Gambia’s president calls gays “vermin” to be fought like malaria-carrying mosquitoes; demographics alone won’t beat the tea party, contrary to Democrats’ beliefs; meanwhile, journalist Glenn Greenwald laments the state of society and discusses his new media venture. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

Gambia’s Jammeh Calls Gays ‘Vermin’, Says to Fight Like Mosquitoes Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh on Tuesday called homosexuals “vermin” and said his government would tackle them in the same way it fights malaria-causing mosquitoes.

Journalism, Secrecy, and The Intercept Glenn Greenwald and Michael Albert discuss the difficulties of doing good journalism within the confines of mainstream media, secrecy and corporations and Greenwald’s new media project – The Intercept.

Venezuela: Shunned by the Left? About a month ago Michael Albert had a discussion with a prominent progressive media publisher.

The Matter with Kansas Now: The Tea Party, the 1 Percent and Delusional Democrats Democrats believe demographics alone will defeat the Tea Party. It’s a smug fantasy: Economic populism’s the answer

Evaluation, Not Publication, Should Be Academe’s New Priority Imagine that, having polished a dissertation for publication or finished a second or later book, the social-science scholar sends the typescript to an independent Review Institute.

Taking Political Stands Does Not Sit Well With All Scholarly Groups The American Economic Association has never taken a position on any public-policy issue.

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