12 years ago on 9/11 I was there. Now I’m here.
I’ve published versions of this before on daily Kos, it’s done well. So well that people were nice enough to ask permission to send it to others. I welcome your doing that. This version is changed quite a bit.
I am only glad that this can now be (partially) in the past tense.
The verdict in the George Zimmerman trial appalled me, as it appalled so many of you. Like you, I feel that justice was not done. But it is not Trayvon Martin who was denied justice at the trial: Trayvon Martin would have been denied justice even if George Zimmerman had been found guilty of murder. Trayvon Martin was denied justice because he was killed for no decent reason.
Indeed, because this was a criminal trial, Trayvon Martin was not even a party to the trial. Those two parties were George Zimmerman and the state of Florida. In a criminal trial, there is a high burden of proof on one party: The state. The state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did what he or she is accused of. The defense need do nothing. The jury found (unreasonably, to my way of thinking) that the state had not met that burden.
So, the people who were denied justice by the verdict are the people of Florida, and, by a not unreasonable extension, the people of the whole USA (after all, we are United States).
Why is this important? I think it is important because it vastly broadens the group to whom injustice was done. George Zimmerman did an injustice to Trayvon Martin. The jury did an injustice to us all.
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:
Book reviews on Yahoo
Just finished
Spell it Out by David Crystal. The history of English spelling and why it’s so weird and why “rules” don’t work. Very interesting, but it all sort of blends together.
(started and finished) Arguably by Christopher Hitchens. A collection of essays from the first 10 years of this century. Hitchens was very knowledgable and he wrote very well. The interest of these essays for me varied, but most are well done (even when infuriating).
Now reading
Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman, most famous for his work with the late Amos Tversky, is one of the leading psychologists of the times. Here, he posits that our brains have two systems: A fast one and a slow one. Neither is better, but they are good at different things. This is a brilliant book: Full of insight and very well written, as well.
On politics: A history of political thought from Herodotus to the present by Alan Ryan. What the subtitle says – a history of political thought. But he should add the adjective “Western” or something as he doesn’t discuss other traditions or writings.
Algorithms Unlocked by Thomas Corman A gentle introduction to computer algorithms
Robert Oppenheimer: A life in the center by Ray Monk Oppenheimer was one of the most interesting people of the 20th century. In this biography Monk (a wonderful writer) attempts to cover both his physics and his many other interests.
Eminence: Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise of France by Jean-Vincent Blanchard. Richelieu, best known to many from The Three Musketeers was a master of the dark arts of politics. And 16th and 17th century politics was no place for wusses.
Just started
nothing this week (but see above)
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:
Book reviews on Yahoo
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:
Book reviews on Yahoo
Just finished
Island of the Sequestered Love Nun by Christopher Moore. Moore is one of the funniest writers alive, but I don’t think this is his best work. I think his humor is so bizarre that it works better with a simpler plot (like, e.g. that of Lamb: The Story of Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
Now reading
Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman, most famous for his work with the late Amos Tversky, is one of the leading psychologists of the times. Here, he posits that our brains have two systems: A fast one and a slow one. Neither is better, but they are good at different things. This is a brilliant book: Full of insight and very well written, as well.
On politics: A history of political thought from Herodotus to the present by Alan Ryan. What the subtitle says – a history of political thought.
Woodrow Wilson by John Cooper, Jr. A fairly admiring look at Wilson.
Algorithms Unlocked by Thomas Corman A gentle introduction to computer algorithms
Robert Oppenheimer: A life in the center by Ray Monk Oppenheimer was one of the most interesting people of the 20th century. In this biography Monk (a wonderful writer) attempts to cover both his physics and his many other interests.
Eminence: Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise of France by Jean-Vincent Blanchard. Richelieu, best known to many from The Three Musketeers was a master of the dark arts of politics. And 16th and 17th century politics was no place for wusses.
Just started
A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin. Another in the Inspector Rebus series of Scottish noir police procedurals. A gunman has killed children in a school and then himself. Rebus and his colleagues are investigating. There’s also a question of how Rebus’ hands got scalded, while at the same time a lowlife who he was talking to burned to death.
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:
Book reviews on Yahoo
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:
Book reviews on Yahoo
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Today I will have to leave at 9:15 Eastern back late this afternoon, probably
Also, I broke my Kindle. Should I get a Kindle or a Nook?
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:
Book reviews on Yahoo
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:
Book reviews on Yahoo
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:
Book reviews on Yahoo