Oh joy! Oh rapture! Cookies do await.
I hardly can restrain enormous glee,
I count the seconds and anticipate,
The wondrous pastry that’s in store for me.
But what is this? My eyes must be deceived!
These cookies are corrupted with foul nuts!
Oh woe! Oh Anguish! I am much aggrieved!
As disappointed nausea fills my guts.
What heinous being would do this sordid deed?
To tempt with heaven then give naught but hell.
For only evil folk would dare mislead
And falsehoods about cookies are most fell
To compensate for cookie violations
Two batches could be made as reparations.
Dec 302008
Dec 172008
When it comes to raising babies, there are a few things worth noting:
1) Critical cognitive and social development happens at a young age, and babies that are neglected, mistreated, or otherwise are deprived of cognitive, emotional, or physical nourishment are at a serious disadvantage for the rest of their lives.
2) Babies don’t come with instruction manuals.
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As I’ve made clear before, I’m strongly against the death penalty for ethical, moral, and philosophical reasons. And so, when I say that I’m going to tell the story of a case that shines a light on some of the biggest problems of the death penalty as applied to our criminal justice system, you will probably say to yourself “I’ve heard this before.” You then will assume that I’ll tell some sob story about a young black kid who was brought up wrong, and was then trying to make something out of his life when he did something stupid and some white guy ended up dead. And then you’ll probably assume that while the facts were somewhat questionable, an all-white jury sentenced this kid to death in a disturbingly by-the-book sort of way.
Sorry to disappoint, but this is not that story.
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I just saw a report on one of the cable news stations about how crime rates are creeping up across the country–especially the domestic abuse, disorderly conduct, assault, vandalism, etc. that we would expect to see climb during times of economic turmoil. It’s a predictable phenomenon when unemployment is up, especially unemployment among part-time and seasonal employees (you know, all those jobs that are supposed to keep kids off the streets). The unemployed have more stress, are more likely to drink and use drugs, are just generally more likely to get into trouble. Compounding these factors is the fact that charitable contributions–including to charities designed to help at-risk kids and struggling families–drop precipitously during times of economic turmoil. And while it’s mostly relatively minor crime for now, you can bet that next year’s violent crime and murder rates are going to spike.
So what is the natural reaction of states and communities to the poor economic times that cause an increase in crime? Why naturally, they cut back on police budgets, community organizing activities, and other anti-crime measures. After all, we all need to “tighten our belts” when times are bad! Continue reading »
There is a bit of controversy on my campus right now about the role of a university in public discourse. I find the debate interesting, so I thought I’d share it with the leftfielders.
On one side are advocates of the notion that universities should play an active role in social policy and setting the public agenda. That universities should take stands on issues, and lend their weight to the cause of justice, or freedom, or whatever. For example, a number of folks think that the university should file an amicus brief in California protesting Prop 8 as a violation of civil rights.
On the other side are people who believe that the purpose of the university is to not take sides, but rather to remain neutral so as not to discourage debate. That universities should promote the free exchange of ideas, even unpopular ones, and that taking a side in contentious social policy would have a chilling effect on opposition to that social policy on campus. Continue reading »
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