Black Panthers

The recent Beyonce' SuperBowl controversy has sparked a lot of discussion centered on the 1960's Civil Rights group who called themselves the 'Black Panthers.'  The reaction from White America has been mostly one of fear and misinformation.

Who were the 'True' Black Panthers?   (History & Study Guide)

How do current Social Justice struggles align with what the Black Panthers advocated?

What are the similarities/ differences with Black Lives Matter?

Socialists in the Locker Room?!

What is Socialism?

Is 'Wealth Redistribution' a good Idea?

How is Socialism different from Capitalism?

The Superbowl is perhaps America's greatest celebration of Capitalism;  or is it?!

Superbowl Guilt

Is it immoral to watch the Superbowl?

Medical research has confirmed that football can cause catastrophic brain injury — not as a rare and unintended consequence, but as a routine byproduct of how the game is played. That puts us fans in a morally queasy position. We not only tolerate this brutality. We sponsor it, just by watching at home. We’re the reason the N.F.L. will earn $5 billion in television revenue alone next year.

Who is Patrick Tillman and why did the Government lie to us about his story?

How do Advertiser's lie to us everyday?

Watch these Superbowl Commercials and see if you can identify the Propaganda.

Economists would answer these questions in terms of Externalities.  You may not have made the concussive tackle that left a player injured or pulled the trigger that tragically killed Patrick Tillman; but these are the negative externalities of the NFL and War.  If you watched the game or support the war without thinking about the consequences, some would suggest you are guilty by association.

Are there Positive Externalities?

Tired of your parents and teachers always badgering you to put your phone away....

What would Apple have you believe are the positive externalities of always being on your phone?

What are the negative externalities of using your I phone in class?

#YallQaeda

Armed anti-government protesters are dug in for a long stay on the federal land they seized in Oregon this January. The group pledges to remain encamped in a federal building on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for as long as it takes for the government to give the land "back to the people."

Read the story and then answer these questions on the Google Class:

1) Who are these protesters also known as "#YallQaeda' and what do they want?

2) What 'Constitutional Rights' do they claim to be defending?

3) Are these protesters 'Heroes' or 'Terrorists?' Whats the difference?

4) How would John Adams have treated the Protesters under the 'Alien & Sedition' Acts? Why?

5) How do you think the US Government should treat them now? Explain.

Lessons From The Past

Should the Government allow 10,000 refugees to come to the United States?

At first glance one might think this poll reflects public sentiment on the growing Syrian refugee crisis following the tragic attacks on Paris last week;  but that would be incorrect.

Two-thirds of Americans polled by Gallup’s American Institute of Public Opinion in January 1939 said they would not take in 10,000 German Jewish refugee children. Fewer than 5 percent of Americans surveyed at the time believed that the United States should raise its immigration quotas or encourage political refugees fleeing fascist states in Europe — the vast majority of whom were Jewish — to voyage across the Atlantic. Two-thirds of the respondents agreed with the proposition that "we should try to keep them out.

In May, 1939, the SS St. Louis, a ship of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution left Hamburg, bound for Havanna, Cuba. Without their knowledge, their landing passes had been voided by the Cuban President, Laredo Bru. When the ship arrived in Cuba, the passengers were not allowed to debark. Representatives from the Jewish Joint Distribution committee negotiated with the Cuban government, but to no avail. The passengers appealed to President Roosevelt to allow them to land in the United States, but they were again turned away. The ship was forced to return to Europe, where two-thirds of the passengers would perish in the Holocaust.

What might have happened had the US reacted differently?

What does the past teach us about the events of today? 

Debt of Honor

Take an unflinching look at the reality of warfare and disability through interviews with prominent disabled veterans, including Representative Tammy Duckworth, former Georgia Senator Max Cleland and former Commander of Fort Belvoir, Gregory Gadson.

'Lame Stream' Media

The image of Republican candidates pushing back against antagonistic questioning from CNBC’s three moderators, who have since been called everything from “snide” to “arrogant,” fired up the Republican base on the red-meat issue of media bias at a time when Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton has enjoyed weeks of good fortune.

“GOP Wins, CNBC Loses Last Night’s Debate,” said the Thursday analysis by the polling firm Rasmussen Reports, citing a poll showing that 75 percent of voters believe media are more interested in “creating controversies” than reporting the news.

Were the questions at CNBC's debate really so hostile? Let's compare the transcripts.

If GOP Candidates Can't Handle CNBC, How Will They Deal With Russia and China?