"Wither goest thou, America...in thy shiny car in the night?"
-Jack Kerouac, "On The Road"
Local/Feature
Questions in Fox Lake Police Death Emerge
Incident was used to indict "Black Lives Matter" movement.
Chicago Tribune, Sept. 16, 2015
Judge Orders Officers Tried Separately in Freddie Gray Case-
Baltimore Sun, Sept. 16, 2015
Here's the Conservative Playbook for Tearing Down Black Lives Matter-
Mother Jones, Sept.4, 2015
Whistleblower Cop Says the Police Academy is “Infected,” Teaching Cadets there’s a “War on Cops” -
Free Thought Project, Sept. 14, 2015
Free Thought Project, Sept. 14, 2015
Business Insider, July 28, 2015
Politics
Salon, Sept. 15, 2015
"The shutdown of 2013 may not have accomplished anything substantively, but it certainly helped cement a picture in the public’s mind of a dysfunctional government that cannot do anything right. That, of course, fits with an enduring conservative narrative about bumbling politicians ruining the country for the rugged individuals out there. It’s a neat trick: make the government look feckless, and then point to that as an example of government fecklessness.If Republicans in Congress have had any goal over the five years since first gaining back the majority in the House, it’s to create this impression. Their constant deadlines and ultimatums and false starts and showdowns may look like failures of leadership. But they also serve to alienate people from their government. And ultimately, that reflects poorly on the party that wants to employ government resources to solve problems, regardless of Democrats’ role in the dysfunction."
Elizabeth Warren
Addicting Info, Sept. 14, 2015
Slate, Sept. 8, 2015
Almost everyone has something to demagogue in the 2016 Republican primary. For Donald Trump, it’s Latino immigration, and Mexican migrants in particular. For Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, it’s the nuclear deal with Iran; for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, it’s the Kim Davis affair in Kentucky, where a county official was jailed for refusing to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples; and for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, it’s crime."
Jeremy Corbyn
Washington Post, Sept. 12, 2015
Bernie Sanders
This is What a Political Earthquake Feels Like- Sanders Speech at Liberty Matters-Salon, Sept. 15, 2015
"Sanders is a populist, not a socialist. By “populist,” I mean he appeals to the working and middle classes, and in a way that transcends arbitrary and often manufactured political cleavages. There’s this false notion (on both the left and the right) that Sanders is a fringe candidate, anathema to independents and centrists. But this is a media fiction, which reveals nothing about Sanders’s actual platform.
Bernie’s brand of populism was on full display at Liberty. If you can cut through the rhetoric and the partisan bullshit, there are common causes to be found – and this is what Sanders tried to do yesterday. Most politicians are chameleonic by nature; they adapt in order to blend in with their audience. But Sanders refused to put on airs at Liberty, saying in no uncertain terms: “I believe in a woman’s right to control her own body. I believe in gay rights and gay marriage. Those are my views, and it is no secret. But I came here today, because I believe from the bottom of my heart that it is vitally important for those of us who hold different views to be able to engage in a civil discourse.”
CNN Staffers Fed Up With Non-Stop Trump Coverage-
Liberal Agenda, Sept. 12, 2015
"At a network town hall event Thursday, staffers complained about the excessive coverage of Donald Trump as well as CNN President Jeff Zucker's directive to cover the presidential candidate ad nauseam, The Wrap's Jordan Chariton reports.
Anyone who's tuned in to CNN lately will know what the staff is upset about. The network airs Trump rallies and press conferences in full -- regardless of their news value -- and continues to dedicate precious airtime to segments about Trump's hair or his latest Twitter outburst.
In a shocking display of the channel's priorities, CNN even bumped Anderson Coopers moving special about Hurricane Katrina for a Trump press conference in which nothing happened."
Scott Walker
Why Walkers Latest Assault on Workers Won't Save his Campaign-Salon, Sept 14, 2015
"Fresh off a 10th place finish in the most recent Quinnipiac Iowa poll, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker thinks it’s time to return to the policies that launched his national political career. On Monday he'll announce a brutal assault on labor rights that would strip away worker protections earned as far back as the New Deal.
The flailing Walker has previewed a policy agenda that includes eliminating unions for federal employees, making all workplaces “right-to-work” unless states opt out, and eliminating the National Labor Relations Board."
Lottery Privatized Under Christie Falls $136 Million in Debt-
Associated Press, Sept 14, 2015
"Two years after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie privatized much of the state's lottery operations, a big payoff remains out of sight.
Higher costs associated with the private company that Christie hired, Northstar New Jersey, have cut the state's income for the second straight year, creating a $136 million shortfall in the state's 2015 budget, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press. The results are poor enough that the state is entitled to fire the company if its performance doesn't improve in the current fiscal year."
Donald Trump
Washington Post, Sept. 13, 2015
National
Worlds Largest PR Firm Ends Work With Climate Change Deniers-
The Guardian, Sept. 15, 2015
"The world’s biggest public relations company has decided it will no longer work with coal producers and climate change deniers.
Edelman said it believes such clients pose a threat to the company’s legitimacy and its bottom line.
The exclusion of coal and climate denial, as well as fake front groups that oppose action on global warming, is outlined in internal communications obtained by the Guardian and confirmed by company executives. It signals an important shift in a company that reported earnings of $833 million and has played a critical role in shaping public opinion in the US and globally about climate change."
"The West, paid and enjoined by its lust for oil, habited by a conscienceless consumerism has played a divide and conquer game over oil and resources across the Mideast. It has preyed on divisions within Islam, divisions within cultures and good old fashioned bigotry through the eager extortion and bribery of egomaniacal and self-serving regional governments, oligarchs, sovereign and leaders. Arguably Saddam Hussein made the mistake of doing what the West had done for decades when he attacked Iran and then Kuwait for control of oil that would ultimately find its way to Europe and America. The first George Bush took the bait to reassert Western hegemony over oil, a policy Bill Clinton continued and which the second Bush quite purposely accelerated to lock down and undercut OPEC and middle eastern oil producers to the benefit of big oil and market speculators Evidence how the price of a barrel of oil jumped following the invasion in 2004 2013’s record $100 plus benchmarks. ISIS is but a regrettable and terrible eventuality of those policies."
"Afek, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based Genie Energy, Ltd, announced the discovery of a large liquid oil reservoir and requested an extension of its exploration license for areas in “Northern Israel.”
After having spent over three years in active exploration the time initial hydrocarbon measurements and geological tests hinted at the presence of such a reserve, Afek’s discovery might have been welcome news all around — were it not contentiously located within Israeli-occupied Syria, in the region known as the Golan Heights.
“Initial findings from the drilling confirm the discovery of an oil reservoir in the Golan and further justifies continuing the exploration program,” stated Afek’s request. “We need more time for this.”
While Israel and Afek might dismissively refer to Syria’s Golan Heights as Northern Israel in documentation, international law definitively marks the region as occupied by foreign forces — making the U.S. company’s controversial oil exploration arrogantly hegemonic, as well as illegal."
Summarizing the US Approach to Human Rights Advocacy-
Glenn Greenwald Intercept, Sept. 13, 2015
"If one wants to spout the Kissingerian “realist” view that only U.S. interests matter and human rights abuses are irrelevant, then fine: One can make that argument cogently and honestly if amorally. But to take seriously U.S. rhetoric on human rights abuses and freedom — we’re going to war against or otherwise sternly opposing these monstrous human-rights abusers — is totally mystifying in light of U.S. actions. The next time you’re tempted to do that, just read what U.S. officials, in their rare, candid moments, themselves say about how they cynically concoct and exploit human rights concerns."
Chicago Stop and Frisk to be Monitored-
"Under an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Chicago Police Department will allow independent evaluations of its stop and frisk procedures that critics say target blacks.
The agreement, which was announced Friday, calls for increased public disclosure and more officer training. It follows a scathing report in March from the A.C.L.U. of Illinois that found Chicago officers disproportionately targeted blacks and other racial minorities in hundreds of thousands of stop, question and frisk encounters."
Cabrini-Green, CHA, Settle Lawsuit, Adding Public Housing
Chicago Tribune, Sept. 14, 2015
Hundreds of public housing units will be built on the Near North Side over the next seven years as part of a settlement agreement between the Chicago Housing Authority and a tenant organization representing Cabrini-Green low-income residents, a move that will free up development projects throughout the entire area.
The agreement, filed last week, settles a 2013 federal lawsuit from the Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council that sought to compel the CHA to fulfill its long-standing pledge to rehabilitate the Frances Cabrini rowhouses and maintain them as public housing units.
"It’s nearly impossible to find an apartment that hits the perfect trifecta of great location, loads of square footage, and cheap rent. To put the financial aspect into perspective, we’ve culled rent data from real estate listing site Trulia for the median monthly rent per bedroom of Chicago apartments within a mile radius of every “L” stop. So unless you’re rolling in dough, the rent in areas like around The Loop and northern ‘burbs is just too damn high."
National
Worlds Largest PR Firm Ends Work With Climate Change Deniers-
The Guardian, Sept. 15, 2015
"The world’s biggest public relations company has decided it will no longer work with coal producers and climate change deniers.
Edelman said it believes such clients pose a threat to the company’s legitimacy and its bottom line.
The exclusion of coal and climate denial, as well as fake front groups that oppose action on global warming, is outlined in internal communications obtained by the Guardian and confirmed by company executives. It signals an important shift in a company that reported earnings of $833 million and has played a critical role in shaping public opinion in the US and globally about climate change."
Sen. Tom Cotton, (R) Arkansas
Slate, Sept. 11, 2015
Slate, Sept. 10, 2015
"Again and again, the GOP’s great obstacle—and Democrats’ great ally—is itself.
When the deal was still just a negotiation, Republican senators led by Tom Cotton of Arkansas sent an “open letter” to Iran’s leaders urging them to dismiss talks. Shortly afterward, Republican leaders joined with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to slam the negotiation as a deadly threat to Israel. In the following months, Republicans would say the deal was “akin to declaring war on Israel”; that Obama was “march(ing)” Israelis to the “door of the oven”; and that the president was siding with “the oppressors.” The apex of this criticism came Tuesday, when former Vice President Cheney slammed the agreement in the fiercest words possible. “I know of no nation in history that has agreed to guarantee that the means of its own destruction will be in the hands of another nation, particularly one that is hostile,” he said."International
Revolution and Beer, Sept. 7, 2015
Rupert Murdoch
MintPress News, Sept. 15, 2015
After having spent over three years in active exploration the time initial hydrocarbon measurements and geological tests hinted at the presence of such a reserve, Afek’s discovery might have been welcome news all around — were it not contentiously located within Israeli-occupied Syria, in the region known as the Golan Heights.
“Initial findings from the drilling confirm the discovery of an oil reservoir in the Golan and further justifies continuing the exploration program,” stated Afek’s request. “We need more time for this.”
While Israel and Afek might dismissively refer to Syria’s Golan Heights as Northern Israel in documentation, international law definitively marks the region as occupied by foreign forces — making the U.S. company’s controversial oil exploration arrogantly hegemonic, as well as illegal."
Mint Press News, Sept.14, 2015
"The United States and its allies in the Middle East, including Turkey and Israel, have been frequently accused of contributing to the ongoing destabilization of Syria in the wake of the uprising and subsequent civil war which began in 2011. But according to cables from the WikiLeaks archive, discussed in the Syria chapter of Assange’s book, plans to deliberately destabilize the region go back at least five years further."
Francis Calls For Ending Tax Exempt Status of Churches That Don't Help the Needy-
U.S. Uncut, Sept 15, 2015
"On the eve of his visit to the United States, Pope Francis blasted religious institutions who are exploiting tax loopholes to make money instead of helping the needy.
In an interview with a Portuguese Catholic broadcaster, the Pope discussed the need for Christians to fight the temptation of the ‘God of money’, into which many religious institutions often fall. He then called out those institutions that have opted to enter into the hospitality industry while exploiting a legal loophole to keep from paying taxes on their business enterprise operating under the guise of doing “God’s work.”
“Some religious orders say ‘No, now that the convent is empty we are going to make a hotel and we can have guests, and support ourselves that way, or make money. Well, if that is what you want to do, then pay taxes! A religious school is tax-exempt because it is religious, but if it is functioning as a hotel, then it should pay taxes just like its neighbor. Otherwise it is not fair business.”
BRICS Bank Open For Business-
The BRICS Post, July 7, 2015
"The long-heralded New Development Bank (NDB) or the BRICS Bank officially commenced business on Tuesday with the first meeting of its board of governors in Moscow.
The NDB with about $50 billion in capital to invest in public infrastructure will compete with institutions where the US has considerably more influence—organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The agreement was signed by the bloc’s five members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — on July 15 last year during the sixth BRICS summit.
"The United States and its allies in the Middle East, including Turkey and Israel, have been frequently accused of contributing to the ongoing destabilization of Syria in the wake of the uprising and subsequent civil war which began in 2011. But according to cables from the WikiLeaks archive, discussed in the Syria chapter of Assange’s book, plans to deliberately destabilize the region go back at least five years further."
Francis Calls For Ending Tax Exempt Status of Churches That Don't Help the Needy-
U.S. Uncut, Sept 15, 2015
"On the eve of his visit to the United States, Pope Francis blasted religious institutions who are exploiting tax loopholes to make money instead of helping the needy.
In an interview with a Portuguese Catholic broadcaster, the Pope discussed the need for Christians to fight the temptation of the ‘God of money’, into which many religious institutions often fall. He then called out those institutions that have opted to enter into the hospitality industry while exploiting a legal loophole to keep from paying taxes on their business enterprise operating under the guise of doing “God’s work.”
“Some religious orders say ‘No, now that the convent is empty we are going to make a hotel and we can have guests, and support ourselves that way, or make money. Well, if that is what you want to do, then pay taxes! A religious school is tax-exempt because it is religious, but if it is functioning as a hotel, then it should pay taxes just like its neighbor. Otherwise it is not fair business.”
BRICS Bank Open For Business-
The BRICS Post, July 7, 2015
"The long-heralded New Development Bank (NDB) or the BRICS Bank officially commenced business on Tuesday with the first meeting of its board of governors in Moscow.
The NDB with about $50 billion in capital to invest in public infrastructure will compete with institutions where the US has considerably more influence—organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The agreement was signed by the bloc’s five members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — on July 15 last year during the sixth BRICS summit.
Summarizing the US Approach to Human Rights Advocacy-
Glenn Greenwald Intercept, Sept. 13, 2015
"If one wants to spout the Kissingerian “realist” view that only U.S. interests matter and human rights abuses are irrelevant, then fine: One can make that argument cogently and honestly if amorally. But to take seriously U.S. rhetoric on human rights abuses and freedom — we’re going to war against or otherwise sternly opposing these monstrous human-rights abusers — is totally mystifying in light of U.S. actions. The next time you’re tempted to do that, just read what U.S. officials, in their rare, candid moments, themselves say about how they cynically concoct and exploit human rights concerns."
Local
New York Times, Aug. 8, 2015
"Under an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Chicago Police Department will allow independent evaluations of its stop and frisk procedures that critics say target blacks.
The agreement, which was announced Friday, calls for increased public disclosure and more officer training. It follows a scathing report in March from the A.C.L.U. of Illinois that found Chicago officers disproportionately targeted blacks and other racial minorities in hundreds of thousands of stop, question and frisk encounters."
Cabrini-Green, CHA, Settle Lawsuit, Adding Public Housing
Chicago Tribune, Sept. 14, 2015
Hundreds of public housing units will be built on the Near North Side over the next seven years as part of a settlement agreement between the Chicago Housing Authority and a tenant organization representing Cabrini-Green low-income residents, a move that will free up development projects throughout the entire area.
The agreement, filed last week, settles a 2013 federal lawsuit from the Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council that sought to compel the CHA to fulfill its long-standing pledge to rehabilitate the Frances Cabrini rowhouses and maintain them as public housing units.
The State Journal-Register, Sept. 12, 2015
"As Illinois approaches its 11th week without a state budget, Gov. Bruce Rauner has threatened to take the unprecedented step of stopping all payments to doctors, hospitals and others providing health care to the almost 363,000 state workers, university employees, retirees and others covered by the state's group insurance plan."
Thrillist, Sept. 2015
Education
Why a Washington Court Decision will Force Accountability to a Movement that Needs it Badly-
"The recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Washington states that charter schools are unconstitutional because they aren’t really public schools has sent advocates for these schools into a fit. But their often over-the-top criticisms of the decision are reflective of what is most often misunderstood about the charter school sector and what that industry has come to represent in the political debate about public schools."
Withholding HUD Funds a Possibility for Cities That Criminalize Homelessness-
KUT.org Sept. 10, 2015
"The U.S. Department of Justice said in a brief last month that criminalizing people who are homeless for being homeless is unconstitutional. The DOJ argues that’s because it criminalizes their condition, not their behavior.
Advocates argue that Austin’s "no sit/no lie" ordinance — which penalizes people who sleep on the street or who sit on downtown's public benches for more than 30 minutes straight — criminalizes homelessness.
People with criminal records aren't eligible for government-subsidized housing, so if people who are homeless are charged with crimes, it will inhibit their ability to find housing."
What it's Like to Live on Two Dollars a Day in the United States-
Washington Post, Sept. 11, 2015
"In the United States, we often talk about poverty as a line: You are above it or below it; you escape it or can’t get out of it. Every year, the government defines that line with a number. Right now, if you’re in a family of four, you’re considered poor if you get by on less than $16.60 per day.
What we tend to ignore, though — and almost never bother to quantify — is the vast spectrum of poverty itself. And that’s why a new book, “$2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America,” by Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer, is so eye-opening. It exposes in devastating detail the lives of millions of Americans who aren’t just in poverty, but extreme poverty, the kind you’d normally associate with the developing world. Edin and Shaefer crunched census data and other numbers and calculated that 1.5 million American households are surviving on no more than $2 per day, per person. They also found that the number of households in such straits had doubled in the previous decade and a half."
In 2007, the United States Stock Market suffered the largest point drop in its history. Banks were on the verge of complete collapse and a global recession of unparalleled magnitude seemed a foregone conclusion. In its aftermath, much of the ire focused on the U.S. banking industry, and the flagrant lack of regulations it had enjoyed and prospered from for far too long. A growing movement of citizens, however, pointed the finger at the entire capitalistic system as a whole; a charge the documentary endorses by exploring examples throughout history as a map to potential future calamities."
Salon, Sept. 12, 2015
Justice
Robert Greenwald/Brave New Films
The defense budget is by far the largest part of government expenditures, and responsible for most of our $10 trillion debt. Where do your defense dollars go?
Withholding HUD Funds a Possibility for Cities That Criminalize Homelessness-
KUT.org Sept. 10, 2015
"The U.S. Department of Justice said in a brief last month that criminalizing people who are homeless for being homeless is unconstitutional. The DOJ argues that’s because it criminalizes their condition, not their behavior.
Advocates argue that Austin’s "no sit/no lie" ordinance — which penalizes people who sleep on the street or who sit on downtown's public benches for more than 30 minutes straight — criminalizes homelessness.
People with criminal records aren't eligible for government-subsidized housing, so if people who are homeless are charged with crimes, it will inhibit their ability to find housing."
What it's Like to Live on Two Dollars a Day in the United States-
Washington Post, Sept. 11, 2015
"In the United States, we often talk about poverty as a line: You are above it or below it; you escape it or can’t get out of it. Every year, the government defines that line with a number. Right now, if you’re in a family of four, you’re considered poor if you get by on less than $16.60 per day.
What we tend to ignore, though — and almost never bother to quantify — is the vast spectrum of poverty itself. And that’s why a new book, “$2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America,” by Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer, is so eye-opening. It exposes in devastating detail the lives of millions of Americans who aren’t just in poverty, but extreme poverty, the kind you’d normally associate with the developing world. Edin and Shaefer crunched census data and other numbers and calculated that 1.5 million American households are surviving on no more than $2 per day, per person. They also found that the number of households in such straits had doubled in the previous decade and a half."
Thought
Film- The Truth Behind Capitalism-
A Wake Up World Education/Roaming Robito Film
"The Truth behind Capitalism explores the precarious foundations and fallacies inherent in this widely championed economic system. In the wake of the largest global market crash in history, the film implores viewers to reconceive their notions of capitalism by providing provocative contrasts with the teachings of social scientist Karl Marx.In 2007, the United States Stock Market suffered the largest point drop in its history. Banks were on the verge of complete collapse and a global recession of unparalleled magnitude seemed a foregone conclusion. In its aftermath, much of the ire focused on the U.S. banking industry, and the flagrant lack of regulations it had enjoyed and prospered from for far too long. A growing movement of citizens, however, pointed the finger at the entire capitalistic system as a whole; a charge the documentary endorses by exploring examples throughout history as a map to potential future calamities."
Moyers and Company, June 3, 2015
"The progressive agenda isn’t “left wing.” (Can anyone using the term even define what “left wing” means anymore?) The progressive agenda is America’s story — from ending slavery to ending segregation to establishing a woman’s right to vote to Social Security, the right to organize, and the fight for fair pay and against income inequality. Strip those from our history and you might as well contract America out to the US Chamber of Commerce the National Association of Manufacturers, and Karl Rove, Inc."
Film- Islam and the Future of Tolerance-
Quilliam Foundation, Sept. 15, 2015
Maajid Nawaz and Sam Harris discuss their new book.
Amplituhedron May Reshape the Future of Physics-
Discover, Jan., 2015
"Physicists have long struggled to understand exactly what happens after subatomic particles collide. For decades, the best tool involved basic sketches (called Feynman diagrams) of each possible result. For all but the simplest scenarios, this method fills pages with drawings and equations. A new computational insight in 2004 dramatically reduced the amount of paper required to describe a collision, and these new formulas combined multitudes of Feynman diagrams into a single mess of math Last year, Princeton physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed was analyzing the formulas in search of a better way to simplify these quantum calculations. Using only pen and paper, he discovered a new kind of geometric shape called an amplituhedron — one that hints at a new way of seeing the Universe."
How Carbon Dating Works-
Science, July, 2015
Film- Islam and the Future of Tolerance-
Quilliam Foundation, Sept. 15, 2015
Maajid Nawaz and Sam Harris discuss their new book.
Amplituhedron May Reshape the Future of Physics-
Discover, Jan., 2015
"Physicists have long struggled to understand exactly what happens after subatomic particles collide. For decades, the best tool involved basic sketches (called Feynman diagrams) of each possible result. For all but the simplest scenarios, this method fills pages with drawings and equations. A new computational insight in 2004 dramatically reduced the amount of paper required to describe a collision, and these new formulas combined multitudes of Feynman diagrams into a single mess of math Last year, Princeton physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed was analyzing the formulas in search of a better way to simplify these quantum calculations. Using only pen and paper, he discovered a new kind of geometric shape called an amplituhedron — one that hints at a new way of seeing the Universe."
How Carbon Dating Works-
Science, July, 2015
Correspondence
Listen Dumbass
Empathy has never had a place in my bag of tricks and likely never will. Although I've always been entirely aware of all those emotions that tend to swirl around, I can't honestly say that I've ever read or seen anything online that resulted in any kind of actual feeling.
OK, maybe some mild irritation once in a blue moon, but even that kind of feeling has the average life expectancy of a standard TV commercial break.
In the eyes of many, this makes me a horrible person, particularly during our modern age of emotions and empathy for the plight of every random stranger and creature in the world today. I'm entirely comfortable with the majority assessment of my special gift.
YES ... A GIFT.
I spent 5 months privately following thousands of people on Facebook and Twitter, people from all walks of life, reading ALL of their comments, ALL of their hopes, ALL of their wishes, and ALL of their demands from society.
A daily assault to the senses and an overabundance of rage and hate, all mixed with claims about "revolution" and praise for anarchy. My mellow never faltered. I never felt any need or reason to yell at some random cop in my town after some other cop killed a dude 10,000 miles away. I never felt any need or reason to jump back into the mix here and hate on some of you after Cecil got whacked, even though I know some of you are hunters and enjoy your craft. I never felt any need or reason to respond to all these activists as they scream about "my" white supremacy and issue demands about what white people need to do. This when not screaming about "my" male privilege, straight privilege, or even my beer privileges for that matter.
Bowl-Cut-Boy goes and kills some nice people in a church, my private feeds filled with hatred for white people and gun owners, others returned that rage with their own hatred for black people and religious people, and yet I still felt no need to play in their sandbox. People are being slowly pulled into a very dark hole that they'll never be able to climb out of and they're not recognizing what is happening to them. I've personally watched well over 100 people going through some very dramatic changes over these past 5 months alone. It starts with the best of intentions, with perfectly rational and objective people taking an interest in some injustice, be it racism, animal welfare, police brutality, political corruption, LGBT rights, or anything else that tugs on those heart strings of theirs.
Interest begins to morph into obsession and it slowly consumes them. Monday they read something online and can't stop crying, Wednesday they read something new and can't stop screaming with hate, and then they're back to crying on Friday. Some of us were born into this world with an uncanny ability to roam freely through the darkness, unscathed, but most were not.
Learn to recognize what is happening to you and pull yourself out before it's too late.
Atrophy and Entropy responds: Passion is the engine that gets things done. Without a level of obsession the great works of art, music and literature, the great political movements, the great social changes, the great advances in science would not exist. They happen because of the mad ones, burning brightly, consumed. While you just watch. It is Jack Kerouac writing "On The Road" in three days on a continuous ream of paper. It is a the price of human achievement.
Dr. Conrad Chao
Dr. Carson is an embarrassment to our profession. In one of his books he wrote "I believe it is a very good idea for physicians, scientists, engineers, and others trained to make decisions based on facts and empirical data to get involved in the political arena". Yet he seems to have very limited ability to think critically, to evaluate scientific evidence, to shed a priori bias, or to demonstrate the open and curious mind that is the sine qua non of a credible scientist. He consistently shoots off opinions that have zero basis in science suggesting that he is either ignorant of the relevant research, scientifically incompetent, or perhaps both. The arrogance he exhibits by presuming that his clinical career qualifies him as an expert in either science or politics is nothing short of breathtaking. One of the things that a seasoned physician learns in the course of making many mistakes in a clinical career is to know one's limitations. Dr. Carson seems to have missed that experience.Empathy has never had a place in my bag of tricks and likely never will. Although I've always been entirely aware of all those emotions that tend to swirl around, I can't honestly say that I've ever read or seen anything online that resulted in any kind of actual feeling.
OK, maybe some mild irritation once in a blue moon, but even that kind of feeling has the average life expectancy of a standard TV commercial break.
In the eyes of many, this makes me a horrible person, particularly during our modern age of emotions and empathy for the plight of every random stranger and creature in the world today. I'm entirely comfortable with the majority assessment of my special gift.
YES ... A GIFT.
I spent 5 months privately following thousands of people on Facebook and Twitter, people from all walks of life, reading ALL of their comments, ALL of their hopes, ALL of their wishes, and ALL of their demands from society.
A daily assault to the senses and an overabundance of rage and hate, all mixed with claims about "revolution" and praise for anarchy. My mellow never faltered. I never felt any need or reason to yell at some random cop in my town after some other cop killed a dude 10,000 miles away. I never felt any need or reason to jump back into the mix here and hate on some of you after Cecil got whacked, even though I know some of you are hunters and enjoy your craft. I never felt any need or reason to respond to all these activists as they scream about "my" white supremacy and issue demands about what white people need to do. This when not screaming about "my" male privilege, straight privilege, or even my beer privileges for that matter.
Bowl-Cut-Boy goes and kills some nice people in a church, my private feeds filled with hatred for white people and gun owners, others returned that rage with their own hatred for black people and religious people, and yet I still felt no need to play in their sandbox. People are being slowly pulled into a very dark hole that they'll never be able to climb out of and they're not recognizing what is happening to them. I've personally watched well over 100 people going through some very dramatic changes over these past 5 months alone. It starts with the best of intentions, with perfectly rational and objective people taking an interest in some injustice, be it racism, animal welfare, police brutality, political corruption, LGBT rights, or anything else that tugs on those heart strings of theirs.
Interest begins to morph into obsession and it slowly consumes them. Monday they read something online and can't stop crying, Wednesday they read something new and can't stop screaming with hate, and then they're back to crying on Friday. Some of us were born into this world with an uncanny ability to roam freely through the darkness, unscathed, but most were not.
Learn to recognize what is happening to you and pull yourself out before it's too late.
Atrophy and Entropy responds: Passion is the engine that gets things done. Without a level of obsession the great works of art, music and literature, the great political movements, the great social changes, the great advances in science would not exist. They happen because of the mad ones, burning brightly, consumed. While you just watch. It is Jack Kerouac writing "On The Road" in three days on a continuous ream of paper. It is a the price of human achievement.
“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
Dr. Conrad Chao
Tom Hope
Some Republicans are threatening another government shutdown unless funding for Planned Parenthood is eliminated. Their attack on Planned Parenthood isn't just morally wrong; it's also economically stupid. Reproductive rights, family planning, and women's health are interrelated. Providing them not only improves women's lives but also allows women to be full participants in our economy.
Here again, the right is intent on regulating private morality when the nation's real problems involve a crisis in public morality -- not what happens in bedrooms but what happens in boardrooms, not the intimate decisions women make about their own bodies but the decisions Wall Street traders and corporate CEOs make that too often harm our nation: misleading the public, rigging our economic system, and undermining our democracy.
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