Upsetting but important things

You know, I was going to make a post about how the intersection of the news lately (particularly Trayvon Martin's murder) and the bridge of a Decemberists song nearly had my crying in my car yesterday evening, but the point would just be what the subject line says, and this gives you more time to read the links.

• 'We Have No Choice': One Woman's Ordeal with Texas' New Sonogram Law (Texas Observer). [*]
• Racial Lens Used to Cull Curriculum in Arizona (NYT).
• The White Savior Industrial Complex by Teju Cole (The Atlantic).
• What Everyone Should Know About Trayvon Martin (1995-2012) (Think Progress).
• The Trayvon Martin Killing, Explained (Mother Jones).
• Untitled Elon James White post on racism's influence on perceptions of thuggishness. (Is there a way to link to Google+ posts with the comments collapsed?)

[*] Yes, I saw the doctor guest post over at Scalzi's. I actually found it more depressing than anything because of the comments, and not even the predictable derailing ones, the "for the first time I feel some hope!" remarks. Seriously? One anonymous doctor arguing for civil disobedience after one of these horrible laws has passed—the efficacy of which I have considerable doubts regarding—and suddenly everything's sunshine and roses? What-fucking-ever. (Especially given the entirely unjustified assumption by many commenters that the anonymous doctor in question was male. Yeah, we've never seen that pattern before.)

on a completely different note

The chorus of the Decemberists' "Don't Carry It All" includes the line "Let the yoke fall from our shoulders." The band's website renders this as "Let the yolk fall." Yes, here's a song about bearing a "neighbor's burden," and the chorus references eggs rather than a device used for pulling heavy loads. Uh-huh. (Though the image of fried eggs pinned on like epaulettes is somewhat amusing to me.)

Thus, a poll:

Poll #9946

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 40

View Respondents

The yoke/yolk confusion is because of

View Answers

damn you, autocorrect!
1 (2.6%)

human error compounded by complete proofreading failure
32 (82.1%)

deliberate trolling
3 (7.7%)

no, really, it's about eggs! somehow.
2 (5.1%)

something else I will explain in comments
1 (2.6%)

Ticky?

View Answers

Ticky!
24 (68.6%)

you and me and the war of the end-times
4 (11.4%)

lash-flashing Leda of pier nineteen
5 (14.3%)

raise a glass to turnings of the season
10 (28.6%)

on the wrong side of the lee
5 (14.3%)

with our arms unbound
5 (14.3%)

Oh, and speaking of music polls, I never identified the songs in last month's lyrics poll.

( So let me do that now, with links to listen: )