A Horrible Crime At UVA

This story really, really bothers me. There are so many elements to my angst--the obvious one--the death of a beautiful, accomplished young woman. Then there is the discontinuity of this kind of crime in the place that I knew for my four years there. Then there's the element of privilege, both in terms of the assailant's background and the cloistered world of star athletes in premier sports programs. So much wasted here, so horribly wasted.

NJ Man Re-united With Son In Brazil

I've watched this story brewing over the past couple of weeks. While it's not usual CW fare, it captured my attention for one reason--and that is, the media's refusal to use the word "kidnap" to describe what Mr. Goldman's ex-wife did when she brought their son to Brazil. Is it so that they do not speak ill of the dead?

I feel bad for everyone here--the boy, who no longer speaks English and is being separated from the only family he has any real knowledge of. The father--whose heart was broken by his ex-wife's perfidy. The relatives in Brazil, who did their best to raise the boy.

I hope this all works out. But it was kidnap--plain and simple.