categorically imperative | Fredrik deBoer

categorically imperative | Fredrik deBoer:

The basis of morality is discrimination — the ability to assess the evidence of a particular claim to offense or harm, apply your best moral reasoning, and arrive at a personal judgment about the truth or falsehood of the claim. There is no way for either an individual or a society to proceed with the work of life if they are not empowered to say to some “this claim of harm is legitimate and we must act accordingly” and to others “this claim of harm is not legitimate and we will not undertake the action you demand.” In a democracy, it’s politically suicidal to ask people to set aside their right to sort different claims of offense and call some true and some untrue. It is simply too far from most people’s prior beliefs about what adult life is and means. Treating all claims of harm as legitimate makes police and justice reform impossible, as it naturally provokes more and more engagement by the judicial system. And it leaves you vulnerable to the worst kind of cheats, opportunists, liars, and frauds possible.

This is the crux of it: a political movement that insists that people abandon moral discrimination about harm and offense cannot win and will not survive.

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There's A Huge New Corporate Corruption Scandal. Here's Why Everyone Should Care.

There's A Huge New Corporate Corruption Scandal. Here's Why Everyone Should Care.:

Sarah Chayes witnessed the damage that flood of Western money — and the accompanying corruption — did in Afghanistan. When U.S. forces entered Kabul to oust the Taliban, Chayes was a reporter, covering the invasion for National Public Radio. She decided to stay and help rebuild, eventually opening a cooperative that produced soaps and body oils. She was one of very few Americans over the last 15 years who lived and worked with the Afghan people rather than behind the razor wire.

After just a few months, Chayes noticed people she thought of as moderate, normal folks expressing sympathy for the Taliban. She soon realized what was happening: the corruption that had been rampant at all levels since the U.S. invasion was fueling anger and unrest.

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From the annals of Muppet lore

Brian Henson Introductions - Muppet Wiki - Wikia: "The staff received a memorable letter from a Scandinavian businessman who saw the show while on a trip to London. He wrote to inform my father that The Muppet Show's so called Swedish Chef did not actually speak any real Scandinavian language, not even Swedish. The Muppet Show head writer Jerry Juhl sent a reply, saying "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We were going to fire the Chef on the spot, but he has got a wife and family and he promises to take Swedish lessons.""

President Obama Hypocritical Journalism Lecture - POLITICO Magazine

President Obama Hypocritical Journalism Lecture - POLITICO Magazine: "Obama didn’t invent the White House’s in-house media shop, which produces videos and other media to disseminate approved “news” to the public and the press. As long ago as the early 1930s, H.L. Mencken was complaining about how the Roosevelt administration’s press agents choked the information pipeline with mimeographed handouts that lazy reporters would then repurpose as news. But Obama’s White House has perfected the practice, with a 14-member operation called the White House Office of Digital Strategy that bypasses the press corps with tweets, YouTube videos, Facebook postings and more.

"



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The difficulty of getting people to read about Lahore — Medium

The difficulty of getting people to read about Lahore — Medium: "You’ll see people complaining that the media doesn’t give as much prominence to terrorism atrocities outside of Western Europe as it does to those that take place in cities like Paris or Brussels. The data shows it is much, much harder to get people to read those stories.
"



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Obama Urges Journalists to Cover the Substance of the Campaign - The New York Times

Obama Urges Journalists to Cover the Substance of the Campaign - The New York Times:

“When people put their faith into someone who can’t possibly deliver his or her own promises,” Mr. Obama said, “that only breeds more cynicism.”

The president denounced what he called the practice of drawing “false equivalences” between competing claims made by politicians. “If I say the world is round and someone else says it’s flat, that’s worth reporting,” Mr. Obama said. “But you might also want to report on a bunch of scientific evidence that seems to support the notion that the world is round.”

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Steven Soderbergh’s State Of Cinema Talk | Deadline

Steven Soderbergh’s State Of Cinema Talk | Deadline: "In 2003, 455 films were released. 275 of those were independent, 180 were studio films. Last year 677 films were released. So you’re not imagining things, there are a lot of movies that open every weekend. 549 of those were independent, 128 were studio films. So, a 100% increase in independent films, and a 28% drop in studio films, and yet, ten years ago: Studio market share 69%, last year 76%. You’ve got fewer studio movies now taking up a bigger piece of the pie and you’ve got twice as many independent films scrambling for a smaller piece of the pie. That’s hard. That’s really hard."



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How the G.O.P. Elite Lost Its Voters to Donald Trump - The New York Times

How the G.O.P. Elite Lost Its Voters to Donald Trump - The New York Times:

Older white voters with little education beyond high school, under enormous economic stress, the Disaffecteds surged to the Republican Party early in Mr. Obama’s first term. But they were as cynical about business as they were about government. They viewed immigrants as a burden and an economic threat. They opposed free trade more than any other group in the country.

Some conservative intellectuals warned that the party was headed for trouble. Republicans had become too identified with big business and the wealthy — their donor class. They urged Republican lawmakers to embrace policies that could have a more direct impact on pay and economic prospects for these voters: wage subsidies, relocation aid to the long-term unemployed, even targeted infrastructure spending. But much of the party’s agenda remained frozen.

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An Open Letter to Trump Voters from His Top Strategist-Turned-Defector - xoJane

An Open Letter to Trump Voters from His Top Strategist-Turned-Defector - xoJane:

I don't dismiss any single Trump constituent, which is why I believe it's important to let you know that the candidate does.

I, too, think our country has gone off track in its values. I, too, think that we need a dramatic change of course. But I am, in my heart, a policy wonk and a believer in coming to the table with necessary knowledge for leading the free world.

The man does not know policy, nor does he have the humility to admit what he does not know — the most frightening position of all.

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Transcript: Deal HB 757 remarks | Governor Nathan Deal Office of the Governor

Transcript: Deal HB 757 remarks | Governor Nathan Deal Office of the Governor: "As I've said before, I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia of which my family and I are a part of for all of our lives. Our actions on HB 757 are not just about protecting the faith-based community or providing a business-friendly climate for job growth in Georgia. This is about the character of our State and the character of its people. Georgia is a welcoming state filled with warm, friendly and loving people. Our cities and countryside are populated with people who worship God in a myriad of ways and in very diverse settings. Our people work side-by-side without regard to the color of our skin, or the religion we adhere to. We are working to make life better for our families and our communities. That is the character of Georgia. I intend to do my part to keep it that way.

"



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Short Answers to Hard Questions About Climate Change - The New York Times

Short Answers to Hard Questions About Climate Change - The New York Times: "
The number may sound low, but as an average over the surface of an entire planet, it is actually high, which explains why much of the world’s land ice is starting to melt and the oceans are rising at an accelerating pace. The heat accumulating in the Earth because of human emissions is roughly equal to the heat that would be released by 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs exploding across the planet every day.



 Scientists believe most and probably all of the warming since 1950 was caused by the human release of greenhouse gases. If emissions continue unchecked, they say the global warming could ultimately exceed 8 degrees Fahrenheit, which would transform the planet and undermine its capacity to support a large human population."



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Can Paul Ryan and Donald Trump coexist within the Republican Party? - The Washington Post

Can Paul Ryan and Donald Trump coexist within the Republican Party? - The Washington Post: "I put that question to Ornstein in an email exchange Friday: “This really is, I believe, an existential crisis for the Republican Party,” he wrote. “Will it be a Ryan-style conservative, problem-solving party, or will it be either a Trump-style, authoritarian, nativist and protectionist party, or a Cruz-style radical antigovernment party content with blowing things up as they now stand? Or, just as possible, will the party break apart, with no clue as to what will replace it or how the pieces will fit into the broader political system?”

"



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Withering on the Vine | Thomas Frank

Withering on the Vine | Thomas Frank: "Today, it is inconceivable that an American official of any kind, public or private, would utter such a phrase. In this age of disruption and innovation, everything pushes in the opposite direction. For the generation coming up now, the old social contract is gone—or at least the part of it that ensured health care and retirement for blue-collar workers. Now, as Solomon sees it, companies can say, “We want your life, and when your work life is over, then goodbye. We thank you for your life, but we’re not responsible for you after we turn you out.” At which point, presumably, they head east for a relaxing summer on the Vineyard.
"



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Will the Supreme Court Just Disappear? -- NYMag

Will the Supreme Court Just Disappear? -- NYMag: "But while the Republican blockade may lack any ­precedent, it, too, is probably well within the law. This is the problem. Americans like to imagine our form of government as a perfectly designed system of checks and balances that prevents any one branch from abusing its power. In fact, as the late Spanish political scientist Juan Linz pointed out a quarter-century ago, presidential systems nearly always collapse. Linz attributed America’s unusual ability to make its presidential system operate without violent coups to its weak, ideologically overlapping parties. But that signal observation, which was true when Linz made it, has grown less true over time, as the Democrats have moved somewhat leftward and the Republican Party has lurched far to the right.

"



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I told the truth in my sister’s obituary, so that others might choose to live - The Washington Post

I told the truth in my sister’s obituary, so that others might choose to live - The Washington Post: "Here is the truth: You have value. You have worth. You are loved. Trust the voices of those who love you. Trust the enormous chorus of voices that say only one thing: You matter. Depression lies. We must tell the truth.

"



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Ten steps to being Un****withable — Life Learning — Medium

Ten steps to being Un****withable — Life Learning — Medium: "You’ve seen it, right? That meme going around about not letting yourself get, um, messed with?
"



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The Secrets of the Wave Pilots - The New York Times

The Secrets of the Wave Pilots - The New York Times: "What if, they conjectured, the ‘‘road’’ isn’t a single wave reflecting back and forth between every possible combination of atolls and islands; what if it is the path you take if you keep your vessel at 90 degrees to the strongest swell flowing between neighboring bodies of land? Position your broadside correctly, smack in the di lep’s path, and your hull would rock symmetrically, side to side — in a manner that would turn a loose cabbage into a pendulum and teach an anthropologist, a physicist and an oceanographer a hard lesson about the human gastrointestinal system’s adaptation to life at sea. In other words, it was as Joel’s uncle had, it turned out, told them: The di lep feels like pidodo, diarrhea. We might have been riding it all along."



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Putin’s long game has been revealed, and the omens are bad for Europe | Natalie Nougayrède | Opinion | The Guardian

Putin’s long game has been revealed, and the omens are bad for Europe | Natalie Nougayrède | Opinion | The Guardian: "But the centrepiece of Lavrov’s argument is that, after 1991, “we should have created a new foundation for European security”, and now is the time to do so – if the “systemic problems” that have arisen between Russia and the west are to be overcome. This is not a new Russian message, but Moscow is keen to insert it into current European debates. Last month, Dmitry Medvedev made that clear while attending the Munich security conference. Russia’s prime minister may have made headlines with his talk of a new “cold war” or the dangers of a “third global tragedy” – but just as significantly, he bluntly called for a revision of the “architecture of Euro-Atlantic security”.

"



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Putin’s long game has been revealed, and the omens are bad for Europe | Natalie Nougayrède | Opinion | The Guardian

Putin’s long game has been revealed, and the omens are bad for Europe | Natalie Nougayrède | Opinion | The Guardian: "But the centrepiece of Lavrov’s argument is that, after 1991, “we should have created a new foundation for European security”, and now is the time to do so – if the “systemic problems” that have arisen between Russia and the west are to be overcome. This is not a new Russian message, but Moscow is keen to insert it into current European debates. Last month, Dmitry Medvedev made that clear while attending the Munich security conference. Russia’s prime minister may have made headlines with his talk of a new “cold war” or the dangers of a “third global tragedy” – but just as significantly, he bluntly called for a revision of the “architecture of Euro-Atlantic security”.

"



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The Journalist and the Troll: Benjamin Wey Spent Two Years Trying to Destroy Me Online - Bloomberg Business

The Journalist and the Troll: Benjamin Wey Spent Two Years Trying to Destroy Me Online - Bloomberg Business: "Meanwhile, TheBlot’s lies about me still pop up online. The same is true for a young woman who won an $18 million judgment against Wey and his companies for sexual harassment and defamation, a journalist who wrote about her, a retired Nasdaq official, and a Georgetown University law professor. As Wey, 44, awaits trial, he regularly posts Blot articles calling all of us, and others, frauds, racists, and extortionists. He’s found a way to exact revenge with few consequences, and he’s milking it.

"



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Men's Journal Magazine - Men's Style, Travel, Fitness and Gear

Men's Journal Magazine - Men's Style, Travel, Fitness and Gear: "Today Matthews and I are playing a foreign surveillance team keeping eyes on Suzanne, a CIA officer. We follow from a distance as she drifts in and out of stores, browsing merchandise. Matthews explains how she's keeping tabs on us with her peripheral vision instead of using amateur tricks like reflections in windows or pretending to tie her shoes — both giveaways that she's "surveillance conscious" and thus possibly operational. We trail her for about 45 minutes, using tourists to screen ourselves while we scan the crowd for her blue sweater. Nothing she does ever seems fishy, but when we meet up afterward, it turns out she made a dead drop in a cactus planter, retrieved a package from a flower bed, and left three signals for agents, including Vaseline on an escalator handrail and Scotch tape on the door to Saks. "So those are just some examples of different ways things can be done," Suzanne says over lunch at Tommy Bahama. "But in real life you'd only do one of them, and it would take a month of planning."

"



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How a Ragtag Gang of Retirees Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in Br | Vanity Fair

How a Ragtag Gang of Retirees Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in Br | Vanity Fair: "The police and public gasped at the audacity of the Great Hatton Garden heist of 2015, where millions in cash and jewels were taken from an underground vault in London’s diamond district. Mark Seal investigates the unorthodox daring of the perpetrators—and the high-tech investigation that snared them.
"



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An Experimental Autism Treatment Cost Me My Marriage - The New York Times

An Experimental Autism Treatment Cost Me My Marriage - The New York Times: "I’ve made new friends, and built a stronger business. And there’s something else: I’ve learned that the grass is not always greener when it comes to emotional vision. For much of my life, I’d imagined I was handicapped by emotional blindness. When that changed, seeing into other people was overwhelming. Becoming “typical” proved to be the thing that was truly crippling for me. Now I realize that my differences make me who I am — success and failure alike. I’d call that hard-won wisdom.

"



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Obamacare’s Birth-Control ‘Exemption’ Still Tramples on Rights - The New York Times

Obamacare’s Birth-Control ‘Exemption’ Still Tramples on Rights - The New York Times:

The government says this isn’t a problem because it will pay for the services that violate our religious beliefs. But for us this is not a money question; it is a moral question about what we offer in our plan. It’s similar to high schools that have removed soda machines from their property because they don’t think soda is good for children. It doesn’t matter that the soda companies will pay for the machines. And the school’s decision doesn’t prevent children from getting soda elsewhere. The school simply doesn’t want to be responsible for providing something it believes is bad for its students. It is the same with us.

We follow Catholic teaching that abortion and contraception are wrong, but it is very important to understand that this case is not about women’s access to contraception. The administration already exempts many secular corporations like Exxon Mobil and Visa from having to provide the services we are objecting to, because those companies never updated their plans and are “grandfathered.” Add in the exempted plans for military families, the uninsured and cities like New York, and about a third of all Americans don’t have plans covered by this mandate.

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the sublime narcissism of getting offended on other people’s behalf | Fredrik deBoer

the sublime narcissism of getting offended on other people’s behalf | Fredrik deBoer:

Maybe most importantly, given that cultures are always large, diffuse, and made up of lots of different people, the idea of appropriation has to inevitably posit some ideal member of the group, when in reality all cultures are made up of many people. I had very earnest Twitterers telling me that American Chinese food is appropriation, not seeming to grasp that it was Chinese people who spread their cuisine in the United States, in order to make a living. In much the same way, thought white people doing yoga has been attacked as cultural appropriation, it was in fact a concerted effort by Indian people to spread the practice that has caused it to become an economic juggernaut in the West. Certainly members of those cultures can get mad at the other members of the cultures who spread these things. But they can hardly do so by claiming cultural appropriation on the part of those who they disagree with. Nor can any of us from outside those cultures rightly decide who’s an “authentic” member of the Chinese or Indian culture. But in order to make these complaints, you have to: you are, by definition, asserting a right to define the authentic for a culture you don’t belong to in order to claim that the authentic has been somehow corrupted.

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No, Not Trump, Not Ever - The New York Times

No, Not Trump, Not Ever - The New York Times: "
History is a long record of men like him temporarily rising, stretching back to biblical times. Psalm 73 describes them: “Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. … They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.”



 And yet their success is fragile: “Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly they are destroyed.”



 The psalmist reminds us that the proper thing to do in the face of demagogy is to go the other way — to make an extra effort to put on decency, graciousness, patience and humility, to seek a purity of heart that is stable and everlasting."



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The GOP Must Answer for What It Did to Kansas -- NYMag

The GOP Must Answer for What It Did to Kansas -- NYMag: "This campaign cycle has inspired an unusual amount of soul-searching in Republican circles. The rise of Trump has forced many conservatives to reckon with the moral odiousness of Nixon’s Southern Strategy — a blueprint for GOP electoral success that relied on coded appeals to white racial animus. Unfortunately, the fall of Kansas has failed to inspire a similar reckoning with the policies that those ugly advertisements were designed to sell. The GOP front-runner’s praise of mob violence and religious discrimination has spurred much righteous outrage from the National Review. Kansas’s shortened school-years have spurred none.

"



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We caused the Metro shutdown when we decided to let our cities decay - The Washington Post

We caused the Metro shutdown when we decided to let our cities decay - The Washington Post: "The truly terrifying thing about our slow acculturation to decay in the built environment is that it’s reaching crisis at the same moment that many Americans are entranced by one of this country’s most serious flirtations with authoritarianism. The response to earlier crises in the man-made world was: Everything is falling apart, so how do we fix it? Today, there is a more ominous question lurking in the background: Can no one make the trains run on time?

"



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Breitbart-Trump campaign ties: Why publicist quit (Opinion) - CNN.com

Breitbart-Trump campaign ties: Why publicist quit (Opinion) - CNN.com:

A news organization was working to undermine one of its own reporters. For me, this was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Breitbart had abandoned its own reporter and did so with the objective to protect Trump's campaign.

In recent months, we've seen the entire discourse of the political process erode into what I believe is an incredibly dangerous state of play.

Trump campaign events feel like they risk turning into violent riots, and they have become a social gathering for bigots. Their fearless leader has in turn acted as a coward by refusing to condemn violence persistently and unequivocally.

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Donald Trump is thriving because nobody else speaks up for conservative globalization skeptics - Vox

Donald Trump is thriving because nobody else speaks up for conservative globalization skeptics - Vox: "The difference is that Trumpers are much less committed to social conservatism, in line with previous research showing that they are less likely to attend church and with Trump's evident personal lack of commitment to religion. At the same time, they are more skeptical of immigrants and foreign trade — exactly in line with Trump's stated campaign positions.

"



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An Open Letter to Donald Trump: Mr. Trump, I... - Humans of New York

An Open Letter to Donald Trump: Mr. Trump, I... - Humans of New York: "I am a journalist, Mr. Trump. And over the last two years I have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random, on the streets of Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. I’ve also interviewed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different countries. And I can confirm— the hateful one is you.
"



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An Open Letter to Donald Trump: Mr. Trump, I... - Humans of New York

An Open Letter to Donald Trump: Mr. Trump, I... - Humans of New York: "I am a journalist, Mr. Trump. And over the last two years I have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random, on the streets of Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. I’ve also interviewed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different countries. And I can confirm— the hateful one is you.
"



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Why I’m saying ‘Bye, Felicia!’ to being a public educator (part 1) | ThreeMility

Why I’m saying ‘Bye, Felicia!’ to being a public educator (part 1) | ThreeMility: "When children are no longer viewed as children, but rather a number, a piece of data, a risk factor for my student growth model based on the state test, children are no longer the reason education exists. Education should not be a business, nor a competition, nor a data mine, nor an overall dehumanized semblance of infrastructure.

"



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I’ve Had a Cyberstalker Since I Was 12 — Backchannel — Medium

I’ve Had a Cyberstalker Since I Was 12 — Backchannel — Medium: "Danny (not his real name) has stalked and harassed me, online and off, for almost 15 years — more than half my life at this point. He has used a variety of methods to do so — phone, text, email, Facebook and other social media — updating his tactics with every advance in technology. In the last three years he has also sent dozens, possibly hundreds, of defamatory letters, emails, Facebook and Twitter messages about me to my family, friends, employers, friends’ employers, professional organizations and political offices, including the State Attorney General of New York. (I know because he sent me copies of the letters.)
"



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Covering Donald Trump, and Witnessing the Danger Up Close - The New York Times

Covering Donald Trump, and Witnessing the Danger Up Close - The New York Times: "The Trump supporters I interview are almost unfailingly courteous. In the snaking lines of traffic that precede his events, they smile and wave and allow me to cut in front of them. And they politely answer my questions, explaining how their vision for the country — a place where if you worked hard and followed the rules, you could provide for your family and have a decent life — is being snatched from them.



Already, they feel as though their key rights — the ability to earn a fair wage, the right to own a gun — are slipping away. And now, they believe that the Republican Party is trying to withhold the nomination from Mr. Trump, and they are watching as protesters interrupt his events."



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Radical Candor — The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss | First Round Review

Radical Candor — The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss | First Round Review: "“Radical candor is humble, it’s helpful, it’s immediate, it’s in person — in private if it’s criticism and in public if it’s praise — and it doesn’t personalize.” That last P makes a key distinction: “My boss didn’t say, ‘You're stupid.’ She said, ‘You sounded stupid when you said um.’ There's a big difference between the two.”"



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dy_over_dsex comments on 11 years ago today, Darius Washington went down in flames

dy_over_dsex comments on 11 years ago today, Darius Washington went down in flames:

"Listen, man. I heard what happened. It sucks. I know it sucks. But that's part of life. You win some. You lose some. The game's over, there's nothing you can do to change that. You gotta get back out there, okay man? Get better. Never give up."

I was almost completely in tears, but I was astonished that this guy - this loser - this ACTUAL BASKETBALL PLAYER THAT FAILED ON NATIONAL TELEVISION - could possibly have that mindset. Surely everywhere he goes, he'll be asked "Hey do you remember when you had a chance at glory and fucked it up?" I'm pretty sure I managed to get a quick "thank you" in before handing the phone back to one of the adults and just kind of...sitting before practice. Gathering my thoughts.

If someone at that level could deal with failure like that - could persevere - maybe his advice was solid? Maybe I should just get back out there? I had a new level of motivation.

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KingofKona comments on The Human Rights Campaign must retract it's endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

KingofKona comments on The Human Rights Campaign must retract it's endorsement of Hillary Clinton.:

As a married gay man who grew up in the Bible Belt and dealt with things you probably can't imagine, you know what I'm tired of? People shitting on others who used to oppose us but eventually came around to support equality.

That is exactly what we wanted to happen. The goal was to change people's minds so we were treated equally and had the same rights. It was not play the perpetual victim and hold it over the head of any ally who once held an ignorant belief or occasionally misspeaks. It was not to create a 21st century equivalent to a scarlet letter so we could follow people around who are now on our side whenever they disagree with us and scream, "Bigot!", as if that suddenly ends the conversation or discounts their points.

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waspwaspgumbo42 comments on Officers tased man to death during mental breakdown, then high-fived in front of his parents

waspwaspgumbo42 comments on Officers tased man to death during mental breakdown, then high-fived in front of his parents: "For instance its not ok to hit an old lady with a baton just because that's your normal first course of action when someone doesn't get on the ground. But on paper the only thing that matters to the bureaucrats is that she didn't get on the ground. It's also not ok to taze a subdued individual just because they are allegedly/apparently "resisting" or "noncompliant" but you did lean out of the car. The only person who heard the exchange was you and the rookie. It basically never took place.
"



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How the Republican Party Became a Failed State - The Daily Beast

How the Republican Party Became a Failed State - The Daily Beast:

Many of us have seen this chaos coming for quite some time.

I first saw it in 2008, when the Republican Party’s original grifter, Sarah Palin, told an angry mob that Barack Hussein Obama “didn’t see America like they did”; that he was “palling around with terrorists,” plural. I saw it when she stood by and said nothing as the mob shouted “treason!” and “terrorist!” I saw it in the look on John McCain’s face when he was booed at a town hall meeting after telling a woman that Obama was a “decent family man,” and not an untrustworthy Arab, like she believed—a look that said, “What have I done?”

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What Wouldn’t Jesus Do? - The New York Times

What Wouldn’t Jesus Do? - The New York Times: "Part of the explanation is that many evangelicals feel increasingly powerless, beaten down, aggrieved and under attack. A sense of ressentiment, or a “narrative of injury,” is leading them to look for scapegoats to explain their growing impotence. People filled with anger and grievances are easily exploited. As the great Christian apologist C. S. Lewis wrote, “We must picture hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement and where everyone has a grievance.”



 Enter Donald Trump, alpha male."



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(1) So here's my story about this picture, and I... - Michael Joseph Garza

(1) So here's my story about this picture, and I... - Michael Joseph Garza: "So many fights were stopped. So many people protected others instead of encouraging mayhem. Don't believe the hype : protestors only stoked a fire in these people that was born long before they had Trump to personify it.
Hate is real my friends. Vicious, hurt you if you aren't watching, worse if they can get away with it indignance was in so many eyes there.
I say that bc know this : hope is real too. Hope that when we stand up against hate from time to time, and collectively, we can defeat it. Or at least silence that beast, for one damn night."



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(1) Matt Haig - Donald Trump. It's fun. Laughing at his corn on the...

(1) Matt Haig - Donald Trump. It's fun. Laughing at his corn on the...: "First, Donald Trump could be the next president. Ask any depressive and they will tell you that the worst case can become the scenario. Winston Churchill was depressed enough to understand where the Third Reich could sink to. Being depressed can be useful. We need to be collectively pessimistic. And besides, with Trump securing over twice as much media coverage as Bernie and Hilary put together, it's not pessimism. It's realism. ('Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it', said George Santayana.)
"



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I can't be contrarian about Donald Trump anymore: He's terrifying - Vox

I can't be contrarian about Donald Trump anymore: He's terrifying - Vox: "I was wrong. Sunday morning, in the context of what he knew to be a growing controversy about violent behavior on the part of his supporters, Trump tweeted what can really only be interpreted as a threat to send goons to beat up Bernie Sanders supporters.

"



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The Geography of Trumpism - The New York Times

The Geography of Trumpism - The New York Times: "To see what conditions prime a place to support Mr. Trump for the presidency, we compared hundreds of demographic and economic variables from census data, along with results from past elections, with this year’s results in the 23 states that have held primaries and caucuses. We examined what factors predict a high level of Trump support relative to the total number of registered voters.

The analysis shows that Trump counties are places where white identity mixes with long-simmering economic dysfunctions."



'via Blog this'

Nobel Prize Economist Says American Inequality Didn’t Just Happen. It Was Created. - Evonomics

Nobel Prize Economist Says American Inequality Didn’t Just Happen. It Was Created. - Evonomics: "By looking at those at the top of the wealth distribution, we can get a feel for the nature of this aspect of America’s inequality. Few are inventors who have reshaped technology, or scientists who have reshaped our understandings of the laws of nature. Think of Alan Turing, whose genius provided the mathematics underlying the modern computer. Or of Einstein. Or of the discoverers of the laser (in which Charles Townes played a central role) or John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley, the inventors of transistors. Or of Watson and Crick, who unraveled the mysteries of DNA, upon which rests so much of modern medicine. None of them, who made such large contributions to our well-being, are among those most rewarded by our economic system.

"



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Trump supporters v Black Lives Matter: watching a real conversation unfold | US news | The Guardian

Trump supporters v Black Lives Matter: watching a real conversation unfold | US news | The Guardian:

As Trump supporters and protesters clashed outside rallies in Chicago and St Louis Friday, there was screaming, spitting and physical scuffles, and racial slurs were levelled at protesters.

In St Louis, a small group of black protesters and white men in Trump hats tried something different: they had an actual conversation.

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To Maintain Supply of Sex Slaves, ISIS Pushes Birth Control - The New York Times

To Maintain Supply of Sex Slaves, ISIS Pushes Birth Control - The New York Times:

Locked inside a room where the only furniture was a bed, the 16-year-old learned to fear the sunset, because nightfall started the countdown to her next rape.



During the year she was held by the Islamic State, she spent her days dreading the smell of the ISIS fighter’s breath, the disgusting sounds he made and the pain he inflicted on her body. More than anything, she was tormented by the thought she might become pregnant with her rapist’s child.



It was the one thing she needn’t have worried about.



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President Obama’s Interview With Jeffrey Goldberg on Syria and Foreign Policy - The Atlantic

President Obama’s Interview With Jeffrey Goldberg on Syria and Foreign Policy - The Atlantic: "If a crisis, or a humanitarian catastrophe, does not meet his stringent standard for what constitutes a direct national-security threat, Obama said, he doesn’t believe that he should be forced into silence. He is not so much the realist, he suggested, that he won’t pass judgment on other leaders. Though he has so far ruled out the use of direct American power to depose Assad, he was not wrong, he argued, to call on Assad to go. “Oftentimes when you get critics of our Syria policy, one of the things that they’ll point out is ‘You called for Assad to go, but you didn’t force him to go. You did not invade.’ And the notion is that if you weren’t going to overthrow the regime, you shouldn’t have said anything. That’s a weird argument to me, the notion that if we use our moral authority to say ‘This is a brutal regime, and this is not how a leader should treat his people,’ once you do that, you are obliged to invade the country and install a government you prefer.”

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'60 Days In' follows undercover inmates - Business Insider

'60 Days In' follows undercover inmates - Business Insider:

Over the course of two months, the participants said, they experienced violence and sexual harassment from fellow prisoners and witnessed drug use and deals between inmates. About 80% of the jail's population were there on drug-related charges, according to Noel.

Participants also confirmed to Noel a long-held suspicion: that some inmates had purposely gotten arrested because drugs were cheaper in jail than they were on the street.

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Trump: the great orange-haired Unintended Consequence | Marilynne Robinson | Opinion | The Guardian

Trump: the great orange-haired Unintended Consequence | Marilynne Robinson | Opinion | The Guardian: "Perhaps the public is exasperated to the point that it is enjoying a kind of catharsis, the indiscriminate smashing of things as performance art. Trump will probably learn that ridicule is an effective servant but a terrible master, since he is objectively ridiculous, his career is murky at best and the campaign will be passionate and long.



 His supposed implausibility as a candidate actually sheltered him for months from scrutiny by the press, who nevertheless have showered him with attention. He is alarming as well as absurd, stirring and stoking the worst impulses in the electorate. But then this is only a darkening of the atmosphere we have lived in since Nixon, as fear and resentment began to be commodified very profitably by the likes of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. "



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President Obama’s Interview With Jeffrey Goldberg on Syria and Foreign Policy - The Atlantic

President Obama’s Interview With Jeffrey Goldberg on Syria and Foreign Policy - The Atlantic: "“isis is not an existential threat to the United States,” he told me in one of these conversations. “Climate change is a potential existential threat to the entire world if we don’t do something about it.” Obama explained that climate change worries him in particular because “it is a political problem perfectly designed to repel government intervention. It involves every single country, and it is a comparatively slow-moving emergency, so there is always something seemingly more urgent on the agenda.”

"



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Nobody Knows the Identities of the 150 People Killed by U.S. in Somalia, but Most Are Certain They Deserved It

Nobody Knows the Identities of the 150 People Killed by U.S. in Somalia, but Most Are Certain They Deserved It: "The U.S. used drones and manned aircraft yesterday to drop bombs and missiles on Somalia, ending the lives of at least 150 people. As it virtually always does, the Obama administration instantly claimed that the people killed were “terrorists” and militants — members of the Somali group al Shabaab — but provided no evidence to support that assertion.

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Reflecting on 55 Years of Peace Corps — Medium

Reflecting on 55 Years of Peace Corps — Medium: "“The new offices had hardly any furniture. Through the first days of the Peace Corps’ existence, its employees were standing, sharing desks, squatting on floors.”
"



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It’s Not Too Late! - The New York Times

It’s Not Too Late! - The New York Times:



Along comes Donald Trump offering to replace it and change the nature of the G.O.P. He tramples all over the anti-government ideology of modern Republicanism. He would replace the free-market orthodoxy with authoritarian nationalism.



He offers to use government on behalf of the American working class, but in negative and defensive ways: to build walls, to close trade, to ban outside groups, to smash enemies. According to him, America’s problems aren’t caused by deep structural shifts. They’re caused by morons and parasites. The Great Leader will take them down.
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Are you the person who filed 6,500 noise complaints against National Airport? - The Washington Post

Are you the person who filed 6,500 noise complaints against National Airport? - The Washington Post:

Officials at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority received 8,670 noise complaints in 2015 — but of those complaints a whopping 6,500 came from the same person.

Yes, the same person.

Do the math and that boils down to just over an average of 18 a day, every day, for 365 days.

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The Risk I Will Not Take - Bloomberg View

The Risk I Will Not Take - Bloomberg View: "As the race stands now, with Republicans in charge of both Houses, there is a good chance that my candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz. That is not a risk I can take in good conscience.

"



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Donald Trump rallies: Crack down on protesters - POLITICO

Donald Trump rallies: Crack down on protesters - POLITICO: "CONCORD, N.C. — Donald Trump’s rally here began with the candidate asking all attendees to raise their hands and take an oath to vote for him, while extended barriers cordoned off the press and plainclothes private intelligence officers scoured the crowd for protestors.

"



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JJ Abrams Explains Leia Hugging Rey In The Force Awakens

JJ Abrams Explains Leia Hugging Rey In The Force Awakens: "That was probably one of the mistakes I made in that. My thinking at the time was that Chewbacca, despite the pain he was feeling, was focused on trying to save Finn and getting him taken care of. So I tried to have Chewbacca go off with him and focus on Rey, and then have Rey find Leia and Leia find Rey. The idea being that both of them being strong with the Force and never having met, would know about each other — that Leia would have been told about her beyond what we saw onscreen and Rey of course would have learned about Leia. And that reunion would be a meeting and a reunion all in one, and a sort of commiseration of their mutual loss.

"



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A principal met a student she expelled, and it changed her approach to discipline - The Washington Post

A principal met a student she expelled, and it changed her approach to discipline - The Washington Post: "
But then I started to look at this another way. Part of our problem is when we talk about the issue of the school to prison pipeline, some of us are looking for someone to blame — a group, a system, an antagonist or villain to pin this issue on.



 We’ve somehow found a way to conveniently externalize the pipeline. We’ve made it about a systems and structures and vestiges, and we’ve divorced it from the actions that each of us take on a daily basis. We’ve made it this abstract thing out there somewhere, something to be shunned and examined, a Huffington Post article to share, another cause to tweet."



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Babies On Display: When A Hospital Couldn't Save Them, A Sideshow Did : NPR

Babies On Display: When A Hospital Couldn't Save Them, A Sideshow Did : NPR: "The babies were premature infants kept alive in incubators pioneered by Dr. Martin Couney. The medical establishment had rejected his incubators, but Couney didn't give up on his aims. Each summer for 40 years, he funded his work by displaying the babies and charging admission — 25 cents to see the show.

In turn, parents didn't have to pay for the medical care, and many children survived who never would've had a chance otherwise.

Lucille Horn was one of them. Born in 1920, she, too, ended up in an incubator on Coney Island."



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Millions of ordinary Americans support Donald Trump. Here's why | Thomas Frank | Opinion | The Guardian

Millions of ordinary Americans support Donald Trump. Here's why | Thomas Frank | Opinion | The Guardian: "Yet still we cannot bring ourselves to look the thing in the eyes. We cannot admit that we liberals bear some of the blame for its emergence, for the frustration of the working-class millions, for their blighted cities and their downward spiraling lives. So much easier to scold them for their twisted racist souls, to close our eyes to the obvious reality of which Trumpism is just a crude and ugly expression: that neoliberalism has well and truly failed.

"



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Tricked Into Cheating and Sentenced to Death - The New York Times

Tricked Into Cheating and Sentenced to Death - The New York Times: "The story of how Iranian agents caught my
husband with another woman, threatened to stone
him to death and then forced him to denounce me."



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When U.S. air force discovered the flaw of averages | Toronto Star

When U.S. air force discovered the flaw of averages | Toronto Star: "By discarding the average as their reference standard, the air force initiated a quantum leap in its design philosophy, centred on a new guiding principle: individual fit. Rather than fitting the individual to the system, the military began fitting the system to the individual. In short order, the air force demanded that all cockpits needed to fit pilots whose measurements fell within the 5-per-cent to 95-per-cent range on each dimension.



When airplane manufacturers first heard this new mandate, they balked, insisting it would be too expensive and take years to solve the relevant engineering problems. But the military refused to budge, and then — to everyone’s surprise — aeronautical engineers rather quickly came up with solutions that were both cheap and easy to implement. They designed adjustable seats, technology now standard in all automobiles. They created adjustable foot pedals. They developed adjustable helmet straps and flight suits."



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How a detachment of U.S. Army soldiers smoked out the original Ku Klux Klan.

How a detachment of U.S. Army soldiers smoked out the original Ku Klux Klan.:

The Klan’s crimes across the interior of South Carolina reached their saturation point around the time of Williams’ murder. His was just one of many black bodies recovered in the Klan hotbeds of York County (remains were still being found in the area 20 years later). Gov. Robert Scott, a veteran of the Union Army who moved south to aid Reconstruction efforts, pleaded for federal help. The Ku Klux Klan may have seemed merely a ghoulish attempt to scare people when it first spread from its founding chapter in Tennessee in 1865 Scott contended it became “a terrible fact, an armed organization, thoroughly equipped, having its field, staff and line officers, and established lines of communication.” There was a war on, this time with only one side fighting.

Scott extracted promises of peace from local white power brokers with Klan ties only to watch violence resume. He could not call on state militias because they’d been disbanded for the safety of the militiamen; the so-called Kukluxers had outgunned them. In fact, the closest thing to a working militia in South Carolina was the Klan itself. The seriousness of the problem became impossible to avoid, working its way to President Ulysses S. Grant. Grant promised “prompt and decisive” federal action to a visiting delegation from South Carolina. Strategists at the War Department, the forerunner of the Department of Defense, began to rearrange their map of United States Army regiments to free up forces and zeroed in on a battle-tested officer named Lewis Merrill to lead the unusual engagement.

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Can a 3-year old represent herself in immigration court? This judge thinks so. - The Washington Post

Can a 3-year old represent herself in immigration court? This judge thinks so. - The Washington Post:

“I’ve taught immigration law literally to 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds,” Weil said. “It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of patience. They get it. It’s not the most efficient, but it can be done.”

He repeated his claim twice in the deposition, also saying, “I’ve told you I have trained 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds in immigration law,” according to a transcript. “You can do a fair hearing. It’s going to take you a lot of time.”

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danheskett7 comments on Donald Trump has just bragged about having a big penis at an actual presidential debate.

danheskett7 comments on Donald Trump has just bragged about having a big penis at an actual presidential debate.: "Look around ask yourself why there aren't any more small engine repair shops. The answer is because Walmart and China have made small engine appliances disposable. Why would you pay a local small engine mechanic $50/hour to fix your lawnmower when a new one from Walmart is $149? Just get a new one every year or so.
"



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Open Source for New York City — Medium

Open Source for New York City — Medium: "Open source software can be an enormous benefit to governments of all sizes, and adoption on the scale of New York City could make a huge difference in the open source ecosystem. There are countless software collaboration opportunities with other governments, companies, and the public, all while improving the efficiency and efficacy of NYC. I applaud the Council for considering these important bills, and hope they pass with the relatively minor changes suggested in this letter. I am happy to be a resource if you have any further questions. Thanks again for your time.
"



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Open Letter to Oklahoma Voters and Lawmakers | Steven E. Wedel

Open Letter to Oklahoma Voters and Lawmakers | Steven E. Wedel: "What do they go home to? Sometimes when they get sick at school they can’t go home because you and the person you’re currently shacking up with are too stoned to figure out it’s your phone ringing. Sometimes they go home to parents who don’t notice them, and those are often the lucky kids. Sometimes they go home to sleep on the neighbor’s back porch because your boyfriend kicked them out of the house and his dog is too mean to let them sleep on their own back porch. They go home to physical and verbal abuse. They go home looking for love and acceptance from the people who created them … and too often they don’t find it.

"



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Unconventional Warfare in the Gray Zone > National Defense University Press > News Article View

Unconventional Warfare in the Gray Zone > National Defense University Press > News Article View: "For several reasons, SOF are ideally suited to contribute to U.S. support to such social revolutions. First and foremost, it must be remembered that just because a movement opts to follow a nonviolent strategy is no guarantee that the revolution will remain nonviolent. Several of the Arab Spring revolutions have shown that such movements must be prepared in the event that severe government repressive measures drive them to abandon the nonviolent strategy and resort to an armed resistance campaign rather than forfeiting their cause. In fact, in the case of Serbia’s Bulldozer Revolution, some elements of the resistance were prepared to do just that had it become necessary.
"



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Transcript of Mitt Romney’s Speech on Donald Trump - The New York Times

Transcript of Mitt Romney’s Speech on Donald Trump - The New York Times:

There is a dark irony in his boasts of his sexual exploits during the Vietnam War. While at the same time, John McCain, whom he has mocked, was imprisoned and tortured.

Dishonesty is Donald Trump’s hallmark. He claimed that he had spoken clearly and boldly against going into Iraq.

Wrong. He spoke in favor of invading Iraq. He said he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating 9/11.

Wrong. He saw no such thing. He imagined it. He’s not of the temperament of the kind of stable, thoughtful person we need as a leader. His imagination must not be married to real power. The president of the United States has long been the leader of the free world.

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'Not even my wife knows': secret Donald Trump voters speak out | US news | The Guardian

'Not even my wife knows': secret Donald Trump voters speak out | US news | The Guardian: "If elected, Trump would accomplish very little to none of his vacuous agenda. His congressional agenda would be as dead on arrival as that of Bernie Sanders’s. So what good could result? Perhaps more people would begin to realize that members of Congress, governors, mayors, and members of the state houses have the real power. That the framers of the Constitution created this wonderfully balanced system in which no one person holds the kind of power that Trump claims he could wield. That democracy is messy and frustrating. That change involves more hard work than just voting for somebody who says the right things.

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Demagogue for President - The New York Times

Demagogue for President - The New York Times: "Stop thinking that it’s all a joke, a hoax, a game. It’s not. Maybe he began this quest as a branding exercise, but it has morphed into something quite real: a challenge to the collective moral character of the republic. The success of his candidacy so far calls into question the very definition and direction of America.

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Beware: Exploding Politics - The New York Times

Beware: Exploding Politics - The New York Times: "What is fascinating about Donald Trump is that he is blowing up the Republican Party by offering a totally new hybrid politics. In that regard he is a pioneer — socially liberal in some ways, isolationist in others. He is almost Democratic in his approach to Social Security, yet he is anti-immigrant, bigoted and fearmongering in other ways. And he is positively irresponsible in his budget proposals. His hybrid is an incoherent mess, designed more to appeal to the G.O.P. base than to govern. But if Trump uses it to explode this Republican Party and to open the way for a new, mature, hybrid center-right version, he will have done the Lord’s work.

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Trump’s Il Duce Routine - The New York Times

Trump’s Il Duce Routine - The New York Times:

He’s the anti-Obama, all theater where the president is all prudence, the mouth-that-spews to the presidential teleprompter, rage against reason, the backslapper against the maestro of aloofness, the rabble-rouser to the cerebral law professor, the deal maker to the diligent observer. If Obama in another life could have been a successful European social democrat, Trump is only and absolutely of America.

Part of the Trump danger is that he’s captured an American irredentism, a desire to reclaim something — power, confidence, rising incomes — that many people feel is lost. Trump is a late harvest of 9/11 and the fears that took hold that day. He’s the focus of vague hopes and dim resentments that have turned him into a savior in waiting. As with Ronald Reagan, it’s not the specifics with Trump, it’s a feeling, a vibration — and no matter how much he dissembles, reveals himself as a thug, traffics in contradictions, the raptness persists.

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5 Reasons Every American Should Oppose Donald Trump

5 Reasons Every American Should Oppose Donald Trump: "This is apparently a pattern with Trump. Back in 1990, he was asked about China’s response to the Tiananmen Square student protests. If you need a refresher, the Chinese government murdered hundreds, perhaps thousands, and arrested some 10,000 people because they asked the government to stop murdering people. Trump praised the crackdown: “When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.”

"



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The Tale Of Two Middle Classes

The Tale Of Two Middle Classes: "WASHINGTON: Behind all the handwringing in the West about a declining middle class and growing income gap lurks a stark fact – while a new middle class has emerged in resurgent Asia, middle classes in the West have seen no or very little improvement. Globalization may have succeeded in creating wealth, but its failure to enrich the middle class in the West risks pushing western governments to turn their backs on globalization through trade barriers and anti-immigration policies.
"



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On CNN, Debating Trump and the Ku Klux Klan. Really. - The New York Times

On CNN, Debating Trump and the Ku Klux Klan. Really. - The New York Times:

Again: This is 2016. And here was a white panelist suggesting that his African-American peer should really go back and learn his history before criticizing someone about the Klan. Mr. Jones, calmly but with clear emotion, dressed Mr. Lord down: “We’re not going to play that game,” he said. “When you talk about the Klan, ‘Oh, I don’t know, I don’t know’ — that’s wrong.”

It was five minutes or so of the most stunning TV of the year. Even the body language was fascinating: Mr. Jones rested a hand on Mr. Lord’s shoulder at times, seemingly less as a dominating gesture than to keep the situation from spiraling out of control. (“I know you,” Mr. Jones said at one point. “I trust you.”) It was as if he were simultaneously battling Mr. Lord and trying to defuse a highly unstable bomb.

Cable debates typically end up with two parties yelling over trivia. The Jones-Lord argument was arresting precisely the opposite way: Two men were arguing, furiously but in control, over something dead serious.

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Male Student Had Drunken Sex with Female Non-Student. Her Dad Called It Rape. Expulsion Imminent. - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Male Student Had Drunken Sex with Female Non-Student. Her Dad Called It Rape. Expulsion Imminent. - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "The College Fix reported on the circumstances of the encounter. On March 6, 2015, Doe met Roe and her friend, "Jennifer Smith," at a party near campus. They headed back to Roe's apartment: Smith and Roe went to sleep in the bedroom, while Doe took the couch. Roe was reportedly very drunk. Soon after, Smith invited Doe into the bedroom, where they had sex while Roe was passed out. 

Later, Roe woke up and initiated sexual contact with Doe. Smith noticed, and left the apartment to give them more privacy. They then engaged in sex. Both Smith and Doe believed Roe was fully conscious and capable of giving consent—she was awake, talking, and willing, according to the lawsuit. Doe left the apartment in the morning. 

Afterward, Roe couldn't remember what had happened, and sent a text to Smith berating her for leaving Roe alone with Doe. Smith responded, "I'm sorry, I thought you wanted to have sex with him though.""



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Russell Moore: Why this election makes me hate the word ‘evangelical’ - The Washington Post

Russell Moore: Why this election makes me hate the word ‘evangelical’ - The Washington Post:

For years, secular progressives have said that evangelical social action in America is not about religious conviction but all about power. They have implied that the goal of the Religious Right is to cynically use the “moral” to get to the “majority,” not the other way around.

This year, a group of high-profile old-guard evangelicals has proven these critics right. But thank God, that’s not the whole story.

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I helped eight people end their lives. By the time you read this, I'll have ended mine | Toronto Life

I helped eight people end their lives. By the time you read this, I'll have ended mine | Toronto Life: "ast year, while preparing this account of Al’s death, I consulted two lawyers, one a widely respected expert on constitutional aspects of criminal law. There’s no statute of limitations in our Criminal Code. Nor is there recognition of “euthanasia” or “mercy killing.” I was told that, upon publication of this article, I could be arrested and charged with crimes ranging from assisted suicide to first-degree murder. If charged, I would immediately lose my passport. If bail was prohibitively high, I could languish in jail indefinitely. Under current Canadian law, there’s no apparent difference between me and killers such as Robert Pickton, Paul Bernardo and Clifford Olson.

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Read This Before You Say Anything Else About 'Taking Back America'

Read This Before You Say Anything Else About 'Taking Back America': "
Speaking of facts... there actually is a difference between facts, opinions and propaganda. You should learn the difference. (Another opportunity to show off your mad reading skills.)

Science is real. We know things because of science. Don't be afraid of it. You have an iPhone and Facebook because of science. It's your friend."



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