Clipmarks | jklugman's Comments

Deficiencies in right-wing patriotism

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:18:34 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks:

The last example is especially strange -- despairing about the political culture of the South in the 1920's, where disenfranchisement, lynching, and even slavery were routine practices, is a sign of insufficent patriotism? If that doesn't show the deficiencies of the right's style of patriotism, nothing does.

Via Matt Yglesias

Clip Source: blogs.tnr.com

in yesterday's USA Today, Jonah Goldberg offers up a perfect specimen of the undistilled conservative patriotism

Oddly, Jonah ofers up this strange example of liberalism's alleged contempt for the United States:

Many progressives in the 1920s considered the American hinterlands a vast sea of yokels and boobs, incapable of grasping how much they needed what the activists were selling.

The Nation ran a famous series then called "These United States," in which smug emissaries from East Coast cities chronicled the "backward" attitudes of what today would be called fly-over country. One correspondent proclaimed that in "backwoods" New York (i.e. outside the Big Apple): "Resistance to change is their most sacred principle." If that was their attitude to New York, it shouldn't surprise that they felt even worse about the South. One author explained that Dixie needed nothing less than an invasion of liberal "missionaries" so that the "light of civilization" might finally be glimpsed down there.

Tags: conservatives, jonah goldberg

How the Declaration of Independence Changed the World

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:10:12 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

In between mouthfuls of hot dogs and potato salad, Americans on this July Fourth might actually ponder those famous phrases scrawled near the top of the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

When he penned the Declaration in 1776, Thomas Jefferson had an inkling of the consequences it held for the 13 colonies, who were announcing their intention to break free from the shackles of British rule. What he may not have anticipated, however, were the widespread effects his powerful words would also have around the world.

The Declaration of Independence didn't just change the course of American history, but created a ripple effect that nudged a host of other nations toward independence, making a revolutionary poster boy of Jefferson in the process.

The Enlightenment

Tags: declaration of independence, world, jefferson

Gitmo torture training based on Korea-era Chinese torture

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:06:09 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Used on US prisoners during Korean conflict

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Gitmo Trainers Based Interrogations on Chinese Techniques

The New York Times has revealed military trainers at Guantanamo Bay based an entire interrogation class on Chinese techniques used on US prisoners during the Korean War. The techniques have long been considered forms of torture, including “sleep deprivation,” “prolonged constraint,” “exposure,” “semi-starvation," “exploitation of wounds.” Some of the intended effects include “Makes Victim Dependent on Interrogator,” “Weakens Mental and Physical Ability to Resist” and “Reduces Prisoner to ‘Animal Level’ Concerns.” The methods were also seen as widely ineffective, having obtained mostly false confessions. The techniques were outlined in a chart from a 1957 Air Force study entitled “Communist Attempts to Elicit False Confessions from Air Force Prisoners of War.” Some of the methods were used on Guantanamo prisoners until Congress banned the use of coercion in 2005.

Tags: torture

McCain tax cuts give Corporations $175B/year windfall

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:11:57 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: And guess who will make up the difference?

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Report: McCain Tax Cuts to Save Corporations $175 Billion/Year

In campaign news, a new report is estimating Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s proposed tax plan will produce a windfall for corporate America. The Center For American Progress estimates McCain’s plan would save corporations $175 billion per year. The country’s largest 200 corporations alone would save $45 billion.

Tags: politics, economy

McCain tax cuts give Corporations $175B/year windfall

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:11:57 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: And guess who will make up the difference?

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Report: McCain Tax Cuts to Save Corporations $175 Billion/Year

Tags: politics, economy

An atheist belief system: 7 secular rules for life.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:41:59 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: 40yearoldatheist.com

An atheist belief system: 7 secular rules for life.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:41:59 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: 40yearoldatheist.com

I finally made my own homepage

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:43:57 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Okay, tell me the truth, is this ridiculous?

Clip Source: www.nathanrein.com

About me: I am a historian of religion who studies the Protestant Reformation. I teach at a small, private, nonsectarian liberal arts college about 45 minutes outside of the city of Philadelphia, called Ursinus. I live in the town of Phoenixville with my wife, two children, and three cats. The page you're looking at is basically an online calling card; here you can find ways of tracking me down, seeing what I'm doing, or contacting me.

Tags: me, vanity, nathanrein.com, homepage, web, about_me

Economists: SCOTUS misread evidence on deterrent effect of death penalty

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:42:37 GMT

clipped by: jklugman

Clip Source: economistsview.typepad.com

Justice John Paul Stevens cited recent research by Wolfers (with co-author John Donohue) to justify the claim that "there remains no reliable statistical evidence that capital punishment in fact deters potential offenders." Justice Antonin Scalia cited a suggestion by Sunstein (with co-author Adrian Vermeule) that "a significant body of recent evidence" shows "that capital punishment may well have a deterrent effect, possibly a quite powerful one."

What does the evidence actually say? ...

In short, the best reading of the accumulated data is that they do not establish a deterrent effect of the death penalty.

A prominent line of reasoning, endorsed by several justices, holds that if capital punishment fails to deter crime, it serves no useful purpose and hence is cruel and unusual, violating the Eighth Amendment.

But what if the evidence is inconclusive? We are not sure how to answer that question.

Tags: capital punishment, death penalty, economics, scotus

Why Abstinance-Only?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:57:23 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: Studies show that Abstinance-Only sex ed works no better than nothing. So why the literal evangelical fervor for shoving it down our children's throats? To "save them from hell" - and of course, those who are NOT saved don't matter.

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

Consider the contrast between the emphasis on making pregnancy as inevitable as possible with militant opposition to consider any social fail-safes for mistakes, accidents, poor decisions or the unpredictable circumstances of life, isseus that are of concern to any person of genuine Evangelical Christian faith, or indeed, anyone who takes the words of Jesus to be important and morally instructive.

I'm sorry if that seems arrogant, but those who discount the positive importance of the words of Christ while treating 19th century Dispensationalist twaddle as if it were Scripture are, aside from being grouchy, mean-spirited, spiteful, intolerant, fearful and judgmental prudes with an unhealthy interest in the bodily functions and private affairs of others, have also stretched the definition of "Christian" to the point where Christ Himself would not recognize it.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Why Abstinance-Only?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:57:23 GMT

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Why Abstinance-Only?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:57:23 GMT

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Arab-Israel Conflict

Mon, 14 May 2007 23:47:06 GMT

clipped by: davboz

Clip Source: www.dafka.org

1. Nationhood and Jerusalem - Israel became a nation in the 14th century B.C.E. Two thousand years before the rise of Islam.

For over 3,000 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem , they never sought to make it their capital

To portray themselves as indigenous, Arab settlers adopted the name of an ancient Mediterranean tribe, the Philistines ("Invaders" in Hebrew), that disappeared out over almost 3000 years ago. The connection between this tribe and modern day Arabs is nil. Romans, in order to conceal their shame and anger with rebellious regions, changed the references to Judea and Samaria by naming them Palestine

11. A travel guide to Palestine and Syria was published in 1906 by Karl Baedeker; The book estimated the total population of Jerusalem at 60,000, of whom 7,000 were Muslims, 13,000 were Christians and 40,000 were Jews.

Tags: israel, palestine

Why Abstinance-Only?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:57:23 GMT

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

5000 Clips - We're Family now - Just call me Tommy

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:41:31 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: smg.photobucket.com

Tags: 5000 clips, skwirlinator, welcome to my family, good friends

Clipmarks | jklugman's Comments

Deficiencies in right-wing patriotism

How the Declaration of Independence Changed the World

Gitmo torture training based on Korea-era Chinese torture

Gitmo Trainers Based Interrogations on Chinese Techniques

McCain tax cuts give Corporations $175B/year windfall

Report: McCain Tax Cuts to Save Corporations $175 Billion/Year

McCain tax cuts give Corporations $175B/year windfall

Report: McCain Tax Cuts to Save Corporations $175 Billion/Year

An atheist belief system: 7 secular rules for life.

An atheist belief system: 7 secular rules for life.

I finally made my own homepage

Nathan Rein

Economists: SCOTUS misread evidence on deterrent effect of death penalty

Why Abstinance-Only?

Why Abstinance-Only?

Why Abstinance-Only?

Arab-Israel Conflict

Why Abstinance-Only?

5000 Clips - We're Family now - Just call me Tommy