Video Thread 10/11/2020

 Posted by at 2:47 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 112020
 


The Deomcratic Coaliton

I would say the black mayors in this Joe Boden ad are really singing my song – but the truth is, it is I who try to sing theirs as loudly as I can.

An object lesson in comparing and contrasting.

Now This News – The flannel moth caterpillar is finally going viral (no CC because no sound). If you actually see one of these, don’t touch it – their defense mechanism is a chemical which causes skin irritation.

Glad Beau is addressing this, though it’s only one form of topsy-turvydom which is modern Republicanism. I would say, instead of “the Constitution failed,” I would say “we failed our Constitution” when imbalance happens … as it has and will again.

Supreme Court petition updates
Daily Kos (Immigration)

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Open Thread – 10/11/2020

 Posted by at 11:29 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 112020
 

It’s still a tired day here in the CatBox, even though I feel much better after some much needed rest.  I had an egg burrito for breakfast with apple juice and yogurt.  Today is also a Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  I’ll be on light-meditation, as my Broncos have a bye week.  Tomorrow please expect no more than a Personal  Update.  It’s a morning WWWendy Day, complete with TomCat de-stinking and semi-gooping.  Have a fine Sunday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me  4:26 (average 5:51).  To do click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Republicans suck Koch, dead or alive!

Trump* Virus Update:

1011TrumpVirusMap

Click for several interactive maps and charts

US Cases: 7,947,549
US Deaths: 219,296
Plus all the Trump*/GOP murders Republicans are hiding from us

Short Takes:

From Alternet: On Friday night, Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham debated his Democratic challenger Jamie Harrison virtually because Graham refused to submit to a COVID-19 test.

As a result, both Graham and Harrison were separately asked debate questions. And on a question about whether he’d met with leaders of the Black Lives Matter Movement, Graham said in part, “I care about everybody. If you’re a young African-American, an immigrant, you can go anywhere in this state, you just need to be conservative, not liberal.”

The context of Graham’s horrid sound bite was that anyone can have a safe and secure political career in the state regardless of skin color as long as they’re conservative. “You can be an African-American and go to the Senate, you just have to share the values of our state,” he said earlier in his response, but his aforementioned closing line seemed to make the Black female moderator stammer as she moved onto the next question.

Like his Fuhrer, Lindsey Poo just loves those darkies, as long as they hold their porch lamps and call him, “Massa!”  RESIST!!

From YouTube (SNL Channel): VP Fly Debate Cold Open

 

I afraid they lost all credibility when Vise Resident pseudo-sphincter said, “I yield the balance of my time.” Hell! Pence wouldn’t even yield the balance of Kamala’s time to Kamala!  RESIST!!

From From YouTube (just a blast): The Hunts – Start Again

 

I just heard this and liked it.  Protest like the 60s!  RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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Everyday Erinyes #235

 Posted by at 10:00 am  Politics
Oct 102020
 

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”

I served in the military from 1966-1976, and it never crossed my mind there was white nationalism there. Racism, yes, bigotry, yes. misogyny, OMG yes. But on personal levels. The thought of white supremacy as a political philosophy … well, maybe we were still too close then to having fought and defeated Nazis to consider it. And then, I was never in combat. In other words, my experience doesn’t mean it wasn’t there then – and it certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t there now.
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Americans aren’t worried about white nationalism in the military – because they don’t know it’s there

There is a long history of links between white nationalist movements and the U.S. military.
Bo Zaunders/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

Jennifer Spindel, University of New Hampshire; Matt Motta, Oklahoma State University, and Robert Ralston, University of Minnesota

White nationalist groups, who make up some of the most serious terror threats in the country, find new members and support in the U.S. military. These groups believe that white people are under attack in America.

In their effort to create an all-white country where nonwhites do not have civil rights protections, these groups often instigate violent confrontations that target racial and religious minorities. Since 2018, white supremacists have conducted more lethal attacks in the United States than any other domestic extremist movement.

The Proud Boys group, for example, whom President Donald Trump addressed in the first presidential debate of 2020, includes veterans and active duty service members. The group’s members, who are required to engage in physical violence before joining, celebrated Trump’s statement to “stand back and stand by,” considering his call an endorsement of their extremist ideology.

While many Americans were appalled at the president’s statement, our research shows that most Americans remain unaware of the connections these groups have to the military.

The links between the U.S. military and white nationalists date back to the 1990s, with many believers seeing military service as an opportunity to hone their fighting skills and recruit others.

Our research has found that most Americans don’t know much about the level of white nationalism in the military – though when they find out, they’re worried about it.

Two people wearing military-like gear
Two members of the Proud Boys wear military-like gear at a rally in Oregon in September 2020.
John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

White nationalists active in the military

Researchers do not have reliable data on how many active duty or veteran service members belong to white nationalist groups. But current military members are increasingly aware of the influence of far-right groups in the ranks.

In the most recent poll by Military Times, an independent media organization covering the military, about one-fifth of service members have reported seeing signs of white nationalism or racist ideology in the military community. Those include the casual use of racial slurs and anti-Semitic language, and even explosives deliberately arranged in the shape of a swastika.

More than one-third of service members surveyed in 2018 said white nationalism is a significant threat to the country – which is more than were seriously concerned about threats from Syria, Afghanistan or immigration.

White nationalists with military experience have committed acts of violence, usually after leaving the service – like the 1994 Oklahoma City bombing and the 2012 mass shooting at a Wisconsin Sikh temple.

But active duty personnel have also been involved in white nationalist activity. In July 2018, a white nationalist was dismissed from the Marine Corps for his involvement in hate groups, including attending the 2017 “Unite the Right” protest in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In February 2019, a Coast Guard officer stationed at the agency’s headquarters was arrested and accused of stockpiling weapons as part of a plan to start a race war.

In April 2019, a Huffington Post investigation revealed that at least 11 members of various military branches were under investigation for involvement in a white nationalist group.

In September 2019, an Army soldier who had expressed support for right-wing extremism was arrested after sharing bomb-making instructions with undercover agents. That same month, an Air Force master sergeant who had been involved with a white supremacist group was demoted but allowed to continue serving.

In June 2020, an Army private was charged with terrorism offenses after he leaked sensitive information about his unit to two white supremacist groups, including one that promotes rape and murder as part of its quest for a race war.

Congressional concern

Lawmakers have been paying attention to the problem. In 2019, the House of Representatives approved a requirement to screen potential military enlistees for signs of white nationalism, as part of the Pentagon’s annual budget allocation. But the Senate removed that provision before sending the bill to the White House for the president’s signature.

Military and academic experts agree that violent ideologies in the ranks make it harder for soldiers to form the bonds of trust with one another that they rely on in combat.

If Congress did ban white nationalists from serving in the military, members of white nationalist groups would have a harder time receiving military training. They would also be cut off from an important recruitment network.

American views of white nationalism

We wanted to find out how much the public knew about white nationalism in the military, and what they think about it. So in early May 2019, we conducted a demographically representative survey of 1,702 American adults.

First, we asked respondents how prevalent they thought white nationalism was in the military. Most – 70% – said there were “some” white nationalists on active duty. Another 20% said there were “many.” Just 10% thought there were none.

Then we sought to find out whether people thought it was a problem. To answer that question, we split our respondents into two groups. We asked one half of them whether “white nationalism in the military” is “not a problem,” a “somewhat serious problem” or a “serious problem.” Only 30% of them thought it was a “serious” problem; 47% percent thought it was “somewhat serious” and 23% thought it was “not a problem.”

The other half of the respondents got the same question – but before we asked, we gave them the results of a 2018 Military Times poll finding that “22% of service members … have seen evidence of white nationalism or racist ideology within the armed forces.” Having learned that information, 35% of this group said the problem is “serious” – a statistically significant increase of five percentage points.

After that, we returned to the first group, and gave them the information from the Military Times poll – and found that 39% of them considered the problem “serious.” This nine-point increase was also statistically significant.

We did see an initial political divide among our respondents. People who identified as strong conservatives were less concerned about white nationalism in the military than were strong liberals. But respondents across the political spectrum were willing to update their views, and considered white nationalism a serious problem, once we gave them additional, factual information.

The military is a trusted institution

The American public is deferential to the military, and trusts it as an institution. White nationalist groups and ideologies get a boost of credibility and legitimacy through their links to the U.S. military. Civilians often take cues from the statements and actions of those who served.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]

Our work suggests that informing the public about service members’ worries about white nationalism in the military could increase concern among both liberals and conservatives about the growing power of these groups. Increased public concern could create an incentive for policymakers to try to combat white nationalist groups, in the military and in society at large.The Conversation

Jennifer Spindel, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of New Hampshire; Matt Motta, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Oklahoma State University, and Robert Ralston, Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science, University of Minnesota

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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AMT, I absolutely am “concerned” about this. In fact, that is throwing roses at it. (I also find it telling that the Democratic House in 2019 attempted to address this and was overruled by the Republican Senate.) I can see why white supremacists would want to join the military … but those motivations would also be the main reason sane Americans who support the Constitution would NOT want them to be there. I’d say this is something Congress needs to revisit as soon as it is able to pass appropriate legislation.

The Furies and I will be back.

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Everyday Erinyes #233

 Posted by at 1:06 pm  Politics
Sep 262020
 

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”

I considered addressing redlining this week – though technically illegal, it is still very much with us – but I decided since I doubt tha anyone who reads here buys and sells a lot of properties, whereas we all encounter microaggressions and may even have been guilty of then, it would be a more current topic.
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Microaggressions aren’t just innocent blunders – new research links them with racial bias

They’re not just honest or ignorant mistakes, and they can poison an otherwise pleasant interaction.
Hinterhaus Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Jonathan Kanter, University of Washington

A white man shares publicly that a group of Black Harvard graduates “look like gang members to me” and claims he would have said the same of white people dressed similarly. A white physician mistakes a Black physician for a janitor and says it was an honest mistake. A white woman asks to touch a Black classmate’s hair, is scolded for doing so and sulks, “I was just curious.”

It’s a pattern that recurs countless times, in myriad interactions and contexts, across American society. A white person says something that is experienced as racially biased, is called on it and reacts defensively.

These comments and other such subtle snubs, insults and offenses are known as microaggressions. The concept, introduced in the 1970s by Black psychiatrist Chester Pierce, is now the focus of a fierce debate.

young Black woman with her hand up
Most research has focused on the harms done to those on the receiving end of microaggressions.
SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images

On one side, Black people and a host of others representing multiple diverse communities stand with a wealth of testimonials, lists of different types of microaggressions and compelling scientific evidence documenting how these experiences harm recipients.

Some white people are on board, working to understand, change and join as allies. Still, a cacophony of white voices exists in the public discourse, dismissive, defensive and influential. Their main argument: Microaggressions are innocuous and innocent, not associated with racism at all. Many contend that those who complain about microaggressions are manipulating victimhood and being too sensitive.

Linking bias to microaggressions

Until recently, the majority of research on microaggressions has focused on asking people targeted by microaggressions about their experiences and perspectives, rather than researching the offenders. This previous research is crucial. But with respect to understanding white defensiveness and underlying racial bias, it’s akin to researching why baseball pitchers keep hitting batters with pitches by only interviewing batters about how it feels to get hit.

My colleagues and I – a team of Black, white (myself included) and other psychological scientists and students – went directly to the “pitchers” to untangle the relationship between these expressions and racial bias.

We asked white college students – one group at a university in the Northwest, another at a campus in the southern Midwest – how likely they are to commit 94 commonly described microaggressions that we identified from research publications and Black students we interviewed. For example, you are meeting a Black woman with braids; how likely are you to ask, “Can I touch your hair?”

We also asked our participants to describe their own racial bias using well-known measures. Then, we asked some participants to come to our laboratory to talk about current events with others. Lab observers rated how many explicitly racially biased statements they made in their interactions.

We found direct support for what recipients of microaggressions have been saying all along: Students who are more likely to say they commit microaggressions are more likely to score higher on measures of racial bias. One’s likelihood of microaggressing also predicts how racist one is judged to be by lab observers, as they watch real interactions unfold. We’re currently analyzing the same kind of data from a national sample of adults, and the results look similar.

With some microaggressions, like “Can I touch your hair?,” the influence of racial bias is real but small. When the white woman who asked to touch the Black woman’s hair responds, “I was just curious,” she’s not necessarily lying about her conscious intentions. She likely is unaware of the subtle racial bias that also influences her behavior. One can demonstrate racial bias and curiosity at the same time.

Even small doses of prejudice, especially when they are confusing or ambiguous, are documented to be psychologically harmful for recipients. Our research suggests that some microaggressions, such as asking “Where are you from?” or staying silent during a debate about racism, may be understood as small doses of racial bias, contaminating otherwise good intentions.

In our studies, other kinds of microaggressions, including those that explicitly deny racism, are strongly and explicitly related to white participants’ self-reported levels of racial bias. For instance, the more racial bias a participant says they have, the more likely they are to say, “All lives matter, not just Black lives.” These expressions are more than small doses of toxin. Still, even in these cases, racial bias does not explain all of it, leaving ample room for defensiveness and claims that the recipient is being too sensitive.

In our research, participants who agreed with the statement “A lot of minorities are too sensitive these days” showed some of the highest levels of racial bias.

Addressing microaggressions in context

Amidst chronic and widespread racial injustices, including segregated neighborhoods, disparities in health care outcomes, systemic police bias and rising white supremacist violence, a chorus of Black and other voices also have been expressing pain and anger about the stream of subtle microaggressions they endure as part of daily life in the United States.

Black woman smiles in conversation with women of other races
Those on the receiving end of microaggresions want perpetrators to acknowledge the problem.
Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Consistent with our research, they generally are not insisting that offenders admit to being card-carrying racists. They are asking offenders, despite their conscious intentions, to understand and acknowledge the impacts of their behavior. They are asking for understanding that those offended are not imagining things or just being too sensitive. Mostly, they are asking offenders to improve their awareness, stop engaging in behaviors that create and perpetuate race-based harm themselves and join in fighting against the rest of it.

As a clinical psychologist, I know that, even in the best of circumstances, true self-awareness and behavior change are hard work.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]

U.S. society provides far from the best of circumstances. At the nation’s birth, people found a way to celebrate democracy, freedom and equality while owning slaves and destroying Indigenous populations, and then found ways to erase many of these horrors from the nation’s collective memory. Yet, as James Baldwin said of this history, “We carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do.”

Science provides validation of the problem of microaggressions: They are real, harmful and associated with racial bias, whether the perpetrator is aware of it or not. Improving awareness of this bias is hard but important work. If Americans want to advance toward a more racially just society, identifying effective ways to reduce microaggressions will be necessary, and this research is just beginning.The Conversation

Jonathan Kanter, Director of the Center for the Science of Social Connection, University of Washington

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, Mr. Kanter says, “even in the best of circumstances, true self-awareness and behavior change are hard work.” That may even be an understatement. My own suspicion is that the worst offenders at microaggression are those in deep, deep denial of white privilege – and they are the last ones to want to change. No work is as hard as that work one doesn’t want to do. Please help us in any way you can, ladies, to get through to those who don’t want to.

The Furies and I will be back.

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Is this part of the American Dream?

 Posted by at 9:08 pm  Politics
Sep 232020
 

When I looked at the Trump Virus map in Open Thread – 9/22/2020 (image below — although the title says Aug 22, 2020 the data is to Sept 22, 2020), a thought struck me — do you know what it is like to live next door to a country which professes such high regard for human life but does the opposite almost always? Do you know what it is like to live next door to a country whose so called leader belittles the leaders of other nations and many of his own people? Do you know what it is like to live next door to a country whose leader is a prolific liar and extremely corrupt?

US Cases: 7,047,643
US Deaths: 204,577
Plus thousands of Trump’s* GOP plague murders Republicans are hiding from us

Abortion and Healthcare — in 1973 Roe v Wade legalised abortion nationwide but now is at risk of being overturned by a very conservative SCOTUS at the petitioning of conservative and religious petitioners. This is an apple that evangelicals and fundamentalists have been wanting to pick for years. 

You are not my moral compass.

Women do not make the decision to abort a foetus lightly and there are many reasons why she might make that decision. A baby in my family was born a number of years ago with no eyes, a double cleft palate, no ears and deaf, brain damaged — perfect from the shoulders down but the baby’s head was completely messed up. The original prognosis was that the baby would die within days. Had the mother known this in time, she would have had an abortion and I would have supported that decision.

In the US, such a child once born, has little support and likely limited healthcare options. For other children needing support to thrive, SNAP is being significantly cut back and possibly in danger of being cut all together. This lack of nutritious food will affect the physical and mental growth and health of children.

Healthcare has always been a problem in the US but with Trump, affordable care will be gone because of his spite for Obama and his policies.  Trump has said so many times that his “bigger and better” healthcare plan is coming. After almost 4 years, nothing is in sight! Tens of millions of Americans will be without any healthcare. Of course, Republicans are not assessing any healthcare plans for those not covered by workplace plans because they are enthralled by large insurance corporations (think political contributions) and do their bidding. With the pandemic, many Americans have lost their jobs and with it their healthcare.

Education — With the Trump administration, a balanced public education system is almost gone.  Betsy DeVos is seeing to that and Trump is not far behind with his new flag hugging “indoctrination” thoughts. I saw a reference to the education of children by Mao Zedong where the children were forced into indoctrination classes as is still done some 43 years after his death.  In Nazi Germany in the early 20th century, there were the Hitler Youth, indoctrinated in Nazi ideology.

“The members of the Hitler Youth were viewed as ensuring the future of Nazi Germany and were indoctrinated in Nazi ideology, including racism.[14]” [Wikipedia]

I wonder if Trump would force children to wear red/white/blue neckerchiefs as Mao forced Chinese children to wear red neckerchiefs and the Hitler Youth had their red neckerchiefs with their emblem?  With Republicans continuing in power, I can see the literacy rate dropping while problem solving skills and critical thinking being discouraged.  Must not have people, other than the rich and white, capable of intelligent thought because they just might help American society. I think of a Canadian bumper sticker from several years ago that said “The government does not like competition!” Trump and Republicans cannot fight themselves out of a wet paper bag fairly or even at all unless they cheat. Only the rich will be able to get a decent education.

Death Penalty — How is the death penalty consistent with a pro-life stance? I won’t go into this other than to say that the death penalty is not pro-life.

Pandemic — The actions, or should I say the inactions, of Trump and Republicans on the COVID-19 pandemic with its more than 200,000 deaths is despicable.  Bill Gates opined recently that repatriating Americans who were overseas at the beginning of the pandemic without adequate (read that as NO) precautions in place, likely exacerbated the spread of the virus, and he is correct. I know that Trump likes to blame China for all the problems, but what did HE do once he knew about it. NOTHING!!! Thanks to author/journalist Bob Woodward, we have Trump on tape in his own words saying that he wanted to play down the severity of the virus, and he still is doing that verbally, but also demonstrating his disregard by holding large rallies with no social distancing and no masks. He said he did not want to panic people. Bullshit!!! More likely, he did not know what to do and thought he would look weak if he asked for the input of infectious disease experts. Trump has directly caused the deaths of over 200,000 people and rising.  As to overall healthcare, Trump is arguing in the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) even in the midst of a pandemic which would leave tens of millions of people without healthcare and no replacement plan in place which is, I believe, his plan from the start.

Racism and Bigotry — Racism has been a problem, a BIG problem, in the US since before the country was established and it has continued unabated.  Thank heavens for Rosa Parks, Elijah Cummings, Martin Luther King Jr, John Lewis and the many others who fought and continue to fight racism and demand equal rights for ALL people.  No matter the colour of skin, the religion, the ethnicity, sexual orientation, or language spoken, ALL Americans are equal. This was clearly set out in the Declaration of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” [Wikipedia]

And yes, the racism is systemic whether people want to acknowledge that or not. Part of that fight resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Unfortunately, some of that has been undone by SCOTUS decisions for petitions from woefully misguided persons, dare I say racist persons.  Of course today, the chief cheerleader is the Squatter in the WH, the unpatriotic flag hugger who thinks there were “very fine people” on both sides in Charlottesville a few years ago.  Bullshit!!!

With the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on 18/09/2020, Trump, aka the Squatter in the WH, and Senate Republicans are pushing for a fast confirmation of a replacement justice who will be undoubtedly very conservative. When it comes to Trump, forget about justice being blind! Republicans were willing to leave Antonin Scalia’s position vacant for 10 months because it occurred in an election year and they felt the new president should make the nomination. RBG passed away 6-7 weeks before the election but Republicans have changed their minds. Why? They are afraid that Trump may be defeated (please let it be so!) and they would not be able to continue to stack the court with conservatives or get satisfactory decisions for those who support them. As I said, forget about justice being blind! Add to this that COVID-19 has added a dimension to voting that has not existed previously — extensive mail-in voting — which Trump, without evidence, as declared fraught with fraud. With a larger conservative contingent at SCOTUS, Trump feels his chances of re-election, even if the decision goes to the court, are all but assured. Trump, impatient toddler that he is, also wants to know who the winner is on the night of 03/11/2020, election night, but all mail-in ballots may not have been counted. This shows that Trump is again, or should I say still, downplaying the virus. He should pay as much attention to Russian interference in the election. This of course has nothing to do with what the people want or need. Let’s not forget that Trump was the loser of the popular vote in 2016 by 2.9 million votes. The US has had minority governance for almost 4 years with a narcissistic sociopath at the helm and it shows. You wonder why other countries laugh at the US and pity it!

Military — Let’s not forget the recent debacle of Trump as Commander-in-Chief of the military calling soldiers who were killed in action or captured “suckers” and “losers”. Is that how a leader supports the troops? Or Trump’s treatment of Gold Star family of Khizr Muazzam Khan and Ghazala Khan, the Pakistani American parents of Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed in 2004 during the Iraq War. Commander-in-Bone Spurs knows nothing of patriotism! It is all a flag hugging show. We know that but he thinks people don’t care. He went after Senator John McCain this way and today, John’s wife, Cindy McCain, came out in support of Joe Biden.

Religion — Two things I want to mention here. First, no authentic Christian would clear a path through peaceful protesters using violence so he could have a photo op holding a Bible upside down. No authentic Christian would treat migrants the way Trump has, separating families, creating utter chaos at the southern border. Secondly, no authentic Christian would label all Muslims as terrorists and ban them from entering the country. There are more domestic terrorists in the US than Muslim terrorists. Besides, the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion which also means freedom from religion, something many on the right seem to forget. It seems to me that that part of the amendment is interpreted by evangelicals and fundamentalists as the freedom of religion as long as it is their brand of Christianity. “One nation under God” and “In God We Trust” — give me a break! God is not a cudgel.

Treaties — Below is a list of United Nations treaties which the US has not ratified or not signed as noted in Wikipedia. I have highlighted some which, on the surface, directly impact people including US citizens.  There could be a number of reasons for not signing or ratifying them but to me, this is an indication of the priorities of the US government.

1981 – Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981, not ratified
1989 – Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, not signed
1989 – Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed but not ratified
1989 – Basel Convention, signed but not ratified
1990 – United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, not signed
1991 – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, not signed
1992 – Convention on Biological Diversity, signed but not ratified
1994 – Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, signed but not ratified
1996 – Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, signed but not ratified
1997 – Kyoto Protocol, signed with no intention to ratify
1997 – Ottawa Treaty (Mine Ban Treaty), unsigned
1998 – Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, unsigned [2]
1999 – Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, not signed
1999 – Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, signed but not ratified
1999 – Civil Law Convention on Corruption, not signed
2002 – Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, not signed
2006 – International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, not signed
2007 – Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, signed but not ratified
2008 – Convention on Cluster Munitions, not signed
2011 – Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, signed but not ratified
2013 – Arms Trade Treaty, signed but not ratified
2016 – Trans-Pacific Partnership, signed but not ratified
2017 – Paris Agreement, signed but not ratified [and in 2017 ceased participating]

I might sound anti American and in some ways I might be.  I know I am preaching to the choir here at Politics Plus. I also know that my ire is directed at Trump, Republicans and a minority of the American people.  The vast majority are good people who need to find their voice.  I also know that my country, Canada, is not without its own faults.  No country is in that position.  However, when wherever you turn the US is being held up as the “greatest nation on earth”, a beacon in the darkness, it is time the US government acted like it.  When wherever you turn Trump is being touted as the leader of the free world, I say bullshit!  That is a particular bug-bear of mine. First he has to be a leader, an enabler of sound policies that serve ALL Americans, and he has to be sane.  In my opinion, he is neither of these. Trump is a scared little boy who pouts and stamps his feet if he does not get his way. He is a demagogue and a fascist who, if not checked, will destroy the country completely. Recovery from Trump will not be easy and it won’t be quick. It will take the American people uniting to go forward.

OK, I am stepping down off my soapbox!  Thanks for letting me rant.

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Open Thread – 9/18/2020

 Posted by at 10:41 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 182020
 

It’s another sick painful day here in the CatBox.  Since I have to be up for Diana’s visit, I might as well put the time to good use with this article, but this is my only article today.  Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update.  WWWendy is coming a day late, because she works her bartending job tonight, and Diana can change my patch when she’s here.  I’ll finish after Diana comes.  Diana thinks I should call in.  She does not think they’ll send me to the hospital.  She thinks they’ll just set me up with the stent surgeon.  TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:14 (average 4:43).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoons:

Trump* Virus Update:

0918TrumpVirusMap

Click for interactive map

US Cases: 6,880,914
US Deaths: 202,307
Plus thousands of Trump’s GOP plague murders Republicans are hiding from us.

These stats come from worldometer, an international organization.  The NY Times also uses their data.  they are more accurate than US (Trump*-muzzled) stats.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: A Michigan pastor has been hearing a whole lot from the public recently after sending an email to journalist Sarah Jeong—which was then posted by Jeong on her Twitter account. In the email, the christian (with a little “c”) David Muns threatens Jeong with genital mutilation, calling her a “bitter Asian woman.” The entirety of his statement will be discussed below, and includes graphic language, but those are the broad strokes.

Muns was supposedly responding to a meme that attributed a fake quote to Jeong, from her time on The New York Times editorial board. Someone (or someones) spent a good amount of time coming up with some wildly awful things to say about white folks and white children, and then attributed them all to Jeong. These quotes were debunked back in 2018, but Muns, not much for reading deeply into things, clearly missed the memo.

The nasty email that Muns sent reads: “How about if we took all the little bitter Asian women and had a lottery and cut their clits like the Muslims do. Not a very classy position is it, neither is your trashy little bitter personality towards white men. Only in a world where journalism is controlled by brain dead Liberals do you people even have jobs.” 

If I were not feeling so bad, this typical Republican pseudo-Christian (the exact opposite of a real Christian) POS would get a parade! What a jerk!  RESIST!!

From NY Times: When Donald J. Trump first ran for the White House, he promised to “come up with a great health plan,” one that would repeal the Affordable Care Act but replace it with something better while maintaining its biggest selling point: protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Once elected, he swore he had a “wonderful plan” and would be “putting it in fairly soon.”

On Tuesday night, President Trump was at it again, during a town-hall-style meeting broadcast on ABC, where he was schooled by Ellesia Blaque, an assistant professor of Africana and ethnic literatures at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. She told him she had a congenital illness, demanded to know what he would do to keep “people like me who work hard” insured — and cut him off when he tried to interrupt her.

“We’re going to be doing a health care plan very strongly, and protect people with pre-existing conditions,” Mr. Trump told her, adding, “I have it all ready, and it’s a much better plan for you.”

Amen. This lie is old bullshit. The only “health care” plan we’ll ever see from Trump* and/or the Republican Reich is RepubliCare. Those who can pay get overpriced care. Those who can’t pay get the RepubliCare Death Benefit. They get to die.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of past protest): People Got To Be Free – The Rascals

 

Ah… the memories!  Protest like the 60s!  RESIST!!

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Don’t Let Trump* Kill MLK’s Dream

 Posted by at 10:36 am  Editorial, Politics
Aug 282020
 

0828KingDream 

Martin Luther King, Jr. influenced my political thinking more than any other individual.  I was fortunate to have worked under him on Vietnam Summer and to have been present on the Washington Mall fifty-seven years ago today on August 28, 1963. It’s hard to believe that we are once again fighting the battle to secure the voting rights won as a result of his dream, and to restore them, where racist Republicans are outlawing the right to vote. Will his dream survive? This is almost a repost of last years article.  I updated it to fit the situation today.

Last night Trump* violated the Hatch Act by using the White House Rose Garden as an Republican National Convention prop.  He spewed an unprecedented stream of lies, hate, and racism, while blaming Democrats and Blacks for the plague and economic devastation spread by his own incompetence.  If Trump* can steal the 2020 election, America as we knew it will cease to be.  Never before has there been such a threat that Dr. King’s dream will be destroyed by the Republican Reich!  Will it survive or will defacto slavery, in which Blacks, Latinos and poor Whites slave to serve the interests of greedy Republican billionaires and corporate criminals? The choice is Dr. Kings dream or a permanent National Socialist Republican Reich.  The outcome of that choice depends on what YOU do NOW!

RESIST!!

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Everyday Erinyes #229

 Posted by at 10:00 am  Politics
Aug 222020
 

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”

Like TC, and others, this time of action for racial justice is not my first rodeo. And I know, because I remember, that we made mistakes last time around. Most, maybe all, under the umbrella that we assumed that winning was winning (at least we “wypipo” assumed that. I don’t think black or brown people were ever really fooled.)

Now is a time when we are seeing a light at the end of a tunnel (and we hope it won’t be a train). We won’t know for a while what kind of light it is, but in the hope that it will be the blessed light of day, I welcome advice on how to avoid previous mistakes (which are still being made, actually) and find ways to truly advance.
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Diversity pledges alone won’t change corporate workplaces – here’s what will

Words alone won’t make corporate America more diverse. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Kimberly A. Houser, University of North Texas

Dozen of companies, from Apple to Zappos, have reacted to George Floyd’s killing and the protests that followed by pledging to make their workforces more diverse.

While commendable, to me it feels a bit like deja vu. Back in 2014, a host of tech companies made similar commitments to diversify their ranks. Their latest reports – which they release annually – show they’ve made little progress.

Why have their efforts largely failed? Were they just empty promises?

As a gender diversity scholar, I explored these questions in my recent paper published in the Stanford Technology Law Review. The problem is not a lack of commitment but what social scientists call “unconscious bias.”

Big tech, little progress

Today’s efforts to promote diversity are certainly more specific than the tech industry’s vague promises in 2014.

In 2020, sports apparel maker Adidas pledged to fill at least 30% of all open positions with Black or Latino candidates. Cosmetics company Estée Lauder promised to make sure the share of Black people it employs mirrors their percentage of the U.S. population within five years. And Facebook vowed to double its number of Black and Latino employees within three years.

Companies have also committed at least US$1 billion in money and resources to fight the broader societal scourge of racism and support Black Americans and people of color more broadly.

Unfortunately, if past experience is any indication, good intentions and public pledges will not be enough to tackle the problem of the underrepresentation of women and people of color in most companies.

In 2014, Google, Facebook, Apple and other tech companies began publishing diversity reports after software engineer Tracy Chao, investor Ellen Pao and others called attention to Silicon Valley’s white male-dominated, misogynistic culture. The numbers weren’t pretty, and so one by one, they all made public commitments to diversity with promises of money, partnerships, training and mentorship programs.

Yet, half a decade later, their latest reports reveal, in embarrassing detail, how little things have changed, especially for underrepresented minorities. For example, at Apple, the share of women in tech jobs rose from 20% in 2014 to 23% in 2018, while the percentage of Black workers in those roles remained flat at 6%. Google managed to increase the share of women in such jobs to 24% in 2020 from 17% in 2014, yet only 2.4% of these tech roles are filled by Black workers, up from 1.5% in 2014. Even companies that have made more progress, such as Twitter, still have far to go to achieve meaningful representation.

I believe one of the reasons for the lack of progress is that two of their main methods, diversity training and mentoring, were flawed. Training can actually harm workplace relationships, while mentoring places the burden of changing the system on those disadvantaged by it and with the least influence over it.

More importantly, however, you can not solve the problem of diversity – no matter how much money you throw at it – without a thorough understanding of its source: faulty human decision-making.

A problem of bias

My research, which relies on the behavioral work of Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman, explains that because humans are unaware of their unconscious biases, most underestimate their impact on the decisions they make.

People tend to believe they make hiring or other business decisions based on facts or merit alone, despite loads of evidence showing that decisions tend to be subjective, inconsistent and subject to mental shortcuts, known to psychologists as heuristics.

Male-dominated industries, such as tech, finance and engineering, tend to keep hiring the same types of employees and promoting the same types of workers due to their preference for applicants who match the stereotype of who belongs in these roles – a phenomenon known as representative bias. This perpetuates the status quo that keeps men in prime positions and prevents women and underrepresented minorities from gaining a foothold.

This problem is amplified by confirmation bias and the validity illusion, which lead us to be overconfident in our predictions and decisions – despite ample research demonstrating how poorly humans are at forecasting events.

By failing to make objective decisions in the hiring process, the system just repeats itself over and over.

How AI can overcome bias

Advances in artificial intelligence, however, offer a way to overcome these biases by making hiring decisions more objective and consistent.

One way is by anonymizing the interview process.

Studies have found that simply replacing female names with male names on resumes results in improving the odds of a woman being hired by 61%. AI could help ensure an applicant isn’t culled early in the vetting process due to gender or race in a number of ways. For example, code could be written that removes certain identifying features from resumes. Or a company could use neuroscience games – which help match candidate skills and cognitive traits to the needs of jobs – as an unbiased gatekeeper.

Another roadblock is job descriptions, which can be worded in a way that results in fewer applicants from diverse backgrounds. AI is able to identify and remove biased language before the ad is even posted.

Some companies have already made strides hiring women and underrepresented minorities this way. For example, Unilever has had fantastic success improving the diversity of its workforce by employing a number of AI technologies in the recruitment process, including using a chatbot to carry on automated “conversations” with applicants. Earlier this year, the maker of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Vaseline jelly said it achieved perfect parity between women and men in management positions, up from 38% a decade earlier.

Accenture, which ranked number one in 2019 among more than 7,000 companies around the world on an index of diversity and inclusion, utilizes AI in its online assessments of job applicants. Women now make up 38% of its U.S. workforce, up from 36% in 2015, while African Americans rose to 9.3% from 7.6%.

Garbage in, garbage out

Of course, AI is only as good as the data and design that go into it.

We know that biases can be introduced in the choices programmers make when creating an algorithm, how information is labeled and even in the very data sets that AI relies upon. A 2018 study found that a poorly designed facial recognition algorithm had an error rate as high as 34% for identifying darker-skinned women, compared with 1% for light-skinned men.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]

Fortunately, bias in AI can be mitigated – and remedied when problems are discovered – through its responsible use, which requires balanced and inclusive data sets, the ability to peer inside its “black box” and the recruitment of a diverse group of programmers to build these programs. Additionally, algorithmic outcomes can be monitored and audited for bias and accuracy.

But that really is the point. You can take the bias out of AI – but you can’t remove it from humans.The Conversation

Kimberly A. Houser, Assistant Clinical Professor, Business and Tech Law, University of North Texas

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, “you can take the bias out of AI – but you can’t remove it from humans.” So true. Many of us are worried that technology – including but not limited to AI – will dehumanize us. But with creativity, and good will, there is no reason we can’t use it to make ourselves more human – in the good senses of compassionate and creative, not in the negative senses of flawed and unpredictable.

Gary Larson – whom you will remember as the creator of The Far Side – and who has been terribly missed since he retired – credits his return to active cartooning entirely to the discovery that drawing digitally is fun. So that cartooning for him is now fun again. I hope we can learn something from that as we pursue greater fairness and diversity as well.

The Furies and I will be back.

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