In answering a question about their belief in the power of prayer to prevent disasters like Katrina and falling bridges, only one of the Democratic candidates in the latest debate actually answered the question directly: no, he didn’t believe prayer could prevent disasters. Only one would actually say that. Stunning. What a fucked-up politics.
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A couple of years ago, I was listening to a panel discussion on this collection, when an elderly woman stood up to ask a question. It was Carolyn Goodman, whose son Andrew was murdered along with Michael Schwerner and James Chaney by the Klan in 1964 in Mississippi. It was one of those times when history reminds us that we are made of the past. She passed away the other day. Rest in peace.

Mississippi, btw, still sends Trent Lott to the U.S. Senate. I don't say much good about the Democrats, but cutting loose the crackers, even if it meant losing them to the Republicans (who were most eager to take in the racists), was great thing.