Monday, December 23, 2024
Missouri's abortion ban partially blocked by judge
In his Friday preliminary injunction, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang wrote that the state's abortion ban is "directly at odds" with Amendment 3, which voters approved last month, and the statute is "therefore presumptively invalid."…
First Mover Backed By Science? (Atheist Experience call-in show)
Caller thinks he can prove the existence of God to a scientist, a software engineer, and a lawyer, by resorting to the "first mover" argument. The program's hosts don't agree, and they show him the flaws in his reasoning.
Interview:
My Dad Became a MAGA Power Broker (w/Julia Tucker) (Conspirituality podcast)
Jeffery Tucker is the founder of the MAGA thinktank Brownstone Institute. In 2020, Brownstone published The Great Barrington Declaration, with lead author Jay Bhattacharya—now the nominee for head of the NIH.
Jeffrey’s daughter, Julia, joins Matthew to discuss her dad’s rise through the punditocracy, after his conversion to an extreme form of Catholicism, through decades of fringe libertarian publishing, working for Ron Paul, boosting anarcho-capitalism and crypto, writing for the Epoch Times, and asking such daring questions as: “What’s so wrong about child labour?”
Interview:
Jeffrey’s daughter, Julia, joins Matthew to discuss her dad’s rise through the punditocracy, after his conversion to an extreme form of Catholicism, through decades of fringe libertarian publishing, working for Ron Paul, boosting anarcho-capitalism and crypto, writing for the Epoch Times, and asking such daring questions as: “What’s so wrong about child labour?”
Interview:
Trump and allies are waging campaign against media to stifle dissent – experts
Lawsuits against Iowa paper and settlement with ABC signal beginning of aggressive legal action to silence critics…
Sunday, December 22, 2024
'Stunningly unqualified’ diplomatic team shapes up at breakneck speed
'Their lack of credentials has prompted one experienced foreign policy analyst to label them a "diplomatic clown car" – and a deliberate affront to the countries hosting them…
US Senate approves funding proposal that does not include Trump’s demand to raise debt limit
Passage of the funding bill, which extends federal funding at current levels through and adds $100bn in disaster aid and $10bn in assistance to farmers, capped a week of turmoil that offered a preview of the internal clashes to come when Trump returns to power on 20 January…
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, called the House's passage of the government funding bill "a victory for the American people". In the House vote, Democrats provided more support than Republicans to advance the measure.
"The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting the working class Americans all across the nation," he said…
He’s anti-democracy and pro-Trump: the obscure ‘dark enlightenment’ blogger influencing the next US administration
As JD Vance put it in a 2021 podcast interview with far-right influencer Jack Murphy: "There's this guy Curtis Yarvin who's written about some of these things. One has to basically accept that the whole thing is going to fall in on itself."
Vance added: "The task of conservatives right now is to preserve as much as can be preserved and then when the inevitable collapse comes you build back the country in a way that's actually better."…
"no one online has shaped Vance's thinking more". The growing parallels between the incoming administration's actions – especially Vance's views – and Yarvin's suggestions raise questions about his influence…
In 2022 Vox called Yarvin the "person who's spent the most time gaming out how, exactly, the US government could be toppled and replaced"…
"He didn't fall out of a coconut tree. He emerged into a rightwing media space where they had been talking about the evils of liberal media and corrupt academic institutions for decades," he said.
"He has influenced a lot of people in the incoming administration and a lot of other influential people on the right. But a lot of the stuff he advocates is the same windmills Republicans have been tilting at for a while," Evans continued.
"What's unique is his way of rebranding or repackaging old reactionary ideas in a way that appealed to libertarian-minded kids in the tech industry, and in eventually getting some of them to embrace a lot of far-right ideas," he said…
It’s in the Code Ep 127: “The Purpose of Sex (Part 3)?” (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast) (It's in the Code, Episode #127)
In this episode, Dan takes on the “design argument” that the purpose of human sex is procreation.
Here’s how the argument goes: If God created human beings, and therefore human sexuality, this means that the purpose of sex is procreation, because this is God’s intended purpose.
But does the argument work?
Dan argues that even if we presuppose human beings and their sexuality as a direct creation of God, the idea that the purpose of sex is procreation is STILL not compelling.
Human sexuality is so ineffective at bringing about procreation that it is implausible to suggest that this is its “design.” Check out this week’s episode to hear more!
Interview:
Weekly Roundup: Elon Isn’t King and So Many Other Reasons for Hope (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)
In the final SWAJ weekly roundup of the year, Brad and Dan discuss the motivations behind Donald Trump’s actions and the shadow influence of Elon Musk. They highlight the ongoing struggle against the emerging oligarchy and emphasize the importance of hope and resilience in 2024.
The episode covers topics such as political messaging, government shutdown threats, the consequences of Republican dysfunction, and the rise of diverse representatives in the coming Congress. Brad and Dan call for strategic action and finding joy as means of sustaining the fight for a better future.
Interview:
Happy Winter Solstice (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)
The Winter Solstice (December 21 this year) is the real reason for the season.
We celebrate this festive time of year with music and freethought humor, including songs and performances by Kristin Lems, Dan Barker, Tim Minchin, Roy Zimmerman, Irving Berlin, Trey Parker, Tom Lehrer, the London Humanist Choir, Ken Lonnquist and Brent Michael Davids.
Interview:
Saturday, December 21, 2024
The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2024-12-20
Domestic
Just hours before federal funding for the government runs out, Congress is left scrambling to find a way to keep the government open after midnight tonight.
Meanwhile, a New York judge has decided that Trump can’t use his presidential immunity to shed his felony conviction.
Luigi Mangione, alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, was charged with murder as an act of terrorism.
Interview:
Meanwhile, a New York judge has decided that Trump can’t use his presidential immunity to shed his felony conviction.
Luigi Mangione, alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, was charged with murder as an act of terrorism.
Interview:
International
Following the fall of the Assad regime, prosecutors, aid workers, and journalists are learning more about the atrocities committed under Syria’s former president. Mass grave sites have been uncovered in the days since rebels took control of the capital and Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia.Israeli attacks on hospitals in northern Gaza have left the medical facilities barely able to provide basic care and no longer capable of surgical procedures or maternal services.
Canada’s embattled prime minister, Justin Trudeau, saw his position as the country’s leader weaken this week after the resignation of his finance minister. Chrystia Freeland had been helping to formulate a plan for their government’s response to the incoming Trump administration.
Interview:
Predictable Fury Over Satanic Displays (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #562)
— After vandalism, a new Satanic display is up outside the New Hampshire Capitol. (0:28)
— Iowa officials ban Satanic event over made-up claim that it’d be “harmful to minors.” (5:52)
— California Bible college vows to remain open after state orders it to shut down. (15:30)
— Democrats didn’t “weaponize” the government to “target” Christian schools. (33:50)
— Supreme Court to decide if Catholic-aligned group deserves tax exemption. (53:25)
— Citing legal concerns, two Florida districts vote against allowing school chaplains. (1:02:22)
— Catholic group unveils anti-atheist holiday billboard: “THIS IS OUR SEASON—NOT YOURS.” (1:11:28)
Interview:
— Iowa officials ban Satanic event over made-up claim that it’d be “harmful to minors.” (5:52)
— California Bible college vows to remain open after state orders it to shut down. (15:30)
— Democrats didn’t “weaponize” the government to “target” Christian schools. (33:50)
— Supreme Court to decide if Catholic-aligned group deserves tax exemption. (53:25)
— Citing legal concerns, two Florida districts vote against allowing school chaplains. (1:02:22)
— Catholic group unveils anti-atheist holiday billboard: “THIS IS OUR SEASON—NOT YOURS.” (1:11:28)
Interview:
Social Security Fairness Act clears Senate procedural hurdle, on path for final passage - ABC News
The closely watched legislation repeals provisions that limit the ability of some retirees who also collect pensions from claiming Social Security benefits. Among those impacted are retirees who at one time worked as firefighters, teachers, postal worker, a police officer, or in other public sector jobs. A provision that limits the benefits allotted to those workers' surviving spouses would also be eliminated…
A Scandalous Reason Meat Prices Have Skyrocketed – Mother Jones
Reining in Big Meat will require bolder federal action. On the campaign trail, Kamala Harris proposed a federal ban on price gouging that could provide a legal framework to challenge market manipulators. But the most important move, Frerick says, is simply to en-force existing laws: "In the meat industry, we already did this all a century ago. This isn't rocket science—it's really just a question of political courage."…
House Democrat says Republicans protecting Elon Musk's Chinese investments | Reuters
Representative Rosa DeLauro said in a letter that Musk, CEO of electric car maker Tesla, may have upended the government funding process to remove a provision that would regulate U.S. investments in China given his "extensive investments in China in key sectors and his personal ties with Chinese Communist Party leadership, and calls into question the real reason for Musk's opposition to the original funding deal."
Major Trump donors who complained of immigrant ‘invasion’ used Mexican workers illegally, sources allege | Wisconsin | The Guardian
A company owned by two of Donald Trump's top mega-donors has routinely brought dozens of its workers from Mexico to staff its warehouses in Wisconsin and other locations even though they do not appear to have permission to work in the US, according to a Guardian investigation...
Friday, December 20, 2024
The Christian Nationalist “TheoBros” Have, Uh, Thoughts About Antisemitism – Mother Jones
And then there is William Wolfe, a TheoBro who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon in the first Trump administration. He has posted phrases that are widely recognized as antisemitic dog whistles, such as, "Notice things. And point them out to others." That may appear to be anodyne, but antisemitic extremists use the word "noticing" to refer to identifying Jewish people in powerful positions. Around the same time, Wolfe posted, apropos of no previous conversation, "You know what's a beach I love? Hilton Head." The initials "HH" are often used as neo-Nazi code for "heil Hitler." Wolfe didn't respond to Mother Jones' request for comment…
US funding plan collapses as Trump makes demands days before shutdown
Trump made an almost unrealistic proposal that combined some continuation of government funds along with a much more controversial provision to raise the country's debt limit – something his own party routinely rejects. "Anything else is a betrayal of our country," they wrote...
Microplastics suspected of links to lung cancer, colon cancer, study shows - The Washington Post
"The conclusion about microplastic exposure being a 'suspected' hazard to human digestive, reproductive, and respiratory systems represents a stronger stance than many previous reviews in my opinion," said Amato-Lourenço...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/12/18/microplastics-colon-cancer-link-study/
Bird Flu Has Hit California Dairies So Hard That They’re Calling It ‘Covid for Cows’ - The New York Times
The virus has spread rapidly in California, the nation's largest producer of milk. Farmers are frustrated that their herds are getting infected despite various precautions...
How fit are you? 11 ways to easily test your strength, balance and mobility – and make them all better
Can you touch your toes, get up from a chair using just one leg, hold a plank for 30 seconds? If you want to take care of your body, the first step is to take stock of it…
Clergy abuse survivors say there’s still ‘long ways to go’ after sentencing of New Orleans priest
Hecker showed up unannounced in the weight room one day and made small talk with the boy about sports. He suddenly put the child in a wrestling-style headlock until he was unconscious and raped him, according to court filings.
The survivor later told his mother and school officials about the rape. But he said the principal, Paul Calamari, never alerted police. Instead, Calamari threatened the survivor with expulsion unless he underwent psychological treatment for what the school official dismissed as "anger issues and fantasy stories".
Hecker initially denied those accusations. But in 1999, he did admit in writing to his church superiors that he had molested or sexually harassed several other children whom he met through his ministry...
What we learned about police officers accused of sexually abusing kids - The Washington Post
"Our investigation found that at least 1,800 officers were charged with these crimes from 2005 through 2022.
Of the hundreds of thousands of sworn officers in the United States, only a fraction are ever arrested for any offense. But we discovered that, on average, a law enforcement officer has been charged with a crime involving child sexual abuse twice a week, every week, for 18 years..."
Former West Virginia police chief sentenced to prison for raping teen - The Washington Post
Larry Clay Jr., who paid $100 to rape a 17-year-old while serving as police chief in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, and then sought to cover up his crime, received a 25-year sentence…
Trump Tossed a Debt Limit Grenade Into Spending Talks. Here’s Why. - The New York Times
As he prepares to push an agenda of tax cuts and border security, Mr. Trump fears that a debt limit fight next year could interfere. His plans are expected to cost trillions of dollars, much of which will most likely need to come from borrowed funds. A drawn-out debt limit fight next year could force Mr. Trump and Republicans to bow to the demands of Democrats and could consume the congressional calendar.
"This is a nasty TRAP set in place by the Radical Left Democrats!" Mr. Trump wrote on social medial on Wednesday night...
4 takeaways from the Republican government shutdown mess - The Washington Post
Perhaps most striking is how solicitous Republicans are acting toward Musk. Johnson went on Fox News on Wednesday morning and gamely tried to assure they were on the same page. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) tweeted pleadingly at Musk suggesting he misunderstood the details (Crenshaw qualified this with an "I love you Elon.") And by Thursday morning, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and others were pitching Musk as a potential House speaker...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/19/elon-musk-trump-government-shutdown-debt-ceiling/
A Constitutional Convention? Some Democrats Fear It’s Coming. - The New York Times
Mr. Wiener, who represents San Francisco, and other liberal Democrats believe there is a strong possibility of a "runaway convention." They say that Republicans could call a convention on the premise, say, of producing an amendment requiring that the federal budget be balanced, then open the door for a free-for-all in which a multitude of other amendments are considered, including some that could restrict abortion access or civil rights...
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Pollution exposure linked to mental health hospital admissions, says study
Average cumulative exposure to air pollution was strongly associated with higher rates of hospital admissions, both for mental and physical illnesses. Higher cumulative exposure to NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 was associated with a higher incidence of hospital admissions for all causes...
US violating law to fund Israel despite alleged human rights abuses, lawsuit says
Suit claims state department is deliberately bypassing the Leahy Law by failing to sanction Israeli units accused of widespread atrocities in Palestinian territories…
Donald Trump’s disturbing war on the press has now escalated
Trump has sued the Des Moines Register – merely for publishing a poll that wrongly predicted Harris would win Iowa…
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Democrats eye Harris 2028 presidential run as they devise political comeback
"She is ending this race in a very different place than other nominees that have lost," one Harris adviser told the outlet. "Her approval is higher. People were very happy with the race that she ran."…
Canada’s deputy PM resigns from cabinet as tensions with Trudeau rise over Trump tariffs
She warned Trudeau that "costly political gimmicks" need to be done away with as they can make Canadians doubt whether the government understands the "gravity of the moment".
"That means pushing back against 'America First' economic nationalism with a determined effort to fight for capital and investment and the jobs they bring. That means working in good faith and humility with the Premiers of the provinces and territories of our great and diverse country, and building a true Team Canada response."…
House Republicans fume at Mike Johnson over handling of government funding
"This is not an omnibus, OK? This is a small CR that we had to add things to that were out of our control," Johnson said in a press conference. "These are not man-made disasters. These are things that are — the federal government has an appropriate role to do."
"So, I wish it weren't necessary. I wish we hadn't had record hurricanes in the fall. And I wish our farmers were not in a bind so much that creditors are not able to lend to them. We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits," Johnson said...
Silicon Valley Is Reviving the Discredited and Discriminatory Idea of ‘Race Science’ | Scientific American
Modern proponents of race science insist they're not motivated by racism but are simply reporting data on intelligence. This dubious claim was fostered by the publication of The Bell Curve in 1994, which propagated the idea that African Americans were intellectually inferior.
This central thesis was eviscerated in scathing criticism by experts ranging from Stephen J. Gould to Noam Chomsky, many of whom noted the data presented were riddled with errors and spurious inferences.
This fatal criticism however was not enough to stop even some Nobel laureates, most notably DNA double helix co-discoverer James Watson and transistor co-inventor William Shockley, from pushing discredited claims on race and intelligence. Overall their arguments about ostensible racial differences commit a statistical fallacy, ignoring extremely relevant lurking variables; while slavery was abolished in the U.S. in 1865, this did not magically alleviate massive inequality or the legacy of historical harms that persist still.
GOP report recommends Liz Cheney be criminally investigated over Jan. 6 work
"Chairman [Barry] Loudermilk's (R-Ga.) 'Interim Report' intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee's tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did. Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously."
GOP senator Josh Hawley pushes huge increase to child tax credit
Such a plan could cost $2 trillion to $3 trillion over 10 years. That complicates the math for incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who have thin margins to extend President-elect Trump's signature tax …
Health care package included in stopgap funding bill
The health portion contains pharmaceutical benefit manager (PBM) industry reforms, extensions of Medicare telehealth flexibilities, reauthorizations of legislation to prevent pandemics and address the opioid crisis, payments to community health centers, a rollback of physician payment cuts and other policies.
The inclusion of more than 500 pages of health provisions in a spending bill will likely infuriate some conservatives, who generally oppose omnibus legislation. But the health provisions show bipartisan agreement after significant back-and-forth between Republicans and Democrats…
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Former FBI informant pleads guilty to fabricating Biden claims
Smirnov had relayed to the FBI that the head of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma told him he had paid both President Biden and his son Hunter Biden $5 million. The claims were false but became central to a House GOP probe of the Bidens.
In court documents, Smirnov admitted to providing "false derogatory information" about the president and his son…
Bird flu is a real pandemic threat. Are we prepared for the worst?
A strain now circulating in dairy cows appears to carry little risk for humans at present, but we need to develop an effective strategy before it mutates…
Some workers are losing pay raises after overtime rule was struck down : NPR
Finalized in April, the rule would have made some 4.3 million salaried workers nationwide newly eligible to earn 1.5 times their regular pay when they work more than 40 hours a week.
"One of the basic principles of the American workplace is that a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay," wrote Jessica Looman, head of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, in a blog post explaining the rule...
In Texas, religious freedom and parents’ rights are only for Christians
With help from a temporary appointment by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the state board of education has narrowly approved a controversial new curriculum that targets elementary school students for religious indoctrination. Texas officials may deny that's what they're doing, but it's the reality that Rice University religion scholar David Brockman found when he studied the plan...
Trump is open to having his strongest supporters spend a lot more on mail - The Washington Post
Privatizing the U.S. Postal Service would mean that rural, pro-Trump areas would have to spend a lot more to send mail...
Trump says border wall material shouldn’t be sold despite congressional requirement - The Washington Post
President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that President Joe Biden should stop selling unused border wall material, calling it "almost a criminal act" — even though Congress required its disposal in bipartisan legislation last year…
Because it is now mostly rusted useless junk.
Trump’s effort to move the Jan. 6 goalposts is literally unbelievable
"To hear Trump tell it, the fact that the Jan. 6 mob included some who were confidential FBI informants is evidence of a "disgrace." But that's preposterous: The far-right conspiracy theory wasn't that the Jan. 6 mob included some who were confidential FBI informants. We already knew this. Some even testified during Jan. 6 criminal cases.
Rather, the conspiracy theory was that the FBI was somehow responsible for instigating the attack and entrapping Trump's poor, unsuspecting supporters. Horowitz's report — the one the president-elect seemed so excited about — discredited the bizarre idea. Not only did the IG conclude that the FBI informants weren't authorized or encouraged to break the law, but the same findings made clear that there were no undercover FBI employees at the Capitol, either…"
Monday, December 16, 2024
WaPo’s Aaron Blake on The Transition (Al Franken podcast)
As we move closer to the second Trump administration, we are learning more about his incoming Cabinet. Aaron Blake, senior political reporter and author/host of The Campaign Moment newsletter and podcast for the Washington Post joins us to discuss some of Trump’s Cabinet picks and their struggles to be confirmed. Also, the American people seem to overwhelmingly want a check on Trump’s power. What will that look like with an administration that believes it has a mandate? Plus, we break down Hunter Biden’s pardon and how that might impact Joe Biden’s legacy.
Read Aaron’s work in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/aaron-blake/
Read Aaron’s work in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/aaron-blake/
Interview:
Wray Obeys in Advance (Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill; Jack: A Special Counsel podcast, Episode #107)
This week:
- Chris Wray announces that he will resign as FBI Director before Trump would have to fire him;
- Trump names Harmeet Dillon to head [upend] the Civil Rights Division at DoJ;
- DoJ OIG releases its January 6th report;
- plus listener questions.
Interview:
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