Cartoonish

A brief roundup of takes on the new National Review cover image of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor:

Feministing:

Apparently if you're not white or male, it really doesn't matter what your racial or ethnic identity is. They're all interchangeable. You're just Other.

Pandagon:

It’s not offensive because it’s someone else’s stereotype, like if I say a woman can’t do the same job a man can because women have hook noses and are obsessed with money.

Yglesias:

... there’s this deranged fascination with walking up to the line and dancing around there in hopes of getting called on it. Then you get to become indignant. Because, again, the contemporary right’s main view on race is that actual racism against non-white people is only a tiny problem compared with the vast social crisis that allegedly exists around people being vigilant against racism.

And now for a defense from Rich Lowry, editor of the NRO:

Turn out my correspondent from Salon is way behind the curve—TPM and Daily Kos have already accused us of racism. You gotta move fast when you’re competing with your fellow hair-trigger PC cops on the left! I take it the theory is that we don’t think Latinas can be wise so we had to make her look somewhat Asian. Or something like that. What these people don’t understand is the entire concept of caricature (or of a joke). Caricature always involves exaggerating someone’s distinctive features, which is all that our artist Roman Genn did with Sotomayor. Oh, well. Keep it humorless, guys, keep it humorless.

Huh? So one of Sotomayor's distinctive features is that she is Buddhist? That she's considered wise? What am I missing here? Because an important aspect of good humor is not having to explain your "joke."

But among conservatives, I believe this is considered a form of strategery. Certainly pissing off liberals should get them back into power any day now.

Let's keep waiting, shall we? Continue Reading »

Ko-Bubba

Spencer Hall is right: Kobe's "determination face" does look familiar.

Continue Reading »

Choices

Former patients are honoring the late George Tiller the best way they can. By telling their stories.

Please, read some of them.

Because we've heard too much, too often, too loudly, from people who know not of what they speak. Continue Reading »

Not fulfilling the dream

Somehow, I don't get the impression James Meredith was fighting for this sort of bullshit:



I'm sure this message was not approved by the good people over at the Trent Lott Leadership Institute.

pound to EDSBS Continue Reading »

Bad tee-vee and worse understanding

Craig T. Nelson: making big dumb Dauber look like a genius. But Glenn Beck seems to have that effect on people:

"What happened to society? I go into business, I don't make it, I go bankrupt. I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anybody help me out? No. No. They gave me hope, they gave me encouragement, and they gave me a vision."

I don't think Nelson understands where food stamps or welfare come from.

Also, since I hadn't seen, heard or thought of Nelson in quite awhile, it reminded me that "Coach" had the distinction of being one of the least-entertaining shows that I regularly watched as a child.

Here's a quick list of the five shows that were the background noise in my childhood bedroom while I was (supposed to be) studying:

1. Blossom - the all-important bridge between "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Monday Night Football."
2. Herman's Head - came on right after "Married With Children." That's about all it had going for it.
3. Empty Nest - really, what else was I going to be doing on Saturday nights as a kid?
4. Boy Meets World - I sorta had a thing for Topanga. She was kinda thick.
5. Silver Spoons - even Alfonso Ribiero couldn't make this show entertaining.

Ok. That is all.

Continue Reading »

Protecting our children?

As someone who is childless and not looking for that to change anytime soon, I probably should abstain from making any judgments about what a parent should do with a child who becomes entangled in the legal system.

But a couple of recent cases here in the Tampa Bay area struck a chord with me, particularly the reaction of the parents.

First, four middle school classmates are accused of raping a teammate multiple times with a broom handle and a hockey stick in the school locker room. A reaction from one of the parents:

Myers' father, Jaime, called his son respectful and denied the charges.

"He's been a very wonderful son that any dad would be proud to have," Jaime Myers said in court. "I am certain that he is innocent of these allegations."

But what makes him so sure? Is that simply something he needs to say in court?

Next, a wealthy couple has formed a protective legal shield around their 17-year-old daughter who is suspected of fleeing in a hit-and-run crash that killed a homeless woman.

The parents of 17-year-old Jordan Valdez hired a lawyer and avoided the questions of detectives after police impounded her Nissan Murano as evidence in a Feb. 8 crash. ... The Valdez family isn't the first caught in a tug-of-war between the protection of a child and civic responsibility.

I think I know which way I would pull. But I don't really know. Honestly, who could?

I'll defer to the parents on this one. Continue Reading »

NBA Finals

x-posted from PostBourgie

Because G.D. promised we could talk hoops over here before extending an invitation to blog at PB, I feel this is an appropriate time to leave an open thread of sorts in advance of the NBA Finals.

If the Lakers are a good enough pick for noted basketball fan President Obama, then they are good enough for me too. I think L.A. will win in seven games.

But while you appreciate of the considerable artistry and ruthless efficiency of Kobe en route to his first post-Shaq championship, stop to ponder how it can be that can mere humans can produce spawn that grows up to be Dwight Howard. He is different from you or I. Or even your most athletic uncle.

Also be grateful that, no matter the outcome, you won't have to witness another overboard, almost entirely scripted post-game celebration by the Celtics:

Continue Reading »

Grinding corn

Work < vacation Continue Reading »

Leroy Smith

Giving Michael Jordan the taste of greatness since 1978.



It's hard to know where Leroy Smith ends and where Charlie Murphy begins.

h/t The Sporting Blog

Post-script: Alas, my weeklong vacation is coming to a close today. I'm already counting down the days until I return. Continue Reading »

Throwing salt

God forbid someone ever scrutinize my predilections when it comes to food - I don't eat pork; I don't drink soda; and I can't get enough of roaming the aisles of Whole Foods. No such luck for President Obama:

During the 2008 campaign Mr. Obama sometimes came across — and was often portrayed — as someone almost joylessly disciplined and restrained around food, and that discipline and restraint went hand in hand with an unflappability that, on occasions, made it difficult for him to connect.

It would have been fun to see the president contradict that impression and play against type when he and the first lady sat down to dinner in New York. It would have been interesting to watch him bust loose and reach for something rich, messy, decadent, gluttonous: a plate of fatty lamb ribs at Resto; some pâtés and terrines at Bar Boulud; one of the offal dishes at Babbo; that killer bone-in New York strip at Minetta Tavern; the oyster pan roast at the John Dory . . .

Sheesh. Between arugula and orange juice and fancy pants mustard, our president never seems to get it right.

Will someone hand me a right wing-approved menu, so I can know what the Real Amurikins are out there serving for dinner?

Also, I can't afford to eat at any of the aforementioned places.

h/t Atrios Continue Reading »