Who is going to be the next big villain?

It is interesting how yesterday’s major threat to civilization as we know it (al Qaeda) has suddenly become relegated to being an insignificant factor as soon as a new actor (ISIS/ISIL) came along. This is the usual pattern of the US always needing to have some boogeyman to scare the hell out of people so that wars can be promoted and executed.
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The changes in Iran

Journalist Ramita Navai talks with Jon Stewart on what is happening in Iran. She says that reformists in the country who seek a more democratic state that has less theocratic influence have been disturbed by the chaos in neighboring countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria due to the influence of foreigners. As a result, they have retreated from seeking quick changes and are now looking for a more gradual process that is generated by forces purely from within the country.
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Chuck Todd off to a great start

David Letterman poked fun at the new host of Meet the Press, one of the wasteland of Sunday morning talk shows where many words are spoken and few are worth listening to. The reason may be that, as demonstrated by Todd, there is very little listening that takes place on these programs and that people come with an agenda that they are determined to push through.
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The threat posed by immigrant children

Michael Che of The Daily Show speaks to some of the people who are convinced that the influx of refugee children from Central America is all part of some grand covert plan to destroy America, that they are Trojan horses. At the same time, he finds encouraging signs that a lot of people see the issue not as some kind of existential threat to the US but simply as children fleeing persecution.
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The Wall Street-Congress revolving door turns again

So Eric Cantor, after having faithfully protected the interests of Wall Street while pretending to serve the public as Majority Leader in the House of Representatives before losing his primary to a Tea Party candidate, decided to quit his job early and go straight to Wall Street at a high salary even though he has no financial background. It is no surprise that his role will be to provide access to congress to serve his company’s needs.
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Payday loans

It is true that these companies extort money from the needy and get them trapped in a cycle of debt. The problem is that they also serve a need. Many people live paycheck-to-paycheck, just barely getting by, and any sudden emergency (car repair, medical bill, broken furnace) can throw their delicately balanced finances out of whack and they often feel they have nowhere else to turn to at short notice.
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