The Never Ending Confusion Over Black Voters, by Darryl Cox
Sometimes I get lucky
One of the members here is Darryl Cox, a former political consultant, campaign manager and community organizer. Being a serious sort of brother, every so often he feels compelled to speak on a topic. The last beneficiary of that impulse was BlackElectorate.com. The latest is you.
The Never Ending Confusion Over Black Voters, by Darryl Cox
Black people have played a decisive role in American electoral affairs since the founding days of the Republic despite the fact that law and custom barred the majority of them from voting for nearly two centuries. Thomas Jefferson’s political opponents, for example, attributed his victory in 1800 over the incumbent president John Adams to “Negro electors, Negro vote, and Negro congressmen.” What had raised their ire was the infamous provision enshrined in the Constitution decreeing that each slave would be counted as three fifths of a person in determining the members of the Electoral College from each state.
He comes off considerably better than he could have.
Slate has collected a bag of cartoons about General Powell's resignation. The cartoonists of the world are treating him nicely for the most part. I think this page is about as harsh as it gets.
Another tweak or two
I have a contact form in th enavigation menu now. And for you registered commenters you can shut off the WYSIWYG editing in your account profile.
These are obviously aliens trying to convince the race to suicide so they can have the planet
Feel their pain, group tells those who eat fish
By David Crary, Associated Press | November 17, 2004
NEW YORK -- Touting tofu chowder and vegetarian sushi as alternatives, animal-rights activists have launched a novel campaign arguing that fish -- contrary to stereotype -- are intelligent, sensitive animals no more deserving of being eaten than a pet dog or cat.
Called the Fish Empathy Project, the campaign reflects a strategy shift by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as it challenges a diet component widely viewed as nutritious and uncontroversial.
"No one would ever put a hook through a dog's or cat's mouth," said Bruce Friedrich, PETA's director of vegan outreach. "Once people start to understand that fish, although they come in different packaging, are just as intelligent, they'll stop eating them."
Bush thought he name would make it a funny pun
Bush Nominates Spellings for Education Post
Wed Nov 17, 2004 12:09 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Wednesday nominated a longtime close aide, White House domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings, as the next education secretary.
Spellings, 46, would replace Rod Paige in the top education post in Bush's second-term Cabinet. Paige's resignation was announced on Monday.
She became the third White House insider to be nominated for a top Cabinet position. White House legal counsel Alberto Gonzales was picked as attorney general and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state.
Internecine strife
US bishops shelve statement urging greater use of Bible
Vote part of effort to cut spending
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff | November 17, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Despite pleas from Bible Belt bishops, the Catholic bishops of the United States yesterday voted to shelve plans to develop a statement urging greater use of the Bible, a move aimed at restraining spending and cutting down on a crush of publications they fear have little impact.
The cost of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to local dioceses has become an increasing concern for bishops, many of whom, including Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, face severe financial crises at home. Two US dioceses, in Tucson, Ariz., and Portland, Ore., have filed for bankruptcy, and the Spokane diocese, home to the president-elect of the bishops' conference, is expected to file for bankruptcy this month.
Just stupid
Football player charged with assault on National Guard officer
Sunday, November 14, 2004
An Oregon State football player has been charged with assaulting an Oregon National Guard soldier after a fight resulting from racial comments about the soldier and his wife.
Joseph Rudulph, 19, a freshman from Sacramento, Calif., was arrested Friday after the confrontation early Friday morning at the Headline Caf De in downtown Corvallis.
Staff Sgt. Gabriel Sapp was dancing with his wife at the restaurant when they were approached by a group of black men, identified as Oregon State football players. The men began making comments to Sapp's wife, who is also black, about her relationship with her husband, who is white, according to Corvallis police Capt. Jon Sassaman.
The Wisdom of Einstein
The Christian Science Monitor has an editorial titled The heartland votes for its economic interest which proves Einstein was right when he said things should be as simple as possible…but no simpler.
This analysis is simpler than possible.
Well-paying jobs
In the vast majority of cases, rising wages don't result from labor union agitation. Rising wages result from labor scarcity. If enough businesses are established so that there is an abundance of jobs, business owners have a harder and harder time finding and keeping workers. They are forced to compete against other businesses for workers. They do that by raising workers' pay and/or improving their benefits.A key to raising wages, therefore, is to have lots of businesses. That's done through business-friendly policies such as lower taxes, fewer onerous and expensive regulations, and keeping the trial lawyers at bay. Guess which party scores better in that regard?
This is a bit over the top, I think
Texas Officials Wary of Plan to Hunt by Internet
Tue Nov 16, 2004 09:36 PM ET
By Jeff Franks
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Hunters soon may be able to sit at their computers and blast away at animals on a Texas ranch via the Internet, a prospect that has state wildlife officials up in arms.
A controversial Web site, http://www.live-shot.com, already offers target practice with a .22 caliber rifle and could soon let hunters shoot at deer, antelope and wild pigs, site creator John Underwood said on Tuesday.
Texas officials are not quite sure what to make of Underwood's Web site, but may tweak existing laws to make sure Internet hunting does not get out of hand.
Setting an example
Soldiers who refused duty said to face discipline
By Tom Bowman, Baltimore Sun | November 16, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Soldiers from an Army Reserve unit in Iraq who refused to take part in a convoy last month, citing security concerns and maintenance problems with their vehicles, are facing disciplinary action and some could be charged criminally, Pentagon and military officials said yesterday.
As many as two dozen soldiers from the 343d Quartermaster Company, an Army Reserve based in Rock Hill, S.C., were part of the investigation that began Oct. 13 when soldiers refused to take part in a cross-country fuel convoy.
The mission was carried out later by others from the 120-soldier unit who took the convoy from Tallil air base near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah to Taji north of Baghdad.
Not sure I'd want it, even if everyone community could afford it
Quote of note:
At the Spring district, where no student has ever been kidnapped, the system is expected to be used for more pedestrian purposes, Chief Bragg said: to reassure frantic parents, for example, calling because their child, rather than coming home as expected, went to a friend's house, an extracurricular activity or a Girl Scout meeting.
When the district unanimously approved the $180,000 system, neither teachers nor parents objected, said the president of the board. Rather, parents appear to be applauding. "I'm sure we're being overprotective, but you hear about all this violence," said Elisa Temple-Harvey, 34, the parent of a fourth grader. "I'm not saying this will curtail it, or stop it, but at least I know she made it to campus."
Gestapo
New C.I.A. Chief Tells Workers to Back Administration Policies
By DOUGLAS JEHL
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 - Porter J. Goss, the new intelligence chief, has told Central Intelligence Agency employees that their job is to "support the administration and its policies in our work,'' a copy of an internal memorandum shows.
"As agency employees we do not identify with, support or champion opposition to the administration or its policies," Mr. Goss said in the memorandum, which was circulated late on Monday. He said in the document that he was seeking "to clarify beyond doubt the rules of the road."
While his words could be construed as urging analysts to conform with administration policies, Mr. Goss also wrote, "We provide the intelligence as we see it - and let the facts alone speak to the policymaker.''
But will their employees get health care?
Sears and KMart Agree to Merge in $11 Billion Deal
By REUTERS
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sears, Roebuck & Co. (S.N) and Kmart Holding Corp. (KMRT.O) on Wednesday said they would merge in an $11 billion deal to form the third-largest U.S. retailer.
The companies said in a joint statement that the new company, Sears Holdings, will have about $55 billion in annual revenues, 2,350 full-line and off-mall stores, and 1,100 specialty retail stores.
I just hope they have a more reliable quisling than Chalabi this time
Group Says Iran Has Secret Nuclear Arms Program
By DOUGLAS JEHL
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 - An Iranian opposition group says it has new evidence that Iran is producing enriched uranium at a covert Defense Ministry facility in Tehran that has not been disclosed to United Nations inspectors.
The group, the National Council for Resistance in Iran, is planning to announce its finding in Paris on Wednesday. The group says that inspection of the site would demonstrate that Iran is secretly trying to produce nuclear weapons even while promising to freeze a critical part of its declared nuclear program, which it maintains is intended purely for civilian purposes.
...which is exactly why George Bush wouldn't join the World Court
In total honesty though, there hasn't yet been a noble war, and the idea of the winner submitting to judgment is…new.
Anyway…
U.N. official denounces Fallujah killings
By Alexander G. Higgins, Associated Press Writer | November 16, 2004
GENEVA --The United Nations top human rights official on Tuesday denounced the killing of civilians and injured people in Fallujah, saying violators of international humanitarian law must be brought to justice.
Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, spoke in general terms and did not specifically mention insurgents' attacks against hostages or a U.S. military report that it is investigating the videotaped fatal shooting of a wounded man by a U.S. Marine in a mosque in Fallujah.
If this strangely worded report is phrased accurately...
…then in Illinois you may, in violation of local ordinances, purchase a hand gun if it is for the purpose of shooting burglars.
Ill. lawmakers OK banned-gun exceptions
November 16, 2004SPRINGFIELD, Ill. --Illinois lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to give legal protection to homeowners who violate handgun bans to shoot burglars, overriding Gov. Rod Blagojevich's veto of legislation that became a symbol in the tug-of-war over gun control.
The legislation says that people who shoot intruders on their property cannot be convicted of violating local gun bans, but it does not prevent charges if prosecutors believe the shooting itself was a crime.
And it didn't even take legislation
Apology a tool to avoid malpractice suits
Doctors shown financial benefits
By Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press | November 12, 2004
CHICAGO -- It is a lesson children learn even before their ABCs -- say you are sorry when you hurt someone. But it is now being taught in the grown-up world of medicine as a surprisingly powerful way to soothe patients and head off malpractice lawsuits.
Some malpractice-overhaul advocates say an apology can help doctors avoid getting sued, especially when combined with an upfront settlement offer.
The idea defies a long tradition in which doctors cultivated a Godlike image of infallibility and rarely owned up to their mistakes.
This is a worthy project
U.S. Launches Giant Study on Children
Tue Nov 16, 2004 11:17 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government researchers launched the biggest-ever study of children on Tuesday, saying they will track 100,000 children from birth through age 21 to see what makes kids sick.
The study, being launched at 96 centers, will follow the children as they grow up, looking at their environments, behavior, family and genetics.
"Together the children from these 96 locations will represent the face of all of America's children," the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which is sponsoring the study, said in a statement.
Who says the Bush Administration doesn't like trial lawyers?
US urges worldwide restrictions to halt shark slaughter
By Cain Burdeau, Associated Press | November 16, 2004
NEW ORLEANS -- The United States yesterday proposed broad international measures to curb the slaughter of sharks in the Atlantic Ocean and encourage the study and preservation of threatened shark populations throughout the world.
The proposals were made at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, which also covers conservation of other large fish. This is the first time the United States has been host of the session.
''I think sharks have been abused over the last 10 years," said William Hogarth, the head of the National Marine Fisheries Service. ''We haven't managed sharks in a very sustainable manner."
Just say what you mean
Hans Blix's reports were full of wishy-washy crap like this
''The Agency is, however, not in a position to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran," the report, which summarizes nearly two years of investigative work, continued.
that left the door open for the U.S. to claim invading Iraq was justified.
Anyway…
UN finds no proof of nuclear weapons in Iran
US remains skeptical of Tehran's intentions
By Brian Whitmore, Globe Correspondent | November 16, 2004
PRAGUE -- After nearly two years of investigation, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said yesterday that it has not uncovered proof that Iran has a covert weapons program, although it could not rule out that Tehran was engaging in clandestine nuclear activities.
