Prowling the web on a Saturday morning.
Don’t miss this haunting essay by Steve Almond concerning GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s reaction to accounts of his high school attack on a fellow student (“THE WEEK IN GREED #6: To Behave Like the Fallen World“). I was going to pull a quote or two, but finally decided you really need to read it in context.
Also check attorney Wayne Parson’s blog post, “Justice in Hawaii: storm warning from Florida Supreme Court election.”
In Florida, powerful corporate right wing interests are pouring money into retention elections and targeting justices whose prior decisions have gone against these powerful money interests. Retention elections in Florida have been historically uncontroversial as long as the Justice has behaved ethically. But now the anti-justice corporate billionaires, are picking on Florida Supreme Court Justices who have no ability to match the money power coming into the state from these corporate sources.
You may also be interested in Russell Brand’s testimony to the UK Parliament on drug policy.
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I don’t appreciate Russell Brands’ brand of comedy but this testimony was very good. Whether it will have a effect on the lawmakers remains to be seen.
I read the essay about Rmoney and his high school bullying also. I personally feel what Bain Capital does when it destroys perfectly good companies in a “legal” manner is despicable. This person should not be supported for anything.
Gee Ian, you really picked a doozy of an essay on the Romney incident. I think that the author is bringing in quite a bit of carry-on luggage onto his piece. And then he drifts into his diagnosis of Romney as a “frightened, unloved young man”… of course, “like George Bush.”
People can raise legitimate questions about the incident. But let’s not drift into the psychobabble and analysis of his relationship with his parents.
Of course, coincidentally coming on the heels of Pres. Obama’s announcement in support of gay marriage, the original WaPo piece implies (and then the lefty blogs run with it) that it was all about picking on a gay boy.
It’s all a political Rorschach test. Long story short: This John Lauber guy that no one has actually confirmed was gay (he died in 2004) showed up at this stuffy prep school with bleached, long hair. Romney and some other guys held him down and cut his hair. Lauber was later expelled for smoking. I wonder if Romney’s buddies had held Lauber while Romney confiscated his cigarettes and flushed them down the toilet, would critics say that he was imposing his Mormon religion on Lauber.
And in the name of fairness, it’s not too hard to ask around this town about Pres. Obama in high school. A very close friend of mine works with a guy that was a high school classmate of Obama’s at Punahou. He reports that the future Pres. routinely hijacked his homework. I don’t think that it disqualifies him from being President. I just think that he was stupid when he was young.
I’m pretty sure the statute of limitations for politically incorrect behavior is under 50 years. Has anyone determined whether this incident even happened or is that beside the point?