Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Front Page News
The New York Times today ran a front-page story on the dismissal of the charges in the Duke lacrosse case — but nowhere did it mention a Times exclusive from last August in which the paper said: "While there are big weaknesses in (prosecutor) Nifong's case, there is also a body of evidence to support his decision to take the matter to a jury. In several important areas, the full files, reviewed by The New York Times, contain evidence stronger than that highlighted by the defense."
Today's story makes no mention of that "body of evidence," saying Nifong, "relied almost entirely on the woman's photo identification of the three suspects and on a report by the sexual assault nurse who examined the woman," evidence that had been known since the beginning.
Comparatively Speaking
A Georgia state legislator is comparing a committee's decision not to hang a portrait of Coretta Scott King next to the one of her husband — Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. — in the state capitol — to the Don Imus comments about black female basketball players.
Roberta Abdul-Salaam said: "It's just like calling Mrs. King a nappy-headed (N-word)... It's worse than what Don Imus did."
The chairman of the committee says that capitol portraits are generally limited to figures from state government with a few historic exceptions — saying the capitol is not a museum.
"White Privilege"
The Seattle public school system will send some high school students to a conference at the University of Colorado dealing with what is called "white privilege." The conference Web site gives an idea of what the students will learn — citing an article written that describes the concept — "I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day ... White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks."
The Web site lists the conference goals of making people more aware of what it calls the "negative historical implications of 'whiteness'," and to, "diffuse the destructive power of whiteness."
Environmentally Unfriendly?
Some of the stars of Al Gore's Live Earth concerts to help save the planet from climate change are being accused of hypocrisy for leading environmentally un-friendly lives. The Daily Mail reports Madonna — who will sing at the show in Wembly, England — used private jets and commercial airlines to fly a 100-person entourage on a 56-date world tour — producing 440 tons of carbon dioxide in just four months.
That's 44 times what the average person generates in a whole year. Madonna also owns a fleet of gas-guzzling cars. The Red Hot Chili Peppers — also scheduled to play in London — reportedly produced 220 tons of carbon dioxide with their private jets during six months of their last world tour.
—FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
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