Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Reporter allegedly attacked by man saying ‘This is Trump’s America now’
An arrest affidavit in the case said Egan arrived by taxi, pulled up next to Alex – who was on an assignment at the time – at a stoplight and asked: "Are you even a US citizen? This is Trump's America now! I'm a marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!"
The affidavit described Egan as tackling Alex and putting him in a headlock before Egan "began to strangle him", causing co-workers to run out and help...
Republican congressman says party should drop ‘food fight’ over leadership
The Democratic congressman Ro Khanna of California, who is seeking common ground with the so-called "department of government efficiency" that Trump wants Musk to lead, said on Sunday that the debate over H-1B visas for the tech industry was missing the point. If the US did not celebrate "the talent and genius and skills of people of diverse backgrounds" while also seeking to limit undocumented immigrants, the country would not lead the world in Nobel laureates in physics, medicine and chemistry, Khanna said.
"If there was some problem with the culture we wouldn't be the world's greatest economy of 30 trillion," Khanna told Fox News.
But Khanna also argued that the H-1B system keeps foreign workers in limbo because they are less able to negotiate salary and benefits compared with domestic hires – and they are hurt by unfair labor conditions...
The Distinction Between Imaginary Science and Magic - TheHumanist.com
"…The scientific worldview has become dominant in the last two centuries, and it has helped us achieve amazing things, but it also runs the risk of making people feel insignificant. It's important for us to understand how the universe works and how technology affects our lives, but it's also important for us to be reminded that our desires and our intentions matter. Stories about science help us think about the physical world, while stories about magic help us think about our worth as individuals, and we benefit from both kinds of stories."
ELON FINALLY EXPOSES HIS SECRET PLOT
Don't invest in educating Americans. Just bring in foreigners and pay them low wages.
Chris Sununu’s Hot Take On Elon Musk And Trump Stuns Critics: ‘Bull’ | HuffPost Latest News
Former White House lawyer Richard Painter, the chief ethics attorney under President George W. Bush, responded: "Is this the new normal? Billionaires are too rich to have conflicts of interest. Bull."…https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chris-sununu-claim-reaction_n_677251cae4b0e079a2132a16
Grad student essay contest 2024 — 1st place: Ashley M. Wojcik - Freethought Today
"… By holding Christianity over the rights of not only marginalized communities but our nation as a whole, Christian nationalism perpetuates systemic inequality, destroys our nation's most cherished principles of equality and justice for all, and increases suffering and alienation of many who do not wish to participate or live our lives by that belief system. Therefore, Christian nationalism poses not only a grave threat to our personal freedoms, but to the future of our democracy. There are many of us who have come to grips with the idea that while we love our country, our country does not love us..."
https://www.freethoughttoday.com/free/grad-student-essay-contest-2024-1st-place-ashley-m-wojcik/
Monday, December 30, 2024
Overheard (December 2024) - Freethought Today
If you're running a Christian nationalist state, where white Christians of European descent have pride of place over everyone else in the country, well, then you can run an authoritarian regime that gives preference to that group and everyone else just kind of gets what they can get, as second- or third-class citizens...
https://www.freethoughttoday.com/free/overheard-december-2024/
Sunday, December 29, 2024
The lawyer leading ‘swift legal defenses’ against new Trump threat
Concurrently, Perryman noted, Trump and his own running mate, JD Vance, realized the unpopularity of Project 2025 and its plans regarding LGBTQ+ rights, climate action and other issues, telling "the American people that they were not associated with it".
But "they didn't disavow association with many of the groups in that ecosystem that developed Project 2025, and some of these extreme behaviors, [and] we now see that they've wasted no time in this transition period in announcing their plans to appoint a number of those architects and implement those plans. And so we're actively monitoring various threats and what recourse the American people would have, should the administration ignore the law."…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/28/skye-perryman-democracy-project-2025-trump
Why speech could be a target for the anti-abortion movement in 2025
The anti-abortion movement is looking at ways to control information about how and where to obtain abortions…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/27/speech-anti-abortion-movement
Maga v Musk: Trump camp divided in bitter fight over immigration policy
"The tech billionaires don't get to just walk inside Mar-a-Lago and stroke their massive checkbooks and rewrite our immigration policy so they can have unlimited slave laborers from India and China who never assimilate.
"You don't even know what MAGA immigration policy is."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/27/trump-elon-musk-sriram-krishnan
US sees rise in rightwing stores
"We're now having these companies that only cater to the anti-woke demand of the market. It's very easy to advertise to that market because you're not actually [selling] the benefits of your products. You're just saying, 'I understand and respect your values,'" Warren said...
Ten Commandments law blocked in Louisiana - Freethought Today
The judge also recognized that HB 71 would lead to unconstitutional religious coercion of the children-plaintiffs in the case by imposing religious doctrine on them for nearly every hour of the school day, throughout their entire public school education. And, pointing to the testimony of plaintiffs' expert, Dr. Steven K. Green, the court found that there is no historical support for permanently displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms and that doing so would be at odds with our Founders' understanding of the separation of church and state...
https://www.freethoughttoday.com/sections/100-front-page/ten-commandments-law-blocked-in-louisiana/
Janet Yellen issues warning to Congress as US nears debt limit
The federal debt currently stands at roughly $36tn – which ballooned across Republican and Democratic administrations. And the spike in inflation after the coronavirus pandemic pushed up government borrowing costs such that debt service next year will exceed spending on national security.
Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate in the new year, have big plans to extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts and other priorities but debate over how to pay for them...
Saturday, December 28, 2024
‘Living proof that you can spend money on the poor’: Utopia comes to Mexico City
About 21,000 people use the 15 utopias each day. The hope is that by transforming the lives of strategic populations, particularly women who are the backbone of communities, the changes will ripple out across neighbourhoods.
James Anderson, head of government innovation at Bloomberg Philanthropies, which supports the project, says: "The utopias are not only extraordinary in their scale and breadth, they flip on its head this idea that poor people don't deserve excellent services."…
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/dec/27/mexico-city-utopias-project-mayor
Elon Musk blasts part of MAGA as "contemptible fools"
A virtual right-wing civil war has broken out over race, class, immigration and the future of President-elect Trump's movement, and Musk is increasingly at odds with Trump's historic base…
Bird flu virus shows mutations in first severe human infection in US, CDC says
Mutations are rare but have been reported in some cases in other countries and most often in extreme infections
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/26/bird-flu-virus-mutations
Friday, December 27, 2024
The birth of Jesus would probably have been forgotten – if it wasn’t for a plague
When a terrifying Ebola-like pandemic struck the Roman empire, Christianity offered solutions that the old ways didn't…
The Science of Sagan (Seth Andrews; The Thinking Atheist podcast)
We lost the great cosmologist and science educator Carl Sagan in the month of December...way back in 1996. His words resonate and inspire as much as ever.
Interview:
Thursday, December 26, 2024
‘We need to be prepared’: China adapts to era of extreme flooding
"The harsh reality is here: the lack of climate action will cost China and present a social security threat," said Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute...
The Actual Biggest Losers (Conspirituality podcast)
On Monday, Senator Ron Johnson sponsored a congressional panel entitled "American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion." Unfortunately no actual health or nutrition experts were invited. Instead, the four-and-a-half hour event featured speakers like Robert F Kennedy Jr, Jordan Peterson, Jillian Michaels, Vani Hari (Food Babe), and a host of other influencers and contrarians. Derek investigates all the science that wasn't told—and all the products and services that were sold.
Note: Derek meant to compare aluminum fear-mongering with thimerasol (organomercury) but instead conflated them. Both are safe at the level used in vaccines as adjuvants, though most thimerasol was removed due to public outcries and an abundance of caution. Links added to Show Notes.
Interview:
Note: Derek meant to compare aluminum fear-mongering with thimerasol (organomercury) but instead conflated them. Both are safe at the level used in vaccines as adjuvants, though most thimerasol was removed due to public outcries and an abundance of caution. Links added to Show Notes.
Interview:
Seth Andrews VS. God: Who is the Better Intelligent Designer?
It is often claimed that the living world MUST have been fine-tuned by a divine master designer. Seth Andrews thinks humans could do better.
Interview:
MAHA Storms the Capitol (Conspirituality podcast episode #226)
Cleanse the soil! Purify the blood! Save the children! Make America Healthy Again!
On Sept 23, Jordan Peterson, RFK Jr., rising alt-health stars Casey and Calley Means, and many other nutrition non-experts gathered for a live streamed event they called the American Health and Nutrition Roundtable, hosted by Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
Their subtitle, A Second Opinion, was an apt description for the alternative fact-filled diatribes that ensued. The soil has been poisoned, everyone is fat and sick, the entire medical industry is corrupted by Big Pharma, and Big Food is enacting a genocide on the American people via metabolic dysfunction. COVID skepticism and anti-vax messaging lurked just beneath the surface.
The speakers painted a terrifying picture and then presented themselves as benevolent common-sense saviors. At the climax of her speech, Casey Means, fresh from her career-boosting Tucker Carlson appearance, took a deep breath before declaring that this is all actually a spiritual crisis
Interview:
On Sept 23, Jordan Peterson, RFK Jr., rising alt-health stars Casey and Calley Means, and many other nutrition non-experts gathered for a live streamed event they called the American Health and Nutrition Roundtable, hosted by Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
Their subtitle, A Second Opinion, was an apt description for the alternative fact-filled diatribes that ensued. The soil has been poisoned, everyone is fat and sick, the entire medical industry is corrupted by Big Pharma, and Big Food is enacting a genocide on the American people via metabolic dysfunction. COVID skepticism and anti-vax messaging lurked just beneath the surface.
The speakers painted a terrifying picture and then presented themselves as benevolent common-sense saviors. At the climax of her speech, Casey Means, fresh from her career-boosting Tucker Carlson appearance, took a deep breath before declaring that this is all actually a spiritual crisis
Interview:
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Why is the CFPB under attack by Elon Musk?
So it is especially surprising that one of the first federal agencies to come under scrutiny from the incoming administration is one that has returned billions of dollars to many of the same consumers who were counting on leaders in Washington to look out for their wallets…
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
'Christ got this': Steve Bannon cites Jesus to defend Matt Gaetz's alleged sex crimes - Raw Story
Bannon's rant, which lasted over an hour, cited both Christ and "Harper Valley PTA," a song about a woman who exposed school board members' indiscretions after her daughter was accused of wearing short skirts and spending time in the company of men…
Why sea level rise is skyrocketing across the U.S. South - Washington Post
This trend, driven by warming water, changing currents and melting ice, stretches deep into the ocean...
CFPB sues Walmart for illegally opening delivery drivers' deposit accounts : NPR
Lawsuit alleges Walmart and the payments platform Branch Messenger cost delivery drivers millions of dollars in fees, opening deposit accounts without consent and requiring their use to get paid...
Suspect in NYC Subway Fire Is Charged With Murder in Woman’s Death - The New York Times
The man charged with murder in the woman's death was identified by federal officials as a 33-year-old from Guatemala who was in the United States illegally...
You may be treating your cuts the wrong way - The Washington Post
Don't "air it out." Put down the hydrogen peroxide. Don't bother with the antibiotic ointment. But do wash it and cover it...
‘God is not done with America’: Trump supporters take victory lap at star-studded Turning Point USA event | Donald Trump | The Guardian
AmericaFest showcased Maga's commitment to mobilizing conservative evangelicals into the Republican party base…
Oregon officials condemn letter telling residents to track down ‘brown people’
Anonymous note in Lincoln county told people to write license numbers to find those who may be undocumented…
Louisiana holds people in prisons past their release date, DoJ lawsuit alleges
State accused of 'systemic overdetention' that violates inmates' rights and costs taxpayers millions of dollars a year…
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:
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