July 2: Commution, Cheney and communication

Commution commotion
Terrible, terrible decision by President Bush to commute Scooter Libby's prison sentence, but sadly, not surprising. It is sad and tragic for this country, indeed, the entire world, to see a president who is so blinded by his own view that he can't see the other side. It is a presidential trait to be stubborn, but to be blindly stubborn, as Bush is, is a major fault. In addition to the blind stubbornness is a moral vacuum that is the biggest at least since Richard Nixon was in the White House.
The Washington Post recently did a series about Dick Cheney's actions as vice president and his penchant for secrecy. A reader from Olney, Md. sent a post to Post columnist David Broder, saying, "We, as citizens, need to know this stuff far sooner than the eighth inning of the Bush ball game. As each administration comes to town, we need to learn-- as soon and as clearly as possible -- who is pulling the strings and how."
Broder basically responded that it was difficult to dig up. Come on, Mr. Broder. Almost as soon as Bush and Cheney had moved in, we knew they had a liking for secrecy, so the press, indeed, should have been more diligent. That's our job.

Economic integration?
In the wake of last week’s Supreme Court ruling essentially cancelling out race as a major factor in determining school assignments, school districts are wondering how to make their populations more diverse. One possible way is economic integration. There is no question that schools in certain parts of town have a tendency to have more resources than other schools. I saw evidence of this years ago, when I took a tour of a school district and saw the shiny, new school on the west side versus the run-down facilities on the east side.
Kids have a right to the best, anywhere. And oh, yes, minorities and immigrants still get the short end of the stick with regard to school assignments and resources. With one brand of equality comes another.

Note about movie list
I know I owe my picks for 100 movies. That will come tomorrow, I hope, along with a movie trivia quiz. Sorry for the delay.