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[A longer version of this essay appears in "Politics," the Fall 2012 issue ofLapham's Quarterly; this slightly shortened version is posted at TomDispatch.com with the kind permission of that magazine.]

Nearly 60 years after American schools were desegregated by a landmark Supreme Court decision, they are still largely segregated along racial and socio-economic lines, an analysis of Department of Education found.

The New York Times reports today that thanks to the increasing loss of sea ice, Big Oil Companies in the West are in a race with China to just "Drill, Baby, Drill" and "Mine, Baby, Mine" in the previously unexploited areas of the Arctic. Previously unexploited because the Arctic was covered by a near permanent layer of sea ice and land ice.

On last night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart touched on one of the big stories, if not thebig story, of the week: the secret Romney fundraiser "47%" video. As Stewart noted after playing a clip, "That's the Republican candidate for the presidency, seemingly characterizing a broad swath of Americans -- which would include veterans, the elderly, the working poor, and much of the middle class -- as a bunch of lazy freeloaders.

It started with Republican pundits. But now it appears there's a gowing list of Republican officeholders and candidates who are distancing themselves from Romney—as if the election were days away—and a handful of Democrat candidates in tight races who are surging ahead.

California Gov. Jerry Brown Monday signed into law Assembly Bill 472, the "911 Good Samaritan Bill," aimed at reducing fatal drug overdoses by removing the threat of criminal prosecution for people who seek assistance for people suffering from them.

In their short work week before heading out of town, Senate Republicans decided to give the finger to veterans, using a procedural vote to kill the Veterans Jobs Corp Act, 58-40.

A riot at California's Folsom State Prison this morning has left eleven inmates injured, one of whom was shot by a corrections officer. Their condition is unknown, but "stab and slash wounds" were reportedly being treated at an area hospital.

Environmentalists cheered the news this week, as MarketWatch reported:

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSA.LN, RDSB, RDSB.LN) said Monday it would push back to next year its plans to explore for oil in Alaska's Arctic offshore after a key oil-containment system was damaged during a test.

An amazing thing is unfolding in conservative circles. Not every right-winger is running away from Mitt Romney, like the Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan latest nail-biting screed. Instead, some are saying there’s a silver lining in Romney’s “47 percent” remarks because finally, finally, finally there’s a GOP candidate willing to say the government can’t solve America’s misfortunes.