Posts by Alex Miller

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Death in Memphis: The Tyre Nichols Story

On 7 January 2023, another traffic stop gone horribly wrong claimed the life of Tyre Nichols, when Memphis police pulled over the 29-year-old for “reckless driving.”  After an initial confrontation involving pepper spray and a taser, Nichols broke free and fled on foot.  When apprehended by five officers, he was beaten so badly that he died three days later.  Body cam footage release by Memphis PD after the officers themselves had been arrested on January 26th and charged with second degree murder, among other offenses, reveals a shocking level of brutality and escalation of a situation that had never placed any officer in danger.

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Aster-Obit: David Crosby

On 18 January 2022, music fans across the globe were saddened to hear of the death of singer/songwriter David Crosby, a leading light of the American music scene in the 1960s and ‘70s.  As a founding member of popular groups, the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, David Crosby’s music became the soundtrack of many peoples’ lives during the turbulent period, with such mega-hits as “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”  Crosby passed at the age of 81 after a long illness, with cause of death undisclosed as of this writing.

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Paper Chase: The Biden Documents Fracas

Much has been made by the Right of the discovery of several documents with classified markings in Joe Biden’s possession, dating from his time as Vice President in the Obama administration, ecstatically drawing equivalency with Donald Trump’s ongoing document difficulties.  While any breach of security of this nature is a serious matter, the two cases couldn’t be more different.

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AAA Profile: Martin Luther King Jr

Martin Luther King Jr can seem a remote figure, frozen in time with his death in 1968, but had he lived, he would have been 94 on January 15th, well within range of many current lifespans.  King galvanized a movement for civil rights which continues to this day, as more and more minority groups seek inclusivity and equality in America’s quest for a more perfect union.  Threats to his legacy abound, but as King himself stated, the arc of the moral universe bends always toward justice.  The fifty-fifth anniversary of his assassination will be commemorated April 4th.

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The Man Who Would Be Speaker: The Kevin McCarthy Debacle

Well, that was fun!  The 118th Congress kicked off with a bang on January 3rd, and an impressive showing of just how incapable of governing the House GOP majority truly is.  Far from running the country, they couldn’t even pick a Speaker!  Pardon me while I indulge in a bit of schadenfreude, a marvelously descriptive turn of phrase which in German means “shameful joy,” taking pleasure in the misfortune of another.  I really should be mourning the tragic state of politics in America, and I do, truly.  But somehow, I can’t help smiling at Kevin McCarthy’s discomfiture.

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Aster-Obit: Barbara Walters

On 30 December 2022, media icon Barbara Walters passed away at her home in Manhattan; retired since 2014, her last public appearance had been in 2016.  Walters’ journalistic career was studded with an array of impressive “firsts.”  The doyenne of television interviewers, Walters made history as the first female co-anchor of a nightly network news broadcast, and the first woman journalist to garner a $1 million salary.  She was instrumental in the success of ABC’s premiere news magazine, “20/20”, established its hit daytime current events talk show, “The View”, and in countless interviews and dozens of prime-time specials brought us up close and personal to the movers, shakers, and culture makers of our time.  From presidents and potentates to pop stars and prima donnas, if they made headlines, Walters interviewed them, and often her interviews became headlines in themselves.

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