And take a tip from La Belle France: “Viva la difference!”

[cahwyguy]

Let’s end this week of news chum posts with song lyrics in the title with a very apropos song for a “news chum stew” post: Pete Seeger’s All Mixed Up. The point of the song is a timely lesson for all of those who profess hatred or refuse to permit in refuges:

There were no red-headed Irishmen
Before the Vikings landed in Ireland
How many Romans had dark curly hair
Before they brought slaves from Africa?
No race of man is completely pure,
Nor is anyone’s mind, that’s for sure
The winds mix the dust of every land,
And so will woman and man.

And now, on with the stew:

• These Poor Refuges, They Just Cause Trouble. Let’s start with the story of an immigrant refugee, a man who came to this country with nothing… and ended up not only as a founding father, but as a star on Broadway: Alexander Hamilton. We have two articles about this show: the first gives 20 things you might not have known about Hamilton;  the second is about how the star of Hamilton is really… a woman.
• Women on Broadway. Let’s go with this women theme for a minute. December 3rd is when the updated version of The Wiz is presented live on NBC… and the producers have let us know what their next project will be: They are bringing Bombshell (from Smash) to Broadway.
• Girl… Scouts? This article raises a question that has oft been raised to me as President of a synagogue brotherhood: why do we still have brotherhoods and sisterhoods in congregations. If we are truly egalatarian, they seem archaic institution… especially in this era of trans-rights? We no longer see sex as binary, so why two organizations? What is the article? It seems that a group of girls in California have sued to become part of the Boy Scouts. (if the link doesn’t work, as NYT links might, do this search)
• Racism on Campus. This one saddens me. According to the Daily Cal at UC Berkely, a bunch of students have created a White Student Union page for Berkeley on Facebook (ETA: Subsequenty deleted). This comes on top of the Reply All episode that reexplored racism on campus in light of the MizzU incident. Sad to say, but much as we think racism and bigotry is dead, it isn’t. In fact, we’ve just created new ways for it to rear its ugly head. ETAA: This may have been a hoax, at least with respect to the WSU.
• Visible vs. Invisible. Here’s one that probably isn’t a surprise. With the drought in California, everyone was ripping out their lawns and replacing them with drought-friendly plants. But guess what? Although it was visible, it really didn’t save all that much water. Do you really want to save water? Do something invisible. Replace your toilets and your washing machine.
• No Duh. Here’s a no brainer: If you’re ordering takeout on Christmas or Christmas Eve, odds are that it is Chinese food.
• Music and Bicycling. Here’s an article about how cities are cracking down on distracted bicycling. Now, I’m all for safe bicycling. But I like to listen to my podcasts or music as I ride, just as I do in my car. Why can’t someone invent a bike helmet that can connect (either wired or bluetooth) to an iPod or MP3 player to play music and yet let you hear traffic noise.
• I Never Knew. Lastly, here’s something that surfaced today. Did you know there is a crochet museum in Joshua Tree?

 

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