Hit Return:

Pamie's back.

Girl Bonding...

Is it me or is MTV's new reality show about pledging a sorority about one impure thought away from porn? (via Little Yellow Different)

Middle East Gotcha Down?

Allow me to recommend the beautiful documentary Promises, about seven kids growing up in Israel, Jewish, Muslim, religious and secular. Most are between 11-13 and have grown up around bombs, invasions and the murder of friends and family. And while the film offers no solutions, it does put forth the simple idea that perhaps these kids have more perspective on the terrible strive in this country than all the politicians and pundits combined. That perhaps they will grow into adults with the same understanding is the hope glowing beneath the word "promise."

If you're lucky enough to have this film playing near you, see it.

Write on!

I wrote a bunch yesterday after two days of avoiding it. I feel so good right now. Just wanted to let everyone know.

On the Ropes:

In its second major death penalty decision in less than a week, the Supreme Court, by a 7-2 vote, has overturned nearly 150 death sentences where a judge instead of jury sentences the accused to death. The ruling indicates that a judge passing a death sentence instead of a jury violates the spirit of the 6th amendment right to a trial by their peers.

More excitingly, yet another blow has been dealt to the crime against democracy that is the death penalty.

Some anti-death penalty resources.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Prison Activist Resource Center

Death Penalty Focus

Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty

Farewell Ann.

So Ann Landers has died. She was 83. Born Ester Pauline Friedman, she was a nice Jewish girl from Iowa and the twin sister of Abigal Van Buren, the force behind Dear Abbey. Landers's column began in 1955 and ran until the day of her death, making her one of the most widely read and influential women in America.

Who will advise us now?

To your right we have...

Several essays I finally added to this here blog.

NPR garroted:

Cory Doctorow provides a solid rebuttal over at Boing Boing of NPR's bullet-riddled new policy, forbidding linking to their web site. I'm not as eloquent as Cory so I'll stick with my earlier assertion. Sheer Idiocy.

The Slow Death Penalty:

In a stunning display of rationality, the Supreme Court has voted 6-3 to ban the dealth penalty for retarded defendants. I'm going to be a silly idealist here and say hopefully we're on the road to it being challenged all together. Sadly, 38 states disagree and have not yet realized that the U.S. is both the only democratic country in the world with a dealth penalty and the one with the highest rates of crime and imprisionment.

Link This!

I suppose there's no need to go much further into the sheer idiocy of NPR's new policy that you request permission to link to their site but if you have a nice juicy one to lob at them, I'd love to hear it.