March, 2019 archive
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
David Atkins looks behind Donald Trump’s “nationalism” and sees America’s original sin. An excerpt:
Life in the Bubble 0
Phil Reed reviews recent research as to whether “social” media promotes “digital bubbles” and political polarization.
He finds that the research to be inconclusive but tends towards a yes. Here’s a bit; follow the link for the rest, including summaries of several studies.
“An Armed Society” Meets “Tales of the Trumpling” 0
Politeness in the time of Trump:
WSB reports that Banks was Facetiming with his girlfriend when he knocked on the wrong door.
He then walked away and was confronted by 32-year-old Darryl Bynes out on the balcony.
Police said not long after, he shot the teen.
“I heard him say, ‘Sorry, I’m at the wrong house.’ Then the man said, ‘No you’re not. N****, you at the right house.’ And he shot two more times,” Banks’ girlfriend told WSB in an interview.
WSB reports that Bynes initially claimed he shot Banks in self-defense, but officers said he shot the teen from his balcony as Banks was coming down the stairs and trying to get away.
“Ins” and “Outs” 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Elizabeth A. Segal explores tribalism. After explaining that humans lived for centuries in small, homogeneous groups because geography and (lack of) means of traveling and mixing with others mandated it, we evolved with a predisposition to identifying with our “tribe.” But there is downside. Here’s a nugget (emphasis added):
Facebook Frolics 0
HUD has filed a lawsuit accusing Facebook of facilitating housing discrimination through the tools it gives to advertisers. Here’s a bit from the report:
HUD also alleges Facebook allowed advertisers certain tools on their advertising platform that could exclude people who were classified as “non-American-born,” “non-Christian” or “interested in Hispanic culture,” among other things. It also said advertisers could exclude people based on ZIP code, essentially “drawing a red line around those neighborhoods on a map.”
The story goes on to report that Facebook is claiming that it has been working in good faith with HUD to deal with these issues.
Discriminate! in the Name of the Lord 0
The Austin Statesman cuts to the heart of those religionists, almost all or whom proudly dub themselves as “Christian,” who would legalize discrimination on the basis of religion. You know, those folks who don’t want to bake a cake for a gay wedding, just to mention one example.
A snippet:
Disaster Belief 0
David wonders whether Donald Trump fully comprehends that Puerto Ricans are American citizens.
QOTD 0
Rex Stout, in the voice of Archie Goodwin:
The answer was really simple, but of course that’s one thing we use our minds for, finding complicated reasons for dodging simple answers.
Stout, Rex, The Doorbell Rang (New York: Bantam, 1992), p. 129-130.
Getting the Wind UP 0
I reckon he’s never heard of “batteries.”
Gunning for the Gold 0
The Booman tries to figure out why the Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy Amway DeVos have chosen to target the Special Olympics. (Even though the Trump administration has since backed down on the Special Olympics, I think the Booman article is still worth a read.)
Of course, the explanation could be much simpler. It could just be Republicans being mean for the sake of mean.
