STUPID Christian Comments #9 | The Vegan Atheist

Five stupid Christian youtube comments critiqued by the Vegan Atheist. Marvel at the astounding stupidity! Vote for the Dumbass of the Week award.

http://youtu.be/rlQgbllWvrU

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates: "Duty: Memoirs Of A Secretary At War" (Diane Rehm Show)

Robert Gates is making headlines with his new book, "Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War." Known for his poker face, the former defense secretary has published a strikingly candid account of his years of service under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The book offers an unprecedented peek into the inner workings of government during some of its most intense debates about national security. These include discussions over the surges in Iraq and Afghanistan and whether or not to set timetables for withdrawal.

Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-01-16/former-defense-secretary-robert-gates-duty-memoirs-secretary-war

The Target Security Breach And Our Vulnerable Data (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

It was bad enough when the first news came from Target.  Credit and debit card data on 40 million Americans, stolen at the height of the holiday shopping season.  Then Friday, Target let it be known that that number was in fact as high as 110 million Americans’ data stolen, out there, at risk.  A third of the country.  A number that sounds like system failure.  Now it’s a waiting game to see who gets ripped off.  It will be a lot of people.  Maybe you.  What’s wrong with this system?  This hour On Point:  inside the Target scandal, the American way of credit card security, and your vulnerability.

– Tom Ashbrook

 Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/01/14/target-credit-card-fraud-security

Week In The News: Syrian Peace Talks, Olympic Terror Threats, Obama On Pot (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

No peace in the Syria peace talks and an opening to Edward Snowden in the news this week. In Switzerland, the rage of Syrians has not diminished. In Washington, the Department of Justice saying there may be a deal to be made with NSA leaker Snowden. We’ve got more trouble for governors – Chris Christie and now Virgina’s ex, Bob McDonnell, and his wife. More chemical issues in West Virginia’s water. Black widows in Sochi. The President speaking to pot. And word that the world’s 85 richest people have as much as the poorest 3.5 billion. Wow.This hour On Point, live from New Orleans: our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

– Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/01/24/sochi-obama-pot-geneva-ii-iran

Friday News Roundup - Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

President Barack Obama is set to announce new guidelines for the National Security Agency. A budget deal moves ahead in Congress. And West Virginia residents grapple with a chemical spill. A panel of journalists join guest host Susan Page for analysis of the week's top domestic news stories.

Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-01-17/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup - International (Diane Rehm Show)

A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories: Syrian peace talks continue in Switzerland, but plans for direct talks between both parties break down. Political unrest continues in Ukraine as the president and opposition leaders resume negotiations. Russia pledges to beef up security at the Sochi winter Olympics after reports that officials are searching for potential suicide bombers in the region. India’s supreme court orders an investigation into the gang rape of a woman allegedly attacked on the direction of a village council. And Ambassador Caroline Kennedy criticizes dolphin hunting in Japan.

Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-01-24/friday-news-roundup-international

Use your smartphone to check your remote control batteries

Are the batteries in that remote really dead? Your smartphone can help you find out. Read more

60% Of KY GOPers Buck McConnell, Support Medicaid Expansion

A solid majority of Kentucky Republicans support the state's decision to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, according to a new poll, standing in stark c... Read more

"The average hip replacement in the USA costs..."

"The average hip replacement in the USA costs $40,364. In Spain, it costs $7,371. That means I can literally fly to Spain, live in Madrid for 2 years, learn Spanish, run with the bulls, get trampled, get my hip replaced again, and fly home for less than the cost of a hip replacement in the US."

http://youtu.be/dqLdFFKvhH4

Wall Street’s Frightening New Plan To Become America’s Landlord

Financial companies seem poised to turn the rental housing market into the same sort of high-risk cash mill that created the ... Read more

How Obamacare Critics Are Scaring The Poor Out Of Signing Up For Health Insurance

Critics are warning newly eligible Obamacre enrollees that the federal government could take their house and other assets once ... Read more

Pollution From Koch-Funded Petcoke Piles Not An ‘Emergency,’ Illinois Regulators Rule

 Chicago's Department of Public Health has found that the piles have violated dust and debris provisions of municipal ... Read more

We May Finally Find Out Who Is Funding One Of The Nation’s Shadiest Dark Money Groups

Last week, the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court rejected a request by a conservative "dark money" group to keep its donors ... Read more

Judge Says Websites Must Face Defamation Lawsuit For Calling Climate Scientist A ‘Fraud’

"To state as a fact that a scientist dishonestly molests or tortures data to serve a political agenda would have a strong ... Read more

1,600,000 And Counting…

 Today, we will hit the 1.6 million mark for the number of people who have been cut off from emergency unemployment benefits ... Read more

Texas Sets Up Roadblock For Health Care Navigators

Texas this week approved regulations that require training and background checks for people who help consumers navigate the Affordable Care Act. But t... Read more

Five Important Sex Ed Lessons For Republican Lawmakers

When it comes to reproductive health, the GOP needs to go back to school. The post Five Important Sex Ed Lessons For Republican ... Read more

Renewable Energy Is “Stalinist” Mandate, Says Ohio Legislator

Ohio State Senator Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) loves calling renewable energy "Stalinist."The post Renewable Energy Is ... Read more

Focus On The Family: Nondiscrimination Protections Discriminate Against Christians

Focus on the Family is right that religion is often a protected class, but they're wrong about that entitling Christians to ... Read more

Our Gilded Age

Thanks in part to incredible numbers like these, Americans have become more aware of income inequality and want an economy that ... Read more

Huckabee Causes Stir With Libido Remarks - He says Dems think women can't control themselves

"Mike Huckabee's take on the "war on women" caused a stir yesterday when he said Democrats want women to think they are weaklings who can't control their own sex drives..."http://www.newser.com/story/181228/huckabee-causes-stir-with-libido-remarks.html

Why Conservative Christians Have Higher Divorce Rates

http://youtu.be/hpqXtmaGQhc

‘Help’ Not Wanted: Most Of Ohio’s School Vouchers Go Unused

Voucher advocates don't care what the public wants, nor do they care what's best for students. ... Read more

Report finds nearly a quarter of Americans did not read a single book in the last year.

"The Pew Research Center reported last week that nearly a quarter of American adults had not read a single book in the past year. As in, they hadn't cracked a paperback, fired up a Kindle, or even hit play on an audiobook while in the car. The number of non-book-readers has nearly tripled since 1978..."

Read more

Latest 'Rising Stars' Highlight GOP's Outreach To Women

Latest 'Rising Stars' Highlight GOP's Outreach To Women by Frank James January 23, 2014 7:38 PM i i Republican National Committee Chairman Reince ... Read more

Conservative Writer D'Souza Indicted On Campaign Fraud Charges

"Another charge alleges that D'Souza, 52, made false statements about the contributions, which he is accused of routing through third parties. That charge carries a possible maximum punishment of five years in prison...."

Conservative Writer D'Souza Indicted On Campaign Fraud Charges by Bill Chappell January 23, 2014 8:34 PM Prominent conservative writer and filmmake... Read more

Google starts ranking ISPs based on YouTube performance

"We've of course seen no limit to the complaints by users that YouTube videos often get stuck buffering, despite blisteringly-fast connections. Most customers blame their ISPs, while most ISPs (or companies paid by ISPs) blame Google. The real reason is often the power and cash struggles going on behind the scenes over CDN and peering links, with last-mile ISPs, core network ISPs, and content companies like Google all sometimes playing a role in making your YouTube performance suck.

With that in mind, Google has posted a new video quality report..." https://secure.dslreports.com/shownews/Google-Starts-Ranking-ISPs-Based-on-YouTube-Performance-127440

Fetus in Texas Life Support Case 'Distinctly Abnormal' - Lawyers say they have medical records to that end

"The 22-week-old fetus of the pregnant Texas woman being kept on life support against her wishes is "distinctly abnormal," lawyers for Marlise Munoz's family say. The attorneys say they have medical records showing as much, and want to clear up any "misconceptions about the condition of the fetus," NBC News reports..."

http://www.newser.com/story/181180/fetus-in-texas-life-support-case-distinctly-abnormal.html

Dinesh D'Souza Indicted For Campaign Finance Fraud

"Dinesh D'Souza, a conservative commentator and best-selling author, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for arranging excessive campaign contributions to a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

According to an indictment made public on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, D'Souza around August 2012 reimbursed people who he had directed to contribute $20,000 to the candidate's campaign. The candidate was not named in the indictment..."

He's also a prominent Christian apologist, by the way, who argues for the superiority of Christian morality.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/dinesh-dsouza-indicted_n_4654984.html

Illinois GOP Candidate Says God Put Autism and Dementia on Earth as Punishment for Marriage Equality and Abortion (Daily Herald)

"I am a conservative Republican and I believe in God first," Atanus said. She said she believes God controls the weather and has put tornadoes and diseases such as autism and dementia on earth as punishment for gay rights and legalized abortions.
"God is angry. We are provoking him with abortions and same-sex marriage and civil unions," she said. "Same-sex activity is going to increase AIDS. If it's in our military it will weaken our military. We need to respect God."

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140121/news/701219738/

Noah Took a Baby Dinosaur on the Ark? 5 Extremist Christian "Science" Teachings

"...The Christian curriculum that says its students should not have any knowledge of anything contrary to the Bible...
Accelerated Christian Education is a fundamentalist school curriculum used in a claimed 6,000 schools and 145 countries. Despite the name, education is actually second to its stated primary purpose, which is "to diligently teach our children to love the Lord in every sphere of their lives, with all their hearts, all their souls, and all their minds," according to its website..."

http://www.alternet.org/noah-took-baby-dinosaur-ark-5-extremist-christian-science-teachings

Humanity Is Becoming Increasingly Less Violent, with One Exception -- Religious Violence

"Humanity Is Becoming Increasingly Less Violent, with One Exception -- Religious Violence... Studies demonstrate the world is becoming less violent, and that human warfare is on the decline. There is one aspect of the human existence, however, that continues to ignite humans to commit violence and atrocities against fellow humans. A major new study published by the Pew Research Center shows that religious hostilities reached a 6-year high in 2012..."

http://www.alternet.org/belief/humanity-becoming-increasingly-less-violent-one-exception-religious-violence

Consumer Reports: Too many sodas contain potential carcinogen

"(CNN) -- A chemical found in many sodas may be dangerous to your health, Consumer Reports says. And no, it's not sugar (this time)..."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/23/health/consumer-reports-soda-caramel-coloring/

A Big Fracking Lie

"If you want to know just how bad an idea it is for America to ship “fracked” natural gas to overseas markets, travel the 65 miles from the White House to a place called Cove Point in southern Maryland..."

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/fracking-natural-gas-exports-climate-change-102452.html

Fascinating investigative report: Secret accounts paid for clergy misconduct but left church open to financial abuse

"...Internal financial reports show the archdiocese used the stealth accounts repeatedly, paying nearly $11 million from 2002 to 2011 — about 3 percent of overall archdiocese revenues in those years — for costs tied to clergy misconduct under Flynn and his successor, Archbishop John Nienstedt.

The system allowed archdiocese leaders to remove priests who had committed child abuse or other infractions without attracting attention. Lax accounting controls let church leaders cut checks to make problems go away..."

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/catholic-church/2014/01/23/secret-accounts-kept-clergy-misconduct-quiet-but-left-archdiocese-finances-exposed/

Fastest ever broadband speeds achieved

"LONDON: In a breakthrough, scientists in the UK have achieved the "fastest ever" broadband speeds of 1.4 terabits per second - enough to transmit 44 high-definition movies at once..."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/internet/Fastest-ever-broadband-speeds-achieved/articleshow/29254861.cms

10 Things Only People With Attention Problems Understand

Don't worry...it's only two minutes.

http://youtu.be/t8dJMYadkWQ

Election panel eyes reforms

"...In this sense, the new non-partisan commission represents something of a challenge to Republican policymakers at every level: you can make it easier or harder for Americans to participate in their own democracy. This panel concluded that “no citizen should have to wait more than 30 minutes to vote,” and presented steps to help ensure that standard is met.

Are Republican officials prepared to take this seriously or not?"

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/election-panel-eyes-reforms

Atheists, evolution is just a theory!

http://youtu.be/Gsq73Lfyaes

Republican Leaders Will Pick Yet Another Debt Ceiling Fight

Republicans are gearing up to pick yet another fight on the debt ceiling. Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) office on Wednesday signaled another standoff... Read more

The Cult Of Francismania; Why Pope Francis isn't as progressive as you think...

*** Explicit Language ***

http://youtu.be/St1I1uCMNrk

6 Million People Have Enrolled In Medicaid Since Obamacare Launched

Some 6.3 million people have enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program since Oct. 1, when HealthCare.gov and its state counterpa... Read more

Between 2005 and 2011, nearly half of all new drug formulations in the US were approved without companies having to demonstrate a tangible benefit

"...Taken together, the articles support calls for the FDA to be more robust in the surveillance of marketed drugs and medical products. Simply stated, we need to know if the products we are using actually work. As the Downing study shows, the FDA’s pre-market review process isn’t clear on this and the public remain none the wiser."
Read more

Why Are Republicans Plotting To Sabotage A Crackdown On Tax Evasion?

 Activists will reportedly make repealing a law cracking down on tax evasion an official party goal at this week's Republican ... Read more

Why Target’s Part-Time Employees Will Be Better Off Under Obamacare

Target will send employees who work 30 hours or less per week off to Obamacare's marketplaces -- and that's a very good ... Read more

Europe Just Set Out To Cut Its Carbon Emissions 40 Percent By 2030

Environmental groups called the targets inadequate, but the framework does make the EU the first group of nations to pledge ... Read more

Hate to Stand In Line?

On election night in 2012, a newly re-elected President Barack Obama uttered an important aside in his speech: "I want to thank ... Read more

WCJ: 'Perhaps America Will Throw This Marxist Out Of Office And Imprison Him For Treason'

Right Wing Watch reports on the extreme rhetoric and activities of key right-wing figures and organizations by showing their views in their own words. In this video produced by the Western Center for Journalism, the group seeks to explain how President Obama is a communist out to destroy America.

http://youtu.be/6GltQk0gr6U

Texas Bent on Executing Mexican It Arrested Illegally - Lone Star state shrugs over protests as man set to die tonight

Edgar Arias Tamayo is scheduled to be executed in Texas tonight—despite a number of high-level requests that the execution be halted because Tamayo's arrest violated international law.

http://www.newser.com/story/181098/texas-bent-on-executing-mexican-it-arrested-illegally.html

Debate: Atheists vs New Age (Harris + Shermer vs Chopra + Houston)

Debate Topic: Does god have a future?

http://youtu.be/177icxRvUeI

RWW News: Beck Says Bill Nye Is Like Those Who Tried To Silence Galileo

Glenn Beck says Bill Nye is on the wrong side of history and is like those who tried to silence Galileo.

How A Stone And The Woman Holding It Made A Bigot Back Down

"Pamela Raintree and her stone are being celebrated by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community of Shreveport, Louisiana, for their incredible parts in sustaining the city's LGBT non-discrimination ordinance, which was under threat of repeal.

As Towleroad notes, the transgender woman recently confronted Councilman Ron Webb, the single dissenting vote against the ordinance, which passed in December, and the mastermind behind a repeal of the law."* The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.

http://youtu.be/vxzTYoDtyQA

President Obama Isn't 'Playing The Race Card'

"Don Lemon led an intense panel discussion Monday night over President Obama's comments about race and whether, as Republican strategist Alice Stewart argued, it was Obama "playing the race card" or if he was just "stating the obvious" about how there are just some white people and black people who make their judgments of the president's performance based on his skin color...".* Ana Kasparian, Dave Rubin (host, The Rubin Report) and Desi Doyen (host, Green News Report) break it down on The Young Turks.

http://youtu.be/TFtfyIBQGQ8

Charter For Creationism?: Activist Finds Questionable Science In Tax-Funded School Chain

"A Texas charter school chain's science curriculum is studded with common creationist canards..."

Read more

Republicans Seek To Sabotage Obamacare With Higher Premiums

Conservative wonks and Republican lawmakers are coalescing around a new strategy to sabotage Obamacare by repealing a temporary piece of the law desig... Read more

If You See Something, Say Something: Another Top Climatologist On The Necessity Of Speaking Out

 Obama just told The New Yorker, "I think we are fortunate at the moment that we do not face a crisis of the scale and scope ... Read more

5 telltale signs you received a fake Target email

"Target is sending out millions of emails to customers who had their personal information stolen in the recent security breach, and scammers are coming out of the woodwork..." 
Read more

Michigan Official: Let's 'Herd all the Indians' to Detroit - In Florida, meanwhile, a candidate wants Obama hanged

"Detroit: In an interview with the New Yorker, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said this: “I made a prediction a long time ago, and it’s come to pass. I said, 'What we’re gonna do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and the corn.'..."

http://www.newser.com/story/181091/michigan-official-lets-herd-all-the-indians-to-detroit.html

New Safe Method to Conduct Miller-Urey Experiments

"Researchers have developed a new, safer and simplified approach to the method used by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey in 1953.
Miller-Urey experiments were aimed to figure out the origin of life on the Earth. Their research concluded that organic compounds were important for the origin of life on primitive earth..."

http://www.frenchtribune.com/teneur/1421606-new-safe-method-conduct-miller-urey-experiments

Article: India Almost Doubled Its Solar Power In 2013 With Big Plans For More

India added just over 1 gigawatt of solar energy to its electrical grid last year, a major milestone that nearly doubles the country’s cumulative solar energy capacity to 2.18 gigawatts. After a slow start to the year, solar installation picked up rapidly — a good sign that India will be able to meet its ambitious solar targets going forward. India hopes to install 10 GW of solar by 2017 and 20 GW by 2022.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/01/21/3184561/india-solar-target-success/

As Flu Season Intensifies, Most Americans Can Now Get Their Shots For Free Under Obamacare

"Flu season is hitting younger Americans particularly hard this year, largely because they’re forgoing the vaccine. But one thing that might motivate more Americans to get a shot is the fact that for many of them, it’s now completely free.

Obamacare requires any preventative care deemed important by a government task force of doctors and public health experts to be covered without a co-pay. Many Americans don’t realize that those regulations actually affect every American insurance plan, not just ones sold through the state and federal Obamacare marketplaces. The only policies that aren’t subject to these requirements are a handful of older plans that existed before the law’s passage in 2010 that were “grandfathered” out of the regulations (and even these plans will eventually cease to exist)..."

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/01/21/3185821/obamacare-flu-shots-free/

Florida State House Candidate Calls For Execution Of President Obama

Joshua Black, a Republican candidate for Florida’s state House of Representatives, tweeted Monday that President Obama should be hanged for treason.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/21/3186811/florida-state-house-hang-obama/

Chinese Pollution Is Making Its Way to the West Coast, and It's America's Fault

The stifling air pollution you keep reading about in China is actually a byproduct of American outsourcing and now that pollution is drifting across the globe to the Western U.S. At least, that's the claim made by a new study, that the paper's co-authors called a "boomerang" effect...
http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/01/china-pollution-west-coast/357206/