TODAY
Lest we forget - July 20, 2012
Jonathan Blunk, age 24 Alexander J. Boik, age 18 Jesse Childress, age 29 Gordon Cowden, age 51 Jessica Ghawi, age 24 John Larimer, age 27 Matt McQuinn, age 27 Micayla Medek, age 23 Veronica Moser-Sullivan, age 6 Alex Sullivan, age 27 Alexander C. Teves, age 24 Rebecca Wingo, age 32 KILLED BY GUNFIRE an additional 58 wounded by gunfire 8 who injured themselves while fleeing 4 suffering chemical irr
YESTERDAY
Barack and Trayvon
is the title of this Charles M. Blow column for tomorrow's New York Times. I just finished listening to Blow (among others including Jeffrey Toobin, Mark Geragos, Anna Deavere Smith, Geoffrey Canada, etc) at at Town Hall on Anderson Cooper. His words - and those of others - were moving. Blow's written words are just as moving. Consider just this opening paragraph: On Friday President Obama picke
Jonathan Capehart reacts to the President's remarks today
are up in a piece at the Washington Post titled President Obama speaks up for Trayvon Martin. Those who have watched MSNBC this evening have heard Capehart mention this piece several times. Here is the first paragraph (minus the hyperlinks): President Obama’s unannounced entry into the White House Briefing Room took reporters by surprise. But what he had to say took the nation by surprise. In his
Simplicity
Personal pride does not end with noble blood. It leads people to a fond value of their persons, especially if they have any pretence to shape or beauty. Some are so taken with themselves it would seem that nothing else deserved their attention. Their folly would diminish if they could spare but half the time to think of God, that they spend in washing, perfuming, painting and dressing their bodies
Ta-Nehesi Coates on Obama considering Ray Kelly for Homeland Security
is simply a must-read from today's New York Times. His piece is titled Raising the Wrong Profile. It begins like this: In 2003, State Senator Barack Obama spearheaded a bill through the Illinois legislature that sought to put the clamps on racial profiling. Obama called racial profiling “morally objectionable,” “bad police practice” and a method that mainly served to “humiliate individuals and f
JUL 18
You simply must read Eugene Robinson
Justice failed Trayvon Martin the night he was killed. We should be appalled and outraged, but perhaps not surprised, that it failed him again Saturday night, with a verdict setting his killer free. Our society considers young black men to be dangerous, interchangeable, expendable, guilty until proven innocent. This is the conversation about race that we desperately need to have — but probably, as
McAuliffe up in new Quinnipiac Poll of Virginia
about which you can read here (press release with data included, and also a link to PDF of entire poll). A couple of key takeaways Horserace McAuliffe 43 Cuccinelli 39 McAuliffe has a 30 - 19 favorability rating, with 50 percent of voters saying they don't know enough about him to form an opinion. Virginia voters give Cuccinelli a split 31 - 30 percent favorability rating, with 36 percent offer
More evidence future for Republicans is bleak
can be seen in The ARIS 2013 National College Student Survey done by Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, who are public policy research professors and the authors of the renowned ARIS survey series since 1990. I received a press release on this several days ago, from which I quote several things: The surveyed students, ages 18 to 29, attend 38 colleges and universities from across the U.S., includi
JUL 17
95
It is now July 18 in South Africa. Which means that Nelson Mandela, born this day in 1918, is now 95. I am grateful that he has lived until another birthday. I can only hope he is aware of the occasion. It is not just South Africa which should be grateful for his time on earth, but all of the civilized world for the example he presented of graciousness, lack of vindictiveness, willingness to reach
Good blog post on "Obamacare" by Krugman
titled Obamacare Is the Right’s Worst Nightmare. It went live on the Times website within the hour. A few treats from this post: ... I agree with Matt Yglesias — unless the GOP finds even more ways to sabotage the plan, this thing is going to work, it’s going to be extremely popular, and it’s going to wreak havoc with conservative ideology. ...while a few people will be hurt — young, healthy indi
Conservative former Senator supports Snowden
Republican Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, who served two terms as a United States Senator, has sent an email to Edward Snowden supporting him. Glenn Greenwald has the exchange, and a confirmation back to him (Greenwald) that the email was authentic, in this piece in The Guardian. Here is the text of the original email, with the emphasis as added by Greenwald: Mr. Snowden, Provided you have no
You might want to read Harold Meyerson today
His Washington Post column is titled D.C. Council stands for fair wages and against Wal-Mart and it provides lots of ammunition on the matter of Living Wages and Walmart. Meyerson 2nd paragraph set the frame: On average, Wal-Mart pays its workers $12.67 an hour — which means that a huge number of its 1.4 million U.S. employees make a good deal less than that. By paying so little, the Bentonville b
Profits
I am becoming ever less enamored of the profit motivation, and would like to see it severely restricted. I understand that it plays a positive role in SOME economic endeavors, and thus CAN lead to new and better products, but those who are already profiting will often be ruthless against any competition that might reduce their profits. There are some areas of American life that imho simply should
JUL 16
40 Years ago, the beginning of the end for Nixon
July 17, 1973. It was afternoon, during the hearings of the Senate Watergate Committee. Suddenly there was a not previously scheduled witness brought forth. He was, surprisingly, questioned by Minority Counsel Fred Thompson. His name was Alexander Butterfield. He was at that moment, administrator of the FAA. He had previously been an assistant to White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, with kno
JUL 15
Charles M. Blow also has a powerful column
Earlier today I posted Eugene Robinson may deserve another Pulitzer about the column he wrote in reaction to the verdict in Sanford. In that piece I wrote I have been waiting for the reactions of Eugene Robinson and Charles M. Blow. The latter's column would normally next run on Thursday. Well, it came out today, for tomorrow's paper, as Catte Nappe informed us in a comment, where he quote a b
Eugene Robinson may deserve another Pulitzer
for a column titled Black boys denied the right to be young. Intended for the print edition of Tuesday's Washington Post, it went live in early afternoon on the website. It begins with two short and to the point paragraphs: Justice failed Trayvon Martin the night he was killed. We should be appalled and outraged, but perhaps not surprised, that it failed him again Saturday night, with a verdict
I will never be on a jury
I have been empaneled twice. In the first case it was a personal injury case involving someone who had slipped in a supermarket. During the voir dire we were asked about knowledge of law, or family members with knowledge of law. I raised my hand. I explained that my grandfather was a lawyer, his brother was a judge in NY State, my mother was Assistant Attorney General of NY State for Workman'
JUL 14
Ten Years Ago Today
this was published Remember this paragraph: Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me that Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian report. The CIA says its counterproliferation officials selected Wilson and asked his wife to contact him. "I will n
What Is Justice?
@teacherken In light of recent events, never has your "What is Justice?" lesson on the 2nd day of AP Gov felt so pertinent. — Vishnu (@RachaGotcha) July 14, 2013 The first instructional lesson in all my Government classes, AP and regular, has students answering a warm-up: "What is Justice? Write down your answer." I step outside the room ostensibly to run an errand, then put on a black robe, a
JUL 13
Zimmerman's lawyers should realize it is not over yet
in theory, there could be a federal criminal case for denial of civil rights - remember, that is what happened to the cops in the Rodney King case. I do not see that happening here and think Zimmerman's lawyer by saying he (Zimmerman) was the victim of racism are trying to poison that well - remember, we have a Black President and a Black Attorney General, and were the feds to step in . . .. How
The Tinker Bell Coalition
is a line from Kathleen Parker's Washington Post op ed this morning, The GOP's principled suicide. Not sure I agree with her that the GOP is principled, and I can sure do without her both sides do it approach. But that phrase is delightful. Let me put it in the context in which it appears in her column, adding bolding to the most relevant portions: Republican intransigence is further compounded
