Jonathan Simon Says Life Sentence for Murder is a Powerful Deterrent

Oakland Tribune, May 26, 2009 by Paul T. Rosynsky
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/oakland-homicides-2008/ci_12452840

“The good news is we have always known that murderers have a low rate of recidivism,” Simon said. “There is something that gets their attention after they are convicted to a life sentence.” These prisoners often mentor others while sharing a jail cell, Simon said…. “People have this extraordinary ability to be optimistic, while they are aware of the large amount of people that are denied parole, they believe that if they can get that college degree, or complete that one program, they are going to get lucky,” he said.

Ian Haney Lopez Believes Identity Matters in High Court Nominee

The Nation, May 25, 2009 by Ian Haney Lopez
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090525/following_souter

The central point is not to provide diverse role models, and it’s certainly not to maximize differences of every stripe. The essential thrust of identity politics is to accord special consideration to race, gender and class (plus sexual orientation and disability)—because these constitute core, persistent, unjust hierarchies…. Judge Sotomayor deserves our support not because of who she is but because of what she thinks—especially about the most injurious forms of structural injustice in the United States: race, gender and class.

Kathryn Baron Talks With Teach For America Founder Wendy Kopp

KQED-FM, Commonwealth Club May 22, 2009 by Kathryn Baron
http://audio.commonwealthclub.org/audio/podcast/cc_20090506_kopp.mp3

“Wendy Kopp was a newly released Princeton graduate. While her classmates were vying for jobs on Wall Street, Wendy was moving into a $500-dollar a month brownstone apartment … with a 26-thousand dollar grant from Mobile Corporation, donated space, and a determination to start a national teacher corps for the country’s most disadvantaged children. With that leap of faith, Teach for America was born.”

Melissa Murray Worries that Stimulus Ignores Plight of Working Women

San Francisco Chronicle, May 19, 2009 by Melissa Murray and Darren Rosenblum
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/19/EDO417KMCN.DTL&type=printable

The bailout and stimulus measures warrant additional scrutiny—from the perspective of gender equality. It is important to correct our economic course. But it is also important that we not repeat past mistakes by ignoring women’s economic status. We must recognize that the traditional model of male breadwinner and female homemaker has given way to a new division of labor in which women may support themselves or, if coupled, participate equally in bearing the family’s economic load.