Telegenic

Erica Goss New Verse News
California poet Erica Goss raises the question, knowing the reader will have an answer: Is one child's life worth more than another's?

The Wreck of AMTRAK 188 -Talking Points From RWU

Railroad Workers United
If we are serious about preventing future catastrophes of this nature, we must equip railroad workers with the necessary tools - including but not limited to those outlined below -- to enable them to perform the job safely. Railroad Workers United believes it is time we learn from these terrible tragedies and get serious about implementing the necessary measures to ensure safe railroad operations.

New Stone Tool Discoveries Predate Humans

Jacob Kastrenakes The Verge
Stone tools unearthed at a site in Kenya predate any identified human ancestors -- previously thought to be the first makers of stone tools -- by hundreds of thousands of years. These finds "will force us [to rethink] what makes us humans ... Increasing knowledge of our remote past is casting doubts on previous certainties and is showing that the process of becoming what we are now is far more gradual than what we previously thought."

Obama’s Twitter Debut, @POTUS, Attracts Hate-Filled Posts

Julie Hirschfeld Davis The New York Times
It took only a few minutes for Mr. Obama’s account to attract racist, hate-filled posts and replies. They addressed him with racial slurs and called him a monkey. One had an image of the president with his neck in a noose. But they appeared to be a small number in what was an otherwise social-media-fueled show of love for Mr. Obama, who was drawing followers at a rapid pace — nearly 2.3 million by Thursday afternoon.

Bernie Sanders: 'Yes,' 'Not Now' or 'Never'?

Tom Gallagher Common Dreams
The fundamental problem with both the “not now, maybe later” and the “not on your life” rejections of electoral politics is their small mindedness, their view that political activity is a zero sum game where a Sanders candidacy inevitably diminishes some other truly valuable activities because there are only a limited number of potential activists out there.

LA Minimum Wage: $15 by 2020

Los Angeles joins a growing list of cities where the $15 minimum wage movement has scored victories. How big an impact will it have on workers' lives and the country's politics?

Oscar Peterson's Piano Lesson

Piano virtuoso Oscar Peterson shows how to assume the piano personas of famous musicians. His explanation is simple, his delivery is magical.

Killer T Cell: The Cancer Assassin

How does a Killer T Cell Kill its target? A new film captures the behavior of cytotoxic T cells – the body’s ‘serial killers’ – as they hunt down and eliminate cancer cells.
 

Roy Zimmerman -- 'Defenders of Marriage'

In honor of Ireland's first-ever national referendum enshrining the right of marriage, we present the inimitable Roy Zimmerman's satirical take on 'Defenders of Marriage.'

Friday Nite Videos -- May 22, 2015

Portside
Roy Zimmerman -- 'Defenders of Marriage.' Killer T Cell: The Cancer Assassin. Oscar Peterson's Piano Lesson. Ensnaring Kids in 'Advertising Empire.' LA Minimum Wage: $15 by 2020.