NYT had some interesting pieces today, including about someone in baseball for over fifty years, another good Linda Greenhouse piece on an important Supreme Court case, an editorial against Sen. Clinton's despicable pandering move* (co-sponsoring a flag protection bill -- I hate petty anti-freedom moves), and a letter to the editor (in response to an editorial) by a father of seven concerning how pregnancy choices are uniquely the mother's concern. Oh, and a look at responses to Condi Rice's most recent lies.
[Btw ... The Supreme Court case audio was aired on C-SPAN. Beforehand, Justice Thomas announced a decision and some attorneys were admitted to the Supreme Court bar. I heard some audio of opinion announcement in the past -- not on C-SPAN -- but the latter might be the first time such audio was widely available. Also, listening the two orals so far available, it seems like CJ Roberts is immediately taking a notable role asking questions, including challenging the lawyers. New blood, hmm?]
One piece that was interesting as well was a historical interest piece concerning a famous picture of Rosa Parks riding in the front of a bus, after the fight for bus riding equality (how silly that sounds now) was won. [The fight these days in that area respects the disabled and the solutions are open to debate.] Behind her is a white man who looks to be a banker sort or something, surely just a run of the mill Southerner who maybe was not so happy about her sitting in front of him. Not so -- he was a supportive reporter. The article is behind the subscription wall, but I read it in the library. Thanks NYPL.
The article reminds me of another letter to the editor, this one in a different paper, that reminded us that there were many heroes in the civil rights movement. It referenced the forgotten case of Morgan v. Virginia, involving state laws requiring segregation in interstate bus lines. Irene Morgan refused to go to the back of the bus, ultimately winning her case when the Supreme Court (citing a 19th Century precedent that struck down an anti-segregation state law, the principle of which was not upheld across the board) held that it interfered with federal commerce power. William Hastie (another largely forgotten great in the civil rights movement) and Thurgood Marshall handled the appeal.
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* I'll admit it ... I have not kept up too much on her service in the Senate, though overall she seems to be doing a decent serviceable job with one particular moment in the sun involving protesting blocking FDA approval of an important contraceptive. On the issue of the day, war, she has put herself as a sort of hawk. This has led to an expected move by former National Writers Union president Jonathan Tasini, one of the most outspoken progressive activists in the U.S. labor movement to announce a primary challenge during the '06 election cycle. Since her presumptive challenger leaves a lot to be desired, this might be her main difficulty. More power to him.
Oh yeah, shall I repeat that I think (even with Susan Estrich writing a book to convince me otherwise) her putative run for president in '08 is basically insane? Maybe Jeb Bush can run against her, hmm? Edwards -- remember him? -- wrote an editorial a little while back that starting off with "I was wrong" on the vote in October, 2002. Sen. Feingold was on Air America today saying anyone who convinced themselves it was not a vote for war was delusional. A bit of guts. That works for me. Feingold did vote for Ashcroft, but opposition to the war and the Patriot Act does help.