October 9th, 2017 | R. Rados
October 1st, 2017 | S.P.
Perhaps it may be time to heed the warnings that are in front of our eyes. Several indicators have been flashing red for some time, but we may be too caught up in the common demands of our lives to notice. Everything seems to have been going well so far, but how long can these economic fortunes carry us before collapsing? In the era of Trump, everything seems well in the financial markets, but we should not be fooled by any red herrings. The US Federal Reserve has made some startling moves over the past days that warrant some scrutiny and concern. One of which saw the Fed unload up to $4T in treasury bonds and assets that have been held since 2008. The immediate impacts of this “unwinding” are not yet known, but it is expected to have some consequences arising from the uncertainty it creates.
October 1st, 2017 | T. Carter
Some could find an argument to suggest that America is undergoing an historic purge under the presidency of Donald Trump. It isn't like something we would see in the movie franchise The Purge, but it might result in a kind of social, political and cultural cleanse. Divisive rhetoric and heated political discourse have been building in America since George W. Bush left office, but with Donald Trump, it all may come to a head. While Black Lives Matter called for dead cops and North Korea built its nuclear arsenal, Barack Obama did nothing. Under Donald Trump, things are much different. Rather than allow sentiments to build in one particular direction, Trump has fought back and escalated the cultural and political war that has been brewing since 2008.
October 1st, 2017 | R. Rados
When I say Hollywood, I don't mean movies and the art of filmmaking, I mean Hollywood as a place and as a culture. Movies will continue to be made after Hollywood goes bankrupt, but the standards might be a bit different. Instead of big budget remakes and adaptations, filmmaking might become more auteur. There are signs that big Hollywood studios are heading into a black abyss and that the industry will be supplanted by the internet, independent artists and other places. Every year, the death of Hollywood gets so close we can smell the rot. It's so close now that we can safely put a date on it. With the exception of Disney, the big budget Hollywood industry will probably be on life support by 2020 and near death by 2025, if not sooner. Revolutions in technology and delivery have changed the entire landscape to the point where Hollywood moguls can no longer keep up. The traditional formula for success no longer works.
October 1st, 2017 | T. Carter
It was in 2007 when I first heard conversations about Confederate monuments being expressions of racism and about the need for a new movement that would uplift and draw awareness to black identity in America. I heard conversations in classrooms and at community centers in my neighborhood about the need for a movement that would unify blacks in America and tear down the walls around what they were calling “white institutionalism”. At the time, I thought it was only talk. Less than ten years later, I'm beginning to see those words and ideas that were circulating on the streets of Chicago turned into actions. Activists across America are accomplishing a lot of what was being talked about as far back as 2007. It was almost like Chicago's community organizers and academics had seen the future. Or maybe it was more like they had been planning it. In hindsight, it makes more sense to believe the latter.
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