From Pine View Farm

Culture Warriors category archive

Facebook Frolics 0

Case dismissed.

The court in Würzburg (Germany) ruled that the US social media giant is not obliged to actively search out and delete defamatory posts, like those that had falsely linked the claimant, Anas Modamani, 19, to Islamist attacks and violent crimes.

Modamani wanted the US social media giant, represented by Facebook Ireland Limited, to stop the spread of such defamatory fake news, which have been shared countless times.

He was represented by German lawyer Chan-jo Jun, who has previously launched legal action against Facebook, demanding it stop the spread of racist hate speech and other content illegal under German law.

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A Jury of Their Fears 0

Elie Mystal applauds the Supreme Court’s decision to look behind closed doors.

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All That Was Old Is New Again 0

Such as, for example, alternative facts.

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The Persistence of the Tarheel Potty Police 0

Frame One:  Thomas Jefferson saying,


Click for the original image.

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Chipping Away 0

Man is chieseling an asterisk on the Supreme Court next to the phrase,


Click for the original image.

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Barefoot and Pregnant 0

Warning: Language and graphic imagery.

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Republican Family Values . . . . 0

. . . . of which the preeminent is to be mean for the sake of mean.

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“No Religious Test” 0

Indeed.

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Stray Thought, Going Rogue Dept. 0

The uncomfortable truth–the one that no one dares to talk about–is that the United States of America has Trumpled its way to becoming a rogue nation.

The next stop is pariah.

Frankly, if things continue on the course of the past week, I’d not be surprised if civilized nations begin to impose sanctions on the Trumpled States of America within the next six months.

Distressed and depressed. Not surprised.

Stop the madness now.

Read more »

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Tales of the Tarheel Potty Patrol 0

A reminder to Texas and other states whose Republicans have a pervy preoccupation with what goes on behind closed stalls:

Governor McCrory (now out of office) and NC legislative leaders give LGBT North Carolinians a swirly in the toilet as McCrory says,

Via Job’s Anger.

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Forward into the Past! 0

Der Spiegel’s Holger Stark takes a long and complex look at the forces that fed Trumpery. Here’s a nugget.

The America of today has lost faith in its own superiority. It has become a regressive country that is turning its back on the world. If you leave Washington, D.C., behind and travel through the country, from Alabama to Alaska, you will find that the American Dream has been lost. The country is no longer proudly leading the way.

With his diabolical instinct for the country’s political mood, Trump captured this shift on campaign evenings like the one in Burlington, distilling it to a single maxim that warmed the hearts of many in the United States: “America First.”

The article is well worth the ten minutes you will spend reading it.

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Facebook Frolics 0

One more time: the internet is a public place. If you cuss someone out online, everyone’s going to hear you.

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The Otherization of Americans 0

Peter Sussman tells a story. Here’s an excerpt–follow the link for the rest:

After the election, my youngest grandson came home from school and asked my daughter whether, because they were both part Mexican, they would have to move to Mexico and “leave Daddy behind.”

I was heartbroken. Our 9-year-old grandson had learned that, in Trump’s America, our family could be broken down into component parts: one part this race, one part that, with frightening real-world implications.

Witness the Trumpling of America.

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Know-Nothings Redux 0

Gina Barreca worries about the incoming administration’s embrace of ignorance as a worldview. A snippet:

Look, I’m not worried about whether people in the new administration will have a piece of paper issued by an Ivy League institution or not. I’m worried about the carefully groomed and artfully constructed celebration of ignorance I regard as part of Donald Trump’s administration. In my old Brooklyn neighborhood, there used to be a joke saying, “If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?” but now we should be asking “If you’re so rich, why aren’t you smart?”

Being articulate, capable of logical reasoning and able to use language constructively is not an affectation. Using your language clearly and effectively is not showing off. Life is not a game of “Scrabble” where you’re awarded points for big words, but language is how we communicate.

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On the Record 0

Jeff Sessions in full Confederate uniform enters hearing room as bystand says,

Image via Job’s Anger.

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Turnabout 4

Badtux points out that it’s a cultural thing.

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They Are Who We Thought They Are 0

And this surprise you how?

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The “Still Face” of Society Is Still There 0

Back in the olden days, when I was young ‘un studying history and sociology at my alma mater, the condition described in this article would have been called anomie.

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Snowed 0

I have always preferred the movie Holiday Inn to White Christmas.

Maybe it’s just because Holiday Inn, for all that it is a piece of fluff, was a far better movie. Or maybe there’s a deeper psychological reason.

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Feeling “Aggrieved” Does Not Earn a Star for Self-Esteem 0

Helen Ubinas has had enough of the Magical Empathy Tour. She notes that, even if one feels “aggrieved,” that does not give one an excuse for evil. A snippet:

I am done with the empathy tour.

Done sitting with Trump supporters as they parrot the lies his victory was built on.

Done standing among the crowds for Trump’s “thank you” tour as they insist theirs is not a campaign of xenophobia and divisiveness, while rabidly chanting, “Build the wall!”

Done fielding the hateful, racist, and misogynistic phone calls and emails and comments, which they argue are absolutely not hateful or racist or misogynistic.

More at the link.

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