An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Morning Coffee 10/22/07
Justice Thomas Mocks Value of Yale Law Degree
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has a 15-cent price tag stuck to his Yale law degree, blaming the school’s affirmative action policies in the 1970s for his difficulty finding a job after he graduated.
Some of his black classmates say Thomas needs to get over his grudge because Yale opened the door to extraordinary opportunities.
While there was a time when blacks weren’t accepted in Ivy league schools, that time has long since passed. Affirmative Action is doing no one a bit of good, and it’s time to end it.
Boston advances to World Series with 11-2 win over Cleveland
Daisuke Matsuzaka, Dustin Pedroia and these Boston Red Sox are taking a sweet streak into the World Series, too.
Boston charged to its third straight win, completing yet another October comeback by overpowering the Cleveland Indians 11-2 Sunday night in Game 7 of the AL championship series behind a new pair of rookie Sox.
Yeah yeah. Whatever. Is it over yet?
Jindal Vows To Clean Up Louisiana Corruption
Changing Louisiana’s reputation for corruption would do more than just make over its image, the governor-elect, Bobby Jindal, said yesterday: It could help the state attract businesses and win federal aid for hurricane recovery.
The Republican congressman, a day after his historic win in an election that featured a dozen candidates for governor, pressed ahead with his campaign pledge, saying in an interview with the Associated Press that one of his first acts will be to call a special legislative session to reform ethics laws.
Good luck with THAT one.
A group that includes executives from some of the country’s largest corporations, including chief executives of Manpower and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., has concluded that the system of providing health insurance through employers is failing and must be scrapped.
They are either really stupid, or there is one HUGE chunk of the pie in it for them.
Radio promo stirs skin tone debate
Yasmine Toney describes herself as a “dark-skinned sista.” So when she heard about a recent club promotion in Detroit, allowing all-night free admission to black women with fair or light skin, she was incensed.
“It’s offensive,” Toney said. “It continues a negative stereotype.”
One of the more idiotic things I’ve read. No matter what race you are, skin tones varies, from light to dark, and back again. How ignorant do you have to be to come up with a promo like that?
Iraq: At least 60 killed in clashes north of Baghdad
More than 60 people have been killed in a series of violent clashes between al-Qaeda and the Islamic Army in the area of al-Khannasa, north of Baghdad.
According to the Arab newspaper, al-Quds al-Arabi, the attacks took place in the past few days after terrorists from al-Qaeda kidnapped the head of the Islamic Army in Madain, Wahid Arzuqi.
If al Qaeda is trying to win friends in Iraq, that sure isn’t the way to go about it.
Ohio city council seeks replacement for Lord’s Prayer
The City Council of Akron, Ohio, is asking clergy for help in coming up with a new prayer to open its meetings after dropping the Lord’s Prayer to avert a lawsuit.
The council has opened meetings with the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance since 1952, but decided to end the prayer after receiving a letter from attorneys representing Americans United for Separation of Church and State that threatened to sue if the prayers were continued.
This is why we’re losing our country! The many will not stand up to the few! Flipping cowards!
NYC drivers begin 2nd recent taxi strike
Some of the city’s taxi drivers went on strike Monday to protest new rules requiring installation of equipment that would let passengers watch TV, pay with credit cards and check their location on GPS.
City officials say the touch screen devices help passengers by making payments more convenient and lost items easier to locate. But the Taxi Workers Alliance said it called the strike – the second over the issue in six weeks – because the technology is a costly invasion of cabbies’ privacy and works erratically at best.
I thought the point of a cab was to get you from point A to point B, not provide 24/7 entertainment. Who is going to pay for all those fancy upgrades?
Clinton finds way to play along with Drudge
That people in Clinton’s campaign orbit would tip off the Drudge Report to its fund-raising numbers is in part a reflection of her pragmatic approach to dealing with potential enemies, like Newt Gingrich or Rupert Murdoch. But it also speaks to the enduring power of the Drudge Report, which mixes original reporting with links to newspaper, Internet or television reports far and wide.
I’ve no doubt that if there is a way the Hildebeast can get her name ‘in lights’ she’s going to do it.
US sailors shot dead in Bahrain
Two US sailors have been shot dead and a third critically wounded at a navy base in the Gulf state of Bahrain, the US Navy has said.
The shootings took place at 0500 local time (0200 GMT) and were under investigation, the statement added.
The navy said the incident was a “domestic situation” involving female sailors and not terror-related. There was no intrusion at the base.
I could say something sexist here, but I’ll refrain. Prayers with their families.
Winds drive Southland wildfires
Thousands of Southern California homes could be at risk in coming days as powerful Santa Ana winds continue to stoke wildfires, fire officials said. Blazes on Sunday scorched thousands of acres from the Mexican border to Santa Barbara County, destroyed at least 39 homes and other buildings and killed at least one person.
Some of the worst devastation has been in and around Malibu, where the losses included two beloved landmarks; in San Diego, where at least one person died and 14 were injured; and in the communities of Agua Dulce and Canyon Country, midway between Santa Clarita and Palmdale. At least 25 buildings there were destroyed and 3,800 remained threatened by a rapidly moving blaze driven by winds gusting to 80 mph. At least four people were reported injured, one severely.
Pray for the wind to die down, and lots of rain.
Kurds From Iraq Kill 17 Soldiers in Turkey
An audacious cross-border ambush by Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq killed at least 17 Turkish soldiers Sunday, ratcheting up pressure on the Turkish government to launch a military offensive into Iraq. The Turkish military said Monday that eight of its soldiers were also missing after the raid, as scattered protests broke out around the country among groups demanding retaliation.
This could get really ugly.
Pray hard for rain — or at least for the winds to die down. Also, keep the firefighters who are working so hard to protect people’s homes in your prayers.