Author: Ann

The White House Correspondents Dinner

Posted on May 1, 2014 by - free speech, politics

The annual inappropriate schmoozefest, also known as the White House Correspondents dinner takes place this Saturday.   The whole idea of journalists yucking it up with politicians at fancy Washington events only confirms what most Americans think- that the Media is elitist and not interested in holding government leaders accountable.  Rem Rieder from the American Journalism Review has criticized this event for years; here’s his piece from 2012.050506WHcorresDinner

Here’s a link to Stephen Colbert’s 2006 speech which ruffled the Washington Media’s feathers.

LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling

Posted on April 30, 2014 by - free speech, human rights, politics, society, womens issues

The owner of the LA Clippers is banned for life from the NBA and fined $2.6 million after audiotape of several racist comments he made during a conversation with his girlfriend is released.DonaldSterlingFrom the looks of this guy he must be an exceptional speaker since his First Amendment right of $peech attracts such young and beautiful women.

Can you hear me now?

Posted on April 29, 2014 by - free speech, human rights, politics

SCOTUScellphonesSMThe Supreme Court hears 2 arguments today about whether the police can search the cell phones of suspects they arrest before obtaining an search warrant.  Since most people today own smartphones which contain all sorts of private information, what the justices eventually decide will impact us all.  My first question is, how many justices actually use cell phones?

Cardinal Dolan: A “loyal American”

Posted on April 21, 2014 by - human rights, politics

New York’s Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan appeared Easter Sunday on Face the Nation, talking mostly about the positive effect Pope Francis has had on the Church and a bit on the possible candidacy of Jeb Bush in 2016.  He was also questioned about the change in public opinion about gay marriage in the US.  This part of his reply caught my attention:

“Do I believe that society could be affected negatively if we tamper with the definition of marriage? Yeah. And that’s just not as a man of faith, that’s just, I’d like to think, as a loyal American — that if we tamper with that essential of human relationships – marriage — we’re sooner or later going to come to regret it.”

“A loyal American”?  So, does that mean that people who support marriage equality are not loyal Americans?  The Washington media in general is taken in by Cardinal Dolan’s  jovial, good guy next door schtick but he’s always come across as a car salesman to me.  I’m a bit surprised no one in the media picked up on his not so subtle suggestion that being against gay marriage somehow makes one a real American.Cardinal Timothy Dolan

click image for animation at the Washington Post

Russian cartoonist Victor Bogorad

Posted on April 16, 2014 by - free speech, human rights, politics, society

While I was at the conference in Caen I met the Russian cartoonist Victor Bogorad. Although I speak no Russian and Victor no English, we did discover that both of us had a limited ability to speak in German so we were able to communicate a little. One of the best things about being among cartoonists though, is that we really don’t need words. Someone will inevitably pick up a pen and start to draw- as Victor did continuously. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of several of Victor’s charming wordless sketches:
VictorBogoradSketches