Today’s Washington Post has an interesting article about the HBO show, The Wire, which is one of the few bright spots on television these days, IMHO.  Excerpt:

The show’s mirror to real life has drawn a cult following, particularly among African American college students. The fourth season has piercingly showcased an ongoing failure of schools, police and government agencies to protect vulnerable kids – four friends in particular from a neighborhood that’s low on income and education and loaded with drug-dealing violence and addicted parents.

There’s plenty of politics, but there is no cant.  Gritty.  Get yourself a stocking stuffer.   More here, here, and here.