The Over-the-Counter Drug That Can Destroy Your Sleep

Melatonin shouldn't be trifled with...
http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/over-counter-drug-can-destroy-your-sleep

Chris Hedges: The Creeping Villainy of American Politics

The mounting attacks on Muslims, which will become a contagion when there is another catastrophic terrorist attack, are only the beginning.
http://www.alternet.org/culture/chris-hedges-creeping-villainy-american-politics

The Pagan Origins Of Christmas

Whether you're putting up the tree or decking the halls, you might be surprised that some of your favorite Christmas traditions are actually pagan.
https://youtu.be/N9pV8bPup0Y

The Plutocrats Are Winning. Don’t Let Them!

The vast inequality they are creating is a death sentence for government by consent of the people.
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/plutocrats-are-winning-dont-let-them

The Shocking, Unacceptable Levels of Hunger and Homelessness in American Cities

A new report looks at the issue in 22 cities around the country.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2015/12/23/festivus-seinfeld-christmas/77755574/

Race On Campus, From Missouri To Yale And Beyond (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Campus turmoil in the heart of Missouri in the last week and more. And yesterday, the president of the University of Missouri system, resigning in a hail of protest over race issues and racism. A hunger strike in the heart of the flagship campus. Black students saying “no more” to racist taunts and a sense of second-class status. Players on the campus football team threatening to boycott this week’s Division I game. And boom, there is change at the top. It’s not the only campus in turmoil over race issues. This hour On Point, we’ll look at the tensions behind the uproar, and ask what now with race on campus. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/11/10/missouri-president-resignation-race-on-campus

Let’s Make Medical Marijuana A Major Issue For 2016; It Saves Lives

The head of the DEA recently said that medical marijuana is a complete joke. But the people who depend on medical marijuana aren’t laughing. The truth is that medical marijuana has been a miracle drug to hundreds of thousands of critically ill Americans.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/b-1iU5qFF4U

Cruz: Obama Has Banned Anti-Muslim Speech

Ted Cruz is once again telling a whopper of a lie, claiming that President Obama has banned anti-Muslim speech. You know, the kind of speech he and millions of others engage in every day with no one even telling them they can’t, much less doing anything to prevent it. “It’s against the law to say what I’m saying right now.” Then why aren’t you being arrested?...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2015/12/16/cruz-obama-has-banned-anti-muslim-speech/

USA Today: It's Festivus for us 'Seinfeld' fans

It's Christmas Eve Eve. For 'Seinfeld' faithful, that also means it's Festivus!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2015/12/23/festivus-seinfeld-christmas/77755574/

American Muslims Adopt Two-Pronged Approach To Combating Extremism | ThinkProgress

The United States Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), a coalition of leading national and local Muslim organizations, said this new program would focus on steering Muslim youths away from extremist propaganda associated with groups like ISIS and simultaneously oppose hate speech and inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric at Monday’s press conference...
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2015/12/21/3734351/american-muslims-adopt-two-pronged-approach-to-combating-extremism/

Here’s Why 2016 Could Be the Biggest Year for Reproductive Rights and the Courts in Decades

...Even so, 2016 is still shaping up to be an important year for reproductive rights and justice. Some cases on the list to watch—like yet another challenge to the birth control benefit in the Affordable Care Act—we anticipated. Other cases, like the trial in Colorado of Robert Lewis Dear Jr., who is accused of launching a siege at a Planned Parenthood health-care center in Colorado Springs that killed three, injured nine, and terrorized many others, we wish were not here at all. But given the violent rhetoric targeting abortion doctors, providers, and patients that increased over the course of 2015, we can’t say we were surprised to put it there...
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/12/22/cases-watch-2016/

Six ‘Trailblazing’ Efforts to Counter Anti-Choice Restrictions in 2015

In state legislatures alone, the year 2015 saw about 400 bills to restrict reproductive health care introduced and 47 measures enacted, according to an analysis from the Center for Reproductive Rights. Yet in coordination with local and national organizations, a few lawmakers attempted to counter the seemingly endless barrage of anti-choice bills being pushed around the country and in Washington, D.C. to stand up for a range of reproductive health necessities such as abortion, contraception, and prenatal care...
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/12/22/six-trailblazing-efforts-counter-anti-choice-restrictions-2015/

Trump Supporter Arrested In Alleged Plot To Bomb Muslims

Police in Richmond, California have arrested 55-year-old William Celli, who was allegedly constructing explosive devices he intended to use against the Muslims in his community...
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/21/3734345/trump-supporter-arrested-in-alleged-plot-to-bomb-muslims/

There Are Now No More Major GOP Candidates Left Who Accept Climate Science

Say goodbye to the only major Republican presidential candidate who publicly accepts mainstream climate science.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/21/3734216/republican-candidates-climate-change-lindsey-graham/

Conservative groups helped gut Wisconsin election laws (The Center for Public Integrity)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed into law on Wednesday measures that transform campaign finance rules and a government accountability board — two bills pushed by the very same conservative political groups implicated in an investigation into his campaign.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/node/19056

HealthCare.Gov Enrollment Up 30 Percent Over Last Year

"These figures should allay concerns that enrollment is at risk of stagnating," he wrote.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-enrollment-increase

Growth Industry: New Study Illustrates How Creationist Tactics Keep Evolving (Americans United - Wall of Separation)

It’s an innovative approach, and his results, which were published last Thursday in Science, support the argument that “academic freedom” bills are really intended to create a loophole that can be exploited by educators sympathetic to creationism...
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/growth-industry-new-study-illustrates-how-creationist-tactics-keep-evolving

Chris Christie mostly wrong that Barack Obama invited Russia into military role in Syria

Says the Obama administration invited "Russia into Syria."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/dec/21/chris-christie/chris-christie-mostly-wrong-barack-obama-invited-r/

Paul Ryan's shaky claim that Obamacare is 'making families pay double-digit premium increases'

The Affordable Care Act is "making families pay double-digit premium increases."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/dec/20/paul-ryan/paul-ryans-shaky-claim-obamacare-making-families-p/

Fact-checking Sanders' claim that U.S. spends 3 times per capita what the U.K. spends on health care

The United States spends "almost three times per capita what they spend in the U.K." on health care and "50 percent more than they pay in France."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/dec/20/bernie-s/fact-checking-bernie-sanders-claim-us-spends-three/

Cruz muddles accusation against Rubio's 2013 immigration bill

"One of the most troubling aspects of the Rubio-Schumer Gang of Eight bill was that it gave President Obama blanket authority to admit refugees, including Syrian refugees, without mandating any background checks whatsoever."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/dec/18/ted-cruz/cruz-muddles-accusation-against-rubios-immigration/

Geneva Conventions bar Donald Trump's idea of killing terrorists' families, as Rand Paul says

"If you are going to kill the families of terrorists, realize that there's something called the Geneva Convention we're going to have to pull out of."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/dec/17/rand-paul/rand-pauls-right-geneva-conventions-bar-donald-tru/

The Koch-Like Family You’ve Never Heard Of Influencing State Legislatures | Political Research Associates

The DeVos family—Michigan-based builders of the Amway fortune—is one of the most influential families in conservative U.S. politics. Their agenda includes many items on the Corporate and Christian Right’s wish lists, including so-called “right to work” laws that weaken unions, discriminatory Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) bills, and education privatization (including pushing school vouchers that transfer public dollars to private religious coffers). Although some of their higher-profile activities such as Dick DeVos’ failed 2006 race for Michigan governor and Richard DeVos´ ownership of the Orlando Magic basketball team are covered in the press, their political spending has gotten far less attention. This year 435 seats will be contested in the House of Representatives, 35 in the Senate and 13 gubernatorial races will take place alongside local and county elections; therefore it is critically important for the country to see and debate the influence that rich families like the DeVoses are wielding in politics...
http://www.politicalresearch.org/2015/12/22/the-koch-like-family-youve-never-heard-of-influencing-state-legislatures/

Should College Students be Allowed to Take Smart Drugs? (John Donvan, Intelligence Squared U.S.)

If you could take a pill that would help you study and get better grades, would you? Off-label use of “smart drugs” – pharmaceuticals meant to treat disorders like ADHD, narcolepsy, and Alzheimer’s – are becoming increasingly popular among college students hoping to get ahead, by helping them to stay focused and alert for longer periods of time. But is this cheating? Should their use as cognitive enhancers be approved by the FDA, the medical community, and society at large? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
Interview:
http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/upcoming-debates/item/1407-college-students-should-be-allowed-to-take-smart-drugs

Fact check: The ‘King of Whoppers' for 2015 is Donald Trump

"In the 12 years of FactCheck.org’s existence, we’ve never seen his match. He stands out not only for the sheer number of his factually false claims, but also for his brazen refusals to admit error when proven wrong."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/12/22/fact-check-king-whoppers-2015-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-race-for-president/77730672/

Ohio Republicans Now Want Burials and Cremations for Aborted or Miscarried Fetuses

… Gabriel Mann of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio says this legislation, and the stated need for it, is all politics.
“This law that Ohio Planned Parenthood affiliates have been following has been in effect for 40 years, 3 months and 14 days and nobody had any problems with them following the law until Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine had to announce that Planned Parenthood was following the law. And he got very frustrated by the fact that he had to tell the truth and now they need a new law.”
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/12/21/ohio-republicans-now-want-burials-and-cremations-for-aborted-or-miscarried-fetuses/

Alabama’s Abstinence-Only Sex Education Classes Are Hurting Students Across the State

Half of Alabama’s high school students have had sex, half of those sexually active students didn’t use a condom. The STD rate is also very high, with Montgomery, the state capitol, ranking highest in the nation. The state’s teen birthrate (34.3 births per 1,000 people) is higher than the national average (26.5).
Oh. And they teach abstinence-only sex education there. But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence…
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/12/21/alabamas-abstinence-only-sex-education-classes-are-hurting-students-across-the-state/

And Now the Good News #168: 12/22/2015

https://youtu.be/MrEDAW_epb8

A Short History of the War on Christmas

How everyone from Bill O’Reilly to Jon Stewart became a co-conspirator in an annual farce.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/12/war-on-christmas-short-history-101222

Did the U.S. Cover Up Navy SEALs' Beating Death of Afghan Detainee & Pattern of Extreme Abuse?

Democracynow.org - A stunning new investigation by The New York Times examines claims of military abuses and a possible cover-up that goes up the chain of command. Reporters uncovered accounts that in May 2012 members of a Navy SEAL team stationed at an outpost in Kalach, in southern Afghanistan, abused detainees that had been rounded up as suspects after a bomb exploded at a military checkpoint, killing one member of the Afghan Local Police unit the SEALs had been training. According to a report by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which the Times acquired through a FOIA request, three Navy SEALs dropped heavy stones on the detainees’ chests, stomped on their heads, and poured bottles of water on their faces in a modified form of waterboarding. One of the detainees was beaten so badly that he eventually died from his injuries. But what happened after the incident has many military justice experts questioning whether Navy commanders worked to cover up the case. Four U.S. soldiers working with the SEALs at the outpost reported that they witnessed the abuse, but Navy commanders chose to deal with the matter in a closed disciplinary process, one usually reserved for minor infractions. The SEALs were cleared of any wrongdoing. Two of the SEALs implicated in the abuse of the detainees and their lieutenant have since been promoted, despite calls by one commander to have them forced out of the SEAL team. We speak with Nicholas Kulish, a correspondent with The New York Times and one of the lead reporters on "Navy SEALs, a Beating Death, and Claims of a Cover-Up."
https://youtu.be/8gqUhU_PCPw

DID RELIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES JUST GET A LICENSE TO DISCRIMINATE?

The news that more than two dozen religiously affiliated colleges and universities had received exemptions from the anti-discrimination provisions of Title IX demonstrates how the “religious liberty” argument continues to morph and spread...
http://religiondispatches.org/did-religious-universities-just-get-a-license-to-discriminate/
The report:
http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/assets/resources/Title_IX_Exemptions_Report.pdf

Cats Are Assholes

http://i.imgur.com/yBO49Wo.gif

Next financial crash is coming – and before we've fixed flaws from last one

IMF global stability report makes for a sobering read, saying sustainable recovery has failed to materialised and cheap money has led to bubbles and debt...
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/07/next-financial-crash-is-coming-imf-global-stability-report

Artificial intelligence: ‘Homo sapiens will be split into a handful of gods and the rest of us’

A new report suggests that the marriage of AI and robotics could replace so many jobs that the era of mass employment could come to an end...
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/07/artificial-intelligence-homo-sapiens-split-handful-gods

U.S. and China Work Together for Climate Solution, So Far (Scientific American Content: Global)

The world’s two largest polluters have been team players at the climate talks in Paris...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-and-china-work-together-for-climate-solution-so-far/

NOVA: How Ants Respond to Predators Suggests Superorganism Capabilities

Entomologist Thomas O’Shea-Wheller studies these behaviors in colonies of Temnothorax albipennis ants in his lab at the University of Bristol. When he simulates predator attacks, he said the ants “are able to communicate the location of where it is happening very precisely,” and thus execute the most effective escape. When attacked outside the nest, they retreat inside, while if attacked from the inside, they jump nest and search for a new home...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/nature/how-ants-respond-to-predators-suggests-superorganism-capabilities/

Ted Cruz Tells Fabricated Story About A Girl Threatened With Jail For Saying ‘Jesus’ | ThinkProgress

But Hildenbrand was not actually threatened with jail for praying. In fact, every part of Cruz’s statement in South Carolina is incorrect, Greg Lipper, an attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who worked on the case, told ThinkProgress...
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/07/3729266/ted-cruz-jail-jesus/

Witness Lied About Seeing Man With Firearm Before He Was Gunned Down By Police | ThinkProgress

“I had no thought. Or the idea of a gun wasn’t really a thing until [the detectives] presented the idea to me, or the situation to me,” the witness reportedly testified said in the deposition. “By the time I had the conversation with the state’s attorney, I’d already conjured this notion, this story. The story that I told her was the story that we had, me and the detectives, logically [come] to because of the situation and what they presented to me. Everything was already defined and clear to me, spoken to me by the detectives, at that point. So when I went in to have that conversation…there was a clear line of events and things that were already going to be in the story.”
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/07/3729220/witness-lied-about-seeing-man-with-firearm-before-he-was-gunned-down-by-police/

Hillary Clinton says background check of Charleston church shooter wasn't 'fast enough'

The Charleston, S.C., shooter "should have never been given a gun, but the universal background check was not fast enough."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/dec/06/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-says-background-check-charleston-c/

Next time you go to Vegas, remember that there is this amazing place 15 minutes out of the city. Red Rock Canyon, NV, USA. [OC], [2000 × 1448]

https://i.imgur.com/tf44kgh.jpg

U.S. Military Vows To Protect Muslim Americans Using Hashtag #IWillProtectYou

Eight-year-old Sofia heard Donald Trump announce his intentions to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., and she got scared. She packed her bags just in case the military came to remove her from her home. Some military veterans chimed in. #IWillProtectYou
https://youtu.be/0_fGzg7GKbs

10 Celebrities You Might Not Know Were Muslim

https://youtu.be/FbojwNunGyY

Black Atheist in the Hood funny

Black atheist argues with Black Christians over whether or not god is real. I grew up with these people in Akron Ohio and its a very interesting and entertaining debate.
Black Atheist in the Hood. Not really the hood more like suburbs in the city of Akron Ohio.
https://youtu.be/uSmiyDdi19E

GOP Sen. Bob Corker Failed To Disclose Millions In Assets And Income

While Corker appears to have corrected the reports, the senator still faces the ire of watchdog groups like the Campaign for Accountability. That group's president Anne Weismann told the Wall Street Journal that she was planning to file an additional ethics complaint in light of the new filing...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bob-corker-failed-to-disclose-millions-in-profits

U.S. Troops On The Ground In Syria And Iraq (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

President Obama came into office determined to get American troops out of old wars. That was the move. But things are shifting. We have 3,500 troops back in Iraq now. And Friday, the president announced he has ordered US Special Forces into Syria. Only a few dozen. To advise and assist against ISIS. But on the ground. With an open-ended commitment. Russia’s there. Assad’s still there. All kinds of fighters and interests are there. Now, US troops, officially there too. This hour On Point, American troops in Syria and Iraq. What’s enough, what’s too much, and whether we should be there at all. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/11/02/syria-isis-iraq-us-troops-boots-on-the-ground

Oregon Is The Latest Target Of Right-Wing Effort To Get Rid Of National Forests

The proposal, which is the latest in a series of attempts by right-wing politicians to seize or sell-off national public lands, is so controversial that observers say it could spark a renewed water war in Rep. Walden’s home state of Oregon...
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/14/3731685/oregon-national-forests-right-wing-effort/

Study tracks the evolution of pro-creationism laws in the U.S.

The forces opposed to teaching evolution in U.S. public schools just got a new reason to resent the bedrock scientific theory: A researcher has used the principles of evolutionary biology to show that laws ostensibly aimed at improving science education are firmly rooted in efforts to make classrooms safe for creationism...
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-evolution-of-creationism-in-schools-20151217-story.html

Ridiculous Names, Serious Consequences: When Anti-Choicers Got Creative in 2015

All this has made this year a real doozy for ridiculously named bills and legislative committees around the country. Here are 10 of the most ridiculous—and most inflammatory—names of 2015. Though the names may be idiotic, make no mistake: They, and bills like them, have the potential to do real damage to reproductive autonomy all over the United States...
http://rhrealitycheck.org/ablc/2015/12/18/ridiculous-names-serious-consequences-anti-choicers-got-creative-2015/

Six GOP Candidates Pledge To Sign Anti-Gay Discrimination Into Law

Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee vowed to push for the passage of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), legislation that would prohibit the federal government from stopping discrimination by people or businesses that believe “marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman” or that “sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.”...
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/19/3734043/gop-candidates-fadapledge/

Don't Be a Saint Teresa - The Off-Monday Ramble Episode 50

Mother Teresa's gonna be a saint.  Is it legit?

Here's an NBC News article on Mother Teresa's newly certified second miracle:
http://goo.gl/LpDTdV

Here's Christopher Hitchens's 2003 Salon piece on Teresa's first certified miracle:
http://goo.gl/efSMV
https://youtu.be/4G4AYLiLZmA

Many Millennials see Christmas as more cultural than religious holiday

...That stands in contrast to those in older generations, who in some cases are more likely to say they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, attend religious services for Christmas and believe Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, according to a new look at the data...
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/18/many-millennials-see-christmas-as-more-cultural-than-religious-holiday/

Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai explains why Trump’s comments on Muslims are dangerous

I can just highlight one thing. The more you speak about Islam and against all Muslims, the more terrorists we create.
So it's important that whatever politicians say, whatever the media say, they should be really, really careful about it. If your intention is to stop terrorism, do not try to blame the whole population of Muslims for it because it cannot stop terrorism. It will radicalize more terrorists.

http://www.vox.com/2015/12/16/10300380/malala-trump

 

Top U.S. & World Headlines — December 21, 2015

https://youtu.be/6ikxhZAoaxc

Obama Makes 'No Apologies' For Fighting ISIS Within 'American Values' (NPR)

In a wide-ranging, year-end interview with NPR, the president says he makes "no apologies" for going after ISIS "appropriately and in a way that is consistent with American values." The interview comes as Obama's strategy to fight terror is receiving low approval from the public and fierce criticism from the right for not being more forceful. The president also discusses his concern that campus activists aren't hearing other points of view, the legacy of his climate deal and why he feels Donald Trump is "exploiting" the anger and fear of some American voters.
Summary: http://www.npr.org/2015/12/21/460281332/obama-makes-no-apologies-for-fighting-isis-within-american-values
Interview:
https://youtu.be/MNop1dom1m8

Donald Trump Has An Absolutely Terrifying Plan For The Supreme Court

At the forum, which was hosted by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R), Trump named Justice Clarence Thomas as his favorite justice, labeling the Court’s most conservative member “very strong and consistent.”...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/14/3731361/donald-trump-has-an-absolutely-terrifying-plan-for-the-supreme-court/

A Plethora Of Pulpit Politicking Problems?: Far-Right Pastors Prepare For Electoral Bids

Just because pastors have the right to run for office doesn’t mean they should get a free pass. Some of these religious leaders are using their houses of worship to promote their candidacies. This is a violation of federal law...
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/a-plethora-of-pulpit-politicking-problems-far-right-pastors-prepare-for

A Child Is Shot To Death Every Other Day In The U.S.

Kids have faced tragic levels of gun violence in the three years since Sandy Hook...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gun-deaths-children_566f1e4ee4b0e292150ec036

6 Ways You Didn't Know Sleep Loss Hinders Your Health

Here's the thing: Not only can insufficient sleep thwart overnight recovery from exercise, but poor sleep can also prevent skills from improving after lessons or practice. You may be crushing it at the gym, but inadequate sleep disrupts our basic metabolism and can even lead to weight gain...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pete-bils/how-sleep-impacts-weight_b_8537272.html

Senators Had To Cancel A Press Conference About A Mass Shooting Because Of A Mass Shooting

"Every time a piece of legislation comes up regarding guns, the first thing Republicans say is, 'Well, that would not have prevented this from happening,'" Clyburn told HuffPost. "They cannot argue that fixing the law would not have made a difference -- it would have made a difference. They cannot say that about Charleston."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/background-checks-gun-sales_566f2981e4b0e292150ec8ed

After 2,000 years, Christians in Gaza disappearing

The ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and the highest unemployment rate in the world are prompting Christians to leave the besieged area in droves, some using the holiday season to their advantage...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/12/20/after-2000-years-christians-gaza-disappearing/77503936/

Inside The Wild G.O.P. Primary (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Now Donald Trump is calling for the U.S. to bar Muslims from entering the country. Jeb Bush has called him “unhinged.” Former Republican Governor of Virginia, Jim Gilmore has called his talk “”fascist.” Dick Cheney says it, quote, “goes against everything we stand for.” But Republicans on the campaign trail cheered wildly for Trump yesterday. What’s going on with the G.O.P.? Top reporter McKay Coppins has gone deep on the tumultuous Republican primary campaign. He’s with us. This hour On Point, the G.O.P. wild campaign season, and the Trump bombshell. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/12/08/gop-primary-election-2016-trump-bush-carson

On TV, Women Who Have Abortions Are Younger, Whiter And Wealthier

While the study did not look at audience impact — that analysis is coming, Sisson says — she theorizes that depictions of women choosing abortion may already be influencing public policy...
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/12/18/460138420/on-tv-women-who-have-abortions-are-younger-whiter-and-wealthier

Retconning Christmas: David Kyle Johnson on the Real Reason for the Season (Lindsay Beyerstein, Point of Inquiry)

During the perennial War on Christmas, certain Christians often feel the need to remind the rest of us what the holiday season is really about. It’s Jesus Christ’s birthday and we’re all invited to the party… if by “party” you mean sitting reverently in pews at Christmas mass. Something as little as changing the seasonal decorations on a cardboard coffee cup is enough to put some Christians on edge, as some felt the new red and green Starbucks cups insufficiently acknowledged the role of Christ. Andrea Williams of the U.K.’s Christian Concern wrote, “This is a denial of historical reality and the great Christian heritage behind the American Dream that has so benefitted Starbucks.” But perhaps it's folks like Williams who are the ones guilty of historical denial.

Here to talk about the real historical origins of Christmas is writer and philosophy professor David Kyle Johnson, author of the new book, The Myths that Stole Christmas. Johnson explains how “the reason for the season” is just the season itself. He discusses how Christmas went from being a secular holiday to a religious one, how Jesus was inserted into it, the origins of Santa Claus, and all the other myths in between that still hold sway in our modern-day seasonal celebrations.
Interview:
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/retconning_christmas_david_kyle_johnson_on_the_real_reason_for_the_season/

Quick Rebuttals to Common Christian Claims

Richard Carrier concisely rebuts six common claims apologists make.
Interview:
00:28 "Spacetime had a beginning"
1:38 "The Universe is fine tuned for life"
3:43 "Life requires a creator"
5:20 "Consciousness requires a spirit/soul"
7:34 "God is needed for objective moral values"
9:07 "Jesus was resurrected"
https://youtu.be/Bv2DN4uvAKw

This is part of "The Case Against Christianity" playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf113iNh-64ba5FppqyEFnuJLf3UY5tDR.
The full debate can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/QS2z3WCHJ5Y

Biblical Studies - Robert Price & Hector Avalos

Robert Price interviews fellow Bible Geek and secular Bible scholar Hector Avalos on a wide range of topics, from the increasingly devotional character of the Society of Biblical Literature to law enforcement in the Bible and whether Ezekiel was seeing a flying saucer.

Did Abraham exist? How about Moses? David? Solomon? Jesus? Is there a future for Biblical Studied as we relegate it to the same level as the Iliad and the Odyssey?

Hector Avalos serves as professor of religious studies at Iowa State University. Once upon a time, he was a Pentecostal preacher and a child evangelist. Since then he has earned a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology in 1982, a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1985, and a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Near Eastern Studies from Harvard University in 1991. His many books include Illness and Healthcare in the Ancient Near East, Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence, and The End of Biblical Studies.

Education
Ph.D. 1991, Harvard University, 1991
M.T.S. 1985, Harvard Divinity School
B.A. in Anthropology, 1982 University of Arizona

Research and Teaching Interests
Biblical and Near Eastern Studies
U.S. Latino/a Religion and Literature
Religion and Violence
Science and Religion
https://youtu.be/xOj51_tY4_E