It’s a mistake to teach our kids that hackneyed, unconvincing rhyme about sticks and stones and words never hurting. Most of us know that words can slice and dice with the precision of a scalpel’s edge. Words set the foundation for periods of great tolerance and expansion. And words billow and swirl into caustic clouds when gross inhumanity thrives. But words aren’t Kryptonite. They can’t cripple with their mere utterance. Not literally, anyway. So should we care what people say? Should we care when someone says something derogatory, when someone …

Eddie Griffin offers up close insight into the real life drama that American Gangster is based on. Here is an excerpt from his fascinating post:
I served time with Leroy “Nicky” Barnes (played in the movie by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and the black soldier in Vietnam who shipped Frank the drugs from Indo-China, a man by the name of “Ike” Atkinson. If there is any truth in the movie worth revealing, it is the fact that both Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes were snitches. (Now I hear that there is a …

After a few weeks on the road I am officially back in the saddle. I am staying put for awhile so I’ll be posting regularly for the next couple of months.
Please stop by for Tuesday’s full post coming later today.
In the meantime, check out the comment thread on Andrew’s Dog the Bounty Hunter post.