Articles

Climate in Iraq Was More Extreme in Ancient Times

Mark Tully — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:48:14 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Archaeologists and historians have found ancient texts composed between 816 and 1009 AD in Iraq. Researchers published an analysis in Weather of the various writings done by scholars, historians, and diarists who lived during the Islamic Golden Age.

Are Super PAC Contributions the Problem?

Mark Tully — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:59:29 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Everyone seems in agreement that corporate influence in politics is bad. Tea Party Republicans are upset that Mitt Romney's political action committee (PAC) is able to outspend their favored candidates. Liberal Democrats say that Wall Street is silencing the voices of the poor. Libertarians suggest that if the government was smaller, super PAC's would contribute less. So why does everyone and their mother own a PAC?

Constitutional Claims About Social Conservatism

Mark Tully — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:48:40 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Rick Santorum has gained popularity for allegedly being a "social conservative." Santorum claims that the American Constitution should be read "in the context of" the Declaration of Independence. Is this a legitimately right wing stance, or is it another instance of Republican schizophrenia?

More Children Born Outside of Marriage

Mark Tully — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:49:22 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: We have likely reached the point of no return for the American family. More women under 30 are giving birth to children outside of marriage than not.

NKo and the Mandekan Language Have Reached a Critical Juncture

Mark Tully — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:41:36 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Democracy is preparing to claim another victim, one with a rich cultural and linguistic history. The NKo alphabet, used to write the Mandekan language, may soon be extinct.

Syrian Insanity

Mark Tully — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:54:39 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: John McCain has been hailed as one of the most sensible and moderate politicians in Congress. His recent statements about Syria demonstrate that Congress, public opinion, and the so-called center are irredeemable.

Russian Protests Show No Signs of Going Away

Mark Tully — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:29:06 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Russian protests are continuing on, despite some appeasement from the government and the cold of winter. One thing is certain: the number of protesters is too high to arrest them all.

Another Rick Santorum Scandal

Mark Tully — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:57:58 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: I am considered a radical by many because I believe that people should match their actions with their beliefs. Though I find fault with many politicians, there is special contempt for Rick Santorum. Perhaps there are many reasons we should dislike the man, but one particularly bothers me.

The Truth Slips Out About Egypt

Mark Tully — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:38:52 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: The Arab Spring has sprung, but it seems that the United States suffers from severe allergies. Conditions in Egypt aren't as joyful as reviously anticipated. The empire is peeved.

Faith in the Results of Forensic Science

Mark Tully — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:51:19 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Our culture's lack of moral grounding has many consequences. One is how we treat uncertainty in criminal law, which has led to a blind obedience to the power of the confession and forensic science.

Is Gang Violence Linked to Drugs?

Mark Tully — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:43:10 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: For years, the United States Government has prosecuted drug and gang crimes, and prosecutors have assumed that the two were related. In a new tur war between the Center for Disease Control and law enforcement, the CDC suggests that gang violence stems from other causes.

Amazing Grace: Lyrics and History

Mark Tully — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:04:45 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Amazing Grace is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world. Its message of redemption through the mercy of God have inspired the faithful since it was first penned.

Global Temperatures Lower in 2011 than 1998

Mark Tully — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:23:02 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Only nuts would suggest that the earth isn't suffering from human-made warming. A new report from NASA that shows that global temperatures were lower in 2011 than 1998 proves that government scientists are pretty nutty.

Three Digitization Trends That are Disrupting Publishing and Media Industries

Mark Tully — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:28:37 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Some very exciting things are taking place in technology. These developments are making it easy for disruptive, non-mainstream sites and views to be more accessible. Let's take a look at three primary trends that are reshaping the content industry.

Unrest in China

Mark Tully — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:45:34 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: The Chinese economy has experienced double digit growth for a long time. Now that things are slowing, authorities worry that the general public will become restless as things aren't moving as fast as promised. Across China, a number of protests have been taking place that signal a growing unrest in the country.

Five European Countries Downgraded by Fitch Ratings

Mark Tully — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:12:40 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Spain, Italy, Belgium, Slovenia, and Cyprus were downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The agency claims that the Eurozone countries lack the appropriate financial flexibility to deal with the regional debt crisis. Surprise.

The Rise of State-Owned Enterprises

Mark Tully — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:15:49 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: A special report in this week's Economist on state-owned enterprises in emerging markets validates one of my theories - classical, small-state liberalism eventually morphs into the modern, welfare-state governments that we see today. The moral is that any time material interests dominate the political, the former will eventually use tools of coercion to force out rivals.

Iran is Bluffing About the Strait of Hormuz

Mark Tully — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:45:10 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Oil prices rose to close to $100 per barrel and natural gas prices jumped 7% as Iran reiterated its threat to block shipments of crude oil from the Persian Gulf. Iran claims it will go ahead with the blockade if the West follows through on its threat to embargo the country.

The Greek Debt Crisis Worsens

Mark Tully — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:05:31 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: The European Union continues to struggle to cope with the massive financial blackhole that is Greece. In short, default is both inevitable and the only real solution.

The Russian Foreign Minister on American Support of the Arab Spring

Mark Tully — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:00:40 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov warned that western support for the Arab Spring could lead to "a very big war that will cause suffering not only to countries in the region, but also to states far beyond its boundaries."

The Internet Went on Strike Yesterday

Mark Tully — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: Yesterday, a group of popular sites such as Wikipedia, Mozilla, and Reddit - and some less popular sites such as this one, went dark to protest two laws currently before the US Congress. The House of Representative's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP, or PIPA for short) were written to stop copyright infringement.

New IBM Data Storage Technology Has Large Implications

Mark Tully — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:31:04 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: By freezing atoms to close to absolute zero, researchers at IBM have been able to get individual atoms to store data.

Anti-Godwin's Law Proposed in Israel

Mark Tully — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:34:07 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: The fascists are at it again.

Useless Immigration Hotline Set Up by Feds

Mark Tully — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:51:56 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) fought the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and won, supposedly. The ACLU claimed that police forces were wrongfully detaining citizens who get caught up in deportation dragnets. The feds have now set up a hotline that people can call, but this won't help for three reasons.

Newt Gingrich Wants to Restore the Constitution by Arresting All the Judges

Mark Tully — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:17:57 +0000

SODOM & GOMORRAH: In a show of unbridled intelligence, Newt Gingrich has found the perfect way to restore the supremacy of the US Constitution: arrest all the non-Constitutional judges.