Democratic House Rep. and Senate candidate Andy Kim from New Jersey throws some shade at his rival, Tammy Murphy, who’s also the state’s first lady. (Politico)
Black children are overrepresented in the foster care system. We probably know why. (Essence)
American exceptionalism is why the planet’s on fire. It’s slightly more complicated than this, but the writer makes a compelling argument. (The Nation)
A “redneck Christmas parade” in Louisiana does not seem very “jolly.” (CNN)
But behind the jokes was a more serious reality. The parade route went past people living in an RV and a tent, abandoned stores, a pawn shop, and a couple Dollar Generals. More than 30% of Bawcomville residents live below the poverty line, and the surrounding Ouachita Parish was deemed a persistent poverty county in a 2022 report by the Congressional Research Service. A 2015 documentary called “The Other Side,” which follows a man addicted to meth, was filmed in Bawcomville. The area is well-known locally as a poor community in need of better housing, and there’s a derogatory definition of a resident on Urban Dictionary (“characterized by having at least two broke-down vehicles on their front lawn…”).
Of course, these people all think Trump is their savior.
Black Pasadena police officer sues for racial discrimination. (BET)
The lawsuit stems from a February 20 incident where Officer Taisyn Crutchfield states she used her police academy training to de-escalate a tense situation where a fellow officer smashed a Black, juvenile male’s face into a cactus like plant.
The lawsuit highlights this incident as related to the January killing of Charles Towns, a Black man, by deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. It is stated that a month later police responded to a call involving Town’s two sons, one of whom expressed reasonable frustration over his father’s killing by law enforcement. After words were exchanged between the child and officers, one officer grabbed the child and shoved him face-first into a thorny plant.
Don’t assault children, especially after you’ve killed their father. Seems reasonable but I’m not a police officer.
Amanda Marcotte shatters that Hallmark “home for the holidays” fantasy. In reality, young people feel safer in those big cities than they do in small town USA. (Salon)
You might be tempted to dismiss this “boys are struggling” article with a “kids today!” shrug, but it’s worth your time. (Wall Street Journal)
Ncuti Gatwa is already pure fire as the new Doctor. Here’s where I also remind everyone that the Doctor’s companion Jamie wore a kilt for three years! (The Daily Beast)
This is not an Onion headline: Panera founder says employees aren't motivated by the idea of making money for shareholders: 'Nobody cares' (Business Insider)
Prince William and Kate Middleton go full 1990s Gap ad in their latest family photo. (Vanity Fair)
Nothing cheers up struggling children during the Christmas season more than holiday cards from the Royal kids. (BBC)
Who doesn’t like some fancy hot cocoa? (Bon Appetit)
Adam Ragusea shares the secret origin of buttermilk.
Follow Stephen Robinson on Bluesky and Threads.
Subscribe to his YouTube channel for more fun content.
Catch SER on his podcast, The Play Typer Guy.
It’s Jack Benny, storekeepers beware. 😆
https://open.substack.com/pub/martiniambassador/p/jack-benny-does-the-christmas-dinner
Wrt to the WSJ tab-- I worried like a demon over my boy, especially when he was in late elementary school/ middle school. He was totally sucked into the toxic male gaming ecosystem, spending his time sharing Pepe memes on Discord, checked out socially, on screens constantly. And then he went to wilderness camp and learned to play music and everything changed. He quit gaming completely, and threw himself into making music and being outdoors. Now he's a freshman at Oberlin Conservatory, a seasoned adventurer, and a solid farmer.
Last night we had a difficult conversation about Xmas, because my extremely difficult mom is not only coming to visit (my Jewish household, where we will be done celebrating our holidays) but has been escalating her demands. She wants Xmas to be raucous! with mummers! and wild boar! and a pinata! and singing! and parlor games! and tequila! I actually live in reality so I've been pushing back on her crazier requests but I did have a good idea yesterday, which is to get the StoryCorps materials & spend Xmas interviewing my parents.
My boy was dragging his feet about it and I said, "I have protected you from your grandmother your whole life but you are a man now and I need to you have my back on this." And he said yes! So the moral of the story is I think patience, and love, and just keep casting around for the thing that's going to make your poor confused boy want to grow up and be a man who can take responsibility for himself and others.