Peace?

How does this end? --> In this short video, Robert Greenwald and his team at Brave New Films note that, "since 1980, we have militarily intervened at least 35 times in more than 27 countries. We keep bombing, we continue spending trillions of dollars, but we're no safer as a result." Will this time be different?

I love great art, no matter the medium.

Tanks in schoolyards?


Militarized assistant principals next? --> Dylan Scott reports for TPMthat "more than 20 school districts in the United States have been equipped with military-grade equipment through the federal program that provides such gear to local and state authorities free of charge." Los Angeles Unified School District has grenade launchers

I love great art, no matter the medium.

Climate change can save money and lives!

A new report finds that addressing global warming won't cost much, and when you factor in the "the secondary benefits of greener policies — like lower fuel costs, fewer premature deaths from air pollution and reduced medical bills" -- it may actually save money. Justin Gillis has more details at the NYT.

I love great art, no matter the medium.

Dr. Who

I'm watching the episode for the second time right now. A seriously interesting menace. Great work by all three leads — the Doctor, Clara, and Mr. Pink. Normally I'd rant about major continuity errors or try to talk about other great shows I'm watching, but "Listen" is one of those great standalone episodes that I'll probably watch years later on its own, absent of any season-long marathon.

I love great art, no matter the medium.

What a Pope!

The pope married couples who were already living together. The marriage of 20 couples at the Vatican also included a single mother with a daughter from a previous relationship, in a sign of expanded inclusiveness from the Roman Catholic leader.

I love great art, no matter the medium.

Ted Cruz is wrong, as usual

Say anything

 --> Sen. Ted Cruz warned that rolling back 

Citizens United

 could lead Congress to ban political satire and criminalize 

Saturday Night Live

. The Udall Amendment being debated this week would only allow Congress to regulate campaign donations, not ban SNL. ALSO: 

Ted Cruz, apparently unaware that Christian Arabs aren't huge fans of Israel, was "booed off the stage"

 of a conference of Christians from the Middle East after spending most of his address praising the Jewish state. 

School history - Texas style

 A panel of scholars identified "dozens of biased, misleading or inaccurate lessons" in new history books being reviewed by the state of Texas. Stephanie Simon reports for

Politico

 that if the books are approved, "Texas students may soon be reading in their history textbooks that the American system of democracy was inspired by Moses, segregated schools weren’t all that bad and… programs like Social Security haven’t measurably improved society."