Last Call For Rainbow-Colored Glasses (Of Beer)

Sam Adams Brewery is making a hell of a statement by pulling out of Boston's Southie St. Patty's Day parade over LGBTQ equality issues:

We have been participating in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade for nearly a decade and have also supported the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast year after year. We’ve done so because of the rich history of the event and to support veterans who have done so much for this country.

We were hopeful that both sides of this issue would be able to come to an agreement that would allow everyone, regardless of orientation, to participate in the parade. But given the current status of the negotiations, we realize this may not be possible.

We share these sentiments with Mayor Walsh, Congressman Lynch and others and therefore we will not participate in this year’s parade. We will continue to support Senator Linda Dorcena Forry and her St. Patrick’s Day breakfast. We wish her all the best in her historic stewardship of this tradition.

The collapse in negotiations between advocacy group MassEquality and parade sponsor Allied War Veterans Council over allowing gay veterans to march in the parade has now triggered Sam Adams pulling out.  For Boston (and especially Southie) this is a hell of a big deal.

“Mayor Walsh obviously is disappointed that these two parties could not come to an agreement for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade,’’ said Lisa Pollack, communications chief for Walsh. He “will always hold out hope that we can find a way for everybody to be included.”

Parade organizer Philip J. Wuschke Jr. did not return calls for comments Wednesday. Lynch also could not be reached for comment. An aide to Lynch did not respond to questions about whether the congressman would march Sunday and continued to strike a hopeful tone.

“Talks regarding the parade are ongoing,” Meghan Aldridge, Lynch’s press secretary, said. “Congressman Lynch remains hopeful that a solution agreeable to all parties involved can be reached in time for Sunday’s parade.”

There's only 36 hours or so left at this point before the parade, and it's looking like Boston's most famous brew isn't going to be at Boston's most famous yearly event.  Looks like I underestimated Mayor Walsh.

Besides, it's 2014.  Get over it, Southie.

Last Call For Watermelons

I grew up in small town North Carolina, and hey, glad to see that things haven't changed a damn bit since I left.

A North Carolina town’s Fourth of July parade featured an unusual float this year: a tractor with a Confederate flag mounted on it, dragging a trailer full of watermelons and a sign proclaiming “White History Month.”

The display was part of the Hope Mills, North Carolina Fourth of July parade, The Fayetteville Observer reported Saturday. City officials received numerous complaints about the float.

The trailer was decorated by local farmer Donnie Spell, frequently seen in the town’s local parades riding on his tractor. Much like prior events, Spell had a permit from local officials.

However, local ABC News affiliate WTVD-TV reported that his permit application for Thursday’s parade claimed the trailer’s sign would read: “Watermelons for sale.” Instead, it read: “White History Month, HUG WTE PPL.” 

But hey, if you have a problem with this, you're the racist, right?

Last Call For Sanity In Egypt

So, you're the Egyptian military, and you've just taken over the country and kicked out the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi.  What's the next thing you do so that you can try to calm things down and can fake the whole "this isn't really a coup" deal?

If you answered anything other than "Use military force to close the neighboring border with Gaza and the Palestinians" than congratulations, you're better at this than the actual Egyptian military!

An Egyptian official says the country's border crossing with Gaza Strip in northern Sinai has been closed indefinitely, citing security concerns.

The decision comes hours after suspected Islamic militants attacked four sites in northern Sinai, targeting two military checkpoints, a police station and el-Arish airport, where military aircraft are stationed.

The military and security forces responded to the attacks. One soldier was killed and three were wounded.

Gen. Sami el-Metwali said Rafah passage was shut down on Friday. He didn't say when it would be reopened. Some 200 Palestinians were turned back to the Gaza Strip after the order.

So at this point it's starting to look like maybe, possibly, kinda, that the Muslim Brotherhood didn't just evaporate into nothingness and might still have a tiny grudge with the Egyptian military.  That's rapidly turning into the beginnings of one of those fabulous sectarian civil wars we keep hearing about.

Army troops opened fire Friday on protesters demanding the reinstatement of toppled President Mohammed Morsi, killing at least one, as supporters of the Islamist leader rallied across Egypt chanting "Down with military rule!"

The shooting threatens to escalate Egypt's confrontation, with Morsi's Islamist backers rejecting the army's ousting of the country's first freely elected president. Some heavily armed extremist groups have already vowed violent retaliation against the army, and before dawn gunmen in the Sinai launched a major attack on military facilities.

The army shooting came when hundreds of protesters marched on the Republican Guard building in Cairo, where Morsi was staying at the time of his ouster Wednesday night before being taken into military custody at an unknown location. The crowd approached a barbed wire barrier where troops were standing guard around the building.

When one person hung a sign of Morsi on the barrier, the troops tore it down and told the crowd to stay back. A protester put up a second sign, and the soldiers opened fire, according to an Associated Press photographer.

Several bloodied protesters fell to the ground. One had a gaping, bleeding wound in the back of his head. Other protesters carried the body into a nearby building and covered his head with a blanket, declaring him dead, according to AP Television News footage.

So yeah, hell of a week in Egypt, folks.  Going to get worse before it gets better, and should Israel decide "Hey, we should probably do something about all these Egyptians with US weapons next door" then things get awesome.

And by "awesome" I mean "crap."

Race And The Obama Presidency

Jelani Cobb's piece in the New Yorker is a long overdue and frank look at the myth that President Obama's election in 2008 was going to result in post-racial anything.  Where we're at in 2012 should have put that to rest, but it's good to have the topic finally being discussed.

The post-racial myth is the logical outgrowth of an older mythology that the black struggle for freedom was anchored in a moral crusade to redeem America at large. The truth of the matter is that Martin Luther King, Jr., was more of a backroom operator than that. The idea of redemption stemmed from a moral sales pitch proffered by King, a transaction in which whites would confront the awful contours of American history and be granted exemption from its implications. Black people had a more tangible yield in mind: removing the dusty boot of Jim Crow from our necks. If fashioning spiritual redemption as a form of higher patriotism was enough to end abominations like the waterlogged obscenity that was Emmett Till’s body, then so be it. But the deeper truth is that black people were more concerned with saving our own necks than saving America’s soul.

For this reason, white claims to have “marched with Dr. King” eventually became an unintentional punch-line, a disclaimer for whatever racially obtuse commentary followed that preface. The joke, however, was on us. Few could conceive that forty years after King’s death, the nation would elect a black President—an event deeply rooted in the civil-rights ethos, a bolder redemption, a stronger immunization against the claims of history. And, as with the claims to have marched with Dr. King, the very fact of Obama’s election has been a disclaimer against the racism that came after it.

Do read the entire article, it's fascinating and informative.  I touched on it briefly in today's podcast too.

Oops!

In case you are stinging from a difficult Monday, it could be worse.

Every single Aviva employee arrived at work and read an email letting them know they were fired.

"I am required to remind you of your contractual obligations to the company you are leaving," the email said. "You have an obligation to retain any confidential information pertaining to Aviva Investors operations, systems and clients."

The email ordered them to hand over company property and security passes before leaving the building, and left the staff with one final line:

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and wish you all the best for the future," said the letter. 

The good news is, it was a mistake.  The email was only intended for one employee.  Still, pretty cold.

Breast cancer survivor Lisa Lindsay of Herrin, Illinois was put in debtors' prison over a $280 medical bill that was sent to her by accident, the Associated Pressreports (h/t The Daily Mail). Even after Lindsay was told she didn't have to pay the bill, it was sent to a collection agency. Eventually state troopers took her from her home in handcuffs. Lindsay ended up having to pay $600 to settle the charges. 

The article tells us this is happening more frequently as people are unable to pay their bills and have exhausted their emergency funds.  Good thing we have Republicans trying to look out for businesses instead of fair pay, huh?