2022 archive
Stray Thought, Devolution Dept. 0
I suspect that future historians, should scholarship survive the impending floods and famines made inevitable by our societal paralysis in the face of accelerating climate change, will conclude that one of the tipping points in the self-destruction of our society came when persons stopped thinking of themselves as fellow participants in the polity and starting thinking of themselves as brands battling for “likes” and “followers.”
I am not sanguine.
Seen on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
Snopes rounds up a herd of hooey about presidents and presidential candidates from the past three decades and concludes
Follow the link for details.
“Whitewashing History” 0
The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Michael Paul Williams explains, in the context of a column about Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, whose first official act was to ban critical race theory in schools, where, again, it is not taught. A nugget (emphasis added):
This all-consuming concern over “inherently divisive concepts” and the Constitution is rich coming from a member of a political party in thrall to a former president so divisive that he inspired an insurrection that the vast majority of GOP lawmakers are loath to acknowledge or investigate.
Image via Job’s Anger.
The Climates They Are a-Changing 0
Afterthought:
Back in what we called the “back field” at Pine View Farm, to the left and way behind the pine trees in the picture at the top of this page, there is a steep slope with about a 20-foot drop where the soil is very sandy, so sandy, in fact, that at spots the soy beans my father used to plant there did not grow very well.
We always thought it was once a beach. Now it looks as if it will be a beach once more.
What Happened Happened 0
The writer of a letter to the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch points out that it can be done: Yes, you can teach history without teaching the dreaded and degrading (to white children according to Republicans, that is) critical race theory.
Light Bloggery 0
Posting will be sporadic over the next couple of days. Commitments.
A Diet of Worms 0
And, no, Martin Luther wasn’t in attendance at this one.
Gutting Out the Vote 0
Thom talks with the Brennan Center’s Michael Waldman about partisan (that is, Republican) efforts to restrict voting rights.
It’s All about the Benjamins 0
At The Roanoke Times, a doctor describes the latest attempt by Wall Street and insurance companies to milk money from Medicare for services not rendered.
Just read it.
History through White-Colored Glasses 0
South Dakota’s governor wants to teach a “true and honest” (sic) version of American history that somehow does not mention America’s original sin of chattel slavery.
As someone who trained as an historian and whose ancestors wore the grey, I find the denial delusional. And vile beyond words.
Afterthought:
If one’s only option for protecting one’s political position is to lie to oneself (and others, including students), perhaps there’s something wrong with one’s political position.