Walking downtown yesterday, I passed through Latham Square and saw the bust of Breonna Taylor that’s been there since 2020, and I wondered how come there’s no official city tribute to Officer Tuan Le, the OPD policeman who was brutally slain in the line of duty on Dec. 29, 2023. Born in Vietnam, Officer Le had been an Oakland cop for four years and served his city honorably and faithfully. Ms. Taylor, to the best of my knowledge, never had anything to do with Oakland. With all due respect to Ms. Taylor and meaning no shade to her, why do we honor her in a public space instead of Officer Le?

I’ve read Brave New World and 1984. I know all about the Gestapo and how they became the leading spy agency in the world. I’ve heard all the doomsday scenarios about government surveillance. And yet I’m not at all bothered by Flock cameras, and I think that people who are against them are crying Henny Penny. Let me explain why the sky is not falling.

I’ve had a good run, more than five years, which is the human equivalent of fifty. But it’s getting harder and harder for me to find good things to write about.

Anyone who murders someone, when it is not in self-defense, is insane. Therefore, if you accept the premise that some murderers shouldn’t be prosecuted because of insanity, then we might as well invalidate all the murder laws and just send all the murderers to psychiatric hospitals, where they’ll get red-carpet treatment (at the taxpayers’ expense) and eventually be released back into society when some quack psychiatrist deems them “rehabilitated.”

It’s been a quiet Spring in Oakland. The trees and flowers blossomed early this year, sharing hue and fragrance with the warm air. The recent rains have been beneficial. Crime is down all over the city (as it is in all other U.S. cities), a reprieve we do not fully understand but can be grateful for.