Random Politics & Religion #00

A rare weekend post from me! But I think this is worth sharing.

Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy

That should have been posted in the "This is News?!" thread.

*opens the chequebook*
Crisis solved?

Uh oh! German retirement age was just bumped another couple of years. You'll get to retire one day, Leneth. :(

A rare weekend post from me! But I think this is worth sharing.

Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy

amn't

That's not a word......................................

amn't Merriam-Webster online dictionary.

You are well but narrowly educated King.

Never call me out on the use of English, or on history. Or on firearms for that mater.

I refrain from calling you out in maters of accounting and tax law.

On a side note, be damn glad you don't live in Angola. I am, I would be hitting retirement age by now....

And wtf Monaco. I don't believe that the expectancy rate there is 94 for females/86 for males.

Life expectancy is calculated immediately upon birth. As such, the reality of infant/early childhood mortality in Angola is why their number is so low and, similarly, why Monaco's is so high.

All those historical figures about "Life expectancy back in Bible times was 33 years old" and such are skewed heavily by infant mortality rates that could reach as high as 75%.

Life expectancy is calculated immediately upon birth. As such, the reality of infant/early childhood mortality in Angola is why their number is so low and, similarly, why Monaco's is so high.

All those historical figures about "Life expectancy back in Bible times was 33 years old" and such are skewed heavily by infant mortality rates that could reach as high as 75%.

I'm sorry that I'm not well versed in the Scottish/Irish dialect.

I don't think there are that many people outside of northern England and Ireland who are...

Dismal grew his countenance and grumly grew his ee

Meanwhile in Russia:

I'm sorry that I'm not well versed in the Scottish/Irish dialect.

I don't think there are that many people outside of northern England and Ireland who are...

Is it possible to be in approval of both sides of an argument?

Because I totally think I am here.

Oh, by the way Chanti, you are more than welcome to call me out on any accounting and/or tax law issue you think you see.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz plans to announce on Monday that he will run for president in 2016, the Houston Chronicle reported on its website.

The newspaper, citing senior advisers to the Texas senator who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that Cruz would launch a presidential bid outright rather than the traditional path of forming an exploratory committee.

He would become the first Republican presidential candidate to announce a run for the 2016 election.

Cruz, a leading conservative who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, is slated to make a speech on Monday at Liberty University in Virginia. "You're going to want to be there," a member of Cruz' staff told the Daily Beast web site but declined to reveal the specific nature of the address.

Last weekend the first-term Texas senator was in New Hampshire, a state crucial to presidential aspirants because of its early primary. Also there were other potential candidates: Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida; former Texas governor Rick Perry; and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Cruz has also spent time in Iowa, another key early state.

In an interview on MSNBC last week, Cruz said he had been getting "very encouraging" support regarding a presidential run.

Liberty University, an evangelical Christian school, was established by the late conservative evangelist Jerry Falwell.

Cruz would aim to raise between $40 million and $50 million over the course of the primary campaign, the Chronicle reported.

Starbucks baristas will no longer write "Race Together" on customers' cups starting Sunday, ending as planned a visible component of the company's diversity and racial inequality campaign that had sparked widespread criticism in the week since it took effect.

The coffee chain's initiative will continue more broadly without the handwritten messages, Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson said.

The cups were always "just the catalyst" for a larger conversation and Starbucks will still hold forum discussions, co-produce special sections in USA TODAY and put more stores in minority communities as part of the Race Together initiative, according to a company memo from CEO Howard Schultz said.

The campaign has been criticized as opportunistic and inappropriate, coming in the wake of racially charged events such as national protests over police killings of black males. Others questioned whether Starbucks workers could spark productive conversations about race while serving drinks.

The phase-out is not a reaction to that pushback, Olson said. "Nothing is changing. It's all part of the cadence of the timeline we originally planned."

He echoed the company memo, saying of the Race Together initiative, "We're leaning into it hard."

Schultz's note acknowledged the skeptics as an anticipated part of the outreach.

"While there has been criticism of the initiative — and I know this hasn't been easy for any of you — let me assure you that we didn't expect universal praise," it read.

He said the campaign at its core aims to make sure that "the promise of the American Dream should be available to every person in this country, not just a select few."