Just a few random thoughts on this Saturday morning:  The last 24 hours haven't been particularly good ones, although I slept late this morning, partly because I was up a couple of times in the night to visit the john (equals bathroom, not client), and now that I'm up, my stomach is cramping, so I doubt if this is going to be a very cohesive series of thoughts.

Since my Fourth of July post began with a cynical poem, I want to mention one change that makes me optimistic about our country.  When I grew up in the 50s, there were almost no Blacks on TV (except Amos and Andy and Rochester on the "Jack Benny Show").  There were no Blacks in magazine advertisements except in magazines like "Jet" or "Ebony."  When African-Americans first started appearing in ads, I remember hearing lots of comments about "token" appearances.  Now, when I watch TV or look at ads, what I see reflects what America really looks like.  News shows are hosted by Blacks, and panels are racially diverse.  When I watch "Dancing with the Stars" (you have to take your optimism where you can get it), the couples are often mixed and scantily clad; they are doing overtly sexual dances; and no one thinks anything of it.  That's a huge change in the American psyche in the last 60 years.  I've also noticed that people of color also now include Asians, Arabs, and other "browns."

A couple of qualifications seem in order.  One is that the LGBTQ community, in advertisements at least, seems still stuck in an earlier era.  When I get the monthly magazine from the Human Rights Commission, lots of major companies have advertisements with gay or lesbian couples, but that hasn't moved into mainstream advertising.  There are, of course, more gay characters on TV dramas and sitcoms, but in other areas, like news, gays remain relatively invisible (Ellen is the most obvious exception), even after they come out.   NBC's legal correspondent, Pete Williams, was outed years ago, but I've never heard him used as a commentator on the law and gays.  It will be (moderately) interesting to see what path Anderson Cooper takes.

In the African-American community, the ideas of W.E.B. DuBois have been pitted against those of Booker T. Washington for over 100 years.  Washington, always more popular among whites (those of us who grew up in the era of legally segregated schools remember when a high school named Washington was named after Booker, not George, and was always a Black school; none was named DuBois) argued for vocational education for all and scoffed at Black higher education.  DuBois, the Harvard educated intellectual, argued for the a more complete education, especially for what he called the Talented Tenth.  Among scholars, DuBois always won the debate. Now it seems that the talented tenth are doing well and are rather seamlessly integrated into mainstream society (though the arrest at his home of Henry Gates might call that into question).  But what of the other 90%?  They seem trapped in a cycle of poverty, de facto segreation, and a draconian legal system.  And as Asian and Hispanic immigrants increase in numbers, will 90% of African-Americans become even more invisible?

Political outrage of the week:  I had thought that the Saxby Chambliss (what a name!) race against war-hero Max Cleland would be the most disgusting of my lifetime.  But now we have Joe "You Lie" Walsh, who never served in the military, attacking Colonel and double-amputee Tammy Duckworth.  As Joe Welch once said to Joe McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?"  And the answer is clearly no.

SCOTUS caution of the week:  Although what Chief Justice Roberts did validated the Affordable Care Act, a great deal of his opinion, especially all the time he spent writing about how the ACA was not constitutional under the Commerce clause, wasn't encouraging.  And in its next session, the Court will rule on affirmative action in university admissions and probably on whether the cleverly named Defense of Marriage Act is constitutional.  I don't think we should be too hasty in buying one of the t-shirts with his picture and the word "Hero."

Anti-climactic private irritation of the week:  Two TV commercials that grate on my nerves:
"There's nothing worse than going to the post office and having to stand in line" (stamps.com).  Even allowing for hyperbole, that seems overkill.
"Sure, I like reading and all, but who has enough time?" (audible.com)  Maybe the guy should stick with the "all" part.