Image 01 Image 03

Culture Tag

Saturday's Women's March left behind some not so stunning images. From signs dumped all over the D.C. metro area (taxpayer dollars are required to clean those up), children forced to carry politically charged placards and even the desecration of the Daughters of the American Revolution Founders Memorial. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a non-profit, non-political organization whose membership consists of women who are descendants of soldiers and participants in the American Revolution.

I'm not sure whether to be pleased or amused that we were so successful that the progressive left is now trying to recreate and manufacture a progressive version of our truly grassroots Tea Party movement. One aspect of their inchoate "resist we much" campaign to recreate our powerful movement is the left's new-found respect for all things related to the Constitution and their adoption of things like our use of "we the people."  I find this amusing.  Less amusing is their own unique twist, one that includes being purposefully offensive and violent. For example, watching the coverage of the inauguration yesterday, my jaw dropped when I saw the report about a limousine that was set on fire in DC . . . with the words "we the people" written on it.  Talk about cognitive dissonance.

Children of politicians, especially young ones, remain off limits. But the tolerant left forgot that basic courtesy on Inauguration Day when so many attacked 10-year-old Barron Trump. Hate President Donald Trump as much as you want, but don't attack his children. Lord knows I couldn't stand President Obama, but I would never attack his daughters.

I suspect the "Golden Age of Hollywood" would not have been so golden if today's technology were available. Back in the classic era of the American entertainment industry, actors and singers would have agents who would control their appearances to avoid embarrassing episodes that would go public and alienate potential fans. Now, armed with an i-phone and selfie sticks, there is no such layer of protection between celebrities and their buffoonery.

You may remember that right after the election, Vice President Elect Mike Pence attended a performance of the show 'Hamilton' where he was booed by people in the audience and given a sanctimonious lecture from the stage. The creator of 'Hamilton,' Lin-Manuel Miranda, didn't deliver the speech to Pence, but he wrote it and no matter what anyone says, it was intended as a dig at Pence. Flash forward to now. Obama has granted clemency to convicted terrorist Oscar Lopez Rivera and Lin-Manuel Miranda couldn't be happier about it. He's even going to do a special performance of Hamilton for the man.

If you're a single Trump supporter looking for love, TrumpSingles promises to "make dating great again." I'm not one to knock online dating sites since I met my husband on the interwebs, but candidate-centric dating is just a tad bizarre and probably not a recipe for relationship success.

After a vigorous day of science and political punditry, I usually unwind with situation comedy shows. Wednesday nights, ABC's The Goldbergs, Speechless, and Modern Family are my usual fare.  Generally, I will turn it off before Black-ish airs, as the social justice messaging offered in the series about a black family man struggling with cultural identity while living in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood tends to be more than I can bear.

If I could post this every week, I would. This is my third Martin Luther King Jr. Day here at LI and every year this is the message I choose to reiterate. This year in particular Love's message is more crucial, more dire than before. Love reconciles, heals, joins, and keeps no record of wrong. Love is unselfish, unwavering, trusting, and hopeful. If ever there was a time our country needed Love's redemptive power, it's now.

President-Elect Donald Trump is humorously referred to as a "Galactic Level Troll Master" for his ability to yank the chains of progressives and their media minons. However, after his epic press conference this week, I would argue that Trump is the Obi Wan Kenobi of the rebellion against political correctness and social justice warriors that have dominated American culture for far too long. His example is now empowering America's conservatives to push back against progressives who will never be appeased, using their wallets as their weapons.

Comedian Steve Harvey had a meeting at Trump Tower Friday. There, Harvey met with President-elect Trump and Head of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson. Harvey described Trump as "sincere" and that his only agenda is to work towards positive change in inner cities. Both Chicago and Detroit will be targeted. But Harvey wants to help young people out in inner cities across the country.

Hollywood is on a roll this week. First Meryl Streep's fabulously tone deaf anti-Trump diatribe, now, former co-host of The View Rosie O'Donnell is using social media to spew profanity-laced, ill-informed, opinions about Speaker Paul Ryan. According to The Hill:
The tweet came as a reply to one from “Strangers With Candy” actress Sarah Thyre, who dropped the F-bomb in her own post about Ryan, writing, “Dear @SpeakerRyan: F--- you. Love, me and @pussyrrriot,” along with a video called "Straight Outta Vagina." She sent the tweets as Ryan presided over a joint session of Congress to verify Electoral College votes and a day after the Speaker announced GOP lawmakers would move to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

You probably have not heard the names Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. But I remember those names, and the tears that were brought to my eyes when I heard about what happened to them. On January 7, 2007, the young white couple—Channon was 21, her boyfriend Chris was 23—was abducted, beaten, raped, tortured, and murdered.  Chris eventually shot to death before being set on fire, and Channon left to die with a plastic bag over her head in a trash can.  The perpetrators were all black. If you have not heard their story, it's because the racial nature of that black-on-white crime was uncomfortable for the national media a decade ago. Even now, it's uncomfortable, as the delayed and reluctant coverage of the Chicago tortures showed. Here is their story.