Overzealous attempts at social justice lead to tragic results in Portland and at Oberlin College. Plus: The Emmys' shiver-inducing moment, a troubled musical genius, and the mysteries of cats
The Bail organizations are pretty frustrating. I actually sit in a felony courtroom (in CA) every day and you see the reasons bail is set (and later reduced) and if someone has a high bail, its generally for a good reason. That may not have been the case 30 years ago, but it has been for most of the 2000's.
Especially in CA, very few people are actually in jail for non-violent things anyway, and the ones that are have been arrested so many times for the same crimes that they have kind of tied the courts hands into keeping them in jail because as soon as they get out, they commit another crime. As it is now, anyone in LA gets kicked out of jail for having bail LESS THAN $51,000 (they are cited and released) - the threshold was 26K for many years, but has gone up since the covid period.
The return to court stat that Nancy dropped about the Portland bail project is very revealing and I hope that these projects take some time to revise their missions and processes. I believe the LA based project has a much better retention rate (based on what the public defenders cite in court during hearings). Sarah and Nancy hit it on the head (as usual) in pointing out that all of these idealistic and noble projects miss the step of providing the services and help for people after they decriminalize some behavior or attempt to pull law enforcement from an area.
Oberlin did know that the 3rd Generation Gibson's co-owner did have cancer. Oberlin's counsel moved for that information not to be admissible and the Gibson's agreed so as to have a clean hearing.
Didn’t want to hijack the latest thread before listening to the episode so dropping this here. This Women’s March piece currently at the top of the NYT homepage is something else ... How Russian Trolls Helped Keep the Women’s March Out of Lock Step https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/18/us/womens-march-russia-trump.html
This was a Kick Ass episode! I don’t like Trump not one iota as my dad would say… and I do not like when the left can’t see anything beyond that. I don’t engage. Forces beyond us created this mess social media and tech. It ain’t normal communication…
Brian Wilson … I love love The Beach Boys went parking in Northeast Philly and the horny guy I was with didn’t shut up when God Only Knows came on the radio in his road runner… but at least he didn’t think it was the Beatles. I love listening to you two genius women… each episode is a gift I give myself and I’ll do a paid subscription as soon as I pay off my vet bills… for my dogs… but I did watch the Cat Documentary
In my family there are three multi cat households (10 total) I want to know what those creatures are thinking when I visit …
I've been wanting to watch Inside the Mind of a Cat. And Sarah, if you enjoyed watching the trained cat show, you really have to watch episode 2 of Cat People (also on Netflix) - The Cat Show Must Go On. Cats playing drums. CATS PLAYING DRUMS.
ETA: thanks for the links to the Brian Wilson biopic and documentary. I remember reading a profile of him years ago in Rolling Stone, well before Smile was released, when it was still a myth/legend. He has had a very long road.
So people won't watch "Succession" because the people are so awful. And yet other HBO shows like "The Sopranos" have the lead characters committing murder on a regular basis, and yet that show was a huge hit.
What an outstanding episode. I have various random thoughts...
The announcement didn't come near the end this time, like the previous episode, but I am indeed alert for an episode where you forget to tell us the name of this podcast. And you are right, your readers will let you know right away...
I appreciate Nancy's going to Portland to continue reporting on its decline. The note on the bail amount for the referenced murderer going from $60,000 to $20,000 -- it sounds like Nancy is investigating this. Surely there must be paperwork/transcripts that refer to this. Although perhaps whoever made this change is now reluctant to come forward, given what happened.
I am sad for what's been happening in Portland. I lived many years in Seattle and visited Portland; always regard them in many ways as sister cities, with similar vibes and both with amazing natural resources nearby and visible on the horizon. (Oregon and Washington are both so "vertical", with snow-covered volcanic mountains so often in view in the distance; such a contrast to where I now live in virtually flat central Ohio). I hear and read about some similar problems happening in Seattle. I am glad not to be living there now; I wonder if I will ever want to return for a visit.
Oberlin -- oh my, what an unforced error they made. I'm not sure I would know about Oberlin except that my father-in-law went there in the late 30s; it used to have a good reputation as a place to go for music majors (maybe it still does).
Why do relatively minor crimes like this shoplifting blow up into major events? Why weren't there Adults at Oberlin who could see where this was going and get it headed off right away. (I do remember that things were a bit wacky right after Election Day 2016).
After listening to the CommonSense podcast with Lorna Gibson, I had the fleeting thought that I wondered if the shoplifting incident was a deliberate act, to provoke some kind of reaction, since there were demonstrations that happened seemingly right away. That's probably too conspiratorial, but it did cross my mind.
Reading through the Episode Notes, which are awesome as usual:
- Has Portland Freedom Fund announced a review of how they will analyze who they help with bail in the future? (I'm guessing they haven't, but they should)
- I see I have to at least check out a couple of new shows I've never heard of before, i.e., "Abbott Elementary" and "Succession".
re: cats -- okay, I'm a cat person, having grown up with two interesting cats and also growing up rather afraid of dogs, though I've mostly gotten over that thanks to various friends who have had any number of really interesting dogs. But -- yeah, cats -- there is just something about them, in a way that is different from dogs. There is a funny cartoon of recent times, showing two "editorials", one written by a dog, wondering why "working from home needs to end", because having you at home is awesome, and the other, written by a cat, saying that "working from home can't end soon enough", or words to that effect.
Oh my goodness. So much to love about this episode. But I came here to say that I just watched the Sheryl Lee Ralph clip and I am now crying my eyes out.
Nancy might like to know that I save my favorite podcasts for when I make dinner. Can’t wait to listen tonight.
The Bail organizations are pretty frustrating. I actually sit in a felony courtroom (in CA) every day and you see the reasons bail is set (and later reduced) and if someone has a high bail, its generally for a good reason. That may not have been the case 30 years ago, but it has been for most of the 2000's.
Especially in CA, very few people are actually in jail for non-violent things anyway, and the ones that are have been arrested so many times for the same crimes that they have kind of tied the courts hands into keeping them in jail because as soon as they get out, they commit another crime. As it is now, anyone in LA gets kicked out of jail for having bail LESS THAN $51,000 (they are cited and released) - the threshold was 26K for many years, but has gone up since the covid period.
The return to court stat that Nancy dropped about the Portland bail project is very revealing and I hope that these projects take some time to revise their missions and processes. I believe the LA based project has a much better retention rate (based on what the public defenders cite in court during hearings). Sarah and Nancy hit it on the head (as usual) in pointing out that all of these idealistic and noble projects miss the step of providing the services and help for people after they decriminalize some behavior or attempt to pull law enforcement from an area.
Great job as always ladies!!!!
Oberlin did know that the 3rd Generation Gibson's co-owner did have cancer. Oberlin's counsel moved for that information not to be admissible and the Gibson's agreed so as to have a clean hearing.
Didn’t want to hijack the latest thread before listening to the episode so dropping this here. This Women’s March piece currently at the top of the NYT homepage is something else ... How Russian Trolls Helped Keep the Women’s March Out of Lock Step https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/18/us/womens-march-russia-trump.html
Oh, and thanks, Nancy, for making me call the newest HBO prestige drama "There Be Dragons!" 😀
This was a Kick Ass episode! I don’t like Trump not one iota as my dad would say… and I do not like when the left can’t see anything beyond that. I don’t engage. Forces beyond us created this mess social media and tech. It ain’t normal communication…
Brian Wilson … I love love The Beach Boys went parking in Northeast Philly and the horny guy I was with didn’t shut up when God Only Knows came on the radio in his road runner… but at least he didn’t think it was the Beatles. I love listening to you two genius women… each episode is a gift I give myself and I’ll do a paid subscription as soon as I pay off my vet bills… for my dogs… but I did watch the Cat Documentary
In my family there are three multi cat households (10 total) I want to know what those creatures are thinking when I visit …
Thank you for including Sheryl Lee’s Emmy acceptance. That was a pure joy to watch.
I've been wanting to watch Inside the Mind of a Cat. And Sarah, if you enjoyed watching the trained cat show, you really have to watch episode 2 of Cat People (also on Netflix) - The Cat Show Must Go On. Cats playing drums. CATS PLAYING DRUMS.
ETA: thanks for the links to the Brian Wilson biopic and documentary. I remember reading a profile of him years ago in Rolling Stone, well before Smile was released, when it was still a myth/legend. He has had a very long road.
So people won't watch "Succession" because the people are so awful. And yet other HBO shows like "The Sopranos" have the lead characters committing murder on a regular basis, and yet that show was a huge hit.
What an outstanding episode. I have various random thoughts...
The announcement didn't come near the end this time, like the previous episode, but I am indeed alert for an episode where you forget to tell us the name of this podcast. And you are right, your readers will let you know right away...
I appreciate Nancy's going to Portland to continue reporting on its decline. The note on the bail amount for the referenced murderer going from $60,000 to $20,000 -- it sounds like Nancy is investigating this. Surely there must be paperwork/transcripts that refer to this. Although perhaps whoever made this change is now reluctant to come forward, given what happened.
I am sad for what's been happening in Portland. I lived many years in Seattle and visited Portland; always regard them in many ways as sister cities, with similar vibes and both with amazing natural resources nearby and visible on the horizon. (Oregon and Washington are both so "vertical", with snow-covered volcanic mountains so often in view in the distance; such a contrast to where I now live in virtually flat central Ohio). I hear and read about some similar problems happening in Seattle. I am glad not to be living there now; I wonder if I will ever want to return for a visit.
Oberlin -- oh my, what an unforced error they made. I'm not sure I would know about Oberlin except that my father-in-law went there in the late 30s; it used to have a good reputation as a place to go for music majors (maybe it still does).
Why do relatively minor crimes like this shoplifting blow up into major events? Why weren't there Adults at Oberlin who could see where this was going and get it headed off right away. (I do remember that things were a bit wacky right after Election Day 2016).
After listening to the CommonSense podcast with Lorna Gibson, I had the fleeting thought that I wondered if the shoplifting incident was a deliberate act, to provoke some kind of reaction, since there were demonstrations that happened seemingly right away. That's probably too conspiratorial, but it did cross my mind.
Reading through the Episode Notes, which are awesome as usual:
- Has Portland Freedom Fund announced a review of how they will analyze who they help with bail in the future? (I'm guessing they haven't, but they should)
- I see I have to at least check out a couple of new shows I've never heard of before, i.e., "Abbott Elementary" and "Succession".
re: cats -- okay, I'm a cat person, having grown up with two interesting cats and also growing up rather afraid of dogs, though I've mostly gotten over that thanks to various friends who have had any number of really interesting dogs. But -- yeah, cats -- there is just something about them, in a way that is different from dogs. There is a funny cartoon of recent times, showing two "editorials", one written by a dog, wondering why "working from home needs to end", because having you at home is awesome, and the other, written by a cat, saying that "working from home can't end soon enough", or words to that effect.
Thank you for Smoke 'Em!
Oh my goodness. So much to love about this episode. But I came here to say that I just watched the Sheryl Lee Ralph clip and I am now crying my eyes out.
Thank you. I... think. xo
We don't steal.