Hot Seat & Limelight (April 28, 2011)

“You Are Really Dumb” Antoine Dodson, the Huntsville resident who became famous after delivering a heated speech on a local news station (“Hide your kids, hide your wife, ‘cause they rapin’ everybody up in here!”) which in turn went viral on YouTube as the Bed Intruder Song, was arrested recently for charges involving marijuana. According to The Huntsville Times, Dodson was arrested Saturday morning after he was stopped for speeding and marijuana was found in his car. The story spread like wildfire, reaching as far as Seattle. Dodson appeared in court Monday for his arraignment, but the proceeding was fairly typical. The judge advised Dodson to confer with his lawyer about the charges and set the next court date for July 19. While none of this spells good news for Dodson, it certainly makes for another interesting chapter in this story.

Take that, Arizona: Alabama catches a lot of flack. The rest of the country treats us like the dumb cousin who they love to make fun of but hate to have for dinner. We’re the butt of so many jokes it’s almost a cliché. This time, however, we’re doling out some comeuppance for once. According to The Birmingham News, Arizona state senator Rep. Ruben Gallego said, after his state passed a bill requiring Presidential candidates to prove their U.S. citizenship, “We look pretty much backward. You might as well change Arizona to Alabama.” After reading the statement, Pelham resident Joe Eversole pointed out that Alabama has passed neither a “birther” bill nor an immigration law as strict as Arizona’s and demanded an apology. In an email to The Birmingham News, Gallego said, “There is no excuse for making a negative comment about another state in our great nation.”

Dark Days in Syria: Revolution continues to sweep across the Middle East, this time crossing into Syria. Protestors have come out in droves against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the past few weeks. Assad has been in power since 2000, though his father was in power for 29 years before him. The protests turned bloody on Monday when The Syrian Army instituted a brutal crackdown on protestors, killing as many as 400, according to The New York Times. The U.S. is readying sanctions against the brutality, but the citizens of Syria have already started to react in their own way. Protests have intensified after the state-sponsored brutality, with even more calling for freedom. Although Syria has put down protests before (10,000 died in the 1982 Hama Revolt), with its neighbors falling, this might be the hour for freedom in Syria as well.

Royal What? For the past few weeks, people have been getting worked into a lather over the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. News about the wedding has graced dozens of magazine covers. Books-A-Million has even dubbed itself “Your Official Royal Wedding Headquarters” and filled bins with magazines about the subject. But just how interested are Americans in the Royal Wedding? According to a New York Times/CBS News poll, they’re not exactly waiting with bated breath. Only 6 percent of those polled are following the wedding “very closely” and half of all men polled are not following it at all. It’s easy to see why news about the wedding has whipped the British into a frenzy, but over here in the States, we’re just not that into it.