Is "Evil" Colorblind?

Does evil discriminate on the basis of race, or national origins or socio-economic status?  Of course not.  It is today and has always been the penultimate equal opportunity, colorblind employer.  But why then are 98% of the inmates in American prisons today,  poor people, blacks and Latinos?  It doesn't take an Einstein to do the math on this one. Either some of the wrong people are in jail or the kinds of evil perpetrated by the more privileged are not criminalized (since they are the ones who make the laws and wear the judges' robes).     

Black Mothers See Trayvon Martin as this Generation's Emmett Till

Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)

Psychologists have often accused black mothers of overprotecting their sons. Blogger LaShaun Williams observes:

     When little black girls go to school teachers do not expect for them to fail in the same way they do little black boys. Black women are not profiled by law enforcement the same way as black men. And, employers are much more inclined to hire us.

Nature's Answer to Hard-Core Racists like 81 Year Old Billionaire Harold Simmons

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal 81 year old billionaire, Harold Simmons, explained his reasons for donating $18 million to conservative super PACs:

"Any of these Republicans would make a better president than that socialist. . . Obama is the most dangerous American alive … because he would eliminate free enterprise in this country."

 Where once I would have been enraged by such statements, today I feel nothing but sadness.  The last decades of this man's life will be filled with hatred and craziness targeted at America's first black president.  No amount of wealth spent on conservative super PACs denouncing Obama for being an extremist, Muslim radical, Kenyan, will ever bring this man peace. 

One Question the Media will Never Ask about Soldier's Killing Spree

What if Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, the soldier who confessed to killing sixteen Afghan civilians in their sleep, wasn't crazy?  I don't recall any of the soldiers who urinated on the dead body of an enemy soldier, or those who tossed Korans in the trash, or those who raped, sodomized and tortured prisoners at Abu Ghraib as being diagnosed with mental illness.  War is unpredictable.  It can even twist a normal human being into a robotic exterminator.  This is why sensible countries steer clear of fabricated conflicts.

What America can Learn from Japan's Handling of the Tsunami Disaster

NOTE:  I wrote this post last year in the aftermath of the tsunami.  In the ensuing twelve months I have come to have even greater admiration for the ways in which the Japanese people coped with this disaster.   

In the midst of devastation too big for mere words to encompass, Japan has shown itself to be the true leader of the democratic world.   Yes, the United States has a larger Gross National Product, more people and military hardware.  But the challenges of the twenty-first century economy will take more than muscle and naval bases.  And what the world needs now is a role model for cooperation in the face of disaster, to help lead the way. 

Did Soldier who Killed 16 in Afghanistan Receive his Diploma from the Rush Limbaugh Show?

  Let me get this right.  Several American soldiers burned copies of the Qur'an on a military base, mistaking these sacred books for trash.  While Afghans rioted, most Americans dismissed this episode as an unfortunate accident.  It was not merely because the Obama Administration said so, but also because there was no apparent motive. It just didn't make sense.  Today we have a ghastly news account of a U.S. soldier shooting dead sixteen Afghan civilians, nine of them children, all of whom were sleeping in their beds. That didn't make sense either.   What if the perpetrator had not turned himself in?  Might the American public have ignored or dismissed Afghani insistence that this horror was not only intentional, but also the work of an American soldier?  Maybe. . . probably. . . ah. . .  yes.     This is where Rush Limbaugh comes in.

Cosmologists, Theologians, & "Turtles All the Way Down"

The current issue  of Astronomy Magazine left me as ticked off as that psychotic Glenn Close character in Fatal Attraction.  But rather than tossing pet rabbits into the stewpot, I'm leaning towards boiling up a pot of my own turtle soup. Bruce Dorminey, author of the offending cover article "Before the Big Bang" promised to explore theories about what triggered the Big Bang and thus what came before. Of course, given the nature of the subject, this was going to be an article based on cosmological speculation rather than experimentally-verifiable science.  But the kindest characterization I can offer for the theories the Astronomy article discussed was "turtles all the way down."  This is a phrase borrowed from Stephen Hawking's  recounting of an incident in his 1988 bestseller, A Brief History of Time:

Black American Finds Distant Relatives in the Ukraine, Norway, South Africa and Fiji (Sort of)

Several weeks ago, I learned that I had distant relatives in Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine.  Over the course of generations, they had spread throughout the region and spoke only the Ukrainian language and Russian.  As an African-American, the news that my family could extend to the other side of the globe, was startling. But alas, that was just the beginning.

Rush Limbaugh, "Flashers" and Conservative Female Commentators

Rush Limbaugh attacks college student Sandra Fluke

I've had my suspicions for some time. But last week Rush Limbaugh exposed himself on national radio.  Now we know what he really is -- a flasher.  The man doesn't need a filthy trench coat with missing buttons, when he has the radio waves and a captive audience in the millions.  Why else would the 61 year old, thrice-divorced, oxycontin-addict  attack Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke on national syndicated radio, calling her a "slut" and "prostitute," while inviting the young woman to have a sexual romp on Youtube?  On February 23, 2012,  Ms. Fluke gave testimony  in front of the House Democrat Steering Committee, asserting that the high cost of contraception was causing students to struggle financially.  Limbaugh's reaction was to fantasize aloud that GOP presidential candidates, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, could then  "spy on Sandra Fluke and interrupt her in mid-coitus, and then they'll make 'em get married. They'll make 'em get married and then make 'em have those babies and make 'em have 10,000 babies and then stay home..."

According to FOX News: Obama MADE Limbaugh call Student a "Slut" & "Prostitute"

When the Rupert Murdoch scandal erupted in Britain, I wished and prayed that it would ensnare FOX News and bring them down.  That hasn't happened.  But the good news is that FOX may have decided to chop off its own head.  How else can one account for FOX News commentator, Eric Bolling's claim that Rush Limbaugh called Georgetown law student, Sandra Fluke, a "slut" and "prostitute," at the behest of . . . yes, believe it or not -- President Barack Obama himself (see here).   Bolling began by calling Sandra Fluke a "foot soldier" for President Obama. "Follow me here," he continued, "President Obama on the ropes with the economy, and specifically with women voters; Mrs. Fluke to create a controversy; and the Liberal Mainstream Media puppets play along as scripted."

La Adicción de Los Estados Unidos por La Mano de Obra Barata: Lo Que Los Demócratas y Los Republicanos Pasan por Alto

English version
Lo que le falta al debate sobre inmigración que se está cocinando en el Congreso y en las legislaturas estatales es... bien... honestidad, tanto por parte del GOP como por parte de los demócratas. El problema de la inmigración en los Estados Unidos no está causado por hordas de mexicanos ni demás que se estén colando de forma ilegal por unas fronteras mal custodiadas, ni que éstos quiten trabajos de los estadounidenses desempleados. Tampoco está causado por las políticas del gobierno que criminalizan a los trabajadores que cruzan la frontera en busca de trabajos que los estadounidenses se nieguen a realizar. No. El problema real de los Estados Unidos es su adicción por la mano de obra barata.

Memorias de Tokio Durante La Temporada de Florecimiento de los Cerezos

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Mis ojos se llenan de lágrimas cuando recuerdo Tokio al pasar los años, durante la temporada de florecimiento de los cerezos. A finales de marzo, las calles de la ciudad se llenan de turistas, de otras partes del Japón y del extranjero, que van a disfrutar del florecimiento de los "sakura" o cerezos. Puesto que estas delicadas flores tienen una corta vida, representan la transitoriedad dentro de la cultura budista del Japón.

 Esta temporada, llamada Hanami o "contemplación de las flores", se celebra con la reunión de familiares y amigos en comidas al aire libre bajo los cerezos en flor, que están por todas partes. Sin embargo, este año las multitudes de turistas extranjeros serán escasas, puesto que las autoridades están intentando tomar el control del desastre nuclear que tuvo lugar en los reactores a menos de 150 millas de Tokio, mientras los japoneses entierran a sus seres queridos en fosas comunes originadas por la devastación de los terremotos y del tsunami. Lo que no ha cambiado es el mensaje al cual los espectadores del florecimiento de los cerezos han sido llamados a reflexionar durante los últimos dos mil años: se trata de la naturaleza transitoria de la vida.

Quando a América Tornou-se uma Multidão de Linchadores, ou: As SUPERPOTÊNCIAS Nunca Têm que Dizer que Estão Arrependidas

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Em março de 2003, uma pesquisa Gallup concluiu que 79% dos americanos achavam que a guerra do Iraque foi justificada, com ou sem evidências conclusivas de armas ilegais. Em 2012, esse número havia diminuído para 33%. Oops. . . nós mudamos nossas mentes!

Le jour où les États-Unis sont devenus une bande de lyncheurs ou les SUPERPUISSANCES n’ont-elles jamais de comptes à rendre ?

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En mars 2003, un sondage Gallup révélait que 79 % des Américains estimait que la guerre en Irak était justifiée, avec ou sans preuves de l’existence d’armes illégales. En 2012, ce nombre s’est réduit pour atteindre 33 %. Oups… Nous avons changé d’opinion !

Federal Judge Cebull Exposes Reason so Many Blacks in Prison

Judge Richard Cebull

The Chief Federal Judge of Montana, Richard Cebull, forwarded the following email message to his pals:

"A MOM'S MEMORY: A little boy said to his mother; ‘Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white?’ His mother replied, ‘Don’t even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!’

After the Great Falls Tribune published the story, a growing chorus of voices insisted that the Judge resign.  However, this racially-charged incident calls for more than a mere early retirement. Every judicial decision this man made since his nomination by President George W. Bush in 2001,  needs to be reviewed -- and pronto.  Whether or not those sent to jail under Judge Cebull's gavel are minorities, doesn't matter. The bigger problem is this incident's exposure of a culture "on the bench," which would allow this Judge and his pals to find such a trashy slur on the office of the United States President --funny.  

I have long struggled to understand how America's prison system could be so racially lopsided. That is, while African-Americans constitute 12.3% of the U.S. population, they represent 45.6% of the inmates who fill our nation's prisons. It is men like Judge Cebull who hold the key.  But when will American society be ready to break the lock, fling open that door and see with horror all the lives our justice system has thrown away through phony  convictions based on the person's race?   

RELATED POST:  District Attorneys Should be Investigated in Repeat Cases of Falsely Accused Black Prisoners later Exonerated by DNA Evidence.