We are broken

The deaths of George Floyd , Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are the latest examples of how broken our basic structures of civility and governance are.

Let’s consider for a minute how all three of these individuals are being described as an “unarmed black man” and “unarmed black woman” by mainstream media. What are the basic assumptions that exist in our culture that black people killed by police (and white non-police) are emphasized by the media as “unarmed” in a way that implies that black people might be a threat if in fact they were armed? Why is that normalized? Stephon Clark. Trayvon Martin. Eric Garner. Freddie Gray. Michael Brown. Sam DuBose. Charleena Lyles. Terence Crutcher. Countless others. Instead of saying “Protests erupted in multiple cities over the death of an unarmed black man at the hands of a police officer”, you could say “Protests erupted in multiple cities over the death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a police officer. Floyd was unarmed.”

Do we really believe the structures of our police departments to be different than how the country at large views black people? Our media and our police reflect the power structures in this nation. I would like to share some thoughts that some of my black friends and colleagues have shared with me over the last day or so:

“If you question why there is so much power in the black community in our black churches, it’s because many of us do not think the majority of white people actually believe in the same God we believe in that governs our lives and actions. For black people, America is more than just racist. It’s a Godless place where fear and ignorance and power and money and FEELING COMFORTABLE are all more important than the lives of its brown and black citizens and the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Bible.  It’s why Toni Morrison said it best when she said that  being American means being white.  We know that because everyone else has to hyphenate….”

“My people stare death in the face every time they step out that front door.”

“Current events have me insanely pissed but simultaneously tired. Honestly it is making me more motivated to have more influence so that my voice carries more weight about this stuff.”

One of my colleagues posted the song “Strange Fruit” by Billlie Holiday with the following comment: “Published by Abel Metropol in 1937 and made famous by Billie Holiday’s rendition in ‘39, this soulful gut wrenching poetry paints the picture of Black Lynching oppression that was the backdrop between postwar America. Where the public gave a blind eye and the government (police) often carried out corporal street punishment with little repercussions. For those non POC friends of mine who have been moved by the recent police brutality, Know that Abel, a caucasian Jewish American so distraught by the photograph of the public lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abrahm Smitt that his heart poured out what his eyes could not believe. Remember this was ‘39 and nothing new for its time. Persecution is nothing new; believing that we are at a time where things like this don’t happen is still relatively new.”

Oppression has been built into the structure of our country since the beginning: it was expressly written into the Constitution (the 3/5 persons clause and the Fugitive Slave Clause), it remains implicity written there today through the Electoral College and Senate system, it is written into our national anthem, written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, in verses that we choose to pretend aren’t there and do not sing:

“And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a Country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave, From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

The Star Spangled Banner is in some ways reflective of our country at large - the horrific parts are there, but we pretend they don’t exist while we sing about liberty and freedom. That verse, by the way, was aimed at slaves who joined the British in the war of 1812 in exchange for their freedom.

I can’t begin to understand what it is like to walk in the shoes of a black man. However, white people can acknowlege the fundamental structures of this country are broken, and commit to rebuilding them in a way that serves real justice. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” I can appreciate that the police officer involved in Floyd’s death was arrested today. But we should not have to wait for another black person to die to recognize our injustice and make changes.

Pink Flowers

Pink flowers

The streets are quiet today
as they were yesterday
Ghosts of cars haunt
empty streets

Light from pink flowers
envelops the atmosphere
bathing the sidewalk
with warmth

Shoots of yellow and white
splash across the canvas
with brilliance and surprise
in the empty air

Beauty found in the most
unexpected place
the pedestrians garden

April 24, 2020

Ballot Recommendations: California Primary - March 3, 2020

Hi all, here are my ballot recommendations for the March 3 California Primary:

President - Elizabeth Warren. She is tough, smart, capable and can mix it up with the best of them. She’s from Oklahoma and understands red states, and has a great deal of experience understanding the challenges our current financial system places on most people. Her top priority is rooting out corruption - without this, no reforms can follow. If you like her like I do - then don’t count her out - VOTE FOR HER!!!!

LA City Council - Paul Krekorian.

LAUSD District 3 Board Member - Elizabeth Bartels Badger. LAUSD board needs to be shaken up.

Member of the State Assembly 46th district - Adrin Nazarian.

US Congressional Representative - 30th District - Brad Sherman.

LA District Attoreney - George Gascón. Jackie Lacey supports the death penalty; Gascón and Rossi do not. I’m voting for Gascón; he supports legislation tightening rules on when officers can use deadly force.

Judges - I follow the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club’s endorsements, which you can find at www.palisadesdemclub.org.

Member, County Central Commitee, 46th Assembly District: No endorsement

County Measure R - YES; strengthens civilian oversight of the Sherriff’s department and focus on improving psychiatric care in jail.

Proposition 13 - NO. Much as I hate to vote NO on this one, this bond measure does two bad things: 1) cuts developer fees which schools rely on for funding and 2) Money spent as part of this measure can ONLY go to unions. I like unions and support them, but forced, uncompetitive contracting seems like a bad idea.

Healthcare, Medicare for All, and Bernie's not actually a socialist

It sometimes baffles me why some Americans oppose Medicare for All. The most common objections I hear are “it’s government controlled healthcare”, or “we want doctors, not government, making decisions on our health care”, or “it costs too much, $30 trillion over 10 years, that’s crazy spending.” And yet the hard facts are this:

• In 2019, Americans spent an estimated $3.6 trillion on healthcare - all of which is paid by Americans through premiums, deductibles, direct payments to providers and/or taxes. Multiply that by 10 years = $36 trillion. We do this today.

• $1.4 trillion, or 39%, is paid through private insurance and direct payments outside of insurance (“out of pocket”). Americans paid on average $10-11k per year on health care, and costs could soar to $48 trillion over 10 years if we do nothing.

Healthcare costs continue to skyrocket, but with worse outcomes. People are getting hit with “surprise bills” (we did when our son had an emergency appendectomy); 2/3 of Americans are concerned they cannot afford unexpected healthcare costs. And by the way, 40% of Americans would not be able to afford an unexpected $400 expense.

Healthcare companies make a lot of money, enough to buy back tens of billions of dollars of their own stock. A sample set of just three companies, Merck ($10B), UHC ($18B), and Anthem ($5.5B) shows over $33B in share repurchases and repurchase authority. This is money that should be spent on healthcare but instead literally vanishes from the healthcare system. Profit margins can go as high as 69% (Merck), and that’s just the companies I looked at. Let’s not forget Perdue Pharma, who reportedly had revenues of $35 billion just on OxyContin.

Drug companies are not incentivized to invest in new drugs unless there’s profit in it. Check this stat out - in 2015, 9 out of 10 major drug companies spend more on marketing than on research. I don’t have a more current number, but I suspect that trend is not going down.

Medical debt accounts for 2/3 of all bankruptcies. People are being arrested over medical debt.

This is insanity - health care is not a “free-market” - you don’t choose when you actually need care. It is not like buying a car, where maybe you can’t afford a Porsche so you buy a Toyota instead. Or decide you don’t need a new car at all, the old one is just fine. Healthcare doesn’t work that way, and yet our healthcare is driven by profit, not best outcomes. (I still can’t believe the US doesn’t permit Medicare to negotiate drug prices.)

A pretty simple way to pay for Medicare for All is put forth by Kevin Drum - fund it through an employer payroll tax on employers - they are currently funding a huge part of today’s employer based health insurance scheme.

Here’s the thing - single payer would only switch the payer, not your doctor. If you’re worried about the “government” rationing health care, it is doctors who prescribe treatment, not insurance companies or Medicare. Rationing is happening today - insurance companies ration payments to providers, while providers continue to raise prices on services and treatments. Patients are on the hook for everything that isn’t paid for by insurance.

Everyone says this is a tall order politcally, but a majority of Americans support Medicare for All - 70% by this measure, while this poll has 63% having a positive reaction to Medicare For All, and a majority that supports it. Remember the GOP has also historically opposed Social Security and Medicare, saying these programs would destroy America. If you’ve been hit with big, unexpected medical bills, you probably know the current system is damaging America the way it is.

Anyway, that’s my view on Medicare for All. A public option might be workable, but the only way that works is if all providers are required to take it. Otherwise it’s not an option. Medicare for All really is the sane way to go.

Oh yeah, and Bernie’s not actually a socialist.

Fryman Canyon

I took a walk this morning with my son along one of Fryman Canyon’s easy trails. It’s just gorgeous and the smell of sage brought me back to hiking with my dad as a kid.

San Fernando Valley view looking north from Santa Monica Mountains to Santa Susana and San Gabriel Mountains on a hazy day

Fryman Canyon trail

Fryman Canyon trail

Houses in the hills in Studio City

2019 Books Read

These are the books I was able to read this year; I wanted to better my book tally from last year, but only got through 10 - in no small part because the first book I read in 2019, The Vanquished, why the First World War Failed to End, by Robert Gerwarth took me three full months to get through (more on this later). I did, however, make it a goal to include more fiction and I was successful in that, reading four fiction books last year (admittedly one is historical fiction). A little summary of each is below:

The Vanquished - Why the First World War Failed to End, by Robert Gerwarth - A meaty, highly dense analysis and exploration of the period between the First and Second World Wars, The Vanquished makes the case that the the war never stopped, that WW1 and WW2 were part of one overarching conflict. Growing and violent nationalism marked the inter-war period, in particular in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires, which formerly held together diverse populations under a single rule. Unrest also carried on across Europe, with decision making by the victorious Allies exacerbating the situation (including the well-documented terms imposed by the Treaty of Versailles on Germany). As I mentioned, it took me three months to get through so if you’re a history nerd you might like it. Otherwise I’d say you probably might want to pick something a little more digestible.

The View from Flyover Country, Dispatches from the Forgotten America, by Sarah Kendzior - In this collection of essays written from St. Louis, Kendzior expores the issues impacting middle America, highlighting the devastating socio-economic situation that led to how we got Donald Trump. Kendzior presents this in a series of highly personalized and emotional short stories, easily readable and highly informative; I strongly recommend this book. You might also want to give her podcast a try, Gaslit Nation, which she does with Andrea Chalupa, but full disclosure she is unsparing in her criticism of Trump and his authoritarian and racist tendencies.

The War Before the War - Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul, from the Revolution to the Civil War, by Andrew Delbanco - Given the political differences with slavery at the time of the nation’s founding, you might ask why the southern states chose to join in a union with the northern ones. The answer should be obvious, but it didn’t hit me until I read this book - the reason is that without a political union with the North, there would be no legal recourse for Southern states to demand the return of slaves who escaped to the North. This is the origin of the “Fugitive Slave Clause”, or Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution. Delbanco sets out in great detail the struggles that occurred over this and the expansion of slavery into new territories. This is a deep and insightful exploration of our nation’s origins, and is helpful in understanding how the United States arrived at our current polticial discourse today.

L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s most Seductive City, by John Buntin - This is non-fiction storytelling at some of its best; Buntin brings us into the intersecting world of the mob and the LAPD, and how one of the LAPD’s most famous chiefs, William Parker, came to work against one of the most famous L.A. mobsters, Mickey Cohen; Bugsy Siegel and other mobsters also make an appearance. Buntin is pretty candid about the whole of Chief Parker; while he did fight mob corruption, he was woefully lacking in his ability to manage race relations in L.A., including his being LAPD chief during the 1965 Watts riots. His antagonistic relationship with Tom Bradley (who would become L.A.’s first and only black mayor, and also L.A.’s longest-serving mayor) and supportive relationship with Daryl Gates (LAPD chief during the 1992 riots) is quite informative. Weirdly enough, I didn’t know until this book that Gene Roddenberry was his speechwriter for a time! If you’re interested in some interesting history about Los Angeles, I think you’ll really like this book.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - I’m not entirely sure why I bought this book, but boy am I glad I did. The story revolves around Count Alexander Rostov, a young aristocrat from Czarist Russia, who a few years after the Bolshevik revolution is placed under house arrest at one of Moscow’s finest hotels, the Metropol. He isn’t killed by the Bolsheviks due to his being credited with writing a poem in 1905 that helped inspire the revolution in 1917. Towles weaves an enchanting tale of the window of Rostov’s entire life being much wider than he expected, with rich characters and storylines that held my attention from start to finish. I can’t recommend this book enough.

Artemis by Andy Weir - This book had been sitting on my kindle app for what seemed forever, but I finally dove in. Artemis is set on a moon colony, and our heroine is a young woman of Saudi ancestry named Jazz who was born on the moon - a local. She is a hustler, trying to make her way in an expensive, and while not lawless, a society that lives a bit on the edge (not unexpectedly for a moon colony). Artemis becomes an exciting murder mystery, where Jazz must survive on her wits and street smarts. This is a fun book, and an easy read.

John Marshall, by Richard Brookhiser - I try to pick my books carefully, so I don’t often come across one I consider a dud. Unfortunately this one was - I felt like Brookhiser was engaging in a bit of Marshall-worship, minimizing his faults (including barely mentioning Marshall’s status as an enslaver as well as his upholding the chattel property rights of slavers), and instead focusing on Marshall’s impact on judicial review as well as generally being supportive of Federalist initiatives long after the Federalist party went the way of the dodo. I would not recommend this book.

Zucked by Roger McNamee - If you want to have a sense of the disconnect beween how Facebook views itself and how the rest of the world sees the impact of Facebook, look no further than this book. McNamee pulls no punches on how Facebook makes its decisions, and goes into detail about how and why anger, fake news and conflict all contribute to Facebook’s financial success. We get a close look at the key players at Facebook, in particular Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Very interesting and well written.

Blowout by Rachel Maddow - I am a huge fan of Maddow’s prior work Drift, which explores how America became disconnected with its military, so I was excited to read Blowout. It does not dissapoint; Maddow explores the corruption endemic to the fossil fuel extraction industry, from Rex Tillerson’s cozy relationship with Putin to major frackers getting lawmakers to ignore fracking initiating unprecedented earthquakes in Oklahoma and elsewhere. Of note, some of the players in the current Ukraine scandal, including Dmitry Firtash, make an appearance in this book. As with Drift, this is Rhodes Scholar Rachel Maddow, not MSNBC Rachel Maddow, and this is worth reading.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead - a worthy follow-up to Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, The Nickel Boys is set in a so-called “reform” school for boys in the Jim Crow era, based on an actual school in Florida called the Dozier School for Boys. In the book the school is named the Nickel Academy, and the survivors are known as Nickel Boys. Dozens of boys were tortured and killed, both in real life and in the book. As with Underground Railroad, Whitehead creates a compelling historical narrative that exposes some of the worst chapters in American history, which are often overlooked both in school and society writ-large. Whitehead is one of the great modern authors of our time, with a unique ability to help those of us who can’t walk in the shoes of the African American experience gain at least some understanding of the full impact of American history on today’s modern life. I don’t often get didactic about novels, but you should read this book, as well as The Underground Railroad.

Surreal rain delay at EWR

A couple of weeks a go I was on my way home to LA, and was significantly delayed by some serious lightning storms. Newark airport was shut down completely, no planes going in or out. We had already boarded our flight, so we just sat there waiting out the storm at the gate. When the storm finally passed, there were dozens of planes jockeying for position to get out of the gate and onto the runway. What’s more amazing is how the mess of planes very quickly organized into neat single file lines awaiting their turn for takeoff. Some photos of the planes moving into formation are below.

What a mess!

Things are moving

Lining up

Ready to fly

Separated at birth?

Gives a whole new meaning to French toast.

Beverly Glen

Nuff said

LA needs your YES vote on Measure EE

Passing Measure EE in LA would place a modest, $0.16/sqf progressive tax on property to fund public education in Los Angeles.  A new tax in California can only pass with a super majority—we need every eligible voter to mail-in their ballot, or show up at the polls on June 4. 

It takes courage, civility, and trust to vote for Measure EE.  We can add value to public education in L.A., but we have to vote for it.  This is for the future success of L.A.’s children and is particularly necessary in vulnerable neighborhoods.

Many people can find a thousand reasons to vote against any tax. It’s jarring to read unfair criticisms of LAUSD from opponents of Measure EE.  They are telling us that money won’t help Education. Don’t believe your own eyes, they contend, money won’t help.  What??  The truth is, big L.A. businesses don’t want to pay the progressive tax proposal on the ballot; the L.A. Chamber of Commerce instead suggested a ‘flat’ parcel tax, where large businesses would pay the exact same amount as a 900 square foot home.  This is the definition of a regressive tax. This will no doubt be what big businesses will fight for, if Measure EE fails.  This reminds us of the anti-tax tactics used during the 2016 primary, we had a Democratic staffer “inform” us that free college would hurt the poor. That’s anti-tax propaganda. Instead of providing support for our school system, and actionable solutions, opponents have resorted to demonizing LAUSD and Measure EE.

LAUSD needs money to hire  teachers to reduce classroom sizes, and to hire more nurses and librarians, and create safer environments.  Children need to learn in quiet and small classes, and frequently need new books.  We can vote now by mail, or on June 4, to improve our entire public school system, and make it more accountable, Measure EE requires annual public auditing. 

Our public school system in L.A is underfunded.  New York and New Jersey public students receive twice as much funding per pupil as our public school students, and it shows. New Jersey has leading developmental teaching programs, as well as permanent nurses, school-provided tutors and staff. New York has built a record number of new schools and hired more teachers. Our children were safe and cared for in those healthy schools, funded by property owners, when we lived there for almost three years.  This is why our family understands the incalculable ways that public school funding makes a positive difference for kids. 

It’s time for us Angelenos to value education as much as the people in New York and New Jersey do, by paying property taxes.  Because we are such a wealthy city, Measure EE is an opportunity for L.A. to elevate our education system with a modest tax that raises half a billion dollars each year.  We don’t know of any other ballot issue that helps ease wealth inequality in L.A.  Measure EE is a start. The Trump tax bill has given billionaires windfall tax breaks, and L.A. is one of the few places that billionaires can buy $6 million dollar homes.  We need to vote to fund public education, because billionaires won’t. 

City and State leaders, including Mayor Eric Garcetti, Governor Gavin Newsom, and U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, support Measure EE as they know the acute need for additional funding for education.  Opponents of EE have not put alternatives on the ballot, just critical opposition and denial of the transparent plan that was hammered out by teachers and the district, with help from the Mayor and the Governor.  LAUSD is already showing their commitment to fiscal responsibility by contracting an extensive savings analysis of their budget with Ernst & Young.  Although this plan puts LAUSD on better financial footing, the savings identified by Ernst & Young does not cover projected deficits, we need Measure EE to improve our schools.

Angelenos now have a chance to vote for substantive change, to begin solving one long-standing systemic problem: Underfunded schools in Los Angeles.  

LAUSD is the public school system we have, so let’s come together as businesses, homeowners, and a city, and fund our public schools with a strong and healthy tax base.

We have a lot of work to do to improve the lives of all the people in our country, let’s start at home, let’s make history in L.A. and fund a new property tax on education.

Please Vote YES for better public education in L.A. Please Vote YES on Measure EE

Notre Dame

I could not believe the news of the fire at Notre Dame cathedral. We visited it in 2014, and below are some pictures we took. I’ve also included some of the pictures from news orgs post fire for some perspective. We did not take pictures of the roof that was damaged, we just got the facade and a little of the interior.

Front of cathedral, looking at the iconic towers.

Close-up of the front main entry doors

Rose window on front facade

Inteiror of cathedral - we chose not to stand in the very long line to get to the front close to the altar.

Altar inside Notre Dame - the image is pixelated as I had to zoom since we were outside the area immeidately next to the altar.

Interior with holes in roof (photo credit Christophe Petit Tesson/AP)

Interior damage to Notre Dame (photo credit Christophe Morin/Bloomberg)

The interior burining (photo credit PHILIPPE WOJAZER/AFP/Getty Images)

Interior smoldering (photo credit PHILIPPE WOJAZER/AFP/Getty Images)

Support funding our schools - support Measure EE in June

When the LAUSD and UTLA reached a hard-bargained for agreement this January, it provided for among other things, reduced class sizes by four students by 2021, 300 additional nurses, almost 80 librarians and 80 additional counselors. Part of the deal included support for a ballot measure to create a parcel tax for additional funding for LAUSD to help meet these commitments. This measure is slated for the June 4 ballot, and is labeled Measure EE.

Ballot Measure EE would create a parcel tax of $0.16 per square foot on properties within the district. This is estimated to generate about $500 million annually for LAUSD. The tax provides for exemptions for seniors and disability recipients. The text of the ballot is below, and can also be found here:

EE–QUALITY TEACHER, CLASS SIZE REDUCTION, AND LOCAL SCHOOL SAFETY MEASURE: To retain/attract quality teachers; reduce class sizes; provide counseling/nursing/library services, arts, music, science, math, preschool, vocational/career education, safe/well-maintained schools, adequate instructional materials/supplies; support disadvantaged/homeless students; shall Los Angeles Unified School District levy $0.16 per square foot of building improvements annually, exempting seniors/certain disability recipients, providing approximately $500,000,000 annually for 12 years, requiring annual audits, oversight, and funding local schools?

Public education is at the core of a vibrant, functioning democracy. With income inequality at record highs, it is more important than ever to ensure access to a quality education with reasonable class sizes, staffing of campuses with nurses, librarians and counselors, and fair pay for teachers. This is why it is dissapointing to see the L.A. Chamber of Commerce and VICA (the Valley’s business chamber) each oppose this measure. You can read the Chamber’s statement here, and VICA’s statement here. Their opposition appears to be grounded in the fact that the tax is based on square footage vs. a “flat” tax where homeowners and small businesses would pay the same tax rate as large mansions and large businesses.

Educating our children is a shared responsibility across all segments of our city. I urge our business chambers to reconsider their positions and support funding a quality education for our children. LAUSD and UTLA reached agreement on a path forward for our children, with the help of our city and state leaders, including Mayor Garcetti who supports this measure. There’s no question that additional reforms are needed - this is just a first step in moving forward to reforming our school system. However, starving our school district of funds is not the answer. Our city should follow through on this commitment to start down the path of providing a better education for our children. I am a parent of two children in LAUSD - let’s get behind our kids’ future - let’s vote YES for Measure EE.

Photos from most recent trip to NYC

I love taking photos out of airplanes. Snapped a few over LAX, EWR, and a couple on the way. Read on, especially the caption of the last picture of the 757-200 that I was on yesterday.

View of Marina Del Rey

Kalitta Air Boeing 747 taking off

Dusky cloud cover off the Santa Monica Bay

Snowy Rocky Mountains

Newark, NJ

Looking down the runway at EWR (Newark Liberty International Airport)

Dusky cloud cover over Oklahoma

The 909

United Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The actual plane I was flying on yesterday, a Boeing 757-200. Copyright Radim Koblizka; you can link to photo here, and see stats on this 29 year old plane here. Interestingly enough, the decision by Boeing to not produce a successor to the 757 had some bearing on United’s position regarding the 737 Max when Airbus came out with its new A320 and A321 neo planes. Boeing had to jerry-rig the 737 to be bigger, have longer range, have bigger engines, and hold more passengers. Kind of like the 757. Which is why airlines still use it 30 years later.

Thomas Jefferson placed this ad in 1769

Six years before the Declaration of Independence, in which he wrote  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

No charges in police shooting of Stephon Clark

It happened again. Stephon Clark was shot 20 times by police. He was unarmed. In his grandmother’s backyard. And no police accountabilty. He wasn’t just shot - he was shot after he fell to his hands and knees after the first volley of shots.

I understand the police have a difficult job. But they are entrusted with the ability to use state sanctioned deadly force. With that resonsibility needs to come accountabilty and oversight. This keeps happening to young black men - it won’t stop until we recognize it and demand accountability.

Black Lives Matter.

Netanyahu must go

News broke that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is working to bring in Otzma Yehudit - a racist right wing political party - into the government. This, on top of the so-called “nation-state” law, puts the current Israeli government squarely in the zone of appearing to have no moral anchor. Mr. Netanyahu, you must go - you are hurting, not helping, the Israeli state. You are hurting the cause for peace. You look craven and desparate to hold power no matter the cost. No state should be sanctioning racism and de-legitimization of a people, especially one whose people have been on the receiving end of such treatment for millenia.

Alabama small town editorial calls for the Klan to ride again

No, I am not kidding. Story in the Montgomery Advertiser is here.

The not-so-subtle attack on Brown v. Board of Education

I came across this Mother Jones article today, which lays out the number of federal judicial nominees from the Trump administration who refuse to acknowledge whether Brown v. Board of Education was correctly decided (there’s at least ten). Brown, you may remember, was the landmark 1954 Supreme Court unanimous decision that abolished segregation in schools. What could be an easier question? Even Brett Kavanaugh knew enough to acknowledge Brown is settled law. His replacement on the D.C. court of appeals apparently could not do the same.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Atlanta Center for Civil and Human Rights, which is a remarkable journey through the key moments of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It is a powerful reminder of the terrible currents of segregation, hate and violence that existed in the 20th century. You can see the politicians that fought for segregation; read the Jim Crow laws that were in effect throughout the southern states; experience what it might have been like to sit in protest at a segregated lunch counter; understand the heroism and bravery of the Freedom Riders in 1961; learn more about the march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the acts of violence that followed it, such as the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed four girls, the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwermer, and more. We hear about the legacy of Dr. King and his unflinching truthtelling in pursuit of economic and social justice. I walked out feeling more committed than ever to try to uphold that legacy in whatever small or large way I can. Two of people I was touring with - an industry colleague and her friend - are Black, and we exited the Center together, feeling like we had experienced a profound and moving place.

We encountered on the sidewalk just outside the Center a group of white street-preacher families, wearing matching t-shirts and smiles, everyone with genteel politeness and glossy brochures. These were not your doom-sayer corner screechers, just a bunch of folksy sounding families with some southern accents. A young girl with braces, probably around thirteen, with bright blue eyes and a big smile came up to the three of us and handed us a weighty metal coin. What I presumed was her family was sitting behind her, also with huge smiles. Me being me, I politely accepted the coin and I was super-curious about what this young lady had to say. The coin, by the way, had five Christian fish on it with various colors - gold, black, red, white and blue, along with some other attractive decorations.

The girl began her story by telling us about the story of Christ, and her joy about the knowledge that she going to heaven. All good and fine so far. She then asked me what I thought of the gold colored fish, what feelings did the color gold have for me. So natch, I said something like, “I suppose money or material things”. She approved of that answer and talked about the dangers of materialism as one might expect. Okay, again fine, no big deal.

Then she asked me what feelings I had about the color black, what it represents. I hesitated - I was pretty sure where she was going with this, and I had to take a moment to compose myself and figure out my response, especially given where we just came from. However, my colleague had no such hesitation when she said “Beautiful. Black is beautiful.” This young lady had zero idea of how to respond to this, I could see her processing how to deal with it. So she repeats the question to me, the white guy. “Yeah ok what do you think of the color black?” And I said “Me too, Black is beautiful.” The young lady at this point had recovered her composure and said, “Well yes but the color black represents darkness and sin, do you know what sin is? I mean black is darkness in the way Disney is, it represents sin.”

I said I had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about, and my two colleagues and I laughed and walked away. Afterwards, we talked about it for a bit, the fact that this girl had no clue that her words - in particular just outside of the Center for Civil and Human Rights - might be contributing to the concept that “black” = “sin” or “bad” could be construed to also be applied to Black people. It certainly was a very awkward and weird moment for all of us.

This seemingly small interaction happens every day all over the country. I’m not sure I would have thought much of it myself had we not just come out of the Center and I was with two Black colleagues who felt the same impact I did, assuredly much more so than me. And the mission creep of small, insensitive interactions is very deeply linked to the larger, more systemic attacks on civil rights that continues to happen in this country, and particularly under this so-called President. And so it is no accident that judicial nominees from the Trump administration are not validating Brown, thus accelerating the mission creep of systemic and institutional racism, across all people of color, religions, places of origin, gender identity, undermining the very concept of empathy and humanity.

So what do we do? The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said something about it:

Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise be exposed, with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.” Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. April 16, 1963

I was on a plane this week sitting next to a very wealthy (white) man who was surprised I took the time to blog, tweet and speak out about what ails us today. My reply to him was “Why would I be afraid of talking about it? Why would you be? If we cannot talk to each other then where are we as people?” We too often let fear put us to inaction and silence. Donald Trump and his GOP enablers - and yes I am calling out the GOP - are what happens when inaction and silence occur. We cannot be silent any longer.

The case for a deal

A lot has been written about the recent proposal by the GOP & Trump to end the shutdown. It has angered Democrats as the protections would only last three years, and angered Republicans because the deal would dare to offer what they term as “amnesty”. I might be the only person in the country right now who thinks they need to cut some kind of deal on this to open the government, but I am making the case to do so here.

Right now, the Democrats are saying the deal is dead on arrival because a) the protections for DACA are temporary; b) any funding for the wall is wasteful and immoral; c) would enable Trump to gain a “win” on his signature divisive and hateful campaign rhetoric; d) would encourage Trump and the GOP to shut down the government each time a funding issue comes up; and e) the Ninth Circuit has paused Trump’s attempted recission of DACA and it doesn’t appear yet like the Supreme Court will take up the case this term. That’s a lot of cogent, articulate reasons, and I understand them all.

However, there are five things that make me believe that the Democrats should move forward with some kind of deal for DACA, if not the exact one Trump and McConnell have proposed. The first is that the shutdown is hurting a LOT of people, first and foremost the 800,000 federal employees who did not choose to participate in this exercise. It also is hurting our national parks, food safety, airport security, EPA inspections, abiltiy to manage taxes, and so on. I realize standing on principle is important, but at some level we really need to get the government back open. Yes, I know all the reasons for not doing this - rewarding bad behavior, giving Trump an exit, potentially not getting a “good enough” deal. Screw all of those potential fears - the GOP and Trump already look terrible, and opening up the government now doesn’t undo that damage. We should be in the business of governing, and there’s nothing that’s happened here that will make the GOP look good if the government opens tomorrow. We need to get our people back to work and get our country moving again.

Second I believe consideration of some legislative extension for DACA is actually a win, even if it only goes for a period of years. Let’s not forget, DACA was implemented via executive order, NOT legislation. As you probably remember from civics class, executive orders don’t have the force of law; they can be overturned and/or modified by future presidents, or Congress if it so chooses. That very fact is why Trump’s actions on DACA are being litigated across the country now. Democrats are quick to point out that the Ninth Circuit has put a halt on Trump’s attempted rollback of DACA, and that the Supreme Court is likely not willing to hear the case this term. So given the courts have put a halt on DACA rollbacks for maybe at least a year, what exactly would the Democrats be “winning” with a legislative fix? First and foremost, it would achieve some certainty for DACA recipients past the 2020 elections, and take the fate of Dreamers out of the hands of the courts. Keep in mind that advocates of relying on the court are saying in essence they are relying on the court of John Roberts to keep it in place. Do you want to take that bet? Don’t forget there’s another court case in Texas, Texas v. Nielsen that is still challenging the legitimacy of DACA as a whole. Legislative solutions are much more stable than ones imposed by the courts or the executive. As a matter of principle, we should always be wary of legislative dictates by the executive branch. Look no further than our current occupant of the White House - are we saying executive reach was okay under Obama, but not okay under Trump? Clearly our current situation makes that proposition untenable. Buying certainty for DACA recipients for at least three years for $5.7 billion? It doesn’t have to be the exact deal put on the table by the GOP - it may get better. Sign me up and we’ll figure it out over at least the next 36 months, and get people back to work.

Third, I realize the wall is a waste of money. And to be candid, it doesn’t really bother me all that much. There are SO many more wasteful items in a $3.5 trillion budget that get used to advance policy. In my opinion, spending a few bucks to shore up some holes or put a few slats up along the border doesn’t practically really do anything. Making the wall a hill to die on gives it prominence it really doesn’t deserve.

Fourth, after this debacle I don’t believe the GOP or Trump will have an appetite to engage in a shutdown fight again anytime soon. I could be wrong about this - but they look so bad right now I don’t think they’re going to do this again. Mitch McConnell is a bad person, as are his senatorial henchmen, but they are at their core polticians looking out for their own skin - they have to understand if they do it again will be so much more of a disaster than this one already has become.

Finally, a deal for DACA will in all likelihood split the GOP and create infighting over the next two years. Popcorn anyone? Time to get the deal done and get back to work.

I stand with UTLA

I stand behind our teachers fighting against unreasonable class sizes, for students with special needs, staffing for schools and a reasonable pay increase. For the record, I do NOT support the independent charter movement, nor do I support the expansion of independent charter schools. I support public education, with public accountability - each and every one of us should be invested in ALL of our children’s futures. Our teachers educate and watch over our future - our precious children. I have seen a public school system work when it is fairly funded; it is a myth that public eduction can’t work. I really wish this was not going to happen, but our family is with UTLA.