wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

On today's show, Brian took listeners' calls about cheerleaders rooting for female teams and here's one response:

Hello!

My apologies in advance if I misheard since I was trying to write and listen at the same time (so much for the efficacy of multi-tasking). But I believe you were asking why Ivy leaguers - with all the other things they could be focusing on - would want to be cheerleaders.

If that is the question, then I just have to ask my own "Is there some underlying belief that Ivy Leaguers don't share the same dreams, desires, needs, and very human motivations that non-Ivy Leaguers have? Are they really of a different species? It felt like you thought this was a demeaning choice to those in the Ivy league and that they, somehow, should be above such inane diversions - even if non-Ivy Leaguers aren't. Now at times I have also wondered why people choose to do stuff like this, but I don't limit the question to only those who are more "elite". The very same things that appeal to non-Ivy would appeal to Ivy. They are all just people and people at the core are similar, no matter what school you go to. In fact, i would go so far as to guess that fi it weren't looked down upon, even more would try out in the Ivies.

Note: My young cousin, who was into things like this in high school, helped me see how many organizational skills and life skills can be gained from such activities. The fact that you can wind up as president from such a choice will be left to history to assess.

Thanks for listening. If I misheard and ranted a bit for naught, please excuse.

R.A.H.

Brian also took calls about corporate law firms doing pro bono work on behalf of Guantanamo detainees and here's a response:

As a former appellate attorney in the Bronx District Attorney's Office, where countless tax dollars are spent fielding ridiculous claims raised on behalf of allegedly indigent convicts by attorneys also paid with tax dollars, my patience for the concept that everyone is entitled to legal representation was routinely tested. Nevertheless, it never broke. In short, I remain convinced that the defense bar is on the front line in keeping our criminal justice system from deteriorating into a collection of kangaroo courts. Law-abiding citizens will be thankful for the efforts of the defense bar when, god forbid, they find themselves wrongly-accused and facing the power of a prosecutor's office.

That members of the current administration wish to turn of one part of our criminal justice system into what would amount to a kangaroo court is indeed frightening. Unfortunately, it seems we have come a long way from the day when John Adams represented at trial the British soldiers who fired on a number of Boston citizens, prior to the American Revolution, in what came to be known as the Boston Massacre . While we may still have attorneys willing to fight for the right to fair trials for everyone - no matter how unpopular - I am afraid a person of such principal would never even be considered electable as President.

W.C.