So Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt thinks that government regulation is required to protect privacy from a rising tide of civilian drones. The Tech Curmudgeon agrees, at least in principle, because civilian drones and things like passenger aircraft should be kept well separated. Yet this is the man apparently doesn’t see a problem with Google Glass, […]
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Do gun rights advocates even know why they’re opposed to background checks?
They need to get in touch with their feelings. In a piece at the Daily Beast, Adam Winkler writes about the Manchin-Toomey bipartisan compromise on universal background checks for gun buyers that the Senate voted to begin debating. The bill would require background checks for any sale that “occurs at a gun show or event” or […]
Emphasis added: the foreign policy week in pieces
Mental Illness a Prerequisite to Run for Public Office It’s unbelievable what people would do to be in power. I know: It happens everywhere. I can’t believe that normal people in their right mind would run for elected position. There has to be something wrong in their value system to go through what they have […]
Fall into the gap: Why are women still paid less than men for equal work?
In case anyone missed it today, I wanted to take the time to point people towards the Center for American Progress’s (CAP) terrific interactive feature “The Game of Wages.” It’s fun, it’s visually fantastic, and it drives home a problem that shouldn’t exist: that in 2013, women are still getting paid less than men for […]
Corporate prison thugs: things getting even worse for the Wierdsma family
Boulder DA: Is it wrong to give false testimony to a federal agency? Thomas Wierdsma: No, happens all the time. We reported a couple of times late last year on the outrageous case of Charles and Thomas Wierdsma. Charles is a corporate prisons executive (The GEO Group) who routinely beat his wife and Thomas, his dad (a […]
Guns, knives, pit bulls and the new Gallup poll
This morning I walked past a man about my age, sixty, who was wearing camouflage and a fatigue-style cap. He had two Bowie knives on his belt and was walking a ferocious-looking pit bull that had to weigh eighty pounds. My immediate thought was, “Who’s this guy and what’s he afraid of?” Who knows? Maybe […]
The devil is in the details: WHICH Christianity are we making the official state religion, exactly?
Legislators in North Carolina recently introduced a bill to make Christianity the official state religion. That bill has now been turfed, but we can probably expect similar moves in the future. An Omnibus Poll, sponsored by YouGov.com and the Huffington Post, reveals just how far from the nation’s roots we have traveled on the subject […]
New NRA proposal doesn’t go far enough: has Wayne LaPierre submitted to the liberal gun control lobby?
The National Rifle Association has issued a recommendation for safeguarding America’s schools. A task force working for the National Rifle Association recommended Tuesday that at least one armed guard be stationed on every campus in America as part of a three-month review on how to make schools safer in the wake of the mass shooting […]
Lone Star Funds president Ellis Short hires avowed fascist Paolo di Canio to manage his football team
UPDATE: It’s official. _____ English Premiership side Sunderland AFC is considering hiring Paolo Di Canio to be its new manager. Di Canio would replace Martin O’Neill, who was turfed after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United. Providing negotiations proceed smoothly, club officials hope to announce his appointment on Monday morning. It remains unclear whether he […]
A quick history lesson: Falklands or Malvinas, it’s complicated
Thirty years after the Falklands War, the islands where the sheep to people ratio is 200:1 are back in the news. First, 99% of the voters in the March 12 referendum voted to remain a British territory. Second, many of Margaret Thatcher’s papers relating to the war were released on March 22. It seems that […]
Monsant-Oh No!
With every bill passed in Congress, there is good news and bad news. The good news of HR 933 passing the House: we avoided a government shutdown (for now). The bad news: Congress authorized a provision known as the “Monsanto Protection Act,” protecting the agricultural giant from litigation. From The Russian Times: The US House […]
What does Italy hope to gain by re-trying Amanda Knox?
And, were she found guilty again, would the United States extradite Amanda Knox? As you’ve no doubt heard by now an Italian appellate has court overturned a lower court decision that acquitted Amanda Knox in the Perugia murder of her housemate Meredith Kercher. Two questions immediately present themselves: 1. If she’s found guilty, would the […]
Gay marriage is a matter of church and state
It’s unlikely that the Supreme Court will side with common human decency and allow homosexuals to marry. My colleague is correct that we have more important issues to deal with and that support for the right to marry is growing, or perhaps more precisely opposition to it is also dying. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is […]
LGBT marriage: Why is this even an argument?
Facebook is awash in red equal signs. The Supreme Court is surrounded by protestors and supporters. And polling numbers show a massive increase in support for marriage equality – a recent poll from Pew showed support from Catholics, Jews, and Protestants well over 50% in support of LGBT marriage. Which begs the question: why are […]
Prediction: Supreme Court will strike down gay marriage bans, and it won’t be close
Gay marriage will finally get its day before the Supreme Court. The issues are legally and culturally complex and the outcome uncertain in the eyes of many observers. I’m no Constitutional scholar, but I think I know what might happen here. I expect that the Court’s left-leaning justices will vote to strike down gay marriage […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- The Rest is Noise (6)—Descent into the Maelstrom
- I hate handguns, but I have still considered owning one
- Redneck jokes are racist
- Largest study of peer-reviewed literature to date finds overwhelming climate disruption consensus (UPDATED)
- Boehner: Oh, so now you’re angry?
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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satanicpanic: I've thought about this myself. Other than needin…
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Otherwise: 1. this whole collapse of order stuff is nonsense.…
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Otherwise: yes, technically you're correct. bigotry would ha…
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Samuel Smith: Even if I agree with every point you make, we're n…
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Frank Balsinger: We might disagree on some of the not-so-fine point…
