Other people judge our likeness better than we do

We have all experienced the situation when we see a photograph of ourselves and are appalled. Surely we can’t look as bad as that? When we see ourselves in the mirror we think we look much better so conclude that the photograph must be introducing distortions or just happened to catch us at the wrong moment. Other people who look at the photograph rarely seem to share our opinion that it is not a good likeness but we can dismiss that by saying that of course they do not know us as well as we know ourselves.
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The incredibly rapid evolution on gay rights

The nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage by the US Supreme Court just over a week ago signals an extremely rapid transition in views indeed. However the struggle for the rights of the LGBT community has by no means ended. They still face all manner of discriminations. Yes, they can get married (even though some jurisdictions are still obstructing it) but they can still be legally not hired or fired from their jobs for being homosexual, they can be denied the right to rent a home, and so on. One would like to think that all those things would also move rapidly now that the big hurdle of marriage has been overcome but it may be that the dead-enders who dislike homosexuality may dig in their heels and even more vigorously oppose those moves to full equality.
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Another incredible limbo feat

I recently linked to a video of a woman who did the limbo under a car. Now comes along another incredible limbo feat. It is by a five-year old girl (I believe in India) so she is far smaller and naturally more supple than an adult. But what is incredible here is not just the height that she went under but also the distance she covered while doing so on roller skates. She also did it bending forwards rather than the more conventional backwards.
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Using RFRA to legalize marijuana use

We have seen how religious individuals and groups are using the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and state versions of it to try and avoid complying with laws that they feel infringe on their religious beliefs, such as issuing same-sex marriage licenses or providing contraceptive benefits in health insurance polices or selling various goods and services to the public.
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Eric Holder’s shameful legacy

Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone gives a blow-by-blow account of the way that Eric Holder saved the banks many billions of dollars and kept their top executives out of jail and now expects us to believe that the reason he chose to return to working at a high salary for the law firm Covington and Burling that represents some of those same banks is because of its pro bono work on behalf of the public! Yes, he really expects us to believe that he is driven by high-minded altruism.
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How Bernie Sanders gets things done

The buzz and the massive crowds surrounding Bernie Sanders’s run for president (the latest is 7,500 turning up in Maine) has taken jaded political observers by surprise and has them puzzled about exactly who Sanders is and what he stands for and why people seem so enthused about him. Some are suggesting that he may have already peaked and that after a good early showing, perhaps even winning the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, he will flame out. He has so far avoided getting dragged into the mudslinging and trivialization that is now routine in US politics and he says he would welcome the opportunity to debate anyone, anywhere on the issues.
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Civil asset forfeiture abuses curtailed

I have written many times of the evil of civil asset forfeiture by authorities in many states, whereby the property of people is seized by the police and other state authorities even though the people are never charged with any crime. This constitutes nothing less than theft by the state and the victims (as usual) are ordinary people who do not have the resources to fight the authorities and get their property back. Police and local government were using this as a form of revenue to pay salaries, buy equipment and cars, and renovate their facilities.
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The one-year anniversary of the Israeli assault on Gaza

Today marks the first anniversary of the extremely brutal assault called Operation Protective Edge that Israel perpetrated on the people of Gaza. Glenn Greenwald interviews Max Blumenthal who has a new book out that deals with that event called The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza. (You can read Greenwald’s review of the book here.)
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