Oct 22, 2022·edited Oct 22, 2022Liked by Richard Cheverton, Pamela Fitzsimmons
The musthing elephant in the room is discipline: carrot and stick. Activists will not let "reward and punishment" take place. I think that a paradox exists in there somewhere.
A strong philosophical element in that refusal to punish or even remonstrate is born in anti-capitalism. The system is evil therefore any demands it makes in exchange for its largesse are evil. You wouldn't make a raped woman marry her rapist would you? It would be a cruel absurdity to make succor for the raped contingent upon hoops and rules her rapist constructs. Or something like that.
Years and years ago I was with a woman who applied for a program director position in public broadcasting. Among the many city stations that interviewed her was that of Madison, Wisconsin. We lived abroad so the interview was conducted via conference call.
She allowed me to listen in. Those people were goddam maniacs. A dozen or so progressive interviewers questioned her and each woman had her own axe to grind or constituency to champion. All were church militant, and each understood herself to be the primary reason for the earth to wander around the sun. During the interview they occasionally paused the very bitter attacks on one another to ask the interviewee a question. The answer, of course, served as a springboard for renewed . . .Those disembodied and envenomed voices shrilling through the speaker shall always be with me.
So, let's do that and toss in ranked choice voting. Oh yes, elect Tina by all means.
The recent unanticipated candor within the L.A. City Council was satisfying if you were resigned to the collapse on the nation. Hey, why kid ourselves? It was fun.
“A diversion program overseen by a DA who won’t prosecute low-level crime?”
There is another option: The governor can remove the authority of a District Attorney if he refuses to prosecute certain cases or carry out the duties of his office in keeping with his oath.
The governor can then designate an acting District Attorney to properly prosecute certain cases. The elected DA would still hold office, still collect a pay check. He simply wouldn’t be able to continue violating the oath of his office.
This alternative is not as obscure as you might think. It has even been done before.
Obviously, the current governor is not likely to pursue this option to help Portland. Whether any of the current candidates for governor would be willing to do so is unknown.
The musthing elephant in the room is discipline: carrot and stick. Activists will not let "reward and punishment" take place. I think that a paradox exists in there somewhere.
A strong philosophical element in that refusal to punish or even remonstrate is born in anti-capitalism. The system is evil therefore any demands it makes in exchange for its largesse are evil. You wouldn't make a raped woman marry her rapist would you? It would be a cruel absurdity to make succor for the raped contingent upon hoops and rules her rapist constructs. Or something like that.
Years and years ago I was with a woman who applied for a program director position in public broadcasting. Among the many city stations that interviewed her was that of Madison, Wisconsin. We lived abroad so the interview was conducted via conference call.
She allowed me to listen in. Those people were goddam maniacs. A dozen or so progressive interviewers questioned her and each woman had her own axe to grind or constituency to champion. All were church militant, and each understood herself to be the primary reason for the earth to wander around the sun. During the interview they occasionally paused the very bitter attacks on one another to ask the interviewee a question. The answer, of course, served as a springboard for renewed . . .Those disembodied and envenomed voices shrilling through the speaker shall always be with me.
So, let's do that and toss in ranked choice voting. Oh yes, elect Tina by all means.
The recent unanticipated candor within the L.A. City Council was satisfying if you were resigned to the collapse on the nation. Hey, why kid ourselves? It was fun.
Great comment. Your thoughts about reward/punishment are spot-on.
“A diversion program overseen by a DA who won’t prosecute low-level crime?”
There is another option: The governor can remove the authority of a District Attorney if he refuses to prosecute certain cases or carry out the duties of his office in keeping with his oath.
The governor can then designate an acting District Attorney to properly prosecute certain cases. The elected DA would still hold office, still collect a pay check. He simply wouldn’t be able to continue violating the oath of his office.
This alternative is not as obscure as you might think. It has even been done before.
Obviously, the current governor is not likely to pursue this option to help Portland. Whether any of the current candidates for governor would be willing to do so is unknown.