Latest news with #Sowell
Chicago Tribune
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Peter S. Wenz: Thanks to Pete Hegseth, I'm censored more here than in China
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has evicted an anthology I co-edited with philosopher Laura Westra from the U.S. Naval Academy library. I don't know about Laura, but I'm pleased that they thought some midshipman may want to read 'Faces of Environmental Racism,' published initially in 1995. In the 30 years since, we may have poisoned the minds of some midshipmen who are now captains or even admirals. Or Hegseth may just be protecting young sailors with dust allergies from picking up the book. My more serious guess is that the term 'racism' is the reason for the book's expulsion. It combines case studies with theoretical analyses of racism in public and private decision-making, mostly regarding land use. The subject is environmental racism, a subtopic of environmental justice. I am among a handful of people who, entirely independently of one another, coined the term 'environmental justice' in the early 1980s, and my book 'Environmental Justice' (State University of New York Press, 1988) is the first to use the expression anywhere in the title or subtitle of any book. The administration of President Donald Trump has a penchant toward one-sided views, which explains its attempts to stifle alternative narratives, claiming them to be one-sided, which they often are. Consider critical race theory. In my view, it's supported by a great deal of evidence, but it's one-sided. Progress in race relations is given short shrift. Similarly, but on the opposite side, Thomas Sowell's 'The Vision of the Anointed' castigates liberals for claiming that they alone occupy the moral high ground. Sowell is correct about liberals, but his thesis that only liberals do this is all wrong. He ignores conservatives doing the very same thing — for example, 'the moral majority.' Both critical race theory and Sowell's view are valuable contributions, so long as alternative views are available, just as two sides are typically presented in judicial proceedings. Apparently, Hegseth doesn't want young minds polluted by knowledge that the interstates they travel on through cities required destruction of mostly minority communities; toxic waste is still located mostly near such communities; and air pollution and cancer rates remain higher there than elsewhere due to incineration and oil refining. My contribution to the anthology mitigates the concentration on race. The disproportionate harm to minority communities, which are often poor, may result from poverty rather than race. Land is cheaper where poor people live, so the cost of destroying a community or lowering its land values due to pollution is less. Harming minorities follows from cost-benefit analysis. It reduces the monetary cost to society of promoting our material way of life. Informed discussion requires attention to both benefits and burdens. My article offers a procedure to reduce injustices caused by using only monetary measures of benefits and burdens when lives are at stake. While all of us tend to appreciate the presentation of our own side more than that of the other side, the Chinese have been more open than Hegseth to my presentations, and that of others, on environmental matters. The Chinese government gave a grant to Northwest University in Xi'An to translate and publish Western works in environmental ethics. My book 'Environmental Justice' was published in 2007 by the Shanghai People's Publishing House. In 2015, the Chinese government paid me to give lectures at two universities in Xi'An based largely on this book. Xi Jinping was already the head of government, so I asked my host if I should really lecture students and larger gatherings of academics on the importance of human rights. I was told that this was fine, so I went ahead. Such tolerance continued for years while Xi maintained his power. In 2021, a second translation of my book was published in Chinese, this time by Truth and Wisdom Press. I find it odd that China, a notorious abuser of human rights, would subsidize the publication of a book presenting ideas at odds with its ideology, whereas the Trump administration considers my thoughts too toxic to remain in a government library. We should heed the wise words of English philosopher John Stuart Mill in 'On Liberty': 'He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion.' Leaders who stifled dissent, who insisted that only one side of important issues be presented — King Charles I of England and Adolf Hitler come to mind — didn't serve their countries well. Currently, Nicolas Maduro, Vladimir Putin and the Kim dynasty, brooking no dissent, are devastating their countries. We shouldn't let that happen here.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trade-offs and solutions for judicial officers
Indiana legislators both added and eliminated courts in the recent legislative session. (Getty Images) We are living in interesting times. Maybe you've noticed. And I'm not just talking about the vehicles in the Statehouse parking lot, or the hot history takes on social media. Hopefully, you've also detected the great reshuffling of priorities taking place right before our eyes. Less money from the federal government and pervasive economic uncertainty are wreaking havoc on the state budget. Property tax relief is putting pressure on local governments to find new revenue or reduce services. And Medicaid growth is forcing smokers to pay more for their already expensive habit. The shakeup has even come to a courtroom near you. Under the recently passed HEA 1144, some locales, notably the ever-expanding Hamilton County, will get new judicial officers. Others, like the demographically challenged Blackford County, will see theirs taken away. All this rebalancing shows policymakers engaged in the perennial contest between trade-offs and solutions. Thomas Sowell described the history of this contest in his classic A Conflict of Visions. According to Sowell, optimizing trade-offs is the mission of those who operate under what he terms the constrained vision of human nature, which sees us all irredeemably imperfect and lacking the capacity for solutions. The yin to this yang is Sowell's unconstrained vision, which sees humankind as perfectible and its challenges as ultimately solvable. Indiana lawmakers approve reduced court eliminations HEA 1144 shows the constrained view ascendant. Lawmakers like Rep. Chris Jeter and Sen. Liz Brown recognize it is unsustainable to continually add courts without examining the system in its entirety. We can't materialize judicial officers from thin air. So, when judges in overworked counties ask for more resources, it makes sense for lawmakers to find a way to pay for it. The simple trade-off is to cut underutilized courts. But the unconstrained vision should not be ignored. It is indisputably a world of finite resources. There is only so much time, so much money, and so much energy to go around. And yet, over tens of thousands of years, our species has demonstrated an uncanny ability to expand the realm of the possible. Lives have been lengthened, wealth has been created, and new sources of power have been tapped. In the fullness of time and imagination, there may be solutions after all. The judicial utilization problem perfectly illustrates a policy challenge that would benefit from both the constrained and unconstrained views. According to the 2024 Weighted Caseload Measures, the judiciary is operating at 102% capacity, meaning we collectively have almost exactly the right number of judges we need. It's just that some courts are overloaded while others are underused. The simple solution is to put the underused courts to work. I'm guessing the put-the-judges-to-work solution looks a lot better to most Hoosiers than the eliminate-the-judges-in-my-county trade-off. And fortunately, we have a model that will allow us to actively pursue the solution without settling for the trade-off. Historically, judges 'rode circuit,' traveling on horseback from town to town to hear cases. This allowed sparsely populated areas to pool their resources and create a justice system they couldn't otherwise afford in their small frontier communities. A vestige of this system survives in Indiana to this day: our smallest community, Ohio County, shares a circuit court with its much larger neighbor, Dearborn County. In our more urbanized society, the design problem is different, but the circuit court solution is still relevant. Today, it's not about pooling resources but about projecting resources where they're needed. Still, sharing what we have is the solution. The Supreme Court has already divided the state into 26 administrative districts. With small rule changes, the judges in these districts could be allowed to hear cases across county lines. No horses required. Instead, through the magic of Zoom and the miracle of electronic filing, our existing judicial officers can do the work in their existing chambers. In the end, Sowell's dichotomy is a brilliant way to think about the ongoing battle of ideas, but, as he admits, not everyone has chosen a side. So, it is odd that it has become something of a mantra to say that there are no solutions, only trade-offs. Let's wait before we carve that in stone. Certainly, we are constrained, but we are not stagnant. Most importantly, we are not doomed to false choices. For this reason, and with all due respect to Sowell, I prefer another classic work on trade-offs and solutions: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. When confronted with a scenario designed to guarantee failure, Kirk famously changed the conditions of the test. Spock sacrificed himself for the benefit of his crew. They both rejected the no-win scenario. So should we. Judging from recent comments, legislators may be on the same page. In his remarks on final passage of HEA 1144, Rep. Jeter acknowledged that there would be an ongoing effort to get our judges 'in the right spots.' If that effort comes to fruition, and if lawmakers change the conditions to make that possible, they may be more unconstrained than they think. They may be ready to boldly seek out new solutions like those that worked before. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ranken students present plans for North City renewal
ST. LOUIS — On April 25, Ranken Technical College hosted its annual Architecture Student Showcase, highlighting the work of 38 junior and senior students who presented class projects aimed at re-envisioning north St. Louis. The event featured Jody Sowell, president and CEO of the Missouri Historical Society, who delivered the opening remarks. During his keynote address, titled 'I Am St. Louis,' Sowell spoke to students about the city's rich history and the deep connection between its identity and architectural legacy. The event was followed by the student showcase, where they presented layouts of their designs along with physical models of their infrastructures. This year's theme, 'Building Community in St. Louis Place,' challenged students to think critically about community-centered development. Among the projects presented were designs for key infrastructure elements, including a justice center, grocery store, and senior living center. As part of their four-month project, students were divided into eight groups of four to five and tasked with designing a unique building. Each group then collaborated to combine their designs into a cohesive neighborhood plan intended to help revitalize north St. Louis. The goal of the project was to improve quality of life in the area. Architectural technology instructors AnnaMarie Bliss and Elizabeth Proost oversaw the students' projects, which had been in development since January. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Yahoo
LAPD releases video of in-custody death: Suspect detained by citizen ruled justifiable homicide
The Brief LAPD released surveillance and bodycam video of a community member detaining an alleged burglary suspect who ultimately died while being restrained. The DA's office declined to file any charges against the community member and the death of Anthony Sowell was classified as a justifiable homicide. LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Police Department has released video of an in-custody death of an alleged burglary suspect detained by a community member. The backstory On July 6, 2024 at around 3:40 p.m., a man called 911 when his wife told him a hot prowl suspect tried breaking into their apartment in the 200 block of South Rampart Avenue. Surveillance footage shows the suspect, Anthony Sowell, being chased and held down by a citizen. The community member, who was not identified, wrestled with Sowell and held him on the ground by lying on top of him until Sowell appeared unconscious. He restrained him for roughly five minutes, even punched him at one point while Sowell appeared unconscious. Other community members then approached them and briefly spoke to that community member who detained Sowell. Police then arrived shortly after and placed handcuffs on Sowell, however he still appeared to be unconscious. Officers thought Sowell was experiencing a drug overdose and requested an ambulance and administered Narcan. They then un-handcuffed him and began CPR. Personnel from the Los Angeles Fire Department arrived and pronounced Sowell deceased at the scene. Dig deeper On July 10, a homicide investigation was launched. On August 28, homicide investigators met with the personnel from the District Attorney's Office and presented their case for filing considerations against the community member who detained Sowell. The DA's office advised them that a filing decision could not be made without the completed autopsy report. About a week later, the Medical Examiner-Coroner determined that Sowell's cause of death was due to Traumatic Asphyxia with contributing factors that included methamphetamine, cocaine, cocaethylene, ethanol, as well as Hyperteophic Heart Condition. The completed report was then submitted to the DA's office. However, on Dec. 30, the DA's office declined to file the charge of one count of attempted murder against the community member who detained Sowell. The case was ultimately classified as a justifiable homicide, the police department said. "On Dec. 30, 2024, the District Attorney's Office determined the evidence would not warrant conviction by a reasonable and objective fact finder after reviewing all the evidence available to the deputy at the time of charging, including the Medical Examiner's report, and after considering the most plausible, reasonably foreseeable defenses inherent in the prosecution's evidence." What they're saying "I'm not surprised [this happened here]," said Giorgi, a business owner from where the incident took place. "I would probably do the same thing if somebody tried to break into my home and chase a guy, because I'm fed up too with all the crime going on. I'd think at least I'm doing something to protect my community." Another local resident said he believes the citizen seen on video should have been charged and arrested for murder. "I see a man just brutally beating another man," said Mark Jimenez. "Thou shall not kill. There's no justification in murder. [The break-in is] an assumption. There's no facts. That's my opinion. There's no justification. There's no law." A spokesperson from the L.A. County District Attorney's Office provided the written statement below. What's next The police department said now that their investigation is completed and charges have been declined, they decided to release the surveillance video and bodycam video to the public.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Suspects sought in Grimes County burglaries
GRIMES COUNTY, Texas (FOX 44) – The Grimes County Sheriff's Office needs your help to identify suspects in some recent burglaries. The Sheriff's Office originally received a business alarm at Haynie's General Store in Richards on Saturday, February 1. Deputies arrived at 11035 FM-149 to discover a burglary occurred and a large number of vape products were stolen. Sheriff Don Sowell says the Standley Feed Store in Iola was broken into around 5:27 a.m. on Monday, February 10. Four suspects stole approximately $4,000 worth of merchandise, including header/heeler ropes and Case knives. The suspect vehicle appears to be an SUV which was seen traveling northbound on FM-39. The suspects are possibly the same for both locations, according to Sheriff Sowell. If you have any information to share, you can contact Grimes County Crimestoppers at 936-873-2000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
