Smithsonian

Smithsonian African American History Museum Defines ‘Whiteness’: Individualism, Science, Hard Work

The National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the U.S. government-run Smithsonian Institution, includes a web page about “whiteness” in America that defines it to include individualism, science, and hard work. The web page on whiteness appears to have been live on the museum’s website for just over a month, according to a search of the Internet Archive. It offers definitions and educational materials for explaining “systemic racism.” One guide, drawn from “data” on a chart created in 1990, advises that features of “whiteness” include “rugged individualism,” the nuclear family, an “emphasis on the scientific method,” and a belief that “hard work is the key to success.”

This is your hard-earned tax dollars at work…not.  You really can’t make this stuff up, folks.  If I were black, I’d be pretty offended by this nonsense.  After all, let’s be honest..  They’re defining being white as being smart and hard working.  Therefore…by contrast,  that means being black, according to this museum’s web site, means being dumb an lazy.  Like I said, if I were black, I’d be pretty pissed off.  This is the kind of ridiculous crap that is dividing America falsely, and worse, its being done by a federal organization paid by our taxes!  This so-called “whiteness” definition is bs.  Some white people are liberal, socialist, Democrats who believe in collectivism.  But, there are also some white people who are conservative Republicans who do believe in rugged individualism and hard work.   Anyway..  if you want to lose more IQ points and read the rest of this article, click on the text above.

Smithsonian Institution hiring first ever beer historian

It’s the career opportunity of a lifetime for sudsy sippers across the country. The Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of American History is looking to hire a beer historian for a three-year appointment based in Washington, D.C. Museum curator Paula Johnson told the Washington City Paper that the job is a brand new position funded by the Brewers Association—a national trade group that represents craft beer makers and that the Smithsonian is looking for a candidate who can “focus and dedicate efforts towards research, documentation, and collecting American brewing history.” “We have collected food history for many years, so when we were doing the research for the exhibition, which is all about big changes in the post WW II era in how and what we eat, one thing we were curious about is the craft beer movement,” Johnson says. “We were looking at wine, coffee, cheese, artisanal bread, and farmers markets. Well, this movement with small-scale, local regional beer is part of the ethos.” Currently, the Museum of American History has information about beer history dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but very little from the 1960s til today—which many consider to be the heyday of the craft beer movement. According to data from the Brewers Association, there are now 4,269 breweries in America—a historical high since 1873, when there were 4,131 breweries in the country.The number of beermakers in the U.S. jumped 15 percent in 2015 alone. The historian/scholar position requires individuals to travel, interview beer industry professionals, write articles about beer, perform research for exhibits and archives—and of course drink the stuff. The position pays $64,650 plus plenty of bubbly benefits. According to the official posting, “Candidates with an advanced degree in American business, brewing, food, cultural, or similar specialization within history are encouraged to apply.” But beer lovers should get moving. Applications for the Smithsonian Food Project’s beer history expert are due Aug. 10.

How cool would that be!??     🙂

Smithsonian unveils Armstrong bag with Apollo 11 lunar artifacts

It’s been 46 years since Neil Armstrong took “one giant leap for mankind” when he became the first person to set foot on the moon. Now, visitors of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum have the opportunity to get an up-close look at some of the astronaut’s outer space mementos that were meant to be left on the moon. Shortly after Armstrong’s death in August 2012, his family reached out to the Smithsonian about artifacts from his career found at his Ohio home office. Carol, Armstrong’s widow, discovered a white cloth bag in her husband’s closet filled with items that she believed came from a spacecraft. After close analysis, a team from the museum determined that the white bag contained items that were flown in the Lunar Module Eagle during the Apollo 11 mission, according to Allan Needell, curator in the Smithsonian’s Space History Department, in a blog post.

Very cool! 🙂

9,000-year-old man yields secrets of America’s earliest inhabitants

Eighteen years after his near-complete skeletal remains were found along the bank of the Columbia River in eastern Washington, Kennewick Man is finally telling his 9,000-year-old story — and reshaping our knowledge of how North America was first populated by humans.

Fascinating!!   Glad to see these scientists fighting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in court to ensure that proper, methodical, scientific research is conducted, and scientifically accurate results are determined, before they decide what to do with these remains.  This whole political correctness crap drives me nuts.  After all, what if it is scientifically determined that the bones of “Kennewick Man” are NOT so-called “Native American?”  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a great history of service, and I know many folks in that great organization.  But, in recent years it has become a tool of political correctness for those in positions of power…and its leadership is beholden to the politically correct bureaucracy at the Pentagon and the Obama White House.

Smithsonian ranks America’s top 20 best small towns to visit

Smithsonian ranks America’s top 20 best small towns to visit

Some interesting choices from Smithsonian. Methinks they just need to stick to the museum business..  Although, they listed Beaufort, S.C.  Well, my fav spot on earth is in the same county; Hilton Head Island, SC.  So, I sorta/kinda agree with that one, lol.  And, while Steamboat Springs, CO is a nice town..there are other better choices, in my view, in Colorado.  Its fairly obvious that the tea and croissant crowd in D.C. put this list together.  So, consider the source..