Category Archives: News
Picture of the Day
Oklahoma state Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, left, holds a sign borrowed from a protester against the state’s “Personhood” bill outside her office.
The photo naturally got the state’s conservative extremists all riled up who thought it was of McIntyre’s design.
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Quote of the Day
“For a people of many faiths, for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom, the way forward is always found through greater respect for the equal rights of all, for the human dignity of all.”
— Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, in signing legislation that made his state the eighth to legalize gay marriage.
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Gov. Martin O’Malley and House Speaker Michael Busch, from left, sign the state’s same-sex marriage bill into law at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images
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Venezuela’s Book Import Controls Threaten Cultural Isolation
Latin America has produced some of the best writers the world has ever known: Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Fuentes, Isabel Allende, Octavio Paz and Pablo Neruda among them. As the nations of the region move towards more democratic forms of government, their citizens are becoming increasingly connected to the world around them. And, of course, literature assumes its usual role as a conduit of culture and ideology. It goes without saying that political freedom allows a populace to consume anything it wants to read. Just ask residents of the former Soviet Union. But, amidst the glory of Latin America’s revitalization, Venezuela seems mired in literary seclusion. According to Roger Michelena, owner of Librerias Michelena and founder of Ficcion Breve (Short Fiction), an independent literary trade publisher in Caracas, barely 1% of titles published in Spanish ever make it to Venezuela.
The nation isn’t just dealing with the usual problems involving distribution and marketing. It has to contend with a government that imposes strict exchange controls – much like the former Soviet Union did to its literary elite and what China often does now to its own writers. It shouldn’t be a surprise to even a minor student of international politics.
Since assuming the presidency in 1999, Hugo Chavez has ruled Venezuela like…well, like Stalin. As with many Latin American leaders, Chavez came to power with a socialist agenda; promising radical changes for the poor and daring to take on the “predatory oligarchs” of the old order. But, in the 13 years since, he’s become more of an autocrat; holding onto his position in much the same way any dictator does. And, when the power and wealth of a nation go into the hands of a few, the lower classes suffer the most. And, among the first things they’re forced to sacrifice is education.
It’s up against this backdrop that Michelena finds himself. In this interview with “Spanish World Book News,” Michelena explains his mission and his passion.
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Picture of the Day
Siku, a polar bear born November 22, 2011 in a Danish wildlife park, is getting a taste of the world around him. The cub’s daily activities are being tracked by Explore, an international wildlife organization. Photo by Søren Koch.
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Quote of the Day
“I hate to say this, but in Texas we can fight all day long, but there’s a propensity to write us off. They think, ‘That’s Texas. Texas is a place where those kinds of things happen.’”
— Texas state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, discussing why there was little national attention to Texas’ sonogram bill but similar legislation in other states has received national media coverage.
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Chief U.S. District Judge Sends Racially Charged Email About Obama
Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Wednesday admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers. Cebull, of Billings, was nominated by former President George W. Bush and has served as chief judge for the District of Montana since 2008. He insists he isn’t racist – he just doesn’t like Obama.
According to reports, Cibull sent the following email on February 20 to six people:
“A MOM’S MEMORY
Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.
A little boy said to his mother; ‘Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white?’ His mother replied, ‘Don’t even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!’”
Obviously, the email insinuates that President Obama’s Negro (Kenyan-born) father is a dog. That means when President Obama’s deceased mother married his father, she committed bestiality. Cebull went on to clarify his true sentiments, which somehow got lost in the commotion:
“It was not intended by me in any way to become public. I apologize to anybody who is offended by it, and I can obviously understand why people would be offended. The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan. I didn’t send it as racist, although that’s what it is. I sent it out because it’s anti-Obama.”
As someone of mixed Spanish, Indian and German ancestry, I’ve been the brunt of such callous remarks, although no one has been so stupid to denounce my parents – or anyone else in my family – guilty of bestiality. It’s typical of some extremist Caucasian conservatives to equate Negroes and Indians with animals. That’s how the first Europeans in the Western Hemisphere viewed the indigenous populations and it’s why they started importing slaves from Africa. They considered our ancestors nothing more wildlife, or at best, livestock.
The email came to light through the usual means. One of its recipients forwarded it to another person, who in turn forwarded it to another person. The email was eventually passed along to the Great Falls Tribune, who contacted Cebull for clarification and comment. Cebull said he was surprised the recipients of the e-mail passed it along with his name on it. Yes, of course! Who could have seen that coming?
Picture of the Day
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Chief Writing Wolf 