Sometimes the ACLU is irritating

I am a ACLU member and have been for years.  Members are famous for disagreeing, getting angry, and quitting.  I’ve done all three, although, like most members, I eventually rejoin.  But here is the kind of thing that irritates me. 

Newark, N.J, has instituted a curfew for teenagers.  It is not particularly punitive; first time offenders are taken home, and, if no adult is there, they are taken to Newark’s “Re-engagement Center,” which was opened to help young people with educational or job opportunities.

Sarah Fajardo, the ACLU policy director of ACLU of New Jersey, is opposed to the curfew.  She said it “targets young people”...because of their status as young people, not because of any criminal behavior.”

Of course it targets young people.  It is not alone in that.  Young people can’t buy booze, can’t buy cigarettes, have driving restrictions, should not be able to buy guns.  They are treated differently because they are young.  Good grief.

Info for this post is in part from Tammy LaGorce, “Newark Turns to an Old Idea to Fight Youth Crime,” The New York Times, (June 2, 2024), pp. NJ 1, 4.

Which schools were better?

I participated in a debate today on the question of who received the better education:  kids in one-room schools (which I attended) or kids in today’s elementary schools.  My team consisted of another former one-room school student and me; our opponents were a retired school teacher and a current teacher at a local elementary school.

We debated eight topics such as physical plant, art and music instruction, curriculum, teacher education, and teaching self-reliance.  We had an audience of about 40 people.  On most issues I was willing to concede that the current elementary model came out on top, although our team did very well on the topic of learning self-reliance and personal responsibility.  One item that amazed me was learning that the playground now has cameras trained on the kids playing.  I found that scary.

Some of the audience was amazed that we had no school nurse, no hot meals, no snow days, no help for special needs kids, and no art instruction.    We also had outdoor toilets, no playground equipment, and corporal punishment.  As my teammate said, how did we survive?

Summarizing the verdict

I don’t have the time to go through each of the 34 felony counts in the Trump trial, so I thought I would summarize each of them.  I hope this will be helpful.

1.  guilty.  2.  guilty.  3.  guilty.  4.  guilty.  5.  guilty.  6.  guilty.  7.  guilty.  8.  guilty.  9.  guilty.  10.  guilty.  11.  guilty.  12.  guilty.  13.  guilty.  14.  guilty.  15.  guilty.  16.  guilty.  17.  guilty.  18.  guilty.  19.  guilty.  20.  guilty.  21.  guilty.  22.  guilty.  23.  guilty.  24.  guilty.  25.  guilty.  26.  guilty.  27.  guilty.  28.  guilty.  29.  guilty.  30.  guilty.  31.  guilty.  32.  guilty.  33.  guilty.  34.  guilty.  

 

Black players in Major League Baseball

In the 1970s and 1980s, when I was living in the Bay Area, approximately one in five major league ballplayers was black.  I think it may have been higher on the Oakland A’s.  This season black players accounted for 6 percent of opening day rosters, only 57 players across 30 teams.

One reason, according to Ken Griffey, is because of the rise of “travel teams.”  Not sure what these were, I called my good friend who has a vast knowledge of sports.  He explained that travel teams are run privately.  They are not connected to schools or even communities.  Players pay a fee, often hefty, and their parents take them to the games, sometimes in other states.  Parents stay in hotels.  The kids are usually recruited for their skills, and they are told that college coaches and even professional coaches will see them play.

Obviously, kids of parents who don’t have the money to pay the fees or the travel expenses won’t be on the team, whatever their race.  Once again in the U.S. money seems to be the crucial factor in success, in this case in baseball.

The statistics and Ken Griffey info were taken from an article by Tyler Kepner in The New York Times, (29 May 2024), p. B-9.

Why don't more Israeli's object?

A number of my friends have wondered why more Israelis don’t object to the carnage in Gaza.  Why aren’t they taking to the streets to protest their government’s policies?  Many have objected, but a majority continues to support Netanyahu.  

I think it is important to note that when the U.S. began extensive use of napalm and cluster bombs in Vietnam, American streets were not exactly filled with protestors.  

If you are splashed with napalm and you jump in a river, the napalm will keep burning. Cluster bombs are bombs that contain bomblets that contain shrapnel.  The shrapnel will not penetrate a brick wall, but it will penetrate flesh.  The shrapnel is not round BBs, but odd-shaped, because that will cause more damage to a human body.  

I’m not excusing the Israeli reluctance to criticize the government policy in Gaza.  I do understand it.  I have a good memory.

He really doesn't like you, Clarence

Clarence Thomas actually thinks that the billionaire Harlan Crow is his close friend.  After all, Mr. Crow gives him expensive gifts and invites him on vacations on his yacht and puts up with Ginni Thomas, one of the most unlikable people you can find.  

What Justice Thomas doesn’t recognize is that if he were impeached, Crow would drop him like a hot coal.  He wouldn’t let Thomas mow his lawn. 

Frustration

I want to apologize to any readers who wonder what is happening.  First our cable connection went down; Linda fixed that after about a day.  Now I used an non HP ink cartridge in the printer, and HP, I guess to punish me, shut down my printer.  I am not smart enough to fix it, although I spent the last 45 minutes trying.  

Some guy in Slatington mocked my letter criticizing Lansford for not accepting cash for borough charges, and lectured me about getting a credit card and told me to try using a computer.  It's fun, he said.  I wish I had his number.