Category: Media and Culture,

New study: White people lack empathy across the socioeconomic spectrum 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,1 Comment

White college-educated Americans are far less likely to say poverty is a critical issue — only 37 percent, compared to 47 percent of white non-college-educated Americans and a majority of Hispanic and black Americans (at 52 and 69 percent, respectively). 

…The empathy gap of college-educated whites only widens in regions where Trump excelled electorally, like the Southwest and the Southeast. White college-educated residents of those regions are far less concerned than those without a college degree about the lack of equal opportunity in education. Nearly half of white college-educated respondents (46 percent) told PRRI that it is not a major problem if not everyone has an equal chance in life — a view shared by only 36 percent of those without a college education.

….64 percent of whites without a college degree in the Southeast and Southwest — including 31 percent of Democrats — said discrimination against white people has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities. Strikingly, more than 40 percent of young white people (under age 30) in these regions agreed that discrimination against whites is as big a problem as discrimination against nonwhites.

…As PRRI noted when releasing its survey on Monday, the Republican Party is increasingly becoming a party of white evangelical Protestants, while the Democratic Party is increasingly the home of ethnic minorities and the religiously unaffiliated. 

…There is no point in having a debate on economic anxiety versus old-fashioned racism when a huge swath of white people insist that barriers to success in this country are conceived more in economic than in social terms, while another group of white people seem unable to empathize with the suffering of others, even those who look like them.  

New study: White people lack empathy across the socioeconomic spectrum – Salon.com

Image result for jesus facepalm gif

Trump Praises Africa for Making “So Many Friends” Rich 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

…Naturally, his praise quickly took on a vaguely colonialist tone.

“I have so many friends going to your countries to get rich,” he actually said to them, adding that “six of the world‘s 10 fastest growing economies are in Africa.” Perhaps getting himself a little too worked up about all the ways in which Africa poses an opportunity for his close personal friends to further enrich themselves, the president referred to a country called “Nambia,” which has the unique distinction of not existing.

…In fairness to Trump, we should probably award him partial credit for refraining from telling the group “I love Africa. Great colonialism. Excellent mineral extraction opportunities,” which we can only assume was how the first draft of his speech began.

Trump Praises Africa for Making “So Many Friends” Rich | Vanity Fair

Jeezus….

The dark racial sentiment in Trump’s NBA and NFL criticism 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,, Race,Leave a comment

In the last 24 hours, President Donald Trump has criticized NFL players who refuse to stand for the national anthem and NBA superstar Steph Curry for expressing ambivalence about whether or not to attend the traditional White House celebration for champions in professional sports.

…Both the NFL and the NBA are sports in which the vast majority of the players are black and the vast majority of owners are white.

…In Alabama, Trump called the players who refuse to stand for the anthem “sons of bitches” and insisted that any owner worth his or her salt should fire them immediately.

That got a lot of attention — and rightly so. But it’s what Trump said next that’s really telling. “Total disrespect of our heritage, a total disrespect of everything that we stand for,” he said — adding for emphasis: “Everything that we stand for.”

Notice the use of “our heritage” and “we” in those two sentences above.

…Play football or basketball so we can be entertained, Trump seems to be telling these athletes. No one wants to hear your lack of gratitude for what you’ve been given.

There’s so many things wrong with that view.

First of all, no one gave these players anything. They worked for it.
Second, just because you are a professional athlete doesn’t mean you don’t get to be a citizen, too. ….would Trump feel the same way if the majority of those protesting the anthem were white?

 The dark racial sentiment in Trump’s NBA and NFL criticism – CNNPolitics

If you voted for the Cheeto you definitely deserve whatever you get. Lord have mercy on the rest of us though….

NFL Week 3: Ravens, Jaguars respond to President Trump’s comments by linking arms, kneeling during anthem 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Across the country, players decide what they will do before kickoff. And Colin Kaepernick isn’t even playing.

…At the start of Sunday’s first NFL game, members of the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars sent a powerful message as the majority stood linking arms, while a number of others took a knee in response to President Trump’s tweet urging fans to boycott the sport until owners “fire or suspend” players who protest during the national anthem.

Ravens Coach John Harbaugh joined his players, linking arms, and Ravens Hall of Famer Ray Lewis took a knee. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan locked arms with his players. Khan is believed to be the second owner to participate in events related to anthem protests. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam stood on field and locked arms with players, military personnel and first responders, in Week 1 of the 2017 season.

One Ravens player stood alone, but seemed to be in prayer. All players appeared to stand for the playing of the British anthem, “God Save the Queen.”

NFL Week 3: Ravens, Jaguars respond to President Trump’s comments by linking arms, kneeling during anthem – The Washington Post

Well, that’s not working out the way the Cheeto wanted, is it?

Trump vacancy raises consternation with Europe

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Privacy,Leave a comment

A key vacancy in the State Department is creating friction between the European Union and United States over a new agreement affecting thousands of U.S. companies that do business in Europe.

The agreement, known as the privacy shield, allows businesses to swiftly send personal data across the Atlantic, something that affects a huge swath of U.S. companies, from Facebook and Apple to Netflix and Google.

Without the shield, companies that operate in Europe would have to enter into special contracts to transfer personal data.

EU officials are worried that the Trump administration has yet to nominate an ombudsman at the State Department to oversee complaints from Europeans about the access U.S. national security agencies may have to their data.

Trump vacancy raises consternation with Europe | TheHill

hmmmm

Senators: Facebook’s cooperation on Russian ads  is nice but not enough

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Facebook has agreed to provide details to congressional investigators about ads purchased by Russians to influence the 2016 presidential campaign, and on Thursday vowed greater transparency in political advertising. But some …senators want to make those pledges mandatory.

The moves come amid mounting pressure from Congress to release the Russian-related ads….

…writing legislation that would require web platforms with more than one million users to publicly disclose the names of individuals and organizations that spend more than $10,000 on election-related advertisements.

The sites would also have to provide a copy of the advertisement, and disclose details about the targeted audience, the number of people who view the ad, the time and date it was published, the amount of money charged and the buyer’s contract information.

Facebook’s cooperation on Russian ads doesn’t stop Democrats’ demands – POLITICO

hmmmm

Has asset forfeiture gone too far? Truck seizure case sparks outrage, a call for change 

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Critics argue that civil asset forfeiture program’s abuses outweigh its benefits.

Has asset forfeiture gone too far? Truck seizure case sparks outrage, a call for change | Fox News

Although the truck incident is unfair it is far from the most egregious example of asset seizure gone wrong. Apparently the truly outrageous thing here is that this dude is a white republican???

Asset seizure IS wrong but this case is nothing compared to what’s out there.

The Continuing Hatred Of Hillary Clinton 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Daou says he received way more negative backlash from the left and mainstream media than the right. There were even reporters writing stories about his family’s past and widowed mother who happened to be in the hospital at the time of the stories being released. All of this, because of a website for Hillary Clinton voters? I asked Daou if he thought a website launched for failed candidate Senator Bernie Sanders would have elicited the same response:

“If we had labeled the site ‘Media for the Bernie Revolution,’ I believe we would’ve gotten rave reviews from the very same writers.”— Peter Daou

…The fact that many on the left spent so much time attacking a site that promotes issues progressives care about — equal pay for women, civil rights, and combating climate change — is concerning. Important to note, this firestorm of criticism took place during the same week DACA was rescinded. 

…It was like watching a group of school children join in on a bullying chant without knowing how the chant even got started.

…you most likely didn’t hear much ado about …the Trump Foundation’s “self-dealing” because the story was released on September 10, 2016. This was the day before September 11th, or in other words, the weekend Hillary Clinton had pneumonia.

…Story after story was published about “Hillary’s Health,” and if you watched cable news that week, you would’ve had no idea that there was a Trump Foundation scandal at all.

…After the election, the Trump Foundation admitted to the IRS that they were indeed, “self-dealing.” It turns out, Trump was guilty of what the media was trying to accuse Clinton of — and one of their colleagues had already uncovered it. But Clinton’s pneumonia was more important to them.

…One of the main criticisms is that Clinton isn’t taking responsibility for her loss, despite having explicitly done so in her book. Simply outlining other factors that contributed to a loss isn’t avoiding responsibility, it’s speaking your truth. And Clinton’s truth happens to be very close to reality. Her story is one that needs to be heard. To blame the 2016 election loss of Hillary Clinton solely on the Clinton campaign, would be like pointing to a house that was taken down by a 200 mph tornado and saying “it collapsed only because it had weak infrastructure.”

The Blind Hatred Of Hillary Clinton – Rantt

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5 Movies That Were Based On Much Sadder True Stories

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

While lying and exaggerating in biopics is nothing unexpected, doing so is actually tonally perfect for the biography of Chris Kyle — since he, himself, made up more stories than a kid with a Canadian girlfriend.

…He has allegedly stated that after Hurricane Katrina, he traveled to New Orleans and killed a whole bunch of looters. …In his book, he says that he found chemical weapons from Germany and France in Iraq, which presumably came as a hell of a surprise to all three countries. 

…The least sexy, but probably craziest fabrication was when he lied about the number of military medals he was awarded. …He claimed to have punched Jesse Ventura for saying that the Navy SEALS “deserved to lose a few.” This one was so egregious that Ventura took things to court, and won a $1.8 million lawsuit against Kyle (or rather, his estate, because Kyle had already been killed at the time of the decision). If there are levels to lying, doing it so hard that the court orders an American hero’s widowed wife to cough up close to two million dollars means you’ve hit the cap.

5 Movies That Were Based On Much Sadder True Stories | Cracked.com

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Iceland Has Nearly Eradicating Down Syndrome Births – Some Offer A Typically American Response (Unsophisticated, Un-nuanced, Holier-Than-Thou, Eschewing Reason, Logic, and the Valuation of Women’s Lives in Favor of Heavy Handed Religious Guilt, Not Grounded in Anything Like a Holy Text But Stemming From Four Decades of Politically Rooted Culture Wars ) 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Europe,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Iceland seems to be leading the world in the eradication of Down syndrome; on average, only one or two babies suffering from the condition are born in the nation of 330,000 each year. 

…Cognitive impairments resulting from Down syndrome can range from mild to severe, and deadly physical anomalies are also often associated with the disease. Roughly half of all those who suffer from Down syndrome have serious health conditions, including potentially deadly congenital heart defects. The life expectancy of those afflicted with the syndrome is roughly 60 years, and many require specialized medical care for the entire duration of their lives.

…Down syndrome is often not discovered until late in the 2nd trimester, which can pose a legal and ethical dilemma for some expectant mothers. However, Iceland allows for the termination of pregnancies after 16 weeks in cases of fetal deformity, including Down syndrome.

Only a couple of babies with Down syndrome are born during an average year in Iceland, and in many of those few instances it is because parents get incorrect genetic screening results. In the United States, roughly 6,000 Down syndrome babies are born annually.

…When genetic abnormalities, including Down syndrome, are discovered, Helga Sol Olafsdottir (also of Landspitali University Hospital) helps to counsel the pregnant women in the midst of crisis. She tells those feeling guilty over their decision to terminate that “this is their life.”

…Women in Iceland who choose to terminate Down syndrome fetus are given a prayer card following the procedure. The tiny memento includes the termination date and the footprints of the terminated fetus, a practice that is confusing to [anti-womens’ empowerment] activists in America, many of whom [are intellectually and emotionally shallow enough to] consider terminating a pregnancy to be tantamount to murder.

Iceland Under Fire Over Controversial Method Of Nearly Eradicating Down Syndrome Births

It is satisfying to re-title clickbait…

NAFTA: The view from a mind-bogglingly massive Mexican marketHerald

On By peanutgallerynhIn Money, Class, and Poverty,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Avocado is on such a winning streak one merchant feels invincible in the face of Donald Trump. Rene Torres says a case of avocados that sold for as little as $13 a few years ago now costs $97.

…Oscar Moherano says he’s worried about what the end of NAFTA would mean to his market.

“The product would drop,” he said. “We’d be producing here with no other place to sell it.”

But these successes don’t tell the full NAFTA story. In fact, for agriculture, it’s been mostly negative. While salaries have gone up in industrial sectors like auto production, traditional farmers have been steamrolled by American competitors.

Margarita Rodriguez Lopez runs an association of farmers at the market. She says specialty products like avocados and papayas have thrived under NAFTA, but there have been sad stories in other sectors.

…Men in cowboy hats overseeing a corn delivery express opinions, discreetly. 

Mexico’s corn producers have been devastated under NAFTA. Imports have surged nearly tenfold from the more productive U.S. As much as manufacturing communities have gained, Mexico’s traditional corn-farming communities have suffered.

“Prices are low,” says a man calling himself Oscar.

A friend next to him says of NAFTA: “It hasn’t helped.”

NAFTA: The view from a mind-bogglingly massive Mexican market | The Chronicle Herald

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University of Wisconsin and the aftermath of destroying professor tenure.

On By peanutgallerynhIn Education,, Local Interest,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Schools,Leave a comment

But academics don’t want tenure because they think they’re better or smarter than you. Academics, whether they have it or not, want some form of tenure to exist to protect the integrity of the knowledge that is produced, preserved, and disseminated.

Wisconsin professors simply do not want research limited by the whims of 18 people appointed by a governor with an openly stated anti-education agenda. And you shouldn’t, either. Think university research doesn’t affect you? You’re wrong. Hundreds of technological and social advances that you depend upon have been made thanks to the research of some brainiac at some university somewhere: what kind of cities to plan; how (and where) to alleviate poverty and hunger; what kind of diseases to treat; what kind of drugs to invent (or make obsolete); what kind of bridges and roads to build (and where). If professors are not protected from disagreeing with the agenda of their “bosses”—whether that be Dow Chemical, Gov. Walker, or President Trump—the consequences will go far beyond one person’s paycheck.

University of Wisconsin and the aftermath of destroying professor tenure.

hmmm

Manchester Local, Refugee Running for Alderman at Age 20

On By peanutgallerynhIn Granite State,, Race,, Religion,Leave a comment

There’s an aldermen race going on next week in Manchester. And one of the candidates on the ballot would be the city’s youngest elected if he wins. He turned 20 Thursday, attends UNH Manchester, and is a refugee from Kuwait.

Manchester Local, Refugee Running for Alderman at Age 20 | New Hampshire Public Radio

…Because immigrants are motivated citizens. Period.