On April 1, seven states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia – will begin their celebration of Confederate Heritage Month. As a counter to this narrative of southern hegemony, I’d like to take a moment and celebrate those Southerners who remained loyal to the United States and who – if they were …

Continue reading "Debunking the Myth of Southern Hegemony: Southerners who Stayed Loyal to the US in the Civil War"

Guillaume Chaslot:

One week after the release of the Mueller report, which analysis of it did YouTube recommend from the most channels among the 1000+ channels that I monitor daily?

Russia Today’s!

This video funded by the Russian government was recommended more than half a million times from more than 236 different channels. […]

Technology can enable two worlds:

1. One where accountability keeps cheaters in check

2. One where social media is manipulated by armies of fake accounts

I’m on Facebook’s case more frequently, but YouTube might be just as complicit in pushing massive-scale propaganda pushed by fake accounts they could surely detect but don’t in the name of the almighty god both companies worship: engagement.

yesterdaysprint:

Independence Daily Reporter, Kansas, December 30, 1914

For godssake, can we please stop paying attention to Howard Schultz? This is getting ridiculous. He’s done nothing except say that he’s thinking of maybe running for president. That might be worth a blurb on A3, but that’s about it.

If he actually runs, he should be covered if he has anything interesting to say. So far, he hasn’t. Until then, please just shut up about him.

Jeff Bezos:

Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn’t just unusual — it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Or at least that’s what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I’m glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing. Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten. […]

Well, that got my attention. But not in the way they likely hoped. Any personal embarrassment AMI could cause me takes a back seat because there’s a much more important matter involved here. If in my position I can’t stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can? (On that point, numerous people have contacted our investigation team about their similar experiences with AMI, and how they needed to capitulate because, for example, their livelihoods were at stake.)

Reminiscent of when David Letterman exposed an extortion attempt regarding extramarital affairs in 2009.