the power of melanin

We have 40 days until the election when we choose the 43rd president of the United States. And it has, finally, come down to one issue discussed in this story on Minnesota Public Radio:

"I wouldn't vote for that n----r," he said. "I wouldn't vote for him. No way in heaven's name would I give him a chance to take my vote and go in there. I'm smarter than that."

Said the old white guy from Anoka, Minnesota.

And how about the hanging effigy in Newberg, Oregon:

Officials of a small Christian university say a life-size cardboard reproduction of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was hung from a tree on the campus, an act that outraged students and school leaders alike.

I notice also that even the AP story has changed. The above quote is from the one that appears in a google search this morning, but here's the same introductory sentence from earlier tonight:

Officials of a small Christian university say a life-size cardboard reproduction of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was hung from a tree on the campus, an act with racial undertones that outraged students and school leaders alike.

I added the bold type to show the difference. Why was that phrase removed? I suppose some of the students and school leaders were outraged by the publicity of the act rather than the "racial undertones". Or maybe undertones is obviously the wrong word for it. It seems pretty explicit to me. I could see no other difference in the text.

I dunno.  This election is wearing on my nerves.  Not because of the news coverage, which is usually the reason.  The utter stupidity on display is enormously discouraging.  If I had any chance of finding a job and citizenship in Canada, I'd be willing to go now.  I have no degree though, so changing nationalities would be difficult.  I looked into Australia as a possibility 20 years ago, but I had the same lack of credentials then too.   *sigh*

(Thanks to cpj and phreddd for the initial links on this issue.)

it was him

I wasn't sure if it was me choosing to sit by him during the past 5 years or him choosing to sit by me. It's probably some of both, but at the support group meeting tonight it was D. who sat by me. He and I both got through the 2-hour evening without speaking a word, even our names.  I think it's a little fascinating that the autistic crowd is so easily classified in this way.  I'm honestly surprised that it's not somehow part of the DSM guidelines in diagnosis for the various kinds of autism.