Using satellite images and aerial photography‚ archaeologists have uncovered a network of previously unknown and huge Bronze Age sites at the heart of Europe. The team believe these newly identified structures could explain how contemporary megaforts‚ the largest prehistoric constructions made before the Iron Age‚ came into being. The research was led by archaeologists from University College Dublin and colleagues in Serbia and Slovenia‚ who “stitched together” the images and photos to give an impression of the prehistoric landscape of the southern Carpathian Basin. Through this work‚ they were able to find over 100 sites that belonged to a complex ancient society. It is likely that their use of defensible enclosures served as precursors to the large hillforts that have become iconic examples of Bronze Age construction. “Some of the largest sites‚ we call these mega-forts‚ have been known for a few years now‚ such as GradiÅ¡te IoÅ¡‚ Csanádpalota‚ Sântana or the mind-blowing CorneÅŸti Iarcuri enclosed by 33 km [21 miles] of ditches and eclipsing in size the contemporary citadels and fortifications of the Hittites‚ Mycenaeans or Egyptians‚” lead author Associate Professor Barry Molloy‚ UCD School of Archaeology‚ said in a statement.“What is new‚ however‚ is finding that these massive sites did not stand alone‚ they were part of a dense network of closely related and codependent communities. At their peak‚ the people living within this lower Pannonian network of sites must have numbered into the tens of thousands.”All the sites discovered by this work were located in the hinterlands of the Tisza river‚ a major river in Central and Eastern Europe‚ which now extends through several national boundaries. As such‚ the previously unknown communities of people who lived at these sites are being collectively referred to as the Tisza Site Group (TSG).  The Tisza Site Group (TSG) are thought to have been a sophisticated community that lived and cooperated along the banks of the Tisza river.Image courtesy of Professor Barry Molloy‚ University College DublinAlmost all of the TSG sites are within 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of one another and lie along a river corridor created by the Tisza river and the Danube. This has led the archaeologists to believe that the communities were likely cooperative‚ allowing them to spread out like this. Interestingly‚ the research indicates that the TSG were important centers of innovation in prehistoric Europe and functioned as a major hub for the region at a time when the Mycenaeans‚ Hittites‚ and New Kingdom Egyptians were at their height – around 1500 to 1200 BCE. This is commonly regarded as a major turning point in prehistoric Europe’s story. During the second millennium BCE‚ so it appears‚ the advanced military and earthwork technologies of the society spread across Europe once they collapsed around 1200 BCE. The importance of this group of people now helps explain why material culture and iconography from across Europe was so similar at this time. “Our understanding of how their society worked challenges many aspects of European prehistory. It would be extremely unlikely for each of these 100+ sites to have been individual chiefdoms competing with each other‚” Molloy added.“Uniquely for prehistoric Europe‚ we are able to do more than identify the location of a few sites using satellite imagery but have been able to define an entire settled landscape‚ complete with maps of the size and layout of sites‚ even down to the locations of people’s homes within them. This really gives an unprecedented view of how these Bronze Age people lived with each other and their many neighbours.”“However‚ this was no peaceful time of plenty. Major innovations in warfare and organised violence took place at this time. The scale of this society indicates it was relevant and powerful on a European stage and between force of arms and major defensible features at settlements‚ they were well equipped to defend their gains.”How it's doneArchaeology is more than just trowels and holes. To identify these new sites‚ the team used a barrage of cutting-edge imaging technologies to map out this ancient landscape.Armed with the findings from the satellite images‚ the team could begin their excavations on the ground.Image courtesy of Professor Barry Molloy‚ University College Dublin“We tested the findings from satellite images on the ground using survey‚ excavation‚ and geophysical prospection‚” Molloy explained. “The vast majority of sites were established between 1600 and 1450 [BCE] and virtually all of them came crashing down around 1200 [BCE]‚ being abandoned en masse.”“1200 [BCE] was a striking turning point in Old World prehistory‚ with kingdoms‚ empires‚ cities‚ and whole societies collapsing within a few decades throughout a vast area of southwest Asia‚ north Africa‚ and southern Europe.”“It is fascinating to discover these new polities and to see how they were related to well-known influential societies yet sobering to see how they ultimately suffered a similar fate in wave of crises that struck this wider region.”The paper is published in PLOS ONE.

Once upon a time‚ there was a young girl named Sonoma Blakely‚ whose world revolved around the thunderous beats of horse hooves. At just seven years old‚ Sonoma wasn’t just riding horses; she was racing them‚ feeling the exhilarating rush of wind as she traversed miles of terrain. By the age of 12‚ she had... The post Teen adopts unwanted colt off Craigslist and turns him into the Tevis Cup champion appeared first on Animal Channel.

Last night‚ Fox's Family Guy attacked prominent Republicans such as Ted Cruz‚ implying they were worse than the Unabomber‚ in an episode that also pushed pro-abortion propaganda. Sunday's episode‚ "Boston Stewie‚" opens with Meg frosting cupcakes‚ announcing "I'm celebrating. Oh‚ last night I had my period or miscarriage. Not sure which. Either way‚ happy un-birthday."  A message then pops up on the screen stating‚ "Fun Fact: You can legally report that joke to the Texas Attorney General and collect a $10‚000 bounty!" Chris: Hey Meg. What's with the cupcakes? Meg: I'm celebrating. Oh‚ last night I had my period or miscarriage. Not sure which. Either way‚ happy un-birthday. Where's my phone? I got to text Patty and let her know she can have half of these for her cat's funeral. Coltrane's wake is gonna be lit. Pics to follow. What the hell? What happened?  Chris: [Phone chimes] Hey‚ Meg‚ no Turkey dinner is complete without a little under-nut squash. [Cackles]  Meg: What a jerk. Oh‚ well. Time to go transport a Texas resident to her reproductive health appointment.  The lie that pro-life laws‚ like the one in Texas‚ prevent treatment of miscarriage is a particularly harmful piece of anti-women propaganda spread by abortion activists. Fearmongering is the tactic du jour of the pro-abortion movement‚ so Family Guy naturally regurgitates it without question. The episode then segues into baby Stewie's search for a newly discovered half-brother. Stewie learns that Lois donated her eggs to an IVF clinic when she was in college and one of the eggs was used. A DNA search reveals his half-brother lives in Cambridge‚ Massachusetts. He finds his sibling urinating outside the Harvard University campus. A montage follows of famous Republicans who graduated Harvard....plus the Unabomber. Half-brother: [Boston accent] Eat my wizz‚ you Harvard fruit bags. [Zips]  Stewie: Oh‚ my God‚ that must be him. And‚ hey‚ don't do that. Harvard is a respected institution that only produces our nation's finest. ♪ The boys are back in town‚ the boys are back in town ♪ ♪ I said the boys are back in town. ♪ Our apologies to the Unabomber. It was a cheap shot to include him.  Family Guy routinely targets former President Donald Trump‚ Republicans and MAGA voters. With the presidential election less than a year away‚ last night was likely just a taste of the nastiness that will continue to ramp up against Republican targets in the months ahead.

The Washington Post threw a temper tantrum over “far-right economist” Javier Milei sending a shockwave throughout the world with his victorious presidential bid against leftist Economy Minister Sergio Massa in Argentina. The Post attempted to denigrate Argentina’s president-elect as a “Trump-like radical” with “no governing experience” who rode a “wave of voter rage” to victory with 56 percent of the vote. The rag characterized Milei’s win as a “stunning upset” over Massa‚ “the center-left economy minister who has struggled to resolve the country’s worst economic crisis in two decades.” Oh‚ who knew that voters didn’t want to reward the government bureaucrat overseeing Argentina’s most horrific inflation crisis in decades a job promotion! The Post‚ behaving like the pathetic excuse for a newspaper that it is‚ mourned how “Massa sought to stoke fear over a Milei presidency they argued could threaten Argentina’s democracy and way of life.”  For the Argentine citizenry‚ The Post grumbled‚ “anger won over fear.” Or‚ perhaps voters simply chose to vote with their wallets. Consumer prices skyrocketed 143 percent in October on an annualized basis‚ according to Bloomberg News‚ which referred to Argentina’s economic situation as “dire.” In fact‚ Bloomberg News reported that Argentina’s annual inflation rate is set to reach a bone-chilling 185 percent by the end of this year‚ with GDP expected to contract two percent. But The Post just couldn’t stop taking pot-shots at the “wild-haired‚” chain-saw “wielding” Milei: Milei made a name for himself as a television pundit who insulted other guests‚ and he has shown a tendency to fight with the news media. He has circulated conspiracy theories and raised unsubstantiated claims about electoral fraud. In presidential debates‚ he has cast doubt on the widely accepted tally of murders during the country’s Dirty War from 1976 to 1983. The Post doom mongered that Milei’s election was going to have a “seismic effect on the economy” in the days ahead. Uh‚ more seismic than the economic crisis Argentines are already facing? “[Milei’s] proposals for dollarization have sent Argentines rushing to shed their pesos‚ causing the currency’s value to plunge‚” cried The Post‚ already attributing policy failure to the libertarian president-elect before he even assumes office.  The Post should get a grip and maybe not let its Trump-Derangement-Syndrome infect every aspect of its reporting if it has any hopes of retaining whatever credibility it believes it has as a news source. Conservatives are under attack. Contact The Washington Post at 202-334-6000 and demand it stop acting as a shill for Argentina’s leftist political elite.   

From the Our Polls Don't Mean Anything Department: Mika Brzezinski: "New polling from NBC News has Donald Trump ahead of President Biden by two points‚ 46% to 44%."  Joe Scarborough: "Excuse me one second‚ I've got to yawn [makes yawning sound.]" That was Joe Scarborough on today's Morning Joe‚ feigning insouciance in reaction to the latest bad polling news for Joe Biden. How desperate was Scarborough to make the case that Biden‚ who today turns 81‚ is not too old to be president? Scarborough actually pointed to Warren Buffett‚ who at 93 is still an investing whiz. Here's the difference‚ Joe -- Buffett continues his lifetime of investing success. The only notable money-making move that Biden‚ aka The Big Guy‚ has apparently ever made was to trade on his official position for a piece of Hunter's influence-peddling action.  Scarborough also expressed mock concern over Trump's verbal slips‚ suggesting he's the one who's not fit for the Oval Office. Making this race one about the relative mental and physical vitality of Biden vs. Trump is one Biden is sure to lose.  In yawning about Biden's bad poll numbers‚ Scarborough also took a shot at David Axelrod‚ who has suggested that Biden consider stepping aside. Scarborough slammed Axelrod for also having suggested in 2020 that Biden was "toast." Say‚ Joe: guess who else in 2020 suggested that Biden was a burned bagel? You! After Biden's pitiful showings in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary‚ you're the guy who wrote a Washington Post column that amounted to a fond eulogy of Ol' Joe's political career!  PS: You know it's getting bad for Biden when even NBC's Saturday Night Live mocks his gaffes. Morning Joe played a clip of Colin Jost on the "Weekend Update" segment mocking Biden calling the rapper/TV star LL Cool J‚ "LL J Cool J." But Jost actually failed to mention Biden's much worse gaffe‚ calling Cool J‚ "that boy‚" before correcting himself and calling him‚ "that man." Imagine if a Republican had referred to a prominent African-American as "that boy." On Morning Joe‚ Joe Scarborough yawning past the graveyard of Joe Biden's bad polling numbers was sponsored in part by AT&;T‚ and Abbvie‚ maker of Rinvoq. Here's the transcript. MSNBC Morning Joe 11/20/23 6:58 am ET COLIN JOST: After President Biden's successful meeting with China's president‚ Xi Jinping‚ reporters asked Biden if he still believed that Xi was a dictator. And I don't know if Biden was supposed to say yes. Because look at this reaction from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. REPORTER: Would you still refer to President Xi as a dictator‚ a term you used earlier in the year? JOE BIDEN: Well look‚ he is. [Blinken turns head‚ grimaces.] JOST: Oh‚ man. That's the same face I make when my uncle starts a story by mentioning the race of the waitress. It's actually the same -- it's actually the same face I made when I heard Biden say this about LL Cool J. BIDEN: LL J Cool J. Ah‚ by the way‚ that boy's got -- that man's biceps bigger than my thighs. JOST: LL J Cool J? I think the second "J" stands for‚ Jesus! MIKA: [Laughs] That's pretty good. We can have fun. SCARBOROUGH: By the way‚ happy birthday. H MIKA: Happy birthday‚ Mr. President. SCARBOROUGH: Happy birthday‚ President Biden. MIKA: Yes. We'll take advantage of this day to talk about the one thing they think is wrong.  SCARBOROUGH: I know‚ I will say‚ seriously‚ I mean‚ you look at how old he is. And if you remember‚ just look back through history‚ like‚ just recent history‚ when Warren Buffett turned 81‚ remember everybody‚ they‚ they pulled all their money out of Berkshire Hathaway. MIKA: Right. No‚ I don't think so. And he turned 81‚ like‚ 12 years ago. SCARBOROUGH: A dozen years ago. And then -- oh‚ wait‚ I think he said‚ his most successful decade ever. MIKA: Oh‚ okay‚ well‚ there you go . . . Oh‚ and Donald Trump. Anyhow -- SCARBOROUGH: Well‚ no. Donald Trump's‚ like‚ he's -- if Donald Trump were elected next year‚ well‚ of course‚ that'd end democracy‚ but‚ also‚ he would be the oldest president ever elected. MIKA: Yeah. SCARBOROUGH: And I'm a little worried about him up there. He still doesn't know who he is running against. MIKA: Yeah‚ he sweats a lot. SCARBOROUGH: If you heard him this weekend‚ Jonathan Lemire‚ if you heard him this weekend‚ my gosh‚ it's not getting better. He thinks he's running against Barack Obama. He gets confused and rattled. You know‚ he talks about how Joe Biden can lead us into World War II. Very‚ very dazed and confused up there sometimes.  I'm‚ I'm worried about his age. I know you are‚ too. I mean‚ you have to be worried about his age. And the fact that he's running against a president‚ he thinks‚ that hasn't run for office in over a decade. . . .  MIKA: New polling from NBC News has Donald Trump ahead of President Biden by two points‚ 46% to 44%. SCARBOROUGH: Excuse me one second‚ I've got to yawn. Hold on a second [makes yawning sound.] MIKA: You're yawning? I know. This is a pattern. SCARBOROUGH: This is the end of the world! According to Democrats. According -- let's just say it‚ according to David Axelrod who‚ by the way‚ said Biden was toast several times in 2020. This is the end of the world. According to Democrats in Washington. They need -- to take a deep breath.  

Musk warns: “X has seen a number of attacks from activist groups like Media Matters and legacy media outlets who seek to undermine freedom of expression on our platform because they perceive it as a threat to their ideological narrative and those of their financial supporters.”

Turtles and‚ to a lesser extent‚ tortoises are popular pets in the United States and are found in millions of American homes. One question many have about these reptiles is whether they can feel their shell if‚ for example‚ you scratch or pet them. The answer is a resounding yes! Even though it’s hard and quite sturdy‚ turtles feel almost as much through their shells as we do through our skin! You can keep reading to discover how the amazing creatures feel through their thick‚ hard shells and how to ensure you don’t cause your turtle any pain when you handle them. How Do Tortoises and Turtles Feel Their Shells? It might surprise you that a tortoise or turtle’s shell is made of bone. The only difference is that‚ unlike most other animals‚ these bones are on the outside of the tortoise or turtle’s body rather than the inside. Over the bone are plates called scutes which‚ surprisingly‚ are made from the same material as your fingernails‚ keratin. You know it hurts if you’ve ever accidentally slammed a door on your finger or hit your fingernail with a hammer. That’s because your nails have nerve endings; the same goes for the bones and scutes of tortoises and turtles. Image Credit: Ivan Smuk‚ Shutterstock How Sensitive Is a Turtle and Tortoise’s Shell to Touch? According to researchers and scientists‚ the shells of tortoises and turtles are incredibly sensitive. If‚ for example‚ you scratch their shell‚ a turtle will sense the scratching as easily as if you were scratching their bare skin. In effect‚ their shells are highly sensitive to touch. Tortoises and turtles feel it when you scratch‚ stroke‚ or tap on their shells. Veterinarians recommend handling both reptiles gently and carefully‚ making sure not to drop them‚ hit them forcefully‚ or touch them in a way that might cause your turtle or tortoise to become alarmed or stressed. Can Turtles and Tortoises Feel Pain Through Their Shells? Knowing that turtles and tortoises can feel their shells‚ it’s not a large leap to realize that they can also feel pain via their shells. Many turtle owners don’t realize this or don’t believe reptiles feel pain. Sadly‚ many have also done things like drill holes in a turtle or tortoise’s shell to carry them more easily or chain them up so they can’t escape. You should not drill‚ cut‚ or otherwise damage a turtle or tortoise’s shell in any manner since it can be excruciating. Image Credit: Travel-Fr‚ Shutterstock Do Tortoises and Turtles Feel Pressure Through Their Shells? Just like you can feel it when‚ for example‚ someone puts pressure on your toe‚ a turtle or tortoise can feel pressure through their shell. So‚ for example‚ if you place a large rock on top of a turtle or tortoise (but please don’t)‚ they would indeed feel the pressure and likely feel very uncomfortable. Should You Paint a Tortoise’s or Turtle’s Shell? Many turtle and tortoise owners‚ especially those with children‚ paint their pet’s shells as a fun activity. However‚ that is a very bad thing to do. The reason is that‚ like humans and many other animals‚ these reptiles convert the sun’s UV rays into Vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for their health and wellness‚ and without it‚ their health will suffer. In effect‚ painting a tortoise or turtle’s shell will block UV rays from passing into its body and thus prevent it from being able to make Vitamin D. This‚ in time‚ can lead to bone deformities‚ a weakened shell‚ and other health issues. In short‚ never paint your pet tortoise or turtle’s shell; if you have‚ remove the paint as soon as possible. Image Credit: Melina Massola‚ Shutterstock Can Turtles and Tortoises Come Out of Their Shells? This is a question many pet owners have‚ and the answer is that neither the turtle nor the tortoise can come out of their shells completely. Yes‚ they can stick out their heads‚ feet‚ and tails‚ but that’s just extending them. However‚ just like your tongue is attached to your body and isn’t removable‚ a tortoise or turtle’s shell is completely attached to the rest of their body and is not made to be removed for any reason. Their scutes fall off occasionally as the animal grows‚ much like a dog or cat’s hair falls out‚ and their finger and toenails grow and need to be clipped. Should You Pick Up a Turtle or Tortoise by Their Tails? Many people believe that‚ to move a turtle that might be able to bite‚ you should pick it up by its tail. This‚ however‚ is 100% false. Just like their shell is part of their skeletal system‚ a turtle or tortoise’s tail is part of their spinal cord and spine. Picking them up by their tails could paralyze or even kill a turtle or tortoise‚ so you should never attempt to do it. If you need to move a turtle or tortoise‚ the best way to do it is to gently grab the edge of its shell around the mid-point and lift it slowly. Be aware that many turtles and tortoises will urinate when picked up‚ so expect it and don’t drop them if they do. Move them where you want them to be‚ and then wash your hands. Image Credit: Lisa Holder‚ Shutterstock Final Thoughts As we’ve learned‚ tortoises and turtles can feel through their shells‚ including touching‚ scratching‚ and pressure. They also feel pain‚ so you should never drill or cut into a tortoise or turtle’s shell for any reason. The shell is an integral part of their skeletal system. It’s also their armor and protection from predators‚ has nerve endings‚ and also has keratin‚ just like human fingers and toenails. We hope this information has been enlightening and given you food for thought about your pet turtle or tortoise and how they experience the world around them. Sources Oliver Idley Project Central MS Turtle Rescue DNR Chat Nature Center SDZ Wilf Life Explorers Featured Image Credit: tamiti‚ Shutterstock The post Can Tortoises &; Turtles Feel Their Shell? Facts &; FAQ appeared first on Pet Keen.

Food storage‚ although a smart and cost-effective solution at times‚ can also bring along with it health hazards. The post How to Keep Your Food Storage Safe and Maintained appeared first on Survivopedia.

A Mayo Clinic doctor has claimed that he was unjustifiably "silenced and punished" by the health clinic after he shared his research findings that touched upon politically divisive topics‚ such as transgenderism. Fox News Digital reported that Dr. Michael Joyner‚ who is a physiologist and professor of anesthesiology‚ filed a legal complaint on November 13‚ claiming that he was punished for making comments to the media about testosterone and the COVID-19 protocols of the National Institute of Health. During an interview with the New York Times in 2022‚ Joyner explained some of his findings about male and female swimmers. He felt that the differences between male and female swimmers were a good source of study‚ given that the sport is more than 100 years old and both sexes stick to a similar training and nutrition regime. The piece detailed that girls who have not reached puberty have a significant advantage over boys their age‚ given that they grow faster in the early years of prepubescence. However‚ when puberty hits‚ the dynamics change. "You see the divergence immediately as the testosterone surges into the boys‚" Joyner said. "There are dramatic differences in performances."The records currently held by elite adult male swimmers are‚ on average‚ 10% to 12% faster than their elite adult female counterparts.Joyner added that though there are social elements to sports‚ the physiology and biology cannot be ignored.Just months after the interview‚ Joyner was allegedly warned not to make future similar comments‚ which were characterized as unprofessional. The warning came just before he was prepared to give a lecture on "sex differences and human performance."Joyner was allegedly not only silenced about transgenderism‚ but he was also criticized for his comments about the NIH's COVID-19 protocols. Fox New Digital reported that Joyner said the agency had made it difficult to make changes to the protocol that could have made convalescent plasma treatment available to those especially vulnerable to the illness. The Mayo Clinic appears to have been so enraged by Joyner's media comments that it suspended him for one week without pay and threatened to fire him. FIRE reported that during a disciplinary hearing‚ the Mayo Clinic threatened to fire Joyner for giving "problematic" interviews that apparently did not reflect the "brand and reputation" of the clinic."Your use of idiomatic language has been problematic and reflects poorly on Mayo Clinic’s brand and reputation‚" the letter reads."Prior to the most recent incident this issue was discussed with you when your June 2022 comments in a NY Times article were problematic in the media and the LGBTQI+ community at Mayo Clinic. Members of the Personnel Executive Committee met with you on November 28‚ 2022‚ to discuss several concerns‚ including your use of language viewed as inflammatory in this context.""The fact that your selection of idiomatic expressions continues has caused the institution to question whether you are able to appropriately represent Mayo Clinic in media interactions."Joyner has reportedly insisted that his comments given during media interviews do not reflect the official positions of Mayo Clinic as a whole but that they are his views based on his own research.Joyner's legal counsel‚ Kellie J. Miller of Allen Harris Law‚ stated that the Mayo Clinic's performance reviews of Joyner are evidence that the clinic has not been honest with its recent assessment of the physician's work."Mayo’s attempt to deceive the public regarding Dr. Joyner’s stellar professional reputation is a clear effort to distract from Mayo’s own bad faith‚ retaliation‚ and unlawful actions‚" Miller said."Contrary to Mayo’s claims‚ Dr. Joyner’s three most recent performance evaluations‚ which cover the years in dispute‚ contain only high praise for Dr. Joyner’s character‚ professionalism‚ and achievements.""Academic freedom is essential to legitimate science‚ and the public deserves honest scientific opinions from doctors‚ not curated institutional statements promoting the Mayo 'brand' at the expense of scientific integrity‚" Mill continued. "Dr. Joyner hopes his lawsuit will result in the Mayo Clinic taking such issues seriously."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

I notice that every time I check myself out of a Giant supermarket in central Pennsylvania‚ I see a poster indicating that this chain store is looking for new workers. When I then look at whom the employers have in mind as potential help‚ I behold the picture of a young black woman. This young woman looks cheerful and attractive‚ but that’s not the point here. The store is obviously not interested in hiring white men or even necessarily black men. It seeks to give preferential employment treatment to black women. And lest anyone doubt its purpose‚ Giant management underlines this preference with the picture that accompanies its help-wanted sign. The help-wanted poster is not exactly an inoffensive adornment. It is apparent that the grocery’s management is virtue-signaling and doing so in a very ugly way. It is building on the practice of our corporate capitalists who are removing white people and particularly white males from TV advertisements. Exceptions are made in these advertisements for white males with black spouses or homosexual partners or if it’s possible to stick them into a group made up predominantly of approved minorities. Mind you‚ I’m not blaming this primarily on black women. Our corporate elites‚ who are behind it‚ are mostly white and male. They apparently think that it’s OK to marginalize other white males in order to exhibit their own progressive values and to win the praise of woke peers. We might wonder how this ostentatious virtue-signaling is different from telling job applicants that Irish‚ Jews‚ and Italians need not apply because the prospective employer doesn’t like certain ethnic groups‚ even if he wouldn’t object to taking their money in commercial transactions. Yes‚ I’ve heard the predictable leftist cant (as a former academic‚ I’ve had my fill of it) that this sort of thing is different from older discriminatory practices because it’s what the French call “positive discrimination.” Once we’ve renamed the exclusionary custom in question‚ it becomes an expression of the highest virtue to follow it — provided we also believe that the ancestors of those being excluded today inflicted‚ albeit unknowingly‚ indescribable suffering on the ancestors of those who are now being strenuously “recruited.” Of course‚ this form of discrimination is not something that the virtue-signaler does quietly. Rather‚ he announces his intentions nonstop and even posts pictures to make sure that everyone gets his drift. The new discrimination is even crazier than older forms because it involves rich white people with fancy degrees dehumanizing other white people. I doubt that most of Giant’s customers bother to take offense‚ even in our heavily pro-Trump borough‚ when they see white people‚ and particularly white males‚ treated as less than desirable applicants for grocery store work. They also see their sex and race marginalized or degraded on their TV screens‚ but they may view these unpleasant features of contemporary American culture as something over which they have no power. My neighbors may in fact feel helpless as they watch their humanity being downgraded. Having grown up in a factory town in the Northeast in the 1950s‚ I can easily imagine that some of our local businesspeople preferred hiring white employees to black employees. Some also preferred hiring members of their own ethnic groups who spoke their ancestral languages (usually Hungarian or Italian where I lived) as opposed to employing those who seemed culturally more alien. Although my father had at least one black employee‚ I don’t recall him ever celebrating this as a mark of virtue. He hired the employees he thought would do the work he needed them to do. Whether they were black or white didn’t matter from his business perspective. Significantly‚ I don’t remember from my youth any grocery store owner putting up posters that showed the ethnic type he wanted to employ. Such conduct would have seemed gauche and even un-American. You just didn’t do those things back then‚ even if you wanted to hire a Sicilian-American man as opposed to a Hungarian-American lady to stack cans in your shop window. Now things have changed. We show off our bigotry as proud agents of an anti-discrimination regime‚ the very essence of which is a morbid commitment to discrimination in the name of anti-discrimination. Although I myself have not always been consistent in this practice‚ it seems that the only solution to the problem I have outlined is the enforcement of boycotts. Corporations that discriminate against white people and males in their advertisements should have their products massively boycotted. What worked for Bud Light could very well work for normal Americans in other situations. One may not be able to change the values of middle-level executives whose minds have been drenched with woke clichés. But one can make them pay for their bigotry; and one should begin this demanding task by pushing back against crude advertising.