What the Conservative Version of Cancel Culture Looks Like – The Bulwark

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It is hard to think of a major sector of the culture-shaping industries and institutions of American lifeHollywood, news media, universities, arts, publishing, music, advertising, and so onthat isnt thoroughly absorbed into the intersectional zeitgeist of the American left. There are pockets of conservatism, of course, such as Fox News, talk radio, some publishers, and various online publications and communities. But for various reasons, they can neither balance nor meaningfully compete with the cultural and social throw-weight of progressivism and the left.

Given this imbalance, it is worth reflecting on how the right has chosen to exercise the cultural power it does have. Rather than securing the broadest possible coalition against the illiberal left, the right has decided to mimic the lefts strategies and tactics to conduct a purity campaign. In short, the right is canceling itself.

Earlier this month, I casually asked on Twitter whether the right has a cancel culture analogous to the left. My AEI colleague Stan Veuger dryly suggested checking out this weeks issue of the Weekly Standard for a symposium on the topic. Point taken: Lacking the muscle to compete in the mainstream of American life, the right cancels competing views and their adherents among fellow conservatives. You see the irony? While the left continues its long march through the institutions that guide cultural and social development, the right focuses on stamping out internal differences of opinion. One side steadily adds to and multiplies its influence while the other plays a game of subtraction and division against supposedly heterodox allies.

How did conservatives arrive at this point? The answer lies, I think, in the imbalance between conservative political success and its ongoing and pervasive cultural weakness. The coalition that came to power under Reagan was always far more successful at the ballot box than it was in the broader culture wars. Reaganism succeeded almost in spite of itself. Reagan himself understood this and actively discouraged internecine wars under the auspices of his 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican. He knew lasting change required broad, strong, and occasionally even bipartisan coalitions. Victories were achieved by the steady application of political strength and sound governance; incremental advances could, over time, reshape society and politics.

Without the leavening influence of Reagans personality and political wisdom, however, his platform of smaller government, lower taxes, and stronger defense hardened into pledges and scorecards. Overreach, and the backlashes that accompany it, replaced three yards and a cloud of dust advances. These rigid ideological checks have come to serve as one of the primary mechanisms for internal GOP cancelation. Former senator Jim DeMinthimself eventually defenestrated at the Heritage Foundation as part of another intraconservative fightonce declared that hed prefer 30 Marco Rubios to 60 Arlen Specters in the Senate. His vision is taking shape: the creation of a zealous GOP minority.

What cancel conservatism didnt see coming was Donald Trump. As a completely transactional politician, Trump has been more than happy to become the avatar of longstanding Republican views. He accepted most GOP planks: tax cuts, increased defense budgets, outsourced but conservative judicial picks, and selective social conservatism. (On immigration and foreign policy, the Republican establishment long included a diversity of views.) Free trade has been Trumps one departure from orthodoxy, but it has mainly been a rhetorical one, marked by a spasmodic and ineffectual protectionism that seems to have succeeded mostly in inflicting pain on American producers and consumers. The price among Republicans for these policy victories has been the imposition of the ultimate cancel: an omerta as it relates to the erratic leadership and unsavory character and behavior of Donald Trump himself. All conservative interests, positions, policies, and fidelity measures have been collapsed into an oath of loyalty to Donald J. Trump.

Republican governing identity and support for Donald Trump are now one. People like Mark Sanford (a 93 percent voting record from Heritage Action) and Jeff Flake (85 percent) werent driven from public life over compromises on taxes, judges, or abortion but for active criticism of Donald Trump. Ben Sasse (83 percent) survived cancelation by moving to an undisclosed political location until he finished slogging nervously through his Republican primary. Even Jeff Sessions has been permanently canceled under the barrage of Trumps Twitter siege artillery in recompense for putting the rule of law above his loyalty to the president. And now, in the depths of todays pandemic, economic meltdown, and nationwide protests over police killings, the presidential personnel office is busily conducting loyalty stress-tests on the administrations own appointees that focus on personal commitment to Trump rather than any particular administration policy.

Which brings us to the peculiar case of Mitt Romney, the former GOP blue-state governor, presidential nominee, senator from Utah and bte noire of the Trumpist movement. Famously, he provided the lone Republican vote in either chamber for removing Trump from office during the impeachment proceedings. This brought down the full force of Trumpian cancel-power. Relatives have changed their names. CPAC, engaging in what the late, great Florence King might have called the height of WASP rage, made a point of announcing that it had not invited Romney this year on the theory that this constituted punishment rather than deliverance. Through this fire, Romney has emerged as the political equivalent of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. The moral here is that if youre going to state the obvious about Trump, survival depends on having a couple hundred million dollars in the bank, a lifetime of personal achievement, great hair, and a tan of a shade that occurs in nature.

At the moment, polls are pointing toward a presidential wipeout and the possible loss of the GOP Senate majority. Suburban America, having already executed a volte-face in 2018, is withdrawing in horror from the GOP in 2020. Is this a rejection of lower taxes, a strong national defense, or a conservative federal bench? Not in the least. Its a verdict on the character, personality, behavior, and governing incompetence of President Trump. And as long as the GOP anchors its fortunes in Trumpian decadence rather than competent, philosophically coherent leadership, theres little chance of escape.

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What the Conservative Version of Cancel Culture Looks Like - The Bulwark

Alanis Morissette: ‘Without therapy, I don’t think I’d still be here’ – The Guardian

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In the video for her new single, Reasons I Drink, Alanis Morissette appears in a group addiction meeting. The song, set to stabbing piano, traces the difficulty of being in recovery when succumbing to addiction feels so freeing. Im such an addict, says the 46-year-old, Grammy-winning firebrand, howling down the phone from her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Morissette ticks off her top three addictions: Work addiction, love addiction and food addiction, she says. She traces her work addiction back to when I was single digits (she was always a driven performer), and her eating disorders to her teenage years and 20s, during which she was always yo-yo-ing. In the video, she portrays herself as multiple characters: a businesswoman; the 90s MTV star in the same scarf and hat she wore in the video for her biggest hit, Ironic; a mother; the chairperson holding space for others.

Recovery is a complex, lifelong endeavour, and lockdown has been triggering, says Morissette, who is juggling life at home as a mother of three with promoting her ninth album, Such Pretty Forks in the Road. At 3pm, I might feel: Wow, this is a huge gift, Im so overwhelmed with gratitude. By 3.15pm, Im raging. By 9pm, Im despondent. Isolation is the lighting of the match.

Medication has helped. Most recently she has been dealing with post-partum depression. Her youngest child, Winter, was born last August, a brother to her nine-year-old son, Ever, and three-year-old daughter, Onyx, her children with the rapper Souleye, whom she married in 2010. She has endured the condition after every birth. Previously, she delayed dealing with it; this time, she sought to expose it as it happened, appearing on TV after the birth to tell viewers it is like being covered in tar and underwater.

She also headed to the studio for the first time in eight years to record her new album. Songwriting is an exercise in letting the unconscious out, she says. I live my whole life, then I take 10 minutes to write the story of it. The songs are rooted in guitar and piano-based rock; sometimes anthemic (Smiling, Ablaze), often gentler and pensive (Diagnosis, Her). They are not as abrasive as her definitive early songs, but just as she travelled novel ground back then, foregrounding a young womans anger, she is still covering topics that rarely appear in mainstream rock. The song Nemesis documents the mental gymnastics she faced with an unplanned pregnancy. Im excited yet Im filled with despair, she sings. This metamorphosis closed the door and opened a window.

The album also tackles what Morissette terms financial abuse in the music business. In 2017, her former business manager was sentenced to six years in prison for stealing $7m (6m) from her, a violation that factors in the songs Pedestal (You grabbed my crown and got everything you wanted) and Reckoning (I hope you enjoy these drawings in your jail). They hark back to Right Through You, from her seminal third album Jagged Little Pill, particularly the oft-cited verse in which she addresses a man who took me out to wine dine, 69 me / But didnt hear a damn word I said.

Morissette has been singing about being leeched upon by men, economically and sexually, for 25 years. Thats the most depressing thing in the entire world, she admits, laughing. The themes of pain and division, trust, exploitation, misogyny, lack of integrity, sociopathic personality disorder and narcissism. These are themes I cut my teeth on as a child. To this day, she says, she is still healing from the theft, and from past sexual trauma that she doesnt detail. She feels she could still fall victim to abuse; it is a pattern she wants to break. She is disarmingly fluent in psychology, including the work of Carl Jung and more contemporary academics. If I didnt have a whole team of therapists throughout my life, I dont think Id still be here, she says.

Morissette is from Ontario and started a record label by the time she was 10. After a teenage pop career as the Debbie Gibson of Canada, she ran off to Los Angeles in 1995 and co-wrote the rockier Jagged Little Pill. No label would sign her, then Madonna imprint Maverick did. The album sold more than 33m copies worldwide, making her the youngest artist to achieve diamond-certified status in the US. She moved the needle but felt the drag. I couldnt even leave my hotel room, she says of the claustrophobic spotlight. If I walked by the window and my shadow hit the drapes, people would be screaming outside because they saw movement. She recalls fans rummaging through her room when she wasnt there. Theyd take my underwear. Theyd know it was under my pillow. It was invasive.

When Morissette appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in November 1995, the magazine billed her as the Angry White Female. Then 21, her songs were misinterpreted as combative and pretentious in their fury. She recalls radio DJs looking at her entering stations like they thought I was gonna bite their heads off. Her success meant she was treated as an industry saviour, yet one manager shamed her for asking about money. Oh, youre one of those clients, he responded. Today, she stands her ground. Youre not gonna gaslight crazy-make me when Im on a journey of empowerment.

Two decades before a whimper of the #MeToo movement had even been heard, Morissettes voice allowed listeners to wail louder. But that also backfired as she became a vessel for others projections. If they had issues with an ex-girlfriend or unfinished stuff with their mom or a horrifying divorce, I became that person theyd show resistance to, she says. The discourse around her felt almost physical, as if it was being thrown at her. Even the solace she offered appreciative fans became burdensome to her. She equates the loss of anonymity to grief. I used to sit on park benches and watch people. But when I became the watched it was debilitating.

Her isolation deepened when she found herself pitted against other women. I was sold that fame would be a panacea to solve all problems, that Id be singing Kumbaya with my celebrity friends, she says. Morissette was rejected by her peers. I thought I was gonna phone Bjrk and Tori [Amos] and all of us were gonna love each other. I reached out to a lot of people. Often I was met with: Why are you calling me? She doesnt want to stoke division by naming names.

After Jagged Little Pill, Morissette returned to Canada to work on the follow-up, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, with the producer Tim Thorney. There, supermarket checkout staff would ask her when the album was coming. I wanted to cry, she says. I remember saying: I dont wanna make music any more. When Thorney replied, Sounds good! and took her for dinner, she returned to the studio feeling revived and began writing immediately: His freedom took the pressure away.

Released in 1998, that album debuted at No 1 in the US and broke first-week record sales by a female act, a record previously held by The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Yet the wave of unadulterated 90s female-fronted rock would soon be crushed by teen pop. By 2000, Britney Spears had broken Morissettes diamond record and almost tripled her sales. It was a relief. The white-hot heat of fame waned, which is what made everything OK, actually! she says. Fame is not a circumstance I want to sustain.

Not that Morissette disappeared. Her 2001 single Hands Clean from fifth album, Under Rug Swept, was an international hit, although her next single failed to match its success. She began acting, cropping up in Sex and the City and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in the movie Dogma, in which she played God. She even had a short stint as an agony aunt for the Guardian. There has been a steady cultural reclamation of the kind of female anger that Morissette was vilified for in the 90s. Seven years in the making, a Broadway musical inspired by Jagged Little Pill has been a huge success. It includes a character who is raped at a high-school party and later gaslit over the experience. The actor Kathryn Gallagher recalls Morissette reminding her that the character was meant to be angry: The thing that Ive taken away from her in her guidance is the importance of feeling everything and going through every single emotion, even the sticky spots, she says.

Queer artists, including Halsey and Perfume Genius, have cited Morissettes importance in their own self-emancipation. This year, Morissettes 90s peer Fiona Apple similarly demonised as an angry girl back then received acclaim for a new album that delved into those formative industry traumas. Curiously, Morissette hasnt heard about it. Shes focused on her own efforts. Having my worth dictated by how relevant I am in the zeitgeist pop culture is a recipe for disaster, she says. I dont ride that rollercoaster.

Despite this cultural course correction, Morissette remains sceptical: she worries about the enduring vapidness that plagues the entertainment world and thinks its foolish to consider that talented women are favoured for reasons beyond marketability. The patriarchy only pays attention when theres a financial shift, she says. It became bankable to have a female artist so it was embraced, and then, off to the races! Yet she acknowledges that some things have improved. In the past, Morissettes desire to understand the human condition was a source of mockery by press and public. I used to feel like a freak in every room I was in, she says. Now I dont feel strange.

Such Pretty Forks in the Road is released by RCA on 31 July

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Alanis Morissette: 'Without therapy, I don't think I'd still be here' - The Guardian

Hip hops political evolution and the road ahead – REVOLT TV

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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company.

In 2017, Ta-Nehisi Coates released We Were Eight Years In Power: An American Tragedy, a collection of articles hed written for The Atlantic during the Obama Administration plus additional blog posts describing the point and process behind each piece. Its a hefty compilation, tackling weighty topics such as the Black family in an era of mass incarceration, why few Black people study the civil war, and the award-winning essay, The Case For Reparations.

The book opens with a quote from South Carolina Congressman Thomas Miller extolling Black achievements to the states constitutional convention in 1895. This was during the oppressive Redemption (Jim Crow) period that followed Reconstruction where, for the first time, the formerly enslaved were elected to government in the south.

We were eight years in power, Miller stated. We had built schoolhouses, established charitable institutions, built and maintained the penitentiary system, provided for the education of the deaf and dumb, rebuilt the ferries. In short, we had reconstructed the State and placed it upon the road to prosperity.

Miller hoped that by listing the success of Black lawmakers in South Carolina during Reconstruction, he would convince the legislature to decide against passing laws restricting the rights of Black citizens in the state. He was wrong. All achievements notched during Reconstruction were soon bastardized and remixed to fit the narrative of South Carolinas white dominant leadership. And the Jim Crow era took root.

Coates writes: Assessing Millers rebuttal and the 1895 convention, W.E.B. Du Bois made a sobering observation If there was one thing that South Carolina feared more than bad Negro government, it was good Negro government.

Its possible to draw parallels between Du Bois assessment of the South Carolina legislatures reaction to Millers speech and the way President Barack Obamas achievements continue to be attacked by his political adversaries. His signature bill, the Affordable Care Act, has been consistently dismantled in red states since its historic passing in 2010. In June 2020, while the country still struggles to wrangle control over COVID-19, President Trump once again asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the law, hoping to remove healthcare coverage from 20 million people during a pandemic and record-high unemployment. Trump also rolled back Dodd-Frank, another Obama era bill that added regulations designed to prevent Wall Street from causing another Great Recession, as it did while President George W. Bush was commander-in-chief. And despite assuming office in the wake of Dubyas catastrophe, despite adding 11.6 million jobs and returning the stock market to record highs, Obama still battles blame for causing the economic collapse that began two years before his inauguration. Toss in the racially motivated birther movement championed by President Trump and its not an intellectual leap to believe that in 2020, to paraphrase Du Bois, the only thing worse than a bad Black president is a good Black president.

HIP HOP RUNS FOR OFFICE

Kanye West recently announced that hes running for president, hoping to be the next Black man from Chicago to call the West Wing home. According to Forbes, Ye decided to run for office while reciting rhymes in the shower. He says hed run as a Republican if Trump decides to remove his name from the bill, and run as an Independent if he stays in the race. Kanye says he modeled his management approach off of Wakanda Black Panthers fictional homeland. He says hes cautious of vaccines because thats the mark of the beast. He says hes pro-life because hes following the word of the Bible, that he hasnt developed a foreign policy platform yet because he intends to focus on America first with our great military, that he was felt threatened as a Black man to join the Democratic party. Whether Kanyes aspirations are earnest remains to be seen. But, the prospect of a Black president followed by a reality show president followed by a billionaire Black president would be the oddest three chapters in White House history. Somewhere Jeezy is working on My President Is Black, Part 2.

Most political attention is laser focused on what happens in the Oval Office. But arguably, the power of government is harnessed most efficiently at local levels, and several from within Hip Hop have run for office hoping to represent their communities.

Wyclef Jean ran for president of Haiti in 2010, for example, but was removed from the ballot because of a provision that requires candidates for the presidency to have lived in the country for at least five years prior to their run was added to legislation. Clef was slaughtered in the press for attempting to challenge the decision.

In 2011, Uncle Luke ran for mayor of Miami with a focus on economic development, public safety, community revitalization and affordable housing. He came up short but still garnered 11% of the vote.

Former Bad Boy artist Shyne recently announced that hes running for the Belize House of Representatives under the United Democratic Party. Born Michael Levi Barrow, his father was the first Black prime minister of the country and his uncle, Honorable Michael Finnegan, currently serves in the governing body, but has decided against running for re-election. Shyne is hoping to assume his seat.

Former member of Lords Of The Underground, Dupre Doitall Kelly ran for Councilman-At-Large in Newark, NJ in 2018. He was inspired by a conversation he had with Tupac Shakur 20 years prior about correcting the negatives in their neighborhoods. His platform included a focus on improving education in his city. Unfortunately, he came up short, but he described the challenges running for office.

He previously told REVOLT, Man, this is not an easy task. It takes money, it takes people to contribute financially. But shout out to Redman, he supported, not just as my brother and someone whos been supportive of us. He supported financially. Naughty By Nature supported financially. Every member of the group. It was a couple of people who really did their thing and supported financially You cant jump into politics because you think youre popular. You have to do the groundwork, the footwork. You gotta put in the work with the residents.

THE ROAD AHEAD

Che Smith, also known as Rhymefest, ran for Chicago City Council in 2011 and came close to winning, falling short by 6 percentage points. When asked about his experiences campaigning, Smith tells REVOLT exclusively, When I ran for [Chicago] City Council, Lupe Fiasco came in and helped out. He did a fundraiser for me because Lupe comes from community organizing. A lot of hip hop comes from community organizing, but doesnt indulge in politics, which is more expansive than community organizing because its not just the community. If youre in city council, not only are you a part of a community, you are part of a vote for a city that has different interests.

Smith says part of the difficulty of running for office was that the lyrics to his songs were used against him on the campaign trail.

All my words that I ever wrote in rap came back to haunt me when I had to go speak to a 90-year-old lady that was like, So, what about your brand new b**ch? or Your brand new d**k, Fest says. He continues:

Running for office changed my perspective towards rap music because it made me realize a lot of things were saying just aint responsible. I realized things that we think are harmless in hip hop are really influencing people. And we try to use the word entertainment as a shield. We say, Well, what makes it different than what Arnold Schwarzenegger says? Well, we say were keeping it real. We affirm the realness of the entertainment, which reinforces structural racism. Rappers should be using the power of our voice to expand the electorate through how we talk about the platform. It should be a trend. It should be us saying thats what were on.

For much of hip hops history engaging in politics, the emphasis was on activism, grassroots community organizing, and donating to campaigns. Step. Repeat. Eazy-E, for example, found himself invited to a fundraiser for George H.W. Bushs campaign, creating one of the early 1990s biggest rap-related spectacles. KRS-One led the Stop The Violence Movement in the late 1980s in an attempt to quell violence in Black communities. He produced the song Self Destruction, which raised over $100,000 for the National Urban League. Diddy created the Citizen Change campaign in 2004, partnering with Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Mariah Carey to bring voter awareness to young people and minorities. Artists ranging from Melly Mel to Ice Cube to Tupac to Killer Mike have engaged communities and politicians in their music and off wax, and the culture has directly produced a number of political candidates, few victors, and even fewer political action committees. There remains a gap between a willingness to get involved in politics and an ability to raise the funds necessary to spawn consistently successful campaigns.

Organizations like JAY-Z and Meek Mills Reform Alliance, which hopes to help over 1 million people falsely incarcerated escape the correctional system, represent a promising for hip hops future in the political sphere. Its an example of the community harnessing its power to enact change away from the ballot box. The same can be said for the recently announced #BreatheAct, which includes wildly progressive measures like defunding the police. The Breathe Act was assembled by a number of entertainment industry mavens and fashions itself as a modern-day civil rights bill, something absolutely crucial to forward progress.

The lingering question is this: Should the culture capture sweeping political power and reconstruct the current landscape, will it inevitably run into an ethos similar to that described by W.E.B. Dubois in 1895; an ethos similar to one currently attacking Former President Barack Obamas legacy? Will it wither in the shadow of revisionist history and systemic forces feeding off a disenfranchised populace often pushed past apathy?

I think every rapper with influence should have a local candidate that they support hard and know their policies. Rhymefest concludes. Hip hop has the ability to be kingmakers. Why do I know everything about Brooklyn, Harlem, Bronx and the differences in it? Rappers. Rappers can take that skillset of claiming their hood and really do that for our upliftment. Not just to [brag about gang life]. If we did that with policy, we could change everything.

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Hip hops political evolution and the road ahead - REVOLT TV

A 55-Million-Year-Old Owl Skeleton Describes the Early Stages of Owl Evolution – HeritageDaily

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Discoveries from the early stages of owl evolution are exceedingly rare. An approximately 60-million-year-old leg bone is the oldest fossil that can be assigned to an owl.

Other owls from this time period are also only known on the basis of individual bones and fragments. Therefore, I was especially pleased when I received a largely complete owl skeleton from the North American Willwood Formation for study, which my colleague and the studys co-author, Philip Gingerich, had discovered 30 years ago, explains Dr. Gerald Mayr of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.

The newly described animal belongs to a previously unknown, very large species of fossil owl. Except for the skull, all major bones of the 55-million-year-old bird are preserved. The fossil owl was about the size of a modern Snowy Owl. However, it is clearly distinguished from all extant species by the different size of its talons. While in present-day owls the talons on all toes are approximately the same size, the newly described species Primoptynx poliotauros has noticeably enlarged talons on its hind toe and second toe, explains Mayr.

These toe proportions are known from modern diurnal raptors, e.g., eagles and goshawks. These birds, which are not closely related to owls, pierce their prey with their sharp talons. Mayr and his colleagues therefore assume that the extinct owl also used its feet to kill its prey. By contrast, present-day owls use their beak to kill prey items thus, it appears that the lifestyle of this extinct owl clearly differed from that of its modern relatives, adds the ornithologist from Frankfurt.

Moreover, the new discovery reveals a high level of diversity among the owls of the early Eocene in North America from the small species Eostrix gulottai, measuring a mere 12 centimeters, to the newly discovered, roughly 60-centimeter-tall bird.

It is not clear why owls changed their hunting technique in the course of their evolution. However, we assume that it may be related to the spread of diurnal birds of prey in the late Eocene and early Oligocene, approximately 34 million years ago. Competition for prey with diurnal birds of prey may have triggered feeding specializations in owls, possibly also leading to these charismatic birds nocturnal habits, adds Mayr in closing.

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Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum

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A 55-Million-Year-Old Owl Skeleton Describes the Early Stages of Owl Evolution - HeritageDaily

The evolution of the first car: They’ve come a long way, baby – Bolivar Herald-Free Press

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My first car was a powder blue Volkswagen bug, made sometime in the late 60s or early 70s. I dont remember the exact year. At the time my dad brought it home, it was 1987 and I was 14 years old with a drivers learning permit I could hardly wait to start using.

Dad said he got a good deal on the VW because the woman he bought it from was eager to see the old car go. Apparently, shed been driving it one day when a wasp flew up her skirt and stung her in the nether regions. (I can see how that kind of incident could create some bad feelings.)

But I didnt mind at all. From what I could see, the car was wasp-free and still cute as a bug literally. It was the car I learned to drive in, so I thought it was thrilling and perfect.

Looking back on it now, I can also tell you it was not at all fancy. Youve heard of a car being stripped down, right? This car was so stripped that it was practically streaking across town buck naked. Crank windows. No floor mats. Not even a tiny mirror on the inside flap of the sun visors.

The only option the car had that was somewhat of an upgrade was a little-known feature called automatic stick shift. What that meant was that the car had to be shifted into different gears, but there was no clutch pedal. The clutch engaged by pressing down on the gear shifter when it was time to shift. To this day, I know how to shift but I have no idea how to use a standard clutch, which basically means Im useless in anything except an automatic transmission.

Nevertheless, I still have a soft spot for that powder blue Volkswagen, and I hope its still out there somewhere, automatically shifting as it cruises a wide-open highway.

Ive thought about that first car a lot lately because Tom and I recently bought a first car for our middle son, who turned 16 during this weird pandemic. He had already lined up a part-time summer job before the pandemic began, so he needed a car to get himself there once he was old enough. Tom loves all things car-related, so he was more than happy to scour the Internet and the local car lots to find the right one.

We set a budget for the car something less than $25,000 and my only prerequisite was that it had to have as many safety features as we could afford. I didnt care if it was cool or not, as long as it received high safety ratings by the experts.

Tom and I were shocked at how far cars have come during our lifetime. We didnt go over the budget but still found a car with a great safety rating, wasp-free seats that heat and cool your behind, sensors that tell you when someone is in your blind spot, backup cameras, automatic-everything, plus Apple CarPlay, which means our teenager can use his voice to send a text without ever touching his phone. Is there anything cars cant do these days? Our sons first car is a far cry from the pale blue Bug I first drove, or Toms rusted out GMC pickup, which had an 8-track player and busted speakers.

I hope these kids know how good theyve got it. The only blind spot sensor I had in my first car was my dad, whod yell and smack me on the arm if I forgot to look over my shoulder when changing lanes. If I wanted my seats cooled, I had to crank down the windows and hope for snow.

It makes me wonder what might change by the time our kids start buying first cars for their kids. Maybe one day 30-something years from now, our son will say, You know, back in my day, we had to drive cars with wheels. We didnt have solar-powered hover crafts with facial recognition. And hell look back on his little Mazda with fondness for how simple things used to be.

Just be safe out there, kid. And check your blind spots.

Gwen Rockwood is a syndicated freelance columnist. Email her at rockwoodfiles@cox.net. Her book is available on Amazon.

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The evolution of the first car: They've come a long way, baby - Bolivar Herald-Free Press

REPORT: WWE more than likely to hold Evolution 2 this year – Wrestling News

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There has been talk about WWE booking Evolution 2 although theres no date in place for it yet.

As of late, the rumor of it taking place would be the week after SummerSlam on August 30th.

Alex McCarthy reported on SportsKeeda that the company is exploring the possibility of Evolution 2. Per the report, the belief is that it would be an easy show to hold as they could run at the Performance Center and do it with low costs.

McCarthy noted that WWE has still considered going back to Saudi Arabia in order to fulfill their agreement before the end of the year.

If they do, it makes it even more likely that they would run Evolution 2 right after it, McCarthy wrote. WWE knows the goodwill the event brings with the fans and many inside the company feel running a second show is a no brainer.

WWE has yet to confirm the event, but since the first event, various wrestlers have talked about the desire to do another show. Based on the feedback from fans at the time, the first Evolution event was a big hit.

The first event took place on October 28, 2018, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York. The show was headlined by Nikki Bella vs. Ronda Rousey.

Just earlier this month it was rumored that WWE may have a major surprise planned with the debut of a big name who is on the free-agent market right now if the event does take place.

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REPORT: WWE more than likely to hold Evolution 2 this year - Wrestling News

Following the Evolution of FROMTHEHEART, From Discord Server to AutoTuned Collective – bandcamp.com

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FEATURES Following the Evolution of FROMTHEHEART, From Discord Server to AutoTuned Collective By Joshua Minsoo Kim July 27, 2020

Do you feel strength in me? Do you feel strengthin me? This repeated opening line from dust, the first track on FROMTHEHEARTs debut albumthings happen, its okay!, captures so much of the groups ethos and spirit. Its a simple phrase sung by FROMTHEHEARTs leader Valentine, but done with a vulnerability that pierces in its double meaning. It sounds as if shes speaking from a troubled place, asking for confirmation shes alive, but also as an offering of care to those she loves: Can you confide in her for your wellbeing?

Trust and compassion are crucial to FROMTHEHEARTs existence. The collectives members, of which there are more than 80, all converse and collaborate on a private Discord server and come from diverse backgrounds. When asked for essentials about the group, Moore Kismet half-jokingly comments that its mostly queer, an assessment that the others quickly chime in and confirm. Kismet sincerely follows up by saying, I feel so safe with all of my fellow gays. Throughout the album, lyrics touch on being content with ones identity and self, whether its Valentine singing You cant tell me who I am on dust, or Fraxiom reflecting on how they wasted years of [their] life overthinking bout how everybody gonna look at [them] on 5T4YTRU.

The group finds its roots in a 4th of July party that some members had in Los Angeles last year, deciding afterwards to make a Discord server to continue communication. Its there that they began work on MIDWESTEMO2, a track with blown-out trap percussion, AutoTuned rapping, and a half-time chopped and screwed-like outro. As with the rest of the album, its hodgepodged, genre-blending sensibilities resemble 100 gecs, albeit streamlined into more straightforward pop songs. And while 100 gecs culls musical ideas from the past two decades, FROMTHEHEARTs music seems decidedly 2010s: James Blakes introspective production and songwriting, emo revival but especially emo rap, various strains of pop and electronic music popular on SoundCloud.

By listening to their music or just looking at the track creditsthe album boasts 10 features across eight songsthe collaborative nature of FROMTHEHEART is immediately evident. Their community ethos was only made possible through the cultivation a safe space for their members, many of whom are teenagers and queer, on their private Discord server. In the discussion, many were quick to acknowledge and share stories about how IRL spaces felt unwelcoming due to members sexuality, gender, age, and race.

Despite the members coming from various backgroundsfrom DIY and chiptune to EDM and emothey largely felt unsupported in their creative endeavors. Robyn Kim, who works under the name HOLIDAYKISS, says that one of their main goals for being in FROMTHEHEART is to create the scene i want to see in my life and have it positively impact others [] to cultivate a fanbase and a music scene thatismore accepting. To ensure all this, though, theres the unavoidable reality that those damaging to the space are quickly kicked out. While the decision to do so may be uncomfortable and has happened multiple times already, Valentine says that making sure to take action when necessary just makes us stronger.

Naturally, with so many members, it can be hard to imagine the logistics of the entire enterprise: How exactly does the music end up the way it is? For Lunamatic, its ultimately Valentine who spearheads it all: She has a really specific vision in mind for the project and is really able to smoothly integrate all of our ideas. On BiG KIDS, which features credits from six different artists, theres a beautiful cohesion to the Taylor Swift interpolations, which transform a chipper rap song into something decidedly pop rock. Like the rest of the album, nothing feels out of place.

Despite Valentines role in leading the group, she says shes been creat[ing] more opportunities for other people to drive the bus, such as weekly meetings. A schedule has fallen into place, as well: on Tuesdays there are beat challenges; Thursdays are for working on FROMTHEHEART; and Saturdays are when members can share solo work and get detailed, constructive feedback from each other. On the day we caught up with the group, the beat challenge they had involved sampling sounds from themelodybot3456 Twitter accountyou can tell theyre a fun and motivated bunch. On the moody and plaintive stuck!, Valentine cries out, Think its bout damn time for me to shine. When she sings it, it sounds like shes singing both for herself and everyone else in FROMTHEHEART. Theyre more than just musicians working together: theyre a group of friends, a loving community, a much-needed support network.

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Plaza Midwood’s evolution continues with the transformation of the old post office building – Charlotte Agenda

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Plaza Midwoods post office isnt moving, like many old pieces of the neighborhood have in the past few years. But it will soon look much different. The two-story brick building across from Harris Teeter will become four stories, and it will have a sleek new facade and 19,000 square feet of space available for new office and retail tenants.

The building, at 1233 The Plaza, was constructed in 1957 and housed a furniture store in its early days. For years, the second level has sat empty, even as property values skyrocketed in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood.

Early last year, the property changed hands. Property records show that the longtime owner, Perry Brothers Investments, LLC, sold the sold the building in January 2019 for $3.4 million to a real estate investment company, Sors, LLC.

The adaptive reuse project will give the property a fresh look, says Sink Kimmel of the The Selwyn Property Group, the local firm handling the leasing. Steel framing will go up around the existing structure, and crews will add third and fourth floors, each roughly 6,500 square feet. The property will have 33 parking spaces. The post office will remain on the ground floor, and its open during construction.

Plaza Midwood doesnt have a huge number of office tenants like other booming neighborhoods such as South End do. Thats why this building could be a good fit for office users, but Kimmels group is looking for retailers, too.

The top floor could make for a very cool evening oriented restaurant/bar/entertainment venue, Kimmel says. It just all depends on demand.

The makeover of the old post office building comes amid a rapid evolution of Plaza Midwood, a neighborhood long known for its character and affection for small local businesses.

Down the street, developer Crosland Southeast plans to overhaul the 12-acre Central Square property to make way for apartments, green space, offices, and retail buildings. The Midwood Corners property, home to tenants like Ritas and a used book store, will eventually be redeveloped. Asana Partners is renovating an old antique store on Central to make way for new restaurant and retail tenants. The family-run development group that built the Franklin Hotel in Chapel Hill is planning an independent hotel on Central where Kickstand Burger Bar used to be.

Plaza Midwood is just going bonkers, Kimmel says.

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Apple wins a Patent that advances their Evolutionary Multi-iPad Concept that’s been in the works since 2013 – Patently Apple

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For years Apple's engineers have envisioned various concepts of dual iPad configurations that could mimic a book or create a dual iPad notebook-like product using a virtual keyboard or a MacBook with a display acting as a virtual Keyboard. Below is an Apple patent figure from a March 2020 granted patent illustrating the concept of two iPads held together with a series of magnets that could also form a note-book like device. Apple's work on this actually began way back to a 2013 patent report where patent FIG. 4 illustrated two iPads side-by-side.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below, from our March report presents an illustration of a pair of adjacent electronic devices that could be folded; FIG. 4 is a side view of a pair of electronic devices supported by a bendable case with an internal hinge structure; FIG. 6 is a side view of a pair of electronic devices in a case that has been folded back on itself.

Today Apple was granted yet another patent that supports the evolution of the modular system concept supporting the use of multi-iPad-like devices together. Although iPads are the main focus, there is a hint that another kind of display could be added to this modular system to give user's an option depending on how they want to configure their multi-device.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below illustrates a future iPad that could use a standard Magic Keyboard and trackpad that could use an Apple Pencil as we reported on back in May. FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrates two iPad connected via a desktop dock to use as a mini desktop; FIGS. 8 and 9 expands on the docking system.

Apple's patent FIGS. 12B, 16 and 17 below illustrates optional configurations for two iPads working together. One illustrates one iPad in a Portrait mode with another iPad as the keyboard; another illustrates being able to create a notebook-like device with the help of an accessory to hold the displays in place correctly and adds a kickstand; lastly, the idea of a book-like configuration supports multi-user FaceTime calls.

Apple's granted patent 10,725,722 was originally filed in Q3 2018 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

What's possibly even more interesting is what processor and OS will these configurations support. Apple's iPadOS would be the most logical to be sure. However, over time with Apple Silicon, that could change. Apple could technically create a new modular system using a hybrid processor that could run MacOS for enterprise or professional users. Of course, it's too early to dive into that pool, so we'll leave it for another day. For now, it's food for thought.

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Apple wins a Patent that advances their Evolutionary Multi-iPad Concept that's been in the works since 2013 - Patently Apple

Systemic racism persists in the sciences – Science Magazine

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It's tempting to think of medicine and health care as objective and neutral, driven solely by scientific principles and free inquiry. Indeed, scientists go through extensive measures to make their research bias-free. However, recent developments show that despite the best efforts, racial disparities persist in the health care system even when they are unintentional.

The disproportionate impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Black and Latinx communities in the United States has demonstrated that although illnesses may not discriminate, varying access to treatment, preventive measures, and other resources can still lead to imbalances in health care. Racial differences persist in scientific research as well: Algorithms designed to make decisions about health care incorporate biases that limit care for Black patients. Another recent study showed that Black applicants to granting programs at the U.S. National Institutes of Health got less money than their White colleagues. This was not a result of intentional discrimination, but because Black researchers worked in areas (fertility, health disparities, and adolescent health) that tend to be underfunded.

Why do racial disparities persist despite the safeguards scientists have put into place to keep their work bias-free?

Much of the problem is that racial biases not only occur in individuals, but are also embedded in our institutionswhat sociologists refer to as structural or systemic racism. Once primarily heard among social scientists, these terms have, in the past few months, become more mainstream. Systemic racism refers to the well documented fact that most of our institutionsin politics, law, education, and health care, to name a feware fundamentally organized according to assumptions and policies that work to the disadvantage of communities of color, and Blacks in particular.

In health care, for instance, this can mean pay policies that discourage practitioners from treating patients who are affected by poverty, discrimination, and other factors that can impair healthfactors that disproportionately affect Black patients and the Black practitioners who are more likely to treat them. In technology, this means facial recognition systems that frequently misidentify Black people. And in the legal system, these structural barriers are present in the oft-cited racial disparities in mandatory minimum sentencing rules for drug use, and in targeting predominantly Black, low-income communities for nonviolent drug crimes whose punishment can escalate into a loss of voting rights and other freedoms.

None of these policies is necessarily a result of individual intent, overt bias, or malice. But ultimately, individuals are the ones who create social institutions. When most of these people are White, it is all too likely that they will fail to recognize the particular realities of life for Black citizens.

The first step toward addressing these issues is to recognize that despite the pride scientists take in being analytical thinkers, these problems persist. Most people don't set out to maintain racial disparities, but do so inadvertently, and the scientific community is not exempt. After acknowledging the issue, the second step would be to establish policies that encourage more racial diversity in all sectors of the scientific communityamong researchers, educators, and policy-makers across the board.

What is badly needed is a wider range of perspectives. This suggestion may not sit well with scientists who are committed to the belief that theirs is a completely meritocratic field. But bringing together a broader variety of voices to the scientific community will help all scientists as they continue to make discoveries that advance society. The crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to Black and Latinx communities adds to the urgency.

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City Council hearing highlights impact racial and ableist disparities of COVID-19 – The Philadelphia Tribune

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Dr. Ala Stanford, founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, is calling on the citys major hospitals to break down the barriers for providing coronavirus testing.

During a City Council virtual hearing on the racial and ableist disparities of COVID-19, she suggested that all Philadelphia hospitals that received millions of dollars in CARES Act funding should open their doors from 9 a.m. to midnight to make it more convenient for residents to be tested.

"The hours are 9 to 5," Stanford said. "There are no hours on the weekends. How are people supposed to get tested?"

Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support the nation's longest continuously published newspaper serving the African American community by making a contribution.

Stanford also said making people show identification or obtain physician referrals can keep people from getting tested.

People retreat and recoil when they hear that, she said. Its like asking them to sign something thats 20 pages long with a vocabulary that they may not understand. The reality is you need a persons name, you need a date of birth and you need a way to contact them. When we test people on the street at Broad and Olney or at 52nd and Market, those were the only three pieces of information that we needed.

The hearing was held by the Council Committee on People with Disabilities and Special Needs, chaired by Councilman Derek Green and the Committee on Public Health and Human Services, chaired by Councilwoman Cindy Bass.

Too many of our citizens have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, not only from a public health perspective but also from an economic perspective, Green said.

That experience is not only in the African-American community, but also in the Latin community as well as the disability community. All of these communities were having major challenges in reference to public health before COVID-19. What COVID-19 has done has only illuminated the disparities that many people in our city are dealing with every day.

We as elected officials, as members of the executive branch, of the general public, those who are leaders in our community, need to do what needs to be done to address this issue, he continued.

Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Tom Farley said current city data shows marked disparities of the coronavirus impact by race and ethnicity.

As of last weekend, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health reported 846 COVID-19 deaths in African Americans, 461 deaths in whites, 146 deaths in Hispanics and 49 deaths in Asian Americans.

COVID-19 seems to following a pattern of other health problems, Farley said.

African Americans have higher mortality rates than whites for a wide range of diseases and injuries from heart diseases to diabetes to homicides. These disparities are one result of structural racism in our society that reaches back across generations.

The exact mechanisms by which this legacy affects COVID are not fully clea, but we can speculate about. People of color are more likely to work remotely and are more likely to be front-line workers and risk their exposure to the virus, he said.

The legacy of redlining in our city means that Black and Latino city residents are more likely to live in crowded housing, where they are unable to safely quarantine or to isolate if sick.

Farley highlighted the Public Health Departments new COVID-19 Racial Equity Response Plan.

Racial disparities of COVID-19 infection are representative of deep-seated problems so they will not be eliminated easily or quickly, nonetheless we will take the steps in our plan to reduce deaths and continue to look for additional opportunities to solve this problem, he said.

The plan includes increasing access to COVID-19 testing, tracking racial and ethnic disparities, conducting community outreach, preventing chronic health conditions, protecting essential workers, preventing spread in congregate settings such as nursing homes, shelters and prisons and a new contact tracing program.

Weve worked with partners across the city to expand testing access with an intentional focus on Black and Latino neighborhoods, Farley said. There is more to be done but we have made significant progress.

One of those partners is the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, which city officials have promised to pay $1.3 million to test Black residents over the next six months.

The consortium has tested 8,000 people in Philadelphia since April, through partnerships with local Black religious institutions.

I formed the organization because Black people in Philadelphia were being diagnosed and dying at a rate higher than any other group and there was not a concerted effort to decrease that death and disease on April 16 when we started, Stanford said.

As of last week, the number of Philadelphia residents tested for coronavirus jumped from 1,500 per day to more than 3,000, Farley said.

Of the people tested so far, for whom we have race and ethnic information, 54% of those tested were African American, 27% were white and 9% were Latino, he said.

During the hearing, Koert Wehberg, executive director of the Mayors Commission on People with Disabilities, underscored how COVID-19 has impacted people who are disabled.

When COVID hit, many people with disabilities were in congregate care facilities, nursing homes, group homes, personal care homes (and) correctional facilities and unfortunately over half of the people who succumbed to COVID had an underlying health condition or disability, he said.

Abrupt changes in routines have resulted in people with intellectual developmental disabilities having increased behavioral issues and issues with home care. Weve heard heart heartbreaking stories from folks who are afraid or unable to leave their homes, since this all started, as a result as their change of routine and difficulty in obtaining PPE (personal protective equipment) for themselves of their home care workers.

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Twin Cities Black clergy hope to seize power of the moment – Blue Mountain Eagle

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MINNEAPOLIS - The Rev. Edrin Williams, pastor of one of the most racially diverse churches in the Twin Cities, quickly launched an emergency food distribution center when rioting after the death of George Floyd destroyed neighborhood stores. Now he's taken on another role as well: dispensing food for thought to white faith leaders grappling with how to combat racism.

"I get calls nearly every day from around the country and even one from Switzerland," said Williams, of Sanctuary Covenant Church in north Minneapolis. "They ask, 'What should we be doing?'?"

The national spotlight on racial inequities has injected new energy and placed new demands on African American religious leaders, long at the forefront of civil rights movements. Many are orchestrating their largest-ever food relief projects, fielding outreach from allies, working to quell community tensions and exploring new strategies to combat racial injustice.

A group of Twin Cities Black pastors has been discussing a proposal with Gov. Tim Walz to create a Minnesota "social compact" that would forge new investments and public policies to begin erasing racial inequities. Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church in Minneapolis is preparing to launch a project to transform one Minneapolis public school into a culturally appropriate model for Black achievement.

Minnesota's evangelical community has created what it hopes will be a $1 million fund to support African American churches. Many Black pastors are in demand for speaking and consultation. And, for the first time, their food programs are attracting armies of white volunteers.

"There's something special happening at this moment," said Williams. "People are seeing the (racial) barriers who haven't seen them before. There's a captive audience."

Bishop Richard Howell of nearby Shiloh Temple International Ministries marveled that while participating recently in a panel before largely white religious leaders, the first question directed to him was, "What is systemic racism?"

"There's an openness to hearing us - finally - in a manner we haven't seen before," said Howell. "I've been preaching 40 years, and I've never seen our friends listen to the facts, and the painful facts, of African American history. We have an opportunity to share what we know with those who don't."

Whether it's just a flash of racial consciousness, or something deeper, is the big question, he said.

On a recent Friday, Williams stood in front of about 90 volunteers in his church parking lot. Wearing shorts, a T-shirt and face mask, he bowed his head and said a prayer moments before hundreds of neighbors streamed in to pick up groceries and other goods.

With the Cub Foods across the street still boarded up, they stopped at tents with signs announcing what was inside - apples, carrots, diapers. It's a massive undertaking created in just two months, assisted on the ground mainly by white volunteers from cities and suburbs.

How to tap that surge of support - from individuals, religious groups, businesses and philanthropy - and harness it to tackle institutional racism is a topic of great discussion. While grateful for the support, many Black faith leaders worry that volunteers leave with no greater understanding of the racial inequities that shaped the community they're serving.

That understanding, along with deeper personal relationships in the Black community, are needed to become strong allies for change.

"If George Floyd hadn't taken place, we wouldn't have these relations," said the Rev. Runney Patterson of New Hope Baptist Church in St. Paul. "We've had some in the past, but they fizzled out. I tell (white) pastors, 'Don't come here just to feel good.'... My hope is we can build real relationships and be intentional about it."

Bridging such divides has long been a mission of the Rev. Richard Coleman of Wayman AME Church. He oversees a monthly Bridge of Reconciliation luncheon for pastors and community leaders - of different races - focused on supporting north Minneapolis.

During this month's Zoom meeting, Coleman announced that his church and the Minneapolis nonprofit Hope United CDC planned to organize a network of community partners to help transform one Minneapolis school into a model for academic achievement by offering training for cultural competencies, curriculum, mentors and other services.

The project would mark Wayman's 101st anniversary.

"With the moment, the killing of George Floyd, we wanted to pick something big and significant that can really make a difference," Coleman said. "There's a lot of energy right now. To deal with the problems in the Black community requires a systemic approach, and I believe we are in that space now."

The Rev. Alfred Babington-Johnson, CEO of the Stairstep Foundation in Minneapolis, also hopes to seize the moment. He and other clergy involved in His Works United, an ecumenical collaboration of African American religious leaders, have been talking with Walz and staff about a sweeping proposal to address racial disparities in housing, health, wealth and education.

It is designed to have Black-led organizations develop the capacity to address their community's issues, he said.

Sitting at his desk, Babington-Johnson pulled up a PowerPoint slide listing about a dozen Black-led organizations behind the plan, including the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce and the Phyllis Wheatley Center in Minneapolis. Community supporters include the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greater Metropolitan YMCA and Minneapolis St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership.

"We're having some very hopeful conversations with government, with corporate leadership," said Babington-Johnson. "What we have is the opportunity to be of service, because the whole society is riveted" by the inhumanity surrounding Floyd's death.

Other Black clergy are forging different paths. The Rev. Stacey Smith, senior pastor at St. James AME Church in St. Paul, typically isn't orchestrating protest marches. But she felt compelled to organize a clergy march last month, during which hundreds of faith leaders prayed silently while walking the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul where violence had erupted.

The idea took shape on a Sunday night, when she began e-mailing invitations. By Tuesday morning she found herself walking past Floyd's memorial - in the largest march of faith leaders in memory.

"It was an outpouring unlike anything I've seen," she said.

Smith's church already is running a food program. Now she'd like to offer counseling and support for people suffering from trauma, whether from the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty or racism. She had considered the idea earlier but is convinced now is the time.

African American churches are getting support from other corners. Transform Minnesota, the umbrella group for Minnesota's evangelical Christians, was planning to raise money to support African American churches suffering financially because of COVID-19. That idea kicked into high gear after Floyd's death. It launched the One Fund with a goal of raising $1 million before the anniversary of Floyd's death on May 25, said Carl Nelson, CEO of Transform Minnesota.

"It's one way to tangibly respond to the disparities we're now talking about," Nelson said.

As faith leaders look ahead, they remain hopeful, but guarded, about the prospects for societal change.

They recall that police killings of other Blacks nationally and locally, including Jamar Clark in 2015 in the Twin Cities, have ignited public attention and mobilized communities. But the outcry subsided.

"These things have been cyclical," said Babington-Johnson. "The difference this time is that folks are becoming aware of the inhumanity (confronting Blacks) in different and deeper ways - and the need for society to change."

Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) at http://www.startribune.com

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Racist Disruption of NAACP Town Hall Leads to Rally in Hillsborough – Chapelboro.com

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Following the disruption of a virtual NAACP event on Sunday by racist and sexual content, Hillsborough community members rallied in support of Black and Latinx residents.

The Northern Orange NAACP chapter held a virtual town hall event on how to transform and improve law enforcement Sunday afternoon. According to the organization and Hillsborough Mayor Jenn Weaver, the town hall was interrupted when users began posting racist imagery and slurs, as well as videos of graphic content like KKK rallies and sexual material. Weaver wrote in a Facebook post the white supremacist users showed up in the chat under the names of people who were legitimate participants on the call.

The mayor wrote in her post the Northern Orange NAACPs Communications Chair, who was running the virtual event, abruptly ended it due to the content and distraction the intentional racism caused.

The local NAACP chapter also wroteon its Facebook page following the incident.

We the members of the Executive Board of the Northern Orange NAACP apologize to all the speakers, guest and supporters who were abruptly interrupted at todays Town Hall II, it reads.Its a shame that respectful dialogue cannot be engaged in without that portion of the population that believes people of color are less than [them.]

IN THIS DAY AND AGE:We the members of the Executive Board of the Northern Orange NAACP apologize to all the speakers,

Posted by Northern Orange NAACP onSunday, July 26, 2020

Shortly after the event, a community group called Hillsborough Progressives Taking Action held a rally and press conference at the historic county courthouse to denounce the actions of the disrupting users.

In her post, Weaver also expressed her support of Hillsboroughs Black and Latinx communities, saying its imperative residents understand the proximity of racism.

It is incumbent upon every person who is interested in the liberation of all people, in building a community and world where this type of behavior and traumatization would be unthinkable, to join in this struggle. Each of us must find our role. Each of us must commit. I extend my deepest wishes and dreams of love and protection to every person of color who just experienced that awfulness. I extend my deepest commitment to being in solidarity with you in creating true and genuine safety. I love you.

The Northern Orange NAACP also affirmed it would not let the disturbing actions from Sunday deter the organization from sharing its stories or silencing its members perspectives.

You know you are doing the right thing when people feel they have to disrupt your mission or resort to childish behavior as a way to upset your moment, reads its post. We will reschedule [the town hall] and secure our voices.

Orange County Schools offered a statement online, saying it will not stand for racism of any kind in our schools or our community.

The town hall to discuss law enforcement reform comes after months of denouncement of systemic racism from Americans and others around the world, sparked by the death of George Floyd. Hillsborough has seen numerous demonstrations in support of police reform and the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Statement by President Donnell Williams on Continued Increase of Black Homeownership Rate – PRNewswire

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This current upward trend indicates to NAREB that concerted efforts to address and remove systemic barriers to Black homeownership, intentional and targeted programmatic initiatives, along with focused promotion of the wealth building benefits of homeownership appear to be shifting the tide. I assure Black American prospective homebuyers that NAREB will continue to aggressively pursue our advocacy efforts nationally and be available to assist Black Americans considering homeownership.

We are painfully aware, however, of the disparate health and financial effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted on Black Americans and other vulnerable populations. Life, as we all knew it, is difficult to navigate now, and into the foreseeable future. At the same time, the dreams, and the plans for homeownership among Black Americans appear not to be squelched. NAREB Realtists and our real estate affiliates, using every possible safety precaution, stand unified as guardians of our communities, ready to provide the guidance and accurate information to Black Americans working to achieve their dream of homeownership and a pathway to boost economic futures.

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) was formed in 1947 to secure the right to equal housing opportunities regardless of race, creed or color. NAREB has advocated for legislation and supported or instigated legal challenges that ensure fair housing, sustainable homeownership, and access to credit for Black Americans. NAREB also advocates for and promotes access to business opportunity for Black real estate professionals in all of the real estate disciplines.NAREB annually publishes The State of Housing in Black America report. http://www.nareb.com

Media Contact:Joanne Williams [emailprotected] 202-364-0024

SOURCE National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB)

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Andreas Addison column: Reimagining the city through participatory budgeting – Richmond.com

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A deep fissure has opened in Richmond. More than ever, we have felt an extraordinary tension between all of us. For more than 45 consecutive days, protesters have taken to the streets, and they have demanded action, specifically from their elected officials.

In response, City Council has introduced a slate of legislation, the mayor has removed monuments to the Lost Cause all across Richmond and the General Assembly has called a special session next month. Still, the tension within Richmond has not subsided.

It has become clear that we must strengthen the relationship between our local government and city residents. Richmonders are frustrated seeing policies enacted that did not emerge from, nor were led by, residents. As a local government, we must acknowledge that if we are to realize a Richmond that genuinely is resilient and equitable, we have to try something new.

The city has to invest in a model of collaboration that centers the voices of Richmonders in the decision-making process. The first step toward this is to embrace participatory budgeting in the administrations budgeting process.

As we look to reimagine public safety and to better invest in our community, our solutions must grow from the ground up. As the mayor seeks input and recommendations through his task force, he also must put some rigor behind it.

We cannot afford to simply listen. We need to listen, learn and let Richmonders lead. I am proud to have led City Councils passing of legislation to implement participatory budgeting in September. Now is the time to put it in motion.

With more than a 30-year history worldwide, participatory budgeting places public dollars in the hands of residents, giving them a transparent way of investing in their community. Residents introduce their ideas to meet their neighborhoods most pressing needs and city staff helps them develop actionable project proposals.

The community-designed and the city-supported process culminates in each resident casting a ballot for the projects they believe will make the most significant difference in their neighborhood. Chicago introduced the first participatory budgeting process in the United States and since then, cities across the country have designed models that best fit their needs.

Durham, N.C., began its first process in 2019, and residents already are seeing their ideas implemented. Improvements include technology advancements in their schools, planting trees to provide shade in the summer heat and new entrepreneurship programs at community centers.

While much of the focus of participatory budgeting is on how the government allocates public dollars, the process could accomplish much more. First, we can expand and elevate the capacity of residents to be active participants in making community decisions.

Instead of decisions being made for Richmonders, adults and children could come together to imagine what their neighborhoods can become and develop real proposals that achieve that vision. In doing so, they may finally begin to bridge the gap between current social challenges and our collective vision for democracy. Adopting this new model for building the citys budget would empower Richmonders to realize both their resilience and their collective efficacy.

Secondly, participatory budgeting is a way to build new trust between residents and local government. This has to start with the city of Richmond, acknowledging that it needs to learn more from its residents, rather than about them.

The city administration must recognize the immense knowledge that resides on every street and honor resident experiences by giving them some decision-making power. Participatory budgeting uniquely is structured to bridge the knowledge and experience gap between government and people. There is no better time than right now to bridge that gap in Richmond.

I will be the first to admit that participatory budgeting is not solely the solution. It is not going to fix centuries of distrust and injustice in one fell swoop. But it is the first step in a much larger effort to ensure the city strategically invests in a future defined by its residents. That future includes goals, vision and priorities that create equity, diversity and inclusion.

In the past, we have taken small, sometimes uneasy steps in this direction. And we must recognize the work of our many community organizations that already are amplifying and resourcing our communities. Yet, the moment demands an even stronger commitment. Not a one-off, but one that is intentional and sustained.

We cannot go back to the way things were. Today, I call on the city of Richmond to join me in making this commitment. Lets take advantage of this opportunity to rebuild trust and collaborate with all Richmonders. It is time for the city of Richmond to do more than just fund the change. The city needs to change the way we fund.

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Foley Square’s Black Lives Matter mural is a designer-led transformation of public space – The Architect’s Newspaper

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Over the past several weeks, eight large-scale murals have been painted directly onto streets in all five boroughs of New York City, all of them borne from creative undertakings as disparate and complex as the communities where theyre found.

One, splayed in front of 725 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in bright yellow road paint, was spearheadedits location highly conspicuous and increasingly vandalism-pronein part by the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio. Before that, on Fulton Street in Brooklyns historic Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, came a community-led mural with a crucial assist from the Department of Transportation. On Adam Clayton Boulevard in Harlem, another mural came to fruition as an artist- and community-led effort, also with city support. Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island have them too, all organized and executed in different ways with different players.

Its really a mix, Justin Garrett Moore, executive director of the citys Public Design Commission, told AN with regard to how the eight murals came to be and who oversaw their creation. Yet despite their differences, all eight works of street art have the same, resounding three-word message spelled out in chunky, Paul Bunyan-sized lettering: Black Lives Matter.

However, one Black Lives Matter mural in New York City, at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan, is markedly different from the rest.

The size of the Foley Square mural, which stretches across three blocks of Centre Street from the New York Supreme Court House to the Manhattan Municipal Building, is roughly comparable with the others, albeit perhaps a bit grander in scale at 600 feet long. It also eschews the straightforward, monochrome execution of some of, but not all of, the citys Black Lives Matter murals in favor or 16 individual letters that are kaleidoscopic in nature. A veritable bonanza of colors, shapes, and designs, each letter can be viewed as a distinct, standalone work of art. In fact, three different artistsTijay Mohammed (Black), Sophia Dawson (Lives), and Patrice Payne (Matter)created each mammoth word.

Located in the civic heart of New York City adjacent to the historic site of the citys African Burial Ground, the Black Lives Matter mural at Foley Square is the only one thats creation was led byand was largely funded in part byarchitects, designers, and urban planners.

Like the other Black Lives Matter murals in New York, the mural at Foley Square follows in the oversized footsteps of the inaugural Black Lives Matter mural unveiled on June 5 just steps from the White House Lawn along 16th Street in Washington, D.C. The creation of that mural, led by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, was spurred in the early days of the ongoing, Black Lives Matter-led movementthe largest and most enduring civil rights protest of its kind in decadesagainst social injustice, police brutality, and institutionalized racism. The movement was galvanized by the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis along with the deaths of other Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Similar to NYCs other Black Lives Murals, the Foley Square mural involved the participation of city agencies and officials. A key player was Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who, working in partnership with Black Lives Matter of Greater NY, was instrumental in selecting and securing the site. The 11-member Public Design Commission, which was involved more directly in the Foley Square mural than the others, is also a city agency and, as such, Moore served as a logistics-oriented choreographer of sorts, helping to coordinate between the impressive multitude of factions that contributed, artistically and financially to the mural. Despite all the bad impressions people have about government, there were good people from multiple agencies working to make this happen, he said. Theres a lot of stuff that it takes to get stuff like this done.

But as Moore clarified, the Foley Square mural was, in the end, largely an independent effort, working between private and grassroots organizations.

Moore went on to call the project an unusual combination of people from the architecture, design, and built environment community that were motivated to really connect the mural idea to public space explicitly, and the idea to a civic center more explicitly.

Working in concert with youth arts nonprofit Thrive Collective and technical artist support-providing TATS CRU, a Bronx-based collective of graffiti artists-turned muralists, on the planning/logistical front was WXY Architecture + Urban Design.

Amina Hassen, an associate and urban planner, and architect Jhordan Channer served as the firms project leads.

For a long time, in both urban planning and in architecture, there has been a refusal to acknowledge how political our work really is, said Hassen. For me, personally, it feels very important at this point in time to acknowledge that as creators who are in positions to help shape the public realm that we come to it with our values and our political standingsbecause the places that we are involved in creating are not neutral spaces.

Referring to WXY as true allies with the agency and resources and connections that absolutely helped make this happen, Moore noted that the firm was also crucial in orchestrating a peer network of design firms, most of them based downtown, that leant financial support to the project. Firms that contributed were, among others, Snhetta, COOKFOX, Rogers Partners, SCAPE, ODA, FXCollaborative, SHoP Architects, and Ken Smith Workshop. (A complete list can be found here.)

Janovic Paint & Decorating Center in SoHo and Benjamin Moore donated the 180 gallons of paint used to realize the mural, a work of public art that Channer referred to as counter-narrative to the racist, colonial symbols in our public spaces.

With so many players contributing artistically, technically, and fiscally, the mural at Foley Square took a bit longer to conceive and complete than its counterparts. (It was originally slated to be unveiled on Juneteenth but was completed July 3). This more deliberate pace, however, was largely by design as explained by Moore.

It was really important that it was a broader effort; it took us more time to do it but it was important that how we did it really mattered, he said. The fact that we had so many participants and players was a part of that process.

Moore also stressed the importance of a vetting process that was put in place to ensure that all donations and logistical support were aligned with what Black Lives Matters is aligned with broadly. It took time to do that vetting and find the right partners to ensure that is was a coalition of people that were fully committed to the work, he explained.

The involvement of Percent for Art, a program of the Department of Cultural Affairs, was also crucial in seeking out emerging artists in lieu of established ones with existing platforms and large followings. It was a very intentional process, said Moore. People who arent normally given a platform and agency to do this kind of work were brought in.

And as Moore added, the diversity of the statementBlack Lives Matteris reflected in the artists themselves, who are of different religious backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations. Providing a platform for the artists to give this statement in their own voices was really important, he said.

As for the Foley Square murals positioning amidst some of the citys most powerful bureaucratic edifices, it was just as intentional as all other aspects of its creation.

Noting the proximity of the federal courthouse, New York City Police Department headquarters, and the African Burial Ground, Channer explained: Conceptually, its an attempt to create a space on the street where people of color can exist [] its sort of labeled for them.

Both Hassen and Channer were quick to emphasize the significance of their involvement in the mural as professional shapers of the built environmentan urban planner and an architect, respectively, both of colorwho have direct hands in making public spaces more accessible and more equitable to all. It was important that we became a part of this and really defined for ourselves what our streets look like and what those places we inhabit look like, said Channer.

Urbanists and architects have a lot of work to do to make Black Lives Matter in how we create and improve our public realm, Hassen added. By participating in this mural, its really just a statement of a start to rethinking our ways of working.

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Foley Square's Black Lives Matter mural is a designer-led transformation of public space - The Architect's Newspaper

Doctor touted by Trump believes alien DNA is in medicine and demon dream sex is an actual problem – The Week

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Using paint and a syringe, Michael Gittes found a way to express his appreciation for the medical workers fighting the coronavirus.

The Los Angeles artist decided he wanted to give paintings to the employees of a hospital that had been hit especially hard by COVID-19, and selected Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn. He chose flowers as his subject because "even though these people are all part of a big, beautiful garden, I wanted them to know they were all individual flowers, and without them, there would be no garden," he told The Washington Post. Gittes used a syringe to drip the paint because it is "a symbol of healing."

Interfaith Medical Center has 1,800 employees, and it took Gittes more than three months to complete the project. The paintings were distributed on July 13, with everyone nurses, custodians, security guards, doctors, administrators, and cafeteria workers receiving their own work of art.

Account representative Sheila Arthur-Smith was hospitalized with COVID-19 in March, and on the day she was able to go home, her sister died of the virus. "I see Michael's painting as a memorial to my sister, and I'll never forget that he created this for me from his heart," she told the Post. "It's incredible to me that he took the time to paint so many portraits and show that the work we have done is not in vain and that we're loved. It's a phenomenal gift." Catherine Garcia

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Doctor touted by Trump believes alien DNA is in medicine and demon dream sex is an actual problem - The Week

The Hive forced to close its doors – Medicine Hat News

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By MO CRANKER on July 29, 2020.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com

Medicine Hats downtown artist hub is closing its doors after 10 years in the community.

The Hive art studio and gallery recently announced its closure, which was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Things have been tricky for us in the past few years, said board of directors president Wendy Struck. When our studios were full, we were in pretty good shape.

Our costs were always higher than the money we brought in through the studios, so we always had to work to fill that gap.

We had our studios booked this year, but COVID-19 happened and it made things even harder.

The Hive originated as a pilot project by the Canadian Badlands and Medalta around 2010. At that point in time, one had to apply to get studio time at the Hive. People were able to apply for three, six or 12 months and did not have to pay to use the studio.

After a couple years, the project ended and the Hive became a not-for-profit society thanks to a small group who took it over.

After the project ended, we kept it running and had artists pay for the space they were using, said Struck. Our mission statement was to provide safe, affordable space to artists and creative people, and to exhibit their work in our gallery.

Struck has been with the Hive since 2011 and has seen it transform over the years into a building with 10 studios. She is proud of what it became.

Its all about having a creative community and having a creative presence downtown, she said. I think our space was able to provide that creative community to so many artists over the years.

Struck says the space will be missed.

Its hard to leave, for sure, she said. Its difficult, but in a way it feels like its time and this is a natural ending in a way.

I dont think theres anything else like this in the city, but maybe that will happen again in a different space in the future.

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The Hive forced to close its doors - Medicine Hat News

Practicing Medicine In The Era Of Private Equity, Venture Capital And Public Markets – Forbes

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Healthcare delivery firms are increasingly owned by private equity, venture capital, and public ... [+] markets. Ethical operations of these firms will require new guardrails.

In the last decade, there has been a remarkable shift in ownership of healthcare delivery.Previously independent, physician-owned medical practices have been acquired by private equity firms and publicly traded corporations.The rationale for these acquisitions istypically two-fold.First, the acquiring entity can streamline cost structures and implement management practices to lower the overall cost of delivering care.Second, these firms can use their consolidated position in the marketplace to extract more favorable rates from third-party payers. In addition to private equity and publicly traded companies, venture capital firms have invested heavily in healthcare hoping to reap rewards from new models of care delivery.

Contrary to others observers of these trends, I believe thischange in ownership of healthcare is not intrinsically good or bad.There are countless examples of not-for-profit healthcare organizations behaving in predatory ways, just as there are examples of for-profit healthcare organizations operating altruistically.In addition, private capital does create opportunities to transform care delivery at scalein meaningful ways that otherwise might not otherwise receive investment.

This change in ownership does, however, create a new operating reality where the previous central tenet of healthcare deliverydoing what is best for the patientnow has a competing imperative: doing what is best for shareholders and investors.The code of professionalism taught in medical schools butts up against the fiduciary responsibility taught in business schools.I believe that publicly traded healthcare firms and their private equity counterparts must must proactively build ethical frameworks that ensure that these two imperatives conflict do not conflict.

In the past several months, I have observed several cases where these competing priorities were handled poorly.A hiring freeze was implemented in a clinical care company because of potential earnings shortfalls by its publicly-traded parentdespite clear patient need for clinical services.In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a private equity owned home-based assessments company continued to perform non-clinical coding visits to capture more Medicare Advantage revenue.Entering a new funding cycle, a venture-backed healthcare company pushed its physicians for schedule follow-up visits earlier than needed to improve revenue and enhance the companys valuation.In each of these cases, a business imperative trumped a clinical onein each case introducing potential harm to patients for the benefit of shareholders and investors.

I believe that shareholders and investors have a longer-term interest in preserving the clinical ethics of the healthcare organizations in which they invest.There is growing momentum to limit the influence of private capital in healthcare.In California, for example, lawmakers introduced legislation requiring the State to approve any transaction in which a healthcare provider organization is being acquired by private equity.To be sure, this is a reaction to to the belief that private enterprise can not be trusted to do what is in the public interestin the way the medical profession historically has been trusted. The need for investor-backed healthcare to adopt a clear and defensible ethical framework has never been greater.I believe this framework has four parts: 1) board obligations and composition; 2) organizational structure; 3) clinical decision-making governance; and 4) compensation design.

Boards of private equity and public traded firms owning healthcare delivery assets must commit to a dual obligation to investors and shareholders and patients; and commit to the idea that when these interests are in conflict, the obligation to patients trumps others interests.Many decisions are made in organizations without adequate consideration of clinical impact because boards are not expected or empowered to consider these impacts.The monocular focus on creating shareholder value or long-term returns frees them from considering deleterious clinical impact.Enlightened boards and board members will often implicitly consider patient impactbut this is by no means an industry standard.Companies operating in healthcare must visibly and meaningfully acknowledge at the highest level that when human interests and financial interests collide, human interests will supersede financial interest in decision-making.This is a controversial notion to some who believe corporations need a single organizing objective.However, the only way investor-back healthcare will sustainably earn and maintain the public trust is to embrace this dual obligation and hierarchy.

To enable this dual obligation, companies should adopt an organizational structure in which the the chief clinical executive (often the chief medical officer) has dual reporting to the chief executive and the board.I have observed a deleterious trend where chief clinical executives are not reporting directly to the chief executives, sometimes reporting to chief operating officers or chief financial officers.I believe the enhanced primacy of clinical decision-making in these organizations demands a seat at two tablesthe organizational executive committee, leveling the chief medical officer equivalent to other corporate officers, but also a direct line to the board of directors.This structure is similar to the dual reporting many publicly traded companies adopt with other high priority areas such as compliance.The board must have direct visibility into clinical care operations in order to take responsibility for its ethical administration.This structure is not to absolve chief executive officers of their responsibilitybut to create a necessary counterbalance to the profit motive.

To further enhance the clinical sophistication of boards, organizations should consider a dedicated board position of an independent clinical director, a full-time practicing clinician or patient whose job it is to enhance the clinical perspective and decision-making of the boardand constantly ask the question how will the affect the patient. Too often, the physician voices (if any) on boards are physicians whose days in full-time clinical practice are far in the past and whose perspectives are more dominated by business considerations than clinical ones.Boards must be vigilant and thoughtful about installing a thoughtful clinical conscience in the form of a practicing physician or patient.

Clinical organizations must further adopt a governance norm that any decision that is clearly clinical in nature will ultimately be made by clinicians.To be sure, operations and finance leaders can and should provide input into clinical decisions.However, I havetoo often observed non-clinicians providing input into clinical decisions without adequate consideration of the consequences.The staffing example provided earlier is emblematic.Clinical decisions should ultimately be made by people expert in clinical care who are ultimately most capable of balancing trade-offs between business and clinical imperatives..

Finally, there must be vigilance around the design of incentives to ensure that clinical incentives payments of any kind are not tied to any potential source of harm to patientsoveruse, under-use, or misuse of clinical servicesor any imperative to enhance billing documentation (I.e. HCC coding).This may be the trickiest to implement, as companies typically use a combination of incentive payments and stock to reward performanceeach of which may be tied indirectly to decisions made by clinicians on a daily basis.Where possible,incentives must be tied most closely to clinical outcomes.

The incursion of private equity and publicly traded firms into healthcare delivery has grown increasingly controversialespecially as these firms grow in number and an increasing share of US healthcare is being delivered by entities whose stated primary obligation is to investors, not patients and communities.Private equity and public markets are not incompatible with ethical medical practice, but they do require enhanced ethical safeguards; the same might be said for large integrated delivery systems whose behaviors and business practices increasingly resemble for-profit companies more than community-based non-profits..The time is now for all types of organizations to proactively adopt frameworks to ensure that in the rush to create value our care and concern for the patient is not lostand that the ethical mores underlying the practice of medicine are not permanently compromised.

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Practicing Medicine In The Era Of Private Equity, Venture Capital And Public Markets - Forbes

Clear image of summertime on Saturn captured by Hubble telescope – KTLA

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NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has beamed back an amazing photo showing summertime on Saturn.

Hubble captured the image on July 4, when the giant planet was 839 million miles from Earth, according to a statement from NASA released Thursday.

It shows what summertime is like in Saturns northern hemisphere, which is pointed toward Earth, and a slight reddish haze can be seen over the area.

Scientists say this may be the result of heating due to increased sunlight, which could affect circulation or the ice content of the atmosphere.

Another possibility is that more sunlight leads to changes in how much photochemical haze is produced.

Its amazing that even over a few years, were seeing seasonal changes on Saturn, said lead investigator Amy Simon of NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center.

Look closely at the photo and youll notice a blue hue at the south pole, which is due to changes in the planets winter atmosphere.

You can also see two of Saturns moons in the image: Mimas to the right, and Enceladus at the bottom.

The image is part of a project named Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL), which aims to improve our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and evolution on gas giant planets such as Saturn and Jupiter.

OPAL scientists are looking into weather patterns and storms on Saturn, with various small atmospheric storms noted in this photo.

The picture is also sharp enough to show how the color of certain bands changes slightly each year. Saturn is largely yellow-brown in color due to the fact that the atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium with traces of ammonia, methane, water vapor and hydrocarbons.

You can also see Saturns famous rings in incredible detail.

They consist mostly of pieces of ice, but no one really understands how and when they formed.

Many scientists believe they are more than 4 billion years old, the same age as Saturn itself, but others say they only came into being a few hundred million years ago, when dinosaurs walked the Earth.

In April, Hubble celebrated 30 years in space, during which time its images have contributed to a raft of exciting discoveries.

Hubble has enabled astronomers around the world to study black holes, mysterious dark energy, distant galaxies and galactic mergers.

It has observed planets outside of our solar system and where they form around stars, star formation and death, and its even spotted previously unknown moons around Pluto.

Not bad for a telescope that was only designed to last 15 years.

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Clear image of summertime on Saturn captured by Hubble telescope - KTLA