Culture

How To Detoxify The Way We Debate And Respectfully Disagree

October 10, 2018 Paul Hamlin

graphic with hand and marker writing the word "debate"

by Paul Hamlin Today’s political environment is corrosive and toxic. There can be no question of that. We are often motivated by fear and anger when we approach anyone that has a different opinion than we do. We have allowed this anger and fear to create severe division and allowed the political parties to capitalize on those emotions and drive us further and further apart. We have become so attached to our fear and anger that we have stoppered our ears to the arguments of others and worse, we have…

How Russian, American And European Information Warfare Persuades With Emotions

October 7, 2018October 7, 2018 Tony Wyman

image pastiche of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin flanked by Peter the Great and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin

by Kseniya Kirillova As Russian propaganda and disinformation spread around the world, more and more initiatives are being created to expose the lies and distortions emanating from the Kremlin: projects to expose fake news, analytical centres that review and monitor disinformation campaigns, and many private initiatives to observe Russian media. However, experts increasingly acknowledge that despite all these efforts, Kremlin propaganda remains a very effective tool of information warfare – much more effective than its Soviet predecessor. In many respects, this difference is explained by the fact that, unlike Communist propaganda, today’s Kremlin’s ‘information operations’ do not need…

Tropical Storm Florence: Rescue Me (Part 1)

September 26, 2018 Lynda Bryant-Work

By Lynda Bryant Work “In times of disaster, basic connectivity is a form of aid that connects people to the resources critical for survival and enables humanitarian organizations to quickly deliver life-saving information.” -Tae Yoo Hurricane Katrina began a movement of civilian rescuers and relief work largely because the government is proving to be mostly ineffective in a disaster. Talking to those Katrina victims, who had no one to rescue them, it is apparent why citizens turned to one another for help – and why many rescue groups have sprung…

Mollie Tibbetts’ Death Was About Violence Against Women – Not Immigration

September 10, 2018 Tony Wyman

photo of murder victim Molly Tibbetts at her graduation. Tibbetts death is controversial due to the immigration status of her assailant.

by Tony Wyman Few would have blamed the family of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts if they had joined the president in condemning a race of people the day police were led to her body by the Hispanic immigrant accused of brutally murdering her. After all, they had just suffered through 34 days of unimaginable fear and pain, desperately praying for a miracle, only to be crushed by the news they would never again see Mollie’s beaming smile light up a room again. Emotions will lead us to public statements that we…

The Mechanics Of Donald Trump And Vladimir Putin’s Disinformation Operations

September 5, 2018 Tony Wyman

photo of well known graffiti of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump kissing on wall of business in Vilnius, Lithuania

by Kseniya Kirillova While analyzing all that is happening today in the United States, I’ve often noticed the striking similarity between the behavior and propaganda of President Trump with his entourage and President Putin’s Russia. The similarities are so obvious that sometimes it seems that Trump and his team’s methodologies were written in Moscow. Renown Russian opposition politician and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov recently last year the typical game plan that an autocratic leader follows when he gets caught “red-handed.” This is what it looks like: Deny, lie, slander. Claim that it was a misunderstanding.…

Fascism Is On The Rise In America: Is It A Real Threat This Time?

August 30, 2018 Tony Wyman

by Tony Wyman There’s never been a time in human history where fascism took hold in a nation unless there existed in the population a strong sense of injustice, social or ethnic tension, or anxiety over a declining or stagnant economy. Never has fascism found purchase in a nation experiencing times when the economy was sound, when plentiful jobs were providing workers with growing paychecks, when the people were united by shared values and a belief that the nation’s governing system worked equally for all, regardless of class, politics, race…

Aretha Franklin – How She Influenced This White Kid In 1967 Los Angeles

August 17, 2018 Richard Cameron

photo of the wax figure of R&B legend Aretha Franklin on display at the famous Madame Tussauds' museum in London, England.

by Richard Cameron Aretha Franklin March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018 I decided not to recap the commonly reported information regarding the broad musical and personal history of Aretha Franklin, who passed yesterday of complications related to Pancreatic cancer. Those details are easily accessible via various news reports and Wikipedia – although some will be touched upon here. Instead, my essay here, has to do with my own recollections of Ms. Franklin, how she emerged on the scene as a breakthrough entertainer in pop music and the context of…

“WE THE PEOPLE” – What It Meant, What It Should And Where We Lost Our Way

August 9, 2018 Paul Hamlin

by Paul Hamlin “We The People” In modern political history there has rarely been three more radical, more revolutionary words spoken or written. “We the people” represents an idea far bigger, far greater than the simple everyday petty politics. The Constitution is the idea that all people should focus on first, arguments about policy and process should be wrapped in the founding document. The dream of America, of representative governments, was and is that people, ordinary people, would see a need, a gap or a void and that out…

The Fate of Our Families And How We Can Change Course

August 2, 2018 Paul Hamlin

crayon style drawing of family with Mom, Dad and Child.

by Paul Hamlin This may be chicken and egg argument, but in truth it doesn’t matter. The American family is disintegrating, and it really doesn’t matter what happened first, whether societal pressures are destroying families or if families dissolving are causing the societal illness. What we do know is that the family is a representation of the modern society. So, we can argue which came first, but the truth is we cannot solve the problems of society without looking at and solving our family issues. Let’s start with some disclaimers: This is…

Missing Daisy: Coping With The Loss Of A Pet

July 21, 2018 Janice Barlow

By Janice Barlow MOST OF US HAVE BEEN THROUGH IT. We’ve either had to make the excruciating decision to have a beloved pet put down, or we lost them suddenly at home or in an accident. It has to be one of the most heart wrenching situations to deal with in life. Some folks never want to have pets. There are various reasons for this decision. Some are far too busy and cannot devote the necessary time to care for and love an animal. Others don’t want to go through…