CIVIL RIGHTS: “I Have A Dream” / Martin Luther King, Jr. / August 28, 1963 ☮
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Category Archives: Activism & Advocacy
PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “Real Purpose of Intel Report on Russian Hacking with Abby Martin and Ben Norton” / RT America / On Contact with Chris Hedges ☮
On this week’s episode of On Contact, Chris Hedges is joined by journalists Abby Martin and Ben Norton to discuss the declassified U.S. intelligence report on Russia’s alleged “influence campaign” on the U.S. presidential election. They explore the allegations and why a large portion of the report is dedicated to RT America’s programming. RT correspondent Anya Parampil details the charges made in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence report.
PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “Chris Hedges: ODNI Report on Russian Interference is an ‘Utter Embarrassment'” / RT America / Simone Del Rosario ☮
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and “On Contact” host Chris Hedges gives RT America’s Simone Del Rosario his analysis of the latest attacks on independent journalism from the recent US intelligence report on Russian “interference” in the 2016 election as well as groundless allegations from Washington Post and Prop or Not. Then, RT correspondent Gayane Chichakyan reports on the State Department’s “high degree of confidence” in the findings, despite the absence of any evidence behind their claims, and the parallels between accusations of “Russian hacking” and lies about WMDs in Iraq.
PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “Ted Cruz vs. ACLU at Jeff Sessions Confirmation Hearing” / TYT Politics ☮
Ted Cruz sat steely-eyed as David Cole of the ACLU and Cornell Brooks of the NAACP criticized Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) for his record on voting rights, women’s rights, and ethics. The Senator and former presidential candidate then used his questioning time to grill Cole on what Cruz viewed as a one-sided account of Sessions’ record as an Alabama District Attorney in his previous tenure with the Department of Justice.
Sessions was rejected as a federal judge in 1986 because of that tenure, but after this defeat, Alabama voters rewarded him by electing him at their attorney general, and then their U.S. Senator. Now Sessions, the first U.S. Senator to endorse Donald Trump for president, is Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney General.
ATHEISTS AND LIBERALS: ” People with Atheist Beliefs and Liberal Views are More Intelligent Than Conservatives, Study Finds” ☮
The studies
There is data to support Kanazawa’s claims about IQ scores and the relation to liberalism and religion. Studies from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health support Kanazawa’s theories. They found that young adults who describe themselves as being “not at all religious” have an average IQ of 103 during adolescence, while those who identify themselves as being “very religious” have an average IQ of 97 during adolescence.
In terms of liberalism, young adults who identify as being “very liberal” have an average IQ of 106 during adolescence while those who identify themselves as “very conservative” have an average IQ of 95 during adolescence. It is worth noting that both the description of very religious and very liberal is subjective, and means something different to each participant in the study.
ACTIVISM AND ADVOCACY: “Meryl Streep Just Exposed Donald Trump Without Even Mentioning His Name” ☮
PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “Strategies of Resistance with Michael Gecan” / RT America / On Contact with Chris Hedges ☮
On this week’s episode of On Contact, Chris Hedges discusses strategies of resistance with Michael Gecan, author of “Going Public: An Organizer’s Guide to Citizen Action”. RT Correspondent reports on the godfather of community organizing, Saul Alinsky.
INTELLECTUALISM: “Heroes vs. Ideas / Noam Chomsky” ☮
PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “A New McCarthyism with Ellen Schrecker” / RT America / On Contact with Chris Hedges ☮
On this week’s episode of On Contact, Chris Hedges explores the rise of a new McCarthyism with Professor Ellen Schrecker, author of “Many are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America”. They examine the role of President Elect Donald Trump and the impact the suppression of dissent has had on higher education. RT Correspondent Anya Parampil looks at a few recent examples of targets of this new McCarthyism.
CLIMATE CHANGE: “Weather Channel Scientist Shreds Climate Denier Garbage” / Secular Talk / Kyle Kulinski ☮
Breitbart News last week used one of the Weather Channel’s videos to mislead its readers into believing that climate change is a hoax — and now the normally non-political channel is striking back.
Always Question Authority 