Legacies don't necessarily fare well but children of famous alumni with strong academic credentials in their own right do extremely well in the admissions game.

RE Scandinavia. It's hard to disagree that they have much figured out in terms of gender equality, economic fairness, and work/life balance. I am less certain that the model can be replicated or even should be given other alternatives to achieve the same goals. I finished Berry's Our Only World several weeks ago and the vision he casts for community IMO is more viable and culturally suited to the US. It makes sense the Homeward Bound writer would hit his ideas head on.

I have appreciated your thoughts on this book because I have been wavering on whether to read it. Based on your reviews, I think it best I stay away. Does she have a solution for how caregiving and nurturing can happen given we assign it so little monetary value? The idea that all parents should be in workforce and pay for child and eldercare doesn't work for me given those (mostly female) jobs often pay so little that the people working them cannot, in turn, outsource their own caregiving needs. (Countries that manage this successfully have a different social contract and tax system than the US.) And laughing at the Wendell Berry comment. I think he can be alarmist and swing too far towards the Luddite end of the spectrum, but to accuse him of being anti-intellectual? That's like saying Eliana is anti-book.

Probably true that it more a mainstreaming of fantasy.

Interesting conversation. We own many of the TGB and Soup books. Also, Peck's A Day No Pigs Would Die is one of my husband's favorite read alouds because it allows him to share his own rural farming/pig raising childhood with the kids. (And Alison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma's Simple Gifts because of the Shaker connection. Bonus.) The books are dated in terms of the free-range child aspect and cultural norms of the day. Yet the plots are IMO very developmentally appropriate. It fascinates me that much of modern children's literature--Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Mysterious Benedict Society--the kids are not dealing with typical problems of childhood and are instead tasked with saving the world. I wonder if in later years we will look back and be uncomfortable with that?

Lol. Martian astronaut minus the botany skills. I would totally be stoked if NASA sent me directions on how to live my life.

My leisure reading last week alternated between The Martian, seed catalogues, and various cookbooks. The cookbook which was the most interesting yet also the most unhelpful was Burma: River of Flavors. It is a lovely book to read and ponder, full of pictures and texts that nicely complement and explain the recipes. But I am not running out to purchase fish sauce and chickpea flour to toast any time soon given my limited energy and time. It is so symptomatic of where I am domestically: in a rut, needing to slow down, seeking practical ways to simplify and provide, oh wait, let's escape to Mars! No, Burma! Back to home, I'm in a rut, how can I slow down... Maybe I should read the domesticity book. On a more serious note, I read The Doll House by Ibsen with my homeschooling teens. I expected my daughter's positive reaction, more surprising was the fun my son had playing Torvald. This was a nostalgia read for me, but the first Ibsen for them. We may do Enemy of the People. Haven't decided yet.

I was embarrassingly glued to the Duggar molestation scandal because I had some familiarity with Jim Bob Duggar's role in pushing through draconian juvenile sex offender legislation in Arkansas--as in, legislation requiring life long registration for preteen children caught in the dual worlds of victim and offending. He actively promoted and built the system, then turned around and did everything he could to keep his own child out of it. The moral gymnastics of narcissistic political figures are exhausting. And yes, the impact of the legal system is felt across color lines and does track with income. There is sadness and to spare in all corners of our country and I don't want to minimize that. However, I do think race is a significant variable especially in areas where minority communities are not able to determine, at the ground level, the kind of relationship they wish to have with law enforcement. It's not like places like Ferguson can actively "pick" community policing over a more military style occupation mindset. And then the policing at the ground level is what sets the ball rolling.... (And now, I have officially become the annoying book club person who shows up without having read the book and offers endless commentary regardless. Sorry about that. I will post later in the day about what I am reading. Mostly fluff.)

I think the bolded is a good summary. I called the profit motive a "conspiracy," but really, a similar profit motive exists at other intersections of government. Years ago I was deeply involved in small Midwestern town school board politics, and it was astonishing to me the amount of profit built into the contracts for construction, HVAC, food, etc. There was much money to be made in public education, just not by the teachers. It was the businesses who would quietly bid and/or negotiate for various services, sometimes at steeply inflated prices buried deep in the public records and likely to pass unseen (or underreported). Jails and prisons have less transparency built into the system, so the potential for abuse is greater. The mandatory minimum fiascos are no great mystery either since it comes down to Congress and we have history of "soft on crime" negative campaign rhetoric and advertisements being enormously effective in tanking political campaigns. For decades is was a "no brainer" to always vote in favor of raising mandatory minimums because anything less opens the politician to uncomfortable allegations in a campaign. Even now that the pendulum has swung the other way in favor of reform, I suspect it will be temporary because sooner or later another Willie Horton type ad will prove pivotal. Then we are back to fear based voting.

I agree that the Hammond ranchers---not the armed occupiers--were caught up in the mandatory minimum black hole and it was very unfortunate. The other area of federal cases where this is happening is with child porn offenses. Few people talk about this publically because it is an uncomfortable, even grotesque topic. But the reality is, mandatory minimums in child porn world are significantly more draconian than many state laws for hands on child sexual offending. It is very odd--a hands on child offender at high risk for reoffending likely will serve less in state custody than someone who has downloaded child porn. Not filmed and distributed, but viewed. These are mostly white men, btw, and many well educated and with high incomes. I am no attorney either but it begs the question as to the value of the federal mandatory minimum system; specifically, the arbitrariness of it all and why incarceration is the de facto response. There is significant intersection between mass incarceration and mental illness, and addiction in particular. That's a whole other can of worms. Limited mental health options dramatically impact daily operations in most of our jails.

...And solitary confinement for juveniles in the federal system has been ended by executive order. Booyah.

I do think there is a vast profit-making conspiracy. Quick. Pass me a tin foil hat.

Yes, what makes a good legal question to SCOTUS is often not the main objection of people on the ground. To put it another way: You pick the test case which most closely pushes a constitutional issue likely to interest the court. And cross your fingers. You might have an issue with stacks of data to suggest it is racially biased, but still might pick a case with a white defendant to push through because the legal questions are more clear cut. And yes, agreeing 100% I should read the book. I thumbed through it at a bookstore, then put it back because I was familiar already with most of the research strands. But I regret that now because familiarity with research strands is not the same thing as understanding the author's complete argument. I am still pondering whether intent matters or not. Because will we have the political will to change without people acknowledging some level of personal responsibility? IDK. I do think that a big problem we have in our country is that we are still...segregated. There are communities where it would be rare to encounter a person who did not have a relative or close friend incarcerated, and then other communities where it is rare for people to have ever known someone in jail. Which means when it comes to political decisions, the two communities might as well be on two different planets. No, that's not the right language. Because community #1, by definition, will have fewer inhabitants with voting rights and fewer options for legal representation. Nobody forces us to live these segregated lives. There are ways we can voluntarily associate across color and class lines if it matters to us. I once asked the watch commander at a local jail if she would permit someone to come in and do read alouds. She was intrigued but I had exactly zero follow through. Which goes to show the kicker in all this is for me is that I have a busy, crazy life and need my margins too.

I am not sure I am following you. Are you saying that determining whether the blame is explicit or not detracts from actions that might improve the current state of affairs? (I have read neither of the books being discussed but have plenty of thoughts. Lol)

I am thrilled with this SCOTUS decision! There are so many nuances when juveniles are tried as adults. Often the kids waive Miranda right without fully comprehending the consequences, then lack the life experience and wisdom to fully participate in their own defense. Maybe this will push prisons to rethink rehabilitation as an option? Hope springs eternal.

I am completely absorbed in The Martian. What a great plot!

Interesting because I remember the mother's "system" for dealing with childhood communicable illnesses quite clearly: Everyone strip down and in bed at once to get it over with. I once spent a delightful lunch in a hospital cafeteria with physicians of various stripes debating the merits of the system. The physicians who were also mothers were surprisingly gung ho.

Elbow to the crotch. Oh wait.

Laughing. I started The Martian last night and wondered why such a smart person lacked an expansive vocabulary. I guess if you are stranded on Mars, only one word will do.

I am so sorry and hope for you the best possible outcome.

Yes, and I am less familiar with the civil courts.

And I need to ponder more your statement of "working in tandem." I realized as I was typing out my response the degree to which I now think of justice and healing as being disconnected, and I wonder how much of this is accurate versus an unhealthy cynicism on my part.

Let me preface by saying that I my profession is in mental health and when I work either with the incarcerated (and their families) or victim/witness (and their families) my idea of what a favorable outcome looks like is very different than the judicial system's. I would make a terrible judge or juror because I am far less interested in the principle of justice than I am in the principle of healing. Not that justice isn't important, it very much is, just that I would prefer to put my time and energy more towards the goal of healing and let the attorneys, judges, and juries sort out the justice piece. My very biased perspective is that your working definition of transitional justice is in the ballpark of most judicial systems, even the most structured. There are a few instances where crimes can be halted before irreparable harm is done, but generally crimes worth prosecuting are already "too little too late" for the victims. In terms of which crimes are prosecuted, within our own system it is surprising how much is determined by who the victim is. (Death penalty cases, for example, generally though not always proceed with the consent of the victim family. DA's are more reluctant to pursue the ultimate punishment if the victim family has strong philosophical objections to the death penalty and are more willing to forge ahead if family and local fervor is strongly in favor.) Imperfect justice is still better than none at all: yes. I cringe at some of the law enforcement practices near me. In one town/county the police may be very invested in a community approach, orienting themselves as servants to the public. Several miles over in largely minority communities, the police are oriented more as occupying forces: based on the tactics and equipment, they view themselves with a more military mindset of "taking back the streets" and are blatantly neither listening to nor cooperating with community leaders. Those 2 very different law enforcement orientations lead to very different judicial outcomes. It's an imperfect system, sometimes helpful and sometimes destructive. I hope this does not make light of the situation in Central America because I recognize the level of chaos and trauma in post war countries is very extreme. There are fewer resources and means for serving justice. There is a collective desperation and sadness, and I deeply respect the community efforts at rebuilding. What is happening in corners of our system is serious on a different scale, and hidden if you are not part of certain subcultures or certain careers. I have read precious few books on transitional justice, but the one that sticks out in my mind is by Minow, Between Vengeance and Forgiveness. Keep in my mind that I do have a somewhat skewed perspective on these topics. (Also, I am fuzzy on Minow's details and I have a vague recollection that she was more pro-psychotherapy in terms of healing mass trauma than I would be. I don't think psychotherapy is a particularly effective response for mass trauma because of the scale, and there are ways you can achieve similar outcomes with community based interventions. Ugh. Now I want to reread this after tackling the one you linked.)

My opinion, a-g matters little for college because the only thing impacted is first 2 years at a UC or Cal State, and even that might not be true if the student has very high test scores or is willing to attend UC Riverside. CC, private schools, and out of state schools within the tuition exchange don't care about a-g. The bigger issue we have faced is what to do with a kid who starts homeschooling independently and then changes his or her mind and wants to attend public high school. Technically the school does not have to issue any credit for work done at home. I have heard from local veteran homeschoolers that prior to a-g, some high schools would. Giving up a-g is something of a one time decision and it's worth talking through the implications with the student impacted.

Best parenting approach ever. Especially if it makes interactions with them easier.