Chevron Spent Millions To Influence These Local Elections — And Lost Big

The oil giant spent upwards of $3 million on mayoral and select city council races, but Richmond voters wholly rejected that ...  Read more

Americans Are Voting For Fracking Bans Because They Don’t Trust The Oil And Gas Industry

In California, Ohio, and Texas, citizens in four localities voted to ban hydraulic fracturing, challenging the balance of power ...  Read more

World Health Organization Leader Blames Big Pharma’s Greed For Delaying Ebola Vaccine

 "The World Health Organization has been trying to make this issue visible for ages. Now people can see for themselves." The ...  Read more

Abortion Opponents Underestimate The Number Of Women They Know Who Had One

A new study points to the deep roots of abortion stigma.The post Abortion Opponents Underestimate The Number Of Women They Know ...  Read more

Scotland Produced Enough Wind Energy To Power Every Home In October

Wind turbines generated enough electricity in October to power 3,045,000 homes in the U.K. -- more than enough for all the ...  Read more

McConnell's Shutdown Conundrum

There is "no possibility of a government shutdown" in the new Republican Congress, incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told TIME magazine ... Read more

Here Is What The GOP Promises To Do With Its New Senate Majority | ThinkProgress

"...Republicans have laid out goals that do have bipartisan support and could conceivably be signed into law by President Barack Obama. For instance, both parties have expressed support for tweaking aspects of the Affordable Care Act by repealing the law’s medical device tax, an independent board tasked with controlling health care costs, and modifying or outright eliminating the law’s employer responsibility provision — a measure the administration itself has delayed twice and some prominent progressives have walked away from..."
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/11/05/3589132/republicans-promise-to-compromise-with-obama-after-winning-big-in-midterm-election/

How to Argue with Assholes

http://youtu.be/YezbREhH_Eg

Lawrence Krauss - Should Religion Be Taught in School?

“If you think about that, somehow saying that, well, anything goes, we shouldn’t offend religious beliefs by requiring kids to know – to understand reality; that’s child abuse,” Krauss said in a video published by Big Think. “And if you think about it, teaching kids – or allowing the notion that the earth is 6,000 years old to be promulgated in schools is like teaching kids that the distance across the United States is 17 feet. That’s how big an error it is.”

http://youtu.be/Mb_vYxIyzrI

Australian atheist had enough of door knocking mormons

... travels to Salt lake city and goes door to door to return the favor...

http://youtu.be/U58wgn-9Y3c

PowerPoint tip: pointer

LPT: Instead of wiggling the mouse cursor when giving a powerpoint presentation, hold control and left-click while you move the mouse to get a red laser pointer dot.
http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/2la2m8/lpt_instead_of_wiggling_the_mouse_cursor_when/

90-year-old Florida man arrested for feeding the homeless

On Sunday, the city charged three people, including two ministers and a 90-year-old homeless advocate, and they could face up to 60-days in jail for their so-called crime.

Read more

Jon Stewart Slams Republicans For Fearmongering And Voter Suppression To Win Midterms

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart with his final edition of Democalypse 2014 prior to the midterm elections this Tuesday, which as he noted, aren't looking...  Read more

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

If They Win, Republicans Plan To Serve Impeachment With Side Of Nativism

I'm not one of those who is sold on the idea that Republican control of the Senate is a foregone conclusion. But just about everyone else in the media...  Read more

#UnKoch College! Students Fight Back Against Charles Koch

As students in Michigan, Kansas and Virginia attempt to pin down evasive administrators to review grant contracts cut between billionaire Charles Koch...  Read more

Jon Stewart: GOP Message Is Vote For Us 'Or Get Beheaded' (VIDEO)

On the eve of the 2014 election, "The Daily Show" took a moment on Monday to clarify the core messages Republicans and Democrats are sending out to vo... Read more

How Renewables In Developing Countries Are Leapfrogging Traditional Power

Lagging infrastructure has left many developing countries with high fossil fuel costs, making renewables and distributed solar ...  Read more

Fareed Zakaria Bumps Head with Sam Harris and Gets A Bruising

Fareed Zakaria GPS, CNN, 10-2-2014

http://youtu.be/JqGIJBClwbQ

The language of lying - Noah Zandan

We hear anywhere from 10 to 200 lies a day. And although we’ve spent much of our history coming up with ways to detect these lies by tracking physiological changes in their tellers, these methods have proved unreliable. Is there a more direct approach? Noah Zandan uses some famous examples of lying to illustrate how we might use communications science to analyze the lies themselves.

http://youtu.be/H0-WkpmTPrM

22-Year-Old Mother Working Two Jobs Blasts Lawmakers Who Oppose Raising The Minimum Wage

"These people don't understand the struggle, but then they sit here and say they care about the people," she said. "How do you ...  Read more

Sam Harris on Morality and the Christian God

http://youtu.be/aW02g2R53Zc

DARPA's Terahertz Breakthrough Could Help Ease Spectrum Crunch

Administrators at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency celebrated their first Guinness World Record last week for sponsoring the creation of the ...  Read more

The President of Israel Admits His Society Is 'Sick' -- and the American Media Pretends It Never Happened

Total silence in the US in response to one of the most amazing confessions you'll hear from a leader of a state.
...  Read more

Bishops Oppose Catholic Universities Offering Extended Benefits to Same-Sex Spouses of Their Employees

"There is no tension between Catholic teaching and social justice. Both are grounded in the same truths about the nature of the human person, the complementarity of man and woman and the meaning of human life and love," Lucas wrote. "When we experience tension in ensuring respect and just treatment for all persons, including those with same-sex attraction, we have a right to expect a Catholic university to help us see a just path forward, rooted in faith and founded on the rich Catholic intellectual tradition. Creighton has failed to fulfill this expectation in this expansion of benefits."

http://www.christianpost.com/news/bishops-oppose-catholic-universities-offering-extended-benefits-to-same-sex-spouses-of-their-employees-129056/

Homeless LGBT youth: Shunned by religious families

"...The CAP study show lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders make up roughly 5 to 10 percent of the youth population, but up to 40 percent of the homeless youth population. Kemppainen said the statistics in Colorado Springs align with those national trends.
..."

http://www.fox21news.com/news/story.aspx?id=1118154#.VFkH-L6n7T4

Why Jesus Wouldn't Cut It as a Pastor in Today's Evangelical Megachurches

Jesus promoted empathy for everyone, while the actions of today's religious establishment undermine it.
...  Read more

Paul Krugman Exposes the Folly of Running the Country Like a Business

Why would a country hand over its ailing economy to corporate interests?
...  Read more

Human Fuel

Read more

Bernie Sanders: The Real News Story They Won't Discuss Is, Why Are People Working Longer Hours For Less Pay?

From the transcript at Moyers & Co., where Bernie Sanders makes his usual incisive points: BILL MOYERS: Well, that's interesting. Because, you know, ...  Read more

GOP Runs Ads Threatening To Out Iowans Who Don't Vote GOP

Here's your latest Republican tactic to encourage voter participation in Iowa. Well, some voters anyway. Republican voters. ThinkProgress: Screensho...  Read more

Stealing Election 2014: NC Voting Machines Flipped Votes For Democrats To Republicans

It was probably just one of those software malfunctions that for some reason always seems to favor Republicans.

...  Read more

Actually, Reproductive Health Care Access Is About The Economy

Jobs, equal pay, and college affordability are among what politicians discuss when talking about the economy and young women. Yet it's always shocking... Read more

Yes, Republicans Are Totally Winning The Dark Money Game (CHARTS)

Republican dark money groups are outspending their Democratic counterparts by an incredible margin, according to data from the nonpartisan Sunlight Fo... Read more

Atheists Score Major Win In Federal Court

"The court finds that Secular Humanism is a religion for Establishment Clause purposes," the ruling read.The post Atheists ...  Read more

How The Country Would Look If Every State Took Full Advantage Of Obamacare, In Two Maps

More than three million low-income people would currently have insurance, for one.The post How The Country Would Look If Every ...  Read more

People Who Are Alive Today Because Of Obamacare Beg Court Not To Take Their Health Insurance Away

David Tedrow believes that Obamacare saved his life. If a federal appeals court accepts a lawsuit seeking to defund much of the ...  Read more

Southern Baptist Convention Compromises Improving Tone By Promoting Anti-Gay Discrimination

Southern Baptists applaud discrimination against same-sex couples because they actually believe their religious liberty is ...  Read more

Episcopal Church in Michigan passes gun resolution

DETROIT — The Episcopal Church in Michigan has passed a controversial resolution calling for stiffer gun control, drawing sharp criticism from conservative members who say it violates the right to bear arms.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/03/episcopal-church-in-michigan-passes-gun-resolution/18391891/

Pope Francis agitates conservative U.S. Catholics

A senior American cardinal in the Vatican says that under this pope, the Roman Catholic Church is "a ship without a rudder'' and the faithful "are feeling a bit seasick.''

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/01/pope-francis-catholics-americans-culture/18263293/

One Smart Penny | Mortgage Refinance FB

When homeowners visit The Easy Loan Site™ official website, they may be surprised at the shockingly low interest rates still available today and to learn of the home refinance plan banks don't want you to know.

http://www.onesmartpenny.com/landers/pages/mortgage-refinance-fb.html?utm_term=33&utm_source=46&utm_content=1148&utm_adgroup=4a416a79-70f1-46b7-bb6b-25eecb05eae5

“That’s where I’ve failed as a scientist”: Bill Nye opens up about the climate wars - Salon.com

"The Science Guy" tells Salon why fighting anti-science worldviews is so important VIDEO

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/03/that%E2%80%99s_where_i%E2%80%99ve_failed_as_a_scientist_bill_nye_opens_up_about_the_climate_wars/

Think Taxpayer Funding of Religious Schools No Big Deal? - A Wake-Up Call

Corporations bent on privatizing education seem to be reading straight out of the Koch brothers’ ALEC playbook these days – manufacturing all kinds of “crisis” reports about the state of public education.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/02/1340943/-Think-Taxpayer-Funding-of-Religious-Schools-No-Big-Deal-A-Wakeup-Call

Atheist Awarded $2 Million for Violation of His First Amendment Rights

The California government will have to pay an atheist from Shasta County $1.95 million in damages for refusing to attend a religious drug-treatment program. Barry Hazle, Junior, along with his attorney, announced the settlement in San Francisco on October 14 after emerging victors in a six-year-long legal battle.

http://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/atheist-awarded-2-million-violation-his-first-amendment-rights

Rogue pastors endorse candidates, but IRS looks away

A record number of rogue Christian pastors are endorsing candidates from the pulpit this election cycle, using Sunday sermons to defiantly flout tax rules.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/2014-elections-pastors-endorsing-candidates-irs-112434.html#ixzz3I1rfNyKR

Santorum: Religious persecution on rise

Former senator: religious freedom under attack by gov't

http://www.wcvb.com/politics/santorum-religious-persecution-on-rise/29493640

Pope Francis: 'Caring for the poor does not make you a communist'

Read more

Is the Pope Catholic?

Almost from the beginning, there have been rumblings of discontent about Pope Francis. While the world's media fell in love with him, there were more ...  Read more

“Fundamentalist” Atheists Aren’t the Issue, Apologists for Religions Are

"Major religions all contain macabre fables, explicit injunctions for vile behavior no civilzed person should accept."
...  Read more

Republicans Who Know Republicans Expect A Big Mess If GOP Wins Senate Majority

"...“So what might Republicans actually do if they have majorities in both houses of Congress,” asks Reason.com’s Nick Gillespie, the longtime libertarian. “If past behavior is any indication of future performance, the short and likely answer is: screw it all up.”...
...  Read more

UN climate panel warns of irreversible damage

"Time is not on our side," UN chief says, as experts reveal conclusive evidence that humans alter Earth''s climate.  Read more

Senate GOPers Weighing Bills That Both Parties Might Accept

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican control of the House and Senate seems tantalizingly close, so leading Republicans are turning to a matter often overlooke... Read more

Lawrence Krauss on Q&A - Science vs Religion

http://youtu.be/5PwI3io3iX0
Interview:

YOUR GRAMMAR SUCKS #94

http://youtu.be/R1klG2BON08

Sam Harris about Joel Osteen

Sam Harris's thoughts on Joel Osteen's view that you can know the claims of Christianity are true intuitively.
Interview:
http://youtu.be/TAdy0f_BbMw

Christopher Hitchens versus both Dinesh D'Souza (Christian) & Dennis Prager (Jew) in this dialogue

Is there a Christian God, a Jewish God, or No God?

http://youtu.be/1xSH_dhUcUU

Derren Brown - Fear and Faith: Episodes 1 and 2

"Derren Brown: Fear and Faith" is the second of Brown's two-part specials which first aired on Friday 9 November 2012, with the second part airing the following week on Friday 16 November 2012. It focuses on the placebo effect.

In the first programme, Brown sets up a fake pharmaceutical company, 'Cicero Pharmaceutical Solutions', which claims to have developed a drug named 'Rumyodin', with the ability to inhibit fear. In actual fact the pill is a placebo that is merely sugar. The placebo effect, amplified by the convincing façade of Cicero, helps most of the subjects of the fake clinical trial of Rumyodin overcome their fears. It is shown that Brown repeated the experiment with separate groups, to each of whom it was claimed Rumyodin had different beneficial effects, such as smoking cessation and allergy relief, again with positive results. By the end of the programme Brown reveals that 'Rumyodin' is an anagram of 'your mind'.

In the second programme, Brown demonstrates how he can induce a "religious experience" in a self-styled Atheist (and stem-cell scientist). He reproduces a number of well known psychology experiments which show how even non-believers are "hard-wired" to be susceptible to suggestions of super-natural (and religious) presences.
Interview:
http://youtu.be/CU52YAgFxX0


"Derren Brown: Fear and Faith" is the second of Brown's two-part specials which first aired on Friday 9 November 2012, with the second part airing the following week on Friday 16 November 2012. It focuses on the placebo effect.
In the first programme, Brown sets up a fake pharmaceutical company, 'Cicero Pharmaceutical Solutions', which claims to have developed a drug named 'Rumyodin', with the ability to inhibit fear. In actual fact the pill is a placebo that is merely sugar. The placebo effect, amplified by the convincing façade of Cicero, helps most of the subjects of the fake clinical trial of Rumyodin overcome their fears. It is shown that Brown repeated the experiment with separate groups, to each of whom it was claimed Rumyodin had different beneficial effects, such as smoking cessation and allergy relief, again with positive results. By the end of the programme Brown reveals that 'Rumyodin' is an anagram of 'your mind'.

In the second programme, Brown demonstrates how he can induce a "religious experience" in a self-styled Atheist (and stem-cell scientist). He reproduces a number of well known psychology experiments which show how even non-believers are "hard-wired" to be susceptible to suggestions of super-natural (and religious) presences.

http://youtu.be/S7ubasw7drI

A Public Lands Controversy In The Great American West (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

If you saw Cliven Bundy and his armed supporters on horseback this spring in Nevada, you saw one face of a movement to get the federal government’s hand off of vast lands in the American West. The suit-and-tie version of that movement wants control handed over to the states. And we’re talking a lot of land. Eighty-one percent of Nevada – federal-controlled. Sixty-seven percent of Utah. Forty-eight percent of California, Wyoming. Critics say the new Sagebrush Rebellion is about oil and gas and development. Supporters say “states’ rights.” This hour On Point: Who will control all Americans’ western lands? / Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/10/29/public-lands-sell-off-utah-montana

The Digitized, Home-Delivered Future Of Our Food Supply (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

When home delivery was done by horse and wagon, plenty of grocers delivered. When the Internet was young, in the first ‘90s boom, Webvan and others tried and failed to revive all that. Peapod came and stayed. Now, all kinds of players are piling in. Google Express wants to feed you. AmazonFresh wants to fill your fridge. Instacart has shoppers standing by at the store to fill a cart for you and deliver. FreshDirect and Walmart To Go are revving up. Blue Apron has a recipe and ingredients for you. This hour On Point: the food we eat, and the accelerating push to deliver all over. / Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
https://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/10/27/instacart-peapod-grocery-shopping

A Student Massacre In Mexico (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

If you thought mass graves and torture were just Islamic State issues these days – far away and unthinkable – look closer to home. To Mexico. Last month, just a hundred miles south of Mexico City, 43 young college students from the countryside were rounded up and “disappeared” in a town where officials and drug lords are all wrapped up together. All kinds of bodies have now been found. Burned. Face peeled. Eyes torn out. Even for Mexico, this is too much. Too far. The country is in uproar. This hour On Point: the inside story of the outrage in Iguala, and what’s wrong in Mexico. /Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
https://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/10/27/students-missing-guerrero-mexico-massacre

The Risks Of Income Inequality (Diane Rehm Show)

Earlier this month Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen spoke of the increasingly unequal distribution of wealth and income in this country. She warned that Americans at lower income levels have relatively very little chance to advance, and she questioned whether “this trend is compatible with values rooted in our nation’s history”. Some criticized her for stepping so squarely into what many perceive to be a partisan debate. Others argue that recent Fed policies have themselves contributed to the economic divide. Please join us as Senator Elizabeth Warren and three economists discuss what’s driving economic inequality and what, if anything, we should do about it.

Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-10-27/the_risks_of_income_inequality

Christopher Hitchens versus Rabbi Shmuley in this debate

http://youtu.be/8EgyzzkmfjE

Bucket

It is pronounced bouquet!

http://www.thegardensuperstore.co.uk/acatalog/Hyacinth-buckets-eb151hyacinth.gif

Mitch McConnell Now Back On 'Repeal Obamacare' Track

His tea party masters smacked him back in line, so now it's all about repeal.
...  Read more

They Finally Noticed Wage Slave Conditions For Silicon Valley's Foreign Workers

Seriously, they're just finding this out? People in the media must not know any normal working people: A year-long investigation by NBC Bay Area's In... Read more

http://youtu.be/bVhXTMpP-d0

Corporate Propagandist Richard Berman Secretly Taped Bragging About How He Smears Progressives

"One of corporate America’s most notorious political hitmen, Richard Berman, whose ugly campaigns almost always rely on smears and fake front groups that hide sponsors’ identities, has been secretly tape-recorded bragging about his dirt-filled tactics."... “I get up every morning and I try to figure out how to screw with labor unions."

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/corporate-propagandist-richard-berman-secretly-taped-bragging

Landrieu's Reference to Race Issues in South Outrages Republicans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Republicans are calling on Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu to apologize after she suggested Thursday that President Barack Obama's deep unpopularity in the South is partly tied to race.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/landrieus-reference-to-race-issues-in-south-outrages-republicans