The Advocate has an article calling into question the common understanding of Matthew Shepard’s 1998 murder. Almost immediately after Shepard’s death, people began to form the impression that the murder was a hate crime targeting a homosexual young man. Aaron Hicklin reviews a new book that challenges that narrative and says that the circumstances surrounding this crime were quite different. He writes, What if nearly everything you thought you knew about Matthew Shepard’s murder was wrong? What if our most fiercely held convictions about the circumstances of that fatal night of October 6, 1998, have obscured other, more critical, aspects of the case? How do people sold on one version…

The Washington Post and ABC News have released a poll about the public’s reaction to the Zimmerman verdict. The results of the poll are not that surprising, but they are disappointing. The poll suggests a deeply divided country in which people’s perspective on the verdict is shaped largely by ideology and experience. Politico reports: Eighty-six percent of African-Americans disapproved of the not guilty verdict with just 9 percent approving… That’s compared with 51 percent of whites who supported the verdict and 31 percent who disapproved. Reactions to the verdict also split across party lines, with 22 percent of Democrats approving of the verdict and 62 percent disapproving, while 65 percent of…

If you’ve been watching the coverage of Texas State Senator Wendy Davis over the last week, then perhaps you’ve noticed that she has received a wide open embrace by the media. Many glowing profiles have appeared along with softball interviews that clearly assume the justice of her cause. Nevermind the fact that a majority of Americans—including women!—stand squarely against the late term abortions that Davis stands for.