For several years now I have been writing about what I see as the most important trend in the American political process — the manipulation of fear by the media to get ratings, and by the Republican Party to motivate their aging White base. (See my esssays: From One to the Many: The Social Implications of Nonlocal Perception and The Psychophysiology of Politics)
In my view this is a big deal because neuroscience research has shown that fear activates some people's right amygdalas with the result that they become notably more conservative politically, and more inclined to identify with religious fundamentalism. This issue raises a number of other issues about this important subject
Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”
Credit: Observer.com
“Fear is the mind-killer” – Frank Herbert, Dune
People cannot think clearly when they are afraid. As numerous studies have shown, fear is the enemy of reason. It distorts emotions and perceptions, and often leads to poor decisions. For people who have suffered trauma, fear messages can sometimes trigger uncontrollable flight-or-fight responses with dangerous ramifications.
Yet over time, many interlocking aspects of our society have become increasingly sophisticated at communicating messages and information that produce fear responses. Advertising, political ads, news coverage and social media all send the constant message that people should be afraid—very afraid.
In addition, television and film are filled with extreme violence and millions of fictional deaths, far out of proportion to what happens in real life, as researchers have pointed out. And more recently, we have witnessed the massive militarization of local police departments with equipment, gear […]
The Church by the side of the road.
Credit: www.topsailunitedchurch.nf.net
With fire-breathing religion figuring anew in global conflicts, and political discussions at home often dominated by the nuttery of the Christian right, you might get the sense that somebody’s god is ready to mug you around every street corner. But if you’re the type who doesn’t like to hang your hat on organized religion, here’s a bit of good news: in America, your numbers are growing.
There are more religiously unaffiliated people in the U.S. today than ever before. Starting in the 1980s, a variety of polls using different methodologies have come to the same conclusion: people who do not identify with religious labels are on the rise, perhaps even doubling in that time frame.
Some call them “nones”: agnostics, atheists, deists, secular humanists, general humanists, and people who just don’t care to identify with any religious group. It’s not exactly correct to call them nonbelievers, because some still have faith and spirituality in some sense or another. A 2012 […]
Naloxone Hydrochloride
Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa
The ongoing fight over Big Pharma’s pricing policies continues as congressional leaders shift their focus to a drug that police departments use to treat heroin overdoses. While law enforcement agencies have become more accepting of this approach to combat drug abuse, recent price spikes put the future of city and state distribution programs in jeopardy.
Earlier this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) blasted Amphaster Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the drug naloxone, in a letter in which the duo questioned the rationale of increasing the price of the drug during a time when heroin overdose deaths have more than tripled within a three-year period.
“Over the past several months, police departments, law enforcement agencies, and public health officials across the country have warned about the increasing price of naloxone, which they use to combat the scourge of heroin abuse,” Sanders and Cummings wrote in their letter.
TALLAHASSEE — Power companies and a coalition of unlikely political allies are squaring off over a proposal that could lead to large-box stores selling solar-generated electricity without utilities getting a cut.
The groups want to allow businesses to sell solar power directly to customers without going through a utility company.
But even as they work toward the same goal, the factions seeking to boost Florida’s solar industry have differing visions of how the increase should be regulated.
Floridians for Solar Choice, a political committee formed in December, is proposing a constitutional amendment that would take the proposal directly to voters in 2016. The group is comprised of an odd coalition of political partners that includes Tea Party groups who see the proposal as pro-free market, and environmentalists eager to boost Florida’s usage of renewable energy.
Their proposal takes a more wide-ranging approach than separate legislation filed by state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg.
They want to completely exclude the Public Service Commission, a panel of utility regulators appointed by the governor.
The coalition terms them “unelected bureaucrats.” […]
Credit: Shutterstock
Suicide rates for adults between the ages of 40 and 64 has risen sharply in recent years—and astronomically since 2007—leading researchers to believe that the U.S. economic downturn has played a significant role in the increase, a study released on Friday says. The study found that 37.5 percent of suicides in this age bracket were attributed to financial and economic problems in 2010, up from 33 percent in 2005, before the recession began.
Researchers note that the increase is similar to that of the worst years of the Great Recession.
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, was conducted to map possible patterns and to determine whether the economy may have been a contributing factor in the surge in suicides since the beginning of the crisis.
Past studies have also traced the connections between economic distress and suicide; one such study demonstrated that the overall suicide rate falls during periods when economic numbers are favorable, and it rises when there is a recession–and the […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
