TSN Open Mic for the week of 1/16/2023

Saul Degraw says:

Professor Lopez sues Hameline for religious discrimination, defamation, breach of contract, and under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act: https://reason.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/LopezPraterComplaint.pdf

Suing in state court was probably the smart idea though the U.S. Supreme Court could have ultimate jurisdiction depending on whether the parties want to argue the defamation cause of action to the bitter end. The breach of contract claim might work too if the complaint is accurate about being offered a course.

Damages in this case will be interesting. Lopez was still a poorly paid adjunct and the chances of her being offered a tenure track position before this incident were slim and by slim, I mean practically non-existent. Considering that the majority of the world seems to be on Professor Lopez’s side in this story, you can’t quite say she is being defamed. If anything, her reputation is probably better than it was previously. The nearly universal reaction to the story seems to be Hamline messed up and the student is full of it and potentially just wanted to stir things up.

That being said, the defamation cause of action has a 50/50 chance of succeeding in my opinion. In the professor’s favor, the nearly universal reaction to the Islamophobia charge was an eyeroll of epic proportions. On the other hand, the First Amendment does offer an opinion defense to defamation suits. People and organizations are entitled to their opinions even if no one else agrees.

I do wonder if the university has an insurance policy which would cover the defense and/or liability, if any. Maybe a variant of errors and omissions insurance. However, almost all the allegations in the complaint are intentional acts which are usually not covered by insurance.Report

Saul Degraw says:

From Eater, an interesting look at the origin of “California Cuisine”, it appears to be more about saving on labor costs and needing big kitchens as much as anything else: https://www.eater.com/23560806/california-cuisine-history-great-chefs-pbs-show

“The second season of Great Chefs, which aired in 1983, focused on San Francisco, an era and region that calls to mind rustic grilled pizzas, little mesclun salads dotted with goat cheese, and fruits on plates. Instead, the season is a paean to pate. Of the 13 episodes, seven feature chefs who are French or trained in traditional French kitchens. They don’t all cook true haute cuisine, but their food is much closer to the refined, rich, technique-heavy cooking of traditional French restaurant kitchens than the rustic peasant-style French cooking that inspired Waters and others. The chefs featured in these episodes make salmon mousseline and duck liver mousse; they craft marzipan roses and bread baskets made of literal bread; they wield multiple wine-reduced sauces and stuff chicken legs with veal. There is so much straining. None of the food could be described as simple….

The one episode of the 1982 Great Chefs to focus squarely on the new “California cuisine,” as the narrator calls it, visits Jeremiah Tower, who was cooking then at the Santa Fe Bar and Grill. The opening shot presents Tower basting a whole pig turning over an open mesquite fire, framed by dried chile peppers hanging above. Over the course of the episode, he prepares a black bean cake topped with fresh salsa and cilantro (the narrator notes, “It’s a measure of the food sophistication of San Francisco that cilantro, Chinese parsley, usually sold in speciality stores elsewhere, is sold in grocery stores here”), a simple poached fish in a tomato-based sauce, and, yes, goat cheese topped with sundried tomato, wrapped in fig leaves and grilled. The whole pig he describes as a deceptively simple dish. You just need the spit, and the fire pit.”Report