Filibustering to Abort the Abortion Bill

When the Texas Senate wanted to pass a new abortion bill that would severely restrict abortion guidelines and ban abortions after 20 weeks, Senator Wendy Davis decided to literally stand up for women's right to make their own reproductive health choices by filibustering the bill for 13 hours in what has quickly become a national sensation that has galvanized liberal support from all corners of the nation.

Of course, conservatives are furious about her stance, and Governor Rick Perry (most likely afraid of losing his own office to her come next election), has decided to attack Davis on a personal level by going after her and her family. In addition, in one of his statements, Perry claimed that "in Texas, we value all life," apparently completely oblivious to the fact that on the very same day, his state had committed its 500th execution...

And just to give you a sense of the double-standards and dirty tricks some conservative opponents tend to use when approaching their core issues, here's what they tried to do with respect to the fact they saw that their bill wasn't going to pass:

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And although Davis ended up talking non-stop for about eleven hours, she can also be quite concise:

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Blowing the Whistle on Whistleblowers

Whistleblowing and information leaks have been spearheading news headlines recently. Among the highest profile cases in America we've had Bradley Manning and, most recently, Edward Snowden. Many have jumped on the character assassination wagon, calling them traitors, cowards, and a lot of other things, even calling for their heads!, all of which tends to distract from the more pressing issue: the information leaked, what it tells us about the sources that were trying to keep it secret, and the implications going forward.

Directly or indirectly, both men did work for the government, so a case could potentially be made that they betrayed our government. Though I disagree with that position, I'm willing to grant it for the sake of argument. What they did not betray, however, is their country. They saw that the government was violating human rights, the constitution and the principles upon we always claim our nation was founded, and they decided to stand up to power so that we could rescue our country back from the forces that want to corrupt it for their own purposes. These men are American and moral heroes. Few have the courage to stand up and risk so much when it would be so much easier to just stay silent and look the other way, and now, in their time of need, we ought to stand by them and support them.

Yes, the information they revealed is shocking and damaging to our reputation, no doubt, but our reputation ought to be based who we are, not on what we hide. And claims regarding national security, at least in these two cases, have been completely fabricated or at least blown way out of proportion. Unlike the previous administration, which actually outed individual secret agents and put their lives at real risk (all in the name of politics, I might add), Manning and Snowden have leaked information about highly questionable programs and practices that have been institutionalized without having gone through the proper checks and balances (you know, pesky little things like the Constitution and such)...

But of course, how you feel about and refer to these folks depends on where you're coming from, as the hilarious Samantha Bee beautifully and succinctly shows:

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And just to give you a taste of the backward twilight zone world we seem to be living in, here's an example of those in (financial) power trying to silence those who report on their corruption by trying to turn the law on them! (and apparently without noticing the irony and contradiction):

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Ok, this is going to sound horrible, so be warned, but was it deliberate that the public relations spokesperson sort of looks like a piggy, to make it look like they sympathize with the plight of animals, or was it just an unfortunate and ironic coincidence?

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Jon Stewart Pwns Bill O'Reilly on Profiling... and Math

We all know that Bill O'Reilly is a petulant, loud-mouth who bullies and yells at people he disagrees with (even when they are invited guests in his show), and it's kind of hilarious to watch him and Rush Limbaugh go at it every now and then, but I'm starting to wonder whether the Jon Stewart vs Bill O'Reilly little debates and repartees are fair... I mean, Papa Bear is like five feet taller, a lot louder, always willing to make up straw man arguments, and overshout everyone... and Jon Stewart, well, he takes the abuse graciously, but also drops an atomic bombshell every now and calls him out on the inconsistency of his bullshit...

Here's just one more example of that ass-kicking:

So, is O'Reilly a masochist or just clueless?

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The Real Victims of Gun Control?

The number of gun-related deaths in America, at least compared to civilized countries, is out of control (as you can tell from the poster to the right), but when it comes to reasonable debate, somehow we just lose it.

We are a freedom-loving people, or so we tell ourselves, and we get paranoid about losing the liberties that we care about, but we are also perfectly comfortable imposing our values and intruding in other people's lives when it comes to other things we care about. In this respect, only libertarians tend to be consistent in asking for almost complete government non-intervention in the choices that adults get to make. Conservatives and liberals, though, affirm one sort of freedom, but are happy to take away another. Just look at how they treat the first and second Amendments to the Bill of Rights to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

But the main problem, especially on the right of the political spectrum, has to do with the absolutely insane extremism associated with the fear of and opposition to gun control, to the point that, as the following clips from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart indicate, they are completely oblivious to the real victims of guns.

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But let's not protect people from guns... let's protect guns from people:

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And of course, while people are getting killed all over the place, this is the kind of thing that Fox News is upset, actually outraged, about:

If we're not afraid of fully automated machine guns, why are we so afraid of a discussion?

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What Do You Get When You Mix Russian Drivers and Dashboard Cameras?

A few days ago news spread all over the world about a 15-meter (roughly 49 feet), 10,000-ton meteor that hurled towards Earth over central Russia and exploded in mid-air, sending sonic shockwaves that damaged hundreds of buildings. Although over a thousand people were injured, apparently there were no casualties.

The interesting thing about this news, though, is that the footage of this amazing celestial event was captured by dashboard cameras installed in many vehicles. Apparently, this is sort of a necessary fad there because a lot of Russians simply cannot be trusted to be peaceful, honest, law-abiding citizens. So what do you get when you mix Russian drivers and dashboard cameras? Apparently, Benny Hill-styled footage. Jon Stewart reports.

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Bill O'Reilly - Christianity Is a Philosophy, Not a Religion

Unfortunately, the word philosophy is used, misused and abused by all kinds of people. For some, like the local drunk at your nearest bar, for instance, it means the semi-coherent and misogynistic ramblings about the "deep truths" he has "discovered" through dozens of failed relationships, and that he can't help but share with you. For others, it means some sort of "deep" motto, like "believe in yourself." A slightly more respectable version still is that of a worldview: a set of ideas by which you lead your life, and which, with any luck, are not incompatible with each other.

But for philosophers, philosophy is not a thing... it's an activity: it is the pursuit of wisdom (the good and the true) by means of rational conceptual analysis, by rigorous and systematic observation, by synthesizing the very best knowledge that we acquire from the sciences, by subjecting claims to rational scrutiny, by questioning what others take for granted, and by developing the existential courage to confront the harshness of reality head-on without having to delude ourselves with comforting beliefs and illusions. Philosophy is something we do, not something we "have."

Whatever its merits, however, religion is not that. In philosophy, we investigate to find answers, and we go where the evidence takes us. In religion, you start with your preconceived belief first, and then look for ways to back it up later. Philosophy is inquiry; religion is rationalization.

So, when I heard that Bill O'Reilly recently claimed that Christianity is a philosophy, and NOT a religion, my first reaction was, predictably, WTF? Ah, but when Papa Bear wants to play logic and semantic games, you know that Jon Stewart is ready to call him on his bullshit :)

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And hey, have you noticed that there are a lot of similarities between the Jesus and Socrates stories? Well, this is no mere coincidence. As Nietzsche once put it, Christianity is Platonism for the herd. It's the same basic story, without the actual philosophy part...

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Sometimes I wonder if Jon Stewart is proof of God's existence...

The problem, though, is that Mr. Deity is now upset:

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Megyn Kelly Makes Karl Rove Her Bitch

I have an ongoing debate with a friend. We're both liberals, and I think one can theoretically separate a person's political ideology from their physical attractiveness, and not like the former while very much liking the latter, or vice versa. My friend thinks I'm full of crap: once you know what's inside a person's heart and soul, especially when they're conservative ideologues, the outside is just as hideous as the inside.

And the object of contention between us has been Megyn Kelly. I think she's totally hot, even though I disagree with most of the things she says. My friend says she makes him want to barf. Here's the awesome part: on election night she did something that should completely vindicate me in my friend's eyes: she made Karl Rove her bitch :)

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I'm not big on schadenfreude, but that was awesome!

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Children's Television Chop Shop - This Week With George Snuffleupagus

Romney wants to fire Big Bird, and conservatives seem to agree that we spend way too much money on things like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR. And while reigning in excessive spending is generally a good idea, do programs that educate the public count as a waste of money? No, it's actually an investment; one that will pay off in great dividends!

So how about we cut other forms of outrageous spending? Like, I don't know, the stupid wars we're always waging all over the world? Or maybe the gigantic tax cuts given to the rich, and the enormous subsidies given to corporations? Oh, but conservatives wouldn't like that, so in order to distract the nation from the real forms of outrageous and frivolous spending that go to benefit Wall Street, they'll just exaggerate how much tax-payer money goes to Sesame Street...

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But this is really hilarious part

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How awesome was that? :)

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Rumble 2012 - Bill O'Reilly vs Jon Stewart

The recent presidential debate between Romney and Obama turned out to be a disaster. Romney came loaded with a semi-automatic shotgun full of soundbites and lies, he threatened to fire Big Bird, and once again flipped flopped on his position (I've never known a prostitute who can assume so many positions, but I guess if you're a corporate whore, you gotta be extra flexible). Obama, on the other hand, just let Romney get away with all these bs claims, and acted as though he hadn't slept in a few days. Maybe Clint Eastwood was right all along when he talked to that empty chair at the Republican National Convention...

So if that debate left you unsatisfied, worry not, my friends because Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly had a little debate of their own this weekend, which turned out to be more substantial and more entertaining. President Obama, take some notes from Jon Stewart on how to call a spade a spade, and how to have substantial and nuanced points to make while not being a total bore...

Check out more debates in our debate tag.

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Apparently Mitt Romney Can't Stand Half of All Americans, and Most of Them Are Conservatives and the Elderly...

You may have heard a few days ago that Mother Jones released a devastating series of videos showcasing Mitt Romney talking to a bunch of rich buddies and donors, and saying what he REALLY thinks about poor people when he doesn't know there's a camera rolling. Many are calling this the death of his campaign, but given that the Republican constituency is apparently made up of masochists who actively and consistently vote against their own interests, I wouldn't sing victory just yet.

Gotta love these times when corrupt and unethical bastards can get caught on camera for all the world to see. Still, once you investigate who makes up that 47% of Americans Romney disparages, you realize that apparently Romney thinks soldiers, children, the elderly and veterans are a bunch of free-loaders. How "American" of him... But as Jon Stewart shows, if Romney doesn't care about the vote of these "welfare queens," he wouldn't even be able to get his own father's vote...

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But one of the most interesting things is how these "freeloaders" are distributed geographically, and the cognitive dissonance this is going to create for conservative Romney fans:

But all is not lost. Luckily for Romney, Stephen Colbert comes to his support:

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A Russian fuck-pit... figures...

Of course, the folks at Faux News are quick to jump into damage control mode and to work on their special pleading distractions, but Jon Stewart is going to hold their feet to the consistency fire:

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But not only is Romney's own father one of these welfare queens Romney disparages, many of his richest and best buddies have hugely benefited from government tax cuts, tax exemptions and government subsidies:

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How self-deluded (or racist) do you have to be to still want to vote for Romney instead of Obama?

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I Want to Be Sarah Palin?

One of the things I despise about politics is the hypocrisy and the double standards: it's okay for our group to do something, but if those from the other side of the isle do the same thing, then that very same thing is evil; or conversely, it's so wrong for those on the other side to do something, but it's perfectly fine for our group to do the exact same thing, or even the very same thing on steroids...

I don't know whether it's willful manipulation or whether they are so blind by cognitive biases that they actually believe the things they say, but I have to confess that even thoughI never thought I'd see the day when I would want to be Sarah Palin, if being Sarah Palin means I would never again have to listen to Sarah Palin, then I'd want to be Sarah Palin. Jon Stewart explains:

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Talk about a dilemma!

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Jon Stewart on the Curiosity Mars Touch-Down

Yes, here I go again with more stuff on the landing of Curiosity on Mars, but you'd have to be made of stone not to be awed and excited by the incredible accomplishment this landing represented. When Jon Stewart saw the Curiosity's Seven Minutes of Terror we featured a couple of months ago, he was on the edge of his seat.

But have you wondered why the folks at NASA worked so hard to get this done? Maybe this is what they have to do to get laid :)

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According to conservatives, the aftermath of a massive shooting spree is NOT the time to talk about guns?

I get that we in America have a constitutional right to bear arms and own weapons, but since we also love our Declaration of Independence, we also believe that we have a right to life. Now, these don't have to be mutually exclusive, so you'd think that adult conservatives would be willing to try to enter the discussion regarding how to adequately balance individual rights with a collective interest in societal peace and safety.

Gun fundamentalists, however, bifurcate the issue into a black and white dichotomy that's just not appropriate for adults: gun control does not have to mean that our weapons are going to be banned, taken away and burnt or given to our sworn enemies. It just means that, as reasonable adults, we believe that while our right to own arms is important and should be respected, maybe it's a good idea to draw some sort of line about just how far we can take that right. Should we be allowed to own atomic bombs? Probably not. What about fully loaded fighter jets? How about rocket launchers?  Fully automated rifles? We don't have to agree about where the line should be drawn to be able to see that a line somewhere does make sense, and that it does not amount to a full-on ban on weapons.

After Travon Martin was gunned down by George Zimmerman, Fox News thought that maybe we ought to ban those dangerous hoodies because guns don't kill people, hoodies kill people. And now that we are experiencing the aftermath of that horrible "Batman" shooting last week, and thinking about the impact of giving people unfettered access to weapons of mass destruction that they can unleash on unsuspecting populations, the folks at Fox News think that this is not the time to talk about guns... but it is time to ask whether we ought to ban costumes from movie theatres...

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Sometimes I wonder if this is just a horrible dream...

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Mitt Romney's Bain Damage

Questions about Mitt Romney's time as CEO of Bain Capital have people concerned. On the one hand, he is running for president on the platform of his business experience. Of course, that business experience includes buying American companies, driving them to the ground, forcing all their employees to lose their jobs (either through the company's bankrupcy or through outsourcing those jobs to foreign nations), all while making obscene profits for Romney and his cronies, and laughing at those he screwed. On the other hand, when those business practices are questioned, he quickly claims that he was not involved in such business decisions... in which case he no longer has a business platform upon which to  base his presidential candidacy... wait, what?

Anyway, Jon Stewart is wondering whether this dark picture of Romney is purposefully designed to coincide with the timing of the latest of Batman's villains...

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And then there's the question of the difference between not breaking the law (because of all sorts of contorted loopholes and legal maneuvers) while being a total douchebag completely out of touch with the plight of regular people, and being perfectly happy to get all kinds of tax breaks and government subsidies for the rich while telling poor people that they cannot expect their government to help them with their healthcare costs and education the way it does with his luxurious tax write-offs, like sending his horse to the prom...

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Colbert and Stewart Disagree on Sugary Drinks Ban

When Mayor Bloomberg announced that he wanted to ban the sale of oversized 16-ounce sugary drinks in NYC, everyone went ape shit. Sure, while the idea to try to force people to become more conscious about choices affecting their own health is well-intentioned, it's not exactly the sort of thing you can set as a legal precedent, enforceable by law, without it blowing up in your face.

But it strikes me as telling that the idea received such vociferous responses from all directions, and it makes me wonder whether the explanation for such vitriol comes from our reluctance to admit that this is a more complex issue than it may appear at first glance. After all, one does have to admit that it would be good for citizens if they drank less soda... and that the evidence shows that, when they get to make the choice, they go for the ridiculously large stuff that's going to bring them that much closer to obesity and diabetes.

Jon Stewart points to the ridiculousness of the ban, since "it would combine the draconian government overreach people love with the probable lack of results they expect."

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And then moves on to show what such a law ought to entail if we were to apply it consistently:

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Stephen Colbert, on the other hand, has a very different reaction:

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The Battle for the War on Women

When you claim that Mitt Romney's wife, a mother of five children, has never worked a day in her life... that's going to upset virtually any sane and compassionate person. Sure, Ann Romney most likely had all kinds of maids, babysitters, nannies and tutors for her kids, but still... being a mom is going to be tough on anyone.

But here is where things get interesting: Conservatives are outraged at this "war on conservative women," while being completely unaware of, or willfully ignoring and actively denying, the fact that they themselves, through massive and numerous pieces of legislation regarding invasive procedures on women's bodies, against their will and without regard for their privacy, have declared what any reasonable person could conclude is a real declaration of war on ALL women, conservative and liberal alike.

And what do such pieces of legislation seek? Well, among other things, to force women to prove to their employers that their birth control is used for medical reasons (not family planning), criminalizing abortion as murder (I wonder if these pro-lifers are asking for the death penalty in such cases), making the use of those lovely, invasive transvaginal ultrasounds mandatory before abortions can be performed, criminalizing single-parenting as child abuse, and even making domestic abuse legal (thanks, Topeka, Kansas!)... oy vay...

But to get to the good part, first we need a little bit of context:

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Oh, but what have Mitt and Ann Romney been saying lately? Wait for it...

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But there is no real war on women. Clearly, that's just a liberal exaggeration. The real war is on Christmas!... and Easter, Halloween, fossil fuels, salt, chocolate milk, sugary drinks, and potatoes!

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Well, and now you know where to go if you want to beat your wife... wow...

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Bro-Choice

Whenever pro-lifers want to interfere with a woman's autonomy over her own body, they do it, presumably, because of their moral principles regarding the sanctity of human life, and they think the ethical principle trumps a woman's convenience every time. The question of a woman's liberty is not even very important...

So, guess what happened when a bill was introduced to outlaw the waste of any semen (because after all, it is human life, which means that every sperm is sacred, as Monty Python famously parodied), and a man's inalienable right to masturbate was at stake!: of course, all of a sudden pro-life conservatives, completely oblivious to the irony and the double standard, started coming up with the most hilarious and twisted arguments you could ever imagine.. Al Madrigal reports:

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Of course, philosophers mostly agree that the question of personhood is actually kind of irrelevant. Mainly, it's just an emotional distraction that does no ethical explanatory work, only emotional work...

And in case you're not following the Monty Python reference, here you go:

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Faith/Off - Easter vs Passover

And so it was that three days after his crucifixion, Jesus sent the Easter bunny to lay some chocolate eggs for kids to find, get high on sugary sweets, and eventually get tooth decay that would drive stock prices up for the Tooth Fairy's corporate business. Of course, if Jesus and the Tooth Fairy conspired together, that would constitute insider trading. Maybe that's why the Romans decided to crucify him to begin with?

I don't know, but it looks like Christians and Jews, while both celebrating Spring holidays, might have some differences as to how to stay relevant and popular in modern-day America...

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Not to worry. Jon Stewart has some advise for his Jewish brethren:

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But the threats, Stephen Colbert informs us, are coming from other directions too, like Down Under:

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Tucson Bans Ethnic Studies Program

Oh irony of ironies... just as Rick Santorum is lying about the fact that several California universities don't teach American History, Arizona's governor has just signed a bill actually banning ethnic studies from the curriculum of public schools, and the Tucson School Board of Education has taken advantage of this opportunity and decided to ban their Mexican-American Studies program because, get this... it makes white men look bad by teaching kids the historical fact that the land that used to belong to their ancestors was taken over by the white man...

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That bitch, Rosa Clark... And hey, If they weren't brainwashing these kids with burritos, then why am I thinking "yo quiero Taco Bell"?

Ok, but for a more serious treatment of this issue, and of what race theory actually entails, you might want to read this article from the New York Times' philosophy column The Stone.

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The Word - Hoodies: Dressed to Kill

The unfortunate and sad story of Trayvon Martin, a Floridian teenager who was pursued and subsequently gunned down a month ago in broad daylight by what appears to be an unstable, racist vigilante, George Zimmerman, for the crime of wearing a hoodie and being armed with an iced-tea and some skittles while not belonging to the neighborhood, has rocked the nation, especially because Zimmerman, to date, has not even been arrested...

As is the now regrettably predictable outcome in these scenarios, politicians, the media and others will go to ridiculous lengths to exploit and squeeze every drop they can out of such a tragedy to score their own ideological points, and, as Stephen Colbert shows, to point fingers in all the wrong places...

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But it's not just conservative jerks who are being ridiculous... Jon Stewart has more:

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And Cheney had a heart?!?

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