>egyptians, what's the history behind the distrust between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian military? And do you believe that a political military is compatible with a pluralistic democracy? The >americans hope you find a way to build toward a sustainable peace quickly.

Stand Your Ground laws make no basic sense! It's illogical, unfair, unjust to hold that a person has a right to start a fight with another and, if the fight turns starkly in favor of the other, to then kill that person. Such laws need to be repealed!

Super major props from us in the blocvox-troopers to the good folks of the >soundcrowd for being the first new bloc of the re-launch!! *collective high-five!*

This breach of trust can't be overstated. The American government itself is guilty of moral treason. Game theory tells us we can't expect any entity to act but in their rational self-interest, but I am incensed all the same. One must only assume, therefore, that this exposure will not diminish surveillance, but drive it further beyond the sight and reach of the public. I do have faith however that Americans (and not just corporations) will use their freedom to protect their freedom, and strive to invent private means of communication that remain beyond the sight and reach of Big Brother.

If you have the time, you should definitely read the graphic novels. They are much more intense and satisfying than the tv show, not to say that the show is bad or anything like that. Especially if you were like me and couldn't wait another 6 months until the season 3 premiere.

Twist on the old cucumber slices-white vinegar-chopped garlic-fresh ground pepper-dash of salt mix... Replace cucumber slices with gala or fuji apple slices. Delicious!!

Students Protest Debt as Student Loan Debt Collectors Make a Billion http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/03/26... Freedom isn't free..

We support Governor Brown's proposal to increase sales tax and raise levies on upper incomes to help raise money for schools and balance the state budget. * sales tax = 1/4 cent per dollar for four years * levies = graduated surcharge on incomes over $250,000 for seven years We will vote in favor if it makes it to the November ballot.

Where is history anymore. Is what matters most the things that are happening now? Shall the past not inform our current opinions any more? Education really seems to now really be indoctrination, or selective learning influenced by the local community. Can it be any other way, when we have the world of information at our finger tips now? Is knowledge democratized currently? If so, why haven't we expressed our collective power of democracy. Each one representing themselves, instead of voting their responsibility away.

Kudos to NPR! Last month they released updated journalistic guidelines that state "if the balance of evidence in a matter of controversy weighs heavily on one side, we acknowledge it in our reports." It does not serve the public good for the media simply to be enslaved as an amplifier for voices of manipulation. Any kindergartner is capable of repeating someone else's words. And it's time journalists stopped fearing the worst, most hypocritical offender and manipulator of media markets: Fox News Channel. One giant leap for journalist kind... one small step for American political awareness.

We support the position of Steve Lopez, LA Times columnist, re California's race to the bottom for quality public education. Over the past decade state funding for schools has declined by 42% and the effects have been devastating. The remedies are not simple but as Steve puts it: You cannot fix any of this in a state more inclined to build prisons than schools, despite projections of a huge shortage of college-educated workers by 2025. You can’t fix it when you’re the only major oil-producing state with no excise tax, and you refuse to correct the huge property tax advantage Proposition 13 extended to corporations. You can’t fix it without modest concessions from public employees, including teachers, on pensions and benefits. And you certainly can’t fix it with three competing and unimaginative tax-increase proposals — one by Gov. Jerry Brown — that would restore some school funding, but are likely to do each other in come November. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0314-lo...

"All red meat is bad for you, new study says," as in any amount you eat increases your chance of early death. We hope this will be enough for the FDA to create responsible, healthy dietary guidelines, not another colorful pictograph that incorporates top American processed food corporations, as well as drive a stake (no pun intended) through the heart of the less-than-ethical cattle industry! http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-red-meat-20...

"U.S. soldier in Afghanistan goes on a shooting rampage." If anything is surprising about this, it's that it took so long to happen. We have a culture that glorifies violence, and praises aggression as the American way to solve problems. Our educational system is completely devoid of tolerance and diversity instruction, has failed to equip students with adequate job skills, and completely down-plays the greatest of American traits, a overriding respect for the content of one's character. And then we fill the frontlines of our military, literally the faces of our nation to those countries who are at greatest ideological odds with us, with the most extreme personifications of these problems. We weren't surprised 10 years ago, and we're not surprised today. It's time we re-learned what it means to be American.