DN Speak: 6/29/14

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Thomas Jefferson: Politics And Power (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Thomas Jefferson wrote the radical document at the heart of the American experiment. The Declaration of Independence. “All men are created equal.” And he kept slaves. He argued mightily against a too-powerful central government, and he led the federal government as the nation’s third president. He was a planter, a scientist, an historian, an Enlightenment-smitten philosopher, and – says biographer Jon Meacham – a surpassing politician. With a flexibility that our politicians today could use. This hour, On Point: Thomas Jefferson, the philosopher politician. / Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/07/04/thomas-jefferson-jon-meacham

Week In The News: Hobby Lobby Wins, Israeli Murders, An Iraqi Caliphate (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

It’s a short week with a lot of news headed into the Fourth of July holiday. We’re calling it early. From the Caliphate front to Hobby Lobby to the World Cup. In Iraq, an Islamic state declared and more US troops, but no “mission creep,” says the White House. In the Supreme Court, a win for corporate religious freedom. In Israel, dead teens – Israeli and Palestinian – and high tension. In California, an anti-immigrant outburst in the streets. In Brazil, Team USA goes down behind valiant goalie Tim Howard’s epic saves. This hour On Point: our weekly news roundtable sneaks in early behind the headlines. / Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/07/03/iraq-hobby-lobby-israel-palestine

The Embarrassing Hole In Boehner’s Plan to Sue ‘King’ Obama | Liberaland

The problem is that, by House Speaker John Boehner’s standards, President Obama has been less of a “king” than his predecessors.
http://www.alan.com/2014/06/28/the-embarrassing-hole-in-boehners-plan-to-sue-king-obama/

The Futility Of The Boehner Lawsuit

The lawsuit by Speaker Boehner against the President has always had the hallmarks of a political stunt. To anyone who studies the law, however, it is clear that it has no real substantive basis:... Read more

Anti-Vaxx Insanity: New Study Highlights the Dangers of Science Denialism

A recent outbreak of measles has been traced to one individual child — a stark reminder of a public health crisis.

Paul Krugman: We're on a Road to Nowhere

Everyone thinks we need good roads. Why won't Congress even spend the money for that?

The Founding Fathers Backed Thomas Piketty—And Feared a Powerful 1 Percent

On this patriotic holiday weekend, remember the founding fathers' warnings about inequality.

SCOTUS Issues Another Order On Contraception Mandate - But It's Not What You Think

It's been quite a week for the Supreme Court, which issued opinions on a number of matters, including two high-profile cases, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby S... Read more

Hobby Lobby Still Pays for Abortion Pt 1 and 2

http://youtu.be/5CACoytNbOI

http://youtu.be/XOzHijpVfAc

Mormon Row Meadow, Grand Teton National Park [2048 x 1269] by Jeff Clow

The calm after the storm over Merced River, Yosemite Nationa Park, CA [2048×1365] Photo by jwtrlndr

Friday, July 4, 2014

How Having an (Insurance-Covered) IUD Is Saving My Life | TIME

"...I can’t believe this point needs to be made, but contraceptives are actually not used solely, or even primarily, by women who want to have lots and lots of sex without getting pregnant. Contraception isn’t a mere “Get Out of Jail Free” card for the promiscuous. It’s a tool that can promote health—physical, psychological, individual, communal, and global. Propagating the idea that medications to halt infections, ameliorate mental illness, and prolong men’s erections are reasonable tools to promote health (and therefore covered by insurance, regardless of your employer’s opinions about the germ theory, the causes of depression, or erections), but contraceptives are a personal choice so that women can give their out-of-control libidos a regular workout without worry is, indeed, an act of aggression toward and dismissal of women..."

http://time.com/2953482/iud-pregnancy-insurance/

Why more states are backing off Common Core | PBS NewsHour

"...Well, I think we need to be careful to distinguish between a pause with respect to implementing the standards and moving forward with developing and implementing high-quality assessments aligned to those standards, as well as textbooks and curriculum, and having a pause on how test results are used..."

See the evader comments after the article too.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/states-backing-common-core/

In Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘America,’ Slavery Wasn’t So Bad, but Hillary and Barack Are Socialist Devils - The Daily Beast

"...I don’t have the space here to dispute every specious point that D’Souza makes in America or highlight every bit of nonsensical sophistry he employs in order to mask the emptiness of his so-called reasoning. But his acrobatically evasive—and borderline idiotic—treatment of slavery should be enough to convince all but the most closed-minded D’Souzaites that the guy is little more than a slick, self-promotional propagandist..."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/30/in-dinesh-d-souza-s-america-slavery-wasn-t-so-bad-but-hillary-and-barack-are-socialist-devils.html

Clergy Protest Supreme Court By Handing Out Condoms At Hobby Lobby

"You can make the religious freedom argument, you can make the argument about contraception, but ultimately, for me, this is ... Read more

States That Raised Their Minimum Wages Are Experiencing Faster Job Growth

The states where minimum wages increased at the beginning of the year are outpacing all the others in employment.The post ... Read more

Anti-Gay Activist Implores Conservatives To Abandon ‘Whiny’ Religious Liberty Arguments

As faith leaders contend that "religious liberty" should justify discrimination against LGBT people, one anti-gay activist is ... Read more

The Energy Department Just Announced $4 Billion For Projects That Fight Global Warming

The Department of Energy said it's interested in supporting innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that ... Read more

After Hobby Lobby, Faith Groups Reject Push To Perpetuate Discrimination Against Gays On Religious Grounds

"The faith community that taught me to never throw stones was asking that Christians have a special permission to throw stones ... Read more

Obama wants more financial reform

"We have to continue to see how can we re-balance the economy sensibly, so that we have a banking system that is doing what it is supposed to be doing to grow the real economy, but not a situation in which we continue to see a lot of these banks take big risks because the profit incentive and the bonus incentive is there for them," he said.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

DeGette, Nadler to Introduce Response to Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby Decision - Top News - InsuranceNewsNet.com

Today, Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01), co-chair of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), a leader in the fight for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993, announced that they will introduce legislation in response to Monday's Supreme Court ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. They will ensure that for-profit employers cannot use RFRA to override women's access to contraception...

http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/07/03/degette-nadler-to-introduce-response-to-supreme-courts-hobby-lobby-decision-a-525826.html#.U7VvKdq9KSM

Laura Ingraham's Nativist Rhetoric Too Extreme For Bill O'Reilly

Bill O'Reilly did his best to blame the very ugly protest in Murrieta, California on the federal government and President Obama earlier during his sho... Read more

For Palestinians, This Week's Deaths Highlight the Asymmetry of Power

The kidnapping and killing of three young Israelis – whom Palestinians regard as settlers – and the death of a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem have reopened some of the deepest wounds on both sides of the ongoing conflict and are now threatening to engulf Palestinian-Israeli relations. ... Read more

Why (the concept of) Heterosexuality Didn't Really Exist Until the 19th Century

The history ... Read more

The Silence of American Hawks About Kiev’s Atrocities

For weeks, the US-backed regime in Kiev has been committing atrocities against its own citizens in southeastern Ukraine, regions heavily populated by Russian-speaking Ukrainians and ethnic Russians. While victimizing a growing number of innocent people, including children, and degrading America’s reputation, these military assaults on cities, captured on video, are generating pressure in Russia on President Vladimir Putin to “save our compatriots.” ... Read more

What Does Jesus Want for Your Vagina? The Christian Right's Mission To Control Americans' Sex Lives | Alternet

Monday’s Supreme Court decision in Burrell v Hobby Lobby was a blow against consumer protection, worker’s rights, and the religious liberty of employees who want their medical care to be free of what their boss thinks Jesus wants for their vagina. But it should be read as something else, as well: The end of the illusion that the anti-choice movement is about “life”, when in fact they are nothing more than a 21st century anti-sex league...

http://www.alternet.org/belief/what-does-jesus-want-your-vagina-christian-rights-mission-control-americans-sex-lives?page=0%2C0&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

How a "Pro-Life" Makeover Fooled the Supreme Court - Cosmopolitan

The anti-abortion movement has recast itself as compassionate and pro-woman. That strategy is winning and putting women at risk...

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/health/anti-abortion-compassionate-strategy

Before Shooting in Iraq, a Warning on Blackwater - NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — Just weeks before Blackwater guards fatally shot 17 civilians at Baghdad’s Nisour Square in 2007, the State Department began investigating the security contractor’s operations in Iraq. But the inquiry was abandoned after Blackwater’s top manager there issued a threat: “that he could kill” the government’s chief investigator and “no one could or would do anything about it as we were in Iraq,” according to department reports...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/us/before-shooting-in-iraq-warning-on-blackwater.html?_r=0

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Why We Might Be on the Verge of Another Financial Crash

As individual ... Read more

Pandora’s Pills?: Supreme Court Decision In Hobby Lobby Case Could Be Disastrous

Soon the very idea of "religious freedom" could be transformed from a noble concept to a tool of ... Read more

Larry Summers's Plan to Save the Economy

ASPEN, Colo.—Larry Summers does not appear to think much of sanguine predictions about America's economic future right now. During an appearance Tues... Read more

Birth Control Battle: The Right Wing’s Long-Running Attack On Contraceptives

It can be hard for us in 2014 to grasp just how long and hard right-wing religious interests fought ... Read more

This Could Be a Problem

Don't look now, but it looks like Obamacare opponents may get a second chance to kill the law, or fatally wound it, at the Supreme Court. ... Read more

British PM David Cameron calls for global response to Antibiotic-resistant superbugs, which "threaten to plunge the world back to the "dark ages" of medicine."

The Surprisingly Strong Case for Colonizing Venus

The Most Partisan Supreme Court Justice Of All

Justice Samuel Alito is a reliable partisan, but it would be a mistake to dismiss him as a substanceless hack. Alito may be the ... Read more

Racist Murrieta Residents Terrorize Bus Full Of Immigrant Kids

The Majority Report's Sam Seder takes on the anti-immigrant bigots who terrorized a bus full of children in the city of Murrieta, California this Tues... Read more

The Other War On Women’s Health

The Supreme Court isn't the only government entity limiting women's access to health care services. The post The Other War On ... Read more

Four Of 10 Fracked Wells In Pennsylvania Are Projected To Fail, Spewing Methane Into Air And Water

A major new study finds "up to a 2.7-fold higher risk for unconventional wells -- relative to conventional wells -- drilled ... Read more

Missouri Governor Vetoes 72-Hour Abortion Waiting Period: ‘This Is Insulting To Women’

"Lengthening the already extensive waiting period serves no demonstrable purpose other than to create emotional and financial ... Read more

Why Kids Are Crossing The Desert Alone To Get To America

These kids just want to live to see adulthood. The post Why Kids Are Crossing The Desert Alone To Get To America appeared first ... Read more

Nine States Join Climate Denier’s Lawsuit Seeking To Dismantle EPA Carbon Rule

The states argue the EPA's climate regulations would "impose impermissible double regulation" on coal plants. The post Nine ... Read more

SCOTUS Orders Hobby Lobby Outcome To Apply To All ACA-Approved Contraceptives

If you thought the Hobby Lobby case only applied to those contraceptives which wingnuts sincerely believe cause abortions, think again. All contracept... Read more

ABC News: Oh Noes, The ISIS Caliphate Is Coming! Or Maybe Not

I saw this as it was being spread around by the pantswetter brigade yesterday, but I assumed most people would have the common sense to ignore it. Oop... Read more

Heritage Foundation Is Now In Charge Of Policy Thanks To Right Wing Stupidity

This month's Washington Monthly cover story about how Republicans made Congress stupid is disturbing and fascinating all at once. And yes, the result... Read more

Liz Cheney Will Make A Comeback, Dammit!

Leading the morning! at Politico when I woke up yesterday was this story about the Cheney family: Dick and Liz Cheney have been impossible to miss in... Read more

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Does Your Organic Food Company Stand With Hobby Lobby?

So the "organic way" is to keep dropping babies, live in poverty and die young -- right, Michael Potter? Talk about misunderstanding your core custome... Read more

CNN Rips Hobby Lobby For Investing In Birth Control: 'Hypocrisy At Its Finest'

CNN host Ashleigh Banfield on Wednesday highlighted the "hypocrisy" of Hobby Lobby for investing in companies that made the same birth control product... Read more

Pandora's Box Opens: Religious Groups Ask Obama for Exemptions To Discriminate Against LGBT Persons

Religious ... Read more

How Can Atheists Also Rationally Call Themselves Republicans?

CJ ... Read more

How Israel Brutally Punished Palestinian Society For the Crimes of a Few

The ... Read more

Hospice, Inc. - The Huffington Post

Since 2006, the U.S. government has accused nearly every major for-profit hospice company of billing fraud.

http://projects.huffingtonpost.com/hospice-inc

The ocean is swallowing up Virginia so rapidly that its leaders are forgetting to bicker about climate change

The usual US partisan divisions over climate change were absent today in the state of Virginia, where Republican and Democratic officials met to discuss what to do about the threat of rising sea levels to the state. The proposals include the launch of a climate-change task force, which Virginia’s Democratic governor will announce tomorrow. Christina DeConcini, government affairs director at the World Resources Institute, a research organization, told Quartz this is the first time to her knowledge that Republican leaders (very few of whom accept global warming is both real and man-made) and Democratic ones have come together to craft a policy on global warming. Read more

10 Blistering Highlights from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Hobby Lobby Dissent

Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a scathing 35-page dissent in the disastrous 5-4 Supreme Court decision Monday granting corporations First Amendment religious rights to deny women birth control coverage. The court had ventured far out in to unprecedented territory by granting private companies the right to be exempt from laws their owners don't agree with. Crazy! In their zeal to deny women access to reproductive healthcare, expand the rights of corporations and hurt Obamacare, "The court," she wrote, "has ventured into a minefield."

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/10-blistering-highlights-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-hobby-lobby-dissent