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Re: “Council Rebuffs Van Jones Protégé”
...and I don't need to say here that I am generally opposed to what Quan wants. This is an exception.
Re: “Council Rebuffs Van Jones Protégé”
Quan also told the council she nominated Imani after "looking at the port's finances." This, to me, seemed a subtle indictment of Gordon's record there. I would not oppose Quan on this. It's one of the smartest moves she's made - forward-looking and progressive. Besides which, anyone good enough for Van Jones is good enough for me.
Re: “Council Rebuffs Van Jones Protégé”
I too would oppose anything that Quan recommends. She repeatedly proves she is inept at best. The cronyism needs to stop, and Quan, along with lifetime council members Nadel, Reid, Brooks and Brunner have got to go!
Re: “Council Rebuffs Van Jones Protégé”
Quan, Jones, Imani and Gordon aren't simply "part" of the problem: they ARE the problem. My God, what a motley crew.
Cronyism + identity politics + socialism + bureaucracy = a city that will never ever escape from its self-induced nightmare.
Run, Batts, run, as far and as fast as you can from this hellhole. And everybody with half a brain should follow in his contrail.
Re: “Liz Figueroa Lies About Her Residence”
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Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
"Who could disagree with Dan? Who is pro-recidivism?"
not to sound like a wise guy or anything, but the prison guard's union is pro-recidivism, pro-prison, and pro-prison-industrial complex. they are also one of the largest political lobbies in California.
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
LOL Who could disagree with Dan? Who is pro-recidivism?
Still waiting to hear which rag you write for. Are you going for the Pulitzer?
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
agree with dan.
yoyo, you dont know how to be unsnarky, do you?
max: my block is not West Oakland, so it's more placid. But you act as if your ghetto badge somehow makes your argument more credible. the reality is you'll say just about anything to get attention, even if your arguments sometimes contradict each other.
i still don't think it makes your argument anything more than opinion. and i dont think opinions alone are much use in crafting solid policy. it's unclear how a teen curfew is a smart enforcement policy. and you still havent answered the accountability question, btw.
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
My letter from a few weeks ago...
First, Let's Focus on Recidivism -
Thanks for your excellent piece on why curfews don't work to reduce serious crimes. The most effective and cost-effective way to reduce serious and violent crime is to invest more in workable anti-recidivism programs at the state, county, and city levels.
With realignment about to phase in (with more convicts being housed in county jails), now is the time for counties, and the larger cities in each county, to invest serious funds in reducing the recidivism rate.
DAN KALB, Oakland
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
"a big joke"?
I've been living in GhostTown for 6 years. This is anything but a joke. I've had two friends shot. Friends slashed. Pistol-whipped. Sexually assaulted. A woman on my block was beaten, sodomized with a kitchen knife and set on fire. I've had to intervene when a man on my block was kicking his ex-wife in the face as she cowered on the sidewalk. And this is the abridged version of the list of horror I've seen.
No joke, man. No joke at all. How's the scene on your block?
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
When your "investigative" masterpiece is ready, and has been vetted by all your "fact checkers" and "researchers," please post a link here. Until then, play fair. This is the furthest thing from a "big joke" to me.
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
i had researchers on my project, yes. of course, checking facts isn't really that difficult, it just takes time and effort. look, i expect sarcasm from the peanut gallery. you guys apparently think this is a big joke. i can tell you right now it's not. that's all i'm saying.
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
And, Eric, fact checkers: wow. Seems a bit disingenuous to call out Max for not having them, as if his facts are therefore suspect. If you have fact checkers, you must write for a really rich publication. Just dying to know which illustrious outlet you're associated with.
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
Eric, Please let us know when this investigative masterpiece...er, article... runs, and where. Is it a secret? How about a little hint?
Max, why bother? Let it go. Eric has all the facts and statistics. He just can't REVEAL them yet. LOL
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
max, who's your fact-checker? i've provided three stats so far. you'll just have to wait for the piece i'm currently working on for the rest. not really interested in stroking your ego at this point. you do that just fine on your own.
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
Eric, so far you've provided precisely one stat, unrelated to your claim that "punitive measures don't work". All that stat showed was that the incarceration rate in California sucks. And I agree.
Meanwhile, I just posted an article from Scientific American which notes all sorts of facts about how suppressive tactics helped NYC beat back their crime rate without displacing minorities or poor people, and without a massive increase in incarceration. In fact, it points out that those tactics reduced crime even in the poorest neighborhoods, and they did so while the police force was shrinking.
Here it is again for people who want to read it: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-new-york-beat-crime
Call it unrelated again if you want. But then I get to call any evaluations on crime from other cities unrelated... that is if you ever get around to actually citing one.
Call what I have to say opinion all you want too. What you're doing is reciting dogma. That dogma has been widely accepted in Oakland for a long time, and for a long time, the body count hasn't changed much.
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
max, max, max... you're all over the map, with nothing but opinion to base your, er, opinion on.
you likened anyone who doesnt agree with you to a proponent of a teen loitering policy, which, again, is something Michele Bachmann could have said.
you also have a skewed view of what you call "negative reinforcement." to you, a zero tolerance policy is the same as a federally-mandated court reform order. those are completely different concepts. one issue you dont seem to grasp is allocation and direction of police resources. another is that abuse of power is fairly serious, and not something which can be pooh-poohed.
and the fact is, you aren't in NYC or the midwest. hey, i'm glad you survived Ghosttown; maybe you should do a duet with Krayshawn next, since you have ghetto cred.
but you're not a policy expert, and just because you have one co-signer doesnt negate all the research that's out there.
it's not like i'm against public safety, i just dont think a teen curfew is the way to get there. if you want to go into victim mode and complain that you're not liberal enough for progressive thinkers to invite you in for a cup of Kombucha and a vegan scone, well, that's not my problem. But neither Reid nor de la Fuente qualify as progressive thinkers.
my position is this: let's get OPD in full compliance with the NSA. then we can talk about expanding their latitude. let's think out the logistics of enforcement prior to rubber-stamping any new tough-on-crime proposal which doesnt include restorative measures.
and you still havent addressed OPD accountability, which is a factor
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
Well said, Max.
Yoyo-g
Re: “Why a Curfew Is Unnecessary”
Yeah, see that kind of response is pretty typical of Oakland, which is part of our problem.
When a guy like me, who'd be considered radically liberal anywhere else, mentions that a softer, well thought out version of a curfew law might be worth considering, I get stuff like what you've been saying. You liken me to the tea-party mascot and say you're surprised I don't want people arrested for jaywalking.
That's just ridiculous. Unnecessarily strident too.
My position is this: negative reinforcement for bad behavior sometimes works, especially in conjunction with positive reinforcement for good behavior and even better in conjunction with programs that provide tools for learning good behavior.
What I keep hearing is: negative reinforcement is always wrong, cops are never to be trusted, and can't be trusted to improve. I also keep hearing, from the same voices, that negative reinforcement is completely acceptable when it applies to cops and other authority figures.
I just don't buy it.
I also completely agree that incarceration levels in CA are grotesque, I agree that prison conditions are appalling.
As far as "we can't arrest our way out of the problem", I never suggested we do. Again, using that tired talking point against me is another example of what happens in Oakland when left wing democrats like me propose something that far left radicals oppose: we get painted as extremists.
I'd say this was all comical, except that I've been living in GhostTown for 6 years and I've seen no progress in the quality of life or in the safety of our youth. I know a 19 year old in my neighborhood who joined the military and comforted his mom by showing her with stats that he'd be safer in the military than in West Oakland.
And not always, but all too often, the dogmatic rhetoric I end up on the receiving end of? When it's most insistent it comes from people who live in the hills, or people who live in nice highrise apartment buildings overlooking lake Merritt.
Re: “Council Rebuffs Van Jones Protégé”
You're wrong on this one, Bob. The mayor's office received petitions to reappoint Margaret Gordon many, many months ago, and Ms. Gordon tried to reach the mayor at the same time. So the argument that she didn't know Ms. Gordon wanted to be reappointed is ridiculous. Margaret Gordon's appointment to the commission was a special historic victory for West Oakland, because she is actually independent....calling out injustice wherever it exists....and that makes some folks very uncomfortable. Unfortunately Mayor Quan has a very narrow view of who her "progressive" allies are, and her attitude threatens to undermine the people's ranked choice victory over Perata.