The Detroit News reports: Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr.’s administration was dealt an embarrassing blow Friday, after his top lawyer ignited a racial flap by saying the city’s 36th District Court was “acting like a ghetto court.” Kathleen Leavey, who is white, resigned as the city’s corporation counsel Thursday, but said the comment was misinterpreted. That…
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This might be the last thing I write about the inauguration. But the Onion, as usual, has a very funny story.
The Great Blacks in Wax Museum unveiled their Obama statue. Pictures in the Baltimore Sun. That’s Rep. Elijah Cummings on the right. He’s flesh and blood. Now you might think I’m writing The Great Black in Wax Museum because of some thinly veiled hipster irony in this supposed post-racial era. Actually, no. I just like…
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See the cartoon by Tom Tomorrow in Salon.com.
Three Cheers! I enjoyed the afternoon but was a little disappointed with Obama’s speech. I thought he said all the right things. I liked it. But I don’t think, unlike his race speech, that this was a speech for the ages. Oh well. [update: John Dickerson at Slate.com agrees with me.] I wonder when right-wing…
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Here’s to the peaceful transition of power and a belated thanks to George Washington. Washington started a great tradition more than 200 years ago: he voluntarily stepping down from power rather than become a power-hungry dictator. Thanks, George. Here’s just a sampling of reports from elsewhere. One from Kenya and another from Turkey.
File this under B for “bad parents.” Naming Children for Nazis Puts Spotlight on the Father That’s putting it mildly. And to think I have a friend who hated being named Nimrod. Better a Biblical Mighty Hunter than Adolf Hitler Campbell, Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, and JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell! The children have been taken…
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How come UPS never drops one off on my stoop? Well, maybe it’s better that the police don’t mistakenly raid my house. One of my students works for UPS. Not delivering. But in their shipping building. He said (with disapproval) that a lot of his coworkers are street-level drug dealers when they’re not on the…
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I feel like it was just yesterday I wrote: “If police think you might be armed and you won’t follow orders… well, it’s on you. Sorry. It may not be right, but that’s just the way it is.” Here’s a Baltimore case in point.
Mike Carter of the Seattle Timesreports: A former Mountlake Terrace police sergeant whose views supporting the decriminalization of marijuana led to his dismissal in 2005 has won his job back and an $815,000 settlement from the city and Snohomish County. However, Sgt. Jonathan Wender will not return to the streets. In addition to the financial…
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