#RIPChyna – former WWE superstar becomes the latest victim of an industry where people are disposable and life is cheap (because that’s what’s best for business) I woke to the news this morning of Joanie Laurer’s death. Known to professional wrestling fans as Chyna – “the 9th Wonder of the World” – Laurer was only 45. Details aren’t available yet, but
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Sweeping misogyny charges by Clinton supporters are insulting, corrosive, patronizing and counter-productive. An all-too-common theme we hear from supporters of Hillary Clinton is that the opposition to her results from misogyny. Sometimes we’re told this in just those words, and other times the charge masquerades behind sentiments that are intended to read as more affirming, like we see in the
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PayPal, the NBA and Bruce Springsteen are well-intentioned, but they’re punishing the wrong people. I have a solution. By now you know all about North Carolina’s appalling HB2 – “the bathroom law” – which seeks to keep transgendered people out of the wrong restroom even though in all of history they have committed fewer crimes in bathrooms than Republican legislators.
Read moreQ: What’s the Mexican word for “heat”? A: El heat. Yes, the La NBA is back with its annual Latin Heritage promotion, where it pays tribute to the league’s Latino fans by replacing the English team names on uniforms with their Mexican equivalents. Examples: As you can see, it’s easy to speak Mexican.
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These things are not mutually exclusive. I want to show you two pictures – ones you may have seen recently – and ask you a simple question: what is being communicated? What are the subject, the photographer and the publisher saying to you?
Read moreWhen “political correctness” and bad journalism collide… I appreciate the fact that we live in an age where finally – finally – we have grown more sensitive on issues like race, gender, sexual orientation and privilege. (I wish I could add class to that list, but so far I can’t.) I’m sincere about this. The language we use can do more
Read moreA question of black and white
Read moreWould the GOP have deported Yogi Berra? Item 1: Yogi died last week. He was an American icon of the first order and a legendary practitioner of the national pastime. Wikipedia sums his career up nicely. An 18-time All-Star and 10-time World Series champion as a player, Berra had a career batting average of .285, while compiling 358 home runs and
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When I was in graduate school at Iowa State in the late 1980s I hit a period, during my second year, where a little homesickness set in. So I did something to remind myself of the place and people I was missing: I bought a Confederate flag and affixed it to my desk in the office, which I shared with
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For our founding fathers, “people” was a euphemism” that meant “rich white men.” Sadly, the same is true for many of our current leaders.
Read more“…he is ‘seeking guidance on how I can learn from this and make sure it never happens again‘.” Here’s some guidance: DON’T SING RACIST SONGS ANYMORE YOU FUCKNOZZLE. It’s. Just. Not. That. Hard. Jesus is coming, and he’d Sooner live in hell than Oklahoma.
Read morePick a football site, any football site. Right now the raging topic of discussion is the abominably racist behavior of some Chelsea fans on a Paris subway platform in advance of the club’s Champions League Round of 16 match vs. Paris St. Germaine yesterday. What the heck, try The Guardian. Many of you know that I’m a Chelsea supporter. And if you
Read moreFerguson, MO is currently a dumpster full of flaming grease and it’s a long way from being extinguished. As I have been watching the Michael Brown/Darren Wilson case unfold, a few things have occurred to me. 1: Let’s just get this out of the way first: there were two distinct groups in the streets the other night. Group A comprised people
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Plus-size fashion? Sure, as long as you don’t care about color. I had kind of a WTF? moment at work today, that turned into a moment that made me think, and finally into a full-blown depressing moment. We’re working on a project for a retailer that sells a wide range of clothing to women. We were examining the strategic keyword
Read moreTwo decades ago the WaPo condemned the use of “Redskins.” A generation later, by god they’re doing something about it. Sorta. Way back in 1992 the Washington Post concluded that “the time-hallowed name bestowed upon the local National Football League champions — the Redskins — is really pretty offensive.” (Emphasis mine.) A rough estimate based on occurrences of “redskin” in a WaPo
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lullaby pit 