News of Note for Your Weekend Pleasure Reading

Here's a very interesting piece on the rise of interracial marriage in the US in the last 40 years since the Loving case made it illegal to ban it. Goes through the demographics (more minority men marrying white women), many of the problems (more minority men marrying white women), and the interesting (and not necessarily good) way that minorities treat the “majority” spouse in these marriages. Our future, so you should find out more about it. . . . I like this. In age of Imus and Pacman Jones, nice to see this tribute to Jackie Robinson on the 60th anniversary of his breaking the color line in baseball. . . . And while at SI, read Paul Zimmerman’s great takedown of Imus and his ilk as really only Dr. Z can do it. I’ll echo what I said the other day when Cal Ripken, Jr. bowed off Imus’ show but putrid little Beltway types couldn’t bring themselves to do it. What does it say when our cultural leadership comes from Cal and Dr. Z rather than our media “leaders”? . . . The Board of Pharmacy in WA has told the so-called religious pharmacists in that state that they can't refuse to fill prescriptions on their so-called moral grounds. It's good to see something finally telling these dingbats they shouldn't get into a profession whose standards they can't accept. . . . Speaking of wingnuts, this report will palpitate them. "Students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex within a few years as those who did not," the report shocks us totally. Who could have predicted? Well, besides you. . . . Finally, the USA Today tv guy runs a good column on shows that outlive their natural lifespan, as we've talked about here regularly regarding "La Fea Mas Bella." He lists some basic principles future shows should (but won't) follow. And he's added another reason for us to be annoyed (at best) by the practice: "Why does it matter if shows linger past their prime (assuming they had one)? As with any industry, TV's resources are not infinite. The actors, writers, time slots and money tied up by those shows are unavailable for other, potentially better series. True, the replacements could be worse, or do worse, which is why networks are so loathe to end any series that is an even semi-reliable draw. But an industry that runs in fear from its future eventually finds itself without one." Nice to be affirmed by a big-time media critic. Maybe he'll talk more about why NBC shouldn't cancel "Friday Night Lights."