The Five Scariest Things That May Happen Due To Climate Change
Posted on February 23, 2012 in Videos
This man explains how the seemingly inconsequential can have a huge impact on our planet.
Severe Conservative Syndrome
Posted on February 23, 2012 in Articles
The Article: Severe Conservative Syndrome by Paul Krugman in the New York Times.
The Text: Mitt Romney has a gift for words — self-destructive words. On Friday he did it again, telling the Conservative Political Action Conference that he was a “severely conservative governor.”
As Molly Ball of The Atlantic pointed out, Mr. Romney “described conservatism as if it were a disease.” Indeed. Mark Liberman, a linguistics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, provided a list of words that most commonly follow the adverb “severely”; the top five, in frequency of use, are disabled, depressed, ill, limited and injured.
That’s clearly not what Mr. Romney meant to convey. Yet if you look at the race for the G.O.P. presidential nomination, you have to wonder whether it was a Freudian slip. For something has clearly gone very wrong with modern American conservatism.
Start with Rick Santorum, who, according to Public Policy Polling, is the clear current favorite among usual Republican primary voters, running 15 points ahead of Mr. Romney. Anyone with an Internet connection is aware that Mr. Santorum is best known for 2003 remarks about homosexuality, incest and bestiality. But his strangeness runs deeper than that.
Mitt Romney: A Real (Swiss) Patriot
Posted on February 23, 2012 in Political Cartoons
Just another reason to love Romney.
Decriminalize Drugs And Drug Abuse Goes Down
Posted on February 22, 2012 in Articles
The Article: Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down by Half in Portugal by E.D. Kain in Forbes.
The Text: Drug warriors often contend that drug use would skyrocket if we were to legalize or decriminalize drugs in the United States. Fortunately, we have a real-world example of the actual effects of ending the violent, expensive War on Drugs and replacing it with a system of treatment for problem users and addicts.
Ten years ago, Portugal decriminalized all drugs. One decade after this unprecedented experiment, drug abuse is down by half:
“Health experts in Portugal said Friday that Portugal’s decision 10 years ago to decriminalise drug use and treat addicts rather than punishing them is an experiment that has worked.
“There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in Portugal,” said Joao Goulao, President of the Institute of Drugs and Drugs Addiction, a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the law.
The Conflation Of Religion And Ethics
Posted on February 22, 2012 in Political Cartoons
A reminder that actually being good and just is significantly different from labeling oneself as good or religious.
