The Lake Effect 0
The Arizona Republic’s Laurie Roberts suggests that Kari Lake quite by accident picked the right theme song.
Establishmentarians 0
At the Idaho State Journal, Leonard Hitchcock shares his thoughts about disdain for the right’s rabid race to restrict reading lists for reasons of they-call-it religion.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Another oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” exposes a child to politeness.
Believe It When They Tell You Who They Are 0
I was stopped at a light yesterday next to car with a bumper sticker that read
DEPLORABLE.
I shall take him at his word.
Twits on Twitter, School for Scamdal Dept. 0
Emma and the crew skewer the hypocrisy of Ben Shapiro’s performance art. (Warning: Audio slightly out of sync.)
Hoist on Their Own Petard 0
As my old professor for the history of the Early Federal Period was fond of pointing out, “History is irony.”
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
But still smart enough to fool some of the people some of the time.
Barnum was wrong. There’s more than one born every minu–oh, never mind.
Courting Disaster 0
Federal Judge Judge James Ho has a notion of immigrants.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Security expert Bruce Schneier shares his take on AI. Given all the hoopla of the past couple of months, I think his piece is worth a read.
Punishing the Poor for Being 0
One of the features of the pending debt-ceiling compromise bill is increasing work requirements for persons receiving SNAP and TANF benefits.
Cara Brumfield explains why this is a con and a scam. A snippet:
The reality is that millions of workers rely on programs like Medicaid and SNAP because they are paid low wages, have unpredictable schedules, and lack benefits — all of which make it harder to meet the work requirements.
Built-in Bias 0
Writing at Psychology Today Blogs, Karim Bettache takes a penetrating look at how structural racism permeates society. (Structural racism is that thing that racists and their dupes, symps, and fellow travelers say does not exist because they don’t want to admit that it does.) Furthermore, he suggests that it’s a world-wide phenomenon that can be traced back to the age of empire, when European nations used racism–that is, white superiority–to help justify rationalize subjugating foreign lands and peoples.
Bettache cites research that demonstrates that children start absorbing racist messages from the culture almost before they learn how to talk, let alone learn how to read or think critically. Here are a couple of snippets from his article:
(snip)
For black girls, discrimination based on hair texture is a common experience that reinforces their position as outsiders in some environments. Some schools have even prohibited natural hairstyles, considering them “unruly” or contrary to policies requiring a “professional” appearance (Macon, 2014). The message is that to succeed and be accepted, black women must conform to white norms rather than embrace their cultural heritage and identity. Such policies inflict psychological harm and perpetuate racist beliefs that natural black hair is somehow unkept (sic) or unclean.
Given the efforts of the New Secesh to rise again, I think his piece is well worth the few minutes it will take to read it.
