Apparently, Harvard Prof Henry Louis Gates, Jr. owes a debt of gratitude to the Cambridge Police Department for giving him an idea for his next PBS special. It is unlikely that Dr. Gates will share any proceeds from the project with the local PBA. As all the world now knows, Gates was arrested on the porch of his home when he followed a cop onto his porch, insisting on the cop telling him what his name was and badge number. The cops had been called to Gates hoe by a neighbor who thought she saw two black men try to break into Gates home. Well, she was right. But, it was Gates and his limo driver. The cops actually showed up and questioned Gates. It would have been all over but for Gates indignation at being questioned by the cop who had n way of knowing that the PBS star was who he was. As the cop was walking out, Gates was getting more and more insistent and the cop finally arrested him for disorderly conduct.
The picture in the Washington Post shows Gates in a rather animated pose...a pose he insists he would not take under such circumstances..."wolfing" it. Apparently, As Gates was being arrested he had an epiphany: this happens to Black people without friends at the Harvard Law School....outrage, script for TV series, interview with media....charges dropped. Off to Martha's Vineyard to recover.from humiliation....
I'm sorry. If Dr. Gates needs to be rousted by the cops to be made aware that those less privileged than he is are at a significant disadvantage before the minions of the law, he needs to take a course in criminal justice in my Harlem neighborhood. Of course, the Rev. Al Sharpton will
fill him in on being poor and Black in America. What a circus.
Another Gates, A little white man in Washington D.C. has robbed billions from the military/industrial complex and almost gotten away with it. Sec. of Defense Gates seems to have prevailed in his quest to kill the supplemental appropriation for more F22 fighter jets. The useless, over priced and maintenance plagued plane was voted down in the Senate by decisive margin, with bi-partisan votes. it now goes to a committee to reconcile the conflicting votes by Senate and House. If Saxby Chambliss is not able to incite Russia to attack Alaska...you can see Russia from Alaska, the useless plane may be dead. This is a small miracle in the world of make work military contracting....Life is getting hard for everyone....Swing Low Sweet Chariot.....
On another front, Luke Mullins of U.S. News and World Report shows that the mortgage crisis is only accelerating and the Obama program to low foreclosures down has been a sham ( my word). Today, 1 in 84 Americans have received a filling of foreclosure. Thirty percent of homes in America are now in a negative equity position (house is worth less than mortgage). Some cute little Italian B School prof from U of Chi has interesting proposal for addressing the crisis. Professor Luigi Zingales proposes a debt for equity arrangement with banks. Seems sensible but will never work because it seems sensible....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment