Melinda Gates On Family Planning: 'Do The Right Thing, Regardless If It's Controversial'

“It’s not controversial in many, many other places in the world. And just because it’s controversial doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do the right thing for women. If women are telling you that, ‘I don’t want to have seven children, I can only feed two or three, but I don’t have a way to plan for those children,’ we should do the right thing, regardless if it’s controversial.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/08/melinda-gates-contraception_n_4065396.html

A Little List: The Top Ten Church-State Stories Of 2013

Here are some prominent church-state developments of 2013. It's that time of year when people are ... Read more

Religious Freedom: The Greatest Gift Of All

Some seem determined to force everyone to celebrate Christmas. This year, as in others, Religious Right groups spent much of December moaning about an alleged 'War on Christmas.'

https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/religious-freedom-the-greatest-gift-of-all-0

Bill Nye The Science Guy (Point of Inquiry)

"Famed educator, engineer and "Science Guy," Bill Nye Joins our host Josh Zepps for this week's Point of Inquiry. They discuss Bill's start as an Engineer and part time stand up comedian to his groundbreaking work in television educating a generation on science. They also delve into Bill's view into the future of science, science education, as well as how to become excessively rich using the tools of science to change the world..."

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Paul Offit, MD - Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine (Point of Inquiry)

Paul A. Offit, MD is best known as a co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine and a staunch, public supporter of vaccination and opponent of pseudoscientific alternative medicine.

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Chief Justice Warns Sequestration Cuts Already Threatening Public Safety

"...ROBERTS: Sequestration cuts have affected court operations across the spectrum. There are fewer court clerks to process new civil and bankruptcy cases, slowing the intake procedure and propagating delays throughout the litigation process. There are fewer probation and pretrial services officers to protect the public from defendants awaiting trial and from offenders following their incarceration and release into the community. There are fewer public defenders available to vindicate the Constitution’s guarantee of counsel to indigent criminal defendants, which leads to postponed trials and delayed justice for the innocent and guilty alike. There is less funding for security guards at federal courthouses, placing judges, court personnel, and the public at greater risk of harm..."

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/01/3109311/john-roberts-sequestration/

I thought you all would appreciate this...

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TIL that the US embargo against Cuba (53 years so far) has been condemned by the majority of the United Nations...

19 times since 1992 and is considered ILLEGAL by all nations but Israel, the Republic of Palau and the US itself. 
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Streaming now on Netflix: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

The no-holds-barred Pythons explore the various facets of life -- from procreation to the clang of a death knell -- in their typical irreverent fashion. Darker and more disturbing than other Monty Python fare, the film follows a sketch comedy format.

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Monty_Python_s_The_Meaning_of_Life/60029676?trkid=13641790

Pope Francis SHOCKED By Gay Adoption

"In his Christmas sermon, Bishop Charles Scicluna of Malta condemned adoption by same-sex couples. He insisted that God's own son was raised by a man and a woman, and not by two men or two women.

How divisive! said the media. But now it turns out that Bishop Scicluna met Pope Francis on December 12. The bishop later told the Times of Malta: "We discussed many aspects... and when I raised the issue that's worrying me as a bishop [the right for gay couples to adopt] he encouraged me to speak out."

Indeed, the Pope was "shocked" to learn that Malta's proposed Civil Union bill allows gay adoption. And Bishop's Scicluna's controversial sermon seems to have been delivered at his prompting."* The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpzhPfuhyK4

Michigan vs Federal Government - Who Wins?

"Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan signed Senate Bill No. 94 into law yesterday. The bill seeks to nullify section 1021 of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). "It is important to recall that indefinite detention first appeared in section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA, which provided warrant for indefinite detention of U.S. citizens," said Snyder."*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3PZ_VoP5HA

Tea Party Happily Uses Poster Mocking Them In Popular Video Game

"A Florida Tea Party group found itself on the defensive Monday after posting a photo from a video game that was actually making fun of its political leanings.

"We don't take credit for the image," National Liberty Federation (NLF) president Everett Wilkinson told The Raw Story in a phone interview. "We have no association with the game. I'd never heard of the game. I'm as clueless, probably, as most people."

MSNBC reported that the picture, taken from the video game Bioshock Infinite, went up on the group's Facebook page on Saturday, and depicts George Washington holding the Liberty Bell and the Ten Commandments while caricatures of "immigrants" hover at his sides, with the words, "It is our holy duty to guard against the foreign hordes" at the bottom."* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeyzMsXEhLg&list=WL32F078D9EEEFBB36

Is Journalism Dead In America?

Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian, Ben Mankiewicz and Jimmy Dore debate whether or not TV journalism is dead in America. The Young Turks group discuss shocking examples of the media failing to challenge the establishment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx5f4ExZ2ao&list=WL32F078D9EEEFBB36

Bill O'Reilly On Income Inequality

""Hey, who says America is in decline? The U.S. is still more awesome than the rest of the world at making at least one thing. And that thing is income inequality.

A new paper by economists Facundo Alvaredo, Anthony B. Atkinson, Thomas Piketty, and Emmanuel Saez lays out just how much better at making inequality the U.S. is than everybody else and tries to explain how it got that way.

Since the 1970s, the top 1 percent of earners in the U.S. has roughly doubled its share of the total American income pie to nearly 20 percent from about 10 percent, according to the paper. This gain is easily the biggest among other developed countries, the researchers note. You can see this in the chart below, taken from the paper, which maps the income gains of the top 1 percent in several countries against the massive tax breaks most of them have gotten in the past several decades."* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXEhb4aJXko&list=WL32F078D9EEEFBB36

Supporting the Unemployed (Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent)

5 Million Uninsured Because They Live in GOP States

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — About 5 million people will be without health care next year that they would have gotten simply if they lived somewhere else in... Read more

It's a sad time we live in when a man like Kanye West is so highly esteemed.

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Study sheds light on life of a land-dwelling fish called Pacific Leaping Blenny.

This one of the world’s strangest fishes remains on land all its adult life but has to stay moist to be able to breathe through its gills and skin - study & video.

According to a new paper published in the journal Animal Behaviour, the Pacific leaping blenny (Alticus arnoldorum) – a unique fish that lives on land and can leap large distances – uses camouflage to avoid attacks by predators such as birds, lizards and crabs.

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Koch Bros Behind Solar Power Fines

"According to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative network better known as ALEC, our solar panels make us "free riders." What?

Yes, according to ALEC, an organization that specializes in getting the right-wing agenda written into state laws, people like me who invest in energy-efficiency and shrinking our carbon footprints ought to be penalized.

Why does ALEC want us punished? Since it's bankrolled by, among others, the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, it's hard not to surmise that they're worried about a threat to fossil fuels businesses. Koch Industries' operations include refineries, oil and natural gas pipelines, and petrochemicals."* Cenk Uygur, Ben Mankiewicz, John Iadarola and Jimmy Dorebreak it down on The Young Turks..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3SDcOZLksk&list=WL32F078D9EEEFBB36

Home Depot Founder: Pope Francis’ Criticism Of Capitalism Will Scare Away Rich People

Ken Langone and others are worried Francis' remarks will turn off wealthy donors to the Catholic Church.The post Home Depot ... Read more