The Followship Of The Ring

President Obama’s speech today was the most important statement on counterterrorism policy since the 2001 attacks, a momentous turning point in post-9/11 America. For the first time, a president stated clearly and unequivocally that the state of perpetual warfare that began nearly 12 years ago is unsustainable for a democracy and must come to an end in the not-too-distant future.

“

—	NYTimes.com (via azspot)

scienceisbeauty:

Vaccine infographic.

Credit: Leon Farrant

Source: How Vaccines Have Changed Our World In One Graphic, Forbes.

How do Fortune 500 companies pay zero in taxes while college loans go up to 6 percent?…This game is rigged.

“

—	Elizabeth Warren, speaking at a town hall in Massachusetts (via newshook)

…this is what John Piper does whenever there is a tornado…or earthquake…or shooting…or war. While the world is still in shock, while we struggle to find the words to convey our grief and compassion and to weep with those who weep, he jumps in with an explanation, and it’s always the same: Bad things happen because God is angry. This is God’ judgment on undeserving, sinful people. Repent. We brought this on ourselves. That’s because Piper and many in the fundamentalist neo-Reformed movement are working off of a perversion of the doctrine of total depravity that not only teaches that human beings are depraved—that is, that our humanity is marred by sin—but that this depravity renders the world’s men, women, and children into valueless objects of god’s wrath, worthy of nothing more than eternal torture, pain, violence, and abuse. Therefore, natural disasters (such as the recent tornado outbreak, the Asian tsunami of 2004, the Japanese earthquake, sickness, cancer, accidents) as well as evil perpetuated by others (the Sandy Hook shootings, the Boston bombings, the Holocaust, 9-11) are merely expressions of this god’s unending, unquenchable, and unpredictable wrath upon humankind. Sin triggers in god a sudden outburst, a violent temper tantrum, and humanity is exposed to a brief glimpse of what this god really thinks of us, what we all really “deserve.

“

—	The abusive theology of “deserved” tragedy… (via azspot)

mediaite:

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Asks Atheist Tornado Survivor If She ‘Thanked The Lord’

How Billionaire David Koch Gets PBS To Dance, Monkey, Dance »

For us, this old voiceover brings back wholesome childhood memories: “Funding for this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.” But thanks to Republicans and people like David Koch, only 12% of PBS’s funding comes from the federal government. “Viewers like you” can barely pay their rent, let alone donate sizable amounts to PBS. So the public’s network is forced to “create content that educates, informs and inspires,” so long as it does not offend the plutocrats who keep it alive—even if that means censoring documentary filmmakers.

According to a deeply depressing report in this week’s New Yorker, David Koch withheld a “seven-figure” donation to New York’s cash-starved PBS affiliate, WNET, after a documentary critical of the Kochs aired in November. Jane Mayer, somewhat of an authority on the Kochs, reports that Koch’s influence essentially killed the airing of another film on PBS entitled Citizen Koch.

Hey, remember when the NRA blamed Hollywood's violent films -- among other things -- for inspiring gun massacres like Newtown? Well, here's their list of the "Coolest Gun Movies Ever." »

inothernews:

Choice quotes from the American Rifleman article linked to here by Talking Points Memo:

From the slideshow intro: “Many of these movies… take us back to simpler times, when dreaming of saving the day got us through that oh-so boring class.”

From a review of Red Dawn: “Up until the fall of the Berlin Wall, many folks prepared for a possible invasion by what Ronald Reagan called the ‘Evil Empire.’” Man, gun nuts were delusional even back then.

On The Terminator, which, remember, is a science fiction film: “This movie made shooters realize the importance of firepower, and that preparedness might be needed in the future.” You know, just in case a time-travelling killer android comes looking for you.

On The Godfather: “That (Michael Corleone) built his empire through violence is only that much more alluring.” Oh really.

On The Matrix, the film contains “a line that could easily be the catchphrase of many gun owners when asked what they need: ‘Guns. Lots of guns.’”

On The Road Warrior: ”This movie made some people realize that ammunition is a commodity, and would be useful if the world ever does hit the fan.”

Most folks recognize the movies are fiction, meant as a form of escape.

The NRA apparently takes them at face value.

This is a guy who, one day after a devastating natural disaster killed his own constituents, said he will not vote to alleviate their suffering unless he can inflict some pain on someone somewhere else in the country. And his spokesman defends this as a matter of principle, and uses the worst act of domestic terrorism in the history of the United States as a salutary example… Does Senator Coburn really believe you can budget for the unthinkable? That tornadoes are zero-sum events? That you can horse-trade on human suffering as though it were a line-item on a transportation rider? I no longer am willing to try to understand how people like this think. They are monsters and they operate on their own monstrous imperatives.

“

—	Charles Pierce. (via quickhits) Best quote of the day, but what do you expect from a man (Coburn) who was supported openly by the Grand Dragon of the KKK in Oklahoma and didn’t denounce the support, when he was first running for election in 2004. (via bethanysworld)

masteradept:

George Zimmer, the owner and founder of The Men’s Wearhouse, does not background check his employees. “I don’t trust the U.S. justice system to get it right,” says Zimmer, who is himself a recovering alcoholic. “I’d rather make my own decisions, and I believe in giving people a second chance.”

Good to know some people with money and power get shit right.

liberalsarecool:

Via The Everlasting GOP Stoppers