are escorted out of the chamber forcibly and summarily executed.

Under such conditions, some might be tempted to move to Canada. Well, it is entirely possible Trump could see fit to restrict the movement of Americans in traveling aboard or even domestically. But even if that doesn't come to pass there is no guarantee Canada would be a safe haven. Because if the United States embraces authoritarianism, then other democratic countries will likely follow suit. It is quite plausible that Canadians would elect a Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre who has embraced an authoritarian populism of his own. In Europe, there are already hard right governments in Hungary, Italy and possibly in The Netherlands. I believe that it is more than likely the French will elect Marine Le Pen as President come 2027. 

To some degree, I can understand why voters would abandon democracy for authoritarianism. Those who have lived in democracies their whole lives and are unhappy with their lot are susceptible to the lure of the easy answers of authoritarianism. Of course, easy answers are invariably the wrong answers. But once a country embraces authoritarianism, it is very difficult, if not impossible to go back to democracy. Not without bloodshed. Authoritarians do not voluntarily relinquish power. Contrary to Trump's claims, no dictatorship has lasted only a single day.

So, what if we re-elect Biden and his victory is certified? Obviously, this would be the best-case scenario. But while Trump might be defeated yet again, Trumpism won't be. So long as Trump continues to question the legitimacy of those who dare to reject him, then the Republican Party will go along with him. Nor do I think Trumpism will die when Trump does. From where I stand, Vivek Ramaswamy isn't running for the GOP nomination to defeat Trump but to be his heir apparent. And who will be President Biden's heir apparent?

As gravely concerned as I am about the 2024 election and the future of American democracy, I am even more concerned about anti-Semitism in America. 2023 will be the year that anti-Semitism came out in the open in this country. The Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7th ought to have resulted in sympathy for Israel and solidarity with Jews. While this is true for a majority of Americans, there is a critical mass in this country which openly celebrated the attacks placing the blame squarely on Israel not only absolving Hamas but championing their genocidal objectives.

While pro-Hamas demonstrators blockade highways leading to airports, disrupt the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and even killing a pro-Israel activist near Los Angeles, Jews must meet in secret to discuss how to combat anti-Semitism. This does not bode well for the future of American Jewry, and I believe things will get a lot worse before they get better.

And by the time things do get better there might be another Holocaust. I have long believed that as Holocaust survivors died and with fewer first-hand accounts of what happened there would be a resurgence in anti-Semitism leading to the subjugation of Jews in the course of making another attempt to eliminate us from the face of the Earth. I believe this campaign is now underway. 

Don't get me wrong. My life is good right now. But life is fragile as the COVID pandemic demonstrated. I survived it, but millions of others did not. The state of American democracy and anti-Semitism in America make for a fragile existence. Both of these matters, especially the latter, could disrupt and possibly end my life. Perhaps not in 2024. But perhaps far sooner than later.

With that, since the kitchen is occupied, I should probably go out and grab myself some dinner. Tomorrow, I shall begin 2024 with a laugh as I meet up with my old friend Christopher Kain to watch 7 hours' worth of Marx Brothers movies. Well, I got to start 2024 somewhere and enjoy it while I can.

Red Sox Deal Chris Sale To Braves

In a move out of left field, the Boston Red Sox have traded pitcher Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves for infield prospect Vaughan Grissom. 

Sale, a first round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2010, was at one time one of the premier pitchers in the AL. After spending 2010 and 2011 as a reliever, the southpaw became a starter in 2012 and for the next 7 seasons was a perennial AL All-Star and Cy Young contender although he never won the award. 

Between 2012 and 2018, Sale went 99-59 with a 2.91 ERA fanning 1678 batters with only 300 walks in 1388 innings pitched. Prior to the 2017 season, Sale changed Sox going from Chicago to Boston in a trade for four players including pitcher Michael Kopech and infielder Yoan Moncada. In 2017, Sale had his finest season on the mound going 17-8 with a 2.90 striking out a league leading 308 batters in 214.1 innings pitched and finishing runner up to Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians in AL Cy Young balloting. In 2018, Sale would earn a World Series with the Bosox.

However, Sale's fortunes have declined since 2019. Prior to that season, Sale signed a five-year, $145 million contract extension through the 2024 season with a vesting option for 2025. Between 2019 and 2023, Sale only made 56 starts going 17-18 with a 4.16 ERA although he did fan 400 batters while walking only 79 in 298.1 innings pitched. Sale would miss the entire COVID shortened 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery.

In the grand scheme of things, this is probably a beneficial trade for both ballclubs. Sale enters 2024 with a career record of 120-80 with a 3.10 ERA along with 2189 strikeouts and only 416 walks in 1780.2 innings pitched. Sale, who turns 35 in March, joins a Braves rotation which includes 20-game winner Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, Max Fried and 40-year-old Charlie Morton. As such, Sale is not expected to be the ace of the staff. If Sale can pitch 150 innings and win 10 games, the Braves would be very happy with that indeed.

As for Vaughan Grissom, he is expected to become the Red Sox second baseman of the future. Ozzie Albies is ensconced at second base in Atlanta. Grissom, who turns 23 on January 5th, can also play shortstop but so can Orlando Arcia. He saw limited action with the Braves in 2022 and 2023 with 64 games played in which he collected 62 hits for .287 batting average with 5 HR and 27 RBI. In Boston, Grissom will get to play every day. But like any prospect, Grissom is yet to be tested so the Red Sox are assuming the greater risk.

The trade of Sale comes a day after the Red Sox signed veteran free agent pitcher Lucas Giolito. The Craig Breslow era is looking interesting.

Still, it is sad to see Sale sail away.

Frank Thomas Puts a Big Hurt on Fox News

Everybody makes mistakes. However, some are more prone to them than others. Exhibit A: Fox News. 

Now some of their mistakes are deliberate such as the ones they uttered about Dominion Voting Systems which cost them $787 million.

But others are just plain careless owing to a lack of diligence.

Enter Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas.

Yesterday, FOX News included Thomas in a year end "In Memoriam" segment on "The Faulkner Focus". 

The problem is they had the wrong Frank Thomas. 

The baseball playing Frank Thomas who died this year is not a Hall of Famer, but rather played 16 seasons during the 1950s and 1960s with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. That Frank Thomas earned three NL All-Star appearances with the Pirates in 1954, 1955 and 1958. Thomas would finish fourth in NL MVP balloting in 1958. This Frank Thomas died last January at the age of 93. 

However, Hall of Famer Frank Thomas is alive, well and rightly pissed off with Fox News. Thomas took to X to state:

Ladies and Gentlemen I’m very sorry my ex-employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning. Yes I’m alive and doing well. This blows my mind also.

That's right!!! Thomas, 55, worked for Fox Sports from 2014 to 2022 before joining Apple TV + in 2023.

Thomas, who was known as The Big Hurt, played in MLB from 1990 through 2008 primarily with the Chicago White Sox where he earned back-to-back AL MVPs in 1993 and 1994. He also played with the Oakland A's and the Toronto Blue Jays. In 19 seasons, Thomas had a lifetime batting average of .301 with 521 HR and 1704 RBI. Thomas was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2014 with 83.7% of the vote.

Frank Thomas is a Hall of Famer. Fox News are Hall of Shamers.

Lucas Giolito Joins Red Sox With His Career at a Crossroads

Veteran right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito has reportedly signed a two-year contract with the Boston Red Sox for $38.5 million.

Giolito, 29, could opt out of the contract following the 2024 season and elect free agency. There is also a possibility a one-year option could be exercised for the 2026 season depending on how many innings he tosses in 2025. 

I think Giolito is at a career crossroads. There was a time when Giolito looked like he could be one of the elite pitchers of his era. Originally, a first-round draft pick of the Washington Nationals out of high school in 2012, Giolito made his MLB debut with the Nats in the 2016 season. 

Prior to the 2017 season, Giolito was one of three players sent to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for outfielder Adam Eaton. In his first full season in the bigs in 2018, Giolito posted a ghastly 6.18 ERA and led the AL in earned runs (118) in walks (90). But Giolito would turn his fortunes around in 2019 posting a 14-9 record and a 3.41 ERA along with a career high 228 strikeouts in 176.2 inning pitched. Giolito led the AL in complete games (3) and shutouts (2) finishing sixth in AL Cy Young balloting earning his lone AL All-Star appearance. 

He would become a mainstay in the Chisox starting rotation the highlights of which included a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the COVID shortened campaign of 2020 and back-to-back post-season appearances in 2020 and 2021.

And then along came 2023. Giolito was 6-6 with a respectable 3.79 ERA in 21 starts for a mediocre White Sox team when he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels shortly before the trade deadline in late July along with reliever Reynaldo Lopez. Oddly enough, Lopez was part of the trade package which brought him to the South Side of Chicago more than five years earlier. 

However, Giolito's journey with the Halos would end a little over a month later when he was put on waivers after going 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA in six starts. The Cleveland Guardians quickly snatched up Giolito but he continued to be ineffective. In six starts with the Guardians, Giolito went 1-4 with a 7.04 ERA. The 41 home runs Giolito surrendered led the AL. 

Giolito enters 2024 with a 61-62 record with a 4.43 ERA in 180 career games (178 of them starts) over parts of 8 seasons. In 1013.2 innings pitched, he has fanned 1077 batters against only 385 walks.

There is no question Giolito has good stuff. Even during his lackluster tenures with the Angels and Guardians, Giolito fanned 73 batters while walking only 31 over 63.1 innings pitched. Still, Giolito has lost 9 of his last 11 decisions since leaving the Chisox. Nevertheless, teams were interested in Giolito's services, and the Red Sox won out over the New York Mets. 

The Red Sox could prove to be the rejuvenation that Giolito needs. He still has a chance to become an elite pitcher. It could also be the continuation of an abrupt and irreversible decline. If it is the latter, then there is no tougher city to fall on your face in MLB than Boston - including New York. 

With that said, Giolito knows what he is up against and will be compensated handsomely. The question is will he sitting pretty?