An excerpt from the New Yorker -
Donald Trump Is Serious When He “Jokes” About Police Brutality
By Jelani Cobb
In Trump’s world, toughness is not a means to an end—it is an end in itself. When Trump invokes Chicago as the exemplar of what is wrong with American law enforcement, the irony is that the city’s crime problem was made worse by its anything-goes ethic of policing. The city where police ran a black site for torturing suspects, attempted to cover up the circumstances in which the seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed, and regularly paid out millions in police-brutality settlements is the same city where seventy per cent of residents do not believe that police can be trusted to treat all residents fairly. The idea that community trust is more valuable to a police department than “toughness”—really a Trumpian euphemism for brutality—might seem quaint, but Chicago’s experience would point to the contrary. When Trump says police need not be concerned if suspects suffer head injuries in their custody, it’s not simply a wink and a nod at the old days of unrestrained policing. It’s a foreshadowing of a world he’s actively attempting to resurrect.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-is-serious-when-he-jokes-about-police-brutality?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(194)&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=11612091&spUserID=MTMzMTgyODE2ODQxS0&spJobID=1220182297&spReportId=MTIyMDE4MjI5NwS2
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Supersized Inequality
An excerpt from the New Republic -
How Fast Food Chains Supersized Inequality
Fast food did not just find its way to low-income neighborhoods. It was brought there by the federal government.
BY MAX HOLLERAN
Supersizing Urban America, a new book by the historian of public health, Chin Jou, shows that fast food did not just find its way to low-income urban areas: It was brought there by the federal government. In the wake of the 1968 riots, Nixon’s law-and-order presidency began programs that doled out federal funds to fast food franchises. The administration asserted that black-owned businesses serving fast food would help to cure urban unrest by promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in poor communities. The federal subsidization of McDonald’s and other chains to enter urban markets previously considered too poor or dangerous was meant to promote “black capitalism.” It did make a select group of black entrepreneurs wealthy, but it was mostly a boon to fast food giants searching for new market demographics.
Like “ethnic” advertising in the alcohol and cigarette industries, fast food companies sold a dream of middle class affluence to communities of color that were nonetheless still excluded from the housing and education that would make those aspirations a reality. Jou’s book shows conclusively that obesity and diet in America have little to do with personal responsibility, and everything to do with public policy.
https://newrepublic.com/article/144168/fast-food-chains-supersized-inequality
How Fast Food Chains Supersized Inequality
Fast food did not just find its way to low-income neighborhoods. It was brought there by the federal government.
BY MAX HOLLERAN
Supersizing Urban America, a new book by the historian of public health, Chin Jou, shows that fast food did not just find its way to low-income urban areas: It was brought there by the federal government. In the wake of the 1968 riots, Nixon’s law-and-order presidency began programs that doled out federal funds to fast food franchises. The administration asserted that black-owned businesses serving fast food would help to cure urban unrest by promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in poor communities. The federal subsidization of McDonald’s and other chains to enter urban markets previously considered too poor or dangerous was meant to promote “black capitalism.” It did make a select group of black entrepreneurs wealthy, but it was mostly a boon to fast food giants searching for new market demographics.
Like “ethnic” advertising in the alcohol and cigarette industries, fast food companies sold a dream of middle class affluence to communities of color that were nonetheless still excluded from the housing and education that would make those aspirations a reality. Jou’s book shows conclusively that obesity and diet in America have little to do with personal responsibility, and everything to do with public policy.
https://newrepublic.com/article/144168/fast-food-chains-supersized-inequality
Dear GOP
An excerpt from the Boston Globe -
Dear Republicans: You know you can shut this mess down, right?
By Renée Graham
Hey GOP: Y’all know you can shut this mess down, right?
Instead you slump onto news talk shows lamenting the dismal state of affairs engulfing this bewildered nation. You’ve been there every step of the way since Jan. 20, as we’ve all been forced to understand such difficult things as collusion, emoluments, the 25th Amendment, and Jared Kushner’s voice.
Yet you behave like you’ve suddenly awakened to find President Trump looming over you, golf club in hand, ready to strike. You are even more responsible for this reign of incompetence and potential criminality masquerading as a presidency than those who voted for Trump. Still, you act as if you can simply tsk-tsk and finger-wag your way through every inflammatory tweet, statement, and action, as if the president is nothing more than a naughty puppy that has soiled the carpet.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/01/dear-gop-get-backbone/dibR5yES6PjxeUaXHYh6BJ/story.html
Dear Republicans: You know you can shut this mess down, right?
By Renée Graham
Hey GOP: Y’all know you can shut this mess down, right?
Instead you slump onto news talk shows lamenting the dismal state of affairs engulfing this bewildered nation. You’ve been there every step of the way since Jan. 20, as we’ve all been forced to understand such difficult things as collusion, emoluments, the 25th Amendment, and Jared Kushner’s voice.
Yet you behave like you’ve suddenly awakened to find President Trump looming over you, golf club in hand, ready to strike. You are even more responsible for this reign of incompetence and potential criminality masquerading as a presidency than those who voted for Trump. Still, you act as if you can simply tsk-tsk and finger-wag your way through every inflammatory tweet, statement, and action, as if the president is nothing more than a naughty puppy that has soiled the carpet.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/01/dear-gop-get-backbone/dibR5yES6PjxeUaXHYh6BJ/story.html
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Reclaiming My Time -Gospel Mix
http://www.elle.com/culture/music/news/a47043/reclaiming-my-time-now-has-a-gospel-remix/
Another GOLD!
From the Huffington Post -
Simone Manuel Sets New Record And Takes Home The Gold AGAIN
Black girl magic FTW.
By Taryn Finley
Simone Manuel hasn’t slowed down since her history-making victory at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
On Friday, Manuel scored gold over world record holder Sarah Sjöström in the world 100m freestyle in Budapest for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. Manuel beat out Sjöström by mere milliseconds ― 52.27 seconds to the Swedish’s 52.31 seconds ― setting a new American record.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/simone-manuel-sets-new-record-wins-gold-again_us_597f5a43e4b02a8434b8173e?section=us_black-voices
Simone Manuel Sets New Record And Takes Home The Gold AGAIN
Black girl magic FTW.
By Taryn Finley
 | ||
Simone Manuel hasn’t slowed down since her history-making victory at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
On Friday, Manuel scored gold over world record holder Sarah Sjöström in the world 100m freestyle in Budapest for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. Manuel beat out Sjöström by mere milliseconds ― 52.27 seconds to the Swedish’s 52.31 seconds ― setting a new American record.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/simone-manuel-sets-new-record-wins-gold-again_us_597f5a43e4b02a8434b8173e?section=us_black-voices
A New Cosmetics Line
An excerpt from Essence -
Mented Cosmetics Is The Black-Owned Brand Making Nude Lipstick Anything But Basic
Two Harvard Business School graduates talk about the realities of starting a cosmetics business created for and by Black women.
By Deena Campbell
KJ Miller and Amanda Johnson knew they wanted to work together after graduating Harvard Business School, but they didn’t have any idea on the type of business to launch. Finally, after many months of meeting up to discuss life hacks, the duo realized the beauty industry needed cosmetics for women of color. They grabbed a few hot plates, a glass of pinot and began mixing shades in their kitchen. Six shades later, Mented Cosmetics was born.
http://www.essence.com/lifestyle/entrepreneurship/mented-cosmetics-interview?iid=sr-link2
http://www.essence.com/beauty/makeup/lips/black-owned-mented-cosmetics-nude-lipstick?iid=sr-link1
Hi there! I want you to try Mented Cosmetics, a new line of nude lipsticks for women of all hues. Use my link to get 15% off your first purchase! Check it out: http://mentedcosmetics.refr.cc/rhildaf
Mented Cosmetics Is The Black-Owned Brand Making Nude Lipstick Anything But Basic
Two Harvard Business School graduates talk about the realities of starting a cosmetics business created for and by Black women.
By Deena Campbell
KJ Miller and Amanda Johnson knew they wanted to work together after graduating Harvard Business School, but they didn’t have any idea on the type of business to launch. Finally, after many months of meeting up to discuss life hacks, the duo realized the beauty industry needed cosmetics for women of color. They grabbed a few hot plates, a glass of pinot and began mixing shades in their kitchen. Six shades later, Mented Cosmetics was born.
http://www.essence.com/lifestyle/entrepreneurship/mented-cosmetics-interview?iid=sr-link2
http://www.essence.com/beauty/makeup/lips/black-owned-mented-cosmetics-nude-lipstick?iid=sr-link1
Hi there! I want you to try Mented Cosmetics, a new line of nude lipsticks for women of all hues. Use my link to get 15% off your first purchase! Check it out: http://mentedcosmetics.refr.cc/rhildaf
That's a Lot of Poop
From Now I Know -
The Poop Collector
We all have different hobbies. Some of us like to play golf, others enjoy cooking, still others write trivia email newsletters. Some hobbies are mundane, but some are weird. Take, for example, a Florida man named George Frandsen. He collects something called coprolite — or, to use Merriam-Webster’s definition, “fossilized excrement.” Basically: Frandsen collects really old pieces of poop — poop specimens that have been preserved over millions of years and are now considered fossils.
http://nowiknow.com/the-poop-collector/
The Poop Collector
We all have different hobbies. Some of us like to play golf, others enjoy cooking, still others write trivia email newsletters. Some hobbies are mundane, but some are weird. Take, for example, a Florida man named George Frandsen. He collects something called coprolite — or, to use Merriam-Webster’s definition, “fossilized excrement.” Basically: Frandsen collects really old pieces of poop — poop specimens that have been preserved over millions of years and are now considered fossils.
http://nowiknow.com/the-poop-collector/
A Scary Thought
An excerpt from Slate -
A Stymied Trump Is a Dangerous Trump
Since he can’t score any wins at home, he just might look for glory overseas—and that means war.
By Joshua Keating
The collapse of efforts to repeal Obamacare last week leaves Donald Trump without a single legislative achievement more than half a year into his presidency. With relations souring between the president and his own party, with the West Wing thrown into chaos, and with the Russia investigation continuing to dog the administration, the president’s governing agenda has lost momentum. At first glance, this must be reassuring to Trump’s opponents, but it really shouldn’t be: The more he’s stymied at home, the more likely he is to look for victories abroad, a dynamic that significantly raises the risk of armed conflict.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/07/why_trump_might_be_itching_to_start_a_war_against_north_korea_or_iran.html
A Stymied Trump Is a Dangerous Trump
Since he can’t score any wins at home, he just might look for glory overseas—and that means war.
By Joshua Keating
The collapse of efforts to repeal Obamacare last week leaves Donald Trump without a single legislative achievement more than half a year into his presidency. With relations souring between the president and his own party, with the West Wing thrown into chaos, and with the Russia investigation continuing to dog the administration, the president’s governing agenda has lost momentum. At first glance, this must be reassuring to Trump’s opponents, but it really shouldn’t be: The more he’s stymied at home, the more likely he is to look for victories abroad, a dynamic that significantly raises the risk of armed conflict.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/07/why_trump_might_be_itching_to_start_a_war_against_north_korea_or_iran.html
What Are the Odds?
An excerpt from Vanity Fair -
Trump Has Fired Enough Staffers for an All-Trump Season of Dancing with the Stars
But which castoff would win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy?
by LAURA BRADLEY
In fact, now that we think of it, Dancing with the Stars could air an entire season populated solely with ex-Trump staffers looking for their second acts. Naturally, that raises one crucial question: who would win? Let’s consider the odds.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/anthony-scaramucci-fired-trump-dancing-with-the-stars
Trump Has Fired Enough Staffers for an All-Trump Season of Dancing with the Stars
But which castoff would win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy?
by LAURA BRADLEY
In fact, now that we think of it, Dancing with the Stars could air an entire season populated solely with ex-Trump staffers looking for their second acts. Naturally, that raises one crucial question: who would win? Let’s consider the odds.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/anthony-scaramucci-fired-trump-dancing-with-the-stars
Monday, July 31, 2017
Another Outster
TONIGHT: A dejected Stephen Colbert feels like he’s been front-stabbed in the heart after learning of The Mooch’s resignation. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/Ttmlk1ujJw— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) August 1, 2017
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