The news out of Ferguson, Missouri has had me riveted to Twitter. St. Louis Alderman Antonio French has been tweeting and posting Vine videos from Ferguson for days, and Wesley Lowery from the Washington Post has been tweeting regularly and he's got an article up. If you haven't been following the story, Dara Lind at Vox has a pretty good summary.Tear Gas In … [Read more...] about #Ferguson
Another Cop Shoots Another Black Kid
I hate this kind of story.Reportedly an as yet unnamed police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri has shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black kid named Michael Brown. Area residents gathered in the street, there was shouting, police assembled to try to keep order, there was a bit of a riot, and eventually things quieted down without too much … [Read more...] about Another Cop Shoots Another Black Kid
Is The Legal Field Ready for CSO?
A couple of days ago, Scott Greenfield was writing about some of the complexities of federal sentencing, when a commenter named Jake proposed a crazy solution: Was there ever a task in the courtroom more ripe for automation? Well, yes, there's tons of administrative crap that can be, or has been, automated. However, Jake had a particular problem in mind that he'd like to … [Read more...] about Is The Legal Field Ready for CSO?
What Could Be Worse Than Raising the Minimum Wage?
I see that our mayor has proposed a city ordinance to raise Chicago's minimum wage to $13 an hour. The current minimum wage in Illinois is $8.25/hour, a buck over the federal minimum, so that amounts to a 58% hike. This follows Seattle's decision to increase their minimum wage to $15 a few months ago, and it's in step with attempts to raise both the Illinois and federal minimum … [Read more...] about What Could Be Worse Than Raising the Minimum Wage?
What Democracy’s All About?
NYPD Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has been taking a lot of crap, deservedly so, for his comments after Eric Garner died while being arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes on the street. In a news conference, with mayor Bill de Blasio standing at his side, Bratton came out full-authoritarian: According to Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton, the NYPD will … [Read more...] about What Democracy’s All About?