The Montoya Minute (01.27.2020)
Supreme Court Allows Trump To Deny Green Cards to Poor PPL, "American Dirt" is Dirt, Billionaire's Think Socialism is Bad, Crystal Geyser Poisoned Californians, Hillary Says No One Likes Bernie.
One of the most frustrating things about the news cycle is the seemingly endless crazy exhibited by the far-right. It’s always a fear frenzy and it makes me wonder: how do people get so detached from reality?
Well according to Kenneth Burke as humans we tend to shield ourselves from the parts of reality that don’t support ideas and concepts learned from our past experiences.
Just like news articles frame a story or situation in a certain way, we too frame our lives around our perception of the world. This would definitely extend to things like racism, sexism, and xenophobia as these are all learned behaviors that limit our view of the world and make accepting other realities very difficult. He called these “Terministic Screens” (TS). Burke would say that TS reflect, select, and deflect our perception of what reality is since every time we use language we create a screen.
For example: If someone doesn’t believe that climate change because their pastor told them it’s not real. Challenging their beliefs on climate change also challenges their faith. Therefore that person will not be able to accept this reality because their Terministic Screens won’t allow it.
This also means that we interpret other people’s screens through our own. So the question is: if we’re all interpreting “reality” through our very limited self perception-- what’s real? And who is actually telling “the truth?”
This also means that we need to evaluate what “truth” really is and how we can arrive at it. For me, this totally changes the way I read things. We all need to be aware that everything we consume has been filtered through someone’s TS.
Does ultimate truth exist tho? Next week we’ll talk about Sophists.
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Sh*t You Need To Know
BREAKING: In 5-4 ruling, Supreme Court allows Trump plan to deny green cards to those who may need gov't aid
Ya’ll this is major! It’s a travesty.
The Department of Homeland Security announced in August that it would expand the definition of "public charge," to be applied to people whose immigration to the U.S. could be denied because of a concern that they would primarily depend on the government for their income.
In the past, that was largely based on an assessment that an immigrant would be dependent upon cash benefits. But the Trump administration proposed to broaden the definition to include non-cash benefits, such as Medicaid, supplemental nutrition, and federal housing assistance.
Basically they’re saying poor people need not apply.
‘American Dirt’ and the Unbearable Whiteness of Publishing
Go read my article on the whole American Dirt situation on HipLatina!
the book is facing major backlash from lots of Latinx writers for its generous use of cliches and stereotypes. Worse, Cummins very conveniently began to claim a Latina identity shortly before publication after historically identifying as white, something that has widely been kept out of the discussions of the book in major media outlets…
In 2015, Lee & Low publishers found that the publishing industry is 79 percent white/Caucasian, 78 percent women/cis women, 88 percent straight/heterosexual, and 82 percent “not differently-abled.” Publishers Weekly’s 2015 Annual Salary survey found that “the dearth of minority employees directly affects the types of books that are published.” Their survey also found that just under 80 percent of publishing staff and review journal staff are white.
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon takes on socialism, says it will lead to an ‘eroding society’
We’re already an eroding society but ok.
“Most state-owned enterprises don’t do a particularly good job,” he added. “You look around the world and they become corrupt over time. That doesn’t mean that capitalism is perfect. That doesn’t mean that every public company is perfect. No, there are flaws.”…
“They do need to fix inner-city schools, infrastructure, health care,” Dimon added. “We can fix all of those in a capitalist society.”
First of all, no. The free market capitalism practiced in the US is fundamentally opposed to freedom, reform, and education if you haven’t already noticed.
We shouldn’t have to rely on the private sector for social services. That’s why we pay taxes. If our state services aren’t that great we need to fix them because it’s literally their job. Otherwise why do we even pay them? YES PEOPLE, we pay the government for their services. Like education, security, safety, dignified work, shelter, healthcare—these are an exchange for our tax dollars. THEY WORK FOR US. Not the other way around.
I feel like I keep saying this over and over again, but here it is yet again because it’s important: one of the reasons billionaires and capitalists feel any type of way about socialism and communism is because those two government structures REQUIRE the redistribution of land.
This means their holdings and fortunes sucked out of other countries (including this one) would be gone.
They also require wealth redistribution. Not exactly a billionaire’s favorite thing since the only reason they’re able to accumulate and keep that wealth is by not paying taxes, exploiting developing nations (who were destroyed by colonialism) and exploiting the middle class and poor.
Bottom line is, don’t trust the rich and who gives a mad fu*k what they think.
Crystal Geyser Water Pleads Guilty to Dumping Arsenic into California's Ecosystem
They were ordered to pay 5 million dollars! That’s literally pennies for poisoning us!
CG Roxane then released the arsenic-contaminated wastewater into a manmade pond for about 15 years, according to court documents. The dumping site was known as “the Arsenic Pond.”
The issue first came to the attention of local authorities in March 2013 when a sample of the pond showed arsenic levels at more than eight times the hazardous waste limit.
In 2015, the company was instructed to remove the Arsenic Pond. The removal that was conducted that May “was done without the proper manifest and without identifying the wastewater as a hazardous material,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The arsenic-contaminated wastewater was ultimately transported to a Southern California facility that was not authorized to receive or treat hazardous waste,” read the press release. “As a result, more than 23,000 gallons of the wastewater from the Arsenic Pond allegedly was discharged into a sewer without appropriate treatment.”
What I really want to know is why do these companies get a second chance? And why isn’t anyone in jail?
98.6 Degrees Fahrenheit Isn’t the Average [Body Temp] Anymore
This is WILD. Human beings are getting hotter.
Clinton says 'nobody likes' Sanders and won't commit to backing him if he's the Democratic nominee
"He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done," Clinton says in the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "He was a career politician. It's all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it."
Seriously Centrist Dems got me fucked up. How is this helpful right now? Also it’s just not true. Bernie raised more money than any other democratic candidate, his message also seems to be resonating just fine. We need to think about articles like this in another way.
Language Look: “In the THR interview, Clinton also pointedly questions the "culture" around Sanders' campaign, from "his leadership team" to "his online Bernie Bros."
We need to look at this as a strategy. Business as usual Dems want Biden. What’s the best way to take out Bernie? Brand him as a sexist, make progressives fight over Warren v. Bernie, and when Primaries get here Biden will get more voted because Progessives will be split.
DON’T FALL FOR IT!
Sports Sh*t
Kobe Bryant and His Daughter Gianna Killed in Helicopter Crash
RIP Black Mamba, his daughter, and everyone else who lost their lives.
Opinion: From relocation to Oakland finale, Raiders fans deserved better than what team gave them
Fans are big mad!
They all knew. The fans – some of the most passionate in the NFL – deserved better. Especially on a day when they ignited up the “Al Fire,” the commemorative flame that pays homage to the late founder, Al Davis, for the last time in Oakland.
But how quickly did the party turn to trash. Literally.
By the end of the game, the south end zone was littered with garbage that delivered the same type of message that would later rain on Carr. Never mind the several dozen security guards that began lining the perimeter of the field in the third quarter, preparing for madness. Someone from the Black Hole hurled nachos that hit the target. The stuff was splattered in the end zone. Message sent.
See you next week! Don’t forget to like and share!