One Way to Read It

Carl Sagan blows my mind, to music: "If we do not destroy ourselves: we will, one day, venture to the stars." And — We are all connected "I think nature's imagination is so much greater than man's." This last one reminds me of a Neal A. Maxwell talk, or a new arrangement of "How Great Thou Art."

"How many bankruptcies because of medical crises were there in Switzerland? It's zero." "Do you know how many medical bankruptcies there were last year in France? There were zero." "Do you know how many were in Germany?" The smackdown is almost too violent to watch. On a scale of pimp-slap to Rodney King, it's nearly Rodney King. via BoingBoing

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I found this interesting graphic . Do you think it is accurate? Why? Click on it for a larger view. It has me convinced that I'm extremely left-wing.

It must be the Finnish air. Video of an eagle attacking a reindeer . Finland is home to Santa Claus ( Joulupukki ), the radical socialist who has infiltrated U.S. media and culture at the highest levels. This commie red is hellbent on spreading the wealth around. The U.S. has obviously trained these eagles to take out Santa's elite force of flying reindeer, to prevent his further dissemination of propaganda and toys.

I found historical precedence for Ralph Lauren's artistic rendering. Check out the noggin on Mozart's sister. Just like this anorexic Ralph Lauren model . They're apparently making clothes for Pez dispensers now, as Colbert said.

Yellow Cake from Nick Cross on Vimeo . Other war cartoons

Why we criticized Bush: Tortured people Started an unjustified war Spied on citizens without warrants Why we criticize Obama : Didn't wear flag pin Pep-talked school children Won Nobel Peace Prize Tried to give health care to poor people Maddow gives historical precedence for Obama's prize.

Big River Trailer from Wicked Delicate Films on Vimeo . Find polluters near you!

Adorable 4th grader asks Obama: "Why do people hate you? They're supposed to love you. God is love."

More bad news for fat people : A 4-month-old baby was denied health insurance because HE'S TOO FAT . The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c The Joy of Rx www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview A 17-year old girl died after the CIGNA insurance company denied her a needed liver transplant. When her mother protested outside of the insurance company's building, employees flipped her off and mocked her . Another victory for U.S. health care. And in the evil socialized country of Finland (a neighbor of Sweden) the government has cracked down on its citizens, making it a right to have high-speed internet access . They are starting with a 1Mb connection, and will try to up it to 100Mb by 2015. Socialism is so evil. And Health Insurance companies are exempt from anti-trust laws. That means that they can act as monopolies by fixing prices and giving substandard service: " Using their anti-trust exemption, insurance compan...

More reasons to eat locally: avoid pesticides and support your community's farmers. The Belgian Milk Riot From Big Picture "Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds. As long, therefore, as they can find employment in this line, I would not convert them into mariners, artisans, or anything else." --Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, 1785. ME 5:94, Papers 8:426 Sun Mad by Ester Hernandez "Washing and peeling fruits and vegetables doesn't get rid of all pesticides, she added, because some pesticides permeate the product." "Officials said pregnant women should be especially careful of what they eat, because of the risk of harming a developing fetus. " -from CNN

Faux News doesn't cover protests that it doesn't agree with/instigate: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Queer and Loathing in D.C. www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview It appears with gay protests, Fox practices a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Queer and Loathing in D.C. - Radical Gay Agenda www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Remember the bill that Senator Franken passed to protect victims of rape ? John Stewart made fun of the Republicans who voted against it (all Democrats voted for it). The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Rape-Nuts www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview Those who opposed it must be in the pockets of Halliburton.

Remember that model who was photoshopped to look anorexic ? Ralph Lauren recently fired her for being too fat . The obscenely obese Filippa Hamilton I say you girls boycott them. In happy fashion news a German magazine has fired all of it's anorexic models , and has decided to use regular people, in hopes of curbing the unrealistic standard of beauty set by the professionally anorexic.

An amazing school And an amazing man from Africa who built a windmill from spare parts, after having seen a picture of one. I just had a frustrating discussion with a friend. I tried to convince her that poor people aren't lazy. They just lack opportunity. These stories are more evidence of that.

Chief Justice Antonin Scalia thinks Jews should accept the cross. During a debate on a giant cross that was to be erected to honor veterans: "The cross doesn't honor non-Christians who fought in the war?" Scalia asks, stunned. "A cross is the predominant symbol of Christianity, and it signifies that Jesus is the son of God and died to redeem mankind for our sins," replies Eliasberg, whose father and grandfather are both Jewish war veterans. "It's erected as a war memorial!" replies Scalia. "I assume it is erected in honor of all of the war dead. The cross is the most common symbol of ... of ... of the resting place of the dead ." Eliasberg dares to correct him: "The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of Christians. I have been in Jewish cemeteries. There is never a cross on a tombstone of a Jew ." " I don't think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead the cross hono...

I listened to This American Life Yesterday, and the host, Ira Glass, said (paraphrased) "My evangelical friends have told me that no matter what good I do in this life, no matter how just or kind I am, that I, and my entire race, will burn in hell for eternity." Because he's a Jew. I'm glad to belong to a church that takes a more kindly view of Jews: " But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me , in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles? O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads...

In a move reminiscent of a more naive decade, Coke has bribed doctors to say soda pop is good for you. Coke hired the official-sounding American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), to create "educational" propaganda for its product. You can rest assured that the findings of these "doctors" will be as unbiased as that of their predecessors, the Soda Pop Board of America. from Food Politics. You say soda, I say pop

A rare parrot shags the head of a nature show photographer. "Ladies and gentlemen, you've seen a television first." From the BBC, via Cute Overload .

"Al Franken successfully introduced legislation that denies federal contracts to companies that have policies -- anywhere in the world -- that punish employees for complaining about rape or discrimination on the job. This is in response to a KBR/Halliburton employee in Iraq who was drugged and gang-raped by co-workers and denied justice or even medical treatment, then locked in a storage container for 24 hours and told that she'd lose her job if she left the country to get medical help. She was also prohibited from suing or seeking criminal justice because her Halliburton contract forbade seeking any justice apart from private arbitration." Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) tried to block the amendment, saying that it was a "a political attack directed at Halliburton." Franken replied, "This amendment does not single out a single contractor. This amendment would defund any contractor that refuses to give a victim of rape their day in court." [Franken]: "...

"Sadly, one thing that has entirely escaped modern American foreign policy is empathy" - Ron Paul "What if tomorrow morning you woke up to headlines that yet another Chinese drone bombing on US soil killed several dozen ranchers in a rural community while they were sleeping?" "Most Americans would not stand for it. Yet the above hypothetical events are similar to what our government is doing in Pakistan. " "I again made the point on the floor of the House that still no one seems to hear: What if this happened on US soil?" "If another nation committed this type of violence and destruction on our homeland, would we be at all interested in adopting their values?" "Sadly, one thing that has entirely escaped modern American foreign policy is empathy." "Without much humility or regard for human life, our foreign policy has been reduced to alternately bribing and bombing other nations, all with the stated goal of “promoting ...

Deciding who goes to hell is a fun game. It keeps me awake at church. A Utah (Mormon?) artist Jon McNaughton has drawn a picture " One Nation Under God " of the saved and unsaved in America. His website has a neato feature ; you can scroll over the faces of the people in the picture, and it tells you who they are. Another website has parodied it. My problem with this is that the people he cast into hell are "others." They are "those sinners" instead of "us sinners." I just wrote about this ; it's a big problem in Utah. For example, he puts Hollywood people, abortion girl and her abortion-loving Supreme Court Justice boyfriend, lawyers, politicians, the liberal media, and evolution professors in hell. What about the hypocrites that Jesus loved so much? Where's the smug self-righteous Christian high-fiving the pregnant lady? Not there, because that, uh, would include us. My favorite was this guy: Looks like the rule to "love yo...

When they're confronted with ads like this: Dude, her head's bigger than her pelvis Ralph Lauren thinks anorexic is the new sexy. They also threatened to sue Boing Boing for pointing this out. Previously on One Way: How to be pretty

I've struggled to know why so many Christians are conservative, when it seems to me that Christ's teachings appear rather liberal. One group noticed this, and dedicated a website to teach that " Jesus is a liberal ." Another group noticed this, and decided to retranslate the Bible to make it more conservative . If this new translation is not a Colbertesque joke, then it is a powerful example of confirmation bias . "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly." Not only has real meaning of the Bible been mixed up through scholarly translations, but we retranslate it ourselves every time we read it, because we interpret what the words mean. I'm sure all of us are often guilty of conforming the words of Jesus to our beliefs, instead of the other way around. But this blatant attempt to rewrite scripture is a disturbing rebellion against God. As Talmage wrote: " What right have we to turn the scriptures from their ...

Two Finnish four year-olds rap about a train ride. I don't understand a lot of it because my Finnish is rusty. But it's great.

The existence of crazy religious people does not make all religious people crazy. So I can still have a testimony even though Glenn Beck is Mormon. No one laughs at God in a hospital No one laughs at God in a war No one’s laughing at God When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor No one laughs at God When the doctor calls after some routine tests No one’s laughing at God When it’s gotten real late And their kid’s not back from the party yet No one laughs at God When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake No one’s laughing at God When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else And they hope that they’re mistaken No one laughs at God When the cops knock on their door And they say we got some bad news, sir No one’s laughing at God When there’s a famine or fire or flood But God can be funny At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or Or when the crazies say He hates us And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke God ca...

A 22 year-old dance teacher is paralyzed after eating E. coli infected meat. E. coli comes from cow feces. I prefer to eat beef from cows that don't stand in their own diarrhea all day. "American megacorp Cargill , which brought in $116.6 billion in revenue last year, is in the spotlight this week around the story of Stephanie Smith" source Just another casualty of the industrial food system. Find grass-fed beef and milk near you.

Glenn Beck puts Vick's Vaporub under his eyes to help him cry. Though this shoot is probably for the back cover of his new book, it's interesting to note that he says "My eyes are getting used to it." Beck's new book teaches his followers counterarguments to use against his opponents, for his followers who yet again are encouraged not to think independent thoughts. Also interesting that the "spontaneous" tea baggers say that they protest because Beck told them to , and that Fox News supports them. That's the difference between real news and Fox. Real news reports on the events, Fox creates events to promote its political agenda. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Tea Partiers Advise G20 Protesters www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview