The death of Freddie Gray in the back of a police van was no accident, and even worse, it wasn’t unique. All too often, suspects needlessly die while in police custody, and often times these deaths are simply written off with no real investigation and no consequences for the officers involved. This has become an epidemic in America. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins and attorney David Haynes explain how bad the problem really is…
https://youtu.be/lJvmZBkzdW0
Thursday, June 30, 2016
The Republican Healthcare Plan: Get a Job and Buy Medicine?
Just when you thought Republicans couldn’t get any more heartless, a Mississippi state representative stepped in to prove just how out of touch with reality the Republican Party has really become. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.
https://youtu.be/6_GPnSjQ4hw
https://youtu.be/6_GPnSjQ4hw
President of the Catholic League Compares LGBT Community to Terrorists & Mobsters
In this Majority Report clip, President of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, appears on CNN with Chris Cuomo and discusses which parts of the pope's comments about LGBT people he likes. Incidentally, the parts he likes are the parts he can twist into hate speech.
https://youtu.be/FzoZv_XLqgM
https://youtu.be/FzoZv_XLqgM
It Turns Out That Pre-Written Speeches Actually DO NOT Help Trump
In this Majority Report clip, Donald Trump gives a speech in front of a wall of garbage, something that obviously made the internet foam at the mouth. Anyway, he was telling some lies again, only this time the lies were written out for him ahead of time and he read them from an evil teleprompter. He threatens Mexico, Canada, and China, and lists specific NAFTA articles and sections of trade acts that he most certainly has NO IDEA about.
https://youtu.be/LCKH5HNIe1w
https://youtu.be/LCKH5HNIe1w
Sam Bee Hilariously Explains Why Brexit Is a Warning Against Electing Trump
Samantha Bee, in a segment titled "Oh Shit, Brexit," dedicated a fair amount of her brilliant show to Brexit last night, what with all the incredibly obvious parallels between the terribly misguided vote to “Make Britain great again” (she shows a clip of a Leave voter actually saying that) and our Trump problem.
“While the Brits were waking up in the ruins of their nation saying, 'Oh God, what have we done?' a lot of Americans were looking over and saying, ‘Oh God, what are we about to do?’”...
http://www.alternet.org/media/sam-bee-hilariously-explains-why-brexit-warning-against-electing-trump
http://www.alternet.org/media/sam-bee-hilariously-explains-why-brexit-warning-against-electing-trump
Culturally Constructed Ignorance Wins the Day
I spend much of my time shrugging off breathless news events. Ebola (now Zika), employment reports, Federal Reserve rate changes, government shutdowns, peak earnings and so on. Much of what passes for earth-shaking news turns out to be, with the benefit of hindsight, something in between idle gossip and fear-mongering. The genuine, not well-anticipated, actual market-moving news -- such as the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union -- is a relatively rare thing.
However, there is a disconcerting trend that has gained strength: agnotology. It’s a term worth knowing, since it is going global. The word was coined by Stanford University professor Robert N. Proctor, who described it as “culturally constructed ignorance, created by special interest groups to create confusion and suppress the truth in a societally important issue.”
It is especially useful to sow seeds of doubt in complex scientific issues by publicizing inaccurate or misleading data. Culturally constructed ignorance played a major role in the Brexit vote, as we shall see after a bit of explanation....
http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-27/culturally-constructed-ignorance-wins-the-day
However, there is a disconcerting trend that has gained strength: agnotology. It’s a term worth knowing, since it is going global. The word was coined by Stanford University professor Robert N. Proctor, who described it as “culturally constructed ignorance, created by special interest groups to create confusion and suppress the truth in a societally important issue.”
It is especially useful to sow seeds of doubt in complex scientific issues by publicizing inaccurate or misleading data. Culturally constructed ignorance played a major role in the Brexit vote, as we shall see after a bit of explanation....
http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-27/culturally-constructed-ignorance-wins-the-day
Benghazi Committee Democrats release report blasting Republicans for partisan abuses
The Republicans of the House Benghazi Committee continue to slow-walk their “investigation” so that its final report is released at a time guaranteed to have maximum election impact. But the committee’s Democrats have released their own report. Thing is, since there have been so many prior Benghazi investigations, the main body of new information details how determined Republicans are to use Benghazi to attack Hillary Clinton.
We knew that the military would not have been able to get troops to Benghazi in time to save the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and the other Americans killed in the attack. We knew that the intelligence on what had prompted the attack shifted as new information came in. But if the Republicans on the committee couldn’t find a new bombshell in the interviews and investigations—and they tried, and tried—they were okay with trying to manufacture something. In the end, two years and $7 million later, the real story of the select committee is this:...
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/1542915
We knew that the military would not have been able to get troops to Benghazi in time to save the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and the other Americans killed in the attack. We knew that the intelligence on what had prompted the attack shifted as new information came in. But if the Republicans on the committee couldn’t find a new bombshell in the interviews and investigations—and they tried, and tried—they were okay with trying to manufacture something. In the end, two years and $7 million later, the real story of the select committee is this:...
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/1542915
The 5 most serious accusations from Republicans’ Benghazi report
Remember that heated hearing in the fall when Hillary Clinton sat in front of Congress for 11 hours and defended her handling of the Benghazi terrorist attacks? Well, a report from that investigation (of which Clinton's testimony was just one part) is out, capping the two-year process that is the ninth overall investigation into the Benghazi, Libya, incident.
There is no smoking gun, but the report does conclude that Clinton and the Obama administration more broadly should have realized how endangered U.S. outposts in Libya were at the time of the 2012 attacks and done more to protect them and the four Americans — including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens — who were killed.
Or, more accurately, the Republicans on the special Benghazi committee concluded that. Democrats on the committee called this whole thing a partisan witch hunt to bring down Clinton's presidential run and released their own, much softer report on Monday....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/28/the-5-most-serious-accusations-from-republicans-benghazi-report/
There is no smoking gun, but the report does conclude that Clinton and the Obama administration more broadly should have realized how endangered U.S. outposts in Libya were at the time of the 2012 attacks and done more to protect them and the four Americans — including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens — who were killed.
Or, more accurately, the Republicans on the special Benghazi committee concluded that. Democrats on the committee called this whole thing a partisan witch hunt to bring down Clinton's presidential run and released their own, much softer report on Monday....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/28/the-5-most-serious-accusations-from-republicans-benghazi-report/
Hillary Clinton: "Risk analysts listed Donald Trump, a Donald Trump presidency, as one of the top threats facing the global economy, ahead of terrorism."
Hillary Clinton, riding a bump in the polls, kept the heat on Donald Trump during a speech in Cincinnati that marked the first time she had campaigned alongside Elizabeth Warren, a favorite of the progressive wing of her party.
"Risk analysts listed Donald Trump, a Donald Trump presidency, as one of the top threats facing the global economy, ahead of terrorism," Clinton said during the speech on June 27, 2016.
We don’t take a position on whether Trump actually is one of the top threats facing the global economy. But we thought we’d check to see whether Clinton has solid evidence that professional risk analysts have made that argument.
So is Clinton right about how analysts have rated Trump? Basically, yes....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/27/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-correct-analysts-have-called-donal/
"Risk analysts listed Donald Trump, a Donald Trump presidency, as one of the top threats facing the global economy, ahead of terrorism," Clinton said during the speech on June 27, 2016.
We don’t take a position on whether Trump actually is one of the top threats facing the global economy. But we thought we’d check to see whether Clinton has solid evidence that professional risk analysts have made that argument.
So is Clinton right about how analysts have rated Trump? Basically, yes....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/27/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-correct-analysts-have-called-donal/
Top Aide: Trump Doesn’t Need To Know What’s Going On To Make Decisions (VIDEO)
Donald Trump’s campaign chair admitted Sunday that his team was still “getting organized” but said his candidate’s unique ability to make decisions on the fly distinguished Trump's campaign from Hillary Clinton’s.
“The good thing is, we have a candidate who doesn’t need to figure out what’s going on in order to say what he wants to do,” campaign chair Paul Manafort said in a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press.”
Asked by host Chuck Todd to acknowledge that Trump was “behind” in manpower, ground organization and fundraising, Manafort said the teams were running fundamentally different campaigns.
“No, I think because what you’re trying to do is compare an 800-person organization in Brooklyn of Mrs. Clinton’s with an integrated system of the RNC and the Trump campaign, which doesn’t appear on a FEC report,” he said. “We have hundreds, we have actually thousands of people in the battleground states, political organizers who are now in place, we have state organizations that are in place, we have our campaign plans in place, we have our budgets in place.”
“We’re confident that we are not behind the Clinton campaign,” Manafort added. “They’re muscle-bound. We’re not.”...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/manafort-trump-organization-meet-the-press
“The good thing is, we have a candidate who doesn’t need to figure out what’s going on in order to say what he wants to do,” campaign chair Paul Manafort said in a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press.”
Asked by host Chuck Todd to acknowledge that Trump was “behind” in manpower, ground organization and fundraising, Manafort said the teams were running fundamentally different campaigns.
“No, I think because what you’re trying to do is compare an 800-person organization in Brooklyn of Mrs. Clinton’s with an integrated system of the RNC and the Trump campaign, which doesn’t appear on a FEC report,” he said. “We have hundreds, we have actually thousands of people in the battleground states, political organizers who are now in place, we have state organizations that are in place, we have our campaign plans in place, we have our budgets in place.”
“We’re confident that we are not behind the Clinton campaign,” Manafort added. “They’re muscle-bound. We’re not.”...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/manafort-trump-organization-meet-the-press
New Report Says Trump’s Policies Would Add $11.5 Trillion To Debt
Donald Trump’s economic proposals would “massively increase” the national debt over the next decade, according to projections from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget out Sunday.
The “Promises and Price Tags” report released by the nonpartisan, non-profit organization found that Trump would add $11.5 trillion to the debt by 2026, while his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton would add $250 billion in the same time period....
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/committee-responsible-federal-budget-trump-trillions-debt
The “Promises and Price Tags” report released by the nonpartisan, non-profit organization found that Trump would add $11.5 trillion to the debt by 2026, while his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton would add $250 billion in the same time period....
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/committee-responsible-federal-budget-trump-trillions-debt
Justice Thomas Passionately Argues That Convicted Domestic Abusers Need Easier Access To Guns
Today the Supreme Court handed down two decisions: The first is a monumental, headline-grabbing defeat for anti-abortion groups. The second is a highly technical case about gun rights that’s being mostly overlooked.
In the dissenting opinion for the latter case, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argues that convicted domestic abusers have been defrauded of their right to deadly weapons.
At-issue in Voisine v. United States is a technical question of whether two men with convictions for “reckless” domestic assault fall under a federal law prohibiting people convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” from possessing a firearm. The law prohibiting domestic abusers from possessing firearms wasn’t the question under discussion — instead, the question was how far that law reached over certain states’ differing domestic assault laws.
Justice Thomas, however, was very concerned in arguments about the broader law that domestic abusers at large can’t have guns — breaking 10 years of silence on the Court to complain at arguments in February....
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/27/3792912/thomas-guns-domestic-abuse/
In the dissenting opinion for the latter case, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argues that convicted domestic abusers have been defrauded of their right to deadly weapons.
At-issue in Voisine v. United States is a technical question of whether two men with convictions for “reckless” domestic assault fall under a federal law prohibiting people convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” from possessing a firearm. The law prohibiting domestic abusers from possessing firearms wasn’t the question under discussion — instead, the question was how far that law reached over certain states’ differing domestic assault laws.
Justice Thomas, however, was very concerned in arguments about the broader law that domestic abusers at large can’t have guns — breaking 10 years of silence on the Court to complain at arguments in February....
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/27/3792912/thomas-guns-domestic-abuse/
Michigan Spent Eight Months Drug Testing The Poor And Found Zero Positive Results
In the eight months that Michigan has been running a pilot program to drug test applicants and recipients of its welfare program, not a single person has tested positive, according to preliminary results.
The program began in October in three different counties, instituting a 50-question screening questionnaire that can prompt officials to order a drug test.
As of May, 303 people who applied for benefits or were already receiving them participated, but they turned up zero positive drug test results. An applicant can refuse a test, forfeiting benefits if he or she does, and some argue that low positive testing rates can be due to those who abuse drugs simply declining to get tested. But no one in Michigan’s pilot program refused to take a test....
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/06/27/3792839/michigan-welfare-drug-test/
The program began in October in three different counties, instituting a 50-question screening questionnaire that can prompt officials to order a drug test.
As of May, 303 people who applied for benefits or were already receiving them participated, but they turned up zero positive drug test results. An applicant can refuse a test, forfeiting benefits if he or she does, and some argue that low positive testing rates can be due to those who abuse drugs simply declining to get tested. But no one in Michigan’s pilot program refused to take a test....
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/06/27/3792839/michigan-welfare-drug-test/
The Supreme Court's Abortion Decision Is An Unmitigated Disaster For Abortion Opponents
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt is a beat down of Texas’ anti-abortion law HB 2. Justice Stephen Breyer’s majority opinion piles facts upon evidence upon statistics to demolish Texas’ supposed justification for the law. At one point, Breyer even damns the law with words uttered by Texas’ own attorney. By the end of the opinion, it is surprising that Breyer did not finish with the two words “HULK SMASH!”
Even more significantly, Whole Woman’s Health leaves the right to an abortion on much stronger footing than it stood on before this decision was handed down. It’s difficult to exaggerate just how awesomely anti-abortion advocates erred in urging Texas to pass HB 2 in the first place. This law was supposed to provide those advocates with a vehicle to drain what life remains in Roe v. Wade. Instead, reproductive freedom is stronger today than it has been at any point in nearly a decade....
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/27/3792905/supreme-courts-abortion-decision-unmitigated-disaster-abortion-opponents/
Even more significantly, Whole Woman’s Health leaves the right to an abortion on much stronger footing than it stood on before this decision was handed down. It’s difficult to exaggerate just how awesomely anti-abortion advocates erred in urging Texas to pass HB 2 in the first place. This law was supposed to provide those advocates with a vehicle to drain what life remains in Roe v. Wade. Instead, reproductive freedom is stronger today than it has been at any point in nearly a decade....
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/27/3792905/supreme-courts-abortion-decision-unmitigated-disaster-abortion-opponents/
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
5 Insidious Things About White Supremacy
White supremacy: It's not just for the KKK anymore! And, actually, it never was.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/6g0Gnu_pJao
Interview:
https://youtu.be/6g0Gnu_pJao
The science is in: Exercise isn’t the best way to lose weight
Why working out is great for health, but not for weight loss, explained in five minutes.
Interview:
Interview:
In Their Own Words: What It's Like To Survive Homelessness
Sasha, Waldon and Jennifer survived homelessness, but not without a fight. Read the full transcript below.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/Gq7iOSE5iug
Interview:
https://youtu.be/Gq7iOSE5iug
Paul Ryan Reveals Dangerously Stupid Obamacare Replacement Plan
It looks like Paul Ryan is trying to create the worst health care plan of all time. In Ryan's new proposed plan, those with pre-existing conditions would no longer be protected from being dropped from their insurance or being denied from coverage due the pre-existing conditions. And it only gets worse. Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins discusses this.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/4fjMxSwLx2I
Interview:
https://youtu.be/4fjMxSwLx2I
Not Keeping the Faith: Donald Trump and the Conning of Evangelical Voters
I’ve written quite a bit about Donald Trump’s unexpectedly successful wooing of the religious right in this presidential campaign. After all, we’ve been told for more than three decades now that conservative Christians require that America’s political leaders have the highest personal moral standards and adhere to a strict commitment to traditional values so he wasn’t expected to do well with them. Recall the stirring words of Focus on the Family’s James Dobson back in 1998 during the impeachment scandal:
"As it turns out, character DOES matter. You can’t run a family, let alone a country, without it. How foolish to believe that a person who lacks honesty and moral integrity is qualified to lead a nation and the world! Nevertheless, our people continue to say that the President is doing a good job even if they don’t respect him personally. Those two positions are fundamentally incompatible. In the Book of James the question is posed, “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring” (James 3:11 NIV). The answer is no… We are facing a profound moral crisis — not only because one man has disgraced us — but because our people no longer recognize the nature of evil. And when a nation reaches that state of depravity — judgment is a certainty."
There was Ralph Reed, formerly of the Christian Coalition and current leader of the Faith and Family:
”Character matters, and the American people are hungry for that message. We care about the conduct of our leaders, and we will not rest until we have leaders of good moral character.”
It’s fair to say that Donald Trump misses the mark on these requirements by a thousand miles. With his three marriages, his history of public bragging about his sexual exploits and the size of his penis in the national media, and his obvious lack of even rudimentary knowledge of the Bible or any religious teachings, Christian or otherwise, he would seem to be the last person that people of strong faith would find acceptable.....
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/not-keeping-faith-donald-trump-and-conning-evangelical-voters
"As it turns out, character DOES matter. You can’t run a family, let alone a country, without it. How foolish to believe that a person who lacks honesty and moral integrity is qualified to lead a nation and the world! Nevertheless, our people continue to say that the President is doing a good job even if they don’t respect him personally. Those two positions are fundamentally incompatible. In the Book of James the question is posed, “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring” (James 3:11 NIV). The answer is no… We are facing a profound moral crisis — not only because one man has disgraced us — but because our people no longer recognize the nature of evil. And when a nation reaches that state of depravity — judgment is a certainty."
There was Ralph Reed, formerly of the Christian Coalition and current leader of the Faith and Family:
”Character matters, and the American people are hungry for that message. We care about the conduct of our leaders, and we will not rest until we have leaders of good moral character.”
It’s fair to say that Donald Trump misses the mark on these requirements by a thousand miles. With his three marriages, his history of public bragging about his sexual exploits and the size of his penis in the national media, and his obvious lack of even rudimentary knowledge of the Bible or any religious teachings, Christian or otherwise, he would seem to be the last person that people of strong faith would find acceptable.....
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/not-keeping-faith-donald-trump-and-conning-evangelical-voters
Elizabeth Warren's 10 Best Trump Takedowns From Her Campaign Stop With Hillary Clinton
After endorsing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton just this month, Warren vowed to do everything in her power to help Clinton defeat Donald Trump. Warren has recently issued a number of public attacks on Trump, to which Trump has casually brushed off, calling her "ineffective," "goofy," and "Pocahontas." But it does seem clear that Warren is getting under Trump's skin.
On Monday, Warren delivered a scathing roast of the GOP nominee, and made a solid case for Clinton in the battleground state of Ohio. It's not all exactly heady intellectual stuff, but here are 10 of her best lines:...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/10-best-lines-elizabeth-warrens-post-brexit-trump-attack-first-campaign-stop-hillary
On Monday, Warren delivered a scathing roast of the GOP nominee, and made a solid case for Clinton in the battleground state of Ohio. It's not all exactly heady intellectual stuff, but here are 10 of her best lines:...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/10-best-lines-elizabeth-warrens-post-brexit-trump-attack-first-campaign-stop-hillary
When Leaving Religion Costs You Everything
Despite the rapid growth in the number of atheists, losing your faith can also cost you a job, your friends, and your family...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/26/when-leaving-religion-costs-you-everything.html
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/26/when-leaving-religion-costs-you-everything.html
Final Brexit? - The Facepalm Five: June 27, 2016
The U.K. votes to leave the European Union -- maybe the special relationship with the U.S. is doing more harm than good....
Watch: What Medical Care is Like Inside a Private Prison
In December 2014, Mother Jones senior reporter Shane Bauer started a job as a corrections officer at a Louisiana prison run by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the country's second-largest private prison company. During his four months on the job, Bauer would witness stabbings, an escape, lockdowns, and an intervention by the state Department of Corrections as the company struggled to maintain control. Read Bauer's gripping firsthand account here.
Bauer's investigation is also the subject of a six-part video series produced by Mother Jones senior digital editor James West. In the third episode, a prisoner who lost his legs and fingers to gangrene talks about the lack of medical care in the prison. Bauer talks about the segregation unit and wrestles with the conditions of prisoners on suicide watch.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/cca-winn-prison-guard-shane-bauer-video-three
Bauer's investigation is also the subject of a six-part video series produced by Mother Jones senior digital editor James West. In the third episode, a prisoner who lost his legs and fingers to gangrene talks about the lack of medical care in the prison. Bauer talks about the segregation unit and wrestles with the conditions of prisoners on suicide watch.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/cca-winn-prison-guard-shane-bauer-video-three
Gun Reform Has an Overwhelming Majority of Support—So Why Isn't It Happening?
As the unprecedented sit-in in the House of Representatives unfolded on Wednesday, there were tremors of a world about to shift, in ways that it was impossible to imagine. When Civil Rights legend John Lewis initiated the sit-in, he called attention not just to the horrific levels of American gun violence, but also to the dysfunction, intransigence and inaction which had become normalized. Law-making had become so broken, he essentially argued, that simply getting government to work again now required breaking the law. But if that were so, was there any guarantee of where it would lead, especially given such a cynical and skilled opposition in power? That is what worried me as I watched the drama unfold....
http://www.alternet.org/activism/huge-majorities-support-it-what-really-needed-get-gun-reform-hint-it-more-sit-ins-congress
http://www.alternet.org/activism/huge-majorities-support-it-what-really-needed-get-gun-reform-hint-it-more-sit-ins-congress
12 Things Not to Say to Grieving Nonbelievers
When you talk with people who are grieving, you want to make them feel better. At the very least, you don't want to make them feel worse. This isn't always true (as you'll find out in some of these stories). But in general, in the face of grief, the point of comfort and consolation is to relieve some small part of the grieving person's pain. And I'll assume that the last thing you want to do is add to that pain.
The bad news is that, if you're a religious believer, the chances are excellent you've done exactly that....
http://www.alternet.org/belief/12-things-not-say-grieving-nonbelievers
The bad news is that, if you're a religious believer, the chances are excellent you've done exactly that....
http://www.alternet.org/belief/12-things-not-say-grieving-nonbelievers
Pope Francis: Church Should Apologize To Gays And Other Marginalized Groups
Aboard a flight home from Armenia, Pope Francis fielded a pointed question from reporters: Did he agree with German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who, in the wake of the Orlando shooting, said gays deserve an apology from the Church?
His answer was frank.
"I believe that the church not only should apologize to the person who is gay whom it has offended," the pope told reporters, "but has to apologize to the poor, to exploited women, to children exploited for labor; it has to ask forgiveness for having blessed many weapons."...
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/26/483630582/pope-francis-church-should-apologize-to-gays-and-other-marginalized-groups?ft=nprml&f=1001
"I believe that the church not only should apologize to the person who is gay whom it has offended," the pope told reporters, "but has to apologize to the poor, to exploited women, to children exploited for labor; it has to ask forgiveness for having blessed many weapons."...
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/26/483630582/pope-francis-church-should-apologize-to-gays-and-other-marginalized-groups?ft=nprml&f=1001
Spike In Racism Reported After Brexit Vote, 'We Voted Leave, It's Time For You To Leave'
The first Muslim woman to serve in the British cabinet says that her country’s vote to leave the European Union triggered a spike in racist abuse.
“I’ve spent most of the weekend talking to organisations, individuals and activists who work in the area of race hate crime, who monitor hate crime,” says Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a former co-chair of the Conservative Party who served as Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2012 until 2014. “They have shown some really disturbing early results from people being stopped in the street and saying look, we voted Leave, it’s time for you to leave.”
Baroness Warsi added that “they are saying this to individuals and families who have been here for three, four, five generations.”...
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2016/06/26/3792767/spike-racism-reported-brexit-vote-voted-leave-time-leave/
“I’ve spent most of the weekend talking to organisations, individuals and activists who work in the area of race hate crime, who monitor hate crime,” says Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a former co-chair of the Conservative Party who served as Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2012 until 2014. “They have shown some really disturbing early results from people being stopped in the street and saying look, we voted Leave, it’s time for you to leave.”
Baroness Warsi added that “they are saying this to individuals and families who have been here for three, four, five generations.”...
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2016/06/26/3792767/spike-racism-reported-brexit-vote-voted-leave-time-leave/
Trump and Right-Wing Populism: A Long Time Coming
Most Americans surveying the wreckage of the national political landscape amid the 2016 presidential election are startled, most of all, by the ugliness and violence that has suddenly returned to our electoral politics thanks to the prominence of racist Far Right ideology in the Republican contest. And they shudder at the prospect of what that might mean for the nation’s politics long after de facto Republican nominee Donald Trump departs the scene—whenever that may be.
Almost as suddenly as Trump himself emerged as a major player in the race, so too did an array of White Nationalists and supremacists, conspiracists and xenophobes, and even Klansmen and skinheads. For decades these figures had been relegated to the outskirts of right-wing politics, and many mainstream observers seemed to think they’d gone extinct.1
The brashly offensive statements made by Trump about any number of minority groups or other individuals have likewise confounded observers.
“He is defying the laws of political gravity right now,” exclaimed mainstream political consultant Michael Bronstein in January. “Inside the presidential race, any one of these lines, if they were associated [with] another candidate, it would’ve ended the candidacy.”...
http://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/06/21/trump-and-right-wing-populism-a-long-time-coming/#sthash.V4J1VSax.eP4zf9bu.dpbs
Almost as suddenly as Trump himself emerged as a major player in the race, so too did an array of White Nationalists and supremacists, conspiracists and xenophobes, and even Klansmen and skinheads. For decades these figures had been relegated to the outskirts of right-wing politics, and many mainstream observers seemed to think they’d gone extinct.1
The brashly offensive statements made by Trump about any number of minority groups or other individuals have likewise confounded observers.
“He is defying the laws of political gravity right now,” exclaimed mainstream political consultant Michael Bronstein in January. “Inside the presidential race, any one of these lines, if they were associated [with] another candidate, it would’ve ended the candidacy.”...
http://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/06/21/trump-and-right-wing-populism-a-long-time-coming/#sthash.V4J1VSax.eP4zf9bu.dpbs
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Are you a gay christian?
Rowan Atkinson in a funny skit from Not The Nine O'Clock News in the 80's.
https://youtu.be/RJy2UucDcDw
https://youtu.be/RJy2UucDcDw
Not the Nine O'Clock News - Monty Pythons worshipers
A sketch from the british series "Not the nine o'clock news" commenting on the controversy created by the Monty Python's film - Life of Brian.
https://youtu.be/asUyK6JWt9U
https://youtu.be/asUyK6JWt9U
5 Jarringly Idiotic Right-Wing Moments This Week: Not Just About the Brexit
Immediately after his conspiracy theory- and lie-fueled speech attacking Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, Donald Trump oh-so-presidentially flew to Scotland to ride around in a golf cart with one of his baseball caps on.
He had no idea what this "Brexit" business was all about. But it sounds kind of foreign.
Of course, that did not stop him from opening his mouth and speaking sort-of sentences about it.
Read on as we decipher what he said, along with some other ignorant wingnuttery from the week that was....
http://www.alternet.org/right-wing/5-jarringly-idiotic-right-wing-moments-week-not-just-about-brexit
Read on as we decipher what he said, along with some other ignorant wingnuttery from the week that was....
http://www.alternet.org/right-wing/5-jarringly-idiotic-right-wing-moments-week-not-just-about-brexit
Cracking the Mystery of the ‘Worldwide Hum’
In the spring of 2012, when I was living near the coastal village of Sechelt, on British Columbia’s picturesque Sunshine Coast, I began hearing a humming sound, which I thought were float planes.
The noise usually started later at night, between 10 and 11 p.m. My first clue that something unusual was happening came with the realization that the sound didn’t fade away, like plane noises typically do. And the slightest ambient noise—exhaling audibly, even turning my head quickly—caused it to momentarily stop. One night after the sound started I stepped outside the house. Nothing.
I was the only person in the house who could hear it; my family said they didn’t know what I was talking about.
Naturally, I assumed something in the house was the culprit, and I searched for the source in vain. I even ended up cutting the power to the entire house. The sound got louder.
While I couldn’t hear the sound outdoors, I could still hear it in my car at night with the windows closed and the ignition off. I drove for miles in every direction, and it was still there in the background when I stopped the car. I was able to rule out obvious sources: industrial activity, marine traffic, electric substations and highway noise.
When I searched on the internet for “unusual low-frequency humming noise,” I soon realized that others had conducted the same search. I was part of the small fraction of people who can hear what is called the “Worldwide Hum” or, simply, the “Hum.”
The questions motivating me and thousands of others were the same: “What’s causing this? Can it be stopped?”...
http://www.alternet.org/environment/cracking-mystery-worldwide-hum
The noise usually started later at night, between 10 and 11 p.m. My first clue that something unusual was happening came with the realization that the sound didn’t fade away, like plane noises typically do. And the slightest ambient noise—exhaling audibly, even turning my head quickly—caused it to momentarily stop. One night after the sound started I stepped outside the house. Nothing.
I was the only person in the house who could hear it; my family said they didn’t know what I was talking about.
Naturally, I assumed something in the house was the culprit, and I searched for the source in vain. I even ended up cutting the power to the entire house. The sound got louder.
While I couldn’t hear the sound outdoors, I could still hear it in my car at night with the windows closed and the ignition off. I drove for miles in every direction, and it was still there in the background when I stopped the car. I was able to rule out obvious sources: industrial activity, marine traffic, electric substations and highway noise.
When I searched on the internet for “unusual low-frequency humming noise,” I soon realized that others had conducted the same search. I was part of the small fraction of people who can hear what is called the “Worldwide Hum” or, simply, the “Hum.”
The questions motivating me and thousands of others were the same: “What’s causing this? Can it be stopped?”...
http://www.alternet.org/environment/cracking-mystery-worldwide-hum
American Culture Is Inflicting Pain on Our Boys
Twelve days after my brown-skinned boy turned 21 in this country to which we immigrated, another brown-skinned young son of immigrant parents, from a country that borders mine in South Asia, shot 49 people dead in Orlando, most of them also brown-skinned males from immigrant families. And before any right-winger swoops down to make a ridiculous statement about how this is a “brown” or immigrant problem, I will declare—as a social scientist and as a mother—that this is a struggle for all of us raising boys in America. Our boys are hurting and we are asking them to “man up.”
We are pushing our president to use tough talk (“say ‘Radical Islamism’ now!”), we are measuring our presidential candidates by their small hands and big walls, we are “straight-washing” the attack in Orlando on the LGBT community, we are serving our rapists the briefest jail sentences so they may quickly return to their true calling of being athletes and champions, and we are doing nothing to change a gun culture that’s led to so many tragic murders.
I will especially say this as an immigrant mother—it is not easy to raise a young man in America’s culture of masculine dominance....
http://www.alternet.org/gender/hyper-masculine-hubris-hurting-us-all
We are pushing our president to use tough talk (“say ‘Radical Islamism’ now!”), we are measuring our presidential candidates by their small hands and big walls, we are “straight-washing” the attack in Orlando on the LGBT community, we are serving our rapists the briefest jail sentences so they may quickly return to their true calling of being athletes and champions, and we are doing nothing to change a gun culture that’s led to so many tragic murders.
I will especially say this as an immigrant mother—it is not easy to raise a young man in America’s culture of masculine dominance....
http://www.alternet.org/gender/hyper-masculine-hubris-hurting-us-all
Eight reasons why Republicans must dump Trump
The Republican Party still has time to change its mind. Right now it’s supporting for President of the United States a man (who)...
http://m.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2016/0625/Eight-reasons-why-Republicans-must-dump-Trump
http://m.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2016/0625/Eight-reasons-why-Republicans-must-dump-Trump
Lawsuit: Federal Outsourcing To Faith-Based Immigrant Shelter Homes Violates Reproductive Rights
Maria, a 14-year-old Central American immigrant who fled to the United States in 2014, was raped in her home country and again on her journey. After she was detained by federal immigration authorities at the border, she was placed in a Texas-area government shelter — run by a Catholic organization — where she found out that she was pregnant. She asked for an abortion but was denied. Federal authorities looked into transferring her from Texas to a Florida shelter to be closer to her family, but couldn’t because both shelters are faith-based and would not permit Maria to terminate her pregnancy.
Zoe, a 17-year-old Central American immigrant who left for the United States in early 2015, was arrested at the border and transferred to Youth For Tomorrow, a faith-based shelter in Virginia for unaccompanied children like herself. She found out that she was pregnant — also as the result of a rape — and asked for an abortion many times over the course of two weeks. She instead received counseling. When she still asked for an abortion, YFT asked the U.S. government to transfer her to another shelter that would let her get her procedure....
http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2016/06/25/3792679/aclu-lawsuit-unaccompanied-minors-abortion/
Zoe, a 17-year-old Central American immigrant who left for the United States in early 2015, was arrested at the border and transferred to Youth For Tomorrow, a faith-based shelter in Virginia for unaccompanied children like herself. She found out that she was pregnant — also as the result of a rape — and asked for an abortion many times over the course of two weeks. She instead received counseling. When she still asked for an abortion, YFT asked the U.S. government to transfer her to another shelter that would let her get her procedure....
http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2016/06/25/3792679/aclu-lawsuit-unaccompanied-minors-abortion/
One Year Has Passed Since The Marriage Equality Ruling. Let’s Find Out Just How Many Pastors Have Been Forced To Marry Same-Sex Couples
We’re fast approaching the one-year anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that had the effect of extending marriage equality nationwide.
Prior to that decision, which marks its first anniversary on Sunday, several right-wing pastors warned that they would go to prison rather than obey the ruling. These far-right clerics, joined by Religious Right leaders, insisted that America’s pastors would somehow be forced to preside at the weddings of same-sex couples. They boldly proclaimed their willingness to go behind bars rather than obey....
...So here we are one year later. Has any of this come to pass?...
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/one-year-has-passed-since-the-marriage-equality-ruling-let-s-find-out-just
Prior to that decision, which marks its first anniversary on Sunday, several right-wing pastors warned that they would go to prison rather than obey the ruling. These far-right clerics, joined by Religious Right leaders, insisted that America’s pastors would somehow be forced to preside at the weddings of same-sex couples. They boldly proclaimed their willingness to go behind bars rather than obey....
...So here we are one year later. Has any of this come to pass?...
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/one-year-has-passed-since-the-marriage-equality-ruling-let-s-find-out-just
This Tennessee Candidate For Congress Wants To 'Make America White Again’
As Britain grapples with its decision to leave the European Union following a campaign which was at times explicit in its desire to make the U.K. white and British again, one Tennessee politician is making waves for his similar vision of America’s future.
Independent politician Rick Tyler, who is running for Congress in the northeastern part of Tennessee, has garnered controversy for putting up a billboard alongside a highway in Polk County that says, “Make American White Again,” playing off of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan....
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/24/3792046/rick-tyler-tennessee-make-america-white-again/
Independent politician Rick Tyler, who is running for Congress in the northeastern part of Tennessee, has garnered controversy for putting up a billboard alongside a highway in Polk County that says, “Make American White Again,” playing off of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan....
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/24/3792046/rick-tyler-tennessee-make-america-white-again/
Driverless Cars: Save Passengers Or Save Pedestrians? The Dilemma Of How Moral Should We Make Our Robots
There's an impending social dilemma threatening the progress of driverless cars. People's ideas on AI morality could cause regulators to step in....
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/166739/20160624/driverless-cars-save-passengers-or-save-pedestrians-the-dilemma-of-how-moral-should-we-make-our-robots.htm
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/166739/20160624/driverless-cars-save-passengers-or-save-pedestrians-the-dilemma-of-how-moral-should-we-make-our-robots.htm
Survey: White evangelicals say US no longer a Christian nation
The United States is not a Christian country anymore.
That’s according to 59 percent of white evangelical Protestants recently surveyed by the Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with the Brookings Institution. And that number has jumped 11 points in just four years, from 48 percent in 2012.
Evangelicals’ growing conviction that the U.S. is losing its Christian identity, and that the country now is headed in the wrong direction, comes as politicians debate immigration and cultural change during the 2016 election season....
http://religionnews.com/2016/06/23/survey-evangelicals-say-us-no-longer-a-christian-nation/
That’s according to 59 percent of white evangelical Protestants recently surveyed by the Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with the Brookings Institution. And that number has jumped 11 points in just four years, from 48 percent in 2012.
Evangelicals’ growing conviction that the U.S. is losing its Christian identity, and that the country now is headed in the wrong direction, comes as politicians debate immigration and cultural change during the 2016 election season....
http://religionnews.com/2016/06/23/survey-evangelicals-say-us-no-longer-a-christian-nation/
Monday, June 27, 2016
This Unintended Consequence of Obamacare Could Cost You Big Time
When it comes to the world of health care and health insurance, the rabbit hole is deep and winding. The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, has certainly gone a long way toward providing more Americans with health care, and the newly insured can rest a bit easier when confronted with catastrophic health care costs, but in the wonderland of health care, it turns out that in certain cases, having insurance can cost you more money, not less. In fact, a lot more money.
Let’s take the case of one patient in California, whose insurance company was charged $408 for five common blood tests, a little more than $80 per test. Her insurance company paid about $140 to the medical center, and the patient was responsible for the rest, about $270. Frustrated at having to pay so much for the tests, the patient called the center and asked why the tests were so expensive. Much to the patient’s surprise, she was told that, had she paid cash, the tests would have been cheaper, an eye-popping $65 per test less. That’s right—with cash, the patient could have paid just $15 per test.
http://www.alternet.org/economy/obamacare-one-weird-consequence-could-either-save-or-cost-you-big-time
Let’s take the case of one patient in California, whose insurance company was charged $408 for five common blood tests, a little more than $80 per test. Her insurance company paid about $140 to the medical center, and the patient was responsible for the rest, about $270. Frustrated at having to pay so much for the tests, the patient called the center and asked why the tests were so expensive. Much to the patient’s surprise, she was told that, had she paid cash, the tests would have been cheaper, an eye-popping $65 per test less. That’s right—with cash, the patient could have paid just $15 per test.
http://www.alternet.org/economy/obamacare-one-weird-consequence-could-either-save-or-cost-you-big-time
The GOP’s Zika Bill Could Actually Limit Access to Contraception and Abortion
In the midst of the Democratic House sit-in Wednesday night protesting inaction on gun control, the GOP rushed to divert attention by passing a proposal to combat the spread of Zika — the mosquito-borne virus that’s causing concern in the public health community because it’s most harmful to pregnant women.
In the aftermath of the sit-in, which attracted national attention, GOP leaders have characterized the Zika bill as a more important priority than bringing gun control legislation to a vote.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said it was a “significant step” to battling Zika, and other Republicans have expressed similar support for the bill.
“Given the urgency of the Zika threat, I hope Senate Democrats will rise above politics so we can get this done,” Ryan said. There’s just one catch: the bill doesn’t get to the heart of solving the problem for women who may be at risk for contracting Zikam which has been linked to serious birth defects....
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/24/3792272/zika-gop-bill/
In the aftermath of the sit-in, which attracted national attention, GOP leaders have characterized the Zika bill as a more important priority than bringing gun control legislation to a vote.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said it was a “significant step” to battling Zika, and other Republicans have expressed similar support for the bill.
“Given the urgency of the Zika threat, I hope Senate Democrats will rise above politics so we can get this done,” Ryan said. There’s just one catch: the bill doesn’t get to the heart of solving the problem for women who may be at risk for contracting Zikam which has been linked to serious birth defects....
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/24/3792272/zika-gop-bill/
Justice Department Unveils New Rules for Mississippi County Jails
Prisons in Hinds County, Mississippi, will see sweeping reforms under a new agreement unveiled Thursday by the Department of Justice.
The deal requires the local government to address human rights abuses uncovered in its jails last year by the DOJ Civil Rights Division. Local and federal officials hope the changes will reduce recidivism and lower the county’s incarceration rate.
The county had previously violated inmates’ civil rights by holding them past their release dates and not adequately protecting them from physical harm, the DOJ found in 2015....
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/24/3792609/hinds-county-jail-reform/
The county had previously violated inmates’ civil rights by holding them past their release dates and not adequately protecting them from physical harm, the DOJ found in 2015....
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/24/3792609/hinds-county-jail-reform/
The Times, They Are A’Changin’: New Poll Shows Evangelical Voters Acknowledge Cultural Change – But Continue To Resist It
White evangelicals no longer believe that the United States is a Christian country, according to a new Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey. The survey, which was conducted in conjunction with the Brookings Institution, shows that 59 percent of white evangelicals believe that the country has moved away from its “Judeo-Christian” roots.
That’s a change from previous years. PRRI reports that in 2012, most white evangelicals still believed that America is now, and had always been, a Christian nation.
As Americans United has explained repeatedly, the United States was not founded to be an officially Christian nation. But the insistence that it was – against all evidence – has been a hallmark of conservative evangelicals for decades....
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-times-they-are-a-changin-new-poll-shows-evangelical-voters-acknowledge
That’s a change from previous years. PRRI reports that in 2012, most white evangelicals still believed that America is now, and had always been, a Christian nation.
As Americans United has explained repeatedly, the United States was not founded to be an officially Christian nation. But the insistence that it was – against all evidence – has been a hallmark of conservative evangelicals for decades....
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-times-they-are-a-changin-new-poll-shows-evangelical-voters-acknowledge
What Happens When Gay People Are Told That Homosexuality Is A Sin?
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, Christian conservatives known to be anti-LGBT expressed sympathy for the victims and their families, suggesting that radical Islam was wholesale to blame for the attack. Many avoided mentioning that LGBT people were the victims — at least until a few days later, when they began reminding everybody what they truly think about gay people.
“Yes, we can oppose gay marriage and still oppose the slaughter of gays,” Steve Pauwels insisted at BarbWire.
“Yes, Christians do believe homosexual actions are sinful. But we also believe that mass shootings are sinful, and lying is sinful, and gossip is sinful, and so are laziness, torture, theft, rape, dishonesty, abuse,” Mary Tillotson argued at The Federalist. “As a Catholic, I go to confession about once a month to repent, seek mercy, and renew my own commitment to rid myself of sinful behavior. We all sin.”
“It is true that many Christians hold to the Bible’s teaching on the sinfulness of homosexuality and that upsets some gays,” wrote Rick McDaniel at the ChristianPost. “But here is an opportunity to simply receive love and support and it is rebuffed.”
There’s a reason it is rebuffed.....
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/06/24/3791329/homosexuality-sin-consequences/
“Yes, we can oppose gay marriage and still oppose the slaughter of gays,” Steve Pauwels insisted at BarbWire.
“Yes, Christians do believe homosexual actions are sinful. But we also believe that mass shootings are sinful, and lying is sinful, and gossip is sinful, and so are laziness, torture, theft, rape, dishonesty, abuse,” Mary Tillotson argued at The Federalist. “As a Catholic, I go to confession about once a month to repent, seek mercy, and renew my own commitment to rid myself of sinful behavior. We all sin.”
“It is true that many Christians hold to the Bible’s teaching on the sinfulness of homosexuality and that upsets some gays,” wrote Rick McDaniel at the ChristianPost. “But here is an opportunity to simply receive love and support and it is rebuffed.”
There’s a reason it is rebuffed.....
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/06/24/3791329/homosexuality-sin-consequences/
Donald Trump: "We don't know anything about Hillary in terms of religion. Now, she's been in the public eye for years and years, and yet there's no — there's nothing out there."
Donald Trump has once again questioned a presidential candidate’s religious affiliation, accusing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton of shielding her religious preference from the public eye.
Speaking prior to a gathering hosted by the conservative Christian activist organization United in Purpose, Trump said there has been no public reference to Clinton’s religion. The comment was captured in a video from E.W. Jackson, a former nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor who attended the gathering.
"We don't know anything about Hillary in terms of religion," Trump said in the video. "Now, she's been in the public eye for years and years, and yet there's no — there's nothing out there. There’s like nothing out there."...
https://s3.amazonaws.com/share-the-facts/rating_images/politifact/tom-pof.png
Speaking prior to a gathering hosted by the conservative Christian activist organization United in Purpose, Trump said there has been no public reference to Clinton’s religion. The comment was captured in a video from E.W. Jackson, a former nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor who attended the gathering.
"We don't know anything about Hillary in terms of religion," Trump said in the video. "Now, she's been in the public eye for years and years, and yet there's no — there's nothing out there. There’s like nothing out there."...
https://s3.amazonaws.com/share-the-facts/rating_images/politifact/tom-pof.png
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Streaming now in Netflix: The Giver
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
https://www.netflix.com/title/70307663
Hillary Clinton: As a result of Roe vs. Wade, "America’s maternal mortality rate dropped dramatically."
Hillary Clinton says her opponent Donald Trump wants to take the country back to a time that was bad for women’s reproductive health.
"When Donald Trump says ‘let’s make America great again,’ that is code for ‘let’s take America backward.’ Back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all," she said in June 10 remarks at a Planned Parenthood event. "Back to the days when abortion was illegal, women had far fewer options, and life for too many women and girls was limited. Well, Donald, those days are over."
Clinton went on to note significant moments in history for women’s health, notably the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, Roe vs. Wade....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/24/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-pregnancy-related-deaths-dropped-a/
"When Donald Trump says ‘let’s make America great again,’ that is code for ‘let’s take America backward.’ Back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all," she said in June 10 remarks at a Planned Parenthood event. "Back to the days when abortion was illegal, women had far fewer options, and life for too many women and girls was limited. Well, Donald, those days are over."
Clinton went on to note significant moments in history for women’s health, notably the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, Roe vs. Wade....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/24/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-pregnancy-related-deaths-dropped-a/
Democrats approved platform draft with Sanders’ imprint
A draft of the Democratic Party’s policy positions reflects the influence of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign: endorsing steps to break up large Wall Street banks, advocating a $15 hourly wage, urging an end to the death penalty.
Hillary Clinton’s supporters turned back efforts by Sanders’ allies to promote a Medicare-for-all single-payer health care system and a carbon tax to address climate change, and freeze hydraulic fracking.
While the platform does not bind the Democratic nominee to the stated positions, it serves as a guidepost for the party moving forward. Party officials approved the draft early Saturday....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/democrats-reject-platform-proposal-opposing-trade-deal/2016/06/24/683213ba-3a7f-11e6-af02-1df55f0c77ff_story.html
Hillary Clinton’s supporters turned back efforts by Sanders’ allies to promote a Medicare-for-all single-payer health care system and a carbon tax to address climate change, and freeze hydraulic fracking.
While the platform does not bind the Democratic nominee to the stated positions, it serves as a guidepost for the party moving forward. Party officials approved the draft early Saturday....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/democrats-reject-platform-proposal-opposing-trade-deal/2016/06/24/683213ba-3a7f-11e6-af02-1df55f0c77ff_story.html
Cory Booker: "Al-Qaida operatives, have said, 'Hey, we want you to use this loophole (for purchasing guns despite being on a watch list) to attack and kill Americans.'"
New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker was one of the U.S. senators who spent nearly 15 hours in an overnight filibuster designed to pressure Congress to vote on two gun amendments proposed in response to the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
One would block anyone on the government's terrorist watch list from buying a firearm. The other would expand background checks to all gun show purchases and internet sales. Both were rejected in a largely party-line vote June 20, 2016.
Ahead of the vote, MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked Booker in a June 16 interview how the filibuster would "lead to an actual bill, something the president can sign?"
"Well, what I have been finding recently is how many Americans did not realize that you can be under investigation by the FBI, that you could have been put on the no-fly list because you were considered to be too dangerous to enter plane, but you could still go out and buy a trunk load full of weapons," he said....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/23/cory-booker/sen-cory-booker-says-al-qaida-has-urged-followers-/
One would block anyone on the government's terrorist watch list from buying a firearm. The other would expand background checks to all gun show purchases and internet sales. Both were rejected in a largely party-line vote June 20, 2016.
Ahead of the vote, MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked Booker in a June 16 interview how the filibuster would "lead to an actual bill, something the president can sign?"
"Well, what I have been finding recently is how many Americans did not realize that you can be under investigation by the FBI, that you could have been put on the no-fly list because you were considered to be too dangerous to enter plane, but you could still go out and buy a trunk load full of weapons," he said....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/23/cory-booker/sen-cory-booker-says-al-qaida-has-urged-followers-/
Congress's Unfair Attempt to Censure and Impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
American public-policy wonks have an informal honor roll of model public servants—people who may have gone in and out of government service, but who put country ahead of personal ambition or gain, who care about making government function well, and who are known for their decency and commitment to those goals. I have been privileged to know many of those on the honor roll, including well-known figures like Paul Volcker and Elliott Richardson, and less well-known ones like Chuck Bowsher, Elmer Staats, and Dwight Ink. At a recent celebration of Ink’s career, the 93-year old, who served seven presidents from Eisenhower to Reagan, was asked by a participant to name his model public servant. His answer: John Koskinen.....
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/the-show-trial-of-irs-commissioner-john-koskinen/488147/
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/the-show-trial-of-irs-commissioner-john-koskinen/488147/
WATCH: Joe Scarborough Battles GOP Rep. Over Gun Control Measures
In a Thursday morning interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," co-host Joe Scarborough debated Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) on House Republicans refusal to consider legislation to keep people on the no fly list from buying guns.
Scarborough asked Cole why lawmakers have not nixed the terror watch lists if they believe the data is too flawed to use to determine who can purchase guns.
At the beginning of the interview, MSNBC's Willie Geist asked Cole why Republicans have blocked votes on the "No Fly, No Buy" legislation and a measure to expand background checks. Cole noted that votes on gun control legislation failed in the Senate and a House committee recently.
And when asked about potential fixes to the terror watch lists, Cole said that lawmakers are working on it....
Scarborough asked Cole why lawmakers have not nixed the terror watch lists if they believe the data is too flawed to use to determine who can purchase guns.
At the beginning of the interview, MSNBC's Willie Geist asked Cole why Republicans have blocked votes on the "No Fly, No Buy" legislation and a measure to expand background checks. Cole noted that votes on gun control legislation failed in the Senate and a House committee recently.
And when asked about potential fixes to the terror watch lists, Cole said that lawmakers are working on it....
Here’s More Proof That Obamacare Is Helping Low-Income People
One of Obamacare’s major provisions — which is bitterly opposed by most Republicans — has helped improve patients’ insurance coverage, financial situation, and overall quality of life, according to a new study.
Under President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act, state Medicaid services were expanded to additional low-income people, with the federal government currently footing 100 percent of the bill and paying most of the costs in the future....
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/22/3791289/heres-proof-obamacare-helping-low-income-people/
Under President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act, state Medicaid services were expanded to additional low-income people, with the federal government currently footing 100 percent of the bill and paying most of the costs in the future....
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/22/3791289/heres-proof-obamacare-helping-low-income-people/
Tennessee Congressional Hopeful Posts 'Make America White Again' Board
An independent candidate running for Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District seat is under fire for a campaign billboard he posted with the slogan "Make America White Again," local TV station WRCB reported Wednesday.
Rick Tyler confirmed to the station that he put up the billboard, which also lists the address for his campaign website. Tyler told WRCB that he does not hate people of color, but does believe America "should go back to the 1960s."...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rick-tyler-make-america-white-again
Rick Tyler confirmed to the station that he put up the billboard, which also lists the address for his campaign website. Tyler told WRCB that he does not hate people of color, but does believe America "should go back to the 1960s."...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rick-tyler-make-america-white-again
“We Demand the Killing of Atheists” Was Trending on Arabic Twitter
It’s a frightening moment when you realize how many people would prefer that you were dead because you had an unpopular opinion about an important topic:...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/06/23/we-demand-the-killing-of-atheists-was-trending-on-arabic-twitter/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/06/23/we-demand-the-killing-of-atheists-was-trending-on-arabic-twitter/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Streaming now on Netflix: Spotlight
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
https://www.netflix.com/search/spotlight
https://www.netflix.com/search/spotlight
Week In The News: Brexit Vote, House Sit-In Ends, Champions In Cleveland (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)
Earthquake out of the U.K. this week. The British vote to leave the European Union. Now the world braces for fallout – economic, strategic, political. Donald Trump applauds the Brexit. Calls Hillary Clinton corrupt and a liar. She says he would bankrupt the American economy like a Trump casino. We’ve got the Supreme Court knocking back the president’s immigration plans, House Democrats sitting in, another “not guilty” in Baltimore. This hour On Point, our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines. — Tom Ashbrook.
Interview:
http://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2016/06/24/brexit-house-sit-in-cavaliers
Interview:
http://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2016/06/24/brexit-house-sit-in-cavaliers
Friday News Roundup – Domestic (Diane Rehm Show, 2016-06-25)
U.S. investors are bracing for what’s likely to be a volatile day in markets around the world after the stunning British vote to leave the European Union. Donald Trump, opening a new golf course in Scotland, says he sees parallels with America’s presidential election. The Supreme Court delivers a major disappointment to President Obama with a 4-4 decision that blocks his attempts to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation, and congressional Democrats, led by civil-rights icon Representative John Lewis, stage a 24-hour sit-in in a failed effort to force a vote on new gun control measures. Join us to discuss these and other top national news stories of the week.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-06-24/friday-news-roundup-domestic
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-06-24/friday-news-roundup-domestic
Friday News Roundup – International (Diane Rehm Show, 2016-06-25)
The U.K. votes to leave the European Union. Heavy fighting continues in parts of Fallujah as Iraqi forces seek to retake all of the city from ISIS. And in Venezuela, food shortages spur looting and rioting. A panel of journalists joins guest host Susan Page for analysis of the week’s top international news stories.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-06-24/friday-news-roundup-international
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-06-24/friday-news-roundup-international
Yes, the Bible Does Say to Kill Infidels
Conservative Christians love to rail against the many verses in the Quran that command Muslims to kill non-Muslims, but they also ignore the verses in the Bible commanding the same thing and things that are every bit as barbaric. Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association flat out denies that such verses exist at all:
“The Quran has explicit admonitions or instructions for followers of Allah to do violence and harm against the infidel,” Wildmon fumed. “There’s nothing like that in the Bible, that tells the Christian to go out and decapitate the infidel.”...
...How about Deuteronomy 17:
“The Quran has explicit admonitions or instructions for followers of Allah to do violence and harm against the infidel,” Wildmon fumed. “There’s nothing like that in the Bible, that tells the Christian to go out and decapitate the infidel.”...
...How about Deuteronomy 17:
Deuteronomy 17
If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant; 17:3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 17:4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 17:5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2015/01/22/yes-the-bible-does-say-to-kill-infidels/?ref_widget=popular&ref_blog=friendlyatheist&ref_post=we-demand-the-killing-of-atheists-was-trending-on-arabic-twitterOil Trains To Resume Shipping Through Oregon Less Than 3 Weeks After Fiery Derailment
Less than three weeks after a fiery oil train derailment in Mosier, Oregon spilled 42,000 gallons of Bakken crude into the Columbia River and forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents and schoolchildren, Union Pacific — the company behind the derailment — announced that it would resume sending oil trains through the Columbia Gorge.
Union Pacific had temporarily stopped shipping oil by rail over the tracks where the derailment occurred, but had resumed shipping other cargo just days after the incident, even before the derailed train cars had been fully removed from the site of the accident....
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/06/23/3791724/union-pacific-resumes-oil-shipments-mosier-oregon/
Union Pacific had temporarily stopped shipping oil by rail over the tracks where the derailment occurred, but had resumed shipping other cargo just days after the incident, even before the derailed train cars had been fully removed from the site of the accident....
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/06/23/3791724/union-pacific-resumes-oil-shipments-mosier-oregon/
Refuting the Irrefutable Proof of God - part XII
Such bold claims from this mega cult leader! I took the bait and had to dispute refute and absolutely disprove all of his allegedly indisputable irrefutable absolute proof of God....
Interview:
Interview:
Paul Ryan’s Plan To Make America Uninsured Again
Six years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, House Republicans finally have a plan to replace it. Well, not quite a plan — they prefer to call it a “broad outline.”
The outline, released by House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday, consists of a cobbled-together greatest hits list of all the GOP’s bad ideas over the past few years — now, all in a single paper. All that’s missing is any indication of how many people would be covered compared to the ACA, or how much they would have to pay, or how much the proposals would cost. Or, of course, any admission that millions of people would lose coverage under these proposals.
Luckily, we don’t have such an information deficit when it comes to the impact of the ACA: we know that 20 million people have gained coverage, and the uninsured rate has fallen to a historic low of 9.1 percent. Let’s see how Speaker Ryan’s ideas measure up...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/23/3791654/paul-ryan-health-plan/.
The outline, released by House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday, consists of a cobbled-together greatest hits list of all the GOP’s bad ideas over the past few years — now, all in a single paper. All that’s missing is any indication of how many people would be covered compared to the ACA, or how much they would have to pay, or how much the proposals would cost. Or, of course, any admission that millions of people would lose coverage under these proposals.
Luckily, we don’t have such an information deficit when it comes to the impact of the ACA: we know that 20 million people have gained coverage, and the uninsured rate has fallen to a historic low of 9.1 percent. Let’s see how Speaker Ryan’s ideas measure up...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/23/3791654/paul-ryan-health-plan/.
Americans Are the Most Unhappy Parents Among Developed Countries, and Here's Why
“The days are long, but the years are short,” goes the old saying. That’s true of life itself, but the phrase has become a mantra of parents and caregivers, a reassuring bit of what’s called “everyday wisdom” for the perpetually sleep-deprived and stressed-out. Even parents with the deepest reserves of patience and caring need the occasional reminder that 5 am feedings, toddler tantrums and teen eye-rolls will, in the distant future, be affectionately missed when the nest is finally empty. Because while child-rearing is filled with moments of unadulterated joy and wonder, there’s another, far less-discussed open secret of parenting. And it’s that raising kids can sometimes be a real drag.
People are often loath to say that out loud, but social scientists have been confirming it for decades. The New York Times quotes scholar and UK-based author Nick Powdthavee, who cuts to the chase about what the research has to say. “Over the past few decades, social scientists like me have found consistent evidence that there is an almost zero association between having children and happiness,” Powdthavee writes. “But the warnings for prospective parents are even more stark than ‘it’s not going to make you happier.’ ....
http://www.alternet.org/culture/americans-are-most-unhappy-parents-among-developed-countries-and-heres-why
People are often loath to say that out loud, but social scientists have been confirming it for decades. The New York Times quotes scholar and UK-based author Nick Powdthavee, who cuts to the chase about what the research has to say. “Over the past few decades, social scientists like me have found consistent evidence that there is an almost zero association between having children and happiness,” Powdthavee writes. “But the warnings for prospective parents are even more stark than ‘it’s not going to make you happier.’ ....
http://www.alternet.org/culture/americans-are-most-unhappy-parents-among-developed-countries-and-heres-why
George HW Bush's Nat'l Security Adviser Endorses Hillary Clinton
Brent Scowcroft, a national security adviser to former Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign for the White House on Wednesday.
Citing her experience as a senator, first lady and secretary of state, Scowcroft said Clinton shares his belief "that America must remain the world's indispensable leader."
"She appreciates that it is essential to maintain our strong military advantage, but that force must only be used as a last resort," he said in a statement. "I believe Hillary Clinton has the wisdom and experience to lead our country at this critical time."...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/brent-scowcroft-endorses-clinton-george-hw-bush
Citing her experience as a senator, first lady and secretary of state, Scowcroft said Clinton shares his belief "that America must remain the world's indispensable leader."
"She appreciates that it is essential to maintain our strong military advantage, but that force must only be used as a last resort," he said in a statement. "I believe Hillary Clinton has the wisdom and experience to lead our country at this critical time."...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/brent-scowcroft-endorses-clinton-george-hw-bush
A Bishop In The Exam Room: When Faith Dictates Health Care Instead Of Science
When Rita, a Michigan-based OB-GYN, learned that the hospital where she worked would be switching hands, she was dismayed.
The secular community hospital, Crittenton, had plans to join with Ascension Health, a prominent Catholic nonprofit hospital chain. Rita, who asked that her real name be withheld to protect her identity, knew the transition would profoundly impact her ability to do her job the way she saw fit. The OB-GYN specifically wanted to work at a place where she could practice the full scope of reproductive care, from preventing pregnancy to delivering babies. But now, with the hospital merger looming in the not-so-distant future, that possibility seemed increasingly unlikely.
Rita also understood the change in leadership meant that her patients’ medical options would be limited. That’s because Catholic hospitals follow a set of rules written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which often prohibit doctors from performing basic reproductive services — like contraception, sterilization, in vitro fertilization, abortion — and end-of-life care.
Although Rita knew certain services at the hospital would soon be banned, many of her patients had no idea. They also may not have known that mergers like Crittenton’s are becoming increasingly common....
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/22/3781708/catholic-hospitals-mergers-womens-health/
Rita also understood the change in leadership meant that her patients’ medical options would be limited. That’s because Catholic hospitals follow a set of rules written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which often prohibit doctors from performing basic reproductive services — like contraception, sterilization, in vitro fertilization, abortion — and end-of-life care.
Although Rita knew certain services at the hospital would soon be banned, many of her patients had no idea. They also may not have known that mergers like Crittenton’s are becoming increasingly common....
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/22/3781708/catholic-hospitals-mergers-womens-health/
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