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Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 04:30
Democrats must respond to McCarthy’s full capitulation to MAGA Greg Sargent is right: Democrats have loudly expressed outrage about House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to grant Fox News’s Tucker Carlson exclusive access to surveillance footage of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Democrats say this will compromise security and enable Carlson to rewrite the day’s history with cherry-picked footage shaped into cleverly concocted propaganda. But Democrats have a better response to the California Republican’s tactic than fulmination: They can access the footage themselves. They can either allow news organizations to view all of it or at least respond to any distortions Carlson might conjure up by making whatever footage is relevant available to outlets. This would be smart politics, but it would also be good for the country. Carlson says his producers have gained “unfettered” access to about 44,000 hours of footage and already insists some of it does “contradict” what’s publicly known.
Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 04:23
If you can’t devise an experiment that answers your question in a world where anything goes, then the odds of generating useful results with a modest budget and nonexperimental survey data seem pretty slim. The description of an ideal experiment also helps you formulate causal questions precisely. The mechanics of an ideal experiment highlight the […]
Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 03:57

Over the festive period the government launched its ‘30 second’ media campaign in response to the cost of living crisis, which shows how many energy saving actions you can perform in the duration of a short advert. Footage shows people closing curtains, switching lights off, changing bulbs and turning down the flow temperature on their […]

Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 03:12
Perry Mehrling’s new book traces the rise of the dollar through the life and career of influential economist Charles Kindleberger

Even in a multipolar world, the U.S. dollar remains the world’s reserve currency. How did this come to be and why does it matter? Perry Mehrling, Professor of International Political Economy at Boston University and author of Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System, approaches the story of global money through the life and career of one of the 20th century’s most influential economists.

Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 02:41

by Orsolya Lelkes

From a historical perspective, we should be living in the happiest of all worlds. Ours is a culture ostensibly centered around happiness: The mainstream neoclassical economic system aims to maximize pleasure (utility) for all, and is based on the assumption that we humans seek the greatest pleasure and the least pain, and that this quest is the main driver of our actions.

Happiness has also been a philosophical,

The post Happiness Matters, Even in a Steady State Economy! Part 1: Sustainable Hedonism appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 02:30
They’re clowns, yes, but…. Following up on my post below on the right’s decades-long war against “created equal” and against everyone not conforming to their narrow view of who counts as a Real American™, here is a long Brynn Tannehill thread (at Heather Cox Richardson’s suggestion) of where it could lead if the American left cannot screw itself up to vigorously fight back and now: I’ve seen a lot of people jump on Marjorie Taylor-Greene’s comments about needing a national divorce. Based on other (seemingly unrelated, but not really) events, this is way more complicated than “We had one civil war already.” 1/n When Marjorie Taylor Greene Says ‘National Divorce,’ She Means Another Civil WarGreene in effect wants a new Confederate States of America, but like the old one, it won’t emerge peacefully.https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/marjorie-taylor-greenes-national-divorce-was-the-civil-war.html First, it needs to be acknowledged that the US is going in a bad direction. The GOP wants to assume authoritarian control over the US, and Gov.
Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 02:25

Discover the fascinating story of two vastly different activists united by a common goal in Lee Camp's thought-provoking interview on ending Israel's occupation of Palestine.

The post Activists from Different Worlds: Meet Two Prominent Peace Advocates Working to End Israel’s Occupation of Palestine appeared first on MintPress News.

Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 02:20
Newly-minted right-wing peer has long history of attacks on left The BBC has – belatedly and inadequately – ‘corrected’ its abject failure to challenge a smear by Baroness Anderson, known to many as Ruth Smeeth, against left-wing Jews. Anderson claimed last week on a live BBC News programme that Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) – […]
Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 01:10

Discover the truth about US foreign policy and the impact of propaganda on mainstream media with journalist Rania Khalek, as she challenges simplified narratives and advocates for critical reporting in this thought-provoking interview.

The post From Latin America to Nord Stream: Rania Khalek Challenges US Foreign Policy and Mainstream Media Narratives appeared first on MintPress News.

Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 01:02
A new invisible empire strikes back The backlash to the “created equal” decisions and policies of the last century percolated along for decades. First, resistance to 1954’s Brown v. Board decision with the growth of segregation academies. Then the blue to red flip of former Confederate states in the wake of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 under LBJ. Then the promotion of the religious right by the conservative movement. By the end of the last century, the internet and right-wing media facilitated isolated cranks and bigots bonding with others of their kind, including flat earthers and other conspiracy theorists. The election of a Black man to the White House threw accelerant onto white grievances building for half a century. What has grown into a white grievance industrial complex pairs racial and ideological goals with commercial ones supported by YouTube, Fox, and other social media. Charles Blow examines the next generation of efforts by unsettled whites to turn back the clock and return nonwhite minorities to their proper places at the bottom of the social order.
Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 01:01

During a Veterans Day celebration in my small Maryland community, a teacher clicked through a slideshow of smiling men and women in military uniforms. “Girls and boys, can anyone tell me what courage is?” she asked the crowd, mostly children from local elementary schools, including my two young kids. A boy raised his hand. “Not being scared?” he asked. The teacher seized on his response: “Yes!” she exclaimed. “Not being scared.” She proceeded to discuss this country’s armed forces, highlighting how brave U.S. troops are because they fight to defend our way of life. Servicemembers and veterans in the crowd were encouraged to stand. My own children beamed, knowing that their father is just such a military officer. The veterans... Read more

Source: Children of War appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Created
Fri, 24/02/2023 - 00:00


Gerk Jervis

Gerk Jervis was the mascot of Pancake Tramp locations across America. An animated chef with one eye, he shook when he wasn’t drinking and made a deep moan or growl when the food he was having made him happy. Gerk was always happy at Pancake Tramp.

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Carl Drip

Carl was seemingly nothing more than an animated version of a very average man who simply wanted value for his money when he visited nationwide coffee shops owned by Gemspots Incorporated. He often appeared next to a tiny economy car in advertisements for everyday low prices on drip coffee and breakfast items. It was rare to see a Carl Drip illustration or figurine that hadn’t been violently defaced.

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Raddy!