Wednesday, September 20, 2017
I Love Neil DeGrasse Tyson
From Salon -
Fired Google employee James Damore has Twitter war after KKK questions
A nerd fight breaks out after Neil DeGrasse Tyson schools Damore on why the Klan is not like Dungeons & Dragons
By SOPHIA TESFAYE
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/20/fired-google-employee-james-damore-has-twitter-war-after-kkk-questions/?source=newsletter
Fired Google employee James Damore has Twitter war after KKK questions
A nerd fight breaks out after Neil DeGrasse Tyson schools Damore on why the Klan is not like Dungeons & Dragons
By SOPHIA TESFAYE
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/20/fired-google-employee-james-damore-has-twitter-war-after-kkk-questions/?source=newsletter
Serena's Letter to Her Mom
From Reddit -
Dear Mom,
You are one of the strongest women I know. I was looking at my daughter (OMG, yes, I have adaughter 😳) and she has my arms and legs! My exact same strong, muscular, powerful, sensational arms and body. I don't know how I would react if she has to go through what I've gone through since I was a 15 year old and even to this day.
I've been called man because I appeared outwardly strong. It has been said that that I use drugs (No, I have always had far too much integrity to behave dishonestly in order to gain an advantage). It has been said I don't belong in Women's sports -- that I belong in Men's -- because I look stronger than many other women do. (No, I just work hard and I was born with this badass body and proud of it).
But mom, I'm not sure how you did not go off on every single reporter, person, announcer and quite frankly, hater, who was too ignorant to understand the power of a black woman.
I am proud we were able to show them what some women look like. We don't all look the same. We are curvy, strong, muscular, tall, small, just to name a few, and all the same: we are women and proud!
You are so classy, I only wish I could take your lead. I am trying, though, and God is not done with me yet. I have a LONG way to go, but thank you.
Thank you for being the role model I needed to endure all the hardships that I now regard as a challenges--ones that I enjoy. I hope to teach my baby Alexis Olympia the same, and have the same fortitude you have had.
Promise me, Mom, that you will continue to help. I'm not sure if I am as meek and strong as you are yet. I hope to get there one day. I love you dearly.
Your youngest of five,
Serena
https://www.reddit.com/user/serenawilliams/comments/714c1b/letter_to_my_mom/?st=j7tsl0tx&sh=b1f13ac6
Dear Mom,
You are one of the strongest women I know. I was looking at my daughter (OMG, yes, I have adaughter 😳) and she has my arms and legs! My exact same strong, muscular, powerful, sensational arms and body. I don't know how I would react if she has to go through what I've gone through since I was a 15 year old and even to this day.
I've been called man because I appeared outwardly strong. It has been said that that I use drugs (No, I have always had far too much integrity to behave dishonestly in order to gain an advantage). It has been said I don't belong in Women's sports -- that I belong in Men's -- because I look stronger than many other women do. (No, I just work hard and I was born with this badass body and proud of it).
But mom, I'm not sure how you did not go off on every single reporter, person, announcer and quite frankly, hater, who was too ignorant to understand the power of a black woman.
I am proud we were able to show them what some women look like. We don't all look the same. We are curvy, strong, muscular, tall, small, just to name a few, and all the same: we are women and proud!
You are so classy, I only wish I could take your lead. I am trying, though, and God is not done with me yet. I have a LONG way to go, but thank you.
Thank you for being the role model I needed to endure all the hardships that I now regard as a challenges--ones that I enjoy. I hope to teach my baby Alexis Olympia the same, and have the same fortitude you have had.
Promise me, Mom, that you will continue to help. I'm not sure if I am as meek and strong as you are yet. I hope to get there one day. I love you dearly.
Your youngest of five,
Serena
https://www.reddit.com/user/serenawilliams/comments/714c1b/letter_to_my_mom/?st=j7tsl0tx&sh=b1f13ac6
Monday, September 18, 2017
Spreading the Foodie Love
Excerpts from the NY Times -
What Happens When Marcus Samuelsson Takes Harlem to London?
By NIKITA STEWART
Marcus Samuelsson lives in Harlem. He loves Harlem. He loves it so much that he decided to spread it to east London.
Mr. Samuelsson’s Red Rooster Harlem, a neighborhood restaurant known for its soul food and soul-stirring gospel brunches, has birthed a doppelgänger Red Rooster Shoreditch.
~~~~~~~~~~
Since adopting Harlem as his home and choosing it to hone his skills as a showman restaurateur, Mr. Samuelsson has masterfully straddled a fine line between gentrification, appropriation and approbation. Mr. Samuelsson, born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, has garnered enough Harlem street cred to successfully strut out Streetbird Rotisserie, a more casual, less expensive eatery less than mile from Red Rooster Harlem, and Harlem Eat Up, an annual food festival that takes over Morningside Park each May. He has found a culinary aesthetic that’s the equivalent of the electric slide, a line dance that still prompts black families to rise up in unison at backyard cookouts but equally rouses a crowd at a predominantly white wedding.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/travel/red-rooster-london-shoreditch-marcus-samuelsson.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
What Happens When Marcus Samuelsson Takes Harlem to London?
By NIKITA STEWART
Marcus Samuelsson lives in Harlem. He loves Harlem. He loves it so much that he decided to spread it to east London.
Mr. Samuelsson’s Red Rooster Harlem, a neighborhood restaurant known for its soul food and soul-stirring gospel brunches, has birthed a doppelgänger Red Rooster Shoreditch.
~~~~~~~~~~
Since adopting Harlem as his home and choosing it to hone his skills as a showman restaurateur, Mr. Samuelsson has masterfully straddled a fine line between gentrification, appropriation and approbation. Mr. Samuelsson, born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, has garnered enough Harlem street cred to successfully strut out Streetbird Rotisserie, a more casual, less expensive eatery less than mile from Red Rooster Harlem, and Harlem Eat Up, an annual food festival that takes over Morningside Park each May. He has found a culinary aesthetic that’s the equivalent of the electric slide, a line dance that still prompts black families to rise up in unison at backyard cookouts but equally rouses a crowd at a predominantly white wedding.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/travel/red-rooster-london-shoreditch-marcus-samuelsson.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
A Bad Dude
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
‘The first white president’ is a ‘bad dude’
By Jonathan Capehart
I have a confession to make. I have not been as enamored of Ta-Nehisi Coates and his writing on race as some white people, particularly liberals, are. In fact, recently, I’ve discovered that I’m not alone in thinking that Coates’s views on race are too emotional, too dark, too relentlessly pessimistic. As one friend wrote in an email, “I tend not to agree with Coates because the premise of everything he writes is all white people in this country are evil and just look at the history of America to prove it. I tend to be a lot less cynical than that.”
When it comes to race and the United States, I am Martin Luther King Jr. to Coates’s Malcolm X. But ever since the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and the ensuing grim roll call of black lives felled by law enforcement and wannabe cops and others who simply felt empowered, my views on race and our nation have moved steadily closer to Coates’s. With “The First White President,” Coates’s epic examination of and explanation for President Trump’s victory last November in the Atlantic magazine, there no longer is any daylight between me and the provocative chronicler of America’s racial divide.
In paragraph after paragraph, Coates articulates what has roiled my heart and mind since election night. He lays out with precision and data what I knew in my bones. White people, generally speaking, were not and are not going to slip into their impending status as “the new minority” without a fight — a fight successfully waged by a man who ran the most racist, xenophobic, misogynistic campaign for president in memory. And that was after spending years questioning the legitimacy of his predecessor, Barack Obama, by peddling the racist birther lie that the nation’s first African American president wasn’t born in the United States.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/09/18/the-first-white-president-is-a-bad-dude/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-f%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.077fef3511cc
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/the-first-white-president-ta-nehisi-coates/537909/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-091217&silverid=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
‘The first white president’ is a ‘bad dude’
By Jonathan Capehart
I have a confession to make. I have not been as enamored of Ta-Nehisi Coates and his writing on race as some white people, particularly liberals, are. In fact, recently, I’ve discovered that I’m not alone in thinking that Coates’s views on race are too emotional, too dark, too relentlessly pessimistic. As one friend wrote in an email, “I tend not to agree with Coates because the premise of everything he writes is all white people in this country are evil and just look at the history of America to prove it. I tend to be a lot less cynical than that.”
When it comes to race and the United States, I am Martin Luther King Jr. to Coates’s Malcolm X. But ever since the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and the ensuing grim roll call of black lives felled by law enforcement and wannabe cops and others who simply felt empowered, my views on race and our nation have moved steadily closer to Coates’s. With “The First White President,” Coates’s epic examination of and explanation for President Trump’s victory last November in the Atlantic magazine, there no longer is any daylight between me and the provocative chronicler of America’s racial divide.
In paragraph after paragraph, Coates articulates what has roiled my heart and mind since election night. He lays out with precision and data what I knew in my bones. White people, generally speaking, were not and are not going to slip into their impending status as “the new minority” without a fight — a fight successfully waged by a man who ran the most racist, xenophobic, misogynistic campaign for president in memory. And that was after spending years questioning the legitimacy of his predecessor, Barack Obama, by peddling the racist birther lie that the nation’s first African American president wasn’t born in the United States.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/09/18/the-first-white-president-is-a-bad-dude/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-f%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.077fef3511cc
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/the-first-white-president-ta-nehisi-coates/537909/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-091217&silverid=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
Report Confirms What We Already Know
From the Huffington Post -
Exclusive: New Report Offers Proof Of US Hate Crime Rise In The Trump Era
New data obtained by HuffPost shows hate crimes rose nationally in 2016. The numbers for 2017 aren’t looking great either.
By Christopher Mathias
The number of hate crimes rose across the United States in 2016, marking the first time in over a decade that the country has experienced consecutive annual increases in crimes targeting people based on their race, religion, sexuality, disability or national origin.
Data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, and provided exclusively to HuffPost, shows hate crimes rose about 5 percent from 2015 to 2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hate-crime-rise-2016-united-states-trump_us_59becac8e4b086432b07fed8?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Exclusive: New Report Offers Proof Of US Hate Crime Rise In The Trump Era
New data obtained by HuffPost shows hate crimes rose nationally in 2016. The numbers for 2017 aren’t looking great either.
By Christopher Mathias
The number of hate crimes rose across the United States in 2016, marking the first time in over a decade that the country has experienced consecutive annual increases in crimes targeting people based on their race, religion, sexuality, disability or national origin.
Data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, and provided exclusively to HuffPost, shows hate crimes rose about 5 percent from 2015 to 2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hate-crime-rise-2016-united-states-trump_us_59becac8e4b086432b07fed8?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Resting in Peace and Beauty
From Atlas Obscura -
In Search of Cemeteries Alive With Beauty, Art, and History
These resting places celebrate life.
BY ANIKA BURGESS
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cemeteries-to-visit-before-you-die-monuments
In Search of Cemeteries Alive With Beauty, Art, and History
These resting places celebrate life.
BY ANIKA BURGESS
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cemeteries-to-visit-before-you-die-monuments
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Redeemed
An excerpt from the NY Times Race/Related by Eli Hager -
In April, I received an email from a source: a teacher at a women’s prison in Indiana. In it, she wrote almost in passing that one of her students — who had been incarcerated for more than two decades for the murder of her 4-year-old son — was now getting out, and had already been “accepted at N.Y.U., Harvard and a host of other top grad schools...”
You don’t hear that every day, I thought.
And that was before I knew that Harvard’s top brass, including its president and provost, had taken the highly unusual step of overruling their history department’s selection of this extraordinary student, Michelle Jones, citing her crime.
To Ms. Jones’s many supporters, her story is about her profound accomplishments and her joyful personality. Their goal was in part to convey to the world all she had achieved while in prison — conducting original archival research without the internet, publishing widely, presenting her groundbreaking findings by video-chat to historians’ conferences, and winning the loyal support of the top academics in her field, all without knowing it would lead to any concrete reward.
https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2017/09/14/race-related?nlid=38867499
 | |
| Michelle Jones was released in August after two decades in prison. Now a Ph.D. candidate at N.Y.U., Ms. Jones is being heralded as an extraordinary self-made scholar of history. Damon Winter/The New York Times |
You don’t hear that every day, I thought.
And that was before I knew that Harvard’s top brass, including its president and provost, had taken the highly unusual step of overruling their history department’s selection of this extraordinary student, Michelle Jones, citing her crime.
To Ms. Jones’s many supporters, her story is about her profound accomplishments and her joyful personality. Their goal was in part to convey to the world all she had achieved while in prison — conducting original archival research without the internet, publishing widely, presenting her groundbreaking findings by video-chat to historians’ conferences, and winning the loyal support of the top academics in her field, all without knowing it would lead to any concrete reward.
https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2017/09/14/race-related?nlid=38867499
The Facts Are Self-Evident.
An excerpt from Salon -
Stop acting surprised, America: Donald Trump is a white supremacist
Trump has made clear to America for decades where he stands on race. It's long past time to accept the facts
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
The facts are self-evident. Donald Trump is a white supremacist. The Republican Party — despite its duplicitous and hypocritical claims to the contrary — is the country’s largest white supremacist and white identity organization. Together, Donald Trump and the Republicans are waging a war against black and brown people’s liberty and freedom with the goal of overturning the modest gains of the Civil Rights Movement. Republican voters are, generally speaking, supportive of this racist crusade.
Yet many Americans somehow continue to react with shock, surprise or amazement, and claim to be baffled by Donald Trump’s slavish devotion to white supremacy. In reality, this is one of the few areas of Trump’s public and private life where he has shown a remarkable amount of dedication, consistency and discipline.
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/17/stop-acting-surprised-america-donald-trump-is-a-white-supremacist/?source=newsletter
Stop acting surprised, America: Donald Trump is a white supremacist
Trump has made clear to America for decades where he stands on race. It's long past time to accept the facts
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
The facts are self-evident. Donald Trump is a white supremacist. The Republican Party — despite its duplicitous and hypocritical claims to the contrary — is the country’s largest white supremacist and white identity organization. Together, Donald Trump and the Republicans are waging a war against black and brown people’s liberty and freedom with the goal of overturning the modest gains of the Civil Rights Movement. Republican voters are, generally speaking, supportive of this racist crusade.
Yet many Americans somehow continue to react with shock, surprise or amazement, and claim to be baffled by Donald Trump’s slavish devotion to white supremacy. In reality, this is one of the few areas of Trump’s public and private life where he has shown a remarkable amount of dedication, consistency and discipline.
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/17/stop-acting-surprised-america-donald-trump-is-a-white-supremacist/?source=newsletter
Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
From the Root -
Twitter Drags Kevin Hart After He Admits to Cheating on His Pregnant Wife. And Hilarity Ensues
By Angela Helm
Kevin Hart’s messy love life is moving into hoarder’s territory.
Not only did his first wife, Torrei Hart, recently accuse him of cheating on her with his current wife and “rib” Eniko Parish, but on Saturday, the 38-year-old comedian had to backtrack on his vehement denials of cheating on a pregnant Eniko after his side slide apparently threatened to extort him for an undisclosed amount of money.
http://thegrapevine.theroot.com/twitter-drags-kevin-hart-after-he-admits-to-cheating-on-1818488422?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-09-17
Twitter Drags Kevin Hart After He Admits to Cheating on His Pregnant Wife. And Hilarity Ensues
By Angela Helm
Kevin Hart’s messy love life is moving into hoarder’s territory.
Not only did his first wife, Torrei Hart, recently accuse him of cheating on her with his current wife and “rib” Eniko Parish, but on Saturday, the 38-year-old comedian had to backtrack on his vehement denials of cheating on a pregnant Eniko after his side slide apparently threatened to extort him for an undisclosed amount of money.
http://thegrapevine.theroot.com/twitter-drags-kevin-hart-after-he-admits-to-cheating-on-1818488422?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-09-17
Transporting Your Kitty
From Lifehacker -
Get Your Cat in Their Carrier by Wrapping Them Into a "Kitty Burrito"
By Jaime Green
Your cat knows what’s up. Even if she doesn’t run and hide at the sight of her carrier, there’s no way she’s going into that thing without a fight. But the fight stresses her out and can leave you frustrated and scratched up—not to mention late for the vet. Enter the kitty burrito.
Basically, you need to restrain your cat’s limbs, both to protect yourself from claws and to stop her from grabbing hold of the outside of the carrier. (How is such a small animal so strong??) Being wrapped up can also help soothe your cat, like swaddling a baby or putting an anxious dog into a Thundershirt.
(See step-by-step directions in the link below).
https://lifehacker.com/get-your-cat-in-their-carrier-by-wrapping-them-into-a-1818487720?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-09-17
Get Your Cat in Their Carrier by Wrapping Them Into a "Kitty Burrito"
By Jaime Green
Your cat knows what’s up. Even if she doesn’t run and hide at the sight of her carrier, there’s no way she’s going into that thing without a fight. But the fight stresses her out and can leave you frustrated and scratched up—not to mention late for the vet. Enter the kitty burrito.
Basically, you need to restrain your cat’s limbs, both to protect yourself from claws and to stop her from grabbing hold of the outside of the carrier. (How is such a small animal so strong??) Being wrapped up can also help soothe your cat, like swaddling a baby or putting an anxious dog into a Thundershirt.
(See step-by-step directions in the link below).
https://lifehacker.com/get-your-cat-in-their-carrier-by-wrapping-them-into-a-1818487720?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-09-17
Just Suspended?
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
Firefighter Says Saving One Dog Is ‘More Important’ Than A Million Black People
Tyler Roysdon has been suspended for his racist Facebook post.
By David Moye
An Ohio fire department has suspended one of its volunteer firefighters for a racist Facebook post suggesting he’d prefer to save a dog in an emergency than a black person.
Tyler Roysdon, a volunteer for Franklin Township, wrote that if he had to choose between saving a dog or a black man from a burning building, the dog would get priority, because “one dog is more important than a million n****rs.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tyler-roysdon-firefighter-racist-facebook_us_59bc2a97e4b0edff971c0fbc
Firefighter Says Saving One Dog Is ‘More Important’ Than A Million Black People
Tyler Roysdon has been suspended for his racist Facebook post.
By David Moye
An Ohio fire department has suspended one of its volunteer firefighters for a racist Facebook post suggesting he’d prefer to save a dog in an emergency than a black person.
Tyler Roysdon, a volunteer for Franklin Township, wrote that if he had to choose between saving a dog or a black man from a burning building, the dog would get priority, because “one dog is more important than a million n****rs.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tyler-roysdon-firefighter-racist-facebook_us_59bc2a97e4b0edff971c0fbc
Quote
“To Jeff Sessions, how does it feel to be dragged & humiliated? Now you know how the African Americans you disrespected feel.” - Maxine Waters
Patience
Apologies for the sporadic postings. I've spent the last couple of weeks moving, but thankfully, I'm all settled now.
Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for your patience.
This is What He Really Thinks & He's Not Alone
An excerpt from the Root - (Bold is mine)
To All the Black Men Watching the NFL, Here’s What Philadelphia Eagles Owner Thinks About Colin Kaepernick
By Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a bit of a history dealing with controversial players. First they signed Michael Vick to a contract after he was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his involvement in a dogfighting ring that included killing dogs that weren’t fit to fight.
They also offered wide receiver Riley Cooper a contract extension after his racist tirade at a concert, in which he called a security guard a nigger, was caught on tape.
But when it comes to free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest against the deaths of unarmed African-American men, women and children at the hands of police, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie says that the QB’s got zero chance of playing for his team.
~~~~~~~~~~
So let’s get this straight: Lurie actually believes that Kaepernick was protesting the national anthem. Lurie also didn’t listen to the countless speeches Kaepernick gave after games about why he was kneeling. Lurie honestly believes that Kaepernick’s action was not to try to use his platform to push for social change but, in fact, was only to piss off those who served this country.
This has always been what white America does to black protest: It claims that the protest is un-American. It did the same thing to Muhammad Ali during Vietnam. Ask Tommie Smith and John Carlos how badly they were treated after they returned home from the 1968 Olympics, where each of them raised a black-gloved fist while on the podium.
One of America’s deadliest tricks is to silence black protest by labeling it un-American. They’re doing it again with Kaepernick. Protest, by definition, should be disruptive. It doesn’t have to be violent or even vocal, but the purpose of protest is to move comforts around and encourage thought.
To All the Black Men Watching the NFL, Here’s What Philadelphia Eagles Owner Thinks About Colin Kaepernick
By Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a bit of a history dealing with controversial players. First they signed Michael Vick to a contract after he was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his involvement in a dogfighting ring that included killing dogs that weren’t fit to fight.
They also offered wide receiver Riley Cooper a contract extension after his racist tirade at a concert, in which he called a security guard a nigger, was caught on tape.
But when it comes to free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest against the deaths of unarmed African-American men, women and children at the hands of police, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie says that the QB’s got zero chance of playing for his team.
~~~~~~~~~~
So let’s get this straight: Lurie actually believes that Kaepernick was protesting the national anthem. Lurie also didn’t listen to the countless speeches Kaepernick gave after games about why he was kneeling. Lurie honestly believes that Kaepernick’s action was not to try to use his platform to push for social change but, in fact, was only to piss off those who served this country.
This has always been what white America does to black protest: It claims that the protest is un-American. It did the same thing to Muhammad Ali during Vietnam. Ask Tommie Smith and John Carlos how badly they were treated after they returned home from the 1968 Olympics, where each of them raised a black-gloved fist while on the podium.
One of America’s deadliest tricks is to silence black protest by labeling it un-American. They’re doing it again with Kaepernick. Protest, by definition, should be disruptive. It doesn’t have to be violent or even vocal, but the purpose of protest is to move comforts around and encourage thought.
Friday, September 15, 2017
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Denial is Deadly
An excerpt from CNN -
Holland has solved this problem; why can't the US?
By Frida Ghitis
Amsterdam (CNN) A dozen years ago, when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, I was out of the country, watching the wrenching images from Amsterdam, a city that sits almost seven feet below sea level, in a country that has endured more than its share of death and destruction from raging storms.
~~~~~~~~~~
Most reports about the disaster include a discussion about why the Netherlands, with much of the country lying below sea level, has managed to avoid a major flood in decades while the United States is suffering yet another catastrophe.
The answer, beyond the precise technical details the experts here provide, is about culture, politics and psychology.
The United States is in denial.
America's denial comes in two categories. First, there is climate change denial. Prior to entering politics, Donald Trump tweeted that climate change was a conspiracy against America, claiming that "global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/opinions/dutch-america-storms-opinion-ghitis/index.html
Holland has solved this problem; why can't the US?
By Frida Ghitis
Amsterdam (CNN) A dozen years ago, when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, I was out of the country, watching the wrenching images from Amsterdam, a city that sits almost seven feet below sea level, in a country that has endured more than its share of death and destruction from raging storms.
~~~~~~~~~~
Most reports about the disaster include a discussion about why the Netherlands, with much of the country lying below sea level, has managed to avoid a major flood in decades while the United States is suffering yet another catastrophe.
The answer, beyond the precise technical details the experts here provide, is about culture, politics and psychology.
The United States is in denial.
America's denial comes in two categories. First, there is climate change denial. Prior to entering politics, Donald Trump tweeted that climate change was a conspiracy against America, claiming that "global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/opinions/dutch-america-storms-opinion-ghitis/index.html
Monday, September 11, 2017
Friday, September 8, 2017
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Black Men Need Yoga Too
An excerpt from Salon -
Black men need yoga, too: “We tend to wait until we hit the bottom floor to then pop up and save ourselves”
Salon talks to the founder of the Black Male Yoga Initiative about promoting mindfulness in the Black community
By D. WATKINS
Changa Bell is the founder of The Black Male Yoga Initiative, which provides training, information, workshops and retreats to help black men of all ages to become aware, engaged and empowered in mindfulness, meditation and yoga. He says one of his key challenges is engaging “the population I’m trying to serve.”
“The black community doesn’t necessarily value yoga as a preventive health care measure,” Bell told me. “We tend to wait until we hit the bottom floor to then pop up and save ourselves.”
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/06/black-men-need-yoga-too-we-tend-to-wait-until-we-hit-the-bottom-floor-to-then-pop-up-and-save-ourselves/
Black men need yoga, too: “We tend to wait until we hit the bottom floor to then pop up and save ourselves”
Salon talks to the founder of the Black Male Yoga Initiative about promoting mindfulness in the Black community
By D. WATKINS
Changa Bell is the founder of The Black Male Yoga Initiative, which provides training, information, workshops and retreats to help black men of all ages to become aware, engaged and empowered in mindfulness, meditation and yoga. He says one of his key challenges is engaging “the population I’m trying to serve.”
“The black community doesn’t necessarily value yoga as a preventive health care measure,” Bell told me. “We tend to wait until we hit the bottom floor to then pop up and save ourselves.”
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/06/black-men-need-yoga-too-we-tend-to-wait-until-we-hit-the-bottom-floor-to-then-pop-up-and-save-ourselves/
"This is America"
From the Huffington Post -
Philly Driver Shouts ‘This Is America’ To The Wrong Asian-American
“Yes, this is America. I am American,” reporter responds in viral video.
By Brittany Wong
https://www.facebook.com/6abcNydiaHan/videos/10156752826863508/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/asian-american-reporter-video-bigoted-driver-philadelphia_us_59aee63ae4b0354e440d1069
Philly Driver Shouts ‘This Is America’ To The Wrong Asian-American
“Yes, this is America. I am American,” reporter responds in viral video.
By Brittany Wong
https://www.facebook.com/6abcNydiaHan/videos/10156752826863508/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/asian-american-reporter-video-bigoted-driver-philadelphia_us_59aee63ae4b0354e440d1069
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
A Powerful, Enlightening Message
These podcasts are all great, but #8 is especially powerful and should be required listening for all black parents.
"What is Wrong With You?"
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
White Woman Asks White Supremacists: ‘What Is Wrong With You?’
In a recent letter to the editor, Jonna Ramey said what we’re all thinking.
By Elyse Wanshel
Ramey put her thoughts on paper and sent a letter to The Salt Lake Tribune, which ran it under the headline “Letter of the week: What is wrong with you, white supremacists?” (The letter appeared in print on Aug. 20 and was published online on Aug. 26.)
The letter begins:
I am a 67-year-old American white woman. My parents enlisted in World War II to fight fascism. They both served; my mother was a nurse, my father navigated bombers. They lost friends in that bloody war so that all the world could be free of fascism. They did not fight so that some white people could claim supremacy or that Nazis could openly walk the streets of America.
White person to white supremacist person: What is wrong with you?
White Woman Asks White Supremacists: ‘What Is Wrong With You?’
In a recent letter to the editor, Jonna Ramey said what we’re all thinking.
By Elyse Wanshel
Ramey put her thoughts on paper and sent a letter to The Salt Lake Tribune, which ran it under the headline “Letter of the week: What is wrong with you, white supremacists?” (The letter appeared in print on Aug. 20 and was published online on Aug. 26.)
The letter begins:
I am a 67-year-old American white woman. My parents enlisted in World War II to fight fascism. They both served; my mother was a nurse, my father navigated bombers. They lost friends in that bloody war so that all the world could be free of fascism. They did not fight so that some white people could claim supremacy or that Nazis could openly walk the streets of America.
White person to white supremacist person: What is wrong with you?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-woman-white-supremacists-letter_us_59b040b8e4b0dfaafcf4f628?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009'Letter of the Week' or 'Letter of the goddamn YEAR?' pic.twitter.com/oNESYtnYM1— Alicia Mayer (@RealAliciaMayer) September 4, 2017
Quote
.@realDonaldTrump ending DACA is on the top of the vilest acts you've pulled off. You're destroying the legacy of greater men before you.— Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) September 5, 2017
peppa pig- mr skinny legs
From Slate -
Peppa Pig Episode Pulled From Australian TV for Telling Children That Spiders Are Harmless
By Rachel Withers
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/09/05/australia_pulls_a_peppa_pig_episode_in_which_daddy_pig_says_spiders_are.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
Peppa Pig Episode Pulled From Australian TV for Telling Children That Spiders Are Harmless
By Rachel Withers
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/09/05/australia_pulls_a_peppa_pig_episode_in_which_daddy_pig_says_spiders_are.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
Hear Bill Withers
From Rolling Stone -
Bill Withers Covers Little Jimmy Dickens on First New Song in 32 Years
By Elias Leight
Bill Withers covers "(You've Been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Ann" as part of a tribute album dedicated to Little Jimmy Dickens, the famously pint-sized country singer and a Grand Ole Opry stalwart. Withers' version of the song marks his first solo recording since 1985, when the man behind hits like "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lovely Day" released his album Watching You Watching Me and walked away from the music business.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-bill-withers-first-new-song-in-32-years-w501371
Bill Withers Covers Little Jimmy Dickens on First New Song in 32 Years
By Elias Leight
Bill Withers covers "(You've Been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Ann" as part of a tribute album dedicated to Little Jimmy Dickens, the famously pint-sized country singer and a Grand Ole Opry stalwart. Withers' version of the song marks his first solo recording since 1985, when the man behind hits like "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lovely Day" released his album Watching You Watching Me and walked away from the music business.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-bill-withers-first-new-song-in-32-years-w501371
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Black Girl Magic - Tennis
From the Root -
3 Black Women Advance to US Open Semifinals
By Angela Helm
For the first time in U.S. Open history, three black women have advanced to the quarterfinal round; and, in this case, they all happen to be American. As of Monday, Venus Williams, 37, Sloane Stephens, 24, and Madison Keys, 22, are all vying for the Tiffany-engraved trophy.
Oh, and it’s all going down at a stadium named for an African-American tennis player, Arthur Ashe.
https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/three-black-women-advance-to-u-s-open-semifinals-1799943507?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-09-05
3 Black Women Advance to US Open Semifinals
By Angela Helm
 | |
| Venus Williams; Sloane Stephens; Madison Keys (@rantoddj via Twitter screenshot) |
Oh, and it’s all going down at a stadium named for an African-American tennis player, Arthur Ashe.
https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/three-black-women-advance-to-u-s-open-semifinals-1799943507?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-09-05
Drones Helping Relief Effort
An excerpt from Wired -
ABOVE DEVASTATED HOUSTON, ARMIES OF DRONES PROVE THEIR WORTH
By Aarian Marshall
“This is the one of the first big disasters where we can show how valuable drones can be,” says Brandon Stark, who directs the Center of Excellence on Unmanned Aircraft System Safety at the University of California, Merced. In the coming weeks and months, they'll help locals assess damage to homes, roads, bridges, power lines, oil and gas facilities, and office buildings—and determine whether it's safe to go back.
https://www.wired.com/story/houston-recovery-drones?mbid=nl_090417_daily&CNDID=%%CUST_ID%%
ABOVE DEVASTATED HOUSTON, ARMIES OF DRONES PROVE THEIR WORTH
By Aarian Marshall
“This is the one of the first big disasters where we can show how valuable drones can be,” says Brandon Stark, who directs the Center of Excellence on Unmanned Aircraft System Safety at the University of California, Merced. In the coming weeks and months, they'll help locals assess damage to homes, roads, bridges, power lines, oil and gas facilities, and office buildings—and determine whether it's safe to go back.
https://www.wired.com/story/houston-recovery-drones?mbid=nl_090417_daily&CNDID=%%CUST_ID%%
His Message Can't Be Silenced
From CNN -
(CNN) A political cartoon of Colin Kaepernick kneeling with his Afro in the shape of a black fist has gone viral.
But the illustration -- which has been adopted by sports fans, civil rights activists and celebrities -- comes from an unlikely artist.
Khalid Albaih, a Romania-born Sudanese artist living in Qatar, is renowned throughout the Middle East for addressing controversial political and social issues, including government corruption, the war in Yemen and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/04/us/colin-kaepernick-khalid-albaih-cartoon-trnd/index.html
(CNN) A political cartoon of Colin Kaepernick kneeling with his Afro in the shape of a black fist has gone viral.
But the illustration -- which has been adopted by sports fans, civil rights activists and celebrities -- comes from an unlikely artist.
Khalid Albaih, a Romania-born Sudanese artist living in Qatar, is renowned throughout the Middle East for addressing controversial political and social issues, including government corruption, the war in Yemen and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/04/us/colin-kaepernick-khalid-albaih-cartoon-trnd/index.html
Gotta Love This Kid
From the Huffington Post -
6-Year-Old Applies For Lego Job With Heartfelt Letter, Boasts ‘Lots Of Experience’
“I am the man [for] the job,” he wrote.
By Dominique Mosbergen
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/six-year-old-legoland-windsor-job-stanley-bolland_us_59ad0fa2e4b0354e440b4355
6-Year-Old Applies For Lego Job With Heartfelt Letter, Boasts ‘Lots Of Experience’
“I am the man [for] the job,” he wrote.
By Dominique Mosbergen
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/six-year-old-legoland-windsor-job-stanley-bolland_us_59ad0fa2e4b0354e440b4355
Monday, September 4, 2017
Ta-Ta's Rejoice!
From Essence -
This "Ta-Ta Towel" for Your Boobs Has Lit The Internet on Fire
By Karen Belz
The summer struggle with boob sweat is real. Very real. That’s why we’re kind of surprised that it took someone this long to invent the Ta-Ta Towel for your summer boob needs. The towel is pretty much held in place by your own ta-tas, and helps combat the damp feeling you might get under there post-shower. And of course, you can wear it around the house — unless you’re rooming with someone you’re not super comfortable with. Or your parents. But hey, your call.
http://www.essence.com/syndication/ta-ta-towel-boob-sweat?xid=nl_essence_daily_am_090417&utm_source=essence.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter&utm_content=2017090412PM
This "Ta-Ta Towel" for Your Boobs Has Lit The Internet on Fire
By Karen Belz
The summer struggle with boob sweat is real. Very real. That’s why we’re kind of surprised that it took someone this long to invent the Ta-Ta Towel for your summer boob needs. The towel is pretty much held in place by your own ta-tas, and helps combat the damp feeling you might get under there post-shower. And of course, you can wear it around the house — unless you’re rooming with someone you’re not super comfortable with. Or your parents. But hey, your call.
I can't even. Like why didn't I think of this?! #tatatowel pic.twitter.com/kKr4A0Hemn— Mary Staes (@MStaes) August 2, 2017
http://www.essence.com/syndication/ta-ta-towel-boob-sweat?xid=nl_essence_daily_am_090417&utm_source=essence.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter&utm_content=2017090412PM
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Whitewashing History
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
Making Sense of the Violence in Charlottesville
Was the white-nationalist march better understood as a departure from America’s traditional values, or viewed in the context of its history?
By JAMES FORMAN JR. AND ELIZABETH KLEIN
Broad swaths of the American public repudiated the white nationalists who marched in Charlottesville and President Trump’s response to them. But even in their condemnations, many officials asserted that the hate-filled demonstration and racist violence was un-American. “This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for,” tweeted Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. “The hate being spewed in Virginia is … deeply disturbing and un-American,” wrote Colorado Senator Cory Gardner. The hashtag #ThisIsNotUs trended on Twitter.
But America is a country in which racially motivated white-on-black violent crime forms a clear, unbroken pattern across every generation. Slaves arrived in America through violent crime, and whites have used violence ever since to maintain the racial hierarchy of white supremacy. And yet many Americans of good will honestly, if erroneously, believe that what happened in Charlottesville is “not us.” How can this be? Answering this question demands a look back at some of the most significant patterns of white-on-black violence in American history to identify the precise ways in which that violence was justified, forgotten, or defined as something other than the racist terror that it was.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/a-history-of-violence/538659/
Making Sense of the Violence in Charlottesville
Was the white-nationalist march better understood as a departure from America’s traditional values, or viewed in the context of its history?
By JAMES FORMAN JR. AND ELIZABETH KLEIN
Broad swaths of the American public repudiated the white nationalists who marched in Charlottesville and President Trump’s response to them. But even in their condemnations, many officials asserted that the hate-filled demonstration and racist violence was un-American. “This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for,” tweeted Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. “The hate being spewed in Virginia is … deeply disturbing and un-American,” wrote Colorado Senator Cory Gardner. The hashtag #ThisIsNotUs trended on Twitter.
But America is a country in which racially motivated white-on-black violent crime forms a clear, unbroken pattern across every generation. Slaves arrived in America through violent crime, and whites have used violence ever since to maintain the racial hierarchy of white supremacy. And yet many Americans of good will honestly, if erroneously, believe that what happened in Charlottesville is “not us.” How can this be? Answering this question demands a look back at some of the most significant patterns of white-on-black violence in American history to identify the precise ways in which that violence was justified, forgotten, or defined as something other than the racist terror that it was.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/a-history-of-violence/538659/
Cam Newton's younger brother Caylin Newton is the real deal
Go, Howard!
Cam Newton’s little brother just led the biggest Vegas upset in college football history
QB Caylin Newton’s Bison faced a 45-point spread. Then, they won.
by Alex Kirshner
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/9/3/16248468/howard-unlv-spread-final-score-record-2017
Cam Newton’s little brother just led the biggest Vegas upset in college football history
QB Caylin Newton’s Bison faced a 45-point spread. Then, they won.
by Alex Kirshner
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/9/3/16248468/howard-unlv-spread-final-score-record-2017
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Winning Isn't Everything
Long article, but worth it.
From ESPN -
The Search For Aaron Rodgers
Winning isn't everything. After Super Bowl XLV, Green Bay's hero QB has been on a journey to find out what is.
by Mina Kimes
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/enterpriseRodgers/green-bay-packers-qb-aaron-rodgers-unmasked-searching
From ESPN -
The Search For Aaron Rodgers
Winning isn't everything. After Super Bowl XLV, Green Bay's hero QB has been on a journey to find out what is.
by Mina Kimes
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/enterpriseRodgers/green-bay-packers-qb-aaron-rodgers-unmasked-searching
Friday, September 1, 2017
Pie Crust Enthusiasts Unite
From Slate -
This Genius, Super-Flaky Pie Crust Changes Everything in Piedom
By Kristen Miglore
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/09/01/this_easy_dough_recipe_creates_the_perfect_pie_crust.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
This Genius, Super-Flaky Pie Crust Changes Everything in Piedom
By Kristen Miglore
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/09/01/this_easy_dough_recipe_creates_the_perfect_pie_crust.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
How Technology Helped
From the NY Times -
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/30/us/houston-flood-rescue-cries-for-help.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=g-artboard%20g-artboard-v3&module=span-abc-region®ion=span-abc-region&WT.nav=span-abc-region&_r=0
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/30/us/houston-flood-rescue-cries-for-help.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=g-artboard%20g-artboard-v3&module=span-abc-region®ion=span-abc-region&WT.nav=span-abc-region&_r=0
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Wow!
From Wired -
Wanna See a Fighter Jet Fly Through a Rainbow? Of Course You Do
By LAURA MALLONEE
Wanna See a Fighter Jet Fly Through a Rainbow? Of Course You Do
By LAURA MALLONEE
https://www.wired.com/story/wanna-see-a-fighter-jet-fly-through-a-rainbow-of-course-you-do?mbid=nl_083117_daily&CNDID=%%CUST_ID%%
Still Making a Difference
http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/21/technology/culture/tech-versus-taboos-hearglass/index.html
A Buck Short
This morning our officers stopped a doe for toll evasion, on the Bay Bridge. She said she usually pays it, but today she was a buck short. pic.twitter.com/KkkDJpn5Ck— CHP Oakland (@CHPoakland) August 29, 2017
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