Category Archives: Musings & Rants: Life

Why Conservative Religion Has Become a Disease Vector

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Religious believers are spreading coronavirus through the same mechanisms that spread religion itself. What is it about religion and COVID-19? Across the U.S., conservative Christian leaders have fought to be exempted from public health limits on social gatherings. In state … Continue reading

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Racism is Real, but the Concept of White Fragility Could Use a Closer Look

Disagreement or raw feelings in race-forward situations can have many causes, and overly-broad use of concepts like white fragility may do more harm than good to the mission of reducing racism. Elizabeth is a progressive activist who signed up for … Continue reading

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“The Worst Possible Way to Win Over Rural Voters”

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We have trained ourselves far more in the art of vilification than communication.  Devin Poore grew up near the northeast corner of Washington State. Ferry County is one of the poorest in the state, with a median household income of … Continue reading

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False Euthanasia Story a Lesson in Outrage and Polarization

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On June 4, media outlets around the world repeated the false story that a 17-year-old Dutch teen had been legally euthanized. The headlines and stories were as sensational as the narrative allowed, usually along the lines of “Raped Dutch Girl … Continue reading

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Imagine If Our Virtual Assistants Were Black

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Imagine if Siri, Alexa and Cortana were named Deshawn, LaToya and Tyrell and, instead of being female, their voices were clearly identifiable as Black. We command them to make our appointments and take us places. We expect them to stand … Continue reading

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