Bill Moyers on Gun Violence in America

Here's an eloquent video essay by longtime journalist Bill Moyers about just one of the all-to-frequent acts of domestic violence in America (this one is a shooting in Aurora, CO) and the United States' obsession with guns:

Bill Moyers Essay on the NRA from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

American TV Sitcom Eras

It’s been said that we’re living in an era of “Peak TV.” That’s probably not the case for sit-coms. As long as we have TV, though, we’ll always have them. How have they changed over the decades? This list attempts to answer that question by dividing the most popular American sitcoms into different defining eras.

This list is a work in progress. If anyone has ideas about changes, omissions, etc. I’m more than happy to hear them. Just leave them in the comments.

For this list, I used shows that aired for at least three seasons, or new shows that are currently on the air.

The “Traditional” or “Orthodox” Era (can also be referred to as the “Pre-Seinfeld” era) [Birth of TV - present].  From the invention of television in the 1950s, the overwhelming number of situation comedies were based around "traditional" two-parent families. These shows emphasize the family as the goal and moral center of storytelling. The maintenance of marriage or long-term relationships are seen as a primary goal for the main characters, along with teaching moral lessons to characters, especially younger ones. The plots have a strong inclination to sameness, maintaining the status quo, and resolving conflicts by the time a given episode ends. These shows have been produced throughout the history of television.

Can America’s Problems Be Fixed With More Dancing?

Pundits and commentators are always looking for signs of America’s decline. They will often point to increases in crime and poverty or decrease in literacy or political engagement. There’s one changing aspect of society I believe has been missed by the major critics. I believe an acute sign of moral decay and spiritual decline in America is the general inability of American men to dance.

The idea of social dancing seems irrelevant now, which is kind of the point. There was a time in U.S. history when a man was expected to know how to dance. You weren’t really “social” (i.e. a member of society) until you learned a few steps that you could execute with some kind of skill in group gatherings. This idea goes all the way back to the Middle Ages, where having knowledge of current dances and the ability to do them was required of a young nobleman who wanted to become a knight.

From the earliest days of America’s founding, if you wanted to make a good impression, you had to know how to dance. Nothing overly complicated, just the current fads of the time (The Lindy Hop, The Charleston, The Twist, The Electric Slide), or at least the basic moves involved in leading a partner across the floor in a couples dance.

For decades in America, some of the most famous male celebrities were dancers, from Fred Estaire to James Brown, Bojangles to Baryshnikov, Chubby Checker to Michael Jackson. Dancing wasn’t stupid, ironic, embarrassing, or a sign of weakness. But something happened in American society between the height of Disco in the 1970s and now.

Kyle Rittenhouse Is a Violent Thug Who Got Away with Murder

The verdict that came out of Wisconsin yesterday was bullsh*t.

It was also completely legal. That’s the problem.

A teenage white nationalist jackass picked up his gun and went looking for a battle to fight. He got one. He murdered two people, then cried and claimed self-defense.

And according to the law, he didn’t do anything wrong.

Call it White Privilege. Call it Structural Racism. Whatever you call it, we all just saw it in action. Again.