It would be tough to say Clarence Thomas was ever a popular figure, at least among non-conservative Americans. He had relatively little experience (two years as a federal judge) when GHBush nominated him to Supreme Court in 1991, was anti-affirmative action, and proudly undecided on abortion because, according to him, he had never discussed reproductive Read More
What, you don’t think Candyman, directed by a white man, written by a white man, and starring Virginia Madsen, should have a place in the black film canon? Given those facts you may have a decent argument. But! Candyman himself is black, it’s set in the projects, and there are Rottweilers and gang-bangers. Plus, it’s Read More
Under Race to the Top, the Obama administration’s signature education initiative, state governments were lured by the prospect of billions of dollars in federal grants to bringing their school systems in line with certain vogue-ish educational reform ideas championed by the White House. Among the chief criteria for winning the money: relaxing local rules to encourage the Read More
There’s a scene at the very beginning of the recent animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood in which the Joker, in a characterization that is more Heath Ledger than Mark Hamill, is taunting a bound Robin while he beats him over the head with a crowbar. This homicidal Joker is the way Batman’s archnemesis Read More
I’ve been meaning to write this entry since a few months after I moved back to Kentucky from Philly, but I guess its better that I didn’t do it so soon. After being natural for two years and spending one of those years in Louisville, KY, I’ve had a lot more time to really examine Read More
Today’s lesson: “I’m sorry you feel that way” is NOT an apology.
[h/t Brokey, via Crunk and Disorderly.]
The New York Times ran a story a few days back on the resurgence of academic consideration of culture in discussions of poverty. In short: arguments about cultural explanations of poverty became taboo over the last few decades because many of them were seen as victim-blaming and racist. But that wariness is dissipating. Here’s Monica‘s Read More
The sevensome at Hofstra University left little wiggle room for angry (he prefers “passionate” now) Republican candidate Carl Paladino and drier than uncooked rice Democrat Andrew Cuomo to let sparks fly between the two, but some of the other candidates on board–like Rent Is Too Damn High’s Jimmy McMillan and former madame Kristin Davis who Read More
