How do virtual hearings affect people on the wrong side of the digital divide?; ABA Journal, December 14, 2023

 MATT REYNOLDS, ABA Journal; How do virtual hearings affect people on the wrong side of the digital divide?

"States including Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas have adopted standards for virtual hearings...

Proponents of virtual hearings say they can make people’s lives easier. Working parents can attend hearings from the comfort of their homes rather than drive miles to the courthouse and don’t have to take valuable time away from work or their kids.

Nevertheless, while that flexibility may look good on paper, some access-to-justice advocates believe an over-reliance on remote hearings could hurt the technological have-nots, particularly in communities lacking high-speed internet or those without broadband infrastructure.

In 2021, the Federal Communications Commission found that about 14.5 million Americans lacked broadband internet, which it defines as having download speeds of 25 megabits per second, or Mbps, and upload speeds of 3 Mbps. A 2021 Microsoft study put the number closer to 120.4 million people, or one-third of the U.S. population."

Donald Trump thinks he’s a strong leader. But that’s an illusion.; Washington Post, 2/7/17

Archie Brown, Washington Post; Donald Trump thinks he’s a strong leader. But that’s an illusion.

"Nothing is more important than that an administration should contain people of independent political standing, of great and varied experience, and that within the government they should not engage in self-censorship, adjusting their advice to the perceived predilections of the top leader. They should be prepared to subject his conclusions to serious scrutiny and to provide counter-arguments. No president or prime minister in a democracy was ever selected because he or she was believed to have a monopoly of wisdom. A democracy worthy of the name has many leaders, not one.

A leader — in a democracy as well as an authoritarian regime — who tries to monopolize power will certainly do more harm than good. Far more valuable qualities of a head of government than “strength” in that sense include integrity, intelligence, collegiality, a questioning mind, willingness to seek disparate views, ability to absorb information, empathy, good memory, flexibility, courage, and (if we are lucky) vision. Those who possess that last quality eschew chauvinistic bravado and never confuse the long-term interests of their country with what may play well in the media (social and not) today."

How Do I Handle the Towel Saga Next Door?; New York Times, 8/12/15

Kwame Anthony Appiah, Amy Bloom, and Kenji Yoshino, New York Times; How Do I Handle the Towel Saga Next Door? :

"Kenji Yoshino: ‘‘Saga’’ immediately suggests that it might be time to wind down your relations with your neighbor. You behaved in a perfectly magnanimous way, and your neighbor reacted in what might at best be called a punctilious, or even supercilious, manner. I’m reminded of how much of ethics is about letting the little things go. It seems as if your neighbor is completely unwilling to do so — both in asking for towels that were lent out three months ago and also in not embracing your offer. We need a little more give in the joints to ensure one another’s human flourishing. A truly ethical posture requires the generosity of mind and spirit that accepts the intent for the deed in a case like this."