I WISH I WAS IN THE LAND OF COTTON, OLD TIMES THERE ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

That's from the song Dixie which I am sure someone famous wrote (?Stephen Foster?).  Anyhow, I was reminded of it when Barbara asked if I was surprised at the result of the Zimmerman trial and I said no.  Florida is the South--though if you start in Key West, you may not think so.  But as you move North, and eventually end up in Pensacola near the "Redneck Riviera", you know you are in the heart of the good ole boy South.  Six white women felt the killing of Trayvon was acceptable for someone "feeling fear".  The breakthrough here is that the verdict was delivered by the good ole girls--a victory for feminism?  So I don't care about the Justice Department inquiry and I don't care about civil suits.  Parents lost a son who was wearing a hoodie and scared poor little Georgie. I am not beyond any guilt.  On July 4th, we stopped on a bridge in South Boston to observe the fireworks--a bridge teeming with Hispanic teenagers.  I was quite tense and unsure of my own safety though I hope it could have been any group of adolescents raising hell and running around yelling.  The Florida self defense law which allows you to shoot if you "feel" threatened (not necessarily physically threatened) is beyond any words available to me.  The trial was the same week that Doonesbury resurrected "Jimmy Crow"--the character representing voter suppression in the South.  Clerks and registrars all over the South (and redistricting committees in legislatures) must of all had some good chuckles about how they could could further screw black voters.  All this thanks to the destruction of the enforcement provision of the Voting Rights Act.  Sleep soundly Clarence Thomas. Cannot say enough but will move on.

Now those U.S.Congress House Republicans are really special.  They passed a farm bill but totally eliminated food stamps.  Did not see Boehner (he of the perpetual tan) or Cantor (he who is a member of my tribe) do any sound bites about that.  And they are on the verge of scuttling the immigration bill because it rewards people who got here illegally--all of whom may vote them out of office.  One can only hope.  These same refugees are of course in schools and in the Armed Forces and literally dying so that the Republicans can fuck them over. They and their Senate colleagues also managed to squash any bill to freeze interest rates on student loans.  You gotta love their cojones and can only hope that we all remember them in 2014.

Then the animal stories featured in the Globe.  Great white sharks continue to swim off the shores of Cape Cod--as opposed to appearing in downtown Hyannis.  There are bears on the roads of Vermont as opposed to the main streets of Vermont.  And in upstate New York, deer will be shot with contraceptives as a way to manage their proliferation.  Really, do we need this news?  Aren't we better off with accident articles or crime stories or Whitey Bulger stories?

Quick notes:  Egypt is on the verge of civil war and is a totally out of control country.  The civil war in Syria is turning in favor of the government which is really bad news for the countries supporting the rebels.  And ditto for the citizens of the country.

Two culture items.  The most recent cover of the New Yorker showed Bert and Ernie with their arms around each other as DOMA was declared null and void on their TV.  "20 Feet from Stardom" is a terrific movie about the importance of back up singers in the lives of the best bands in the world.

SPORTS TALK

Will be brief because it feels a bit trivial.  Hate the Seguin trade even if he is an asshole.  Urban Meyer should be kicked to the curb and the real question is how many Buckeyes will be in jail (a la his time at Florida) before he is through there.  Hard to imagine what goes through the minds of the Haitian national soccer team as they play here in that CONCACAF tourney.  With what their country has gone through?  And a final stolen idea:  Hernandez should have his trial moved to Sanford, Florida.

So very proud of my children and grandchildren.  Love you all.

Sayonara