The Emperor Really Is Wearing No Clothes

Before delving into the true topic of today’s post, I want to point out some things about me personally.
I am different.
I am not black or white, but both… as are my thoughts, my feelings, my emotions and experiences.
I am a smorgasbord of things…
… I am half white, a quarter black and a quarter Native American.
I am [...]

The Death of Affirmative Action?

We are getting news today that the Supreme Court has ruled on the infamous New Haven Firefighter reverse discrimination case.
Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, in a strange coincidence, was one of the presiding judges during this case’s original appeal.
The High Court has ruled in favor of white firefighter Frank Ricci, reversing Judge Sotomayor’s ruling.
As most [...]

Judge Sotomayor, New Haven and Reverse Discrimination

Along with bogus charges of racism, we are now hearing rumblings of discontent regarding Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s ruling in the infamous New Haven firefighters’ reverse discrimination case.
First, a little background.
New Haven, CT adopted a written exam in 2003 for the purpose of determining which of the city’s fire fighters are eligible for promotion to Lieutenant [...]

Sotomayor, Supreme Court and Spindoctors

One of my readers hipped me to “La Raza”, while commenting on my recent post on Judge Sotomayor- stating that she is a member of this particular group.
I didn’t know anything about the organization, and promised to research both the group and the judge’s alleged ties to it.
What I learned, not surprisingly, is that what’s often thought [...]

Dick Cheney, Irony and The Mortally Wounded GOP

Dick Cheney thinks it would be a mistake for the Republican Party to ‘moderate’ itself in an attempt to save itself from slowly dying.
This is about fundamental beliefs and values and ideas … what the role of government should be in our society, and our commitment to the Constitution and constitutional principles,” Cheney said in [...]

Sessions, Specter and the Supreme Court

Things are getting really exciting on Capitol Hill.
Supreme Court Justice David Souter has recently announced his retirement, paving the way for Obama’s first Supreme Court nomination.
In a coincidental turn of events- a side plot, perhaps- Representative Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) will be taking Arlen Specter’s place as the top Republican in the Senate Judiciary committee.
All of [...]

New Mexico Governor Repeals Capital Punishment

Today I was happy to read that Governor Bill Richardson has signed a bill aboloshing the death penalty in New Mexico.
I realize that this was a very tough decision for him to make… Richardson does believe that the death penalty- in rare cases- is just punishment for especially heinous crimes.
His statement reads, in part:
Regardless of [...]

The Pope, AIDS and Abstinence

The Pope has spoken.
Unfortunately, I spend more time wishing the man would shut up than anything else… but…
Still.
Most recently, Pope Benedict XVI has decided to weigh in on the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
What a hoot.
It seems the Vatican considers itself in the forefront of the battle against HIV/AIDS and as such, the Pope felt the [...]

Stimulus, Schools and Sanford

A few weeks ago (on February 24, 2009), Obama addressed the nation in front of a joint session of Congress.
It was a moving speech, focusing primarily on the economy, and the challenges faced by America today.
There were a couple of attendees at the event that are not politicians, but rather, people whose personal stories touched the President [...]

Beyond War: A New Economy Is Possible- Part III- Militarism

By Andrew Heaslet, guest Author, Coordinator, Peace Economy Project

Militarism
 
“I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of nuclear annihilation… I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Nobel [...]