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Not news about moi for a change, but the kind that shows up in newspapers.
I normally try to avoid the political, but I have seen so many comments about Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. that make me sick, that I do want to say something. I work for a university. I once broke into my own house--or, rather, sent my daughter to break in. I'd locked the key inside (long story, not worth telling), and brilliantly got then Very Small Child to crawl through the cat door, run to the front, and let us in.
No one called the police on me. If anyone had, I'd have shown the police my ID, especially if they came while I was still outside my house. I cannot imagine the police then calling the police at my university to verify that my faculty ID was valid. If the police had done the unimaginable and not taken my ID but called the university, I'd have probably said some highly uncomplimentary things myself. I didn't realize that you could be arrested for insulting a cop. You can, but officials will likely drop the charges. I think Slate spells it out pretty well here:
Once Dr. Gates was inside his house, he was under no obligation to come out or to show his identification. He did. I do believe he expected common courtesy in return, not further doubting of his identity.
They can charge him for disorderly, but that's not really how the law has been interpreted by courts. They have every good reason to drop the charges.( The rant continues, though not for much longer )
Now that you're already depressed or annoyed, I thought I'd pass on this new-to-me news: Amazon can silently delete books from your Kindle. ( A medievalist's nightmare )
I normally try to avoid the political, but I have seen so many comments about Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. that make me sick, that I do want to say something. I work for a university. I once broke into my own house--or, rather, sent my daughter to break in. I'd locked the key inside (long story, not worth telling), and brilliantly got then Very Small Child to crawl through the cat door, run to the front, and let us in.
No one called the police on me. If anyone had, I'd have shown the police my ID, especially if they came while I was still outside my house. I cannot imagine the police then calling the police at my university to verify that my faculty ID was valid. If the police had done the unimaginable and not taken my ID but called the university, I'd have probably said some highly uncomplimentary things myself. I didn't realize that you could be arrested for insulting a cop. You can, but officials will likely drop the charges. I think Slate spells it out pretty well here:
Once Dr. Gates was inside his house, he was under no obligation to come out or to show his identification. He did. I do believe he expected common courtesy in return, not further doubting of his identity.
They can charge him for disorderly, but that's not really how the law has been interpreted by courts. They have every good reason to drop the charges.( The rant continues, though not for much longer )
Now that you're already depressed or annoyed, I thought I'd pass on this new-to-me news: Amazon can silently delete books from your Kindle. ( A medievalist's nightmare )
