Statistically and historically, I think the violence done in this country by whites against blacks far exceeds that by blacks against whites. Being white, I don't mean to claim we are intrinsically more evil, but rather that we have had more power and therefore the capacity to do more damage.

More to the point of the present dispute, a gang of teens beating up on another gang of teens is a fairly common, if regrettable, phenomenon, usually stating with something minor and escalating. A person using his car to kill a stranger is a more unusual item, and therefore more of an eyecatcher.

The second clip may not have been intended to excuse the first, but a bit more forethought by its poster would probably have indicated that many would take it that way.

Given that we are all, I expect, opposed to violence of either kind, I think we should stop bickering and think of ways to understand and conquer racism, rather than fight among ourselves.

Sorry to sound preachy, but the discussion calls for it.

Anonymous wrote:Show me the hetero gene, otherwise I am not convinced your straightness is [not] a choice.

I'd like to follow up on that one. Comparing the way society treats gays and straights, it's clear that the only one it makes sense to choose is straight. And there are plenty of examples of gays who choose to be straight (at least in public). It happens at all levels in society, but entertainment and politics are the most visible, going back to Rock Hudson and probably many earlier actors, and recently in politics, Republican Ken Mehlman (and even more recently anti-gay Brooklyn Democrat Carl Kruger http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/anti-gay-state-senators-secret-gay-life-is-revealed-in-bribery-indictment.php).

Can anyone give an example of a straight guy who thought to himself "Gosh, it sure would be fun to go out and get beaten up as a fag!"

Anonymous wrote:the shame goes to the violent union thugs. have you seen the videos of their atrocities in Madison?

No. I heard about one with palm trees in the background, but have not seen it. I also saw pix of nasty looking cops dragging demonstrators out of the Statehouse; was that part of it? Can you post a link?

Anonymous wrote:It was arbitrarily passed by the City Council under pressure by a small vocal minority even though all polls showed that it would have failed to pass if put to a vote.

In other words, it was passed by our duly elected representatives in response to the First Amendment petition of grievance by a group of their constituents.

And as to the fact that we were denied the right to vote on it in a referendum, my response is that putting minority right up for vote by the majority is the antithesis of our Constitution's protection of individual rights.

As usual, what you see depends on where you stand.

Concerning Jeff's reports on the finances of Orange, Biddle, and Weaver: Wow!

Thanks for putting in the time and effort, Jeff. I have been to the website to look at the reports, but my eyes glazed over.

Anonymous wrote:Every politician was born an average man. That's what is great about America.

???!!

Anonymous wrote:Sweat shops existed 100 years ago, even before bean bag chairs/earth shoes and the Kennedy administration. Union members have used up their "loser time".

Just out of curiosity, what is it that you do for society that makes you such a winner. I ask out of curiosity, as I said, not as an accusation -- you may indeed do something for which I am thankful every day of my life.

Did you catch Fenty's support of Scott Walker: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/debonis/2011/03/fenty_backs_walker_in_wisc_uni.html? That's quite a leap for an early Obama supporter.

I just did a quick Google to see what I could find out about the other candidates.

D. Kamili Anderson writes and edits for education journals and is president of Brightwood Citizens Association.

James Garay Heelan is the only Latino (who'da known?) candidate. I think I have seen him at ANC meetings (he lives about half a mile from me), but don't know much else.

Bill Quirk is chair of ANC 4D.

I have not found anything yet on Andrew Moss.

Here is a link to the DCBOEE list of candidates: http://www.dcboee.org/newsroom/showASPfile.asp?cat=News%20Releases&id=677&mid=1&yid=2011

Anonymous wrote:The Obamas and Holder are racists. Get the smoke out of your eyes.

Ah, a Republican. You can always tell what the GOP is up to by what they accuse the Dems of doing. And please stop blowing smoke at my eyes!

Fenty had his good points and his bad points, so does Gray. We do ourselves and our City a disservice by attacking one as though he were the Devil and defending the other as though he were God.

Gray is in, so let's watch for and discuss his mistakes and his successes, and not turn politics into a one-dimensional cartoon. Hiring Brown was a dumb move. It won't be the last, but let's hope Gray will not double down and repeat the same mistake over and over.

Apologies for the 22:16 post. I was going to say something about the tragedy of Fenty's term, but apparently hit send when I went off to think about it. Now it's 23:14 and I no longer think it's worth the effort.

In George Will's Sunday Post column, already online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/04/AR2011030404613.html, he writes of the GOP 2012 candidates

... detecting vibrations of weirdness emanating from people associated with the party.

The most recent vibrator is Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas ...

Rachel Maddow http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/05/rachel-maddow-george-will-huckabee_n_831809.html discussed Huckabee and Will, but could not bring herself to say "vibrator" on the air. I'm curious what people think of Maddow's reaction to the word.

1. Was she being serous about her discomfort saying the word, or just playing around?

2. Do the ladies among you find Huck stimulating enough to merit the sobriquet "vibrator"?

It is a recurring Republican tactic to couch anything they do as an accusation that the Democrats are doing that very thing. Whenever they do not have a substantive argument against a Democratic proposal, they will politicize the issue by claiming the Democrats are politicizing it Or in response to any Democratic economic policy, they try to turn it into a class issue by claiming the Democrats are engaging in class warfare. Perhaps most egregious is the charge, at a time when wealth has shifted upward in record amounts because of the Bush tax cuts they are fighting to preserve, the GOP accuses Democrats of income redistribution.

The upside is that it is much easier to understand GOP strategy if you look at what they are accusing Dems of doing. My question is whether the widespread use of this tactic started with Rove.

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I find it hard to keep track. Is Mr/s 480 the same poster as Mr/s B.O., or do we have two different obsessives on here? To set an example that might clear up such confusion I decided to sign on so you'll know I'm the same guy when we meet again.

480 is the same as "pass the weed". BO, aka, panty sniffer is different (and also hasn't mentioned BO for a few days).

I don't suppose there is any way to stamp our postings with the last few digits of our IPs or something like that, so we could keep track of which come from the same person?