A variety of links to articles and interviews on current topics that may, or may not, be of interest.

The cover of Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice features a dramatic picture of a burning bus and the mug shots of Freedom Riders who’d been jailed in the notorious Parchman Mississippi State Prison. Most of us are familiar with these images. Ray Arsenault’s book provides the stories behind the pictures — and so much more.

For years, the default position on the right has been a “tough on crime” approach to prison policy. This ends up leading to mass overcrowding and the highest rates of incarceration in the world. In addition to the consequences for human rights and human dignity, there are serious consequences for state budgets. Over the past few years, some conservatives have slowly backed away from the “lock ‘em up” strategy on criminal justice, and toward a smart on crime approach.

The amendment to the Dodd-Frank legislation reducing the cost of interchange fees for debit and credit cards passed with a supermajority in the Senate. It went through the normal process and it won. Now the banks, in a slightly stronger position than during the Dodd-Frank debate, are trying to get the changes delayed, and effectively killed. They’re using a silly argument that this will result in higher costs for consumers. They have the ability to control those costs.

Voting Yes on Proposition 19 should be a no-brainer. Laws banning drugs, especially those that are mostly innocuous, are discriminatory. Legalizing marijuana will help save lives, and put a serious dent in the power of the drug cartels and criminal gangs preying on the defenseless.

Just a bunch of concerned citizens — like always — as long as they come from the Right, no matter what they say.

Next Friday Saturday, on 10.2.10, a large and diverse coalition of over 200 faith, labor, youth, student and civil rights organizations will mass in Washington and cities all over the country for One Nation Working Together. Organizers expect participants in the six figures to “demand the change we voted for” and build a social movement around Jobs, Justice and Education for All. This event contrasts with the spate of Tea Party rallies and events that we’ve seen over the past year.

It’s unclear what the charges of the lawsuit will be that Shirley Sherrod will bring against Andrew Breitbart — perhaps defamation or libel — but the discovery phase, at least, should be interesting.

When our sideshow news cablists, the White House, the NAACP and others began their carnival barking outside Andrew Breitbart’s tent once again – this time echoing Brietbart’s slander of Shirley Sherrod – the predictable puerility followed. The White House apologized and blamed the media culture, Fox News denied its role, pundits claimed the high ground [...]

We have bigger challenges than at any time since the 1930s, and we’re spending time interpreting two-decade parables from an NAACP banquet. The biggest times of media bread and circus over the past couple decades have been now, and during the Clinton Administration. Whatever do those two eras share in common?

All hail the stupid.