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Culture Tag

Back in 2011, flight attendant Sheila Frederick saved a teen girl from human trafficking on her Alaska Airlines flight after she noticed something just was not right. Frederick said the teenager "looked like she had been through pure hell" and had greasy blonde hair. She also noticed the teen had "a well-dressed older man" as a travel companion. When she tried to converse with the two, the man became defensive. Frederick knew she had to do something. Human trafficking took over the news cycle over the weekend due to the Super Bowl. Studies have shown that human trafficking tends to rise on busy travel days. For years, though, flight attendants have gone through training to spot human trafficking much like Frederick's case.

Self avowed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) inspired many people during his presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton. Somehow, though, I don't think he expected himself to inspire styles during Paris's fashion week.

If you're among the "oceans of white folk" agonizing over centuries of white privilege and the systemic oppression of black people, Michael Eric Dyson has the solution to your anguish.  This sociology professor from Georgetown thinks that white people who find themselves consumed by this anxiety should set up "individual reparations accounts." The New York Times interviewed Dyson last month about this "benediction" section.

California lawmakers have dived deeper in the pool of progressivism, apparently to swim away from the red states responsible for the election of Donald Trump as President. Between bitterly threatening to build our own satellites and clinging to sanctuary city policies, state lawmakers are now weighing a fun, new revision to state identification cards: A third gender option.

Over the course of the general election campaign, Hollywood's celebrities donated money, time, and sometimes questionable talent to elect Hillary Clinton as President. After Donald Trump's victory, there were a stream of celebrity videos deriding the electoral college, trying to sway electors from formalizing the Nov. 8th results, patting themselves on the back for surviving, and dramatically swearing the Oath to the U.S. Constitution. All of this drama has had zero net effect... so far. As Donald Trump reviews how to effectively cut the bloated U.S. budget, it is being reported that he is weighing approval of elimination of two cultural institutions that have been are the bane of many conservatives (or those who enjoy art with class, taste, and dignity).

President Trump's "America First" Inauguration speech has been parodied in a comedy video from the Netherlands. A news satire show, Zondag Met Lubach, released a fake tourism advertisement aimed at Trump. It's worth watching past the trite, Trump-bashing introduction in Dutch for the hilarity that then ensures in English (the very best language).

The Trumps may be considering a goldendoodle named Patton as the official White House pet, but the Pences have no such dilemma. Vice President Pence and family brought their furry entourage to the Imperial City earlier this month. The Pences have two cats, Oreo and Pickle, and a bunny named Marlon Bundo.

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.