Thursday, July 31, 2014
Political Mayhem Thursday: Looking around the corner
I'm not really looking forward to the next presidential election. Some good thinkers have convinced me that the importance of that race is over-valued: In the end, the people in the Congress matter just as much, and in terms of anyone's daily life it may be local officials who make the most difference.
Still, it hard to imagine 2016's election:
1) People seem to assume that Hilary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee, but I hear little real enthusiasm for that. People are tired of Clintons and Bushes. That might make her support wide but shallow.
2) But, if not Hillary, then who? There doesn't seem to be a strong candidate out there.
3) On the Republican side, it seems like anyone who wants the nomination faces a tough road.
What is your early impression?
Still, it hard to imagine 2016's election:
1) People seem to assume that Hilary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee, but I hear little real enthusiasm for that. People are tired of Clintons and Bushes. That might make her support wide but shallow.
2) But, if not Hillary, then who? There doesn't seem to be a strong candidate out there.
3) On the Republican side, it seems like anyone who wants the nomination faces a tough road.
What is your early impression?
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
What's up with clemency?
As some of you know, I have been working hard for the past few months on the Clemency Project 2014. A few weeks ago, we trained over 600 lawyers to handle the cases that have already come in (over 20,000 inmates submitted surveys).
As with any project, now there are some challenges. You can read about one of them here, in a story by Alia Malek of Al Jazeera America.
Speaking of which, every time I wander over to Al Jazeera, I find something interesting that I'm not seeing elsewhere...
As with any project, now there are some challenges. You can read about one of them here, in a story by Alia Malek of Al Jazeera America.
Speaking of which, every time I wander over to Al Jazeera, I find something interesting that I'm not seeing elsewhere...
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
The Tax Cod
I'm not sure why this is true, but sometimes typos crack me up more than they should. In a feverish online discussion of corporations moving offshore, one of the writers referred to the "Tax Cod." I'm pretty sure that he meant the tax code, but now I can't get the image out of my head or this beast called the Tax Cod. Presumably, it collects taxes from undersea entities.
I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in fixating on the stray typo... and probably I have provided some of those typos myself at times.
Monday, July 28, 2014
In the stars
I don't know where anonymous has been:
Far from the city lights
Stars hang like sparkly jewels
Silent serenity.
"Wheee.....Let's go fast!"
Disrupting the stately elders
As it shoots past.
… but it sounds like the same place that Sleepy Walleye hangs out:
At the water's edge
We ponder the infinite
And swat mosquitos.
Far from the city lights
Stars hang like sparkly jewels
Silent serenity.
"Wheee.....Let's go fast!"
Disrupting the stately elders
As it shoots past.
… but it sounds like the same place that Sleepy Walleye hangs out:
We ponder the infinite
And swat mosquitos.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Sunday Reflection: On the death of Dan Markel
I had met Dan, but didn't know him, really. I certainly knew his work, which was compelling and well-considered. He mostly wrote about retribution theory, and much of what I know about that topic is from his articles.
Though I didn't know Dan the way others did (even at St. Thomas, where he had many friends on the faculty), his death has been at the top of my mind all week. Yes, yes, I know-- people get shot every day, and a disproportionate amount of media time is spent when a relatively affluent white guy is the victim. Still, there is something about this case, this life and death, that is especially grueling to me.
Whoever shot Dan Markel (or hired someone to do so) must have been full of terrible emotions-- hate, vengeance, anger. More than anything, tragedies like this pull me towards those who are gentle of spirit. That is, at its best, what faith and communities of faith provide. Faith cannot provide an answer for the question "why?" when something so brutal has happened. It can, though, offer the too-often-unrealized hope of a time and place where this kind of hate, vengeance, and anger are absent.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
In the news
Doesn't it seem a little like things are going wrong all over? The longest-term issue may be the multi-faceted one that is developing in the Middle East, with Israel and the West Bank at war again, ISIS on the move in Syria and Iraq, and instability abounding elsewhere. Then we have the situation in Ukraine, which could take a turn for the worse, and there are planes crashing all over-- three in the last week or so.
I'm not sure why, but it seems like many years there is a news cycle like this in late July/early August. The calmest month? Maybe October… and I'm not sure why.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Haiku Friday: Summer skies
That's kind of a vague haiku topic, huh? But it can work… let's just say you can haiku about whatever it is you do under that sky. Here is mine:
Backs on the green grass
The berm along Lake St. Clair;
Slow clouds and freighters.
Now it is your turn… use the 5/7/5 syllable formula, and have some fun with it!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Political Mayhem Thursday: Puppets and prison
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Summer food
-- anything on a skewer
-- watermelon
-- sorbet
-- cherries
-- wild salmon
-- fruit-flavored ice cream of any kind
-- sponge cake
-- blueberry pie
Does that make me weird?
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Thank you, Weird Al
BUT, there is still a lot I don't understand. Including all of the following:
-- Dangling participles
-- Who and Whom
-- Prepositions (really, I have no idea what they are)
-- Oxford commas
-- Syntax (I don't even know what that is)
Finally, I'm most disturbed by the brief appearance of Clippy in this video...
Monday, July 21, 2014
Believable
You know what I liked? This haiku by the Medievalist, on the topic of "old friends." It just seemed very real... a recollection of a perfect, small moment:
Jumping off a wall,
Another cup of coffee,
Shadows of things past.
Jessica's was heartbreaking or sweet, or both:
His leaving almost
Killed me. Not from loneliness
But loving him more.
But Susan's was just heartbreaking:
First friend and first love,
We did did so much together.
Then you went and died.
Jumping off a wall,
Another cup of coffee,
Shadows of things past.
Jessica's was heartbreaking or sweet, or both:
His leaving almost
Killed me. Not from loneliness
But loving him more.
But Susan's was just heartbreaking:
First friend and first love,
We did did so much together.
Then you went and died.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Sunday Reflection: One Moment Right
Every once in a while you get a tiny bit of something just right.
This week, I felt that. I spent most of my week in DC, training over 600 lawyers to handle clemency petitions for the Clemency Project 2014. It was grueling and emotional-- we were trying to teach a very diverse group of people, ranging from experienced federal defenders to beginning associates at big law firms. My colleagues in the project were wonderful, but the challenge was great. If we do it right, hundreds or thousands of people will go free from prison having served a decade or more for non-violent offenses, and hundreds of millions of dollars will be saved. It is something I have advocated for since 2009. This is our chance, and the window may not be open for long.
Not all of what I did was great, or even good. I should have put less text on my slides, I should have practiced more, I told a dumb joke about pumpkins. I can be pretty awkward when I teach.
At the end of the two days, though, I was answering questions from people in our audience that had been printed out. The one I was answering asked about complex cases, and I addressed the discrete question. But then I felt something bigger had to be said. There was a camera recording it all and sending the images to screens, and I looked up to it, stopped for a moment, and then said something my students have heard me say before: That tragedy is always complex, and that criminal law is all tragedy, every bit of it, and that is why it matters so much, why this matters so much; there is no simple tragedy. And then I stopped, because the same instinct that told me to speak then told me to stop.
There is a lot more to do. This is not a summer of rest. But that one tiny bit? I got that right.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Right now...
I am doing what I most wish I could. And I realize how rare and precious that is.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Haiku Friday: Old friends
As a result, I'm making a LOT of hamburgers. A lot. After all, I have seen Gordon do some serious eating.
It will be great to see him again, of course. That's the way it is with old friends. Let's haiku about that this week…
Here, I will go first:
He is in my tests
As "Glorbon Dandyport," Esq.
Hunting down crime guys!
Now it is your turn-- just think about an old friend, of whatever type, and convert those thoughts into 5 syllables for a first line, 7 for the second, and five for the third...
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Polititical Mayhem Thursday: On The Border
The news lately has been largely focus on the arrival of thousands of undocumented children who have crossed the Southern border. As followers of the blog know, I am not adverse to a consistent and relatively strict border policy; I think that open immigration keeps wage down.
However, this is a different scenario. Children from Central America are the ones crossing the border, rather than adults. It appears that they have been sent by their families to the United States, in some (but certainly not all) instances to avoid the violence of their home countries.
What do you think the United States' response should be?
However, this is a different scenario. Children from Central America are the ones crossing the border, rather than adults. It appears that they have been sent by their families to the United States, in some (but certainly not all) instances to avoid the violence of their home countries.
What do you think the United States' response should be?
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
My Superhero
I have officially picked a favorite super-hero: Patient Bear.
The character, pictured above, appeared on a placemat post on the wall at Michaelangelo's Pizza in Minneapolis a few years ago. The artist, probably, was a bored child. The medium was definitely crayon.
But since I first saw it, the character of Patient Bear, sitting at his picnic table waiting for his pizza, has inspired me. Patience is a virtue that can save people from all kinds of bad things, and it is something that I am challenged by-- I want things to happen now! But, as history has proven over and over, patience is powerful.
We don't know much about patient bear, other than the obvious. He likes pizza, apparently, which is unusual for a bear. Plus, he has a picnic table-- also unusual. Mostly, though, he is willing to wait in the sun, his paws carefully folded, until his pizza is done, rather than mauling the slowpokes in the kitchen or making a fuss.
Now, more often than you might think, I mutter to myself "Patient Bear waits patiently for his pizza," and it helps. In my book, that's a pretty good super-hero.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
What? It's over?
I watched the World Cup final on Sunday (I didn't think it was exciting as some others did, apparently), and now I'm left wondering how it went by so fast.
I'm not the world's biggest sports fan (and my timing is bad-- I had Baylor season tickets from 2001-2010), but sometimes for special events I get totally hooked. This is especially true for the World Cup and the Olympics. I say I won't do it, but then I suddenly care a lot about an octafinal game between Chile and Cote d'Ivoire.
And then it ends, and I feel a loss... like there is something missing from my week. I know RRL or someone will tell me to watch English league games, but Everton United v. the Chipbury Rangers just isn't the same. Plus, it seems to go on all year, judging by the fanatics I see over at Britt's.
Does anyone have a good idea on how I can fill the void?
Monday, July 14, 2014
In the water
I always like haiku that messes with the form a little, or adds a gentle twist to the topic. Renee is a master of this-- how many times have I learned something new from her take?
Last week, the topic was "by the water," but Christine gave it that subtle twist by making it "in the water." That wasn't just clever, it was genuine-- she's a swimmer:
eyes closed, listening
rhythm-mic like a beating heart
water laps the shore
my breathing, slow, calm
syncing, recharging with that
of Mother Nature
rhythm-mic like a beating heart
water laps the shore
my breathing, slow, calm
syncing, recharging with that
of Mother Nature
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Skateboarding on the Parthenon
Over the years, I have had the chance to be overwhelmed by the Grand Canyon, walk amidst the ruins of ancient civilizations, travel dusty roads in Africa, and work in the centers of our government. I'm glad for all of these experiences.
But… I will say that once examined closely, none of them are so grand. There is trash on the floor of the Grand Canyon, Rome was dirty and dangerous, and the offices in the West Wing are tiny. Each was grand, but also sad in their own way. Close examination revealed the dings and the dents, rather than a greater grandeur.
One of the remarkable things about the Gospels is that they cut the other way. Each time I visit the life of Christ I find something surprising, confounding, and new. His life and teaching were challenging and unsettling at every turn. Unlike these places, that place of faith becomes grander upon closer examination.
The world we have created can never be greater than ourselves; the world God urges us to always is.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Wal-Mart rejected...
I was fascinated by this story in the Waco Tribune-Herald, describing how the little town of West, which is 15 minutes north of Waco, successfully fought off Wal-Mart, who wanted to locate a store there. From the story:
The West City Council heard mostly negative comment in a public meeting Monday on annexing the 10-acre tract at Playdium Drive and Oak Street, though the council itself did not discuss or vote on the issue.
Among the concerns were that a Walmart, even a small one, could undermine local businesses such as pharmacies, auto parts stores and grocery stores.
Kirk Wines, owner of the Old Corner Drug Store at Oak and Main Streets, was among the opponents.
“I told the council, ‘I realize it’s not your job to protect my business, but I don’t feel it’s good for the city,’ ” he said. “You’re going to lose your downtown businesses. Is that good for the city?”
When did West become part of Vermont? I totally understand the position, and agree with the objectors in that the Wal-Mart probably would have killed off downtown, but it's the last place I expected that outcome...
Friday, July 11, 2014
Haiku Friday: By the water
It's summer in the Midwest, and it seems like everyone but me is off at a lake these days (I am holed up working on the clemency project). Later this month, though, I will get my chance. The picture above is of my dad and sister, doing what they do up at the Island.
What is it we do near water? Read, cook, rest, talk, fish… it is a different kind of life. Let's haiku about that this week. I will go first:
A good rubber raft
Sofa and clubhouse, afloat
A lush afternoon.
Now it is your turn-- make if 5 syllables/7 syllables/5 syllables, and have some fun!
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Political Mayhem Thursday: Hobby Lobby, etc.
A lot of people have asked me for a response to the Hobby Lobby decision last week, in which the Supreme Court interpreted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to protect the owners of closely-held companies in their efforts to keep some types of contraception out of company health plans.
A big part of my response is that I find it hard to care very much about this issue. I think affordable contraceptives should be widely available, so it's unfortunate this makes that less true for a relatively small number of people-- but they weren't getting subsidized contraceptives before. The "religious freedom" issue seems pretty insignificant, too-- given that the company's investments included the manufacturers of the same devices they sought to exclude; obviously, they weren't super-vigilant on this issue.
I thought D.J. Tice made some great points about all this in his opinion piece in last Sunday's Star Tribune:
In the closely watched Hobby Lobby
ruling that closed the court’s term last week, the Supreme Court’s five
conservatives held that Obamacare’s so-called “contraceptive mandate”
cannot be enforced against closely held corporations whose owners have a
sincere religious objection to paying for insurance that covers certain
kinds of birth control….
Less than two months earlier, in Town of Greece vs. Galloway,
the same five conservatives ruled in favor of a town board that begins
its public meetings with a prayer, almost always a sectarian Christian
prayer, despite the objections of some citizens….
In each
case, the conservatives could be seen as ruling in favor of religion,
and specifically in favor of conservative Christian sensibilities.
Meanwhile, in both cases, the liberals could be seen as subordinating
those religious interests to other concerns….
What leaves
one wondering about the deepest source of these tangled conclusions is
that it’s hard to see consistency, from either faction, when one thinks
about these cases in terms more directly involving legal and
constitutional principles.
All
religious-freedom disputes are about drawing the line between the rights
of individuals and the rights of the community, as exercised by its
government. The Constitution guarantees individual Americans’ right to
“free exercise” of their religion while also protecting them against
having religion imposed through an “establishment of religion.” How
broadly or narrowly one defines those protections has long left plenty
of room for debate.
But between
these two cases each court camp jumped from one side of the dividing
line to the other. The conservatives protected individual freedom of
conscience in Hobby Lobby, but sided with community values over
individual sensitivities in Town of Greece. The liberals jumped exactly
the other way, defending government-required birth control coverage
(never mind religious objections) but decrying a government-led prayer
that could bruise feelings.
One could
easily imagine a neutral view of religious rights concluding that a
brief prayer before a public meeting is no “establishment of religion” —
and that a birth control insurance
mandate is no infringement of “free exercise.” A more expansive (but
equally consistent) view of religious freedom might readily see both the mandate and the
prayer as violating private rights. But how easy is it to be confident
that anything besides a basic favoritism toward religion’s claims — or a
basic coolness toward them — fully explains the justices’ equal and
opposite gymnastics in these rulings?
Tice is right-- there should be a consistency here on government imposing a process that affects religious belief, that cuts both ways. If government can insist on a sectarian prayer, it should also be able to impose a health care system that burdens some religious groups. Commentators are right when they say that the Constitution itself does not impose a "wall" between church and state, but in practice a wall helps avoid this kind of inconsistency.
From my own point of view, I'm discouraged by another aspect of all this. Doesn't it seem like Christian groups are mostly fighting for their rights these days?
There are two problems with that.
First, "rights" are not a Christian concept. Duty is, obedience, humility, grace… but not "rights." Over and over, the stories of the Bible reflect a natural order that is not based on individual rights, but on humility before God. It is a fundamentally different value system that the rights provided in the Constitution. The First Commandment demands humility and loyalty to God (an obligation); the free exercise of religion demanded by the First Amendment-- a right-- does the opposite.
Second, it is unChristian to have the person you are most concerned about-- in this case, whose "rights" need to be protected-- be yourself. Christianity is truest when it is giving and other-directed; that is the model Jesus provided. It simply can't be said that Jesus cared about his own welfare, and repeatedly he taught that what we need to care about is the welfare of others, not ourselves.
In other words, in real Christian victories it is not the Christians who gain benefits, and those benefits are not "rights" but food for the poor, clothes for the naked, medicine for the sick, and concern for those in prison.
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
The Spanish Medievalist's New Job!
I was nosing around for highlights of yesterday's World Cup blowout between Germany and Brazil-- a 7-1 disaster for the home squad-- when I came across this:
"Hey!" I thought as I watched, "That's the Spanish Medievalist!" And so it is:
I've always been fond of the Medievalist and his catchphrase, "Nice job." I think it should work quite well with his new career as a soccer announcer….
"Hey!" I thought as I watched, "That's the Spanish Medievalist!" And so it is:
I've always been fond of the Medievalist and his catchphrase, "Nice job." I think it should work quite well with his new career as a soccer announcer….
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
On the green line...
There is a great new train here, the Green Line. It connects downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul, and crosses a bunch of fascinating neighborhoods along the way.
I was checking it out over the weekend when I noticed the sign pictured above. It was a little… unsettling. They had taken my picture over a year ago, saying it was for "signs and stuff," but I hadn't really seen any use of it before. Then, boom! There it was.
I didn't write the tag line ("I teach leaders"), but it is very true. Just from the past few classes at St. Thomas, I can think of some of my former students who already have important roles in this community and elsewhere-- real leadership roles, where discernment and judgment will be crucial. When I started teaching, one of my mentors told me to think of exactly that: That what I would be telling these students they might remember years later, when they faced important decisions. Sometimes, I really try to build a moment into class, something that will be remembered years later. Does it work? I don't know-- I'm not there those many years later. But I do know that the people I train do become leaders, and that makes the project all the more important.
Monday, July 07, 2014
Sparklers
This haiku by Seraphim summed up a memorable part of many of my Independence Days:
In our small backyard
Bright, fizzy sting of sparklers
Light writ upon air.
Here is Susan Stabile doing just that in my backyard last Friday:
In our small backyard
Bright, fizzy sting of sparklers
Light writ upon air.
Here is Susan Stabile doing just that in my backyard last Friday:
Sunday, July 06, 2014
Sunday Reflection: Drugs and Spirits
I've been thinking about drugs a lot this week. The Detroit News printed a piece I did on narcotics policy, and some people found it intriguing.
Beyond just narcotics policy, though, I've been thinking about narcotics-- the drugs themselves, and the continuing popularity of recreational narcotics. The demand is strong in America. It makes me wonder-- why do so many people want to alter their minds for a bit (or longer)?
In some cases, it's self-medication for a psychological or psychiatric issue (which everyone has at one time or another). But, a lot of times, it isn't. What is the reason then?
People often will describe the urge to use drugs as escapism-- that people want to escape their lives. That may be true, to a point. But I think for some people, heavy drug use is a way to give their lives meaning. The person they are and see when they are using is more important, more interesting, more fun, more popular that the person they are otherwise.
It's easy to see how that would be attractive.
At the core of Christ's message is something that goes to that. Over and over, he preaches humility. Not that being a follower will make you more important, but that it will humble you before something greater. Interesting, isn't it? Instead of arguing that faith does the same thing as drinking or drugs, the Christian message is that faith will do something different: Offer a perspective that makes being important, interesting, fun, and popular not so important.
That's not a bad thing.
Beyond just narcotics policy, though, I've been thinking about narcotics-- the drugs themselves, and the continuing popularity of recreational narcotics. The demand is strong in America. It makes me wonder-- why do so many people want to alter their minds for a bit (or longer)?
In some cases, it's self-medication for a psychological or psychiatric issue (which everyone has at one time or another). But, a lot of times, it isn't. What is the reason then?
People often will describe the urge to use drugs as escapism-- that people want to escape their lives. That may be true, to a point. But I think for some people, heavy drug use is a way to give their lives meaning. The person they are and see when they are using is more important, more interesting, more fun, more popular that the person they are otherwise.
It's easy to see how that would be attractive.
At the core of Christ's message is something that goes to that. Over and over, he preaches humility. Not that being a follower will make you more important, but that it will humble you before something greater. Interesting, isn't it? Instead of arguing that faith does the same thing as drinking or drugs, the Christian message is that faith will do something different: Offer a perspective that makes being important, interesting, fun, and popular not so important.
That's not a bad thing.
Saturday, July 05, 2014
Texas is better than Minnesota (in flags)
How can you not love the Texas flag? It's simple, attractive, and represents something about the state (the "Lone Star"). I'm not crazy about having a pledge to a state flag, but the flag itself is pretty great.
Contrast that with what Minnesota has to offer:
What a terrible mess! Elected one of the "Ten worst flags" by the North American Vexillological Association, it is cluttered with three different dates, a motto in French, 87 circles and 19 stars, a flower, and the horrifying scene of a Native American watching his land get plowed under by a white farmer. Yikes! Desecration of this flag is a misdemeanor under state law; really, it should be a civic duty.
Of course, when I lived there, Texas seemed to be going for the "Minnesota Flag Effect" with their license plates, which were littered with images of a cowboy, an oil derrick, the Space Shuttle, a cow, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and a bunch of other stuff.
Friday, July 04, 2014
Haiku Friday: Independence Day!
Happy 4th of July!!!!
Let's haiku about Independence Day memories. Here, I'll go first:
Back in G. P. Shores,
They had kids handle the show
Awesome accidents!
Now it is your turn… make it 5 syllables/7 syllables/5 syllables, and have some fun with it!
Thursday, July 03, 2014
Political Mayhem Thursday: Mitt Romney for Drug Czar!
That's exactly what I am proposing in today's Detroit News. And yes, I'm serious. The paper's version was abridged for space (that happens); here is the complete version:
In a series of public appearances,
Detroit native Mitt Romney has planted the idea that he might run for
president again in 2016. He should resist the idea; that day has
passed. Instead, his experience and passion should be applied
to public service in a different way: The Mitt Romney who founded Bain
Capital and saved the Utah Winter Olympics should be the next Drug
Czar, and use his financial acumen to destroy narcotics businesses
without mass incarceration.
In the run-up to the 2012 presidential
election, Mitt Romney was celebrated (by Republicans) and eviscerated
(by Democrats) for his vocation: building up and tearing down
businesses. Regardless of how one views the social utility
of this enterprise, no one can dispute that Romney is a smart,
passionate, well-educated man who loves public service and was very good
at what he did while working for Bain Capital.
Romney’s availability matches up with a
special moment for narcotics policy. There is a broad right-left
consensus that the stale tactics of the War on Drugs failed miserably.
It wasted billions of dollars in taxpayer money while
failing to limit drug use. Meanwhile, millions of Americans went to
prison, and a disproportionate number of them were black thanks to harsh
new laws focused on crack cocaine. Federalism was trampled as Big
Government took over state functions to ineffectively
battle street crime. There was something to offend everyone.
The shape of our future (and Romney’s) may
be embedded in our own history. In the 1980’s, crack was one of two
public health crises that ran side-by-side along parallel tracks. The
other, of course, was AIDS. At first, both
were seen as problems caused by the moral failings of disfavored
minorities: the media and others linked the rise of AIDS to the
promiscuity of some gay men, and crack was blamed on African-Americans’
supposed affinity for that drug. Both of these conclusions
were, in some measure, wrong, but these perceptions drove corresponding
moral crusades. Then, in 1986, the paths diverged. A respected
Republican and Reagan appointee, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, shamed
the nation into addressing AIDS as a medical problem
rather than a moral scourge. The key line in his epic report on AIDS
argued that “It is time to put self-defeating attitudes aside and
recognize that we are fighting a disease, not people.”
Since illegal narcotics is a business
within a market, a modern C. Everett Koop addressing that task should be
a businessperson. Fittingly, Romney’s work at Bain Capital focused on
the part of the narcotics business we have not
systemically attacked—cash flow. Primarily, we have fought narcotics
by attacking labor (through arrest and incarceration), profits (through
forfeitures of drug dealers’ homes and cars), and product (through drug
seizures). These are precisely the factors
Romney discounted at Bain, where he cared much more about evaluating a
company’s cash flow in analyzing its suitability as a target. After
all, profit, labor, and product can all be replaced so long as there is
cash flow, and it was cash flow that promised
Bain the possibility of debt being paid off over time. But if cash
flow and credit are cut off (and drug networks don’t have access to
traditional credit), the business will fail. If given a chance to
de-construct narcotics businesses Romney’s purpose would
be different, but his focus the same: Take the money, because that is
what matters.
Finally, Romney-as-Drug Czar would not be
deterred by the complexity of international financial networks as he set
out to disrupt the cash flow systems of narcotics businesses. This is a
man who lives within those very networks,
after all. In the 2012 campaign, he was harshly criticized for the
complexity of his own finances, which involved wholly owned corporations
in Bermuda, no fewer than 12 different funds in the Cayman Islands,
secretive Swiss bank accounts, and other devices
which required his 2010 tax return to include 55 pages just to describe
the transactions with foreign entities in that one year. While a
comprehensive understanding of such complex cash flows may have hurt
Romney in the last campaign, they would be a striking
asset if set to the task of curtailing the flow of drug money back to
wholesalers and suppliers. This is not a guy who is scared of tangled
financial puzzles.
We have never had a C. Everett Koop for
narcotics, but it’s not too late to fix that mistake. We can no longer
afford to fill our prisons, exacerbate racial tensions, and congratulate
ourselves when no progress is made. With
the War on Drugs being dismantled, we effectively have a do-over on
policy and tactics. The new ideas should come from and be implemented
by people like Romney—people who know business the way that Koop knew
medicine. After all, the harshest criticism of
Romney’s work at Bain Capital was that he sometimes ruthlessly
dismantled and bankrupted businesses. Isn’t that exactly what we want
someone to do to the organizations which import cocaine, trade in
methmphetamine, and wholesale death in the form of heroin?
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
The Mascot
I enjoy going to see the Twins play, but I'm a little disturbed by their mascot, TC the Bear. Here are some of my issues:
1) It looks like a squirrel! Really, I mean look at it. Of course, I've had this problem before, when I accused Handsome Dan of looking like a squirrel at a Yale football game and he hit me.
2) He has children. He is often followed around by his offspring, both of whom appear to be named "Subway," apparently for their odor. Should a guy with two kids really be dragging them all over on the field while he is working?
3) Why not just borrow Goldy Gopher from the University of Minnesota? That guy is awesome-- he stars in videos, he teaches kids how to do their laundry, and he basically rules mascot-ing.
Well, it could be worse... at least the Twins have it better than the Washington Nationals, who kept the holdover mascot from the old Washington Senators, "Senator Baseball":
Tuesday, July 01, 2014
Joy sets it out
I just came across this video of Joy Tull, my former student and current collaborator in the Trial of Jesus project, explaining what it is that we are trying to do. She does a better job than I have.
