Roll Call Article Shows Very Few Republican U.S. House Members Face Significant Primary Challenges

This Roll Call analysis shows that in 2014, only four Republican members of the U.S. House were defeated in primaries, and generally those four defeats were not caused because the incumbent was too “centrist.” The article also shows that so far, only six incumbent Republicans in the U.S. House seem likely to face a strong primary challenge.
This article rebuts the assumption commonly made by supporters of top-two systems that “90% of elections are decided in the primaries.” …read more

LRN.fm Delivers the Goods on Android

While I like to concentrate primarily on things available either as a separate .apk for download, or something that is available in the F-Droid app repository, today I want to highlight an app of serious interest that exists in the Google Play Store (and the iOS App Store, if one is so inclined).
Since, as I say often with the Dark Android Project, a lot of what you decide to use out of what I suggest on this site is a matter of personal taste and threshold. Some people go all the way with what I recommend, and others just adapt …read more

Police Brutality Activist Mysteriously Dies In Jail After Being Pulled Over for Improper Lane Change

Waller County, TX — A Naperville woman died in police custody Monday, after being assaulted by cops just a few days before, during a routine traffic stop. Authorities are claiming the woman committed suicide.
What Happened to Sandra Bland? http://t.co/UzuGnGGjEQ #SandraBland
— ShordeeDooWhop (@Nettaaaaaaaa) July 16, 2015

According to Waller County Sheriff’s Department officials, 28-year-old Sandra Bland was pulled over last Friday for “improperly signaling a lane change” and charged with “assault on a public servant.”
Pulled over by the police for a traffic violation. Then she commits suicide? #SandraBland pic.twitter.com/wOxwbXlXFe
— W.E.B DemBois (@Phil_Cosby_) July 16, 2015

However, Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith said in …read more

VIDEO: Cop Body Slams 100lb Handcuffed Teen Face First After She Didn’t Sit Down Fast Enough

Colorado Springs, CO — In November 2013, officer Tyler Walker and several other officers were dispatched to a residence over reports of a gun. The officers found no probable cause, but they did encounter an inebriated 18-year-old girl, Alexis Acker.
According to reports, Acker was “intoxicated and verbally uncooperative with police,” and became “physically combative” when officers arrested her boyfriend on an unrelated warrant.
Their claims of Acker being “physically combative,” however, hold very little water after reading their report of what was caught on a hospital surveillance camera. The video, obtained by the Colorado Springs Independent, was just discovered as a …read more

Bitcoin Trends In The First Half Of 2015

It’s already past the halfway mark in 2015 and we thought it would be a good time to provide an overview of the trends that we’re seeing in Bitcoin this year. While the price of bitcoin is down 9% year-to-date, if you look below the surface it is clear that Bitcoin had a strong first half and is making great strides as digital money for people around the world and a payment network for innovation.

Price

While the price is down 9% YTD (as of July 13), it’s up over 213% over a two year time frame. It appears the price has …read more

The Ultimate Keyboard

Years ago, it was one of the very first questions that had been sent into me to my science and tech show–Sovryn Tech–and it was a simple asking for a recommendation, but it was about a very important accessory: for mobile devices, what is the best keyboard I can get?
At the time, the choices were pretty slim, with the standard Apple Keyboard surprisingly being about the best one out there (for Android and iOS). Companies like Perixx and others had some interesting offerings, but nothing that I would consider really portable and well designed. Point being, when asked this question, …read more

Do your ideas make you violent?

A sweeping coalition of 43 organizations, including DownsizeDC.org, sent a letter to the leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee opposing the creation of H.R. 2899, the Countering Violent Extremism Act.

The bill falsely assumes that radical ideas lead to violence, and authorizes a government propaganda campaign against them.

You can read the letter here. …read more