The Sorensen Monologues
Archive for December, 2014
When is torture torture?
It’s safe to say that if the acts described in the torture report had been committed against American troops, people like Dick Cheney would be singing a different tune.
Pride and Prejudice posters in Etsy shop
I’ve opened an Etsy shop for my “Pride and Prejudice Illustrated” posters. For those of you who are new to the blog, I was commissioned by NPR Books to draw Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” as a one-page comic for the 200th anniversary of the novel. Let me just say these are the perfect gift for the Jane Austen fan in your life. 
Yes, it’s the entirety of “Pride and Prejudice” condensed into one comic strip, printed on heavy paper stock with a soft, silky finish, and hand-signed by the cartoonist herself (er, me). Ships within 1-3 business days. Order now to get one by Christmas!
Exclusive dining in the Ivy League
Buried amidst discussion of another campus scandal last week was this mind-boggling report from the New York Times about a Princeton University eating club. The Tiger Inn, it turns out, didn’t admit women until 1991 — and only after the Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal. 1991! The year the Cold War ended! Which somebody apparently forgot to tell these guys, who seem to long for the Mad Men era.
One female Princeton alum who belonged to the Tiger Inn confirms this is pretty much the case.
Better call Police-Pal Prosecutor
To me, the most questionable parts of Officer Darren Wilson’s testimony were his over-the-top descriptions of Michael Brown. According to Wilson, Brown “had the most intense, aggressive face I’ve ever seen on a person. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon. That’s how angry he looked.” Wilson also says, “At this point it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots.”
Now, I didn’t know Michael Brown personally. But Brown had several bullets in his body before Wilson fired the fatal shot, and the kid was stoned. How fast could he possibly have been moving? Witnesses are all over the map on this one.
I don’t doubt that Darren Wilson was afraid. I think he freaked out and used excessive force. In his retelling — and most likely in his own mind as events were unfolding — he turned Brown into a cartoon character, a CGI-enhanced Hollywood supervillain.
A public trial might have shed further light on the case, but thanks to Prosecutor McCulloch’s refusal to recuse himself due to his obvious conflict of interest, it looks like true justice will not be served. More on his misuse of the grand jury process here.
