Stories just as powerful and compelling as those Waiting for Superman put in the spotlight are confined to the printed page instead of being unleashed across multiple platforms for people to connect with, share with others, and inspire action.
Tag: Politics
Commentary (and rants) on national and local politics.
Waiting for “Superman” and the Vast Charter School Agenda
The situation is dire, the film warns us. We must act. But what must we do? The message of the film is clear. Public schools are bad, privately managed charter schools are good. Parents clamor to get their children out of the public schools in New York City (despite the claims by Mayor Michael Bloomberg … Continue reading Waiting for “Superman” and the Vast Charter School Agenda
Review: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers My rating: 5 of 5 stars In ZEITOUN, Dave Eggers does an excellent job of weaving Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun's compelling backstories and Katrina experiences together, shaded by post-9/11 xenophobia, and delivers a powerful documentary of what will most likely be looked back upon by history as one of this country's … Continue reading Review: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Our “Long National Nightmare” is almost over
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxkpm7bH7j4] Strung together, it's actually pretty amazing Canada or Mexico didn't decide we were ripe for the picking and invade. WTF?!?! Also, "eight years in eight minutes" from Keith Olbermann: [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLpkeDg7uyI]
The Mind Reels
With only a few days remaining for last-minute surprises, 2008 has been one for the books on so many levels -- personally, professionally, globally -- the mind truly does reel. And reels, and reels, and reels... perhaps somehow what I imagine bonefishing might be like? (h/t to one of my newfound loves of the year, … Continue reading The Mind Reels
Game Changers
Pictures are very often worth much more than 1,000 words, and something about this one, as the rumors of Clinton being on the verge of becoming Obama's Secretary of State appear to be true, is oddly reassuring. Despite all the heated rhetoric of the primary season, I share Sullivan's slightly cynical take on it: The … Continue reading Game Changers
A Beautiful Day
This morning's sustained exhilaration has been tempered somewhat by the remnants of intolerance as it appears California has narrowly passed Proposition 8, stripping gay couples of the right to marry, largely on the strength of opposition from blacks who voted for it by more than a 2:1 margin. Arizona and Florida passed similar bans, the … Continue reading A Beautiful Day
This is the moment
[Liveblogging throughout the day, because I want to remember as much of this as possible...] 11:45pm: Wow. President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama. Drop the "elect" and it rolls off the tongue. I'm kind of speechless, actually. It's all over but the big speech; a speech that, after a string of amazing speeches, will be the biggest … Continue reading This is the moment
Yes We Can, Must and WILL
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY] RIP: Madelyn Dunham, October 26, 1922 - November 3, 2008 [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEFgHskgOFQ] "A quiet hero", indeed. May your grandson, and America itself, do you proud. BONUS: [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq8Uc5BFogE] Know hope.
Apology Unnecessary
There's a bit of a tempest in a teapot happening over at Montclair State University thanks to a "controversial" episode of the Keith Knight comic strip, The K Chronicles, that was published last week in the student newspaper, the Montclarion, and included the word "nigger". Twice! Well, kind of... Seemingly lost on most of those … Continue reading Apology Unnecessary