The grief-stricken woman above is Carmen Bachan, the mother of a lovely USC student, 18-year-old...
What Mario Rocha’s Story Really Means
(NOTE: FOR RECENT UPDATES on Mario’s life, click...
The Breathtaking Courage of Senator Jim Webb
Over the weekend, I finally read the stunning speech—remarkably for its political...
Commentary on Solitary
I see that the New Yorker article by surgeon/author/professor Atul Gawande about the...
LAPD and the LA Times Discover Parole Reform
LA Times columnist Sandy Banks, whom I like personally, and whose writing I generally value and...
You Know the Economy is Bad When…..
As I was returning from an idyllic outdoor birthday brunch for a friend early on Sunday afternoon...
Simon Johnson & the American Oligarchs
In May’s Atlantic Monthly, there is a scary but very convincing article called The Quiet...
Does LAUSD Have a Money Pit?
The Los Angeles Unified School District needs to cut $718 million out of its budget. This is why...
THURSDAY: Social Justice Shorts
SHOULD THE RULES BE CHANGED SO LAPD CHIEF BILL BRATTON CAN SERVE A 3RD TERM? Hmmmm. Yeah. ...
LAUSD Teacher Layoffs: Pink Slips and Bad Math
When I teach at either USC or UC Irvine, class size is a big deal. In the workshops I teach at...
The Bailout Blues: Rolling Stone Explains It All
If someone hasn’t already grabbed you and insisted that you must stop everything and read...
Buried Alive: Is Solitary Confinement Torture?
In next week’s New Yorker, Dr. Atul Gawande, Harvard professor and surgeon at the...
Today’s State Senate Election Coverage?….Ask a Student
If you’re looking for coverage of today’s election for Mark Ridley Thomas’ Senate...
MONDAY: Social Justice Shorts
PRISON INMATES WORRIED ABOUT THE ECONOMIC CRISIS TOO—-AND FOR GOOD REASON A column in the...
Blue Grief: 3 Oakland Officers Killed, 1 Gravely Wounded – UDATED
UPDATE: As most of you know by now, the fourth officer has died. Here’s the link to the...
Jerry Brown & Whistleblowers Say the Nation’s Biggest Diagnostic Lab Defrauded California for Big $$$
I’m in the middle of a several crazed project deadlines, and I realize that most news is...
Richardson Takes a Citizen Poll & Repeals NM Death Penalty
On Wednesday afternoon, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed a bill— passed last Friday...
Social Justice Shorts
FACING LIFE WITHOUT…..FOR KIDS In 2008, the U.S. became the sole country in the world that...