*’A WORLD OF UBIQUITOUS RACISM’: NEW ATTACK ON GAME OF MONOPOLY:

Now the efforts to inject a discussion of racism into every aspect of American life have reached a game that most Americans have cherished for decades: Monopoly. In a piece for The Atlantic titled, “The Prices on Your Monopoly Board Hold a Dark Secret,” and subheaded, “The property values of the popular game reflect a legacy of racism and inequality,” author Mary Pilon writes that a 1930s New Jersey realtor named Jesse Raiford “affixed prices to the properties on his board to reflect the actual real-estate hierarchy at the time. And in Atlantic City, as in so much of the rest of the United States, that hierarchy reflects a bitter legacy of racism and residential segregation.”Pilon writes of Cyril and Ruth Harvey, “friends of Raiford’s who played a key role in popularizing the game,” that they lived on expensive Pennsylvania Avenue but had “previously lived on Ventnor Avenue, one of the yellow properties that represented some of Atlantic City’s wealthier neighborhoods, with their high walls and fences and racial covenants that excluded Black citizens.”

“The Harveys employed a Black maid named Clara Watson,” he notes. “She lived on Baltic Avenue in a low-income, Black neighborhood, not far from Mediterranean Avenue. On the Monopoly board, those are priced cheapest, at $60.” After quoting Temple University history professor Bryant Simon stating, “Atlantic City, like all mass resorts, manufactured and sold an easily consumed and widely shared fantasy,” Pilon continues, “Around the time that Monopoly was taking hold in Atlantic City, ballots there were marked ‘W’ for white voters and ‘C’ for ‘colored’ voters, Simon said. It would take countless demonstrations and protests and a long struggle by the city’s Black residents to secure their civil rights, but the Monopoly board records a world of ubiquitous racism.”

*POLITICS IS SEEPING INTO OUR DAILY LIFE & RUINING EVERYTHING – AMERICANS ARE CHOOSING JOBS, BRANDS, & FRIENDS FOR PARTISAN REASONS:

Is there anything that politics can’t ruin? The answer, it appears, is a resounding “no” as partisan conflict creeps into all areas of American life. Our political affiliations, researchers say, obstruct friendships, influence our purchases, affect the positions we take on seemingly apolitical matters, and limit our job choices. As a result, many people are poorer, lonelier, and less healthy than they would otherwise be. “Political polarization is having far-reaching impacts on American life, harming consumer welfare and creating challenges for people ranging from elected officials and policymakers to corporate executives and marketers,” according to a new paper in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing by researchers from Arizona State University, the University of Wyoming, and four other U.S. universities.

The researchers find that people’s chosen political identities become self-reinforcing through associations with groups with shared beliefs. Our associations can even create a “group-specific shared reality” that makes it harder to relate to those with opposing views. “[A]s society has become increasingly polarized, politicians’ objectives diverge and their animosity toward the opposition grows, thereby reducing opportunity for compromise,” the researchers warn. “Partisan incivility is a major reason for failed dialogue: Uncivil exchanges result in disagreement and greater polarization regardless of the evidence presented.” People’s partisan identities influence the range of people with whom they are willing to have relationships, the brands they purchase, and the jobs they take. In an era of public health concerns, people often choose positions on matters such as vaccines or mask-wearing not based on a rational assessment of the issues, but on a plug-and-play adoption of their tribe’s stances. This sort of politicized decision-making can stand in the way of rational choices and healthy connections. “With political positions influencing decisions, people may sacrifice wages, lose out on jobs, make suboptimal purchases and disregard opportunities to save,” the researchers note. “For example, research has found that employees accept lower wages to work for politically like-minded entities, and people may select higher-priced products or ones that offer less-functional value.”

*HBO DOC ABOUT WOODY ALLEN VS. MIA FARROW IGNORES MIA’S 3 DEAD KIDS, HER CHILD MOLESTER BROTHER, OTHER FAMILY TRAGEDIES:

Three of the 11 children Mia Farrow adopted over time have died young. One committed suicide. Mia’s brother, John Charles Villers-Farrow, was sentenced in 2013 to 25 years for child molestation in Maryland. He had over 20 child charges of child abuse against him, but went to jail on just two. Taking an Alford plea, he was required to serve 10 years. He was released a year ago, after serving just seven years. When Mia Farrow married Frank Sinatra, how old was she? She was 21. Frank was 50. That short marriage was followed by one to composer and conductor Andre Previn. She was 25. He was 41. And married to singer songwriter Dory Previn, who wrote a famous song about Mia breaking up her marriage. None of these things is mentioned even briefly in the HBO doc series coming Sunday called “Allen v. Farrow” in which Mia is portrayed as a saint, and Woody Allen as Satan.

*MCKENZIE FAMILY DONATES $25,000 TO THE ANCA-WR

Long-time supporters and benefactors of ANCA-WR, Mr. and Mrs. David and Laura McKenzie and their daughter Elizabeth Stanton have donated $25,000 to the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region to help broaden the organization’s ongoing advocacy efforts. “We are so proud of the work that ANCA-WR does to protect the rights of the Armenian people, continue the fight for justice for the Genocide and for Artsakh, and bring it to the forefront of human rights for all,” stated the McKenzie Family in the announcement of its generous donation. In the American entertainment industry, the McKenzie family is a staple and has made numerous, significant contributions to the progress of the Armenian cause.

In appreciation of this generous donation, the Chairperson of the ANCA-WR, Nora Hovsepian, Esq., stated: “Despite all the challenges of the last year, the ANCA-WR continued its work to advance the Armenian Cause at every level, from engaging political circles to expanding our media relations. David and Laura McKenzie, along with their daughter Elizabeth Stanton, have once again shown their dedication and support for our efforts through their generous donation.” David McKenzie is also one of the Emmy-nominated Executive Producers of Hate Among Us, a documentary that tracks the roots of hate crimes against members of the Jewish faith. In the coming months, his new film about the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh will be released.

Nora Hovsepian continues, “We are profoundly grateful for their consistent encouragement and their recognition of the importance of our projects, and we thank them as we look forward to proving that with the strength provided by loyal supporters like the McKenzie family, our work for Hai-Tahd will never stop.” In 2018, in appreciation of all their contributions and dedication to promoting the Armenian Cause, ANCA Western Region honored the Architects of Denial executive producers and team, including David and Laura McKenzie, as well as Elizabeth Stanton with the prestigious “Excellence in Media” Award. Both Laura McKenzie and Elizabeth Stanton have brought further exposure to Armenia and its people in addition to their work with Architects of Denial by highlighting Armenia on their respective travel shows, “Laura McKenzie’s Traveler” and “Elizabeth Stanton’s Great Big World.” With their segments, through their experiences with the region, they were able to highlight Armenia’s rich history and culture. Elizabeth Stanton is currently the host of the CW Network’s hit TV show ‘World’s Funniest Animals.’

The biggest and most influential non-partisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy group in the Western United States is the Armenian National Committee of America- Western Region. The ANCA-WR promotes the interests of the Armenian American community on a wide range of topics in pursuit of the Armenian Cause, working in conjunction with a network of offices, branches, and supporters in the Western United States and related organizations across the country.

*FORMER NAZI GUARD LIVING IN TENNESSEE IS BOOTED TO GERMANY:

  ICE deported a 95-year-old former Nazi armed guard from Tennessee back to Germany on Friday. Friedrich Karl Berger was given a deportation order in February 2020 after a court found he participated in Nazi-sponsored acts of persecution. He worked at a camp in the Neuengamme Concentration Camp system in 1945 near Meppen, Germany. Prisoners at the camp included Jews, Poles, Russians, Danes, Dutch, Latvians, French, Italians, and political opponents. Berger admitted to the court in 2020 that he guarded prisoners at the camp so they couldn’t escape overnight, as well as during a two-week trip when Nazi leaders evacuated the camp as British and Canadian forces approached. Berger said he never asked to leave his position as an armed guard, and he’s still receiving a German pension, which includes payment for his “wartime service.”

*IS YOUR CAT DESTROYING YOUR LOVE LIFE? STUDY SAYS ‘YES’:

It’s no secret: Straight guys often use pets to get dates. And it works. There’s even science that backs it up. But according to a new study, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, dudes need to ditch their cats in their dating profiles if they are really serious about securing a Valentine. Sounds brutal. But again, we’re just looking at the science, folks. The study featured in the peer reviewed journal “Animals” and (amazingly) titled “Not the Cat’s Meow? The Impact of Posing with Cats on Female Perceptions of Male Dateability” found that heterosexual males posing with a cat in their photos were “less masculine when holding the cat, higher in neuroticism, agreeableness, and openness; and less dateable” by more than 1,300 women. An expert at Match.com even backed it up. Rachel DeAlto, Match’s chief dating expert, told the WSJ that straight men had a 5 percent lower chance of landing a “like” on their site when it was revealed that they had a cat. Straight women with cats were 7 percent less likely.

The scientists behind the study admitted that their findings were more than a little limited. Both guys are white, thin, college-aged, and according to WSJ “clearly preppy.” They plan to do a broader study representing a more “globalized skin tone” in the future to ensure that it’s really the cat women are turned off by, not suitor himself. Still, the online dating evidence isn’t doing felines any favors. According to the article, dogs give straight and gay men a 20 percent higher chance on average for scoring a “like” and women a 3 percent higher likelihood. But the WSJ author shared via Twitter that she’s sticking by her cat-loving tendencies.

*EXAMINER – INVESTIGATES:
Dubbed the “Marathon Man,” Belgian runner Stefaan Engels ran the marathon distance every day for a year, totaling 9,569 miles

*EXAMINER – LENS:

Michelle Melton, who is 35 weeks pregnant, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at Skippack Pharmacy in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, on February 11, 2021.

*EXAMINER – A LOOK BACK:

September 8, 1955. Hank Aaron standing in front of his locker with misspelled name in the Milwaukee Braves locker room.

WHAT’S UP? BY SARAH GARCIA

*** San Francisco has issued its latest grand moral decree, and bad ex-presidents would be quaking in their coffins—if they could stop laughing. On January 26, the San Francisco school board announced that dozens of public schools must be renamed. The figures that do not meet the board’s standards include Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, Robert Louis Stevenson, Paul Revere, and Dianne Feinstein.  

***The only way America is going to get fixed is for good people to get involved.  For example, there is a new movement forming to actively oppose the cancel culture.  It’s called “The Free Speech Movement” and you might check out it’s website: www.speechmovement.org.

*THE DOGS BARK AND THE PARADE CONTINUES ON –
READ LBN EXAMINER:


Now you can invite your friends and family to sign up to receive the LBN Examiner for free (if you’ve got the guts) —– www.LBNExaminer.com

*EXAMINER – HEALTH: CAFFEINE CHANGES YOUR BRAIN STRUCTURE, BUT WON’T RUIN YOUR SLEEP

There are those who believe drinking caffeine too late will keep them awake all night. Others, however, feel their brain just can’t function unless they have a hot cup of coffee in them. A new study may be unraveling both of those beliefs. Researchers from the University of Basel say regular caffeine consumption does not disrupt sleep quality, but it can alter the structure of the brain connected to memory. Whether it’s coffee, cola, or energy drinks, study authors say caffeine is the world’s most consumed psychoactive substance. Their findings reveal that even consuming it for a short period of time can change the volume of gray matter in the brain. Being a stimulant, caffeine helps most people who drink it to feel more alert and awake. However, consuming too much before bed has been linked to symptoms of insomnia. No matter how it happens, lack of sleep is never good for the brain or the body.

Previous studies reveal that sleep deprivation can impact the amount of gray matter in the brain as well. Gray matter is part of the central nervous system, consisting mostly of the cell bodies of nerve cells. The brain’s white matter, on the other hand, mainly makes up the mind’s neural pathways. These are the long extensions of the nerve cells. So does caffeine really play a role in causing the damage done by sleep deprivation? Researchers led by Dr. Carolin Reichert and Professor Christian Cajochen examined 20 healthy individuals who all drink coffee on a regular basis. The group of young adults replaced their daily coffee habit with tablets during two 10-day trials. One of the experiments involved actual caffeine tablets, but the other gave participants placebos with no caffeine in them at all. At the end of each 10-day trial, researchers analyzed the volume of gray matter in each person using brain scans. Each participant also had their sleep quality measured in a sleep laboratory which recorded their brain’s electrical activity at night.

*THINK FREELY – BE INDEPENDENT – MAKE UP YOUR OWN (DAMN) MIND: READ LBN EXAMINER

Now you can invite your friends and family to sign up to receive the LBN Examiner for free (if you’ve got the guts) —– www.LBNExaminer.com

*WHO READS LBN EXAMINER?:

Actress Taylor Momsen along with 12 members of the White House staff, 3 Nobel Prize winners, over 100 Academy Award winners, 6 U.S. Senators, and over 300 Grammy Award winners.

*EXAMINER – A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

WANTED: Entry Level Photographer for new, popular Los Angeles Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BestofLosAngelesAward/?ref=bookmarks). Develop your craft while reaching an audience of 7,300 members throughout Southern California. Freelance, flexible hours schedule. Work at your convenience. No pay, but great knowledge and opportunity and promotion in Los Angeles. Send contact details including phone number to: Aurora411@TimeWire.net

LBN Examiner Disclaimer: 1.) The LBN Examiner accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. The LBN Examiner is not associated with any commercial or political organization and is transmitted via the web for the sole benefit of its subscribers. 2.) Unfortunately, computer viruses can be transmitted via email. The recipient should check this mail and any attachments for the presence of viruses.

*HALF OF NEW YORK TIMES EMPLOYEES FEEL THEY CAN’T SPEAK FREELY:

About half of New York Times employees said in a recent internal survey that they don’t believe they can speak freely at the paper. In response to the statement, “There is a free exchange of views in this company; people are not afraid to say what they really think,” only 51% of Times employees responded in the affirmative. In company comments that accompanied the December poll’s findings, which were viewed by The Post, the 51 percent was noted as being 10% lower than the “benchmark.” One insider said the benchmark likely refers to the average among similar companies surveyed on that statement.

“Although the majority of us feel well-informed, many indicated that differing viewpoints aren’t sought or valued in our work,” read the Times’ internal assessment of the data. “Relatedly, we saw some negative responses on whether there’s a free exchange of views in the company, and scored below the benchmark on this question.” A total of 74% of Times staffers said leaders and colleagues accept and embrace differences in ethnicity/race — a 10% decline from the results of the same inquiry in 2019.

*U.K ECONOMY SHRANK BY EYE-WATERING 9.9% IN 2020, THE WORST DROP IN 400 YEARS:

Gross domestic product in the U.K. contracted by a staggering 9.9 percent in 2020, the biggest slump since the invention of the measure itself in the 1930s. Economic historians who have tried to retrospectively calculate GDP for the years prior to the 1930s reckon that the 2020 economic collapse may be narrowly worse than the 9.7 percent fall of 1921, as the world was battered by the influenza pandemic. To find a worse recession, British economists say, you have to go back to the Great Frost of 1709, when a prolonged winter, so cold that Venice’s lagoons froze over, crippled European nations.

*NEW WEBSITE TRACKS HERE CRITICAL RACE THEORY IS TAUGHT AT US SCHOOLS:

A Cornell Law School professor has launched a new website about critical race theory curriculum in the US — in hopes of educating “concerned” parents about how the controversial movement impacts education. Criticalrace.org, created by William Jacobson, features a state-by-state list of more than 200 colleges and universities promoting critical race theory — which he describes as “a radical ideology that focuses on race as the key to understanding society, and objectifies people based on race.” “The website is a resource for parents and students who no longer can assume they will be left alone,” Jacobson told Fox News. “The entire ideology of CRT and ‘anti-racist’ training is that ‘silence is violence.’” He added, “As we head into college application and selection season, we need to get parents, in particular, to focus on CRT that will be forced on their kids.”

*FOR BETTER HEALTH DURING THE PANDEMIC, IS TWO HOURS OUTDOORS THE NEW 10,000 STEPS?:

Will two hours in the park become the next 10,000 steps? As people spend more time indoors, a mountain of scientific research says spending time in nature is critical to health and increases longevity. That means being in fresh air, under trees and away from cars and concrete—on a regular basis. And, no, the Peloton doesn’t count. “There’s an urgent need emerging in science and at the gut level to increase the nature experience. This field is just exploding,” says Gretchen Daily, a professor of environmental science at Stanford University. The benefits have been clear to scientists for some time, but the pandemic has made the matter more urgent. The physical and emotional toll the virus has taken, especially in urban areas with little green space, has galvanized doctors, researchers and others to tap into nature’s therapeutic effects.

*HOW ‘WOKE’ TEACHERS NATIONWIDE HAVE CANCELLED SHAKESPEARE BECAUSE HIS WORK HAS ‘WHITE SUPREMACY, MISOGYNY, RACISM, HOMOPHOBIA, & CLASSISM’:

A growing number of ‘woke’ academics are refusing to teach Shakespeare in U.S. schools, arguing that the Bard promotes racism, white supremacy and intolerance, and instead are pushing for the teaching of ‘modern’ alternatives. Writing in the January issue of School Library Journal, Amanda MacGregor, a Minnesota-based librarian, bookseller and freelance journalist, asked why teachers were continuing to include Shakespeare in their classrooms. ‘Shakespeare’s works are full of problematic, outdated ideas, with plenty of misogyny, racism, homophobia, classism, anti-Semitism and misogynoir,’ she wrote, with the last word referring to a hatred of black women. She contended that an increasing number of educators are ‘coming to the conclusion that it’s time for Shakespeare to be set aside and deemphasized to make room for modern, diverse and inclusive voices.’

Among those who have abandoned Shakespeare are Claire Bruncke, who taught English at Ilwaco High School in Washington state. ‘I asked my principal if there was a requirement for how much Shakespeare I needed to cover,’ she said. She said she was told that as long as she was teaching ‘the standards’ it didn’t matter, so she dropped Shakespeare entirely, in favor of ‘anthologies and novels not typically found in the canon,’ MacGregor said. Bruncke added: ‘My students’ positive response to this work solidified my decision.’

Jeffrey Austin, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, said he supported efforts to replace Shakespeare.  Liz Matthews, a ninth grade English teacher at Hartford Public High School in Connecticut, where the student body is 95 per cent black or Hispanic, said she had replaced Shakespeare with authors who wrote about people like her students. ‘I replaced Romeo and Juliet with The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros last year, and Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds this year,’ she said.  Mango Street was published in 1984; Long Way Down was published in 2017. Romeo and Juliet was first published in 1597. ‘Simply put the authors and characters of the two new books look and sound like my students, and they can make realistic connections,’ Matthews said. ‘Representation matters.’ Some teachers said that they were careful to show Shakespeare in a modern context.

Sarah Mulhern Gross, who teaches ninth and twelfth grade English at High Technology High School in Lindcroft, New Jersey, said that she taught Romeo and Juliet ‘through the lens of adolescent brain development with a side of toxic masculinity analysis’. Adriana Adame, who teaches students in Texas who have been through trauma, said that she used Hamlet to discuss coping mechanisms and grief. Elizabeth Neilson, who teaches at the Twin Cities Academy in Minnesota, said she used Coriolanus to discuss Marxist theory.  Some argued in the journal that it was not a question of ‘either/or’, and that there was space to study Shakespeare alongside other authors dealing with diverse themes.

Ayanna Thompson, professor of English at Arizona State University and president of the Shakespeare Association of America, recommended Toni Morrison, August Wilson, W.E.B. Du Bois and James Baldwin, among others. ‘There are rich global perspectives from which Shakespeare can be approached, taught, and analyzed,’ she said.But others said that it was time to remove Shakespeare entirely. Lorena German, National Council of Teachers of English Anti-Racism Committee chair and a co-founder of the Disrupt Texts forum, which aims to suggest a wide range of literature for study, said she felt Shakespeare should be discarded.

*EXAMINER – LENS:

On an introspective album recorded entirely by Hayley Williams in her home studio, the Paramore frontwoman explores a more delicate sonic palate.

*EXAMINER – INVESTIGATES:

Refrigerators in the U.S. consume about the same energy as 25 large power plants produce each year.

*TELL YOUR STORY IN THE LBN EXAMINER 
“The Best Promotional Deal On The Web” 

Now YOU can tell YOUR unique story in the world-famous LBN Examiner – www.LBNExaminer.com – and communicate directly with LBN readers in all 50 of the United States and 26 foreign countries.

Amazing coverage with YOUR story, YOUR headline, YOUR photo and YOUR website. And then, of course, you can share this LBN story on all YOUR Social Media! And it’s really easy to do. Simply send your story (not to exceed 250 words) including a photo and link to: LBNExaminer@TimeWire.net. We will approve and run.

The cost is a mere $350 payable via PayPal or credit card. This is (by-far) one of the best deals in the world of digital promotion and only available to LBN subscribers.

*EXAMINER – A LOOK BACK:

April 1954. New York. Actress Cloris Leachman at home with husband George Englund.

*CLEAR THE AIR : READ LBN EXAMINER

The LBN Examiner is read in all 50 of the United States and in 26 foreign countries by influencers of all types — from Nobel Prize winners to billionaires from acclaimed journalists to professors at Harvard, Yale and Stanford from US Senators to winners of the Academy Award. 84% of our readers find the Examiner “fearlessly independent” and “unbiased: which is why it is so indispensable to read weekly – especially in the times in which we live.

Now you can invite your friends and family to sign up to receive the LBN Examiner for free (if you’ve got the guts) —– www.LBNExaminer.com

*EXAMINER – THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t read. The problem isn’t even that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling.” –Thomas Sowell
*EXAMINER – SEE IT:

Barbara Dane’s Paredon Records turned 50 last year, and is the subject of a new “digital exhibition” by Smithsonian Folkways.*THINK FREELY – BE INDEPENDENT – MAKE UP YOUR OWN (DAMN) MIND: READ LBN EXAMINER

Now you can invite your friends and family to sign up to receive the LBN Examiner for free (if you’ve got the guts) —– www.LBNExaminer.com

*EXAMINER – BUSINESS: TOY SALES STRONG

Hasbro’s animatronic Baby Yoda won the Toy Association’s Toy of the Year award. But the real winners? Toy companies. Hasbro and Mattel both reported strong earnings this week that reflected the broader industry’s 16% increase in sales in 2020.  “There is no question that the pandemic drove demand with kids staying at home. With the lockdowns, parents spent money on their children,” Mattel’s CEO, Ynon Kreiz, told the FT. Another symbol of the Covid era: Mattel’s online sales grew more than 50% and now account for more than a third of its global retail sales. Two categories boosted the industry Board games: Hasbro’s game sales jumped 15% last year, led by Operation, Monopoly, and…a Baby Yoda-themed version of Monopoly. Hasbro also acquired Magic: The Gathering, a card game with a cult following that’s grown during the pandemic, especially online. Uno cards sold well for Mattel.  Dolls: Mattel’s doll sales grew 13% to $709 million, led by Barbies, American Girl, and Star Wars plushies (yes, featuring Baby Yoda).

*WHO READS LBN EXAMINER?:

  Award-winning author Steve Markoff along with along with 12 members of the White House staff, 3 Nobel Prize winners, over 100 Academy Award winners, 6 U.S. Senators, and over 300 Grammy Award winners.

*EXAMINER – A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

WANTED: Entry Level Photographer for new, popular Los Angeles Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BestofLosAngelesAward/?ref=bookmarks). Develop your craft while reaching an audience of 7,300 members throughout Southern California. Freelance, flexible hours schedule. Work at your convenience. No pay, but great knowledge and opportunity and promotion in Los Angeles. Send contact details including phone number to: Aurora411@TimeWire.net

LBN Examiner Disclaimer: 1.) The LBN Examiner accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. The LBN Examiner is not associated with any commercial or political organization and is transmitted via the web for the sole benefit of its subscribers. 2.) Unfortunately, computer viruses can be transmitted via email. The recipient should check this mail and any attachments for the presence of viruses.

*WOKE ALERT! – GAY DAD MIXED RACE KIDS IS TOO WHITE FOR SAN FRAN SCHOOL BOARD:

Despite having multiple open seats on its school board, San Francisco rejected the application of one man based on his race. The SF school board tonight spent two hours talking about whether to allow a gay dad of mixed-race SFUSD kids to volunteer for one of several empty seats on a parent advisory group. Their problem was that he’s white and doesn’t bring diversity to the group. This is the same school district that removed the names George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and others from schools because they weren’t “woke” enough. The denial of a school board seat to a highly-recommended gay father with mixed-raced adopted children, because of his skin color may be the “wokest” thing ever. “We’ve already that once you adopt progressivism the goal posts move and they will always eat their own. This is a prime example.” said a source close to the board.

*TRENDING UP: GUN SALES

Americans purchased more than 2 million firearms last month, an 80% increase from a year earlier, according to a WaPo analysis. It’s the third-highest monthly total on record. To understand why, let’s look at the differences between January 2020 and January 2021.  In January 2020…we went to concerts, restaurants, and bars. In January 2021…a pandemic raged and people needed to find outdoor leisure activities, such as shooting sports. The CEO of Minnesota-based Vista Outdoor told Bloomberg the “primary driver” of higher gun sales is Covid-19.  In January 2020…Donald Trump was president. In January 2021…Joe Biden took charge, but only after a violent mob attacked the US Capitol Building on Jan. 6. Gun sales tend to rise when a Democrat is elected president (like in 2008 and 2012 with Obama), and they definitely tend to rise when people are scared for their safety and crave protection.   Some interesting stats to-go: First-time buyers accounted for about 40% of all guns purchased in 2020, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. And 40% of total purchases were made by women.

*ONLINE CRITICS SLAM AUNT JEMIMA’S NEW NAME PEARL MILLING COMPANY:

Aunt Jemima’s new name, Pearl Milling Company, is getting battered online for sounding like an unappetizing “gravel mining company” or “a James Bond villain.” The unsavory reviews are pouring in from Twitter, with some breakfast buffs threatening to switch to Pearl Milling’s competitors, Mrs. Butterworth’s or Log Cabin, over the revamp. “I think it sounds like a gravel mining company,” lawyer Michelle Rozovics wrote. Another said Pearl Milling Company sounded like “something owned by a James Bond Villain.” Meanwhile, one critic noted, “Pearl Milling Company? Sounds like a generic house brand for Dollar General.” Some even vowed to boycott the brand altogether. “Sadly I would never recognize it and will probably go to Log Cabin,” one person said.

*THE IPHONE HAS WIPED OUT THE DIGITAL CAMERA MARKET:

Whenever people want to make fun of a stodgy old corporation that couldn’t see the future, they love referencing the camera maker Kodak. But Kodak wasn’t the only old dog taken out by the digital camera revolution: All camera companies have now fallen to the iPhone. Last year, only 9m cameras were sold, down from 122m in 2010, per tech journalist (and Gigamon founder) Om Malik. Meanwhile, Apple moved 200m+ iPhones in 2020 While there are countless other camera-enabled smartphones, the iPhone — which has sold 1B+ units since launching in 2007 — clearly leads the pack. Here’s how Malik thinks digital cameras will shake out moving forward: · Big players: At <10m units per year, the 4 big digital camera makers (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony) will be fighting over scraps. Sony is best positioned to thrive, but not as a camera maker: It supplies camera sensors to everyone, including Apple. · Niche players: Super high-end cameras (Leica, Hasselblad, Phase One) will maintain share with pros and super-hobbyists. As for Kodak, the company was last in the news for potential insider trading when the Trump administration awarded it $765m to make COVID-related pharmaceuticals.

*BIDEN’S 2021 COVID-19 BILL COSTS MORE THAN ENTIRE 1981 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:

The $1.9 trillion relief bill that President Joe Biden wants Congress to pass now as his response to the COVID-19 pandemic would cost Americans more than the entire federal government cost in fiscal 1981. That year, according to the historical budget numbers that Biden’s own Office of Management and Budget has published on the White House website, the federal government spent approximately $678,241,000,000.

*FEWER CHILDREN ARE ATTENDING SCHOOL, REMOTELY AND IN PERSON:

More children have been absent from school this academic year than a year earlier, with attendance declining as the pandemic wears on, new research and data show. Students attending school in person as well as those learning remotely are struggling with poor attendance, though it is worse among the millions of homebound students who are still learning primarily through a screen. Districts showed a 2.3% decline in average daily attendance nationally from September to November of last year, compared with the same period in 2019, according to data from PowerSchool, which tracks grades and attendance for schools. Attendance fell in 75% of the districts as the year wore on, dropping by 1.5% on average each month, data show. The data covers 2,700 districts that include more than 2.5 million students learning in person and online.

*EXAMINER – INVESTIGATES: PEOPLE HAVE STOPPED BUYING SEDANS

  According to Bloomberg, only 20% of new vehicles sold in 2020 were sedans. The other 80% were light trucks — including SUVs, pickups, and minivans. While Bloomberg didn’t give reasons for the shift, investor Tadd Wilson had some theories:

· Fuel-efficiency gains and lower gas prices make light trucks a more accessible vehicle size
· Safety arms race… as more people drive bigger cars, it becomes risky not to own one
People need space… including families, outdoor hobbyists, and soccer dads/moms

*EXAMINER – THOUGHT OF THE DAY:


“Year after year in the UK, glossophobia (fear of public speaking) claims the top spot as Britain’s no. 1 phobia, repeatedly knocking ‘fear of death’ down into second position. … At a funeral, the average Briton would rather be in the casket than deliver the eulogy.”

Richard O. Smith; The Man with His Head in the Clouds; Signal Books; 2015.

*RUNAWAY (FAST) FROM BIASED NEWS AND INFORMATION – READ THE “FEARLESSLY INDEPENDENT” LBN EXAMINER :


Now you can invite your friends and family to sign up to receive the LBN Examiner for free (if you’ve got the guts) —– www.LBNExaminer.com
*EXAMINER – HEALTH: PANDEMIC DRINKING IS CAUSING MASSIVE SPIKE IN LIVER DISEASE:


Hospitals are reporting huge spikes in liver disease as a result of people drinking more during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent report. There are no national figures available on admission for alcoholic liver disease—but the numbers coming out of individual hospitals look very worrying. For example, Keck Hospital of the University of Southern California has recorded a 30 percent increase from 2019, according to the report, and specialists at hospitals affiliated with the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, Harvard University and Mount Sinai Health System in New York City told the Times that admissions have leapt 50 percent since March, when the pandemic took hold. Haripriya Maddur, a hepatologist at Northwestern Medicine, said adults under 40 seem to be being hit particularly hard by a feeling of hopelessness during the pandemic. “They have mouths to feed and bills to pay, but no job,” she said, “So they turn to booze as the last coping mechanism remaining.”
*EXAMINER – SEE IT:


Melissa Broder’s new novel, “Milk Fed,” bravely questions the particularly female lionization of thin and loathing of fat, landing on fresh explanations.
*EXAMINER – COMMUNITY:

“My cousin’s daughter has a brain tumor. She’s 9. I organized a fundraiser for her… My cousin is a single mom (dad is literally nowhere in sight… No help at all) with twin 9 year old girls and even though they have health insurance, expenses are already adding up. She has brain surgery on the 22nd and depending on how that goes, a lot of follow up treatment after. I donated to the fundraiser of course but think my money might be better spent on advertising space to get the fundraiser out there.”
– Carrie

https://gofund.me/1510e35e
*THINK FREELY – BE INDEPENDENT – MAKE UP YOUR OWN (DAMN) MIND: READ LBN EXAMINER


Now you can invite your friends and family to sign up to receive the LBN Examiner for free (if you’ve got the guts) —– www.LBNExaminer.com

*EXAMINER – TECH: BUMBLE-AN IPHONE IPO TO SWIPE RIGHT ON?

Today, 40% of US couples meet online. To contextualize how significant that is, in 2020, some 150m messages were sent through the dating app Bumble every day. Now, those corny opening lines are about to make Whitney Wolfe Herd — Bumble’s founder (and former co-founder of Tinder) — a billionaire: The startup is prepping for a $6B IPO. Bumble was founded in 2014… … after Herd left Tinder. She launched Bumble as an antidote to antiquated dating norms (e.g., the man needing to reach out first) and online harassment. On the app, women have 24 hours to make the first move with matches. The approach has taken off A review of the company’s pre-IPO S1 filing shows a number of strengths: · Brand: Bumble has 42m, monthly users, across 150+ countries, with 80% of new users coming from word-of-mouth. · Market growth: The online dating market grows 11% annually. Tailwinds include people marrying later, changing cultural norms, and increased mobile phone usage. · Freemium opportunity: Users are converting to premium products, with sales hitting $417m through the first 9 months of 2020, up 15% YoY. · Features & UX: Bumble was among the first dating apps to blur unsolicited lewd images and automate photo verifications. · Tangential products: Bumble has capitalized on its strong brand by launching Bumble Biz (networking) and Bumble BFF (friendships). The online dating opportunity is big But one of Bumble’s largest competitors, $42B+ Match Group, owns virtually every big dating app in the US, including Hinge, OkCupid, and Tinder (which has a 54% market share alone). Match and Bumble have actually been embroiled in lawsuits in the past over trade secrets. Whatever the app’s long-term fortunes, here are the big winners when the startup goes public (under $BMBL) later this week… just before Valentine’s Day: · Whitney Wolfe Herd: the 31-year-old founder has a 19% stake. · Blackstone: the PE giant bought a majority stake from the original cofounder Andrey Andreev at a $3B valuation (it’ll at least double its investment in less than 2 years).

*WHO READS LBN EXAMINER?:

  Former chief executive of General Electric, Jeff Immelt along with along with 12 members of the White House staff, 3 Nobel Prize winners, over 100 Academy Award winners, 6 U.S. Senators, and over 300 Grammy Award winners.

*EXAMINER – A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

LBN Examiner Disclaimer: 1.) The LBN Examiner accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. The LBN Examiner is not associated with any commercial or political organization and is transmitted via the web for the sole benefit of its subscribers. 2.) Unfortunately, computer viruses can be transmitted via email. The recipient should check this mail and any attachments for the presence of viruses.