You would think, if you can find a few Confederate flag decals in as many days in Idaho, you would spot at least one in Colorado. But you would be wrong. In a brief trip there recently, we saw not one Confederate emblem. Not on a car, not on a shirt, not on a tailgate, … Continue reading Rocky Mountain none: Colorado Confederate flag count
If nothing else, this project has been and interesting education in controversial Southern practices. For instance, we had no idea there was a "Confederate Memorial Day" but there is. And it's today. Still celebrated/observed/recognized in Alabama and Mississippi, the holiday closes state offices and invites a remarkably predictable Twitter war. On one side, you have … Continue reading It’s Confederate Memorial Day. Dust off the same old arguments.
The first thing we should say about Amy Chua’s new book “Political Tribes,” is that she deserves great credit for highlighting the importance of group identity to modern politics. Nothing else can explain our current social dynamic, which is driven to a greater and greater degree by social identity, not policy issues. The second thing … Continue reading Political Tribes: A book review
How to go from data mining Facebook to stirring up Confederate sympathizers in four steps.
Recently heard an interesting interview on local radio with author Amy Chua about tribalism in modern politics. While it’s great to hear the discussion of our identities as a driving force between our choices in politics, it’s a little frustrating that the word “tribalism” is being used ubiquitously to refer to social identity. To be … Continue reading “Tribalism” in political commentary means “social identity”
Perhaps we should’ve mentioned that while we didn’t see a single confederate flag in California, we did spot approximately 10,000 Bear Flags. And they wave as something like a flag of the Trump “resistance.” California, today the world’s sixth largest economy, has been raising eyebrows for seeming to live up to the "Republic" title on … Continue reading California Secede? Never(ish).
Italian statesman, military genius and world-trotting General Giuseppe Garibaldi was offered a generalship in the Union Army, but the US declined to meet his conditions for employment. He had two demands, as outlined by an American diplomat in contact with him: He [Garibaldi] said that the only way in which he could render service, as … Continue reading Fun fact No. 6
It's a little validating that our Twitter account was suspended this week on suspicion of being a Russian bot. Twitter wants to crack down on Russian troll farms spreading misinformation and widening division in the American political economy. Look at the news coverage and you'll see that the purge mostly affected conservative outfits, depriving the … Continue reading Sorry Twitter, This is not the Russian Bot You’re Looking For
Neither near the beaches nor up in the hills did we see a single Confederate flag during a recent visit to the larger Los Angeles area. In a place where travel is measured more in time than in miles, we spent interminable hours on I-5, the 605, the 405, the 101 and their many siblings. … Continue reading Confederate flags in LA: 0
Thirteen Russians were indicted this week as part of the special investigation into Kremlin efforts to sway the last presidential election. The legal details of the FBI's Russian investigation are fascinating, but consistently bury how these cyber operatives won American hearts and minds. As most people know, Russian fronts created innumerable fake social media accounts, … Continue reading Russians indicted for plying Confederate crusades
Confederate Identity Project 