What Caught My Eye Today

Racial Discrimination - Drawn by a case tinged with one of the most hated symbols of Old South racism — a hangman's noose tied in an oak tree — tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Jena, LA against what they see as a double standard of prosecution for blacks and whites. The cause of today's demonstrations dates to August 2006, when a black Jena High School student asked at a student assembly whether blacks could sit under a shade tree that was a frequent gathering place for whites. He was told yes. But nooses appeared in the tree the next day. Three white students were suspended but not criminally prosecuted. The noose incident was followed by fights between blacks and whites, culminating in December's attack on white student Justin Barker, who was knocked unconscious. According to court testimony, his face was swollen and bloodied, but he was able to attend a school function that same night. Six black teens were arrested. Five were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder — charges that have since been reduced for four of them. The sixth was booked as a juvenile on sealed charges. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton joined scores of college students bused in from across the nation who said they wanted to make a stand for racial equality just as their parents did in the 1950s and '60s. Just a couple of days back (Sept 17, 2007) I got up on my soapbox and criticized the Saudis for discriminating against a woman's right to drive. This serves as a reminder to all of us that we don't have to look very far to find discrimination. There's plenty of it right here in our own backyard. That being said, regardless of the provocation, we cannot look the other way when 6 guys beat up someone senseless. I'm not saying they weren't provoked, and certainly they should get a punishment that fits the crime, but they did commit felonies.

Iraq - President Bush refused to criticize a U.S. security company in Iraq accused in a shooting that left 11 civilians dead, saying investigators need to determine if the guards violated rules governing their operations. "Obviously, to the extent innocent life was lost, you know, I'm saddened," the president said at a wide-ranging news conference. "Our objective is to protect innocent life. And we've got a lot of brave souls in the theater working hard to protect innocent life." Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged the U.S. Embassy to find another security firm to protect its diplomats, saying he cannot tolerate "the killing of our citizens in cold blood." He called the shootings a "crime" and said they had generated "widespread anger and hatred." Blackwater's operations in Iraq were suspended, prompting the U.S. embassy in Baghdad to ban all road convoys by diplomats and other civilian personnel outside the heavily fortified Green Zone. Call me crazy, but Bush's comments don't exactly sound like they are dripping with sincerity.

Iran - On another foreign policy issue, Bush said he took seriously threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "This is a person that consistently talks about the use of force on Israel, for example, and Israel is our very firm and strong ally," Bush said. He was asked about a recent statement by France's foreign minister that the international community should prepare for the possibility of war in the event Iran obtains atomic weapons — although the official later stressed the focus remains on diplomatic pressures. "I have consistently stated that I am hopeful that we can convince the Iranian regime to give up any ambitions it has in developing a weapons program, and do so peacefully," Bush said. "That ought to be the objective of any diplomacy." He also defended the decision of New York officials to deny Ahmadinejad permission to lay a wreath next week at ground zero — site of the destroyed World Trade Center. "I can understand why they would not want somebody that's running a country that's a state sponsor of terror down there at the site," the president said. In one breath, Bush says he wants to pursue a peaceful diplomatic solution, and in the next he calls Ahmadinejad the leader of a country that is 'a state sponsor of terror.' Again, I may be way out in left field on this one, but does he not see the possibility of his remarks being construed as somewhat inconsistent?

Animal Cruelty - It's stories like this next one that make me question just how civilized a society have we evolved into. A man who captured neighborhood cats and kittens and fed them live to his pit bulls was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals. The arrest warrant said the man "did give injured live cats and kittens to his pit bull dogs and let the pit bulls kill the already injured cats and kittens. He would capture and injure neighborhood cats for this purpose." Authorities found the bodies of two kittens near the man's residence and also found a gruesome image on his cell phone: a picture of one of his pit bulls and one of the mauled, dead kittens, and beneath picture a caption that says "Good Dog." What could possibly motivate people to do such horrifically cruel acts? People say pit bulls are dangerous animals. Maybe so, but they didn't start off that way. People, just like you and me, taught them to be dangerous.

Cycling - The verdict said "guilty." Like so much else in the confusing, contentious Floyd Landis doping case, though, none of the answers are really that simple. Landis lost his expensive and explosive case Thursday when two of three arbitrators upheld the results of a test that showed the 2006 Tour de France champion used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback victory. The decision means Landis, who repeatedly has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, must forfeit his Tour title and is subject to a two-year ban, retroactive to Jan. 30, 2007. Not that it changes his opinion of who the rightful winner was. "I am innocent," he said, "and we proved I am innocent." The majority of the panel disagreed. Floyd, buddy, let me explain how this proof thing works. You see, if you had actually proved yourself innocent, the verdict would have been 'not guilty.' You may be innocent--as you alone seem to believe--but, alas, my friend, you did not prove it.

Celebrity Pairing - Jenny McCarthy worried about finding a good man after her son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism two years ago. Then Jim Carrey came along. McCarthy and Carrey, 45, went public with their romance last year. Though she's in love, McCarthy has no plans to marry the twice-divorced actor. "There will be no certificate," she says. "It goes far deeper than that. Jim came into our life with an open heart and open arms. He's learned a lot about autism. He listens. The power of listening. It can move mountains." So like, these two have been an item for a year? Wow. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for Sunday dinner at their place just to see how often they make it through dinner without someone starting a good-humored food fight. Well, good for them. I hope things work out.