I saw this in a museum gift shop today. That’s it… I’m done.
And this in an exhibit:
Category: Culture
Legislature Debates Teaching Racism in Schools
Don’t you kind of wonder why this isn’t already the law? Or, at least, the policy in every district in the state? And why, pray tell, are the Democrats fighting so hard to prevent the prohibition of teaching racism in schools? They are fighting anti-racism racism like they did in the 1960s.
The legislation would require teachers to post their syllabuses online and districts to provide copies of curriculum under the state’s open records law, without charges or delays, and would establish a complaint process for parents, staff or groups who object to the materials being taught.
[…]
Under the bills, violations include teaching that one race or sex is superior to another; a person is inherently racist by virtue of his or her race or sex; a person’s moral character is determined by race or sex; a person should feel guilty for past acts committed by people of his or her race or sex; and systems based on meritocracy are racist or sexist or designed to oppress people of another race.
Subway Owners Push Back on Activism
Whether or not one agrees with the activists’ message, there is a time and a place. I don’t want to have to support activism or make a political statement just to order a sandwich. I just want a dang sandwich. Hold the onions.
Owners of Subway franchises are asking the company’s bosses to pull adverts featuring soccer star Megan Rapinoe, because customers are complaining about her political activism.
Rapinoe, 36, is as well known for her outspoken views and purple hair as she is for her soccer skills.
In Tokyo for her third Olympics, Rapinoe took a knee during the National Anthem, before their bronze-winning game.
[…]
At the end of July, a Wisconsin franchise operator shared a note from an angry customer with a discussion forum hosted by the North American Association of Subway Franchisees (NAASF).
The note, taped to his door, read: ‘Boycott Subway until Subway fires the anti-American Megan Rapinoe, the creep who kneels for our beloved National Anthem!’
The Wisconsin owner said: ‘The ad should be pulled and done with. It gets tiring apologizing.’
Subway does not own any of its nearly 22,000 locations, but it charges franchisees 4.5 per cent of their revenue for a national advertising fund, and controls how the money is spent from its Connecticut headquarters.
An Arizona owner said on the NAASF blog: ‘Spending our money to make a political statement is completely and totally out of bounds.’
Parents and Citizens Resist Government Overreach
It is good to see a fair amount of pushback on governments moving to impose mandates and restrictions in response to a resurge of COVID.
We have watched the last week unfold in abject horror – observing our government institutions and leaders failing our children at every turn, again. Your renewed calls for lockdowns, enforced mask mandates, and masking in schools is not rooted in science and is objectively cruel to the most vulnerable
in our society, our children. We believe that you are in fact aware of this and continue to play political games with our children, despite our efforts to work with you over the last twelve months.We are here to inform you that this ends today.
Effective immediately we will not:
1. Mask our children in schools
2. Allow you to use your private sector counterparts to enforce invasive mask mandates on our children in various stores or at community activities
3. Subject our children to any further local, regional, or national lockdowns or movement restriction
Simply put, these are not your children. They are ours and they too, are Americans with rights. They are
our responsibility and our most beloved. They are not yours.
Given the miniscule chance that children will be significantly harmed by COVID and the proven detrimental effects that masks and lockdowns cause on their mental health and education, it is bordering on child abuse to impose those things on kids.
Vaccinated Face 0.004% Chance of Serious Breakthrough Case
Once again… if you are vaccinated, then why would you be concerned over the vaccination status of others? You made your choice. They made theirs. Let’s get on with living.
(CNN)More than 99.99% of people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 have not had a breakthrough case resulting in hospitalization or death, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The data highlights what leading health experts across the country have highlighted for months: Covid-19 vaccines are very effective at preventing serious illness and death from Covid-19 and are the country’s best shot at slowing the pandemic down and avoiding further suffering.
The CDC reported 6,587 Covid-19 breakthrough cases as of July 26, including 6,239 hospitalizations and 1,263 deaths. At that time, more than 163 million people in the United States were fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Divide those severe breakthrough cases by the total fully vaccinated population for the result: less than 0.004% of fully vaccinated people had a breakthrough case that led to hospitalization and less than 0.001% of fully vaccinated people died from a breakthrough Covid-19 case.
Government and Media Stoke Animosity Between Vaccinated and Unvaccinated
If you are vaccinated, or not, and you are getting angry at those who made the other choice, you are being played by your government and the media. They are doing it for a reason.
But with Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations now surging again and officials across the US suddenly reimposing restrictions after a summer of semi normalcy, McCullough and many other vaccinated Americans are becoming increasingly angry at those who are refusing the shot.
“I did what I had to do,” McCullough told CNN. “Now, these people who are making this selfish decision are going to make me suffer the consequences.”The average number of new cases daily is up more than 400% since last month. Hospitals are again filling with Covid-19 patients — many younger than ever before, and most unvaccinated. Mask mandates are back in parts of the country. And this week, the CDC updated guidance it issued in May and said fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in areas with “substantial” or “high” Covid-19 transmission to prevent further spread of the dangerous Delta variant. More than 80% of the US population lives in a county impacted by that guidance.
First, notice how they have all switched to using percentages instead of actual numbers. Why? Because percentages are scarier. If 2 people died yesterday and 4 died today, that’s a 100% increase. But looking at the actual numbers, we aren’t seeing anything close to what we saw at the peak of the pandemic. Here are Wisconsin’s numbers:
That doesn’t look as scary, does it? But our government overlords have fallen in love with their power fueled by the pandemic. If the pandemic isn’t scary anymore, then we don’t need them to take extraordinary measures like multi-trillion dollar spending sprees, do we?
But back to the vaccinated vs. unvaccinated… follow the logic. If you are vaccinated and the vaccines are effective, then why do you care if your neighbor chose to not get vaccinated? Because they might spread it to you? But you are vaccinated, right? And if you are vaccinated, you might (although it appears to be extraordinarily difficult) spread the virus to someone who is not vaccinated. So? Why is that your concern? They weighed the risks and made their own choice. If they get the virus and have a bad case or die, then it sucks for them. Stuff happens. We’re all going to die sometime.
The politicians and media are stoking division because it gives them power. Don’t fall for it. Love your neighbor whether they are vaccinated or not.
So Much for the GOAT
While I have some sympathy for this young lady, it isn’t much.
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles said “I have to focus on my mental health” after pulling out of the women’s gymnastics team final.
The American left the arena after the vault, but later returned to support her team-mates as they claimed silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee.
Biles, 24, scored 13.766 – her lowest Olympic vault score – before withdrawing from the event.
“After the performance I did, I just didn’t want to go on,” she said.
“I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now.
[…]
She has reached all five individual finals and is undecided on whether she will compete in her next event on Thursday, when she will attempt to become the first woman to retain the Olympic all-around title since 1968.
“We’re going to see about Thursday,” she said. “We’re going to take it a day at a time and see what happens.”
She is exceptionally talented and rightfully reveled in the accolades for years. She wore GOAT leotards and took on the role of the leader of the American team.
But when she had a bad day on the vault, the abandoned her team. Character is revealed not when you succeed, but when you fail. She cost her teammates a gold medal not because of her failure to perform, but for her refusal to try. And the fact that she is even considering competing for individual medals when she left her team behind is selfish.
Homeschooling Surges
Perhaps a long-term positive effect of the pandemic will be more parents taking a more active role in their kids’ education whether they homeschool or not.
Although the pandemic disrupted family life across the U.S. since taking hold in spring 2020, some parents are grateful for one consequence: They’re now opting to homeschool their children, even as schools plan to resume in-person classes.
The specific reasons vary widely. Some families who spoke with The Associated Press have children with special educational needs; others seek a faith-based curriculum or say their local schools are flawed. The common denominator: They tried homeschooling on what they thought was a temporary basis and found it beneficial to their children.
“That’s one of the silver linings of the pandemic — I don’t think we would have chosen to homeschool otherwise,” said Danielle King of Randolph, Vermont, whose 7-year-old daughter Zoë thrived with the flexible, one-on-one instruction. Her curriculum has included literature, anatomy, even archaeology, enlivened by outdoor excursions to search for fossils.
The surge has been confirmed by the U.S. Census Bureau, which reported in March that the rate of households homeschooling their children rose to 11% by September 2020, more than doubling from 5.4% just six months earlier.
Alcohol Delivery on the Docket
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — People can order just about anything with the touch of a screen — except for alcohol. Some business leaders want to change that. Others argue it’s a safety hazard.
Online grocery shopping was popular before the pandemic, and it’s only grown since then. Now customers want alcohol included in this perk. But is it safe? It depends on whom you ask.
Instant gratification drives the retail and foodservice market with delivery apps thriving in a technology-driven world.
“One of the things customers want is to have a six-pack of beer, a bottle of wine, or booze delivered to their home,” said Brandon Scholz, CEO of the Wisconsin Grocers Association.
In the abstract, I support this. Whether it is the family making their weekly grocery order and wants to include alcohol or the replacement of the very dangerous late night beer run, alcohol delivery does not seem like something that government has a pressing interest to prohibit.
Also, here again, Wisconsin is hardly in the vanguard on this issue. Several other states already allow this and I can’t find any data to show that it has had a negative impact. If there isn’t a provable negative impact, then government should not restrict the free exercise of commerce. Even if there is a negative impact, that must be weighed against the restriction of freedom and commerce to decide if those consequences are severe enough to justify government regulation.
I did find this concern comical:
Lawmakers will have to consider several issues. One is how delivery drivers plan to check the photo IDs of those who are ordering.
So we can vote by mail with a photo copy of an ID, but we can’t make this work? I think we can handle this concern.
Fans Restricted For Olympics
So after all the expense to host the events, the local economy won’t even get any benefit. Given the history of Olympic host cities, I don’t know why anyone would ever want it again.
The Olympic Games in Japan will be held without spectators at venues in and around the capital after a spike in coronavirus infections.
Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa made the announcement after talks with officials and organisers on Thursday.
A state of emergency in Tokyo will run throughout the Games, to combat coronavirus.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters it would run from 12 July and remain in place until 22 August.
Bars and restaurants will not be allowed to serve alcohol and must close by 20:00 (11:00 GMT).
Venues in Tokyo and other areas near the capital city will not be allowed to hold events with fans during the Games.
But stadiums in the regions of Fukushima, Miyagi and Shizuoka will be permitted to have spectators up to 50% of capacity and up to 10,000 people.
Kids Living with Both Parents Tops 70%
Here is a very positive societal trend.
The portion of U.S. children who live with both parents exceeded 70% in 2020, reversing a nearly 30-year-long trend, data shows.
70.4% of children under 18 live in two-parent households, and 63% of minors reside with both birth parents, according to the Current Population Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, Institute for Family Studies (ISF) reported.
“[T]he proportion of children under 18 living with two parents declined from 88% in 1960 to just over two-thirds in 2005” while “the proportion living with divorced, separated or never-married single parents tripled from 9% to 28%” over the same period, according to ISF.
A reversal in this downward trend started in 2006, improving from 67.3% to 70.4% by 2020, the data indicates. In 2020, the number of children living with a single parent reportedly fell to 25.5%, marking a 25-year-low.
Russia Lays Claim to Champagne
Not the region (yet). The word.
MOSCOW — For most aficionados, a sparkling wine can be called champagne only if it comes from the region of France with that name and is made under certain regulations. A new Russian law makes the counter-claim that the word can be used only for Russian wine.
The law has sparked controversy and the renowned winemaker Moet-Hennessy said Monday it was suspending champagne shipments to Russia. The law that was adopted on Friday allows the term to used only for “Russian champagne.”
The Declaration of Independence
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Objectifying and Erasing Women
Read this whole article. It’s a long, interesting, thoughtful, and compassionate view of the current trans movement.
Governments, companies and charities now talk of ‘people who menstruate’, ‘pregnant people’, ‘abortion seekers’ and ‘birthing parents’, where they would once simply have said ‘women’. As such, women are being erased.
The NHS explains that ‘the concept of virginity for people with vaginas has a complicated history’. Teen Vogue offers a ‘no-nonsense, 101 guide to masturbation for vagina owners’. Information campaigns from cancer charities tell ‘anyone with a cervix’ to get regular smear tests. An advert for Tampax enjoins the world to ‘celebrate the diversity of all people who bleed’.
This language depicts women as orifices, providers of genetic material and vessels for growing offspring. This is not just dehumanising: it also obscures the fact that these body parts and functions come as a package.
How much harder it would have been to argue for the vote for women, or for paid maternity leave, or to end the exemption that allowed men to rape their wives at will, if the only way to refer to the beneficiaries of such policies had been to list bodily secretions and sexual organs.
Black Business Owners Accused of Racism for Implementing Dress Code
Personally, I’d go for the Ciroc Mango Habanero Glazed Turkey Leg. Yummm….
Turkey Leg Hut – a Houston, Texas restaurant owned by an African-American couple – has been accused of racism after unveiling a lengthy dress code which includes bans on ripped jeans, cleavage, and baggy pants.
The restaurant, which specializes in turkey legs, published its new dress code on Friday to heavy criticism online.
The dress code included bans on cleavage, exposed thighs and buttocks, swimwear, sports bras, tank tops, ripped jeans, clothes with “offensive graphics,” various hats including “bonnets, du rags” and bandanas, and “excessively baggy or sagging pants.”
“Please know that we are a family friendly restaurant that serves all ages from children to adults daily and putting this dress code in place was necessary to ensure that all parties from our guests to our staff are dressed appropriately when in our establishment,” the restaurant declared, adding that it was forced to implement the dress code “due to the attire of some guests” who had visited.
Outrage Over Making Military Women March in High Heels
Plans by Ukraine’s defence ministry to have female soldiers march in high heels instead of army boots in a parade next month have caused angry reactions.
Iryna Gerashchenko, an opposition member of parliament, said it was sexism, not equality.
Ukraine is preparing to stage a military parade on 24 August to mark 30 years of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The defence ministry say the shoes are part of regulation-dress uniform.
Many in Ukraine expressed shock at the plan, with a group of lawmakers calling on Defence Minister Andriy Taran to offer an apology.
“The story of a parade in heels is a real disgrace,” commentator Vitaly Portnikov said on Facebook, arguing that some officials had a “medieval” mindset.
Ms Gerashchenko said she initially thought the pictures of women soldiers rehearsing in combat trousers and black pumps with block heels was a hoax. She said it was sexism, not equality, and wondered why the ministry thought heels were more important than designing body armour tailored to women.
NCAA Opens Door to Paid Collegiate Athletes
The NCAA adopted an interim policy that will allow college athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness, ahead of legislation going into effect in several states which would allow for such compensation.
Churches Being Burned to the Ground in Canada
Religious persecution in Canada.
Two more Catholic churches burned down in indigenous communities in western Canada early on Saturday.
The fires at St Ann’s Church and the Chopaka Church began within an hour of each other in British Columbia.
Officers said both buildings were completely destroyed, and they were treating the fires as “suspicious”.
Last Monday two other Catholic churches in the province were destroyed in fires, as Canada marked National Indigenous People’s Day.
“The investigations into the previous fires and these two new fires are ongoing with no arrests or charges,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt Jason Bayda said.
3rd Place Athlete Pouts as DeAnna Price and Brooke Andersen Place 1st and 2nd in Hammer Throw
What a selfish, selfish young woman. Forget about her disrespect for her nation for a moment… what about her fellow athletes? Look at the picture of the 1st and 2nd place winners. They are full of joy and pride while Berry throws her tantrum. Berry ruined what I’m sure was a very important moment for the other athletes.
And then her comment about it being a set up. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that they people running the event didn’t think two seconds about her when they decided to play the anthem. It’s not about her, but she seems to think that the entire thing was designed to affront her. What a self-centered woman.
Congratulations to DeAnna Price and Brooke Andersen, whose superior athletic prowess and class far outshone the antics of Berry.
While the anthem played at the trials in Eugene, Oregon, Berry placed her left hand on her hip and shuffled her feet. She took a quarter turn, so she was facing the stands, not the flag.
Toward the end, she plucked up her black T-shirt with the words ‘Activist Athlete’ emblazoned on the front, and draped it over her head.
‘I feel like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose,’ said Berry, who finished third to make her second U.S. Olympic team and is an outspoken activist on racial justice issues. ‘I was pissed, to be honest.’
[…]
‘They had enough opportunities to play the national anthem before we got up there,’ she said. ‘I was thinking about what I should do. Eventually I stayed there and I swayed, I put my shirt over my head. It was real disrespectful.’
‘It really wasn’t a message. I didn’t really want to be up there. Like I said, it was a setup. I was hot, I was ready to take my pictures and get into some shade,’ added Berry.
‘They said they were going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there,’ Berry said. ‘But I don’t really want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem doesn’t speak for me. It never has.’
Masks are here to stay?
This will be an interesting cultural touchpoint. On the one hand, I can see people throwing their masks back on when flu season hits. On the other hand, I see a lot of people who are just DONE with the whole thing and view masks as a symbol of oppression. As long as people are putting on a mask (or not) at their own discretion and not by order of the government, I’m indifferent.
Sethi says for that reason, masks will be around for seasons to come, and will continue to be commonplace in health care settings.
Rates of respiratory illnesses like the flu and cold were significantly lower in 2020 than they had been pre-pandemic, and this evidence may necessitate masking, Sethi said, though physical distancing also helped reduce respiratory infections in 2020.
In some countries, it is common and socially acceptable to wear a mask when one has symptoms of respiratory illness. In the U.S., the long-term acceptance and use of masks will likely be mixed, but don’t be surprised if you see boxes of masks become more commonplace around the workplace or home settings, like a box of facial tissue or hand sanitizer, Sethi said.