No Virgins For Moussaoui

The jury has decided not to sentence Zacarious Moussaoui to death for his role in the September 11th attacks. The verdict was announced a little after 3:30 Central Time.
Besides being against the death penalty, I (Rich) hoped that they would give him life so that he wouldn’t get off so easily. Why give him [...]

The State of . . . the Others

Guest commentary by Dr. Rychetta Watkins.
An NPR report on the “Day without Immigrants” noted: “Earlier marches turned off some members of Congress, who say that the sight of masses of people who had violated immigration law marching and demanding more rights made them less sympathetic to the cause of undocumented workers.”
Sound familiar?
On the one hand, [...]

Raising the Stakes

Bolivian President Evo Morales, pictured.A few months ago, we posted a story about the influence of the African American struggle and rap music on the recent elections in Bolivia. Many Bolivians looked to the black American experience for strategy in defeating the previous right-wing government. The world over, people are throwing off the yoke of [...]

Quote of the Day: "Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell

“This invasion of one’s mind by ready-made phrases . . . can only be prevented if one is constantly on guard against them, and every such phrase anaesthetizes a portion of one’s brain.”

“In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible. Things like the continuance of British rule in India, [...]