Political scribe: How Cuomo Lost His #MeToo Footing
Gov. Andrew Cuomo may usually be “an acute forecaster of New York’s political climate,” but Aaron Short at The Daily Beast suggests he’s “seemed less so during the recent #MeToo moment, even as other political heavyweights here have stepped up.” Case in point: his embarrassing turnaround after publicly snapping at Public Radio’s Karen DeWitt when she pressed him on the resignation of a top aide accused of sexual harassment. The accuser says she “contacted the governor’s office six times” but received “deliberate indifference.” In fact, Cuomo “has looked shockingly out of touch over his administration’s handling” of the scandal. When footage of the governor accusing DeWitt of doing “a disservice to women” went viral, he was forced to apologize.
Foreign desk: Ignore Iran’s Cyberwarfare at Our Peril
America may be an elephant and Iran just a flea when it comes to cyberweapons, but the Washington Post’s David Ignatius reminds us that “a flea can be a persistent nuisance, especially for the unprotected.” A new Carnegie Endowment study of Tehran’s cyberthreat “describes a country that, although ‘third tier’ on the cyberthreat matrix, can still do considerable damage.” It’s yet another reminder that the US, “with its relatively open systems, can be an easy target.” The study “describes a small but useful Iranian cyber capability that evolved partly to gather foreign intelligence and partly to spy on domestic opposition groups.” And this cyber capability suggests the Trump administration’s “new anti-Tehran campaign may not be without cost, even if open conflict is avoided.”
Culture critic: Lorde Should Boycott New Zealand
Singer-songwriter Lorde has canceled her scheduled performances in Israel after pressure on Twitter, calling herself “an informed young citizen.” But Liel Leibovitz at Tablet suggests that if Lorde is “truly committed to the principles she now espouses, she should announce her refusal to perform in or return home to her native New Zealand” — a country that “is guilty, in spades, of the crimes” falsely attributed to Israel. That includes colonial occupation, segregation and mistreatment: One-third of native Maori children “live under the poverty line, a number that is rapidly increasing.” New Zealand’s Maoris, he says, aren’t as lucky as Israel’s “aboriginal Jews,” who’ve “successfully and miraculously managed to return to their native land and there established a democracy that, like all democracies, is flawed but flowering.”
From the right: Sheila Jackson Lee Is Terror of the Skies
When United Airlines recently booted a paying customer from first class to make room for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, the internet “erupted with good and healthy egalitarian outrage.” But don’t blame United, says Philip Wegmann at the Washington Examiner: The Texas Democrat “has been terrorizing the skies since coming to Congress in 1995.” And “until she lands on the no-fly list, no airline is safe.” Fact is, she’s “developed a reputation for making life hell for any clerk, stewardess, or pilot unwilling or unable” to make her flight “anything less than glamorous” — expecting, in her own words, “to be treated like a queen.” And as the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on transportation, she enjoys “even more sway over the airlines and even more of a reason to feel entitled.”
Conservative take: Harvard Doth Protest Too Much
Harvard President Drew Faust is “deeply concerned” over the new tax law’s 1.4 percent levy on colleges’ net investment income, which would have cost the university $43 million in 2017. This, says Jonathan Marks at Commentary, from a university that ran a surplus of $114 million and has a $37.1 billion endowment. He also notes that “the six highest-paid executives of the Harvard Management Corporation pulled in $53.4 million in 2015.” Given that the median family income of a Harvard student is $168,800, “the impact of a loss of 43 million of Harvard’s dollars on the American dream will not be great.” Says Marks: “Just enjoy the 6.6 percent or so of all US higher education endowment resources you sit on and keep your mouth shut.”
— Compiled by Eric Fettmann