Here’s How Many People Police Killed In 2015

Despite public protests, occupations, direct action, and increased public scrutiny, U.S. police killed more people in 2015 than in 2014. While numbers vary from source to source — the Washington Post cites 975, while the Guardian puts the tally at 1,125 — the website killedbypolice.net found that police have killed 1,186 people in 2015 (the U.S. government currently does not track how many people are killed in police encounters.)...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/28/3735190/killed-by-police-2015/

Former KKK Leader: Trump Speaks ‘A Lot More Radically Than I Talk’

Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke spoke candidly about Donald Trump recently, saying the Republican presidential candidate speaks “a lot more radically” than he does...
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/28/3735160/david-duke-trump-interview/

Republican Governor Says Its Time To ‘Eliminate Gerrymandering’

A Republican Governor’s Plan To Make America A Democracy Again...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/27/3735132/republican-governor-says-its-time-to-eliminate-gerrymandering/

Alabama Governor Uses BP Spill Money To Fix Up A Second Mansion For Himself | ThinkProgress

While Alabama’s oyster industry and coastal communities continue to suffer from the effects of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout, the repairs to the governors’ mansion are estimated to cost between $1.5 million and $1.8 million...
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/27/3735129/alabama-mansion-bp/

Everything You Need To Know About How Republicans Are Running The Senate, In One Number | ThinkProgress

Eleven.
If you want to understand how the Senate has functioned since Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took over as Senate Majority Leader last January, the number 11 offers a clear window into McConnell’s entire philosophy of governance — or perhaps, non-governance. According to the Federal Judicial Center, the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed just 11 judges this year. That compares to 40 during President George W. Bush’s seventh year in office, 34 during President Bill Clinton’s seventh year, and 44 at this point in Ronald Reagan’s presidency...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/27/3735124/everything-you-need-to-know-about-how-republicans-are-running-the-senate-in-one-number/

The unseen toll of workplace disease in America

The deadliest scourge you probably haven't heard of: an estimated 50,000 lives lost each year to on-the-job exposures...
http://www.publicintegrity.org/node/19078

The Wrongly Targeted Sikhs

At the risk of stating the obvious, these attackers almost certainly believe they are attacking Muslims. But Sikhs are not Muslims...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-wrongly-targeted-sikhs

Increase Your Tax Savings On Charitable Giving - Forbes

Giving to a charity that benefits a cause that’s close to your heart is rewarding. Getting a tax break for your generosity can make it even more gratifying—even more so than you may realize. What if you could add more than 20% to your charitable contribution and maximize your tax savings by taking advantage of an often-overlooked tax provision?...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/fidelity/2015/12/03/increase-your-tax-savings-on-charitable-giving/

StillTasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide - Save Money, Eat Better, Help The Environment

How long will your favorite food or beverage stay safe and tasty? What's the best way to store it? Get the answers to all your questions here.
http://www.stilltasty.com

Guess Who Ted Koppel Thinks Is the Chief Recruiter for ISIS?

Trump and ISIS both "want to divide the world into Judeo-Christian on one side and the Islamic on the other."
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/guess-who-ted-koppel-thinks-chief-recruiter-isis

Gene editing saves girl dying in UK from leukaemia in world first.

Total remission, after chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant fails, in just 5 months. It is too soon to say she is cured, the team stressed at a press conference in London on 5 November. That will only become clear after a year or two. So far, though, she is doing well and there is no sign of the cancer returning. Other patients are already receiving the same treatment.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28454-gene-editing-saves-life-of-girl-dying-from-leukaemia-in-world-first/

Early On, Comedian John Cleese Says, He Had Good Timing But Little Else (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

The co-founder of the Monty Python troupe admits he wasn't "naturally gifted" at physical comedy. His memoir, So, Anyway..., covers his boyhood and early career.
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2015/10/16/448945981/early-on-comedian-john-cleese-says-he-had-good-timing-but-little-else

Have We Lost A Constitutional Right In The Fine Print? (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

New York Times reporter Jessica Silver-Greenberg says many companies' contracts force consumers to settle complaints through arbitration instead of in court, and include bans on class action suits.
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2015/11/12/455749456/have-we-lost-a-constitutional-right-in-the-fine-print

America left behind: Many US communities fall short of UN goals

https://youtu.be/LPgxrXKyzZ4

Most People In New York Actually Like Common Core, According To New Survey

More than 70 percent of respondents in a survey that included 10,500 New York residents said positive things about Common Core. There was more criticism and suggestions for how to improve Common Core implementation for earlier grades than later grades, according to the survey. The majority of the respondents were teachers...
http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/12/15/3732113/common-core-new-york-survey/

Citizenship, For Sale (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

It is Veterans Day. A day to honor those who have served and remember that a whole lot of people have died fighting for their country. Citizen soldiers, devoted to nation. But the globalized world is changing the very idea of citizenship. At the bottom, refugees and outcasts are being left stateless, with no country. At the top, millionaires and billionaires are now buying passports to multiple countries, with real ties and maybe allegiance to none. Countries are putting citizenship up for sale. Belonging is fluid. This hour On Point, identity, belonging, statelessness – and citizenship for sale. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/11/11/citizenship-statelessness-refugee-crisis-syria

Biblical Studies - Robert Price & Hector Avalos

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/jesusproject/fellows/price_robert_m/
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

Black Atheist: "God Is Fake" | SPEAKERS CORNER

Hyde Park Speakers Corner 2015: London Black Atheist Group Promotes Atheism To The African Diaspora, Atheist Vs Muslim.
https://youtu.be/OjIEumdSbnc

Peter Boghossian - Jesus, The Easter Bunny and Other Delusions: Just Say No!

Dr Peter Boghossian's lecture presentation on January 27, 2012, presented by the Freethinkers of PSU.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/WIaPXtZpzBw

The U.S. Has A Mass Shooting Epidemic, But No Government Database On Gun Violence (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

"I found a couple of perfunctory timelines that highlighted a couple of major attacks over the years, but that was it," Follman explains to Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "My response to that was just to think, 'This is crazy. How could there not be more information on this?' "
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/09/459056018/the-u-s-has-a-mass-shooting-epidemic-but-no-federal-database-on-gun-violence