There have been many volumes written about the failure of our public and private institutions to abide by the principles of the American constitution. Among the serious concerns, for example, have been the violation of voting rights. But the constitution itself is also an imperfect document. Among the problems is the voting pattern of the US Senate. As you know, each state elects two senators -- no more, no less. ---despite the substantial state differences in voting population. For example, California has about 30 million registered voters compared to about 800,000 in Rhode Island. So the ratio is about 30 to 1. Yet in practice the difference is completely ignored. -more-

(a four part series)

Part 1 – Racism is a relation between white people

Introduction

In the midst of a pandemic, most people simply wish for a vaccine, a shot in the arm to make the threat of disease go away. These days, people adopt a similar attitude toward that other pandemic of racism and police brutality, the one that doesn’t go away. Many people are wishing there was a vaccine for that as well.

Rayshard Brooks got shot in the back because he fell asleep in a drive-thru line and the cops who woke him wanted to handcuff him. Breoona Taylor got shot by assault rifles getting out of bed to see who had just broken down her door; it was cops serving a faulty warrant. George Floyd, handcuffed and compliant, gets his neck squashed into the pavement. All were cowardly acts of killing. In each, a black person acted as any self-respecting human would.

A thousand black and brown citizens are murdered by agents of their government every year. We see them in videos on Youtube. It is the demonstrations that have wracked cities across the country demanding justice that are trying to be the vaccine.

It is with irony that many now remember the moment, four years ago, when Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem because of police killing black people. He was intentionally misinterpreted by detractors, though he stated clearly why he did it. How can you honor the anthem of a government that kills its own people? He was punished by blacklist for raising that issue. After watching Floyd die under direct police malice, some people wondered whether Floyd might be alive today if Kaepernick had been heard, and enough of us had taken his gesture against lethal racism to heart. In 2016, all he wanted was that people talk about what was happening, talk about race and whiteness, and how to stop the killing.

Is it out of line to desire a government that respects the humanity of its citizens? Or is the desire for death so deep-seated in US culture that only social justice movements know how to talk about it? During the three months that cities experienced uprisings, massive protests, marches and building occupations after the murder of George Floyd, the police kept on killing (from Tony McDade (5/27/20) and Sean Monterrosa (6/2/20), to Trayford Pellerin (8/21/20) and Jacob Blake (8/23/20)). It is as if killing more black people were the deliberate response of the police to the demand by the people that they stop. (Cf. Steve Martinot, “On The Epidemic of Police Killings,” in Social Justice, Vol. 39 (4), 2014) It has gotten to the point where professional sports teams are refusing to play in protest, following Kaepernick’s four year lead (NBA playoffs, 8/26/20). -more-

Maryanne Trump Barry, President Trump’s sister, the retired Federal judge warned Americans that her younger brother is a pathological liar. This warning was echoed by Trump’s niece, Mary Trump and Jon Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor. -more-

A bipartisan report by the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee cut through1, 000 pages of chaff to reach a very predictable conclusion, namely Russia interfered in the 2016 election to ensure the election of Donald Trump. -more-

Sally K. Sachs was born in Buffalo, NY, in September 1934, and died on June 26, 2020.

She received her primary and secondary education in Buffalo public schools and was valedictorian of her high school class. She was awarded a scholarship to Syracuse University in New York State. In addition to her academic work, she starred on their College Quiz Bowl team.

In 1955 she married Rainer Sachs and they went on to have four daughters, before divorcing in 1978.

After completing her studies, she and her family spent some years in Hamburg and London , but returned to the U.S, where they lived in New Jersey – first on an army base and then in Hoboken. They then spent four years in Austin, TX, ultimately settling in Berkeley CA. Sally appreciated Berkeley, and was active for 30 years in the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, serving as president for 2 years.

Sally was employed by the IRS where she worked until her retirement.

Sally had many talents. She liked to sketch and draw, and continued
this hobby throughout her life. She was knowledgeable about music and attended many concerts. She enjoyed gardening and grew fruits and vegetables in her yard. She read a lot and retained a great deal of what she read and learned. Sally was independent in her thinking and her actions. She was very straight forward, principled and a good citizen.

She enjoyed travel and made trips within the US, to Europe and to Mexico.

Sally's youngest daughter, Margaret, died in 1995. She is survived by 3 daughters: Anna Magda Sachs, Eliza Sachs and Carol Sachs, grandchildren Olaf Davis and Iona Marsh, a sister Barbara K. Zain and her partner of more than 30 years, Luis Flores.

Sally's life will be celebrated on Monday, September 7. For details of the online event, email sallysachsmemorialATgmailDOTcom

Donations in Sally's name can be made to Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association http://berkeleyheritage.com/ or to

ACLUaction.aclu.org/give/now -more-

We're still having problems with users of our site, including both the editor and readers, intermittently being denied access and given error messages. We've been working with our system host, LMI, to figure out what's happening and fix it, but so far no luck. Readers could help by sending email reports when this happens to editor@berkeleydailyplanet.com, and if that doesn't work to support@lmi.net. And then try again after just a few minutes, because it is intermittent, not permanent. -more-

One week after the Democratic convention came the Republican gathering. If the underlying theme of the Dems convention was "Unity: we are in this together," the underlying theme of the GOP conclave was "Only Trump can save us." An early speaker described Trumps as the “bodyguard of Western civilization” It was in all regards the Trump show. There were 10 takeaways. -more-

I do not want to offend rat enthusiasts. Modern, domesticated rats as pets are usually friendly and very smart. One of them injured her eye and we took her to the vet and got that treated. Later in her life, she was of exceptional intelligence, and she would run up my arm and put her nose in my ear. She would chase our Russian Blue cat, named Boris, and bite him on the butt. Her name was Emily. My wife was a rat enthusiast for a number of years. However, they became too hard to care for and too messy in our dwelling.

Scientists have a long history of cruel animal experimentation, and of unethical experimentation on humans. Heinous acts are perpetrated on animals. And deceptive, cruel things are done to human beings without our knowledge--in the name of "science."

Yet, it may not really be science when the objective is to prove one's pre-drawn conclusions. -more-

The Republican Party has become Trump’s party. The Trump National Convention was Trump’s attempt to rewrite the history of his failed presidency with a tsunami of untruths. It included a lot of speakers named Trump except, of course, his niece Mary L. Trump and his sister Maryanne Trump Barry. He is hoping the electorate will forget his habitual lying, adultery, fraud, misogyny, and racism. -more-

Wake Me When It's Over

I've been having some odd encounters with sleepwalking lately. A by-product of aging, apparently. Most recently, I started dreaming that I had overheard someone outside the house trying to sneak inside, I responded by creeping to the door and making sure it was securely bolted.

That's when I woke up and found myself at the foot of the bed, trying to bolt down the controls on the bedroom TV.

And then there was the dream where I found myself beneath a towering metal derrick. A long cable on a pulley at the top of the tower suddenly snapped. The friction of the metal scrapping over the pulley began generating sparks. I realized that, if I didn't get out of the way, the heavy cable would fall straight on me. At the last minute, I rolled quickly to the left, avoiding certain doom.

And that's when I woke up to find myself on the floor next to the bed, clutching a broken alarm clock in my hand.

And, most dramatically, there was the night I dreamed I was in a James Bond flick, edging my way through a darkened factory when, suddenly, an assassin jumped out from behind a wall and prepared to strike. In a flash, I morphed from James Bond into Bruce Lee and executed a perfect, spinning, karate kick that sent the attacker sprawling.

And that's when I woke up to the sound of furniture crashing. Somehow, I had managed to kick over a wooden ladder propped against a nearby bunk bed. But this time, at least, I managed to stay beneath the covers.

I think I'm getting better at this but I'll understand if you have reservations about having me as an overnight guest. -more-

Worth Noting:

Eight City meetings are scheduled for the Week of August 30 – September 6.



Monday – The Council Agenda and Rules Committee 2:30 pm takes up most of the page with the proposed agenda for the September 15 City Council meeting. The Agenda packet is 328 pages. Item 31. No confidence vote includes police stop data that needs follow-up, Item 33. Defines the process for measuring square footage for property taxes, a subject of public comment from multiple Council meetings regarding the inaccuracy of property tax assessments.

Ashby and North Berkeley BART Community Advisory Group meets at 6 pm

Wednesday – The Homeless Services Panel of Experts 7 pm includes panel membership in item 6. “Panel has limited participation from people with lived experience at this time and [Panel] does not reflect racial/ethnic and income group makeup of people who experience homelessness in Berkeley.”



The DEIR scoping session for the Southside Zoning Ordinance is on the Wednesday Planning Commission agenda as a public hearing and also on the agenda for the Landmarks Commission on Thursday.



Sunday, August 30, 2020 -more-