How to tell if you're a racist

DParker

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Saturday September 23, 2017 · 3:16 PM PDT

2017/09/23 · 15:16

Screen_Shot_2017-09-23_at_4.28.07_PM.png — Racists in their natural habitat

a. you’re white;

b. you believe that black folk should sacrifice their bodies, their brains, and their future for your amusement:

"15 yards, throw him out of the game! They had that last week — I watched for a couple of minutes. And two guys — just really beautiful tackle. Boom: 15 yards! The referee gets on television, his wife is sitting at home, she's so proud of him — they're ruining the game." [Applause.]

"Right? They're ruining the game. Hey look, that's what they want to do. They want to hit, OK? They want to hit. But it is hurting the game."

and c. you also believe that you should not have your Sunday disturbed by black people expressing their opinion about anything, up to and including the slaughter of people of color by the government:

"You know what's hurting the game? .... When people like yourselves turn on television, and you see those people taking the knee when they are playing our great national anthem." [Boos.]

"The only thing you could do better is if you see it, even if it's one player, leave the stadium, I guarantee things will stop. [Applause.] Things will stop. Just pick up and leave. Pick up and leave. Not the same game anymore, anyway."

"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired!'"

Then you are a racist.

Simple as that.

Confessions of a Reluctant Caretaker

DParker

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Sunday April 08, 2012 · 1:22 PM PDT

2012/04/08 · 13:22

My mother has been in rehab off and on for the last three months regaining her ability to walk after a series of falls. The nursing center sent her to the hospital on Monday because her white blood cell count had risen so high. There, an MRI revealed a cancerous mass on her liver. It is terminal.

The ensuing week has been filled with hours of conferences with doctors and case managers and nurses and my somewhat befuddled and disbelieving mother. By Friday, I had moved her to an assisted living home minutes from my house where she is now on hospice care.

I'm not looking for a pity party. I know I'm not going through anything different from the experiences endured by everyone else in the world who survives his or her parents. Besides, my father and younger sister died of cancer, so I've been to the hospice rodeo before. I have, however, had some not-necessarily-connected thoughts I felt the need to express.

DParker

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Sunday September 04, 2011 · 8:23 PM PDT

2011/09/04 · 20:23

The presidential aspirations of Rick Perry are (ironically enough) bringing with them a fresh awareness of the very real existence of wrongful convictions. In the tragic case of Cameron Todd Willingham, the Texas man erroneously convicted and executed for a non-existent arson-murder, the Governor completely failed in his duty as chief executive of the state by failing to halt the execution despite being provided scientific evidence of Mr. Willingham's innocence (not that surprising, given Mr. Perry's disdain for science).

The failure of governors and/or parole boards to appropriately exercise their powers of commutation joins a long list of reasons why those charged with murder are particularly vulnerable to being erroneously tried and convicted. Those reasons include such well-known causes as dishonest prosecutors, inept defense attorneys, and political hacks posing as judges. There is one deep-seated cause, however, that cannot be eradicated with institutional reforms, and that, standing alone, is a compelling argument against the use of the death penalty. That is the fact that in murder cases (and other serious felony prosecutions), the jury does not presume the defendant innocent.

It presumes him guilty.

DParker

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Wednesday January 19, 2011 · 10:32 PM PST

2011/01/19 · 22:32

The last ten days has been largely the tale of two women: one who has been fighting for her life with the love and support of those close to her as well as those who are represented by her, and one who has attempted to use the fight of the first woman as a platform to enhance her already undeserved public persona and political base.

A comparison of the lives, and of the last two weeks in the lives of, these two women, tell us all we need to know about the difference in values and priorities between those who support Representative Giffords and those who support Sarah Palin

DParker

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Tuesday October 05, 2010 · 9:55 PM PDT

2010/10/05 · 21:55

Richard Viguerie and L. Brent Bozell are two of the architects of the modern conservative movement, and ardent Teapartiers. They have been anathema to progressive thinkers for decades.

They co-authored an article for the Richmond Times-Dispatch this week.

It was about the death penalty.

They oppose it.

DParker

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Sunday May 23, 2010 · 1:55 PM PDT

2010/05/23 · 13:55

There is no group more oppressed in our society than ex-convicts. Within that group, paroled sex offenders are the most oppressed of all. Every politician knows that he can make cheap points with his constituency by championing some measure that is tough on crime. The fact that crime can only be reduced by providing education, training, counseling, support, and dignity to ex-offenders is ignored by most officeholders because they don't really care about reducing crime; they care about getting votes, and the perks that go along with the power of being elected to office.

That is why in California now, the system is virtually guaranteeing that paroled sex offenders will end up reincarcerated. It is doing so by requiring that the parolees live in the streets, without housing or jobs or help of any kind. The result will be more violations of parole leading to costly imprisonment, more destruction of the lives of people who made mistakes but want to remake their lives, and less security for the citizens of the state. Thus, my state's approach to convicted sex offenders is both inhumane and counterproductive. It is, however, unlikely that anyone will have the balls to do anything about it.

DParker

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Sunday March 28, 2010 · 6:12 PM PDT

2010/03/28 · 18:12

While the nation's attention was focused on health care issues this week, the Supreme Court issued one opinion, heard oral argument in a number of cases, and issued an important order.

The Court dealt with questions of bankruptcy's effects on student loans and when condemned defendants are deemed to have waived otherwise valid issues, of the composition of the National Labor Relations Board and lawsuits that have an impact on state tax systems, of cargo carrier contracts and a state's right to withhold DNA testing from a man on death row. The work done by the Court this week illustrates how the least known branch of the Federal Government, undramatically (for the most part), affects virtually all aspects of our interactions with the government and with each other.

Here is what happened this week in the Supreme Court.

DParker

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Sunday February 21, 2010 · 5:00 PM PST

2010/02/21 · 17:00

After a month-long hiatus, the Supreme Court resumes hearing oral arguments this week. Those arguments will involve such areas as employment discrimination, the ability of the elderly and disabled to get legal assistance, the ability of Americans to speak with and about oppressed minorities in other countries, and what constitutes the illegal application of criminal laws to conduct that occurred before the laws were enacted.

This wide range of issues, all of which have some bearing on our lives, serves as a reminder why it is so important to be aware of what the Supreme Court is doing. It also serves as a reminder that an important reason to support a Democratic president, despite concerns about how progressive he is willing to be, is the power of that president to appoint Supreme Court justices.

These are the cases that will be argued before the Supreme Court on February 22-24, 2010.

DParker

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Sunday February 07, 2010 · 8:30 PM PST

2010/02/07 · 20:30

Almost 80 years ago, a fight broke out between whites and blacks who were riding a freight train that ran from Chattanooga to Memphis, crossing through Alabama. That fight resulted in years of criminal trials and appeals which ignited the civil rights movement of the 20th century, led to Supreme Court decisions which elucidated for the first time the constitutional requirements of competent counsel in criminal litigation and representation of minorities in jury pools, explained why so many liberals of the early and mid-century supported the Communist Party, and showcased both the best and the worst of American jurisprudence. No other case has had such an impact on both national recognition of racism and judicial recognition of the connection between Constitutional protections and fair outcomes of criminal litigation. The fate of nine poor, illiterate, uneducated children ultimately changed the way this nation perceived the relationship between white and black people, and the way that relationship played out in criminal courts.

This is the story of the Scottsboro boys.

DParker

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Sunday January 31, 2010 · 8:38 PM PST

2010/01/31 · 20:38

The United States Supreme Court had a comparatively undramatic week. Yet even the unpublicized events in the Court's week give us some useful information on the continuing struggle between the government's power over foreign detainees and the rights held by those detainees, and on Justice Scalia's ongoing defense of the Confrontation Clause, as well as the scope of liability organizations and companies may have under RICO law.

This is what happened in the Supreme Court from January 25 to January 29.

DParker

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Saturday January 30, 2010 · 7:37 PM PST

2010/01/30 · 19:37

Dismay over the direct impact of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. F.E.C. has been both swift and widespread. However, those concerned about the potential of unbridled expenditure distorting the democratic process need to be aware that Citizens United may well be only the tip of the iceberg. Although the decision did not go so far as to hold that the use of money for political speech should be free of all restrictions, the import of the ruling, and much of the language used in the opinion, may well be seized upon as the battering ram to destroy most, if not all, of the present regulations on the amassing of money for, and spending of money in, political causes.

On January 27, the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard oral argument in two cases consolidated as SpeechNow.org v. FEC The tone of that argument may, unfortunately, foretell the future of current regulations of the use of money in political battles

DParker

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Sunday January 24, 2010 · 9:14 PM PST

2010/01/24 · 21:14

The United States Supreme Court generated a little interest around here this last week by issuing its opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. However, it released a few other opinions last week, as well as hearing oral arguments in a number of cases (the last oral arguments until February 22).

One silver lining of the Citizens United decision may be the increased awareness of liberal activists of the important role the Supreme Court plays in our daily life through the cases it decides to hear and the decisions it reaches. In an effort to encourage that awareness, here is the Supreme Court week in review.

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How to tell if you're a racist

Confessions of a Reluctant Caretaker

The presumption of guilt, or why jurors cannot be trusted with human lives

A Tale of Two Women

Sometimes conservatives are right

In defense of sex offenders

The Supreme Court week in review: 3/22-3/26/10

This week in the Supreme Court - 2/22-2/26/10

Great moments in criminal defense: the Scottsboro boys

The Supreme Court week in review - 1/25-1/29

How far does Citizens United go?

Anything interesting happen in the Supreme Court last week?