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Notre Dame is a tragedy even for atheists

Look, let’s not get distracted.

The burning of Notre Dame is a tragedy. It’s a very old beautiful building — that in itself is a loss. It contained wonderful art and architecture that cannot be replaced.

The fact that it is a religious place diminishes that not one bit.

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I’ve seen the posts some of my liberal friends have made. “How come you didn’t cry when black churches in Louisiana burned?” one said. “Haha, it’s a bunch of priests burning their child pornography and it got out of hand,” says another.

Just pretend for a minute that it was a museum instead if that helps — because it basically was. A museum of a time when the church ruled over people and religious leaders dictated what the laws should be. (Okay, maybe it’s not that much different today.)

Cry over the loss of art. Ignore the religious aspect.

(At the same time, seeing people pour donations into rebuilding kind of bugs me when there are people who could use that money to cure disease, provide clean water, house the homeless, and do the kind of things Jesus told the church to do.)

 

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Trump’s America

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(If anyone knows the cartoonist, tell me so I can give proper credit)

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Nobody gives you rights

Whenever I read “Lincoln gave the slaves freedom” or “Roe v. Wade gave women the right to their bodies” or “The Supreme Court gave gays the right to get married,” it always sounds strange.

If I steal your car and then return it, you don’t say “Michael gave me a car.”
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Less filling

less filling

Clay Bennett

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Why conservatives call Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez “stupid”

It’s a popular meme on the right — calling AOC “stupid” and making fun of her for that. Seriously, do a search and you’ll find a bunch.

Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez won a science fair in high school of the kind that usually gets won by people who go on to win Nobel prizes. The competition is the largest pre-college scientific research event in the world.

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Then she went to Boston University where she graduated cum laude with degrees in economics and international relations.

So how can they call her “stupid”?

Well, first, let’s remember that facts are meaningless to these people. These are the same people who deny evolution, claim climate change isn’t real, argue that trickle-down economics works, and think Trump is completely innocent. They deny reality all the time when it contradicts their already-held world view.

But mostly, they say that about anyone who believes in democratic socialism. They point to Venezuela (ignoring the fact that Venezuela’s problems are not because of socialism but because of corruption and a near-dictatorship) while they ignore basically every other advanced civilized democratic country in the world that has socialism (most of Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, etc.).

In other words, they are seriously arguing that a person who graduated with honors in economics and international relations — the two things that would undoubtedly qualify anyone as an expert in democratic socialism — is “stupid.”

Which is about as stupid as they can be.

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No Collusion!

no collusion

Pat Bagley

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Of course I’m skeptical about Barr’s report

“But Attorney General Barr has released a summary of the report and it says Trump is innocent.”

Well, no, it doesn’t. It says he will not be indicted, which is something Mueller said years ago — that he believes you cannot indict a sitting president. (I clearly disagree with that. There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution to support that idea.)

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Barr said that the report does not show “collusion.” Now, keep in mind that, as many conservative scream, there is no law against “collusion.” It’s called “conspiracy.” Saying someone is innocent of “collusion” is like saying someone is innocent of “beating someone up” since the actual law is called “assault.”

But here’s the real thing to keep in mind until the actual report is released:

Barr spent the last year calling the Mueller investigation a witch hunt. He is fiercely loyal to Trump, who was appointed because he was fiercely loyal in order to replace a previous Attorney General who tried to remain neutral and not say anything about an on-going investigation (you know, like lawyers are supposed to do).

A person who clearly sees their job as being a partisan supporter of Trump may indeed not be presenting us with an unbiased summary of the report.

So don’t buy into the Republican spin on this, where they try to diminish the report that has already led to Trump’s closest advisers either indicted or already in jail, including his campaign chairman, campaign aide, campaign adviser, chief of staff, national security adviser, and personal lawyer — not to mention dozens others here and in Russia.

That is hardly the “nothing burger” they are claiming.

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Socialist Invaders from the Future!

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Ruben Bolling

 

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It’s no longer about left vs. right

So the New Zealand terrorist talks about white supremacy and how much he likes and was inspired by Trump, and then a Trump supporter drives a pro-Trump float past mourners for the victims. Twice.

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Seriously, folks, the evil coming from this criminal White House and its supporters is astounding. This isn’t about political ideology any more. It’s not about left and right.

It’s about good and evil.

Ever read history and said “Man, if I were alive during that time, I’d be fighting those nazis” or “I would be protesting against segregation” or “I would never stand by while American natives were forced off their land”?

Well, now’s your chance.

Have an answer for the future when your children and grandchildren ask you what you did to fight against evil.

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News to them

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Matt Wuerker