Brookings Institute gets an “F” in describing the job of the media

Glenn Greenwald reports that Benjamin Wittes, a writer for the Brookings Institute wrote: "The [New York] Times is not an advocacy organization whose job it is to 'aggressively challenge' the government's claims of the rates of civilian casualties - except to the extent that those claims are untrue." Wittes was responding to an article by NYT suggesting that the NYT could do a better, more aggressive, job of scrutinizing the drone program of President Obama. Greenwald points out the problem with those who criticize those who dare to question the government:

It's amazing that someone not only believes - but is willing to say publicly - that it is not the job of a newspaper to "aggressively challenge" government claims on a highly controversial assassination program that is shrouded in secrecy and uncertainty. That, more than anything else, is the core purpose of journalism (at least in theory): the reason "freedom of the press" is protected in the First Amendment. And it's precisely the media's systematic failure - more accurately: its unwillingness - to engage in this function that has produced the last decade's most destructive outcomes . . . There really is no point in having media outlets that do anything other than "aggressively challenge" the claims of those in power. Actually, there is a point in having that: it allows government assertions to be glorified as true even when there is no evidence that they are. That is why so many power-serving Washington mavens are so eager to defend that model and demand adherence to it. And their success in that mission is why so many destructive government falsehoods are able to flourish without real scrutiny.

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Child rearing according to the bible

At Bible Funmentionables, Michael Morris points out some of the Bible's advice on child rearing:

The Bible has been held up as the pinnacle of moral authority, so when the Bible says, "Do not lie," we don't lie. When the Bible says, "Do not steal," we don't steal. So when the Bible says,"Kill your juvenile delinquents," do we really have any other choice? The Bible delivers many examples of bad parenting. Lot offers his daughters to the rapacious mob of Sodom, so that the mob would be okay with not having their way with his male house guests. Thoughtful host, worst parent ever. This is the same Lot that impregnated two of his daughters, and according to Wikipedia, "Christians and Muslims revere Lot as a righteous man of God." In the famous story of the sacrifice of Isaac, God at the very last minute stops Abraham from killing his son Isaac.
Along with the above advice on child raising, I offer the follow Bible advice regarding family values (this is a posting on Facebook--I cannot determine the original creator of the image): Morris offer much more advice from the Bible, all of it reprehensible, including the requirement that we kill people who gathers sticks on the sabbath —Numbers 15:32-36. With regard to all of the above advice, the bottom line would seem to be this: Don't obey the Bible.

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More quotes

This is part of my non-ending series of my favorite quotes. I'll keep publishing them as long as I keep finding new ones. The entire series is here. Here are my new favorites: "The mind can be permanently profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things, so that all our thoughts shall be tinged with triviality." Henry David Thoreau. "Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life." —Epictetus, Greek philosopher "Politics is the entertainment division of the military industrial complex." Frank Zappa "It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti "By Learning you will teach. By teaching you will learn." Latin Proverb "In the Age of Information ignorance is a choice." Facebook - attributed to Danny Miller "I have no problem paying taxes because roads don't pave themselves." I have no problem paying taxes because I'm an adult and that's part of the deal." Facebook photo of two demonstrators with signs “We may have democracy in this country, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both.” - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis “Morning is wonderful. Its only drawback is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day.” — Glen Cook (from Sweet Silver Blues...first in the Garrett P.I. series), “Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals.” Mark Twain "When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong." R. Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983) “Don’t try to tell me a loving and caring god exists. How do you explain stillbirth? What was the loving and caring plan of your god there?” Marina C (on Facebook). "Every composer knows the anguish and despair occasioned by forgetting ideas which one had no time to write down." Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869) "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC) "If Beethoven had been killed in a plane crash at the age of 22, it would have changed the history of music... and of aviation." Tom Stoppard (1937 - ) “Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.” Ron Paul “The trouble is, you think you have time.” Buddha

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1,000 pound woman

I just don't know what to think when I hear of mega-fat people, those who grew while they were bed-ridden. This type of spectacle simply has to be enabled by others, because there's no way these people can get to food on their own. These are stories of intense co-dependence. They have to be. The murder allegations here almost seem like a distraction to the main story.

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Amber Lyons reveals how CNN “news” coverage is bought

Amber Lyons recently lost her job as a reporter for CNN. The problem is that she is a reporter who simply reports what she sees, and lets the chips fall where they may. This is much too inconvenient for CNN, which allows subjects of news reports buy favorable coverage. Let that sink in. Here is an eleven minute video where Lyons reveals the extent of the problem, referring to the censorship of her reports regarding the regime in U.S.-ally Bahrain. Her message is even much broader, however, and applies to the willingness of the lapdog media to encourage needless war against Iran. This is really eye-opening information. This story also points to the incredible importance of preserving net neutrality, because you won't hear about this mainstream media corruption on the mainstream media.

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