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Culture Tag

I have to admit, I love love love these stories.  It's sweltering hot in Texas at this time of year, so when Andy Mitchell learned that Justin Korva was walking three miles to work each day, he posted about it on Facebook. The community rallied around the industrious and dedicated fast food worker and bought him a car. CBS News reports:
When Andy Mitchell spotted a young man in a fast food uniform walking along the side of a road on a 95-degree summer day in Rockwall, Texas, he felt compelled to pull over.

More than $300 million in debt, Colonial Williamsburg has been forced to outsource some functions and cut staff. One of the best, long-standing American Colonial History attractions, Williamsburg has experienced a sharp decline in attendance over the last few years.

Late last year, we reported that there will be a total eclipse of the sun that will be visible throughout a good portion of the United States on August 21. As the date of that event draws near, transportation officials are gearing up for potential gridlock along the interstate that may occur because of skyward rubbernecking.
The eclipse will be visible in 14 states, and FHWA estimates that over 200,000,000 will be within a day's drive from traveling into the phenomenon's path.

The last time that we checked on the National Endowment for the Arts, the progressives were clutching their pearls over President Donald Trump's threat to drain this particular pond of the government swamp. Yet, the agency still exists...and just gave a fairly substantial grant to The Public Theater of New York, which just concluded its run of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar featuring the assassination of a Trump-like character.  Here is an entry from the list of 2017 grants:

Democrats have been struggling to find something positive to say, something to stand for and to campaign on.  Elizabeth Warren thinks that something should be single-payer health care. The idea of single-payer is nothing new for Democrats.  Back in 2003, then-Illinois state senator Obama said:
I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer, universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its gross national product on health care, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. ... A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. That's what I'd like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we've got to take back the White House, we've got to take back the Senate, and we've got to take back the House.

On Wednesday afternoon, MLB umpire John Tumpane witnessed a woman climb off the side of the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh, PA, and knew something just wasn't right. He explained to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that others around him couldn't tell him what was going on and that's when he decided to do something. He confronted the woman and asked her "what was going on" She told him she "just wanted to get a better look of the city from this side." Tumpane knew that wasn't the case. He continued to the Post-Gazette:

The anti-history crowd responsible for the eradication of Civil War statues and monuments around the country is destroying tourism in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Much of the original Gettysburg battlefield is preserved and maintained by the National Park Service. The Gettysburg History Museum, a separate entity, is also a well-frequented attraction. Or it was. And it's the Museum that's publicly lamenting the damage they claim is caused by extreme revisionists.

Beef Products Inc. (BPI) has reached a settlement agreement with ABC News. The beef company sued ABC and reporter Jim Avila for defamation after the network aired an investigative segment in 2012 calling a filler product used in ground beef "pink slime." The complaint alleged omission of facts in addition to food-libel. BPI claimed their business suffered an 80% loss in profits, forcing them to close three of four processing plants after the ABC report aired.

Tennis legend John McEnroe caused quite a stir during his NPR interview when he said Serena Williams would only be ranked 700 if she played on the men's circuit. Williams hit back, but McEnroe refuses to apologize for his statement. From The Los Angeles Times:
McEnroe said he had been asked why he called Williams the best women’s tennis player of all time rather than simply the best tennis player of all time. “And so then I felt the need, however unfortunately probably, to defend myself,” McEnroe said Tuesday. “I don't know, just say what I really felt, which is about what I think she would be."

Among the trending news items this week is the tale of a freak accident that took the life of a French model and aspiring social media star.

From the Daily Mail:
A French fitness blogger has been killed by an exploding whipped cream dispenser which hit her in the chest, giving her a heart attack. Rebecca Burger's family announced her death on social media, where she has amassed a following of more than 200,000 with her fitness focused posts.

Music star Moby has decided to showcase his hatred of President Donald Trump, becoming the latest celebrity to jump on the anti-Trump bandwagon. Moby chose to depict Trump as a Nazi leader in the video for "In This Cold Place," who eventually meets his death as a Swastika/dollar sign in an explosion.

Lipslut, a soon to be launched lipstick brand offers an entire line one whole color of "mid-tone nude pink" lip gloss for the woman looking to change the world. Called "F*ck Trump" (OMG SO EDGY), Lipslut was designed by a college student to "fight the patriarchy" and "empower women everywhere". This is the only credit I'll give them -- 50% of the purchase price goes to charity. Which charity, you ask? Whichever charity the Lipslut democracy votes for!

The Supreme Court has ruled 8-0 that it is unconstitutional for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to not register offensive names under the federal trademark law's disparagement clause. The Asian-American band The Slants did not receive a trademark due to this clause, which the justices found violated free speech. From CNN:
"Holding that the registration of a trademark converts the mark into government speech would constitute a huge and dangerous extension of the government-speech doctrine, for other systems of government registration (such as copyright) could easily be characterized in the same way," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion.

I first blogged about Juneteenth last year. As I noted then, the day's significance is almost criminally under appreciated. This year though, I'm thrilled to see more national publications commemorating the 19th of June. Juneteenth even received the Heavy treatment.