Isn‘t that how Henry VIII had all these wives? 😉

Let‘s not underestimate the guilt & shame mothers experience because of these unfounded claims.

Language capture. One of our major challenges is that certain words have been captured by one side of the political spectrum and that side will fill it with meaning. While both sides may hypothetically be for civics, their meanings & content differ dramatically.

Adding grand juries that refuse to indict to that list.

The most recent tendency to label anything & everything „terrorism“ has led us to such a call 👇 The definition has never been particularly precise but there are rules around the term, as the NY judge in the Mangione case just showed us.

This is the step back into an ineffective & overly punitive criminal justice system we don‘t need. There are evidence-based ways that help reduce crime, treating 14-year-olds as adults isn‘t among them. Any educator—and parent—knows 14-yr-olds don’t reason or react the same way as adults.

👇 An indictment of public & constant cursing. It pulls us all down & bathes us all in negativity. These days even congressional testimony is filled with swear words. How quaint to continue the movie warnings.

Elegant & poignant. Bertrand Russell rejects the notion that civil discourse is possible or valuable with those leaders whose moral compass & values are repugnant to their own. Of course, this can cut both ways but his letter raises important questions about the limits of discourse.

Yes. 👇 Any host prefers certainty. “No” is a courtesy — and perhaps a relief to both sides 🤷‍♀️

It is not just workers but also institutions that suffer in an age of immense wealth disparity. Other Higher ed leaders have long envied Harvard endowment. But it is a fraction — less than a quarter — of Musk’s (and other billionaire’s) net worth.

Books & readers are alive & well!

Fabulous day at the National Book Festival, with many @bsky.app members, including @vermontgmg.bsky.social @briangoldstone.bsky.social @giannatoboni.bsky.social

Armed conflict, the criminal system & the civil system (eg, immigration) all are governed by different (legal) rules. Their increasing merger undermines those systems & the rule of law.

Important point here, the lack of choice voters have in selecting their local prosecutors. Most run unopposed, and that means no testing of the impact of their policies on public safety & the community.

Looking forward to this event. What a privilege to have a National Book Festival with so many wonderful authors and great conversations all under one roof.

Time for a national conversation about “humanity” and “civility.”

Great day @ National Book Festival in DC! So many great panels.

“Terrorist” is thrown around carelessly, devoid of any meaning. Terrorism, as a legal concept, has always been poorly defined. As exceptional rules are applied against anyone labelled a terrorist, we need to insist on carefully circumscribed terminology, not a “flavor of the month” approach.

We have long trusted „experts“. At least I like my plumber to be an „expert“. Much of our daily life has become complicated and requires special expertise. So-called common sense knowledge is only sometimes common sense. That‘s why we need trustworthy scientists, govt leaders, etc.

Violent crime impacts victims’s lives, often dramatically. Yet, is this singular focus misguided when some so-called white-collar crime may have equally (or more devastating) consequences? They undermine trust in institutions and people.

Local elections matter. In many counties sheriffs and often prosecutors & judges run unopposed, with no one questioning their policies and the cost they impose on local constituencies.

On a daily basis we now fail the men & women who are true heroes. We ask immigrants (undocumented, partially documented, recently ripped out of status — who knows) and the incarcerated to risk their lives fighting wildfires. And then we betray them.

DC Grand Juries and juries have often acted independently. That’s why all the talk about reintroducing the death penalty in DC may be futile in any event (without even getting to all the legal hurdles).

Apparently 35 years of criminal justice policies (and even older SCOTUS) rulings never happened. - Death penalty cases are expensive & DC juries may never impose them. -Death cases are lengthy. -The death penalty is not an effective deterrent. - the death penalty is applied unequally.

We owe immense gratitude to federal district court judges in Maryland and Judge Cullen (WD VA) for their courage under (verbal) fire. The MD district court judges are no longer co-defendants (!) — over a judicial order giving them time to make thoughtful and reasoned decisions.

Data has become perhaps the decisive issue in the struggle over control and truth: privacy, crime data, climate change, scientific reliability. We rely on good data to make decisions. And we need personal information to be protected. Both are under attack.

Let’s emphasize drop in crime rates — over years though not always linear— because of a set of integrated policies. Smart policing is part of these policies but that isn’t happening here.

“The taxpayer” is an abused abstraction. They matter only when convenient. An empty rhetorical gesture.

What to make of this play in 2025 when “me too” seems to be on reverse? The play captures many nuances of the struggles around equal treatment for women. And some great acting from Broadway newcomers.

German generals at the end of WWII wanted to negotiate & the Western Allies shut down any deal.

We never had to think about ant smuggling. In fact, I was blissfully unaware I should give this a thought. The things „faceless bureaucrats“ (thank you!) had taken off my hands.

The first institutions Pinochet broke were universities and cultural institutions, then civil society and labor unions.

Can we have the „hottest“ country (not a veiled climate change reference, i assume) & this supposedly out-of-control crime rate?! Logic fails us daily.

What a wonderful discussion of place as a reflection of emotion. Don't we all experience places differently based on mood? And how difficult to shake that connection. Thank you @aurorabonner.bsky.social for such a thoughtful presentation.

@jancheta25.bsky.social hit it out of the ballpark with his 10 min presentation on how to give sensitive & effective feedback. Essential watching for anyone about to give feedback, esp on writing that is highly emotional or comes from a very different perspective.

So much for deregulation. This reporting will be expensive for higher ed; retroactive data collection is especially burdensome. And on a substantive note, this data, especially without societal context, will become another political battleground, not a starting point for supporting all students.

Not the only one cutting humanities PhD programs but here we have a wealthy university renowned for its humanities program. This doesn’t bode well for grad funding or choice.

These debates played out around drug legislation in NY in the 1970s. Have we learned anything at all? In short people want to live in safety and many don’t believe police & lengthy sentence are the solution. They aren’t but apparently we have collective memory failure.

Looking forward to seeing it with my daughter — curious about the intergenerational perspective — but wonder whether the last line could also read „a few MONTHS“ ago.

How silly of us not to know federal agents will stumble into terrorists on their nighttime patrols of DC.

Why measure citizenship by a criminal record? We should question whether voting rights should ever be lost but definitely they should be restored once a sentence is served, aka after retribution or restoration of societal equilibrium. We also know that restoration of rights cements reintegration.

What does it mean „to work out“? Are there any metrics, to include also broken trust, etc?

Sounds like the voting fraud stats. When there‘s little crime, the stats must be rigged.

Interesting discussion on Gendering things in English. For the linguists, could the person who gendered coal have learned German? Die Kohle, with its female article, colloquially also stands for money.

This is the type of crime that demands our best federal law enforcement, not the policing of DC streets.

We were at Am History (before the recent change). As always, we found exhibits informative, interesting & beautifully curated. Curious what standards a non-curator,non-museum expert would apply to judge, especially in light of the breadth of these exhibits.

Perception of crime isn’t ties to crime itself but other fears. Americans don’t feel secure — unemployment, health insurance, housing, inflation, climate change. None of this has to so with crime but crime becomes the foil for deep anxieties.

All of these cities record falling violent crime rates, some at record or close to record lows. NYC has one of the largest police forces in the world per capita. This isn’t about violent crime or about developing sensible crime policies.

Anti-crime policies & law enforcement don’t solve social problems. Addiction requires a public health approach. Homelessness requires a housing policy. Mental health challenges require treatment options & financial coverage.

Crime analysis by anecdote bedeviled us for a long time & led to mass incarceration. Let’s not go back there — when we have historically low crime rates.