Star

Recommendations

Info

24 Monday, March 21, 2016 The San Juan Daily <strong>Star</strong> New York Times Editorials The Risk of Playing Politics With the Supreme Court By GREGORY B. CRAIG I WAS not there, but I can imagine President Obama in the Oval Office posing this question about Judge Merrick B. Garland: “Given this man’s lengthy history on the bench and his impeccable reputation, what can be said against him serving on the Supreme Court?” The answer from his advisers might have been: “Nothing, sir. But the Republicans don’t want to give up their decades-long control of this court, and they would rather ignore the Constitution and freeze the government than allow that to happen.” When President Obama picked Judge Garland to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat, he was choosing an extraordinarily well-qualified jurist. Judge Garland has served on the bench for 19 years, the last three as chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. No Supreme Court justices, even the greats, matched his record of federal judicial service at the time of their confirmation. His excellence as a jurist is surpassed only by the respect and affection people in both parties feel toward him. By sending the Senate a nominee of this quality and stature, President Obama has increased the political price Republicans will pay if they ignore their constitutional duty to provide advice and consent. That was the president’s objective from the start: Find a nominee beyond reproach who would, under normal circumstances, be confirmed without controversy. Force the Republicans to either back down or defend the indefensible. Political calculations are woven into every Supreme Court nomination, despite protestations to the contrary. The baseline is always that the nominee must be qualified and have a judicial philosophy in harmony with the president’s. But in narrowing the small field of candidates who meet those criteria, presidents consider many factors, including and especially a political one: Can this nominee win confirmation? While presidents often prefer to assert that their choices have nothing to do with politics, this year the Republicans have bluntly placed politics front and center by refusing even to consider Judge Garland until after the election. That unprecedented move has required the president to navigate a difficult political environment in deciding on a nominee. He has done that by starting with a known quantity: There are no secrets or surprises about Judge Garland, and his qualifications are clear. A federal prosecutor who oversaw the Oklahoma City bombing case, he was approved overwhelmingly and with bipartisan support by the Senate for the Circuit Court. Judge Garland has been on many people’s short list for the Supreme Court, including this president’s, for years. There is also nothing controversial in Judge Garland’s background. Judge Garland’s judicial philosophy, like the president’s, falls squarely in the mainstream. Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and other Republicans had previously praised him effusively. Could the fact that, at 63, he is older than other possible nominees make him more palatable to Republicans? Perhaps. Should Republican senators be worried about voter backlash if they refuse to give him so much as a hearing? Yes. Yet Senate Republicans have said they won’t go forward with his nomination, or any nomination from this president, despite Judge Garland’s qualifications. This affront to the Constitution is an insult to the other two branches of government as well as to Judge Garland personally. The Senate has never told an elected president many months before the end of his term that it will not let him exercise one of his most important powers. It is particularly notable that many Senate Republicans are even refusing to hold courtesy meetings with Judge Garland. In 2005, President George W. Bush’s nomination of Harriet E. Miers foundered when senators who met her privately concluded that she was not up to the job. When Sonia Sotomayor was nominated four years later, she prepared exhaustively and was able to speak privately with almost 90 senators. Perhaps partly as a result, her confirmation hearings were relatively uneventful. Judge Garland has already begun scheduling these courtesy meetings, and the White House has set up a nonprofit organization to raise money and develop advertising to push for Judge Garland’s confirmation. The Senate confirmed Justice Sotomayor in less than three months. By that standard, Judge Garland should be confirmed and sworn in by Memorial Day. For the first time in decades, the balance of the court is in a position to shift. That happens from time to time in our democracy. Judge Garland should be confirmed quickly and easily. At a minimum, this exquisitely qualified and widely admired jurist deserves a fair hearing and a vote. If the Senate Republicans refuse to grant him that, they should not just worry about their seats, they should hang their heads. PO BOX 6537 Caguas PR 00726 Or e-mail us at: sjstar.letters@gmail.com Telephones: (787) 743-3346 • (787) 743-6537 (787) 743-5606 • Fax (787) 743-5100 Dr. Ricardo Angulo Publisher Manuel Sierra General Manager Lisette Martínez Advertising Agency Director Ray Ruiz Legal Notice Director Allan Gil Internal Auditor Sharon Ramírez Legal Notices Graphics Manager Aaron Christiana Editor Maria Miranda Local News Editor Ismael Reyes Sports Editor/Assistant Editor María Rivera Graphic Artist Manager
The San Juan Daily <strong>Star</strong> Monday, March 21, 2016 25 Delta, in Alliance With Danny Meyer, Aims to Elevate Airline Food By STEPHANIE STROM It is no secret that airlines are waging an increasingly pitched battle for the biggest-spending passengers who fly in premium classes: The carriers have deployed amenities like fluffy feather duvets and spa treatments. Now, Delta Air Lines is trying to gain an edge with its food — a decidedly tall order. The company has struck an alliance with Union Square Hospitality Group, the food service empire behind Shake Shack and restaurants like Union Square Cafe, Blue Smoke and Gramercy Tavern. The goal is to serve food in its Delta One cabin on international flights from Kennedy International Airport that is as just as good as the food set on the table in Union Square’s restaurants. “We want passengers to say, ‘This is great food’ — not, ‘This is great food for an airline,’ ” said John Harenda, vice president for operations at Union Square Events, the group’s catering service. Delta shares the sentiment. “We really want to change the conversation around what airline food is,” said Allison Ausband, senior vice president for in-flight service at Delta. It will not be easy. Galley space on most airplanes has shrunk. Plates and containers are small. Altitude dulls the taste buds, so recipes must be adjusted. “There certainly were hurdles — but none that made me throw up my arms and say, ‘Why am I doing this?’ ” said Carmen Quagliata, the Union Square Cafe chef who did the menu for Delta One. For one thing, Mr. Quagliata had already seen the success of a menu devised by a colleague, Mark Maynard-Parisi of Blue Smoke, which started Union Square’s partnership with Delta in 2013 by offering its fare on just a few flights. Blue Smoke’s barbecued meats also happened to be foods that would work best on a plane, said Danny Meyer, Union Square’s founder and chief. . Many airlines have a relationship with a celebrity chef. Alain Ducasse, for instance, endorses several food and wine options offered in the elite cabins at Air France. United Airlines’ partnership with Charlie Trotter continues even after his death in 2013, with alumni of his restaurant helping with the airline’s menu. In most cases, however, the food served under a chef’s name on board does not approach the standards of the food served in the chef’s restaurant. “If someone had told me a few years ago that we’d be serving our food on an airline, I would have said over my dead body,” Mr. Meyer said. Daniel Dilworth, director of culinary development for Union Square’s catering business, had much the same reaction. But after talking with officials at Delta and LSG Sky Chefs, the food service provider for Delta and other airlines, Mr. Dilworth concluded that making tasty airline meals would not be all that different from making the food sold at Citi Field, where Blue Smoke has a stand. Mostly, it was a matter of understanding what would not work. “Meat can be served medium-rare on a plane in flight, but if there’s turbulence, the hostess can’t get up and take it out of the oven at the right time,” Mr. Dilworth said. “So it’s probably best just not to try to serve meat done to mediumrare.” Delta wanted Mr. Quagliata to offer a pasta dish from Union Square Cafe on the menu that debuts March 1, but he was dubious, having eaten one too many reheated pasta dishes on flights. In the end, it was a piece of Delta’s china that inspired him — what if he made a baked pasta dish instead? “It now comes out all bubbly and smelling fantastic,” he said. “What started out as a hurdle turned out to be a great innovation — I might even try it in the restaurant.” Terri Joseph and Margo Cortinas-Lodin, flight attendants who demonstrated how the system works onboard, said learning how to serve the meals prepared by Union Square was not too big a challenge. “Both of us come from an era when all meals on planes were served like this,” said Ms. Joseph, a 28-year veteran. She and Ms. Cortinas-Lodin, a flight attendant for 36 years, first heat up Union Square Cafe’s signature nut mix and then serve salads and appetizers. When it comes to plating the main courses, they pull off the wrap and, following the steps they learned from training videos featuring Mr. Quagliata, empty small paper cups containing sauces and garnishes onto the plate. There have been lessons learned along the way. Delta likes to pour soups from a silver pitcher directly into a passenger’s bowl, but a chunky vegetable soup served that way ended up as much on their aprons and the floor as in the bowl. “We learned the hard way that soups need to be purées or clear broths,” Mr. Dilworth said. Garnishes intended to top a meal are a challenge, too, because they are loaded in the bottom of a paper cup, then smothered with whatever will rest beneath them on the plate. So the fried sunchokes that typically crown a carpaccio are now roasted rather than fried. The flight attendants said passengers had responded well to the Blue Smoke menu, as well as meals from Marta, another Union Square restaurant, which have been featured for the last year. “About the only drawback I’ve seen so far is that everyone wants to try everything on the menu,” Ms. Cortinas-Lodin said, “and that we can’t do.”
Page 1 and 2: San The Juan Monday, March 21, 2016
Page 3 and 4: GOOD MORNING The San Juan Daily Sta
Page 5 and 6: The San Juan Daily Star Monday, Mar
Page 23: The San Juan Daily Star Monday, Mar
Page 31 and 32: Monday, March 21, 2016 Official Reg
Page 33 and 34: The San Juan Daily Star the South e
Page 35 and 36: The San Juan Daily Star NA: Solar m
Page 37 and 38: The San Juan Daily Star Colecturía
Page 39 and 40: The San Juan Daily Star RICO INVEST

Star

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?