I did a quick check of some of the major left wing blogs to see if any of them are covering the Jena 6 case. Wanna guess whether or not they've got stories up? After checking several popular left-of-center sites: Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, MyDD, Democratic Underground, RawStory and the Huffington Post, this post on the HuffPo was all I found.
Some 60,000 people are headed to the town of 3,000 to 4,000 people for a peaceful protest. Mychal Bell, the first of the Jena 6 to be tried, by an all-white jury, by the way, and with his court appointed attorney calling no witnesses, was to be sentenced this morning at 9:00. That won't happen now that his conviction has been vacated by an appellate court. But the underlying problem in Jena, Louisiana -- one of racial bigotry -- and the larger problem in the country -- racial bigotry combined with national indifference -- remains. The mainstream media is treating the Jena 6 story as an afterthought, much as they are doing with the unbelievable West Virginia torture case. Meanwhile, it's all about O.J., and the media is indulging in an orgy of revenge journalism. Sure, the MSM will cover the Jena story today, because of the massive protest. But where have they been for the past nearly a year, as this case has dragged on ...?
What is wrong with this picture?
If you're still not up on the Jena 6 story, this column by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! from back in July should help.
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"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
