This website and podcast has been busy this week preparing a new podcast episode while writing about J. D. Vance and his misrepresentation of his ethnic background. I thought enough had been said. But wait. What is this all about? In 2013, while both were attending the elite Yale Law School, J. D. Vance […]
The image shown is the family tree of J. D. Vance, Trump’s pick as GOP running mate in this November’s election. I’ll explain the funny little flag symbols at the end of this shortish piece… Aside from being Trump’s new poodle, J. D. Vance is the author of the notorious New York […]
Writing the day after a young man attempted to shoot Donald Trump in the head, one question comes to mind. Whither the USA? Do decent Americans appreciate the gravity of the current political situation? The rabble have a “blood martyr” now. The sheer power of Christian nationalist ideology to make people blind to any […]
They say there are only six basic building blocks or themes behind every story ever told. Some storytellers know this, others don’t. The ones who realise this usually try harder to bring something new or surprising to the table. When it’s done cleverly, like in the Coen Brothers retelling of a 2,500 year-old story […]
I’ve been thinking about the extreme right’s current obsession with “The Great Replacement”, and their deep interest in the preservation of a “white European race”… Even if a person could demonstrate that ALL of their ancestors came from Central or Northern Europe, this still would not mean that they are in any sense “racially […]
As expected, this blog and podcast is beginning to be noticed by “white” Christian nationalist ideologues. I find myself conflicted trying to decide whether the people commenting from this ideological position should be ignored or blocked. It is beyond laughable that anyone with deep roots in colonial-era America would use iconography associated with medieval […]
The <activist> Supreme Court of the USA handed down a decision a few weeks ago. In their infinite wisdom, they have decided that a ban on “bump stocks” should not stand. That every American should have the “right” to make their semi-automatic weapon function like a fully automatic weapon. How many mass shootings in […]
This is probably a perfect encapsulation of the political complexities and divisions at the heart of US society. As early as 1921, 94% of the electricity distributed in the USA was controlled by privately-owned holding companies. In 1920, wealthy automobile manufacturer Henry Ford had attempted to implement a plan to dam the […]
Many believe the 20th century “norm” among American men of being clean-shaven with short hair was mostly due to grooming standards set by the military during two world wars. 1) An effective seal for gas masks cannot be achieved with a bearded face. 2) The fitting of steel helmets was made easier by requiring […]
This post is going slightly off-piste for a sociology and history website, so my apologies. It is now utterly clear that social media platforms throttle the visibility of users/writers who post things not matching a certain “preferred” model. Mentioning certain political “situations”, such as the attempted ethnic-cleansing taking place in Gaza, will result in […]
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