December 2013 archive

Lewis Black feels let down by a future that several doctors told him he would not live to see.

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

How ironic that on this very day, Congress and President Barack Obama are about to approve a bill that will essentially violate at least 5 of these amendments and more.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 16 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day 1791, Virginia becomes the last state to ratify the Bill of Rights, making the first ten amendments to the Constitution law and completing the revolutionary reforms begun by the Declaration of Independence. Before the Massachusetts ratifying convention would accept the Constitution, which they finally did in February 1788, the document’s Federalist supporters had to promise to create a Bill of Rights to be amended to the Constitution immediately upon the creation of a new government under the document.

After the Constitution was ratified in 1789, the 1st United States Congress met in Federal Hall in New York City. Most of the delegates agreed that a “bill of rights” was needed and most of them agreed on the rights they believed should be enumerated.

Madison, at the head of the Virginia delegation of the 1st Congress, had originally opposed a Bill of Rights but hoped to pre-empt a second Constitutional Convention that might have undone the difficult compromises of 1787: a second convention would open the entire Constitution to reconsideration and could undermine the work he and so many others had done in establishing the structure of the United States Government. Writing to Jefferson, he stated, “The friends of the Constitution…wish the revisal to be carried no farther than to supply additional guards for liberty…and are fixed in opposition to the risk of another Convention….It is equally certain that there are others who urge a second Convention with the insidious hope of throwing all things into Confusion, and of subverting the fabric just established, if not the Union itself.”

Madison based much of the Bill of Rights on George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), which itself had been written with Madison’s input. He carefully considered the state amendment recommendations as well. He looked for recommendations shared by many states to avoid controversy and reduce opposition to the ratification of the future amendments. Additionally, Madison’s work on the Bill of Rights reflected centuries of English law and philosophy, further modified by the principles of the American Revolution.

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

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This Week with George Stephanopolis: On “This Week” Sunday, ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz interviews Secretary of State John Kerry.

Guest host ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl moderates the roundtable with ABC News’ Cokie Roberts; former House speaker and CNN “Crossfire” co-host Newt Gingrich; University of California, Berkeley professor and former Clinton Labor secretary Robert Reich; and Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ana Navarro.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Mr. Schieffer’s guests are Senate Minority whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

His roundtable guests are CBS News Foreign Correspondent Clarissa Ward; Tom Friedman of the New York Times; Radhika Jones of TIME; and Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic and Bloomberg View.

Concluding the coverage of the passing of Nelson Mandela, a special panel reviews the final farewell with Deborah Patta of CBS News; South African journalist and CBS consultant Tim Modise; Allen Pizzey of CBS News; and John Carlin, author of “Knowing Mandela” and “Invictus.”

Meet the Press with David Gregory:Guests on this Sunday’s MTP are former head of the NSA and CIA, General Michael Hayden; Budget Committee Chairs Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).

At the roundtable are former New Mexico Gov. and ambassador Bill Richardson; TIME magazine Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs; Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker; and Nation Public Radio’s Steve Inskeep.

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Ms. Crowley’s guests are Senator John McCain (AZ-R); two former directors of the Congressional Budget Office, Peter Orszag and Doug Holtz-Eakin; and Time Magazine Assistant Managing Editor Rana Foroohar.

Joining her for a panel discussion are Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank; Cook Political Report National Editor Amy Walter and National Review Senior Editor Ramesh Ponnuru.

Nelson Mandela funeral farewell in Qunu ancestral home

 15 December 2013 Last updated at 08:30 GMT

The BBC

Nelson Mandela’s state funeral is under way at his ancestral home in Qunu, ending a week of commemorations for South Africa’s first black leader.

Some 4,500 people – including foreign dignitaries – are attending the service, which blends state ceremonial with traditional rituals.

A close friend, Ahmed Kathrada, told the service he had lost an “elder brother” who was with him for many years in prison on Robben island.

Mr Mandela died on 5 December aged 95.

Members of his family attended an overnight vigil, with a traditional praise singer believed to be chanting details of his long journey and life.

I mean the Faux Noise one of course-

Original

Cenk Uygur

“To be clear, I’m a scholar of religion with 4 degrees including 1 in the New Testament and fluency in Biblical Greek.”

So you’re totally out of your league you vacuous news reader.

Reza Aslan: A Jesus scholar who’s often a moving target

By Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post

Published: August 8

“As the crowd of vendors, worshippers, priests, and curious onlookers scramble over the scattered detritus, as a stampede of frightened animals, chased by their panicked owners, rushes headlong out of the Temple gates and into the choked streets of Jerusalem, as a corps of Roman guards and heavily armed Temple police blitz through the courtyard looking to arrest whoever is responsible for the mayhem, there stands Jesus, according to the gospels, aloof, seemingly unperturbed, crying out over the din: ‘It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations. But you have made it a den of thieves.’?”

Aslan portrays Jesus as an illiterate peasant who was crucified by the Romans because his “messianic aspirations” threatened their occupation of Palestine and because his “zealotry” threatened the authorities at the Temple in Jerusalem. Though zealotry and zealot tend to have negative connotations now, Aslan writes that in the time of Jesus, the term referred to people who strictly observed the Torah and refused to serve a foreign master.

…

Aslan’s publisher is pitching the book as a work that “sheds new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters” and “challenges long-held assumptions.” But Aslan is not quite so hyperbolic in an interview. He says he sees his book as a way to “re-package” the story of Jesus “in an accessible way for a popular audience to read and enjoy. If you’re a Bible scholar, there’s nothing new.”

Indeed, many of Aslan’s assertions have become received wisdom for a large number of scholars. But few could deny that Aslan stitches the narrative artfully.

So are you, you Villager Idiot.

Jon is surprisingly good.

Part 1

Part 2

The team of All In with Chris Hayes puts out a daily request on Twitter asking their followers to send them the things they find most interesting on the internet. These are their finds for December 10, 2013

1. Blues Brothers mall chase, Legos style.

2. Christmas trees being loaded onto a truck by a helipcopter

3. Moon orbiting earth!

Robot Lego Pokemon are the coolest things we’ve ever seen!

  Michelle Lynn Dinh

Legos make everything better. And when those little plastic bricks are used to make some of our favorite Pokemon, the coolness goes well over 9,000. Let’s take a closer look at this awesome engineering, including a peek inside the boardable mecha-type lego Pokemon!

The mastermind behind these Poke-Legos goes by the handle “Stormbringer” on Flickr. He seems to be a Lego genius, creating numerous recognizable characters, including an entire scene from Attack on Titan completely made out of Legos. But it was his Venasaur, Charizard, and Blastoise that really caught our eye.

Welcome to the Health and Fitness NewsWelcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness News weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Follow us on Twitter @StarsHollowGzt

I was planning to devote this week’s Recipes for Health to walnuts, as the California walnut harvest took place just a few weeks ago and the walnuts I am buying in my farmers’ market couldn’t be fresher (well, they could be a little fresher – slightly moist, the way fresh, undried walnuts are sold in French produce markets. But the California growers dry their nuts before sending them to market, as the spoilage risk for moist fresh walnuts is high.) I began working on recipes, and once I had written out and begun testing I realized that each dish was a winter greens recipe that included walnuts. The two foods go wonderfully together.

Martha Rose Shulman