Monthly Archives: March 2021

Tufts Global Education hosts speakers from Spain, Jamaica, Germany, US in ‘Black Lives Matter Around the World’ panel – Tufts Daily

Posted: March 31, 2021 at 6:18 am

Tufts Global Education hosted a virtual panel on Wednesday titled Black Lives Matter Around the World, moderated by Dr. H Adlai Murdoch, professor of Francophone studies and director of Africana studies at Tufts, featuring speakers from academic and activist backgrounds in the United States, Spain, Jamaica and Germany. The panel was co-sponsored by the Africana studies program, the Africana Center and the international relations program.

Charlene Carruthers, a PhD student in the department of African American studies at Northwestern University, has a background in the research of Black feminist political economies and the role of cultural work within the Black radical tradition and has spent more than 15 years community organizing.

Carruthers opened by saying that the importance of amplifying Black voices is not new.

I believe that the overall topic for our discussion today is always relevant. Its been relevant, frankly, for hundreds of years, and its absolutely relevant today, Carruthers said.

She said that this particular moment in the fight for Black lives, especially in the aftermath of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others, is part of something larger.

This is situated within ongoing local, national and transnational movements for Black liberation, Carruthers said. This is not new.

In particular, she noted that Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., with large African immigrant populations, demonstrate the interconnectedness of global demands for Black justice, and how this issue has been prominent in Black peoples lives long before the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction last summer.

People havent forgotten their people on the continent of Africa, their people in other parts of the world, Carruthers said. They are involved with struggles globally as well and making those connections and not waiting for conversations like this to help them figure out theyre talking to their cousins, theyre talking to their family members.

Dr. Esther Mayoko Ortega Arjonilla, an associate professor of critical race studies at Tufts-in-Madrid, applied Carruthers points to her experiences in Spain.

She particularly saw the George Floyd protests as an opportunity to amplify the voices of Afro-Spaniards and to examine long-standing issues in the country, saying it marked a real turning point for local Black and African activism in Spain.

In the last five, six, sevenyears in Spain, we have the creation of multiple associations and activist groups led by collectives of young people, young Black women, and queer and questioning people, and this is new leadership in a movement traditionally led by heterosexual Black men, Mayoko Ortega Arjonilla said.

She reflected specifically on the treatment of African migrants in Spain.

These African workers in agriculture live in inhuman conditions: no electricity, no clean drinking water, working 1012 hours a day, Mayoko Ortega Arjonilla said.

Beyond poor treatment, Mayoko Ortega Arjonilla noted that Spains unique position at Europes southern border has led to poor treatment of entering immigrants. She pointed to an incident from 2014 when Spanish police shot with rubber bullets and small grenades at a group of Black migrants who were swimming toward Spain. The shooting killed 14 of the migrants.

Yasmin Nasrudin, one of the panelists and the director of the Education USA Advising Center and deputy director of intercultural affairs at the German-American Institute Tbingen, noted that Germany has a lot of similarities with Spain in this realm.

Nasrudin noted that the movement for Black lives in Germany is fairly new, having been especially spurred on in 1980s with the help of Audre Lorde, who was an American writer, feminist and civil rights activist. Lorde lived in Germany in the mid-1980s as a visiting professor at the Free University of Berlin.

She gave the Black women the empowerment and emancipation of creating their own language and giving a new perspective on life in Germany as Black people, Nasrudin said.

She also delved into the question of language, and explained the recent shift from the term Afro-German to Black German.

Dr. Danielle Roper, assistant professor in Latin American literature at the University of Chicago, spoke to the way the momentum from George Floyds killing reinforced, rather than created, the need for the work of Black activists.

I think that when we talk about Black radicalism and Black activism today, we have to think about this moment as continuing the spirit of solidarity and transnationalism that characterized Black radical practices and movements of yesteryear, Roper said.

Roper also emphasized the need to recognize that Black Lives Matter is not a movement limited to the United States nor other Black-minority countries.

I think its important to note this because conversations of anti-Blackness sometimes leave out the fact that anti-Black racism is indeed a phenomenon that organizes predominantly Black countries in the Global South as well, and such is the case in countries like Jamaica, Barbados and elsewhere, Roper said.

Murdoch then turned it over to the audience for questions.

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To the editor | Families & Lifestyles | jewishaz.com – Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

Posted: at 6:17 am

Time for D.C. statehood

The Jewish News' editorial on March 16, It is time for a voting rights compromise, notes that D.C. statehood is an issue worthy of serious consideration and support. I agree and write to offer several reasons why.

In Talmud, Rabbi Hillel says what is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. In the early 1900s, both Arizona and D.C. desired to be admitted as states. Congress granted Arizonas petition for statehood, yet over 100 years later, the 712,000 residents of D.C. remain without voting rights and representation that we now take for granted. Those in D.C. bear the responsibilities of citizenship without sharing its privileges. D.C. is home to 32,000 veterans, and residents pay more in taxes than 22 other states.

Legislation has been introduced in Congress to grant D.C. statehood. I hope our senators, Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, will support it. We are fortunate to have senators the people of D.C. have none. As we celebrate Passover, we recall our own struggles and the freedom that followed. Perhaps by next years seder, the Americans who live in our capital will have equal rights, and democracy will be more complete.

Ellie Sims, Phoenix

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How Matzah and the Teshuvas HaRashba Saved Yidden From Hamas Terrorists – Yeshiva World News

Posted: at 6:17 am

(By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times)

Yes, it is true. Six Hamas terrorist were killed and 7 were foiled because of Matzah and a Teshuvas HaRashba (Volume 7 #20).

It happened almost seven years ago, in Kibbutz Sufa at 4:00 AM Thursday morning on July 17th, 2014.

Kibbutz Sufa was founded in 1982 by evacuated settlers. It is on the border of Central Gaza very near the Egyptian border. It was shortly after 4:00 AM that the Matzah and the Teshuvas haRashba did the deed.

THE VERY BEGINNING

The story actually begins well over 3300 years ago. The Jews are taken out of Egypt. To commemorate the miraculous occurrence that has happened and to imbue the Jewish nation with an ever-constant source of nourishment of faith itself the Jewish people are given the Mitzvah of consuming Matzah.

We fast forward 1600 years.

THE PASSAGE IN THE TALMUD

We are now in Babylonia, as the Talmud is being written. Torah scholars are discussing a difficult topic. There is a fascinating exposition that the Talmud presents (Psachim 33a) in regard to the obligation to give a Kohain the gift of Trumah. The verse in the Torah states, Venasata lo and you shall give it to him. The Talmud expounds Lo velo luro to him, but not to his flame.

In other words, the Terumah that is given to the Kohain must, at the outset, be completely edible, it cannot be something that is prohibited in consumption to the degree that the Kohain would be obligated to burn it as soon as it reaches his hands.

The Talmud is searching for an illustration of such a thing. The Talmud is looking for an example where this exposition might apply. Finally, an answer wheat that is still attached to the ground which became Chometz. This is the first section of our tale, which took place in Babylonia in the late 300s.

The observant reader may now be thinking: Wait just one second. Wheat still attached to the ground that became Chometz? Wheat that got wet? Every plant gets wet! Thats how they receive nutrition! What is the Talmud talking about? A question that requires an answer.

Now we move on to the next part of our tale.

BARCELONA SPAIN

We are now in Barcelona, Spain. It is the late 1200s. We are at the home of the well-regarded Rashba, Rabbi Shlomo Ben Aderet. Indeed, the Rashba is so well regarded that even Queen Isabella of Spain has sent him to rule upon some of her countrys most perplexing cases.

The Rashba receives a letter concerning our section of Talmud. It is the very same question that the observant reader had above. It is now posed for the first time to the Rashba. He responds (Volume 7 #20) with the following explanation:

That section of the Talmud refers to wheat that became completely ripened while still attached to the ground, and it does not need any further nutrients at all. Everything that has dried out completely while still attached to the ground it is considered as if it is resting in the pitcher and thus susceptible to becoming Chometz if rain falls upon it.

TZFAT, ISRAEL

It is now 1563. We are in Tzfas, in Eretz Yisroel. The author of the Shulchan Aruch has just codified the Rashbas explanation of our Talmudic passage into his Shulchan Aruch (Chapter 467:5). Wheat that has completely ripened can become Chometz if it is rained upon. If it still requires sustenance from the ground to reach full develop then there is no problem.

RADIN, POLAND

We move to Radin, Poland. It is now the late 1890s.

The Chofetz Chaim, in his Mishna Brurah explains, what apparently has been the custom for Jews in Europe for some time. He states that Shulchan Aruch only refers to an abundance of rain. However, if it rains a little bit then the fully developed wheat is fine and can be used for the highest standard of Matzah. However, he does mention a tradition cited by Rabbi Avrohom Danzig in the Chayei Adam that the custom of the very pious is to cut the wheat earlier, while it is still somewhat green in order to ensure that there are no problems. The concern, of course, is the issue first mentioned in the Rashba.

The Chofetz Chaim mentions this custom of cutting the wheat early twice in his Mishna Brurah. Once regarding this topic and once earlier in a discussion (SA 453:4) about whether the wheat has to be guarded when it is cut or when it undergoes the grinding process. In his Biur Halacha, the Chofetz Chaim cites the practice of the Vilna Gaon who was careful only to eat Matzah that was watched from when it was cut. This too, the Chofetz Chaim points out, is because of the Rashbas position.

GAZA, HAMAS HEADQUARTERS

It is now either 2013 or early 2014. Hamas leaders plan a devastating attack on Israeli citizens. They will send terrorists through a tunnel. They will tunnel across the border and emerge in a completely camouflaged, carefully chosen, wheat field. The thirteen terrorists will have several types of weapons, including AK 45 Assaullt Rifles and Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launchers. The plan is perfect. The wheat is high enough to serve as camouflage but not yet ripe enough to be harvested. Who would harvest green wheat in July? The plan to kill Israelis is more than perfect. It is brilliant.

BNEI BRAK, ISRAEL

It is now 2014. A group of Matzah bakers in Bnei Brak are in serious need of some green wheat still on the ground in order to fulfill the requirements of the responsum of the Rashba. They search almost all of Eretz Yisroel. Finally, they come across a wheat field located in the Hevel Shalom area of the north-western Negev desert. It was an area administered by the Eshkol Regional Council.

Time is of the essence. They cut a deal with the farmer and arrange for the wheat to be reaped immediately. They compensate the farmers nicely for the wheat. It is mid-July.

KIBBUTZ SUFA

As planned, 13 terrorists emerge from the tunnel. But wait. Lo and behold, the wheat field is bare. It is completely bare! The terrorists think: Who moved our wheat stalks?! And wait. Oh no! An IDF watch station spotted us! Arghh! Bombs! They are bombing us! Lets crawl back into our hole in the ground! Arghh! Six of us are hit! Lets abandon them! Lets go back to Gaza!

Watch the IDF blow up the terrorists here:

Were it not for the Teshuvas HaRashba, the wheat field would never have been plowed. The Teshuvas HaRashba saves the day.

The author can be reached at [emailprotected]

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Was the ‘forbidden fruit’ in the Garden of Eden really an apple? – Livescience.com

Posted: at 6:17 am

What's the likely identity of the "forbidden fruit" described in the Bible's Garden of Eden, which Eve is said to have eaten and then shared with Adam?

If your guess is "apple," you're probably wrong.

The Hebrew Bible doesn't actually specify what type of fruit Adam and Eve ate. "We don't know what it was. There's no indication it was an apple," Rabbi Ari Zivotofsky, a professor of brain science at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, told Live Science.

Related: What led to the emergence of monotheism?

The pivotal scene is described in Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible, shortly after God warns Adam not to eat from the "tree of knowledge." A serpent in the garden, however, tells Eve to go ahead and take a bite.

"When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6), according to the Jewish Publication Society's translation at Sefaria.org.

As for the type of fruit, it's described as "just the 'fruit of the tree,'" Zivotofsky said. "That's all it says. No identification. We don't know what kind of tree, we don't know what fruit."

The Hebrew word used in that verse is "peri," a generic word for fruit in both biblical and modern Hebrew, according to Zivotofsky. The modern Hebrew word for apple, "tapuach," on the other hand, does not appear anywhere in Genesis or in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, Zivotofsky said. (It does appear in other, later biblical texts.) In biblical times, "tapuach," was a word for generic fruit.

So, if the forbidden fruit wasn't an apple, what was it?

Rabbis commenting on the Hebrew Bible in the Talmud, a collection of rabbinic teachings and biblical law, and other writings completed by around A.D. 500, have noted several ideas about the mystery fruit's identity, but spoiler alert apple is not one of them, Zivotofsky said.

Over the years, rabbis have written that the fruit could have been a fig, because in the Hebrew Bible, Adam and Eve realized they were naked after eating from the tree of knowledge, and then used fig leaves to cover themselves. Or maybe, some rabbis wrote, it was wheat, because the Hebrew word for wheat, "chitah," is similar to the word for sin, "cheit," Zivotofsky said. Grapes, or wine made from grapes, are another possibility. Finally, the rabbis wrote that it might have been a citron, or "etrog" in Hebrew a bittersweet, lemon-like fruit used during the Jewish fall festival of Sukkot, a harvest celebration in which Jews erect temporary dwellings.

Given all of these potential forbidden fruits, how did apples which aren't even from the Middle East, but from Kazakhstan in Central Asia, according to a 2017 study in the journal Nature Communications become the predominant interpretation?

It turns out this interpretation likely didn't originate in Jewish lore, Zibotofsky said. "I don't think that within Jewish tradition it ever did become the apple, meaning in Jewish art, you don't find that," Zivotofsky said.

Instead, the possible path from fruit to apple began in Rome in A.D. 382., when Pope Damasus I asked a scholar named Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. As part of that project, Jerome translated the Hebrew "peri" into the Latin "malum," according to Robert Appelbaum, a professor emeritus of English literature at Uppsala University in Sweden and the author of "Aguecheek's Beef, Belch's Hiccup, and Other Gastronomic Interjections" (University of Chicago Press, 2006).

"The word ["malum"] in Latin translates into a word in English, apple, which also stood for any fruit ... with a core of seeds in the middle and flesh around it. But it was a generic term [for fruit] as well," Appelbaum told Live Science. Apple had this generic meaning until the 17th century, according to the Online Etymological Dictionary. Jerome likely chose the word "malum" to mean fruit, because the very same word can also mean evil, Appelbaum said. So it's a pun, referring to the fruit associated with humans' first big mistake with a word that also means essentially that.

Meanwhile, paintings and other artistic recreations of the Garden of Eden have helped solidify the apple as the forbidden fruit. In art, unlike in writing, a fruit cannot be purely generic, Appelbaum said. "Artists, more than writers, had to show something," he said. They didn't always show an apple: Artistic renderings of the "Fall from Eden" depicted the fruit as a citron ("Ghent Altarpiece" by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, 1432), as an apricot ("Eve Tempted By the Serpent" by Defendente Ferrari, 1520-25), and as a pomegranate ("The Fall of Man" by Peter Paul Rubens, 1628-29), according to Appelbaum.

Yet by the 16th century, the apple had also entered the proverbial fruit bowl. In 1504, an engraving by the German painter Albrecht Drer and a 1533 painting by German painter, Lucas Cranach the Elder, depicted the fruit as an apple, according to NPR. Also according to NPR, in the epic poem "Paradise Lost," first published in 1667, English poet John Milton uses the word "apple" twice to refer to the forbidden fruit.

But was the apple in "Paradise Lost" really the apple that we think of today, or was it some generic fleshy fruit with seeds in the middle? There's at least some room for doubt about that, according to Appelbaum. Milton describes the "apple" once Eve takes a bite, "as being fuzzy on the outside, and extremely juicy and sweet and ambrosial. All words which are attached to peaches," Appelbaum said.

The so-called Franken-tree, a modern grafted tree bearing 40 types of fruit, didn't exist in biblical times, but if it did, it just might clear up this mystery.

Originally published on Live Science.

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What I’ve learned teaching Jewish texts in the UAE – Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

Posted: at 6:17 am

In 2011, on one of my first trips to the United Arab Emirates, I sat in on a class taught by then-New York University president John Sexton on law and religion at NYU Abu Dhabi. It was a thrill to watch this legendary law professor take 20 Emirati students through a Talmudic reading of the Establishment Clause. But little did I know, I was about to be called to the stand.

We have a special guest today. Yehuda, introduce yourself. I said my name and title, explaining that I ran the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU in New York. Thats not enough, Sexton said. Theyve never met a Jew before in their life, let alone a rabbi. Were trying to analyze these Supreme Court cases. Can you explain to the class, briefly, what Judaism is?

I hesitated, realizing suddenly that anything I said could or would be used against me in the court of this classroom. Judaism is the belief that because we were redeemed from bondage, we are obligated to do all we can to bring redemption to ourselves and others. The stories and rituals are largely based on that belief.

At this point, the questions came fast and furious. A rabbi in the classroom? The Establishment Clause was forgotten; Judaism became the subject of curiosity.

Throughout the past decade, Judaism has remained a subject of curiosity. The Jewish community in the Emirates is blessed with diverse voices who are quenching that thirst. Ross Kriel, president of the Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE), and Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie, senior rabbi of the JCE and rabbi of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC), have provided eloquent explanations of the holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, Purim and Passover on the pages of the Khaleej Times (at the newspapers request) the largest English daily newspaper in the UAE. Jean Candiotte edited a chapter on the Jewish community in a book published by the UAE Ministry of Tolerance and Co-Existence. Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Rabbi Levi Duchman has led seminars on kosher ritual law for the tourism sector.

The Bronfman Center at NYU decided to offer the Jewish Learning Fellowship, a 10-week, non-credit course on Jewish texts, to students at NYU Abu Dhabi. We expected that between five to 10 students would sign up. More than 80 students enrolled within a few days after a student sent one single email.

The highlight for me of every class is the Ask the Rabbi segment. The questions range from the most philosophical to the most practical from questions about God and prophecy to differences in head covering. This past week in response to a question about kosher food, I walked my laptop through my meat and dairy kitchens, past the cereal box shelf and into our meat freezer. Next week, I will address a students question about what Jews believe about Jesus.

To be sure, we have respected the sensitivities around teaching texts of non-Islamic religions. We have made it clear that we do not aim to sow confusion in anyones previously held faith; we are not seeking converts. Our purpose is simply to reverse the decades of division that have planted ignorance as a hedge between Judaism and Islam.

These teaching experiences, above all others, give me hope for the region. It may sound strange to hear, but I believe that the key asset the Middle East needs in order to succeed is not oil, natural gas or a booming tourism industry; neither global finance hubs nor strong militaries. The key resource that must be carefully cultivated is intentional curiosity.

There is no time to waste, and we must also do our part. The Passover seder is at its essence an exercise in nurturing our curious instincts, as we find creative ways to prompt questions from younger members of the table, though no one is exempt:

If his son is wise and knows how to inquire, his son asks him. And if he is not wise, his wife asks him. And if even his wife is not capable of asking or if he has no wife, he asks himself. And even if two Torah scholars who know the halakhot of Passover are sitting together and there is no one else present to pose the questions, they ask each other. (Pes. 116a)

A child is deemed wicked if they feign curiosity. A child who does not question must be taught to ask.

Passover is the Jewish festival of curiosity. If we foster it within ourselves, we can, true to Judaisms essence, redeem ourselves and others. JN

Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, NYU University Chaplain, is the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates and the Honorary Chairman of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities. This article was first published on JNS.org.

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Arts & Culture Newsletter: Celebrating 50 years of Queen with 50 weeks’ worth of free clips – The San Diego Union-Tribune

Posted: at 6:17 am

Good morning, and welcome to the U-T Arts & Culture Newsletter.

Im David L. Coddon, and heres your guide to all things essential in San Diegos arts and culture this week.

Weve all got a list of those bands we wish wed seen in concert but never did. At the top of mine would be Queen with Freddie Mercury.

Its hard to believe itll be 30 years this November since the passing of Mercury, he of arguably the most distinctive voice in rock n roll history. The 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was a diverting reminder of Mercurys talent, but a new clips show on Queens Official YouTube Channel honoring the groups 50-year anniversary is a gift for fans that will keep on giving for 50 weeks.

Queen The Greatest episodes are free to watch every Friday beginning at 5 a.m. Pacific time. Unfortunately, theyre only three or four minutes long, which is unsatisfying, though series producer Simon Lupton packs each one with a lot of content: music, of course, but also archival concert footage, photos and interviews.

The episodes will proceed in chronological order and are framed around a different Queen song each week. The debut on March 19 took us back to the bands early days, to 1973, and the breakthrough single Keep Yourself Alive. Besides hearing portions of the song, we learn that composer Brian May intended it to be slightly ironical, but its very difficult to take it as ironical. Performance shots are interwoven with anecdotes about the song and about where Queen was at the time.

All very interesting, but just as you get into it, its over. Have to wait for Episode No. 2. Oh well.

Thatll be on the Queen YouTube Channel tomorrow. Promised are clips of the bands 1974 concerts at the Rainbow in London and the story behind 1974s Killer Queen, written by the legendary Mercury.

Nathan Harrison is the subject of a new book and exhibit at the San Diego History Center called Nathan Harrison: Born Enslaved, Died a San Diego Legend.

(Courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

The incredible story of a local legend, Nathan Harrison, is told in words, photographs and excavated artifacts in a new exhibition from the San Diego History Center titled Nathan Harrison: Born Enslaved, Died a San Diego Legend.

Harrison, a freed slave whod been brought to California during the Gold Rush era, ultimately settled on Palomar Mountain, becoming not only the first Black homesteader in San Diego County but a celebrity to tourists who made the trip up the mountain to visit him.

For now, the exhibition can be explored virtually. When the Balboa Park-based SDHC opens next month, youll be able to experience up close the recreation of the cabin Harrison lived in and many of the artifacts uncovered by San Diego State professor and archaeologist Seth Mallios and his team of student excavators over the course of eight summertime digs. Harrisons story is not only a personal odyssey but a contextual look at race and ethnicity in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

For more on the Nathan Harrison exhibition, see my story in this Sundays Arts+Culture section.

Jovan Adepo in Christa McAuliffes Eyes Were Blue by Kemp Powers captured at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as part of Center Theatre Groups L.A. Writers Workshop Festival: New Plays Forged in L.A.

(Courtesy of Center Theatre Group)

The film adaptation of playwright Kemp Powers One Night in Miami, for which he wrote the screenplay, earned Powers an Oscar nomination. Having really enjoyed it, I looked forward eagerly to streaming a staged reading of Powers new play Christa McAuliffes Eyes Were Blue.

Its not fair to compare one work by a playwright to another, but this Center Theatre Group presentation suggests that some smoothing out is in order. The staged reading was filmed at L..s Kirk Douglas Theatre last November. (It can be streamed for $10 through April 4.) Its premise is an intriguing one: Bernard (Bear) and Steven (Sevvy) Gentry are twins, though the former is Black and the latter White. The contrasting direction of their lives and deteriorating of their sibling relationship are the basis of this plays dramatic tension. Add a former racist schoolmate who becomes a judge presiding over the incarcerated Bernards fate and the stakes rise even higher.

But neither the performance of Jovan Adepo as Bernard nor the taut direction by Jennifer Chang can overcome a script that attempts to tread too much territory in 75 minutes. The narrative connection between Bernard and the fate of space shuttle Challenger astronaut McAuliffe feels forced and we never really get a firm grasp of what the troubled young man wants, or needs, most.

Art of Elans Open Air concert streaming on the evening of March 16 from the San Diego Museum of Arts May S. Marcy Sculpture Garden in Balboa Park.

(Courtesy photo by Gary Payne)

As I watched Art of Elans Open Air concert streaming on the evening of March 16 from the San Diego Museum of Arts May S. Marcy Sculpture Garden in Balboa Park, I couldnt help wishing Id been there in person: the music (performed by the Hausmann Quartet and members of the San Diego Symphony); the surrounding sculptures; the California Tower in the distance; the sliver of moon overhead. Someday, right?

In the meantime, this 74-minute performance can be enjoyed in your home for $10 (or for free if youre an SDMA member). In a program that includes works by Terry Riley, Hannah Lash and Jonathan Bailey Holland, the best is saved for last: the lovely five-movement piece Make Prayers to the Raven composed by environmental activist John Luther Adams. The suite written for violin, harp, cello, flute and percussion is a fitting complement to the serenity of Balboa Park, especially in the moonlight.

Fleetwood Mac is shown on June 17, 1968, when their instrumental single Albatross was topping the British charts. The bands line up then was, from left, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and John McVie. Fleetwood spent several years planning the early 2020 London tribute concert honoring Green, who died six months later at the age of 73.

(Keystone Features/Getty Images)

Few music legends have burned as brightly or faded as quickly and tragically as the late Peter Green, the brilliant guitarist, singer and songwriter who in 1967 founded the English blues band Fleetwood Mac and steered it to rock stardom before quitting in 1970. He is saluted by an all-star lineup in the new concert film, DVD and double-album, Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac, which was held in 2020. It debuts April 24 on-demand on nugs.net and is released April 30 in Blu-Ray, CD and vinyl formats. Guests range from ZZ Tops Billy F. Gibbons, Metallicas Kirk Hammett and Oasis co-founder Noel Gallagher to The Whos Pete Townshend, Aerosmiths Steven Tyler, original Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer and three current members of the band Green once led Fleetwood, Christine McVie and Neil Finn. Read more in this story by the Union-Tribunes George Varga.

(Clockwise from left) Ahmed K. Dents, Monique Gaffney, William BJ Robinson, Kimberly King, Joy Yvonne Jones

(Photos by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

On Sunday, the Union-Tribune published its Theaters Day of Reckoning special project, which offered San Diego theater leaders and local Black theater artists the opportunity to talk and write about their views on the topic of social justice in the industry. Heres what local theaters as well as five San Diegans had to say about equity, diversity and inclusion, with reporting by the Union-Tribunes Pam Kragen.

University of California Television (UCTV) is making a host of videos available on its website during this period of social distancing. Among them, with descriptions courtesy of UCTV (text written by UCTV staff):

Tales of Human History Told by Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA: Its well known that as anatomically modern humans dispersed out of Africa, they encountered and mated with other hominins such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. The ability to identify and excavate extinct hominin DNA from the genomes of contemporary individuals reveals considerable information about human history and how those encounters with Neanderthals and Denisovans shaped the trajectory of human evolution. Princeton Universitys Joshua Akey explains how catalogs of surviving hominin lineages reveal insights into hybridization, that gene flow was widespread in both time and geography, and presents new evidence of an early out-of-Africa dispersal of modern humans.

The Talmud as Icon: The Babylonian Talmud is a post-biblical Jewish rabbinic text, written in a hybrid of Hebrew and Aramaic, that is part scripture and part commentary. It is often ambiguous to the point of incomprehension, and its subject matter reflects a narrow scholasticism that should not have broad appeal; yet the Talmud has remained in print for centuries and is more popular today than ever. Northwestern University scholar and author Barry Scott Wimpfheimer describes the books origins and structure, its centrality to Jewish law, its mixed reception history, and its golden renaissance in modernity as an iconic symbol of Jewishness.

Sleep, Inflammation and Metabolism: Proper sleep is crucial for promoting good health, and research has documented the powerful influence of sleep disturbance on the risk of infectious disease, the occurrence and progression of several major medical illnesses, and the incidence and severity of depression. Aric Prather is an expert in the study of stress resilience, inflammation, depression, sleep and longevity. He examines the biological mechanisms of sleep disturbance with an emphasis on the implications of antiviral and proinflammatory immune responses for chronic infectious, inflammatory, and neuropsychiatric diseases. Prather also discusses therapeutic interventions as effective strategies to improve sleep.

The Shell, the San Diego Symphonys new, year-round outdoor concert and events venue.

(Courtesy San Diego Symphony)

In this weeks edition of Arts in the Time of COVID, Pacific editor Nina Garin talks about the latest round of Conrad Prebys Foundation grants, La Jolla Music Societys outdoor concerts and the return of movie theaters. Watch it here.

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Arts & Culture Newsletter: Celebrating 50 years of Queen with 50 weeks' worth of free clips - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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7 facts about Passover that will surprise and delight you – St. Louis Jewish Light

Posted: at 6:17 am

Thisstoryoriginally appeared on Kveller, 70 Faces Medias Jewish parenting site.

Had I only gotten out of hosting last years seder,dayenu! But here we are, anotherpandemic Passover, which begins this year at sundown on Saturday, March 27 and lasts through April 4.

Passover celebrates our liberation from slavery in Egypt and rebirth as a free people; it is the mostwidelycelebrated Jewish holiday among American Jews! We prepare by cleaning our homes ofhametz(leavening), refrain from eating most carbs, attend or host two(Zoom) seders, and renegotiate with our oldest child that this year will absolutely be the last year they have to sing theFour Questions.

The Passover story you can find a short recaphere is foundational in Jewish tradition, spanning four of five books in the Torah. Symbolic themes are prevalent throughout: slavery, faith in Gods deliverance and miracles, feminism, rebirth, and freedom.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab a box of matzah, dust off yourhaggadah, pour yourself a glass of wine (or four) and enjoy these lesser known but totally kosher for Passover facts:

Happy spring! Passover is purposely and metaphorically linked with this season. Just as our earth is reawakened after months of harsh weather and dormancy, Passover commemorates our peoples sufferingandcelebrates our re-emergence as a liberated nation. Rabbi Michael Strassfeldemphasizesthe influence the season has on the holiday, from thematic similarities of our story of renewal and growth, to thedreadedact of spring cleaning, to the use of a leafy green vegetable (representing spring) on the seder plate.

Womens roles areintrinsic to the Passover story. Five heroic women are highlighted at the very beginning of our story; biblical scholar Andrea L. Weissrecognizes themas having ensured the eventual deliverance of our people. In the first chapter of Exodus, Pharaoh commands two midwives,Shifah and Puah, to kill all newborn boys with the hope of weakening and decreasing the Israelite population. They refuse, and their excuse is quite believable, even back then: [Hebrew women] arevigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth.

Three more women save and protect Moses life: Yocheved, Moses mother, no longer able to conceal her infant, places Moses in abasketand sets it along the Nile to be followed by his sister, Miriam. Miriam watches over her brother andinteractswith Pharaohs daughter, who rescues baby Moses from the river. A non-Israelite, she defies her fathers decree to kill all Israelite boys andadoptshim as her own son.

These actions are nothing short of extraordinary, and together, these women saved our eventual leader and most distinguished of prophets. Now, if only he wanted the job

Talk about chutzpah! Thus far in the Torah, our prophets are known for saying yes to God for example, God tellsNoahandAbrahamwhat to do, and they do it.

Moses, by contrast, already gets special treatment when God appears in aburning bush, which isnt nearly enough to frighten Moses into agreement. Then, there is a unique dialogue between God and Moses inExodus 3:11-4:17that has a pattern of Moses offering an objection and Gods unwavering reassurance and support.

Thefifthtime, however, is my favorite. Moses requests, Please, O LORD, make someone else Your agent. At this point, God begins to losepatiencewith the new prophet, assures him that his brother Aaron will be his spokesperson, and the discussion is officially OVER!

The instructional manual we use to lead us through our seder is called the haggadah, Hebrew for telling. Moses, honored in the Torah as thegreatestprophet of all, is mentioned but one time in the haggadah, in the quoting ofExodus 14:31: [The Israelites] had faith in the LORD and His servant Moses. Thats it!

Biblical scholar Marc Zvi Brettler offers an answer as to why: Much of the haggadah was written during the classical rabbinic period, which spanned the 1st through 6th centuries, and therefore, its contents were filtered through the lens of its rabbinic redactors. The rabbis wanted to emphasize Gods marvels and miracles as divine, stressing the difference between God (deity) and Moses (human).

Im a proud Ashkenazi Jew, but I enthusiastically adopted my IsraeliSephardihusbands Passover dietary traditions upon getting married.

Why? Well, during Passover, all Jews are prohibited from eatinghametz, namelywheat, spelt, oats, barley, and rye. The reason is stated in the Torah: After thetenth plagueclaimed the lives of Egypts first-born children, the Egyptians urged the Israelites to leave immediately. They then baked their unleavened dough quickly and took their freshmatzahon their journey.

However, in contrast withAskenazi Jews(who, broadly speaking, are of Eastern European descent), Sephardi Jews (originally from the Iberian Peninsula) are permitted to eatkitniyot. The Hebrew for legumes, these include beans, corn, rice, and all of their derivatives. Biblical scholar Jeffery Spitzer explains thatkitniyotwere firstbannedin the 13th century for fear of unintentional mixing or substitution for wheat ingredients.

First the Sephardi Passover diet, and now this?! In Exodus, we read that Passover is celebrated from the 14th to 21st of the Hebrew month ofNissan. Why, oh why, then, do Jews living outside of Israel keep Passover for an extra day? Rabbi Daniel Kohn teaches that, around the first century, the Sanhedrin (Jewish governing body), would alert Jewish communities of holidays commencements bylighting firesto be seen by designated witnesses. These witnesses would then light their own fires to help spread the word. Very unfortunately, during times of strife with neighboring non-Jewish communities, random fires would be lit with the hope of sending confusing signals to the Jewish population, ensuring discrepancies as to when a holiday would begin.

To avoid this problem, the Sanhedrin sent messengers by foot. However, depending upon the distance from Jerusalem, communication could bedelayed. Therefore, those living outside of Israel developed the practice of celebrating certain holidays one day longer, overcompensating to make sure the holiday was observed on the correct day. This became known asyom tov shenisecond festival day. Even after the Jewish calendar was set, the Diaspora community continued to extend the holiday of Passover (and Shavuot and Sukkot) by one day.

Also, in Israel, only one seder is held for the same reason!

Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin explains that during our seder, four cups of wine are blessed and consumed to represent Gods four promises to the Israelite people found inExodus 6:6-7, I will free youdeliver youredeem youtake you to be My people.

However, just a verse later, afifthis revealed: I will bring you into the land The Talmud records a dispute over how to categorize this fifth promise: Is it to be counted with the first four, thereby needing an accompanying (fifth) cup of wine? Or should it stand alone, allowing only four cups of wine?

There is a Talmudic term,teku, marking an indecision. (Im totally using this from now on in my parenting!) The cups-of-wine question was determined teku, and the haggadah offers this solution: Four cups of wine would be drunk throughout the seder, and a symbolic fifth cup would be poured and reserved for the Prophet Elijiah.

As awesome as Elijiah is, what role does he have in our telling of the Passover story? Well, Elijiah is associated with two tremendous prophecies: The first is the ushering of the Messiah, who will bring a time of peace and tranquility for the Jewish people, and thesecondis to resolve all the discussions left teku!

Well, I guess thats how the matzah crumbles! Wishing you and your families a safe and pleasant holiday and prayers for Next year together!!!Pesach sameach!

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Divided court issues bright-line ruling on Fourth Amendment seizures – SCOTUSblog

Posted: at 6:15 am

Opinion Analysis ByJeffrey Bellin on Mar 25, 2021 at 5:15 pm

Against a backdrop of increasing national attention to police violence, the Supreme Court on Thursday issued an opinion in a closely watched criminal-procedure case that clarifies the meaning of the term seizure.

The Fourth Amendment provides important constitutional limits on abusive policing. These protections take shape in two ways: limits on the introduction of evidence obtained unconstitutionally, and civil suits against police who violate constitutional rights. But the Fourth Amendment does not regulate policing generally. It only prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Thats why the courts ruling in Torres v. Madrid preserving a broad understanding of the term seizure has important implications for regulating use of force by police.

The case concerned an attempt by two New Mexico police officers to stop a car driven by Roxanne Torres. The officers, who were trying to execute an arrest warrant for another person, approached Torres and her parked car. When they attempted to speak with her, Torres began driving away. Claiming to fear for their safety, the officers shot at the car, injuring Torres, who then drove off. The question the justices resolved on Thursday was whether this unsuccessful effort to stop Torres was a seizure. The officers claimed that people are seized only when they are stopped, while Torres kept going. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed, dismissing Torres civil rights claim against the officers for violating her Fourth Amendment rights.

In a 5-3 opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the majority reversed, concluding that the officers seized Torres even though she subsequently fled. The outcome fits neatly into the closest precedent, the 1991 case California v. Hodari D. In that case, the court explained that [t]he word seizure readily bears the meaning of a laying on of hands or application of physical force to restrain movement, even when it is ultimately unsuccessful. (Emphasis added.) Pointing to this and other language in that case, the chief justice notes in the Torres opinion that [w]e largely covered this ground in California v. Hodari D.

Roberts takes pains, however, to set the opinion on its own feet. Over a strident dissent, he explains that whether or not the court is bound by stare decisis (the justices on-again-off-again efforts to follow precedent), the justices independently reach the same conclusions here. The majority opinion does so on two primary grounds: history and text.

History often comes up short in Fourth Amendment cases because policing as we know it was almost non-existent in the 18th century. The majority insists, however, that this time, the cases and commentary speak with virtual unanimity on the question before us today. But the majoritys certainty rings hollow when it identifies the closest decision as the 1605 Countess of Rutlands Case. In that case, the serjeants-at-mace were executing a debt-collection judgment against Isabel Holcroft, an English noblewoman. The sergeants touched Holcroft with (you guessed it) a mace, while exclaiming we arrest you, madam. The majority explains that since an arrest is undoubtedly a seizure and getting touched with a mace is like getting hit with a bullet, this history points the way toward todays holding.

To be fair, the majority cites other old cases and treatise excerpts. But the dissent by Justice Neil Gorsuch, which is joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, points out that many cases of the era involved esoteric debt-collection practices. For example, debt collectors could only break into debtors homes if they touched them first, often accomplishing this by reaching in through a window! And all the cases involve the laying on of hands (or maces), not guns or projectiles. Gorsuch scores rhetorical points when he scolds the majority for wandering about the vast legal library of the common law, randomly grabbing volumes off the shelf, plucking out passages, scratching out bits and crafting a new pastiche. But Gorsuchs argument is really a critique of the limits of originalism in this context, not the particular rule announced in this case.

The majoritys textual interpretation is more straightforward. It recognizes that seizures most obviously occur when a person is stopped. But the majority points out that it is not ruling that Torres was seized from the point of the shooting onward. Instead, Roberts writes that the officers seized Torres for the instant that the bullets struck her. (Emphasis added.) Quoting Justice Antonin Scalia in Hodari D., the majority explains that a seizure is a single act, and not a continuous fact. Thus, at the time the Constitution was adopted, as now, an ordinary user of the English language could remark: She seized the purse-snatcher, but he broke out of her grasp. In prior cases, the court similarly explained that a seizure is the application of physical force that in some way restrain[s] the liberty of a person. Here, considering that Torres was shot twice in the back and suffered physical injuries, it seems reasonable to conclude that a restraint on her liberty, and thus a seizure, occurred.

The opinion offers two surprises. The most important is the majoritys broad holding. The majority goes out of its way to craft a clear line that reaches beyond the facts of this case. Both at the beginning and end of the opinion, the court announces: We hold that the application of physical force to the body of a person with intent to restrain is a seizure even if the person does not submit and is not subdued. Notice that this captures not just significant restraints on liberty, but any touching at all. This is no oversight. Roberts downplays the implications of this breadth by explaining:

While a mere touch can be enough for a seizure, the amount of force remains pertinent in assessing the objective intent to restrain. A tap on the shoulder to get ones attention will rarely exhibit such an intent.

The majority is right that the intent requirement eliminates some minor touching from the seizure definition. But not all. Small intrusions, such as taps on the shoulder, will constitute seizures under the majoritys reasoning if they are intended as a prelude to restraint, even when the tap-ee flees into a crowd. The dissent hints at other scenarios that may come within the broad rule: laser beams that damage the retina, pepper spray that irritates the lungs, and loud noises that damage a suspects ear drums. Those are harder cases than the one presented here, and the court appears to (at least arguably) resolve them all with its broadly worded holding.

The second surprise is the amount of disagreement. Since the case followed directly from Hodari D., a 7-2 textualist/originalist opinion penned by Scalia, some observers expected the court to come to greater agreement. Instead, the dissent spends 26 pages (nine more than the majority opinion) explaining why Scalia and the court were wrong in 1991 and Roberts and the majority are wrong in 2021. The dissent not only scoffs at the chief justices arguments but accuses the majority of outcome-determinative reasoning: an impulse that individuals like Ms. Torres should be able to sue for damages. Roberts offers a pained response: There is no call for such surmise. [W]e simply agree with the analysis set forth thirty years ago by Justice Scalia, joined by six of his colleagues, rather than the competing view urged by the dissent today.

The bright-line rule announced by the court signals that remaining questions will now be the responsibility of the lower courts. For Torres, her civil rights claims against the officers can continue, although, as the majority notes, she will still need to overcome several other obstacles such as showing that the seizure was unreasonable and that the officers are not entitled to qualified immunity in order to ultimately prevail.

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UI Law alumni create nonprofit to educate the community on Fourth Amendment rights – UI The Daily Iowan

Posted: at 6:15 am

UI Law alumni use their class Street Law to teach high school students about their Fourth Amendment rights.

Crystal Pound and Alex Lodge, both University of Iowa alum, have built on their efforts to inform the community on their rights protected by the Fourth Amendment which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures by bringing that education into classrooms across the state.

Pound and Lodge recently earned a nonprofit status for their organization, Justice101, which partners with Iowa schools to teach young people about the Fourth Amendment. The curriculum educates young people on their rights when interacting with police, and what law enforcement legally can and cant do. Its goal is to alleviate anxieties of young people when interacting with the police, especially for students of color.

Justice101 is an extension of the Iowa chapter of Street Law, a class on Fourth Amendment rights that Pound and Lodge brought to Iowa following the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The first class was taught at City High in March 2016.

Pound, a co-collaborator of Justice101, practices law in Cedar Rapids. Pound helped found Street Law and Justice101 during her time at UI Law School, which she graduated from in 2016.

Pound said that Justice101 aims to create an equal interaction between police and citizens by informing the community of their rights when they encounter police.

I think games are only fair when everyone knows what the rules are, Pound said. One goal is to educate the students so that when they come into contact with law enforcement, they know whats allowed and whats not allowed and if something happens that isnt allowed, they know how to advocate for themselves later with their legal counsel.

A 2016 graduate and current patent attorney, Lodge said he goal of Justice101 is to educate the community, especially Black residents, on how complicated the law is and how to be protected during police interactions, Lodge said.

It was apparent that we were experiencing a disproportionate amount of police contact particularly with not only Black students at UI but Black residents in the city of Iowa City, Lodge said. Justice101 is continuing that effort and continuing to provide a resource to the community with respect to educating our community about Fourth Amendment rights.

RELATED: In Focus | Iowa police body camera video sometimes revealing if the public is allowed to see it

In Iowa, Black residents are much more likely than white residents to face use of force by state police officers. Although Black residents make up about 4 percent of Iowas population, 24 percent of use of force incidents were reported against Black people by officers in the Iowa Department of Public Safety in 2018 and 2019.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Justice101 presented its Street Law class to students at City High School in Iowa City, and Metro High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Now, the founders are working to create virtual classes to continue their work in an online format.

Alex Lodge is a patent attorney who graduated from the College of Law in 2016. Lodge is a co-founder of the Street Law program and a co-collaborator of Justice101. The goal of Justice101 is to educate the community, especially Black residents, on how complicated the law is and how to be protected during police interactions, Lodge said.

It was apparent that we were experiencing a disproportionate amount of police contact particularly with not only Black students at UI but Black residents in the city of Iowa City, Lodge said. Justice 101 is continuing that effort and continuing to provide a resource to the community with respect to educating our community about Fourth Amendment rights.

Lodge said the best way to support Justice101 is to donate through the organizations website and spread the word about the program.

If you are in the education system or you work with vulnerable populations, particularly those who might be at risk of having a Fourth Amendment rights violation, please feel free to contact Justice101 to get the program to come out to talk to your community members, he said.

Brian Farrell, a UI College of Law lecturer, and Justice101 board member, said that the pandemic has brought forth the biggest challenges for the organization.

I think the pandemic has thrown a wrench into the efforts to take the curriculum and the model that had already been developed and re-establish and expand it, Farrell said. The idea of virtual delivery creates opportunities to allow it to not be geographically restricted, but at the same time potentially create some initial barriers, just in terms of the resources to get up and going.

Farrell said that Justice101 is valuable because it teaches students about the Fourth Amendment in an interactive and informal way that creates meaningful connections in the community.

Justice101 provides students with an in-depth explanation of their rights when interacting with law enforcement that is often not taught elsewhere, Farrell said.

I dont think our civic education gets into practical aspects, Farrell said. Im guessing that in most cases they havent ever thought about or talked about how that plays out in a practical sense until perhaps theyre in a situation where they are confronted with some restriction or a challenge to their rights.

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The Earth Needs Good Judges. Here’s What That Means. – Earthjustice

Posted: at 6:15 am

President Biden has just named 11 nominees to the federal bench, including his nominee for a vacant seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. All told, there are over 100 federal court vacancies right now. President Biden should make filling them a priority, in part because courts are critical institutions in the fight against climate change and for environmental justice.

Unlike some other areas of law, there is no easy litmus test to tell if someone will be the kind of judge who is good for the environment, no one decision (like Roe v. Wade) or one law (like the Sherman Act) or even one constitutional provision (like the Fourth Amendment) to grill a nominee about. But that doesnt mean we dont know what kind of person we want to have deciding cases about the future of our planet and our health. Here are three questions that I think the Biden administration should be asking itself as it looks for judges who will support its environmental and climate agenda, along with one bonus questionabout the X factorto separate potentially good judges from potentially extraordinary ones.

Does the candidate recognize that the government has a responsibility to protect the environment, public health, and public lands for all people?

One of the most important areas where we need government to regulate private conduct is in the environmental arena. What you do with your patch of land affects what I can do with mine, what you discharge into the air and the water affects my health, and your energy generation and ecosystem impacts all affect my future. We need the federal government to make consistent national rules to regulate these things and to enforce those rules evenhandedly across the country.

Polluting industries like Big Ag, Big Oil, and Big Coal hate these kinds of rules because they limit short-term profits. A good judge doesnt need to be hostile to the industry perspective, but they do need to believe that the Constitution gives Congress broad and deep authority to regulate industries in the public interest. They also need to believe that Congress can delegate to the executive branch the complex and technical task of issuing enabling regulations. And when they try to understand what Congress was trying to achieve, a judge should be willing to consider any evidence, instead of ignoring evidence that contradicts the judges own preferences.

These arent revolutionary beliefs. To the contrarythey represent the foundational philosophies of the Warren, Burger, and Rehnquist courts, which presided over fifty years of sustained economic growth and environmental progress. Right now, though, these philosophies are under attack by a growing cabal of far-right activist judges (and Justices) who want to erode the foundations of government to serve an anti-environment and pro-industry agenda. We need judges who will strengthen those foundations instead.

Can the candidate tell the difference between science and politics?

Good science and careful factfinding begets good environmental policy. If you need proof, consider the fact that one of our most effective environmental lawsthe National Environmental Policy Act (signed by Richard Nixon)doesnt actually require the government to protect the environment. It just requires the government to consider the environmental impacts of decisions before making them, and to do so based on facts, science, and public input. Not politics.

This is why so many of our environmental laws require federal regulators to build a record of the work they did in reaching at their decisions. What factors did the government consider? Did it involve local communities? Why did it reject alternative options? This record gives judges the ability to make sure that the agency acted based on facts and science, not politics. A proper administrative record can be lengthy, technical, and blisteringly complex. A good judge has to be willing and able to roll up their sleeves, dig in, and review the record carefully for factual and legal integrity without yielding to the temptation to replace the agencys policy judgments with their own. More generally, a good judge should respect not just the scientific expertise of agencies, but the consensus of science itself.

Does the candidate understand that individuals need access to courts to hold government and industry accountable?

If theres one thing the Trump administration proved, its that strong environmental laws arent enough on their own. People need to be able to hold government accountable for upholding and following those laws, and, when necessary, sue industry itself to comply with them. Thats why most of our environmental laws explicitly authorize citizen suits.

You will not be surprised to hear that polluting industries and their politician friends generally hate citizen suits. And one way to escape accountability is by making it impossible to bring those suits in the first placeamong other things, by twisting doctrines like standing, ripeness, and finality into locks on the courthouse doors. That far-right activist cabal I described earlier? Its trying to do just that.

We need judges who recognize that access to the courts is a basic right no different than access to the ballot box. In particular, we need judges who recognize that poor communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental harmsand that the legal rights those communities have wont mean much if they cant use the courts to enforce them and provide a check on corporate interests and power.

Does the candidate have the X Factor?

While these three things are critical features of a good judge, history shows us that the best judges have one more characteristic: they influence the law beyond the scope of their own individual decisions. Appellate judges who sit on panels should be able to persuade colleagues through thoughtful behind-the-scenes reasoning and by building relationships across philosophical divides. District court judges should be able to write opinions that persuade appellate judges, even ones who do not generally share their point of view. And even if these judges dont win in the short term, they should know how to play the long game by writing eloquent opinions that shift legal doctrine and provide a roadmap to a better future.

Love him or hate him, Justice Scalia had this X Factor, as did Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (who you can thank whenever you mention the idea of yelling fire! in a crowded theater). They both knew how to write to the future, and they had the intellect, interpersonal skills, and a way with words that gave them an outsized role in the present.

If youre reading this blog post, you know that the earth needs a good lawyer. It needs a good judge, toolots of them. Ones who arent afraid to grapple with the science and follow where it leads, who believe that the courthouse doors should be open to all, who believe we have the power to come together as a country and solve big problems. And, if were very lucky, ones who our great-grandchildren will quote when were long gone.

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