I turned 65 on May 14th. This birthday prompts me to think about what I’ll leave behind. When I began teaching college at the ripe old age of 23, I remember telling my students that when I was 65 years old I wanted to assess my life’s work as a plus, rather than a minus, for humanity. I said making a positive contribution was a key thing that made life worth living. I was a bit melodramatic, but I felt that way and I still do.

Is it possible for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM), his co-defendants and the victims of their alleged crimes to receive justice? Can their torture and harsh conditions of confinement be ignored at the defendants’ trial? The Obama administration answers both questions affirmatively.

Tuesday’s online reporting services and television news, and Wednesday’s papers, were filled with reports of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and May Day demonstrations across the country and around the world. I am sure many of us are heartened by the continuing upsurge of resistance to the small minority of humanity whose greed and thirst for power is impoverishing the majority and despoiling our planet. But, of course, the 1% will do everything they can to retain their power and lifestyle.

We’ve just completed our Spring 2012 Granting Cycle at the RFC. We awarded over $185,000 to 69 families with 136 children in 23 states plus Puerto Rico. As is often the case the vast majority of our grants were “renewals” going to children who we are already aiding. This is in line with our objective of being a dependable source of multi-year support for those we help.

I find few things more disturbing than the idea of incarcerating human beings for the purpose of generating corporate profit. It has been more than ten years since I first did some research into Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a private company that does just that. Today CCA bills itself as “the nation’s leading provider of correctional solutions to federal, state and local government.”