ART: Kathe Kollwitz and Leonard Baskin

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Intellectualized Racism is Still Racism

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John Eastman wrote an opinion piece in Newsweek on Aug 12th 2020 asking questions about Kamala Harris's right to run as Vice President. Eastman is actually arguing what he wishes/wants to the law to say: that you are only a citizen by birth if your are parent was a citizen, AKA he is questioning birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship is one of the unique things about America and it massively contributes to our diversity as a nation.  It is also born out of the racist maneuvering of the laws around slavery. The famous Dred Scott case of 1857, which contributed to starting the civil war, resulted in a 7-2 decision that African American Dred Scott had no claim because he was not a citizen. In an opinion written by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, the court ruled that black people "are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word 'citizen' in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrum
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The Hearth

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"A stove used to furnish more than mere warmth. It was a focus, a hearth, a place that gathered the work and leisure of a family and gave the house a center. Its coldness marked the morning, and the spreading of its warmth the beginning of the day. It assigned to the different family members tasks that defined their place in the household. The mother built the fire, the children kept the firebox filled, and the father cut the firewood. It provided for the entire family a regular and bodily engagement with the rhythm of the seasons that was woven together of the threat of cold and solace of warmth, the smell of wood smoke, the exertion of sawing and of carrying, the teaching of skills and the fidelity to daily tasks." (Albert Borgmann: Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life ) So what is our new center? Warmth is now provided in a completely uniform way requiring no demands on our skill, strength or attention. In fact, the warmth device (central heating system) is c
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