Jurors Said They Couldn’t Fairly Judge Martin Shkreli in Court Because He “Looks Like a Dick”

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Of course, none of these people made it onto Shkreli’s jury, because judges must strive to get a set of 12 people who know as little about the involved parties as possible, and who have no preconceived notions about their innocence or guilt. That’s great for the justice system, but sad for me, because I would very much like to hear more sharp observations from the mind of juror No. 144. “The question is, have you heard anything that would affect your ability to decide this case with an open mind. Can you do that?” the judge asked the prospective juror. “I don’t think I can,” the juror replied, “because he kind of looks like a dick.” That kind of well-reasoned argument belongs in every good jury deliberation, or at least in the miniseries adaptation.

Jurors Said They Couldn’t Fairly Judge Martin Shkreli in Court Because He “Looks Like a Dick”

heh

Hurt and Angry, Charlottesville Tries to Regroup From Violence 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,, Race,Leave a comment

And at City Hall, a planned news conference by Jason Kessler, the white nationalist who organized Saturday’s rally, came to an abrupt end when a man wearing a plaid shirt punched him.

“Jason Kessler has been bringing hate to our town for months and has been endangering the lives of people of color and endangering other lives in my community,” the man, Jeff Winder, said in an interview later. “Free speech does not protect hate speech.”

Hurt and Angry, Charlottesville Tries to Regroup From Violence – NYTimes.com

Well, I would have said free speech does not protect you from the consequences of people hearing what you say and reacting to it but, still, you go, Jeff Winder! Punch all the Nazis. Every single Nazi. Every single time.

(And if you want to split hairs about alt-right vs. white nationalist vs Nazi? You’re missing the forest for the trees.)

Maimonides hospital in one of the most diverse places in the US – Business Insider

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

I went to Maimonides and learned how ethnic and religious diversity affects healthcare and what doctors need to consider as the populations they serve change.

…When he arrived 41 years ago, diversity meant having Orthodox Jews and other Jews in the same space. Jablon, who is Jewish, said his main job was to get them all to get along.

…That’s all changed. Maimonides is located Brooklyn’s Borough Park, a neighborhood that’s still home one of the largest Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish populations in the US, but also new immigrants from China and the Arab world. Adjacent communities served by the hospital are predominantly Latino or home to European immigrants.

…It’s not just about dealing with language barriers. Our cultural backdrop affects how we talk about illness and death, and our ethnicity can make us more prone to develop diseases like diabetes or certain cancers, and the doctors at Maimonides have to think about every way they engage with new or different communities — all the way down to how they decorate.

Maimonides hospital in one of the most diverse places in the US – Business Insider

hmmm

GOP senator lashes out: My brother didn’t die fighting Hitler so Nazi ideas could go unchallenged in U.S. 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) condemned the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, that exploded on Saturday, saying that WWII veterans, including his brother, didn’t die fighting Adolph Hitler so that Nazi ideas could prevail in the United States today.“

We should call evil by its name. My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home. -OGH,” Hatch tweeted Saturday evening, signing it OGH to signify that he, not his staff, had written the message.

…Hatch was just 8 years old when his brother, 20-year-old Jesse, died when his B-24 bomber went down over Austria.

His brother’s death deeply affected the senator, and he has credited his older sibling for his life in public service.

The Utah senator’s comments came after white nationalist protests turned violent Saturday, leading to three deaths and multiple injuries.

GOP senator lashes out: My brother didn’t die fighting Hitler so Nazi ideas could go unchallenged in U.S. | Rare

hmmm

6 Civil War Myths Everyone Believes That Are Total B.S. 

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

We might be going out on a limb here, but we’re guessing that most of our readers aren’t hardcore Civil War historians. And since VH-1 discontinued their series before they got around to the 1860s, a lot of us are walking around with Civil War misinformation firmly wired in our brains.

6 Civil War Myths Everyone Believes That Are Total B.S. | Cracked.com

hmmm

Students Stood Up To A White Nationalist March in VA

On By peanutgallerynhIn Race,, Schools,Leave a comment

“Tell me again how today’s college students are scared snowflakes.”

A Small Group Of Students Stood Up To A White Nationalist March And People Are Lauding Them As Heroes

Go VA students!

On the stand in her groping case, Taylor Swift was every woman. And that’s what’s so sad. 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,Leave a comment

Taylor Swift is a pop star, one of music’s most savvy businesswomen and a $280 million brand.

And yet, she was none of those things yesterday in a Denver courtroom, where she testified against a man who she says groped her at a 2013 meet-and-greet. Swift was just another woman in a world that requires women to insist — to prove, over and over again — that their experience qualifies as truth. In a world that decides, off the bat, that women are crazy or mendacious or simply wrong. And so Swift insisted, more times than anyone should have to and in increasingly descriptive terms, that a former radio DJ had the audacity to put his hand under her skirt and violate her.

…Swift was unbowed, lighting the courtroom ablaze:  “It was a definite grab,” she would say. Once his hand found its target, she testified, it “stayed latched on to my bare ass cheek.” Again and again, she described what she says happened. The Denver Post suggested it might have been the highest recorded number of instances of the words “ass” and “cheek” in the courtroom’s history.

Before it was eventually edited, a CNN article described Swift’s testimony as “snarky.” Others described her as aggravated. We’d do better to see Swift’s testimony as what cultural critic Soraya McDonald described recently in the Undefeated as “necessary arrogance.”  It’s necessary because not being believed is the baseline for women.

…Mueller is also arguing that Swift’s accusation has wrecked his career prospects and his name; for that, he is seeking as much as $3 million from Swift. (She is seeking $1, and in court documents said she filed suit only to “serv[e] as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts.”)

In court, asked about the fallout for Mueller, Swift retorted, “I am being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are a product of his decisions and not mine.”

It was as if she really was speaking for every woman. And that’s profoundly sad.

On the stand in her groping case, Taylor Swift was every woman. And that’s what’s so sad. – The Washington Post

sigh….

In a new poll, half of Republicans say they would support postponing the 2020 election if Trump proposed it

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

A significant number of Republicans would support flagrant violations of democratic norms.

In a new poll, half of Republicans say they would support postponing the 2020 election if Trump proposed it – The Washington Post

Well, haven’t they already demonstrated a willingness to support flagrant violations of democratic norms?

Sigh…

What Ever Happened to Mass Incarceration Reform? | Brennan Center for Justice

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

With the confirmation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who ushered in a 1980’s throw-back Department of Justice directive on low-level drug offenses, it remains unclear whether there might be a return to a bipartisan approach to criminal justice reform in the 115th Congress.

…According to a recent Brennan Center analysis, even as crime declined by 10 percent from 1991-1994, prison populations exploded pre-1994 by 400 percent and doubled in the decade following the law’s passage.  With today’s well-documented growth in state and federal prison population, most people, including President Bill Clinton, accept that the 1994 incentives he championed were a mistake, rewarding states to build and fill more prisons.  

Indeed, in the more than two decades since the passage of the 1994 Crime Bill, the evidence is overwhelming that resulting incarceration rates are harming families, communities, and federal and state budgets.  Despite having only 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States has 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated at an annual cost of roughly $80 billion. 

In 2007, Texas got smart and increased the availability of drug addiction and mental health treatment for non-violent drug offenders. Then, in 2011, the Texas legislature passed legislation to allow drug offenders to reduce their sentences by completing educational programs. The result was stark — 14 percent reduction in crime, 8 percent reduction in incarceration, saving $444 million in corrections expenses and $20 million direct savings for taxpayers.  Recent reports indicate that Texas is on pace to close 8 prisons by year’s end.

By enacting new laws to eliminate some mandatory sentences for low-level property crimes and improving the parole and probation release process, South Carolina saw a 38 percent drop in violent crime and an 18 percent in their prison population, saving the state $18 million over four years.  

What Ever Happened to Mass Incarceration Reform? | Brennan Center for Justice

That time when the ethically correct thing and fiscally responsible thing to do are the exact same thing…

MLMs like LuLaRoe are sending people into debt and psychological crisis 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Local Interest,, Media and Culture,, Religion,Leave a comment

…points out that when you onboard someone underneath you, especially if they live in your town or are in your friendship group, you are essentially creating a competitor. It’s as if you open a Subway sandwich shop and then encourage your neighbor to open a Subway right next door—and everyone is already sick of sandwiches.

…Whether they realize it or not, consultant leaders often use time-honored cult tactics of denial and blame to keep women within their sorority. A famous series of experiments from the 1950s conducted by Soloman Asch in England showed that three out of four people will deny evidence right in front of them if the majority says it’s not true. In the study, individuals were placed in groups where they were constantly contradicted by other members. When this happened over a length of time, they would start to agree with the majority—even though it was clear that the opposite was true. In MLMs, “you’re trained to avoid people who question whether this is a viable business or not,” Brooks says. “Which is exactly the same technique that cults use—they try to isolate you from people who question your belief system. I’ve been contacted by a number of people who deal with cult survivors, and some of their clients are former MLM people.”

Even when consultants wake up to the fact they’ve been hoodwinked, many don’t warn their friends to stay away. That’s because if you speak out against any of LuLaRoe’s rules or mishaps, the community could publicly shame and harass you for being negative. “I can’t believe you call yourself a Christian,” one retailer wrote to someone trying to sound the alarm. “Where is the Jesus in you? I have to block you due to your constant-gross-delusional-uneducated opinions of LLR.” If you reveal you are struggling to make sales, you might be told to stop playing the victim, that you’re not putting in enough effort, to be more enthusiastic, and, of course, to buy more inventory.

…In other words, it’s not the system that’s broken—you’re just not trying hard enough.

…Stern was taught ways to unload her unwanted stock on unsuspecting buyers by her group’s leaders. “You have to be creative about how you sell it,” she says. Stern would bundle 10 pairs of leggings together—nine less desirable ones and one unicorn pattern—into “mystery sales,” where the first 10 women to comment “sold” would purchase a random pair, but only one would get the coveted leggings. She feels guilty about using this psychological gambling trick, but it worked.

…For a portion of independent retailers, LuLaRoe is to economic opportunity as Goop is to wellness: It’s for ladies who already have it all. The ability to throw down $12,000 to start a LuLaRoe business and work 30 hours a week sometimes comes from a place of privilege, not desperation.

…This isn’t a story about leggings, however. It’s not even a story about LuLaRoe. This is the story of rural and suburban disenfranchisement and the MLMs that offer desperate American women a chance at clawing their way out. They’ve become part of the fabric of suburban America, as cherished and inevitable as barbecues and the county fair. Regional newspapers are rife with announcements for fundraisers for children with cancer and elementary-school fetes that promote LuLaRoe pop-up shops. Not buying a pair of leggings can be read as being unsupportive of your friends—or not chipping in for a local kid’s chemotherapy. It’s a genius manipulation of rural and suburban American societal norms.

MLMs like Avon and LuLaRoe are sending people into debt and psychological crisis — Quartz

hmmmm

(As Goop is to wellness… Lolololololol!)

Caitlyn Jenner Wears a MAGA Hat After Criticizing Trump’s Transgender Military Ban 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

“People need to stop giving Caitlyn the benefit of the doubt.”

Caitlyn Jenner Wears a MAGA Hat After Criticizing Trump’s Transgender Military Ban | Teen Vogue

No, people need to stop expecting everyone who is trans to be a shining pinnacle of enlightenment. Trans people are people. Some people are idiots. Some people are assholes. Some people are both. …And that includes trans people, because as we just establish trans people are people. (duh!)

…And stop giving celebrities more credit than you would anyone else. Caitlyn Jenner was married to a fucking Kardashian for fucks sake. Why anyone would expect more than moronic bullshit from her is beyond the realm of logic.

Unlearning the myth of American innocence

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

I know why this came as a shock to me then, at the age of 22, and it wasn’t necessarily because he said I was sick, though that was part of it. It was because he kept calling me that thing: “white American”. In my reaction I justified his accusation. I knew I was white, and I knew I was American, but it was not what I understood to be my identity. For me, self-definition was about gender, personality, religion, education, dreams. I only thought about finding myself, becoming myself, discovering myself – and this, I hadn’t known, was the most white American thing of all.

I still did not think about my place in the larger world, or that perhaps an entire history – the history of white Americans – had something to do with who I was. My lack of consciousness allowed me to believe I was innocent, or that white American was not an identity like Muslim or Turk.

…American exceptionalism did not only define the US as a special nation among lesser nations; it also demanded that all Americans believe they, too, were somehow superior to others. How could I, as an American, understand a foreign people, when unconsciously I did not extend the most basic faith to other people that I extended to myself? This was a limitation that was beyond racism, beyond prejudice and beyond ignorance. This was a kind of nationalism so insidious that I had not known to call it nationalism; this was a self-delusion so complete that I could not see where it began and ended, could not root it out, could not destroy it.

…American exceptionalism had declared my country unique in the world, the one truly free and modern country, and instead of ever considering that that exceptionalism was no different from any other country’s nationalistic propaganda, I had [internalized*] this belief. 

…By the end of my first year abroad, I read US newspapers differently. I could see how alienating they were to foreigners, the way articles spoke always from a position of American power, treating foreign countries as if they were America’s misbehaving children. I listened to my compatriots with critical ears: the way our discussion of foreign policy had become infused since September 11 with these officious, official words, bureaucratic corporate military language: collateral damage, imminent threat, freedom, freedom, freedom.

…“We are told it is the greatest country on earth. The thing is, we will never reconsider that narrative the way you are doing just now, because to us, that isn’t propaganda, that is truth. And to us, that isn’t nationalism, it’s patriotism. And the thing is, we will never question any of it because at the same time, all we are being told is how free-thinking we are, that we are free. So we don’t know there is anything wrong in believing our country is the greatest on earth. The whole thing sort of convinces you that a collective consciousness in the world came to that very conclusion.”

“Wow,” a friend once replied. “How strange. That is a very quiet kind of fascism, isn’t it?”

Unlearning the myth of American innocence | US news | The Guardian

* = American exceptionalism extends to spelling. LOLOLOLOLOL