The New York Times has been caught spreading a falsehood and should apologize for doing so. The falsehood is in a NYT article titled Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change. According to the title of that NYT article, Mankind almost stopped planet Earth from wobbling on its axis. According to the title of that NYT article, Mankind almost stopped … [Read more...] about Rescuing Science From Democrat Naïveté
Immigrant Advocates Say SW Detention Camps Pose Toxic Threats
by Roz Brown Public News Service LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Groups advocating for the rights of children and families detained at the southern border are using the Freedom of Information Act to find out exactly where the Trump administration plans to build migrant detention centers on two military bases in the Southwest. The centers are planned for Fort Bliss and Goodfellow … [Read more...] about Immigrant Advocates Say SW Detention Camps Pose Toxic Threats
Designed to deceive: How gambling distorts reality and hooks your brain
The longer they keep you plugged in to a game, the better it is for the house. AP Photo/Seth Wenig Mike Robinson, Wesleyan University To call gambling a “game of chance” evokes fun, random luck and a sense of collective engagement. These playful connotations may be part of why almost 80 percent of American adults gamble at some point in their … [Read more...] about Designed to deceive: How gambling distorts reality and hooks your brain
Don’t let politics dumb you down
WASHINGTON -- In the era of President Trump, politics is reduced to a fatuous, debilitating spectacle. We screech, we weep, we laugh bitterly. We don't seem to think much. Yet there is an underground. I speak not of some political resistance movement but of quiet, intellectually serious debates taking place around the country that relate neither to Trump nor to our political … [Read more...] about Don’t let politics dumb you down
Great Music Chapter 28 (IMPORTANT UPDATE)
This week in Great Music involved a very quick change of subjects. Let me explain. I had just finished writing an article on the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. I was in the process of attaching the article and images in an email to Joe to put up on TMV when that annoying ding announcing a new email had arrived. I was looking for the setting where I could turn off the ding … [Read more...] about Great Music Chapter 28 (IMPORTANT UPDATE)
Trump & Putin Have Failed Spectacularly In Trying To Bring The U.S. & Russia Closer
It makes sense, in a Burning-in-Hell sort of way, that Donald Trump's admiration for Vladimir Putin is more of a fawning obsequiousness. The two men could not be more different in background, but are remarkably similar as classic bullies and amoral narcissists for whom power and money are holy grails. While Putin by dint of position has been especially ruthless, both he and … [Read more...] about Trump & Putin Have Failed Spectacularly In Trying To Bring The U.S. & Russia Closer
A Set-Back for Argentina and Progress
Argentina encountered a fork in the road last week and took a wrong turn. A hair raisingly tight vote in the Senate (after succeeding in the House) to allow abortion up to 12 weeks didn’t pass, a loss for Argentinian women wanting jurisdiction over their own bodies. If progress were an international race it would put Argentina just behind Ireland with their recent … [Read more...] about A Set-Back for Argentina and Progress
The table is set for Democrats to take the House
WASHINGTON -- For President Trump, this can't be much of a vacation. The onetime chairman of Trump's presidential campaign, Paul Manafort, is on trial in federal court for tax fraud and other alleged crimes. The prosecution's star witness in that trial is Rick Gates, the deputy chairman of Trump's inaugural committee. The first sitting member of Congress to endorse Trump for … [Read more...] about The table is set for Democrats to take the House
Report: Trump’s résumé has lots of mob connections
The Washington Post's David Von Drehle details how Donald Trump has a long history of being linked to mob figures or figures who were notably linked to mob figures. (I may find a horses head in my bed tonight, which is akin to Sean Hannity who is a horses'...you fill in the blank): Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas titled their classic group portrait of Harry S. Truman’s … [Read more...] about Report: Trump’s résumé has lots of mob connections
Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Political Endangered Species
OF RELATED INTEREST: --NY GOP Congressman Chris Collins suspends campaign amid insider trading allegations --Trump administration calls endangered species protections a 'regulatory burden' --Republicans Are Caught in a Trump Bind as the Midterms Approach --Book Review: EVERYTHING TRUMP TOUCHES DIES A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever Mike … [Read more...] about Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Political Endangered Species
Profit, not free speech, governs media companies’ decisions on controversy
What causes a media business to bar the door? yanin kongurai/Shutterstock.com Amanda Lotz, University of Michigan For decades, U.S. media companies have limited the content they’ve offered based on what’s good for business. The decisions by Apple, Spotify, Facebook and YouTube to remove content from commentator Alex Jones and his InfoWars platform … [Read more...] about Profit, not free speech, governs media companies’ decisions on controversy
Charlottesville: A step in our long arc toward justice
Derek W. Black, University of South Carolina The number and exuberance of white nationalists who descended on Charlottesville sent emotional tremors through the nation. Some worried that this was the beginning of an expanding movement that would hearken us back to darker times. And many felt that President Donald Trump’s comments only made matters worse. The president’s … [Read more...] about Charlottesville: A step in our long arc toward justice
Cartoon: Not a Crook
What elephants’ unique brain structures suggest about their mental abilities
African elephant bull. Michelle Gadd/USFWS, CC BY Bob Jacobs, Colorado College Conservationists have designated August 12 as World Elephant Day to raise awareness about conserving these majestic animals. Elephants have many engaging features, from their incredibly dexterous trunks to their memory abilities and complex social lives. But there is … [Read more...] about What elephants’ unique brain structures suggest about their mental abilities
Danny O’Connor’s Close Race in Ohio Ominous for Republicans
By Colleen O'Connor he song “Oh What A Night,” has new meaning. As does the classic Irish lament, “Oh, Danny Boy.” Written about the loss of a son, the classic song has taken on a new, celebratory meaning after a Democratic candidate, Danny O’Connor, forced a “too close to call” election result in a district Republicans have held, with one exception, since the … [Read more...] about Danny O’Connor’s Close Race in Ohio Ominous for Republicans
“BlackkKlansman,” Is A Powerful Rebuke of Racism and Hate
Few filmmakers are able to capture the tragedy of racism and its place in America's modern history, but Spike Lee has done just that. Lee delivers a powerful rebuke with BlackkKlansman and gives an emotional plea against hate. In the end, the audience is left with a side-by-side comparison of this nation's past and present and to contemplate their place and responsibility in … [Read more...] about “BlackkKlansman,” Is A Powerful Rebuke of Racism and Hate
Under Trump, It’s Easy To Like Ike
By John L. Micek GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The golf clubs in the laundry room at the rear of Dwight Eisenhower's farmhouse here are perched and ready, as if the 34th president of the United States might come and fetch them at any moment. Eisenhower was a passionate golfer. His valet, Sergeant John Moaney, would be tasked with cleaning them after Eisenhower returned from one of … [Read more...] about Under Trump, It’s Easy To Like Ike
CVS Sued for Fake Medicine: Homeopathy Alert
Here’s a story for today: it seems one of our largest and most trusted health care providers has been pulling a swiftie on the American public. In stores and online, adjacent to real scientific medicines (in D.C. as alleged and presumably nationwide) CVS has been hawking dangerous, pseudo-science woo-woo to the public. Their cynicism and profit motivated dishonesty is … [Read more...] about CVS Sued for Fake Medicine: Homeopathy Alert
Who are the Sikhs and what are their beliefs?
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. AP Photo/Julio Cortez Simran Jeet Singh, New York University New Jersey’s first Sikh attorney general, Gurbir Singh Grewal, was a target of disparaging remarks recently. Two radio hosts commented on Grewal’s Sikh identity and repeatedly referred to him as “turban man.” When called out on the offensiveness of … [Read more...] about Who are the Sikhs and what are their beliefs?
Alex Jones: Troll (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Conservatives and other assorted nutzoids were up to their tinfoil hats in anger this week as Facebook, YouTube, Google and Spotify banned the InfoWars conspiracy freak, Alex Jones from their platforms. Alex was banned for all sorts of violations, which included posting “fake news” and just being an all-around troll (every conspiracy in this cartoon was created by Alex … [Read more...] about Alex Jones: Troll (Cartoon, Column and Video)