Monday, November 30, 2020

Pennsylvania supreme court throws out Republican bid to reject 2.5m mail-in votes

Judge says plaintiff 'failed to allege that even a single mail-in ballot was fraudulently cast or counted'.


Dehumanising: Israeli groups’ verdict on military invasions of Palestinian homes

...The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories followed the Six Day War in 1967. While the Oslo peace accords signed between Palestinians and Israelis were supposed to herald an end to the occupation, Jewish settlements – regarded as illegal by much of the international community – have continued to be built on land claimed by Palestinians for a future state, while the Israeli military continues to conduct operations both in areas ostensibly under full Palestinian control and areas still under Israeli administration...


It's only fake-believe: how to deal with a conspiracy theorist | Society | The Guardian

As the pandemic has taken a grip, so have the misinformation spreaders. Here are five ways to spot the holes in their logic.....


How QAnon Is Taking Over The GOP | The Daily Social Distancing Show

Are Trump’s typos secret messages? Are Hillary Clinton, Tom Hanks, and Oprah eating children to live longer? Here’s what you need to know about QAnon.
https://youtu.be/tTeRofqTdlg

Congress set for chaotic year-end sprint | TheHill

...Lawmakers have to tackle a lengthy to-do list while factoring in the looming wild card of President Trump, whose focus on score-settling on his way out of office has sparked speculation that he could emerge as a major roadblock on must-pass legislation such as government funding before Dec. 12 to avoid a shutdown...

Fauci says U.S. could see ‘a surge upon a surge’ in coronavirus cases - POLITICO

" We don't want to frighten people, but that's the reality," he said.....

A Year of Challenge (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

Happy Thanksgiving! Co-presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker host a series of exciting 2020 reports from FFRF staff led by Legal Director Rebecca Markert and Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel. Actor Ed Asner accepts FFRF's "Clarence Darrow Award," activist Ben Hart accepts FFRF's "Freethinker of the Year" award . . . and more from a very busy staff!
Interview: 

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Opinion | The Rotting of the Republican Mind - The New York Times

When one party becomes detached from reality.

Sneaky Student tries to Trick Frank with a False Dilemma (feat. @PineCreek)

A aggressive atheist student asks Frank Turek which would you choose if you were sick: a doctor or prayer? Frank thinks this is a false dilemma. Then Cody asks Frank if he would kill his family if God told him to, and further questions Frank about killing the Canaanites. What would you do? And isn’t God barbaric for ordering these things in the Old Testament?
Interview: 

Vivek Murthy on America’s loneliness epidemic (The Ezra Klein Show podcast)

At the holidays, I wanted to share some of my favorite episodes of the show with you (we’ll be back next week with brand new episodes). My conversation with Vivek Murthy tops that list, and it has particular force this Thanksgiving, when so many are alone on a day when connection means so much. 
c
As US surgeon general from 2014 to 2017, Murthy visited communities across the United States to talk about issues like addiction, obesity, and mental illness. But he found that what Americans wanted to talk to him about the most was loneliness. In a 2018 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 22 percent of all adults in the US — almost 60 million Americans — said they often or always felt lonely or socially isolated.

Murthy went on to write Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, and was recently named one of the co-chairs of Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force. Those projects may sound different, but they connect: Coronavirus has made America’s loneliness crisis far worse. Social distancing, while necessary from a public health standpoint, has caused a collapse in social contact among family, friends, and entire communities. And the people most vulnerable to the virus — the elderly, the disabled, the ill — are also unusually likely to suffer from loneliness.

Murthy’s explanation of how loneliness acts on the body is worth the time, all on its own — it’ll change how you see the relationship between social experience and physical health. But the broader message here is deeper: You are not alone in your loneliness. None of us are. And the best thing we can do for our own feeling of isolation is often to help someone else out of the very pit we’re in.
Interview: 

They are here to stay (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

FFRF's Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel dissects the shocking speech U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivered to the Religious Right Federalist Society last week. Then journalist Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers, talks about her recent New York Times article, "Trump or no Trump, religious authoritarianism is here to stay."
Interview: 

The Supreme Court Gave a Gift to COVID-Denying Churches (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Athiest podast #350)

— The Supreme Court gave COVID-denying churches a gift, saying COVID restrictions in New York didn’t apply to them. (1:08) 
— Thousands of Hasidic Jews crammed into one place for a wedding. This is why we can’t have nice things. (14:04)
— A Florida appeals court said bans on gay conversion torture for kids are unconstitutional. (18:27)
— New York State is suing the Diocese of Buffalo for not protecting kids from abusive priests. (26:50)
— Tennessee Republicans want to make sure COVID can still spread once we have the vaccine. (30:43)
— A pastor who oversees an anti-mask daycare sent an insane letter to parents after the state shut the place down. (34:18)
— A UK Court tossed out a paralyzed man’s lawsuit to permit assisted death. (37:45)
Interview: 

The bad place (The Reveal podcast)

The vacant building that once housed the Riverside Academy in Wichita, Kansas, was covered in haunting graffiti: “Burn this place.” “Youth were abused here … systematically.” “This is a bad place.” The facility, run by the for-profit company Sequel Youth & Family Services, promised to help kids with behavioral problems. But state officials had cited the facility dozens of times for problems including excessive force by staff, poor supervision and neglect. 

Riverside was just one residential treatment center run by Sequel. In a yearlong investigation, APM Reports found the company profited by taking in some of the most difficult-to-treat children and providing them with care from low-paid, low-skilled employees. The result has been dozens of cases of physical violence, sexual assault and improper restraints. Despite repeated scandals, many states and counties continue to send kids to Sequel for one central reason: They have little choice.
Interview: 


Fighting the dangerous myth that COVID only threatens the old or ill

...To those young adults who doubt their vulnerability to the pandemic, "I would invite them to visit our ICU and see the multiple tragedies of younger people who are infected with COVID," said Daniel S. Talmor, chairman of anesthesia, critical care and pain medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston...

Fact check: Barack Obama favored Hillary Clinton over Joe Biden in '16

...We rate this claim as MISSING CONTEXT. Our research shows that President Barack Obama worked to persuade Joe Biden not to enter the 2016 race for a number of factors, including his admiration for Hillary Clinton's intellect; that Biden had waited so long in the election cycle; and that Biden would have a difficult time against Clinton, who had built up a formidable lead. Obama also felt Biden was still working through his grief over the death of his son. There is no evidence, however, that Obama "pleaded" with Biden not to run...

The Kraken: What is it and why has Trump's ex-lawyer released it? - BBC News

The Kraken is a gigantic sea monster from Scandinavian folklore that rises up from the ocean to devour its enemies. It's also become an internet meme representing a sprawling, unsubstantiated set of claims that purport to outline the case for widespread fraud in the US presidential election.....

Eric Trump's Latest Attempt To Spread Disinformation Backfires — Like All The Rest | HuffPost

Donald Trump's son was set straight on Twitter. Again.....


Why I no longer go to church, sermons like these: Charles Lawson, "The H...

In this video I critique Pastor/Preacher Charles Lawson on his message of the horror of HE double hockey sticks, and compare and contrast with Pastor/Preacher Francis Chan and Rabbi Tovia Singer. I also highlight how Pascal's wager can be used against the Christian position....
https://youtu.be/8WmXJDs58Ec



Lindsey Graham Is A Criminal (Opening Arguments podcast OA442)

Happy Thanksgiving! Just like the criminals of the Trump era, Opening Arguments never stops. Just as we went to record, Trump pardoned Flynn via Tweet. Andrew gives us his thoughts on that. Then we cover a couple more things Andrew was right about that should reduce your blood pressure a little! (and one thing that might raise it...) 

Our main segment is about how Lindsey Graham likely broke several laws in his attempts to influence the vote counting in this election. What's more, there are several things we can do about it! Find out!
Interview: 


Saturday, November 28, 2020

The News Roundup — Domestic (The 1A) 2020-11-27

Despite President Trump’s administration making it exceedingly difficult for President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team to do its work in full, the office of the president-elect has wasted no time in announcing some of its cabinet-level appointees. Of particular note is Biden’s choice for a new position: special presidential envoy on climate. Former State Secretary John Kerry will become the first-ever member of the national security council whose role focuses primarily on fighting climate change. 

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZenica all say their versions of a COVID-19 vaccine are outperforming their expectations. Each of their vaccines work to induce a response in the immune system to a protein in the virus.

Millions of Americans are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday despite experts warning against it. Coronavirus numbers in the United States are at an all-time high and many health analysts and stakeholders are worried about an exponential increase in transmission rates.

And a new Washington Post analysis revealed increased levels of hunger among Americans:
More Americans are going hungry now than at any point during the deadly coronavirus pandemic, according to a Post analysis of new federal data — a problem created by an economic downturn that has tightened its grip on millions of Americans and compounded by government relief programs that expired or will terminate at the end of the year. Experts say it is likely that there’s more hunger in the United States today than at any point since 1998, when the Census Bureau began collecting comparable data about households’ ability to get enough food.

One in 8 Americans reported they sometimes or often didn’t have enough food to eat in the past week, hitting nearly 26 million American adults, an increase several times greater than the most comparable pre-pandemic figure, according to Census Bureau survey data collected in late October and early November. That number climbed to more than 1 in 6 adults in households with children.

“It’s been driven by the virus and the unpredictable government response,” said Jeremy K. Everett, executive director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty in Waco, Tex.
Interview: 



The News Roundup — International (The 1A) 2020-11-27

Despite statements to the contrary from the Arabian Peninsula, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin-Salman reportedly met secretly with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Neom. While Israel and Saudi Arabia have had a back-channel relationship for many years, this is the first time a meeting of this nature has been made public. 

Tensions continue to grow in Ethiopia gave the leaders of a region standing in opposition to his government 72 hours to surrender and cooperate. Now, it appears as though a tank attack on the capital city of the Tigray region is imminent.

Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona passed away at the age of 60. The Boca Juniors and Napoli legend is considered by many fans and pundits to be the best player in the history of the sport.
Interview: 


Pope Francis swipes at groups protesting COVID-19 restrictions in NYT op-ed | TheHill

... "You'll never find such people protesting the death of George Floyd, or joining a demonstration because there are shantytowns where children lack water or education. ... They turned into a cultural battle what was in truth an effort to ensure the protection of life," he wrote.

Trump Still Lost (Opening Arguments podcast OA441)

He still lost, folks! It’s over. In our main segment today, we discuss the Electoral College calendar and when things are finally set in stone. But what about faithless electors??? We’ve got an Andrew for that too. This episode should help you feel fine about the fact that Trump still lost. 

In the first segment we talk about a few things Andrew nailed his predictions on, including Chad Wolf and Kathryn Kimball Mizelle.
Interview: 


How Right-Wing Media Fuels The Political Divide (On Point)

Matthew Sheffield started his career as a conservative blogger. He says many Americans don’t understand how powerful right-wing media really is — or how damaging it is to American democracy. Now, he says he wants to free people from it.
Interview: 


Trump administration proceeds with rollback of bird protections despite objections of scientists, environmentalists | TheHill

...According to the Fish and Wildlife Service and recent studies, industry operations kill an estimated 450 million to 1.1 billion birds annually, out of approximately 7 billion birds in North America. 

A federal judge in New York in August rejected the Trump administration's push for the regulation change, although the agency has pushed forward with the change, regardless...

Trump Whines & Pouts Throughout Tiny Desk Press Conference

Donald Trump had a temper tantrum at the kids table on Thanksgiving.
https://youtu.be/43CCcWotTGU

Climate ‘apocalypse’ fears stopping people having children – study

...There is also growing evidence of climate anxiety affecting mental health and earlier in 2020 more than 1,000 clinical psychologists signed an open letter warning of "acute trauma on a global scale". Last week, a survey revealed that more than half of child and adolescent psychiatrists in England were seeing patients distressed about the state of the environment....


Robots on the rise as Americans experience record job losses amid pandemic

...A recent report from the World Economic Forum predicted that by 2025 the next wave of automation – turbocharged by the pandemic – will disrupt 85m jobs globally. New jobs will be created but "businesses, governments and workers must plan to urgently work together to implement a new vision for the global workforce"...


Trump Set to Leave Office with at Least $850,000 of Unpaid Campaign Rally Bills

...The outstanding debt includes $470,000 in additional services provided by the local police and fire departments, as well as an additional $99,000 in late fees...

Friday, November 27, 2020

As Hunger Soars Across Nation, U.S. Trade & Foreign Policy Is Also Causing Hunger Across the Globe

As the U.S. enters the holiday season, millions of people across the country are struggling to find enough to eat, with the hunger relief group Feeding America warning that some 54 million U.S. residents currently face food insecurity amid a massive public health and economic crisis. Food insecurity in the U.S. has intensified after the expiration of federal assistance programs in the CARES Act, and the United Nations World Food Programme predicts acute hunger could affect 270 million people worldwide by the end of 2020 — an 82% increase since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. We speak with author and filmmaker Raj Patel, host of the food politics podcast "The Secret Ingredient," who says hunger was already at alarming levels in the U.S. before the pandemic, and it's only gotten worse. "The long story here is the continuing war on the American working class," Patel says.
https://youtu.be/pNwVx9rdJ1A


Rep. Tim Ryan Slams GOP for Abandoning Working Class During Pandemic | Now this

‘1 in 5 kids are goin’ hungry. Your party can’t even get food to ‘em.’ — This congressman tore into the GOP for calling a COVID relief bill a ‘wish list.’
https://youtu.be/Rl8rSAaOBcA

Republicans are right: democracy is rigged. But they are the beneficiaries

Conservatives relish the irony of Trump's audacious reversal of the truth around rigging – because it distracts attention from their minority rule....


Joe Biden's Presidency Already Has Its First Conspiracy Theory: The Great Reset

... It goes by the tag the "Great Reset" and under its construct a wild dystopian future is in store. The coronavirus pandemic is merely a means to enslave humanity and end capitalism. Biden's "Build Back Better" slogan is really a cover for nefarious plotting of a global cabal from Davos, Switzerland, intent on abolishing private property and building prison camps for the dissenters who refuse to accept microchips that will read their thoughts. Even Grover from Sesame Street might be involved...

Opinion | Trump’s pardon of Michael Flynn is a parting disgrace - The Washington Post

...Mr. Trump steamrolled the facts and debate, deploying one of the least reviewable powers of his office — his pardon authority — to officially end the Flynn drama. He enabled an admitted felon to walk free solely because he was a loyal Trumpist...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-pardon-of-michael-flynn-is-a-parting-disgrace/2020/11/25/12817de2-2f7c-11eb-bae0-50bb17126614_story.html

Computer repairman in Hunter Biden laptop saga closes up shop

...Citing a similar lack of publicly substantiated evidence, Democrats have speculated that the Oct. 14 New York Post story, fed by Giuliani, was the result of Russian actors spreading political disinformation...

Thursday, November 26, 2020

A growing number of Americans are going hungry - Washington Post

26 million now say they don't have enough to eat, as the pandemic worsens and holidays near.....

Trump tweets string of falsehoods about Wisconsin absentee voters - The Washington Post

... As we've documented in recent fact checks, the statements from Trump and his lawyers are all absurd and easily debunked...

Every Day Trump Repeatedly Emails His Supporters a Dangerous Message: Democracy Doesn’t Work – Mother Jones

I've heard from Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Lara Trump. I've heard from Rudy Giuliani, Ronna McDaniel, and Newt Gingrich. And I've heard from Donald Trump. Over and over again. The 2020 election was stolen from Trump. The left-wing mob, the Democrats, the fake news media—they successfully plotted together to pull off the greatest political heist of all time. Trump really won. But fake ballots were counted. Real ballots were trashed. American democracy was undone. The people have been robbed of their rightful president...

The Inside Story of Michigan’s Fake Voter Fraud Scandal - POLITICO

How a state that was never in doubt became a "national embarrassment" and a symbol of the Republican Party's fealty to Donald Trump.

Not Just Michael Flynn: A Shockingly Long List of Trump’s Controversial Pardons – Mother Jones

Corrupt officials, political allies, and right-wing icons.....

Crime in the U.S.: Key questions answered | Pew Research Center

... here is a look at what we know – and don't know – about crime in the U.S., based on a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the federal government and other sources...
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/20/facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/

Baseless Conspiracy Theory Targets Another Election Technology Company - FactCheck.org

An unfounded conspiracy theory of widespread election fraud claims that an election technology company called Smartmatic switched votes in the 2020 election. But Smartmatic provided ballot-marking machines to only one U.S. county in the election.

'No end in sight': hunger surges in America amid a spiraling pandemic

"Food insecurity is a leading indicator of the economy … it would be super great if the government could respond appropriately, the unnecessary delays have caused real suffering," said Schanzenbach. At the heart of the frustration is the food stamps program (Snap) – a highly effective anti-poverty tool which also benefits the economy. As hunger increased, the Trump administration failed to boost Snap – as the Obama administration did during the great recession – while continuing to pursue cuts to eligibility...


Adam Davidson Says Trump Isn't Even Good at Corruption

Finance journalist Adam Davidson discusses how the world might change under the Biden administration, explains how Trump is a "bottom feeder" on corruption that already existed in the world and breaks down why Ivanka is the toughest Trump.....
https://youtu.be/TJf4bILeakk

Trump Races to Weaken Environmental and Worker Protections, and Implement Other Last-Minute Policies, Before Jan. 20 — ProPublica

The Trump administration is rushing to approve dozens of eleventh-hour policy changes. Among them: The Justice Department is fast-tracking a rule that could reintroduce firing squads and electrocutions to federal executions.....

These at-home exercises can help older people boost their immune system and overall health in the age of COVID-19

Now is not the time to stop moving....

Trump calls into Pennsylvania hearing, rambles about voter fraud on speakerphone

"We have to turn the election over, because there's no doubt we have all the evidence," he said, providing no evidence.

Proud Boys ex-member details what happens within the group's ranks - CNN

Why do men join the Proud Boys? "Most of it is just to fight," Schultz said. "They want to join a gang. So they can go fight antifa and hurt people that they don't like, and feel justified in doing it."



Wednesday, November 25, 2020

A federal court struck down a Florida ban on conversion therapy | TheHill

...The decision struck down a law that prohibits therapists from engaging in counseling or any therapy "with a goal of changing a minor's sexual orientation, reducing a minor's sexual or romantic attractions (at least to others of the same gender or sex), or changing a minor's gender identity or expression."...

75 percent of young adults mentally struggling with coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 4 suicidal | TheHill

"Why isn't there a mental health leader on the coronavirus task force?" says Vaile Wright, clinical research director at the American Psychological Association, to the Post. "Our physical and mental health are completely intertwined, and we need to treat them that way."

That Time Geocentrists Tricked A Bunch of Physicists

https://youtu.be/icwDF8wRgF4

Opinion | What Facebook Fed the Baby Boomers - The New York Times

...[I]n my experience they were a primary source of debunked claims, harassment and divisive rhetoric. I showed one comment thread to a colleague who doesn't use Facebook and my colleague found it shocking. "Facebook created a town hall for fighting," they said. "It's almost like if you were building a machine to make a country divisive and extreme — if you were to sit down and plan what that would look like —- it would be this."

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Pope salutes NBA 'champions' for work on racial justice during Vatican meeting | NBA | The Guardian

Pope Francis lauded a delegation of NBA players who met him at the Vatican on Monday as "champions" and said he supported their work on addressing social injustice.


Pope says anti-maskers stuck in 'their own little world of interests'

"You'll never find such people protesting the death of George Floyd, or joining a demonstration because there are shantytowns where children lack water or education, or because there are whole families who have lost their income," he said. "On such matters they would never protest; they are incapable of moving outside of their own little world of interests."


American Exceptionalism, Reclaimed - The Atlantic

We allowed an important idea—American exceptionalism—­to be hijacked and misused. Now we need to rescue that idea and let it guide America at home and abroad....

Ohio governor sees growing criticism from fellow Republicans - ABC News

...Trump's warning came after DeWine said it was time to realize Joe Biden had won the presidential race. That was just the start of a rough few days last week for the Ohio governor, who is dealing with a state he says "is on fire" with skyrocketing coronavirus cases, and now finds himself fending off questions about his political future...

Op-Ed: In what moral universe does Biden require a Catholic task force when Trump got a free pass? | American People News

...News reports suggest that the bishops may want to deny Biden, a lifelong Catholic, access to the sacrament of Holy Communion, much the way that conservative bishops declared John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, unwelcome at the communion rail in their dioceses. Gomez has set up a task force to consider the matter. No one is yet calling this a threat of excommunication, but that effectively is what the bishops are considering...

Right-Wing Social Media Had to Divorce Reality - The Atlantic

News outlets, tech platforms, and political commentators had to choose between upholding the facts and indulging those who believe Trump won.....

Trump campaign cuts Sidney Powell from president’s legal team - POLITICO

The abrupt shake-up comes as Powell makes far-fetched and unsupported claims of voter fraud in the 2020 elections....

Monday, November 23, 2020

Lands That Will FLOOD in Our Lifetime

Some places are more threatened by rising sea levels than others, but in the end we'll all be paying a price. Alternate titles include: "Where You Shouldn't Invest in Real Estate," "Places You Should Vacation to Before They're Gone," and "Oh Man We're In A Lot Of Trouble On This One Aren't We?"...
https://youtu.be/CurmnLKikyI


Trump election lawsuit: A GOP judge tore into Trump’s lawyers for incompetence - Vox

Trump's lawyers asked a judge to disenfranchise nearly 7 million voters. It ended badly for Trump.....

Mao Zedong’s Lesson for Donald Trump’s America - The Atlantic

...As the days go by and Trump refuses to concede, as the accusations of "illegal" voting and fraud grow ever more lurid and racialized—if, God forbid, the social pressures deepen enough for violence to erupt on the streets, thus providing Trump an opportunity to declare an insurrection—will our institutions prove any less fragile than those of Cultural Revolution–era China? ...

Here's how scientists know the coronavirus came from bats and wasn't made in a lab

... If the virus had been genetically engineered in a lab there would be signs of manipulation in the genome data. This would include evidence of an existing viral sequence as the backbone for the new virus, and obvious, targeted inserted (or deleted) genetic elements. But no such evidence exists....








Click Older Posts above to see more.