A comment about Jena, Louisana

There are a number of discussions about the racial issues in Jena. La., in my friends' LJs.

I am listening to NPR's "Tell Me More, and I just heard something that sort of crystallizes the problem.

The host was interviewing two ministers, one Black, one White.

The White minister says, "We are a very religious town. If I walk down the street, I can count 14 churches."

The Black minister responds: "All churches or White churches."

White minister: "White churches."

Black minister: "Well, we have six churches."

The Black minister went on to say he thought there were two many churches, too much division.

But my point is that when the White minister counted churches, he *only* counted white churches.

Liam stays busy . . .

So far today I have . . .

Done two loads of laundry (at a laundromat)

Interviewed with the newspaper editor of the paper in the town where alethea_eastrid works.

Made blubeberry cobler (I messed up the recipe, but it's still good).

Started a loaf of bread in the new breadmaker.

Listened to several podcasts (while cooking and cleaning).

Done the dishes.

Had my daily conversationwith evilnicola, who was playing with Barbie dolls.

Time for a shower, then more stuff.

On a warm Friday evening . . .

1. The pan in the new breadmaker is loaf-shaped! Yay!

2. Thanks to voudochile for this link to a woman who not only sound swicked cool, but is the friend of a half-dozen friends.

3. Cue the Disney music: Or, "It's a small world after all." One of my non-SCA, non-con friends (andoneof the rare Yankee fans on my LJ friends' list) is the vivacious fireroseboudicc. (Yeah, LJ wouldn't give her all the letters she needed. Anyway, she's an amazing writer, on a nunber of levels. Did I mention she was a fan of the second-place Yankees? Anyway, she posts today, all excited-like about being mentioned -- heck having her blog listed -- in the column of a professional sportswriter. Turns out, it's the blog of a fairly well-known Yankees' writer, Peter Abraham. As I said to her, "I have known Peter since before you were born." Yeah, he and I worked together back in the day at the Norwich Bulletin. Yeah, small world.

4. And I had forgotten martukka lives about an hour from here, in the homeof my favorite farmers' market.

5. I think it says something about my LJ friends' list when I can count at least seven Madeleine L'Engele posts.

6. But then the New York Times writer: "Madeleine L’Engle, who in writing more than 60 books, includingchildhood fables, religious meditations and science fiction, weaved emotional tapestries transcending genre and generation, died Thursdayin Connecticut. She was 88." . . . and the headline says "children's writer." Dija miss the words "transcending genre and generations?"

Another point of view on racism . . .

Jeff Jacoby from the Boston Globe can be intentionally provocative.

Please check the link and tell me what you think.