In 1933, Adolf Hitler handed the power of Jewish cultural life in Nazi Germany to his chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels established a team of of regulators that would oversee the works of Jewish artists in film, theater, music, fine arts, literature, broadcasting, and the press.Goebbels' new regulations essentially eliminated Jewish people from participating in mainstream German cultural activities by requiring them to have a license to do so.This attempt by the Nazis to purge Germany of any culture that wasn't Aryan in origin led to the questioning of artists from outside the country. Nazi book burning via Wikimedia CommonsIn 1938, English author J. R. R. Tolkien and his British publisher, Stanley Unwin, opened talks with Rütten & Loening, a Berlin-based publishing house, about a German translation of his recently-published hit novel, "The Hobbit."Privately, according to "1937 The Hobbit or There and Back Again," Tolkien told Unwin he hated Nazi "race-doctrine" as "wholly pernicious and unscientific." He added he had many Jewish friends and was considering abandoning the idea of a German translation altogether.The Berlin-based publishing house sent Tolkien a letter asking for proof of his Aryan descent. Tolkien was incensed by the request and gave his publisher two responses, one in which he sidestepped the question, another in which he clapped back '30s-style with pure class.His publisher sent the classy clap-back.In the letter sent to Rütten & Loening, Tolkien notes that Aryans are of Indo-Iranian "extraction," correcting the incorrect Nazi aumption that Aryans come from northern Europe. He cuts to the chase by saying that he is not Jewish but holds them in high regard. "I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people," Tolkien wrote.Tolkien also takes a shot at the race policies of Nazi Germany by saying he's beginning to regret his German surname. "The time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride," he writes.Here's the letter sent to Rütten & Loening:25 July 1938 20 Northmoor Road, OxfordDear Sirs,Thank you for your letter. I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by arisch. I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects. But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.My great-great-grandfather came to England in the eighteenth century from Germany: the main part of my descent is therefore purely English, and I am an English subject — which should be sufficient. I have been accustomed, nonetheless, to regard my German name with pride, and continued to do so throughout the period of the late regrettable war, in which I served in the English army. I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride.Your enquiry is doubtless made in order to comply with the laws of your own country, but that this should be held to apply to the subjects of another state would be improper, even if it had (as it has not) any bearing whatsoever on the merits of my work or its sustainability for publication, of which you appear to have satisfied yourselves without reference to my Abstammung.I trust you will find this reply satisfactory, andremain yours faithfully,J. R. R. TolkienThis article originally appeared on 2.15.22

Kindergarten is one of the most formative experiences in a child's life. Not only do they learn there how to navigate the tricky world of friendships and the seeds of independence, they also start their education journey. All of that is made extra special if they have a teacher who really loves them. When you're a kindergarten teacher, you know that you have the power to make a serious impact, and that shouldn't be taken lightly. A retired kindergarten teacher warmed hearts on TikTok as people learn just how great that impact is.In the video, shared by user Kim Hamilton (the daughter of said teacher) in 2022, the woman, who is identified in the comments as Mrs. Pearson, is sitting on her porch when a girl in a cap and gown shows up at the gate. "Congratulations!" Mrs. Pearson calls out, waving. Soon, she realizes that the young girl isn't alone. "What's happening?" she asks her daughter, who can be heard chuckling behind the camera."They're your kindergarteners," Hamilton replies, as kids in caps and gowns start filing through the gate."Did you know this was happening?!" Pearson asks, the shock and joy clearly evident on her face."Oh my gosh, I love you all! Look at you!" she exclaims as she runs over to the kids.Hamilton explains to her that these kids, clearly high school graduates, are the last group of kindergarten students Pearson taught before retiring. As each one of them comes into the gate, the joy on Pearson's face grows exponentially. It's clear that these kids were her babies, and even though now they're all grown up and going off to college, they'll always have that special place in her heart. "Oh my god, you're all just gorgeous!" she says, giving each one a hug.The kids are just as happy to see their beloved Mrs. Pearson as she is to see them. They eagerly shuffle together to pose for a picture as she just stops and looks at them, taking it all in. Presumably, she hasn't seen them much in the approximately 12 years since she retired. Maybe they've seen each other around—as a kid, I loved running into my teachers outside of school. I still do. But the fact that these kids showed up to see her, to allow her to celebrate her integral role in their lives, that's really special. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Here are just a handful of the comments people left on Hamilton's video:"Proof they never stop being our kids after they leave us.""The love she showed and was shown, she must have been one heck of a teacher ?""I started crying when your mom did.""Love this! ❤ I teach kindergarten and only hope my students will remember me like this! She must have been extraordinary!""Literally teachers like HER are the reasons I still talk to my teachers from middle school, HS & college? good teachers are so special"Watch the video below and try not to cry. @kimhamilton15 #kindergartentograduation ♬ Graduation March - Pomp And Circumstance - Instrumental - Zev Weinstein This article originally appeared on 6.8.22

A lot of emotions rise to the surface after being dumped. It can leave a person feeling sad, lonely, confused, rejected and left with a sense that you’ll never find anyone again. People tend to think, “If that person couldn’t stick it out with me, then who will?”However, most of the time, it’s irrational worry. There are more than a few billion people on the planet to choose from, you just gotta put yourself out there. But that’s a hard thing to hear when your feelings are still raw.A study reported by The New York Times found that today, the old “plenty of fish in the sea” cliche is growing truer by the day. We are nearing a point where there will be more unmarried adults in the U.S. than those who have tied the knot. The most recent Census data shows the share of American adults who were neither married nor living with a significant other had risen to 46.4%. So good news for you single folks, the dating pool just keeps getting deeper.In 2020, Kelsey Huse, a software engineer from Austin, Texas, broke up with her boyfriend and at the age of 30, felt like she was never going to meet anyone again. “My bf broke up with me this week and I just wanna hear happy stories of ppl who found their partner in their 30s thanks,” she tweeted. My bf broke up with me this week and I just wanna hear happy stories of ppl who found their partner in their 30s thanks — Kelsey Huse (@Kelsey Huse) 1606582440 Huse received an avalanche of responses from people who shared pictures and stories about how they met their special people in their 30s and later, giving her plenty of hope for the future. Her tweet went mega-viral earning nearly 7,000 retweets and 150,000 likes.Here are some of the best responses.I strongly believe getting married in your 20s should be illegal. Sort of kidding, but I met my husband at 32 at a funeral. We make each other laugh just by being ourselves. He is the kindest person I know. We celebrated our 13 year wedding anniversary this year. pic.twitter.com/2A8iNU04VU— Mona Holmes (@monaeatsLA) November 29, 2020 I met my wife in my 30’s and we got married in our 40’s. Love her. pic.twitter.com/RNpgayDtmn— ?Dr. Frizzle (@Swilua) November 30, 2020 Today I turned 39, and 6 months ago I fell head over heels in love... Last night he proposed. I’m happier than I ever believed I would or even could be in life...Your bf may have broken up with you, but you’ve got your whole life to go be happy! I wish you the best! pic.twitter.com/3Fsfqamvf3— Monica S. Blake-Beasley (@TheRealMSBlake) November 29, 2020 Swiped right almost 5 years ago. He lived 3 miles away. Married w a 7 mo old now. 30s are when you figure out what you really need in a partner. pic.twitter.com/aqvGZ6mqBw— shelbyq (@shelbyq) November 30, 2020 31, joyously single (glory in it!) and back in my hometown for the holidays when I ran into a longtime (8yrs) friend at a pub. Within an hour we were holding hands under the table. Changed everything. He was RIGHT THERE ALL ALONG like some deranged Netflix Christmas movie. pic.twitter.com/kgvWqppr9E— ? Himbo Discourse ? (@internetmaggie) November 29, 2020 I hit 30, realized career + life I had developed in Vegas (entertainment PR) was not going to support my long term goals. Took a major leap of faith, left everything I knew to return to Iowa. Met my husband 3 months later. Had first babe this year at 37! AND still love my job! pic.twitter.com/84HYy4wxYM— Alison Cate (@alisonem) November 30, 2020 i found the love of my life when i was 52. we just got married this summer. don’t quit before the miracle. i love you @SavetheKales pic.twitter.com/6DTGCV1oIZ— barb morrison ?️‍⚧️ (@barbmorrison) November 30, 2020 I met my partner in my thirties. He was NOT what I was expecting and really showed I had been going for the wrong things. We were supposed to get married today, but then covid.... It'll happen. For me and you. pic.twitter.com/pWaxQkLavR— Kyle Demes (@kyledemes) November 29, 2020 I was 34.. Broke up with my ex a couple months before we were to go on a Euro vacation. Went alone but a friend of mine joined me for the NYE portion of the trip.. man, this dude put on all the moves, confessed his love and boom.. married for 7 years! pic.twitter.com/AWzbbcoA1K— LABellatini (@LABellatini) November 29, 2020 I met my husband via @bumble when I was 27. He had a photo of his mom and grandma on his profile so I knew he cherished family and the women in his life. We got married in September. ? pic.twitter.com/E0LjaWCcBE— Danielle Desir Corbett (@thethoughtcard) November 29, 2020 Huse couldn't believe the incredible responses she received and they really did lift her spirits.I have never received this much engagement on a tweet before. I’m overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness and stories. Thank you all so so much!!!!! ????— Kelsey Huse (@kelseyhuse30) November 28, 2020 ? this tweet reached so many people! I want to say thank you again. I was feeling really sad, and needed reassurance that I would find love again. ?— Kelsey Huse (@kelseyhuse30) November 30, 2020 I have amazing friends who love me and I am taking care of myself and working on myself. Whether I am single, or find romantic love again, I am full of love ??— Kelsey Huse (@kelseyhuse30) November 30, 2020 Huse may not have known it at the time, but breaking up at 30 may have been a blessing in disguise. Studies show that people who get married later in life have better mental health than those who get hitched at a younger age. According to family ecology researcher Matt Johnson, those who married at the same age as or later than their peers reported higher levels of happiness and self-esteem—and less depression—than those who married early."People who marry early tend not to get as much education, have kids earlier than is optimal, and as a result get locked into careers they hadn't aspired to. In mid-life they're a little more depressed—or have a lower sense of self-worth—not because they violated some societal norm, but because they started down the path to family life early,” Johnson said.Huse's story shows that there is no time frame for love and that it’s possible to find the perfect person well after the age of 30. It also shows that even though Twitter gets a deserved bad rap for being a pretty hostile environment, every once in a while people come together to do something beautiful.

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A poll by Ann Selzer showed Kamala Harris ahead of Donald Trump by 3 percentage points in Iowa, a state that voted for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections. In this episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey Holmes and Lyrah Margo discuss the Iowa polling and the ramifications it could have for this election. They also examine American attitudes toward the polls and their election predictions about who will win. Tune in to hear their discussion! Read Ellie and Lyrah’s writing here and here. Listen to the Spectator P.M. Podcast on Spotify. Watch the Spectator P.M. Podcast on Rumble.   The post <i>The Spectator P.M.</i> Ep. 90: Should Trump Be Concerned by Shock Iowa Poll? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

When the Georgia General Assembly enacted new election laws in 2022, the state was targeted by a dishonest propaganda campaign led by the president of the United States. The new Georgia law was “Jim Crow 2.0,” Joe Biden said — a hateful smear for which that notorious liar has never apologized. Excuse my indignation, but I was born in Atlanta and grew up in Douglas County, Georgia, and this disgusting slander outraged my sense of pride in my native state. Yet the beautiful irony is that the new law in Georgia may prevent America from suffering another one of those “too close to call” nightmares such as was inflicted on us four years ago. Georgia has greatly increased its early voting, and the votes that have been cast early will also be counted early, so that within a couple of hours of 7 p.m. Eastern, when polls close in Georgia, we may know the winner of that state. Depending on how Georgia goes, the winner there may be almost certainly projected as the winner of 270 Electoral College votes necessary to claim the White House. Some brief explanation of this calculation is necessary. Georgia was one of the closest states in 2020, with Biden eking out a win over Donald Trump by less than 12,000 votes. Biden’s margin was a mere 0.24 percent of the nearly 5 million votes cast in Georgia in 2020. If the state tips even slightly toward Trump compared to four years ago, therefore, the switch of Georgia’s 16 Electoral College votes gets Trump to 251 — assuming, that is, that he manages to hold on to North Carolina (a subject we’ll address momentarily). On the other hand, if Kamala Harris should win Georgia, Trump’s chances for getting to 270 Electoral College votes are quite slim. Georgia may prove to be the true bellwether of this election, but if Trump wins the state, his margin of victory will be important in terms of showing which way things are going. Should he win the Peach State so decisively that the networks feel safe calling Georgia for Trump by 10 p.m. Eastern Time, that would indicate he’s on his way to being the next president. A slender margin — one that leaves Georgia “too close to call” late into Election Night — would suggest a nationwide nail-biter. Here’s what everyone has known about this election all year: Seven battleground states — Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada — will decide the outcome. However, if you do the Electoral College arithmetic, you see that Trump gets to 270 merely by winning Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. One reason that the margin of a potential Trump victory in Georgia would be so crucial is that it would indicate how things are likely to go in North Carolina, a state that Trump won by a slender 75,000 votes (1.4 percent) four years ago. Georgia and North Carolina are likely to go in the same direction because of their similar demographics, both having large black populations — 32 percent in Georgia, 22 percent in North Carolina — and if Trump wins Georgia decisively, it’s likely he’ll also win North Carolina. How likely is that? Well, the polls averages at RealClearPolitics favor Trump by a little more than one point in both Georgia and North Carolina. Recall that the 2020 election was shaped not only by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also by the George Floyd riots that broke out that summer. Those who’ve studied the early voting patterns have detected a somewhat lower intensity among black voters, who made the difference for Biden in both Georgia and North Carolina four years ago. It’s not just because the post–George Floyd energy has faded, but also because Kamala Harris doesn’t seem to stir much enthusiasm among black men. And let’s face it: Inflation has hurt everybody, except perhaps the ultra-rich. On Election Night 2020, I posted to Instagram a photo of the gasoline prices at a nearby convenience story: $2.19 for a gallon of unleaded. Today, I posted a picture of the same sign: $3.19 a gallon. That’s a 46 percent increase, an annual inflation rate of more than 11 percent in the price of gasoline alone. It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white or Latino, male or female, inflation has eroded your quality of life the past four years, and Kamala Harris has not even admitted any share of responsibility for this, much less offered a plausible plan to fix it. That may be the simplest explanation for why Democrats are very worried about this election. Mark Halperin has heard them bemoaning the early turnout numbers, and we are now just hours away from learning whether that will be decisive in this election. Pennsylvania, with its 19 Electoral College votes, is the biggest prize among the battlegrounds, and we may have to wait a while to know how that one goes. However, if Trump can win Georgia and hang on to North Carolina, that puts him in position to win, and the margins in those two states could tell us a lot about which way things will go in Pennsylvania. The other day, Halperin expressed his belief that the battleground states will not be divided up between Trump and Harris, but rather will all break in the same direction. That seems like the smartest bet to me, too. So tonight, keep a close eye on those results from Georgia, which may be decisive — and should be decided rather early in the night. All thanks to the law that Biden called “Jim Crow 2.0.” READ MORE: The Hero’s Journey Ends Today, But How? Election Day Offers as Many Reasons to Believe as to Doubt The P’nut Factor The post Election Night: ‘Too Close to Call’? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.