I was about to start recording audio for a new .musecast last night when the first tweets about George Zimmerman being found not guilty in the death of Trayvon Martin hit my timeline. It was in the wake of my first real interest in politics — the 2 Live Crew obscenity trials — that I witnessed the nationwide riots in 1992 after the first criminal trial of the police officers who beat Rodney King resulted in acquittals. I was too young to really appreciate the…
Spitzer, Weiner hoping for forgiveness, perhaps Sanford-style comeback (AP via Yahoo! News) Smerconish: We should legalize prostitution (MSNBC) I often joke that I don’t have to worry about marketing The Prostitutes of Lake Wobegon as a topical book; as long as we have male politicians, some scandal involving prostitution is sure to be in the news. That said, the phenomenon of sex scandal-disgraced politicians re-entering public service, while not new (just look up Jerry Springer’s pre-television political career — yes, I said Jerry Springer), seems to…
Same-sex marriage fight not over yet, both sides say (CBS News) GOP sneak tactic gives Ohio new anti-abortion laws with new budget (The Rachel Maddow Show) High Court Opens Door To More Voting Rights Suppression (Hartford Courant) I admit that I have occasionally entertained the thought of moving to another country. A little over ten years ago, as George W. Bush sent this country to war under false pretenses, I gave a lot of consideration to moving to Canada, and I did so again the…
Before I get to the usual links, let’s start with a video from earlier this week of Michael Ellis, the President of the Wisconsin Senate, totally flipping his lid as he tries to push through another of those forced-ultrasound bills in his chamber (and succeeds): Okay, now for the usual article links: Ohio abortion clinic closes its doors, foreshadowing state budget impact (Salon.com) Ohio Republicans Introduce One of the Nation’s All-Time Worst Abortion Bills (nationofchange.com) I opened with the video of Ellis for two reasons.…
Texas man acquitted in Craigslist escort murder (Salon) Jury selection begins tomorrow in the trial of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager, and then claimed Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law allowed him to shoot Martin because he felt threatened by him. Sometimes it seems like states — especially those controlled by Republicans — are in some kind of sick contest to see who can pass the dumbest laws. In Florida there’s the “Stand Your Ground” law and the…