Quickies

Quickies: Racial Bias and School Discipline, Bill Cosby Isn’t Sorry, and Tales of Scientology

  • That Time the Avengers Battled Scientology – “The turn of the millennium was a weird period for superhero comics; an era when financial desperation opened a path for wild experimentation. Marvel Comics was particularly hard hit, plunging into bankruptcy and emerging as a wounded giant. The company welcomed bold, weird ideas: Punisher became a zombie, Spider-Man and the X-Men got rebooted series where they were all angsty teens again, and … a Scientologist joined the Avengers. And then the Avengers teamed up with the evil super-powered leader of Scientology. And they all flew in a spaceship powered by the souls of Scientologists. And they fought a giant alien pyramid.”
  • What ’60 Minutes’ Got Right And Wrong On Duke’s Polio Virus Trial Against Glioblastoma – “An engineered version of the poliovirus has been in development for more than 20 years as a treatment for one of the most difficult-to-treat cancers, a brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, abbreviated GBM. A human safety trial of the virus, called a Phase I study, is ongoing at Duke University’s Brain Tumor Center in Durham, North Carolina. The patients who’ve been enrolled have the toughest form of this disease: GBM that has returned after previous surgery and treatment.”
  • Study finds black girls face harsher discipline in schools than their white peers – “Nationally, black girls are suspended six times more than white girls, according to the study, while black boys are suspended three times more than white boys.”
  • Audit This: The Most Disturbing Scientology Stories of the Last Decade – “Following the premiere of the damning Scientology documentary Going Clear last night, you may have more questions about the bizarre cult and its recent history. Compiled below are the most insane reports about Scientology from the past ten years.” I just watched the documentary and I liked it. Plus, I finally got to learn how to pronounce “Miscavige.”
  • Bill Cosby is not sorry: Under a Nelson Mandela portrait, the accused rapist delivers bizarre jokes to his die-hard fans – “Exclusive: The surreal experience of watching Cosby’s unapologetic stand-up act — sweat pants and all.”
  • A Very Special 1944 Message to Women from the Government About STDs – “The real audience for this PSA quickly becomes clear, as the doctor informs Peggy’s mother of her daughter’s diagnosis. She wails that they’ve given Peggy everything and wants to know what else they could’ve done. ‘You could have given her the information she needed about herself—her mind, her mind, and her proper relations with other people,’ retorts the doctor. And so Peggy’s mother embarks on a quest to understand venereal disease, thereby becoming the framing device for a bunch of information on gonorrhea, syphilis and their consequences.”
  • Abortion Patients Deserve “Spa-Like” Conditions – “Abortion is legal. If you want a little more misery and shame with your abortion experience, feel free to impose that on yourself, but for those who disagree, pass the fluffy robes and the herbal teas. “

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Mary

Mary Brock works as an Immunology scientist by day and takes care of a pink-loving princess child by night. She likes cloudy days, crafting, cooking, and Fall weather in New England.

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One Comment

  1. What makes the Mandela portrait extra-surreal is, Aaron McGruder already said R Kelly wasn’t Nelson Mandela or anything during the whole ‘piss on a teenage girl’ trial. He made it into a whole episode, including Grandpa commenting on how both precious metals and personal hygiene are good, so why are people complaining?

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