Monthly Archives: April 2009

Debating Torture

Posted on April 22, 2009 by

“Torture” seems to be the topic of the week. In all this “debate” it is important to keep in mind that we are really discussing at least three connected but distinct issues (none of which is what the U.S. did, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Academic blob

Posted on April 21, 2009 by

Do you watch Oprah?  I know!  Me, too.  Hell, it’s probably the law or something… Well, as you know, Oprah and her middle/upper class viewers are obsessed with both living healthy and living forever.  Enter Dr. Oz.  He’s been helping … Continue reading →

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Four Twenty

Posted on April 20, 2009 by

Today is an underground holiday, of sorts.  Nobody knows when it started, or how it started, but, I assure you, more people than you can imagine will partake in it. “Four Twenty” (or 4:20 or 4/20) is something of an … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Chavez enrolls Obama in Latin America 101

Posted on April 19, 2009 by

The Presidents of Venezuela and the United States have “informally” crossed paths twice at this weekends’ Summit of the Americas. Hugo Chavez and Barack Obama first exchanged words yesterday, and then, today, Chavez gave Obama a book as a gift. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Education, News, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Bob Dylan on being a ‘cult figure’

Posted on April 16, 2009 by

Look, I love the guy, too, okay?  He’s a legend, one of popular music’s best poets, and an iconic figure of American music and letters. But, where I come from, when we start talking like this, somebody puts you into … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Kids at Texas labor camp (1942)

Posted on April 16, 2009 by

“Boys sitting on truck parked at the FSA … labor camp, Robston, Tex.” Photographed Arthur Rothstein, (1915- ) (January 1942) Photograph is part of the Library of Congress collection available online at the LOC flickr page.

Posted in History, Immigration, Labor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Burger King apologizes to Mexico

Posted on April 15, 2009 by

Burger King has apologized to Mexico for an ad campaign.  As featured in print and television, the campaign involves a diminutive Mexican wrestler and a lanky Texan cowboy.  Here’s the commercial: I can think of two or three things they … Continue reading →

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How Republicans spin ‘gay marriage’

Posted on April 14, 2009 by

On yesterday’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich responded to questions regarding the recent advances for the legalization of same-sex marriage.  “It’s very dangerous for the country to have the judiciary become the chief … Continue reading →

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Emiliano Zapata is still…

Posted on April 10, 2009 by

…dead? Well, yes, but not really. Today is the 90th anniversary of the death of revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata.  Assassinated on April 10, 1919, the leader who fought for Mexico’s agrarian poor ceased breathing on this day, but he hardly … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Obituary | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

ICE regularly detains “legals”

Posted on April 9, 2009 by

From the Los Angeles Times today comes “U.S. citizens caught up in immigration sweeps,” yet further verification of the racial profile realities of immigration raids. The article reads, in part: Immigration raids of factories and other work sites often result … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration | Leave a comment