Your Midweek Random-Ass Roundup: Casey, Corey and Justice.

As you all might have noticed, we’ve had nothing to say – thus far, at least – about the 25-year-old Orlando woman who was acquitted on murder charges Tuesday in the death of her 2-year-old daughter in 2008.

But if I had something interesting and edifying to say about that circus, it probably would sound a lot like this:

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And as Chris Hayes mentioned, Corey Maye will soon be going home after previously being sentenced to death. If Americans are going to celebrate freedom this week, this is as good a place as any to start.

Now for links:

1. Fox News falsely claimed that President Obama had been assassinated while campaigning in Iowa on the 4th.  Fox is now saying its Twitter feed was hacked. (Nicole)

2. Women journalists and authors respond to a first-person piece by the journalist Mac McClelland about how violent sex helped her recover from the PTSD she suffered after visiting Haiti. (Monica)

3. Jill at Feministe weighs in on the collapse of Dominque Strauss-Kahn’s sexual assault case, saying there are no perfect accusers. (Nicole)

4. Meanwhile, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has been named head of the International Monetary Fund, over Mexican central bank governor Agustín Carstens.  French banks have the largest exposure to Greek debt of any European banks, which is making some question her impartiality.  Back when DSK first resigned, there were calls for a non-European to head the Fund.  The Economist explained why the BRIC nations never united behind a single candidate, and says it’s ridiculous that we still abide by the American-as-World-Bank-head, European-as-IMF-head rule. (Nicole)

5. The persistent gap between white and black employment rates dates back at least 60 years – and probably much longer – and “it should be a scandal, but whether on Capitol Hill or in the media it gets remarkably little attention. Ever.” (Blackink)

6. Tom Joyner (finally?) calls out Tavis Smiley and Cornel West on their attitudes/actions toward Barack Obama in light of Mark Halperin calling my boo/the president a dick. (Brokey)

7. Cheers: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on Thursday. (Blackink)

8. The NY Times has a good editorial on the complete insanity of a spate of recent anti-immigrant laws. (Nicole)

9. And speaking of anti-immigration laws, your state probably can’t afford them. (Blackink)

10. The Economist argues that “the best way to get high-speed rail to succeed in America is to actually build it somewhere, and then to wait for the other states to say ‘I want that!'” (Blackink)

11. José Graziano da Silva of Brazil won the election for head of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  The departing head, Jacques Diouf, held the post for 18 years, leading the FAO to impose term limits.  As food prices continue to skyrocket (I know I’ve been harping on this, but it is important), the FAO will also have to deal with calls to streamline and modernize, with some donor countries (like the U.K.) going so far as to threaten to pull out of the organization completely. (Nicole)

12. In case you missed it, Making Light makes a passionate case for reconsidering our “comprehensively insane sex offender laws” on the heels of Jacob Sullum’s exhaustive report on the same at Reason magazine. (Blackink)

13. A team of scientists have compiled a collection of never-seen-before images of the Titanic. (Blackink)

14. Spoiler alert? In the highly anticipated follow-up to “Push,” author Sapphire opens with the death of seemingly indomitable heroine Claireece Precious Jones. Yes. Precious. “I don’t think I’ve killed off Precious,” Sapphire said during an interview with USA Today in advance of the release of her second novel, “The Kid.” ” … she lives on, through the memory and history of her son.” (Blackink)

15. Once upon a time, Roger Clemens seemed bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame. But his chances of going to prison seem much more likely at this moment. (Blackink)

Anything else that we missed or should be reading? Please let us know about it in the comments section.

Joel

Joel Anderson —blackink —  writes about sports, politics, crime, courts, and other issues far beyond his competence at BuzzFeed. He has worked at media outlets in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Atlanta and contributed to a number of publications, including The Root and The American Prospect, among many others.