From the NY Times -
The Waters Swell. So Does Trump’s Ego.
By Frank Bruni
I keep hoping against hope that a new challenge will tease out a new Trump and that if he malingers in the presidency long enough, he’ll meander in the direction of eloquence, slouch toward poetry and tumble into inspiration. Stranger things have happened. I’ll have to get back to you on what they were.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/opinion/trump-ego-harvey-floods.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Kudos to HISD
From the Root -
Houston School District Will Provide 3 Free Meals a Day to All Students in the Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
By Monique Judge
The Houston Independent School District has found a way to help all the families it serves in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey. On Wednesday, the district announced that it will waive the required application process for the National School Lunch/School Breakfast Program and provide free meals to all students this school year.
http://www.theroot.com/houston-school-district-will-provide-3-free-meals-a-day-1798639795
Houston School District Will Provide 3 Free Meals a Day to All Students in the Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
By Monique Judge
The Houston Independent School District has found a way to help all the families it serves in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey. On Wednesday, the district announced that it will waive the required application process for the National School Lunch/School Breakfast Program and provide free meals to all students this school year.
http://www.theroot.com/houston-school-district-will-provide-3-free-meals-a-day-1798639795
Becky Explained
From. the Root -
The 5 Types of ‘Becky’
By Michael Harriot
https://www.theroot.com/the-five-types-of-becky-1798543210
The 5 Types of ‘Becky’
By Michael Harriot
https://www.theroot.com/the-five-types-of-becky-1798543210
Agree?
From Pinterest -
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/399835273159081964/?utm_campaign=category_rp&e_t=c0e74f2b73d3419ab5ebf0866853fe6d&utm_content=399835273159081964&utm_source=31&utm_term=1&utm_medium=2012
Not the Fairy Tale Welcome
Long, but worth the read.
From Vanity Fair -
EXILES ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE: HOW JARED AND IVANKA WERE REPELLED BY WASHINGTON’S ELITE
“What is off-putting about them,” one political veteran told me, “is they do not grasp their essential irrelevance. They think they are special.”
BY SARAH ELLISON
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/08/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-repelled-by-washington-elite
From Vanity Fair -
EXILES ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE: HOW JARED AND IVANKA WERE REPELLED BY WASHINGTON’S ELITE
“What is off-putting about them,” one political veteran told me, “is they do not grasp their essential irrelevance. They think they are special.”
BY SARAH ELLISON
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/08/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-repelled-by-washington-elite
The Types of Guys on Campus
From Essence -
http://www.essence.com/love-sex/the-types-guys-meet-in-college?iid=sr-link1
http://www.essence.com/love-sex/the-types-guys-meet-in-college?iid=sr-link1
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Floods Happen Often, But Not Like This
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
Houston's Flood Is a Design Problem
It’s not because the water comes in. It’s because it is forced to leave again.
By IAN BOGOST
There are different kinds of floods. There’s the storm surge from hurricanes, the runoff from snowmelt, the inundation of riverbanks. But all these examples cast flooding as an occasional foe out to damage human civilization. In truth, flooding happens constantly, in small and large quantities, every time precipitation falls to earth. People just don’t tend to notice it until it reaches the proportions of disaster.
Under normal circumstances, rain or snowfall soaks back into the earth after falling. It gets absorbed by grasslands, by parks, by residential lawns, by anywhere the soil is exposed. Two factors can impede that absorption. One is large quantities of rain in a short period of time. The ground becomes inundated, and the water spreads out in accordance with the topography. The second is covering over the ground so it cannot soak up water in the first place. And that’s exactly what cities do—they transform the land into developed civilization.
Roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and other pavements, along with asphalt, concrete, brick, stone, and other building materials, combine to create impervious surfaces that resist the natural absorption of water. In most of the United States, about 75 percent of its land area, less than 1 percent of the land is hardscape. In cities, up to 40 percent is impervious.
The natural system is very good at accepting rainfall. But when water hits pavement, it creates runoff immediately. That water has to go somewhere. So it flows wherever the grade takes it. To account for that runoff, people engineer systems to move the water away from where it is originally deposited, or to house it in situ, or even to reuse it. This process—the policy, planning, engineering, implementation, and maintenance of urban water systems—is called stormwater management.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/08/why-cities-flood/538251/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-082817&silverid=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
Houston's Flood Is a Design Problem
It’s not because the water comes in. It’s because it is forced to leave again.
By IAN BOGOST
There are different kinds of floods. There’s the storm surge from hurricanes, the runoff from snowmelt, the inundation of riverbanks. But all these examples cast flooding as an occasional foe out to damage human civilization. In truth, flooding happens constantly, in small and large quantities, every time precipitation falls to earth. People just don’t tend to notice it until it reaches the proportions of disaster.
Under normal circumstances, rain or snowfall soaks back into the earth after falling. It gets absorbed by grasslands, by parks, by residential lawns, by anywhere the soil is exposed. Two factors can impede that absorption. One is large quantities of rain in a short period of time. The ground becomes inundated, and the water spreads out in accordance with the topography. The second is covering over the ground so it cannot soak up water in the first place. And that’s exactly what cities do—they transform the land into developed civilization.
Roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and other pavements, along with asphalt, concrete, brick, stone, and other building materials, combine to create impervious surfaces that resist the natural absorption of water. In most of the United States, about 75 percent of its land area, less than 1 percent of the land is hardscape. In cities, up to 40 percent is impervious.
The natural system is very good at accepting rainfall. But when water hits pavement, it creates runoff immediately. That water has to go somewhere. So it flows wherever the grade takes it. To account for that runoff, people engineer systems to move the water away from where it is originally deposited, or to house it in situ, or even to reuse it. This process—the policy, planning, engineering, implementation, and maintenance of urban water systems—is called stormwater management.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/08/why-cities-flood/538251/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-082817&silverid=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
Floating Fire Ants
An excerpt from Wired -
WHY THOSE FLOATING FIRE ANT COLONIES IN TEXAS ARE SUCH BAD NEWS
By Matt Simon
ANTS DIDN’T TAKE over the world by being stupid and cowardly. Case in point: Rafts of fire ants have been spotted floating around floodwaters in Houston, Texas, colonies banding together to weather super-storm Harvey.
https://www.wired.com/story/why-those-floating-fire-ant-colonies-in-texas-are-such-bad-news?mbid=nl_82817_p3&CNDID=
WHY THOSE FLOATING FIRE ANT COLONIES IN TEXAS ARE SUCH BAD NEWS
By Matt Simon
ANTS DIDN’T TAKE over the world by being stupid and cowardly. Case in point: Rafts of fire ants have been spotted floating around floodwaters in Houston, Texas, colonies banding together to weather super-storm Harvey.
Pro tip: Don't touch the floating fire ant colonies. They will ruin your day. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/uwJd0rA7qB— Mike Hixenbaugh (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) August 27, 2017
https://www.wired.com/story/why-those-floating-fire-ant-colonies-in-texas-are-such-bad-news?mbid=nl_82817_p3&CNDID=
Another Immigrant Success Story
Excerpts from the NY Times -
Uber’s C.E.O. Pick, Dara Khosrowshahi, Steps Into Brighter Spotlight
By DAVID STREITFELD and NELLIE BOWLES
SAN FRANCISCO — Dara Khosrowshahi’s family immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1978, when their country was convulsed by revolution. They were not particularly welcomed in America, and were broke.
“Every one of us cousins had a chip on our shoulders, having lost everything to the new Iranian government,” said Hadi Partovi, a cousin of Mr. Khosrowshahi’s. “We had a desire to build anew as entrepreneurs.”
~~~~~~~~~~
At the same time in June that Mr. Kalanick was noisily being ejected from his company, Mr. Khosrowshahi had a problem of his own — his parents. Glassdoor, a site where employees rank their companies, released its 2017 list of the top chief executives. Mr. Khosrowshahi’s score had dropped.
His parents weighed in with that combination of celebration and criticism that many immigrant children know well. As Mr. Khosrowshahi reported on Twitter, his mother said, “Nice! You made the top 100!” But his father pointed out: “#39 is good but you were #11 in 2015.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“His mom raised him to be direct with people,” said Mr. Partovi, the cousin. “By far the biggest challenge he faced, which is what all of us faced, was having to come to a new country and assimilate. Being an Iranian in America in the 1980s was not pleasant. People were singing ‘Bomb bomb bomb Iran.’ ”
But the tense environment also pushed them to succeed.
Mr. Partovi and his twin brother Ali were early investors in Facebook, Dropbox, Airbnb and, as it happens, Uber; Dara’s brother, Kaveh Khosrowshahi, is a managing director at the investment firm Allen & Company; another cousin, Farzad “Fuzzy” Khosrowshahi, played a major role in the creation of Google Docs; yet another cousin, Amir Khosrowshahi, is an executive at Intel; and Avid Larizadeh Duggan, also a cousin, is a general partner at Google Ventures.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/technology/dara-khosrowshahi-uber-ceo.html?emc=edit_nn_20170829&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=38867499&te=1&_r=0
Uber’s C.E.O. Pick, Dara Khosrowshahi, Steps Into Brighter Spotlight
By DAVID STREITFELD and NELLIE BOWLES
SAN FRANCISCO — Dara Khosrowshahi’s family immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1978, when their country was convulsed by revolution. They were not particularly welcomed in America, and were broke.
“Every one of us cousins had a chip on our shoulders, having lost everything to the new Iranian government,” said Hadi Partovi, a cousin of Mr. Khosrowshahi’s. “We had a desire to build anew as entrepreneurs.”
~~~~~~~~~~
At the same time in June that Mr. Kalanick was noisily being ejected from his company, Mr. Khosrowshahi had a problem of his own — his parents. Glassdoor, a site where employees rank their companies, released its 2017 list of the top chief executives. Mr. Khosrowshahi’s score had dropped.
His parents weighed in with that combination of celebration and criticism that many immigrant children know well. As Mr. Khosrowshahi reported on Twitter, his mother said, “Nice! You made the top 100!” But his father pointed out: “#39 is good but you were #11 in 2015.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“His mom raised him to be direct with people,” said Mr. Partovi, the cousin. “By far the biggest challenge he faced, which is what all of us faced, was having to come to a new country and assimilate. Being an Iranian in America in the 1980s was not pleasant. People were singing ‘Bomb bomb bomb Iran.’ ”
But the tense environment also pushed them to succeed.
Mr. Partovi and his twin brother Ali were early investors in Facebook, Dropbox, Airbnb and, as it happens, Uber; Dara’s brother, Kaveh Khosrowshahi, is a managing director at the investment firm Allen & Company; another cousin, Farzad “Fuzzy” Khosrowshahi, played a major role in the creation of Google Docs; yet another cousin, Amir Khosrowshahi, is an executive at Intel; and Avid Larizadeh Duggan, also a cousin, is a general partner at Google Ventures.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/technology/dara-khosrowshahi-uber-ceo.html?emc=edit_nn_20170829&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=38867499&te=1&_r=0
Monday, August 28, 2017
Jimi Hendrix - His First Client
From the LA Times -
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/94433187-132.html
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/94433187-132.html
Somerville teen makes a balletic leap
https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater/dance/2017/08/27/somerville-teen-makes-balletic-leap/PJ8oFs5TL4foJxzstAqrTL/story.html
Awkward
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Why is Trump so awkward in Washington? He’s a New Yorker.
By Henry Allen
Washington vs. New York — the resentful bewilderment continues on both sides.
Cats and dogs, Hatfields and McCoys, India and Pakistan, coyote and roadrunner, Cowboys and Redskins: We’re seeing it now in the White House, where New Yorker Donald Trump has taken up his awkward Washington residence.
President Trump gets it backward, to Washington ears. He boasts of his riches and calls the media “the enemy of the American people.” But as veteran columnist Walter Shapiro has said of Washington: “It’s a city where being rich counts for less than anywhere else, and being a journalist counts for more.”
The medium of exchange in New York is money brokered by Wall Street. In Washington, it’s power brokered by the media.
You can buy the Empire State Building, which has no particular power, but you can’t buy the Supreme Court, which does.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-is-trump-so-awkward-in-washington-hes-a-new-yorker/2017/08/27/0906652e-88e6-11e7-961d-2f373b3977ee_story.html?utm_term=.04dbcf42d318
Why is Trump so awkward in Washington? He’s a New Yorker.
By Henry Allen
Washington vs. New York — the resentful bewilderment continues on both sides.
Cats and dogs, Hatfields and McCoys, India and Pakistan, coyote and roadrunner, Cowboys and Redskins: We’re seeing it now in the White House, where New Yorker Donald Trump has taken up his awkward Washington residence.
President Trump gets it backward, to Washington ears. He boasts of his riches and calls the media “the enemy of the American people.” But as veteran columnist Walter Shapiro has said of Washington: “It’s a city where being rich counts for less than anywhere else, and being a journalist counts for more.”
The medium of exchange in New York is money brokered by Wall Street. In Washington, it’s power brokered by the media.
You can buy the Empire State Building, which has no particular power, but you can’t buy the Supreme Court, which does.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-is-trump-so-awkward-in-washington-hes-a-new-yorker/2017/08/27/0906652e-88e6-11e7-961d-2f373b3977ee_story.html?utm_term=.04dbcf42d318
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Friday, August 25, 2017
Who Decides?
An excerpt from the Daily Good -
The Killings Of Black Men Are More Likely To Be Labelled ‘Justifiable’
Who gets to decide which murders are reasonable?
by Tasbeeh Herwees
A new report by the Marshall Project published this month, which examines FBI data about 400,000 civilian homicides, finds that cases are far more likely to be determined “justifiable homicides” when the killer is white and the victim is black. In fact, while justifiable homicides only constituted 2% of all cases, that percentage swelled to 17% when the cases involved a white civilian killing a black civilian. According to the authors of the Marshall Project report:
“The vast majority of killings of whites are committed by other whites, contrary to some folk wisdom, and the overwhelming majority of killings of blacks is by other blacks. … But killings of black males by white people are labeled justifiable more than eight times as often as others. This racial disparity has persisted for decades and is hard to explain based solely on the circumstances reported by the police data.”
https://www.good.is/features/justifiable-homicides-overwhelming-cases-of-black-victims?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
The Killings Of Black Men Are More Likely To Be Labelled ‘Justifiable’
Who gets to decide which murders are reasonable?
by Tasbeeh Herwees
A new report by the Marshall Project published this month, which examines FBI data about 400,000 civilian homicides, finds that cases are far more likely to be determined “justifiable homicides” when the killer is white and the victim is black. In fact, while justifiable homicides only constituted 2% of all cases, that percentage swelled to 17% when the cases involved a white civilian killing a black civilian. According to the authors of the Marshall Project report:
“The vast majority of killings of whites are committed by other whites, contrary to some folk wisdom, and the overwhelming majority of killings of blacks is by other blacks. … But killings of black males by white people are labeled justifiable more than eight times as often as others. This racial disparity has persisted for decades and is hard to explain based solely on the circumstances reported by the police data.”
https://www.good.is/features/justifiable-homicides-overwhelming-cases-of-black-victims?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
Should Be Shocked
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
Florida Executes White Man For Killing Black Victim For First Time Ever
By contrast, at least 18 black men have been executed for killing white victims in the last four decades.
By David Moye
The state of Florida did something on Thursday it hasn’t done since reinstating the death penalty in 1976: Execute a white man for killing a black man.
By contrast, at least 18 black men have been executed for killing white men in the last four decades, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mark-asay-executed-florida_us_599f2403e4b05710aa5ad65b
Florida Executes White Man For Killing Black Victim For First Time Ever
By contrast, at least 18 black men have been executed for killing white victims in the last four decades.
By David Moye
The state of Florida did something on Thursday it hasn’t done since reinstating the death penalty in 1976: Execute a white man for killing a black man.
By contrast, at least 18 black men have been executed for killing white men in the last four decades, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mark-asay-executed-florida_us_599f2403e4b05710aa5ad65b
These Women Rule
An excerpt from the NY Times -
The Wonder Women of Botswana Safari
At one of Africa’s most progressive safari destinations, all-female guides are a success with guests from around the world.
By HILLARY RICHARD
The decision to employ exclusively women grew organically out of something very practical: the bottom line. Back when the guide team was coed, the managers quickly noticed a pattern: Vehicles driven by women used less gas, required fewer repairs and lasted longer over time. Simply put, the women were better drivers. They were saving the company money.
It all started around 2004, when the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute, the government-regulated college that provides safari guide certification, asked Chobe Game Lodge whether it had room for two young women guides. Guiding in Botswana is a prestigious career. Applicants must complete a standardized course that includes a placement at a safari camp, plus tests to evaluate English skills and scholastic aptitude. When both women performed extremely well at Chobe, the managers asked the institute to send over future female graduates. At that time, there were fewer than 10 women guides in Botswana. Today, there are around 50. With 17 guides, Chobe employs roughly one-third. The others are spread across the country at various safari camps.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/travel/botswana-safari-women-chobe.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_li_20170824&nl=nyt-living&nl_art=2&nlid=38867499&ref=img&te=1&_r=1
The Wonder Women of Botswana Safari
At one of Africa’s most progressive safari destinations, all-female guides are a success with guests from around the world.
By HILLARY RICHARD
The decision to employ exclusively women grew organically out of something very practical: the bottom line. Back when the guide team was coed, the managers quickly noticed a pattern: Vehicles driven by women used less gas, required fewer repairs and lasted longer over time. Simply put, the women were better drivers. They were saving the company money.
It all started around 2004, when the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute, the government-regulated college that provides safari guide certification, asked Chobe Game Lodge whether it had room for two young women guides. Guiding in Botswana is a prestigious career. Applicants must complete a standardized course that includes a placement at a safari camp, plus tests to evaluate English skills and scholastic aptitude. When both women performed extremely well at Chobe, the managers asked the institute to send over future female graduates. At that time, there were fewer than 10 women guides in Botswana. Today, there are around 50. With 17 guides, Chobe employs roughly one-third. The others are spread across the country at various safari camps.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/travel/botswana-safari-women-chobe.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_li_20170824&nl=nyt-living&nl_art=2&nlid=38867499&ref=img&te=1&_r=1
Bars to Boycott NFL
From BlackAmericaWeb -
Two Chicago Bars Will Boycott The NFL
By Diannah Watson
If you’re in Chicago hoping to catch a few football games this season, then don’t expect these two bars to entertain you.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, The Velvet Lounge and Bureau Bar will not be playing any NFL games this season in support of Colin Kaepernick.
https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/08/25/two-chicago-bars-will-boycott-the-nfl/
Two Chicago Bars Will Boycott The NFL
By Diannah Watson
If you’re in Chicago hoping to catch a few football games this season, then don’t expect these two bars to entertain you.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, The Velvet Lounge and Bureau Bar will not be playing any NFL games this season in support of Colin Kaepernick.
https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/08/25/two-chicago-bars-will-boycott-the-nfl/
Schizophrenic
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Trump’s rhetorical schizophrenia is easy to see through
By Michael Gerson
The gap between Trump extemporaneous and Trump scripted is canyon-like. The normal role of a speechwriter is to find, refine and elevate the voice of a leader. The greatest professional victory comes when a president thinks: This is the way I would sound if I had more time to write and more talent with language. In these circumstances, speechwriting is not deception; it is amplification.
But what about speechwriting that is designed to give a leader a different voice? Here moral issues begin to lurk. Is it ethical to make a cynical leader appear principled? A violent leader seem pacific? A cruel leader seem compassionate? This calculation is difficult, because most of us have an incongruous mix of such traits. Or maybe a speechwriter can hope a president will eventually rise to the level of his teleprompter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-rhetorical-schizophrenia-is-easy-to-see-through/2017/08/24/2163ab42-88f3-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.331a5bddc2c8
Trump’s rhetorical schizophrenia is easy to see through
By Michael Gerson
The gap between Trump extemporaneous and Trump scripted is canyon-like. The normal role of a speechwriter is to find, refine and elevate the voice of a leader. The greatest professional victory comes when a president thinks: This is the way I would sound if I had more time to write and more talent with language. In these circumstances, speechwriting is not deception; it is amplification.
But what about speechwriting that is designed to give a leader a different voice? Here moral issues begin to lurk. Is it ethical to make a cynical leader appear principled? A violent leader seem pacific? A cruel leader seem compassionate? This calculation is difficult, because most of us have an incongruous mix of such traits. Or maybe a speechwriter can hope a president will eventually rise to the level of his teleprompter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-rhetorical-schizophrenia-is-easy-to-see-through/2017/08/24/2163ab42-88f3-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.331a5bddc2c8
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
How We Travel
Fascinating article
From the Washington Post -
How the world gets around
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/opinions/transit-around-the-world/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.a6b8a6f969a1
From the Washington Post -
How the world gets around
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/opinions/transit-around-the-world/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.a6b8a6f969a1
Rare Prince Film
From Rolling Stone -
Rare Prince Concert Film 'Sign o' the Times' to Air on Showtime
Companion piece to album shot at Paisley Park Studios and on tour in the Netherlands and Belgium
By Kory Grow
Prince's 1987 concert film Sign o' the Times, which has been out of print in the U.S. since 1991, will be available to watch once again this summer. Showtime has acquired the right to the film and will debut it on September 16th at 9 p.m. EST.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rare-prince-concert-film-sign-o-the-times-to-air-on-showtime-w499200
Rare Prince Concert Film 'Sign o' the Times' to Air on Showtime
Companion piece to album shot at Paisley Park Studios and on tour in the Netherlands and Belgium
By Kory Grow
Prince's 1987 concert film Sign o' the Times, which has been out of print in the U.S. since 1991, will be available to watch once again this summer. Showtime has acquired the right to the film and will debut it on September 16th at 9 p.m. EST.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rare-prince-concert-film-sign-o-the-times-to-air-on-showtime-w499200
Dancing Boy Detained
From Salon -
Boy detained in Saudi Arabia after dancing the Macarena
After being filmed performing the dance in a crosswalk, a 14-year-old has run afoul of authorities
By GABRIEL BELL
http://www.salon.com/2017/08/23/boy-detained-in-saudi-arabia-after-dancing-the-macarena/?source=newsletter
Boy detained in Saudi Arabia after dancing the Macarena
After being filmed performing the dance in a crosswalk, a 14-year-old has run afoul of authorities
By GABRIEL BELL
Jeddah boy dancing in the middle of Tahlia Street is the hero we need pic.twitter.com/fui9v2UuDF— Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) August 19, 2017
http://www.salon.com/2017/08/23/boy-detained-in-saudi-arabia-after-dancing-the-macarena/?source=newsletter
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
A Priest Repents
An excerpt from the Arlington Catholic Herald -
Moving from hate to love with God’s grace
By Fr. William Aitcheson
In the course of one’s life, there are seminal moments that humble us and, in some cases, even bring shame. For the past several decades, I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve as a Catholic priest. Originally ordained for the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas, I transferred to my home area here in the Diocese of Arlington.
What most people do not know about me is that as an impressionable young man, I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. It’s public information but it rarely comes up. My actions were despicable. When I think back on burning crosses, a threatening letter, and so on, I feel as though I am speaking of somebody else. It’s hard to believe that was me.
http://catholicherald.com/News/Local_News/Moving_from_hate_to_love_with_God_s_grace/
Moving from hate to love with God’s grace
By Fr. William Aitcheson
In the course of one’s life, there are seminal moments that humble us and, in some cases, even bring shame. For the past several decades, I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve as a Catholic priest. Originally ordained for the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas, I transferred to my home area here in the Diocese of Arlington.
What most people do not know about me is that as an impressionable young man, I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. It’s public information but it rarely comes up. My actions were despicable. When I think back on burning crosses, a threatening letter, and so on, I feel as though I am speaking of somebody else. It’s hard to believe that was me.
http://catholicherald.com/News/Local_News/Moving_from_hate_to_love_with_God_s_grace/
Hoover vs. Gregory
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
J. Edgar Hoover saw Dick Gregory as a threat. So he schemed to have the Mafia ‘neutralize’ the comic.
By Kyle Swenson
Gregory’s caustic style, marrying humor and hard truths about race and politics, was the main theme of the tributes that popped up in the wake of the news of his death over the weekend at age 84. But during the chaotic summer feeding into the 1968 election, Gregory’s strong critique drilled to the heart of the political system.
“I feel that the two party system is obsolete,” he said in another 1968 interview. “The two party system is so corrupt and immoral, they cannot solve the problems confronting the masses of the people in this country.”
Gregory’s radical criticism was also putting him in a dangerous spot. As he campaigned, the comic fell into the paranoid crosshairs of J. Edgar Hoover, and the FBI director concocted a strange plan to potentially “neutralize” Gregory with the help of the Mafia.
The scheme would not emerge publicly until 10 years later, when files related to the bureau’s controversial surveillance activities on black radical and civil rights groups were first released.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/22/j-edgar-hoover-saw-dick-gregory-as-a-threat-so-he-schemed-to-have-the-mafia-neutralize-the-comic/?utm_term=.6df95915450f
J. Edgar Hoover saw Dick Gregory as a threat. So he schemed to have the Mafia ‘neutralize’ the comic.
By Kyle Swenson
Gregory’s caustic style, marrying humor and hard truths about race and politics, was the main theme of the tributes that popped up in the wake of the news of his death over the weekend at age 84. But during the chaotic summer feeding into the 1968 election, Gregory’s strong critique drilled to the heart of the political system.
“I feel that the two party system is obsolete,” he said in another 1968 interview. “The two party system is so corrupt and immoral, they cannot solve the problems confronting the masses of the people in this country.”
Gregory’s radical criticism was also putting him in a dangerous spot. As he campaigned, the comic fell into the paranoid crosshairs of J. Edgar Hoover, and the FBI director concocted a strange plan to potentially “neutralize” Gregory with the help of the Mafia.
The scheme would not emerge publicly until 10 years later, when files related to the bureau’s controversial surveillance activities on black radical and civil rights groups were first released.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/22/j-edgar-hoover-saw-dick-gregory-as-a-threat-so-he-schemed-to-have-the-mafia-neutralize-the-comic/?utm_term=.6df95915450f
Best Bay Area Cookie
From KQED Food -
Crispety, Crunchety, Ooey, Gooey, Chewy: My Search for a Better Bay Area Cookie
By Mark Taylor
https://ww2.kqed.org/bayareabites/2017/08/21/crispety-crunchety-ooey-gooey-chewy-my-search-for-a-better-bay-area-cookie/
Crispety, Crunchety, Ooey, Gooey, Chewy: My Search for a Better Bay Area Cookie
By Mark Taylor
https://ww2.kqed.org/bayareabites/2017/08/21/crispety-crunchety-ooey-gooey-chewy-my-search-for-a-better-bay-area-cookie/
Monday, August 21, 2017
Learning to Stand in Solidarity
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
Progressive, White Athletes Must Learn How To Stand In Solidarity
White athletes entering the conversation on race have tremendous responsibility and little time to learn, but their competency is crucial.
By P.L. Thomas, Contributor
P.L. Thomas , professor of education (Furman University, Greenville, SC), is author of Beware the Roadbuilders and Trumplandia (Garn Press).
The uncomfortable history of professional athletes being activists is often whitewashed itself, in part through the sort of revisionism that conservatives seem to reject. Think of how Muhammad Ali was mistreated while the greatest athlete on the planet in the 1960s, and then how he was praised in the decline of his life.
Because of ostracized Colin Kaepernick, the current focus on athletes as activists is the NFL, and we must ask how this monstrosity has become the focal point of moral urgency and debate.
The NFL coddles violence in its playing as well as violence outside the lines by the players who are deemed essential. The NFL coddles and embraces a white ownership and white elite players who are directly partisan in their politics, but christens black activism as too political.
~~~~~~~~~~
Where we need change the most and where that change has the best chance of making a difference is among whites who consider themselves good people, much like the few white NFL players standing in solidarity with black players.
Whites must consider the following before resisting black resistance:
(Please follow the link to access the list) - Faye
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/resistance-in-black-and-white-on-white-proximity-and_us_599acf78e4b02eb2fda32181?section=us_contributor
Progressive, White Athletes Must Learn How To Stand In Solidarity
White athletes entering the conversation on race have tremendous responsibility and little time to learn, but their competency is crucial.
By P.L. Thomas, Contributor
P.L. Thomas , professor of education (Furman University, Greenville, SC), is author of Beware the Roadbuilders and Trumplandia (Garn Press).
The uncomfortable history of professional athletes being activists is often whitewashed itself, in part through the sort of revisionism that conservatives seem to reject. Think of how Muhammad Ali was mistreated while the greatest athlete on the planet in the 1960s, and then how he was praised in the decline of his life.
Because of ostracized Colin Kaepernick, the current focus on athletes as activists is the NFL, and we must ask how this monstrosity has become the focal point of moral urgency and debate.
The NFL coddles violence in its playing as well as violence outside the lines by the players who are deemed essential. The NFL coddles and embraces a white ownership and white elite players who are directly partisan in their politics, but christens black activism as too political.
~~~~~~~~~~
Where we need change the most and where that change has the best chance of making a difference is among whites who consider themselves good people, much like the few white NFL players standing in solidarity with black players.
Whites must consider the following before resisting black resistance:
(Please follow the link to access the list) - Faye
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/resistance-in-black-and-white-on-white-proximity-and_us_599acf78e4b02eb2fda32181?section=us_contributor
Blistering!
An excerpt from the LA Times Editorial Board -
Enough is Enough
These are not normal times.
The man in the White House is reckless and unmanageable, a danger to the Constitution, a threat to our democratic institutions.
Last week some of his worst qualities were on display: his moral vacuity and his disregard for the truth, as well as his stubborn resistance to sensible advice. As ever, he lashed out at imaginary enemies and scapegoated others for his own failings. Most important, his reluctance to offer a simple and decisive condemnation of racism and Nazism astounded and appalled observers around the world.
Support our journalism
Become a subscriber today to support editorial writing like this. Start getting full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks.
With such a glaring failure of moral leadership at the top, it is desperately important that others stand up and speak out to defend American principles and values. This is no time for neutrality, equivocation or silence. Leaders across America — and especially those in the president’s own party — must summon their reserves of political courage to challenge President Trump publicly, loudly and unambiguously.
Enough is enough.
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ed-trump-enough/#nws=mcnewsletter
Enough is Enough
These are not normal times.
The man in the White House is reckless and unmanageable, a danger to the Constitution, a threat to our democratic institutions.
Last week some of his worst qualities were on display: his moral vacuity and his disregard for the truth, as well as his stubborn resistance to sensible advice. As ever, he lashed out at imaginary enemies and scapegoated others for his own failings. Most important, his reluctance to offer a simple and decisive condemnation of racism and Nazism astounded and appalled observers around the world.
Support our journalism
Become a subscriber today to support editorial writing like this. Start getting full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks.
With such a glaring failure of moral leadership at the top, it is desperately important that others stand up and speak out to defend American principles and values. This is no time for neutrality, equivocation or silence. Leaders across America — and especially those in the president’s own party — must summon their reserves of political courage to challenge President Trump publicly, loudly and unambiguously.
Enough is enough.
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ed-trump-enough/#nws=mcnewsletter
Great Protest Signs
From the Huffington Post -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/boston-free-speech-rally-sign-photos_us_5998666ae4b0a2608a6ca765
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/boston-free-speech-rally-sign-photos_us_5998666ae4b0a2608a6ca765
Promoting Change
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/08/20/nfls-bennett-brothers-show-two-sides-of-activism-for-martellus-bennett-thats-political-cartooning/?utm_term=.724f6b82b693
Sunday, August 20, 2017
This Judge Speaks From Experience
An excerpt from the Guardian -
'He's trying to save lives': the ex-addict judge on the frontline of the opiate crisis
Everyone in Judge Craig Hannah’s opiate-specific court is offered a deal: complete addiction treatment and the charges against them may be reduced
By Edward Helmore
“You have to want to get help, and you have to want to help yourself,” counsels Judge Craig Hannah from his bench in Buffalo city court 11. “You can’t just keep running away from the treatment bus.”
Hannah, a pioneering jurist who oversees the nation’s first Opiate Crisis Intervention Court in northern New York, is speaking to a man who has flunked out of rehab a second time. A bed in a third facility may not be so easy to find. The addict – a “participant” in the parlance of the court – looks doubtful, and Hannah continues his pitch: “If you get on the bus, I’m going to take off my robe and come down there and shake you by the hand.
“But I also need you to hold yourself accountable,” adds Hannah, who has his own firsthand experience of drugs from earlier in his life.
Everyone who comes through the court is essentially offered a deal: complete addiction treatment, and prosecutors may look favorably at reducing the charges against them.
~~~~~~~~~~
Smith found a judge in Hannah, who knows what he’s dealing with. He is, he says, a grateful recovering addict 17 years clean from a dependence on marijuana and cocaine. It takes one to know one, and Hannah’s underlying message to participants in opiate court is of identification: “I tell them the only difference between them and me is time.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/20/opioid-crisis-america-buffalo-new-york-trump-national-emergency
'He's trying to save lives': the ex-addict judge on the frontline of the opiate crisis
Everyone in Judge Craig Hannah’s opiate-specific court is offered a deal: complete addiction treatment and the charges against them may be reduced
By Edward Helmore
“You have to want to get help, and you have to want to help yourself,” counsels Judge Craig Hannah from his bench in Buffalo city court 11. “You can’t just keep running away from the treatment bus.”
Hannah, a pioneering jurist who oversees the nation’s first Opiate Crisis Intervention Court in northern New York, is speaking to a man who has flunked out of rehab a second time. A bed in a third facility may not be so easy to find. The addict – a “participant” in the parlance of the court – looks doubtful, and Hannah continues his pitch: “If you get on the bus, I’m going to take off my robe and come down there and shake you by the hand.
“But I also need you to hold yourself accountable,” adds Hannah, who has his own firsthand experience of drugs from earlier in his life.
Everyone who comes through the court is essentially offered a deal: complete addiction treatment, and prosecutors may look favorably at reducing the charges against them.
~~~~~~~~~~
Smith found a judge in Hannah, who knows what he’s dealing with. He is, he says, a grateful recovering addict 17 years clean from a dependence on marijuana and cocaine. It takes one to know one, and Hannah’s underlying message to participants in opiate court is of identification: “I tell them the only difference between them and me is time.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/20/opioid-crisis-america-buffalo-new-york-trump-national-emergency
Serpico Supports Kap
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Frank Serpico joins NYPD officers for rally in support of Colin Kaepernick
By Matt Bonesteel
Colin Kaepernick, whose national anthem protests during the 2016 football season were spurred by what he views as police brutality against minorities, received support from an unlikely group on Saturday: dozens of New York City police officers, who rallied in Brooklyn to protest Kaepernick’s continued NFL unemployment. Among them was Frank Serpico, the former NYPD officer whose campaign against police corruption was the subject of the enduring 1973 film, “Serpico,” starring Al Pacino in the title role.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/19/frank-serpico-joins-nypd-officers-for-rally-in-support-of-colin-kaepernick/?utm_term=.62917278e77a
Frank Serpico joins NYPD officers for rally in support of Colin Kaepernick
By Matt Bonesteel
Colin Kaepernick, whose national anthem protests during the 2016 football season were spurred by what he views as police brutality against minorities, received support from an unlikely group on Saturday: dozens of New York City police officers, who rallied in Brooklyn to protest Kaepernick’s continued NFL unemployment. Among them was Frank Serpico, the former NYPD officer whose campaign against police corruption was the subject of the enduring 1973 film, “Serpico,” starring Al Pacino in the title role.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/19/frank-serpico-joins-nypd-officers-for-rally-in-support-of-colin-kaepernick/?utm_term=.62917278e77a
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Signs of the Times
From the Boston Globe -
Some of the best signs from today’s Boston Common rallies
By the Globe Staff
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/19/some-best-signs-from-today-boston-common-rallies/c2ER3jyLOUGdCX7rxbreuI/story.html
Some of the best signs from today’s Boston Common rallies
By the Globe Staff
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/19/some-best-signs-from-today-boston-common-rallies/c2ER3jyLOUGdCX7rxbreuI/story.html
Where They Stand
From the Washington Post -
Where Republican senators stand on President Trump
By Nicole Lewis, Amber Phillips, Kevin Schaul and Leslie Shapiro
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/senate-trump-support/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_trumpreact-graphic-1pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.21cfe4386587
Where Republican senators stand on President Trump
By Nicole Lewis, Amber Phillips, Kevin Schaul and Leslie Shapiro
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/senate-trump-support/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_trumpreact-graphic-1pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.21cfe4386587
Common in Sacramento Tomorrow - Free Concert
An excerpt from CAL Matters -
From lyrics to legislation: Common comes rapping on California’s Capitol
By Laurel Rosenhall
Inmates at the state prison in Lancaster got an unusual perk this spring: a private meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown’s top aide and a Grammy-award winning rapper.
It was one stop in a larger effort that has recently brought Common—a musician who blends hip-hop beats with an activist message—close to key California decision-makers. After an artistic career that propelled him from the south side of Chicago to poetry nights in the Obama White House, the 45-year-old rapper is now working to influence state policy. A resident of Los Angeles, Common is trying to change the criminal justice system in California.
In addition to the meeting with Brown aide Nancy McFadden at the Southern California prison in March, Common met with Democratic lawmakers at the Capitol in May to talk about bills that would change California’s bail system and juvenile justice procedures. He’ll be back in Sacramento on Monday, when legislators return from summer recess, holding a free concert outside the Capitol and lobbying politicians inside.
https://calmatters.org/articles/lyrics-legislation-common-comes-rapping-californias-capitol/#nws=mcnewsletter
From lyrics to legislation: Common comes rapping on California’s Capitol
By Laurel Rosenhall
Inmates at the state prison in Lancaster got an unusual perk this spring: a private meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown’s top aide and a Grammy-award winning rapper.
It was one stop in a larger effort that has recently brought Common—a musician who blends hip-hop beats with an activist message—close to key California decision-makers. After an artistic career that propelled him from the south side of Chicago to poetry nights in the Obama White House, the 45-year-old rapper is now working to influence state policy. A resident of Los Angeles, Common is trying to change the criminal justice system in California.
In addition to the meeting with Brown aide Nancy McFadden at the Southern California prison in March, Common met with Democratic lawmakers at the Capitol in May to talk about bills that would change California’s bail system and juvenile justice procedures. He’ll be back in Sacramento on Monday, when legislators return from summer recess, holding a free concert outside the Capitol and lobbying politicians inside.
https://calmatters.org/articles/lyrics-legislation-common-comes-rapping-californias-capitol/#nws=mcnewsletter
Quote
All these folks worried about erasing history when the Confederate statues come down will be thrilled to learn about the existence of books.— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) August 16, 2017
Friday, August 18, 2017
Children of Catholic Priests - Part 2
Please see the post entitled "Secrets and Sorrow" from August 16th that features the article "Children of Catholic priests live with secrets and sorrow" By Michael Rezendes for Part 1 of this extraordinary story.
~~~~~~~~~~
An excerpt from the Boston Globe -
A priest’s son takes his case directly to the Pope
By Michael Rezendes
ONE BRIGHT MORNING three years ago, Vincent Doyle joined the thousands of Catholic faithful jamming St. Peter’s Square for a chance to see Pope Francis make his weekly public appearance and bestow his blessing on the crowd.
Unlike most of those standing in the searing Roman sun, Doyle was headed to a front-row seat in a reserved section very close to where the pope would emerge, and he was already silently rehearsing an urgent message in the pontiff’s native language.
“I am the son of a Catholic priest in Ireland,” he repeated in Spanish, praying he would not become tongue-tied or overcome with emotion when he met the Holy Father.
Doyle learned at the age of 28 that the beloved godfather he grew up calling “J.J.” — a Catholic priest from a rural diocese in central Ireland — was, in fact, his biological father.
J.J. had died years before, leaving Doyle with many unanswered questions. But, after discovering his true father and meeting a woman whose father was also a Catholic priest, one question in particular would drive him: Just how many children of Catholic clergy are there?
Though there had been notorious scandals in the 1990s involving Irish clergy who fathered children, there was little reliable information on the larger subject of priests and their offspring, Doyle found. So he came up with his own solution: He built a website he called Coping International and invited anyone who was the daughter or son of a priest to contact him.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/17/father-father-priest-son-takes-his-case-directly-pope/g8ObYa0NATZy3itVSzdflM/story.html
~~~~~~~~~~
An excerpt from the Boston Globe -
A priest’s son takes his case directly to the Pope
By Michael Rezendes
ONE BRIGHT MORNING three years ago, Vincent Doyle joined the thousands of Catholic faithful jamming St. Peter’s Square for a chance to see Pope Francis make his weekly public appearance and bestow his blessing on the crowd.
Unlike most of those standing in the searing Roman sun, Doyle was headed to a front-row seat in a reserved section very close to where the pope would emerge, and he was already silently rehearsing an urgent message in the pontiff’s native language.
“I am the son of a Catholic priest in Ireland,” he repeated in Spanish, praying he would not become tongue-tied or overcome with emotion when he met the Holy Father.
Doyle learned at the age of 28 that the beloved godfather he grew up calling “J.J.” — a Catholic priest from a rural diocese in central Ireland — was, in fact, his biological father.
J.J. had died years before, leaving Doyle with many unanswered questions. But, after discovering his true father and meeting a woman whose father was also a Catholic priest, one question in particular would drive him: Just how many children of Catholic clergy are there?
Though there had been notorious scandals in the 1990s involving Irish clergy who fathered children, there was little reliable information on the larger subject of priests and their offspring, Doyle found. So he came up with his own solution: He built a website he called Coping International and invited anyone who was the daughter or son of a priest to contact him.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/17/father-father-priest-son-takes-his-case-directly-pope/g8ObYa0NATZy3itVSzdflM/story.html
He Has Already Resigned
An excerpt from the NY Times -
The Week When President Trump Resigned
By Frank Bruni
As the worst week in a cursed presidency wound down, I spotted more and more forecasts that Donald Trump would resign, including from Tony Schwartz, who wrote “The Art of the Deal” for Trump and presumably understands his tortured psyche.
They struck me not as wishful or fantastical.
They struck me as late.
Trump resigned the presidency already — if we regard the job as one of moral stewardship, if we assume that an iota of civic concern must joust with self-regard, if we expect a president’s interest in legislation to rise above vacuous theatrics, if we consider a certain baseline of diplomatic etiquette to be part of the equation.
By those measures, it’s arguable that Trump’s presidency never really began. By those measures, it’s indisputable that his presidency ended in the lobby of Trump Tower on Tuesday afternoon, when he chose — yes, chose — to litigate rather than lead, to attend to his wounded pride instead of his wounded nation and to debate the supposed fine points of white supremacy.
He abdicated his responsibilities so thoroughly and recklessly that it amounted to a letter of resignation. Then he whored for his Virginia winery on the way out the door.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/opinion/sunday/president-trump-resignation.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed
The Week When President Trump Resigned
By Frank Bruni
As the worst week in a cursed presidency wound down, I spotted more and more forecasts that Donald Trump would resign, including from Tony Schwartz, who wrote “The Art of the Deal” for Trump and presumably understands his tortured psyche.
They struck me not as wishful or fantastical.
They struck me as late.
Trump resigned the presidency already — if we regard the job as one of moral stewardship, if we assume that an iota of civic concern must joust with self-regard, if we expect a president’s interest in legislation to rise above vacuous theatrics, if we consider a certain baseline of diplomatic etiquette to be part of the equation.
By those measures, it’s arguable that Trump’s presidency never really began. By those measures, it’s indisputable that his presidency ended in the lobby of Trump Tower on Tuesday afternoon, when he chose — yes, chose — to litigate rather than lead, to attend to his wounded pride instead of his wounded nation and to debate the supposed fine points of white supremacy.
He abdicated his responsibilities so thoroughly and recklessly that it amounted to a letter of resignation. Then he whored for his Virginia winery on the way out the door.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/opinion/sunday/president-trump-resignation.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed
And Then There Was One
From the Washington Post -
Pence is the last man standing in this photo (besides Trump himself)
By Callum Borchers
 |
| This Jan. 28 photo shows President Trump speaking by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office, surrounded, from left, by then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Pence, then-chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, then-press secretary Sean Spicer and then-national security adviser Michael Flynn. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) |
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/08/18/mike-pence-is-the-last-man-standing-in-this-photo-besides-trump-himself/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-politics%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.8ef577a76f45
Honoring the Typewriter
From the NY Times -
Review: ‘California Typewriter’: Preserving the Past, Key by Key
CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER Directed by Doug Nichol
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/movies/california-typewriter-review.html?emc=edit_ca_20170818&nl=california-today&nlid=38867499&te=1&_r=0
Review: ‘California Typewriter’: Preserving the Past, Key by Key
CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER Directed by Doug Nichol
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/movies/california-typewriter-review.html?emc=edit_ca_20170818&nl=california-today&nlid=38867499&te=1&_r=0
Bakers. This One's For You.
From the LA Times -
How to make the best brownies ever, plus a recipe
By Noelle Carter
http://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-great-brownies-chocolate-recipe-20170803-htmlstory.html#nws=mcnewsletter
How to make the best brownies ever, plus a recipe
By Noelle Carter
http://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-great-brownies-chocolate-recipe-20170803-htmlstory.html#nws=mcnewsletter
An Unlikely Convert
A riveting article about the rise of a white nationalist and his ultimate decision to denounce that way of thinking. It's long but well worth the read.
From the Washington Post -
The white flight of Derek Black
By Eli Saslow
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-white-flight-of-derek-black/2016/10/15/ed5f906a-8f3b-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html?utm_term=.2e86498d4c66
From the Washington Post -
The white flight of Derek Black
By Eli Saslow
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-white-flight-of-derek-black/2016/10/15/ed5f906a-8f3b-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html?utm_term=.2e86498d4c66
Making an Impact
An excerpt form he Washington Post -
Her #OscarsSoWhite campaign changed how Hollywood deals with race. Now she’s taking on HBO.
By Sonia Rao
When April Reign joined Twitter back in 2010, she was met with the familiar frustration of a taken username. But instead of tacking random numbers onto the end, she opted for a simple play on words: @ReignOfApril.
“I decided I was royalty,” she said.
Reign has lived up to her commanding name. Since she cheekily tweeted “#OscarsSoWhite they asked to touch my hair” in response to an all-white slate of Academy Award acting nominees in 2015, Reign, 47, has been at the epicenter of the online conversation about representation in Hollywood. Her viral hashtag transformed the way we talk about entertainment, and she’s now using another to try to take down the “Game of Thrones” creators’ next TV show — all from her home office in Ellicott City, Md.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/her-oscarssowhite-campaign-changed-how-hollywood-deals-with-race-now-shes-taking-on-hbo/2017/08/16/50cf5606-8100-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html?utm_term=.130c0a720166&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Her #OscarsSoWhite campaign changed how Hollywood deals with race. Now she’s taking on HBO.
By Sonia Rao
When April Reign joined Twitter back in 2010, she was met with the familiar frustration of a taken username. But instead of tacking random numbers onto the end, she opted for a simple play on words: @ReignOfApril.
“I decided I was royalty,” she said.
Reign has lived up to her commanding name. Since she cheekily tweeted “#OscarsSoWhite they asked to touch my hair” in response to an all-white slate of Academy Award acting nominees in 2015, Reign, 47, has been at the epicenter of the online conversation about representation in Hollywood. Her viral hashtag transformed the way we talk about entertainment, and she’s now using another to try to take down the “Game of Thrones” creators’ next TV show — all from her home office in Ellicott City, Md.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/her-oscarssowhite-campaign-changed-how-hollywood-deals-with-race-now-shes-taking-on-hbo/2017/08/16/50cf5606-8100-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html?utm_term=.130c0a720166&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Using Math to Fight Gerrymandering
An excerpt from the Associated Press -
Math experts join brainpower to help address gerrymandering
By COLLIN BINKLEY
MEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — Some of the brightest minds in math arrived at Tufts University last week to tackle an issue lawyers and political scientists have been struggling with for decades.
They came from colleges across the country for a weeklong conference on gerrymandering, the practice of crafting voting districts in a way that favors voters from a certain political party or demographic. It’s a topic of growing interest among many math and data experts who say their scholarly fields can provide new tools to help courts identify voting maps that are drawn unfairly.
Among those working to bridge the classroom and the courtroom is Moon Duchin, a math professor at Tufts who orchestrated the gathering at her Boston-area campus. The workshop was the first in a series being organized at campuses nationwide to unite academics and to harness cutting-edge mathematics to address gerrymandering.
https://apnews.com/5f1defde7bf74d0ea8c9688d8d3ab51b
Math experts join brainpower to help address gerrymandering
By COLLIN BINKLEY
MEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — Some of the brightest minds in math arrived at Tufts University last week to tackle an issue lawyers and political scientists have been struggling with for decades.
They came from colleges across the country for a weeklong conference on gerrymandering, the practice of crafting voting districts in a way that favors voters from a certain political party or demographic. It’s a topic of growing interest among many math and data experts who say their scholarly fields can provide new tools to help courts identify voting maps that are drawn unfairly.
Among those working to bridge the classroom and the courtroom is Moon Duchin, a math professor at Tufts who orchestrated the gathering at her Boston-area campus. The workshop was the first in a series being organized at campuses nationwide to unite academics and to harness cutting-edge mathematics to address gerrymandering.
https://apnews.com/5f1defde7bf74d0ea8c9688d8d3ab51b
Better Late Than Never?
Excerpts from the Huffington Post -
Why Your ‘Apology’ For Defending Trump’s Racism Isn’t Enough
Listen up.
By Zeba Blay
“American Idol” alumnus Clay Aiken tweeted an apology Tuesday that was, frankly, too little and too late.
“Remember all those times I defended [Donald Trump] and believed he was not actually racist?” Aiken wrote. “Well ... I am a f*****g dumbass.”
~~~~~~~~~~
It’s convenient to ignore racism when you are not affected by it. It’s presumptuous to declare that something or someone is not racist when you have not experienced racism yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~
For the people of color who are directly affected by Trump’s actions and Trump’s rhetoric, who recognized all along that Trump has stoked dangerous ideological fires among white supremacists in America, the fact that some white people like Aiken are now just acknowledging this is incredibly frustrating.
It is, obviously, a good thing that Aiken has recognized he was wrong about Trump, and is willing to admit this in a public space. Few people are. But hopefully Aiken, and other white people who either supported, defended or voted for Trump in spite of his racist track record, will do more than just say they’re sorry ― they’ll make up for it by actively working to dismantle white supremacy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-your-apology-for-defending-trumps-racism-isnt-enough_us_5995ac68e4b0d0d2cc84ebbd
Why Your ‘Apology’ For Defending Trump’s Racism Isn’t Enough
Listen up.
By Zeba Blay
“American Idol” alumnus Clay Aiken tweeted an apology Tuesday that was, frankly, too little and too late.
“Remember all those times I defended [Donald Trump] and believed he was not actually racist?” Aiken wrote. “Well ... I am a f*****g dumbass.”
~~~~~~~~~~
It’s convenient to ignore racism when you are not affected by it. It’s presumptuous to declare that something or someone is not racist when you have not experienced racism yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~
For the people of color who are directly affected by Trump’s actions and Trump’s rhetoric, who recognized all along that Trump has stoked dangerous ideological fires among white supremacists in America, the fact that some white people like Aiken are now just acknowledging this is incredibly frustrating.
It is, obviously, a good thing that Aiken has recognized he was wrong about Trump, and is willing to admit this in a public space. Few people are. But hopefully Aiken, and other white people who either supported, defended or voted for Trump in spite of his racist track record, will do more than just say they’re sorry ― they’ll make up for it by actively working to dismantle white supremacy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-your-apology-for-defending-trumps-racism-isnt-enough_us_5995ac68e4b0d0d2cc84ebbd
Terminate Hate
.@Schwarzenegger has a blunt message for Nazis. pic.twitter.com/HAbnejahtl— ATTN: (@attn) August 17, 2017
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Six Words
Check out Six Word Memoirs at the links below.
https://www.sixwordmemoirs.com
http://ew.com/books/2017/08/17/mila-kunis-aziz-ansari-fresh-off-boat-six-word-memoirs/
https://www.sixwordmemoirs.com
http://ew.com/books/2017/08/17/mila-kunis-aziz-ansari-fresh-off-boat-six-word-memoirs/
New at ALCU
An excerpt from the Wall Street Journal -
ACLU Will No Longer Defend Hate Groups Protesting with Firearms
Executive director says violence and guns at Charlottesville rally spurred new stance
By Joe Palazzolo
The American Civil Liberties Union, taking a tougher stance on armed protests, will no longer defend hate groups seeking to march with firearms, the group’s executive director said.
Following clashes over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., the civil-rights group also will screen clients more closely for the potential of violence at their rallies, said Anthony Romero, who has been the ACLU’s executive director since 2001.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/aclu-changes-policy-on-defending-hate-groups-protesting-with-firearms-1503010167
ACLU Will No Longer Defend Hate Groups Protesting with Firearms
Executive director says violence and guns at Charlottesville rally spurred new stance
By Joe Palazzolo
The American Civil Liberties Union, taking a tougher stance on armed protests, will no longer defend hate groups seeking to march with firearms, the group’s executive director said.
Following clashes over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., the civil-rights group also will screen clients more closely for the potential of violence at their rallies, said Anthony Romero, who has been the ACLU’s executive director since 2001.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/aclu-changes-policy-on-defending-hate-groups-protesting-with-firearms-1503010167
Pro-Choice Victory
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Oregon approves sweeping bill expanding abortion access
By Sandhya Somashekhar
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) on Tuesday signed into law what advocates called the nation’s most progressive reproductive health policy, expanding access to abortion and birth control at a time when the Trump administration and other states are trying to restrict them.
Called the Reproductive Health Equity Act, the measure requires health insurers to provide birth control and abortion without charging a co-pay. It also dedicates state funds to provide reproductive health care to noncitizens excluded from Medicaid.
Antiabortion groups swiftly condemned the new law, saying it will force taxpayers to foot the bill for a procedure many consider to be a form of murder, and that it cements Oregon’s status as the most liberal state when it comes to abortion.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Pro-Choice Coalition of Oregon, which helped write the law, said it will benefit hundreds of thousands of Oregonians, not only by increasing access to abortion but also birth control and postpartum care for low-income women.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/08/15/oregon-approves-sweeping-bill-expanding-abortion-access/?utm_term=.55a56b371de9
Oregon approves sweeping bill expanding abortion access
By Sandhya Somashekhar
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) on Tuesday signed into law what advocates called the nation’s most progressive reproductive health policy, expanding access to abortion and birth control at a time when the Trump administration and other states are trying to restrict them.
Called the Reproductive Health Equity Act, the measure requires health insurers to provide birth control and abortion without charging a co-pay. It also dedicates state funds to provide reproductive health care to noncitizens excluded from Medicaid.
Antiabortion groups swiftly condemned the new law, saying it will force taxpayers to foot the bill for a procedure many consider to be a form of murder, and that it cements Oregon’s status as the most liberal state when it comes to abortion.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Pro-Choice Coalition of Oregon, which helped write the law, said it will benefit hundreds of thousands of Oregonians, not only by increasing access to abortion but also birth control and postpartum care for low-income women.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/08/15/oregon-approves-sweeping-bill-expanding-abortion-access/?utm_term=.55a56b371de9
Why We Sleep Under Blankets?
An excerpt from Atlas Obscura -
Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights?
There’s great comfort in being covered.
BY DAN NOSOWITZ
The other element that might explain our need for blankets is what Hoagland refers to as “pure conditioning.” “Chances are you were raised to always have a blanket on you when you went to sleep,” she says. “So that’s a version of a transitional object, in sort of Pavlovian way.” Basically, our parents always gave us blankets to sleep with—babies are a bit worse than adults at thermoregulation, meaning they get cold easily, meaning well-meaning adults put blankets on them—and so getting under a sheet or blanket is associated with the process of falling asleep. Instead of Pavlov’s dogs drooling at the sound of a bell, we get sleepy when covered with a sheet.
If you Google around for this question, you’ll end up with a bunch of theories about blankets simulating the warm, enclosed feeling we had in the womb. There could be some element of theoretical protection or security imbued by the blanket, which might be another bit of conditioning, but Hoagland thinks the womb comparison is pretty unlikely. “I’m very suspicious of anyone who implies that this goes back to the feeling of being in the womb,” she says. “I think that’s very far-fetched.”
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/blankets-summer-hot
Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights?
There’s great comfort in being covered.
BY DAN NOSOWITZ
The other element that might explain our need for blankets is what Hoagland refers to as “pure conditioning.” “Chances are you were raised to always have a blanket on you when you went to sleep,” she says. “So that’s a version of a transitional object, in sort of Pavlovian way.” Basically, our parents always gave us blankets to sleep with—babies are a bit worse than adults at thermoregulation, meaning they get cold easily, meaning well-meaning adults put blankets on them—and so getting under a sheet or blanket is associated with the process of falling asleep. Instead of Pavlov’s dogs drooling at the sound of a bell, we get sleepy when covered with a sheet.
If you Google around for this question, you’ll end up with a bunch of theories about blankets simulating the warm, enclosed feeling we had in the womb. There could be some element of theoretical protection or security imbued by the blanket, which might be another bit of conditioning, but Hoagland thinks the womb comparison is pretty unlikely. “I’m very suspicious of anyone who implies that this goes back to the feeling of being in the womb,” she says. “I think that’s very far-fetched.”
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/blankets-summer-hot
Looking Sharp
An excerpt from the LA Times -
Tijuana's big growth industry? Barbershops, with 100 opening in three years
By Phillip Molnar, Alejandro Tamayo
Tijuana had roughly 50 to 80 barbershops in 2013 but now has more than 150, said the city’s economic development office.
Retail experts say going to a barbershop is a way of projecting masculinity, but there are other factors that attract clients: nostalgia, bargain prices, access to beard products and increased amenities offered by barbers.
Ruben Chavarria, 40, a machinist in San Diego who lives in Tijuana, used to get his haircut in San Diego now but goes to Don Edgar Barberia once a week.
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-tijuana-barbers-20170817-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter
Tijuana's big growth industry? Barbershops, with 100 opening in three years
By Phillip Molnar, Alejandro Tamayo
Tijuana had roughly 50 to 80 barbershops in 2013 but now has more than 150, said the city’s economic development office.
Retail experts say going to a barbershop is a way of projecting masculinity, but there are other factors that attract clients: nostalgia, bargain prices, access to beard products and increased amenities offered by barbers.
Ruben Chavarria, 40, a machinist in San Diego who lives in Tijuana, used to get his haircut in San Diego now but goes to Don Edgar Barberia once a week.
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-tijuana-barbers-20170817-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter
Amazon's Convenience Stores
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
What it’s like to shop in Amazon’s version of the convenience store
By Hayley Tsukayama
BERKELEY, Calif. — Amazon has been aggressively courting students as part of its experiment to bring its enormous online shopping operation into the brick-and-mortar world. Now, the company is launching Amazon Instant Pickup, a service that allows customers to order certain items from their smartphones for pickup within minutes of purchase.
Essentially, Amazon has launched its own version of the convenience store.
Five college campus locations will introduce Instant Pickup this week, including the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Maryland at College Park. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos is the owner of The Washington Post.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/08/16/what-its-like-to-shop-in-amazons-version-of-the-convenience-store/?utm_term=.73ec9def8e95&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
What it’s like to shop in Amazon’s version of the convenience store
By Hayley Tsukayama
BERKELEY, Calif. — Amazon has been aggressively courting students as part of its experiment to bring its enormous online shopping operation into the brick-and-mortar world. Now, the company is launching Amazon Instant Pickup, a service that allows customers to order certain items from their smartphones for pickup within minutes of purchase.
Essentially, Amazon has launched its own version of the convenience store.
Five college campus locations will introduce Instant Pickup this week, including the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Maryland at College Park. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos is the owner of The Washington Post.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/08/16/what-its-like-to-shop-in-amazons-version-of-the-convenience-store/?utm_term=.73ec9def8e95&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Shown No Mercy
An excerpt from Salon -
White privilege turned deadly in Charlottesville: How would police have reacted if a mob of angry black people had gathered there?
Imagine this thought experiment: Hundreds of armed, angry black protesters descend on a small Southern city
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Imagine this: What if the white right-wing thugs in Charlottesville had instead been African-American or Hispanic?
The police would not have shown restraint. They would have been joined by the National Guard and other forces. A bloodbath might well have ensued. The events in Ferguson, Missouri after the shooting of Mike Brown, demonstrate how America’s police respond to unarmed black and brown American who dare to engage in civil disobedience and protest. People of color with guns or other weapons would be shown no mercy.
http://www.salon.com/2017/08/16/white-privilege-turned-deadly-in-charlottesville-how-would-police-have-reacted-if-a-mob-of-angry-black-people-had-gathered-there/
White privilege turned deadly in Charlottesville: How would police have reacted if a mob of angry black people had gathered there?
Imagine this thought experiment: Hundreds of armed, angry black protesters descend on a small Southern city
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Imagine this: What if the white right-wing thugs in Charlottesville had instead been African-American or Hispanic?
The police would not have shown restraint. They would have been joined by the National Guard and other forces. A bloodbath might well have ensued. The events in Ferguson, Missouri after the shooting of Mike Brown, demonstrate how America’s police respond to unarmed black and brown American who dare to engage in civil disobedience and protest. People of color with guns or other weapons would be shown no mercy.
http://www.salon.com/2017/08/16/white-privilege-turned-deadly-in-charlottesville-how-would-police-have-reacted-if-a-mob-of-angry-black-people-had-gathered-there/
A New Kind of School
An excerpt from the NY Times -
A New Kind of Classroom: No Grades, No Failing, No Hurry
By KYLE SPENCER
Few middle schoolers are as clued in to their mathematical strengths and weakness as Moheeb Kaied. Now a seventh grader at Brooklyn’s Middle School 442, he can easily rattle off his computational profile.
“Let’s see,” he said one morning this spring. “I can find the area and perimeter of a polygon. I can solve mathematical and real-world problems using a coordinate plane. I still need to get better at dividing multiple-digit numbers, which means I should probably practice that more.”
Moheeb is part of a new program that is challenging the way teachers and students think about academic accomplishments, and his school is one of hundreds that have done away with traditional letter grades inside their classrooms. At M.S. 442, students are encouraged to focus instead on mastering a set of grade-level skills, like writing a scientific hypothesis or identifying themes in a story, moving to the next set of skills when they have demonstrated that they are ready. In these schools, there is no such thing as a C or a D for a lazily written term paper. There is no failing. The only goal is to learn the material, sooner or later.
For struggling students, there is ample time to practice until they get it. For those who grasp concepts quickly, there is the opportunity to swiftly move ahead. The strategy looks different from classroom to classroom, as does the material that students must master. But in general, students work at their own pace through worksheets, online lessons and in small group discussions with teachers. They get frequent updates on skills they have learned and those they need to acquire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/nyregion/mastery-based-learning-no-grades.html
A New Kind of Classroom: No Grades, No Failing, No Hurry
By KYLE SPENCER
Few middle schoolers are as clued in to their mathematical strengths and weakness as Moheeb Kaied. Now a seventh grader at Brooklyn’s Middle School 442, he can easily rattle off his computational profile.
“Let’s see,” he said one morning this spring. “I can find the area and perimeter of a polygon. I can solve mathematical and real-world problems using a coordinate plane. I still need to get better at dividing multiple-digit numbers, which means I should probably practice that more.”
Moheeb is part of a new program that is challenging the way teachers and students think about academic accomplishments, and his school is one of hundreds that have done away with traditional letter grades inside their classrooms. At M.S. 442, students are encouraged to focus instead on mastering a set of grade-level skills, like writing a scientific hypothesis or identifying themes in a story, moving to the next set of skills when they have demonstrated that they are ready. In these schools, there is no such thing as a C or a D for a lazily written term paper. There is no failing. The only goal is to learn the material, sooner or later.
For struggling students, there is ample time to practice until they get it. For those who grasp concepts quickly, there is the opportunity to swiftly move ahead. The strategy looks different from classroom to classroom, as does the material that students must master. But in general, students work at their own pace through worksheets, online lessons and in small group discussions with teachers. They get frequent updates on skills they have learned and those they need to acquire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/nyregion/mastery-based-learning-no-grades.html
Books For Kids
From the NY Times -
How to Talk to Your Kids About Charlottesville
By MARIA RUSSO
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/books/review/children-violence-racism-charlottesville.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_rr_20170816&nl=race-related&nl_art=6&nlid=38867499&ref=headline&te=1&_r=0
How to Talk to Your Kids About Charlottesville
By MARIA RUSSO
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/books/review/children-violence-racism-charlottesville.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_rr_20170816&nl=race-related&nl_art=6&nlid=38867499&ref=headline&te=1&_r=0
History Lesson
From EW -
Stan Lee shares 1968 column against bigotry after Charlottesville violence
‘As it true today as it was in 1968,’ the writer tweeted
By CHRISTIAN HOLUB
Stan Lee shares 1968 column against bigotry after Charlottesville violence
‘As it true today as it was in 1968,’ the writer tweeted
By CHRISTIAN HOLUB
As true today as it was in 1968. Pax et Justitia - Stan pic.twitter.com/VbBtiZzUch— stan lee (@TheRealStanLee) August 15, 2017
Quote
"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."-Wiesel— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) August 15, 2017
Prelude to a Coup?
An excerpt from Slate -
Chain of Confusion
Military commanders’ rebuke of Trump after Charlottesville points to a crisis for civilian control of the military.
By Fred Kaplan
n a stunning bit of news, the chiefs of all four U.S. military services—Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines—have issued statements this week condemning racism in all its forms. This can only be seen as a rebuke to President Trump’s equivocating statements on last weekend’s violence in Charlottesville, Virginia—i.e., as a rebuke to their commander in chief.
If we lived in a different sort of country, this could fairly be seen as the prelude to a military coup—and a coup that many might welcome.
The United States is not that sort of country. The principles of civilian control and an apolitical military are hammered into every officer’s sensibility in every forum of education and training. Yet, at the same time, so are principles of equality and nondiscrimination—enshrined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and bolstered by the military’s heritage as a spearhead of racial integration shortly after World War II, long before other segments of American society followed along.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2017/08/trump_s_generals_rebuke_him_after_charlottesville.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
Chain of Confusion
Military commanders’ rebuke of Trump after Charlottesville points to a crisis for civilian control of the military.
By Fred Kaplan
n a stunning bit of news, the chiefs of all four U.S. military services—Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines—have issued statements this week condemning racism in all its forms. This can only be seen as a rebuke to President Trump’s equivocating statements on last weekend’s violence in Charlottesville, Virginia—i.e., as a rebuke to their commander in chief.
If we lived in a different sort of country, this could fairly be seen as the prelude to a military coup—and a coup that many might welcome.
The United States is not that sort of country. The principles of civilian control and an apolitical military are hammered into every officer’s sensibility in every forum of education and training. Yet, at the same time, so are principles of equality and nondiscrimination—enshrined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and bolstered by the military’s heritage as a spearhead of racial integration shortly after World War II, long before other segments of American society followed along.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2017/08/trump_s_generals_rebuke_him_after_charlottesville.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Are You There Yet?
An excerpt from the Boston Globe -
If you work for Donald Trump, what’s your red line?
By JOAN VENNOCHI
If you work for President Trump, what’s your red line? When do his words and actions become so chilling and outrageous that you have no choice but to walk away?
Trump went rogue during Tuesday’s press conference, but not rogue enough for any administration official or White House staffer to resign in protest. A half-dozen business leaders have stepped down from presidential advisory councils in the wake of the president’s alarming comments about the murder and mayhem in Charlottesville, Va. But no one in Trump’s inner circle has yet abandoned ship — and maybe that’s a good thing for the rest of us.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/16/you-work-for-donald-trump-what-your-red-line/ksPuHKEoRfszr7jg00p1zI/story.html
If you work for Donald Trump, what’s your red line?
By JOAN VENNOCHI
If you work for President Trump, what’s your red line? When do his words and actions become so chilling and outrageous that you have no choice but to walk away?
Trump went rogue during Tuesday’s press conference, but not rogue enough for any administration official or White House staffer to resign in protest. A half-dozen business leaders have stepped down from presidential advisory councils in the wake of the president’s alarming comments about the murder and mayhem in Charlottesville, Va. But no one in Trump’s inner circle has yet abandoned ship — and maybe that’s a good thing for the rest of us.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/16/you-work-for-donald-trump-what-your-red-line/ksPuHKEoRfszr7jg00p1zI/story.html
Paid to Stand in Line
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
See the cool kids lined up outside that new restaurant? This app pays them to stand there.
By Peter Holley
Pretend for a moment that you’re walking through your neighborhood and notice a line of people wrapped around the block outside a newly opened restaurant.
Local food bloggers haven’t written about the venue, so you assume the trendy-looking crowd must be the result of contagious, word-of-mouth buzz.
There was a time when that may have been undoubtedly true — when you could trust that a crowd of people was, in fact, a naturally occurring mass of individuals.
But that time may be passing thanks to Surkus, an emerging app that allowed the restaurant to quickly manufacture its ideal crowd and pay the people to stand in place like extras on a movie set. They’ve even been hand-picked by a casting agent of sorts, an algorithmic one that selects each person according to age, location, style and Facebook “likes.”
They may look excited, but that could also be part of the production. Acting disengaged while they idle in line could tarnish their “reputation score,” an identifier that influences whether they’ll be “cast” again. Nobody is forcing the participants to stay, of course, but if they leave, they won’t be paid — their movements are being tracked with geolocation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/08/16/see-the-hipsters-lined-up-outside-that-new-restaurant-this-app-pays-them-to-stand-there/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_surkus-110pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.1c5a42e841a7
See the cool kids lined up outside that new restaurant? This app pays them to stand there.
By Peter Holley
Pretend for a moment that you’re walking through your neighborhood and notice a line of people wrapped around the block outside a newly opened restaurant.
Local food bloggers haven’t written about the venue, so you assume the trendy-looking crowd must be the result of contagious, word-of-mouth buzz.
There was a time when that may have been undoubtedly true — when you could trust that a crowd of people was, in fact, a naturally occurring mass of individuals.
But that time may be passing thanks to Surkus, an emerging app that allowed the restaurant to quickly manufacture its ideal crowd and pay the people to stand in place like extras on a movie set. They’ve even been hand-picked by a casting agent of sorts, an algorithmic one that selects each person according to age, location, style and Facebook “likes.”
They may look excited, but that could also be part of the production. Acting disengaged while they idle in line could tarnish their “reputation score,” an identifier that influences whether they’ll be “cast” again. Nobody is forcing the participants to stay, of course, but if they leave, they won’t be paid — their movements are being tracked with geolocation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/08/16/see-the-hipsters-lined-up-outside-that-new-restaurant-this-app-pays-them-to-stand-there/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_surkus-110pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.1c5a42e841a7
Quote
One good thing about that abomination of a speech: it's now impossible for any Trump supporter to pretend they don't know what he is.— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 15, 2017
Not Us?
An excerpt from the New Yorker - (Italics is mine)
Charlottesville and the Trouble with Civil War Hypotheticals
By Jelani Cobb
Even before the insipid forces of radical whiteness had withdrawn from Charlottesville, Virginia, one heard the beseeching protestation “This is not us.” That sentiment blossomed into a hashtag, exculpating our society after some of its citizens had seemingly forgotten our standing position against fascism. The truth, though, is that there has never been a time when what we saw in Charlottesville has not been us. The present is bequeathed to us by the past, and seldom was that relationship more apparent than it was at the base of the Robert E. Lee statue that was at the center of the violent clashes in Charlottesville. Last month, HBO inspired an avalanche of criticism when it announced that it would produce a series called “Confederate,” which would explore a hypothetical world in which the South had won the Civil War. The events in Charlottesville illustrated a problem with that idea: only by the most specific, immediate definition can we consider the Confederacy to have lost the Civil War, and its legacy has defined a great deal of our history since then.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/charlottesville-and-the-trouble-with-civil-war-hypotheticals
Charlottesville and the Trouble with Civil War Hypotheticals
By Jelani Cobb
Even before the insipid forces of radical whiteness had withdrawn from Charlottesville, Virginia, one heard the beseeching protestation “This is not us.” That sentiment blossomed into a hashtag, exculpating our society after some of its citizens had seemingly forgotten our standing position against fascism. The truth, though, is that there has never been a time when what we saw in Charlottesville has not been us. The present is bequeathed to us by the past, and seldom was that relationship more apparent than it was at the base of the Robert E. Lee statue that was at the center of the violent clashes in Charlottesville. Last month, HBO inspired an avalanche of criticism when it announced that it would produce a series called “Confederate,” which would explore a hypothetical world in which the South had won the Civil War. The events in Charlottesville illustrated a problem with that idea: only by the most specific, immediate definition can we consider the Confederacy to have lost the Civil War, and its legacy has defined a great deal of our history since then.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/charlottesville-and-the-trouble-with-civil-war-hypotheticals
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