Beth Daley, Editor and General Manager - The Conversation
Stephan: Have you ever wondered how Jesus ended up looking like a tall lean blond Western European and not the black-haired Middle Easterner, someone you might see today in Syria, he so clearly was? Here's the story.
The portrayal of Jesus as a white, European man has come under renewed scrutiny during this period of introspection over the legacy of racism in society.
As protesters called for the removal of Confederate statues in the U.S., activist Shaun King went further, suggesting that murals and artwork depicting “white Jesus” should “come down.”
As a European Renaissance art historian, I study the evolving image of Jesus Christ from A.D. 1350 to 1600. Some of the best-known depictions of Christ, from Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” to Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel, were produced during this period.
But the all-time most-reproduced image of Jesus comes from another period. It is Warner Sallman’s light-eyed, light-haired “Head of Christ” from 1940. Sallman, a former commercial artist who created art for advertising campaigns, successfully marketed this picture worldwide.
Stephan: This is a tiny little story, but in my opinion, it tells a big story. Trump may have 40% support in the U.S. but that does not mean he is not a psychopath. He is, and this is yet another example of his mental illness. He is vindictive and nasty to the smallest degree; that's the real importance of this story.
White House portraits of Clinton and Bush 43 taken down and stashed away under orders by Trump
The politics of presidential portraits continue to swirl around the Trump administration, according to a new report by CNN.
“The official portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were removed from the Grand Foyer of the White House within the last week, aides told CNN, and replaced by those of two Republican presidents who served more than a century ago,” CNN reported. “White House tradition calls for portraits of the most recent American presidents to be given the most prominent placement, in the entrance of the executive mansion, visible to guests during official events.”
“Photographs of the new portrait locations were reviewed by CNN, showing the Clinton and Bush portraits now hanging in the Old Family Dining Room, a small space off the grand State Dining Room,” CNN explained. “The Old Family Dining Room is barely used in the Trump administration, aides said, and was taken off the list of locations visited during White House tours before the pandemic closed the […]
Stephan: We have now reached the stage with Trump where secret unidentified troops in combat gear are capturing civilians on the street, stuffing them into unmarked cars, and driving them off to detain them in non-law enforcement buildings without ever saying what they are charged with. If this were happening in another country the media and the politicians would all be talking about the depredations of a fascist Gestapo. And that's what it is, only it is happening in Portland, Oregon, USA. Notice that the Republicans in Congress are as quiet as church mice. The reality that seems to be hard for Americans to accept, is that there are always large numbers of people in fascist states only too happy to serve their Der Fuhrer, whether he has a little mustache or orange makeup and bleached hair.
I consider this Oregon episode a trial run by Trump and his orcs; there will be more of this if they can get away with it, That's just how it started in Germany, Italy, Chile and a long list of other once fascist nations.
Federal officers pulled a protester into the Federal Courthouse on July 10 as protesters gathered in downtown Portland, Ore. Credit: Dave Killen/The Oregonian/Associated Press
PORTLAND, OREGON — Federal agents dressed in camouflage and tactical gear have taken to the streets of Portland in unmarked vans, seizing and detaining protesters and unleashing tear gas in what Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon has called “a blatant abuse of power.”
Since their arrival with the goal of tamping down persistent unrest, federal officers have shot one protester in the head with an apparent impact munition, leaving the man with severe head injuries and producing the image of blood dripping on Portland’s streets.
One of the people detained, Mark Pettibone, said in an interview that an unmarked vehicle stopped right in front of him around 2 a.m. on Wednesday and four people in camouflage jumped out. Given the lack of markings or identification, he had no idea who they were.
“One of the officers said, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK,’ and just grabbed me and threw me into the van. Another officer pulled my beanie […]
Stephan: The racism of Trump's public comments is so blatant it reminds me of George Wallace, and his political calculation brings back Nixon's Southern Strategy. The energy of this trend comes from the conscious and unconsciousness awareness that racially the U.S. is becoming a majority-minority nation. I actually think this will be one of the easier transitions. I predict that race will become an increasingly irrelevant issue, as older Whites die, and the demographics change. You can already see it happening in cable series, and in advertising.
Trump and Pence in the White House Credit: The White House
Anne Applebaum’s exploration of Laura Ingraham begins at a January 1995 cocktail party at David Brock’s home where an A-List of still-familiar conservatives convened to celebrate the swearing in of Newt Gingrich’s new Republican majority in the House of Representatives. This gives Appelbaum the opportunity to explore two different career trajectories. On one side are people like the host Brock, Bill Kristol, David Frum, John Podhoretz, and herself who have since broken with the Republican Party over it’s increasing xenophobia, racism and radicalism. On the other side are folks like Roger Kimball, Dinesh D’Souza, and Ingraham who have embraced and led these changes.
I don’t find Ingraham particularly interesting, but Applebaum is probably correct when she identifies a dread kind of pessimism about the future of the country as the primary explanation for her transformation from a happy Reaganite warrior into a Buchananite Know-Nothing. And that got me thinking a bit about how Republicans have responded to losing an increasing share of the minority vote.
Stephan: Regular readers will know that SR has been following this trend, the correlation between immigration and medical staffing, both physicians and nurses. This situation arises because of Trump's incompetence and willful ignorance of this relationship.
As hospitals across the United States brace for a difficult six months — with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic still raging and concerns about a second wave in the fall — some are acutely short-staffed because of an ill-timed change to immigration policy and its inconsistent implementation.
A proclamation issued by President Donald Trump on June 22, barring the entry of most immigrants on work visas, came right as hospitals were expecting a new class of medical residents. Hundreds of young doctors were unable to start their residencies on time.
Trump’s order included the H1-B visa for highly skilled workers, which is used by some practicing doctors abroad who get U.S. residency slots. The proclamation stated that doctors “involved with the provision of medical care to individuals who have contracted COVID-19 and are currently hospitalized” should be exempt from the ban, but it delegated the issuing of guidance to the departments of State and Homeland Security. That guidance has been slow and inconsistent.
Many consulates started approving doctors’ visas on Thursday, after ProPublica asked the State […]
