Thom talks about the Zika virus, and considers whether the illness will restart the Roe v. Wade debate in America.
POLITICAL COMMENTARY: “Will the Zika Virus Renew the Abortion Debate?” / Thom Hartmann ☮
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Category Archives: Critical Thinking
INTERVIEW: “‘On Contact’ Premier with Chris Hedges” / Watching the Hawks RT / Tabetha Wallace, Tyrel Ventura, and Sean Stone ☮
Chris Hedges joins us in the Hawk’s Nest to promote the new RT show “On Contact.”
POLITICAL COMMENTARY: “AP’s Story Declaring Clinton the Nominee ‘Part of a Pattern'” / RT America / Alex Mihailovich, and Chris Hedges ☮
Did the mainstream media jump the gun when they declared Hillary Clinton the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee the day before six states held primary elections? Chris Hedges, host of the new show ‘On Contact’ joins RT’s Alex Mihailovich and says that the announcement had a “negative effect on the democratic process” and it was an attempt by the mainstream media to “marginalize and ridicule” the Bernie Sanders campaign.
POLITICAL COMMENTARY: “Top U.S. and World Headlines — June 9, 2016” / Democracy Now! / Amy Goodman ☮
DEMOCRATIC VOTER SUPPRESSION: “The DNC Willfully Ignored Election Fraud in Chicago” / The Ring of Fire / Farron Cousins, and Lee Camp
There have been too many discrepancies between exit polls and voting results, some of which have been more than 10% off from one another. These exit polls are actually very reliable and they’re used to determine the validity of elections. For more on this, let’s go to Lee Camp, the host of Redacted Tonight on RT America – Lee has been covering the issue of election integrity and has uncovered some pretty shocking information.
MUST READ: “Capitalists of the World, Unite!” / truthdig / Mike Krauss ☮
The other night I watched The Greatest Cable News Program That Absolutely Ever Was. The host was extolling the virtues of capitalism, repeating the claims you can read in The Economist or Wall Street Journal; that capitalism has lifted many millions out of poverty worldwide.
The same broadcast also reported that most Americans “could not lay their hands on $1,000” in an emergency. That figure may be on the high side. Other published reports put it at $400, including what may be available on a credit card.
The program host missed the contradiction. You can’t be a capitalist without capital. The overwhelming majority of Americans don’t have any, and are completely excluded from the “benefits” of the capitalist system he extolled.
Capitalism is not a form of government. It is a system of wealth management. It does not create wealth, but only allocates it. It is indifferent to the welfare of people. It has no social purpose. Private profit is everything.
ATHEISM: “Seth Andrews at Reason Rally 2016” / The Thinking Atheist ☮
Seth Andrews took a camera to the 2016 Reason Rally. This short video contains a few moments from the event, and it also features some great photos taken by some of the attendees. Enjoy.
POLITICAL COMMENTARY: “Top U.S. and World Headlines — June 8, 2016” / Democracy Now! / Amy Goodman ☮
CANNABIS: “Marijuana” / Bill Hicks ☮
William Melvin “Bill” Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American comedian, social critic, satirist and musician. His material, encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy, was controversial, and often steeped in dark comedy. He criticized consumerism, superficiality, mediocrity, and banality within the media and popular culture, which he characterized as oppressive tools of the ruling class that keep people “stupid and apathetic”]
At the age of 16, while still in high school, he began performing at the Comedy Workshop in Houston, Texas. During the 1980s, he toured the United States extensively and made a number of high-profile television appearances; but it was in the UK that he amassed a significant fan base, filling large venues during his 1991 tour. He also achieved a modicum of recognition as a guitarist and songwriter.
Hicks died of pancreatic cancer on February 26, 1994 in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the age of 32. In subsequent years – in particular after a series of posthumous album releases – his work gained a significant measure of acclaim in creative circles, and he developed a substantial cult following. In 2007, he was voted the fourth greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4’s list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and he maintained that ranking on the 2010 list.
BOOK READING AND DISCUSSION: “Thinking in Public with Neil deGrasse Tyson” / Waking Up with Sam Harris Podcast #37 / 06.07.2016 ☮
In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson about the public understanding of science, his career as an educator, political atheism, racism, artificial intelligence, alien life, and other topics.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is the head of Hayden Planetarium in New York City and the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship. He is also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. His research interests include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way. Tyson is the recipient of nineteen honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. He holds a degree in physics from Harvard and a PhD in astrophysics from Columbia.
Tyson has served on several Presidential commissions and government advisory councils. He has written ten books, including The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist and Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, and Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier.
Recently, Tyson served as executive editor, host, and narrator for Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, the 21st century continuation of Carl Sagan’s landmark television series. The show began in March 2014 and ran thirteen episodes in Primetime on the FOX network, and appeared in 181 countries in 45 languages around the world on the National Geographic Channels. Cosmos won four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, two Critics Choice awards, as well as a dozen other industry recognitions.
Always Question Authority 