It’s worth taking a moment to ponder what “negro dialect” might actually sound like. Is it more like Avery Johnson? Jackée? James Evans? Or Rod Blagojevich?
Negroes, please! That’s a trick question. No one is more Negro than Blago.
Let’s get random:
1. In the wake of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s unfortunate comments, Amanda Marcotte suggests a mandatory retirement age for the Senate. (Blackink)
2. The trial on the fate of Prop 8. is set to start today in San Francisco. The team fighting to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriages has some strange bedfellows: David Boies and Ted Olson led the opposing legal teams in Bush v. Gore. (G.D.)
3. Thomas Geoghegan makes a compelling case that filibusters are actually unconstitutional. Of course they are. But someone official has to challenge them. (Quadmoniker)
4. John Edwards is a dirtbag, obviously, but Elizabeth Edwards doesn’t come off smelling like roses in a new gossipy post-mortem on last year’s presidential race. Also from the book: Barack Obama and Joe Biden reportedly had serious beef; Bill Clinton made a comment while trying to woo Ted Kennedy to endorse Hillary Clinton that sounds mighty damn racist; John McCain didn’t practice for the debates; Michael Steele was supposed to play Obama in the mock debates but didn’t because of fears of the racial optics (a rare good call); McCain staffers worried that Sarah Palin was mentally unstable.) (G.D.)
5. Tigtog at Hoyden explains the difference between weather and climate. Did you know that an extremely cold winter is not a sign that global warming is a myth? (shani-o)
6. University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos argues in the WSJ that, rather than playing “Terrorball,” our government should “stop treating Americans like idiots and cowards.” By playing, Campos says, we only guarantee that the terrorists will always win. (Blackink)
7. Five myths about who becomes a terrorist. “We can no longer assume that terrorists will come from any particular country or fit any particular profile. The more we learn about what makes people vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist organizations, the less any of the old generalizations hold up.” (Blackink)
8. It’s important to remember that intelligence gathering is different from investigating a crime. And as Spencer Ackerman explains, there’s nothing wrong with having a “law enforcement approach to terrorism.” (Blackink)
9. Columbia Journalism Review has a great story about how some TV weatherman are at the forefront of campaigns calling climate change a hoax. And a majority of meteorologists are not just skeptical of the evidence, but dismiss it as a sham. Why? They’re too used to thinking of themselves as experts, and see on a day-to-day basis that weather is hard to predict. The problem? Lots of average folks might think of them as experts too. Which is funny, because when was the last time you knew anyone who thought the weatherman was always right? (Quadmoniker)
10. Some supervisors are helping out their low-wage employees by bending the rules. (G.D.)
11. Because Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl is pouting about internet gambling legislation, President Obama has been unable to fill key posts in the Treasury Department. It’s really that simple. (Blackink)
12. In New Orleans, residents of what outgoing Mayor Ray Nagin once called a “chocolate city” seem poised to elect a white candidate – Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. (Blackink)
13. Authorities believe that race riots in Rome involving African immigrants may have been spurred on by the Mafia. (G.D.)
14. According to Susan Reimer, new research shows that 20-somethings are filled with “myth, misinformation and magical thinking” when it comes to sex education. Which is not surprising. Reimer fails to note that this group of young adults came of age during the Bush Administration’s push for abstinence-only education. (Blackink)
15. The Question: How do criminal defense attorneys defend people who they know to be factually guilty? Mark Bennett provides some illuminating – and a few obvious – answers. (Blackink)
16. From suicide try, a second chance and a call to service. (Blackink)
17. No, the tiger didn’t go crazy. The tiger went tiger. (c) Chris Rock. (Blackink)
18. The panda pregnancy watch has started at the National Zoo. (Blackink)
19. Speaking of sex and animals, do you bleat during orgasm? Durex wants you to know you’re not alone. (shani-o)
20. Even more urgently than before, Fox News will need a quality teleprompter in their studio. And possibly a translator. Are you not familiar with the previous TV work of their newest contributor? (Blackink)
21. Mo’Nique talking sense. Yup. Surprised us, too. (G.D.)
22. Surprising absolutely no one who watched TV in the past 15 years, NBC pulled the plug on the prime-time experiment with Jay Leno. Conan O’Brien is now mulling his options. (Blackink)
23. In honor of “The Simpsons” 20th anniversary, Gawker has a video compilation of the most ridiculous name to appear on the show. I’m partial to Amanda Huginkiss. (Blackink)
24. In a Google search for how to get your significant other to do something, the first assumption is that, if you have a girlfriend, your number one priority is to get her to give you head. People with boyfriends are most interested in getting a proposal. (shani-o)
25. In a disturbing trend, freelance writing is all too often almost being done for free. (Blackink)
26. Vanessa Grigoriadis is talking about twilebrity. (Blackink)
27. Alyssa Rosenberg writes about that Times feature that tells you who’s renting what through Netflix, but thinks we should be less concerned about what people are watching and more concerned about what it means—for example, will the popularity of Twilight will lead to a few generations of women who want … uh, a bad romance.
28. I get the feeling that we’re going to be hearing a lot more about Mark McGwire in the coming days. (Blackink)
29. Gilbert Arenas plays around too damn much. And Bethlehem Shoals pens something akin to his career obit. (Blackink)
30. And finally, it’s been a long fall from Michael Jordan to Gary Coleman: Scottie Pippen gets beat up by midgets. Seriously. (Blackink)
Stay black, people.
