Killing Time

There is not enough time to start a major project before I leave for lunch with friends. There was a glitch with the delivery of the New York Times, and reading the digital version does not have the same appeal. So I am reduced to scrolling through Facebook posts and checking the developing stories online. Here is what I learned.

I read about the third man on the medals podium at the 1968 Olympics when Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave their black-gloved raised fist salute during the playing of the U. S. national anthem. His name was Peter Norman, a white Australian sprinter, who was ostracized and deprived of the chance to compete at the 1972 Olympics for supporting their cause. The most touching part of the article was the photo of Smith and Carlos as pallbearers for Norman.

I also learned that the L.A. school system shut down because of "a credible bombing threat." Several of the people commenting on the story said it was probably a prank by a kid not ready for final exams. If so, it worked.

John Stewart is incensed, as he should be, at the failure of the U. S. Congress to extend health benefits for First Responders on 9/11. I don't even what to know why the Republicans are opposed.