There will be no pictures of you and Willie May Pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run, Or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance … There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down Brothers on the instant replay ... The revolution will not be televised …— Gil Scott-Heron, 1970 In fact, the revolution will be televised.And live-streamed, posted, shared and embedded — images from every angle taken by credentialed journalists, bystanders, revolutionaries and the establishment.No significant act by looters, rampagers or "pigs" will go unmemorialized and unanalyzed. The most outrageous footage will go viral, evidence for the court of public opinion if not, eventually, courts of law.The number of cameras on or near the front lines ... Continue reading →

Your inclinations, please All the evidence hasn't been released yet and most of us haven't read carefully what has been released, granted. But from what you know now, how sure are you that George Zimmerman either threw the first blow in his fatal altercation with Trayvon Martin or was so provocative that Martin was justified in throwing the first blow? And from what you know now, what percent sure are you that Zimmerman was getting the better of the fight and that it was Trayvon Martin heard on the 911 tapes calling for help? Continue reading →

Only this week did I learn that my wife recently decided to put me to the test -- how long would I go before cleaning off the gunk that accumulates on my Sonic cordless toothbrush* as it perches on our vanity counter? She'd been wiping it down periodically whenever her tolerance threshold had been reached, and she was curious how high my threshold was. Not that much higher, as it turned out. I cleaned it off only a couple of days after she would have. This all came up the context of a conversation we were having with a friend about tests we might put our teenagers to: How long--how many minutes, hours or even weeks -- would they go without attempting to have a ... Continue reading →

An old pal, who is not an opponent of gay marriage writes to propose an answer to my challenge, what rights associated with marriage would gay marriage foes deny same-sex couples? Whenever there is a happy, stable heterosexual couple in a sustained relationship, that couple should have precedence over a gay couple (even one in a happy, stable, sustained relationship) in adoption. Meaning that all things being equal, a child of either sex stands to benefit immeasurably by being raised by two parents of opposite sexes--and the straight prospective parents should prevail where both are vying for the same child. Is this a generalization? Of course. Most public policy is made on the basis of generalization. Responsible 17-year-olds can't vote; dissolute 18-year-olds can. But you ... Continue reading →

Social conservatives take to the fainting couch at the idea that allowing same-sex couples to have their unions contracturally recognized in same way that male/female couples do -- and even to allow them to call such a contractural relationship "marriage" -- would do damage to the institution of marriage. First, in 2003, the U.S. General Accounting Office identified 1,049 federal laws and programs in which a person's marital status confers a special benefit, right, privilege or obligation. Which of these rights do those opposed to same-sex marriage believe ought to be denied to gay couples? When nine years ago I pressed Peter Sprigg, director of marriage and family studies at the Family Research Council in Washington to name just one such right, he finally came ... Continue reading →

President Barack Obama today: Over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married. State Senate candidate Barack Obama, ... Continue reading →

Woman asking a question of Mitt Romney at a campaign event near Cleveland Monday: We have a president right now who is operating outside the structure of our Constitution, and... I do agree he should be tried for treason. I want to know what you're going to do to... restore our Constitution in this country. Romney: As I’m sure you do, I happen to believe that the Constitution was not just brilliant but probably inspired. I believe the same thing about the Declaration of Independence. And I believe unlike that what the president said about the Supreme Court, where he suggested that just – not just suggested, but he said that it would be unprecedented for the Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the ... Continue reading →

I thought that, with all the design and management changes at the Sun-Times, we'd seen the last of the "hey, could you throw me a rope down here?" overhead column logos at the Sun-Times. But just the other day I saw the above and clipped it out for later bloggage. In 2007, when the paper started using these photos, I suggested to the Tribune designers that we employ the opposite perspective: The columnists should not look to the reader as if they are standing in a hole or otherwise in the position of a lilliputian curiosity. This inspires disrespect. Columnists should look as though they looming over the reader-- think Jolly Green Giant. Alas they didn't follow up on my suggestion. Nor did the Sun-Times ... Continue reading →

A question for hard-core gospel fans or hymn singers in the CoS audience: Ever hear of a song titled "My Burdens Will Be Lifted"? I'm looking for the melody and lyrics in an effort to complete my "Mama's Opry" collection. Here's my favorite part of the collection so far, "He'll Pilot Me," by the Pine Ridge Boys featuring the amazing tenor stylings of Robert Belk ("I really am a man, even though I sound like a woman!!!") : Chords and lyrics below. "Mama's Opry" is a song by Iris DeMent in which she refers fondly to a number of old gospel songs that her family used to sing together. The refrain, with song titles in red, goes: And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide ... Continue reading →