Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 24, 2016

https://youtu.be/fFPRIcd66vc

A Once-Devout Catholic Woman Says She’s “Disillusioned” by the Church’s Anti-Contraception Stance

"The extreme measures the church is taking to block women’s access to common health care — including the 98 percent of Catholic women of reproductive age who have used a method of contraception other than natural family planning — is turning me away from the Catholic Church. I no longer celebrate Mass. They are out of touch with the people they claim to represent, and this time they’ve gone too far. I hope the Supreme Court recognizes that and protects my right to access the care that we’re promised under the law."

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/03/23/a-once-devout-catholic-woman-says-shes-disillusioned-by-the-churchs-anti-contraception-stance/

A Dereliction of Duty: Demand the Senate Vote on the President’s Supreme Court Nominee

For several weeks, the Supreme Court has not been whole, hearing extremely consequential cases and deciding upon Americans’ fundamental rights while one seat lay vacant. President Obama has nominated someone to take the place of the late Antonin Scalia: Merrick Garland, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. But due to partisan politics, Judge Garland may never get a hearing in the U.S. Senate. We need you to help change that...
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/news/dereliction_of_duty/

Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings

http://democracynow.org - Belgium has entered its second day of mourning following Tuesday’s bombing attack targeting the Brussels Airport and a crowded subway station near the headquarters of the European Union that killed at least 31 people and injured over 230. The bombings took place just days after authorities arrested Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in the November Paris attacks that killed 130 people. In response to Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said, "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." Republican front-runner Donald Trump called for "closing up" U.S. borders and doubled down on his vow to bring back waterboarding and other forms of torture. And Hillary Clinton asked for Silicon Valley’s help, calling for "an intelligence surge" to help track online activity. For more on the election, the attacks in Brussels and more, we speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald... Interview:
https://youtu.be/lnpVyYOG0GI

New Anti-Trump Ad Quotes Trump Saying 'Women, You Gotta Treat 'Em Like Sh**'

An anti-Trump super PAC on Monday released a new TV ad highlighting some of the Republican presidential frontrunner’s most offensive comments about women through the years.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/our-principles-pac-ad-trump-women

Yes, Mitt Romney Could Actually Become The Republican Presidential Nominee

Even in the increasingly expectation-breaking election cycle of Donald Trump, the idea that someone who isn’t actually running for president could be the Republican presidential nominee is, at best, perplexing. But it is possible, according to Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University. “Yes, it is absolutely possible that Mitt Romney could be the Republican nominee,” he told ThinkProgress on Friday. “I don’t know how likely it is, but it’s possible.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/07/3756777/could-mitt-romney-actually-be-the-2016-republican-presidential-nominee/

“Little Sisters” Being Sold As Face Of Contraception Case

The effort to make the Little Sisters the public face of the case has been so extensive, in fact, that you could be forgiven if you didn’t know that the actual name of the case that the Supreme Court is hearing Wednesday is Zubik v. Burwell, which is a consolidated case that includes the Little Sisters’ challenge to the mandate as well as the challenges of six other plaintiffs, including the anti-abortion group Priests for Life and two Catholic dioceses...
http://religiondispatches.org/little-sisters-being-sold-as-face-of-contraception-case/

Al Franken on Republican Nonsense in the Senate

Sen. Al Franken describes the brilliant logic that GOP politicians are using to block hearings on Obama's Supreme Court nominee.
https://youtu.be/vPDq73Aa0ps

Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 23, 2016

https://youtu.be/rNAy-23_oNs

Feds accuse Michigan Jewish Institute of Pell Grant fraud

A private Jewish Michigan college committed massive fraud over the past decade, leading to millions of federal dollars being sent to the West Bloomfield school to pay for the education of students who weren’t enrolled there, according to the federal Department of Education...
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/03/23/feds-accuse-michigan-jewish-institute-pell-grant-fraud/82154520/

Robert Reich: Why Both Trump's and Cruz's Tax Plans Would Be Huge Windfalls for the Rich

5 things you need to know about these reverse Robin Hood proposals...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/robert-reich-why-both-trumps-and-cruzs-tax-plans-would-be-huge-windfalls-rich

Sanders' Wall St. Speculation Tax Would Raise $300 Billion and Create Millions of Jobs

Economists estimate revenues from those most able to pay...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/sanders-wall-st-speculation-tax-would-raise-300-billion-and-create-millions-jobs

Ted Cruz Is an Anti-Muslim Bigot, Too

The GOP has an anti-Muslim hate problem: Ted Cruz’s foreign-policy team is anchored by America’s biggest Islamophobe...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/ted-cruz-anti-muslim-bigot-too

Arizona Cop: Anti-Trump Protesters Most 'Hateful, Evil People I've Ever Seen' (VIDEO)

"They're just outrageously screaming and yelling and not really saying anything but hateful slurs, calling him a racist, calling people that were involved racists and haters and the funny thing is these people were some of the most hateful, evil people I've ever seen," he said.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/brandon-tatum-trump-rally-protestors-evil

Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 22, 2016

https://youtu.be/_XRkL0tr7PY

And Now the Good News #181: 3/22/2016

https://youtu.be/l_DDq4TRZNQ

An Atheist Reads Cold-Case Christianity - Chapters 1-2

The series examining J. Warner Wallace's book Cold-Case Christianity begins with looks at Chapter 1: Principle #1: Don't Be a "Know-It-All," and Chapter 2: Principle #2: Learn How to "Infer."
https://youtu.be/E7oa3Mqjxzw

Bill Maher Leaves Pro-Trump Guest Speechless While Talking About Trump Advocating for Violence

https://youtu.be/qyjdLDrx6eo

Gallup: Majority Of Americans Say Merrick Garland Should Be Confirmed

The percentage of Americans approving of a Senate vote in his favor is about average for Supreme Court nominees soon after their selection is announced by the President, according to Gallup's review of past polling. But the poll also suggests that Republicans' argument that the next president should choose the successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia hasn't shifted the public opinion at large as to whether Garland should be confirmed...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/gallup-poll-garland-confirmation

Gay “Cures” Are Harmful And Don’t Work, Says World’s Largest Body Of Psychiatrists

Exclusive: The World Psychiatric Association has condemned so-called conversion therapy and called on governments around the world to decriminalise homosexuality.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/patrickstrudwick/gay-cures-are-harmful-and-dont-work-says-worlds-largest-body