The importance of creative play for children: two perspectives

If you buy your child an expensive and detailed toy based upon the latest new movie, you'll end up with a toy that can be used in only one way and your child will quickly get bored with that toy. It's happened over and over. I’ve seen it with my…

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George Carlin’s final national performance is available on YouTube

Tonight I watched “It’s Bad For Ya,” George Carlin’s final nationally televised performance. The entire show is available on YouTube (Below is Part I of VII). The show was broadcast live on March 1, 2008, only a few months prior to Carlin’s death (due to a heart attack, on June…

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Question the significance of the “gross domestic product” (GDP)

I just finished reading a terrifically clear and concise article on measuring "the economy" by Jonathan Rowe, published by Harpers. It is entitled "Our Phony Economy." Please allow me to set the scene. Haven't you wondered why politicians and the news media so often obsess about the rising and falling…

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Popular right wing talk show host Michael Savage shows his ignorance regarding autism

Here's a standard account of autism, from Wikipedia: Autism is a brain development disorder that first gives signs during infancy or childhood and generally follows a steady course without remission or relapse. Impairments result from maturation-related changes in various systems of the brain. Autism is one of the five pervasive…

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The President’s Abuse of Power redux

Glenn Greenwald hits the nail on the head again: Of all the constitutionally threatening and extremist powers the Bush administration has asserted over the last seven years, the most radical -- and the most dangerous -- has been its claim that the President has the power to arrest U.S. citizens…

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