Research & Rescue

Supreme Court upholds anti-terror law

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a federal law that forbids providing training and advice to terrorist organizations even about entirely peaceful and legal activities, saying it does not violate the free speech rights of those who want to help.

The court ruled 6 to 3 that Congress and the executive branch had legitimate reasons for barring "material support" to foreign organizations deemed to be terrorists in the USA Patriot Act.

via www.washingtonpost.com

Record number of Indian-Americans seeking office

Meet Reshma, Surya, Manan, Raj, Ami, Ravi, Nimrata and Kamala — a new wave of Indian-American politicians. At least eight children of Indian immigrants are running for Congress or statewide office, the most ever. The star of this trend is Nikki Haley, born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa, who is favored to win the election for governor of South Carolina.

Indian heritage is where Haley's similarity with the other candidates seems to end. She is the only Republican, the only one who has been widely mistaken for a white woman, the only one who has been accused of abandoning her heritage for converting from the Sikh faith to Christianity.

Yet when Haley's motives are questioned and some suggest Indians must become less "foreign" to get elected, many of these new candidates are quick to ask: Who are we to judge the mashup of American ambition with an ancient culture?

via news.yahoo.com

Colbert simplifies Obama's oil spill speech

Hat tip to my brother-in-law, Joel, for sharing. 

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Obama's Simplified BP Oil Spill Speech
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Best comment of the day

In response to Alternet's posting of a headline on Facebook:

Headline: Should Gonzo Porn Be Regulated By the Feds? | | AlterNet

Comment: Muppets should NOT be used in pornography. Ever.

Medical certifications - still a good idea

This story really bothers me. Forget Rand Paul, forget libertarianism. Forget Tea Party politics. If someone's going to be messing with your eyes, it's a good idea to make sure that person has credentials and you are sure you know where they came from.

Rand Paul's ophthalmology certification not recognized by national clearinghouse | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal

Government Report Finds Dangerous Residues in Meat

I don't have any proof of this and it's purely conjecture but I suspect that all the maladies that seem to be appearing in society, like autism, skin problems, fibromyalgia, etc. have a lot to do with all the crap that goes into our food and into our food and water supply.

Many food consumers worry about pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria in their meat. But according to a new government report, they should worry more about veterinary drugs, pesticides and heavy metals in their food.

A new Office of Inspector General (OIG) report released last month finds the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) fails to test for many drugs in cattle, inadequately tests for others and fails to recall meat which is clearly contaminated.

Read the rest at blogs.alternet.org

Big corporations work to kill unemployment benefits extension

This news shouldn't come as a shock to anyone but...

This week, the House of Representatives is working on a package extending several popular tax breaks as well as important social safety net provisions like unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for laid-off workers. The bill costs about $200 billion, but is partially offset by a few tax changes, including the closing of a loophole that allow corporations to claim U.S. tax credits on profits earned overseas. These unjustified tax breaks have been on the radar of Congress’ tax writers for the last few years, but so far they’ve remained in the tax code due to pressure from big corporations. This time, even though the bill also extends some of their favored provisions, like the Research and Development tax credit, the Big Business lobby is fighting to preserve its ability to exploit tax loopholes, at the expense of the benefits extension:

Read the rest at thinkprogress.org

Federal Judge Rules Against Religious Right Charter School

In a major defeat for the Religious Right, a federal court in Idaho has ruled that public charter schools have no constitutional right to use the Bible as part of their curriculum.

U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge held Monday that state education officials, not the Nampa Classical Academy, get to set the curriculum for public schools in the state. And state officials, Lodge continued, were right to exclude religious texts from the classroom out of respect for the separation of church and state.

Read the whole article at blog.au.org

Congressmen to read apology to American Indians

Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington state are joining Representatives from the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, and Pawnee nations in the ceremony Wednesday at the Congressional Cemetery.

via www.timesrecordnews.com (hat tip Barb Wold)

Who ya gonna call? NY Public Library uses improv to fight budget cuts

I would wager that if more public libraries pulled stunts like this, more kids would hang out there - maybe adults, too.