Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX): Little More Important Than Reaffirming “In God We Trust”

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), consistently one to jump at the chance to abandon a focus on jobs, insisted, “There are few things Congress could do that would be more important than passing this resolution. It reaffirms ‘In God We Trust’ as the official motto of the United States.” Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) suggested that without this resolution “there is no longer any reason for us to gather here in this place,” and we would all be nothing more than “worm food.”
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Slavoj Zizek: ‘Now the field is open’

The philosopher discusses the momentous changes taking place in the global financial and political system.

From the Middle East to the streets of London and cities across the US there is a discontent with the status quo. Whether it is with the iron grip of entrenched governments or the widening economic divide between the rich and those struggling to get by. But where are those so hungry for change heading? How profound is their long-term vision to transform society?

Slovenian-born philosopher Slavoj Zizek, whose critical examination of both capitalism and socialism has made him an internationally recognised intellectual, speaks to Al Jazeera’s Tom Ackerman about the momentous changes taking place in the global financial and political system.

In his distinct and colourful manner, he analyses the Arab Spring, the eurozone crisis, the “Occupy Wall Street” movement and the rise of China. Concerned about the future of the existing western democratic capitalism Zizek believes that the current “system has lost its self-evidence, its automatic legitimacy, and now the field is open.”

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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