Waiter, There’s Porn in My Slideshow

Why you should always do a test run before a presentation, what America’s war dead say about the class divide, and how air travel in coach could get a whole lot worse.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

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Digital Natives Decoded

Class casualty gap We all know that many more Afghans and Iraqis have been injured and died in the wars than Americans or other allied forces. But we tend to forget about the casualty gap of the U.S. armed forces themselves: poorer and less-educated citizens (and yet-to-be citizens) are much more likely to serve and die than richer, better-educated Americans.

A Measure of Education Is Put to the Test Results of national exam will go public in 2012

Poverty — uneven demographics The demographics of the United States of poverty show both that poverty is much worse than the numbers indicate and that poverty can be eliminated.

Why You Should Always Do a Tech Test-Run Before Your Presentation More than 400 Norwin High School seniors got an eyeful Friday morning when pornographic photos appeared on a giant screen during a presentation on the importance of donating blood, triggering awkward laughter, a police investigation and an apology from school officials.

The Disappearing Line Between Politics and the Media “Don’t they fact-check this stuff?” This is the perennial cry of the outraged reader and the wronged article subject. The latest party to raise the fact-checking howl is the White House, which yesterday went public with its discontent over Forbes’ ludicrously poisonous new cover story.

Flying Economy Class Could Soon Get a Whole Lot Worse A new airplane passenger seat called SkyRider could revolutionize the way airlines rip travelers off, by installing “saddle” seats that offer just 27 inches of legroom, or seven inches less than the average airplane seat. That sounds awful.

South Carolina Republicans Have Fun Slavery Dress-Up Party The National Federation of Republican Women had a board-of-directors meeting in South Carolina over the weekend. Which means that it was the perfect opportunity to have a cocktail party called “A Southern Experience” at the Charleston Country Club, complete with two black people hired to play slaves or something and pose with guests.

NYPD Arrests Watercolor Artist for Painting Outdoors A few days ago Brooklyn artist Julie Torres contacted Hyperallergic to let us know about a serious legal issue she was facing as a result of painting outdoors. She explained that on July 17, she was enjoying a summer afternoon in Williamsburg as she worked on a large watercolor painting that was taped to a construction wall at the corner of North 11th Street and Bedford Avenue, near Hyperallergic HQ.

The United States of Inequality, Complete 10-Part Series

This Country Just Can’t Deal with Reality Any More As Election Day 2010 approaches, the consequences of the nation’s three-decade-old decoupling from reality are becoming painfully obvious.