A talk by Noam Chomsky at the New York Poetry Center [1970]. (title is self explanatory)

Complete video at: fora.tv Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor criticizes the idea of the “activist” judge, and argues for a wider separation between politics and the judiciary. —– Sandra Day O’Connor delivers the closing remarks at the 2008 Games for Change Festival. This program was recorded in collaboration with the New School. The festival will explore real-world impact, the latest games and funding strategies. Expert practitioners — academics, activists, non-profits, funders — will be called in to examine the impact of current games, evaluations planned and the ongoing work to build the field – Games For Change Sandra Day O’Connor (Retired), Associate Justice, was born in El Paso, Texas, March 26, 1930. She received her BA and LL.B. from Stanford University. She served as Deputy County Attorney of San Mateo County, California from 1952-1953 and as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany from 1954-1957. From 1958-1960, she practiced law in Maryvale, Arizona, and served as Assistant Attorney General of Arizona from 1965-1969. She was appointed to the Arizona State Senate in 1969 and was subsequently reelected to two two-year terms. In 1975 she was elected Judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court and served until 1979, when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. President Reagan nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat September 25, 1981. Justice O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006.

Update August 2008: If you would like to see Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard back on the Today show & more of these videos please let Channel Nine know here: today.ninemsn.com.au (scroll down for message form) Hopefully with enough pressure, this great segment will be on air again soon!

Marx developed the theories upon which modern communism is based and is considered the founding father of economic history and sociology. Marx set down his ideas in The Communist Manifesto(1848) and Das Kapital ((3 vol., 1861, 1885, 1894) arguing that economic relations determined all other features of a society, including its ideas. He also outlined the goal of Marxism – the creation of social and economic utopia by the revolution of the proletariat which would “centralise all instruments of production in the hands of the state.” All class boundaries would be destroyed and each individual would find personal fulfilment, having no need for the bourgeois institutions of religion or family. Marx himself was an atheist, coining the phrase, “Religion is the opium of the people” Marx continued to express views about class struggle and bourgeois oppression throughout his life, despite being exiled from his homeland and coping with both his own illness and the death of his children. Most modern socialist theories are drawn from his work but Karl Marx has had a wider influence touching on many areas of human thought and life such as politics, economics, philosophy, and literature.

The morning after the House passed the health care reform bill 220-215, CNN interviews one of the Congressmen who voted for the bill, Anh “Joseph” Cao from Louisiana – the only Republican to vote “yes” for the bill. Cao claims it was “a decision of conscience… to support the health care reform bill… it was the right decision for the people of my district.”

At the close of an address on health reform to Congress, President Obama reminds people: “I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan, than to improve it.” “If you misrepresent what’s in this plan, we will call you out,” he adds. “And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.” He also talks about a letter he received from late Senator Ted Kennedy that was written in May, but delivered to Obama after Kennedy’s death. In the letter, Ted called health reform “unfinished business” but was confident that “this is the year” that it would pass. Obama also remarked on when it is necessary fo government to step in.

Responding to christoferl’s recent video “Secularism is Anti-Christ II.” Are Christians meant to be involved in social policy and government? christoferl’s video: www.youtube.com Music: “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” by Selah

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