DN Speak: 5/4/14

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Rick Santorum's Talking About the Poor, But What's He Saying?

"Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum said on Monday night that he is 'not sure' if Republicans care about poor people as much as Democrats do.

"'If you really cared you'd talk about the problems they have,' Santorum told a group of conservatives at the New York meeting on Monday evening.

"The New York Meeting is a monthly gathering organized by Mallory Factor, a New York Times best-selling author and instructor at the Citadel in South Carolina.

"Santorum was at the event to promote his new book, Blue Collar Conservatives, which was released that day."

In this clip from The Young Turks, John Iadarola, Jayar Jackson and Ana Kasparian break down Santorum's comments, and discuss whether there's more style than substance to his newfound interest in talking about poverty.

http://youtu.be/K5ZqKoC7WU4

"First Amendment ONLY for Christians," Says Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore

"Speaking at the Pastor for Life Luncheon, which was sponsored by Pro-Life Mississippi, Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court declared that the First Amendment only applies to Christians because 'Buddha didn't create us, Mohammed didn't create us, it was the God of the Holy Scriptures' who created us.

"'They didn't bring the Koran over on the pilgrim ship,' he continued. 'Let's get real, let's go back and learn our history. Let's stop playing games.'

"He then noted that he loves talking to lawyers, because he is a lawyer who went to 'a secular law school,' so he knows that 'in the law, [talking about God] just isn't politically correct.' He claimed that this is why America has 'lost its way,' and that he would be publishing a pamphlet 'this week, maybe next' that contained copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, thereby proving that all the people 'who found this nation — black, white, all people, all religions, all faiths' knew that America was 'about God.'"

Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola, Ben Mankiewicz and Michael Shure discuss the separation of Church and State and the First Amendment in light of Roy Moore's faulty theology and history.

http://youtu.be/Mv-vaufyXI4

Oil Spills Are Good For Us According To One Oil Company

"Kinder Morgan argued oil spills "can have both positive and negative effects on local and regional economies," because of the economic benefits brought on by clean-up efforts. "Spill response and clean-up creates business and employment opportunities for affected communities, regions, and clean-up service providers," the report reads."

http://youtu.be/2HRANUjEs18

More solar energy powering Corporate America

Corporate America is going solar as more companies join President Obama's call to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/05/10/solar-embraced-by-corporate-us/8895671/

Meet the Right-Wing Tycoon of Missouri, One of Conservatives' Biggest Money Men

Rex Sinquefield's Show-Me Institute is one of the top conservative funders in the country.

Neil deGrasse Tyson 'Goes There' on Climate Change: Creationists and Right-Wingers Freak Out

Answers in Genesis refute science with the Bible and lose. Again.

Why Is Pope Francis Throwing Nuns Who Share His Beliefs Under the Bus?

Not a peep from the Pope as nuns are censured for not focusing on abortion and gay marriage.

How Many More Fiery Rail Explosions Do We Need?

The U.S. need another way to meet growing energy needs, or more Lynchburg 'bomb train' disasters will worsen.

Inside the Nation's First Vegetarian Public School

A high-performing elementary school is taking a revolutionary approach to how students eat.

Climate Deniers: Our House Is On Fire, but Their Heads Remain in the Sand

Even with rising deaths, drought, heat waves and repeated refrains from climatologists, the GOP refuses to uncover its ears.

My Personal Walmart Nightmare: You Won’t Believe What Life Is Like Working There

The president's visiting my store Friday. He won't see how I sleep on my son's floor and eat potato chips for lunch.

How Fox News Dresses Up Extreme Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories as News

As Benghazi Fever grips the overly-eager GOP, an all-scandal wedge strategy is revealed with stark Clinton-era similarities.

Why Did Harry Reid Defend This Billionaire GOP Donor?

"In an interview with MSNBC's Chuck Todd that aired Thursday, the senator accused major conservative donors Charles and David Koch of flooding the political system with donations just to make more money for themselves.

When Todd interjected by saying that Sheldon Adelson had spent a huge sum of money in 2012, Reid defended Sheldon Adelson, who lives in Nevada and is the CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp.

"He's in it because he has certain ideological views," Reid said. "Now, Sheldon Adelson's social views are in keeping with the Democrats. On choice, on all kinds of things. So, Sheldon Adelson don't pick on him. He's not in it to make money."

http://youtu.be/7YDLaaTEx1o

The Media Has FAILED The American People. Sen. Harry Reid MSNBC Interview

"In an interview with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Thursday, MSNBC host Chuck Todd was accused of failing to cover events in Congress fairly. Reid said that the press, Todd included, "won't call things the way they actually exist." As a result, Reid said, Republicans receive fairer coverage in the media than they deserve."

http://youtu.be/g5k3_ZFsWRA

Is The Bible Pro-Life?

Cenk Uygur (http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur) host of The Young Turks reads directly from The Bible in order to answer the question of whether or not God is "Pro-Life". Cenk reads from Numbers, Exodus, Hosea and Leviticus. Do any of these passages surprise you?

http://youtu.be/39NHzvDpJe4

Friday, May 9, 2014

Common Core Standards Myth Buster: Federal Takeover?

"That 46 headed beast (well, 45 1/2) that is the Common Core is all over the news these days, due in large part to a single, irrepressible talking point: the alleged federal takeover of American schools. Politicians and a few media-members-gone-berserk are mostly to blame for this, having filled the American imagination with pablum, invoking images of storm troopers busting down grade school doors, indoctrinating children in little socialist hatcheries and collecting blood..."

http://www.schoolimprovement.com/common-core-360/blog/common-core-standards-myth-buster-1/

SUPREME STUPIDITY Kills The First Amendment - RIP Separation of Church & State (1787-2014)

The Supreme Court rules against the Bible (ironically) and against the Constitution by allowing prayers to be recited before town meetings and other public meetings.

*** Explicit Language ***

http://youtu.be/wrCFZCIfpXM

Media Focus On Benghazi Over Positive Jobs Report SHOCKING!

Seemingly positive economic news came out today with the release of the jobs report showing unemployment at it's lowest point since pre-2008. However the Benghazi news was the focus of most of the conservative media. What did you think of today's job report, is this a win for the Obama administration? Do you think the Benghazi news will successfully distract people from the unemployment news.

http://youtu.be/o1iVT0cdyfI

Week In The News: Climate Change, Public Prayer, Benghazi (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Nigeria’s schoolgirls all over the news this week – weeks after they were kidnapped. Now, the US says, it will take a role. Benghazi is back. The House setting up a special committee to investigate. It is not, says John Boehener, political. In Russia, Vladimir Putin says his troops are not on Ukraine’s border. Then unleashes huge military exercises, nukes included. The Supreme Court says prayer before town meetings is fine, Jesus included. We’ve got scandal at the VA. And climate change happening all around us, we’re told. This hour On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines. / Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/05/09/public-prayer-benghazi-congress-monica-lewinsky

Friday News Roundup - Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

The White House releases a report on climate change that says “this is not some distant problem of the future." Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, faces her first day of confirmation hearings. The House votes along partisan lines to form a panel to investigate the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen tells a Senate committee that she is optimistic about economic growth but still concerned about unemployment. And Monica Lewinsky speaks out in a story in Vanity Fair. A panel of journalists joins guest host Steve Roberts to discuss the week in news.

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-05-09/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup - International (Diane Rehm Show)

Pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine announce plans to hold a Sunday referendum on autonomy despite a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay the vote. Syrian rebels evacuate the key city of Homs as part of a ceasefire deal. South Sudan’s government agrees to a one month suspension of attacks on rebels. A Thai court ousts the country’s prime minister after an abuse of power verdict. International pressure increases on the Nigerian government to find nearly three hundred abducted schoolgirls. And South Africa’s ruling party takes a clear lead in national elections. A panel of journalists joins guest host Steve Roberts for analysis of the week's top international news stories.

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-05-09/friday-news-roundup-international

Vermont Becomes The First State To Pass Wolf PAC Resolution

"Today Vermont became the first state to call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which precipitated a flood of cash into politics."

http://youtu.be/CiiOUp-V6-4

Dionne: Supreme Court fails religious empathy test | The Salt Lake Tribune

To understand why religious freedom matters, put yourself in the position of someone who is part of a minority faith tradition in a town or nation that overwhelmingly adheres to a different creed. Then judge public practices by how they would affect the hypothetical you...
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/57918448-82/public-kagan-religious-town.html.csp

The Impact of Cafeteria Religion on Political Engagement | Brookings Institution

America’s religious diversity is important not solely, or even primarily, because of demography, but because of ideas. The politically significant change in America’s religious landscape is not that we are growing more religiously diverse as a people, but more specifically that our religious public square—the parameters and content of our public religious conversations—is more diverse than ever. Today, it seems, everything is spiritual, yet little is sacred. There is little that is unworthy of an opinion, yet even fewer issues are deemed deserving of moral conviction.http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/fixgov/posts/2014/05/08-faith-equality-cafeteria-religion-and-political-engagement-wear

Supreme Court prayer ruling may spur new alliances | Religion News Service

That was the assessment of David Silverman, president of American Atheists, speaking Tuesday (May 6) to a group of nonbelievers at Stanford University. He then described a scenario that may raise eyebrows among some atheists: working with religious groups to fight against the ruling.

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/05/07/supreme-court-prayer-ruling-may-spur-new-alliances/

Warren Buffett Shuts Down One of the Dirtiest Power Plants in the U.S.

When Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired Nevada's biggest utility in 2013, it also picked up Reid Gardner, a 557-megawatt coal-fired power pl... Read more

U.S. Nuns: Slapped Down by the Vatican

The past two years have been rough on the relationship between American nuns and the Church. In 2012, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops... Read more

Teen Pregnancies Hit Record Lows

There are fewer pregnant teens than at any time since we started tracking the statistic, according to new data from the Guttmacher Institute. The teen... Read more

How to Vote Pro-Life - #POGOBAT

It would be heartless to vote anything but Pro-Life! And by "voting Pro-Life" what I really mean is voting for politicians who support a strong middle class and, therefore, make fewer abortions happen. Basically to really, actually, practically vote "Pro-Life" you should vote "Pro-Choice." Confusing, I know, just watch the video.

http://youtu.be/LeMh5cKnfUc

Simulation shows that dark energy and matter can reproduce the Universe

Takes 350 million light years of space from 12 million to 12 billion years old. Read more

The Wingnut War On Common Core Is A Plot To Destroy Public Schools - The Daily Beast

The Common Core Standards Initiative has been hotly debated since it was first introduced in 2009. But a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center shows that conservatives are pushing a radical fact-free agenda that aims to destroy public education as a whole.

www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/07/the-wingnut-war-on-common-core-is-a-plot-to-destroy-public-schools.html

Charter Schools are Cheating Your Kids: Report Reveals Massive Fraud, Mismanagement, Abuse

Millions are being sucked from public schools and into corporate pockets.

Harry Reid: Kochs One Of The 'Main Causes' Of Climate Change

"...While the Koch brothers admit to not being experts on the matter, these billionaire oil tycoons are certainly experts at contributing to climate change. That's what they do very well. They are one of the main causes of this. Not a cause, one of the main causes," Reid said on the Senate floor...
Read more

Conservative CNN Host Tells Bill Nye That 'Science Guys' Are Bullies (VIDEO)

Bill Nye, the "Science Guy," took on CNN "Crossfire" host S.E. Cupp and a Heritage Foundation economist in a debate on climate change on Tuesday, foll... Read more

http://youtu.be/iWYQb8K6Tek

How Mitch McConnell Is Exacting Revenge For Dems' Nuclear Option

...No, Republicans can no longer prevent a bare Senate majority from ultimately confirming Obama-nominated judges and executive appointees. But they can slow down the process and force Democrats to eat up valuable calendar time, effectively ensuring that the 141 pending nominations aren't all confirmed by the time the 113th Congress ends next January...
... Read more

TIL the galaxy M100 is so far away that ...

...if beings from there were to look at Earth right now, they would be watching the realtime extinction of the dinosaurs.
Read more

Top House Benghazi Investigator Has Used The Tragedy To Raise Money

"I cannot and will not raise money on Benghazi," Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), chair of the House select committee on Benghazi said ... Read more

Most people pay Obamacare premiums

Though it may take weeks or months for the final payment figures to be calculated, rates are running in the 80% to 90% range, several major insurers said.
Read more

Uncle Sam runs $114 billion surplus in April

The U.S. Treasury Department booked a $114 billion surplus in April, the largest for that month since 2008, according to the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office released Wednesday.
Read more

Chemists Expand Nature's Genetic Alphabet

Chemists Expand Nature's Genetic Alphabet by Nell Greenfieldboyce May 07, 2014 2:07 PM ET i i Being able to insert the two man-made letters into D... Read more

Red States Like Obamacare More Than You Might Think

Of the 22 states that exceeded enrollment expectations when it came to signing up for health benefits under the Affordable Care Act, half of them wer... Read more

How Much Are Insurers Winning Under Obamacare?

Despite the gloom and doom of Obamacare predictions, capitalism is alive and well in the health care marketplace. In the first quarter after the insur... Read more

Think The Cassette Tape Is Dead? Then Why Did Sony Just Squeeze 185TB Of Data Onto One?

Vinyl is making a comeback, but for all intents and purposes the reign of cassette tapes is long since over, right? Perhaps not, if Sony has anything ... Read more

The GOP Establishment Strikes Back

How the GOP's old guard, led by Mitch McConnell, is working to stifle Tea Party challenges in states like North Carolina, Mississippi, and Kentucky ...

PINEHURST, N.C.—On a rainy afternoon a month before North Carolina's May 6 Republican primary, state House Speaker and Senate hopeful Thom Tillis was ... Read more

Outside Cash Floods N.C. Judicial Race

A marquee Senate race pitting Democrat Kay Hagan against whichever Republican emerges from next Tuesday's crowded primary is getting all the attention... Read more

Judges Need to Follow the Bible

...plus...

Glenn Beck says Hillary Clinton is a lesbian, a California mayor thinks homeless people choose to live in poverty, and a Democratic rep plans to hand out KKK hoods at a GOP convention.

Four years after the Iowa State Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, the majority of the Hawkeye State's Republican candidates for U.S. ... Read more

7 Vilest Right Wingers This Week: "Waterboarding is How We Baptise Terrorists" Edition

Sarah Palin offends her Christian allies for "her sacrilegious jibe" ... and more.
Read more

How Fracking Is Exposing People to Radioactive Waste

Radiation can accumulate in the water we drink, the fish we eat, and the soil in which our food grows.

Star Musician Goes Off On The Prison Industrial Complex, Confronts Representative On Congressional Inaction

Will.i.am talks War On Drugs, education, and why Congress isn't getting anything done. The post Star Musician Goes Off On The ... Read more

Berkshire's Munger wants 1% to take pay cut

Charlie Munger has a reputation for being brutally candid. Throughout the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting on Saturday, he continuously referred to things he disapproved of as "crazy," "insane" and "stupid."
Read more

Supreme Court's prayer ruling: Does it allow Satanists' invocations, too? (+video) - CSMonitor.com

The US Supreme Court ruling that the Constitution allows for public prayer at town meetings is opening a wider cultural skirmish over what qualifies as an appropriate public invocation.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2014/0506/Supreme-Court-s-prayer-ruling-Does-it-allow-Satanists-invocations-too-video

More Hispanics are leaving Catholic Church: survey (Chicago Tribune)

"CHICAGO (Reuters) - A growing number of U.S. Hispanics are turning away from the Roman Catholic religion of their youth and now identify as Protestant or unaffiliated with any church, according to a survey released on Wednesday... Religious scholars said the shift could serve as something of a warning to U.S. Catholic leaders, who have relied on the growing Hispanic population to fill pews and collection plates..."

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80129943/

Christian Prayers For A Christian Nation: In The Wake Of The Supreme Court’s Ruling On Municipal Prayers, Some Say No To Non-Christians

Anyone with even a lick of sense is going to think twice about walking out on the prayer 15 minutes before requesting better lighting on the neighborhood streets.

https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/christian-prayers-for-a-christian-nation-in-the-wake-of-the-supreme-court-s

Is support for Obamacare edging up? Maybe so, polling results show. (+video)

Public support for Obama's health-care reform law jumped seven percentage points from late March to late April, a Christian ... Read more

Insurers Say Most Of The People Who Signed Up For Obamacare Paid Their First Premium

Another anti-Obamacare talking point bites the dust.The post Insurers Say Most Of The People Who Signed Up For Obamacare Paid ... Read more

Fox News' Bizarre Crusade to Convince Viewers That Children Are Dangerous

Young people ... Read more

Charlie Crist Says He Became A Democrat Because Of GOP Racism

Charlie Crist said once again Tuesday that racism motivates many of President Obama's most hostile GOP adversaries. Read More -> ... Read more

The death rate in Massachusetts dropped after it adopted mandatory health care coverage in 2006

BOSTON — The death rate in Massachusetts dropped significantly after it adopted mandatory health care coverage in 2006, a study released Monday found, offering evidence that the country’s first experiment with universal coverage — and the model for crucial parts of President Obama’s health care law — has saved lives, health economists say...

Level 3 calls out Comcast, TWC and others for "deliberately harming the service they deliver to their paying customers"

"...In a thorough post that goes into great detail about the networks that deliver Internet service to homes and businesses across the globe, Level 3′s VP of Content and Media Mark Taylor explained “peering,” a term that has been pulled into the mainstream media recently. Netflix, as we’re sure you have read, has agreed to pay certain ISPs a “ransom” in order to reduce peering congestion and deliver faster streaming video to its subscribers..."
Read more

Morocco wind farm, Africa's biggest, starts generating power.

The North African kingdom has no hydrocarbon reserves of its own and hopes to cover 42 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020.
Read more

Sunrise at Breams Bay, Northland, New Zealand [1920x1280] [OC]

Harvard researchers introduce bioplastic isolated from shrimp shells...

... a safe, biodegradable alternative to plastic which is just as useful, practical and cheap.

Read more

Let's discuss literary science fiction. What sci-fi books would you consider to be "literary"?

David Silverman & The New Atheist TV

Ronan Farrow Daily, MSNBC, 5-8-2014,
David Silverman, President, American Atheists, Inc.

http://youtu.be/BdWpZlJfOEc

President Obama's Plan to Fight Climate Change | The White House

Dr. John Holdren, President Obama's Science Advisor, introduces the National Climate Assessment and discusses President Obama's climate action plan which takes an all of the above energy approach towards combatting climate change now. Learn more at http://www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change

http://youtu.be/2dIheuvIKDg

“Buddha didn’t create us, Mohammed didn’t create us, it was the God of the Holy Scriptures,” Moore said. “They didn’t bring the Koran over on the pilgrim ship. Let’s get real, let’s go back and learn our history. Let’s stop playing games.”

http://truth-out.org/news/item/23493-a-chief-justice-in-alabama-wont-tolerate-non-christian-lifestyles

Kentucky spends $18 million busing kids to religious schools in spite of state constitution

The Commonwealth of Kentucky may have violated its constitution by spending over $18 million in taxpayer money to bus students to religious and other private schools — and lawmakers are planning to spend even more.

http://mobile.rawstory.com/all/2014-05-05-kentucky-spends-18-million-busing-kids-to-religious-schools-in-spite-of-state-constitution#4

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Saturday, May 10, 2014

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