An excerpt from the NY Times -
Admit This Ex-Con to the Connecticut Bar
By BARI WEISS
In 1996, when Reginald Dwayne Betts was being sentenced to nine years in prison for a carjacking, the judge handing down the ruling told the 16 year old: “I don’t have any illusions that the penitentiary is going to help you, but you can get something out of it if you want to.”
The judge probably had, at best, a high school equivalency diploma in mind for Mr. Betts. Mr. Betts had bigger ambitions.
It began with a book called “The Black Poets,” which someone slipped under his cell door during the year he spent in solitary confinement. “That’s the book that changed my life,” he has said of the anthology. “It introduced me to Etheridge Knight, to Rob Hayden, Lucille Clifton, Sonia Sanchez and so many countless black writers and black poets that really shaped who it is that I wanted to be in the world.”
After his release in 2005, he wrote two books of critically acclaimed poetry and a memoir. He got a B.A. and an M.F.A., and became a Radcliffe fellow at Harvard. Last May, he graduated from Yale Law School. Oh, and along the way, he became a husband and a father to two boys; tellingly, this is the first accomplishment he lists on his website’s biography page.
~~~~~~~~~~
Dwayne Betts is the kind of man who should be receiving awards from the bar association of Connecticut. Instead, he hasn’t been admitted.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/09/opinion/admit-this-ex-con-to-the-connecticut-bar.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region®ion=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Why We Ignore Mass Suffering
An excerpt from Vox -
A psychologist explains the limits of human compassion
Why do we ignore mass atrocities? It has to do with something called “psychic numbing.”
Updated by Brian Resnick
I often report on political psychology. And in my conversations with scientists, I’ll often ask: “What research helps you understand what’s going on in the world?” The answer — whether it’s pegged to the refugee crisis abroad or the health care debate at home — very often involves Paul Slovic.
Slovic is a psychologist at the University of Oregon, and for decades he’s been asking the question: Why does the world often ignore mass atrocities, mass suffering?
Slovic’s work has shown that the human mind is not very good at thinking about, and empathizing with, millions or billions of individuals.
“THE VALUE OF A PERSON'S LIFE DECLINES PRECIPITOUSLY WITH NUMBER. IS THAT WHAT WE WANT?”
That’s why it’s not surprising six out of 10 Americans support a travel ban that, in part, bars refugees from entering America. That many lawmakers aren’t horrified by the possibility of booting tens of millions from health insurance. That the world looked on as millions died in war and genocide in Darfur. That we haven’t really grappled as a nation with the opioid epidemic, which killed 33,000 in 2015.
When numbers simply can’t convey the costs, there’s an infuriating paradox at play. Slovic calls it “psychic numbing.” As the number of victims in a tragedy increases, our empathy, our willingness to help, reliably decreases. This happens even when the number of victims increases from one to two.
https://www.vox.com/explainers/2017/7/19/15925506/psychic-numbing-paul-slovic-apathy
A psychologist explains the limits of human compassion
Why do we ignore mass atrocities? It has to do with something called “psychic numbing.”
Updated by Brian Resnick
I often report on political psychology. And in my conversations with scientists, I’ll often ask: “What research helps you understand what’s going on in the world?” The answer — whether it’s pegged to the refugee crisis abroad or the health care debate at home — very often involves Paul Slovic.
Slovic is a psychologist at the University of Oregon, and for decades he’s been asking the question: Why does the world often ignore mass atrocities, mass suffering?
Slovic’s work has shown that the human mind is not very good at thinking about, and empathizing with, millions or billions of individuals.
“THE VALUE OF A PERSON'S LIFE DECLINES PRECIPITOUSLY WITH NUMBER. IS THAT WHAT WE WANT?”
That’s why it’s not surprising six out of 10 Americans support a travel ban that, in part, bars refugees from entering America. That many lawmakers aren’t horrified by the possibility of booting tens of millions from health insurance. That the world looked on as millions died in war and genocide in Darfur. That we haven’t really grappled as a nation with the opioid epidemic, which killed 33,000 in 2015.
When numbers simply can’t convey the costs, there’s an infuriating paradox at play. Slovic calls it “psychic numbing.” As the number of victims in a tragedy increases, our empathy, our willingness to help, reliably decreases. This happens even when the number of victims increases from one to two.
https://www.vox.com/explainers/2017/7/19/15925506/psychic-numbing-paul-slovic-apathy
Second Chance Project — Andre Edding’s Story
http://www.upworthy.com/he-was-ready-to-return-to-a-life-of-crime-daves-killer-bread-offered-an-alternative?c=upw1
Thank an Immigrant
From Upworthy -
23 things non-English-speaking immigrants gave us that we totally don't need. Not at all.
by Eric March
http://www.upworthy.com/23-things-non-english-speaking-immigrants-gave-us-that-we-totally-dont-need-not-at-all?c=upw1
23 things non-English-speaking immigrants gave us that we totally don't need. Not at all.
by Eric March
http://www.upworthy.com/23-things-non-english-speaking-immigrants-gave-us-that-we-totally-dont-need-not-at-all?c=upw1
Gentrification
An excerpt from the New Republic -
How to Stop Gentrification
Individuals moving to newly-hip neighborhoods admit they are part of the problem. What can they do?
BY COLIN KINNIBURGH
In September 2005, the New Orleans real-estate developer Finis Shelnutt told a German newspaper of the opportunities Hurricane Katrina had created for his business. “The storm destroyed a great deal,” he said, just weeks after Katrina had killed more than one thousand people and expelled tens of thousands more from the city. “And there’s plenty of space to build houses and sell them for a lot of money.” Moreover, he added, “the hurricane drove poor people and criminals out of the city, and we hope they don’t come back.”
Shelnutt’s uniquely forthright comments distilled the essence of gentrification, as Peter Moskowitz explains it in How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood. Gentrification, in this account, is not just about twenty-something white dudes with beards riding their fixed-gear bikes into unfamiliar neighborhoods, nor filament-bulb-lit craft beer bars opening up alongside bodegas. It is not really a cultural phenomenon, as it is so often depicted, nor one driven by individuals with a little more disposable income than their new neighbors. It is about profit and power, racism and violence on a massive scale. It is, in Moskowitz’s words, “the urban form of a new kind of capitalism.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/144260/stop-gentrification
How to Stop Gentrification
Individuals moving to newly-hip neighborhoods admit they are part of the problem. What can they do?
BY COLIN KINNIBURGH
In September 2005, the New Orleans real-estate developer Finis Shelnutt told a German newspaper of the opportunities Hurricane Katrina had created for his business. “The storm destroyed a great deal,” he said, just weeks after Katrina had killed more than one thousand people and expelled tens of thousands more from the city. “And there’s plenty of space to build houses and sell them for a lot of money.” Moreover, he added, “the hurricane drove poor people and criminals out of the city, and we hope they don’t come back.”
Shelnutt’s uniquely forthright comments distilled the essence of gentrification, as Peter Moskowitz explains it in How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood. Gentrification, in this account, is not just about twenty-something white dudes with beards riding their fixed-gear bikes into unfamiliar neighborhoods, nor filament-bulb-lit craft beer bars opening up alongside bodegas. It is not really a cultural phenomenon, as it is so often depicted, nor one driven by individuals with a little more disposable income than their new neighbors. It is about profit and power, racism and violence on a massive scale. It is, in Moskowitz’s words, “the urban form of a new kind of capitalism.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/144260/stop-gentrification
Preparing for College
An excerpt from Very Smart Brothas - (From me. Note - PWI = Predominating White Institutions)
10 Things to Help Black Students Prepare for Life at a PWI
By Lawrence Ware
I regret not attending an HBCU.
If I could do things over, I would have accepted those offers from either Howard or Hampton University and had a college experience devoid of the constant assaults on my humanity by way of microagressions and covert racism.
Attending a PWI (predominantly white institution), I was ever aware of the fact that I was an “other.” Often, I was the only black student in my class, and when my fraternity wanted to host events, we were forced to jump through hoops that white Greek organizations did not know existed.
Now, working at a PWI as a faculty member and administrator, I try to do for my students what I wish someone had done for me: prepare them for the challenges that come along with the reality of life at a PWI as a student of color.
If I could give an intellectual going-away gift to every black freshman headed to a PWI this fall, in addition to a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce (the cooks at PWIs don’t know how to season the damn food), I would include the following:
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/10-things-to-help-black-students-prepare-for-life-at-a-1797642965?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-08-09
10 Things to Help Black Students Prepare for Life at a PWI
By Lawrence Ware
I regret not attending an HBCU.
If I could do things over, I would have accepted those offers from either Howard or Hampton University and had a college experience devoid of the constant assaults on my humanity by way of microagressions and covert racism.
Attending a PWI (predominantly white institution), I was ever aware of the fact that I was an “other.” Often, I was the only black student in my class, and when my fraternity wanted to host events, we were forced to jump through hoops that white Greek organizations did not know existed.
Now, working at a PWI as a faculty member and administrator, I try to do for my students what I wish someone had done for me: prepare them for the challenges that come along with the reality of life at a PWI as a student of color.
If I could give an intellectual going-away gift to every black freshman headed to a PWI this fall, in addition to a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce (the cooks at PWIs don’t know how to season the damn food), I would include the following:
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/10-things-to-help-black-students-prepare-for-life-at-a-1797642965?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-08-09
Caltrans is Hiring!
An excerpt from the Sacramento Bee -
Get your resume: Caltrans has 1,100 job openings
BY ADAM ASHTON
Attention job seekers: It’s a good time to send a resume to California’s transportation department.
Caltrans has more than 1,100 job openings this summer in wide a range of white collar and blue collar careers. It’s making the rounds at dozens of career fairs at universities and military bases to spread the word.
“We’re constantly hiring,” said Michelle Tucker, the department’s chief of human resources.
Two trends are driving the department’s hiring spree.
First, Caltrans has a somewhat older workforce than most other state departments and it’s seeing a wave of baby boomers retire.
Second, it’s planning for a heftier workload while it prepares for a slate of projects that are to be funded through the state’s new transportation tax. The tax, a 12-cent increase to the state’s base gasoline tax, is expected to deliver an additional $52 billion in funding for transportation projects over the next 10 years.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article165854712.html#storylink=cpy
Get your resume: Caltrans has 1,100 job openings
BY ADAM ASHTON
Attention job seekers: It’s a good time to send a resume to California’s transportation department.
Caltrans has more than 1,100 job openings this summer in wide a range of white collar and blue collar careers. It’s making the rounds at dozens of career fairs at universities and military bases to spread the word.
“We’re constantly hiring,” said Michelle Tucker, the department’s chief of human resources.
Two trends are driving the department’s hiring spree.
First, Caltrans has a somewhat older workforce than most other state departments and it’s seeing a wave of baby boomers retire.
Second, it’s planning for a heftier workload while it prepares for a slate of projects that are to be funded through the state’s new transportation tax. The tax, a 12-cent increase to the state’s base gasoline tax, is expected to deliver an additional $52 billion in funding for transportation projects over the next 10 years.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article165854712.html#storylink=cpy
Another FAMU Success Story
An excerpt from the LA times -
'Girls Trip' producer Will Packer finds success by targeting an underserved audience
By Ryan Faughnder
In the run-up to his latest movie “Girls Trip," producer Will Packer didn’t rely on massive billboard campaigns in Los Angeles and New York.
Instead, he brought the star-studded cast to Atlanta, Miami and New Orleans for advanced screenings with fans and online tastemakers, including black millennial website Hello Beautiful, to generate excitement among African American women. At an event at New Orleans’ luxurious Theatres at Canal Place, Packer told moviegoers of his wish to make a film that encapsulated the experiences of black women.
“It makes [moviegoers] feel like they're part of a movement,” Packer said in an interview.
The strategy of marketing movies directly to their target audiences has served Packer well. “Girls Trip,” a $19-million movie about four women who reconnect at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, has grossed $85 million so far domestically. The Universal Pictures-released film is the latest success for Packer, 43, a prolific producer whose 26 movies, which include “Think Like A Man” and “Ride Along,” have grossed more than $1 billion combined at the box office.
~~~~~~~~~~
It’s a startling rise to power for a filmmaker who got his start as a college sophomore in Tallahassee, Fla. by helping a fraternity brother make a $20,000 indie film.
At Florida A&M University, where he studied electrical engineering, he made a movie called “Chocolate City,” a coming-of-age tale set at a historically black college, with his friend Rob Hardy. They sent the movie to every studio and agency, with no luck. So they went local, premiering the film in the school’s main auditorium and booking it in a second-run theater. It got a huge response.
“Nobody cared in Hollywood, but you know where they did care? Tallahassee, Fla., and Florida AMU, and they cared a whole lot,” Packer said. “I realized that if you make something for an audience, and it's received well by that audience, it doesn't really matter what other people feel about it.… I certainly want to make content for a broader audience, but I never lost an eye for making sure I hit the bull’s-eye with a niche.”
http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-will-packer-inc-20170808-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter
'Girls Trip' producer Will Packer finds success by targeting an underserved audience
By Ryan Faughnder
In the run-up to his latest movie “Girls Trip," producer Will Packer didn’t rely on massive billboard campaigns in Los Angeles and New York.
Instead, he brought the star-studded cast to Atlanta, Miami and New Orleans for advanced screenings with fans and online tastemakers, including black millennial website Hello Beautiful, to generate excitement among African American women. At an event at New Orleans’ luxurious Theatres at Canal Place, Packer told moviegoers of his wish to make a film that encapsulated the experiences of black women.
“It makes [moviegoers] feel like they're part of a movement,” Packer said in an interview.
The strategy of marketing movies directly to their target audiences has served Packer well. “Girls Trip,” a $19-million movie about four women who reconnect at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, has grossed $85 million so far domestically. The Universal Pictures-released film is the latest success for Packer, 43, a prolific producer whose 26 movies, which include “Think Like A Man” and “Ride Along,” have grossed more than $1 billion combined at the box office.
~~~~~~~~~~
It’s a startling rise to power for a filmmaker who got his start as a college sophomore in Tallahassee, Fla. by helping a fraternity brother make a $20,000 indie film.
At Florida A&M University, where he studied electrical engineering, he made a movie called “Chocolate City,” a coming-of-age tale set at a historically black college, with his friend Rob Hardy. They sent the movie to every studio and agency, with no luck. So they went local, premiering the film in the school’s main auditorium and booking it in a second-run theater. It got a huge response.
“Nobody cared in Hollywood, but you know where they did care? Tallahassee, Fla., and Florida AMU, and they cared a whole lot,” Packer said. “I realized that if you make something for an audience, and it's received well by that audience, it doesn't really matter what other people feel about it.… I certainly want to make content for a broader audience, but I never lost an eye for making sure I hit the bull’s-eye with a niche.”
http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-will-packer-inc-20170808-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
A Legal Document That's Fun to Read
From the NY Times -
The Spirit of the Law
By Sarah Lyall
Here is a truly delightful amicus brief filed by the A.C.L.U. in support of the talk show host John Oliver, who is being sued by the aggrieved coal-mining executive Bob Murray. Even the table of contents (sample heading: “You Can’t Sue People for Being Mean to You, Bob”) fills a First Amendment-loving reporter’s heart with joy. “The complaint also interestingly claims that “ ‘nothing has ever stressed [Bob Murray] more than [John Oliver’s] vicious and untruthful attack,’” the brief notes. “Is he really saying that a late-night British comedian on a premium channel has caused him more stress than the time that one of his mines collapsed and killed a group of his employees?” SCRIBD »
The Spirit of the Law
By Sarah Lyall
Here is a truly delightful amicus brief filed by the A.C.L.U. in support of the talk show host John Oliver, who is being sued by the aggrieved coal-mining executive Bob Murray. Even the table of contents (sample heading: “You Can’t Sue People for Being Mean to You, Bob”) fills a First Amendment-loving reporter’s heart with joy. “The complaint also interestingly claims that “ ‘nothing has ever stressed [Bob Murray] more than [John Oliver’s] vicious and untruthful attack,’” the brief notes. “Is he really saying that a late-night British comedian on a premium channel has caused him more stress than the time that one of his mines collapsed and killed a group of his employees?” SCRIBD »
ACLU Brief on Behalf of John Oliver by LawNewz on Scribd
Focusing on the Booze
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Most drunken-driving programs focus on driving. This one worked because it focused on booze.
By Keith Humphreys
“24/7 Sobriety” was invented more than a decade ago in South Dakota by an innovative county prosecutor (and future state attorney general) named Larry Long. Long concluded that the best use of the power of the criminal justice system was to attack the role of alcohol in offenders’ lives directly by mandating them to abstain. Many judges across the country order abstinence as part of parole or probation, but Long decided to actually enforce it. Offenders’ drinking was monitored every single day, typically by in-person breath tests in the morning and evening. In contrast to the typically slow and unpredictable ways of the criminal justice system, anyone caught drinking faced a 100 percent chance of arrest and an immediate consequence — typically 12 to 36 hours in jail.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/07/most-drunk-driving-programs-focus-on-driving-this-one-worked-because-it-focused-on-booze/?utm_term=.aec716532e5b&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Most drunken-driving programs focus on driving. This one worked because it focused on booze.
By Keith Humphreys
“24/7 Sobriety” was invented more than a decade ago in South Dakota by an innovative county prosecutor (and future state attorney general) named Larry Long. Long concluded that the best use of the power of the criminal justice system was to attack the role of alcohol in offenders’ lives directly by mandating them to abstain. Many judges across the country order abstinence as part of parole or probation, but Long decided to actually enforce it. Offenders’ drinking was monitored every single day, typically by in-person breath tests in the morning and evening. In contrast to the typically slow and unpredictable ways of the criminal justice system, anyone caught drinking faced a 100 percent chance of arrest and an immediate consequence — typically 12 to 36 hours in jail.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/07/most-drunk-driving-programs-focus-on-driving-this-one-worked-because-it-focused-on-booze/?utm_term=.aec716532e5b&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
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