Rather than spend time exploring the political discrimination and the asinine statements made today by almost-ex-US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, I thought it appropriate to instead spend some time on something and someone Americans should be proud of. The US Tennis Association honored Althea Gibson today, at their opening ceremony of the US Open. 50 years ago, she was the first African American woman to win the US Open (then called the US Nationals). She broke into tennis only three years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, and she won, and won, and won – 17 championship titles in all.

Althea’s story is inspiring, and her influence on the sport undeniable. But her story, indeed our country’s story, does not begin and end with her court statistics. (more…)

This month’s gallery/photo blog leaves me with two thoughts in particular: 1) Despite the myopia of the US media, by no means do Americans have the corner on conflict and terror, and 2) if we put as much effort into our freedoms as these souls do, this country of ours would look quite different. - the editor.

All photos and captions are copyright 2007 John Santerre. Click ‘more’ for the photo captions.

(more…)

For those of you not familiar with Drinking Liberally, this is a social networking website that brings together like minded individuals to share in friendly debate and libations. In the spirit of the MoveOn parties that (almost) put Kerry into office, Drinking Liberally chapters meet once or twice a month over drinks (as the name implies) to discuss political issues (from a liberal perspective, as the name also implies). These sorts of groups represent some of the best that the internet has brought to our lives, helping to create new community structures during a time that the small community is an endangered species. As a liberal, a drinker, and yes a liberal drinker, I was quite pleased to learn of this particular group, and attended my first meeting last night, at a local brewery.

Though the ‘liberal’ epitaph makes for a nice play on words, it distracts from the real positive energy I witnessed last night. It seems that these groups function more than as a way to bring together angry donkeys to discuss impeachment, complain about the Patriot Act and cheer Karl Rove’s departure (though admittedly these all came up!) The organization’s slogan is “Promoting democracy one pint at a time.” Note that it isn’t “promoting gay marriage one drink at a time,” or “promoting a withdrawal from Iraq one drink at a time.” Democracy, after all, isn’t about issues, and it isn’t about liberal vs. conservative, its about rational debate amongst the people regarding the standards and challenges of life.

(more…)

I’ve been stewing some time about CBS’s upcoming reality show (read: social experiment) called Kid Nation. I’ve thought this show was just a bad idea from the start, after what I admit was a fleeting moment of interest and curiosity when I first saw a commercial for the show. But it wasn’t until NPR did a story questioning not only the production’s motives, but more importantly the long terms impacts of the experience on the children itself, that I gave the matter much thought.

No-one could possibly be fooling themselves to think that CBS made this show any reason other than to make money — and definitely not to “promote goodwill and a learning experience [for children] on a positive note,” as a mother quoted in this Detroit Free Press story hypothesized. So what’s bothering me is the general media silence and lack of public concern over the new show, the NPR show notwithstanding.

(more…)