Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

After a shockingly good premiere episode that saw Disco Ball unmasked as Ice-T, its time to see the next 5 celebrities that will be hitting the dance floor on The Masked Dancer (Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV).

Given what happened in Washington on Wednesday, many of the judges chose to abstain from live-tweeting the episode.

The sloth kicked off the night by dancing to What I Like About You by The Romantics. In his intro video, we learned that the Sloth is anything but lazy and has worked hard to get where he is today. There were also references to a doctor, the number 13, a bad accident, and a Mickey Mouse operation. Sloth also used toothpaste marked GLEE. Immediately, we think it is likely someone who has ties to both Glee and Netflixs 13 Reasons Why?.

After a marginal performance, the performer offered his Word Up! clue (where the dancer is forced to say one word in their real voice) and chose broadway.

Paula picked up on the idea that the dancer made an L on his forehead using his fingers (used a lot on Glee) and this confirmed to her that the dancer was Matthew Morrison. Brian Austin Green focused on the doctors coat and the Mickey Mouse Club reference and thought it might be a pro dancer like Britney Spears ex, Kevin Federline. Ashley Tisdale seemed intrigued by the Broadway clue and thought it could be Jason Derulo who suffered an accident while filming Cats.

Next up was the lanky Ice Cube. We learn from his intro video that he lived a privileged life as a child and that while his mother worked at or with the White House. There were also a couple of unclear (at least to us) references to both corn and ballerina shoes which arent the first things we would consider pairing. The biggest clues were the numerous references to climate change and the periodic table, indicating that the star was likely some sort of activist.

Ice Cube decided to shake his groove thing by dancing to Postmodern Jukeboxs Bad Romance. Gotta say, he looked a little stiff and we immediately had flashbacks to Ice-Ts moves last week.

For his Word Up! choice, the dancer said that he was a 90s icon. Hmm. Ken immediately believed the dancer was Bill Nye, The Science Guy. Brian Austin Green mused that it could be a Guns N Roses band member like Axl Rose or Slash before finally settling on the host of Politically Incorrect, Bill Maher. Paula Abdul went with CNNs Anderson Cooper.

Zebra was up next and his intro video started with a slate that mentioned Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho. We also learned that Zebra has fallen out of the limelight and grew up in a rough neighborhood. The number 11 was featured along with a car that had the letters OS embossed on it. The Zebra also wore a medal around his neck in the video. Hmm. Your guess is as good as ours. The video also said that there was only one direction for him to go, that he was ready to become larger than life, and that the president knew his name (although, we arent entirely sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing).

Our initial thoughts were that he might be a member of a boy band like New Kids on the Block or the Backstreet Boys (Larger Than Life anyone?). That was before we heard the song choice of Magalenha by Sergio Mendes.

After a wild performance, Zebra said comeback as his Word Up! clue prompting Brian to believe that it might be Enrique Iglesias (remember him?!), Marc Anthony, or Ricky Martin. Ken was torn between Pitbull and Kevin Richardson from the Backstreet Boys.

[video_embed id='2113387']RELATED: JoJo Siwa Addresses Game Controversy [/video_embed]

Cotton Candy was up next and her demure presence was a sharp contrast to her rivals. Her intro video put an emphasis on breakfast and the idea that she was a perfectionist who moved in with a new family. Other clues included her feeling homesick along with cupcakes that had big lips on them. In a first, we also got to see some rehearsal footage where Cotton Candy fell from a hula hoop that was hung from the ceiling (an almost too obvious homage to P!nk). She seemed to pull her best Taylor Swift impression by shaking it off and moving forward.

When the music hit, our initial thought seemed to be bang on as Cotton Candy chose Glitter in the Air by P!nk as her track. We also appreciated her tenacity as she got back up on the hula hoop and twirled down to the stage before completing a majestic slow dance that confirmed the idea that she was a trained dancer of some kind. After offering up primetime as her Word Up! clue in a relatively high-pitched voice, the dancer waited for what the judges would say. Paula Abdul thought that it was Jenna Dewan. Brian stated the obvious and went with P!nk. Ken and Ashley both thought that it wasDancing With The Stars alum Julianne Hough.

The final performer of the evening was another tall dancer. Moth easily had the best costume of the night and her video was also the most interesting. The dancer behind the mask admitted that moths often dont seek out the spotlight and that it just happens to draw them in. She said that this was a metaphor for her life. There was a box of clothes featured as one of the main clues (Tidying Up With Marie Kondo anyone?) We then learn that the moth lived a regular life until she made headlines with the president and suffered through a traumatic experience. Come on, this one is too easy. It has to be Monica Lewinsky right? We also think that it could be Fox News host Megyn Kelly as well.

The dance itself had a very country flair which is to be expected when the song is Boot Scootin Boogie by Brooks and Dunn. The performance was good but its hardly fair to the Moth as she had to follow Cotton Candys breathtaking aerial display. And yes, that is a sentence we never thought we would ever write.

Moth chose inspired as her Word Up! clue and the judges agreed with our initial assessment. Ashley thought it was Megyn Kelly. Paula and Brian both went with Monica Lewinsky (a guess that the Moth didnt seem too happy about, indicating that the obvious choice might not be the right one). The Moths clear denial caused Paula to reassess her choice, choosing Donald Trumps ex, Marla Maples, instead.

While not as obvious as last weeks, Ice Cube was voted the audiences least favourite. The judges then made their final guesses but not before a few last minute clues.

Ice Cube confirmed that millions of people had seen him on TV, that he had a big social media following and that he had more than a speck of white hair.

Time for the final guesses with Ashley going for former Vice-President Al Gore. Ken suggested that the dollar bills could be a reference to the dancers first name and doubled down on his earlier guess of Bill Nye.

Paula decided to change her guess, switching from Anderson Cooper to Tim Dunn from Project Runway. Brian did not divert from his initial path and went all in on Bill Maher.

It turns out Ice Cube was Bill Nye, The Science Guy and that Ken was right all along! (And if youve seen any Masked Singer, you know thats a true rarity.)

WatchThe Masked DancerWednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

[video_embed id='2112242']BEFORE YOU GO: Mom mocks brother's modelling poses with hilarious pictures of her son [/video_embed]

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Ice Cube melts away on 'The Masked Dancer' - etalk

Donald Trump has fallen far from the President who enjoyed a lavish State Visit to the UK last year.

Fourteen days before he is booted from office, he reached a new low by telling Capitol rioters we love you.

The Presidents baseless claims the election was stolen from him earned a rebuke from the UK.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said Trumps comments directly led to the violence by his supporters in Washington.

She told the BBC: So far hes failed to condemn that violence, and that is completely wrong.

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Ms Patels condemnation was notable partly because it is so rare.

In the past her fellow Tory ministers and backbenchers have cosied up to the President to win his favour - despite warnings at the time about his character.

Even on Wednesday night, when he condemned the violence via Twitter, Boris Johnson made no mention of Donald Trump.

Ms Patel insisted Britain should look forward, not backwards, as Joe Biden enters the White House.

The fact of the matter is they are now transitioning to a new President, she said.

This isnt about going back and reflecting on personal relationships.

But for the sake of argument, what would we find if we did? Here are seven times Tory MPs were more friendly than they needed to be to the US President.

The Prime Minister used to be blunt about Donald Trump.

In 2015 he accused him of stupefying ignorance for saying parts of London are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives.

Perhaps for diplomatic reasons, Mr Johnson cooled off on the criticism when both men were in government. But critics say he went too far in trying to appease the President - who lavished praised on him and called him 'Britain Trump'.

As Foreign Secretary 2018 he even suggested Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize.

He said: If he can fix North Korea and the Iran nuclear deal then I dont see why hes any less of a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama, who got it before he even did anything.

The PM of course had history with Barack Obama - who he branded part-Kenyan and accused of an ancestral dislike of the British empire in 2016.

As he hoped for a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, the PM repeatedly stopped short of criticising Trump directly, even in his worst controversies - and even when it was clear he had lost the 2020 election.

Needless to say, the much-hoped-for Brexit trade deal with the US hasnt materialised yet.

Michael Gove, rather than a full-time journalist, won the first UK interview with Trump after his election.

It later emerged Rupert Murdoch had sat in the room, amid claims the newspaper mogul had a hand in setting up the meeting.

The write-up in The Times praised the incoming Presidents intelligence, saying: Mr Trumps number-rich analysis of defence spending reflects a businessmans ability to cut through jargon to get to the essentials of a case.

Mr Gove also called Trump the master of the profit and loss accounts and a determined negotiator, and they talked about their shared Scottish heritage.

The interview asked Trump about his Muslim ban, which hed stood by weeks earlier, but the answer didnt make it into the final edit of Mr Goves write-up.

To cap it all, the Tory MP then posed with the President-elect with his thumbs up.

Unfortunately for him the friendly tactics didnt work - as when he ran for Tory leader two and half years later, Trump said: I dont know him.

Now Commons Leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg repeatedly sprang to Trumps defence as a backbencher.

Asked in 2016 if he would vote for Trump, he replied: I would almost certainly vote Republican if I were in America. That was nine months after the President demanded a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

Two years later Mr Rees-Mogg urged MPs to lay out the reddest of red carpets for the President and treat him with the greatest respect and courtesy.

He also took up Trumps claim that he was Americas Mr Brexit.

In a 2018 article headlined President Trump will be our greatest ally after Brexit, Mr Rees-Mogg wrote: His election depended upon similar factors to those that led to Brexit.

He appealed to voters left behind by the metropolitan elite and he exudes confidence about his own nation and a determination not to be a manager of decline, which also inspires the Brexiteers.

The Tory MP for Romford gave fuel to Trumps baseless voter fraud claims with an image he tweeted the day after the US election.

The MPs account shared a crude meme showing Trump as the American Eagle, wrestling back the flag from Biden who was depicted in the form of communism rising from the dead.

It happened after Trump went on TV to demand legal votes stop being counted.

The Tory MP for Morley and Outwood didnt hold back in her enthusiasm for the US President.

When he was mooted for the Nobel Peace Prize she tweeted: "Surely even critics of @realDonaldTrump can recognise his good work in this area.

She shouted "you're welcome Mr President!" down from her office window at anti-Trump protesters while playing with a nodding-head toy of the President during his June 2019 visit to the UK.

"We should roll out the red carpet and welcome President Trump," she said at the time.

And she urged him to "win the election" after he was struck down with coronavirus.

Of course wishing his good health is what any sensible person would do. But urging him to win the election, two days after he refused to condemn white supremacists in a TV debate, is a little different.

Shipley MP Philip Davies is another backbencher who was enthusiastic about the US President in the past.

In 2016, after the President called for a ban on Muslims entering the US, MPs debated banning Trump from entering the UK in retaliation.

But Mr Davies insisted: "He is not a serious threat of harm to our society in any way. The uproar is largely because he is rich, white and politically incorrect, and that, to me, is really the crux of the issue."

He added: Lots of my constituents agree with what Donald Trump said, whether I like it or not. [Should they] be expelled from the country as a result of their views?

In the same year he added: I think that we should celebrate politicians who stand up and say things that are unpopular and controversial.

Theresa May was partly a prisoner of her office - she had to cosy up to Trump for the sake of diplomacy.

But no-one forced her to invite him for a State Visit just a week after his 2017 inauguration - a move that prompted furious protests and a petition that hit a million supporters within days.

World leaders are not automatically offered state visits. Barack Obama was afforded one in 2011 and George Bush had one in 2003, but no other US Presidents had one during the Queens reign.

Mrs May stood by her decision in the face of angry protests and the full State Visit eventually happened in 2019. But she may well have regretted it.

Donald Trump used another visit in 2018 to put a wrecking ball to her Brexit deal, calling her foolish and saying: I actually told Theresa May how to do it but she didnt agree, she didnt listen to me.

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7 times Tories cosied up to Donald Trump despite the warning signs - Mirror Online

When we moved into our neighbourhood a decade ago, it was a quiet and elegant area with wide streets and gap-toothed by the occasional vacant lot that multiple car families and visitors could use to park their vehicles.

Over time, the children in the hood grew up and people moved in and out but the essence of the area remained unruffled.

However, in one aspect the surroundings have changed and Im going to put it out here at the risk of sounding politically incorrect.

We have seen a marked increase in animals and birds in the area pets as well as strays and the public endorsement of the practice of feeding strays means that there are feeding stations all over the place.

One household keeps out trays of stale bread pieces for pigeons and another puts up a regular banquet for the cats in the street all nine or 10 of them.

A couple of houses down the line, a kindly lady shares her pet dogs treats with a steadily increasing pack of stray dogs.

In between these feeding times, the animals romp around and hunt for snacks in the municipal garbage bins.

And then there are pet-owners who walk their dogs and have decided to ignore the October 2020 Capital Trustees Board suggestion that the dog-owners must scoop the poop and not be allowed to leave public places dirty and unhygienic.

It is a practice that is followed in some of the most fashionable places from Hyde Park to the Champs Elysees, so why not the parks and streets of Bahrain?

Now, I am not a pet owner and while not a passionate animal-lover, I do vigorously defend animal rights.

I fail to understand though, why my neighbourhood must pay the price for the animal-feeding instincts of people who themselves dont have so many pets. Those pigeon-feeders and cat-feeders are happily pet-free and the feeder of canines has just one happy dog to care for in her own space.

All these people inflict their need to feed these creatures on the neighbourhoods public space without taking responsibility for the animals. Want to feed 10 cats?

Sure, but do so in the privacy of your garden and not in the street in front of my house. And why not contribute to a neutering programme for these kitties so that they will not multiply every year and over-run the block?

As for pigeons, I think there must be a law against dumping stale food in public places for birds or any creatures for that matter.

The way some restaurants simply trash the small roundabouts and pavements nearby under the pretext of feeding the birds is bad for public health.

Who are they kidding when they throw away yesterdays smelly biryani leftovers and say the pigeons love the meal?

The menace of stray dogs is often over-exaggerated there is a difference between strays and feral packs but the line dividing them is thin indeed.

If I wanted to share my life with pets, I would have gotten myself one and I feel quite put upon that I have to now swerve my car or walk gingerly around prowling cats and dogs in a street that originally beguiled me with its monastic quiet.

Im seriously thinking of starting an awareness campaign against the irresponsibility of making your street a zoo without checks and balances.

Suggestions are welcome.

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Comment: Help! There's a zoo in my street - Gulf Digital News

Carson Field

Months ago, the club formerly known as the Washington Redskins made headlines when the organization announced it would be known as the Washington Football Team, scrapping the politically incorrect nickname.

Changing Washingtons team name had been discussed for years, with people on one side claiming the Redskins mascot as offensive and racist, and opposers claiming that many Native Americans approve of the nickname. There was truth to both sides, but the club ultimately decided Redskins would be a thing of the past.

One of Washingtons most notable players of the past two decades, tight end Chris Cooley, recently shared his insight on the issue with me. During his time playing and broadcasting for the organization, Cooley had the chance to visit more than 100 reservations, giving him a valuable perspective.

At the time, I didnt feel like there was as much sensitivity to the actual name, but that was seven years ago, Cooley said. I think a lots changed in our society and how we view some of what were cultural norms and our sensitivity to those things.

I think its positive for the team moving forward, he said of abandoning the Redskins moniker. I think its something that everybodys going to have to adjust to. You dont want your players and everyone working for your organization to have any negative connotation or stigma surrounding it.

I tend to agree with Cooley. It is better for the franchise to get rid of the name that is quite literally a slur and marginalizes indigenous people, even if a chunk of the Native population isnt offended.

The problem is the slippery slope this change inadvertently created. Recently, the Cleveland Indians of MLB announced they will have a different nickname, starting in 2022.

Though getting rid of the blatantly-racist Chief Wahoo logo in 2018 was a definite step in the right direction, Im not sure removing the iconic Indians nickname solves anything.

The moniker Indians isnt degrading in any way. Unlike Redskins, which objectifies Native people by using a slur to describe a skin color, Indians just refers to the overarching population of indigenous people in the United States.

If anything, the name pays tribute to Native Americans across the country. No one is looking at the Indians nickname and making fun of tribal people. No one.

And with Indians being removed, I fully expect the outrage mob to continue down this dangerous slope. Its next victims? The Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Blackhawks.

That would be one-upping the wokeness of stripping Cleveland of its nickname. Braves literally honors the Native American community with its name and using the word brave. The moniker Chiefs depicts a fierce, strong tribal warrior. And Blackhawks pays tribute to a tribal leader, Black Hawk, who was a Native American historical figure in Illinois.

Whats most befuddling about the recent need to remove these historical names is that the main demographic of people fueling these movements is white people.

Various polls and studies have shown that tribe members are overwhelmingly not offended by names like Indians, Braves, Chiefs or Blackhawks. Some studies have even shown a high percentage indifferent to the Redskins moniker, even if that change was widely seen as necessary.

My problem is that people unaffected by the stigma are the most triggered. Its one thing to take issue with racist logos like Chief Wahoo or derogatory nicknames like Redskins. But getting bent out of shape by generic names like Indians, Chiefs or Braves as someone not affected is perplexing.

Personally, Im not a member of any tribe, but much of the heritage on my fathers side of the family is Cherokee. I dont find names like Indians, Braves or Chiefs disrespectful to any tribal ancestors of mine, and neither do my relatives. I actually think its a neat way to honor them, as long as offensive imagery (such as Chief Wahoo and other past logos) isnt used.

If the mob finds a way to cancel these generic tribal-based names, almost any team name is in danger of being canceled for various reasons.

What about the Minnesota Vikings? Might people with Scandinavian descent find the brash portrayal of their ancestors offensive? Or what about the Oakland Athletics? Does being called the Athletics make non-athletic people feel bad? Arent all bodies beautiful?

While the latter of those examples is somewhat hyperbolic, its more than likely that other team names will find new ways to become taboo in our 21st century world. Its very possible that sporting events are between the red team and the blue team one day because of societys need to find any and everything offensive.

Though I find changing the Indians or Braves, Chiefs and Blackhawks moniker ridiculous, Im all for improving the portrayal of Native American communities with these teams.

Whether thats getting rid of offensive logos, like Chief Wahoo, or teams honoring Native American communities before every game, I think the franchises should do everything in their power to ensure that the portrayal is positive. Items that are sacred to Native Americans (i.e. headdresses) should be banned to patrons, as the Blackhawks did a couple years back.

And like I said, it was long overdue for Washington to remove the harmful Redskins nickname. That moniker was dehumanizing and needed to go.

But ridding professional sports of any generic tribal nickname is excessive and will only perpetuate a dangerous trend of oversensitivity.

Original post:
Where's the line between offensive and overly politically correct? - Powell Tribune

Corn Nuts. Fotomat. A Truckasaurus rally.

The 80s are alive and kicking in the San Fernando Valley courtesy of Cobra Kais Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), a hard-drinking, heavy metal holdover from an era when Twisted Sister ruled the charts and No Fat Chicks bumper stickers were commonplace.

The karate dramedys lead carries Season 3, which premieres New Years Day on its new platform, Netflix. The streamer picked up the YouTube Premium series last year, delighting loyal Kai fans by adding the first two seasons to its catalog and announcing there would soon be a third.

Season 3 of the self-aware, kitschy soap takes place 36 years after the original Karate Kid movie, on which the series is based. Though Johnny and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) are now in their 50s, their long-simmering rivalry has spilled over to the students of their competing dojos. Now the Valley is home to an all-out struggle between karate gangs. These food-court warriors include LaRussos earnest daughter, Samantha (Mary Mouser); Johnnys delinquent son, Robby (Tanner Buchanan); and Johnnys neighbor, high schooler Miguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena). And Johnnys former teacher, Kreese (Martin Kove), who stole his dojo, is more than happy to fan the flames.

Campy, fun and nostalgic, this series from Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg continues to build pop culture lore around the aging film franchise, looking toward the future by drawing from the past. The main characters fortunes have reversed since they battled it out at the All-Valley Karate Tournament way back when. Rich kid Johnny is a broke, divorced handyman who lives alone in a crappy Reseda apartment. Poor kid Daniel is a successful businessman who lives in the upscale West Valley with his seemingly perfect family.

But while a lot has changed since 1984, Johnny is not part of the evolution. Watching the Coors Banquet-drinking, Tango & Cash-loving waster navigate todays Valley, with its vegan menus, overpriced rental market and confusing array of craft cocktails, is a blast.

The unapologetic throwback still calls women babes, wears a long-sleeved thermal under his flannel shirt and rocks out to the Cres Kickstart My Heart. Pretty much everything he says is politically incorrect, and not in a Rush Limbaugh sort of way. Snowflakes are still just frozen water to Johnny.

Ralph Macchio, left, and William Zabka in Cobra Kai.

(Curtis Bonds Baker / Netflix)

Those of us who grew up in the Valley in the 80s will recognize Johnny as a former classmate or perhaps a version of our clueless, high school selves Dude! Bro! Hell either make you shudder or laugh. I did both.

But theres a charm and innocence in the way he views modern times through vintage Ray-Bans. Facebook is mostly still a mystery to him, but when he does manage to type a message out, its in ALL CAPS. Why would that imply hes a serial killer?

Season 3 of Cobra Kai capitalizes on Johnnys woefully out-of-touch ways and the steep learning curve he faces while trying to impress an old flame, at once helping the viewer understand the characters time-capsule quality and poking fun at it. The teens he trains in karate even coach him on the basics of living in the 21st century: Bullying is bad, sexism is worse, and its not OK to nickname students things like penis breath. (Hand-to-hand combat never drops out of fashion in the world of Cobra Kai though.)

There are too many spoilers to get into plot specifics, but if you liked the last two seasons, youll love the new one. Original characters from the first film appear throughout, giving the sense that the series has a much wider arc than it really does, while new characters continue to push the story forward.

Cobra Kai has already been renewed for a fourth season, so expect more high-flying kicks in the tony homes west of Ventura Boulevard and in the dilapidated mini-malls of Reseda. Or is it Van Nuys? Johnny doesnt care where it is or how the place has changed . The Valley is still the Valley, where rock rules and karate is as bitchin as ever.

Cobra Kai

Where: Netflix

When: Any time, starting Friday

Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14)

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'Cobra Kai' Season 3 vividly captures a man stuck in the 80s - Los Angeles Times

In response to the front page article in the 12/27 Sunday paper, all I can say is that I am enraged. Not only am I enraged at the blatant racism -- yes, racism, not a slight politically incorrect faux paus -- of one of the representatives of this town posing in front of a confederate flag, I am even more surprised and disappointed with the Tullahoma News giving Amacher the unrivalled platform to defend herself. The confederate flag is a racist symbol, and the only stance that anyone who considers themselves an upstanding citizen can take is one of disgust and abhorrence.

What I am asking for is fair and respectful journalism, something that article in which the majority of the content is copied from a Facebook page cannot boast. I have been a citizen of Tullahoma since I was born, and this article was a disappointment to the journalistic integrity that the people of Tullahoma deserve. I sincerely hope the Tullahoma News does better in the future for all its readers and citizens.

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Advocating for equitable journalism | Letters to the Editor - Tullahoma News and Guardian

Lets stick to the facts

Regarding The Denver Gazettes Dec. 24 report, Climate change, human activity, might risk ptarmigan population: What a misleading headline! I know you try to show both sides of an issue, but headlines should reflect what is in the article. The article says two things that the ptarmigan population has held steady since 1960, when first studied, and secondly that wildlife officials fear for the future because of human activity and global warming.

Wouldnt a better headline be, Ptarmigan population holds steady despite growing fears? Obviously, human activity has increased greatly since 1960, and despite decades of horrific predictions of climate catastrophe, our summer temps have held pretty steady. (Raw temperature data shows much higher temps in the 1930s and 1950s.) I know its politically correct to be alarmed by climate change, but lets stick to the facts and not some political agenda.

Stephen Tanberg

Denver

As the numbers continue to fall, and the post Thanksgiving surge did not happen, Governor Jared Polis extends the states emergency order over the Covid Pandemic. I struggle with the all of the contradictory information that is given to us about what we need to do and what is happening.

I listened to Dr. Anthony Fauci yesterday and he said frankly everything he and his peers propose as possibilities is guess work and how they need to be humble while presenting their predictions.

This being the case, if masks are so helpful then why do we have to socially distance ourselves? Because the masks we are being told to wear do not protect us. They only minimize exposure to others. How about we fund quality masks that do protect us and then just open everything up so people who need it the most can go back to work?

We have a vaccine, yet we continue to hear about doom and gloom and how yet another surge is coming. It is time to allow people to protect themselves, take personal responsibility as to how they want to expose themselves or not and move on with life.

John Pickard

Lakewood

When does electoral preference trump patients lives?

Is it mere coincidence, or evidence of election bias, that the AMA (American Medical Association) completely reversed its public opinion on usage of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) (a drug which demonstrably can arrest the progress of COVID-19 in patients if used early in their distress) mere hours after Mondays US Electoral College vote?

How is it that anything, which is touted as highly dangerous on one day, becomes innocuous overnight?

How is it now, that the cheap and long-respected drug which the AMA relentlessly pilloried before the Presidential Election, is now deemed OK to be taken at a patients discretion?

Given this charade, should we, the people of America, ever-again believe anything which issues from the so-called AMA?

Russell W. Haas

Golden

I was floored to read the article by Jon Talton about the growth of the tech industry in Austin. (Austin is winning recruits among the technology elite, Dec. 28) He clearly has never been to Austin and knows nothing about his conclusions about what is happening there.

The more you read, the more this just looks like a sour grapes tale from a Seattle writer who cannot understand why anyone would want to leave Seattle or Silicon Valley. The largest point here is that everything said in the second half of the article is a flat out lie. He has so many incorrect statements in there, I could not tell if he was trying to convince others from going there, or if he really was that dumb. That article truly was fake news.

Brad Bernero

Parker

Many of us are finding this political climate hard to digest. We have been living through a slow degradation of truth telling because it has become emotional. Its amazing that many Americans still really care about the truth and can see that it has become hidden and labeled politically incorrect.

I am so glad that our parents are not here to see the division rising in America because of the loss of integrity in so many areas of our republic. Our Freedom of the Press has been completely turned into a tool for divisiveness.

Most major television networks and newspapers do not allow reporters to inform Americans on the issues without a bias attached. Most Reporters have changed to political advocates.

Some very significant news items are being completely obliterated by these entities, which is the same as covering up the truth. News outlets on paper and on television and radio are being manipulated and used as advocacy for a narrow narrative. The result can be citizens with a narrow knowledge of the facts.

If we Americans (yes, even the senior citizens) do not stand up for truth, our beloved USA will cease to exist. Even now, the current example is so easy to see. Just test a few different news outlets: The New York Post, Newsmax.com, The Epoch Times or some local small town newspapers. These have owners that are not afraid of the six billionaires that own (literally and figuratively) most news outlets.

These few newspapers are empowering their reporters to tell the whole story.

I love my country despite all of its faults and have traveled the world to see others. If you have ever visited countries where the people were duped into believing a false narrative, they lost their freedom. Rogue governments slowly took away the citizens right to the truth and they took away the peoples power over their own destinies.

I ask you to search for the truth and share it with others despite the fact that you will be dealing with brainwashed citizens many of whom will refuse to hear you.

I pray that we will see courageous heroes arise that will help all of us see why this terrible anarchy and disrespect for our democratic institutions is happening so that we can stand for the truth too.

M.C. Hunter

Cherry Hills Village

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LETTERS: Let's stick to the facts; time to move on with life - Colorado Springs Gazette

Voat, a controversial Reddit clone that hosted politically incorrect content and conspiracy theories like QAnon, has been shut down by its owner due to a lack of funds.

An investor defaulted on the contract in March 2020, site co-founder Justin Chastain wrote in a post announcing its closure, and as such the site lost all of its funding.

Mr Chastain personally decided to keep Voat up until after the US election of 2020, and had been paying the costs out of pocket but now [was] out of money.

Some say life is worth it all if you can help just one single person. In this way I know Voat was worth it because you guys have changed thousands and thousands of peoples hearts and minds. Youve made so many people aware of the lies taught as truth and the truth taught as conspiracy. Its beautiful. What a great thing, Mr Chastain continued.

Voat launched in 2014 as an alternative Reddit platform dedicated to free speech, and as such allowed hate speech, racism, and other content that would be banned on more mainstream platforms.

Voats web host, hosteurope.de, dropped support for the site in the same year after it received significant information that the content on [the] server includes political incorrect parts that are unacceptable for us.

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It also said that it had to take action due to the fact that we cannot keep bond of trust to you as our customer.

Since then, the website had reportedly been host to other antisemitic and racist content, and had apparently been approached by an unnamed US agency due to the large quantity of death threats made on the platform.

Parler describes itself as "unbiased social media focused on real user experiences and engagement" that allows "free expression without violence and no censorship. It is home to numerous far-right figures including Milo Yiannopoulos, Proud Boys creator Gavin McInnes, as well high-profile US republicans like Ted Cruz. Anti-Muslim far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer. Candace Owens and Katie Hopkins also use the platform.

Discussion of Voat on those platforms is currently scarce. There were no posts on Gab that were immediately visible when searching for Voat, while only 19 posts on Parler used the hashtag #voat at time of writing.

I just saw that #Voat is shutting down on Christmas. I tried Voat. It was by far the most frustrating userbase I've interacted with, one user wrote on Parler about the websites closure.

"I think it took a day for me to be called a 'n****** lover. I was so conditioned to SJWs [social justice warriors] calling me a racist I took it as a compliment."

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Voat shutdown: QAnon and anti-vaccination Reddit clone shut down on Christmas Day - The Independent

BRENDAN OCARROLL Says Mrs Browns Boys Will Never Be Cancelled, after complaints about political correctness

Brendan OCarroll the comic genius creator of the award-winning, hit BBC comedy show, Mrs Browns Boys, where he has dressed in drag as matriarch Agnes Brown, the shows leading character, since the 1990s, has told The Irish Sun that he believes his show will never get cancelled even after recent claims that the show was not politically correct, in the wake of other top comedy shows like Little Britain being pulled from the TV after being deemed politically incorrect for using blackface.

Brendan said, I dont think Mrs Brown will be affected, and I often question myself, is Mrs Brown, me, a man, dressing up as a woman to play Mrs Brown, the same as blackface? And I decided no its not, because Ive never played Mrs Brown as a man playing a woman like they do in films like Mrs Doubtfire. Agnes is a woman like Dame Edna. Overall, its very hard to draw the line in comedy. I suppose we all have a remote control, and the ability to buy or not buy a ticket.

He continued, I would never go out of my way to be racist or homophobic. Im not that worried myself because I only write what I think is funny, and you hope that enough of an audience agrees with you.

OCarroll had signed a new six-year deal with the BBC only days before Mrs Browns Boys returned with a new special on Christmas Day, but only 3.8 million viewers tuned in to watch, the lowest figure in 10 years.

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My earliest memory of Flash was that it got me into trouble. I had heard about a website that hosted brutal games, including one particularly difficult shooter starring an audacious yellow alien. I soon discovered that this site, Newgrounds.com, brimmed with warped takes on American culture within minutes, I had battered Osama Bin Laden and chainsawed my way through a string of office colleagues. The next day, I visited the site at a friends house, and we massacred a school. In the evening, his mum rang mine to ask why her son had been undressing Britney Spears.

On December 31, Flash dies. Adobe will stop updates and recommend you uninstall it. This end has been a long time coming since June 2017, officially; unofficially, since April 2010, when Apples Steve Jobs announced that Flash would not run on the iPhone. Its legacy lives on in Adult Swim cartoons and zany mobile games. Toiling conservationists continue to convert and archive old Flash content before it is lost forever.

Flashs death is, in many ways, incidental there may even be an impulse to welcome it. For those of a certain age, the command please install Flash Player still provokes a tinge of irritation, as they remember how it came between them and that bopping badger video. But the softwares end is also a synecdoche of an aesthetic project years in the making. Its a reminder of how the web has been cleaned up; how it has been transformed from a messy and amateur space into a glossy and corporate one.

Flash animations could be crude and childish; they could be profane and pornographic. They were politically incorrect, an ideology that sometimes bled into real life the creator of Stick Assault is now a racist YouTuber. One member of Newgrounds posted two cartoons clown and target practice before shooting up his school.

But these are isolated examples among a generally harmless chaos. If there was a small share of depravity, its because Flash was so easy to use. What would have taken a studio of animators months to draw could be produced in just a few days, as Flash algorithmically generated the images between two keyframes. This led to its iconic lilting movement motion without cycles, in the technical jargon accompanied by the thick black outlines required to endure the poor resolutions of computer monitors.

The most memorable of these creations came from David Firth. Where Newgrounds was unquestionably American, Fat-Pie, Firths website, was intrinsically British. Salad Fingers, the creepy green humanoid with spinning digits, is his most famous character, but I watched every one of his night-terror creations, from eloquent locusts, to mass-murdering milkmen, to Burnt Face Man, the inept superhero who claimed that crime is a shit that needs cleaning up. His cartoons, often paired with music from Aphex Twin, obliquely reflected British society Chris Morriss satire without the politics. In the early 2000s, they looked how I felt.

The best animation, argues the film critic Richard Brody, captures the spontaneity, the free-flowing imagination, and the uninhibited sense of fun at the heart of the medium. Flash spread these instincts across the web. The worst Flash websites were a thing to behold remember restaurant sites with pumping muzak and flying food? There seemed no one framework back then.

In this sense, Flash was a bridge between generations. Its creator, Jonathan Gay, explained that the web could have settled on a filmic experience, based on movies and television, rather than the textual, Twittersphere we accept now. Flash facilitated the personalisation associated with Web 1.0 relics like Geocities, with users encouraged to manually code, design and manage their website, in the words of the architecture critic Kate Wagner, a state of affairs replaced by the corporate, professionally designed web that we cannot customise but must experience. This new professional web is glossy, uniform and minimalist, typified by app stores, smartphones and Facebook. Participatory portal culture, which websites like Newgrounds kicked off, is supercharged, but personalisation is destroyed.

Some of this change was positive, argued Anastasia Satler, who co-authored the best book on Flashs history. A new respect for accessibility has flourished. But a lot of it boils down to what Wagner calls Website Eugenics, where the democratic, anyone-can-edit ethos of the web is handcuffed by Big Tech. You can push the whole subversion of media narrative too far (Flash was still controlled by a corporate giant; users were still mainly crafting scatological gags influenced by South Park) but Flash provided a striking amount of freedom.

Flash certainly was never perfect, but for a proprietary platform, Flash at its height offered us unprecedented tools for the production and distribution of an open interactive web, writes Satler. Its interface invited in amateurs who could play around with drawing tools; its programming environment was largely self-contained, and its content-neutral approach invited experimentation and controversial work.

Apple claimed that Flash didnt work: that it was a sluggish battery drain, ripe for hacking. Whether this was true or not, the move still amounted to a power grab by a man who hated the webs amateurism. The mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards all areas where Flash falls short, wrote Jobs. Its true the Flash era web fell short in many areas where the modern web excels, not least in monetising addiction and surveillance. The webs messiness represented a kind of amateur autonomy. Flash never stood a chance.

Will Bedingfield is a staff writer for WIRED. He tweets from @WillBedingfield

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Flash is finally dead. This is why we should all mourn its passing - Wired.co.uk