Ethan Elkind interviewed by KQED-FM, March 26, 2015
“There should be a basic principle of fairness that if you drive five miles of roads, you should pay for those five miles. It shouldn’t depend on how much gas you’re using.”
The pillage of Europe’s bells
Carla Shapreau cited in Musicology Now, March 23, 2015
“Of the approximately 9,000 bells in the Netherlands before the war, an estimated 6,500 were seized, with approximately 1,840 returned after the war. The Third Reich shipped the bells to several German refineries; two of the largest were in the Hamburg area. The newer bells were the first to the smelter.”
How the U.S. can strengthen economic and military ties with India
John Yoo and Riddhi Dasgupta write for Fortune.com, March 21, 2015
President Barack Obama has finally resumed progress toward one of the most important strategic goals in American foreign policy: strengthening America’s alliance with India. … For the Obama administration and its successor, allying with the world’s largest democracy will represent a welcome seismic shift in the balance of power.
Philadelphia commissioner steps into fray between police and public
Jonathan Simon quoted in The New York Times, March 20, 2015
“As a group, police chiefs have always been more progressive than the rank-and-file, and it’s not all that clear that chiefs are going to be successful in carrying the rank-and-file with them,” Professor Simon said.
More transparency needed with county realignment funds
Barry Krisberg quoted in Contra Costa Times, March 18, 2015
“This fight is going on in almost every county in California,” says Barry Krisberg, a criminologist at UC Berkeley. “Unfortunately, in a lot of places the traditional voices are winning.”
Legal fight continues over Obama’s executive action on immigration
Anne O’Connell quoted in Los Angeles Times, April 8, 2015
“A lot of times conservatives are less likely to grant standing,” she said, as the 5th Circuit refused to in the recent Mississippi case, reaffirming the similarly conservative lower court’s denial of standing.
Are overcrowded prisons unconstitutional?
Jonathan Simon interviewed by Slate, March 18, 2015
“Does the Eighth Amendment just prevent torture, or does it protect something more? If it just protects us against torture then obviously it’s a very limited right, and we have to wait until things get really awful in prisons before courts are going to do anything. But if torture is just being protected against because it’s one way to destroy and degrade ‘human dignity,’ then I think almost everything we do in prison has to be rethought.”
Canadian politics goes to the dogs
Ian Haney López book cited in Victoria News, March 17, 2015
Likely no country has employed dog-whistle politics longer or with more gusto than the United States. Indeed, in a book published last year … law professor Ian Haney López traced the practice back to the 1960s, long before the term was coined in Australia.
Talking in codes
Ian Haney López interviewed by Chicago Reporter, March 13, 2015
Dog whistle politics is all about the stimulation of racial fear. And yet, we should be clear on those who are doing the stimulating—on the politicians, the conservative sort of strategists, the Fox News media folks. … What happens in minority communities is just collateral damage. What they care about is winning votes, demonizing government, cutting taxes for the very rich.
Calif. Supreme Court takes up ‘historic’ environmental docket
David Carrillo quoted in Greenwire, March 13, 2015
The state Supreme Court does not “seek out specific policy issues to resolve,” said David Carrillo. … “Its role in the state judiciary is to settle legal issues of statewide importance as they arise.”