Links! But With Attached Rants, So...

Links!

Crafton Hills College student, parents protest material in graphic novels English course I am going to try to discuss this without cussing. It's bad enough when you see this sort of thing in middle and high schools, but college? Why is a 20 year old English major unwilling to engage with literature - and who is going to deny that Persepolis is not only good literature but highly relevant to societal conversation today? Why are her parents involved at all? She's a grown-ass woman, why the hell is this a thing? (Well, there's the cussing...) If she doesn't want to actually study literature, she should switch to something less "offensive." I don't know what that'd be, though - I don't know how you get a real liberal arts education (which, I feel it's important to stress, was intended to provide a person with the information and skills considered necessary to be worthy of freedom and engagement in civic life) without engaging with humanity, including (especially?) the darker aspects of it. It's not only inevitable - it's important. It's how we grow, individually and as a society, towards something better than what we are now. And if you think we don't need to grow - well, have you read Persepolis??
Fragment of Gutenberg Bible expected to top $500,000 at auction

No, The World Isn't Going To End In September 2015 Eh, I don't know - sometimes I think the world needs a mulligan. See: Literature rant above and why can't an 11-year-old be left alone in his own yard for 90 minutes below.
Banned in Europe, Safe in the U.S. "Who determines whether chemicals are safe — and why do different governments come up with such different answers?"
How Did Palm Oil Become Such A Problem — And What Can We Do About It?

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders: Media are inept and GOP agenda is hidden He ain't wrong.
11-Year-Old Boy Played in His Yard. CPS Took Him, Felony Charge for Parents. This is getting ridiculous. Related: Parents Arrested for Leaving 11-Year-Old in His Own Yard Alone Why is this an issue? I mean, he's 11 years old, he's in his own yard, and he's not causing trouble - what's wrong with that? At what age is it okay to leave your kid alone for a couple hours, then? Of course, some parents are still hovering over their 20 year old college student, so, I don't know...Are we sure there isn't a handy asteroid headed this way?
The 10 states with the most gun violence " Louisiana is one of only four states in the country where homicides accounted for a larger share of firearm deaths than suicides. In 2013, Louisiana reported nearly 10 homicides per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the country." NOT what we want to be known for, y'all.

Steampunk Gypsy