DN Speak: 2/9/14

Saturday, February 15, 2014

How-to: Use Preview to put signatures on PDF’s, Pages Documents, and Mail messages

As we have written about in previous articles, Preview is a valuable tool in OS X that does not get a lot of press. In this ... Read more

7 Instances of Deranged Nonsense from America's Far-Right Flank This Week—Ted Cruz's Achy Breaky Heart Edition

Plus, Tom Perkins proposes wealthy get more votes than the rest of us.

10 Even Worse Things You Don’t Know About Comcast’s Proposed Merger With Time Warner

A greedy, arrogant, connected corporation wants a bigger monopoly ... Read more

Mob attacks alleged gays in Nigerian capital

A mob armed with wooden clubs and iron bars, screaming that they were going to "cleanse" their neighborhood of gay people, dragged 14 young men from their beds and assaulted them...
Read more

Tesla Motors - The Car Company They're Scared Of And Why

"The legislative battle that pits Ohio car dealers against Tesla Motors and its company-owned stores continues.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the car dealers are once again pushing legislation that would keep Tesla from selling cars in the Buckeye State.

Senate Bill 260 would explicitly prohibit the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) from issuing car-dealer licenses to auto manufacturers.

Section 11 of the bill lists "a manufacturer... applying for license to sell or lease new motor vehicles at retail" as one of the types of organization ineligible for a dealership license.

This comes after car dealers sued to block Tesla from selling cars in Ohio."* John Iadarola, Cenk Uygur, Ben Mankiewicz (What The Flick?!, and TYT Sports) and Cara Santa Maria (co-host and producer, TakePart Live) break it down on The Young Turks

http://youtu.be/2FPfLosZxXo

Is God Racist? Pastor Rants Against Biracial Babies At Happy Valley Church

"The American Jesus blog wants to know if Brother Donny Reagan of the Happy Valley Church of Jesus Christ is the "most racist pastor in America." In a video recorded in 2013 and published by the blog on Thursday, Brother Reagan rails against interracial marriage and mixed race children...".* Ana Kasparian, Cenk Uygur, Ben Mankiewicz (What The Flick?!, and TYT Sports) and Cara Santa Maria (co-host and producer, TakePart Live) break it down on The Young Turks.

http://youtu.be/23mx_vRCg64

Rich People Deserve More Votes, Says Billionaire Tom Perkins

"Asked for an idea that could "change the world," billionaire venture capitalist Tom Perkins told an audience at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on Thursday that Americans shouldn't be able to vote unless they pay taxes and that the wealthy should have more votes. "The Tom Perkins system is: You don't get to vote unless you pay a dollar of taxes," Perkins said. "But what I really think is, it should be like a corporation. You pay a million dollars in taxes, you get a million votes. How's that?" The audience laughed at the idea, though CNN Money notes that the billionaire did not indicate that he was joking...".* Ana Kasparian, Cenk Uygur, Ben Mankiewicz (What The Flick?!, and TYT Sports) and Cara Santa Maria (co-host and producer, TakePart Live) break it down on The Young Turks.

http://youtu.be/JfFZcY9ssu4

Fifth Root Trick - Numberphile

A neat trick to quickly calculate fifth roots.
Featuring Simon Pampena, Australian Numeracy Ambassador.

http://youtu.be/y8acoaakvPM

Courageous to Wear a Christian T-Shirt in Texas?

http://youtu.be/6uqst72qQ9I

Viet Mai "Wake In Rage" - ADD Poetry

Fresh, riveting, and featuring some of the best voices form INKSLAM (L.A.'s premier poetry festival), ADD Poetry brings you the raw power of spoken word!

http://youtu.be/P-3Euzs4esk

The Wolf of Sesame Street... PBS sells out to right wing

Thom Hartmann talks with David Sirota, Staff Writer-PandoDaily / Nationally Syndicated Columnist & Author of 3 books, most recently-Back to Our Future

http://youtu.be/4raEW_K8ROQ

Creationism Reloaded

It's time for some good old-fashioned creationism. It's been a while since I've talked about creationism, so here are some good old-fashioned refutations of creationists' arguments.
http://youtu.be/Ic6ulZaBA5w

This New Study Proves That Background Checks Save Lives

Missouri's decision to repeal its law requiring handgun purchasers to verify that they passed a background check led to a 16 ... Read more

Congressman Slams Obama For Medicare Cuts That He Voted For Three Times

Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) is slamming the Affordable Care Act for Medicare savings that he's previously embraced multiple ... Read more

GOP Wrong about Obamacare Again: How the Law Changed Life with Epilepsy

One woman with epilepsy tells the story of how Obamacare has changed her life ever.

How the Christian Right and Tea Party Make the GOP Unhinged

"Republicans are keeping the religious right and its obsessions front and center...
... As the 2014 election season gears up—and various politicians start floating the possibility of a 2016 presidential run—the question of what Republicans need to do about the religious right is only getting more serious. It’s become apparent that the religious right is an electoral albatross for Republicans. The invention of the “Tea Party” reflected this desire to bamboozle the press into forgetting that the Republican Party is controlled by a bunch of right-wing Christians, by floating this narrative that this new insurgence of conservative energy was somehow more about economic conservatism than social conservatism..."
Read more

Now Bill Nye Is Going To Debate A Climate Change Denying Congresswoman

Bill Nye spent the 1990s providing science lessons to America's youth. Now he's pushing back against the country's know-nothing adults.

Nye will continue his crusade against misinformation this Sunday on "Meet the Press" with a debate against proud climate change denier Marsha Blackburn, the Republican congresswoman who serves as the vice chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee.
... Read more

Obama: Tenn. GOPers More Worried About 'German Shareholders Than American Workers'

President Barack Obama criticized a number of Tennessee Republican lawmakers for threatening to withhold tax incentives of a potential Volkswagen auto... Read more

Comcast Gives $854K to Subcommittee With Jurisdiction Over FCC

Comcast Corp., the largest cable company in the U.S., is moving to combine with its chief rival, Time Warner Inc., the second largest cable company in the U.S. Because the deal would further consolidate the telecommunications industry, it is likely to face scrutiny from federal officials — possibly from an antitrust perspective at the Department of Justice, but more likely from a public interest perspective at the Federal Communications Commission.
Read more

STUDY: Genes Play A Role In Male Homosexuality

Researchers have found compelling evidence that there are genes that impact a person's sexual orientation.The post STUDY: Genes ... Read more

Denmark Is About To Set Even More Ambitious Climate Goals Than All Of Europe

Agreement in Denmark's parliament cleared the way for a legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 40 percent ... Read more

Friday, February 14, 2014

STUPID Christian Comments #10 | The Vegan Atheist

http://youtu.be/s3hN1mzirJU

Week In The News: Snowy South, Debt Ceiling, Michael Sam (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Upside down weather this week. Sixty degrees at Sochi’s Winter Olympics and snowmageddon in the American South. New weather in Washington, too. Republican votes putting a debt ceiling hike over the top. No conditions. Tea Party not happy. Comcast moves to buy Time Warner Cable. You know where they got all that money. The N.F.L. may get its first openly gay player, Michael Sam. The French president comes visiting. And the White House orders another delay in the rollout of Obamacare. This hour On Point: our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines. /Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/02/14/snow-south-michael-sam-obamacare

Friday News Roundup - Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

For the first time since 2009, Congress passes a debt ceiling bill without any strings attached. The extension is a blow to Tea Party Republicans who oppose an increase in federal borrowing. The Obama administration announces another delay under the Affordable Care Act requiring employers to provide health insurance to their workers. Janet Yellen testifies in front of Congress for the first time as chairwoman of the Federal Reserve. Comcast announces a bid to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion. And a federal judge in Virginia overturns the state’s same sex marriage ban. Diane and a panel of journalists discuss the week in news.

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-02-14/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup - International (Diane Rehm Show)

Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Asia for a diplomatic push on North Korea’s nuclear weapons. A new round of Syrian peace negotiations begin. And the U.N. warns of ethnic cleansing in the Central African Republic. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-02-14/friday-news-roundup-international

Tom Perkins' big idea: The rich should get more votes

Tom Perkins suggested Thursday that only taxpayers should have the right to vote -- and that wealthy Americans who pay more in taxes should get more votes.

Why We Fight

As we discussed on Wednesday, Obamacare is working and millions of Americans across the country are getting health insurance ... Read more

1 In 4 Americans Thinks The Sun Goes Around The Earth, Survey Says

1 In 4 Americans Thinks The Sun Goes Around The Earth, Survey Says by Scott Neuman February 14, 2014 5:55 PM i i A view of Venus, black dot at top... Read more

ArguingFromIgnorance: Nye vs Ham The Aftermath

ArguingFromIgnorance's post-analysis of the Bill Nye vs Ken Ham debate in February 2014

http://youtu.be/IC0bFHjxJdg

Heterosexuals Are Under Attack, Says Rush Limbaugh

"Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh says heterosexuals are "under assault" from the small fraction of the public that is gay and blames the media for turning football player Michael Sam into an icon. Limbaugh decried the coverage of Sam, a former college football standout about to enter the NFL draft, publicly acknowledging that he is gay. On his radio show Tuesday, Limbaugh said it's an example of how a homosexual agenda takes over politics...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

http://youtu.be/6iWoyCnuw7s

Hideous Anti-Gay Bills Proposed In Idaho, Kansas

"An Idaho Republican can't think of anyone in his state who has been forced to render aid to a gay or lesbian person against their will, and he'd like to keep it that way. Rep. Lynn Luker outlined a proposal Tuesday backed by his conservative Christian allies to shield religious people from the threat of losing their professional licenses for refusing service or employment to anyone they conclude violates their religious beliefs...Idaho requires professional licenses for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, attorneys, social workers, firefighters, police officers, real estate agents, and insurance providers...".* Is the anti-gay segregation bill in Kanas even worse? The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

http://youtu.be/Cn8nEMwDhmY

How Jesus Hides Molesters - The American Taliban Puts Victims Last

And it's not Catholics this time.

"Bob Jones University has fired an independent firm hired to investigate sex abuse reports just one month before the group planned to release its 13-month review findings.

The university had contracted with Lynchburg, Va.-based GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) in November 2012.

"Over the last several months, we grew concerned about how GRACE was pursuing our objectives, and on Jan. 27, 2014, BJU terminated its contract with GRACE," the university said in a press release. "It is BJU's intention to resolve its differences with GRACE, and we are disappointed a resolution could not be reached before our differences were made public.""* The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.

http://youtu.be/Z9aHE4l3ikw

Watching Porn ONCE Means You're Addicted, Think Religious Folks

"Feel like you're addicted to porn? Your religion could have something to do with it.

Compared with their less spiritual peers, people who identified as very religious were more likely to have a perceived Internet pornography addiction, no matter how much porn they actually consumed, according to a new study.

"We were surprised that the amount of viewing did not impact the perception of addiction, but strong moral beliefs did," the study's lead author Joshua Grubbs, a doctoral student in psychology at Case Western Reserve University, said in a statement.

The rise of pornography on the Internet has been followed by hot debates about what all this widely available explicit material is doing to the hordes people who look at it."* The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.

http://youtu.be/Z14Fhq1IduM

PBS Gets On Its Knees For Billionaires | Integrity Is Dead

"On December 18th, the Public Broadcasting Service's flagship station WNET issued a press release announcing the launch of a new two-year news series entitled "The Pension Peril." The series, promoting cuts to public employee pensions, is airing on hundreds of PBS outlets all over the nation. It has been presented as objective news on major PBS programs including the PBS News Hour.

http://youtu.be/ZsFommw16hc

RWW News: Ben Carson Says "We Live In A Gestapo Age"

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, Ben Carson says that he, his family, and his friends have all been targeted by the IRS because he has been critical of President Obama.

http://youtu.be/84fd26HKz_w

RWW News: Gay Soldiers Have To Take Breaks In The Middle Of Combat To Change Their Diapers

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, Gordon Klingenschmitt outrageously quotes a fellow military chaplain who says gay soldiers will undermine the military by having to take breaks during fighting to change their diapers.
http://youtu.be/E7odz9cvhEQ

How Real Conservatives Get Crushed By Money In Politics

Republican State Senator Dale Schultz from Wisconsin has decided to leave politics overall because he "a couple dozen billionaires have bought the government." A Koch Brothers-backed candidate is running against him in a primary because they felt he isn't Conservative enough: http://www.occupy.com/article/midwest... The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.
http://youtu.be/YNIF7x5LSug

Are Atheists Capable of Love?

http://youtu.be/vpVn3vui660

Cartoon: The truth about numbers: Bible Math!

Do not follow this troublemaker, @RubenBolling. And whatever you do, do not join the INNER HIVE, which is surely some kind of ... Read more

Koch brothers breaking all spending records to defeat Democrat Kay Hagan

One of the many AFP ads against Sen. Kay Hagan The Koch brothers are so intent on buying the Senate, they'll spend anything ... Read more

Tipped workers push for a raise after more than 20 years at $2.13

The minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 an hour. I repeat, $2.13. It's been frozen for well over 20 years, since 1991, ... Read more

$2,832 a year for a single parent is too high a salary for Alabama Medicaid

The stingiest governor in America? Since the Supreme Court ruled that states could refuse to expand Medicaid under the ... Read more

Bad Prescription: The Religious Right’s Favorite Doctor Misdiagnoses The State Of Religious Freedom In America

"So if we have strayed from those "Judeo-Christian values," who then should we look to as an example of a “Christian nation”? None other than Russia. Seriously, Carson said Russia..."

... Read more

Tennessee Republicans Want To Shut That Whole Union Thing Down

This post has been updated. This week, employees at an auto plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee are voting on whether to form a union. It's interesting ... Read more

Funny Looking Tower Generates 600% More Electrical Energy Than Traditional Wind Turbines

"The Sheerwind wind turbine promises to produce 6 times the electrical power than traditional wind turbines.

This funny looking wind tower acts like a funnel, directing the wind from any angle, down through a tube to a ground based turbine generator. The funneling of the wind through a narrow passage effectively creates a “jet effect” increasing the velocity of the wind, while lowering the pressure. This is called the Venturi Effect. This speeds up the wind turbine mounted inside the narrowest portion and generates electricity..."
Read more

Strong Religious Beliefs May Drive Self-Perception of Being Addicted to Online Pornography

"People who consider themselves very religious and view Internet porn even once may perceive they are addicted, according to a new Case Western Reserve University's psychology study..."
Read more

A Closer Look At How Corporations Influence Congress (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

Eric Lipton, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, has been writing about how corporations work in opaque ways to shape debates. He also e... Read more

Interview:

Robot Construction Workers Take Their Cues From Termites

Termites are masters of construction in the insect world, working together to construct complex, sky-scraping homes with neither blueprint nor foreman... Read more

Election Panel: Long Lines Were Management Problem

Election Panel: Long Lines Were Management Problem by Pam Fessler February 12, 2014 5:11 PM i i Robert Bauer (far left) and Benjamin Ginsberg (far... Read more

Thursday, February 13, 2014

The history of marriage - Alex Gendler

A white, puffy dress. Eternal love. A joint tax return. Marriage means something different to everyone and has changed over time and across cultures. Alex Gendler traces the history of getting hitched, providing insights on polygamy, same-sex unions and even marriage between the dead and the living.

http://youtu.be/ZZZ6QB5TSfk

In a First, ObamaCare Beats a Monthly Goal - More than projected signed up in January, though overall total still under target

http://www.newser.com/story/182233/in-a-first-obamacare-beats-a-monthly-goal.html

Best of Sam Harris Amazing Arguments And Clever Comebacks

http://youtu.be/IWJfdRpHWuk

Ken Ham-Bill Nye debate: Just one point, Ken...

Making up your own words...

http://youtu.be/5jMVYdgVVgc

The Cowboy Republicans Can’t Quit

He left us with two wars and an economic crisis, but Republicans still hold George W. Bush in high esteem.

We take for granted that, for all their ideological rigidity, Republicans have made a break with the recent past. Say what you will about the Tea Part... Read more

It's Truly Terrifying That Some Pilots Earn Near Minimum Wage

The next time you're flying in an airplane consider this: The person operating the aircraft might not be making much more than the person who made the... Read more

Maine’s Governor Prepares To Restrict Access To Lifesaving Drug That Can Prevent Heroin Overdoses

In the midst of a growing drug abuse problem in New England, Maine's governor continues to undermine his residents' access to ... Read more

Federal Judge: Kentucky Must Recognize Same-Sex Marriages From Other States

"...Once the government defines marriage and attaches benefits to that definition, it must do so constitutionally. It cannot impose a traditional or faith-based limitation upon a public right without a sufficient justification for it. Assigning a religious or traditional rationale for a law, does not make it constitutional when that law discriminates against a class of people without other reasons.
The beauty of our Constitution is that it accommodates our individual faith’s definition of marriage while preventing the government from unlawfully treating us differently. This is hardly surprising since it was written by people who came to America to find both freedom of religion and freedom from it..."

A federal judge has ruled that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states or ... Read more

More Than 100 House Members Sign Letter Supporting Diplomacy With Iran

100 House Democrats and 4 Republicans ask Congress to not pass a bill or resolution that risks jeopardizing diplomacy with ... Read more

Could This Glass Orb Be The Future Of Solar Energy?

The invention may be more than just beautiful. The orb-like system is touted as being 35 percent more efficient than a standard ... Read more

The Surprising Way That Obamacare Actually Restores Dignity To Work

The philosophical dispute over Obamacare and work incentives isn't what you think it is.The post The Surprising Way That ... Read more

Wisconsin Speaker Claims ‘Nobody Cares’ That He Owes His Job To Rigged Maps

In 2012, 53 percent of Wisconsin's voters cast a ballot for a Democratic member of the state assembly. Nevertheless, ... Read more

Uninsurance Rate Falls To Five-Year Low As 3.3 Million Enroll In Obamacare

The U.S. uninsurance rate is the lowest it's been since the early days of the Great Recession as enrollments in private health ... Read more

Judge Dismisses Assisted Suicide Case Against Pennsylvania Nurse

Judge Dismisses Assisted Suicide Case Against Pennsylvania Nurse by Richard Knox February 12, 2014 1:15 PM Barbara Mancini with her father, Joseph ... Read more

Risky Tech Fixes For Climate Becoming Likelier, Critic Warns

As time runs out to put the brakes on global warming, world leaders seem loathe to reduce gas emissions, because it's politically hard, says social sc... Read more

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

RWW News: Bachmann Says Obamacare Will Be Repealed Because "God Listens To His People"

http://youtu.be/mjNC_7W3wng

Article: Accommodation’s big flaw: The dangers of excusing religion

"Much as some might like to, we can't separate religion from its most troubling elements, like creationism ..."

Nancy Pelosi's play for women

“We know that we would pass a minimum wage [increase] if it were allowed to come to the floor. We would,” Pelosi said. “We know that we would pass universal pre-K, if we could get it to the floor.”

Conservative Christianity Hurts Marriage?

"According to a study about to be published in the American Journal of Sociology, being conservative Protestant, i.e., an evangelical, is not helpful when it comes to staying married. In fact, the authors conclude, "divorce is higher among religiously conservative Protestants-and even drives up divorce rates for other people living around them."

http://www.christianpost.com/news/conservative-christianity-hurts-marriage-114442/