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By MICHELLE L. PRICE WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world’s richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Related Articles National Politics | Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers? National Politics | Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes National Politics | In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families National Politics | Court rules Georgia lawmakers can subpoena Fani Willis for information related to her Trump case National Politics | New 2025 laws hit hot topics from AI in movies to rapid-fire guns Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.ELAN LAWSUIT NOTICE: Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) Investors are Notified of the Upcoming December 6 Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit – Contact BFA Law (NYSE:ELAN)
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Arkansas receiver Andrew Armstrong said Tuesday that he is entering the NFL Draft. Later in the day, a school spokesman told reporters that Armstrong will skip the Razorbacks' bowl game. The destination isn't yet known. Armstrong led the Southeastern Conference in both receptions (78) and receiving yards (1,140) but caught just one touchdown in 11 games this season. His catches and yardage were both second-most in Arkansas history behind Cobi Hamilton, who had 90 receptions for 1,335 yards in 2012. "It's been a journey for the books and I wouldn't trade it for anything because it has made me into the man I am today," Armstrong said of his Razorbacks tenure in a social media post. "... I will never forget all the moments that were shared here in Fayetteville." Armstrong played two seasons at Texas A&M-Commerce before transferring to Arkansas ahead of the 2023 season. In two seasons with the Razorbacks, he caught 134 passes for 1,904 yards and six scores. --Field Level MediaDuncan Connors. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH Collective will is all that can overcome intolerance and bullying Duncan Connors writes. Recently, I wrote in the ODT on the rise of bullying and lying in every day life. Both concern power over others. However, we do not live in a vacuum. We live within society. Consent and indifference fuels toxicity. Catholic priest Fr David Ardagh Walter, (a founder of CND) once explained bad occurred not due to a surplus of evil, but an absence of good. We are all naturally good but the decision to not standing leads to great wrongdoing and injustice. We normalise bad behaviour. Normalisation is mostly an innocuous process. It is the adoption of something new: technology, the acceptance of activities once considered wrong. Society evolves and we move on. However, another aspect of normalisation that academics, historians, psychologists and sociologists have studied since the 20th century is how can advanced societies normalise the very worse conduct towards one another? Examples include the French Revolution, the Holocaust or the Soviet purges. More recently, we are now witnessing significant acceptance of aggressive and confrontational attitudes online by individuals such as the deeply unpleasant Andrew Tate. The once strange and unacceptable becomes familiar and tolerated. This is not necessarily a bad thing: I wrote this article on an Emirates flight on an Apple laptop. My boarding pass was on my phone. The same phone Mum uses to nag me from London. That is good normalisation, the acceptance by society of new technology. Society evolves and moves on. That's a good thing. But there is a darker side. In an age of extremes where vocal minorities at either end of the political spectrum dominate, we have become a ground down silent majority. The endless confrontational hoo-ha on the internet is a curse. The dam broke in 1994 with the election to the US congress of an angry, radical, right-wing and evangelical Republican Party led by the confrontational firebrand Newt Gingrich. They focused their ire on the permissive attitudes of the Clinton administration, the president’s family, friends and associates. Little did they know their actions would influence political parties abroad, in Australia and New Zealand, the British Brexit movement, the European far right and the internet conspiracy fuelled Maga movement supporting Donald Trump. While we have normalised many positive aspects of the internet, few predicted the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories. One who did was academic and science fiction author David Brin. In his 1990 book Earth Brin predicted exactly how the internet would become toxic. He saw in the giddy rush to make fortunes from the implementation of this new technology, we would brush over the necessary process of thoughtful reflection as merely the rumblings of habitual party poopers. The best explanation comes from the work of the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci. He divided society into three elements; the rulers, the ruled and the bourgeoisie in between. He stated the following: the bourgeoisie will always do what the rulers want because a) they aspired to joining, even had pretensions of being, part of the ruling class, and b) they saw themselves as superior to the ruled, even though they are effectively part of the same cohort. Therefore, their support of the decisional class will always be forthcoming due to their self-interest and aspirations. All totalitarian regimes in history had substantial civil services comprised of the above, as well as the support of business and civil interest groups that benefit from the new regime. However, even in regular, democratic, developed nations, particularly in the politics of the workplace, the same cohort will support the ascendent and those in control. This can be innocuous but due to the factors outlined above, in recent years increasingly this had led to toxic and passive aggressive behaviour, if that is what is now considered acceptable. The consequence is stagnation as the creative people businesses and society need to generate new ideas and productivity tend to be singled out and marginalised. They walk away and we are all the poorer because of it. The solution? Simple: tolerance and understanding the view and lives of the other. How can this happen? I have no idea. It's down to society to change itself. This requires a collective process across all social boundaries and beliefs. I can only pray, hope, even plead and beg we can all look within ourselves and challenge our ways in an age of division born of toxicity and confrontation. — Duncan Connors is an Otago business academic.PICTURES: Melbourne University graduations 2024: Veterinary School, Engineering, IT & PhD graduates
CORVALLIS – Oregon State plays only three nonconference women’s basketball games at home this season. One date it didn’t give up was the annual Field Trip game, where Willamette Valley-area grade and middle school students turn Gill Coliseum into the day’s classroom. About 7,000 students and staff were on hand Tuesday morning to scream, sing and dance during the Beavers’ 63-56 win over Grambling State.
We’ve been hearing about Apple Intelligence since June but only now has it become real. With iOS 18.2, just released, Apple has unleashed a deluge of improvements to make the iPhone (and iPad and Mac) more useful. But is the new release good to go or should you hold back? Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. Note that I’ll be updating this post over the coming days and will make a final assessment on Thursday, Dec. 19. Who Is It For And How Do You Get It? Apple iOS 18.2 works with all iPhones that can run iOS 18, which is the same list of devices which could handle iOS 17. This means all iPhones from the iPhone XS onwards, including the second- and third-generation iPhone SE models. Apple Intelligence is the marquee feature here, but it only works on six iPhones: iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. What It’s About Two words: Apple Intelligence. That’s not to say there isn’t more to this update, but Apple Intelligence is key. Not only is it the biggest upgrade to Apple Intelligence so far, it’s the entire delivery of the new features for users in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, which haven’t had any Apple Intelligence features until now. The Game Awards 2024 Live Winners List, And Game Of The Year Microsoft Warns 400 Million Windows Users—Do Not Update Your PC iOS 18.2—Update Now Warning Issued To All iPhone Users Apple iOS 18. 2 Security There are several security issues which are addressed by iOS 18.2, such as solutions to problems in both WebKit which is key to the Safari browser and the iPhone Kernel. Forbes colleague Kate O’Flaherty has more details on the security aspects to this big update here . Note that while the last iOS 18 update was accompanied by an iOS 17 update for those users who didn’t want to get onto the iOS 18 bandwagon, there are far fewer options this time around. Apple is saying you should upgrade to iOS 18. Indeed, those were CEO Tim Cook’s words to me when the update was happening, saying users should do it “in a rush”. First Reactions There have been some comments pertaining to issues not being solved or (the usual) worries about battery life. However, battery worries are almost never borne out in the hours or days after an update lands, so check back for a final update on that. Overall, though there have been plenty of positive comments, such as one user who said, “Huge upgrade from 18.1.1. Fixes all the problems of previous releases of iOS 18. I think this is it. No need for anymore updates. Even Apple intelligence works as promised. Even Siri responds to all my questions perfectly!” Apple iOS 18.2 Initial Verdict: Update There are so many feature updates in iOS 18.2 that updating always seemed the most likely thing to do unless it all fell over dramatically. That hasn’t happened, so unless you’re dead against Apple Intelligence, this seems a great time to upgrade to iOS 18 if you’ve previously held back.
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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Niger's ruling junta suspended the BBC for three months over the broadcaster's coverage of an extremist attack that allegedly killed dozens of Nigerien soldiers and civilians, authorities said Thursday. “BBC broadcasts false information aimed at destabilizing social calm and undermining the troops' morale,” communications minister Raliou Sidi Mohamed said in letters to radio stations that rebroadcast BBC content. Mohamed asked the stations to suspend BBC's programs “with immediate effect.” The BBC said it had no comment on the suspension. Popular BBC programs, including those in Hausa — the most-spoken language in Niger — are broadcast in the Central African country through local radio partners to reach a large audience across the region. The British broadcaster had reported on its website in Hausa on Wednesday that gunmen had killed more than 90 Nigerien soldiers and more than 40 civilians in two villages near the border with Burkina Faso. The French broadcaster Radio France International, also known as RFI, also reported on the attack, calling it a jihadi attack and citing the same death toll. Niger's authorities denied that an attack happened in the area in a statement read on state television and said it would file a complain against RFI for “incitement to genocide.” Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance. But the security situation in the Sahel has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed both by Islamic militants and government forces. Meanwhile, the ruling juntas have cracked down on political dissent and journalists . Earlier this year, Malian authorities banned the media from reporting on the activities of political parties and associations. Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces. In August 2023, Niger banned French broadcasters France 24 and RFI, a month after its military rulers took power in a coup. “Generally speaking, the three juntas censor the media as soon as the security situation in the country is addressed in an unpleasant manner or when abuses are revealed,” Sadibou Marong, head of the sub-Saharan Africa office of Reporters Without Borders, told The Associated Press in September. “Finding reliable and neutral information on government activities has become extremely complex, as has covering security situation in these countries,” Marong added.
Your black plastic kitchen utensils aren’t so toxic after all. But you should still toss them, group saysEAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield embarrassed the woeful Giants with his arm and legs, and if that wasn't enough, he rubbed it in after scoring a touchdown. Mayfield catapulted into the end zone for one of Tampa Bay's four rushing TDs, and the Buccaneers beat the Giants and new starting quarterback DeVito 30-7 on Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak and extending New York's skid to six. With both teams struggling and coming off byes, most of the focus leading up to the game was on the Giants' decisions this week to bench quarterback Daniel Jones. The brash DeVito was given the starting job and asked to spark coach Brian Daboll's team, as he did last season. Instead, Mayfield provided the energy with his play and his trolling of DeVito. “Tribute to Tommy,” said a straight-faced Mayfield, who was 24 of 30 for 294 yards. “He’s a good dude, that’s why. Most of the times, I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s spontaneous.” Mayfield was asked several times about the gesture and admitted he wanted to give Giants fans something they liked, adding he met DeVito at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas in February. “He had his chain blinged out, swag walking through the casino. It was awesome,” Mayfield said. “It was like a movie scene, honestly.” DeVito did nothing to help the NFL's lowest-scoring offense. He threw for 189 yards, mostly in the second half with New York well on its way to its sixth straight loss at home, where it is winless. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers dominated in every phase in a near-perfect performance that featured TD runs of 1 yard by Sean Tucker, 6 yards by Bucky Irving and 1 yard by Rachaad White. After recent losses to the Ravens, 49ers and Chiefs, Tampa Bay (5-6) moved within one game of idle Atlanta in the NFC South. “We’re hoping it builds confidence,” Mayfield said. “We have a belief that we are still sitting and controlling our own destiny.” Tampa Bay scored on five of its on first six possessions to open a 30-0 lead, and none was more exciting than Mayfield's TD run with 12 seconds left in the first half. On a second-and-goal from the 10, he avoided pressure and went for the end zone. He was hit by Cor'Dale Flott low and Dru Phillips high around the 2-yard line, and he was airborne when he crossed the goal line. The ball came loose when he hit the turf but he jumped up and flexed, DeVito-style, as the Bucs took a 23-0 lead. DeVito said players talked about the celebration in the locker room but he did not see it. Daboll was asked about the gesture and said Mayfield played well. He said the Giants' poor performance had nothing to do with Jones being released. “No excuse on that,” said Daboll, whose job is on the line despite making the playoffs in 2022. “We just didn’t do a good enough job.” “We played soft, and they beat the (expletive) out of us,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence added. Mayfield's favorite target Mike Evans returned to the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring injury and had five catches for 68 yards. Irving had 87 yards rushing and six catches for 64 yards. The Bucs held New York to three first downs and 45 yards in the first half, and they finished with 450 yards to the Giants' 245. DeVito had a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary. The brash New Jersey native was sacked four times, including once in the fourth quarter, which forced him to go to the bench for one play. Injuries Buccaneers: LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) did not play and Justin Skule replaced him. ... Tampa Bay lost OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to an ankle injury in the second quarter and safety Jordan Whitehead to a pectoral injury in the fourth quarter. Giants: LT Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) and OLB Azeez Ojulari (toe) were hurt in the first quarter and did not return. Up next Buccaneers: At Carolina next Sunday. Giants: At Dallas on Thanksgiving ___ AP NFL: Tom Canavan, The Associated Press
Anado Kabika, director of the Miss Congo pageant , is trending because of the peculiar dress made of condoms she wore during the final gala of Miss Universe 2024. And although she wore it on November 16th, it is only now that it has gone viral on social media, where it has both detractors and fans of her style. PUBLICIDAD Kabika's entire dress was made of condoms, and as if that weren't enough, she herself said they were new and used, sparking controversy on social media. PUBLICIDAD Through a video from the Arena Ciudad de México, the director of Miss Congo expressed that she decided to use the dress made of condoms to raise awareness about the importance of using condoms. "I have a cause. It's important for everyone to use a condom. People are not using condoms anymore. So you need to use it. We need to protect ourselves. Because HIV still exists... I think some of the condoms here have already been used and I have new ones. So I combined them. It's very important for people to use a condom," said Anado Kabika from the red carpet of Miss Universe. Director of Miss Congo and the reactions it sparked One of the aspects that caught the most attention about the condom dress worn by the director of Miss Congo was that, according to her, some of them were used. It is not known if she said it to draw attention, or if it was really the case. What is certain is that this information sparked a wave of comments. "I love the idea of sustainable fashion and raising awareness, but I still don't understand how she used 'used condoms'," "I was like wow 'so innovative', until she said that some of them were used," are some comments on the Instagram account @misslebanonfanclub, which shared the video of the director of Miss Congo presenting her dress.PARIS: France headed into a new political crisis Tuesday as opposition lawmakers threatened to topple the minority government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a no-confidence vote after just three months in office. A standoff over an austerity budget, which has caused jitters on financial markets, follows permanent tension since the 73-year-old was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in September. The far-left France Unbowed (LFI) opposition party said it would bring a no-confidence motion after Barnier, under pressure to implement cost-cutting measures, used executive powers Monday to force through social security legislation without a vote. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN), which has demanded changes in the 2025 budget, said it would back the move. French legislators were expected to vote on the motion Wednesday, with first results expected around 1900 GMT. Two no-confidence motions will be put forward. One by the far right is unlikely to pass, but one proposed by the hard-left should go through with backing from RN lawmakers. “Blocking this budget is, alas, the only way the constitution gives us to protect the French people from a dangerous, unfair and punitive budget,” Le Pen said on X. ‘Great unknown’ Macron, currently on a visit to Saudi Arabia, has appeared to be mostly a spectator in the crisis he unleashed by ordering snap elections, prompting some voices to question if he should consider resigning. Le Pen “will plunge France into the great political and financial unknown”, Le Figaro newspaper said. The turbulence has intensified months of political instability in the key EU member following the inconclusive elections called by Macron in a bid to halt the rise of the far right. Barnier has been under pressure to cut 60 billion euros ($64 billion) off government spending in 2025 in the hope of cutting the public-sector deficit to five percent of gross domestic product, from 6.1 percent of GDP this year. He has made a number of concessions to the opposition including scrapping plans for a less generous prescription drug reimbursement policy from next year. But opposition deputies still oppose his plan. Economists at ING said the likelihood of quickly finding a replacement for Barnier was “highly uncertain.” “With an extremely polarized National Assembly divided into three major camps ... the risk of a new vote of no confidence for any new government is very high.” Finance Minister Antoine Armand told France 2 television that lawmakers would be “damaging” the country by ousting Barnier’s government. “Who will bear the consequences? First and foremost, the French.” ‘Useless leaders’ In a poll published on Monday, 52 percent of French people said they favored Macron resigning, but were above all concerned about their purchasing power. “I’m very worried and very upset with the forces on the left and the forces on the far right,” Bertrand Chenu, a 65-year-old retiree, told AFP in Paris. Another Parisian, Janine Revel, also blamed politicians. ”All the party leaders are useless,” she said. “They only think of themselves.” If the government falls, it would be the first successful no-confidence vote since a defeat for Georges Pompidou’s government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president. The lifespan of Barnier’s government would also be the shortest of any administration of France’s Fifth Republic which began in 1958. Some observers have suggested that Le Pen, 56, is seeking to bring down Macron before his term ends by ousting Barnier. Le Pen has been embroiled in a high-profile embezzlement trial. If found guilty in March, she could be blocked from participating in France’s next presidential election, scheduled for 2027. If Macron stepped down soon, an election would have to be called within a month, potentially ahead of the verdict in her trial. “She could hope, if she won, to be in the Elysee Palace by early February,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group. — AFP
Arkansas WR Andrew Armstrong declares for NFL draft, skipping bowlBaker Mayfield mocks Tommy DeVito's celebration as the Bucs embarrass the Giants 30-7The late 1970s were a sad time for America. The Vietnam War had just ended. Big cities fell in the grip of crime and neglect as the 1975 fiscal crisis pushed New York City to the brink of bankruptcy. New York uniformed police, angry at the mayor’s budget cuts, handed out “Welcome to Fear City” leaflets at the airports. Featuring a hooded skull, the flyers warned visitors to stay off the streets after 6 p.m. It urged them to not leave Manhattan and to avoid the subways altogether. Yet two years almost to the day after Saigon fell, an ambitious dance club opened on a shabby side street of Manhattan. Studio 54 became the world’s most famous disco. Then came the movie “Saturday Night Fever,” its score dominated by those rhythmic Bee Gees chart-toppers starting with “Stayin’ Alive.” Americans found joy under the spinning mirrored balls. To quote the name of Chic’s super disco hit, they wanted to “Dance, Dance, Dance.” We needed disco then. We need disco again — or something like it. The pandemic is over, and many of us are seeking escape from our toxic politics. What about disco set off the animal spirits? Discos enabled ordinary people to dance off their anxieties to a simple four-on-the-floor beat. The grayness outside got blocked out by flashy sequins and spandex — and in fantasy settings divorced from the grim realities. Disco replaced the dirty jeans and stoned-out pain of rock with groomed elegance. People again danced in couples. As Regine Zylberberg, owner of Regine’s, an elegant disco on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, bragged, “I am the one who saved the city from bankruptcy. I made it happy again.” But disco fever spread across the country, in big cities and small towns. Discos opened at airport Holiday Inns. Live entertainment, part of what’s now called the “experience economy,” is seeing double-digit growth, Bloomberg News reports. As evidence, it points to a packed nightclub in Manhattan called Somewhere Nowhere, where swing dancers have taken over the floor. Patrick Soluri, whose Prohibition Productions puts on swing nights, says revenue from his Jazz Age-themed events has more than doubled since 2019, and he is expanding beyond New York. The key to disco’s popularity was that the people were the show. They weren’t passively watching guitarists showing off their long solo riffs, one complaint against ’70s rock. More recently, hip hop presents the same drawback with artists commanding the spotlight. A communal culture that shares some similarities to disco is Western line dancing. Though around forever, line dancing got a boost from the 1980 film “Urban Cowboy.” It did for that genre some of what “Saturday Night Fever” did for disco. As with disco, line dancers are the show. And fashions also are attached — those fabulous cowboy boots and hats, jeans and denim skirts. And as with disco, Western line dancing now has its own clubs and events all over the country. Ironically, the digitalization of American life isn’t so much killing these experiences as exposing us to the joys of being there in person. No matter how terrific the video production, it can’t recreate the visceral thrill of dancing amid a celebratory crowd. Disco inspired a kind of second Jazz Age. And though its golden era is almost 50 years in the past, one can’t help but notice all those store windows now decked out for the holidays with sparkling disco balls. To this day, disco balls radiate fun and glamour and partying. Today, like then, we need a scene in which Americans can let loose, work off tensions, forget about Washington — and with a dance that anyone can do. Americans need to dance, dance, dance. Harrop, who lives in New York City and Providence, Rhode Island, writes for Creators Syndicate: fharrop@gmail.com . Get local news delivered to your inbox!