The Supreme Court's Ruling on the Anthem

An excerpt from Rolling Stone -

What the Supreme Court Says About Sitting Out the National Anthem
Some public schools are telling student-athletes they can't kneel during the anthem – but that's unconstitutional
By David S. Cohen

The Supreme Court very forcefully declared that punishing students for not participating in the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. The decision had nothing to do with the students' religion and everything to do with their constitutional right to freedom of speech. As the Court wrote, in language that has become one of the most important principles of modern free speech law:

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/what-the-supreme-court-says-about-sitting-out-the-national-anthem-w507503?utm_source=rsnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=daily&utm_campaign=100617_17

Lin-Manuel Miranda - Almost Like Praying feat Artists for Puerto Rico [M...

Silicon Kidneys

An excerpt from Wired -

SILICON ISN'T JUST FOR COMPUTERS. IT CAN MAKE A PRETTY GOOD KIDNEY, TOO
By MEGAN MOLTENI

Now, after more than 20 years of work, one team of doctors and researchers is close to offering patients an implantable artificial kidney, a bionic device that uses the same technology that makes the chips that power your laptop and smartphone. Stacks of carefully designed silicon nanopore filters combine with live kidney cells grown in a bioreactor. The bundle is enclosed in a body-friendly box and connected to a patient’s circulatory system and bladder—no external tubing required.

The device would do more than detach dialysis patients—who experience much higher rates of fatigue, chronic pain, and depression than the average American—from a grueling treatment schedule. It would also address a critical shortfall of organs for transplant that continues despite a recent uptick in donations. For every person who received a kidney last year, 5 more on the waiting list didn’t. And 4,000 of them died.

There are still plenty of regulatory hurdles ahead—human testing is scheduled to begin early next year1—but this bioartificial kidney is already bringing hope to patients desperate to unhook for good.

https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-kidneys?mbid=nl_100617_daily

Apply to Work for the President

An excerpt from InStyle -

This Is Not a Drill! You Can Now Apply to Work for Former President Barack Obama
By Lara Walsh

Whether you've dreamt of a career in politics, hoping to someday make a significant difference in your community, or are just a big fan of Barack Obama, look no further, because a select group of 20 applicants will now have the opportunity to work alongside the former commander in chief.

On Thursday, the former president took to Instagram to encourage politically-minded individuals to apply to his Obama Foundation Fellowship Program. The two-year program seeks to help future leaders work through hot public issues in innovative ways, with governmental institutions and beyond traditional establishments.

http://www.instyle.com/news/obama-foundation-fellowship-program-application

Trump is a Tornado of Fake News

Moron

Tell 'Em Todd

WATCH @chucktodd: "When planes flew into the World Trade Center did we say now is not the time to talk about terrorism? When our banking system nearly collapsed in 2008 did we say now is not the time to talk about financial regulation?" pic.twitter.com/NNCRUESuQg

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 3, 2017

Hilarious Tweets

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marriage-tweets-that-are-just-plain-funny_us_59d56a16e4b0380b6c9a22d3?ncid=APPLENEWS00001

Sustainable Energy Science & Policy: Dan Kammen

The Human Value of Fair Trade

Why are flags so similar?

Hop Onboard the Shortest Flight in the World

Fox News Has a Hard Time Processing the Las Vegas Shooting: The Daily Show

Liberal Redneck - On Guns

Michael Strahan Thinks Colin Kaepernick Doesn't Get Enough Credit for Pr...

Trevor Responds to the Las Vegas Shooting & Trump Tweets the Weekend Awa...

How aspirin was discovered - Krishna Sudhir

Patient Becomes Caregiver

An excerpt from Buzzfeed News -

This 24-Year-Old Who Survived Cancer Twice Is Now A Nurse At The Hospital Where She Was Treated
"Never in a million years did I think that at the age of 24 I would have achieved my biggest and wildest dream — to work at the hospital I was treated at as a child/teenager."
By Stephanie McNeal

Brown, now 24, underwent chemo for a year at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and went into remission.

When she was 15, her cancer returned.

"I had just tried out for my high school cheerleading team," Brown told ABC News. "I actually ran a mile while I had cancer and had no idea...There weren't symptoms but my mom and dad could tell that something was different about me and they knew that something was a little off."

Brown's experience inspired her to become a pediatric oncology nurse, and last week, she started working at the hospital where she was treated.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/child-who-beat-cancer-returns-as-a-nurse?utm_term=.mrwyxalgQ#.ntdG9YBJj

Double Standard

An excerpt from the Washington Post -

‘Lone wolf’: Our stunning double standard when it comes to race and religion
By Khaled Beydoun

In what police call the deadliest attack in modern American history, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on concertgoers at a country music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Despite the scale of the attack and Paddock’s being armed with more than 10 rifles, Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo immediately dismissed any ties to terrorism, classifying Paddock, a white male from a rural town 80 miles from Las Vegas, as a “local individual” and a “lone wolf.”

We have yet to determine whether Paddock was motivated by anyone or anything, so many are tiptoeing around terms such as “terrorist.” But if Paddock were Muslim, his status as a local individual would be entirely irrelevant, and the motive of “Islamic terrorism” or “jihad” would likely be immediately assumed, even without any evidence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/10/02/lone-wolf-our-stunning-double-standard-when-it-comes-to-race-and-religion/?utm_term=.6e339ea464d8

Tattoos as medical condition monitors