thedailywhat:

Badvertising of the Day: Right-wing, anti-science think tank the Heartland Institute has unveiled a new billboard campaign in its hometown of Chicago that compares those who believe in global warming to the Unabomber, Charles Manson, and Osama bin Laden.

From the group’s website:

What these murderers and madmen have said differs very little from what spokespersons for the United Nations, journalists for the “mainstream” media, and liberal politicians say about global warming.

It continues:

The people who still believe in man-made global warming are mostly on the radical fringe of society. This is why the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen.

Really?!

Thankfully, spot-on analysis by The Daily Beast‘s Andrew Sullivan wins the day:

In some ways, this is an almost perfect illustration of what has happened to the “right.” A refusal to acknowledge scientific reality; and a brutalist style of public propaganda that focuses entirely on guilt by the most extreme association.

[thinkprogress]

(via gene-how)

Pro-Tutu Petitions Flood Gonzaga - Tracy Simmons | God's Politics Blog | Sojourners ›

theatlantic: Context-Free Patent Art

(via npr)

Livehoods examines the way neighborhoods work in real life « About Foursquare ›

blackgirlphresh:

Uncompromising Photos Expose Juvenile Detention in America

On any given night in the U.S., there are approximately 60,500 youth confined in juvenile correctional facilities or other residential programs. Photographer Richard Ross has spent the past five years criss-crossing the country photographing the architecture, cells, classrooms and inhabitants of these detention sites.The resulting photo-survey, Juvenile-In-Justice, documents 350 facilities in over 30 states. It’s more than a peek into unseen worlds — it is a call to action and care.

“I grew up in a world where you solve problems, you don’t destroy a population,” says Ross. “To me it is an affront when I see the way some of these kids are dealt with.”

The U.S. locks up children at more than six times the rate of all other developed nations. The over 60,000 average daily juvenile lockups, a figure estimated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), are also disproportionately young people of color. With an average cost of $80,000 per year to lock up a child, the U.S. spends more than $5 billion annually on youth detention. On top of the cost, in its recent report No Place for Kids, the AECF presents evidence to show that youth incarceration does not reduce recidivism rates, does not benefit public safety and exposes those imprisoned to further abuse and violence. Ross thinks his images of juvenile lock-ups can, and should, be “ammunition” for the ongoing policy and funding debates between reformers, staff, management and law-makers.

we, us, this country… are so broken. more love, please. this doesn’t even make any sense. 

(via truth-has-a-liberal-bias)

nevver:

RSVP

themidtownarchive:

davisallen:

darksilenceinsuburbia:

Edward Burtynsky.

http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/index.html

Holy shit, this is terrifying.

Oh, the world we have created for ourselves.

Michael "Flathead" Blanchard Obituary: Denver Post ›

theatlantic:

Americans Who Actually Make Things

The chart above, by Michelle Hopgood of the Martin Prosperity Institute, outlines which manufacturing fields are most prevalent based on detailed data on production occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. […]

Manufacturing work is important. We should applaud the men and women who do it, and do our best to make it better, more engaging, and higher paying. The best manufacturing jobs today look more like knowledge jobs, involving high levels of analytical and social intelligence skill such as team building and developing others.  

But manufacturing will not provide a viable economic future, at least not by itself. 

For starters, pay for productions workers is below the national average. Their average pay is $33,700 per year, or $16.24 per hour. That compares to an average of $44,410 across all jobs, or $21.35 per hour.

Even more telling: some manufacturing industries pay much better than others. The 66,530 tool and die makers or the 36,200 aircraft assemblers have great jobs earning - $48,710 and $45,230, respectively. But the nearly 150,000 sewing machine operators average just $22,630 a year, or $10.88 per hour.

The number of manufacturing jobs is also falling quickly, despite the government’s best efforts. Roughly 8.2 million American workers are employed in production jobs. This does not count the 408,000 Americans who work in fishing, forestry, and farming occupations. Add them in and it brings the total to 8.6 million workers, roughly 6.5 percent of America’s total labor force of roughly 127 million. That’s down from roughly a third of the workforce in 1950. And it’s projected to decline further, to about 5 percent, by 2020.

Read more at The Atlantic Cities. [Image: Michelle Hopgood/Martin Prosperity Institute]