Bitter Ironies

The New York Yankees: fucking fucked.

Steve Gilliard: not here to revel in their fuckedness.

I enjoyed the kaleidiscopic focus of the The News Blog: lefty politics, New York stories, issues of particular importance to black Americans, food, dot.com-era flashbacks, the ways in which military history informs Iraq, and occasional forays into parenting and relationship advice.

Steve had a unique talent for cutting through the bull. He also offered this white girl valuable perspective to which she might not otherwise be privileged. Example: Al Sharpton. I've lived in New York forever. To me, Sharpton equaled Tawana Brawley. Period. Steve explained why Sharpton was important, how the media used Sharpton, and why it didn't matter that I didn't "get" Sharpton. Sharpton wasn't for me.

My condolences to Steve's dear friend Jen, his mother, and his niece, of whom he wrote so fondly.