I didn’t fully appreciate not having remarks until I went to a funeral a few months ago and people kept coming up to tell these long meandering stories (even though the pastor clearly stated a time limit). Nobody wants that awkwardness. That’s what the viewing the night before is for.

Do you know how petty you have to be to be dying from cancer, to put together a list of people who better not be at your funeral?

Yep. But CJ reform and even prison reform is more than that. It’s about alternatives to incarceration, diversion, reentry, supervision, etc. And all of those things cost a ton of money that states didn’t have. Thus, they got on the reform wagon to save money (and to get the soundbite).

Right? Back when I was still working deeply on state reform issues, it was Texas, Kansas, and North Carolina of all places that were experimenting with alternatives to incarceration. Texas implemented a crazy reform plan that other states ended up following in the whole Justice Reinvestment initiative. The Koch…

I see it as more a failing of both parties since conservatives have been pretty vocal about reform in recent years and these campaigns undermine that work. Plus a lot of these issues are best tackled by state legislatures so I’m not really looking for congressional leaders to be of as much help.

All the strategies boil down to one thing for me: refusing to play along with Senate leadership that continues to thwart the rules of the game on a whim. Why make it easy for Grassley? What does that get them when the majority has been quite content for several years to do whatever they want?

You do know that they should absolutely be thinking beyond this vote or the next one or the next one. If you can’t win this battle you better make sure you position yourself well for when you are able to have a bigger impact.

I’m not sure why the idea of crafting a long-term strategy is such a hard pill to swallow. Rolling over has done Dems no favors. I mean, how have they benefited at all in these times? Putting their foot down and making a record upon which they can rely later on isn’t crazy and not rolling over on people like Ryan…

Re: food, my experience is that you can’t bring in like full meals, but there’s a lot of leeway on snacks. If I’m there all day, I’ll plan on eating 1 meal there but I’ll bring my own breakfast and bags of fruit or nuts or other treats. And if you bring extra baggies, you can get food when the lines are short and just…

I haven’t heard anyone mention Paradodrn Srichipan in a while! That sounds awesome. I had a second row seat in the Grandstand for Venus and Serena playing doubles once that was amazing. I miss that court so much.

But watch out for the pop up serves! I also like the baseline corners.

I got a new boss 3 weeks after I started a new job. She restructured the department in a way that made my job completely different than what I’d been hired to do, which was a factor in mistakes I made—nothing major just the usual learning curve. She was a terrible manager and showed blatant favoritism to my younger…

This totally depends, though, on your expectations for music, your exposure to different types of music, etc. Music isn’t about youth and rebellion for a lot of people—it could be about cultural connection or participating by playing an instrument or singing, for example. And the proliferation of classical music into…

I hadn’t heard anything. But also I hadn’t heard about him generally so there’s that.

I read something about her maybe a year ago? But now I can’t find it. Clearly the internet is broken.

Nothing you can’t chalk up to the follies of youth and fame: weirdly extreme girl chasing (I mean we were in a church after all), name dropping, general big-headedness.

I was in high school during peak Tevin Campbell when he and Tracie Spencer were supposed to take over the world. Yet I’m still astounded by the force of this defense of his legacy. Good for him, though. I met him at a wedding once and he was trifling, but I’m willing to imagine that he’s a better person now.

That’s a great resource, thanks.

Yeah, they’ll be on the Circulator instead.

YES! Bless their hearts but I’m still going to go at my regular slow pace.