Peter Wood

Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York has faced what others might consider awkward moments in office, as when two Islamists, inspired by ISIS, tried to immolate anti-Muslim protesters outside Gracie Mansion. He passed it off with aplomb by saying the two bomb-carrying individuals were “suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism.” In a later statement he acknowledged that the two men had proclaimed “their allegiance to ISIS.”  That counts for boldness on Mamdani’s part. He is considerably more comfortable denouncing Israel, defending the “globalize the intifada” slogan and lamenting anti-Muslim bigotry, than he is in acknowledging New York’s history of terror attacks by Islamists.

In one of Joseph Conrad's early stories he mentions an old seaman who delighted in a card game he called "Chinese Bezique."  Captain Lingard considered the game as "a remarkable product of Chinese genius – a race for which he had an unaccountable liking and admiration."  This passage somehow popped into mind as I read the New York Times expose, "How China Influences Elections in America's Biggest City." The article has nothing to do with card games – or Borneo, where Conrad's novel is set-but it exemplifies the same odd combination of admiration and disdain. The four authors of the Times' article are clearly impressed with the elaborate efforts of the Chinese consulate in New York City to recruit the City's Chinese social clubs into instruments of Beijing's foreign policy.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani, having secured the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, is in the national spotlight. At the age of 33, he ran as a Democratic Socialist having previously held elected office as a New York State Assemblyman. He has no record of significant achievement in other walks of life. He composed and produced rap music, but to no acclaim. The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is a non-profit organization (501(c) 3) that does not endorse political candidates or parties, and in this respect we take no position on Mr. Mamdani’s candidacy. That matter will be decided by the voters of New York City this November. We do, however, take special interest in Mr. Mamdani’s educational background.

If one were looking for dismal assessments of the Trump administration’s contributions to the vitality of American intellectual inquiry, the editorial eructations of Holden Thorp would likely be at the top of the list.   Thorp is the editor-in-chief of Science, the weekly journal of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This makes him one of the most influential figures in the academy and in American science as a whole. Few weeks go by without an editorial from Thorp denouncing the havoc wrought by Trump. The May 8 issue is mildly titled, “The New Reality for American Academe,” but the mildness ends there.

Americans are not a naturally gloomy people. We don’t necessarily expect things to go our way, but when they don’t, we can laugh it off. In my part of Vermont there’s a place called Hateful Hill, for example, so-named by stagecoach drivers who had a tough time with the steep road. But Hateful Hill is also a beautiful elevation. Today, even those who don’t “get” Donald Trump need to start seeing the upside. He doesn’t always get his way, which is probably a good thing, but he is leading a long-overdue revival of the American spirit and allowing for the return of optimism and the pursuit of excellence.

I have on the desk two yo-yos. One is from the brand Duncan – the ‘Imperial’ model. The other is from the brand Yomega – the ‘Fireball’. Which is better?  The Imperial is the top-of-the-line Duncan model, a classic, that gave warrant to company’s 1960s slogan: ‘If it isn’t a Duncan, it isn’t a yo-yo’. The Imperial is the vintage Rolls Royce of yo-yos. It’s elegant but not for the racecourse. The Fireball, introduced in the 1990s, was part of the new generation of ‘transaxle’ yoyos, which allow for sustained spin and complex tricks. It is a sports car – though since superseded by much higher performance models. While you weigh that choice, let’s give some thought to the situation of Governor Newsom, governor of California.