The new Tweet of the Week poll is posted. I'm really not wild about any of them, to be honest. I felt like we had an excellent January -- here is the list of the Top 10 Tweets of January – but February has started off slow. My favorite is, "Doctor: Looks like you're pregnant. Me: I'm pregnant? Doctor: No it just looks like you are," which is one of those old jokes that's been stolen and variously attributed. I'm uneasy about it because it involves body shaming. But the set-up and twist are deft, so purely as a matter of craft I admire it. Last week's winner was " I have pictures of random children in my house. When my kid misbehaves I gently remind him of the brothers and sisters who came before him and are no longer part of the family," by @krisv_723  The controversies in the news just seem to keep coming. This week it's the scandal in Virginia over the just-unearthed photo in Gov. Ralph Northam's 1984 medical school yearbook (above) showing, on his page, a man in blackface makeup and a man in a KKK hood. And though Northam now says he's not in that photo (after initially saying he was and he was very sorry about it) he says that he did smear on a little shoe polish to perform in a dance contest as Michael Jackson. Either way, I get that blackface is a vile reminder of the minstrel shows that ridiculed African Americans and helped perpetuate racism and white supremacy, but I concluded that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's sin looks more like obliviousness than racism: It is an obliviousness rooted in white privilege conferred by systemic racism, to be sure. And it often manifests itself as insensitivity — hence the ongoing need for cultural-awareness initiatives. Those who do not live as African-Americans, American Indians, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, LGBTQ people or other minorities can be poor judges of what's amusing to them or what they will take as compliments.
And ask any woman you know about manifestations of male privilege. Entertainers in blackface ridiculed and often infantilized African-Americans and perpetuated their subjugation. This history is so toxic that intent can never justify its use, as actor Ted Danson learned when he was widely vilified for attempting to honor his then-girlfriend, African-American star Whoopi Goldberg, by wearing blackface for a skit in 1993. But Danson has been allowed to return to respectability, as has Billy Crystal, who came under fire for darkening his face to imitate Sammy Davis Jr. for a bit at the 2012 Academy Awards show. And so — given his expressions of remorse and lack of evidence of similar misdeeds in the intervening 35 years — should Northam.
The email on this column so far has been filled with scornful notes from Republicans saying I never would have written this understandingly had Northam been a Republican. My response has been to note that I did call for Al Franken to resign once the pattern of his alleged behavior became evident (though that call seems quaint and hasty in retrospect) and that I wrote the following about Brett Kavanaugh:
My view, which I know is not shared by all, is that this controversy would have blown over if Kavanaugh had released a statement saying something along the lines of -- "Yes, I ran with a crowd of jerky, drunken teenage jocks back then, and at times I didn't treat girls with the respect they deserved. I don't remember the incident that Dr. Ford describes, but if it did happen I'm deeply ashamed and completely remorseful. If it did happen, I apologize to her from the bottom of my heart and want to tell her and all Americans that it doesn't reflect my character as an adult and that I deplore sexual attacks of all sorts." To accept such an apology, which many would have, would not have minimized or trivialized sexual assault. It would have said that, with the passage of more than three decades we must accept the limits of memory and the constraints of retribution and move on... I believe is that something very much like what Ford described did happen, and that Kavanaugh genuinely doesn't remember it. Not just because he was drunk, but because to him and his buddies and way too many men of that era, it was hijinks, horseplay, fun and games. They were sloppy, gropey junior misogynists who didn't register abortive encounters like the one Ford described as "attempted rape" or anything like that.
 The wall Trump should be building (but would rather tear down) is the one between church and state
Donald Trump, the man chosen by God to become president of the United States according to his spokeswoman, believes that public school students should be allowed to study the Bible.
"Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible," Trump tweeted. "Starting to make a turn back? Great!" Biblical literacy — familiarity with the major characters and stories in what is far and away the most important book in Western civilization — is vital to a well-rounded education. The text has influenced language, history, the arts, law and customs, and animates many social disputes. But this imitative highlights the line between Bible study and study of the Bible. Bible study is an examination of scripture to glean spiritual and moral truths. Given the various ways that various faith traditions interpret and emphasize the chapters and verses, it's best fit for a church setting. Study of the Bible is an interrogation of the accounts to glean cultural insights. Given the skeptical rigor of academic inquiry, it's well suited for a classroom setting. Problem is, the advocates behind these biblical-literacy bills championed by Trump, are openly trying to blur that line. Does anyone along the faith spectrum really want to outsource the spiritual education of children to the government?
My editor, remarking dryly on that last sentence, messaged me "You do get the concept of 'evangelism,' right? I do, and I'm a realist that in most of the country, most of these classes will be taught like Sunday school. Oh well. As Molly Ivins once wrote, you're never too young to take the measure of those who would do your thinking for you. I hope this column gives new life to my old column about Trump's Biblical ignorance. On the more local front…  Calm down everyone, Mike Madigan ain't takin' a perp walk — yet . I don't have enough yarn and thumbtacks in stock to make the connections that put Democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan under indictment or even plausible suspicion in this seemingly huge local political scandal. Even though Madigan's name is rattling through the news because the FBI reportedly has a recording of a meeting he had with a developer in 2014, and even though former Gov. Bruce Rauner and others are ready to fit Madigan with a prison jumpsuit for his "Mafia behavior," it appears Madigan has once again stayed on the legal side of the line. I've long been of the belief that Madigan is too experienced, too savvy, too clever and too controlled to overtly commit a crime — to offer to perform an official act in exchange for a private benefit for himself, for instance. Even when he's confident no one is listening. But then, admittedly, I believed the same about former Republican Gov. George Ryan and 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke. And though Burke retains the presumption of innocence, the presumption that wily, veteran pols are too canny to get caught up in greasy little enrichment schemes is out the window.
Yes, the yarn and thumbtacks in my opening paragraph was a dig at those in the local media who, like so many, see Madigan the Monster behind everything that ails Illinois and are sure he's utterly corrupt. I'd never vouch for the guy, but I think he's such a survivor because he knows how to gain his advantage while coloring inside the lines. The fact that he has more or less protected Democratic party principles softens me up some, and, as I remind people frequently, it's not as though if he retired tomorrow the legislators in the Illinois Democratic Party would change their positions. Elsewhere… •I feel as though not enough has been said or written about the potential for deepfake videos to roil our society. Today it's porn -- see this article, which is safe for work -- but tomorrow it's going to be a video of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez saying she's quitting to be a pharmaceutical company executive. And only experts will be able to tell it's all special effects. To see a totally clean example of a deepfake, watch this video of Steve Buscemi's face on Jennifer Lawrence's body as she speaks at the Golden Globes. •The CURE insurance commercial in the Super Bowl (woman with a screw in her forehead) was merely a version of the old, brilliant short (1:40) video It's Not About The Nail, a must-watch. My choice for top Super Bowl spot was the Hyundai elevator ad. •Alana Semuels Atlantic magazine article, The White Flight From Football -- Parents know that football comes with a risk of brain damage. But many black families feel that the sport is still the best option for their kids, puts numbers to a phenomenon I've been noting in casual conversations now for many years. Mondays at 11:30 a.m. Central I talk about the news of the day with Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder on WGN-AM 720. You can listen on the radio, on the live stream or via podcast. Here is the page where their audio segments are archived. The Mincing Rascals is an award winning news-chat podcast that touches on state local and national news and cultural moments. It usually features some combination of host John Williams, cartoonist Scott Stantis, program hosts Steve Bertrand, Justin Kaufmann and Patti Vasquez, and me. We record Thursday mornings and post in time for the drive home, usually. Find us on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. At the end of the show we give our recommendations for things we're watching, reading, listening to, eating, drinking or otherwise consuming, and we'd like to include listener recommendations. But even if you're not a listener, just a newsletter reader, you can participate by using your phone to record a voice message and upload it to producer Elif Geris -- egeris@wgnradio.com. Thanks for opening this email and following the links. Did you know that the major metric for success these days isn't clicks, but how many online visitors we personally convert to subscribers, digital and otherwise? How many people finish reading one of our stories or columns and then say to themselves, "Well, that was so good, I'm going to subscribe right now." I think you know what to do with this information. | 
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