#heavy.com

Kenneth Eugene Mosher, 66, a farmer in Aurora, Iowa, was killed yesterday when a man driving a pick up truck rear ended the tractor Mr. Mosher was driving. This is very sad, very local news. So it’s strange that it made it’s way across the country to me, someone who studiously avoids current events at almost any cost. It turns out that the only reason the story travelled as far as it did is because the guy driving the pick up truck used to be on The Bachelor.

I wouldn’t have known anything about it in the first place if my attention hadn’t been snagged by a sidebar headline on some website I’d fallen into via a completely unrelated link on Twitter. I hate to admit it but it was the reference to The Bachelor that caught my eye (sorry to say but I’m a sucker for “click bait”), and I opened the story before reading its full title. I was saddened to discover that what I thought was going to be a salacious tidbit about the second biggest set of fame whores on television turned out to be the news of this terrible accident.  Mr. Mosher died as a result of the crash, and though the driver who hit him called 911, the man eventually fled the scene and was arrested as a result.

The full title of the article I read is "‘The Bachelor’ Star Chris Soules Arrested After Deadly Crash”. What rag decided to exploit some poor guy’s tragic passing just to garner “hits” off of Bachelor junkies, I wondered. Imagine my surprise when I found myself in the Arts section of The New York Times.

I have very fond memories of reading the Arts section when I was growing up. My mom would cut out articles and mail them to me in college; I’ve still got most of those clippings packed away in a box somewhere. This kind of manipulative exploitation is what I’d expect from TMZ (who of course are the ones who released the 911 recording), not the NYT. That doesn’t excuse the bile that TMZ promotes but at least I know what to expect when I pass through their orbit.

Now, I understand that publishers need to generate a butt-ton of online content to stay relevant, content which would not normally garner inches in a printed paper, and I get that journalism is a cutthroat business. But the Arts section? For a story about a reality TV star from two years ago? A story that treats the victim like a side note.

In the end, the part that makes my stomach sour is that in my brief online investigation, including a Google search of his full name, Heavy.com is the only publication I found that put Kenneth Mosher’s name in the title of their article, that made their story about him, not just the fake celebrity - and very real human being & neighbor who is no doubt horrified and devastated by the consequences of his actions - who happened to hit him.

Stephen Bannon. 

Dear President-elect Trump,

Immediately following your victory, many Americans were optimistic and hopeful that you would take the steps necessary to unify our country following the divisive and contentious election. In your election night speech you said, “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. It is time for us to come together as one united people.” Unfortunately, your appointment of Stephen Bannon, whose ties to the White Nationalist movement have been well-documented, directly undermines your ability to unite the country. As elected representatives of millions of Americans from diverse backgrounds, and ethnicities, we strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to appoint Mr. Bannon to White House Chief Strategist.

Since the election there have been a number of incidents across the country in which minorities, including Muslim Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Jewish Americans, have been targets of violence, harassment and intimidation. Mr. Bannon’s appointment sends the wrong message to people who have engaged in those types of activities, indicating that they will not only be tolerated, but endorsed by your Administration. Millions of Americans have expressed fear and concern about how they will be treated by the Trump administration and your appointment of Mr. Bannon only exacerbates and validates their concerns.

As the Executive Chairman of Breitbart News, Mr. Bannon repeatedly and aggressively pushed stories that promote anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and racism. During an interview last summer, Mr. Bannon bragged that Breitbart was “the platform for the alt-right,” a movement that upholds White Nationalism while strongly rejecting diversity in any form. Under Mr. Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart has referred to a leading Republican who opposed your election as a “Renegade Jew,” suggested “Young Muslims in the West are a ticking time bomb,” declared the “Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage,” and praised the alt-right as a “smarter” version of “old-school racist skinheads.”

Disturbingly, leading white nationalists like former KKK Grand Dragon David Duke, American Nazi Party Chair Rocky J. Suhayda, Richard Spencer, Peter Brimelow, and Brad Gririn have praised the news of Mr. Bannon’s appointment. We believe it should concern you that civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, are widely opposed to Mr. Bannon’s appointment.

We strongly believe that Mr. Bannon’s appointment will not allow the country to heal and come together as one. As one of your top advisers, the White House chief strategist will help set the tone for your Administration. The person in this role must be prepared to serve the interests of all Americans, not those of a selected few.

Soothing Your Itchy Feet During the Lockdown Days – You Can’t Be Serious?

Soothing my itchy feet and keeping them happy during these eternal Lockdown Days is an ongoing problem. I’ve tried binge watching twenty years worth of travel videos, with my feet propped up on a stool, so they can relive those heady sun soaked, beach filled days feeling the sand between their toes, but they are still not happy.  In fact, one of them is particularly grumpy this morning, and is…

Southern Mississippi was ravaged with dual tornado storms on April 12, ...