"Justice Clarence Thomas set off a controversy in his dissent in the Supreme Court’s gay-marriage decision by reciting core American beliefs about the innate dignity and rights of all persons, whatever their circumstances or the injustices done to them... He wrote that even people held in slavery, even people interned during World War II, retained their dignity because it is impossible to erase what is woven into our very nature... In a TV interview, George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu, called Thomas 'a clown in black face.' Amid a backlash over this insult, he doubled-down: 'I feel Justice Thomas has abdicated and abandoned his African American heritage by claiming that slavery did not strip dignity from human beings.'"
Lowry then cites comments by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams that support Thomas' beliefs. His best defense comes in the following:
"Frederick Douglass was once held in bondage. He reportedly said of his appalling enslavement: 'They cannot degrade Frederick Douglass. The soul that is within me no man can degrade. I am not the one that is being degraded on account of this treatment, but those who are inflicting it upon me.' (Quick — someone ask George Takei if Frederick Douglass was truly black.)... The reaction to the Thomas dissent is, in part, about the historical and philosophical illiteracy of his critics. But they also have a profoundly different worldview. The Founders believed we have innate rights that must be protected from government... As Thomas writes, 'Our Constitution — like the Declaration of Independence before it — was predicated on a simple truth: One’s liberty, not to mention one’s dignity, was something to be shielded from — not provided by — the State.' This notion is anathema to a left that identifies the state with progress, and that defines freedom much more loosely (not to say nonsensically) as including what government gives us, in an ever-expanding palette of benefits."
Kudos. Lowry's article should be nominated for a Pulitzer.
A former commodities broker who worked the NYMEX trading floor has written a book about his experiences. I did not know Russell Andresen, as he worked in the energy markets, while I worked in metals. Unlike my novel, Exchanges, this is an insider's non-fiction perspective. Although I worked data entry at the Exchange for nearly 25 years and made many friends, traders amongst them, I always felt like an outsider, and that is reflected in the protagonist of my book. While my works are about the average Joe trying to live decently in a world where there is temptation at every turn, A Crude World is for anyone interested in the point of view of someone who was in the thick of that fascinating life in the fast lane. Best of luck, sir. Here's a link to the book's page at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Crude-World-Russell-Andresen/dp/1681395789/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436272996&sr=1-1&keywords=russell+andresen
Ramirez's cartoons are syndicated in the Post. He offers a beauty today. The caption reads: Bernie Sanders for President -- of Greece. Kudos, sir.
My timing was impeccable this afternoon. I packed up the floating book shop a few minutes ahead of schedule, as dark clouds advanced. As soon as I pulled my car away, raindrops began hitting the windshield. My thanks to the woman who bought two books in Russian.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f
Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/
Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
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