Break Out the Sharpies — Let’s Unofficially Remove the Official National Motto from our Money

. . . I DON’T spend money with the motto on it. I cross out the motto with a Sharpie on every dollar that passes through my hands. I’ve been doing this for years, and have heard from quite a few other people who are doing the same thing. But we need EVERYBODY to do it!

So, I’m now asking everyone to get a Sharpie and start crossing out “In God We Trust” on every bill that they can! I also think it would be cool for us to write our zip codes on these bills so we can watch them spread across the country.

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“Die Gedanken Sind Frei,” A Dedication to Norman Finkelstein

Die gedanken sind frei
My thoughts freely flower
Die gedanken sind frei
My thoughts give me power
No scholar can map them
No hunter can trap them
No man can deny
Die gedanken sind frei

I think as I please
And this gives me pleasure
My conscience decrees
This right I must treasure
My thoughts will not cater
To duke or dictator
No man can deny
Die gedanken sind frei

Tyrants can take me
And throw me in prison
My thoughts will burst forth
Like blossoms in season
Foundations may crumble
And structures may tumble
But free men shall cry
Die gedanken sind frei

‘Hill’ Poll: Flat Tax Still Unpopular

Voters appear to be split almost exactly between the two parties when it comes to taxes. Democrats are pushing higher taxes for the rich and breaks for everyone else. Republicans are pushing a regressive flat tax, tax breaks for the wealthy and an end to tax breaks for working families. The choice is stark, but somehow it’s not clear.
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Up with Chris Hayes: TV that Deserves the Name “Journalism”

Chris Hayes’ new show on MSNBC provides a rare space for the expansive, non-partisan debates we need . . . “Up With Chris Hayes,” which broadcasts Saturday and Sunday mornings, purposely rejects the manufactured red-versus-blue mallet that bludgeons every issue into partisan terms. Instead, the program’s host is creating a space for more expansive discussions with voices typically deemed too unconventional, provocative or dangerous to be allowed anywhere near a television set.
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UNESCO Approves Palestinian Membership Bid

The Palestinian bid received 107 “yes” votes during a UNESCO meeting in Paris, with 14 countries voting against and 52 abstaining, enough to satisfy a two-thirds majority of those countries present and voting . . . Israel, not surprisingly, voted against the measure, as did the United States, Canada and several European countries, including Germany. The United Kingdom abstained, while France voted in favour. Ahmed Yousef, a Hamas official and the deputy foreign minister in Gaza, called it a “great achievement” and said the vote “shows that Israel and America are not dictating politics to the world anymore.”
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Quote: Carl Sagan

Carl Edward Sagan, Ph.D., (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996)
American Astronomer, Astrophysicist, Cosmologist, Author, Science
Popularizer, and Science Communicator in Space and Natural Sciences

You can’t convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it’s based on a deep-seated need to believe.