DN Speak

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Billions of years ago, Mars had a lake that lasted long enough to sustained microbial life, finds new research using data from NASA's Curiosity Mars r... Read more

Rover discovery bolsters case for life on ancient Mars

Data from NASA's Curiosity Rover suggests that, billions of years ago, Mars had long-lasting lakes that could have potentially sustained microbial lif... Read more

Income inequality hurts economic growth

The gap between rich and poor is at its highest level in 30 years and countries need to sit up and take notice if they don't want it to hurt their economies.
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Some Torture Facts

"The torturers are absolutely right to be pissed that they're being hung out to dry while Bush, Cheney, and Addington (and people like Tim Flanigan) are protected..."
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Mark Wahlberg's Ill-Timed Pardon Bid Is The Epitome Of White Privilege

Amidst the stories of nationwide protests in response to the grand jury decisions in the Mike Brown and Eric Garner shootings, actor Mark Wahlberg's r... Read more

McConnell Promises Obamacare Repeal Vote In GOP Senate

Majority Leader-elect Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the Senate will hold an Obamacare repeal vote when Republicans take over the chamber. ... Read more

Unionized Amazon Workers in Germany Go On Strike Over Wages And Conditions

Amazon has a history of resisting unions and treating their warehouse staff poorly. The post Unionized Amazon Workers in ... Read more

Once-In-1200-Year California Drought Bears Signature Of Climate Change

Recent peer-reviewed studies strongly support the view the California's epic drought was made considerably worse by ... Read more

Monday, December 8, 2014

Humanist chaplain John Figdor: “Religion introduces moral problems that wouldn’t exist otherwise”

"...My view is religion comes in and introduces a bunch of moral problems that wouldn’t exist otherwise. There is a wonderful emergent religious left that’s coming out, that’s having really authentic and serious conversations about religion. But, unfortunately, they aren’t the people having the conversation, and making it so that we can’t really have a discussion about stem-cell research or abortion access or evolution..."

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/07/humanist_chaplain_john_figdor_religion_introduces_moral_problems_that_wouldnt_exist_otherwise/

Editorial: Patriotic Americans have the right not to believe in any God

"...Organized religion undeniably plays an important and often constructive role in the lives of many Americans. Religious figures have been instrumental in political causes from abolitionism to the civil rights movement. No one should seek to banish them from political debate. But we reject the notion that religious faith in general or adherence to a particular creed is an essential attribute of being American. The only creed to which a citizen of this country should have to pay homage is the Constitution."
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-citizenship-religion-20141207-story.html#page=1

Is mocking religion enough? Harris, Dawkins and the future of atheist/secular politics

"...Harris suggests that any move toward an actual atheist movement is a step in the wrong direction—unnecessary at best, counterproductive at worst. His advice: “Go under the radar—for the rest of your life and be [a] decent, responsible [person] who destroys bad ideas wherever [you] find them.” The notion that all atheists need to do is pass, forming a covert community of fellow travelers, and take to rooting out and combating bad ideas wherever they find them within their personal lives is a point upon which not all atheists agree. “If we all came out, as Richard Dawkins advocates,” one respondent stated, “people might be surprised to learn who we are, and that we are not the terrible people that they perhaps had previously stereotyped us as. Rather, we are your friends, and colleagues and family members, and run the gamut of personalities . . . just like everyone else!”...

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/06/is_mocking_religion_enough_harris_dawkins_and_the_future_of_atheistsecular_politics/

Sorry, Haters: Here's Another Big Way Obamacare Is Working As Planned

It hasn't been at the top of the conversation about Obamacare, but new evidence suggests that yet another piece of the law is working exactly as it's ... Read more

States Form Secret Alliance With Energy Companies To Kill Environmental Regulations

"Republican attorneys general have formed with some of the nation's top energy producers to push back against the Obama ... Read more

The Right-Wing Myth That America Was Originally a Theocracy Is So Wrong

They believe the separation of church and state is a modern invention created by liberals and atheists.
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Dear White People: Here Are 5 Reasons Why You Can't Really Feel Black Pain

Claiming solidarity with us is fine, but don't confuse that with "feeling our pain."
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Yet Another Unarmed Black Man Shot Dead by Police

Add another name to the list of hashtags for unarmed black men killed by cops.
Add another ... Read more

How the Koch Network Funnels Anonymous Millions to Fight Women's Rights

One funding recipient supports causes such as fighting same-sex marriage and outlawing abortion.
... Read more

5 Right-Wing Lunacies This Week: O'Reilly Goes Way Off the Deep End

"Protests are a vast left-wing conspiracy," the conservative blabbermouth warns...
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Obama's Veto Threats Over GOP Bills Foreshadow Worsened Brinkmanship

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veto brinkmanship between congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama was virtually absent in his first six years in office... Read more