The CIA and Zero Dark Thirty

I did not see the film Zero Dark Thirty (2012) about the mission that resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, an action that many of president Obama’s supporters hailed as the finest moment of his presidency, showing his toughness in the face of Republican charges that Democrats are wimps. In fact, in the 2012 election, vice president Joe Biden adopted the slogan that thanks to president Obama, “General Motors is alive and Osama bin Laden is dead.”
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Bye, bye, Scott

David Atkins examines the case of Minnesota Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. He thought, and I agreed, that Walker was the most dangerous candidate among all the Republicans, because he combined a good chance of winning the presidency (as a result of big money and establishment and rabid base support) with having a record that promised he would be truly vicious in his policies.
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Happiness lost

We have only one life. There is no afterlife to make up for the slings and arrows of misfortune that we experience in this life and so we should try and give people every opportunity to be happy and not deprive them of the chance to seize happiness wherever they may find it simply because they violate some socially constructed norm.
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The British media are as obsessed with trivia as their US counterparts

The rugby World Cup is currently underway in England and, fresh from the ‘scandal’ where Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was criticized for only standing but not also singing the words of the national anthem, he was castigated for missing England’s opening game against Fiji, citing unspecified “pre-existing commitments”. The media sneered as to what could possibly be more important than cheering your team in a World Cup rugby match.
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Ben Carson’s ignorance, bigotry, and arrogance

In an interview on a TV talk show, Ben Carson said the following:

The Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has said no Muslim should be president of the United States of America.

In an interview with NBC for broadcast on Sunday morning, the retired neurosurgeon said: “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”
…

In his NBC interview, Carson was asked: “So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?”

“No,” he said, “I don’t, I do not.”

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