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The Inside Story Of How Citizens United Has Changed Washington Lawmaking...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] Ryan Grim huffingtonpost.com Lobbyists and trade groups have pumped huge sums into the coffers of super PACs and nonprofits connected to Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ever since the Citizens United decision. (Photo: Drew Angerer via Getty Images) When Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy cast the deciding vote to gut a century of campaign finance law, he assured the public that the unlimited corporate spending he was ushering in would “not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.” Because those authorized to give and spend unlimited amounts were legally required to remain independent of the politicians themselves, Kennedy reasoned, there was no cause for concern. Just five years later, in a development that may be surprising only to Justice Kennedy, the Supreme...

4 Surprising Places You Should Never Buy Seafood From...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] These seafood retailers have adopted reprehensible practices in their quest for fish-driven profit. By Casson Trenor / AlterNet Americans spent over $85 biliion on seafood last year. That’s more than a big pile of cash — it’s a tremendous communication tool. Truly, when that kind of money is talking, the whole world listens. As such, it’s important to be very careful about what message we transmit through this massive microphone. When we spend our dollars at seafood merchants that are pursuing business models which take environmental issues into account, we offer these purveyors financial incentive to continue along this path. On the other hand, if we buy pirate-caught Chilean sea bass from a seafood merchant that has no compunction about selling it, we reward this type of nefarious behavior and communicate to the...

A Message to Republicans: Millions of Americans Won’t Forget How You Treated Their Mom and Dad...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] Congressman Luis Gutierrez dropped a simple fact during the House Judiciary Committee a couple of days ago. By Walter Einenkel / The Daily Kos Isolated Republican Party Symbol Photo Credit: cowardlion Congressman Luis Gutierrez dropped a simple fact during the House Judiciary Committee a couple of days ago. While republicans denounced the President’s executive action on immigration reform and tried to pretend that they are not holding the Department of Homeland Security hostage, Mr. Gutierrez had this to say: This is a very perilous place for my friends in the majority. Because you have 5 million American citizen children who are never going to forget for a generation how it was you treated their mom and their dad. How it was you treated their mom and their dad; and if you...

Flower Power: National Security, Civil Rights and the Washington Florist...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] At first glance, one can be forgiven for thinking that a floral arrangement for a gay wedding doesn’t carry much significance for the essential national security of the United States of America. With perilously increasing military tensions spanning the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, one can be absolved for making such an assumption. However, the military implications of this week’s historic decision in Washington State by Benton County Superior Court Judge Ekstrom simply canNOT be understated. Ekstrom’s watershed decision came about when a case was brought before the Benton County Superior Court when the ownership of a small flower shop, Arlene’s Flowers, refused to provide services on the professed basis of their Southern Baptist, Christian fundamentalist zeal to a frequent customer who sought arrangements for his same-sex wedding ceremony. Judge...

Partial government shutdown draws near as House fails to pass Homeland Security funding...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] House Speaker John Boehner sustains big blow as members reject short-term funding measure Luke Brinker SALON.COM Topics: U.S. House of Representatives, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration, immigration executive order, Barack Obama, John Boehner, R-Ohio, U.S. Senate, Government shutdown, Kevin McCarthy, News, Politics News Partial government shutdown draws near as House fails to pass Homeland Security fundingJohn Boehner (Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite) The country lurched closer toward a partial government shutdown on Friday evening as House lawmakers rejected the GOP leadership’s effort to fund the Department of Homeland Security for three weeks in order to stave off a showdown over President Obama’s immigration actions. Hours after the Senate voted to approve DHS funding for the full fiscal year, the lower chamber shot down the House Speaker John Boehner’s short-term plan, with 203 members voting...

Climate change is the ultimate gentrifier...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

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Glacial melting inn Antarctica Makes Continent The ‘Ground Zero Of Global Climate Change’...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] | By By LUIS ANDRES HENAO and SETH BORENSTEIN CAPE LEGOUPIL, Antarctica (AP) — From the ground in this extreme northern part of Antarctica, spectacularly white and blinding ice seems to extend forever. What can’t be seen is the battle raging thousands of feet (hundreds of meters) below to re-shape Earth. Water is eating away at the Antarctic ice, melting it where it hits the oceans. As the ice sheets slowly thaw, water pours into the sea — 130 billion tons of ice (118 billion metric tons) per year for the past decade, according to NASA satellite calculations. That’s the weight of more than 356,000 Empire State Buildings, enough ice melt to fill more than 1.3 million Olympic swimming pools. And the melting is accelerating. In the worst case scenario, Antarctica’s melt could...

Why and Where Micro-Apartments Are Going Up Might Surprise You...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] David Friedlander LIFE EDITED Architecture New York, sickness treat San Francisco, no rx Vancouver and, to a lesser extent, Seattle, DC, Boston and LA are logical places for micro-housing. These cities are very or fairly dense, they have high property values in many spots and have infrastructures that support micro-housing–i.e. decent public transportation systems, strong economies, walkable neighborhoods, etc (yes, LA might be a stretch). But micro-housing is no longer limited to high-density cities with extreme property values. All over the country (and world), micro-apartment developments are springing up, a phenomenon, we believe, is happening for several reasons: People want to be in the middle of things. Even though downtown Des Moines, Iowa might not be lower Manhattan, more Des Moinesians, particularly Millennial Des Moinesians who are more likely to value experiences over...

Leonard Nimoy’s Last Wishes for Israel and Palestine (Video)...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] By Juan Cole TRUTHDIG Reprinted on Juan Cole’s Web page in honor of the passing of Mr. Nimoy, who inspired a generation. Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock on Star Trek, speaks out as a Jewish American in favor of a two-state solution and a divided Jerusalem. Nimoy said, “I reach out to you as someone who is troubled to see the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians continue apparently without an end in sight.“In fact, there is an end in sight. It’s known as the two-state solution–a secure, democratic Israel as the Jewish State alongside an independent Palestinian state. Even Israel’s nationalist Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, has come to see this as the shape of the future. The problem is how to reach that end point. It’s something we should be concerned about–not...

California communities seize control of their energy futures...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

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Sea level “jumps” 5 inches. Probably nothing to worry about...

Feb 28, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

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I was a right-wing sidekick: What I discovered working for the anti-woman right...

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] As GOP leaders woo the far right at CPAC this week, I recall my past as a young Jerry Falwell. Here’s what I saw Frank Schaeffer THINK PROGRESS I was a right-wing sidekick: What I discovered working for the anti-woman rightFrank Schaeffer As I watch the GOP presidential candidates duke it out to be “the most conservative” at CPAC this week, I’m reminded of my own long-ago past. I was part of the right’s early antiabortion, anti-woman movement back in the 1970s and 1980s. I became the sidekick to my evangelist parents who were instrumental in founding the religious right. Then I left the movement, and as the New York Times notes, was branded a traitor. But unlike many Americans, I know where “these people” come from. I was one of them....

Forget Vaccines: If You’re Really Concerned About Autism, Become An Environmentalist...

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] by Emily Atkin THINK PROGRESS Science does not say this will increase your child’s risk of autism. CREDIT: Shutterstock Despite humanity’s best interest, the ongoing hubbub about vaccines is not going away. For that, at least partially, you can thank those parents who still believe the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) shot can cause autism. While that belief has been frustrating — particularly for those exposed to the country’s growing measles outbreak — many have pointed out that those parents are, at the very least, well-meaning. The only reason they’re not vaccinating is because they want to prevent their child from what can sometimes be a difficult disorder. The problem, of course, is that there isn’t any science to back up that well-intentioned concern. But fear not, benevolent ones: there is a scientifically...

The Human Costs Of Chris Christie’s Attack On Planned Parenthood...

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] by Tara Culp-Ressler THINK...

In January, U.S. Saw Vastly More Daily Warm Records Than Cold Records. February, Too....

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] by Joe Romm CLIMATE PROGRSS January saw a coolish (“below average” temperature) North East but, story a relatively hotter (“much above average”) West Coast. Recent research links this pattern to human-caused climate change. The U.S. had the 24th warmest January in the 1895-2015 temperature record, look NOAA reported this week. And we saw four times as many daily warm temperature records as daily cold records. Globally it was the second-hottest January on record. Yes, cheap those of us on the East Coast were cold, but the West Coast was sizzling, as seen in the chart above. NOAA explains that seven Western states — California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming — “had a top 10 warm January.” But while “parts of the Southern Plains and Northeast were cooler than average… no state...

Health Concerns Mount After Refinery Explosion Coats California City With White Ash...

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] by Emily Atkin & Sacha Feinman CLIMATE...

White House Proposes First-Ever Rules For Oil Drilling In The Arctic...

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] by Emily Atkin CLIMATE PROGRESS CREDIT: Shutterstock The Obama administration has proposed the first-ever safety regulations for drilling in the U.S. portion of the Arctic Ocean, discount where big oil companies have long been hoping to lay their claim. The proposed rule, pilule which is preliminary and is expected to take at least a year to reach its final version, case would for the first time impose specific requirements on oil companies that want to take the plunge into the Arctic’s icy waters. Among those are requirements for companies to have contingency plans for mishaps — companies must be able to “promptly deploy” emergency containment equipment to deal with a spill, and must build a second rig close to their initial operations so a relief well could be drilled in the event of...

Google Wants To Help You Buy Solar Panels For Your House. Seriously....

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] by Ryan Koronowski CLIMATE PROGRESS Solar City employees install a solar panel on a home in south Denver. CREDIT: AP Photo/Ed Andrieski If you to want to install solar panels on your roof but haven’t yet because it’s too expensive, buy mind Google really wants to help. The search giant, cialis valued at $370 billion, store is once again boosting its investment in SolarCity’s residential solar power model by $300 million, both companies announced Thursday. Combined with a new financing structure from SolarCity, the companies say this will result in a new fund worth $750 million to help install distributed rooftop solar on homes across the country. That’s the largest investment in such a fund ever, according to SolarCity. It means “roughly 25,000? new solar households and about 500 megawatts of new capacity,...

Texas Bill Bans Sustainability Program, Based On A Glenn Beck Conspiracy Theory...

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] by Emily Atkin CLIMATE PROGRESS CREDIT: shutterstock Two Texas lawmakers have proposed a pair of bills that would prevent the state from funding programs which attempt to implement the ideas of Agenda 21, and a non-binding and voluntary United Nations plan for sustainable development signed by the United States and 178 other governments in 1992. According to the Texas Tribune, the bills proposed by Republican state lawmakers Rep. Molly White and Sen. Bob Hall would prohibit funds from states, counties, and public universities from going to organizations “accredited by the United Nations to implement a policy that originated in the Agenda 21 plan.” The Agenda 21 plan — signed by President George H. W. Bush — includes recommendations to conserve public lands, rein in air pollution, build more sustainable cities, combat poverty, and...

BUYERS BEWARE: The 12 most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables...

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] If you’re going to buy organic, start with apples, peaches and nectarines Lindsay Abrams SALON.COM Buyers beware: The 12 most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables (Credit: yevgeniy11/Shutterstock) The Environmental Working Group is out, once again, with its annual “Dirty Dozen” guide to the conventionally grown produce most likely to be contaminated with pesticides. Apples, again, top the list, which is based on an analysis of over 3,000 produce samples tested by the USDA in 2013 and ranked according to several metrics, including the amount and variety of pesticides found on each type of fruit and vegetable. Newly prominent, and coming in second and third place, are peaches and nectarines. Those fruits tend to be the “dirtiest,” EWG analysts explained, because they’re often treated with chemicals both before and after harvest, in order to preserve...

America’s next Iraq disaster: Why the war against ISIS is escalating — more than we know...

Feb 27, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] ISIS poses no significant threat to the American people. So why are calls for troops on the ground increasing? Elias Isquith SALON.COM America’s next Iraq disaster: Why the war against ISIS is escalating — more than we know Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush (Credit: Reuters/AP/Sara Stathas/Kevin Lamarque/Stephan Savoia/David Manning) The last time the United States of America launched a ground war in Iraq, it did so only after engaging in a public debate. The debate was far from the democratic ideal; in retrospect, it was more of an ersatz form of public deliberation. But even though the lead-up to the war was truncated and riddled with scaremongering, falsehoods and conscious misrepresentation, it still happened. Then-President Bush still felt obliged to make his case. The American people were still given...

LESTER BROWN: “VAST DUST BOWLS THREATEN TENS OF MILLIONS WITH HUNGER”...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/25/lester-brown-vast-dust-bowls-threaten-tens-of-millions-with-hunger Over his 50-year career, Lester Brown has become known for his accurate global environmental predictions. As he enters retirement, he warns the world may face the worst hunger crisis of our lifetimes Lester Brown fears the world may be on the verge of ever greater levels of hunger. Video produced by Laurence Mathieu-Léger Suzanne Goldenberg THE GUARDIAN Vast tracts of Africa and of China are turning into dust bowls on a scale that dwarfs the one that devastated the US in the 1930s, one of the world’s pre-eminent environmental thinkers has warned. Over 50 years, the writer Lester Brown has gained a reputation for anticipating global trends. Now as Brown, 80, enters retirement, he fears the world may be on the verge of a greater hunger than he has ever seen in...

Laser Vibrators? Here’s What Was in Those $168,000 Swag Bags at the Oscars...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] And the rich just keep getting richer. By Zaid Jilani / AlterNet Photo Credit: via YouTube The Oscars were this past weekend, with big wins for actors Eddie Redmayne, who portrayed Stephen Hawking, and the Alejandro Iñárritu film “Birdman.” But don’t feel too bad for those nominees who didn’t win; they were still sent home with pricey consolation prizes: goodie bags valued at around $168,000. Here are some of the items contained within, as reported by USA Today: To call some of contents of this year’s gift bag wacky — if not racy — might be an understatement. Among them: • Laser vibrator. The Afterglow Pulsewave Vibrator bills itself as the world’s only adult toy that utilizes a low-level laser to enhance arousal. Value: $250 • Orgasm booster. “The Couple’s Love Shot,” as...

Robert Reich: Why Work Has Become a Nightmare and How to Stop It...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] Labor We are all being “Uberized” out of economic security. By Robert Reich / AlterNet February 23, 2015 Photo Credit: via YouTube/Moyers & Co. GM is worth around $60 billion, and has over 200,000employees. Its front-line workers earn from $19 to $28.50 an hour, with benefits. Uber is estimated to be worth some $40 billion, and has 850 employees. Uber also has over 163,000 drivers (as of December – the number is expected to double by June), who average $17 an hour in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and $23 an hourin San Francisco and New York. But Uber doesn’t count these drivers as employees. Uber says they’re “independent contractors.” What difference does it make? For one thing, GM workers don’t have to pay for the machines they use. But Uber drivers pay for their cars – not just buying them but also...

The City that Privatized Itself to Death...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] World Bit by bit, London has been handed over to pinstriped investors ‘reeking of lunch.’ By Ian Martin / The Guardian VIA ALTERNET Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com I wonder what in 100 years from now it will be, London. The city that privatised itself to death. Abandoned to nature, maybe, the whole place a massive, feral version of that mimsy garden bridge over the Thames currently being planned by the giggling classes. Poor London, the ancient and forgotten metropolis, crumbling slowly into an enchanted urban forest. Imagine. In 2115, all the lab-conjured animals in Regent’s Park Jurassic Zoo are free to roam, reliving their evolution. A diplodocus there, grazing in the jungled Mall. Look, a stegosaurus asleep in the ruins of Buckingham Palace. High above the forest canopy, a lone archaeopteryx soars, where once...

Here’s What Happens to Your Brain When You Give Up Sugar...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] Personal Health Increasing neuro-chemical and behavioral evidence suggests that sugar is addictive. By Jordan Gaines Lewis / The Conversation VIA ALTERNET Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a huge sweet tooth. I always have. My friend and fellow graduate student Andrew is equally afflicted, prescription and living in Hershey, health Pennsylvania – the “Chocolate Capital of the World” – doesn’t help either of us. But Andrew is braver than I am. Last year, buy cialis he gave up sweets for Lent. I can’t say that I’m following in his footsteps this year, but if you are abstaining from sweets for Lent this year, here’s what you can expect over the next 40 days. Sugar: natural reward, unnatural fix In neuroscience, food is something we call a “natural reward.” In order...

The Terrifying “Smart” City of the Future...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] Civil Liberties So-called “smart cities” are being heralded as the way of the future, but they have scary social and political consequences. By Allegra Kirkland / AlterNet Photo Credit: Shutterstock/hin255 Imagine a world without waste. A place where the train always comes on time, where streets are plowed before snow even stops falling, and watchful surveillance cameras have sent rates of petty crime plunging. Never again will you worry about remembering your keys because your front door has an iris recognition system that won’t allow strangers to enter. To some people, this kind of uber-efficient urban living sounds like a utopian dream. But to a growing number of critics, the promise of the “smart city” is starting to seem like the stuff of nightmare. Smart cities are loosely defined as urban centers that...

Benjamin Netanyahu Has Been Lying to Americans For 20 Years...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] World It’s a record that members of Congress should ponder on before they leap to applaud for his upcoming address. By Zaid Jilani / AlterNet Next week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present his case against President Obama’s talks with Iran; he is expected to portray Iran as an untrustworthy actor and Obama’s diplomacy as naive and a distraction from more sanctions or even military action. This case suffered a major setback this week as a major intelligence leak showed that Israel’s own intelligence service, the Mossad, privately contradicted Netanyahu’s public statements on Iran. The leaked secret cables show that as Netanyahu was presenting at the United Nations in 2012 a narrative that Iran that was just “weeks” away from producing enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb, Israel’s own intelligence...

Biomimicry in buildings: 6 animal-shaped architectural wonders...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] INHABITAT Javier Senosiain’s Nautilus Home Sea shells have influenced the form of buildings in Japan, Monte Carlo, and Mexico, to name a few. This nautilus-shaped home in Mexico City, imagined by Javier Senosiain, was inspired by Gaudi and Frank Lloyd Wright and features a stained glass door, a spiral staircase built over a living floor, and an artificial stream. Home sweet home is right. University of Stuttgart Beetle Pavilion The Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart have robotically produced a series of research pavilions that explore the limits of biomimicry. In 2014, the campus debuted a glass-and-carbon-fiber structure inspired by beetles. The animal’s geometric, double-layered shell proved to be an ideal model for efficient construction. Related: Biomimetic Architecture—green building...

BIODIVER[CITY] floating artificial reef lets visitors view ocean wildlife...

Feb 26, 2015 Posted by Casey Coates Danson

[Translate] by Lori Zimmer, tadalafil case INHABITAT The futuristic BIODIVER[CITY] is a floating man-made island that doubles as a marine life-fostering artificial reef. The massive faux-reef invites visitors to observe marine ecosystems from the surface to the ocean floor. Designed by the French and Romanian architectural team of Quentin Perchet, unhealthy Thomas Yvon and Zarko Uzlac, the floating reef has been honored as one of the Jacques Rougerie Foundation’s International Architecture Competition laureates. BIODIVER[CITY] would function both like marine life reserve, and an educational center for the public where visitors could experience first-hand the rich biodiversity of the ocean. The designers are dubbing the project a “zoo,” but the animals in question would not be in captivity. Instead, the structure would foster natural marine life, enabling nature to flourish at its own pace....