Trayvon Martin

The president had this to say about the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.: "When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids. And I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this. But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. All of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves."

As always, President Obama's words were cautious and carefully considered. But he had nothing to say bout Florida's NRA sponsored "stand-your-ground" law, a law that made this crime not only possible but utterly predictable? Why isn't he speaking out against that law? Why isn't the Democratic Party speaking out? Are they so afraid of the NRA and the votes they represent?

A few days ago I had a confrontation with a man. It was trivial - I thought I was right and I'm sure he though he was - but it quickly became heated and potentially violent. The man was half a foot taller than I, a generation younger, clearly in excellent shape, and angry to the bone. Within a few seconds, he began pushing me and bumping up against me, trying to get me to throw a punch. Under the aegis of stand-your-ground or some similar law, he could have legally shot me to death, or vice versa. As it is, we both walked away pissed, but alive. According to Yahoo, 23 other states have stand-your-ground type laws, the wording of which clearly encourages violence and obviates the need for restraint.

When I was a little boy, I saw a 90 year old mad being interviewed on TV. Born in the 1860s, he had been a cowboy. His description of frontier towns like Tombstone was not colorful, it was deadly. He said men simply killed whomever they pleased, with no consequences. That's what the NRA wants. They want the only real justice to be the justice you make yourself with the gun you carry on your hip, or inside your coat. It is time for this president, this administration, and the Democratic Party to stand up to the NRA and say enough is enough. It is not a restriction of constitutional rights to strictly regulate the possession of firearms or to severely limit licenses to carry concealed weapons. That is called sanity.

Old dogs - new tricks

Hey, need a brush up on math? Science? History? Art? Economics? Civics? If you missed 60 Minutes on Sunday you missed a truly exciting American story and a link to one of today's most innovative learning experiences.

A young man named Saul Khan - a Harvard grad, 30ish I would say, very successful businessman - had a niece who was struggling with some math problems. She lived out of state. So, Mr. Khan posted a series of ten-minute tutorials on YouTube, using and easy but highly informative style to make his points. Her math improved. She told others. Within a few weeks, hundreds of people were accessing his short lessons. One of them happened to be Microsoft's Bill Gates. Go figure. Two years and $15 million later - thank you Mr. Gates - the not-for-profit KHAN ACADEMY has a small staff of teachers covering a huge variety of subjects. I went through some of the math tutorials - they're absolutely great! They cover everything from the simplest addition and subtraction to the most complicated calculus. Each lesson comes with a little homework project.

If you think you already know everything about everything, this isn't for you. But if there's anything you have left to learn, this is a great place to do it. Hey, it's on the internet, it's available and it's free. You already have an ipad - how many times can you play Angry Birds?

TODAY

The TODAY Show reported this morning that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is not-so-subtly backing away from his earlier comments regarding JFK's assessment of the absolute separation of church and state. Santorum has said, on several occasions, that this idea made him "throw up." During a souther campaign swing this week, Santorum almost apologized, saying that his comments were, at best, "not articulate." I beg to differ.

To be articulate is to express yourself with fluency and coherence. I think that's exactly what Mr. Santorum did. Though he may now feel that it is impolitic to say so, he has often stated that religious faith and doctrine have every a right to be part of governing. This candidate, who is so comfortable with less regulation in business, is just as comfortable with having more regulation in birth control. Based on his religious beliefs, he would take away from women their right to decide when and if to have children.

When Mr. Santorum said JFK's statement made him throw up, I think he was being perfectly articulate.