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Culture Tag

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 29, 2016 20 Comments
Star Trek enthusiasts are just about the most passionate among the many entertainment industry fandoms. Because there hasn't been any new television episodes recently (though a new CBS production is slated to begin filming soon), and the latest movies have been less than satisfying for many series buffs, veteran entrepreneur Alec Peters raised $101,000 on Kickstarter to produce Prelude to Axanar. This short film would then inspire more contributions for a larger production, as an offshoot of the Star Trek: New Voyages fan-based series.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 28, 2016 15 Comments
Will Ferrell is slated to play President Ronald Reagan in an upcoming "comedy." According to The Wrap:
Set at the start of the ex-president’s second term when he was suffering from Alzheimer’s, “Reagan” follows the commander-in-chief as he succumbs to dementia and is convinced by an ambitious intern that he’s actually an actor playing the president in a movie.
As PJ Media's Stephen Kruiser points out, Reagan wasn't diagnosed with Alzheimer's until 1994, six years after he left the White House.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 26, 2016 3 Comments
How do you know a politician's ground game sucks? He has to pay people to play the part of "supporter." Pennsylvania State Rep. Kevin Boyle (D) is looking for supporters for a day. Stand at a Philadelphia polling location, wave a sign (probably, the email doesn't enumerate specific duties), and you too could receive $120 plus free lunch and an invite to an open-bar at the end of the day. Gawker obtained a casting call invite:

Posted by New Neo on April 26, 2016 28 Comments
This is depressing news:
Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age group except older adults. The rise was particularly steep for women. It was also substantial among middle-aged Americans, sending a signal of deep anguish from a group whose suicide rates had been stable or falling since the 1950s. The suicide rate for middle-aged women, ages 45 to 64, jumped by 63 percent over the period of the study, while it rose by 43 percent for men in that age range, the sharpest increase for males of any age. The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the study on Friday
Rates increased sharply for girls 10-14 as well, and the ethnic group with the highest increase was American Indians, followed by white middle-aged women. Black men were the only ethnic group with a decrease.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 22, 2016 23 Comments
In a world in which universities apologize for serving Mexican food because doing so smacks of cultural appropriation and is deemed culturally insensitive, the student-organized "Wear a Hijab Day" at a Paris university was bound to cause controversy. Although February 1st is the "official" World Hijab Day, these students were apparently not interested in waiting until early next year to express their "solidarity" with women who "choose" to wear the hijab; unfortunately for them, their gesture backfired. The Telegraph reports:
Students at an elite Paris university sparked fierce debate on Wednesday by inviting classmates to wear the Muslim veil for a day in a bid to "demystify" a practice that is highly divisive in France. Students at Sciences Po urged women to take part in Hijab Day "if you too think all women should have the right to dress as they wish and have their choice respected". A dozen students handed out flyers at the university by a table covered in colourful headscarves with a sign reading: "France got 99 problems but Hijab ain't one", adapted from a hit by US rapper Jay Z.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 18, 2016 18 Comments
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is supposed to announce some time this week that Alexander Hamilton's home on the $10 bill is safe. CNN Money reports:
"When we started this conversation not quite a year ago, it wasn't clear to me that millions of Americans were going to weigh in with their ideas," he told CNBC. "We're not just talking about one bill. We're talking about the $5, the $10, and the $20. We're not just talking about one picture on one bill. We're talking about using the front and the back of the bill to tell an exciting set of stories."
While Hamilton might be safe, Andrew Jackson is not.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 16, 2016 20 Comments
Here at LI, we've been covering the move to place women in combat positions within the military.  Despite studies that have concluded that this is a bad idea, the military is moving forward.  To that end, the Army has approved  22 female officers for combat training. USA Today reports:
The Army announced Friday the first 22 women to be commissioned as infantry and armor officers under new rules that open all ground combat jobs to females this year. The move is a major step toward integrating women into so-called ground combat jobs, placing them in leadership roles in occupations that were never open to them.
In a move called "pretty historic" by acting Army Secretary Patrick Murphy, the women will eventually serve as infantry or armor officers.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 16, 2016 5 Comments
I loves stories of law enforcement going out of their way to serve and this particular tale has ALL the feels. When none of his 21 classmates showed to up ten-year-old Toxey's birthday party, Arkansas State Trooper's threw him a surprise get together he won't soon forget. They came with gifts, a cookie cake, and an official State Trooper badge.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 15, 2016 27 Comments
Bad news for Pastafarians. A federal court in Nebraska ruled Flying Spaghetti Monster is not actually a god. Stephen Cavanaugh, prisoner of the Nebraska State Penitentiary sued prison officials because, "their refusal to accommodate his religious requests." His request to have Pastafarianism recognized as his official religion was smacked down by a U.S. District Court who wrote, "The FSM Gospel is plainly a work of satire, meant to entertain while making a pointed political statement. To read it as religious doctrine would be little different from grounding a ‘religious exercise’ on any other work of fiction.” According to Religion News:

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 12, 2016 13 Comments
Bill Whittle's new Firewall video is inspired by a recent incident at San Francisco State University which we also wrote about. As usual, Whittle does an outstanding job of dismantling the left and exposing them for the hypocrites they are. Here's a partial transcript via Truth Revolt:
Firewall: Appropriate This! Well, “Cultural Appropriation” is the latest form of combat used by Social Justice Warriors: a term used by crybullies to describe themselves as fighters against prejudice and privilege. They are the first warriors in history to burst into tears and require weeks of therapy at the mere sight of an actual weapon.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2016 5 Comments
Italian legislators have introduced a novel educational proposal -- teaching kids about cultural heritage and the driving force behind their country's economy! New legislation would devote an hour per week to teach kids ages six to thirteen about "wine culture and history" at school. Quartz has the story:
Alongside sprouting beans and lentils, winemaking has been an occasional feature of science classes for Italian children for decades. At age seven, I remember making white and red varieties, and waiting with my classmates for them to ferment into wine. They turned into vinegar—so we learned that grapes make wine and vinegar, too.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2016 25 Comments
Is it an epidemic? Yet another decades-old rockstar miraculously found a feigned moral superiority soapbox. Canadian rocker Brian Adams, most famous for his early 90s hits, has decided Mississippi's religious freedom laws are too draconian for his liking. ABC News reported:
Canadian rocker Bryan Adams is canceling a performance this week in Mississippi, citing the state's new law that allows religious groups and some private businesses to refuse service to gay couples. Adams said in a statement Sunday night that he was canceling a show Thursday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi. The singer says he can't "in good conscience" perform in a state where "certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation."

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 07, 2016 18 Comments
Can you tell what's racist about the image above? Allow me to explain. You see the black girl is nothing more than an arm rest for the white girl. That's the latest outrage from the left. The photo was part of an ad for the Gap but they've pulled it and apologized. Ace of Spades says it's "Because They're Weak and Stupid and Have Been Scared By People Who Are Even Weaker and Stupider" and he's right. USA Today reports:
Gap apologizes for racially insensitive ad Clothing retailer Gap apologized on Tuesday after receiving criticism that an ad for the company’s children’s clothing line was racially insensitive.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 04, 2016 7 Comments
Corporal Daniel A. Miller will be headed to Washington, D.C. on an Honor Flight next week. He served in the Pacific theatre during World War II as a TEC 5. Three of his now-late brothers also fought in World War II, though Corporal Miller is the last of his thirteen siblings still with us. Honor Flight is an incredible program. It's "non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials." More than 20,000 veterans were flown in to their memorials last year alone. His great-grandson, Joshua Perry, is asking anyone who feels compelled to do so send Corporal Miller a short note, which he'll receive on his honor flight, April 16.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 03, 2016 10 Comments
As I was reading through my newsfeeds, I kept seeing this story about "black staffers" leaving the RNC in droves.  It sounded ominous, like everything the mainstream media and progressive left have been saying was playing out in a mass exodus of black Republicans from the party. Here are some of the headlines: from NBCNews:

Yet Another Top African American Staffer Departs RNC

from the Sun Times:

RNC Losing Top Black Staffer

from Huffington Post:

Top Black Staffers Leave The Republican National Committee

However, once you follow the link and read the stories, these black staffers are simply moving on to new and greener pastures, often within the GOP or in more lucrative media roles.  For example, the subject of the stories above is  Kristal Quarker-Hartsfield, the national director of African-American Initiatives at the RNC, and she "is leaving the organization to work for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) as his director of intergovernmental affairs."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 03, 2016 2 Comments
For April Fool's Day, Hamburger Helper released a rap album. And it's really good. No joke. The five-song album called, "Watch the Stove" features songs called "Feed the Streets", "In Love with the Glove" and "Food for Your Soul." The lyrics are family friendly: "I mix it so good you think I'm a natural/ You catch me at the stove, I was whippin' up a bowl/ I just came back from the stove five-star restaurant at home." The beats are solid. Catchy too. As awesome as the album itself is the backstory. Jessica Roy of the LA Times reported "Watch the Stove" was a local Minneapolis (home to General Mills headquarters) effort that included the musical brainpower of neighborhood college kids.
"It's really taken off," Taylor Madrigal told me. You know him better as DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip, one of the people featured on the opening track of the album, "Feed the Streets."

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 03, 2016 19 Comments
Stewardesses for Air France have been ordered to wear headscarves when flying into Iran's capital of Tehran and they're not happy about it. The order has sparked a backlash. The Telegraph reports:
Air France stewardesses mutiny over order to wear headscarves Air France stewardesses, furious at being ordered to wear headscarves in Tehran, say they will refuse to fly to the Iranian capital when the airline resumes the service later this month.
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