Wicked policy, cruelty openly advocated
To end with a last observation about Gina Haspel. I expect that if I had lunch with her, I would leave with the impression she is a kind, dedicated, and thoughtful woman.
Category Archives: Law and Society
Warriors vs. guardians
The exaggerated, grievously mistaken threat estimates that justify one use of lethal force after another result from poorly prepared police officers who treat too many situations like battlefield survival decisions. A gross mismatch exists between their mental state, and their actual environment out in neighborhoods.
Reed buckles, president resigns
They pretend to stand for diversity and what they call marginalized groups, but in fact they stand for no more than what you see in front of you: force. If you do not do as they say, the gangs will destroy you. Gangs at Reed demonstrated they can get their way, and destroy the college, the college’s president, and the college’s ideals in the process.
Professional associations and leadership owe their members integrity
Police unions that protect reckless members, who exploit their positions of authority to commit crimes, cannot honestly think that policy protects their membership as a whole. Police officers that value integrity of their profession must move to replace union and department leaders who betray and dishonor every one of them.
School safety, health care, and international trade
Consider notes on three policy areas we have had on our minds recently: gun control, health care, and international trade.
Columbine and Parkland
Since Columbine we have made changes in the high school environment that we hoped would prevent future massacres. No one would say they have worked.
Resistance to federal land management policies and racism
Congratulations to Cliven Bundy, released from prison on January 8. Feds imprisoned you for a long time. Now a federal …
Our cybersecurity experts roll out their big revelation about North Korea
I like that, “all responsible states.” That’s like a bank with a broken safe telling its customers, after they’ve been robbed, “All responsible depositors must act together to counter the thieves’ ability to rob us again.”
“We are trained to be trigger happy”
What does the officer tell his family when he returns home that night? Does he tell them he did good work, because he’s safe while his victim lies on a gurney in the coroner’s office?
America’s secret police
The pretense of legality founded on secrecy – where we accept secrecy as a condition of security, then illogically liken security with rule of law – can’t continue. We already have no respect for institutions that claim to protect us.
Virtues and vices of government protection
You might think government efforts to regulate gambling are about as hypocritical as government gets, until you realize the state has its hand in almost every racket identified as dangerous – or beneficial – to one group or another.
Congress and caveman sex
Congress plays, “Which one is a Weinstein?” After it identifies those guys, it asks, “Are you a major, totally worthless, disreputable Weinstein? Or are you minor, possibly worthless Weinstein, perhaps likable enough to keep around?”
