One recent family gathering involved a game where each player had to illustrate a secret word or phrase and the other players tried to guess what the picture represented. Thus if the word was "sandwich," you tried to draw something that the others would recognize as such.
My seven-year-old granddaughter brought the rest of us to stitches when what we guessed was her drawing of a bulldozer turned out to be the (unfamiliar to her) phrase "fork in the road." She had patiently drawn a piece of silverware standing in the middle of a road.
As the others explained to her the figurative use of the phrase, I was reminded of the many occasions English learners have enriched my appreciation of the language. One time, a Chinese friend noticed a movement across the room and spoke up: "The mouse! It is running."
I'm pretty sure that was a direct translation from Mandarin.
***
One of the most dramatic features of California's version of democracy is the recall of elected officials. That seems to happen here more often than in most other states.
The highest-profile recall effort right now is directed against Gov. Gavin Newsom, mainly due to controversial and partisan aspects of the pandemic lockdown. A great deal of money is being spent both for and against the recall drive, and at present it appears there will be a special election to decide the matter.
But I doubt the recall will succeed in the end because there is no strong candidate that the Republicans can put up against Newsom, a rather charismatic politician.
Meanwhile, a lesser-known but equally significant recall effort is directed against San Francisco's progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin, another charismatic figure, supposedly because of rising street crime during the pandemic. He is an unusual lead prosecutor in that he grew up with parents who were in prison.
Boudin is the son of Weather Underground activists Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert; was raised by their fellow Weather members Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn; and his family lineage includes a long line of left-wing intellectuals, including the legendary journalist I.F. Stone.
Boudin was elected DA in 2020 over the opposition of the police union and the Democratic establishment, which in San Francisco has produced a long line of centrist politicians like Dianne Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi, Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom and another former DA, Kamala Harris.
But Boudin is different from mainstream Democrats. His priorities include eliminating cash bail, refusing to assist ICE in arrests of undocumented immigrants, and establishing a unit to re-evaluate wrongful convictions. White-color crime and police accountability are among the problems he emphasizes.
In an interview with Forbes, Boudin questioned whether the nation "can safely continue the national system of mass incarceration. Why do we need to take people to jail for non-violent offenses if what they really need is drug treatment or mental health services?"
Former state Senator Mark Leno is among those supporting Boudin against the recall drive.
"Recently, elections were held and the voters' voices were heard. Now, just 16 months later, a minority of deep pocketed special interests want those voices silenced and their decision overturned," Leno stated in a news release. "We see this happening throughout California. Endless recalls will keep us all in a constant state of campaigns preventing our elected officials from doing their jobs. I support Chesa Boudin and the important work that he's doing. We should all oppose this recall for the unnecessary and disruptive impact it will have on our treasured democratic process."
Much of the money on both sides of the recall is coming from outside the state, according to an investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle. The money lining up against Boudin appears to be part of a concerted national effort by right-wing interests to undermine progressive initiatives wherever they are tried.
Personally, I strongly oppose the recall of Boudin. If our elected officials are punished for trying new ways to solve the seemingly intractable relationship between poverty and crime, how will we ever find solutions and create a healthier society?
I don't know if his ideas are the best ones or will work in the long run, but I'd rather have a DA who's open to trying new approaches to these issues than the normal bureaucrat who just locks petty criminals up and throws away the key.
All that accomplishes is the status quo, where poor people and minorities fill up our jails while rich criminals go free. Since we've reached another fork on this all-too familiar trail, why not try the branch less traveled?
***
The news:
* Eight people confirmed dead in shooting at Indianapolis FedEx facility, police say -- The gunman killed eight people and injured at least four others late Thursday before killing himself, authorities said. (WaPo)
* When Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” first sounded the alarm on DDT and its devastating effects on birds and fish, our understanding of how this pesticide affected humans was just beginning. Chemicals can take years to reveal their insidious power, and so for decades, scientists have been piecing together — study by study — the reasons why DDT still haunts us today. First it was breast cancer in women who were exposed to this hormone-disrupting chemical in the 1950s and ‘60s. Then their daughters, who had been exposed in the womb. Researchers over the years have also linked DDT exposure to obesity, birth defects, reduced fertility and testicular cancer in sons. Now, a team of toxicologists, molecular biologists and epidemiologists at UC Davis and the Public Health Institute in Oakland have confirmed for the first time that granddaughters of women who were exposed to DDT during pregnancy also suffer from significant health threats: Higher rates of obesity and menstrual periods that start before age 11. (LAT)
* Many Afghans fear that without the umbrella of American protection, the country will be unable to preserve its modest gains toward democracy and women’s rights. (NYT)
* Biden's administration took steps to fulfill a campaign promise to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions. The policy drove Planned Parenthood from the federal family planning program and created new complications for women trying to get birth control. [AP]
* A year into the pandemic, it’s even more clear that it’s safer to be outside (WaPo)
* State and local governments are scrambling to distribute $25 billion in rental relief, leaving renters and landlords waiting weeks for funds. Orange County is a prime example of the obstacles officials face. (WSJ)
* U.S. preparing for 1-year COVID-19 booster shots (Reuters)
* 23.6% of Americans Fully Vaccinated; Nearly 200 Million Doses Administered. (CNN)
* Biden's administration is set to impose harsh sanctions against Russia to punish an array of offenses that Trump ignored, including hacking, election interference and bounties for the murder of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Biden said earlier that the days of "rolling over" to Putin were gone. [AP]
* U.S. expels Russian diplomats, imposes sanctions for hacking (AP)
* In the murder trial of ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, charged in last year's death of George Floyd, the defense tried to cast doubt on the prosecution case that Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck was what killed him. A defense expert testified that maybe it was carbon monoxide from car exhaust. [HuffPost]
* Dr. David Fowler, a medical expert called by Chauvin’s defense team, admitted under cross examination on that Floyd might have survived if he received immediate medical attention. (Court TV)
* Chauvin waived his right to testify as his defense ended. A verdict is expected next week. (Reuters)
* With George Floyd, a Raging Debate Over Bias in the Science of Death -- Critics say the profession of forensic pathology has been slow to acknowledge how big a role bias may play in decisions such as whether to classify a death in police custody as a homicide. (NYT)
* Coronavirus hot spots flare up across nation, pushing up hospitalizations (WaPo)
* California adopted the highest fuel tax in the nation in a bid to fix its highways. But four years later, the road repair program is facing a $6.1 billion shortfall. [Sacramento Bee]
* Parents can expect monthly child tax credit payments to begin in July under Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus, the IRS head told senators. Families eligible for full benefits will receive up to $3,600 for every child under 6 and $3,000 for each child under 18. [HuffPost]
* Dow breaks 34k, S&P hits fresh record high on tech rally (Reuters)
* The online learning community Brainly polled more than 2,000 students about their opinions, beliefs, and habits pertaining to the environment. Respondents
* ‘How to have sex’ was the most searched for sex tip in 2020 with 1,052,550 searches, with people from Utah turning to Google the most for an answer to this. (Gorkana)
* Study: 2.5 billion T-rex roamed Earth, but not all at once (AP)
* Apple creates fund for 'working forests' as part of carbon-removal efforts (Reuters)
* The Many Minds of the Octopus -- The weird way that the brainpower of octopus is distributed among their eight arms may have much to teach us about our own brains. (WSJ)
* Scientists Create Early Embryos That Are Part Human, Part Monkey -- An international team has put human cells into monkey embryos in hopes of finding new ways to produce organs for transplantation. But some ethicists still worry about how such research could go wrong. (NPR)
* Dodgers-Padres Has Become Baseball’s Best Rivalry (WSJ)
* Little League Coach Thinks Right Fielder Has Potential To Be A Great Novelist (The Onion)
***
Seems like love should be easier to bear
But it's such a heavy load
Worldwide traveler, you ain't been nowhere
Till you've traveled down love's roadI know I may be just a stranger
Lover, let me warn you there's the danger
Of the fork in love's roadSongwriters: Ronald White / Smokey Robinson / Warren Moore / William Robinson Jr.-30-
But it's such a heavy load
Worldwide traveler, you ain't been nowhere
Till you've traveled down love's road
Lover, let me warn you there's the danger
Of the fork in love's road
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