Thursday, March 31, 2022
Jan. 6 criminal probe expands to rally planning, financing - The Washington Post
Subpoena requests seek information about the planning for gathering outside White House that preceded Capitol riot…
Receive a text from yourself? It’s definitely spam - 9to5Mac
…If you do get one of these messages, you aren't alone. While the text may seem legitimate, it is not. You can either forward the message to SPAM (7726), or you can simply ignore it. Do not click the link as this is a "smishing" scam. Smishing is a text message scam that seeks to steal your personal information…
Facebook paid Republican strategy firm to malign TikTok - The Washington Post
…Campaign operatives were also encouraged to use TikTok's prominence as a way to deflect from Meta's own privacy and antitrust concerns.
"Bonus point if we can fit this into a broader message that the current bills/proposals aren't where [state attorneys general] or members of Congress should be focused," a Targeted Victory staffer wrote...
Biden’s $5.8 Trillion Budget Pivots Toward Economic and Security Concerns - The New York Times
"Budgets are statements of values, and the budget I am releasing today sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and around the world, and the investments needed to continue our equitable growth and build a better America," Mr. Biden said in a statement…
An ice shelf the size of NYC has collapsed in Antarctica | Popular Science
…East Antarctica holds around five times as much ice as the especially vulnerable western region, and if all of the ice across East Antarctica melts, global sea level could rise by over 160 feet, University of Minnesota ice scientist Peter Neff told the Associated Press…
Why do Putin, Trump, Tucker Carlson and the Republican party sound so alike?
…These tropes have served to distract attention from the systemic economic looting that oligarchs have been undertaking, leaving most people poor and anxious. Which is why the grievances that Putin, Trump, Carlson, and the Republican party use are unremittingly cultural; they are never economic, never about class, and most assuredly not about the predations of the super-rich…
Joe Biden signs landmark law making lynching a hate crime | Joe Biden | The Guardian
Biden said the law was not just about addressing history.
It's about the present and our future as well," he said, mentioning the rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. "Racial hate isn't an old problem. It's a persistent problem."…
‘No progress’ since George Floyd: US police killing three people a day
There are documented solutions that could reduce killings, said Alex S Vitale, sociology professor at Brooklyn College and an expert on policing. He noted estimates suggesting that 25% to 50% of people killed by police were having a mental health crisis. "If we would develop non-police mental health crisis teams, and improve community-based mental health services, we could save hundreds of lives a year," he said.
Ted Cruz picks the wrong time to tout the virtues of democracy
Cruz now wants people to believe Democrats are the ones "don't believe in democracy"? After his own well documented efforts to attack democracy as recently as last year?…
The Left’s Climate Playbook Is Already Outdated - The Atlantic
…This doesn't mean that climate advocates should become pro–natural gas, of course—especially when the fuel's climate impact is looking worse and worse. But it does mean that American climate advocates must approach the new energy landscape with the same creativity and disrespect for orthodoxy that they brought to the old. If Europe's democracies believe that their ability to import natural gas from a non-Russia country is essential to their survival, then American climate advocates should find a way to help them—without cutting a blank check to U.S. natural-gas producers or extending the gas system's lifetime into the 2030s…
Lawrence O’Donnell breaks down ‘the most important story about a Supreme Court justice in history’ - Raw Story - Celebrating 18 Years of Independent Journalism
"Clarence Thomas tried to block the January six committee from getting communications that could include his own wife's communications. And those communications were about criminally overturning a presidential election," he explained. "That is what we already know Clarence Thomas has done." …
Biden to use Defense Production Act for critical-minerals supply - The Washington Post
"While the expected order itself may be limited in scope, the signal it sends to the markets and the world is clear," said Rich Nolan, president and chief executive of the National Mining Association. "The minerals supply chain that will drive the electrification of our transportation sector and the energy transition is not only at risk from a perilous and growing import dependence, but the approaching minerals demand wave is set to strain every sector of the economy and requires an urgency in action from government and industry never before seen."…
Rationality (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)
Spring is here, and state/church violations are bursting out all over. We report on violations in Ohio, Colorado, West Virginia and Indiana, and ask Idaho's governor not to sign a draconian anti-abortion bill. After hearing Audra McDonald sing the evocative "Spring is Here" by freethinking composer Richard Rodgers, we listen to Harvard Professor Steven Pinker at FFRF's convention in Boston describing his new book, Rationality: What It Is — Why It Is Scarce — Why It Matters.
Interview:
Timothy Caulfield on the Infodemic and Spread of Misinformation (Point of Inquiry podcast)
This week’s episode is a bit different. Please enjoy a talk from Timothy Caulfield that originally aired on Skeptical Inquirer Presents. SIP is a live online series of talks from some of the brightest minds in the reality based community and is just one of the many great shows that the Center for Inquiry produces. This recent episode of the series featured Timothy Caulfield where he was presented with the Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking. Afterwards, Caulfield gave an informative talk on the state of the infodemic of misinformation, what we’ve learned, and ways to deal with the problem. It was something we thought fans of Point of Inquiry would enjoy!
The spread of misinformation seems to intensify with each passing week. From social media to cable news to popular podcasts, science-free bunk is everywhere. The ongoing “infodemic” is doing tangible harm to public health, public discourse, and public trust. So…what can we do about it?
Timothy Caulfield is the bestselling author of Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong about Everything? and host of the acclaimed Netflix documentary series A User’s Guide to Cheating Death.
Interview:
The spread of misinformation seems to intensify with each passing week. From social media to cable news to popular podcasts, science-free bunk is everywhere. The ongoing “infodemic” is doing tangible harm to public health, public discourse, and public trust. So…what can we do about it?
Timothy Caulfield is the bestselling author of Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong about Everything? and host of the acclaimed Netflix documentary series A User’s Guide to Cheating Death.
Interview:
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Opinion | What the Ginni Thomas text furor warns about an outsize role of faith in politics - The Washington Post
…In her texts with Meadows, however, we see a significantly different attitude toward democratic dissent. Thomas passed along a report that had circulated on right-wing websites that the "Biden crime family" and "ballot fraud co-conspirators" were being arrested and sent to barges floating off Guantánamo Bay for eventual judgment by military tribunals.
"I hope this is true," she added.
It might be difficult to conduct rational debate above the din of waves near Gitmo. But given another sentiment Thomas passed along, it is probably not necessary. "The most important thing you can realize right now," the text read, "is that there are no rules in war." This was Thomas's Christian contribution near the center of a political crisis fraught with threats of violence: "There are no rules."…
FDA authorizes second coronavirus booster dose for people 50 and older - The Washington Post
…The Food and Drug Administration authorized a second booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines for people 50 and older at least four months after their first booster…
Federal Judge Finds Trump Most Likely Committed Crimes Over 2020 Election - The New York Times
"The illegality of the plan was obvious," the judge wrote in a civil case. Separately, the Jan. 6 panel voted to recommend contempt of Congress charges for two former Trump aides.
Opinion | The Boring Bill in Tennessee That Everyone Should Be Watching - The New York Times
… That boring energy infrastructure bill, which passed the Tennessee Senate last Thursday, would let the state override local laws blocking fossil-fuel projects in their communities. In other words, if this bill becomes law, the state could allow an oil company to run a pipeline through a city over the objections of the city itself.
This may seem like a picayune matter with no relevance outside the state of Tennessee, but it's exactly the kind of bill that ought to attract national attention — not because it's happening in Tennessee but because it's happening, or is poised to happen, in red-state legislatures across the country, according to the Climate Reality Project…
New Documentary by Frontline and ProPublica Reveals Origins of the Stolen Election Myth — ProPublica
A group of people working from a plantation in South Carolina spread misinformation about the November 2020 election. These falsehoods have since become articles of faith for many Republicans...
Here’s how a federal judge believes Trump probably broke the law - The Washington Post
"President Trump's repeated pleas for Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger clearly demonstrate that his justification was not to investigate fraud, but to win the election," Carter wrote in his opinion. He quoted Trump: "So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break."
NE State Senator Resurrects Myth That Furries Are Taking Over Your Kid’s School Bathrooms
…Bruce Bostelman said he was "a little shocked" that schools were providing litter boxes for demanding children who self-identity as animals. (They are not, but the baseless rumor has inexplicably persisted across state lines in recent months regardless.) …
Man who waved Confederate flag during Jan. 6 attack pleads guilty | PBS NewsHour
…More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Over 240 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors punishable by a maximum of six months imprisonment. Two others have been convicted of riot-related charges after a trial …
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/man-who-waved-confederate-flag-during-jan-6-attack-pleads-guilty
Bob Good invents a position for Ketanji Brown Jackson on late-term abortions - PolitiFact
Jackson has never said that. She's never ruled on abortion rights. She won't say whether she thinks Roe v. Wade was properly decided. What she has said is that Roe and other Supreme Court rulings affirming it are "established law," and she will respect high court precedents in all of her decisions…
Opinion | Trump’s missing Jan. 6 phone logs: Three big takeaways - The Washington Post
…But it's also likely Trump came to see the violence as helpful to intimidating his vice president, Mike Pence, and possibly lawmakers as well, into executing the scheme of delaying the electoral count. Trump reportedly called at least one GOP senator to press him for help delaying the count while the violence raged, another call that isn't in the logs…
How Scandals Drove Hillsong to Lose its American Churches - The New York Times
Amid a series of crises, including the resignation of its leader, the evangelical powerhouse has shed more than half its American churches in just a few weeks...
New Focus on How a Trump Tweet Incited Far-Right Groups Ahead of Jan. 6 - The New York Times
“Trump said It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!!,” Kelly Meggs, a Florida leader of the Oath Keepers, wrote on Facebook on Dec. 22. “He wants us to make it WILD that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC.”
That same day, Mr. Rhodes did an interview with one of his lieutenants and declared that there would be “a massively bloody revolution” if Mr. Biden took office...
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/us/politics/trump-tweet-jan-6.html
Opinion | Ginni Thomas Is No Outlier - The New York Times
…And those Republicans who don't openly hold fringe views are more than willing to pander to them, from Senator Ted Cruz's enthusiastic embrace of "stop the steal" to Senator Josh Hawley's QAnon dogwhistle that Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court, is soft on (and sympathetic to) child predators…
Creation Today Claims - Second Law of Thermodynamics
Does the second law of thermodynamics disprove biological evolution of life on Earth? Or does it affirm creation by a God?
Inspired by a glimpse into Eric Hovind's recent terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, we take a look at the Second Law of Thermodynamics -- what is it? What does Eric say it is? Do those things match? Why does it matter?
Interview:
Inspired by a glimpse into Eric Hovind's recent terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, we take a look at the Second Law of Thermodynamics -- what is it? What does Eric say it is? Do those things match? Why does it matter?
Interview:
Talk Heathen 06.12 with Kenneth Leonard and Secular Rarity (@The Non-Prophets )
SHOW TIME-STAMPS
00:00:00 Intro
10:39 Laura-UK | Arguments Against Deism
23:55 No Contradictions-(CA) | There Are No Contradictions Within God's Word
44:12 Jeff-OH | There Are No Contradictions In The Bible And Reality
1:16:09 Ozzie-(UK) | How To Deal Being An Atheist Among The Religious
1:28:35 Ruth-CA | Atheists Marrying Theists! Mass Hysteria!
Interview:
00:00:00 Intro
10:39 Laura-UK | Arguments Against Deism
23:55 No Contradictions-(CA) | There Are No Contradictions Within God's Word
44:12 Jeff-OH | There Are No Contradictions In The Bible And Reality
1:16:09 Ozzie-(UK) | How To Deal Being An Atheist Among The Religious
1:28:35 Ruth-CA | Atheists Marrying Theists! Mass Hysteria!
Interview:
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Ted Cruz’s Efforts to Keep Trump in Office Went Far Deeper Than We Knew – Mother Jones
… Unsurprisingly, very few of the players in Cruz's illustrious legal career supported this brazen ploy at subverting the Constitution. In fact, he eventually lost the support of Chad Sweet, who had chaired his 2016 presidential campaign, and of Carly Fiorina, his former running mate. Cruz's communications director, Lauren Bianchi, also resigned after he rejected her advice and instead voted to contest Pennsylvania's election results. And Luttig, the judge whom Cruz has looked up to as a father figure, has been speaking to the House committee investigating January 6…
The World Is Splitting in Two - The Atlantic
Separate events are accelerating a shift that is transforming global politics...
Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker call on Clarence Thomas to recuse himself after wife Ginni Thomas’s texts emerge - The Washington Post
"All I hear is silence from the Supreme Court right now, and that better change in the coming week," Klobuchar said. "So not only should he recuse himself, but this Supreme Court badly needs ethics rules."…
Opinion | Republicans are done with retreat. They want a rollback. - The Washington Post
…This new aggressiveness reflects not a change in substantive beliefs but a change in perspective. It's not that Republicans today hate trans kids, or women who need abortions, any more than they did 10 or 15 years ago. What has changed is what they think they can do about it…
Opinion | DeSantis Is Trump 2.0 - The New York Times
… Now, the danger is that Republicans won't only try to imitate Trump but to one-up him.
Take Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis.
He is often described as a Trump ally, but covetousness is often born of communion.
If "The Talented Mr. Ripley" had a political corollary, it might well be The Scheming Mr. DeSantis…
Misinformation is stopping renewable energy projects : NPR
…Other misleading ideas about renewable energy come from groups with ties to the fossil fuel industry, like the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The foundation recently released a film trailer for an anti-offshore wind group in Massachusetts that features multiple falsehoods, including the untrue statement that the proposed project didn't do any environmental impact assessments and the incorrect idea that offshore wind projects "haven't worked anywhere in the world." The Texas Public Policy Foundation did not respond to a request for comment…
Ted Cruz's battle to keep Trump in power has cost him friends, sparked questions from investigators - The Washington Post
"It was a very dangerous proposal, and, you know, could very easily have put us into territory where we got to the inauguration and there was not a president," Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a Jan. 6 committee member, said earlier this year on the podcast "Honestly." "And I think that Senator Cruz knew exactly what he was doing. I think that Senator Cruz is somebody who knows what the Constitution calls for, knows what his duties and obligations are, and was willing, frankly, to set that aside." …
The Future of Digital Cash Is Not on the Blockchain | WIRED
…But, as my colleague Andy Greenberg illustrates in his forthcoming book, the early faith in crypto anonymity was misplaced. The thing about blockchains is that while your transactions might be hidden behind a crypto wallet address, they are also permanently stored on a public database. It didn't take law enforcement agencies too long to figure out how to connect those transactions and wallets to the real-world identities behind them…
Masterworks, DOL 401k rules, Electricity update (The Phil Ferguson Show podcast episode #414)
Investing Skeptically:
- Materworks. Can you get rich buying art?
- A super shitty fund
- DOL (department of labor) follow up on 401k, 403b and other ERISA types of accounts.
- Electricity - EV, solar panels and electric bills
Interview:
- Materworks. Can you get rich buying art?
- A super shitty fund
- DOL (department of labor) follow up on 401k, 403b and other ERISA types of accounts.
- Electricity - EV, solar panels and electric bills
Interview:
The bible and slavery (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)
Guest: Jeremy Schipper. Religion at Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing. State/church complaints in Colorado, Virginia and Tennessee. Jazz musicians Tahira Clayton and Addison Frei perform freethinker Cole Porter's "I Concentrate on You." Then Professor of Religion Jeremy Schipper describes how the bible was used in both sides of the slavery/anti-slavery debates in his new book, Denmark Vesey's Bible: The Thwarted Revolt that Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial.
Interview:
Monday, March 28, 2022
Nebraska GOP Rep. Jeff Fortenberry resigns after conviction - The Washington Post
The Nebraska Republican was convicted on three felony counts for lying to federal investigators about illegal campaign contributions from a foreign billionaire
QAnon congresswoman launches outrageous new conspiracy theory about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson - Raw Story - Celebrating 18 Years of Independent Journalism
…Boebert returned to her QAnon political roots by alleging the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Supreme Court was part a vast conspiracy to protect pedophiles…
What Ginni Thomas’s texts to Mark Meadows reveal - Vox
Her texts prove some elite Republicans really do believe Trump's lies...:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70672265/GettyImages_1236038659.0.jpg)
What is the Cosmos Club? Ketanji Brown Jackson’s DC group, explained. - The Washington Post
…The club, located in historic Townsend House on Washington's Embassy Row, was founded by a group of 19th-century scientists with a vision for "a center of good fellowship, a club that embraced the sciences and the arts, where members could meet socially and exchange ideas, where vitality would grow from the mixture of disciplines, and a library would provide a refuge for thought and learning," according to the club's website…
Opinion | By trashing Ketanji Jackson, Republicans hurt court legitimacy - The Washington Post
…What conservatives don't want to acknowledge is how much damage they have already done by taking control of the court through the raw exercise of political power. Beginning with the blockade of Merrick Garland's nomination in 2016 and culminating in the rushed confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett just days before the 2020 election, Republicans have sent the message that not the law, not deliberation, but partisan manipulation is at the heart of the court's decision-making…
Allison Gill (The Mary Trump Show podcast #17)
Mary Trump shames the Republicans for their treatment of Ketanji Brown Jackson during the confirmation hearings, and welcomes podcast host Allison Gill of “Mueller, She Wrote” and “The Daily Beans”. They look at the potential for prosecutions of Donald to go forward and the latest happenings in New York, the pitfalls and potential of the 1/6 committee on the road to restoring our democracy, and how the Democrats can reinspire their base and win going forward.
Interview:
The Atheist Experience 26.12 with Matt Dillahunty and @Apostate Prophet
SHOW TIME-STAMPS
00:00 Intro
02:57 Padraic-(IE) | Belief In God Is More Reasonable Than Atheism
17:18 David-AZ | Blind Dating, But With Theology
30:20 Joseph-MD | Secular Morality: It's Just Your Opinion Man
55:17 ACA Clips: Faith Induced Cannibalism
57:47 Abu-(UK) | Losing Family Due To Deconversion From Islam
1:05:08 Noah-OR | We Came From God's Soup
1:21:55 Patrick-FL | Why Be Atheist & Not A Pantheist?
1:24:00 Claim Deconstruction: Jewish Survival Demonstrates The Truth Of Judaism
1:26:16 Drew-AZ | Is There Value To Coming Out To Religious Family?
1:34:00 Outro
Interview:
00:00 Intro
02:57 Padraic-(IE) | Belief In God Is More Reasonable Than Atheism
17:18 David-AZ | Blind Dating, But With Theology
30:20 Joseph-MD | Secular Morality: It's Just Your Opinion Man
55:17 ACA Clips: Faith Induced Cannibalism
57:47 Abu-(UK) | Losing Family Due To Deconversion From Islam
1:05:08 Noah-OR | We Came From God's Soup
1:21:55 Patrick-FL | Why Be Atheist & Not A Pantheist?
1:24:00 Claim Deconstruction: Jewish Survival Demonstrates The Truth Of Judaism
1:26:16 Drew-AZ | Is There Value To Coming Out To Religious Family?
1:34:00 Outro
Interview:
Google Caught Pulling Privilege Shenanigans (Opening Arguments podcast OA580)
Our main segment today is a breakdown of Google’s massive scheme to keep tons of documents privileged inappropriately. It’s a fun deep-dive full of bad documents! Before that, we quickly go over the disgusting attempts to discredit KBJ by Senate Republicans. And, believe it or not, a GOOD NEWS segment about Lia Thomas!
Interview:
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Fox News Anchor John Roberts Calls BS on Rick Scott’s Spin Over Taxing the Poor
"Two of the big points are 'all Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax,'" the Fox News moderator stated. "It also says, 'All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.' So that would raise taxes on half of Americans and potentially sunset programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Why would you propose something like that in an election year?"…
Climate action has been ‘a calamity’, says Senate Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse
"Keep raising hell. And understand that the flip side of the climate change coin is the dark money problem. Solve the dark money problem and the climate change obstruction begins to disappear because Exxon Mobil cannot get away with dirty politics in plain view. If they run an ad saying climate change is a big hoax, we're Exxon Mobil and we approve this message, it's a colossal backfire. If they run it through a front group with a name like Americans for Peace and Puppies and Prosperity, it doesn't trace back to them. So transparency is very disabling to the fossil fuel industry. Its motive becomes apparent, its method becomes apparent, its self-interest becomes apparent."…
Former Judge Janice Rogers Brown Was Not Nominated to the Supreme Court - FactCheck.org
Republicans did not nominate former Judge Janice Rogers Brown to the U.S. Supreme Court. A Facebook post falsely claims that Brown — not Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson — was the first Black woman to be nominated to the nation's highest court.
https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/former-judge-janice-rogers-brown-was-not-nominated-to-the-supreme-court/
https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/former-judge-janice-rogers-brown-was-not-nominated-to-the-supreme-court/
Republicans at Judge Jackson's hearing feigned concern over dark money
…As The Washington Post's Fact Checker and others have pointed out, it is certainly ironic for a prominent dark money group to critique dark money.
But the hypocrisy from Republican senators — McConnell in particular — is on another level: They are critiquing a system that they themselves have not only worked to protect, but to construct...
Republicans’ midterms pitch: never mind the policy, here’s the culture war
"There were some very good things about the old Republican party. Now it's a party of racists and homophobes and people pursuing bizarre cultural things. It's just crazy."…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/26/republicans-midterms-culture-war-lgbtq-abortion-book-bans
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/26/republicans-midterms-culture-war-lgbtq-abortion-book-bans
Are women’s bodies private property? In Idaho, apparently they are
…SB1309's conception of women as family possessions harkens back to ancient idea of women as the property of their fathers – property that could be transferred to other men in a transaction known as marriage. It is interesting that SB1309 also names fathers and their family members as having an interest in the woman's choices, implying that the right to control her and her body can be extended by inseminating her. If this all sounds baroque and morbid, like something out of the Old Testament, that's because it is: the Idaho bill was lobbied for by a group that calls itself the Idaho Family Policy Center, a non-profit dedicated to "promoting Biblically sound public policy"…
The Supreme Court splits on whether Joe Biden is commander-in-chief - Vox
…As Justice Brett Kavanaugh explained in a brief opinion laying out why the lower court erred, this court "in effect inserted itself into the Navy's chain of command, overriding military commanders' professional military judgments." Had the Court ruled the other way in SEALs, it would have effectively placed itself at the apex of the military's chain of command, displacing Biden as commander-in-chief.
But as Kavanaugh correctly notes in his concurring opinion, there is a long line of Supreme Court precedents establishing that courts should be exceedingly reluctant to interfere with military affairs…:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70673597/1237979113.0.jpg)
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