10 Myths About The Racial Wealth Gap

"— evidenced by decades of reporting from the Federal Reserve System, U.S. Department of Labor, Department of Commerce and various academic and professional studies — is that the wealth gap is the product of centuries of inequality and racism that has grown too large to be impacted significantly by individual actions, achievements or choices."

Click on the link below:

Evidence over ideology regarding the racial wealth gap

Sam Harris Continues To Promote Pseudoscience

A few weeks ago I posted on Sam Harris' erroneous thinking (link). One example was the promotion of Charles Murray and his pseudoscience on race. In this week's Making Sense podcast, he continues with such promotion by interviewing Robert Plomin, another promoter of the discredited genetics over environmental factors (nature over nurture). I am flummoxed: why does Sam Harris continue to challenge the consensus of science on nature vs. nurture? If he was an Alt-Right racist radical I would understand it.

Click on the links below for more on Plomin:

There is No Nature-Nurture War

Genetic determinism rides again

So is it nature not nurture after all?

Challenging the very core of psychology

The Intellectual Dark Web

In the last few years, there has been a small but growing movement to counter the ideas and activities of feminists ("Me Too") and anti-racists ("Black Lives Matter"). It has coalesced under the loose umbrella of the Intellectual Dark Web (IDW). The "unofficial" Digest of the IDW is an on-line magazine called Quillette.

An inquiry of "Quillette" on the fact check website Media Bias Fact Check revealed the following:

• It is a "Questionable Source" based on the promotion of racial pseudoscience and the use of poor sources.
• A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for the purpose of profit or influence. Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact checked on a per article basis.

Following are links to more information on this group: 

The Intellectual Dark Web Explained
Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web
Another Side of the Evergreen State College Story

Is The Camden Policing Model Able To Be Generalized?

There is no more serious topic in the news presently that the function of the police and their management. While there have been several "Plans" in recent years to improve the situation, for example (link) (link) (link) (link) (link), there is very little objective evidence in practice of a better way of policing. One gem in the rough that is currently being talked about as an evidence-based example of a successful change for the better is the Camden, NJ Police Department. Following is an hour-long podcast interviewing the principles involved with the dramatic and positive turn-around:

• "In this special episode of Stay Tuned, “The Camden Policing Model,” former New Jersey Attorney General and CAFE Insider co-host Anne Milgram interviews former Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson, whose reimagining of law enforcement in Camden has become a national model. Anne and Chief Thomson discuss their extensive collaboration in implementing Camden’s reforms, the challenges of state-level political ecosystems, and the lessons that they take as we work to reimagine policing across the country."  (click on this link: The Camden Policing Model)

Trump: The Full Monty

The man has one main goal in life: to make America White. I don't say "Again" because it never was.

Donald Trump's push for a whiter America

 

Are You A Racist? Before Answering, Read This Post

I grew up in a culture of white protestantism in a suburb of Boston, MA (Lexington). I never met a person of ANY color but white in my town. Our family was Catholic and we were in the minority religiously (the Pilgrims, the Puritans, morphed into the Congregationists who were the majority).  My point? Even though I was never "taught" to be racist, as I became an adult, I did have some discomfort in the company of people of color and even the Jewish.  Have I COMPLETELY shed such deep emotions? Since I really understand how the mind can fool us, I honestly have to say that even as a 73 year old progressive, I consciously have to suppress deep feelings toward the "other."  If you think you are different than me, you do not understand how the brain works. I am humble enough to admit it and fight it, are you? Understand reality through science. Get above your "feelings."

Racism Not Always by Racists

No, It’s Not The Economy, Stupid.

Just listen to what Trump supporters say, stop making stuff up to deceive yourselves.

It is racism and you can't reason with it.

Racism Vs Ignorance

If you are following me, you know that some of the more controversial posts of mine involve whether people are acting out of ignorance or racism.  I have leaned toward ignorance in many of these discussions.  This article (link) is another example of what I am talking about.

The Problem Goes Deep From US History

"But Starbucks isn’t the point.

"To pretend it is is a comforting fiction. It allows the company to apologize, vow to do better and move on. It allows protesters to feel righteous at having proven they will not tolerate intolerance.

"Meantime, we know as a statistical matter of fact that somewhere, a little boy was just suspended from school for a minor infraction because he is black.

"A desperately ill woman was just denied sufficient medication to ease her pain because she is black.

"A highly qualified applicant was just passed over for the job of her dreams because she is black.

"And sometime soon, another unarmed man will be shot by police because he is black"

Starbucks isn’t the problem, America is

(LabourMan Consultants)

Dear Liberals: Being Critical Of Islam Is Not Racism

On my Facebook page today I had to deal with one of these types of Liberals.  He's gone, and you will also be gone if you can't accept the reality of Islam and the nuances of politics and the social sciences.  Someone analyzing scientific research on ANY topic, and coming to conclusions and policy opinions with which you or I would argue, but that person is still supporting human rights for all IS NOT A RACIST. I hope that reasonable people will realize that "racism" is being used against anyone who disagrees with this Illiberal left.

It is time that the left remember its principles, and stop castrating debate and free discourse.

(Getty Images)

False Equivalency In Politics

Yes, this period of political campaigning has been extraordinary in its polarity and vitriol.  To accept what the activist partisans from the right and left are saying, one may think both sides are equally to blame.  If you are one of these folks, please consider that there clearly is a "false equivalency" here: 

• There is a clear attempt by Republicans to prevent legitimate judicial appointments.  
• There is a clear attempt by Republicans to prevent voting by minorities.
• Republicans do not accept science on many topics, including religion, evolution, climate change, and sex and gender.
• There is clearly a hijacking of the Republican party by the ignorant, bigoted and dogmatic, with Donald Trump being the most visible sign of such.
• There is a significant movement within this Republican Party for "Total War" against the Democrats should Hillary Clinton be elected President of the USA

Race Is Not Biological, But A Social Construct

"Recent advances in the sequencing of the human genome and in an understanding of biological correlates of behavior have fueled racialized science, despite evidence that racial groups are not genetically discrete, reliably measured, or scientifically meaningful. Yet even these counterarguments often fail to take into account the origin and history of the idea of race."

Anthropological and Historical Perspectives on the Social Construction of Race

Before You Totally Dismiss The "Black Lives Matter" Movement, - - -

Bigotry walks among us

An Objective Look At The History Of The USA's "Greatness"

Donald Trump's campaign slogan is "Making America Great Again."  On this day of celebration of the Independence of the USA, I think it is important to actually look at the truth of the history of the USA.

"Build A Wall", The Meaning

I recently was in a brief (brief, because I have learned the warning signs of an ideologue) discussion with someone who disagreed with me that this post was pointing out the extent of the Trump racist effect.

Trump Providing Cover For Racist Ideas

Slavery Back as a Discussion Topic? Thanks, Trump.