This is something I have been mulling over for... jeez, more than a year! (I guess I have fallen off the LJ wagon.) Since I heard about themurder of Trayvon Martin, and especially since Zimmerman's acquital. It's been on my mind especially because of the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and the subsequent spectacularly unjustified armed ( Read more... )

I was summoned for jury duty today, which necessitated getting up about 90 minutes before my alarm normally goes off in the morning.  The one trial in the offing was a criminal case, and the defendant faced a slew of charges, one of which was dissemination of harmful material to a minor.  When I was asked if there was any reason why I wouldn't be ( Read more... )

Inspired by this post by bottledgooseA few years ago, whilst driving around Northampton on errands, I listened to Levar Burton discussing his career on NPR’s Talk Of The Nation, and I was struck by one the story told by one woman who called in ( Read more... )

With the final voting in, my home state has retained its position as the coolest of all 50 united states today.  For details, see the following:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6709483,00.html

Hurray!

This is a press release from my old union about the NLRB decision yesterday. I guess the only good thing about this is that grad student unions at private universities are not illegal, merely no longer accorded official status as unions, which means the schools are not legally compelled to bargain with them in good faith ( Read more... )

Board Overturns TAs Union Membership ( Read more... )

The Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 that the Guantanamo detainees have a right to a court hearing. It's a small step, but I'm really pleased, thankful that six justices still know their asses from their elbows. (I'll bet a quarter that the three dissenters are Rehnquist, Thomas and Scalia.) Maybe there's hope for the future, after all.