On January 6th, in the act of sedition, a mob took over the U.S. Capitol, and the police arrested only a few of the group. White supremacy in America is a principal reason that few of these rioters were arrested. These rioters were white. Black Lives Matter protesters are not. But there is more to … [Read more…]
A Trump mob carried out a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol this afternoon. They broke windows and doors as they illegally and unlawfully invaded the Senate, which was in a joint session with the House of Representatives. They disrupted the business of the Congress and hung around all afternoon, and very few were arrested. … [Read more…]
There is a long and sordid history of mistreatment of African Americans by medicine in the United States. Consequently, many African Americans are duly skeptical about medicine and medical practice. Of course, there is the infamous Tuskegee syllabus experiment—and many other documented cases of abuse. I will not try to detail these atrocities here as … [Read more…]
Gladys West, an African American female from rural Virginia, was a key figure in the development of GPS (the Global Positioning System) in the 1950s and 1960s. GPS has changed the lives of almost everyone. All segments of society use the Global Positioning System—the military, the auto industry, the cell phone industry, NASA, social media, … [Read more…]
The media has been full of statements and reminiscences of President Bush who died last Friday. Many praise his public service and call him an honorable man of great character. They praise him for his admirable humanity. Through the years it has been my habit—and indeed my soapbox—to caution friends in assessing whether a particular … [Read more…]
Cindy Hyde-Smith Says She Never Lost Faith in Mississippi’s Racists By Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker Celebrating her election victory on Tuesday night, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith said that, despite predictions that her state was ready to turn the page on its shameful past, “I never lost faith in Mississippi’s racists.” “For weeks, we’ve been … [Read more…]
One wonders why Cindy Hyde-Smith, winner of the U.S. Senate contest in Mississippi, was so bold in her racism. Earlier this month she told a crowd at a campaign event that if a favorite supporter invited her to “a public hanging,” she “would be on the front row.” Amazingly, she said this in 2018 in … [Read more…]
About half of eligible voters turn out in the United States. That places us 29th out of 32 developed democratic nations in the proportion of people who vote. If we truly wanted more people to vote we would do what democracies with high rates of voter participation do. In these nations, all citizens are automatically … [Read more…]
As the college basketball season is getting underway this month, much of the sports world—or at least the basketball part of it—is concerned about scandals in the game. Earlier this year, a report of the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption revealed possible NCAA rules violations by more than 20 top men’s teams. There were … [Read more…]
Voter suppression was at high tide this week—working furiously to elect Republicans. The brazen methods were virtually breathtaking, but there was one bright spot on the voter suppression front. Florida voters abolished their felon disenfranchisement law, enabling a large segment of their population to vote (in future elections). State legislatures established felon disenfranchisement laws after the … [Read more…]