An excerpt from the Washinton Post Editorial Board -
What a presidential president would have said about his first year
From time to time this year, we have offered alternative (read: imaginary) White House statements. We haven’t so much expected that Mr. Trump would take our rhetorical advice, though that would be welcome. Rather, we think it’s useful for all of us to remind ourselves that it doesn’t have to be this way: that presidential leadership, even if strongly partisan, can be civil, tolerant and inclusive.
The issue is substance, not form. With that in mind, we herewith offer some end-of-year presidential thoughts in chunks of 280 characters or fewer. Call it a more presidential tweetstorm:
“We got a lot done this year, I’m proud of that. Justice Gorsuch. Rolling back regulations. The corporate tax cut — it will jump-start investment and jobs. I know the economists disagree, but you know what? They’ve been wrong before, and I think they’ll be wrong this time too.”
“But as I look back, I realize I’ve fallen short. The night I won, I promised you: ‘It is time for us to come together as one united people . . . I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me.’ That’s what I said!”
“Well, all Americans means all, right? Transgender people, including in the armed services. Muslims, from no matter which country. People who came as refugees. Children of immigrants. NFL players, of any race.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-a-presidential-president-would-have-said-about-his-first-year/2017/12/27/b8417f06-eb10-11e7-8a6a-80acf0774e64_story.html?utm_term=.41698be5002c
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
He's Blacker Than Tiger Will Ever Be
An excerpt from the Undefeated -
Tiger Woods’ former coach is white, woke and went to an HBCU
Sean Foley’s experience molded his views on race, diversity and golf
By Tony Starks
Sean Foley is woke. It’s a characteristic that’s unique among golf instructors, who most commonly cater to the wealthy and teach a game that is by its very nature exclusive. That’s why a conversation with Foley is intriguing, perplexing, thought-provoking and inspiring all at the same time.
Most people know he coached Tiger Woods as his swing instructor from 2010-14. What people don’t know is that he attended Tennessee State University, a historically black institution in Nashville. Or that he credits the works of W.E.B Du Bois, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and Nas for influencing the way he views the world.
His “awakening” came during his experience as a white Canadian at a historically black college or university (HBCU). It helped shape his philosophical love of hip-hop music and began to mold his perspective on race, equality and social justice.
https://theundefeated.com/features/tiger-woods-former-coach-sean-foley-is-white-woke-and-went-to-an-hbcu/
Tiger Woods’ former coach is white, woke and went to an HBCU
Sean Foley’s experience molded his views on race, diversity and golf
By Tony Starks
Sean Foley is woke. It’s a characteristic that’s unique among golf instructors, who most commonly cater to the wealthy and teach a game that is by its very nature exclusive. That’s why a conversation with Foley is intriguing, perplexing, thought-provoking and inspiring all at the same time.
Most people know he coached Tiger Woods as his swing instructor from 2010-14. What people don’t know is that he attended Tennessee State University, a historically black institution in Nashville. Or that he credits the works of W.E.B Du Bois, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and Nas for influencing the way he views the world.
His “awakening” came during his experience as a white Canadian at a historically black college or university (HBCU). It helped shape his philosophical love of hip-hop music and began to mold his perspective on race, equality and social justice.
https://theundefeated.com/features/tiger-woods-former-coach-sean-foley-is-white-woke-and-went-to-an-hbcu/
An Update on a Tortured Genius
An excerpt from the LA Times -
For all his setbacks, he still finds hope and sanity in the music
By Steve Lopez
have been a transporter and caretaker of various musical instruments for nearly 13 years. A clarinet and an electric keyboard sit in corners of my office. There’s a cello in my garage at the moment, waiting for a ride to the repair shop.
Nathaniel Ayers asked for an inventory update on Christmas morning, after I picked him up at the South Bay mental health rehabilitation center where he lives.
He brought his string bass and trumpet with him. Like I’ve said before, he’s a one-man band, and he never travels light.
It’s been this way since I met the Juilliard-trained musician in 2005, when he lived on skid row with nothing but a two-string violin and a shopping cart containing his clothes and bedding.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-ayers-20171227-story.html
For all his setbacks, he still finds hope and sanity in the music
By Steve Lopez
have been a transporter and caretaker of various musical instruments for nearly 13 years. A clarinet and an electric keyboard sit in corners of my office. There’s a cello in my garage at the moment, waiting for a ride to the repair shop.
Nathaniel Ayers asked for an inventory update on Christmas morning, after I picked him up at the South Bay mental health rehabilitation center where he lives.
He brought his string bass and trumpet with him. Like I’ve said before, he’s a one-man band, and he never travels light.
It’s been this way since I met the Juilliard-trained musician in 2005, when he lived on skid row with nothing but a two-string violin and a shopping cart containing his clothes and bedding.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-ayers-20171227-story.html
Folsom Prison Music
An excerpt from the LA Times -
Music rolls on at Folsom Prison 50 years after Johnny Cash made history
The 50th anniversary of Johnny Cash's historic live album recorded at Folsom Prison afforded a new look inside the gates of the institution, and at the men who serve time there. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
By Randy Lewis
Irony isn’t something the residents of Folsom State Prison spend much time contemplating. But it’s not lost on Roy McNeese Jr. exactly where he spends every Tuesday. That’s when he leads music theory classes for fellow inmates looking to turn their lives around.
McNeese’s classroom is a compact space adjacent to Folsom’s expansive, echo-heavy dining hall. Prisoners wishing to hone their instrumental or vocal chops while serving time, or to learn from McNeese how to write music and better understand songwriting techniques, enter the room each week through a heavily fortified metal door — a door with two words on it:
“Condemned Row.”
Nowadays, however, stark gray cells that long ago housed Death Row inmates — before San Quentin took over housing them in 1937 — are used to store electronic keyboards, drum kits, guitar amplifiers and other gear for the prison’s music program, one of several rehabilitation programs Folsom offers.
The equipment is used by about 40 inmates who play in one or more bands at Folsom, which gained worldwide fame thanks to Johnny Cash’s career-defining 1956 hit “Folsom Prison Blues.” Cash’s song featured a chilling confession that’s central to the song’s stark portrait of life in prison: “I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.”
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-johnny-cash-folsom-prison-50-anniversary-20171226-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter
Music rolls on at Folsom Prison 50 years after Johnny Cash made history
The 50th anniversary of Johnny Cash's historic live album recorded at Folsom Prison afforded a new look inside the gates of the institution, and at the men who serve time there. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
By Randy Lewis
Irony isn’t something the residents of Folsom State Prison spend much time contemplating. But it’s not lost on Roy McNeese Jr. exactly where he spends every Tuesday. That’s when he leads music theory classes for fellow inmates looking to turn their lives around.
McNeese’s classroom is a compact space adjacent to Folsom’s expansive, echo-heavy dining hall. Prisoners wishing to hone their instrumental or vocal chops while serving time, or to learn from McNeese how to write music and better understand songwriting techniques, enter the room each week through a heavily fortified metal door — a door with two words on it:
“Condemned Row.”
Nowadays, however, stark gray cells that long ago housed Death Row inmates — before San Quentin took over housing them in 1937 — are used to store electronic keyboards, drum kits, guitar amplifiers and other gear for the prison’s music program, one of several rehabilitation programs Folsom offers.
The equipment is used by about 40 inmates who play in one or more bands at Folsom, which gained worldwide fame thanks to Johnny Cash’s career-defining 1956 hit “Folsom Prison Blues.” Cash’s song featured a chilling confession that’s central to the song’s stark portrait of life in prison: “I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.”
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-johnny-cash-folsom-prison-50-anniversary-20171226-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter
Parents Love You Netflix
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
Netflix Will Once Again Help Parents Get Kids To Bed On New Year’s Eve
No one has to know it isn’t really midnight.
By Taylor Pittman
For the fourth year in a row, Netflix will have parents’ backs on New Year’s Eve.
The streaming platform started offering its New Year’s Eve countdowns ― which can make any time, even bedtime, seem like midnight ― on Tuesday. The clips feature beloved characters from nine different shows celebrating the last 10 seconds of the year.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/netflix-new-years-eve_us_5a3aa024e4b025f99e140479
Netflix Will Once Again Help Parents Get Kids To Bed On New Year’s Eve
No one has to know it isn’t really midnight.
By Taylor Pittman
For the fourth year in a row, Netflix will have parents’ backs on New Year’s Eve.
The streaming platform started offering its New Year’s Eve countdowns ― which can make any time, even bedtime, seem like midnight ― on Tuesday. The clips feature beloved characters from nine different shows celebrating the last 10 seconds of the year.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/netflix-new-years-eve_us_5a3aa024e4b025f99e140479
Smelling Parkinson?
An excerpt from Upworthy -
This woman's nose could be the key to spotting Parkinson's early.
by James Gaines
A woman's incredible nose might help scientists detect Parkinson's earlier than ever.
Joy Milne says she was living in Perth, Scotland, with her husband Les, when she noticed that he smelled different. Milne would later describe to the BBC as a kind of heavy, musky smell. The change was subtle, but it was there none-the-less. Milne says that at the time, she nagged Les a bit about missing showers, but didn't think much more of it.
Six years later, Les was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disease that attacks brain cells, causing tremors and other mobility issues. In the United States, about one million Americans live with the disease. There are therapies that can help with the symptoms, but no cure.
Her husband's diagnosis would inspire Milne to join the charity Parkinson's UK, where she was able to meet other Parkinson's patients. But something weird happened. The smell was back. And it wasn't unique to Les. She could detect it on other Parkinson's patients as well.
Milne realized she could, in essence, smell Parkinson's disease.
This is amazing, because there is currently no definitive early test for Parkinson's. The only way is to watch for symptoms, and by the time that happens, the disease has already started to impact the brain.
Milne got in touch with scientists to let them know what she was experiencing. Now, Milne's amazing nose might lead to a brand new early-detection test for the disease.
http://www.upworthy.com/this-woman-s-nose-could-be-the-key-to-spotting-parkinson-s-early?c=upw1
This woman's nose could be the key to spotting Parkinson's early.
by James Gaines
A woman's incredible nose might help scientists detect Parkinson's earlier than ever.
Joy Milne says she was living in Perth, Scotland, with her husband Les, when she noticed that he smelled different. Milne would later describe to the BBC as a kind of heavy, musky smell. The change was subtle, but it was there none-the-less. Milne says that at the time, she nagged Les a bit about missing showers, but didn't think much more of it.
Six years later, Les was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disease that attacks brain cells, causing tremors and other mobility issues. In the United States, about one million Americans live with the disease. There are therapies that can help with the symptoms, but no cure.
Her husband's diagnosis would inspire Milne to join the charity Parkinson's UK, where she was able to meet other Parkinson's patients. But something weird happened. The smell was back. And it wasn't unique to Les. She could detect it on other Parkinson's patients as well.
Milne realized she could, in essence, smell Parkinson's disease.
This is amazing, because there is currently no definitive early test for Parkinson's. The only way is to watch for symptoms, and by the time that happens, the disease has already started to impact the brain.
Milne got in touch with scientists to let them know what she was experiencing. Now, Milne's amazing nose might lead to a brand new early-detection test for the disease.
http://www.upworthy.com/this-woman-s-nose-could-be-the-key-to-spotting-parkinson-s-early?c=upw1
Black Gun Owners
An excerpt from the Huffington post -
Why Black People Own Guns
HuffPost spoke with 11 black gun owners to figure out what gun ownership means in a country determined to keep its black populace unarmed.
By Julia Craven
As much as America loves her guns, she has never liked the idea of seeing them in black hands.
Before the Revolutionary War, colonial Virginia passed a law barring black people from owning firearms — an exercise in gun control as racial control. In 1857, in his notorious Dred Scott decision, Chief Justice Roger Taney summoned the specter of black people freely enjoying the right to “keep and carry arms wherever they went.” Surely, he argued, the founders were not “so forgetful or regardless of their own safety” to permit such a thing. When black people armed themselves against white supremacist attacks following the Civil War, Southern state governments passed “black codes” barring them from owning guns. After the Black Panthers open carried to signal to California police officers that they would defend themselves against racial attacks in the late ’60s, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed a state ban on open carry into law.
In 2016, legal gun owner Philando Castile was shot after informing a Minnesota police officer that he was armed. Two years prior, Tamir Rice was killed by Cleveland police while holding a toy gun. John Crawford suffered the same fate in a Beavercreek, Ohio, Walmart.
So what does black gun ownership mean in a country so determined to keep its black populace unarmed? Since the 2016 election, interest in firearms has supposedly ticked upward in the black community. Gun shops and clubs link the interest to a desire for self-protection against the white supremacists emboldened by President Donald Trump’s election.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-gun-ownership_us_5a33fc38e4b040881bea2f37?9ae
Why Black People Own Guns
HuffPost spoke with 11 black gun owners to figure out what gun ownership means in a country determined to keep its black populace unarmed.
By Julia Craven
As much as America loves her guns, she has never liked the idea of seeing them in black hands.
Before the Revolutionary War, colonial Virginia passed a law barring black people from owning firearms — an exercise in gun control as racial control. In 1857, in his notorious Dred Scott decision, Chief Justice Roger Taney summoned the specter of black people freely enjoying the right to “keep and carry arms wherever they went.” Surely, he argued, the founders were not “so forgetful or regardless of their own safety” to permit such a thing. When black people armed themselves against white supremacist attacks following the Civil War, Southern state governments passed “black codes” barring them from owning guns. After the Black Panthers open carried to signal to California police officers that they would defend themselves against racial attacks in the late ’60s, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed a state ban on open carry into law.
In 2016, legal gun owner Philando Castile was shot after informing a Minnesota police officer that he was armed. Two years prior, Tamir Rice was killed by Cleveland police while holding a toy gun. John Crawford suffered the same fate in a Beavercreek, Ohio, Walmart.
So what does black gun ownership mean in a country so determined to keep its black populace unarmed? Since the 2016 election, interest in firearms has supposedly ticked upward in the black community. Gun shops and clubs link the interest to a desire for self-protection against the white supremacists emboldened by President Donald Trump’s election.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-gun-ownership_us_5a33fc38e4b040881bea2f37?9ae
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Sleep Deprivation Can Be Deadly
An excerpt from USA Today -
Here's why sleep deprivation is toxic and will eventually kill you
Jeff Stibel
You can live for about three minutes without air, three days without water and about 21 days without food. But in between food and water, there is something else critically essential: sleep.
It turns out you can only live about 11 days without sleep. You can give it a try if you don’t believe me, but, just like the other essentials, after day 11 you will probably die.
Sleep is one of the most important things we overlook, because most of us don’t consider it vital. The problem isn’t you — it’s your brain. Brain scientists really don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to sleep. For far too long, we have known too little about why we sleep. Instead of acknowledging that fact, scientists have made up fairy tales to explain our need for sleep. They have guessed that sleep is necessary for creativity, rest, rejuvenation and recovery.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2017/12/22/heres
Here's why sleep deprivation is toxic and will eventually kill you
Jeff Stibel
You can live for about three minutes without air, three days without water and about 21 days without food. But in between food and water, there is something else critically essential: sleep.
It turns out you can only live about 11 days without sleep. You can give it a try if you don’t believe me, but, just like the other essentials, after day 11 you will probably die.
Sleep is one of the most important things we overlook, because most of us don’t consider it vital. The problem isn’t you — it’s your brain. Brain scientists really don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to sleep. For far too long, we have known too little about why we sleep. Instead of acknowledging that fact, scientists have made up fairy tales to explain our need for sleep. They have guessed that sleep is necessary for creativity, rest, rejuvenation and recovery.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2017/12/22/heres
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