Recent Posts - page 2

  • Outside the Novahood

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    POUND, VA, POLICE DEPOUNDED Pound, Virginia. Surely you’ve heard of it. Located in Wise County, in far southwest Virginia on the West Virginia border, it consists of 2.6 square miles (that’s two point six, not twenty-six) and has a population… Read More ›

  • Erasure

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    In grade school, we unquestioningly accepted the duty of a teacher erasing the blackboard no matter what material had been chalked. Sometimes, we might have had some concern that we had failed to copy some vital information into our notebooks…. Read More ›

  • Jim Crow Ate America

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    THE NEW JIM CROW by Michelle Alexander Book Review by Jim McCarthy             Although published 11 years ago, the content, information, and observations are not only fresh for consideration today but prophetic. The author offers… Read More ›

  • Mrs. Robinson and Mr. Santorum

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    Paul Simon penned some of music’s most memorable lyrics and tunes during his lengthy career. Occasionally, snatches of words and lines from Mrs. Robinson (1968) are heard “softly creeping” (Sounds of Silence) while considering a current political issue. These snippets… Read More ›

  • Is Color Blind?

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  • WASPish War on Wages

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    GOP-led states have engaged in a stampede to corral and round up the unemployed to return to work by eliminating unemployment benefits. The GOP governors of 23 states have made such announcements, unaccompanied by hoots of “yippy-ki-ya” but with messaging… Read More ›

  • Money and Politics, Redux

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    By Frank Blechman Several weeks ago, I conducted and this blog published a conversation about the impact of money in politics (Money and Politics: Making it Transparent, May 3, 2021, https://wp.me/p9wDCF-2zW). At the end, I proposed that the topic deserved… Read More ›

  • Yute Voting

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    In the 1992 film My Cousin Vinny, Vinny Gambino (Joe Pesci) immortalized the term “yute” in an exchange with Judge Haller (Fred Gwynne): Judge:  “What is a yute?” Gambino:  “Oh, excuse me, Your Honor, two youths.” Gambino demonstrated that his… Read More ›

  • Beyond Our Border

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    SOUTH CAROLINA Stories of this type remind all that cruelty and inhumanity are never very far removed. A South Carolina restaurant manager was directed by a court to pay over $500,000 to a Black youth with mental disabilities who was… Read More ›