AMC Theaters Discrimination Against Disability, Kamala Celebrated a Holiday Before it Existed, Barstool Sports Helps More Businesses than the Feds, Buying a Gun on the Internet (The Five for 12/28/20)
Hey,
Welcome to The Five.
Before we begin, I just wanted to run something by you. As the readership for The Five continues to grow (slowly) and hover at the 70-90% rate for each newsletter, I’ve been thinking about what’s next for 2021.
I wanted to run two ideas by you:
A. The readership of The Five tends to be a community of innovators and creators. I think there could be value in letting everybody meet…not just to discuss the ideas presented here, but also to independently talk about the goals and ideas you have on your own.
and…
B. If you believe in the reporting happening here, one way to grow the number of people being reached would be through some social media ads.
Sooo…if enough folks are interested, I was thinking about launching a small subscription service in addition to the newsletter. I don’t want to go the Facebook group route, because I want to be as far away from big tech as possible with what I create (which is why I switched from Mailchimp to Substack).
I’m thinking the cost would be somewhere in the $3-5/month range, which would allow me to cover the hosting costs of an app (this would be a “The Five” app on your phone) and some test ads on social media to reach more folks.
Let me know what you think.
[one]
An AMC Theater location in North Carolina had the police escort a family out of a movie because their disabled, non-verbal daughter has a medical condition that prevents wearing a mask. Local radio host Todd Sterns reports:
Several of our Todd Starnes Radio Show listeners in Morehead City, North Carolina sent me video of a disgusting incident at a nearby movie theater.
The video shows the manager of the AMC Theater in Jacksonville, North Carolina banning a disabled child from entering the theatre.
Family members were masked up. However, the child, who was in a baby stroller and is non-verbal, was not wearing a mask.
She reportedly has a condition that precludes her from wearing either a mask or a face shield. Police were summoned to the theater and escorted the outraged family outside.
In addition to just how gross this whole thing is, as someone who’s personally unable to receive the Pfizer vaccine according to the CDC’s own recommendations, I worry about the blowback I may face in 2020 and beyond.
From the Wall Street Journal:
That’s why, as a precautionary measure, our current advice is that any person with a history of immediate-onset anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
My fear is that both places of business and personal contacts alike would rather I risk my life with a potential allergic reaction that’s nearly killed me more than once…to protect them from a disease that’s allegedly 95% a non-issue with a vaccine. If you’re 95% covered, is it reasonable to expect me to go against both British and American recommendations so you feel 5% safer?
According to what happened in North Carolina, where the police were called on a family because a girl could not medically wear a mask…I guess some folks would rather roll the dice on my life rather than “listen to the science” and I expect to lose some personal freedoms this year, unfortunately.
[two]
Vice President Elect Kamala Harris is being trolled on Twitter for claiming to have celebrated Kwanzaa growing up, a holiday that didn’t gain national prominence for 10-20 years after her birth.
If you’re not familiar with exactly what Kwanzaa is, here’s the Wikipedia summary:
Kwanzaa (/ˈkwɑːn.zə/) is an annual celebration of African-American culture that is held from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually held on the 6th day.[1] It was created by Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of Africa, including West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.
Harris was born in 1964, which makes the very first celebration of Kwanzaa two years younger than Kamala. She seems to have trouble with timelines overall, as the VP elect also claimed to have smoked pot while listening to Tupac and Snoop Dog while in college. She graduated in 1986. Tupac released his first album in 1991, Snoop in ‘93. Harris also named Tupac the “best rapper alive,” even though if you “listen to the science” the California based rapper died in 1996.
I could take those as personal quirks a lot more easily if Harris hadn’t prosecuted 1,900 marijuana offenses while claiming to be a user of weed herself.
Oh, and one more note…I’m 100% for freedom of speech and expression. There’s an argument that Kwanzaa is a “made up holiday.” All holidays are made up. Thanksgiving was made up in the 1600’s. MLK Day was “made up” in 1983. The Fourth of July was “made up” in 1776. It’s not my job to say what does and does not have meaning for someone else…and honestly, Kwanzaaa sounds a lot like Thanksgiving, so it’s weird to get too bent out of shape about it.
I don’t celebrate Ramadan, but I’m not upset that Muslims undergo a month of fasting and prayer.
[three]
During a week where nobody is happy with the stimulus bill that passed last night, help for small businesses is coming from the most unlikely of places. Sports website Barstool Sports has raised $7 million (and counting) to help small businesses stay afloat. The Foundation for Economic Freedom Reports:
Dave Portnoy, the founder and president of popular media company Barstool Sports, has vocally opposed the shutdowns. But beyond criticism alone, Portnoy is rising to the occasion and using his reach to provide real assistance for small business owners.
Last week, Portnoy launched a fund to bail out small businesses and alerted his 1.8 million Twitter followers to the cause. It seems he is spending this money out of his own pockets, a heroic and commendable endeavor, and challenging others to join him in the cause.
They say when a strong man takes a stand the spines of others are stiffened, and that certainly seems to be the case here. Social media influencers across Twitter began donating to Portnoy’s fund, many of them unsolicited.
Michael Rapino, the CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, contributed $50,000 despite concert venues being one of the hardest hit industries in the pandemic. And there were countless others like him. Dana White, President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, contributed generously. Gary Vaynerchuck of VaynerSports joined in. The list goes on.
Meanwhile, Congress is sending $25 million to Pakistan to study gender as a part of the COVID…uhh…relief?…package.
I’m not against foreign aid. I am against stupid foreign aid. And I’m sure against stupid foreign aid when American businesses are being shuttered left and right.
Thank God for Barstool Sports and the generous people contributing.
[four]
Just a quick personal story here, as there are a lot of misconceptions about “buying a gun on the internet.”
Here’s how it worked for me last week.
Guns are sold out nationwide, and I found the item I wanted to purchase at a store in Dallas, TX.
The gun had to be dropped at an FFL (federal firearms licensed dealer) for shipping. It then had to be received by another FFL in St. Louis, MO.
I attempted to pick the gun up on Saturday. That didn’t work, because it was too busy. In order to take possession of the gun, I have to pay the STL FFL for receiving it ($20) and running the federal background check, which can take 5 minutes or three hours, depending on how busy the FBI is.
The FBI was quite busy on Saturday, and I didn’t have time to wait. I’ll have to make a second trip to the store on Tuesday after work, fill out the form, and again wait for the FBI to clear me to take possession of what I bought. If I fail the background check, I can’t take possession of the gun (or buy any guns in the future).
Whatever you think of that…there you go. It’s much more of a hassle to buy a gun online than in person, because the buyer also has to be the one to coordinate between the shipping & receiving FFL’s.
[five]
A quick pop culture roundup:
Wonder Woman 1984 was the first blockbuster movie to go straight to streaming without a separate fee. Some reports indicate that half of all HBO Max subscribers watched the movie on Christmas Day, which is an astounding stat.
As far as the movie itself…speaking as someone who loved the first one…my very casual review would be “just OK.” Gal Gadot owns the role like none other, and Chris Pine was fantastic as usual. The plot was a little too silly for my tastes.
Despite being offered as a streaming option, WW1984 actually did well in theaters….for the COVID era anyway.
Andra Day, one of my favorite soul singers of the modern era, will be headlining ABC’s New Year’s Eve coverage. Also featured will be Billy Porter (who?), Cyndi Lauper (cool, I guess), Jimmie Allen (huge fan! check out his latest EP) and Machine Gun Kelly (casual fan, happy to tune in).
Season 3 of Cobra Kai, the 30-years-later sequel to the 1980’s smash Karate Kid, bumped up it’s release date and will now debut on Netflix on Jan 1 (Friday).
Global Superstar Conor McGregor returns to the UFC Octagon this month, which I’m insanely excited for. Disney recently reported that Conor increased ESPN+ memberships by 1 million with his last fight, which was 40 seconds long.
Until the next one,
-sth