Why America’s Christian foundation is a myth

A new book by constitutional attorney Andrew Seidel takes on Christian nationalism.

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  • A new book by attorney Andrew Seidel, 'The Founding Myth: Why Christian nationalism Is Un-American', takes on the myth of America's Christian founding.
  • Christian nationalism is the belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation on Christian principles, and that the nation has strayed from that original foundation.
  • Judeo-Christian principles are fundamentally opposed to the principles on which America was built, argues Seidel.
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law Policy politics United States History god religion education Christianity

Amazon set to be next big U.S. defense contractor — critics urge for 'effective oversight'

"We seem to be racing toward a new configuration of government and industry without having fully thought through all of the implications," Steve Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, told MIT Technology Review.

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  • The U.S. Department of Defense is choosing between Amazon and Microsoft as the winner of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract.
  • JEDI is a massive cloud-computing deal reportedly worth $10 billion.
  • Amazon appears to be the favorite. But it remains unclear how such a partnership between industry and government would affects concerns over privacy and the storage of sensitive military data.
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government policy jeff bezos military

Why the biggest pledges on emissions are from the smallest countries

In hopes of saving their countries, many small nations are making big promises on cutting emissions.

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  • Several small countries have joined a pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050, despite the difficulties.
  • While the larger countries have promised some emissions cuts and funding for green energy, they have yet to match the pledges of the small countries.
  • Several studies have found that poorer countries will be hit harder by climate change than the richer ones.
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global issues environment policy climate change

Greta Thunberg faces right-wing media attacks after U.N. speech

But few critics actually addressed the science on climate change.

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  • During her speech at the United Nations on Monday, climate activist Greta Thunberg harshly criticized world leaders for failing to do more about climate change.
  • The 16-year-old activist has since received praise from the left and derision from many on the right.
  • Thunberg's argument is notable for focusing primarily on getting governments – not individuals – to act on climate change.
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activism policy global issues social change

Global climate strike: Scenes from the #ClimateMarch protests

The week-long global protest, which is calling for an end to the age of fossil fuels, is taking place in more than 160 countries today.


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  • Millions of people around the world are taking to the streets to demand more urgent action on climate change.
  • The protests come just days ahead of the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit.
  • Although it's unclear exactly how many people are participating, it's likely to be the largest climate protest ever.
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activism environment policy climate change