9 posts tagged “politics”

I know I've been away for awhile, but I don't have the energy to 'splain what I've been up to.  Maybe tomorrow.  Okay, probably not tomorrow either.  Stop pressuring me.

Anyway, I just stopped by to fly the flag of equality.  Take a gander at this headline ...

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CALIFORNIA'S TOP COURT ISSUES HISTORIC RULING IN SUPPORT OF GAY MARRIAGE!

Thursday May 15, 2008 -- Today, California's top court issued an historic ruling in support of gay marriage. "We are thrilled by this amazing victory that ensures deserving legal equality for ALL Californians." said Rodney Scott, President of Christopher Street West, producer of Los Angeles LGBT PRIDE.
 
As written by Chief Justice Ron George for the court's majority, "Our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation."

For more on this story: see NYT here

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That's right.  Cali's the second state in the Union to officially recognize same-sex marriage.  I wonder what affect this news will have on this weekend's Pride parade down in Long Beach.  I'm actually going to try and attend this year, thanks to a suggestion from a chica over on LJ.  The parade's on Sunday morning, but instead of driving down to LBC and spending a shockingly large amount of gas -- we're up to $3.85 per gallon here in VN -- I'm heading down on the subway.  I still haven't planned my entire trip yet, but essentially, I'm gonna hop on the blue line, watch the parade, browse the boulevard, meet up with a buddy for lunch, then ride the rail back to the Valley.  :-)  I'm really looking forward to it.

Of course, I plan to take photos, but you know me.  I probably won't post them until September.  :-P

As one of the poor schmucks who refuses to fork over $60 per month for basic cable, I have to wait until the weekend to catch up on my Colbert Report love via the Interweb.  I must say that last week's broadcast from the Keystone State was pretty sweet.  Nice work, Mr. Noblet.  Nice work. 

And it seems only fitting that on the eve of the big Pennsylvania primary that I post this clip of last Thursday night's The Word.  I was an Edwards supporter until he dropped out of the race before the California primary, so it's nice to see him in the spotlight again.  If only, briefly.  His timing's not perfect, but I think he did pretty well for a politician.  Plus, I like a guy who can poke fun at himself.

I know I've been away for a while, but things have been spastic.  No, not spastic.  Schizophrenic.  Bi-polar even.  And if this post doesn't reflect that, just assume I was holding back.

First, I want to share pics of my best friend's baby daughter, who was born on January 29th.  She's a big girl, but that's not surprising, her mother is 6-feet tall and her father has a big head.  She weighed in at 8 lbs, 11 oz.  Adorable, n'est-ce pas?  Her name is Amani Ciara Coach.

Amani sleeping

It's a damn shame that even while looking at a gorgeous newborn baby, I'm still filled with anger and despair.  Sounds pathetic, doesn't it?  And I can't even say it's just one of those days because I felt this way on Thursday and Friday, and I know I'm gonna feel this way tomorrow. 

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Moving on.  You know, I used to be a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan.  I was involved in the online fandom.  I crawled my behind out of obscurity to attend sci-fi conventions again after a 5-year hiatus.  Hell, I even attended a political fundraiser on behalf of John Kerry simply because Joss Whedon was attending and bringing the Scooby and Angel gang along.  (No worries.  I had already planned to vote for the Dems that year anyway.)  So why can't I get excited about the Paley Buffy Reunion event planned for March?  They even announced that Sarah would be attending.  Not that that means anything to me, because since the show has ended, I haven't followed her career at all.  I even get bothered when my Whedonesque RSS reports something about her personal life or career.  I don't dislike her.  I just don't care.  She's not that good an actress, and she's kind of whiny.

So keeping my love affair with the Buffy franchise in mind, why am I waaaayyyyy more excited about the House, M.D. convention planned in Anaheim for this October?  And on top of that, I can't stand going to Orange County!  But for some reason, I'm willing to trek out there everyday just to see Mr. Laurie get all befuddled and squirm-y on stage.  The only cast member I don't care to see is Jennifer Morrison, but if she's there, I'll just use her Q&A to go grab something to eat.  Of course, all of this is assuming that I can afford to go.  The tickets might be hella-expensive, and for all I know, I may be unemployed by then and living on the street.

I said this post would be schizo.  Shut up.

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In case you haven't picked up on it, the job situation is toxic right now. 

Amani in hospital baby bed

*** Okay. I'm going back on my own word and removing the majority of this section from my blog.  Not necessarily because I'm worried about my job finding it, but because it might actually hinder future prospects of employment.  I'll go ahead and leave the brief rundown of what was/is currently on my plate at work to give you an idea as to what sparked the completely justified outburst. If you have any questions, just shoot me an e-mail. ***

Instead, I'll take away time from my day to .... Then, I'll go back upstairs where I'll proceed to trudge through my edit on an 8-page article, write a news story based on a report I haven't had time to read, collect info from advertisers who get free publicity in this month's issue, move files continuously through the production process, update the tracking sheet, contact authors for feedback on correction changes and queries, chase down photos from people I requested images from the first week of January, submit art & text to production for my lazy-ass supervisor who comes in at 9:30a and leaves at 5p, all while I oversee the corrections on all proofread copy and production updates throughout the day....

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Changing subjects.  I voted today.  The most important issues where I gave my 2 cents were: a non-partisan vote for Barack Obama and No on Props 94-97.  I don't know what those votes will get me, but there they are.  I'm not a huge Obama supporter, but since my guy, John Edwards, dropped out, I was left with ringing my bell for Senator Obama.  Please keep in mind, I'm not hating on Barack.  I would rather see him as the next POTUS than HRC or McCain.  But unlike so many who shout from the highest hill called the internet, the brother does not inspire me.  He doesn't move me.  He doesn't make feel hope or pride or love or snuggles or whatever.  I think he's a decent speaker, but the constant comparisons to MLK and JFK make me want hurt somebody.

I don't care about will.i.am's video.  I don't care for will.i.am.  Who Ted Kennedy, Oprah, and George Clooney endorse means nothing to me.  My vote is just as important as theirs, and since not one of them is the next coming of the Messiah, why are people acting like their endorsement is some magnificent blessing?  Whatever.  I don't get it. 

But I will say that Obama has caught my attention in a couple areas.  He's made some positive statements about the Midwest that I appreciate, particularly when he told Jay Leno that as he's traveled throughout the heartland, he's met people who've asked him what he thinks about the situation in Burma and what he thinks we as a nation can do to help.  Honestly, I could've kissed him in that moment.  It's nice to hear someone, someone so many others listen to, acknowledge that intelligence, awareness, and compassion is the rule in the Midwest, not the exception.  And that the East and West Coast don't maintain a monopoly on informed decisions, if they do at all.  Fuckers.

I also like that he's interested in lessening or ending the trade embargo with Cuba.  He recognizes that this Cold War throwback has done more to harm the children of a nation that weren't even alive when things were different in their homeland than helping bring an end to "Communism".  I can respect him for thinking of a country that most politicians don't give a second glance unless they want some cigars.  Kudos to you, Mr. O.  Now, I know what you're going to say.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, he voted against the war and he's for universal healthcare.  Big whoop.  I haven't heard him say anything about rescinding the Patriot Act (which I think any President sworn in on Jan. 20, 2009 should demand as his/her first order of business) and he's the second-largest recipient of PAC-money and donations from Big Pharma and insurance companies after HRC.  Pray tell, Barack.  How are you going to deliver an effective universal healthcare plan that's substantive to the voters who put you in office when you're already in Big Pharma's pocket?

Like I said, he wasn't my guy, but he got my vote.  And like someone on LJ said, I would like the opportunity to vote for a mediocre Black president too.  God knows we've had enough mediocre white ones.  But not to be all doom and gloom, Shark-Fu wrote a lovely goodbye post to Mr. John Edwards when he dropped out of the race last week.  It reminded me of all the things about him that made me proud to give him my support.  Here's hoping that if Sen. Obama wins the nomination and the subsequent general election, he finds a lovely cabinet post for Mr. Edwards.  I hear Attorney General has its pluses.

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Let's see.  What else?  Oh, I went to the Garth Brooks concert February 26th.  I'd rather put my effusive squee about the concert in a separate post, so I won't add it here.  All I need to say for now is that it was everything and more.  I bought a souvenir pullover hoodie sweatshirt that looks like I stole it out of my boyfriend's dresser.  I also took a few crappy pictures with my camera phone and recorded 3 or 4 songs through my voice memo function as well.  Now, if the photos are crappy, the song recordings are damn near abysmal.  But I'll post one of them anyway when I figure out how.  It'll probably be Trisha Yearwood's "Walkaway Joe".  Yes, Trisha was there to perform a song or two, and her "Walkaway Joe" came out better than any of Garth's ditties I recorded on my little T-Mobile.

But that's for later.  I'm tired, folks.  I'm going to bed.  Anger wears you out, and I'm determined to go to my 7pm Jazz Technique class tomorrow.  We'll see.  On top of all this stress, my stomach isn't digesting carbohydrates well, and today, someone suggested that the two might be interrelated.  Someone send me good vibes, positive prayers, and a job opportunity that doesn't fill me with self-pity and life-loathing.  A tall order, I know.  But I believe in you.

This year I hope to make my Vox more representative of what's going on in my life, not just what's going on on my TV set.  You may have noticed that I've been blogging about more political and social issues than usual.  This is neither accidental nor deliberate; it's just me being more me-like.  I'm not interested in turning my Vox into a political pundit blog or waxing effusively about where I stand on every single issue no matter how controversial or mundane.  But I do hope to include a little bit of this and that which keeps popping up on my radar and taking me away from things less important.

Why the change?  Well, back in late 2007, I said to myself, "Self. You know your Vox blog kind of makes you appear a wee bit shallow, yes?."  To which I responded, "Shut up! You don't know me! ... Okay, well, maybe it does."  And unlike so many other things in my life that annoy the crap out of me, I'm actually going to do something about this.  No, it's a not desperate effort to appear more multi-faceted.  If anything, it's an effort to allow myself to feel more comfortable about who am I in public.  (Don't worry. No flashing. I wouldn't sprain your eyes like that.)  So, each week (hopefully), I plan to post an "In the News" entry, which will feature 3 links to news stories that I've been following throughout the previous week that demanded my attention, and maybe, pique your interest as well.  Here we go.

This week's 3 spotlights fall on . . . .

1.

If you have a moment, take a look at Angry Black Bitch's response to Gloria Steinem's NYT letter endorsing HRC.  I have a fair amount of respect for Ms. Steinem, and I certainly don't hate Mrs. Rodham-Clinton, but Shark-fu's commentary easily sums up why many women of color have splintered from the Feminist movement time and again.  There's a dichotomy there that never fails to rear its ugly head whenever those in power (namely middle-class white women) don't feel that things are going quite their way.  And once again, it's WOC who are forced to stand back and wonder how their lives are constantly being dictated by people who have precious little knowledge of their experiences.

2.

Okay, now many people would consider it a given if I blog about issues affecting the African-American community because, duh!, I'm African-American.  However, some may or may not be surprised that my identity does not begin or end there, and although there are issues where my ethnicity certainly colors my stance (pun intended), it does not necessarily determine my stance altogether.  What am I getting at here?  This.  I am wholeheartedly an opponent of capital punishment.  Write it down.  Take a picture.  Recite it in your sleep.  I have no intention of browbeating anyone with my perspective, and I'm not interested in engaging anyone (online or F2F) in an attempt to see things from their opposing point-of-view on this issue.  I'm a firm believer that much in life exists in shades of gray, but on this salient matter, my perspective sees it clearly as black-and-white.  It's either right or wrong.  No exceptions, no special circumstances, no get-out-of-jail-free cards.  Therefore, the current Supreme Court deliberation regarding the "cruel and unusual" methodology of lethal injections concerns me greatly.  If you see this issue come up again and again on my Vox, now, at least you'll know why.

3.

Speaking of capital punishment, I happened to take a gander over at MoJo's little Primary Color graph a few weeks back, and noticed that my Primary candidate of choice (as of today; there's always the possibility of it changing before February 5th) does not see eye-to-eye with my stance on the issue.  No surprise there; even though my attention was focused on other hot button topics, I kind of already knew.  Of course, that might explain why I'm leaning more toward Mr. Kucinich every day.

Although, to be fair, the likelihood of any candidate matching my stance perfectly on every issue is highly doubtful.  So the question becomes: Do I vote for the candidate who matches my stance on as many issues as possible? Or do I vote for the candidate who matches my stance on the issues that matter to me the most?  (Wait, did that make sense? I hope so.)  If it's the former, I'll likely pull the lever for Edwards.  If it's the latter, I might pull the lever for Kucinich.  But hey, according to this quiz, I'm supposed to be cheering for Mike Gravel.  Hmmm.  Interesting. 

88% Mike Gravel
87% Dennis Kucinich
82% John Edwards
81% Chris Dodd
81% Barack Obama
80% Hillary Clinton
79% Joe Biden
70% Bill Richardson
38% Rudy Giuliani
28% Ron Paul
24% John McCain
23% Tom Tancredo
19% Mitt Romney
18% Mike Huckabee
9% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Well, I'll be damned.  I honestly didn't think he could do it.  Or to be fair, I honestly didn't think they [Iowa natives] would do it for him.

I'm still not sure if I'm voting for you come February 5th, but congratulations are definitely in order.  You go boy Mr. Obama!  The middle of the speech made me feel like dozing off, but he ended it on a high note.  And if I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure he gave his wife a shout-out.  "Give it up for Michelle Obama" is definitely a shout-out.  :-)

There’s been a few topics I’ve wanted to post about recently, but I simply haven’t made the time. I suppose partly because I’m lazy. There’s also that part about me spending my entire working day in front of a computer and not wanting to go home and sit in front of yet another computer. So maybe it’s a little of this and that.

Unfortunately, this means that I've forgotten most of the things I wanted to blog about, but that's good news for you because you know how I tend to ramble on.  So here's a concentrated (according to me) tome of random comings and goings, rants and observations, that I have floated through my mind in the last few weeks. Ready?

First, the excuses . . .

I’ve missed 2 dance classes in a row, and I feel like a lazy sow for not going even though I have perfectly good excuses: 1) Crappy traffic and 2) Fatigue.  To be honest, I was really tired on Monday early evening, and going home to crawl into bed 3 hours earlier than normal was the right thing to do.  I didn’t get nearly enough sleep on Saturday night (it’s not what you think), and Sunday night’s slumber wasn’t enough to make up the difference. But I'll be there this Saturday.  Honest.  :-)

Next, the sharing . . .

Way too much for one person!

My weekend was pretty decent considering I got so little done. But what I did get around to involved a nice change of routine. After missing dance class and running my errands, I decided to take a leisurely, long lunch at PitFire Pizza in NoHo. When I finished my little pasta dish, I decided to order some dessert as a treat since I had more time than usual. Ladies and gentleman, feast your eyes on Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding. And no, I didn’t finish it all in one sitting. I took home half in a to-go box.

Hey, you see that book in the photo below. It's one of the books I’m currently reading called Who Let the Dogs In? by Molly Ivins.  I'm going back and forth between that one and Affluenza.  I keep Molly's opus at home, and leave the Affluenza text for my workweek lunch hours.  Well, I added the latter to my Books section here on Vox at the beginning of summer. But when I tried to add Molly’s book this past week, the Vox system kept freezing and giving me this long error message.

At home, where I use Firefox, it would freeze up my entire home comp so I'd have to reboot, and the IE I use at work just freezes the window itself. Tell me, Voxy.  What’s going on?  I've tried adding items to the Photos, Audio, and Video sections, and it loads fine. But Books?  Not so much.  Why are you anti-literacy, Voxy? Have you been listening to Colbert’s new book on tape? (P.S. If you’ve read Colbert’s I Am America and So Can You!, you would totally get that reference.)  Why you gotta do me like that, Voxy?  Haven't I been good to you?  Wait, I tried it again, and now it's working.  Thanks.  Now I look crazy!

Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding

Anywho, I’m not enjoying the Affluenza book so much (the info is dated; the authors, conceited.), so I’ll probably read as far as I can until I take it back to the library on Saturday.  I think the message is important, but the delivery can definitely use some work.  Maybe I'll find another book on the topic and read that instead.  Who knows?  Perhaps I'll read the other Affluenza.

Speaking of libraries, I think my neighborhood is planning to build their own local library. That is, I think it’s my neighborhood. Lemme 'splain.  I currently live in the charming Latino hamlet of Van Nuys (j/k about the hamlet part), but I live on the far end towards Lake Balboa. Well, I recently received a notice that said Lake Balboa has changed its boundaries, and based on the new lines, my apt now falls in Lake Balboa.

I’m not sure if my zip code is going to change or what. All I know is that now the Van Nuys airport is surrounded by the city of Lake Balboa, not Van Nuys. Which is just plain weird to me.  But I like the area, so I can't really complain.  I use the the trail around the Balboa/Encino Golf Course for my walk/run on Sunday morning, the Beeps diner is in walking distance, and most of my neighbors don't drive me crazy.  If they bring in a neighborhood library, I'll probably still use the one in NoHo because I really like it, but I won't balk at the prospect of having one closer.  (There's a Van Nuys library, but the parking sucks and it's difficult to get to because of traffic.)

Then, the complaining . . .

There are quite a few news stories that have caught my eye recently.  Some of them have simply been insightful messengers of information that's important to me ("Migraine Sufferers Have Different Brains"); some have been odd noodle-scratchers, especially when it comes to politics ("'We will say sorry': Rudd"-- Why'd it take 6 tries to get you to answer the question, Rudd?); and others have been downright infuriating ("Who's Afraid of Barack Obama?"). 

It's statements like this:

"For the most part, race has been the dog that hasn’t barked in this campaign despite the (largely) white press’s endless fretting about whether the Illinois senator is too white for black voters and too black for white voters. Most Americans aren’t racist, most Republicans included."

that leave little wonder as to why many people of color who lean left of center will never feel truly welcome or represented by the great White Liberal Majority.  They, like their conservative counterparts, are too busy telling the African-American population what and who is and is not racist, and what is and is not offensive.  It never fails to amaze me the number of white liberals I've met who think they know my (and my community's) experience in these United States, and most importantly, feel the need to tell me and anyone who will listen, namely other white liberals, what that experience is.  Thank you, Frank Rich.  Thank you for telling me that the everyday trials of millions of African-American, Asian-American, Latino, Arab, Jew, Romany, and Native American citizens are merely figments of our collective imaginations.  And of course, you would know, being white and all.

And apparently, as evidenced by John Ridley entry, Frank Rich, the New York Times, and Yet More Lefty Soft Bigotry, pointing out this hypocrisy among our melanin-deficient liberal brethren will only earn you platitudes, contempt, or constant assurances that racism only exists in the Midwest and the South.  Good job, Rocky Mountains and Mason-Dixon line.  Without you, racism would have made it all the way to West Coast, Middle Atlantic states, and New England.  Whew!  We sure did dodge a bullet there!  *SMH*

Finally, the shiny . . .

Since I don't want to end this post on a downer, let me reach into my grab bag for something positive.  Here we go.  I've decided to decorate my apt for Christmas this year.  I haven't had an opportunity to do that since I've moved to the City of Angels, so I was little geeked about the idea when I went to find something to deck the halls.  I was going to get a tree.  You know, a small one to sit on the coffee table, but as I was ducking and dodging people around the aisles in Target, I realized that the money I would spend on the tree, ornaments, garland, balls, and a small treetop star, could be going toward getting some nice presents for my family.

Christmas decorations

So I opted for a more subdued display.  I bought some cheap icicle lights to hang in my kitchen and living room windows.  And for the coffee table, I bought the least expensive tree skirt I could find (some ran as high as $14), 2 beautiful, inspirational snowglobes with silver angels playing around inside them, some fake snow that barely cost a dollar, and a dark green candle with plastic holly wrapped around it.  I draped the tree skirt across the coffee table, sprinkled the fake snow over the top, and placed a snowglobe at each end with the green Christmas/holly candle in the middle.  This Friday, I'm going to stop by a store and buy a wreath for the door, but I'm going to hang it inside instead of out because I have a screen door.  I think the blinking icicles, Christmas wreath, and coffee table display is a nice introduction to the spirit of the season.

Let's see.  What else?  Oh yeah.  Guess what I bought tickets to?  No, really, guess?  Man, you suck at this game.  I'll just tell you then.  I finally managed to buy tickets to my first concert since moving to L.A.  No, it's not the most amazing news ever, but I'm pretty stocked about it.  (Heh, I said "stocked.")  Although I've seen my share of local bands play the L.A. scene, I haven't been able to get my butt to any of the bigger venues to see my favorite headliners throw down on stage.

Well, on January 26th, I will be one of the gazillion people singing at the top of their lungs every Garth Brooks tune they know.  Yep.  I have tiks to see the chubby cowboy that changed the face of music after the New Year.  Mr. Brooks doesn't do many concert appearances anymore, but this grand exception is for charity.  The event will benefit those whose homes suffered damage or were completely lost to this season's wildfire extravaganza a month back.  'Member?  The wildfires?  Twenty fires of various sizes spread out over 3 counties?  How quickly we forget.

Anyway, the thunder rolls back in section FL4 on Jan. 26th, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it.  I have to.  It's for charity.  :-)

Oh, and for anyone who did a double-take at Garth Brooks: How many times I have to tell you I listen to mostly R&B, country, and Broadway showtunes?  Seriously, do you even bother retaining anything you read here?

This is what I call getting your ass handed to you.  There's nothing quite like reading a bigot being laid out by a white man.  It almost has a beautiful symmetry to it. 

Just in case they take the article down sometime in the future, I'll just copy it here for posterity.

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Ask the White Guy

How Much Is Race Determined by Genetics?
By Luke Visconti

Question:
I am a college biology professor who specializes in University Affirmative Action Programs. It is clear that human races are genetically different and have genetically adapted to where they evolved; these are scientific facts and are not debatable. For examples, because of body form and fat distribution, Eskamoes are better adapted for cold. The Thai, who evolved in hot & humid tropical forests, are superior thermal-coolers. Whites better absorb sunlight and make Vitamin D, whereas dark-skinned people are superior at blocking harmful UV radiation in the tropics. Tropical races have superior genetics for fighting malaria—for example, there are at least 7 different gene-based anti-malaria defenses among different populations in Papua New Guinea. I could list nearly 100 gene-based adaptations of specific human populations.

The point is that the races are not equal. For the most part, each is superior in their native environment. For example, white missionaries died like flies in Papua New Guinea due to inferior genes for fighting tropical diseases, whereas NA Indians died from lack of genes to fight European diseases.

Africans are generally better athletes than whites, but different African populations are better at different sports. Eastern Africans, who evolved in hot dry grasslands where long-distance walking was essential, are superior marathon runners. West Africans are the world's best sprinters and jumpers.

Unfortunately, 100 years of IQ studies suggest that Jews, Europeans and Northeast Asians have superior IQ. The Basque people also apparently have a high IQ. In contrast, hundreds of IQ tests have suggested that Africans are at least one Standard Deviation lower than Europeans in IQ.

During 200,000 years of evolution, virtually no African peoples moved beyond the Stone Age, devised a written language, learned to work stone or metal to any extent, or invented the wheel. Today, despite 200 years of contact with the Europeans, there is not a single "working" sub-Sahara country. Also everywhere Africans have settled, be it Brazil, Haiti or Sweden, they remain at the bottom of society and technical accomplishment. African societies tend to be brutal and backwards, and with a low standard of living.

Having superior cold or hot tolerance or superior sun block or malaria-fighting ability or better athleticism was very important 1,000 years ago. But in today's complicated technical civilizations, the most important factor for success is intelligence.

I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just trying to understand why the hundreds of black students who have come through my AA programs have generally not measured up to the average intelligence levels of white, Jewish and Asian students. What if, because of genes, the Eskimo will never be heat-tolerant, the Thai will never be cold-adapted, whites and Chinese will generally never be great long-distance runners or basketball players? And what if because of genes, blacks generally do not have equal intelligence to whites and Asians? A million years of Head Start and AA will not change that. Please send me your thoughts.

Answer:
Science has made tremendous advances in understanding genetics, especially over the past five years. The mapping of the human genome has proven that the outward, physical manifestations of race are determined by a very small number of genes (less than 6 percent). Genetic studies have also proved that there are no significant differences between human beings and that there is only one species of human. The concept of race has been judged to be biologically meaningless and the American Anthropological Association also rejects the concept of race.

External differences in human beings can be traced to geographic isolation after human beings migrated from Africa. This has been documented by the National Geographic Genographic Project. We are all of African decent.

What's left to your e-mail is the social construct of race. Your eugenic observations on IQ make a scientifically invalid leap from culture to genetics to intelligence. On top of this, your reliance on a standardized test to determine intelligence is also bankrupt. We have written about standardized tests in the magazine and will have further articles in 2007. Tests don't judge intelligence, and many factors impact test scores, notably economic level. That poverty can be traced to race in our country is the result of bigotry and racism, not genetics.

As far as your comments about Africa, you can connect almost all of the current problems in Africa to colonialism. The disgusting behavior of "civilized" European nations has not been proactively redressed to this day. It is a system maintained to extract raw materials without having to pay a fair price for them.

It's sad to say that we human beings share a tendency to oppress. It is a common feeling to think that holding one group back elevates another group—but it doesn't work that way in an economic model, noted by no less than George Washington, who observed that an acre of land was less expensive in Virginia than an acre of land in Pennsylvania—despite the quality of the Virginia land being superior. His conclusion, borne out by economists, was that slavery depressed value and freedom elevated it. In my opinion, science has caught up to economics. Now it's a matter of we humans coming to grips with our own self-destructive behavior.

In closing, I have to note that I find it impossible to believe that a biology professor at a large public university would be so profoundly ignorant of the current state of genetic research and opinion. Your e-mail reflects a desire to be a bigot.

I'm sorry for your students. That you are involved with affirmative-action programs turns my stomach. You should consider yourself fortunate that you do not work for either of the two schools I am a board member of.