Project Censored – 09.27.16

Banned-Books Week 2016 is here, and Mickey spends the hour in conversation with three
defenders of the “freedom to read.” They explore some of the ways in which students’
access to books can be inhibited. In keeping with this year’s BBW theme of “diversity”,
the guests note that most books targeted for removal from school library shelves
are by and about people of color, LGBT individuals, or people with disabilities.

Dear Obama, How Does A 60% Increase In NYC Homelessness Constitute A Recovery?

Last week, we wrote a post entitled “Harvard Crushes The “Obama Recovery” Farce With 9 Simple Charts” in which we reviewed a report from Harvard Business School on the true health of the U.S. economy.  Given the title, it’s probably not terribly surprising that Harvard was somewhat “underwhelmed” with the Obama recovery after taking a multi-decade look at various economic …

iEat Green – Karen Pearl – 07.28.16

  Karen Pearl, President & CEO of God’s Love We Deliver, joined the organization in September 2006, bringing with her over 30 years of experience in nonprofit leadership. During her tenure, Karen has expanded the organization’s capacity, increasing meal numbers by 94% and growing its advocacy program significantly to ensure access to services for those most in need.  Karen co-authored a …

INSTITUTE INDEX: How politicians helped create a climate of hate for LGBT people

Number of people killed in the June 12 massacre at Pulse, an LGBT dance club in Orlando, Florida, by a man who reportedly expressed animus toward LGBT people and who may have been a gay or bisexual person himself: 49 Number of people injured in the shooting, which took place on the club’s Latin-themed night and whose victims were overwhelmingly Latino: more than 50 Rank of …

PETER DALE SCOTT – CUBA: OPERATION NORTHWOODS, THE FORGOTTEN INSANITY

Introduction by Russ Baker: As we watch President Obama being warmly welcomed in Cuba, we think back to the secret, shameful things done in the past by the US to undermine Castro, not counting the various assassination attempts. This report lays bare one of the more hair-raising schemes. On March 13, 1962, the Joint Chiefs of Staff proposed to President …

German Lopez – The tragic collapse of America’s public mental health system

America’s criminal justice system has, in many ways, become a substitute for the US’s largely gutted mental health system. You may have heard something like that before, but never has it been clearer than in this map from MetricMaps: The map essentially tells two stories: the rise of mass incarceration and the collapse of America’s public mental health system. From the 1970s through …

William J. Astore – The U.S. Military Suffers from Affluenza

The word “affluenza” is much in vogue. Lately, it’s been linked to a Texas teenager, Ethan Couch, who in 2013 killed four people in a car accident while driving drunk. During the trial, a defense witness argued that Couch should not be held responsible for his destructive acts. His parents had showered him with so much money and praise that he …

Religious decline does not equal moral decline, says researcher

Morality is not rooted in religion and religion matters less for moral values now than it did thirty years ago, says a University of Manchester researcher. Dr Ingrid Storm’s findings, based on her analysis of European survey data, found that religious decline does not equal moral decline. According to Dr Storm, whose research is published in Politics and Religion, involvement …

Richard Flory – American Christianity Is Changing Fast: Five Stories to Watch in 2016

While LGBT evangelicals cheered on the SCOTUS decision on gay marriage, evangelical institutions lobbied for the passage of “religious freedom” laws that would allow them to discriminate. When President Obama mouthed platitudes during the funeral of the slain Rev. Clementa Pinckney at Emanuel AME, activist Bree Newsome took it upon herself to scale a flagpole and take down an instrument …

David Masciotra – Why the Christian Right Is so at Home With Donald Trump’s Bloated Narcissism

One of the questions vexing the mediocre punditry of American discourse is how Donald Trump—a former star of the tabloids with a track record of scandal and little history of religious affiliation—is polling so well with evangelical Christians. Poll results vary, but Trump consistently has 20 to 30 percent support among Christian conservatives. The numbers are impressive considering his opponents include Ben …