Trae Crowder Interview: “The Only Thing That Makes ‘Liberal Redneck’ a Character Is That It’s Me Cranked Up to Eleven” – Smashing Interviews Magazine

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

…ultra, ultra liberals from Portland or Seattle, just like super liberal people that don’t believe me either. They don’t believe me because they say, “This guy just has to be faking it. There’s no such thing as a redneck who is smart or progressive.” They genuinely believe that everybody that has real Southern accents and are really rednecks are racists, regressive, super conservative pieces of crap. They genuinely believe that.

What’s funny about that, to me, is they don’t realize that’s just another kind of prejudice and discrimination, but they don’t look at it that way. That’s still being close minded, but they don’t view it that way. That part has been funny to me, that the people who accused me of faking “Liberal Redneck,” have basically come from from those two camps that cannot be more different from each other.

…I don’t hold anything against anyone being a Christian in general. I’m not one, and that’s fine. The regressive attitudes that many of them have is what I don’t like. The religion itself is good. I like that Gandhi quote, something like, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians because they are so unlike your Christ.” That’s how I feel. If they acted totally like Jesus, I’d be totally on board with it, but that has not been my experience.

Trae Crowder Interview: “The Only Thing That Makes ‘Liberal Redneck’ a Character Is That It’s Me Cranked Up to Eleven” – Smashing Interviews Magazine

Nationial. Treasure.

Comfort Food or (A Southerner’s Guide To A Funeral) – OurSundyBest

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,Leave a comment

 Hey Sundy-Besters! Corey here..   Gave the boys a break this Sunday so that I could hop on here and ramble about a few things that have happened in the past week. irst off, would like to say that we are still deeply saddened by the events that transpired in Orlando. This is a tragedy that had a ripple effect throughout our country for many different reasons. Of course it was immediately politicized. Of course there was continued bigotry from religious nutbags. Of course there was a litany of facebook arguments – and look, most of that is to be expected, and for the most part, is (unfortunately) quite natural for us here in the good ole United States.

I’m not even going to act like I didn’t participate in my normal back and forth with my gun-crazy friends on social media. I did. That all changed for me, however, when I saw Anderson Cooper’s piece on the tragedy (watch it here). Anderson did what no one else covering the story had yet to do; he mentioned their names, he showed their faces, and he told their stories. It was as powerful as it was sensitive. It served to remind us that when something like this happens, before we start politicizing, before we jump down someone’s throat on Facebook for promoting a different agenda than ours, before we write our congressman, we need to take a step back and remember that these are people just like us. These are people who loved and were loved.

I find it a bit easier to keep that in perspective this week because I have also faced a personal loss: my cousin. Well, ok… before I get ahead of myself… he wasn’t really my cousin.. But y’all know how the South is…

Comfort Food or (A Southerner’s Guide To A Funeral) – OurSundyBest

Adorbs…

Fracking produces tons of radioactive waste. What should we do with it? | Grist

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,Leave a comment

States are struggling to deal with the potentially dangerous drilling byproducts that are being dumped in landfills throughout the Marcellus Shale.

Fracking produces tons of radioactive waste. What should we do with it? | Grist

Seriously? Why is this even a question? How about ban it and make the companies who fucked up the country side fix it or shut them the fuck down?

Sigh…

Implosion levels tower of Las Vegas’ Riviera casino – CBS News

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

The Riviera Hotel and Casino – the Las Vegas Strip’s first high-rise that was as famous for its mobster ties as its Hollywood personification of Sin City’s mobster past – officially exited the scene early Tuesday with a cinematic implosion, complete with fireworks.

The 24-story Monaco Tower was demolished around 2:30 a.m. when a series of explosions sounded, followed by the building crumbling from the sides and then into the middle, kicking up a mountain of dust.

…The Riviera Casino opened in 1955 and almost folded immediately until some mob guys put Liberace on its stage for $50k a week.

Implosion levels tower of Las Vegas’ Riviera casino – CBS News

hmmm

Teacher Sent Home After Conducting Social Experiment

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Schools,Leave a comment

“One of our male teachers encouraged us to break dress code since the boys never get in trouble for it, why should we?  Several girls went to school in tank top style dress and thick strapped tank tops.  Boys wore hats and cutoffs.  In the morning, girls were immediately pulled into the office.  They were told their outfits were inappropriate and distracting, but the boys had no consequences.  They were not told to cover up or that their outfits were distracting.  Our teacher helped us prove how sexist our dress code really is.  The teacher was sent home for being unprofessional and encouraging us to protest.  We lost a very valuable teacher that day because our school cares more about the dress code than the quality of teaching we are receiving.”

Constant policing of girls’ bodies creates a hostile learning environment.  It forces girls to internalize the sexist societal message that women should be judged based on appearance above all else.  Dress codes that sexualize young girls force them to view their own bodies through a heteronormative patriarchal lens that objectifies girls and women and blames them for the actions of others.

…The dress code at Indian Creek High School is less about health, safety, and limiting classroom disruptions and more about controlling girls.  Although, the dress code states that clothing to the “point of immodesty may not be worn” and shorts and skirts must “extend past the students fingertips when the arms are extended,” school-mandated uniforms for Girls’ Volleyball, Cheer, and other sports do not even come close to meeting dress code regulations.

Teacher Sent Home After Conducting Social Experiment

hmmm

The reborn identity: Dalai Lama hints he may come back as a girl or outside of Asia or not at all 

On By peanutgallerynhIn East Asia,Leave a comment

Back in 1995, Beijing operatives kidnapped the boy the Dalai Lama had named as the Panchen Lama — who has not been seen since — and the government handpicked a replacement.

About 12 years later, Chinese officials created the so-called “Order No. Five, concerning the control and recognition of reincarnations,” the Tibetan Buddhist leader wrote on his website. “This is outrageous and disgraceful. The enforcement of various inappropriate methods for recognizing reincarnations to eradicate our unique Tibetan cultural traditions is doing damage that will be difficult to repair.”

The reborn identity: Dalai Lama hints he may come back as a girl or outside of Asia or not at all | The Salt Lake Tribune

Sigh…

Thinking About Hillary — A Plea for Reason 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,Leave a comment

Overt sexism is significantly more likely to be tolerated in our society than overt racism. It is a low-risk form of bigotry and discrimination that rarely damages professional or political careers. Because of this, far fewer people worry about crossing that line.

…the one thing that seems to most negatively and consistently affect public perception of Hillary is any attempt by her to seek power. Once she actually has that power her polls go up again. But whenever she asks for it her numbers drop like a manhole cover.

…a media frenzy has been aimed at Hillary Clinton for accepting speaking fees of $225,000 while Donald Trump has been paid $1.5 MILLION on numerous occasions with hardly a word said about it.

…Hillary is nobody’s idea of perfect. Fine. But in my view if a man with her qualifications were running in the Democratic primary, Bernie would have been done before he even started. And if a man with her qualifications had been running for the Republicans, they’d be anointing him the next Reagan while trying to sneak his face onto Mount Rushmore.

Thinking About Hillary — A Plea for Reason — Medium

hmmm

The Dalai Lama: Why I’m hopeful about the world’s future 

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

There are many reasons for us to be hopeful. Recognition of universal human rights, including the right to self-determination, has expanded beyond anything imagined a century ago. There is growing international consensus in support of gender equality and respect for women. Particularly among the younger generation, there is a widespread rejection of war as a means of solving problems. Across the world, many are doing valuable work to prevent terrorism, recognizing the depths of misunderstanding and the divisive idea of “us” and “them” that is so dangerous.

The Dalai Lama: Why I’m hopeful about the world’s future – The Washington Post

love him

How some students who refused to take high-stakes standardized tests are being punished

On By peanutgallerynhIn Education,Leave a comment

By Carol Burris

…Since December of 2015, she has repeatedly asked the district to create a fair policy to accommodate students in the admissions process if their parents opted them out of the state test. Cognizant of state law as well as the practices of other school districts, including New York City, Nevergold knew that other places made accommodations. On March 23, after three months of administrative evasion, she submitted a resolution to the Board to direct the staff to provide a recommended solution to resolve the problem. The resolution was tabled, and then later passed by the Board, when no progress was made.

Through her persistent questioning, it was discovered that 14 children who opted out would rank high enough for admission if their COGAT scores were doubled, like the private school students without achievement scores.  Meanwhile, students continue to be moved into the competitive schools from wait lists, even as these opt-out students are denied.

What has occurred in Buffalo, a district in which the majority of students are of color and come from homes that are poor, would never happen in an affluent, suburban district.  Stalling and dismissiveness would not be the way the problem is resolved. As a district administrator who wishes to remain unidentified told me, “We are engaging in a form of disenfranchisement that walks like punishment and talks like punishment.” I think that sums it up pretty well.

How some students who refused to take high-stakes standardized tests are being punished – The Washington Post

Sigh…

CIA medical staff gave specifications on how to torture post-9/11 detainees 

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Office of Medical Staff detailed exactly how to enforce sleep deprivation, limit food intake, waterboard and use ‘confinement boxes’, declassified report

CIA medical staff gave specifications on how to torture post-9/11 detainees | US news | The Guardian

GRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr