Nick of Time

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Wed, 22 May 2013 16:42:56 -0400

climateadaptation: Discovery Channel exploits wolf killing,...

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:06:55 -0400

Discovery Channel exploits wolf killing, garners highest cable TV ratings among males 25-54.

Lately, these shows have also filmed killing of wolverines, lynx, grizzly bears, rattle snakes, and crocodiles for no reason other than ratings. The wolf, above, was no threat to Tanana. The show exploits viewer’s naivete about guns by shooting this animal with an AR-15 semi-automatic gun. That’s not how Alaskans hunt, they use hunting rifles, not assault weapons that look good on camera. In fact, Alaskan outdoorsmen and women are appalled at this blatant exploitation of both the animal and the audience. There is no need for this.

My point is that we are at a critical time in human history. Species are going extinct at a rapid pace, science education is under attack from aging politicians, and young people are generally experiencing nature less and less.

I am genuinely worried about the future of this country’s environmental leadership. Federal conservation programs, which have taken decades to create, are weakening. The ethic of conservationism (a conservative ethos) is dwindling. Young people are being pulled in the direction of technology, and away from grandeur, away from fresh air and nature.

It seems to me that one important aspect of this messy new milieu are education based TV companies who heretofore have been untouched by healthy criticism.

I think it’s time to analyze the impact of these shows. I believe that the Discovery Channel et al are not contributing to a healthy planet nor are they assisting educating viewers. It seems to me they are mastering fear for short term gain and profits. If I am correct, and I believe I am, these companies need to stop and focus on their mission, which is non-fiction, education-based media - not sensationalism or harm.

I hope you agree with me.

tranarchistbitch: lgbtgivesmehope: [The first person I came...

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:05:37 -0400

tranarchistbitch:

lgbtgivesmehope:

[The first person I came out to was Mickey Mouse. I was twelve. I quietly asked him if he would still love me if I liked girls. It took a moment but he nodded and held me very close for a photo. I still cry every time I look at it.]

DONE.

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Mon, 20 May 2013 12:04:39 -0400

visual-overdose: In the game of foams you swim, or you drown.

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:46:27 -0400

visual-overdose:

In the game of foams you swim, or you drown.

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Thu, 16 May 2013 17:40:33 -0400

President Ronald Reagan rocking the sweat pants on Air Force...

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:43:57 -0400

President Ronald Reagan rocking the sweat pants on Air Force One-

The leather shoes bring it together!

4,127 people have been killed by guns since Newtown.

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:25:07 -0400

think-progress:

And that number is growing rapidly. Just yesterday afternoon, the number was 4,099.

filfilandsalt: On May 15, Palestinians around the world will...

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:44:55 -0400

filfilandsalt:

On May 15, Palestinians around the world will commemorate the 65th anniversary of what they call the Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”), when the majority of the Arab population of historic Palestine were expelled from their homes and land in what became the state of Israel in 1948.

"In the past twenty years, corporate profits have quadrupled while the corporate tax percent has..."

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:07:11 -0400

“In the past twenty years, corporate profits have quadrupled while the corporate tax percent has dropped by half. The payroll tax, paid by workers, has doubled. In effect, corporations have decided to let middle-class workers pay for national investments that have largely benefited businesses over the years. The greater part of basic research, especially for technology and health care, has been conducted with government money. Even today 60% of university research is government-supported. Corporations use highways and shipping lanes and airports to ship their products, the FAA and TSA and Coast Guard and Department of Transportation to safeguard them, a nationwide energy grid to power their factories, and communications towers and satellites to conduct online business.”

- Atlas Shrugged Off Taxes (via azspot)

Targeting the Tea Party

Tue, 14 May 2013 09:56:25 -0400

squashed:

On one hand, targeting Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny looks like a massively and systemically unfair abuse of power by the IRS.

That said, it’s important to keep this in context. Additional scrutiny was given to “various local organizations in the Tea Party movement…applying for exemption under 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4).” A 501(c)(3) organization is a charity of the traditional sense that cannot support political candidates and gets massive tax benefits. So if a Tea Party group is applying for 501(c)(3) status, extra scrutiny is warranted. The only problem would be if left-leaning groups were routinely let through.

There has been an explosion of 501(c)(4) groups—which allow all sorts of dark money into politics. While they are nominally supporting “issues,” some of them are pushing even the relatively lax legal boundaries. And, yes, most of the new ones were conservative groups last time around. Additional scrutiny can both makes sures the laws are upheld from the beginning and prevents people from the facing the extremely unpleasant consequences of inadvertently breaking them.

This is worth investigating—but I suspect that the findings should be relatively benign. Somebody was trying to save time by a clumsy, albeit impermissibly partisan, shortcut. As a matter of accountability, it’s important to take this sort of thing seriously. Of course, insisting that there is a corruption scandal regardless of what the investigation shows is another way of not taking the investigation seriously.

In other words, privileged white people were treated like minorities for three seconds of their lives.

“I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white...

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:53:58 -0400

“I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms, something is wrong here. dead giveaway.” - Hero Charles Ramsey

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Mon, 06 May 2013 12:11:11 -0400

comedycentral: This was magical. If you ever needed a reason to...

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:18:48 -0400

comedycentral:

This was magical.

If you ever needed a reason to follow @TheDailyShow, this is it.

Here’s the original segment, in case you missed it.

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Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:54:48 -0400

brooklynmutt: Flashback: 4/30/2011 - Sarah Palin is surprise...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 23:45:40 -0400

brooklynmutt:

Flashback: 4/30/2011 - Sarah Palin is surprise guest at White House Correspondents’ weekend parties - The Washington Post

HA!! Even funnier!! Sarah Palin does not work!

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:28:17 -0400

a fair question…

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:57:55 -0400

a fair question…

Really CNN?? Breaking News??

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:52:35 -0400

Really CNN?? Breaking News??

"I think we also have to examine the use of drones that the United States is involved and— and there..."

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:28:44 -0400

“I think we also have to examine the use of drones that the United States is involved and— and there are a lot of civilians who are innocently killed in a drone attack in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, and in Iraq. And I can tell you having spent a lot of time over there, young people will come up to me on the streets and say, “We love America. If you harm one hair on the head of my sister, I will fight you forever,” and there is this enormous rage against what they see in that part of the world as a presumptuousness of the United States.”

- Tom Brokaw (via ericmortensen)