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U.S. Dermatology Partners Georgetown, formerly Georgetown Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center, is pleased to announce the addition of David Ettinger,…

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Dermatology PA, David Ettinger joins U.S. Dermatology Partners Georgetown

GEORGETOWN, Texas (PRWEB) June 22, 2020

U.S. Dermatology Partners Georgetown is excited to welcome David Ettinger, PA-C. Born and raised in the state of Washington, David relocated after high school and has lived in California, Arizona, and South America. He attended Northern Arizona University to obtain his Bachelor of Science before earning his Master of Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

Since graduating, David Ettinger has worked in dermatology and craniofacial reconstructive plastic surgery with a focus in pediatrics. He loves dermatology and helping others feel more comfortable in their skin and providing relief to those struggling with various skin conditions.

He has participated in clinical research trials for psoriasis and "Spray-on Skin" to determine their efficacy and safety in the pediatric population. "It has been wonderful to be part of the process to find new ways to treat and provide relief to those suffering", says David, a member of the Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants (SDPA).

As a physician assistant with several years of dermatology experience, David will treat patients with medical dermatology concerns such as acne treatment, psoriasis, rosacea, and eczema. He welcomes both adult and pediatric patients at our Georgetown, Texas dermatology clinic.

David Ettinger feels lucky to be raising 3 energetic, loving children alongside his wife. They enjoy spending time on the lake, exercising, and watching their children participate in their weekend sporting events.

U.S. Dermatology Partners Georgetown has been serving the dermatology needs of Georgetown and the Central Texas community since 2003. Founded by Dr. Kevin Miller, the Georgetown dermatology group includes Board-Certified Dermatologists, Dr. Monica Madray, Dr. Elizabeth Morris, Dr. Weilan Johnson, Fellowship-Trained Mohs Surgeon, Dr. Nicholas Snavely, Certified Physician Assistant David Ettinger, PA-C, and Licensed Aesthetician Corey Stoever, LA.

The state-of-the-art dermatology office was expanded in 2011 to meet the growing patient demand. U.S. Dermatology Partners Georgetown offers a full suite of clinical and surgical services, including Mohs surgery for the treatment of skin cancer. The providers treat conditions like acne, psoriasis and eczema to relieve or improve symptoms that limit your comfort, health and enjoyment. We provide specialized, highly effective treatments for a variety of skin cancers to restore and extend the quality of your life. The providers, who are parents of young children, feel comfortable treating patients of all ages, from the very young to the retirees of the Sun City community.

For more information or to schedule a new appointment, please contact the office at (512) 819-9910.

About U.S. Dermatology Partners

As one of the largest physician-owned dermatology practices in the country, U.S. Dermatology Partners' patients not only have access to general medical, surgical, and cosmetic skin treatments through its coordinated care network, but also benefit from the practice's strong dermatology subspecialty thought leaders and medical advisory board. To be the best partners to its patients, U.S. Dermatology Partners is fervently focused on providing the highest level of patient-first care, and its team, therefore, includes recognized national leaders in areas such as clinical research, psoriasis, and Mohs Surgery. To learn more, visit usdermatologypartners.com.

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Belonging in Fashion, Equality in the Spotlight – Yahoo News

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Click here to read the full article.

Fashion has awoken, but isnt woke enough.

There is still opportunity for the industry which prides itself on being so in touch with the zeitgeist to meet this extraordinary moment in American history and go beyond diversity and inclusion to truly welcoming everyone into the fold.

Its going to take real and for some, very personal work to shake the status quo that for too long has been good enough for the privileged majority and thus has become entrenched in a way that is both unfair and was broadly unaddressed.

But now it is an issue thats more urgent than ever.

While the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising animated discussions around LGBTQ rights and diversity issues a year ago, the topic was blown wide open this year by the killing of George Floyd another Black man dead at the hands of police.

The video of Floyd gasping for breath and ultimately dying while a white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck proved to be just too much racially tinged police brutality to be tolerated. People in thousands of cities and towns across the U.S. and the world joined the largely peaceful protests and forced the issue to the front of the common consciousness.

If there were questions whether corporate America in the throes of the COVID-19 shutdown and facing financial meltdown still had the capacity to address diversity, it was answered in the flood of new, vocal supporters to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Many retailers, apparel and beauty firms took new and strong stands against racism and in support of the protests, donated to groups working on the issues, promised to look into their own practices. Away from fashion, corporate America mobilized at last: the National Football League embraced the Black Lives Matter movement, NASCAR banned the Confederate flag, the Aunt Jemima brand was retired and more.

And all this happened alongside Pride Month celebrations rainbow-hued collections and all in the midst of the pandemic. There has also been real progress on the LGBTQ legal front with the recent Supreme Courts ruling that it is illegal to discriminate against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

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But a lot of the progress going forward is going to happen away from the spotlight now trained on the issue of diversity. People and organizations are going to have to look within. Many opinions on privilege, what racism is today and what it means to be a supporter of minority groups will have to be reexamined.

Michael Bush, chief executive officer of people analytics company Great Place to Work, said: The best companies, the best organizations, they are embarking on a path of learning, they are reading, they are studying, because people who think they understand why things are the way they are, thats part of the problem, because theyre wrong.

People in the majority need to move beyond a sense of individualism that hangs too much of their place in the world on their own efforts, he said.

Racism isnt bad people doing bad things, Bush said. Racism is moving through the world not realizing how the world reacts to you and believing youre moving through the world the way you do because you worked hard individually. Its full of bias.

To change, Bush said corporate leaders need to stop and listen and take some time before responding. And they need to be trying to understand.

A good litmus test is a ceos reading list.

What three books are you reading related to related to racism? Bush said. If youre like, None, and arent going to, I dont think youre going to move.

He suggested White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo the number-one nonfiction book on The New York Times Best Sellers list as a good place to start. And then there are plenty of places to turn. Nine of the top 10 books on the bestsellers list last week focused on race or social justice.

People seem to be listening and, hopefully thinking, more than ever before.

Its a hard pivot for fashion, which was just finishing preparations to celebrate Pride Month when Floyd was killed and the protests started.

Instead of stopping to pat themselves on the back and celebrate the LGBTQ community theres been some progress, but not enough as there are still very few LGBTQ ceos and business leaders in fashion the industry found itself behind the curve on another dimension of diversity.

One tenet of the push for corporate inclusion is that having a more diverse set of voices at the top will lead to better decisions and, as numerous studies show, better financial performance.

C-suites and boards are still dominated by straight white men. That, in essence, is the old boys club that, whether on purpose or not, benefits from a society and system that has held and continues to hold others back.

But there are some small cracks in the system.

In the Fortune 500, there are five Black ceos, including former J.C. Penney chief Marvin Ellison, who is now head of Lowes, and Jide Zeitlin at Tapestry. The number of LGBTQ ceos is smaller still, at four, including Jeff Gennette at Macys Inc.

There are others as well Neiman Marcus Group also has an LGBTQ ceo in Geoffroy van Raemdonck but the list of major players with real diversity at the very highest levels is vanishingly small. And thats a loss.

Macys is Americas department store and we serve a very diverse set of customers and communities, Gennette told WWD. The diversity of our teams is certainly helpful as it allows us to have a greater understanding of what the Black experience is in our company and our country today. But it isnt our Black colleagues responsibility to educate the people around them. Weve made a call for our non-Black colleagues to self-educate and have shared resources with both our colleagues and customers.

No human is one-dimensional, Gennette said. Each of us brings all of our experiences to bear when we try to empathize with any minority group. This weeks convergence of the victory on LGBTQ rights from the Supreme Court and the continued peaceful demonstrations demanding fundamental change to end racism was powerful and very encouraging to see.

While the COVID-19 shutdown and slow restart has had a crushing financial impact on fashion with Neiman Marcus and many others driven into bankruptcy the desire for equality is a personal and professional endeavor separate from the balance sheet.

Van Raemdonck said: Were at a very important time in history, evidenced by momentum in the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the recent Supreme Court ruling expanding LGBTQ+ protections in the workplace. At Neiman Marcus Group, we recognize our responsibility to speak out against racial injustices and societal inequities and to take pivotal action to ensure we have a company culture of acceptance and belonging. As a gay man, driving meaningful actions and serving as a catalyst for change is a responsibility I take seriously.

Even as these and other executives have been fighting for LGBTQ equality, they now face an even more systemic problem in battling racism and determining how to embrace the ongoing rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In the fashion industry, there is a great deal of white privilege both at the board level and management levels, said James Miller, who is gay and ceo and chief creative officer of The Collected Group, which operates Joie, Equipment and Current/Elliott. I dont think race has been focused on enough.

The company had not historically been vocal on issues of race, although it was working on the matter internally. Miller, however, has not shied away from thorny issues and this year Equipment launched a gender-fluid line in collaboration with The Phluid Project.

Miller said the many conversations he had while developing and selling the gender-fluid collection helped prepare him to step out early as the Black Lives Matter protests began.

The ceo personally took control of the brands Instagram accounts and started with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. There comes a time when silence is betrayal and has digitally engaged with people on the issue on behalf of the company.

Miller said he wanted to do it himself because: These are delicate conversations. We are a predominantly white-based organization and I dont believe everyone is equipped to wander into a discussion on race on a public platform.

Internally, Miller said the Collected Group has sought to be more thoughtful in hiring. Just because we have open positions doesnt mean we have to fill them tomorrow, he said. If youre looking to fill a seat in our company purely out of speed, that is absolutely the wrong way to go about this.

Miller said his company is also doing things that push the boundary of normalcy he pointed to donations of Personal Protective Equipment to what he said was the forward-leaning womens corrections department in Arizona and taking on less comfortable topics.

Why is fashion synonymous with making you feel good? said Miller, noting consumers are ready to move beyond pure aesthetics and to brands that represent more.

Customers are an important part of the equation.

Brands are used to a delicate dance, chasing consumer dollars while also trying to lead in various stylistic directions, looking for fresh ways to connect. This often begins with a kind of composite view on who is a brands customer and then a marketing apparatus that tries to find people who fit the profile.

That approach has historically missed large groups, from Black and LGBTQ people to plus-sized and older shoppers. It can also restrict appeals to select groups of consumers to a calendar of specific events.

Now the Black Lives Matter protests have pushed the absolute necessity of diversity to the fore, making it all the more clear that minority groups dont just exist for one month of the year be it Pride Month in June or Black History Month in February but deserve and need regular attention.

Companies have to do a wholesale rethinking of their customers, said Todd Sears, founder and principal of global business network Out Leadership. Thats not a new idea, its just not an idea that every company out there has paid attention to before this. Its like Black Lives Matters has ripped the Band-Aid off.

It is not just companies, but the people who keep them humming who need to take a fresh look at the world and their place in it.

Sears said allies people who are a part of the dominant culture, but open to and accepting of minority groups need to make clear that they are supportive.

Allies have to come out, he said.

Companies and the people who run them also have to create cultures that are able to move beyond the ideas of just diversity and inclusion.

Diversity is getting invited to the dance, inclusion is getting into the room with the dance, but belonging is getting asked to dance, Sears said. That you ultimately feel like youre a part of something thats easier for some companies than others.

And more companies are awakening to the fact that a diverse workforce can also be a stronger workforce.

Chantal Gaemperle, executive vice president of human resources and synergies for LVMH Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said teams are more efficient when people can express their potential in an open working environment where everyone can be themselves.

In order to be yourself, you need to be able to express your differences, Gaemperle said.

In the luxury business, which is about making people dream through exceptional experiences or create high-quality products, the company has to be able to capitalize on such differences, she said.

Its not just corporate babble to say that diversity and inclusion are business enablers its proven, she said. I think we can make a link with the economic performances of groups that are diverse in the composition of their talent to be able to reflect you see it with what were living today a world that is going through perpetual change and to have these different perspectives.

The current crisis has highlighted the necessity of local proximity, especially when it comes to subjects of cultural sensitivity, she said.

Our role at the group level is to say that this subject is fundamental, it is something that has to be spread with our practices, but each region can choose its focus according to local priorities, she said.

Its a particularly strong subject in the U.S. right now, with a push for more transparency when it comes to sharing statistics, she said.

Its a question we have, we are thinking about this I cant say I have all the answers its a sign of the times, today we are living in a very complex world that is changing all the time. We have to stay humble when it comes to this, and we have to above all listen, she said.

And the many diversity and inclusion programs in fashion are just a starting point for the industry at large.

The conversation is changing from one of inclusion and representation to one of opportunity, said Corey Chafin, principal in Kearneys consumer practice and lead author of the upcoming report, Unstoppable for 50 Years: LGBTQ+ Pride Marches Forward.

Its not just about saying we reserve two spots on our board for this demographic. Thats insufficient, Chafin said. What they need to focus on is, Are we providing the right opportunities for all our employees? As you get closer to the top you do see the numbers start to trail off; what you cant measure is why.

Companies need to look at trigger moments, or at just what step minority employees are leaving. Once you identify those, then you can set up some interventions around that, he said.

So, if a retailer has broad representation among sales associates, but a much less diverse group of store managers, they can track that and start to figure out how to move a more diverse group of people up through the ranks at that key juncture.

Many companies were tracking diversity already, but clearly arent using that information to redress the ongoing imbalance the higher up the corporate ladder one looks.

Theres a realization that the dominant culture thought that it understood the experience of various minority cultures and in fact it doesnt, Chafin said. It doesnt understand the history and the nuance.

We have to dig deeper to get to the why and to get to the why, you really have to understand the lived experience of those groups, he said.

There is space now to get to that understanding.

Its the moment for diversity to step forward, more than any moment Ive seen in my lifetime, he said.

Right now the broader white community has been awakened and is focused on the issue.

Black people have been screaming and yelling and talking about this for yearsand it took this vicious murder on TV to open the eyes of many white people, said Kelly Charles-Collins, an employment trial attorney and ceo of HR Legally Speaking. They didnt have a choice, but to pay attention [to the killing of Floyd, who was held down, a knee on his neck, for eight minutes and 46 seconds]. They didnt have a choice but to pay attention. It was so long. It was so callous. It was so in their face that they didnt have a choice, but to pay attention.

The discomfort that white people feel at this moment is going to go away, Charles-Collins said. They will be able to go back to the, I dont see, I dont hear, I dont know.

To be part of the solution, fashion companies are going to have to go beyond words and take action, weaving equality into their operations by incorporating it into strategic planning and by making sure people have spaces to express their feelings.

That requires acceptance that your culture is not as welcoming or as inclusive as you thought it was, she said and then acting. Knowing is good, but applied knowledge is what makes a difference.

There is also hope in the next generation.

Gen Z seems to be enlightened in all the ways in how the world is diverse, Charles-Collins said. For them, I think the challenge will be how do you challenge [the status quo] in a way that creates sustained change. And they need the rest of us to help in that. Its systemic, so the system has to be dismantled. The people who benefit from the system have to want to change it.

Launch Gallery: All Black Lives Matter Pride Parade

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Belonging in Fashion, Equality in the Spotlight - Yahoo News

Why race will continue to vex American newsrooms – The Economist

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Outfits big and small are shedding top editors over racial controversies

WASHINGTON, DC

ALEXIS JOHNSON, one of the few black journalists on the staff of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was barred from covering the protests against racist policing on June 1st because editors claimed that she had displayed bias. Her offence? Firing off a sardonic tweet comparing the aftermath of looting to that of a tailgate gathering outside a country-music concert. Outrage mounted when colleagues who rallied to her sideincluding Michael Santiago, a Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalistwere deemed ineligible to cover the protests, too. Mr Santiago has since taken a severance payment and left. Ms Johnson is suing for a civil-rights violation. And the journalists union is demanding the resignation of the newspapers top two editors.

At other American papers, heads have already rolled. Adam Rapoport, the editor-in-chief of Bon Apptit magazine, resigned after an old Halloween photo of him dressed as a Puerto Rican man resurfaced and he was accused of paying less to non-white contributors. James Bennet, the editorial-page editor of the New York Times, had to go after publishing an offending op-ed by Senator Tom Cotton calling for military back-up in response to violent protests (the content of the article, hardly extreme among Republicans, seemed less damning than the admission that it had been published without Mr Bennets reading it). Outlets from Man Repeller, a fashion website, to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a respected daily, have lost their leaders.

Efforts to push out media bosses are not running out of steam. A top executive has been placed on leave at ABC News for alleged racist remarks. At Vogue Anna Wintour faces an attempt to dethrone her from the editorship for not featuring enough black staffers or subjects. Journalists at the Los Angeles Times are pointedly criticising editors for their coverage of the protests and the dearth of well-paid, non-white staffers.

As with the #MeToo movement, executives find themselves taken to task on two counts. One is what are deemed to be blatant examples of prejudice, like dubious Halloween costumes or unexplained inequities in minority pay. The other is insufficient minority representation, whether in organisations newsrooms or in their pages. On that score few media outlets (including this newspaper) measure up. Elite newsrooms are much whiter than the population. Damning statistics on the racial make-up of journalists and quoted sources will probably be tabulated and circulated.

Editors can quickly find themselves caught in a pincer movement, facing internal rebellion and mounting external pressure. The American left thinks corporate culture ought to become actively anti-racistmeaning not just the absence of discrimination but the hiring and promotion of sufficient shares of ethnic minorities.

Non-white bosses are just as rare in the boardrooms of Americas largest companies, which are experiencing rumbles but fewer signs of insurrection than media firms. The incidents there have been more isolated: the former head of diversity at Morgan Stanley is suing the bank over alleged racial bias. The difference might be that nearly 80% of American journalists identify themselves as liberal (and they may be especially moved by the zeitgeist, given their focus on current affairs). Their resemblance to university studentsleft-leaning, outraged by racial injustices, willing to blame the institutions leaders for inadequate minority hiring and representationlooks striking. The cultural battles that roiled college campuses a few years ago may now disturb workplaces, starting with those most sympathetic to the cause. The tech titans, with their somewhat rumbustious Bay Area staffers, look quite vulnerable. Facebook recently announced plans to make increase its non-white leadership by 30%.

In another way, too, the debates upending newsrooms resemble those that have shaken universities. Both places are critical to the free exchange of ideas, and, consequently, to the normal functioning of democracy. Ideas that staff deem too dangerous for publicationlike Mr Cottons op-edwill go un-presented to mainstream readers, while the divide between the liberal and conservative factions of Americas media will widen.

The educational pipeline produces fewer minority candidates for sought-after journalism jobs. Until that is fixed, more affirmative-action schemes, which are common at universities, may be needed to achieve the levels of diversity demanded by staff at media firms. That would be controversial, too. All of which suggests that the tumult is unlikely to subside soon.

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Why race will continue to vex American newsrooms - The Economist

This Week in Comedy Podcasts: Klausner and Scharplings Double Threat – Vulture

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Tom Scharpling and Julie Klausners Double Threat. Photo: ForeverDog

The comedy-podcast universe is ever-expanding, not unlike theuniverseuniverse. Were here to make it a bit smaller, a bit more manageable. There are a lot of great shows, and each one has a lot of great episodes, so we want to highlight the exceptional, the noteworthy. Each week, our crack team of podcast enthusiasts and specialists and especially enthusiastic people will pick their favorites. We hope to have your ears permanently plugged with the best in aural comedy.

Double Threat With Julie Klausner and Tom Scharpling - On a Zoom Call with Woody Allen

Alec Baldwin has never been skilled at reading the room. Though to be fair, even if this interview wasnt released at the height of a worldwide protest movement against American police brutality, theres never a good time for a fawning interview with Woody Allen. To tackle the latest bit in Baldwins lifelong performance art piece about men with no self-awareness, Julie Klausner and Tom Scharpling devoted the latest episode of Double Threat to a minute-by-minute takedown of the least essential interview of 2020. Following a hysterical opening where they riff on the fictional Men in Black Players, the duo wades through the slog of Allens childhood baseball career, his thoughts on the clarinet, and the accusation, as Baldwin briskly refers to it. Youll need a themed drink from one of Baldwins Broadway Danny Rose parties to get through the episode, but its worth it. Pablo Goldstein

Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website

Scam Goddess - The Tinder Swindler with Miles Gray

Ah, Tinder. Remember when swiping right led to an actual date? And when a first date led to the classic question, Do you want to go to Bulgaria with me? Host Laci Mosley, along with none other than the man who gave her the Scam Goddess name, comedian Miles Gray (The Daily Zeitgeist), dissects the greatest scheme of all: love. Reminisce about those ten oclock first dates as you listen to the tale of The Tinder Swindler, a.k.a. Simon Leviev, or Shimon. This dude used Tinder to seduce and swindle basic young women for hundreds of thousands of dollars. In his defense, that Entourage lifestyle doesnt pay for itself! If youre remotely familiar with the concept of red flags, youll join Mosley and Gray in raising your hand a million times as the two unpack Shimons scammer kit (his sexy blood shirt selfie, an Instagram-filtered TD Bank statement, etc.). From start to finish, this episode is a damn delight, as Mosley and Gray are clearly versed in making each other laugh. From Shimon to Match.com to Grays ex-girlfriend stealing the TV she bought him, they easily prove that Love is the front door to the kingdom of scams. Anna Marr

Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website

Bad Romance - Imagine Me & You (with Sarah York)

At the very beginning of this episode, host Jourdain Searles sets the standard for recent episodes of Bad Romance. She says, Rom-coms arent enough for me unless they are insane. If its not all-the-way good or all-the-way bad, then no one should be wasting their time. That is unless the film at hand is Imagine Me & You, the confusing, nice-core 2005 film that lands somewhere in the middle but still leaves plenty to unpack. One of the greatest joys (or perhaps to some, disappointments) of this podcast is realizing all the laughable flaws in films that hold a special place in our hearts based purely on nostalgia. In this case, its guest Sarah York, who topples the notion of this being an important lesbian film to her young closeted self when all your girlfriends are imaginary, the title really hits. York, along with hosts Searles and Bronwyn Isaac, skewer this feel-good British flick with wit, charm, and unfiltered anger, perhaps unintentionally dropping recommendations for insane rom-coms worth adding to our watchlists along the way. Brianna Wellen

Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website

Sloppy Seconds With Big Dipper & Meatball - Olivia Benson

No, Olivia Benson isnt this weeks guest. Nor is Mariska Hargitay, the actor who portrayed Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for over 20 seasons. What the episode name refers to is Sloppy Seconds hosts, rapper and comedian Big Dipper and drag star Meatball, donning their detective caps to investigate whats happening in Los Angeles with the Pride organization and their Black Lives Matter solidarity march. Theyre quick to question the validity of this probe even though it does include numerous uses of Law & Orders signature sound, the dun dun. Yet, they joke its mostly conjecture and petty name-calling, as they discuss the attempts to co-opt and whitewash the Black Lives Matter movement, which the parade was repeatedly called out for before making some necessary changes. But theyre being modest. The episode is beneficial, especially when Big Dipper and Meatball keep their promise to provide an unapologetic look at sex, culture, dating, and food, courtesy of two bears who arent afraid to speak their minds. They end the show with some humorous and heartwarming calls from listeners and more pro tips like, Dont get duped by that 8 Cant Wait bullshit, making their of-the-moment investigation unquestionably valid. Becca James

Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website

Movie Therapy - Im Having Trouble Sleeping

What better time to find a movie to cure what ails you than now, when you are likely still mostly hunkered down at home? Movie Therapy is a breezy half-hour co-hosted by Rafer Guzman and Kristin Meinzer. (Hes a film critic for Newsday; shes a culture critic and also co-hosts the popular By The Book podcast.) Their first patient is having trouble sleeping and wants suggestions for movies that will actually knock her out. Meinzers remedy is Terrence Malicks near-unwatchable Tree of Life. She also suggests zoning out to the Home Shopping Network, which she swears by as a makeshift lullaby. Another listener writes in to say how much she misses being at the office with all of her co-workers. Guzman recommends a dose of 2015s The Intern starring Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, and Rene Russo to get a fix of office life and the way we used to (sort of) work. Two TV suggestions given are old episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Cheers. The hosts have a fun chemistry together and clearly know each others buttons to push to maintain a little friendly friction on their way to prescribing cinematic cure-alls. Marc Hershon

Listen: Spotify | Apple

Other Podcasts Were Listening To:

Gettin Better with Ron Funches - Joy with Jimmy O. YangListen: Spotify | Apple | Website

Time:Out with Troyce The ACE Family Are F*UCKED UP For USING George Floyd for CLOUTListen: Spotify | Apple | Website

How Star Wars Is It? Les MiserablesListen: Spotify | Apple | Website

Got a comedy podcast recommendation? Drop us a line at comedypodcasts@vulture.com.

If you like comedy and you like podcasts, we recommend you subscribe to Vultures ownGood Onepodcast, which releases new episodes every Tuesday onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Stitcher,Overcast, orwherever you get your podcasts.

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This Week in Comedy Podcasts: Klausner and Scharplings Double Threat - Vulture

BACK THE BLUE: Former Superman, UFC Hall of Famer join PPD as reserve officers – Idaho State Journal

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

POCATELLO The Pocatello police force got significantly stronger Thursday morning after adding both Superman and the first-ever Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Fame inductee to its reserve officer squad.

Former Superman Dean Cain from the 1990s hit show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as well as UFC 1 champion and Hall of Fame inductee Royce Gracie took the oath and were sworn in as Pocatello police reserve officers during a Thursday morning ceremony at the Pocatello Police Department.

The Idaho State Journal spoke to Cain and Gracie on Wednesday evening during a firearms training in which both men shared their perspectives on various aspects of the current movement calling for the defunding of law enforcement agencies and their motivation for backing the men and women in blue during these tumultuous times.

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I grew up the grandson of a Navy commander and my uncle was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, Cain said about his decision to become a reserve police officer. We had that military influence in the family and Ive always had that respect for the military, law enforcement and first responders. Ive always looked at them as heroes.

Moreover, Cain said as a former football player, he understands what its like to work under pressure.

But that is on a football field, Cain added. Police officers deal with life-and-death situations in real life every single day all the time. There are parallels between football players and police officers, but this is the big boy club. The opportunity to come up here, especially during this very tumultuous time, is an honor. Im humbled to get sworn in as a police officer here in Pocatello and be here to say, Listen, the men and women in blue are superheroes to me and they should be to you, too.

Gracie, a current resident of Los Angeles, said hes hopeful he can take some of the practices and training being implemented here in Southeast Idaho back to the men and women serving in the Golden State.

I love to help the police officers whenever I can, Gracie said. At home in LA, when I leave the house I surely hope the police know what they are doing so if I can help them out in any way, I will.

Cain and Gracie opted to become reserve Pocatello police officers via their participation in the CACF Foundation, which protects children from child predators, active shooters, bullying and teenage suicide. The program has become very popular with small agencies that need extra help and funding, according to its website.

Much like the sentiment of Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei, Cain described the current movement to defund police departments, as a scary, scary proposition. In fact, Cain believes the opposite should be happening, in that law enforcement agencies throughout the country should be getting more money to provide additional funding for more rigorous training, especially the sort that involves teaching officers the practices involved with community-oriented policing.

The amount of training weve had in the last two days has been phenomenal, Cain said. If other officers throughout the country were trained like Chief Schei trains his guys here, I think wed be in a lot better shape as a police force in the nation.

Cain continued, The idea that people are vilifying the police is insane to me. I understand there is a groundswell for changing police policies but the way that Chief Schei does it here is the right way. This is a great example of unity and community policing. If we could implement what he is doing nationwide, I think we would be in a much better place. I am clearly making a point in joining now because the zeitgeist is going one way and it should be going the other way.

There are, however, aspects of the defund the police movement that Cain said he can support. For instance, Cain said he believes the use of social workers responding to calls involving those dealing with mental health issues could enhance the role of law enforcement agencies.

Social workers shouldnt replace police officers, but could enhance their roles is how I would describe it, Cain said. The mental health calls that these guys go on is never something they want to do. They are not specifically trained to handle these situations as if they are experts. Police officers deal with threats, they are not there to be a social worker, so if a social worker can take some of that load off the police officers hands, I think that is a great idea.

Cain said he doesnt support banning the use of chokeholds, primarily because the term itself can be deceptive. Cain said that its not the type of hold itself that should be scrutinized, but the training involved with teaching officers how to implement the hold and when to resort to such use of force.

When you say chokehold that is a very deceptive term, Cain said. We have Royce Gracie here who could choke me out in a heartbeat and in a safe manner. Id rather have Royce Gracie choke me out than knock me out, but police officers are trained to use a carotid hold, its not even a chokehold. You dont shut off a persons airway; you stop the blood flow to the brain, the person goes to sleep and they wake up in a minute. Chief Schei trains many ways to subdue a suspect without force and talks about it frequently. Its hard to say you are going to ban chokeholds because there are five different carotid holds you can do.

In speaking about why officers use carotid holds or neck restraints, Gracie added, Chokeholds are not the only way to subdue an opponent. There are maneuvers and locks to get a person to move from one point to another. The idea is to get the person in handcuffs, not to beat them up. In the first UFC, the order my father gave to me was to win without hurting your opponent. And that is in the UFC, the first sanctioned sport where men basically fight to the death. A sport where we are paid to rip each others heads off my dad told me he didnt want to see any blood. He told me to win without drawing blood and hurting your opponents.

Despite what appears to be a very fractured relationship between police and many of the people they swore an oath to protect and serve, Cain and Gracie are optimistic positive change will be the result of the current unrest.

I think there will be positive change because this is unprecedented, Cain said. This is a big, bad, ugly situation where police officers are being vilified and they shouldnt be, but maybe in the long run that will be a positive thing.

Gracie added, What I heard from the chief today, these guys are heading in the right direction. But they have been doing it right in this area for a long time already. This is not something new for them. Because one officer screws up doesnt mean that all of them are bad. We are all humans. We have to have trust in the system.

And so long as police officers continue to protect what Chief Schei describes as a gift, which is the level of bi-lateral trust between a law enforcement agency and the citizenry its promised to keep safe.

We need to continue to move forward, Schei said. We need to look at each other as humans, not for their race, religion, origin, orientation or a profession. You cant look at a group of people and judge them based on one person. My big thing is to protect the gift and what I mean by that is to protect the gift of trust that our community gives us. Because one guy did not protect the gift it has sent our country into a tailspin. And that infuriates me. We have to continue to get better and every day is a tryout. We cant take anything for granted.

See more here:

BACK THE BLUE: Former Superman, UFC Hall of Famer join PPD as reserve officers - Idaho State Journal

Voter Turnout in New York City Was Cratering; Then Came 2018 – Gotham Gazette

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Alessandra Biaggi on the 2018 campaign trail (photo: @Biaggi4NY)

This story, and the series it is a part of, has been supported by theSolutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.

**********

On the night of September 13, 2018, a wave crashed through New York state politics.

For years, pressure had been mounting on the members of the Independent Democratic Conference, or the IDC, a small group of high-profile and controversial Democrats who caucused with Republicans in the New York State Senate. At times, the IDC effectively barred the mainline Democratic conference from holding a majority in the chamber, hobbling party-backed legislation and affording its members major leverage in Albany.

The presence of the IDC also appeared to hamper Democratic efforts every two-year cycle to swing certain State Senate districts from Republican to Democratic hands, meaning a split Legislature with Democrats in control of the Assembly. After the election of President Donald Trump in November of 2016, significant additional pressure grew on the members of the IDC and their Democratic allies, which included Governor Andrew Cuomo.

By April of 2018 and facing his own reelection campaign with a primary challenge from his left, Cuomo brokered a deal with the IDC to dissolve and rejoin the mainstream Democrats, with an eye toward capturing the majority together as Cuomo sought to quell a progressive uprising and secure a third term. But the damage was already done, at least for IDC members who provoked such backlash in their districts that activists were set on removing them from office.

A group of largely young, progressive challengers rose up in the districts, recruited and bolstered by the Working Families Party, grassroots groups, community activists, and a smattering of elected officials. By the end of primary night in September 2018, six of the eight former IDC members had been knocked out (while Cuomo secured victory by a wide margin).

Those Senate challengers would go on to win their general elections and, along with newly elected colleagues that gave Democrats the majority, become massive forces in Albany, championing landmark rent, criminal justice, gun control, environmental, and voting reforms among others that were centerpieces of a historic 2019 legislative session.

Though some of the most striking images of that September 2018 primary election night come from the victors pictures of the Bronxs Alessandra Biaggi with her fist raised in the air, or Queens Jessica Ramos surrounded by cheering supporters images only tell part of this story.

The other part isnt as flashy, but speaks to something more powerful: voter turnout. Voters across New York went to the polls in record numbers for the 2018 state primary elections the gubernatorial primary more than doubled the votes cast four years prior, and some districts surpassed turnout during the 2016 presidential primary. Still, New York City voter turnout numbers have a long way to go, never in recent years hitting 40 percent in a primary other than when there is a presidential election, a trend that helped lead to the sweeping electoral and voting reforms, like early voting, passed in 2019.

The map below shows where turnout increased the most and the least in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary compared to the 2014 primary.

Overall, the Senate districts represented by IDC members saw voter turnout spikes in line with the overall trend, but within those districts, much of the increases came in geographic areas where the challengers did especially well, a new Gotham Gazette analysis shows.

The reasons for the voter spike are far more complex than a single night, or even the months of anger among Democrats who finally learned about their rogue state senators. And while in 2018 many New York Democrats were still reeling from Donald Trumps election as president, it wasnt that simple either individual campaigns, newly-formed grassroots groups, and long-standing labor unions and other organizations all played a role in bringing many more voters to the polls. Some relied on tried and true tactics, while others got more creative.

The groups that rose or grew in 2018, and the tactics they developed that year, were ready for a big 2020 until the pandemic hit. But many of the same activists are again doing all they can, albeit under very different circumstances, to see their favored candidates win in this months primaries for congressional and state legislative races. Even as New York City could see a major drop in voter participation, those 2018 successes are still reverberating throughout the state as lawmakers pass bills dealing with public health and police accountability.

Trump DemocratsDonald Trumps divisive presidential victory in 2016 sparked a wave of renewed political activism across the United States. Huge demonstrations marked the early days of Trumps administration, such as the 2017 Womens March or the protests over a travel ban on countries in the Middle East and Africa.

In New York, grassroots organizations began to coalesce around electing progressives to local and state political positions. Though over half of eligible voters had turned out for the November general election in 2016, the state primary turnout rate that September was abysmal: only 10 percent of voters had come out.

For many, the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) of the State Senate was the first on their list for change.

People were angry, said Mia Pearlman, a co-founder of True Blue NY. The idea for True Blue was born soon after Trumps election, at a Park Slope meeting where people were gathering to politically organize.

A lot of people who were at the meeting lived in [State Senator] Jesse Hamiltons district at the time and were really upset to find out the morning after Election Day that not only was Donald Trump president, but that their own Democratic state senator was empowering Republicans, she said of Hamilton, an IDC member.

True Blue began on the idea that even though New York was seen as a Democratic bastion by others around the country, on the state government level, it struggled to pass meaningful progressive legislation. This was in part due to the IDC, and how complacent so many Democrats were about its presence and a Republican-controlled State Senate. In the months after Trumps election, grassroots groups like True Blue and a network of Indivisible groups sprung up and tapped into the outrage people felt to get them more involved in local politics.

In part, they pointed people angry over Trumps election to the State Senate, with its Republican control bolstered by rogue Democrats.

True Blue began to reach out to other grassroots groups in districts represented by IDC members, building a coalition of over 45 organizations. The main strategy was voter education whether that meant protests, phone-banking, tabling at events, handing out informational palm cards, and sending handwritten postcards to voters to convince them to turn out against the IDC.

The biggest issue with the IDC was that most people didnt know that their own state senator was in the IDC, or they didnt know what that was, Pearlman said. The groups utilized one of their biggest assets time to educate voters in the months between early 2017 and the September 2018 primary election.

This initial campaign against the IDC began before the districts even had candidates to put up against IDC members, which was key, according to Pearlman.

By the time we started to recruit candidates, along with No IDC New York and other groups, we sort of created an opening for them to have the opportunity to win, she said.

The way that the 2018 election went was that it really started 18 months prior, with the notion of, We need to go out and do constituent and voter outreach and engagement on the issues, said Ricky Silver, the co-lead organizer with Empire State Indivisible, a grassroots political activist group formed following the 2016 presidential election and part of the True Blue NY coalition.

Silver said that the races against IDC members were powered largely by enthusiastic volunteers. Empire State Indivisible was able to draw volunteers in by hosting forums across the city about particular issues, like education funding or the climate crisis, and educating residents about how the IDC slowed progress on those issues, the importance of electing real Democrats and of flipping control of the State Senate (the November elections, with a focus on one Republican-held Brooklyn State Senate seat and others in the citys suburbs, were always on activists minds, even as they focused on the primaries first).

People showed up because they cared about the issues, and then we were able to get them involved because they understood the pathway to a new vision was electoral. And thats how we were able to grow the movement, he said.

Meanwhile, a slate of statewide races was about to rocket progressive politics, the debate over what it means to be a real Democrat (AKA True Blue), and the need to control the State Senate, to the forefront of New York political consciousness.

Backed by the Working Families Party and other progressives, actor and activist Cynthia Nixon ran for governor against Cuomo. The WFP bet big on Nixon, despite upsetting some longtime political allies, and endangering its financial support from labor unions afraid of incurring Cuomos wrath. Nixons race was accompanied by competitive primary campaigns for lieutenant governor, between incumbent Kathy Hochul and challenger Jumaane Williams, then a City Council member, as well as for the open state attorney general seat.

The WFP credited the threat Nixon and Williams posed to Cuomo as the reason the governor brokered the deal to dissolve the IDC, following long-standing accusations that Cuomo backed and benefited from the IDC-GOP arrangement, which Nixon made central to her campaign.

The WFP also took on the IDC, launching a campaign against what they called the Trump Democrats in May 2017. The campaign organized thousands of voters against the IDC, giving insurgent candidates a head start before even officially entering their races. WFP ran nightly texting and phone banking activities with over 1000 shifts, and by the end of the campaign, had identified 10,000 voters who would vote against their IDC member in the Senate.

Thanks to the shock of Trumps victory and these organizing efforts, well over a year before the September 2018 primaries, many New York Democrats were engaged in local politics for the first time.

Central BrooklynIn Brooklyn, trouble was brewing for Jesse Hamilton, a two-term legislator who had joined the IDC shortly before the 2016 general election.

Despite the IDCs dissolution, many prominent borough Democrats continued to denounce Hamiltons actions as self-serving well into the primary season, though Hamilton continued to have the support of Borough President Eric Adams.

Members of the Brooklyn Congressional delegation, state legislators, and Mayor Bill de Blasio, chose to back Zellnor Myrie, a young lawyer trying to unseat Hamilton in Central Brooklyns 20th State Senate District.

The campaign got a boost from the WFP, which provided Myrie with media training and campaign support, and from grassroots activists and local political clubs who wanted a bluer district.

There was a lot of energy in the air for a real Democrat, and not a law and order Trump Democrat, according to Myries senior campaign advisor Andr Richardson.

Myries supporters took to the streets to drum up buzz for their candidate. For the Brooklyn Young Democrats, a club that endorsed Myrie that spring, that meant extensive canvassing, door-knocking, and days of action.

We all went out there in a storm for him, not only because [he was] against the IDC, but because he was speaking to issues in the community, BYD President Christina Das said. Das estimates that the club knocked around 2,000 doors for Myrie, and held three or four days of actions either in conjunction with other organizations, or on its own.

A native Brooklynite, Myrie had strong roots in the district, which spans through parts of Sunset Park, Park Slope, Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Brownsville. The district is diverse, but predominantly black of the nearly 310,000 people living in District 20 in 2018, 50 percent were black, 19 percent were white, and another 19 were Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureaus American Community Survey.

One of Myries main focuses in his campaign was affordable housing and tenant protections, goals that spoke to a district that is home to an overwhelming majority of renters, who faced challenges with rising costs.

It was a great race because everyone was kind of in it together in the neighborhood, BYD Executive Vice President Julia Elmaleh-Sachs said.

In 2014, the year Hamilton was first elected, there were roughly 129,000 active registered Democrats in the district, but only around 15,000 voted in the primary, which was quite competitive as Hamilton edged out Rubain Dorancy, who had backing from de Blasio, among others. Hamilton won with almost 10,000 of those votes. Then in 2016, Hamilton went through primary season uncontested. In the heavily-Democratic district the Democratic primary is tantamount to full electoral victory.

2018 was going to be a very different year as those frustrated by the IDC, including many educated and activated after Trumps election, went from not fielding a primary challenger to Hamilton to immense organizing behind Myrie.

On primary day in 2018, Myrie defeated Hamilton by almost 4,000 votes. Voter enrollment and participation in the district saw significant spikes, with 44,000 of the roughly 141,000 eligible Democrats casting a ballot. The increase from 15,000 votes in Hamiltons contested 2014 primary to the 44,000 votes in Myries victory over the incumbent made for almost a 300 percent increase in raw turnout, and the district was in line with the overall turnout jump seen in the gubernatorial race from 2014 to 2018.

Part of Myries success stemmed from his ability to garner support from different facets of Brooklyns Democrats, from longtime black voters to newcomers and progressives, Richardson said.

I think Zellnors case was a very unique case because he was able to bridge that divide, Richardson said of longtime black voters, newcomers to the district, and white progressives. Myries campaign attracted hundreds of volunteers, Richardson added, attributing part of Myries success to his authenticity and speaking to the needs of the district across demographic and other divides.

Myrie nabbed the greatest share of votes in Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and parts of Crown Heights and Sunset Park. In several of these areas, turnout jumped enormously from. The map below, from the CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research, CUNY Graduate Center, shows where Myrie and Hamilton each did well:

The Bronx and WestchesterWhen Alessandra Biaggi, a lawyer in the Cuomo administration and former staffer on Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign, began her campaign to unseat State Senator Jeff Klein a founder and the leader of the IDC from Senate District 34 in the Bronx and Westchester, she understood the stakes.

I didnt go into it thinking to myself, Im going to absolutely win, Biaggi said in a recent interview. I went in thinking to myself, We probably wont win. But what we will do is have a win in the loss. Because were going to raise awareness about an issue that is so devastating to the state. And people are finally going to be excited about their state government and want to fight for it.

As the head of the IDC, Klein held immense power in state government, and was a major target for progressives. With millions of dollars in Kleins war chest and his strong web of political connections made over decades, however, most pundits considered a challenge to Klein almost unwinnable.

In 2014, Klein faced a challenge from former New York Attorney General Oliver Koppell and kept his seat fairly easily, winning with over 9,000 votes compared to Koppells roughly 5,000. According to voter enrollment data from that November, about 101,000 active Democrats were registered to vote in the district, which encompasses parts of the Bronx and southern Westchester County, including Riverdale, Hunts Point, Throggs Neck, Pelham Parkway, City Island, and Pelham.

In 2016, Klein was unopposed in the primary.

Biaggis campaign was assisted by anti-IDC groups that started educating voters in the district about the IDC before Biaggi even started running, according to her 2018 campaign manager Luke Hayes.

The campaign tapped into community members in the district, generating support in key neighborhoods through word-of-mouth. Together with Biaggi and other organized forces, they started to knock on doors.

It was a scrappy campaign. We knew we werent going to outraise Klein, Hayes said of the assumed fundraising disadvantage. By the end of the race, Klein would spend more than $3 million on his campaign, an unusually high total for a state legislative race, and 10 times more than Biaggi spent.

Biaggi said that fundraising became less integral to her campaign than canvassing and meeting with voters.

I was going to win this thing on the doors. I laced up my sneakers every single day and I was knocking on doors, she said. She and her supporters engaged with many thousands of voters up to and including primary election day.

She also credits young, politically active students, some high school-aged, with helping to activate the community around her campaign. About 324,000 people lived in the district in 2018. Of that number, 43 percent were Hispanic, 34 percent were white, 14 percent were black and 6 percent were Asian, according to American Community Survey data.

When you have a dynamic candidate like Alessandra, when you can engage with a candidate one-on-one, that can counteract a lot of ads, Hayes said.

Support from groups and officials were also key.

Endorsements are a big deal, Biaggi said. If you are going to be endorsed by, for example, the Working Families Party, which was my first endorsement, it gives you legitimacy.

The powerful union 32BJ SEIU backed Biaggi in a big way, mobilizing thousands of members to conduct phone-banking and door-knocking from six weeks before the primary. The move surprised some in the state political scene, as 32BJs president at the time, the late Hector Figueroa, had initially helped to kick off attempted IDC reunification with Democrats in 2017. In a 2018 interview with Gotham Gazette, Figueroa said that he thought that the IDC was not sincere in its efforts to fix Democratic unity and explained the 32BJ decision to buck the deal orchestrated by Cuomo.

Silver, of Empire State Indivisible, points to the cooperation of a litany of organizations, such as the WFP, unions like 32BJ, and grassroots organizations, as one of the keys to Biaggis success in appealing to a diverse district.

It was that sort of coalescing of organizations that made it powerful, he said.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson voiced their support for Biaggi in June 2018, giving the campaign more legitimacy, adding media buzz, and bringing their networks of volunteers to campaign for her. The New York Times endorsed her later that summer.

When the results rolled in that September, it was a shocking upset: Biaggi had nabbed 19,000 votes to Kleins 16,000. There were a total of 107,000 Democrats eligible to vote in the district that November. The jump in voter turnout from Kleins last challenge in 2014 was significant, moving from around 14,000 voters to around 35,000 voters, or increasing by 250 percent. The parts of the district where Biaggi did best also saw the biggest jumps in voter turnout from 2014 to 2018.

The precincts Klein did best in had lower jumps in voter turnout compared to Biaggis best precincts. In the Bronx, Biaggi had the greatest share of votes in Riverdale, Fieldston, Kingsbridge and City Island.

For Senate District 34, the green precincts match up well with Klein's best precincts, especially around Castle Hill and the Throgs Neck area, while most of the orange precincts match up perfectly with Biaggi's best precincts, centered around Van Cortlandt Park, said Benjamin Rosenblatt, president of Tidal Wave Strategies, who performed data analysis and mapping for Gotham Gazette for this piece. The first map below, created by Rosenblatt, shows where turnout jumped the most and least in 2018, from 2014, for Senate District 34. The second map below, from the CUNY Mapping Service, shows where Biaggi and Klein each did well.

Western QueensIn Queens, Jessica Ramos, a former mayoral aide, was challenging State Senator Jose Peralta for his seat in Senate District 13.

Peralta joined the IDC in early 2017, claiming that it was a pragmatic choice to best serve the district during the new era of Trumpian policy. At a packed town hall soon after the decision was announced, some residents protested, calling Peralta a traitor.

A legislator with almost two decades of experience, Peralta had no competition in the districts Democratic primary for the entire time he held the seat, running unopposed in the primary in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016.

The districts neighborhoods, including Jackson Heights, Corona, and East Elmhurst, are home to large immigrant communities. Of its population of 302,000 in 2018, over half were born outside of the United States, according to American Community Survey data. Of the district residents, 62 percent were Hispanic, 17 percent were Asian, 14 percent were white and 6 percent were black.

Trumps rhetoric and policies against immigrants, such as the public charge rule or travel bans to certain countries, directly impact residents in those communities, and led many to question how Peralta could align himself with the IDC, which bolstered Republican leadership of the State Senate, preventing major immigrant-friendly legislation from passing. That included the Dream Act that Peralta championed and he apparently saw as possible to get passed with added leverage as part of the IDC.

Make the Road Action, a leading immigrant rights group that is very active in the district, endorsed Ramos for the Senate seat in July 2018, and set out to have thousands of its members phone-banking, canvassing, and engaging voters for Ramos.

Progressives in the district were energized by the stunning upset political unknown Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had in June against then-U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley, the Queens County Democratic Party boss and one of the highest ranking Democrats in Congress. New Yorks 14th Congressional District overlaps with Senate District 13. There was a renewed sense of what was possible after Ocasio-Cortezs win as Ramos and her supporters eyed the sprint from the June congressional primaries to the September state primaries (those primaries were merged to June starting this year).

Most of all, I think her win has created a lot of enthusiasm for the small d democratic process in the district and that enthusiasm is what were hoping to maintain our momentum, Ramos told City & State in the summer of 2018.

Other political powerhouses and grassroots organizations coalesced around Ramos. The WFP helped her hire key staff, consulted on her campaign, and identified thousands of voters for her. Stringer backed Ramos in March. In the summer after Crowley fell, de Blasio, for whom Ramos had previously worked, and Johnson backed her, and Ramos and gubernatorial candidate Nixon cross-endorsed each other.

On primary day, Ramos defeated Peralta by over 2,000 votes, with almost 23,000 votes cast in total. In November of that year, 90,000 Democrats were eligible to vote in the district. Ramos did far better in parts of the district like Steinway, Astoria Heights, and Jackson Heights. The map below, from the CUNY Mapping Service, shows where Ramos and Peralta each did well.

Other Races in Manhattan and BrooklynOther districts around the city saw increased voter turnout in the same neighborhoods where insurgent candidates nabbed the largest share of votes.

In Manhattans Senate District 31, former City Council Member Robert Jackson emerged victorious on primary night over former IDC member and State Senator Marisol Alcantara. Jackson had run for the seat before in 2014 and 2016, losing narrowly to Alcantara in 2016 in a three-way race. Alcantara only served one term in office before Jackson overtook her in 2018.

The largest increases in voter turnout in the district from 2014 to 2018 were in the Upper West Side, Manhattanville, Washington Heights, and parts of Inwood, all where Jackson performed the best, indicating how well the insurgents supporters did at turning out the vote. The map below, created by Rosenblatt, shows where turnout jumped most and least in 2018, compared to 2014, in Senate District 31.

In Brooklyns Senate District 18, progressive upstart Julia Salazar triumphed against Martin Malav Dilan, who had represented Brooklyn in the State Senate since 2003. Dilan was not a member of the IDC, but the progressive push in 2018 helped fuel Salazars campaign, including backing from the Working Families Party and the New York City branch of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Salazar picked up votes in neighborhoods with some of the highest changes in turnout from 2014 to 2018, including East Williamsburg, Bushwick and Greenpoint.

While the Senate primaries saw dramatic increases in turnout throughout each district from 2014 to 2018, even compared to the gubernatorial primaries, the relative turnout increase was absolutely massive in the areas where progressive primary challengers did best, said Rosenblatt, of Tidal Wave Strategies, referring to his data and mapping analysis. The map below, created by Rosenblatt, shows where turnout increased the most and least in 2018, compared to 2014, in Senate District 18.

The fight continuesAccording to Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College, campaigns need three things to succeed: money, organization, and message.

The opponents of the IDC had more of the three than the members of the IDC, he said, looking back at 2018s primary upsets.

The odds piled up for dramatically increased voter turnout, and for a turnout against the IDC: the national Democratic movement in response to Trump and for a blue wave in the 2018 midterms, accelerated progressive conversations and efforts launched by grassroots organizers, strong upstart candidates, and a concerted plot to educate voters ahead of the election cycle.

The wind was at the back of Democrats and progressives nationally. And certainly the state was part of that, Muzzio said. [The IDC] were out of step with the zeitgeist of the time.

And while pundits and political analysts were surprised by the unprecedented spike in voter turnout in New York, that didnt mean that turnout in the 2018 primaries was overwhelming. Although turnout in races with former IDC members garnered more attention, the average turnout in those districts and other Senate districts was almost the same around 29 percent according to a report from the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

This shows that the perceived competitiveness of an election does not necessarily lead to increased turnout in that district, and that in this high-profile election, voters turned out regardless of whether they were voting in a competitive election, the report reads.

But the key for the IDC challengers appears to have been where some of the increased turnout occurred, in areas of the districts they were running in that were most enthusiastic about their candidacies, and about defeating the incumbents.

To get there, activists as well as candidates and their campaigns, endorsers, and other supporters utilized a variety of tactics, including an unprecedented organizing and voter education effort done over an especially long period of time before any votes were cast. Dynamic and diverse candidates were recruited and backed, and they were just as willing as their volunteers and staff to knock doors and pass out flyers.

These strategies and others mixed with Democratic reaction to Trumps election, growing frustration with a lack of movement on progressive priorities in Albany, and a robust left-wing challenge to Cuomo, which both further galvanized progressives and pushed the governor to spend tens of millions of dollars getting out his vote.

The energy that led to defeat for six of the eight IDC members then helped flip several state Senate seats in November 2018, giving Democrats a solid, True Blue majority for the 2019 session to combine with the Assembly Democratic majority and third-term Democratic governor reelected by a wide margin on a slate of progressive promises.

With those 2018 electoral wins and the legislative victories that followed in 2019 and into this year, the WFP, True Blue NY, and other progressive organizations began preparing for a new slate of races in 2020, hoping to use a similar organizing playbook to net more wins. However, the coronavirus pandemic changed everything.

Continued here:

Voter Turnout in New York City Was Cratering; Then Came 2018 - Gotham Gazette

Soulwax and the hunt for the EMS Synthi 100 – Engadget

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

But the Dewaele brothers didnt want to use it as an abstract effect, modulating other sounds. They wanted to make something musical: An album -- beats, bass, pads and all -- created entirely on the Synthi 100. Which is precisely what they did, Deewee Sessions is the result of their time with #30 and every single sound on the album comes from that machine. Albeit with a little help from modern technology.

I guess sort of the point of the album was to showcase what we think are the characteristics of the machine said Dewaele. The album is made up of six movements, three per side of the vinyl release. Movement 1 starts with a simple pulse tone. Its exactly the first sound you imagine would come out of such a machine, electronic, pure, almost sinister. But it doesnt take long before that tone starts to waver and dissolve into a cacophony of metallic, haunting and then soothing, throbbing sounds. The album is the sonic equivalent of shining light through a prism -- one sound seemingly contains all the sounds.

If youre familiar with Soulwaxs more electronic-led music (Nite Versions, for example), youll soon recognize their trademark earthy-futuristic sound. The first two movements of the album feel like a nod to the Synthi 100s prog-rock legacy, with a more abstract edge to them. Movement 3, however, is when moody, plodding basslines start to emerge, and something resembling a rhythm. Side B starts with another melodic breather for Movements 4 and 5, before the Dewaele brothers return to their higher-energy roots for the last, thumping, head-swirling act.

It would be bold to say that Deewee Sessions will be the last record to showcase the Synthi 100, but it almost certainly will be the last one entirely made with it -- the remaining specimens are dying. Sort of living? We only know of about 14 or 15. Dewaele said. And he should know after having been looking for one for at least the last 25 years. As he tells it, many ended up in similar institutions to IPEM, and for a while were not considered important or valuable and may have found their way into landfill. It's quite surprising that half of them are still around.

Even the one they made the album with, #30, wasnt fully working. Dewaele guessed at it being 75-percent functional when it arrived at their studio. Fortunately, IPEM had a staff member that cared deeply for it, and was overseeing its glacial restoration. A process that would continue during its relocation. He actually has an exact replica of the machine and even slotted the circuit boards in there, and could not get it to work. Dewaele said.

Given that Dewaele estimates there are over 7,000 combinations on the patchbay (that pipes signals between different components), and not everything was working, adopting the experimental spirit of the Synthi 100 wasnt just nostalgic, it was essential to get anything done. [The restoration problem] was actually a blessing in disguise, because what that opened up to us was like okay well knowing that doesn't work, why don't we really do what Peter Zinoviath imagined? Which is why don't we use modern technology.

So thats what they did. David and Stephen paired the Synthi 100 with gear from Expert Sleepers, a company that specializes in hardware and software that allows old synthesizers to be controlled by modern PCs. So you keep the sound and the idiosyncrasies of the machine, but it allows you to do it much more according to Dewaele.

Purists might be aghast that any modern equipment could be allowed in such a project, but Dewaele makes the case that this is actually more inline with the Synthi 100s futurist vision. For all its vintage feel, the Synthi 100 is technically a hybrid analog/digital system. Zinovieff essentially added a computer to it, albeit an incredibly basic one by todays standards. But despite the brothers future-forward approach, it was an anachronism too far for Zinovieff.

The brothers were keen to speak to the synths spiritual father, but it didnt go as planned. I guess, not surprisingly, Peter Zenoviath had no interest in revisiting the synth 100 or anything of the EMS stuff Dewaele said. Because there's so much more we can do with computers right now. He's an 80-something-year-old, still making avant garde computer music.

And here is where the two worlds combine (or compete?). On the one hand, theres a mini revival going on with the Synthi 100. It's cool because since we started making the album, there's been a little bit of a zeitgeist thing where there's one in Melbourne, there's one in Athens, there's one in Belgrade, and they've all had recent restorations. Dewaele added. And they're now in contact with all these people. So it's now become a lot more part of their repertoire, more than it was in 2016.

Where would menswear be without Black British designers? – i-D

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Statues are falling, conversations are changing. Were in the middle of a much anticipated cultural revolution and its becoming clear that our perception of the world is beyond faulty. Amid those changes, even the ostensibly progressive creative industries are finally recognising their roles in building a flawed system. The Grammys have finally renamed their Urban Contemporary category in an attempt to stop the racial profiling of artists, and even Anna Wintour herself has apologised for the lack of support she has given to Black voices over her 32-year tenure at Vogue.

In place of London Fashion Week Mens, which was supposed to take place this past weekend, the British Fashion Council organised a three-day digital residency programme which saw designers being given a timeslot to showcase their creative output. Some hosted panel discussions, others streamed films, VR presentations and even live gigs. Keeping the conversation relevant to whats happening in the real world, many responded to the Black Lives Matter movement, with the BFCs own programming for #LFWReset focused on amplifying BAME voices.

Joe Casely-Hayford AW95

These are all important gestures of support to creatives that have so often been overlooked, but the obvious question is -- what about those that have already fallen victim to a corrupt system? Just like in general educational curricula, the presence of Black folk in fashion literature is sparse and ambiguous, to say the least. At the Royal College of Art, when we had a brief introduction to the history of fashion, Black designers contributions to history were never really mentioned, remembers Saul Nash, the Hackney-born designer and dancer, and current Fashion East recipient.

One name that may not have made it onto RCAs fashion history reading list, but has played a definitive role in establishing London as a major fashion capital is Joe Casely-Hayford. Born in Kent in 1956 into a line of influential Ghanaian creative polymaths, Joe was one of the first Black British fashion designers to attain mainstream success. After graduating from Saint Martin's School of Art in 1979, he started his career in the early 80s by upcycling surplus military tents into garments, before teaming up with his wife Maria to launch a namesake brand which originally specialised in shirting. His work in both menswear and womenswear earned him multiple nominations at the British Fashion Awards, as well as a broad fanbase that included everyone from Princess Diana to Lou Reed. A lot of people had the issue that they couldnt pigeon-hole him, everyone was always quite quick to make assumptions because of the colour of his skin. But his breadth of talent, which extended in so many different ways, made it impossible to define him as just one thing, explains Charlie Casely-Hayford, Joes son who took over their joint business upon his fathers passing in 2019.

Joe Casely Hayford SS99

Joe was the first-ever designer to design a capsule collection for Topshop back in 1995, and was involved in a whole range of creative ventures including the design of The Barbicans seminal exhibition on the art of African textiles that same year. A decade later, he became the creative director of the heritage Savile Row tailoring brand Gieves & Hawkes, and in 2009, joined arms with his stylist-designer-model son to launch Casely-Hayford. This new brand brought together Joes decades of experience and trailblazing with Charlies new perspective, creating a cross-generational approach to a refined wardrobe. Our collections were an extension of conversations weve been having for years, and thats how we would always design, says Charlie, whose parents never really encouraged him to work in fashion. A large part of that was down to the struggles that he had in the industry, he didnt want his kids to go through the same thing. Still, both my sister [Alice Casely-Hayford, Net-A-Porter & Porter Magazine Content Director] and I ended up in fashion.

When Louis Vuitton first announced Virgil Abloh as its menswear artistic director, he became the first African-American man to head an LVMH-backed brand. Last year, Rihanna was named the Black woman to launch her own brand with the support of the French conglomerate. But before Virgil and Riri, there was Ozwald Boateng. Appointed as the artistic director of Givenchys men's division in 2003, the London-native self-taught designer of Ghanaian descent became the first-ever Black person to head the design team of a French Maison. His appointment didnt come out of nowhere, though -- for two decades beforehand, Ozwald has steadily built a tailoring empire with his signature vivid colours and decorative fabrics, often paying homage to his heritage by elevating classic tailoring with elements of traditional dress.

Oswald Boateng AW96

He created bespoke costumes for some legendary films and TV show -- including some of those outrageous suits Carries BFF Stanford Blatch wore on Sex and The City. Ozwald was a fixture of 00s zeitgeist, but just as he was preparing to take over America, the atmosphere shifted. His vibrant hues and boxy cuts went out of style, swapped out for the outr sex-appeal of exposed chests and slim-fit shirts. The industry quickly forgot about all the barriers he broke. Business declined, global stores were closed, and magazines and newspapers decided to exchange the figure of a confident party boy for an arrogant, out-of-touch man. The Guardian gave his self-produced documentary, A Mans Story, one star, while GQ put him top of their 2014 Worst Dressed list. Thats nine places above Nigel Farage. Long before the overflowing of kindness, the industrys message was clear [read in Heidi Klums voice] one day youre in and the next day youre out.

While he may have been absent from recent fashion week schedules, Ozwalds influence is everywhere. He remains the only Black-owned business on Savile Row, and last year, he hosted a show in New Yorks Apollo Theatre in honour of the 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance.

Indeed, a key issue in the industry remains the lack of a visible presence of Back folk in both business and creative positions in the industry, showing the next generation they too can one day take the helm. This has, however, slowly changed in recent years, as designers like Martine Rose, Nicholas Daley, Wales Bonner and Samuel Ross have picked up the torch and run full-speed ahead into creating successful businesses.

Martine Rose AW20

A South Londoner with her HQ in Tottenham, Martine launched her much-loved eponymous label in 2009 and has regularly collaborated with brands like Napapijri and Nike. Over the past decade, she has been a defining figure in developing what some might define as streetwear but is in fact just a resolutely contemporary take on ready-to-wear. Proving her influence beyond her own brand, Martine became a menswear consultant for Balenciaga when Demna Gvasalia took over the creative direction, a stint she recently finished after three years.

While the consultant role is one that has increasingly been offered to Black figures in fashion whether as collaborative artists or members of diversity panels rarely have they been offered the most lucrative roles.

Diors Resort 2020 show in Morocco came under plenty of criticism when they revealed its theme to be common ground, presenting luxury interpretations of elements of traditional garments from across the African continent. To justify the move, Maria Grazia Chiuri surrounded herself with collaborators who had authority on the subject, including anthropologists, African artists and textile specialists, as well as London-born Grace Wales Bonner. She began her career in 2014 with her CSM graduate collection titled Afrique. An intellectual approach to exploring Black identity in the context of contemporary menswear was quickly defined as her brands core and her immaculate execution made her an industry favourite. Since then, she has won just about every fashion prize out there, curated her own exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, and had Meghan Markle wear a custom Grace Wales Bonner design. PS. Shes 29.

A-COLD-WALL* AW20

Her fellow fashion award darling is Samuel Ross who has had quite an unorthodox experience of getting to the turnover of 12m his brand A-COLD-WALL* hit last year. Originally from Northamptonshire, he studied graphic design and illustration at De Montfort University in Leicester before being taken under Virgil Ablohs wing, assisting him on Off-White as well as on Kanye Wests Yeezy line. In 2015, he finally launched a brand of his own. Fortunately, my home fostered an incredibly creative environment, with memories such as building cameras with my father, discussing architecture, Apple products and visiting computer fairs, Samuel shares.

His conceptual approach to garments as design objects was routinely labelled as streetwear from the beginning. While this term first entered the mainstream fashion vernacular in the 90s, its overuse can almost exclusively be traced to Louis Vuittons AW17 menswear show which debuted Kim Jones infamous Supreme collaboration. In some ways, streetwear has become fashions version of urban -- a catch-all term for all non-white style identities. It's a coded term, a lazy term. Its quite tiresome, and illogical too. To be direct, it often reflects a lack of sensitivity and understanding displayed by the author, Samuel says.

Nicholas Daley SS20. Photography Piczo

Another designer using their platform to spotlight other Black creatives is Nicholas Daley, who established the multi-sensory potential of garments at his CSM graduate show in 2013. Bringing together the influences his Jamaican father and Scottish mother instilled in him growing up, Nicholas asked legendary musician and artist Don Letts to walk in his graduate show. He was really interesting, because of the way he blended punk-rock with reggae music, he says. His shows blend together fashion with live music by performers from Nicholas own creative community. I see fashion as a vehicle for saying so much more. Its the three Cs -- community, craftsmanship and culture -- that are the backbone of what my brand is about.

Proof of recent progress in terms of the representation of Black voices on the fashion week schedule comes in the new wave of emerging menswear designers exploring their multi-cultural backgrounds and complex definitions of British-ness. Priya Ahluwalia consistently merges her dual Indian and Nigerian heritage in both the techniques employed in the production of the garments and their presentation. With a sustainable outlook which includes reworking existing garments and textiles that would otherwise end up in landfill, Priya continues to build the puzzle of her past by creating the fashion of the future. Ahluwalias most recent project is a Jalebi, a photography book which captures Britains first Punjabi community in Southall through the lens of Laurence Ellis. The best thing about London is the accessibility there are so many talented people, as well as suppliers and manufacturers which helps with the process of collaboration, says Priya.

Bianca Saunders SS20. Photography Ronan McKenzie

Also based in South London, Bianca Saunders work focuses on introducing subtly feminine elements to templates of Black masculinity, a theme she originally found by looking at yardie dancehall culture during her MA at RCA. It was about the way some Jamaican men choose to groom from shaping their eyebrows to the upkeep of hair, she explains. Appearance was key to presenting themselves. For Black History Month in November 2019, Bianca curated a show in the stalls of Brixton Village, with some of the photographs by Ronan McKenzie starring her own family wearing Bianca Saunders SS20. Her latest presentation was one of the standout moments of London Fashion Week Mens AW20, as she staged a presentation in which models danced in her fluid, modern tailoring at 9:30am.

The person behind the choreography was Saul Nash, a close friend of Biancas, who himself also creates garments that blend performance and fashion and focuses on the way clothes move. He recognises the big shift in the mentality of the designers which has helped create this network: Were now entering a generation where its not about elbowing each other to get to the top, but its about understanding that were all different and trying to understand how we can work together to get through it.

According to a 2018 report by University of the Arts London, 47% of the students across their five universities (London College of Fashion, Central Saint Martins, Camberwell College of Arts, London College of Communications and Chelsea College of Arts) come from BAME backgrounds. Among them is Cameron Williams, a graduate of this years CSM MA class whose final collection stood out for its explicit yet subversive interpretation of his familys West African heritage. He titled both the outing and his new-found brand Nuba, after a somewhat derogatory name, given to generalise the Nilotic tribes of the Nuba Mountains of Sudan by Arab traders and settlers throughout history.

Cameron Williams AW20. Photography Sharmaarke Ali Adan. Direction Jebi Labembika

For his graduate collection Cameron drew influence from his ancestry by combining the indigenous influences of sculptural wrapping and frugal functionality, with the urban streetwear influences of my surroundings. Its what he defines as an ideal of survival fashion. His plans for the years to come? Funding is also an important factor for me, which I see becoming more accessible as Black-owned businesses within art and fashion are providing financial grants to others, endorsing the progress of upcoming Black professionals. The aim for the near future is to develop into a cultural entity that promotes a world without tokenism, fetishism or colourism, and changes our approach to the understanding of indigenous cultures.

Clearly, there are so many changes that still need to be made, but the sole responsibility [shouldnt] be on Black-owned brands to make these changes, Charlie Casely-Hayford says. Instead, we need to look at structures and how to create a culture of belonging, which means integrating a deeper understanding through the corporate structure -- this includes looking at executive boards and people behind the scenes. The idea of just having a Black model just isnt enough anymore as that wont make a difference on a deeper level.

One thing I have realised recently is how closely my following watches me and absorbs everything I do and say, Bianca adds. As designers, we have this platform to reach a very engaged audience of young fans coming through, we have the power to influence for the better. Hopefully, some of that power will in the future be amplified by those that are already on the top of the pyramid. Whats indisputable in our industry today is the imbalance between the contribution Black fashion designers have made to building contemporary fashion and the attention their work has been given. Instead of just sitting on advisory boards and offering their experiences as consultants, there need to be more Black voices guiding the industry from its highest seats. If it werent for those that came before, the fashion landscape we so deeply cherish would be a pale imitation of what it is today.

Joe Casely-Hayford SS01

Credits

All imagery courtesy of the credited designers

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Where would menswear be without Black British designers? - i-D

The Killing of Rayshard Brooks Shows Police ‘Reform’ Is a Joke – Consortium News

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Reform proponents are advancing a decoy agenda that has been distracting people for generations, writes Caitlin Johnstone.

By Caitlin JohnstoneCaitlinJohnstone.com

A black man named Rayshard Brooks was recently killed by an Atlanta police officer whoshot him in the backwhile he was attempting to run away.

Video footage fromthe police bodycamanda nearby witnessmakes it clear that Brooks resisted arrest after failing a breathalyzer test when police approached him sleeping in his car at a Wendys parking lot, punching an officer and taking a taser the police had attempted to use on him before trying to flee the scene.Video footage fromthe parking lotmakes it clear that Brooks was running away, and, without ceasing to run, pointed the taser at police behind him, at which point he was shot twice in the back by an officernamed Garrett Rolfe.

There is no rational defense of this shooting. If someone is runningawayfrom you with a short-range weapon, it is literally impossible for them to pose an imminent threat to you. Just allowing Brooks to run out of the range of the taser, as he was already trying to do, would have nullified any potential threat to either of the two officers on the scene, because it would have been literally impossible for Brooks to tase them while continuing to run in the direction he was running.

This indisputable and self-evident fact hasnt stopped people from bleating moronic police apologia in my social media notifications since the shooting occurred.

Even leaving aside any debate about policing as it exists in America today, there was absolutely no excuse for Rolfes behavior. They had all of Brooks information. They had his car. They knew where he lived. They could have followed him in their car and called for backup. They could have gone in with backup to arrest him later.

But Rolfe decided to kill. After watching all these protests against police brutality raging throughout his country since the murder of George Floyd, after being confronted with all the public outrage about police killing black men day after day in news headline after news headline, after his society forced him to contemplate police violence and his role in it, Garrett Rolfe still decided to kill. After all that, he watched a black man running away from him, posing no threat to him whatsoever, and he decided to kill.

The fact that cops are so thoroughly inoculated against public demand that they change their behavior makes a complete farce of the decoy police reform agenda that establishment narrative managers have been actively trying to corral the current protest movement into to kill their support for police abolishment.

Theres a feud going on in Americas new protest movement right now between those who wish to abolish, defund, dismantle, and/or disarm the police, and those who want to reform or transform the police. The former are actually pushing for a revolutionary change which actually pushes back against abusive power structures and calls for the creation of a radically different social paradigm, while the latter wants to keep policing institutions in theirirredeemably corrupt stateand add more funding for de-escalation training seminars where grown adults are told not to commit gratuitous acts of violence.

Training seminars which, it turns out, Officer Garrett Rolfe had just completed.

According to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, Rolfe had recently received use of force training,reportsAtlanta news outlet AJC. On April 24, he took a nine-hour course on de-escalation options, his record shows. And on Jan. 9, Rolfe was trained on the use of deadly force at the DeKalb County police academy.

And yet youve got fauxgressive establishment narrative managers like Cenk Uygurpromoting the reform agendaand calling calls to defund the police distracting.

Iwrote the other daythat if these protests end it wont be because tyrants in the Republican Party like Donald Trump and Tom Cotton succeeded in making the case for beating them into silence with the U.S. military. It will be because liberal manipulators succeeded in co-opting and stagnating its momentum. This is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about.

People who claim these protests are the result of some kind of psyop often cite the fact that theyre being supported by Establishment liberals, mainstream media, and giant corporations, but this misses a very important distinction in the dynamic that is at play here. While it is true that these institutions have been expressing general support for the demonstrations and the idea that black lives matter, absolutely none of them are supporting the defunding or abolishment of Americas police force. None of the empires ruling elites support this.

The reason you are seeing manipulation and attempts at co-option in this new movement is because that is exactly whats happening. But it isnt whatsdrivingthe enthusiasm behind the demonstrations. Rather, you are seeing an attempted hijacking of an actual revolutionary agenda that actually challenges actual power institutions (including increasingly common attempts to manipulate the narrative by claiming demands to defund and abolish are actually just calls for reform).

The widespread call to abolish Americas police state, anintegral part of the gluewhich holds the U.S.-centralized empire together, is revolutionary. It is not an exaggeration to say its as interesting and exciting as seeing a mainstream call to end U.S. imperialism, and it is just as threatening to Establishment power structures. The call for reform, in contrast, is just more milquetoast, Obamaesque fauxgressive verbiage designed to stagnate a real revolutionary change movement. It is as interesting and as threatening to Establishment power structures as saying the U.S. should push regime changein Syria rather than Iran.

Police abolishment advocates are pushing for something which would require the complete reconfiguration of power in society. It would end the prison industrial complex and the war on drugs. What we think of as policing would be mostly replaced by something more akin to social work. Police reform proponents are advancing a decoy agenda which peoplehave been distracted by for generationswhile the police force has become increasingly militarized behind a veil of meaningless verbiage about community outreach and training programs.

This is where the real revolutionary energy is at in America right now, so its no wonder Establishment manipulators are doing everything they can to co-opt it into something innocuous which wont disturb actual power structures in the slightest. President Barack Obama made a whole political career out of telling leftwardly inclined Americans that theyre getting what they want without actually giving it to them, and now weve got Democratic Party princeling Andrew Cuomo telling New York protesters You dont need to protest. You won. You won. You accomplished your goal. Society says, youre right. The police need systemic reform.

Its textbook liberal manipulation used to steer the revolutionary zeitgeist into an impotent conceptual tar pit for another few years while the prison bars are reinforced.

As I explained a while back in my article How To Tell Real News From Useless Narrative Fluff, you can tell whats really going on by watching where the money is going, where the weapons are going, where the resources are going and where the people are going. You can see in these demands for dismantling the police state a bunch of people moving around demanding to drastically change all four of these things, and you can see from the liberal narrative managers an agenda to prevent any of those four things from actually changing. And if they win out, you will be able to watch the people, police, weapons and resources continue moving in more or less the exact same way theyve been moving.

Theyre trying to replace a real revolutionary impulse with useless narrative fluff. They have learned that it is much easier to neuter such impulses with empty agreement and a bunch of insubstantial words than to tell them no and stomp them down. Hopefully, the people have learned this too.

Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularlyat Medium. Her work isentirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking her onFacebook, following her antics on Twitter, checking out her podcast on eitherYoutube,soundcloud,Apple podcastsorSpotify, following her onSteemit, throwing some money into her tip jar onPatreonorPaypal, purchasing some of her sweet merchandise, buying her booksRogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin JohnstoneandWoke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers.

This article was re-published with permission.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those ofConsortium News.

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The Killing of Rayshard Brooks Shows Police 'Reform' Is a Joke - Consortium News

Even The Wii U Lived Longer Than The Confederacy – Kotaku

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Did you know every major gaming generation has lasted longer than the Confederacy that sparked the American Civil War? That nascent nation only managed to hold out for a little over four years. And yet, instead of erecting statues to the Xbox, the United States continues to honor Confederate figures with memorials across the country.

Since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police on May 25, the world has been rocked by protests centered around the Black Lives Matter movement. This has sparked many conversations, from the ever-present effects of systemic racism to the role of law enforcement in our communities. Protestors have begun vandalizing and removing monuments to Confederate generals, many of which were erected long after the Civil War as a way of intimidating slave descendants. And as part of this national reckoning, NASCAR decided to ban the flying of Confederate flags at its events, as has the US Navy.

Over the last week, the denizens of the internet have taken to dunking on the Confederacy with examples of things in gaming that lasted longer than its failed rebellion. A joke account devoted to the topic on Twitter pointed out that Too Human was in development longer than the Confederacy existed, and we all know how that turned out. Same with Duke Nukem Forever. Grand Theft Auto V, which will eventually appear on the upcoming PlayStation 5 because why not, has been part of the gaming zeitgeist for twice as long. Halo fans have been waiting for Infinite a year longer than the Confederacy existed. Even Super Smash Bros. Brawls notoriously terrible online servers held out longer.

If anything funny can be said about the Confederacy, its that this supposedly monumental part of Southern history barely registers as a blip. As I mentioned above, every major generation of video game consoles has lasted longer, even as recent generations have gotten shorter. The PlayStation Vita survived for seven years despite sales taking a nosedive shortly after release. Nintendos Wii U, considered by many to be a failure in relation to the success of the original Wii, outlasted the Confederacy by a month.

But why stop there? The fighting game community continues to hold tournaments for the poorly received Street Fighter x Tekken eight years after its release, doubling the amount of time the Confederacy played war for the sole purpose of continuing to brutalize enslaved people. Yandere Simulator development has been trucking for six years. A total of seven Call of Duty games have been released in the same amount of time as the Confederacy desperately avoided having to farm their own plantations. That Game Boy that was blasted to shit in the first Gulf War and now sits on display in the official Nintendo store still works 30 years after the handheld first hit the scene.

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America doesnt take kindly to interrogating its past. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the way it looks back on the Confederacy, whose horrific legacy of slavery has been warped into one of regional pride, both through an extensive rewriting of history and poor education of subsequent generations. When someone bases their entire identity around the short-lived Confederate States of America, what theyre really saying is that they arent ready to let go of their love of plantation-owning fancylads and the racist beliefs they embodied.

Its not my intention to make light of the Confederacy or the unique brand of American brutality that gave birth to it. Its a history that American citizens need to recognize and accept. We shouldnt forget, but we cross a line when these important reminders of previous injustices become venerations of the men that perpetrated them. There is no rehabilitating the Confederacy. We might as well put up monuments to Mario and Solid Snake; at least theyve been around longer and actually made a positive impact on the world.

Looking for ways to advocate for black lives? Check out this list of resources by our sister site Lifehacker for ways to get involved.

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Even The Wii U Lived Longer Than The Confederacy - Kotaku

A woke new world: Who deemed the outdated attitudes on display in 2019s Aladdin movie unacceptable in 2020? – RT

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Sky Movies placed a warning on the Disney remake letting viewers know that they might be offended by a childrens film. If I had three wishes for corporate wokeness they would be stop, stop and please, please, please stop.

Life comes at you fast, as the kids say, but it apparently hurtles towards you at the speed of sound, if youre Sky Movies. The entertainment provider has taken to putting warnings on films that display outdated attitudes and cultural depictions which may cause offence today and this apparently includes the Aladdin adaptation that came out last year.

Im just about old enough to remember the dim and distant days of May 2019, when the Guy Ritchie offering received its cinematic release. A very dark time for the movie industry, replete with hideous racism. I mean how could anyone watching this remake of the 1992 animation, with its virtually entirely ethnic-minority casting, not conclude it was an obvious racist dog whistle?

Will Smith can only have taken the role of the genie because he wanted to mock the Middle East. Ritchie himself was clearly trying to sneak his deep-seated contempt for Arabs into the cultural zeitgeist by implying they all ride magic carpets, believe in jinn, and frequently and spontaneously burst into song. Frankly, how Disney ever signed off on the project is staggering, now we view it through the enlightened eyes of 2020. How anyone can look back on what we thought was acceptable 13 months ago with anything but a mixture of horror and disgust is beyond me.

Personally, Im shocked that it got away with a PG (Parental Guidance) rating at the time. How on earth could the British Board of Film Classification possibly have thought it acceptable for children to watch a blue Will Smith dance around in a spangly turban? Those poor kids must either have been scarred for life or will have to undergo extensive re-education. I mean, the only appropriate solution for any child whose parents took them to the cinema to see Aladdin is that they should be immediately taken into care to stop them from growing up to be white supremacists.

And Aladdin isnt the only movie that Sky is warning us has outdated attitudes. Aliens obviously does (though those views are presumably outdated because its set in the future, so humanity hasnt had a chance to develop them yet), and The Jungle Book remake from 2016 carries the warning, too, as do Flash Gordon and Trading Places. Tropic Thunder and White Chicks also both bear the advisory, perhaps for more obvious reasons, but both of those movies are still less than 20 years old and stirred up no controversy at the time, being widely praised as great comedies.

Obviously, this all started with the Gone with the Wind debacle, which also fell foul of the outdated attitudes warning on Sky, having been pulled altogether by HBO last week for the same reason. But while that movie which, incidentally, provided the role that earned the first Oscar for a black actress, in the shape of Hattie McDaniel was made in 1939, whereas Aladdin was made last year. Woke madness is currently rocketing through time at a rate previously achieved only by Marty McFly.

Bizarrely, neither 12 Years a Slave nor Django Unchained have been slapped with this warning, despite literally being about slavery and both containing dialogue that virtually uses the n-word as a form of punctuation.

This nonsense needs to stop. It makes the entire woke brigade look ridiculous. How can you expect anyone to believe your movement isnt operating some kind of year zero approach to the world when its terrifying corporations into slapping outdated attitudes trigger warnings on childrens films from the previous calendar year? Aladdin is a light-hearted Disney musical, not Birth of a Nation or Triumph of the Will, and even if it were, watching movies doesnt make someone a racist. Erasing the past is bad enough erasing yesterday is completely insane.

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A woke new world: Who deemed the outdated attitudes on display in 2019s Aladdin movie unacceptable in 2020? - RT

Freedom Day Bailouts Get Several Men Behind Bars Out Before Father’s Day | 90.1 FM WABE – WABE 90.1 FM

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Atlantas historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, in connection with the grassroots bailout organization, The Love Project 404, made it possible for some men behind bars to spend Fathers Day 2020 at home.

Since its inception three years ago, the Freedom Day Bailout has raised enough money for dozens many who are in need of treatment or rehabilitation to make bail. Organizers told Morning Edition host Lisa Rayam that 10 men made it out of Fulton and DeKalb jails on Friday to see their families.

Ebenezers social justice chair, Tiffany Roberts, said this time around had special meaning in wake of the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks by Atlanta police; Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed by armed white men near Brunswick, Georgia; and ongoing protests over police violence nationwide.

We understand that state violence exists on a continuum, Roberts said.

So its not just when someone is killed that we should be concerned, but we should be concerned about the entire system that says to black men, and black people in general, that they are criminals.

The way that black people are treated in the justice system, Roberts believes, is by design. Ebenezer and Love Project 404 are working to collect money for various projects like the Freedom Day Bailout.

Its no accident the bailout falls on Juneteenth which recognizes when the last enslaved African Americans deep in Confederate territory in Galveston, Texas, were told they were free. Months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered in Virginia, Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, to announce that the Civil War had ended. The Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln had been issued in 1863, more than two years earlier.

Nicole Moore

Many African Americans see Juneteenth as a true day of independence, according to historian Nicole Moore, Director of Education at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

News traveled slowly, and you didnt have Union occupation in farther states to really enforce it, Moore said.

She looks at the Emancipation Proclamation as a start, but said people dont really understand all of the details of that document.

It only freed those held in enslavement in the rebellious states, the Confederate states. And not everybody was freed by it, she said.

Today, she said, we are still fighting for that enforcement of equal rights.

We celebrate freedom, we celebrate liberation, but we also recognize that theres so much work that still has to be done.

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Freedom Day Bailouts Get Several Men Behind Bars Out Before Father's Day | 90.1 FM WABE - WABE 90.1 FM

This Week in Technology + Press Freedom: June 21, 2020 – Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

The Reporters Committee urged a federal court on Friday to deny the Trump administrations request for an emergency order that would block the publication and disseminationof a highly anticipated memoir written by former National Security Adviser John Bolton. In afriend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Reporters Committee argued that the requested injunction amounts to an unconstitutional prior restraint.

Such an extraordinarily broad injunction would be a clear prior restraint that violates long-settled constitutional law,said Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The court must reject this effort to censor the free flow of information to the public about government activities.

On Saturday, a federal judgedenied the governments request.

Heres what the staff of the Technology and Press Freedom Project at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is tracking this week.

After a journalist contacted The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto in 2017 about a suspicious phishing attempt, researchers recently uncovered a huge hack-for-hire operation, dubbedDark Basin,that targeted thousands of people in journalism, business, banking, law, and especially the nonprofit sector.

Researchers linked Dark Basin to BellTroX InfoTech Services, an Indian tech firm owned by Sumit Gupta. Gupta, who in 2015 wasindicted on federal hacking chargesin California,denied the allegationsin an interview with Reuters.

Dark Basin targeted a range of organizations and, in several cases, the journalists connected to them. For example, hackers attempted to infiltrate American environmental advocacy groups, including the Rockefeller Family Fund, Greenpeace, and350.org, as well as multiple major US media outlets who covered the groups work on the#ExxonKnew climate change campaign. The hackers also targeted Free Press and Fight for the Future, organizations that advocate for open internet policies.

Other targets included financial and business journalists covering irregularities at the German company Wirecard AG, along with hedge funds, investigators and short sellers connected to the investigation. According to some of the targets, the hackers obtained and altered emails, including correspondence between journalists and sources. These were then published on various platforms as part of a leaks campaign.

In addition to these campaigns, researchers found Dark Basin targeted lawyers, government officials, oligarchs, and energy executives, all with varying degrees of sophistication. The hackers made numerous phishing attempts by sending emails from custom URL shorteners. Some of the phishing emails imitated colleagues, while others were disguised as horoscopes or pornographic websites.

In our investigation, we determined that hiring hackers may be a relatively common practice for many private investigators, John Scott-Railton, the reports lead author,told the New York Times. The sheer scale of it is remarkable to us.

Despite the danger, a recentreport by the Tow Center for Digital Journalismfound that many journalists are not particularly careful with their digital security. In newsrooms short on time and money, digital security may seem like an unnecessary burden, and some journalists believe as long as they are not covering sensitive topics they will not be targeted. Often newsrooms that adopt security protocols do so informally, with some journalists becoming trainers for others.

This episode highlights the information security risks for journalists, and the continuing need for threat modeling and appropriate security protections in newsrooms.

Abe Kenmore

A San Francisco policememo obtained by the Reporters Committeethrough a public records request last week revealed that officers were instructed not to use body-worn cameras during last years illegal raid of journalist Bryan Carmodys home because the video footage could compromise the confidential investigation. All five search warrants, some of which targeted Carmodys phone records, were laterdeemed illegalunder Californiasshield law. In March, the city of San Franciscoagreed to pay Carmody $369,000to settle with him.

The New York City Councilenactedalawrequiring the New York Police Department to share with the public its surveillance tools and any privacy safeguards it employs to protect the rights of citizens. The Brennan Center for Justice has alreadycataloguedmany of the ways the NYPD surveils residents, including with the use of facial recognition technology and social media monitoring.

On Monday, Filipino journalists Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr.were convicted of cyber libelfor a story they published in Rappler, a Philippines-based news outlet that Ressa founded. Look for further analysis next week on the implications of cyber libel claims for journalists globally.

Six former eBay employeesare facing federal chargesfor allegedly harassing a husband and wife who published an e-commerce newsletter. The Department of Justice alleges the ex-employees retaliated against the couple for negative coverage of eBay by threatening them through Twitter, then sending them a bloody pig mask, a box of cockroaches, pornography, and a funeral wreath, among other objects. eBay said all six employees were fired in September 2019.

Twitter recentlyaskeda Virginia judge for the second time to dismiss the defamation claims brought against it by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) involving two anonymous parody accounts and other tweets. Lawyers for the social media company saidSection 230 of the Communications Decency Actprovides immunity from Nunes claims.

The Trump campaigndemandedthat CNN retract and apologize for a recent poll that showed him lagging behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, though the network refused to do so.

An internal CIAreport, published in 2017 after former CIA analyst Joshua Schulte wasaccusedof leaking material about the agencys hacking tools to WikiLeaks, found the cybersecurity of its elite hacking unit lacking. Schultes attorneys noted this in his trial earlier this year, pointing out that other employees could have accessed and downloaded the leaked data. Jurorsdeadlockedon whether Schulte provided the material to WikiLeaks.

The director and deputy director of Voice of Americaresignedlast week after congress confirmed Michael Pack, a conservative activist, as the new leader of the agency that oversees the federally funded news service. Their departures followWhite House criticism of VOAand news last Sunday that the Centers for Disease Control and Preventioninstructed communications staffto ignore media requests from the outlet.

Smart read

According torecently published reportsby Gallup and the Knight Foundation, 74% of Americans are very concerned about the spread of misinformation on the internet. The reports present other data, including numbers on how Americans view technology companies and content moderation.

Gif of the Week:To all the dads out there: Thanks for putting up with us always being on our phones and Happy Fathers Day!

Like what youve read?Sign up to get This Week in Technology + Press Freedom delivered straight to your inbox!

The Technology and Press Freedom Project at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press uses integrated advocacy combining the law, policy analysis, and public education to defend and promote press rights on issues at the intersection of technology and press freedom, such as reporter-source confidentiality protections, electronic surveillance law and policy, and content regulation online and in other media. TPFP is directed by Reporters Committee Attorney Gabe Rottman. He works with Stanton Foundation National Security/Free Press Fellow Linda Moon, Legal Fellows Jordan Murov-Goodman and Lyndsey Wajert, Policy Interns Abe Kenmore and Joey Oteng, and Legal Intern Sasha Peters.

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This Week in Technology + Press Freedom: June 21, 2020 - Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

The Juneteenth flag is full of symbols. Here’s what they mean – CNN

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

The flag is the brainchild of activist Ben Haith, founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation (NJCF). Haith created the flag in 1997 with the help of collaborators, and Boston-based illustrator Lisa Jeanne Graf brought their vision to life.The flag was revised in 2000 into the version we know today, according to the National Juneteenth Observation Foundation. Seven years later, the date "June 19, 1865" was added, commemorating the day that Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and told enslaved African Americans of their emancipation.

For two decades now, communities around the country have held flag-raising ceremonies on Juneteenth in celebration of their freedom.

"This country has so many aspects to it that are spiritual, and I believe this flag is of that nature," Haith said. "It (the idea for the design) just came through me."

Designing the flag and its symbols was a deliberate process, Haith said. Here's what each element of the flag represents.

The star

The white star in the center of the flag has a dual meaning, Haith said.

But the star also goes beyond Texas, representing the freedom of African Americans in all 50 states.

The burst

The bursting outline around the star is inspired by a nova, a term that astronomers use to mean a new star.

On the Juneteenth flag, this represents a new beginning for the African Americans of Galveston and throughout the land.

The arc

The curve that extends across the width of the flag represents a new horizon: the opportunities and promise that lay ahead for black Americans.

The colors

The red, white and blue represents the American flag, a reminder that slaves and their descendants were and are Americans.

June 19, 1865, represents the day that enslaved black people in Galveston, Texas, became Americans under the law.

And while African Americans today are still fighting for equality and justice, Haith said those colors symbolize the continuous commitment of people in the United States to do better -- and to live up to the American ideal of liberty and justice for all.

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The Juneteenth flag is full of symbols. Here's what they mean - CNN

We Have to Talk About Liberating Minds: Angela Davis’ Quotes on Freedom – AnOther Magazine

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

June 19 is celebrated annually across America as Juneteenth, a holidaythat marks the freedom of formerly enslaved African Americans: on June 19, 1865, it was proclaimed that all slaves in Texas, the final Confederate state to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation at the end of the Civil War, were now free. In the more than 150 years since, Juneteenth also known as Freedom Day or Liberation Day has been celebrated by African American communities throughout the USA, and many are campaigning for the day to become an official national holiday.

In 2020, Juneteenth arrives amid the context of the largest civil rights protests across the world since the 1960s. This years protests were sparked by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who died at the hands of a white police officer in the city on May 25. Recent weeks have been both a time for action, with protests organised by the globalBlack Lives Matter movement, and also education: in order to effect change, we must learn about systemic racism, racial bias,white privilege and the historieswere not taught in school and continue learning, even as news cyclesmove on and momentum might seem to slow. A celebration of freedom feels poignant, when racist acts of police brutality and violence have galvanised protesters to join the ongoing fight against racism, not just in America but in countries the world over, including the UK.

Angela Davis has long fought for freedom. Hers is a voice that many have sought out and shared in recent weeks, though she has been actively campaigning for racial justice for over 50 years. In the early 1970s, Free Angela became a worldwide rallying cry when Davis was imprisoned and later on trial for charges of murder, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy (guns that she had bought legally were used for an attack on Marin County Courthouse, in which hostages were taken and four people killed). Free Angela moved beyond politics and into pop culture: the Rolling Stones wrote Sweet Black Angelabout her, and Aretha Franklin declared in Jet magazine in 1970: Angela Davis must go free. Black people will be free Jail is hell to be in, Im going to set her free if theres any justice in our courts not because I believe in communism, but because shes a black woman and she wants freedom for black people.

It was while she was incarcerated that the interview featured in The Black Power Mixtape 19671975 was filmed, impassioned clips of Davis speaking on violence and revolution from which have been shared widely since the films release in 2011. As a professor and activist, she has fought for the abolition of prisons, spoken out against the prison-industrial complex and capitalism, and continuously campaigned for racial justice via her books, speeches and teaching. With Davis long-fought struggle for liberation in mind, we have compiled a selection of her powerful words on freedom (these quotations can act as a starting point, with a list of further resources also included below).

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We Have to Talk About Liberating Minds: Angela Davis' Quotes on Freedom - AnOther Magazine

Journalism Instructor Leading Online Freedom of Information Event – Ole Miss News

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

OXFORD, Miss. The University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media will co-sponsor a Zoom event Tuesday (June 23) that explores open meetings, public records and what the public is entitled to know about COVID-19.

Ellen Meacham, adjunct instructor of journalism, will lead the 11 a.m. event, which is open to the public. It features Leonard Van Slyke, a longtime media law attorney who mans the hotline for the Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information.

Tune into the Zoom meeting at 11 a.m. Tuesday by clicking this link.

Although this is designed with journalists in mind, public records and public meetings laws are for all members of the public, so anyone can attend, said Meacham, who will take questions from the audience.

The event is also sponsored by the Mississippi Press Association Education Foundation, the Mississippi Broadcasters Association and the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics.

We will talk about some of the most common questions Mr. Van Slyke gets on the Freedom of Information hotline, she said. We will especially focus on what should be available for reporters and other member of the public relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We will talk about what issues must be talked about in open meetings and when a government board can and cannot go behind closed doors. Well talk about what information should be available and how to get information about law enforcement, too.

Meacham said she hopes those who attend the online event realize that the work that public officials do is paid for by the taxpayers and belongs to them.

Of course there are a few exceptions, but, in general, the publics business should be done in public, and residents and the reporters who represent them are on solid ground when they seek that information, she said. I hope people who attend this will learn what they can get and what options they have if they run into obstacles.

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Journalism Instructor Leading Online Freedom of Information Event - Ole Miss News

Dozens gather for freedom march and rally in downtown Columbus – 10TV

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

I just want to do this this time so we dont want to have to do this 50 years from now."

COLUMBUS, Ohio A rally and march recognizing Juneteeth which celebrates the freedom of enslaved people in this country was held in downtown Columbus Saturday and drew dozens of people.

Those who gathered chanted: Black Lives Matter or No justice, no peace words that have become a familiar chorus during protests across the country over the past four weeks since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. The messages of those who gathered Saturday were a mix of celebration and calls to action.

This is a struggle that weve going through for centuries and decades. And we are just trying to change history and do our part and everybody out here is trying to be on the right side of history out here, said Nickalos Reid.

Those taking part in the marched along East Broad Street to Mayme Moore Park more than a mile away.

I just want to do this this time so we dont want to have to do this 50 years from now. We dont want to have to do this every couple of years every time they kill somebody, said Lavon Haynes.

Along the route 10TV News spoke to Haynes who brought his family with him and says the events that followed George Floyds death in police custody have been hard to explain to his kids.

Unfortunately, I have had to have that talk with a five-year old and eight-year old and a 13-year old. We dont want to keep doing this, Haynes said. It was rough. Brings a tear to my eye.

You want to see a grown man cry, let them talk about police brutality.

The organizers of todays event tell me it was not simply about making their voices heard although that was part of it. But it was also about, in their view, celebrating our community.

This is to bring everybody, Black, white, Latino, gay, lesbian, whatever you are come together to this event lets celebrate everybodys freedom not just on the fourth of July. But also on Juneteenth, said India Riley, one of the event organizers.

While Saturdays event and march were without incident as 10TV covered them, some protesters told us they were upset by another group who showed up at the Ohio Statehouse Saturday morning and were cleaning and scrubbing some of what had been painted along the sidewalk including the word Black in the Black Lives Matter that had been painted on the sidewalk outside the Statehouse.

An emailed message was left with a member of the other group who can be seen on cell phone scrubbing and using cleaning solution on the sidewalk. Some who attended Saturdays rally vowed to re-paint the words Black Lives Matter."

Originally posted here:

Dozens gather for freedom march and rally in downtown Columbus - 10TV

Justice Thomas concludes that the "freedom of speech" is a Privilege or Immunity under the 14th Amendment – Reason

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Today the Supreme Court denied review in Kansas v. Boettger. This case considered whether "the First Amendment prohibits States from criminalizing threats to '[c]ommit violence . . . in reckless disregard of the risk of causing . . . fear.'" Justice Thomas dissented from the denial of certiorari. He concluded that "the Constitution likely permits States to criminalize threats even in the absence of any intent to intimidate." And he did not think this case was governed by Virginia v. Black (2003). (Thomas dissented inBlack).

At the outset of his analysis, Thomas once again rejects substantive due process incorporation. instead, he says that the First Amendmentan enumerated rightis protected by the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Fourteenth Amendment provides that "[n]o Stateshall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." 1.As I have previously explained, "[t]he evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that the privileges and immunities of such citizens included individual rights enumerated in the Constitution." McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 823 (2010) (opinion concurring in part and concurring in judgment). One of those rights is "the freedom of speech" in the First Amendment. See, e.g., Cong. Globe, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., 2765 (1866) (speech of Sen. Howard).The Fourteenth Amendment provides that "[n]o Stateshall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." 1.As I have previously explained, "[t]he evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that the privileges and immunities of such citizens included individual rights enumerated in the Constitution." McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 823 (2010) (opinion concurring in part and concurring in judgment). One of those rights is "the freedom of speech" in the First Amendment. See, e.g., Cong. Globe, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., 2765 (1866) (speech of Sen. Howard).

This conclusion follows from McDonald. This is the first time (as best as I can recall) that Thomas has grounded the freedom of speech in the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Thomas then expressly considers historical evidence leading up to Reconstruction.

The prevalence of statutes from the founding through Reconstruction that did not require intent to intimidate provides strong evidence of the meaning of the freedom of speech protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Thomas raised similar points inElonis v. United States. But that case did not involve incorporation.

Justice Thomas concludes that the "freedom of speech" is a Privilege or Immunity under the 14th Amendment - Reason

Freedom launches Pilot to simplify teleoperation on third-party robots – TechCrunch

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

We knew remotely operated robotics were going to have their moment soon enough but few predicted how much the category would be forced to accelerate in 2020. Its true that many of the pieces were already in place, including the technology and the desire to innovate, but a global pandemic turned out to be the secret sauce here. Anything companies can do to remove potential human contamination from the process is going to move to the top of the list.

The timing is certainly perfect for Bay Area-based Freedom Robotics. Back in July of last year, the startup announced a $6.6 million raise. More recently, co-founder and CEO Joshua Wilson joined myself and Nvidias Claire Delaunay onstage at TechCrunchs robotics event in March. Off-stage, Wilson showed me software Freedom had been developing: a solution designed to make remote operation a plug and play process for robotics companies.

Image Credits: Freedom Robotics

That software was Pilot. The company is finally ready to discuss it in full, just as many companies are getting really serious about remote operations. The secret sauce here is simplicity, allowing for a wide range of different robotics form factors to create remote operations on various devices, including smartphones, laptops and tablets. Freedom says theyll be able to do it with a single line of code. Whats more, inexperienced operators should be able to control the robots almost instantly.

COVID has accelerated robotics deployments by five years, co-founder and CTO Hans Lee tells TechCrunch. People need robotstodayand our robotics customers cant keep up with the demand to build them. We are seeing a ton of longer-term robotics platforms in development pivot to launching in less than 60 days with a significantly simpler system and with humans in the loop. It has really reinforced the value of ourPilotfeature and we are excited to be helping make hospitals, streets, agriculture and other areas significantly safer during COVID.

A number of robotics companies are already utilizing the tech, including Bangalores Invento Robotics and UCLA spin-off Cyan Robotics. Along with teleoperations, the company is pitching the technology as a stepping stone toward full autonomy. Key applications at the moment are delivery and warehouse robotics, both of which are in high-demand during the pandemic.

Commercial cleaning robots are now narrowly targeted at sanitizing. In agriculture vegetable and fruit picking labor shortages have become national news there is limited time until harvest, Freedoms head of robotics Steve Hansen tells TechCrunch. What were seeing is people who previously had longer, more elaborate plans to build out automation systems are coming to us looking to ship their robots quicker with remote teleoperators as a backstop and are in need of dev tools they can use to tune and fix their robots literally in the fields.

Image Credits: Freedom Robotics

Pilot features allow you to ship these robots now and fill in the gaps of bugs and missing features with human operators as you scale each deployment, Freedom writes. You can also supplement your autonomous capabilities with a human backstop to make tough decisions and add in human-level intelligence before algorithms are fully tuned. By rethinking things to include remote human operators in the mix, you can be on the fastest path to a fully autonomous system that meets your customers needs and also positively impacts the world.

Freedom is currently offering free trial accounts for Pilot that includes one year for one robot. Theres a tiered pricing structure beyond that.

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Freedom launches Pilot to simplify teleoperation on third-party robots - TechCrunch

Gov. Stitt says Trump rally attendees ‘have freedom to stay home’ if concerned about contracting COVID-19 – Tulsa World

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Danzig

Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday reaffirmed his support for President Donald Trump's campaign appearance in Tulsa despite growing concerns about Oklahoma's rising coronavirus cases.

In a Friday interview on "America's Newsroom" on the FOX News network, Stitt said Oklahoma is a good position to host Saturday's rally at the BOK Center because of how the state has been able to mitigate coronavirus outbreaks.

"Well, what we can tell you is that I made 25 different executive orders over the last 60 days, and we peaked in hospitalizations at 560 back in March," Stitt said. "Today, we have 211. We have been safely reopening. We were one of the first states to start reopening. So, were 57 days into our reopening campaign, and we feel like its the right time to start reopening."

In response toTulsa Health Department Director Bruce Dart's saying the indoor rally could trigger a super-spreader occurrence, Stitt encouraged those with concerns about attending the event to stay home.

"My response to those folks the naysayers: When is the right time?" The coronavirus is in the United States; it's in Oklahoma," said Stitt. "We have to take precautions. We have the freedom to stay home. You have the freedom to come to this rally."

On Friday morning, Oklahomarecorded 352 new COVID-19 infections along with three deaths related to the virus. Since June 5, the state has accumulated more than 1,800 new coronavirus cases.

Related content about the Trump rally in Tulsa

Gallery: Trump supporters out Friday in downtown Tulsa for campaign rally

President Donald Trump supporter Randall Thom rides a scooter Friday with a flag attached to it in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

A bust of President Donald Trump sits on a barricade on in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

A bust of President Donald Trump sits on a barricade on Fourth Street and Boulder Avenue in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Andrea Garrett puts her contact lenses in as she and other Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

A woman looks out of a window at the Irving Building as Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

A heavy rain falls as Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Trump supporters line up and camp on in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Barricades block Fourth Street at Cheyenne Avenue as Trump supporters line up and camp ahead of Saturday's campaign in Tulsa. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Mike Pellerin waves a Donald Trump campaign flag near a barricade after driving all night from Austin, Texas, to line up and camp with other Trump supporters in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. The area for several blocks around the BOK Center is barricaded. Upon arriving Pellerin said he needed to burn some energy before taking a nap. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Mary Kent is greeted by steel barricades as she exits her home in the Adams Building in downtown Tulsa ahead of President Donald Trump's Saturday campaign rally. Kent was traveling to a doctor's appointment. Several blocks around the BOK Center have been barricaded. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Karson Curttright of Enid films members of the media as he and other Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Vincent Ruiz removes lamps from the Adams Building so they don't get damaged ahead of President Donald Trump's Saturday campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Mary Kent is greeted by steel barricades as she exits her home in the Adams Building. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Messages in the Adams Building window as Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Preston Hanning sleeps as Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Rose Brown of Tulsa and other Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Robert Harper traveled from Boston to attend President Donald Trump's Saturday campaign rally. Harper is originally from Tulsa. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Trump supporters are seen from an apartment window in the Irving Building. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

A motorist plays and sings an anti Donald Trump song as he passes supporters in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Jerome Garvin, manager of the Irving Building, sits in his apartment as Trump supporters line in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Messages in the Adams Building window as Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Mike Pellerin drove all night from Austin, Texas, to line up and camp with other Trump supporters in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturdays campaign rally.MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

A Trump vendor shields herself from the rain as supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Trump supporters shield themselves from a hard rain as they line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Caroline DeVenuto from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, shouts near a vendor of Donald Trump merchandise as the presidents supporters camp in Tulsa on Friday.MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Trump supporter Blake Marnell of San Diego walks in the rain as he and others line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Risa Holland of Wichita, Kan., shouts, "Eight more years" as she and other Trump supporters line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Jennifer, who declined to give her last name, takes photos of Trump supporters in the rain as they line up and camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Workers set up fences for lines ahead of President Donald Trump's Saturday campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

President Donald Trump supporter Angela Perkins makes a sign about the Fake News while camping in line in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturday's campaign rally. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Esther Seim and Elijah Pearrow, supporters of President Donald Trump, rest in their tent as they camp in downtown Tulsa ahead of Saturdays campaign rally.MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

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Gov. Stitt says Trump rally attendees 'have freedom to stay home' if concerned about contracting COVID-19 - Tulsa World

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