November 20, 2020

"Prosecutors may still be stigmatized as administrators of racial inequality, but that reputation will perhaps be upstaged..."

"... by the opportunity for public servants to make a name for themselves as fundamentally different kinds of prosecutors, championing measures that are more rehabilitative than punitive. Some have perceived [Kamala] Harris’s conversion to progressive prosecutor as opportunistic, but it is not entirely out of keeping with her record or with evolving public opinion, to which she and other politicians are responsive. And her leadership, as Vice-President, in enacting reform could confirm that prosecution is renewing itself as a noble path to the highest offices, with the ambition to govern by having criminal justice govern less. At the same time, in the wake of Democratic losses in congressional and state elections, some legislators have raised questions about the possibly negative effects of progressive ideas, particularly calls to defund the police. As Democrats evaluate the election results, concerns about achieving majorities might temper some enthusiasm for reform."

From "Kamala Harris and the Noble Path of the Prosecutor" by Jeannie Suk Gersen (in The New Yorker). 

I was surprised to read this statement of Gersen's: "When I was in law school, twenty years ago, prosecution was a form of public service that was thought to carry little controversial baggage." 

When I went to law school, 20 years before that, I heard the clear message, stated absolutely, that if you wanted to go into public interest law, you should never at any phase in your career take any job in prosecution. It would make you toxic to people of the left. 

But who can check the accuracy of messages people remember detecting in the distant past? In the present, I understand the motivation to put Kamala Harris in a flattering light. 

And yet, what puts her in the best light — progressive ideas or law and order? Which way would it be better to skew if what she wants is to win the presidential election in 2024?

86 comments:

Balfegor said...

Law and order is the way to go. Frankly, an early and public Biden crackdown on riots and looting, spearheaded by Harris, is probably the best way to defang a lot of Republican attacks. It's fine for Democrats to go around complaining that it's unfair of Republicans to link them to socialists, rioters, looters, etc., but if you won't draw lines and condemn them unequivocally, of course that's what's going to happen. But actions speak louder than words, and tossing the instigators (and as many footsoldiers as you need to) in jail is a clear action. They're a rabid dog you can't control, and they've outlived their usefulness.

wendybar said...

As the Democrats have proved over and over again...They don't really care about the rioting and looting. They don't care that Trump supporters are getting beaten up. They don't care that people are afraid to wear certain hats. They really don't care as long as they get power and take it away from Trump. Damn his supporters...they want us in reeducation camps. They can take their progressivism and stick it up their asses. We won't sit silent whilst they ruin our great country. We haven't shown up to fight.....YET.

PB said...

Ann, it's not a choice. Progressive law and order. No consequences commensurate with the criminal act is acceptable. Just a stronger hug to mend the broken hearts that led to the crime.

Humperdink said...

If I hear the term "public servant" one more time .....

Think Gavin Newsome/French Laundry. Let 'em eat cake.

tim maguire said...

Some have perceived [Kamala] Harris’s conversion to progressive prosecutor as opportunistic, but it is not entirely out of keeping with her record or with evolving public opinion

Isn't that pretty much what is meant by opportunistic?

I went to law school almost 20 years ago. At that time, the crack epidemic was over and crime was at modern lows. Criminal law wasn't a significant speciality in my school, so the reputation of prosecutors wasn't an issue one way or the other.

I've always thought it was a bad thing that the office of prosecutor is used as a stepping stone to higher public office. It creates conflicts of interest that lead to unfair prosecutions and draconian punishments, creates rifts in society and harms communities.

Mr Wibble said...

I've always thought it was a bad thing that the office of prosecutor is used as a stepping stone to higher public office. It creates conflicts of interest that lead to unfair prosecutions and draconian punishments, creates rifts in society and harms communities.

Agreed. Prosecutors should be barred from any other public office for a period of time, maybe five years.

Marcus Bressler said...

IMHO, you are only a "public servant" if it is a position without compensation or one with just a honorarium.

David Begley said...

When I was in law school if you wanted to be a prosecutor, you knew that it meant putting guilty people in jail. My class had one US Attorney, one county attorney and three district court judges. The US Attorney might run for Mayor of Seattle. He was our only politician.

Wince said...

When I went to law school, 20 years before that, I heard the clear message, stated absolutely, that if you wanted to go into public interest law, you should never at any phase in your career take any job in prosecution. It would make you toxic to people of the left.

So, what took place between 40 and 20 years ago that changed course for Democrats?

Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, was it not?

Karen of Texas said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karen of Texas said...

"IMHO, you are only a "public servant" if it is a position without compensation or one with just a honorarium."

Or, like President Trump, one could choose to be a public servant by not accepting compensation.

iowan2 said...

Law enforcement has always balanced on the precarious tenant of prosecutorial discretion.That's fine.
Today its prosecutorial discretion in secret. That's where the problem comes in. Law enforcement, is subjected to regular checks by the leaders standing for election. But in the law, lots of overarching policy direction is done in the dark and hidden from voter. Soros has spent $millions getting leftist elected at the Prosecutor level, as a way to subvert the will of the people. Most people don't pay much attention to who the county prosecutor is, or exactly what he is up to. Want to legalize pot? Fine, put it up to a vote. Instead what has happened is prosecutors stop prosecuting those that break pot laws on the books, so the street cops stop enforcing the law. The people can vote the prosecutor out of office, but how would we know that laws are not being enforced? The opposite side of the coin is selective prosecution. Using obscure laws to harass political enemies, or coercing plea agreements to lesser offenses and letting serious crimes slide...all in the name of artificially puffing up the prosecutors "conviction" rate.

Temujin said...

She's working hard at becoming the next Obama. A blank slate in which the left places all of their hopes and visions. A walking projection receiver. Kamala has not had to say more than 20 sentences in public in the past 4 months (aside from the debate in which she stated repeatedly, "I'm speaking.", as if to invoke special powers.) She has not had to answer any, and when I say 'any' I mean ANY, questions from the media/press. She has not spoken in public except for a staged video of her half crying/stating, "Joe...we did it."

It's amazing. The recently hated former prosecutor from California, who so turned off the entirety of the progressives and other Democrats during their own primary, is now going to be transformed into a combination Eleanor Roosevelt/Rosa Parks/Beyonce. We will see so much gushing praise, you would think she actually is Barack Himself.

And yet, in the end, she's not very bright. And she's got a mean streak in her a mile long. And it'll all show itself.

Leland said...

DC comics didn't call Harvey Dent "two-faced" for nothing.

Political Junkie said...

Agree AA.
However, this is the pessimist in me, K Harris particulars may not matter.
Since W victory in 2004, VA, CO, NV, and now probably AZ have moved away from Rs.
The reality is that the Deep South, while historically R or conservative, has large black populations. If the black vote turns out strong, and upper middle/upper class whites, especially women, continue the D trend, the presidential race is a foregone conclusion.See Georgia 2020.

Said differently, Demographics Determine Destiny.

Or, movie analogy is 1982 The Thing, where Wilford Brimley character is looking on a computer and seeing how quickly the creature will spread throughout the earth. Immigration is the creature in the analogy.

Fernandinande said...

"Kamala Harris ... Noble Path..."

Who comes up with this trash?

unknown said...

The idea of KH as a prosecutor has always been a little absurd. She was a future politician who was placed in one office (SF DA) and then ran for another (CA AG). She was not a real prosecutor, and her attempts to play one on camera at Senate hearings and so forth have been laughable to me.

For that reason the attacks on her for jailing blacks for pot and the parents of truant teens have been a bit unfair. But she also doesn’t deserve credit for having an understanding of the criminal justice system from the trenches. It’s just not true.

She’s an ambitious floozy who fucked Willie Brown and rose through the ranks.

MayBee said...

Kamala Harris has just become a bag of skin, hair, and facial features for them to project all their hopes and expectations upon. As if there is nothing of herself inside of her.

Rusty said...

Blogger Fernandinande said...
"Kamala Harris ... Noble Path..."

"Who comes up with this trash?"
The local Peoples Soviet.
How about just some regular law and order and you can save the progressive crap for when you get home at night.
You read this lefty shit and you're forced to wonder,"Are people really this stupid."
And then prog. somebody shows up here.
I guess there's some subset of the population that needs someone to tell them what to do.

Whiskeybum said...

tim maguire said...
Mr. Wibble said...

I've always thought it was a bad thing that the office of prosecutor is used as a stepping stone to higher public office. It creates conflicts of interest that lead to unfair prosecutions and draconian punishments, creates rifts in society and harms communities.

Agreed. Prosecutors should be barred from any other public office for a period of time, maybe five years.


Let's finish that thought with: Defense attorneys should likewise be barred from public office for a period of (TBD) years. Otherwise, we end up with a bunch of political leaders like the Soros-funded "prosecutors" that immediately turned out arrested Antifa criminals back out onto the streets. Maybe we should just cut to the chase and bar lawyers from any public offices.

I don't understand the anti-prosecutor stance that a lot of people have. Can't we use our judgement to separate those who have abused power (e.g., Nifong) and those who have served the public to protect us against the criminal elements, which is their function in society? I understand the issue of prosecutorial over-reach, but the latter is what I'd like to see in a political leader.

alanc709 said...

All this proves that there isn't any office the left can't corrupt. People now run for DA/Prosecutor so as to choose who gets tried for crimes, and who can't be tried.

Whiskeybum said...

iowan2 @ 6:45

+1

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Joe Biden Bumbles Through Appearance, Vows to ‘Dictate’ to Companies

Phil 314 said...

And did I mention she’s Black, too!

(Well, at least a quarter black.)

rehajm said...

Before we talk about 2024 we should see how she does as President first...

Lurker21 said...

It's a cycle. So far as attitudes towards the police go, the team has returned to the negative and confrontational attitudes of the 60s and early 70s. This time its BLM and not the Black Panthers, but I suppose if there are any students on elite law school campuses now they are attending BLM protests just like Hillary Clinton went to Panther protests.

I say, "the team" because I didn't know what to write: America? The Democrats? Liberals? Progressives? The Left? None of the conventional labels really fits. Maybe "the woke" is better, but it's not easy to find a label that takes in both anarchist street rioters and well-to-do New Yorker readers and excludes those who voted for Biden but are appalled by the rioting.

rehajm said...

If they get away with it in 2020 we need to have a national conversation about changing the verb. 'Running', as if it's a competition, won't seem to fit.

Iman said...

They really don't care as long as they get power and take it away from Trump. Damn his supporters...they want us in reeducation camps. They can take their progressivism and stick it up their asses. We won't sit silent whilst they ruin our great country. We haven't shown up to fight.....YET.

Damn it, wendybar! I’m just waking up in Caliunicornia and you’ve already got my blood boiling!

rehajm said...

I say, "the team" because I didn't know what to write: America? The Democrats? Liberals? Progressives? The Left? None of the conventional labels really fits.

Ha- fits what I just said. How's 'the strategists' or 'the focus group' work?

Probably not the latter since it implies voters opinions are taken into account...

hawkeyedjb said...

They're a perfect pair, Biden and Harris. Neither of them has any principles, they're both careerists in search of power for its own sake, and they'll tell any lie to get it. They would be happy as Belorussian apparatchiks.

mikee said...

KH will become president when her handlers decide to put Joe out to pasture, and election has nothing to do with her ascension to the presidency. Neither does any shred of etics or morals on her part.

Iman said...

Or, movie analogy is 1982 The Thing, where Wilford Brimley character is looking on a computer and seeing how quickly the creature will spread throughout the earth. Immigration is the creature in the analogy.

Thanksgiving used to be Wilford’s favorite holiday... a holiday where he could relax and talk turkey.

I will be raising a glass, in honor, this year.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Everyone hates prosecutors until they’re a crime victim. Then the prosecutor isn’t dogged enough in Getting them Justice.

Iman said...

If whupping skull was, as some might say, a talent to be employed as one climbs the “ladder of success”, Kamala Harris would be considered “Top Shelf”.

Ralph L said...

Since "Defund the Police" was a loser with 90% of the people, they're switching to sotto voce "defang the police."

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Why the sudden interest in Kamala by these people? Nobody even thought she was serious candidate after the debates started. She wildly swung between proclaiming a new era of gentle policing and cackling about locking up young black Californians who got caught with pot, while mixing in a giggle about her own pot-smoking rap-enjoying time in college (which to be fair sounded as phony as everything else about her). Kamala dropped out so early she never drew even one primary vote. Not one! People dismissed her as not black enough to qualify for Biden’s sidekick but like many leftist memes is subsided as The Media lined up behind Inevitable Joe and the COVID-induced mail-ballot flood. Since then she’s given no interviews. Not one reporter asks her a question as she fills the ethic person slot onstage with Joe. Not one question yesterday! So this “reporter” instead of asking her questions yesterday asks the reader to ponder her path as an alleged “prosecutor” fir the purpose of what? Why the sudden notice that Kamala may serve some purpose? I don’t get it. She certainly should fit your “boring” tag to a tee. Interesting? Uh, no. Obama is the only one pushing the Kamala train forward because she’s the only cypher-designate empty enough to carry on O’s “legacy” as intended.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

All the fawning. No curiosity about democrats and what they really do.

Sebastian said...

"Which way would it be better to skew if what she wants is to win the presidential election in 2024?"

It doesn't matter. Record doesn't matter. Character doesn't matter. Prior views and prior failures don't matter. As Joe showed. Putting black men in prison or being descended from slaveholders doesn't matter. All that matters is the (D).

cacimbo said...

During the anti-war period prosecutors were in disfavor by Dems.By the late 80's, early 90's as crime raged out of control it became fashionable.JFK Jr. was celebrated when he joined the Manhattan DA's office in 1989.Everyone knew it was in preparation to enter politics.What has really changed is the the idea that someone with JFK's background would need to show his chops by slogging through a few years working in the DA's office.Today the wealthy no longer are expected to slog through a series of ability proving stepping stone positions.

Unknown said...

In order to control you

the abnormal is made normal

Liberal prosecutors let the favored free

while jailing the The Gun Waving Couple

They are God's "Instruments of Equity"

Unknown said...

Also, Obama picked Harris as his next puppet

So the narrative engineers go to work cleaning up her profession

Amadeus 48 said...

Kamala Harris is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.

Rusty said...

Is there going to be a gloryhole in the Whitehouse?
Asking for a friend.

The Crack Emcee said...

"What puts [Kamala Harris] in the best light — progressive ideas or law and order?"

Kamala Harris don't need no stinking' progressive ideas OR law and order - she's slept with people who can talk to the dead, and don't anybody pretend otherwise, because there's no way to make it (and it's implications) go away: When Asked About This Photo, Montel Williams Replied, "So What?"

So - so what? What puts [Kamala Harris] in the best light — gullible NewAge fool or crooked cop, laughing along with the other NewAge grifters? (I still shake my head in wonder, how did Obama/Oprah not trigger something in everyone, immediately, alerting them that we were in trouble, after Shirley MacLaine and whatnot?) I vote for gullible NewAge fool, but that's not gonna help her career any.

She doesn't DESERVE a career.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Democrats at the top are cheats and liars who seek to punish all, and reward the few.

David Duffy said...

Setting her up to be the FIRST Black/female/Indian/Vice President/prosecutor/Californian/American/Jamaican/married to the Second Gentleman (the FIRST Jewish spouse of a President or Vice President) to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

All these firsts give me organisms.

And Only the SECOND Black/female/prosecutor/Vice President/Californian/American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Seconds give me goose bumps.

And only the THIRD Black/female/prosecutor/Vice President to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Thirds give me butterflies.

And only the FOURTH Black/female/prosecutor to win the Prize

Fourths put a smile on my face.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Democrats use the government and their power as a get rich quick scheme for themselves and their families.

See:
Clinton
Reid
pelosi
Biden

Who else?

MadTownGuy said...

"the opportunity for public servants to make a name for themselves as fundamentally different kinds of prosecutors, championing measures that are more rehabilitative than punitive."

Two words: enemies list. But hey, she'll decline to prosecute drug pushers and Antifa. So there's that.

Fernandinande said...

People now run for DA/Prosecutor so as to choose who gets tried for crimes, and who can't be tried.

She sure came down hard on the modern-day lynchers even though they were imaginary.

Kamala Harris is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.

She's a miracle!

Since "Defund the Police" was a loser with 90% of the people, they're switching to sotto voce "defang the police."

It's already working: "36 of 50 cities recently surveyed report double-digit surge in murder rates"

Bonus: PORTLAND RECORDS DEADLIEST MONTH IN 30 YEARS: REPORT

mockturtle said...

I'll take a Trey Gowdy over a Gerry Spence any day.

Immanuel Rant said...

"the opportunity for public servants to make a name for themselves as fundamentally different kinds of prosecutors, championing measures that are more rehabilitative than punitive."

Combine this with Instapundit's recognition of every person has probably committed three felonies before lunch, and you have the perfect political tool -- prosecutorial "discretion" to keep your rioting allies from going to jail. Meanwhile, someone defending their home can go bankrupt trying to defend themselves, regardless of the outcome.

Combine that with the use of federal agencies (IRS, FBI against politicval opponents and winked-at election fraud and measures to reduce (or destroy) public confidence in the legitimacy of the vote, and -viola- U.S. as a banana republic is all but complete.

If they push that mandatory "re-education" for half the coting age population, and we'll be even less than that.

A nation of laws? Not for a while, now.

Immanuel Rant said...

*sorry for the typos

DarkHelmet said...

"Noble path to the highest offices"

Wow. That path does not exist in 2020. Maybe it did once upon a time (doubtful) but at present . . . the concept is a bad joke.

DavidUW said...

Kamala prosecuted the innocent (or at least not guilty) and let the guilty run free.

"Ms. Harris and her staff defended the indefensible—California State prosecutor Murray flat out falsified a transcript of a defendant’s confession."

She also refused to prosecute abuse by priests (surprisingly Catholic groups donated $50k to her campaign) AND MS-13 gang members.

She is a horrible prosecutor and a horrible person who in any just society would be languishing in prison.

The Crack Emcee said...

Kamala Harria was a San Francisco Prosecutor as a Sex Cult thrived right under her nose.

That's how good she was.

Richard Aubrey said...

Prosecutors could improve their public image if they could bring themselves to prosecute and convict any prosecutor shown to have suborned perjury or withheld exculpatory evidence.
Or a process/punishment trial for the obviously innocent.

Had a relation go through two years of hell and a six-figure legal bill for some kind of vehicular homicide charge. The defense's most devastating witness was the prosecution's expert. IOW, he knew he had nothing going in. But it wasn't his money he was spending or his life he was ruining.

Jupiter said...

"At the same time, in the wake of Democratic losses in congressional and state elections, some legislators have raised questions about the possibly negative effects of progressive ideas, particularly calls to defund the police. As Democrats evaluate the election results, concerns about achieving majorities might temper some enthusiasm for reform."

So defunding the police is reform, wherefore funding the police must be corruption or worse. But we might not want to introduce the voters to virtue too quickly. Not until we have weeded out the deplorables and bitter clingers. It will be many years before we can stop stealing elections.

readering said...

AA and I must have traveled in very different circles when we both attended law school in NY at same time. I never ever heard that.

Nonapod said...

I don't know what all the fuss is about since we really don't need prosecutors anymore. As we've seen in this wonderous new modern era, the best way to avoid prosecution is simply to

1). Be a powerful Democrat running for president, or

2). Be a family member of a powerful Democrat running for president

If you meet either of those conditions you can pretty much commit any crime you like brazenly and the mainstream media and the social media gatekeepers will fall over themselves to cover for you. Anyone who attempts to investigate you will be dismissed as a right wing conspiracy theorist.

As to all the other crimes, as long as you're not some awful Trump supporter you can just be let out of jail even if you're convicted. After all, the law should only be used to punish conservatives.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Balfegor said...

Law and order is the way to go. Frankly, an early and public Biden crackdown on riots and looting, spearheaded by Harris, is probably the best way to defang a lot of Republican attacks.

It will happen later than sooner, if at all. Biden's already staked out his last ditch by claiming that Antifa doesn't exist during the debates. You think he's going to backtrack now, while Trump's still out there and able to tweet about it?

Chennaul said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
PM said...

Frisco has set the tone.
Release prisoners.
Close jails.
Ignore property crimes.
Open drug-use centers.
The world is your toilet.
Allow, allow, allow.

Chennaul said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mockturtle said...

The term 'public servant' should be stricken from our lexicon. Who are we kidding?

Humperdink said...

RE: Public servant. As someone said up thread, Trump is working for zero compensation. Maybe we should call him "public piñata".

Can you imagine going through what the president has had to endure for the last 4+ years? I can not. The libel and slander was off the charts.

Kathryn51 said...

David Begley -- did you go to law school with Mike McKay??

hombre said...

Kamala Harris was not an ethical prosecutor.

Martin said...

My reaction to Gersen's attempt to sanctify Kamala Harris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXXeDMskMwc

n.n said...

Diversity (i.e. color judgment), not limited to racism, is a clear and progressive condition. Lose you Pro-Choice quasi-religion.

Individual dignity. Intrinsic value. Inordinate worth. Go forth and reconcile.

Aggie said...

Once again, we have professionals who create a fraud by changing the definition of what they do while keeping the same title and hiding behind the mask as they carry out their subterfuge.

We've just come through an election where pollsters were self-appointed influencers. Instead of assessing sentiment, they attempt to prod it on behalf of one candidate, or pull it at the expense of the other. News broadcasters were, too: Instead of reporting the news they attempt to create it with early announcements, skewed reporting, selective coverage, etc.

Prosecutors prosecute to enforce the law when wrongdoers are caught committing crimes. That's what they do. They don't reform justice. They don't get elected as prosecutors and then decide not to prosecute because of skin color or sympathy for rioters, or imagined social injustices. They are not society's vanguard of policy makers. They're prosecutors.

It's all part of shifting the meaning of words as a trick, a facade to keep people unaware, hide malfeasance and screen what is actually going on against their wishes.

Static Ping said...

Kamala will believe whatever she needs to believe to achieve whatever she wants. Those are her principles. She has proven this over and over again during her career. Any attempt to try to understand them as good faith is a foolish endeavor for the naive.

Of course, this analysis is coming from a journalist, which these days basically requires you to be a partisan know nothing.

Earnest Prole said...

When Harris was California attorney general you could say the police and prison unions made her their bitch except that by all appearances Harris would have paid for the pleasure. It's why she got zero traction with the Left in the Democratic primaries. Now that she's making progressive noises, Left thinkers like the one at the New Yorker are encouraging her. But when the law-and-order pendulum swings back, as it always does in American politics, Harris will have no problem swinging with it because she has no fixed principles. Call it a feature, not a bug.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

And yet, in the end, she's not very bright. And she's got a mean streak in her a mile long. And it'll all show itself.

Don't you dare call her [Harris] "not very bright." She's black and she's a woman, so that's racists and sexist. If she was to ever come out as gay, then it would be homophobic, and you'd win the trifecta.

DEEBEE said...

Your discovery of shifting support of a prog and subsequent surprise quite a bit like that of the two Repubs in that “obscure” Michigan county that the left has no intention of playing anything straight. But keep faith, they will surely keep their word.

Big Mike said...

Just because she could railroad young black men into long sentences for minor marijuana possession doesn’t mean she had to pressure them into unjust sentences. Didn’t we spend eight years under Obama hearing all about prosecutorial discretion as to why it was perfectly okay for him and Holder and Lynch to avoid enforcing laws they found inconvenient? Why yes, yes we did.

Bad enough that Harris set out to ruin the lives of young black men. Worse that Kamala broke out into her trademark horse laugh when asked if she, herself, had used weed.

n.n said...

ever come out as gay, then it would be homophobic

Gay is an appropriated term. Homosexual. Transphobic... sometimes it's a Rainbow (exclusive of black, brown, and taking pride in the shredded remains of white), and other times it's politically congruent "=" or selective exclusion.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, the word “reform” carries a positive connotation, i.e., that something not good is turned into something that is improved. Can you identify any progressive idea circa 2020 that improves anything at all? Or is replacing store windows with painted over plywood your sick idea of a reform?

Jim at said...

The bright, soaring future of the Democratic Party ... dropped out of the race before the first vote was cast in the Iowa caucuses.

Yeah. You go with that.

5M - Eckstine said...

No one wants to be nifonged

Unknown said...

Prosecutors are only now being recognized as noble because of Ms. Harris.

ccscientist said...

Rehabilitation has a pretty sorry track record. This is especially true for serious offenders (rape, murder). We are going to have a crime spike like we have not seen in many decades (1970?). I would put money on it. Preview available in select cities.

Tina Trent said...

Ann, your first comment is so atrocious, I hope you at least bothered to push back against it. But I doubt it. Just know you can't twist that into any definition, OED included, of neutrality: cruel, or just doltish.

Turns out the social leverage, professional cowardice, and cultural certitude you people lent each other to have no morals actually did destroy the justice system.

Mazel tov, as it were.

Josephbleau said...

"AA and I must have traveled in very different circles when we both attended law school in NY at same time. I never ever heard that."

Rendering raises his nose to view Ann. "This girl was not of notice in the old New York!"

n.n said...

It's already working: "36 of 50 cities recently surveyed report double-digit surge in murder rates"

Bonus: PORTLAND RECORDS DEADLIEST MONTH IN 30 YEARS: REPORT


Some, Select Black Lives Matter... Here's to progress: one step forward, two steps backward.

PM said...

Noble.
Is that new word replacing Dignity for the, um, Capital Letter People.

ColoradoDude said...

The last sentence of Althouse’s post may imply she thinks Harris WILL be the Democratic presidential candidate in 2024. Poor Joe. Destined to be a one-term wonder (or another William Henry Harrison) even before the Electoral College meets?