Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/09/16/pat-downs-tightened-at-nfl-stadiums/

NFL fans are undergoing more extensive pat-downs from security guards before being allowed into stadiums, although the new measure did not prevent a man from using a stun gun at a game last Sunday. The league has asked all 32 clubs to have security guards search fans from their knees to their ankles. Pat-downs for such items as alcohol and weapons were previously done only from the waist and above. An NFL spokesman said the measure began with last week's season openers and was not done in response to a specific threat.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/hightower-perry-executed-a-man-who-was-almost-certainly-innocent/

On his radio show yesterday, progressive radio host Thom Hartmann spoke with populist Texas writer Jim Hightower about Gov. Rick Perry and the troubling tale of Cameron Willingham, a man who was “almost certainly” innocent, yet still was put to death. “This guy really puts the goober in gubernatorial,” Hightower quipped. Perry has presided over 234 executions, more than any other governor of any state in modern times — a fact that Republicans cheered at a recent debate.

Link: http://www.truthout.com/between-race-and-reason-anti-intellectualism-american-life/1314634662

In late October 2008, just days before the U.S. presidential election, George Monbiot of London’s The Guardian, caught perhaps in a mood of deepening anxiety and dread over the impending outcome, leveled an indictment against the American government and at least half of the electorate in the form of a question: “How did politics in the U.S. come to be dominated by people who make a virtue out of ignorance?”

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44555210/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.TnSOwOyJ2mk

According to an organization that tracks UFO reports, this summer has been an especially busy period for UFO sightings. The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) noted that sightings increased over the past six weeks, with some states more than doubling their normal numbers.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29144.htm

I’m referring, as you might guess, to what happened during Monday’s G.O.P. presidential debate. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Representative Ron Paul what we should do if a 30-year-old man who chose not to purchase health insurance suddenly found himself in need of six months of intensive care. Mr. Paul replied, “That’s what freedom is all about — taking your own risks.” Mr. Blitzer pressed him again, asking whether “society should just let him die.” And the crowd erupted with cheers and shouts of “Yeah!”

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29147.htm

The UN Palmer Report, which largely exonerated Israel for murdering nine unarmed Turkish civilians in international waters on May 31, 2010, seemed in some ways like the last straw. Prior to its publication, the camel’s back had already mostly broken, and a collapse in Turkish-Israeli ties was looming.

Link: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/the-usnato-encirclement-of-russia-4474/

The U.S. and Romania signed an agreement on deployment of the elements of a U.S. missile defense system. Earlier it was reported that some elements of the EUROPRO system will appear in Turkey. Everything indicates that the U.S. military machine and NATO are inexorably approaching the Russian borders.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/16-8

Texas Governor Rick Perry uses his state’s reputation for killing without question to gain applause for his presidential bid from Tea Party audiences that cannot contain their bloodlust. Perry, the frontrunner for the Republican party’s 2012 nomination claims he “never struggled” with questions of justice and injustice, right and wrong, when it comes to approving the executions of Texans.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/16-9

September 11 Remembered, US at War Against the World, and the Ongoing Campaign Against Israeli Occupation. September 11 commemorations were everywhere this past weekend. My own view is that the devastating attacks of September 11 were, along with an enormous human tragedy, a huge crime, a crime against humanity. But they did not threaten our country’s existence, they did not threaten our democracy. It was the acts of September 12, when the Bush administration decided to take the world to war in response, that threatened and continue to threaten our country, our democracy, our security, and the security of much of the rest of the world.

Link: http://www.aclu.org/blog/capital-punishment/standing-solidarity-troy-davis

Next week, the state of Georgia plans to execute Troy Davis despite lingering doubts about his guilt. Today is a Global Day of Solidarity when people all over the world stand together to proclaim that there is too much doubt to execute Troy Davis. Davis finds himself facing death for the fourth time on Wednesday, September 21.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/152414/10_signs_god_is_furious_with_the_right/

Whatever disaster strikes, there's always an upside in religious rightland, always somebody to point the finger at with glee. Let's turn the tables. Why is it that whenever disaster strikes, right-wing religious nuts seem to have all the fun? Some might say it's just because they're sadists, but they always seem to find the silver lining. 9/11? God's calling on America to repent!